BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF BATH CELEBRITIES. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF BATH CELEBEITIES, ANCIENT AND MODERN, WITH SOME FRAGMENTS OF LOCAL HISTORY. BY JEROM MURCH, President of the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, And Fice-Presidenl of the Somersetshire Archcwlogical and Natural Society. " For sluggard's brow the laurel never grows ; Renown is not the child of indolent repose." Thomson's Castle of Indolence. LONDON : ISAAC PITMAN & SONS. BATH : WILLIAM LEWIS & SON, MDCCCXCIII. TO THE HALLOWED MEMORY OF ONE WHO WAS MY BELOVED COUNSELLOR THROUGH SIXTY-TWO YEARS, AND WHO AIDED ME IN REVISING THE EARLIER PAGES OF THIS BOOK, IT IS NOW MOST GRATEFULLY INSCRIBED. BATH CELEBRITIES. CHAPTEK. I. THE EARLY BRITISH PERIOD. II. THE ROMAN PERIOD. III. THE SAXON PERIOD. IV. THE NORMAN PERIOD. V. THE EARLY MAYORS or BATH. VI. SIR JOHN HARINGTON AND BISHOP MONTAGUE. VII. WILLIAM PRYNNE. VIII. DR. GUIDOTT AND His CONTEMPORARIES. IX. BEAU NASH. X. RALPH ALLEN. XL JOHN PALMER. Part 1. XII. THE SAME. Part, 2. XIII. PHYSICIANS OF THE Two LAST CENTURIES. Part 1. XIV. THE SAME. Part 2. XV. DR. HENRY HARINGTON. XVI. SIR W. HERSCHEL AND CAROLINE HERSCHEL. XVII. DR. W. SMITH AND CHARLES MOORE. XVIII. THE Two WOODS, GAINSBOROUGH AND HOARE. XIX. THOMAS BARKER AND BENJAMIN BARKER. XX. FOUR DIVINES: HALES, CARTE, JAY AND KEMBLE. XXI. BISHOP BAINES AND BISHOP CLIFFORD. XXII. ARCHBISHOP MAGEE. XXIII. ANSTEY, REV. R. WARNER AND REV. J. HUNTER. XXIV. GENERAL SIR WILLIAM NAPIER. XXV. WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR. Part 1. XXVI. THE SAME. Part 2. XXVII. WILLIAM BECKFORD. Part 1. XXVIII. THE SAME. Part 2. XXIX. Miss LINLEY. XXX. MRS. SIDDONS. PREFACE. The following pages originated in a desire to bring together and put into popular form a few biographical facts of local interest. Bath has been long in high repute for its wonderful springs and remarkable beauty, but comparatively few know what a succession of eminent men have been connected with it. From time to time various writers have given valuable information, especial praise being due to a former and a present resident in the City ; the Eev. Joseph Hunter, F.S.A., who wrote on " The Connection of Bath with the Literature and Science of England," and Mr. R. E. M. Peach, the indefatigable author of " Historic Houses,' 1 " The Street Lore of Bath," and other instructive treatises. But the aims of these and similar productions have been somewhat different from my own. With me the chief object has been a series of short biographies, following the stream of local history from the earliest times. And while taking a wider range of subjects I have also had in view a larger class of readers, those whose attachment to the City of Bath would make them usefully interested in the lives of its greatest ornaments. To Mr. Hunter's work, valuable as it is, little publicity was given; only fifty copies of the original edition were printed, and when a second appeared, twenty-six years afterwards, its circulation was confined chiefly to the small body who wished for it, the Bath Literary Club. My readers will scarcely expect to find, within the small compass of these pages, minute and complete narratives. Not only would many volumes have been necessary for such a task, but far more time and labour than an octogenarian could hope to give. Hence my desire has been to state biiefly the moi-e important facts, to arrange them as much as possible in chronological order, and to give information that would Xli. PREFACE. be acceptable to the people of a city which has long been dear to me. The "Fragments of Local History" icere suggested by some of the memoirs as enabling me to deal more fully with matters in which the subjects of those memoirs u'ere largely interested. To know something of the charitable institutions is to know more of the medical profession, and an account of other undertakings may help to show what the citizens generally have done. I have only to add a few words of thankful acknowledgment. It would have been impossible to fulfil the task I undertook without the aid of libraries other than my own. The want has been abundantly met by the valuable "Bath books " of Mr. Peach, Mr. Frederick Shum and the Bath Literary and Scientific Institution. In only one instance did these collections fail me, and then the volume I wanted ivas kindly supplied by another friend, himself an authority on the subject which occupied my pen. Nor can I think lightly of the advantage of having had the sketches published weekly at first, as they have thus had a twofold revision. Errors, however, will probably be found; Judgment and Memory are never infallible, and at an age approaching eighty- six are very liable to lead astray, but I have no fear that the verdict on this last fruit off an old tree " will be too severe. November, 1893. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF BATH CELEBRITIES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. CHAPTER I. THE EARLY BRITISH PERIOD. My plan in these sketches is to select from a long roll of remarkable men the chief of those who, while celebrated themselves, promoted the reputation and prosperity of Bath. In many cases their fame was not merely local ; they filled offices and accomplished work of national importance, thus associating the city with the best interests of the country. The order of the proposed sketches will be chronological. Scanty as the earlier materials are, I think they should not be unused. Some writer justly says, " We have a share in the past, and the past works in us." It is peculiarly so with regard to the City of the Springs, whose biography is chiefly valuable for its historical character. And although only short notices can be given of the early British, Roman and Saxon periods, they will be sufficient to show what a long chain time has produced, and how various are the links of which it is composed. I shall not aim chiefly at giving new information. Much of what rny narratives will contain may be found in various works by well-known authors. Some of it perchance has been gathered into my own papers, read from time to time before public bodies. My object now is to condense in historical sequence, incidents worthy of remembrance THE EARLY generally, but especially by those who are attached to Bath. Although local patriotism may be a lower quality than the earnest love of country, it is yet one to be cultivated, both for the pleasure it causes to its possessor and for the good it leads him to do. Although the charm of novelty may be wanting in sketches such as I now propose, they may yet be some stimulus to the same public spirit as that which animated men who did good work in the world and is always needed for progress in small as well as large matters. PRINCE BLADUD. To not a few cities and nations, especially the older ones, the lot was given of having their early history marked by a mixture of fact and fable. The idea that Bath owes its origin to Bladud and the Swine is on a par with the idea that Rome is indebted for its existence to the nursing by a wolf of Romulus and Remus. Through many centuries both ideas were firmly fixed in the national mind, they were the subject of popular ballads, of tales by mothers to their children, of lays by poets and records by annalists. As to the Bladud story I find credit given to it by Geoffery of Monmouth in the twelfth century, by Leland, the learned antiquary, in the sixteenth, and by Wood, one of Bath's greatest architects, in the eighteenth. The hold that it gained in Bath is evident from the frequent use of the name of the British Prince. Not only were streets and inns and banks so designated in days gone by ; periodical publications of the present time, even the society journal of the city, announcing all the chief events of fashionable life, have assumed the historic appellation. But in mentioning these reasons for beginning my sketches with one of Bladud, I would not have it supposed that there BRITISH PERIOD. is nothing to be said for the theory of an earlier origin of Bath, or an earlier knowledge of the springs. Professor Earle has shown in his valuable book, Bath : Ancient and Modern, that there are good reasons for tracing the origin to an anterior settlement on and around the adjoining hill of Sols- bury, and, supposing such a settlement, it is hardly possible that those who migrated hither from so short a distance would know nothing of the springs. The termination " bury " means a fort or stronghold, being to the inhabitants what mediaeval castles were to small isolated populations throughout Europe. The prefix Sol, from whence Sul and Sulis, was the name of the deity reverenced by successive generations in this part of Somersetshire. It has been found inscribed on stones in many parts of Bath at various periods. Similar considerations led Professor Earle to opine that Solsbury was " more than a hill fort, occupied on emergencies for purposes of pro- tection, it was the venerable site of a populous British town." This opinion appears to be justified by the well known origin of various cities. Historians of Bristol state that a camp at Clifton was the original settlement there, established on the edge of the vast chasm in the banks of the Avon, and fortified by an ancient British prince, to protect from Welsh aggressions. The more easy access to the river for trading purposes on the level bank of what became Bristol, would operate at Caer Odor (the city of the chasm, as Clifton was then called) in like manner to the attraction of the springs at Solsbury ; there would be migration for good reasons in both cases to the neighbouring localities. The analogy also extends to the name of Bristol, one of the former names of Clifton having been Caer Brito, which was first given to the new settlement ; in the time of the Saxons it was Bristowe,- and afterwards Bristol. THE EARLY Returning to Prince Bladud little more can be said than is told in the two legends which have successively gained credit. They agree in some important particulars such as the Prince being the son of Lud Hudibras, 800 years before Christ The more incredible one also states that he was master of the Black Art, that by this means he created the first bath of the city, and that, conversing habitually with the Devil, he heard from him all he wanted to know. " Con- stantly devising some new wonder, he at length announced that he was about to fly in the air like a bird. He started for London on wings he had made, getting on well for some time, but finally meeting with contrary winds, his strength failed, the strings snapped, and he came down on the roof of Apollo's Temple in London, where he was dashed to pieces." Part of this myth is that a reign of 20 years being thus ended Bladud left a son called Leir, who reigned 60 years, that Leir had no son but three daughters, Germoyle, Regan, and Cordoyle. All this is recorded by Geoffery of Monmouth, translations of whose annals were well known and may yet be found in public libraries. Shakespeare was probably familiar with them. Malone says, " He had certainly read the account of Bladud as it occurs not far from that of Cymbeline." May not its mythical character have been a stimulus to his own imagination and had much to do with the production of the immortal play of King Lear ? The other less marvellous legend I have given in an unpublished work containing photographs of medallions illustrating the connection of royalty with Bath on the Ecritoire presented to the Princess of Wales in 1870. Prefixed to the photographs are short notices of the people and events to which they refer. Bladud is represented by the artist as a forlorn lad, yet with a refined face, having a BRITISH PERIOD. sheepskin over his head and shoulders, holding a spear and tending his pigs.* The following is the version I gave of the more modern myth. " Prince Bladud, only son of Hudibras, King of Britain, 800 years before Christ, being afflicted with leprosy, was sent away from the Court of his father and wandered into Somersetshire. Arrived at Keynsham and in great distress, * The Ecritoire is a beautiful specimen of the cabinet work for which Eath is remarkable. Being intended as a wedding present to the Princess of Wales on her marriage, it was adorned with seven china medallions illustrating the connection of royalty with the city. But various circumstances delayed the offering ; amongst them the elaborate character of the work, and the diffi- culty arising from the original limitation of the present to one class of inhabitants, the ladies, instead of including the citizens generally. At length the latter course was adopted ; a deputation, including the Mayor, were received at Marlborough House, by the Prince and Princess of Wales, and graciously informed that the Ecritoire would be highly valued for its beautiful work- manship, with the historical pictures, and sent to Sandringham for the use of the Princess. The subjects of the pictures were Prince Bladud and his Swine ; the Coronation of King Edgar in the Bath Abbey ; Canute of Denmark dictating to the Monks in the Bath Monastery ; the entrance of Edward III. into the ancient City ; Queen Elizabeth's visit to Bath ; Queen Anne and Prince George of Denmark received by the Corporation of Bath ; and the Duchess of Kent and Princess Victoria opening the Bath Park in 1832. The design for the Ecritoire was con- tributed by Major Davis, F.S.A., the drawings for the historical pictures by Mr. Arthur Murcb, and the work carried out by Mr. Knight, of Milsom Street. A handsome volume with photographs of the medallions and printed accounts of the scenes to which they refer, accompanied the Ecritoire. THE EARLY he obtained by some means charge of a herd of swine, which he drove across the Avon to the Valley, five miles distant, where, amidst tall weeds and brambles, he saw hot springs boiling up. Attracted by the heat the herd rushed in ; and the poor Prince, finding the shelter so sorely needed, took up his abode in the place, which is called to this day Swineswick or Swainswick. Day by day the animals wallowed in the mire till their skins showed a wonderful change for the better ; and their keeper, following their example, soon derived a similar benefit. In due time he re-appeared at Court, making himself known to the Queen, his mother, by means of a ring she had given him on leaving. Years passed before he succeeded to the throne ; but when he did so he revisited the scene of his wonderful cure, made cisterns around the springs and built houses for himself and his suite. Hence the city of Caer-brennen, afterwards called Akemannesceastre (the sick- man's city) then Bathan answering to the German Baden, subsequently Aquse Solis (the name given by Antoninus in his Itinerary), and finally Bath." Wood and other old writers amplify the story with no little confidence in modern credulity. They picture the recovered Prince distinguishing himself as the patron of all that was good. To him they attribute, as results of great travel and especially of his residence at Athens, the introduction into Britain not only of Greek philosophy, but of Greek religion. Some even give him the credit of building in Bath that magnificent temple of Minerva which is known to have existed there in the time of the Romans, the grand remains of which are still to be seen in the vestibule of the Royal Literary Institution. But here the credulous chroniclers were surely in error ; those remains the noble friezes and cornices, the glorious pediment and sculptured symbolism, the owl and BRITISH PERIOD. the helmet, point rather to the great people who for 400 years made Bath one of their chief British dwelling places, and whose votive altars and other monuments are so completely in harmony with the architecture of the temple. One of the advantages of modern writers on subjects like these is that by careful consideration of historical materials, including recent archaeological discoveries, they can come nearer to the truth than their predecessors. Thus can be ascertained how much of ancient legends is likely to be false and how much true, what tends to make a story worthy of general belief and what should be put aside as mere imaginative fringe. If the Solsbury origin of Bath be probable, if the springs were known before Bladud was sent from home, other things seemingly out of joint, become prob- able also. The British Queen is said to have given her poor son a ring when he went away. This is hardly compatible with her neglecting him so far as not to know what became of him, allowing him to wander no one knew where, and become a swineherd. But if a settlement at Bath already existed, if something, however little, was known of the springs, what more natural than that he should be sent there to be cured ? The fond mother receives him again ; his recovery becomes complete, and before succeeding to the throne he travels in search of knowledge and wisdom. Through all future years he never ceases to be grateful for his restoration by means of the springs. He constructs baths for the general use of them ; he builds houses for his own occasionaj residence and that of his suite ; he converts a small settle- ment into the beginning of a city. Much of all this being recorded by competent annalists, and the rest being highly probable, Prince Bladud may be fairly placed at the head of the roll of Ancient Bath Celebrities. THE ROMAN PERIOD. CHAPTER II. THE EOMAN PERIOD. The Bath Celebrities of the Roman Period consisted of the foremost men of the Roman colony who occupied the city four hundred years. Whatever Bladud may have done or be supposed to have done on his return from Athens to promote science and civilisation, there was now neither ability nor enterprise to make Bath what it became after Caesar landed in Britain. Centuries had passed since Bladud died; a succession of wars had devastated the country; the mineral springs and their surroundings were forsaken. Then at the beginning of the Christian Era came a new race as conquerors but with high intents ; they came to found a colony of the great empire, whose works should be worthy of its greatness. The springs would suit their luxurious tastes ; the scenery would remind them of what they had quitted ; there were quarries of stone for grand temples, beautiful villas and spacious baths, all fit for citizens who came from the Eternal City. Such were the advantages enjoyed by the legion whom the Emperor Claudius sent. That the chief officers were cultivated men is evident from the numerous architectural remains still existing. Nor was Italian refinement manifest only in great public monuments like the Temple of Minerva, whose remains are still with us. We have proofs of it also in the lately uncovered baths, in Samian ware and other pottery, lamps, cups, urns and vases which have been dug up from time to time. Two works of art a large bronze medallion with the legend Pompeia on it, and a head supposed to be a fragment of a statue of Apollo, now in the THE ROMAN PERIOD. Literary Institution, are, of themselves, sufficient to indicate the order of intellect that prevailed. In connection with all this, however, no name stands out with special prominence as that of a local celebrity ; a few emperors and generals share the chief honour of the public works because nothing could have been done without their initiation or sanction. All, therefore, that 1 can do in the way of biography is to mention the few to whom history has attributed certain undertakings. The Emperor Claudius is believed to have visited Bath soon after the conquest of Britain. To him is given the credit of cleansing the neglected springs a work to which his attention would be directed by his physician, Scribonius, who accompanied him. Warner says, "Extremely curious with respect to natural appearances were the bituminous cuticle covering the surface of the earth and the warm stagnant mass under the waters, appearances which would naturally attract notice. An immediate investigation of the causes of these phenomena would take place, and the mineral springs, which had wasted their medicinal virtues on the desert around, would be cleared and utilised/' Scribonius is represented as being especially interested in the work, from his desire to make the waters available for the cure of painful disorders as well as for luxury and ordinary uses. By his advice Claudius was induced to forego the usual Roman practice of fixing the site of the camp on one of the adjoining hills, and to build the town in what Warner calls "the morassy hollow of a close vale." In modern times the sanitary objections to "the close vale" have been more clearly seen, with the effect of extending the city up the sides of the hills. The plan of Claudius, formed during his short stay, was to 10 THE ROMAN PERIOD. build a town 400 yards from east to west and 380 from north to south. It was to be surrounded by a wall 20 feet high, with angular towers at the corners, and four gates facing the four cardinal points. A small portion of a wall that succeeded the original one remains opposite the Mineral Water Hospital. Warner mentions that workmen, digging there in the middle of the last century, reached, at the depth of 11 feet, the foundations of the first rampart. The town ordered by the Emperor was to have the springs in the centre ; there were to be dwellings and stables for legionaries, consisting of 3,050 foot and 500 horse, and special directions were given for a residence for the commander in a suitable position. Roman architects and builders lost no time ; the town soon sprung up, adorned with baths and temples ; people flocked from the adjoining counties to join the new colony and share its advantages with distinguished Roman generals. Professor Earle supposes that "further knowledge would establish a considerable parallelism between the Aquae Solis of this period and the Bath of the eighteenth century." One of the chief benefactors was Julius Agricola, father-in- law of Tacitus, and general in the reigns of Yespasian, Titus and Domitian. It was by Vespasian that Agricola was appointed Governor of Britain, in which capacity he dis- tinguished himself by reforming abuses that former governors had sanctioned, and by endeavouring to induce the Britons to conform to Roman customs. His policy was described by Tacitus in a well known passage quoted by Edmund Burke, in what Mr. P. B. Duncan, of New College, Oxford, writing on the subject in one of his essays, calls "his precious fragment of English history."* Agricola aimed to divert the * It does not appear that these essays were published. The THE ROMAN PERIOD. 11 Britons from warlike pursuits and rebellion against Roman rule by softening their manners, promoting education of various kinds, and doing all in his power to encourage title page merely indicates that they were printed at Oxford by Thomas Combe in 1840. If Mr. Philip Bury Duncan was not one of the most celebrated of Bath men he was one of the most useful. It will, therefore, not be inappropriate to borrow a note from the pages of " Three Decades of the Bath Literary Club," a paper read by myself in 1890. The lapse of three years has made me slightly alter a date. " Here it would be almost un- grateful to omit a tribute to the memory of one who was long pre-eminent in service to literature and science "in Bath. Joined in every good work by an excellent brother with whom he lived, Mr. Philip Bury Duncan was one of the most prominent founders of our Royal Literary and Scientific Institution. He had removed to Bath from Oxford, where he was Resident Fellow of New College and Curator of the Ashmolean Museum. His services to the University were in later life suitably acknowledged by the diploma of LL.D. The knowledge and experience gained there proved of great value in the work of forming a high class library at the Institution and beginning a local museum. To the intellectual life then awakened in Bath he brought vigour by lectures of no common interest at evening meetings at the Institution. They are happily preserved in two small volumes printed at Oxford, in 1840, entitled 'Essays and Miscellanea.' The variety of subjects is as remarkable as the learning and thoughtfulness with which they are treated. To mention only a few : Painting, Sculpture, Botany, Zoology, Geology, Foreign Travel, the Voice of Birds, Quackery, Conversation, Novels, the Nature of Human Hair, and A Gentleman's Day in Antient Rome ; no wonder that the pleasant lecture room was well filled. Mr. Duncan was Chairman of the Institution when I joined it in 1834 now fifty-nine years ago. We all admired his varied ability, 12 THE ROMAN PERIOD. artistic taste. Young men of rank were persuaded to learn the language and wear the patrician dress of Italy, although these had hitherto been considered badges of slavery, while his unceasing energy, his catholic disposition, and his quiet munificence. When the Literary Club was formed he regretted that age and infirmities prevented his becoming a member, but we had his warmest sympathy, and an occasional literary contri- bution. He was succeeded, for a short time, in the chairmanship of the Institution by Mr. Markland, and Mr. Markland by myself in 1859. Thus the office has only 'been vacant twice in more than sixty years." To this tribute may be added Mr. Duncan's inscription in the essays to his brother, who was also an unwearied benefactor of Bath. TO MY BELOVED BROTHER AND FRIEND, JOHN SHUTE DUNCAN, " Qualem non candidiorem " Terra tulit neque quo me sit devinctior alter ; " WHO HAS ALWAYS EXHIBITED THE TOTAL FORGETFULNESS OF SELF, COMPARED TO WHICH, THE VIRTUES OF HEROES SINK TO NOTHING. IN MEMORIAL OF A CONSTANT AND MUTUAL AFFECTION, EXTENDED TO THE SCRIPTURAL AGE OF MAN. This being a note to a chapter on the Roman Period, it may be further stated that the brothers Duncan were especially interested in the preservation and arrangement of the grand Remains found at various times in Bath, also that to commemorate this and other services a brass plate was affixed in the vestibule of the Institution, surmounted by two portraits in the same frame, presented by the daughter of Mr. J. S. Duncan, Mrs. Eraser, late of Manchester. THE ROMAN PERIOD. 13 land-owners acquired agricultural knowledge as a means of improving their property. In the city of the springs, Agricola found ample scope for all this. Here were a people, able and willing to fall in with every scheme of refinement. Men and women who had come from lonely dwellings in the country to enjoy advantages hitherto unknown were delighted with the new life open to them. Thus would the city become, as Professor Earle suggests, " very much what Bath was in the eighteenth century." Who can doubt that the wise Governor of Britain was welcomed by all classes when- ever he came to see how his orders, including the beautiful temple of Minerva, had been carried out ? I now come to action of a very different kind. A system of trade corporations had been highly developed throughout the Roman Empire. Professor Earle mentions that no less than forty-four guilds or societies of this kind were known to exist, and Warner gives a long account of a large company of Smiths at Bath. They were Armourers, connected with what was called the fabrica, a great military forge, a stw-ag national institution, of which the Emperor Hadrian was the founder, by whose directions the branch at Bath is said to have been established. But on the last point the evidence is slight. Hadrian certainly came to Britain and probably to Bath. So much, moreover, was done by him in this country generally that on his return to Rome he was honoured with the title of Restorer of Britain. But whether he himself established the Bath branch of the Corporation of Armourers, or committed the work to one of his generals, is uncertain ; indeed the fact that there was a great industry in the midst of the cultivated population of the city is the only one of importance. The object of these bodies in the various towns was to make arms for the use of the legions to which 14 THE ROMAN PERIOD. they were attached, at public forges. Officers were appointed to receive and distribute the arms, which no person was permitted to manufacture unless admitted as a member of the company. Besides the ordinary fabricce for local legions, there were the fabricce sacrce, much larger establishments, which supplied whole provinces, and even kingdoms. There are indications that Bath had one of these for the purpose of furnishing arms to troops at a distance as well as to the garrison of the neighbourhood. The Rev. Joseph Hunter, in his treatise on The connection of Bath with the Literature and Science of England, says that this manufactory must have caused the processes of metallurgy to be carried on to a considerable extent, and that the furnaces thus used may also have produced the beautiful bronzes I have mentioned, with many other works of art. Thus the city would become one of bustle and business, the abode not only of people of leisure, but of shrewd, skilful men. Another respect, this, in which Bath, of the second century, resembled Bath of modern times ; for as Agricola's artists and Hadrian's inventors gave it a name to live in the annals of industry in their day, so did Ralph Allen and John Palmer, by their wise enterprises, make it known in theirs. Although my object is biographical rather than historical, I must not omit another matter in connection with the great works of the time. While artisans found abundant occupation in Bath, unskilled labourers, probably slaves, were employed by hundreds in constructing the wonderful roads to and from the city. Those marvellous highways were carried over hill and dale, in lines as straight as possible, towards Durocorinium (Cirencester), another to Yerlucio (Westbury), a third to Ischalis (Ilchester), a fourth to Abone (Bitton), on the way to the Severn. "The last place," says Warner, "was probably THE ROMAN PERIOD. 15 made a station when Vespasian led his troops from Bath- immediately after taking possession of the country round it, against the Silures, in the. year 44 or 45." Two Roman Celebrities have prominent places in the events of the period, Plautius, a commander of the troops, who returned to Rome in 49, receiving there an ovation for his meritorious services in Britain, and Publius Ostorius Scapula, who succeeded him at Bath. On the banks of the Severn is a village near where the ancient Roman ferry crossed the river ; Ostorius erected a fort there ; the place is called in Domesday book Oster-clive ; its name is now Aust. Thus is the present connected with the past. It might have been supposed that some of the inscriptions so beautifully cut on the votive altars and other monuments still existing in the Bath Literary and Scientific Institution would refer to men who might be designated Celebrities. But it is hardly so ; they refer, interesting as they are, to people of comparatively limited influence, such as an officer of the army beloved by his troop, a freedman fulfilling a vow connected with the health of his patron, and a priest of the Goddess Sulis honoured in this way by his wife Calphurnia. A few are important as bearing on historical facts like those relating to the Government industry just mentioned. In the vestibule of the Institution is an upright stone adorned by a moulding and a triangular top with a device of fruit and flowers. The inscription, which is wonderfully clear, is to the memory of Julius Vitalis, who was smith or armourer to the twentieth legion, and who is said to have been beloved by his fraternity, they showing respect for his memory by placing the stone over his remains. It was found in the year 1708 on the side of the London Road, Walcot ; interments of that time, in Bath as at Rome, not being within the city but along THE ROMAN PERIOD. highways leading to it. Many of the inscriptions refer to the divinity SuL One suggests questions touching the early progress of Christianity in Britain. I do not say more on the subject because it has been ably dealt with by various archaeologists, and my object is chiefly biographical. All who wish for ample information on the antiquities of Bath should become acquainted with the descriptions in the Aquce Solis of the Rev. Prebendary Scarth, who conferred great obligations on the city by a long course of learned and successful research. Is it too much to hope that any plan for protecting the Roman Bath and connecting it with the proposed extension. of the Pump Room structure may include a spacious corridor so as to bring all the important remains of the ancient city into juxta position with the Bath ? There are tesselated pave- ments of villas in the neighbourhood as well as votive altars and other monuments and ornaments that might be thus shown to very instructive advantage, free access being allowed at certain hours both to residents and visitors. THE SAXON PERIOD. 17 CHAPTER III. THE SAXON PERIOD. One hundred and sixty-seven years passed after the Roman troops were withdrawn from Britain and before the Saxon period commenced. The two most important events affect- ing Bath were the change of religion from Heathendom to Christianity and the great battle of Dyrham, A.D. 577, in which the three British Kings were defeated. The change of religion had begun in consequence of the Roman edict that all temples throughout the Empire should be henceforth used for Christian worship, but the people, exhausted by incessant struggles with northern invaders, could no longer resist the Saxon Chieftains. In vain had Arthur on former occasions fought and conquered again and again; in vain did the worn-out Britains revive the memories which Tennyson described : " For many a petty king ere Arthur came Ruled in this isle, and ever waging war Each upon other, wasted all the land ; And still from time to time the Heathen host Swarmed over seas and harried what was left. And so there grew great tracts of wilderness, Wherein the beast was ever more and more, But man was less and less till Arthur came." Terribly as the defeat was, aggravated by recollections like these, it was eventually overruled for good. The importance to Bath of Saxon rule, with all its far-reaching consequences, can scarcely be overrated. It gave not only new life but higher life ; slow in development it is true, but infinitely better than either the half savage state of British existence or B THE SAXON PERIOD. the military government of Rome, even with all its artistic alleviations. Both were inconsistent with genuine freedom, which could only be gained permanently, though perhaps slowly, by the influences of the Christian religion. Much as in these times, many of us, looking at the matter from our own stand point, may see that is objectionable in monastic institutions, yet who can doubt that it was by them chiefly the gradual improvement of the country was effected? Through them the rulers of the Saxon period worked ; the Kings Osric, Offa, Athelstan, and ^Edgar, the ecclesiastics Dunstan and J^lphege, of whom I have now to write, would have been otherwise powerless. But before we can understand what they did, it is necessary to bear in mind the state of things with which they had to deal. For this purpose I will quote from the valuable historical essay by Professor Earle. The habits of the Saxon conquerors, it appears, made them averse to city life. They loved the free and open country, and pitched their dwellings where a stream, a plain or a wood took their fancy. Even had it not been so they would have been repelled by the desolation everywhere visible. Bath, after being forsaken by the Romans, had been devastated by successive invaders ; streets, baths, temples, monuments were all in ruins ; what was there to tempt such a people to make it their home ? In reference to this, Mr. Earle writes : " There is at Exeter a book still lying where it was deposited about the year 1050 by Leofric, the tenth bishop of Crediton and first bishop of Exeter. It is a volume of English poetry, unmistakeably described in the extant catalogue of books given by him to his cathedral, and it is still in the keeping of the chapter. One of the oldest poems in the book is a testamentary piece descriptive of a city in ruins. There is massive masonry, the place was once handsomely built and THE SAXON PERIOD. decorated, and held by warriors, but now all tumbled about ; works of art exposed to the sky, and forming a strange Contrast to the desolation around ; there is a wide pool of water hot with fire ; and there are the once frequented baths. This is no vague poetic dream, but the portrait of a definite spot. It suits the old Brito-Roman ruin of Akeman (as Bath was then called) after 577, and it suits no other place that I can think of in the habitable world." How to restore this ruined city was the problem the rulers had to solve. The way that would naturally first occur to them was that of bringing people together by meeting their most obvious wants. The Christian religion, as I have intimated, had begun to interest many, and public worship would still have, as it had in heathen times, and will always have, a strong attractive power. Hence the earliest Saxon kings founded religious establishments. Historians differ as to whether Osric or Offa did most in this way ; they reigned over different provinces, but both had been converted to Christianity, and both were interested in the sick man's city. Osric led the way by founding a nunnery for patients near the springs about the year 67 6. From the beginning of Saxon rule the springs were a great means of effecting its object or restoring the city. The virtues so well known to the Romans Were soon recognised by their practical successors, and quickened the process of reconstruction. But Osric was King of the Huiccii, the Jugantes of Tacitus, inhabitants, according to Bede, of Worcestershire, Warwickshire, and part of Gloucestershire,whereas Bath belonged to another kingdom, that of Wessex, the consent of whose sovereign it was neces- sary to obtain. It was given, and a woman named Bretana regularly appointed as a kind of abbess. The king enlarged the establishment by inducing one hundred families to join 20 THE SAXON PERIOD. it. But, generous as the effort was, the times were against it and the institution fell into decay. 'Then came Offa, the renowned King of Mercia, who wrested Bath from the King of Wessex in the year 775, and established a college of secular canons, the germ of the celebrated Bath Monastery. Its progress was slow until the reign of Athelstan, which commenced in the early part of the tenth century. He had done much for Bath by establishing a mint, giving the city municipal privileges, and employing other means of raising it again to a high position. But his love of learning and literature would give him especial sympathies with the monastery ; he, therefore, did much to amend its sinking fortunes. In addition to several large estates in the neighbourhood of the city he made valuable gifts to the library, taking a personal interest in selecting books, such as those on medical science, which would be practically useful. Thus the Abbey of Bath became, in the words of Mr. Earle, " a nourishing institution, beneficent, educational, and highly ornamental. It was imposing in every aspect ; by its buildings, by its brother- hood, and by its political importance. Its church, the predecessor of that long Norman building of which we still see some of the pier -bases, was greatly admired. Of the religious reputation of the monastery we shall catch a glimpse presently. Of its library and literature some few specimens exist, especially one volume at Cambridge, which tells of the estates of the Abbey and of the benevolent agrarian policy of the abbots." Much might be said also of what they did in the manumission of slaves and other philanthropic move- ments in the West of England. The "glimpse of the religious reputation " I have mentioned may be caught as we proceed to the close of the tenth century. THE SAXON PERIOD. 21 The church of the Abbey was then the scene of one of the most brilliant events in the history of Bath. King JEdgar was crowned with great pomp at the festival of Whitsuntide in the fourteenth year of his reign. It was an event that lit up the entire West of England, and gave to the city of the springs a radiance which it retained through many a year. From the Abbeys of Gloucestershire, Hampshire and Wiltshire, Dorset, Devon, and Cornwall dignitaries came to give grace to the ceremony. The old poets and annalists were especially jubilant on the subject. A book entitled The Glory of Regality, by Arthur Taylor, gives the original and translation of one of the poems. Reduced to prose it sets forth that ^Edgar was crowned " with mickie pomp in the old borough of Achemannescestre, named by those who dwelt in it Bath, that there was mickie rejoicing on that happy day of Pentecost and that there were of priests a heap, of monks a vast crowd, of wise men a great gathering. " How long the remembrance of the event lived in Bath is shown by Leland, who, writing 600 years afterwards, says it was still the custom there to elect a King at Whitsuntide and treat him with a banquet in commemoration of the pageant of 973. This continued as late as the time of Beau Nash. The coronation of ^Edgar at Bath may have been due to various causes. One, his own interest and that of his family in an important, historical city. Another, its central position as to some of the chief churches and monasteries. Another, the connection with it of the archbishop who officiated at the ceremony, Dunstan, and his great ally, ^Elphege. Monastic life was rapidly becoming identified with the national life and monopolising the property of the country. Dunstan was especially interested in replacing the secular clergy with Benedictine monks, nowhere was this policy carried out more 02 THE SAXON PERIOD. vigorously than in Somersetshire and the adjoining counties. -Edgar boasted of having founded forty-seven monasteries, andintended to make the number fifty. All this may have had much to do with the selection of Bath for the ceremony. There was a curious question, of which even Professor Freeman in his great work, The Norman Conquest, stated he could find no adequate solution why the coronation was delayed so long ? But it need not be discussed here, my object being chiefly to show that JEdgar fairly ranks among those who were honoured in the city.* Dunstan was a celebrity of a different kind. Living in early life at Glastonbury, first as an ascetic monk and afteiv wards as a powerful abbot, his influence in Bath would be * Wliy the coronation of sEdgar at Bath was delayed so long t Although the discussion of this question was not convenient within the limits of the chapter as first issued a few con- siderations may be referred to here. I ventured to suggest them in an inaugural address at a meeting of the Somersetshire Archaeological Society at Bath in 1876 and the address was printed in the Journal of the Proceedings of the year. It appeared to me, though with sincere deference to the judgment of the Historian of the Norman Conquest, that the ceremony which had been postponed through fourteen years may at length have been fixed upon partly as a means of celebrating the triumph and establishing the power of a new order of things. JEdg&T had very much at heart the identification of Monastic Life with the National Life, thus binding the Church of England and the People of England to Rome, and monopolising not only the government but the property of the country. ^Edgar took so much pride in the Benedictine scheme that according to Sharon Turner, he boasted, A.D. 964, of having founded forty-seven monasteries and declared his intention to increase them to fifty. THE SAXON PERIOD. .considerable. His , descent from a noble Wessex family ; accounts for the secular accomplishments which distinguished him as a young man and recommended him to the Court. .He played .upon the harp, excelled in painting and sculpture, advised the king on intricate State affairs, and at times pretended to work miracles. But we are told by his Biographers that "he suffered much from the devil, who, being 'especially offended by his miraculous pretensions, prompted ;some envious courtiers to persuade Athelstan he was a magician. The devil, so runs the legend, succeeded; , JDunstan was 'dismissed, forsook the world and became a monk." Then began his connection with Somersetshire ; he built a small cell against the wall of the old church at Glastonbury in order to give himself entirely to religious exercises. Having thus recovered from the terrible imputa- tion as to " the black art" he was again sought by Athelstan, , ,who, in choosing his chief advisers, fixed on those who combined superior statesmanship with ecclesiastical zeal. Dunstan was first made abbot of the rich monastery of Glastonbury, and after other marks of royal favour chequered, however^ by severe reverses Archbishop of Canterbury. This brought him again to Bath for the coronation. Much bad happened to him since the time of the tiny cell at Glastonbury, but in the various chances and changes of life he had always obeyed the call of duty. That was his prominent characteristic. No dread of loss or exile prevented his rebuking wickedness in high places. As statesman, prelate, master, and friend, he was faithful to conscience and his Christian work. His weaknesses were those of the age in which he lived; his noble qualities deserve grateful remembrance. The remaining celebrity of the time and place is JElphege, 24 THE SAXON PERIOD. in English, JElfheah. His connection with Bath originated with his friend Dunstan, whom he imitated by building a small cell and living as an anchorite. He chose for his site the village of Weston, where it is said he was born, though his family who, like Dunstan's, were of noble rank, lived at a distance. His rigid asceticism, which had grown into much favour among those in his class of life, led many of them to come to him for advice, some of whom became monks and lived under his rule, while others gave him the means of supporting the new brotherhood. This led to his appoint- ment as abbot at the Bath monastery. ^Edgar appears to have had much confidence in him. " If it is true," says the author of his life in the National Biography, " that the king in 970 refounded the Church of Bath as a convent of regulars the new society probably owed to JElfheah a considerable increase in its numbers." In 984 he quitted Bath, where he had laboured so successfully, to become Bishop of Winchester. There he distinguished himself by his efforts to convert the northmen, and especially by his influence with Olaf ; the Norwegian king. That he had the statesmanlike qualities as well as the religious zeal of Dunstan was shown by the next mark of royal confidence, his elevation to the Archbishopric of Canterbury. Those qualities were prominent in his policy as to the frequent Danish invasions which at that time so troubled the Government, but although his conduct was always humane and considerate, he at length fell a victim to the savage barbarity of the invaders. They had assembled in great force at Canterbury, besieged the city and burnt it. The venerable prelate, with many of his people, was made captive, half starved and otherwise ill-used. In the hope of gaining a large ransom they were taken to the ships and kept THE SAXON PERIOD. 25 prisoners for seven months. At length came a day on which the ransom was to be paid, but JElphege refused to save his life by sacrifices which his friends could ill afford to make. Then his enemies withdrew their offer ; in vain did one of their leaders, who had been much impressed by the Arch- bishop's teaching and example, offer gold and silver and all that he had to save him ; he was put to death with the most inconceivable aggravation of savage cruelty. Although during the Saxon period Bath attracted fewer residents than in the Roman occupation, there must have been some in connection with the increase of trade. I have mentioned that Athelstan established a royal mint, coins from which may still be seen not only in the museums, of countries under English rule but in those of the North of Europe. No doubt the chief officers of the mint were men of ability and influence, trusted by the Government, and doing for commerce and industry what the armourers of the Roman period did for warlike purposes. Their names appear on the coins of several successive reigns, and the fact that those coins were issued for so long a period and in so few places (not even Bristol being one) shows the high position of Bath. In concluding my account of the Roman period I mentioned Mr. Scarth's Aquce Solis as very useful with regard to the antiquities of Bath. I would now suggest, as aids to a good understanding of the Saxon period, The Saxon Chronicle, Conybeare's Illustrations of Anglo-Saxon Poetry, and Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe. THE NORMAN PERIOD. CHAPTER IV. THE NORMAN PERIOD. JOHN DE VILLULA. From the close of the Saxon period to the Norman Conquest the Danes were the ruling power, with the excep- tion of three years marked by the restoration of Ethelred and the short reign of his son. History records that Sweyne, the father of Canute, made Bath his head-quarters in 1 015, to receive the submission of the Western Thanes, also that the effigy of Canute appears on coins still existing from the Bath mint. Further, there is a legend that this sovereign often visited the Bath monastery to take counsel with the monks as to the laws he should frame for the kingdom, dictating what they should write. One of the medallions of the ecritoire presented to the Princess of Wales, and mentioned in a former sketch, represents the king thus engaged. The connection of Sweyne with Bath makes the legend as to his son probable. It was a time when men knew no better way of relieving the pangs of conscience than by endowing and frequenting religious institutions. With Canute all high enjoyment was marred by the remembrance of the deeds of violence of which he had been guilty through a great part of his life. Sovereign at the same time of England, Denmark and Norway ; possessing more power in each country than any of his predecessors, there was yet the " rooted sorrow," the " mind diseased," that made existence miserable. In vain did his courtiers remind him that his own valour and wisdom had won for him the proud eminence ; he listened rather to the spiritual advisers of prayer, penance and self-denial ; seeking THE NORMAN PERIOD. 27 relief chiefly in enriching chantries where masses might be said for the souls of those who had fallen in battle against him. Canute's munificence in Bath would naturally cause his memory to be cherished. But not even the wealth and dignity of the Abbey could avert the fate that awaited the city after the Norman Conquest. In the war between the two sons of the Conqueror the entire country from Bristol to Worcester was devastated ; Bristol was taken by Robert, the lder son ; Bath he sacked and burnt. This occurred in 1 087, and should be remembered with some other events in connection with the subsequent doings of the remarkable man who is the chief subject of the present sketch. The contest between the royal brothers had ended in the victory of Rufus, who received from his father a letter to Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, recommending that the rights of the elder should be cancelled and the younger called to succeed. The Domesday book contained particulars respecting Bath which facilitated the next great change in its fortunes. It was there shown to be a royal " ferme, held by the king," and was known to be disposable to any Norman rich enough to buy it. Rums inherited the ferme and sold it to John de Villula for 500 marks. The buyer was a physician of Tours, who came to England in the train of the Conqueror. After some time he came to Bath apparently with the view of practising in connection with the springs, but having acquired considerable wealth, being also both able and ambitious, he seized opportunities of personal advancement. Well known at the English court, and a favourite of Rufus, he had no difficulty in turning his position to advantage by buying not only the Royal ferme but also the bishopric of Somerset. All such offices were then saleable, the 28 THE NORMAN PERIOD. chief qualification being that the buyer should be a foreigner of some mark. As fast as the Saxons were dispossessed, as they generally were with ruthless cruelty, crowds of Norman, German. Belgian, and Italian aspirants were imported to take their places. De Villula became by means of his purchases a king-bishop ; he had power, both temporal and spiritual, to do what he liked ; his ability was equal to his ambition and, though Bath may have hated the foreign yoke, its people had some compensation. They saw the city gradually rebuilt ; another great church erected on the site of the old one ; visitors came again to the springs attracted by the medical reputation of the new owner and a spirit rekindled in the Abbey, making it the home of eminent men, such as the Roman city was in the times of Hadrian and Agricola. De Villula lived but little at Wells although the seat of the bishopric of Somerset was there. He greatly preferred Bath as more interesting from its historical associations and giving wider scope for objects he had at heart. Thierry in his elaborate history of the Norman Conquest states that "the newly appointed bishops generally deserted the smaller towns in which episcopal seats had been fixed and built palaces in the larger towns." No doubt the existence of the monastery at Bath and the necessity of great attention to its interests would be one strong reason for transferring the seat, and another event occurred which strengthened the purpose of de Villula. Some time after he had obtained the bishopric, the Abbot of Bath, ^Elsig, died, to whose office he succeeded, thus acquiring additional influence in the city. He employed it to reorganise the brotherhood and give the institution a higher character ; at the same time exchanging the title of Bishop of Somerset for that of Bishop of Bath ; the prior and monks of the Bath Abbey forming the chapter of the THE NORMAN PERIOD. 29 cathedral. As was to be expected this exaltation of Bath caused much mortification at Wells, which was increased by the rigorous treatment of the Canons there. They saw their revenues alienated, their beautiful refectory and dormitories pulled down, and themselves turned adrift from their peaceful homes to live amongst the laity. All this long rankled in their minds. We shall see presently how peace between the rival cities was at length restored. Meanwhile it is only just to de Villula to remember that if some parts of his policy were questionable others were eminently useful. At Wells he could not have done what he did at Bath in the way both of local and national progress, restoring a ruined historical city and gathering around him benefactors to the science and literature of the country. Fifty years passed before the dissensions were healed. De Villula had died and been succeeded by Godfrey, a German promoted by the influence of the queen of Henry I. Godfrey, we are told, was " gentle and pious, sprung from a noble family, but could not get back the revenues for the Canons at Wells though he tried to do so." The next Bishop was Robert, " a monk of Lewes, who had been sent to Glastonbury to put the affairs of the Abbey in order ; " " he also," says the historian I have just quoted, " was descended of illustrious parents, a religious man and expert in business." He became the peacemaker ; to him was " resigned the land and rents of the impoverished Canons," and when he had completed some noble preparatory works he effected the union of Bath and Wells. I am now quoting chiefly from a very curious document written in Latin by one who is supposed to have been a Canon of Wells ; it was discovered by the Rev> Joseph Hunter in a register of the priory of Bath, preserved in the library at Lincoln's Inn, and edited for the Camden 30 THE NORMAN PERIOD. Society; the date of the document is 'probably that of the reign of Henry II. The preparatory works to which I have alluded are thus mentioned: "It is also to be added that the same bishop built, at great expense, the church of the blessed Peter the Apostle at Bath. He built also a chapter house and cloister, dormitory, refectory and infirmary. Nor ought it to be forgotten that the great church at Wells was built by his counsel and assistance." Then the good monk proceeds to show how the great church was consecrated and dedicated by four bishops, how Robert appointed suit- able cathedral officers to the satisfaction of both Bath and Wells, and how when all this was done he prepared " a charter of it for perpetual memory which the Pope confirmed." This ancient record is also valuable for the light it throws on the earlier history of the diocese, especially for its information respecting the Saxon bishops. Returning to de Villula I have only to add a passage from Mr. Hunter's appendix to the Latin treatise, with reference to a criticism by the author of the document : " But the testimony of William of Malmesbury will for ever vindicate the memory of one of the few promoters of exact knowledge and truth in England, and consequently of the best interests of the human race." De Yillula died in 1122, greatly respected. Leland, who gives honour where honour is due, was affected by the sight -of his tomb many years afterwards in one of his journeys, overgrown with weeds. It was in " the middle of the presbytery of the fair church he had built, but which had become waste and unroofed." Such was the state of the sepulchre of the physician from Tours who had reigned as Bishop at Bath tfiirty-four years. Among the eminent men whom he gathered around him was one who received honourable mention from all the THE NORMAN' PERIOD. 31 historians of the period Adelard Bathoniensis. He was an Oriental scholar who, having acquired, says Mr. Hunter, "what could be learned at home visited Spain, Egypt, and Arabia. He brought from those countries treatises on natural philosophy, and is in fact the main link by which western science is connected with that of the east.' 7 To him Europe owed the elements of Euclid not in the original Greek but in an Arabic translation. He was also an inquirer into nature, an original discoverer and altogether a profound philosopher. Such a man must have given a character to Society at Bath and probably attracted hither multitudes of inquirers eager to sit at his feet. Associated with Adelard in the monastery was Hugolinus,^ .called in Domesday book V Interpres," , a man of many languages. After them came William of Bath, a divine ; Henry of Bath, a lawyer ; and Reginald of Bath, a physician ; all celebrities in .their day t adding to their ordinary avocations the advancement of scientific and literary culture. Concerning Hugolinus there i,s information in Domesday book. De Villula bought of him for the Bath monastery some valuable properties. These we learn were at "Eston," Batheaston, "Herlei," Warleigh, and " Clafterton," Claverton. The purchase was made early in the reign of Rufus.* * It may not be inappropriate to add to the preceding sketch 1 a list of the Bishops of Bath and Wells as given in Mr. Earle's History with the dates of their accession, remarking that John of Tours and Godfrey though not titular bishops of both churches were virtually so. The union took place under Bishop Robert. It is interesting to observe that in this list is Reginald FitzJocelin, 32 THE. EARLY CHAPTER V. THE EARLY MAYORS OF BATH. John de Villula died in the year 1122 in the reign of Henry I. I have noticed other celebrities who brought us down to the middle of the century. There is now a very long interval unmarked by any distinguished life. But history is not silent ; the city made progress of various kinds, and names identified with it appear from time to time. Although little is said we may infer from the mere mention of some of them in Domesday book that they were prominent men. Others, like the first mayors and members of Parliament, find their places in local history, and I am induced to keep up the connection of my narratives by stating a few circumstances relating to them. the founder of S. John's Hospital in Bath, Thomas Wolsey, the celebrated cardinal, James Montagu, who restored the Bath Abbey Church, William Laud, of high ecclesiastical memory, and Thomas Ken, the sainted author of the morning and evening hymns. Bishop Ken, who spent much time at the beautiful seat of Longleat, near Warminster, and whose study, commanding a magnificent view, is still shown to visitors, bequeathed a large num- ber of books, nearly 200 volumes, chiefly foreign, to the old Bath Abbey Library where they remain with many others, alas, never used. It is hoped that ere long they may, together with other scattered collections, form part of a good public library worthy of the city. The two last Bishops in the following list have been much respected for their attention to this part of their diocese, though living at the ancient palace at Wells. Lord Auckland took a prominent part in opening the new wing of the Mineral MAYORS OF BATH. 33 During the greater part of the nonbiographical interval the Bath monastery continued the home of learned men. Among them were the eminent physicians mentioned in my last sketch, who ministered to the bodily as well as spiritual wants of the people. John de Villula, it will be remembered, was a doctor of medicine before he was a bishop, " outrunning," his biographers say, " all his contemporaries in honour and profit." What Reginald of Bath did as a medical man we are not told; nor yet what were the services of one <; Magister Johannes de Bathonia, Medicus " so the record runs, that he should have been granted " a suitable chamber with free Water Hospital and preached a sermon on its behalf in London obtaining a good collection at a fashionable West End Church. Lord Arthur Hervey was one of the Company of Revisers of the authorised version of the Holy Scriptures. BISHOPS OF BATH AND WELLS. John Clerk William Knight William Barlow Gilbert Bourne Gilbert Berkeley Thomas Godwin John Still James Montagu Arthur Lake .. William Laud Leonard Mawe Walter Curll .. William Piers Robeit Creighton Peter Mews Thomas Ken ... Richard Kidder George Hooper John Wynne Edward Willes Charles Moss ... Richard Beadon George Henry Law Richard Bagot Robert Eden ) Lord Auckland f Arthur Hervey ) Lord A. Hervey J John of Tours Godfrey Robert 1088 1123 1136 Reginald FitzJocelin 1174 Savaric 1192 Jocelin Troteman 1206 Roger William Button 1244 1248 Walter Giffard 1265 William Button 1267 Robert Burnell 1275 William de March 1293 Walter Hasleshaw 1302 John Drokensford 13(19 Ralph of Shrewsbury 1329 John Barnet ... 1:^63 John Harewell 1366 Walter Skirlaw 1386 Ralph Erghum Henry Bowett 1388 1401 Nicholas Bubwith 1407 John Stafford 1425 Thomas Beckington Robert Stillington 1443 1466 Rich Fox 1491 Oliver King ... Hadrian de Castello 1495 1504 Thomas Wolsey 1518 C 1523 1541 1549 1554 1560 1584 1593 1608 1616 1626 1628 1629 1632 1670 1673 1685 1691 1704 1727 1744 1774 1802 1824 1845 1854 1870 34 THE EARLY ingress and egress for life," also ample allowances from the kitchen, each being duly named. But that such men were of some mark is evident and that King Athelstane, among the books he gave to the library of the monastery, made a point of including the best on medical science, indicates the estimation in which that science was held. I may here advert to a trifling historical problem before quitting the Norman period. Following the usual authorities I have described Villula as coming " to England in the train of the Conqueror." A friendly critic has questioned the accuracy of this, and in favour of his view, he has urged some weighty considerations. First, that in the absence of definite testimony the statement looks more like probable conjecture than matter of fact. Was the successful physician either a Norman or a subject of the Conqueror, but on]y what he was designated " John of Tours." ? It was there he " outran all his contemporaries in honor and profit " and laid the foundation of the rank and fortune which afterwards gave him such an important place in history. That he took orders at the beginning of his career was a fortunate incident inasmuch as it gave bim tbe qualification for the Episcopal office. For all that he did before he came to England there would have been bardly time if he had come in the train of William. But by some means be was known to Rufus ; possibly his medical reputation caused a friendship, so that Rufus rather than William would be the attracting power. I have also been reminded that I have said nothing about tbe famous palace the aspiring churchman built in Bath. My reason for reticence was the extreme uncertainty as to where it stood, who occupied it and what became of it. Mr. Peacb is of opinion that " it stood over the Roman baths and what remained of it was removed early in the seventeenth century and a bowling green laid out upon the site." MAYORS OF BATH. 35 Now as to the earliest mayors. We have seen that Bath became a " burg " in the Saxon period. At the Norman Conquest such towns had long had coinage rights, market tolls, and various other local privileges. To these in the year 1194 was added first at Winchester, then at Bath, the power to try their own cases in their own courts and according to their own local laws. Then the increase of public business, required a presiding officer with more dignity and power than had been allowed previously ; hence the appointment of a mayor. But prior to this privilege it was necessary to constitute the elective body. This caused the incorporation of certain citizens as freemen, who, in Bath, retained the title and exercised the rights until very recently. The admission to the freedom was obtained in later times, if not also in the early ones, by apprenticeship, a part of the Guild system which prevailed extensively in Europe. The importance of these bodies of freemen was recognised at the Reformation by the transfer to them of much monastic property. To those of Bath came the valuable Bath commons, the rent of which they continued to enjoy until the Corporation, empowered by Act of Parliament, and seeing the gradual extinction of the body, purchased for the benefit of the public, the interest of those who remained. I happened to be one of a few citizens who gave, before a committee of the House of Commons, the evidence which was required to legalise the transfer. We pause here to consider the great significance of the Establishment of the Boroughs in England which has been ably treated by Professor Earle. Warner states that the first Mayor of Bath was John Savage, appointed in the year 1412. He is placed at the head of a list of ten who filled the office before 1587, being all the names he had been able to collect. They appear at the 36 THE EARLY head of the Roll in the Guildhall which is hung up in the Mayor's room. Professor Earle has given in his history the curious original English of the oath taken by the freemen in the mayoralty of John Savage, also the following translation : " I engage to be attentive and obedient to the Mayor of Bath and all his successors ; and I will attach myself to no other authority to the prejudice of any burgess of Bath. Neither may I bring any suit against any burgess of Bath except in the Mayor's Court, if so be that the Mayor is willing to do me right and competent to do it. Saint Catherine's Day I engage to keep as a holy day yearly ; and to the best of my power I will help to maintain Saint Catherine's Chapel and the bridge. All other customs and liberties that belong to the aforesaid freedom I will well and truly keep and maintain. So help me God and holy angels." The researches of Warner in the city archives as to the earliest mayors appear to have been less complete than those of another antiquary Mr. H. Riley, who at the request of some learned body had access to them in later times. He discovered a Latin deed showing that the office of mayor existed as early as 1230, and as the deed throws curious light on the civic usages of the time I transcribe a copy of the translation by Mr. Riley : " Know present and to come, that I, Walter, son of Serle, in my lawful power have given to Juliana, daughter of William Springod, one seld to the south of the Stalls of Bath, which I bought of Robert Prither for 4 marks and half a mark of silver ; to hold and to have to himself and to whomsoever he shall wish to give or assign it ; rendering for it yearly to the Lords of the fee at the Feast of S. Michael 7 pence and at Hock day 5 pence for Land gable (Land tax) for all service exaction and demand And that this my gift may have the MAYORS OF BATH. 37 strength of perpetual security, this present charter I have corroborated with the impression of my seal These being witnesses, Caskill de Westone John Duport at that time Mayor of Bath, Andrew the Clerk, Geoffry Wissi Hugh de Aystone, Thomas Sweyn, Walter Cabbel and many others." Mr. Riley traces the date to about 1230, and remarks: " This is perhaps the very earliest mention of a Mayor of Bath. The device of the seal has much the appearance of an ancient gem." More recently two Bath gentlemen have published a valuable book showing that the Bath mayoralty had an origin even earlier than that supposed by Mr. Riley. In The Municipal Records of Bath, by Mr. Austin King and Mr. B. H. Watts, we have a minute account, most clearly stated, of all the Bath charters and their contents. Not only this ; we also learn what preceded them, what was the spirit of the people who obtained them and how, step by step, the citizens gained the right of self-government which is now more prized. .We are reminded that the Saxon Chronicle mentions a Grieve of Bath named Alfred, who died in 907, that the present Mayor is his official lineal descendant, that even the changes of the Norman Conquest did not annihilate local courts thus governed, that the Town Council of the present day therefore represent the Tun Moot of Saxon times, and that thus, through a thousand years, Bath has had a municipal government. For these reasons it is a mistake to suppose that the civic liberties of Bath date chiefly from the charter of Elizabeth. Century after century charters were granted by various sovereigns, from Richard Coeur de Lion to Henry VIIL, some granting privileges, others confirming them. The charter of Elizabeth codified these, defined the constitution of the governing body, stated the number of aldermen and 38 THE EARLY councillors to be appointed, and ordained such ceremonies as carrying maces of gold or silver before the mayor ; but the real power existed long before. Who and what the celebrities of the middle ages were we have very little information. Now and then the good deeds are mentioned of some great benefactor like Reginald FitzJocelin, who, in the twelfth century, rebuilt S. Michael's Church, and founded S. John's Hospital. We are also told of kings and queens who held Bath as their property, and we might imagine Edward I. and his high-spirited mother, Eleanor of Provence, showing similar interest in the city to that displayed by the Roman and Saxon sovereigns ; but after all this would be only imagining, and it is better to deal with facts. Unfortunately, facts are also scanty with regard to another subject closely connected with that of the mayoralty the earliest members of Parliament for Bath. We only know when they were first returned, what were the names and position of some of them, and how unwillingly, in many cases they undertook the office. The earliest known representatives of Bath were Henry Bayton and Thomas Misleterre, returned in 1297, the twenty-sixth year of the reign of Edward I. Where they lived, or what was their position, we are not told, but subsequent records show that the citizens chose men from the neighbouring villages and the trading classes of Bath. Thus we have John de Suthstoke, Johnde Hampton, Hugh de Wyke, Richard Wydicornbe, William de Radestoke, Roger le Tanner, John le Draper, Alexander le Teinturer and William le Goldsmith. These represented the city in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries ; their successors, soon after the charter of Elizabeth, were generally men of county position, bearing such names as Harington, Hunger- ford, Fitzharding, Horner, Langton, Popham and Blathwayt. MAYORS OF BATH. 39 In the early period membership was deemed a burthen which men were anxious to avoid ; in the later it was evidently an honour, though not then so eagerly sought as in modern times. When we reach the reign of Elizabeth, we hear of a few local celebrities, such as Sherstone, who was the first Mayor under her Majesty's charter, and his son-in-law, Prynne, who was twice elected member for the city and succeeded to the Kecordership. Prior to this time, late in the fourteenth century, there was a celebrity of the other sex, though unfortunately, while we are told the names of mayors and members of Parliament, the only designation by which the good lady is known is that of " The Wyf of Bathe." She may be mentioned here, partly on her own account and partly because Chaucer could not have written of her as he did without knowing something of the city. At that time the woollen trade, which had long been carried on in Bath extensively, appears to have been very flourishing, " better cloth being sold than was produced by the looms of Ypres and Ghent." Whether the heroine or one of her five husbands was distinguished in this way the Canterbury Tales do not inform us, but the Father of English Song represents her as a learned lady who must have acquired some classical lore in Bath ; though it is stated by an annotator that what she quoted as from Ptolemy was not found in his works, and that she was in the habit of fathering on him wise sayings the real author of which she could not remember. I have mentioned William Sherstone as the first Mayor under the charter of Elizabeth. He also was a clothier, a man of considerable substance, probably a landowner, at all events a large occupier. He lived in a house called the Barton, the name of the estate which he appears to have farmed, and 40 THE EARLY which was probably the Royal "Berton" of Saxon and Norman times, originally purchased of the Crown by John de Villula, and afterwards transferred, sometimes to kings and queens and back again to courtiers or the city. The house, much altered, now stands at the end of Barton street, Queen square, and is part of the business premises of Messrs. Jolly and Son. It is pleasant to think of it as the residence of the first of Queen Elizabeth's mayors, with its then agree- able surroundings in open country, down to the Avon in one direction, and across the commons to Weston in the other. Pleasant also to think of him as the public spirited man who probably first won his seat in the House of Commons, which he retained through five Parliaments, as well as his three successive mayoralties, by the earnestness and ability with which he pressed the claim for incorporation on the Govern- ment. Tradition states that the Queen honoured Barton house by sleeping there when she visited her godson, Sir John Harington, at Kelstone, but of this there is no proof. That a genuine Bath celebrity, however, William Prynne, was a frequent visitor at the old mansion is highly probable, as his father married Miss Marie Sherstone, the Mayor's daughter, and he had much intercourse with the family for many years.* * As the last note contains a list of the Bishops of Bath and Wells it may be interesting to note who the Mayors of Bath were from the earliest recorded period. I have stated that Mr. Riley discovered in the archives of the city that the earliest mention of a Mayor, John Duport, is of the date 1230, in the reign of Henry III., whereas Warner begins his list with John Savage, 1412. The Bath historian gives a list of ten, the only names he had been able to obtain from 1412 to 1587 inclusive, which are placed at MAYORS OF BATH. 41 the head of the first roll now hung up in the Guildhall, this roll bringing the list down to 1799. The History of Bath being published soon afterwards could not include more ; so the list now given contains the names from 1412 to the present time. THE ROLL OF THE MAYORS OF BATH. BEFORE THE MUNICIPAL REFORM ACT. ...1658-9 ... 1660 ... 1661 ... 1662 ... 1663 ... 1664 ... 1665 ... 1666 ... 1667 ... 1668 ... 1669 ... 1670 ... 1671 ... 1672 ... 1673 ...1674-5 ... 1676 ... 1677 ... 1678 ... 1679 ... 1680 ... 1681 ... 1682 ... 1683 ... 1684 ... 1685 ... 1686 ... 1687 ... 1688 ... 1689 ... 1690 ... 1691 ... 1692 ... 1693 .. 1694 1695 1696 1697 1698 1699 1700 1701 1702 1703 1704 1705 1706 John Savage .. . 1412 John Peewce ... Ralph Hunt . 1414 John Bigges ... Richard Widecombe ... . 1416 Jo. Ford John Savage ... . 1425 Jo. Parker William Hayne . 1471 Wm. Childe ... Richard Chapman . 1503 Hen. Chapman Henry Co veil . 1533 Wa. Gibbes ... Edward Ludwell . 1551 John Peewce ... Thomas Ash . 1583 Tho. H. Gibbes John Court . 1587 Rob. Chapman The Charter of Queen Eliz abeth Wm. Childe . (32nd Elizabeth) 4th Sept. William Sherstone ... 1590. . 1590 Edward White Jo. Masters William Sherstone ... . 1615 Hen. Clwpman William Chapman . 1616 Hen. Parker ... Walter Chapman . 1617 Jo. Bush William Clift . 1618 Wa. Gibbes ... Richard Gay . 1619 Benja. Baber ... William Sherstone ... . 1620 Robt. Chapman Thomas Moorford . 1621 Jo. Masters Robert Frey . 1622 William Bush ... William Chapman ... . 1623 Edw. Buskett ... Matthew Rendall . 1621 Robert Hayward Richard Gay 1625-30 Walter Hickes William Chapman Richard Gay ... . 1630 Jo. Bush . 1631 Jo. Gibbs Arthur Sherstone . 1632 John Pococke ... Anthony Langston ... . 1633 Benja. Baber ... Matthew Rendall ... . 1634 Wa. Gibbes ... John Chapman . 1635 Robt. Chapman John Biggs Richard Chapman Robert Fisher (1639 to 1644) . 1636 Jo. Masters ... . 1637 George Colliber 1638 William Bush ... John Parker . 1644 Edw. Buskett ... John Chapman John Biggs . 1645 . 1646 Robert Hayward Walter Hickes... Jo. Muzood . 1647 John Axford ... Walter Chapman . 1648 Jo. Bush Richard Price . 1649 Jo. Gibbes John Peewce . 1650 Thomas Gibbes Walter Chapman . 1651 Benja. Baber ... Jo. Parker . 1652 Ric. Matters ... Jo. Muzood . 1653 W. Chapman ... Jo. Parker . 1654 Jo. Bush Walter Chapman . 1655 William Bush ... Jo. Boys . 1656 Waltr. Hickes... Jo. Masters . 1657 Edw. Woolmer THE EARLY Jo. Gibbs .. 1707 G. Biggs 1768 Edwd. Bushell .. 1708 Thos. Atwood 1769 Charley Child ... Walter Gibbes .. 1709 1710 John Chapman John Horton 1770 1771 Thomas Gibbes ... 1711 Walter Wiltshire 1772 Richard Morgan .. 1712 Frans. Bennett 1773 Richard Ford .. 1713 Phil. Ditcher 1774 Thos. Bi'-rgs ... 1714 Edward Bushell Collibee ... 1775 Wm. Long .. 1715 Hon. Wright 1776 Jno. Saunders ... .. 1716 John Chapman 1777 Ric. Matters .. 1717 Simon Crook 1778 Thomas Henshell ... 1718 John Chapman 1779 Wm. Collibee ,. 1719 Walter Wiltshire 1780 Eclw. Woolmer .. 1720 Frans. Bennett 1781 George Tryme ... .. 1721 Leonard Coward 1782 Wm. Bush ... 1722 James Leake 1783 Jno. Hickes ... 1723 Wm. Street 1784 Tho. Atwood ,. 1724 Edward Bushell Collibee . . . 1785 Rokwell Gibbs ,. 1725 William Anderdon 1786 Waltr. Chapman ... 172G Leonard Coward 1787 Wm. Chapman ... 1727 Jac. Smith 1788 John Billing .. 1728 Leonard Coward 1789 Tran. Bave .. 1729 John Horton ... 1790 Richard Ford ... .. 1730 Walter Wiltshire 1791 William Horton ... 1731 A. Moysey 1792 Milo Smith .. 1732 H. Harington 1793 Richard Morgan .. 1733 Wm. Anderdon 1794 Tho. Short .. 1734 J. Symons 1795 Tho. Atwood ... ... 1735 J. Palmer 1796 Rd. Matravers... ... 1736 Chas. Phillott 1797 James Atwood... ... 1737 Geo. Chapman 1798 Jno. launders ... ... 1738 Jn. Horton 1799 Wm. Bush Charles Stone ... 1739 ... 1740 (Thus far Warner). H. Atwood 1800 Hen. Atwood ... ... 1741 Wm. Watson ... 1801 A. Allen ... "/. ... 1742 H. Parry 1802 Ambrose Bishop John Chapman ... 1743 ... 1744 J. Symons Wm. Anderdon 1803 1804 John Cogswell... ... 1745 (has. Phillott 1805 Tho. Atwood 1746 Tno. Horton 1806 Thursby Robinson ... ... 1747 H. Atwood 1807 James Atwood... Charles Stone ... 1748 ... 1749 Henry Parry J. Palmer 1808 1809 Hen. Atwood Francis Hales ... ... 1750 ... 1751 Ar. Moysey J. Phillott ... .". ", 1810 1811 Tho. Atwood John Chapman 1752-3 ... 1754 Chas. Crooke Wm. Anderdon 1812 1813 Saml. Bush ... Edward Bushell Collibee Will. Chapman Hen. Atwood ... Frac. Hales ... Thos. Atwood John Champan Francis Hales ... ." ... 1755 ... 1756 ... 1757 ... 1758 ... 1759 ... 1760 ... 1761 ... 1762 Ch. T. Phillott M. Nichols ... "'. "; Edmd. Anderdon G. H. Tugwell J. Kitson Geo. Edwd. Allen J. Wiltshire . Wm. Clarke ... 1814 1815 1816. 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 Saml. Bush John Horton ... Edward Bushell Collibee Hon. Wright Will. Chapman [" ... 1763 ... 1764 ... 1765 ... 1766 ... 1767 Chas. Crooke ... Chas. Phillott Emd. Anderdon Geo. Edw. Allen E. Pickwick ... ]." 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 MAYORS OF BATH. G. H. Tugwell . 1827 Geo. Kitson . .. 1831 W. Tudor ... 1828 William Clark . 1832 J. H. Spry ... 1829 J. Phiilott ... 1833 J. F. Davis ... 1830 George Norman ...1834-5 AFTER THE ACT. W.T.Blair (Jan. 1st) ... 1836 Thomas Barter . 1S62 W. T. Blair (Nov. 9th) ... 1836 Jerom Murch 1863-4 L. Barrow ... 1837 George Moger ... 1865 Henry Gordon Eichard Strutth. Cruttwell ... 1838 . 1839 W. J. Thompson Edw. W. Slack ) ... 1866 William Hunt ... 1840 William Hunt f ... 1867 George Norman John Edridge ... ... 18-11 ... 1842 Thomas Jolly 1868 Thomas Washbourne Gibbs... 1869 George Moger ... Henry Gordon ... 1843 JohnHulbert ... 1844 E. S. Elaine 1870-1 ... 1872 S. Batchellor ... 1845 William Hunt ... 1873 Aug. Geo. Barrette ... ... 1846 J. A. Paynter 1874-5 William Hunt ... 1847 Jerom Murch 3876-7 William Sutcliffe ... 1848 James Chaffin ... ... 1878-9-80 Fred Dowding 1849-50 John S. Bartrum ... 1881 William Long .. 1851 Handel Cossham ... 1882 F. T. Allen ... 1852 Thomas Wilton ... 1883 T. Gill ... 1853 Handel Cossbam ... 1884 William Hunt ... 1854 Anthony Hammond ... ... 1885 William Bush ... . 1855 Jerom Murch ... . 1886 E. Cook ... 1856 Anthony Hammond ... . 1887 Eandle Wilbraham Falcon er. H. W. Freeman .. 1888 M.D. 1857-8 John S. Hartrum ... 1889 Thos. Barrett, M.D. ... ... 1859 Jerom Murch ... 1890 Thomas Jolly ... I860 John S. Turner ... 1891 Thomas Fuller... ... 1861 Jerom Murch ... ... 1892 44 SIR JOHN HARINGTOX CHAPTER VI. SIR JOHN HARINGTON AND BISHOP MONTAGUE. My sketch of William Sherston, first Mayor of Bath under the Charter of Elizabeth, introduced us to her Majesty's reign. It brought us to a period remarkable for the eminent men it produced : statesmen, warriors, divines, scholars, poets, dramatists, discoverers and philosophers. Although few were intimately connected with the Court, they all, in various ways, gave a splendour to the reign and struck a light that gradually pervaded the chief towns of England. Much need of that light was there in Bath ; the dissolution of the monastery had sent its learned men adrift ; the citizens saw their principal church roofless and desolate ; and the few visitors who came for society or the springs found scanty attractions with abundant discomfort. Such was the state of things when Harington and Montague came on the scene ; one was a country squire living at Kelston, the other the Bishop of the Diocese. The work in connection with which they are now introduced was the restoration of the Abbey Church, a work foremost among those for regaining the reputation of the city. The Haringtons belonged to an ancient family in Cumber- land. They derived their name from Haverington in that county, and suffered much in the wars of the Roses. One of them was the first Lord Harington, of Exton ; another was grandfather of the author of Oceana. The father of the subject of this sketch was in the service of the Lord High Admiral Seymour, and restored the fortunes of his branch of the family by marrying Ethelreda, the natural daughter of Henry VIII. To this lady his Majesty granted, on the AND BISHOP MONTAGUE. 45 dissolution of monasteries, the forfeitures of several Somerset- shire manors, Kelston being one. Her husband had probably the literary tastes then growing among men of his station in life, which qualified him to be somewhat of a preceptor and companion to the Princess Elizabeth. A time came when he and his wife had to attend upon her in prison, for which and their general loyalty, she showed her gratitude after she ascended the throne by becoming godmother to their son, taking, afterwards, an interest in his education, and, though quick to rebuke him when he failed to please her, giving him, as long as she lived various proofs of regard. On succeeding to the Kelston estate, Harington became interested in Bath. Among his friends was Dr. Montague, the Bishop of Bath and Wells, who is said to have been indebted to him for a previous preferment the mastership of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. This appointment, or much interest with regard to it, was vested in Lady Sidney, an aunt of Harington. There is a story that the two friends, being caught in a shower near the Abbey, the layman advised the Bishop to take shelter in the church, and conducted him to the north aisle, which, being entirely roofless, afforded no protection. " Why, we are still in the rain," said the Bishop, " there is no roof to your church." " The more is the pity," answered his shrewd companion, " and the more need for your lordship's munificence" A quaint memorandum by Harington himself gives a more exact idea of what passed, while it indicates the practical, as well as poetical mind so obvious in his various works. I am indebted for the orthography to Nugce Antiquce, and for much information on the subject to Britten's History and Antiquities of the Abbey Church. "Having long waitede for our goode Bishoppe to visit his poor sheepe and rotten folde, I rubbede 40 SIR JOHN HARINGTON my braines for suche rustic Latin as might remaine therein, and was bent to meete him at the place of visitation ; and being well encouraged to speak roundelye of his service, to helpe us on to restoringe our churche to its olde state, or rather to a new state of bewtie. After all was ended and his benedictions given, I began with my own Sis Nobiscum Domine, and started up in the Churche isle with my Poetrie or rather Historic, for I sought not to give it the flower but looked for the goode fruit that might come of my spare sowing." What the " goode fruit " was will be seen when we come to Bishop Montague. A few incidents in Harington's life may be here mentioned. He was educated at Cambridge, his tutor being Dr. John Still, afterwards Bishop of Bath and Wells, of whose influence on his mind he writes very grate- fully. From Cambridge he went to study law at Lincoln's Inn, but soon found the atmosphere of the Court more to his taste. The Queen then lived much at Hatfield, where he enjoyed the companionship of her clever ladies, for whose amusement he translated the twenty-eighth book of Arisosto's Orlando Furiosonot the most seemly portion of that attractive book. Unluckily for Harington, his work fell into the Queen's hands, who blamed him for corrupting the morals of her women, and is said to have banished him to Kelston till he should have translated the whole folio. This was about the year 1590; the first edition of the work so completed was published in 1591. There is a copy of this edition in the Cambridge University library. It had been presented to the author's mother-in-law, Lady Rogers. At the end is a list, in his own handwriting, of all his poems on domestic occasions. He had then been married eight years. Lady Rogers lived at Cannington, in Somersetshire. Of the AND BISHOP MONTAGUE. 47 Kelston household little is known except that the eldest son became a Cromwellite. The father's exuberant spirits found vent everywhere, at home and abroad, in a constant flow of epigrams, too seldom adapted to correct tastes. It was not until comparatively late in life that he cared for political employment, although even when he was at Cambridge the Queen sent him a copy of one of her speeches to Parliament, requesting him to " ponder well what she had said." At the same period her great Minister, Lord Burleigh, with whom Harington's family were friendly, wrote a letter to him (given in Nugce Antiqucc) which might have turned his thoughts to statesmanship. But being popular as an author, full of humour, and yet showing much practical sagacity, he preferred writing on his favourite subjects, and thus amusing both the public and himself. At length, after gravely offend- ing the Queen by an inuendo in one of his books against the Earl of Leicester, and again receiving her forgiveness, he was sent with the Earl of Essex to Ireland on an ill-fated expedition as commander of horse. On this occasion he was knighted by Essex, another cause of offence to Elizabeth, who required that such honours should only be conferred by herself. Great disasters occurred in Ireland, compelling both Essex and Harington to return in haste and endeavour to make their peace with the Queen. But this time her anger was unappeasable. When her godson knelt before her she caught him by the girdle, swearing her usual oath that he and the fool Essex were too much for her, and bidding the unhappy knight " go quickly about his business." He there- fore went back to Kelston, glad to be at home once more, resolved to "run no more risk of shipwreck on the Essex coast," and writing, " if I go into such troubles again I deserve the gallows for a meddling fool." Headers of Sir Walter 48 SIR JOHN HARINGTON Scott's Kenilworih may remember that it contains frequent references to the Queen's " witty godson " as one who had experienced both the smiles and frowns which he describes. The novelist quotes a passage from Nugce Antiquce illustrative of his own account of the variable treatment of Leicester : " Her mind was oft time like the gentle air that cometh from the western point in a summer's morn 'twas sweet and refreshing for air around her; her speech did so win all affections. And again she could put forth such alterations when obedience was lacking as left no doubt whose daughter she was. When she smiled it was a pure sunshine that every one did choose to bask in, if they could, but soon came a storm from a sudden gathering of clouds, and the thunder fell in a wondrous manner on all sides." Notwithstanding Harington's disgust with political life, a time came when office would have been a great boon to him. The Queen had died ; his means had been greatly reduced by extravagant habits and costly litigations. So he appealed to James I., who favoured him, but the application eventually failed. His mind had even turned again to Ireland, whose people he thought he under- stood, and of whose wants he was believed to have larger and more generous views than those of most of his contemporaries. But it was too late ; his health gave way and he died at Kelston. aged 51, leaving his wife and seven children. That Sir John Harington was one of the most remarkable men of his tune appears from the copious memoir of him in the National, Biography. It includes an account of his numerous literary works, also references to books, such as Fuller's Worthies of Somerset, and Wood's Athena; Oxon, treating of his life and character. Since I began this sketch I have been able to consult the Rev. J. J. Poynton's Memoranda, Historical and Genealogical, relating chiefly to AND BISHOP MONTAGUE. 49 members of the . Harington family of later times, of whom, especially Dr. Henry Harington, I shall have to write later. Mr.Poynton's work, however, contains a copy of a curious deed in the Record Office showing the pugnacious side of Sir John's character, and giving " a fair example of how family quarrels were conducted in 1602." Lady Rogers, his wife's mother, had died in Bath; he, therefore, went immediately to Cannington to take possession of certain effects hequeathed to him ; his brother-in-law disputed the claim, prohibited his entrance, and barricaded the house. On trying to force his way, " Sir John was seized by five or six men and locked in a dark room for nine hours." Then came Star Chamber proceedings against Mr. Rogers, one of those costly litigations from which Harington's fortune suffered so severely. Before we proceed to Bishop Montague's claim to remembrance we may notice what others did in the matter of the Abbey Church. It was at the end of the fifteenth century that Dr. Oliver King, eminent both as statesman and divine, became Bishop of Bath and Wells, and being greatly distressed at the ruinous state of the old edifice, began to rebuild it. But he only lived a few years ; the work proceeded slowly for want of funds .notwithstanding his own munificence, and all he could do was to leave injunctions with the head of the Convent, Prior Birde, to carry out his design. . Prior Birde also did what he could ; he lessened the expenditure of the Convent in order that the money might be devoted to the church, and " he himself," says Wood, " expended so much of his own means that he died poor." Then followed another Prior equally zealous and generous ; but the clouds were gathering for the great national tempest, the piety which had raised so many splendid ecclesiastical buildings was fading away, and State aid could no longer be obtained. To so low D 50 SIR JOHN HARINGTON an ebb had public feeling in the matter fallen that, though on the dissolution of the Bath Monastery the Commissioners offered to sell the church to the city for 500 marks, the offer was refused. Harington, of course, was ready with an epigram on the dignitaries in whose successive reigns the work languished : Bishop King, Cardinal Adrian, Cardinal Wolsey, Bishop Clark, and Bishop Knight : " Church ! I wail thy woful plight, Whom King nor Card'nall, Clerke nor Knight, Have yet restored to ancient right." The poet, however, does justice to one good man Thomas Bellott, steward, and afterwards executor, to Lord Burleigh, who contributed largely towards finishing a transept. After showing how the funds raised under the Queen's brief had been misappropriated, he writes, " And thus the church lies still, like the poore traveller spoiled and wounded by thieves. The Priest goes by, the Levitts go by, but doe nothing : only a good Samaritan, honest Mr. Billet (worthy to be billetted in the New Jerusalem) hath pow'rd some oyle in the wounds and maintained it in life." But then came the squire and the bishop. The latter responded to his friend's appeal by giving 1,000, and under- taking to do certain works. Warner gives the names of various benefactors, among whom were Sir Henry Montague, brother of the bishop, and then Lord Chief Justice, who was at the charge of the great west doors with their elaborate carving. The vestry was built by Sir Nicholas Slattern, of London; additional donors being the EarJs of Rutland, Sufiolk, Hartford, Worcester, Northampton, and Shrewsbury ; Lady Hunsden, Lady Dorset, and Lady Boothe ; many trades- men, esquires, knights, and baronets, several of the Sherston AND BISHOP MONTAGUE. 51 family, cum multis aliis. Among the various friends to whom Harington wrote was Mr. Sutton, the wealthy founder of the Charter House School. The characteristic letter to him in Nugce Antiquce refers first to a report (for which the writer apologises) that Sutton intended to leave his money to Prince Charles, and then endeavours to persuade him to give some of it to the Abbey Church. " I would be glad to make you amends now by any endevor of mine. Only my old friend don't forget to be a benefactor to Bath Church in your life time, for alms in one's life is like light borne before one, whereas alms after death is like a candle carried behind one. You promised to see the church before this ; whensoever you come, my lodgings shall be at your commandmente ; the baths would strengthen your sinews, the alms would comfort your soul. The tower, the quire and two isles are all-ready finished by Mr. Billett, executor to the worthie Lord Treasurer Burleigh, and the walls are up ready for covering. The lead is promised by our bountifull Bishop, Dr. Montague, timber is promised by the Earl of Shrewsbury, the Earl of Hartford, the Lord Say, Mr. Hopton and others. Of " the bountifull Bishop " Bath was naturally proud. The son of Sir E. Montague, he was born in 1568, his family being descended from the Montacutes, Earls of Salisbury. In 1593 he became master of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, as already mentioned, of which in the phrase- ology of Fuller, he was the Nursing-Father. In 1604 he was made Dean of Worcester by King James, " who," says the same author, did " ken a man of merrit as well as any Prince in Christendome." In 1 608 he was advanced to the See of Bath and Wells, and in 1616 to that of Winchester. There he died at the end of two years. By his particular desire, he was buried in the Abley Church at Bath, where a 52 SIR JOHN HARINGTON stately monument was erected by his four brothers, with a long Latin inscription. The monument was restored about twelve years ago at the expense of the late Mrs. Elliott, with the assistance of her friend, Mr. John Stone, Town Clerk of Bath. Bishop Montague was known in the literary world as the translator of the works of James I. into Latin. A copy, splendidly bound in velvet and gold, was given to the University of Cambridge by the King. In the reigns of Elizabeth and James, the diocese of Bath and Wells drew large revenues from the lead mines at Mendip. "Of this abundant crop," says Fuller, " Bishop Still is said to have had the harvest, Bishop Montague the gleanings and Bishop Lake the stubble ; yet considerable was the profit to him and successors." In the history of Somersetshire few subjects are more interesting than that of the Mendip Lead Mines, and perhaps no work contains so much information respecting them as is scattered through the volumes of the Somersetshire Archaeological Society. In vol. viii. there is a remarkably learned paper by Mr. James Yates on the " Mining Operations of the Romans in Britain," with an account of the ." Pigs " and their Roman inscriptions now in various English museums, lead being much used in those days, especially for coffins. The Rev. Prebendary Scarth, writing later of the Mendips, vol. xix., states, " In the time of Edward IV. these mines are said to have furnished employment to a great population of miners, the immense deposits of slags and slimes indicating the extent of the workings." Another antiquary, the Rev. W. A. Jones, of Taunton, shows, vol. xv., how the Bishop of the Diocese was appointed with others by the King, one of "The Four Lords Royal of Mendip," to adjudicate on a disputed question ; how, on the summons of a special Commissioner, all the Commoners of the district AND BISHOP MONTAGUE. 53 to the number of 10,000, assembled before the "Lords Koyal " " upon a place of Lord Bath's, called the Forge," and how the said judges after a full hearing of the case put their seals to a satisfactory settlement. And thus in due time do things apparently unconnected work together; the wonderful operations of Nature thousands of years ago produce the Mendip lead mines, and the revenues from the Mendip lead mines become in the sixteenth century a chief factor in the restoration of Bath Abbey Church.* * Mr. Poynton informs me that the statement of various biographers, which I have adopted in page 45, that Lady Sidney was aunt to Sir John llarington is doubtful. The Sidney connection was with the Haringtons of Eston. The foundress of Sidney Sussex College was Lady Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex, daughter of Sir W. Sidney, knighted at Flodden and aunt to Sir Philip Sidney. She left 5,000 to found the college. From the same obliging writer I learn an incident illustrative of Sir John Harington's versatility, not mentioned, I believe, by his biographers, but referred to in a Trad on the State of Ireland, 1605, edited 1879 by the Kev. W. Macray, one of the Librarians of the Bodleian. It is that Sir John made overtures, when his fortune was low, to get appointed,^?- saltum, Archbishop of Dublin. The extravagant idea may have been prompted by a family tradition that an ancestor, Sir James Harington, a military knight in early life, had become successively Hector of Badsworth and Dean of York, preceding Cardinal Wolsey in that Deanery. 54 WILLIAM PRYNNE. CHAPTER VII. WILLIAM PRYNNE. Many years have passed since I collected materials for a paper on William Prynne. It was read before a meeting of the Bath Literary and Philosophical Association, and published at their request. In order to maintain the historical sequence of these sketches, I now reproduce the substance of it with some alterations and additions. Prynne was not only a Bath Celebrity ; he was a very prominent figure in the national affairs of the period, and is even now regarded as a high constitutional authority. He was able to trace his ancestry through four or five hundred years. The earliest progenitors on record lived in Shropshire somewhere near the Wenlock Ridge, which is broken by grassy hillocks, then called preens. There, in the twelfth century, dwelt a family who were owners of the surrounding country and hence acquired the name of their land, which became first Prin, afterwards Prynne. From Shropshire some of them migrated, early in the sixteenth century, to Bristol, two brothers gaining much repute as opulent merchants ; one served as sheriff in 1536, the other in 1 549. Each was the father of sons still more distinguished, to whose descendants rank and fortune came in large measure ; the elder daughter of one of them, Sir Gilbert Prynne, married the great grandson of the Lord Protector Somerset, the younger Sir George Hastings, who was related to the Earl of Huntingdon. A descendant of Sheriff Edward Prynne was an agriculturist living at Aust, near Bristol. He pastured his flocks on Clifton and Durdham Downs, long before the present streets, WILLIAM PRYNNE. 55 crescents, and terraces were built. His name was Erasmus ; lie was succeeded at Aust by his son Thomas, the father of the subject of the present sketch. Thomas, preferring a larger and better farm at Swainswick, removed thither, and was appointed general manager of the estate, of which his farm was a principal feature, belonging to Oriel College, Oxford. I gain much of the information in this sketch from a biographical Fragment Relating to William Prynne, edited by Mr. Bruce for the Camden Society. Many interesting particulars of the family and the parish associated with their name are also given in Mr. R. E. M. Peach's recent valuable work The Annals of Swainswick. Thomas Prynne's settlement at Swainswick brought him into intimacy with the substantial Bath burgess, William Sherston, Mayor and member of Parliament, whose daughter Marie he married. Their first son and second child was born at Swainswick in 1GOO, and named William, after his grand- father, with whom in early life he spent much of his time ; while at King Edward's School he was trained for the higher education of Oriel All that we know of his parents suggests that to their opinions and character much of the work he did and the eminence he attained were due. The home of his childhood appears to have been suited to the development of an earnest, serious spirit. The son would naturally have his early sympathies ranged on the TPuritan side by the national events discussed in the family circles at Swainswick and Bath. Among the earliest he could remember would be the Gun- powder plot, his grandfather having been in Parliament when it occurred and one of the intended victims, one also of the House who condemned the conspirators. Other events dwelt upon at the time would be the Spanish Armada, the new translation of the Scriptures and the death of Prince Henry, to 56 WILLIAM PRYNNE. whom the Puritans had fondly looked as their avowed protector. All these would be topics of conversation in the Prynne and Sherston households ; they would be warmly discussed by the Mayor's constituents, and influence the formation of his grandson's mind. Prynne went to Oxford in 1616. The connection of his father with Oriel College probably caused ' his aptitude for scholarship to be encouraged. At that time Oxford was chiefly Puritan ; the contest between the two parties in the Church had, however, commenced. Laud had become a favourite of James I., and obtained, as one of his first steps on the State ladder, an appointment for the better government of the University. This signified that the study of the Fathers, Council and Schoolmen was to be substituted for systems of Theology founded upon the Scriptures. Although Prynne was one of the students who came under the operation of the new mandate, it may be doubted whether in his time it was fully carried out. The Vice-Chancellor, who was also Dean of Christchurch, and the two Professors of Divinity were against it, yielding a mere perfunctory obedience to the royal will. Encouraged by them, Prynne's course of study resulted in deeper attachment to the religious teachings of his home, and a clearer insight into the objects of Laud. There was much in the circumstances of time and place to make the aspiring churchman an object of his adverse criticism, though it was after his residence at Oxford that Laud became Bishop of Bath and Wells, and while filling that office was selected to crown Charles I. But the subsequent translations to London and Canterbury, the iniquitous proceedings of the Star Chamber, and the general course of ecclesiastical events gave the names and doings of the two men connected prominence, till in the changes of political life Laud caused Prynne to be WILLIAM PRYNNE. 57 brought before one tribunal and cruelly punished, and Prynne was the chief manager of the trial of Laud, a trial which ended in a terrible death at another. Prynne lost his father in 1620, four years after he first went to Oxford. He then took his Bachelor's degree and quitted the University with some idea of succeeding to the management of the Oriel College estate, as his father had left him a share of the lease of the farm and property connected with it. His decision, however, was for the Bar, to which he was called at Lincoln's Inn, where, though the legal training which led to so much eminence in after life must have been good, we chiefly hear of his theological sympathies. His Inn of Court was that of Sir Thomas More and Lord Ellesmere ; it had had its own preacher since 1581, and could boast of a succession of Puritan divines of great reputation, men of larger and more liberal minds than those of their brethren generally. Donne the poet held the office at the time of Prynne's admission. Some of his most eloquent sermons were preached in the new chapel, one especially at the opening. It was Donne who laid the first stone of the new building, and urged his friends to spare no cost in adorning it. Accordingly, while a few of the more wealthy and distinguished gave entire windows of stained glass, seventy -five of the fellows, among whom was Prynne, contributed emblazonments of their coats of arms. On the removal of Donne to the Deanery of St. Paul's he was succeeded by Dr. Preston, afterwards master of Emanuel College, another eminent Puritan, and, like Donne, an intimate friend of Prynne. But fond as the Swainswick student was of controversial divinity, such was his repute for legal learning that he was chosen at an unusually early age first reader and then bencher of his Inn. Among those who pursued their 58 WILLIAM PRYNNE. studies at the same time and place were Noy, Glyn, Sherfield, Hakewill, Lenthal, St. John, and Wilbraham, men who, with widely different opinions, had much interest in the troubles of the succeeding reigns. While on the one hand party ties would be strengthened by congenial professional companion- ships, on the other the friendship of Donne and Preston, and the examples of Milton and Andrew Marvell, would encourage higher and larger tastes. Still, it must have been at Lincoln's Inn that the foundation was laid of that marvellous constitutional knowledge which is manifest in Prynne's later works, giving him a reputation more solid and lasting than any he acquired in other ways. At the time at which we are now arrived Prynne was 25 years of age. He was in practice as a barrister with good prospects, but his chief vocation even now was authorship. Mr. Bruce, in The Fragment, from which I have quoted, gives a list of 196 books written by him. It extends over three momentous periods of English history, from 1627 to 1670, another book appearing 20 years after his death. The first was The Perpetuitie of a Regenerate Man's Estate ; the next The, Unloveliness of Love Locfces,proving the wearingor nourishing of a Love Locke to be altogether unseemly and unlawful unto Christians. Imagine a young barrister gravely writing a quarto volume against such a fashion! It suggests the question were the wives and daughters of the Cavaliers the only ladies he lectured, or were delinquents among the fair Puritans, and, if so, did they follow his advice ? Then came, successively, treatises against Pledging of Healths, against Arminianism in the Church of England, against The Popish Bowing at the name of Jesus. All these books abound in strong reflections on the Government, and especially on the ecclesiastical party of which Laud was the head. But the WILLIAM PRYNNE. 59 author was not prosecuted until he published, in 1633, his Histrio Mastrix : The Player's Scourge or A ctor's Tragedie, an enormous quarto of a thousand pages, decrying not only plays, music and dancing, but maypoles, bonfires, hunting, and public festivals of all kinds. His language, even for those times, was extremely coarse and bitter. Play houses he calls " Satan's chapels," playgoers " little better than incarnate devils," play actors the vilest names in the Billinsgate vocabulary. Any facts he mentions lose their force in conse- quence of the personal vituperation with which they were connected. Much of it being applied to kings and queens, was supposed to refer to the Royal Family of England. Henrietta, wife of Charles I., had a strong liking for the drama, and sometimes acted on a private stage. This was alleged to be in the author's mind when he denounced Nero as worthy of death for enjoying the same amusement. Such language was eagerly caught hold of by Laud, who had long wanted some tangible ground for prosecution, who had the ear of the king in any matter requiring Royal authority, and who was able to carry out his purpose relentlessly in the Star Chamber, the most terrible court ever known in England. Prynne's prolific authorship formed a pleasant link of his connection with Bath. Even so long ago as his time there was a library in the Abbey Church to which presents of his books were sent, some by himself alone, others jointly with his London publisher, Mr. Michael Sparke. There they are now in good condition , after the lapse of two hundred years. A record of these and other interesting benefactions may be seen in a vellum catalogue in the library. It contains the titles of about thirty volumes of Prynne's works, a few con- sisting of several smaller ones bound together. The first he gave was the first he published, The Perpetuitie of a 60 WILLIAM PRYNNE. Regenerate Man's Estate, a quarto of the date of 1627. There is also the celebrated Canterburies Doome, a history of the trial of Archbishop Laud, which lie was requested to write by the House of Commons. Most valuable of all are three folio volumes of his edition of Sir Robert Cotton's Records, a work which not many years ago was sold at an auction in London for the large sum of 1 64. It is hard to . believe that the man who thus added to the permanent literature of England, also plunged into such fierce polemical contests and thereby brought upon himself sufferings so terrible. What a contrast is the earnest student of con- stitutional history, working days and nights in the solitude of his study, to the mutilated convict returning from the pillory amid shouting multitudes, and composing those memorable lines : "My face for ever scarred with burning brands by Laud, Exulting I return glad sacrifice to God." These lines referred to the conclusion of his second great trial. There was one previously in which he was charged with having published a libel on Queen Henrietta, in his book Histrio Mastrix, the Player's Scourge or Actor's Tragedie. No one expected, even then, that the Star Chamber would deal leniently with him, his twenty-three judges with Archbishop Laud and the Lord Treasurer at their head were too well known. Their sentence for this offence was that Prynne be fined .3,000, degraded from the Bar, expelled from Oxford and Lincoln's Inn, stand in the pillory both at Westminster and Cheapside, have an ear cut off at each place, and see his book burnt by the common hangman. If there were no hope for him at the time of the first 5 trial, what must have been the eneral feeling when the second WILLIAM PRYNNE. 61 took place ? During the three following years he employed himself incessantly in writing and publishing bitter attacks on the Government, especially on Laud. At first milder treatment was tried by his judges ; for a letter to the Archbishop written in the Fleet and exposing the horrors of the Star Chamber, he was simply reprimanded and ordered back to prison. But Prynne was not now in a mood to be affected by leniency, though with strange inconsistency he had in his confinement presented a petition asking for it ; even professing " unfeigned sorrow for passages which had fallen inconsiderately from his pen." But his cacoethes scribendi impelled him to fresh attacks. Special offence was given by his News from Ipswich ; for this the Star Chamber inflicted another fine, this time ^5,000, and sentenced him to lose the remainder of his ears in the pillory, to be branded on both cheeks with the letters S.L. (Schismatic libeller), and to be perpetually imprisoned in Carnarvon Castle. It was on his return to the Tower after the execution of the sentence, that he wrote in Latin the exulting lines, a translation of which has been quoted. In the historical fragment edited by Mr. Bruce, there is a touching account of the scene at the scaffold. It shows how two other offenders, Bastwicke and Burton, stood on the pillory with Prynne, and how as they walked to it the people strewed herbs and flowers before them. " The hangman," says the writer, " burnt Prin in both the cheekes, and because hee burnt one cheeke with a letter the wrong wave hee burnt that again, a surgeon clapping on a plaister to take out the fire." From the Tower Prynne was taken to Carnarvon Castle, but did not remain there long in consequence chiefly of the number of visitors admitted to see him. Kemoval was then ordered to Mount Orgueil Castle in the island of Jersey, of which Sir Philip Carteret, a devoted Royalist, was Governor, 62 WILLIAM PRYNNE. but he also was too indulgent to satisfy the Government. Although obeying orders so far as to exclude visitors, both he and the ladies of his family did all in their power to soften the rigours of confinement. Seeing that their prisoner was a scholar and a gentleman they cheered him with their society and allowed him other relaxations suited to his case. The stern Puritan who had declaimed on the " unloveliness of love-locks," preferred nevertheless, to spend the evenings of three long years in the drawing-room of the castle, rather than hear the waves dash against the walls of his solitary cell. Nor was the kindness lost upon him ; a time came when Sir Philip Carteret was bitterly attacked by a portion of the Puritan party, then in power, and Prynne, at the risk of forfeiting his popularity, successfully defended him. " I should have shown myself," he said, " a monster of ingratitude if I had not contributed my best assistance to support him against the aspersions of his inveterate, backbiting enemies, who endeavoured to oust him from his offices only that they might step into them." Although Prynne had been a prisoner so long, he was not released from Jersey Castle by the expiration of his term. During his confinement political events of great magnitude had followed in rapid succession, and at length culminated in others entirely altering the complexion of public affairs. England having been twelve years without a Parliament, the king could no longer forego calling one, but as soon as it met, the conduct of Charles ami his Ministers was attacked with a vehemence which caused its speedy dissolution. Another was elected, the Long Parliament, which proved still more intractable. " The meeting of this," says Macaulay, " was one of the great eras in the history of the civilised world. Whatever of political freedom exists either in Europe or America has WILLIAM PRYNNE. 63 sprung directly or indirectly from those institutions which it either secured or reformed." One of its first acts was to release from prison the victims of the Star Chamber. The sentences were declared illegal and the judges ordered to make reparation. Especial interest was shown by the multitude in the deliverance of Prynne, Bastwicke, and Burton. When they landed in England they were received with the strongest demonstrations of joy. On their approach to any town large masses of people crowded to welcome them, bringing liberal presents to defray all their charges. As they drew near London the excitement increased. Flowers were strewed in their paths ; trees were planted by the roadside ; and the shouts which rent the air were mingled with invectives against their persecutors. The restored captives scon proved that they had neither forgotten nor forgiven the wrongs they had endured. Prynne was elected member for Newport in Cornwall, and became as prominent by his speeches in Parliament as by his books. While others pushed forward the impeachment of Stafford, he was chief manager of the trial of Laud. Human nature, however, was not then exalted by what he did. That retribution should at length come to Laud was to be expected. That one who had been so arbitrary, cruel, and unjust should be severely punished was not surprising. Nor the fine of 20,000 for obtaining canons from Convocation, stretching the King's Prerogative, and even the execrations of the multitude who followed him to the Tower. Still it was sad to see his old enemy foremost in every petty act of annoyance ; searching the wardrobes of Lambeth Palace, emptying the primate's pockets for proofs against him, carrying away his diary, his little book of private devotion, and the bundles of papers he had prepared for his defence. For though the temper of the times as well as Laud's political WILLIAM PRYNNE. offences may be urged in extenuation of Prynnes animosity, though he had various qualities which command our admiration, it is evident that now, as at other times, true greatness was not one of them ; he forgot all the Christian precepts he urged in his own letter to Laud when he himself wanted forbearance ; he lost the high place in history which would otherwise have been undoubtedly accorded to him. Terrible indeed were the reverses of the Archbishop. First the overthrow of all his hopes of ecclesiastical ascendency. News came from Scotland that the Liturgy was rejected, and that the Covenanters were triumphant. Archy Armstrong, the King's fool, meeting Laud and relying on the privilege of his office, asked, " Whea's fule now ? " In happier times the taunt would only have been laughed at; now, the poor jester's motley coat was pulled over his ears, and himself banished from the Court. Then came the Oxford retribution ; he who caused the expulsion of Prynne from the University, who had feasted a royal party at Christ Church, and who had even ordered comedies for their amusement, had to resign the Chancellorship. He was even sent to the Tower, and was denied, with unjustifiable severity, even coals and wood in the depth of winter. Each of the three weary years of his confine- ment saw the quarrel between the king and the Parliament become fiercer and more desperate. Finally, he was brought to trial, Prynne acting as solicitor to the House of Commons, and, after much delay by the Peers before whom he was tried, condemned to death. It was now his turn to implore for mercy, but all he could obtain was an alteration of the sentence from hanging to beheading. And what was Prynne's own fate in the immediate future ? Not to find his path strewn with roses and leading to power in high places. No doubt his sufferings and his ability WILLIAM PRYNNE. 65 caused what he still wrote in his books to be read eagerly, and what he often said in Parliament to have some weight. But the leaders of his party dreaded his imprudence too much to give him high office, and contended themselves with appointing him a visitor of the University of Oxford, one of a body of fourteen lawyers and ten divines to rectify alleged evils. This employment was probably intended to divert his mind from the great struggle then impending between the Presbyterian and Independent sections of the Puritan party, the former being willing to make terms with the king ; the latter intent on carrying out a "root and branch policy." Prynne had lately become in favour of a compromise. He made a violent speech in Parliament supporting it, but so powerful were his opponents that he was forbidden, two days afterwards, to enter the House. Again, however, he resumed his pen, and sent forth his defiance in pamphlet after pamphlet, each more vituperative than the last. In one, his attacks on the great leader of the Independents, Oliver Cromwell, were so fierce that he was a third time committed to prison, the one now allotted to him. being Dunster Castle. Here he was kept between two and three years, as we learn from his book addressed to Mr. John Bradshaw and his associates at Whitehall, sliling themselves the Council of State. Cromwell, though now rarely yielding to any argument from books, appears to have been impressed with the remonstrance of Prynne on the violation of Magna Charta in his case, and ordered him to be set free. The joy with which he regained his liberty can be easily imagined. It, is pleasant to think of him on his way back to London stopping at sunny Swainswick, and receiving the greetings of his friends at Bath. But there was no " second spring " for him on his return to the battle-field of London E gg WILLIAM PRYNNE. politics ; the autumn of his life had come and, with it, changes, which to most men have been more sad than any in nature. He was an instance of the transition, not uncommon in violent and impulsive men, from one set of political opinions in early life to another, the very opposite, in declining age. No doubt he would have pleaded, he did plead in answer to charges of apostasy, that times had changed and he was justified in changing with them. This was his defence in answer to the pamphlet of an opponent, Prynne against Prynne. Other books which he published at this time indicate the course his mind was taking. Therefore, when in 1639 he resumed his place in the House of Commons no one wondered that he was intent on restoring Charles II. Yet it was strange to see the grandson of William Sherston soliciting the electors of Bath to support him in his altered character. It should be remembered, however, what a small body they were the old close Corpora- tion, and how they had veered backward and forward many a year. They sent him to what was called the healing Parliament, and on the Restoration his services to the Royalists were rewarded by his appointment as Chief Keeper of the Public Records, an office for which he was no doubt eminently fitted, with a salary of 500. In 1661 he was again elected for Bath, and showed his gratitude to his constituents by vehemently opposing a bill for reforming Corporations. So offensive was his opposition that, two days after his speech, he was compelled to :isk pardon of the House in order to avoid another imprisonment. It was towards the close of life that Prynne resumed most closely his connexion with Bath. I have not mentioned his first Recordership to which he was appointed in 1647, as successor to Serjeant Hyde. He then received eighteen votes WILLIAM PRYNNE. 67 of the Corporation against four given to Mr. John Harington, of Kelston, but was compelled to vacate the office on his imprisonment. His second appointment was while he sat as member for the city. The records at the Guildhall contain many proofs of his interest in civic proceedings. On one occasion two members of the Corporation went to London to see him in order to obtain the summer assize at Bath. On another he was the medium of one of those presents to the king which some towns were induced to offer in this instance 100. On another his abilities and influence were employed to promote a scheme for making the Bath river navigable to Bristol. His local ties and sympathies are nowhere more manifest than in his will made in 1669. It brings us back to the associations of early years and the claims of kindred. I have mentioned his presents of books to the Abbey Library ; others went to Oriel College; the MSS. to Lincoln's Inn. His interest in the lease at Swainswick he gave to his brother and sister. The poor boys and girls of his native parish were remembered by a legacy of 10 for binding them apprentices. Thus in small as in great matters his heart was right, and if the shadows of human imperfection were deep his memory will yet be cherished for his marvellous energy, his constitutional learning and his strict integrity. DR. GUIDOTT AND CHAPTER VIII. DR. GUIDOTT AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES. Dr. Guidott was celebrated as an eminent physician and a voluminous writer of the seventeenth century. One of his books, entitled A Discourse of Bath and the Hot Waters there, contains memoirs of eighteen contemporaries. In this sketch I propose to introduce a few of the more renowned of these, glancing first at the local medical literature anterior to their time. In a future sketch my readers will be made acquainted with the more celebrated of their successors practising in Bath in the eighteenth and the earlier part of the nineteenth centuries. DR. WILLIAM TURNER. The oldest book on medical practise in Bath, of which there is any knowledge, was written by Dr. William Turner. It is a thin, black-letter folio of great rarity and interest, printed in Germany in 1552, and entitled, A Booke of the Natures and Properties as well of the Bathes in England as of other Bathes in Germany and Italy. The author was some years abroad in the service of the Duke of Somerset, to whose son, the Earl of Hereford, he dedicates the book, and by whose influence he obtained Church preferment ; for although in the title-page he only styles himself doctor of physic, he was really also Dean of Wells. An extract from his pages will give an opinion of the quality of the Bath springs three hundred and forty years ago : " Hearing after my return to England that their was a natural bathe within your father's Dukedom, I ceased not till I got license to go to the same bathe, which HIS CONTEMPORARIES. 69 done I carried certain diseased persons with me, with whom I tarried as long as I could. And afterwards, being Dean of Wells, which place is not far from Bathe, and having liberty to tarry there as long as I list, I tried the same bathes a little further, and found by experience that they were a very excellent tresure, a most precious gift of God." DR. JOHN JONES. There is another curious old book of the sixteenth century by Dr. John Jones, a worthy Welshman, with the title, The Bathes of Bathes Ayde, wonderful and most excellent agaynst very many Sicknesses. The date is 1572, just twenty years after Dr. Turner's, like which it is in good clear black letter. The author obtained celebrity by practising at stated times in some of the chief cities in England, coming to Bath for what was then, even in Queen Elizabeth's reign, " the season." That he practised in various places would tend to make the waters known, while still further publicity would be given to them by his book, which connected their application with what were then known as the general principles of medical and surgical science. Among the amusing part of the contents is a genealogical table, prefaced by the statement that, according to the chronology of Scripture, Bladud discovered the springs " about the year 3080 of the age of the world, and 890 before the incarnation of Christ, Elisha being then prophet in Israel." Here follow 29 circles representing 29 generations between Adam and Eve and Elisha, all which I mention to give some idea of the fanciful British medical literature of the sixteenth century. In order to make known the true nature of the Bath waters, and to secure good advice to patients needing them in various parts of the country, Dr. Jones shrewdly recommends that church preferment should be given 70 DR. GUIDOTT AND to medical men of the principal towns for the express purpose, naming Salisbury, Worcester, Hereford, Gloucester, Bristol, Exeter? and Wells, the farthest not to be more than a day's journey from the springs. What a joy it would be to the good man if he could arise and see his idea more fully carried out in the Bath Mineral Water Hospital, with its comfortable wards, its admirable management, and its hundred and fifty grateful patients from all parts of the country. DR GUIDOTT. Dr. Turner and Dr. Jones in the sixteenth century prepared the way for Dr. Guidott and his contemporaries in the seventeenth . The Springs were now beginning to regain their ancient Roman fame ; distinguished people once more came to them, and men of fair education competed for practise. Dr. Guidott's book, from which I quote, includes a period of seventy years, treats many subjects connected with the com- position and administration of the waters, and is prefaced by an " Epistle Dedicatory " to his " Right Worshipfull and much honoured Friend, Sir Edward Greaves, Baronet," who was also an eminent physician. The author was born in 1638, at Lymington, the eldest son of Francis Guidott, and a great grandson of Signor Antonio Guidotti, a native of Florence, who came to England'in the reign of Edward VI, by whom he was knighted. This descendant was sent to school at Dorchester, and in 1656 became a Commoner of Wadham College, Oxford, where he studied anatomy and medicine, and after being admitted M.B. in July, 1666, began to practise " about Oxford." In the following year he removed to Bath, "encouraged," he says, "by Dr. John Maplet, a noted physician of that place, who helped him to attain extensive practise, most of which," says the author of a memoir in the HIS CONTEMPORARIES. 71 National Biography " he had lost in 1679 by his impudence, lampooning and libelling." Another writer states that "although his ability brought him considerable practise, his temper and his crusade against quackery brought him many enemies." In a preface to Dr. Jorden's Discourse of Natural Battles, he writes, " Empiricks and juggling Medicasters do so much abound, that 'tis almost as hard a matter now to meet with a regular and accomplished physician as it was in former times for Diogenes to meet with an honest man." That he himself was competent appears in his various books, of which a very long list is given in the National Biography, and his skill may be inferred from the fact that for some years he practised in London as well as in Bath, also that he was offered professional chairs at Venice and Leyden, but declined both. The time and place of his death are not mentioned. He was living in Bath as late as 1098. DR. EDWARD JORDEN. One of the chief physicians in Dr. Guidott's list is Dr. Edward Jorden. He was a man of good family, took his degree at Padua, travelled much on the continent, practised some time in London, and eventually settled in Bath. Greatly devoted to chemistry " he was at considerable charges." says his biographer, "about the ordering of Alom, which not succeeding as he expected, he was thereby much prejudiced in his estate. But his life was so answerable to the Port and Dignity of the Faculty he professed that he had the applause of the Learned, the respect of the Rich, the prayers of the Poor, and the Love of all." While living in London he became Licentiate of the College of Physicians, and enjoyed the confidence of James I. One of his intimate friends was the medical baronet already mentioned, Sir Edward Greaves, 72 DR. GUIDOTT AND of All Soul's College, Oxford, Physician in Ordinary to the King, often practising in Bath, and taking the lead among his brethren not more by his rank and wealth than by his professional skill. In wealth he seems to have been surpassed by Dr. Samuel Baue, a native of Cologne, famed for two things besides medical proficiency, his knowledge of languages and his fashionable costume, his patients having the pleasure of seeing him " day by day in purple velvet, and the finest linen much bedecked with lace." His family acquired a good position in Somersetshire, intermarrying with various residents ; a Miss Baue became the wife of Dr. Edward Harington. DR. JOHN MAPLET. Of higher professional mark was Dr. John Maplet, who we have seen was instrumental in bringing Dr. Guidott to Bath, and whose position, acquirements and character were all remarkable. Educated at Christchurch, Oxford, first Proctor of the University and then Principal of a College, his antece- dents favoured his success in the city of the Springs. Pre- viously, however, he accepted invitations to travel on the Continent with two Lord Falklands successively, the elder brother for two years, and then on his death the younger. Returning to England he practised at Bristol in the summer and at Bath in the winter, employing the intervals of his professional work in elegant authorship, notably Latin epistles to distinguished friends. The medical literature of the time owed something to another of Guidott's contemporaries, Dr. Yenner. A huge Monument in the Abbey Church sets forth how learned and charitable he was, especially that he wrote a book with the title, Via Recta ad Vitam Longam. If he followed his own rules as to diet and regimen he was a good example of their efficacy, for he lived to the age of eighty-five. HIS CONTEMPORARIES. 73 VISIT OF PEPYS. There is a pleasant notice of the Venner and other Monu- ments in the well-known Diary of Pepys. The gossiping chronicler came for the waters in 1668 and amused himself with jotting down what he saw and heard on a certain Sunday. " Up and walked about the town. Saw a pretty good market- place and many good streets and very fair stone houses. And so to the great church and saw Bishop Montague's tomb. Many brave people came, among others, two men were brought in on litters and set down in the chancel, but I did not know a face. Here a good organ ; but a vain pragmatical fellow preached a ridiculous affected sermon and made me angry, likewise some gentlemen who sat next me and sang well. So home, walking round the walls of the city, which are good and the battlements all whole. After dinner comes Mr. Butt again to see me, so he and I to church where the same idle fellow preached, so I slept most of the sermon. Next day to this church again to see it and look over the monuments, among others Dr. Venner's and Filling's, also a lady of Sir W. Waller's, he lying with his face broken." Pilling was rector of Bath 35 years ; Lady Waller was daughter of Sir Richard Reynell, and wife of the Parliamen- tary General. The " good market-place, many good streets and fair stone houses " which attracted the attention of Pepys indicate a continuance of the enlargements and improvements begun in the previous century, and show that Bath was beginning to lose the wretched aspect described by Macaulay on the authority of Wood. There would not have been so many accomplished medical men, some of them making handsome fortunes, if there had not been a corres- ponding number of well-to-do patients. The awakened city evidently grew in proportion to the steady increase of both. DR. GUEDOTT AND DOCTORS SOMERSCHALL, MAYHOW AND PEIRCE. Dr. Guidott's abhorrence of quackery has been mentioned. His last memoir is of one Dr. Somerschall, or Seneschall, who figured as an alchemist. One of his modes of gaining notoriety was that of wearing a fur coat in summer, which does not appear to have answered so well as Dr. Baue's purple velvet and beautiful lace. Two other men of considerable eminence the biographer omits, Dr. Mayhow and Dr. Peirce, probably rivals, and, on some disputed matters, antagonists. Mayhow, who published his opinion of the Bath waters, differed from his brethren as to the theory that nitre and sulphur were components, and he gave some sound chemical reasons for his view. Peirce was a considerable author and ranked high in his profession. He was a Commoner of Lincoln's Inn, Oxford, and was created AI.D. by his University. In longevity he excelled Venner, living to be nearly a hundred years of age. When and why he disagreed with Guidott it is not difficult to learn ; there are passages in the writings of both which show that the green-eyed monster had much to do with it. Both published lists of cases closely resembling those now treated in the Bath Mineral Water Hospital In Peirce's experience there is also this similarity ; he lodged a large number of patients in his own house, attending constantly to the cases. It was what was called the Old Abbey House, than which, with regard to size and situation, nothing could be more convenient. It was just between the church and the bath; the church was reached by crossing a small garden, the bath from a gallery overlooking it. The need of such facilities in later times, especially of immediate contiguity with bathing appliances had much to do with the erection of the present Grand Pump HIS CONTEMPORARIES. 75 Room Hotel, where patients may bathe without going out of doors. The Abbey House, Mr. Peach states in one of his valuable works of local history, was built on the site of the palace of John de Yillula, occupied by Dr. Peirce in 1653, and demolished for improvements in 1755. DR. JOHNSON. There was another eminent physician of the seventeenth century not mentioned by Dr. Guidott : Dr. Johnson, famed as the editor of the Herbal of Gerarde, then one of the best botanical works in England. He also published a translation of Ambrose Pary's medical and surgical works, and others relating to botany, of which Her in Agrum Cantianum, 1620, and Ericetum Hamstedianum, 1632, were the first local catalogues of plants published in England. He died in 1644. This glance at the Bath Medical Celebrities of the seventeenth century has also included the chief causes of the progress of the city in the same period. The' latter are remarkable when it is considered what an eventful era the century was throughout the country, its civic changes and national commotions affecting Bath considerably. We have seen how the growing importance of the city was recognised by the charter of Elizabeth, and every reader of history remembers the fierce political warfare waged on the surround- ing hills and even in the streets. It was the time of the conflicts between the Royalists and Republicans, one holding the city a certain number of years till it was regained by the other ; the time being marked by the memorable battle on Lansdown, described in Clarendon's history of the Great Rebellion. Still through all the din of war and the strife of faction, through alarms from foes and treachery by friends, there were two predominating influences to keep up steadily 76 DR. GU1DOTT AND the progress of the city- the springs and the medical profession. Of this there is ample proof if the influx of distinguished visitors be any evidence. Never within so short a period as that from the middle of the seventeenth to the middle of the eighteenth century have there been so many visits from royal personages for the benefit of the waters. Charles II. came attended by his chief physician, Sir Alexander Fraser in 1640, again with his queen Henrietta Maria in 1644 ; in 1663, Charles II. brought his wife ; the Princess Anne and her husband came in 1692, Anne returning when she was queen in 1702. Through the next fifty years the bells rang in at intervals the Princess Amelia, William, Prince of Orange, James II. and his Queen, Mary of Modena, Frederick, Prince of Wales, and his Consort, and the Princess Mary, daughter of George II., with her niece the Princess Caroline. Dr. THOMAS LINACRE. The visits of all these royalties for the waters naturally attracted a great number of people of rank and fashion. But would any of them have come if Bath had not been noted for its medical men. for the skill with which its waters were administered, and the generally high character of the profession ? At the beginning of this sketch I noticed the dawnings of improvement in this respect as evidenced by the physicians who appeared on the scene in the early part of the century, but I omitted to mention one to whom the country at large owed a vast debt of gratitude. This was Linacre, one of the greatest benefactors of the age, who, living in the sixteenth century, grieved sorely at the abundances of incompetent practitioners and the absence of all legal restraint. Himself a man of high character and rare HIS CONTEMPORARIES. attainments, taught by Vitelli at Oxford and Demetrius at Florence, physician successively to Lorenzo de Medici, Henry VII., and Henry VIII., friend of Tonstall, Latimer, Melancthon, Sir Thomas More and Cardinal Wolsey, who more likely to command attention to a great scheme of reform ? His was one of numerous instances of the com- bination at that time of medical and ecclesiastical duties. Ten years prior to his appearance as a medical reformer, he became a priest, officiating first as Rector of a small parish in Kent, and afterwards as Prebendary of Easton-in-Gordano, at Wells. While filling these offices he devised a remedy for the evils of the medical profession by originating the Royal College of Physicians, in which he had the powerful aid of the King, Henry VIII., and his minister, Wolsey. The biographies of the period contain many proofs of the great value of the College, and of the intellectual influence of Linacre on the coming race of medical students. Sir Thomas Elyot, styled " Knight, Diplomatist, and Scholar," wrote about 1530 a remarkable book on education, T}w Govemour, which passed through eight editions. A new one was printed as late as 1881, and the Times in reviewing it spoke of the author as owing his training to " the group of learned men who clustered round Sir Thomas More, notably to Linacre the Head of the College of Physicans, and one of the chief representatives of the new learning in England." That Bath profited by the new institution there can be no doubt. To such a place, then so full of idle and ignorant people who had much money to spend, its requirements, dealing destruction to empirics, must have been invaluable. How these men played off their tricks, what fruitful subjects of satire they afforded, we learn from the pages of Anstey, Smollett and Fielding. By whose wise exertions the next generation and 78 DR. GUIDOTT AND all succeeding generations of medical men were trained to supersede them is taught by a study of the noble life of Linacre. One of the best memoirs in the National Biography is that of this remarkable man.* * A correspondent of the Bath Herald, well-known as an earnest antiquary, communicated to that journal some interesting additional particulars respecting Dr. Turner, Dean of Wells. I did not state them in my sketch because I was compelled to study compression, and the Dean, though a useful visitor in Bath, does not rank as one of its own celebrities. But having now more space I gladly introduce Mr. Frederick Shum's letter with my grateful acknowledgment. To the EDITOR of THE BATH HEBALD. SIB, Your readers are greatly indebted to Mr. Murch for his interesting papers on Bath Worthies. It is with a view of drawing attention to the series of papers still appearing in the Bath Herald that I send you additional particulars of that distinguished Somersetshire theologian, Dr. William Turner, Dean of Wells, who was only briefly referred to by Mr. Murch as being the author of the first printed book on the Thermal Waters of Bath. Apart from his slight connection with Bath he attained great celebrity, both in England and on the Continent, and was a man of great mark among the pioneers of the Reformation. Not only was he one of the earliest writers on the Bath Waters, but he was also the author of " the first true botanical work in this country," and has been rightly named the father of English botany, as another Bath celebrity, Mr. William Smith, is known as the father of English geology. This rare volume, which with his first edition of the Bath Waters is in the "Collection of Bath Books," contains the first record locally of our native plants ; it was published in 1538, and entitled " Libellus de re Herbaria Novus." Dr. William Turner in learning, science and religion was far in advance of the times in which he lived. Born at Morpeth, in Northumberland, he entered Pembroke College, Cambridge, and shortly after taking his B.A. degree in 1529 was elected Fellow and treasurer of his college. He applied himself with great ardour to the study of physic and theology, and was highly esteemed by members of the University. While an under-graduate he became a disciple of Latimer, and an intimate friend of Ridley, the Bishop Martyr. During his residence at Cambridge public disputations were held there on the HIS CONTEMPORARIES. 79 tenets of the Reformers, and the University decided in favour of the King against the Pope. Turner had the courage of his convictions, and as a young man fearlessly and zealously preached the doctrines of the Reformation, travel- ling like John Wesley 200 years later, through the villages, towns, and cities of England to make known the truth to the common people. He was imprisoned, but, nevertheless, received sympathy and assistance from Pembroke College, who voted him a sum of money in 1542. After his release from prison he travelled to Italy, where he continued his studies, and at Ferrara was created Doctor of Medicine. He then proceeded to Germany and Holland in pursuit of botanical specimens, residing for a considerable time in Barle and Cologne. It was at this period he wrote his brief but telling religious pieces, printing them at these two centres and circulating them in England, where they were eagerly read by his countrymen, but were eventually prohibited by King Henry VIII. in the last year of his reign. On the accession of Edward VI., in 1547, he returned to England, was appointed physician to the Duke of Somerset, and received from the Archbishop of York a living in that city. In 1550 he was preferred to the City of Wells, and created a Doctor of Medicine in Oxford. His energy and learning, his wit and varied accomplishments, rendered him as popular at home as he had been on the Continent. When Queen Mary succeeded, he was deprived of his appointments, and compelled to take refuge in Germany, where he prosecuted his botanical studies and scientiBc researches, cultivated the gardens in which he had planted his specimens, and from time to time issued his tracts. His works were a second time prohibited by the Crown, and the Wardens of the various Lon- don Companies were ordered to give up all copies when discovered. Hence the rarity of Turner's books. In 1558, on the accession of Queen Elizabeth, he came to England, and preached at S. Paul's on the 10th of September, before a vast assemblage of people, and shortly afterwards was reinstated iiihis deanery, with the addition of several rectories in Somerset. He died 7th July, J568, and was buried in the Church of St. Olave, where may now be seen a tablet, written in Latin, to his memory. ' The indomitable character of the man may be seen in his works to-day, as it was equally patent to his contemporaries, who were witnesses of his self- denying labours 350 years ago. Yours faithfully, Bath ; Jan. 21st, 1893. F. S. BEAU NASH. CHAPTER IX. BEAU NASH. It may seem incongruous to connect the name of the great Roman historian with that of a Bath master of the ceremonies, and yet there is a remark of Tacitus applicable to Richard Nash : Non semper errat fama aliquando eligif. We remember, however, that if " Fame is not always mistaken but sometimes chooses right," it is partly because she deals with circumstances as they exist at certain times and gives her laurel crown accordingly. Nash was the man for the hour, the place and the people ; he appeared when just such a man was needed as a controlling power in a disorganised community ; and whatever his faults may have been or those of the subjects over whom he ruled (in both cases sufficiently obvious), the difficult work was accomplished and hence his renown. At the beginning of the eighteenth century Bath was one of the most remarkable places in the kingdom. It may be said that in some respects pertaining to time and place it was unique. First there were the springs rapidly regaining the reputation they possessed during the Roman settlement, fifteen hundred years before. Then the advent of a higher class of medical men with a sounder knowledge of the laws of health and superior social qualifications. It was also the time when the general revival after the middle ages, which was felt throughout Europe, operated in making the class of well-to-do English people who lived in lone country houses dissatisfied therewith. To all such people Bath had many attractions; they found, besides health-giving springs and skilful physicians, convenient houses, society of all kinds, BEAU NASH. 81 fashionable amusements, and a beautiful neighbourhood. What city then could be compared with it ? How natural that country squires and their families, men and women with mere rustic antecedents and even men and women of questionable character should congregate there. And how necessary that some master spirit should appear invested with authority by the inexperienced crowd themselves to lay down laws for their guidance and bring order out of confusion. Richard Nash was born at Swansea in 1674. His father was a gentleman whose principal income was derived from a partnership in a glass manufactory. His mother was niece to Colonel Foyer, who suffered death for defending Pembroke Castle against the troops of the Commonwealth. The father strained his resources to give his son a good education, send- ing him first to Carmarthen School and then to Jesus College, Oxford, to prepare him for the study of the law. Young Nash soon showed, however, that though much might be expected from his genius nothing could be hoped from his industry, his distinction being chiefly for proficiency in the youthful lollies of the time. Before he was seventeen he went through all the mazes of a college intrigue. He tried to extricate himself by an offer of marriage which was accepted, but which his tutors and other friends contrived to get cancelled. Then he determined to enter the army, bought a pair of colours and " dressed to the very edge of his finances," but soon becoming disgusted with the life of a soldier he resumed his inclination for the bar. Thus in the reign of William III. Nash was a member of the Middle Temple. It had been long customary for the Inns of Court to give a revel or pageant on the accession of a monarch. For many years poets were the conductors because plays were exhibited F 82 BEAU NASH. and complimentary verses recited. By degrees the literary feature was eliminated, the last poet honoured with the commission being Sir John Davis. Nash was now the man to meet the altered taste, and his connection with the Temple made the choice appropriate. The King was so struck with his ability on the occasion that he made him an offer of knighthood. This, however, the Arbiter Elegantiarum thought it prudent to decline. " Please your Majesty/' he replied, "if you propose to make me a knight, may it be one of the poor knights of Windsor for then I should have a fortune at least sufficient to support the title." Another story, not improbable, is that when Queen Anne visited Bath she asked him why he refused the honour, and he answered, " Because Sir William Reed, the mountebank, should not call me brother." The hint given to King William about the poor knights was not taken, but though Nash failed to improve his circumstances immediately, he yet gained many friends and had his path smoothed for the office he soon after filled at Bath. It was early in the first decade of the century that he came. There was already a master of the ceremonies, Captain Webster, when the amusements were only in an embryo state. The company assembled on a bowling green where they enjoyed country dances to the music of a violin and hautboy. At other times they sauntered in the Orange Grove, so-called, not because the pretty square had orange trees ; the saunter- ing was between three rows of sycamores. The name is said to have originated in the fact that in 1734 a column was erected in the centre to commemorate the cure of the Prince of Orange. Webster succeeded sufficiently to cause a migra- tion of the dancers from the bowling-green to the Townhall, each gentleman paying half-a-guinea for admission. But BEAU NASH. 83 progress was slow, and Nash, it is said, though at first only a visitor, availed himself of a curious incident to rival the original M.C. Some eminent London physician, disliking the reputation Bath had acquired, published a pamphlet threatening to put a toad into the springs. Nash, hearing this, assured the good people who were somewhat alarmed at the idea, that if they would give him leave he would charm away the poison of the doctor's toad. ' ' But how ? " they asked. " Why," he said, " as the venom of the tarantula is charmed, by music." They consented; he established a band of such merit that numbers flocked to hear it, and the fame of the city rapidly increased. It is true that there have been doubts as to the truth of this story with reference to Bath and to Dr. Kadcliffe, who was supposed to have been the physician. A modern writer states that the spring was really in Northamptonshire and the antagonist Dr. Willis. Possibly Nash caught at the idea to turn it to his purpose. At all events he charmed the people if not the toad, and they showed their gratitude in no stinted measure. Webster had proved himself a low-minded, dis- reputable gambler, and was killed in a duel. The city then gave Nash full power to make any laws and levy any taxes he wanted for his purpose, installing him master of the cere- monies and King of Bath. Never was local sovereignty more complete. He strengthened it by exactly the kind of measures the city needed. His first care was to put his band on a higher and more permanent footing. Then he promoted the completion of the Pump Room, which was begun by Webster in 1704, and opened under his successor's auspices in 1706. It was first enlarged in 1751, afterwards still further many years later, and eventually it gave way to the present building, erected from designs by Baldwin in 1781. Nash, com- 84 BEAU NASH. mencing his reign in 1704, directed that the balls should begin punctually at six and end at eleven ; the closing rule being especially strict lest the good effect of the waters should be counteracted. Not even the Princess Amelia could get it relaxed in her favour. In matters of dress at the balls, Nash was a thorough and much -needed autocrat. The Duchess of Queensbury appeared at one of the Dress Balls in an apron of point lace, said to be worth five hundred guineas. " Be so good as to take it off, Madam " was the mandate. Her Grace obeyed. Nash took it and threw it to her attendants. Gentlemen were required to abstain from oaths, swords, and top-boots. Strict laws were issued against duelling, and various facilities were given for the termination of quarrels. No one could settle questions of precedence better. He is said to have been acquainted with the rank and quality of almost every important family in the kingdom. If he found scandal causing divisions and animosities he discovered who were the authors and withheld his favour until the offence ceased. No doubt much of Nash's power was caused by his defer- ence to human weaknesses. Thus he even acquired the homage of the constituted authorities, a strange instance of civic submission. Who would now believe that the magis- trates of the Old .Roman city paid the same respect to the fictitious royalty of Nash as was given to genuine kings and queens ? Can it be imagined that, although under the cir- cumstances a certain deference might have been expedient, they would be dazzled or rather dazed by his tawdry chariot, his six grey horses, his footmen, outsiders, and French horns ? For thus was it he travelled to keep in order his other sub- jects at Tunbridge Wells. The reason he gave for always wearing a white hat was that it might not be stolen, as if its BEAU NASH. 85 shape and quality were not sufficiently distinctive. The connivance of the magistrates and corporation in all these follies is still less to their credit when it is remembered how the mock state was kept up. The fees of office were, of course, utterly inadequate ; so that the chief part of the burthen was borne by the gaming-table. Bath then swarmed not only with people of distinction, but with needy adven- turers to whom gambling was the great financial resource. Nash was known for his proficiency in it from early manhood ; he maintained himself by it while professing to study law in the temple ; but, so low was the scale of morality everywhere, that no disgrace accompanied it, and his success in filling Bath with visitors blinded the world to the means by which he supported the grandeur. Some writer has pleaded that while Nash shared the passion of the age in this respect he was better than other adventurers, inasmuch as he never cheated. To this may possibly be added the fact that, though for many years he won enough to defray current expenses, he did not save enough to avoid at the close of life the most distressing poverty. Always both impulsive and generous, one quality made him the victim of chance rather than skill and judg- ment at the gaming table, the other led him to give and forgive with the freedom of a really rich man. A gentleman of broken fortune, once standing behind his chair as he played a game of picquet for two hundred pounds, and observing with what indifference he won the money, observed to a friend, " Heavens, how happy would all that money make me." Nash heard it, put the money into his hand, and said, " For once I have done some good, go and be happy." Nor was his kind-heartedness merely occasional ; the records of his life contain many similar instances. In the meridian of 86 BEAU NASH. his fortune his gifts to the needy are said to have been equal to his other expenses. During the exceptionally severe winter of 1739, his personal exertions to relieve distress were unremitting ; he went among the poor in their own houses, and gave his best attention to the most deserving and industrious. Neither was charity with him confined to objects of the day and hour. He established a Jong claim to gratitude in con- nection with a scheme for making the springs available to the poor from distant places by means of a Mineral Water Hospital. He was certainly one of its most active and successful promoters ; he induced some of the best men of the city to frame the constitution and procure the Act of Parliament by which it is governed to this day ; he had the assistance of Wood, the eminent architect, as to the designs, and of Ralph Allen, Dr. Oliver, the Rector of Bath, and Dr. Stevenson, the Nonconformist Minister, in obtaining funds. The fact that he was one of the treasurers from the opening in 1742 till his death in 1761, shows the confidence he enjoyed. An appropriate compliment was paid to his memory by a marble statue in the Pump Room, the work of Prince Hoare ; with an outline of the plan of the hospital in his hand. Through a hundred and fifty years has this noble institution conferred incalculable and ever increasing benefits ; not confined only to those who in the city need the waters, but to sufferers from rheumatism, sciatica, paralysis, and other disorders in any part of the kingdom. It is pleasant to know that succeeding generations of the worthies of Bath have kept pace with time by increasing the facilities and advan- tages of the hospital First, space was gained by an additional story ; then the patients, instead of being taken to the springs in Sedan chairs, had the water conveyed through pipes to the BEAU NASH. 87 building ; subsequently a new wing for day-rooms, an exercise ground on the premises, and other additions and improve- ments have testified to the laudable desire to insure to as large a number as possible the full benefit of the institution. The ultimate disastrous change in the fortunes of Nash was due to wise legislation for repressing gambling. Early in the reign of George III. the most prevalent games, those which were chiefly played in Bath, were declared fraudulent and unlawful. There had been, however, an extremely profit- able game set up at Tunbridge, called E.G., the promoters of which managed to evade the law, and with them Nash as a last resource confederated at Bath. But Parliament was not to be baulked ; the offenders were discovered, and a more stringent Act was passed, destroying all the hopes of the once powerful autocrat, and leaving him a dreary prospect for the remainder of his life. Happily this was not pro- longed ; he had nearly reached the end when grim poverty began to darken his dwelling, the home in S. John's court where his kindness had gained the hearts of all who served him. A weekly pension was allowed him by the Corporation just sufficient for his maintenance until death came. This was in 1761, at the age of 88 ; he was honoured with a public funeral and a handsome monument in the Abbey, in addition to the marble statue elsewhere, already mentioned. In the early part of this sketch it may be thought that I have attached undue importance to Nash's share in the revival of Bath. Some writer has said that such a city could not have " danced or gambled into existence," and that the chief agencies in its prosperity have been its great natural advantages. There can be no doubt of this ; nor can we fail to remember thankfully how, while lower influences have, in each succeeding decade, passed away more and more, the 88 BEAU NASH. higher ones have gained ever increasing power. If the follies and vices which threw their dark shadow over English social life in the eighteenth century affected deeply for a time the national character, there is surely much in the higher public spirit and greater private excellence of recent times to inspire hope for the future. With regard to the moral responsibilities of individual men and women who have been leaders of an era, Justice as well as Charity requires that the circumstances under which their minds and lives were formed should be always considered. In many cases the wonder is, not that they failed to do more good, but that they succeeded in doing so much. The great point is to judge fairly if possible. There are two scraps of poetry on Nash's character. One, the lines on his monument in Bath Abbey, which appear to perpetuate exaggerated eulogy ; the other, the epigram ascribed by Goldsmith to Lord Chesterfield, surely much nearer reality; the epigram having been caused by the position of Nash's portrait in a public ballroom between the busts of Newton and Pope. " Immortal Newton never spoke More truth than here you'll find, Nor Pope himself e'er pen'd a joke Severer on mankind. Nash represents man in the mass Made up of wrong and right, Sometimes a knave, sometimes an ass, Now blunt and now polite. This Picture placed these busts between Gives Satire its full strength, Wisdom and Wit are little seen But Folly at full length." RALPH ALLEN. 89 CHAPTER X. RALPH ALLEN. The shade of Ralph Allen might well complain if he were omitted in an account of Bath Celebrities. No name during his useful life was better known in the city that he loved and through a large part of the West of England. Few local worthies since his death, a hundred and fifty years ago, have been held in higher repute for solid service to the country and effectual quickening of the national life. Well may proofs of general gratitude be still seen in appropriate places : marble busts in the Guildhall and Mineral Water Hospital ; portraits, painted and engraved, in many a private dwelling. Often are philanthropists of the present day reminded of his modest benevolence by Pope's well-known couplet, and of his social attractiveness by Fielding's description of Squire Allworthy. But to many Bath citizens of these modern times the tale of his remarkable life and its memorable work is probably still unknown ; here, at all events, it must not be untold. Ralph Allen was born in 1693 or 1694. He was the son of worthy parents who kept an inn at St. Blaise, near St. Austell, in Cornwall. Their vocation led Pope in the couplet just mentioned to designate him as "low-born/' an epithet changed, after remonstrance by Bishop Warburton, to "humble." The paltry attempt at disparagement may be almost pardoned for the prominence given to a rare quality in the lines as they stand : " Let humble Allen, with an awkward shame, Do good by stealth and blush to find it fame." But no one who has known successive generations of the Allen family could fail to see that, whatever the outward circum- 90 RALPH ALLEN. stances of earlier ancestors may have been, there has been no lack of the innate dignity characteristic of nature's gentlemen. I remember, when travelling in Italy many years ago, stopping at a small inn kept by a man apparently very " humble," and yet it came out that he was of noble extraction ; while singularly attentive and obliging, he always avoided undig- nified positions. Here my readers will allow me to repeat a few facts stated in a paper I once read at a literary meeting. In another Cornish village, St. Columb, there was a good old grandmother who kept a post office. To her Ralph was sent when a boy in order that he might help her in sorting and carrying out the letters. Cornwall, it should be remembered, was then a more important county than many others in consequence of its great mining business and its large share of Parliamentary representation. In that little village office the lad of St. Blaise, by turning his opportunities to good account, laid the foundation of his future fortune. The Inspector of the district noted his ability and steadiness, and a neighbouring magistrate, Sir John Trevelyan, who was accustomed to visit Bath, aided in obtaining employment for him here. At the age of eighteen Allen became a clerk in the Bath post office. Continuing to commend himself to influential persons, he soon received the appointment of postmaster. Some writers represent that the more immediate cause of his promotion was the zeal he showed in opening letters of suspected persons and thus discovering a conspiracy against the Government. Undoubtedly the friends of the Pretender were active in the West of England, and Allen may have obeyed instructions which the Government thought itself justified in giving. At all events, important intelligence was given to General Wade, who was then quartered with troops RALPH ALLEN. 91 at Bath, and who became another powerful friend of the Cornish youth. Ere long Allen married Wade's natural daughter, one of the happiest events of his prosperous life. That in addition to the lady's good qualities she had some fortune may be inferred from the fact that her husband soon engaged in his great undertaking of the Combe Down stone quarries. Another step of the ladder he ascended so rapidly within a few years was the Bath Corporation, then possessing the privilege of electing the members of Parliament for the city. Rejoined this body in 1722, was eventually chosen Mayor of Bath, and for many years took the lead in Municipal affairs, exercising special influence in all that related to Mr. Pitt's representation of the city. Thus we are introduced to the new system of the cross posts. In no place could the experiment have originated more favourably. The geographical position of Bath combined with its waters, scenery and society to make it a place of great resort for influential people. .Ralph Allen, brought by his office into frequent intercourse, was able to confer with them as to the plans he had in view. Mr. Pitt, afterwards Earl of Chatham, had built a house in the Circus, lived there during the season, and was a medium with the Government as one of the members for the city, but all this was long after the first contract for the cross posts. It is due to Allen to remember that with himself, with his own power of calculation and management, the plans had their origin, and by his energy and perseverance in the employment of suitable means they were carried out. Nor should the difficulties be forgotten difficulties arising from the want of communication which he endeavoured to lessen. With roads so few and bad, with conveyances so poor and slow, with people for obeying his instructions so dull and ignorant, no common skill was needed 92 RALPH ALLEX. to organise a system covering a large extent of country. Any one who has read Arthur Young's Tour in the North of England, or the novels of Fielding, Smollett, and Richardson, with their vivid description of the state of England at the period, can imagine the obstacles which a post office reformer would have to overcome. Up to this time legislation had not done much to improve postal communication. The two most important Acts were one of the Commonwealth (1657), among the latest of the Long Parliament, and another of the reign of Queen Anne. The former begins by reciting the various advantages, social, commercial, and political of a General Post Office, and gives it a more permanent form by placing it under the control of a Postmaster-General. To him was committed the duty not only of arranging the tariff and transmitting letters, but of providing horses for travellers riding post. The Act of Queen Anne (1710) gave increased facilities, but prior to Ralph Allen's time it was almost a dead letter for want of the requisite spirit and intelligence. He, therefore, proposed to establish cross posts from Exeter to Chester by way of Bath, Bristol, Gloucester, and Worcester, thus connecting the West of England with Lancashire districts and the mail route to Ireland. Previously letters between neighbouring towns had been conveyed by circuitous routes, often going to London and coming back by different roads. Allen per- suaded the Government to allow him to construct his system, and to have successive leases at rents regulated by the results. In addition to all the costs of the new service he paid 2,000 a year for the first contract, 4,000 for the second, 6,000 for the third, and 8,000 for the fourth, the last being for the remainder of his life. General Wade was his bondsman to the Treasury. It was difficult to ascertain indeed no one RALPH ALLEN. 93 but himself and his clerks could discover what his profits really were, the receipts from the cross posts being collected, not by the Government but by themselves. By an account which was found among Allen's papers after his death, it appeared that he calculated his net profits at 10,000 a year or half a million sterling altogether. But there is another statement from which I obtain much of the information I am now giving. Allen employed an intelligent man called Jones as clerk of the works from 1731 till his death in 1704. Jones kept a diary, which still exists, and states that twenty- six years before Allen's death he saw an account showing a clear gain of 16,000 a year. This, however, may have been only for a time, though his great outlay for many years in buy- ing large estates, planting innumerable acres, and erecting costly buildings proves that his income from various sources must have been very considerable. If we inquire how the country was served by these contracts the answer is satisfactory. On each renewal additional work was required, and, so far as we are able to judge, faithfully done. At Allen's death, when the system had been in operation 44 years, cross posts had extended to all parts of the kingdom. Then such large dimensions had been attained as to be nearly unmanageable in private hands, and the authorities were not sorry to see the responsibility lapse to the Crown. A new office called the " bye letter office " was then estab- lished in London under the charge of a manager at a salary of 300. At the end of the first year profits to the amount of ="20,000 were added to his Majesty's income. In 179!), when the management was transferred to the general office, they had reached the yearly sum of .200,000. Notwith- standing this there was no reduction of postage; on the contrary it was increased from time to time to meet war 94 RALPH ALLEX. expenses and for other purposes. According to the terms of Queen Anne's Act large pensions were to be paid out of the surplus revenues of the post office and the remainder retained by the Queen "for the better support of her Majesty's house- hold and for the honour and dignity of the Crown of Great Britain." On the accession of the three first Georges success- ively Bills were passed in accordance, though at a later period, while 7,000 a year was fixed as the sum for the civil list the entire net revenue was directed to be carried to the consoli- dated fund. In considering the history of the post office up to the time of Allen's death we have passed over much that is interesting in his personal history. The wealth and position he acquired gave him an influence which he employed in ways not less honourable to himself than beneficial to the neighbourhood. His wealth was by no means entirely due to his Government contracts ; he continued the business to which I have referred, of quarryrnaster on Combe Down, where the cottages he built for his workmen originated the present village. Prior Park is said to have been erected in order that he might exhibit the qualities of the Bath stone, which also became manifest in other large buildings of the period, notably the Exchange at Bristol, the General Hospital at Bath, and St. Bartholomew's in London. The rapid growth of Bath in the last century conduced largely to the success of the quarries. Their owner sold the stone for the houses in Queen Square, Wood Street, the Orange Grove, and the North and South Parades. But who would grudge him his prosperity ? Who that knew how large-hearted he was, how generous and hospitable in private life, how ready to forward every good public object ? To set apart .1,000 annually for quiet acts of kindness was one of his earliest objects. To send Fielding two hundred guineas RALPH ALLEN. 95 from this fund, even before he knew him, as soon as he heard he was in distress, was a mode of doing good habitual to him. Equally characteristic were his legacies of various kinds, including a handsome annuity for educating Fielding's children, when fatherless, and 1 ,000 to Mr. Pitt, because he was poor. Ralph Allen was the chief supporter of Beau Nash's noble object a hospital for the poor from all parts of the kingdom whose cases needed the Bath Waters. At once he gave .1,000 to it, and promised all the stone for the building ready cut and delivered. He gave ^500 towards re-building the Guildhall in 1763. He clothed and equipped a hundred Volunteers on the breaking out of the Rebellion. He built a bridge at Newton St. Loe at a cost of 4,000. As he acquired successively on the other side of Bath the estates of Combe Down, Claverton, and Hampton Manor, he covered the hills with plantations, which now at a distance of a hundred and fifty years give beauty and glory to the land- scape. Let every lover of fine old trees, everyone who enjoys the walks and drives of the neighbourhood, bless the mind that conceived this great source of delight to future genera- tions. Allen's splendid notions as to Prior Park are said to have utterly confounded his friend and architect, John Wood, but he carried them out. It is generally known that he built " Sham Castle " as a prominent object from many parts of Bath. In later life he spent three months annually at Weymouth. He had also a residence at Bathampton, to which he occasionally retired for repose. In social life the Allworthy of Tom Jones was as genial as in giving aid to the needy. Fielding dined at his table daily when he lived near. Pope, Mason, Hartley, Richardson, Graves of Claverton, Hoare, the painter, Gainsborough, Bishops Hurd, Sherlock, and Warburton, Lord Chatham, and 96 RALPH ALLEN. the younger Pitt all enjoyed his hospitality ; and members of the Royal family visiting Bath accepted his invitations. Prior Park was then on a small scale to Bath what Holland House was in later days on a larger to London, the house where the most celebrated men of the day met and where the spirit of kindness flowing from the host and hostess gave brightness to the wit and flavour to the wisdom of the various guests. Honour therefore to the memory of the first post office reformer. If he earned a splendid fortune he gave a bright example of the best way of spending money. The beautiful house which he built, the magnificent trees which he planted, the landscape full of Italian loveliness which he adorned, are all memorials of a taste worthy one of nature's nobles. And when he was carried to his grave in the sweet God's Acre at Claverton, realising the exquisite wish of Goldsmith to be laid amid the bowers he loved, who would not hope he might long rank high with men immortalised by an older poet, men " Who by new arts life's uses have improved, And for good deeds are honoured and beloved ?" He died in 1764. at the age of 71. The inscription on the tomb records his "full hopes of everlasting happiness in another state." " Ralph Allen " says the author of the memoir in the National Biography, " was rather above the middle height, of stout build, very grave and well-looking, extremely plain in his costume, and remarkably courteous in his behaviour. His character has been drawn in the most glowing terms by Pitt, Bishop Kurd, Bishop Warburton, Mrs. Delany, and others, all bearing testimony to his simplicity, benevolence, splendid hospitality, strong natural abilities, and domestic RALPH ALLEN. 97 virtues. His nephew, Thomas Daniell, became a wealthy merchant of Truro, whose son, Ralph Allen Daniell, was M.P. for West Looe." The second Mrs. Allen was sister to Captain Tucker, whose daughter, after living at Prior Park some years, married the Rev. William Warburton, afterwards Bishop of Gloucester, and on Allen's death he entered into possession of Prior Park. This little family history illustrates the truth that important destinies often follow trifling incidents. Pope was a friend and often a guest, ultimately an ungrateful one, of Allen. Warburton, being a friend of Pope, once wrote a letter proposing to visit him at Twickenham. Pope happened to be at Prior Park when the letter arrived and caused him, on receiving it at dinner, to look perplexed. " What is the matter ?" said Allen. " Oh, a Lincolnshire parson wants to visit me and I can't have him." "If that be all let him come here." He came, repeated his visits, and married Miss Tucker. For some time after his marriage Warburton lived at Prior Park and in future years was often there. His social powers, his learned books, and his good connections, advanced him step by step until, through Allen's influence with William Pitt, he reached the See of Gloucester. Prior Park then saw him but seldom, and after his death, in 1779, his widow, having married his chaplain, the Rev. Stafford Smith, lived chiefly in Queen Square, Bath. By arrangement or inheritance, the next possessor of the Postmaster's mansion was Viscount Hawarden, who married a daughter of Philip Allen, Ralph's brother. He lived there 24 years, and was succeeded by his son, the second Viscount, who died in 1807 without issue, when all direct connection of Prior Park with the Allen family ceased. There is much that is interesting in the subsequent ownership of the estate, and much that awakens pleasant G 98 RALPH ALLEN*. recollections, but here the present sketch must end. In 1816 the Claverton property was purchased by Mr. Vivian, solicitor to the Excise, who pulled down the old Hungerford house, and built another on the crest of the hill, now occupied by its present owner, Mr. H. D. Skrine. The Bathampton Estate has been inherited successively by Mr. George Edward Allen, great nephew of Ralph, Major Ralph Shuttleworth Allen, MP., his nephew, and Colonel F. Allen, son of the last mentioned.* * In my original sketch of Ralph Allen, in the Bath Herald, I fell into an error on the authority of the National Biography, where it is stated that " By his second wife he had an only child, Ralph, who became comptroller of the bye letter office, but of whom little further is known." I was surprised that no previous writer had mentioned this son ; it seemed possible, however, that there should be some reason for reticence, and I relied (unwisely it seems) on the general accuracy of the great biographical work. Moreover seven years had passed since the publication of the volume, and no correction, so far as I knew, of this statement had appeared. The author appears to have founded it on confused ideas of a few facts. There was a Ralph Allen Warburton, only child of Bishop Warburton, who died in early youth, and there was a postmaster (not comptroller), Philip Allen, who succeeded his brother Ralph in that capacity, but that brother, 1 am now reassured, with certainty, never had a son. Those who wish for further information on the subject of this sketch would find it in a volume of -Remains in Prose and Verse of the Rev. Francis Kilvert. It contains an Essay on Pialph Allen and Prior Park read before the Bath Literary Club in 1857 and, some years afterwards, was pronounced by the Rev. Joseph Hunter in a letter to the author " by far the best memoir of Allen that had yet RALPH ALLEN. 99 appeared." The essay is chiefly valuable for the light it throws on the friendships between Allen and his eminent visitors, Pope, Fielding, Warburton and other celebrities, as also on the acquisition and expenditure of the Postmaster's handsome fortune. But the volume altogether is more than usually interesting inasmuch as it perpetuates the memory of Mr. Kilvert, who, if not a celebrity of Bath was undoubtedly one of its greatest worthies. Without the slightest appearance of self importance, he was remarkable amongst his fellow citizens for a combination of qualities which gave him no common social influence. While there was an air of dignified simplicity about him which could not fail to strike a stranger, his friends felt that to be favoured with his companion- ship was to be in the way of growing better as plants improve under the sun and air they love. If " Simon, the son of Onias, made the garment of holiness honorable," Francis Kilvert made it so natural, so gently and genially attractive that one wondered it was not universally worn, except that in his case it seemed a part of his very nature. As a clergyman though by his preaching and his published sermons he gained the reputation of an able and zealous churchman, yet by his courtesy, charity and large mindedness he won the affectionate regard of many who did not worship at the same altar. As a teacher of youth parents deemed it a privilege to have sons under his care, and many were the proofs that with all his high classical attainments, with all his success in producing good sound scholarship, his constant aim was pure and elevated character. As a literary man how charming was his society, how substantial were his services ; whether one thinks of such works as the Remains of Bishop Warburton and the Life of Bishop Kurd his distinguished relative, or of the essay on the author of The Spiritual Quixote, the poems he wrote from time to time and the monthly symposia of the Literary Club which he enjoyed, it is the same. He was also just the man to appreciate Allen; he never had a more genial task than that of writing his life; to know that the great and 100 RALPH ALLEN. good Post Office Eeformer often came with Warburton to the humble parsonage at Claverton which he occupied at the beginning of his ministry, to remember that Shenstone enjoyed its beautiful garden and that the Venerable Eichard Graves spent fifty years on the spot, endeared it unspeakably to Mr. Kilvert. I find in the collection of the fragments which pious hands brought together in the Remains that a foremost place was justly given to lines entitled, An Israelite Indeed, and, as they appear to have been an unconscious portrait of the author him- self I conclude my tribute by transcribing them. " Whene'er I see a calm consistent walk, Deep piety that finds not vent in talk, Faith that can realise a world on high, Hope's anchor hold, the glow of Charity, The liberal hand that grasps no hoarded pelf, Humility that last and least counts self, Candour that thinks no ill, imputes no guile, Courage that spurns at Fortune's frown or smile, Whatever that real Christian's name or creed, In him I hail an Israelite indeed, To him the hand of fellowship I give, Content with him to die, with him to live." JOHN PALMER. 101 CHAPTER XI. JOHN PALMER. PART I. Those who imagine that the history of Bath is the history of a mere pleasure -seeking city should think of some of the Celebrities in these sketches. Nor have a few of the more eminent yet appeared ; we have still to glance at the Literati of the later period and at Contemporaries in various profes- sions who distinguished both themselves and the city. But if there had been only the t\vo men who did so much in postal matters, Ralph Allen and John Palmer, who worked for similar objects, in the same city and during the same century, the mistake would be rectified. In order to connect the historical parts of my narrative as closely as possible I proceed at once to Palmer's share in the great improvements. We have seen how Allen increased the cross posts but not yet how the letters were carried. We know that the bags made up were called mails, but we have still to ask who and what conveyed the bags ? Let no one imagine the mail coach of modern days running through all parts of the kingdom, or indeed anywhere in those days. That, however, was a sight which those of us who have seen it do not wish to forget the dashing coachman with his four mettlesome steeds, the redcoated guard blowing cheerily on his horn as they drove through the quiet villages. There was an annual custom a procession of thirty or forty beautiful mail coaches which I saw in London on a king's birthday sixty-five years ago, the horses with new harness, the coachmen and guards ]Q2 JOHN PALMER. with new liveries, delighting hundreds of spectators who lined Piccadilly. Very different all this from the wretched boys on worn-out hacks in the times we are reviewing. No other mode existed before the close of the sixteenth century, carriages of every kind being unknown even to people of fortune and great officers of State. And if judges had to go circuit in jack-boots, if ladies could only travel to town from their country seats on a pillion behind some relative or serving man, if even Queen Elizabeth was bound to place herself at the rear of her Lord Chancellor when she went from Greenwich to the city, what better conveyance could be expected for letters ? Only of neither the men nor the steeds let too favourable an idea be formed. Few post boys in the provinces were required to go at a greater rate than three or four miles an hour, and the want of discipline among them was grievous. They drank, they loitered, they played games on the road, they cheated the Government by carrying letters for their own profit at lower rates, they were an easy prey to any robber or ill-disposed person who chose to interfere with them. An amusing anecdote in Campbell's Tales of the Highlands illustrates the way in which expresses were forwarded: "Near Inverary we regained a spot of comparative civilisation, and came up with the post boy whose horse was quietly grazing at some distance while lied Jacket himself was immersed in play with other lads. 'You rascal,' I said to him, 'are you the post boy and thus spending your time ? ' Nae, nae, sir,' he answered, ' I'm no the post, I'm only an express.' " The first carriage of any kind for the use of the public was a rude wagon without springs, the body resting solidly on the axle. About the year 1608 this came to be used for carrying letters on the principal roads in connection with passengers JOHN PALMER. 103 and goods. Fifty years afterwards stage wagons travelled regularly between London and Liverpool, starting from an inn in Aldermanbury every Monday and Thursday, occupying ten days in the summer and eleven or twelve in the winter. Then came stage coaches, a great improvement, though for a long time the speed was only two or three miles an hour even on the better roads around London. It was considered a great effort when in 1690 a stage coach undertook to convey passengers all the way to York in seven days, except while the Midland Counties were impassable from floods. Even when Allen was intent on facilitating communication as much as possible, the Fly Coach, as it was called, from London to Exeter, occupied five days, one of the incidents being that a halt was made at Axminster in the early morning long enough to allow a woman-barber to shave the coach. Thoresby, the antiquary and naturalist, relates that in his expeditions to the North by those conveyances, he was in the habit of stop- ping occasionally to go in search of fossil shells in the fields or on the road-side. At the beginning of a long journey it was the custom of the travellers to choose a chairman who regulated all such discussions as those relating to the inns where the party should dine or sleep. But there were times when the coachman chose to have his own way, and in 1760 an action was tried in the Court of King's Bench to recover damages from a driver who had wanted to compel the passen- gers to dine at some low inn in which he had an interest. The passengers had rebelled, had walked on to a respectable place at some distance and had eaten their dinner, with the mortification, however, of then seeing the coach go past at full speed and leave them to get to London as best they could. The jury gave them such comfort as was possible in damages to the amount of twenty pounds. John Palmer's 104 JOHN PALMER. mail coaches appear .to have been suggested originally by cases of practical inconvenience to himself. He was manager of the Bath Theatre, and in that capacity had to take long journeys to engage performers for his company. Not only was he often delayed in going from Bath to London, which occupied three days, and from Bath to other places on still worse roads, but when he had promised some bright particular star for a certain night the audience was disappointed because the miserable coach had not arrived. Before, however, we enter on his scheme, it may be well to notice some of the incidents of his life, which, as in Allen's case, largely affected the history of the English post office and gave our city a prominence both honourable and beneficial. John Palmer was born in the year 1742. His father was a respectable brewer, and his mother belonged to an old and good family. His early education war for the Church, to which, however, he objected, preferring the army. To the army his father objected, and at length his lot was fixed in the brewery, where he found time for pursuits more congenial with his tastes. He followed a pack of hounds belon^m" 1 to 1 O O a clerical relative in the neighbourhood, and he cultivated a love of the drama then highly popular, the latter under great disadvantage, for while his kinsman mounted him well the only building available for a theatre was an old, ruinous barn. Long and loud had been the complaints about this building ; not only did the people of rank and fashion who now came to Bath in great numbers denounce it, but even the performers were ashamed of it. To erect a building worthy of the city which had become more attractive than any in the kingdom was an object in harmony with John Palmer's enterprising character. His father's public spirit led him to unite with nine of the principal inhabitants in JOHN PALMER. 105 building a theatre in Orchard Street, afterwards used as a Catholic Chapel. The appeal for aid for this building was prefaced by the lines : " Plays are like mirrors made for men to see How bad they are how good they ought to be." Whether the instruction was equal to the amusement we are not informed, but in another half-century a still larger and more commodious theatre was wanted and rose in Beauford Square. This met the fate of so many in modern times the interior was destroyed by fire on Good Friday, 1862. The shell being preserved it was immediately rebuilt at a cost of = J 12,000, and is now in use. Many who were present at the opening performance, The Midsummer Night's Dream, March 4th, 1863, have still a vivid recollection of the interest displayed by the old city when the love of the drama, so true and strong in former days, was once more revived. In the excellent company Mr. Chute, the manager, brought together was Miss Ellen Terry, her first appearance in Bath. A copy of the hand-bill is given in Mr. Belville S. Penley's History of the Bath Stage lately published. Returning to Palmer's theatre we learn that to insure its success the father bought up the shares of the old company and the son novy devoted himself entirely to the business. After spending some time in London, where he was rewarded with an Act of Parliament protecting the property and a royal patent giving it an envied distinction, he returned to grapple with the obstacles occasioned by the unpopularity of the manager. There was in fact for some reason a strike among the staff ; all declared that they would perform no longer. John Palmer saw that only one course was open to him ; he mounted his horse and proceeded on a tour of several 106 JOHN PALMER. hundred miles in search of a new company. At the end of a fortnight he came back again successful, having been joined by recruits of considerable reputation at various towns, which led him to adopt the plan of an annual journey to visit all the best theatres and maintain the efficiency of his staff. Soon after he had arranged these matters to the satisfaction of Bath he undertook similar responsibilities at Bristol, having also acquired an interest in its theatre, for which he likewise obtained a patent, and by working the two together he was able to promote the prosperity of both. It was amid these labours that Palmer conceived his projects of mail coaches. His spirit chafed against the waste of time and temper to himself and others by the existing locomotion. At Bath he heard continually of the annoyances to distinguished visitors by the state of the roads and the slow- ness of carriages. At Bristol he learned from the merchants what a blessing it would be if they could travel to London or obtain their letters in fourteen or fifteen hours instead of three days. He had only to look at Prior Park and remem- ber its venerable owner in former years to see what great difficulties could be conquered and what ample rewards might follow. But John Palmer had a much more arduous task than Ralph Allen even in obtaining attention to his proposal; partly for this reason, that while one did the work himself the other could only show how it was to be done. This, how- ever, Palmer showed most clearly in a report addressed to the younger Pitt, who was then Prime Minister, stating the chief causes of complaint and the plans he proposed. " The Post," he says in this able document, "instead of being the quickest conveyance in the country is almost the slowest. The roads have been greatly improved ; other carriers mend their speed, but letters are as tardy as ever. Carried generally by idle JOHN PALMER. 107 boys on worn-out hacks, they are often stolen on the road, so that in many cases other modes are employed and the Government loses the profit. If tradesmen for greater security send by the stage coach why should not the stage coach carry the mail bags with the additional protection of armed guards? Let there be a complete system of such coaches; let them run on all the principal roads of the kingdom ; let them leave London daily at the same time and arrive at the various towns at fixed hours ; let there ba regular communication through the cross post with places out of the direct lines ; and let the roads be extended and improved wherever the wants of the public are sufficient to justify the outlay." Such were the leading features of Palmer's scheme. We are cow come, it should be remembered, to the year 1784. Trade had increased considerably and the country required to be more opened out. Civil engineering, a profession which had lately acquired dignity and importance, became available for the purpose. Watts and Boulton, Rennie and Telford, Brindley and Smeaton made roads, bridges, and canals, even in remote districts hitherto little known. But notwithstanding all this Palmer for a long time argued in vain. The post office authorities whom Mr. Pitt consulted were against him to a man. Who was Palmer that his plans should be listened to in opposition to those who had had the subject before them so many years? What should a brewer, a theatre manager, a crazy enthusiast living down at Bath, know about the working arrangements which had been long cared for by men of great experience ? If you do what he recommends you will only endanger the revenue at present produced by the post office, but you will fling the commercial correspondence of the countrv into the utmost confusion and raise a clamour which 108 JOHN PALMER. it will be impossible to appease. This was actually the language of the gentlemen consulted by the Prime Minister. " Mr. Palmer," continues a Mr. Hodgson, " says that the post is slow and ought to outstrip all other conveyances, I cannot see it." " He proposes," adds another official, " that there should be mail guards ; of what use would they be ? The man would have to be waited for at every ale-house the coach passed." " If desperate fellows were determined on robbery, would firearms be of any avail ? or would not the crime of murder lie at some one's door ? " " And after every effort what is proposed could not be done ; to bring the Bath mail to London in sixteen or eighteen hours would be impossible." Mr. Pitt heard or read all this but quietly judged for him- self. Like his father, the Earl of Chatham, as we are reminded by Mr. Commissioner Hill, in a paper on the subject, he did not believe in impossibilities. With the clear vision for which he was so famed he saw that the scheme would be both practicable and possible and resolved that it should be tried. Some impulse may have been given to him by his intercourse with the city of Bath, for the representation of which he had been proposed as a candidate in the same year, though unsuccessfully. In Lord Rosebery's nobly impartial Life of Pitt, there is the remark (p. 99) with reference to this period " It is doing Pitt no injustice to say that in the earlier years of his adminis- tration his mind was given rather to domestic questions than to foreign affairs." We have proofs of it in what he did to abolish corruption in high places, to reform the national finances, and to amend the representation of the people. And remembering this it is easy to imagine he would lend a willing ear to John Palmer's scheme for saving time in the transit of letters. Of the figureheads by whom it was opposed it was JOHN PALMER. 109 well said they were possibly honest but certainly wooden. The nation was becoming weary of them with regard to many matters. " In their despair/' said Lord Rosebery, " men looked round for one who should cast the money changers out of the temple of Government. At this moment there appeared a young University student, rich with lofty eloquence, and heir to an immortal name, untainted in character, spotless in life, showing the tirst day he met Parliament as Minister a supreme disdain for the material prizes of political life." . . " In a few months the elder Pitt had raised England from the ground and placed her at the head of Europe. Might not something be hoped of the son ? " In the concluding part of this sketch it will be seen how the son dealt with the mail coach problem. 110 JOHN PALMER. CHAPTER XII. JOHN PALMER. PART II. Mr. Pitt's influence prevailed ultimately in causing a trial of John Palmer's plan of mail coaches. It was not necessary to wait for long discussions in Parliament ; the power to give the order belonged to the Postmaster-General. But before he could act it was considered necessary to settle the amount of Palmer's remuneration ; and here even Mr. Pitt's financial ability failed for some time. He left the matter to be dealt with by his private secretary, Pretyman, afterwards Bishop of Lincoln, who corresponded with the Lords of the Treasury on one side and Palmer on the other. Unfortunately no written agreement had been entered into, only a verbal understanding that two and a half per cent, on the increased revenue of the Post Office should be paid for life if the plan succeeded, and nothing if it failed. But Mr. Pitt refused to allow longer delay, and required that a beginning should be made at once, whch led to the following announcement issued on the 24th of July, 1784: "His Majesty's Postmaster- General being inclined to make an experiment for the more expeditious conveyance of mails of letters by stage coaches, machines, &c., has been pleased to order that a trial shall be made upon the road between London and Bristol, to commence at each place on Monday, the 2nd August next." Then follows a list of places, letters for which could be sent by these mail coaches, and the announcement concludes : "All persons are therefore to take notice that the letters put into any receiving house before six in the evening or into this chief office before seven will be forwarded by the new conveyance ; all others JOHN PALMER. Ill for the said post towns and their districts put in afterwards or given to the bellmen must remain until the following post at the same hours." Soon all the gloomy predictions of the officials were scat- tered to the winds. A proud day for John Palmer was that on which his plan was tested within three weeks of the Treasury announcement. The distance between London and Bath was accomplished in fourteen hours, between eight in the morning and eleven at night. Going back one hundred and nine years we can imagine the joy of the Bath people when a mail worthy to be called "his Majesty's" arrived for the first time. Their indefatigable townsman, the projector, had removed to London some time previously in order that he might superintend the arrangements and see that they were not thwarted by interested opponents. On the first day of the change he was installed at the Post Office with the title of Surveyor and Controller -General and a salary of .1,500 a year, together with the commission of two and a half per cent, upon any excess of net revenue over 240,000, the amount at which the profit to the Government stood at the date of his appointment. The Bath Chronicle of February 24, 1785, contains an account of a meeting of the Bath Corporation, at which resolutions were passed thanking Mr. Palmer for the great benefit derived from his plan and praying Mr. Pitt not to allow it to be delayed or thwarted. In the memorial to Mr. Pitt are these words : " We cannot but avow both pride and pleasure in the reflection that the only substantial reforms in a department of such great importance to this commercial country have been contrived and executed, the first by a member of this Corporation and the present by a native of this city as well as one of our Council." The same paper also contains a memorial to Mr. Pitt from the merchants of JOHN PALMER. Bristol and a resolution of thanks to Mr. Palmer. Tokens struck in Bath in commemoration of the establishment of mail coaches by a townsman may be seen in the Bath Museum. One has the motto : " To Trade Expedition, to Property Protection." Another: "Gratitude to J. Palmer, sq., for benefits received from mail coaches." The rates of postage were slightly raised in consideration of the greater advantages to the public, but cheerfully paid, and the number of letters soon increased. Coaches were at once applied for by the municipalities of the largest towns, Liverpool being the first to aim at equality with Bristol, and York claiming what was due to the great highway to the North. " At first," says Mr. Baines in his History of Liver- pool, " these coaches were small vehicles drawn by two horses which were changed every six miles; they carried four passengers besides the coachman and guard, the latter being armed to the teeth as a security against highwaymen." The speed in Lancashire and some other districts began at only six miles an hour. On the Bath Road it must have been greater, probably seven or eight, and ere long nine. That it was increased cautiously was owing not only to the state of the roads but to the official habit of magnifying difficulties. From end to end of the kingdom the public were frightened by assurances that if the speed got up to ten miles an hour it would be a clear tempting of Providence ; the brain would be injured ; dreadful accidents would certainly happen ; all who travelled must first make their wills. Lord Chancellor Campbell relates that when a young man he was frequently warned against the mail coaches improved by Palmer on account of the fearful rate at which they flew, and instances were offered to him of passengers who had died suddenly of apoplexy from the rapidity of the motion. JOHN PALMER. 113 If the day on which the first mail coach ran to Bath was a day of triumph to Palmer how great must his satisfaction have been the next few months. Contracts for the mails were made at 20,000 a year below the original estimates ; the discontinuance of postboys was followed by a diminution of robberies, and improved supervision prevented defalcation in country offices. While all classes, especially those in trade, welcomed the change with thankfulness, the revenue, which had been stagnant forty years, quickly showed signs of improvement, and when the plan was fairly in operation justified every hope that had been formed. Notwithstanding all this, Palmer found himself hampered continually, wearied with technical objections and unable to carry out much that he wished. The Postmasters-General (for there were then two, Lord Walsingham and the Earl of Chesterfield,) gave heed to every objection raised by inferior officers and took part in the various controversies which arose. Who can wonder that Palmer, thus annoyed, sometimes failed in judgment and temper, falling into snares which artful men had laid for him, and trying to carry his measures by questionable means ? He was unfortunate in his deputy, a gentleman named Bonner, to whom he wrote freely on the conduct of which he complained, and who on being suspen- ded after a violent dispute made known Palmer's letters, some of which were certainly imprudent. Bonner appealed to the Postmaster-General, who ordered him to be restored, but Palmer refused to receive him and was therefore suspended in his turn. To his own appeal there was no response ; the Government considered, rightly or wrongly, that he could not work with the other authorities, and in spite of all his claims he was dismissed. This occurred in 1792, after about eight years' service. The remuneration which had been H 114 JOHN PALMER. agreed upon was altered to a fixed annual sum of 3,000. It was in vain that, acting on counsel's opinion, Palmer contended for a larger pension ; the Lords of the Treasury firmly refused, and he was compelled to submit. But it was only for a time. Such a man with so good a cause and so many friends could not fail to renew his efforts. He was now in his fiftieth year and might fairly expect long life. No more work was given to him by the Government, nor does he appear to have again engaged in business of any kind. It was natural therefore that he should employ him- self, though for the long period of sixteen years, in showing the justice of his claim. At length he formally petitioned the House of Commons, and a committee was appointed to report on his case. Mr. Pierrepoint, connected with Bath as one of the Manvers family, moving for the committee, laid great stress on the fact that in case of failure he was to receive nothing. The report stated that though he had experienced constant opposition from the oldest and ablest officers in the service he had surpassed the expectations he had held out both as to despatch and expense, the revenue having increased since 1783 to the amount of nearly half-a-million. Sheridan, also well known in Bath, supported his claim in a brilliant speech. " None but an enthusiast " (he said) " could have formed such a plan, none but an enthusiast could have made such an agreement ; none but an enthusiast could have carried it into execution ; and I am confident that no man in this country or any other could have done it but that very individual John Palmer." Still all was in vain. The report was not adopted. The House refused to alter the compensation. Palmer withdrew, weary but not despairing. Public opinion cheered him by frequent manifestations of gratitude. Eighteen towns and JOHN PALMER. 115 cities, including York, Chester, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Liverpool and Edinburgh, presented him with their freedom. From Glasgow he also received a handsome silver cup which, having descended to his grand-daughter, Miss Palmer, was given by that lady in 1875 to the Bath Corporation. An alderman of Bath, he was twice elected Mayor and four times member of Parliament ; to the Mayoralty in 1796 and 1809 ; to the Parliamentary representation in 1801, 1802, 1806, and 1807. Thus encouraged he renewed from time to time his efforts to obtain justice, placing in the hands of every member of Parliament particulars of his case, and spending altogether no less a sum than 1.3,000. At length his son, then Major Palmer, having succeeded him in the representation of Bath succeeded also to this arduous task. In 1808 he moved a resolution which, although opposed by the Government, was agreed to by some of their supporters and strongly, advocated by leading members of the other party, Lord Henry Petty, Sir Francis Burdett, Mr. Windham, and others. The resolution was to the effect that he was entitled to the sum he claimed, the percentage for fifteen years, and henceforward during his life. It was carried by a majority of eighty-six against the Ministers, and 54,700 was at once paid to him. This, and the continuance of the percentage as long as he lived, eleven years, during which the revenue steadily increased, made the close of his life enjoyable. He had also the happiness of seeing two of his sons distinguish themselves in their professions. The elder, who became Major-General Palmer, represented Bath with Mr. Roebuck as late as 1837. Another, the third son, Edmund, was a gallant naval officer, who in 1814 captured a frigate in the French war. He married a niece of Admiral Earl St. Vincent, who after his death lived some time in Bath. Mr. Palmer, the Bath JOHN PALMER. worthy, died at Brighton in 181 8. His remains were brought to Bath and interred in the Abbey Church. Unfortunately no inscription marks his resting place. It was delayed because a public movement for a monument was expected but the exact spot is known to his family, one of whom possesses a fine portrait of him by Gainsborough. The English are unlike other nations with regard to their eminent men. If any town in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, or Italy, had produced a Kalph Allen or a John Palmer it would have had some worthy memorial. We content ourselves with now and then talking about local celebrities and then allowing them to be forgotten, regardless of the inspiration which the young especially never fail to gain in such cases. In this respect the third great postal reformer was honoured ultimately as he deserved. True, Rowland Hill was not without sore trials and anxieties, even to sharing the fate of Palmer in being dismissed from the service. But in his case, as in that of his predecessor, the country appreciated what the Government could not under- stand ; the people had no doubt of either the advantage or the practicability of Penny Postage. On Rowland Hill's dismissal by a new Government, a national testimonial was raised, to which Bath contributed its share, consisting chiefly of small subscriptions by the middle and working classes, and resulting in a cheque to the great benefactor of 13,000. After some time he was reinstated ; it was found that the work could not advance without him ; he was allowed a greatly improved staff, including his brother as a chief officer ; and aided by a good succession of Postmaster-Generals he established important principles and secured good practical results. The Queen joined in welcoming his return to office by making him a K.C.B. But at length another trouble JOHN PALMER. 117 arose ; a new Postmaster -General, Lord Stanley of Alderley, could not see with him on the vital point. He had lahoured to establish a system of service on the principle that merit should have the chief weight, patronage comparatively little, and Lord Stanley cancelled the rule. This affected Hill's position seriously, because men were appointed who disliked his plans and disregarded his orders. He appealed to the Treasury but in vain, and finding his strength as an old man unequal to perpetual conflicts, he resigned. On all sides, however, he now received abundant acknowledgments. The Queen sent a message to Parliament, recommending a grant of ,20,000. The Prime Minister (Lord Palmerston) moved it and the House carried it without a division. He was also to receive for life his full salary of .2,000 a year. Other proofs of appreciation were not wanting. The Corporation of London gave him the Freedom of the City ; the Royal Society made him a Fellow ; the University of Oxford a D.C.L. As age increased he had more and more of the accompaniments due to it after a life like his : " Love, obedience, honour, troops of friends." And, finally, when fourscore and four years had yielded their full fruit, he was laid where such men ought to lie, where the worlds true nobility ought to rest, in Westminster Abbey. In thus concluding the present sketch I have gone beyond the lines of local biography in order to complete to a certain point the narrative of postal reform. May I not also repeat what I ventured to say many years ago, while addressing an audience on the same subject, that in the history of the English Post Office two lessons are remarkably prominent : That a good step in advance often leads to others far better, and that from all stations of life power for large, good move - 118 JOHN PALMER. ments comes out. The son of a Cornish publican, the manager of a Bath brewery, the assistant to a Birmingham, schoolmaster become great public benefactors, simply by applying with all their might their various gifts to the work which their hands found them to do. PHYSICIANS. 119 CHAPTER XIII. PHYSICIANS OF THE EIGHTEENTH AND NINETEENTH CENTURIES. PART I. The sketch of Dr. Guidott and his contemporaries in a former chapter, brought us to the close of the seventeenth century. There are still to be noticed the more eminent Bath physicians of the eighteenth and those who have passed away of the nineteenth Comparatively small as the number is, the space here allotted to each must be limited, the order of treatment being still to a great extent chronological. Of one of the remaining list, Ur. Henry Harington, his family history begun in my earlier series, and his varied accomplish- ments which were more than usually remarkable, will require a distinct sketch. DR. HARTLEY. It has been already shown in these pages how the intellectual character of the medical profession rose from the time of Linacre. Very striking was the increase in the range of knowledge combined with greater thoroughness and practical power. Of this there was an admirable example in Dr. Hartley, who was born at the beginning of the nineteenth century and adorned its fourth and fifth decades. The son of a Yorkshire clergyman, he was sent to Cambridge with a view to orders in the Church of England, but having doubts about the Articles and being extremely conscientious, he preferred the study of medicine. After practising for a time in Newark, Bury St. Edmunds and London, he eventually 120 PHYSICIANS OF THE EIGHTEENTH settled in Bath, where, though regarded with much confidence as a skilful physician, his easy circumstances induced him to give his chief time to philosophical investigations. They formed his favourite employment and were the real foundation of his celebrity. He had studied logic and mathematics under Professor Sauriderson, Sir Isaac Newton was his guide on some important scientific points, and John Locke on moral and metaphysical questions. The result of his studies was his great work, Observations on Man, his Frame, his Duty, and his Expectations, in two thick octavo volumes, printed in 1749, by Richard Cruttwell, of Bath. He did not expect it would be welcomed immediately by the philosophical world ; nor in this did he misread the signs of the times, as the subject received little attention until Dr. Priestley, in 1775, combated his leading theory. It was said, however, that all the Birmingham philosopher did was to convince the world of his own materialism and of his desire to show that Hartley's doctrine as to the properties of the brain and nerves led to a similar conclusion. This did not trouble the author or his friends because his great reputation rested also on other grounds, notably his profound scholarship and his practical benevolence. In the fifth edition of the book now before me, also printed by Cruttwell, and published in 1810, there is an engraved portrait indicating the beautiful characteristics by which he gained the love and respect of all who knew him. No one can look at that portrait and wonder that Hartley was admired and beloved by a large circle. The friend of Ralph Allen and the best of the visitors at Prior Park, he corresponded with some of the most eminent men of the time. Among them were Hooke the Roman historian ; Dr. Jortin the authority in ecclesiastical history, Dr. Hales and other prominent members of the Royal Society, Butler, Hoadley, AND NINETEENTH CENTURIES. 121 and Warburton, distinguished prelates of the Church of England. With Pope also he was intimate, though not insensible to what he thought the poet's shortcomings. He regarded the Essay on Man as written under the influence of Lord Bolingbroke, and advocating the sufficiency of human philosophy to -the exclusion of divine revelation. Through life, however, he retained a strong opinion that religion should unite mankind by practical rather than dogmatic bonds, and, while continuing in communion with the Church of his fathers, he acted invariably on the most comprehensive lines. His professional skill was perhaps better known to the poor than to the rich ; he often visited the humblest dwellings and was welcomed in cases both of mental and bodily distress. His chief medical works were written to alleviate the malady of the stone, which he himself suffered from and which appears to have hastened his end. He died in Bath in 1757 in his fifty-second year leaving issue by two marriages. His son, who succeeded him in his house in Belvedere, became member of Parliament for Hull, and distinguished himself by his strenuous opposition to the American war, also as one of the earliest advocates of the abolition of the slave trade. The next celebrity is DR. CHEYNE, a friend of Dr. Hartley, like him an author, a pleasant companion, and a skilful physician, but a very different man. He also was originally destined for the Church, partly, perhaps, because he was related to Bishop Burnet, but by the advice of his tutor, Dr. Pitcairn, he resolved to study medicine. One point of difference in Hartley and Cheyne appears at the beginning of their respective careers ; Hartley abstemious 122 PHYSICIANS OF THE EIGHTEENTH and more intent on attainments in science than professional success, Cheyne becoming a bon vivant in order to obtain patients. When about thirty years of age, he migrated from his home in Scotland to begin practise in London, where a strange experience awaited him ; he found that to be a bottle companion to the younger gentry who were free livers would do more for him than if he were laden with University honours. In a letter to a friend he avows that he adopted the method because he had observed it to succeed with others. Year after year he continued it until his convivial irregularities caused a state of health which rendered advancement in his profession at that time impossible. He grew excessively fat, short-breathed, lethargic and listless, swollen to such an enormous size as to exceed thirty-two stone in weight. He also laboured under a nervous and scorbutic disorder to the most violent degree, so that his life became an intolerable burthen. Having tried in vain all the usual medicines he resolved to go into the country and adopt a milk and vegetable diet, which graudally removed his complaints. After some time he was advised to try the Bath waters to complete his restoration, and he succeeded so well that it caused his settlement in Bath. We have seen that several physicians of note divided their time between Bath and London ; this also Dr. Cheyne did, and, being at length presentable as to appearance, regained some of his patients in the Metropolis. His facile pen greatly promoted his popularity, but here again he was unlike Hartley, who wrote slowly and for future times rather than for the present, whereas Cheyne threw off treatise after treatise on Health, on Nervous Diseases, on Vegetable Diet, and on the Bath Waters, rapidly, for immediate effect. The fact that his own experience confirmed his theories and dictated his advice AND NINETEENTH CENTURIES. 123 promoted the sale of his books, while a certain scientific character was given to them. At a period when special theories were in fashion he ranked with the physicians (to use the jargon of the time) " who accounted for the operations of medicines and the morbid alterations in the human body on mechanical principles." Even in the present day, however, his Essay on the Gout and the Bath Waters, which passed through seven editions, might be read with advantage. Although retaining his abstemious habits through all the temptations of Bath society his social powers were valued by a large circle. He was intimate with Allen, the physician of Nash, on pleasant terms generally with his brethren, and bore with good humour their constant banter on his milk and vegetable diet. Nor should it be forgotten that in later life, when scoffing on serious subjects was so general, he did what he could to discourage it and to maintain habitual reverence for religion. Dr. Hartley visited him in his last illness. He died in 1752 at the age of seventy-two, and was buried at Weston, near Bath, where also his wife and brother, who was vicar of the parish thirty years, were afterwards interred. DR. WILLIAM OLIVER. Who has not heard of Oliver biscuits ? And who that knows what they are does not appreciate them ? They are included in the list of Local Delicacies given in Mr. Peach's recent interesting book, The Street Lore of Bath, where we learn when they were first made for sale, and how they have maintained their prestige. Other things have also caused this good Doctor to be remembered in Bath. He was one of the founders and first physicians of the Bath Mineral Water Hospital. In a large picture in the Board .Room, there is a 124 PHYSICIANS OF THE EIGHTEENTH portrait of him sitting opposite two patients on whose cases he is deciding. And he is mentioned in various books of the period as one of those who, by their skill, energy, good judgment and high character did much for the rising prosperity of Bath. Of his family and early history little is known. There were t\vo physicians of the name at intervals in the early part of the nineteenth century. Short memoirs of both appear in the appendix to Brittoris History of Bath Abbey, but the author fails to establish a relationship. The first of them, who preceded the subject of this sketch, was descended from an old Cornish family, and while studying at a Dutch University joined the expedition to England under the Prince of Orange. Like his namesake he was a Fellow of the Royal Society, to which he communicated learned papers after his settlement in Bath. The family of the second Dr. Oliver, the inventor of the biscuit, though not known here previously, became established in the neighbourhood after his death, holding property and occupying a handsome house at Weston. Different in one respect from other physicians of the time his fame was entirely local. Probably he found his Bath patients become so numerous that he did not need the fashionable custom of giving part of his time to London. People of distinction were now flocking here more and more, attracted by the gaieties over which Nash presided as much as by the increasing reputation of the springs. Yet there are proofs that regard and confidence were not confined to the wealthy ; Dr. Oliver's good work at the hospital would have been sufficient to commend him to the middle and poorer classes, among whom he was deservedly popular. One of his patients, Miss Mary Chandler, a worthy milliner much respected, whom he attended in a dangerous illness, published AND NINETEENTH CENTURIES. 125 a volume of poems which ran through four editions and was the medium of her gratitude to her doctor : " Pure goodness winged your feet, inspired your tongue ; Soft were your accents but your reasoning strong. Heaven bade me live and you prescribed the way ; To you, next Heaven, my grateful thanks I pay. And now I breathe and live and sing anew, And owe my breath and life and song to you." Dr. Oliver died in 1764, and was buried like his contemporary, Dr. Cheyne, in Weston Church, where, as well as in the Bath Abbey, his friends placed a monument with a eulogistic inscription. The following medical men of Bath were also interred at Weston: George Cheyne, M.D., 1740 ; John Clarke Scott, M.D., 1805; William Falconer, M.D., 1824; Edward Percival, M.D., 1831; Thomas Falconer Clerk, M.D., 1839 ; George Kitson, Surgeon, 1859 ; Charles Parry, M.D., 1860. THREE DOCTOR FALCONERS. It is remarkable that father, son, and grandson, succeeded each other at Bath in the medical profession. Much might be said of their ancestors as well as of themselves, distinguished as they were in Scottish history and in science and literature. The family were of Caledonian origin ; its genealogical head w.as Sir Alexander Falconer, a Lord of Session in 1639, and among subsequent family connections were Hume the historian, Drummond of Hawthornden the poet, and Pennant the antiquary and naturalist The first Dr. Falconer was son of the Recorder of Chester, where he was born in 1744. It appears that the recorder became a freeman of Chester in 1733, and that all the male 126 PHYSICIANS OF THE EIGHTEENTH representatives of the family have been successively admitted to the privilege. The last was Mr. Thomas Wentworth Falconer of the Sarawak Civil Service, sou of Dr. Handle Wilbraham Falconer, of Bath, and very recently received by the Mayor of Chester into the civic brotherhood. The son of the recorder settled at Bath in 1770, was admitted a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1773, became physician to the Mineral Water Hospital in 1734, and died at his house in the Circus, No. 29, in 1824. Probably no Bath physician has equalled him in authorship, if we may judge from a list of forty-seven books written by him. Many are on medical subjects, some on classical and theological, some on botany and natural history, the latter including papers for two societies in which he took great interest the Bath and West of England, and the Manchester Literary and Philosophical. His books on the Bath waters were long in high repute. To an Essay on the Influence of the Passions on the Disorders of the Body, the third edition of which was pub- lished in 1796, was adjudged the first Fothergilian Gold Medal. To another on The Diseases of the Hip Joint, and on the Use of the Bath Waters as a Remedy, published in 1805, the Medical Society of London adjudged its silver medal. The list containing these particulars is appended by his grandson, Mr. Thomas Falconer, County Court Judge., to the third edition of a book of great research and ability A Dissertation on St. Paul's Voyage from Ccesarea to PuteolL Referring to Observations relating to Natural History selected from the Principal Writers of Antiquity, Dr. Parr says: "I have lately been instrumental in procuring from the Cambridge Press the publication of a work on botanical subjects by my friend, Dr. Falconer, whose knowledge is various and profound, and whose discrimination on all topics AND NINETEENTH CENTURIES. 127 of literature are ready, vigorous and comprehensive." The high opinion entertained of him by his brethren in the Metropolis led to his being consulted by a large number of distinguished people who came to Bath, among them Mr. Pitt, whom he attended here in his last illness in 1805. With reference to his position in local society, about that time in its most brilliant phase, Mrs. Piozzi relates that when any doubt existed among the literati, either on a point of scholarship or an historical fact, the common remark was, " We must go to Falconer." His son, Dr. Thomas Falconer, also lived at No. 29, in the Bath Circus. Alter graduating at Oxford in 1810 as a student for the Church, he filled the post of Bampton lecturer. He was distinguished by a wide field of knowledge, manifest in the authorship of twenty-three works, classical, medical and theological. Dalzell, Greek professor at Edinburgh, was much struck with his acquirements as a scholar, and Nares, so renowned for his erudition, calls himself a "humble admirer of his great talents." That he was chosen by his University (Oxford) to edit the Geography of Strabo is a sufficient indication of his learning. As a clergyman he often assisted his friend, the Bath historian, the Rev. Richard Warner, in his clerical work in St. James's parish, and after receiving the degree of M.D., gave much medical advice to the poor. He has been justly described as "a man of singular independence of character, a fine scholar and a notable citizen/' He had five sons and two daughters. His eldest son, Hector of Bushey, translated his edition of the Geography of Strabo for Bonn's Library ; another son was many years judge of a County Court in South Wales ; and the youngest, Dr. Randle Wilbraham Falconer, was the third physician of the family. 128 PHYSICIANS OF THE EIGHTEENTH One of the daughters married the Right Hon. J. A. Roebuck, M.P. This second Dr. Falconer died in 1839, and was buried near his father in Weston Churchyard. To the memory of Dr. Randle Wilbraham Falconer an appropriate tribute was paid in a memoir by Mr. Peach soon after his death, which, to the sorrow of a large circle of friends, occurred in 1881. What he did for the city as a twice-elected mayor, as a humane and judicious magistrate, as a physician advancing the best interests of the profession both by his pen and practise, and as a supporter of numerous useful institu- tions, all this is held in grateful remembrance. Who that was privileged to work with him would forget his efforts to establish the Bath City Lectures, which were successful, or those for a Public Abattoir and a Public Library, which were unsuccessful? Forty years have passed since those efforts were made. So much has been done in the interval for the benefit of the city that it may be hoped the spirit of 1853 has gained fresh strength, and the objects then advocated may yet be accomplished. More and more obvious is the need of a Public Library since the Schools for Technical Education have been founded, the provision for which can hardly be deemed complete without such an institution in immediate connection with them and the benefit of which might be shared by every class in the city. Like his brother, the County Court Judge, who by his benevolence and public spirit in South Wales gained so much distinction, Dr. Randle Wilbraham Falconer threw bread upon the waters which was sure to be found after many days. Both helped to make the world better than they found it, and neither will soon be forgotten in the city which they loved. AND NINETEENTH CENTURIES. 129 CHAPTER XIV. PHYSICIANS OF THE EIGHTEENTH AND NINETEENTH CENTURIES. PART II. If it be thought that members of the medical profession occupy too large a space in these pages, it should be remembered that for several centuries no other profession has been so prominent in Bath. Next to the springs they have been the chief attraction to visitors ; what they could do to restore health or alleviate maladies has been the chief consideration ; many celebrated men of other kinds might come and go ; celebrated physicians were always here. Those of whom I have now to write are Dr. Sibthorpe, Dr. Cogan, Sir George Gibbes, Dr. Parry and Dr. Barlow. DR. SIBTHORPE. It has been said that Dr. Sibthorpe must have been an eminent man to have had such a beautiful monument in Bath Abbey. Certainly the skill of Flaxman was rarely employed with greater success, and the effect is more striking in consequence of the generally poor character of the sculpture around. Excepting another work by Flaxman, two by Chantry, and a few by Hoare, Nollekens, Westmacott and the Bacons, the hundreds of tombs, tablets, emblems and medallions in the Abbey have scarcely any artistic feature to recommend them. Not that the families who ordered the memorials can be blamed ; men like the brothers of Bishop j 130 PHYSICIANS OF THE EIGHTEENTH Montague and the friends of Waller, the Parliamentary General, did the best they could in the then state of English Art. That Dr. Sibthorpe was eminent there can be no doubt. Few among the concourse among whom he lies better deserved a handsome monument. He spent his short life in advancing the science of botany, travelling over the world to increase a knowledge of Nature's most beautiful works. He first visited France and Italy after completing his University studies ; then on his return was appointed Professor of Botany at Oxford in succession to his father. Twice in subsequent years he sailed to Greece, travelled in parts of the country usually unexplored, accumulated specimens of rare plants and returned to embody the scientific results in a splendid work which unfortunately could not be published until after his death. The last journey in 1749 was undertaken at a time when his delicate health made it hazardous. Not recovering he settled at Bath for a better climate and congenial society, continuing the preparation of his work until his pen was laid aside for ever. His Flora Oxoniensis he had published at Bath about 1794 ; for his Flora Grceca he left an estate to the University of Oxford, requiring that any surplus should be devoted to founding a Professorship of Rural Economy. He died at Bath in 1800 at the age of thirty -eight. BE. COGAN. This gentleman was a striking instance of the versatility of some physicians of the period. Probably his varied training may account in some measure for his divers tastes and pursuits. Beginning his education at a good school at Kibworth under Dr. Aikin, the father of Mrs. Barbauld, he continued it for the Nonconformist ministry at Mile-end AND NINETEENTH CENTURIES. 131 and Homerton. His earliest settlement was as pastor of a congregation at the Hague, from whence he came back again to England for another at Southampton, but here as in the Dutch city his stay was short. There were two causes for the next step : he announced to his flock that he had become a Unitarian, of which they disapproved, and he had gained in Holland the affections of a young lady whom he wished to marry. So he returned to Holland, studied medicine at Leyden, wrote in 1767 a learned thesis, took his degree, married the lady, and practised successively at Leyden, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam. After a few years thus spent he returned to London and devoted himself to the obstetrical branch of his profession. It may be supposed that he was also devoted to books from his settlement at Paternoster Row ; there, however, he soon became in request, chiefly with the city ladies, and by their means established a prosperous reputation. I learn this from a little work by Dr. Julian Hunter entitled Old Age in Bath. The subjects are Dr. Sherwen and Dr. Cogan, two physicians well known to his father, the Rev. Joseph Hunter. Dr. Sherwen's fame was literary rather than medical, being gained chiefly by the prominent part he took in the Chatterton controversy. Respecting Dr. Cogan's devotion to midwifery, Dr. Hunter remarks that the practise of it was at that time with men both a speciality and a novelty. The other sex had been accustomed to officiate in such cases, a woman having presided over the births of all the sons of Queen Charlotte. It may be easily imagined that Mrs. Gamps abounded in those days and that a demand had arisen for well-qualified men as accoucheurs. If Dr. Cogan had been living now he would probably have been one of the first to see that women of the requisite mental and moral power might be advan- 132 PHYSICIANS OF THE EIGHTEENTH tageously trained for a kind of practise so peculiarly suited to them. But he had to deal with the case as it stood ; public opinion was against the Mrs. Gamps and in favour of educated men ; he was known to be one of much skill and judgment and easily gained a large practise. Often sent for at a late hour of the day he and his kind of work were so well known that people who met him on his nocturnal expeditions would say, " there goes Dr. Cogan to a lying-in." Even the footpads, so common at the time, were said to have spared him, and the police gave more than the usual protection. It is related that on one occasion he was taken blind -folded to a certain large house, carried to a lady's room, paid a fifty pound note and conducted back without knowing his employer. Another lady who needed no concealment once remonstrated with him on his dress, which was not in the usual professional style : " Pray, sir, can you be a doctor ; you dress like a gentleman." He answered, "Really, madam, if it will increase your confidence or contribute to your ease I will send for my cane and my very best wig." Dr. Cogan's London reputation also grew in other ways. "While living at Amsterdam he had been interested in a society for recovering the drowned. In 1773 he translated the memoirs of this society for publication in London, and in 1774 he and his friend, Dr. Hawes, founded the Royal Humane Society of London. To his pen were due its first six annual reports, by the circulation of which and his own personal efforts an impulse was given to the establishment of similar institutions in many parts of the world. Having no children and not being eager for wealth, Dr. Cogan disposed of his practise to Dr. Sims who became the first accoucheur in London. Then he returned for a short time to Holland to pursue the study of moral philosophy for which he had AND NINETEENTH CENTURIES. 133 already gained repute. There, to gratify at the same time his Dutch wife and his own agricultural taste, he hired a fine family estate called Zulenstein. But it was a time when revolution was in the air all over the continent. He was driven back to England and settled at Bath, living here about twenty years. His time was much devoted to the publication of his various philosophical works, notably his Treatise on the Passions, which passed through several editions. He had been known as an author in London by a Life of John Buncle, junior, Gentleman, intended as a sequel to Mr. Amory's popular novel with a similar title. Other works of more or less merit and on a great variety of subjects owed their authorship to him. The activity of Dr. Cogan's mind was certainly not diminished by the climate of Bath. He had always a passion for farming, to indulge which he took land at South Wraxall and was well known both as a practical and theoretical agriculturist. He took a prominent part with Sir Benjamin Hobhouse, Dr. Falconer and Dr. Parry on the Council of the Bath and West of England Society in its early days, often winning prizes at the annual exhibitions. He founded a Bath Humane Society which still exists after the lapse of four- score and ten years, and he always kept up his connection with the parent society in London, watching over its interests and attending its annual meetings. At one of these he received the beautiful gold medal of which only five were minted, one each for George III., the Duke of Kent, the Duke of Sussex, Dr. Hawes and himself At another meeting there was a curious scene: a Royal Highness in the chair, Dr. Lettsom the eminent Quaker physician the chief speaker, Dr. Cogan singing songs of his own composition, and a solemn procession of persons who had been rescued from 134 PHYSICIANS OF THE EIGHTEENTH drowning walking round the room while the company joined in the choruses. His steadfast attachment to the institution was shown by a bequest of 1 00 in his will. Dr. Cogan's ready wit and habitual cheerfulness made him a welcome guest in the circles he joined. It happened that in Bath some of these were followers of Mr. Jay, others those of the Unitarian minister, Mr. Hunter ; with the former he became intimate, because Mrs. Cogan, being a Dutch Calvinist, attended his chapel, and his connection with the latter may be inferred from the fact that he was one of those who invited Mr. Hunter to settle in Bath. His religion had no trace of sectarianism in it ; the theological works he published were remarkable for their catholic spirit ; he is represented by an American biographer as " steadying the trembling hand of eighty- two to show that the chief object of the Great Creator is the happiness of all his creatures, and that man has no higher mission than to aid by every possible means in its fulfilment." Dr. Cogan having removed to London on the death of his wife died there in 1818. He followed soon afterwards and was buried at Hackney. He requested that the inscription on his grave-stone should be " Jesus said : I am the Resurrection and the Life." Mrs. Cogan's resting place was at Widcombe. Dr. Cogan had a half-brother of much repute as a Greek scholar and schoolmaster the Rev. Eliezer Cogan. In early life he also became a Unitarian, and for many years ministered to a church of that body at Walthamstow. On being introduced to Porsou with the remark that he was intensely devoted to Greek, the Professor answered, " If so you must be content with bread and cheese for the rest of your life." But he could not be dissuaded from writing and publishing, in addition to works of religious and practical usefulness, some AND NINETEENTH CENTURIES. 135 on his favourite subject, the study of the classics. That his love of ancient literature would gain for him the regard of men like Porsou and Parr was very natural, also that his success as a teacher would cause his school to be filled with pupils. Belonging to Nonconformist families, many of them yet became highly distinguished in public life. One was Benjamin Disraeli, of whom he used to say, " I don't like him, I can never get him to understand the subjunctive." Others were Samuel Sharpe the Egyptologist, Lord Overstone the banker, Mr. Russell Gurney Recorder of London, and Mr. Milner Gibson a Cabinet Minister. SIR GEORGE SMITH GIBBES may be also fairly ranked with the Bath Celebrities! "He enjoyed," says Mr. Monkland in his Literature and Literati of Bath, "a very extensive practise for many years." The same genial chronicler also writes of him as not only a man of much skill, but "kind-hearted, liberal in his medical pro- fession, social in his habits and a very agreeable companion." The praise of the writer, however, is not indiscriminate, for though he states that " he was a universal genius and nothing came amiss to him : music, painting, philosophy, chemistry, mechanism ; yet " he adds, " like too many of the genius tribe he was as fickle as he was versatile in his pursuits, ' Everything by turns and nothing long.' " George Smith Gibbes was the son of the Rev. George Gibbes, D.D., rector of Woodborough, in Wiltshire. From a school at Southampton he proceeded to Exeter College, Oxford, and graduated B.A. in 1792. He was then elected a fellow of Magdalen, took the degree of M.B. in 1796, and of M.D. three years afterwards. Several instances of the same 136 PHYSICIANS OF THE EIGHTEENTH date suggest the remark that Lord Salisbury's recent complaint on visiting Oxford was not so applicable then as now. " I always think," said the Chancellor, "that the science of medicine has scarcely received among us the tribute it ought to receive among sciences which rest upon observation. It is the most sober, the most absolute, the most positive of all sciences. Others give wide play to the imagination, but scientific imagination is the snare of scientific men. If you indulge in it by the bedside of a patient the patient dies." Forcible as these words are, they appear to indicate the tendency, if real, of the close of the nineteenth rather than that of the eighteenth century. The experience of Gibbes and many of his contemporaries at Oxford appears to have been practical rather than imaginative and the history of other medical men who did good work in Bath bears similar testimony. Becoming a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians the new alumnus devoted himself to the ailments especially requiring his attention in the city of the springs. Here, in 1800, he published his first Treatise on the Bath Waters, and, in 1803, his second, both above the average of works on the subject. In 1804 he was elected physician to the Bath (Mineral Water) Hospital; some years later he successively delivered his Harveian oration before the college, obtained the appointment of Physician Extraordinary to Queen Charlotte, and was knighted by George IV. The last of these honours was conferred in 1820. In addition to the private pursuits and accomplishments mentioned by Mr. Monkland, he was much interested in non-professional public matters, being a magistrate for the county of Somerset, filling an office in the Bath Corporation, and taking an active part in founding the Bath Literary Institution. On him devolved the honour of delivering the lecture at the opening of the AND NINETEENTH CENTURIES. 137 Institution on the advantages of its establishment, which was followed the next year by Mr. Hunter's, On the connection of Bath with the Literature and Science of England. Dr. Munk, in his Roll of the Royal College of Physicians, states that Sir George Gibbes practised here with distinguished reputation and success many years. About 188-5 he quitted Bath and retired to Sidmouth, where he died in 1851, aged eighty. Of the church in that town his son was incumbent, and there may be seen a mural tablet to his memory. One of his most remarkable works was entitled, Observations on the component parts of Animal Matters, and their conversion into a substance resembling Spermaciti. This, of course, appeared in his younger days, when chemistry was his ruling passion. DR. PARRY. We now come to a name more familiar in the present day than any that have preceded it. No Bath physician of his time had a higher standing than the first Doctor Parry, and throughout the kingdom he had great repute both for his writings and practise. Much of his culture he owed to near kindred and early associations ; his father, the Rev. Joshua Parry, a learned Nonconformist minister at Cirencester, being the intimate friend of Earl Bathurst, who lived near and was the Maecenas of the time. His college training he received at Warrington, where the society of Dr. Aikin, his daughter Mrs. Barbauld and the Rigby family aided greatly in the formation of his mind. Having begun his medical studies at Edinburgh, he continued them two years in the house of Dr. Denman, a friend of the Aikins and father of the Lord Chief Justice. Prior to his settlement at Bath in 1779 he married Miss Rigby, whose brother at Norwich and nephew in London 138 PHYSICIANS OF THE EIGHTEENTH both attained medical celebrity and who shared all the high tastes of her husband. His practise, small at first as usual, steadily increased until it included a list of patients perhaps larger and more remarkable than that of any other local practitioner in the kingdom. It was the period 1780 to 1816', during which Bath was in the zenith of its fame, and Dr. Parry's memoranda show that many of the British nobility and most distinguished men of the time consulted him. Beginning with receipts for the first year of .39, he notes them for the fifth 239 ; for the tenth 1,600, and afterwards nearly =3,000. There is a story that during some epidemic he was returning home after a long morning's work when a friend remarked that his waistcoat pockets, of the large fashion of the time, seemed very full, probably of guineas. " Yes," he said, <: I believe there are ninety-nine, I may make it a round sum before I get home." Yet Dr. Parry was not mercenary ; if he enjoyed success he deserved it ; through a long life he studied earnestly ; he published many elaborate treatises ; he cultivated music, painting and literature, and he devoted much time to works of benevolence and public utility. In 1782 he was elected Governor of the Bath Hospital, in 1800 fellow of the Royal Society, in successive years a member of other learned bodies at home and abroad, and lastly he was honoured with the Bedford Gold Medal of the Bath and West of England Agricultural Society for his varied services during thirty-seven years. The land he purchased on Sion Hill, where he built Summerhill, enabled him to try various minor experiments in agriculture, while a farm he hired in the neighbourhood gave scope for that breeding of sheep and production of wool for which he was celebrated. He died in 1822, after seeing his sons become worthy of their parentage, the elder following the same profession in the same city, the AND NINETEENTH CENTURIES. 139 youngest distinguished as a naval officer by Arctic discoveries. Dr. Parry's friends caused a handsome monument to be erected to his memory in the choir of the Abbey Church. The elder son, Dr. Charles Hemy Parry, succeeded his father at Summerhill. He also had a considerable practise and was widely known as an accomplished physician. But he probably distinguished himself more in literature than in medicine, for which his education at the University of Gottingen and his travels in Germany with S. T. Coleridge gave Mm a strong bias. Pursuing his academic course at Edinburgh he made the acquaintance of Mr., afterwards Lord, Brougham, with whom he long maintained a correspondence. Some of the best years of his life were devoted to the elucidation and confirmation of his father's medical views, which he accomplished by editing and publishing in several volumes his various writings. He was also the author of a work of considerable research. The Parliaments and Councils of England from William the Conqueror to the Revolution in 1688, and of a life of his grandfather, the Nonconformist minister, which was edited after his death by his relative, Sir J. Eardley-Wilmot, Bart. Dr. Charles Parry some years before his death retired to Brighton, where he died in 1860 full of years. He was buried in a family vault at Weston, near Bath, several of his daughters having preceded him. The fame of the younger son was national rather than local. Sir Edward Parry will be known in the annals of England as a distinguished Arctic navigator and the worthy companion of Sir John Franklin. Five quarto volumes written by his own hand in successive years testify to the work those brave men did, their unfailing courage and their patriotic service. Step by step they advanced until they reached the higher posts of their profession, always displaying the qualities that deserved 140 PHYSICIANS OF THE EIGHTEENTH them, receiving at length their knighthood together, and standing, side by side, at an Oxford commemoration for the degree of D.C.L. All this is told with much beauty of expression by the Rev. Edward Parry, in a memoir of his father's life. There we learn that the home of the navigator's childhood continued ever dear to him, and there that his native city was always foremost to do him honour. While the Bath Corporation led other municipal bodies in presenting him with the freedom of their city, the Bath people showed their grateful remembrance by a handsome offering of plate. In all national manifestations, however, the two friends were hand in hand, as when at Oxford the Prize Poem of the year was recited with the lines alluding to their return : " But fairer England greets the wanderers now, Unfading laurels shade her Parry's brow, And on the proud memorials of her fame, Lives, linked with deathless glory, Franklin's name." DR. BABLOW. A few readers of these sketches probably remember Dr. Barlow, who for thirty-seven years, until his death in 1848, was prominent in Bath. Born at Mullingar, in the county of Meath, and the son of a distinguished medical man, he was educated for the same profession, attending the schools of Dublin, Edinburgh and London. He practised in Dublin until 1807, when he removed to Bath to begin the career which rendered him one of the most useful and honoured members of the profession. His private practise, although considerable, was surpassed by that of several of his brethren, but his work as physician to both the large hospitals and his various scientific publications gained for him great repute. AND NINETEENTH CENTURIES. 141 He was scarcely ever absent from the hospitals on his allotted day, and at the " United " generally passed from three to four hours investigating the cases of out-door patients and pre- scribing for their relief. The kindness with which lie listened to their histories made him a great, favourite, though an occasional quickness of manner when he was overburthened with work may have been slightly observable. His real feeling was manifest in the practical direction of all his efforts. No better illustration is needed than the " Flannel Waistcoat Charity '' which he established to meet the want of sufficient clothing, and is still one of the most useful in connection with the Hospital. Among his intimate friends and fellow workers was one who thoroughly sympathised with him in all his benevolent and scientific projects Mr. J. Soden. They were both ardent Phrenologists, and together founded a local Phreno- logical Society, engaging Mr. George Combe to deliver a course of lectures and enlisting a considerable number of members for the discussion of problems. There could be no belter testimony to Dr. Barlow's favourite theories on the subject than his own broad, beautiful forehead, and fine, regular features all eloquent of his moral and mental qualities. Whether his scientific knowledge of physical deficiencies in the brains of others strengthened his charit- able allowances or not, it is certain that in this respect his example was in unison with his doctrine. It would be easily imagined that when it was proposed to found a Literary and Scientific Institution worthy of the city, he was one of the most active supporters ; nor should it be forgotten that the offshoot which -flourishes to this day the Literary and Philosophical Association owed its formation in a great measure to him. Of his medical works those in the highesc 142 PHYSICIANS. repute were eight valuable treatises in the Cyclopaedia of Practical Medicine and an Essay on Physical Education, the latter having been translated into several European languages. He also published pamphlets on Medical Reform, the Bath Waters, The Study of Phrenology and numerous essays in the Medical Journals illustrating the pathology and treatment of disease. With all his skill and knowledge, however, he could not baffle the great enemy beyond the age of sixty-three. Nearly fifty years have now passed since his death ; many good men have come and gone, but few more worthy of honoured remembrance than Dr. Barlow. Other ornaments of the medical profession have also passed away in the present century whose memories those who knew them would not willingly let die. A more copious biographer, one with a wider scope than the present, should do justice to physicians like Dr. Daniel Pring and Dr. James Watson, also to surgeons like Mr. George Norman and Mr. Richard Thomas Gore. Knowing and esteeming them all as I did, whether for great professional skill or enlightened public spirit, whether battling with acute disease in the private chamber or giving their noble services in the public hospital, I regret that I must content myself with paying this short tribute to their worth. DR. HENRY HARINGTON. H3 CHAPTER XY. DR. HENRY HARINGTON. Dr. Henry Harington was fifth in descent from Sir John Harington, Queen Elizabeth's godson. The intermediate descendants having been also connected with Bath it will be right to state first a little of what is known of them. Few families in any city can trace their pedigree through five hundred years and point to a succession of eminent ancestors from the time of the Wars of the Roses to the present century; but this is what a respected member of the Harington family now living in Bath can do. Sir John Harington, of the Tudor times, died at Kelston in 1612, leaving seven children. His ideas as to education, like many of his other ideas, were peculiar and produced a result he did not anticipate. Although a strong Royalist lie is said to have placed his eldest son to be trained by a Puritan, hoping he would see in him and his party so much to dislike as to be confirmed in the old faith. What the young man's impressions were when he returned home does not appear, but it is certain that eventually he became both Presbyterian and Parliamentarian, and was censured accord- ingly by party writers. He was much liked, however, in the neighbourhood of Kelston, where he inherited his father's estate. As member for Bath in the time of the Common- wealth and Chairman of Sessions for the county of Somerset he was prominent and influential. He married Lady Dioness Ley, daughter of the first Earl of Marlborough, and dying in 1654 left several children, the eldest surviving son being John, his successor. 144 DK. HENRY HARINGTON. This John was born in 1627. He also belonged to the Puritan party, and, on the accession of Charles II., was thereby in danger of much tribulation. In 1 660 Lord Chancellor Hyde wrote to Lord Poulett for "a true account of all who had been employed in the late troubles by commission, civil or military, under the Usurper." "Among some others," he continues, " information is delivered of John Harington, son to the late member for the city of Bath, bearing arms by virtue of commission from the Usurper." This demand and Lord Poulett's answer are found in Nugw- Antiques, written by a Harington, and have been lately reproduced, in beautiful facsimiles illustrating the Harington pedigree, by the Rev. F. J. Poynton, rector of Kelston. Lord Poulett replied to Lord Hyde that he had submitted his lordship's letter to Mr. Harington, in which it was stated " whatever the father's principles led him to, the son was no object for his Majestie's displeasure." The reply was followed by a curious certificate as to the good intention of the Kelston squire, signed by Lord Poulett and twenty other noblemen and gentlemen of Somerset. The substance was that he did accept a commis- sion from Cromwell, and that the signers themselves had earnestly entreated him to do so, but it was in order that they and their families might be secured from the "spoyle and ruine " they anticipated from the Civil War. " To the above certificate/' says Harington in a memorandum on the same page in Mr. Poynton' s book, " I am indebted for my life and fortune, which otherwise had been forfeited by the laws of the land, and hereby I obtained under the seal of England his Majestie's most gracious pardon." In preparing for his work Mr. Poynton examined, among other MSS.,the Records of the City of Bath. He there found that this John Harington was first chosen, with Mr. James DR. HENRY HARINGTON. 145 Ash, member for Bath in 1 658. It was four years after his father's death, which is at variance with the statement in Nugce- Antiques that he went in 1646 "to dine with the Maior and citizens to confer with them about serving in Parliament as his father was helpless and could not go any more ; " adding that he could not, however, be excused, and that " the Maior promised him and Sir John Homer a horse apiece." " Nor," adds Mr. Poynton, " is the name of Horner for Bath anywhere discernible. In fact the borough seems to have gone short with one member for some years previous to 1658. Has the compiler of the Nugm confounded the representation with that of the shire ? It would seem so." Whatever the public duties and trials of this Mr. Harington may have been, he had many of a private nature in connec- tion with his property. As his mother, Lady Dioness, sur- vived her husband twenty years, and Kelston was settled on her for her life, the son lived at Corston, another family estate, though her ladyship spent her time almost entirely in Bath or London. During her absence Kelston became greatly deteriorated, so that when the heir came to his inheritance his fortune was sorely taxed. The claims upon him were very heavy. Married four times, he had twenty children and innumerable grandchildren. Yet he was very generous, a benefactor to many parishes, and always ready with his purse for good public objects. His name is in the list of con- tributors to the old Bath Abbey Library. One of his wives having property in Marshfield he made a bequest to that parish. Kelston was liberally remembered in his will, and the vicarage of Weston was re-endowed with certain sources of income which had been alienated by some ancestor. On his death, in 1700, another John Harington, his SOD, succeeded him at Kelston. In 1725 lie died and being 146 DR. HENRY HARINGTON. childless, his brother Henry inherited the estate. This was the father of the chief subject of the present sketch, by whose aid, as the eldest son, he disentailed the property. Mr. Poynton has shown how seriously the family resources had been reduced from time to time, dating so far back as the outlay by Sir John "in completing and adorning the great mansion called Kelston house." Probably for this purpose two of the manors granted by Henry VIII. were disposed of: St. Catherine's Court in Batheaston and Nyland near Glaston- bury. Sir John also spent large sums of money in litigation ; he attempted to recover some ancient manors belonging to another branch of the family, and he undertook a Star Chamber suit against his wife's relations, the Rogers's of Cannington. Again, the manorial estate of Corston, which the frugality of Sir John's son, the Parliamentarian, had added to the family resources, was, in 1693, diverted to the use of another branch. Thus were the acquisitions of one genera- tion lost by the bad management of another. The more immediate cause of the sale of Kelston by the father of Dr. Harington of Bath, appears to have been the heavy charge on the estate for the legacies and marriage portions of the owner's younger brothers and sisters. He clung, however, to his ancestral property till 1759, when, finding he could no longer support his position, he availed himself of his power to sell. The estate was bought by Mr. Hawkins, an eminent surgeon, afterwards Sir Csesar Hawkins, baronet, who pulled down the large stately mansion and built a smaller one. Dr. Pocock, the antiquary, happened to be in Bath during the demolition, and describes in his tour the grandeur and great solidity of the old edifice. The last owner retired to Bath, where he spent the remaining years of his life, enjoying the society of his son. He died in 1769 at the age of eighty- three, and was buried among his ancestors at Kelston. DR. HENRY HARINGTON. 147 At length we come to the life of Dr. Henry Harington, "whose memory," Mr. Poynton justly says, "still lingers in Bath as of one long known and very highly esteemed there." " It comes under our notice," he adds, " accompanied at first by sad reflections If we grieve over the demolition of the ancient and beautiful home, what must be our regret for the last Harington born within its walls, baptised in the old parish church and associated with all its ancestral surround- ings. It seems hard that the only surviving son should never himself enjoy the property, but should find himself, cm coming of age, with no power in family affairs because his elder brother had joined his father in barring the entail." Still there was much to reconcile him to his lot. The long, painful struggle with strained circumstances was ended. The reverse had not been caused by the follies and vices which had ruined so many wealthy families. The estates had not been wasted by costly election contests or gambled away on the turf or at the card table. In addition to the father's unsullied name there were his own pleasant professional prospects and circle of congenial friends. No man was better able to say, " My mind to me a kingdom is/' Not destined to be Squire of Kelston, he chose the work of life most conducive to the enjoyment and usefulness of life. Holy Orders had been thought of, but he wanted wider scope than they would have allowed him, and after the usual course at Oxford he studied medicine. His first settlement was at Wells, where two of his uncles (Hudlestones) were suc- cessively rectors of St. Cuthbert's Church. Here he practised eighteen years, earnestly cultivating all the time his love of music. In 1757 he removed to Bath, where he followed a medical uncle, Dr. Edward Harington. The literary as well as 148 DR. HENRY HARINGTON. musical society was larger, and he had more inducements to cultivate his talents in both directions. Fifty and sixty years ago one often met in Bath Society those who remembered his genial manners, his agreeable conversation and his rich stores of anecdote. The benevolence of Dr. Henry Harington was known to all the country round. He was warmly interested in the Bath Hospital, now styled the Mineral "Water Hospital, to which he was physician. Not only was his house open on certain days to the poor who needed his advice, but he willingly wrote it to those at a distance who were unable to come. His facile pen was never more successful than when appealing for charitable objects. To his love of literature testimony is given by various writers of the time. There was a Rev. Samuel Rogers who published a Latin version of Gay's Elegant Fable of the shepherd and philosopher. He dedicated the book to " the ingenious, learned and judicious " Dr. Harington, and mentions his literary merit as one of his claims to distinction. Mr. Monkland in his pleasant little volumes on The Literature and Literati of Bath describes Dr. Harington among a knot of good talkers at Bull's Library, a favourite place of resort, in his accustomed chair, with his full-bottomed wig, his three-cornered hat and full of animation though quite blind and approaching his ninetieth year. Of his wit there is a specimen in his well known epigram in the Abbey Church : " These walls adorned with monument and bust Show how Bath Waters serve to lay the dust." His political proclivities may be inferred from one of his toasts: " Here's to Rex, Lex and Pontifex, A toast no loyal heart rejects : DR. HENRY HARINGTON. 149 The King in safety all protects The Church to future bliss directs. May knaves who plot the State to vex Find Law provides for all their necks." Milder and more in accord with his usual mood were his lines on THE THREE ENGLISH PHILOSOPHERS. " Three wondrous sages midst these eras born Eevered for knowledge, Albion's isle adorn. One called forth Science as she slumbering lay, And led the dawn of intellectual day. The next through life immersed in Thought profound, Toiling for Truth search'd Nature's ample round. The third reviewed with new enlightened soul Improved all past and perfected the whole." In the time of Dr. Harington, and notably by his efforts scientific music was much cultivated in Bath. For some years prior to his settlement here the concerts and oratorios had obtained considerable repute. William Herschel and his gifted sister Caroline, the Linleys "the nest of nightingales" beloved by Dr. Burney, with a few others were heard of everywhere. The passionate love of music which Harington had cherished from his earliest years was probably one strong reason for his removal to a city where it would find ample scope. Kauzzini had become Director of the public concerts, Incledon was articled to the Director, Braham lived in his house, Madame Mara and Mrs. Billington were as great attractions then as Madame Catalani and others were after- wards. A catch club had been popular, but was beginning to decay. Harington, with the assistance of two friends the Rev. John Bowen and the Rev. Thomas Broadhurst, both of 150 DR. HENRY HARINGTON. whom I knew well, formed out of its remnants the Bath Harmonic Society. He also published a long series of musical compositions, much admired in their day, especially the glees and anthems. Perhaps he gained the greatest fame by his Eloi or The Last Words of our Saviour, which was sung for many years on Good Friday in the Abbey Church and other churches in Bath. The versatility of his mind on various subjects is shown in works as different from each other as the Ode to Discord and the Ode to Harmony, the Witch of Wokey a ballad in the old English style, and the Geometrical Analogy of the Catholic Doctrine of the Trinity. Nor did these numerous works prevent his interest in various city matters. As trustee of his mother, he contracted for the erection of Northumberland buildings. It was in one of these houses he lived some years until his death, and there he gathered his congenial friends around him to share his hospitality. He was a member of the Bath Corporation many years, and filled the offices of alder- man, magistrate and mayor. On his death in 1827 at the age of eighty-nine, he was buried with his ancestors at Kelston, but an elegant monument was erected to his memory in the Abbey Church with a long classical inscription, six lines of which indicate his leading characteristics : Medicus solers et fidelis Poeta lepidus ; Musicus sciens et peritus ; Magistratus, gravis, Justus et acer ; Erga suos amantissimus ; Erga omnes comis et benevolus. Further knowledge of the life and works of this excellent man may be obtained from various memoirs, notably from one in DR. HENRY HARINGTON. 151 the third volume of the Bath and Bristol Magazine, published in 1834. The author signs himself Philo-Musicus, the real name being probably the Rev. Thomas Broadhurst, an intimate friend and most genial fellow -worker in the Harmonic Society and other kindred objects. He states that Dr. Harington "married the amiable and accomplished Miss Musgrave, of Oxford," by whom there were four children, hree sons and a daughter. The eldest son, Edward, was Mayor of Bath in 1745, and having taken up a loyal address from the Corporation was knighted by George III. Sir Edward was the author of several spirited and ingenious publications. One of the most interesting in Bath was A Schizzo on the Genius of Man, in which the merits of Thomas Barker, who had recently acquired fame by his picture " The Woodman " were particularly considered. Dr. Harington's second son, Henry, was a Prebendary at Norwich, where he was popular and useful as a preacher, and where in 1799 he published the second edition of a remarkable book Nugce- Antiques, relating chiefly to his distinguished ancestor of Queen Elizabeth's time. Sir Edward's son married a Somersetshire lady of fortune, Miss Bave, descended from the eminent physician noticed in a former sketch, and his grandson was a clergyman in recent times and of great repute for benevolence at Exeter. He lived till 1 88 1 , was Chancellor and Sub-Dean of Exeter, an intimate friend of Bishop Philpotts and, being possessed of ample means, enjoyed the privilege of doing much practical good, especially to his poorer clerical brethren. He thoughtfully remembered in his will the poor of Kelston, where he was buried in the old family vault.* * The connection of the Baves and Haringtons is very amply described by Mr. Poynton in the work I have often referred to 152 SIR W. HKRSCHEL AND CHAPTER XVI. SIR W. HERSCHEL AND CAROLINE HERSCHEL. That Bath should be at all noted for scientific men has been a matter of some surprise. How contrary to the Genius Loci would be the exclamation of many who knew it only as a fashionable place. They would expect perhaps some musical taste and love of art, but not the patient, plodding, studious habits required in the pursuit of science. That a distinguished Astronomer and the Father of English Geology should be found in a city famed for dancing and card-playing, whose visitors were believed to worship chiefly at the shrine of Pleasure, would seem passing strange. Yet a little inquiry would show that the fact was not new. on the parish of Kelston. The description is commenced in page 78 with an elaborate chapter entitled, The Bares of Bath and of Barrow Court, Tickenham, co. Somerset, allied to the Haringtons, both of Kelston and Corston, in the same County. This chapter is followed by an exhaustive pedigree of the Baves and copious summaries of their wills, from the time when Dr. Samuel Bave settled in Bath in 1640 to the death of Dr. Anthony Bave of Wootton-under-Edge, in 1738. The first Dr. Bave of Bath bought Barrow Court some time before his death, and bequeathed it to his son Anthony, with contingent remainder to another son, Charles, who was also devisee of his father's house and gardens in Bath and property in Gloucester, sole executor of his mother's will and inheritor of lands at Tickenham. That a Bath physician of the seventeenth century should have been in a position to found a family as thus described is noteworthy in connection with the local medical history of the period. CAROLINE HERSCHEL. 153 It would be seen that in almost every period of the history of Bath, science has had its votaries there. The mysterious springs alone would have given an impulse to investigation, and brought thoughtful men intent on more than common aims. Century after century, from the time of Adelard and John de Villula to that of Herschel and William Smith, such men have appeared, as these pages testify, quickened them- selves and quickening others. Within twenty-five years of recent times two of the largest scientific societies in the king- dom, the British Association and the Bath and West and Southern Counties Society, have each held two meetings at intervals in Bath, and nowhere have they been more warmly welcomed, nowhere more successful as to numbers, earnestness and practical results. The first of the names at the head of this sketch belongs rightly to national rather than local history. But Herschel began his astronomical career in Bath, spent some of the best days of his life here, and by his great discoveries added to the reputation of the city. His early history, like that of many remarkable men, illustrates the influence of difficulties in forming character and ensuring ultimate success. The family were of Jewish origin, the heads of three successive generations being called Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but all became Christian confessors. Abraham, expelled from Mahren, his place of residence in Germany, on account of his Protestantism, was the great uncle of the astronomer, whose father was originally a farmer near Leipsic. The farmer, excelling in the national aptitude for music, gave up his farm to teach what he knew so well, and was able to develop considerable musical talent in all his ten children. William, the future astronomer, was born at Hanover in 1738, and came to England when twenty-one to earn his 154 SIR W. HERSCHEL AND living by his father's profession. Having intellectual tastes he had been provided at home with a French tutor, under whom he had made considerable progress in logic, ethics and metaphysics. But his studies were interrupted by the poverty of his family, and at fourteen he was placed in the band of the Hanoverian Regiment of Guards, a detachment of which he accompanied to Yorkshire. After many struggles with adverse fortune he attracted the notice of Lord Darlington, who engaged him to instruct a military band then forming for the Durham Militia. Having fulfilled this engagement, he passed several years in the West Riding, giving lessons in the principal towns, and employing his leisure in improving his knowledge of English, acquiring Italian, and improving his Greek and Latin. In 1765 he gained the situation of organist at Halifax. There also he taught music and directed oratorios and concerts. And there, moreover, with a view to master the theory ot harmony, he taught himself mathematics, which led ultimately to his great astronomical investigations. It was in the following year, 1766, he removed to Bath. He was accompanied by his elder brother, who, with a sister, be- came his companion for many years. The brothers were both engaged by Mr. Linley for the Pump Room Band, and William also obtained the situation of organist to the Octagon Chapel, which was very advantageous as leading to a profitable range of public and private engagements. Caroline, an admirable woman, poor, patient, self-denying, self-educated, found employment first as her brother's leading solo singer at his various concerts, also in training the trebles and copying the scores, afterwards in aiding him to perfect his astronomical instruments and to " sweep the heavens " from the little garden at the back of the home in New King Street. This work of perfecting the instruments by the brother and sister CAROLINE HERSCHEL. 155 is one of the most interesting in the records of science. We have seen that Herschel's thirst for knowledge of the heavenly bodies had been stimulated by his mathematical acquirements. After working twelve or fourteen hours a day at lessons to musical pupils, or conducting concerts and oratorios, he sought relaxation in studying optics. He borrowed from a friend in Bath a two-feet Gregorian telescope which delighted him so much that he commissioned a friend in London to buy one of larger dimensions, but found that the price was beyond his means. By no means discouraged, he resolved to construct the complicated machine with his own hands, and after repeated disappointments succeeded. In the year 1774 he had the great pleasure of seeing the planet Saturn through a five-feet Newtonian reflector of his own making. There could now be little doubt as to his future career. And now old things were changed. Musical engagements were gradually relinquished. Time was found for cultivating the acquaintance of scientific men in Bath. For some years the city had had a Philosophical Institution of which Herschel was a member with a few other remarkable men. It failed to succeed, however, and another was formed, the original minute book of which is now in the possession of a Bath citizen, Mr. Frederick Shum, who has favoured me with a sight of it. Thence I learn that of this new Institution Dr. William Falconer was president, and that on the 3rd of January, 1799, Mr. Herschel and Sir William Watson were received on the ground that they had been members of the former Institution. The success of Herschel in his earlier construction of telescopes impelled him to " try his hand " at larger ones, seven, ten, and even twenty feet in length. Eventually he began a regular survey of the skies by means of a seven feet reflector, in the course of which he remarked 156 SIR W. HERSCHEL AND that a star recorded as fixed was progressively changing its position, and by prolonged attention he was enabled to ascertain that it was a hitherto undiscovered planet. The Royal Society at once awarded him their annual gold medal and elected him a Fellow. In compliment to the king he named the planet Georgium Sidus ; continental astronomers chose to designate it first Herschel, afterwards Uranus. The king, however, showed his appreciation by at once granting a salary which enabled the discoverer to give up the musical profession and devote the rest of his life to astronomy. What he afterwards did ; how he quitted Bath to be near the king at Slough and was knighted in due time ; how he constructed new instruments, made fresh discoveries, and was duly honoured by Oxford and other seats of learning ; how he trained his son to follow in the same glorious path, winning admiration by religious worth as well as scientific eminence ; all this may be learned from the biographers of the period. His portrait appropriately adorns the reading- room of the Bath Institution. Sir William married in 1788 the daughter of Mr. Baldwin, a London merchant, a most amiable woman whose jointure relieved him from all pecuniary care ; they had the one son just mentioned who was born in 1792. The king con- tinued his sincere friendship for many years, granting him 2,000 twice for the completion of a giant reflector in addition to .200 a year for repairs and his salary as Astronomer Royal. His majesty was among the many distinguished visitors who came to Slough to see the reflector, being accompanied on one occasion by the Archbishop of Canterbury whom he helped through the great tube, saying " Come my Lord Bishop I will show you the way to Heaven." Herschel's biographers all write of him as possessing the CAROLINE HERSCHEL. 157 qualities of truly great men, kindness, modesty, simplicity and readiness to explain. His family affections were unusually strong, endearing him to his widowed mother and many other kindred whom he assisted. In 1807 he had a severe illness which permanently impaired his strength and caused him to take frequent intervals of rest at Bath and other places. He lived, however, till 1822 when he died at Slough in his eighty-fourth year, where he was buried. Lady Herschel survived him ten years. CAROLINE HERSCHEL. Mention of this distinguished woman is made in the pre- ceding sketch which is given chiefly as it appeared in the original series. It was not at first my design to write a separate memoir, but having now more scope I cannot with- hold a few outlines of one of the most remarkable lives in the annals of science. Bath may well be proud of Caroline Herschel ; humble as her position was during the time she lived here, her path was ever onward and upward ; day by day, unknown to the world, intent only on the work of the hour, she laid the foundation of a world-wide fame which will long endure the tests of time. In the large family of the Herschel brothers and sisters at Hanover, she was the eighth child and fourth daughter. Born in 1750, she came to Bath in 1772 to assist her brother in the musical engagements to which he was then devoted. Her father being in the same profession had given her a few violin lessons which relieved her from the household drudgery imposed by her mother, and enabled her to take part in his pupil's concerts. But his untimely death made fresh efforts necessary; first she attempted to learn dress- making in order to earn her livelihood, and then endeavoured 158 CAROLINE HERSCHEL. to qualify herself as a governess by practising fancy work in hours taken from sleep. It was at this period that her brother William, to whom from childhood she had been strongly attached, offered her a home at Bath. She readily accepted the proposal and threw all her energies into every- thing that could advance his interests. For singing at his concerts she prepared herself by imitating the violin parts with a gag between her teeth, and is said to have " gained a tolerable execution before she began to sing." .These particulars I owe chiefly to the Dictionary of National Biography, its authority being Mrs. John Herschel's Memoirs and Correspondence of her relative. It is there stated that Caroline's brother besides giving her two singing lessons daily taught her English and Arithmetic, though her studies were impeded by continual demands for aid in his astronomical pursuits. She herself says, "The summer of 1775 was taken up with copying and practising music in addition to attendance on my brother when polishing mirrors, since by way of keeping him alive I was constantly obliged to feed him by putting food into his mouth ; I also read novels to him while he was at work, sometimes stopping to lend a hand so that in time I became as useful a member of the workshop as a boy in the first year of his apprenticeship. As I was to take part in the oratorios, I had for a whole twelve- month two lessons a week from Miss Fleming, the celebrated dancing mistress, to drill me for a gentlewoman ; God knows how she succeeded." The brother aided the preparation by giving her ten guineas with which to buy a dress, the result being that on her first appearance she was pronounced "an ornament to the stage " and received much applause. She sang as first treble in the Messiah, Judas Maccabeus and other pieces, at Bath and Bristol, sometimes five nights in the CAROLINE HERSCHEL. 159 week, but declined an engagement for the Birmingham Festival, having resolved to appear only where her brother conducted. Their last public performance was at Margaret's Chapel, Bath, on Whitsunday, 1782. This was prior to their removal to Datchet in consequence of the appointment by George III. mentioned in a preceding page. At Datchet, Caroline's training for astronomy, which was begun at Bath, was pursued with greater vigour, though she very unwillingly abandoned music. She called herself "a mere tool which her brother had the trouble of sharpening," but some one remarked that " that there was temper in the tool which made it invaluable." She not only acquired the necessary knowledge to perform simple calculations and keep the records of his multitude of observations in perfect order as long as he lived ; she also learned the details of those observations with such success that she began to " sweep the heavens " on her own account with a small Newtonian reflector. In the first year at Datchet she discovered three remark- able nebulae, one of them the well-known companion to the Andromeda nebula. In the intervals of her attendance on her brother, often through the watches of the night till day began to dawn, she brought the stars of the British Catalogue into zones of one degree each for his " sweeps," and prepared all his papers for the Philosophical Trans- actions. In ten years, between 1786 and 1 797, she discovered eight comets, live of them with undisputed priority ; one was afterwards famous as " Enckes comet." For her "Eeduction and Arrangement in the form of a Catalogue of all the Star Clusters and Nebulse observed by Sir William Herschel " she received the Astronomical Society's Gold Medal in 1828. "This laborious work," says the National Biographical 160 CAROLINE HERSCHEL. Dictionary, was styled by Sir David Brewster, " an extra- ordinary monument of the inextinguishable ardour of a lady of seventy-five in the cause of abstract science. Although never published it was the most valuable of her under- takings, because indispensable to the review by her nephew, Sir John Herschel, of the northern nebulae. Miss Herschel was created an honorary member of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1835 and of the Royal Irish Academy in 1838." Turning to domestic subjects, her brother's marriage in 1788 and his death in 1822 were probably the most trying events of her English life. Not that she thought the marriage unwise, but the change from her home with him to solitary lodgings cost her severe pangs, though it was bravely borne and she worked with him cordially as before. Her devotion to him was simply boundless and after his death was transferred to his son; even the success she gained was regarded as caused by her connection with Sir William, not as the reward of any efforts of her own ; and it was to Sir John Herschel as his representative that the same unselfish allegiance was given. In all her little money matters there was the same forgetftdness of self; it was not till she was nearly forty years of age she thought herself free to spend according to her own liking and then it was in consequence of a salary of ^50 a year granted to her by the king as her brother's assistant In the shock caused by his death she resolved, friends thought unwisely, to go back to Hanover. When she left England she made over her little funded property 500, saved by her frugul habits, to her brother Dietrich whom she had nursed at his house in the Markstrasse till his death, and Sir William's legacy of ^100 a year enabled her to do more for needy relatives. Some years before her departure she spent a short time at Bath to set in CAROLINE HERSCHEL. 161 order the house of her brother Alexander, a teacher of music. Her later years were cheered by many attentions. All men of science passing through Hanover called to see her. Her ninety-sixth birthday was marked by Humboldt's transmission to her, in the name of the King of Prussia, of his gold medal for science. On the succeeding anniversary she entertained the crown prince and princess with great anima- tion for two hours, even singing to them a composition of her brother William. She lived long enough to receive Sir John Herschel's Gape Observations, the completion of his great celestial survey, and then, January, 1 848, passed calmly away in her ninety-eighth year. Her coffin contained, at her special request, a lock of her beloved brother's hair, and the inscription on the tomb-stone, adjoining that of their parents, was composed by herself to " commemorate her participa- tion in his immortal labours." The story of the family will not be complete without a few lines on Sir John Herschel. He was born at Slough in 1 792, when the household was full of triumph for recent discoveries and the completion of another grand telescope. An astro- nomical atmosphere marked all his earliest years and gave direction to his studies. At Cambridge he was Senior Wrangler and Smith's Prizeman, and soon afterwards in conjunctioa with Peacock and Babbage, reconstructed Lacroix's Treatise on the Differential Calculus. In 1810 he began to examine the double stars, aided by James South, with whom he worked several years. The result of their joint labours, shown in many wonderful* discoveries, was presented in a Report to the Royal Society, and acknowledged by the presentation of the gold medal of the Astronomical Society, and the astronomical prize of the French Academy. L 162 SIR JOHN HERSCHEL. Nor was John Herschel content with working out former researches. He earned fame gradually in other fields, in galvanism, chemistry, mathematics and electricity. It had fretted his father's spirit that in the cloudy climate of England he could only work successfully even with the best telescopes about 100 hours in the year. He could not go to the Cape but his son could and went, taking his wife and children, remaining away four years, and concluding the resurvey of the skies for which he had been long preparing. Well might the civilised world ring with applause of this noble instance of self-denial, especially when in the true spirit of greatness he declined the compensation offered by Government for his expenses. Large honors were however awarded him ; he was made a Baronet, a D.C.L. of Oxford, and Lord Rector of Marischal College, Aberdeen, with other marks of distinction. During the thirty years that followed, his works as an author would alone have made him eminent. His Outlines of Astronomy passed through eight editions, a success due not only to its scientific teachings but to the revelation of his own bright, genial, truthful, poetic and reverential nature. On this, Dr. Stanley, the Dean of Westminster, was eloquent when, in 1871, the author having gently passed away in his eightieth year was fitly laid by the side of Newton in the grand old Abbey. Speaking of the religious excellence of his friend Dr. Stanley, remarked, " Not with high-vaulting words, but with deep humility he saw in the unity of science, the unity of one supreme Life and Power, habitually entering into the spirit of those sublime words, " The Lord our God is one Lord." DR. WILLIAM SMITH AND CHARLES MOORE. 163 CHAPTER XVII. DR. WILLIAM SMITH AND CHARLES MOORE. DR. WILLIAM SMITH. There have been many William Smiths all over the world, but only one for whom Bath has been celebrated. Few general readers are aware either that there was such a celebrity in the gay city, or, if so, what was his title to distinction. Few know that our William Smith was the Father of English Geology, that he long lived in and around Bath, directing the formation of the Somersetshire Coal Canal, and that while thus employed he began the discoveries which raised him eventually to the scientific rank he occupied. A hundred years have now passed since he began his work in the beautiful valleys around Bath. His nephew and biographer, Professor Phillips of Oxford and other writers have traced with loving hands the progress of geological science in the interval. My task is simply to mention a few incidents illustrative of the life of a very remarkable discoverer, and a singularly clear-minded, right-minded, unselfish man. He was born in 1769 ; his father, an intelligent mechanic was descended from a race of farmers who owned through many generations small tracts of land in Oxfordshire and Gloucester- shire. This parent died when he was eight years old leaving him and other children to a gentle and affectionate mother who was intent on giving them as good an education as possible, though it seems there was no better than that of the village school. William, however, passed to the care of a paternal uncle, one of the farmers of the family, so very practical that he was not at all disposed to tolerate the boy's 164 BR. WILLIAM SMITH AND early taste for collecting "pundibs," Terebratulse, and "pound- stones," used as pound weights by dairy women. The good farmer was better satisfied when his nephew showed an interest in draining and improving land, though it was only after urgent entreaty he could be induced to part with a little money for the purchase of books on the rudiments of geometry and surveying. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen the growing youth prosecuted irregularly, with no instruction or sympathy, yet earnestly and successfully, the studies to which his mind had been awakened. He began to draw mechanical objects and attempted engineering calculations, thus recommending himself to a worthy neighbour, Mr. Webb of Stow-on-the- Wold, who had been employed to make a complete survey of their native parish of Churchill for the purpose of inclosure. At once Smith became his assistant, and a very useful engage- ment it proved to both parties, for although Webb, like his pupil was self-taught, and but slightly acquainted with public works, he possessed considerable mechanical skill, and his practise included much now given to engineers, while his generous disposition allowed full scope to Smith's aspirings. " Speedily entrusted," says his biographer, " with the manage- ment of all the ordinary business of a surveyor, he traversed in constant activity the oolitic lands of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire, and the lias, clays and red marls of Warwick- shire ; visited the Salperton tunnel on the Thames and Severn canal, and examined the peculiarities of a boring for coal in the New Forest. All the varieties of soil in different districts were particularly noticed and compared with agricultural and commercial requirements of the locality, not merely for present professional needs, but to be treasured in a mind capable of combining them afterwards." CHARLES MOORE. 165 In 1791 Mr. Webb transferred to his young friend the survey of an estate at Stowey in Somersetshire. No railway then, and perhaps no coaching there, he had to walk all the way from Gloucestershire, carefully observing and recording what he saw. In 1792 and 93 he was occupied professionally at the High Littleton Collieries, near Bath, where again he studied surrounding soils and made memoranda for models of strata arranged in the order in which nature had placed them. His ability and perseverance induced some gentlemen of the neighbourhood to consult him about one of the numerous canals talked of at the time, their more immediate object being the transit of coal from the Radstock district. If not at once equal to the occasion Smith soon became so ; he studied all the schemes for conquering inequalities of level, inclined planes, caissons and locks, procuring some instru- ments and inventing others, resolved to compete creditably for the honours within his reach. Nor were the committee of the canal insensible to his merits or unequal to the occasion ; when their Bill had received the sanction of Parliament they deputed two members of their body to accompany him as- their engineer on a tour of inquiry into the construction, management and trade of other navigations. The journey extended to nine hundred miles, occupying nearly two- months ; by one route the party reached Newcastle, by another returned through Shropshire and Wales to Bath ; and while the two shrewd coal- owners lingered to inspect every invention interesting to themselves, the embryo geologist noted every aspect of every part of the country to see how far his own theories were borne out. In future years, from time to time, he published as results of his observations a succession of maps and descriptions of strata. Of six such publications in 1815, 16 and 17, there is an elaborate account 166 DR. WILLIAM SMITH AND in the Edinburgh Review of the date of 1818. The author mentions one of the maps as " the first work of the kind that had ever appeared in England, the production, after the labour of more than twenty years, of a most ingenious man who had been singularly deficient in the art of introducing himself to public notice." The journey with the two directors was taken in 1794, when Smith was twenty-seven years old. He lived till 1839, reaching his seventieth year, eventually with much distinction but after many vicissitudes. The incidents of the interval may be rapidly sketched, for in truth what has been said as to his early life explains the reputation he gradually acquired. It was the right application of his remarkable qualities during his surveys, his journeys on foot, and engineering conferences that gave him such a rare amount of valuable knowledge. Professor Phillips fully shows this in the story of his life, of which I have here made use, and to which I can never turn without admiration. I remember that the young self-taught man attracted the few inquiring spirits interested in the geology of Bath, the Rev. Joseph Townsend, the Rev. Benjamin Richardson, and Dr. James Anderson, and induced them to join him in recording facts and constructing charts. I remember that the middle-aged man enlightened the princes and potentates of agriculture : Mr. Coke of Norfolk, Francis, Duke of Bedford, Lord Hardwicke, Sir John Johnstone, Mr. Pusey, visiting them at their homes, inspect- ing their great estates and showing the influence of strata on vegetation. I remember that the old man, at length suffer- ing from his want of worldly wisdom and having sold his cherished little property near Bath, had to part successively with his books, his instruments, the museum he had collected, and even the home where he welcomed his friends. But I CHARLES MOORE. 167 also remember the gleams of comfort which cheered him from time to time ; no large accession of worldly means it is true, though kindness in this respect was not withheld ; though Government acknowledged his services to the country by a pension and private friends were considerate ; but what chiefly smoothed his downward path was the testimony borne to his honour by the highest authorities in the realm of his favourite and at length prospering science. It is pleasant in conclusion to recall some circumstances connected with that testimony. One of the great benefactors of science in the early part of the century was Dr. Wollaston, a relative and friend of a gentleman well known in similar paths in Bath, the Rev. Leonard Blomefield. Dr. Wollaston invested ^1,000 for " promoting researches concerning the mineral structure of the earth and rewarding those by whom they should be made," and the first year's income was devoted to the acquisition of a die for a medal bearing the head of the founder. In 1831, the Trustees, who were the Council of the Geological Society, passed a resolution " that the first medal of fine gold be procured with the least possible delay and presented to Mr. William Smith in consideration of his being a great original discoverer in English geology and especially of his having been the first in this country to discover and teach the identification of strata and to determine their succession by means of their embedded fossils." The interest of the presentation was greatly increased by the fact that the president was Professor Sedgwick, " an original thinker and faithful observer/' who said at the interesting ceremony that he had tracked Mr. Smith's footsteps through Wiltshire and the neighbouring counties with his maps in his hand learning from him as his master. After wishing that the stern lover of truth, Wollaston himself, "before whose dark eye all false 168 DR. WILLIAM SMITH AND pretensions withered," could have been present, Sedgwick proceeded: " I would appeal to those intelligent men who form the strength and ornament of this society whether there was any room for doubt or hesitation that we ought to place our first honour on the brow of the Father of English Geology ? " The British Association, founded at York in 1831, was a source of great pleasure to Smith. Always warmly welcomed by his brethren, to himself, says his nephew, " the return of the meetings was like the revival of spring to the vegetable world." At Dublin, in 1835, he was received with special kindness by the Provost and Fellows of Trinity College, which conferred on him the unexpected honour of the Degree of Doctor of Law. That he had reached his sixty-seventh year did not diminish the pleasure felt by him and his friends, while through the world of science generally it was felt that never was title more deserved, for had he not promulgated some of the grandest laws of nature ? Except on the summons to these meetings, he now rarely quitted his hermitage at Hackness in Yorkshire, where he spent six of the calmest and happiest years of his life as the highly valued land steward on the large estate of Sir John Johnstone. At length, believing his work was done, he retired to Scarborough, though he proved able to attend several more meetings of the Association, one of much interest in 1836 at Bristol, when I had the pleasure of seeing him enjoy the wit and eloquence of his friend Sedgwick. In 1 838 he accepted a commission from the Government to examine, with Mr. de la Beche and Mr. Barry, the principal quarries of the kingdom, prior to the selection of stone for the new Houses of Parliament. In 1 839 he consented to go to one more meeting at Birmingham. But man proposes and God disposes. Visiting an old friend at Northampton on his way he was seized with illness. The summons was short CHARLES MOORE. 1 69 but decisive. His vigorous constitution yielded quickly. In a few days there was a peaceful end to an eminently useful life. CHARLES MOORE. The subject of this sketch is described in a memoir to which it will now be indebted as " the foremost geologist of Somerset and one of the foremost in England." This remark by so indefatigable a votary of the same science as the Kev. H. H. Winwood, will be considered amply sufficient to place Charles Moore next William Smith in the roll of Bath Celebrities. Here he spent nearly fifty years of his life in the unceasing study of scientific facts ; on this city he conferred lasting benefits by the development of its geological surroundings and the formation of his beautiful museum ; and by a wide circle of men of science he was regarded as an eminent authority on doubtful questions. It may be not unfrequently noticed that those men are the most successful who have had the least outward assistance in early life. Charles Moore was the son of a respectable printer and bookseller in the town of Ilminster, and his training had reference to the business of his father which was probably favourable to mental culture. But, besides this, and what would now be considered a short and limited education in the local schools he had few advantages, the lot of standing behind a counter seeming to be that to which he was destined. Thus, about the year 1837 he was engaged by Mr. Meyler, a well-known bookseller of Bath, with whom he remained some years, but on the death of his father he returned to Ilminster for a time to aid the family in retaining their home. This temporary residence in his native town appears to have greatly favoured the bias of his career. Mr. Winwood has 170 DR. WILLIAM SMITH AND shown how it reawakened tastes which had been cultivated in his school-days, and partially revived at Bath amidst the claims of business. The neighbourhood in which he had been brought up is remarkable for its geological phenomena ; "few districts can boast," says the author of the memoir, " of such medals of creation as a short ramble would disclose in the Upper Lias strata around his native town." Even the walls of the Commercial School with which he was so familiar were built of Ammonites and Belemnites, the latter locally called " Ladies' fingers," which proved as attractive to him as the " Pundibs and Poundstones " of Oxfordshire, were to his predecessor William Smith. "In my school-boy days" he writes in one of his early papers " my half-holidays were often spent in collecting the Ammonites, with which the beds in the Upper Lias strata abound, for the purpose of rubbing them down to show their starry chambers." But it was not until the return of Charles Moore to his favourite haunts after the Bath interval that the dormant taste was thoroughly revived. No doubt his intelligence had become more keen and strong ; he could observe the wonders of creation with a more earnest desire to know their origin, the " how " and the " why " of what he saw. In a speech at the Bath meeting of the British Association in 1864, he related an Ilminster incident which occurred twenty years before as contributing to the reawakening of his interest, and leading to scientific results of great importance. " An old civic building," he said, " near the School-house in which he had passed his early days was being renovated, and two boys were amusing themselves with a pebble or nodule they had found in the rubbish. This in rolling from one to another separated, and by a lucky chance the pieces were looked at and preserved. In the centre, and naturally at the point of separation was a beautiful fish of the CHARLES MOORE. 171 extinct genius Pachycormus." "This," adds Mr. Winwood, "was the first beginning of that magnificent collection of fishes which now enrich the Bath Museum. Before finally leaving his native town, he had accumulated most of the characteristic fossils of the district, and by short visits there, a few days at a time, he made himself thoroughly acquainted with its physical and stratagraphical geology." In 1853 Charles Moore returned to Bath, a more ardent student of Nature, and happily with the prospect of being able to devote his life to the work. He had become engaged to a lady of congenial disposition in Widcombe Crescent, whose means allowed his relinquishment of business, and he was married to her soon afterwards. The leisure he thus acquired enabled him not only to distinguish himself in the world of science but to take a prominent part in Bath public life, especially in the political conflicts of the day, when he advocated consistently what he deemed the cause of progress. For many years he was known as an able and useful member of the Town Council, where his opinion was often sought on such questions as the supply of water, the causes of the local land-slips and the varied quality of the great oolite beds to which the city owes so much of its beauty. It may be easily imagined how, as he became known, he was valued by the various scientific societies of the district. To the Bath Institution he was an invaluable member, sparing neither time nor strength in promoting its interests, as his life-long work the Museum so amply testifies. What an instructive companion he was in the excursions of the Field Club and at the meetings of the Somersetshire and Natural History Society many of their members can well remember. Nor should it be forgotten that with all these claims upon him the higher duties of life were faithfully 172 DR. WILLIAM SMITH AND discharged; he had too much simplicity of character to obtrude professions and manifestations, but in all weathers, morning and evening, he frequented his place of worship ; teaching in the Sunday School for many years and aiding every organisation for charitable purposes. It may be thought that what has now been said does not show that Charles Moore rose to the height of a Bath Celebrity ; we therefore turn again to Mr. Winwood's memoir. There we find abundant proofs of the high position he estab- lished by long, arduous, successful and disinterested labour through many a time of trial and difficulty down to the latest moments of his life. As no language of my own would be adequate, even if I were personally acquainted with the facts, I may be allowed to quote extracts from the memoir merely as indications of what was done in the way of papers read before Field Clubs, Archaeological Societies, British Associa- tion Meetings and other gatherings. Respecting a paper at Bath in 1852 on the Palceontology of the Middle and Upper Lias, which referred to Moore's former researches in the beds at Ilminster, Mr. Winwood writes : " Until very recently those beds were supposed to belong to the Inferior Oolite, and he claims to have placed them in their true position, as underlying and distinct ; asserting that from his intimate acquaintance with the Lower Lias Beds at Twerton, and those of the Inferior Oolite in the neighbourhood of Bath, he was able to show that they hold not only a distinct position but also a fauna peculiarly their own. It was in this paper that he alludes to the discovery of that marvellously rich yellow Limestone band in the Upper Lias, only from 4 to 5 inches thick, called the "Saurian, Fish and Insect bed," from which he obtained his beautiful Pachycormi, now deposited in the Bath Museum and still awaiting some specialist to describe. It was from this nodular Limestone also that he uncovered his " Baby Saurian " CHARLES MOORE. 173 as he called it, the Pelagosaurus Moorei (Deslongchamps), the story of the finding of which he graphically told to the writer of the present notes ; and the history given in a subsequent paper on the " Middle and Upper Lias of the S. W. of England," (Som. Arch, and Nat. Hist. Soc. Proceedings, vol. xiii, p. 181, 1865-6) one among the many instances of this man's patient industry and indomitable perseverance." " Elected a Fellow of the Geological Society of London in 1854, he contributed five valuable papers to their journal. The first in 1860, "On the so-called Wealden beds of Linksfield arid the Reptiliferous Sandstones of Elgin," directed attention to the similarity of appearance between these Linksfield shales with their limestone beds, and those of the Bone bed series (at the base of the Lias) at Pylle Hill near Bristol, at Aust Passage, and at Penarth, also at the Uphill cutting on the G.W.E. The litho- logical resemblances were well marked ; and he recognised the " White Lias " the " Gotham Marble," the " Bone bed," and the Gypseous clay bands of the S. country in the quarry at Linksfield. The palseontological evidence, moreover, supported his correlation of these beds. As to the Cornstone at Linksfield, on which the above mentioned beds rest, he thought they were of Triassic date, as he had observed on the flanks of the Mendips and elsewhere stone of a similar aspect belonging to the Trias and occasionally yielding remains of reptiles and fishes. In this paper he men- tioned his discovery of reptilian and mammalian teeth near Frome, in a fissure containing a Triassic deposit, and ventured to correlate them with the reptilian remains found at Lossiemouth, and therefore the probable Secondary age of the latter." " The result of his many years work amidst the Secondary rocks of the district was laid before the Geological Society on March 20th, 1867, under the title, "On Abnormal conditions of Secondary deposits when connected with the Somersetshire and South Wales Coal-basins ; and on the age of the Sutton and Southerndown series." 174 DR. WILLIAM SMITH AND " In this paper, giving his reasons for the abnormal character of the Secondary formations on the N. of the Mendips, he speaks of the difficulties attending the investigation of his subject and the length of time occupied ; corroborates God win- Austin's view of an old land area near Frome, and shows that this may be looked for in the Mendip axis of elevation, by his discovery of Mammalia, Reptilia, and terrestrial Mollusca that once inhabited this land area in Rhaetic and Liassic times. The barrier of land, thus interposed to the incursion of the waters of the Secondary seas, modified the physical features of the whole line of country between Frome and a portion of S. Wales, thus accounting for the extreme tenuity of the Secondary deposits to the N. of this barrier as compared with those on the S. With the one exception of the statement of his views as to the Basaltic dyke, this contribution will remain the best authority on the geology of a portion of England surpassed by none in geological interest ; and will serve as a mine of information to many a future explorer of that particular district, as it has done to many a past one. This paper alone was sufficient to establish his reputation as one of the leading geologists of the day." " Charles Moore was a frequent attendant at the Meetings of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, and read several papers before Section C. My earliest acquaintance with him was in the year 1863, shortly after my arrival in Bath, when we went together to the Newcastle Meeting as two of the local Secretaries for the Meeting to take place the following year in Bath ; and in the Report of the Transactions of Section C, presided over by Warington W. Smyth, F.R.S., is a short abstract of Moore's paper " On the equivalents of the Cleveland Ironstones in the W. of England." He had traced these Ironstone bands from Lyme Regis to Yeovil and Bath. In the following year, in the midst of his arduous labours as one of the local Secretaries at Bath, he found time to lay before Section C, then under the Presidency of Prof. Phillips, the specimens of Saurians, Fish and Cuttle-fish he CHARLES MOORE. 175 had discovered in the Upper Lias at Ilminster ; and the mamma- lian and fish-teeth (70,000 in number) obtained from the greenish clay which filled the fissures at Holwell, and the remains of the extinct animals from the drift that surrounded Bath. The President said that the Section had heard one of the most inter- esting and instructive addresses that could be possibly given to the British Association. They had expected a most interesting communication from Mr. Moore, but not to the full the great treat he had given them, illustrated as it was with specimens of his own discovery of the greatest possible value and interest. Sir Charles Lyell, who was also present, spoke of Moore's discoveries in the Mammalian drift of the Bath basin as rendering essential service to science, alluding especially to his finding the male and female musk sheep in that neighbourhood." "On February 15th, 1882, the evening Meeting was set apart for Charles Moore and myself, when he was to have communicated his latest investigations on the " Eozoon and Micropaleeontology," embodying some of his recent microscopic researches in the Palaeozoic rocks. Death, however, had taken away my geological friend, and the pen of the earnest, hard- working student of nature had ceased to write ; he had gone to his rest, literally worn out and a victim (may we not say a martyr 1) to the cause of science, for which he had laboured and for which he lived. How well I remember the closing scene, or at any rate the last hours spent with him in endeavouring to elucidate the fibre mystery. Possessed with the idea that even in the earliest rocks of the earth's crust he could trace the presence of organic life, he had selected the room in the Institution where the least chance of any adventitious or external accidents could interfere with his researches ; he had prepared some glass slides coated with glycerine over-night, these we were to examine the following morning microscopically and compare the results of the night's capture with the residue he proposed to test after decalcificatiori of the rock by hydrocloric acid in the morning. 176 DR. WILLIAM SMITH AND CHARLES MOORE. The specimen so tested was a slice of the Laurentian rock containing the so-called Eozoon Canadense. I was particularly struck with the zeal of the man, who, labouring under a most distressing cough at the time, and being asked whether he did not feel the cold (I was chilled to the backbone during the time of the investigation in the Lonsdale room at the Institution), replied, No, I don't, but suppose my enthusiasm has kept me warm. These were the last words I ever heard him utter ; in a fortnight after this he was gone. Bath knew him no more a simple green mound in the pretty little Unitarian burial ground at Lyncombe marks his resting place by the side of one of his sisters, and it is to be hoped that some appropriate record will be erected there to mark the last home of one of Bath's most scientific and hard- working students of nature ere all traces be lost. But his memory remains, and his name, linked with Walcott, William Smith and Lonsdale, will be handed down to posterity as that of a man whose good work in the scientific investigation of the wonders of nature any city may be proud of. Si queris monumentum circum- spice The Moore Museum, purchased after his decease by his fellow citizens for a thousand pounds, and secured to the city of his adoption by those who appreciated his work and honoured his memory, is a memorial of the scientific labours of a man whose scientific acquaintance it was my great privilege to make, and whose presence seems to be with me as I busy myself amongst the cases that contain the results of his life-long work." Mr. Winwood gives at the end of his interesting narrative the titles of twenty three " Papers and Communications " by his friend and fellow labourer. THE TWO WOODS, GAINSBOROUGH, AND WILLIAM HO ARE. 177 CHAPTER XVIII. THE TWO WOODS, GAINSBOROUGH, AND WILLIAM HOARE. THE Two WOODS. A stranger in Bath, observing its handsome buildings, would naturally suppose that the city could boast of a long roll of architectural celebrities. But this can hardly be said ; it is remarkable how few there have been in the two centuries since the city began to attain eminence in respect to its buildings. Striking likewise is the fact that those few have been so far above the average of their professional brethren in the provinces of any country as were the two ^Yoods of Bath. Walter Savage Landor, in a note to his Imaginary Conversation between Pericles and Sophocles, says of Queen Square and the Circus, that " there is nothing in Rome, or the world, to equal them." Perhaps this is exaggerated praise, but everyone knows that Macaulay wrote of Bath as "that beautiful city which charms eyes even familiar with the works of Bramante and Palladio." For my present purpose, how- ever, there is sufficient force in a recent moderate remark of Lord Grimthorpe, "by attending to the true principles of art the two Woods changed Bath from a mean-looking town to the most beautiful in England." It is true that fault has been found with the interiors of the houses. Critics have complained that, in many cases, out- ward effect is obtained at the cost of comfort and convenience. We are told of dark, narrow staircases ; of some rooms ill- shaped, others badly lighted, and a want of varied accommodation. But without admitting that this gives a M 178 THE TWO WOODS, GAINSBOROUGH, correct idea, we yet remember what the Woods had to do ; not to build a number of detached houses, each having sufficient space for ample individual requirements, but to erect the streets, squares, crescents and circuses of a city. For such an object diminished internal advantages, to some extent, were unavoidable. Those who are acquainted with the works of the Woods in country situations can testify that there they proved they knew, as indeed is evident in their city work, that " good architecture is not wrapped up in a front wall," but is visible within as well as without and fulfils its true object in securing the full amount of comfort possible in the circumstances of the case. There is a valuable book, not so well known as it ought to be, The Municipal Records of Bath, by Austin J. King and B. H. Watts. It has an essay on " the Renaissance of the City," in which an explanation of some leading characteristics is given in the statement that "they were due to a Triumvirate." The individuals were Ralph Allen, Richard Nash and John Wood, who, though each playing a distinct part, yet aided in producing the general result. Allen, as was told in a former chapter, came from Cornwall to Bath in 171 1 as a clerk of the Post office, and in the next two decades rose rapidly to a position of great influence. Previously the Bath stone, since so celebrated, had been comparatively little worked ; Alien, as his means increased, bought quarries and began a vigorous trade in their contents. At the same time there was a great demand for more and better houses; people, some of great distinction, came from all parts of the country and looked in vain for suitable homes. The Cornish post- master, having a sharp eye for every kind of talent, brought Wood to Bath. It was about the year 1722, and together they planned such magnificent piles of buildings as would AND WILLIAM HOARE. 179 require all the stone that could be worked in a life-time. For Wood was more than a skilful architect, though qualified to delight future ages by enduring monuments of genius ; he was "an administrator of a type rarely met with." "The stagnation of the building trade in Bath " (says the writer on the Renaissance) " was so great in the seventeenth century that competent workmen were not to be had there. Wood brought excavators from some great waterworks, masons from York- shire and carpenters from London." It was he who introduced into the West of England even such simple appliances as the lever, the pulley, and the windlass, to the vast relief of the builders, who had previously no other method of hoisting their heavy stones than that of dragging them up with small ropes against the sides of a ladder. It may be asked what the other member of the Triumvirate, Nash, did to aid the work and fame of Wood. The answer is that no man knew better than Nash what the wants of the City were as to good dwelling houses and public buildings. Whatever his moral failings may have been, in consequence of the inferior education and circumstances of the period, his mental capacity was undoubted. Hence there were constant cogitations with him on designs in quick succession for the Parades, Queen Square, the Circus and other great works. Certainly it was with Wood that Nash took counsel respecting the Bath Hospital, which he had so much at heart, though Wood himself by his business talent conquered the great difficulties about the site, and made no charge for anything he did in connection with the structure. But, still, it was with and for Allen that Wood was chiefly concerned. Mr. Peach states that his first work was in connection with the Postmasters town house ; not that he was the original architect of it, but employed to make great additions and 180 THE TWO WOODS, GAINSBOROUGH, alterations. Twenty years afterwards, about 1735, Allen, having acquired considerable wealth, and wishing to make his quarries productive, resolved to build a large house on the Prior Park estate, with regard to which he had the advantage not only of Wood's genius in the designs but also of his skill and knowledge as to working the stone. For no one knew so well the true method of excavation, how to treat the oolite so that it should stand weather, and how to adapt the grain to the required position. He had other good clients, notably the Duke of Chandos, for whom he built Chandos Court ; he restored St John's Hospital, and canalised the Avon between Bath and Bristol, an undertaking in which many had failed, and was peculiarly arduous to him with his other great works on hand. Among the houses he built in the neighbourhood were Eagle house, Batheaston, the Shockerwick mansion, and what Mr. Peach justly describes as " the exquisite house at the head of the sloping avenue at Bathford." In one character certainly the great architect did not excel that of an author. His Description of Bath, in two volumes, is marred by absurd credulity as to past history, and egotistical exaggerations of various kinds. Of the little that is known of him personally it is said that he was a proud, sensitive man, with a great dislike of all shallow pretentious, but with so little worldly wisdom as to have comparatively scanty means. His house at Batheaston, however, where he lived at the close of his life, and his general position in the neighbourhood, caused his appointment as a county magistrate. He and his son both died at Batheaston, the elder in 1754, the younger in 1781, and both were buried near the altar of the Church of Swainswick. Of the younger Wood the information given by various writers is even more meagre than that of the father. It is remarkable that the latter never mentions him in his AND WILLIAM HOARE. 181 account of the works they had jointly on hand for so many years. But the fact that they were on good terms may be inferred from the evident harmony of their procedure and the fact that they both lived and died in the same house at Bath- easton. The chief buildings, for which the younger Wood had the principal responsibility, appear to have been the Circus, York Buildings, Brock Street, Royal Crescent and the Assembly Rooms.- The father, we have seen, died in 1754 ; the Circus was begun about 1760; York Buildings, 1762; Brock Street, 1765 ; the Royal Crescent, 1767 ; the Assembly Rooms, 1769. What other- architect in any provincial town could boast of having erected in such quick succession so many magnificent piles of buildings, destined to command unstinted admiration through many a long year ? At the end now of more than a century the Crescent in particular is as impressive as it ever was. " Beautiful for situation," there is a combination of simplicity and classic grandeur in the noble range of mansions which once seen can never be forgotten. The Assembly Rooms also, occupying half an acre of ground in the centre of a hilly city, yet with no step throughout ; its lofty, well proportioned rooms all admirably suited to their various purposes ; no wonder that the world of fashion thronged them so long. We think of the inscription to Sir Christopher Wren's honour in St. Paul's Cathedral and remember how appropriate the word " Circumspice " would have been in a monument to either of the Woods in the city they adorned. But there is no marble to their honour in Abbey, crescent, circus or square. Neither did any local biographer pay a tribute to the struggles and successes of those two pre- eminently remarkable men. No one knows whether they speculated unwisely in the works they undertook or lost money in other ways. All we are told is that the father 182 THE TWO WOODS, GAINSBOROUGH, could not have been rich, and the son died very poor, his widow having even come to want. What a melancholy ter- mination of such a story ! GAINSBOROUGH. Passing to celebrities in painting it hardly need be stated that although, as in other cases, my task is limited, I am far from forgetting what Bath owes to those who are not in my list. Undoubtedly the reputation of the city has profited by the labours of many in various professions who, without attaining the first rank, did their work thoroughly well Several of the most celebrated, whose lives are here sketched, only began their career in Bath, studying, practising per- severing, till they could enter on the great arena in London, where their full power was developed. Foremost among the painters was Gainsborough, one of the undying names in the history of English art. Happily he has not wanted faithful chroniclers of his life and works, one of whom Allan Cunningham in Muway's Family Library, gives a pleasant account of his early history. " Born," he says, " in 1727 at Sudbury, in Suffolk, his family were of old standing, well-to-do and of unblemished respect- ability. His memory and his love of art are still cherished in the eastern county, where a beautiful wood is shown four miles in extent, whose ancient trees, winding glades and sunny nooks inspired the exquisite taste for landscape painting which was developed in after life. Scenes are pointed out where he used to sit and fill his copy-books with penciilings of flowers and trees or whatever pleased his fancy, and it is said that those early attempts of the child bore a distinct resemblance to the mature works of the man/' AND WILLIAM HOARE. 183 When ten years old he had made some progress in sketching, and at twelve he was a confirmed painter, though his devotion to the art and the deficiency in those times of early education prevented anything like good general cultiva- tion. Encouraged by the advice of friends, who saw his earliest attempts and believed " the boy was a genius," his father sent him to London to study under Hayman, one of the companions of Hogarth. Grignon, the engraver, who knew him well, informed Edwards, author of the Anecdotes of Painters, that Gainsborough received the first rudiments of his art from Gravelot, another celebrity of the time. He remained in London four years and then returned to Sudbury to make such a beginning as the Fates would allow. In one respect they favoured him ; he was universally acceptable as a companion in consequence of his pleasant manners, his handsome person and his lively conversation. In another respect he was also fortunate. Seated one day sketching in the woods, a young lady appeared on the scene to whom he showed his work. Miss Margaret Burr was of Scottish extraction, then only in her sixteenth year, but in addition to the charms of good sense and good looks possessed an annuity of 200. Gossips in the neighbourhood added what they thought another attraction. She was the natural daughter of an exiled prince, a parentage she herself was rather proud of in future years. Whether Gainsborough cared for the distinction or not, he wooed and won the lady ; she made him a kind and faithful wife. Leaving Sudbury they began life together in a small house at Ipswich at ^6 a year, resolving to do the best they could. This, at first, was merely painting a few local portraits. Gainsborough's fame slowly increased and interested a neigh- bour of some repute, Philip Thicknesse, governor of 184 THE TWO WOODS, GAINSBOROUGH, Landguard Fort and well known in Bath, where he spent much of his time. He was a vain, selfish man, but probably wished to gratify the artist as well as himself by giving him a commission to paint the fortress with the port of Harwich and the neighbouring hills for the price of 30 guineas. The picture was engraved, and contributed to make Gainsborough known, but he was now in his thirty-first year ; he had exhausted the faces and the scenery of Ipswich and his talents demanded wider scope. Thicknesse, who then played the part of patron, though afterwards a false friend, was of the same opinion and advised his removal to Bath. This was in 1758, when there appeared to be an opening in Bath for all kinds of talent. At first there was but little encouragement ; people cared little for painting, not even the more educated who admired the Greek and Italian architecture of the two Woods. There had been comparatively little foreign travel to give any love or even knowledge of the great masters whose works had created a new intellectual world in the older cities of Europe. Gradually, however, young men came to Bath ; aiming first at what was most likely to give employ- ment portraiture, and, though well qualified for higher work, willing to wait patiently. Such was the case with Gainsborough. He began in the Abbey churchyard, but soon removed to Ainslie's Belvedere, where he could enjoy a beautiful view of Hampton Rocks, his favourite sketching ground. Charging at first only five guineas for a portrait, he spent the intervals of the sittings in studying the fine trees of the neighbourhood ; notably one near the London road, still standing, and called Gainsborough's elm. His studio being soon sought by discerning visitors, he ventured to hire a house in the Circus. Men of eminence at the Bar and the Senate ; women, distinguished on the stage and the AND WILLIAM HOARE. 185 orchestra; all were charmed, both with his social qualities and artistic skill. For full length figures his price rose to 50, 70, and 100 guineas. There, in the Circus, he painted Lord Chancellor Camden, Bishop Kurd, Miss Linley, Sheridan, Richardson, Garrick, Burke, Sterne, Quin, and many others. As one of the earliest members of the Royal Academy he often sent up pictures by Mr. Wiltshire of Shockerwick, a prosperous London carrier, who always refused payment on the ground that he loved pictures too well to make a charge. The artist, however, prevailed upon him at various times to accept six of his works. Some idea of their ultimate value may be formed from the fact that when at length the treasures at Shockerwick were sold, the National Gallery secured two, the " Parish Clerk " (a venerable man at Bradford- on -Avon) for ^500, and "The Harvest Wagon " for oC2,500. There was also a portrait of Quin, which went elsewhere. About the same time " The Sisters," from another gallery realised 9,975. The connection of Gainsborough with Mr. Wiltshire leads me to introduce selections from an interesting account of the Shockerwick estate and the Wiltshire family, in Bladud, the Bath Society Paper. The information is due to the researches of Mr. Peach. My extracts have a two -fold interest, the mansion of Shockerwick having been built by the elder Wood, whose memoir precedes that of Gainsborough in these pages. I have pleasant recollections of representatives of three generations of the Wiltshire family.* * " Shockerwick derives its name from Adam de Socherwicke, who lived as early as the reign of Henry II. He held it of the Bishop of Bath as part of a knight's fee. After passing from the Socherwicke family the manor with Batheaston, Bathford, 186 THE TWO WOODS, GAINSBOROUGH, Great as Gainsborough's fame was as a portrait painter, his own delight was in landscapes. To his sitters he was often brusque and independent ; to Nature a most patient and joyous scholar. Cunningham says "he was like a poet divided between two mistresses, paying to the one cold visits and giving to the other a warm heart." It is certain that the Bath people did not care for his landscapes. In vain they saw his studio full of charming views of the most beautiful objects in the neighbourhood. They were willing to pay and much besides, came into the possession of the Hosate (now softened into Hussey) family, whose principal seat was called Husei and then Hussey Court, standing on or very near the present mansion. In the reign of Philip and Mary the manors were held by Thomas Earl of Northumberland. Hussey Court then suffered from neglect, until in 1667 Shockerwick was sold, with Batheaston, to James Lancashire ; and from that time until about eighty years after, when Shockerwick passed into the possession of the Wiltshire family, not much can be found recorded of it. The Court had become a ruin, scarcely one stone standing upon another, and the Park little better than open fields. Then, with the Wiltshires, came the great transformation, the revival of all that was picturesque and beautiful in the charming domain." " The Wiltshire family, like Allen and others, of whom we are so proud, were of mean origin (perhaps 'humble' is the word.) The first of the family whom we trace is Thomas Wiltshire, who died in 1648. He left a son Walter, who had two sons, Walter and Julyan j the former of whom died in 1719, the latter in 1721. This Walter was the man known as the lessee of Wiltshire's Rooms.' Besides other issue he left a son John, who, with Walter (our local worthy), was the founder of the vast carrying business, which owed its later development to Walter. This AND WILLIAM HOARE. 187 liberally for likenesses of themselves ; farther than that their love of art did not go. So after spending 14 years in Bath he removed to London. This was in 1774. What he did there to found the English school of which the nation is now so proud, may be seen in the chief galleries of the country. This sketch, therefore, may well be confined to the earlier features of his life. One, however, prominent throughout, which ought to be mentioned, was his passionate love of music. This made him acquainted with Thicknesse ; they important business, which opened up the resources of the city, and brought it within reach of the metropolis and every part of the country, taken in connection with Allen's stone trade and his rare munificence, together with the genius of the two Woods, made Bath what it is. Walter Wiltshire was the progenitor of worthy successors, who, down to the latest occupier, John Wiltshire in recent times, worthily sustained the chivalrous character, the generous nature, and the beneficent disposition, by which the first Walter of Shockerwick was distinguished. This Walter, in conjunction (more or less) with his father John, acquired the ancient domain of Shockerwick and other property, between 1740 and 1750. About the latter year he engaged Wood the elder to lay out the grounds, and to design and build the mansion one of his most characteristic achieve- ments. Walter Wiltshire, like Allen, was a gentleman by nature. If he lacked the dignified reserve, the mental grasp, and the gentle hauteur of Allen, he was imbued with the same desire to do good to dispense his bounty with judgment, and so far as his means justified. Walter Wiltshire built No. 1, Broad Street, in which he transacted his business and conducted his correspondence in chief; at his classic little seat at Shockerwick he delighted to dispense his hospitality with a gentle courtesy and a bounteous hand." 188 THE TWO WOODS, GAINSBOROUGH, began their friendship by playing the violin together at Ipswich. Here I remember that much may be learnt about Thicknesse in an interesting paper by Mr. F. Shum on "Gainsborough and his connection with Bath," read before the Literary and Philosophical Association, and afterwards printed, in 1875. As to the painter's affection for music, Allan Cunningham says that he allowed his house to be infested with all sorts of Professors save bag-pipers. He loved Giardini and his violin, Abel and his viol-de-gamba, Tischer and his hautboy, and was in raptures with a strolling harper from the Welsh mountains. The poet's account of the great artist's house in the Bath Circus is full of interest. Surrounded by numerous friends he lived in good style, entertained hospitably, and was kind to all who needed assistance. In London his generosity increased with his prosperity. That he had failings may be easily imagined. One of them was jealousy of his illustrious rival, Reynolds. But it wore away before the end of life came, when he seems to have well made his peace with the world generally. He died in London in 1788, in the sixty-first year of his age. He had thought much of the event and often talked quietly about it From Sheridan, for whom he had great regard, he obtained a promise to attend his funeral. To Reynolds he sent quite at the last to ask him to come and take leave of him. There was the old friendly, cheerful tone at this memorable meeting. " Ah ! " said Gainsborough suddenly, "we are all going to heaven, and Vandyke is of the company ;" then instantly fell back and died. WILLIAM HOARE may be said to have competed at Bath successfully with Gainsborough, who both found and left him there enjoying AND WILLIAM HOARE. 189 great repute. Hoare, like his contemporary, was a native of Suffolk, the son of a prosperous farmer who gave him an excellent education. The boy developed at school so great a talent for drawing that he was allowed to adopt art as a profession. Beginning in London under Grisoni, an Italian master, he proceeded to Rome to complete his studies at a time when an English student in the Eternal city was a novelty. His father was ruined by the South Sea Scheme, and the son, thrown on his own resources, maintained him- self by making skilful copies of famous works which were sold easily. After spending nine years in Italy he returned to London hoping to paint historical subjects or, failing in the attempt, to gain a living by portraits. In both he failed at first, yet ventured to marry a Miss Barber, who, having con- nections in Bath, induced him to settle there. At once his prospects brightened ; he soon obtained ample and profitable work. The author of the memoir in the Dictionary of National Biography says that " for many years he was without a rival," alluding to the time before Gainsborough. Among the distin- guished visitors who sat to him was the elder Pitt, who pre- sented his portrait to Lord Temple in 1754 and wrote in high terms of the artist's powers. That the Bath Corporation thought highly of them was shown by a commission they also gave for a portrait of the great statesman for the Guildhall when he had ceased to be a Member for the city. The Pelham family were Hoare's special patrons ; many of them sat to him and they probably encouraged his study of crayon drawing. In this he succeeded so admirably that his works in crayon were perhaps more highly esteemed than those in oil. Main- taining his connection with London he frequently contributed to the small Exhibitions of the time. He was one of the artists who attempted to establish an academy in 1755. 190 THE TWO WOODS, GAINSBOROUGH," Thirteen years later he and his friends succeeded ; the Royal Academy was established under the immediate patronage of the king, who signed William Hoare's diploma as an original member. He was a man of scholarly tastes and enjoyed the personal friendship of many of his eminent sitters, together with that of Ralph Allen and the visitors at Prior Park. His death occurred in 1792. He left a numerous family ; of one son, Prince Hoare, the well-known artist and dramatist, some account will now be given ; a daughter married a brother of Sir Richard Hoare of Stourhead. Fortunately Bath possesses several works of her famous artist. Besides the portrait of Lord Chatham there are others of Christopher Anstey, Beau Nash, Samuel Derrick and Governor Pownall. Of less merit, though to a certain extent interesting, are " The Pool of Bethesda " in the Octagon Chapel, Bath, a large picture of the Saviour in St. Michael's Church in the same city, and "Medical Men Examining Patients " in the Mineral Water Hospital. The National Portrait Gallery contains the Duke of Newcastle, Lord Chesterfield, Lord Temple and Pope, all in crayons, and a full length of the Duke of Grafton in oil. Many of his portraits were engraved. There were two artists of the name of Prince Hoare in Bath; one a sculptor, the brother of William, and who executed the bust of Beau Nash in the Pump Room, the other already mentioned as the son of the Royal Academician. Prince Hoare, junior, was born at Bath, in 1755, educated at the Bath Grammar School, and instructed in art by his father. In 1772 he gained a Society of Arts' premium and went to London to learn at the Royal Academy. In 1776 he visited Rome, studying under Mings with Northcote and Fuseli as AND WILLIAM HO ARE. 191 fellow pupils. In 1780 he returned to England and exhibited at the Academy a classical picture called " Alceste," and a picture of Sir Thomas Lawrence when a child. He ceased to exhibit after 1 785, and devoted himself chiefly to dramatic writing. His first play, a tragedy Suck things ivere, was acted in Bath in 1788, and repeated in London for the benefit of Mrs. Siddons. "His best known production," says the author of the memoir in the Dictionary of National Biography, was the farce, No Song, no Supper, which became very popular. A long list of other productions, some of great merit, extending over many years, is given in the same work. The offices he filled indicate, as well as his numerous works, that he was a man of varied accomplishments. For some years he was Foreign Secretary to the Royal Academy ; well known also as a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and of the Royal Society of Literature, to which he bequeathed his library. He died at Brighton in 1834. 192 THOMAS BARKER AND CHAPTER XIX, THOMAS BARKER AND BENJAMIN BARKER. An advertisement has lately appeared repeatedly in the Athenceum of a want to purchase some oil paintings of certain artists, among those named being Gainsborough, Constable, Keynolds, Opie, and "Barker of Bath." To the English public the last name is less known than most of the others, though sixty and seventy years ago it was in great repute with connoisseurs, and the pictures with which it was identified were by no means of an ephemeral character. There were three Barkers connected with Bath ; Thomas, the subject of this sketch, the most distinguished, Benjamin his brother, so far honoured as to be called the English Poussin, and Thomas Jones, the son of Thomas, who attained considerable celebrity after his removal to Paris and London. Various circumstances combined to make Thomas Barker the one chiefly remembered. His talent was pre-eminent, his local training most interesting, and he studied and painted in Bath through a very long life. He was a native of Ponty- pool, the son of an erratic artist who had been employed there in some Japan works, and removed to Bath, when his children were young, in search of further employment. The works in the Welsh town gave his sons their earliest ideas of art before poverty impelled them to dash off little pictures at Bath with the chance of gaining means of subsistence. The pictures were seen in a small window in what is now called Cross street, Kingsmead, by a well-to-do coachmaker, as good as he was prosperous, a Mr. Spackman, who went into the house, inquired who did them, and on satisfying himself that Thomas BENJAMIN BARKER. 193 deserved encouragement, undertook the charge of his training. His first care was to give him a good, sound education. Then after some years he sent him to Rome for a course of study in art. How that paved the way for his success, what a tone of classic refinement it gave to his works, is known to all who are acquainted with them. Spackman was judicious in allowing the youth's faculties to expand as a preparation for Rome. They not only expanded ; they gave proof of extraordinary genius which could not fail to profit by the varied influences awaiting him. That he attained at his very early age, in a provincial town, such an envied position might well encourage his generous patron. We are told that though Etty at thirty -five could only get 25 for a large, grand picture, painted on com- mission in Italy, Barker before he was twenty easily obtained considerably more for even small works. Sir Edward Harington, in his enthusiastic pages of Schizzo, eulogising the genius of Barker, states that he was not nineteen when he painted " The Woodman." A later writer, Mr. Frederick Shum, points out that the same subject employed his pencil at three different periods, each picture surpassing the preced- ing. The first was a woodman in a thunderstorm, painted at the age of fourteen, after a picture by Gainsborough, and, being exhibited by Spackman in an early collection, realised a considerable sum. The second, about two years later, represents the same man returning from his labour with his dog on a winter evening ; it was sold by Spackman to Mr. Rogers of Southampton, a well-known collector, for five hundred guineas, and thirty years ago was in the possession of Lord Powlett. The third, painted at the age of twenty-one, show- ing the old patriarch going forth on a snowy morning, met with extraordinary success ; it was sold in the first place to N 194 THOMAS BARKER AND Machlin for five hundred guineas, and exhibited by him with the result that he was offered a thousand for it. It was also engraved by Bartolozzi so that it might be known all over the country, and then worked in worsted by Miss Linwood and hundreds of ladies. Did ever artist rise to fame more quickly ? For this picture Barker had two sources of inspiration the old man himself and Cowper's poem, " The Task." The old man lived at Claverton many years and was much respected by the worthy Rector, Richard Graves, author of the Spiritual Quixote. In later life the intervals of his work as a woodman were occupied in the garden of Mr. Howse of Lyncombe, in which parish he spent the close of his life. He was buried in the little Unitarian cemetery adjoining the garden where he worked, and his name George Kelson is graven on the stone over his remains. The poetic inspiration was in the simple lines of Cowper : u Forth goes the Woodman, leaving unconcerned The clieerful haunts of men, to wield the axe And drive tlie wedge in yonder forest drear, From morn to eve his solitary task. Shaggy and lean and shrewd with pointed ears, And tail well cropped, half lurcher and half cur, His dog attends him." Barker, before his departure, became known as the painter of the Woodman, not only in all art circles but in every part of England. Abroad he employed himself in visiting the best Italian galleries, copying the old masters and sketching from nature. At Rome he endeavoured, in conjunction with his friends Eastlake and Flaxman, to organise a society of English students. It grieved him that in so great a centre, where France had a good school and provided handsomely for it, BENJAMIN BARKER. 195 where Germany and even Belgium had classes, England with all her wealth and power did almost nothing. But while a generous public spirit prompted his organising efforts, many a tale was told of his industry and perseverance in everything relating to self-improvement often at considerable risk. Against the advice of his friends he persisted in going out to sketch on the Campagna in the fierce heat of the mid-day sun until he was disabled by a coup de 8ole.il Then he found retreats in the grand old palaces where he studied far-famed frescoes, and laid the foundation of a success in that branch of art which his contemporaries had laboured in vain to reach. For good as are many similar works in England, costly as were those of Leslie, Stanfield and others in Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament, it is believed that Barker's " Massacre of the Sciotes by the Turks " in the house he built for himself in Bath will endure when they have faded away. His experience of a sun-stroke on the Campagna did not teach him wisdom. He often walked to Tivoli with a huge folio under his arm and lingered till the heavy dews from the stagnant marshes made his homeward walk dangerous. At length he was compelled by illness to return to England, where he was warmly welcomed by his good friend Spackman and others who were interested. Perhaps no better estimate could be formed of his versatility and artistic power than that which was obtained by successive exhibitions of his works in Bath. At the time Spackman began them, before he went to Rome, people exclaimed " What a wonderful boy," while some of the best judges in the country joined the chorus, and when, after a lapse of years, the fruits of study and experience had increased his fame, the days on which the works were shown were like public holidays. For some reason he declined 19G THOMAS BARKER AND joining the Royal Academy ; not even his friend Lawrence could persuade him to do so; but he sometimes sent pictures to it, and for half a century exhibited at the British Institution ; thus the public were prepared for the later collections at Bath. It was a grand occasion when, the gallery of his new house on Sion Hill being completed, he and his brother joined their forces, brought together some of their best productions and invited the world to see them. News- papers told of innumerable strings of carriages containing the elite of the country round, from Bowood to Brockley Combe, and from Berkeley Castle to Badminton. This was early in the century. Other exhibitions followed of the works of Thomas Barker alone. One was devoted to the Battle of Waterloo with the scene of " Up Guards and at them." On another day visitors were invited to see " The Trial of Queen Caroline/' when the crowds were greater than on the opening of the gallery. But popular as such pictures were, they gave a less perfect idea of the genius of the artist than his quiet works, such as " Sunset," " The Morning Star," "Lansdown Fair," Diogenes in Search of an Honest Man," "The New Zealand Chiefs/' "The School of Euclid," and " Poor Mary the Maid of the Inn." It was known that, while his powers were quickened by the society with which he mixed, his hosts were delighted with the brightness he brought to their homes. For he was not a man of small resources ; his variety of information, as well as his genial manners made him welcome wherever he went. To lovers of art, like Lords Lansdowne, Egremont and Stafford, Sir W. Cockburn, Mr. Smith Pigott and Mr. Rogers, the tales he had to tell, the experiences he was able to relate, gave much zest to his conversation. There is an anecdote that, on going to dine with Lady Jervis in Bath, he was shown what was called a BENJAMIN BARKER. 197 fine old Rembrandt, bought by her mother at Southampton, which Barker, recalling his copying days, had no difficulty in identifying as his own work. A similar story is told of a dealer in London extolling to him and a friend who accompanied him to his shop the merits of a supposed Correggio, " a genuine and undoubted work of the master." Correggio was indeed a master to Barker ; for many years he made him his model ; but he was able to convince his friend that the picture before them was of much later date ; there happened to be a distinguishing mark showing that he himself was the painter. Barker's great love for both Rembrandt and Correggio did not prevent abundant original and independent effort. The short list already given might be extended to one of several pages, and if a life worthy of him should ever be written there ought to be many a pleasant illustration of scenes that inspired him. " Poor Mary the Maid of the Inn" has been mentioned. I owe much of the information in this sketch to an interesting lecture on Barker given by Mr. Frederick Shum thirty years ago at the Bath Royal Literary Institution. His knowledge of Barker and of many of his friends enabled him to give the anecdotes I have already quoted, and he happened to know the history of the picture of " Poor Mary." " The question has been mooted," he says, " whether the ballad by Southey was suggested by the picture or the picture by the verses. I am inclined to think neither statement correct." Both Southey and Barker were acquainted with Sir Foster Cunliffe and visited him and Lady Cunliffe at their hospitable mansion in South Wales. In the neighbourhood was a poor deranged girl, often to be seen wandering about the ruins of Tintern Abbey. One day when Barker was riding in the carriage with Lady Cunliffe they caught a glimpse of her seated upon a bank in a romantic spot 198 THOMAS BARKER AND far from any dwelling, the very type of melancholy. Barker, deeply affected by her appearance, obtained from Lady Cunliffe the particulars of her history, in return for which she stipulated for a sketch of the girl, and, when an opportunity offered, obtained from Southey after a similar recital his description in verse. We have had glimpses of Barker's prosperous days ; we must now glance at those of his declining life. For them, unfortunately, he made no provision ; though his earnings were large his outgoings were larger. Like so many of his brethren he had but little worldly wisdom, so that, when a change of circumstances came, things quickly went from bad to worse. If people wanted to see his pictures they found he had sold all the best ; if they wanted to give a commission he would only condescend to portraits where he was unknown, and for other subjects the inward fire had become extin- guished ; he had in fact neither strength nor spirit to paint. A few friends did all they could to cheer him ; there had been a grant of IQQ by the Government in 1846, when Sir Robert Peel was Prime Minister ; but this was inadequate to the wants of the family, and a further effort was made privately. Nothing could be more depressing than his domestic circumstances. Towards middle life he had married a Miss Jones, who for some time fully shared his prosperity. But soon after they settled at Doric house her health gave way, and for sixteen years she never left it. Laid aside mentally as well as bodily, she ceased to be the cheerful companion of former days, so that how desolate his home became can be easily imagined. It has been mentioned as a good trait in his character that he was always devotedly attentive to his afflicted wife, never failing in any of the tender assiduity of a nurse. She sat to him for the Magdalen in his BENJAMIN BARKER. 199 fine picture of the " Resurrection," and in happier years entered thoroughly into all his objects of interest. Specimens of his works abound in the city he loved, throughout Somersetshire, and in the adjoining counties. Not many are to be seen in public galleries ; only one in the National Gallery "A Landscape on Somerset Downs," but several in the South Kensington Museum, notably, "Sheep Washing," " Lansdown Fair," and a " Boy Extracting a Thorn from his Foot." He died at Bath in 1847 at the age of eighty. BENJAMIN BARKER. The other brother from Pontypool was also assisted gener- ously in early life by Mr. Spackman, but not to the same extent as Thomas. He appears to have fought his way upward with much less aid in various respects though with results highly honourable to him and to Bath, where he eventually settled. Neither Sir Edward Harington's Schizzo with all its information about the Barker family, nor The Dictionary of National Biography gives any particulars of his education. But the lecture of Mr. Shum, already referred to, gives interesting facts as to his later history ; and I may be allowed to repeat some of them here, because they have the value given to a great extent from personal knowledge and increased by discriminating judgment. "The works of Benjamin Barker," says Mr. Shum, "were of valued merit, but the best will bear comparison with those of any artist, and whatever may be the position which our English school may attain they will be found worthy to grace our choicest galleries. Although at first sight there does not appear much in his pictures yet, the longer you view them, the better you are pleased and the more you see to admire. Two small landscapes of his which have been more 200 THOMAS BARKER AND or less before me for the last twenty years I never tire of looking upon ; they are full of poetry and to a contemplative mind suggest a thousand thoughts." " His pictures generally were more carefully painted than his brother's and more highly finished. The elder Barker possessed the greater power and manifested more versatility of genius ; yet he was more unequal and less uniformly pleasing. His was the freer and bolder hand, Benjamin's the more careful and delicate. In all his paintings you may see his taste in the selection of subjects, a scene either beautiful in itself or suggestive to the imagination. Although his reputation was not proportioned to his merit, yet among his patrons were some of the best judges of art ; of whom may be mentioned the Marquis of Stafford, Lords Egremont, Essex and Dartmouth. Neither of the Barkers had much tact in matters of business, but Benjamin had more than his brother. He not only obtained handsome prices for his works but realised a good income from teaching. He chose a beautiful site for a villa in Bathwick hill and was the first to build there. Among the numerous visitors attracted to his pleasant residence was Queen Charlotte, while staying in Bath. Some said she went to see the pictures ; others that it was to see the kitchen, which was reported to be a model one." During the years 1813-20 he was a large contributor, chiefly of land- scapes, to the Water-colour Exhibition in London, also, though less in number, to the British Institution. Three of his water-colour drawings may now be seen in the South Kensington Museum. After enjoying a fair share of prosperity in Bath he removed to Totness, where he suffered a lingering illness and died in 1838 at the age of sixty- two. BENJAMIN BARKER. 201 A third Barker has been mentioned, Thomas Jones, the son of Thomas. Born in Bath and first educated by his father he was sent to Paris in 1834, became a pupil of Horace Vernet and remained in his studio several years. He exhibited frequently at the Salon ; on one occasion " The Beauties of the Court of Charles II," for which he received a gold medal. Many medals were also awarded him by provincial towns in France. For Louis Philippe he painted "The Death of Louis XIV.," which was destroyed in the Revolution of 1848, and for the king's youngest daughter, the Princess Clementina, "The Bride of Death," for which he received the Cross of the Legion of Honour. The inspiration of this picture was a deeply affecting death-bed at Bath in the house of a family to whom the artist was much attached. On his removal to London he painted pictures for the Exhibition of the Royal Academy, where his portraits were admired, especially one of Mr. Disraeli, now in the possession of the Queen. Subsequently he dealt chiefly with military subjects, going to the great battlefields of the time for scenes. These works, says The National Biography, are faithful and impressive records of the most memorable events of the Crimean and Franco-German campaigns. Thomas Jones Barker died in London in 1882 at the age of sixty-seven. Bath continued the nursery of good painters many years, but those who attained great eminence did so after their removal to London. Of these one of the most celebrated was Sir Thomas Lawrence, P.R.A., who, born at Devizes in 1769, was placed at an early age under an artist here, probably William Hoare. When only thirteen he received prizes from the Society of Arts for copying in crayons the "Transfiguration" by Raphael, supporting himself while working up to future, distinction by painting half-guinea likenesses of the fashionable 202 THOMAS BARKER AND BENJAMIN BARKER. people of Bath. Sir Frederic Leighton, one of his successors in the Presidency, is connected with Bath by early residence ; his parents lived many years in the Circus. A beautiful monument designed and erected by him to the memory of his mother adorns one of the suburban cemeteries. A lately deceased distinguished academician, Mr. Long, was born and educated here : he also began his successful career as a portrait painter; in addition to the earlier works possessed by fellow citizens in private dwellings, there is at the Guildhall a portrait by him, in his later style, of Mr. William Hunt, several times Mayor of Bath, painted by public subscription. Of not a few other recent local artists it may be said that but for the greatly increased competition of the nineteenth century they also would have become Bath Celebrities, for most of them spent their lives here with good repute and fair success. Ford, Jagger, Sheldon, Syer, Duffield, Hardwick, the Hardys, Maddox, Rosenberg, all deserve honourable mention in the local annals. They are succeeded by men and women who in their day are also doing good work. FOUR DIVINES HALES, CARTE, JAY, KEMBLE. 203 CHAPTER XX. FOUR DIVINES HALES, CARTE, JAY, KEMBLE. It would be strange if among the Celebrities of Bath there were no divines. That there would be a large number would not be expected by any who know the circumstances of the city. It would not be just, however, to suppose an amount of religious indifference sufficient to discourage considerable pulpit eminence. At various periods there have been able and excellent ministers in Bath. They were somewhat known in the eighteenth century ; more in the nineteenth ; men of learning, piety, eloquence, and practical usefulness. Still, except in a few instances, they have not been Celebrities, destined to leave their mark on the city and be a light to future genera- tions. Bath has, however, been the training place for divines of rank as well as laymen. Three instances will be re- membered. Canon Fleming, now of London and York, was preacher at All Saints' ; the present Dean of Windsor was curate of Walcot ; and the late Archbishop of York was incumbent at the Octagon Chapel. My present chapter will contain sketches of the " ever-memorable " John Hales, the Rev. Thomas Carte, the Rev. William Jay and the Rev. Charles Kemble. THE EVER-MEMORABLE JOHN HALES. The fact that this title was first given by high authority and continued in successive centuries indicates celebrity. Born in Bath in 1 584 and receiving his classical education at King Edward's School, Hales was one of its earliest and most distinguished scholars. " His proficiency in grammar 204 FOUR DIVINES HALES, learning," we learn from the British Biography, "was so early that at thirteen he was sent to Corpus Christi College in Oxford, and soon became Fellow of Merton." There he was noted for " subtle disputations in philosophy, eloquent declamations on history, and exact knowledge of Greek," the latter qualifying him, first to read the Greek lecture in his college, and afterwards to be Greek Professor in the University. He was also chosen by Sir Henry Savile to assist in his edition of S. Ghrysostom and by the University to deliver the oration at the interment of Sir Thomas Bodley, the founder of the Bodleian Library. Having taken Holy Orders he accompanied King James's ambassador, Sir Dudley Carleton, in 1618 to Holland as his chaplain. How long he acted in this capacity, or continued to officiate as a clergyman, does not appear, but frequent mention is made of his great interest in theological questions. An intimate friend of Chillingworth, he shared the strong desire of that eminent man " to see religion freed from what- ever did not belong to it ; and cultivated in its primitive purity and simplicity." One of his contemporaries remarks that he went to Holland a Calvinist and returned an Arminian, and when a friend who saw him reading Calvin's Institute remarked that he thought he had got beyond that, he answered, "In my younger days I read it to inform myself, I now read it to reform him." His engagement with Sir Dudley Carleton led to his taking an active part at the Synod of Dort. On his return he was appointed Canon of Windsor, but steadily refused any further preferment, " choosing rather a good conscience." Towards the close of life his pecuniary trials were great. He kept his library as long as possible, but was at length compelled to sell it, live in very small lodgings and put up with scanty fare. He CARTE, JAY, KEMBLE. 205 died at Eton in 1656 at the age of seventy-two. Anthony Wood writes of him as "sincerely pious, of the strictest integrity, charitable to the utmost extent of his means, and of the most amiable and engaging manners." In 1659 his works were published with the title Golden Remains of the Ever -mem or able Mr. John Hales, and in subsequent years other productions of his pen were distinguished by the same appellation.* * One of Mr. Peach's Bath books is a fine copy of the early edition of the Golden Remains. Its value is increased by a few annotations of recent date, one being an extract from the register of Hales's baptism, May 5th, 1854, from the register of St. James's parish, Bath. There are also printed cuttings from Bath newspapers containing letters caused by some local theolog- ical discussions. The following is signed Francis Barham, who was known as a learned and benevolent man ; he writes as a peacemaker : " It may befit us sometimes to revive the memories of great worthies who have flourished in Bath in the good old times. Amongst these worthies John Hales, with whose name the title ' ever-memorable ' is constantly associated occupies a conspicuous place. The reason why he is so called and why his Remains are called Golden Remains is principally because he was one of the most illustrious pacificators of his age and country. While most scholars, divines and politicians were eager if not violent for the triumph of particular sects and parties, John Hales rose to that holy universalism of truth which views them all as necessary parts in the whole system of things as indispensible wheels in the organised clock-work of society, not to be destroyed but regulated and harmonized. He therefore urged the pacification of sects and parties, Jews and Christians, Catholics and Protestants, Conformists and Nonconformists, and proclaimed the principles of civil and religious toleration and 206 FOUR DIVINES HALES, The estimation in which Hales was generally held is shown by his influence at the Synod of Dort. A series of his letters to the English Ambassador on the proceedings of the Synod are given in the Remains. There also may be found the remarkable sermons which Chillingworth is said to have prized as " most precious for setting forth the great religious questions of the day clearly and courageously." One proof of the success Hales sometimes met with in his efforts for conciliation may be found in the good understanding between him and Archbishop Laud, to whom he is said to have owed his appointment to the Canonry at Windsor. Differing so widely on theological and ecclesiastical questions they could yet see in each other grounds for mutual respect, though not even Laud could induce Hales to accept other preferment than the canonry. He would aid the Archbishop in his controversy with a Jesuit, but he would not, directly or indirectly, sanction what he believed to be wrong. THE REVEREND THOMAS CARTE. Thirty years after the death of Hales, Thomas Carte was born, the son of a Prebendary of Lichfield. His celebrity in Bath was as Reader in the Abbey Church, a political contro- versalist and a prolific historian. Though styled " Reader " in the Abbey, he was in fact Rector of Bath, and it was from liberty long before they were generally understood. He believed the true church to consist of truly pious persons in every denomin- ation, the Bible to be the only true confession of faith and subscriptions to particular human creeds to be the cause of division and antagonism. In this respect he agreed with Jeremy Taylor in his Liberty of PropJmi/ing and Archdeacon Blackburn in his Confessional." CARTED JAY, KEMBLE. 207 a sermon preached in that capacity his chief notoriety dates. This was on the thirtieth of January, 1714, when the Jacobite party was still strong in the city. Carte being at their head, lost no opportunity of defending the Stewarts, and now vindi- cated Charles I. v/ith respect to the Irish massacre. He was answered by the Rev. Henry Chandler, Minister of the original Nonconformist congregation in Bath, then denomin- ated Presbyterian, now Unitarian. Several letters followed on both sides which, being published, acquired more than usual importance as the antagonists were both able men. Carte, however, had a greater trouble before him. On the accession of the House of Hanover he refused to take the oaths of allegiance. He even threw aside his clerical habit and assumed the character of a layman, acting for some time as secretary to Bishop Atterbury. In 1722, either in speech or writing, he had so far committed himself as to be accused of high treason, a reward of ,1.000 being offered for his apprehension by the Government. There was a story that an officer was sent from London to arrest the Jacobite offender, and that in order to escape he jumped from the window of the Rectory house in full canonicals. At all events he was compelled to quit England, but he was welcomed in France, introduced to men of learning and position, and gained access to the best libraries of Paris. Thus he was enabled to pursue his historical researches which eventually resulted in several important works. While thus engaged, Queen Caroline, wife of George II., who had much sympathy with scholars, arranged that he should return to England. Some writer has remarked that Carte was weak rather than wicked ; certainly he had the esteem of many who differed from him ; he counselled forbearance if he did not always practise it, saying often " there will be mistakes in divinity 208 FOUR DIVINES HALES, while human beings preach, and in government while mortals rule." The chief of his many works was a History of England in four volumes. His Life of the Duke of Ormond was also a work of much repute. Bishop Warburton said of him " You may read Hume for eloquence, but Carte is the Historian for facts." At his death he left his mass of papers to his widow who married a member of the Church of Rome by whom, Mr. Jernegan, they were sold for a considerable sum to the Univer- sity of Oxford for the Bodleian Library. His great wish was to bring his History, which ends in 1564, down to the Revolu- tion, for which purpose he says he had taken great pains in copying innumerable documents in England, Scotland, and other countries. The various intrigues of the Court at the end of the reign of Charles II., were his chief subjects of investigation. One of his biographers states, that while the papers were in Mr. Jernegan' s possession, the Earl of Hard- wicke paid ^?200 for the perusal of them, and Mr. Macpherson "300, to use them as materials for his historical work. THE REV. WILLIAM JAY. A striking contrast to Thomas Carte, but undoubtedly celebrated, because singularly able and eminently useful, was William Jay. He was born in 1769, the son of a Wiltshire stonecutter, and in due time apprenticed to his father, with whom he worked in the erection of Fonthill Abbey. The Dissenting minister of his native village, Tisbury, noticing his studious disposition, recommended him to the Rev. Cornelius Winter, of Marlborough, who received him as a pupil. Jay not only studied earnestly, but preached in the neighbouring villages when only sixteen years of age, always attracting crowds to hear him. On leaving Marlborough in 1 788 he preached a series of discourses for the Rev. Rowland Hill, CARTE, JAY, KEMBLE. 209 at Surrey Chapel, London, where the fame of the boy- preacher filled the large building. His first settlement was at Christian Malford near Chippenham, whence he removed to Clifton to officiate in an Independent chapel belonging to Lady Maxwell. It was in 1791 that he removed to Bath, where he enjoyed great popularity during the long period of sixty-two years. The writer in The National Biography says " his style was simple, his manner earnest, and his voice remarkably good." John Forster calls him the " prince of preachers," Sheridan " the most natural orator he had ever heard," and even so fastidious a critic as Beckford describes his mind as " a clear, transparent stream, flowing so freely as to give the idea of its being inexhaustible." For many years he supplied Surrey Chapel for six weeks at a time. Some of his works had a large circulation. The Mutual Duties of Husbands and Wives, ran to six editions ; Morning Exercises to ten ; and the Evening Exercises had also a considerable sale. He died in 1853, in the house in which he had long lived, No. 4, Percy place, at the age of eighty-four. Mr. Jay retired from the ministry of Argyle chapel where he had ministered more than half-a-century in 1853. The event was followed by the secession of a part of the congrega- tion who built a Chapel in Charlotte street, which in compliment to their former pastor they named Percy chapel Many tributes to his memory appeared after his death, one in recent times by Mr. Peach in the first volume of his Historic Houses, which I may introduce here as remarkably faithful and comprehensive.* *" It is a proof of Mr. Jay's rare qualities that for so long a period he maintained his influenc3 over a large congregation, unimpaired almost to the last. He was a man of fine courage, O 210 FOUR DIVINES HALES, THE REV. CHARLES KEMBLE. Few Bath benefactors are remembered with more gratitude than the munificent restorer of the Abbey Church. And Mr. Kemble had other strong claims as a clergyman and a citizen ; his memory will be long respected for his earnest ministrations in the pulpit and his services to many useful institutions. But by his work at the Abbey he did spontaneously for the noblest building in the city what few men could do and what no other man would have done. great ability, and possessed preaching power of a high order. These were attributes which enabled him to win and hold that ascendancy over his people, which he used with a moderation and wisdom that marked the character of the man. Mr. Jay devotsd himself exclusively to his ministerial duties, turning neither to the right nor to the left after other pursuits. In relation to the Church, to politics, and the exciting questions of the day, during his long and honoured life, his conduct was characterized by great caution, candour, and sound judgment ; and he always acted towards those with whom he differed in opinion, on the principle that there are generally two, if not more, sides to every question. Mr. Wilberforce no doubt was attracted towards Mr. Jay by this breadth of character and eclectic taste. It may be thought that Mr. Jay clung with too much tenacity to the position he had so long filled. It was natural that a man of so much energy and intellectual vitality should be unwilling to admit the decaying powers and enfeebled physical ability which had become painfully apparent to others, and that he should resist the proposed assistance proffered by his congregation. He did not object to an assistant, but a co-pastor was to him highly distasteful. ' If,' he said, ' two ride on horseback, one must ride behind.' The reply to which was very simple, namely, that as to a co-pastor or CARTE, JAY, KEMBLE. 211 Charles Kemble was born in 1819. His father and grand- father were opulent tea merchants in London. His father died when he was six weeks old leaving no other child. For a long time it was doubtful whether he could be reared, so delicate were his infancy and childhood. But first the care of a judicious mother, then the wise training of grandfather and uncles, brought him up. He always spoke of his grandfather very gratefully, attributing to his influence the business habits he found so useful in after life. Not these, however, nor yet the prospect of considerable wealth, fixed young Kemble's destination. His strength of assistant there could never arise a dispute as to which place Mr. Jay was to occupy. The end was that during the closing years of his ministry he had the aid of a coadjutor of singular eminence, in the person of Eobert Alfred Yaughan, a man of great accomplishments. Mr. Yanghan came to Bath in 1848, and re- moved to Birmingham in October, 1850, where he remained until 1855. He died in 1857, too soon for the church of which he was one of the brightest and most gifted ministers ; and for literature, on which he left the impress of his power and learning in various essays, and in that remarkable work, Hours with the Mystics. His sermons were full of exquisite thoughts, showing deep reading and immense diligence. We believe that Mr. Jay, before he died, was brought by reflection and by what he discerned around him, to believe that something more than praying and preaching were indispensible in a pastor ; that a knowledge of his people, of their thoughts, and habits, and personal lives was needful, and that it was desirable to meet and see them in their homes as well as in his chapel. This he did not do, and the fault was not all his own. He had grown up with j\ system which did not insist so much upon pastoral care and general regard for the flock, as upon pulpit exhortations and long prayers." 212 FOUR DIVINES HALES, character and religious convictions made him resolve to devote himself to the ministry of the Church of England. His mother, still anxious about his health, accompanied him to Oxford, where he passed through the usual course until his ordination in 1842. His first settlement was as curate at Stockwell in a new church without a district. Soon after- wards the incumbent resigned and he succeeded him, forming with judgment and carrying out with energy various plans. For the rapidly increasing population he obtained a new parish consisting of part of Lambeth and containing 7,000 people. He also immediately built schools for 400 children at the part of the parish farthest from the church and provided Sunday services for the parents. On another large work in Stockwell Mr. Kemble soon fixed his heart a second church. Governed by no sectarian feeling, but by earnest interest in the spiritual condition of his fellow creatures, he erected the needed building at his sole cost. He was thus engaged when Mr. Simeon's Trustees made him the offer of the Rectory of Bath. Strong as the ties were which bound him to Stockwell after seventeen years of constant work, he yet felt it right to accept the invitation. Here he commenced another service of fifteen years, and continued it with the same fidelity and large heartedness which he had always shown. Removing in 1859 he found three objects to be carried out if possible. (1) The separation of St. James's Parish from the Abbey Parish, (3) the restoration of the Abbey Church with more space for worshippers, and (3) the re- building of the National Schools. The first was accomplished, and an income of J&3GO with a house provided for the vicar of St. James's. The rebuilding of the schools had to be given up, partly in consequence of the establishment of a School Board. But the restoration of CARTE, JAY, KEMBLE. 213 the Abbey arid the blending of the nave with the choir were carried out with great vigour. Besides substantial repairs of considerable magnitude, it was deemed right to undertake ornamental works appropriate to the dignity and importance of the edifice. The beautiful groined ceiling of Bath stone, the east and other windows, Prior Bird's elegant little chapel, the reredos, all testify to the spirit which characterised the plans. From the beginning Mr. Kemble was cordially aided by an energetic committee and the support of the city generally. It was felt that no sectarian or political differences should prevent a united effort for doing what was needed to such a fine old, historic, national monument. On the seventh of May, 1864, at the first public meeting called on the subject, the Bishop of the Diocese presided, the Mayor of Bath, a Nonconformist, moved the first resolution, which was seconded by the Rector, and the entire proceedings were in all respects worthy of the occasion. The total cost exceeded 30,000, about one-third being provided by Mr. Kemble and his family, the remainder by public subscription. The fine coloured window in the transept was put up at the expense of Mrs. Elliott, who also paid for the restoration of Bishop Montague's tomb. The east window originated with the Bath Literary Club, one of whose members collected from comparatively few friends the amount of the cost, about thirteen hundred pounds. Nearly ten years passed before the Restoration was completed. Through the whole time neither Mr. Kemble's energy nor generosity ever flagged. He attended to all the details with the committee, meeting any pecuniary difficulty arising from unexpected wants and encouraging public efforts by his munificent example. Nor did this engrossing occupation preclude his discharge of many other duties ; his functions as Rector of the parish, the Royal United Hospital, 214 FOUR DIVINES HALES, CARTE, JAY, KEMBLE. of which he was President several years, the Mineral Water Hospital, where he filled the office one year, and long acted as Governor, the Victoria Park Committee, the School Board and other institutions had the benefit of his unremitting service. Amid so many engagements in the year 1873, illness arrested him. He had lately completed a new edition of a Hymn Book which he originally compiled before coming to Bath. An attack of bronchitis was followed by symptoms of heart disease which laid him aside for some time. At length in August, 1874, the summons came ; it found him ready ; the flame of life flickered a few weeks and all was over. He was buried in the Abbey Cemetery with every mark of respect from the ministers of all denominations, the Corporation of the city and the people at large. BISHOP BAINES AND BISHOP CLIFFORD. 215 CHAPTER XXI. BISHOP BAINES AND BISHOP CLIFFORD. It may have been obvious that the reputation of nearly all the eminent men of whom I have written has not been merely local. Their names if not their works, their positions if not their histories have been well known to a considerable extent, thereby increasing their claim to grateful local remembrance. This was the case especially with the two prelates whose histories have been selected for the present chapter. Closely connected with Bath by official ties they were heard of and respected in distant countries while their own sympathies had a range of corresponding extent. It is impossible to write of such men without remembering this leading characteristic of the Catholic Church. Macaulay, fifty years ago, said that " the members of her communion were certainly not fewer than a hundred and fifty millions, whereas all the other Christian sects united scarcely amounted to a hundred and twenty millions." Probably in the interval the proportion has become still more favourable on the Catholic side ; at all events there is, happily, a growing disposition to regard not only numbers but great antiquity, marvellous vitality and undoubted practical usefulness as reasons for deep interest in one of the foremost religious agencies of the world. The preceding chapter of divines, short as it is, illustrates the variety of the human mind. Hales was a broad Church- man, so broad that, though his learning and ability would have given him high station, he declined all preferment. Carte was a high Anglican, so high that the Government of 216 BISHOP BAINES AND the day ordered him to be arrested for treason and he, while still a clergyman, refused to wear clerical habits. Jay was a Nonconformist, relying for means of usefulness in the world, neither on ordained sacramental observances nor any other obedience to state requirements, but on simple, powerful, practical preaching, such as would affect the conscience and daily life. Kemble, a clergyman of the Established Church, but in sympathy with all sincere Christians, devoted himself and his opportunities to the right preservation of a noble historic religious edifice and to general means of doing good in the city where his lot was cast. After saying what has to be said of Bishop Baines and Bishop Clifford I propose to introduce notices of two other members of the clerical pro- fession, Mr. Warner and Mr. Hunter, who being chiefly remarkable for public services outside the lines of that pro- fession, and perhaps differing from all the others in some respects on religious matters, are additional instances of the prevailing variety of human thought. Peter Augustine Baines was born in 1786 at Pear Tree Farm, near Liverpool. In 1798 he- quitted his home with three brothers to study divinity in Hanover. It was at the English Benedictine Abbey of Lambspring, but in about four years his studies were interrupted, the property suffering the fate of war, being seized by the Prussian Govern- ment. The students were scattered, and Baines, returning to England, joined a mission near York connected with the Benedictine College of St. Lawrence, Ampleforth. When he had passed through the usual gradations to the priesthood and occupied fourteen years as a teacher in the college he was selected to take charge of the mission at Bath, where his exceptional gifts were fully recognised. The author of the memoir in the Dictionary of National Biography says BISHOP CLIFFORD. 217 " he was conspicuous for his eloquence as a preacher, his vigour as a controversialist, and above all the charm and dignity of his personal bearing." Six years afterwards Dr. Baines was consecrated as a bishop, still continuing his work in Bath. Soon, however, he fell into serious ill-health, and being advised to travel, visited Rome with a few friends, who kindly accompanied him. " He came," says Cardinal Wiseman, in the fascinating chapter on Leo XII in his Recollections of the last four Popes, " with an interior abscess working on an enfeebled frame, hoping that change of climate might do more than medicines or their administrators. He was not disappointed ; the mild climate, the interesting recreation, and perhaps still more, the rest from the labour and excitement in which he had lived wrought a visible change for the better ere the return of spring. A delightful summer spent between Assisi and Porto di Fermo completely re-established the health which he had travelled to seek." One advantage of this visit was an intimate acquaintance with the reigning pontiff Leo XII, who was much interested in him, not only on account of his social qualities and great abilities, but as a member of the Benedic- tine brotherhood to which Leo himself belonged, and whose interests he had much at heart. Cardinal Wiseman's further account of the steps by which Bishop Baines gained celebrity, as well as of some striking personal characteristics must form part of this sketch : " By degrees the reputation which he had acquired in England began to spread in Rome ; several noble families in which he had been intimate at home were in Rome, and gave many others the opportunity of becoming acquainted with him ; and he had a power of fascinating all who approached him, in spite of a decided tone and manner which made it difficult to differ from him in 218 BISHOP BAINES AND opinion. He had sometimes original views upon a certain class of subjects ; but on every topic he had a command of language, and a clear manner of expressing his sentiments, which commanded attention, and generally won assent. Unfortunately, this proved to him a dangerous gift. When he undertook great and magni- ficent works, he would stand alone : assent to his plans was a condition of being near him ; any one that did not agree, or that ventured to suggest deliberation, or provoke discussion, was easily put aside ; he isolated himself with his own genius ; he had no counsellor but himself; and he who had, at one time, surrounded himself with men of learning, of prudence, and of devotedness to him, found himself at last almost alone, and fretted a noble heart to a solitary death. " At the period, however, to which this chapter belongs, these faults could scarcely show themselves to any great disparagement of his higher and better powers. In the course of the ensuing winter he was able, though contrary to the opinion of his friends, to appear in the English pulpit, which, as we shall see, Leo XII opened in Rome. The church, which was nearly empty when preachers of inferior mark occupied it, was crowded when Bishop Baines was announced as the orator. Many people will remember him. He was happiest in his unwritten discourses. The flow of his words was easy and copious, his imagery was often very elegant, and his discourses were replete with thought and solid matter. But his great power was in his delivery, in voice, in tone, in look, and gesture. His whole manner was full of pathos, sometimes more even than the matter justified ; there was a peculiar tremu- lousness of voice, which gave his words more than double effect, notwithstanding the drawback of a provincial accent, and occasional dramatic pronunciations. In spite of such defects, he was considered, by all that heard him, one of the most eloquent and earnest preachers they had ever attended." It is not surprising that in these circumstances Dr. Baines BISHOP CLIFFORD. 219 was destined by Leo XII to be the first English cardinal. The fact that they were both Benedictines influenced the Pontiff who told Monsignor Nicolai that he had been " looking around for a member of the order on whom to bestow the hat of restitution.'' With this view Leo, having made suitable inquiries as to fitness in various respects, desired that as a preparatory step Baines should remove from his private apartments in Rome to the Benedictine monastery of San Callisto and wear the Episcopal habit of his order. Cardinal Wiseman states he was assured on good authority that this having been done the Pope renewed the offer but it was declined ; why, we are not told ; only that " the bishop would have been made a cardinal not on national grounds but as a Benedictine, though the thought of travelling so far for a fitting recipient of the dignity was generous and broad and undoubtedly formed the basis of th nomination of an English cardinalite in the ensuing Pontificate." In one of the passages I have quoted referring to " magnificent works " there is probably an allusion to the great enterprise of Prior Park in which certainly courage may have been more conspicuous than prudence. What was accomplished there, however the purchase of the estate, said to have been the noblest day-dream of his life and the establishment of the college, for which a want had long existed, amply confirms Dr. Wiseman's statement as to the influence the Bishop had acquired by his abilities and high character. The titled and wealthy Catholics of England saw in him no common man ; they believed him capable of doing much to restore their church to what they conceived to be its right position in the country ; and if a Protestant like Macaulay could be so deeply impressed with the vital power 220 BISHOP BAINES AND of that church as to write the celebrated eulogy, in which he states that " the proudest royal houses are but of yesterday when compared with the line of the Supreme Pontiffs," can it be wondered that noblemen and gentlemen should gladly support one of their prelates whose aspirations were so high ? Hence on returning from Rome after the death of Bishop Collingridge, whose coadjutor he had been at Bath, hastening back, we are told, with the added responsibility of Vicar Apostolic of the Western district, he proceeded to carry out his plans as to Prior Park. The new buildings arose ; the college succeeded, at least for a time ; men who attained much eminence were trained in it ; the indefatigable bishop continued to preach in Bath with his accustomed eloquence and gathered around him occasionally at Prior Park the friends of the students and the elite of Bath. But all that had been done caused a load of anxieties and obligations which oppressed him till the close of his life " fretting a noble heart to a solitary death." This came with unexpected suddenness in 1843 at the age of fifty-seven. Very numerous were the testimonies of respect and affection. At the lying in state upwards of thirteen thousand persons passed round the catafalque. Besides the memory of his great personal services he left numerous controversial writings, pastorals and lectures. He was interested in art and much as beloved Italy he had a great admiration of the city and scenery of Bath. I remember standing with him in the portico of Prior Park when, looking at the varied landscape stretched out before us, the richly covered hills, the city embosomed among them, the Avon winding peacefully for many a mile, he said "I know nothing more beautiful in Italy or anywhere." BISHOP CLIFFORD. 221 Prior Park is so often mentioned that I add a few particu- lars. The following description appeared lately in a London morning paper : " Prior Park is situated at the head of a long, well-wooded vale on a brow which commands a beautiful view. It derives its name from the fact that it once belonged to the priors of Bath Abbey. The original house as it now stands was built by Wood for Ralph Allen, who was the original of Fielding's Allworthy in Tom Jones. It is a handsome Palladian structure with a central portico, two large wings and connecting arcades ranged in a semi-circle. The front descends in terraces to a stream and pool, which are spanned by a bridge, built in the form of a temple. The house is built of Bath stone, darkened by time, and the effect of the pillared front and the porticoed entrance is very fine. It came to the Roman Catholic Church by gift, and is now used as a residence for the Bishop of Clifton, and a college for the education of aspirants to Roman Catholic orders." To this I subjoin a short history of the property. It belonged to the ancient monastery and included on that side of Bath three Combes, Widecombe, Lyncombe, or the Watery Valley, and Smallcombe in the Parish of Bath wick. Ralph Allen's purchase was a portion of the Widecombe, adjoining his stone quarries, where the Prior of the Monastery had possessed a park which supplied it with venison, and a grange or farm with the usual produce for such an establishment. This portion was called the Prior Park estate after the dissolution in the time of Henry VIII, when it was purchased by Humphrey Colles, then transferred to Matthew Colthurst, and ultimately to Fulke Morley from whom it descended by kinship to the Duke of Kingston. From him it devolved through the female line to the Meadows family, who assumed the name of Pierrepont, the head of which family was created Earl Manvers. 222 BISHOP BAINES AND Allen acquired the estate in the full tide of his prosperity. He wanted a house corresponding to it, but he also wanted to show what effect could be produced by the stone from his adjoining quarries. It has been stated in the Memoir of Allen that after the death of Bishop Warburton in 177D, Lord Hawardenwho married Allen's niece succeeded to the property and lived there till he was followed by his son who died without issue in 1807, when the connection of Prior Park with the Allen family ceased. The house was afterwards void or had only occasional tenants until 1817. Then Mr. Thomas, a Bristol merchant, came and remained nine years. In 1827 Bishop Baines was placed in possession, very much as the result of the great efforts made by himself to buy the property for a high-class educational establishment. Two wings were built for distinct classes of students, and called respectively St. Peter's and St. Paul's College. Great spirit was thrown into the undertaking, and for some time the prospects were encouraging, but at length heavy clouds intervened, the expenses could not be sustained, the college was broken up and the estate let A succession of tenants occupied it for some years, the longest being Mr. Thompson, a Nonconformist gentleman from a distance, who became a member of the Bath Corporation. In 1856 it was again vacant, and bought by Bishop Clifford, a most generous effort for the revival of a thoroughly efficient Catholic College. From the additions and improvements which have been made in the interval, now thirty-seven years, it may be inferred that there has been a fair amount of success. Two elements have certainly not been wanting : unceasing interest on the part of the noble-minded prelate who accomplished the purchase and the high character of successive presidents and assistants. If Bishop Baines was instrumental in adding BISHOP CLIFFORD. 223 considerably to the original structure of Ralph Allen the wings and arcades for the college and the commencement of a beautiful chapel, Bishop Clifford caused a completion of much that was unfinished and infused from year to year a spirit of the greatest value. It is probable that exaggerated ideas prevail as to 'the mansion. Handsome as it is externally the interior is far from being what might be supposed. Wood is said to have been much more particular about accommodation for the horses for the establishment than for the inmates of the house. Allen, though in some respects unassuming, was fond of state ; his horses were richly caparisoned and he seldom drove with less than four. It was one of the follies of the times promoted by the man whom the Corporation was so weak as to consider King of Bath. And while Wood did not give his employer a single good room in the centre of the house his care for the horses and even for the pigeons and poultry was excessive. Still the sight of the noble facade, with its magnificent flight o steps and the other architectural surroundings, adorned as they all are by luxuriant vegetation, are worth a long journey to see and will always form one of the greatest attractions of Bath. BISHOP CLIFFORD. While these pages are passing through the Press, I hear of the death of this distinguished prelate. Although Clifton was his habitual place of residence he spent much time at Prior Park, and his intimate connection with it would alone justify a tribute to his memory here. But he was also well known in Bath, much interested in its various scientific societies and especially useful in throwing light on doubtful questions relating to its Roman antiquities and other matters of local history. 224 BISHOP BAINES AND The Athenwum justly says that Bishop Clifford was in many ways an uncommon man ; by descent indeed almost a curiosity. He was the second son of the seventh Baron Clifford, of Chudleigh who married the daughter of Thomas Wild who, being left a widower, took orders in the Church of Rome and eventually received a Cardinal's hat. Hugh Clifford was thus the extraordinary instance of a Cardinal's grandson, and there is reason to believe that had he lived a little longer he would have enjoyed the dignity conferred on Dr. Wild. So long ago as the early fifties Dr. Oliver in his Collection illustrating the history of the Catholic Churches in the West of England, predicted that Dr. Clifford would become a prominent character in the community. He received part of his early education at Prior Park, at the time when Bishop Baines lived at the mansion, and he was in constant intercourse with him until his death. The next resident prelate was Archbishop Errington, with whom he had the warmest friendship, as is shewn by the desire to be interred by his side in the corridor adjoining the college chapel. Bishop Clifford's love for Prior Park, begun in early life, continued to the end. He was accustomed to say that wherever he was, through the long period of sixty years, no place had greater charms for him. In addition to the surpassing beauty of the landscape and the historic associations, which no one could appreciate better than him- self, there would be his attachment to successive heads of the college, men of no ordinary intellectual and religious worth. Great therefore must have been his sorrow when, in 1856, the vicissitudes came which broke up the college and deprived the catholics of the beautiful estate. But great also were his courage and energy, when, after the changes of nine years, he obtained funds for buying back the property and BISHOP CLIFFORD. 225 re-establishing a high class seminary. Mention was made of his efforts by Dr. Hedley, Bishop of Newport, in his sermon at the Mass prior to the interment. " No one," he said, " could tell how generous and large hearted the deceased prelate was ; no one would ever know how much the place where they were assembled owed to him." As one of the audience I felt indeed it was only necessary to look around on the rows of noble pillars, the ceiling, the windows and other accessories, all in the exquisite style and proportions of an Italian cathedral, to feel the force of the preacher's remark. And while this was evidence of the care, skill and cost with which additions had been made through successive decades, thoughts would crowd upon the mind of the constant care for the educational objects of the establishment and of the love which every member of it cherished for the benefactor. The contiguity of Clifton made Dr. Clifford's frequent visits to Bath easy. And here a large circle of friends were always glad to welcome so genial and accomplished a visitor. Apart from his episcopal duties many objects of interest in the city had a share of his regard, especially the antiquities, on which he occasionally gave lectures at the Institution. It would be easily imagined by all who knew the tendency of his mind and his intimate knowledge of Rome that the uncovering and development of the magnificent baths within his diocese would be watched by him with peculiar pleasure. On this and other kindred subjects he was always regarded as an authority by the various archa3ological societies with which he was connected at Bath and Bristol and in the counties of the district, while his charming simplicity of style and manner attracted all sects and parties and led to the formation of many friendships. But every one knew that it was to the church of his fathers his most ardent affection and constant P BISHOP BAINES AND service were given. Year by year it was seen how buildings arose, institutions multiplied, congregations increased, under the fostering care of the indefatigable bishop. Yet preaching was not amongst his accomplishments, in consequence of a slight physical hesitancy. His eminence in the church, how- ever, caused him to be selected for the sermon at the funeral of his intimate friend Cardinal Newman. Few dignitaries were better known in Rome ; he had the rare privilege of being consecrated to his bishopric at the Vatican ; with Pius IX he appears to have been for a long time a special favourite, and that Leo XIII had sincere regard for him is said to have been shewn by a willingness to give him the post of English adviser when Cardinal Howard left Home. This would have been unwelcome to him in consequence of the strong ties of Clifton and Prior Park. One reason for the Pope's desire to have such an adviser would probably be his thorough knowledge and excellent pronunciation of the Italian language. It has been even said that Bishop Clifford could preach well in Italian though not in English. It should be gratefully remembered that the strong religious affections which have been mentioned were combined with much independence of character. Dr. Hedley mentioned this in his eloquent sermon with reference to Dr. Clifford's objection to the celebrated dogma of the immaculate con- ception for which the Pope required the acceptance of the Church. The preacher attributed the objection to a broad- mindedness acquired by Roman experiences, to mingling with the most learned theologians and men of the widest intellects, and to constant contact with the great stream of Catholic thought. " The Catholic Church," said Dr. Hedley, " though an immutable Church was not silent and dead, like some stony sphinx of the Egyptian desert silted up by the BISHOP CLIFFORD. 227 sand of ages ; no, her immutability was the accompaniment of perpetual life." "Dr. Clifford," he continued, "recognised this, and saw that, unalterable as the Church was, there was nevertheless in her the development of leaf and the bursting of flower from year to year and century to century." Another writer remarks that " he aimed at leading his flock by gentle suasion and high example rather than by enforcing blind obedience to the voice of authority. Prior Park had seen many remarkable gatherings. States- men, Philosophers and Philanthropists had often met there in genial conclave. But never probably within that beautiful pile of buildings had there been such a grand and solemn spectacle as on Friday, the eighteenth of August. The preceding circumstances had touched many a chord of loving sympathy. It was known how the good Bishop had gone on with his work until he had found it necessary to submit to an operation. It was known bow he wished for it to be performed in the quiet of Prior Park with the aid of his personal medical attendant, Mr. King. It was known how a London specialist had been so successful that strong hopes of recovery were entertained, but how in a few sad days other symptoms appeared, and, after the last solemn ceremonies, the patient sank to rest. And thus were brought together from Bath and Clifton and Bristol and all the country round that large sympathising congregation. Those who were present will long remember the solemn dirges, the array of dignitaries, the eloquent sermon, the universal sorrow ; and many must have returned home thankful for having known so good a man. Writing on the fit association of the names of Oliver and Clifford as " antiquaries both born and made " the Athenaeum adds : " If archaeology was a pastime to Clifford, it was at the same time a serious study. In Wilts and Somerset he brought much 228 BISHOP UAINES AND BISHOP CLIFFORD. research to investigations in local topography, especially as to the sites of battles between King Alfred and the Danes. He was an enthusiastic member of the archaeological societies of Somersetshire and Gloucestershire ; but beyond a few papers read at the meetings of these and similar societies, he has left no written records of his opinions and researches. Few modern bishops have produced less ' copy ' of any kind. He fought shy, if he could, of that sort of extended ' imprimatur,' in the form of an episcopal preface to a pious volume, which the modern Roman Catholic author appears hardly to be happy without. When religious controversies raged, Bishop Clifford seldom ranged himself as a champion of the opinions he was well fitted by his sense of courtesy and toleration to defend with effect. In 1874, when he published a reply to Mr. Gladstone's anti- Vatican pamphlets, he did so in the form of one of the pastorals which every Roman Catholic bishop is expected to address to his flock at stated seasons of the ecclesiastical year ; and this, perhaps, will remain as a standard little treatise on the civil allegiance of the spiritual subjects of the Pope." An annotation by the Rev. J. Hunter refers to another Roman Catholic Bishop in Bath who deserves to be remem- bered, Dr. Walmesley. Mr. Hunter had written of Sir W. Herschel as having done much to strengthen the connection of science with the city and adds : " The only other resident of Bath contemporary with Herschel who can be singled out as likely to have encouraged and assisted him, as far as I am informed, is Dr. Walmesley, a Roman Catholic Bishop and vicar of the western district, who lived much in Bath, and died there in 1797. His house was destroyed in the riots of 1780. He is said by Roman Catholic writers to have been ' very eminent as a mathematician and astronomer.' He was also a theological writer ; as was his successor, Dr. Baines, the first superior of the great establishment at Prior Park." ARCHBISHOP MAGEE. 229 CHAPTER XXII. ARCHBISHOP MAGEE. From time to time clergymen of the Church of England and ministers of various denominations in Bath have been celebrated for preaching power, but probably none more than William Connor Magee. On the platform also as well as in the pulpit few, if any, excelled him in impressing, usefully and permanently, the minds and hearts of those whom he addressed. Thoughtful, earnest, fearless, unconventional, he was also painstaking ; he spared no labour in being well prepared for what he had to say ; though his delivery had at the same time the charm of true eloquence. In an article on his death the Times remarked that Magee was "not born in the purple/' But the social position of his family was good, and early influences may account for much in his character. His grandfather, who, after being Bishop of Raphoe, became Archbishop of Dublin, was of much repute for " evangelical " orthodoxy. His father was vicar of Drogheda, he himself being educated at Trinity College, Dublin, where he made his mark both as a scholar and debater. After his ordination he officiated for a time in a Dublin parish, but being obliged to travel for his health he spent two years in Malaga, and on his return in 1847 accepted the curacy of St. Saviour's, in Bath. In 1850 he obtained the incumbency of the Octagon Chapel, where Herschel had been organist seventy years before, and where a fashionable congregation with strong "evangelical" proclivities now assembled. Although Magee's bias was then quite in the same direction his preaching was sometimes in a strain to which his hearers 230 ARCHBISHOP MAGEE. were unaccustomed, and a few of them quitted the chapel. The incident on his part was one of those indications of mental independence which characterised his life in all its future stages ; he thought for himself and acted accordingly. Year by year as he became better known in Bath his popularity and influence increased, so that not only as a preacher but as a platform orator, not only in the city which admired his eloquence but through a large sphere beyond it, he gained much repute. In the Bath Chronicle of the two weeks succeeding that of his death there were articles by Mr. Peach entitled " Recollections of Archbishop Magee," with some striking instances of the effects produced by his speeches. Of the exciting questions of the day three are particularly mentioned Table-turning, Sabbath Observance and Disestablishment. On the last, the orator spoke at a great meeting for two hours in answer to the arguments of the Liberation Society. His speech passed through many editions, and so great was the demand that two hundred and forty five members of Parliament sent to the local publisher for copies. Thus it was not surprising that Dr. Magee was induced to remove to London. In I860 he succeeded Dr. Goulburn as minister of Quebec Chapel. . Six months later he was pre- sented to the rectory of Enniskillen. In 1868 he became Dean of Cork, Donnellan Lecturer at the University of Dublin, and Dean of the Chapel Royal at Dublin. In 1868 he was made Bishop of Peterborough. Before his removal to Ireland he gained much renown as a preacher before select congrega- tions at Oxford, Cambridge and the Chapel Royal of London, also before large masses of people at the special services at St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey. " Wherever he went," says the Times, " he pondered well the subject of his sermon, ARCHBISHOP MAGEE. 231 never trusting wholly to inspiration, but drawing up full notes, in some cases learning his sermons by heart and preaching them as though extempore. His doctrine was of the sort that pleases most Englishmen, going on broad lines, though it is not to be denied that it changed somewhat with the church fashions of the age, so that it might be said of him as of some other prelates, that rising in his profession he became higher in more senses than one." " In one thing," the Times adds, " Dr. Magee never changed ; he remained courageous in advancing unconventional opinions which were intended to shock prejudices that he loathed and cant which he held in equal abhorrence. He was once asked to interest himself in a carpenter's son who was doing well at a small school, and whom it was proposed to send to a University. ' Let him first graduate as a good carpenter.' answered Magee, ' what becomes of your boasted concern for the welfare of the working classes if you lift a man out of those classes as soon as he shows brains." " Though this may be mentioned as a proof of rather brusque unconventionalism it surely cannot be quoted as a conclusive argument. There may be many carpenters with brains who are amply equipped for that calling, but few who could become statesmen or archbishops. Why should the few fail to have the chance of rising, not for their own sakes only but for the public weal ? Even a sketch of Dr. Magee would be insufficient if it failed to notice his published works. They consist largely of speeches and single sermons on subjects of public interest, which ensured a ready sale. Few orators find themselves so famous as to hear that so many members of Parliament had sent for a speech as soon as it was published. Much in demand also were the successive volumes of sermons preached in Bath at St. Saviour's Church and the Octagon Chapel ; 232 ARCHBISHOP MAGEE. they passed through several editions rapidly, and soon became out of print. The author of the articles in the Chronicle, to which reference has been made, states that the Bishop declined to have them reprinted because they presented his immature convictions ; but many of his former hearers still value them for their depth of thought, striking language, and practical power. The same author remarks, however, that these sermons if compared with a subsequent volume, The Gospel and the Age, would be found not only different in style but in essential points of doctrine. This also, he adds, may be said of the sermons delivered at the Dublin Church Congress, when Dr. Magee was president as Dean of Cork, The Breaking Net, and Rebuilding of the Walls. Of a sermon preached before the British Association at Norwich in 1868, which the present writer had the privilege of hearing, Charles Kingsley said, "It was the most glorious piece of eloquence I ever heard." The great preacher gratified his Bath friends by a visit to that city as Dean of Cork, for the meeting of the Association in 1 864. Among his earlier works was an interesting life of his friend, the Rev. E. Tottenham, for some years a popular evangelical clergyman in Bath. Another may be specially mentioned : A sermon preached at Bath in 1853, Talking to Tables a Great Folly o?' a Great Sin. Auricular Confession was the subject first of a lecture in Bath, afterwards of a speech in London, both published in 1852. A local periodical, Northamptonshire Notes and Queries, gave, after the Bishop's death, a list of sixty-five works issued during his life, some of them pamphlets, others substantial volumes, many having reached second and third editions. In a memoir prefixed to this list it is remarked that one great characteristic of Dr. Magee was that of a Church Reformer. " In his diocese he put his finger on ARCHBISHOP MAGEE. 23$ abuses and abolished them. He never flinched from speak- ing out plainly and loudly when there was reason for it. As a matter of fact he had a real Irish delight in a contest, enjoying a tilt with popular fallacies and common heterodoxy." The appointment of Dr. Magee to the See of Peterborough in 1868 was advised by Mr. Disraeli. When asked what he most admired in the preacher, the Premier, who had possibly not often heard his sermons, answered, " He is persuasive." The Times remarked, " That was true, but it might perhaps have been truer to say he is disconcerting. He shed new lights so suddenly and vividly on a question that his hearers were frequently taken aback and confessed to themselves that had they seen the matter in this way they would have acted differently. So when politicians were annoyed by the Bishop's exposure of what was bad in their measures they were not necessarily persuaded that those measures ought to be abandoned." With reference to his oratory in the House of Lords the same writer says, " The Archbishop's versatility was the product of a lively Irish character and of a highly trained intellect. He was heard at his best in the Session of 1883, when, speaking on the Cathedral Bill he described with exuberant sarcasm the position of Churchmen unable to remove the abuses of their Church because of Nonconformist or Agnostic enemies who were interested in letting these excrescences grow as germs of a mortal disease. He told the Government that they would not dare to introduce any measure of Church Reform for fear of irritating their great backbone, and he caused general amusement by sketching the probable fate of a Church Bill struggling through the House of Commons amidst amendments moved by certain Irish members. Bishops are not accustomed to speak with such elaborate playfulness as Dr. Magee used on this occasion, 234 ARCHBISHOP MAGEE. nor would many of their right reverend lordships be able to match their late colleague's irresistible manner if they tried to do so. With his large mouth, shaggy eyebrows and twinkling eyes ; with his expressive wags of the head and his quick, forcible gestures ; with his droll sallies and occasional outbursts of strong emotion he always compelled attention." Eminent as Dr. Magee was in the House of Lords he never considered that his chief duty was there. He looked upon the administration of his diocese, and even the work to be done in Convocation, as having stronger claims upon him. Still, there can be no doubt that the public came to know him best by what he did and said in the Upper House, and one of his sons has furnished means of increasing the knowledge by a volume of speeches. The first was on the Irish Church Bill in 1 869 ; the last on the Children's Life Insurance Bill in 1890 ; the chief intermediate subjects being Temperance, Education, Disestablishment, Church Patronage, Cruelty to Animals, the Cathedral Statutes, and the Discipline of the Clergy. To the fact that he was always heard with great interest, and generally with great admiration, there was universal testimony at the time of his death. The journal I have already quoted states justly, " If others surpassed him in erudition and the technique of the theologian, he stood above them all in the sagacity of the statesman. Dr. Magee never took a narrow or professionally clerical view of any public question. Much as his eloquence and wit were appreciated by all classes, for he was equally a favourite with popular audiences and with the elite of London society, there was something more highly prized by those who loved him best and honoured him most. It was the assurance that he would bring to bear upon whatever subject he had to discuss the powers of a strong and supple intellect working with a ARCHBISHOP MAGEE. 235 manly freedom from sectional prejudices, and apply to the complex problems of daily life, not cut and dried formulas, but an elevated and enlightened common sense." This was notably illustrated by his treatment of one of the great questions of the day. He would never consent to treat Disestablishment as fatal to the interests of religion. Both as Priest and Bishop he always fought against the idea that the vitality of the Church of England would be impaired by severing its connection with the State. " He thought the connection good for the State, but he was earnest in advising that Churchmen should face the possibility of Disestablish- ment, and be prepared to make such a measure, if it came, turn to the benefit of the Church. He never quite forgave Mr. Disraeli for having made his Cardinal Grandison, in Lothair, sneer at the establishment as a Parliamentary Church ; the words seemed to him to reflect the writer's own private opinions those of a Gallic who cared not much for churches save in their political uses." Equally independent, perhaps beyond the verge of prudence, was the Bishop on the Temperance question. True he contended that he had been misunderstood with regard to his memorable saying, "I would rather see England free than sober." Still on various occasions he showed he believed that " common sense " was set at nought ; he believed that a good principle was worked in the wrong way, worked so as in some cases to produce evil results. At all events he would not conceal what he felt. A curate in his diocese appeared before him wearing a blue riband in his button-hole. " I suppose you have reflected," said the Bishop, " that if you are respected in your parish you need not sport any emblem to advertise your character as a temperance man ; whereas if you are not respected this piece of blue would only remind people of the Pharisee and 236 ARCHBISHOP MAGEE. the phylactery." To a lady wearing the same badge he addressed a similar remonstrance, advising her to discard superfluous finery. In these instances, as in that of the carpenter's son already mentioned, the reasoning may not be conclusive ; there may be, many think there is, a good argument for the temperance badge in the necessity of testifying against a fearful and destructive evil, but what the Bishop said was in harmony with his general character for mental independence and should be viewed in that light. On the death of Archbishop Thompson it was Lord Salisbury's turn to advise the promotion of Dr. Magee. Besides the obvious fact of eminent intellectual fitness there was that of similarity of theological and ecclesiastical opinions. It was justly said there were only two objections the advanced age and the feeble health of the successor, but it was re- membered that many bishops had done and were doing vigorous work after they had reached threescore and ten, also that Dr Magee had apparently gained strength since a recent illness. So he entered on his new duties amid general congratulations and was enthroned in March, 1891. But he only lived long enough to show that he wished the line of duty which had won so much regard in the diocese of Peterborough and in public assemblies still to animate him. He presided at a meeting of the Convocation of the Northern Province when he explained and justified the Clergy Discipline Bill ; he was publicly received at Hull, Beverley, and elsewhere as he settled down to his allotted work, and he made preparation for continuing in the House of Lords his efforts with regard to the painful subject of " Children's Life Insurance." For the last object he went to London in April to preside over the committee of the Bill in Parliament, leaving his family at Bishopsthorpe suffering from influenza, then ARCHBISHOP MAGEE. 237 prevailing in all directions. Soon after his arrival in town the malady attacked himself : Sir Andrew Clarke and Dr. Walker, of Peterborough, did all they could, but in vain ; day by day for a fortnight the patient became worse, and then bronchitis, accompanied by inflammation of the lungs, extinguished all hope. Forseeing the result he insisted on resigning the chairmanship of the Lord's Committee, but retained to the last his strong interest in the benevolent measure he had advocated so well. The death-bed was surrounded by Mrs. Magee and his sons and daughters, who had recovered sufficiently, some to nurse him the last few days and all to pay the final tribute of love. It can be imagined how deep was the sorrow everywhere when the tidings became known, especially in the places which knew him best ; in York as soon as the great bell of the grand old Minster proclaimed the loss the diocese had sustained ; in Peterborough where he had gained the warm regard of all classes, parties and denominations ; in Dnblin which cherished the recollection of his early life and was proud of him for his personal work as well as his intellectual greatness ; and why should I not add in Bath, for though thirty years had passed since his work here had ceased, many remained who felt they had lost one who had been to them a wise teacher and a valued friend. And as this sketch has been written because Dr. Magee ranks among the Celebrities of our city, I venture to mention a somewhat personal incident. At the time of his elevation to the archbishopric I happened to be Mayor of Bath, and knowing the feeling of many citizens on the subject, I prepared an address of congratulation and invited signatures. It seemed to me a time when any theological or political difference should be forgotten, and when men and women should be glad to unite in showing not only a grateful 238 ARCHBISHOP MAGEE. remembrance of the first fruits of ministerical life, but a sincere admiration of the qualities which had led step by step from the pulpit of the Octagon Chapel in Bath, to the throne of York Minster. My suggestion was adopted, the address was numerously signed, I sent it to the Archbishop, and received the following answer : " Bisliopsthorpe, York ; " 27th March, 1891. " My dear Mr. Mayor, It was with sincere pleasure that I received the address of congratulation from old Bath friends, at the head of which your name is placed. ",The years which I spent in Bath were among the happiest of my life, endeared to me as they were by unvarying kindness on the part of those to whom I ministered, and by many friendships never to be forgotten, though alas many of those with whom they were formed have passed away. " It was very pleasant to me to find that there are still so many left who regard with affectionate interest the career of one who for so many years was privileged to live and labour among them. Pray assure them from me how much their kind words have cheered and gratified me, and " Believe me, " My dear Mr. Mayor, " Very faithfully yours, W. C. EBOK." " Jerom Murch, Esq., " Mayor of Bath." The following letter is from a friend of the author of these Sketches who lived in Bath many years and has always been an eminent advocate of Temperance : " Dear Mr. Murch, I have been from home, and only yesterday read your very interesting paper in The Bath Herald, under " Sketches of Bath Celebrities," on Archbishop Magee. In your ARCHBISHOP MAGEE. 239 paper you make several references to his opinions and remarks on the Temperance question. You are not probably aware, or you must have forgotten that Dr. Magee was for some years a pledged abstainer. On Monday, June 18th, 1859, Dr. Magee signed the Temperance pledge, after hearing John B. Gougli deliver one of his stirring orations in the Bath Theatre, to an immense audience paying theatre prices to hear that remarkable man. " That was a memorable occasion for the Temperance movement in Bath, as well as an interesting incident in Dr. Magee's vigorous life. The fact is deeply impressed upon my memory. The Theatre was packed with nearly two thousand people, who listened with wrapt attention to the thrilling address of that remarkable man. It was my privilege to be Chairman of that meeting. Dr. Barrett, then Mayor of Bath, moved a resolution of thanks to the lecturer, which was to have been seconded by Mr. Edward Saunders, when Dr. Magee rose in the Dress Circle and asked permission to second it ; which being granted, he did in earnest and eloquent words. He afterwards came on to the stage, heartily shook hands with Mr. Gough, confessed his conversion to the Temperance principle and signed the pledge, with, I think, forty-six others, one of whom was the Rev. James Fleming, now Canon of York. '' I think it is due to Dr. Magee's memory to say that the words, ' I would rather see England free than England sober,' and which have been so much commented upon and so much misrepresented, was not said in relation to Teetotalism, but was said in regard to the ' Permissive Bill ' or < local option ' which he was urged to take up. And the clear and intended meaning of what he said was, that he would rather see England free to work out her own emancipation from the thraldom of drink by voluntary effort and moral suasion, than see her made sober by Act of Parliament or compulsion. That fully accords with his bent of mind and general teaching ; and his objection to wearing the badge of blue was not an indication of his repugnance to, or 240 ARCHBISHOP MAGEE. dislike of total abstinence, but an objection to parading it outwardly before the world a feeling very much participated in by many of the oldest and staunchest Temperance reformers. " Knowing how fair you are in your criticisms, I thought it right to trouble you with these remarks as to one phase of that remarkable man's life and teaching. " I remain, dear Mr. Murch, " Sincerely yours, "B. P. EDWARDS." " Hadleigh House, Hammersmith, W. ; "May 1st, 1893." Honourable mention is made of Dr. Magee's eloquence in the House of Lords in a recent article in the Daily News on the oratory of that Assembly, which the writer thinks worthy of great praise when called forth on great occasions. . After eulogising especially Lords Lyndhurst, Ellenborough, and Derby of past times, and the Duke of Argyll, Lord Salisbury and Lord Rosebery of the present day, he adds : " Perhaps the House of Lords in our time never had a more powerful and eloquent debater than the late Bishop of Peter- borough and Archbishop of York, Dr. Magee. The unfortunate thing was that Dr. Magee, being a Bishop, could not find full scope in the House of Lords. He ought to have been a front bench politician in the House of Commons. There he could have made his mark as a political orator. In the House of Lords he missed it necessarily missed it ; he could not help himself ; he was a Bishop. There is a mediaeval Bishop told of, if we remember rightly, by Montaigne, who was not allowed to fight in a battle with the weapons of a knight, and who rushed into the fray and knocked his foemen down with a club. But the Bishop of Peterborough could not well use a heavy club in the mimic frays of the House of Lords. Dr. Wilberforce, once best known as the Bishop of Oxford, contrived somehow to get better scope ARCHBISHOP MAGEE. 241' for his very remarkable eloquence in the House of Lords. But we do not think he had the originality, the freshness, and the force of Bishop Magee. There have been many eloquent speakers of late years as in former years among the Archbishops and Bishops in the House of Lords, but the field of their eloquence is peculiarly circumscribed. They have to speak rather when they may than when they will or would, and eloquence in a political assembly does not thrive under such conditions." 242 CHRISTOPHER ANSTEY, REV. R. WARNER CHAPTER XXIII. CHRISTOPHER ANSTEY, REV. R. WARNER AND REV. JOSEPH HUNTER. We are now come to literary celebrities of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It will not be inferred from the absence of previous separate treatment that Bath had no eminent authors until now. It will be remembered that from Adelard of the Norman period to the Falconers of the Georgian there were many who kept the lamp burning. But it will also be remembered that they gained their general repute in other ways, chiefly as divines and physicians, and were classified accordingly. A similar explanation may be given as to the literary celebrities of whom sketches will be given in this and the remaining chapters. They are six : Christopher Anstey, Richard Warner, Joseph Hunter, William Napier, Walter Savage Landor, and William Beckford. Nearly all were known otherwise than for distinction in literature ; Anstey as a man of fashion, Warner as a clergyman, Hunter as a Noncon- formist minister, Napier as a distinguished General, and Beckford as the lavish builder of Fonthill. All, however, were eminent as authors ; and if Napier and Beckford were less conspicuous than the others in that capacity, if Napier's fame as a General and Beckford's as Lord of Fonthill over- shadowed their reputation as men of letters, still Bath claims them as among her literary celebrities ; one wrote in her neighbourhood a great work, the History of the Peninsular War, the other, besides being the author of Vathek, possessed here one of the largest and most valuable private libraries in the kingdom. AND REV. JOSEPH HUNTER. 243 Mr. Warner, in his literary recollections gives a select list of Bath Literati of modern times with short memoirs of the more distinguished. And Mr. Monkland. in his pleasant little volumes, gives nearly two hundred names. But both lists indicate rather the prevalence of literary taste and industry than anything like eminence in authorship. Undoubtedly the society of Bath in the last two centuries has been brightened and elevated by an intellectual infusion to an extent unusual in provincial towns. And there is another remarkable circumstance ; probably few places in the kingdom have been so much referred to in books by popular writers. Macaulay praises not only the architecture of Bath, but " the beautiful city which the genius of Anstey and of Smollett, of Frances Burney and Jane Austen has made classic ground." And while the mine worked by Fielding in Tom Jones, Sheridan in the School for Scandal, Graves in the Spiritual Quixote, Bulwer in Paul Clifford, and Dickens in Pickwick, proved so rich, others were opened in the regions of science, history and archaeology. It will be seen, however, that the Bath writers who obtained celebrity, they whose works were destined to live the longest and form part of the best national literature were, with a few exceptions, not so remarkable for works on local subjects as for those of general interest. CHRISTOPHER ANSTEY may be considered one of the exceptions. He was a Bath Celebrity because he wrote the best book which had been published on Bath Life. The son of the Rev. Dr. Anstey of Trumpington, he was born in 17 24 and educated at Eton and King's College, where he was distinguished as an elegant scholar. So far however as University distinctions were concerned he was unhonoured ; he began a Latin speech in 244 CHRISTOPHER ANSTEY, REV. R. WARNER the public schools with a sarcastic allusion to some unfair treatment he thought he had received, and for that speech he was rusticated. In the epilogue to the Bath Guide he play- fully refers to the event : Of Granta, sweet Granta, where studious of ease, Seven years did I sleep and then lost my degrees." His academic achievements at Cambridge were creditable. Having early succeeded to a scholarship he distinguished himself by his Tripos verses for the " Commencement " in 1745. He also gained University reputation by a Latin poem on the Peace of 1748. On the death of his mother he succeeded to the family estates, resigned his fellowship, married a daughter of Mr. Calvert the wealthy brewer, and for some time combined the cultivation of letters with the pursuits of a country gentleman. In 1762 he published, in conjunction with Dr. Roberts, of King's College, a translation of Gray's elegy into Latin, which, says the writer in the National Biography, " had the advantage of Gray's criticism and elicited an interesting letter from the poet which is given in an edition of Anstey's works." About this time he went to Bath for medical treatment after a serious illness. He recovered ; the city and its society pleased him, and he resolved to live here, fixing his residence first in the Royal Crescent. But it was necessary he should return to Trumpington for a time, and he spent the interval in describing the votaries of folly and fashion he had seen at Bath with such wit and force and truth that he became famous at once. The first edition of Anstey's New Bath Guide was printed in quarto at Cambridge. Its success was instantaneous ; the booksellers could not supply it fast enough ; all the best writers praised it and all the world of fashion read AND REV. JOSEPH HUNTER. 245 it Gray writes to Wharton ; Horace Walpole to Montague ; the clever satire is eulogised and the classic allusions are especially admired. Bath was now rising rapidly ; the buildings of the two Woods drew crowds of country visitors ; and Anstey thus writes to his mother : " Our neighbour Sir Easterton Widgeon has swore He ne'er will return to his bogs any more ; The Thickskulls are settled ; we've had invitations With a great many more on the score of relations ; The Loungers are come too. Old Stucco has just sent His plan for a house to be built in the Crescent ; 'Twill soon be complete, and they say all their work Is as strong as St. Paul's or the Minster at York. Don't you think t'would be better to sell our estate And buy a good house here before 'tis too late ? You never can go my dear mother where you So much have to see and so little to do." Anstey continued to write at intervals after his removal to Bath. In 1769 he published an elegy on Lord Tavistock who died from a fall from his horse. Another poem, TJte Election Ball, was a contribution to the noted vase of Lady Miller at Batheaston. But neither these nor any of his other works had the freshness and vivacity of The New Bath Guide, although he had the stimulus of intercourse with the chief wits of the age. Perhaps there was an adverse influence in the size of his family, for he had thirteen children. Eight only survived him ; the eldest son became a barrister of some repute, and inherited considerable literary power, shown in his Pleader's Guide, and his edition of his father's works. The elder Anstey died at the house of a son-in-law, Mr. Bosanquet, of Hardenhuish, near Chippenham, and was buried in Walcot Church. There are monuments to him in the Bath Abbey and the Poet's Corner in Westminster Abbey. 246 CHRISTOPHER ANSTEY, REV. R. WARNER His memory is also kept alive by some verses in gilt letters on a tablet in the Pump Room, which he wrote in aid of the Bath Mineral Water Hospital and indicate that there was a side of his character worthy of admiration. " Oh pause awhile, whoe'er thou art That drinks this healing stream, If e'er compassion o'er thy heart Diffused its heavenly beam. Think on the wretch whose distant lot This friendly aid denies ; Think how in some poor lonely cot He unregarded lies. Hither the helpless stranger bring, Eelieve his heartfelt woe, And let thy bounty like this spring In genial currents flow. So may thy years from grief and pain, And pining want be free, And thou from heaven that mercy gain The poor receive from thee." Among the numerous valuable contributions by Mr. Peach to the periodical literature of Bath was a series of Papers in Bladud, in 1886, on some local worthies. One of them contains a passage relating to Anstey's Bath Guide which may supply a deficiency in the preceding sketch where perhaps too little has been said of that remarkable book. Mr. Peach remarks : " It was not only popular during the life of the author, but we believe that a larger number of editions have been published in the present century than even in his life-time. The terms and allusions in the work are obscured by time and change, but it is none the less true that they illustrate more clearly and distinctly the manners and customs of the period than any other local source AND REV. JOSEPH HUNTER. 247 of information. The ordinary literature of the time does not give us so clear a conception of Bath every-day life as the witty verse of Anstey. Fielding, Smollett and Richardson constructed their narratives and characters out of the depths of their own genius, the light and shade being tinctured more or less by the peculiar manifestations they contemplated. But Anstey, limiting the field of his observation, presents, in the most amusing manner, the realism of the eighteenth century with all the characteristic humbug, hypocrisy, charlatanry and folly which was peculiar to a certain type of the Bath ' Society ' of the period." The writer proceeds however to shew that with all its cleverness and instruc- tive power the satire of the New Bath Guide has been surpassed in purity and elevation of tone by that of the present century, and instances of this are quoted convincingly from the pages of Thackeray, who, without a touch of grossness, lifts his reader to an atmosphere where " Men may rise to stepping stones Of their dead selves to higher things." THE REV. RICHARD WARNER. Few names are more prominent in local literature than this. Warner's History of Bath is in many good libraries in the West of England. Other accounts of the city are remarkably good, notably Mr. Earle's, but Warner's, through nearly a hundred years, has been the most copious, comprehensive and complete. That he was a marvellously voluminous writer is in his case but slight ground of distinction, though he began to write books before he was thirty and continued till he was nearly fourscore. He had, however, other claims; as a clergyman his services were intellectually above the average of those in Bath ; in society he was also valued as a cultivated man ; and in various ways he contributed largely to the higher life of the city. Richard Warner was the son of a respectable London tradesman, and was born in 1763. He was educated at 248 CHRISTOPHER ANSTEY, REV. R. WARNER Oxford, apparently for the Church, but on leaving the University his inclination was not in that direction. To literary work he was devoted from the beginning, but at one time he strongly desired to go to sea and explore the world. This his father opposed, so he worked in a solicitor's office for a time, writing his first book in his leisure hours. It was evident, however, that a clerical life would be most in harmony with his prevailing tastes. He therefore took holy orders and became curate to the Rev. W. Gilpin at Boldre in Hampshire. Although the rector was in many respects a man after his own heart circumstances soon led him to quit Boldre and remove to Fawley in the same county. Here again he was not destined to stay long ; the place was unhealthy ; the family became ill and were sent to Bath ; and he determined to try to get a professional engagement there. This he did at All Saint's Chapel, where he officiated a short time, and then as one of the curates of Walcot parish till he was appointed curate of St. James's. He held this curacy twenty-three years with much credit to himself and usefulness to his flock, writing rapidly the various works which he published and engaging prominently in the controversies of the time. In his Literary Recollections he admits being largely infected with the cacuethes scribendi. Neither success nor want of it appears to have made much difference ; no sooner was one work issued than another was planned and speedily begun. His " maiden volume," as he terms it, appeared in 1789, A Tour Round Lymington. He had not then resolved to go into the Church, and was beginning to study law, from which he found relaxation in writing the book. How little he knew of business matters may be inferred from his order- ing a thousand copies to be printed " that the demand of the public might be quickly met." Undiscouraged by the AND REV. JOSEPH HUNTER. 249 disappointment which followed, he " threw," to use his own words, " into the ocean of English Literature within the four succeeding years, another duodecimo, three octavo volumes, a quarto pamphlet, a more substantial bantling of the same size, besides issuing proposals for a topographical work in three bulky folio volumes." These were to contain a History of Hampshire, for which he made great preparations, obtain- ing influential patronage, visiting the Record Office, the British Museum, the English Universities and many other places ; but all the labour was lost ; he found that his plan would require a very long purse, half a dozen lettered men as assistants and ten years' hard work ; so he dropped it. Of the History of Bath there is better record. The author had grown older and wiser and saw more clearly how to succeed. " In the last few years of the century," he says, " he had been so much interested in the Eoman antiquities of Bath as to wish to rescue them from the darkness, dishonour and oblivion in which they had long remained." Dr. Harington, one of the Corporation, obtained for him from that body not only the necessary authority but the necessary funds, and in the course of a few months, with the aid of two able friends, he had the remains cleansed and arranged. Many years .afterwards they were deposited in the Literary and Scientific Institution, of which they have long been one of the greatest attractions. Warner's ever-ready pen was employed in a description which he published in 1797. All this brought before him the great want of a good history of the city to whose ancient relics he had given so much time. " Again," he says, " I consulted Ur. Harington, and once more received his encouragement with a promise of any assistance he could render." Mr. Cruttwell, his worthy parishioner, and a most excellent printer, agreed to take upon himself 250 CHRISTOPHER ANSTEY, REV. R. WARNER every expense connected with the work and give him half of any profits. In the course of two years the history appeared. Its reception does not appear to have been very nattering, but gradually it came to be appreciated. Modern critics complain of some omissions, notably those relating to Bathwick and Widcombe, but it should be remembered that in 1801 those suburbs were scarcely part of the city and by no means important. The want of a general index is certainly a great fault. Many other works came out in quick succession. Prior to the History of Bath, the author published in 1792 An Attempt to Ascertain the Situation of the Ancient Clausentium, in 1793 Topographical Remarks on the South- Western Parts of Hampshire, in 1796 a History of the Isle of Wight, in 1798 A Walk Through Wales, in 1799 a Second Walk in Wales, in 1800 a Walk Through Some of the Western Counties of England, and in 1801 Excursions from Bath. After these came a History of the A bbey of Glaston, in royal quarto, A Tour Through the Northern Counties, Omnium Gatherum,, a short-lived periodical, and various other works, including, Literary Recollections, in two volumes. Amid all these contributions to general literature the curate of St. James's did not fail to employ the press on religious subjects. A keen controversialist, he took part in many of the discussions of the time, especially Catholic Emancipation, to which, though a strong Whig, he was decidedly opposed. Besides several single sermons, he published two volumes of Practical Discourses. Some of his works sold well ; by others he must have lost considerably. For instance, in the case of Omnium, Gatherum intended to be a periodical publication; with his usual sanguine temperament he ordered 750 copies, of which only 150 were sold, so the first AND REV. JOSEPH HUNTER. 251 number was also the last. His Literary Recollections, in two volumes, published in ] 830, is a rambling autobiography, chiefly interesting for the memoirs of various eminent friends. He was especially intimate with Dr. Samuel Parr, who often visited hirn in Bath, and some of whose letters to his "friend Richard " are extremely amusing. The two Dr. Falconers, William and Thomas, are frequently mentioned, Thomas being a great ally, often assisting him in the pulpit and parish of St. James's, and sharing to a great extent his friend's theological and political sympathies. Warner was an uncompromising Whig; he hated war as he hated Calvinism and preached boldly against both. Though not agreeing with the High Church party, he said he could work with them better than with the opposite class. Some of his works were remarkable for their pungency. Much excitement was caused by two satirical productions, The Bath Rebellion and Bath Characters ; the latter a series of dialogues upon living characters, the weak spots of each being unsparingly exhibited. Warner was far from blameless in his satires ; he not only used the lash severely but indulged in wit disgraced by vulgarity. Of these various elements were his mind and character composed. He was a type of clergyman which became more and more rare as the nineteenth century advanced and is now scarcely ever met with. That he was in good repute professionally is evident from his long curacy at St. James's and from successive presentations to livings towards the close of his life. In 1817, before he quitted St. James's, lie became Rector of Great Charfield, Wilts ; afterwards he was incumbent successively of Timberscombe, Croscombe and Chelwood. He held both Great Charfield and Chelwood when he died in 1857 at the age of ninety-five. 252 CHRISTOPHER ANSTEY, REV. R. WARNER THE REV. JOSEPH HUNTER. This gentleman was connected with Bath as the respected minister of the oldest Nonconformist congregation in the city twenty- seven years. The Act of Uniformity passed in 1662, causing the ejectment of two thousand clergymen, drove from their livings many in and around Bath which led to the formation of a Presbyterian congregation. By this name it was known until the close of the eighteenth century when, as a consequence of the latitude allowed by the Trust deeds of their chapel, the congregation became Unitarian. Mr. Hunter's immediate predecessor, Mr. Jardine, was so called, but although the subject of this sketch had been led to the same theological conclusions he preferred the more com- prehensive name of Presbyterian. His love of antiquity, especially of ancient literature, which he cherished from childhood, gave him eventually the rank of an eminent antiquary. He filled an important post in the Record office of the nation, and wrote a succession of historical works of much value and authority. Joseph Hunter was born in 1 783 at Sheffield, where his ancestors had lived two hundred years. His father, who was a cutler, died when he was very young, and he was placed under the guardianship of a Presbyterian minister. At a suitable age he was enrolled at Manchester College, York, then having its chief Professors the Rev. Charles Wellbeloved and the Rev. John Kenrick, one known as the author of Eboracum, the other for his work on Egypt. Both at school and college Hunter spent much of his spare time in antiquarian studies, filling volumes which are still in existence with church notes, coats of arms and monumental inscrip- tions. His only ministerial settlement was at Bath, where he AND REV. JOSEPH HUNTER. 253 remained from 1809 till 1833. He published four sermons between 1811 and 1819, which indicate that he was too quiet, thoughtful, and, it must be added, heterodox, to be a popular preacher. But there was a charm in his style, an earnestness in his convictions, and a consistency in his character which accounted for the attachment of a highly intelligent con- gregation. Not having many pastoral duties he devoted himself largely to literary pursuits ; it was at Bath that he collected materials for his most important works, Hallam- shire published in 1819 and the History of the Deanery of Doncasier in 1828 and 1831. These handsome and costly folios were welcomed not only by the most eminent antiquaries of the day, but by country gentlemen of the localities and by book collectors generally, as permanent additions to the literature of the country. At the head of the list of subscribers to Hallamshire was the Prince Regent. Nor were Mr. Hunter's labours in Bath limited to his study. He was one of the chief founders of the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution. No one worked more earnestly in forming its valuable library and giving it a character worthy of the city. In 1827 he gave an interesting lecture on the Connection of Bath with the Literature and Science of England. Twenty-six years later he consented, at the request of the Bath Literary Club, to allow them to reprint the lecture, and he added some valuable notes. One of the members of the club, Mr. Long, showed his appreciation of it by having a blank volume of magnificent proportions in appropriate binding filled with successive pages of the lecture and engraved illustrations of its contents, generously present- ing the volume to the club library. Another institution, we are told by the National Biography, in which Mr. Hunter had much interest was " The Stourhead Circle," " a party of 254 REV. JOSEPH HUNTER. gentlemen residing in Wiltshire and Somersetshire who assembled annually for antiquarian discussion under the hospitable roof of Sir Richard Colt Hoare of Stourhead." In 1833 he was appointed sub-commissioner of the public records and removed to London. In 1838, on a reconstruc- tion of the service he became an assistant keeper of the first class. He often gave the fruits of his researches to the volumes of the Society of Antiquaries, of which he was a vice-president, and to those of the Archaeological Institute. His pen was incessantly occupied ; year by year the press teemed with his productions on a great number of historical and biographical subjects. His Dissertations on Shakespeare's Works, his Diary of Ralph Thoresby, his Life of Oliver Hey wood, his Defence of Lady Hewleys Trustees, his History of the Bishopj*ic of Somerset, show the wide range of his intellectual vision. The Biographical Dictionary gives a list of thirty-two of his principal works written in Bath and London. His happiness appears to have been in proportion to the gratification of his literary and antiquarian tastes. Writing to an intimate friend who had congratulated him on his seventy-second birthday, he says, " Yours has been a prosperous life and I have no reason to complain of mine. You have done many good works ; I have endeavoured to do the same. Both of us I may say have gained golden opinions from some whose praise is to be valued, and both of us will be found to have left some impression on the age in which we have lived." In 1815 Mr. Hunter married Miss Hay ward, daughter of Dr. Hayward, of Bath. They had six children, one of whom, Dr. Julian Hunter, lived in Bath for some years, carrying on good work at the Institution. His father died in 1861 at his house in Torrington Square, and was buried at Ecclesfield, near Sheffield. GENERAL SIR WILLIAM NAPIER. CHAPTER XXIV. GENERAL SIR WILLIAM NAPIER. Colonel William Napier came to Freshford, near Bath, with his family in 1831, and lived there and at Bath till 1842, when he became Lieutenant -Governor of Guernsey. In Bath he was chiefly known as an earnest and eloquent politician, being, through the eleven years of his residence, one of the foremost speakers at public meetings on the great questions of the day. This caused many applications to him from various important constituencies to represent them in Parlia- ment, but he declined them all on the ground that his pecuniary means were insufficient, and that he could not abstract the time required by his History of the Peninsular War. I shall be indebted for most of the information in this sketch to an admirable life in two volumes written by his son-in-law, Mr. H. A. Bruce, M.P., some time Home Secre- tary, afterwards Lord Aberdare, whose work is enriched with a large number of letters from eminent men and women. William Francis Patrick Napier was born in 1785, the third son of the Honourable George Napier. His father was sixth son of the fifth Lord Napier, who was descended from Scott of Thirlestane ; hence the family motto, " Ready, aye Ready." His mother was Lady Sarah Lennox, the seventh daughter of the second Duke of Richmond, who it is well known traced his pedigree to Charles II. One of Lady Sarah's sisters married the first Lord Holland and was mother of Charles James Fox ; another sister married the Duke of Leinster and they were parents of the unfortunate Lord Edward Fitzgerald. Lady Sarah's husband, the father of heroes, was himself cast in the true heroic mould. He 256 GENERAL SIR WILLIAM NAPIER. possessed great powers, mental and bodily, and was distinguished by an integrity and unselfishness then too rare in public life. Thus noble were the family influences on voung Napier's inind as he grew up ; his letters to his mother. in Lord Aberdare's volumes, show that they were good seed sown in good ground, and the fruits in after years amply justified all the bright anticipations of his career. Yet so far as what would be called education was concerned nothing could be more deplorable. William and his elder brother Charles, the hero of Scinde, were placed in a grammar school in their native town of Celbridge, near Castletown. The master was a passionate, ill-judging man, and the scholars were for anything like scholarship by no means remarkable. The martial spirit of the period caused Charles Napier to organise a volunteer corps in the school, which probably gave to both brothers their first idea of military matters. Not minding his lessons, and taking to a great degree his own course, William read everything he could lay his hands on. Romances of all kinds were devoured, Don Bellarmin of Greece being his especial favourite ; but history, poetry and travels were all consumed. Conspicuous among his pet subjects were Plutarch's Lives, which probably inspired his passionate admiration in after years for the great men of antiquity. At this period he knew and often conversed with Captain Arthur Wellesley, but not, it is considered, then much to his advantage. On leaving school he received his first commission in the Royal Artillery and was soon transferred to the sixty -second regiment. A few months afterwards his uncle, the Duke of Richmond, gave him a cornetcy in the Blues, one advantage of which was that it recommended him to General Sir John Moore, who proved an invaluable friend. When not yet GENERAL SIR WILLIAM NAPIER. 257 nineteen he obtained a captaincy in part of Moore's Own West Indian Brigade. Here all that is possible is to take a rapid view of Napier's life before he entered on the literary part of it. In 1807 he served in the deplorable Copenhagen expedition, was present at the siege of that capital and afterwards marched under Sir Arthur Wellesley to attack the Danish forces. Returning to England for a time, he went with his regiment in 1808 to Spain and endured more than his share of the hardships of Sir John Moore's retreat, being thrown into a fever from which he hardly escaped with his life. In 1809 he became aide-de-camp to his uncle the Duke of Richmond, Lord- Lieutenant of Ireland, but soon gave up the appointment to serve in Portugal, where the fates were against him. He was first attacked with violent pleurisy for which he was bled four times a day, and then in the battles that followed he and his brother George were dangerously wounded. The only reward of their zeal and courage was that they were specially selected by Lord Wellington for the brevet rank of major. From Lisbon William Napier was sent to England in the autumn of 1811, and in the spring of the following year married Caroline Amelia, daughter of General the Honourable Henry Fox, and niece to the great statesman, " a lady as remarkable for intellectual vigour as her husband and admirable in every relation of life." When only three weeks married, and still suffering the effects of his wound, Napier sailed again for Portugal. After the battle of Salamanca he joined the victorious army in entering Madrid, where he remained some time. Early in 1813 he returned to England, but soon went back to the Peninsula, and was engaged in repelling an attack by Marshal Soult, in which he was twice wounded. The R 258 GENERAL SIR WILLIAM NAPIER. greatest battle of the next few years was at Waterloo in 1815, which took place while Napier was embarking at Dover to join his regiment at Brussels. It can be imagined how his spirit would have chafed if he had known what he missed, but he was in time to accompany the British army to Paris where he saw the triumphal entry of Louis XYIIL, whom, however, he much disliked. Patriotic as he was, he had great admiration of Napoleon Bonaparte, entertaining the highest opinion of him as a general, and sympathising in no small degree with his courage. About this period Napier attained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, and on the return of the army of occupation in 1819 was quartered at Belfast. Here he had an opportunity of purchasing another step, the regimental Lieutenant- Colonelcy, but he was unable to do so for want of means. In vain did a warm friend, Lord Fitzroy Somerset, press the required sum upon him as a loan ; he declined it because he could not see his way to repay the money. It might have been thought that an officer of such extraordinary merit, one so highly connected, who had commanded a regiment in several general actions and received three wounds, one of them causing life-long misery, would have had the distinction promptly conferred upon him. But on other grounds he had become disgusted with war, and now as the distinction was not given he retired with a stricken spirit on half-pay to seek in literature the reputation which narrow means and official neglect denied him in his profession. The beginning of the new era in Colonel Napier's life, when he conceived the idea of writing his great history, is thus described by Lord Aberdare : " After retiring on half pay he took a house in Sloane Street and spent much of his time in painting and sculpture. In these pursuits, as in all others, he showed extraordinary perseverance. As a preparation he GENERAL SIR WILLIAM NAPIER. 259 devoted himself to the study of anatomy and the Elgin marbles, and his statuette of Alcibiades is a proof of the progress he made. He became an accurate and vigorous draughtsman, was no mean colourist, and in the opinion of eminent artists would have attained the foremost rank of living painters and sculptors had he not been irresistibly drawn towards Literature. Though Art was his principal pursuit he also read largely and mixed much with friends whose thoughts and pursuits were congenial with his own. Still he felt a want unsatisfied, an undeveloped power within him struggling to come forth. At this time Jomini published his work on the Principes de la Guerre which contained the first exposi tion of Napoleon's system of warfare. Having studied all Napoleon's campaigns thoroughly, Napier was enabled to write a very truthful review of Jomini's book for The Edinburgh. This was in 1821 ; the negotiations with the editor led him to visit the northern city where he became personally acquainted with Jeffery and other literary celebrities. Soon afterwards he visited Paris and made acquaintance with Marshal Soult, against whom he had fought so bravely. The French hero, not to be outdone in magnan- imity, entered afterwards into Napier's project of the history of the war, and even generously contributed materials for it." Not, however, till 1 823 was the great work begun. Early in that year Colonel Napier was walking with Lord Langdale in some fields now covered with the houses called Belgravia. The friends conversed on Southey's late narrative of the war in Spain and Lord Langdale was so much struck with Napier's remarks that he urged him strongly to write a history himself. The incident was thus stated to his daughter the year before he died. " It was all owing to Lord Langdale ; he first kindled the fire within me. I was living in Sloane Street on 260 GENERAL SIR WILLIAM NAPIER. half pay, a pleasant, desultory life, enjoying my home and friends in London, talking to officers I had known in the Peninsula, consorting with Chantry and other artists and painting a great deal. I had never written anything except the review in The Edinburgh. Langdale asked me what I thought of turning to as an occupation, saying the review had proved to him I had powers yet undeveloped. He argued so seriously that the late war was my peculiar province, that I began to think whether I would not try." On his return to his house Napier told his wife what had passed, also his doubts as to being equal to the work, but she encouraged him strongly, he resolved to attempt the task and immediately began to collect materials. His first step was to call upon the Duke of Wellington, who also encouraged him, saying he could not part with his own private papers because he intended to publish them himself, but he would give him important official documents and answer any questions. He next called on Sir George Murray, hoping to get the " Orders of Movements " and the maps and plans illustrative of the operations in the Peninsula, but Murray refused on the ground that he also contemplated writing a history. It is remarkable that neither of these men, who were then, in the opinion of the whole army, the fittest to undertake the work, did undertake it. After the publication of the first and second volumes of Napier's History both relinquished the idea. They found that the book was written with such unparallelled truthfulness and extraordinary animation that any other narrative would be dull and insipid. "We are now come to a period when London life was found incompatible with the needful application. Other circum- stances also, of a family nature, made it desirable that country air and quiet should be sought Hence the removal of GENERAL SIR WILLIAM NAPIER. 261 Colonel Napier to Freshford in 1831, and the commencement of those political services which made him through eleven years a Bath Celebrity. Nor was it strange that such a man at such a time, though always intent on the work he had in hand, should yet often leave his desk to mingle with the multitude. Notwithstanding his aristocratic connections and military spirit, his heart was ever with the people. For the rank and file of the army he felt as great an interest as for the cause in which they fought together, and the rank and file loved him with a fervour of which he was proud. So as to the masses of the English population ; no man knew better either the qualities by which they were characterised or the evils under which they were suffering, and was it possible for him to be a silent spectator of all that passed ? A Reform Government was at length in power; a new- Parliament had been elected ; measures on which the people had long set their hearts came forth ; in every town there were meetings and discussions such as had never been known before. Bath was a remarkable instance ; the city at large had gained the power, hitherto confined to the Corporation, of electing its representatives, and it had Mr. Roebuck as one of its first candidates. Mr. Roebuck was a friend of Colonel Napier ; they had many likes and dislikes in common ; they had both a great aversion to the Whig party ; they were both in hearty unison with what may be called ultra-radicals, and the hard battle Mr. Roebuck now had to fight made his friend all the more anxious to help him. So that for a long time there was rarely a public meeting in Bath, whether with reference to Mr. Roebuck's contest for the seat or on behalf of some important measure before Parliament, at which Colonel Napier's eloquent voice was not heard. His first political speech was made at Devizes in May, 262 GENERAL SIR WILLIAM NAPIER. 18.31, at a meeting to vote an address to William IV. thanking him for dissolving Parliament. Again, in September, when it was generally expected that the House of Lords would throw out the Reform Bill, Colonel Napier was at Devizes joining in indignant remonstrance. " It is impossible/' says a journal of the period, " to convey an idea to those who were not present of the spirit and fire with which he spoke. As an orator he must be seen and heard to be appreciated. A clergyman who was present remarked, ' such a soldier and such a speaker might lead an army any- where/ " The fame of these speeches pervaded the country ; hence invitations to the orator from all quarters some to speak at similar meetings, others to be a candidate for seats which had become vacant. He had been invited to contest Bath but preferred that the choice should fall upon Mr. Roebuck. Mr. Brace gives a letter from Mr. Charles Buller who had been asked to stand for Bridgwater but declined, and now urged Napier to come forward. He answered, courteously, that he was not in a position to make the necessary sacrifice, that he had a large family of children, very little money, and very bad health ; moreover, he was engaged in a difficult literary work which required constant attention, his reputation and means of living in a great degree depending on it. He stated that he had given a similar answer to various applications from important constituencies; among them being those of Nottingham, Glasgow, Birmingham, Kendal and Oldham. Of the speeches at Bath his biographer gives striking specimens in those of August and November, J 835, February and May, 1836, and early in 1837, on the subjects of Coercion, Irish Church Reform, Irish Corporation Reform, the Abolition of Slavery, and the Obstruction of the House of Lords. Not GENERAL SIR WILLIAM NAPIER. 263 always had he the entire sympathy of his audience ; many regretted his frequent bitter attacks on the Whigs ; critics often observed a strong dash of one -sidedness ; but admiration of his eloquence was universal and everyone acknowledged his noble and generous spirit. Largely as his time was occupied in Bath and other places with political work, Colonel Napier steadily continued his literary labours. In 1838 he wrote for the Westminster Review an important article on the despatches of the Duke of Wellington, "wishing to show that a Radical magazine could appreciate the genius of the great soldier." " Nor did he disdain," says Lord Aberdare, " lighter works of imagination," for in April of the same year he contributed to Bentley's Magazine a tale called " Griffone/' replete with beaut.iful fancies and imagery. But it was on his history that the powers of his mind were concentrated ; and here should he mentioned the valuable assistance he received from Mrs. Napier throughout the progress of the work, but especially in deciphering correspondence. It is best described in his own words. "When the immense mass of King Joseph's correspondence, taken at Vittoria, was placed in my hands I was dismayed at finding it to be a huge collection of letters, without order, written in a crabbed hand, and in three languages, the most important documents being in cipher, and without a key. Despairing of any profitable examination of these valuable materials, the thought crossed me of giving up the work, when my wife undertook first to arrange the letters by dates and subjects, next to make a table of reference, translating and epitomising the contents of each ; and this without neglecting for an instant the care and education of a very large family, she effected in a most simple and comprehensive manner, GENERAL SIR WILLIAM NAPIER. enabling me to ascertain what I wanted at any time in a few moments. She also undertook to decipher the secret correspondence, and not only succeeded, but found a key to the whole. When I related this to the Duke of Wellington he seemed at first incredulous, but ended by saying, "I would have given .20,000 to any person who could have done it for me in the Peninsula." What the great commander thought of the book which had the benefit of these labours has been already stated. How he valued the simple and beautiful dedication can be easily imagined : "To Field-Marshal The Duke of Wellington. This History I dedicate to your Grace because I have served long enough under your command to know why the soldiers of the Tenth Legion were attached to Caesar." At length the task of so many years was finished. Congratulations came from all quarters. Honours the author had previously received in the usual course of events. He had attained the rank of Major-General in 1841 on leaving Bath to take the office of Governor of Guernsey, which he held six years. Relinquishing this, he received the distinction of K.C.B. as a mark of her Majesty's approbation of his services in the command of the island. For some years he was intensely interested in all that related to Sir Charles Napier's Indian successes, writing his life in two brilliant volumes, also copious histories of the conquest and administration of Scinde. Nothing could be more gratifying than the testimony of brother officers to the value of his great work. Colonel Shaw writes : " Having read your first volume with every attention, I congratulate you sincerely. It is a book which GENERAL SIR WILLIAM NAPIER. 265 wiJl be read with admiration by the present and by future ages. As a military history nothing in our language can be placed in comparison with it." Major-General Sir W. Campbell says : " I do not think such a history has appeared since that of Xenophon. The writing is beautiful, and, though entirely free from affectation, the author says the best things ; short, pithy, and to the purpose. He flings to the right and left the dirt and filth of prejudice, lays bare the baseness and corruptions of Juntas, and exposes, alas, the madness or imbecility of our own Government." Marshal Soult, with his wonted generosity, said to Colonel George Napier in Paris, " Your brother's work is perfect ; it does honour to his head and heart, and ought to be as satisfactory to the French army as it is to the English." All this could not fail to cheer the illustrious General in his latter days. And, unfortunately, those days were saddened by events and circumstances which called for the utmost consolation his friends could offer. Within a short time he had to grieve for the death of three brothers, Charles, George and Henry; also for that of a beloved daughter. And who would mourn more deeply the departure of the Duke of Wellington ? Then came the alarming illness of Lady Napier. It was doubtful, indeed, which would be taken first, his own state was so precarious. The decree was for him; it came on the 12th February, 1859. But the Angel of Death did not tarry. Of both it could soon be said by their numerous friends : " Their peace is sealed, their rest is sure Within that better home ; Awhile we wait and linger here, Then follow to the tomb." " One of Sir William Napier's highly gifted relatives was Lady de Kos, his mother's sister, and the third daughter of Charles, 266 GENERAL SIR WILLIAM NAPIER. fourth Duke of Richmond. She married the Hon. William F. de Ros, afterwards Lord de Ros, Governor of the Tower, survived him many years, and died in 1891 at the age of ninety-six. Only three years before her death she published, at the request of many of her friends, her Personal Recollections of the Duke of Wellington, which were very favourably received. In a recent review of a new edition the writer states that the work, prefixed as it is by a memoir of the author, together with some of her correspondence, is not only of value historically, but exceedingly interesting and readable. Lady de Ros, as a child, often played with the Princess Charlotte, whom she describes as a frank but extremely indiscreet girl, openly avowing that the two things in the world she most hated were ' boiled mutton and grandmamma.' " I mention the book here says the author of a review in the Westminster Gazette, in connection with an anecdote often repeated, of which Lady de Ros gives a correct version. " It is well known that George III. greatly admired Lady Sarah Lennox when both were young. There is little doubt whom he would have made Queen of England if he had been free to marry in accordance with his inclination. About the year 1813, when the King was not only blind but mentally feeble, Lady Sarah was at Court to be presented on some occasion, and her sister relates that her ' name was sent in, but a request came that if she had a second name it might be used, as it was feared the name of Lady Sarah Lennox, his first love, might have an exciting effect upon the poor King. Lady Sarah, however, had no other name, and the King was informed she was to be presented. He immediately inquired if she was pretty, and, on being answered in the affirmative, he further inquired if she was like her namesake and great-aunt, the Lady Sarah Lennox of his young days, and he was told that there was said to be a resemblance. When the evening came, Lady Sarah was taken up to the King, and to her great surprise and consternation he begged her to allow a blind old man the privilege of passing his hand over her features ! this he did, making no remark. Lady Sarah afterwards said she could not refuse, knowing the reason for his request, but she found it a very embarrassing position.' " WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR. 267 CHAPTER XXV. WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR. PART I. Bath was chosen by Walter Savage Lanclor as his place of residence for many years in consequence of its remarkable beauty. Himself endowed with good health, always robust and vigorous, he had no special need either of its fine air or its healing waters. Although a keen politician like his friend Colonel Napier, he had not the same strong sense of duty as to mixing with the people and joining his voice with theirs. Interested in music he would sometimes look in at the Pump Room Concerts, but it was not in his nature, as it was in Dr. Harington's, to take advantage of a congenial soil and do what he could to promote and elevate the art. Pre-eminent as a literary man, he would still have nothing to do with the literary societies of the city ; public life of any kind he never cared for ; he had gone to live at Florence simply because it was beautiful, and when he was driven from it by domestic troubles he knew no place that would suit him so well as Bath. TheLandor family were long of much consideration in Stafford- shire. They could trace their ancestry in that county through three or four hundred years. The father of Walter Savage Landor was a physician at Warwick who twice married heiresses, the author being the eldest son of the second wife whose maiden name was Savage. From her he inherited a handsome fortune, and he was proud of his descent on her side, though, as in the case of Sir Arnold Savage of his Imaginary Conversations, the Speaker of the House of Commons, his pedigree was somewhat shadowy. His father WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR. was said to have been " a polished, sociable, agreeable, but rather choleric gentleman, more accomplished and better educated than most of his associates, but otherwise dining, coursing, telling his story and drinking his bottle among the rest." Thus is Dr. Landor described by Sidney Colvin in Morley's Series of English Men of Letters. To this charming little volume and to John Forster's copious biography I owe much of the information I have to give. Having known Mr. Landor many years I have been interested in collecting materials for this sketch and grateful for the renewal of my recollections. It should here be mentioned that Dr. Landor had another son, Robert, and five daughters. The son was an amiable, accomplished, and literary clergyman ; he and his brother selected the titles in their father's epitaph, " Lepidus, doctus, liberalis, probus, amicis, jucundissimus." Walter's boyhood was happy. He always looked back on his holidays with especial affection. They were spent partly in Warwick and very much at one of the two country houses on the Savage estates. There he first acquired the love for books, trees, flowers and country places which be cherished through the chequered years of his future life. At ten he was sent to Rugby, becoming soon one of the best Latin scholars. He also enjoyed good English books, and has recorded his delight at his first purchase of two with his own money, Drayton's Polyolbion and Baker's Chronicle ; also that the writer who first awoke in him the love of poetry was Cowper. Always physically strong, the bookish boy held his own well in the playground. His strength made him victorious in boxing, cricket and football. The rivers of Warwickshire had great charms for him ; the Avon, of course, stimulating poetic thought In one of his Latin poems he laments that his eldest son, born in Italy, would not know WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR. 269 and love the English streams which were the joy of his own youth. On leaving Rugby Landor was placed under the charge of Dr. Langley, at the village of Ashbourne, in Derbyshire, whose good qualities he immortalises in the Conversation of Izaak Walton, Cotton and Oldways. He writes of " the good parson of Ashbourne who wants nothing, yet keeps a grammar school, and is ready to receive as private tutor any young gentleman in preparation for Oxford or Cambridge, but only one. They live like princes, converse like friends, and part like lovers." The " good parson " had to prepare his charge for Oxford. In what fine soil he worked is shown by Landor's mention of his acquisitions at Ashbourne. " There," he says, " I made better acquaintance with the Greek writers, especially Pindar and Sophocles, and turned several things of Cowley into Latin Sapphics and Alcaies." He also translated into verse the Jepthah of Buchanan, a poem afterwards destroyed, but of which he himself had so high an opinion that he said he could not have improved upon it even after he wrote Gebir. He was eighteen when he entered as a commoner at Trinity College, Oxford. It was the memorable year of 1793 which had opened at Paris with the execution of Louis XYI. Landor, though sharing greatly the excitement of the time, was less interested in the French Revolution than in the American Rebellion. " He was a Jacobin," says Forster, "and with exulting satisfaction saw the conquests of democracy ; but pantisocracy and golden days to come on earth were not in his hopes or expectation." Still he had sufficient sympathy with the overthrow of monarchy in France to be affected seriously in his studies and position at Oxford. It was at the critical time when many of the best men of the Liberal party were driven to the opposite side by the excesses of the French. 270 WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR. Those who refused to be so driven became marked men ; at Oxford there were two undergraduates in the list, Southey of Balliol, and Landor of Trinity, who made themselves obnoxious by appearing in hall and elsewhere with their hair un powdered, the direct advertisement of revolutionary sentiments. Though he and Southey were thus brought together and afterwards became great friends, they were not then intimate, Southey stating that he " would have tried to cultivate his acquaintance if, like himself, he had been only a Jacobin, but he was a mad Jacobin." Landor did some good work as a student in his eighteen months at Oxford, and used to call the hours passed with Walter Birch in the Magdalen Walk (of which Addison was so fond) the pleasantest as well as the most profitable he could remember. The " madness," however, of which he was accused caused many social scrapes and one of them led to his rustication. The President of his college was compelled to investigate a charge against him of firing into the rooms of one of the men. Landor was defiant, refused all explanation and received sentence accordingly. One of the worst effects of this was the anger of Dr. Landor, with whom he had not previously been on good terms. Soon after his return home passionate words were exchanged ; and the son quitted his father's house, as he declared and believed " for ever." Landor had many changes in the next few years. From Warwick he went first to London where he worked hard at French and Italian. He had then an idea of settling in Italy, but this was abandoned in consequence of efforts by his family to arrange his affairs and obtain a reconciliation with his father. Although heir to a large fortune he cculd only receive a slender income during the life of his mother, to whose impartial justice towards all her children he bore ample WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR. 271 testimony, and for whom his feelings were always those of gratitude and affection. In London at this time (1795) he brought out his first book, a small volume of poems, now very rare. Another literary venture was a satire against Pitt in the form of A Moral Epistle in heroic verse addressed to Earl Stanhope. On leaving London he spent three years in Wales, chiefly at Swansea, the neighbourhood not then being defiled, as now, by mining and smelting operations. Here he studied indefatigably ; among the writers whom he read and pondered were Pindar and Milton ; both contributed to the formation of his mind, but it was for Milton as Republican, poet and prophet, he conceived the enthusiastic reverence which after- wards inspired some of his writings. Mr. Colvin adds that " at twenty and a few following years Landor's life was well suited to the training of a poet. He made his own all that was best in the literatures of ancient and modern Europe, except indeed in that of Germany, which had then been barely discovered in England by a few explorers like Scott, Coleridge and William Taylor of Norwich, but to which Landor neither now nor afterwards felt himself attracted." There must have been something however in Gebir, his next important work, that was akin to the spirit of German poetry, for the German scholars, Taylor especially, were all warm in its praise. What is noticeable here is that Landor's poem was written and his studies carried on when he was in immediate communion with nature. To this he thus alludes, contrasting the influences on his own mind with those on his friend Moore : " Alone I spent my earlier hour, While thou wert in the roseate bower, And raised to thee was every eye, And every song won every sigh. 272 WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR. One servant and one chest of books Followed me into mountain nooks, Where sheltered from the sun and breeze Lay Pindar and Thucydides." It has been remarked that Landor's avoidance of "the roseate bower" was not constant. His biographers mention various attachments, chiefly formed in Bath, up to the time of his marriage. Some of them, though short-lived, were strong enough to inspire his muse and bring him often to the city of the springs. Forster says that " on his accession to the paternal estates in 1805, his younger brother found him at Bath with the reputation of very great wealth and the certainty of still greater on his mother's death." His establishment, with carriage and horses, men servants, books, plate, china, pictures ; his successive flirtations with " lone," "lanthe" and Rose Aylmer, were all much talked of in the city and regretted by those who knew the better parts of his mind and character. Happily his eldest sister, who was his constant correspondent, had some influence over him It was probably Miss Landor who caused the wasteful outlay at Bath to cease and induced him for a time to live much on his estate at Lanthony, where, however, expense was equally disregarded. Having formed magnificent plans of a mansion and actually begun to build, he determined to clothe the slopes with woods and to cover the sides of the valley with the cedars of Lebanon. " For this purpose he bought 2,000 cones, calculated to yield 100 seeds each, intending to do ten times as much afterwards and exulting in the thought of the two million cedar trees which he would thus leave for the shelter and delight of posterity." Nor was his private enjoyment as a landowner his chief object. The only means of communication in the district were by rough bridle paths WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR. 273 and fords, so he set gangs of men to make roads and bridges. Agriculture was miserably primitive and he imported sheep from Segovia, applying to various friends to help him to find tenants who would adopt and teach improved modes of cultivation. As to the population of Lanthony, they were drunken, morose, and impoverished. Why should he not do all in his power to reclaim and civilise them ? Alas ! he little knew what he undertook. Repeated disappointments on every side attended his efforts. In social matters he was especially chagrined ; there was scarcely a public authority against whom he had not a grievance ; even his tenants and labourers turned against him. Summoned on the grand jury of his county, he got into collision with the judge ; and, wanting permission to restore for Divine service a part of Lanthony Priory, lie quarrelled with the Bishop. One means of relief he had from all these troubles ; it was to go to Bath, to mix there with an entirely different set, and renew intercourse with people whom he liked. The attractions of " the roseate bowers" of the Assembly Rooms were especially strong for him and destined now to influence his future life. It was in 1811 he met a young lady at a ball, Miss Julia Thuillier, the daughter of a banker at Banbury, descended from an old Swiss family. Greatly struck, he exclaimed, with all the impetuosity of his nature, " By heaven ! that's the nicest girl in the room, I'll marry her." And this time there was no long wooing, no misunderstanding, no apologetic retreat us in former instances ; marry her he did with little loss of time. But the adage " marry in haste and repent at leisure " would have been applicable here. The little wife was sixteen years younger than her husband and at first, with her bright smiles and lively spirits and golden hair, she did very well ; they, S 274 WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR. therefore, both went to Lanthony and hospitably received visitors including his mother and sisters and Southey and his wife. But Lanthony was rapidly ruining him ; he soon discovered it, went for a time to Jersey, and resolved to live in France, to which, however, Mrs. Landor strongly objected and in a temper developing too surely. Arguing one evening with more than usual petulance she taunted him before her sister with their disparity of years. His pride took sudden fire ; he rose at four the next morning, crossed the island on foot and was soon under weigh for the coast of France in an oyster boat alone. But neither the joyful nor sorrowful incidents in Lander's life prevented literary work. In 1810 he printed two Latin odes and began two important works, his Idyllia Heroica, also in Latin, and his Count Julian, an English tragedy, published by Mr. Murray. In 1811 he wrote another tragedy, Ferranti and Giulio ; but a discouraging letter from Longman's caused him to put it into the fire, and he told his friend Southey that in future whatever verse he was foolish enough to write should have the same fate. In 1812 Mr. Murray brought out another very different production, A Commentary on Memoirs of Charles James Fox, in answer to Trotter's Memoirs and setting forth the author's views on books, mankind and government. Towards the close of 1813, about the end of the Lanthony period, he published a comedy, called The Charitable Doivager, the proceeds of which he destined for the relief of an old acquaintance in Spain to whose hospitality he was indebted when visiting that country. Here I cannot do better than introduce Mr. Sidney Colvin's retrospect, after detailing the troubles at Lanthony and the departure from Jersey. "Up to the date we have now reached, 1814, Lander's career seems to present a spectacle WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR. 275 of almost as much futility as force. His resplendent gifts and lofty purposes had been attended with little solid result either in the practical or the intellectual sphere. In the practical part of life he had thus far conspicuously failed. The existence he had planned for himself was one totally different from that which had fallen to his lot. Bent upon walking in the paths of serenity he had nevertheless trodden those of contention. With a high standard of intercourse and behaviour he had been involved in ignominious wranglings with his neighbours. Born to wealth and eager to employ it usefully he had experienced nothing but frustration and embarrassment. Tenderly chivalrous towards women, he had turned his back in anger upon his young wife. Neither in the other sphere of human activity, the intellectual and imaginative sphere, which to him was in truth the more real and engrossing of the two, had Landor as yet done himself anything like justice. Posterity, if his career had ended here, would probably have ignored his writings, or have remembered them at most as the fragmentary and imperfect productions of a powerful spirit that had passed away without leaving any adequate memorial. Several years had still to elapse before he addressed himself to that which was destined to be his great and vital task in literature, the writing of the Imaginary Conversations. His life until then had been continually unsettled and his efforts uncertainly directed." From the coast of Brittany, after leaving his wife, Landor made his way to Tours. He found a resource at once in composing a Latin mythological poem, in which some of his Welsh tormentors were pilloried. "Of his quarrel with his wife," says Colvin, " he writes like a gentleman, doing justice to her conduct during the trying experiences at Lanthony. 276 WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR. He even proposed to hand over to her all his remaining fortune, reserving only