LftfXRY OF C IIFORNI A 31 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS A SERIES OF LITERARY SKETCHES OF SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL AUTHORS, DIVINES, MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT, &C. S CONNECTED WITH THE COUNTY OF LANCASTER. BY JOHN EYANS Honiron: HOULSTON AND STONE MAN 1850. ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL. TO SIR ELKANAH ARMITAGE, KNIGHT, WHOSE PUBLIC WORTH, COMMERCIAL TALENT, AND GENERAL INTELLIGENCE, HAVE DISTINGUISHED HIM AMONG HIS FELLOW CITIZENS, 2Tfjt'8 Folume, BY HIS KIND PERMISSION, IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED. 928 PREFACE. A few introductory observations to the contents of the following pages will be found necessary. In the early part of 1848, I perused, with much interest and satisfaction, the " Metropolitan Pulpit" " Random Recollections" &c., by Mr. Grant; and Mr. Gilfillan's "Gallery of Literary Portraits" Knowing there to be a considerable amount of literary ability, and no ordinary degree of oratorical genius, identified with Lancashire, I was led to believe that sketches of some of the principal characters so connected in the manner followed in the books named, would possibly prove interesting and instructive. Possessing some knowledge of most of the Authors and their writings in this locality, and having had frequent opportunities of listening to the leading pulpit-orators and political speakers connected with the county, furnished me with just confidence enough to begin the work. I forthwith commenced contributing one every week to the columns of a provincial journal, and continued doing so till the latter end of the past year. In this form they were perused with some avidity, and, so far as I was able to learn, gave pretty general satisfaction. They likewise met with their due mete of cen- sure. The same confidence, I presume, that led me to write the sketches, has since induced me to introduce them in the present form. I wish it to be clearly understood, that these sketches relate to individuals both of Lancashire birth and connections ; and further, that they are sketches of living men. VI. PREFACE. There will be doubtless found many omissions, in this volume, of men who are prominently connected with the county. My reason for this apparent neglect, is, in the first place, that I could not gain information sufficient, and in the next, that I had no space. There are a few names, however, to which I must briefly advert. MB. WILLIAM GRESSWELL, of Denton, is known chiefly for his classical productions ; MR. HEPWORTH DIXON, formerly of Manchester, is the talented author of " John Howard, and the Prison World of Europe ; " MR. DANIEL NOBLE, of Manchester, is the author of several medical essays, and a valuable volume, entitled " The Brain and its Physiology ; " MR. ANDREW WILSON, of Manchester, is well known as an able and successful lecturer on the Comic Characters of Shak- spere ; MR. DAVID HOLT has published a volume of very pleasing miscellaneous poems; MR. WILLIAM MORT, of Man- Chester, has produced several pieces of high poetic merit ; MR. ROBERT SOWLER is an able contributor to the pages of Black- ivood ; MR. WILLIAM HILL, of Pendleton, is the author of the "Educational Monitor," in which he has introduced a very ingenious and practical system of Mnemonics ; MR. WILLIAM TAYLOR, of Manchester, is the author of the " Dreaming Girl, &c.," a collection of pleasing verses ; MR. JOSEPH ANTHONY has published a small collection of melodious rhythm, in a volume entitled " The Irwell and other Poems." Want of space more than inclination has led to the omission of several great names connected with the county, such as Dr. Vaughan, Dr. Warren, Dr. Davidson, John Kelly, Mr. Turner, Alderman Hopkins, Daniel Stone, Dr. Hodgson, Peter Rylands, Joseph Adshead, Eaton Hodgkinson, Mr. Fairbairn, David Howarth, G. F. Mandley, and several others, who are living among us, and distinguished for their high attainments in the different de- partments to which they have applied themselves. Manchester, March, 1850. INDEX PAGE. William Harrison Ainsworth Rev. Robert Brook Aspland 4 Mrs. George L. Banks - - . Rev. Dr. Beard Samuel Bamford - l7 Rev. John Birt - Rev. Charles M. Birrell - Rev. Alfred Barrett John Bright, M.P. Rev. John Bowers Rev. James D. Brocklehurst - Rev. Dr. Burton Rev. Richard Butler Rev. John Bywater - 54 Rev. Dr. Carpenter Richard Cobden, M.P. 63 James Crossley - 67 Rev. James Currie 72 W. Sharman Crawford, M.P. - - 76 Frederick N. Dyer 80 Earl of Ellesmere John Fielden W. J. Fox, M.P. - Rev. William Gaskell 96 Thomas Milner Gibson, M.P. Rev. James Griffin 105 Rev. David Griffiths - 109 William Harper - Rev. Doctor Hannah Rev. Doctor Halley - 123 viii. INDEX. PAGE. Mrs. Hawkshaw - . . -127 Charles Hindley, M.P. - - - - 132 Rev. F. J. Jobson - - 136 Geraldine Jewsbury - - - . _ . _ 140 Rev. E. D. Jackson - 144 Charles Kenworthy - - - - - 148 Bishop of Manchester 153 Rev. James Martineau - - - - 157 Travers Madge - -....161 Rev. Wm. Me. Caw - - - - . - 166 Rev. J. H. Me. Guire - - - - 170 Rev. H. W. Me. Grath - 174 Rev. Wm. Me. Kerrow - - - - 178 Rev. Dr. Me. Neile - - - - 182 Rev. Dr. Newton - - - - - _ . -189 Rev. P. J. O'Leary - . 193 Rev. Richard Parkinson - - - - 198 Archibald Prentice ---..._ 204 John Critchley Prince ----.__ 208 Rev. N. K. Pugsley - 213 Rev. Dr. Raffles - - _ . - 216 Rev. John Raven - - - - . . . 221 George Richardson - ..._._ 224 Elijah Ridings - --____ 228 Rev. Dr. Roskell ---_._._ 232 John Roby - --.___ 236 John Bolton Rogerson .... . 240 Lord Stanley - _ 246 John Stores Smith ------_ 252 Rev. David R. Stephen _ . 256 Charles Swain -----._. 260 Rev. Hugh Stowell - - - _ _ . _ 268 Rev. J. J. Tayler _ 271 George Thompson, M.P. 274 Rev. Francis Tucker - - _ , _ -278 Rev. Daniel Walton - - . -.-.--. . . 282 George Wilson ----.._ 286 James Scott Walker - - 289 WILLIAM HARRISON AINSWORTH. PROVINCIAL authors, however excellent their productions, are rarely so thoroughly popular as those who identify themselves, and their works with the metropolis. This is mainly to be attributed to their addressing themselves principally to local sympathies and patronage. Local histories, local poems, local biographies, and local sketches, compose, to a great extent, the staple commodity of most of our local authors, and consequently, though confessedly of some sterling value, rarely command anything of a good circulation out of the district from which they emanate. This feature is pretty prominent in the county of which we write, and notwithstanding the genuine literary productions that have sprung out of the haunts of cotton-mills and weaving-sheds, they have only here and there penetrated far beyond the immediate neighbourhood that called them into existence. The subject, however, of the present sketch is a notable exception. He has ventured upon a more enlarged sphere of action, and where his brother-authors of Lancashire have issued their ten copies, he has issued and, some how or other, secured the sale of his hundred. Whatever may be the tendencies of Ains worth's novels, there can exist no mistake about his being a decidedly popular writer among the masses, as much so perhaps as any other living author of the same school of fiction. Probably this may be attributed to his having applied himself more assiduously to literary efforts than any other of his contemporaries in the locality in which he was born and reared. Since 1834, when first appeared his Rookwood, he has out-done all other competitors for fame in this quarter, and probably has produced as much in quantity as Dickens, James, or Marryat. Indefatigable application on the one hand, and the production of works calculated to excite the imagination and centre the interest of his readers on the other, has secured the name of Harrison Ainsworth no ordinary amount of fame in the world of letters. The subject of our sketch was born about the year 1805, and is consequently now in his forty-fifth year. He received a tolerable educa- 2 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. tion at a neighbouring school, but never evidenced anything beyond a mere ordinary intellect. A few stray snatches of verse and one or two fragments in the way of fiction composed his literary efforts until the latter end of the year 1833, when was announced his maiden pro- duction of Rookwood in three volumes. This work sold well, albeit to a particular class of circulating libraries where traditions of blood, notorious highwaymen, and polished burglars, constituted the literary knowledge of dreamy lawyers' clerks and romantic dressmakers' apprentices. However, Rookwood, with its prime dashing Dick Tur- pin as hero, well remunerated the author for his speculation and secured him, among a certain description of readers, no common footing as a writer of fiction. In Lancashire and Yorkshire the book was eagerly sought and read, as the main plot of it was laid principally in scenes with which the inhabitants of the two counties were well acquainted. His descriptions, moreover, of the romantic spots with which the West Riding is so particularly abundant, were vivid, and told well upon his friends and supporters in the immediate locality. The work ran through two or three extensive editions, and gained no ordinary eulogiums from the press, although the sublimation of "famed Dick Turpin " into the highest sphere of heroism did not so well coincide with the taste of some of our more refined critics and jour- nalists. In a short period Ainsworth brought out his " Critchton" a somewhat startling production but neither possessing the life or fertility of imagery that distinguished its more popular predecessor. The style of Critchton, however, is bold and possesses the same florid species of writing that predominates more or less in all Ains- worth's works. The adventures of the Scottish chieftain are well told, while some of the minor portraits are delineated with no common amount of energy and fidelity. We believe it was in 1837 that Charles Dickens relinquished the editorship of Bentley's Miscellany, when the subject of our sketch took command of that usually well- conducted and spirited periodical. In the Miscellany he commenced and completed his most immoral, yet his most successful romance of JackSheppard. In one sense we are led to believe its publication slightly tarnished the reputation of the periodical, although it increased its sale, and gave the editor increased popularity. The effect of Jack Sheppard upon the public mind was unquestionably poisonous, yet it was eagerly read, and dramatised and performed with the utmost success at nearly every theatre in London and the provinces. The "WILLIAM HARRISON AISTSWORTII. 3 book in itself is a vivid portraiture of crime, but far from being a truthful one. The plot, which is well wrought and decidedly inter- esting to those who perused it, forms perhaps the best feature of Jack Sheppard. The style is warm and florid; and the language is occasionally elegant. The dialogues are sometimes terse and smart, but frequently merge into the commonest slang or the most sickening sentiment. His characters, in so far as the stamp and impress they receive from Ainsworth is concerned, are sustained with tolerable correctness and consistency. There is a touch of the pathetic some- times introduced, and worked out with some amount of ability and effect. Here and there Ainsworth is not backward in working upon the nerves of his readers ; in the book before us we have no small share of the horrible and " thrilling" species of narration. We believe " Guy Fawkes" followed, a work replete with some exciting scenes and dramatic effect. Had he adhered more rigidly in this novel to historical fact, and not rendered his hero and principal dra- matic personages what they really were not, he would have produced a much more meritorious work, and secured a more general class of readers. As it was, however, his Guy Faivkes was a comparative failure. About 1841 the proprietors of the Sunday Times treated with Ainsworth to write a novel for their paper, to appear in weekly portions, with the somewhat handsome remuneration of 1,000, when the work was complete. The novel came out under the name of Old St. Paul's. This production was regarded by some as effective in plot and detail as Jack Sheppard, and by others as the veriest trash that ever emanated from its author. For our part we conceived it to be, in some measure, historically true, although there was an extravagance thrown into many of the scenes and characters that entirely shrouded all its merits as a pure historical novel. Ainsworth is the author of the Tower of London, and one or two other produc- tions of less note. A.inswortKs Magazine, of which we presume our author to be both editor and proprietor, ranks tolerably among the Magazinia of London. It is upon the whole a well-conducted periodical, and possesses a thorough good staff of contributors. Mr. Ainsworth has something handsome in his form and features, and possesses a decidedly gentlemanly bearing. He appears to be fond of dress, and attires himself after the most approved fashion. He has a large circle of influential and rather aristocratic friends. In private company he is witty and vivacious, an excellent hand at a 4 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. story, and never backward in puns or Ion-mots. At present he resides in London, his literary occupations rendering it necessary. His works must have brought him in no ordinary profits, and as he has had but few losses, we should conceive him to be somewhat wealthy for a second-rate novelist. We understand his recent work in the Sunday Times of the " Lancashire Witches" has somewhat increased the circulation of that ably conducted journal. REV. ROBERT BROOK ASPLAND. THERE are few places of worship more beautifully situated in this neighbourhood than that of the distinguished gentleman's whose name appears before us in the present notice. The structure itself, in its exterior appearance, is chaste and well-designed in every point of view; but it is its situation that adds very materially to its attractive appearance. Just on the borders of Cheshire and Lancashire, at Dukinfield, upon a lofty eminence, stands this pleasing little conven- ticle. Before you, you have a wide range of view extending over many miles of Cheshire ; to the right, lies all the varied shades and hues of Lancashire, and to the left, you have an extensive tract of Staffordshire. There are few objects more to our taste than the sight of a chastely-built church or chapel, raised in some spot where you can see the works of the creator in all their divinity and beauty in all their eloquence of green fields, sunny streams, and shady umbrage. "Of charms which Nature to her votary yields ! The warbling woodland, the resounding shore, The pomp of groves, and garniture of fields ; All that the genial ray of morning gilds, And all that echoes to the song of even, All that the mountain's shelt'ring bosom shields, And all the dread magnificence of heaven !" Such objects, at all times, kindle our warmest emotions, and we must confess that in all our rambles in this county we have found few objects in this respect more in accordance with our taste than the one before us. A ride for the special inspection of Dukinfield REV. ROBERT BROOK ASPLAXD. 5 chapel and its position, will amply repay the time and trouble of any one interested in these things. Both the exterior and interior are in excellent keeping. There is a little elegance about the interior that beautifully blends with the other more simple details of construction, and relieves any other monotony that might have appeared, had the style been wholly simple. The pulpit, communion, and choir, are well-harmonised together, presenting an appearance at once substantial in build and elegant in design. A good congregation of considerable wealth and influence, is generally found attending the services, although Mr. Aspland would doubtless wish to see it more numerous. However, those who do attend, appear to be devoted admirers of their good pastor ; and certainly from what we know of his private worth and public abilities, he is every way worthy of their highest esteem and approbation. In the pulpit, as well as out of it, Mr. Aspland presents a personal appearance, that is sure to win your heart and sympathies. He looks the very model of a kind, cheerful, benevolent man. He has no airs of the self-sufficient scholar, no bombast of the clever orator, no pretence to the acquisition of learned lore or erudite wisdom. He just looks like a true Christian pastor ; and all he says is evidently in unison with all he does. In the way of stature, he appears to be about the middle height, and is somewhat inclined to a goodly rotundity of bodily compass. He possesses a somewhat round face, with a smiling expression of features, and a cheek whereon the ruddy hue of health is mantled to the fullest extent. A greater portion of his head is bald, and the sides are only just covered with a sprinkling of thin grey hair. His forehead is finely developed, lofty and expansive in its dimensions, and prominent with a weight of intellec- tual organs. His small blue eyes are particularly mild and expressive, and occasionally, especially in some impassioned portion of his discourse, are sparkling and radiant. His mouth is small and delicately formed, bespeaking much refinement of taste and intellect. His small nose and chin, complete one of the happiest portraits we have seen in the pulpit for a good period. He looks extremely well in the gown and bands. There is always a winning expression about his features that is sure to secure your most pleasureable emotions, and no one seeing him or hearing him could well refrain from coinciding with our conclusions as we have left his chapel-door " Brook Aspland is a good man." 6 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. A series of printed " services" sometimes preclude you from hearing Mr. Aspland in extempore prayer ; but whenever you have a chance of listening to him in this department, you have something striking, both in matter and style. His depth of feeling, eloquence of style, and solemnity of utterance, render them extremely effective. He does not ape anything of bombast or importance (as some men are wont to do, even in this portion of God's service) but with a simplicity of heart, yet earnestness of feeling, pours forth in some of the chastest language we possess, soul-inspiring thoughts, deep-diving sentiments, and resolves of the highest order and importance. As a preacher, Mr. Aspland is, for the most part, clear, comprehensive, and deliberate. He comes up as near to our standard of the proper treatment of a text of Scripture, as any man we have encountered in the Unitarian pulpit. He neither possesses the graceful eloquence of a Gaskell, nor the comprehensive weight of a Beard, nor the profound philosophy of a Martineau. And yet in reviewing the generality of his sermons, he appears to have a seasoning of each. At all events, his efforts generally betray more of the heart than the mind ; his emotions are evidentally uppermost, and hence he often manifests a greater amount of the " unadorned eloquence" of the Word than the artificial rhetoric or profound cogitations of the study. In his exordium, he usually delivers himself of a few pointed sentences that give a very clear insight into the general nature of the subject he has selected. His prefatory observations sometimes relate to the position of his text in a biblical point of view. He seems somewhat attached to the system of giving historical reviews of the portion of Scripture to which he draws his hearer's attention, which he does in a powerful and masterly style. If a character is the subject of remark, he shines particularly. We had an instance of this a few Sabbaths since. The reverend gentleman was engaged upon the scene between the apostle Paul and Felix. His portraiture of the various characters introduced into this highly interesting passage of scriptural history, was graphic and complete. There you had the apostle, as the preacher observed, " without advocate without instruments of defence," his position in the court, his comparative inferiority to the powers about him, and yet his boldness, energy, and decision, in meeting the charges, and turning the accused into the accuser. Then Felix the " trembling" Felix with Druscilla and the other characters and circumstances of this important event in the annals of early Christianity were all REV. ROBERT BROOK ASPLAND. 7 presented in the most palpable form imaginable. In this department, Mr. Aspland has generally appeared to us to particular advantage. He infuses a freshness, a life, and vigour into whatever he brings before his hearer's notice, that must find its way into the recesses of the most opaque understanding. His divisions are clear, and particularly remarkable for concentration upon his theme. He rarely, if ever, wanders from his text, either in his arrangement or of any succeeding illustration. There is a regularity, an order, moreover, about them, that will not fail to impress you with the care which he has taken to bring his observations in the closet consanguinity with the nature of his text. Everything flows on easily, and yet without the least apparent effort at method or rule. In the general illustration of his theme, he exhibits, in the first place, a pretty considerable intercourse with the bible. He frequently quotes from the Scriptures, which he does with effective pointedness. His citations are mostly from the New Testament, and are brought to bear with considerable force in any position he may take, either in the form of exposition or application. Few men in the denomination to which he is attached, will be found his superior in this respect. Again, he occasionally illustrates from the scenes of nature from the beauties and sublimities of that everlasting source of the poet's most ravishing dreams, and the painter's most glowing studies. He does all this with a clearness and aptness, that is at once effective in manner and instructive in detail. He manifests here a quick and lively appreciation of all those endless beauties of the natural world, to which none but a true lover of nature can be truly sensible. He sees the works of the Almighty in all their beauty and purity, and he makes them the vehicle of God's holiest promises and loftiest warnings. In this respect we have found Mr. Aspland remarkably happy. The summary of his discourse is generally brief yet impressive. There is no doubt of his earnestness, for it is impressed on every sentence that falls from his lips during his application. His concluding observations, if they contain nothing else, are sure to be characterised by the bestof advice sound, compre- hensive, and practical. The construction of Mr. Aspland's sermon is marked by much elegance of diction, and simple beauty of style. They have reminded us very much of the style of Blair ; yet they probably lack the finish of those popular discourses. There is considerable clearness and conciseness about the formation of his sentences, and they follow each other with flowing ease. He rarely, 8 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. if ever, indulges in tropes or figures ; in fact, his mind does not betray the least tendency to anything partaking of the speculative or imagi- native. He delivers himself from a written sermon, the which occupies about three quarters of an hour. His discourses are listened to with much attention, and invariably give the completest satisfaction. He possesses a fine powerful voice, the tones of which are clear and well- modulated. His action is temperate, consisting principally of an occasional elevation of the right arm, and sometimes crossing his right hand over his left wrist, in the fashion of W. J. Fox. We believe Mr. Aspland was born at Hackney, near London. He appears now to be near fifty years of age. He received his educa- tion at the Unitarian College in York, in which he became an apt and distinguished scholar. Upon leaving the college, he entered the ministry, and became the pastor of a congregation at Bristol. Here he was well-esteemed, and formed friendly connections with several distinguished men of that city, the late Doctor Lank Carpenter among the number ; upon the death of his father, Mr. Aspland removed to the present scene of his labours, entering upon them, and preaching his first sermon on the 1st of January, 1837. From that period up to the present he has maintained a high reputation among the preachers of the Unitarians in this locality ; and certainly for purely excellent and useful preaching, and pastoral care, we know of few, if any, who will be found his superior. Another post, in which Mr. Aspland succeeded his father, was, the editorship of the Christian Reformer ; which he still continues to conduct with considerable ability. The Reformer is a highly respectable literary organ of the Unitarians, containing some exceedingly interesting and able matter from sources of high eminence. We are not aware that Mr. Aspland has published any works, but his contributions to the serial in question are talented and pleasing. MRS. GEORGE LINNAEUS BANKS. PERHAPS there is no more forcible illustration of the general literary ability of the lady-authors of Lancashire than that of the fair subject of our present notice. To the general reader she will probably be MRS. GEORGE LINNAEUS BANKS. 9 better known by her maiden name of Isabella Varley, having, since the publication of her poems, entered into matrimonial alliance with one whose name has long been identified with the poets of this locality the well-known and highly-gifted George Linnaeus Banks, late of Liverpool, but since a resident of the city from which we write. This, by the way, was rather a felicitous sort of a union, the poet with the poetess, the lover of the beautiful and worshipper of everything that is infused with ideal and poetical excellence with one who cherished the same high sentiments and delicate aspirations. It is somewhat singular, too, that there is much of the same nature of poetical genius in the writings of the one as there is in those of the other. Banks has a certain nicety and delicacy of expression, often approaching the feminine, that assimilates very closely to the beautiful and polished style of his highly-gifted wife. Moreover, they have both generally treated upon nearly one and the same themes, the themes imparted in life the lessons derived from the unnumbered cares and vicissitudes by which we are surrounded in our daily passage through the stormy scenes of the world the loves and animosities the hopes and desires the pains and pleasures and all the great and little passions and incidents by which we are governed, and through which we move. The union of these two congenial spirits will surely conduce to happiness, if anything on earth is capable of securing the blessing. But the name of Isabella Varley is more prominent in the literary world than her present one. From her earliest years she appears to have communed with the Muses and been inspired with no ordinary degree of poetical feeling, and no common style of expressing her thoughts and emotions. She alludes to this in her usual beautiful language in the "Gift of Song," one of the brightest gems in her collection. " Poesy, poesy, boon divine, A child I yearn'd for thee, Yet never dar'd hope to call thee mine, Thou gentle mystery: Yet now I feel, And would reveal, The deep sublimity." And her wish has certainly been answered in about as complete a sense as her most sanguine hopes could picture. Beyond all doubt, she possesses the genius of poetry she has the " gift divine" she has tasted of the fruits of Parnassus and inhaled those ambrosial c 10 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATOKS. sweets that the Muses are generally so very cautious in distributing among their numerous, and, sometimes, silly and idle devotees. There is much of the bright intellectual being possessed by our poetess -betrayed in her pleasing and expressive cast of features. Though not possessed of what you would call a " handsome" countenance, still there is something highly attractive in the singularly luminous expression of her eyes, and the refined mould and outlines of her mouth, that wins your attention and prepossesses you much in her favor. In form she is small, and her face is somewhat angular, although her brow is well developed and finely formed. Perhaps you see her features more to advantage when in one of her pensive moods and fits of abstraction. Her eyes, and looks in general, upon such occasions assume a somewhat captivating appearance, and furnish strong indications of the highly-polished mental being with which she is endowed. She is yet comparatively young, not having numbered much above six and twenty years of age. Apart from her high poetical excellence and general literary ability, Mrs. Banks is a lady who has received an education of a decidedly superior character, and is accomplished in all the various departments of the scholar. We understand her to be no common linguist, and very well versed in music and drawing. In fact, for some three or four years before her union with Mr. Banks, she conducted a very superior seminary in the outskirts of Manchester, and was considered by the generality of her friends to be a very eligible young lady in imparting both an English and foreign education. In private company she is a witty and animated companion, and betrays a tolerable conversancy in all the great and little movements of literature and art. In short, she is the accomplished lady, beside being the highly-gifted child of song, and moves in a large circle of the warmest friends and most ardent admirers. The collection of poems Mrs. Banks gave to the world some three or four years since, under the somewhat euphonious title of Ivy Leaves, is probably, taking all circumstances into consideration, one of the most agreeable specimens of pure poetical feeling and expression, that has emanated from the press of this locality for a long series of years. We never experienced more pleasing sensations over any book, for there is a sterling description of beauty in its contents that cannot fail to arrest your attention and enlist your sympathies. We rose from the perusal of it fully convinced that the fair author was MRS. GEORGE LINNAEUS BANKS. 11 one who could and did feel what every true poet or poetess must always feel a deepness of thought and fervency of emotion. This is embodied throughout the production before us, and we do not hesitate in affirming that this beautifully poetical production has a certain feeling running through its contents, that renders the fair author fully worthy of holding place with a Landon, Hemans, Toulmin, or Sigourney. It is this intensity of feeling that, at the very onset, makes you feel that you are communing with a genuine poetical temperament. She feels all she says, and utters it after the fashion of her own heart and secret emotions. She does not tell her own experience of the world so much as she does in interpreting the experience of others. She searches into the temperament and tendencies of others, and reveals, in her usual expressive style, the current that is constantly impelling us onwards either in paths of peace and virtue or in the brakes of vice and misery. She sees these things and feels them; she interprets their hue and influence; she holds them up in their colouring, and makes them impart their own lesson by the forcible style in which they are delineated. There is such an abundance of meritorious pieces in the Ivy Leaves, that it were a difficult matter to decide which is the best and most deserving of our encomiums. Perhaps one of the most exquisite for ingenuity of design and genuine heart-felt expression is that of the " Spirit Visitants," with its highly-artistic introduction, and the beautiful invocations to the dying girl of the two spirits of heaven and earth. She has betrayed here an exuberance of fancy and gift of language that, if she had never indited another line, would stamp her with the name of a poetess. There is something so charming in the metre, with its "Come away, sweet Spirit; I call thee hence To a region of calm delight, To a day whose brightness is never dimm'd By the shadows of sullen night ;" and then the ideas run so freely and the images are so charmingly chaste and appropriate, that, having the least appreciation and taste for a genuine poetical temperament, you cannot read it once, but what you must renew the perusal. The "Funeral Bell," written in blank verse (a style in which Mrs. Banks excels), and about the longest production in the book, is another excellent specimen of our fair author's powers of description and earnestness of feeling. The pathetic tone thrown into this piece is often sublime and overpowering, 12 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. it goes to your heart, and the expressive language in which it is presented, together with the effective points of illustration that are brought in so aptly and ingeniously, renders it one of the most finished pieces that has come from the author's pen. There are no sickly sentiments or tawdry metaphors and figures to make up some- thing out of nothing; she is simple in the means she employs to bring your attention and sympathies to bear upon her piece, and the "Funeral Bell" exhibits this excellent feature in the fullest degree. Another production, entitled "Helon," is a severe and forcible lesson to fortune-hunters and Mammon-worshippers in general, and pos- sesses two or three striking illustrations ; the close of it is a somewhat sublime ascent into the spheres of imagination and fanciful speculation. Some of Mrs. Banks's modes of imagery are really of the very first order. A beautiful instance of her powers in this respect occurs in one of the above-mentioned pieces. " A quiet valley Dotted with fair white cottages, that peer Through the green screen of blossom-broider'd trees, That, like a veil some arch-eyed damsel draws In sportive mockery around her charms, Adds yet another grace, and more reveals Than hides the dazzling loveliness it seems Intended to conceal." Here is a specimen of powers in this respect that, for true simplicity and poetical ingenuity, we rarely see surpassed or even equalled. In the "Dreams of an Enthusiast " we have a striking degree of playful fancy, taking a most extensive range through every imaginable scene of ancient and modern history. The " Neglected Wife " is powerfully and naturally delineated, and teems with some exquisite imagery and intensity of feeling. The preludium of this production is one of the most charming pieces of poetry that we ever remember encountering in any of our local productions. The first passage is worthy of any pen "Our radiant Queen of Night, the crescent moon Closely companied by a host of stars That troop around her like a body guard, Has reached her climax in the firmament ; And, lighting up the heavy dew that drips From the closed petals of each sleeping flower, Makes every bough a mimic chandelier Festooned with diamonds." REV. DOCTOR BEARD. 13 To notice all the good things that present themselves in the pages of the Ivy Leaves would extend this article much beyond the ordinary length. But would the reader form his own opinion of the book in question would he have his own opinions upon its ability and meritorious productions, let him give the work a fair perusal, and we venture to affirm he will be amply repaid. REV. DOCTOR BEARD. IF we cannot agree with the Unitarian pastors in a doctrinal point of view, or consider them as the most eligible teachers of the truths of the New Testament, there is, at all events, one striking feature about them, as men who enlist our warmest admiration and enthu- siastic applause ; we allude to their kindly benevolence, invariable charity, and unimpeachable Catholicism of sentiment and feeling. In this respect they stand faultless. Few bodies have earned for themselves a firmer reputation in this point of view than the Unita- rians. They are warm-hearted, open-minded, compassionate men ; and if they do not preach the entire doctrines of the Master, one thing is quite certain, they practice his precepts in a very compre- hensive degree. For works of charity, love, peace, and good-will, we back the Unitarians against any other denomination in the com- munity. What they say, they mean and do, and that with no vaunting display or meretricious garnish. Doctor Beard is one of this class ; and if we may take the testimony of men of every shade of religious opinion in Manchester, we apprehend we shall be doing no man any injustice by placing him among the foremost. Taken in his ministerial character, he never appears to show the least vindictive feeling against any sect, unless circumstances of a very urgent character call out his powers of controversy, and then he takes the position more of a generous friend than of the fierce and vehement antagonist. Doctor Beard is essentially and emphatically a good man. He has sympathy for all a heart for the failings of every one and a mind ready to guide and restore every stray step that may cross his path. This Catholicism of feeling forms one of 14 LANCASHIRE ATTTHOR9 AND ORATORS. the most prominent features in the reverend doctor before us. It is not to be mistaken, for Sabbath or week-day, in the pulpit or out of the pulpit, the same benevolence of heart, the same genial spirit, the same open mind, the same universality of sentiment and emo- tion, is manifested in his intercourse with all around him. "VVe should not pay this tribute did we not conceive it to be just ; but since it is merited, and that in the fullest degree, it affords us infinite pleasure to record it here. Doctor Beard is the esteemed pastor of the Unitarian chapel, near Strangeways, Manchester. It is a tolerably neat and commodious edifice, capable, we should imagine, of accommodating about eight hundred or a thousand persons. The doctor appears to have a very good congregation, the members of which, in common with most Unitarian assemblies, appear to be of a highly-respectable and somewhat influential character. A large school is attached to the chapel; and from the devotedness of the doctor himself to its interests, and the excellent manner in which it is conducted, it may be ranked among the most useful of its class in Manchester. We need scarcely say that the doctor's congregation is particularly attached to him, or that his sermons secure all the closeness of attention they so well deserve. He is one worthy of the highest respect and deepest devotedness of those within his care ; and we are led to believe he has it in no ordinary degree. Before we notice the doctor's capacities as a preacher, we must just say a word in reference to his extempore prayers. They are some of the finest we ever heard from any pulpit of the same denomination. They are terse and elegant in style, profound and earnest in feeling, and emphatic and dignified in expression. There is a calmness and fervent vein of emotion infused into these solemn appeals, that cannot fail to arrive at your deepest sympathies of reverence and awe. You often feel thrilled with their intensity of expression and deep fervency of appeal, and the profoundly serious tones in which they are uttered, add very materially to their power- ful and absorbing influences. They are exalted and exalting. His prayers generally occupy about a quarter of an hour in delivery. In the way of preaching, the doctor has the peculiar essay-like method of treating his text that is mostly identified with the Unitarian manner of scripture exposition. He gives you more of the moral view of his text than what we should call the doctrinal. He brings REV. DOCTOR BEARD. 15 before your attention more of the excellencies of his theme in a certain refined intellectual point of view, than through the media of biblical illustrations or gospel revelation. In a word, every dis- course we have heard from Doctor Beard, we should call a refined and elaborate essay an intellectual treatise of whatever he may have selected for the occupation of his thoughts. This, however, let it be remembered, is our opinion, and we express it advisedly ; we only entertain it upon the grounds we have just stated a disagree- ment with the tenets set forth ; as a matter of course, Doctor Beard's congregation, and the congregation of every other Unitarian minister, may deem it the true and proper line of treatment, and, in so far as they are concerned, we bow to their decision. In the general arrangement of his discourse, the doctor is tolerably clear, although, at times, slightly unconnected. There is no question about his mind being of a somewhat philosophic and speculative nature, and his discourses, for the most part, bear the impress of thoughts and ideas, particularly striking for their depth and solidity. He generally opens his discourse with some apt observations, which are characterised by no mean amount of observation and depth of insight into human character. He occasionally commences with some analogy drawn from objects in the material world * a flower, a tree, a field, a stone, a stream or bubbling brook, and other objects in the visible world, frequently affording him material for enforcing some beautiful precept or axiom. We have often thought that some of these illustrations, and the manner in which they are worked out, form some of the best features of the doctor's discourse. In fact, throughout his exposition, he appears to draw upon these resources with more abundance than upon any other. We never heard him illustrate much from Scripture, and, beyond the mere citation of his text, rarely quotes any passages in substantiation of what he may urge before his hearer's attention. Not, however, but that he is a good biblical scholar and theologian ; on the other hand, we should think he stands unrivalled by any of the same denomination in this locality. As a controversialist, we should say he is sound and judicious ; and his logical powers are of no ordinary character. The doctor preaches from a written discourse, but raises his eyes from his paper repeatedly. As literary compositions, his discourses are evidently prepared with considerable discrimination and care. They are slightly florid in style, although they betray little or no aping 16 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. after effect. He delivers his sermon in slow and measured cadences, the tones of his voice being somewhat monotonous, but rather good in compass and tolerably audible. He uses little of gesture, with the exception of an occasional slight elevation of the right hand, and sometimes the left. He usually occupies about three quarters of an hour in the delivery of his discourse. His closing efforts are frequently warm, energetic, and deeply impressive. Among the authors identified with Lancashire, either by birth or station, Doctor Beard may be placed among the very foremost on the list. It may not be generally known that many standard works of a theological character that are now popularly received and read, proceed from the able pen of the doctor before us. In the first place, we have that really-masterly production the People's Dic- tionary of the Bible, which, we are sure, is a boon conferred upon society for which we cannot be too grateful. The work is too popularly known to require any comment from us, and we suffice it by saying, that it has already arrived at a second edition, and is unquestionably one of the most valuable of its kind that has ever emanated from the British press. Another work, entitled the Library of Christian Literature, has been well received by a great number of readers of all shades of opinion. Unitarianism Exhibited, in one goodly volume, and Illustrations of the Trinity, in another, are masterly specimens of his powers as a controversialist. Then we have his Voices of the Church, a work that any really-smows Christian will receive no damage by reading and thoroughly investigating its whole contents. Again, he has presented a large Collection of Sermons, in which is manifested all the elegance of diction, vigour of thought, and solidity of matter to which we have just alluded. The doctor has likewise published a very valuable Biblical Atlas, the excellence of which, especially in schools and colleges, will be manifest in the fullest degree. Latin made Easy, another standard production, proceeds from the same fertile pen ; and when you enter the doctor's chapel you find the contents of the Hymn-books to be collected and arranged by the same laborious hand. We believe, too, the doctor has another work in the press, or preparing for it, entitled Illustrations of the Divine m Christianity, comprehending a series of some thirty or forty lectures. From the contemplation of this extensive list, it will be evident that the life and energies of Doctor Beard have been devoted to no ordinary end ; and we are SAMUEL BAMFORD. 17 sure that those acquainted with these productions will agree with us in saying they all bear the impress of a fine mind and a cultivated far-seeing judgment. There is something extremely mild and unassuming in the doctor's outward man. He invariably wears a cheerful and benevolent cast of features, and the good man is imprinted on every lineament of his pleasant physiognomy. In stature, he is somewhat below the middle height, and possesses a rather portly frame. The conformation of his face his round, and his complexion is broAvn, especially round the eyes. He possesses a head of ample dimensions, the fore-part being full and lofty. He is rather bald on the top of his head, and a little grey hair is brushed up with some care on the sides. He has a pair of small sparkling eyes, and his mouth is small and somewhat feminine. To all appearance the doctor is on the shady side of fifty years. He has been an Unitarian preacher for a long period, besides conducting his academy at Stony Knolls. We may here just briefly say that Doctor Beard figures to no mean advantage on the platform, especially if the object be the pro- motion of some social progress. He has not taken a very prominent position in the politics of Manchester, but on any wide question, has generally been found on the side of civil and religious liberty. He formed one of the Anti-corn-Law Conference in Manchester, and was an efficient, and frequently an eloquent advocate of the claims of Free Trade. He is an anti-war, anti-slavery, and anti-capital punishment man to the back-bone. He is likewise a lecturer of no ordinary capacities, and has occasionally delivered lectures in the Literary Institutions of Manchester and other towns. We perceive he has just published a letter to the Rev. Richard Fletcher in answer to that reverend gentleman's attack on Unitarianism. It is written in a very calm style, and treats the question most ably. SAMUEL BAMFORD. As soon as we completed our perusal of that pleasant and interesting book of Passages in the Life of a Radical, we determined to see and 18 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. hold a little converse with its author. We had scarcely ever en- countered before a more simple and entertaining production ; such an exciting episode of the days of Hunt and Cobbett put in so terse a style and related with so much genuine feeling. We longed to see the friend and coadjutor of good old Major Cartwright ; the one who had fought long and hard for reforms which he has now the gratifica- tion of beholding impressed on the page of history ; the man who had been incarcerated for entertaining and expounding views, which, thanks be to the march of progress and education in our land, no one now scarcely dare dispute or deny. With a note of introduction from a friend, one fine Summer's afternoon, we made a pilgrimage to Blakley, where, surrounded by smiling fields and Nature's charms in every shade and form, is situated the unpretending residence of the warm-hearted Samuel Bamford. In a few minutes he joined us, and we were well pleased with his personal appearance, as it was the very prototype of what we had imagined. Bamford has been a well formed and somewhat handsome man in his younger days, and though now at the advanced age of some sixty years, still retains a tall, erect, and commanding figure, and a healthy glow upon his cheek. His eye is particularly striking, perhaps more so than any other feature about him ; at every word he utters it twinkles with such lustre that almost draws your attention from what is falling from his lips. His forehead affords no very striking phrenological demonstra- tion, being neither particularly lofty or capacious, nor affording any extraordinary intellectual developments. His manners are kind and agreeable, and in company he is evidently of a cheerful and com- municative disposition. His mode of expressing himself is quick and sententious, and you would almost imagine his expressions hasty, although they are generally marked with much forethought and pointedness. Our conversation, during a pleasant ramble of some two hours' duration, turned on a variety of topics literary, social, and political ; in all of which he developed that same keen perception and truthfulness of expression which constitutes so admirable a feature in his productions. Mr. Bamford is evidently no great admirer of O'Connor, or the course he is pursuing. He seemed to think that all political regenerations in this country must be wrought by the people themselves, by peaceful and intelligent means. He spoke in the highest terms of Cobden and Free Trade; and denounced Irish landlords and Irish demagogues in a severe tone. In speaking SAMUEL BAMFORD. "' 19 of the Manchester newspaper press he considered it, with the exception of the Examiner, somewhat incomplete, although he regarded Archibald Prentice of the Times as a shrewd and clever man, worthy of more substantial respect from the public than he receives. He expressed his estimation of Thomas Carlyle as being one of the greatest authors of the age, although he confessed his incapacity to understand him before he had perused him twice. Among his books we saw a copy of Hero and Hero- Worship and Past and Present, presented by the author to our friend. Carlyle, in fact, seems to possess a high opinion of Bamford, and always, when in this quarter, pays him a visit. After much pleasant interchange of sentiment wherein we discussed every imaginable thing we could think about, we parted from Bamford, highly gratified with a couple of hours spent in converse with so agreeable a companion. The powers exercised by the subject of this sketch as a prose - author are probably as excellent as those of any author in Lancashire, either past or present. In fact, we question whether there be another more genuine writer in the literature of our land. Whatever he feels, whether it be right or wrong, whatever he thinks, whether it be logical or fallacious, is enunciated in the clearest and most unmistakeable manner. Take as an instance the incident related in his Passages of having "Seen the Wind" during his journey through Derbyshire. Bamford, if we remember aright, tells his wife that he "sees the wind;" of course she " couldn't see the wind," and questions the capacity of his visual organ; however, Bamford adheres to his original opinion, and still asserts that he " saw the wind." Whatever his impressions, he always enunciates them with a force and vigour that immediately identifies them as pure, un- restrained, and truthful. Without the shadow of a doubt you may depend upon all he writes as the veritable reflex of what he thinks and feels. Impressions thus given have a double charm with the reader, first, because they are evidently full of genuine truth, and next, because they flow forth in expressions that, by their very truthfulness, are rendered clear and comprehensive. Moreover, he is always entertaining ; never allowing the thread of his topic to flag into morbid sentiment or incongruous detail. He does not beat the bushes for quaint ideas or out-of-the-way incidents, but always adheres to the direct influences of his own mind, and gives free vent to the unsophisticated sentiments of his own cogitations and emotions. 20 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATOKS. That highly-entertaining book of Passages in the Life of a Radical, than which there is none more pure and unstudied in the English tongue, is a trite specimen of Bamford's happy style of writing. Take him wherever you will, you always encounter the man of quick penetration, and no common amount of information and experience, holding forth in an easy, lucid, and comprehensive expression : bringing himself before you in such a conversational style, that you would almost imagine the Radical stood in living-flesh before you, holding quiet converse about the noisy scenes through which he had passed. Whatever may be urged against Major Cartwright's political opinions, his character, as depicted by Barn- ford in the Passages, is one that commands our highest respect and warmest admiration. In fact, we regard the portraiture of the Major as the best-handled part of the book. Bamford has put him forth under so many trying circumstances, in so many perils of the then perilous political horizon, in such a warm-hearted, good- natured, plain-sailing, honest sort of an agitator, that not even a Newcastle or Castlereagh could contemplate him without expressing their admiration of so estimable a character. We love your good old Radicals, and Bamford among the rest, who fought for and by principle, who contended, not for mere contention's sake, or Cuffey- demagogue notoriety, but for an end ; an end to be attained by sober means and temperate moral action. This course of action is well exemplified in the life of Bamford, and every movement he relates, either of himself or others, expounds the truth of their zeal, and the sincerity of their efforts in the cause in which they so nobly figured. All, too, is told in that simple Saxon way of talking and thinking which always charms the ear of a reader who studies and notes well the spirit and purpose of his author. Your conscience dare not deny one of his relations, because they flow one after the other with such truth and simplicity. He centres your attention upon him, because he presents himself free from all conventionalisms or studied arts. There is a nerve and boldness in his pen that distinguishes itself from all those mawkish attempts at quaintness or originality. He has, we are led to believe, much of the essence of Carlyle, although, thanks to the absence of all Germanisms and Kant idealities, conveyed in none of those excruciating sentences which characterise the great Scotch philosopher and essayist. A little book, entitled Walks in South Lancashire, is another ex- SAMUEL BAMFORD, 21 cellent specimen of the author's purity of style, keenness of observation, and truth of relation. In some of the descriptions there is much grace and beauty, while the more tangible results of his Walks, in examin- ing the intellectual and social condition of those whom he encountered, are conveyed with particular fidelity. An interesting story called " The Stranger," which is carried through every intermediate chapter, forms an agreeable interlopation. The conclusion of it, however, is somewhat ambiguous, but mentioning this circumstance to the author, he gave us to understand that a sequel would appear in a forthcoming volume. In some parts of this book Mr. Bamford develops an eloquent line of sentiment which is quite refreshing after perusing the prosy facts that form the prime feature and objects of the Walks. His descriptions of the scenery about Oldham, Stalybridge, Saddleworth, &c. are animated and truthful. In fact, he has here demonstrated that he neither lacks a poet's heart or a painter's hand. The impressions he gives of those whom he en- countered, appear to us, for the most part, to be faithful portraitures of the real state of the generality of the poorer classes in our country manufacturing districts. But we may always rely upon his statements as veracious, for, however much he may sympathise, or however much he may deprecate the means that vitiate and impoverish the lower orders, still he never allows either his sympathy or animosity to exaggerate a plain statement of facts. In estimating Mr. Bamford' s poetical capacities, we cannot award him so much of the praise that he claims so justly as a prose-writer. Although Jt many passages of his prose productions are in reality truly poetical, yet the author, in the book of Poems he has presented to the public, does not appear to possess that beauty of expression and thorough poetry of feeling which distinguish^ the works of his friends and contemporaries, Prince, Rogerson, and Swain. There is, nevertheless, a boldness and freedom in many of the pieces, that renders them well worthy of perusal, and from which we can scarcely rise without experiencing some amount of pleasure, and awarding their author some degree of approbation. We think Bamford excels in the Ballad style of poetry more than in any other department to which he has applied himself. Two or three vigorous performances of this character that occur in the Poems are deserving of high commendation. They possess, in common with all his other remarkable productions, a boldness of design and freedom of 22 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. expression, that is sure to attract and win the hearty plaudits of his reader. Perhaps, however, the most poetical piece in the book is that on his daughter ; who appears to have been the very idol of his heart. And in connection with this poetical piece we may name the rearing of that truly-poetical temple over her remains in Middleton church-yard, beautifully called the " Grave of Love." This is, to all intents, a poetic action, to which he has exquisitely referred " O'er that lone ground the grass doth flourish fair, And sweeter flowers perfume her grave than marble tombs may rear ; And surely doth the nameless dust receive the noblest dower, For man, vain man, erects the tomb, but God bequeaths the flower." The mute eloquence that Bamford has infused into his daughter's " Grave of Love" is one of the purest poetical efforts ever accomplished. REV. JOHN BIRT. WHEREVER Mr. Birt is located, we shall find no ordinary man ; and one, in his peculiar bent of intellect, fully qualified to take rank among men of the most refined mind and enlarged understanding. In Oldham, we consider him, to a great extent, scarcely holding that position in society to which he lays so just a claim, although he is not without his numerous friends and admirers men who are really capable of appreciating his merits by a due and proper standard. We should, however, like to see him enjoy a more wide-spread popularity ; we should like to see his abilities more generally known, and the influences of his sagacious mind more widely acknowledged. We feel a thorough aversion to the system of allowing these men of sound ability to be buried in some locality, where they have no opportunity of exercising their talents to their due extent. We would have them enjoy their proper reputation, exercise their legiti- mate influences, and give scope to their abilities in the most enlarged sense. Let every man have, not only his due mete of praise, but his due mete of facilities to dispose of the capacities with which Nature has endowed him. Hence we consider Manchester or Liverpool a far more eligible field for such a man as Mr. Birt, REV. JOHN BIET. 23 than the town with which he is now identified. We should feel sorry to deny his usefulness in his present sphere of labour, but we feel assured that his utility would be considerably increased, were he placed in a locality whose people were better able to appreciate his various excellencies. But all this in parenthesis. Mr. Birt is a man whom we shall not meet in every town in Lancashire. There is a character about him that is anything but ordinary or common- place. He presents a species of genius that we shall only find here and there filling modern pulpits ; and it is upon those grounds mainly that we introduce him before the reader's attention. In the pulpit, Mr. Birt certainly exercises his mind more than his tongue. He is profound, penetrating, philosophic, speculative. He addresses himself to the reason, not to the passions. He seeks Truth in its nakedness, presents it in its nakedness, never encum- bering it with any meretricious garb or useless appendage. He considers it beneath his dignity to waste your time with idle talk or mere empty verbiage to bring you before his presence to tell you mere words, and send you away with the impression that you have heard profound wisdom. Mr. Birt's line of action is for giving you things according to their true value, and nothing beyond it. He sets his face against all " shams " of Truth ; he opposes all super- ficial cant of Truth, he will not have the mind bamboozled with mere make-believes, nor lead astray with noisy brayings or trumpery twaddle. He brings before your attention something really worth it, something that needs no empty display to give it a character, nor any noisy trumpetings to afford it a name. Whenever you hear a sermon from him you are always sure of one thing solid truth. If there is a truth or a series of truths to be extracted from any passage in the bible, then you may rest satisfied that Mr. Birt will not remain content till he has brought them fully before your notice. This is the prime characteristic of his preaching, and it is one we never saw more thoroughly developed. He is, moreover, very sharp in the practice, and pounces upon his object with the most perfect ease imaginable. He goes straight to it, picks it up, shows it to you, tells you what it is, describes its various parts and character- istics, and then he has done with it without any further comment or illustration. In short, he is a solid and profound preacher, and those who can sit under his ministry, and not feel solidly improved, must be in a condition of the most unenviable torpor and stolid darkness, 24 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. In the general arrangement of his discourse, he shows himself to be a man of great powers in making his hearers fully and clearly understand the nature of his text. He points out his course of inquiry with much perspicuity, and all his succeeding divisions and sub-divisions are made with the same ease and transparency. He usually divides and announces his "heads" at the conclusion of his exordium, the latter generally occupying some five or six minutes. His introductory observations are calm and measured, sometimes relating to the purely scriptural character of his text, followed by an exhortation to his hearers to give the matter their earnest thoughts and attention. He manifests, throughout his sermon, considerable powers of concentration upon his theme, and we never heard him wander, or become unconnected. He invariably places everything in its proper place, and never allows the most luminous idea or glowing sentiment to divert his attention from the immediate object of his examination. With the scriptures he appears to possess unlimited intercourse, and quotes passages with considerable ease and fluency. He seems to be no mean theologian, and we should certainly assign him an elevated position as a logician. In his application, he occasionally indulges in some apt and striking analogies, and, what with his weighty remarks, and quick, penetrat- ing insight into human nature, is particularly capable of putting his subject in its most impressive aspect before his hearer's mind. Mr. Birt uses some few notes, but the most part of his sermon appears to be extempore. He usually preaches about three quarters of an hour. His manner in the pulpit is anything but animated, seeing that he rarely uses any gestures, but leans for some length of time on the bible before him. His language is strong and energetic, and his sentences are more distinguished for strength and solidity than for brilliancy or elegance of diction. He possesses a voice of tolerable compass, both deep and clear, but slightly monotonous in its tones. Mr. Birt almost lays claim to the same warm eulogiums as an author as he does as a preacher. We just slightly notice his doings in the department of Literature. So long back as 1823, he brought out a volume entitled A Summary of the Principles and History of Papacy. The work consists of a series of five somewhat lengthy lectures delivered, we believe, in York-street Chapel, Manchester, of which, at that time, the reverend gentleman was pastor. It manifests considerable intimacy with ecclesiastical history, and is beyond all UEV. CHARLES M. B1KRILL. 25 doubt a masterly production. In fact " Birt on Popery " has become a somewhat standard work, and we have heard the worthy author often quoted at length by some of our more modern opponents to the papal system. To show how high it stood we need but quote a passage from the Ekctic Review, written by the greatest man of his generation Robert Hall. "It is distinguished," he says "for precision and comprehension of thought, energy of diction, and the most enlarged and enlightened principles of civil and religious freedom ; nor should we find it easy to find a publication which contains, within the same compass, so much information on the subject which it professes to treat." Mr. Birt has likewise given the world another very interesting work entitled Patristic Evenings. This is composed of conversations, OR various themes connected with Religion, Science, &c. ; all of which are handled in a thorough masterly style. He has likewise published sundry sermons and lec- tures; and altogether his claims to authorship bear no ordinary stamp. We believe Mr. Birt was born at Swansea, but in what year, we are not in a position to say. His father was a minister, and is said to have been a man of polished mind and some literary attainments. It will be near thirty years since he first came to Manchester from Hull. He -was ordained the pastor of York-street chapel at that period, and continued so till 1841, when some slight dissensions having arisen in church matters, he became the pastor of his present ^chapel in Gldham. In person, Mr. Birt presents nothing command- ing or prepossessing. He is small in stature, and tolerably well proportioned in bodily mien. His head is somewhat intellectually formed, and his forehead well developed. He has a little iron grey hair, and possesses a pair of short grey whiskers. His face is angular in formation, and there is a Kttle brownness in his com- plexion. His eyes are rather heavy, and his nose thick and prominent. In years, we should say, he is on the shady side of sixty, but he appears to enjoy a pretty healthy constitution. REV. CHARLES M. BIRRELL. To the great amount of pulpit ability generally found in Liverpool, the Baptist denomination contributes no ordinary quota. Some two x 26 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. or three, indeed, of the denomination in that town forming, we are disposed to think, some of the most prominent men identified with this section of Christians in any part of the kingdom. The name of Charles M.Birrell is, at all events, a host in itself, both as standing foremost in the denomination with which he is connected, and as maintaining a high position in comparison with the other divines in the important town in which he is stationed. And yet this position of Mr. Birrell's is not owing to any astounding exhibition in the way of fervid eloquence, oratorical display, or brilliant flourishes of rhetoric. The influence he exercises upon his hearers is far more to be attributed to the soundness of his discourse, than to any excur- sions of the fancy or poetical soarings of the imagination. Popular orators, both in the pulpit and out of it, generally owe a good portion of their popularity more to their fervour and eloquence of appeal- their fervency of imagination and brilliancy of style than to depth of thought or profundity of exposition. Mr. Birrell, however, lays his claims upon the operation of a less showy course of action. What popularity he possesses, and it is no mean one, is acquired far differently to the manner with which such men as Doctor McNeile or Raffles gain theirs. Mr. Birrell has acquired it by the ability manifested in his expositions by the soundness of his views, the weight of his judgment, and the clear, calm, and comprehensive mind that he ever displays in the treatment of whatever he takes in hand. And a man must be endowed in no ordinary degree with this species of intellect to gain much popularity. You may decry show, display, florid styles, warmth of imagination, and so forth, as in- compatible with the true vocation of the preacher, but the masses will have it, if it lies within their reach ; they will give it a decided preference ; and unless a man possesses some other extraordinary forte as its substitution, he will only be accounted, according to popular notions, a mediocre preacher. We are led to imagine it is this characteristic of sound judgment and profundity of exposition, identified with the discourses of Mr. Birrell, that places him in the position we have just indicated. Another feature in Mr. Birrell, that, we think, contributes to his popularity to a great extent, is the warm interest he evinces in, and the deep and earnest attention he bestows upon, those committed to his pastoral care. In this charac- ter, no man will be found more calculated to win the esteem and good words of those by whom he is surrounded. His industry and REV. CHARLES M. BIRRELL. 27 zeal in this department would alone entitle him to the popularity he possessed, for no man evinces this feeling in a more enlarged sense. We need scarcely add to this, that the reverend gentleman draws a large and numerous congregation to his spacious chapel in Pembroke- place. We have found few who have not commented upon his character and abilities in a very high strain, and we feel assured that the high estimation in which he is held by those who are in the habit of attending his ministrations, springs from nothing but a just and proper appreciation of a talented preacher. In Mr. Birrell's personal appearance, you have nothing particularly striking or prepossessing. His features, for the most part, present a mild yet thoughtful aspect, and even when arrayed in the gown and bands, he presents more of the quiet and contemplative layman, than of the popular preacher. He appears to be tolerably well- made in bodily form, his figure being rather slender and slightly above the middle height. There is something angular about the conformation of his face ; and his complexion is somewhat brown, with a slight degree of ruddiness on his cheek. His head is well- moulded, not very massive in dimensions, but rather striking for intellectual developments. You do not see much of his brow, for his dark hair is arranged over a portion of it, and thus conceals the full development of his intellectual forehead, His large eyes, of a dark hue, are full of expression, forming, we think, the best feature about his face. His mouth is small and rather effeminate, but his nose is large and prominent. A profile likeness of Mr. Birrell's face could scarcely fail being correct, for it is so formed that no experienced limner would miss any of its lineaments. At a rough guess, we should say he is about forty years of age, and he appears to enjoy a tolerably sound constitution. To form a correct opinion of Mr. Birrell's powers as a preacher, and to enter into a full appreciation of his abilities, it is highly desirable that you should hear him frequently. From what we have heard him deliver, he appears to be rather unequal, and does not display the same searching intellect upon some occasions as he does upon others. Whether this arises from any temporary mental or physical depression, we cannot say, but certain it is we have heard him at one period rise far superior in the investigation of his theme than he has done at the next. Upon those occasions, however, when he does pour forth the riches of his mind when he 28 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. does manifest his peculiar philosophical bent of intellect his dis- course is at once powerful in treatment and deeply impressive in influence. Mr. Birrell's sermons invariably improve upon acquaint- ance with the style and manner of the preacher. We do not think a first or second hearing would give you anything like a just appreciation of his abilities, nor either would a third or fourth, unless you gave him your most earnest attention. When you are once initiated in his style when you can prepare yourself to follow him entirely through his discourse, then will you acknowledge him to be a somewhat extraordinary man in the pulpit. In this respect, he reminds us very forcibly of one of his brethren of the same denomi- nation, the late Kev. Mr. Evans, of London. Mr. Evans was a man of profound mind, of cogent reasoning, of much depth of thought and penetrating investigation, but to appreciate all these qualities to the extent they deserved, you must have given him a close and earnest attention in the delivery of his discourse, and be, moreover, well ac- quainted with his style of treatment. This we apprehend to be pre- cisely the case with Mr. Birrell, and if we judge aright, it is only those who habitually attend the ministrations of the reverend gentleman, in his own place of worship, who can form a just estimate of the extent of his abilities. We have often, too, thought that Mr. Birrell's sermons would be found more powerful in print than they are in oral delivery. Not that they are badly delivered, or lack a perspicuity of arrangement, but for the reason they sometimes manifest an intricacy of profound logic, that does not strike you so powerfully in oral delivery as it would in a calm and attentive perusal in print. Mr Birrell's introductory observations rarely partake of much length, being principally confined to a few general though pointed remarks upon the nature and bearing of his text. His observations here, and we may say throughout his discourse, are of a sententious and pithy character, and often manifest great strength of judgment and clearness of conception. He rarely, however, occupies more than two or three minutes in this department but that short period is often employed in the delivery of some truly great ideas expressed in a style at once striking and powerful. In his arrangement, he is mostly perspicious and comprehensive, and usually divides his subject under two or three heads, which seem to treat his theme under his most enlarged aspect. In his illustration, you do not probably arrive at his greatness so much in the com- REV. CHARLES M. BIRRELL. 29 mencement, as you do towards the middle and the close. He is not so clear or comprehensive in the opening passages of his expo- sition, nor so fruitful with philosophical investigation, as he is in several succeeding portions. His expositions, for the most part, betray considerable logical skill, and we should, in fact, feel justified in saying, that reasoning pure, good, sound reasoning predomi- nates in his discourses generally. Mr. Birrell lays down his premises, and draws his inferences, in the most masterly style, and few are the arguments he brings before you that do not manifest the closest reasoning and most approved logical bearing and treatment. We have certainly heard many men who were more weighty and powerful in this respect, but in clearly enforcing their reasons in rendering their arguments to "tell" upon the minds of their hearers in a comprehensive and enlarged sense, we have encountered few, if any, who rise superior to the reverend gentleman before us. There is a lucid manner of treatment about Mr. Birrell' s arguments that must find its way into the recesses of the most opaque mind. Again, he goes through his arguments thoroughly, he investigates, or would appear to do so, all; he never presents you with some shallow piece of sophistry in a dress to make you believe it profound philosophy and erudition. He seems to be intent upon rendering his position perfectly sound, by the soundest means, and the soundest treatment. In order to render his exposition the more comprehensive, he sometimes deals a little in analogy, which is remarkable for consonance with the position he is taking; and pointedness to the truths he is enforcing. Occasionally he cites a passage from some striking passages in ancient history, with which he seems to be well acquainted. He likewise frequently quotes scriptural passages in furtherance of the views he is expounding, which he does with considerable ease and aptness. He rarely indulges in many tropes or figures, and only now and then ascends into the higher regions of eloquence. In his application, he dilates with powerful ability upon the lessons enforced in his text, and frequently indulges in the interrogatory line of application. Mr. Birrell's manner in the pulpit is essentially calm and contemplative, and he rarely betrays much animation from the beginning to the end of his discourse. He uses a sheet of somewhat lengthy notes, but does not apply to them often. His gesture is neither animated nor varied, for his principal position is with both hands resting on the side of the pulpit. He possesses 30 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. a voice of tolerable compass, although somewhat thin in its intona- tions. He is a very slow and measured speaker, and at the conclusion of a sentence sometimes makes a sudden drop of his voice. His discourses usually occupy about forty minutes. REV. ALFRED BARRETT. THE mere fact of Mr. Barrett being one of the principal preachers of the Manchester Oxford Road Circuit, is sufficient in itself to render him an object of notice, and is certainly a good guarantee of his high rank as a preacher. We say this, seeing that the circuit in question is one of the most influential in the connexion, both in its numbers and wealth, and consequently commands, generally speaking, three of the best preachers the Conference can furnish. We say this from experience, and not from the evidence of " Fly- Sheets," or any other document. We have always found it so since the circuit has been formed, and we feel assured that it is upon account of the wealth and influence exercised by its members that renders it so. The chapel itself, which is the principal in the circuit, is a handsome and very commodious building, calculated, we should say, of accommodating not much under two thousand people. Of course, it is attended by most of the elite of the Methodist body in Manchester, and always presents an imposing appearance when well filled, which it usually is at most of the services. Upon Mr. Jobson's removal from this circuit to London, the gentleman whose name is before us was selected as his successor ; and decidedly with much taste and discrimination, for if there is a man worthy of ministering to an intelligent and well-educated Methodist congrega- tion, it is Alfred Barrett. As we have had occasion to notice in these articles, it is only certain preachers who are calculated to appear before certain Methodist congregations, and where such a preacher as Mr. Barrett would be at a comparative discount with some description of hearers, he holds his proper position, exercises his legitimate influence, and is duly appreciated where he is now stationed. REV. ALFRED BARRETT. 31 To describe the qualities of Alfred Barrett's mind, is to describe one possessed of much that is highly polished, refined, and expansive. He is eminently thoughtful, and particularly chaste and elegant in everything he brings before your attention. In many of our Methodist preachers, we have much of the " rough diamond" character an energy and fire without a sufficiency of refinement and eloquence to give it finish or render it impressive. The reverse is the case with Mr. Barrett, for he speaks from a mind that has clearly been well cultivated, and that is keenly sensible to all the beauties and excellencies of a refined taste and nice discrimination. In his sermons or writings, in his public or private capacity, the same distinguishing characteristics are uppermost. Refinement, grace, and polish, are features in the mental characteristics of Mr. Barrett's mind that are sure to attract your attention, in whatever capacity you may meet him. In his extempore prayers, there is a beauty of construction and elegance of sentiment, such as we do not often meet in the Methodist pulpit, save in such instances as John Lomas, George Steward, James Dixon, and one or two others. Then his sermons are all characterised by the same feature, from their commencement to their end. He is never wanting either in arrangement of ideas or construction of sentences, for they flow on, one after the other, with an ease and clearness, that indicates a mind thoroughly conversant with the theme he is bringing before you. In all his efforts, we have the same characteristics developed. Not, however, that mere refinement of matter or polish of style forms the sum and substance of his discourses ; on the other hand, they are equally characterised by illustrations of a very comprehensive character and biblical knowledge of a somewhat extensive scope. From this it may be safely inferred that Mr. Barrett's powers as a preacher stand far above mediocrity, and that he is held in high estimation by those among whom he labours. For the first five or ten minutes of his sermon you do not detect much of an attractive character. His introductory remarks are clear and apposite, and his arrangement is made with much perspicuity of detail and outline. Rather than betraying any excellent qualities at the commencement, he often appears awkward and loose, and sometimes at a loss to convey his meaning. Now he makes a somewhat lengthy pause ; now he speeds rapidly ; and then he begins his sermon in a thorough masterly style. He appears now perfectly collected, and gives vent 52 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. to the resources of his capacious mind with a breadth and copiousness that forms an agreeable disappointment to the first impressions he may have made upon you. He divides and sub-divides with con- siderable clearness and propriety ; and when he proceeds with his illustrations manifests all those fine discriminating powers of taste and judgment to which we have hitherto alluded. His illustrations, although partaking of the wonted Methodist style of exposition, are as compact and concise as the most fastidious hearer could wish. In a slow and measured tone of voice, he expresses a series of fine and well-digested sentiments, such as exhibit a maturity of thought and fruitfulness of ideas at once beautiful and impressive. In giving a lucid and comprehensive explanation of any particular passage in his text, Mr. Barrett excels. Some time since we remember him par- ticularly fine in this department. His text was the passage from the Romans beginning " There is therefore now no condensation," &c. His exposition of the word " condemnation," as implied by the Apostle was replete with meaning and comprehensive instruc- tion, and developed the great amount of thought and reflectn that had been thrown upon it. In entering into the merits of the questions he may bring before his hearers, he shows much depth, and investigates and weighs over every point with a deal of force and decision. At times he is somewhat figurative and poetical, and gives birth to some beautifully-glowing analogies, that are at once appropriate and consistent. At the conclusion of a division he swells out with a burst of genuine eloquence a burst of language and ideas really deserving the name of eloquence in its strictest sense. There is a good deal of firmness and decision in the character of his views, for he seems to build them all upon the most solid ground of sense and reason. He appears to possess a good degree of scriptural knowledge, which he now and then calls into aid in illustrating his views with much force and pertinence. His powers as a theologian and logician are very respectable, although, of the two, he has more grace and style, than theology or logic. Mr. Barrett is not so warm and boisterous in his applications as the generality of his brethren, although he is always fervid and im- pressive. He usually makes use of some felicitous and happy applications, and seems somewhat attached to the interrogatory form of enforcing his lessons. These are generally presented in a quiet, easy manner, although towards the conclusion of his discourse, RET. ALFRED BARRETT. 33 he becomes animated in his tones, and delivers himself with consider- able rapidity. Both in the pulpit and on the platform, Mr. Barrett is never very animated in his manner or gesture ; on the other hand, he is rather drowsy and dull. At times, however, he moves out of his accustomed sphere, and in delivering any very emphatic sentiment, he moves his whole body up and down, and raises his voice to a perfectly unusual height. A slight elevation of his right and left arm forms his principal action. His voice is thin, and at the commencement of his discourse he is not over audible in every part of the building in which he speaks. He preaches an extempore sermon, which always bears, in style and language, the impress of much study and application. The diction of his sermons is invariably refined and varied, and his sentences are well constructed. He usually preaches about fifty minutes. Mr. Barrett is likewise a platform orator of considerable gift, and in the advocacy of the Missionary cause, we have found him a superior speaker. Upon these occasions he has much scope for his refined and elegant style of eloquence, and his speeches are received with the warmest manifestations of applause. We understand Mr. Barrett holds some claims to authorship ; and, if report speaks truly, they are of a high character. We have only seen one little religious work from his pen (" Christ in the Storm"}, which appeared well written. As to his other productions, we can form no opinion, having tried to gain access to them, but with no success. Mr. Barrett is a quiet, studious-looking man, with no pretensions to much personal attraction. He stands about the middle stature, and is not over bulky in form. His features are of a pale contem- plative cast, and indicate intelligence and much benevolence of disposition. He does not present a very prominent forehead, although his head is tolerably well formed, and is covered with a little brown hair, brushed up in the front. His face is of an angular form, and rather thin. We should say he is about forty-three or forty-four years of age. 34 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS, JOHN BRIGHT, M.P. (A Free-Trade Reminiscence.} IT will be now some eight years since we first heard the voice of the eloquent-tongued, warm-hearted, and energetic John Bright. The League at that period was but a comparatively small body, its operations somewhat limited, and its number of registered members nothing in comparison to those who filled its lists in the more recent passages of its history. Hence the adhesion of John Bright to their cause was hailed with no ordinary amount of satisfaction. There was a boldness and straightforward honesty a certain strength of opinion and force of conviction about the Manchester member in embryo, that rendered his powers of unlimited advantage to the great cause he had adopted. Moreover, being a man of abundant wealth and considerable influence among the manufacturing aris- tocracy, his adhesion gave a reputation to the character of this vast organization. In every respect, John Bright was a valuable acqui- sition to the League ; and when we first heard him speak (and we believe it was one of the earliest orations he made in connection with the association,) we were fully impressed that the voice and name of Bright were calculated to effect no common triumphs in furtherance of commercial freedom. The meeting in question was held in the room of Newall's Buildings, the scene of some of the League's most desperate struggles, but, withal, the birthplace of some of its most successful schemes and efforts. The room was comfortably filled, and those present appeared to be warm and earnest disciples in the cause they had met to advance. George Wilson, the indefatigable, clear-headed, and gentlemanly George Wilson, occupied the chair as usual. Around him sat some of the warmest and earliest advocates of Free Trade. There was good old Colonel Thompson, with his quick, penetrating eyes, although benevolent cast of features : there was the warm-hearted, honest, and unsophisticated John Brooks, enjoying the scene with a smile of satisfaction : then close to him sat one who has since departed from the agitated scenes of life the persevering and time-honoured veteran in the cause of Reform Sir Thomas Potter : beside him sat his great friend, that calm, sober, and intelligent man, Robert Hyde Greig : near the latter, with his sharp grey eyes blinking at JOHN BRIGHT, M.P. $5 every sentence made by the speaker of the evening, was seated clever Archibald Prentice : seated in a corner taking things very cool, although highly interested in the proceedings, muffled up in a large drab over-coat, was wealthy and hearty Mark Phillips : at his elbow was to be seen the form of fiery little John Acland, with his friend and brother agitator, the young Irish barrister, Robert R. Moore : then there was cool, calculating Bazley, quick and brilliant William Me. Kerrow, manly and straightforward Robert Gardner, cheerful David Ainsworth, pompous little Watkins, simple-hearted George Royle Chappell : with all the other great and little advocates of the anti-corn-law movement, forming a phalanx of ability, wealth, and influence, rarely congregated in one town to do service in one cause. But the main attraction of the platform notables was the one seated at the chairman's right hand, who was to make a sort of a debut on the evening in question. As yet his name and family had been only reported for enormous wealth and extensive cotton manu- facturers in the town of Rochdale. He was but a comparatively young man, probably numbering not more than thirty-two or three years of age. His appearance was decidedly prepossessing, and we were highly amused at an announcement made the first time he spoke in London by one of the metropolitan journals, the John Bull we believe, who likened the outward man of our subject to that of the "horrible French cut-throat" Robespierre. There was very little of the Robespierre betrayed in the features of the man before us, seeing that the expression of his features denoted anything but a cruel or ferocious disposition. There was something bland and gentle in his demeanour, although there was probably a dash of defiance in some of his expressions that rendered him a little fiercer than when in a state of equanimity. John Bright, for it was the successful League orator to whom we allude, possessed everything in the way of outward appearance; to enlist your interest and atten- tion. His form was decidedly robust, and betrayed a well-knitted frame full of muscular strength, and well-proportioned. In height he was rather above the middle stature, and stood before you in a somewhat commanding attitude, with his chest brought outward, his head thrown a little backward, and his figure in a somewhat erect although easy posture. His face, which was round in form and particularly ruddy in complexion, was lighted up with a gentle 3 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS, though earnest and decisive expression. His forehead, perhaps, did not betray so many marked developments of intellectual resources, as was imprinted upon the brows of his friends, Prentice and Phillips, although it was tolerably lofty and rather intellectually formed. His mouth was small and feminine, with strong indications of refinement and polish. Probably his eyes, of a dark hazel hue and full beaming expression, furnished more striking indications of the mind and temperament of Bright, than any other feature which we could particularize. They sometimes fairly flashed, especially if he happened to be denouncing anything that summoned his ire and rebukes. There was a certain animated fire about his visual organs that rarely failed to tell the tale their owner would convey. His eyes glistened in a truly splendid style, and you could tell from their lustrous hue that they indicated no ordinary mental being. Taking all matters into consideration, there were few orators in the League more calculated to win the attention of their hearers than the pre- sent honourable member of Manchester upon the evening in question ; he was a sort of novelty ; and we may be sure that his fine robust form and all the other attractions we have enumerated in connection with his personal appearance, served to enhance him in no common measure in the good opinions of those around him. But the speaker rose from his seat ; cheers after cheers welcomed the announcement of his name, and as he stood forth with that bold determined air that is generally associated with all the oratorical movements of John Bright, the audience appeared to catch the energetic spirit of their speaker, and testified their warmth by renewed bursts of applause. Moreover, he was comparatively a young speaker, and we believe if there is any audience that is more desirous of encouraging the spirits of a young orator than another, it is an English one. Bright, too, had an advantage ; his name was full of wealth and influence, his features were pleasing and expressive, and his manners betokened an air of strong determination and indomitable perseverance. The applause, however, subsided; the lips of the speaker began to do their office, and a clear ringing voice, of somewhat extraordinary compass and volume, filled the room from one end to the other. He spoke with remarkable ease at the onset, and managed the articulation of his words with no ordinary degree of precision and effect. His prefatory remarks were rather sententious and perhaps a little too studied, although particularly appropriate BRIGHT, M.P, 37 to the object in view. His first two or three sentences were " telling" to a degree, and, before he had reached their completion, were hailed by his hearers with fresh bursts of applause and enthusiastic approbation. This recognition of the justness of his observations appeared to operate pretty considerably upon the orator, for he lost no time in dealing out his introductory, and making a charge into the grosser enormities of the question with which he was deal- ing. Now he seized one of the main points of the discussion; he placed it in its due position, shewed up its nature, produced it in its true and natural colouring, called it by its proper name, traced its effects here, and developed its influences there, demonstrated the baneful effects which attended its operations, and then, with one of those full flowing run of ideas clothed in an array of brilliant and elegant language, closed up his part amid the reiterated cheers of his delighted auditory. Perhaps the main defect in the speech on the occasion before us, was the rather rambling way in which the speaker placed his arguments and illustrations. He appeared to lack one great feature in his oration, and that was in not connecting his ideas in their proper form, and finishing off one point before he began to exercise upon another. In fact, in looking over many speeches that Bright delivered during his connection with the League, we have been made acquainted with fresh evidences of this defect. In the speech he delivered on this occasion, there was brilliance and animation enough to satisfy any man, but it appears to us that the strong feeling which prompted that animation very strongly tended to the disarrangement of his ideas, and the consequent rambling manner with which they were delivered. But his audience was too enraptured with his luminous style and brilliant method of conveying his opinions, to take particular note of such matters as these; and when the young orator resumed his seat, after occupying some three quarters of an hour in his oration, there were few present who did not regard him as a powerful adjunct to the great cause they were met to uphold. A word on John Bright's style and effect of speaking may be necessary. To say that he is a " mere mob-orator," exciting the passions and calculated to promote tumult in the breasts of those who hear him, is neither just nor true ; and those poor old Mrs. Harris and-Sairey Gamps who have characterized his speaking as such, are only the traducers of the man because they are the oppo- 38 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. nents of the cause. Blight's style of speaking may be a popular one with the " commonocrocy," albeit it is none the less legitimate for that. There is a bluntness and straightforward enunciation of honest truths often expressed by John Bright, that may not so well accord with the snail-pace predilections of an Inglis or a Sibthorpe, but this boots nothing while we are convinced what the man utters is consistent and true. Let every M.P. give expression to the same honest avowals, to the same conscientious impressions, to the same straightforward truisms that fall from the lips of John Bright, and we look for a reformed a radically-reformed House of Commons. We do not attempt to palliate Bright in everything ; he may be occasionally warm and intemperate in some of his observations, but it is a good fault, and one that will be easily eradicated. In truth, we yet expect great things from John Bright, he has not yet seen his "day" in St. Stephen's, his speeches are beginning to "tell" upon the house, and if possessed of his wonted health and spirits, with his ability, zeal, and perseverance, may yet accomplish no ordinary amount of benefits for his countrymen in the legislative assembly. REV. JOHN BOWERS. WE remember reading, some few years since, in a series of sketches of some of the Wesleyan ministers under, we think, the title of the "Takings," a somewhat pungent dissection of the reverend gentle- man before us ; and had we not have since seen and heard him upon sundry occasions, we should certainly have formed a far different opinion of his character and merits than that which we are now about to lay before our readers. An Italian proverb tells us "Every medal has its reverse;" and we feel assured that the writer of the "Taking" in question, must have consulted one side of Mr. Bowers, without any regard for the other. This, as every one will admit, is neither fair nor judicious; audit would certainly have told more to the limner's good sense and discretion, had he endeavoured to weigh the reverend gentleman's infirmities with his excellencies; REV. JOHN BOWEES. 39 and indicated, in a calm and sensible manner, the proportion they bore to each other. In the outward appe.arance and occasional mannerisms of Mr. Bowers, there are unquestionably many little things that we should object to in a Wesleyan preacher; yet we do not think they are so glaring or culpable as to demand such a castigation, or detract from the ability he is wont to manifest in the pulpit. We shall shortly make one or two of our own observations upon his person and manners; but we should feel very grieved to put them forth in colours calculated either to hurt the man in his own feelings, or to make him appear small in the position he so honourably maintains, and so well deserves. Mr. Bowers is only a man in common with other men, and if he has his infirmities, why he has them, in common with anybody and everybody about him. That his excellencies of heart and mind preponderate over any derelictions from the path of simple propriety of manners, we do not hesitate to affirm. At heart, we believe Mr. Bowers to be a genuine Wesleyan-methodist preacher, and both his public abilities and private virtues fully manifest that he performs his part with unmistakeable zeal and earnestness. We do not mean to affirm that he does it with the same warmth as some others in the connection we could name ; we could mention others who have fought for the cause with more heroic courage and indomitable perseverence, but we could not instance one who has the principles of John Wesley more deeply imbued in his composition, or is more anxious for their dissemination than his disciple now before us. The place, moreover, which he now holds, as governor of the Institution at Didsbury, would likewise entitle him to some good amount of respect, and a tolerable high estimation of his abilities. When we say that he fills this post with the completest satisfaction, we think we have said much to prove him deserving of no ordinary eulogiums. The post is an arduous one, and we believe few could fill it with the same amount of satisfaction as Mr. Bowers has given since he has held it. Hence, Mr. Bowers will not be found occupying such a mediocre position in the opinion of the Methodists, as some, we know, have been led to suppose. We should give him credit for standing as high as any man in the connection in this neighbourhood. His sermons are invariably received with considerable manifestations of pleasure, and, setting aside his mannerisms and somewhat affected style, generally produce deep and permanent impressions. We 40 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. have found him, at many chapels in this city, a pretty popular preacher, and his occasional visits to them are invariably welcomed with unanimous satisfaction. Did we feel inclined, we might devote a more than ordinary length of paragraph to the description of Mr. Bowers's personal appearance; but we shall not deal with him much more minutely than those who have preceded him in these articles. We have certainly always thought he presented more of the prim little incumbent of the Church of England, than the simple, humble mien and demeanour of the Methodist itinerant. In stature, he stands about the middle height, and is tolerably proportioned in build, although his figure is probably a little spare. His face is rather angular in conformation, but his head is well formed, and the fore-part manifests no ordinary weight of intellectual wealth, being both lofty and expansive. He is somewhat bald, although the little thin grey hair on his head is certainly made the most of, and arranged with nice precision. His small, sharp grey eyes, which are sunk somewhat deep in his head, are tolerably quick and penetrating. His nose is large and promi- nent; and when he opens his small mouth, he reveals a set of pearly white teeth, upon which he evidently bestows a good amount of care. His complexion is somewhat brown, with a slight tinge of ruddiness on the cheeks. Mr. Bowers is emphatically a "dressy" man, and his smartly-cut dress-coat, buttoned very tight over his smart little bust, with his gold eye-glass dangling in front, and his very stiff- starched cravat arranged in the most approved style, and the frequent application of a delicate white silk pocket-handkerchief to his nasal organ, and two or three other features in the articles of his dress, decidedly proclaim that a good degree of attention is bestowed upon his personal appearance. We have, certainly, never encountered his equal in this respect among his brethren, and we think we are fully justified in saying he presents the most precise gentlemanly exterior of any man in the connexion. Mr. Bowers never has been, and, we are induced to think, never will be, an extraordinary man in the pulpit. He is a tolerably equal preacher, although his expositions rarely betray a mind of much depth of research or great maturity of thought. Now and then he treats you with a little originality, but for the most part his illustrations never soar much beyond what you find in the pages of our popular commentators. He seems to possess a mind of quick REV. JOHN BOWERS. 41 discernment, but not much depth of penetration, and he has generally appeared to us to distribute more of the explanations of other men than of his own. In his exordium he delivers a few apt observations, that are pretty clear and pointed, and serve to place his text in a tolerably perspicuous and comprehensive light. His arrangement, likewise, is clear and well digested, and manifests a good enlarged acquaintance with the subject he has taken in hand. He usually divides his theme into two or three divisions, which he does in a comprehensive manner. His opening illustrations, however, do not betray so much ability as his concluding ones, the which are sometimes marked by considerable perspicuity of exposition, and are enforced with well-drawn analogies and clever reasoning. His biblical illustrations are generally constructed with a good de- gree of ability, and manifest an enlarged intercourse with Holy Writ. We have heard him, at times, to great advantage in this respect, and sometimes been struck with the good measure of originality he has evidenced in the passages he has brought to bear upon the point he was illustrating. We do not think his powers as a theologian or controversialist will be found extraordinary, neither should we assign him any astounding capacity as a logician. Let it be observed, however, he has a seasoning of each, and he uses it with tolerable effect. He generally enforces a short applica- tion at the conclusion of each division, which is marked by much earnestness of feeling, and an occasional eloquence of appeal. Some of his closing efforts are marked by a little soaring into the higher regions of eloquence, and the effects produced are often solemn and impressive. There is one thing, however, about the discourses of Mr. Bowers that does not please us, they smell too strongly of the study they are too methodical too " ready cut and dried " and they are delivered in too methodical a manner. His manner, to say the least, is often very affected and pompous ; and he calls his eye-glass into requisition far too frequently. Were it not for these little mannerisms, Mr. Bowers would be a far more powerful and effective preacher than he is. As it is, however, these little things often rob great things of their greatness, and render the influence of the preacher much less powerful than it would be. His style of preaching betrays a tolerable elegance of diction, and now and then he serves you with some really well-finished and musical sentences. He has a good command of language, and speaks 42 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS, somewhat fluently. His voice, likewise, is of excellent compass, and he regulates its tones with a measure of precision. His action appears to us rather more affected than natural, and the regular see-saw, up-and-down strokes of his right arm, and occasional methodical way of clasping his hands together, has too much of the artificial about it to render his gestures either pleasing or graceful. His sermons usually occupy about an hour in delivery ; and the effects they produce would, we feel assured, be materially increased in weight, were it not for the sundry little discrepancies to which we have called attention. Mr. Bowers, however, is a preacher in whom any observing mind will perceive many excellent qualities, and for such will award him the merits he deserves. We understand Mr. Bowers was born at Chester, of highly- respectable parents ; and we believe his father was once Mayor of that ancient city. He received an education somewhat superior to that generally attained by some of our older Methodist divines ; but we are not able to state at what period of life he entered the ministry. He appears now to be on the- shady side of fifty. He has been stationed in most of the best circuits: Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, and Liverpool, among the number; in which he has generally given much satisfaction, both as a preacher and pastor. On the comple- tion of the Wesleyan Institution at Didsbury, some few years since, he was appointed resident governor, in which office he still continues, and for which we believe he is particularly well adapted. In Con- ference, Mr. Bowers takes little or nothing of an active part ; his politics there, we understand, rather lean towards Toryism. As a platform- speaker, Mr. Bowers is somewhat effective, and in urging the claims of the missionary cause, he delivers himself of rather animated and powerful speeches. We have sometimes thought his efforts on the platform were more " telling" than his expositions in the pulpit, and in this opinion we have the concurrence of several competent judges. REV. JAMES D. BROCKLEHURST. FOR the last two or three years, the name of the reverend gentleman which heads our present article has stood in very high repute in the REV. JAMES D. BROCKLEHURST. 43 fourth circuit of the Wesleyan Methodists in Manchester. As this is a circuit of some importance, and been possessed for some years by first-rate talent, the man who by his abilities can gain such encomiums, must possess something of no ordinary character as a preacher. To be selected, moreover, in the first instance by a large and wealthy congregation, like the one in question, from a com- paratively insignificant one, is a testimony to intrinsic worth that is not rendered in every change of the Methodist pastors. The Grosvenor-street circuit must have seen some sterling ability in Mr. Brocklehurst, or they would not have removed him from an unimportant district to instal him in the elevated position he now maintains. And here, let us be allowed to observe, we have one of the few^good features of the itinerant system of the Methodists. The system, though we certainly, upon the whole, disapprove of it for manifold reasons, very justly affords an opportunity for young men of ability to receive the due reward of their zeal and industry, and furnishes them with a stimulus to the better performance of their labours and duties. Were not these changes to be wrought, many men of sterling ability must be left to "waste their fragrance on the desert air" in some locality whose people were, in a manner, wholly insensible to their claims and the due reward of their exertions. Mr. Brocklehurst has certainly experienced the benefits of the system in this respect, and we heartily congratulate him, as -a man of ability and industry, that his powers have been so well appreciated, and gained him such an enviable position in the ranks of the denomination with which he is connected. We trust he may still rise higher, and, without any pretensions to the prophetic art, we expect to see our most sanguine speculations realised. From OUT Own knowledge of his claims, which has 'not been limited, we have every reason to join the praises his numerous friends sing on his behalf. We have never met, in the same denomination, a man of his years with more genuine claims to the popularity and good will he enlists among his people. If sterling ability, blended with devout pastoral affection if a refined mind, accompanied by a kind heart if an earnest desira to fulfil his duty in honour to himself, and the improvement of others if these traits and characteristics constitute the summurn lunum of a Christian pastor's character, then we cannot refrain from pronouncing the fact that Mr. Brocklehurst possesses it in the fullest degree. And we do not say this wiihout possessing 44 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. some sound knowledge of the truth of our assertion. Everybody who knows anything of him, either in his public capacity or private life, will, we are sure, bear us out in the opinions we express. In speaking in these general terms, we may here remark, without, we trust, any offence being given to his brother-ministers, that he generally draws the best congregation in any of the three chapels in the circuit. We have invariably found it to be the case in Gros- nor-street, which forms a good criteria of the force of opinion in this point of view. We never met with any who have heard him (and we have consulted many), who have not highly approved of his sermons, This, for a comparatively young preacher, is no mean consideration, and certainly evidences that his sermons manifest ability of consider- able extent and influence. When Mr. Brocklehurst ascends the pulpit, you feel, to some extent, prepossessed in his favour. There is a gentleness about his features and a devotediiess in his bearing, that is sure to enlist your sympathies. He seems to know where he stands ; he appears to feel his position to be conscious of the work upon which he is about to enter. In height he stands about the middle stature, but is not possessed of a very erect figure, being inclined to stoop his shoulders. He is well made in other respects, but his bodily form is somewhat thin, which may probably arise from a delicate constitution. His features are not over regular, but rather peculiar. Thus he has an angular conformation of face, a curiously-developed forehead, and a nose of rather lengthy dimensions. His head is pretty well formed, but the fore-part is far more broad than deep ; this circumstance , however, may arise from the way in which he dresses his hair, which is black and silky, and seems to hide some portion of his forehead. He possesses a pair of large grey eyes, sunk somewhat deep in his head, which are more remarkable for a quiet sort of lustre than for any quick or penetrating glances. His eye-brows are very prominent, and his mouth rather small in comparison with his other features. He always wears a very pale complexion, and a somewhat studious air. From all appearances, we should say Mr. Brocklehurst is about thirty-two or thirty-three years of age, and hence, if Pro- vidence permits, has many years to spend in his active and useful course of life. We believe he originally came from Macclesfield, that town, if we mistake not, having been the scene of his birth. We are not in a position to give the place or course of his education. REV. JAMES D. BROCKLEHUKST. 45 He has a brother in the ministry, who, like himself, is a very promising preacher, and will doubtless, ere long, arrive at consider- able reputation. In private life, Mr. Brocklehurst bears a most amiable character. He is ever a kind and cheerful companion, with a fund of information in his mind, and an abundance of sympa- thy in his breast, for every grade of society. His pastoral life, like- wise, bears the same goodly character ; and few are the families in his circuit, and they are no small number, who can urge anything against him for want of attention in this important department of the ministerial character. As a preacher, Mr. Brocklehurst may be safely ranked among the foremost in Manchester of his denomination. We are very fond of his extempore prayers in the evening services, which are marked by considerable fervency of emotion and eloquence of appeal. He does not rant or storm, but is warm and energetic without being vociferous and intemperate. His prayers, too, are somewhat moderate in length, rarely extending beyond twelve or thirteen minutes. He is usually very clear in his arrangement, and seems to present his views in as distinct a manner as his mind can suggest. In his exordium he is apt and pointed, sometimes glowing in description and pathetic in appeal. We have often felt warmly enraptured with some of these opening passages of Mr. Brocklehurst's sermons, especially when he indulged in a dash of the descriptive. In this department he excels, for he possesses an exuberant fancy, a rich imagination, and a flow of elegant and poetical diction. In a passage we once heard from him, the following eloquent specimen of his descriptive powers occurred. "And how shall we depict," said he, " the glory of Lebanon in whose vast forests eighty thou- sand hewers were employed at once in felling cedars for the temple from whose quarries the ' costly stones ' were taken ' to lay the foundation of the house of the Lord' whose altitude allowed its sides such a variety of temperature that the traveller, in ascending to its summit, passed from the almost tropical climate of the plains to one not exceeded by that of Greenland whose villages were surrounded by corn-fields and plantations of mulberry and fig-trees, or shut in on all sides by over-hanging cliffs verdant with olives, musical with falling waters, and cooled by breezes from the moun- tain above whose terraced hills were covered with the vine-rose like flights of stairs, in some instances to such a dizzy height that 46 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. 120 of these hanging gardens might be counted, all bathed in the cloudless light of an eastern sun, and watered by streams from the ice-clad summit." In such eloquent and masterly descriptions as these, the preacher frequently indulges in his introductory observa- tions. If Jerusalem is concerned he is ahvays eloquent, and sometimes sublime, and carries away the imagination into scenes redolent with oriental splendour and magnificent glory. We have sat listening to some of these descriptions with ineffable delight, and often felt transported by the magic of his words, into the very scenes he so vividly portrayed. In his sermons, Mr. Brocklehurst betrays a thorough acquaintance with Holy Writ. He quotes frequently and aptly. He seems very much attached to this, and the beautiful passages he cites (being mostly from the Prophecies), and their marked consanguinity to the theme to which he brings them, gives a character to his sermon, the importance and weight of which few will fail to observe. In one of his divisions alone we remember once noting down twenty-five or twenty-six passages that he quoted from the Bible. We think he must have the whole books of Jeremiah and Isaiah treasured up in his mind, if we may judge from the innumerable quotations he is wont to make from them. From the same source we should say he has had infused in his mind those quick preceptions of the scenery and characteristics of the Holy Land to which we have alluded. We think Mr. Brocklehurst could, if he applied his mind to the matter, produce no mean poem upon this. He appears to be a tolerable theologian, but not a deep one. We should say he is possessed of more imagination than depth, and we never heard him engaged in the intricacies of the pure science of Divinity, with any striking degree of ability. He is, nevertheless, in vital doctrine, sound and comprehensive in his views, and evidently possesses a thorough knowledge of the creed upon which he founds his faith, and manifests no inconsiderable powers in making it the creed of others. He takes the gospel as it is he preaches it as he finds it as the gospel of the Lord and Master, regardless of the trammels of sect or party. In the illustration of his views, he often introduces some apt analogies from the scenes of every-day life, and turns them off with much discrimination and pointedness. In his application he is earnest, energetic, and im- pressive. Few could hear him without feeling awakened to their position. He excels here, and we have often heard him carry away REV. DOCTOR BURTON. 47 the palm from some of his most noted brethren in this department. His exordium usually occupies some six minutes, his application about five, and the length of his sermon varies from three quarters to that of a full hour. His action is rather animated, but not intemperate. He frequently uses both arms, and often leans over the front of the pulpit. The tones of his voice are rather singularly modulated, and he is somewhat inclined to " mouth" his words. He is usually, however, heard with the greatest ease throughout the building in which he preaches. BEV. DOCTOR BURTON. THE name occupying the head of our present notice is too familiarly known to the generality of our readers, to demand much comment in the way of an introduction. Dr. Burton is a gentleman, who, we may say, for the last twenty years has occupied a distinguished position among the leading clergy of this county, not only for his abilities in the pulpit, but for his very high attainments as a classic and theologian in the study. And yet, in some respects, we cannot term the doctor a popular man. Certainly, as the incumbent of All Saints, Chorlton-upon-Medlock, he has always drawn together a congregation at once numerous and respectable ; but, in the esti- mation of the populace, Dr. Burton's name has never been received with any very marked demonstrations of approbation. In some instances we have found him held somewhat at a discount, and not unfrequently been the object of considerable calumny and oppro- brium. The immediate reason of this, we are not prepared to state. Like most public characters, Doctor Burton has his enemies, who are never backward, upon every occasion that may serve their purpose, to give him a full degree of slander and opprobrium. By some means or other, the doctor has brought upon himself the ill- will of certain parties, who are never at a loss to frame a charge, or magnify a paltry offence into a revolting iniquity. Of this genus of enemies, Dr. Burton has had his full share. Circumstances have certainly placed the doctor in a position at times, that probably was 48 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. not the most enviable, especially for a Christian pastor. We have heard several charges laid against him, but we have generally found, upon giving them a careful investigation, that they arose far more from the operation of certain untoward circumstances of a domestic character, than from the natural predilections of the reverend doctor himself. But the public, who are ever eager to listen to scandal, by whom or against whom it is circulated, will not occupy much time in investigation ; it believes all that is rumoured, and hence the party who is made the object of scandal, rarely has much opportunity of getting out of the merciless meshes that surround him. In so far as we are able of judging, Dr. Burton has no inconsider- able claims upon our esteem and approbation, both as a pastor and preacher. That he fully realizes the former character, we feel well assured, and his attention to those both connected and unconnected with his congregation, has invariably manifested the sincerest desire to do his duty, both in honour to himself and in honour to the great charge committed to his hands. It is only those who have come beneath his care in this respect, who know the extent of his kindness and attention. Few men, whose labours extend over such a wide space of ground, and covered with such a dense population, accomplish more for their people than Dr. Burton. We do sincerely believe that he has this work at heart ; and just scandalize him as much as you will just heap upon the worthy doctor's head as much calumny as you may think proper still we feel convinced that no man has a more sincere desire to perform his duties to the letter. Among his congregation, Dr. Burton is, and always has been, well liked ; and despite the multitudinous charges that have been brought against him, and that have sought to tarnish his good name, his people have always stood to him with increasing ardour and approbation ; and we do not believe, that were the doctor to be taken away from them, more regret could be evinced at the departure of any other man in Manchester. We have long had the pleasure of knowing the capacities of the reverend doctor as a preacher. Our earliest remembrances of a preacher, carry us back to the time when, with an aged relative, we were wont to hear him occasionally at the chapel of Mr. Wilcox, in Broad Court, Drury Lane, London. We have fresh in our memory now, the solemn and impressive discourses that used to fall from his lips, and we believe if any preacher ever suited our young fancy REV. DOCTOR BTJKTOX. 49 more than another, it was the worthy doctor before us. Though time and age has considerably deteriorated his energy and force, still there is much left of his wonted greatness. The doctor is still the learned theologian, the accomplished scholar, ingenious disputant, and impressive preacher. Since the period to which we refer, we have encountered an array of great and overwhelming talent in the way of pulpit- oratory, but \ve do not think we have met with many men who have equalled the doctor in his own peculiar line of action. We should regard the doctor as one of the first classical scholars filling any incumbency of the church of England. He has evidently applied his mind to Greek and Hebrew with no ordinary application ; and the ease with which he illustrates certain obscure passages of the Word by this means, evidences the scholar of enlarged inter- course with the greater portion of the dead languages. There is always a polished air about his sermons, that indicates at once the man of refined mind and high intellectual endowments. There is no descent to the coarse from the beginning to the end of his discourse; it is one easy-flowing stream of polished thoughts, elaborated sentiments, and refined cogitation. In his introductory remarks, he makes you acquainted at once with the nature and meaning of his text, he gives you a comprehensive and lucid digest of the whole matter, but neither tires you with too many details, nor satiates you with a superabundance of technical information. His arrangement is invariably clear and copious. In illustration, the doctor always evinces his great mastery over the subject he has selected. He gives you a careful yet powerful exposition, and manifests an acquaintance with his text, especially in a biblical point of view, that shows the intense study he must have bestowed upon its preparation. It is in his illustrations that his superior accomplishments, as a theologian and a classic, exhibit themselves to the extent we have described. He never appears to be at a loss in giving a clear and ample illustration of every point that presents itself, however abstruse or mysterious its character. He is always pointed and terse in his applications, and expresses himself with a force and solemnity that few can fail to appreciate to the extent it deserves. His applications rarely occupy many minutes, but they are of that deeply-impressive character that tell upon the minds of his congregation fully as much as though they were lengthened and elaborate. The doctor preaches from a written sermon, H 50 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATOKS. which is evidently prepared with great care, and manifests con- siderable ability in a literary point of view. His language is chaste and elegant ; and his periods are often rounded with an Addisonian elegance of precision. His sermons rarely occupy much above half-an-hour. His voice is of tolerable compass, the tones of which, however, are not so strong lately as they were wont to be. There is a little pomposity in his manner, and he is somewhat affected and methodical in his gestures, which are some- times varied and animating. He reads his sermon with good effect,, and is somewhat deliberate in his delivery. Dr. Burton, besides being a preacher of considerable eminence, has likewise no common claims as an author. Some eight years ago he delivered a series of Sabbath evening lectures, which at the time created considerable interest. These lectures, with amendations, were published, and are now known as The World before the Flood. Another series followed, and these were published under the title of The World after the Flood. Both works do infinite credit to the learned author, both as specimens of his deep research and classical attainments. They are certainly full of much deeply-interesting- matter, and are written in a style at once elegant and comprehensive. The works were well received by the public, and they will always remain a living testimony to the ability of their worthy author. We have likewise heard that the reverend doctor has courted the muses, but never having seen any of his metrical effusions, we cannot say with what success. In personal appearance, the doctor has nothing strikingly com- manding or attractive. He is rather above the middle height, and somewhat slender in form. His head is well formed, possessing a very finely-developed forehead, full of striking intellectualities. His face is of an angular conformation, and his complexion ruddy. His eyes are rather full and brilliant in expression. We should say he is some two or three years on the shady side of sixty, although he is a particularly active man, and is evidently possessed of a good constitution. It is pretty generally known that Doctor Burton was originally a Methodist; but he has now been connected with the Establishment for twenty or thirty years. &EV. KICHARB BUTLEE, M.A, 51 REV. RICHARD BUTLER, M.A, IN the immediate neighbourhood of the dense population about Ashton Road and Ancoats, is situated a church, which, go when- ever you will, is always well filled in every part. In fact, we should feel inclined to give St. Silas's the palm for being the most numerously-attended place of worship in the locality of which we speak. We know of no other that can lay claim to the same excellent regular attendance that is to be found here. And whence does it arise ? Simply from the circumstance that its pastor is not only a great man in the pulpit, but exercises his influence in fully as large a degree in the homes of those within his charge. Mr. Butler, since the erection of this church, has been the means of working a metamorphosis in the neighbourheod that must always redound, in the highest terms, to his credit. At one period, this locality presented a very consummation of spiritual destitution a very vortex of crime and iniquity that would have almost appeared too deep and revolting to admit of change or reformation. But a large cemmodious church is erected an incumbent of considerable ability is appointed he is peculiarly adapted for the place and its people works away heart and hand in the great cause in which he has enlisted himself he is eloquent in the pulpit energetic, solemn, and impressive he is constantly on the alert in bringing men to the house of prayer, who had scarcely ever been within a sacred place before he beats up a large congregation they come from the dark cellars, the crowded hovels of sin and misery they hear the magic of his tongue, they are transfixed with the eloquence of his lips and the solemn im- pressiveness of his manners, and they go on their way rejoicing ; a change at once salutary and beneficent is wrought, and what once appeared a hopeless state of sin and misery becomes a promising and all-hopeful scene of religious comfort and felicity. Such has been the work of the very highly-esteemed gentleman whose name appears at the head of this notice. To enlarge upon the great amount of benefit he has thus been the means of securing to the neighbourhood with which he is identified, were almost superfluous. That he has wrought a change of no ordinary magnitude will be at once obvious. Mr. Butler's work was no common one it was all up-hill hard, energetic, and labourious work. Few men would have brought 52 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. forth the same fruits that he has done in the same short period ; few men would have exercised the same influence upon such a stubborn and stolid community. But in all Mr. Butler's works he has proved himself " more than conqueror ;" and if the people of any part of Manchester have to feel more gratitude for the pastoral influence of one man than another, it is for the influence exer- cised by the reverend gentleman before us. We need scarcely say that among his people Mr. Butler is universally liked, and few of his congregation will admit that a more powerful or forcible preacher occupies any pulpit in Manchester. Mr. Butler's congrega- tion is principally composed of a class which, after all, is generally best adapted to appreciate the qualities of a thorough good preacher and hard-working pastor. The majority of his hearers is composed of the respectable portion of the working-classes of that portion who go to hear a sermon for the sake of deriving some tangible amount of benefit from what they hear, and not for lolling upon soft cushions or leaning themselves listlessly upon the backs of their seats half asleep and half awake. Hence, he is well appreciated, and his discourses rarely fail in producing the desired effect. Again, in the locality with which he is identified, he is universally beloved for the strict attention he pays to his pastoral duties. We have previously adverted to the necessity of a thorough development of this character in a minister, and we can only say that Mr. Butler fully realizes all that we could desire in such a character. He has always manifested a warmth of zeal in this department, that must demand our warmest eulogiums and highest esteem, and few are the people connected with his church who can complain in the least of any neglect in this respect. When you go to hear a sermon from Mr. Butler, you are sure to find a large congregation of the most attentive and earnest listeners. From the moment he gives out his text, to the time he resumes his seat, there is nothing but breathless silence and attention. He appears like an oracle expressing sentiments that cannot be too distinctly heard nor too deeply impressed upon the mind. This mainly arises from the fact, that Mr. Butler speaks from and to the heart that his sentiments find their way to the emotions, and that he exercises a far more enlarged influence over the breast, than he does over the brain. He possesses a certain forte, and he always employs it to the fullest degree. He is nothing of a logician ; he is REV. RICHARD BUTLER, M.A. 53 rarely, if ever, abstruse or recondite; he appeals more than he investigates, and hence he exercises a power over the heart and its emotions that he never can over the mind or intellectual capacities of reasoning or thinking. But this, let it he remembered, is exactly the style of preaching that agrees with the taste of his numerous congregation ; and that mainly contributes to his popularity. "Were some other pastor of superior intellectual endowments, a man of great depth of investigation and quick mental insight, to take Mr. Butler's position, we feel assured that his success would be com- paratively trivial and meagre. All Mr. Butler's success is to be attributed to the influence he exercises upon the feelings of his con- gregation and beyond that his power is conmparatively feeble. But let us say a few words in dissection of the sermons we have had the pleasure of hearing from him upon different occasions. He gives out his text, and usually divides and sub-divides as he proceeds. His opening remarks are, for the most part, clear and apposite, and he generally gives some two or three very good leading ideas. But he proceeds with his divisions and sub-divisions; and though his arrangement may not be so truly comprehensive as you would wish, still he manifests a view of his text that bespeaks a very fair investi- gation of the theme. He illustrates with far more power from the scenes of every-day life from lessons drawn from the homes and hearts of human life, than from any abstract logic or metaphysical investigation. We can scarcely say that he investigates his theme sufficiently ; perhaps this is the only feature in the discourseof which we can consistently complain. He appears rather to depend upon the force of exhortation than exposition, and hence but a few minutes are employed in each division in the way of exposition, while the preponderance of his time is engaged on exhortingand appealing in stirring up the emotions and forcibly convicting the heart and feelings. Mr. Butler's illustrations, however, from the Bible, invariably exhibit considerable ability, and a thoroughly- perfect acquaintance with the Scriptures. In fact, we should give him credit for being a first-rate biblical scholar, as much so as any other church of England divine in Manchester. His illustrations from this source are always apt and pointed; and he quotes various apposite passages with an ease and rapidity that none other than a first-rate biblical scholar could accomplish. He is very fond of references and concordances, in 54 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. which he conveys much interesting and instructive information. His scriptural illustrations form one of the best features of his discourse in an exposition point of view, seeing that they are always sound, apt, and well selected. We cannot, as we have previously observed, give Mr. Butler much credit for being either a very profound logician, or a very deep thinker. He seems to be of that warm mercurial temperament with which is rarely identified much pro- fundity of thought or depth of penetration ; he is more remarkable for a very forcible and energetic expression of some warm and feeling sentiments, than for ingenuity in argument or novelty of ideas. He is never very original in his observations, or in the light in which he treats his subject. In his applications, however, he becomes a great master of his theme. He is powerful and overwhelming ; and the thrilling magic of his words often produce sensations which are completely beyond our powers of description. It is in these exhorta- tions that is to be found the great influence Mr. Butler exercises as a preacher. Mr. Butler's style is tolerably elegant ; his language is good ; and he has a good command of words. His utterance is somewhat slow and deliberate at the commencement, but he grows warm and rapid towards the conclusion. His action is varied and graceful ; and the tones of his voice are very good. He usually preaches about three quarters to a full hour. Mr. Butler's personal appearance is prepossessing and commanding. He is somewhat tall and thin, and his figure is well proportioned. His head is well formed ; and his forehead bears the stamp of an intellectual man. He has a very fair complexion, with light blue eyes of mild and benevolent expression. He appears to be about forty to forty- six years of age. We are led to think Mr. Butler originally came from Ireland. He has now been been in Manchester about six or seven years. Besides being a popular pulpit-orator, he is likewise a favourite platform-speaker. REV. JOHN BYWATER, M.A. SOME few years since it was thought desirable to erect a church in the neighbourhood of Granby Row, Manchester; a neighbourhood REV. JOHN BYWATER, M.A. 55 that certainly demanded some place of worship as strongly as any other locality in the town. A tolerably commodious and neat edifice was erected; but, for some time, though the church was well provided with free sittings, and though it was situated in the midst of a very dense population, still it was but poorly attended at any of the services. To what cause we must attribute this, we can scarcely tell, although we feel somewhat convinced that it mainly arose from the inefficiency of the pastor appointed upon its opening. This state of things continued till two or three years since, when a new incumbent was appointed. This was the reverend gentleman whose name is now before us. To him and his exertions must we mainly ascribe the changed aspect that the church of St. Simon's and St. Jude's now presents. Mr. Bywater commenced his mission in a right earnest working humour, and what with his laborious zeal and application in the neighbourhood, and his power- ful ministrations in the pulpit, he soon produced a change of the most salutary and laudable character. Like a gentleman to whom we have previously called the reader's attention (Rev. Richard Butler), Mr. Bywater had a hard rugged path before him; but through the instrumentality of his zeal and enterprise through the kind, fatherly care he has always manifested for those who have come within his charge through the devotedness of heart and purpose with which he has pursued his duties, he has been able to clear aside a multiplicity of impediments that presented themselves when he first commenced his career. We feel no hesitation in saying that Mr. Bywater is emphatically a good man that he has followed the impulses of a good heart and an ever hopeful trust in the power of the Divine master he serves. A number of families in the immediate neighbourhood of his church we feel assured, can testify to the truth of this. In a pastoral point, he is certainly everything you could desire. His visitations to the poor and sick, his kind, happy, and benevolent intercourse with the poorest of the poor, and the various ways in which he renders himself of service to the distressed portion of his flock, would be sufficient in itself to render him a popular man. But Mr. Bywater's influence is not confined to his pastoral character alone ; he shines equally as much in the pulpit, and though not drawing the most wealthy or influential congregation in Manchester, still we have heard sermons from him that fairly entitle him to be ranked among the foremost of 56 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. his brethren in this locality. The neighbourhood of his church is- probably against his drawing much wealth or influence within its portals, and did not this interfere, we feel assured his powers as a preacher would draw fully as much influence as those of a Stowell, a Me. Grath, or a Burton. The warmth and fervour, however, with which Mr. Bywater's discourses are generally characterised, is calculated especially for those to whom he addresses himself. It retains all that force of expression, fervency of sentiment, and impressiveness of appeal, you will invariably find particularly in consonance with the popular taste. By this means he has gathered around him a congregation of thorough ardent admirers. The poorer portion especially, to whom warmth of feeling in a preacher is ever acceptable, have been drawn to his church to hear him again and again. Hence the improved state of things presented at the church in question the zealous care of Mr. Bywater as a pastor, and his powerful influence as a preacher. Under all circumstances, Mr. Bywater must be regarded as one of the most useful men connected with the establishment in Manchester. His highly-meritorious character as a man, as a true and genuine Christian, must ever secure him the warmest eulogiums of those who know anything about his career. As we have previously observed, Mr. Bywater's style of preaching is one eminently calculated to please the popular ear. But it must not be inferred from this that it is flimsy and showy, or florid and fanciful ; on the other hand, it is replete with solidity, it is com- prehensive, sound, and lucid ; but it is not heavy or difficult to digest, notwithstanding its solidity. Mr. Bywater does not preach you a discourse full of cold or frigid arguments, nor burning with bright and dazzling metaphors, nor crowded with polished sentiments or elaborated periods. In all his discourses you just perceive a happy harmony of the whole. Here you have a sound tangible truth, there, to give it force and expression, you may perhaps have a little warmth of feeling, and anon, as a coup de grace, a little polished sentiment and well-rounded period. And so he goes on, neither satiating you with the one or the other. We should say, his sermons are equally addressed to the heart and mind that they find their way in an equal degree to the cogitations of the intellect and the emotions of the breast. That they produce impressions of the deepest character, and are calculated to convince and move you with REV. JOHN BTWJLTEB-, M.A. 57 their force of argument and impressiveness of feeling, will be evi- denced to your own senses whenever you may have the pleasure of hearing him. When he gels into the pulpit, you prepare yourself, as it were, for the delivery of a powerful and masterly discourse. He opens his small bible, gives out his text; you are struck with the fine tones of his voice, he engages your attention at once ; and now he rivets you with some short pithy observations, and anon he begins to illustrate ; and there he goes through division after division with a clearness of insight and a strength of judgment that seems to clear up every particle of his text ; and now he grows eloquent, warm, sometimes brilliant, and now solemn, forcible, impressive ; and thus to the end of his discourse. Mr. By water's introductory observations are always characterised by much that bears a clear consanguinity to the text he has selected. They are pithy and sententious, and convey truths of the highest order and completest significance. His exordium probably occupies some four or five minutes, after which he proceeds to the division and arrangement of his subject, which manifests a clearness of outline and design that none but one perfectly acquainted with the nature of his text could accomplish. His illustrations, for the most part, evidence a mind of considerable parts in exposition. He begins with the enunciation of a few practical truths, then brings the point under attention in various clear and pointed views, now and then pausing to reflect upon the morals that are to be deduced, and the lessons enforced by the particular view or views that may present them- selves. He illustrates occasionally from Scripture, which he does with an ease and facility that at once indicates the biblical scholar of no ordinary resources. His insight into the human character is frequently manifested in some of his illustrations ; and the clear and forcible manner with which he is apt to depict the vices and depravities of the human heart ; the vivid and striking colours in which he holds up the follies and failings of man, evidence a quick and penetrating insight into character, that no one but a man of high mental capacities could develope. A few Sabbaths since, we heard him to great advantage in this respect, in giving a masterly dissertation on the character of Elijah. His conception of Elijah's character, and the forcible lessons he deduced from it, betrayed u maturity of judgment, and no ordinary powers of discrimination. His application, likewise, to the congregation, was I 58 LANCASHIBE AUTHORS AND OKATOKSV clear, pointed, and apposite. He does not appear to be a very profound logician ; although we should think he is a tolerable theologian. He is likewise a very equal and connected preacher, and is never found making the least tergiversation from the subject he has selected. His applications are kind and tender ; and the fatherly manner with which he so frequently utters the words, " Dear Brethren," infuses a kindliness into his remarks that can scarcely fail to find its way into the heart of the most obdurate hearer. He preaches an extempore sermon, which probably occupies some forty minutes in delivery. His delivery is calm and measured ; and the tones of his voice are of excellent compass, being deep and sonorous. Mr. By water's personal appearance is particularly prepossessing ; especially as he stands in the pulpit arrayed in his canonicals. Altogether, he presents the very &e&u ideal of a good man. He is somewhat below the middle height, but of round and rather bulky form. His face is round, full, and ruddy. Then, his head is fine and massive, and the broad expansive development of his forehead is quite in unison with the goodly rotund of his face. His whole aspect is exceedingly pleasant and winning, for the sparkling lustre of his eyes, and the pleasant expression of his mouth,tell you alone that you are in the presence of a truly good and benevolent man. He appears to be about forty-five years of age. REV. DOCTOR CARPENTER. IF the present support the Church of England receives from the treasuries of the State should ever be withdrawn, and the Church left to fight its own battles on its own merits, there is, at all events, one class of men within its pale whom we have no doubt will prove their superiority in such a crisis. We allude to those good and great men who are called, by some of their more upstart brethren, "Low Church." One of the best men in this class, is the reverend gentleman whose name heads this article ; and whose private actions are as laudable as his public career. Doctor Carpenter is one REV. DOCTOR CARPENTER. 59 of those good men who are using their best exertions to give the Church of England a more Evangelical character to render its principles more in consonance with the revealed will of Christ and to throw aside that cold apathetic spirit, that listless, dronish course of action that has too long prevailed in the Church, and to which we may attribute, in a great measure, the spread of dissent and^the daily secessions from its pale. We wish to see the Church prosper in the true sense, and hence we are anxious to further the claims of one who is employed in the noble work. From what we can glean respect- ing Doctor Carpenter, he appears to make this one of the greatest studies of his life ; he seems to be intent on church reformation, on church restitution, in displacing levity and indolence for a thorough reverence, and an energetic, practical, and faithful piety. Now this is greatness this is a sort of patriotism which we cannot applaud in too warm a strain. The man ie doing his duty, he is working out his mission, he is employed in the fulfilment of his function ; and even if he does not succeed, he may go down to his grave with a conscience free from all compunctions upon this score. Men of this character are worthy of their posts, inasmuch as their daily actions are constantly proving it. They live for their duty, and that alone. Doctor Carpenter makes his religion the one prime and almost only feature of his life ; he is exerting himself, heart and soul, to make it the religion of others ; he is not the Proselyte, but the Evangelist ; and as such, is not only an ornament to the church with which he is connected, but may serve as a pattern to many a round dozen, even in the immediate diocese in which he is stationed. There are few men enter a church of England pulpit with a more attractive and commanding personal appearance than Doctor Carpenter. Hugh Me. Neile and Doctor Whateley are very fine men, but we think they scarcely approach the reverend gentleman before us. In the way of height, he stands little if anything under six feet, and his figure is well proportioned, erect, and somewhat graceful. Such a figure, arrayed in the folds of a very well arranged black silk gown, you may imagine to present no common air of command in the pulpit. He certainly looks exceedingly fine when so robed, perhaps better than in the surplice. The conforma- tion of his face is between a round and angular, and there is a glow of health upon his cheeks a fresh ruddy hue that bespeaks a sound and healthy constitution. His hair is dark brown and silky, 60 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. somewhat long in the crop, and parted slightly at the right side. There is much wealth of intellect developed in his forehead, which is rather more expansive than lofty, and the general formation of his head, if we are to be guided by the science of phrenology, furnishes a pretty strong evidence of the mind of its possessor. His eyesore large and full. His nose is somewhat aquiline ; and his mouth rather small and feminine. At a rough calculation, we should say Doctor Carpenter has numbered some forty- three or forty-five years of age, and consequently, if allowed to pass on through the " three-score-and-ten" of this " weary bourne," has yet many years to spend in his active^ useful, and beneficent course of life. Upon Doctor Me. Neile's entering upon his new duties in Toxteth Park, the Doctor before us was chosen incumbent of St. Jude's, in Liverpool, and we do not think the choice could have fallen upon a more worthy man. Previous to this, he was pastor of a church in Douglas, Isle of Man, where he is said to have been highly popular, and prosecuted his duties with indefatigable industry and zeal. Succeeding a preacher of Hugh Me. Neile's extensive popularity and talents was no ordinary task, and it certainly reflects much in the favour of the capabilities of Doctor Carpenter that he was placed in such a position. We are glad to learn that he gives ample satisfaction to his numerous hearers. We may say that he is even, in one sense, a more purely popular man than his predecessor, inasmuch as where Hugh Me. Neile was always engaged in a squabble with something or somebody, Doctor Carpenter consigns all these minor differences to oblivion. In private life, he is one of the best and most highly estimable characters, fully realizing all the excellent traits and virtues he so eloquently expounds in the pulpit. He takes little or no part in public matters, beyond occasionally delivering a speech at some religious meeting. The Doctor is an Irishman by birth, but you cannot detect anything of the Irish physiognomy in his features. We have heard it reported that he was originally a Roman Catholic ; but we are in a position to deny this, knowing that his own family are strict Protestants, and that the reverend gentleman himself was sent to Trinity College, Dublin, at an early age. There is a deal of difference, generally, between the matter of the sermons of various preachers, but we think there is a very marked difference between Doctor Carpenter and his predecessor. The REV. DOCTOR CARPENTER. 61 former is calm, substantial, and practical, the latter is bold, figura- tive, and poetical; the former illustrates with more precision than beauty, the latter with more beauty than precision; the former sounds the depths, the latter springs to the heights ; the former engages the minds of his hearers with solemn, truths, the latter transfixes them with startling images; the former leads y.ou with a mellow light, the latter impels you with a blazing meteor ; the former influences you with a calm and dignified sentiment, the latter electrifies you with a sublime and dramatic pathos ; the former is the master of your mind and reason, the latter is the magician of your breast and passions. In the general arrangement of his discourse, Doctor Carpenter is exceedingly clear and comprehensive, rendering the process of his exposition as clear to the most ignorant of his congregation as to the most refined and polished. From what we have heard, he appears to be a very first-rate biblical scholar, and the general expositions of his sermons betray an extensive knowledge of both the Old and New Testament. The only fault we have to find with him in this department is, that he occupies rather too much time in the selection of parallels, &c. He certainly may thereby give a more substantial character to his sermons, but we think he might illustrate his text to far greater advantage by the exercise of his own comments, which are always sound and clearly approximate. In the illustration of his various points, he is perspi- cuous, substantial, and thoroughly comprehensive ; in fact, we never met with a preacher more so. As a logician, his talents are of a high order, and he seems to have a mind particularly moulded for the examination of abstruse points or complicated inquiries. This is an exception to the generality of Irish preachers, who generally figure to more advantage in dealing with the flowers of rhetoric than with the abstrusities of logic. The matter of Doctor Carpenter's sermon generally turns more on the blessings of the Christian religion and gospel plan, than upon any other thesis. We believe he rarely enters into any purely controversial theme ; and if he does so, it is generally conducted with a spirit of propriety and Christian-like demeanour. In this, at all events, he rises somewhat superior to his pugnacious predecessor. In his application he is fervent aiid rather animated. He appears to have a deep and intense feeling when addressing himself more immediately to those before him. He does not rant or storm, but measures out a warmth of emotion and a 62 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. depth of sympathy upon the behalf of his hearers, that must require no ordinary amount of stoicism to resist. We heard him last Summer to fine effect in this respect; and though addressing a rather aristocratic and fashionable congregation, there seemed to be produced a pretty visible proof on the faces of his hearers, that the force of his language was not lost. During the four or five minutes of his application, he usually commands the attention of all before him ; and the stillness that reigns while he is pronouncing his warning or lifting up his voice in a tone of hope and encourage- ment, gives a sort of influence and unction to his language that must be felt to be properly appreciated. Doctor Carpenter uses no paper or notes in the delivery of his discourse. Like most of his brethren of the Evangelical portion of the Church, he generally gives out his text from a small pocket-bible, which he sometimes holds in his left hand, or which on other occasions he lays on the cushion before him. From the sermons we have heard from him he appears to be a very equal preacher, and you may consequently form a pretty just estimate of his powers by attending one or two sermons. We should imagine he commits a good portion of his sermon to memory in the study. His style of preaching may be partly conceived from what we have before remarked. It is neither ornate or polished, but plain, unvarnished, and temperate. There is nothing showy, nothing of figure or metaphor about his sermon from the beginning to the end. He occasionally indulges in a little analogy, but very rarely ; and even then there is nothing poetical in its nature or description. His language is chaste and unadorned, and his sentences are tolerably well put together, but bear no impress of polish or rounded periods. His exordiums generally occupy some four minutes, and his sermons very rarely extend beyond three quarters of an hour in delivery. He possesses a voice of extensive power and compass, which he modulates with much taste and discrimination. He is always audible throughout the building in which he preaches. At the commencement of his sermon he uses little or no gesture, but when in the middle, and towards the conclusion, he is very liberal with both arms, and moves repeatedly from one side of the pulpit to the other. RICHARD COBDEN, M.P. 63 RICHARD COBDEN, M.P. (A Reminiscence of the Free Trade Hall. ) THE last meeting of the League of any moment, before Peel's introduction of its principles into the Commons, took place in the Free Trade Hall. Cobden, Bright, and Fox, its three most popular and powerful advocates, were announced as the speakers, and by a quarter past six we made one in the largest assembly ever beheld within the walls of the above named building. The fine hall had recently been beautified in a somewhat magnificent style, the richly-ornamented ceiling and walls received a subdued splendour from the artistic lamps with which the building is hung, the plat- form was considerably enlarged, and was crowded with some of the wealthiest and most influential characters of Manchester ; the galleries were filled with a vast number of ladies, while the body of the hall did not present the smallest imaginable space not occupied ; this, together with the warm enthusiasm manifested in every face during the proceedings, and the loud plaudits that every minute rang through our ears, rendered the meeting in question one of the most imposing and spirited demonstrations the League ever accomplished. It was something worth contemplating the present brilliant audience compared with the comparatively small meetings of Ne wall's Buildings, where the mighty combination for commercial freedom first sprang into existence. The men, too they who had fought with so much energy and indomitable perseverance how different their position at that moment to the one they held when originating their great campaign. The meeting was certainly a subject for thought as much as for congratulation. There was an intensity of purpose developed at this gathering ; and when George Wilson, Cobden, Bright, Fox, Colonel Thompson, Brooks, Rawson, Moore, William Brown, and a host of other notable Leaguers, made their appearance on the platform, there was something in the loud acclamations that rang through the hall that seemed to say, in the most audible accents, The doom of the Corn Law is passed at last. After a few pointed observations, principally of detail, from the Chairman, the man Cobden the very prince of Leaguers the 64 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. " Statesman of the people," stood forward to address us. What cheers, what plaudits, broke forth at the appearance of that man with so thin and somewhat short a form, yet with so great a soul and energetic spirit. Every one knew him ; the cadaverous-looking man, with a slight stoop in his shoulders, the sharp and somewhat irregular features, yet indicative of so much natural shrewdness and sagacity of mind, the dark-brown hair and hazel eyes, the pale, and at that period, care-worn face, formed old and familiar associations not so easily to be expunged from the minds of those before him. What a quiet, reflective, and unassuming air pervaded the great leader of the corn-law abrogation movement, as he stood while the applause subsided. We have heard many great orators, but we never encountered one that rose to address his audience with so quiet and unpretending an air as that presented in the demeanour of Cobden. There was almost a touch of humility in the inclinatiou of his eyes to the ground ; and, from his appearance, you would have fancied that it was his first trial before so large an auditory. But withal there was a quiet confidence indicated on his face that plainly told you he had not risen to give vent to mere ordinary ideas or opinions. That mild and contemplative physiognomy indicated something out of the common way ; that quiet confidence evidenced something within, that, when the necessity arrived, could burst forth, and assert its magic potency. His whole soul appeared to be entirely absorbed in the struggle he was guiding ; his mind seemed altogether con- centrated upon the grand object in view, and though the plaudits resounding in his ears were of the highest character any man could command, still they did not appear in the least to arrest his attention from the nature of his mission and the purpose that had called the vast number before him together. But he began; a voice neither strikingly musical or powerful broke upon our ears, but slightly monotonous, although distinct and audible in every part of the building. His lower notes occasionally were lost, a somewhat notable characteristic in men of deep thought and close argument. In finishing a sentence, we have frequently observed this sudden drop of the voice in orators more remarkable for their logic than their rhetoric. Thus Cobden here and there was partially inaudible, but upon the whole very little was lost by his attentive audience. His action was rather easy and sometimes animated. He had a particular habit of placing both hands behind his back, RICIIAED COB-DEN, M.P. 65 and stooping his body forward in a somewhat slanting position. His delivery was slow in the exordium, but merged into a temperate sort of fluency in his peroration. His arms were here and there raised above his head, although they were only so exercised when occasion called. He used no notes, and even when dealing with statistics gave them with as much volubility as though he held them in his hand. In fact, Cobden's thorough knowledge of every fact and figure connected with the Corn-Laws, and his easy mode of giving them utterance, constituted one of the greatest sources of power he held over his opponents. In the prices of corn at any period, and the duties imposed, he was as good a reference as a file of the Mark Lane Express. But passing away from figures, he gave us a specimen of his logic. His insight into the tactics of his opponents was a sample of generalship rarely if ever witnessed in any leader of any popular agitation. He revealed their foibles and absurdities with such a tact and perspicuity that sent Richmonds, Bentincks, and Buckinghams, fairly reeling from the field. He confronted them on every hand, and vanquished them even with their own pigmy weapons of warfare. He passed in review all their schemes and shufHes of thirty years' standing, and laid bare all the wrongs and injustices that had been perpetrated to maintain their dominancy. He did not deal with abstractions or hypothesis, he took the wrongs the nation had endured in their concrete form. He revealed their effects as they were, without running away to beat up abstract views about what might have been, or what would have been the result had such and such a course been pursued. Cobden did not theorise ; he was the most utilitarian plain matter- of-fact man the League possessed. Upon the occasion in question, he developed his resources to an extent we never witnessed before. His somewhat prophetic observations upon the future movements of Peel, his well-limned description of the discomfiture of the country-party, his lucid and undeniable statement of the disposition of the nation in favour of the great agitation, the description of his successful campaigns in the agricultural districts, his triumphs on the registration lists, his quiet detail of the most demonstrative facts, his shrewd deductions upon every point he handled, his honest scorn for the injustices that had been exercised upon the country for so many years, together with his earnest, genuine, and simple exposition of everything he enunciated, cer- K 00 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AXP ORATORS, tainly formed one of the most argumentative and eloquent orations Cobden ever delivered within the walls of the Free Trade Hall. Towards the close of his speech, he soared to some extent into the regions of rhetoric, his ideas came rushing out somewhat rapidly ; and his language was strikingly fluent. Here and there he gave us a spice of humour, a sort of witty illustration altogether original. Although he had been subject to unwearied application for the five or six previous months, his physical powers appeared unimpaired ; and his quick energy and shrewd intellect to retain all their wonted vigour. His voice was in excellent order, and while he spoke, although the building was crowded almost to suffocation, you might have heard the faintest whisper. At the conclusion of this great speech, there was a burst of applause. After listening to so powerful an address, we had every opportunity of forming some idea of Cobden as a speaker. That he was the orator of the League the exponent of Free Trade is only a reiteration of what has been so often expressed. The movement for the abolition of the Corn-laws was in every respect an utilitarian movement ; and it was that utilitarian species of logic that plain matter-of-fact course of action that Cobden adopted and pursued those clear and empha- tical views he enunciated that gave him a priority over his co- labourers, and placed him in his great position as leader of that great agitation. In contemplating the weapons he uses the means he brought to bear to the attainment of his end we are struck at once with their perfect originality. His speeches always seized great practical evils, and their extermination always denoted great practical benefits. He never raised " men of straw" for the especial purpose of knocking them down again ; but contested with palpable wrongs, held up overt acts, depicted concrete enormities, struggled with their corruptions, and beat down injustices as soon as they assumed anything of a tangible form. Hence Cobden' s almost unequalled power as a thorough practical speaker. In all his speeches, you never find him addressing himself to the passions ; he gave plenty of food for thought, but he was too well acquainted with the importance of his mission to become the mouth-piece of empty excitement or passionate denunciations. Moreover, he never allowed his mind to form greater results, to picture more beneficent effects from the operations of Free Trade, than he conscientiously believed. Cobden was no political quack ; he JAMES CROSSLEY. 67 preached no universal panacea, depicted no infallible Utopia. He left the thing to its own clear merits, he laid his case before the country in its own unsophisticated character. In all his efforts he was the honest, consistent, conscientious, and pure-minded believer of everything he uttered ; and though England may yet pass through many a tedious and fiery struggle before she attains the full amount of her rights, she will never possess a more faithful and indefatigable leader than Richard Cobden. JAMES CROSSLEY, ly the literary circles of this county, we know of no name more deservingly honoured and appreciated than the one before us. An active and zealous prosecution of literary labours of some thirty years duration, must have brought forth fruit worthy of the garner ; and since we know that all this activity has been productive of many really valuable contributions to the world of letters since it has evidenced a mind and resources of a really sterling character- since it has done much in the genuine and solid paths of literature we have considerable pleasure in introducing such a character before the reader. The amount of Mr. Crossley's contributions to literature, although but little known and appreciated among the masses, must always secure him the respect and veneration of every lover of letters. We have no doubt that even in Manchester, of which he is a resident, Mr. Crossley's valuable contributions are almost entirely unknown to the public generally, and though he is doubtless one of the most accomplished writers of the English language in the whole county, yet, among the masses, he is scarcely known as a writer, much less appreciated to the extent he deserves. The immediate reason of this is obvious. A taste for Literature in Lancashire has never been a general characteristic, and as to a mill-owner or a mechanist, a spinner or a calico-printer, or anybody else interested in the manufacturing and commercial prosperity of himself in particular or Lancashire in general, busying himself in the cultivation of la belle httre, is out of the question altogether. Moreover, even 68 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS ANl) ORATORS. in those who make some pretensions to refinement of taste for literature, we find but little appreciation of the class of writing to which Mr. Crossley has applied himself. In some things we may have progressed, but in the cultivation of good, sound English literature in the polished and elegant style of writing and the excellent matter we find in the pages of the Spectator and Edin- burgh Review, in their early campaigns in bona-jide ability of English composition, we have, to a certainty, retrograded. This, however, in parenthesis. With the real judges of what English literature should be, Mr. Crossley stands in due esteem. His vast and varied mental powers have secured him the warmest literary friendships and esteem that any man could desire. By the select few, who know the nature and extent of his productions, he muse always be viewed with genuine respect. Before, however, entering at any greater length into Mr. Crossley's writings, we would furnish the reader with one or two details of his life and history. Mr. Crossley was born at Halifax in Yorkshire, but we are not able to say in what year, although he appears now to be about forty- five or forty-six. His father was a highly respectable merchant of that place, and possessed an extensive and well-selected library. It is to this library that Mr. Crossley attributes his taste for reading and literary research, and we may well imagine the zest with which the future able contributor to Blackwood poured over those richly- laden shelves those never-dying resources of human wisdom and intelligence. To this we may clearly trace the love of books and cultivation of literary history and biography, he has since so largely developed. In 1817 Mr. Crossley was articled to Mr. Thomas Ainsworth, an eminent solicitor of Manchester, and father to the popular novelist, William Harrison Ainsworth. During this period, he formed a close and firm friendship with the latter, which has continued up to the present time. In connexion with this friendship, it may be stated that it was from Mr. Crossley, Harrison Ainsworth derived his turn for literary composition, a fact to which Mr. Ainsworth has frequently adverted. In the course of time, Mr. Crossley entered into partnership with Mr. Ains worth, and has now practised as a solicitor in Manchester for a considerable period. We do not know the precise commencement of Mr. Crossley's contributions to literature, but so early as 1818 we find him in active correspondence with Blackwood's Magazine, and writing CHOSSLEY. 69 articles and critical reviews of considerable ability, both in elegance of style and excellence of matter. He continued this correspondence for several years. His first article of any length was a comparison between Johnson and Warburton, in the 8th volume, which was afterwards included in Gait Batchie's life. In speaking of this article, a reverend gentleman of considerable attainments as an author and a classic, has said " His article on Warburton and Dr. Johnson in. Blackwood's Magazine, written at the early age of 16, is a piece of unrivalled criticism." In the 9th volume we have two other articles from his pen; one on "Manchester Poetry," and another on "The Cheetham Library." He also became connected with and furnished numerous articles to the pages of the Retrospec- tive Review. His first contribution to the Retrospective was an elegant and somewhat elaborate review of Sir Philip Sidney's "Arcadia," in the 2nd number. In 1822 he edited a small Edition of Sir Thomas Browne's singular and sombre production of the "Urn-burial," which was published at Edinburgh by Blackwood. When Mr. Wilkins collected Sir Thomas Browne's works, Mr. Crossley furnished him with the admirable fragment on Mummies, of which Mr. Macauley has spoken in very high terms. In 1840 an Edition of Wallis's " Letters on the Trinity" was published, the masterly introduction and notes to which were supplied by Mr. Crossley. The next passage in Mr. Crossley's literary life is probably the most important one. At a social party held at his residence in Booth-st., Manchester, in 1843, the Cheetham Society was established. The important character of the transactions of this Society may be gleaned from the fact that, since its establish- ment, it has issued nineteen volumes. Of these, Pott's " Discovery of the Lancashire Witches" and " Worthington's Diary," Vol. 1. have been edited by Mr. Crossley. On the the death of the Presi- dent of this Society (Dr. Edward Holme), Mr. Crossley was very appropriately appointed his successor. In 1847 he was the President of the Manchester Athenaeum, and during the period of his office gave considerable satisfaction to all parties connected with the institution. In connexion with the Athenaeum he had, at three of the Soirees, the agreeable duty to perform of rendering the requisite acknowledgements to the three distinguished visitors, Mr. Justice Talfourd, Mr. Alison, and Lord Mahon. From what we have here -stated, it will be seen that the mind of Mr. Crossley, though 70 LANCASHIllE AUTIIOttS AND OKATOBS. regularly engaged in his profession, has worked out many good things in the world of letters. And, we may venture to affirm, it has doubtless been the source of considerable pleasure and satisfac- tion. No man knows anything about the genuine happiness of literary pursuits until they become a relief to some other more laborious and monotonous line of action. In the daily avocations of life in the monotonous every-day round of cares and perplexities that beset us we find few, if any, elevating influences or refining associations ; but separated from these freed from, and untram- melled by these, \ve soon find out the soothing influences of the most unentertaining study or thankless line of investigation. And such, we presume, have been the experiences of the character before us. We may add that in private life Mr. Crossley is one of the most agreeable and intelligent companions, possessing a fund of book knowledge and general information upon literature, to which few men can lay claim. His personal appear- ance is cheerful and prepossessing, with a finely conformed fore- head, a ruddy complexion, a pair of bright and expressive eyes, and a somewhat tall and well-proportioned figure. We believe it is admitted upon all hands that Mr. Crossley possesses one of the largest and best selected private libraries in Manchester. We make no pretensions to a perfect acquaintance with all Mr. Crossley has written or published. We have closely read several of his miscellaneous articles, and glanced over his valuable notes and introductions to sonie of the works he has edited. To one or two of the articles we may be allowed to speak at a little length. They all manifest a great facility of writing, and an abundance of sound and well-digested information. They exhibit not only great qualities in the way of polished composition, but are characterised by a singular fertility of deep research and elaborate investigation. Every book he has reviewed, and every subject he has taken in hand, appears to have commanded his best attention and elicited his honest opinions. One of the smartest written reviews we have seen for a long period occurs in his article on " Manchester Poetry." It manifests a great fund of humour, and the satirical badinage with which he treats the poem in review, is real masterly execution. The subject itself was one well calculated to draw out a goodly amount of humour and no small degree of sarcasm, and Mr. Crossley has not spared his subject. Perhaps a little more leniency for JAMES CROSSLEY. 71 Manchester Poetry would have rendered the article more pleasing and acceptable ; but for style, language, sparkling fun, and real cut- and- thrust satire, it is a fine and masterly piece of criticism. The article on " Johnson and Warburton " is another remarkable specimen of Mr. Crossley's thorough conversancy with English literary composition. Its elegance of style is no more its distin- guishing feature than its depth of research and refinement of taste and judgment. A quick insight into the excellencies of each of these great characters, and a just estimate of their qualities as writers, runs through the article ; and considering the youth of the writer, we must confess it to be a piece of " unrivalled criticism." Another article in Blackwood, however, which we have come across, has perhaps given us more pleasure than those already named. We mean the very entertaining notice of " Cheetham Library" in the ninth volume. To any one interested in local antiquities and curiosities, an article of this character must be both pleasing and instructive. Mr. Crossley fairly introduces his reader into the very Shekinah of good Humphrey Cheetham's valuable institution he infuses you with the pleasant associations that are apt to creep over you upon visiting the venerable pile, and you find yourself, while perusing his notice, wandering again in the midst of this antique collection of huge folios, of " plain, brown, and quaker-like" bound books, of crocodiles, and sea-serpents, of " Oliver Cromwell's sword" and any quantity of " hairy monsters" and dusty tomes. The article is written in Mr. Crossley's best style, and in order to give the reader a specimen of his powers we quote a passage from it : " It is impossible to enter a large library, especially when in appearance so antique as the one of which we are now writing, without feeling an inward sensation of reverence, and without catching some sparks of noble emulation, from the mass of mind which is scattered around you. The very dullest, and least intellec- tual of the sons of earth, must be conscious of the high and lofty society into which he is intruding ; a society which no combination of living talent can ever hope to parallel. Before such a tribunal, before such a galaxy of intellect and learning, the haughty Aristarch himself might have doffed, without degradation, " the hat which never vailed to human pride." We feel, as we reverence the mighty spirits around us, that we are in some sort their brothers; and the very homage which we pay to their majesty is itself the 72 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AXI> ORATORS. bond of our alliance. Wliat spectacle besides can be more wonderful ? We are then where the human mind is displayed in its highest flights, and in its weakest inanity ; now in all its shades and variations of feeling or of subtility ; in all its walks through science, and the cycle of its thousand intelligences ; and in all its wide diffu- sion over the provinces and principalities of its empire, calling into action, and bringing forth its power, like the usheathing of weapons from their scabbards ; in its acuteness, subtilizing to infinity ; in its solidity, laying foundations of enduring and immovable strength; in its apprehension, receiving all the stores of learning and knowledge ; in its penetration, pervading with a glance the worlds of thought and science ; in its profundity, diving into depths forbidden, and denied to its nature ; and in its imagination creating, inventing, and producing in measure, inexhaustible and unspent ; now marching onward with proud and triumphant steps, now halting in its course with feeble tardiness now deviating into bye roads struck out by its own admirable ingenuity, yet still ever great in its extravagancies, dignified in its perversions, memorable in its debasements/' There is a breadth of style and nerve of writing about this that clearly shows Mr. Crossley's pretensions to literary power to be of a very superior character. But we must close our notice. Our space precludes our entering at any more length into his productions. We cannot close, however, without expressing a hope that these miscel- laneous articles upon which Mr. Crossley has bestowed so much time and trouble, may be published at no distant day in a collected form. REV. JAMES CARRIE, M.A. DOWN a very pleasant rural lane in Rusholme, about three miles from the Manchester Exchange, in the midst of green fields, and the " naked winds" of a free and salubrious atmosphere, you find Mr. Currie's small and elegant church. The church is exceedingly chaste and neat in the way of architectural design, both as regards the exterior appearance and the interior arrangements. The style, which we conceive to be early English, is distinguished for its REV. JAMES CURRIE,. M.A. 73 simplicity and freedom of design. You have no patches of this, or shreds of that, in the building before us. It is just complete in its own chasteness and simple elegance. In the interior there is a lightness and absence of everything approaching monotony that must win the encomiums of every lover of a pure, simple style of church construction. The ceiling is lofty, and supported by large oak rafters. There are three aisles of pews, which are low and convenient, but you have neither gallery or organ-loft to obstruct or interfere with the propriety of the design. The altar is raised in the niche of the Eastern window, and presents nothing showy or meretricious in the way of ornament. We should say, the church is capable of accommodating some five or six hundred persons. The congregation is a good one, and appears to be composed of many influential and wealthy families. And, in truth, we do not see why such a church should be without such a congregation; for considering the excellence of the pastor, the convenience and situation of the church, and many other minor details, it would be an unpardonable sin, were not the seats well tenanted during every service. In Mr. Currie, we are again presented with one of the " Low Church," and again with one fully maintaining its character of high ability and practical utility. That his congregation fully appreciate his character in this point of view, we need scarcely mention ; and that among his brethren, either of Church or Dissent, he maintains as high a character, is almost as unnecessary to state. There is one feature, however, in Mr. Currie's line of action, that we know 4 ' Mother- Church" is not so well pleased with; and that is the reverend gentleman's frequent co-operation with and appearance among the Dissenters. Whether Mr. Currie is acting, in this respect, by or against the dictum of the Thirty-Nine Articles, we cannot say ; but that he is acting in conformity with the Christianity of the Gospel, appears to us evident beyond all dispute. Those who condemn his course in this respect, may open their Bibles, and endeavour to find how far they are justified in their censure, and how far he is acting in accordance with his mission, and we think they will find the issue pretty clearly sitting in judgment against them- selves. The sectarianism of religion (that hollow bauble !) is fast sinking into decay, and we feel pleased to find such men as Mr. Currie stepping aside from the fiercest section of religionists to accele- 74 iHs-CAsniRE AUTHORS AXT> OTIATORS* rate its dissolution. In the course of a sermon we heard him preach about twelve months since, he brought into view this bane of religious differences. "The Woman of Samaria," he observed, " had been a testimony against this spirit of sectarianism two thou- sand years since ; and yet, despite the Lord's reply to the Woman, we nurture the same unwarrantable differences now." " Our fathers," she said, " worshipped in this mountain ; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." But the Lord pointed to another worship " But the hour cometh, and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth ; for the Father seeketh such to worship him." In the same sermon, and under the same head the reverend gentleman called attention to the unanimity of the Apostles to the oneness of their purpose ; and how superior they rose above the petty squabbles of sect or party. We were gratified to hear Mr. Currie enlarge upon this theme, inasmuch as while it contributed to the instruction of those beneath him, it placed his own position, and his friendly feeling towards all true Christians, in its proper and rational point of view. When you hear Mr. Currie preach, you hear more of the sound divine than of the polished orator. You have nothing of the Stowell, nothing of the Me. Grath, and much less of the Me. Neile. From beginning to end he serves you with solids in the most solid style. His preaching is just calculated for his congregation a kind, fatherly sort of ministration that serves more to confirm Christianity where it is awakened, than awaken it where it has scarcely found existence. He is rather an unconnected preacher, and though his arrangement and the general tenor of his observations is pretty perspicuous, still his want of divisions and proper dissection of his text often produces a degree of unconnectedness that mars their effect and influence. He never uses any notes or paper, but appears to preach quite extemporary, except in some few passages which, we should say, were committed to memory. His exordium, which rarely occupies beyond two or three minutes, usually contains some few pertinent observations, that probably bear more direct reference to his hearers than to the immediate subject of his discourse. In the illustrations of his text, he manifests considerable intimacy with Holy Writ. He quotes passages from the Scriptures with an aptness and facility not often equalled. He seems attached to KEY. JAMES CURHIEj M.A. 9 75 drawing all his illustrations from the Bible, and rarely quotes any other authority in any of the most argumentative passages of his sermon. We should say, he is a tolerable logician, but he does not appear to be fond of displaying his powers in this department. In some of our pulpits we have often found that in the way of logic there are just two extremes ; we have either too little or too much of it. We were glad to find Mr. Currie engaged in the " happy medium," and the specimen he furnished was just sufficient to show us his reasons for the views he took, without confounding the mind with useless premises and unnecessary deductions. If a ground is maintained by one good, sound argument, it is as useful as a thousand ; and Mr. Currie seems to have discovered the fact, for he never burdens the mind with .anything beyond the one line of argument he pursues. The general tenor of his sermons consist more in the vitality of doctrine than in any other theme. This is his one grand object, and he seems to delight in it with all the emotions of a true and devout Christian. His applications generally last about five minutes, and are marked by much earnest- ness of feeling, but no particular warmth of manner. Towards the latter end of his sermon, he preaches with his eyes closed, a peculiarity that we never remember observing in any other preacher. He very rarely occupies beyond thirty-five or forty minutes, during which time he is listened to with earnest attention by all around him. He has not a very fluent command of Ian guage, but what he does use is tolerably elegant. His sentences are rather uuequal, sometimes being rough and grating, at others smoothed and polished. His manner in the pulpit is anything but animated, and it is only till within a few minutes of the conclusion of his discourse he removes his arms from his side, and slightly raises them above his breast. He makes no other gesture, and even this is a very feeble attempt. His voice is not very strong, although the tones are rather deep, but extremely monotonous. He has likewise a fault of dropping it very suddenly in some passages, where such a change is completely out of place. In his own church, he is always perfectly audible ; but we have heard Tiim in some buildings to a decided disadvantage in this respect. Mr. Currie presents a very prepossessing appearance in his out- ward man. We should think he stands little or nothing under six feet in height; and he is well proportioned in figure. He scarcely 76 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. looks like a divine ; he has more of the " healthy and wealthy" yeoman in his face than the man of Oxford or Cambridge. His face is round in conformation, and there is a good degree of ruddy hue about his complexion. He possesses a head of intellectual conformation, the forehead being somewhat prominent. His hair is dark, with here and there a slight tinge of grey. You do not discover much brilliancy in his eyes, which are large, and of a dark grey. His cheeks are full and his nose somewhat large and prominent. He looks remarkably well in the black silk gown, the ample folds of which show off his figure to a good advantage. Mr. Currie appears to be about fifty years of age. He has spent some years in Italy, and upon all matters relating to that country he manifests a most lively interest, and conveys a deal of profitable information. He delivered a highly interesting lecture in the Manchester Town-hall upon this theme, and in it exhibited a thorough conversancy with the state of the country in every imagi- nable point of view. W. SHARMAN CRAWFORD, M.P. IF consistency of opinion, honesty of purpose, industry of habits, and general attention to all his duties, constitute excellence in a Member of Parliament, then the people of Rochdale are represented in no ordinary degree in possessing the services of William Sharman Crawford. The unexceptionable esteem in which he is held in the House, both for his gentlemanly bearing, and amiability of tempera- ment, as well for his excellence as a senator and speaker, must give much satisfaction to his constituents and considerably justify them in the selection they have made. We do not hesitate in affirming Sharman Crawford to be one of the most conscientious, upright, and consistent men within the portals of St. Stephen's. His whole parliamentary career has always proved his devotion, not only to the rights of his constituents, but the rights of justice and reason, the rights of honesty and the dictates of conscience. Mr. Crawford, too, is not only an honest member but an active one. Scarcely a question comes before the attention of the house, but W. SHARMAN CRAWFORD, M.P. 9 77 what he brings his sound judgment and clear intellect to bear upon its character. The daily prints always evidence to the country that Sharman Crawford is not the man to lounge upon the benches, or rouse the ire of the Speaker with snoring at the back of his chair. With the exception of Mr. Hume, no member enters so generally into the business of the House as the honourable member for Roch- dale. He is always ready, always prepared to face the enemy or support his friends, and, moreover, is always well initiated in the subject before he gives vent to his expressions. Mr. Crawford has not, probably, confidence enough in himself, but his modesty and retiring disposition often add a degree of force to his speeches and a two-fold sincerity to the truth of his observations. Throughout his parliamentary career, his opinions have generally been held as the opinions of one who based them on good, sound grounds, and strong, healthy convictions. While the representative of Dundalk, he made some of the most comprehensive speeches upon Ireland that have been heard within the walls of St. Stephen's for a long series of years. Upon this point, Mr. Crawford is a practical man; he always brings with him a good array of facts and solid arguments to maintain whatever position he takes. He is acknowledged by most men in Parliament to possess about as sound and comprehensive views upon the condition and necessities of Ireland, as any man in that assembly. O'Connell was wont to hold him, in this respect, in very high repute, and we have often observed in debates on Irish matters, that Mr. Crawford generally presents the question in about as comprehensive a style as any member who procceeds or follows him. Although a Protestant, Mr. Crawford has invariably worked with the Irish members in gaining any religious rights and liberties. In this he has betrayed his liberal mode of thinking and extensive sympathies, and his co-operation in the furtherance of the claims of the Roman Catholics of the sister country deserves our warmest commendations. Mr. Crawford's general political opinions are ultra-liberal, and he took a tolerably prominent part in the Free Trade agitation. He " goes the whole hog" with the Charter, is a voluntary Education advocate, a State-church opponent, a firm enemy to capital punishment, and a Peace man to the back-bone. He has now represented Rochdale for some eight or nine years, and by his repeated returns for that borough, and the unanimity of his election, together with the honesty, ability, and industry with which 78 iJfccASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. he has conducted his charge, he is held in the highest esteem, and rarely fails to please his numerous constituents. His personal appearance has something about it commanding, although nothing strikingly prepossessing. In stature he is decidedly above the middle height and tolerably erect in his figure ; his form is slender in the extreme, and he is generally habited in a black frock- coat, buttoned up very closely over the chest up to the neck. His forehead is rather lofty but not particularly indicative of great intellect, while his head is covered with a profusion of jet black hair, which is well arranged, and looks remarkably well over his white marble-like brow. His eyes, of a dark hue, are rather large and expressive, his nose is prominent, and his mouth strongly denned. The form of his face, which is particularly pale and slightly pitted with the small-pox, is somewhat thin and angular. There is generally a very pensive expression hanging about his features, and there often seems an air of melancholy in the cast of his eyes. He does not, from all appearance, possess very good health, although he is generally very regular in. his attendance at the house. From what we remember, we should say the honourable is about fifty-five years of age, but neither his hair nor features indicate it. When he rises to address his audience he is somewhat shy, and throughout his speech is anything but animated. His eyes are nearly always turned to the ground during the delivery of his sentiments, and although he may be uttering some of the most excellent truths and matured opinions, still his natural modesty never allows him to utter those sentiments with that degree of triumph that you would expect, and that you often meet from less qualified quarters. As a private character, Mr. Crawford is one of the most benevolent men that enters the house. Humanity is and always has been a distin- guished trait in his character, and if every Irish landlord would only pursue the same honest, benevolent, and upright course that has been taken by Sharman Crawford, we might look for regeneration yet in that ill-favoured land. The subject of our sketch is an extensive Irish land-proprietor, and from all accounts is one of the best in the country, both in the management of his estate and for the general humane manner in which he treats his tenants. When Sharman Crawford rises to address the house, his modesty and lack of confidence appears a great barrier to his making any decided impression upon the minds of his hearers. He is neither W. SHABMAN CRAWFORD, M.P. D 79 energetic nor animated, and the slow, quiet tones of his voice scarcely fill the place. His action, too, is cold and monotonous, a feejble up-and-down swing of the right arm, and an occasional movement of his head, composing his principal movements from the beginning to the end of his oration. His voice is tolerably clear, but neither musical nor sonorous. He generally, however, commands the attention of honourable members, and is heard throughout his speech, which usually occupies some half or three quarters of an hour, with respect, and all the silence that the House of Commons can maintain. As we have before observed, Mr. Crawford's forte lies in the treatment of Irish affairs. In this department he invariably betrays good logical reasoning and eminently practical views. In the recent Landlord and Tenant bills, he evinced con- siderable powers of judgment and observation, and many of the arguments and facts he adduced were some of the most cogent we ever remember being brought to bear upon the like questions. In laying down his grounds and clearly building his superstructure, he excels to a considerable extent. He rarely fails to comprehend the subject, and consequently is always to be understood in his line of reasoning. Mr. Crawford is decidedly a better orator than a debater, and his replies are rarely characterised with much sharpness or any of that cut-and-thrust sort of debate that is so notable in D'Israeli, Stanley, or Roebuck. If he has, however, to reply on any matter-of-fact point, though not brilliant, he is always pre- pared and can give ample satisfaction, and not unfrequently a dead defeat to his antagonist. But he always preserves his temper, and though sitting beneath the ugly sarcasms of that very ugly member for Lincoln, or the old Tory hum-drum of that " fat, sleek, and contented" University man of Oxford, still he never allows his feelings to get the better of his judgment, or show any personal animosity to an opponent. This is a particularly pleasing feature in a member, and one that ought to be a little more cultivated. The equanimity of Mr. Crawford's temper certainly often gives him a great advantage over his opponents, and with his natural modesty and humanity of disposition, there is no man incurs less of the ire of honourable members. It were almost unnecessary to pass judgment upon Mr. Crawford's style as a speaker, inasmuch as we believe he does not pay much attention to the refinements or polish of oratory. He is not an 80 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. eloquent orator, and neither attempts the elegant in style nor the poetical in language. His modes of illustration are more striking for their strength and solidity than for their beauty or dramatic effect. His exordiums are usually calm and comprehensive, and his perorations more striking for a goodly flow of feeling than for any brilliant excursions or passionate declamation. We have heard him to more advantage at a public meeting than any where else, and we believe he has far more confidence in meeting a large assembly of his constituents, than in facing the interior of St. Stephens. He has a tolerable command of language, though it scarcely rises above mediocrity. His investigation of the more matter-of-fact parts of the question probably precludes him paying much attention to these minor details, and hence we must value his abilities by a just standard, and pay him tribute for his just reasoning, calm judgment, quick observation, and, above all, his amiability and benevolence of disposition. FREDERICK N. DYER. POETICAL effusions on the theme of Freedom are rarely, so long as they have something of the truly poetical in their character, wholly unsuccessful or undeserving of our warm eulogiums. Every man, whatever his creed in religion or his party in politics, has some secret yearning for Freedom, and the poet who can attune his lyre with anything like a melody of sound and clearness of sentiment, will never fail to find a response in the human heart. Poetry on love may refine the heart, but poetry on freedom elevates the soul. We may go through the whole of our British poets, and we shall invariably find their finest poetical flights their grandest efforts their sublimest outpourings owing their source to this great and ennobling theme. From Milton and Shakespeare down to Wor- dsworth, Shelly, Byron, Keats, and Montgomery, is to be found this theme, filling the most exalted niche and exercising the most powerful influences and impressions. Hence the true poet of free- dom is rarely an unsuccessful suitor of the Muses. His theme is FREDERICK N. DYER. 81 always great and sublime, and unless well supported by language and ideas commensurate with its greatness, will as surely fail as the theme is great. We are induced to pass these observations, because we are about to introduce to the reader one of our Lancashire bards, whose fame has principally been based on writings of the character to which we allude. Mr. Dyer's productions have essentially con- sisted of strains sang in Freedom's cause ; his muse has eminently engaged itself in this high and ennobling theme ; and though he may not have won to himself very wide-spread encomiums for his workmanship, still his efforts have betrayed a poet's soul of no ordinary magnitude, and a poet's expression of no common eloquence, that must always pronounce him. pretty equal to the greatness of the subject he has treated. As a comparative young author, he has certainly done well in his work, both in. the choice of his theme and the ability he has thrown upon it. Both in matter and style, Mr. Dyer may fairly claim the distinction of a poet. He has shown himself worthy of the character in abundant passages of his writings which we would quote, did our space admit. To read some of his cantos is to revel in one beautiful flow of soul-inspiring and heart-thrilling poetry, such as the more you read the more it enchains you. At all events, whether it is the brilliant language, or the intensity of interest excited in the recital of some of his passages, we have frequently felt thus influenced by his pen. But let us pass from these preliminary remarks, and put the reader in possession of the more precise character of Mr. Dyer's productions. At the latter end of 1848, our poet first brought out his beautiful metrical tale of The Slave Girl. The immediate object of the poem is to present a picture of some of the horrors of American slavery. With this end in view, Mr. Dyer has conceived an ingenious little plot, in the course of which he powerfully describes some of the too numerous atrocities and revolting circumstances incidental to the slave-life of America. We shall not enter into the plot itself, but simply content ourselves with remarking that the poet has in nowise exaggerated or over-coloured the scenes which he brings before his readers. In fact, he is fully borne out in his statements by the excellent additions to his work in the shape of notes from the pens of Miss Martineau, Botta, Frederick Douglas, Chateaubriand, Moore, and Jefferson. The poem, which consists of some four M 82 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AN"D ORATORS. hundred Spenserian stanzas, is throughout written with considerable 1 power and feeling. Some of the passages are tame and feeble, but the majority exhibit much that is grand in the poet, and all that is worthy of the man. The author's descriptive powers are frequently called into happy execution. Here we have a passage well exhibit- ing his forte in this respect. " Tumultous motion dances all around ; And sudden, evanescent rays of light Flash from the ocean as the billows bound, And on their surface catch the morning bright. Flinging reflected radiance on the sight ; And, ere the dazzled eye can turn away, A thousand waves, with crests of silver-white, Receive, throw back, and meet the sunbeams gay, As the light wreath is toss'd in girlhood's graceful play.** And here again " How s\veet is night ! when, shining from on high,, A Ihousand stars look down upon the hills ; And the broad moon, suspended in the sky, Seems to baptize with silver light the rills ; Aerial music on the senses thrills. As the wind laden with the tender sighs Of every closing flow'ret, which distils Its soothing perfume to the midnight skies, Sweeps murmuring along, rich with the fragrant prize." In stanzas of probably even greater poetic richness than these, does Mr. Dyer present us with pictures of American scenery ; and with a vividness, often too overwhelming to contemplate, he pictures forth the cruelties of American slavery. The characters introduced are not numerous, but well drawn and sustained. The heroine, " Lucinda," is a very spirited conception, and well developed in every respect. The good, honest " Ceaser," is likewise an excellent portraiture of devoted worth as exhibited in a liberated slave, and is very appropriately introduced. Notwithstanding the utter con- tempt which all American slavery is calculated to excite in any truly Christian breast, Mr. Dyer has refrained from anything approaching intemperate denunciations of the system or its upholders. Where he does apply the lash, it is in the right place and in the right spirit. He never goes beyond the bounds of reason, and as he very temperately observes in his preface, " the spirit of this book has not been dictated by any bitter or party feeling against the Slave-holders, as a class ;" so he has preserved throughout a mode- FREDERICK tf. DYER. 83 ?ale and calm expression of opinion upon the question. We need not, however, scarcely add that the author frequently pours forth some fine outbursts in the cause of emancipation. The latter passages of his poem indicate considerable powers and feeling in this respect ; and what is more they reach the heart. Thus much for the nature and treatment of the Slave Girl. A word or two on Mr. Dyer's style of poetry, as indicated in the poem before us. That he has great command of language, an abundance of rhythm, and a considerable amount of brilliant sentiments, will be admitted upon all hands ; but he is sometimes very unequal, both as regards matter and style. Moreover, we have frequently found cause to complain of some very good ideas being somewhat robbed of their excellence, by too profuse a flow of verbiage. These are imperfec- tions, however, that must be allowed in a comparatively young writer, and we have not the slighest doubt but his good sense and taste will, in another production, rectify them all. From Mr. Dyer's productions, we may now turn to a word on himself and "his personal history. To tell his parentage, is certainly to tell of one of Manchester's greatest men, his father being the well-known reformer and highly-esteemed character, both in public and private, J. C. Dyer. It were useless for us to say more than this in reference to his parentage ; the name we have mentioned is a sufficient guarantee of high talent and ability, such as has not frequently been equalled in Manchester for the last half- century. Mr. Dyer, we learn, is descended from a sturdy Round- head, who, preferring an American life and soil to the system which ultimately brought disgrace upon the Stuarts, emigrated to that country, with his brother and sister. The elder brother settled himself on " Dyer's Island," and rearing a large family, he was soon the means of spreading a considerable number of "long-sided" Yankees n the mainland. There were one or two remarkable members of the family, Mary Dyer, the quakeress martyr, whose history is well known, and the Hon. Eliphat Dyer, one of the subscribers of the " Bill of Rights." From these the author of the Slave Girl is lineally descended. Our author was born in Man- chester, in January, 1822. His first studies were under the superintendence of Dr. Johns, to whom many of Manchester's leading men are indebted for a sound education. At the age of eleven, he was removed to Mr. Voelker's admirable school at 84 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. Everton. It was here that he first developed some rhyming faculties, the burden of his rhymes being metrical descriptions to his school-mates, as they lay in bed, of his journeys from Manchester to Liverpool, descriptive of the scenes and incidents of the road. We next find him at the academy of Messrs. Hill, of Tottenham, near London. At the age of fifteen he left this place, and accompanied his family to France. Here he was placed at the College Royale of Amiens, his apartments being at the house of M. Spery, who, having been many years a professor at college, had, on his marriage, opened a school in connection with the college, to prepare young students of the higher classes. It was at Amiens, under the enlightened superintendence of M. Spery, that he began in serious vein to study " la belle lettre" At intervals, he composed numerous poems in French and English. It being necessary for him to make a literal translation of his English effusions into French before bringing them under M. Spery's inspection, he contracted the habit of translating all his verses before submitting them to his friends ; and, in latter days, he has done so beforeTbringing them under the notice of the public. Having completed his studies at the College, he still resided with M. Spery, occasionally spending a few months with his brothers in the Valley of the Breste, or with his father in England. His first attempt at a serious poetical work, was a tragedy on the classical model prevalent in France, in English rhyming verse, founded on the incident which led to the prohibition of the worship of Isis at Rome, under Tiberius. This production is either lost or destroyed. The Slave Girl, in its first form, was partly written at Amiens. It only consisted of three cantos, and ran to the length of about a thousand lines. Upon his return to England he entirely re-wrote this poem, and presented it to the world in its present form. During his residence of about nine years at Amiens, he wrote several poems, and collected a great mass of historical and legendary lore respecting the Province of Picardy. We believe it is the intention of Mr. Dyer to bring this collection shortly before the public, which we feel assured will prove at once valuable and interesting to a great mass of readers. THE EARL OF ELLESMEttE. 85 THE EARL OF ELLESMERE. IN Lancashire, an aristocratic and high-titled author may truly be regarded as a sort of phenomenon. As we have had occasion to remark, the main body of literary characters in this quarter spring from the middle and lower orders ; and hence the name of Lord Ellesmere appearing as one identified with the more plebian cog- nomens of Prince or Bamford, appears a singularity that we do not often encounter. But the disparity in name and influence indicates no disparity in intellect. The thing possesses its moral ; it evidences that neither wealth or power can prevent poverty and obscurity from grasping and re taming a vigorous mental being ; that the points of knowledge gush forth as freely for the enlightenment and polish of a Clare or a Thorn, as it does for an Ellesmere or Blessington. In making these observations, however, we would not attempt to depreciate literary productions, because their authors happen to possess "The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power," upon the other hand, we would rather wish for a more general out- pouring of intellect from some of our scions of aristocracy ; we would rather see them employ their leisure in less sport, and exercise it in more rational pursuits. The subject of our sketch is a notable instance of what advantage can be rendered by members of the nobility in the way of mental culture ; and though possessed of princely wealth and capable of participating in the greatest luxuries, the Lord of Worsley has not missed the genial pleasures of books and the quiet temperate pursuits of book-making. Although we do not regard him as a genius, yet he is a scholar of the first order, and hence we may rest assured that all his works are the offspring of close study and laborious application. It is this laborious species of study which he has pursued, that reflects so much to his praise ; had he possessed the genius of Byron we should not have felt so much surprised ; but as it is, as he has discarded courtly scenes and pleasures for the acquisition of more temperate delights as he has cast aside the glaring allurements of the real for the more transcen- dent imagery of the ideal as he has worked hard for a name he is 86 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. certainly deserving of no mean share of praise and no ordinary niche among the authors of his generation. We have classed the subject of our present sketch among the Authors identified with Lancashire, because we conceive the name of Lord Francis Leveson-Gower as an author, is far better known and more popularly appreciated than that of the Earl of Ellesmere either as a parliamentary orator or political leader. Though perhaps one of the most polished men that ever entered the upper or lower house, he is in possession of none of the means, either in matter or manner, to convey himself in the shape of a well-finished speech. His voice even, to our ear, is harsh, weak, and somewhat monotonous. Moreover he lacks a good flow of language, and his mode of delivery does not possess the least variety of expression or gesture. In his speeches he appears to possess no imagination to win the sympathies or passions of his hearers, nor any facility in arranging facts and demonstrations to enlist their reason. We have, heard him on several occasions, but always came away with our impressions more permanently fixed, that Lord Ellesmere was no orator. If he pos- sessed the same amount of nerve and power of delivery, and forcible demonstration the same degree of quickness as he has of polish, perhaps he might be a more popular speaker, but as it is, his efforts are for the most part tame and ineffective. His personal appearance is lively described by the late Doctor Maginn about twelve or four- teen years since : " He is a general favourite with all classes whose fa^ our is most to be coveted, with Theodore Hook and the wits with A. B. C., X. Y. Z., and the beauties and with Howley, Philpots, Carr, and all the other ornaments of the episcopal bench. And being himself witty, good-humoured, a tall man of his inches as handsome a fellow as you can pick out in the round town, in the very flower and vigour of his days, too, and a most staunch and pious disciple of Mother Church, to say nothing of his having the best cook in London after Ude, there can be but little doubt that he might enjoy all the aforesaid honours and luxuries, even if he had never incurred the smallest risk of inking his fingers by anything more serious than a sonnet in an album, or- an autograph, upon Duchess Coutts." His lordship's appearance, however, has been subject to some change since the writing of this extract. He appears to be some fifty years of age, and, though perhaps not so handsome a man as he was when Dr. Maginn sketched him, THE EARL OF ELLESMERE. 87 lie still retains a fine gentlemanly figure, both tall and well pro- portioned. His features are of a dark complexion and somewhat thoughtful in expression ; his face is rather angular and his brow tolerably intellectual in development; his hair is black although here and there streaked with a little grey, while his eyes are of a bright hazel, and indicate no ordinary intellect and penetration. His manners compose the very beau ideal of a polished nobleman. He is a nobleman in the most complete sense of the word, fully understanding his position in whatever company he may happen ta figure. Lord Ellesmere's maiden literary efforts evidenced the scholar of much ability and large acquisitions. We think his first most im- portant contribution to the world of letters was a translation of Gosthe's Faust, which ranks perhaps as high as any other transla- tion of the great German's poem that we possess in the English language. In this work he has developed a thorough acquaintance with the language upon which he practised, and has adhered to the text of his author as purely and fairly as we ever recollect seeing in any translation. The true spirit of the characters is well sustained throughout, while the little embellishments of style that here and there occur in the poem, are well wrought and successfully adapted. We can imagine Goethe's face illuminated upon perusing this exquisite and masterly translation of his great production. The story is so well brought out and the incidents of the plot so care- fully and ingeniously studied, that no one, even conversant with the language, could enjoy the original with more zest than that of the translation. The characters of Faust and Margaret, shine with as much vividness as you will encounter in the best edition from Germany. The Lyrical portion is managed with much tact and felicity, embodying the true spirit of the peculiar cast of poetry that identified itself with the literary age and country of Schiller and Goethe. Another translation, but a prose one, of Raumer's History of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, is a large and important production. It must have cost much time and application. The work is excellent in its way, although, perhaps, not near so elaborate a translation of prose as his Faust is of poetry. The principal work of Lord Ellesmere that belongs wholly to his own imagination and powers of invention, is a little volume of poetry entitled Mediterranean Sketches. The book, we are given to under- 88 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. stand, owes its origin to a voyage that his lordship undertook through the Mediterranean during the summer of 1835 or 36. During this voyage he visited Spain and Portugal, and proceeded onwards to Syria, rambling through every place in the Holy Land. The poem before us was consequently the produce of his Palestine pilgrimage. The main feature, in our opinion, of the Mediterranean Sketches-, consists in its polished diction and elegant style. Though written much after the strain of Byron's Childe Harold, the stanzas being Spenserian and the source of the matter springing from a kindred source of inspiration, yet they lack much of the imagery and far more of the vigour, that distinguished Byron's great work. His lordship has a splendid style an elegant method of conveying himself and a charming way of recital. The Holy Land is certainly enough to inspire a man, but whatever might have been Lord Ellesmere's emotions, he does not appear to possess that fertility of imagination necessary to give a life and soul to his impressions and feelings. Here and there we have some beautiful sentiments expressed in his usual beautiful phraseology. There is, moreover, a smoothness of versification that is sure to charm the ear and win the senses. But none of his own efforts come up to his translations. In the latter he has every opportunity of displaying his extensive acquirements to the very best advantage, and hence his translation of Faust may be regarded as his chef de ouvre. This work is gene- rally quoted as a reference by English scholars, and has received the warmest commendations of Wordsworth, Heraud, Taylor, &c. His lordship is a voluminous author, albeit we think with Maginn, that he *' never extracted a copper from John Murray's till." As a matter of course, he is a staunch supporter of literary institutions and literary men, and possesses at Worsley one of the most magnificent private libraries in the Kingdom. JOHN FIELDEN. FOR thorough utilitarian speakers, for plain practical orators for clear sensible and pointed speeches we will venture to affirm that no other county is more distinguished than Lancashire. See the JOHN FIELDEN. 89 business men that we send to Parliament, how they work ; how they exemplify in their speaking their straightforward, pointed, and masculine minds. How they beat down every obstacle ; direct every energy, and finish off what they begin with right masterly and business-like spirit. Look at our Cobdens, Brights, Kershaws, Westheads, Browns, Henrys, Smiths, and a host of other notables of " the Manchester school," and where shall we encounter a*body of men, springing as it were from one locality, with a greater amount of energy, indomitable perseverance, and good, practical common sense ? Much as we may admire the glowing outpourings of Shiel, or the brilliant orations of D'Israeli, still we are disposed to regard our plain matter-of-fact Lancashire representatives as the representa- tive of English feelings and tendencies. These men believe what they say, and hence we may rely upon their purity of feeling, earnestness of faith, and honesty of purpose. Hence they cast aside brilliant sentences and glowing perorations to admit of more tangible and legitimate means of demonstration, and thus while they are ever prepared to cope with the most flowery fluency of Manners, or the most subtle generalship of Peel or Graham, they are constantly applying themselves with a thorough heart and soul to the discharge of the great trust with which they are commis- sioned. Perhaps no single man of this notable class was more remarkable than the subject of our present sketch, John Fielden, the late M.P. for Oldham. Whatever difference of opinion may exist relative to the efficiency or salutary effects of the Ten Hours' Bill, we are disposed to think that no individual, not even its most vehement opponents, could but admire Mr. Fielden's undaunted championship of this one great cause. For our part^ we admire your men who adhere to one great reformation or crusade. These men of concentration, who bring all their powers to bear upon one grand object, why, these are the men that rise wherever they show themselves. See Clarkson, Howard, Wilber- force, Penn, and a host of other notables, how remarkably they confined all their powers enlisted all their energies in the furtherance of the great ultimatum of their existencies. So has it been with O'Connell and Emancipation, with Cobden and Free Trade, with Brougham and Slavery, with Father Mathew and Temperance, with Rowland Hill and Cheap Postage, with Wilderspin and Infant Schools, and " though last, not least in our good esteem," N 90 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND OKATOKSV with John Fielden and the Ten Hours' Bill. There were few men better known to the frequenters of the Manchester market than the celebrated character before us. His personal appearance had nothing striking or imposing, although there was something in his face denoting a being above the ordinary cast of mind. We should say, his years numbered some sixty or sixty-five. His features were rather small, and his head tolerably intellectual, and covered with venerable white hair. His figure was somewhat spare, while his stature did = not rise much if any above the middle height. There was no common amount of shrewdness and sagacity in the cast of his little eye, as it twinkled about the busy throng in which he was moving. When lit up with a smile, there was something rather benevolent in his cast of features, and as he rarely seemed to be subject to any moody fits, he generally presented a pleasing expression to the spectator. His manners were a little abrupt, although this is no uncommon feature with some of the most polished gentlemen who attend the Manchester Exchange. One peculiarity about his demeanour that we have heard related in reference to his parliamentary pursuits, is somewhat laughable. This was an amusing feature that was wont to excite the risibilities of honourable members in the House. He used to hold his hat drum-ways in one hand, and with the other, as he gave utterance to a proposition or stated a fact, he rammed home the charge by a violent knock into his hat, which not unfrequently had the most ludicrous effect. In the way of business he always acted with a great amount of affability and calmness. In this line he was, to all intents and purposes, a genuine Lancashire man. The name of " Fielden Brothers" possesses no ordinary influence in our busy mart. It is, at all events, a password of wealth and first-rate credit. Like the great majority of our greatest men in this quarter like the Grants, Potters, Lords, Kershaws, &c. John Fielden was, in the most complete sense, the architect of his own fortune. Indefatigable perseverance, strict integrity, quick insight, good judgment, and a natural progressive disposition, composed his auxiliaries throughout his life, and elevated him to the ex- alted position he maintained among the cotton princes of England. We have classed Mr. Fielden among the Orators of Lancashire, because in his advocacy, both in and out of the House, of the Ten Hours' Bill, he certainly developed no common tact in speaking, 3TOHN FIELDEN. 91 both in a clear demonstrative array of facts, and a peculiar cogent line of reason, that entitled him to a place in that high character. Perhaps the name of " Leader " would be more applicable to him than that of Orator. Oratory, in its most popular sense in the Sheil, Brougham, or Macauley-school he had little or none, but his style had one quality that certainly after all recommends itself before all others, and it was that very rare quality, good, sound, common sense. What a blessing if all our M.Ps. possessed it in an equal degree. Willingly would we concede all the charms of eloquence that here and there break forth in the debates in the columns of the Times, could we but have an equal ratio among our congregation of senators of that blessed commodity known as common sense. Hence Fielden, though he did not possess either a purely logical bent of intellect, or any of the powers of declama- tion, was a speaker upon whom you could always rely for some amount of truthful information, and some practical sense by which you could be guided. He always brought himself to bear thoroughly upon the question under discussion, never shrinking or performing a circumlocution. He pounced upon the evil at once, neither paus- ing to measure its dimensions or estimating its resistance. He knew it was an evil, and that was quite sufficient to arouse the strength and antagonism of John Fielden. His manner of speaking was sometimes cool, and anon earnest and energetic. In his appeals upon behalf of the Ten Hours' Bill he sometimes exhibited a strong degree of emotion, albeit, we think he managed his business far more satisfactorily than his predecessor, Lord Ashley. He had no remarkable fluency of speech, nor any striking style. His language was generally what would be called " common- place," and his sentences were sometimes rather unmusical in expression. His voice was somewhat thin, although upon the whole tolerably audible. Mr. Fielden 1 s political opinions were generally known ; an out-and-out Radical, a short parliament, universal suffrage, vote by ballot, and free trade man to the very back-bone. 92 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. W. J. FOX, M.P. IT is a somewhat remarkable circumstance that many of the most active leaders of the League, who were in a manner quite unknown to fame in any of the large towns in the north, have since become, in a political sense, identified with the county that was productive of that great organization. The League appears to have conduced much to securing the constant adhesion and support of its great men in the very quarters where it first enunciated its principles. Had it not have been for his eloquent advocacy of Free Trade, W. J. Fox, in all probability, would never have been the honourable representa- tive of Oldham. The Oldham electors are certainly deserving of much commendation for their appreciation of a man who is certainly in every way deserving of their trust. It was a reward for his good services in a good cause. They enabled him to give a full and satisfactory ratification of what he had so frequently uttered. They heard him give expression to beautiful sentiments, eloquent appeals, quick penetration, and well-matured ideas, and they thought, most judiciously too, that all these good things would sound quite as well in the House of Commons as on the platform or hustings. What- ever may be urged against the general intelligence of the Oldham people, we think they exercised no ordinary amount of discernment in sending W. J. Fox to Parliament. They gave him scope to put into practical observance all those excellent progressive principles he had laid before his delighted auditories during the League campaign. They furnished him with means wherewith to work out the grand design, and we are disposed to think they have no cause for regret. His career in Parliament has fully realised what was expected. He has essentially identified himself with the " Manches- ter school " of political feelings and ideas, and has been their constant exponent on every division and in every question, of any importance, that has affected their interests. He has been consistent in everything he ever expounded. He has faced the enemy within the walls with as much energy and bravery as he did during his struggles without ; and though the beautifully poetical style of his imv be lost upon the diplomatic nerves that fill the treasury "W. J. FOX, M.P. 9d benches, or the aristocratic buskins of the " Country party," still his caustic wit and sarcasm, his well-digested ideas and thorough familiarity with every subject to which he applies himself, supplies him, as a member, with no ordinary degree of power and influence when he raises his voice within the walls of St. Stephen's. We should imagine there are few of our readers unacquainted with the name, person, and career of the subject of our sketch. His success and popularity in the anti-corn-law movement has given him a name and standing in the political horizon of England, that will not be easily obliterated from the minds of the Reformers of this country. He has worked hard and well for fame, and he has received it at the hands of those who are always ready to appreciate and encourage merit wherever it is unfolded. Like many men of the same cast of mental energy, Fox is essentially a " bred and born" man of the people. He is one who has worked on the up- hill course, who has been the sole architect of his own exalted position, who has fought his own great battle of life, who has made denials and sacrifices to gain an eminence among his countrymen,' and who has cultivated his own parts and developed them principally through his own instrumentality and means of action. The life of Fox certainly bears evidence of how much may be done through the agency of self-cultivation ; of what great results may arise from the simple, unaided efforts of one man. His early life is a sufficient manifesto of the supreme greatness that may be lodged in one mind. Mr. Fox, we understand, was born at a farm-house in the neigh- bourhood of Wrentham, in Sussex, on the 1st of March, 1786 ; but in consequence of a change in the circumstances of his parents, was removed at an early age to the city of Norwich. What education he received from this period to that of his becoming a weaver-boy, which occurred when he was twelve or thirteen, must have been very limited and meagre ; and when at fourteen he exchanged the shuttle for the pen, and entered a banking house, what qualified him to fill this vocation must have been mainly owing to his own efforts and close application. It is said that he passed six or seven years in this situation, and during that period made glorious studies in the work of self-advancement. Latin, Greek, and Mathematics, were commenced and progressed with at an astonishing rate, besides the study of natural philosophy and political economy. But at the termination of this engagement we find him seeking a higher sphere 94 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. of action, in entering the seminary of the celebrated Dr. Pye Smith, at Homerton, as a student of divinity. Here he distinguished himself, from all accounts, in an eminent degree, and we meet him preaching his first sermon in 1812, atFareham, in Hampshire. In two or three years, however, he left the Calvinistic Independents, and became the pastor of a Unitarian chapel at Finsbury, at which he has continued up to the present period. During these years he has contributed, both through the medium of pen and mouth, to the advancement of many high and laudible objects. His contributions to the periodical press and current literature of the day have been varied and powerful. The Reviews have often borne ample testi- mony to his keen penetration as a literary critic, while the newspapers have afforded frequent demonstrations of his excellent powers as a political disputant and cogent reasoner. The League for some time contained a series of spirited letters under the signature of " A Norwich Weaver Boy." No one could mistake the characteristic style of these forcible and elaborate articles. Their beautiful language, fine reasoning, ingenious illustrations, and hard-hitting sarcasm, soon indicated their author to be no other than W. J. Fox, in one of the characters that had been associated with his early days. In these papers he evidenced that he could work for Free Trade with as much powerful influence in the closet as he did on the platform. He manifested everything that we could demand from a writer ; from the construction of a soundly logical deduction, down to the perpe- tration of a sparkling ban mot. If there is one orator in the House of Commons who strikes by his personal appearance more than another, it is the honourable member for Oldham. We do not say he is prepossessing, but as he rises from his seat to address you, there is really something startling and dramatic presented in his outward man. His stature is below the middle height, although his bodily compass approaches corpu- lency, and consequently his form is not altogether well proportioned. But it is in the peculiar cast of his features that W. J. Fox presents his mind and genius. The twinkling of his somewhat full blue eyes is sure to rivet your attention. Then his forehead is finely cast, and the long hair hanging somewhat luxuriantly nearly to his shoulders, and parted in the centre, imparts a force of expression to his appear- ance that is sure to attract your visual organs and demand your earnest attention. His mouth is feminine and well formed, and his W. J. FOX, M.P. 95 nose slightly prominent, although in pretty regular keeping with his other features. His face is full, and complexion rather sallow. There is something kindly in the expression of his features throughout his oration, and even when denouncing in the most unequivocal terms the injustice of any question, he still retains a beneficent sort of a smile that puts to flight any supposition that may be entertained of his being rancorous or ill-natured in his observations. A shirt- collar, rather loosely tied and turned over his vest, is another peculiarity in his appearance. Add to these distinguishing characteristics a very calm, heroic sort of an attitude, with the right hand placed on the left wrist, the body slightly bent forward, and the lips just partly opened, and you may have perhaps some small idea of the general bearing of "W. J. Fox, as he stands about to address some crowded gathering. But he speaks : what a beautifully regulated voice breaks upon your ears ! how silvery his cadences I how clear every word, how distinctly modulated every sentence ! He charms you with his tones at the very onset ; he has evidently studied this department of oratory, and instead of the shrill shrieks of Sheil, or the heavy monotony of Macauley, you have the best of speakers expressing himself in the best of tones, and the most musical efforts that a good oration could demand to award it ample justice. His introductory observations are sententious and studied, and eminent for their close application to the question under review. He closes in with the point at once, with those keen-sighted aphorisms and pithy observations that are so often identified with the exordium of most of our great orators. But his short epigram- matic sentences cease; he launches forth into a wider field of illustration and argument ; his little pointed aphorisms give way to bold thoughts, powerful logic, pungent satire, and happy illustrations, conveyed in sentences that are sometimes of the most astounding length. Now he begins to show himself ; he makes an onslaught upon the fallacies of the point he is debating, and then bursts forth a specimen of mingled wit and sarcasm that is rarely approached and never excelled even by D' Israeli or Roebuck ; anon he changes his tact, he illustrates, what little details he turns to an important end, how he seizes trifles and renders them subservient to the great object in view, how simple they appear, yet what a clear approxima- tion they bear to the point he is handling ; and how he scatters a flow of sentences that begin, as it were, to seize the heart and soul 96 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. of his hearer ; he rushes on, his speed is magnificent, he bears you hither and thither, with here a snatch of verse, there a force of logic, further on a brilliant piece of wit, now a flood of elegant language, anon a spicy epigram, again a touch at his enemy, and now a glorious swell of the most sublime imagery that fairly astounds your senses, and sends your ideas floating away in breathless excitement. Truly, we have felt electrified at some of the perorations of W. J. Fox. And yet he resorts to no passionate declamation ; he pursues the most legitimate course an orator could pursue. He arrays his points in no meretricious garments, he has recourse to no adventitious garniture, nor either does he enlist sympathies that will subside as soon as the excitement has terminated. We feel some of his most rousing observations as intensely at the present moment as we did at the period of their delivery. His exuberant command of language is probably as rich as that possessed by any man of modern oratory. He has the means, likewise, of throwing that language into its proper position, and making it perform its appropriate functions in the construction of a sentence. If his sentences are lengthy, you never find yourself mystified at their length. He arranges all in due order, and is careful that every word he utters shall have its due and given effect. In all his speeches there is a clear flow of ideas expressed in a clear and beautifully radiant flow of language. He never tantalizes you with the discovery of his meaning, nor gives you a chase to arrive at his deductions. Notwithstanding his eloquence, he is always perspicuous and definite in the enunciation of his principles ; he affords you a full manifesto of his opinions ; he never shirks the expression of that which he sincerely and conscientiously believes to be true ; and though we may admire and applaud his brilliancy of diction and ideas, closeness of argument and aptness of illustration, still we could not offer him a higher compliment than that wherein we state him to be an honest believer in the creed of politics he has adopted, and so successfully advocated. REV. WILLIAM GASKELL, M.A. THE Unitarians in Manchester are, comparatively speaking, a somewhat numerous body, and upon visiting, a few Sundays since, REV. WILLIAM GASKELL, M.At. 97 their chapel in Cross-street, we were not surprised in meeting with not only a very large, but a rather aristocratic congregation. Perhaps the numbers present on that occasion might mainly be attributed to the attraction in the preacher, who, though a regular minister, generally summons a much larger congregation than his fellow- labourer, the Rev. Mr. Robberds. Actuated as we are by no sectarian motives, we should say that Mr. Gaskell is a highly deserving object of the popularity that accompanies his ministrations, and though not by any means allowing the creed he holds to be correct, still we know of few more efficient expositors of the Unitarian doctrines in or out of the county of Lancaster. This appears to be known by his numerous followers, and there is scarcely a Unitarian in Manchester who does not allow him to be one of the best orators they possess in the neighbourhood. Moreover, he is one of those good men who are as solicitous to advance the weal of their fellow- creatures in the world as they are in the pulpit. Mr. Gaskell does not merely confine himself to brilliant descriptions of the ways of goodness and piety in his sacerdotal character, but goes forth into the high-ways and bye-ways of the world, and realizes there the character that he pourtrays with so much truth and felicity in the pulpit. He is the good Samaritan in the completest sense of the word, and we only wish that some of our Episcopal clergy, who are wont to indulge in ill-timed expressions upon the Unitarian body, would but follow the noble Christian character that is so beautifully identified with the mission and labours of the reverend gentleman before us. Mr. Gaskell's excellence, both in and out of the pulpit, is duly appreciated by his followers, and hence we may account for the full attendance on the occasion in question. The chapel is a tolerably large one, capable, we should think, of accom- modating some twelve or fifteen hundred persons, and every seat seemed well occupied. The opening services were conducted by Mr. Robberds, who read the lessons and prayed with much effect, some very good singing was performed by a choir of professionals, and at the conclusion of the service Mr. Gaskell ascended the pulpit to the delivery of his sermon. There is nothing particularly attractive, although there is decidedly something prepossessing in the reverend gentleman's outward appearance. He looks the man of mind, he has not so much the appearance of the divine, as he has of the polished scholar and o 98 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. intelligent man of the world. Not that there is anything in his manners approaching levity, on the other hand, he seems to have a deep consciousness of the solemnity of his position, but there is something in the flashes of his dark eye, something in the strong confidential tone with which he gives vent to his opinions, that strikes you as being much more in unison with the man of intel- lectual attainments than with pure spiritual devotion or veneration. He is about forty- two or three years of age, and is a little above the medium in stature, and somewhat slender in form. His figure, enveloped in a black silk gown, looks well in the pulpit, and his attitudes are always finished and commanding. The conformation of his head is highly intellectual, and the forehead is both lofty and expansive in its developments. His hair, of an iron grey hue, is not very thick, and is just carelessly parted at the right hand side. The best feature, however, about Mr. Gaskell is, his beautifully bright eyes, which nearly approach a jet black in hue, and are strikingly full and expressive. His mouth is small and feminine, while his nose is prominent. He has a pair of bushy black whiskers that almost come under his chin. The form of hi* face is altogether angular, and his complexion is somewhat pale. From all appearance, he enjoys pretty good health, and pursues his duties with much industry and zeal, giving ample satisfaction to those with whom he is more closely allied, and being held in the highest esteem by the great majority of the Christian ministers of the neighbourhood. Mr. Gaskell preaches from a written sermon, although his eyes were scarcely occupied with his paper for five minutes throughout his discourse. His exordium, if such it might be called, inasmuch as the reverend gentleman did not divide his subject, occupied some four or five minutes, and his sermon was about three quarters of an hour long. The introductory observations were characterised with short pithy sentences, containing some very excellent and pointed matter, but neither striking for depth nor original in quality. His discourse was from one of the most beautiful chapters in the New Testament, the latter end of the 17th of St. John, where Christ identifies himself with the Father ; and the preacher seemed fully conversant with the topic he had chosen. In one part, he rose into the highest regions of eloquence, where he took occasion to point out the peculiar happiness experienced by the man unto whom REV. WILLIAM GASKELL, M.A. 99 Christ has revealed himself as a redeeming Saviour. His observa- tions upon this passage were beautiful in point of language, and went to the heart with a deep-diving potency, whose power we should imagine could scarcely fail being acknowledged by every soul in his congregation. Throughout his sermon, he evidenced the man of feeling in his remarks, but not by any outward gestures or action. He stood nearly the whole length of his sermon with both of his hands resting on each side of the pulpit, and did not raise his right hand above once or twice. He was anything but animated, and seemed to have an inward confidence that the weight of his remarks were quite sufficient, without any oratorical flourishes of the hands or impassioned movements of the body. His confidence in the truth of what he was expressing, appeared to be great. He did not hesitate in a sentence, but gave all with a decision of tone that "seemed to imply he was expressing thoughts highly ma- tured, and opinions that had been well weighed over before they found expression. There was no mistiness either about his observa- tions, they all followed each other in a train eminent for its perspicuity. Neither was there any irrelevance, for he stood close to his point, and rendered every new train of thought that came to his mind in strict unity with those that had been previously introduced. He appeared to be rather attached to the system of illustrating his views by analogy, and these were often of a very appropriate character, sometimes very highly poetical, and always well sustained. He used little or no scriptural quotations. His application did not occupy above three or four minutes, and though it was full of excellent feeling and some conscience-striking passages, still it lacked that warm impassioned delivery which we deem so highly necessary in the peroration of a discourse from the pulpit. His sermon, from the first word to the last, was audible throughout the building, his articulation being very clear, and his elocution tolerably correct. He has a powerful, sonorous, and flexible voice, the tones of which are not unlike those of Doctor Me. Neile's, and were his manner a little more impassioned, he has capabilities enough to place him among the very foremost of the most popular preachers in or out of London. It is somewhat difficult to form a just estimate of Mr. Gaskell's powers in the pulpit, seeing that in the first place he is not a very equal preacher, and in the second, the tenets he expounds are of 100 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. such a character as scarcely to allow one who holds adverse notions, to fix an equitable standard of his abilities. When we say that he is not a very equal preacher, we mean that his sermons some- times display a great depth of logic and an equal want of style, and at others a great degree of polish and a proportionate barrenness of depth. To account for this does not come within our province. But we have certainly heard him at times clothe his ideas in some very elegant phraseology, and at others sink into the completes t common-place. In so far as his faith is concerned, he appears to have some good, sound opinions, and is a very clever exponent of the somewhat cold and cheerless doctrines of Unitarianism. When he indulges in the logical, he betrays much depth and keenness of penetration, and lays down his premises, and draws his deductions, with a correctness and perspicuity that at once establishes his claims as a good and sound reasoner. We never heard him strike out any particularly original trains of thought, nor either give vent to many speculative observations. He occasionally uses a number of tropes and figures, which are more distinguished for their poetical beauty than for their striking affinity to the point for which they are adduced. He does not address the passions at much length, which may be inferred from the brevity of his applications. Hence his preaching may scarcely be called practical, but on the other hand is impregnated with mental ability, where we think a true and fervent outpouring of the spirit would be more appropriate and serviceable. His sermons, which in unison with all Unitarian discourses, partake more of the intellectual and highly-wrought essay character than of the pure spiritual exposition of practical piety. His style often varies, although generally speaking there is much of the Addisonian school in his sentences and periods. He betrays in his sermons much ability in the way of literary compo- sition, and, from what we hear, devotes a considerable time, in the study of his sermons, to this department. Mr. Gaskell has, for a long period, been Professor of English History, Language, and Literature, at the Manchester New Col- lege, for which position he is well qualified, and in which he shines with some lustre. We are given to understand that the Students are much attached to him not only for his high attainments in his professorship, but for the distinguished kindness which is invariably identified with his instructions. From what we have THOMAS MILNER GIBSON, . M. P. 101 observed, the reader will not be surprised in hearing that Mr. Gaskell has paid some court to the Muses. He may be ranked among the authors of Lancashire, if it were only for the many highly-poetical effusions that have come at one time and another from his pen. His metrical compositions are more distinguished for a beautiful flowing phraseology, than for any startling ideas or bold original conceptions. He has a very felicitous method of conveying some good old truths, such as have been acknowledged through all time and by all ages. There is a flow of melody in his versification, that must please all his readers, and cannot fail to excite an interest in his productions. We encountered an eloquent little piece from his pen, entitled "Come and Pray," which is marked by much fervency of feeling and musical expression. He has given several very correct translations from the German, which exhibit his wonted elegance of style and brilliancy of diction. Altogether, Mr. Gaskell may be regarded as ranking among the most eminent characters in Lancashire, and though he rarely, if ever, takes any active part in any popular topic, still he is held in high esteem by all those who know how to appreciate the man of refined mind and high mental attainments. THOMAS MILNER GIBSON, M.P. WE have already noticed one of the members for Manchester, Mr, Bright, and we now proceed to make a few observations upon his no less able and industrious colleague Thomas Milner Gibson* Whether representing a large or small constituency, Mr. Gibson's abilities are of that order, that would have always secured him a prominent position in the house, and in the esteem of his con- stituents. He has invariably evidenced that he has given his mind wholly and solely to the discharge of those high duties with which he has been entrusted that he has sought to fathom and master every question that has come before his notice, before he has pro- nounced his opinions and that no theme or debate into which he entered has not received the full amount of his careful investigation 102 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. and the application of his sharp and quick-sighted intellect. For a man of his years, which are by no means great, we should say there was scarcely one better versed in the political history and the present political position of his country, enters within the portals of St. Stephen's. From what we have observed, we should say that before he ever entered the house, he devoted a considerable portion of his time to the sphere of politics, and we have every proof that the time so devoted has not been spent in vain. We wish to present the abilities of Mr. Gibson in their true point of view. The fact, and his speeches invariably evidence it, of his having industriously applied himself to the discharge of those duties with which he is intrusted, shows the worthiness of some members, and the un worthiness of others. Apart from mere party political rivalry, Mr. Gibson is a thorough good politician, a legislator in the true acceptance of the word ; and when the day shall come, which we expect not very far distant, that he shall occupy a place in her Majesty's Government, we do not know of one of the same age, who will bring so goodly a stock of legislative knowledge into the cabinet, as the honourable member for Manchester. Mr. Gibson, it is pretty generally known, was first returned with Mr. Mark Philips, for Manchester, at the general election in 1841, being induced to solicit the suffrages of this city, in consequence of the withdrawal of Mr. Robert Hyde Greig. He continued to be member till the last general election, and was then again returned with Mr. Bright without any opposition. He gave much satisfaction to his constituents till the present ministry came into office, when he was appointed Vice-President of the Board of Trade, and of course, acted in concordance with the measures brought forward by the government, some of which, however, did not at all coincide with the views of the good people of Manchester, nor altogether approxi- mate with the pledges their member had made on the hustings. This gave cause to a requisition to Mr. Gibson, calling upon him either to resign his office or his seat; and, certainly be it said, much to his honour and disinterestedness, he resigned the former and regained the trust and friendship of his constituents. Beyond this, his relations to Manchester, afford no other prominent feature. Whenever he appears in Manchester, he is generally well re- ceived, and gives ample satisfaction to those who hear him. But Mr. Gibson's political career presents another more important tHOMAS MILNEK GIBSON, M.P. 103 feature than his fracas with the Manchester electors. We allude to his sudden conversion from ultra-toryism to the extreme of liberalism, which created some sensation in the political world at the period of its occurrence. When he first entered Parliament, in 1837, he was returned for Ipswich on high tory principles, and continued to represent that place for about two years, when he accepted the stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds. At this junc- ture, a change came over the honourable gentleman's creed, and he renounced his former views to the very letter. He again presented himself before the electors of Ipswich, but the change in his opinions seriously militated against his influence in that quarter, and he was entirely unsuccessful. In 1839 he contested Cambridge, but the issue was no more successful than that of Ipswich. It may be remarked here, that Mr. Gibson's change of opinion had every appearance of sincerity. Had the Liberals been in the ascend- ancy at the time of his conversion, then we might doubt its sincerity, but seeing that the reverse was the case, and that the Melbourne party was about as odious as it possibly could be, we have every reason for believing the course he pursued was based on a pure and conscientious line of conduct. In person, Mr. Gibson presents about as prepossessing an appear- ance, as you would wish to encounter in any man. In every respect he looks the gentleman. He is generally attired with the best taste r and being an excellent figure, everything, from his beautiful cut coat down to the minutest particular of his dress, is set off to the very best advantage. His form is rather slender, but he is tall, and well proportioned. He has an agreeable and winning set of features. The conformation of his face is somewhat round, and he has a fair complexion. His forehead is not over lofty, nor has it much breadth, but tolerably intellectual in its developments. A medium crop of light brown hair is parted on the left, and arranged with some little taste. His mouth is small and feminine, although he generally opens it pretty wide when speaking in public. He has a pleasing expression in his features, and appears to be on pretty good terms with everybody. His manners are affable and courteous, and he seems a naturally kind and good tempered man. We believe Mr. Gibson's age will be a little on the shady side of forty, although when seen from a distance, he scarcely looks above eight and twenty or thirty ; he is the son of Major Gibson, and, we understand, 104 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AXB ORATORS. is possessed of no inconsiderable amount of personal property. Mr. Gibson is, both in and out of Parliament, a tolerably effective orator, and his powers as a debater are of a very respectable charac- ter. To say that he is always quick and ready in reply to an antagonist, would not be doing him ample justice. Although he can throw a deal of satire into his replies, still they generally convey sound sense, and he does not appear to rely simply upon the effect of some witty and happy sally or some sarcastic thrust, but manifests a decided wish to convey a proportionate amount of good sense in his reply to give it some weight and influence. Many of our members think they acquit themselves with wondrous tact by parrying off the blows of their antagonist with an array of sarcasm and irony. But Mr. Gibson does not content himself with this course alone ; seeing he charges his weapon with something that will not only bite and sting, but will give a strength and solidity to his combative onslaught. It is well known that Mr. Gibson is one of the most active members in the house, and in fiscal matters, and in questions relative to the Colonies &c. is strikingly effective both on Committee and in debate. We believe his knowledge of the Colonies is as extensive as that of any other member's in the house. He certainly may not possess a very practical knowledge of the Colonies, but the speeches he has so often delivered upon them and their relative position with the mother-country, decidedly betray much soundness of judgment and clearness of insight. In all com- mercial questions he usually takes a most lively interest. His speeches on the sugar duties during the Session of 48, were marked by a thorough mastership of the whole question, and the Times itself admitted them to be some of the best that had ever been delivered on the same topic. Mr. Gibson's views upon the Sugar duties, appear to be just, sound, and practical, and we trust the day is not far distant, when he will see them practically observed. His advocacy of Liberal tenets has always been manifested with a great degree of ability from the earliest date of his conversion from Tory- ism. Throughout the anti-corn-law agitation, he was its warm and uncompromising supporter, and made a number of effective speeches upon its behalf, both in and out of St. Stephen's. We are induced to think it was his thorough- going free trade principles, that rendered his success so great at the Manchester election in 1841. We again find him in a prominent position in the new REV. JAMES GRIFFIN. 105 reform and retrenchment campaign of Mr. Cobden, and if his late speeches at the Free Trade Hall be a specimen of the spirit he will always maintain, he will prove of the greatest efficiency to the agi- tation. He is likewise generally found on the liberal side on all important questions. Mr. Gibson, for the first five or ten minutes of his speech, does not exhibit much fluency of speech, but when properly warmed into his topic, he manifests considerable warmth, and is pretty rapid in his utterance. His gestures principally consist of an occasional movement of the head, and a pretty regular up-and-down swing of the right arm. He possesses a very fair voice, perhaps a little monotonous in tone, but generally audible in every part of the building in which he is speaking. REV. JAMES GRIFFIN. FEW men, either of the church or dissent, are more thoroughly popular, or have maintained their popularity for a greater length of time, than the reverend gentleman before us. Mr. Griffin is essen- tially one of the most popular preachers connected with the Indepen- dents in the locality in which he labours. His line of life has always been so consistent, his exertions in a pastoral point of view have always been so close and attentive, his influence in the pulpit has always been attended with such salutary results, and his whole character has always been marked by such a purity of purpose and excellence of disposition, that no man, who knows anything about him, can refrain from subscribing to our opinion, that Mr. Griffin is one of the most deservedly popular ministers in or about Man- chester. Although not favoured with one of the best physical constitutions in the world, and though frequently interrupted in a proper discharge of his duties by a naturally weak body, still there are few men who have worked better for their congregations, or laboured more industriously in the vineyard of their great Master. If Mr. Griffin's has not been a career of grand oratorical brilliance and display, it has been a course of quiet and effective usefulness, p 106 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. that renders him equally worthy of our esteem and eulogiums. There is not a man in Manchester who can command more attention under this head. Mr. Griffin's has been emphatically a life of the closest devotedness to the spiritual happiness and well-being of those with whom he is identified, and if he has not electrified with his eloquence or overwhelmed with his profundity and depth of investigation, he has developed a kind, fatherly, and attentive care for the best interests of his congregation that must ever enshrine him in their warmest esteem and highest admiration. Mr. Griffin, moreover, is a gentleman who has always commanded the respect of all his brethren, either of the Establishment or otherwise, in the neighbourhood of Manchester. To be upon the best of terms with all men, to ingratiate himself in the good fellowship of every sect and creed, has always been a leading characteristic in the reverend gentleman's disposition. Though a strict adherent to the principles of anti-state-church, and a warm friend of voluntaryism generally, still you never find him giving vent to aught approaching warmth of expression either upon the one side or the other. He has too much respect for the principles and sentiments of others to make his own obnoxious, or bring himself in antagonism with every man he may meet who does not happen to agree with himself. And certainly this is in perfect unison with the Christian character in its true and genuine manifestations ; and though, most assuredly, we must con- fess ourselves as sticklers for the general merits of the voluntary principle, and consequently diametrically opposed to all State endowments for the aid of religion, still we would rather see our Christain pastors pursuing the " even tenor of their way " in the discharge of their proper functions, than rendering themselves obnoxious to each other by any interference either with over-fed prelates or lazy pluralists. It were far better to allow them to seek their own end, as come it most assuredly will. We have no hesitation in saying that Mr. Griffin follows this course to the very letter, for we never find him making any public exhibition of his opinions either one way or the other. Probably in the course of his services, he may occasionally give an expression to his sentiments upon this head, but then his observations are ahvays comprised in a very few words, and never trench upon his legitimate line of duty. " Taken all in all," Mr. Griffin is a man who has gained his popularity by a line of conduct that is worthy of general esteem, and that truly deserves REV. JAMES GRIFFIN. 107 all the admiration it has enlisted. Both as a preacher and a pastor in the pulpit or out of it as a man, father, and friend, James Griffin's name -will always remain a standing example of the best features of the Christian life and character. Were we to enter into a minute dissertation upon the varied excellencies manifested by Mr. Griffin in the pulpit, we should go far beyond the ordinary limit of our notices. That he is a preacher of enlarged intellectual resources, of quick understanding, forcible powers of argument, and much kindliness and benevolence of feeling, no one having been in the habit of hearing him will attempt to dispute. That he is always clear and comprehensive, always forcible and impressive, must be as readily granted* Few men are more so. We have met no man who has greater resources of placing his views in a clearer and more forcible point of view than Mr. Griffin. His arrangement is so lucid, his divisions and sub- divisions are so orderly and well conducted, his illustrations are so forcible and apposite, his arguments are so ingenious and thoroughly logical, his powers as a theologian are so complete, and his applications are so telling and impressive, that, from the beginning to the end of his discourse, you have a flow of clear, calm, and comprehensive exposition, whose course, unless you are a perfection of dull and stolid humanity, you can never lose or cease to follow. There is a beautiful harmony of heart and mind about Mr. Griffin's preaching, that must always render his sermons acceptable and agreeable to the most fastidious hearer. The sentiments of his heart seem to blend so happily with the cogitations of his brain ; and what is rendered clear and telling by the force of his mental observations, is always placed in a more forcible light by the emotions of his breast and the deep fervency of his feelings. He is neither too cold with his wisdom nor too warm with his feelings ; he betrays the " happy medium " from the beginning to the end of his discourse, and every sentence he utters, that is backed by the power of logic, is sure to be followed by the cementing influence of his heart and emotions. The arrangement of Mr. Griffin's discourse invariably manifests the utmost perspicuity of design ; he seems to take in and examine every point that his text may suggest, and as he divides one point after another, you feel astonished to find so much deduced from so limited a source. He amplifies upon every point that presents itself with considerable clearness of insight and compre- 108 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. hensiveness of detail. His illustrations are always fresh and varied, clear, pointed, and forcible. At times, he frequently illustrates from the Scriptures, and every passage he brings to his aid invariably manifests a thorough acquaintance with Holy Writ, and a complete conversancy with the nature and bearing of every passage he brings' to his assistance. Hence Mr. Griffin's biblical illustrations always bear a clear and legitimate consanguinity to the point he is illustra- ting. He never quotes you any of these passages for quoting sake, they are always apposite and consistent, and he furnishes them with an ease and celerity that must prove him to be no ordinary biblical scholar. He is likewise, what we should call a very good reasoner. He is quick and dexterous in proving any assertion he may make, by the most approved logical process, and he does not leave his argument till he feels convinced in his own mind that he has con- vinced you. At times he indulges in short and pithy aphorisms, which are delivered in tones at once significant and unmistakeable. He is, likewise, in some passages of his sermon, rather colloquial, and delivers himself with an ease and familiarity as though he were privately addressing a company of half-a-dozen intimate acquain- tances. His applications are remarkable for their pithy matter and pointedness of expression. There is no shirking Mr. Griffin's applications ; they come with a clearness and pointedness that it were difficult to resist. Mr. Griffin preaches an extempore sermon, which generally occupies some forty or fifty minutes in delivery. His manner in the pulpit is rather animated, and his action is occasionally varied and graceful. He preaches with tolerable rapidity, but is clear and distinct in his utterance He has a voice of good compass, but a somewhat disagreeable thick- ness of expression rather detracts from its tones, which are other- wise tolerably powerful and audible. Mr. Griffin appears to be about forty-five years of age, or perhaps a little more. He has been the pastor of Rusholme-road chapel for a number of years, and has always been held in the highest esteem. In personal appearance, he has nothing attractive or prepossessing. His face is thin and angular, and his pale, sallow complexion, indicates a very poor and weakly constitution. His eyes are of a bright grey, and rather sunken. His head is intellectually formed, and his forehead presents no ordinary developments. He has a Jit tie thin brown hair, just slightly raised in the front. In stature REV. DAVID GRIFFITHS. 109 he is about, or a little below, the middle height, and he is re- markably thin in form. REV. DAVID GRIFFITHS. IF it is possible to detect a similitude between the minds of two men, regardless of their outward man or manners, then we may feel justified, in some measure, in saying that we never encountered any mind in the pulpit that more assimilated to that of John Foster's, than is shown forth in the discourses of the highly distinguished character who forms the subject of our present comments. We have to regret that we never heard the former great man, but, if we may judge from his writings (and they should form a pretty good criteria), we feel convinced that our comparison will not fall much short of truth. David Griffiths presents one of the most profoundly philosophic minds that we ever met, in either this county or any other. Talk about depth, thought, penetration, quick apprehension, thorough investigation, elaborate illustration, and all the other characteristics of a truly philosophic mind, our good readers should listen to a discourse from Mr. Griffiths, and we will venture to affirm they have rarely encountered such a specimen in any previous period of their lives. We shall not easily forget the first sermons we heard from him. ; they bore the spirit of John Foster resuscitated ; they were full of profundities ; they teemed with deep-diving ex- cursions into the realms of the most philosophic investigation ; they developed resources of the most extensive compass, capable alike of observing the minutest points or clutching and mastering the most complicated problem that presented itself. To follow him through his discourse was one continuous action of the mental being, ex- panded to its full stretch, and absorbed in the deepest attention. He spelled you ! You were bound down to him and his sermon in the most complete sense. You were lost to everything around you till he had closed the bible and resumed his seat. It was as though every word he uttered was a truth too valuable to be lost or neg- lected. A sense of the greatness of all he uttered seemed to steal 110 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. over you imperceptibly, and you followed him in every step he took as though he held in his hand a magical wand, and guided you under certain soporific influences through the aerial passage of some unseen world. It was a magic which no thoughtful mind could possibly resist. We do not know how other minds are framed or influenced, but we have felt precisely the same sensations when buried in the pages of John Foster, that we have experienced in listening to the discourses of David Griffiths . They are both of that turn of mind which, beyond all doubt, is "few and far be- tween;" they are both deeply philosophic ; both partake of occasional dreamy speculations ; both indulge in thought of the most profound character ; both possess that " touchstone," which John Locke tells us is " to distinguish substantial gold from superficial glitterings" truth from appearances . Here, then, we make a faint attempt to depict the " inner life" of one whom few can appreciate too well or imitate too much. Such a mind requires a far more observant eye and experienced hand to portray it than the present. The mind of David Griffiths, we think, we may now safely assert is an almost perfect reflex of that possessed by the author of "Decision of Character." At all events, we have found it so, in so far as our powers of discrimination allow us to go. We may be wrong, but if all the characteristics we have named as identified with Mr. Griffiths be correct, then our comparison may not be altogether unfounded. We must confess we feel almost unequal to the task of fur- nishing a just portraiture of Mr. Griffiths as a preacher. In the Baptist denomination (to which he belongs) we have never met with his equal, in his peculiar line of preaching. We see nothing in him of the Binney, the Hinton, the Stovel, the Cox, or the Evans, or any other of the leading characters of this section of Christians. We may justly say he stands alone. And this reputation does not rest upon mere pulpit-oratory, upon style, or eloquence, or any other of the thousand-and-one little items that contribute to the show of a popular preacher. In fact, we do not think Mr. Griffiths is a popular preacher. He is not calculated for it, or, if we may correct ourselves, we do not consider that any congregation would sufficiently appreciate him to make him so. All his claims rest upon his mind, and nothing else. As to his style, it is just as barren of anything pertaining to show or flourish as a sandy desert is of exotics. It is the mind the touchstone which places Mr. Griffith's REV. DAVID GRIFFITHS. Ill powers in the pulpit, in such an exalted position. He owes it to nothing else but the exercise of his deep, penetrating, and original view of every thing that claims his attention. When he comes into the pulpit, it is with the most humble and unassuming manner imaginable. He announces his text in a low tone of voice, and in his exordium you have pauses after pauses, till you almost begin to fear that your reverend orator has a new way of computing the length of a period. But you must mark the profundities that follow these pauses. He does not stop his breath without an end or purpose. He thinks, he works with his mind during those lengthened deliberations, and probably is infusing more vitality into the next sentence he is about to utter, than if he were continuing the use of his lips. His exordium, which occupies some four or five minutes, is generally more distinguished for these lengthened pauses than any other portion of his sermon. In his introductory observations you have some short pithy remarks, distinguished for their immediate application to the subject he has selected. They are all fresh and vigorous, and, if you follow them with close attention, can scarcely fail to furnish you with a very luminous conception of the text he has brought before your notice. In one of his exordiums, a few Sabbaths back, he was delivering himself of a sort of sketch of the character of Stephen. " Stephen," he said, " was a remarkable man in many respects." And then He proceeded to draw a very graphic and luminous portraiture of the sainted martyr, in a style that we have never heard equalled. There was a degree of originality about the picture, that showed you the character in the most vivid and impressive colours. It was there and you could not mistake it. In the general arrangement of his sermon, although pursuing the old method of divisions, sub- divisions, &c., he develops a new and original line of treatment. He gives the matter, even at the outset, some fresh aspect some new feature some peculiar character, that we will venture to affirm you have never seen or heard approached before, Now he comes to his illustrations, and what shall we say of them? That they are profound, luminous, apt, and elaborate, would be treating them in the scantiest terms. They are bold, glowing, and original. They are full of mind, they bear the impress of the " touchstone," they cast aside the dross and reveal the gold, they extract the pure essence, they exhibit the true riches, they show forth the very Shekinah. 112 LANCASHIRE ATTTHOES AND ORATORS. It is the philosophy of the mind of Mr. Griffiths that effects this. He owes nothing to polished sentences or rounded periods, nor any meretricious ornaments, or dazzling metaphors, or poetical figures. He rests all upon his calm and profound view of the text he selects for his discourse. He works all through his clear and deep insight into the most complicated points which present themselves. Nothing seems too deep for him he " bottoms " all. One principal feature of his sermon is the biblical illustrations, which are strikingly varied. In this we think he excels, and, like most of the Welsh people, evidently possesses a very extensive intercourse with the Scriptures. He appears to be a first-rate logician, and we should say, at a push, would show himself a very superior controversialist. Mr. Griffiths' s applications are usually short, and he is somewhat abrupt in the conclusion of his sermon. He uses no paper in the delivery of his discourse, which generally occupies about three quarters of an hour. His style of preaching, in the way of phraseology, &c. is somewhat rugged, and he is anything but a fluent speaker. He is usually calm at the commencement of his sermon, but becomes slightly animated as he proceeds. His action is sometimes rather lively. He moves frequently from one side of the pulpit to the other, raises both arms, and occasionally elevates his figure much beyond its ordinary height, and then suddenly drops below it. Throughout his sermon he seems completely absorbed in it, and what you see in his outward gestures is evidently totally free from anything approaching study or mannerism. He possesses a voice of ordinary compass, the tones of which are not very deep, nor modulated with much effect or precision. On the other hand, he is rather monotonous. He does not articulate some of his words very clearly, and pronounces some of them with a somewhat drawling accent. We think Mr. Griffiths is a preacher whom scarcely one congregation in fifty would like as a regular pastor. Not that he is not adapted for the post, but we think there is scarcely one in fifty that, in the general order of things, would appreciate him to the extent he deserves. We believe Mr. Griffiths was born in South Wales, but at what place or in what year we are not able to state. At an early age he was placed in the Baptist Academy, at Bradford, in Yorkshire, where he received his education, and was prepared for the ministry. On leaving the academy he became the pastor of a congregation in the neighbourhood of Bradford, where he is said to have laboured WILLIAM HARPER. 113 with unremitting zeal and attention. He was next removed to Burnley, in this county, where, it is stated, he was the means of raising the "interest" of the Baptist church with considerable effect. After labouring here for eight years, he took up his station at Clough-fold, in Rossendale. From here he was removed to his present position that of President of the Baptist Institution, at Accrington. When you see Mr. Griffiths, you find nothing striking in his personal appearance. He presents a somewhat " plain and unvarnished" exterior, and is neither commanding nor prepossessing in any one point of view. None of the " sex " would call him " a handsome man." He appears to be slightly above the middle height, and is extremely slender in form and compass. His face is angular, and his complexion somewhat sallow. An air of studious- ness is generally gathered over his features, which is now and then relieved by a faint smile. His head is a fine one, the fore-part being both lofty and expansive. His hair is black, and somewhat lengthy in the front. He possesses a pair of fine dark eyes, rather penetrating in their glances. We should say he is about forty-five years of age. We must not forget to mention that Mr. Griffiths holds some claims to authorship. He published a work on the " Atonement," some years back, which ranks very high, and it is currently reported that he possesses some of the soundest views upon the subject of any divine in England. He is likewise the author of several minor publications, in the shape of sermons, letters, &c., which have generally been well received. WILLIAM HARPER. FEW readers of the Manchester Courier for the last ten years are unacquainted with the name now before us. And to this we may add that few of our Lancashire literati have failed, at one time and another, to recognize in the name, a poet of highly-deserving commendation and applause. We mention Mr. Harper's name in connection with the Courier, because to that paper he has almost invariably confined his poetical effusions, and in it have doubtless Q 114 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. appeared the best efforts of his very pleasing and elegant muse. We have rarely seen the name before us appended to any verse without giving it a willing perusal, for the reason that what Mr. Harper writes is, we feel assured, invariably dictated by a deep sense of the beautiful and refined by a naturally inherent feeling that all he says proceeds from his heart and his emotions. Any of the readers of the before-mentioned paper, who have been in the habit of perusing Mr. Harper's poems, will, we think, -bear us out in this statement. That all he writes is produced from a thoughtful mind, and refined taste and judgment, is clearly indicated in every poem that may come before your notice. There is a nice, pleasant, and easy flow of ideas running through most of his effusions, that be- speaks the tasteful mind of their author. True, he has not presented us with anything indicative of a powerful or transcendent genius, nor either has he overwhelmed us with many strikingly original thoughts or conceptions ; but what he has written has just borne the stamp of genius has been nicely and evenly put together has, at all events, earned for itself a deserving reputation as well- conceived and well-written poetry. When we state that the generality of Mr. Harper's productions bear a religious tone, it will easily be imagined that their character must be something out of the common way to have ensured them such success. For, notwith- standing all that may be urged to the contrary, religious poetry has only in some half-a-dozen distinguished modern instances been treated successfully. To render religious poetry perfectly in unison with the public ear, it must necessarily manifest no ordinary genius, and be treated in accordance with the highest standard of poetical greatness. Nobody reads religious poetry unless it bears this stamp ; and hence we think our friend is worthy of no ordinary amount of praise, if it be only upon this score. Upon this ground (of religious poetry) Mr. Harper has probably excelled all his contemporaries of verse in the county. Mr. Ner Gardner, Miss Barrett, and one or two others whose names are not just within remembrance, have exhibited considerable taste in the treatment of religious subjects, but we feel inclined to award the palm to Mr. Harper, both on account of the highly-poetical manner with which he has treated them, and the diversity of subjects he has brought before his readers. There is one agreeable characteristic in the generality of Mr. Harper's religious pieces they bear the cheerful- WILLIAM HA11PER. 115 ness of religion the pleasantness of religion the peacefulness of religion, and nought of that gloom and dreary despondency that some men are apt to present it with. In his other productions, Mr. Harper betrays his wonted delicacy of feeling and refinement of sentiment. His poems, for the most part, manifest that he has studied, what some other of our Lancashire bards might have studied with considerable advantage, good models. He is evidently read well in the poets both of ancient and modern times, and really knows thoroughly in what poetry really consists. Well-studied models, either in poetry or painting, will always be of essential service to both poet and artist, and Mr. Harper's poems manifest the truth of it. It is time, however, to speak of Mr. Harper's productions in their proper name a*nd order. Some eight or nine years since, our author first published in a collected form, a small volume, entitled The Genius and other Poems. The principal poem, the " Genius," indicates a goodly amount of poetical invention and sentiment, and is replete with many touches of poetic fancy and imagery. In many passages that we could quote, did our space admit, there is evidence of considerable intensity of feeling and fervency of expression. The poem throughout is equal and well sustained, never descending to empty common-place or maudlin sentimentalism. " The Genius " is emphatically an effort of genius, and one of no unsuccessful character. A number of highly-agreeable miscellaneous productions are added to the principal poem, the perusal of which cannot fail to infuse in the reader emotions at once touching and impressive. Recently, however, (in 1844,) Mr. Harper brought out another volume, that certainly bore the impress of a more mature mind and genius. This production is entitled Cain and Abel, A Dramatic Poem ; and Minor Pieces. We have recently perused the volume, and it has been the source of confirming our high opinion of the author's merits. Notwithstanding a very lively impression of Gessner's most poetical story of the " Death of Abel," and Byron's magnificent drama of " Cain," we were agreeably disappointed with Mr. Harper's treatment of what appeared to us an already exhausted subject. For the relation contained in the Bible itself is almost too poetically grand to demand any comment or paraphrase. That we have read Mr. Harper's " Cain and Abel" with little short of the zest with which we read the before-mentioned pieces, will prove 116 !LATSrCASHIRE ATTTHORS AND ORATORS. that his version possesses no ordinary degree of poetical power. In fact, many passages in the drama are really great, and would do infinite credit to men of more pretensions than our quiet and un- assuming William Harper. Cain's soliloquy on the death of Eve, and the relation of his dream to Satan, together with Satan's description of his triumph to the Powers of Hell, are fine Miltonian passages, such as impartially demand our warmest eulogiums. Cain's character is well sustained, and developed, from the oom- mencement to the end, with genuine truth and consistency. The dialogues between Cain and Abel also manifest much poetic senti- ment, and are always in clear consonance with the sublime loftiness of the subject. Of the " Minor Pieces " attached to the drama, we have several pleasing specimens of the author's taste and genius. Among these the " Death of Ahab," "Babylon," " Southey," and " A Dream," must bear particular mention, betraying, as they do, some fertility of imagination and breadth of expression. W cannot resist quoting one little piece, principally as a small specimen of the author's style, albeit one that we have often admired for its depth of feeling and elegance of sentiment. "THE VANISHED STAR. The night was dark, the wind was loud, The ghostly clouds went fleeting by, When, turning on my couch, I saw A lonely star was in the sky. And thus methought: My Mary, thou Wast e'er to me in sorrow's night, When loud the storm, and dark the clouds, A ruling star, a guiding light. But thou art gone ; the night is dark, On cloudy wings the tempests fly, There is no light within my heart, The star has faded from the sky." There is much poetry in these two or three stanzas, such as will be discovered the more we read them. We have recently met with one or two exquisite fugitive pieces from Mr. Harper's pen ; " Night and Morning," and " Endymion," have called forth our best com- mendations. From what we have observed, it will be seen Mr. Harper excels more in the serious or truly pathetic than in any other department. Mr. Harper is another of those numerous bards that smoky, WILLIAM HABPER. 117 noisy, and matter-of-fact Manchester has called into existence. He was born in Manchester, but in what year we are not in a position to state. He appears, however, to be about five-and-thirty years of age. At a somewhat early period of life he entertained a strong relish for pursuits of a literary character. He was early imbued with a deeply religious feeling, and has always manifested consider- able reverence for the Holy Writ and works of a religious nature. Among some of his early desires, was a strong wish to become a minister of the Church of England ; in which capacity, it has been conjectured, he would have been eminently successful. However, though somewhat averse to business, he was discouraged in this effort by advisers who certainly might have aided him in his wish. He was always of a studious and retired disposition, particularly reserved and shy of new acquaintances. The early religious im- pressions received by Mr. Harper have certainly become thoroughly developed as he has matured in years, as will be clearly seen from the general tone and character of his productions. Moore's Irish Melodies appear to have first awoke his poetic emotions, and, as is usually the case, a series of imitations followed, but with what success we are unable to state, as most of his early effusions are lost. With years and experience, however, he began to require what he has justly termed " stronger food ;" and he subsequently gave his sole attention to the poets of the great school Milton, Dante, Tasso, Petrarch, &c. His first collected production was the Genius ; which was followed, as we have intimated, by Cain and Abel. Both of these productions met with no ordinary success, and we have met with none of our Lancashire literati, who have not, more or less, warmly applauded the efforts. During his period of writing, no man has met with fewer incentives to write than himself. He has had few or no literary companions, and hence has possessed few of those genial stimulants to literary pursuits which are generally so necessary to their vitality and spirits. However, a certain self- reliance, and the strong bias and elasticity of his nature seems to have surmounted all the difficulties that may have assailed him in this direction. Next to his poetry, Mr. Harper's very genuine powers of oratory form a somewhat prominent passage in his life. On several public occasions, (principally as a politician of the Conservative school,) Mr. Harper has given indications of superior powers in this department, and he has frequently been complimented 118 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. by the Earl of Ellesmere, and the late Sir George Murray and Bootle Wilbraham. Some of his speeches have excited a good deal of attention, so much so that they were brought forward in some leading articles of the Morning Chronicle. Mr. Harper is now engaged in commercial pursuits in Manchester, to which he has applied himself with laudable zeal, since he could not attain the object of his early predilections. We understand that it is his intention to bring out shortly a second edition of Cain and Abel, considerably enlarged, introducing several new characters ; indeed so altered and re-cast that it may properly be described as a new poem. REV. DOCTOR HANNAH. ABOUT four miles and a half on the road from Manchester to Cheadle, and just at the entrance of the pretty little village of Didsbury, you see through a thick plantation of trees, a solid stone- built edifice of tolerably large dimensions, and of fine, although somewhat heavy, design. This is one of the monuments of Wes- leyan progress, and having for its principal the distinguished Wesleyan divine, whose name heads the present notice. The Theological institution itself is a conveniently-built edifice ; although not near so prominent in position, or attractive in architectural details, as the Independent College at Withington. The chapel attached to the Institute, is perhaps the best feature of the building, and is well worth the rambler's inspection. We say that this edifice is a monument of Wesleyan progress, and we hail it as such, because we conceive that through its medium, it will secure a more efficient ministry, both in talent and numbers. This has been a great desideratum in the Wesleyan pulpit for a long series of years, and though we would not for one moment attempt to cast any reflection upon the abilities of the great and good men who have led the van of this important section of Christians, still we are dis- posed to think they would have been far more ably assisted, had they possessed colleges of this description to educate the minds of those who were to fill their pulpits. The Wesleyan preachers have REV. DOCTOR HANNAH. 119 not, as a body, been as efficient in this respect as they might. They may have had the spirit of their Master, but they have not possessed a thorough acquaintance with the most accomplished method of conveying it to their hearers. Your Wesleyan may argue that the apostles were unlearned men ; granted, but what the apostles did eighteen hundred years ago, with the circumstances under which they laboured, and what our modern preacher of the nineteenth century has to do, and the circumstances with which he has to contend, are two very different things. We must have thinking and reasoning men, as well as religious feeling men. The age has advanced, and we must bow to the laws of progression, and the dictates of enlarged minds. Here and there we may find a congregation who are satisfied with a mediocre exposition of the Scriptures, so long as it is delivered by a true and earnest believer ; but in the main, the religious community of this country will always give a decided preference for something that brings out the cogita- tions of the mind, as well as the emotions of the breast. Hence we must congratulate Wesleyan Methodism upon the provision it has made, in the way of theological institutions. It could not have made a more decisive step in the furtherance of its tenets, because it enlists minds in its service, that are in every way- calculated to give a firmness to the ground upon which it is based. Moreover, another good thing which it has effected in this department, has been in the appointment of men eminently qualified to preside over the work. We do not know of a better selection it has made, than that of the appointment of John Hannah. As a professor of theology, we should think he is scarcely equalled in the religious community with which he is connected. As a man of genuine piety and truly Christian bearing, no one can present a better example. As a scholar and classic, his attainments are of the highest degree. Perhaps there is no where to be found a more simple exponent of theology, and yet one so deeply versed in its nature and details. The simplicity of Doctor Hannah, as a teacher of theology, is proverbial. He renders it just what it should be, a clear, plain truth, and not an abstruse or complicated science. His efficiency at the Theological Institution is too well known to be recorded here. He is precisely the man you would wish to see installed in such a post, since he harmonises all his instructions with a kind, fatherly spirit, and genuine Christian bearing. Doctor 120 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. Hannah has shone in this department with far more lustre, than as a leader in the more general doings of his sect. He was elected President of Conference by a large majority in the year 1842, and discharged his office with a good degree of attention and satisfaction. But the doctor is no active man in Conference, nothing like your Newtons, Fowlers, Buntings, Beaumonts, or Osbornes ; his mind does not appear to be moulded for business, and with the exception of acting upon one or two committees, his name seldom appears in a prominent position in this department. Previous to his appoint- ment at the Institution, which by the way, was built out of the celebrated " Centenary Fund," the doctor was a tolerably active and popular preacher. He has been stationed in all the large towns, and his style of preaching has always been held in high reputation in Lancashire and Yorkshire. He may not have been a " drawing" preacher, nor one calculated to " revive " religion in the manner that is adopted by some of his more mercurial tempered brethren ; but there was always a certain grace and polish in his sermons, that, couched with his genuine piety and practical religious feeling, could scarcely fail to have its due effect upon those who sat under his minis- tration. Doctor Hannah is not one to put himself to much trouble in the delivery of his sermons ; and as to expend his breath in any ranting, raving exhibitions, is wholly beyond his province and inclination. We often find that a man of refined taste and high scholarly attainments, has much difficulty to give complete satisfac- tion to a general Methodist congregation. They like something more clear, plain, and emphatic al something more robust in nature, and more forcible in detail than can be presented by the man of polished taste and refined sentiment. Hence, a sermon from Doctor Hannah, rarely produces half the sensation that is effected by a discourse from Newton or Beaumont. Hannah is nearly all mind, while the others are, in a measure, all animating, strong, and robust feeling. It may be right or it may be wrong, but the Wesleyan preachers, as a body, have certainly a much stronger penchant for physical display, and passionate declamation, than for cool logical inquiry, or deep cogitative reasoning. The latter cool method of conveying himself, is certainly Doctor Hannah's forte, and for that reason he cannot produce half the effect in the pulpit as you witness in the sermons of those of the " revivalist " school. It was, therefore, perhaps a wise measure to REV. BOCTOK HANNAH. 121 remove him from the post of a stated minister, and present him with one more congenial to his taste and inclinations. Where he is now, his services are invaluable, and will probably be productive of a far greater amount of good to the society, than if he were a regular minister. There is little or nothing of an impressive character about the personal appearance of Doctor Hannah. As you see him stand in the pulpit at the commencement of his discourse, his general features have rather a dull and heavy aspect. There is something sleepy, too, in his mode of delivery that rather adds to the heavi- ness that hangs about his forehead, and that lurks about the shaggy hair of his eye-brows. His stature is a little above the middle height, and his form is tolerably well proportioned, although there is a slight stoop in his shoulders, and his mode of attitude is particularly ungraceful. His face is angular, and his various features are strongly defined and pretty regular. A profile likeness of the doctor could not fail to be a correct one. The nose is pretty prominent, and the curve of the lip is forcibly defined. His eyes, which by the way you can scarcely see for their shaggy brows, are of a greyish hue, and bespeak, if we may apply the phrenological test, a good amount of language. There is a slight ruddy glow upon his cheek, and he appears to enjoy the benefit of a good, sound constitution. His head, which is covered with a sprinkling of iron grey hair, is tolerably lofty and expansive, but there is a certain leaden heaviness about his brows, that materially detracts from its due development. In years, he appears to be fast verging on sixty. In the delivery of his sermons he is neither attractive nor scarcely agreeable. His action is rather drowsy and void of effect. Some of our friends would think him a lazy preacher, were they to judge from the sleepy manner in which he usually conducts himself in the pulpit. His voice, too, is not over musical, and the drawling sing- song tones he adopts from the beginning to the end of his sermon, is a sort of monotony not over palatable to the general predilections of a Wesleyan congregation. But placing all these things upon one side, and making a proper allowance for the peculiarities and temperament of the preacher, we shall find, upon calmly reviewing his sermon, that we have heard something that does not fall from any man's lips a combina- tion of piety, eloquence, and sterling ability, that does not meet us 122 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. in every pulpit. His sermons invariably betray the very best of biblical scholarship. He places before you a mind as deeply stored with Scriptural truths as you could wish from the most perfect and efficient professor of theology. We do not say that he is pedantic in this respect, far from it, seeing that there is an almost child-like simplicity in his exposition of Holy Writ. He does not either quote you long passages, nor draw long parallels here, nor tiresome concordances there, so as to satiate your taste and mystify your judgment. A man may quote you an eternity of passages from Scripture, and yet not indicate any sound pretensions to a deep scholarship in the same ; it is the adaption of one to the other the clear and just approximation of the whole that evidences the proficient in biblical knowledge. Now, the latter is just the course Doctor Hannah pursues, and by that means there is invariably a beauty of completeness in all that he gives you from Scripture, which will always find its due place in your attention and interest. Perhaps the doctor's powers of rhetoric are the most limited of his extensive range. We have here and there found him essaying some bright and forcible method of conveying his ideas, but have generally thought he failed in his attempt. The doctor has too much good sense to blunder out some extravagant and inapplicable feature of this description; he wishes to do all that he does, well; and if he finds he cannot cope with the task, he usually lays it aside to make room for some other method with which he is more conver- sant. In the general arrangement of his sermon, he is certainly one of the most connected preachers that enters a Wesleyan pulpit. We never remember him rambling in one syllable from the proper drift of his text. He is particularly methodical in the ordering of his divisions and sub-divisions, and evidentally takes the utmost care to preserve every point he has made, or has to make, in its due position. His language is chaste and elegant, but his sentences are generally more distinguished for brevity and pith than for length or brilliancy. The doctor, as we have observed before, seems naturally indisposed to betray much outward feeling in his sermons, and even at their close, when you would expect some exertion to animate his hearers, there is still the same drawling tone, heavy look, and drowsy attitude ; but notwithstanding all this, no one can doubt but what he feels most deeply the important truths he is expressing, and that beneath that sombre outward appearance there REV. DOCTOH HALLEY-. 123 lives a spirit as strongly sensible to the excellence of Christian piety as ever animated the breast of any human creature. REV, DOCTOR HALLEY. THE Independents have generally displayed more taste and elegance in the construction of their places of worship, than any other body of Protestant dissenters. The chapels of Doctor Raffles in Liverpool, of Doctor Hamilton in Leeds, of James Parsons in York, and lastly, the magnificent temple of Doctor Halley, in Cavendish S.t., Chorlton-upon-Medlock, really display a beauty of architecture that we shall scarcely see outvied even by the Church of England itself. For our part, we see no reason why the dissenters should not raise as noble a temple to the worship of the Almighty as any other body or section of Christians ; and despite the old puritan notions of certain defunct nonconformists, we must give a good degree of praise to the men who have resuscitated the spirit of the ancient church, and raised buildings in every way worthy of the Great Being to whose praise they are dedicated. The principle, in itself, is correct, and your men who look at these buildings, and then talk about their cost, and then descant about the amount being appropriated to some other more utilitarian end, are poor, narrow- minded simpletons, who not only begrude the Divinity his due honours, but would restrain the progress of public art and taste in one of its most legitimate spheres. Cavendish St. Chapel is certainly a splendid affair, and reflects high credit to the liberality of Dr. Halley's numerous congregation., In point of architecture, we should say, it is one of the most beautifully compact edifices in the neighbourhood of Manchester. Both exterior and interior are in excellent keeping with the style upon which it was constructed. The most peculiar feature, however, is the steeple, rather an un- common appendage for a dissenting chapel, and one that raised a superabundance of remarks at the time of the opening of the building in 1848. The steeple itself is light and beautifully built, and tapers up to some considerable height. The whole building, too, 124 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. partakes more of the cathedral structure than anything else, and any one upon approaching it would scarcely think it otherwise than some splendid temple built by the church of England. The interior is probably a little too gloomy, but this may be mainly attributed to the peculiar construction of the windows. We should say, it is calculated to hold a larger congregation than any other chapel in Manchester, and when the whole are seated, the scene presented is somewhat imposing. The pulpit is low, and built in unison with the style of the building; the seats, too, are very conveniently arranged, and the low backs are a decided improvement upon the old fashioned high pews of the past generation. The ceiling is very lofty, and the oak rafters are in excellent keeping with the chaste pillars that rise from the aisles. A splendid and powerful toned organ is placed in the window-niche at the back of the pulpit. At the extreme end of the building is a large and convenient gallery for the accommodation of the Sunday-school, which is a very numerous and highly-respectable one. Altogether, Dr. Halley may congratulate himself upon possessing the most handsome and exten- sive chapel of any minister or sect in Manchester. By half-past ten we were seated in the Doctor's chapel, at which time he slowly ascended the pulpit, and took his seat during the singing of the opening hymn. When this was concluded he rose from his seat, and read a passage from Scripture, during which time we took some little notice of his outward man. There is nothing particularly striking in his personal appearance to arrest your attention. He looks the Independent divine, and nothing more. In height, he is just above the middle stature, and in the way of bodily compass, is slightly inclined to corpulency. He wears a black silk gown, which somewhat interferes with your view of his form, although we have not seen many for whose figure the gown is more appropriate than the reverend doctor's. His features, upon the whole, are decidedly expressive of mind, and are often lit up with many pleasant and winning expressions. His forehead is well moulded, and displays much intellectual wealth ; his hair, of an iron grey, is just carelessly parted at the right hand side, and is cut somewhat short. Perhaps his eyes, of a bright grey hue and very full, are more indicative of their owner's mind than any other feature about him. There is generally a healthy glow upon his cheeks, and he appears to enjoy all the benefits of a good, sound REV. DOCTOR HALLEY. 125 'constitution. To all appearance, Doctor Halley is about fifty years of age, some twelve of which have been spent in the fulfilment of his present duties, having succeeded the late and ever to be re- gretted Doctor Me. All. The doctor's voice, however, as he reads the passage from Scripture, calls our attention. He appears to have one of good compass, but not much command over it, the tones being somewhat monotonous, although generally audible throughout the building. He subse- quently began his prayer, which for pure fervent emotion expressed in well-finished sentences, and clothed in beautifully poetical language, we have scarcely heard equalled. The arrangement was good, and the matter was good, and the delivery of it was just in consonance with his feelings, warm without being vehement, polished wilhout being fastidious. Perhaps the only thing against it was its length, occupying nearly half-an-hour in delivery. After another hymn, the reverend doctor gave out his text, and, rather to our surprise, began preaching from a written sermon. This, how- ever, was not a serious matter; inasmuch as we would rather hear a man preach a good written sermon, than blunder over the delivery of an extempore one. He divided his discourse with much clear- ness, and then proceeded in the amplification with right masterly skill. It was partly a doctrinal subject, and we prepared ourselves for a rich treat, as it is well known that the doctor's powers as a theologian and controversialist stand very high. We were not mistaken ; before he had ended his first division, he began to display a mind eminently calculated to penetrate into the depths of every theologicial point that came before his attention. He investigated to the very bottom, he struck into the deepest parts, and every proposition that came before his mind was put under about as severe an examination as we ever remember seeing exercised. His biblical knowledge appeared to be highly extensive, and he certainly showed it to some advantage, not with a multiplicity of quotations, nor with parallels and concordances, but with passages that bore a cer- tain strict consanguinity to the point under review. His illustrations from Scripture were excellent for their pointedness and perspicuity. In the logical investigation of his point, he probably laboured with too much intensity, and followed too severe a process in the examination, and hence, although certainly solid and masterly in his views, was somewhat heavy and recondite in their formation. 126 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. But passing away from his depth as a logician, we come to his powers of illustration, which, especially from Scripture, were well selected and arranged. There was much taste in the selection, and much discrimination in the application. He did not seize an illustration regardless of its consistency or fitness, but he was first well assured of its aptness and application to the point he wished to illustrate. He had evidently a wide range in this department, and was not behind hand in bringing out a little of the -poetical here and there to give a finish and coup de grace to the point he was urging. His application was somewhat brief, although rather fervent and effective. It was not dramatic, nor sublime, nor passionate ; it was a simple and temperate exhibition of the feelings of a good man solicitous to advance a good cause. Doctor Halley's style of preaching, upon the whole, is not calculated to "draw" a large congregation beyond the pale of his own place of worship. We believe he is much better understood and appreciated by his own body of hearers, than he would be by a congregation of strangers. They have become thoroughly initiated in his style, and consequently are the best judges of his powers and capabilities. His sermons are usually of an hour's duration, and, being written, are for the most part very cleverly put together in the way of literary composition. His sentences at the commencement are generally short and pithy ; but when he gets on to his illustra- tions they become lengthy, and are rounded off with much taste and precision. His language, we think, at times, is rather common- place, although at others particularly refined and polished. In fact, during the examination of a logical point he does not appear to pay much attention to this department, his mind appearing to be wholly and solely concentrated upon the matter rather than the manner in which it is presented. In many of his discourses he betrays the scholar in an eminent degree, and we should say his acquaintance with the classics partakes of a very wide range. His action and gestures in the pulpit are very simple ; an occasional retreat from the front of the pulpit, and a few upliftings of the right arm, constituting his principal movements from the beginning to the end of his discourse. As a platform-orator, Doctor Halley is generally considered one of the most effective in Manchester. He took no ordinary part in the Anti- Corn-Law movement, and during the Conference in Man- MRS. HAWKSHAW. 127 Chester, made some very excellent and rather brilliant speeches. At missionary or any purely religious meetings, he usually enlists the applause of his hearers. The doctor, too, is a great Anti-State- Church and Voluntary Education man, and has done a great deal in furtherance of these causes, both by private exertions and public agitation. He is always very fearless in the delivery of his opinions, and when thoroughly warmed in the topic, gives vent to his views in right spirited style. We heard him make a most powerful expose on the Maynooth Grant in the town-hall one morning, such a speech that rang in our ears for a week afterwards. The doctor always enunciates his views on any great civil or religious question with great earnestness. He has much warmth of feeling when fairly aroused, and if the question turn on anything in reference to the defence of Non-conformity, he is safe to make a spirited and effective oration. He has always been a consistent liberal in his political views, and though he may not have taken any prominent part in mere party politics, still, when any great open question has been agitated, there has not been a warmer champion for the maintenance of civil and religious liberty than Doctor Halley. MRS. HAWKSHAW. IN the " Introductory Stanzas" to the first volume Mrs. Hawkshaw presented to the world, we think, with all due and polite deference, she commits a slight error. In the following beautiful language, she tells us *' This is no time for song : there is a strife For wealth or for existence all around ; And all the sweet amenities of life, And all the gentle harmonies of sound, Die like the flowers upon the beaten path, Or mus; midst the noise of toil and wrath," The mere fact of Mrs. Hawkshaw' s presenting us with a series of poems like those in which this stanza occurs, proves beyond all doubt that this is a time for song, and one that will make us the 128 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. lovers of song to which ever way our inclinations may have tended. We are of those who, despite the mechanical and utilitarian charac- ter generally ascribed to our age, deem it fully as much alive to the soft sensibilities of poetic feeling, as any other period of our existence, as a civilized community. Poetic feeling, when once in- fused in a nation's breast, though it may be harassed with care and turmoil, never can die. The same principles that its sublime precepts taught in the meridian reign of Shakespere and Milton, or of Homer, Virgil, and Petrarch, are taught and acknowledged now ; and though we may have grown more perfectly alive to the ways and means of our daily subsistence, still all this care and toil but adds to the beauty and eloquence of poetic feelings and sentiments. No man knows or feels what poetry is until he has had some little contention with the world ; and he who works the hardest, will always find its smooth and silvery sounds the more exquisite means of raising his soul from the dust, and unburdening his mind from care. We dwell at this length in our observations upon this passage, because it introduces us to one who has proved by her writings alone that this is a time for song ; for if any of our fair literati in Lancashire ever did show the gift of song, it is certainly in the highly gifted lady before us. Did we want a proof of the existence of the spirit of poetry in this noisy locality, we do not think we could select a more befitting one than a volume of the poems of Mrs. Hawkshaw. And we do not say this out of mere gallantry, or the courtesy that is generally expected to meet any female effort. Setting all this aside, Mrs. Hawkshaw's poetry will stand a fair critical test. Here we find none of those namby-pamby, milk-and- water sentimentalisms that are so frequently identified with the early efforts of many young authors or poetesses ; all her effusions manifest something of a genuine character, something that you feel and know to be real poetry in the most enlarged acceptation of the word. You cannot peruse her effusions without being sensibly affected by the high poetic feelings they convey. They always indicate the true genius the summum lonum of poetic inspiration and poetic sentiment. Viewed in a comparative point of view, we think we may safely assign Mrs. Hawkshaw the chief seat among our present line of Lancashire poetesses She has much of the graceful feeling of Mrs. Hemans, and no inconsiderable portion of MRS. HAWKSHAW. 129 the tasteful beauty and artistic polish of Mrs. Norton ; schools in which she has doubtless well studied, and undoubtedly with much success. We think we have perused most of the writings of our lady- authors of Lancashire, but none have given us such a complete satisfaction, as the effusions of the one before us. They possess such an amount of real poetic emotion, such a degree of beautiful poetic imagery, such an expansion of ideas and thought conveyed in so chaste and elegant a style, that anybody perusing them must acknowledge their claims to poetry of a very high order. ' But a closer inspection of Mrs. Hawkshaw's productions will more clearly justify our remarks. In 1842 appeared the first collection of poems by our fair author, entitled Dionysius the Areopagite. The leading poem of Dionysius is in all respects a fine poetic conception, and is sustained, from first to last, with a vigour and energy that must captivate every reader. Replete as it is with great artistic power, an almost Eastern magnificence of style and language, a flow of thought, and ideas of high poetic beauty and imagery, that sometimes almost leads us to think we are holding converse with " Queen Mab." We cannot be too warm in our encomiums upon this meritorious production. The tale itself, with the few characters introduced into it, is well sustained throughout. The eloquence with which Mrs. Hawkshaw expatiates on ancient Greece, the elegant language in which she describes its thousand relics of decayed beauty and grandeur, the artistic beauty in which she enrobes the scenes into which she introduces the reader, infuses into the poem a captivating grace and elegance that fills us with emotions, that do not lie within our reach to describe. Her address to Greece, beginning " I love the beautiful where'er Tis found" exhibits considerable resources of beautiful imagery and elegant verbiage. " Dionysius " to " Myra," on the immortality of the soul, is another equally fine passage. But, we are led to think, it is in the great artistic picturing Mrs. Hawkshaw displays, lies her principal power. Here is a beautiful line or two " And still on Grecian hills and plains Are roofless temples, priestless fanes, All beautiful ; as though decay But touched them with a pencilled ray :" 130 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS, And here, the Plague " Unseen its form of mystery, As on it sped ! It spared not beauty in its pride ; It snatched the bridegroom from the bride ; It breathed upon the sleeping child, While in its mother's arms it smiled ; And as the mother o'er it wept, Throughout her veins the poison crept ; And while she caught its dying sigh, Death darkened o'er her tearful eye." We might add numerous illustrations of this power of artistic pic- turing that is generally identified with Mrs. Hawkshaw's poems. It is nothing but just, however, to remark that they are all truthful and consistent, and rarely savour of anything approaching extrava- gance or over-colouring. A few minor pieces are attached to Dionysius, which, for the most part, exhibit much fervency of feeling and beauty of sentiment. Two somewhat fine poems, the one entitled "The Past," and the other, "The Future," are deserving of high commendation. A few stanzas on "Wild Flowers," and some entitled, " Spring to the Flowers," are very sweet and tripping. " The Mother to her Starving Child" is replete with pathetic eloquence, and the " Lines on a Friend lost at Sea" are of the same character. Mrs. Hawkshaw's " Sonnet to America" is, we may justly say, powerfully written, developing, as it does, sentiments of the highest character expressed in language of equal force. To give the reader, however, a proper specimen of Mrs. Hawkshaw's powers, we cannot resist quoting a piece, which, for the expression of an earnest and intense feeling in language of consistent beauty and power, we have rarely seen surpassed. SONNET. To " I love my country, for I love my kind Man is my brother wheresoe'er he roam I love my father's hearth, my childhood's home, And all the hopes and memories round it twined : I love the deep thoughts and the cares which bind The mother to her children in my heart These, and the love of song, have each their part : But not a part for thee alone, I find, For 'tis all thine as light that fills no space And yet pervades all nature, and which gives MRS. HAWKS&AW. 131 All forms their beauty, loveliness, and grace, And energy and hope to all that lives ; So unto me hath been thy love then take This song of mine, and keep it for my sake." Although the last in the book, this is certainly not the least of Mrs. Hawkshaw's productions, In 1847, the fair author of Dionysius issued another small produc- tion entitled, Poems for my Children ; as pretty and felicitous a collection of original poems for the youthful mind we have met with for a long period. Space forbids us entering into their merits minutely ; but we may casually observe that they fully evince all that tenderness of feeling and beauty of expression so characteristic of her former productions. The series of poems are grave and gay, lively and solid ; and though written in a beautifully poetical vein, are rendered sufficiently simple and familiar for the minds to which she addresses herself. We shall just take one charming little extract. "COMMON THINGS. The sunshine is a glorious thing, That comes alike to all, Lighting the peasant's lowly cot, The noble's painted hall. The moonlight is a gentle thing, It through the window gleams, Upon the snowy pillow, where The happy infant dreams. It shines upon the fisher's boat, Out on the lonely sea ^ Ox where the little lambkins lie Beneath the old oak tree. The dew-drops on the Summer morn Sparkle upon the grass ; The village children brush them off That through the meadows pass. There are no gems in monarch's crowns More beautiful than they ; And yet we scarcely notice them But tread them off in play. Poor Robin on the pear-tree sings, Beside the cottage door; The heath-flower fills the air with sweets, Upon the pathless moor. 132 LANCASHIRE AUTHOKS AND OEATOKS. There are as many lovely things, As many pleasant tones, For those who sit by cottage hearths, As those who sit on thrones." With this extract we close our notice of Mrs. Hawkshaw, sincerely trusting that she may long continue to sing with all the beauty of sentiment and sound which she has hitherto thrown into her numerous effusions. CHARLES HINDLEY, M.P. THE honourable member for Ashton-under-Lyne is one of the most popular among the masses of the representatives connected with the county of Lancaster. His consistent and efficient advocacy of the short-hours bill, his thorough antagonism to all intrenchments upon civil and religious liberty, his strict adhesion to all popular move- ments, and his perfect embodiment of the out-and-out Radical reformer, has always enlisted upon his behalf the sympathies and plaudits of a greater portion of the working-classes. In the neigh- bourhood he represents, and which is the seat of his own residence, this enthusiasm in his favour is particularly obvious ; for if Radical- ism is found more prominently developed in one place in Lancashire than another, it is in the neighbourhood of Ashton, Stalybridge, Dukinfield, and the surrounding districts. No man, unless circumstances of an extraordinary character interfered, would think of contesting the borough of Ashton with Mr. Hindley. He stands too high in the estimation of his class (which is pretty power- ful in Ashton) to fear anything from an opponent. The factory operatives, we may say to a man, approve most highly of the political life of their representative, and the employers are not unmindful of his industrious career and lively attention to their interests. Another matter, likewise, adds very considerably to Mr. Hindley 's popularity that is, his private benevolence. We know of few men who expend larger sums of money in charitable purposes than Mr. Hindley. Benevolence is a very leading trait in CHARLES HINDLEY, M.P. 133 his character, and we firmly believe that the greater portion of his charitable deeds are enacted without the observation of men, and where it is advertised about, we may rest, assured it arises from no ostentatious display or vaunting pride. Whatever may be Mr. Hindley's failings in other respects, his kindly benevolence, and truly generous disposition, must enlist our warmest sympathies and praises. One other characteristic, too, in Mr. Hindley, stands forward somewhat prominently ; which, if it has not won the assent of all, has with some parties raised him in high estimation. We allude to his eminently religious character, which has been through- out an exhibition of perfect consistency and piety. For a period of ten or twelve years, Mr. Hindley's name, as the avowed champion of Free Trade, the Ten Hours' Bill, the Peace movement, and other popular measures for the social and political amelioration of the working-classes, has been prominently before the public. The member for Ashton has always been identified with popular reform movements, both in and out of the House. And though not ranking among the foremost as an orator, he has earned for himself a tolerable reputation as a speaker upon every question which he has taken in hand. Perhaps some of his most effective speeches were delivered in advocacy of the Ten Hours' Bill. His speeches in the House exhibited not only a considerable amount of natural eloquence, but a clear and steady knowledge of the question in all its bearings. He evinced no meagre stock of logical skill, and was tolerably quick in replying to an opponent. His simple earnestness of manner, and the great interest that he apparently took in furthering the cause, gave an additional grace to the character of his speeches. We have heard him at various public meetings upon this theme, and we have always found him acquit himself with much satisfaction to all parties. He always betrayed a good deal of quiet self-possession, and in making details rarely, if ever, committed himself, or was erroneous in his statements. In the advocacy of the Early Closing Movement, and especially in furthering the claims of the poor half-famished sempstresses, Mr. Hindley has always been foremost, both by the eloquence of his lips and the service of his purse. With Lord Ashley and one or two other members, Mr. Hindley has always taken a prominent position in the advocacy of claims of this character. Ragged Schools, Mechanics' Institutes, Asylums for the Destitute and 134 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. Depraved, and other establishments of a kindred nature, have ever awakened the sympathy and warm support of the member for Ashton. We have heard him to considerable advantage as a peace- advocate, shining, as he does, in his earnest and fervent exposition of the evils engendered by warfare, and his vivid descriptions of the baneful operations of the system upon civilized mankind. In the House, Mr. Hindley is an attentive and industrious member. In forwarding the interests of those particular claims to which we have hitherto alluded, he is eminent for his application. "We think he stands pretty well in the estimation of the members, for his speeches generally appear, unless they are of a very strong Radi- cal character, to be well received, Mr. Hindley is a clear and straightforward speaker at all times, and neither tires the House with long-winded statements or tedious circumlocutions. An easy, simple, and lucid style of speaking, is generally identified with his speeches in the House. He is a good, practised parliamentary- speaker, and evinces considerable tact in addressing himself to the men whose constitutional (say parliamentary) temperaments he seems to be well acquainted with. He speaks at a moderate pace, and clothes his ideas in good passable language. His sen- tences are mostly short and pithy, and are delivered with moderate precision. He is moderate in gesture, now and then giving way to a little animation. His speeches in the House vary in length, but we have heard him at public meetings speak for an hour. Mr. Hindley is the son of the late highly-respected Ignatiaus Hindley, a somewhat extensive manufacturer, and was born at F airfield, near Manchester, in the year 1800. He was originally educated for the Moravian pulpit in the Moravian College, at Fulneck, in Yorkshire ; a circumstance to which we may doubtless attribute much of that religious feeling developed by Mr. Hindley in his public career. We believe he distinguished himself at school for his attainments, and evidenced at all times a kindly disposition and intellectual capacities of goodly pretensions. In the course of a few years he was removed from this place to Grace -hill in Ireland, where he was an assistant-teacher. He remained here for some period, and nothing of any note occurred until the death of his elder brother, who was a cotton-spinner at Dukinfield, in 1821. At this period he took possession of the establishment, and entered CHARLES HIXDLEY, M.P. 135 the spinning business. After entering into the business, he did not remain long inactive in improving the condition of those about him; for in 1825, we find him with Mr. George Smith, (a local author of some standing) and a few others, establishing the present prosperous Ashton and Dukinfield Mechanics' Institution. He has always taken especial interest in the progress of this highly-deserving institution, both by his own personal exertions and the influence he has exercised upon those around him. He still continues the President of the Institution. The next feature of Mr. Hindley's pub- lic career, is the manner in which he was noticed at a public dinner to Lord Brougham by the electors of Saddleworth, a short time pre- vious to the passing of the Reform Bill in 1832. Upon this occasion Mr Hindley made an energetic and eloquent speech on free trade, at the conclusion of which he was most warmly complimented by Brougham, a compliment justly merited. He was first returned to Parliament for Ashton in the year 1834, a seat which he has un- interruptedly retained up to the present period ; and for which, we believe, he has always been returned without opposition. In every part of his political life, Mr. Hindley has given general satisfaction to his friends, and we never heard any observations but those of warm assent given to his conduct in Parliament. Like every other public man, Mr. Hindley has his opponents who have occasionally construed his actions into anything but generous and manly. Reducing his operatives' wages, working beyond ten hours, and other idle and ma- licious reports have been raised against him, but with how much truth we leave the reader to decide. The only matter with which we find ourselves at particular variance with Mr. Hindley is in his proposi- tions on the observance of the Sabbath, which, however, good in theory, are, to our mind, perfectly impraticable. In personal appearance, Mr. Hindley is a quiet and somewhat demure looking man. He is about the middle height, of medium build, and has more the look of a minister than a member of parliament. His complexion is rather pale, and his face is some- what long. His manners are mild and affable. From the data supplied of his birth, he is now in his fiftieth year. 136 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. REV. F. J. JOBSON. AMONG the popular preachers of the Wesleyan Methodist of the present day, the name of F. J. Jobson may be justly included. We shall find few who have stood forward more prominently in the localities with which he has been identified for the last ten or fifteen years ; and certainly, if thorough good Methodist preaching, and thorough industrious exertion in the promotion of the principles of John Wesley, form any criteria in our estimation of one of his disciples, then we may safely say Mr. Jobson is j ustly deserving of the popularity he so extensively enjoys. The whole character of Mr. Jobson is just in unison with our views of what a Methodist preacher should be. That frank, straight-forward bearing, that plain, open-hearted dealing, that bold denunciation of whatever he believes to be wrong, that hearty approval of whatever he conceives to be right, that close, earnest, and ardent determination to effect the great end he has in view ; all these features tend to place Mr. Jobson in the position we have just indicated, as a deservedly popular Methodist preacher. With the masses of the Wesleyan body, such a character as the one before us is always acceptable. With the more refined portion, the ministrations of such men as George Steward, Doctor Dixon, or John Lomas, would doubtless be preferred to those of Mr. Jobson. The popularity which the reverend gentleman' before us gains, is emphatically through the opinions of that portion of the Wesleyan community, who prefer a simple and forcible exposition of the Word to any speculative philosophy, erudite wisdom, or dazzling rhetoric. Place such a man as George Steward in some circuit whose inhabitants principally consist of the poorer working-classes, and you may rest assured that there will not be a very urgent demand for seats or standing room ; but put Mr. Jobson in the same pulpit, let him come forth with his straight-forward, home-telling truths, let him expound with his earnestness of manner, let him announce his forcible convictions, let him exercise his powerful influence, and the place shall be crowded with a body of the most attentive listeners, whose eyes will not leave the preacher till he has resumed his seat. Men of this REV. F. J. JOBSON. 137 description are, unquestionably, the true descendents of John Wesley, for they work in unison with his principles, they labour in accordance with his views, and spread their influence over a class, for whom he, in particular, was most anxious to serve. We may then, probably, justly call Mr. Jobson a preacher for the people a minister for the masses, and by that he has secured his popularity. It is his earnestness, his warmth of feeling, more than his strength of judgment or profundity of thought, that has pos- sessed him of this position. He evidently feels all he utters and there is much in that, especially with a Methodist congregation, of the nature to which we have just adverted. Were Mr. Jobson's manner less earnest, did he deliver his sentiments with less decision, were he less bold in his denunciations, or less fervent in his encouragements, he would not exercise half the influence that is generally associated with his sermons, nor meet with anything like the popularity that has invariably attended his career. Feeling, warmth of heart, strong healthy views, and sterling common sense, have made Mr. Jobson a popular preacher. The Methodist "people" have approved of this, and, while there is a Methodist " people," will continue to do so. And, in some respects, we approve of their choice, for it shows consistency with the principles they profess. Namby-pamby sermons, delivered in a namby-pamby style, is not in consonance with the avowed principles of John Wesley. If we apprehend the scheme of this great founder aright, we conceive it to have been his intention that the gospel should be preached in the " unadorned eloquence" of its own simple nature that it should be expounded with simple forcibility, and neither confounded with mystical metaphysics, nor shrouded with abstruse speculations. Such was the proposal of John Wesley, and though we do not number ourselves among his disciples, still we admire the respect paid to his principles by those who are now more particularly before us. Mr. Jobson has decidely won his fame by his strict adherence to those principles, and upon that account, primarily, we have been induced to number him among these notices. In addition we may say, his valuable services have been much identified with Lancashire, and we are led to think it is to this county and Yorkshire that he owes, in a great measure, his popularity. What shall we say of Mr. Jobson's personal appearance, as he stands before us in the pulpit about to deliver his discourse ? Fancy, T 138 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. good reader, a hale, hearty man, probably four or five years on the shady side of forty, with a really pleasant conformation of face and features, somewhat portly in form, although rather under the middle height, with a glowing colour on his cheeks, and a smiling expression about his lips, and a pair of twinkling eyes, just fancy these two or three details, and you may possibly form a slight idea of Mr. Jobson's outward man. Everything about him, in this respect, is in strict accordance with his character. One glance is sufficient to inform you of his mind and temperament. Our notions may be strange about the generality of Methodist preachers, but we should certainly, did we not know the difference, give Mr. Jobson credit for being a straight-forward, well-to-do, good-living English farmer, rather than note him down for the vocation he fills. There is a pleasant, beaming expression about his features, that pre- possesses him at once in your favour. His head is tolerably formed, but there are no extraordinary intellectual developments about his forehead, for a warm-hearted disposition, and sound healthy constitution, are decidedly more forcibly developed in his physiognomy than indications of a refined mind, or studious bent of intellect. We hare already made observation on Mr. Jobson's main forts as a preacher ; a word or two in dissection of his abilities may probably be expected. Nothing is easier than to give a brief outline of this gentleman's mode of exposition, for he is so uniform, clear, and consecutive, that you could scarcely fail discovering, upon a first hearing, his mode of illustration. A few opening observations, of the most comprehensive and pertinent character, bring you at once, without the slightest circumlocution, to the theme under review. He goes straight to the point with these observations, he makes them bear with direct consanguinity to what he has in view, and dunce, in truth, is the man who does not apprehend their end and purport. They are delivered, moreover, with a decision of tone that renders them the more effective in detail. You see their purport at once, "and the plain truth, and nothing but the truth," rises before you in the most tangible form and bearing. He generally treats his subject under two or three heads, which he announces at the commencement, followed by a short invocation or prayer for the assistance of divine influence in promoting the effect of the discourse upon his hearers. He then proceeds to his illustra.- P. J. JT053SOK. 139 lions, which, for the most part, we can justly characterise as clear, bold, and effective. He here betrays considerable biblical know- ledge, and his illustrations from. Scripture are invariably pointed and well sustained. We should not give him much credit for possessing any great depth of investigation, or any particular pro- fundity of exposition ; on the other hand he is, at times, somewhat shallow. But if we are to give him credit for what he really possesses, we should say for a clear and emphatic statement of the true nature and meaning of his text, he stands in no mean position among his brethren. Now and then, you may catch at a vein of orginality, a sentiment in reference to his text that you probably may not have heard before. He is likewise a tolerable logician, although the clearness of his deductions is decidedly superior to the soundness of his premises. We should not say that Mr. Jobson's mind is very logically formed, although his arguments usually manifest a good degree of logical skill in making out a case in favour of the views he is enforcing. At times he draws somewhat freely upon analogy, when he may be said to be poetical in matter and glowing in manner. A passage in ancient or modern history, likewise, now and then furnishes him with the means of elucidating his views in a more comprehensive light, and he usually renders such illustrations particularly apposite to the point he has in view. In the main, Mr. Jobson's powers as a theologian are decidedly above mediocrity, and we should say few men possess clearer views of the fundamental doctrines of Christianity in the denomination. Occasionally he assumes the position of a contro- versialist, but we have never heard him make any very powerful objections to the dogmas or creeds he may have assailed. The applications of Mr. Jobson are, in so far as we are capable of judging, the best feature of his discourse. They are well, very well calculated for the description of Methodist congregations to which we have previously alluded. Their warmth of manner, forcible truisms, home-telling lessons, invariably find their way to the feelings of those by whom he is surrounded. Stolid, in truth must be the Methodist who can sit unmoved by the applications of Mr. Jobson. We need scarcely say that in this respect, his manner is warm and fervid, and that he sometimes towers into an eloquent sphere. Mr. Jobson's sermons are all delivered extemporary, and he rarely resumes his seat much under an hour. He has a good 140 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. command of language, sometimes not over chaste, but is usually pretty fluent. His voice is of tolerable compass, though somewhat monotonous in tone, and occasionally sounds harsh and discordant. He is always animated in the way of gesture, and pretty liberal with both arms in action. GERALDINE ENDSOR JEWSBURY. Miss Jewsbury's recent production of the Half-Sisters has presented a description of novel writing, that we cannot commend in too high a strain. By this work she may not only claim a position in the foremost ranks of Lancashire Authors, but in addition, hold no ordinary place among the most distinguished novelists of modern celebrity. And in this opinion we are not alone, since the Athenaeum., the Critic, and Literary Gazette, have all sang her praises to the same euphonious tune. From the earliest efforts of Geraldine Jewsbury, we have always considered her to be possessed of no ordinary genius, and the popularity that the work in question has attained, and the warm reception it has met in the encomiums of the best literary authorities, have served to confirm our impressions. There is no disputing Miss Jewsbury to be a lady of genius, and her Half-Sisters has proved it to a considerable extent. Her genius has developed itself in this production, if it never did before ; and from the fact of her having eschewed all the old conventional methods of working out a plot, with the novelty of many of the scenes and observations, stamps it with a degree of originality that has scarcely been witnessed in any like production of the present season. Hence Lancashire may be justly proud of numbering among her authors the name of Geraldine Jewsbury, for her genius and celebrity not only reflects highly upon the county, but is an additional instance that the utilitarian character of Manchester and its neighbourhood does not necessarily preclude the due develop- ment of the more refined genius of literature and art. We take occasion to note Miss Jewsbury's Half-Sisters in priority to her other productions, because it is certainly, at present, her ENDSOR JEWSBtJRY. 141 chef d'ceuvre, and reveals more of her true genius and powers as a novelist. This work made its first appearance during March, 1848, in two volumes, and immediately commanded an extensive circula- tion. The work, as we have before remarked, evidently proceeds from an original mind, and the whole conception is based upon something rather out of the common line of modern works of fiction. It possesses one charm, if it possess none other that is its simplicity of plot and excellency of moral tone. Miss Jewsbury's aim seems to be in enforcing that women of genius are not naturally incapacitated to discharge the tender ties and feelings of domestic life, but that when women of this character fail in this respect, it is owing alone to adventitious circumstances, and the narrow exacting convention- alisms of the world. This, we apprehend, to be her end ; in some parts she sustains her theory with a great degree of truth and -ability ; in others, we think, she signally fails. To bring out this philosophy, the fair author presents us with a fine young heroine, " Bianca Pazzi," who rises from a very low ebb to a great degree >bf distinction in the histrionic art. Bianca is a born genius for the stage, and proves her greatness throughout a number of trials, principally engendered by her young affection for a dashing young fellow " Conrad Percy." This same " Conrad," however, from being a very ardent lover, becomes a somewhat indifferent one> although Bianca's devotion remains as warm as ever. By this means Miss Jewsbury works out her theory. We shall not stop to discuss the truth or fallacy of the same, but we cannot help censur* ing her a little for giving us two or three very long-winded chapters in succession on this precious theory, while we are all impatience to be with Bianca, having left her in a somewhat exciting passage. There are here and there some beautiful dashes of sentiment and gems of thought. We were much struck with one on prayer. " Prayer," says Miss Jewsbury, " is the greatest consolation of men in religion ; but it is a mercy that the hearing and granting of it is placed in the hands of the Highest, and quite beyond man's control, for who can look back upon his past life without trembling, when he thinks on the mad and fatal petitions he has offered up, and reflects upon what must have been his destiny had they been granted." But though giving birth to such truisms as these, Miss Jewsbury is not without her fallacies, which, in nine cases out of ten, appear to arise from an overweening scepticism of the truth 142 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. and integrity of the male sex. Take one as an example : " When a woman loves with an engrossing passion, and is by nature entirely ungifted with coquetry, it is ten chances to one but that in a very short time she becomes a great bore to the man on whom she bestows it." This we deny altogether ; the love of woman may be stronger than that of man, but he must be, and is, worse than a brute who could regard the warm affections of a woman in the manner that is represented by our author. We do not say, but that such a love might operate upon some clown in the position described, but to the man of refined sense and cultivated feeling, nothing, we stoutly maintain, can be more agreeable than the warm, heart-felt, and intense devotion of one of the softer sex. Of the two sisters, we most decidedly prefer the heroine Bianca ; upon whom the author appears to have bestowed much labour and pains. The other sister, Alice, is occasionally somewhat insipid, and really does not accomplish half the good things we are led to expect from her at the outset of the tale. She is a nice, quiet, passive creature enough, but has not scarcely a particle of the animation that enlivens her sister. Conrad Percy is a far more agreeable charac- ter at the beginning than he is in the conclusion, and we think the sudden transitions of character in which Miss Jewsbury presents him are somewhat inconsistent. " John Bryant," the husband of Alice, is, next to Bianca, the best sustained character in the book, and though not the sort of man to whom we are over partial, yet there is a decision of purpose about him that must enlist our admiration, whether we award him our sympathies or no. " Lord Milton," and his maiden sister " Lady Vernon," are two good characters, and well portrayed. Miss Jewsbury does not make her plot hang upon many characters, and this is a recom- mendation, considering the length of the tale and the sustained interest of the plot. Her descriptive powers are not of an extensive range, but what she does attempt, she generally succeeds in pre- senting to the reader in the clearest colours. Two or three of her scenes in this work are highly graphic, and the scene where Conrad Percy reveals his love for Alice, and the succeeding one between Conrad and Bryant, are, to say the least, grand dramatic pictures, although we scarcely approve of the manner in which they are brought about. Miss Jewsbury, in this, resorts to an old and somewhat low device in making this dashing young gallant win the GERALDINE ENDSOR JEWSBTTRY. 143 heart of a lady whom we suppose to have been married some four or five years. Alice is represented to love her husband warmly and intensely, and while she does this we do not see how she can be- queath her heart to another, fascinating though he be. Throughout the work, the fair author manifests a considerable insight into the workings of the heart, and in this we must again award our praises on the original bent she has pursued. She has evidently, in this work, dealt far more with the inner life than with the outward, especially as developed in the beautiful, faithful, and nobly- enduring Bianca. We casually noticed one or two anachronisms in the first volume, which, in another edition, we hope will not escape the author's attention and correction. In the third chapter, Alice is represented to be " about fourteen ;" while in chapter nine, (and a very short period is supposed to intervene,) she is said to be " about twenty" Again, in the first chapter, Bianca is a girl " about sixteen" and in chapter six, Bianca was " not sixteen" These are defects that ought not to blemish so fine a production as the Half -Sisters, and ought certainly to be weeded out at the very first opportunity. The space we have occupied in noticing the Half-Sisters almost precludes any comme'nt upon Miss Jewsbury's less mature produc- tion of Zoe. This novel made its appearance in three volumes, some four or five years since, and though exhibiting much original thought and many novel conceptions, still it does not, nor do we expect that it ever will, occupy a very high position in public esteem. As a work of fiction, it is scarcely interesting enough, and the philosophy in which she occasionally speculates, is often, in our opinion, fallacious and superficial. In fact, Zoe betrays far more of attempt than finish, and will never be read with much interest by the genera} reader. We believe Miss Jewsbury is a native of Manchester, and is sister to Mrs. Fletcher, of poetical celebrity ; and the vein seems to run through the family, for some of the effusions of the lady before us often betray a great degree of strength and beauty. At present she resides in Greenheys, near Manchester. It would be a breach of etiquette to give our impressions of the age of an unmarried lady, even though she be a public character ; conse- quently, we restrain from making any statements to this effect ; and for the same reason we withhold any personal description, simply sufficing it by saying that the general conformation of Miss Jews- 144 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. bury's brow and features is a pretty good index of the genius of their possessor. She ranks high in the opinion of most of her literary compeers, and has a wide circle of acquaintances in the genial spheres of literature and art. We believe, however, her great literary friend is Thomas Carlyle ; and, if we mistake not, her recent production is dedicated to two female members of the great writer's, family. REV. E. D. JACKSON, B.C.L. ON the high road between Manchester and Stockport, and about four miles from the former, you meet with a very neat little edifice, called Heaton Chapel. It is a simple and unassuming built place, although tolerably commodious, and of somewhat good architectural design in its interior. Of this chapel, Mr. Jackson is incumbent. We had often been informed that a visit to this pleasant little place of worship would amply repay our trouble ; and, consequently, we paid the visit, and heard the incumbent with no ordinary degree of pleasure. In Mr. Jackson we found not only a preacher of some standing, but a gentleman of scholarly attainments and considerable literary taste and ability. Moreover, we found the chapel attended by a numerous, and evidently respectable and intelligent congregation ; a fact that goes a long way to prove the efficiency of the minister in his duties. From what we have seen of the generality of congregations in the neighbourhood of which we write, we should say Mr. Jackson's is one of a superior character, both in point of wealth and intellect. Mr. Jackson himself, too, is held in high estimation in this quarter, both as a preacher and a pastor ; and we pay him no fulsome compliment in saying that he is well deserving of all the honour he receives. Although of undoubted ability and considerable resources as a pulpit-orator, Mr. Jackson can scarcely be placed among the fore- most included in this series. He is not an original thinker, nor the most profound logician, nor the most perfect master of eloquence or rhetorical declamation, He can preach you a good, sound doctrinal sermon, with a good degree of elegance of style and grace of REV. E. D. JACKSOX, B.C.L. 145 manner ; he can penetrate pretty deeply into the beauties of biblical illustration, and present his hearers with no ordinary degree of information in reference to abstruse passages. We will not say that he is limited to this. He can dress up his ideas in a very poetic and attractive garb, and give a colouring to his thoughts which occasionally presents something novel and elegant. These are his main qualities ; but we must say a few words in detail. Mr. Jackson's sermons are well arranged, and he usually treats his subject in a clear and comprehensive point of view. Without enter- ing into the whole of the most important points his text may present, he brings forward the leading truths, and the most promi- nent, clear, and pointed lessons his mind can deduce and convey to his listeners. He opens his discourse with a pretty compact and instructive exordium, which is probably of some four or five minutes' duration. He next divides under two or three general heads, the which include the leading points of his text. He lays down his grounds of procedure in obvious terms. He is clear and emphatic in everything he says. In his illustrations he does not manifest anything strikingly new ; yet his modes of exposition mostly betray a clear and correct judgment. There is some amount of biblical research evidenced in several passages of his discourse, and he possesses a great facility in pointing out analagous parts of the Holy Writ. A certain quickness in stringing together a number of similar passages, especially between the Old and New Testaments, is a characteristic of Mr. Jackson's preaching. He does this with much ease and fluency, and we are not backward in giving him credit for being a very fair biblical scholar. We do not suppose Mr. Jackson makes many pretensions to logical investigation or philo- sophical research, inasmuch as we have never met with such features in his sermons; nor either do we regard his mind as one well moulded for the discussion of complicated questions, or the solution of abstruse points. What little reasoning, however, he brings to bear upon any point of discussion he may raise, is usually characterised by a good deal of common sense and clear straight- forward argument. Mr. Jackson's applications are marked occasionally with much eloquence and earnestness. He appears to possess a good degree of natural eloquence, and as he urges upon his hearers the importance of the lessons conveyed in his text, he rises into a high and dignified sphere, and a degree of poetical 146 LANCASHIKE AUTHORS AND OEATOES. language and fervour adds very materially to this portion of Mr. Jackson's discourses ; and to any one attached to beauty of lan- guage and elegance of sentiment, he will be particularly acceptable. We do not say that he arrives at the perfect standard of genuine eloquence, but there are certain elements in his style and composi- tion bespeaking much eloquence of feeling and poetry of sentiment. He preaches from a written sermon, which is composed in an easy and flowing style, with no common attention to the round- ing of periods, &c. His action is animated, with a little grace and polish. He possesses a voice of considerable strength and compass, which is modulated with precision and effect. We think Mr. Jackson is one of the most effective readers of the Church prayers we have met in the neighbourhood of Manchester. He pays attention to the reading of his discourses with an elocutionary precision. He rarely exceeds forty minutes in the delivery of his sermon. Mr. Jackson has now been identified with the Lancashire literati for a lengthy period. Both as a writer of verse and prose, he has not been without his numerous admirers. Although he can scarcely be said to have contributed much to our literature, still the little he has done shows much taste and no ordinary facility for writing. His prose productions have principally consisted of educational works for the youthful mind, more than regular works for the perusal of the mature reader. In his connection with the Manchester Grammar School, in 1844, he published a very ingenious edition of "Goldsmith's History of England" for the use of Schools. There are several new features introduced in the work, well calculated to impress the youthful intellect with the leading facts of English history. The style is easy and familiar. Mr. Jackson is likewise the author of a Latin Grammar of some standing and celebrity. In poetry, however, we are more at liberty to speak of his powers, than we are in commenting on his prose. In the department of verse he possesses some claims upon our attention, for though lacking dignity and felicity of expression, he undoubtedly retains much of the genuine feeling of the poet. A poetical feeling more than a poetical utterance is his characteristic. From what we have perused, he seems to study more the expression of what he really feels, than the utterance of melodious sounds or rhapsodical outpourings. He is often elegant in the construction of a verse. BET. E. D. JACKSON, B.C.L, 147 but rarely rises to any striking height in point of metaphor or illustration. His strength lies, for the most part, in the expression of much devoutness of feeling, and in occasional vivid imaginative descriptions. It is scarcely necessary to say that Mr. Jackson's productions relate more or less to religious themes. A few years ago he published a small volume, entitled " The Crucifixion ; and other Poems.'" The book contains many evidences of poetic taste and capacity. The leading poem presents occasional dazzling descriptions, and the imagination is here and there fertile with some beauty of sentiment and poetic conception. The minor poems, although in some parts defective, are decidedly above mediocre specimens of composition. They perhaps want more energy, and a greater degree of earnestness of feeling. In other respects the work is a respectable effort. Mr. Jackson has likewise paraphrased several of the Psalms, and written a great number of Hymns, the most of which appear in a " Collection " under his own editorship, published a few years since. These Hymns manifest more intensity of emotion than vigour of poetical conception or utterance ; they manifest more of the inspiration of religion, than the inspiration of poetry ; and though evidently genuine expressions of the author's emotions, are sometimes tame and monotonous. To give the reader, however, some idea of Mr. Jackson's powers, we must furnish one of his smaller pieces. It is a religious one, and possesses some eloquence of feeling and sentiment. We believe it appears here for the first time in print. *'THE HOUSE OF GOD. Spot of awe ! Jehovah's dwelling ! What a stillness reigns in thee ! Solemn fear and dread compelling, Threshold of Eternity ! Cares and worldly trifles vanish ! Enter not this high abode ! Earth itself, I all must banish, While I go to talk with God ! Spot of awe ! Jehovah's dwelling ! What a stillness reigns in thee ! Solemn fear and dread compelling, Threshold of Eternity ! Spot of peace ! Jehovah's dwelling ! Yes ! with joy I seek thy face, 148 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. For there's bliss beyond all telling, Lives in tb.ee, thou holy place ! Guilt is pardoned here confessing, Hope is strengthened, warmed is love, Faith no more her flight repressing, Soars on rapture's wings above. Spot of peace ! Jehovah's dwelling 1 Yes ! with joy I seek thy face -! For there's bliss beyond all telling, Lives in thee, thou holy place !" We understand Mr. Jackson is about to publish another collection of poems, entitled " Lays of Ancient Palestine." From what we have seen of them in manuscript, they will form an undoubted improvement upon his previous efforts. We believe Mr. Jackson was born about the year 1808, at a short distance from Warminster, in Wiltshire. After receiving an elementary education, he proceeded to, and graduated at, Trinity Hall College, Cambridge. In 1830 he came to Manchester, when he was appointed to the curacy of St. Matthew's Church in that town. He discharged his duties here for some time, and he next became the Incumbent of St. Michael's. During this period he was Master of the English Grammar School in Manchester, a post which he filled with much ability. His next movement was to Heaton Chapel, the scene of his present labours, which took place in 1844. As we have previously observed, Mr. Jackson is highly appreciated by the members of his chapel, both for his powers in the pulpit and his zeal as a pastor. In person, he is tall and commanding, and possesses a well-knit frame. His complexion is pale, and his face is round. His forehead is well developed. There is consider- able decision of character about his features. In company, he is an agreeable and intelligent companion, and shows himself as well versed in literature as he is in theology. CHARLES KENWORTHY. THE attachment of some men to poetry would almost appear as strong as their attachment to life itself. The strong, ardent, glow- ing love they have evinced for it, not only through a long series of CHAKLES KENWORTHY. 149 years, but through lengthy periods of domestic calamities and difficulties through trying seasons of depression and despair; the hopeful songs they have sang, even while surrounded with the veriest trials of human patience and courage ; the elevated position they have maintained, even at the sacrifice of the world's good word and smiles ; form a characteristic in some of our poets that would alone entitle them to attention and respect. We have found this feature particularly identified with the generality of our Lancashire literati, perhaps more so than with any other. But in the one befo* us, we have more than an ordinary instance of the fact to which we advert. Here is a man, who, during a passage of some fifty years, has continued to cherish the warmest poetical sentiments, has held constant converse with all the beauties and witcheries of the poetical realms, and though bound down to all the toil and drudgery of a hard-working, care-wearing outer life, has never allowed his senti- ments or emotions to grow less warm and fervid either with increas- ing years or increasing cares. To find a man, after sojourning upon this life's stage between seventy and eighty years, after contending with every description of toil and care, after battling with the world beneath a multitude of harassing and oppressive circumstances, and yet clinging with the devotion of the youngest amongst us to everything partaking of the true genius and influence of poetry, forms a feature in Charles Kenworthy that certainly will not be found in any of his contemporaries. Such a devotion, through such a number of years, should form no mean testimony to the poetical genius of the man before us. Rest assured, that the man who can love and appreciate poetry, under the circumstances we mention, has held no ordinary communion with the Nine. His emotions have been poetical, his sentiments have been poetical, and they have been experienced and enunciated with thorough earnestness of devotion. Poetry to such a man as Charles Kenworthy has been a solace ; he has felt its influence as an antidote ; he has appreciated it to its full extent ; and though dame Fortune may not have been upon the most friendly terms with him though the world may have ridden over him rough shod, and not treated him in the most friendly or favourable manner, still we find him turning to this mild and gentle monitor, fully relying upon her benignant influence as an antidote for every care a panacea for unnumbered ills and difficulties. 150 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. As a writer of many pleasing effusions, the name of Charles Kenworthy will not be unfamiliar to most of our readers, seeing that the preponderance of his effusions have generally graced the columns of the Manchester newspapers. About five years since, Mr. Kenworthy, at the instance of a few friends, was induced to present the world with a volume of poems, entitled Original Poems on Miscellaneous Subjects ; forming about one of the most pleasing collections that has issued from the press of this locality for a long period. For their purity of feeling and simple elegance of style for the happy genial spirit invariably infused into them for the clear and comprehensive manner he adopts in giving you his ideas and impressions these poems will be found equal in merit to any we have encountered from the pens of our favourite Lancashire poets. Hence, we apprehend, among the minor poets of his day, Charles Kenworthy may deservedly take a foremost position. All his verses, if they do not manifest a potent sublimity of thought, are always pregnant with that depth and intensity of feeling with that genial appreciation of everything partaking of the beautiful in God's creation, without which no man can feel or proclaim himself a poet. Mr. Kenworthy's powers of imagination are not great, but his sentiments of love, his purity of feeling, and fervency of ex- pression, invariably reveal themselves in whatever falls from his pen. His fancy is occasionally playful and excursive, and his descriptive genius frequently manifests many of those warm emotions produced upon all truly poetical minds by the scenes and enchant- ments of nature. We have been pleased, highly pleased, we may say, with the generality of the poems in the work before us. " The Painter's Love " is a really elegant piece, and contains many pleasing ideas and sentiments ; " Newstead Abbey," likewise, is another agreeable effusion ; and following this we have a " Monody on the Death of Lord Byron," which is written in a somewhat powerful strain. The verses on " Lichfield," and the " Evening Star," are two excellent productions, and exhibit the author's poetical tempera- ment to a very great extent. " The House appointed for all Living," and the " Reign of Death," we conceive to be the chef cTceuvres of the volume ; they are written with considerable fervency of feeling, and are rather powerful in style and treatment. A poem entitled " A Pastoral Hymn," is replete with much excellence of feeling and musical versification, and the " Church on the Moor " is written in CHARLES KEXWORTIIY. 151 a simple yet elegant stj r le. Some of Mr. Kenworthy' s pieces, on the demise of several friends, are chaste and impressive, and manifest a genuine flow of beautiful pathos. Some time since, Mr. Kenworthy brought out an agreeable little poem, entitled The Queen's Park, which, though in parts tame and rugged, nevertheless, forms a highly-pleasing description in verse of this favourite haunt of our Manchester artisans. The descriptions, here and there, are rather elegant ; and it is only when our friend descends to some few common-places that occur in his poem, that he injures the otherwise gliding softness of his versification. We were very well pleased with the following passage : " Sweet rural walks ! by nature framed, and art, That to the peasant can a joy impart, To the polite a pleasure more refin'd, For all a charm congenial to the mind. The wealthy merchant, here from 'change releas'd, In nature's scenes may share a richer feast. The pent-up clerk, now free and at his ease, Wide ranging here, may drink the balmy breez, Here may the sage and cynic deign to smile, The hind and artisan their cares beguile. Th/ enamor'd swain, in rural shade may seek To sigh the tale his lips refused to speak ; While the coy maiden, guessing his intent, 3n faltering accents breathes her soft assent. In these pure walks, remote from paths of vicp, Old age may moralise, and youth rejoice, The rich forbear to frown, the poor to sigh, And all unite in one unbounded joy." The character of the Park is certainly indicated here in a few terse and elegant lines, and the generality of the descriptions and sentiments contained in the poem will be found highly agreeable and well put together. The life of Charles Kenworthy almost presents a repetition of the great majority of those of his class who are noticed in these sketches. Born in adversity, reared in adversity, he has, through the bent of his own intuitive genius, acquired the position he now holds among the literati of this county. Mr. Kenworthy was born of humble parents, in Church-street, Manchester, in September, 1773. At a somewhat early age, however, he removed with his parents to Preston, where he received the rudiments of his educa- 152 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. tion from a Mr. Shepherd. Of this passage of his history, in a letter which he has recently addressed to us, he says " Methinks I can now see the good old man, stout and tall, with his fresh ruddy countenance, and in his light blue coat, and wearing his snow-white wig. I cannot here express the pleasure and surprise that I felt, when, nearly half a century after I left school, I accidentally met with the following paragraph in the Manchester Guardian news- paper, speaking of Doctor Shuttleworth, the new Bishop of Chichester, it goes on to say "Dr. Shuttleworth was born in Preston, and received the rudiments of his education at the Corpo- ration Grammar School in this town. It used to be the boast of old Master Shepherd, who taught writing and arithmetic in this school, that he could count amongst his scholars an earl (Derby), and a baronet (Hoghton), and a judge (Thompson), but never a bishop. Had the pompous old gentleman have lived to this day, he would have attained the summit of his ambition, Dr. Shuttleworth having been among the latter class of his pupils." Like all youths of that period, he did not " waste " his time at school, but was soon sent to work, in order to acquire the trade of pattern-designing. When he was about fifteen, a circumstance occurred that particularly verifies Shakespeare's household phrase : " There is a tide in the affairs of man," &c. &c. Near to his residence in Preston was a lawyer, who long entertained a wish to have young Charles in his office, but his parents, whose notions of what their son ought to do were quite of a different order, refused to allow the lawyer to take him into his office. Another lad, of the same age, and the son of a neighbour, with nothing like the abilities of Charles, was taken into the place ; and some few years after, Mr. Kenworthy had the mortification to find this same lad had risen to be crown- clerk at Lancaster. Mr. Kenworthy's attention was turned to a different occupation. After serving his time at Preston, he returned to his native place (Manchester), and pursued his business here for some time. About this period he made his first poetical effort, and his first contribution appeared in the columns of the now almost- forgotten Cowdro'ifs Manchester Gazette. His poems were always well received here, and he soon grew into high esteem with the readers of that journal. Dividing his time with business, and the pleasures of Pope, Goldsmith, Young, Blair, and Gray, (whom he still esteems as his favourite poets) and literary composition, he now THE BISHOP OF MANCHESTER. 153 passed a somewhat happy period of his life, the fluctuations of his business, however, causing him. considerable changes in his residence at Manchester, Glasgow, Dublin, Leeds, &c. He pursued his business till within a few years since, when he was compelled, from various causes, to abandon it. Mr. Kenworthy has been a contribu- tor to the Manchester Guardian for about thirty years, and from that, we think, he is the oldest on the file. Although in his seventy- sixth year, Mr. Kenworthy is as lively in both his mental and physical capacities as a young man, and in private conversation is found an interesting and intelligent companion. THE BISHOP OF MANCHESTER. FEW men, upon entering a public station in life, have had more idle prejudices to contend with, and more party animosities and petty bickerings to cast aside, than Dr. Lee, when he received his appointment to the new- made Bishopric of Manchester. The crea- tion of the see itself called forth no common amount of censure and opprobrium ; and, as the Fates would have it, no sooner was the appointment announced, than with it arose sundry equally oppro- brious epithets on the character of the Bishop himself. Beside some very foul libels perpetrated by the notorious Mr. Guttridge, of Birmingham, we had a multiplicity of objections. Some thought him too learned, and that the only grounds of his appointment were his attainments as a classic ; others stated he had paid considerable attention to Prince Albert, and hence his elevation arose from courtly favour ; some hinted that he was not quite sound in doctrine ; while another held him as too stern a disciplinarian to command the sympathies and affections of the people of his diocese. But all these petty accusations soon found their level. Luckily, Dr. Lee was made of that stern and inflexible material which is not so easily set aside by the mere sayings of men or parties, and the upshot has been that notwithstanding all the prejudices with which he was first assailed, he has, in the course of time, risen superior to them all, and may justly lay claim to no common amount of popularity. x 154 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATOS3. Whatever objections we may entertain to the appointment of Bishops or any class of spiritual potentates, our honest convictions compel us to give such a divine as Dr. Lee his due mete of honour and applause. He appears to be one of those hard-working and indefatigable men who do honour alike to themselves, and the church with which they are connected. From the time of his appointment down to the present period, few men among his contemporaries on the ecclesiastical bench have more distinguished themselves for their zeal and industry. We believe he really does take no com- mon interest in the welfare of those by whom he is surrounded, and that he is, at all times, willing to advance any cause that may seek to benefit the large population of his diocese. In a word, then, we are led to think Dr. Lee has fully overturned the numerous objec- tions raised against him at the outset of his career, and if he pursues his course in the same laudable manner he has hitherto done, we do not think the population of our manufacturing district* wilL have much cause to regret in possessing a Bishop of Manchester: From only hearing Dr. Lee on some two or three occasions, we are scarcely able to form a very correct opinion of his principal qualities as a preacher. At the outset, however, we may remark that he has appeared to us to more advantage as a sound expositor and studious thinker, than as a very powerful or overwhelming orator. In fact, we think the same character may be given of most of the discourses proceeding from our principal church dignitaries. They have generally appeared to us to be composed of some very sound and well-digested matter, but lack an energy of style and forcibleness of manner. This remark may be applied to Dr. Lee. His sermons are eminently sound and comprehensive, are well- digested, thoughtful, and somewhat elaborate productions; but they want energy, force, and warmth to render them thoroughly impressive on his hearers. This is the only thing we have to say in disparagement of Dr. Lee in the pulpit. In other respects, we conceive him to be a polished and accomplished preacher. To a well-educated mind his discourses will always be particularly agree- able, if not, at times, deeply impressive. There is a pointedness in many of his observations, a lucidness of style in many of his illustra- tions, a depth of investigation in many of his expositions, that stamps his discourse with no ordinary ability, and that will scarcely fail to render it acceptable to every admirer of a compact and well- THE BISHOP OF MANCHESTER. 155 digested sermon. There are doubtless many men included in these notices who rise far superior in pure pulpit eloquence to Dr. Lee, but few possess more refined el egance or more truly classic polish. There is a certain equality of style and matter running through his sermons, that serves to indicate their superior character, if it be only in their literary composition. Taken all in all, the doctor's sermons, if they do not electrify and startle, will always please and satisfy every class of his hearers. From what we have here observed, it will be easily imagined that a strict analysis of Dr. Lee's discourses will prove them to be more of the expositive than of the exhortative ; he shines with more effect in the examination of abstruse points than in enforcing practical lessons. Apart from all doctrinal difference, the sermons we have heard from his lordship have struck us as being very much akin to the essay-like character of most of the Unitarian discourses. Of course, there is an essential difference in the matter, but the manner the style the system of application bears a very close resemblance to the school of preachers to which we have adverted. In the arrangement of his sermon, we have found him tolerably perspicuous and comprehensive. His divisions are made with considerable clearness and propriety, and he evinces a very vivid conception of the most prominent parts of his text, and turns his attention with a rigorous closeness to those objects in it which he may deem most profitable to his hearers. He usually introduces his sermon with a few general remarks, that are more distinguished for their common- sense and pointedness than for any originality of matter or brilliance of style. His exordium, which occupies about five minutes, is terse and clearly delivered, and puts you in possession of some good sound information upon the text he has selected. In the general illustration of his sermon, Dr. Lee, as we have previously in- timated, is more sound and practical than showy or florid. His lessons are all clearly and rationally deduced. Now and then he may illustrate from Scripture, but we never heard him soar much, if any, from the level of his text, or occupy his time with anything approaching showy or brilliant illustrations. He conveys his meaning through a more easy and familiar media ; he erects his opinions upon a firmer and more stable basis. From what we have heard, he appears to be a man of some attainments as a logician, and he likewise seems to shine as a well-versed theologian and 156 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. biblical scholar. His applications are delivered in a deeply- impressive tone, and their character is eminent for its sincerity and earnestness of feeling. He preaches from a written sermon, which is composed with a simple elegance of style and construction ; his language and sentences being chaste and natural. His voice is of tolerable power, and though he is monotonous at times, yet upon the whole speaks with clearness and propriety of tone. His manner is rather short of animation, and what gestures he does make, are tame and monotonous. When we have heard him, he has occupied about thirty-five minutes in the delivery of his discourse. We may just say a word on Dr. Lee's powers as a platform speaker, in which capacity he has frequently and most laudably appeared since his appointment to the bishopric. He is one of the most distinct, pleasing, and intelligible speakers we have heard on the platform of any of the bench of bishops. In a comprehensive and intelligible method of conveying to his hearers the nature and character of the object of their meeting, we have rarely met him equalled. He is eminent for the clearness and conciseness of his views at these meetings, and if no other gave expression to their. opinions, Dr. Lee's would be fully sufficient to convey all the information requisite for the subject under discussion. From the various speeches we have heard him deliver from time to time, we have always found this to be the invariable characteristic. Of course, his appearance in this department, has generally been confined to the aid of religious institutions, so that we have not an opportunity of thoroughly estimating his powers upon other topics. His speech, however, on receiving the deputation connected with the Exhibition of the Industry of all Nations, evidenced the same characteristic clearness and soundness. In reference to the birth or early life of the Bishop of Manchester, we have no authentic data from which we can glean much informa- tion. At a guess, we should say, he is a few years on the shady side of forty. As is generally known, he was the head-master of King Edward's Free Grammar School, Birmingham, previous to his present appointment. He was formerly second-master at Rugby, during the period the celebrated Dr. Arnold presided over that far-famed seat of learning. While here he was distinguished for his high scholarly attainments, and upon Dr. Jeune leaving King Edward's School, Dr. Lee received the appointment. His labours here are EEV. JAMES MABTINEAU. 157 reported to have been highly efficient, from the fact of the great number of successful exhibitioners the school produced while under his guidance. He was installed Bishop of Manchester in November, 1847. A few months before his appointment, he was made a honorary Canon of Worcester. In the discharge of his duties he is eminently industrious, and, we think, bears the character of a some- what strict disciplinarian in his examinations of candidates for holy orders. In person, the doctor presents nothing attractive. The conformation of his face is angular, and his complexion is rather pale ; his forehead is neither prominent nor well developed, and his features are rather stern and taciturn. He is somewhat small in build, and he is scarcely above the middle height in stature. REV. JAMES MARTINEAU. PERHAPS no denomination in this country, considering their numbers and other circumstances, has been so productive of literary ability and energy as that of the Unitarians. The pastors of the Unitarian Church have probably been more distinguished in this respect, than for any extraordinary eminence in the way of oratory or eloquence. They appear to shine more in the study, than in the pulpit ; to work with greater assiduity with the pen, than with the lips ; to set forth their opinions with more force and distinction, in the pages of a book, than in the passages of a sermon. The names of Beard, Gaskell, Tayler, Aspland, and others in our own imme- diate neighbourhood, sufficiently testify the high literary reputation that has been earned in the ranks of this denomination. Apart from their proverbial piety and truly Christian bearing in its most complete sense apart from their zealous care in promoting the interests of those entrusted to their charge the Unitarian preachers are to a man possessed of intellects that would adorn any church and maintain the character of any body of worshippers. They have exalted minds, and their works betray them. They indicate a Catholicism of opinion that is always creditable to any man, in whatever station he moves, or by whatever motives he is actuated. 158 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. A notable instance of the high literary ability that connects itself with the Unitarian Church is presented in the subject of our present observations, that deep-thinking, close-reasoning, quick-sighted man the celebrated James Martineau, of Liverpool. Probably no two members of one family, especially in brother and sister, have indicated the same iron bent of intellect the same strong masculine energy of menial being, as has been developed in the writings of James and Harriet Martineau. The affinity they bear to each other in this respect, is as close as their ties of relationship ; and we believe that had the Endeavours after a Christian Life borne the name of Harriet Martineau, instead of James, the most eligible critic of the Athenaeum or the Edinburgh Review would never have discovered the slightest difference either in matter or style. The endowments of the one are, in a manner, the endowments of the other. They would both almost appear to write from the same im- pulse, and enunciate their opinions from the same convictions. There is the same energetic decision in their judgments, and the same loftiness of purpose betrayed in the objects for which they demand your attention. Their style, too, is characteristic, clear, bold, and full of masculine grace. They write, likewise, to serve an end, to be of service to their fellow-creatures, neither feeding their fancies, nor exciting their passions. The names of the two Mar- tineaus occupy as exalted a position in the annals of English literature, as it is possible to attain ; because while their works have betrayed an eminent degree of ability and intellectual endowment, ; they have rendered those works subservient to some important end in elevating the condition and tastes of those around them. The first glance you take of the features and outward man of James Martineau, certainly does not prepossess you in his favour, but tells you pretty strongly that you stand before an extraordinary man. His forehead is strikingly prominent, and indicates the massive intellectual being of its possessor. Then he has a fine full dark eye, that is lighted up with fine and expressive brilliancy. There is something in Martineau's eye a certain expressive gaze that we have often encountered in the look of many notable charac- ters of great mental strength. It is the same in Brougham, Carlyle, Dickens, Leigh Hunt, Robert Montgomery, Doctor Harris, and other distinguished characters of powerful intellectual endow- ments. And the peculiar glance of Martineau's eye, most assuredly KEY. JAMES MARTINEAU. 15'J is the index of his mind and its acquirements. He does not pierce you, but rather dazzles the look which you may venture to take of it. His other features are somewhat irregular and ordinary, and his complexion is pale, and to some extent rather sallow. His head is covered with a profusion of black hair, which is not over well arranged, but just parted nearly over the centre of his brow. In stature he is about the middle height, and rather a well- proportioned and commanding figure, although of a slender build in the way of bodily compass. Perhaps his appearance in the pulpit strikes you more forcibly than when he presents himself to a closer inspection. Upon such occasions, as he stands upon an elevated position, and especially in some earnest and absorbing part of his discourse, his slender form, pale contemplative cast of features, and dazzling eyes, appear before you to the very best advantage. To all appearance, Mr. Martineau is some forty-five years of age, although, probably, severe study and mental application makes him appear more advanced in years than he really is. Moreover, he is a man, who. does not enjoy the best constitution, and has often to be absent from his pastoral charge for several successive weeks. This,, together with the intense line of study he is wont to pursue, gives; him perhaps an older appearance than he would possess were circumstances different. But Martineau is evidently a man who. loves study, who glories in his literary pursuits, who feels a glow of inspiration springing from the study of books, and probably values the study of literature in the same high estimation as Cicero- "It nourishes youth, entertains old age, adorns prosperity, solaces adversity ; is delightful at home, unobtrusive abroad, deserts, us not by day nor by night, in journeying, or in retirement." He clearly makes his studies the chief delight of his life, and while these studies promote so useful and beneficent an end, we are inclined to admire and applaud the devotion which he pays to them. Mr. Martineau has produced one great "work, which claims the highest position in the world of letters. The Endeavours after a Christian Life is probably one of the most elaborate specimens of pure metaphysical inquiry, that has been produced in this country for a number of years. In fact, we do not believe that even the German school, renowned as it is in this department of literature, with its Kant, Richter, and Fitche, have effected more, or even so much in the way of pure abstract reasoning, as is so powerfully 160 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. developed in the work before us. The one great discrepancy in the German school, is in its intolerable ambiguity, and the distracting mysticism that it almost universally adopts in the expression of its ideas. But Martineau avoids this, and even when engaged upon the most abstract points, invariably presents them in a form that can rarely be mistaken by his reader. Like his sister, he has betrayed in the Endeavours an ingenuity of illustration, and a forcible method of clearing up his points, that rarely fails to awaken your interest and secure your deepest attention. His propositions are generally sustained by some powerful exposition of this description. Moreover, in these elucidations of the point he is urging, he is always felicitous in the means he takes in the description of illustration he uses to convey the idea in its most forcible and apparent colouring. He takes no sublunary nights or poetical tours in search of metaphor or figure to embody his views and opinions ; he follows a more simple and ingenious course, he seizes more homely implements of carrying out his design, for he brings the common occurrences of life the every-day pictures with which we are surrounded the scenes most familiar to our ideas and comprehension he brings all these to give a tone and colouring to the argument he is urging, or the truth he is demonstrating. There is a simplicity of design, and perspicuity of purpose about the manner with which Martineau illustrates his views, that is rarely equalled, and never excelled. He makes such home-thrusts upon your nerves, such manly face-to- face indictments of your vices, such clear and forcible expo- sitions of your sins and failings, that make you comprehend his meaning, whether it be your desire to do so or otherwise. But Martineau is no sneering cynic, he rather conciliates than castigates, he does not lay bare certain vices and infirmities simply with a view to belabor them with aspersions and corrections. His aim is to remove them, to present them in such a form that they shall be shunned and avoided. He has more about him of the mild instructor than of the severe, cynical, and exacting philosopher. He works more for the attainment of virtue, than for the reproval of vice. He wishes you to attain the great end he recommends for your adoption, more by cheerfulness and pleasing devotedness, than by penitence and tears. The Endeavours throughout manifest this high and laudable spirit this beautiful harmony of the gentle instructor with the deep-thinking, high-minded philosopher. More- TRAVERS MADGE. 161 over, he is no ascetic, though the title of his work would almost lead you to apprehend that its contents bordered on some cold puri- tanical exposition of the best way to attain a Christian life. The book before us is anything but ascetic, either in matter or design. It is more refined, more spiritual, more exalted in its tone and the prescriptions it lays down. It is the exhibition of a soul anxious to obtain perfection exerting itself to attain the highest degree of spiritual life that it is possible to breathe on earth. It is the picture of a contest between the worldly and the spiritual, the ideal and the real for ascendancy. It lays open the barriers that are raised to the attainment and the means that may be employed in its securance. It is an exposition of the nature of the Christian, the vocation of the Christian, and the duty of the Christian. It indicates the true source of happiness and wherein lies the principal means to attain it. But apart from the nature of the subject treated, the book possesses other features equally worthy of our recommenda- tion. The style is full of masculine grace, and particularly striking for its purity and perspicuity. The language is neither flowery nor poetical, but in excellent consonance with the nature of the subject. Here and there some pithy and sententious observations contribute a degree of originality and variety that is pleasing, and not by any means out of keeping with the usual tenor of his remarks. In some parts he betrays a closeness of reasoning that is far more solid and effective than all the abstract logic of the German writers. In short, what with the beautiful tone and spirit that pervades it, the ingenious, happy, and home-thrusting illustrations, the pithy aphorisms, the quick perception and close reasoning, earnest thought and intense feeling, elaborate style and quick-sighted judgment, there are few works in the English language more worthy of a general and thorough close perusal than the Endeavours offer a Christian Life. TRAVERS MADGE. To write a notice of one so young and comparatively unknown as the present, would appear to many unacquainted with his great Y 162 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. worth and usefulness, somewhat unnecessary and out of place. It is, however, mainly because Mr. Madge's labours are not so well known and appreciated among the great population in which he moves, we have been induced to bring him forward in these notices. Mr. Madge is one of those quiet and obscure workers in the cause of human progress one of those humble, yet devoted labourers in the religious and moral elevation of his fellow-creatures to whom we must always award the highest palm of merit and honour. Simple and unostentatious earnest, yet quiet and unassuming pure-hearted, self-denying, indefatigable, in every work that he takes into hand, he seem to us fully as great in his sphere of action, as any we have hitherto noticed in this series. It is not so much in the influence he exercises as a preacher in the pulpit, as the great amount of good he is continually working for his fellow- creatures, in his ordinary avocations during the week, to which we would call attention. In the latter sphere, we know of none who are more laborious and earnest in their undertakings. A word or two, however, first on Mr. Madge's capabiltiies as a preacher. Mr. Madge belongs to the Unitarian body. We do not know where he professes to preach regularly, but we have generally found him, on Sabbath evenings, in the large schools in Lower Mosley-st. y Manchester. Here, surrounded by a respectable, and frequently numerous congregation, he delivers himself of discourses that for simplicity of style, and excellence of matter, are rarely surpassed by many of much higher pretensions, and more enlarged experience. His sermons, from beginning to end, manifest an enlarged and disci- plined mind, and simple earnestness of feeling. We cannot call them elaborate expositions. If they want anything, it is a more perfect understanding of the subjects he treats upon. A little more logical skill, and a deeper investigation of the various points he sets before his hearers, would add materially to the value of Mr. Madge'a discourses. For simple, clear, and unsophisticated illustration, he is always at home. This, in fact, appears to form the leading feature of his discourse, and he never goes much beyond it, either in logical research or rhetorical display. To give a lucid exposition of the subject he takes in hand, seems to be his main end and aim. And he possesses much natural power to do this well. We heard him, during the past year, deliver one or two of a series of dis- courses, on the construction of the human mind and body, and CRATERS MADGE. 163 the uses for which they are designed by the Creator. His treat- ment of the points he brought before his hearers, although not exhibiting much elaborate knowledge, yet conveyed a clear, concise, and, in some parts, beautiful style of illustration. He laid down all the facts his subject suggested, in any easy and simple style. Then, the lessons he deduced and applied to his audience, were as equally clear and unsophisticated. The best feature about his discourse upon this occasion (and we may say upon every other), was no straining after effect no effort made to tickle the ear, or please the fancy. If he did now and then rise into an eloquent strain, it was done well, and showed more of a natural impulse than of a studied air. Mr. Madge's applications his feeling exhortations to his hearers form one of the best features in his discourse. His simple earnestness of feeling, couched with his unaffected method of con- veying his sentiments would alone give his discourses a superior character. All he utters seems to come from his heart. When he enforces any lesson upon his hearers, you feel assured he is a practical observer of it himself, and that he is conscientiously convinced of its worth and utility, or he would not enforce it, or dwell upon its merits. A genuine earnestness of emotion charac- terises every sentence that falls from his lips. He is evidently all absorbed in making his hearers understand everything he brings before them. The applications he makes are clear and pointed, and though not strikingly calculated to influence by logical skill, possess all the necessary elements to seize and control the feelings. We have already indicated the style of Mr. Madge's discourses, and we can only add that they are delivered in a tone of voice and demeanour of the same ingenuous character. We have generally heard him deliver an extempore discourse, and he does it with tolerable fluency of language. His sentences are flowing and easy, and the verbiage he selects of a simple character, with a slight degree of elegance in the construction of his passages. His ma'nners in the pulpit are quiet, for he rarely indulges in any action or showy gestures. He speaks in a distinct tone of voice, although his tones are somewhat thin, and not well modulated. His discourses occupy about three quarters of an hour. With young people, Mr. Madge's style of preaching is particularly popular. His simplicity alone secures him their unqualified approba- tion, and undivided attention. We never listened to a style of 164 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. preaching better calculated to seize and occupy the youthful mind. His modes of illustration, too, are all of a character well suited for juvenile thoughts and feelings. Their clear and forcible nature are sure to make an impression, and there are doubtless few preachers in the Unitarian body who are more truly appreciated by the younger portion, than Travers Madge. Perhaps in another sphere, to which we must now allude, Mr. Madge shows his efficiency even more than in the pulpit. This is eminently a sphere of usefulness, and one of arduous application. For one so young, it is an instance of self-denial not often encoun- tered. In applying himself to the moral and intellectual cultivation of the youth of the working-classes, Mr Madge has shown himself particularly indefatigable. He appears a complete enthusiast in the work. So early as four, five, and six o'clock in the morning, he presides over classes for the instruction of boys and young men, who are principally employed in factories, or some other occupation demanding their presence at an early hour. We do not know the exact course of study pursued in these classes, but from the ample testimony furnished us, we have no doubt they are productive of considerable benefit to their attendants. It is a lamentable fact, that a great number of youths of twelve and fourteen years of age employed in our factories, possess little beyond the education received in a Sabbath School. The real education of the mind is either totally disregarded, or miserably incomplete. To meet, in some measure, this desideratum, Mr. Madge very laudibly encourages a number of them to meet him either at the Schools or his residence, and there endeavour to supply some of their deficiences to the best of his ability in teaching, and theirs in receiving. By this means, the mental being is improved, and habits of morality, sobriety, and industry, are engrafted. It matters not one iota what time in the morning ; Mr. Madge is always prepared to meet his scholars, whom he treats and regards more as friends than pupils. It is singular with what regularity some of them are wont to attend to these duties, . and the pleasure evinced in their progress, both by their mentor and themselves. In the Summer months, Mr. Madge is as busily engaged with his friends, as during the Winter ; for we find him taking them out for walks soon after sunrise, in the many pleasant lanes and field-paths in the vicinity of Manchester, and there, improving upon the time and place, finding them " sermons TRAVERS MADGE. 165 in stones" and lessons conveyed in everything around them. And, be it remembered, these duties are all followed up in connection with a regular every-day business, and the necessary preparation for his Sabbath duties. On the Sabbath he is likewise busily employed, not only in preaching, but in a close and laborious attention to the welfare of the Schools. Here he may be found at seven o'clock in the morning aiding and directing the con- versations of a Mutual Improvement Society ; anon he is teaching a class of adult scholars ; and now, most likely, is away, and has to walk two or three miles to preach ; in the after- noon he is either preaching in the pulpit or teaching in the school ; and the evening sees him again similarly employed. It is no uncommon circumstance for him to rise at a very early hour, and walk a number of miles to preach a sermon, and return again to attend some similar duties. Beyond all this, we believe Mr. Madge entertains a very strong opinion that he should receive no remunera- tion for his services from the church ; and would much rather gain his subsistence by some daily avocation. He is likewise editor of the Unitarian Sunday School Magazine, which he conducts with some ability, and in which he is aided by the talented pens of Mrs. Gaskell, Rev. Philip Carpenter, and other writers of the Unitarian body. We make no summary of such a character as this. ^ His eminent piety and usefulness is sufficiently apparent, and our sincere trust is that he may long enjoy energy and vigour of health to sustain him in such truly laborious and praiseworthy endeavours. The subject of our sketch is a son of the Rev. Thomas Madge, a popular Unitarian preacher of Essex-street Chapel, London. He was reared and received his elementary education at Norwich. From that city he came to Manchester, and completed his studies at the Manchester New College. We believe he came to this place in 1840 or 41. Since that period, we understand he has kept a school, but ultimately devoted some portion of his time to the discharge of ministerial duties, and the line of action to which we have adverted. He is particularly youthful-looking in the pulpit, but we suppose he is about twenty-five years of age. He preaches a number of charity sermons, and we have heard of instances where he has drawn larger congregations and more fruitful collections than some of the best preachers in the body. 166 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. REV. WILLIAM Me. CAW. IN visiting the Trinity Presbyterian church in Bridge-street, Strange- ways, near Manchester, we have always felt extreme pleasure with the neat artistic beauty that prevails its interior arrangements. For the exterior we cannot say much, inasmuch as it consists of that jumble of styles, neither Grecian, Ionic, Doric, Corinthian, or Gothic, for which we have neither taste nor liking, and which we are sorry to encounter so frequently in the construction of modern churches or chapels. The exterior character of the church in question seems, to our mind, to be of this jumbling style ; but to palliate this, we have certainly a very unique and pleasing interior. The building appears to be capable of accommodating some eight or nine hundred persons, and the seats are arranged in the most convenient method, both as regards seeing and hearing. The pulpit, constructed of polished oak, is a handsome piece of workman- ship. The galleries and aisles are extensive, and the ceiling is lofty, and supported by carved oaken arches. When lighted up in the evening, the place presents a somewhat attractive appearance. The evening services are generally attended by a large and respect- able congregation, but in the morning the attendance is rather iimite'd. This latter circumstance is mainly to be attributed to the somewhat unpopular character of the creed professed. The Trinity Presbysterians are by no means a numerous body in Manchester, and the strict puritan bearing of their principles does not allow them that scope in the way of gaming proselytes that is effected by their more popular brethren in the ranks of the Methodists and Independents. It will be inferred from this that this meagre attendance is not to be ascribed to any lack of ability and industry upon the part of the worthy pastor. On the other hand, as we shall after show, did he exercise the same powers in the chapel of another denomination, he would meet with a far more numerous auditory. As it is, however, he must remain content with those around him, but not forgetful of the fact, that the sound and just appreciation of a few is to be held in far higher]esteem than the showy and turbulent admiration of the many. The services are conducted in all that RET. WILLIAM MC. CAW. 167 quiet and unostentatious manner that always meets you in the presbyterian gatherings of the church of Scotland. The reverend gentleman gives out the psalms, prays, and reads the lessons with no other aid than his own. His prayers are remarkable for their depth of fervency and eloquence of appeal, but like all the prayers of the church to which he is attached, are very long in duration. We never heard him conclude his prayer under twenty minutes, and sometimes he has even exceeded that by five or six more. His prayers are, however, delivered in none of those dreamy, sleepy tones that are often heard in extempore appeals of this character. They are enunciated with warmth and emphasis, and abound with fervent emotions, eloquent matter, and, occasionally, some startling and original sentiments. But Mr. Me. Caw rises to the delivery of his sermon, and all eyes are earnestly turned towards the pulpit. He preaches in the gown, and certainly presents a tolerably pre- possessing appearance ; his features, for the most part, being mild and winning. He is about the middle height in stature, but rather thin in the way of bodily compass, yet he is erect in figure and of graceful attitude. There is a little of the Irishman in his physi- ognomy, but the lineament is only just perceptible. His face is- pretty round in conformation, but his complexion is rather pale, and there seems to be the least perceptible degree of melancholy shrouding his face. The conformation of his head is not strikingly intellectual ; and his forehead does not indicate much beyond ordinary developments. He has a moderate crop of brown hair and whiskers, the former being parted on the left side. He possesses a pair of dark grey eyes, which are luminous and full of expression. His nose and mouth are somewhat small, the former probably indicating a little of the Irishman. From all appearances, we should say, Mr. Me. Caw has numbered some thirty-four or thirty-five years of age. He was ordained as pastor of this church in November, 1846, since which time he has been gradually rising into the first rank of the preachers of this locality. Mr. Me. Caw is a " bred-and- born " Irishman, the county of Antrim having given him birth. We believe he was educated for the Presbyterian church in one of the Scotch Universities, but we are not aware of the scene of his ministerial duties previous to his ordination in Manchester. From all accounts, he is highly popular among those with whom he is 168 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. more immediately connected ; and from our own observation, we do not think they could have bestowed their interest upon a more truly deserving man. There is no mistake about the congregation's appreciation of his discourses, for the marked attention they seem to pay to every sentence that falls from his lips, and their evident desire to prepare themselves for what is about to find expression, is a pretty strong evidence that his talents are not served out to a listless and idle congregation. We think Mr. Me. Caw does not enjoy the best bodily constitution in the world, but he seems to throw aside all physical discrepancies when engaged in his pulpit functions ; for every nerve seems strained to its utmost every feel- ing allowed its fullest sway every physical difficulty .overcome in the earnest desire he evinces to sound the warnings and encourage- ments of a Christian pastor. Mr. Me. Caw preaches without any aid from notes or paper. He treats and arranges his text upon the old confirmed method of Scotch preaching; exordium divisions and application. And here, let it be observed, that this same old method, like some few other remaining old methods, is the best extant ; and we defy the most talented preacher to deliver a thorough sound sermon without paying some deference to it. There is nothing that renders a dis- course from the pulpit so thoroughly appreciated as a strict adherence to this plan, simple though it be. In the arrangement of Mr. Me. Caw's sermon you have something clear and simple something comprehensive and tangible. Hence his arrangement, by its very perspicuity and simplicity, forces itself into the minds of all around him. Again, to use the vulgar adage, he always " sticks to his last." There is a concentration upon the point he is handling that, however you may shirk his arguments or deductions, cannot fail to awaken you to the position he has taken, and the ground he maintains. In his exordium, he delivers himself of some clear and apposite remarks, that at once arrest your attention, and almost predict the delivery of no ordinary discourse. In the general illustration of his subject, he manifests considerable powers as a theologian and biblical scholar, and his conversancy with Holy Writ appears to be of a most extensive character. We heard him preach a sermon on the incarnation and atonement of Christ, in which he manifested a clearness of conception and boldness of illustration that we have scarcely ever witnessed on the same REV. WILLIAM MC. CAW. 169 theme. His sketch of Christ's life, in this sermon, was really a master-piece, both spirited in conception and graphic in detail. Recently Mr. Me. Caw has been figuring as a controversialist in a somewhat lengthy series of lectures in examination and condemnation of the Romanist creed. We have heard one of the series, and it happened to be on the rather interesting theme of Transubstantia- tion, and, though it was pursuing a course we always condemn as intolerant and and- Christian, yet it manifested an array of sound logical argument and clearness of exposition that really brought the wine and wafers of our Romish brethren to something very much like their true nature and substance. He urged the case very systematically ; and what with his sharp discrimination as a logician, his excellence as a theologian, and his attainments as a biblical scholar, he appears to be one of the most thoroughly formidable opponents the Romanists have to deal with in Manchester. Robert Hall was wont to say of Doctor Chalmers's preaching, that it stopped people's breath ; and we may say of some passages of Mr. Me. Caw's sermons, that they have produced the like effect upon our- selves. We need scarcely add, that upon such occasions Mr. Me. Caw arrives at a high standard of eloquence. It is no common emotion that seizes you when under the influence of such outbursts ; you feel as though every sensation had departed from you, save the one which was entirely absorbed in the words, and wholly identified with the sentiments of the preacher. This is the grandest result of oratory, and we have found, from our own experience, than the preacher in question is capable of producing it in no common degree. You see the effect upon his hearers pretty visibly indicated. They sit leaning over the pews, resting on their hands, in a position of the deepest attention transfixed, you may almost say, in the orator before them. Mr. Me. Caw's gift of language is very extensive, and we have rarely heard a more fluent speaker. His language is somewhat poetical ; and his style rather florid. His exordium usually occupies five or six minutes, and his application a little longer. He preaches a shorter sermon in the morning than in the evening, the former occupying about fifty minutes, but the latter often extending to an hour and a quarter. He possesses a voice of considerable compass, and modulates his tones with a goodly degree of precision. His action, in the commencement, is limited, but as he proceeds he becomes energetic, and raises both z 170 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND OEATORS. hands, and moves his body from one position to the other with considerable animation. REV. JOHN HERON Me. GUIRE, S.C.L. ABOTTT six years since, the church of St. Luke's, in Chorlton-upon- Medlock, was one of the most miserably attended places of worship in the neighbourhood ; it is now one of the best attended in Manchester. The reason for this change may be mainly attributed to the zeal and indefatigable course pursued by the reverend gentleman whose name heads the present notice, and who is now its able and esteemed incumbent. How well some men can dis- charge their pastoral duties, and how unsatisfactorily others perform those duties, is here pretty strongly manifested. That the church should possess men really qualified to meet the spiritual necessities of the locality with which they are identified, is here certainly evidenced beyond all dispute. Before Mr. Me. Guire's ministration, the church in question was presided over by men whose exposition of the Scriptures might very well suit the thin congregation that was wont to assemble within its walls ; but as to any extension in the same, or any means being employed to revive the work of Evangelical Christianity, either in or out of its neighbourhood, seemed to be en- tirely out of the question. We have heard that the congregation has often numbered less than fifty, although the church is well cal- culated to hold some twelve or fourteen hundred persons. This meagre congregation, however, is now displaced by one that nearly always fills the church ; and we are given to understand that in less- than six months after Mr. Me. Guire's appointment to the incumbency, there was scarcely a seat to let throughout the church. This certainly reflects highly to the credit of the reverend pastor, and we should not be doing him ample justice did we not record the fact. "We need not say that he is fully appreciated, both for his private Christianity, and for his abilities in the pulpit, by the generality of his congregation. He is followed by a body of warm and enthu- siastic admirers, who listen to his sermons and admonitions with a 3REV. J. H. MC. GUIRE, S.C.L. 171 great degree of reverence, and with whom he appears to be on very kind and familiar terms. And here let it be observed, that nothing goes so much to ingratiate a pastor in the affections of his hearers, as this kind fatherly spirit entertained as practically out of the pulpit, as it is preached in it. We have heard that the Rev. Mr. Melville, of London pulpit popularity, does not make one visitation among his flock, from one Sabbath to the other. His remission in this respect is attributed to the intense study he devotes to the preparation of his sermon. But popular as Mr. Melville may be, we question much whether he lives in the hearts of his congregation, to the same extent as some more humble clerical brother. Mr. Melville may exercise a weighty influence over the brains of his hearers, but we doubt much whether he carries out the character of the true Christian pastor, in gaining the affections of those who sit under his ministration. At all events, a great amount of Mr. Macguire's popularity may be ascribed to the fatherly spirit he carries out of the conventicle, to the hearts and homes of his con- gregation. Rich or poor, high or low, is a matter of perfect indifference to him; and he talks with as much familiarity to the low- born ragmallian as he would to the wealthiest and most influential member of his church. All these little things have done a great deal towards securing him the good name he possesses as a pastor ; and if this were the only greatness of his character, we should find him a far more estimable man, and a far more eligible minister, than many others of his brethren, even in the same city, who make greater pretensions to Christian zeal and benevolence. There is nothing strikingly imposing or prepossessing in the personal appearance of Mr. Me. Guire. In the way of stature he is slightly above the middle height, and he is pretty well proportioned in the way of bodily compass, and looks well in the black silk gown, although his figure presents nothing extraordinary. He has a thorough Irish physiognomy, the form of his nose, and one or two other features, very strongly indicating his country. His face is somewhat round in form, and his complexion is exceedingly pale we may say, almost sallow. His forehead is rather contracted, and the general conformation of his cranium does not exhibit much intellectual wealth, if we may apply the phrenological test. He has a small crop of black shining hair, which is combed down on either side with much smoothness and precision. He possesses a 172 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. pair of large and mellow grey eyes, which probably compose tli6 most expressive feature about him. Mr. Me. Guire does not look well in the surplice, his complexion not contrasting over well with the snowy whiteness of this vesture. We are not in a position to give his exact age, but judging from his appearance, we should say he has numbered some forty-four or forty-five years. Previous to his appointment at St. Luke's, he was the curate of Mr. Me. Grath, at St. Ann's, and if we remember aright, it was the latter reverend gentleman who made him the presentation of the incumbency. It is scarcely necessary to say that Mr. Me. Guire is of Irish birth, as his face, and a smart mixture of the- brogue in the tones of his voice, strongly indicate the fact. We are not aware of his ever having ministered in Ireland, but we understand he laboured in London some years before he took up his residence in Manchester. We must confess ourselves somewhat at a loss to give a proper estimate of Mr. Me. Guire's powers as a preacher, inasmuch as we consider him to be a very unequal one. Sometimes we have heard him preach as regular and as well-connected sermon as we would wish to hear ; while we have heard him to as great a disadvantage. The immediate cause of this we are unable to determine, although we presume it may, in a measure, be attributed to those occasional depressions of temperament to which we are all subject in a greater or less degree. We take the reverend gentleman upon the average of the sermons we have heard him deliver from time to time. In the general arrangement of his discourse, he is very lucid, while at others he appears to us equally as misty. But these are his defects ; let us now turn to one or two features for which he deserves high commendation. His biblical knowledge appears to be extensive, and he frequently devotes much time to the tracing of parallels. We remember seeing him once keep his congregation employed in finding references for about ten or fifteen minutes. Whenever Mr. Me. Guire seizes hold of a passage that he considers important, and when he finds others of a corresponding character, he usually strings them together, and forms them into no incon- siderable portion of his discourse. He is likewise a very good classical scholar, and some of his controversial lectures against Popery often display extensive acquaintance with the dead lan- guages. With the Fathers he appears to be particularly conversant, and certainly the only redeeming feature about Mr. Me. Guire's EEV. J. H. MC. GUIRE, S.C.L. 173 periodical onslaughts on the Roman Catholics, is the great amount of classical knowledge and classical authorities that he brings to bear upon the question. We do not think much of his reasoning powers ; sometimes we have considered him very shallow in argu- ment, and never heard him rise much above mediocrity in the department of logic. One great forte in Mr. Me. Guire, is his power of declamation. He harangues the sinner with right earnest spirit and energy of manner. In this respect, many would almost take him for a Wesleyan Methodist. In his applications, we know of few men who are more energetic, or more impressed with the importance of what is falling from his lips. His appeals are all made with much fervency of expression, and we have not the slightest doubt but what their operations are eminently salutary among those to whom they are addressed. He usually preaches for about an hour, sometimes longer, and never uses notes, unless holding forth on some controversial theme. He has a tolerable command of language and rarely hesitates in giving expression to his thoughts. Sometimes he announces the divisions of his sermon at the beginning, but on other occasions he never announces them either in one shape or another. His diction is pretty good, but neither remarkable for its brilliance or polish. He possesses a powerful voice, the tones of which, however, are not very well modulated. There is enough of the brogue in Mr. Me. Guire' s elo- cution to tell you he is an Irishman, and when warm and energetic, many of his words are pronounced with the real Irish accent, if such it may be called. In the introductory of his sermon, Mr, Me. Guire makes little or no gesture, but when he arrives at the marrow of his theme, he is quite animated, and very liberal with both arms, first in one direction and then in another. He likewise gives the pulpit several severe raps before he concludes his sermon, Mr. Me. Guire is a popular preacher beyond the pale of his own church, but he rarely leaves it, unless he deems the occasion needs it. Mr. Me. Guire, like his friends, Doctor Me. Neile and Hugh Stowell, retains a most implacable animosity to the Roman Catholics and their religion. He sometimes gives the Unitarians a pretty sharp bastinado, but it is the Roman Catholics who form Mr. Me. Guire' s " standing-dish " of controversy. It is a remarkable fact, and one that we have frequently observed, that the Irish 174 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. Protestants are generally more vehement in their denunciations of Popery than the English ones. Whether this arises from having seen the errors of the Church of Rome more palpably evidenced than their brethren on this side of the channel, we are unable to say ; but they are certainly about as bitter against the Romanists as we could well im agine. Mr. Me. Guire is heartily opposed to Popery, as much so as we ever remember encountering in any man. Every now and then we find the walls of Manchester placarded with notices announcing a series of lectures that the reverend gentleman is about to deliver on Sabbath evenings, on some controversial point connected with Popery. This scarcely ever fails in drawing a large congregation, the church hardly having a square yard of standing room by the time the reverend gentleman ascends the pulpit. When Mr. Me. Guire gives a lecture of this character, there is scarcely any certainty as to the time of his conclusion. REV. H. WALTER Me. GRATH, M.A. THE church of St. Ann's, of which the talented subject of our present sketch has been incumbent for some years, is a large, and, in the interior, somewhat handsome edifice. The exterior has nothing particularly attractive, and although the general appearance of the inside has something noble and commanding, yet the style is heavy, and, in some parts, rather inelegant. Large pillars here and there entirely obscure a sight of the preacher, and in some parts of the church he is not over audible. The pulpit is much after the substantial old school, and the organ is rich and powerful. The congregation of St. Ann's is numerous, wealthy, and, if the term may be applied, fashionable. A good Sunday-school is attached to it; and the children appear very familiar with every branch of religious knowledge. To all appearance the good attendances at St. Ann's may mainly be attributed to the well-earned popularity and greatness of its preacher, as nearly every other church within the crowded parts of our city are but thinly attended. BEV. H. W. MC. GRATH, M.A. 175 The appearance of Mr. Me. Grath in the pulpit gives you at once as good an idea of the early Christian divine as you will encounter in any preacher of the Protestant church. His plain black gown, fitting in the body somewhat tightly to his form, his pleasantly sedate cast of features, together with all the other great and little characteristics that identified themselves with the first stage of the Anglican church, form prominent features in the pastor before us, and furnish an excellent idea of the outward demeanour adopted by the early Protestant divine. In form Mr. Me. Grath is slightly inclined to corpulency, and his stature is somewhere about the middle height. He seems to possess a sound and healthy constitu- tion which is well denoted in his clear skin, and the ruddy glow that is generally mantled upon his cheek. His features are . tolerably regular, and his brow well developed ; a little dark hair is combed back from his forehead with some precision, and when he opens his mouth, which is small and well formed, he reveals a good set of pearly white teeth. His years appear to number some forty-five, and if we may judge from his outward man, we should say, he has many hale and hearty days to spend before he closes his eminently useful and popular career. The time Mr. Me. Grath enters the pulpit is that generally taken by most of the Evangelical section of the church, towards the close of the first hymn. He usually takes a survey of his congregation as soon as he has risen from his knees after having engaged a few moments in prayer ; he then takes a small bible from his pocket, a sufficient evidence that you are about to hear an extempore preacher, his next movement is to slightly adjust his gown, and place himself in an easy position. By the time so occupied his congregation are all seated and intently gazing upon the orator, and holding the little bible at a short distance from his eyes he gives out in full clear tones the text of his discourse. He possesses about as power- ful a voice as we ever heard from any pulpit ; both his upper and lower tones are in excellent keeping and well modulated. His speech retains a little of the brogue, and hence you soon detect his Irish birth. His action is neither varied or animated, and with the exception of raising his right arm in occasional passages, he scarcely moves himself during the entire length of his sermon. His general mode of delivery is cool, and marked with a little dignity of expression, although his demeanour is evidently free from all 176 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. affectation or conventionalisms. He has a particularly felicitous method of simplifying the more difficult passages of his sermon for the edification of his " poorer brethren," and when thus addressing himself is remarkable for a warmth of feeling and genuine sympathy, in which we are afraid too many of our popular preachers do not participate with half the largeness of soul that should be identified with their ministerings. Mr. Me. Grath, however, is prominent in his preaching for his care for the poor, and while he charms the ears, and guides the step of his more intelligent hearers, he never forgets to elucidate and enlighten the less cultivated portion of his flock. His sermons are generally of about an hour's duration, although they scarcely appear to have occupied above a few minutes. After hearing a sermon from the divine under consideration we are certain of one thing, that all his aims and all his eloquence are directed in furtherance of the true spiritual welfare of those who surround him, that his motto is honestly and conscientiously "Not to proselyte but to evangelize." Even after you have lauded Mr. Me. Grath's potent influence as a pulpit orator, you have still something left to command a greater degree of praise and admira- tion. His exalted sphere of rhetoric does not alone conduce to mere pulpit display, it brings itself to bear with true Christian experience upon every heart as well as every head. What he enunciates is enunciated with a purpose in consonance with his mission as a truthful expounder of Christianity in its best and most enlarged sense. He is a faithful follower in the footsteps of the great Master in whose service he is enlisted, and though no zealous enthusiast or proselyting partizan, he works out his vocation with honour to himself and the pure spiritual welfare of those to whom he ministers. The style of Mr. Me. Grath is alike remarkable for eloquence and logic. His introductory observations are for the most part concise and pointed, but what he utters in introduction is generally marked with much substantial knowledge of the topic on which he is about to exercise his powers. He does not make a general division at the outset of his discourse, but usually divides and subdivides his points as he proceeds. In this, perhaps, there is developed a more thorough mastership in preaching a sermon than we should conceive, as it is far more complicated to bring all in to bear upon REV. H. W. MC. GEJLTH, M.A. 177 one point as you proceed, than if you had already laid down your grounds, and knew when you had completed your divisions. There is much comprehensiveness and clearness of detail in his first grounds, and a certain excellence of logic that rarely fails to carry its weight to the minds of his auditory. His reasoning powers are perhaps superior to his nights of rhetoric and powers of appealing. Upon the last occasion of hearing him, he gave us one of the most elaborate and logical arguments upon the personality of the Holy Spirit, that we ever remember having listened to. There was a soundness and force of dechiction together with a clearness of pre- mises that rendered his points powerfully demonstrative. There was, notwithstanding the somewhat difficult and abstruse character of his topic, a perspicuity and simplicity that could scarcely fail to find its way to the most illiterate member of his congregation. Moreover, he did not encumber his discourse with a superfluity of words, but was rather sententious and slightly abrupt in the comple- tion of a sentence. He spoke clearly and calmly, and evidenced that he felt strongly, and was convinced fully of the truthfulness of what he expounded. His quotations from Scripture in support of his arguments were rather voluminous, although particularly apt and indicative of no ordinary scholarship in biblical knowledge. Here and there he made a sudden appeal to his hearers, and rose somewhat majestically into the regions of passionate declamation. But for the first half or three quarters of an hour of his sermon, he nearly confined himself altogether to proofs and illustrations in furtherance of his tenets. Hence Mr. Me. Grath may be regarded as a highly argumentative preacher, and that his forte lies rather in logical deductions than in eloquent or passionate appeals. The application of his discourse was calm and sensible, yet urgent and full of earnestness. He was not vehement, nor either did he allow his imagination to picture sins and failings of so extravagant a magnitude that some of our prominent preachers both in and out of the church are wont to describe. He opened the gates of heaven to all who thought proper to enter, rather than made the opposite course a subject of declamation and fiery denunciation. He spoke familiarly, kindly, charitably ; he embodied the true essence of a Christian pastor, and revealed his mission with eloquence upon his lips and love to all his brethren in the inmost recesses of his heart. 2A 178 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATOR?,. REV. WILLIAM Me. KERROW. THE Scottish Presbyterian church may justly congratulate itself upon possessing a body of pulpit- orators, who are, to a man, capable of filling their posts with first-rate ability and high attainments. We do not remember an instance, even in one of their youngest and most inexperienced preachers, of anything like mediocrity. They always appear to carry with them such an energy and determination to acquit themselves well, that we think a mediocre sermon would be quite impossible in their province. Perhaps this may be mainly attributed to the peculiar temperament of the country to which they owe their birth. Your Scotchmen always will have their cautious plodding, and indefatigable method of conducting whatever comes within their range, and hence generally turn off their work to its due advantage and proper effect. The sermons that come from the Presbyterian pulpit invariably denote this characteristic ; something finished and compact something carefully arranged and well digested. There is a judiciousness in their observations, and a superior sort of stability in their ideas, that furnisher you with a bona fide proof of their qualifications to discharge the important trust committed to their care. Their cool self-possession has a certain charm about it that can scarcely fail to enlist your atten- tion and encomiums. We like your Presbyterian preacher, if it is only for this last-named feature, because it establishes the fact that they always calmly think before they give expression to a sentence. We do not know of a more prominent instance of the ability to which we refer, in the neighbourhood from which we write, than is exhibited in the pulpit-oratory of the clever, energetic, and eloquent William Me. Kerrow. For a considerable period he has been considered one of the most effective preachers in Manchester, or any of the surrounding towns. His chapel, in Lloyd-street, is neither very large in dimensions nor over handsome in architectural details, albeit he has an excellent congregation of devoted admirers and followers. We paid a visit to the chapel some few weeks back to hear the talented Scotchman. The chapel was as well filled WILLIAM MC. KERROW.. 179 as usual, and the services conducted with all that simple, yet earnest solemnity that so beautifully attaches itself to the Presby- terian mode of worship. After an eloquent extempore prayer, a reading from Scripture, and some good singing, conducted with much taste and propriety, Mr. Me. Kerrow rose to the delivery of his sermon. His personal appearance possesses nothing extraordi- nary to claim any particular amount of attention or interest. In stature he is about the middle height, and he is pretty fairly proportioned in the way of bodily compass. There is a slight bend in his back, but this does not appear to interfere with his modes of attitude, which are tolerably easy and graceful. His head is well formed, but not strikingly intellectual in its developments, the front of the cranium not being so prominent as we have noticed in other celebrated characters. His face is tolerably pleasing in ex- pression, and there is always a good healthy glow mantled upon his cheek. A small crop of light brown hair comes slightly over the forehead, which probably interferes with the proper outward developments of his brow. His eye is large, clear, and sparkling, of a greyish blue, and particularly expressive of the owner's mind. At a random calculation, we should say Mr Me. Kerrow has numbered about forty-four years of age, fifteen or twenty of which have been occupied in the ministry of the Presbyterian church, with much assiduity and genuine piety. In the minor details of oratory, Mr. Me. Kerrow is an average proficient. He generally delivers his sermons with a good degree of effect in the way of elocution and action. His voice is of moderate compass, and always distinct, while his action upon the whole is temperate, although when he draws to the conclusion of his discourse, he is somewhat animated, and perhaps a little too vehement in the delivery of his sentiments. He has a moderate degree of the Scottish accent, which to our mind adds a charm to the tones of his voice, and throws a certain indefinable flavor into his sentences, that generally wins the ear of an English auditory. At the commencement of his discourse, he has a little drawling way of expressing himself, but as he works into the marrow of his subject, his mind appears to grow into a greater state of activity his feelings appear to attain a warmer temperament and then the tones of his voice flow along as freely as water from a mountain-well. His sermons are usually of an hour's duration, during which time the attention of his hearers 180 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. is deeply absorbed in every sentence that falls from his lips : all eyes are fixed on the spot where he stands, he exercises a full sway over the minds and hearts of those around him, and we will venture to affirm that no one could pass away from the scene of his labours without feeling some interest, in a greater or less degree, in the im- portant truths so powerfully set forth by the energetic and eloquent- tongued preacher. From what we have heard of Mr. Me. Kerrow's sermons, we should say he is not near so eminent for theological attainments and reasoning powers, as he is for brilliancy of style, beauty of imagery, and ingenuity and aptness of illustration. In the latter depart- ments he unquestionably shines, but in the former we think he scarcely rises above mediocrity. As a theologian, he appears to possess just enough to maintain his position in the pulpit ; as a reasoner, he is not always the deepest or most logical. He has evidently applied his mind to a certain sphere of preaching, the setting forth of good well-known truths in beautiful language, the exposition of them in appropriate illustrations, and the embodiment of certain brilliant ideas, in brilliant imagery. Thus much Me. Kerrow does in the pulpit ; herein lies his forte, and as every mind cannot be expected to be the source of perfection in every depart- ment of oratory, either in the pulpit, the senate, or at the bar, we must not complain if the worthy subject of our notice does not realise the most judicious theologian, or the most recondite logician. In the division of his discourse he is clear and comprehensive, always conveying to your mind, by the most lucid means, a just and careful view of the subject he is about to lay before your notice. His divisions, moreover, never ramble one into the other, so as to keep your mind in a constant state of inquiry as to the whereabouts of your preacher ; they are always compact, and evidently so arranged that each shall perform its due part, and each receive its xlue attention before the following one is brought under review. -There is nothing like perspicuity in this respect, and certainly Me. Kerrow's sermons are well-wrought specimens of its excellence. In the filling up of his divisions he displays all those brilliant modes of expression and illustration, to which he has evidently applied his mind with so much assiduity. His ideas are not unfrequently original, although, as we have before observed, more remarkable for their sparkling surface than for their depth or penetration. In HEV. WILLIAM MC. KERROW. 18 'this respect he flashes more than he cogitates, and when some luminous idea comes from his lips it is certainly more striking for its meteor-like brilliancy than for its permanent stability. His temperament does not appear to be well fashioned for much cogita- tion, and hence his warm mercurial feelings prompt him to express himself in something that is as warm in nature and luminous in design as the bent of his own peculiar nature and predilections. Upon asking an old gentleman how he liked Mr. Me. Kerrow's preaching, the reply was " Oh ! there is far too much poetry in it." This, in some measure, is very true, but Mr. Me. Kerrow's poetical flights are generally in consonance with the nature of his discourse, and though a prosy taste may fall out with them, still they have, we are conscientiously led to believe, their due effect upon the minds of his hearers. His illustrations are vivid and vivifying, and the imagery he employs to convey the picture is strikingly ingenious in design and appropriate in nature. He may be artistic, but yet he is natural enough in the course he pursues. He brings in no adventitious adornments no meretricious orna- ments to gild the picture or frame the device ; for highly-poetical as he may be, there is something invariably chaste and appropriate in the imagery he brings before you. It is unnecessary to say that Mr. Me. Kerrow possesses a full command of the best language in the English vocabulary. His words flow out at a tremendous rapidity, and when in some of his more passionate appeals, it is doubtful whether the most consummate adept in stenography could keep pace with his astonishing celerity in this respect. In the formation of his sentences, he is particularly clever, and constructs them with much taste, pointing and rounding them off, one after the other, to the very best advantage. His perorations are brilliant and effective, for he is a man of strong feelings, and when fairly roused into action, betrays a fervency of feeling that almost electrifies his con- gregation. His concluding efforts are invariably striking for their dramatic style and effect ; he is eloquent in the highest degree ; and when he resumes his seat, we should imagine there are few before him who do not feel some thrilling sentiment running through their minds, through the powerful influence of the sermon they have just heard. As a platform-speaker, Mr. Me. Kerrow is scarcely equalled by any of the local orators of Manchester or its neighbourhood. Some 182 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. of his speeches during the celebrated Anti-Corn-law Conference, were replete with brilliance and powerful appeals.- He was an earnest disciple in this great cause, and in the way of speech-making was no ordinary auxiliary in the furtherance of its principles. Mr. Me. Kerrow is the President of the Manchester and Salford Peace Society, at the meetings of which he usually makes some powerful and energetic speeches, perhaps more forcible for their brilliant declamation than for their profound reasoning. We think, however, he is the best peace advocate in Manchester, and when surrounded by a good crowded meeting, generally turns his oratorical powers to no common advantage in the cause. In his political views, he is rather ultra-liberal, and has generally taken an active part in any of the great momentous questions that have been mooted for the last ten years. His warmth of zeal in the furtherance of any liberal cause is characteristic ; and, taking his vocation into consideration, we do not know of any man who has contributed more, in the neighbourhood from which we write, to the advancement of true progressive principles, than our warm-hearted and eloquent presbyterian preacher. REV. DOCTOR Me. NEILE. IF the Evangelical section of the Church of England possesses one orator more renowned than another for eloquence in the pulpit, influence in the church over which he presides, and zeal in the advancement of Christianity, it is beyond all doubt or dispute that great leviathan of pulpit-oratory Hugh Me. Neile, of Liverpool. His very name is a password of something gigantic and overwhelm- ing in the way of preaching. His very appearance conveys to your mind strong impressions of a power of intellectual greatness and mental endowment. In either "high church" or "low church," there are none to be found who arrive at the same thorough master- ship of pure oratory at the same attainments of genuine eloquence as this oracle of modern pulpit eminence. We say nothing of some of his curious antics beyond the pale of the church ; of his REV. DOCTOR MC. NEILE. 183 political diversions and Protestant antipathies ; at the worst they are but the little failings and infirmities of a mind whose action in everything else is always noble, elevated, and dignified. To say the least, Dr. Me. Neile is an extraordinary man, a prodigy of eloquence, a great and leading spirit in his day and generation. He does not follow in the van but leads it. In his line of action he allows no man to precede him. In his sermons he works for himself and by himself ; for he originates his own ideas, and calls into being all those brilliant illustrations, pathetic appeals, and astounding flights of rhetoric, through the medium of his own unaided mental exertions. Me. Neile is one of those rare spirits connected with the pulpit whom you may safely call a genius with the greatest propriety. The course he pursues is peculiarly his own, and we are inclined to attribute many of those singular antics he now and then performs, rather to the freaks and whims of a genuine originaVspirit, than to any morbid temperament or malicious disposition. To say that our reverend doctor is a popular preacher would be superfluous. An empty seat where he mounts the pulpit would be a sort of a phenomenon. He is followed wherever he preaches by men of every denomination, and stands as high, for his oratorical capabilities, in the esteem of the Independent, Wesleyan, or Baptist, as he does in the admiration of his most ardent Church-of- England follower. There is something attractive in the name of Me. Neile, that brings men of every shade of opinion to listen to his electrifying discourses. Even your careless man of the world is not backward in being present when the great orator is announced to preach. The church is filled with various hearers, from the quiet and devout man of God down to the fidgetty and dubious infidel or sophist. Then you have ministers of nearly every creed seated before him, and paying the most earnest attention to every word that falls from his lips. The fact is known, Me. Neile is an original thinker and an original preacher, and all he enunciates throws some new light upon the subject of which he treats. Hence men follow him to hear something they have never heard before. They crowd in because they expect to hear some startling ideas, overwhelming effects, original illustrations, and extraordinary appeals. Moreover, there is a pathos and highly dramatic effect strikingly exuberant in his style of preaching, that affords a novelty 184 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. in the way of pulpit-oratory. We are assured, however, that the doctor himself has a particular aversion to men following him simply for the sake of gratifying their curiosity in witnessing these startling exhibitions. A recent occurrence rather strongly betrayed this dislike he entertains. Upon his leaving the incumbency of St. Jude's, at Liverpool, a few months back, where he had been located for many years, to become the pastor of the new church in Toxeth- park, it was publicly announced that upon a certain evening he would address his congregation in the shape of a farewell sermon. As a matter of certainty, crowds thronged the church with more than ordinary interest and eagerness to hear Me. Neile upon so affecting an occasion. People went to hear something very pathetic, something more startling and dramatic than ever. The doctor, however, deceived them. He too, had calculated upon the nature of all this throng, and, after preaching a somewhat ordinary sermon, concluded by informing the congregation that he had not come there to study effects or promote a " scene," but simply to preach them a sound gospel sermon regardless of the impression his departure from among them might produce upon their minds. He strongly con- temned all these " scenes," and took occasion to remark that if they were the only things his followers came to witness, it would be far more to their advantage did they absent themselves altogether. But however much Me. Neile may condemn it himself, or however much it may be admitted to be wrong, still this feature is prominent in his sermons, and will have its influence over no ordinary number of his listeners. The influence he exercises in this respect is too potent to be resisted. There is a magical sway in the general tenor of his sermons that infuses you with emotions "and sensations, whose current is beyond all control or governance. For the time he is addressing you, you cannot remove your eyes and attention from the spot where he stands. You are bound up with him. You are centred hi him and all he utters. He guides you in every emotion you experience during the whole period of his discourse ; he is completely master of your mind and heart; he bears you along in the meridian course he is tracing and pursuing himself ; he never leaves you lagging behind ; you are identified with him in every move he makes ; if he is onward, you are onward ; if he is up- ward, you are upward; and so from beginning to end, you are breathing under an influence whose dominion defies every faculty to REV. DOCTOR MC. NEILE. 185 stem or guide. And men are and will be attached to this. The more powerful the sway an orator has over his hearers, the more numerous will be his followers and admirers. Hence the crowded congregation Me. Neile invariably draws together. He can exercise this sway, he is aware of its influence, his hearers are aware of it, he knows it has its fruit, and thus follows his successful and popular style of preaching. There are few preachers who mount the pulpit, who can ingratiate themselves into the favour of their hearers by their personal appearance with more readiness and ease than Hugh Me. Neile. You. have no puny face or melancholic studious air ; no sunken cheek, nor any other characteristic denoting the man of intense study or misanthrophic devotion to his peculiar line of action. He is in person the very beau ideal of a powerful orator. But let us glance at him as he stands in the pulpit. In the first place, you have a fine majestic figure, somewhat slender in build, but standing some six feet in stature. The form is enveloped in a black silk gown that has evidently been made to fit with the utmost precision. His face is rather angular in shape, and very striking in its various linea- ments. To all intents and purposes, the ladies would call him " a handsome man." But there is possibly more of the intellectual* than the handsome exhibited in the features of Me. Neile. There is a polish and refinement about his face that indicates the man of mind and mental energy. His forehead is splendidly moulded, developing all the main characteristics of a potent intellectual being. It is not only lofty and expansive, but retains a certain grace and polish in its developments a certain Grecian design in its propor- tions that is fairly beyond your power to describe or define. But you must look at his eyes, would you encounter the man of genius and soul-stirring action. There is a meteor-like flash in his orbs that almost appears to illuminate his whole face. Their glances fairly electrify you. They glisten in his head with a thorough supernatural fire. They never seem to rest; every sentence he utters throws them out in fresh lustre, and appears to impart renewed fire to their restless glances. His mouth is small and somewhat singular in form, although expressive of chaste refinement. There is a little of the Roman about his nasal organ, although it is pretty much in unison with his other features. His complexion is fresh and healthy, and his skin particularly clear. But what surprises 2 B 186 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. you most in Me. Neile's outward appearance, is his snowy white hair. Although he has only numbered some fifty years of age, his hair is as silvery as though he had aged some seventy or eighty. This we should mainly attribute to a course of severe study and rigorous mental application, although it is rather singular to see a man of such years and physical constitution with a head covered with hair as white as the driven snow. But though white it is arranged with a good degree of precision and taste, and coupled with his fine forehead has a truly imposing effect. Notwithstanding the general luminous expression of his eyes, there is usually an air of solemnity gathered over his face, that, especially in some passages of his sermon, often approaches a look of severity. He rarely smiles, but conducts himself with a stiff sort of seriousness and quiet reserve. In the main, you are pleased with this air of solemnity, because it accords well with the nature of his mission. But we have taken our survey of him as he stands in the pulpit. He holds a small bible in his left hand, and in clear sonorous tones announces his text first to one side of the congregation, and then to the other. He pauses a few seconds, attentively regards his audience, slightly adjusts his gown, and then begins his sermon. He is particularly sententious in his introductory observations ; slowly yet emphatically they fall upon your ear ; he works out his first grounds with striking distinctness, lays the foundation of his discourse with elegant preci- sion ; now he divides his subject, and clears 'away all superfluous matter that may cling to the first impressions you may have of its nature and bearing ; he proceeds to reason to logically discuss the merits or demerits of the point under review ; then he illustrates and springs into a world of sublime comparisons and thrilling images that fairly overwhelm your ideas and captivate your senses ; anon he grows animated, he is drawing to the conclusion of his division, and is exercising his mind and soul to their very utmost to enforce the truthfulness of the point or lesson he is urging ; he runs on, every word he utters goes through your being almost like the effect of an electric shock ; every illustration he produces seems to have renewed power and effect ; every appeal he makes seems to possess fresh dominion over your senses and emotions ; he strikes deep, he roots out, as it were, every secret tendency and sympathy ; he reads you in every passion that sways your breast ; he is the master of your heart, and you bow to his supremacy; and thus EEV. DOCTOR MC. NEILE. 187 Dr. Me. Neile works out point after point, and division after division, till the final application and conclusion of his discourse. His sermons are generally of a moderate length, being usually of about an hour's to an hour and a quarter's duration. But you are never tired, never satiated, even though he prolongs his discourse beyond its ordinary length. There are two more features in the minor details of his preaching that remain to be noticed his voice and action. We never encountered a more perfect master of elocu- tion in the pulpit than the reverend doctor before us. Some of his lower tones are given with such a precision and effect, that we doubt whether Macready himself could excel. In the management of his voice in the harmonising it with the peculiar passion or idea that is uppermost he is a consummate adept. Monotony of tone is quite out of the question with Me. Neile. With the most perfect ease and grace he modulates his voice, and taking into consideration its power and volume, we scarcely remember any popular orator possessing the same advantages, and turning them to the same good account. He has evidently studied this department with no ordinary attention. His holding the bible in his hand during a greater por- tion of the discourse, somewhat retards any display in the way of gesture, albeit, when animated, he lays the book down, and is rather effective in some of his attitudes. His action, however, principally consists in a temperate movement of the right arm, with an occasional retreat from the front of the pulpit. There is, however, in all he does in the pulpit, a certain grace and charm -a natural polish that is sure to attract your attention and please your taste. In considering the oratorical powers of Hugh Me. Neile, there appear to us to be three striking characteristics, which compose his main forte and success as a pulpit-orator. First, there is a boldness and originality of argument, next a diversity and aptness of illustra- tion, and lastly a pathetic, brilliant, and highly dramatic style. Imagine these characteristics continually presenting themselves before you, backed by all this graceful action and general artistic mode of delivery, and we leave you to conjecture the nature and effect of a sermon from the reverend doctor before us. Although his logical powers do not take so wide a range, or so versatile a character as that which connects itself with his mode of illustration, still when he does argue, there is an originality of argument a boldness of deduction, and novelty of application, that strikes you 188 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. with a peculiar impression not so easily removed from your mind. He does not, moreover, go through a multitude of tedious details before he brings you to his final conclusion. From the usually rapid manner in which he works out his point, you would almost think his ideas had not the least premeditation, although when you come to consider the polish and effect with which it is associated, it has evidently had much labour and application devoted to its pro- duction. In fact, genius as Doctor Me. Neile may be, there can be but little doubt but all these striking positions he maintains in the way of argument, spring from no premature idea, nor any random flash of the intellect. The man must study, and that with no common degree of intensity and purpose. He may appear bold and original, but that boldness and originality has its birth-place in the study, and has the attentive care of its author for many days before it is brought to light. For a versatility, aptness, and soul- stirring illustration, we think Me. Neile stands unequalled by any pulpit-orator in the church. You may be sure these lose nothing of their value and influence, by the grand dramatic style in which they are wont to be exhibited. He takes you fairly by storm. He besieges you with a flood of illustrations taken from every object and every scene that comes within the view of mortal gaze. He presents them in the most finished style of art, in a completeness and unity in a truthfulness of description, and felicity of applica- tion. They are vivid and vivifying ; clear in every feature, and forcible in every expression. The minutest characteristic or feature they contain, is made to bear its part in working out the grand coup d'ceil. Again, he is always apt in these illustrations, he always makes them bear a distinct and unmistakable consanguinity to the main object he has in hand. They are neither above it nor below it, for they are always the counterpart of the idea that is foremost in his wish to impart. The brilliance of Me. Neile' s style is often completely overwhelming. There is something indescribable in the majestic fervency that is brought out in some of those grand and effective appeals, that characterise the concluding efforts of his sermon. His language is chaste and classic to the very height of perfection, and this, with his powerful and richly-modulated voice, the strange supernatural light that illumines his eyes, the intensity of feeling that seems to pervade his breast, the high flowing sentences, earnest appeals, brilliant illustrations, original observa- REV. DOCTOR NEWTON. 189 tions, bold ideas, and characteristic mode of delivery, secures him a position in the pulpit as an orator, almost unequalled in the church with which he is connected. REV. DOCTOR NEWTON. WHAT man, woman, or child, in the Wesleyan Methodist Connex- ion, does not know or has not heard something about the far-famed, time-honoured, warm-hearted, energetic, and eloquent-tongued Robert Newton ? What preacher in the " Legal Hundred " of the Conference is more respected, or claims a greater amount of veneration and confidence from his brethren ? There is something in the name of Robert Newton that identifies itself with all the great actions and progressive movements of Wesleyan Methodism during the last quarter of a century. His labours in America, and his activity in Yorkshire and Lancashire, which latter may justly be regarded as the strongholds of his connexion, his laborious efforts in everything that tends to disseminate and publish the- principles of Wesley, his frequent election of President, and his constant discharge of the onerous duties of Secretary to the Conference, together with the inexhaustible fount of right feeling, quick apprehension, and thorough natural ability that he has ever developed in his unwearied exertions, gives him a name which we are bound to believe will last as long as Wesleyan Methodism has one disciple to tell its history or propagate its doctrines. The Wesleyan Connexion has doubtless possessed men who have had to contend with more dis- heartning times, but we are fully persuaded that no one has fought its battles with more ardour and success than Doctor Newton. In taking a retrospective glance at the history of Methodism, we meet some fine spirits, some bold energetic characters, who laboured with almost unprecedented ability and zeal to give the tenets of Wesley a firm footing in our land ; yet we are disposed to ques- tion the superiority of their works over those of the subject of this sketch. Though they might lay the foundation, still the super- structure the finished stablity of the work is owing, in a great 190 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. degree, to the untiring energy and unlimited application of Newton* "We think we may, without committing the least error, affirm him to be one of, if not the best of, exponents of Methodism for the last twenty years ; a period in which it has accomplished such rapid strides, that not even its most sanguine admirers could ever have contemplated. In the pulpit or in " class," on the platform or in conference, you always behold him hard at work for the cause in which he is enlisted, both for the spiritual enlargement of Christi- anity and the furtherance of the doctrines to which he is so devotedly attached. Without aiming at any invidious distinction, we must record our impressions that the stateliness and hierarchial sort of movements of a Bunting have not contributed to the promotion of Methodism one hundredth part of the services that have been rendered by the warmth and familiarity of a Newton. We always think there to be a reserve and coldness about Doctor Bunting that is singularly inapplicable to a Wesleyan congregation, and much in contrariety to the genial frankness of a regular Methodist preacher, as so happily unfolded in his co-labourer, Robert Newton. To maintain the true character of Wesleyan Methodist preaching, and to secure the well-being of the society itself, you must have no frigidness or restraint no stately shovel-hat and lawn-sleeves mode of expression and demeanour but warmth, heart, and soul, the enunciation of a free-grace gospel in free and heart-felt sentiments. Perhaps of all the Methodist preachers none is better calculated to " draw " a crowded congregation than our reverend doctor. He is the universal favourite, and even among those with whom he is stationed, there is always evinced the utmost anxiety to listen to his eloquent outpourings. It is, however, in localities that are not so frequently favoured with his presence, that he brings the most crowded chapels, and produces the greatest impressions. Upon such occasions a vast number congregate together, and fill pews and aisles in every direction ; and if it happen to be a country town, flocks will pour in from miles around. The doctor always takes his place at the commencement of the service, by which time a dense mass of human forms present themselves in view. There is nothing strikingly intellectual or refined in his outward man, although his general appearance possesses much to ingratiate itself in your good opinion. His form is stout and tall, and, for the most part, well proportioned; his forehead, the best feature about him, is finely RET. DOCTOR NEWTON. 191 developed, being both lofty and expansive ; there is a mildness of expression in his eye, which, occasionally, especially when he becomes animated on his subject, assumes a meteor-like brilliance ; his features are all quite masculine and pretty regular, although perhaps his mouth is slightly out of proportion ; his action is easy and occasionally dignified, and anon somewhat vehement. Upon the whole, his appearance in the pulpit, especially when surrounded by a dense congregation, may be regarded as impressive and prepossess- ing. After a few verses from some of Charles Wesley's most popular hymns, he begins an eloquent and fervent extempore prayer, which generally extends to some half hour's duration. His prayers always draw forth loud responses from those gathered about him, and although we are of those who have a strong distaste for any such vehement exhibitions in the House of God, still they are demonstrative that "what the doctor enunciates has a great influence over his auditory. Although the doctor's years must number some seventy, his voice and physical powers remain in a great degree unimpaired, and his deep sonorous tones may be heard in the most remote parts of the building. His manner in the pulpit has nothing of the conventional or affected ; his efforts, if so they may be called, are all strikingly natural. You never see him with any written notes, or anything to direct his thoughts, save the huge bible that lies open before him. He is neither stiff or formal, cold or ascetic ; nor ever does he assume the airs of a domineering mentor or the harsh compulsion of an exacting dictator. His sermons are for the most part rather the sentiments of a kind and feeling parent, than of a mind anxious to bear itself down with its might of knowledge upon those to whom it presents itself. He delivers himself with as much ease and familiarity to a congregation of fifteen hundred or two thousand, as he could to half-a-dozen of his intimate friends. His whole demeanour and mode of expression is entirely free from any approaches to mannerism. He stands, as a man in the pulpit should stand, not to exalt himself, but to comfort and encourage to lead on and direct the spiritual soarings of others. The style of Doctor Newton as a preacher, is bold, vigorous, and original. If there exist such a thing as a genius for preaching, and we apprehend there are no proofs of its nonexistence, then does Robert Newton possess it in the highest degree, more so, perhaps, than any other among his numerous brethren. He certainly is not 192 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AXD ORATORS. a deep speculative preacher, because we are inclined to think that his biblical knowledge is not so thorough!}' great as that possessed by many high preachers of the recondite and deep-diving school, such as a Croly or a Whately, nor either do we believe his mind so formed as to adopt itself to intricate investigations or abstruse theories. In the general treatment of his subject in the outline and foundation of his points he furnishes nothing strikingly new ; but passing away from these in affording felicitous illustrations in pithy and " telling " sentences in a quick insight into the secret emotions of the breast in a clear and comprehensive enunciation of the highest gospel truths in a warm and ingenious advocacy of the point he is urging, or the lesson he is enforcing in a powerful exhortation and forcible application he displays a boldness and energy that is rarely, if ever, surpassed in any pulpit of the present generation. He wanders occasionally, although very rarely, and even when he does so, it is into a region in which he figures with all his wonted vigour and freedom. Not unfrequently his observations are particu- larly quaint, and, were it not for the sacredness of the occasion, would almost raise a smile. It is, however, in conveying a soul and body into his subject, in setting forth the claims of his mission in a solid and tangible form that realizes his particular forte. Hence, the doctor is anything but an imaginative preacher. True, he originates, albeit he is no visionary, for every idea he brings forth, and their name is legion, adds palpably to the strength of the build- ing on which he is engaged. The solidity of his sermons develope a power that we should not like to exchange for the most exquisite flights or most transcendent imaginings of a dreamy enthusiast. Hence his boldness finds its vitality in its stability ; a source, we apprehend, than which there is none more worthy of confidential repose. The doctor's warmth of emotion in his subject, absorbing as it is at times, is rarely allowed scope sufficient to interfere with the current of his ideas. He generally reserves any exhibition of the passions for the close of his discourse, and then, but not in that vehement style that we have frequently been much pained to witness in a Methodist pulpit, he rises into a majestic sphere of emotion that produces an impression not so easily expunged from the minds of those around him. One great characteristic in the doctor's style we must not forget to notice, and that is, his fluency of speech. He is not a remarkable rapid speaker, but he possesses a REV. P. jv O'LEAKY, M.A. 193 flow of language as rapid as a torrent. His language partakes far more of the Saxon than the classic; holding at once a happy consanguinity to the general cast of his mind and ideas. Taken on the platform, our subject is fully as great as he is in the pulpit. A speech from Robert Newton, at the Oldham-street Annual Missionary Meeting, is well worth walking any reasonable distance to hear. The Wesleyan Missionary Society owes much, if it be only in the way of speeches, to the zeal and energies of the re- verend doctor. Upon the occasion of such gatherings all his ready wit and humour comes flowing out in right good spirit. His fund of anecdotes, no ordinary budget by the way his quaint observa- tions, apt illustrations, pithy sentences, sundry bon mots, together with his warm and eloquent advocacy of the object of the meeting, contributes a zest to the missionary cause and its gatherings that rarely fails securing a hearty and substantial response from his delighted auditory. The doctor never addresses a thin meeting ; only let it be known where he speaks, and at what hour, and, providing the world's avocations do not interfere, by the time he rises the place will be crowded in every corner. His exertions in every good cause to which he has attached himself have always been remarkably untiring, but in the furtherance of Missions he has been doubly indefatigable, and we believe his exertions are well repaid in every sense ; may he long live to be their eloquent advocate ! REV. P. J. O'LEARY, M.A, IT is a notable fact that the majority of Irish divines connected with the Establishment of this country, are men of considerable reputation and popularity. It seems inherent in their nature to render themselves worthy of high commendation, for the great abilities they severally manifest, in the discharge of their duties in the pulpit. We scarcely ever yet heard a mediocre sermon from the lips of an Irish divine of the Church of England, and though they may not generally exhibit much profundity of thought or depth of penetration, still the majority of their discourses manifest a glowing flow of eloquence a rich and copious outpouring of 2 c 194 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND OEATOB9. earnest feeling, clothed in the most expressive and earnest diction a warm and enthusiastic manner of presenting the great truths they bring before their hearer's attention that cannot but impress you with their peculiar natural resources, and their frequent superiority over many of our native divines and pulpit orators. Among the number of this class identified with Lancashire, we have one before us, who has well sustained the characteristic which we have here set forth. Mr. O'Leary is one of those warm and powerful preachers, whose sermons will always impress you more for their warmth and intensity of feeling for their effects upon your heart and emotions, than for any depth of investigation or much elabora- tion of thought and inquiry. For the reason we have heretofore assigned, Mr. O'Leary is a popular preacher. His style is of that warm florid character,, his manner is of that feeling and impressive description, his sentiments are of that glowing and overwhelming influence that is always held,, wherever we go, (in church or in chapel) in the highest esteem, and is the most consonant with the popular taste and predilections. Of philosophical research or logical dexterity, Mr. O'Leary has little or nothing ; but then he possesses other parts that make an ample substitution, and render him even more acceptable in the popular esteem. His parts are all heart all feeling all directed to the influence of the breast, more than the brain all concentrated in the work of warm appeal, powerful declamation, and intense feeling in the truths he is enforcing upon his hearers. Hence Mr. O'Leary is a popular preacher, not only with those who are habitually his hearers, but with almost every congregation before whom he may appear. His style is always calculated to meet the generality of the evangelical portion of the Church of England. To preach, with him, is always to please, for rarely do we find a congregation in the least dissatis- fied with this warmth of appeal and powerful expression of feeling. With some, he might doubtless be held at a comparative discount ; but they must be stolid indeed who can sit through the delivery of a sermon from the reverend gentleman, and not feel, to some extent, the powerful influence he is wont to exercise. For our own parts, we know of few men about Manchester whose style of preaching is more particularly adapted to their congregation, than the style of Mr. O'Leary. In a crowded neighbourhood, like the one in which he labours, a man of his genuine powers must be KEY. P. j. O'LEABT, M.A. 195 always acceptable. That Mr. O'Leary is eminently popular in the neighbourhood with which he is identified, cannot be doubted. The congregation he possesses, of the right description of hearers of the gospel, is an abundant evidence that his powers are not exercised in vain. More could not be said in commendation of the reverend gentleman. That he has exercised these capacities to a good end and purpose, we feel well assured. His congregation can attest this in the fullest degree, and we feel certain that no one attending his church, and hearing the reverend gentleman hold forth with his wonted earnestness and animation, will come away without feeling convinced that the popularity he receives is justly deserved. We were promised a treat when we first heard Mr. O'Leary, and were not in the least thwarted. We have met with many other highly distinguished Irishmen, both of the Church and the Pres- bytery, but few have presented us with a more powerful a more clear and comprehensive treatment of their subject, than the reverend gentleman before us. We were certainly more than satisfied with Mr. O'Leary, the first time we had the gratification of hearing him. His manner of delivery was so fervent and warm, the views he took of his text so comprehensive and transparent, the lessons he drew from it were so forcibly and pointedly presented before his hearers, that no man with the smallest particle of common sense or human feeling could fail to appreciate him as a preacher of considerable resources, in the influence of the heart and the emotions. To hear a discourse from Mr. O'Leary, is often to be overwhelmed with emotions which are completely beyond our powers of description. That he seizes all your feelings, stirs up all your sympathies, and entirely concentrates your very heart and soul in all that he brings before your attention, will be pretty strongly evidenced whenever you may have a 9hance of feeling the magical influence of his sentiments. It is inherent, we think, in some of our Irish pulpit orators, to be the means of producing this descrip- tion of feeling in the hearts of their hearers of so far absorbing the sympathies and emotions, as scarcely to allow us any consciousness beyond the preacher, and what is falling from his lips. Mr. O'Leary is one of this description ; and though he may lack the genuine brilliance, and almost electric effects identified with the preaching of such men as Me. Neile or O' Sullivan, still his powers 196 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. will never fail of producing the most lively impressions, and the most fervent emotions. With Mr. O'Leary you are never at a loss to understand the full and clear application of his words and senti- ments. His preliminary remarks are mostly clear and apposite, pointing as they do to the nature and meaning of his text, in a brief yet comprehensive style. Then his arrangement is fully as per- spicuous and pointed. He generally divides as he proceeds, and though he may not take his text to pieces in a most masterly style, still his dissection manifests no ordinary investigation of his subject. Upon the whole, we are led to think, Mr. O'Leary is far more at home in exhortation than in exposition. His illustrations certainly exhibit a very clear and comprehensive insight into his text, and often bring out some -really beautiful truths and well-digested ideas, but they are not upon a par with his exhortations and applications they do not reach the mind to the same extent as the other reach and occupy the heart. Mr. O'Leary's plan appears to be, to give a short explanation of his text in one division, and then proceed in the application of it more immediately to his hearers. And this he performs with much power and effect. He here and there draws a Scriptural illustration, which is executed with considerable aptitude, and is rendered to bear a clear and close affinity to the point under review. And his views, for the most part, that he expresses upon his subject, although lacking much profundity of thought, or depth of penetration, are clear and connected, forcible and well di- gested. He appears to be a tolerable biblical scholar, and his quotations from Scripture are often numerous and apposite. We do not think he holds many high claims as a theologian. His views are doubtless well founded, and based upon the most fundamental principles of the Christian religion, but he rarely seems to exercise much ability in a purely doctrinal or controversial point of view. He frequently infuses a goodly amount of Scriptural history infor- mation into his discourses, which is generally both highly pleasing and perfectly in connection with his text. His reasoning faculties appear to be of no common character, and we should certainly give him credit for being a somewhat ingenious, although not a recondite logician. It is, however, as we previously remarked, in Mr. O'Leary's applications to which you must look for his greatest command over his hearers. He is here warm, fervent, bold, and expressive. He here developes a perfect mastery over his subject, REV. P. J. O'LEARY, M.A. 197 and never seems to be at a loss for ideas or utterance. He flows on amazingly he clears all before him he bears down anything and everything that crosses his path, or would seem to intercept his progress. Hark to his frequent interrogations his exclamations and pathetic ejaculations and what a force with what a powerful influence they come bearing upon you ! Who can resist them? They are the genuine manifestoes of a fervency of feeling of an intensity of emotion loo grand and sublime to imagine or describe. Our own impressions of Mr. O'Leary's applications of his fervency of feeling and powerful appeals will not be so easily removed. We can add but little more to our portraiture of Mr. O'Leary as a preacher. His manner at the commencement of his discourse is somewhat cool and deli- berate his voice is low, and his gestures very moderate, but as he proceeds he becomes considerably animated his manner is all life the tones of his voice peal through the church with a thrilling effect his right and left arm are raised, one after the other, with considerable impetuosity, and he closes his sermon in a thorough masterly and oratorical style. There is a slight lisp in Mr. O'Leary's delivery, which somewhat detracts from his otherwise agreeable tone of voice. His sermon rarely occupies more than half-an-hour, but one half of it is delivered with much rapidity. Mr. O'Leary was born in Ireland, but in what part or in what year, we are unable to state. He appears now to be some three or four years on the shady side of forty. He was educated for a Roman Catholic priest, and eventually became one, but after some time, believing the tenets of that church to be erroneous, he was induced to secede from it, and was ordained for the Church of England. Previous to coming to Manchester, he was a curate at Blackpool. He became the incumbent of St. Jude's about twelve years since, and has always been held in the highest esteem, both in his public and private life. He has rather a mild and winning appearance. He appears to be about the middle height, and tolerably proportioned in form. His face is somewhat angular, with a pale complexion, and a small mouth. His head is of a highly-intellectual conformation, and his forehead is finely developed, being lofty and expansive. His eyes are small, and appear to be somewhat weak. He has a small sharp nose, and a pair of rather bushy whiskers. 198 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. REV. RICHARD PARKINSON, B.D. WHO has not heard something or other about that stately and venerable pile of building, commonly called the " old church," or, as it is now more ostentatiously read, the Manchester Cathedral ? What a thousand and one associations start upon the mind on enter- ing within its gloomy yet solemn precincts ! What an antique class of emotions are engendered in the breast as we wander through its aisles, chapels, and cloisters ! How our sympathies are enlisted for those whom Time has mouldered in the dust, and whom Eternity ere long will summon from the grave ! What a reverence we seem to feel for the departed spirits, who yet seem to linger about the grim and still corners of the sacred edifice ! Truly, in these days of wearing- tearing bustle, it is a grand relief to go and while away an hour or so in the dim aisles of our old church. The Past is a potent monitor, and its precepts are nowhere more potent than in the quiet and gloomy precincts of some ancient cathedral, surrounded by mementoes of the dead. Our old church is full of its mementoes of this description, is replete with associations that may go to the heart of the most stoical reprobate ! What generations have worshipped here ! What sons begat their sons, what daughters begat their daughters ! What births, what marriages, what deaths, have been recorded here ! What pages of history, what life- histories, what heroes in little and heroes in great, have had the three momentous passages of their lives recorded here ! " O'er what a host the eternal veil is drawn ! What various matter sleeps entombed there ! What hopes cut off from being in their dawn ! What phantom fears are vanished into air !" Rest assured, you may go and tread the cloisters of our old church to some advantage ; you may indulge in a good dream over the past ; you may revel in the eventful pages of the past ; you may dip deep into the records of the past, and may be, you will bring lessons and precepts away with you that will serve no common end in your contentions and battlings with the present. SEV. RICHARD PARKINSON, B.D. 199 We have been induced to submit these observations in consequence of introducing to the reader one of the principal Canons of the Cathedral in question, the highly-talented and eloquent-tongued Richard Parkinson. As a body, the clergy of the old church are not so powerful in the pulpit as you would be led to suppose. The Dean and Messrs. Clifton and Richson are, however, exceptions, and the reverend gentleman to whom the present article is devoted is certainly one of the most distinguished ornaments, both as a scholar and preacher, that the Cathedral possesses. For our parts, we are anxious to award every man his due honours, and notwithstand- ing the "high church" principles of Mr. Parkinson, we cannot refrain from complimenting him upon being something out of the common way of our usual high Church of England officials. We feel bound to bow to worth, talent, and ability, wherever it presents itself, whether beneath the mitre of a bishop or in the unadorned habiliments of a wayfaring peasant. Let every man have his deserts, be he church, dissent, or romanist ; the claims of genius, talent, virtue, and rectitude are as strong in the one as the other, and every man who renders himself an object of merit is deserving to receive his just reward through the medium of every lip and the agency of every pen. There is something remarkably prepossessing about the person and features of Mr. Parkinson. His form is tall, and he presents about as gentlemanly a deportment as you would wish to see in any man. There is a little robustness about his form, and altogether his figure is well proportioned. His head is well formed, the brow being developed with much strength of outline, and indicative of no common intellectual stores. A short crop of black silky hair is parted and arranged with particular taste. The form of his face is angular, and his complexion is rather dark. His mouth and nose are strongly defined, while his eyes, of a deep hazel hue, are large, full, and brilliant. There is always something very pleasing in the cast of his features, and when adorned in the surplice he certainly presents a tout ensemble decidedly prepossessing. His manners in the pulpit are simple, chaste, and perfectly in harmony with the Christian pastor. His action is not very animated, consist- ing principally of a few gestures of the head, and sundry elevations of both hands. His voice is somewhat thin, but well modulated and tolerably audible. Sometimes, however, he becomes animated 200 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. in his discourse, when the voice is raised to its highest pitch, and his action becomes varied and rather nourishing. To all appearance, Mr. Parkinson is about forty-five years of age. He has been a Canon of the Manchester Cathedral some twelve or fourteen, during which time he has always been held in high reputation, both for his talents in the pulpit and his virtues in private society. Mr. Parkinson, as we have before intimated, is rather a strong State- and-Church man ; but how can we expect otherwise from one who has been cradled, as it were, among a regular back-bone " high church " body ? These men have their position allotted them, and rest assured, if they possess any degree of intelligence, they will always exert themselves in its maintenance. The reverend gentle- man has issued one or two pamphets in defence of Mother-church in her relations to the State, and, considering the subject upon which he had to operate, they certainly manifest a good degree of ability and clever reasoning. He is evidently strongly attached to the church, and though in his views of dissent he may be fallacious, still while his enthusiasm does not trench upon the dictates of Charity and good sound Catholic Christianity, while he blends it all with a good degree of amiability and tolerance, he is an object highly deserving of our admiration and commendations. When you hear a sermon from Mr. Parkinson, you must, as a matter of rule, expect a written one. This, however, is no great matter, since the sermon itself is no common affair, and one that betrays an elegance of style and purity of diction in the way of literary composition. There is something particularly graceful in the composition of his sermon, something chaste and elegant in the design that cannot fail to enlist your eulogiums. His sentences, too, are all well pointed, and polished off with no ordinary finish. If you would wish to hear some exquisitely rounded periods, then you have only to hear a sermon from Mr. Parkinson. His diction is poetical in the highest degree, and he betrays a great fluency of language, although he is never redundant. Hence there is a little of the florid often identified with his sermons, yet he is not, upon the whole, anything of a skimmer or surface-gatherer in the general handling of his topic. The arrangement of his discourse invariably exhibits much comprehension, and a very clear insight into the main features of his subject. He arranges with simplicity and perspicuity, so that even his humblest hearer may gain some REV. RICHARD PARKINSON, B.D. 201 general insight into the nature of his views. There is no mist gathered about his introductory ; one idea follows the other as clearly and regularly as clock-work, and when he has completed his section, you may, if you have paid any attention, have the whole tenor of his observations as systematically arranged in your own mind as he has on the pages of his sermon. It must not, however, be supposed that because the reverend gentleman is classical in style and polished in language, that he is no theologian or biblical scholar ; on the other hand, his attainments in this respect may be ranked as some- what extensive. We have heard him preach as sound a biblical sermon as ever emanated from any pulpit in Lancashire. His discourses often betray a great depth of conversancy with Holy Writ, and when engaged in illustrating, his references are not only varied but are always clearly appropriate to the point illustrated. We do not know of any one who has a better knowledge of Scrip- tural History, and some of his expositions on the books of Isiah and Jeremiah are said to be unequalled by any of his fellow pastors. Mr. Parkinson is a logician, but not a recondite one. He is quick and acute in the detection of a foible, but not so deep or weighty in the laying down of certain premises and building up a sound logical truth. His scholarly attainments are first-rate, and it is evident that he has not received a college training to turn it no advantage. In his applications he generally becomes rather warm and eloquent, holding forth in long and brilliant sentences filled with emotions that can scarcely fail to find an echo in the breast of every one around him. Upon the demise of the talented and distinguished Doctor Ainger, Mr. Parkinson was appointed to the lucrative post of Principal of St. Bees, in Cumberland, where, during a part of the year, he resides. This is no bad taste upon his part, since the locality and the scenery with which it is surrounded is of such a character that is scarcely to be found in the United Kingdom. In reference to St. Bees, Mr. Parkinson has written a somewhat lengthy poem founded on the beautiful legend connected with the origin of this ancient edifice. The tale itself is simple yet exquisite. The lady St. Bega is said to have left her home in Ireland, to reclaim the northern parts of Eng- land from a state of gloomy Paganism. While, however, on her voyage, she is caught by a storm, and the vessel is at the risk of the most imminent peril. But the fair St. Bega, all faith in the 2 D 202 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. Almighty hand, propitiates the Divine Being to arrest the wind and waves, and concludes her prayer by making a vow that if spared, wherever she first places her foot on English soil, there will she rear a temple to His glory. Her prayer is heard, and the storm is abated. It chanced that she first landed in Cumberland, near the site of St. Bees. The land around for many miles belonged to a certain haughty baron, De Meschienes by name, who was heartily opposed to all religious men and observances. However, nothing daunted, on the eve of Midsummer day, St. Bega waited on the baron, and after stating her errand, sued for a few roods of land on which to carry out her design. The baron repudiated the claim, and sneeringly concluded " To-morrow is Midsummer, we know. Sure time for frost and cold ! And every rood that is covered with snow Shall be thine to have and to hold." Still faithful, the fair girl quitted his presence, and again prayed the Almighty to assist her in her object. Her prayer was again heard, and again granted, for lo ! on the following morning when she rose " The vale of Lowes was spotted o'er, From rock to lake, with patches hoar ; And Preston's fertile Isle was seen To shroud in white her Summer green * and the upshot being that the proud baron not only granted the land, but became a convert to St. Bega's mission. Mr. Parkinson's version of the story is tasteful and agreeable, and certainly gives him high claims to poetical excellence. The author has given several very pleasant effusions to the world. We here give a piece from his pen, a choice bit by the way, and certainly indicative of much poetical taste and musical versification : "LINES WRITTEN IN A BOAT. Pull ! pull ! my boys, the stream runs fast, And favouring is the gale ; And see, the setting sun has cast A shadow o'er the vale ; Our course is rough, the way is long, The light is sinking fast ; Pull, pull, my boys, your oars are strong,. And favouring is the blast 1 REV. RICHARD PARKINSON, B.D. 203 How bounds the boat beneath each stroke The labouring arm applies ! How, by the dashing oars awoke, The air- blown bubble flies ! How sweet, as on its watery wings The steady pinnace glides, To listen to the stream that sings And ripples round its sides ! Fast flies on either hand the bank, As down the stream we bound ; How soon yon towering mountain sank Beneath the swelling ground 1 . See on that hillock's verdant brow The sun's last radiance quiver ; We turn thisjutting point and now The beam is gone for ever ! So floats our life down Time's rough stream, Such is its constant motion ; And bubbles on the land will gleam Like bubbles on the ocean. Then pull, my boys, the stream runs fast, The sun's last beam is shining, And fix your steady anchor fast, Before the day 's declining." Before we conclude, we cannot resist a word or two upon a work Mr. Parkinson wrote some four or five years since. We allude to the Old Church Clock, one of the most pleasing half-real and half- fictitious stories that we ever encountered in the literature of Lanca- shire. There is good old Robert Walker, a very patriarch, with twenty pounds a year, and serving up a good dinner to half his parish every Sunday ; as fine and exemplary a character as you will meet in the records of the English church. Some of the descriptions in this book are truly exquisite, so much so, that one is verily enamoured with Cumberland scenery, and we are longing to breathe the fresh air from Morecambe Bay, or have a ramble over the romantic heights of Walla-Barrow Crag, or through the delicious plains of Donnerdale, or by the banks of the silvery Dud- don. Mr. Parkinson's style of writing is highly poetical, and certainly the scenes into which he brings the reader are enough to rouse a dash of poesy in even the most common-place mind. We never rose from the perusal of a work more highly gratified, than we did from the perusal of the Old Church Clock. What with the 204 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. beautiful scenery into which we are transported, the highly-exemplary characters portrayed, the dashes of good humour, the poetical style, and withal, the good wholesome morals enforced, the work is one that the talented author will not so easily excel or even equal. We understand there is a volume of lectures published by Mr. Parkin- son, the which, however, we have had no opportunity of inspecting. ARCHIBALD PRENTICE. i THE writers for the newspaper press are certainly wonderful men, and yet, for the most part, they are of that species who move, breathe, think, and act, without their works scarcely ever redound- ing to their fame, or placing them in any prominent position in the world of letters. How many read and admire the brilliant diction, refined sentiment, and powerful logic, that ever and anon figures in the columns of the Times, who have scarcely an idea of their source or the great intellectual beings from whom they proceed. With the exception of a few solitary instances, we rarely know to whom we are indebted for the powerful writings that present themselves in our daily and weekly press. Considering the vast influence exer- cised by the newspaper, this is somewhat singular ; for did the same amount of energy and ability throw itself into a bound book, the author might calculate upon no ordinary fame in the literary annals and accomplishments of his age. Again, what an extraordi- nary facility must be possessed by these great unknowns, in com- mitting their thoughts to paper. The London daily press developes a power in this respefct, that is almost incredible. Fancy an elaborate critical article appearing on speeches, whose echoes have scarcely died within the walls of St. Stephen's, before these same articles are charming their reader at his breakfast table. And what an influence these men exercise, how potent they are in their world of pen, ink, and paper. How they lead their readers, what a tone and impress they give to society. Such men are certainly deserving of more popularity than they possess, inasmuch as they lead on to a great and im-portant end, they invigorate and stimulate, cast down ARCHIBALD PRENTICE. 205 prejudices, and convey more rational and exalted ideas to the society over which they preside. Among many clever provincial editors, there are few better known or better capacitated to discharge the editorial functions of a news- paper, than Archibald Prentice of the late Manchester Times. In Manchester, though possessing no ordinary amount of talent in this department, there are, when Prentice thinks proper to give full scope to his pen, none to approach him in his ready tact, close argument, and thorough knowledge of political economy and political warfare. We back Archibald against any other editor in Lancashire, for maintaining his grounds, and standing the siege of any given number of political opponents. Perhaps Prentice's popularity may mainly be attributed to his energetic efforts and constant warm adherence in the cause of the late Anti-Corn-Law agitation. Had Prentice's powers have all laid in his pen, he might possibly have never been known very little beyond the locale of his literary labours in Ducie-place. But the Fates intended it other- wise, his tongue was equally as ready as the flow of his pen, and while he agitated the cause of reform in the Times office, he gave equal succour in the way of good pithy speeches in NewalTs Buildings, and the Free' Trade Hall. Moreover, there was always the same fearlessness developed by Prentice in his speaking as there is in his writing. Archibald was just the man to address a Lanca- shire audience of operatives ; he had the happiest way of dealing with their prejudices and Battling down their errors, that we ever remember encountering in any of the League agitators. The best feature in his addresses to the lower orders, was his thorough absence of intricate logic, and his bold method of expressing himself. He stood before them " ready cut and dried" to go through any number of exercises in the question on which he was about to speak. He neither shrinked nor quinced under any man's question. He faced everything that presented itself, and if any one came away with a doubt upon his mind about Archibald Prentice's views and tenets, we should say they must have been the most addle-pated that ever attended a public meeting. Prentice was always more than a match for those who surrounded him ; he had coolness and self-possession, and never allowed any of his opponents to advance an inch upon the ground whereon he established himself. And this, let it be observed, is a great acquisition upon the part of a 206 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. man who has to contend with the errors and prejudices of the lower classes. If he shirks their question, or shrinks from the boisterous way of reasoning in which they are wont to express themselves, he deteriorates the cause he is advocating with far more damage than its most inveterate opponent could accomplish ; but let him be firm, let him adhere to his text, show no qualms, nor hesitate at any man's problem, however coarse or insignificant it may be, let him be bold and straightforward, and he may then rely upon a tolerable share of success and public approbation. The latter has always been Prentice's mode of proceedure upon the platform, and hence we regard him as one of the best men Manchester possesses, for holding forth to a motley group of operatives, or those ill-educated persons \vho glory in using their lungs in disturbing the equilibrium of some of OUT public meetings. Prentice never lacked a thorough knowledge of the subject to which he applied himself, he always had strong convictions and honest impressions of the truthfulness of his opinions, and as such, was always clear, bold, and emphatical in their delivery. Occasionally he launched forth upon his opponents in a vein of satire, that rarely failed to produce its desired effect. Woe be to him who summoned the irony of Archibald Prentice. It was no common species of satire, that he brought to bear upon the unfortunate who committed the mistake of bringing himself within its meshes. He did make his adversary quail to some purpose. But Prentice, upon the whole, generally maintained his temper and the use of his well-directed powers ; and though the League possessed men perhaps of more enlarged and generalising minds, there were few among them more thoroughly indoctrinated in all the ramifica- tions of the Corn Law question, than our editor. In estimating Mr. Prentice's literary powers, we regard the matter that the columns of the Manchester Times have presented for the last fifteen or twenty years ; to be the best evidence of his high ability in the world of letters. Perhaps with the exception of the late John Edward Taylor, of the Guardian, no other editor has thrown so lively a character into the Manchester newspaper press, as the subject of our sketch. Prentice, as nearly every one knows, is a thorough Radical reformer, and has ever been the powerful and consistent advocate of the voluntary principle in religion and edu- cation, of an extension of the franchise, vote by ballot, short parliaments, freedom in commerce, and all the other great and ARCHIBALD PRENTICE. 207 little progressive principles of pure liberalism. One great feature in Prentice, during the whole period of his connection with the Manchester Times, has been his adherence to principle and his out- and-out consistency of belief. Come what might or would, Archi- bald Prentice has always stood to his colours with the same untiring zeal and indomitable energy. He has always expounded the same principles, advocated the same go-a-head doctrine, and thrown in the same amount of sound logic, and clear straightforward observations to back his opinions. His style of writing is easy and fluent, with an equal admixture of bold energy and masculine grace. You are never in a mystery to understand his meaning, he is always bold and perspicuous. The great fault of many editors is that they are too apt to write for the mere sake of pleasing a party, or filling up a given space in their columns. This, however, is scarcely ever the case with Prentice ; when he writes, he writes for a pur- pose, and to an end, regardless of how much space he can occupy, or what party he will please the most, or what individual will take offence the most. Prentice is one of those who can stoutly deny what he conscientiously believes to be wrong, and boldly con- firm what he honestly apprehends to be right and just. Hence he never sings half a stave, but boldly enunciates all he believes, be it right or wrong. Again, he never appears to write upon any theme unless he possesses a full and clear knowledge of all its parts and bearings. He has his standard of political right, and he believes in its general truth and rational dimensions, and brings .that standard to bear fully and impartially upon every point that is brought before his notice. Thus he evidently writes from pure feelings and honest convictions, and while a man works out this important end, he is deserving of the warmest commendations and the most exalted place among the school of writers with which he is connected. Mr. Prentice, as is generally known, is the son of a Scotch farmer, and has now been identified with Manchester for some twenty years. Before he commenced the Manchester Times, we believe he followed the occupation of traveller for a house in the Scotch trade. At this time he wrote a lively little work, embodying some scenes and characters that were wont to present themselves on his journeys in Scotland and the north of England. The work was well received, and has often received the commendations of various high critics. Mr. Prentice appears now to be fast verging 208 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. on fifty years of age. His personal appearance, especially on the platform, is rather striking. His forehead is well developed, lofty, expansive, and highly intellectual in every respect ; he has not much hair, and what little he possesses is turning grey ; his eyes are grey and penetrating, and his nose slightly prominent; his mouth is small, although his voice is powerful and full of volume ; his complexion has perhaps at one time retained a ruddy glow, although study and thought have rendered it somewhat pale. His features, upon the whole, denote the man as he really is, the quick mind, sharp intellect, and shrewd observer. In stature he is tall, and his form is just a little inclined to corpulency. As a private companion, he is about as agreeable a man as you would meet in the city of Manchester. Surrounded by a party of warm-hearted genial friends, he is full of pleasant humour, droll recitals, and bon mots. He is evidently acquainted with every imaginable topic that could present itself, for whatever you name, from the state of continental politics down to the last new play, novel, painting, actress, dancer, or singer, you are sure to glean something on the score from clever, quick-sighted Archibald Prentice. JOHN CRITCHLEY PRINCE. OF all the characters of either past or present times, who have developed any amount of true sterling genius, those who have figured among what are termed the "lower orders," and conse- quently the most deserving of our encouragement and praise, have generally been the least appreciated by their age, and received the smallest remuneration for their productions. The biographies of our Chattertons, Hoggs, Fergusons, Grays, Caravagios, Clares, and a host of other notables of this ill-requited and unfortunate school, too forcibly demonstrate the truth of this allegation for it to be con- troverted. Perhaps, as in the case of Burns or Crabbe, they may gain some trifling acknowledgement of their services to mankind, but for the most part they are either despised and classed among the drones of society, or neglected and allowed to pass from their mortal JOHN CRITCIILEY PRINCE. 209 scene to be lauded and enshrined in some meanless fashion, as a sort of unction to our souls for our neglect and ingratitude while they were among us in human form. But whatever we may do in the way of niches and shrines when they are dead, we can never make ample reparation for our culpable abuse of them while they were living. We only, by so doing, set up a proof of our weak and unreasonable temperaments we only afford a voucher of a mean spirit and stricken conscience. Yet especially in this country, the fact always has been so. Your poor geniuses always have been despised or neglected always have been the tenants of hovels or garrets ; and not unfrequently terminated their fretful existence in either a parish workhouse or a lunatic asylum. The agonies borne in their struggle for life the heart-depressing sneers and scoffs of the world the unnumbered woes endured in the sustenance of their physical being the shattered hopes the unrealized desires the broken spirits and the annihilation of all their fondest Avishes and imaginings often turns a blessing into a curse, and renders that which should be the source of genuine felicity and unalloyed de- lights, into a stream of galling disappointment and despair. To assert that these observations are wholly applicable to the case of the subject of this sketch, would neither be justice to those who have encouraged and appreciated his powers, nor be a faithful portraiture of his position among us ; albeit we are disposed to think that Prince might be much higher estimated, and is undoubtedly worthy of a far more exalted position than that which he now maintains. That Prince has not been schooled in classical lore, or nurtured in cold and erudite modes of expression, is not to be denied ; although the existence of this desideratum in nowise de- tracts from the natural bent of his mind, or the inventive powers of his innate genius. Had one epoch of his life been passed at Oxford or Cambridge instead of being employed in acquiring the im- poverished trade of reed-making, or in following his luckless wander- ings in France, he might possibly have shared the honours and emoluments of Moore, Coleridge, Wordsworth, and Southey. But poverty has interposed, and whatever his genius, however poetical the outpourings of his soul, people somehow or other can only regard him as an unpolished diamond, uneducated in the world's accepted formula of wit, greatness, and learning. This is, to all intents and purposes, an erroneous view of the works of genius, and though 2 E 210 ^LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. Prince owes the main part of his education to his mother's simple lessons and the tutorage of a Baptist Sunday-school, his productions are nevertheless stamped with a character that neither Latin or Greek could have engendered his works are still exquisite, truth- ful, and beautiful, that entitles him, despite his non-acquaintance with Homer, Virgil, Horace, or Terence, to all the honours of a poet, and all the emoluments of a man. Of all the struggles and adventures of the generality of our poets, there are none, we think, more romantic and interesting than those which have beset the path of Prince. We well remember our first impressions upon perusing the simple struggle of his life in a notice of our bard, and his works which occurred some few years back in Chambers' 1 Journal. His early days and lively taste for the romantic and beautiful his midnight revels in the glowing pages of Byron his early marriage and consequent struggles to gain an honest subsistence his wanderings and adventurous ups and downs in France his passage homeward through every imagin- able scene and in every imaginable vocation his down-cast heart in the midst of an almost famishing family his unwearied exer- tions to hold the strings of life together his hopes and fears sufferings and privations ; and yet withal, clinging with the most fervent ardour and devotedness to the sublime, the beautiful, and the true ; all these circumstances combined to make an impression upon our mind which will take many years to efface. In all his struggles, and in all his privations, there still seems some good genius supporting him in his course and inciting him to an onward and upward career. He acknowledges the constancy of this benign spirit in language and ideas beautifully true :- " Misfortune's blighting breath may kiU Hope's blossoms on the tree ; Mild sorceress ! it cannot chill My cherished love for thee ! "When Death put forth his withering hand, Andsnatch'd, of my domestic band, The darling from my knee, Thou did'st not fail to breathe a lay Of sorrow o'er its sinless clay !" What common mind among us could even contemplate concentrating his powers upon the ideal world of poetical beauty in the midst of JOHN CRITCHLEY PRINCE. 211 heavy toil, close confinements, or, perchance, with grim despair surrounding it on every hand and side ? Yet Prince has not only allowed his mind to concentrate itself on the eloquence of Nature and the tones of Nature's God, but has strung his harp, and tuned it to all the exquisite melody that has flown through his soul while holding converse with those beautiful sources of truth and purity. He has given us a reflex of his own fervent emotions a manifesto of his own intense feelings a journal of his own journeyings in Parnassus a faithful portraiture of his own happy excursions into the regions of the beautiful, notwithstanding the ills that have assailed him in his passage through the more chequered scenes and stern realities of life. How can we furnish a just idea of the feelings and sentiments we hold towards Prince in the character of a poet ? We have read and and re-read, and yet were never satiated with his exquisite imagery, freedom of melody, purity of thought, boldness of expression, warmth of feeling and intense love of everything that partakes of innocence, truth, and nature. Do we feel moody and dejected, we know we can meet with a panacea in Prince ; wish we to stroll 'neath foliaged shade, or through woodland dells and smiling meads, we are soon partaking of their sweets and beauties with Prince ; would we breathe the strains of freedom, inhale the aspirations of goodness, or cast aside the world's assailing cares arid perplexities, we are always certain of ensuring a goodly part of our desires in holding communion with a page of Prince. " The voice of Nature is a voice of power, More eloquent than mortal lips can make ;" and to say that Prince is an exponent of that power, is the highest praise we could possibly award him. He speaks to you as he feels, from his heart, from the inmost recesses of his soul. He takes his text from the green fields the barren moor the balmy zephyr- the mountain torrent the melody of the woods and the still, yet deep-toned language that Nature breathes under every aspect and in every season. He carries you into a purer and more exalted sphere ; leads you back to primeval purity ; and brings you in com- munion with all the goodness and greatness of that Almighty Being to whom you owe your existence. And this is effected by one of the simplest styles of expression that exists in the English language ; for one of the greatest charms of Prince's poetry upon the ear 212 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. consists in its being conveyed in the most unaffected form, and couched in the clearest and most lucid mode of utterance. In none of his pieces do we encounter the slightest ambiguity of thought or the least attempt at mysterious and quaint phraseology. We have a pure flow of language. The " Captive's Dream" is a beautiful illustra- tion of this characteristic. We comprehend what we are reading at the first glance, and though such pieces may lack the deep mysteries of Shelley, or the passive dreaminess of Wordsworth, still we rise from their perusal fully as well satisfied with their excellence as though we had been revelling in the brilliancy of " Queen MabJ' or in the deep cogitations of the Excursion. Although we had always regarded the earlier productions of Prince to be conducive to the weal of mankind, and the infusion of a better tone into society, still the appearance of his recent work of Dreams and Realities has considerably advanced our opinions, and given him a distinct character among us as a poet of true progressive principles. Much as we admire the works of Ebenezer Elliot and Charles Mackay in this high mission, we are nevertheless disposed to award the preference to Prince. He gives a more decided tone to what he handles than is to be found in either the Splendid Village or Town Lyrics. " The Cannon and Press ! how they ban, how they bless This beautiful planet of ours, The first by the length of its terrible strength, The other by holier powers." In this verse we have the decided attributes of these instruments of weal and woe, without the least obscurity or strangeness of expres- sion. There is the fire of genius in every line and every sentence, and whether we may agree or otherwise with the notions set forth, we cannot withhold our admiration of their glorious style and warmth of expression. The publication of this last work has, we have not the least doubt, served to give another proof of the title that Prince holds to be ranked, in every sense, among the first poets of our land. Prince works for the hearts of his countrymen, and he who works for the heart works well and for " all time," REV. N. K. PUGSLEY. 213 REV. N. K. PUGSLEY. WHETHER we take Mr. Pugsley as a preacher in the pulpit, as an orator on the platform, or as a pastor in the homes of his people, we shall most assuredly find a man of high intellect, of considerable attainments, strong judgment, humane heart, and powerful appli- cation to everything that comes before his notice. "When he steps into the pulpit to address you, you feel convinced in your own mind that you are about to listen to the outpourings of a well-formed, strong, healthy mind. You hear him begin he goes on he brings forth his mental riches he pours forth his fine powerful ideas he investigates with a closeness of application and research he turns everything over in a right masterly style he never seems to omit any point in the subject he is handling and thus he goes on to the conclusion of his discourse, and you find that your speculations when he first entered the pulpit, that he was a man of more than ordinary capacity, prove a tolerably correct and adequate estimation. No minister in Stockport or its neighbourhood demands the esteem of the people, both for his talents as a preacher, and his excellencies as a pastor, more than the reverend gentleman before us. Mr. Pugsley is not an every-day man ; his range of abilities are not to be found in every place of worship in the neighbourhood in which he is located, and hence we conceive him to be not only worthy to fill a niche in our simple gallery, but deserving of being in the highest esteem of his fellow-townsmen generally. That Mr. Pugsley does receive his due mete of popularity, especially at the hands of those with whom he is more immediately connected, we should not doubt for a moment. In the locality with which he is identified, he may be regarded as a tolerably popular preacher, probably as much so as any other. His character, moreover, as a pastor, is one well calculated to increase his good name and standing. With Mr. Pugsley, the pastoral duties are well observed no man gives them a more strict observance, nor endeavours to render his congregation a greater amount of care and attention. We mention this characteristic, simply because it is one that we consider so highly essential to the true development of the Christian pastor 214 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. because we consider its absence often detracts from the great- ness of the preacher, and the influence he may exercise in the pulpit. We cannot say that Mr. Pugsley rises to the same eminence as a preacher, as some of his brethren whom we have previously noticed. He is undoubtedly a most able expositor of the Word, but he is not an extraordinary man to the same extent as a Raffles, or Vaughan, or Halley, or some others of his contemporaries of the Independent denomination. But then he is a man of thorough mind of great intellect of quick penetration of clear, compre- hensive, and powerful manner of conveying to his hearers whatever he believes to be true and just. Whenever you hear a sermon from Mr. Pugsley, you are always sure of one thing a clear and forcible exposition of whatever he brings before you. Now, this is saying a great deal, and there are many a score of preachers to whom the same remark will not apply with the least consistency. Yet Mr. Pugsley's sermons manifest this quality in the fullest degree. He is always clear, always comprehensive, always pointed and forcible, and you must be stolid indeed, if you do not apprehend every view that he brings before you. No man could dissect his subject in a more perspicuous manner, although another might be more brilliant in style, and more powerful in illustration. When Mr. Pugsley commences his sermon, you seem to feel convinced that he is deter- minedthat his mind is fully made up to give his theme a thorough investigation to extract every possible truth he can get out of his text, and turn it to the very best possible advantage. To dissect and investigate to give his mind up to a full examination of every point that may present itself seems to be his great sole end and purpose. And, in so far as we are capable of judging, he carries out his designs in the most able and masterly manner. Hence Mr. Pugsley's discourses are probably more remarkable for a depth and closeness of investigation, than for any brilliant illustrations or original speculations. He seems to be intent upon rendering his views as forcible as possible to present his text before you accord- ing to its true and sterling value to impress you with the great and all-important truths of the gospel and then he has concluded his efforts and seemingly exhibited his greatest sources of strength. And those efforts are characterised by much solidity of understand- ing and clear connectedness of views. At the very onset of his KEV. N. K. PUGSLEY. 215 discourse, he is sure to present you with some striking and apposite observations that manifest the clear views he entertains upon the subject he has selected for meditation. In his introductory observa- tions he invariably exhibits a deep and thorough acquaintance with the nature of his text, which he places before you in a light that cannot fail making you perfectly acquainted with its nature and importance. He urges the value of his theme upon you in a forcible manner, and indicates, in some few pointed observations, the reference it bears to those who are listening to him. His arrange- ment is mostly conducted in the division and sub-division style, the which he announces as he proceeds. The arrangement of his discourse is at once minute and comprehensive ; he seems to comprehend all, to take into review, and encompass the most important positions his text may suggest. He now begins to illustrate, which he does with considerable powers of concentration and .perspicuity. He appears to be fond of illustrating from Scripture, and here he betrays a more than ordinary intimacy with Holy Writ. We heard him last Summer very happy in this respect. His subject was one of the miracles of Christ. In drawing comparison with the one he had selected, he commenced and went through the greater portion of Christ's miracles, which he related, one after the other, in a style at once masterly and complete. Other illustrations from the same source were brought forth with the same aptitude and telling effect. He often indulges, at the commencement of his divisions, in the delivery of sundry short pithy sentences, such as, " The bible is the religion of all classes of mankind ;" " The fervent prayers of a righteous man availeth much ;" which are frequently very pointed and apposite to the views he is about to introduce. In the course of his illustrations he is always very minute in every explanation he makes ; and in order to render himself more perfectly understood, he frequently quotes some one or two biblical passages of an historical character, which certainly give a goodly solidity to the opinions he enunciates. He often, too, conveys much interesting information in the course of his illustra- tions, which manifest an enlarged acquaintance with various objects and circumstances in science and history. Here and there he exercises his logical powers to some extent, but he does not appear to any great advantage in this point of view. His applications, for the most part, are earnest and forcible, in the which he sometimes 216 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. grows warm and eloquent, and expresses his sentiments in rather high-flown language. At other times, however, he rarely indulges in anything approaching a poetic vein, or aught in the way of tropes and figures. He is feeling and effective in his concluding efforts, and applies the truth enforced in his text to his hearers with all the force and depth of feeling of a truly earnest man. Mr. Pugsley preaches an extempore sermon. He possesses a good command of language, and expresses himself with tolerable rapidity at the commencement, but grows somewhat more measured and deliberate in the conclusion. His voice is of excellent compass, well modu- lated, and clear and audible in the fullest degree. He is not very animated in his gesture, but simply confines himself to an occasional elevation of the right arm, and now and then leans himself on the bible before him, and crosses his hands. Mr. Pugsley presents a tolerably prepossessing appearance in the pulpit. His looks are somewhat intellectual, and his appearance generally is much in unison with the ministerial character. He appears to be slightly above the middle height, but somewhat thin in bodily form. His face is rather angular, but his forehead is finely developed, and the conformation of his head is strikingly intellectual. His nose is somewhat sharp and aquiline, and his mouth large. A pair of quick penetrating eyes are upon you from the beginning to the end of his discourse. From all appearance, we should say Mr. Pugsley is about fifty years of age. We believe he was born in the North of Devon, and he originally came to Stockport from a college in London. He has now one of the best dissenting congregations in the neighbourhood, and we need scarcely add that he has always been highly esteemed by the attendants of his chapel. REV. DR. RAFFLES. IMAGINE, good reader, a full-faced man of about sixty years of age, with a portly body, although scarcely if anything above the middle stature, a truly intellectual and somewhat classic species of forehead, REV. DR. RAFFLES. 217 a little iron grey hair not over well arranged, a clear blue eye radiant and pleasant in expression, a small Grecian mouth, a slight ruddy complexion, and a set of, features nearly always illuminated with a sober sort of smile fancy these few features and character- istics, and you will have some idea of the outward man of the celebrated Independent preacher, Thomas Raffles, of Liverpool. The appearance of the reverend doctor in the pulpit, in his gown and bands, retains something rather indefinite. He neither looks like a clergyman nor a layman. He is adorned in the gown, and yet not adorned to the same extent as the Church of England pastor. Moreover, he looks again like a fine corpulent independent gentle- man, with his bunch of gold seals hanging from his fob, yet his canonicals contradict the assumption, and your mind reverts to him in another shape, that of his vocation in the pulpit. He first appears one thing and then another ; although were it not for the gown and bands, we are pretty certain that the embodiment of the fine healthy and well-to-do English yeoman would materially preponderate over that of the simple unadorned Non- conformist divine. A healthy glow is mantled upon his cheek, and to all appearance he enjoys the benefits of a good constitution. His chapel in Great George-st., Liverpool, is a truly splendid edifice, and one of the greatest architectural ornaments the town possesses. His congregation, as may be expected, is numerous, wealthy, and influential. The doctor has now been in the ministry some forty years, and for the last fifteen or twenty, has been regarded as one of the most powerful preachers the Independents possess. Except in his own chapel, the doctor rarely conducts any part of the devotional services before the sermon, consequently strangers are rarely listeners to his brilliant extempore prayers. We once, however, heard him in this vocation. His words were uttered with much fervency, albeit they almost carried the senses away with their beautiful imagery and transcendental species of diction. His sen- tences were of remarkable length, but rounded off in the most masterly style. His mind rose high above the spot whereon he stood, he seemed floating between heaven and earth, his words moulded after the fashion of the latter, but his ideas seeking com- munion holding converse with " the ever bright and fair " regions of the former. His words were occasionally rapturous, and fell like the most delicious strains of music upon our senses. The effect 2F 218 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. was indescribable. True, we felt, but how we felt or what we experienced, we were utterly at a loss to imagine. We were con- scious of something extatic, yet entirely unconscious of its nature or source. At one moment he was like a fiery meteor conveying a glowing sense of something beyond our comprehension ; at another he awoke strains of the simplest harmony ; and anon was sublime and towering in the highest degree. The prayer throughout was a wonderful and soul-stirring exercise of his magnificent powers. He kept all around him breathless ; eager to catch every sentence that flowed from his lips. We never regretted hearing that one prayer by the doctor. It was one of the most able illustrations of what beauty of sentiment and brightness of imagery can be imparted into the appeals of an earnest appeal from the soul, that we ever heard within the walls of any place of devotion. As a preacher, we should say that Dr. Raffies stands almost pre-eminent among his brethren. True, he has not the deep cogita- tion of Harris, or the pathos and refined classical eloquence of Parsons, but for brilliancy of diction, quickness of imagination, and fertility of illustration, there are few can compete with him. More- over, he is a sort of leader in his section, and, though perhaps lack- ing the same utilitarian bent of mind, what Robert Newton is among the Methodists, Thomas Raines is to a great extent among the Inde- pendents. As soon as the doctor has announced his text, he closes the bible, and makes a short pause. He is composed, and opens his mouth with a slight drawl of his first words ; his voice, however, is somewhat powerful, tolerably clear, and modulated with a good degree of harmony and precision. Some of his lower notes are particularly melodious, while his upper ones are well sustained and fully audible in every part of the building. His action is cool and dignified, rarely moving his form either backward or forward, or employing his arms in any other movement than that of occasionally raising the right one at the completion of a sentence. There is something in his mode of delivery at once attractive and impressive, although he does not betray in the least any affectation or conven- tionalism. His manners are as simple as you would wish for in any pulpit, yet he manages to maintain a sort of reposive dignity that harmonises well with the unassuming air that is identified with his demeanour. But he begins his discourse - y his introductory observations begin, as it were, to hirst upon you. A host of shin- BEV. DR. RAFFLES. 219 ing ideas are beautifully linked and spread before you. Even in his prefatory remarks he appears to be heart and soul in his subject, for every sentence he enunciates bears directly upon what he is about to amplify. He renders his introduction one continuous stream of well-matured thought and beautiful and somewhat poetic illustra- tions. Sometimes he commences with some anecdote or vivid illustration from history ; at others with some lengthy sentence or pithy aphorism. We remember once hearing him make a prelude with the narration of the warrior Alexander saving a fellow-creature from drowning. His text was " Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that re- penteth." He narrated the deed with much clearness and ability ; the force of the illustration was remarkable, and in the few minutes occupied in its relation the doctor had preached a sermon to every breast in his large congregation. The doctor generally confines the division of his subject to two or three points, which are clearly given out at the conclusion of his exordium. Again he assumes the introductory, and gives it a polish and effect that is rarely witnesssed. In this polish we think he rises superior to nearly all his brethren, and we believe that much of his success as a preacher is owing to the wondrous facility he exercises in giving everything he handles a beautiful and attractive aspect. What other men could handle with but a meagre amount of ability, is taken up by Raffles and shown off to the very best advantage. Like a beautiful piece of music exercised upon by some awkward and ungenial soul merges into the most excruciating sounds and discordant tones ; but when awakened by some master-spirit receives its due appreciation, rises into its own seraphic element, and bears testimony of its own latent beauties and excellencies. Thus, what fails in the hands of many men, is sure to receive a thorough development from the doctor. He has a style, and through the medium of that style he renders whatever comes into his hands beautiful in design, and elegant in every pro- portion. We do not know either scarcely how to describe this said style. It is not chaste, nor classic, nor Saxon, nor florid, nor massive, nor mystic ; it is full of beauty, yet here and there rather full and strong ; it is teeming with poetic expression, although occasionally slightly Saxon and vigorous. Its ease and fluency is really charming, and if he does not tackle your brain, he certainly infuses a pleasing glow into your senses that makes ample repara- 220 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. tion. His style, however, if we do not know how to classify its particular features, certainly possesses one pleasant distinguishing characteristic, and that is its perspicuity. You cannot mistake what the doctor means, however much he may clothe his meaning in brilliant phraseology. Upon a recent occasion, we took note of one feature in his sermon that bears much similitude to a line of action that was wont to be pursued by the late celebrated Dr. Chalmers. The text of Raffles, upon this occasion, was " Master, it is good for us to be here." He first strung together an array of polished sen- tences, that flowed one after the other with the utmost rapidity ; with these he appeared to lay a foundation ; anon he brought up another array, and thus he kept working away, till, in your mind's eye, you might see a beautiful edifice raised before you an exquisite picture of the orator's artistic design. But the effect was yet to come ; he worked himself to his utmost pitch, he seized a beautiful idea, moulded and re-moulded it, and then, amid the breathless ex- citement of his hearers, threw in for a coup de grace the beautiful words of his text " Master, it is good for us to be here." Whenever Raffles seizes a good point, like Chalmers, he never allows it to pass without giving it a full degree of labour and effect. He presents it in every shape and colouring, puts it here and carries it thither, unfolds it in this aspect and anon in that, sifts it from top to toe, gives it colour here and shade there, applies it to one and then to another, until you are fairly at a loss to conceive how so much could be advanced under one simple head by one simple imagination. We have previously alluded to the effect of his prayers, perhaps the influence of his applications is still more powerful and overwhelm- ing. He imparts a truly sublime warmth of emotion into the latter portion of his* discourse. His scorn, if such it may be called, is terrible, overpowering, and grand in the extreme. At one moment his voice is raised to its highest pitch, he appeals to every heart and every emotion of the breast, his eyes are raised from the congrega- tion towards the ceiling, he enunciates sentences that thrill you in the most complete sense, he mounts higher, and as it were thunders down upon you like an 6racle of old ; but he has reached his height he drops his voice suddenly the effect is grand and dramatic he ceases for a moment or two a death-like silence reigns around he does not speak, but he casts his eyes round and looks more than he can express a few words more and the doctor resumes his seat. REV. JOHN RAVEN. 221 REV. JOHN RAVEN. WE know of few men who could have supplied Doctor Massie's place so we 1 .! as Mr. Raven. We know that new preachers are wont to exercise their talents with more avidity at the outset of their ministrations, than at any succeeding passages ; but the course which Mr. Raven has commenced, judging by what we have heard, and from the force of our convictions, appears to be one that he will always maintain. He seems to be of that sound sterling cast of mind that will never swerve from the course of duty nor from the dictates of conscience ; he appears to be deeply impressed with the importance of his charge ; he seems to be a man of strong decision and indomitable perseverance of cool judgment and reso- lution ; and hence we have not the slightest doubt but that the course upon which he has entered with such a good heart and resolute mind will be fully sustained to the end of the chapter. We have paid two visits to Chapel-st. chapel, Salford, and upon both occasions have found a numerous and highly respectable con- gregation. The chapel itself, which has recently been very tastefully beautified, is a neat and convenient edifice, with extensive galleries and aisles, and capable altogether, we should imagine, of ac- commodating some twelve or fourteen hundred persons. Mr. Raven conducts the whole of the services himself ; a plan, which among others, we wish was adopted throughout Christendom. His reading of the Scriptures was excellent, and his cursory comments upon certain passages that presented themselves in the lesson, were marked by much pointedness and quick penetration. He appears to be attached to these running remarks, and since he does it with brevity, and conveys a deal of matter in a very few words, they are appropriate and edifying ; although we have heard sundry preachers render themselves somewhat tedious by too copious a strain under this head. His prayer, too, is distinguished by much power of appeal, and is pregnant with good sound evangelical matter, and occasionally some noble and soul-stirring sentiments. He is somewhat sententious, but always full of thought and earnest feeling. Every sentence he makes appears to be an appeal in itself. 222 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. Here is one that fell from his lips the last time we heard him " May the Mariner who ploughs the deep, seek the God who created the ocean/" As fine an appeal, in so few words, as we shall encounter in any modern pulpit. The length, likewise, was just about the thing, occupying as it did some fourteen or fifteen minutes ; and the services altogether were conducted with that true spirit of Christian zeal, that can scarcely fail to awaken in the breast a just and proper reverence for the Almighty Being, and a due observance of His worship. As Mr. Raven stands in the pulpit, there is something command- ing in his appearance. He wears the gown and bands, but from all appearance, he seems to be moderately stout and well made in the way of bodily compass. In stature, he is about the middle height, and he is pretty erect in figure. The conformation of his face is between an angular and oblong shape, and his features, though possessing nothing attractive or winning, are commanding and strongly defined. He has a pale or sallow complexion, the which is rendered more so by the blackness of his hair. His forehead is deep and somewhat square in conformation, and protrudes over his eyes to some extent. His head is covered with a very extensive crop of long wiry hair, which is either combed or brushed up to no inconsiderable height in the front, not being by any means tastefully arranged. There is something fine and expressive about his eyes (although he has the infirmity of a glide), which are very black and luminous. At a rough guess, we should say Mr. Raven has numbered some forty-five or forth-eight years in the way of age ; but he seems to enjoy the best of health, and has doubtless many years to spend before he " shuffles off the mortal coil" of his useful life. We believe he was educated for the Independent ministry, and pursued a very active course in Dudley, previous to his removal to this neighbourhood. Judging by present appearances, we should say he will soon find a place among the most eminent Independent divines in Lancashire ; and if not this, can scarcely fail to enlist the warmest sympathies of those with whom he is more immediately connected. From the two sermons we have heard from Mr. Raven, he appears to be a very equal preacher. Upon both occasions his sermons have been marked by that best of all sense common sense, a sort of matter that applies with the strictest consanguinity to every hearer RET. JOHN EATEN. 223 before him. If you want to hear a sound gospel sermon, carved out in the clearest possible manner, and expounded after the most approved principles of reaching your understanding and touching your heart at one and the same time, then you should hear a dis- course from the reverend gentleman before us. We never met a preacher who, in the general arrangement of his discourse, was more forcible, more transparent, or more closely allied to the letter of his text. Throughout his introductory observations, we heard nothing diffuse, nothing rambling or irrevalent ; all was purely to the text, and by the text. His prefatory observations occupied some five or six minutes, were somewhat sententious in form, but exceedingly pithy, and above all, lucid and comprehensive. From the discourses we have heard, Mr. Raven appears to be exceedingly fond of dwelling upon the plan of redemption, and in wishing to stimulate his hearers to attain the character of thorough practical Christians. He could not make a better start than this, and his ser- mons evidence his ability to perform the duty in every way worthy of its importance. In illustrating his points, he is clear, apt, and forcible. We were struck with the soundness of his views in draw- ing the character of the " healthy Christian " of the man who felt his religion a perfect pleasure on earth and a safe passport to and foretaste of heaven. Mr. Raven's picture of such a character was drawn with all that marked clearness of outline, and all that strength of colouring we are so wont to admire in the portraiture of some of our Flemish masters. His exposition of the character was truly graphic in the completest sense, and displayed not only a thorough ability in the picturing, but a complete insight into and a practical experience of the character itself. His application, which was some four or five minutes in length, was energetic without being vehement, impassioned without being boisterous. He seemed to enforce all with a fervent solicitude for its entrance into the hearts of the hearers, and whether it had its desired effect or otherwise, no one, we think, could say that the pastor had not exercised his powers to their fullest extent in giving the lesson its due weight and importance. A few words will sum up Mr. Raven's qualities as a preacher. His matter is undoubtedly superior to his manner, but this can give rise to no complaint from any sensible hearer. His style is neither ornate nor flourishing, but calm, measured, and dignified. There is something strikingly strong and masculine in his diction, while 224 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. his sentences are marked more for the soundness of their context, than by the roundness of their period. His arrangement, as we before remarked, is singularly felicitous in its perspicuity and application to the text. He appears to be a first-rate biblical scholar, and we should say holds no mean pretensions as a contro- versialist and logician. He preaches about an hour, and is listened to throughout with the utmost attention and interest. He possesses a good powerful voice, the tones of which, however, are rather monotonous, but perfectly audible. He uses little gesture, only raising his right hand gently at the end of occasional sentences, and allowing his left to rest on the Bible the entire length of his sermon. We have thus enlarged on the talents of Mr. Raven, perhaps a little enthusiastically, albeit sincerely, and with an earnest desire to render a good man his just dues. We could add more did space permit; but we expect ere long such abilities as those possessed by Mr. Raven, will be made known through a much more efficient agency than the pen of the writer of this notice. GEORGE RICHARDSON. ALTHOUGH Mr. Richardson's powers have never secured him those marked distinctions, or that thorough popularity which have attended the productions of his friends, Swain, Prince, and Rogerson, still what has emanated from his pen has developed a mind and genius of no ordinary stamp, especially when we consider it to have been nurtured in a sphere so uncongenial to the pursuit. We have not the slightest doubt but that had such an intellect as that possessed by our author been cultivated in a less matter-of-fact sphere, it would have raised him to a far higher niche in the temple of fame. But, like the generality of our Lancashire bards, Mr. Richardson has had to contend with a hard, grasping, and selfish world, which, reckless of all the higher enjoyments of the mind, and all the more refined emotions of the heart, never conceives the servants in its vine-yard to have earned their penny in life, unless they have devoted the whole of their energies to the service of the ignoble god GEORGE RICHARDSON. 225 Mammon. Hence if an author does not come up to our standard in everything, we think it should rather be attributed to a multitude of hard and pressing circumstances, than to any failure peculiar to himself. What he has written evinces, at all events, that best of all feelings in Poetry, as in everything else, the feelings of the heart. We will venture to affirm that there is not an effusion in the book before us, which does not bear this impression. But it is argued that the-great desideratum in poetry is not only an intense feeling, but an expression of that feeling in sentiments consonant with the emotion engendered ; and we find we can apply this standard to the writings of Mr. Richardson, and still award him no inconsiderable mete of praise. Rogerson, whose taste and authority in these matters is worthy of consideration, has attested his appre- ciation of our author in the following beautiful sonnet, addressed to him some few years back : " Our days have pass'd amid no mountains wild, Our gaze hath dwelt not upon lake or fell ; No pastures green around our homes have smil'd, No devious windings of the verdurous dell Have tempted us to rove at morn and eve ; Yet have we oft essay'd a wreath to weave Of blossoms bright, and odour-breathing flowers Which we have gather* d in the Muses' bowers; Together have we sought the springs of mind, And quench'd our thirst at many a sparkling well, Till in our hearts were kindred tastes enshrin'd, Which bound our souls in friendship's sacred spell: And, therefore, now this simple strain I raise, Invoking joy for thee, and honour for thy lays." Another authority, in a much larger way, we mean Doctor Cooke Taylor, has likewise passed some high eulogiums upon the produc- tions of Mr. Richardson, in a notice which appeared in the League in 1844. The press in general have not been behind-hand in acknowledging and furthering his claims ; and in our own circle, wherever his writings have been perused, they have met with unanimous admiration and encomiums. Taken, therefore, alto- gether, we do not think Mr. Richardson has much cause to regret the publication of his writings, inasmuch as they have served to gratify many a pure lover of song, and may have served to awaken sensations of love and joy. 226 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. The first appearance that Mr. Richardson made in book- writing, was in May, 1844, when he brought out his very agreeable and timely poem entitled Patriotism. Added to this poem, are some forty or fifty miscellaneous productions, of which we must speak hereafter. The design and purport of the poem, Patriotism, is an exposition of the effect of the late corn-laws upon the manufacturing classes, a warm appeal for the abrogation of the same, a demonstra- tion of the advantages to be secured from free trade, and some general ideas upon the patriotism of the then suffering people. Considering the somewhat matter-of-fact character of the principles advocated, Mr. Richardson has certainly presented them through a highly poetical medium, and our only regret is that the poem was not earned out to a greater length, and the principles consequently more thoroughly impressed upon the reader's attention. Patriotism, in itself, is at all times a fine theme for the poet's effusion, whether it be manifested in the more ancient hero of war, or in the more modern apostle of peace ; and in developing the greatness of this noble passion, in setting forth the manifold excellencies of this laudable zeal, Mr. Richardson has succeeded in no ordinary degree. And here let it be observed, that we do not bestow this panegyric because the author has happened to select a certain theme for his pen to which we are, in some measure, attached ; inasmuch as had he selected any other hero, so long as he bore the pure impress of the patriot, or any other heroism, so long as it bore the unmistake- able attributes of patriotism, we should have been equally as ready to offer him our humble yet hearty acknowledgements. We have not taken up Patriotism in order to make it pass through the ordeal of regular journal criticism ; it may have blemishes in style and composition, it may be unequal in rhythm, it may lack grace here and energy there, but these are minor considerations, and must not take place when we trace the warm enthusiasm, the generous sentiments, the just, well-measured, and honest denunciations of a pernicious system, the occasional artistic beauty, and the frequent bold delineations, and all the other good things that are infused into its contents by its author's genius. Here is a very neatly executed passage occurring in the first canto, that we cannot re- frain from quoting " There 's beauty in the blush of early light, When morning, like a vestal pure and bright, GEORGE RICHARDSON. 227 Appears with Tyrean robes to glad the sight When the East, like a sapphirine pathway, lies Surrounded with shapes of a myriad dyes, And ruby streamers are floating away, Like signals of joy from approaching day ; Whilst glowing more bright in the deep expanse, What a glorious plain meets the ravish'd glance ; That the aching fancy afar may roam, In the blissful thought of a heavenly home!" We underline the last sentiment, conceiving it to express an idea somewhat original in strength and beauty. Of the miscellaneous poems, we must speak briefly. The sonnets are pretty and melodious in versification ; those on Autumn, the " Infant Sappho," the "Faithless Mother," "Sabbath Morn," and the ' Tempest," exhibiting much fertility of imagination and beauty of language. '* Sunrise in Spring" is an exquisite piece of artistic drawing, and probably the most musical in point of versification of anything that has proceeded from the author's pen. Some lines on " My Infant Daughter" manifest all that tender and kindly feeling which is, we are sure, so freely impregnated in the author's composition, and he has expressed himself in these stanzas, in not only the measured strains of the poet, but in the warmest and most devoted attach- ment of the father. The " Maid of Diss" is a little smartly written sort of song, and the " Isle of my fathers" is an excellent exhibition of that patriotic feeling the author has so faithfully exhibited in his chef d'ceuvre. There are many other equally agreeable pieces worthy of our warmest commendation, all breathing the best of emotions all tending to give a better and more elevated character to the reader. Like most of our Lancashire bards, Mr. Richardson is one of the masses, and owes his present position to the unaided efforts of his own mind, and the prosecution of his cwn industrious habits. He has worked the " up-hill" of life by his own exertions, by his own merits, by his own, steady and resolute will to fight and be the conqueror. What noble lessons do these men afford us ! What a blaze of light do they shed upon those who are toiling and tugging for the same enviable goal ! Our space scarcely permits us to enter into our author's career. He was born some time in the year 1807, in the neighbourhood of Ancoats, near Manchester ; and received little or no school education, seeing, as he informs us, he was 228 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. engaged in business at the early age of nine years. From that period he has been struggling onward, both in the cultivation of his mind, and in the elevation of his social position. We are pleased to find he has succeeded in both. Mr. Richardson's appearance is somewhat prepossessing, he possesses a very agreeable set of features, that are generally illuminated by some happy and pleasant expression. He is rather below the middle stature, and is somewhat stout in the way of bodily compass. His forehead is well developed, and he possesses a small crop of dark brown hair. His eyes, of a dark hue, are small and sparkling. The conformation of his face is somewhat round, and there is generally a ruddy glow mantled upon his cheek. We must not forget to add that Mr. Richardson has had no ordinary practice and experience in the fine arts. He studied some time under the directions of the highly-talented and ever-to-be lamented Henry Liverseege ; and from what we have seen of his productions, he appears to possess no ordinary taste and powers of design in this department. ELIJAH RIDINGS. THE life of Elijah Ridings furnishes another instance of what you so frequently encounter in the authors of Lancashire an instance of what can be effected by a course of simple self-instruction. His parents were comparatively poor, and had a family of fifteen chil- dren, the subject of our sketch being the tenth, who was born towards the latter end of the year 1802. The family of the Ridings, or " Rydings " as it was originally spelt, were silkweavers, and though wages at that time were considerably better than the pre- sent, still it could not be expected that with so numerous an offspring much could be devoted to educational purposes. Al- though very feeble in health in his younger days, his parents managed to send him to a school in Failsworth, near Manchester, at an early period ; Failsworth being the place of his birth. Here, however, reading was simply taught, and though he advanced at a tolerable pace in this department, still he was deficient in writing ELIJAH RIDINGS. 229 and arithmetic. But in a short period he was removed to another school where this desideratum was supplied ; although it does not appear that our author took much advantage from it, and as he assured us himself, all the penmanship of which he was master was owing to his own unaided efforts. This must have been the case, inas- much as we find him leaving school at seven or eight, and employed in the winding of silk on to the bobbins for his elder brothers and sisters in a mill in the neigbourhood. Shortly after this period his family removed to Newton-heath, and he soon after became a regular silk-weaver, and a teacher in the Sunday-school of St. George's church, Oldham Road, Manchester. It is said that here he first became acquainted with those never-ending wonders of the youthful mind Bunyan's Pilgrims Progress and Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. The perusal of works of this description soon awakened a thirst for reading in a more enlarged sphere, and between the years 1814-18, history, travels, fiction, poetry, biography, and every description of literature that came within his clutches, was eagerly devoured. The writings of Cobbett, Hone, Wooler, Home Tooke, and Sherwin, were very extensively read at this period, and were not without their ardent admirer in Elijah Ridings. When Cobbett's Grammar came out, he applied himself to the acquisition of that science, and made some considerable strides in English composition. In 1819 and till 1829, a good number of pamphlets, poems, letters, articles, &c., issued from his pen, some literary, others political. In fact, during this period, he took no ordinary part in the political move- ments of the locality, and was for some time secretary to the Miles Platting reformer's association. Some time about 1825 he originated a reading society at Miles Platting, which was called the " Miles Platting Zetetic Society," and which has sprung into the present respectable Mechanics' Institution. In 1829, then quite a leading literary character in the town and neighbourhood of Manchester, he left his father's house for London ; from where, being engaged on the compilation of Messrs. Pigot and Co.'s " Directory," he pro- ceeded to Windsor, Eton, Maidenhead, Guildford, and subsequently, for the same purpose, visited Liverpool, Birmingham, Lynn Regis, Burman Thorpe, Stratford-upon-Avon, Clare, and Ipswich. At the time of the agitation for the Reform Bill, he assisted in superintend- ing the great petition from Manchester, and was no mean instrument in causing the township of Newton to be included in the electoral 230 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND OKATORS. franchise of this city. Some time after this he delivered lectures at the Mechanics' Institution of Stalybridge, and at that of Manchester, on English Literature ; and some of his readings from Byron, Gold- smith, and Bloomfield, were characterised by no ordinary powers of elocution. At a subsequent period he delivered lectures condemna- tory of the late Corn-laws in Yorkshire, and produced some effect in that great cause. In 1832 he commenced a day-school in Collyhurst, but circumstances were against him, and he was com- pelled to relinquish the post. Shortly after, he entered a public- house in Manchester, and became acquainted with the talented yet unfortunate artist Liversege. The " public " line, however, did not answer, and leaving this, he entered into the book- trade, in which he has continued up to the present period, and for which he appears to be well adapted. Although possessed of a rough exterior, there is something pleasantly agreeable and winning in the features of Mr. Ridings. His face is somewhat angular, and the generality of his features are sharp, although intelligent and pleasant in expres- sion. He has a good command of language, an excellent flow of ready wit, and an inexaustible fund of anecdote and story. The first regular collection of poems that Elijah Ridings gave to the world was in 1832, under the title of the Village Muse. This gave the author a name of high reputation among the literary worthies of Lancashire, and shortly after their issue from the press, poor Hewitt, who was then one of the best literary critics in Man- chester, passed the following high yet just eulogiums upon our author's pretensions to poetry: " A portion of the spirit of Words- worth has been infused into the genius and writings of Elijah Ridings ; and visions, pure and exalted, have blest the heavenly dreams of this lowly minstrel." The little work throughout evinces much of the good old Saxon temperament, brought out in a copious flow of ideas, and couched in language strikingly in unison with the author's feelings. There is something bold and original in his sentiments, something manly*, upright, and honest in his feelings, and something plain and unvarnished in the manner after which he tells his thoughts, that you cannot fail to give him your best atten- tion and warmest sympathies. In 1844, Mr. Ridings published another collection of poems, entitled the Village Minstrel. This was favourably noticed by the London and provincial press, and found its way to the other side of the Atlantic, where it was held ELIJAH RIDINGS. 231 in high estimation. In this collection we have several excellent pieces, all equally characterised by those good old homely truths, in the expression of which our author so much excels. There are some excellent sentiments thrown in the "Philosophic Stanzas," and we have a little after Ebenezer Elliot's school in the " Treasure Seeker." A few verses entitled " Childhood, Youth, and Manhood," manifest some beautiful ideas and much truthfulness of feeling ; then there is a chaste and elegant little piece called the " Invitation," in which our author is particularly refreshing in matter, and melodious in versification. Upon the whole the Village Minstrel was a worthy companion of the Village Muse ; and when we consider the troubles, cares, and vexations, under which they were written, and when we know they were a balm and consola- tion an antidote for every ill, and an anodyne for every pang truly the words of the old proverb come with redoubled force " Learning is better than houses or land." We must now take a cursory glance at Mr. Ridings's last and recent production, the Village Festival and other Poems. This is a most decided improvement upon its predecessors, inasmuch as it contains poems that, for the matters of which they treat, have rarely been revealed in English literature. The " Village Festival," the opening and longest piece in the book, is, apart from its excellent poetical character, one descriptive of village scenes in Lancashire, that are scarcely encountered in any other county in England. The August " Wakes" that are held in the neighbourhoods of Newton, Failsworth, Droylsden, Moston, &c., are of peculiar interest, not only for their antiquity but for the curious customs and observa- tions that are connected with them. Mr. Ridings has presented the picture of these annual festivities with a master-hand, and his homely style, together with his complete acquaintance with the scenes, renders his poem as charming as it is true. His description of the far-famed "Morris Dance," with " The blythe, fantastic, antic prancers, Bedeck'd in gaudiest profusion, With ribbons in a sweet confusion Of brilliant colours, richest dyes Like wings of moths and butterflies," together with the bearing in of the " Rush-cart," and his lively portraiture of old " Bill-a-Booth," and a multitude of other matters 232 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. connected with these festivities, are truly entertaining, and must go to the heart of the most stoical reader. A description of the month of August, in the same poem, bears the impress of genuine poetical eloquence. We cannot find space to enumerate all the good things that are to be found in this last-named work ; there is " Uncle Turn," the " Anglican Boys," the " Promised Land," " Early Flowers," and a host of other pleasing pieces, all bearing a signifi- cant testimony to the fact that Elijah Ridings is a poet who utters truth. REV. DOCTOR ROSKELL. WHATEVER may be our feelings and tenets in a religious point of view, there is a spirit of justice that always demands our esteem for the feelings and opinions of others. However diverse a man's opinions may be to those possessed by ourselves, we should always, while those opinions are promulgated with genuine zeal and ability, give that zeal and ability their proper position in our esteem and approbation. Everyman has a right to be heard, and he who urges his plea with truth in his heart, eloquence on his lips, and purity in his thoughts, is beyond every shadow of a doubt deserving of a proportionate amount of commendation for the mode in which he pursues his course, apart from the truth or error of what he enunci- ates. Now Protestant zeal is one thing, but Protestant charity is another ; would we possess the latter we must eschew the former, for they are distinctly incompatible, and cannot exist in one and the same breast. Every good Protestant will never be backward in applauding every good Romanist. The charity enforced by the Christian religion demands it ; the mission of Christ and his apostles invokes it ; the prime foundation of the religion itself necessitates and sanctifies it. In all ages the Christian church owes its mainte nance to genuine tolerance and forbearing Charity, and if we secede from this fundamental ordination and observance, we secede from Christianity, and can no longer be numbered with its faithful dis- ciples and pure believers. Hence he who can only admire the REV. DOCTOR ROSKELL. 233 sermons or ability of his own particular pastor or of his own particular sect, is not only open to ridicule for contracted opinions, but is de- void of the true essentials of Christianity. We lose sight of principles, not for principle's sake, but the furtherance of opinions which are in the end utterly in contradistinction to the true interests of the cause we are advocating. The Romish church possesses its men of talent in fully as large a degree as the Protestant one, and as such we can- not pass over one of its brightest ornaments in this part of England, without including him among those who are noted for their zeal of faith and eloquence of oratory in the pulpit. Did we allow Pro- testant fervour to interfere, we might feel shocked at praising the ability of a man connected with the Papal church, but as we hold this same fervour at a very low discount in the standard of humanity and intelligence, we must award our eulogiums wherever we conceive them to be just and well deserved. In entering the portals of a Catholic chapel, we think there is always something solemnly imposing. The devotion exhibited by the congregation, especially by the poorer portion, together with the splendour of music and other characteristics connected with the mode of worship, sheds an influence upon the mind that is not so easily expunged. We must confess that upon visiting, a few weeks back, the chapel of St. Patrick's in Oldham Road, Manchester, we felt an influence of this character bearing somewhat powerfully upon our feelings. The chapel itself is not so splendid in architec- tural details as some others in our city, although the altar is rather effective in design, and possesses, in common with all other altars of the same faith, the usual embellishments and grandeur. It was, however, to hear Doctor Roskell that we were seated in the chapel in question. After the Mass, &c. had been performed, the doctor made his appearance in the pulpit. If goodness and benevolence were ever delineated in the face of any man if eyes beaming with good nature ever shone more radiantly in the face of one man than another it is in the countenance of the reverend doctor before us. If we ever were prepossessed in the favour of any orator, it was beyond all doubt in the outward man of Doctor Roskell. A fine manly form, full, tall, and robust, and as erect as an arrow, pre- sented itself before us. His forehead bears the very stamp of intellect, being lofty and expansive ; while his eyes, of a bright hazel hue, are lit up with a beam of intelligence, expression, and 2 H L'.'M LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. benevolence, that we rarely see so beautifully combined. His mouth is small and classic, and his nose in the same gentle propor- tion. His face is rather round, and his complexion fresh, healthy, and ruddy. In years he appears to number some forty-five. There is always a calm sort of a smile illuminating his features, that is sure to win your sympathies. Then his eyes, full and large, are in exquisite unison with the very beau ideal of a Christian pastor. There are so many winning expressions in his features, that it really were a difficult piece of business to enumerate them. He appears to be so kind, so genial, in his looks, that no one listening to the me- lodious tones of his voice, or meeting the captivating expressions of his face, could be insensible to the genuine and conscientious spirit with which he enunciates his discourse. Moreover, his manners are free and gentle ; no affectation, no laboured points, no elaborated gestures, beset his mode of delivery or utterance. In fact, one of the principal charms connected with his preaching is the simple and natural manner in which he addresses himself to your attention. The very expression of his eyes denotes more with him than a thou- sand flourishes of the arms or gestures of the head. He looks what he feels, and that look conveys an influence rarely resisted and never thoroughly opposed. In estimating the particular powers of Doctor Roskell as a preacher, we should give him a decided preference over any other of his creed in the neighbourhood of Manchester. As a biblical and classical scholar, there are few to excel him or even compete with him. His acquaintance with the " Fathers" appears to have no limits, and his quick and ready translation of the most complicated passages, places him in a somewhat enviable position as a controversialist ; although, by the way, the latter is a character he rarely, if ever, assumes. During the discourse which we recently attended, he quoted a somewhat lengthy passage from St. Jerome, and then translated it with an ease, freedom, and perspicuity, that we believe we never encountered in any scholar, however high his attainments as a linguist. In the use of biblical illustration, he gave the same indications of thorough application and close study. His sermons teemed with coincidences, concordances, and relative passages, blended with comments that were as striking for their originality as for their aptness and keen penetration. His illustrations from Scripture were always clear and concise, and though in some places REV. DOCTOR ROSKELL. 235 voluminous yet their consanguinity to the point under review re- moved every appearance of laboured effect. At the commencement of his discourse he introduced his subject under three distinct heads, which were remarkable for their simplicity and full compass of the topic on which he was about to address us. He did not sub-divide, but took the matter as it stood upon a whole, evidently regardless of the way in which he enforced his point, so long as his mind was satisfied that it was bringing all its energies to bear upon the truth he was arguing. From laying do wn a few fundamental maxims, he proceeded to illustrate. Then came forth his well-stored mind. His researches and acquirements began to display themselves to a remarkable extent. First came the " Fathers " in all their primeval glory, with a snatch from St. Austin, and a passage from St. Jerome, and a quotation from St. Chrysostom, all aptly illustrating the truism he wished to enforce upon his hearers. But he passed over the "Fathers," and came to the Bible. Again, he turned every passage he cited to some considerable purpose in the further- ance of his point. But now he reasoned. If true solidity of logic ever connected itself with any sermon, it was certainly the discourse under question. He evidently took particular care to disencumber his sentences of any superfluous language, and thus render his pre- mises and deductions clearly demonstrative in their force and effect. He did not spin out long sentences, nor obscure his meaning with far-fetched parallels. Every sentence he uttered was pithy and perspicuous. His meaning expressed itself almost instantaneous. He had already a good foundation for his argument in the shape of biblical illustrations and passages from the " Fathers," and thus secure, seemed to know that it only required a few comprehensive remarks and logical proofs to give a firm footing to the position he had taken in reference to his text. But his next move was the great triumph of the orator. He knew he was now safe on his ground, and he began to venture into the higher and more pathetic appeals of eloquence. His heart and soul were evidently engaged in the work before him. He did not storm, nor rave, nor stamp, nor denounce ; he took a more enlarged sphere, he seemed to work upon the feelings by a more refined yet none the less powerful process. His form retreated a pace or two from the front of the pulpit ; his eyes were raised upwards ; he paused a second or two, and then broke forth a stream of eloquence that at once enraptured your ear 236 LANCASHIRE AUTII011S AND ORATORS. and almost overwhelmed your senses. His language was chaste and beautiful, and his sentences, highly finished and rounded off with the best possible grace and precision, succeeded each other with remarkable rapidity. His images of poetry were rich and fer- tile, and blended in the most perfect harmony with every foregoing sensation he had produced upon you. He appealed to the con- science, to the heart, mind, soul, and every emotion that possesses the breast. He left no stone unturned. He went directly to every heart, claimed the sympathies of every breast, enlisted the imagina- tions of every mind. His life appeared to be staked upon the success of his appeals ; he seemed deeply intensely absorbed in the great truths he was enunciating. His fervency of expression was touching to a strong degree, and the rich tones of his voice told well upon the silent attention that was fixed upon his words. By degrees, however, his manner became less passionate, he seemed to feel more than his tongue would let him express, his voice lost much of its accustomed volume, his accents became solemnly low ; the effect was rather dramatic ; he could hold out no longer ; he seemed to feel he had done all mortal could do, and uttering a short sentence, imploring heaven to complete the work, sat down some- what exhausted with the delivery of his powerful and impressive discourse. JOHN ROBY. ALTHOUGH Mr. Roby has identified himself with a locality, still his writings are of a character that must, and, in fact, have secured him a wide-spread popularity. His name, which has now been before the public some twenty years, has always been held in the highest esteem in the literary world ; and what is more, he is a writer of that character whose works are fully as well appreciated in the immediate locality of spinning-wheels and jennies, as in the offices of the Alhenaum or Literary Gazette. This is a tribute this appreciation and popularity among the working- classes of Lancashire of which the traditionist cannot be too proud ; und since he has won it by legitimate means, since he has enlisted it by JOHN ROSY. 237 no appeals to heated passions or debased tastes, but by a fair, sound, and honest record of facts, mingled with pleasing touches of fancy, and spirited dashes of imagination, we cannot but congratulate him on finding his works as closely read and sought among the lower classes, as. among his more wealthy and intelligent admirers. The first regular appearance that Mr. Roby made as an author, was some time about 1829, when he gave the world the first series of one of the most entertaining works that has issued from Lanca- shire authorship the Traditions of Lancashire. The work itself is in two tolerably large volumes, well got up, illustrated in good style, manifests much depth of research and superior writing, and altogether commands a name and patronage that has scarcely met any preceding production from the same locality. The reviews and press in general gave it their heartiest approval ; and Mr. Roby had not only the gratification of seeing his production well circu- lated in the immediate neighbourhood to which it relates, but read and highly eulogized in all quarters throughout Her Majesty's dominions. Every story he brings forward has some historical foundation ; and his introductory observations in reference to the matter-of-fact part of the story, are often as interesting as the story itself. In truth, all Mr. Roby's introductories, like Sir Walter's prefaces, are characterised by a great degree of research and historical information ; so much so, that were every introduction properly arranged, we might almost fancy we had before us a smartly written little epitome of the history of Lancashire. The story of Doctor Dee, one of the Princes of Magicians, occupies a good part of the first volume, and as it principally refers to Manchester, is read with much interest by the sojourner in these parts. The doctor's character is well portrayed, the story highly interesting, the plot excellently sustained, the descriptions strikingly truthful, and the dialogues are well managed and particularly characteristic. One of the principal tales, however, is that of " Lathom House," being a recital of the heroic actions of the celebrated Countess of Derby while withstanding a siege against a party of " Round-heads" who had marched from Manchester, under Col. Rigby, to gain possession of Lathom. The tale is full of life, both in the characters portrayed, the scenes described, and the deeds enacted. Mr. Roby's descriptions in this tale are striking for their truth and felicity ; and wandering in the neighbourhood of 238 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. Lathom Hall, the seat of Lord Skelmersdale, some two or three summer's back, we were struck with the fidelity of Mr. Roby's pen in his delineations of the scenery with which it is surrounded. A number of other tales, long and short, some tragic, others humorous, are to be found in this series, and if the student of history would be thoroughly initiated in the legends of South Lancashire, we do not think we could recommend a more suitable work than the one under notice. In 1831, Mr. Roby presented a second and last series of Traditions of Lancashire, in two large volumes, and illus- trated with some interesting local views. The work falls nothing short of its predecessor, neither in matter or style. The opening story of " Clitheroe Castle" is a splendid historical legend, and replete with some life-stirring incidents and romantic detail. The dialogues interspersed through this tale are distinguished for their striking consanguinity to the age in which the plot is laid ; and while holding converse with it, you seem as though you were holding parley with some resurrectionised " Robert de Whalley" of the twelfth or thirteenth century. The " Dule of Dun," or in other words his Satanic majesty upon the dun horse, is a very popular legend in North Lancashire, and Mr. Roby has turned it to good account in this series, although the tradition itself will be found to be connected, in some shape or other, with nearly every county in the United Kingdom. " Windleshaw Abbey," the ruins of which still stand within a mile of St. Helens," is a spirited story of the seventeenth century, and contains some graphic portraits of the heroes of that eventful period. There is a good dash of the romantic in " Clegg Hall," and we have enough of the fabulous to satisfy the greatest legend gormand in the nocturnal visitations of the " Clegg Hall Boggart." In two or three instances Mr. Roby has eschewed prose, and presented his stories in the more antiquated fashion of telling legends that of verse ; a department, however, in which we do not think he shines so much as the other. The " Luck of Manchester," and an old monkish ballad entitled the " Blessing," are two good specimens of his ability in this respect. The verse is, for ballad style, tolerably smooth, and the plots in- teresting and well sustained. Taken as a whole, both series of the Traditions evidently come from the pen of a man of deep research in history, great ingenuity in constructing a tale, and of extensive resources in telling that tale in an appropriate manner. His treat- JOHN HOEY. 239 ment of the various legends all indicate the man of fertile fancy as well as extensive research, and no one rising from their perusal could do so without acknowledging the ability that is evidenced on every page. About the beginning of the summer of 1835, Mr. Roby took a somewhat extensive tour through Belgium, Switzerland, &c. ; the result of which was two very entertaining volumes, entitled Seven weeks in Belgium, Switzerland, Flanders, fyc. ; which made their appearance in 1838, and, from the known ability of the writer, were well received by the public. The work itself is not so elaborate as one would wish, although considering the time in which the author performed his tour, there is much interesting matter, and no common stock of information. Our author's style is exceedingly pleasing, inasmuch as he tells his story in a plain straightforward manner, that cannot but enlist the attention of his reader. His descriptive powers appear here to as much advantage as ever, and many of his delineations, especially of the basketwomen of Liege, and the femme-de-chambres of Antwerp, are particularly well managed, and strikingly graphic in detail. There is a little haste betrayed in some passages of the work, but this may be mainly attributed to the evident hurry and bustle in which he passed through the various scenes of his travels. We are not in a position to give the accurate age of Mr. Roby, but we believe he was born at Wigan in 1792 or 1793, and is con- sequently now in his fifty-seventh or fifty-eighth year. In personal appearance, however, he looks younger. He is about the middle height in stature, and somewhat small in the way of bodily compass. He has small yet pleasing features, the conformation of his face being rather angular, and his brow well and intellectually developed. We do not know that he takes any prominent part in anything beyond the exercise of his pen, and we never encountered him at any public meetings, save at the first Athenaeum Soiree, when he made a short speech, remarkable for nothing but a little wit and humour. 240 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS A1S T D ORATORS. JOHN BOLTON ROGERSON. WITH the exception of the " great metropolis," we think no county in the United Kingdom has had more literary talent identified with it than Lancashire. This is somewhat singular, since our utilitarianism is proverbial, and any one unacquainted with the numerous literary characters associated with the locality of smoke and calicoes, would be led to imagine it the last place in the world for bringing forth much poetical genius, or unfolding any striking amount of literary ability. Yet the Lancashire newspaper press is, for the most part, conducted with an energy and ability than no other press, out of London, can compete with. Hence, however utilitarian our pursuits in life, and however intense our application to the service of Mammon, we have managed to bring forth some high names in literature and art ; men worthy of our highest esteem and warmest encouragement. The literary ability Lancashire has brought forward, from time to time, reflects much credit upon those who have been instrumental in its development ; and though we may contemn the absorbing soul and body application to business in our manufacturing districts, we cannot but recognize a greatness of mind rising now and then above the noisy din and sickening mono- tony of looms and spindles. Among some of the notable names that have risen to eminence, within the last few years, in Lancashire, in the way of Literature, that of John Bolton Rogerson is among the foremost. His works have doubtless been read as much as those of any author in the locality ; and though they have been published at a figure that precluded them from obtaining a thorough popular circulation, still there are few who are unacquainted with his excellent poems, light and genial essays, and graceful snatches of fiction. If we are to " mind what the Reviewers say," then has Mr. Roger- son passed through their somewhat fiery ordeal with as much eclat as most other authors in Lancashire. The Athenceum, Literary Gazette, and Critic, and several of the leading literary journals, have all echoed his praise ; eulogiums, forsooth, that do not meet every poor scribe, more especially in maiden efforts. We are of those, JOHN BOI/TON EOGERSON. 241 however, who do not admire his poetry so much as his prose. True, Mr. Rogerson is a poet beyond all dispute, but fairly looking into his poems with the view of pronouncing an impartial judgment, we shall find that they do not, as a whole, develope such an equal amount of ability as we are led to discover in his prose. Whether this is in accordance with the opinions of other people, we know not ; we can only say we venture it after a close perusal of all his poetical works. In estimating Mr. Rogerson as a poet, essayist, and novelist, we regard his fiction as decidedly superior to all his productions ; in fact, we feel no hesitation in affirming him to be one of the best tale-writers in the locality. Although he may at times be hacknied in his plot, he always adheres with as much truth to natural scenes, and the portrayal of natural characters, as any author. His plots are mostly clever and ingenious ; his mode of recital easy and graceful ; while his descriptions, either of town or country, are no less remarkable for their fidelity than for their bold and vigorous conceptions. His essays, principally of a light and familiar character, are marked by some insight into human nature, and frequently a pleasant vein of humour. They are written much after the style of Charles Lamb, in the celebrated Essays by Elia, and though not so quaint in expression, possess much of their witty spirit and humorous detail. But, before proceeding at any length with our critical notions of Mr. Rogerson, we must say a few words about his history. Mr. Rogerson was born in Manchester, on the 20th of January, 1809. When very young, he was sent to a school in the town, where he received an ordinary English education. During his early days, he perused with all natural advidity every wild and romantic story that came in his way, and before he was twelve years of age had read the Spectator, Tatler, Rambler, and the whole series of the British Essayists. He also read the works of Pope, Dryden, Swift, Goldsmith, Cowper, Young, and Thompson, with consider- able pleasure. Thompson was one of his greatest favourites. And in his thirteenth year, he commenced a poem on the Seasons, in four books, the which, however, never has met, nor, we suppose, never will meet, the public gaze. At this period he read all the celebrated novelists, and, to use his own words "travelled and made observations on men and manners with Gil Bias ; sat at the board of the good Vicar of Wakefield ; roamed over the desert isle 2 i 242 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. with Crusoe ; shook hands, and was quite familiar with Henry Earl of Moreland ; accompanied Christian and his companions in their perilous pilgrimage ; tilted with Don Quixote, and laughed at Sancho Panza." Shortly, however, he settled down to a more useful line of reading, and perused most of our great historians, philosophers, and theologians. He likewise early evinced a taste for the drama, and he perused all the plays that came in his way. This, doubtless, induced him to attempt dramatic composition, in a piece of three acts, entitled the Baron of Manchester, which was performed at one of the Manchester theatres with some success. In his thirteenth year he was apprenticed to a tradesman, but his master failing, he was ultimately articled to a solicitor. During this period of his life, he amused himself with verse-making, and in 1826 made his first appearance in the Manchester Guardian, in a poem entitled " The Farewell." In 1828, Mr. Rogerson commenced a weekly periodical in Manchester, under the name of The Phoenix. This publication existed for six months, when it was abandoned in consequence of want of sufficient leisure to conduct it, and sufficient patronage to support it. In 1831 he published another weekly journal en- titled The Falcon, but, in a short time, this met the fate of its predecessor. It must not be supposed that these failures arose from any want of ability upon the part of Mr. Rogerson. Local periodi- cals have never been successful, however high their literary merits. We have had innumerable instances of the truth of this statement, not only in Manchester, but in most of the large towns throughout the Kingdom. We regard it as next to impossible to make any local effort of this description flourish. London, Edinburgh, and Dublin, with their thousand facilities, will mcnopolize these pro- ductions, and it is perfect madness upon the part of any provincial author or publisher to stake a farthing in such speculations. But, to return to Mr. Rogerson : finding the profession of the law some- what distasteful, in 1834 he entered business as a bookseller. In 1840, he brought out his first work Rhyme, Romance, and Revery, and was very favourably received. In 1841, he was appointed editor of the Odd- Fellows' Magazine, which he conducted with much ability till 1848, when, owing to some division in the Society, the periodical passed into other hands, and ultimately became defunct. In 1842, he published a volume of poems, entitled A Voice from the Town. Again, in 1844, he gave the world a volume, bearing JOHN BOLTON ROGERSON. 243 the title of The Wandering Angel. We believe both of these have been pretty successful, and earned many encomiums from the press. Towards the latter end of 1849, he was induced to revise and add to his previous poetical collections, and present them in one volume, under the title of Roger son's Poetical Works. This work has, like- wise, been a very successful movement, and considering the charac- ter of it generally, it is deserving of our heartiest recommendations. Mr. Kogerson has, from time to time, delivered popular lectures on the Drama and general literature, at Manchester, Rochdale, Oldham, Bury, Colne, Clitheroe, &c. He is likewise President of the Manchester Shaksperian Society, whose meetings are generally of much interest. In personal appearance, Mr. Rogerson presents a somewhat prepossessing exterior. He is below the middle height, but is stout in form. His forehead is well developed, and his eyes, of a deep blue, are large and expressive. In company, he is a highly-agreeable companion, and appears to possess a general know- ledge of every topic brought upon the tapis. He is a man of much taste, and criticises the drama, music, and the fine arts, with par- ticular vigour and accuracy. In conversation he is not a fluent speaker, but carefully ruminates before he utters a syllable, and consequently always gives expression to sound sense and well- finished ideas. Of Mr. Rogerson' s contributions to literature, his Rhyme, Romance, and Revery, by the way a singularly happy title, is the largest, most important, and the best evidence of his style and powers as an author. We have here one of the most agreeable mixtures of poetry, fiction, and light philosophy, that we have en- countered in any production for a long period. The poetical effusions in this book entitle Rogerson to be ranked among the leading poets of Lancashire, either past or present. Many of them possess high merit. In the Preface of his last book, Mr. Rogerson says " There are many youthful feelings which the author would not willingly lose the recollection of, and, though he be no longer in the Spring-time of life, he must not forget that there are young and susceptible hearts still cherishing those affections and bright dreams which are no longer his." This is perfectly true ; but if we have any fault to find with our friend's poems, it is that he has pre- sented us with too many of the character he mentions. They are undoubtedly very pleasing in matter, and possess considerable melody 244 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. of verse, but we have always thought Mr. Rogerson has built his reputation in treating upon other themes. Thus we conceive him a greater poet in such pieces as " The Wandering Angel," " An Appeal for the Artisan," " The Death Dream," " The Grey Hair," " Musings and Memories," and " Dreams of the Dead," than in any one of the number he has given us on love. Mr. Rogerson writes a good Sonnet, and, apropos, here is one on BURNS : "My fancy -wanders through the mist of years. And by a cotter's ingle-nook I see A bright-eyed boy, beset with ghostly fears, Listening to tales of witch and glamoury. Again I see that strange and high-soul' d boy, Toiling afield beneath inclement skies ; And now he breathes impassioned -words of joy To one who lists -with blush and downcast eyes. I look once more that youth is Scotland's pride, And fills the world with his immortal song ; Yet is the bard his earthly meed denied, And left to battle with contempt and wrong: His voice is silent all his praises spread, And pay their tribute, for the bard is dead ! There is some grace and fancy in these lines " Our roof is the azure vault of heaven, Our food is of dew-drops bright j The sun sheds its beams on our path by day, And the stars are our lamps by pight ; We spring up mid odour and bloom and light, We are woo'd by the minstrel wind Here rest then, dear rose, in thine own sweet home. For a fairer thou can'st not find." Again " Behgld yon bright and gorgeous mass, Yon strange and flashing piles Of rainbow-colour'd clouds, that float Like angel-trodden isles ; And some are as hnge diamond rocks By mighty heaven-quake hurl'd, But stay'd whilst earthward in their course, Too priceless for our world " And in another poem " Its voice is unforgotten melody it comes, Like notes of breeze-woke harp, upon mine ear, JOHN BOLTON ROGERSON. 245 And, as a golden mist, its silken hair And radiant eyes sail 'twixt me and the sun." We have always greatly admired the two concluding stanzas of " Dreams of the Dead" " As one who sleeps and walks near rushing streams, Surrounding dangers passeth heedless by : So did'st thou live, wrapt in aspiring dreams, Viewing the world with a regardless eye ; With sickening soul mingling with soulless men, Thou lived'st and died'st a god-form'd denizen. Thou wert the child of high and lofty thought, Borne by the tide of thine own heart along ; With chainless mind thine uncheck'd spirit sought, On soaring wing, the towering mount of song ; Thou died'st or ere its proudest height was won A tameless eagle stricken near the sun" The last line manifests the true poetic inspiration, and we regard it as one of the finest passages Rogerson has written. As we have previously observed, we think Mr. Rogerson a more equal writer of prose than of verse. In his fiction he evidences much ingenuity of plot, and his essays manifest a fund of good humour and genial writing. The stories he has written possess a striking degree of ability. They present realities as realities, neither pandering to morbid sentiment or licentious passions. His heroes and heroines are just as they should be, patterns of goodness, truth, and purity, at all times worthy of our admiration and closest imitation. His insight into the emotions of the human breast is well betrayed in all the characters he brings before your notice; envy, love, pride, ambition, hope, faith, and charity, each are developed in the clearest and most consistent line of portraiture. He furnishes all his characters with motives of a full and natural bearing, and by this means he not only works out a simple and ingenious plot, but gives such a tone and impress to fiction, that it becomes reality itself. Several of his descriptions of rural scenery are very animated pictures. A few legends, principally of the German school and design, form an attractive feature. One, entitled " The Self," is remarkable for its originality of conception and vigour of detail. He has worked out the plot of this story with an aptness and ingenuity of design we have rarely seen surpassed. The Essays running through Rhyme, Romance, and Revery, are highly 246 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. agreeable. His "Country Fair," "A Rainy Day," "My Leg," and "My Nose," are all marked with keen perception, genial humour, and a somewhat elegant diction. LORD STANLEY. IF you have ever travelled on the coach-road from Liverpool to Manchester, you must, when about half-a-mile from Prescot, have seen standing environed by thick woods, and upon a somewhat elevated position, the magnificent mansion of Knowsley, where we believe the noble and distinguished subject of the present sketch first saw the light of day. Here is, at all events, one thing for Lancashire to boast about ; in having given birth to one of the most popular leaders of the ci-devant Conservative faction, known now as the " Country" party. She has certainly produced every description of geniuses, from the utilitarian and thrifty son of com- merce and manufactures, to the polished and diplomatic statesman. Her resources have been in this feature as varied and fruitful as her facilities for plying the shuttle or spindle. She stands, we are led to believe, unequalled in this respect, for we do not think one county in the United Kingdom has brought forward a greater diver- sity of intellect, or made it exercise its powers in a wider field of action, than Lancashire has, in producing the distinguished charac- ters that have ever and anon figured in her history. The house of Derby is a host in itself, than which we shall find none more distinguished or elevated in the peerage-book. It has always possessed some leading spirit among its members, and we are inclined to think its modern history cannot present a more perfect type of its wonted spirit and energy, distinction and nobility, than its present heir and descendant. You may undervalue the nature and tendency of Stanley's political creed as much as you think proper, yet you cannot deny his greatness in the sphere in which he moves. You may contemn the impetuous manner with which he delivers himself against his opponents, the snarling, sneering tone which he is apt to adopt in reference to a political antagonist ; yet you must LOED STANLEY. 247 admit the potent energy -that is identified with all these displays. Beyond all denial, Stanley is a man of high standing in the political movements of this country, and though we may smile over some of the egregious blunders he here and there commits in his speeches, still there is an earnestness and energy a quick perception and keen piercing intellect that renders him a first-rate debater, and no ordinary political orator. For the last eight-and-twenty years, he has maintained a position in both Houses that has given him no common fame in the political arena of his age ; and though his capacities as a Minister have never shone with much brilliancy and effect, still he has held offices under the Crown that have demon- strated the high esteem held for him by the parties with whom he has been associated. Lord Stanley is about fifty-one years of age, having been born towards the latter end of the year 1799. After going through the usual routine of an aristocratic education, and passing some period on the continent, he made his first appearance in Parliament (we believe as member for Preston) in the session of 1820. About this period Mr. Hume brought forward his motion against the temporalities of the Irish church, when his lordship, but a young and inexperienced debater, stood forward and made one of his energetic and characteristic speeches. From this period, the name of Stanley bore a prominent position in every important topic that came before the attention of the house ; and Ministers to whose views he adhered, hailed the young scion of the ancient house of Derby as something worth their time and trouble to enlist fairly within their ranks. Although now decidedly inimical to the "Whigs, yet they were the first to appreciate his abilities and present him with some evidence of their approbation. We believe it was in the year 1827 that he was appointed under-Secretary to the colonial department, the Colonies being the subject, at that time, of his deepest interest and closest attention. From 1830 to 1833 he held office as Secretary to Ireland, and during the time of his dis- charge of the duties of this post, was tolerably popular, and pretty satisfactory in his performance of the onerous duties attached to that intricate function. We firmly believe yet, that there are few noble peers in the House of Lords who understand the Irish character in a more enlarged sense than the distinguished lord before us. The only thing against him in this respect is his bitter and implacable antagonism to the Romish priesthood and Roman Catholic religion 248 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. in general, otherwise he appears to possess some very comprehen- sive ideas on the wants of Ireland, and of the necessary relief to elevate her social position. It is certainly a lamentable deficiency on the part of Lord Stanley, that he should allow these religious invectives to fly from him when in the midst of a good speech on Irish affairs. The Irish people will be a Roman Catholic people to eternity, despite all the animadversions of ten thousand Stanleys ; and would his lordship only remove these antipathies and protestant prejudices, there is no doubt but that he might be of eminent service in reclaiming that wretched ill-fated country from her present deplorable condition. About this period (1830-3) he took a conspicuous part in furthering the claims of the Reform Bill, and was one of the main instruments of its being passed into law. From 1833 to 1834 he acted as Colonial Secretary, and discharged his office with a good degree of ability and satisfaction. About the beginning of the year 1835, the then Whig ministry proposed some important alterations in the way of Church Reform ; this did not, however, suit the somewhat " high church" views of his lordship, and, together with his right honourable friend Sir James Graham, he seceded from the ministry to which he had been attached for many years, and to which he had devoted no common amount of energy and ability. He remained out of office from this period till 1841, when Sir Robert Peel formed his cabinet and presented him with his old office of Secretary to the Colonies. But Stanley got out of sorts with his party again ; the Free Trade measures proposed by the late government wholly disagreed with his protectionist predilections, and he ultimately retired, gaining, how- ever, a seat in the upper house by his removal. Perhaps he is more in his element in the House of Peers, than he was latterly wont to be in the House of Commons. He has here an opportunity of producing impressions upon minds that are probably more open to his characteristic mode of speaking, than those of some of the honourable members of the lower house. However, he is now, after jumping from Whig to Conservative, the recognized leader of the " Country," or ultra-tory school ; and after a fair consideration, we do not think his party could select a more eligible man to lead the van of their cause, or push it with more spirit and determination. Some of his speeches, while he has been seated in the upper house, have probably betrayed more talent and pure mastership of oratory, LORD STANLEY. 249 than is to be found in any of his previous displays on the floor of the Commons. He has here in fact, a scope and influence he never possessed among the more plebian spirits of the opposition, for he is a leader of a party whose stronghold lies with far more power and importance in the Lords, than among any other assembly in the kingdom. There are few old politicians of England who are unacquainted with the outward man and general appearance of Lord Stanley. You may pick him out of a thousand ; that same little man with his red hair, small blinking eyes, strongly lined features, rather aquiline nose, tightly compressed lips, and somewhat scowling expression gathered over his face. There is something, we think, particularly ungraceful in his exterior ; there is nothing to prepossess you at the first glance you may take of him, for he is attired in a negligent and rather slovenly style of dress, he has a rough cut of a coat, and his vest and trousers are put on as though they were never made for him by a first-rate " West-end" tailor ; but there is a hardness about his features that not uncommonly gathers into a repulsive sort of a frown ; and his eyes blink with anything but a pleasant expression, and his small thin mouth denotes anything but an agreeable tone of mind and temperament. But he rises to address you. You take another glance, and you are probably a little better satisfied than you were at first. You begin to admire his forehead, which is lofty, expansive, and full of intellectual developments. His mouth, too, assumes a little better appearance ; it denotes thought, and expresses a fine determination of mind. His features anon assume more of the intellectual than the repulsive scowling which at first presented itself before you. You are at last consciously impressed with his high endowments, and as the clear, silvery, yet manly tones of his voice begin to greet your ears, as you contemplate the simplicity of his attitude and the genuine natural manner of his demeanour, as you gaze on the unsophisti- cated sang froid of the speaker, as you witness the coolness and connectedness of his bearing, you are convinced that it is the speech of no ordinary character to which you are about to give your attention. But he begins ; the voice, as we have before remarked, is in excellent order, and remarkable for its clearness and musical tones. There is an air of determination at the very onset ; he feels he has risen to serve no common end ; he is impressed with the 2 K 250 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. importance of his position, and he has evidently come to the resolu- tion to place it to the very best advantage ; he is aware of his powers, and he stands there firmly resolved to exercise them to their utmost length. Notwithstanding the heat and impetuosity that is often identified with his speeches, still there is an ingenious logical argument a certain clearness of premises, and a marked distinctness of deduction that rarely fails to secure its due influence over your mind and reason. But anon, he seizes flowers of rhetoric, and he is grand and sublime to a degree of greatness only excelled in the House of Peers by Lord Brougham himself. He is heart and soul in what he is uttering he has his point at his fingers' ends and he goes towering away into a sub- lime sphere of eloquent appeal and fervent declamation. Perhaps Lord Stanley is more remarkable for his powers and ingenuity as a debater, than for his thorough mastership as an orator. Although not near so refined and polished as D'Israeli in this department, nor so politic and cautions as Palmerston, still, in his quick reply, caustic rejoinder, and thorough knock-down blow upon an opponent, he stands well nigh unequalled in either house. His lordship can deal far better in quashing an opponent than he can in furthering the cause of a friend. He is sharp and hawk- eyed in detecting the foibles of a foe, and you may rest assured he is never backward in holding them up in colours that his quick mind can always readily suggest. It is rather a spirited scene in Parliamentary doings to see his lordship handling an adversary. It is a contest to some tune and purpose. He does not, either, dis- guise his acrimony, it is heartfelt, and he wishes to show it up as such ; he is serious in the onslaught, and pummels away in right crushing earnest. He does not mince matters with any man, he tells him plainly and emphatically what he thinks and how he feels. You have no notion of the caustic sting at the end of Stanley's tongue, till you hear it fairly applied ; and though perhaps occa- sionally coarse and severely acrimonious, still there is an ingenuity in the manner in which he conveys it, that proves his powers of satire to be of no common order in a parliamentary debate. It is truly a tremendous affair to see him inflicting his stinging stripes upon the sensitive nerves of some hapless victim ; how he stings him ; how he pounces upon him at every hand and side ; how he hits him here and pummels him there ; how he thrusts at him upon one side, LORD STANLEY. 2ol and tickles him upon the other ; and thus he goes on bruising and pounding, and never for one moment disguises the impulse that prompts him to the contest. Perhaps one of the best scenes in the way of true fistic debate in this department, that was wont to be exhibited in the lower house, was when Stanley and Roebuck entered the lists single-handed. How they would snarl at each other ; what taunts would be bandied from one to the other ; what soft yet sneering badinage would escape their lips ; how the former would exercise his stinging ire in return for the latter's withering sarcasm ; how the one would crouch and watch for a dart upon the other, and if he happened to get upon a good track, what an onslaught would be the issue ; they were, forsooth, a well- matched pair, both fiery, caustic, taunting, and grand in their world of stinging irony and retaliation, and desperate have been the various conflicts they have enacted on the floor of St. Stephen's. Were it not for the natural irritability of Lord Stanley's temper, he would doubtless be as distinguished an orator as he is as a debater. He has an excellent command of language, and his speeches are occasionally characterized by some cogent logical arguments and splendid flights of eloquence. His mode of illustration is generally chaste and simple, and particularly effective in furthering the point he is urging. Notwithstanding the sophistry he enunciated at the time, still his speech in the Upper House on the Free Trade measure, and in defence of the corn laws, was a brilliant array of rhetoric and eloquent declamation in advocacy of the "forlorn- hope" cause for which he pleaded. Again, his speech on the Removal of the Jewish Disabilities was another grand display in the sphere of powerful speaking and sublime flights of intense feeling. In all his speeches you are impressed with one fact, that he feels deeply and expresses all he experiences. But the main fault in him is that he feels too keenly, and takes no caution in expressing him- self in a like manner. Hence the blunders Stanley so often commits in his orations in the way of statistical assertions. Like his friends, Mr. Miles and the late Lord George Bentinck, he is an intolerable blunderer in the way of facts and figures ; and often sets the house in a roar of derisive laughter at some of his egregious mistakes. Old O'Connell used to twit him most severely under this head. It is related that he once told the house with the utmost gravity, that the province of Tamboof in Russia could furnish grain 252 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. enough to feed half the world, and consisted in dimensions of twenty- Jive millions of square miles ; an assertion that well nigh convulsed honourable members with laughter. But with all his errors, sting- ing acrimony, mercurial temper, and blundering calculations, Lord Stanley is still a great man, and fully sustains the high reputation of the noble house from which he is descended. JOHN STORES SMITH. HERE is a name of which Manchester ought to be proud ; and we say it in the sincerest terms, without the least approach to bombast, or any desire to magnify and exalt where the object is not worthy of it. At all events, if Manchester ever did feel honoured in giving birth to any authors, we think she may safely extend her hand and friendship to the present one. We can name no other town in Lancashire that has produced, within the last few years, such a genius of literature as John Stores Smith. We have had poets and novelists ad infinitum, but few have been the minds so philosophically employed as that possessed by the character before us. All this shrewdness and ingenuity has been very rarely identified with any of the productions of Mr. Smith's predecessors. His claims are more than ordinary. To do what he has done, must have required a soul of perseverance. He must have worked hard for it, or the task that was set before him could never have been accomplished. But great minds will always come off " more than conqueror ;" and the proofs we have of Mr. Smith's laborious application to what he has undertaken, proves him to be possessed of a power of mental capacity that you do not encounter in every turn you may take up or down Market-street. Moreover, he is a young man, and when we remember this, our estimation of his abilities must be considerably enlarged. To see one of his years employed upon matters of the most important character, and to see him perform the task with such a degree of ability, is not an every-day occurrence. What a lesson to the thousand-and-one young men of the present age who prostitute their hours in the pursuance of idle and paltry occupation ! Here JOHN STORES SMITH. 253 is one who has not been nurtured in the lap of luxury ; who has had to pursue certain daily business avocations, and yet withal has managed to develope a mind stored with invaluable possessions of truth and knowledge. It is a fine example, and worthy of general imitation. Another aspect in Mr. Smith's mind is its philosophic character. In one comparatively so young, you would scarcely expect it ; yet many of his writings demonstrate a maturity of thought that you may fairly ascribe to someone twenty years his senior. He seems always to think deeply he never appears to be shallow or meaningless. He is often profound. Then he possesses considerable powers of shrewdness, a quick apprehension, and a determination to arrive at the fundamental principles of whatever he takes in hand. We have not only observed this in his writings, but have been furnished with recent opportunities of seeing it developed in a sphere to which we shall hereafter allude. We think it was in the month of last July that, in looking over the daily newspapers and monthly and quarterly periodicals, we alighted on advertisements and reviews intimating the publication of a new work, entitled Mirdbeau ; a Life History. Having been considerably interested in the career of the great and heroic French- man from what we had perused in M. Thiers' History of the French Revolution, and being withal a somewhat enthusiastic admirer of his noble and daring courage, we soon furnished ourselves with the two volumes, took them home, read them, never thought of the critics and enjoyed a glorious good feast for two or three nights. How we enjoyed it, can only be imagined by those who took the same interest in the character treated. But in about a month afterwards, we were informed that this work proceeded from a young man who was " bred and born," and living, at that moment, in Manchester. We could scarcely believe it ; but hearing the story confirmed from one or two more lips, we did yield at last to its truth, and, in real ecstacies, we procured the volumes once more, and read them again. We were right well gratified to find we were breathing the same atmosphere as one who could have the courage to write, and send such a production to the press. We certainly owe Mr. Smith no common obligation for the many truly pleasurable sensations his work produced within us during our perusal. We were pleased with it upon a multiplicity of grounds, and we felt that if he was not justly worthy to be placed among the most prominent of the " Lan- 254 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. cashire Authors," then every one who had preceded him ought to be excluded. Shall we stop to tell the reader of all the good things that present themselves in Mirabeau ? If Mr. Smith has done no other service to the world, he has certainly furnished us with the records of a man the like of whom we never possessed before. In fact, it has always appeared to us, in common with many others, a wonder that no biography of such a highly-distinguished character as Mirabeau, has never presented itself at any previous period. Remove Mirabeau from the great French Revolution, and you re- move its chief character and grandest ornament. He was, beyond all dispute, the ablest politican of his day. ; and we question whether France has witnessed another of such sterling ability since his death shook her dominions. Hence Mr. Smith is worthy of much praise upon this ground, if upon no other. He has supplied an apparent desideratum. And we do not hesitate in affirming that he has per- formed the task with no inconsiderable pains and laborious applica- tion. We are not in a position to say how or where he secured his data, but the innumerable details and incidents he furnishes, bear a freshness and interest that must secure the attention of every reader who takes up the volumes. We have a thousand things before us to prove the great amount of perseverance the author must have brought to bear upon his production. The most fastidious critic could not question this ; and Mr. Smith may rest assured that many a more practised biographer than himself would have turned the matter to nothing near the same advantage. The author takes Mirabeau from his birth at Bignon, through all his sufferings under the parental roof, his entrance into the army as an attache, his re- turn home, his great quarrel with his parents, his entrance into Paris, his confinement in the castle of If, his connection with Sophie de Monnier, his various imprisonments, his separation from his wife, his flight to England, his return and election as a deputy, his triumphs as an orator and writer, his brilliant noon-day career from 1789 till 1791, and his final dissolution. It is a grand history throughout, and no one beginning with it will feel satisfied till he has reached the last page of the narration. The book exhibits a con- siderable flow of language, and occasionally some quaint phrase- ology. If we may be allowed to indulge in a speculation, we should say Mr. Smith is pretty freely infused with the sentiments of Thomas Carlyle. Some of our critics have said the style is too light JOHN STORES SMITH. 255 and trivial for a biography; these are Boswell's ghosts. Mr. Smith has just adapted himself to all readers ; and if he is not appreciated by them, then we are very well assured that he would never have been appreciated in the line suggested by our Monthlies or Quarterlies. Mr. Smith was born in Hulme, in the neighbourhood of Man- chester, of respectable parents. He was educated in the Manchester Grammar School, and became an apt and proficient scholar. Upon leaving school he was placed in a Manchester house, and has been employed, and continues engaged, in mercantile pursuits. He ap- pears to be about four-and-twenty years of age. There is nothing remarkable in the outward man. He is rather small in build, but possesses a somewhat thoughtful yet winning cast of features. He has a round conformation of face, and his complexion is fair and ruddy. His forehead is small, yet well modulated ; his eyes are full and expressive. He is rather matter-of-fact in his manners, his mind evidently being constantly occupied in what our Lan- cashire people call a " brown study." Mr. Smith has been engaged in literary pursuits for some time, and besides Mirabeau, has published two volumes of poems. His powers, in this respect, are decidedly above mediocrity, and he manifests considerable elegance of diction, originality of thought, and occasionally some beautifully glowing metaphors. But it is not in communing with the muses that Mr. Smith's reputation is to be enlarged. He will shine more, as he already has done, in the more profitable department of prose. Some of his effusions, which occasionally appeared in the Examiner and Times, appeared to us rather misty. Recently Mr. Smith has been very actively engaged in furthering the claims of a most important cause we allude to the agitation of the plans of the Lancashire Public School Association. In this he appears to take the most unbounded interest. We find him address- ing two or three meetings week after week, with the most indefati- gable zeal, and he certainly promises to be one of the most efficient instruments of this excellent association. In addressing meetings he expresses himself with a good degree of fluency, and lays down the plans of the association in very comprehensive and perspicuous terms. He has the cause at heart as much as any man connected with it, and we are sure the association must be deeply indebted to him for his unwearied exertions upon its behalf. 256 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AXD ORATORS. REV. DAVID RHYS STEPHEN. WITHOUT attempting to cast any reflection upon the Baptists of this country, we must give it as our opinion that their preachers, as a body, do not rank so high as they were wont to do. We do not mean to say their piety or zeal has diminished, on the other hand it may have increased, but we are disposed to think their pulpits are not filled with that majestic oratory, with that fervent eloquence, cogent reasoning, and flowery rhetoric, which was wont to be exhibited in the palmy and memorable days of Robert Hall and John Foster. In the way of pure piety and untiring zeal, the present ones may excel their predecessors, but then they seem to lack those brilliant powers of pulpit-oratory that were so eminently connected with the labours of their preachers at the end of the last and beginning of the present generation. Perhaps it may be the utili- tarian spirit of the age which appears to have its influence upon all grades of society, but whatever the reason, it is pretty certain we have no Halls or Fosters in their pulpits now. In London, and perhaps in the county from which we write, there may be one or two distinguished exceptions, yet even these do not appear to possess that stirring eloquence which we find in the Raffles, Parsons, Me. Neiles, Newtons, and others of modern pulpit eminence. There was some greatness some leading genius exhibited in the pulpits of the Baptist denomination, when such characters as Robert Hall, Andrew Fuller, Abraham Booth, and John Foster, mounted the stairs, and held forth to their enraptured auditories. What minds those men carried about them ! How they strung up the attention of their hearers to its very utmost length ! What sen- sations what thoughts what influences what deep and soul- stirring feelings were carried home by their hearers from the scene of their labours ! And how different are the powers of the present body of preachers of this denomination. They do not seem to possess scarcely a jot of the amazing ability of their predecessors. They do not appear to cultivate any of that great astounding elo- quence that was wont to ring through their chapels some thirty or fcEV. DAVID RHYS STEPHEN. 257 forty years since. Probably a more quiet Christian piety may have displaced all these grand displays, albeit we do not see why a pastor, so long as he has language and ideas at his command, cannot be eloquent upon the theme that is nearest his heart, as easily as give vent to his emotions in a tame or common-place dis- course. The esteemed character whose name heads the present notice, although not a perfect specimen of the school of the Hall and Foster generation, is nevertheless a preacher whose powers in our estimation place him far before many of his brethren of the present day. Mr. Stephen is a man of mind, of quick penetration, of an original way of thinking ; he brings into the pulpit no tame thread- bare matter that you have heard a thousand times before, but some- thing worth your acceptance, something worth carrying home and storing up in the closet of your mind. We have always listened with the greatest pleasure to his discourses, inasmuch as they convey something strikingly bold and original, both in the way of argument and illustration. When he mounts the pulpit, you get a good view of his outward appearance. But you have nothing to attract your attention, saving a rather wild and perhaps uncouth bearing, a sharp sarcastic expression of features, and a tolerably expressive pair of grey eyes, although twinkling with a degree of irony and satire that you do not so often encounter in a divine. He is of the middle size in height, and pretty well proportioned in the way of bodily compass. His features are rather angular, but his brow is well developed, and the general cast of his face denotes a goodly amount of intellectual capacities. He has a large crop of light brown hair, which is not by any means well arranged, and in fact, Mr. Stephen does not appear, at the best of times, to devote much attention to his toilet. He has a slight ruddy complexion, and appears to enjoy the benefits of a good healthy constitution. He dresses in a very negligent style, and certainly his tout ensemble presents more of the wild Welsh mountaineer than of the quiet, sober Baptist divine. In years, he appears to have reached some forty-two or three. As soon as he opens his mouth, you detect a little of the Welsh idiom, but the tones of his voice are generally clear and ringing, and perfectly audible in every part of the edifice. But Mr. Stephen is one who will not devote much time to elocution, rather relying upon his own native powers and simplicity in the expression of his sentences, than 2 t 258 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. upon any artificial means or guidance. He is often somewhat abrupt in the delivery of his opinions, but this may be attributed rather to the natural freeness of his character, than to a rude or uncouth dis- position. He is certainly one of the most unsophisticated men in the way of manners, and unconventional in the expression of his ideas, we ever encountered in any pulpit of any denomination. When you become used to his exterior and singularities of tempera- ment, you will rather admire them, inasmuch as they present a free ingenuous spirit and a nature totally untrammelled with any of the meretricious affectations and conventialisms of society. His action is simple and impressive, and in perfect consonance with all his other predilections for simplicity and bluntness of manner. Throughout his sermon, he is as ingenuous in his mode of delivery as though he were addressing himself to a dozen of his most intimate friends ; and though he may not realize the perfect orator in this point of view, still it does not lose its due effect upon those under his particular charge and ministration. In the more minute examination of Mr. Stephen's powers as a preacher, we should place his biblical knowledge as one of the most prominent on the score. It is a remarkable fact, and one that we have often heard cited, that the Welsh people are generally more deeply acquainted with biblical information than any other body of Christians. Mr. Stephen is an excellent specimen of this character- istic ; his sermons invariably betraying a depth and solidity of scriptural erudition, not so often encountered in English pulpits. His conversancy with the Bible usually renders his sermons not only remarkable for the instruction they convey, but for his excellence as a scholar and theologian. His illustrations, too, from Scripture are generally varied, extensive, and appropriate. He never seems deficient of an illustration from the Bible, whatever he may be in other sources. He has always some ready passage to bring in to fortify his grounds, and that, too, of the most apposite character. Mr. Stephen has evidently paid no ordinary attention to this department, and his sermons denote the labour that has been exercised in the study, in the bringing forth of a good scriptural sermon a sermon perfectly in consonance with the nature and spirit of his text. Perhaps some other parts of his discourse are more remarkable for the preacher's acute observation, than for his depth of logic. In penetrating into the true spirit of his subject, he REV. DAVID RHYS STEPHEN. 259 excels. He has just the faculties for detecting discrepancies here or perfections there for diving into the fundamental facts of any given passage that is presented to his mind. He is a quick, shrewd observer, and both in the examination of his discourse, and in the application he makes to his hearers, he turns these powers to no ordinary advantage. His methods of illustration are generally temperate ; now and then partaking of a vein of the poetical, and occasionally brilliant and excursive. At times he is a little fanciful in the imagery he calls in to aid his ideas, and generally presents the picture with much taste and finish. But Mr. Stephen is not a man to spend much time in dabbling in that for which he conceives he has no predilection, and hence poetical views, brilliant meta- phors, or florid illustrations, are things he rarely meddles with, unless he feels conscious he can turn (hem off to due advantage. He not unfrequently gives vent to a little of the humorous, and if occasion serves, can apply the sting of sarcasm to some intent and purpose. He is rather biting when he comes the sarcastic, and his coolness and self-possession when he expresses himself after this style is an ineffable treat. In the construction and general arrange- ment of his sermons, he is clear and comprehensive, and his sentences usually bear a good degree of finish and effect. He has a good command of language, and, for a Welshman, is tolerably rapid in his utterance. His applications are usually the soul of brevity, perhaps somewhat abrupt in their completion, but never- theless remarkable for their solidity, fervency, and pointedness. In conclusion, we must not omit mentioning, that Mr. Stephen has figured in the literary world, and is justly entitled to be ranked among the prose-authors whose names have been identified with Lancashire. His Life of Christmas Evans, published in 1846, is well worth our highest encomiums, and if not a book that will call for general patronage, is certainly one deserving of the best encouragement from the Baptists. The old "Welsh divine (a genuine character by the way, and one worthy of our imi- tation) has received his full mete of attention from his country- man, and as a life replete with true religious piety, singular characteristics, and devoted enthusiasm in the cause of Christianity, the Life of Christmas Evans may be read with a great degree of advantage and pleasing satisfaction. The press has bestowed many laudatory remarks upon the performance, and from our own 260 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. inspection of the work, we do not think it could have been turned off to greater satisfaction, inasmuch as it betrays a complete acquaintance with the character treated, and the country and times in which he figured. CHARLES SWAIN. IN looking over the biographies of most of our eminent men of letters in Lancashire, we find, in nearly every instance, that all their eminence is mainly owing to their own individual efforts and tutorage. They have not, as is the case with a majority of our ancient and modern literary celebrities, passed through the ordeal of Virgil or Homer, nor caught the " flame divine " from an ancient pile of scholastic Odes and Elagics. They have won no degrees, passed through no examinations, nor made any futile attempts to rise in the church or reap golden laurels at the bar. Our Lan- cashire authors are essentially men of self-cultivation and self- advancement. They have beaten a track for themselves, and troubled none other than themselves in their progressive movements. They have striven hard, and all the honours they have acquired from time to time, have proceeded from no other source than that of their own ingenuity and perseverance. Hence the generality of our authors rarely realize a purely literary life. What they have pro- duced have rather been the emanations of a studious pastime, than the creations of a regular application, with the means of life depend- ing upon their success or failure. Coleridge makes a beautiful observation to the effect that nothing can be more pleasant to a purely intellectual mind, than four or five hours spent in communion with the ideal after a close wear-and-tear occupation with the real. There is a zest engendered for literary companionship after you have been battling with the fiercer struggles and denizens of the world. The quiet, easy course pursued by Charles Lamb affords a singularly happy instance of the pleasures derivable from a communion with books, as a relief from the sterner realities of life. We shall in- variably find those authors, who divide their literary labours with CHARLES SWAIN. 261 the more solid means of gaming their daily subsistence, far happier men than those who depend solely upon the whims of the public, or the pocket of a stoical publisher, to support them in their brain- racking vocation. We make these remarks because of all others in the neighbour- hood of which we write, none furnishes a more forcible illustration of what self-advancement can accomplish on the one hand, and what a studious relief from business can produce on the other, than the subject of our present sketch. Swain's early life affords a striking instance of the means that can be employed by the mind to raise itself amidst the tumult and anxieties occasioned by the sus- tenance of the physical being. He managed to bring forth his ideal, although he \vas, in a measure, bound down to the real. An apprenticeship to a hard and laborious trade did not curb or stultify the natural bent of his intellectual being. He was determined not to allow the mechanical to absorb or prejudice the intellectual ;/ and while he battled for the world by day, he struggled to emancipate his own spiritual being by night. Mr. Swain has certainly pursued a most sensible course, because it has been a medium one. He has neither allowed the ideal to interfere with the real, nor the real with the ideal. Like Lamb, he has blended the one with the other, and his experience in life has doubtless testified the wisdom of his course. Mr. Swain was born at Manchester, in January, 1803. He re- ceived his education from a gentleman to whom we have previously adverted in some of these sketches, the Rev. William Johns, who directed an academy of considerable repute in George-st. How he proceeded with his studies, we are not in a position to say, but at the age of fourteen he was placed in the dye-works of a Mr. Tavare, his uncle, a gentleman of great erudition and classical attainments, who wrote and spoke nine languages. In this truly disagreeable business he spent some fourteen years. During this period, however, notwithstanding the perfectly unpoetical character of his avocation, he produced pieces bearing no ordinary stamp of poetic genius. We believe his first appearance in print occurred in the pages of the Manchester Iris. In 1825 he contributed a very finished piece, entitled the " Escaped Convict," to the Literary Gazette, and subsequently contributed to the Monthly Magazine and numerous other periodicals. In 1827 he presented his pieces in 262 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AND ORATORS. book-form, under the title of " Metrical Essays on Subjects of History and Imagination" In 1830 he put forth his Beauties of the Mind, which received considerable approbation, and which, in 1832, he was induced to publish in a revised and enlarged form, under the title of The Mind and other Poems. The same year saw the produc- tion of one of Swain's most truly poetical minor productions, we mean " Dryburgh Abbey ;" a poem that has resounded the author's fame wherever the English language is read. We believe the Mind has ran through four editions. Irrespective of its beautiful contents, it is " got up " in a truly superb style, the illastrations forming an attraction that we rarely meet with. Towards the latter end of 1847, he again presented himself to the public in a collec- tion entitled Dramatic Chapters. In May, 1849, he published his English Melodies, the popularity of which is too well known to demand any lengthened comment. Of course, the avocation of dyeing little agreed with Mr. Swain's temperament, and even had it done so, his health became en- dangered, and he withdrew from it. His next movement was in entering into the bookselling-business ; the which, however, in the course of two years, he abandoned. He subsequently established himself as an engraver and lithographer, in which he has continued up to the present period, and which is, we are led to believe, a source of social comfort and felicity. Mr. Swain has occasionally mounted the platform, and delivered a series of able lectures on Poetry at the Royal Institution and Manchester Athenaeum. His style of speaking is mostly chaste and elegant, with a degree of genial humour. His personal appearance is decidedly prepossess- ing. He presents a gentlemanly and highly-agreeable demeanour. His features are strikingly intellectual, and his form both tall and commanding. His forehead is lofty and expansive, and his head is covered with a profusion of jet black hair. Then, there is some- thing very attractive in his dark hazel eyes, which are full and brilliant. In private company, he is intelligent and sometimes vivacious, conversant with most of the moving topics of the day. He expresses himself in rather slow tones, but enunciates good sound sense and well-digested views. As may be naturally expected, Mr. Swain is surrounded by a throng of warm and influential friends. And now for a few words in the way of criticism. When Swain CHARLES SWAIN. 263 brought out his " Metrical Essays " and " The Mind" the literary world was somewhat taken aback. How Manchester, the very vortex of utilitarianism and material tendencies, could produce such a poet writing such poems, how a man could turn off so many exquisite fancies amidst so many ugly realities appeared to be a problem which none of our " wise saws " of critical notoriety could very clearly elucidate. Even the keen critic, Robert Southey, from his home among the mountains, like a good prophet, came down, and pronounced judgment " If ever man were born to be a poet he was ; and if Manchester is not proud of him yet, the time will cer- tainly come when it will be so." No one scarcely ever expected much beyond average business intellects out of our busy locality, because it was supposed, and naturally enough, we were too much absorbed in the service of Mammon, and the produce of warp, weft, and calicoes. But the world was mistaken ; Swain came forth in his beautiful poetic garb of the Mind, he attracted attention, won unlimited applause, demonstrated what beautiful idealities could spring from the whereabouts of gloomy realities ; and he struck with his beauty of ideas and equal beauty of utterance, he claimed the encouragement of the public, and received a good response, and people found at length a true poet among the workers. In estimating Mr. Swain's first production, we should place one of its greatest merits before all the rest, and that is its clearness of design and perspicuity of expression. The coldest and most stoical reader of poetry could scarcely resist the charms that meet him in this book, because all it contains is pregnant with truisms expressed in the most natural and truthful manner. In our opinion, his forte lies with far more power in a beautifully lucid enunciation of healthy truths, truths old as the human heart and its affections, than in the origin of new ideas. The author who strives to infuse good simple truths into the minds of his race, is truly worthy of his call as a poet. In Swain, one glance suffices ; he makes no circumlocutions, he does not lead you down a certain number of pages before you arrive at his meaning, but announces himself at once, and familiarises you with his line of action with his thoughts and feelings with the clearest transparency and in the most explicit terms. This is a leading and remarkable feature in all his productions. The Metrical Essays are replete with much elegance of sentiment and warm earnestness of feeling. The Mind, however, at present, is Swain's chef d'&uvre. It 264 LANCASHIRE AUTHORS AISTD ORATORS. manifests all his best qualities as a poet, both in point of inventive genius and poetic utterance. It is characterised by some of the finest aspirations of the poet, and the noblest emotions of the man. We annex a few bold, striking, and original thoughts for the pleasure of our reader. In one passage, he says, " Sculpture is Mind enchanted into stone." Speaking of Poetry, he says " For ever hast thou been a gift of light, A voice in the eternity of days, A presence in the everlasting sight, Soaring where even Seraphs fear to gaze." Again " 'Tis sweet to look upon the stars and deem A spiritual influence breaths around, That we are nearer heaven than we seem, And missioned angels make earth hallowed ground : That our own nature with yon sphere is bound In mystic harmony in link divine Celestial correspondence that when found 'Twixt soul and star our coming fate define, And shape our horoscope with Truth's unerring line." There is much poetry and philosophy in the following. " The morning wind that lingers o'er the rose, Plays with the willow, or the harp-string finds "Wakes perfume music grace ; but where are those Would say grace, perfume, music were the Wind's? So are there agencies of many kinds Waking intelligence by thousand ways, But fancy, taste, and feeling, are the " Mind's," The agency is but the wind that plays Over our spirit's cords, and nature's law obeys." " When Time stands mute before Eternity" is the commencement of another vigorous stanza. Again " In Words, far more than they express, A secret painting lies ; As VENUS pictures loveliness E'en to our reading eyes !" " A gleam of daylight set May gild the cloud of eve, And the soul's light linger yet O'er the form it sighed to leave." CHARLES SWAIN. 265 ^'- *% ORMNO. DD6, 40m 10 '77 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY BERKELEY, CA 94720