THE I.: -All MORE. 
 
HANNAH MOKE. 
 
Till: LIFK OF HANNAH MORE 
 
 M : ' IP -N^ I!;..M HRK C< 
 
 What things were gain to me, those I counted Ion for 
 
 SEKLBI, JACKSON, AtfD IIALI.II'AV, FLEET STREET. 
 
 'Ml. 
 
Life of Hannah More can scarcely be 
 to need any introduction. The history of one of the 
 most remarkable individuals of the last and present 
 
 :iiry surely requires no recommendation. Its tit- 
 ness to form one of the present series is equally 
 evident. The cordial renunciation of the world is not 
 so common an event more especially when that v. 
 courts and flatters that we should lightly pass over 
 the fact, that having tried both paths, this eminent 
 woman chose, deliberately, the path of wisdom, holiness, 
 and peace. Nor does her example, or her experience, 
 lack abundant encouragement to those who may foll"\\ 
 in her steps. A more useful, happy, or honourable 
 can scarcely be pointed out in the whole range of 
 Christian Biography. 
 
 It may, however, be said, that her example is not 
 for the common run of human beings; for that few 
 have such temptations, or such power of resisting them, 
 
as had Hannah More. This is true, but it does not 
 render her example useless, any more than is the 
 example of the great Apostle, who said, " Be ye 
 followers of me, as I am of Christ" 
 
 More needful, however, is the caution, not to ex- 
 pect, in every case, a visible reward in the present 
 world. Sometimes it pleases God to deal with hi* 
 servants as he did with Job, whose latter end was 
 better than his beginning. But, in most cases, under 
 the Gospel dispensation, the full justification of God 
 providence is reserved to the " day which shall de- 
 clare it ; " when the " crown of righteousness 
 be given to all those who love His appearing." 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAOB 
 
 T. IIF.R r.iiiTii EDUCATION AND EARLY LIFE . 1 
 
 If HER FIRST INTRODUCTION TO T! 
 
 AND FASHIONABLE WORLD . . .11 
 
 III. HER LITERARY CAREER, TO THE DEATH OF 
 
 OARRICK 37 
 
 FROM THE DEATH OF MR. OARRICK TO HER RE- 
 TIREMENT TO COWSLIP GREEN . . .54 
 
 V. HER RETIREMENT TO COWSLIP GREI N . . 100 
 
 VI. COMMENCEMENT OF THE CHEDDAR SCHOOLS 
 THE CHEAP REPOSITORY TRACTS THE BLAG- 
 DON CONTROVERSY 141 
 
 VII. I ;r. Mo VAT, TO BARLEY WOOD LONG ILLNESS 
 
 WRITES " CCELEBS " " PRA IETY " 
 
 " CHRISTIAN MORALS " . . . -233 
 
VI CONi 
 
 VIII. DECLINE OF LI I- E PKA I : I SISTERS 
 
 "ESSAY 01 "MORAL *KETCUE* " 
 
 " SPIRIT OF PRATER " 
 
 ix. MRS. MOKE'S REMOVAL FROM BARLEY WOOD 
 
 HER LAST DAYS DEATH AND I UABACTEB . 
 
MI-'E OF HANNAH MORE. 
 
 i 
 
 Hn BIRTH EDUCATION AND EARLY LIFE. 
 A.D. . 
 
 tha youngest but oao -of iJie-fiw" cbdgn\ 
 iff Jacob Morejwho was descended from a respcctabi 
 tnUy at Tlirtfaton in Norfolk, was born in the year 1745, 
 he parish of Staplcton, in the county of Gloucester. 
 Mr. Jacob More had received a learned education under the 
 brother of the celebrated Dr. Samuel Clarke, at the Grammar 
 School of Norwich, where he appears to have made a 
 proficiency in classical learning. He had been designed 
 for the church ; but his early expectations being defeated 
 by the failure of a law-.- !y. In- quitted that 
 
 part of the country, and obtained, through the patronage 
 of Lord Bottctourt, the mastership of a foundation-school 
 near Stapleton a situation which, at that time, fulfilled 
 the utmost of his wishes. Soon after he came into this 
 part of the world, he married a young woman of plain 
 education, the daughter of a creditable farmer, but en- 
 dowed, like himself, with avi-..nnis intellect; and to the 
 soundness of her judgment in the culture and regulation 
 of her children, the credit and success which attended 
 them has, in great part, been deservedly attributed. 
 
 At an early age Hannah More was distinguished by a 
 
 B 
 
i 
 
 LIFE OF HANNAH MORE. 
 
 great quickness of apprehension, reicntivcness of memory, 
 and a thirst -ft i koQwJgdge. Between the age of three 
 and four her mother, thinking it time t" ' b :.< r : > n .-1, 
 found to her astonishment, that, by an eager attention to 
 the instructions bestowed upon her sisters, she had alrrmdy 
 made considerable progress ; and before aho had attained 
 her fourth year she repeated her catechism in the church, 
 in a manner which excited the admiration of the minister 
 of the parish, who had so recently received her at the foot 
 Her nurse, a pious old woman, had lived in the family of 
 Drydcn, whose son she had attended in hia last fliness, and 
 the inquisitive mind of the little Hannah was continually 
 prompting her to ask for stories about th grgaLpofl^At 
 this early period, too, the signs of that (jirtcsTJoas hesMfr 
 which exercised her piety and virtue b/lo manj MLB lu 
 the course of ^cr. long life, began to appear ; slid it was 
 temembetad ta.ftg finily, that pain and suffering wire in 
 her case always \vitliouMheir usual attendants <f fretful- 
 
 
 thirst for 
 
 conspicuous ^ but her father, in 
 
 wuo/ivuvsu 3 , i'ii/ uvi AUbUVI, III OUUIUUU *U U0 VUfCT QiV* 
 
 appointments, h;.\ h, /. -.: his removil from Us neiini pleuy 
 lost the principal part of his books, which he faaff eent by 
 
 a separate conveyance, his collection 
 
 scribed to the very small number which trtrciM with 
 
 him, and which consisted of a few Latin, Greek, mathe- 
 
 matical, and geographical author* ; but this deficiency was 
 
 in sonic measure supplied by hia very wonderful memory 
 
 which enabled him to ^tiaf^TJnrayr^^^^ ^f^f^.. 
 
 to learn th . f the Greeks and Itm^f^l 1 by relating 
 
 to her, while Mtting on his knee, all the striking events 
 
 which they contain.' J, and reciting to her the speeches of 
 
 his favourite heroes, first, in their original l 
 
 gratify her ear with the sound, and afterwards i 
 
 them into English ; particularly dwelling on the p 
 
 and wise sayings of Plutarch ; and these recollections mae 
 
 her often afterwards remark, that the conversation I 
 
 preceptor ' 
 
 It is related tJ re, who was remrkb!c tvr his 
 
^N". 3 
 
 <:-::;: < .'.-.':. .: } o-, :.:>/. V .ving i-Ycrtheless be- 
 
 i he Latin 
 i JtJlMtifft Tni soon frightened at his own 
 
 study of the mathematics was not pursued, but 
 -arefully cultivated her acquaintance with the 
 iics; and of the ma* lie has often said, 
 
 tflRltale of them she had thus acquired, was of 
 sensible advantage to her through the whole course of her 
 intellectual progress. /The mother, s who had received but a 
 moderate education, IrtttiassahTto have been furnished by 
 nature with some of her best gifts, was an anxious for the 
 instruction of inising da 
 
 *~JHful of iU consequf : 
 
 ng upon any new studies was only wrung from him by 
 their joint importunity. 
 
 The eldest of the five daughters was sent to a French 
 school at Bristol, as it was the wish of the parents ilmt 
 their children should be qualified to procure for themselves 
 a respectable independence by the establishment of a b< 
 ing -school ; and this meritorious purpose was seconded by 
 the industry and solid abilities of this daughter, who, r 
 her return from school at the end of each week, constantly 
 imparted to her sisters the lessons she had received : and 
 u:; !: tin- t-i;ti.:i if BDdj ' ttB tt a< .;-... i:i{;iii<v \vith iho 
 
 . by study 
 
 and oppoi to a perfect acquaintance with its idiom 
 
 and pronunciation. Some French officers, of cultivated 
 minds and polished manners, who, being on le in 
 
 the neighbourhood, were frequent guests at Mr. Morc's 
 
 t>)( 
 
 h this society, js, said to i the 
 
 ground ct - and elegant use of the language for 
 
 which she was afterwards distinguished. 
 
 In her days of infancy, when she could possess herself 
 of a scrap of paper, her delight was to scribble upon it some 
 essay or poem, with some well-directed moral, whicli was 
 afterwards secreted in a dark corner where the servant 
 kept her brushes and dusters. Her little sister, with whom 
 she slept, was usually the repository of her nightly effusions * 
 
4 LITE OP HANNAH JiOR) 
 
 who, in her zeal lest these compositions should bt lost, 
 would sometimes steal down to procure a light, Mid com- 
 mit them to the first scrap of paper which aha could find. 
 Among the characteristic sports of Hannah'* childhood, 
 which their mother waa food of record Ing, wo are told thai 
 she was wont to make a carriage of a chair, and then to 
 call her sisters to ride with her to London, to aat " 
 and booksellers ; an intercourse which we ahall 
 show to have been realiied. The greataat wiah 1 
 nation could frame, when her acrapa of paper 
 hausted, was that she might one day be rich enough to 
 have a whole quire to herself. And when, by her mother** 
 indulgence, the prize was obtained, it wae aoon tiled with 
 suppositions letters to depraved characters, to reclaim them 
 from their errors ; and letters in return, nipteMJie of con- 
 trition and resolutions of amendment 
 
 At length, the sisters were thought euftVaently qualified 
 for their long-projected undertaking of opening a boarding- 
 school at Bristol; which, from its fir* eonunencetnent, 
 was attended with uncommon auooeea ; and the eldest Miat 
 More, not yet quite twenty-one, took under her care Hannah, 
 scarcely then twelve years old, to gire her the benefit of 
 masters in the modern Ungtyy^ And here it may not 
 be amis* to mention, that the high character for pure 
 morals, discreet conduct, and solid information, which the 
 eldest sister had already acquired, m^t her an tarry object 
 of that respect which followed her to the tranquil and 
 Christian close of her useful life. She waa indebted for 
 this best inheritance to her worthy parenta, who had ever 
 anxiously endeavoured to cultivate in their children minda 
 a high standard of practical morality, built upon religi 
 principles ; and the sisters never ceased to remember the 
 pious care which their father had taken to impreat unot 
 their minds the sanctity of the Lord's day. 
 
 She had reached her sixteenth year 'when the elder 
 Sheridan came to Bristol, to give lecturea on eloquence 
 and such was the impression made upon her yoong iaaj 
 nation by an exhibition so novel and inteUectual thath 
 feelings could find utterance only in a copy of verses, whic 
 resented to the lecturer by a friend of bothTtU par- 
 
HER EARLY LIFE. 
 
 The performance was probably beyond the promise 
 of an age so tender, as it indued Mr. Sheridan to seek an 
 acquaintance with the author, which, when obtained, in- 
 creased his admiration of her dawning genius. About' the 
 same period, a dangerous illness brought her under the 
 care of Dr. Woodward, a physician of eminence at that day, 
 and distinguished by his correct taste. On one of his 
 visits, being led into conversation with his patient on sub- 
 :terature, he forgot the purpc isit in the 
 
 fascination of her talk; till suddenly recoil 
 when he was half-way down stairs, he cried out, " Bless 
 me ! I forgot to ask the girl how she was ;' and returned 
 to the room, exclaiming, " How are you to-day, my poor 
 
 About this time she formed an acquaintance 
 myn^ the popular astronomer, then engaged at Bristol in 
 
 ng public lectures an acquaintance which soon ripened 
 into friendship ; and the time ^they passed togetlu r . 
 to topics c 
 
 ; and he, on his part> was impressed 
 ; for her taste and genius, that he is 
 
 said to have submitted the style of most of his con. 
 
 tion* to her inspection, r With .such testimonies she was 
 
 quatatance with books aTHl II1UU, fcupt nfr 
 with the eipoutaUoinHnch snch testin ! begun to ! 
 
 .\ But, aXBDOg h<T Srly i<\-inmtanc<\ to none does 
 arto have been more indebted f<> mce- 
 
 mcut in critical knowledge^, and the i of correct ' 
 
 taste, than to a linen-dra] <>!, of the name of 
 
 Peach, of whose 'crtiauiiilnary sagacity and cultivated in- 
 tellect she was often heard to express herself with great 
 admiration. He had been the friend of Hume, who had 
 shown his confidence in his judgment by entrusting to 
 him the correction of his history, in which, he used to 
 say, he had discovered more than two hundred Scot- 
 
 At this time there existed few or none of those judicious 
 selections from our best authors, which are now in the 
 hands of all young persons under education ; and it was 
 
f, LIFE OF HANNAH MORE. 
 
 observed by the youthful moralist, that for want of such 
 an advantage a custom was prevailing among her juvenile 
 acquaintance of committing to memory parts of plays, not 
 always sound ;-le or pure in tendency. In the 
 
 hope of giving to these habits a sate direction, aha wrote, 
 T seventeenth year (1762), the pastoral dram* of the 
 And the attempt snoceeded as it 
 
 access to the best libraries 
 
 d v. :fh .. ; .' . ' 
 
 ! . ... .--..:.! . 
 
 translations a 
 
 *pe^yottoeOd<Holll,r^9MQrmcotlbcdnttULtio 
 compositions of Metastasio, which were shown only to her 
 more intimate literary friends, of whom some hare left 
 
 tcst:in 'iii'-** t ih'-;r '-p:rj* .^n i Ir-.'.irn . Sf,- NV..M 
 
 not, however, in snmaeot uul btimonr with thesa, OP 
 indeed with any of her very early compositions, to allow 
 them to live. The only one which waa resoned was Mama 
 tasio's opera of Ayufait; which, after H had lain bjr far 
 some yean, she waa induced to work up into a drama, and 
 
 "h, under the title of Tk* InftxibU Omftm. 
 It is related of her, in proof of the ease with which ana 
 the spirit of the Italian authors into her own 
 that being present at a 4ebraiedltelia concert, 
 to gratify one of the company, who waa desirous of know 
 ing the subject of the performance, she took oat her penofl, 
 and gave a translation, which was snatched from her, sod 
 inserted in the principal magarina of the day. 
 
 She ranked among her literary friends, at this time. 
 Dean Tucker, Dr. Ford, and Dr. Storehouse ; persons, te 
 . h whom upon equal terms, was proof *fH^irt of 
 bar early maturity of ontteritaiidiiia> ^^ 
 
 < afterwards Sir James) Stonehouse was then a name 
 lany years a physician 
 
 great practice at Northampton, which profession ho was 
 induce mish, for one to which the bent of hi* 
 
 ;poaed and prepared him. Having 
 
 covered his health by the use of the Bristol waters, he 
 took holv orders, and fixed his residence in Bristol, in the 
 
HER EARLY LI f 
 
 same street in which ]: ;.>rc then lived with he- 
 
 sisters. A friendship soon commenced between them, 
 which suffered no interruption till the death of Sir James! 
 Miss IL More had written but little when this acquaintance 
 commenced ; but Dr. Stonehouae discerned the promise 
 of greater thing*, and was unbounded in his admiration of 
 the freshness and originality of her powers in conversation, 
 in which her modesty and judgment contended with her 
 fancy and fertility. Miss H. More wrote the cpii )lis of 
 both Sir James Stonehou.se and his lady, which were placed 
 in the chapel at the Hot-wells. 
 
 ) It would be injurious to the merits of Dr. Stonehouse, 
 to forget to say of him that he was a useful guide to his 
 young friend in her study of divinity, and her choice of 
 theological writers, f 
 
 At about the age of twenty-two she i e ad- 
 
 dresses of a gentleman of fortune, more than twenty years 
 older than herself, He was a man of strict honour and 
 integrity, had received a liberal education, and, among other 
 recommendations of an intellectual character, had culti- 
 vated a taste for poetry, and shown much skill in the em- 
 belli*lmient of rural scenery and the general improvement 
 
 i* estate. ae estate of matrimony he ap : 
 
 to have wanted that essential qualification a cheerful and 
 composed temper. The prospect oi with the 
 
 appendage of an indifferent temper, was gloomy enough ; 
 but there were other decisive objecti . iiich it is 
 
 unimportant to dwell. It will be enough to produce an 
 extract from a letter, received by the executrix of Hannah 
 More soon after her decease, written by a lady, whose 
 
 v and long intimacy with her, and personal knowledge 
 of this delicate transaction, coupled with the great respect- 
 ability of her character^entitle her testimony to the f ullest 
 
 * I knew the late Mrs. Hannah More for nearly sixty- 
 four years, I may say m- -tely ; for during my ten 
 
 year* residence with her sisters I was received and treated, 
 
 widow of the late Captain Simmons, 
 
LIFE OF HAXNAH MORE. 
 
 not as a scholar, but as a child of their own, in a < 
 fidential and affectionate manner ; and ever since the first 
 
 rcourse was kept up by letters and visiting. I was 
 living at her sisters' when Mr. Turner paid his addresses to 
 : for it was owing to my cousin Turner (whom nrj 
 her had placed at their school) that she became ac- 
 quainted with Mr. Turner. He always had his cousins, the 
 two Miss Turners, to spend their holidays with him, as a 
 most respectable and worthy lady managed and kept his 
 house. Hia residenoo at Belmont was bemutifuUy situat^ 
 and he had carriages and horses, and everything to make * 
 
 Visit to IVllIlOllt U'.Trt ;ibV. !! |Tnmtt'l };IH r.o. . 
 
 ask any young persons at the school to spend their vaca- 
 swiththcm. Their goreroesase being nearly of their 
 own age, they made choice of the two youngest of the 
 wsters Hannah and Patty More. The oonsftqiKmoe waa 
 natural. She was rery clever and fascinating, and he waa 
 
 MMPQSJl :ii ( l < '? *>' ' i 1.' i"'a::.' % .''.'.-.{.!. .ii -i :.. i>\i- .I.M 
 
 offer of marriage, which waa accepted. He waa a nan of large 
 fortune, and she waa young and dependent (She quitted 
 her interest in the concern of the school, and waa at great 
 expense in preparing and fitting herself out to be the wife 
 of a man of that condition. The day waa fixed more than 
 once for the marriage ; and Mr. Turner each time post- 
 poned it Her sisters and friends interfered, and would 
 not permit her to be so treated, and trifled with. Ho 
 continued in the wish to marry her; but her friends, alter 
 his former conduct, and on other accounts, perseveu . 
 keeping up her determination not to renew the engage- 
 
 :it." 
 
 In this difficulty (we borrow still from the same authen- 
 
 source), Sir James Stonehouse was applied to for his 
 
 >sition, and his assistance was promptly af- 
 
 counsel of such a fnend she found resolution 
 
 orminate this anxious and painful treaty. The final 
 
 (separation was amicably agreed upon, and the contracting 
 
 I parties broke off their intercourse by mutual consent At 
 
 on toget proposed to settle 
 
HER EARLY LIFE. 9 
 
 an annuity upon her ; a proposal which was with dignity 
 and firmness rejected, and the intercourse appeared to bo 
 absolutely at an end. Let it be recorded, however, in jus- 
 tice to the memory of this gentleman, that his mind was 
 ill at ease till an interview was obtained with Dr. Stone- 
 house, to whom ho declared his intention to secure to Miss 
 More, with whom he had considered his union as certain, 
 an annual sum which might enable her to devote herself 
 to her literary pursuits, and compensate, in some degree, 
 for the robbery ho had committed upon her time. Dr. 
 Stonehouse consulted with the friends of the parties, and 
 the consultation terminated in a common opinion that, all 
 things considered, a part of the sum proposed might be 
 accepted without the sacrifice of delicacy or propriety, and 
 the settlement was made without the knowledge of the 
 lady, Dr. Stonehouse consenting to become the agent and 
 trustee. It was not, however, till some time after the affair 
 had been thus concluded, that the consent of Hiss More 
 could be obtained by the importunity of her friends. 
 
 The regard and respect of Mr. Turner for Miss More 
 was continued through his life ; her virtues and excellences 
 were his favourite theme among his intimate friends ; and 
 at his death he bequeathed her a thousand pounds. 
 
 correct and tender mind, which did not come out 
 from these embarrassments without a certain degree of 
 distress and disturbance, seemed to seek relief in the reso- 
 :i which she formed and kept, of avoiding a similar 
 entanglement Nor did her resolution want its trial and 
 its testimony. Not long afterwards her hand was again , 
 solicited and refused ; and, as it happened in the form- 
 case, the attachment of the proposer was succeeded by a 
 cordial respect, which was met on her part by a corre- 
 sponding sentiment, and ended only with his existence. 
 These incidents the reader of delicacy will duly appreciate. 
 There is upon the face of them a stamp of that high- 
 mindedness and moral strength, by which the dignity of 
 her character was illustrated in the various walk of her 
 Christian life public and private. 
 
 Those who knew her best, feel the difficulty most of 
 deciding to which belonged the greater homage the firm 
 
c amiable qimlitice of her mind. At tho early age it 
 whicli we are now retracing her course, we aee in her oa* 
 Mftpondenoe and intenxmne a spirit and a principle, whieh, 
 if we do not admire and love, it ia because the faerinatiooi 
 of imposing and unfaminiw enmpiea have, in these davv 
 and dangerooa novdtiea, aophirtkated oom- 
 and inTerted the natural dispoaittoiis of order 
 
HER OTBODUCTION TO THE WORLD. 
 
 IL 
 
 IWBODUCTION TO THE LITERARY AND 
 FASHIONABLE WORLD. 
 
 A.D. 1774-17T9. 
 
 Wl have now attended Miss More to the threshold of 
 active life and general society to the portal of that tumul- 
 toous mart where the busy clamour of interest, emulation, 
 and vanity, assail the ear and bewilder the senses to that 
 stage in the progress of ardent inexperience in which the 
 blooming speculations of hope and fancy are to be 
 changed for rulgar verities. 
 
 Hannah More now presents herself to us as a member 
 of those assemblies where wit and fashion were to put her 
 principles upon the defensive, and to prove and decide her 
 character. Her raptures on her first introduction to a 
 l author," she has been heard very humorously to 
 describe ; and her sisters long remembered the strong de- 
 are she expressed to have a view, from some hiding-place, 
 of Dr. Johnson, or some of the literary oracles of the day. 
 Gal-rick's career was supposed to be drawing to a close, 
 which inflamed her eager desire to hear Shakspeare speak- 
 ing in the person of that consummate actor a wish that 
 might be pardoned in one to whom the Muse had already 
 Biade a tender of her patronage, and vouchsafed her inspi- 
 ration ; and for whose brows she was preparing an unfading 
 chaplet 
 
 What her opinions were at a subsequent period, of the 
 lawfulness of frequenting theatrical exhibitions, became 
 apparent in her conduct and correspondence ; but at the 
 time we are regarding her, neither the manners and habits 
 of persons denominated religious, nor the scruples of her 
 own mind, had interdicted her visits to the theatre. 
 
13 AH MORE. 
 
 Some of her earliest letters, after her introduction into 
 general society, were written to Mrs. Gwatkin (but it is to 
 be regretted they are without date), then living near Bristol, 
 one of her first and firmest friends ; and it will probably 
 amuse the reader to bo made acquainted with their con- 
 tents - 
 
 nrfctfte ttm*, Cbwirf <**, !*. 
 y dear Madam, Here have I been a whole week 
 to my hamc be it spoken without ever having given you 
 the least intimation of my existence or change of situa- 
 tion ; but I doubt not of your having been informed of it 
 by my friend Charlotte, You who know the hurry, bustle, 
 dissipation, and nonsensical flatter of a town-life, will, I 
 am sure, excuse me if I have not devoted a few minutes 
 to you before, when I assure you it has not been in my 
 power. Martha and the fair Clarissa are of the party, and 
 we are comfortably situated in Henrietta Street 
 
 Monday we dined, drank tea, and supped, at the 
 amiable Sir Joshua Beynoids's: there was a brilliant < 
 of both eexes ; not in general literary, though partly so. 
 We were not suffered to come away till one. 
 
 iave not been able to pay my devoirs to my dear 
 Dr. Johnson yet, though Miss Reynolds has offered to 
 accompany me whenever I am at leisure. I wish I could 
 convey his Journey to M Hebrides to you. Cadcll tells 
 me he sold four thousand of them the first week. It is 
 an agreeable work, though the subject is sterility Heeft 
 He knows how to avail himself of the commonest circum- 
 stances, and trifles are no longer trifles when they have 
 passed through his hands. He makes the most enter- 
 taining and useful reflections on every occurrence ; and 
 when occurrences f.iil, he )KLS a MMM0h| fun-1 :n i..< 
 own accomplished and prolific mind. Pray let me hear 
 from you soon. I wish you were with us. 
 
 " I am so hurried, that I do not know what I write. 
 a I my dear friend. 
 
 " Yours at all times, 
 
 " HANNAH MORE." 
 
 7r, that Rambler, Dr. Johnson, was out of 
 
INTRODUCTION TO GARRICK AND JOHNSON. 13 
 
 town, so we were deprived of the felicity of seeing him last 
 night ; but it is a pleasure the obliging Miss Reynolds has 
 promised me. Though this bright sun did not cheer us 
 with his rays, yet we had a constellation of the Agreeables. 
 I enclose the verses I mentioned. The thought happened 
 to strike in preference to the others. Wo cannot have the 
 pleasure of seeing Charles Street to-night Have been to 
 bear Lindaey Hope you did not expire at the opera for 
 fear, as Lady Grace says, you should not live to go to 
 another. 
 
 " Adieu much yours, 
 
 : - II. MORE." 
 
 This visit to London was made in 1773 or 1774, in com- 
 pany with two of her sisters; and 1: action to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Oarrick took place in about a week after her 
 arrivaL Qarrick had seen a letter from Miss More to a 
 person known to them both, so well describing the effect 
 produced upon her mind by his performance of the cha- 
 racter of Lear as to inflame his curiosity to see and con- 
 Terse with her. The interview was easily procured ; and 
 after an hour pained together, they parted reciprocally 
 pleased, haying discovered in each other what was gruti- 
 ; to both natural manners, original powers, and wit 
 in union with good nature, f On the day following, M^ 
 More and Mrs. Montagu were brought together at Mr 
 Oarrick's house ; and her introduction to the great and the 
 greatly-endowed was sudden and general. It came upon 
 her with a surprise which might excuse some whisperings 
 of self-adulation and some disturbance of principle! 
 
 It was afterwards Mr. Garrick's delight to introduce 
 his new friend to the best and most gifted of his own 
 acquaintance. The desire she had long felt to see Dr. 
 Johnson was speedily gratified. Her first introduction to 
 him took place at the house of Sir Joshua Reynolds, who 
 ored her,' as he handed her up-stairs, for the possibility 
 of his being in one of his moods of sadness and silence. 
 
 She was surprised at his coming to meet her, as she 
 entered the room, with good humour in his countenance, 
 
I IFE Or HAJTSAH MORE. 
 
 t macaw of Sir Joshuas on his band ; and still 
 at his accosting her with a verso from a Morning I ly 
 which aho had written at the desire of Sir James Stone* 
 house, In the same pleasant humour he ceottnued the 
 whole of the evening. Some extracts from the letteraof 
 em of her sprightly asters to the family at home, will 
 afford the beat picture of the intercourse and scenes in 
 which Hannah was now fefltt*hfl to bear a part : 
 
 " Lo*J*. 1 
 
 " Since I wrote last, Hannah baa been introduced by 
 
 /Miss Reynold* to Baretti and to Edmund Burke, (the 'eub- 
 
 ' lime and beautiful 1 Edmund Burke I) From a large party 
 
 of literary persona a^mblad at 8ir Joshua's, aba received 
 
 the most encouraging compliments; and the spirit with 
 
 aa Miat Reynolds informed poor ua. Miss & repeats bet 
 little poem by heart, with which ate the great Johneon 
 icn pleaaed.* 
 
 ** i 
 
 MVe have paid another vieft to ML* Reynold* fine 
 had sent to itipy Dr. Percy, ( Ptrcy *s Collection 
 you know him,) who is quite a sprightly modern, i 
 of a rusty antique, a I expected, iio was no aooner gone 
 than the moat amiable and obliging of women (Ifiaa Bey- 
 nolds.) ordered the coach to take us to Dr. Johnson's very 
 own house ; yes, Abywinia's Johneon t Dictionary John* 
 Kambler's, Idler's, and Irene's Johnson! Ctoi you 
 picture to yourselves the palpitation of oar hearts as we 
 approached his mansion T The conversation turned upon 
 a new work of his, (the Tovr to the Hebrides) and his 
 old friend Richardson. Mrs. Williams, the blind poet, who 
 lives with him, was introduced to us. She is ""Pf*^ in 
 
 manners; her conversati- and 
 
 Miss Reynolds told the Doctor of all our rapturous < 
 
 shook his scientific head at Hannah, 
 .aid Mid, ' she was a silly thin-' When our visit was ended 
 he called for his hat, as it rained, to attend us down a very 
 long entry to our coach, and not Kasselas could have ac- 
 
EARLIEST LETTERS. 15 
 
 quitted himself more en cavalier. We are engaged with 
 him at Sir Joshua's for Wednesday evening. What do you 
 think of us ? 
 
 " I forgot to mention, that not finding Johnson in his 
 little parlour when we came in, Hannah seated herself in 
 his great chair, hoping to catch a little ray of his genius ; 
 when he heard it he laughed heartily, and told her it was 
 a chair ID which he never sat He said it reminded him 
 of BoBweU and himself, when they stopped a night at the 
 spot (as they imagined) where the weird sisters appeared 
 to Macbeth : the idea so worked upon their enthusiasm, 
 that it quite deprived them of rest ; however, they learnt 
 the next morning, to their mortification, that they had 
 been deceived, and were in quite another part of the 
 0.1! int ry. ' 
 
 Johnson afterwards mentioned to Miss Reynolds how 
 much he had been touched with the enthusiasm which was 
 lo in the whole manner of th^ young authoress Jand 
 which was evidently genuine and unaffected. Such was 
 the first introduction of Hannah More into the world of 
 literature; an introduction which had far exceeded her 
 modest expectations, and more than gratified the thirst 
 she had so early felt for intellectual society. She returned 
 with her sisters to Bristol, after a six-weeks' residence in 
 town, which she again visited in the February of the fol- 
 lowing year, 1775. 
 
 We shall now best make out the details of some years 
 of her life, by extracts from her letters, written chiefly to 
 her sisters in the country, with the carelessness and freedom 
 of one who wrote only for the bosom and the fireside, and 
 
 ; or the world : iudecd, fthe never attempted what are 
 called good letters herself, or much valued them when 
 written by others. She used to say, " If I want wisdom, 
 sentiment, or information, I can find them much better in 
 books. 9 What I want in a letter is the picture* of my friend's 
 mind, and the common course of his life. I want to know 
 what he is saying and doing ; I want him to turn out the 
 inside of his heart to me, without disguise, without ap- 
 pearing better than he is, without writing for a character. 
 
LIFE OF HANNAH MORE. 
 
 I have the game feeling in writing to him. My lett- 
 therefore, worth nothing to a: rson, but 
 
 of value to the friend who cares for me." 
 
 Miss H. More to one of her *b>ten> : 
 
 '' /.!./ Ml, \~ 1 ' 
 
 ^it was to Sir Joshua's, where we were 
 \vith all the friendship imaginable. I am going 
 to-day to a great dinn -.g can be conceived ao 
 
 absurd, extravagant, and fantastical, aa the present mode 
 raising the head. S. md modesty are thing! 
 
 ho much exploded, that the very names are no longer 
 remembered. I have just escaped from one of the moat 
 fashionable disfigurers; and though I charged him to dress 
 me with the greatest simplicity, and to have only a very 
 distant eye upon the fashion, just enough to avo 
 pride of singularity, without running into ridiculous ex- 
 BS ; yet, in spite of ail these sago didactics, I absolutely 
 blush at myself, and torn to the glass with as much cau- 
 tion as a vain beauty just risen from the small-pox, which 
 
 of dressing. Of the one, the calamity may be greater in 
 its consequence, but of the other it is more corrupt 
 cause. We have been reading a treatise on the morality 
 of Shakspcare ; it is a happy and easy way of filling a 
 book that the present race of authors hare arrived at 
 that of criticising the works of some eminent poet, with 
 monstrous extracts and ahort remarks. It is a species of 
 cookery I begin to grow tired of; they cut up thi -ir author* 
 into chops, and by adding a little crumbled bread t 
 own, and tossing it up a little, they present it as a fresh 
 dish : you are to dine upon the poet ; the critic mi 
 the garnish, yet has the credit as well as profit of the whole 
 eutertainrr. 
 
 " LWon, , 
 
 I had yesterday the pleasure of dining in Hill Street, 
 
 y Square, at a certain 31 :'*, a name not 
 
 totally obscure. The party consisted of herself, Mrs. Carter, 
 
 Dr. Johnson, Solander. and Matty, Mrs. Boscawen, Miss 
 
HER EARLIEST LETTERS. 17 
 
 , and Sir Joshua (the idol of every company) ; some 
 other persons of high rank and less wit, and your humble 
 servant a party that would not have disgraced the table 
 of Laclius or of Atticus. I felt myself a worm, the more 
 rm for the consequence which was given me, by 
 mixing me with such a society ; but, as I told Mrs. Bos- 
 cawcn, and with great truth, I had an opportunity of 
 making an experiment of my heart, by which I learnt that 
 I was not envious, for I certainly did not repine at being 
 the meanest person in company. 
 
 i th the most encouraging 
 
 kindnfeSSTtdlV is not 01. it, 
 
 in the highest mag- 
 
 .ipartmenU and table are in the most 
 :<l taste ; but what baubles are these when speaking 
 of a Montagu ! her form (for she has no body) is <Ulicato 
 to fragility : her countenance the most animated in 
 the world; tho sprightly vivacity of fifteen, with the 
 judgment and experience of a Nestor. But I fear she is 
 hastening to decay very fast ; her spirits arc so act 
 that they must soonjra> tqjt the little, fi icle 
 
 :u. frs. Cartel has in her person a i\ ;it 
 deal of what the gcntleuienmean when they say such a 
 one is a 'poetical lady ;* however, independently of her 
 great talents and learning, I like her much ; she has affa- 
 bility, kindness, and goodness ; and I honour her heart 
 more than her talents : but I do not like one of them 
 better than Mrs, Boscawcn ; she is at once polite, learned, 
 judicious, anfrfetHWT alia Mrs. Park tells me, her letters 
 arc thought not inferior to Mrs. Montagu's. She regretted 
 (so did I), that so many suns could not possibly shine at 
 one time : but we are to have a smaller party, where, from 
 luminaries, there may emanate a clearer, steadier, 
 more beneficial light Dr. Johnson asked me howl 
 liked the new tragedy of Brayanza. I was ati-aid to speak 
 11, as I knew a diversity of opinion pre- 
 i among the company : however, as I thought it a * 
 less evil to dissent from tho opinion of a fellow-creature j 
 thau to tell a lulsity, I ventured to give my sentiments ; 
 
 c 
 
mm "K n A 
 
 and wus satisfied with Johnson's answering, You an> 
 right, madam.' " 
 
 m Miss Sarah More to one of bar siotorn : 
 
 l.***m. 177.- 
 
 "Tuesday evening we drank tea at Sir Joshua'* 
 Dr. Johnson. ^nah u oeriain^ a great fevoori ta. She 
 
 lion to themselves. They were both in remarkably high 
 spirit*; it waa certainly her lucky night! I new heard 
 her say o many good thing*. The old genius was ex- 
 i tamely jocular, and the young one wry pleasant 
 
 ild hare imagined we bad bean at some comedy had 
 
 I you heard our peals of laughter. They, indeed, tried 
 
 1 which could 'pepper the highest: and it is not dear to 
 
 inn thst thn liTinngrsphfr was meltj thn highest srewinrr 
 
 Yesterday Mr. Derrick called upon ua; a volume of Pbj* 
 
 lay upon the table; we aakcd him to wad, and be went 
 
 through the latter part of the JKwny on Man. He waa 
 
 exceedingly good humoured, and expresaod himself quite 
 
 ,, . , -..:-. . : : :. 
 
 ho had satisfied one interrogatory, said, 'Now, madam, 
 what next r Hemdaereralltneawehadbaendispotsng 
 about, with regard to fsnphssis, in many different way*. 
 before he decided which was right Ha Mt with us from 
 half-past twelve till three, reading and criticising. We 
 have just had a call from Mr. Burke." 
 
 We will now present a few extracts from some other of 
 Hannah's letters to one of h r aisters > 
 
 LamA*. 1 
 
 To whokMM sotttado; UM 
 'Sense,' I was going to add, in the words of Pope, till I 
 recollected that pence had a more appropriate meaning, 
 and was as good a rhyme. This apostrophe broke from 
 me on coming from the opera, the firvt I ever did. 
 last I trust I ever shall go to. For what purpose has the 
 
EARLIEST 19 
 
 Lord of the universe n M with a com- 
 
 prehensive mii y make him a little lower than the 
 
 angels ? Why give him the faculty of thinking, the powers 
 of wit and memory, and, to crown all, an immortal and 
 never-dying spirit ? Why all this wondrous waste, this 
 prodigality of bounty, if the mere animal senses of sight 
 and hearing (by which he is not dist: from the 
 
 brutes that perish) would have ai \\ell? 
 
 And yet I find the same people are seen at the opera every 
 night an amusement written in a language the greater 
 part of them do not understand, and performed by such a 
 set of beings! 
 " But the man 
 
 V. ' ,'.'.;. . . . 
 
 Of roactuxl nature and reviving aouso,' 
 
 eat at my elbow, and reconciled me to my situation, not by 
 his approbation, but his presence. Going to the opera, like 
 getting drunk, is a sin that carries its own punishment 
 with it, and that a very severe one. Thank my dear Dr. 
 
 8 for his kind and seasonable admonitions on my last 
 
 Sunday's engagement at- Mrs. Montagu's. C had 
 
 done its office before ; nay, was busy at the time : and if it 
 did not dash the cup of pleasure to the ' at 
 
 least a tincture of wormwood into it. I did think of the 
 alarming call, 'What doest thou here, Elijah?' and I 
 thought of it to-night at the o\> 
 
 "Perhaps yon will say I ought t irlit of it 
 
 again to-day, when I tell you I have dined abroad ; but it 
 is a day I reflect on without those uneasy sensations one 
 has when one is conscious it has been spent in trifling 
 company. I have been at Mrs. Boscaw* Montagu;] 
 
 Mrs. Carter, Mrs. Chapone, and myself, only were admitted. 
 We spent the time, P^ * *"**, ht flg reasonable crea- 
 
 .,n was 
 
 sprightly, but serious. I have not enjoyed an afternoon so 
 much since I have been in town. There was much sterling 
 ense, and they are ail ladies of high character for piety; 
 of which, however, I do not think their visiting on Sundays 
 any proof, for though their conversation is edifying, the 
 
LITE OF HAXXAH MORE. 
 
 example is bad. You do not, I presume, expect I should 
 send you a transcript of the conversation ; I have told you 
 
 rlocutors, but you arc not to expect the dialogue. 
 Patty says, if she had such rich subjects she could make a 
 
 hand of them; I believe her; my outlines are per* 
 haps more just, but she beats me all to nothing 
 
 ng. She is but ajroung painter, and is fond of 
 drapery and ornament ; \jfor my own part, the more I see 
 of the ' honoured, famed, and great,' the more I see of the 
 littleness, the tinsatisfactoriness of all created good; and 
 that no earthly pleasure can fill up the wants of the im- 
 mortal principle within^ One need go no farther than the 
 
 company I have just left to be convinced that 4 pain U for 
 man,' and that fortune, talents and science, are DO exemp- 
 tion from the universal lot Mr. Montagu, eminently dis- 
 tinguished for wit and virtue, 'the wisest where all arc 
 
 hectic. Mrs. Chapone has erperteneed the severest re- 
 verses of fortune ; and Mrs. Boscawen's life has been a 
 continued series of afflictions, which may almost bear a 
 parallel with those ot the righteous man of Us. Tell me, 
 then, what is it to be wise I This, you will say, i 
 ting the unfavourable aide of the picture of buinn 
 
 - 1 have read Sir Joshua's last discourse at the Academy. 
 
 In my poor judgment it U a masterpiece for matter as wcU 
 
 as style, and that we have scarcely a finer writer. I have 
 
 told the Beynoldses how angry I am with Burke f 
 
 unhandsome paragraph on i .:'</. 
 
 Tucker). Theyare warm friends, but I wou! 
 
 point. They seem to think tbat the man and the pounSSST 
 
 rent things; but I do not see why a person should 
 not be bound to speak truth in the House of Commons as 
 well as in his own house," 
 
 At the end of another six weeks, Hannah More again 
 <1 to her family, and paid her next visit to London 
 in the January of 17" 
 
HER EARLIEST LETT: 21 
 
 During her residence at home she one day laughingly 
 said to her sisters, " I have been so fed with praise and 
 flattering attentions, that I think I will venture to try 
 what is my real value, by writing a slight poem and 
 offering it to Cadell myself." In a fortnight after this idea 
 was started, she had completed the legendary tale of Sir 
 Hdred of the Bo\ccr ; to which she added the little poem 
 of the Bleeding I tod; which she had written some years 
 previously. Upon her presenting it to Mr. Cadell, ho 
 offered her a price which exceeded her idea of its worth; 
 very handsomely adding, that if she could hereafter dis- 
 r what Goldsmith obtained for the Deserted Village, 
 he would make up the sum, be it what it might. This 
 treaty was the beginning of a connexion with Mr. Cadell, 
 which was carried on through an intercourse of nearly 
 forty years, with a reciprocity of esteem and regard that 
 Buffered no interruption. 
 
 Miss H. More to one of her sisters : 
 
 ^^^ "London, 177... 
 
 "Yesterday was another of the few sunshiny days with 
 which human life is so scantily furnished. We spent it 
 irrick's; ho was in high good humour, and inexpres- 
 sibly agreeable. Here waa likely to have been another 
 jostling and intersecting of our pleasures ; but as they 
 knew Johnson would bo with us at seven, Mrs. Garrick 
 was so good as to dine a little after three, and all things 
 fell out in comfortable succession. We were at the reading 
 of a new tragedy, and insolently and unfeelingly pronounced 
 against it We got home in time. I hardly ever spent an 
 evening more pleasantly or profitably. Johnson, full of 
 wisdom and piety, was very communicative. To enjoy Dr. 
 Johnson perfectly, one must have him to one's self, as he 
 seldom cares to speak in mixed parties. Our tea was not 
 over till nine ; we then fell upon Sir Eldrcd. He read 
 both poems through ; suggested some little alterations in 
 the first, and did me the honour to write one whole stanza ; 
 but in the Rock he has not altered a word. Though only 
 a tea visit, he stayed with us till twelve. I was quite at my 
 case, and never once asked him to eat (drink he never doeu 
 
-- LIFE OF RinAB VOU. 
 
 anything but tea) ; while you, I dare say, would have been 
 fidgeted to death, and would have sent half over the 
 lor chickens, and oysters, and asparagus, and Ma* 
 You see how frugal it is to be wcll-brod, and not to t . 
 of such a vulgar renovation ae eating and drinking." 
 
 __^ J>f.*>, 
 
 am annoyed by the foolish absurdity of the 
 
 pr **nt mode of dress, Some liulics carry on their heads 
 
 o quantity of fnii t, and yet they would despise poor 
 
 member of society who carried it there for the par* 
 
 ;ng it for breadTjpome, at the back of their 
 
 IH i i,. ,:.it . .''....:. : 
 
 lUatosnt colour*, Ae. 8pir son ! thou pure and 
 
 gentle shade, aril* ! thou who, with such fliw humour and 
 
 md the party patches ; and out down, with a 
 piickle,awholehiurrctoffoUiisndabmjrdiUai! Awake! 
 for the follies thou did* bah were but the beginning of 
 follies; and the absurdities thou didst censure were but 
 
 the seeds of absurdities! Oh, thai thy master spirit, 
 pasting and chiding in thy graceful page, ooold recsJ the 
 
 : i ... , : 
 
 "' ' " ': ' 
 
 We find another letter from one of her 
 abouttbeunettnie f fh>mwhidiweahallmakealrainortMis 
 
 -Limit* > 
 
 M If a wedding should take place before our return, don't 
 ^ed, between the mother of Sir EM red, and the 
 r of my much-loved Irene ; nay, Mrs. Montagu flays, 
 words arc the precursors of connubial engage- 
 ments we may expect great things ; for it is nothing but 
 fool,' Move/ and 'dearest' After much 
 ical discourse he turned round to me, and with one 
 i : " hi.- i!:ot amiable looks, which must be seen to form the 
 least idc.i ^ays, 'I have heard that you are en- 
 
 cful and honourable employment of teaching 
 vith all the same case, fa.ni- 
 
TTFP. 23 
 
 vre should have done had only our 
 owii se been present, we entered upon 
 
 history of our birth, parentage, and education ; showing 
 how we were born with more desires than guineas ; and 
 how, as years increased our appetites, the cupboard at 
 
 a began to grow too small to gratify them ; and how, 
 with a bottle of water, a bed, and a blanket, we set out to 
 seek oar fortunes; and how we found a great house with 
 nothing in it ; and how it was like to remain so, till, looking 
 into our knowledge-boxes, we happened to find a little 
 ItrmtrM/, a good thing when land is gone, or rather none ; 
 and so at last, by giving a little of this little I >' -/,. - : r to 
 
 * who had less, we got a good store of gold in return ; 
 tmt how, alas! we wanted the wit to keep it. ' I love you 
 both,' cried the inamorata * I love you all five I 
 was at Bristol I will come on purpose to see you what 1 
 fve women live happily together? I will come and see 
 you I have spent a happy evening I am glad I came 
 God fbr ever Wess you ; you live lives to shame dwlu 
 He took his leave with so much warmth ami tenderness, 
 that we were quite affected at his man* 
 
 " If Hannah's head stands proof against all the adula- 
 tion and kindness of the great folks here, why then I will 
 venture to say that nothing of this kind will hurt her here- 
 after. Two carriages at the door Mrs. Boscawen and Sir 
 Jwhua the latter to take us to an auction of pictures; 
 
 : ormer paid a short visit, that she might not break in 
 upon our engagements. Dr. Johnson and Hannah, last 
 night, had a violent quarrel, till at length laughter ran 
 so high on all sides, that argument was confounded in 
 
 \ The gallant youth, at one in the morning, set us 
 down at our lodgings." 
 
 >m Miss Martha More to one of her sisters : 
 
 /f,,mj,!"i,, 1776. 
 
 "We have been passing three days at the temple of 
 
 Taste, Nature, Shakspeare, and Garrick ; where everything 
 
 could please the ear, charm the eye, and gratify the 
 
 M in quick succession. From dinner 
 
 to midnight he entertained us in a manner infinitely agree- 
 
i:4 LIFE OF! 
 
 able. Ho read to us all the whimsical coircspondenc 
 prose and verse, which, for many yean, he had carried on 
 with the first geniuses of this age. I have now seen him 
 r light, when the world has been shaken off. 
 says he longs to eater into himself; and to study the 
 more important duties of life, which he is determined upon 
 doing; that his whole dometiiyu* shall be under such 
 regulations of order and sobriety as shall be both a credit 
 to lumseif and an example to others, The next time wo 
 go, Hannah is to carry some of her writing ; she is to haw 
 a litUe table to herself, and to continue her studios ; and 
 hewtodotheaame," 
 
 The following extracts are from the letters 
 More to her family 
 
 M o4>. 1 
 
 tlined in the Addphi ycaterday. Itwasai 
 occasion <ui annual meeting, where nooe but 
 usually asked I was however of the party, and an i 
 able day it was to me. I have seldom heard to much 
 under th^ bmwtr of so im^h decorum. I mention this) 
 because I was told it was a day of license, and that every- 
 body was to aay what they pleased Colman and 
 Schomberg were of the party ; the rest wen chiefly old 
 dootoj : divinity, 1 : -1 nil * aU : i ; 
 dine then again to-day, to assist at the oeUbntion of the 
 .day. WehadaltttleantigcUniierinthelibtmry. At 
 six I begged leave to come home, aa I expected my prtf* 
 a***bU* a little after seven. Mrs, Garrick offered me all 
 her fine things, but, as I hate admixtures of finery and 
 meanncen, I refused everything except a little cream and a 
 lew aorts of cakes. They came at seven. The drawtu 
 penona were, Mrs. Bosoawen, Mrs. Garrick, and Miss 
 Reynolds; my beaux were Dr. Johnson, Dean Tucker, 
 and last, but not least in our love, David Garrick. I 
 know that wherever Johnson is, the confinement to the 
 tea-table is rather a durable situation ; and it was an hour 
 and a half before I got my enlargement. However, my 
 :icd, though my tongue was locked, and they 
 -ir eleveiL 
 
HER EARLIEST LETTERS. 25 
 
 rrick was the very goul of the company, and I 
 never saw Johnson in such perfect good humour. Sally 
 knows we have often heard that one can never properly 
 enjoy the company of these two unless they are together. 
 There is great truth in this remark ; for after the Dean 
 and Mrs. Boacawen were withdrawn, and the rest stood 
 up to go, Johnson and Garrick began a close encounter, 
 telling old stories, ' e'en from their boyish days' at Lich- 
 fiekL We all stood round them above an hour, laughing 
 
 e fiance of every rule of decorum and Chesterfield. I 
 believe we should not have thought of sitting down or of 
 parting had Dot an impertinent watchman been saucily 
 vociferous. Johnson outstayed them all, and sat with me 
 half an hour, 
 
 " I'll tell you the most ridiculous nee in the 
 
 world After dinner Garrick took up the Monthly Review 
 
 :1 gentlemen, by the by, these Monthly Reviewers), and 
 read Sir Eldrtd with all his pathos and all his graces. I 
 think I never was so ashamed in my life ; but he read it so 
 sup that I cried like a child. Only think, what ;i 
 
 scandalous thing to cry at the reading of one's own poetry 1 
 I could have beaten myself; for it looked as if I thought it 
 very moving ; which, I can truly say, was far from being the 
 case. Bat the beauty of the jest lies in this ; Mrs. Garrick 
 
 ikied as well as I, and made as many apologies for 
 crying at her husband's reading, as I did for crying at my 
 own verses. She got out of the scrape by pretending she 
 was touched at the story, and I by saying the same thing 
 of the reading. It famished us with a great laugh at the 
 catastrophe, when it would really have been decent to have 
 been a little sorrowful." 
 
 lull, ll'lC). 
 
 " Did I ever tell you what Dr. Johnson said to me of 
 my friend the Dean of Gloucester ? I asked him what he 
 thought of him. His answer was verbatim as follows: 
 * I look upon the Dean of Gloucester to bo one of the few 
 exc tcrs of this period. I differ from him in 
 
 opi : .-sed that difference in my writings ; 
 
 I hope what I wrote did not indicate what I did riot 
 feel, for I felt no acrimony. No person, however learned, 
 
.' LXFB 07 
 
 read his writings without improvement He m t 
 
 1 not know before.' I told hit 
 : < > himself on elegance of style. He wud 
 he knew nobody whose style was more perspicuous, 10*0(7, 
 or better suited to his subject I was not a 
 little pleased with this tribute to the worthy Dean's merit 
 Midge of merit; that man, too, profeasedly 
 /Hffcring from him in opinion. 
 
 Here it ! In the midst of all the pomps 
 
 wicked t< taken it into my 
 
 <tudy like * dragon : I read four or five hour* 
 
 ir .. 
 
 .thehsd 
 . 
 jnut finished, of the prophet Samuel on his being called. 
 
 mortified when be show* this picture to some of the great; 
 
 mk him who Samuel waa I I told him he most get 
 
 somebody to make an oratorio of Smut, sod than it would 
 
 b*iu^t***^^**MHm**im*m. 
 mad he was glad to tod thrt I was inUmatdy soquafoUd 
 vith that deroted prophet He han also dono a 8t John, 
 fair for iromortaJity. I tell him that I 
 
 hope to* 
 (k^doo| 
 
 that people will gt?t trom ta^e, though they 
 
 to its ninrit^andtifraitl ofits 
 tore this great genius, for not being ashamed to take his 
 
 .nxwtanfaahiooableofallbooka. 
 u Keeping bafLnonjpsiiy leads to afl other had ^^"gitr 
 I have got th^ouj^fiholt^day, by raking oat so late with 
 that gay libertine Johnson. Do you know/ did not 
 quarter of the Ad^niur^rf I made him 
 tcfl me all that he wrote in the ' fugitive pieces.' 
 
 M De Lolmc told me he thought Johnson's late political 
 
 were the 1x*t things he had written ; but I 
 
 should ever write a word of politics. 
 
 : had obtained a ticket to carry me to the 
 
 Pantheon with her and a party, but I c- ct tho 
 
 better of my repugnance to these sort of places, and ho 
 
SLIEST LETT 1 27 
 
 was so good as to excuse me. I find my dislike of what 
 are called public diversions greater than ever, except a 
 ; and when Garrick has left the stage, I could be very 
 well contented to relinquish plays also, and to live in 
 London without ever again setting my foot in a public 
 place." 
 
 " When I come back from Hampton I shall change my 
 lodgings; not that I have any particular objections to 
 these, bat those I hare taken are much more airy, large, 
 and elegant Besides the use, when I please, of the 
 whole house, I shall hare a bed-chamber and a dressing- 
 room for my own particular company : the master and 
 mistiest are themselves well-behaved, sensible people, and 
 keep good company ; besides, they are fond of books, and 
 can read, and have a shelf of books which they will lend 
 me. The situation is pleasant and healthy; tho centre 
 house in the Adelphi.* Add to this, it is not a common 
 lodging-house; they are careful whom they take in, . n<l 
 will have no people of bad character, or who ular 
 
 boors. So that on the whole, for the little time I remain 
 in town, I think I shall be more comfortable in my new 
 lodgings." 
 
 1770. 
 
 1 I tell you we had a very agreeable day at Mrs. 
 
 Boscawen's t I like Mr. Berenger prodigiously. I met tho 
 
 Bonbury family at 8ir* Joshua's. Mr. Boswell (Corsican 
 
 Boswell) was here last night ; he is a very agreeable and 
 
 good-natured man: he perfectly adores Johnson. They 
 
 hare this day set oat together for Oxford, Lichfickl, &c., 
 
 that the Doctor may take leave of all his old friends and 
 
 Acquaintances previous to his great expedition across the 
 
 Alps, I lament his undertaking such a journey at his 
 
 of life, with beginning infirmities ; I hope he will not 
 
 leave his bones on classic ground. I have here mo.^t spa* 
 
 n apartments, three rooms to myself. David Hume 
 
 }oint of death, lice. Cadell told me to- 
 
 he had circulated six thousand of Price's book, and was 
 
 * own-house. 
 
1> LIFE OP HAHHAH MOM. 
 
 rejoiced to hear that the Dean of Gloucester intended to 
 
 "AJrlphi. ' 
 
 o have had a gnat evening in the Adelphi : tho 
 cipal people that I can now recollect were, Lord and 
 L.i<ly Cain.l..-ii f tlu-ir.Liui.-.T-. I...;- < ....'...in ttddflKJgk 
 tens Lord Dudley, Mr. Kigbj, Him. Montagu, the Dean of 
 Deny and hia lady, Sir Joshua and hia sister, Colraan, 
 
 I>Tcn ;T. v 
 
 .1 would take Lord Grade* for an elderly phy- 
 sician, though I think then is aonisUiiiv of genius stoat 
 hia nose. Did I excel in the descriptive, here would be a 
 fine field for me to expatiate on the grace, of the boat and 
 hostess, whoee behaviour waa all cjamftdyayj and good 
 lord* delight not o* no, nor ladiee neither, 
 unleas they are very cboeen ones. 
 
 relation of the Duchess of Cbandos died at tho 
 Duchess's, a few days ago, at the card-table; ahe waa 
 fcsMuil most sumptuously; they stripped off her diamonds, 
 atuck her upright in a coach, put in two gentlemen with 
 her, and sent her home two boon after abo waa dead : at 
 least so the story goes, 
 
 on BurUnd died aa auddenly. After hafing bam 
 M) of Lord* he dined hearUlj, and waa 
 
 by the fire, talking politics to a gentleman. 80 you sec, 
 even London has its warnings, if it would but listen to 
 them. These are two signal ones in one week : but tho 
 infatuation of the people is beyond anything that can bo 
 conceived. 
 
 A most magnificent hotel, in SL James's Street, wa/i 
 
 : lost night, for the first time, by tho name of tho 
 
 Savoir Yivre: None but people of the very first tank 
 
 were there, so you may conclude the dircrwon was cards ; 
 
 and in one night, the very first time the ; 
 
 used, the enormous sum of sixty 
 
 lost ! Heaven reform us ! 
 
 We had, the other night, a conversasione at Mrs. 
 Boacawen's. What a comfort for me that none of my 
 friends play at cards ! Soame Jenyns and the learned and 
 ingenious Mr. Cambridge were of the party. We had a 
 
HER EARLIEST LETT 1 29 
 
 few sensible ladies, and a very agreeable day, till the world 
 broke in upon us, and made us too large for conversation. 
 The sensible Mrs. Walsingham was there, as was Mrs. 
 Newton, who gave me many invitations to St. Paul's.* 
 Mr. Jenyns was very polite to me ; and as he, his lady, 
 and I, were the first visitants, he introduced me himself 
 to everybody that came afterwards, who were strangers to 
 me. There is a fine simplicity about him, and a meek, 
 innocent kind of wit, in Addison's manner, which is very 
 pleasant The kind Mrs.Boscawen had made another party 
 for me at her house, with Mr. Bercnger, who is everybody's 
 favourite (even Dr. Johnson's), but I am unluckily engaged/' 
 
 / Mb*, 1770. 
 
 " I dined yesterday with Captainf and Mrs. Middleton. 
 Dr. Stonehouse that I recommended the translation of 
 fianrin's Sermons to Captain Middleton and Mrs. Bouvcrie. 
 Captain M. intends writing to the Doctor about them. 
 How nobly eloquent they are! One little peculiarity I 
 remark his more frequent use of the \ lian gene- 
 
 rally occurs in religious writings. | I think sin is a theo- 
 logical, vice a moral, and crime a judicial term. There are 
 so few people I meet with in this good town, to whom one 
 can venture to recommend sermons, that the opportunity 
 is not to be lost ; though the misfortune is, that those who 
 are most willing to read them, happen to be the very people 
 who least want them. Mrs. Bo '.:>. Carter, and 
 
 some other of my friends were thei .j 
 
 " Mrs. Boscawen came to see me the other day with 
 the duchess, in her gilt chariot, with four footmen (as I 
 hear), for I happened not to be at home. It is not possible 
 
 anything on earth to be more agreeable to my taste 
 than my present manner of living. I am so much at my 
 ease ; have a great many hours at my own disposal ; read 
 my own books, and see my own friends ; and, whenever I 
 please, may join the most polished and delightful society 
 
 iie world ! Our breakfasts are little literary societies. 
 
 Tho kindness and friendship of Bishop Newton and his lady to Mrs. 
 II. More continued invariably through their lives. 
 f Afterward! Lord Barbara. 
 
; ; UFE OF HANVAH MORE. 
 
 There is generally company at meals, as they think it 
 
 , by avoiding the necessity of seeing people at other 
 seasons. Mr. Garrick seta the highest value upon his time 
 of anybody 1 ever knew. From dinner to tea we laugh, 
 , and talk nonsense ; the rest of his time is generally 
 to study. I detest and avoid public place* mere 
 a miserably bad fine 1 
 
 and should make a miserably bad fine lady f 
 most people oornc to London lor, would keep me 
 
 " AMpki, 
 
 ;ad promised Mr. Borrows I would certainly go to 
 hear him at 8t demon fa, last Sunday, but was again dis- 
 appointed. At Hampton Church we heard a frivolous cler- 
 gyman preach one of those light compositions which it is 
 
 ::..: :.-.,-.. : : . .k CtfSfi* 
 
 -Alan! Idarenotlieinbodin a morning, tor tho 
 Garricks are as much my eoneoieoee here as the Doctor it 
 atllristol.* Afewevemngsssowr were at Mr. Vcacy'a; 
 Teesicr read ; we were a moderate party not forty ; the 
 Duchess Dowager of Beaufort was there, Itdy Betty Coop* 
 ton, Lord and Lady Spencer, Lord and Lady Uatemau, and 
 a dosen other lords and ladies, for aught 1 know. The 
 old duchess looks amasingly well ; I do not know a finer 
 woman of her nyc. 
 
 expect n large party every minute to breakfast; 
 all the sensible, ingenkms French folks, whom I believe I 
 hare meatiooed before, with Lord North, Ac, 1 find Mr. 
 Boswell called upon you at Bristol, with Dr. Johnson ; he 
 told me so this morning when he breakfasted here, with 
 Bir William Forbes and Dr. J - . 
 
 On the first, we were visited by our noble neighbours the 
 
 Pembroke*; and on the third we dined at Richmond, at 
 
 Joshua's, with a very agreeable party. It was select, 
 
 though much too large to please me, There was hardly a 
 
 person in comj winy that I would not have chosen as emi- 
 
 nent ly agrcea would not have chosen them all 
 
 Mr. Gibbon, Mr. Elliott, Edmund, Richard, and 
 
 Dr. su 
 
HER EARLIEST LETTEM. 31 
 
 William Burke, Lord M:t' i Garrick, and Sir Joshua. 
 
 We had a great deal of laugh, as there were so many leaders 
 among the patriots, and had a great deal of attacking 
 defending, with much wit and good humour/' 
 
 "Ad. 
 
 " I wish it were possible for me to give you the slightest 
 idea of the scene I was present at yesterday. Garrick would 
 liVo me take his ticket to go to the trial of the Duchess 
 of Kingston; a sight which, for beauty and magnificence, 
 exceeded anything which those who were n. . nt at 
 
 a coronation, or a trial by peers, can have the least notion 
 of. Mrs. Garrick and I were in full dress by seven. At 
 eight we went to the Duke of Newcastle's, whose h< 
 adjoins Westminster Hall, in which he has a large gal 
 communicating with the apartments in his house. You 
 will imagine the bustle of five thousand people getting inl o 
 one hall 1 yet in all this hurry we walked in tranquilly. 
 When they were all seated, and the King-at-arrns had com- 
 manded silence, en pain of imprisonment (which, ho\v. 
 was ill observed), the Gentleman of the Black Bod 
 manded to bring in his prisoner. Elizabeth rself 
 
 teas Dowager of Kingston, walked in, led by J 
 and Mr. La Roche, oourtesying profoundly to her ju 
 When she bent, the Lord Steward called out, ' Madam, you 
 may rise ;' which was taking her up before she was down. 
 The peers made her a slight bow. The prisoner was dr< 
 >ep mourning; a black hood on her IK ad ; hcA 
 modestly dressed and powdered ; a black silk sacque, with 
 crape trimmings ; black gauze, deep rallies, and black gl 
 The counsel spoke about an hour and a quarter each. 
 Dunn ing's manner is insufferably bad, coughing 
 ting at every three words ; but his sense and his exprc 
 
 led to the last degree ; he made her grace shed bitter 
 tears. I had the pleasure of hearing several of the lords 
 speak, though nothing more than proposals on common 
 
 -s. Among these were Lyttlcton, Talbot, Townscnd, 
 and Camden. The m had four virgins in white 
 
 ad the bar. She imitated her great predecessor, Mrs 
 Rudd, and affected to write very often, though I plainly 
 
LIFE OP B ASS A H 
 
 perceived sho only wrote m they do their lore epistles oo 
 the stage, without forming * letter. I must not omit one 
 10 beat things : we had only to open a door to get tt m 
 v^ineeoUcflOe*iocfsJ|sflrte*me*a*dw^wftb 
 tea, 6^ a privilege confined to those who belonged to the 
 Duke of Newcastle. I frocy the peeresses 
 glad of our place* at the trial, for I saw Lady Derby and 
 the Duchess of Devonshire with their work-bags lull of 
 good things. Their rank and dignity did not exempt them 
 
 ote says that the Em press of Russia, the Duoheea 
 of Kingston, and Mrs. Budd, are the three moat extra- 
 
 ^McMOT WW14M1 in V^lw\rMk litit iVui DHA|U^M *tt*l*tn 
 
 fully, and 1 think unjustly, exomdae Mrs, Rudd from the 
 
 a^esMMP of dssawins! to *^v^ ^MM in ihj> trinls *HJ*M^ 
 *urti Vi ^^M^ w * l^ MIIMMM 
 
 Duchess baa but smell remains of that beauty of 
 which kings and priMee were oooe eo enamoured. She 
 looked very modi like Mrs. PHtebard ; ane is large and 
 hsped ; there was nothing white but her toe, and bed 
 >t ben for that, ahe would have looked like a bate of 
 There was a great deal of ceremony, a great 
 
 . . 
 
 did nothing with such an air of business as was truly : 
 
 I forgot to tell you the Duchess was taken ill, but 
 it badly. 9 
 
 did not oome to town tUl yesterday, and em then 
 left Hampton with regret, as it is there we spend the 
 pleasant eat part of our time, uninterrupted by the idle, 
 the gossiping, and the impertinent On Tuesday Lord 
 and Lady Pembroke dined with us. The Oountess is a 
 pretty woman, and my lord a good-humoured, and lively, 
 chatty man ; but Roscius was, as usual, the life and soul 
 he company, and always says so many home things, 
 ! .ntcil at the vices and follies of those with wbon 
 converges, but in so indirect, well-bred, and good-humoured 
 a manner, that everybody mu&t love him ; and none but 
 fools are ever offended, or will expose thrmealfea eo much 
 aa to own they arc. Politicians say that there is a great 
 
HER EARLIEST LETT1 33 
 
 prospect of an accommodation with America. Heaven grant 
 it before more human blood is spilt ! But even this 'topic 
 has, I think, a little given place to the trial. For my part, I 
 cannot see why there should be so much ceremony used 
 to know whether an infamous woman has one or two hus- 
 bands. I think a lieutenant dc police would be \\ better 
 judge for her than the peers '1 1 do not see why she 
 should not be tried by Sir John Fielding, as a profligate 
 note would have been. 
 
 Miss H.Morc to Mrs. Gwatki 
 
 few nights before I saw Garri< k in Hamlet, I had 
 teen him in Abel Druggcr; and, had I not seen him in 
 both, I should have thought that it would huv.- 
 impossible for Milton to have written Ihtdibras, or Butler 
 
 tdite 0rf,os for the same mat: 1 Hamlet 
 
 and Drugger with such superla: xcel- 
 
 lenoe. The more admirable he iff, the mor** painful it is 
 
 :lcct that I am now catcl He 
 
 is one of those summer suns \\'.\\<\\ .shine brightest at their 
 setting. Within these three weeks, he ha.s appeared in 
 Brute, Loon, Drugger, Benedict, Archer, &c. for the 
 time ; and it appears like assisting at the funeral obsequie* 
 of the.se individual characters. When I see him play any 
 part for the last time, I can only compare my mixed sen- 
 aations of pain and pleasure to what I suppose I should 
 re to die h legacy. 
 
 There is a certain sentiment of gratification and delight 
 
 ic acquisition ; but as you are beginning to indulge in it, 
 it is all of a sudden cher < n what terms 
 
 you possess H, and that you purchase your pleasure at the 
 OOttly price of losing him to i owe it. 
 
 , rote the above two or three days ago, and intended 
 to have sent it immediately ; but happening to show it 
 to Mrs. G. she was so pleased with my remarks, that they 
 insisted on having a copy. Though they paid my foolish 
 letter an undeserved compliment, yet I could not refuse 
 
 D 
 
34 Ll KB OF HAXHAU MOBS. 
 
 to comply, and not having tune to transcribe it, is ike 
 
 j vt'i <ii'l i: 1 .. ii" !n in ;.i ( - 
 
 ed to find myself still here, Gould I 
 have bacl the least idea 
 
 1 
 
 wrote to you lai^ I should iM>t foolishly have de^riTedm^ 
 sett of the sstisfcfHnn of hewing from yon. Bat though 
 I hare not heard from you, I frequently have heard of you. 
 I fancy my sisters will have set out on their western o* 
 curaion before I shall see Bristol I doubt not but they 
 will find it a very pleasant scheme, and to Martha I hope 
 it w.ll be a beneficial one, 
 
 last night saw Don Felix for the first time , 
 an nlisjint and pleasing pert, bat Mrs, Ysies did great 
 
 ties tots* fsjrttei elms* of 
 
 Barry got so much reputation whco abe played it with 
 'JamcL On Monday n> 
 
 from the ahock they suUinc<L I generally think the last 
 part 1 see him in the greatest : but in regard to that nigh* 
 
 ' ' - ..... i , , .. i. ', ' : r ., 
 
 and Sir Joahua declared it was full three days before be 
 got the better of it The eagerness of people to aee ksm 
 is beyond anything yon can have so idem of. You will 
 ess half-ardosen duchesses and countesses of a nigi 
 the upper boxes: for the fear of not seeing him at aU has 
 bumbled those who used to go, not for the purpose of 
 sining, but of being eeso ; and they BOW onttsej to the 
 ground for the worst places in the house, 
 ii^ 
 
 oxceedingly: Mr. Gibbon, the three Burkes, J 
 Mahon, and Lord Pitt, were of the party. What alii* of 
 patriots ! A few nights ago we had an agreeable evening 
 
 Ira. Vesey'e; you know she is a favourite of mine, 
 end indeed of every body that has the piessufu of knowing 
 her. 
 
 go to-morrow to smell the lilacs and syringes at 
 Hampton. I long for the sweet tranquillity of thai deH- 
 cious i air eat We generally spend a day or two in a 
 
35 
 
 week there, particularly Sunday, which is no small relief 
 to me. 
 
 .v does your garden grow? Are your shrubs 
 flourishing ? I reckon the Bristol ill be delighted 
 
 with your charming prospect My lov^ Edward. 
 
 I have not time to look over this scrawl My kind regards 
 at the vicarage. Adieu, dear M idam, 
 
 ;urs constantly and sincqrely, 
 
 II. MORE." 
 
 " I hare been to the Adelphi. Garrick gave me the 
 history of hia reading to the king and queen, and went 
 through the fable of the ' Blackbird and igle,' 
 
 which was his prologue. It is really v t ; i d enter- 
 
 taining. Some part of it is affecting, where ho speaks of 
 the sprightly blackbird, who was famous for his imitative 
 powers, and could exactly mimic, from the tender notes of 
 the nightingale to the low comic noises of the crow and 
 magpie. But one day, happening to look on his once liuu 
 glossy plumage, he found that his feathers began to turn 
 grey ; his eyo had lost its lustre ; and he also began to 1 >c 
 lame. This determined him to give up his mimicry, ;m<l 
 he resolved to be silent, and not hop about from tree to 
 tree, but confine himself to one snug bush. The royal 
 eagle, however, hearing of the talents of the lively crea- 
 ture, sent for him to court, and insisted on hearing him 
 tting. This honour overturned all his prudent resolution ; 
 he found his feathers were restored to their native black, 
 his eye resumed its fire, and he was himself again." 
 
 ,h,n, 1776. 
 
 terday, good and dear Mrs. Boscawen came her- 
 self, to fetch me, to meet at dinner a lady I have long 
 wished to see. This was Mrs. Delany. She was a Gran- 
 
 , and niece to the celebrated poet Lord Lansdowne. 
 
 was the friend and intimate of Swift. She tells a 
 thousand pleasant anecdotes relative to the publication of 
 the Taller. As to the Spectator, it is almost too modern for 
 her to speak of it She was in the next room, and heard 
 the cries of alarm when Guiscard stabbed Lord Oxford. 
 
36 
 
 In abort, she U a living library of knowledge : tad time, 
 which bah BO highly matured her judgment, baa taken 
 little from her graces or her liveliness. She baa invite! 
 mo to visit her ; a singular favour from one of her years 
 and character. Last night I waa again at Mra. Boscawen'*, 
 where there waa a very splendid assembly; there were 
 above forty people, moat of them of the first qual. 
 am burc I bhal) not remember half of them. 
 
 forgot to tell yon I have just been to ace Mra. 
 Montagu. I made it a point to go in the morning, thinking 
 ;ght stand a chance of catching her alone, which, in- 
 deed, to my groat delight, I did ; but just aa we were bo- 
 ginning to enter into interesting conversation, the world, aa 
 usual, broke in." 
 
TTT.R LITER AHY CAREER, ETC. 37 
 
 III. 
 
 LITXKARY CAREER TO THE DEATH OF GARKICI& 
 
 A.D. 17741779. 
 
 ginning of June, 1776, Hannah More returned to 
 Bristol after a six months* absence, four of which had been 
 divided between the Adclphi and Hampton. It was re- 
 marked by her friends and family, that success and ap- 
 plause had made no change in her deportment. She brought 
 back her native simplicity unsullied by the contact. The 
 constitution of her mind was so opposed to affectation and 
 art, that rank, literature, and fashion saw the bird escape 
 as from the snare of the fowler, without losing a feather of 
 its natural plumage, to soar at large in its own free element, 
 and revisit its accustomed scenes. 
 
 In April, 1777, she paid a visit to some relations in 
 
 Ik, passing through London in her way: and we find 
 
 several letters to her family during her visit, which give a 
 
 pleasant account of her tour, and of her intercourse 
 
 with some of her kindred : 
 
 "ir<7. 
 
 " We arrived at Bungay a little before nine. In my 
 way tliithcr, Thorpe Hall, where my father was born, was 
 pointed out to me. Our cousin Cotton's house is about a 
 quarter of a mile out of the town ; it is large, elegant, and 
 handsomely furui .:igay is a much better 
 
 town than I expected, very clean and pleasant. I am very 
 glad, however, that the house is a little way out of it. 
 
 " On Tuesday we went to dine at 31r. John Cotton's, 
 
 a romantic farm-house, buried in the obscurity of a 
 
 ; > wood. A great number of Cottons were assembled, 
 
 11 ages, sexes, and characters. The old lady of the 
 
 house told me that my father lay at her brother's house 
 
j 
 
 ' - Lire OP HA99AR MORE. 
 
 the last night he spent in this country. She took a great 
 deal of pains to explain to me genealogies, alliances, and 
 intermarriages, not one word of which can I remember. 
 The table and the guests groaned with the hospitality of 
 the entertainers, and we had wines that would not hare 
 disgraced the table of a Bristol alderman. I am at a low 
 what to do about the book which I hear Baretti has sent 
 
 H I hare not seen it, I know not what to h 
 is but cold satisfaction to an author to be thanked for Us 
 book, unless he is complimented for it too ; and when an 
 
 or more proper then to give it A slowness to applaud 
 betrays a cold temper or an envious spirit I am very 
 wi-ll. I eat brown breed and custards like a native ; and 
 we have a pietiy, agreeable, laudable ousloin of getting 
 tfpsy twice a-day upon Herefordshire cider. The other 
 jht we had a great deal of company, eleven damsel*, to 
 aty nothing of men. I protest 1 hardly do them justice 
 
 v. ! ; : .-;.!.! ..:. :...' 
 
 rm^ !v -. t- .' -j. * . , . ;!:. "f l HI '..:. . ! I 
 
 iton and I had an infinite deal 
 
 ipoken, some of them were coiurirw ; but I have no doubt 
 that thcv ;reat contempt our roseless heads sod 
 
 leafless necks." 
 
 ast returned from so eicumion through Nor- 
 of about one hundred and sixty mike, to the extreme 
 rergo of the county, and nothing was ever more agreeable. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Cotton and myself went comfortably in t 
 chajset-MUidthc only interruption was an attack of one of 
 TO headadjp> As I do not excel in descriptions, you will 
 obi iun*!Cta minute detail of everything I saw ; however, 
 as I k il entertain my father eren to know that I 
 
 have been to such and such places, I win mention some 
 
 _ f 
 
 
 
 . r. ..-...-.. t 1, 
 
 hi. cap <kNtad with proftuloo of TT7 Mt 
 
 .... 
 
3 
 
 that I can recollect. After Xonvi. m , and Swaff- 
 
 ham, we went to the seat of the late Sir Andrew Foun- 
 tain- agreeable ,1, with a few 
 good pictures and one o: ny curiosities, 
 particularly a large closet furnished with the most beau- 
 
 vc that can be imagined, much prettier and 
 more showy than china. Thehousekeep urbanity 
 
 rarely to be found among the dependan i -at, very 
 
 obligingly entertained us with cakes and v 
 
 a We come now to Cast very fine piece of 
 
 :t would cost an honest ,\ho loves 
 
 bow-windows, highway prospects, Chin -, chapel- 
 
 looking stables, and steeples upon malt-houses, a thousand 
 a-year to keep in repair. It is not so large as Ken il worth, 
 nor so beautiful as Tintorn ; but it has a considerable 
 share of magnificence, and no small portion of beauty. It 
 in so old that tradition itself does not pretend to say when 
 it was built ; but Conjecture says, in her usual random 
 language, that it has been destroyed a thousand years. 
 Prom the triumphs of Time we were conducted to those of 
 Genius. Rainham is the seat of Lord Townsend, of which 
 it is said that it was designed by Tnigo Jones. It is a 
 handsome, commodious, well-furnished house, with a few 
 rery good pictures, but one of Belisarius surpassingly ex- 
 cellent We next came to Hough ton Hall. As we rode up 
 to it, I could not but look with ven spite of all the 
 
 -ness of party and the feuds of faction, on this edifice, 
 built by the man who gave to Europe, for twenty years, 
 blessing of uninterrupted peace.* I will give you a 
 description of it to-morrow. But no, description is at an 
 '^ht as well attempt any ot sible 
 
 thing, as to give you the faintest idea of this truly .splendid 
 and prin res form by far the finest 
 
 itc collection .mgdom; they are valued at 
 
 more than two thousand pounds. Claudes, Vitians, 
 
 and Silvators, are to be sec- iuost delightful pro- 
 
 in the very best 
 manner of their respective masters. The mind is almost 
 
 Robert Walpole. 
 
40 LIKE OP HANNAH MOBS. 
 
 bewildered by the beauty and number of these exquisite 
 work^. 
 
 " The next place worthy of observation is 
 llall, the residence of the present Mr. Coke, and built by 
 the late Lord Leicester. It is entirely of white brick, and 
 take it for inside and outside, state and commodiousnoss, 
 beauty and elegance, I never saw anything comparable to 
 .rot are many and charming ; some exquisite 
 los, particularly St Catherine, and a Cupid incxpres* 
 ..ere are many admirable statues, a number 
 of antiques, and some of the finest drapery I ever saw. 
 the article of sculpture, however, it yields to Wilton, as 
 eeda most other places. There is a haU of 
 tod marble, of Smm^M* ue, superior to anything 
 io kind in this nation ; round it U a colonnade of pink 
 and white marble fluted. There is at Hougbton so exqui- 
 site a dining-room, with marble rsoeatss, * ftlttmM % and 
 listera*. and so luxurious, so cool, so charming, that I 
 fancied myself at the villa of Pliny, or of Luculiiu ; sod 
 though 1 cannot bear oysters, yet 1 could have eaten some 
 conchy lia of the lake we saw out of the window ; a; 
 k, in idea, a glass of Falernian, of twenty consul*! 
 cooled by the elemental nymph. The next place deserving 
 remark was Blickling ; a very delightful seat, Kfl^git^ to 
 Lord Buckinghamshire. The situstion U highly pleasing ; 
 more so to me than any I have seen in the t 
 sdmire Houghton, but you wish for Blickling ; you look at 
 Houghton with astonishment, at Buckling with desire. 
 There is there a princely library of wit and genius ; 
 give me for the epithet, I know it is an ambiguous 
 but it popped out unaware.- K> much like what 
 
 airc said of the King of Prussia's poems, that they 
 royal verses. The park, wood, and water of this 
 place, arc superior to those of any of the neighbouring 
 estates. But the charms of Nature in this county arc of 
 iliug, calm, and pacific sort ; she does not put 
 forth her bolder, stronger beauties. The striking, the 
 grand, ai. .re here unknown. Brandon 
 
 l>o an alp in this country. 
 
 bain and Norwich we went a b'ttle out 
 
HER LITERARY CAREER, ETC. 41 
 
 of the road to sec some famous mills. But the crane and 
 
 the wheel are not quite so productive of entertainment to 
 
 -tniments of Reynolds or Nollekens, though 
 
 l>e confessed they are more necessary to the 
 
 comfort of society ; for even I find that the sickle does 
 
 more for my existence than the chisel." 
 
 " l?r. . 
 
 are just returned from spending a few days with 
 
 Cotton's father and mother : they live very genteelly, 
 
 have a uoble garden, a handsome coach, &c. Their other 
 
 daughter was married to a man of very good fashion, and 
 
 r niece to Lord Hume. She was down on a visit at 
 Onu.sby. Her lord, in return for the large fortune she 
 brought him, makes her a very fashionable, negligent 
 husband. I saw her on Sunday, poor thing ! She s: 
 and is no Countess at her heart. I have just received a 
 present, from the author, of a now publication : it 
 descriptive poem, called Heath HUl. How the lard could 
 
 k it worth his while to look for mo in this nook of 
 creation I cannot conceive. It seems to be very pretty. I 
 have had a letter from Mrs. Barbauld, so full of elegance 
 and good nature, with an invitation so frank and earnest, 
 that I cannot leave the country without going to see 
 I like my Brockdish cousins ver be is a chatty, 
 
 sensible woman, and he as deep in divinity as ever. I 
 scarcely ever met with any person that had spent so 
 much time, with so little detriment to his taste and 
 man ontrovcrsial reading. It has left him very 
 
 moderate and very charitable. I am quite a nobody in 
 debate here, though I made such a figure lately in ex- 
 plaining Arianism, Socinianism, and all the isms, to Mr. 
 Garrick. 
 
 y rise here at five, and go to bed at nine ; quite 
 
 thing, for me, you know ; for my morning headaches, 
 alas!* preclude early rising; and while they have been 
 
 her early life, as well as in her declining years, Hannah More was 
 wjbjcct to successive illnesses, which threw great impediments in the way 
 of her Intellectual er I uaod to say that her frequent attacks of 
 
 illness were a great blearing to her, independently of the prime benefit of 
 cheapening life and teaching patience ; for they induced a habit of indus- 
 try not natural to her, and tiught her to make the most of her well days. 
 
M 1.1 i EOF HANNAH MORE. 
 
 asleep at night, I have gone through Dr. Maclaine'a answer 
 to Soamo Jenyns. There is a good deal of wit and learning 
 and, I believe, truth and soli*: 
 
 others I think false and trivial, and his manner of statin? 
 them unfair. I do love Jonyns, bat I do not contend for 
 every part of his book: he is but a sucking-child in 
 Christianity, and I am afraid has represented religion as a 
 very uncomfortable thing. The Deists will triumph at 
 Machine's book, and exclaim, 'See how those ChiuUaa* 
 disagree!' Our cousins are very much concerned, and so 
 am I, that their son is so fond of Bolingbroke ai 
 He is ff*^* too fashionable in his principle*, tii^Tgft I 
 
 IwlllAWA ^^MiV 4MMM4^ JL film JMMU^IJ^ VT^ fMV*l^*%4 ! 0%^^ 
 
 . ' . . . . > . : 
 
 each other, in our indirect warfare, broad hints about 
 infidelity and mnthodinn 
 
 \ ' \ . .'..-., , 
 
 ..>.' ! . . . . : . <:::': 
 
 all desiring to sse me at their hounes. The invitations 
 
 ^^wk ^ o*jl Al A* M j*m* It j. * A * 
 
 wSSv aw wvm aiKi munoiviw, !! i WVB i|uw % a> MBB 
 
 what to do* A^^figBt these ^ IM ^ people was an elderly 
 gentleman, who says he is the oldest friend my father has 
 a friendship of seventy years is something 
 was delighted to see me. I find Mr. Cotton wan 
 one of eight gentlemen, who were spirited enough to sub- 
 money towards building a house for their worthy 
 
 > It I Mk f 1 1^ A j A. 1 11 1 A 
 
 CT. CJtfaHLJDalB^JSJBMSSnMi<Se94BBjaa4WBB^pUHB^a^am 
 
 frugal people, ever do generous things. Oar 
 
 igality, could yet lay down two 
 pounds, without being sure of ever receiving a ahillmg 
 
 rest, for the laudable purpose of establishing a maa of 
 merit, to whom he is still a very considerable contributor 
 
 I is commonly the case ; and I am apt to conceive a 
 
 &ho kofhinely added, it had taught her ateo to cooteto OT^Ioymtot lor 
 
 her rick ones; thai from habit aha had leornad to mit her occopolkma to 
 
 . gtadation of the manure of captflity ^ poamami. "I aow(abo 
 
 UdX fad a mooMmt of a healthy day to trauerfb* or pot top^ or ero 
 
 80 that I tm<l the lowest atagv of 017 inidml uiiMi^ 
 
 .- Uiii^a, I 
 -r .t (ram a also to avoid prxxamtiQation, and that Hlmaai which 
 
 -.-.: :...,;. 
 
&ARY CAREER, ETC. 43 
 
 prejudice against everybody who makes a great figure, and 
 to suspect those who talk generously. 
 
 vent to Mrs. Barbauld's on Thursday, intending 
 only to spend one day ; but the muses are such fascinating 
 witches, that there is no getting away from them. We 
 had an agreeable addition to our party, a Mr. Forster, who 
 bad sailed round the world, and has published his voyages 
 
 o volumes, quarto. So that, for a little remote vi i 
 in Suffolk, wo do not make up a bad society. Mrs. B. 
 I have found out that wo feel as little envy and malice 
 towards each other, as though we had neither of us at- 
 tempted to ' build the lofty rhyme ;' though she says, * this 
 is what the envious and malicious can never be brought to 
 believe,'" 
 
 From Hannah More to her sister : 
 
 //<iMJ;Ml, l; 
 
 "As soon as I got to London I db : -rht to the 
 
 phi, where, to my a i found a coach wait- 
 
 ing for mo to carry me to Hampton. 
 
 a Upon my arrival here I was immediately put in pos- 
 session of my old chamber. Garrick is all good humour, 
 vivacity, and wit While I think of it I must treat you 
 with i little distich, which Mrs. Barbauld wrote extempore, 
 on my showing my Felix Buckles (the elegant buckles 
 which Gat-rick wore the last time he ever acted the part ot 
 Don Felix, and with which he presented me as a relic), 
 
 l iickta. O G ricnd may now use, 
 
 But no mortal hereafter shall tread in thy shoes.' 
 
 " Last Wednesday we went to town for a night, when 
 Dr. Burney sat an hour or two with us. Wo have had 
 a great deal of company here, lords, ladies, wits, critics, 
 and poets. Last Saturday we had a very agreeable day. 
 Our party consisted of about twelve ; for these dear people 
 understand society too well ever to have very large parties. 
 The Norfolk, Windham. i, and Lord Palmerston, 
 
 said the most lively things. But Koscius surpassed him- 
 self, and literally kept the table in a roar for four hours. 
 He told his famous story of Jack Pocklington in a manner 
 
14 LIFE OF RAXKAH MORE. 
 
 ao entirely now, and so infinitely witty, that the company 
 hare done nothing but talk of it ever since. I have often 
 beard of this story : it is of a person who came to offer 
 
 self for the stage, with an impediment in his speech. 
 
 #vcs the character, too, in as strong a manner at 
 
 g could have done. 
 "After supper, on Sunday, Garrick read to us, out 
 
 iradtic Lot, that fine part en ctiiatsii and old age. 
 
 I'adogan and his agreeable daughter have spent a day 
 
 and a night her*. The Doctor gave me some lectures 
 
 on anatomy, and assures me that I am now at well ac- 
 
 quainted with secretion, fnpfofltton, ^flptUon, *TV* at* 
 
 mmilation, as many a Witt-looking man in a great wig. 
 
 Viday, into Hampshire, to Mr. Wilmot's. 
 
 Lord and Lady Bathurst are to be of the party. I should 
 
 be apt to totpect that the pretence of a lonl <hanocllor 
 
 v to contribute to mirth ; but I don't 
 
 it all the great tjOotrt of ttate put together could have 
 gravity enough to damp the fire of Garrick, or blunt the 
 edge of his wit AJS soon as we return from Farnbo rough 
 Place 1 shall quit the rosy bowers of Hampton, and con- 
 
 It my very long and pleasant campaign." 
 
 T, 
 
 reached this place yesterday morning. Ton win 
 :c of the site of the boose, when I teH yon there are 
 eleven visitors, and aH perfectly well accommodated. The 
 n the greatest magnificence ; but, wha* 
 ihing, they live also rationally and sensibly. 
 iy evening, however, I was a little alarmed ; they 
 : ^ring for rau*ic (sacred music was the ostcnsiblo 
 fore I had time to feel uneasy, 
 and said, Nine,* you arc a Sunday woman ; 
 o to your room ; I will rccal you when the L. 
 
 ointcd us. but we have Lady 
 
 itherinc Apsley, Dr. Kmnicott, tbo 
 
 row Professor of Oxford, his wife, a very agreeable 
 
LITER Air; ETC. 45 
 
 woman (though she copies Hebrew),* besides the Garricks 
 and two or three other very clever people. We live witli 
 the utmost freedom and ease imaginable, walking all to- 
 .or, or in small parties, chatting, reading, or scribbling, 
 juat as we like. I shall set out for Bristol on Friday." 
 
 At this visit to Mr. Wilmot, a friendship commenced 
 between Hannah More and vidual of the party, 
 
 which lasted during their respect She returned 
 
 riutol in Augu *er an absence of five months. 
 
 and we find her again in* London in the November of the 
 same year, 1777. Her tragedy of Percy, on which she had 
 long been employed, had been accepted by Mr. Harris of 
 Covent Garden, and was to be brought out withdpt delay. 
 
 On I. .1 in town she thus writes to her 
 
 from her lodging* in Gemini Street . 
 
 ' i; 
 
 I belli r I shall go to Hampton to-morrow, to stay 
 two or three days. They ins. 11 think it will 
 
 bo of sen-ice to me, if it be only t - < (uict for a few 
 
 days. Mrs. Garrick says I shall have my own comfort 
 room, with a good fire, and ' with all the lozenges and all 
 the wheys in the world. 1 You may be sun- this \va 
 her own expression. Mr. Garrick was at the Chancellor's 
 this morning. It is impossible to show more friendly 
 auxicty than both he and Lady Bathurst do for the su< 
 of /Y/vy. The play seldom comes into my head unlc 
 be mentioned. I am at present very tranquil about it. 
 The town is rather empty, but who's afraid ?" 
 
 " (, ' f. 1777. 
 
 ' It is impo-sible to tell you of all the kindness and 
 
 friendship of the Garricks ; he thinks of nothing, talks of 
 
 nothing, writes of nothing, but Percy. He is too sanguine ; 
 
 fall, and so I tell him. When Garrick had 
 
 ; ologue and epilogue (which are excellent), he 
 
 icd I would pay him. Drydcn, he said, used to have 
 
 * It shcmld bo here mentioned to her honour, thnt she took the trouble 
 o for the aole purposo of qualifying herself for cor- 
 rectlog the press of her husband's great work. 
 
I.I FB OP HANNAH MORE. 
 
 guineas a-picce ; but as he was ft richer man, he would 
 
 i " I -fill* A li n ft i\mftmvt o-tmt^0 
 
 DC content n i WOUM trow DUD witn ft Dftnusome supper 
 an.l a bottle of claret We haggled sadly about the price : 
 iated that I could only afford to give him a herf Bleak 
 and a pot of porter ; and at about twelve we sat down to 
 some toast and hooey, with which the temperate bard coo- 
 
 I tmmm^t xv 
 
 vcmvi n.i:i - 'ii. .^'\ cr.il > ' : > T i . < . ' I; . .' i" i ' i 
 
 I i *tp_.a ____ > __ > * QS __^^ 
 
 . ' - '.', I > ' .' "... 
 
 Dkttenl belmj I-fthr j .:;, 
 
 " What d readlul new* from Ameriea ! We are ft dia- 
 gnced, undoue natkm. What ft md time to bri ng out a 
 play in !%hen t if the country had the leant upark of virtue 
 remainiog, not a omfenre would think of going to il But 
 the levity of the timen will, on thai occasion, be of 
 
 :.<:--... - |0 Ml B 
 
 any that all is just as it should be. Nothing was ever 
 more warmly reoeived. I went with Mr. and Mrm. CUrrick ; 
 sal ID Mr. Harris's box, in ft snug dark corner, sod behaved 
 very weQ, that is, very quietly. The prologue and epOogue 
 wei* received with bursts of applause ; so indeed was the 
 whole ; as much beyond my expectation as my Jaturtst 
 
 iay now venture to tefi yon (as you extorted a pro- 
 raise from me to conceal nothing) what I would not haard 
 last night, that the reception of Percy exceeds my most 
 
 :...- -. ' " . * ' ' ' I ::;::' ; 
 
 night, and it was, if possible, received more favourably 
 than on the first. One tear is worth a thousand hands, 
 an<l satisfaction to see even the men abed them 
 
 :: ,.--..;. ' I! .: ' ' 
 
 to fix the character of the play. If I were ft heroine of 
 romance, and ware writing to my confidante, I should tdl 
 you all the fine things that were said, but as I am a real 
 
-RARY CAREER, 47 
 
 -:i woman^I do not think it v;ould be so 
 modest; I will only say. at I have had 
 
 so much flattery, that I might, if I would, choke myself in 
 my own pap." 
 
 . 1777. 
 
 'Yesterday morning Dr. s announced to me. 
 
 When he came in he told me he was sent by the Duke of 
 
 : humberland and Earl Percy to congratulate me on my 
 great success ; to inform me of the general approbation, 
 and to thank mo in their names for the honour I had done 
 them ; that the duke and my lord were under much con- 
 cern at not being able to attend the play, both father and 
 son having the gout They sent, howev- 
 for which they paid as became the blood of the Percys ; 
 and in so genteel and respectful a manner, that it was im- 
 possible for the nicest pride to take umbrage at it. 
 
 " I am more flattered with the honour this noble l 
 have done me* because I did not solicit their attention, nor 
 would I even renew my acquaintance with Dr. Percy, on 
 coming to town, lest it should look like courting the i . 
 of bis patrons. Je suis tm pcujidrc" 
 
 " Lust night was the ninth night of Percy. It was a 
 vry brilliant house ; and I was there. Lady North did 
 me the honour to take a stage-box. I when the 
 
 speech against the wickedness of going to war was spoken ; 
 as I was afraid my lord was in the house, and that speech, 
 Ihmiflh not written with any partk ul > so bold, 
 
 i Oways so warmly received, that it frightens me ; and 
 I really feel uneasy till it is well over. Mrs. Montagu I 
 box again ; which, as she is so consummate a critic, and is 
 hardly ever seen at a public place, is a great credit to the 
 piay. Lady B. was there, of course i n told she has 
 
 not made an engagement this fortnight, but on condition 
 aho should be at liberty to break it for Percy. I was 
 asked to dine at the Chancellor s two or three days ago, 
 happened to be engaged to Mrs. Montagu, with whom 
 I have been a good deal lately. We also spent an agreeable 
 ;g together at Dr. Cadogan's, where she and I, being 
 the only two monsters in the creation who never touch a 
 
44 LITE OF I 
 
 card (and laughed at enough for it we are), had the fire- 
 side to ourselves ; and a more elegant and instructive con- 
 versation I have seldom cnjoyo.1. I met Mrs. Chepon* one 
 Mrs. Montagu's; she is one of Percy's warmest 
 m ; and as she does not go to plays, but has formed 
 her judgment in the closet, it is the more flattering 
 have been out very little except to particular friend- 
 
 ve it was a false delicacy, but I could not go to any* 
 body's house, for fear they should think I came to be 
 praised, or to hear the play talkc i 
 
 I am at this moment ae quiet ae my heart can wish, 
 
 and quietness U my definition of happtnoss. I had no lee* 
 
 than five invitations to dine abroad to-day, but preferred 
 
 the precious and rare luxury of solitude. 1 was much 
 
 ted at the pby the other night ; when Douglas teere 
 
 :otter wbioh he had intercepted, an honest man in the 
 shilling gallery, vexed it had fallen into Ike husband'* 
 hands instead of the lover's, called out, Do prey send the 
 letter to Mr. Percy.' I think some of you might contrive 
 tomokeahttlojaunt,ifitwereorilyforofieni^eJKlece 
 thebentling. Adieu, and some of you come." 
 
 The sisters complied with this invitation, and here fee- 
 lows an extract from one of their letten . 
 
 "Just returned from Percy; the theatre 
 prodigiously, notwithstanding their Majesties and the 
 ol for &adal at the other house. Yes; we did 
 ilow the twelfth night ! On entering the parlour, 
 : o Hannah was sitting alone, our eyes were greeted 
 the sight of a wreath, composed of a Roman laurel, 
 ingeniously interwoven, and the stems confined with an 
 elegant ring. From whence, you will oak, could such a 
 
 It originated at Glanvilla, where the wreath was made. 
 The letter which accompanied it was an elegant morf*tm. 
 
 lay, a card from Lady , to engage Hannah to 
 
 dine with her on Sunday, which she, being of the CAruria* 
 
TIER TRAGEDY OF " PERCY." 49 
 
 faction, declined. Yesterday, when we were all seated in 
 the drawing-room in the Adelphi, a gentleman was an- 
 
 need by the name of Home (author of the tragedy of 
 
 Douglas). Mr. Garrick took Hannah by the hand, and 
 
 approaching the stranger, said, he beg^-d Kave to intro- 
 
 the Dougla*; upon which Mr. Home 
 
 vssed his desire that the alliance might be again re- 
 newed ; and all the company with pleasure took notice 
 that it was the Douglas that first sued to the Percy. 
 
 "Mrs. Garrick tells us, that when they were at Althorp 
 Mr. Garrick read Pvrcy to all the party at Lord Spencer's. 
 Though tho first edition of the play was near four thou- 
 sand, and it has only been printed a fortnight, Csv.lcll 
 yerterday sent for a corrected copy, in order to forward 
 the second edition as fast as po&: 
 
 H. More to her sist r 
 
 "London, 177P. 
 
 " To-morrow I go to Hampton ; I dread catching cold, 
 as I have not ventured down-stairs ; the doctor violently 
 ses my going, as he has the most exalted opinion of 
 my indiscretion. Mrs. Garrick and he battle! an hour 
 about the propriety of it As he found we were both 
 secretly resolved, he made a virtue of necessity, and gave 
 the leave we were determined to tnk< 11 l >K1 us he 
 exf>ected I should be brought back half dead with feasting, 
 and indolence, and luxury, and imprudence ; but at last he 
 consented, on condition that I should be well furred and 
 flannelled, live maigre, and drink 
 
 have been here a week ; Mrs. Sheridan is with xis, 
 and her husband comes down on evenings. I find I have 
 mistaken this lady; she is r. Me; con- 
 
 venes and reads extremely 1 writes prettily. To 
 
 be sure there may be wiser parties in the world than our?, 
 but I question if there is one more cheerful. Ought one 
 to c> it the great English Rosciu?, and the best 
 
 English dramatic poet (to say nothing of the ladies, who 
 act up for something too), that these great geniuses, I 
 ight, playing at cross-purposes, crooked 
 
 E 
 
.'0 UFE OF HAJQUH MOBS. 
 
 , and whafs-my-Uftought ou never betid 
 
 a set of wits utter half ao much ponneMel 
 
 I dined to-day in the Adelphi : we were very 000ft- 
 
 ble. Garrick read a good deal, and would insist upon 
 
 my reading a poem, which I told him I would not do to 
 
 prevent a French war. Satunbj, Lady Jnliaua Peon apcnt 
 
 :iftcrnoon with me ; I like her much ; abe boara her 
 
 misfortunes (the loss of the government of a vast pro- 
 
 and twenty thousand a-year) with the constancy of 
 
 a great mind. 
 
 vas last night in some fine company. One lady 
 aaked what wae the neweat colour ; the other answered, 
 that the most truly fashionable aUk was a *>Mf>pm c/c ivrt, 
 lined with a *mpir ttoqft* ef ftrocfc d* frspfrona*; now 
 must not consult your old-fiuhiooed dictionary lor 
 the word entrance, for you will there find that it means 
 nothing but hope, whereas operas** in the new knfuag* 
 of the times, means rose-buds. I dined the other day at 
 
 M- 1. . . . . " i . . .'. 
 
 with the Duchess of Beaufort,* 
 
 "IdinedwiththeGarricksonThurikUy; bo went with 
 me afterwaroX intending only to set me down at Sir 
 Joshua'a, where I was engaged to pies the evening. 1 was 
 not a little proud to be the moans of bringing such a 
 beau into suob a party. We found Gibbon, Johnson, 
 Hermes Harria, Blarney, Chambers, Bamscy, the Buhop 
 
 u Aaaph, Boswell, Langton, Ac, ; and scarce ai. 
 
 ve man or woman among them. Oarrick put Johnson 
 into such good spirits, that I never knew him so n 
 taming or more insi ructive. lie was aa brilliant aa him 
 eelf, and as good-humoured at any one else. 
 
 terday I dined with Captain and lira. Middleton, 
 and Mrs. Bouvcrie ; good Jonas Hanway and the Bishop of 
 
 ter and his lady were of the party. I had only bee* 
 in oompu c bishop once before, and that waa two 
 
 yean ago. I left them earlier than I wished, though not 
 
 1 Dr. I 
 
rcK. r>! 
 
 being engaged to spend the evening at the 
 Burrows', to meet Lady Juliana Peim and Dr. Pri. 
 
 Hannah More returned to Bristol in April, 1778, after 
 another five months 1 absence; m '.y on the 
 
 death of Mr. Garrick, which happened on the 20th 
 January, 1770, she again set out for London, at the 
 earnest desire of Mrs. Garrick, whose melancholy sum- 
 mons she rose from a bed of sickness to attend. 
 
 Ad, im 
 
 "From Dr. Oadogan's I intended to have gone to the 
 Adclphi, but found that Mrs. Garrick was that moment 
 quitting her house, while preparations were making for 
 
 last sad ceremony ; she very wisely fixed on a pi 
 :id's house for this purpose, where she could be at her 
 ease. I got there just before her ; she was prepared for 
 meeting me: she ran into my arms, and we both re- 
 mained silent for some minutes. At last ^ 
 
 ave this moment embru 
 
 next.' She soon recovered herself, and said with j 
 composure, ' The goodness of God to me is inexpressible ; 
 I desired .t it is his will that I should live, and he 
 
 has convinced me he will not let my life be quite miser- 
 able : for he gives astonishing strength to my body and 
 grace to my heart : neither do I deserve, but I am thankful 
 for both.' She thanked me a thousand timc.s for such a 
 real act of friendship, and bade me 1 d, for it 
 
 was God's will they had just returned from 
 
 orp, Lord Spencer's, where he had been reluctantly 
 dragged, for he had felt unwell for some time ; but during 
 his visit ho was often in such fine spirits that they could 
 not believe that ho was ill. Ou his return home, he ap- 
 pointed Dr. Cadogan to meet him, who ordered nim an 
 emetic, the warm bath, and the usual remedies, but with 
 very little effect. On the Sunday he was in good spirits, 
 and free from pain ; but as the suppression still continued, 
 
 Cadogan becarr ly alarmed, and sent for Pott, 
 
 Heberden, and Schomberg, who gave him up the moment 
 they saw him. Poor Garrick stared to see his room full of 
 
2 LIFE OF HA35AR 
 
 doctors, not being conscious of his real state. No change 
 happened till the Tuesday evening, when the surgeon who 
 was sent for to blister and bleed him made light of his 
 ss, assuring Mrs. Garrick would be well in * 
 
 day or two, and insisted on her goii)g to lie down Towards 
 morning she desired to be called if there was the least 
 change. Every tame that she administered the draughts 
 to him in the night, he always aqneeted her hand in * 
 
 to her wit 
 
 particular manner, and spoke to her with the 
 tenderness and affection. Immediately after he had taken 
 his last medicine, he sofUy said, ' Oh, dear !' and yielded 
 without a groan, and in his perfect senses, 
 His behaviour during the night was all gentleness and 
 patience, and he frequently made apologies to those about 
 
 for the trouble he gave them. 
 
 M On ^pfffjyg him, a stflce was ftffifMf that measured 
 five inches and a half round one way, and four and a half 
 the other; yet thw was not the immediate cause of his 
 death: his kidneys were quite gone, I paid a melancholy 
 visit to his coffin yesterday, where I found room for medi- 
 Utiontill the mind' burst with thinking.' His new bouse 
 is not so pleasant as Hampton, nor so splendid as the 
 Add commodious enough for all the wants 
 
 ibttant: and beside, it is so quiet that he never 
 will be disturbed till the eternal morning; and never 
 then will a wester voiee than his own be heard. May ho 
 then find mercy ! They are preparing to hang the bouse 
 with black, for he is to lie in state till Monday. I dislike 
 this pageantry, and cannot help thinking that the disem- 
 bodied spirit must look with contempt upon the farce that 
 is played over its miserable relics. But a splendid funeral 
 could not be avoided, ashoistobelaidinthe Abbey with 
 
 . illustrious dust, and so many are desirous of testifying 
 respect by attcn 
 :ui never cease to remember with affection and gra- 
 
 le, so warm, steady, and disinterested a friend ; and I 
 can most truly bear this testimony to his memory, that I 
 never witnessed in any family more decorum, propr 
 and regularity than in his : where I never saw a card, or 
 ever met (except in one instance) a person of his own pro- 
 
DEATH OF GARRICK. 53 
 
 i at his table : of which Mrs. Garrick, by her elegance 
 of taste, her correctness of manners, and very original turn 
 of humour, was the brightest ornament. All his pursuits 
 and tastes were so decidedly intellectual, that it made 
 .-ociety and the conversation which was always to be 
 found in the circle both interesting and delightful." 
 

 IV. 
 
 i THI DEATH or MB. (JAIUUCK TO HER TUrrmiyprr 
 
 - 
 
 all mankind hi* favour was a great privileg 
 tj on, formed the strongest epell that held he 
 to the (ssdnetions of brilliant company and 
 opposition to those inbred and original pfftp 
 disposed her strongly, ID the midst of these h 
 iremeot a batter acquainta 
 
 .self. uinl .1 U-tUr i..o of h. T x-n-a! <Mj.u-.t., . 
 I j.ir.n, h.iw, v. r. t- be ' : it-i -v d 
 powering impulse*, or to be hurried into 
 
 .'. i% !. . '. . . i .-... ; 
 
 . ithout much consideration, both of th 
 means. From the death of Oarriek to her r 
 Blip Green, an interval of about fire jean, 
 proceeded in redeeming her time, and det 
 from cngagemcnU, which, however agreeabl 
 and talents, kept her from answering the hi 
 which summoned her to the sen-ice of th 
 labours of love. 
 
 following letters to her sister occur at 
 
 70. 
 
 " We (MisaCadogan and myself) went to Charing Croes, 
 to see the melancholy procession. Just as we got there we 
 
I OF r kHRICK. 55 
 
 received a ticket from the Bishop of Rochester, to admit 
 us into the Abbey. No admittance could be obtained but 
 under bis hand. We hurried away in'a hackney-coach, 
 dreading to be too late. The bell of St. Martin's and the 
 Abbey gave a sound that smote upon my very soul. When 
 wo got to the cloisters, we found multitudes striving for 
 admittance. We gave our ticket, and were let in ; but, 
 unluckily, we ought to have kept it We followed the man, 
 who unlocked a door of iron, and directly closed it upon 
 us and two or three others, and we found ourselves in a 
 tower, with a dark winding staircase, consisting of half-a- 
 hundred atone steps. When we got to the top, there was 
 no way out ; we ran down again called and 1- at the 
 door, till the whole pile resounded with our cries. 1 
 we stayed half an hour in perfect agony : we were sure it 
 would be all over : nay, we might never be let out 
 might starve we might perish I At length our clamours 
 brought an honest man a guardian angel I then thought 
 him. We implored him to take care of us, and get us into 
 a part of the Abbey whence we might see the grave. Ho 
 aakod for the bishop's ticket ; we had given it away to the 
 wrong person ; and ho was not obliged to believe we 
 had one; yet he aaw so much truth in our grief, that 
 though we were most shabby, and a hundred fine people 
 were solicit ing the same favour, he took us under each arm, 
 carried us safely through the crowd, and put us in a little 
 gallery directly over the grave, where we could see and hear 
 everything as distinctly as if the Abbey had been a parlour. 
 
 le things sometimes affect the i We 
 
 ware no sooner recovered from the fresh bursts of grief 
 than I cast my eyes, the first thing, on Handel's monu- 
 
 t, and read the scroll in his hand, ' I know that my 
 Redeemer liveth.' Just at three the great doors burst open 
 with a noise that shook the roof : the organ struck up, and 
 the whole choir, in strains only less solemn than the ' arch- 
 rump,' began Handel's fine anthem. The whole 
 
 : advanced to the grave, in hoods and surplices, sing- 
 he way; then Sheridan as chief mourner; then 
 the body alas ! whose body ! with ten noblemen and 
 gentlemen, pell-bearers ; then the rest of the friends and 
 
." ' : LIFE OF HAKVAB HOWL 
 
 mourners; hardly * dry eye, the Tery playm, bctd to the 
 trade of count ill Miiiig. bed genuine tears. 
 
 As MOO as flic body was let down, the bishop began 
 the service, which he wad in a low bat solemn and derotxt 
 Such an awful HtiQness reigned, thai ever? word 
 Hov I not 
 
 assent to the hope, thai the soul of our dear brother now 
 departed was in peace. And this is all of derrick ! Yet a 
 very tittle while, and he shall as j to the worm, Thou art 
 my brother ; and to corruption, Thou art m j mother and 
 my sister.' 80 passes away the mshkm of this world. And 
 the very night he was buried the playhouse* were as full, 
 
 hapi--n.-l . i.iv. !: %,tv MMHBJSJI sfH AtJpSfwMl r 
 
 the revelries of the nigbi-the same night, too ! 
 
 44 As soon as the crowd had dispersed, our friend came 
 to UB with an invitation from the bishop's lady, to whom 
 ho had related our disaster, to come into the deanery. 
 
 WMM . , mml m .I InAji * --- ila !! mn nmm lu.it *--- 1 ' 
 
 were cameo inio ner ovassns/vooni ; out, n f BB w racapaDie 
 of speech, she rery kindly said ahe would not int< mij* 
 such sorrow, and left as ; but sent op wine, cakes, and all 
 manner of good things, which were nmlly well 
 caught no cold, notwithstanding aU I went throu 
 On Wednesday night we came to the A' i 
 
 She bore it with groat ttmnqul rhat 
 
 was my surprise to see her go alone into the chamber and 
 iioh be had died that day fortnight She had a 
 delight in it beyond exproMBon. I asked her the next day 
 how she went through HI She told me, TeryweD; that 
 
 the dear bed, and got into it with a sad pleasure." 
 
 plo* 9 Fclrvory 
 
 bare been at this sweet and once oheerrol placo 
 near a week. Alas ! it has lost its perfume, yet it is in 
 great beauty ; the weather is fine, the verdure charrning ; 
 and could we * pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow* 
 all would appear as beautiful as it used to do. 
 
 -timatc friends came with us. Our first 
 * was sad enough. Dragon looked as he used to do, 
 
HER XEW MODE OF LIFE. 57 
 
 and ran up to meet his master. Poor Mrs. Garrick went 
 and shut hersc'lf up for half an hour. Not a sigh escapes 
 our poor : restrain. When I expressed 
 
 my surprise at her self-command. she answered, * Groans 
 and complaints an- who are to mourn 
 
 but a little while ; but a sorrow that is to last for life will 
 lent and romantic,* 
 
 shall go to town to-morrow, when she insists on 
 it that I shall go and see my friends.'* 
 
 /f.H, 1??!). 
 
 xvc been to Mrs. Boscawen's, where I was a little 
 amused by spending an hour with Lord Howe, lately re- 
 turned from America. He is agreeable, and remarkably 
 modest in speaking of himself. He said, It was a little 
 hard, that after a man had devoted his whole time and 
 talents (however poor the latter might be) to the service 
 of his country, that the event, and not his conduct, should 
 determine his character; that to \ -ful and 
 
 guilty should be the same thing ; and that he should be 
 held up as a public criminal, for not doing what could not 
 
 
 u Mrs. Montagu and Mrs. Vcsey have spent one after- 
 noon with us ; and these, with Ladies Bathurst, Edgccoi nix. 
 and Spencer, are all we have seen. She is refused to every- 
 body, but she is so circumstanced as to be much solicited 
 on that score ; for I suppose Garrick had more, what we 
 may call particular friends, than any man in England. 
 
 |" My way of life is very different from what it used to 
 be; you must not, therefore, expect much entertainment 
 from my letters : for, as in the annals of states, so in the 
 lives of individuals, those periods are often the safest and 
 best which make the poorest figure. After breakfast, I 
 go to my own apartment for several hours, where I read, 
 write, and work ; very seldom letting anybody in, though 
 I have a room for separate visitors ; but I almost look on 
 a morning visit as an immorality. At four we dine. We 
 have the same elegant table as usual, but I generally con- 
 fine myself to one single dish of meat. I have taken to 
 drink half a glass of wine. At six we have coffee ; at eight 
 
i we have, inMitiniaa, a donager or two of quality. 
 tewehavemladaadfruiea. Bush haa her book, v 
 we read without any restraint, aa if we were alone, without 
 
 ; ! . .- .. . I 
 
 1 Mm Montagu amid a my amble thing to ma the 
 day: we were speaking of a hiaDd of om% who, with 
 great scnae,givea way to greet violeooe of temper. 'The 
 apffapt htmthma/ aaid thft, * taught IMP to aubdua the 
 paaakme from a principle of wiadom; the Chriatian reUgioo 
 toacbea it from a principle of duty: but it ia no wonder 
 that the modem fine goUemeo should bo the slaves of 
 
 i . : ' ' '' i".'. . -.:!: , , ,- 
 
 and Evelina at lira. BqraohU', but was engaged at home. 
 
 giH; aba ia not more thaa 
 
 MM *- ii i i ! ii i i ii i ftM naHima m^A 1..^ Illk I 
 
 up nor Knowiauga os nature anu low lutj oar . 
 
 ier8tOtWagentry>aatooiahing? Lady 1 
 and I are rery (rieodiy. Apaley fiooaa ia 
 moat superbly ftirniahed ; and, which ia not alwaja the 
 caae with auperb thingH, it ia very beauttlul, and teaming 
 
 '.. : ' ' . : i / / ..... ' '. 
 
 ; . . !..;. . , 
 
 B^iriilry for thoae who have not a voeatioo to 
 
 it thk hard calling on Mon- 
 
 day. The moment I had braakfratod, I went to Afialaj 
 House: there I sUycd till near two : 1 then made inignin- 
 cant vi Mtn till four, when I want to Mra. Boaoawe*'* to 
 hnner, where I stayed till eight, and from thence went 
 to apend the evening at Mm. Veeey'a, where than waaa 
 *maU assembly of about thirty people, and all clever. 8he 
 kaapa out dunoea, because ahe never has cards, lira. 
 
 agu and the IVovost of Dublin talked moat and beat 
 I waa ookad to meat another party the same evening, but 
 
 ing able to make a polypus of myself, 1 did not go, 
 ; had rather slave at it all day now and then, than 
 make a tingle little dull formal visit every afternoon.* 
 
: THEI* TRAGEDY. 59 
 
 Encouraged by the great success of Percy, and con- 
 stantly urged by Mr. Garrick to try her power ouce more 
 
 iie same way, Hannah More had amused herself during 
 the former year in writing another tragedy, four acts of 
 which had been read and much ; f by him. She 
 
 had completed this piece some time before his death, aud 
 now brought it with her, intending to leave it in the ma- 
 nager's hands during the summer, that it might appear 
 with proper advantages the following season. Mr. Harris, 
 however, no sooner understood that th 
 ness, than be solicited her with so much earnestness to let 
 him bring it out the very next month, that she yielded to 
 his persuasions, against the bett . nt of herself 
 
 and friends, and suffered it to appear at an unfavourable 
 
 withstanding the disadvantages arising from the 
 extreme lateness of the season, and the absence of many 
 of the first actors, Fatal FaUc/iood, though it was very far 
 from having such a run as Percy, was received with very 
 great applause : in corroboration of which, we will insert 
 two or three extracts from the letters of one of her sisters, 
 who was in town nursing her during a severe illness, to 
 another sister at Bristol : 
 
 "Aklphl, 1771). 
 
 t returned from the house ; the- applause was as 
 great as her most sanguine friends could wish. Miss 
 
 :ig was interrupted three different times, in the speech 
 on false honour, with bursts of approbation. When Rivers, 
 who was thought to bo dead, appeared in the fifth act, they 
 
 o shouted for joy. The curtain fell to slow music, 
 and now for the moment when the fate of the piece was to 
 Tho audience did her the honour to testify 
 their approbation by the warmest applause that could pos- 
 sibly be given ; for when Hull can 1 to ask their 
 permission to perform it again, they did give leave by three 
 loud shouts, and by many huzzaings. I will tell you a 
 little anecdote. A lady observing to one of her maid- 
 servants, when she came in from the play, that her eyes 
 looked red, as if bhe had been crying, the girl, by way of 
 apology, . .1, ma'am, if I did ; it was no harm ; a 
 
n 
 
 g^mt many nspccUble people criccl, too.' /Vfry. I h*i 
 translated into German, and has been performed at Vienna 
 with great i 
 
 Miss R More returned to Bristol in Jtme, and in the 
 December of the same year (1779) we find her again at 
 jMre. Garrick'n, with whom she spent many sobseq 
 (winters at Hampton in quiet seclusion, gratifying her 
 r knowledge by enlarging her acquaintance with 
 the best authomt She writes to her sister as follows : 
 
 " Mrs. Garrick and I read to ourselves MUM intcrm Won. 
 Matthew Henry and Mr. David Home (two gentlemen 
 ry different ways of thinking on some certain points) 
 -oscnt engage a groat part of my time. I have T 
 finished the nizth volume, and am at thi* i;, ,11 
 h the Dean of Gloucester on 
 id ship-money* 
 
 " Here we are still, and ss little, acquainted with what 
 passes in the world as though we were fire hundred, instead 
 of fifteen miles out of it Poor Mrs. Oarrick is a greater 
 recluse than ever, and has quite a horror at the thought 
 of mixing in the world again. I fancy, indeed, she 
 never go much into it Her garden tad her family amuse 
 her; but the idem of company to death to her. We nerer 
 see a human lace but each other's. Though in such deep 
 retirement, I am never dolly because I am not redact 
 the fatigue of entertaining donees, or of being obliged to 
 listen to them. We dress like a couple of scaramouches, 
 dispute like a couple of Jesuits, eat like a couple of alder- 
 . walk like a couple of porters, and read as much a* 
 .o doctors of either university. 
 
 the fatal 80th was well over: I dread the anni- 
 versary of that day. On her wedding-day she wr: 
 Abbey, where she stayed a good while, and she said 
 had been to spend the morning on her husband's gr. 
 when-, for the future, she should always pass her wedding- 
 days. Yet she seems cheerful, and never indulges the least 
 
DISPUTES WITH DR. JOHNSON. (51 
 
 melancholy in company. She spends so very few hours in 
 bod, that I cannot imagine how she can be so well : 
 but her very great activity, both of body and mind, has 
 ..inly speaking, preserved her life. 
 
 ;?. Boscawen has made a little party which she 
 thought I should like : for you must know there are no 
 assemblies or great parties till after Christmas, and till 
 then it is not the feshion to wear jewels, or dress at all. 
 This last custom has, I think, good sense and economy in 
 it, as it cuts off a couple of months from the season of 
 extravagance : but I fancy it redeems but little from the 
 nights, for one may lose a good deal of money in a very 
 bad gown," 
 
 ffeft, 1780, 
 
 " I spent a very comfortable day yesterday with 
 Reynolds: only Dr. Johnson, and Mrs. Williams, and my- 
 self, lie is in but poor health, but his mind has lost 
 nothing of its vigour. He never opens his mouth but one 
 learns something ; one is sure either of hearing a new idea, 
 or an old one expressed in an original manner. We did not 
 part :i. He scolded me heartily, as usual, when I 
 
 differed from him in opinion ; and, as usual, laughed when I 
 
 red him. I was very bold in combating some of his 
 darling prejudices : nay, I ventured to defend one or two 
 of the Puritans, whom I forced him to allow to be good 
 
 , and good writers. He said he was not angry with 
 me at all for liking Baxter. He liked him himself; ' but 
 
 :.' said he, * Baxter v. :\> m the Establishment, 
 
 it, if he could have got the living 
 
 of Kidderminster. He was a very good man.' Here he 
 was wrong: for Baxter was offered a bishopric after the 
 restoration." 
 
 " Hampton, 1780. 
 
 have been spending a week with my good friends 
 
 ' )iceys : they have an admirable house ; and, as far as I 
 
 judge of the grounds, in their present winter dress 
 
 they are exceedingly pretty. The Duke of Bridgwater 
 
 has a seat in the parish. We lived very placidly. The 
 
 Sood parson read to us every evening. Mr. Dicey lives like 
 
' U LIFE OF HAVNAH MORE. 
 
 .. j ... . I :. . - v ' . 
 
 liberal and handsomo throughout Mr. D. saw me safe 
 o, and loaded me with apples, cream cheeses, &c.; and, 
 not being able to procure any game, I really thought they 
 would have made me bring away some of their olothet and 
 furniture. As Mre. Gamck's year is out, we have been 
 very busy sending round her cards of thanks. I suppose 
 they include seven hundred people; six hundred 
 I dare eay f ahe will hardly c ver let in again. 
 
 We peck off on Tuceday for good, aa they aay t all ex- 
 \Ve regret leafing a new cow and a young 
 call The birds thai we feed three time* a-day at the win- 
 dow are to be left on board wage*; a small loaf being to be 
 brought them every morning. 1 think 1 have told you a 
 great deal of news. 
 
 t*rs are aa roll of death* aa the wccMj I- 
 mortality ; or, aa an boneat man who dined here the other 
 day called them, the bills of morality.' Who would have 
 ;ht they hid been London bUla I" 
 
 , 17*0. 
 
 * My being obliged to walk so much, makes me loe* 
 
 seeing my friends who call on me ; and what is worse, it 
 
 makes me lose my time, whioh will never call on me again 
 
 Y.-.-t. idaj 1 . -.I... : . .-. 
 
 The Bishop of St A>.iph and his family invited me to oome 
 
 to Wimbledon Park, Lord Spencer's charming rills, which 
 
 he always lends to the bUhop si this time of the yea 
 
 not think there could have been so beautiful a place 
 
 .in seven miles of London. The park has as much 
 
 variety of ground, and is ss un-Londoniah as if it were an 
 
 Ircd miles out ; and I enjoyed the violets and the birds 
 
 more than all the marcchal powder and the music of this 
 
 foolish town. There was a good deal of company at dinner ; 
 
 re quite at our ease, and strolled about, or sat in 
 
 y, just as we liked. This last amused me much, 
 
 for it was the Duchess of Marlborough'a.(old Sarah), and 
 
 o books were presents to her from all the 
 
 great authors of her time, whose names she had carefully 
 
 written iu the blank leaves, for I believe she had the pride 
 
AGAIN IN LOK: 33 
 
 of being thought learned, as well as rich and beautiful. I 
 drank tea one day last week with our bishop (Newton), whom 
 I never thought to see again on this side heaven. He has 
 gone through enough to kill half the stout young men, and 
 seems to be patched up again for a few months. They are 
 superabundantly kind to me. 
 
 " The gentlemen of the Museum came on Saturday to 
 fetch poor Mr. Garrick's legacy of the old plays and curious 
 black-letter books. Though they were not things to be 
 read, and are only valuable to antiquaries for their age and 
 acarcity, yet I could not aee them carried off without a 
 
 a I was, the other night, at Mrs. Ord's. Everybody was 
 there ; and in such a crowd I thought myself well off to be 
 wedged in with Mr. Smelt, Langton, Ramsay, and Johnson. 
 Johnson told me he had been with the king that morning, 
 who enjoined him to add Spencer to his Lives of the Poets. 
 I seconded the motion ; he promised to think of it, but 
 said the booksellers had not included him in their list of 
 the poets. 
 
 " Instead of going to Audlcy Street, when 
 vited, I went to Mrs. Reynolds', and sat for my picture. 
 Just as she began to paint, in came Dr. Johnson, who 
 stayed the whole tame, and said good things by way of 
 making me look well. I did not forget to ask him for a 
 page for your memorandum-book,* and he promised to 
 write, but said you ought to be contented with a quotation ; 
 this, however, I told him you would not acc< 
 
 "Hampton, 1780. 
 
 " Hampton is very clean, very green, very beautiful, 
 
 and mcholy; but the * long, drear culm of fixed 
 
 repose, 1 suits me mightily after the hurry of London. We 
 
 have been on the wing every day this week. Our way is 
 
 to walk out four or five miles, to some of the prettiest 
 
 res or prospects, and when we are quite tired, we get 
 
 the coach, which is waiting for us, with our books, 
 
 A coflcdion of autograph! of eminent persons which her sister was 
 lookiog at that time. 
 
r J LIFE OP HAHXAB KOBE. 
 
 and come homo to dinner OB hungry as Drtgon himself. 
 I took an airing by myself one morning to Hounslow, and 
 paida visit to the Sheridans at their country-bouse, where 
 1 had a Tory agreeable hoar or twa* 
 
 Miss More soon alter this letter (which wan written in 
 the spring of 1780) paid a vinit of a few days at 
 
 lioottX at Ox ford,\ where she was introduced to the 
 society of many persons 1 valuable for their piety and learn- 
 ing !\among the foromoat of whom we may rank Dr. Home, 
 then President of Magdalen College, and afterwutfa Bishop 
 
 Norwich, and with this excellent man she preset-red to 
 unmUmiptl friendship till hw death. Prom Oxford she 
 
 ma 
 
 r.ali More wss now sgain st Hampton, and thus 
 writes to one of her silt an : 
 
 *J5fsyfc. i: 
 
 * I would wish jon a merry Christmas, as well as happy 
 new year, but that I hate the word merry so applied ; 
 a fitter epithet fora bacchanalian than s Christian festival, 
 and seems an apology for idle mirth and injurious excess. 
 What frost! what snow! By the bye, if this same stxiw 
 were of human invention, I shonld be apt to say I did not 
 lik. 'he vtst expanse of glistening white on the 
 
 ground the fluid brilliant* dropping from the tree*-and 
 the greenhouse full of beautiful blossoms and oranges, 
 make it altogether look like some region of enchantment ; 
 and as the gravel-walks are all swept clean, I parade an 
 hour or two every morning. 
 
 uclosc you my (Wt on <to Jfafynfe of \Vor<xMtr>t 
 
 was impossiblo to refuse a request coached 
 
 Terms, and from such a friend as Mrs. Boseawen ; 
 
 wild flowers in the wilderness, that sho 
 
 ahor. an ode could spring up in ftuch a soil, it 
 
 rote every line of it one night after eleven 
 
 o'clock. I will not pretend to ive been 
 
 better if I had had more time ; but thin I will HA . 
 
 could not well have been worse. The concluding stanxa 
 
GARRICK'S CORRESPONDENCE. G5 
 
 was occasioned by the Dutch war, which I heard of that 
 I believe you will think I have invoked the muse 
 which inspired Mrs. Mary Dcverill, pursoness and poetess, 
 when she sung in elegaic str; ity-moving story of 
 
 the thirty poisoned i 
 
 "Hampton, 1781. 
 
 .ve commit any crime, or do any good here, it must 
 be in thought ; for our words are few and our deeds none 
 at all Poor Hermes Harris is dead ! Everybody is dead, 
 I think ; one is almost ashamed of being alive ! That you 
 may not think I pus my time quite idly, I must tell you 
 that I have begun BeUkaaar; I liked the subjrri, and have 
 made some progress in it But that, and all my other 
 employments, have given way to the melancholy occupa- 
 of reading over, with Mrs. Garrick, all the private 
 
 rs of the dear deceased master of this melancholy 
 mansion. The employment, though sad, is not without 
 its amusement : it embrace- -pondcnce 
 
 of ail the men who have made a figure in the annals of 
 
 :ioas or of literature for the last forty years; for I 
 think I hardly miss a name of any eminence in Great 
 Britain, and not many in France: it includes also all his 
 answers : some of the first wits in ntry confessing 
 
 their obligations over and over again to his bounty; 
 money given to some, and lent to such numbers as would 
 be incredible, if one did not read it in their own letters. 
 
 not the least instni uf this employment to 
 
 consider where almost all these great men are now. The 
 play-writers, where are they 1 and the poets, arc their fires 
 extinguished ? Did Lord Bath, or Bishop Warburton, or 
 Lord Chatham, or Goldsmith, or Churchill, or Chesterfield, 
 trouble themselves with thinking that the heads which 
 .ted those bright epistles would so soon be laid low 1 
 
 they imagine that such a nobody as I am, whom 
 they would have disdained to have reckoned 'with the 
 dogs of their flock,* should have had the arranging and 
 disposing of them ? I found my own letters, but I 
 thought it a breach of trust to take them till they arc 
 all finally disposed of. 
 
um or BAKU* raa, 
 dose you Dean Tucker's answer to mj letter of 
 
 We have irtolcii 
 
 urn :< v, Q 
 
 .... 
 
 sway for a few days to town, but I 
 uiet that I have acaroeJy the 
 
 heart to go out, though I am come here on purpose, 
 to poor Mrs. Garrick, she keeps herself as secret ss a piece 
 of smuggled goods, and neither stirs out herself nor let* 
 anybody in. The calm of Hampton is such tied repose, 
 that an old woman crying fish, or the poettnsn tinging si 
 the door, is an event which excites attention. Mm. Boo- 
 cawon is very lull of the 0* .- she would make me hew 
 
 : ' : ' i ' .' !:'< 
 
 everybody to ese it, and yet has not the courage to 
 it to soy one, unices I win strike out the two Hues 
 1 1 Nggsd to be emsed doing. Be 
 
 1 : ntroajl, of giving oopfaa. My nriends kuuv I 
 Kcratee* 
 
 am so learful of newspapers, that Mrs. 
 
 letaed &s% II or* to the Bishop of London. She h as 
 
 told him she will ask my consent, which I do not know 
 
 ,, -y V, ..!....! 1 ' .* 
 
 he gives a haodsomo piece of his witting to your memo* 
 
 apy-h:n.' f - r 
 
 * We coui^eoualy came back yestenky through all the 
 now. I was dceiroue to do it, htring but a short time 
 now to stay hem, and I want a little for wri ti ng, f thai 1 
 may afford to be idle in town with less regret We are 
 forbidden to do eril that good may come of it, and this 
 looks like doing good that evil may come of it 
 
 are just waded through almost nine hundred pages 
 idan'a book, but retain all my prejudices in favour of 
 Monogamy. There iwvu wse such A strange book tinder 
 such a mask of holiness; in short. I have as great an nti- 
 pathy to eorae of the gospel according to Mr. Madan,' as ever 
 so infidel had to the Gospel according to St Matthew. A 
 
 rWorowt*^ V 
 t 
 
LORD G; 
 
 friend of nine says of him, 'This rr-.int will make sinners 
 after his death NOW Testament very cava- 
 
 y, under the pretence of the most flaming veneration 
 for the Old, and is quite outrageous at the general mis- 
 take, he says, that all modern Christians make, that Christ 
 taught a more perfect morality than Moses. I believe the 
 holy Scriptures mere never before made the cover, nay the 
 vehicle, of 00 much mdec 
 
 ir history of the election I read to Mrs. Garrick, 
 and we agreed it deserved a place in the book called (/ 
 
 i from Small OaMtnl Mcthinks I envy Burke that 
 of his worth,' which he m n coii- 
 
 himself rejected only because his talents v 
 crime. But Providence has wisely contrived to render all 
 its dispensations equal, by making those talents which set 
 one man so much above another, of no esteem in the 
 opinion of those who are without them. The direct 
 trary is the case with riches : they are most admired by 
 those who want them, and this becomes a spur to industry. 
 So that I do think that even in this world things are 
 carried on hand in hand, more equally than many are 
 willing to allow; for the 'painful pre-eminence 1 is so 
 mixed with mortification and disappointment, that its 
 pleasures, I believe, arc not a compensation for the envy 
 and plague which it brings. Is it not much better to be 
 easy and happy now, than talked of a thousand years hence, 
 when yon either will not know it or will despise it ? " 
 
 " London, 17H1. 
 
 * I heard from a person who attended the trial of Lord 
 George Gordon, that the noble prisoner (as the papers call 
 him) had a quarto Bible open before him all the time, and 
 was very angry because he was not permitted to read four 
 chapters in Zechariah. I can less forgive an affectation of 
 enthusiasm in him, because he is a man of loose morals. 
 Where the morals are exact, I can make great allowance 
 for a heated imagination, strong prejudices, or a wrong bias 
 of judgment Though I have not the least doubt that he 
 deserved punishment, yet I am glad he is acquitted, for it 
 disappoints the party aud uncanonizcs the martyr. 
 
f.- ..... :-.' - 
 
 the evening I went to Aiidley Street, where pride 
 met with a small mortification; for not being very well 
 recovered tern my rheumatic heedaobe, tod expecting to 
 meet only the Jenynaee and the Coles, 1 went 
 a diBhabfflc, when 1 found Lady Bdgeoombe, the Vorke 
 shop of Exeter, and, in abort* a brilliant, thoogll 
 a amall assembly. I wa* just able to iisteti, though not to 
 talk, and was very well Mated between Soame Jenyna, the 
 Bishop, andChamberlayne. The other morning Wra.Oamck 
 took n* to LeWs museum; for, to the scandal of i 
 I had never seen it before. If any man had the i 
 
 that vast book of various nature; as Galen ia recorded to 
 have been l.y hw own ,ii,-uvcnoH >., phvM.aogy. And pel 
 
 flufibn ia said to be an unbeliever ! 
 
 . i i__i ^.,. . .. 
 
 . . . . . . ... . 
 
 aeveral churches for the acquittal of Lord Oeoffi Uonfao. 
 I knew some who actually he udlejr Chapel The 
 
 famous Mr. Tigho read to us the other evenmg. He was 
 so poliU as to lament that he had not Jcphson's tragedy, 
 theO>iil(/AarDoMi,mhle|KWkei; but 1 was not sorry, 
 
 1 must have sunk very low in has opinion, a.* 
 expects everybody to faint away, and 1 am no hand at 
 
 To one of her sister* : 
 
 / ***).M 
 
 "TcUroy father lam quite delighted with his venes. 
 and particularly that he could write them in so food a 
 hand ; 1 have put them among my oorioeitiea I d- 
 
 k I shall write such verses at eighty-one. Saturday I 
 
 had a comfortable dinner with my dear Mrs. Boscawcn. 
 
 ansported with the Bishop's verne. I wish he 
 
 had a better subject ; but, like Swift, Rochester, and other 
 
 was resolved, I suppose, to show how well he 
 
 could nothing. 
 
 tf On Friday evening I went to Mr. Tighe's, to hear him 
 read Jephson's tragedy. * Praise,' says Dr. Joluiso; . 
 the tribute which every man is expected to pay for the 
 grant of perusing a manuscript ; f and. iadced, I could 
 
LFT: 6 g 
 
 ? without hurting my conscience, for the Count of 
 <onne has considerable merit; the language is very 
 poetical, and parts of the fable very interesting ; the plot 
 managed with art, and the characters well drawn. The 
 love scenes, I think, are the worst ; they are prettily written, 
 and full of flowers, but are rather cold ; they have more 
 poetry than passion. I do not mean to detract from Mr. 
 
 json'H merit by this remark, for it does not lessen a 
 poet's fame to say he excels more in painting the terrible 
 than the tender passions. Think of Johnson's having 
 apartments in Grosvenor Square!* hut ho says it is not 
 half so convenient as Bolt Court. He has just finished 
 the poets ; Pope is the last I am sorry ho has lost so 
 
 1 1 credit by Lord Lyttleton's : he treats hii!ialim>>l with 
 contempt; makes him out a poor writer, and an envious 
 man ; speaks well only of his Conversion of St. 1'avl, of 
 which he says, it is sufficient to say it has qpver been 
 .n.w.-ivd.' Mrs. Mont. i-t and Mr. IVpys, his 'lordship's 
 two chief surviving friends, are very angry. 
 
 44 We spent one very agreeable day at Mrs. Delany's : 
 her inseparable friend, the Duchess Dowager of Portland, 
 was them This charming duchess is very kind to me, 
 and honours me with particular attention. She has in 
 me to spend some time in the summer at Bulstrode. Per- 
 haps you do not know that she is Prior's * noble, lovely, 
 Peggy.' She remembers him perfectly well, and pro- 
 mises I shall read a quarto manuscript which he left to 
 
 father, Lord Oxford, which contains Dialogues of the 
 Dead, in the manner of Lucian." 
 
 "London. 1781* 
 
 14 On Friday I was at a great dinner at Mr. Middle-ton's ; 
 
 ompany was numerous ; it threatened therefore to be 
 
 1 had a great deal of agreeable conversation with 
 
 fcho Bishop of Chester (Dr. Porteus), who is an excellent 
 
 1 perfectly to my taste : he is, moreover, I believe, 
 
 a very good man. I hope great popularity, and the esti- 
 
 'i which his company is held, will not spoil him, 
 
 nor ' relax ; it requires a steady head to stand so 
 
 out being giddy. We little folks below, that walk 
 
 At Mr. T . .use. 
 
70 UFE or HAJnAH MOJUL 
 
 quietly in the Tile, know nothing of the 
 
 f. : : . i < - . 
 
 lavo often mid, i do not know 90 hard a trade a* 
 pleasure, if it bo wcU followed. I am quite tired of vmW 
 lag, and yet I do not go to a quarter of the places 1 am 
 aaked to. 1 never kiicw a gn^ party turn out IK> plea- 
 santly an the other night at the Ptpya a> There ww all 
 the pride of London, every wit and every winces; thnnfji 
 Uieee, when they get into a dii^cr.i have aooictmieiBid 
 to be aa dull aa other people: but the ^ 
 was kept up, on the strength of a httle lemonade, tdl peat 
 oleren, without c4nU. acandal, ur poUUca. Mia, Boscswen 
 threw me in to no smsll confusion; she got among the men, 
 not (cm than tw<^, aU fcotur s^srtfe, and gave them, pn 
 y, BUhop Lowth'e 
 
 Mrs. Gerry* and I were invited to an sesemUy at 
 ThraVa. There was to be a ine concert, and all the is* 
 people were to be there; but the chief object was to i 
 
 :: . . : .. ... l ....;- 
 
 m my hair waa drees a J, in came a servant to forbid our 
 eoming, for that Mr. Thrale was dead ! A very few hour* 
 later, siid bo would hare died mthk assembly. Wbstan 
 awful event! He was in the prime of Itfs, b*t had tho 
 mmftrhme to be too rich, and to keep too sumptuous* 
 
 and respectable man. I am glad the poor lady has, in her 
 distress, such a friend aa Dr. Johnson ; he will suggest the 
 best motives of consoUtion. 
 
 "The other night we were at a very great and full ss< 
 eembly. My disUsto erf these sceoes of insipid eiigniaornos 
 
 ve not words to tell livery foculty bat the eight ie 
 sjmrvcd, and that has a surfeit I like conversation paiiiea 
 when they are of the right sort, and I do not care whether 
 they be composed of four, or forty persons, because if you 
 know and like the generality of them, nothing is more eaaj 
 than to pick out a snug pleasant corner ; whereas it iff 
 possible to do so when two or three hundred pcop.o are 
 
L~i "!'!:.' TO HLR ?T. v I"''.w'. 77 
 
 continually coming in, popping a courtesy, exhibiting their 
 fine persons, and popping out again, or nailing thcui^clvc? 
 down to a card-table." 
 
 "London, 
 
 I wa* last Monday at a meeting at the Bishop of St. 
 Asaph's, where were ail the brides, Duncannon and Al thorp ; 
 and I had the pleasure of a vast deal of snug chat with 
 Bishop, Mr. Walpole, Mrs. Montagu, and Mrs. Car 
 
 * Mrs. Kcnnicott tells me Bishop Lowth insists upon my 
 pdbHshfog Sensibility, and all my other poems collected, 
 immediately, that people may have them altogether. The 
 Dean of Gloucester has sent me his book against Locke, 
 splendidly bound. I have not yet had the manners to 
 write and thank him for it. I am afraid it will draw upon 
 him a number of enemies and answers, which at his time 
 of life cannot be very agreeable. I believe, where the sj 
 
 of controversy has once possessed the mind, no time can 
 weaken it 
 
 as, on Monday night, at a very snug little party at 
 Mr. Ramsay's. He has written an Essay on the Harmony 
 of Numbers, and on Versification, Uc wished me to hear 
 it read, and convened a small party of wits. It is scientific 
 and ingenious, but I do not allow him his positions, and 
 very pertly told him so, for he seems to set written rules 
 above the * nicely-judging ear/ which I will never allow ; 
 and he denies Pope to have been an excellent harmonist; 
 which I will never allow either. On Friday I dined at 
 Mrs. Boscawcn's, only we two. We had a snug day, and a 
 deal of thai social, cordial chat, that is so preferable to all 
 the mummery of great parties. At eight I went to Lady 
 
 's large assembly, which was very magnificently dull. 
 
 " Tuesday we were a small and very choice party at 
 Bishop Shipley's. Lord and Lady Spencer, Lord and Lady 
 Alth >shua, Langton, Boswell, Gibbon, and, to my 
 
 agreeable surprise, Dr. Johnson, was there. 
 
 * Mrs. Garrick and he had never met since her bcreavo 
 ment I was heartily disgusted with Mr. Boswell, who 
 camo trp-stairs after dinner, much disordered with wine, 
 and addressed me in a manner which drew from me a sharp 
 letrake, for which I fancy he will not easily forgive me. 
 
73 
 
 Johnson come to *cc u* the next morning, and made us a 
 long Tint. On Mm. Oamck telling him aha was alwaya 
 
 :. . ' '.. I :" : '. ' ' . 
 
 lorn with honoU; ho amid that waa a comfort ahc oould 
 
 4k ,,-,-^i 
 
 .-, 'I'.;.. i ',,.; 
 
 t. . ! / . / ' . . 
 
 of the Fort Royal authors ; alleging that, at a good Pro- 
 taataoU I to abstain from hooka written byOriho- 
 ||ff\ i waa hacittflioa* t4> alaiid UMIJ mjr doCoooa wbco ha 
 took mo with hoth hamKaud with a ta*r nummf down 
 hiachooka, 'Child/ mid he, with the moot a&ctiog oarao^ 
 noa^'l am haaitfy fkd that you rmd piooa books, bj 
 whomaoevar thoj majr 
 
 from Hampton I ovriad 
 ther% tkamkia that ia aucfc* aaDa of qria* and 
 rapoat I ahould ha UN? to wriu a mt daal ; hoi tho 
 HnBltfnl ifBpta of the mmirtijt e^ioctaUy at tf>* ^^ of 
 
 coaidaooocrthiokofwritiaf to aO tho boatla of Loodoo, 
 
 thauio the i.ull Uaoqitittitjoflim|iUMi: i moan, uoloai 
 
 ns aettlad than) loof enough for the nordtr of rumJ 
 
 objeoU to woar oft Tbo otbar day 1 had tha |.luatiii of 
 
 becoming acquainted with Dr. fiarnatd, tha my Jaanaad 
 
 voatofEtoo: he Jwtate all tUt 1 heard of him, and 
 
 i rum's reputation ia more high- Wo had a great daal 
 
 nation, and though his flfflt abord ia not quite 
 
 pleasing, y et I WM now more entertained. 
 
 * lay 1 was at M w. V c^j'a ; aha had collected 
 
 herpartv 1 i*iUc to the Po ; for there was a IluMian 
 
 r>oblcman, an Italian virUiooo, and Qoneral Pvoto. In one 
 
 corner was the plcaaanteet group in tho world ; and having 
 
 to the various parties in both rooms, I fixed upon 
 
 th.i- beat These were the agreeable Provost 
 
 of Ikysoawcn, Mr. Pepys, Mr. Walpole, and the 
 
 ..... ho conversation was quite in my 
 
LETTERS TO HER SISTERS. 73 
 
 way, and in a great measure within my reach ; it related 
 chiefly to poetry and criticism. 
 
 * We begin now to be a little cheerful at home, and to 
 have our small parties. One such \vo have just had, and 
 the day and evening turned out very pleasant. Johnson 
 was in full song, and I quarrelled with him sadly ; I accused 
 of not having done justice to the Allegro and the 
 Pen*ero*o. He spoke disparagingly of both. I praised 
 Lycida*t which he absolutely abused, adding, ' If Milton 
 had not written the Paradise Lost, he would have only 
 ranked among the minor poets : he was a Phidias, that 
 could out a Colossus out of a rock, but could not cut heads 
 out of cherry-stones.' 
 
 u BosweU brought to my mind the whole of a very 
 mirthful conversation at dear Mrs. Garrick's, and my being 
 made, by Sir William Forbes, the umpire in a trial of skill 
 between Oarrick and Bosweil, which could most nearly 
 imitate Dr. Johnson's manner. I inm-ml.. -r 1 jave it for 
 BosweU in familiar conversation, and for Garrick in reciting 
 poetry. Mrs. Boscawen shone with her usual mild lustre. 
 
 a Mr. Walpole has done me the honour f inviting me 
 to Strawberry Hill ; as he is said to be a shy man, I must 
 consider this as a great compliment" 
 
 to, 1781. 
 
 u I have now put a period to my pleasurable campaign ; 
 and as we shall be in the country for the greatest part of 
 the little time we have left, I have refused to make any 
 more engagements ; indeed, I am quite tired of assemblies 
 and conversation-parties, and long f". ^ (if 
 
 : be such a word) and leisure. We dined at Mrs. 
 
 riot's the other day, and the Provost of Eton enter- 
 tained me much with his wit and humour. 
 
 Monday we had a faivwdl party at Mrs. Vese/s, 
 where we were a little sad to think how many of us might 
 rain, particularly poor Mrs. Vesey herself, 
 who is going to Ireland, at an advanced age, and in bad 
 health. It was a very choice party. Mr. Burke came and 
 sat next me for an hour. I complained of my false coun- 
 trymen, 'd my epitaph in Redcliff church. 
 I was astonished that he had not forgotten it. The Bishop 
 
of Charter wae oo my other hand, and the 
 was kept up with gnat liveliness. I asked the Binhop 
 if he thoogfat he should carry hie bill against Sunday 
 i booses. Burke said he believed 
 
 r . ': ..:;; 
 
 . oppoeed it with all hia might OrisntalJonea waa 
 u; blithe is ooe of thoee great gentaee. wboc. 
 
 be apeak 
 of nuny lan- 
 
 laajastcometn from farm* mornix* viaita to two 
 Do Tuesday Mrs. T 
 
 carried me to GUuTilla; we had the pla 
 
 **ul 
 
 tea, a* happy f oft* ava wont U> da 
 
 no Ti^it of length, rmpt one to the 
 
 _ , a^i AT. nwi^Atfti t~ IMA 
 
 ! : 
 
 at Qua time amosjpaiibd by her friend Mis 
 pent a month with her sisters; and in the 
 of the same year. 1781, she again baaasia an 
 
 with Mrs. O. at Hampton, from whence bar i 
 r to one of her frmily is deled : 
 
 "Hisipi . ifcc. si. 1781. 
 
 PborAywy dropped down dead a few days ago! He 
 waa the oojy atheist I erer knew ; hat what 1 tbovght par- 
 ticularly argued a wrong judgment in him was tola, that 
 he was an honest, good-natured man, which certainly he 
 should not hare bcn on his principles. He was a fatalist, 
 and if ho snuffed the candle, or stirred the fire, or took 
 muff, be solemnly protested he waa compelled to d 
 and it did not depend on bis own discretion whether he 
 shoo or tie bis garter. If I did not 
 know him well, I would net hare bettered there had 
 isted such a rtisranlsr He 
 
" SACRED DHAMA8 " AKD " SENSIBILITY." 75 
 
 coward, and had a natural fear of pain and death, though 
 he knew he should be as if he had never been. I can- 
 not think of him without horror and compassion. He 
 knows by this time whether a future state was really such 
 a ridiculous invention of priestcraft and superstition as he 
 always said it was. 
 
 ict at dinner the other day, at Mrs. Boscawen's, 
 Lady Smith ; she is dowager of the pious Lord Chief Baron : 
 really an excellent good woman, though a little uncharitable 
 in her opinions about others ; she said my friend was the 
 bast natural woman she had ever known." 
 
 mptu,Jan. 17, 1782. 
 
 * Mrs. Qarrick and I go to London before Wednesday . 
 aha to her mass, and I to my mantua-maker she to be 
 daubed with ashes, and I to be decorated with van. 
 And now we are upon vanites, what do you think i 
 reigning mode as to powder ! only turmeric, that coarse 
 dye which stains yellow. The Goths and Vandals, the 
 and Saxons, are come again. It falls out of the hair and 
 stains the skin so, that every pretty lady must look as 
 yellow as a crocus ; which, I suppose, will become a better 
 compliment than as ' white as a lily.' I have just made a, 
 very important discovery in poetical antiquities, which I 
 hereby make a present of to all the commentators upon 
 Virgil, every one of whom it has escaped ; it is this that 
 the dish the wandering Trojans eat first on the Lati;in 
 shore was a flap-jack ; it could be nothing else, and the 
 pretty childish remark of that great hungry boy, Master 
 Ascauias, (that they had eaten their tables,) means nothing 
 more than that they devoured the bottom crust on v.-hicb 
 the apples were baked. I hope you will allow there is a 
 great critical acumen, and much recondite learning in 
 this remark, which I think will pass muster with some 
 rburton's. 
 
 u I yesterday returned Mr. Strahan the last proof of my 
 book ; I suppose it will be out in a few days, though I do 
 not know when, nor do I even know what is to be the 
 price. I trust all to Cadell's prudence. I have desired 
 him to charge it as low as he can. I actually feel very 
 
73 Lira or BAKXAB MOO: 
 
 * wkwanl about thi new book. Otiwugeia who raid It wg, 
 1 am afraid, think I am good ; awl I would not willingly 
 appear better than I am, whiob it certainly fee cue with 
 ail who do not art a* eeriooary m they write. I think 
 M*intiiiin-i>f vsi.a Moi Mta hbawai HfffkteMi 1 1 
 hie CtUen eUte 'They brought my proverb, to confute 
 
 :,, IK 
 
 ".<*>&. 
 
 net yeeUnty ftt Mr*. V the Btahop of 
 
 l MM Jank Portena. Toe 
 
 Iliahop inquiml very much ' 
 the book* wai to appear, to my DO email coiifa^on, for the 
 
 I am going to gire. The book lay on Mra, Bo^ 
 oiwco'e Uble, and wv had just dieooTerod a moat ridi- 
 coiooa bhuider, for by the atepkoing of a ainfie aeleriek 
 the Bimhop utnaa* a j^lcr.andrmr Jc^iu Reyi>oia.a 
 baihoik. Neither af. R nor I had cMmaM IA m^nticHi 
 
 thi%eo I very feottahly 4y avid, I mid not teU wbea * 
 would be jmhteiii I han>ct,t th^h^Mory ofthUbhmder 
 to Gbdell. .ad with the deeh of a peo H U toierabry ro0eV 
 
 fic.1. 
 
 : 
 
 1 author i very 
 my ooet ; aioee H 
 to write agmJoei their 
 
 After aD, the ktode* thmf to my Mends te 
 Mad them a book, for a preaentfrom Ike author i 
 iacoufemieml M I hare often founa to my coat ; m 
 
 AMW^ A^Mi VMH^WMfe Ml Ift^frilt^nfcAitJMl t^ ^m t A^M^n^A. 
 
 I to prate what, perhape, they eecretly de- 
 
 it would be rather awkward, alter ooertng taw) i 
 thro* the ewer in their fceea," 
 
 The word 'aacrtxT in the title U a damper to the 
 N ii tying a mflbtone abooi the neck of Ama*. 
 MiVy, which will drown them both together. I was one 
 night at a large Woe-Mocking party, at the Bfchop of 8t 
 AjBph'a. All the old eot wen thrtr.' that death and ck- 
 
 ovihhaatetflaUdtteAMa,a4MBtl 
 ' word, that although I have paid him the most "winging 
 
 n-: n ->-,- 
 
PICTURE OP GIBBON. 77 
 
 compliment h i vc d, he likes the whole book more 
 
 than he can say. But the Bishop of Chester's compliment 
 was most solid ; he said he thought it would do a vast 
 deal of good ; and that is the praise best worth having. 
 Well, I think I have said enough of myself now, or I could 
 treat you with some more fine things from other quarters, 
 and which I believe as little as those who utter them ; so 
 there is no harm done on my part at least, for t had neither 
 the guilt of falsehood, nor the weakness of credulity. 
 
 "Mrs, Montagu, Mrs. Chapone, and Mrs. Carter, arc 
 mightily pleased that I have attacked that mock fooling 
 and sensibility which is at once the boast and disgrace of 
 these times, and which is equally deficient in taste and 
 
 ii. Ask Dr. Stonehouse if he has read Car 
 by Mr. Newton of Olney. There is in it much vital reli- 
 gion, and_ J much_of_thr .> ( >d Christian,; 
 
 in books. I have just finished 
 
 six volumes of Jortin's Sermon*; elegant, but cold, and 
 vary low in doctrine,' plays round the head, but comes 
 not near the heart* Cardiphonia does ; I like it much, 
 though not every sentiment or expression it contains. I 
 have almost gone through three very thick quartos of 
 Mr. Gibbon's Hittory of the Lower 1. a line but 
 
 insidious narrative of a dull period: this 1 read aloud every 
 day from dinner to tea. It is melancholy to observe the 
 first corruptions of Christianity in the fourth century, and 
 rise from the book without feeling sad and di.>- 
 gusted. Gibbon is a malignant painter ; and though he 
 does give the likeness of depraved Christianity, he 
 nines deformities, and takes a profane delight in making 
 the picture as hideous as he can. Indeed, in the two last 
 volumes ho has taken, some pains to hide the cloven foot ; 
 but whenever a Christian emperor or bishop of established 
 utation is brought forward, his encomiums have so 
 much coldness, and his praises so much sneer, that you 
 cannot help discovering contempt where he professes pa- 
 neg of all the birds in the air, who do you think 
 
 is his favourite ? the strict and rigid Athanasius ! Of all 
 
7 IITK Or H AlHIAB MB. 
 
 thaainte ami all the fiOhm I should n**r hare jinn EJ 
 he would bate beso the object of Mr. Gibbon's n P1 >1*us* 
 Mini, 700 may naturally intppoae, is UM man after h is 
 
 but own heart ; I expected it would be at* note 
 
 ... ,.,...., I 
 
 peeled ; though toted, I should be *ery sorry U* 
 truth of the Chris** religion bung by so sfcofer a thread 
 as that miracle. Howerer, I am now phingimj into other 
 
 V _. AtkA jfti^MMAAA >^ AMI II . '-il.M 
 
 . ' '. 
 
 wHh which my heed haa been filled, tad am nta 
 ,:! . K 
 
 rostie banquet; whkh, howtntsr, I ahal) not half r 
 breaope I know thai my fevooritt Pallaa will bo killed 
 before I go to bad." 
 
 I - .- ' ' 'vl- - }, 
 
 . 
 
 r ' 
 
 been able torrid of; It is, that I ea t 
 
 ^ _ . ^^_ ^^k^i iiii^i>j^ ^v^ft^ik fLti t v . >* * >a . 
 
 '.!..:! . 
 
 death of anoth-r. I tried to wish Dr. Roberta joy, but 
 la thia particular case, beoauas I was very fond of 
 
 Tk^_^J _ -| V^.^, ^^J^^fcl A lli fttm^mn ! &**^^>A^M T 
 
 I . ' ' I '. k ' "I 
 
 wwrer I am giad, for the sake of so many of my 
 friends who are connected with him, that Dr. Roberts is 
 made proTCSt* He H a *>d f*r*t &TVI a r '^prrtaMr n.i*^ 
 an appendage which does not always belong to 
 
 poet for /riji On Wednaedey I dined at Lady ] 
 tor.X with Mra. Outer, Ac, 1 was quite flattered with 
 the many cordial things good Jonas Hanway amid to me 
 about the Drama*. He told me ho had eat down to road 
 then with fear sod trembung, as be had persuaded him- 
 
 it was taking an undue liberty with the Scriptures ; 
 
 he had no sooner finished them than he ran off to the 
 bookseller, bought three or four, and went to a groat 
 boarding-school, where behadeome little friends. Hegsve 
 the gomes* too book, and told her H was part of her 
 dvty to see thai efl her girls studied it thoroughly. 
 
EffiHOP BABRINGTON. 79 
 
 ' 1 spent the evening at Dr. Kennicott's. Among other 
 psny was Mythology Bryant, who ^ant as he 
 
 learned. We have since dined together at Mrs. Mon- 
 tagu's, * become great friends. He ' bears his facul- 
 ties so meekly/ and has such simplicity of manners, that 
 I take to him as I did to Hermes Harris, whom everybody 
 most regret, that had the pleasure and advantage of know- 
 ing him : only Bryant is the pleasanter man. He told me 
 an amusing anecdote of one of the little princes. He had 
 been that morning to Windsor to present his book. He 
 was met in the ante-chamber by the youngest of them, 
 who begged to look at it When it was put into his hands 
 he held it upside down, and glancing his eyes for a moment 
 over the pages, returned it with an air of important gra- 
 oiousness, pronouncing it excellent ! 
 
 " We have been a few days at Hampton, from whence 
 we returned yesterday : the weather was unpleasant. 
 windy enough, yet I contrived to be out of doors the 
 greater part of the time ; it docs me a vast deal of good to 
 go fur a few days into pure air, after being smoke-dried in 
 this ' scene of sin and sea-coal.' 
 
 tf I dined to-day at Apsley House. I was ezcec 
 diverted with my Lord Chancellor, who, the minute he 
 aaw me, cried out, * Well, what do they say f is the mi- 
 nistry to go out V I could not help saying, he put me in 
 mind of Sir Robert Walpole, who, on being asked the same 
 question, replied, ' I really do not know, I have not seen 
 the papers.' 
 
 .c next day I was at Bishop Harrington's ; he is a 
 delightful TOM* ; the more I know of him the more I like 
 him ; quite the man of breeding, with great sense and 
 piety. I am told they spend a good part of their fortune in 
 acts of charity. I also met your new bishop, Dr. Bagot. 
 A thought to the memory of his unburied predecessor 
 filled my mind, while everybody was congratulating him 
 on his new honours. He is a good man, of exact morals, 
 and has a great deal of that charity which givcth her goods 
 to the poor, but not quite so much of that which consists 
 in tenderness to the opinions of others. I dined another 
 day with Dr. . He had not read my book, which saved 
 
M 
 
 me from a violent quarrel ; for yon may guess how great 
 his dislike roust be to a book which begins with praising 
 n and ends with praising God. 
 
 breakfasted with Mies Hamilton the other morning 
 
 t. Jamc*'*. There waa only dear Mra. Carter and * 
 
 agreeable nobleman. Mies H. told the queen ahe 
 
 expected me, and ahe charged her with aU manner of iat- 
 
 g massages, desiring me above all things to 
 the same path, and to go on by writing at 
 the history of Joseph." 
 
 //i|i 1. 
 
 "When I waa in town last weak we had another last 
 brakmat at St James's. There 1 found Lord Monboddo, 
 Mrs. Carter, that jiltaaintiwl of the peerage Lord flfcatmos*, 
 and Count Marechale, a very agreeable foreign ncblaman, 
 and a worthy man: he ha* alniost promised to pot the 
 
 HHBM MmsmfriU Mbi v. .-....; UN I i .... i fa kM 
 
 pent one evening with her and Mies Gregory alone, to 
 take leave of the Hill Street house; and you never saw such 
 an air of ruin and bankruptcy aa everything around us wore. 
 bad about three fait square of carpet, and that we 
 might all put our foH upon it we were obliged to ait in a 
 &***a*i^Ub*1i9*m f ]FH*m1t'9*wm*iiqi* 
 
 hunt the slipper.' She was full of iMimiiailimi of 
 Bristol, and of every one ahe saw there, flbe ia 
 a*eWsmfts*smflis^ejMMjMimi 
 
 the first .to pay our oompliBssnta to her. I 
 caption of anything so beautiful To all the 
 of a very superb London house, is added the scenery of i 
 country retirement It is so seldom that anything superU 
 is pleasant, that I was extremely struck with it I could 
 looking with compassion on the amiable pro- 
 ing at a breexe, and who can at the beat 
 so very little a while. She has, however. 
 ardent wishes for her continuance in a world to which 
 i H an ornament m t n ^ a blessing. 
 
 'On Sunday 1 breakfasted at the Bishop of Chester's, 
 an 1 .kftor a couple of hours' ^>.> i c.-nvt-nvation thy toil 
 me to the Chapel Royal, where he preached. 'As i know 
 
OTTER A L PAOLI. j 
 
 committee-men, and committee-men know me,' I was of 
 course well accommodated ; else it is but a disagreeable 
 
 e to go to, for it takes up alm-^t all the day to go to 
 
 rch once ; and there is more music, and more bustle 
 and more staring than I like. The king and queen both 
 looked very pale. The sermon, which I should have blamed 
 
 . village, was very well suited to a court. It was an 
 eloquent and able vindication of Christianity ; the text, 
 For the Jews seek a fdgn,' &c. They were so kind as to 
 ask me to eat some orthodox beef and pudding with them, 
 which I declined. 
 
 i party the other day I was placed next General 
 IVvoli, and as I have not spoken seven sentences of \\ 
 these seven years, I had not that facility in 
 myself which I used to have. I therefore begged hard to 
 carry on the conversation in French. By the bye, I believe 
 I never told you that Paoli is my chief beau and flirt tli is 
 talk whole hours. He has a general good 
 ta&te in the belles lettres, and is fond of re ;agcs 
 
 from Dante and Ariosto. He is extremely lively when set 
 a-going; quotes from Shakspcare, and 
 He is particularly fond of Romeo and .) 
 cause the scene is laid / ho La-! 
 
 such very agreeable talents ; but he will not talk in Er 
 
 his French is mixed with It i:s no lan- 
 
 guage with purity. 
 
 "On Monday I was at a very great assembly at the 
 Bishop of St. Asaph's. Conceive to yourself one hundred 
 or two hundred people met together/ dressed in 
 the extremity of the fa. t.ed as red as cacchanals ; 
 
 poisoning the air with perfumes ; treading on each oil 
 gowns ; making the crowd they blame ; not one in ten able ; 
 to get a chair; protesting they a I to ten other 
 
 places ; and lamenting the fatigue they arc not obliged to 
 
 re ; ten or a dozen card-tables crammed with dowagers 
 
 iality, grave ecclesiastics and yellow admirals : and you | 
 have an idea of an assembly. I never go to these things 
 
 : i I can possibly avoid it, and stay when there as few- 
 minutes as I can." 
 
> - : L mS 0* H AHXAH MOB 3L 
 
 1~4. 170ft. 
 
 "Poor Johnson ia in s bed UU> of health: I (W hie 
 <>o broken op. I am quite grieved at it; be 
 will not leave an abler defender of religion and virtue 
 behind bim ; and the following litU* touch of teoderncat 
 heard of him laai night, from one of UM Turks 
 -.!>, etidcan bim to me otilin>j > Tbcro mt* 
 aaj candidaUi raadjr wbvo aoj 
 
 to g^ ekx^cd ; but upoo GWKV death, wkm 
 wai doaf to them all ; hr Mi .l. No. ibc 
 
 upon it there should be a year'a widowhood in the dub 
 
 before they thought of o new aieetioB. In Dr. Johnson 
 
 some oantranetieo Tory harmoaiooelT meet ; if be bae too 
 
 for tbe opinion* of other* end too Hollo 
 
 petienoo with their fault*, bo boo tbe greatest tendoneMO 
 
 iidr persona. He told me tbe other day bo beted to 
 
 then? ww so much wmM and hunger in thwodd. I told 
 ;.posoi, then, bo Dover wept at any tragedy but 
 Jon* ^Eaorv, who hod died lor want of a loot He 
 
 ilbl day witb Mim. DolMqr. 8bo la 
 
 hnooi oaid cDtj. duob OB eaooUoot 
 aob a tranquil, grateful .pint, mch o 
 o n taina all that UDdoai of heart 
 poaed to kne, and gepecmUjr do KMK, 
 ige. She told me, with oomo teM% 
 
 daff'a, Mrs. Harrington m ab perfectly we 
 Biabop* oo doiyd^tfaly that . : : 
 
 Dr Darrtofitoo, afterward. 
 
DR. joms 83 
 
 in their company. Mitred Chester m favourites 
 
 were there. On Good ' to hear the Bishop 
 
 Mandaff preach ; he is extremely sensible and deeply 
 seri< Carter and I met, at a little 1 rt y> 
 
 with a French lady who writ- ks^ We 
 
 got into great disgrace for saving that a little common" V 
 
 inch further 
 
 . 
 
 however, on condition we would promise to read two huge 
 quartos, which she has just translated. What Mrs. Carter 
 will do I know not, but I shall certainly never fulfil my 
 ,'''.' i' . ; v :he liberty 
 
 tf free-bora l^gWff conversation, to have so many foreigners 
 as this town now abounds with imposing their language 
 upon us. 
 
 "It has affected me very much to hear of our king'e 
 being constrained to part with all his confidential friends, 
 and his own personal servants, in the late general sweep. 
 Out of a hundred stories I will only tell you one which 
 concerns jour old acquaintance, Lord Bate; 
 to the king as usual, to ask if his majesty would please to 
 hunt the next day. ' Yes, my lord,' replied ' but 
 
 1 with great grief that I am not to have the sat; 
 of your company.' This was the fir.<t intimatio 
 had had of the loss of his place. I really think the 
 teat with Franco and America might have been settled 
 2Q the buck-hounds had retained their old master. 
 
 "I dined very pleasantly one day last week at the 
 Bishop of Chester's. Johnson was there, and the Bi 
 was very desirous to draw him out, as - 
 show him off to some of the company who had never 
 seen him. Ho begged me to sit next him at dinner, 
 and to devote myself to making him talk. To this 
 end I consented to talk more than became me, and our 
 stratagem succeeded. You would have enjoyed seeing 
 him take me by the hand, in the middle of dinner, and 
 repeat, with no small enthusiasm, many passages from the 
 Fair Penitent, &c. I urged him to take a little wine ; he 
 replied, * I can't drink a little, child, therefore I never 
 touch it Abstinence is as easy to me as temperance 
 
.... :- -,v r- 
 
 would be difficult* He was vory good-humoured and gaj 
 One of the company happei>ed to i*y a word about pootrj 
 * dangerous to aj a word aba 
 
 poetry before her ; it is talking of the ait of war boJbfO 
 n tinned his joke*, and lamented that I 
 married Chatterton, thai posterity might have 
 
 .* D '> t ! i* v. . !';- 
 
 oreakiasted willi QB yesterday ; be ia such an 
 adonrnfiheanctenU,thathcaomn^IjallowiithcF^guah 
 language to be capable of anj excellence, still law thfr 
 Fronch. He has a hearty eoutcmpt for thai people and 
 
 At 1_ 1 _ ^, - - T>_ t _ j 
 
 t' ..'. v : ! 
 
 UsftsjsVIn** everything.' was his 
 
 Moo are not no uii as they wore ; women are 
 as thejr were ; nouo4y can now write a 
 long period; ererything dwindfaa,* I Ttntnrtd U) y, 
 
 At A. 1^^^.^^ * M J|iia tm. ^i^4^^B^ 
 
 ' ....'.. I- 
 
 !j"' '-.-.-" i i ;- . i'v 
 
 many paasagos from Bhakspeare, amflng others, those 
 broken bursts of pftssioo m Cbnatance, *Qone to be mar- 
 ' Gone to swear a truce!* False blood with ftUse 
 blood joined!' Again, 'My name to Constance, I *m 
 Geoflrrj's wife ; Young Arthur is my son, and ha is skta.' 
 Wo toon rssumed our old quarrrl about the ! trade. 
 
 11^ -* * -- alAVriM Ln_fUt wuIi-rTrrVL* f VI !% t n^ 
 
 ''.:.. ... * * 
 
 \ ^ 1J 1-, ilii^i m ' - II <- I 
 
 JOB COUM Tsnojoate soon an enormny. no uwuou it was 
 because Plutarch justified it. Among much just thinking 
 and some taste, especially in his valuable third TO! time on 
 the Origin and Proyrm of Lwpuvfr be entertains some 
 opinions so absurd that they would hardly be credible if 
 
 not deliver them himself, both in writing and con- 
 ventuion, with a gravity which shows that he is in earnest, 
 but which makes the hearer fed that 'to be grave exceeds 
 all power of face. 1 He is so wedded to system that, as 
 
 . 4rrington said to me the other day, rather 
 sacrifice his favourite opinion that men were born with 
 tails, he would be contented to wear one himself 
 
NEGUO FIDELITY. 85 
 
 " Hampton, 178?. 
 
 " The other morning the captain of one of Commodore 
 Johnson's Dutch prizes breakfasted at Sir Charles Middle- 
 ton's, and related the following little anecdote : One day 
 
 vent out of his own ship to dine on board another. 
 
 :ie he was there a storm arose, which, in i\ .short time, 
 made an entire wreck of his own ship, to which it was im- 
 possible for him to return. He had left on board two little 
 boys, one four, the other five years old, under the care of 
 a poor black servant The people struggled to get out of 
 the sinking ship into a large boat, and the poor black took 
 his two litUe children, and having tied them into a bag, 
 and put in a little pot of sweetmeats for them, t>lun^ them 
 across his shoulder, and put them into the boat. The boat 
 by this time was quite full : the black was stepping into it 
 himself, but was told by the master there was no room for 
 him, so that either ho or the children mast perish, for the 
 Wight of both would sink tho bout. The exalted heroic 
 negro did not hesitate a moment. 'Very well,' said he; 
 'give my duty to my master, and tell h :ir-Km for 
 
 all my faults.' And then guess : plunged to the 
 
 bottom, never to rise again till the sea shall give up her 
 dead ! I told it the other day to Lord Monboddo, who 
 fairly burst into tears. The greatest lady in this land 
 wants me to make an elegy of it, but it is above poetry, 
 
 I tell you I breakfasted at Lord Harrington's ? I am now 
 in love with all the four brothers of that noble family. I 
 Peer as agreeable as any of them, always excepting 
 the Bishop, however, whose conversation that morning 
 as it always is, instructive and delightful. In the evening 
 I went to a small party, where Lord S made the 
 
 f figure among the male tnlk Crcwe looked 
 
 iy, and Lady Susan talked wittily. That I talked 
 
 prudently you will allow, when I tell you that I caught 
 
 myself in an invective against the new ministry, which 
 
 .sely thought proper to address to Lady Charlotte 
 th, forgetting at the moment that she was Lord 
 Rockingham's sister." 
 
 Miss Hannah More quitted Mrs. Garrick's in the June 
 
of Um year, (17SJ,) and paid a vUit to Dr. and Mrs, Kenni- 
 
 cott, mi < hr way to Bristol. Wo wul extra* 
 
 or three paragraph* of tko letters aho fcrote (ram 
 
 ** 
 
 odoyouthinkutmyprincip^owwwieatOxftMrdf 
 son 1 and we do so gallant it about. 
 
 of las own coiisge (Bspbroie), nor how rejoiosd H 
 looked to make one in the party. Dr. 
 
 ui leuiuruao, iwu wuwv> . 
 
 Wo hpcnt the day and evening at hu boose, After 
 Johnson beggod to oooduot me to sse tbe enUsge, lor he 
 wottldnotleianyoDcabc^itmeUithiinsotf. *Thkws 
 my room; this Sbenstone V Thrn,aftrrpoiutingout alithe 
 rooms of tbe posts who bid been of his eoUsp 
 ikibe,wewcfaiiestofsinxinrbirds. Hef wo waikeeX 
 
 tbert? we playtd at chdtct' Ho ran over with 
 nun too hlatory of the jaraiilo day* be pea**! therm 
 When he) ttpy* Into the irffT^tr room wo jpHt a ftao 
 largo print of Johnaun, framed and bong op that vecy 
 morning, with thia motto : And ni not Jobnaeoomra, 
 aelfaboatr Under which eUrad you m the mot, 
 
 til 
 
 wan. Uowerer, he made an effort to be cheerful, ar.d 1 
 
 ______ _ J * _ , ^W^ lkl*B ^Mk ** 
 
 myvau moon to man mm an. 
 
 a We are jiwt aetting off to epend a day or two at Iba 
 Bishop of UandaTs,* near WaMingford. But ftr0 I mnat 
 
 you I am engaged to dine on my rr* 
 
 ..... i , j ,-.., , . ..,_ 
 
 Thomas Wartou, and whatcrer ebe ia moet learned and 
 
 famous in this univcrsi^r.* 
 
 r< Fr^nj 
 
 had a delectable visit at the BUbop's. It ia a 
 ^rmdiae, and they are meet inhabitants f . .t. I have 
 1 uirdly time to *ay a word, wo have such an inundation of 
 
DEATH O HSR FATHER. $7 
 
 company. Tl I room throe canons, three 
 
 hetdg, three ladies, one dean, on . and one pro- 
 
 fessor. I got your letter with those of the French Aca- 
 demHMns inclosed. So I am to send them the history of 
 my life ! 1 think I had better cut it out of the Enropwn 
 
 JfayoMC, or get lira. to write it ; iu their hands all 
 
 my sins will make a flaming figure." * 
 
 " Hampton, January 9, 1783. 
 
 - 1 1 waa so unusual for me to receive a letter two days 
 fallowing, thai when Sally's came on Wednesday I had so 
 strong presentiment of its contents that I did not open 
 r a long time, but laid it down very deliberately, and 
 went and did several things which I thought too v, 
 ahonld not be able to do after I had read it. Yet, notwii h- 
 atawiing all this preparation, I was just as much shocked 
 U reading it as if I had expected nothing like it.f I could 
 mot get quite through it for many hours after, and yet 
 there is no cause for grief, but much for joy, much cause 
 to be thankful. And I am very thankful that he was 
 spared to us so long, that he was rem< life 
 
 began to grow a burden to himself, that he did not 
 
 his faculties, that he was not confined to the miseries 
 ef a sick-bed, but, above all, that his life was so exem- 
 plary, and his death so easy. I wished I had seen him. 
 Yet, that is a vain regret I hope he did not inquire after 
 aw, or miss me. Mrs. Garrick was very much affected, as 
 my father was a very great favourite of hers." 
 
 // 
 
 "Sinoe my dear father's death I have never yet had re- 
 solution to go out of doors, so much as to walk round the 
 garden, in almost three weeks ; but as the day is fine, I in- 
 tend to get out when I have finished this scrawl." 
 
 ; the reader may understand the allusion in the abovo letter, 
 
 it is necessary to inform h** that, a few months before, the Academy of 
 Arts, Sciences, and Belles Lcttrcs at Rouen, had done Miss Mo: 
 boDoor of electing her one of their members. Bhe kept up an act: 
 eomepondence with t, H H Academy till ifrff" the time of the > 
 
 . ; :; -:.. 
 
 t The death of her father. 
 
UTB OF BA10r4B 
 
 Mi More appe^ to hare remained ill 
 retirement at Hampton Ull March, when she removed 
 Mm. Garrick to the Adelphi. 
 
 Another application for an epitaph, I had rather 
 write a hundred lines on any other subject, than escrib* 
 virtue* to people 1 did not know, or who are iiniiiaeMiBg 
 I cannot do it. Pray give my compliment* to ail my 
 tedKri4whMlkMMMrkwwlOMM 
 
 u they should, I wiah they would, insU* 
 leaving me anything, be ao good as to iimrt a paemage in 
 their wilK that I am not to be asked to write their epi- 
 taphs. My motmrnenUl wit is ail disposed o( and I am 
 stire I never can cobble up enough for another inecriptioa 
 
 eaym, ' I)y aU mean 
 may be of great aerrke, at leaet. by keeping up the at* 
 
 -...'-.... - '-.-.. 
 
 Uit town m Mich a eUte of anarchy and dietimction. The 
 ^mlaj are not about peace or war, but who ahall hare 
 power and place, both of which are lost aaaoonM obtained. 
 Before you can pay your noujfitnhiltoii to your fhendsoo 
 their promotion, preato! paeit they are out afaiu. Lord 
 Falmouth told me he eat down with a moat eager 
 tohieaoupand roaet at eight in the morning, and 
 
 house broke up. Miss Anna Mam 
 
 ented to me, the other day, her future husband/s^r 
 
 ism Jones, and we bad a great deal of conversation. 
 
 H a very amiable as well as Waned man, and pot 
 more languages, perhaps, than any man in Europe.* 
 
 M yesterday at Mrs. Ord'a, to atari upon my career 
 of f with Mr. Smelt I enclose part of his 1 
 
 to !. i will see that I have the honour to be 
 
 in favour very exalted character. You know be 
 
 was preceptor to the Prince of Wales, under the direction 
 of the Earl of iloiderneas, and as ho would receive no 
 
JOHN LOCKE. 30, 
 
 settled appointment, he is distinguished by the high ap- 
 pellation of 'the k !.' Wo had a pleasant, in- 
 
 teresting evening. I have known him for some years : he 
 is an old acquaintance, but a new friend. Her party was 
 small, as it was made on purpose to bring us together. I 
 had Sir Joshua, Cambridge, and Mr. Smelt, all to myself ; 
 'not badly off,' you will bay. On iiin^ I was at 
 
 a very fine $arty at Lady Rothes's, where I found a great ; 
 many of my friends, Mrs. Montagu, Boscawen, Cartci\ | 
 Thrale, Burncy, and Lady Dartrey ; in short, it was re- 
 mark- here was not u u London, who has i 
 
 BM other sex made so strong a party, 
 
 '"""'TIWBiWBrpI W-night with Lady Middleton and 
 
 Mrs. Portcus to hear Tesaicr read ; for even if I had the 
 
 least appetite for anything of that sort, I should certainly 
 
 prefer being drawn into the stream, and going to see Mrs. 
 
 >ns, which I have also refused to do, though L;uK 
 
 cr took the pains to come yesterday to ask me to go 
 
 With her. YOU fa>OW * ^ftYf lftn g *"*-hdiwrn mysolf fr 
 
 "Taciy Batnurst came by appointment, and 
 >a Ysryiong and kind visit ; she was quite happy, in 
 '.y expectation of Lord Apsley, after a two-years' ab- 
 sence in Germany and France. We dined the other day 
 at Mrs. Montagu's. Out of sixteen persons, there were not 
 ^ English men or women. Do Luc, the Swiss meta- 
 cian and geologist, a man of great merit, and Madame 
 :e, were all the foreigners I knew ; but my good stars- 
 placed Mr. Locke on one side of me ; which was some con- 
 on for having a prate-apace jackanapes of a French- 
 man (a bel esprit though) on the other. Mr. Locke never 
 speaks but to instruct, in matters of taste, especially in 
 tine arts. _In t I a very strong re- 
 
 inforcement of blues. Mrs. Monta i inquires after you 
 
 London, 1783. 
 
 " Did you hear of a woman of quality, an earl's 
 daughter, perishing for want the other day, near Caven- 
 dish Square ? The sad story is, that she had married an 
 
00 HAXlfAB UOX& 
 
 .._. . ; ...... . , | 
 
 freqti-i'.tly experienced the wint of a morsel of bread. 
 Lady Jane grew extremely ill, and faint with hanger 
 '.-, . . : .- .-: - - 
 
 fortunes, procuiud bj uomo meana a aiipeuoe ; Lady Jane 
 acnt her out to bay a cow bee) ; the none broii 
 and carried a piece of it to her miatrcaw 
 
 lmye!f dying, all relief ia too late ; and it would be 
 cruel in me to rob the children of a morsel, by waating ft 
 on ooe who moat die/ ao aaying, she expired. I fern 
 you to make your own comments on t hia don: oattc trajrirjr, 
 m a metropolia drowned in luxury. What will Rally **y 
 to wde-duihtti and third cottnm now T 
 
 we dined at the Bbhop of SalwbnryV 
 len t Dr. ami Mm. Knmicott, Mythology Br^at, 
 
 Uwaya tore tow 
 
 tielfyutftii eonvencition ; he ia not only a Tory able, but a 
 pjona muii. and baa deroted hia ra^an learning to trnly 
 
 ':.'. ' i ' 
 
 Mr*. Delany and the Dnch of Pbrthind. 
 that charming Ducbesa wry much bloiDBii in her look* ; 
 and abe ia not likely to be cored by her aon'a befog 
 
 appOlMBQ ptWll '. ' H I::':: 
 
 I tuppoae, will bo atill aborter than hia Tieeioyally 
 
 f 
 
 ^roatneaa. cTon ricboa do not nnke rich. I aoottiH ba 
 gbd to know w!mt our friend Dr. 5Honchoa>4 wrwM t> 
 
 hioned doctrinea aa I have lately hcvd fa m 
 
 charity acrtnon on a Sunday, from a digni fled ecdoaavtiey 
 
 and a popular one, too, but I will not tell his name : 
 
 h and the great thai they ought to be 
 
 extremely liberal in their chantiea, bccaoac they were 
 
 \cmpted from the severer virtuca. How do yon 
 
 like Much a sentiment from a ChriKtian teacher f What do 
 
 yon think Pblycarp or Ignatraa would say to r 
 
 - J^mJo^ Mmrtk 20, J78S. . 
 aa erening laldy wiUi La4y Chmrlotte Wana- 
 
 Dr 
 
T AM JONES. 91 
 
 worth. She had a very select little party,; ;aade 
 
 lue read to them ; poetry, too ! I defended myself as 
 well as I could ; but, to my great regret, was forced to 
 comply. Lady Charlotte has a great deal of general litera- 
 ture ; and, what is far better, she is really a pious and well- 
 informed Christian. On Sunday I breakfasted at Sir 
 Charles Middleton's, and we went with the Bishop of 
 Chester afterwards, and heard him preach. They set me 
 down aa usual after church. 
 
 thought Mrs. Qarrick would have dropped with 
 laughing, when I read, in Sally's letters, that you spent all 
 your leisure in teaching the governesses to read 
 
 her fancy mightily. I am giad to -ood 
 
 tiding* of Henderson. I hope he will begin to put his 
 great parts to good use, and av< >n, as 
 
 well of the buried as of the abused talent. I passed the 
 whole evening at the Bishop of St. Asa; very 
 
 pleasant wrangle with Mr. Walpole about \> 1ms- 
 
 jng all my favourites, and I all his : h< 
 aide, Thomson, and all my bards o: 
 
 .H odes and lyrics. I told him (ra 
 that David bad expressed my notion of the ol>< urity of 
 
 poetry when he said, 'I wil 
 
 upon the harp.' Sir William Jones (for the n<>\v judge is 
 also knighted previous to his Indian voyage) is gone down 
 to prepare all things for his and his lady's accommodation. 
 ftiiti lllhi 111! lla III' M [Ill that she is Ic iving all, 
 
 Ifeiy MM Hfbe flurried in a few day o to have 
 
 UUP inon- . | H I ; t at !;' r. 
 
 >ole has just s< ' pi-eface i< lation 
 
 \riosto, which i ont : : an present; 
 
 since I can now do no less than subscribe for the whole 
 
 work ; and a guinea and a h. tion of a book 
 
 arish. Saturd ^ to Mrs. Reynolds', to meet 
 
 . r oshua and D r. Jol j . . st ly recovered. 
 
 Our conversn: tt 1 'ions opinions, 
 
 He took the part of 
 the Jesuits, and I > myself a Janscnist. He was 
 
 
I quoted BoUaau'e bm mat upon the 
 ia4 they bad leDgtbeoed the creed and shortened 
 the decalogue ; but I continued sturdily to rindicatr my 
 old friends of the Port Royal. On Tueeday I was at Mr*. 
 Yey* assembly, which WM too lull to be WJ pleasant, 
 i dearly lores company ; and aa ahe b counseled with 
 everything that ia grest in the good aenae of tbr 
 i la al waya euro to hare too much. I inojuirod 
 the Ship&eya, who had promiaed to meet ua them 
 
 told that they had jueteent an eicoao; for that 
 end Sir William wave at that no 
 
 > in 
 act of marrTing. Tbty 
 
 hot aa they will be baniahed together, they do not think tt 
 a hardship. May God U 
 learning be sancUfied ? I 
 
 which he g*f me, and which I will aeod you when 1 can. 
 
 M 0n Saturday I dined at Apaley Houae, where thaw 
 waa a good deal of company. Loid Ajmley haa 
 with him all tha beooftt to be de ^ 
 
 yocxng men of quality In geoer 
 
 perhaps I could hare learned 
 
 Pono from an eril 
 
 : the Patriot King, which excited 
 haired ao much after Pbpe'e death, though I do thin 
 m a rery unaccountable atep. 
 
 ! .-- t! 
 
 r out of the fire, aa I may say, and stayed at home. 
 5 aercral invitations. 1 had really dined out such a 
 number of days that I was quite weary, and wan 
 all entreaty ; indeed, so much visiting does now 
 
AFFECTING CIRCUMSTANCE. 93 
 
 begin to be very irksome. I go to many places when I 
 should rejoice to stay at home : but I consider that this 
 round of visiting will not last long ; for I begin to calcu- 
 late that there is little more than a clear month between 
 this and J 
 
 " London, May 5, 1783. 
 
 "I went yesterday to hear the Bishop of Chester. 
 That good man is under great affliction for the death of 
 Dr. Stinton, his dearest friend through life. In the sermon 
 there happened to be a passage which, among other losses, 
 mentioned the death of a beloved companion ; he was so 
 much affected that his voice faltered, and he could not go 
 on without the greatest difficulty. As most of the audience 
 knew the circumstance, they were very much touched at it. 
 Poor Ryland ! from the time he absconded till he was 
 apprehended, he continually sat with a r;i/or in a Prayer- 
 book. Think what a state of mind, to have just conviction 
 and faith enough to pray, and yet to be so desperately 
 wretched, as to live with the instrument of self-rnurder 
 continually in his hand ! His bane and antidote were not 
 ao comfortable to him as Cato's were, for he bad the mis- 
 fortune to know better, and to believe more. 
 
 * Is it not very melancholy when you go to see our 
 solitary motb< cavour to think of it as little as I 
 
 can ; but, in spite of my endeavours, it mixes with all my 
 thoughts. On Saturday we had a dinner at home, Mrs. 
 Garter, Miss Hamilton, the Kennicotts, and Dr. Johnson. 
 Poor Johnson exerted himself exceedingly ; but he was 
 very ill, and looked so dreadfully, that it quite grieved me. 
 He is more mild and complacent than he used to be. His 
 sickness seems to have softened bis mind, without having 
 at all weakent i : 'ick with the mild radiance of 
 
 this setting sr. ,! but a .-mall party of such of his 
 
 friends as we knew would be most agreeable to him ; and 
 as we were all very attentive, and paid him the homage he 
 both expects and deserves: he was very communicative, 
 and, of course, instructive and delightful in the highest 
 
 " London, May 22, 1783. 
 I have finished my campaign in town ; we do not 
 
94 un or HAW AM HOOL 
 
 nowappeer to anybody, unl^ wo meet them (trailing m 
 tbetn*K We dined one day bftt week at Mrm.Hazii* 
 
 ct the fibhop of Wiocheater and Mm North; there 
 woo A great deal of other company, among whoni wan Mr. 
 Swinburne, the author of Tramdi mfrain, &*!&+* ODD 
 iaJwayiirprJwdio find the author of Iwo or Uirc great 
 big burly quartos, a little gcnfeol 70009 roan. Be 
 
 and agreeable, not win and heavy, like b I 
 } nt moroiug I brcakfMt. 
 
 Ilhc duAt in Wrstiuifui:. r AM-y. On Satunky i 
 op my town adreolurem by dining and 
 
 Mn. Bomvoii and a litU0 aoog pony. 
 ^jtfag o/ lb aliiif Miii Bttiop, iho Ooi^aod U^ 
 
 of MBKOri , y> ::s < ' U..i t.tii- 1 LAV^ lcw: iDctoral'lc to 
 
 ! : ' .'. ' ' 
 
 and tbo olhrr I- n.-H the ilarr::itMit* at Ik] 
 
 ino wy erf gating off cttUr, bat by 
 
 , with great nitty, 
 that ahe never baa cards, and that it ia quite amvage in 
 me to think there can be any barm in a little 
 
 i 
 
 Wo IMVO been at Hampton Morty a week, lambent 
 to-night by m y^lt Mm Garhck io gone to ton. I 
 
 1 bofo a great deal of 
 
 to do, ^jui beoanoe I bate I/ffTHl^ii wbeo I have 
 aothin g to tlo, **^ Oftbodj toow tbrrt*; *"^ *^^g taken 
 
 ay leave ooco, I do not like to begin again. Bdore I loft 
 London, 1 spent a whole morning with Mra, Dekaoy. Sho 
 gave me a gnat treat the reading of ail Dean OaWe 
 fettera written to boneE She fikoirito pire me a ohoioo 
 of one to bring away for your book of autographs. I had 
 the modaHy to cfcoose the ahorteat, and ahe bad tho 
 Modeaty to oppooe it, Hfft*i*t then waa ao T^wP* to her 
 
SHE DUO DB CHARTMB. 95 
 
 praise in it ; but if that were to be aii objection, there 
 would not be one for you ! 
 
 u Did I tell you that the Bishop of Chester's Sermons 
 were out of print in eight days ? I hope the age is not so 
 bod as we took it to be ; and yet it cannot be very good 
 either, when the strawberries at Lady Stormont's break- 
 fast last Saturday morning cost one hundred and fifty 
 pounds. 
 
 " lam tired of writing several letters, and of reading 
 the Lives of the Reformer*, and of trimming a fine gauze 
 handkerchief ; and now I am going to close the day with 
 a thick quarto of Dr. Beattie's Metaphysics." 
 
 I nnpton, 1783. 
 
 " As I do not go to Ranelagh, nor the play, nor the 
 opera, nor sup at Charles Fox's, nor play at Brookes's, nor 
 bet at Newmarket, I have not seen that worthy branch of 
 the house of Bourbon, the Duke de Char 
 
 never heard of such a low, vulgar, vicious fellow. 
 His character is 
 
 ' Poltron sur mer, 
 
 Eboroc ur torre, 
 
 Et vaut rion portout* 
 
 u I have read Cohnan's Ars Poetica: he is much too 
 negligent a versifier, but easy and elegant. I believe I 
 forgot to mention Mrs. Vesey's pleasant Tuesday parties 
 to you. It is a select society, \vi, bs at her house 
 
 every other Tuesday, and of which I am invited to be an 
 unworthy member. It assembles on the day on which 
 Turk's Head Club dine together. In the evening they 
 all meet at Mrs. Vesey's, with the addition of such other 
 company as it is difficult to find elsewhere. Last Tuesday 
 we met ; and Mr. Langton and Mr. Walpolo were added to 
 the society, for the first time this winter. I rejoiced to 
 find them again : for they are two of the very pleasantest 
 that e'er my conversation copied withal' The latter 
 told me a hundred pleasant stories of his father and the 
 then court. 
 
 Alas ! when will the distractions of this land be 
 healed ? Nothing but a national judgment can bring us to 
 our senses. Surely the miseries which have visited the 
 
::: : . . BUBAl 
 
 devoted Cklabriana might open our eyes, and show in that 
 *U our evils are cither imaginary, or of oar own bringing 
 oo ! War, gambilnfr and luxury, arc nooo of them infUo- 
 tkma I rom heaven. 
 
 u An arrangement of the ministry aeons to be aa far 
 off Merer; and I am tired of writing, hearing, and unde- 
 rignedl y circulating untruth* on this undecided subject 
 The news that waa true at the beginning of o: 
 prwreN false before out haa reached the bottom ; and ono 
 oin hardly catch, ere H fells, the arrangement of the 
 
 vish you eooJd aee Hampton at thie mom< 
 think there never waa gutter perfection of beauty ; en 
 clean, no green, ao flowery, ao bowery I We dined the other 
 day at Strawberry Hill, and peaaod ae delightful a day aa 
 
 I .~...__ *- *- ti^aaiHaii .. 1 -l. ^ . I 
 
 ..-:.- . . . 
 
 Aa I wia the grartea* etnmger, Mr. Walpote den 
 
 ... .... 
 
 . : . ' 
 
 .,! . : . :...: .-..- - ..,-:.! - / . . 
 
 Ml myelf quite unworthy of all the trouble he took 
 
 Very ahorUy after Mies H. itat'a ratm to Brintol.in 
 June, 1783, abo received a enmmone from her friend, lira. 
 
 -x,. . : . -. ; i -. . \ 
 writea to her aixter 
 
 M My last will have ptepe/ed you to expect the ooo- 
 tenta of this letter. Dear Dr. Kennicott expired yeeter- 
 day, about four o'ck>ck in the afternoon. I aaw him braaahe 
 Uat The acnrante, though there were nix of them, 
 were afraid to *Uty iu the room without me. I got 
 away from him down-stairs, and for the last two hour* ran 
 continually up and down, from the frfflMH wife to the 
 husband, ahc all the time knowing ho waa in the 
 lastagonioB. Yet, when I oame to break it to her, abe bore 
 it with the utmost fortitude. Soe has been rcry composed 
 ?cr iucc ; indeed, ahe ia a true Christian heroine. The 
 
DEATH OP DR. KENNICOTT. 97 
 
 Dean of Christchurch has just been to say that in a quarter 
 of an hour the great bell is to toll. I have told her of it, 
 and she is now looking out a book for me to read during 
 that time. 
 
 a Adieu ! I hear the bell my task begins."* 
 
 " Oxford, August 23, 1 
 
 a My excellent friend was buried on Thursday after- 
 noon, in Christchurch, close to Bishop Berkeley. 
 Kennicott made it a point that I should go to see this 
 sad office performed. I objected to leaving her alone for 
 BO long a time, but her strength of mind overruled this 
 objection. The choir service was awful, almost beyond 
 bearing : and the dean read the prayers in a munni r most 
 solemn and impressive. I shall stay while I have any 
 chance of being useful to the afflicted widow. Thus closed 
 a life, the last thirty years of which were honourably spent 
 in collating the Hebrew Scriptures. One now remembers 
 with peculiar pleasure, that, among other disinterested 
 actions, he resigned a valuable living, because his learned 
 occupation would not allow him to reside upon it. 
 
 hat substantial comfort and satisfaction must not 
 the testimony which our departed friend was enabled to 
 bear to the truth of the Holy Scriptures, afford to those 
 who lean upon them as the only anchor of the soul ! When 
 Dr. K. had an audience of the king to present his work, his 
 majesty asked him, What, upon the whole, had been the 
 result of his laborious and KMnu-d investigation? To 
 replied, that he had found some grammatical 
 errors, and many variations, in the different texts ; but 
 not one which, in the smallest degree affected any article 
 r nor practice." 
 
 Mr*. Hannah More used to repeat, from her friend Mrs. Kenuicott, 
 a little anecdote of Dr. Kennicott, which strikingly proves how much the 
 lore of the Mcred rolume grows with its pcnunl. During the time that 
 he WM employed on hi* Polyglot Bible, it was her constant office in their 
 daily airings, to read to him those different portions to which his imme- 
 diate attention WM called. When preparing for their ride the day after 
 this gnat work was completed, upon her asking him what book she should 
 now take, " Ob," exclaimed he, " let us begin the Bible." 
 
 H 
 
LIT* BAJOUM m& 
 
 We peae over the two or three months which Mil. JL 
 More spent at Hampton Una winter, in unvaried tran- 
 
 thc A.M|.:.i toh.r . :'r - 
 
 -J4fj*i. J/erraA, 1 
 
 %vc been in town aome days, but bed not time to 
 write before, beoMMe.ee the Ducbcea of Gordon toll the 
 Queen, tie nothing hot f rui, (nn, all day, and rap, rap, 
 all ***.' Being here alone, 1 have dined out almost < 
 day. This total change of scene, from the quiet, raadin* 
 lifo 1 have been ao much used to, gave nan 
 i at ftmt ; but now that I am a bUle seasoned to 
 
 , 1 am very well again. Ooeofmy< 
 to the Bvhop of Cheater's, It wae a 
 piesssnt party. 
 
 - Mr. and Mrs. Soame Jenyne, gay, pliant* and 
 aa ever, are really delecUhle to behold; ao fcejd ofesok 
 other, ***^ so free from oharacteriatie mnrmtUoa. do mb 
 
 them about 165 yesrs, There u this peeulisrity in Me, 
 Jenyne 1 character, that, though he has the worst opinion 
 
 temper to everything end everybody in 
 
 thai. iiA i^MHRft tfnnallv tJ^^k^iwI jm ^rwt^ 
 
 charged with, 1 believe him now to he a real 
 
 appear, from his late work on the internal evidence of 
 Christianity, to be quite unfounded. 1 think him very 
 sincere ; but not having been long aoqnsinted with the 
 rinea of revelation, the novelty of them has excited hia 
 lore of paradox. The book is very ingenious : perhapa ho 
 brings f%^htr too much ingenuity into hia religion. I know 
 however, an instance in which thia little work has ooo- 
 verted s phfloeophicaJ infidel, who had previously read all 
 thai been written on the subject, without effect. 
 
 "We dined on Thursday at the Bishop of Salisbury's. 
 
"ON CHRONICLE." 99 
 
 I w;. t to think of the old party's being 
 
 so broken up. We had only the Bishop of Chester and 
 Bryant who had belonged to it There was other com- 
 pany, and too fine a dinner. 
 
 "Only think of this being Friday, and no Lrclius* men- 
 We did not meet till the other day at dinner, at 
 Montagu's, and then there were such wonderments, 
 and astonishments, and lamentations, that we had not 
 met since last year. We were fifteen in company. Mr. 
 Langton was one. I am sure you will honour him when I 
 tell yon he is come on purpose to stay with Dr. Johnson, 
 that during his illness. Ho has taken a little lodging 
 in Fleet Street, in order to be near, to devote himself to him. 
 He has as much goodness as learning, arid that is saying a 
 bold thing of one of the first Greek scholars we have. 
 
 "Mr. Locke has just sent me a curiosity, the first 
 number of the London Chronicle, written by Johnson ; an 
 excellent paper, and very characteristic of the author. 
 Ifto. Garter breakfasted with mo on Monday. I saw the 
 Lady Windsors the other night at a great assembly at 
 Lady Rothes', which was so hot, so crowded, and so fine, 
 that I never passed a more dull unpleasant evening. I am 
 absolutely resolved I will go to such parties no more. 
 How I grudged the waste of time, to pass an evening 
 squeezed to death among a parcel of fine idle people, many 
 of whom care as little for me as I do for them ; and where 
 it was impossible to have anything worthy of being called 
 conversation. It was not only vanity but vexation of 
 spirit ; but one is drawn in by assurances of ' a very small 
 party/ " 
 
 " Adelphi, 1784. 
 
 " I have been falsely assuring everybody that there was 
 
 no contest, but that the old members stood for Bristol. 
 
 And yet we are such fools as to read history, and believe it 
 
 too, when we can't come at the truth of what is passing in 
 
 < wn town. Apropos of elections ; I had like to have 
 
 got into a fine scrape the other night. I was going to pass 
 
 the evening at Mrs. Cole's, in Lincoln's Inn Fields. I went 
 
 chair, and they carried me through Covent Garden. 
 
 Mr. Pepys. 
 
100 LOT OF HJjrYJLR MOtt. 
 
 A number of people, ss I went along, desired the 
 to go through the Garden, a* there were a hundm 
 
 ; . ;v . . - . -;. .::..-. '.' 
 
 would fell upon us. In spite of my Mrtrsetiss the mem 
 
 H* tea Ml>40v*Mi*e4riBfci -f th,-T .. V 
 Ibr there we* a terrible tattle, intimidsssd the < 
 who at last were 
 
 i .::;. i!,. 
 
 0p)e followed me, crying out 
 
 Mr Fox's wife would dare to come 
 
 A . 1 r~ f 
 
 van nuniDsr 01 
 
 Mrs. Fox ; none but 
 
 into Oovcnt Garden ins chair: she is going to 
 
 in the dark.' Though not a little frightened, I 
 
 hsaiiiJyatthi^batshslJ^noTOrsinachsirfbri 
 
 the an every day to wait the dose of the poll end to 
 bring us the numbers. 1 do not believe she could eat her 
 
 i go, I, too, try to be 
 do 
 
 I; hot, unluckily for my principle* I met Fox emv 
 vMsing the other day , and he looked so sensible and agree 
 able, thai if I had not turned my eyes another w .-. 
 believe it would have been all over with me. 
 
 the 
 
 ' I > 1 l i -A^ ^^*^^ 0.1 ^1 A WA A^^m 
 
 : . . . 
 
 figure yon erer eaw. He perfectly reatae all my idem of 
 Nestor. Hie ftentare k greet, hie knowledge of the world 
 xteMfre, and ma faonitMe ee bright aa eter; he ie one of 
 the three penons etUl Ining who were mentioned by Fbpe ; 
 
 i . . . . : ' ' < ' . ' 
 
 He was the intimate friend of Southern, the tragic poet, 
 aiidofaUthewitoofthattame. He is perhaps the oldest 
 man t*ge*tlcman living. I went to eee him the other 
 day, and he would hare entertained me by rapes ting pea- 
 sagea from SYr EldmL He is quite a prwur ck*ntt9r, 
 heroic, romantic, mud full of the old gmHsntry. On Monday 
 
 .cd at Lady Middleton's, and in the evening we: 
 Mrs. OnTs, where there was everything delectable in the 
 blue way. Mr. Wslpolc and I fought orer the old greond 
 
STRANGE PROPOSITION. 101 
 
 Drden, ^*. M 
 
 i 
 
 wish Sally had been in my- placjp ro 
 would have enjoyed it, and I could red it. I have 
 
 rned from Mrs. Montagu's, where I sat close by 
 Lord Rodney, crowned with laurel and glory. Mrs. Pepys 
 proposed that all the women in the room should go up 
 and salute him, and wanted me to begin ; I professed that 
 J would willingly be the second, but who would be the 
 first ? Nobody choosing to undertake ;i project 
 
 fell to the ground. He looks more like a delicate feeble 
 man of quality than a hero." 
 
 "April, 1784. 
 
 1 I tell you I went to see Dr. Johnson? Miss 
 Moocton carried me, and we paid him a very long \ 
 
 received me with the greatest kindness and affection ; 
 and as to the Bos Bleu, all the flattery I ever received from 
 everybody together would not make up the sum. JIo 
 said, but I seriously insist you do not tell anybody, for I 
 am ashamed of writing it even to you ; ho said. ' There 
 was no name in poetry that might not be glad to own it.' 
 You cannot imagine how I stared : all this from Johnson, 
 that parsimonious praiser ! I told him I was delighted at 
 his approbation ; ho answered, quite characteristically, 
 ' And so you may, for I give you the opinion of a man 
 does not rate his judgment in these things very low, I 
 can tell you/ 
 
 a had a good party at the Bishop of St. Asaph's a 
 
 nights ago. Among the chief talkers was Mr. Erskine ; 
 
 he has amazing abilities, but to me he is rather brilliant 
 
 than pleasant. His animation is vehemence ; and he con- 
 
 s to make the conversation fall too much on himself 
 
 a sure way not to be agreeable in mixed conversation. It 
 
 is not natural that I should much commend his taste in 
 
 letters, because he and I disagreed on the few subjects we 
 
 started. I confess, however, that that is no proof of his 
 
 the wrong. The bar seems to be a fitter theatre 
 
 ; ,ig talents than the drawing-room, where good breeding 
 
 ia still more necessary than wit. On Saturday night Airs. 
 
 Garrick and I drank tea with Laelius and his lady, only a 
 
109 LIFE Of HAJnTAH MOW. 
 
 comfcrUK ui 
 
 frttP the pods, n< we commented, and ctHkassoX 
 We hud ben two months 
 trying to g* that quiet rung. 
 
 ivr told Mm. Veeey all the fm* things you nay of 
 
 ~ 
 
 i.i. -. -.. .;..;- 
 
 The autumn of this year was passed wHh her skftafs ! 
 Brurtol, during which an extnordtnftry objeet wan pnv 
 antod to th benevolence of the family. Their cook 
 formed them that the perno who <miled dmUy far 
 
 fiKilfavn 
 
 hunger; and drtrw irach p.ctaiT of thir 
 
 Hed the livrht comptMino. Th*y l* no Um 
 
 *_ ^i^^^^^ Al^I M^A^KW^tfl KAM%|M A%y4 
 
 10 revooe IOIA wiwonca naauiy , ma 
 
 ueo t^ wtaiOB not oven the UMt flv^pe ox fl 
 
 oonlu rcpreea, Hoe pvodtsosd eewrsl ecfi|Mi of her poetry, 
 
 *_ ^ULl M..MA M*M^kM -, .lIlM^* --- ^* ! I* 4*MMA^ 
 
 in wnicn were ocruung nKUOBitooi or gvora*. n WJHBB> 
 duitely oomimd to Mte H. Morr thtt thJb talent aright to 
 > the tneene <*Mitiaf geerml intorwit m her hohei^ 
 I miring A food to eet her up in eome ondfebfe wy of 
 
 '^^BM^w^e* 000 woorQin^iy ^w 11 "* wwi^w^^p 
 
 rulea of writing, spelling, and competition ; and while the 
 
 . . ^^ m*^~**^mlm**m ~m*A~^ fc tM^MA*^4^bM 
 
 V' ' 
 
 v, : .-.;'..., 
 
 ng nliluucuU of the emee to aP her fhende of raak 
 and fortune, huapealriiig enbeenptione to thia work, and 
 etting forth the probability of being enabled, after allowing 
 the woman a certain portion of the wim raiaed, to appren- 
 tioe oat the children with the remainder. The generous 
 aeal with which Miaa H. More*a friends seconded her wishes, 
 soon produced a im exceeding 60(V^ which was plmc- 
 
 r the trusteeship of Mrs. Montagu and her- 
 self >en months her tana* waa chiefly en- 
 
 grossed by her exertions in this woman's cause, in whose 
 service, she has been beard to nay, she calculated that in 
 
.IATTTUDZ. 103 
 
 ing and correcting her poems, and in letters of 
 application, she had written more than a thousand pages. 
 
 But this person was equally a stranger to gratitude and 
 prudence; and inflated by the notice attracted, 
 
 ooo began to express, in the coarsest terms, her rage and 
 disappointment at not having the sum sni i me- 
 
 diately put into her hands. .mid she bear, as it 
 
 seems, to be represented to the pul 
 Preface to her work, as an object of charity. Not being 
 able to gain her point, she soon broke out into the bitterest 
 fafectifes, and scrupled at no calumnies, however absurd 
 and ferocious. We will produce a specimen. The late 
 Duchess of Devonshire having presented her with BcW* 
 edition of the PoeU, Miss H. More kept tin till 
 
 he should be able to find a few seo s to 
 
 placo them OIL Mrs. Y immediately wrote to 
 
 Grace, complaining that they were kept back from her ; at 
 the same time spreading a report in the neighbourhood, 
 that her patroness was purchasing an estate with the sum 
 she had pretended to raise for her benefit. Mrs. Montagu 
 and HIM More resisted with great patience her violent 
 importunities to be put in possession of ti .1, as 
 
 well ts interest, of her little fortune ; fearing it would 
 be consumed in those vices to which it now began to be 
 apparent that she was addict at length they gave 
 
 H up into the hands of a respectable lawyer, who made it 
 over to a rich and honourable merchant of Bristol ; and he 
 was soon harassed into the relinquishment of the whole 
 concern. Miss More, as may well be imagined, never took 
 the trouble of vindicating herself; nor did she manifest 
 any resentment towards this unfortunate creature, with 
 respect to whom she had no other feeling than that of 
 Christian sorrow for her depravity. 
 
 Miss H. More again paid her customary visit to Mrs. 
 Garrick at the latter end of this year, 1784, the fbst few 
 weeks of which she passed, as usual, at Hampton, in such 
 seclusion as to furnish few incidents to enliven her cor- 
 
 !-] : -1 )0fc 
 
 "Hampton, December 1784. 
 
 Poor dear Johnson ! ho is past all hope. The dropsy 
 
104 UfB OF HAJWAH MORE. 
 
 hM brought him to the point of death; his legs have been 
 scarified: but nothing will da I have, however, the com- 
 fwt to bear thai hi* dread of d ying is in a great mcaaur* 
 subdued; tod now be aaya The biMeiimai of death is 
 peat* He eent tot other day to Or Joshu^ tod after 
 much Mrioos conversation told him he had three fcvoors 
 to beg of him, and he hoped be would not refuse a dying 
 friend, be they what they would. Sir Jomhu* promised. 
 The first was, that he would never paint on a Sunday; the 
 aeoond, thai he would forgive him thirty pounds which ho 
 had lent him, aa he wanted to leave them to a distressed 
 femily ; the third WM, that be would read the Bible when- 
 ever ha had an opportunity, and thai ha would never omit 
 , a Sunday. Thaw waa no diftouhy but upon the tat 
 
 ' 
 
 .i A a * ^^ i^ _^A^ Ctt^ * - -* Mn , , I , , J A A . ^ %_ t_. 
 
 !;.... : .1 ' . ;, . . : .. 
 
 all How dtUgbted ahould I be to hear the dying ds> 
 
 : .' : ; .-. . -. 
 
 JaKh has subdued his fears, 1 wish 1 could sos him. H 
 
 x Garrick U gone to town again tor ooe night to 
 attend maaa, but I deaired to atay behind. Mr. 
 wrote me a very kind letter on the death of ~ 
 thinking 1 abould be impiMuui to h 
 
 to his last hours. Dr. Brockleaby, his phyucian, waa with 
 him. Hesaadtohimabttiebeto hedieo;'Doctor,you 
 are a worthy man, and my friend, but 1 am afraid you are 
 not a Chriatian! what can I do better for you than offer 
 nyour presence a prayer to the great God. that you 
 may become a Chriatian in my ecose of the word!' In- 
 stantly he fell on hia knees and put up a fervent prayer; 
 
 he got up he can^it hold of his hand with great 
 atneaa, and cried, 'Doctor, you do not aay Amen 9* 
 The doctor looked foolish, but, after a pauae, cried 'Amon!' 
 Johnson Mid, My dear doctor ! believe a dying man, there 
 ia no aahration but in the sacrifice of the Lamb of God; 
 go home, write down my prayer and every word I have 
 said, and bring it to me to-morrow/ BrocUeaby did so. 
 
 friend deaired he would make his win, and as 
 Hume; iu his last moments, bad 
 
TH OF DR. JOHNSON. 105 
 
 of his opinions, he thought it might tend to countcr- 
 
 he poison if Johnson would make a public confession 
 s faith in his will. He said he would : seized the pen 
 with great earnestness, and asked what was the usual form 
 of beginning a will t His friend told him. After the usual 
 forms he wrote, ' I offer up my soul to the great and mer- 
 ciful God ; I offer it full of pollution, but in firm assurance 
 that it will be cleansed in the blood of my Redeemer.' 
 And for some time he wrote on with the same vigour and 
 
 ett as if he had been in perfect health. When he ex- 
 pressed some of his former dread of dying, Sir John said, 
 
 | ou, Doctor, have these fears, what is to become of me 
 and others t' 'Oh, sir !' said he, * I have written piously, it 
 is true ; but I have lived too much like other men.' It 
 & consolation to him, however, in his last hours, that he 
 had never written in derogation of religion or virtue. Ho 
 talked of his death and funeral, at times, with great com- 
 posure. On the Monday morning he fell into a sound 
 sleep, and continued in that state for twelve hours, and 
 then died without a groan. 
 
 u No action of his life became him like the leaving it. 
 
 death makes a kind of era in literature. Piety and 
 
 goodness will not easily find a more able defender ; and it 
 
 is delightful to see him set, as it wore, his dying seal to the 
 
 professions of his life, and to the truth of Christianity. 
 
 u I now recollect, with melancholy pleasure, two little 
 anecdotes of this departed genius, indicating a zeal for re- 
 ligion which one cannot but admire, however characteristi- 
 cally rough. When the Abb6 Raynal was introduced to 
 him, upon the Abb6's advancing to take his hand he drew 
 back, and put his hands behind him, and afterwards re- 
 plied to the expostulation of a friend, ' Sir, I will not 
 shake hands with an infidel !' At another time, I remem- 
 ber asking him if he did not think the Dean of Dcrry a 
 very agreeable man ; to which he made no answer ; and on 
 my repeating my question, ' Child,' said he, ' I will not say 
 anything in favour of a sabbath-breaker to please you or 
 any one else.' " 
 
 "Adelphi, 1785. 
 " Boswell tells me he is printing anecdotes of Johnson, 
 
M o 
 
 oot bis hfe, hat, ss ho has the vanity lo omll it. h* 
 
 nat leveled departed friend, and bofoged be wooJd mitt* 
 
 not cut off his claws, nor make a tiger a oat to please 019- 
 . I doubt not, be a twry ampjg boak > but 
 
 the honour of ogling upon me. 1 nave since been there of 
 an i Mining, and we are become great friends: they esam 
 . 
 
 :*vo had a great deal of eleBwiiii with Mr. 
 
 hint obliging and polite ; bot he one 
 read then to as*. 1 think 
 
 of th.w pf>t l . an ! 
 
 kin a real gauo in M way ol wit and IMMMT ; but he 
 
 to bo of a ab T aad nlent cval, aod %o pcvlar tfap 
 
 ^ M *^4k4^ A.i^l^ aIL^ ^^fc^ia f k 
 
 oc a wnsfliHDMiM 10 taung^HrtMK. tni 
 wo wad a fMwi dmnar at nowja, for too fiiwl 
 
 more. The party rniinwlH of the toonX the 
 the Boyicm the Wiksii.ghsms. Mrs. Carter, Mr. Walpole, 
 and Mies liniiton. Though I like them overy one mf^ 
 trtaiy, yet it was imp isnftili to eajoy them sfl tofsthc 
 never dosini to sit down with mate then ai*,or eight at 
 
 on my hands. Ike wifeof Dr. Adsism, Masiar of Iwabroke 
 oot for London, to be oot of the way dr**g the kst sad 
 turMtoo^ot^roystOf tohim*moob as po^ibie. Our 
 
 and ao ran timed ; but it U a hamvy blow. 
 Wo had a plcodid diaDer in Sumtford Flao 
 deed, mucli too nrngnitowat and too many paofwi for com- 
 fort-aU Irtemti. Arnoog them Sir Joahita, the twu War- 
 tooa, and Tprwhitt Dr. Wartoa waa, aa usual, very 
 thiiMMNp and v*ry agTtwabie. We tay^ till nea 
 Mrs. Montagu, in a whisper, engaged u to diaa 
 with her the next daj, ao we stayed on porpoee, and had 
 aobody but dear Mm. OKter, which 1 fckod vMtiy. We 
 
ABSENCE OP MIND. 107 
 
 spent the evening at Mrs. Vesey's last Thursday, with. Mr. 
 Walpolo and Dowager Lady Townsend : a woman who has 
 said more good things than any living person, but who, I 
 
 believe, has not done quite so many. Poor Mr. could 
 
 not talk much ; but he seemed to enjoy the conversation. 
 When I shook hands with him, I said to myself, ' I shall 
 never sec you again ;' and so it is likely to prove ; for he 
 has lain senseless ever since. Poor man ! he has not the 
 dispositions suited to his advanced age, and his near pro- 
 spect of death. Soamc Jenyns, too, is in great trouble. We 
 spent the evening agreeably together, and Mrs. Jcnyus was 
 taken that very night with a fever, and is dangerously ill. 
 I tremble for an event which is to destroy a union of such 
 perfect harmony, and put an end to an attachment which 
 continues to be a passion very long after fourscore. 
 
 u Sir Charles and Lady Middleton dined here last Tues- 
 day, and in the evening we had a magnificent has bleu, at 
 which 1 think assisted almost every creature that adorns 
 that fraternity. We had much pleasant and some pro! it- 
 able discussion." 
 
 " Giant-ilia, June 16, J 
 
 "Wo left Teston on Monday. Poor Lady Middleton 
 still in bod with a fever ; the only drawback from a visit 
 which was otherwise so delightful. It is a charming man- 
 sion. We spent the evening with Miss Hamilton, who, I 
 fancy, will have another name by the time you get thig 
 letter. I was much amused with hearing old Leonidas 
 Glover sing his own fine ballad of Hosiers Ghost, which 
 was very affecting. He is past eighty. 
 
 " Mr. Walpole coming in just afterwards, I told him 
 how highly I had been pleased. He begged me to intreat 
 a repetition of it. I suppose you recollect that it was the 
 satire conveyed in this little ballad upon the conduct of 
 Sir Robert Walpole's ministry which is thought to have 
 been a remote cause of his resignation. It was a very 
 curious circumstance to see his son listening to the recital 
 of it with so much complacency. Such is the effect of the 
 lapse of time. 
 
 ave rarely heard a more curious instance of the 
 absence of mind produced by poetic enthusiasm, than that 
 
UJBOF i 
 
 .'-' ' - 
 
 .,.--. .-. .. I.'-'-,!. " 
 
 Wt, at Wickbam. Lord Lyttlcton, on opening hie 
 window ooo morning poroeiTod Glover pacing to and fro 
 with a whip in hi. band, by tbe aide of a fine bed of tulip* 
 
 of the mutton, who woranipped Flora witb ae 
 
 rdoor aa Glorrr did too Mmc*. Uia mind WM at the 
 
 . . .... . . . . . . 
 
 ' . . ' ' * . ..:.:..;.!:: . ;. . | I 
 
 him applyinfh^ whip with gnat TthwuMM to U Ulk> 
 
 .- , ; . . f t . , _M _/ ,-,*, t-%. W^fc^^ A> --- 
 
 of 109 tunommm T"*"! 1 ^ AU 01 WDICII, noon mcro WM 
 
 ^. A AA. . -- *- - i.l_t JLw^AM Ikta ------ - t^^ 1 ___ 1 ------ a_A -* 
 
 :-.-.. i- . :.. . . : . . . ..... , 
 
 JmDod to tb> gnmnd ; mod wn<n UiodifMiitoi be h^d 
 
 of ib* nrooopding, that bo could witb 
 bt ttdo to bikf it 
 
 town, witb only Mr. Walpoto and Mi- HamOton. Tbt 
 IOTMT rod ocD> pfodnctiottt of hit own to m Ho it 
 fono down to StnurbtRj Uffl, wbw b bk printin-pmt, 
 
 fono down to 
 
 to ff>llftrt- nil hfcf woriui i 
 
 * >M> to Briitol, to blip to w ardi "^Vin 
 Cow^ip Green.' He like* the mine, and y it it A imU- 
 tion-mooMto.rtieMt to^fitrmwberr; Ukeitbo 
 
 pkn and drawing uigbUlj; and ao doei Mr. Smelt, 
 whom I apent a ploaamt evening a> day or two before 1 aet 
 out Tbc cottage baa Umveiled aboot to tbem all 10 turn, 
 aothmt tbcyaU know erery creek and corner of the LtUc 
 
RETIRES TO COWSLIP GREEN. 1QD 
 
 V. 
 HER RETIREMENT TO COWSLIP GREEN. 
 
 A.D. 1786-1T89. 
 
 THE letter just produced was the last we find written from 
 Hannah More to her sister, during her visit to 
 Garrick, in the spring of 1785. And at this period we 
 observe the genuine characteristics of her mind more fully 
 and forcibly in operation. 
 
 We have long'becn regarding her in the crowded scenes 
 of gaiety and greatness, moving within a fairy circle, where 
 all that could captivate the sensibility and betray the un- 
 derstanding of a trusting heart and a capacious head were 
 leagued against her. 
 
 turbing influences, an interior 
 giii-t.- ^iL^v.ted the du!y > f : li ;.MH ivcdlrction and self- 
 
 .itiniatc frii 
 LOUS hour and the 
 in upon her mind the solemn and 
 uich she was intended and 
 
 qualified, and brought before her a brighter world and 
 purer subjects of thought and aspiration. 
 
 A candid examiner of her letters will discern in them, 
 as their dates come nearer to the present time, a growing 
 conviction of the tmsa ."s.s of all enjoyments 
 
 in unison 
 
 MffjBJIXflbvA&fl wniie many oi her mends and com- 
 panions remained contented where she found them, till 
 their places knew them no more, Hannah More was ad- 
 ing in religious attainments, and listening to the voca- 
 tion that summoned her to solid glory. Prayer, the fre- 
 quent perusal of holy Scripture, and the strict observance 
 
of the Sabbath, kept her mind in a bcentifhl slate, and bar 
 in the walk of wisdom." ' 
 
 of bar aariy daya. | 
 
 It wiD not appear artmordinaty to thoee who hare 
 observed bow domtoeertog an influence opportunity, habit, 
 
 * _ _m _ 
 
 ntt* of 
 
 Ml** 
 
 Dot thai cariy feeling which prompted bar 
 tetet wish lor a habitation too low feractock," wstetfl! 
 
 : 
 
 After tbe surprise of her sodfla* liuPSSJli 
 ten was over, hsr fast lov appeared to 
 country, with its green paeturca and Ha efeiU 
 began to call bar back to the dement to wnioh mm 
 cftsee and Inquiries might be puBmed, aa wese moat prois- 
 . . . 
 
 . ' . ' . i L 
 
 r bar to withhold bemesT ftom her Mewfe m Loodoe/f 
 these annual visits to Mis, Oarrick brought bsr (re- 
 
 though ksjs ftwpuatiy, into 
 world and iU crowded 
 generally her* 
 
 did the opportunities which the parties of the 
 afforded her, of advocating tenth and enforcing das/, psss 
 
 Many of the reflections end animadvenftons of a sternly 
 tuous complexion, which fell vnth great weight anon 
 passing events snd ensling ohaiaatet*, have been with- 
 drawn from the Icttem which have been already presented 
 to the public, tarn an >iTralmisrii of 
 
TO HER SISTER. m 
 
 where pain could no longer conduce to amendment ; of 
 wounding family feelings, or of reviving sorrowful re'col- 
 lections ; and it is to be remembered, that in her letters to 
 her sisters she was pouring out her heart, on some subjects, 
 under the seal of the strictest confidence. Not to have 
 animadverted with severity upon the prescriptive imrno- 
 zaiities of the fashionable scenes which had suddenly 
 opened upon her, would have -suggested a doubt of her 
 discernment, or a suspicion of her integrity. Various 
 attractions and temptations conspired to impede her pro- 
 gress in wisdom ; yet her thoughts revolted against the 
 system in which she was implicated, and often broke out 
 lie language of becoming indignation against the man- 
 ners and the practices of those who were raising altars to 
 
 L. : .;; . 
 
 On her visit to town, in the opening of 1786, she writes 
 to her sister aa follows : 
 
 *Adclphi, February 1786. 
 
 u We are come to town, but Mrs. Garrick talks much of 
 the charms of the country, where I think she has acted her 
 winter pastoral rather too long ; for the cold is so intense, 
 that the heat pleasure I have found for a long time is to 
 ait over * great fire and read Cowper** Poems. I am en- 
 chanted with this poet : his images are so natural and so 
 much his own ! Such an original and philosophic thinker ! 
 .such genuine Christianity ! and such a divine simplicity ! 
 but rather rambling, and the order not very lucid. He 
 seems to put down every thought as it arises, and never to 
 retrench or alter anything. I have hardly the courage to 
 stir, and have refused several invitations out of pity to 
 man and beast I dined, however, the other day with Mrs. 
 Montagu. 
 
 tf A previous engagement will prevent my dining at 
 Lord Mount Edgecombe's to-morrow, which, as there will 
 be a great many of my friends there, I should have liked 
 very well ; but I have laid it down as an act of moral 
 *mpp|frnfe to break an engagement because something 
 happens to present itself which you like rather better. I 
 have just been debating, till I am out of breath with a 
 
: :. : i 
 
 S great and wise lady on this subject She 1 
 >id it was a ridiculous scruple, bat that once she had 
 bean aa good as L I told her 1 wished 1 had know: 
 in those daya." 
 
 <4,/Yi i 
 
 reefy have not found a moment's time to 
 since I cone here, one is ao hurried and hurtled about ; 
 and has so many nothings to do whkh yet mnat bo done, 
 
 , which yi 
 
 and ao many foolish notes to writer 
 u. I bad, however, yesterday a < 
 Bunday . I am here alone. 1 have not yet eeen a great 
 many of my Monde, Tie true 1 have dined oat 
 
 brought wo homo, but I hare uol KUIO t-> evening 1 
 I want a little time to break myself in, ao ae to take to it 
 kindly. I made poor Vesey go with me on Setomky to 
 see Mr.WaipoX wbo has bad a long illneea 
 
 > fling ttltt Mfkri t*. 1 IMV* 6ttMMi hin Mk c 
 
 witty, end ao entertaining. He said a thousand 
 things about flono* but accused me of having i 
 
 
 
 with Mflh entire fttfrnrf This sobmkaion is certainly a 
 most valuable part of religion; and yet, alee! he is not 
 religious, I must^bcmerer.cb him the justice to ay, that 
 except the deligbi he haa in teasing me for what be calls 
 ovej sUktuess, I never hMrt a eentenos from him which 
 aa voured of inftdehty. 
 
 asat aatnall party the other night, of which Mr. 
 
 Burke waa one. He appeared to be very low in health and 
 
 apirits. He talked to me with a kindness whieh revived 
 
 my old aflection for him. We had several other oppo 
 
 u wits that evening; among others, Lord North, who 
 
 : ja, at which he has a very good talent, |insiiiaring in 
 
 perfection the art of grave humour. Mra. Fielding and 1, 
 
 pretty little misses, diverted ourselves with 
 
 ^MaBdLocdMmMtcthepisvftwsVi 
 
 llto postal tsls bad beta bMr pMUat4 wtth tfct Ay Jb 
 
LETTKRS TO HER SISTER. 3J3 
 
 tions, and thoroughly did we puzzle them by picking out 
 little obscure, insignificant things, which we collected from 
 
 nt history. Lord North overhearing us, desired to be 
 
 ited into this mysterious game, and it was proposed 
 that I should question him: I did so, but his twenty 
 
 tions were exhausted before he came near the truth. 
 As he at length gave up the point, I told him my thought 
 was the earthen lamp of Epictetus. i I am quite provoked 
 at my own stupidity, 1 said his Lordship, 'for I quoted that 
 very lamp last night in the House of Commons.' 
 
 " I was the other day at Lady Mount Edgecombe's, 
 who repeated her invitation for the Mount Edgecombc 
 visit next summer with tho most earnest politeness. I 
 gave her to understand that I was afraid it must be left 
 for another year ; the truth is, I intend to get oft' all 
 summer invitations, that I may have the more time for 
 Cowslip Green, which place I hope will favour my escape 
 from the world gradually. I dined the other day with 
 Mrs. Walsingham, and went in the evening toLadyMid- 
 clleton's to meet Lord and Lady Dartmouth. He is the 
 it-man who, you know, Cowper says, c wears a coronet 
 
 prays.' The Attorney-General and Lady Louisa Mac- 
 donald wait to convey me to Sir Robert Herries's, where 
 
 tine together. And now I hope to receive due praise 
 for my implicit obedience in gratifying your insatiable 
 
 >-uty with an account of almost every dinner I have 
 eaten, and every person to whom I have spoken." 
 
 " London, May 1786. 
 
 e have had a great but pleasant dinner at the 
 Bishop of Salisbury's, which was the more valuable, as we 
 bad so much difficulty to achieve it ; and a good old bos 
 bku dinner at Mrs. Vesey's, such as she used to give in her 
 lays, and which put her in spirits, as it brought 
 back those days to her mind. I sat next my Lord Macart- 
 ney, who never fails to furnish abundance of lively matter 
 for interesting conversation. Lady Mount Edgecombe made 
 another very kind attack upon my constancy, to prevail 
 upon mo to come to her in the summer ; but I remained 
 able to her eloquence, great and obliging as it 
 
 I 
 
114 
 
 1'our mm, jo pr*kr* ma paorre petit iak, Mi obomi ct 
 ecr laobcra, a toute *otf magnifioenoc,' 
 
 *vo natural!;. but a email appefct* for grandeur, 
 
 town ; ami i require a loo* abctinc no* to get uiy 
 reU*b for it *4ain ; yet 1 rrpeat* tbcat am very agreeabli 
 people: Hul there fte dxim, <hrt is tminiiiitg tb^a i 
 vmatofUiMi^towluobifiiid ii difficult io oonUa for 
 any Icogth of ti-iid life b abort 
 
 * 1 ocnctime* grt an tmlarMting morotog raitor ; of 
 two or Uuw 1 bare coUrrt^ii**! toino hope U^at tbcy woro 
 b^inaiog u> Uuak acnoual jr . Udj & and 1 bad a Ux 
 (A&MOttnw TwAw^laT * aba acaflM amioiyi foe iviMiotift in* 
 formaiioo. 1 told bar much pUm tnith, and ab bora ii 
 ao woU, tbat I VMOana to gi^a Ur DoddrUfD. If ab0 
 abouU ooi atooibb at U tbmbold, from tba tra 
 
 ,*o*. 1 UUM aba will mad 
 
 naniMr in wbicb tb book 
 it with good aflooL Ute baa baaa aUo with me 
 avrond tiin^a baauttful IT**^ aooovuittabad unvuiuJad 
 wuh lUumrrm, wxi uik 01 daaipatioti. 1 aakad bar wbj 
 aba oontiimad to live ao mocb bek/w. not UD!J bar pho- 
 
 frorn crowda of paraooaao inlarior to boraalf <iid it make 
 barbapp :!' aba amid ; * DO, aba waa miaarahli ; 
 
 aba darted tba aooiotjabc Utod ID, and bad bad oou 
 naot of tba picauiai In wiuab bar *'^* wa r miff u mi 1 . but 
 wbatooold abr do t 8be could not be aingular abe moat 
 do at her acquaintance diO.' 1 poabad it ao booe on her 
 c<;.^... .. :. t k..t ajaaj i .:;*;. A:.; ::. -r^-U n.r I 
 ooojund her to read her Bibk, with wbicb abe k uttcrty 
 uoaoqoaiiited. Theee fine ereaturca are, 1 hope, ainccrr, 
 when the j promise to be better; but the very next tempU- 
 tiou that cornea aoroaa them puU all their good intaptiooa 
 io flight, and the j 90 on at if they had never formed Uuao: 
 nay, all the worse for having formed and not naiued 
 them. They ahaU have mj prajrera, which an the moat 
 ejfcrtnal part of our eadeaToura.*' 
 
 - rato.Jvar 4,17*0. 
 Wa bare been a week at this cwaat plaoe, with thav 
 
LETTERS TO HER SISTER. U5 
 
 sweet people. Mrs. E. Bouverie lives with the Middletons 
 in town, and they with her here. Her character has some- 
 thing sublime in it; but you must know her well to ad- 
 mire her as I do, for she is reserved to strangers. With a 
 cultivated mind, and a most thinking head, she only pro- 
 duces herself in our tftes-a-tete*. Her charities are bound- 
 less. Laxly Middleton is very excellent, and very different ; 
 ahe is made up of feeling and compassion. Her kindness, 
 which you would think must needs be exhausted on the 
 negroes, extends to the sufferings of every animal. She 
 never ' worked the woe of any living thing.' Sir Charles 
 is obliged to leave us to attend to the birth-day. You 
 would bo delighted too with his character. He has the 
 stern and simple virtues of the old school. Mrs. Garrick 
 carries me as far as Sandleford Priory on Monday, the 
 12th. I remain four days with Mrs. Montagu, and hope 
 to sleep : on the 17th. Lady Spencer came her- 
 
 self to prevail upon us to go to her for a little time at 
 St. Albau's, but I could not resolve upon prolonging my 
 stay from home. This agreeable place, fine air, and cul- 
 tivated and pious society, have quit 
 I was invited to a prodigiously fine concert a few days 
 ago, to hear all the Rubinellis and Maras : but having for 
 some time declined all great parties, I did not go : besides, 
 I was going where I could hear the nightingales for nothing.. 
 I dined, one of the last days before I left town, at the 
 Pepys's ; and I think it was one of the wittiest and most 
 brilliant dinners I was ever present at. Since the old 
 times I think I have not heard so much pleasant discus- 
 sion. I went to a select party to meet Mr. Smelt and 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hastings. Mr. H. is a man of remarkablo 
 simplicity of manners, dress, and deportment; full of ad- 
 mirable good sense ; nothing of the nabob about him. 
 The Bishop of Chester declares he will come some time or 
 other to Cowslip G 
 
 Of the interval which Hannah More now passed at 
 Cowslip Green, we find no account supplied by her cor- 
 respondence. It is probable she lived in great retirement, 
 pursuing her gardening occupations, to which she was so. 
 
. . : 
 
 WritOl aa follow* > 
 
 "l**io*. I 
 
 I found Mm Garrk* well Next morning wo MQiad 
 oot and cmllcd upon m few imrtiruUr fricixU. Yesterday I 
 
 dined ft! Mm 00BBMPHn| V/e MO ft OOSJOOfteUej KnOtM 
 
 conversation, and in the trrtnii* the carried mo to Mrs. 
 Vosey'sinmytraTdh^dreeft. I did not find btr no OHM* 
 broken aa I ex peeled since tafi yemr, tboogb I grieve ID eiy 
 bermcmofyie TUMbljimpaimL I WM eorry not to find 
 Walpole. Ineteed of the jilfMint Hornet I found 
 onlj two or three formal women of quality ; eo I left Mre. 
 Boeoawen to anecdote with Uietn, end etole home in her 
 
 --....-. : . ' 
 
 The ftnt dej I went out I lied en inTHation to Lady 
 AmhcndXand enother to the VeeeyX to meet Mr. ameH 
 andMieeBarnej. I dewrtcd the pcetm, end wee rewarded 
 for my democracy with a very rliiemnf end a very little 
 party. 
 
 " I have en Anti-gaBkeji eneodom for yov, Joet he- 
 
 at .lint.rr on.- -lay :/. t Mml !" <r.v! ; /.'v uhcrr wan 
 
 the Doe de Chertree : tide letter heheeved with hievemi 
 onpolfeoeae, and took it into me head to ridknle the 
 Bngliiih ambeemdor. Finding that Or Joeeph did not 
 laugh at anj of h boflboncme, 'Qooi, Moneleiu/ eaid he, 
 dit-oc quo vone ne ri jemaist* ' Ramncot, Mon- 
 cigncar, 1 replied Sir Joeeph, with great coomem. Joel 
 at that time the combined French and Spanieh nWte 
 were in the British Channel a new eabjeot lor the ill- 
 breed ing of the French Prince. Mmie, Mowrieor; eaym he 
 gain, turning to Sir Joeeph, ' si notre flotte attocquerott 
 
 :letcrrc I ' < 41on, Monadgnonr, je rirois,' eaid 
 Joeeph. 
 
 .are the pleasure to find Mr. Walpole remarkably 
 well Yesterday he tent me a very agreeable letter, with 
 
 
AGAIN IN LONDON. H? 
 
 some very thick volumes of curious French memoirs, de- 
 
 :ig me, if I liked them, to send for the other twenty- 
 three volumes a pretty light undertaking in this mad 
 town and this short life. I have just been requested to 
 promote a subscription for poor Maty's widow, who is left 
 in great distress ; but what little I do I had rather do 
 from my own purse than by applications. I must not 
 remember that he disliked me, and did me whatever little 
 ill turn he could in his review. 
 
 ' I have three or four invitations for every day, but I 
 can only manage one dinner in one day. I passed an 
 evening very pleasantly at the Bishop of Chester's with an 
 episcopal party, among others the new Bishop of Lincoln ; 
 and since that I have visited Mrs. Pretyman at their own 
 house. Yesterday I dined with dear Mrs. Boscawen, and 
 she carried me to drink tea at Mrs. Delany's, where was 
 Lady Bute and the old noble party, all except its once 
 greatest ornament, the evcr-to-be-regretted Duchess of 
 Portland. We then went to Lady Charlotte Finch's, at 
 
 ( ames's, where we found a very agreeable and accom- 
 plished society of all the wise ladies of the age. I was at 
 the Bishop of Salisbury's the other day, and am invited 
 to Mrs. Montagu's to-night, and Mrs. Walsingham's to- 
 morrow, but have declined both." 
 
 "London,178r. 
 
 " I believe Patty will be a great fortune at last ; for 
 the ninth edition of my present to her The Search after 
 Happiwx* is gone to the press. I am really shocked at 
 the public taste, which has taken off ten thousand copies 
 of a poem which I have not patience to read. 
 
 " One day last week I met at dinner Mrs. Siddons : she 
 IB a very fine woman ; I never saw her before. I spent 
 yesterday a sober, quiet day, at Lady Amherst's ; and read 
 Sbakspeare to my Lord till eleven o'clock at night. Lady 
 Amherst has great credit in the education of her young 
 folks. I have had a long visit from Mrs. Trimmer. Her 
 appearance, behaviour, and conversation, are full of good 
 sense and propriety. I hear that Brentford exhibits a 
 visible change of manners, in consequence of her labours- 
 She is the author whom I venture most to recommend. 
 
UFV Or RAYBAH 1UMUL 
 
 I made one lady Uke three don of her book* ycetertmj. 
 I prmumed to give her a great deal of good wboUwom* 
 
 -J j _-_,, .,,,,. fcn i.L ft^M f - v. M v i > ' ' V- 
 
 .' 1 . . " : 
 
 puUr aa I am pomaded abo moat bo, abe baa got Htflo 
 or nothing by her writing*, except reputation, n 
 tonackmne* of doing good ; on which two thing. 
 
 itao rmme, yet, where there are ten children, 
 money moat hare the eleventh place In maternal eon- 
 
 
 braakfratod on Sunday and Good FHday with the 
 Hahop of Cbeatar, wbo aftvwvda carried me to hear hta 
 
 preach ; both time* to my great delectation. Gibbon 
 
 I'.r*** 
 
 ' in June, witb three ijiMrto YonmMs more of 
 hi* /fettiM *</ **/r. 1 hare aaen a letter fhn hh 
 which he aaya, * thcee three fohnBM are eomewha t alen- 
 deter, but not taa laboured than tbeir elder brot) 
 Kor are they, I dare Mir, more free from the iaarga i/ 
 Meo^y , winch pervade* evr ry port of bia worku, i oftva) 
 bto ndm new rrr to him, by 9r D.rM D* 
 fjuiplo, very arttte and wrll- mannered. He managBf the 
 ary philoeapher with grwt dcitrnty. and in a way which 
 
 . ' ' A . . ' ' 
 
 lined jMcrdaj at Mm Montagu'* Mr. Prpyi and 
 an aeaigiiallon far a < l^f*^ 4h * i /^^ * Mri - 
 
 CTtapnnea| where we tnree epeait too pjeaaantae* wo er 
 three botim imaginable. Wo all ragrvtted that we do not 
 get greet many more anon, inetcad of waettng our tuno 
 
 nitercourw of rotno or aentimenv rTor tma aoug pvtj^ X 
 irfneed one of the fineet Mamhiiaa in London, which I 
 knew would be rery grand and very doJL 
 
 Mr. IVpya told me he had a greet *n*gfe whether to 
 oome to as or to go to Ptorcy. At ket ho concmbVd to 
 grre up the child for the sake of the mother. They were 
 natomiahcd at my not being there. I told them, e* I 
 had been able to resist Shabrpearc ao many years, there 
 waa no great philosophy in wit I landing the poet of that 
 night The next day I had another attack. I dined with 
 
FKRVLBW WITH JOHN NKWTOIT. 119 
 
 Sir Joshua, Mr. Burke, and two or three others of that 
 stamp. They cried all at once, ' Were you not delighted 
 with Mrs. Siddons last night in Percy?' I replied, ' No ! 
 not see her. 1 They would not believe me guilty 
 of such insensibility, adding, ' She did it exquisitely, as the 
 tears of Mr. Fox, who sat with us, testified.' 
 
 " To-day (Tuesday) I have been into the City to hear 
 good Mr. Newton preach ; and afterwards went and sat 
 an hour with him, and came home with pockets full of 
 sermons." 
 
 " London, 1787. 
 
 " We have been at Hampton for some days, to my great 
 joy. It has much abated my headaches. I had yesterday 
 invitations to dine at the Bishop of Salisbury's, and .Lord 
 Bathurat's : bat was engaged to Mr. Brooksbank, where 
 were ail the corps diplomatique, none of whom I thought 
 pleasant, except Sir Joseph Yorke, our thirty-years' am- 
 
 had so fine a show of literati on Saturday, at 
 Lady Hcrries's, that somebody was saucy enough to say 
 that they pitied all other parties that evening, as ours 
 seems to have monopolized all the wit and learning. A 
 card-party would have thought us much greater objects of 
 pity. I was at Mr. Cole's* the other evening, where were 
 the Bishops of Chester and Peterborough, Soame Jenyns, 
 Charles Yorke, Arthur Young, and many others. I 
 tented Mr. Symons, who succeeded the poet Gray as 
 History Professor at Cambridge, to tell me all about Calabria 
 and Sicily, which he has visited with such a classic spirit 
 as to make his accounts very pleasing. He is a very 
 good-natured and modest man, and very kind and friendly 
 tome. 
 
 hu Home, the Scotch poet, breakfasted here yester- 
 day. Douglas writes no more, but has hung up his harp 
 as well as Percy. It is time for us both to take our leare 
 of poetry. A friend of mine, just come from Paris, told 
 me a story of one of the notables. He was a provincial 
 gentleman, of very good sense and learning, but whose 
 
 arned lawyer, at whose house uhe used to meet very select 
 SMfc 
 
cct was M* of the iiewcei Paris cat He was sitting at 
 
 : . . . : > , ' ' ' '. . '. v. . ' -..:. 
 
 Mil him with the most impertinent curiosity. After 
 patiently bearing thtir ffl-bfeedm* bt Mid to iham, O- 
 tkmen t IwiUgnUifyyourdcwtobeoqowaladwiUin^ 
 character: be bico! done; 10 Toici,j sate ni sot, ni Ut, 
 mais je sate cntre b dcox.' Thte repartee procured 
 food treatment the rat of the dinner." 
 
 To the Ret. J. Ncwtot 
 
 Xy dew Sir, Mmnythmnki for your Yr7 kind letter, 
 end th* ftfieotioiMfee failefwt yon we eo cood n to teke to 
 mjwellknj. It te worU white to be m tttUe eiok, were it 
 oolj to tfy the kiDdoeeBofooe'e friends. I here bid 
 good deal of lew, which b now, I thank God, 
 
 of town almost immsdiasily, 1 troet thai the pcre air and 
 quiet of the country will be of eenriee. lea 
 inwardly rejoiced when e%ht i 
 with a lawful pretence far not 1 
 t; bat thte was far from I 
 
 ;- 1 .:: . . ! . . . , v 
 
 pletMm^ but profit^ from the eociety I nhonJd have pminel 
 
 the eul.ject, and hare pat me in the way of dmwinf eo 
 much good oat of theee little noodeatei onU, that I hopo 
 I ahaU be the better, not only from thte diaappom Unent, 
 bat aleo from many rotnve ooea, for MOM of thehinliyott 
 -..-.. 
 
 I am thoroo^hly pamnaded of the neceeaity of ecrfog 
 and acknowledging the hand of Phmdence in a enftllcr a* 
 well as in the greater events of life: but 1 want more of 
 the practical persuasion of thte great troth. Pray for me, 
 mygpod air, that Imay be enabled to obtain more firmneae 
 of mind, a more submtesivo spirit, and mom proparediKSNi* 
 not only for death itself, but for the fororaiHi evils of 
 
LETTERS TO FRIENDS. 121 
 
 <; I shall look forward with pleasure to the hope of 
 seeing you in my little thatched hermitage during the 
 summer, and am, very truly, 
 
 " My dear Sir, 
 
 u Your much obliged and sincere friend, 
 "HANNAH MORE." 
 
 he month of June, in this year, Miss H. More re- 
 turned to Cowslip Green, and during the summer and 
 autumn of the same year the following letters passed be- 
 tween her and her friends." 
 
 From Mias H. More to Mrs. Carter 9 
 
 ' Cowslip Or, 
 
 " My dearest Mrs. Carter, I left London the 9th of 
 June, after dining the last day at my neighbour's, Mrs. 
 Batt's, with your friend and admirer, Mr. Hawkins Browne, 
 Mr. Pepys, and the two Cambridges, where we talked down 
 not only the sun, but the moon also. I journeyed on to 
 ol, near which I met an object which engaged my 
 tenderest affections in a painful manner ; it was the funeral 
 procession, all decked with milk-white plumes, of the now 
 angel daughter of your friend Lady Cremorne. Poor Lord 
 and Lady Cremorne ! I hear they bear this last blow with 
 noble resignation. 
 
 " You will easily imagine my regret to learn, at my 
 ; rn, that I had spent some time at the Castle at Marl- 
 borough, while poor Lady Harriet C - was actually in 
 the house, engaged in the sad duty of attending her dying 
 son. 0, if I had suspected it ! That excellent family has 
 lately had many hard trials: may they be sanctified to 
 
 had the satisfaction to find my little garden very 
 flourishing : very few shrubs dead, the flowers multiplied 
 beyond my hope, and the turf of a little spot (which I am 
 afraid we are magnificent enough to call a lawn) of a verdure 
 uncommonly bright. I am sorry to owe the beauty of my 
 vegetation to such incessant and violent rains as have, I 
 fear, half ruined the poor farmers in my neighbourhood. 
 
iff 
 
 .*Mmii<* oat of the world, that not a i 
 hrfpgimeUiehttloiyofwlurtpMMsinit; and the Priwxm 
 of Orange had been nin awar with, Mim Chotmeley mamcd, 
 Mr. Oambier demand the little Montagu bom, Week* ba- 
 foft> 1 ever heard that ffMJi erenta had takan frliftfi 
 
 I am aw you rejoiced with me oo the removal of 
 our eicetlent friend to the ate of Loodoo, a atation in 
 which h hende will be ao much aUaogthamrt, tad hia 
 
 power of doing good ao widely artwdad. I 
 
 tfeTjitri^ 
 
 him of infinite turfulncee iu tha groat object I hare ao 
 
 Africa, Thia moat important caitao haa vaty nmoh 
 in fe,wfeh the anl ota 
 
 ilohal 
 
 Above one 
 
 My dear fnend, be an* to 
 ihearL It ia a imbject too 
 
 zr t and I ahall hava A great deal to eay to yoo on H 
 To my fatinfa, it ia the moat ,' 
 Imthei 
 
 un delighted with an old book, hoi now to ma. 
 
 of them am too metaphyiocai for me; bataQ ara 
 oae and evw^oboal piety. 
 
 "Yotinsmoati 
 
 WnmHi** H. Man to the Rer. John Newton: 
 
 . 
 
 -MydoarSir.-Iain really errtraneiy obliged to yom 
 
 onrwiyagftxsableead matracOre letter. Whenevar 
 
 I njceieee) toMat or a Tiait, I alwaya Cat! pfeaaod and grata- 
 
 ful in nroportioo to tha yaiuo I aet on tha time of tha 
 
LETTER TO JOHK NEWTON. 123 
 
 visitor or the writer ; and when a friend, who knows how 
 to work np to advantage all the ends and fragments of his 
 . is so good as to bestow a little portion of it on me, 
 my heart owns the obligation ; and I wish it were under- 
 stood as preliminary in all acquaintance, that where no 
 good can be done and no pleasure given, it will be so un- 
 profitable a commerce as to be hardly worth engaging in. 
 
 sure yoar letter gave me pleasure, and I hope it did 
 me good : so you see it is doubly included in the treaty. 
 
 " Excepting one month that I have passed at Bath on 
 account of health, and occasional visits to my sisters at 
 Bristol, in this pn I cottage, which I built myself 
 
 two years ago, I have spent the summer. It is about ten 
 miles from Bristol, on the Exeter road, has a great deal of 
 Ycry picturesque scenery about it, and is the most perfect 
 little hermitage that can be conceived. The care of my 
 garden gives me employment, health, and spirits. I want 
 to know, dear sir, if it is peculiar to myself to form ideal 
 plans of perfect virtue, and to dream of all manner of ima- 
 ginary goodness in untried circumstances, while one ne- 
 glects the immediate duties of one's actual situation ? Do 
 I make myself understood ? I have always fancied, that if 
 I could secure to myself such a quiet retreat as I have now 
 really accomplished, that I should be wonderfully good; 
 that I should have leisure to store my mind with such and 
 each maxims of wisdom ; that I should be safe from such 
 and such temptations ; that, in short, my whole summers 
 would be smooth periods of peace and goodness. Now the 
 misfortune is, I have actually found a great deal of the 
 comfort I, expected, but without any of the concomitant 
 
 'ies. A am certainly happier here than in the agitation 
 
 :n world. put I do not find that I am one bit better : with 
 full leisure to rectify my heart and affections, the disposi- 
 tion unluckily does not come. I have the mortification to 
 find that petty and (as they are called) innocent employ- 
 ment, can detain my heart from heaven as much as tumul- 
 tuous pleasures. If to the pure all things are pure, the 
 reverse must be also true when I can contrive to make so 
 harmless an employment as the cultivation of flowers stand 
 in the room of a vi o great portion of time I give 
 
LIFT or HAVX \n MOO. 
 
 and by the entire dominion H has over my mind. 
 You will tell me, that if the aflecttona be estranged from 
 
 4|^l_ -l-i . ZA jiLiLL-tf-- n-nA mii_nK mi\\ I* , O. 
 
 . - - ^ . . . v . :. 
 
 ofroeesorapack ofoarda efleeta it Ipassmylifei: 
 tending to get the better of this, but lift is passing away. 
 and the reform never begma. It is a very dfrifioul say- 
 ing, though a vwyoldoo^ofoneofthePMtam.that 
 heU is paved with food intentions 
 k how large a at|ttare my \ 
 
 DMtW TOO, M I (Mi 
 
 IdMUgMfyMiMmr 
 
 
 . ', ' 
 
 < . ... '. 
 
 TOOT boaie and the Ad^phi m to wide of Mcb othr 
 
 t AtJM ^MMHhM^aJl MWA^I^ *A MMM . i t 
 
 NVW(7 oomaMDa IDJIMI 10 joar pfmjvrv, MM MB, wm 
 tbe.nxMt oordkl artMB, dear air, yoor 
 
 From the Bcr. John Newton to Him H. Morr :- 
 
 -Mj dear lf*d*m,--U u high time to thank yoa for 
 jourftiToaroftheflrtofNoTnbr. Indeed I hare ben 
 
 n.fm AA A^ t^n 4* Alk^M *-- ,_ J -^^^^^a 
 
 wtfinug ao ror two or iwe wcwa pMs ana pemapa tt u 
 well for j on thai my cngageflietita will not permit me to 
 
 v. r v. i 
 
 - Your beiiaiUfe mj fmagimtifm went to work at 
 that, aixi preaently boflt one I will not eay poettfreiy aa 
 pretty * yourm, but very pietiy. It atood (indeed without 
 ndation) upon a eoothern declirity, fronting a wood 
 land prospect, with an infant river, that ia a brook, running 
 between. Little thought waa apent upon the houac, I 
 I could deaeribe the garden, the eeqaeatered walk%andUie 
 colours with which the noil, the ahrube, and the 
 
 ^eta were painted, I think you would like the epot 
 But I awoke, and behold it waa a dream ! My dear friend 
 William Cowper haa hardly a stronger enthusiasm for 
 rural scenery than myself, and my fsrouritc torn wee 
 
MR. NEWTO^S REPLY. 125 
 
 amply induced during the sixteen years I lived at Olney. 
 The noises which surround me in my present situation, of 
 carriages and carts, and London cries, form a strong con- 
 trast to the sound of falling waters, and the notes of 
 thrushes and nightingales. But London, noisy and dirty 
 as it is, is my post : and if not directly my choice, has a 
 much more powerful recommendation ; it was chosen for 
 mo by the wisdom and goodness of Him, whose I trust I 
 am, and whom it is my desire to serve. And therefore I 
 am well satisfied with it ; and if this busy imagination 
 (always upon the wing) would go to sleep, I would not 
 awaken her to build mo hermitages ; I want none. 
 
 " The prospect of a numerous and attentive congrega- 
 tion, with which I am favoured from the pulpit, exceeds 
 all that the mountains and lakes of Westmoreland can 
 afford; and their singing, when their eyes tell me their 
 voices come from the heart, is more melodious in my ear 
 than the sweetest music of the woods. But were I not a 
 eervant, who has neither right nor reason to wish for 
 himself, yet has the noblest wish he is capable of forming 
 gratified, I say, were it not for my public services, and I were 
 compelled to choose for myself, I would wish to live near 
 your hermitage, that I might sometimes have the pleasure of 
 conversing with you and admiring your flowers and garden ; 
 provided I could likewise, at proper seasons, hear from 
 others that joyful sound, which it is now the business, the 
 happiness, and the honour of my life to proclaim myself. 
 
 t, you are pleased to say, my dear Madam, of the state 
 of your mind, I understand perfectly well ; I praise God 
 on your behalf, and I hope I shall earnestly pray for you. 
 I have stood upon that ground myself. I see what you 
 yet want to set you quite at ease, and though I cannot give 
 it you, I trust that He who has already taught you what to 
 desire, will, in His own best time, do everything for you, 
 
 in you, which is necessary to make you as happy as is 
 compatible with the present state of infirmity and warfare : 
 but He must be waited on, and waited for, to do this ; and 
 for our encouragement it is written as in golden letters 
 over the gate of his mercy, * Ask, and ye shall receive ; 
 knock, and it shall bo opened unto you.' We are apt to 
 
i ~ ' UJK OF 
 
 that when what wo acoountod hindrances are le- 
 i . . 
 
 advantagce, are pot within oar power, still there is a secaet 
 something in which prove* lUcif to be inde- 
 
 I :..:- : f 
 
 :cm. The disorder we complain of is internal, and 
 la allusion to our Lortf a wank upon another oecaajon, 
 
 y say, it ia ooi thai which Mrmmda 
 not anything in on* ootvmrd aitaatioo (provided 
 actually unlawful) tbat can prevent or cvcu retard our 
 
 KX* in religion ; we art dailltd and imped, 
 which u wiUun. So faraaoor boarta an r%bt, all plaooa 
 and circumMaaooa, which h wia and good provident 
 allota ua, aro Doari y equal ; u . ur htndrannaa will prove 
 iMipa i loaaua, gain%^aod ct VHHMI will npm into cutu 
 loitt ; but till we are ao te acpnavd of UM naioro of our 
 diaeaee M to put outwahrea into the beadt of Uw fm**d 
 only Phjaicuii, wr ahall And, like the woman in Luke vfii. 
 43, that etety other effort for miief wiU lewe ua aa it 
 
 -Our first thdbgtit, when we begin to be 
 with ourselves, and ssneibie thai we have been 
 to attempt to reform ; to be sorry for what u < 
 to fffnitKvour to amend. It seems rossofMibls to ask what 
 can we do wore ) but while we think we can do so muca 
 aa this, we do not fully understand the design of tU 
 Gospel This grsoiosji massage from the God who know* 
 our frame apeak* home to our case. It treat* ua aa sinners, 
 ea those who have already broken tho original law of 
 
 <.-.-: .. .; - . 
 
 lawgiver, and betiemctoif and in having uved to 0*1 rselvcs, 
 instead of devoting all oar time, talents, and influence to 
 hisglorj. Aasinnera, the nrstthingt we ncodaro pardon, 
 reconoiliaiwo, and a principle of life and conduct entirely 
 new. Till then we can have no more success or cot 
 from our endeavours than a man who should attempt to 
 walk while his ankle was dislocated: the bone moat bo 
 reduced before he can take a single step with safety, or 
 attempt it without increasing hie pein. For these pur- 
 poses we are directed to Jeans Christ, ss the wounded 
 
MB. XEWTON'B REPLY. 127 
 
 Israelites were to look at the brazen serpent. (John, 
 15.) When we understand what the Scripture 
 teaches of the person, love, and offices of Christ, the 
 necessity and final causes of his humiliation unto death, 
 and feel our own need of such a Saviour ; we then know 
 him to be the light, the sun of the world, and of the soul ; 
 
 source of all spiritual light, life, comfort, and influence ; 
 having access by God to him, and receiving out of his 
 fulness grace for grace. 
 
 " Our perceptions of these things are for a time faint 
 and indistinct, like the peep of dawn ; but the dawning 
 light, though faint, is the sure harbinger of approaching 
 day. (Prov. iv. 18.) The full-grown oak that overtops the 
 wood, spreads its branches wide, and has struck its roots 
 to a proportionable depth and extent into the soil, arises 
 from a little acorn; its daily growth, had it been daily 
 watched from its appearance aboveground, would have 
 been imperceptible, yet it was always upon the increase ; 
 it has known a variety of seasons, it has sustained many a 
 storm, but in time it attained to maturity, and now is 
 likely to stand for ages. The beginnings of spiritual life 
 are small likewise in the true Christian ; he likewise 
 passes through a succession of various dispensations, but 
 he advances, though silently and slowly, yet surely : and 
 vaU stand for ever. 
 
 J "At the same time it must be admitted, that the 
 (Aristian life is a warfare. Much within us and much 
 without us must be resisted. In such a world as this, 
 and with ich a nature as ours, there will be a call for 
 habitual setf-deniaL We must learn to cease from de- 
 pending upon our own supposed wisdom, power, goodness, 
 and from self-complacence and self-seeking, that we may 
 rely upon him whose wisdom and power are infinite. | 
 
 " It is time to relieve you, I shall therefore only aid 
 Mrs. Newton's affectionate respects. Commending you to 
 the care and blessing of the Almighty, 
 
 " I remain, my dear Madam, 
 
 " With great sincerity, 
 u Your affectionate and obliged servant, 
 
 "JOHN NEWTON." 
 
UFE OF HAWAH 1 
 
 : .: - :: r . , ' :.* 
 
 which are incidentally scattered over these letters, that 
 lier the faeoinstiont of wit and talent, nor the uplen- 
 r of rank and affluence, with wb; 
 
 surrounded, had obscured her spiritual di- 
 r rendered her blind to that fetal lerity, that 
 to religion, and On* efewnud to the saored- 
 nest of the Sabbath, whion preraflad in the higher rank* 
 of society. She percehed all thia, indeed, with all the 
 
 toamind 
 
 but 
 
 ahc maohrad, with a rightoou* oouragv, to raia* bar foioa 
 
 if 4|-_ f.tts~mt * __ 
 
 Of uw enoti at 
 
 Jftmm e/lfc Or**, without oonetdsrtng that bera 
 not the iihM<!fniiliMMi oft nclnsB, bnt of cos whc 
 
 , and oourted by the very peopk whose 
 si folttes she was shoot to reprove; and thett, too, 
 I whom she was in the daily habit of meeting, and 
 _m*^m*mi^+*^^#**m> 
 HOT let a be forgotten that this publication wms not the 
 temper, but of a heart and under- 
 the cause of God and of the 
 
 aoul She could not be igiwrant that thia atep might i>n>- 
 bablj exclude her from thoee cirdce in which ahe had 
 
 neea of her fritiH* wae damrer to her iMn fhffir &. 
 
 othor. She new began to dedicate her powerful talent* 
 to the more immediate eenriee of God and the benefit of 
 hia rational crentarea, and made her tot direct ftdfance in 
 walk of a Christian morali*t,-that waft in which ahe 
 after wards proceeded^ with M her mind stsjred upon Him 
 who"holdeth up the gomp of his people in the waj o! 
 
 From Mia* H. More to her sister - 
 
 lor this last woek I hare been writing all day and 
 half the night, either in prose or in Terse, My book is 
 
HER XEW WORKS. 129 
 
 now before the public, with its sounding title, Thoughts on 
 the Importance of the Manners of the Great to General 
 Society. I really was fearful lest many of those with 
 whom I live a good deal might think that my own views 
 and theirs were too much alike. Occasions, indeed, con- 
 tinually occur in which I speak honestly and pointedly; 
 but all one can do in a promiscuous society is not so much 
 to start religious topics as to extract from common subjects 
 some useful and awful truth, and to counteract the mis- 
 chief of a popular sentiment by one drawn from religion; 
 and if I do any little good it is iii this way, and this they 
 will in a degree endure. Fine people arc ready enough to 
 join you in reprobating vice; for they arc not all vicious: 
 but their standard of right is low ; it is not the standard 
 of the Gospel. In this little book I have not gone deep ; 
 
 but a superficial view of the subject ; it is confined to 
 prevailing practical evils. Should this succeed, I hope, by 
 
 blessing of God, another time to attack more strongly 
 I have not owned myself the author; not 
 so much because of that fear of man which ' worketh a 
 tmarc/ as because, if anonymous, it may be ascribed to 
 some better person ; and because I fear I do not live as I 
 write. I hope it may be useful to myself, at least ; as I 
 
 a sort of public pledge of my principles, to which I 
 pray I may be enabled to act up. 
 
 "I am now busily engaged on a poem to be called 
 Slavery. I grieve I did not set about it sooner, as it must 
 now be done in such a hurry as no poem should ever be 
 
 ten in, to be properly correct ; but, good or bad, if it 
 does not come out at the particular moment when the 
 discussion comes on in parliament, it will not be worth a 
 straw. This I shall bring out in an open, honourable 
 manner, with my name staring in the front ; but the other 
 is to be a clandestine birth ; so, be sure, not a word on the 
 
 oct The Bishop of London carried me to make several 
 visits the other morning ; among others, to Mrs. Delany, 
 who seemed quite rejoiced to see me. She is as lively and 
 as agreeable as ever, and her extreme sensibility puts me 
 in mind of a remark Mr. Burke once made to me, ' that she 
 
 K 
 
UFA OP HAWAII! 
 
 waaalmoat the only i 
 
 Whcnlgot rid ofall mj prating am and in 
 mam, I went to Hampton apfe fur % few daya, wUet 
 quite carried off my cofcL !* iwrei book aftene to make 
 vr very much in the great world ; bol the demon of 
 
 we own nothing. At in* H waa currently aaid 
 , Wttberforoe't ; Lord Skin eame I 
 
 to be Mr. WttMffcmli ; Loid B%to * to the Biflb 
 Loodoo'^ and Mnr0d thcto of thfe * oertotn flwi? 
 
 iitoiilii^gofaf from tb Bhbop to U oo Mr W 
 
 be found him rwdinf H, and ddlb K, which put an 
 cod to that <o^^^im Tbtt H ww m coofldeotlj r 
 
 portad to bt tho BiAop HimMlf, IJO 
 ttel tbo M*O? had Mid h. M n 
 
 not A 
 
 dy 
 
 Of .rv.* . . pin ;r . 
 
 It 
 
 1 am *HU frifhtiBH, bet nobody h betnydl a: 
 
 -_^,|_ i_^ AlkA ^^A^^MkAl ^rM.I^k^ t \trnt it tm ^Ba^^^^Ml 
 uiilr nr u>r tnu n u i-. rt) i'^ai ii pHp 
 
 When DM aothor b dkcord, I ahafl tpo0t to fa 
 
 too: MM flTiMfio^ 1 fthaJJ onJj 
 
 oa aaot to wy daHmg rottroiDafit* 1 1 
 9 at Lady Ambanfa ; tho book lay oo UM table ; i 
 of the company took it u,,. taikad tt orcr f and Mr. 
 looked ma throogh: ao that I MW had ouoh dH!k! 
 keep m j oounUnanoa. A day or two before I dined ! the 
 Bbhop of 8*Ulmry' ; I waa obliged to ait to hear him, 
 
 greatest warmth; all commended H, though aome of 
 
 ..... 
 
 t company thought it rather too ntnct, but 1 
 
 ' A* to Awry, I know what degree of aoooaai H haa 
 10 world at large ; among the critka it la in pretty 
 .good odour ; my two favourite Btahopa eommond it, and I 
 
HER u MANNERS OP THE GREAT." 131 
 
 have had very polite and flattering letters from the Bishops 
 of Uandaff, Peterborough, &c. ; and very pleasant ones 
 from the Dean of Canterbury and Dean Tucker, some of 
 which I enclose." 
 
 London, 1788. 
 
 " I was invited to Fulham to hear the Bishop preach 
 for the first time in his own chapel on Sunday, and after- 
 wards to spend the day with him. I went with the Mid- 
 dle tons ; they have a charming place, quite complete al- 
 ready ; fine grounds, and everything about them this world 
 can give, while I trust they are preparing themselves and 
 others for a better. I was quite delighted to see them in 
 a situation which will enlarge his influence and usefulness : 
 we went to chapel twice. I am astonished at the unex- 
 pected and undeserved popularity of The Manners, it is in 
 the houses of all the great. Did I tell you that some time 
 ago Mr. Smelt walked up to me and said, without any pre- 
 face, ' Well, the ladies will give up everything but the Sun- 
 day hair-dresser/ You may be sure I looked very wise. 
 
 " The fifth edition of Manors of the Great has been in 
 the press above a week. I have only read the preface and 
 one chapter of the three new volumes of Gibbon's book. 
 The same gorgeous diction, the same sneers at Christianity, 
 and the same affectation of the French manner, which 
 tainted the first volumes I yet it very fully .supplies a vast 
 chasm of information, and must always be considered as 
 an important work. It has much merit, more mischief. 
 1 have just received a card of invitation from a countess, 
 to a concert next Sunday, with a conditional postscript, 
 uch a thing on a Sunday ;' and I have sent 
 .nswer, that I never do such a thing. After such a 
 public testimony as I have given, one would have thought 
 I should have escaped such an invitation. I was at a large 
 dinner yesterday at Mrs. Montagu's, who sent many com- 
 pliments to you all. The only person who was new to me 
 was Mr. Potter, the learned and elegant translator of 
 j&chylus. He is a very amiable and modest man. He 
 showed me a letter from the Chancellor, appointing him, 
 unasked, to a desirable piece of preferment. He never saw 
 him, but thought his literary merit entitled Mm to be 
 
!.;: unor UANN AH MOIUL 
 
 Ukon notice ot P6orman,heisellgimUtudo,forhe U*. 
 bad many trouble* Were you not pleeeed to eee that 
 has kept hie prank* to his friend WilbeHbrce, and 
 
 . . . ' : : : . '- ...' : 
 
 From 10* H. Mora to the Rev. John Ktwto. 
 
 Js* ta, itw. 
 ot 
 rani 
 
 Melon of the pure delight of i 
 
 y v health, atid Mndly eoetoty, the I 
 ings fOod made the < 
 
 made the town/fays the delightfully 
 you are so near e sentence to which my heart always 
 makee an involuntary warm nepoose. I hare been now 
 
 '" ,.... . ... . . 
 
 epoogeofohUrioo. Bat, ee I here oheenred to joo beta, 
 
 i: ' ^ ' i : '' -'. - - ' '-' .- 
 
 y betit, M my givdeo. 
 
 rifle away more time than I ought, under preteooe 
 (for I tnuxt WTO a creditable motire to unpoee even upon 
 myeetfX thet it ta good lor my health ; In 
 
 : .. -.-.. 
 
 woHd, though I live in the gay peri of H, I do not acteaUr 
 
 ntit^l* IAM* . fl T i 1 1 1 f 1 1 . I * *~ !*.. nntttMii*il 
 
 . - 
 
 to fizmethere.aiidldeartylo^manyiiidbidaab . 
 When I am in the great worfd, I cooeider myeetf ee m an 
 nemy*a oountry, and aa beeet with snare*, and thia puU 
 xnc upon my guard. I know that many people, whom I 
 hear aaya thoiuand brilliant and agraoable thing* diebe- 
 licre, or t at least, disragard thoee truth* on whir 
 my everlasting hopes. Thia eeta me upon a more diligent 
 inquiry into those truths; and upon the arch of Chriet- 
 y, the more I prees, the stronger I find it' Fearsand 
 to excite my oticnmspectioti ; for 
 
 it is certain that my mind has more languor, and my faith 
 leaks energy here, where I have no temptations from with- 
 
LETTER TO MR. XEWTON. 133 
 
 out, and where I live in the full enjoyment and constant 
 
 perusal of the most beautiful objects of inanimate nature 
 
 the lovely wonders of the munificence and bounty of God. 
 Yet, in the midst of his blessings, I should be still more 
 tempted to forget him, were it not for the frequent nervous 
 headaches and low fevers, which I find to be wonderfully 
 wholesome for my moral health. I feel grateful, dear Sir, 
 for your kind anxiety for my best interests. My situation 
 is, as you rightly apprehend, full of danger ; yet less from 
 the pleasures than from the deceitful favour and the in- 
 
 ting applause of the world. The goodness of God will, 
 I humbly trust, preserve mo from taking up with so poor 
 a portion : nay, I hope that what he has given me is to 
 show that all is nothing, short of himself ; yet there are 
 times when I am apt to think it a great deal, and to forget 
 
 who has promised to be my portion for ever. 
 I am delighted, as you rightly conjectured, with the 
 
 i-M* Progress. I forget my dislike to allegory, while 
 I rea i lual vagaries of his fruitful imagination. 
 
 " Yours, dear Sir, 
 
 1 ,st faithfully, 
 
 " IT. MORE." 
 
 At the beginning of the year 1789 we meet with the 
 following letters from Miss More to her sister : 
 
 : Hampton, Jan. 0, 1789. 
 
 a We came to Hampton on Friday. It was so dismally 
 cold, I should not have been sorry to have stayed in town;- 
 it' I could have remained peaceably at home. We went 
 .Vat's day to dinner at Mrs. Montagu's, where we 
 were twelve, all men except myself and Mrs. Boscawen. 
 next day, to my great satisfaction, we came to our 
 solitude. The first amusing business that Cadell put into 
 ands, was to correct the seventh edition of Manners. 
 of being thankful as I ought, I was rather pro- 
 voked at such a disagreeable job. AH the private accounts 
 of the King are still better than the public ones. They say 
 ; iks to Willis of his complaint, and of the best method 
 of treating it. He spoke with great calmness and sound- 
 
1J7X OF RAX* AH MORE. 
 
 na* of mind of the King of Spain's death, and arid, 
 be nob i hyp> crite MI to pretend to be wiry, 
 
 wae A friend to OMI of to thie oottntry .' 
 -A* to Pitt, If I wm A Ptegan,! would rmia* altara 
 and tenple* to him, but I rejoiot with fewnbttng : bo ha* 
 retched the mtmmit of human glory, and k Ml tbai aom- 
 i Tery lOippery point t The daeth of the Speaker *e 
 an awful event at eoch a tuocnont. Both partioa WN> 
 qoafly aocMJDf bfan of rJMJgninf tohnri their omat by 
 ftifoed fflnaM It mninda one of Burk^a rtmark on tne 
 unitliirti woo dittl *^*$ tbe ftMol eleoUon^ ' Wbai 
 flbadowt we arc, and wbat abauowa we punua I* 
 
 . . 
 
 m\ PborDr.AdafW? bow tbott Ibe How aioo* I waa 
 bin tad Mr. Adam*, Dr. 
 
 r . .. 
 
 koowalire. I hare been -pared ; tbey bare been taken ; 
 ie adore tbe kmg*n4tTitig of God, who baa giren me 
 ' .- 
 
 P. l^ndoock, Mm. Vcaey'b dear friend and 
 
 oonranion,iadead. It U melancholy to look at that imae, 
 where I have mm eo many ingeokwa people, tod beard ao 
 much pleasant oooTenation, and made ao many friend- 
 ships and to think that of iu two mittiwaa, wboae boaa 
 wrn? nerer turned toward* mo bat with kindnea*, who 
 nercr reoehred me without affection, or parted from me 
 out regret, one it a eorpat, and the other bereft of her 
 fcniltfca! Wbat a oafl for eerkma rHIretion ! I wan 
 ray bfart more ateted wHb feeling for the eorrowa of 
 , and with gratitude for my own mereiea ! I am jm* 
 oned down to the Montagua, who hare called to weJ- 
 oorairiral Mrs. Qftrrick ia ^ooe to-night to a phTate 
 Bfen concert, known by tbe name of tbe Ladfea* 
 Concert ; a rrry sober amusement, and tbe only one at 
 whi Is the Bishorw appear. Having ipent la*t 
 
 ercning with ftr Lucas Ptepyt, who waa just oome from 
 I bare tbe great aaturfaction of confirming ail tbe 
 
ILLNESS OF GEORGE in. 135 
 
 good intelligence you receive from the paper*. I had also the 
 same fresh from Sir George Baker ; and even Dr. Warren 
 confesses that his royal patient is recovering. I believe he 
 is the first person whoso character was ever raised by the 
 loeB of his reason ; but almost everything that escapes him 
 has either good nature, or humanity, or piety in it. The 
 following specimen has good sense, too. Walking in the 
 garden (which he does to the extent of seven or eight n 
 -day) with D\ 'ho latter descried two or three of 
 
 the workmen, and ordered them to withdraw. f Willis' (said 
 the King), * you do not know your own business, let the men 
 come back again ; you ought to accustom me to see people 
 by degrees, that I may be prepared for seeing them more 
 it large.' Mrs. Bosoawen's house joins Kew Gardens ; see- 
 big the workmen had made a fire to burn rubbish, he said, 
 1 Pray put out that fire directly ; don't you see it sm< 
 Mrs. Boscawen's house ?' 
 
 the midst of all these cares and distractions a friend 
 of mine called on Pitt the other night. He found him 
 alone, gay and cheerful, his mind totally disengaged from 
 tile scenes in which he had passed the day. He was read- 
 ing Milton aloud with great emphasis; and he said his 
 mind was so totally engaged in Paradise, that he had for- 
 gotten there were any people in the world but Adam and 
 Eve. This seems a trifle, but it ia an indication of a great 
 1, so entirely to discharge itself of such a load of care, 
 and to find pleasure in so innocent and sublime an amuse- 
 ment. 
 
 u And so, the geraniums are gone ! Mrs. Barrington, to 
 whom I communicated this calamity, and who is a deep 
 botanist, says, she much questions if they are actually 
 dead ; to be sure it is a grievous loss. A few days since 
 we had a most magnificent dinner at my Lord Amherst's ; 
 I love him, because of his faithful attachment to the king. 
 The Bishop of London has sent mo his pamphlet on the 
 Trarufiguration ; it is very ingenious." 
 
 eb. 25, 1789. 
 
 -hould certainly have written you a line on that 
 Messed Thursday, when the Chancellor made the memorable 
 
I I 
 
 : :.. K ' :.-.,- ' th* 
 
 I was ooi at dinner, aod wo went Ulkioc 
 on what would probably be tb event of thinga, when, lo ! 
 violent rap at the door, and Lord Mount Edgooombo 
 
 : H -*i. ' ". . ' .' '.. K : ,.'."' 
 
 recovered. We wore quite traneportod, and Mr*. Gerriok 
 faHy got up and taacd him brfore the company. 8000 
 aiiived the Duko of Boattlortt ooonnDBig toe 
 
 - Ywterday I waa at dinner at the Btahop of Mat* 
 
 hur/a, who had heenetKewin the morning, and found 
 
 ,' 1 t r- , ., ., It , 
 
 \ : . . . . . . 
 
 ofparty. Mr, Brakine gmvaiy amrmed the other 
 
 ; :" '.. ' ' . . - . i. :, 
 
 ofLoiidondVrlandodMr.nttinortaMy.aiidfb^ 
 
 , 
 
 ofeibaaiing ee he eoiiieHmei ia. I have been to pay the 
 weddrng compliment* to Lord and Lady BaUmrat, ee Lonl 
 Apeiey wae married the day before yeatarday, to a niece of 
 the Duke f lUchmotxTt, very pretty, very aco 
 and very amiahle, Mn. Qarrkk aenda her lorn 1 
 
 -AdayortwoagoIliedaiioUfttHBthe Biahop of 
 Uidon,aaying,Iinuaidine at hia booae on that day, tor 
 
 ponied who it could be, and who should appear but Dr. 
 
 be delightful to me. He u the very imago of aimpl 
 quite a good, plain, old-feahioaed country panca ; ha ie 
 eenajtj thiui. AM we had nobody dee at dinner, exoept 
 the Maater of the Boil*, I waa indulged in aafcng the Doctor 
 all manner of impertinent questions, which I did to the 
 amount of about nine hundred, and which he waa much 
 He never aaw, he aaid,aomuch natural 
 I of mind, united to ao much piety, 
 
RECOVERY OP GEORGE in. 137 
 
 as in the King. During his illness he many times shed 
 tears for Lord North's blindness. The Bishop of London 
 had been to the King that morning : he was in a very de- 
 vout frame of mind, which his enemies will say is the 
 surest sign he is still deranged. He told the Bishop, 
 that, ' at the worst, his trust in God had never forsaken 
 him ; that that confidence alone had been his support.' 
 He added, ' that he wished to return his thanks to Almighty 
 God in the most public manner, and hoped the Bishop 
 would not refuse him a sermon.' He proposed going to 
 St Paul's on the occasion. It was a grand idea, and I think 
 1 11 be one of the most awful scenes since the opening 
 Women's temple; but they dissuade him very much 
 from it : thinking that the concourse and joy of the people 
 would be too much for his feelings. He himself has named 
 one of the Psalms for the thanksgiving day, and the 12th 
 of Isaiah for the lesson." 
 
 "London, Aprill7S9. 
 
 lid fully intend writing a line on Wednesday, to 
 have told you of the glorious and most promising opening 
 of the great cause of the Abolition in the House of 
 Commons, but I could not find one moment's leisure, we 
 had so much meeting, writing, and congratulation. The 
 Bishop of London fully intended to be the first to apprise 
 me of this most interesting intelligence, and, accordingly, 
 got up so early as to write me a note at seven in the 
 morning ; but Lady Middleton forestalled him by writing 
 on Monday at midnight. Pitt and Fox united can do 
 much ; ' the Douglas and the Percy both together, are con- 
 fident against a world in arms.' The moment I finished 
 my last, Lord Amherst came himself to fetch me to dinner, 
 and there was no such thing as making gold stick wait ; so 
 I was obliged to break up my little chat with Mr. Raikes 
 rather suddenly, who had called upon me a few minutes 
 re. In the evening Mrs. Bates sung all her finest 
 ; 49 most exquisitely. It was a very high treat. The 
 constitutional ball for the king's recovery turned out the 
 best and pleasantcst thing of the kind ever known. All 
 waa loyalty and joy ; and for once magnificence did not 
 
uFBorvAm 
 
 fdar obteiftilnuai. Old Wink rapped at a littfe tabto, 
 PHI aod two or thraa others and wan almoat wor- 
 ahtpped. To-morrow wo go out of town lot ft waak. lo 
 the lilac* How aball I qjoy both th* HtaM 
 
 lo not and yoo aa aaauml of Iba pi HMMJMI lo at. 
 PulV aa yoa hat* aaaaj it io tho pafMiu Tbr poor 
 aoldiata waro oo guard from topaa ni loo toofiilflyl^B 
 olinquiab all tha dgbtn 1 ma/ avo Unl 
 
 > ttftd ft pot of porter I Mai tf <!.' .! t<- .. 
 
 Mj bad 4Mb of tiMU rofl 
 
 I awl two aBjHa* 1 waa V9ty 
 
 I *~ 
 
 t . . . -. 
 
 KI - - **- __ *. __ - - ^ i- 
 
 Put FMMr 1OO MOIpWW ! 
 
 wh ich b Mid to bmre procNwdod from far of 
 ing tho Kiog foaling. It WM 
 
 ITtf^v ^Ak^vtl/t ^^Jt A ff 
 
 to go to dutroh, and tho* oMbit ft pi OB Mat on lo put it 
 
 !. . : ..-.!-.... ... . , 
 
 * Tbo KiMj of Franc* baa wrtttao ao wry ttndhr lo t? 
 
 , .. . . -.. 
 
 gilft : an bouoaw Mftm? bafbrv paid lo ftiijfbudy. 
 bogin to think 
 
 dftDoiflar, ftfMJ UlwDiMlnai aod oatinL and dtinktea^ OB 
 ti. . : n, 
 
 kdj in CbmiMi, that wo 'ptafcft God amiaa.' I brgrn ID 
 
 want lr MA.> t hi JLB.T tiainn^iii kb^Mi* anii M jil 1^ --- - - 
 
 ' .101 {> MWJ 
 
 I . ' . . . ' . 
 
 aomatfaoB dhrvting. thoogb aad, lo aaa bow 
 
 party triumphs over probity. 1 wmaom Balaidaj afc*ary 
 
 irat Lord SonenTa, and eoold find out the part/ 
 
 bow tho King looked, and what degrco of attention h gvo 
 to lh acnrioe. I went t^anrivmUoonoortat Lord Eirtcr'*; 
 Mm. Datca miog ; I waa much plaaaad. I moat uot 
 lo M j thai tho mom itfMaed pctvoti at 
 
RECOVERY OP GEORGE m. 139 
 
 Dr. Willis, whose rosy -face looked so happy ! Mr. Wilber- 
 force and the whole junto of Abolitionists are still locked 
 up at Tcston ; they are up slaving till two o'clock every 
 morning, and I think Mrs. Bouverie told me they had 
 walked out but once in the three weeks they had been 
 there. While I was at Sir C. Middleton's the other night, 
 ime a copy of the Evidence before the Privy Council, 
 just printed : it was the thickest folio I ever saw ! Well 
 might the Commons desire a week's suspension of the 
 business to read it ! I have invited myself to Mrs. Mon- 
 tagu's May-day saturnalia* next year, unless I should be 
 engaged by that time to dine with a party of free negroes. 
 I have a little book sent me from Paris : a very eloquent 
 and ingenious llogt on Rousseau, by M. Neckar's daughter, 
 Madame de 8tal. I was much acquainted with the 
 Neckars when they were in England, but their daughter 
 was not then come out." 
 
 " London, March 17, 1789. 
 
 u The Queen and Princesses came to see the illumiua- 
 nation, and did not get back to Eew till after one o'clock. 
 When the coach stopped the Queen took notice of a fine 
 gentleman, who came to the coach-door without a hat. 
 This was the King, who came to hand her out. She 
 scolded him for being up, and out so late ; but he gal- 
 lantly replied, ' He could not possibly go to bed and sleep 
 till lie knew she was safe.' There never was so joyous, so 
 innocent, and orderly a mob. I was very sorry I could not 
 go, as I was invited, to Lady Cremorne's, to see her way of 
 celebrating the festivity. She had two hundred Sunday- 
 school children, thirty-six of whom she clothed for the 
 occasion : they walked in procession to the church ; after 
 service they walked back to her house, where, after singing 
 a psalm of praise, and ' God save the King,' they had a fine 
 dinner of roast-beef and plum-pudding. Then the whole 
 two hundred marched off with baskets under their arms, 
 full of good things for their parents. I spent an evening, 
 lately with this charming lady." 
 
 Mrs. Montagu always gave an annual dinner of roaafc-beef and plum- 
 padding to the chimney-aweepcrs on May-day, in tho court before her 
 houae, Portman Square. 
 
140 20TBAVVAB 
 
 On Su mUy we break&eted at half -pa.! BCTCO , cod 
 went to Loodoo to hour the Bebop at 8t FmulX where ho 
 
 jr.. i .- i . ;-. . : v . .:.. :.-. In : / : .-. 
 
 pace hi* dear rote mmdod M loud and diMiiici M to hit 
 own pretty little chapel, whm he apuo fmtemed the 
 iiervioc io tho alteroooo ; so jou eee he does Dot think hie 
 dignity girw him a pririkgu to U idle. I left tbe 
 tad amiable eocietjr at thepaboewHh regret 
 
 deeired a groat man y nocnplimente to jou, and U deter- 
 mined to come to Oowilip Green. Tbc Bhop of SalirfxiTy 
 andMn.BemogtoowerewithiieaUUHand I had hard 
 work to fight off their kind inritatkm to UoogeweU ; the 
 pment plan ie for me to 
 
 W*d**tday 999*img. l Hfftt jHk le<lef from Mn. 
 Boaoawen'% at BoaedaH ettttng in the very eatt where 
 Thomeoo wrote the 
 
 he month of June, liannah Hore wae again eettted 
 
 for 
 
HER RETIREMENT. 
 
 VI. 
 
 COMMKKCEKENT OP THE CHEDDAR SCHOOLS THE CHEAP 
 REPOSITORY TRACTS ?HE BLAGDON CONTROVERSY. 
 
 A.D. 1780-1802. 
 
 I AT the close of the year 1789, to which our narrative has 
 now brought us, an interesting event occurred, which pre- 
 pared the way for Hannah More to execute the intention 
 she had long formed, of gradually withdrawing herself from 
 general society, and indulging in a closer intimacy with 
 those whose religious sentiments were congenial with her 
 own. /Her four sisters had enabled themselves, by their 
 prudence and assiduity, to retire from their task of educa- 
 tion with great credit, and in affluent circumstances. 
 
 Previously to their taking this step, the eldest Miss 
 More and her three sisters had built for themselves a 
 house in Great Pulteney Street, Bath, and between this 
 residence of their own, and the retreat at Cowslip Green, 
 they were in future to divide their time. For some years 
 Hannah More had been cherishing the hope of devoting 
 herself, in her little retirement, to meditative and literary 
 leisure, and to planting and improving the scene around 
 ; but there was no rest for her but in the conscious- 
 ness of being useful. She carried into all places and scenes 
 a mind teeming with a tender concern for human happi- 
 ness, which would not allow her to look upon life and its 
 great and lasting interests, without earnest wishes to be 
 used a<* an instrument in the work of grace upon the soul, 
 and the extension of the Saviour's kingdom. Having seen 
 much of time misspent, and opportunities abused, among 
 the gay and the great, she had taken up her parable and 
 
I4t LTFBOV **!! 
 
 proclaimed the truth, through good and evil report in high 
 where the tempter trusted to have reckoned her 
 
 j his votaries ; and finding in rural life ami t ' pea- 
 sant's cottage the same crimes, in other forms, disfiguring 
 the moral scene, and intercepting the prosperity of the 
 rising generation, she could not, though feeble in f rain*, 
 hold herself tern taking an active part in the instruc- 
 tion of the poor population ssound her ; and inertrygood 
 work she undertook to promote, her talents and seal soon 
 mads her ths leader and 
 
 year, she passed with her sister Martha i 
 than was usual with her at Oowalip Green, whence they 
 
 ! ; ' I ' 
 
 miles round, particularly to Cheddar, 
 miles, so famous fur its rsmi 
 of these tit tit nmUoa, ^Tfo*g the poor in fttir 
 deplorable fenorano. and 
 
 i :-.-., 
 sssnsryl In U owns 
 
 . . 
 
 hood "T"*r***~ l in dtphtaMt 
 
 they resolved to supply their afiiffeual wants. For ttts 
 
 fa*poml^^*boulrtmU*to^**^l^ t *m*l 
 
 twltouMtrvetoQlltot&rtCkrtt^mk&bilto 
 
 appeared thai, faun the prejudice 
 poor, whioh at thai tame prevailed in 
 Bssjbbourhood in which this 
 jgnnramm and barbarity was begun was by DO 
 exempt Macyortbeopu]ointnnpttrisi*aallyor|ioiid 
 the innovation ; oae of them observing, thai the sou 
 into which the ladiet were uitruducuig this dieturiiace 
 had never pru^n*inceriigioo bad bstn brought is* 
 
 . the monks of Qlsstonbnry. To 6d proper msstess 
 and miatresses lor their purpos* appsarod to be their 
 greatest difficulty ; but by their patieoi and iipsjsaned 
 
 Lions in quaUfyiiig peisofis lor the oflca^hey at isttgUb 
 mted thia and every othi 
 
 c of tbc Icttcm of Miss IL Mow at this period, 
 which are very in u resting, and preaeai a pisasiryj picture 
 
 ipient p^y^f for inatructiiig 
 poor, are hare offered to the reader. 
 
 From Miss H. More to Mr. W0i*rforoe s 
 
THE CHEDDAR SCHOOIB.^ 143 
 
 " George Hotel, Cheddar, 1789. 
 
 " Dear Sir, Though this is but a romantic place, as my 
 friend Matthew well observed, yet you would laugh to see 
 the bustle I am in. I was told we should meet with great 
 opposition if I did not try to propitiate the chief despot of 
 the village, who is very rich and very brutal ; so I ventured 
 into the den of this monster, in a country as savage as 
 himself, near Bridgewater./He begged I would not think 
 of bringing any religion into the country ; it was the worst 
 thing in the world for the poor, for it made them lazy and 
 Mian. ID vain did I represent to him that they would 
 be more industrious as they were better principled ; and 
 thai, for my own part, I had no selfish views in what I was 
 doing. He gave me to understand that he knew the world 
 too well to believe either the one or the other. / Somewhat 
 dismayed to find that my success bore no proportion to my 
 submissions, I was almost discouraged from more visits ; but 
 md that friends must be secured at all events, for that 
 esc rich savages set their faces against us, and influenced 
 the poor people, it was clear that nothing but hostilities 
 would ensue ; so I made eleven more of these agreeable 
 visits, and as I improved in the art of canvassing, had 
 better success. Miss Wilberforce would have been shocked 
 had ahe seen the petty tyrants whose insolence I stroked 
 and tamed, the ugly children I fondled, the pointers and 
 spaniels I caressed, the cider I commended, and the wine I 
 swallowed. After these irresistible flatteries, I inquired of 
 Uph if he could recommend to me a house ; and said that 
 I had a little plan, which I hoped would secure their 
 orchards from being robbed, their rabbits from being shot, 
 their poultry from being stolen, and which might lower the 
 poor-rates. If effect be the best proof of eloquence, then 
 mine was a good speech, for I gained at length the hearty 
 concurrence of the whole people, and their promise to dis- 
 courage or favour the poor in proportion as the^ were 
 attentive or negligent in sending their children. [\ Patty, 
 who is with me, says she has good hope that the hearts of 
 some of these rich poor wretches may be touched ; they 
 arc at present as ignorant as the beasts that perish, in- 
 toxicated every day before dinner, and plunged in such 
 
LtrV Or UAVXAB MOUL 
 
 ricca aft make me begin to think London a rirtuoua ptaftfr 
 By their aaoatance 1 proeumi immediately a good houer/ 
 
 ^ftk&Alh ^W^M A 4t>liiBl im 4k^M ^l^M^MB AVlt A ^MM4%d^H 
 
 v. . . . ....- .:..-.. . . . 
 
 added, wul receive a great ntunber of children. The houa* 
 
 hare Uken at onoo Cor ail guineas and a half par year. 
 I ha?t ventured to take it for oovwo year. : that* 
 
 fcryou' It U to U put 10 older immediately; 'for 
 night oomi^ :' and it a csomfort to think that, tho 
 nay bo dtiat and aanea to a lew weeka, yet by that tnao 
 
 ID be to actual TffT^nff* 1 have written to 
 
 iMtariag town* for i 
 
 nothing hiUxrto. A to tb mMtiMi for UM SoiKby. 
 acbooif and tho rehgkNia parti I have employcu Mna> 
 
 hop* Mte W. iU DO! t MfhtaMd. M K* rfMd *b. 
 
 ** I aakod thf fiumenk if they had BO raaidont fwrttfl ; 
 they told mo thoy had a right to inaiat o one ; which 
 
 rr,*ht, ihcv <>^:.f v --1. lh< % . . i i. \t r \itit irri t- nrrcw, 
 
 for tar their Uthee ahoold be raiaod ! I bnahod form 
 
 The Cttabo Hooaa ia food for my purpoae. Tho 
 of Cheddar b IB the gift of the Dean of Wetti ; 
 \YMt Taint nearly fifty i*iffifMlt par MMM ^ Hie inoumben t 
 
 ia a Mr. II v who baa something to do, but I cannot 
 
 here find out what, to tho Unhrafaftj of Oxford, where he 
 
 *n*y have only aoi , f 
 
 aAh^aBoaorapoorpanaBb^TiaiatAorin^vitk 
 
 ThchringofAibna^bcloivtotheprtjbcDdarrofWirel- 
 iaminbe, in the Qohedral of Welk. The annual Taloe U 
 about fifty pounda. Tho ioffimheni about aiity yean of 
 age. Ibe prebend to which thk rectory beionpi ie to the 
 
 gift of the BUbop of Bath and Well*. Mr.G ia int 
 
 cated about mx timea a-week, and very frequently k pro- 
 vented from preaching by two bUck cyea, honeatly earned 
 by fighting. Mr. ia a middle-aged man : of hie cha- 
 racter they tarn tithing. Tho curate a aober young man. 
 
 - _ - f ; 
 
 " '" '' * ,'' 
 
THE CHEDDAR SCHOOLS. 145 
 
 From Miss H. More to Mrs. Kennicott : 
 
 " Cowslip Green, 1789. 
 
 " My dear Friend, It happens very unluckily, that. 
 both of us should so partake of the nature of ghosts, that! 
 
 ; ;er of us cares to speak till we are spoken to ; and that' 
 though we are of a sex famous for loving to have the last 
 word, it should be so difficult to make us pronounce the 
 first 
 
 " I have read Paley's new book, and think the Evidence 
 ho adduces so strong, that it would carry him through a 
 court of judicature. It is very pleasant to see the truth 
 ;ristianity receive an accession of strength from such 
 collateral circumstances. You talk as if I lived in the 
 world, and knew what passed in it. You should have 
 told me what it was about I did not know Mr. Burgess 
 had published a sermon ; but I will inquire for it, for he 
 is one of the young clergy of whom I think particularly 
 well. Some of his compositions are at present my chief 
 study ; not, however, those which procure admiration, or 
 gain fame ; for the Salisbury Spcttiny-Book and the Pa- 
 rochial Exercise* are those which at present attract my 
 attention. I have been ferreting about these two months 
 among the neglected villages of this hardly Christian 
 country, to find out those places which are particularly 
 destitute of religious advantages ; and have fixed on the 
 central parish of six large ones, which have not so much 
 as a resident curate, for the principal scene of my opera- 
 tions. I have hired an old vicarage-house, which has had 
 no inhabitant these hundred years, and in this I propose 
 to place some pious and knowing people to instruct the 
 poor, who arc more vicious and ignorant than I could have 
 conceived possible in a country which calls itself Christian. 
 The vicar, who lives a long way off, is repairing the house 
 for me ; and as he is but ninety- four years old, he insists 
 on my taking a lease, and is as rigorous about the rent 
 as if I were taking it for an assembly-room. It will take 
 some time to put this in order ; but next Sunday we are 
 to oj>en a smaller school, a sort of detachment from these 
 bead-quarters ; aud as all these villages are from six to ten 
 
 L 
 
M'. LOTB or smut MOOL 
 
 mile* diktuit from me, you wfll be Here I am DC t a ttttle 
 engaged. I mm not apt to be very aanguino in toy expeat- 
 ation*, but I comfort myself by remembering that wo 
 have nothing to do with erroU; and, ir.cieed, the un- 
 ooounon prosperity we hare at Cheddar ought to eooourtfe 
 ua. 1 Wo hare a groal number there who could only toll 
 their leUem when we began, and omn already nod the 
 Testament* mini pot only *iy th^ Catechi&tn* but give per* 
 tinent anewera to any queaUona which involve the teat 
 priodpUof Chriatunity ; bni then the ability and piety 
 of the taachm we have there awrpnaa what we can export 
 tonndag^o. I ahooid not enkfgo on thaea Utale oiromm- 
 aianeei ao much la anybody alee ; but I know yon life* 
 theee Ooody-tw^hoe detaik :f>eeide% if there wave any 
 ta bete the Fbpieh word) m theee little icheeir 
 ^r I have htUo money, and if I had 
 
 I ahooid too probably epcftd st ae thoee who haw a great 
 iydo. 1 luw ray^U too well to blame othciej 
 
 Foot Patty hoe had a wretched em 
 eooateni pain ; aha deairea to he kimily 
 yon, ae do the whole afetetiioofl ; they aw all in the little 
 
 cottage, and we cultivate foeea and 
 em 4r*o. The Bath hooaa in praniaod to be it*dy by 
 jBiicnaelmaa i you are aoeotved from eocrooy on ttiat neacl* 
 But whenever I leaw my hwTmta^i it will be with wgret 
 lamniadeforthiaquM^d^M^aiKlhavealinootloeta^ 
 
 We have often agreed that 
 
 tb mmd tW worid^i a * 
 
 Midi am now convinced of the troth of this, by the diffi. 
 culUce atUnding the half-doeen periehee wo have under- 
 taken. \It > grievooa to reflect^ thai while wo ore eendinf 
 mioaionarics to our distant colonies our own vtllogoi are 
 periahing for lack of instnictioQ\ We have in thie neigh- 
 bourhood tl.irtcin u.l .:,:i. .; ;-.r-} ON without ft<> ri.u-h an 
 even a naUknt curate. I am deeply confinced how very 
 
 : . , ; ..... ^,.;,- .'.... ..:. ...... >,: i . - 
 
THE CHEDDAR SCHOOLS. 147 
 
 comfortable till something was attempted. We have 
 therefore, established schools and various little institu- 
 tions over a tract of country of ten or twelve miles, and 
 o nearly five hundred children in training. As the land 
 most pagan, wo bring down persons of great reputation 
 for piety from other places, and the improvements are 
 great for the time. But how we shall be able* to keep up 
 these things amidst so much opposition, vice, poverty, and 
 ignorance, as we have to deal with, I cannot guess. I 
 should not enter into these details, but I know you expect 
 an account of what I have been doing. 
 
 link Dr. Blair's third volume a very poor thing, 
 much inferior to the others in point of composition ; and 
 90 far are they from evangelical, that I think some of the 
 sermons even go on a false principle : but do not betray 
 me, for I know his popularity, and one must have lived 
 very little indeed in the world not to know the cause of it, 
 too. But when one grows pert it is time to conclude. 
 Fatty sends her love. 
 
 " Yours affectionately, 
 
 " H. MORE." 
 
 Wo next find her on her usual visit to Mrs. Garrick, in 
 the year 1790. She writes to her sister as follows : 
 
 "Hampton, 1790. 
 
 * Mr. Walpole has given me two guineas for our poor 
 man who was cut down after he had nearly hanged him- 
 self. I have written to Mr. Hare to continue his allowance, 
 and still to endeavour to impress his mind with a sense 
 of religion, and repentance for his crime. I have got an 
 extract of Mr. Eraser's evidence before the Committee of 
 the House of Commons le void. ' I was on shore with 
 my linguist for the benefit of my health. He conducted 
 me to a spot where some of the countrymen were met to 
 put a sucking-child to death. I asked them why they 
 murdered it 1 They answered, because it was of no value. 
 I told them, that in that case I hoped they would make 
 me a present of it ; they answered, that if I had any use 
 for the child, then it was worth money. I first offered 
 
them some knh^ but that would not do ; thcj, however, 
 oklUiechild tomcforamugofbrmndj. Itprovedtobe 
 the chfld of a woman whom the captain of our *hip had 
 morning We carried it oo board; 
 
 thai very 
 
 and judge of the mother's ioy'wnen she saw her own chad 
 put on board the same ship ; her child, whom she con- 
 cluded was muniemL ShefoQon her knees and based 
 uyfoet' In what light does this anecdote jUsce Uiis do- 
 UUU- tnnic ' 
 
 - I think very often with concern of poor Vcanley-a 
 wonders, if yon can oootifve to tod on* if she would take 
 
 1A . 1 iWjfc winr^ ... ' . 
 
 it . DOT i suppose ine poor creainre WOUJQ ne email to 
 take anything of my rsonmrnending Brrbaps > 
 
 , i . ' .---. , : :.! 
 
 U-h^y .,:.-:..-. I -...:.'.: >** Abel - lam 
 
 of pod B*ep &: 
 
 i left a wifo and aeven or eight diildren. This in the 
 
 died wiSTtL year* 
 
 * We came to town on Thursday night I kept dose 
 on Friday, to try to qualify myself for a town life. On 
 Saturdsy I dined st Mrm. MooUguV w,ih fourteen people, 
 and went in the evening to meet Lord and Lady Dart- 
 mouth. Porhaps you may think this was enough for one 
 
 :>ut I was obliged after this to call in at London Houee, 
 
 *- -- f fn-.-,! _ . ^f __ -mJl f |f, ,| I I, -.I : . 
 
 wnere i H "^i* i ^ many 01 my gooa meno% wno rcosrvea me 
 
 -, ! *. t-J.fcJ--^ * -V t> i -f -t^ 
 
 wiin great kuxinesa, wnicn, nsa i neen ncn, or great, or 
 
 ^__ _^ . , , i ^ t f \ \ . . 
 
 Vs . , . . ' ... : . . ' . . ;.'... 
 
 1 ! . i : 
 
 As to improving upon the Cjbddar scheme, I have 
 thought it over soberly and cooD^H Surely no harm can 
 arise from giving leave to such parents aa desire to hear 
 their children instructed, to come in the evening and be 
 instructed themselves, We will si first limit the number : 
 aa to the time, an hour will be quite sufficient ; more 
 would break in upon the children's time, and take par 
 
 too long from their own families. Thcj art so ignonuit thatil 
 they need to be taught the very elements of Christieid.y 
 
HER " ESTIMATE OF RELIGION." 149 
 
 Speak to Mr. Foster, the clergyman, on the subject ; he is 
 disposed to be obliging and kind : he must see that it will 
 enable them to understand his sermons better at church, 
 and will bring more people there. On Monday Mrs. Bos- 
 cawen fetched me to dine with her, and was so kind as to 
 put off' going to a concert, where she was engaged, that I 
 might sit the evening with her ; which I did in my bonnet, 
 anug. Lady Mount Edgecombe made me a long call, and 
 detailed all the particulars of the royal visit." 
 
 " London, April 25,1790. 
 
 >u will see, by the inclosed notes, that the Red Cross 
 Knight (a name Mrs. Montagu gives to Mr. Wilberforce, 
 after Spencer's Knight of Holiness,) and I have spent a 
 comfortable day together at the Middleton's. Yesterday I 
 dined with the Montagus, and passed the evening in Port- 
 man Square. She has fitted up her great room in a superb 
 style, with pillars of verde antique, &c., and has added an 
 acre to what was before a very large town garden. Still 
 the same inexhaustible spirits the same taste for business 
 and magnificence ; three or four great dinners in a week, 
 with Luxembourgs, Montmorencies, and Czartorislds. I 
 had rather, for my own part, live in our cottage at Cheddar. 
 She is made for the great world, and is an ornament to it ; 
 it is an element she was born to breathe in. We have 
 spent our Easter at Hampton in delightful quiet, suited to 
 the solemn season. Breathing a pure air for a few days 
 has somewhat set me up. Though I think my last winter 
 has not been so bad on the whole as the two preceding 
 ones ; yet I have had such a succession of coughs that I 
 yielded to the importunity of Mrs. Boscawen, and sent for 
 Dr. Pitcaini. I told him I did not send for him to cure 
 a cold, but to have a conversation with him about my 
 general health ; that he must do as they do in France j 
 that is, discard palliatives and give me a new constitution." 
 
 \This year Hannah More published a volume entitled 
 An Estimate of the Religion of the Fashionable World. It 
 was bought up and read with the same aridity as its 
 predecessor, the Thoughts on the Manners of the Great. 
 

 In this essay *he animadTefted in a bolder strain osj 
 
 decay of domestic piety, and especially oa the abaaoosof 
 niigion from tha education of tha higher elsassa. 
 
 Traog the wart of moral trtrmiat to its tniesoujue 
 
 ^ ! ilimt m I m iltlJM^i ^ JJL 4jtij.l Mhli<*i*Wfc W* I^MM*MWA 
 . : . 
 
 bar reafieim, as to make many a Mil tmnble, ami to 
 
 asae m aeJMghtaoiia oomplaotncy. Ilia Spictatf* had tha 
 *idraas bryood aU the work* that went before it, to gain 
 an aodienos for rr Ugion in tha aocMaaa of the vain, tha 
 
 full outer, without glring to tntth 
 T drcaa or lUsguiat to conceal its awful noaliiisa* 
 i was tha salitary eass in tha whole hlrltrrj of maa 
 his anomalies, in wiiich aevere and sohav truth was 
 > its way through all tha oUtaoks of habit, 
 
 anil in'iud*- +\\\ "it *ft or *r ii ; or u 
 
 i her f4iag and her natiblas 
 i:/jt MM| tnumph.d. liar 
 had oo other airy than toe as* 
 and by her hoiistt aod riforoua aObrts the 
 world, and a krgs part of the idle worid, 
 
 the troth. Tha manner io which OM half of the 
 flondaj WM ^ant eroi by mmj who uadc a oonafliancn 
 of going to church on tha othar, waa aa aril whioh aha 
 aaw increasing, and whioh, bom the eitmpto of tha great, 
 had more and more infected the lower ctutm. 
 
 As a proof of ibis deterioration, the often mentioned 
 what ab had board from aome of her older (run*!*, that 
 when Buarr, the French minuter at oar Court, wa* ordered 
 to leave London instantly, he wma forced to delay his de- 
 parture tines aa* no waggon would stir on a Sunday* 
 
1-IMATE OP RELIGION." 151 
 
 \vork she insisted more strongly on scrip-'' 
 ives, as the only foundation of a Christian life. 
 bad often mourned over that spirit of worldliness, \ 
 '.i some of her amiable and benevolent associates did 
 jwrceive to be incompatible with real religion. She 
 saw and loved much that was good in them ; yet, per- 
 ceiving the tone of their piety to be lamentably low, her 
 conscience would not allow her to rest till she had so far 
 overcome the natural gentleness of her temper, and her 
 unwillingness to give pain, as thus to bear her public 
 testimony to the claims of Christian consistency. Not 
 that she appears to have been sanguine in her hopes, but 
 she acquitted herself of what appeared to her to be a duty, 
 and left the event to God. We find that within two 
 years from its publication the Estimate had reached a fifth 
 edition. 
 
 The reader will find interspersed among the following 
 letters many interesting and lively remarks on this pub- 
 lication principally, and on other subjects : 
 
 From the Bishop of London to Miss H. More : 
 
 " St. James's Square, 1790. 
 
 * Aut Eratmus^aut Diabolus, was, you know, the laconic 
 and expressive speech of Sir Thomas More, to a certain 
 granger who had astonished him with a torrent of wit, 
 eloquence, and learning. Aut Moros, aut Angelus, ex- 
 claimed the Bishop of London, before he had read six 
 pages of a certain delicate little book that was sent to 
 him a few days ago. Such precisely was the note I was 
 sitting down to write to you, at the very moment I re- 
 ceived your full and true confession of that mortal sin, of 
 presuming once more to disturb the sweet repose and 
 tranquillity of the fashionable world. 
 
 " Indeed, my dear friend (if you will allow me to dl 
 .so), it is in vain to think of concealing yourself. Your 
 style and manner are so marked, and so confessedly supe- 
 rior to those of any other moral writer of the present age, 
 you will be immediately detected by every one that 
 nds to any taste in judging of composition, or any 
 
Hi ::: . HANNAH 
 
 _4 %_ ~.4-:,,u /A. .51 > *yt- t~- I** 
 
 t . :.. . . .... 
 
 fwitr t/i rrfMifM^I litH^Mtlf fvvMn MA nniwiMV. j*"i K K^^ul 
 
 " '. : .. :,' - , 
 
 behind bios it perfectly ootrmosd the* ttobody 
 him. Tbcw n but few i 
 
 Onml BriUio. that conkl writ* w0b a book ; thmi cook) 
 
 It will, if I mistake not, soon nod its vsy into every line 
 lady's library; aDdifitdoesnoitaditewsytetohcr 
 heart, the feult wiO be her own. 
 
 * Mrs. IVnieus desires to be very 
 
 nmivwl from Ute IWfa^it for I iwd it to her IM* 
 
 as if we had been at the 
 
 our very sioccre and obnjpd, 
 
 the Ber.J. Newton toMiH.Moit - 
 
 My dear Uadsm, Many good Mifry I do receive in 
 
 other good titfa^fF". An Aftatfllf of cAe j?eflffiVn ti tki 
 /"oftlumaoit WoHd, wtth the words ' From the authoV; on 
 the blank page. Somebody Jemvei my thsnks for tho 
 pleasure the perutal gave nie, and I concetre that nobody 
 hAs better title to them than yourwlt I venture to Uko it 
 for gmnted. I had rather be chargeabls with a mistskc 
 than susjjwrted of injrratitnde ; but I think I am not mis- 
 taken, and therefore I thank yon for it again sod again. 
 
 The fashionable world, by their numbers, form a pba- 
 laninot easily imprrahiblc ; and their habits of life are a* 
 armour of proof; which renders them not easily vulnc rable. 
 Neither the rude dub of a boisterous reformer, nor tho 
 pointed, osttoste weapons of the suthor or authoress bcJtaS 
 
LETTER FROM MR. NEWTON. 153 
 
 me, can probably overthrow and rout them. But I do hope 
 that an individual here and there may be wounded, and 
 made to wince, and apply for healing to the leaves of the 
 tree of life. A few instances, yea, a single instance, of this 
 kind, would be honestly worth the writing of one book or 
 the printing of a thousand ; for to save one soul from 
 death, is an event of greater real importance than to save 
 a whole kingdom from temporal ruin. Besides, in such an 
 age as this, it is an honour and privilege to be able and 
 willing to bear a testimony against evil, and in favour of 
 the truth, though it should go no further. We are not 
 answerable for the success ; but we are bound to the at- 
 tempt, according to the talents and opportunities afforded. 
 I trust the unknown, though not unguessed at, writer of 
 the Estimate, will hear in that day, ' Forasmuch as it was 
 in thine heart, thou didst well that it was in thine heart.' 
 They who dare to confess the Lord, and to appear openly 
 on his side, in the midst of this sinful and perverse gene- 
 ration, shall find, to their comfort, that he will confess them, 
 and appear on their behalf, before the holy angels and the 
 assembled world. It will be seen there, who acted the 
 wisest part here. 
 
 " I once received a fairy present ' from the author,' 
 on the Manners of the Great, which likewise cost me nearly 
 a minute's brown study to determine who sent it. I hit 
 the right nail on the head at that time, and I am but a 
 poor critic if they did not both come from the same hand ; 
 
 while the similarity seems strongly marked, there is 
 that difference which might be expected from the differ- 
 ence of time: the former was like the morning spread 
 Upon the mountains, which I accepted as the harbinger of 
 advancing day. Meliora latent. I shall now long to see a 
 third publication. In short, madam, if among the present 
 members of the fashionable world, any can be found un- 
 prejudiced, and free from deep prepossessions, or so far as 
 they arc so, I expect and hope that the Estimate, i it 
 comes in their way, will prove to them, ' as a light shining 
 in a dark place,' for which they will have reason to praise 
 God, and to thank the writer. My prayers will be for a 
 blessing on it, and that in your endeavours to water others, 
 
154 unc 
 
 i may be abundantly watm* 
 
 With ay iwptoteMidbMkwithaft to year orient if 
 700 if* with thorn, and Mi GbUett a to youneif, 
 
 1 
 * TIIIII ilholiiiMei nil iilJifiil MUMIJ 
 
 of the yea* 1791 the Matt 
 
 
 U*y bad to 
 
 journal k|** 
 tbe top ofMrodip 
 
 then to 
 nd tbwo boU iMtracfewMi ww wanted by their I 
 
 I .. *kj>* _ > ' lf l nm .!.*_ ^ ^^ * I _._, fn 
 
 " ' ' - ...... : 
 
 wmnot.howvrar.to Udotrnwl bv any oooadmtka of 
 
 >.Mr 
 
 ing UMB, by nnttd fnprvtaMot which mi 
 atomd Urn. and ptftteMf by an 
 
 at obnich. they did not ml till they had 
 
 one benrfita for no lev than ten parbhtt to a i 
 
 hood whore thero were oo rdaoi ckrgy<- Thir tat 
 
 4^* l_mt. rui* *- , . _ 4-^ ^fcl.A^I t^f^m 
 
 nap upon c numng oaco pinM warn u> ootatn nron UM 
 tncnmbint of the taring bit aoqoiamooe in their later, 
 ferenoc, which wan gmrally gn&Ud with alacrity; and 
 in a abort ame the number of children under their in- 
 struction exceeded twelve hundred. 
 
 The distance to many of theaoboob watfMai; ooeo/ 
 
 them waa tiftaon miloi from their ratidaoc^ao tbat they 
 
 ?ad to deep in the neighbourhood during the 
 
 of their isitation. it car.noi be mippoaed that 
 
 their owo funda were adeqoiUs to aueh ^ety tnltfyad un- 
 
LETTER TO MR. WILBERFORCB. 155 
 
 ^ cr; -'io to their friends to observe, that 
 
 they obtained a ready assistance from such of them as were 
 
 instances to afford it. Their evening readings, 
 
 uh consisted of a printed prayer, a plain sermon (read 
 always by one of the sisters when her health permitted) 
 and a psalm, were found to be productive of effects the 
 most strikingly beneficial It seems that an adversary had 
 
 ; 'avourcd to give to the worthy rector of one of the most 
 
 ilous of these villages an unfavourable impression of 
 
 part of their plan : but this gentleman, at his annual 
 
 visit to the parish, having visited the school, talked with 
 
 the mistress, and examined the children, found reason to 
 
 commend and applaud the manner in which these readings 
 
 were conducted, and to approve the books selected for the 
 
 purpose. 
 
 Prom Miss H. More to Mr. Wilberforce : 
 
 " 1791. 
 
 " My dear Sir, Perhaps it is the best answer to your 
 question, to describe the origin and progress of one of our 
 schools as detached from the rest. And I select Cheddar, 
 which you were the immediate cause of our taking up. 
 After the discoveries made of the deplorable state of that 
 place, my sister and I went and took a lodging at a little 
 public-house there, to see what we could do, for we were 
 utterly at a loss how to begin. We found more than two 
 thousand people in the parish, almost all very poor; no 
 gentry, a dozen wealthy farmers, hard, brutal, and ignorant. 
 "We visited them all, picking up at one house (like fortune- 
 :.io and character of the next. We told them 
 we intended to set up a school for their poor. They did 
 not like it. We assured them we did not desire a shilling 
 from them, but wished for their concurrence, as we knew 
 they could influence their workmen. One of the farmers 
 seemed pleased and civil ; he was rich but covetous, a 
 hard drinker, and his wife a woman of loose morals, but 
 good natural sense ; she became our friend, sooner than 
 some of the decent and the formal, and let us a house, the 
 only one in the parish that was vacant, at 71. per annum, 
 
IH un: or HAXVAH I 
 
 thu 
 
 ... IA 
 
 III a COUpJC 
 
 While ibfai wa* 
 
 one Bible in all the > pariah, and that waa naed to prop a 
 flowaf-pot ? No oleiwjnnan had reaided in it Cor forty 
 One rode over from WcUa, three tnflaa, to pmeh 
 
 . : . . t_.- J.,4 ^PAA lifMi* - ' 
 
 . 
 
 and children wr re often buried without 
 
 twenty ID the afternoon, waa thought a food ooofWfation. 
 
 lofaB 
 
 We epmt oor w^tet in frtliaf ai tkt dbmol 
 uu> p^oplOy too cnployiMotv oQ8ilwr t MM WI^M 
 
 ' 
 
 Go a fixed day, of which wt care oatfoa Snth*dmh,aD 
 
 the women, with all their children abore aii yaan old. 
 
 met ojk Wa took an . 
 
 i hundred and twooty to attand 00 the follow* 
 
 i i 
 
 aoy raxuaan 10 aaoo loav c&iuraiit 
 
 pay than for H 
 
 becmuae they were not aura of my i 
 iMoahre that, at the tod of 
 
 In order to 
 loot oT Africa* 
 
 WhiUthkwaajofaf o^wela^aat efaryei^e towork 
 to find proper teachera. On thia enrything depeodr* 
 had the happioeaa to find a woman of excellent natural 
 .' i.-. : t .-.:. i .-. -v. m '. 
 
 In middling lu\ but a wicked aoo had much reduced it 
 She had, however, aiffl an catate of 4Qt a^rear, or vary 
 nearly. She brought with her a daughter, twaoty-five 
 i. quite equal to hmclf in all other point 
 superior. 
 
 was winter, and we all met at the achool on Sunday 
 
 morning at nine o'clock, baring invited many parent* to 
 
 be praaant at the opening. We had drawn up aoma rule*, 
 
 b irrre read; than aonie mutable pottiona of Scripture; 
 
LETTER TO MR. WILBERFORCE. 157 
 
 part of the 34th Psalm ; then a hymn sung ; and then a 
 prayer read, composed for the occasion. 
 
 " For the first year these excellent women had to 
 
 ;ggle with every kind of opposition, so that they were 
 frequently tempted to give up their laborious employ. 
 They well entitled themselves to 301. per annum salary, 
 and some little presents.\ We established a weekly school 
 
 liirty girls, to learn reading, sewing, knitting, and spin- 
 ning. \ The latter, though I tried three sorts, and went 
 myself to almost every clothing-town in the county, did 
 not answer, partly from the exactions of the manufac- 
 turer, and partly from its not suiting the genius of the 
 place. They preferred knitting after the school-hours on 
 week-days. The mother or daughter visited the sick, 
 chiefly with a view to their spiritual concerns ; but we 
 concealed the true motive at first ; and in order to procure 
 them access to the houses and hearts of the people, they 
 were furnished not only with medicine, but with a little 
 money, which they administered with great prudence. 
 
 y soon gained their confidence, read and prayed with 
 them, and in all respects did just what a good clergyman 
 does in other parishes. 
 
 a At the end of a year we perceived that much ground 
 had been gained among the poor ; but the success was at- 
 tended with no small persecution from the rich, though 
 some of them grew more favourable. I now ventured to 
 have a sermon read after school, on a Sunday evening, in- 
 viting a few of the parents, and keeping the grown-up 
 children ; the sermons were of the most awakening sort, 
 and soon produced a sensible effect. It was at first thought 
 a very methodistical measure, and we got a few broken 
 windows ; but quiet perseverance, and the great prudence 
 with which the zeal of our good mistresses was regulated, 
 carried us through. Many reprobates were, by the blessing 
 of God, awakened, and many swearers and sabbath-breakers 
 reclaimed. The numbers both of young and old scholars 
 increased, and the daily life and conversation of many 
 seemed to keep pace with their religious profession. 
 
 " We now began to distribute Bibles, Prayer Books, and 
 
i U7B Of HAJOJAH MB, 
 
 other good hooka, but never a* random, end onl? to thee* 
 who had gircn iomc evidence of the ir loving tod 
 
 them. They ere ajwaya made the reward of eoprrior learn- 
 ing, or eome other merit! ee we earn he*o no other proof 
 that they will be read. Tboae who mental the greateat 
 
 the 
 
 in the winter, a greet many will learn 1 
 thirty ohaptera, paalme, end hymne. At the end oft 
 owing the wiutor, the UMNO; eenoue of the 
 to attend on a Wedneadey night ; end on tneenmj 
 P< 
 
 at the echool to read the ScHpturee and bear them e 
 
 Finding the wente and datreeeeeof theeo poorpeopfe 
 lelr wngei are but IJL per day), end 
 the bounty of my Men* by a too m 
 I liberality, Hoeeumd to me that 1 could mate 
 what I had to baetow go muoh furtbw by i 
 
 plaeee. It wee no email trouble to eorempMeh tale ; for, 
 though the enbeeriptkm wee only three half- penoe a week, 
 Uwaa more than they could ehreye reiee; yet the object 
 appeared ao important, that I found it would be good 
 
 *^AJ| A ~ * ; ..I 
 
 ''}' . v : 
 
 women money to pay their einb. After 
 
 prejudioaa we earned thia point, which we took 
 
 in?olTe in the general ejetem, by making it i 
 
 the echooU ; the ralea of the omb reetrainhig the women 
 
 Ioeuohao4ei . j Intewfe ewMl pm] .- UM ^,--.u 
 
 women thua eaeodated : you may gueea who are the 
 
 "We bare an anniversary foaat of tea, and I gat eomo 
 of the dergy and a few of the better eort of people to eome 
 
 L We wait on the women, who ait end enjoy their 
 
 The journal and atate of aflaira b read after 
 
 ohnrth; aodwe>llecrtallthefacUweoi^eatotheo 
 
 duct of the rillagcre ; whether the church bee been 
 
LETTER TO MR. WILBERFORCE. 15g 
 
 scolding or sabbath-breaking. All this is produced, for or 
 against them, in battle array, in a little sort of sermon 
 made up of praise, censure, and exhortation, as they may 
 be found to have merited. 
 
 " One rule is that any girl bred in the school, who con- 
 tinues, when grown up, to attend its instructions, and has 
 married in the past year with a fair character, is presented 
 on this day with five shillings, a pair of white stockings, 
 and a new Bible ; and several very good girls have received 
 this public testimony to their virtuous conduct. Out of 
 this club (to which we find it cheaper to contribute a few 
 guineas than to give at random), a sick woman receives 3$. 
 a-wcek, 7*. 6d. for a lying-in, &c. &c. 
 
 a We are now in our sixth year at Cheddar, and two 
 hundred children and above two hundred old people con- 
 stantly attend. God has blessed the work beyond all my 
 hopes. The fanner's wife (our landlady), is become one of 
 
 most eminent Christians I know ; and though we had 
 last year the great misfortune to lose our elder mistress, 
 her truly Christian death was made the means of confirm- 
 ing many in piety, and the daughter proceeds in the work 
 with great ability. She has many teachers under her, who 
 are paid 1*. a-Sunday. Once a-year each young person re- 
 ceives some article of dress ; but having so many other 
 schools to run away with our money, we cannot do quito 
 so much for any as I could wish. I should add, that we 
 have about twenty young men, apprentices, servants, &c,, 
 who attend the whole Sunday with the humility of little 
 children ; and these, as they try hard to get a few clothes, 
 we think it right to help with a small present. Amongst 
 the collateral advantages resulting from the clubs, one is 
 that the women, who used to plead that they could not go 
 to church because they had no clothes, now come. The 
 necessity of going to church in procession with us on the 
 anniversary, raises an honest ambition to get something 
 decent to wear; and the churches on Sunday are now 
 filled with very clean-looking women. Perhaps a sketch of 
 our expenses may not be amiss : it is not quite accurate : 
 I have no papers here." 
 
-: 
 
 t O O 
 
 n a / 
 
 ninf ferer: we lort wren in two day* aevenl of them 
 oar poor children. Figure to youi^ web a riaiUU< 
 a place where * mglo e*p of broth cannot be obtained ; 
 thm to Doootofh* if ft wmld a*t life I am 
 
 wklow, to wbotn wa allow a little paoaioo, borpi bor only 
 tabit for ftriflf ; a^tbar, OOP of bor ihw cbafam. 1 
 
 A^l^b* A^-J ^i* * * . m* _____ ~t -- ^J --- * - mmt ,1 __ -^ l^ 
 
 wiotraoti WDM w MM aoow oooacMoaooaij, aoo ran too 
 riak of wiUdag Into tbo ptt% with which tht pkotaboood^ 
 and whicb wm ao coimd by aoow thai bo waa Doar being 
 
 tiooacf IhiipooTTiQaftaiaaeh 
 enilar too pket!' 1 fad ipdyaat to think that ao 
 small a aum can croHa anon (boiiof*, wbon ooa knows 
 whataumaonbaBwaat4sd. Moat proridentiallj wo bad A 
 
 moat mapftctabla miatraa* ai tbo aobool, who entered ao 
 tenderly into thei 
 
 tenderly into their wanU, that tbey would *fnd to fctcb 
 bar ai midnight, tad aba aoppUed D U aiok with bwih, 
 
 44 Patty has been ray poorly indeed ; bat tbo weather 
 for tbo bat ten days baa enabled us to proaecnte our 
 Uboum with more ease. VI ought thankfully to acknow- 
 ledge thai, on the whole, odr work IB going on proaparoualy, 
 Who does not deariy aee that the work U entirely QooTa 
 
LETTER TO MR. WILBERFORCE. 1G1 
 
 own doing, \vhcn he is pleased to do it by such poor in- 
 iments? It seems a paradox to say, that we have 
 ruoro difficulty and anxiety now in this advanced stage 
 of our progress than we had six or seven years ago ; and 
 tfcat we have most to do now in those parishes where, by 
 the blessing of God, we have seen the greatest improve- 
 ment. But so it is. There is great delicacy required in 
 management of our young converts. Some of them 
 are very sincere, devout, and holy in their lives ; but now 
 and then fall into a zeal so fiery, that it wants cooling, and 
 then they relapse into dejection and sadness on finding 
 that earth is not heaven ; and that they must submit to 
 carry about with them human infirmity, and be still strug- 
 gling against sin and temptation, as long as they live in 
 thia world. I have, however, the comfort to say, that 
 hardly any of them have fallen back into sinful courses, 
 and many, I trust very many are striving after excel- 
 lence. It is curious to see the ignorant and undisciplined 
 mind falling into the same errors, and deviating into the 
 same eccentricities, with philosophers and divines. Some 
 of our poor youths, who did not know their letters when 
 we took them in hand, have fallen into some of the pccu- 
 illiam Law, without ever having heard that 
 there was such a man in the world ; and I fear they judge 
 unfavourably of my zeal, because I have refused to publish 
 a severe edict against the sin of wearing flowers, which 
 would be ridiculous enough in me who so passionately 
 love them. I find it necessary, in some instances, to en- 
 courage cheerfulness, as certain austerities are insisted on 
 by some of them, which are rather of a serious nature^ 
 
 " The excellent young collier, who was so cruelly maimed 
 by the pit falling in upon him, I have been sadly puzzled 
 what to do with. He has too good talents to be sent back 
 to the pit, the damps of which also threatened him with 
 insanity; so I have sent him to a good school, to add 
 writing and arithmetic to his religious knowledge, and I 
 hope to be able to set him up as a schoolmaster, for the 
 sons of farmers and tradesmen on week-days, and for the 
 poor people on Sundays ; but he will be a good while upon 
 
i : r 
 
 I at OM of oar i 
 "One gnmi object in oar aithHahinmt of the poor 
 i dob* ha* been to beok with penal sUtu! 
 
 TtoeaMBer 1 haia> 
 i of eMiftf tfce ftnt daws of tope oo * 
 
 had Uoo guilty of immocmi ooodoot ; whu+M 
 
 U>iD* T 
 ro j dotj at ooo of our fart 
 
 4 k*^ IfetMwiMwi ff^MH^Lk. *m^ 
 
 . . 
 
 of DjyedieoewY 
 the pale of our 
 
 ia, that harm* ao man? 
 olook 
 
 t tol 
 
 ^ler v when til gooimooihl j oo to aoo pboa, i 
 
 bmkfl out in another, awl to*dm 
 
 childrm and pmmta, Tho Uaddof of the taohm U ooi 
 
 UielcMt part of the work; add to this, UuU having thoiti 
 
 V ' ; ' ' :.-. -. ' - 
 
 prejtidicvo, humours, misfortune* and debU of all thoao 
 poor woU-BMaiiQg people. I hope, howvrer, that it toachoj 
 ono forbearance, and il tenrea to pot me in mind how 
 moch Qod has to bear with from me. I BOW and then 
 comfort Patty in our journeja home at night, bj 
 
LETTER TO MB. WILBERFORCE. 163 
 
 that if we do these people no good, I hope we do some 
 little good to t 
 
 hould not send such petty details to any one else, 
 but as you are engaged iu the same warfare, and will, I 
 trust, be doing good long after I am forgotten, 'L thought 
 you might pick up some encouragement, from knowing the 
 difficulties which have been encountered by those who 
 have trodden the same path before you. 
 
 " I had a kind message for you from Lady lately, 
 
 hoping she shall see you and Mr. late in the autumn ; 
 
 but you will hear from her first. I have had several letters 
 from her, but have never sent her a single line ; quite 
 brutal this, for she has claims on my kindness, because she 
 is not happy otherwise. I desire to have little to do with 
 the great I have devoted the remnant of my life to the 
 poor, and those that have no helper ; and if I can do them 
 little good, I can at least sympathise with them, and I 
 know it is some comfort for a forlorn creature to be able 
 to say, ' There is somebody that cares for me.* That simple 
 idea of being cared for, has always appeared to me a very 
 cheering one. Besides this, the affection they have for me 
 is a strong engine with which to lift them to the love of 
 higher things ; and, though I believe that others work suc- 
 cessfully by terror, yet kindness is the instrument with 
 which God has enabled me to work. Alas ! I might do more 
 and better : pray for me that I may. 
 
 " Yours very affectionately, 
 
 "H.MORE." 
 
 From Miss H. More to Mrs. Kennicott : 
 
 "Bath, 1792. 
 
 * My dear Friend, I hope your mind is somewhat pre- 
 pared for the sad news I have to impart to you. But your 
 heart is so schooled and broken in to losses and afflictions, 
 that I believe it is always in some degree of preparedness 
 to receive them. You will too naturally conclude that 
 this is a prelude to the closing scene of our beloved friend, 
 the Bishop of Norwich. He was so much better four or 
 days ago as to be in the pump-room without his ser- 
 
; | 
 
 vi, mod I wt. expecting ewy cUy thai they wooW tod 
 for tne U> wt an evening with him, he being always ou 
 
 lonsjsr than usual, I^uty celled yesterday, and found htm 
 
 ^lIlflM jtwiMt^ 11^ K^JJ * -- * OM^^Ml t, M M4WJ~f 
 
 dually ay i ng. tie naa jus* reoa vea MM sacrament wiisi 
 
 %.t_ m ___ f* _ JAL A_A^MXh_*ilA i t _ ___ 
 
 .' . ' ' . ' V . .--.-,.-, 
 
 eiharttd and blmd them. Pfctty bafpd U> b*?e A iMt 
 a him, vfakl^ M his yc wm dM, Ae 
 
 look 
 
 jft-f -,-A _, t i^^I- ._, -- 
 
 aw not eec tne IMIMM, nvt 
 h*d the oamlori to ho^ that Mm Home WM eitmnelv 
 Th morninf, A eifht, At cmlkd 
 i MM HHin tlwi MI WM noet hanpuy 0W one only 
 WBO toU her U*i about iwo, I think, bo 
 
 ; which I inimi to 4o a 
 
 to poor Mm Home; but as the 
 
 bar, 1 imagine aba want* no 
 only the maid Betty amid abe thought bar 
 i would be glad if I would write to Mrs. Kennioo*. 
 IMrldMiMfcHrisi I :.-. 
 
 " w l^L to "*** ^ ** u r **** 1 fr** v t tM 
 
 dsath was so consistent with hie lift, tod that be booourad 
 bk Cbriatiao jii nfsaaiuu with his dying breath. 
 
 How wise and bow witty, bow pteasant and bow good 
 
 I,and,indd,aUofui.. 
 
 f . '. ..:.'. 
 
 aphant deathbed efxae, for neb it moat pnm You 
 biM*peak 9 Ithiiik t <tfiwo7oangladia%cliMHM 
 and piety, axiBina to Mirn. WilheHbm, aettU 
 
 ^*<*A M.IJU % A I r<l ..^ ^~ 
 
 Ouite aiono in a ift "ig >g> gi 01 couree wanting nrwow* 
 ahip and attention. One of theae haa been dying for tbeeo 
 Igbtum days peat, to all appearance, but in a manner 
 more trolly heroic and pious than anything of the kind 
 I crcr witnessed. She talks of her 
 
HER LETTERS. }(55 
 
 and with pleasure ; and though, when in health, she was 
 
 ; -ly diffident and timid : she now exhorts, awakens, 
 
 and instructs all who come near her, and teUs them what 
 
 a wretched state she should now be in. had she not a better 
 
 iteousness than her own to trust to. I go to her in a 
 chair every day, for I have never yet been free enough 
 from a cough to walk out. It is a profitable attendance. 
 Two such dying b&ds, so near each other, are not easy to 
 be found. 
 
 " The Bishop, I learn, is to be deposited at Elthain : 
 the family, I suppose, will remove directly. You will 
 doubtless hear from themselves. 
 
 * Adieu. God bless you ! May you and I be prepared ! 
 " Yours affectionately, 
 
 "H.MORE." 
 
 From Miss II More to a friend : 
 
 "1792. 
 
 44 1 cannot forbear remarking to you and Mrs. , 
 
 what has lately so forcibly struck myself, I mean the 
 transforming power of the Christian religion. It seems 
 literally to have new-made the very tempers and constitu- 
 tions of those who have lately fallen under my particular 
 
 attention. Mrs. , the most dejected, humble, I had 
 
 almost said helpless woman I ever knew, animated with 
 this divine principle, seemed another creature; was active, 
 cheerful, useful, as long as her husband needed her services. 
 Though the tenderest of wives, she revealed to him his 
 danger, and supported him in his religious preparations, 
 with a fortitude quite foreign to her natural character, 
 read for hours on his coffin, and made me read the 
 burial service to her. 
 
 " Miss H , shy, reserved, cold, and so hesitating in 
 
 her natural manner, that few ever discovered, what a great 
 intimacy enabled me to discover, a most accomplished 
 mind hid behind a thick veil of humility acquired in the 
 near views of death and eternity a sort of righteous 
 courage, an animated manner, and a ready eloquence, 
 which were all used as means for awakening and striking 
 others. This extraordinary change was manifested in 
 
urv or HAKXAH MOSS. 
 
 iwaya,duHnf the eight**) dari in which hc wu. 
 given orcr, bat nboac oat with oompiete losire ii*o km 
 mi h t of her Ufa 
 
 exhibit*! in h<r Uut boui^a*thctnifHirofbrrinuid 
 
 There wae little ardour to her temper* tor efliotftee* wore 
 
 ^4ftAM I AOWWt*.r4 *l_t KdMMft W* ll-f-A AM MMMMfc %f Arr^^M 
 
 r.. 
 
 .r:.Tl*r 
 
 V* 
 the wiadom of that itiefiiieMioii | tor that, tf ebe had beei 
 
 wanted moob of iiiii jirtJMHiii aha now fahand of too* 
 
 ootnpUjDt, to UuU her Jmdjrti 
 
 1 obeervod, that it was a atrenge aitoatloo to be ao 
 
 1 wa not yei peroUtled to enter npoo a better. In the 
 i on wbkfc abe died aha oallad m all 
 
 and epint quite tmlike 1 
 oat with an animated tone. Be W*MM 
 I bear my dying teatimooy to my 
 1 ax.. 
 won. Oh. Uua u not peio bat pleaeure !' 
 
 with one boor of offering, aa evraiaite an owr finriii 
 oatained ; and I hope I ahaU never forget that 
 ,in order to aave oryealf the pang of eeeing bar on- 
 able agonies, I wrapped my mee hi the eotta 
 heard bar broken, inarticulate votes, tepoa tedry erying, 4 Let 
 ixiticnoo hiv, it, podM work Thoogh Ko ^.ny n- yd 
 willltntetm y will be done. .thafev 
 
 Tent c jacolation to be kept from temptation, and the 
 powen of darkoov, ahe nrr-.tc.l till her strength fiilcd. 
 
HER LETTERS. 167 
 
 prayer was heard ; and her last hour was so peaceful, 
 that we knew not when she sunk to her everlasting rest. 
 
 A-O little things are worth recording, merely to show 
 how consistent she was : for I am anxious to rescue such 
 a death-bed from the imputation of enthusiastic fervours. 
 She desired, if the physicians thought it might be useful 
 for any future sufferer, that she might bo opened ; which 
 was accordingly done. The other instance was, that early 
 in the night, when I saw the pangs of death approaching, I 
 
 had prevailed on her afflicted sister M to quit a scene 
 
 she was so little able to bear. H begged to see her, 
 
 and said she should like M to see her die. I repre- 
 sented to her how unfit her shattered nerves were to go 
 through it ; and that if she should fall into fits, what should 
 I do with both ! She was convinced in a moment, begged 
 she might not come, and only desired I would explain to 
 the woman that her sister was doing her duty by staying 
 away ; that she did it because it was right, and not because 
 she liked it. I ought not to omit remarking, that the power 
 of true Christumity has been no less conspicuous in Miss 
 
 M , whoselhumble submission to the Divine wil^s the 
 
 more valuable in one of her extreme susceptibility and 
 strong feelings : and that the parting is almost like that 
 
 of soul and body ; for Miss H was the mouth, and 
 
 tongue, and organs, of which she was the informing spirit." 
 
 Extract from another letter on the same subject : 
 
 H has been dying since last night. I have held 
 
 her clammy hand, and watched her still- changing coun- 
 tenance all night. She is, at this time, speechless ; so, to 
 get over a few heavy moments, I will try to write to you. 
 Perhaps I may not send it. As soon as the terrifying 
 
 symptoms came on, I gave poor M her opiate, and put her 
 
 to bed : thank God, she is pretty quiet. The silent about 
 me is solemn, but not terrible. I feel rather elevated that, 
 while every one of my friends is, I hope, asleep in peace, 
 I am ministering to these two sister.?, going backwards and 
 forwards from the dying to the mourning chamber. Instead 
 of feariii" that this last scene should be too affecting, I am 
 
' . 
 
 Hi 
 .. . 
 
 Till the U*t boor I hare been 
 dying car all the aromiaai I can 
 
 at 
 
 b Ud bk^ac to 
 
 tm ^M*l> AW attAA^^^^^M^ 
 
 you both, and Ihm for too. 
 
 00-doct-Web.TtbadaUrfibUbow. Tb* 
 art, dmdlbl ; ay bavi dte wHhin na; I f 
 
 I > 
 
 t i 
 
 : ' ' . 
 
 mnA liilli 11 4^ IMllai MkWBAlf In 
 
 ^ MHH wcuv w |iuo% mywu. in 
 
 ,.-}. -,r-v ' 
 
 flteoV4oofc.--6hafcaliva,b<stUfta 
 
 AU is pcan ; and my terror* Uvo 
 (A to aojabla mt |o kaop wy post* 1 
 ln van to a cowardly daatttioo. Una U puolad wby aoch 
 aooon^oT bodyaiidapirit waa riniiiiryforber; I 
 can only repeat bar ova worda, Thy will bo dona : 
 aba departa pcaocfuUy, I abaU bave eauae eoougb for thank- 
 
 * Seven o'clock. 8be it departed peaoafbOy; not a 
 *" 
 
 From Mias H. More to M. Boacawen : 
 
 - My dear Madam,-! have brought bom* 
 ofMias Bin^wnoaeeyc 
 
HER LETTERS. jgg 
 
 by, Witliin a few hours, and not a hundred yards 
 
 my much-honoured friend, Dr. Home, bishop 
 
 of Norwich, whose end was peace. His mind being a good 
 
 deal hurt by his disorder (water on the chest), he rambled 
 
 jh at intervals ; but the instant any religious exercise was 
 
 ix>sed ho was perfectly sound, composed, and happy; 
 his very rambling showed the habit of his mind ; it was 
 all praise and devotion. Mr. Hume, perhaps, would have 
 excepted against his last words, which were, ' Blessed 
 Jesus !' he then sunk to rest, without a sigh. His pious 
 and afflicted widow removed to our house while the last 
 sad ceremonies were performing, and stayed some days 
 ahut up in an apartment, where she scarcely saw anybody 
 but me, our other mourner being in another apartment. 
 
 " As I contemplated the dead body of my beloved 
 Bishop, which I did several times, I could not help reflect- 
 ing to what a mind it had belonged ! so wise and so witty, 
 so pleasant and so pious. I am thankful to Providence 
 for giving me the opportunity of being in the smallest 
 degree instrumental to the comfort of these sufferers. I 
 am not afraid that these scenes will affect me too much ; 
 nay fear is, that the impression may escape before it has 
 wrought its full benefit upon my soul. I know your good- 
 ness for me, my dear madam, will make you glad to hear 
 I was not the worse for these little exertions. Let me 
 recommend to you a very little book, written by Mr. Cecil, 
 called A Visit to the Home of Mourning, as a very proper 
 little tract to keep by one, to give away to friends under 
 affliction. I have often been in want of such a thing, when 
 asked to recommend something ; and find this more suit- 
 able, and less exceptionable, than most others that have 
 fallen in my way : the style, too, being rather elegant, will 
 recommend the matter. 
 
 " I did not visit Madame de Sillery, alias Genlis. I 
 -was ill the whole time she was at Bath ; and to say truth, 
 the edge of my inclination towards her is much taken off. 
 I have the same admiration of her talents, but very little 
 veneration for her person : et Vun ne va pets loin sans 
 Vautrc. 
 
 " 1 have often cast a thought, but I begin now to cast 
 
K LIFE Or B Airy 4BMCNUL 
 
 together L Leaden. I looted forward to the 
 
 pleoiun of tppattiaf among yoo in a weak or two. Hoy 
 
 ; then find you, QJ dear madam, en JOT ing health, aad 
 
 neTJfMie I mtitfffwAaWl^d von IB 'beerl Bud >faMi tHoturfc 
 i>ot with pen and bri, on the birth 
 
 V 
 
 V 
 
 rwi tM M^MttfMk A4% t Ib W i^MW AVA&M t4 M^^^Mh4 M*I 
 
 ootiog ooonpaUofia te which wo haw Idtiy aeao her oo* 
 
 
 <**o**r\** WM called opoa to make an 
 
 Of hr 
 
 id earned to the Goafewit Mte M. hod oam- 
 
 ll*M ^kA^^^A f*t AM 
 
 HOI oojoca oi 09 noon tmpoftaooa aa to i 
 to it her time, her health, and the oottfa 
 while there waa OUT MBMBBBHf Bopo of i 
 
 .or oust 
 
 From life IL More to Mrm. KcntucoU :- 
 
 - r - -.;.. . 
 
 of the life I hava lad, the oceooi I have been engaged in 
 and the company I have kept since I camo to town, you 
 wxmld oeaec to woadcr at niy uiiiiatoiml eilencc. The day 
 
HER LETTERS. ifr 
 
 i came, my. sister, overcome with hurry and anxiety^ 
 
 fell alarmingly ill, in a miserable lodging, taken only for 
 
 the day, to be near Bow Street. I had not only to sit up 
 
 with and nurse her, but the whole weight of this unhappy 
 
 IQSS fell on me., as an assistant to poor Miss M. My 
 
 has been literally passed with thief-takers, officers of 
 :e, and such pretty kind of people. I have made no 
 visits, but snatched a hasty dinner in Cavendish Square, 
 or at London House, in my dishabille, and away again, and 
 this only two days ago f so long had I been in town, without 
 seeing those dear friends. Others I have not seen. I will 
 give you a little sketch of the manner of life I have been 
 engaged in. When we had information brought us of any 
 house where our unhappy child and her atrocious com- 
 panion were supposed to be, Miss M and I were ob- 
 liged to go under pretence of wanting lodgings. One 
 lawyer went with us into the house to look at the rooms, 
 another stood at the door : a hackney-coach full of Sir 
 Sampson Wright's men at a little distance : to these we 
 were directed to make signals in case we had discovered 
 the object of our pursuit ; our share in the business being 
 to identify the dear little girl ; the lawyers, with all their 
 professional nonchalance, coolly directing us to betray no 
 emotion, nor to discover ourselves, in case we found them. 
 You know, I believe, my silly terror of fire-arms ; it is 
 inexpressible. What, therefore, made these visits so par- 
 ticularly distressing to me, was the assurance that P 
 
 Mprrr sat without a pistol on the table, which he seized at 
 every noise. Every morning presents some fresh pursuit, 
 and every day closes in disappointment. You may believe 
 that nothing would justify these exertions on our part, 
 but the deepest persuasion of the sweet child's innocence. 
 It was the most timid, gentle, pious little thing! How 
 far the endearments and flattery of a wretch, who, they 
 eay, is specious, may have corrupted her in five weeks, I 
 tremble to think ; but though I shall mourn, I shall not 
 repent. Diligent pursuit is now making after them in 
 France. I cannot drop this subject without naming the 
 
 noblo eicrtions of my friend, Mr. H. T , whose zeal and 
 
 piety have made him take it up as the cause of justice. 
 
iiia laiwmra and tnooanoe nave < 
 lawyer*: be got the kintfa pnHamaton, did 
 with thoaeeretary of elate, and amve op every moment of 
 time which waa not nnganiil in the other great oaoaa, 
 the abolition. Alee! we have loet thai omtue for the 
 
 ve hardly had an boor with Mra, Genie*, but 
 hope I ahail won. Ml Mr. Bryant he may venture lo 
 
 and oat, I have never denied it when fairly aaked. 
 t&ot eecrecy about a thing that ia known ia abmr 
 
 about it 1 hardly dare talk of onfafemeftU to Urm. a 
 
 yei, at ahebM heard ooihiof of DM; but 1 did hint to Mr*. 
 Pdrtcuft 
 
 tht | hoped lo go to Pttlhem the laet week tn 
 May. 1 mention thia lo yon in a gmeral way. I ahall be 
 orry to have it bier. The MongeweU Monde, too, are 
 rforna. 1 know not what to aay, lUedaooh 
 
 'lam.mydoarfhend, 
 -Y^ 
 
 i the ooom of thia year (179fXflbteb^ao to wear 
 a very gloorny and threatening aapeet hi thia 
 
 nil that 
 
 were taken, not only to agttale 
 
 and potaon the minds of the popniaoa, by every 
 
 matiee could nggeat ; and each had bean the 
 
 of these eflbrta, and of the iniammatnrypabikal 
 
 which they were earned on, that the 
 
 ftat into the aame ab^TLo which the IWob'hed aWo> 
 ^iu^ At thin rri*w of oonfUmdkttJflAinm poured in 
 
 unoo HaoiiAh Moiv bv 
 
 :US u l^ 
 
 ir tract ht aenre aa a 
 
 writing*. The sound 
 |nniflfiy70rtB& eyes upon her, aa one who had ahown an 
 
HER " ULLAGE POLITICS." 173 
 
 intimate knowledge of human nature, and had studied it 
 successfully in all its varieties, from the highest to the 
 lowest classes, and the clear and lively style of whose 
 writings had been found to be generally attractive. She 
 declined the undertaking, being persuaded that no efforts 
 of hers would avail to stem so mighty a torrent. 
 
 Still, however, after having publicly refused it, she felt 
 it her duty to try her powers in secret, and in a few hours 
 composed the dialogue of Village Politics* by Will Chip. 
 But, distrusting her ability^t^Jroduce anything efficacious 
 on such a subject, she clandestinely sent it by a friend to 
 Mr. Rivington, employing him instead of her regular pub- 
 ", Mr. Cadell, to avoid suspicion. She waited not long 
 10 event, for in three or four days every post brought 
 her from London a present of this admirable little tract, 
 with urgent en1 aat she would use every possible 
 
 means of disseminating it, as the strongest antidote that 
 1 be administered to the prevailing poison. It flew 
 \ rapidity which may appear incredible to those whose 
 memories do not reach back to that period into every part 
 :e kingdom. \ Many thousands were sent by Govern- 
 ment to Scotland and Ireland. Numerous patriotic persons ; 
 printed largo editions of it at their own expense ; and in j 
 Ion only many hundred thousands were soon cir-j 
 culat 
 
 Internal evidence betrayed the secret ; and when the 
 truth came out, innumerable were the thanks and con- 
 gratulations, which bore cordial testimony to the merit of a 
 performance bywhicjiiliejta^t^^ 
 
 fenaalehad <r wielded at will the fierce democratic of 
 T2nglana7' and stemmed the tide of misguided opinion. 
 Many persons of the soundest judgment went so far as ! 
 to affirm that it had essentially contributed, under Pro- 
 vidence, to prevent a revolution ; so true was the touch, 
 and so masterly the delineation, which brought out, in all 
 its relief and prominence, the ludicrous and monstrous 
 cheat, whereby appetite, selfishness, and animal force, were 
 attempted to be imposed uponua under the form of liberty, 
 equality, and imprescriptible right. 
 
....,>.,., 
 H. Man to Mm, Bomwoa *- 
 
 Health and ewy blwrfng wtoA tho DCW v, 
 
 QRB to IB T ttOO* OCWT MM BOMMBMl DMttdf too CJpwVMMv 
 
 lady of Roaodalo, bat now, 1 tra* of warm and chart* 
 
 " JU 1000 m I orao to Baib, omr dttr Bobop of Loodoa 
 
 i ' 
 
 of tfa 
 
 Ittmt bo 
 
 would be of DOOM. Inaneril 
 my wOJ *od m v jodfmctit, oo of ck 
 
 oca BMfBfc&f after 1 bad ftr*t coBcervftl toe MOB* 
 
 tt Off to lilflBCtOBt OBBBVttl Biy boOOOilOf 1 , IB OWBB* 
 
 canwbb ; btit H U < 
 
 MB*] rn 
 
 It _ ; I < ' 1 i . - ^ i 
 
 DeanUjr BOBO i aoaii BO* BO ojooofvnMi, aa n 
 
 (in a aort of viiUug rvpognaot to my omtare ; though, in- 
 ^^ A ^^ ^^1^^ M k^^4*^ ^ ^^^Mk !% -flf CMkltti I 
 
 U^^^l ^V ^B* t|l^^BMmi %* |^^^m %UBM M yMNilM^h A 
 
 friondy M that gcnermllj ftinumhco a doo to a tliwofti^ 
 
 , , M- ^ A_ *- flTl f II ^ll m^*t- I 
 
 ..... :. 
 
 word that U*y 'go off very |C~Uy f mod thai the pur- 
 CMHM MO pooplo of rvoiL Too very uajp loo Biooop 
 CH&o to IDO Mrs. jfootof^i MO% 1210 A otvooy rv(|OjO9l on tho 
 no oobjoctto UaTi 09 MBTOB wy oomoir oco by ownio^ 
 ny BMilArtioDo to you, my dor mfim, 1 ptooood to tctt 
 yoQ thai 1 know no man good of the author tin of tho 
 book. 
 
 is impossible to divert 000% thot^Ul 
 
 ":.' . -.: r \ '.'.- 
 
 taken POMMHOO of every creature that bos an atom of 
 or bout left. Yet I am afarid that e*on tho bbod> 
 
DEATH OF LOUIS SVL 175 
 
 measure of French iniquity. If ever one of their sixty-six 
 monarchs deserved the appellation of Most Christian King, 
 surely it was the innocent Louis. When I used to weep 
 for his calamities, little did I think that I should ever have 
 been benefited by his piety, or instructed and edified by 
 his conduct and his compositions. 
 
 a It is only in the testament of this murdered king, 
 and in the charge you had the goodness to send me of the 
 amiable Bishop of Leon, that my understanding and my 
 principles have been refreshed with a little ci-devcmt 
 Christianity and good sense. I had the pleasure of be- 
 stowing pleasure by making that charge faire le tour de 
 6t quartier, which is a good deal inhabited by considerable 
 Roman Catholics, Howards, &c. They met every day at mass 
 as soon as it was light, and hung their chapels with black. 
 
 " My franking friends are so good as to send me down 
 loads of papers, pamphlets, &c. as they come out ; but I 
 confess I have not had nerves enough to trust my eyes with 
 the inspection of that horrible guillotine. I can generalize 
 misery with as much comfort as another ; but there is i 
 something in detail and actual representation which I can- 
 not stand. But of all the things I have seen none appear 
 more seasonable, or seem likely to do more good, than 
 Bishop Watson's sermon, and especially his appendix, 
 which he had the goodness to send me. The date of the 
 sermon, before the question was agitated, adds to its value, 
 and both coming from such a known assertor of liberty 
 must open many eyes. 
 
 " I enclose you a hasty sketch, excited by indignation 
 fl p pppl1 snrnf * weeks since, which 
 
 was sent mo by the Bishop of London. It struck me that 
 such poison should not be doled out to the English with- 
 out eome corrective. These dreadful subjects so run away 
 with one, that I have neither room nor time to say more 
 than that I hope you have quite lost that bad cold, and 
 that those you most care about are well. Alas ! must we 
 
 <H.M. 
 Ecr pen, which had been so eminently successful in 
 
17-. 
 
 I... :-. . : : : ::.' /:: ;.. 
 
 but waa, altar a rery abort intern!, agun employed in Uw 
 
 which infafH her actire pan in* vigorous* 
 
 ' . . 
 
 aent work, therefore, conducive to a double | 
 
 Itha whole of ita protta, amouutio- 
 fund faiaad to Ibeir rabat The thank* of the 
 far tba managimnm of tbia fund wcra tm^ 
 m*****!*.**,**?***********?*** 
 
 , 
 
 dedicating t 
 S40C, to th 
 
 Mte H. Mora to Mr. Wflbarlorce >- 
 
 M My dear flov I think you would have bad 
 cboly pleasure, bad you paaaed yaatarday with u 
 pant entirely in tba new perish ; tba youngest ott 
 (a* is juat) tba Urgeat abare of tba notfaart oare a 
 U gve a aolamnhy to our day waa, tbat aarai 
 wretched paraota of our poor diaoiplea ar< 
 
 on, and were to be tried lor their bve* tba i 
 ao we were not obliged to invent aubjaoU to t 
 audience. It waa upon a woman'a being oondi 
 be banged that we took up this pariab thia tin 
 month. 
 
 Many of the young people are, I tnmt, alrea 
 Tery acriotw impreaaion*. We have tba aobool o| 
 evening to puraon* of diflerent 
 < I think would plcaae yon, several 
 ' when they coma home late at night 
 \ thai they can hardly stand, will not go to rest their weary 
 
LETTER TO MR. WILBERFORCE. 177 
 
 limbs till they have been up to school for a chapter and a 
 prayer. 
 
 a One evening in the week some better sort of people 
 
 (farmers) attend. Among a little society of these we 
 
 there are about twenty, including their wives, who 
 
 begin earnestly to inquire, ' What they must do to be 
 
 Yed?'( (j^ 
 
 " The weather sadly impedes our operations, which are 
 mostly at a distance from home, so that I seldom escape a 
 good wetting. I could not get on without my zealous 
 colleague. When my heart faints and fails, I am afraid I 
 take more refuge in the shortness of life (which I labour 
 to keep before my eyes), than in the prospect to which you 
 so encouragingly direct my thoughts, and which cheered 
 me a littk>. 
 
 * * * * * * 
 
 M too much affected, my dear Sir, with your very 
 i to my spiritual wants, to be quite silent. 
 I can truly give you the only thanks you will think worth 
 having, namely, that I believe and hope I shall be the 
 better for it. You have hit on the disease, and, I am per- 
 suaded, have pointed out the only remedy. I know, too, 
 that your authority will give weight to your suggestions, 
 as my mind is, from its make, peculiarly liable to be acted 
 upon by the hints and counsels of an able and discerning 
 friend more than from books more than from medi- 
 tati< 
 
 " I thank God I feel somewhat less of this distress, but 
 r it is because my animal spirits are rather less de- 
 pressed, and not because my heart is more right. I trust 
 my faith is sound, but it is not lively : I have not a full 
 
 : vigorous confidence in those promises, which I, how- 
 . fully believe ; and I am sure there must be some- 
 thing amiss in my heart, which I do not know of, (though 
 
 MOW so much of its defects,) because I have little 
 sensible joy. I do not, I think, at all lean on my own 
 wretched performances ; yet I have a coldness in doing, 
 ami a servile anxiety in omitting them. I have a stronger 
 sense of sin than of pardon and acceptance : though I have 
 
 firmest belief of both on the Gospel terms : but, it is 
 
UIS Or IAJOAH MOBB. 
 
 not an opersurs pruxttpto. Of my own sinful estate) 1 do 
 not lose tight, but God's mercy in Christ JCKUA, thmsjh my 
 acknowledged truKt, I n obliged to iek for.- it doe* not, 
 
 tho other, readily praent itelf ; U not an eie*. 
 jeedy actire principle but hero I suipect my natural 
 tamper comas in o*dnbt AIM! fear WMII^ rey goTcrnin^ 
 
 iplrn in common life. My very di^:rr UW that per- 
 fbctioo, for which 1 tnit I am labonrmg, procoxu lou 
 
 a ---l ^^M_l<^^^ Kf M <^.A A*^i**M 
 
 MOD i rotn toipMMBat aoa MU HVD. my ngm acuooa 
 have but poor motive*. I want loo rtitfiPtJBM of * par- 
 foci aUte bcforo I have got rid of tW oorrupUooa of a 
 
 *d net my bomti OD araog Mr* CkrU and 
 adly diatppoiptaj Pkmy lor IM doar air, thai I 
 
 1. ' :... : .:: ' ' .;..- 
 
 ;;'. 
 
 ' I .a, tmJy. ynor 
 
 W find only OM Isttar written by Ma* 
 
 to her (aiuily daring a ahort abaoooBiii tho yoar 1794, Uio 
 greater pan of that yw baring hoan dndiortgd to 
 I Off 
 
 * LM* Saturday I dined with Mm Montagu. It WM 
 ftlmo* two yw no* 1 had found nynlf kiaacb^miia^ 
 umoV; to I told them, if 1 ahoald U c^ight doing any. 
 thing Milgarthoymorteri^w* >* W 
 
 them my old and inttmata frienda, who aoemcd to trcriro 
 me with great kindneat. I told them to make much of 
 me, for their opportunities of Ketng men A ranty would 
 be few. Mrs. Montagu is well, bright, and in full aon* 
 and had spread far and wide the funa of Cowslip Green, 
 and the day she paaaed there. In the midst of all the 
 splendour of lights, and grandeur, and luxury, word waa 
 brought in of the death of poor Lady K : -a a 
 
170 
 
 charitable woman, but was immersed in luxury and 
 
 splendour. 
 
 to airs. Boscawen, with whom I shall make 
 
 a point to pass all the time I can spare. Vve have had 
 
 many hours of quiet discussion. She is better ; but is, I 
 
 fear, breaking up. 
 
 I have just heard a good story of his 
 .oh favourites. A poor woman had planted some 
 : a in her field, which it seems was not the grass quite 
 
 native to the spot She was guillotined, and no one could 
 
 assign a reason for it, que parce giSelle avoit denature la 
 
 t //'. 
 
 * Remember me kindly to Lady Haddington. I am 
 truly grieved at your account of her. 
 
 H.M." 
 
 1 The reader must have observed the rapid and unequi- 
 vocal advancement of religious determination manifesting 
 the correspondence and communications of this 
 humble scholar of the Gospel about this period of her 
 o feel an inspired relish for these dis- 
 >f the work of the Spirit, be sensibly touched by 
 perusal of a portion of her journal, wherein the thoughts 
 h have relation principally to the transactions of the 
 year re laid up in their silent custody for her 
 
 future help and direction. What has seemed to belong to 
 more private recesses of the bosom, with which no 
 Btranger should be allowed to intermeddle, I have thought 
 .y duty reverently to suppress; but enough may be 
 before the public to give to the portrait of her mind 
 its full expression and character : \ 
 
 * Sunday, January 19, 1794. Heard of the death of Mr. 
 Gibbon, the historian, the calumniator of the despised 
 Nazarene, the dcrider of Christianity. Awful dispensa- 
 tion ! He, too, was my acquaintance. Lord, I bless thee, 
 considering how much infidel acquaintance I have had, 
 that my soul never came into their secret ! How many 
 souls have his writings polluted I Lord, preserve others 
 from their contagion ! *\ 
 
 --7 
 
100 
 
 Ufl r, : . 
 
 . 
 
 % -iiiiiii , r*nuuy 0.Tma MS beeD a hurrying week 
 to me, in trying to raiee money lor the militia ahoai ; eo 
 neb writing and tatting, the* there ha* been little k 
 reading* tittle dhpHfrp* lor "T l *! l w L iti with GotL 
 en ahalTl gain more eelf pniMMriun I When nhalH be 
 
 the 
 
 When i 
 
 hie to do boeteatt with the world, 
 toftheworidf Another f. 
 eloquent ; hot how Tain 
 one thing neodfol ! I thank Ood thai he 
 
 ebowo 
 
 the xaruty ,.f k -,-nii:-, fui<! KIV. r m- a .. mjvuulivr i v-lncm 
 
 .:.-.' Li ;.- ..-'.! 
 
 , mortified to the world ! A freah eubjedt for 
 oftbeSlaTeBilL Lord, 
 
 t!,c 
 be 
 
 ZfffOt 
 
 eartlu 
 
 . t Mnu 
 
 ,B^br Kdltoo much pld t the 
 d by eo BMUiy coompuKted uieooji OB 
 me again. Keep me from oootagkMi I 
 md^ O.-53* oomfbrUbie reUfioiM day. I eee 
 tbo need of doing tbe duty of every day in itadaj; bynot 
 noting down toe Usita, I bare forgotten them Wbon I 
 look back on tlw peji4 w^Hf^t 1 aae oaoae lor 
 
 ;* ^a JUI1 **- -* ^ * ^ , 
 
 :.-.!.._. : . . r . . , v : l v . 
 
 and tempWioo, to peace, teaorc, and fttinaianl. Wbeio 
 1 bad piaitned moeb ptogroia to my own 
 
 ..: 
 
 ::iake mo humble. AD has been peace aad quiet 
 without, and that ha* induced rerrfMneai within the 
 calm of IT- M r . Y iji not good for the etmL 
 
 u/ay, ^/>ri/ 20. Famed this week in harry 
 neither read nor prayed with fervour. 
 
 V S*cky t May 4. Heard Mr. Cecil, on the good Shep- 
 herd who Uyeth down his lifr for the abeep.' Oh, blcwd 
 
 Shepherd ! receive me, thy erring and 
 
 * Jfrry 0. Came to Fulham to my dear Bkbop 
 
HER JOURNAL. 181 
 
 kindness literary and elegant society ; but the habits of 
 polished life, even of virtuous and pious people, are too re- 
 laxing. Much serious reading, but not a serious spirit; 
 good health, with increased relaxation of mind : thus are 
 the blessings of Qod turned against himself. 
 
 <Jay, July \'\. Went to Shipham and Cheddar 
 Yery full schools at each had much comfort in the im- 
 provement of most, and the growing piety of many. Wo 
 were both enabled to sprak and instruct with spirit, and 
 seemed to make an impression. Read a sermon to the 
 aged. Came home very late and much tired, but I hope 
 gratitude. 
 
 / 15. Prayed with some comfort ; but my mind 
 was too much in other concerns. \ Have much business on 
 y hands at this time ; and, though it is all of a charitable 
 and religious nature (for t humbly design never to have 
 any other), yet still, the details of it draw away my soul 
 and thoughts from God. When shall I be purified ?^j 
 
 " Wednesday, July 23. Gave our annual feast on Men- 
 dip to our poor children, near one thousand. Qonjurefl by 
 the Bishop *n *"yyf r PftitoP*? atheistical book, with a so- 
 k-n.r.ity v.:.; :. n, . , i: grieve t-> refuse. Lord, do thou 
 wi-.i ;il,!-r <1< !' :' thy holy cmisc ! Heard of the 
 
 death of Mr. W , an awful death ! Profane, worldly, 
 
 unawakened, in the eztremest old age ! 
 
 > '{ay, August 10. Talked earnestly to sweet Mrs, 
 
 p ; gave her Witherspoon. Have read and conversed 
 
 for many days with her and Lady W . Lord, enable 
 
 me with equal prudence and zeal to labour to impress thy 
 great doctrines on her heart, and at the same time let me 
 in all humility copy her resignation ! Heard of the death 
 of young Burke. Lord, bless this heavy loss to his broken- 
 hearted father ! Oh, do thou now show him the vanity of 
 ambition, and the worthlessncss of the noblest talents, ex- 
 cept as they are used to promote thy glory ! Lord Chan- 
 cellor Bathurst is gone, one of my oldest, kindest friends : 
 I had very many obligations to him. How warnings muK 
 tiply ! This week I have not made the most of my time ; j 
 i thoughts and old besetting sins begin to resume J 
 their power. ^Lord, enable me to pray more, to struggle J 
 
LITE OP HAJTKAB MORE. 
 
 to live m doser <nm>andn with the. 
 
 L_J *_ - __t i /^ ^ i^ GS^LklMM 
 
 Dm, iBHiweii acnooi, ma mrarcn nmpnsra 00001 
 Mtjr read Walker, on ' If anr m*n be in Christ be 
 new craiturc.' A hrpe and aUairtift' andianc*. She 
 laboured diligently; aipoiindad Scripture at four cboofe 
 She grtatly odipm roc. !x>nl, be thou bar eior^lit^ 
 
 ateed, 1 iMatil of UM dMth cl tan old fHaoda ; dl takan-~ 
 : w,Unothtii|fqtiickiinydiligi! 
 
 thi. wk with four ! 
 
 aeha: an unprofitable 
 
 oomnittoioti wi th Ood. I aM bj afwy frcMi Ivial 
 
 TBM gmi work b.mlcl be done fai b^Hli, or 
 
 i 41k. A^ 
 
 lybktaad 
 
 . 
 
 Thiibsrv*ivdary hopes, tht Ood 
 carry OB this vary eitsnsi ve work, not* 
 the heavy loas of oar dear sehoohnistroBS. 
 
 M .. i^. ? \ i i . . f 
 
 \ 
 
 unworthinesi for this work ! MAY thy glory, snd the food 
 of souls, be our on hy end : w are nothing, have nothing, 
 and of oursclrw can do nothing 
 
 too weatncr. Read and prayed wito> eomo aaajPta of ootu^ 
 fort, which won invadad by the rrBection that 
 have been doiirg good at the iichooU For aoeaa daya I 
 wood more comfort in prayer, mora warmth in 
 still lamentably dcfocUre above aD in fam 
 What is read by other* nakca Ihtle hnpnmion oo me- 
 nu t so in extemporary prayer. Yet I hare a tear thai H ta 
 norelty, or curiosity, that cmtchea me, Lord, lei my beut> 
 and not my ear, be seized upon 1 
 
 bad a fain / " . : < 
 
 aoiiamea ; opposition, kboor, and bocHJy fatigue ! Yet, 
 what is this to what the apoaties and their nlnand Maater 
 endured I Lord, etwngUiea my aith; enable me to 
 
patience with these ignorant opposers of thy law. Encou- 
 raged by seeing many of our young men seriously affected; 
 unwilling on that account to throw up this one school, 
 h I think we should have done had our motives been 
 merely human. 
 
 "When will my heart be a fit tabernacle for the Spirit ; 
 of purity] Have lately had much communion with God 
 in the night I grow, I hope, more disposed to convert ' 
 silence and solitude into seasons of prayer. I think, also, 
 I fear death less. I am much tried by the temper of 
 others. Lord, subdue my own evil temper ! Let me con- 
 stantly think of him, ' who endured such contradiction of 
 sinners against himself.' 
 
 'lay, October 19. Being hindered by heavy rains 
 from visiting our schools, I resolve, by thy grace, to devote 
 nysclf this day, O Lord ! in an especial manner to thy 
 service. I have seldom a Sabbath to spend on myself. 
 Let mo not trifle away this precious opportunity, but pass 
 it in prayer, reading, and meditation. Enable me to make 
 rsation one of my pious exercises. 
 
 " I desire to remember with particular gratitude in my 
 'ions, that on this day five years my colleague and 
 myself set up our first religious institution at Cheddar. 
 Bless the Lord, my soul, for the seed which was that 
 day sown ! Do thou daily turn more hearts from darkness 
 to light, and preserve them from falling back again. O 
 Lord ! I desire to bless thy holy name for so many means 
 of doing good, and that when I visit the poor I am enabled 
 to mitigate some of their miseries. I bless thee that thou 
 hast called me to this employment, which, in addition to 
 many other advantages, contributes to keep my heart tender. 
 
 11 Sunday, November 0. I have lately been negligent iu 
 self-examination. I resolve by thy grace to be more dili- 
 gent. My faithful colleague has gone to our schools. I 
 wish to acknowledge her superiority to myself in many 
 principal parts of our joint-concern, particularly in fami- 
 liarising Scripture to untutored minds. 
 
 "Sunday, November 16. A fatiguing day visited five 
 schools ; i mny difficulties surrounded me. Lord, increase 
 our faith ! let the discoveries of faith be more clear, the 
 
' '. ;: 
 
 of frith mom etroog, the depeodeooiea of Mat 
 more firm and Axed, the dedkatiooe of frith morear 
 and robolutc, and the detighta of frith more elevating and 
 duibla. 
 
 " ffaiiifiii JTuwmlm 11 TTiaiinil it tmmi lij n mi 
 I cough BUB MMHMML Chl0fM to uod that* when I haT0 
 I tbia laat oomplauit %o v> BPaa% ojaflravf 1 BBW aaldooi anir 
 
 iaiaoBteavakMBUbrtP^ikopMirortydbamci 
 
 i^ thai I am deprived of the con- 
 eke can aopport the atml tinoW 
 
 tkMBlhttmht/trisfllthowfltno4 
 If timea I Hathlt me to 0s m 
 V mote fraqnanHj, on death aod 
 
 t to Bath. I have now entered a 
 4, fit me for the dtttiea, 
 owofit: I thank thee O tt the 
 npanT, with which taia pbee 
 ML Give me a hor/ diaervtioci on 
 
 .'.'.,. 
 Otre urn 
 
 ! . . 
 
 ilttffi Famorc 
 f aome of oiy 
 
 looU, which originated 
 
 ... I.-T. t-. :!.- . aj 
 
185 
 
 her power, more laboriously contributed to it than Mrs. 
 
 ; ore. But she began to fear that, without some extra- 
 ordinary efforts, their \ -itages might become a 
 source of much evil. The multiplication of mischievous 
 tracts, which were dispersed with incredible industry, 
 called aloud for some permanent antidote. \ To teach the 
 poor to read, she now saw, was putting a dangerous engine 
 into their hands, unless safe and salutary reading was also 
 provided\ The friends of insurrection, infidelity, and vice, 
 carried their exertions so far as to load asses with their 
 pernicious pamphlets, and to get them dropped, not only 
 in cottages and in highways, but into mines and coal-pits. 
 
 \liQ success of (Village Politics encouraged her to 
 venture on a more extensive undertaking. This was to 
 produce regularly every month three tracts, consisting of 
 stories, ballads, and Sunday readings, written in a lively 
 and popular manner. By these means she hoped to cir- 
 culate religious knowledge as well as innocent entertain- 
 ment, and to counteract the poison which was continually 
 flowing through the channels of corruption.^ 
 
 When she considered the multitudes whose sole read- 
 ing was limited to those vicious performances ; and that the 
 
 tation was obtruded upon them in the streets, or in- 
 
 f ^ly hung out upon the walls, or from the windows, 
 she thought the evil was so diffused as to justify her in 
 
 ioying such remedial methods as were likely to become 
 effectual by their simplicity and brevity, and their accom- 
 modation to vulgar minds. x 
 
 A- ih" .-'-honl of Paine had been labouring to under- 
 mine, not only religious establishments but good govern- ' 
 mei k 1 In ring vehicles of novels, stories, and songs, 
 
 ,.:ht it right to encounter them with their own 
 weapons ; ;md liavin- observed that to bring dignities 
 
 .>nU-mpt, and to render the clerical character odious, 
 was a favourite object with the enemy, her aim was to 
 oppose it in the way that seemed most likely to defeat the 
 mischief. She, therefore, scarcely ever produced a tract in 
 
 oh it was not a part of her plan to introduce an ex- 
 emplary parish priest. 
 
 As she proposed to undersell the trash she meant to 
 
' 
 
 id thai the expaoae wook 
 
 
 
 b. II II ! II ! if A 1 riMJUL 
 
 . 
 
 air taken up by the wia 
 
 When th0pipo*bforUtimoUwi ahowD to 
 the Duke of . he aaid, thai though ho admiral the 
 
 t imhucnbe, hcoraae ho took it for granted, know- 
 teg the chancier of the L* ly , thai all the doctrine* would 
 be oo one aide. I deaired 107 friend to tell hta graot that 
 they certainly would f I wonder if I shall erer hro time 
 nj^min to ait down and write a quiet orderly letter : I havo 
 ; ao many thing* to say, and never any time to say 
 then. The AfcpMttory TVoet* aagago my whole thoughts, 
 1 have written a new ballad, called the Jfcawrtft Co/far, 
 with which tfcottahop of Durham ia nwoh plaaaad. Hew 
 
HER " REPOSITORY TRACTS." 1 87 
 
 castle is in his diocese, and he hopes to spread the plan 
 much there. We had Lord and Lady Harcourb, and a 
 number of such-like fine people, to-day at dinner. 
 
 / compliments to the poor emigrant priests who 
 arc so much with you : do not tell them that the French 
 nobles and bishops, now in this country, are mentioned 
 with dislike by some of our high people. My constant 
 answer is, ' You should have found out their vices before 
 they wanted a dinner ; they had no sins when they were 
 able to give you magnificent fetes in their own country. 
 Our bounties are not meant to reward their virtues, but to 
 supply their necessities.' I went to London House yester- 
 day, and found the Bishop with his table full of our penny 
 ,ure," 
 
 " Mr. Mason has sent me half-a-dozen ballads for the 
 Repository. I was obliged to reject three, because they 
 had too much of politics ; and another, because there was 
 too much of love. But two, one of which was called the 
 Ploughbotft Dream, will do very well I know not what so 
 great a man will say at having any of his of;' (ted. 
 
 The Bishop has written him word that I am very nice, and 
 hard to please, so that he must not wonder if I do not take 
 every thing even of his. Two highly respectable Com- 
 mittees are formed, one in the City, and the other in 
 Westminster, members of parliament, &c., for the regular 
 circulation of our Repository Tracts. The Bishop of 
 Dromore has been with me, to put me on a good plan 
 about hawkers. The Bishop of London received the en- 
 closed note to-day from the Archbishop of Canterbury ; it 
 would make Sally, who has such a veneration for digni- 
 taries and cathedrals, smile to see how much the heads of 
 the Church condescend to deal in our small wares. 
 
 "I found two very agreeable presents last night waiting 
 my arrival. The works of Soame Jenyns, from the editor, 
 my good friend Mr. Cole ; and Mr. Bryant's new work, 
 magnificently bound in morocco, a present from the 
 learned and pious author, with a letter friendly and flatter- 
 ing to the last decree. I observe every year an increase of 
 
 / in this good man. Tell Patty I have a present, too, 
 
: > BMOMUBUl 
 
 for IMT moMOiiml urn-book, a piooo of kml gaihorod oi 
 
 Vir-.i'" t-::i. I :.:r'v > ..r i ...--.. 
 
 "I haft been writing a UUad for tbo ' Cfeq> Ropo*- 
 toty/ called 7W* M C<7*. Tbo object of il i. to x 
 eat* the juotko of Ood in tbo ippaionOy unequal dJotribo- 
 of good to thie world, by pointing to another 
 
 -t, a ;* A.. *K^ Bt^Lj^ , 
 
 oowcu n 10 UM iHMiop, woo Qpnnm 1*1 
 
 BU^BntlM^^MlBfyftUlbrab^wagr.* I fan* 
 bora oo ill, Uul my friend* fcftf* Mot l>r Wanwa to om 
 
 rUlMAfoa Tbto fan 
 
 IholttMitttjoftbojiiiifcaiDn* 
 
 xid my ririt to Oloucoolof HOMO j < fry. Udy 
 Waldograv* proamtod mo to tbo Dtschom Wo r*4 two 
 boora of oobd, rational, roUgioo* utmioi^iiiiii. IM 
 bo too btik topoy, that tbo Diinbiafi bobBftoi 
 
 u ... i- . ; ..-::.-.- 
 
 <^oi>itigot<tmertbingofftndigkma kind Uun porb^v 
 baord, obo boco it bottor tboA ony gr*t 
 
 __ 
 
 BHr OWQ 
 
 ! . k^ 
 
 * A WO1 
 
 nhc liad ever 
 
 peraon I over coororeed with, and < 
 
 Uw atriotew oT UM OCMML I WM raolnd to 
 
 the MmplicHy of 
 
 tbo groatovt eioe. ww IHIWUHJ, tv *** WHK^VM/^ 
 
 on tbo royal marrioge. Tbo Duebooi jiiiiMliil mo to 
 
 Prince. Sophia, and Prince Will; 
 
 1 . ', : ' v .. ' . 
 
 and convened with the greatort awoetneea and nunilU: 
 & roomnmrndod Mr. Qjaborno'a book. Tbel 
 
 ai.d told me of a iitUo adfontare abo bad bad. 8bo d^ 
 mrod Lady Mary Mordaunt (one of her bdiea of tbo bod- 
 ohamber) to clop an orango-woman, and aok nor if one ow 
 oold baUada. 'N^indoodl' aaid tbo woman, < I doot do 
 anything ao moan, I don't even sell applea!' Thn 
 verted them, aa they did not know there wore oo many 
 
AGAIN IN LONDON. 189 
 
 ranks and gradations in life. With some difficulty, how- 
 ever, they prevailed on her to condescend to sell some of 
 our little books, and in a few hours she came back, showing 
 
 i two shillings she had cleared by her new trade. 
 ^ Lord Orford rallied me yesterday, for what he called 
 the ill-natured strictness of my tracts, and talked foolishly 
 enough of the cruelty of making the poor spend so much 
 time in reading books, and depriving them of their plea- 
 sure on Sundays. v. In return, I recommended him and the 
 ladies present to read Law's Serious Call. I told them it 
 was a book that their favourite Mr. Gibbon had highly 
 praised ; and, moreover, that Law had been Gibbon's tutor 
 early in life. Both are true ; but was there ever such a 
 contrast between preceptor and pupil ? They have, how- 
 ever, promised to read it ; and I know they will be less 
 afraid of Gibbon's recommendation than of mine. 
 
 " Poor Lord Orford has been very seriously ill, and is 
 far from recovered. I was told that, as he lay on his bed, 
 he cried out, ' I l 1 1 not scolded poor Hannah 
 
 More for being so religious ! I hope she forgives me ! ' So 
 I sent him word that I forgave him, and would pray for 
 
 My kind friend, Mrs. Garrick, is very angry that I so 
 much curtail my visits to her ; but I feel that I have no 
 right to steal time from occupations by which I hope I 
 may be made an instrument of some little usefulness." 
 
 " Coulthurst tells me it was a famous speech that Mr. 
 Wilberforce made at York about the sedition bills, which has 
 established his own popularity, and the cause of govern- 
 ment in that county. Mrs. Kennicott is here, and Mr. 
 Jacob Bryant is expected. We dined yesterday at Chel- 
 sea, at Lord Cremorne's. To-day we visit Mr. Ormerod, at 
 his new residence at Kensington. 
 
 " Since writing the above, Lady Eustou has.bccn here to 
 spend the morning. She tells me that her Lord and Pitt 
 were returned yesterday for Cambridge. I suppose Sally 
 is quite wild at the budget. Such national wealth ! Such 
 a minister ! 600,000. in the treasury ; and then he thanks 
 bivine Providence, too, for the flourishing state of the 
 
1 - 
 
 1 bopothfeffevof tht 
 open mart and more upon him. 
 
 No CM OKI duly Appreciate the worth awl 
 
 naof the detigbtAil owners ef this 
 Hke me, bad tbe privilege of beinff an himaie for aomo 
 amki every year. Ufa. f\vtau A! wsy pats me in mind 
 of an enaamtioo of Htr ITiibp Bydnry ; bar wbola4amaan> 
 DT end eoodeet ia tba IIHII of ptoprJety.' 1 new 
 
 properly aafeatad topiaa far uum Martina A* to the 
 BJabojNbia bfekA tiaeueof jpodaationa. His industry 
 ia inctadibia ; be eUB riaat at ftvc, and tba end of one a* 
 
 iaincndibia;nwatillriaai 
 
 ful employinani w only the bagiMinf of 
 od ia Always a&Hra wbom any pro^eat of fmbite apod or 
 Tata baiafi Jaaaa b on foot li ewertatea of i 
 ,bia 
 
 u-ir litlir BfJalp MT 
 
 Jy ajiaaahia, now tkatl am ao Uttia tn 
 Iliair Jriniaiaaj ia iiiiHiaa my cartioukr filaaik In 
 
 44 t4>rd Orford baa prreented mo wttb Bhnop Wueon a 
 edition of tbe Bihlc, in three rolumce quarto, 
 
 4*0*?vbiab, i owat flal 
 
 Akal wbem I reeehw ihaai imilui niaaf Ihaai I aai t 
 
 to ana vet ^ with my old uiaod Jobneoo, ^ BO% I Am 
 miaerAbiei 
 
 A 
 from btr i 
 
 t K i M t fiwALmi Art /I 
 
 whom the v )..ul for aom* yemw auipioyad. It aftvda at 
 one* such a proof of providential direction in tbe choice 
 of tbe toMbcra they engaged, and of tbe respect which 
 
 iratotboMwbo 
 
 > piety and useful taicnta may 
 in rery humble life, that I think its tntrinsio worth 
 
 wiU justify it* inacrtton. It rfaaarwai a pbc*, too, M a 
 of tba lanront apint And Aunpia piety of tbc 
 
A DYING CHRISTIAN AT CHEDDAR. 
 
 warm-hearted writer, a woman whose frame was the weak 
 and languid vehicle of a strong and noble mind, directing 
 its affections first to her God and Saviour, and then QX~ 
 panding them over the whole human race in labours of 
 
 From Martha to Hannah More : 
 
 " August 18, 1795. 
 
 " I took my letter yesterday to finish it at Cheddar ; 
 but, alas ! hurry, grief, and agitation, render it almost im- 
 possible for mo to write a word ; however, I will endeavour 
 to convey to you, that we have just deposited the remains 
 of our excellent Mrs. Babcr, to mingle with her kindred 
 dust Who else has ever been so attended, so followed to 
 the grave ? Of the hundreds who were assembled, all had 
 some token of mourning in their dress. All the black 
 gowns in the village were exhibited, and those who had 
 none, had some broad, some little bits of narrow black 
 ribbon, such as their few spare pence could provide. The 
 house, the garden, and place before the door, was full. But 
 how shall I describe it ? not one single voice nor step was 
 heard their very silence was dreadful. It was not the 
 least affecting part to see their poor little ragged pocket- 
 handkerchiefs, not half sufficient to dry their tears ; some 
 had none, and those tears that did not fall to the ground, 
 they wiped off with some part of their dress. When the 
 procession moved off, Mr. Boak, who was so good as to 
 come to the very house, preceded the corpse, with his hat- 
 band and gown on, which, as being unusual, added some- 
 what to the scene ; then the body ; then her sister and 
 myself as chief mourners ; a presumptuous title amidst 
 such a weeping multitude ; then the gentry, two and 
 two ; next her children, near two hundred ; then all the 
 parish in the same order ; and, though the stones were 
 rugged, you did not hear one single footstep. 
 
 " When we came to the outer gate of the churchyard, 
 where all the people used to wait to pay their duty to her 
 by bows and courtesies, we were obliged to halt for Mr. 
 Boak to go in and get his surplice on, to receive the corpse 
 with the usual texts. This was almost too much for every 
 
Dd Mr. Bosk's voice WM nearly lost : when bs 
 to I know that my Redeemer Ihrsth,' bo could 
 ter H; but to feel H WM s better thing 
 
 to&d*^1*W***H*Uk4*frl*t 
 had left discovered to us that it WM almost full. How wr 
 were to bo disposed of, I could not teJL 1 took my old 
 
 seat with the children, and oloM by her place. 
 
 , . ... . ...... ,..^,.. 
 
 . . . . 
 
 the subject ilk teit was from 8t John,-* Where 1 
 Uweshsil also my servant be.' Hs said bs chose H, be- 
 OHMS tt was the last abe bad made nee of to him (1 was 
 ttmgcxibcrbodathmcUn^).b a Jckx!,'^^ki 
 
 , .-, t-> Mfcrf^ mtM k_ - ** 
 
 ssrmon was aDeoung MM DOM ; as a proof of me isasr, 
 
 though Mr. , the rkmr, we* there, end be bimsrlf WM 
 
 curate, he said with an niiitiuli in bis voios, and i 
 
 tioDtoCbedci ,4>keof Deteeyto bifb 
 
 that a double port4on of Ihr i 
 
 upon the daughter. Hs WM isry tender in Ins address to 
 ngly solemn in thst to the 
 witha 
 
 to the 
 
 rite i 
 
 AM^M!MM|M k.. IOK !! - f ^ 
 
 ereryoouy inrew in ineir oosegBya. i WM 
 tchoked. When RobeK Reeves, John Harshall, and 
 the *U favourite* let down the eofta, they stood otsr it 
 in an atUtode iierer to be dcecnbed, aiid eihibtUd s grief 
 nevor tons forgotten. Tliey (eared at one time V. 
 muathavobeeoteJLenoutofthecbmxih. If you could for 
 a moment doubt my account, I would add, that the under- 
 taker from Bristol wept like a child, and coufeaf1 that, 
 without emolument, it was worth going s hundred miles 
 to seo such a sight I forgot to mention, the children 
 sobbed a suitable hymn over the grave. There WM no 
 bokUsous hysterical grief, for the departed bad taught 
 thsm bow to select suitable tciU for snob occasion*, and 
 
A DYlNi! CHRISTIAN AT CHEDDAIJ. 193 
 
 when to ,-s of Scripture; but I think 
 
 almost tears enough were shed to lay the dust. We re- 
 turned as we went, save that we had left this * mother in 
 Israel* behind. When we got the children into the great 
 room, and missed her lively sprightly figure and move- 
 ments, every heart sunk. 
 
 a I said a great deal to them all, as well as I could, anI 
 wrung their little hearts ; for I knew but too well, that the 
 world and young blood wouM excellent sponge to 
 
 wipe out, full soon, the awful lessons of that day. My 
 rough nature generally diivrK im> rather to probe than 
 heal a wound: the natural man loves to patch, but the 
 will tear the old garment. Mr. Boak was very 
 
 i, and assisted me a good deal in talking to them ; ami 
 said all now hung upon their own good conduct, whether 
 the school should be continued or not, but he hoped we 
 
 dd try it at least a twelvemonth. Excellent, laborious 
 
 Betsy, has hitherto all her life been an indefatigable slave. 
 
 She will now suddenly be called into great power, and 
 
 Satan, I presume, will be more active about her than ever ; 
 
 . the truest tenth nu->s will be, to keep a tight 
 
 . and let her out gradually ; as we 
 
 not that exalted opinion of the dignity of human 
 nature which some gentlemen and ladies have. I have 
 promised to go next Sunday to open the school, and talk 
 to the people, if I am able. I think I shall go on horse- 
 back. Mrs. Baber seemed for the last six months to have 
 been particularly preparing for death. She had been very 
 bilious, and slept but little. Betsy would speak, and 
 inquire how she did : her answer was, ' I lie awake, and in 
 pain, but eternity is revealed to me in a manner I cannot, 
 dare not, tell ! ' She had ceased speaking to the people after 
 the sermon for some time, and made Betsy do all the 
 important parts of the business ; the laborious part she 
 B did. 
 
 " I should have thought it no crime to have given a 
 considerable sum to have had you, Mr. Wilberforce, and 
 Mr. Thornton, present. Perhaps such a sight has seldom 
 been exhibited. Oh, that the rich and great would so live 
 as to be so mourned ! So passeth this world away, and 
 
 o 
 
T 
 
 V ' .'!... ' : ' \ 
 
 h difficulty to isetiaio my tonfFi* s* a* the 
 the iMt office wee psffatmsd; the pcopi 
 i! the solemnity of tha whole! the itpint tthht 
 
 hat I rroollortod that 
 
 must not jq**k in the cirardi. Oh! tsrt e*e been Interred 
 
 in the ehMtejd,a mm*m*m from Mr. PHt she*!* not 
 lift** restiiined me, for 1 eniaesd to hearo received a i 
 
 l hv 
 
 thepir 
 
 in it Hint 
 
 %!: Vsi ).t f thai wo 
 n .w lf,*t it ** 1 
 
 Prom Mi*. H. Mnm to Mr 
 
 M-, iBJfS r.- j , 
 
 a tine in aiiswcr to ynf^ tf it were not to asveyov more 
 
 in our onerstioos ; hat I write on purpose to hef yea not 
 to think of it An ocdmary panioo would be ofoouse; 
 
 views and further theai. would occasion sn expense equal 
 to Uic support of OIM> or two or taof* schools. Al 
 we rub on pretty well It will he tune < 
 
 TOUT scheme when I am quite laid by. This hot 
 
 makes me suffer terribly ; yet I hsve now and them a good 
 day, sad on Sunday was enabled to open the school 
 was an afiscting sight Several of the grownup youths 
 had been tried at the last sssises: three were the chi; 
 V-MHI lately condemned to be haegrd ; many thi 
 and vicious beyond belief 
 
LETTER TO MB. WTLBERFORCE. 195 
 
 banditti we have enlisted one hundred and seventy ; and 
 when the clergyman, a hard man, who is also a magistrate, 
 sw these creatures kneeling around us, -whom he had 
 seen but to commit or punish in some way, he 
 I into tears. I can do them little good, I fear ; but the 
 of God can do all. Your friend, Henry Thornton, 
 thought we ought to try. 
 
 a I have just had a letter from the Bishop of London, 
 c i pressing the most gloomy apprehensions as to our public 
 prospects. Captain Bedford writes me that there is scarcely 
 an officer in the fleet who does not reprobate the Quibcron 
 attempt, and all subsequent attempts on the coast. 
 u Yours, dear Sir, most sincerely, 
 
 " HANNAH MORE. 
 
 " P.S. Have you never found your mind, when it. has 
 been weak, now and then touched and raised by some very 
 trifling circumstance? So I felt on Sunday. The prin- 
 1 people from many parishes came to the opening of 
 this scheme for the instruction of this place, which is con- 
 red a sort of Botany Bay. Some musical gentlemen, 
 drawn from a distance by curiosity (just as I was coming 
 out of church with my ragged regiment, much depressed 
 to think how little good I could do them), quite unexpect- 
 edly struck up that beautiful and animating anthem, ' In- 
 asmuch as ye have done it to one of the least of these, you 
 donc t it unto me.' It was well performed, and had a 
 striking effect." 
 
 From. Miss H. More to the Kev. J. Newton : 
 
 ('mrsl'ip (trecn, Sept. 15, 1706. 
 
 " My dear Sir, If I had followed the impulse of my 
 feelings, I should have sent you, by return of post, my 
 warmest thanks for your kind, most undeservedly kind 
 letter. If you had treated me as I deserve, you would 
 never have written to me again ; but I am much gratified 
 whenever I find any one to whom I am truly attached, 
 understanding me well enough not to make the punc- 
 tuality of my correspondence a test of the sincerity of my 
 friendship. 
 
i . : -.'.'. v ' 
 
 - You cannot imagine, my dear Sir, how mueh < 
 re from being aanrcd that 1 and mine are f 
 
 by you at the throne of grace. 1 cannot as. 
 
 i .:..:, . ; - r ! 
 
 I ' -. . ,. :. . ' . 
 
 Weak health, wwk apifita, MM! wed 
 
 * 
 
 
 iftllamewith 
 i pbnatd to work by the moat 
 
 It always give* me th* tdm (if not too low and familiar) 
 ofagraUanthor writing with a very bad pen. You will 
 be glad to hear that our work 
 
 Thla would he 
 
 little fmtiffue, if 
 
 tie at 
 
 1 1 have a dimeter of above twenty milea to travel, in 
 order to gH at them. In aottc of theat pariahea wedeje 
 not do all we wieh, by reaaoo of the worldly den 
 who are now <rajat and civil, but who would be 1 
 
 we attempted in their pariahea what we do in 
 aomo other*. In aome of the moat pfonnpUe placea we 
 
 .oataucow; and whrrr we chidl^ 
 
 with your putty food kind of people, who do not aee bow/ 
 they can be better. I think H baa placed Ood to ghro o 
 the mot mH progrwi in the pan*h we lat took up, not 
 above a year ago. Thia plaot haa holpad to people the 
 . . , it.. 
 
 MemtolmvinmchedaaortofchiiUofiniquitu Of nearly 
 two hundred cluldren, many of them frown up. hardly any 
 
 raecntheinaideofaotnirohabMthey 
 
 coed. I cannot tcU you the aridity with which the Scrip- 
 
 : \ : : \ ' . : . : : ' ' ;'.' 
 
 Finding the head* of the pariah (fennon) i, 
 M their labourer*, we domed a method, at the oataei, of 
 wiring their pride, by letting apart oat evening in tho 
 weak on pmrpooa for their iostructiomv Abore twenty of 
 
LETTER TO MR. NEWTON. 197 
 
 i. including their wives, attend, and many seem to be 
 brought under serious impressions. V ^^W ^^ 
 
 " One great benefit which I have found TO result from 
 our project is, the removal of that great gulf which has 
 * lie rich and poor in these country parishes, by 
 making them meet together ; whereas, before, they hardly 
 _jht they were children of one common father. Oh! 
 how glad should I be to get you to preach to a little colony 
 of colliers wo have raised up. "We have placed at the head 
 of it a young collier of uncommon gifts ; and, as I am will- 
 ing to hope, of uncommon graces also : but as we have 
 been soin '-appointed after very promising begin- 
 
 ning*, I have learned to rejoice with trembling. Unfor- 
 tnnately, the road to this place is so extremely bad that a 
 carriage cannot get to it, so that we are not able to go half 
 as often as we could wish, and ought ; and when we do, 
 through more fatigue than we can well bear, though 
 Patty is far more heroic than I am. 
 
 you could recommend us any fresh sermons, 
 calculated for our sort of audience ; they should be very 
 awakening as to the matter, but simple and perspicuous as 
 to the expression. Most, even of the spirited and striking 
 ones I meet with, have still this fault, they prc-suppose 
 too much knowledge and education in the readers or 
 
 rers ; now we want some which teach and refer to first 
 1 which suppose the audience to know no- 
 thing. The books, I think, to which we return the oftenest, 
 are those of Rowland, Alleine, and Walker of Truro ; but 
 even of these we arc obliged to lower the style as we read, 
 
 ' substitute familiar words for hard ones. I do not 
 Hatter myself that we do much good; but the folly, the 
 projudice, the ignorance, the opposition, and the various 
 
 .ppointments we sometimes meet with, serve at least 
 to teach one a spirit of forbearance ; and when we are 
 
 .-ing home very tired at night, I often tell Patty that we 
 ought to take comfort in thinking, that if we have done 
 the people no good, we have got some good ourselves by 
 
 li wholesome exercises of our patience and toleration. 
 I sometimes tremble to think, that while busy in looking 
 after the vineyards of others, ' mine own vineyard have 
 
1 1 * UFE OF IIAXXAfI MOftX 
 
 not kept* Pray for me, my dear Sir, that I ma r harv a 
 more lively faith, a deeper humility, a apint of i. . 
 
 acif-rrnuociAUon ; taat 1 ma/ be more doaU to too 
 
 i, and moro aiirc u 
 :< joioo m UM good and agreeable accounta you gnr* 
 
 uia^H, ai^ bop* your Taluabki-althawlUfo will be 
 fcparod many yeans and thai your tuwful tcrnec* in the 
 church may bo prolonged and attended, Pray nnmabnr 
 m* to MM Gbtktt 1 aympailiiw wtUi you in iha lorn of 
 your dear MMttaot. AH ^ht^ fiifiMJT krtn ID 
 
 Your tcty OuUJul and ^Htr^ frwod, 
 '- H. Moo. 11 
 
 Boor Lord Orford! 1 oonld oot help moumoig ftir 
 ai ifl had Dot atpacU it fini ivwiy jmw* o- 
 
 give; ,ui omoiioo. 1 am out aorry now U 
 
 now fluichod from any of hi* ridicule or tUaoka, or mil 
 fortd them to pata wUhoui raboko. A t our Lut meeting 
 
 liia l 
 
 wit, hia variotta knowledge, hia polished mannea, atel 
 what arail they now! The mart tcnou* thoughU are 
 awakened. Oh that bo bad known aad believed U thmgf 
 that belonged to hi* peace! My heart m maoh ujipiewd 
 with the rejection. 
 
 M Therno*t rational and religion* evening, by far, that 
 1 hat paad in town waa at Qloooertar iiuuae, when 1 
 bavc Ucji t^ice. It would make eome (6Uu amile to know 
 that we read the Epiailc to the Kphawiint, and oomiDeotod 
 a we want along. Mr. Wilbcrf oroc'a chapter on J/mm\tn 
 Corruption led to a long diaawion on that dorjrine, and 
 other |rai) i j. ...- 
 
 rforce wan to send her hia book : anc wma c i 
 charmed, aijJ aaid ahe would ait up all night rather than 
 not be qualinixi to talk about it with me when aho eeee 
 mo again. I am curiou* to hear what people eay of tht* 
 All agree .en; that it ia a very 
 
::n. 190 
 
 able boo: people admire it highly. 
 
 j those who thought G, rict will think 
 
 <;<es more so. 
 
 "Palace, Fulhani, May 7, 1?J)S. 
 
 u I had a very quiet> pleasant visit at Mitcham, con- 
 trasting well with the scene I had quitted in town. Mr. 
 Cecil was faithful as usual to his animal assignation. I 
 did not enjoy much of poor Mr. lU,uro's company, so occu- 
 pied was he in arming and exercising. lie rises at half-past 
 four, at Mitcham, trots off to town to be ready to meet at 
 six the Fleet-street corps, performing their evolutions in 
 the area of Bridewell, the only place where they can find 
 sufficient space; then comes back to a late dinner, and as 
 soon as it is over goes to his committees, after which he 
 has a Serjeant to drill himself and his three sons on tho 
 lawn till it is dark. 
 
 " Upon my arrival here I found quite a conclave of 
 
 ops, Durham, London, Lincoln, with their ladies. The 
 
 Bishop of Lincoln L < -loscd. It was the result 
 
 of the Lniai ig, and I am glad it has a little 
 
 the military ardour of the clergy; their number 
 
 g only one, or at most two in a parish, would have 
 been too inconsiderable to have been of any great use : and 
 
 >uld have unhinged them from that more important 
 stat tiiey may bo incalculably more useful 
 
 ,lc I think of it, desire Hazard to give you a parcel of 
 the papers containing the texts which the Moravians give 
 their people, inculcating duty to kings, and enclose me as 
 many as a cover directed to the Bishop will hold. The 
 people are all in raptures at the arrival of that romantic 
 hero Sir Sidney Smith ; the bells rung as ho passed through 
 this place : I am glad when they can be pleased without 
 The Bihhop oi Lincoln stayed with us till Tues- 
 day; only he stole off now and then to his old pupil, Mr. 
 Pitt, and went down to Holrnwood with him on Saturday 
 and Sunday, where the Bishop says he is as eager about 
 
 /ing in this tree, and pulling up that hedge, and 
 
 ling tJw other seat, as if he had not a whole nation 
 on his back. What is surprising, with his load of business, 
 
. ..." 
 
 i, that he has contrived already to get through the three 
 quartos of Sir Robert \VsJjlc, which be gnmtly U ,: he 
 *fty ritton, but very iiiUnstinj. and sets Or 
 
 Robert^ character very high. The Bishop of London wmt 
 ywtaftby to dine at Lambeth, and we ladies went to 
 with I*dy Croorne, who gave me i 
 for your OoBtOliM M.' MM 
 
 eight lu the roonung.and found Admiral C >i 
 
 Ateiral, and a OeMral, with their r" 
 
 . parts of the room, and so at times i 
 Lm. f Sir ItiehanlHUL In the morning We 
 
 the honour of intftxlooiof at 
 
 good 
 
 m Mrx II. Marc to Mr. 
 
 <*<..< If- I:TH 
 
 *? been wishing to writs- to you, to thank yon for 
 sending the Dykes, whom we mnch liked. Uo preached at 
 
 night 1 have many thtngH to eay v partly in answer to 
 your kind and very encouraging letter, which served to 
 faith and cheer my spirits |ttly to tcH 
 
 my faith 
 you of our going* oc^ and chiefly to i 
 
 Ust I must defer all 1 hate U> teO you till I am 
 
 better able to y it, and eonnne nypelf to nay a word on 
 
 :irat mcroc-ofCkxi tomyi^lf. I want bat week to 
 
 Wedmore, the new pboa, and betim I i^tmt too much 
 
 time in a damp half-finianed houar, which we are abdisl 
 
 tool, giring dfawetioo* to hare it ftabbr 
 
 u attacked with one of my violent ^MM in my 
 head ^itmday night, no that I could not go wit* 
 
 the Dykes the Sunday round, but Patty did. Thk pain 
 continued almost intolerable during two day* and two 
 night*, and left my nerves in a high state of irritation. 
 On Monday, being alone, I fell down from the place where 
 I wan milting, in a fainting fit. I dashed my face against 
 the corner of a stone wall, and Uy a very long time without 
 
LETTER TO MR. WILBERFORCE. 201 
 
 giving any signs of life. My sifters found me in a posture 
 
 which mu^t soon have suffocated me, with my face 
 
 frightfully disfigured, and the floor sprinkled with blood. 
 
 re was a strong contest between life and death, but it 
 
 sed my merciful God to raise me up. I was a good 
 
 while before I had any clear ideas, but felt a sort of stupid 
 
 serenity; no emotion, but a general feeling that I had not 
 
 done enough for God, and what would poor Patty do by 
 
 herself ? I am so disfigured, you would scarcely know me ; 
 
 but I am full of gratitude : for though my eyes make me 
 
 look a perfect Mrs. Mendoza, yet the sight is safe ; and had 
 
 not my face received the bruises, my skull must have been 
 
 fractured. You will be glad to hear that my mind has 
 
 been very calm, and that 1 felt that this visitation was in 
 
 mercy. I write this, two or three lines at a time, and 
 
 cannot see to read it : but the bruises, though very bad, 
 
 are nothing; they will in time disappear; I must try to 
 
 my nerves in a better way. I have a dull pain in my 
 
 , which is very unpleasant. I must just tell you that 
 
 tave kept possession of the pulpit at Wedmore ever 
 
 , and sent one of our own clergy every Sunday to 
 
 keep up the attention to our plan. Last Sunday Drewitt 
 
 preached an hour; after he had finished, the clerk got up 
 
 and said, 4 The parish are desired to meet next Friday to 
 
 consult on the best means of opposing the ladies who are 
 
 coming to set up a school.* 
 
 4< Bold Drewitt, nothing dismayed, stood up instantly 
 
 be pulpit, and said, ' And on Sunday next, the parish 
 
 are desired to meet the ladies, who intend opening the 
 
 school at nine o'clock ;' but I now doubt if I shall be able: 
 
 it will be a hard contest; and whether John Barrow or 
 
 nah More will be the successful candidate, I have not 
 
 the least idea. 
 
 love to Mrs. W. and Mrs. K. I have the comfort 
 of being sure of your prayers. 
 
 " God bless you, 
 
 "H.MORE." 
 
 Mrs. Hannah More had by this time entirely withdrawn j 
 hertclf from her multifarious intercourse with her friends j 
 
in Loodo^od 
 in each year in iu nefebbowbood ; dividing her tune b* 
 bar friend, lit*. Gerriek, Biabop Fortes Lord 
 Mr ii Tbornton, Mr. H.mre, and aotna few 
 
 , 
 
 . 1, 170^ liwii^ obutoMl Mp of Ood v 1 oo^ 
 
 Unoe to Ihii* a*T. 
 
 L I 
 
 watobfol over ay 1 
 
 banOily. 3dJy. To i 
 
 vail 
 4thly. To atma after cloeer oommoinon with God. 
 
 *t no boor paa* without 
 
 through Chrint *hly. Not to lot a day pae* 
 aome thought of dmth. 7thl v. To a*k m wif rtery nigbt 
 vben I lie down, am I fit to dial 8Uly. To labour to do 
 and to avfier the whole will ol God- 9thly. To . 
 over-anxiety by catttingmyeeif oo God in Chnt. 
 '*d*ty, January 7- 1 will ooofeen my luna, 
 of them. Head Uic atonement. Bmolvo to love Ood'and 
 
 ^t Implore the aid of the 
 
 and direction, Kxamina if theae tbinga are done, Bo 
 humbled for my failures. Watch and pray. 
 
 "Through death the Cbriatian'a aoul goat to, Finrt, 
 
 IVtfcct purity. ulJy, Fulneaa of joy. 3dJy f EmUhtinc 
 
 freedom. 4thiy, Perfect real fithly, Health and fruition. 
 
 . , CDmpeHa accurit>. Ttiily, fiiijadartial and eternal 
 
 fc, : 
 
HER JOURNAL. 203 
 
 "Sunday, January 21. Up late last night much 
 harassed all the week by worldly company. My temper 
 hurt heart secularised. I had looked forward to a peace- 
 
 -unday instead of this, an acute headache. Spent the 
 day in bed little devotion no spirituality. Could not 
 
 : think at all. Had an hour's talk with Mr. Wilberforcc 
 
 .d reason to bless God that, in my present difficulties, 
 this wise Christian friend was at hand to counsel and 
 comfort me. Lord, grant that my many religious advan- 
 tages may not appear against me. Many temptations this 
 
 iv to vanity. My picture asked for two publications. 
 
 . i cations flattery without end. God be praised, I was 
 not flattered, but vexed twenty-four hours' headache 
 makes one see the vanity of all this ! Am I tempted to 
 vanity ? Let me call to mind what shining friends I 
 have lost this year each eminent in his different way, 
 
 he that is least in the kingdom of grace is greater 
 i 
 
 " 1 resolved, at the beginning of the year, to pray at 
 least twice a-week, separately, for the country in this time 
 of danger, independently of the petitions offered up in my 
 
 r prayers. 
 
 nday, January 28. I indulge too much in the 
 thought, how much better I might be had I fewer inter- 
 ruptions, more opportunity of vital preachers, more pious 
 
 ads, less worldly company. There is great self-deceit 
 in all this. Am I praying against these disadvantages? 
 Do I make the most of the rest of my time 1 Lord, assist 
 me to do so, and to bear patiently what I dislike. This 
 week I have watched my words more, but not sufficiently 
 my thoughts. * * Heard of John 
 
 Wilkes's death awful event ! talents how abused ! Lord, 
 who hath made me to differ 1 but for thy grace I might 
 have blasphemed thee like him. In early youth I read 
 Hume, Voltaire, Rousseau, &c. I am a monument of mercy 
 not to have made shipwreck of my faith. 
 
 " February 2. My birthday. Lord, grant I may never 
 have cause to say, ' It were good for me had I never been 
 born ' Lord, forgive the sins of my youth they have 
 pressed on me this day. Blot them from thy book, and 
 
UrCOTBAVXAfl 
 
 give me grace to 
 
 * * Preparing for London. Oh ! 
 I WOT MI anxioue to forget nothing relating to the noil 
 world ee I am to omtt notbfag 1 Aafl w* in tbfc joorpry . 
 
 bold, but nothfef to th* heeii; ao food far periebing 
 the number of tiro who 
 
 leal nifbt to 
 
 It 1 * '-* kiLtk I JJMl M ** ---- I^V^^^M f*iMiA L 
 
 . . 
 
 me DoioTcnmUanyciuldoriiMiL CbrM b dL Ob for 
 
 ill all tbt wnr. How nmny dfor ptetel jom*jr wbo 
 MlforUioaoltortWfooliiBlr MI 
 
 with kind CbriMteD frtoodm, 
 
 ^ - * - I. _._!. ,, ,, M l^.l |^ . , . t I I - . 
 
 NN ' ' <..'- . .. i . . 
 
 Ob,foractiftoil imffcriiig! itaoifel 
 not tb j beary band until tbj wotk of i 
 done in my mL 
 
 . ." :. i ' . .. ; , 
 
 Mr< I did not foal my bent property i> Dili Ob, 
 
 that I may lay to heart thfc ICMOO of mortal*? ! Lord, 
 
 - ... ___ f nm ftkl* ^--.- -^ ^^t. _ ^t. 
 
 
 
 be thy wiO I nhould peea Uirour 
 
 ... rau* die. Ob! tbat I could Inn to di* daily, 
 tar to the dark valky 
 
 I 
 which lies before me. 
 
 PempUdtoUwana io potttio^ Undar 
 maak of religkm, I fear I indulge my own humour* 
 and rcaentmenU. I would learn of Him wbo waa neek 
 and lowly. I cannot 61 my tboughU ioUnUj on deatb, 
 according to iny rceolution. Death adranoea, bat I do not 
 advance in my preparat:ou for it 
 
 ttm<**, April*. My i 
 
 much ea unal, but my heart bee not been deeply tou 
 I am about to leave tbie place. Lord, forgive whnt I 
 
HEH JOURNAL. 205 
 
 neglected to do, and what I have done ; and if any little 
 good has been done by me, be pleased graciously to accept 
 
 it, and forgive its imperfections. Mrs. B gave me 
 
 largely for the poor. Lord bless her, and make all her bed 
 
 in her sickness ! Strengthen her faith. Remove the pre- 
 
 QS that impede her comforts. Support her through 
 
 Bo her support in death, and if we never meet again 
 
 here, grant that we may meet in the kingdom of our Lord 
 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 " London, Sunday, April 15. I have been a week here 
 hurried worldly with little serious reading less serious 
 thoughts, except when I lie awake in the night ; this is 
 often a comfortable time with me the world shut out 
 my conscience moiv tender my memory more quick in 
 
 i^ing my sins before me. My temper is sore tried. 
 Yesterday I was tempted to anger to-day I bore the pro- 
 vocation. T. arh me to subdue all anger, Lord, and not to 
 
 N I am helping thy cause when I am angry. Oh that 
 ild learn of him who was meek and lowly! Had a 
 little serious talk with tin- Duchess of Gloucester, Lady 
 Aroherst, and the Duchess of Beaufort. Lord, let me be 
 no mean respe<rter of persons, but make me valiant for thy 
 truth. 
 
 1 la bad headache all day nothing 
 
 done for God in pain my religion vacillates : I trust I am 
 tolerably patient and resigned, yet not as becomes a dis- 
 ciple of the suffering Jesus. This week has been nearly 
 passed in visiting little reading or seriousness a few 
 occasions, indeed, were snatched to talk seriously to young 
 Christians, and I bore my testimony pretty strongly in 
 company with some learned sceptics. At another time 
 too much carried away with the pleasure of talking on 
 
 e subjects of taste have taken too much pains to 
 shine, and felt too much pleasure to hear my taste com- 
 mended on the subject of French literature. Spent three 
 
 ; at Mitcham felt the joy of pious society. I fear I 
 do not profit enough when I get with pious people it 
 
 i > orates in self-satisfied feelings and serious talk, with- 
 out reaching the heart. 
 
 u I feel full of schemes of charity of doing good of 
 
UFBOT H 
 
 God's gloryof siting for ttaeAtlneaa, not 
 
 
 
 
 
 *&MHfejfc4i9jf ML By the rooty of God I am f^or- 
 
 ttod to wriU mm more. Lord, grant Uu* my life, tbm> 
 Minmly nfwred, may U *|Mt more r%of<Mijr to 
 ory. On the 13th, after two dm\V nerwv 
 own in a vioUnt fit, dMhoi my AM giimt 
 y long neomiiigly cted, muca bnttted an 
 
 m lain by ubovo a fortnight almost tu 
 
 ina in my head ; loaa of alcen. Grant, Lo 
 
 tPd man daoaya, I inay he raoew. 
 
 I have loatall thi4 time from my h 
 deemed too little of it by serious thought 
 
HER JOURNAL. 07 
 
 " A fresh proof of human depravity has. I hope, brought 
 me nearer to God. I have been driven nearer to him, and 
 have had more comfort in prayer ; but still I am not 
 d in the spirit of my mind. Lord, perfect 
 what is lacking in my faith and love, and let me 'possess 
 my soul in patience.' Refine my zeal, purify my motives, 
 lead me to act with a holy simplicity, leaving the event to 
 thee, who doest all things well. Oh for purer, holier con- 
 verse ; more disentanglement from the world; more 
 heavenly meditations. 
 
 u Saturday, September 22. Head seldom free from pain. 
 Suffering does not yet purify my heart, though my gra- 
 cing Father purposes it for that end. Lord, sanctify pain 
 to me ; make me as willing to suffer thy will as to do it. 
 Company every day all day chiefly good people : but so 
 much company unspi ritualizes my mind, and swallows up 
 time. Book goes on slowly; Ch<- _ 'ory is closed. 
 
 4 Bless the Lord, O my soul,' that I have been spared to 
 accomplish that work ! Do thou, Lord, bless and prosper 
 it to the good of many ; and if it do good, may I give to 
 thee tho glory, and take to ni\ ; of its defects. 
 
 1 three years to this work. Two millions of 
 these tracts disposed of during the first year ! God works 
 by weak instruments, to show that the glory is all his own. 
 >iday, September 30. Have had more communion 
 with God lately, especially in the night- watches. Thoughts 
 more called off from worldly things, and less vexed by dis- 
 appointments ; still I find it hard to fix my mind on God 
 and eternity by day : I had rather work for God than 
 meditate on him ; ; communion is the work of 
 
 heaven, and how shall I be prepared but by this ? 
 
 >day, November 18. Returned from Bath in an 
 : c of health, as I thought ; but health being, 
 
 i 'tless, not good for me, had a return of my headache. 
 I might turn the time lost from more active duties to 
 good account, by secret communion with my God and 
 
 our; but, alas! this is too little the case partly, in- 
 deed, that the intense pain in my head deprives me of the 
 ; sc of thought, and gives an involuntary gloom 
 and depression to my spirits; but more, I fear, from a 
 
- UIT OF HAWAII u . 
 
 habit of not sufficiently watching ovor my thoughts at 
 other times. It is a grierous truth, that I am in genera! 
 >us when I am aick. Lord, do thou gtr* mo 
 
 M D*xmUr 1 Vain thoughts djanaanpoii my own 
 mind, and orU trtnpers ahow me the atnptinaai of that 
 nattery with wUeii I asn at times otwwnsimed. I* 
 hope I can mj that I deHtrt titife pfaumi* torn aodb 
 prmiaaa, whik toy haart ttiti me how Uuk I daatrr* thmt 
 !comi*ro yelf with Oc parity oT thy law, and II 
 
 tailllll !! *AA *- * A A W. 1^--- - |_. 
 
 : 
 
 UiringwonU. Hcamlof.iulUaod httmiliaUng hi-t 
 
 m yaau j ttat pcsbuabady and can traly aay it IP^ "^ 
 or no moftifiomtkm ; oor did I fad aw daaitt to con 
 
 teiuhct it 
 
 ahow a fpaak with Tk4ftit 
 , fmtof God I aoimifiwl 
 
 A_ ^if litil ffn%* t) itir*} IA ^vWbiAl tfM^vtkf ^A. MftJlAa tiflfri 
 
 hadttoUd lo Uarmly thinfm, w ooi ahr.y to my own 
 
 '..'..' .,.,.;. .. ; .. . i , , 
 
 foal to which I am tending Lord, raiaa my froffeOmf 
 aflcctious to thyaalf ; diapana thaae earthly Tapowa which 
 obacttrt my fiuth : iaonaaa my daairaa allar that worki 
 where ain and aociow will be dona away ! 
 
 "An awful diapattailionl the curate of 
 
 mtl ! il il ! titl^al^^ K * A^A. K -* LA ._ j 
 
 ' 
 
 Daan a raperoattiral awakantoe^ Lord^ do thoo 
 this work ; do thoo call thia man oot of darknce* 'to thy 
 mmn-dloui light, for hia own aak% and the ke of time 
 many aoula over whom he ia aat ! 
 
 :irdofthe da^pNra ffloeaa of Mr. OeoiL Lord, I 
 
 i , . ; ., . / . .;.'...: . ; . -. .- 
 
 bear hia agonie* a a Chrietian, and thai hia aofMa^i 
 have not slackened hi faith. Raiee him tij thy 
 
 farther uaefulneea ; bat if not, lain bin 
 hia laat conflict^ and enable him to bear his dying tenti- 
 mooy to thy faithfulness and troth ; and do thoo aapply 
 hia place so that his people shall not maw his serrioes. 
 * Itotmbtr 31.1 am now, by the great mercy of God, 
 
HER " STRICTURES ON FEMALE EDUCATION.'* 209 
 
 brought to th^ end of another year. Lord, enable me to con- 
 ey as I ought to do, and do thou strengthen 
 my memory to recollect the numberless favours I have 
 received at thy hands during the course of it. Enable me 
 to call to mind my trials, and to lament my sins of the 
 post year. Lord, forgive whatever fresh guilt I have con- 
 tracted O wash me clean in the blood of the everlasting 
 covenant ; forgive whatever I have done amiss, whatever 
 I have neglected to do. Supply all my wants out of thine 
 abundant mercies. Strengthen my weakness, subdue my 
 pride, heal my self-love, root out my evil tempers, de- 
 
 " me from open anger, secret resentments, and dis- 
 contents ; deliver me from myself, from the corruptions 
 of my own evil heart, from the suggestions of unbelief ; 
 ami do thou sanctify to me the mercies and deliverances 
 
 lie past year. Thou hast preserved my colleague and 
 
 myiwli" tVnm many dangers. Thou hast preserved our 
 
 going out and -13 in at unseasonable hours. Thou 
 
 is through much labour of body, and much 
 
 f mind. Thou hast blest in no common degree 
 
 our unworthy labours in thy cause ; thou hast in some 
 
 degree owned our endeavours." 
 
 About this time, 1799, the Strictures on Female Edu- 
 cation issued from the pen of Hannah More, her third 
 ethical publication in prose, and one of the most powerful 
 pieces of her artillery, from whose calibre were sent those 
 bolts which shattered the towers and arsenals of fashion- 
 able abuses and follies. It is alluded to in the following 
 letters, written during one of her annual visits to London. ^ 
 
 " Fulhnm Palace, 1799. 
 
 " I have been rather royal lately. On Monday I spent 
 the morning at the Pavilion at Hampton Court with the 
 Duchess of Gloucester, and yesterday passed the morning 
 with little Princess Charlotte at Carlton House. She is 
 the most sensible and genteel little creature you would 
 wish to see. I saw Carlton House and gardens, in corn- 
 it h the pretty Princess, who had great delight in 
 ; iing the drawers, uncovering the furniture, curtains 
 
 P 
 
Lira OPBAXBAH MORE. 
 
 lustres, &c^ to show me; my visit was to Udy Elgin, wa 
 has been spending some days hefa. 
 
 r the Bishop of London's entertainment and mine. 
 the Princess was made to exhibit all her learning and 
 accomplishments; the first consisted in her repeating U 
 '/Stay B, the next in dancing very gracdttlly, and 
 in singing God w* Me A'in^, which was roally afleetiag 
 (all things considered), from her little voice. JH^^H 
 standing is so forward, that they really might begin to 
 teach her many things. It ia, perhaps, the highest pcmiae 
 after all, to say, thai she is exactly like the child of a pri- 
 vate gentleman : wild and natural, bat Mosihle, lively, and 
 civil I am really anxious that you ahould be using U 
 new chaise, and will immediately take meaauree for saving 
 it conveyed." 
 
 " I find that the chapters in the Arta** on 
 Corruption and Baby-Balls, are the two which give mart 
 offence. My time isso hort (as I did not daromkeUyiog 
 more than one night in town, finding my headache come 
 on,) that I had only time to call on the Montague and a 
 few others. It gave mo groat pleasure to hear what my 
 venerable diocesan, the Bishop of Bath and Well*,* had 
 been saying of me to Mrs. Bosoaweo ; ha expitaesd great 
 satisfaction at my late legacy from Mra, Bouvehe, and Um 
 said, (adverting, I suppose, to some of oar aaeauc* in 
 Somersetshire,)' They come and tell me thinga aooieUtne*, 
 but I only answer them, It ia Mra. More. I neve* nuke 
 luiries ; I ask no questions when I know it la Mra, 
 More; I know she ia doing right, and that it ia all a* 
 it should be.* It showed great warmth in a man mmr 
 niiu 
 
 ar Mrs. Boscawen waa looking twy poociy. When 
 
 I was coming away from her the other morning, I md, 
 
 ' God bless you, my dear Madam.' That ia very wUl/ 
 
 said she, holding me by the H^ r and looking iMat 
 
 stedfastly in my face ; * but yon moat do more ; you most 
 
 pray for me ; 1 am going gently oft* In order that the 
 
 ..it might be oooaUtent with Uua, we went to Mia. 
 
 Dr.] 
 
VRIENDLY SOCIETIES. 211 
 
 Carter, and found her at home, at eighty-: t re- 
 
 turned from the c was quite rejoiced to see us, 
 
 and was agreeable and interesting. 
 
 " 1 forget to mention that the Bishop of Durham and 
 his lady breakfasted with us at Fulham Palace last T. 
 day. The Bishop was kind and condescending as usual ; 
 he talked over all the Blagdon business: bid us no 
 afraid ; they could not injure our useful schemes. 1 
 steady and warm in his approbation. He fully feels the 
 importance of instructing the poor, as the grand u 
 of saving the nation/' 
 j*O\y 
 
 ^ The schools continued to be very full, and very pros- 
 perous. \It had been the gr >f Airs. H. Mon 
 her sister Martha to lead the children to a spiritual ap- 
 prehension of Scripture truths, and the practical applica- 
 tion of them to their hearts and the they 
 bad often witnessed the success of their laboi 
 production of many pious and moral characters, v, 
 grew out . lions, from among whom 
 able to select persons well qualified for becoming masters 
 and mistresses of their various establishments. Many of 
 
 .scholars carried the principles they hal 
 thoir daily practice, and became sober and i: 
 
 is heads of families. An edifying volume migi 
 composed of anecdotes, displaying the bcnefic; 
 
 iiese institutions ; but this is not the place i 
 record. 
 
 Among the expedients for improving the habit 
 characters of the pooiytho institution of fema! 
 societies had been a great object of Mrs. "More V 
 
 ; Second year of her resident neighbour- 
 
 hoodr Innumerable were the difficulties they had to con- 
 tend with in their endeavours to make these ignorant 
 people comprehend the nature and usefulness of such 
 .ments, which were, at that time, as rare as sci 
 for the poor. Many were the meetings, and coir 
 reasonings, which they were obliged patiently 1 
 and encounter, before mistake and prejudice coul 
 softened into acquiescence. By perseverance, how 
 
i-2 aw 09 BMafl v : 
 
 and - sort of perraasion, this object was ate 
 
 obtained, and these societies, wisely framed and regulated, 
 became the source of much contentment, comfort, and im- 
 provement, to these remote villages, particularly to one 
 which was miserably destitute of any other kind of 
 
 After those beneficial plans had been carried on for 
 several years, the curate of Blagdon, the parish in which 
 Cowslip Green was situated, waited on the risters to re- 
 quest they would open one of their schools in his parish. 
 
 I they absolutely declined, declaring that neither their 
 health (which had already greatly suffered by their 
 tionsX nor their time, nor their finances, would allow them 
 to extend their personal superintendence beyond the range 
 it had already taken. The application was, hoemi, re- 
 newed by a deputation from the church wardens and over* 
 ecers of the parish, sent by this clergyman, who eame with 
 an earnest request, that "they would be riluiiJ to come 
 and do their parish a little good." They acknowledged 
 that it was the great reformation wrought in some neigh- 
 bouring parishes which M made them bold to come,* as the 
 
 rious profligacy of the place was exceedingly deplored 
 by the better part of the inhabitant.-. 
 
 The sisters at length yielded, and removing thftbern 
 ..|.j.:..-.. i !..:: -.... n - n 
 
 collected near two hundred children, whom they found de- 
 plorably ignorant Tilings, however, soon put on a new 
 face, and a rapid improvement rewarded their Hferts. The 
 beneficial effects which bad resulted from the establish 
 ment of Sunday readings in the other villages, induced 
 to make the experiment in the parish of TTIafikai 
 The poor adults, as well as children, resorted to them 
 crowds, and the minister and his wife generally littttttrfiL 
 In the course of two or three years from this suspicious 
 beginning, it appeared, from a letter received by Mrs. 
 More from the wife of the clergyman of TO^rtnn. that " the 
 two sessions and the two assizes were past, and a third was 
 r as prosecutor nor prisoner, plain- 
 tiff nor defendant, had any of that pariah (ones so no- 
 torious for crimes and litigations) appeared. Warrants for 
 
THE BLAG DON CONTROVERSY. 213 
 
 wood-stealing and other pilfering* were becoming quito 
 out of fashion." 
 
 the follow :! ir anl int. -rot ing little 
 
 recorded in the journal 
 return to the country we found Bla^-lon in 
 uniform course of i: 
 
 knowledge. The c. : thu 
 
 whole people stoo 1 
 
 y of children, suffered the school] : 
 
 iieir behaviour . It 
 
 was an extraordinary proceeding, for the parish oft 
 were among their number. It was at the desire also of t In 
 justice himself (the curate of Blagdon before mentioi 
 that wo were publicly informed of the very decorou 
 baviour of the men on the day of their club-meeting." 
 
 After the above account the reader will be surprised to 
 learn that it was in ter that a violent i 
 
 n arose against Mrs. More, promoted I . to of 
 
 the pori.v ng too much o: 
 
 details of this disgusting history, it may suffice to say, 
 the charges brought against her were BO preposterous as to 
 conduce only to the defeat and disgrace of t 
 Some few features of the case will be d ; 1 1 the fol- 
 
 g letter from Mrs. H. More to Mr. Will ;ei force 
 
 C<>. ' r 11. 
 
 dear Sir, I had intended t< 
 Wedmore pros I saw how 
 
 . in our t\. 
 
 me to trouble you with it as far as we have gone. Our 
 hos ; rs do not i 
 
 of which probably they know not: omc 
 
 old. obsolete statute, wl res every 
 
 schoolmaster to take out all .tion 
 
 with u iy dioccvjiin, as I passed throug: i niy way 
 
 e. If is reception of me was highly cor 
 affectionate ; but be toli not undo: 
 
 eing a peculiar under the dean, in v 
 hod been pn Dr. Moss, however (tin 
 
..14 UJT.< 
 
 Bishop's son) at my request, had picked up the . 
 
 liad been exhibited against us. Among these < 
 that my schoolmaster had called the bishops dumb dogs ; 
 that he had said all who went to church, and did not come 
 to hear him, would go to hell; and thai he distributed 
 books called A Oiud* to MJuxfom. Could yon believe 
 that such impossible stuff could be seriously carried to* 
 bishop, through the channel of some of his own chapter 1 
 
 or two of these canons (poor creatures I) my thai i 
 carry everything before me, having bitten all tbeoountrr 
 gentlemen, and secured the car of the bishop. But ta* 
 m ischief lies deeper. A clergyman in my own neigh boor* 
 hood, where we have a flourishing nchooi, 
 Socinian, and is now enraged at the doetrines we 
 He is doing all possible injury to us and our 
 
 . cause, too, has a cause ; and this man's malice i* 
 
 mod by the Amt+JaaAi* JfeyoMc, which is spread- 
 ing more mischief over the land than almost any other 
 hook, becauM it is doing it under the mask of loyalty, i* 
 is representing all serious men as hostile to government ; 
 and our enemies* here whisper thai we are abetted by you, 
 and such ss you, to hurt the establishment. This m only 
 an episode, for I must talk to you more at large, and see if 
 no means can be employed to stop I 
 
 I hour that the author is > who, having been 
 
 some favour by the Bishop of London, exercises his ma- 
 lignity towards him in common with those whom he calk 
 Methodists. 
 
 t to return to Wedmom There is a new Dean o/ 
 
 I had no avenue to this man, who, 1 found, had 
 
 ham greatly prcjudi ! .- i .< i .-. i. . . , .. mw*. 
 
 i ; has a largo family; and when he came 
 
 a to take possession, porod ^s time at U*o house of 
 
 i-ent, who happened to bo th* very attorney who was 
 
 ppcar against us at the vuitetion when wo 
 
 w this attorney breathes out thrMten- 
 
 ings and slaughters against my school ; he being also the 
 
 'etlmore fanner*. I conceived the bold mem* 
 
 fcurc of telling my titory to Mr. Winahain, with whom 
 
 acquaintanco was too slight to justify wicb a step ; and 
 
rDON COST: g]g 
 
 knowing, QS I did, that the cause was prejudiced against 
 me that is, I knew that cv holi- 
 
 tionist in the world was of necessity an cnc: ious 
 
 instruction at home. His answer, h- is liighly 
 
 obliging ; written, as it was, amidst all the bustle of public 
 SMQceasea. You will be pleased with Windham's conduct 
 
 iis business. What effect his mediation will produce 
 I have yet to learn. 
 
 " Some farmers in a parish adjoining, where there is 
 also a school, have been to the fortune-teller, to know if wo 
 are Methodists, and if our school is methodistical. The 
 otmole returned an ambiguous answer, and desired to know 
 what reason they had for suspecting it ; the farmers re- 
 plied, ' It was because we sung Watts's hymns.' The 
 returned for answer, 'This was no proof; y no 
 
 better reason ?* * Yes,* they answered ; ' for if t : 
 were not methodistical, the tunes were.' The Pyt 
 why they were so ; the reply was, ' Because 
 
 Farmer Clap's book 
 enough to amuso you. 
 our judges ; and there are not wanting those, wh 
 batter taught, will listen to the representation 
 accusers. In the midst of this clamour, poor Patty 
 down to the place two Sundays ago. The farmers call 
 tuaiij (to which she could not get admittance), to sign a 
 paper to abolish tho school With great calmness she 
 on teaching the whole day. At night, about t\v< > 
 orderly people assembled as usual ; but just as she was 
 going to begin, two fanners came to the door, v 
 loudly vociferating that they would h;; 
 distical doings, for that the serin 
 morning was quite enough ; ver, 
 
 not give a very favourable evidence of its good effects. 
 After they had spent their violence, Patty told them it 
 would be a serious thing if they should die that night, 
 after having attempted to disturb a people who were met 
 solely for religious purposes. One of them said, ' How can 
 you put such melancholy things in one's head, ma'am?' and 
 
 out. She quietly went through her btisi i . 
 respectful audience, whose solemn attention rewarded 
 
. : LI/BO* HAJfHAHMOaX 
 
 for what she had gone through. On Sunda 
 
 abated or inflamed, you ahall know. I nor* 
 
 is with a proper temper an 
 
 c, and that these trials may help 
 
 sickness and sorrow. May all work togd 
 God Mess you and yours. 
 
 i oun afieetioneteJy , 
 
 >r three yearn thU peracctitiou waa carried on with 
 \mabaUxl virulence, and that, too, at a time when aba 
 
 seemed to be sinking under the pressure of a i 
 on ague of seven months. It was not in i 
 her respect for the church and its ministers, or her strict 
 ideas of propriety, to continue her eflbits in a pariah where 
 and consistency placed her in reluctant opposition U> 
 the resilient mim^-i- : l..-r *ch.*,l at Bqs)oB V..L*. la.-n*. 
 fore, of necessity, relinquished ; notwithstanding the sup* 
 port she received from the Hector, who resided at a dis- 
 tance, and the most respectable part of both clergy and 
 laity, with whom religion was precious, and truth sacred : 
 shared with her the honour of being attacked by 
 same malicious combination, lira. Move's o 
 ruble letter to the Bishop of Bath and Weil* Dr. Beaton, 
 contains a dear exposition of the malignant aim of thai 
 conspiracy, to destroy at once the influence and tits peace 
 ;ie whose feeble frame waa ainking under bar eflbrta to 
 uote the happiness and iinproyemenl of her spades* 
 4 and the other letters to which this ilhfiaufiil 
 affair gave occasion shall come under the oleenatkni of 
 will regard it as an evil out of which good 
 was brought, in the display it produced of Christian I 
 licet, gentle friendship, and virtuous sympathy 
 
 i* with deep iqgrct that I find myself 
 compelled to trouble your Lordship with this let 
 though your known liberality gives me more coux*. 
 
TOTHEBISHOr. 217 
 
 taking a step which I should in any case feel it my duty 
 to take. For, however firm my resolution has been, never 
 to answer any of the column which I 1 
 
 so long suffering, yet to your Lordship, as my diocesan, I 
 feel myself accountable for my conduct, attacked as it has 
 been with a wantonness of cruelty which, in civilized 
 places, few persons, especially of my sex, have been .-died 
 to buffer. To the defenceless state of our sex, and to my 
 declared resolution to return no an-wcr.s I attribut 
 great part, this long and unmitigated persecution. ; 
 not going to make your Lordship a party ; nor am I L 
 to clear myself by accusing others. Of my assailants I 
 will speak as little as possible. I wish I could avo; 
 them, dt u"-tKT. 
 
 u It will be out of my power to enter on a full v 
 tion of myself against charges with which I am not fully 
 acquainted. A wish to keep my mind calm, in a dangt : 
 illness of seven months, was a reason with me ft>: 
 but \ of what has appeared against rn 
 
 ooino to my knowledge. 
 
 1 so fully persuaded myself that I had for n 
 , especially in the late awful crisis, been devoting my 
 
 j and humble talents to the promotion of loyalty, good 
 
 and attachment to Church and State among 
 poorer people, that I was not prepared for the shock, when 
 the charge of sedition, disaffection, and a general aim tu 
 corrupt the principles of the community, suddenly burst 
 upon me. In vain have I have been looking rou 
 any pretence on which could be founded such astonishing 
 imputations. / 
 
 " Mr. Here thought so well of my principles, as to im- 
 portune me to establish a school in his parish ; lamenting 
 its extreme profligacy, and his own b to do any 
 
 good to the rising generation. There were \vitn ess;e.< 
 sent when he repeatedly made these applications, which i 
 refused, pleading want of health, time, and money. I also 
 declared my unwillingness to undertake it, unless it wan 
 the wish of the parish. He then sent his churchwardens 
 as a deputation from the parish ; and I yielded at last to 
 
, which, 1 tnwt, wiil oqH me of 
 
 the charge of intrusion. 
 
 As to connexion with ouuveuUoies of any kind, I 
 never had an;. ecn irregular, should I not haw 
 
 gone sometimes, daring my winter residence at Bath, to 
 Lady Huntingdon's chapel, a piaoa of grart occasional re- 
 aortt Should I nercr have gone to some of >Vhit5ekT 
 
 .'csle/H tabcrnadcH in London, where I have spr 
 long ^ring for near thirty year* mieeessivalY f 8hou 
 not have utrsyed now and then into some ItHhodiai meet- 
 ing in the country T Yet not one of these thing* h. 
 over or an answer to the oharg* of my having 
 
 over made any application to get Mr. Bere removed from 
 his curacy, I refer your Lordship to Dr. Moss am) 
 Grossman, in ease yon are not satisfied with theoMsfwtioa 
 
 .desman's printed letter to fir A. Bton. 
 "Mr.Bere's letter to me, dated JbMtry 4, 179\ eosv* 
 plaining of Young's Monday meeting which I wo pre- 
 vented answering by a long tlineais wo*, in fert, virtually 
 OMwered immediately, by my ntjtter's writing to Young to 
 
 stop to the irregularities finmnjsinH of; wtifab 
 Mi of conns** 
 
 dona A proof that this ground of complaint had < 
 to exist when Mr. Bere made his ftnrt attack on me in I 
 begmnmg of April 1800, is afforded by a *sry 1 
 iett by me, from Mm Bere, 
 
 1800, only about three weeks before Mr. Ber 
 and neej- a year sad a quarter slier the complaint bad beta 
 made and rodrensed. Mr. Here's affidavits, tsJum 
 self, in his own cause, which were flatly contradict*! 
 cou nter-evidonce, nnd which, having no <iitss to the ssfjtp 
 which they attest, would never have been admitted to a 
 court of justice, have all a introspective leAieooe to one, 
 two, four, and even six yean* back. 1 should add, thot 
 having heard that Mr. Bere had thrown out from the pd pit 
 
 BifJ bsin : ::.. . 
 
 :sr- hat I was ready to withdraw the school 
 
 his entire approbation. Agsin ho implored mo 
 
 "rive his parish of Mich a benefit ! 
 
 on Mr. Bero sent mo his hostile letter, nunsdwf 
 
 the achooirajwUr (Aprii 1800),! was in Loodsa ; snd betuf 
 
I BISHOP. 219 
 
 unable at that distance to inquire fairly into the compl 
 I wrote twice to Mr. Bere, earn- i to 
 
 .vhole to Sir A. Elton, as a respectable and judicious 
 magistrate in the neighbourhood, and begging they would 
 investigate the business together. This Mr. Bere twice 
 positively refused. 1 could have no partial motives in the 
 reference: for I knew so little of Sir A. Elton, that b> 
 never been in my house ; whereas he had been long known 
 to Mr. Bere, and I could not have suggested a more fair and 
 peaceable mode of setting all to rights. 
 
 a ground on which human prudence, 
 judging after the event, may most reasonably condemn me, 
 is, that I did not instantly dismiss Young, the school- 
 master. I grant tint it would have saved me infinit- 
 tress. But I not only thought myself bound to protect 
 
 ; nocent man, whom I sti 1 ! 
 aeoused, but I wa I that, as the 
 
 proved, the object in view was not . Imt 
 
 to strike at the principle of all my schools, and to stigma- 
 MM them as seminaries <.ffnuati < 
 I was highly displeased with Young, v. 
 allowed two or three of these silly people to .v 
 tern pore pray* . ulgar people will be vul; 
 
 rcliu hat illiterate people will talk ignorant ly . 
 
 will deny ? But this had nothing to do with my very large 
 Sunday-school, where I never heard that any improp 
 was complained of. No such complaint had ever rea 
 me from any of my other schools. Young profit 
 by my reprimand for this injudicious measiur. 
 conduct was ever after correct. Nor sho' 
 
 have overlooked this fault, had not his morals and industry 
 i exemplary, and had I ever in the course of 
 id him at all fanatical. Allow me t it he now 
 
 gives the highest satisfaction to the opulent and very re* 
 spcctable family of the La touches, 
 him to superintend their large charitable institutions. 
 ig read all the charges against him, and whose a 
 ation to his good conduct, together with that of Lady ; 
 
 . and Bar, : shall trouble your Lord hip to 
 
 ic. * To remove prejudices, however, I liad resolved to 
 
M urBorHAXXABiion. 
 
 place him elsewhere, had I continued the Bkfdon at! 
 h, together with its master, had bam restated (af: 
 had dissolved it \ at the carnctft request of Dr. Grossman, 
 and oooaent of Dr. MOM. But after Mr. i 
 
 restoration to the curacy, no intreaties of Dr. Groaainaii 
 could induce me to continue it. I took s journey t 
 Crossman'a house, in the west, on purpose to aasurv 
 that I did not withdraw my school from resentment 
 that 1 waif afraid the continuance of it might be nonaicUmi 
 aa an act of opposition to Mr. Hero ; whereas, by put 
 an end to the achool, I thought 1 abould disarm htm f 
 every plea for further hostility. Thia sacrifice to peace 
 itcflectuaL I abolished mj achool, with regret 
 (ful rishing aa it was), for the second time, oo a 
 
 lay in September, 1801 ; and on the Wednewkj 64- 
 ag the moat hostile of all hia pamphlet* against me 
 waa advertised May I be permitted to add, that 
 Madame, who spent great part of the two laat Mimmem ai 
 Blagdon, knew much of the achool and it* maater. Allow 
 me to r. lx>rdahip to him. In the learned and 
 
 venerable translator of Moahetm, you will not expect to 
 
 : ! : ' . .' : 
 
 Alt has been repeatedly amid, that, being a Ulriniet 
 myself, 1 always employed Calvinistic teachera. 1 never 
 ingly employed one. As to CUvmtsm or Anninianiaio, 
 1 should be very sorry if such terms were known it 
 
 . :. ::;: . ; : _. '. 
 
 and opinions, but to train un good members of am 
 ristians\ I have dischargrd 
 
 teachera for discovering a tendency to enthusiasm , and one 
 for being accused of it, without di 
 
 eqwimeol w.i> n. . i : .. .- petieet^ .n 
 
 teacher being wanted tinder aa excellent 
 nmtrvsjs the ck-r^man v-siMr i : :. ; ;..v a jx^.r rnw f 
 :n having observed his constant attendance 
 at church, and his good moml conduct, though he we: 
 
 Methodist . arncstly hoped that from the 
 
 man* A soberness of mind, and regularity at church, he 
 
 might become detached from the Methodist so- 
 
 s, and be the instrument of detaching others also; 
 
LETTER TO THE BISHOP. 221 
 
 but not finding this to be the case, the minister who had 
 engaged him was convinced of the expediency of his re- 
 moval, and dismissed him with my full concurrence. The 
 
 :odists are in general hostile to my schools, for at- 
 tracting, as they say, the people from them to the vhuroh ; 
 and I have been assured that some of their preachers I 
 
 ghed against me by name in their sermons. 
 " As to myself, I had hoped that the numerous occa- 
 sions which have occurred in eight printed volumes, of 
 
 cssing my sentiments, both religious an<l poli 
 might have precluded the necessity of a formal o 
 of faith. I refer your Lordship to those volumes. The 
 Jast chapter of vol. viii. 
 
 ; sguised view of the leading doctrines of ( ty. 
 
 " Those doctrines I conceive (for I am but a poor 
 
 10) to be equally embraced by pious Arminians and 
 Calvinists. Lest this should be though' . I have no 
 
 hesh declaring that I do not entertain 
 
 peculiar to Calvinism. Let mo not, however, in sta: 
 
 ns, lose sight of that candour towards good 
 
 who thin' a few points from me, %v 
 
 vo always so sedulously 
 
 especially of the old writers, of that class, such as Ho 
 Bishops Hall, Hopkins, y others ; but I 
 
 them, not for their Calvinism, but for their devout spirit, 
 r deep views of Christianity, their practical piety, 
 r holy vigilance. While they inculcate faith as the 
 principle, never do they lose sight of purity of practice as 
 
 suit. 
 had hoped that my zealous attachment to tho 
 
 rch must have been inferred from a multitude of inci- 
 
 il passages in my writings, particularly in 
 volume, more conclusive, perhaps, from being incidental 
 
 frequent, than a specific and elaborate dcclar 
 would have been. For it is not so much from an in>i; 
 passage, as from the general t , .irit of liis writings, 
 
 that an auth<* nles maybe deduced. Having ob- 
 
 served, from the beginning of the French revolution, tho 
 arts used by the Jacobinical writers to alienate the people 
 from the Church, by undermining their respect for ite 
 

 ministers,! made it a leading principle in the multitude of 
 tract* which I wrote, purposely to counteract their 
 
 pestilent psmphl**, to introduce into almost every one 
 m an exemplary parish minister AM works of ima- 
 
 gination had beenouploycd to iiiduceaconttmpt forthc 
 darical character, I thought the* ftotftfcos chsracfers the 
 most popular vehicles in which to convey an antioV 
 the reigning disease ; and that by asmidootialy ioJbsiBg 
 
 o the very amusements of the lower obsess, 1 
 might thus lead them insenaib^ to the habit of lovinfand 
 reverencing the dergy. 
 
 r was I less amazed to find my political prtoorplsa 
 stigmatized by my accusers. Besides their general tar, - 
 dency, some of my tracts go directly to the liutocm of tn* 
 
 ii. Whether they were of any UBT m the 
 moot of danger it becomes not me to say. My < 
 being judges, 1 should hope they were ; as I can [ 
 
 are now loudest in the cry against me. 
 
 t has been broadly intimated that I hav* 
 to spread French principles ; and one of my schools is 
 specifically charged with having prayed for tU aoooess of 
 I'rench. A 
 
 charges! 1 plead guilty to having written an answer to 
 
 >nt, the atheistical oimtor of Franoe, i si of bavin* 
 
 ted the profits of this alight work, amsurting to ooa- 
 
 tbly above 9X*, to the relief of the French < 
 
 clergy. To perventions of this sort I am 
 
 accustomed. 
 
 en 1 fint established my schools, the poor women 
 
 used to send crying inianU of two or three yean oid, U 
 
 rest diaturbonoe of the rent, while they kept at home 
 
 cf a fitter age to learn. This led u to make it 
 
 one of the rules not to receive any under six years old. I 
 
 mothers ours was a school, and not a nursery 
 
 his simple ci rcumstance has been built the astonishing 
 
 charge, that I did not want to instruct children, but to 
 
 pervert grown people. There is no end to iasNmnii of 
 
 this sort v may serve as a apeounsn. Not only 
 
 arc conversations printed which never took place, bet PS SB 
 
LETTER TO THE BISHOP. 
 
 me and persons whom I do about persons 
 
 whose names I never heard. I am accused of being the 
 abettor, not only of fanaticism and sedition, but of thit 
 and . on. To all these accusations or inueudos 1 
 
 have never answered one word ; though some of my best 
 
 Is advised me to answer them by a prosecution. 
 I declined, though I confess that the charge of murder 
 could scarcely have shocked me more than that of disaffec- 
 tion or sedition. 
 
 "Allow me to quote one passage from another ' 
 from Mrs. Bere, which I happen to have by m 
 school goes on well There seems to be a serious .- 
 working for good among the common people. Mr. Bere 
 desires me to say, and he thinks it is saying a great 
 that two sessions and two assizes are past, and a third of 
 each nearly approaching, and neither as prosecutor nor as 
 prisoner, plaintiff nor defendant, has any one of this pa 
 once so notorious for crimes and litigations, appeared, 
 warrants for wood-stealing, pilfering, &c., are quite out of 
 fashion.' Your lordship will have the goodness to com 
 , this passage with the antecedent accusations. 
 
 " I am assured by those who have carefully read the 
 different pamphlets against me, that whilst I am accused 
 
 ue of seditious practices, I am reviled in another as an 
 enemy to liberty: in one of being disaffected to Church 
 and State, in another of being a ministerial hireling and a 
 tool of Government. /Nay, the very tracts are specified for 
 which ' the venal hireling 1 was paid by the Administration 
 (by Mr. Pitt, I think). In one I am charged with praying 
 for the success of the French ; in another oi . .r, by 
 
 my writings, the war with France, and savagely trium] 
 at every victory over those whom the author colls * those 
 
 ;tds to the general amelioration of human society 
 am accused of delighting in a war ' which we madly c;> 
 on, which began in iniquity and ended in disgrace, 
 one place, 'of not believing* one word of Christianity; in 
 another, of idolising the Athanasian Creed, which * com- 
 plicated piece of metaphysics,' the author declares. 
 
 rch might spare, and which he advises me, when ex- 
 
i . i UFE of *AW mm 
 
 ponged from the Liturgy, 'to order myself to be wrapped 
 in a* a winding-sheet* 
 
 .t to return to my schools. When I settled in this 
 country thirteen jests ago, I found the poor in many of 
 
 villages sunk in s deplorable state of ignoranoe snd 
 vice. There wcit^ I think, no Sundsy-echoc>b in the whoto 
 district, except one in my own parish, which had been 
 established by our respectable rector, and another ID the 
 adjoining parish of Churchill This drew mo to the more 
 neglected villages, whose distance made it very laborious. 
 Not one school there did I ever attempt to establish * 
 out the hearty concurrence of the dcfgyman of the parish. 
 Afy plan of instruction is extremely simple and limited. 
 They learn, on week-days, such coarse works as may ft 
 them for servants. I allow of no writing for the poor. 
 My object is not to make fanatics, but to train up the 
 lower classes in habits of industry and piety. I knew no 
 way of teaching morals but by teaching principles: or of 
 inculcating Christian principles without imparting a good 
 knowledge of Scripture. I own 1 have laboured this point 
 
 ;eutly. My sisters and I always teach them ourselves 
 every Sunday, except during our ibsennt in the winter. 
 By being out about thirteen hours, we have generally con- 
 trived to visit two schoob the same day, aid to carry tho 
 to Uieir respective changes.. When we had more schools, 
 we commonly visited them on a Sunday. The only book* 
 we use in teaching are two little tracts, called <j***ion* 
 /ar^^n^>,Saoo6(U>behadofHalcoard). The Church 
 Catechism (these are framed, and about half-e-dosrn bang 
 
 in the room). The Catechism, broken into abort qose- 
 
 .% Spelling-books, Psalter, Common Prayer, TtMtammt, 
 
 Ihe little ones repeat Watts'a Hymns. The Gblim 
 
 is learned every Sunday. They generally learn the Sermon 
 
 on the th many other chapters and pasta*. 
 
 the children learned at school they 
 
 commonly lost at home by the profanencs* and igimtrnnp 
 
 of their parents, it occurred to me in some of the larger 
 
 pariahe* the latter to come at six on the Sunday 
 
 evening for an hour to the school, together with the elder 
 
LETTER TO THE BISHOP. 
 
 scholars. A plain printed sermon and a printed pray 
 read to them, and a psalm is sung. I am not bribed by 
 my taste for, unluckily, I do not delight in music- 
 observing that singing is a help to devotion in others, I 
 thought it right to allow the practice. 
 
 " For many years I have given away annually nearly 
 two hundred Bibles, Common Prayer-books, and T 
 ments. To teach the poor to read, without i 
 them with safe books, has always appeared to nu 
 improper measure, and this consideration induced me to 
 enter upon the laborious undertaking of the Cheap Rcpo- 
 TracU./ 
 
 "In some^arishee where the poor are numerous, such 
 as Cheddar, and the distressed mining villages of Shipham 
 and Rowbarrow, I have instituted, with considerable ex- 
 pense to myself, friendly benefit societies for poor women, 
 which have proved a great relief to the sick and lying-in, 
 especially in the late seasons of scarcity. We ha 
 single parish an accumulation of between two and t' 
 hundred pounds (the others in proportion) , this I have 
 placed out in the funds. The late lady of the manor of C 
 dar, in addition to her kindness to my institutions i 
 during her life, left at her death a legacy for the club, and 
 another for the school, as a testimony to her opinion of 
 the utility of both. We have two little annual festiv 
 for the children and poor women of these dubs, which 
 are always attended by a large concourse of gentry and 
 clergy. / 
 
 / <% At one of these public meetings Mr. Bere declared 
 that, since the institution of the schools, ho could now 
 in peace : for that, where he used to issue ten war- 
 rants, he was not now called on for two. ' 
 
 " I shall take the liberty of sending your lorcfohip the 
 rules of my school, which have never been altered, and of 
 referring you to the testimonials (printed in the public 
 papers) of the churchwardens and principal inhabitants of 
 some of those parishes where my conduct has been most 
 attacked, to ascert had been used to act in 
 
 concert with the minister, a: 
 
 Q 
 
. . . . ' I 
 
 been of any use in improving morals or aMrectmf too 
 
 school* were always honoured with the full ano 
 tkmofthc late BUhop, of which I have even recent tr*tj- 
 monials. It does Dot appear that any one poreon who haa 
 wnttcn agminai them, cioept Mr. Bow, w tsw th: 
 am not aumhamxl to refer to otheri lor my oharaol' 
 on not aoouatomed to vindicate it myaelf ; but it ie natural 
 towixhthatitahould not be talun torn avowed c&emiea 
 
 .! * ________ If IUI MI ilaKIrt^ A>wl MMMMWUWh* K^M 
 
 not been *f*^*"g the trupgfttii part of Jiiliml My a^ 
 tachmcnt to the Eaiabliabod Charoh k, tad bMiowbeeo, 
 enure, oonlial, inviolable, and, until now, mnqoertecied 
 1U doctrinea and disdplino I equally approve I bam 
 
 1 ; 
 
 .:....!....: : . . . 
 
 M I am too doei>lyMnaibI0 of the infirmity and eril of 
 
 my own mind not to allow readily thai uiaeh error and 
 
 rfection oaay hare been miied with my aUettpoi to do 
 
 Jo good. But it would be falee humility not to eay 
 
 that the whole drift and tendency baa been right to the 
 
 very beat of my power. Mine ia eo far a atngular eeae, 
 
 that I not only fed myeclf guilUeaa of the motm* and 
 
 action* imputed to me, but I am oooaciom that all my 
 
 : :'.:.. ; . ' . ; 
 
 direction. Your k>nUhip' enlightened mmd will give me 
 credit for atndioualy attaining from what would, with 
 ordinary judges, have beat aenred my oanee ; I mean, a 
 reacntful rotaliatlon on the conduct and motifaa of my 
 
 . '. '. : 
 
 aid appeal to any candid judge whether, in an 
 rtaking ao difficult and tenai?e, while I waa living 
 far from all tho aoboola, five, ten, and eren Maam mik*, it 
 would be wonderful if I should have been aomeUnx 
 baa not happened often) miMaken in the iinlinnianta I 
 hare employed : and if the moat vigilant prudence could 
 do more than discharge such as were proved to be im- 
 proper. Iii a few instances, where none could be found 
 properly qualified on the apot> I hare employed etrac 
 
7ETC TO THE BISHOP. 
 
 but in general the teachers have been taken from the 
 parish, on the recommendation of the minister, or the 
 cipal inhabitants, or both. All the under-teachers at 
 Blagdon were recommended by Mr. Bere. The obnoxious 
 Wedmore schoolmaster had notice to quit as soon after I 
 came from London as the complaint was made, and was 
 actually removed as soon as his wife recovered from her 
 lying-in. I thought nothing could be more promising than 
 this man. I found him carrying on a little trade in Bristol, 
 after having failed in a greater, and he was an active mem- 
 of the volunteer corps, and a tax-gatherer of the 
 i v!-h. 
 
 " I need not inform your lordship why the illiterate, 
 when they become religious, are more liable to ei 
 team than the better informed They have also a coarse 
 way of expressing their religious sentiments, which often 
 appears to be enthusiasm, when it is only vulgarity or 
 quaintness. But I am persuaded your lordship will allow 
 that this does not furnish a reason why the poor should 
 be left destitute of religious instruction. T >ow* 
 
 ledge of the Bible should lay men more open to the < 
 aions of fanaticism on the one hand, or of jacobinism on 
 the other, appears so unlikely, that I should have thought 
 the probability lay all on the other sida 
 
 " I do not vindicate enthusiasm : I dread it Bu 
 the possibility that a few should become enthusiasts, be 
 justly pleaded as an argument for giving them all up to 
 actual vice and barbarism I 
 
 " In one of the principal pamphlets against me, it i* 
 asserted that my writings ought to be burned by the hands 
 of the common hangman. In most of them it is affirmed, 
 that my principles and actions are corrupt and mischievous 
 in no common degree. If the grosser crimes alleged against 
 inc be true, I am not only unfit to be allowed to teach 
 poor children to read, but I am unfit to be tolerated in any 
 class of society. If, on the contrary, the heavier charges 
 should prove not to be true, may it not furnish a presm 
 
 that the less are equally unfounded ? There is scarcely 
 any motive so pernicious, nor any hypocrisy so deep, to 
 which my plans have not been attributed ; yet I have 
 
LIFE or HAHXAB KOBE. 
 
 neither improved my interest nor my fortune by them 
 am not of a sex to expect preferment, nor of a temper to 
 court favour ; nor was I so ignorant of mankind aa to 
 look for praiae by a mean ao little calculated to obtai : 
 th^rcffti perhaps, I did not reckon on anon a degree of 
 obloquy. If vanity were my motive, it has been properly 
 punished ; if hypocrisy, I am hastening feet to answc : 
 
 a tribunal compared with which all human opinion 
 weighs very light indeed; in view of which the sacrifice 
 which I have been called to make of health, peace, and 
 reputation, shrinks into nothing. 
 
 "And now, my Lord, I come to what has been the 
 
 toate object of this too tedious letter a request to 
 
 know what is your lordship a pleasure! 1 have too high 
 
 ant opinion of your wisdom and candour to suspect 
 
 the equity of your determination : and I know too watt 
 
 what 1 owe to the station you fill, to dispute your sotho 
 
 > oppose your commands. If it be your will that 
 
 your decision but I will obey it My deep reverence for 
 the laws and institutions of my country inspires ma with 
 a proportionate veneration lor all constituted authorities, 
 whether in Church or Slate. If I be not permitted to 
 employ the short remnant of my life (which has been 
 nearly destroyed by these prolonged attacks) in being in 
 
 set my accusers an ezample of obedience to those superior* 
 whom the providence of God has set over me, and whom, 
 next to I Inn. I am bound to obey. I have the honour to 
 be, with the highest respect, my Lord, 
 
 our lordahip'a moat obedient, 
 
 1 1 
 
 The following was the Bishop's reply : 
 
 "Dear Madam,-! had yesterday the honour of 
 
 reiving your letter of the 24th instant, and am very . . 
 you should have thought it necessary to give yourself 
 trouble of entering into ao long a vindication of y 
 
THE BISHOP'S REPLY. 23 
 
 political and religious principles against the malicious and 
 groundless attacks which have been lately made upon both. 
 I wanted no declaration or evidence of either your faith or 
 your patriotism, more than what may be derived from 
 
 : numerous and avowed publications ; and I can only 
 
 say, that if you are not a sincere and zealous friend to the 
 
 constitutional establishment both in Church and State, 
 
 ire one of the greatest hypocrites, as well as one of 
 
 the best writers, in his majesty's dominions. 
 
 th respect to Sunday-schools, established upon tho 
 principles and conducted upon the plan which you de- 
 e, I have no hesitation in saying, that I think them 
 admirably calculated to improve the morals of the 1 
 classes of the people, and as such, entitled to tho approba- 
 tion and support of every friend to religion and good 
 order. Do what we can, abuses will make their way into 
 the best institutions ; as, notwithstanding all your care and 
 vigilance, you have found, and acknowledge to be the case 
 of your own : but where the abuses are corrected as soon 
 as discovered, they will not lessen the credit of the in- 
 
 .tions themselves, in the opinion of any candid or con- 
 siderate person. So far, therefore, from desiring that your 
 remaining schools should be abolished, I heartily wish 
 them success; and so long as they continue to bo in 
 the inspection and guidance of yourself, and the several 
 parochial ministers where they are established, you may 
 assure yourself they will have my protection, and c . 
 encouragement I can give them. 
 
 " Mrs. Beadon desires your acceptance of her best com- 
 pliments, and I have the honour to be, with great truth 
 and respect, dear Madam, 
 
 Your most obedient, 
 
 " And faithful humble servant, 
 
 ' R. BATH AND WELLS" 
 
 About this time she tnus writes to one who entered 
 much into her cares and sufferings, in the following 
 
 terms : 
 
 " Barley Wood, 1802. 
 
 u In answer to your kind hint about my coming to 
 

 conic At all Battered, backed, acalped, tomahawked, 
 hare been for throe years, and continue to be, brought out* 
 every month oa an object of noon and abhorrence, I seem 
 
 ... :. ; ' ' ' ! 
 
 ' 
 
 my round 
 
 
 
 or tinny yeara^ to ejaooBBOQa it f Dot 1 *"rTtff 1 aiD rtflNk 
 I have in that long period bean apoiled for ordinary eo- 
 oiety ; bat am Dot ao nice aa I need to be, and there are 
 always dutiee enough to do if one will hot do then, 
 have, I fear, been too muoh inclined to ohooaa the plea- 
 aautcftt. My rc:ii.ii:u::^ <i m--t.o <iutt- - tj.n ^*. :* t' \* of 
 a more trying kind: pray lor me, both of yoo, that my 
 fiuthfailnot 
 
 -r MIT IMF ft i mil Tan fhnliimiUli 
 
 Icnt pamphlet from the pen of Mr. Bete, ahe thue write 
 
 I hope I ahall bear theae deep acbemea for the do- 
 atraotkMi of my uasrolneas, by this attack on my repu* 
 tation, with hurablo patience ; but, ake ! thia tail body u 
 neither hero nor ChrUtian. The school, thank God, U 
 going on with hearty concurrence. / Ahall certainly not 
 
MEXT OF HEK 
 
 committed since the nv I : but some of my 
 
 friends may think it their duty, and this may detain'me 
 a little longer than I wish, for I long to get away. I 
 am sadly worried with company; and I am worried . 
 refusing as well as with seeing them." 
 
 Mrs. More formed a right opinion of her fricn 
 expecting her justification at their hands. All the good 
 part of society joined in the reprobation of the ; 
 she had been so long exposed to, and her enemies were 
 signally overthrown and disgraced. 
 
 In addition to the testimony which was borne by the 
 clergy of the county which was the principal scene of " 
 More's benevolent activity, the churchwardens and < 
 seers of the parishes which had experienced the benefit of 
 her seal and industry put forth a printed declaration, \ 
 their signatures, of the decided proofs coming wit 
 own knowledge of the happy results of her charitable 
 labours. 
 
 N'or were these honourable endeavours unattended with 
 the success they merited. The convictions of all who were 
 not pre-engaged on one side of this controversy, or preju- 
 diced against the cause of piety, were settled in favour of 
 a person who, for the promotion of the happiness of others, 
 had sacrificed her own health, gratifications, and repose. 
 Towards the middle of the year 1802, she may be su 
 have emerged out of the dense and tainted atrnospht 
 which her health had nearly yielded to its suffocating in- 
 fluence, into a region of quiet, where her honour and in- 
 tegrity found their proper element, and enjoyed their 
 elevation. 
 
 Part of a letter from Mrs. Martha More to her sister 
 during her visit at Fulham Place will show that, bi 
 highest of all supports, Mrs. H. More had the gn 
 earthly consolation and encouragement under this t/ial 
 
 ' Fulham Place, King's liriii-d 
 arrived here Thursday afternoon, and found 
 licott, who had just been reading to us a sweet 1 
 i Mrs. Harrington; she says, * So Hannah More has 
 
ehe will 
 
 an- they which ar- JK rxvtitcti 
 
 Right Rererendji are ill ex* 
 
 u jiut ringing,* I met this 
 
 Biabop Horaley himaeif ex* 
 
 ma attattdfa to ft ay liable 
 
 '.'*..';: 
 
 Id. Nothing oan exoo 
 LT of the BUhop and 
 you the rcry marked 
 tern all ranka and 
 i a poraeoutioo of au 
 
RLMOVAL TO BARLEY WOOD. 
 
 VIL 
 
 REMOVAL TO BARLEY WOOD LONG ILLNESS " CCF.LEBS" 
 " PRACTICAL PIETY " " CHRISTIAN MORALS.'* 
 
 A.D 1802-1812. 
 
 A VARIETY of considerations had for some time been pre- 
 paring the way for Mrs. More's determination to quit her 
 little residence at Cowslip Green, which, though 
 pretty, was in many respects inconvenient. The purchase 
 of a piece of ground was offered her at about a mile 
 distant, in a singularly picturesque and healthy situation, 
 combining every possible advantage for a dwelling. Having 
 selected the most advantageous spot, she built a comfort- 
 able mansion upon this ground, which afforded ample 
 scope for the exercise of her taste, and formed around it a 
 delightful territory, planted and disposed with admirable 
 skill and contrivance. The sisters soon became so attached 
 to this place, called Barley Wood, and found it at once so 
 cheerful and salubrious, that they soon afterwards parted 
 with their house at Bath, and made this their constant 
 residence. Here Mrs. H. More hoped to enjoy that retire- 
 ment and leisure for which she had long sighed ; but her 
 talents for society, and the literary and spiritual advan- 
 tages derivable from her conversation, were too well appre- 
 ciated to allow her propensity to be gratified. The world 
 broke in upon her from every quarter, and as the greater 
 part of her visitors resorted to her for improvement and 
 advice, she felt it her duty to be free and accessible to- 
 wards all who sought her society. The disposition of 
 grounds, the embellishments of rural scenery, and even 
 practical gardening, as far as her fragile frame could 
 permit, were her favourite pursuits, pursuits which were 
 
. 
 
 . 
 
 < . .... .'. . 
 
 wmy of tboat who toot 
 
 . , . . 
 
 oopoi of Dinar 
 
 . i 
 
 ^ ki^k 
 
 aTD*p(0aBl WBiOB Will DO* yK*Q 
 
 )-i.t-l.l K>\/> -..,-.! *.. , * 
 
 *.' ..'l *. 4 V i^f V4 VM T J C . > 
 
 bpoo Bywatf cojatnid wiak trvablaiaavt ojoldawl paia IB 
 
 ^ ...... j ,:. 
 
 ' . ' 
 
 |r .... WM ^ 
 
 i&m* by her Urgv fir* to my ^ 
 
 j .. . . . i 
 
 thit far your rfiirrtinii, thai you may atoid a iika error 
 
 t ' t a V | . , 
 
 . ';.'.. . ( . ' . , ' ~ \ 
 
 idQeetflf 
 
 We, > diaenroi to wbM Uy Urtr bM ail 
 
 : . ; I . . iHMl Mte 
 
 *kijouiMjB. IfUr.T - Guiout (M I praame i UM 
 o) Aooom|in j jou, joa may bring M to amaao you, 
 Mid yoar OMid to Uke cai* of you, OB UM rad ; A fort- 
 nifbt, I dmre Miy, would ct yoa o|s mud t E^Ur holid*y* 
 Mr. T - might OMM and fetch you home. It is Utt 
 
LETTER TO A FRIEND. 23o 
 
 - house in the county. You will have a south room, 
 which even now, in a snowy day, is very warm, and which, 
 I am sorry to say, in summer is intolerably hot. The glare 
 of light I am studying to abate ; but heat and light are no 
 such great calamities in February. You will have a fine 
 airy hill to walk upon, with many a seat on which to rest, 
 and on which you will twice a-day be visited by a fresh sea- 
 breeze. It is but a moderate journey, and it is not cold 
 like your northern pilgrimages. You shall follow your own 
 devices, and do as you please. 
 
 u I have not given you a very brilliant account of the 
 scenes I wish you to visit If it pleases God, however, it 
 may be brightened by the arrival of that spring which is 
 to cure you. Our exterior is not much brighter. The 
 fields look as brown as gravel-walks, and the evergreens 
 are quite withered by the frost ; but to-day we have some 
 rain, and if it continues we shall soon beautify. 
 
 " I have fagged hard at good old Bishop Reynolds, a fat 
 folio of near 1200 pages, which I have almost got through. 
 Such solid Christianity ! and such deep views of sinful 
 man ! And as to tediousness, I rather like it. I never can 
 pick up any sustenance out of your short scanty books. 
 As to new books, I know nothing, for I am not in the way 
 here of borrowing or hiring, and I cannot afford to buy, 
 because I have spent all my money on trees. Of books, 
 however, it may in general be said, that ' the old arc 
 better.' 
 
 " My old friend, Lady Aylesbury, is gone. Cadell, with 
 whom I set out twenty-eight years ago in literary con- 
 nexion, is gone ! He, very healthy, taken ; I, very sickly, 
 spared I Owen Cambridge, Bennet Langton, all lately dead : 
 besides numbers of less note, but younger and more pro- 
 mising, who have been dropping on the right hand and on 
 the left Yet, how hard it is to bring the mind seriously, 
 earnestly, and practically, to prepare for one's own call. 
 When disappointments, sufferings, and trials, drive one off 
 from one refuge, the vain and deceitful heart snatches at 
 another. There are so many shades of worldliness, that it 
 is easy to have renounced the ball, and the play, and am- 
 bition, and extravagance, and dissipation, without having 
 
* * . ! 1 '. '. 1 S 
 
 jet TWJ hard to 90! a 
 !y; mhehaahad aoboda 
 
 mwl oonftmrffiy with bar own heart, and bar 
 rigwj of aaniot in the work of edification and 
 iierdtaryofthiaywff pmenta to u* the 
 ' * mine? pOhering aluiiflL daily from iU in- 
 PMkncaa, and from the 
 
 ha koowMfi oftfa trotb-myldb bdaff Mlhro aod 
 my hcaJUi bad, I ted I hm MfUcUd my writing; but 
 tbt wiO of God, brought to a life of 
 
 il lad da tboa, O Lord, gnat tbat I may ba 
 And in 09 tboogbta, nor* frtqoavt in aalf -aiami- 
 in tba omoHona of my own mind, 
 
 O Lord, I raaoto to begin tbis jwv with a 
 
 acdioatkm ofmr^lf totbee: tbine I am : I am not my 
 owu : I am bougbt witb a price, Lot tbe time paat attlnoe 
 for mo to bare lired in the worid-let ma beooefonrmn I 
 lire to Ilimwholoredme and garebiaaalf forma. Lord, 
 do tbott aanctify to me mj long and beary trtak. Let 
 them not U ramorcd tfll Uwy Wf anawvrod tlwae ends 
 
 u I bare thk day bad an awful artmoatffcii lioaril of 
 the death of Mr. Udell m j bookseller for iwentj-aiw> 
 
HER JOUF.: 237 
 
 years; only a few years older than myself! born in tli3 
 village ! In many respects we were alike prosperous, 
 and went on with great amity in all our literary concerns. 
 He abounded in the wisdom of this world, and his counsels 
 to me were profitable. He was a useful man to literature. 
 His friends, Gibbon, Hume, Robertson where are they ? 
 
 u Jail. 5. I fear I am become more intent on reading 
 
 Scripture and cultivating retirement, than willing to bestow 
 
 on others. I have hitherto erred on the other side ; 
 
 the danger now is, lest the slanders I have met with should 
 
 drive mo to too much caution and silence. 
 
 . 7. Various trials, acting on a nervous frame and 
 keenly-feeling temper, have disturbed my peace and health, 
 I fear, to the discredit of religion. Blessed bo God, my 
 mind is not only placable, but is become serene. Instead 
 of being disturbed by every petty event, I now endeavour 
 not to think very much of anything which is to end when 
 this life ends. 
 
 " Jan. a Have been frequent in prayer for poor Mr. 
 
 , who is supposed to be dying. Lord, lay not t< 
 
 charge his offences against me. I forgive him. as I hope to 
 be forgiven. 
 
 " Sunday, Jan. 9. Formerly, I was glad when they said 
 unto me, ' Let us go up unto the house of our God.' Now 
 I endeavour to submit cheerfully to be detained by sick- 
 ness from church ; yet it is a great hindrance to spiritual 
 improvement ; and I ascribe it partly to this, that I have 
 scarcely ever known any one person, who has lived long 
 abroad, retain much serious piety. Lord, I thank thee that 
 my lot was cast in a land of light and knowledge, whero 
 name of Christ is publicly professed, and Christianity 
 preached in its purity. I bless thee for thy day, thy word, 
 thy Spirit. Lord, grant that my advantages may not one 
 day appear against me ; and that while strangers are called 
 from the north and the south, from the east and the 
 . I. with all my means, may not be shut out of thy 
 kingdom* 
 
 " January 10. Heard to-day of fresh persecution, new- 
 attacks from the old quarter ; after frequent promises of 
 silence. Lord, grant that I may bear this with a holy 
 
UFB 09 BAMB4B MCWL 
 
 wii:. If reputation be the looitet thou 
 thy will t done. I try daflj to look tea to 
 to thy favour, which 
 
 at I may not bo content with ttying 
 do thou enabi* n to d. 
 
 ' 11 FUtbtd radio* ff<Jyt~r<o 
 
 ffeony tttto of hit 
 mghthtl 
 
 
 oodtolttory ticw 01 a tool wflndi 1 
 
 rniod, H waa a hrnry laboor to yrt Uuro^h tha ftm half; 
 haft the aaootti mtdt Hdh antwfe 
 
 VMBV m^^u ^^^n^l^i* m^^^^m 9 *^* ^^v^^v | 
 
 . : - -. 
 thia CD- written 
 
 ...r. 
 
 I waa ttrack at bttrii^ n*d OM of my 
 ifltwvr to 
 
 Voluiw-a fitfioibofoptimam. Th. , 
 totbTtiidkftiooofi 
 
 ttnqtialHUil nncifarioo io tho wirmt terma. 
 to think tht I had not acUd up to m v 
 
 ta-A aaUfttfttl ItUar fiotn my cWr ao- 
 
 ' ' .r. 1,'r |.r f 
 
 W% who iittlo know how owch mm I DMd thw% and 
 * |wx>f t 4iu^ infill croatttre I an I 
 
 iny 80-1 try to bring foto ptBctm thU imark, 
 If I got rvpontaoca hydUotkm.H M not ao micbatnwblo 
 
 traffic it ia a rorm^t. which haa paio 
 
 Noaffliotioocao 
 
 wtty t httmmiatiMtiid. Noaffliotioocao hurt 
 him that b ptBitc&t and beliring; if wo c*pa, it will 
 make at more thankful ; if oot, it will bring at mmrm to 
 
 J*mvm%L Bteing that mis whidi I fttnsd have 
 
H*R JOUBNAL. 239 
 
 have been granted, I would learn to trust God more, to 
 commit myself to him, to throw aside all anxiety, and 
 ier to fear remote evils, nor to look for distant good. 
 
 u January 2& With sorrow I find that, though it has 
 pleased God by various trials, both in my health and fame, 
 to wean me from what is called the world and I have, 
 through grace, obtained a considerable deadness to honours, 
 pleasure, and human applause yet it is easy to detect tho 
 same spirit still at work on nearer occasions, and in tho 
 daily petty affairs of life. I am discomposed by trifles 
 which I despise, and feel inequalities of temper at trifling 
 faults in others ; am impatient at their follies, weaknesses, 
 imprudence*; forgetting how often I myself offend, not 
 only against them, but against infinite mercy and inex- 
 haustible patience. Blessed be God for Jesus Chi 
 
 " January 27. I am thankful to say that my thoughts 
 in the night, in which my waking hours are many, are for 
 most part on serious subjects : but I grieve to find, 
 that though my reins chasten me in the night season, yet 
 when the light of day restores cheerfulness and gaiety, and 
 objects are alive about me, I cannot get back altogether to 
 that spirituality which the night encouraged. 
 
 " January 28. I find it hard, nay, impossible, to acquit 
 myself during the day of the promises and resolutions 
 made in the night season ; this furnishes fresh, constant 
 reasons for flying ' to the fountain open for sin and un- 
 cleanness ;* it serves to keep the heart humble, by show- 
 ing its constant need of pardon, mercy, and the pleading 
 of the Divine Intercessor. 
 
 " February 2. My birth-day ! How slender was my 
 prospect this day twelvemonth, that I should live to see it ! 
 I would enumerate some of the mercies of the past year. 
 Raised up from a long and dangerous sickness from a 
 broken state of nerves and spirits, restored to a serene and 
 resigned frame of mind, able to thank God, not only for 
 amended health and spirits, for the many comforts and 
 alleviations of my long and heavy trial, but enabled to 
 thank him for the trial itself: it has shown me more of 
 the world, more of its corruptions, more of my own heart, 
 more of the instability of human opinion ; and it 
 
Un Or HAWAII M :. r 
 
 to b right 
 from iojury 
 
 re not only 
 powerful protector in the wrw 
 BM to SUM*, w 
 
 God ha* rminea up m 
 
 I bm > OHM* Ua * mj dbpoo* 
 ^MBd a lo U giory elite fiMl 
 
 .- . . . 
 
 ; brtU 1 tbMik God, 
 
 mtod ; wit I VM 
 turr t aad to prmj. 
 
 ; 'HMvy 1& Aootbr 
 
 bc*L I b*rc lo be th^nkfuJ for iU mrL No cmUmrty 
 
 , . . 
 
 ." :. ' ' . . ' '.:.. '.':,":'. . 
 
 bill bm DO orrow od no tod ! 
 
 mary 27.-I am gnertd to ftod cm thk 
 t though I hAYeUte 
 
 i h*re later*, 1 bare Dot th* right raltth for 
 I find it import**, *k I to oooftoe my 
 
 f t, rMt ^tt a A^v J.L^ ilari it f,,_i.t_i_M-^Ll-*Al / 1 
 
 ' - ' 
 
 ume. ^VboihaUcUbwrn* from tkb body oTdmthujd 
 I think my God through JOT Cbn*> Uut my 
 
HER JOURNAL. 241 
 
 mind kept up a sense of devotion for a blessed interval on 
 first awaking this morning. 
 
 " March 2.- This day finished Paley's X ology. 
 
 It is a very able work ; evinces the author's acquaintance 
 
 : anatomy, and almost all science. All these endo\v- 
 
 ts are made subservient to the grand purpose for which 
 the book is written. But the work is still deficient in some 
 essential points. 
 
 "Mar* ' U. Poor Captain has been spending 
 
 some days with us. I think it has pleased God, by the 
 
 . of his sickness, to work a material change in his 
 heart. There seems to bo in him a growing delight in 
 spiritual things, and a tenderness of conscience. I 
 tbee, Lord, that that exemplary servant of thine 
 jeant, was one of our first scholars at Cheddar, and that 
 thou hast graciously preserved him in faith and virtue, in a 
 station so full of temptation. W it ! i thy grace, a camp may 
 become a sanctuary, and without it the holiest place may 
 be converted into a scene of iniqu 
 
 "March 15. Finished this day, for the second time, 
 Bishop Home's Paraphrase of the Psalms. A work of great 
 edification, and of a sweet and devout spirit. I do not 
 know any book that has greater unction and savour of 
 
 y. Only one thing surprises me, that this excellent 
 man falls into the common error of mistaking baptism for 
 regeneration. Surely it is confounding the outward and 
 le sign with the inward and spiritual grace. 
 
 u March 24. I feel, in finishing my garden, that I havo 
 too much anxiety to make it beautiful; that it occ 
 too much of my attention, and tends to give worldly thoughts 
 a predominance in my mind. How imperfection mixes 
 itself with all we do and are! This innot tion, 
 
 which Providence seems kindly to ha. d forme 
 
 so seasonably in the time of my distress and depression, is 
 
 i..nger of becoming a snare, by fixing me too much to 
 that world from which J am in other respects trying to 
 free myself. May I ever remember, that i oeps 
 
 the mind from God, or that stops the heart short of 
 heavenly things, h<- mless in itself, becomes sinful 
 
 by drawing the time, and thoughts, and affections, i 
 
legitimate objeot*. I hat,, perbap*, to 
 
 *8**iiny t More* 27. By the grrmt fcrour and good- 
 
 nrv . f <;.i, I hv, th. .! T !**n c:.A*K< . :,, ,-,, :-. J ;..!. 
 Adored be thy holy name, that I am agmin lemtorr 
 
 Omay K be aaootrAed to m* I May I lift 
 ^rmryapintnalbUMeingifor 
 fur m tnimtcm ! May I be ka 
 mMipbed edrantait*! K 
 opfxirtooHy iodrwe* my reapooeibility. Let me alwaya 
 mnemhcr that it WM to t)w profcewi, to the inatru. 
 
 . r . :.,-..: : . 
 
 knew y oo.' Better to hare bee* a papn, a blind, igno- 
 rmnt idnhHar, thaa a dieobedieoiObjiatoa or tn imfroltful 
 
 >, ' /-. \! . 
 
 l~.U U ^ . W I *. > ^. *. ? 
 
 I* - - ' 
 
 mon> effort than I hare hitherto 4oM 
 
 U, him who died for me. May aO my readifig an< 
 
 ---^ _. 
 
 
 
 of thia 
 
 II nay 1 iwta, with 
 - 
 
 Uoo thia day roapeet that grtmt er*nl cm which my own 
 alvtJto aod that of th* whole world depeoda. Lord 
 Jeeo% iMeieo thy grmt ^rork, and grant that the know- 
 
 r .;.. - ' -, . : ..t ' ; 
 
 WL TT*^ finally accooipliah the number of thinr 
 
 ^^nUX-Afr-kc^ltoi 
 
 *fttaMl%Mr.L-U Our 
 
 IWMA A^kftAAM V* ^MMk tw%lil 
 W1B VfgDWD , m 
 
 ! : . . :---. . . . . '..,. 
 
 U. liMwaaaamg^ebaracUT; abot: 
 
 be reootmcod worldly aooiciy and raadiag^ yai per- 
 a doae appttcaUoo to biMbMM, lie fall into the 
 babrtaandop<niooaofUmyitioi waa mdi fh^o up to 
 acrt dcroUcm, dirrout intdttaiioa, and a tbooghtftil inttr- 
 . ' v. th I '! i ' .. ' 'fh; 
 
 but b via a character rmthar tobeadmirtrf than imitaUd. 
 Hokftdr^bataO pobiio wonhrp. Taking no aotto 
 part in tooety, he brought little glory to God, and wae 
 
HER JOURNAL. 243 
 
 less useful to mankind than his talei. and 
 
 his fortune ought to have made him. Ho 
 one of the most amiable, gentle, and self-denying of : 
 and, with all his peculiarities, was, I doubt not, a sin 
 Christian in his way. ^lay I be found watching, as I 
 doubt not he was! 
 
 "April 19. On Sunday I was enabled to go twice to 
 church, through the goodness of God. Shiphnm in the 
 morning: the first time of my visiting the school*. J 
 hope I was thankful for being restored to my poor child- 
 ind for finding a very full and flourishing school, WL li- 
 med in the Scriptures. We can only put Christ! a 
 into their heads : do thou, O Father of mercies ! p 
 into their hearts, and sanctify our labours. 
 
 " April 22. Mr. Whalley passed a day or two with u>. 
 I am always edified by his highly devotional spirit. i! 
 seems more dead to the world, and to realise the invisible 
 things of eternity more than almost any man I e\ 
 We conversed much on serious subjects, and read largely 
 in Bishop Reynolds. I have to lament that the impres- 
 sion of such reading and such conversation is so soon 
 effaced. Last night, having lost my feverish symptoms, I 
 was enabled to keep up devout thoughts and prayers 
 during all my waking intervals. Oh that I could < 
 them more into the intercourse of the world ! 
 
 "May 4. Indisposition of body and mind has 
 Tented my writing. Things the most trivial ami con- 
 temptible, occupy, distract, and indispose the soul foi 
 proper work. I fear I have gone back in religion this 
 week. My waking nightly thoughts have been less volun- 
 tarily pious. I find with sorrow that I stand in need of 
 continual calls and awakening ; for ;;ocs on peace- 
 
 fully, I easily degenerate into sloth and deadness. 
 
 " May 5. One ill consequence I experience from my 
 long trial is, that whereas I used to watch for all occasions 
 utroducing useful subjects, I am now backward to do 
 it, from the klea that all I say may be called enthusiasm. 
 Alas ! it is a difficult base. I know not how to act. Lord ! 
 direct me by thy Spirit. The low tone, too, of common 
 conversation is very unfavourable to a spirit of dcvui 
 
. i ! ::-.v. ..::::: 
 
 I , however, what time I can to be alone, and that fa 
 the time I mc*t truly eojoy. I do not gat weary of hojy 
 but meditation and prayer too toon biL Just 
 ayUJ* Z/t of CWptr. Oowper* letter* are 
 a UMJ present to view the |miine, aSbo- 
 tionate, btoevoknt heart of U incomparable author. I 
 waa thwrpomtcd to flnd eo few of hie religions latters 
 printed. TbebtogKpher iisnii to fofjat or not to know, 
 
 . ' ' :.*. ::i 
 
 thachatactcrofCowpcr. It vaa diftcuH to wiHo hi'* 
 trulj aod jrH tcodcrij. Uajby 
 
 t.^ t . . t rl IkW &ab&ABk*lM ^^4lh ^AA* *-*- 
 
 .: 1 . . : ..--..:. 
 
 Tba whok it wntun in a food tmpar, aad much fj 
 la aliovu to retigMma paopla* Aa to tha oooipoaitk 
 tha U^ by way ol ptrl^, it u ID a bad Urt*, florid 
 UK hcmtrrer, with all it* bttlta, a plat 
 
 taw ia-A loaf paoaa. Patty and i hart been 
 
 to drink the waUn. 
 
 revet I may ha as to bodily tmprovrment, I (ear my 
 aoul haa not prospered in healt df. 
 
 I have almost ever had, fewer trials, more 
 
 H^^lif^V feflMf fflMttliftftft^Ml 1 AHl tll"Bt RWMVt *!* 
 
 though 1 raad mook O Lord, do thou root the spirit of 
 vorldlineaa out of my heart. It flourish** there, beosnas 
 HflodsacoofsnialaoiL 
 
 -July 90^-1 had hungmy harp upon the willows, never 
 more to take it 'down, as I thought : tut impor 
 the one hand, and eupinsneee on tha part of others, have 
 
 What a state of things most we be in, when tha most 
 immediato way of doing good that occurs fa tor me to 
 write a aoog! I was driven to make it merrily loyal; 
 had it bean astioiu it would have been scouted. 
 
 ~J*ly Sfer-Heard to-day that my enemies had bean 
 undermining my character, among those of the highest 
 
HER JOUIT 
 
 . I am anew accused ol ion to those whom 
 
 my humble talents have heartily supported, and whom it 
 is one great business of my life to support. IV. 
 God ! I heard this with little emotion. how thankful 
 am I that I can now hear such charges with patience ! 
 May I more and more learn of Him who was meek and 
 lowly ; may I with humble reverence reflect, that 
 divine and perfect Being was accused of sedition and of 
 stirring up the people. 
 
 "September 30. I find it easier to pray that others 
 may be weaned from the world than to be weaned mysel f. I 
 have spent nearly all this week in my garden ; too much 
 occupied by amusement without doors and company within. 
 I am now, through the mercy of my God, come to the con- 
 clusion ol another month. Great have been my mercies 
 great my undeservings. I would especially be thankful for 
 
 a letter from the Rev. , acknowledging the good done 
 
 in his parish by my tracts, and to his own soul by one in 
 <:ular that on bringing religion into the common 
 
 fe. May my heart bo filled with gratis 
 for that goodness which has vouchsafed to work by so 
 worthless an instrument 
 
 "Sunday. We were all at Wrington church, an -1 at 
 
 sacrament This last is a blessing I have so rarely en- 
 
 1 the last two years, that I cannot be thankful enough 
 
 for any such opportunity. O Lord, hear and confirm the 
 
 vows I offered up to thee at thy table ; strengthen my 
 
 :;, animate my hope, influence my charity. I was not 
 well ; I hope that may partly account for the coldness of 
 my heart When shall I be dead unto sin and alive unto 
 God! 
 
 u Tuesday night, October 9. At homo for reading and 
 prayer ; but a cold heart and dead affections. Lord ! pre- 
 ; v heart, and especially my own, to confess with 
 deep contrition and self-abhorrence our great and number- 
 less transgressions ; and may we say in the view of our 
 great military preparation, ' Cursed is the man that tmsteth 
 in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and dcpartcth from the 
 
 ;igGod.' 
 
 "October 13. What a miscellaneous world! 
 
,* 
 
 the Duke of ,U*3 
 
 the recent woo*! of 
 it right to go, M dwire h*d 
 
 tf*y l-t-Mj befcmd friood, Mr. WUhcHbrot, and 
 9 to pejfpw dairm. I Uee* God UMU we 
 
 worto IB toMrM4e j^eo* MMI OMHPCV* l oope %o profit oy 
 
 SMd hili^f^ilM 
 
 iIMk 
 
 17^ 
 
 x- Mi .:-.-T . :-, 
 
 ;.t 
 
 ot of tb 
 in prviac pcMtnr* tor Ioo( UUM 
 
 -Mr.B 
 to abofv two tbooMod vttpfef MU% tad ft ftU to hfe 
 
 hanilottomd tbe pn jm and to bury ih fricml of bin 
 heart Altrt- roo, the widow qaiHlywmlkcd out of her 
 pew, took her tabc* bj the hmd, and went to UM grmre, 
 <mr which ^ood without iaaulgingmnjcuKrtiom during 
 the iMt Ma oenwnony. When 11 WM ovw *he wAikod with 
 i b^k to the houe, to whkxh the mooraJbl pro- 
 The eight mod torrvw of B - . the 
 
 tetra from this heroic mourner. If I mm not the better for 
 her example oa thin ocoutioo, it will be among the nomher 
 
HER JOURNAL. 247 
 
 of my sins. Lord, sanctify to us all, and to me in particular, 
 the solemnities of this day ; and grant that the sight of 
 youth, genius, and virtue consigned to the grave, may 
 
 ken my preparation for it. Such were the last honours 
 paid to an obscure country curate, whose talents and ac- 
 quirements would have adorned the highest station ; but 
 whose humility and piety eminently fitted him for that 
 which he filled. 
 
 " October 20. Yesterday (the 19th) was the public fast. 
 It appears to have been not only decently, but solemnly, 
 observed everywhere. O Lord, accept the prayers which 
 thy sinful, but in many instances, 1 trust, thy repenting 
 creatures, have offered up at the throne of thy grace : and 
 grant that sorrow for sin may be an abiding principle in 
 the hearts of all those whose lips yesterday confessed it. 
 Accept the prayers which were offered up for our king and 
 country. Avert the stroke which we have most righteously 
 deserved ; and grant that, renouncing all dependence on 
 
 elves and on an arm of flesh, we may place it solely 
 on thy tender mercies in Christ Jesus. Unite the hearts 
 
 is nation as the heart of one man, both in their alle- 
 giance to the king, and especially to thee the King of kings 
 and Lord of lords ; and grant that, whatever may be the 
 event, we may be taught by it a deeper submission to thy 
 will ; and if in anger thou hast decreed that national peace 
 should be deferred, as a punishment for our sins, grant 
 that we may individually have peace with thee through 
 our Lord Jesus Chi 
 
 " November 3. We have had the comfort of two days 
 
 e company of our dear friend H. T . His i 
 
 peaceful, subdued, holy, cheerful spirit, does honour to 
 religion. May God spare him to a world not worthy of 
 him. I forgot to record that on nearly the same day with 
 
 Drewitt, B was called away to answer at the bar of 
 
 God for a life spent in opposition to the light of know- 
 ledge and education. He was one of the worst calumniators 
 
 of poor D . Both called into eternity together ! O 
 
 how different the account they had to give of their re- 
 spective talents ! 
 
 lie petty vexations from a friend convinced me too 
 
: . . . - 
 
 ::: - . ' v 
 
 .... .- . 
 
 id fccradfed to me tod I to tfc 
 
 h, that I had tb* winga of a dore ! 
 
 ber S3. Being able to do litUa or oothing to 
 country, it oocurrad to OHM a sacrifice it wuoid 
 
 te mak* that I abcmU wnto ami ofer to gjrr 
 
 -...-.'.. . ' : .v . ' .' ' .'. i : ' 
 
 at Umr dtapoaai to OM crrnl of tU Fwoch 
 bodtn at Upbill elgili miltt di>Unt ; or a par- 
 of oar howiftU omow^t. A kted totter of 
 
 .':... .-. 
 
 M% 9 f?cA AopM^r. Too damp tad ! for 
 or church. Trk 
 
 i p f* of hia U*, ao 
 XM rtvpccU apoft^priau ; 1 
 hiin, paitKJukHy wberv h ap^kj of h 
 uitek Fifty tw^Mi wvro 
 ^j^kiw^ 1 think, wvrt wnttflo for 
 b thrt TI % mooUOy attek from the 
 
 , .-.. ..-.: 
 
 ... . ' ,:Ju . ,T 
 
 , :.:, 
 
 anniatom did not 
 
 oftha brrndth, and koftk 
 nUbhooaa, and of the ex 
 
 iiaj and public apiht and < 
 0cA. Lord ! grant DM mo 
 
 dlorgrrtinyimmbcHaai 
 
 Uic Wac wit- 
 I mj works to be nmch 
 but Ood on oatry on 
 toola aa I were 
 
 - :, .-. 
 d^iOiofUieradicaJ 
 
 .-. :,, ' 
 
 .- : - 
 
HER JOURNAL. 249 
 
 for the merits, and sacrifice, and intercession of my Saviour 
 Jesus Christ 
 
 " I have been much humbled in reading an account of 
 
 the death of good Mr. K \s son. What resignation to 
 
 the divine will, what trust in Christ, what love of God 
 under trials, and for trials, at the early age of nineteen ! 
 At three times that age, how cold, how dead, how slack am 
 I in preparation for that eternity, which is so rapidly ad- 
 vancing ! 
 
 " December. Letter from Mr. Pearson, declining Ched- 
 dar. This is a great grief. Lord, let it be a sanctified 
 grief. Teach me a complete acquiescence in thy holy will ; 
 the work is in thine hand ; to thee I would commit it. 
 Deliver my soul from all sinful anxiety, and let me not bo 
 anxious about thy work, but my own. Oh for more : 
 
 :ie promises, more renunciation of my own wisdom, 
 my own will, my own way! 
 
 dday, Dec. 11. Patty is gone to take leave of Ship- 
 ham. It grieves me, whose health is better than i. 
 thus to put the labouring oar on her ; but the fear of 1 
 laid up for the winter deters me. I have spent this Sal 
 morning in my own room with much peace of mil 
 never do this voluntarily ; public worship is (Sod's ordi- 
 nance, and ought never to be omitted but on very strong 
 grounds. Without public worship all private religion 
 would soon decay. 
 
 "December 2G. In the midst of my pain I have secretly 
 been trying to reconcile friends whom trifles had set at 
 variance. Oh, what an imperfect world it is ! Good 
 people quarrel for very nothings ! For my own part I feel 
 so much sinfulness in my own nature, that it makes me 
 ut to the faults of others. I say this now with more 
 truth,from having felt sinful tempers rise in my mind to-day 
 about trifles. Shall I not then forgive my fellow-sinner his 
 hundred pence ? I, who have a debt of a thousand talents 
 to be forgiven ? May we bear one another's burdens ; 
 and may I prepare for that period of pain, and weariness, 
 and imbecility, which must be found in that old age which 
 is approaching." 
 
Ufl r nwNvn v a 
 
 Her ditty for 1804 kibe 
 
 : . 1 : . : 
 
 JfciMliii flow in * 
 
 htr ptperv, in which 
 . 
 
 e/bereetf eeartbmg piejft 
 exhibit** 
 
 .:. 
 
 :-. 
 
 . i. .. n (01 !'.,-.- , 
 fed, hroi^itlo Ibc bc^n- 
 
 MV-.hrr %i--if. ' l;i.^n the 
 
 i , who for- 
 O 
 
 ; -: 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 ; for the 
 
 in do 
 ion i.u, U<n 
 
 ., ,- ' .r "r. 
 
 
 
 . ; 
 
 helped to ioejiM it We know 
 llbonl.jukfor; lot me, there- 
 
 .. : 
 
 Ulioo oeceeeuy. Lord, pour 
 
HER JOURNAL. 251 
 
 out the grace of thy Holy Spirit on me and mine, without 
 measure ; teach us to love thee with all our hearts, minds, 
 soul, and strength, and to devote the remainder of our 
 lives to thy service, and to the glory of our Lord and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ. 
 
 " January 7. Intense pains in my head and face con- 
 tinue. Lord, give me more patience. * Shall a living man 
 complain ? ' Oh ! how much fewer are my sufferings than 
 my sins : how much less do I suffer for my sins than my 
 Saviour suffered for them ! 
 
 " January 14. Blessed be God for an interval of ease 
 for two days, I call myself to account for my late d 
 ness, and hardness, and worldliness ; disturbed with petty 
 cares, and my heart much alienated from prayer by those 
 very sufferings which ought to have drawn my soul nearer 
 to God. ' Oh ! wretched man that I am, who shall de- 
 liver me from the body of this death I I thank God 
 
 through Jeans Christ' A visit from Mr. A ; ho de- 
 
 that the country is in a complete state of defence, 
 he foe hourly expected. Lord, strengthen our arms 
 and prepare our hearts. Alas ! what preparations are the 
 great of my own sex making ! Balls, routs, masquerades ; 
 such was the preparation Belshazzar made when Cyrus 
 burst the brazen gates, and Babylon was lost in a night. 
 
 Lord, awake this sinful, sleeping land ! Death and eter- 
 nity ! impress these two awful words on all our L< 
 
 " Mr. and Mrs. and Miss H came for a week ; thus 
 
 my solitary hours are abridged : we read together one or 
 two sermons of Gisborne's every day, and a portion of 
 general history in the evening. May I bo rendered u 
 to these pleasing friends, by being enabled to make such 
 remarks as may lead this young person to read common * 
 books with moral and religious advantage. 
 
 " My greatest loss in giving up the society of my dis- 
 tant friends is, that I have fewer to stimulate me to the 
 <>f God. Lord! let this deficiency lead me to look 
 more to the fountain. 
 
 " Long habits of vexation and disappointment, tu \vhich 
 
 1 am now inure <1, make ordinary trials light to me. Im- 
 
 ico has been one of my besetting evils ; it is still too 
 
- -1 : :: : r HAVV<.<! v 
 
 ready to lawk out, even oo OOOMMMM too null to record ; 
 batituUMoothanitwtt. 
 
 * HMN* VMinftil inn iiiiaiit^a lffw ! il>-. *U- 
 
 ... . . . . 
 
 U|. - ...;'' ,; .I ' i 
 
 to bow with cacbotbar, o^octtUyMtbftdAjsofa^o tod 
 
 of growth in graoft. 1 bat* lately haaid of no- 
 mod of U MttfBitj of old oooa with compoaurr. ft - 
 
 kB to thadnrioo will Oh, tlMt I BMJ 
 ftw ^ f ^^ B ^^^ d 
 
 I WM tonpM to t piM oT fcnrity, of which I have 
 
 :. ;.'...,,, -.:-..:-..;. -[-.,. 
 
 POMMB tOO MAT tO A pftfOdjT OO tho ChOTOh CwOCMnL 
 
 I MB thnUU thol I Ml my oner, and altmd tho pUo% 
 
 A A A WA ^MM^k^BM 
 
 io 100 *onoiH oc 
 
 Mj reUfkmriodiiif luu Un orach AbridgH boll 
 
 .:::!:..-;..-::. ;r , 
 If Nkt^vWvi ft^^tt k^A AMMMM! in tn v Iw^v4. l&t jlv A 
 ' 
 
 d*v (v HB <* ^A^ thfan0h _u_n_L HMV ijjln im. t^^ww I* 
 
 .. .1 1 < , \ > . i *. . . ., ,.. . < .' > . \ . r . . 
 
 l^^gl ilhlA ^(^PVkiffk^ i %^M! ^I^Mk W^Mfc^p4*^\lA iMtjhflHWM**^^ 
 
 .*:.;, ".. ' i: ' , 
 
 prmrrr, in which I haro baao lately aodaad. Ood grant 
 cfTtlo fear ^fyffn fttHI loro . 
 
 therv nay not ho i 
 O U>nU h*rc Dot lorvd UM M 1 ought, ood thcrrforr I 
 MIVO oot oflTod thoo oofotedljr* I koow not BOW IBOCO 
 m* y be at tho root of all thk itodiieM. Tho 
 for tome d*y*-* rminfol bmch hlcd 
 ht to Mhotft for * dqr telwoeo 
 hfo Uiootboci fMoootoopmtoiift 
 t* heir ooo anolbcr'a bunfcotf-Chmt hor mil 
 
 tt Lortl look upon Cheddar ; >oftr not tho wor 
 thoratofmil 
 
HER JOURNAL. 253 
 
 " Lorcl, I come to thee persuaded that all thy ways are 
 perfect wisdom, and all thy dispensations perfect goodi 
 
 ><.day, 22t/. Alb . a week of too much worldli- 
 ness, my mind has somewhat recovered its tone in devout 
 r in the night. I have also to-day prayed with more 
 affection. I have endeavoured to check my own spirit, by 
 placing death before my eyes, and carefully reading Dodd- 
 ridge's last chapter the dying scene. When I read, the 
 impression is strong, and my mind serious ; but when the 
 book is closed, the heart grows cold, and the world rushes 
 in. Some worldly trials in the week have given me less 
 vexation than usual ; but that may be, not because my 
 resignation is greater, but my animal spirits better. 
 
 44 25f/t. I bless God for the holy example my friend 
 
 N is giving of the power of religion, under tedious, 
 
 painful, and dangerous disease: she is divinely supper 
 her children and servants are grown serious through her 
 means; divine grace has made her to be willing to <ii.-, 
 and resign her numerous children into the hands of her 
 heavenly parent 
 
 <tday, February 19th. How uncertain are all sub- 
 lunary things ! Just as the delay of the invasion was 
 lulling the country into a false peace, it has pleased God 
 to afflict us with an awful visitation the sudden 
 alarming illness of the King. Into what new calamities 
 may this sad event plunge this unthinking nation ! O 
 Lord ! in mercy remember us. Avert, if thou scest fit, 
 
 heavy stroke. Though we have rebelled against i 
 and our national i: cry aloud against us, yet do 
 
 thou spare us, or do thou overrule this event t< > 
 lasting salvation, and for the public good : comfort and 
 bless the royal sufferer ; support and strengthen him under 
 every trial, especially under the last great conflict. Sanc- 
 it to his family, and grant that it may bring us all to 
 a more serious temper ; to a closer personal apprehension 
 of the vanity of life ; and a constant preparation for an- 
 other world. 
 
 28M. Our Bath house is sold. I am thankful for an 
 
 :it which fixes us to this place for the short remainder 
 of life, without the turmoil, care, and expense of a divided 
 
Or IIAKMH MOtt. 
 
 and bustling town. Lord, grant thai this may 
 prove a liiaaing to OB all, and draw as nearer to thee. 
 JOk<uU>ankfulthU(XifQwploihA^i]aoiD> r Uaint 
 a place, thai we have a goodly heritafe ; but let u* not 
 take up with M> poor a portion as this life, or anything 
 
 " Monk 7lA*-My diary U bar* interrupted, and may 
 bo ao for a long time ; tbo idea baa baas eMMated to ***** 
 iownua 
 
 ct th<yUtiaM ilk* duty toatUupt 
 it I faai rafactaiitt ^n\ DO irkaomaoaai in th^ laak abouid 
 
 , - . : i . i . ; . . . - : 
 
 itt 
 
 ittoai 1 abouid uadcrukc it, do Ibou < 
 
 :U OM wilb a bo^r boldiwM. whb 
 k ; aud If 1 really ai about 
 
 Ibs licvm of Pfcsoml, Cnnmar, Hail Fow Iktafi art ao 
 
 a Iba ima of amiaaoi and bo|y 
 
 datafls ao UilcfwUog in Ibe li* of 
 dtlmaaUdbyGilpu*, 
 
 a^p}4a*ata Mill :;:., QHyam 
 -Ttalalk 
 
 . "i 
 
 pioua. I am ba 
 
 . - . - . : 
 
 tbe knowftsdfs of the truth ; for. alas ! bow btUe 
 tor* they oo my owa heart end life ! " 
 
 la 180ft abe prodooad bar Hi** ieanfr form** U* 
 ncsjr of a y**+4 Pnctm. It was written at the 
 tnqpest of a dignitary of the Cburoh, She under- 
 it with rthtfrtsiHTe.. aa being in bar own eetiroatioti 
 
 , :. u: . . '. . ..'.-. : . t.. 
 
 that tbe Prinoess was at this time solely under 
 f ladies, no preceptor baring been yet appointed, 
 iflered bmclf to he eap^r 
 bad nearly finiabed tbe work, tbe appointment 
 of Dr. Fisher, bishop of Exeter (afterwards Bishop of 
 
HER u HIN1B TOWARDS FORMING, 51 ETC. 255 
 
 Salisbury), to that important office, made her for a time 
 resolve to desist from prosecuting the undertaking, as she 
 thought it might be deemed at once intrusive and su 
 perfluous to interfere in a vocation which had now been 
 authoritatively confided to a learned and able man. After 
 some scruples, the mildness and urbanity of the Bishop's 
 character determined her to proceed in the work. It 
 to be anonymous, and a profound secrecy was observed 
 respecting it She conceived the design of meeting ob- 
 jections, by dedicating the book to the Right Reverend 
 ceptor himself. The work was kindly and politely received 
 by him ; and on her sending his lordship a copy, without 
 any intimation from whence it came, a correspondence 
 was naturally opened between them, in which the Bishop 
 addressed Her as a gentleman. The internal evidence, 
 however, as usual, soon betrayed the secret, and the dis- 
 covery gave birth to an acquaintance and intercourse with 
 the Bishop of Exeter, which was equally agreeable to both 
 {larties. 
 
 In the year 1806 Mrs. H. More was attacked by a dan- 
 gerous and tedious illness, which appeared to have ori- 
 ginated in a cold caught in returning from one of her 
 schools. A pleuritic fever succeeded, of so inveterate a 
 kind, as for many months to resist the strongest reme- 
 dies. A year had nearly elapsed before her pulse could 
 be materially reduced, or a change effected on which any 
 hope of her restoration to health could be reason 
 founded. It was a sad interval of suspense to all who felt 
 her worth, or had lived within the warm influence of her 
 benevolence or friendship. The poor seemed to lose all 
 care for themselves in their concern for ; factress ; 
 
 and the great, and even the gay, joined with the humble 
 and virtuous in a common partnership of sorrow. No 
 class of society had escaped her searching philanthropy, 
 and all seemed to have an equal interest in the prolonga- 
 tion of her existence. The letters which were received by 
 her sisters, upon this occasion, amounted to some hun- 
 dreds. They were destroyed ; but had they been pre- 
 .d, their one subject would have excluded the variety 
 t which private letters owe their interest. 
 
LOT Or HJJOUB 
 
 It waa nearly two yean before her recovery was unf- 
 feftenUy eetabliebed to cnabU her to tarn her thoughts to- 
 any literary object* ; but with her returning health 
 
 her mind npidly mumcd Ha eocrfftea, and wat advancing 
 :U forward march, while her body followed with a 
 languid progrcw; and her fricode were not a little BUT- 
 
 ygieed to find her pen. in p4t of bar infirmity, act 
 engaged to oieciitfag a achvme which had loog oofBipiad 
 
 aoeaa Ittm tad traoaaetkM which bataf to thk Intcr^^l 
 
 0t Aava place, bdorv w aay iwa of thw WCCIL 
 From Mi. H. Mow to Mr WUbrrforc. 
 
 **< My 30. MMl 
 
 Ai *P^._. .. x^i. * -^ ^ . : ^L^A JL^a% >A 
 
 ;.-.. . : 
 
 joicad ma ; and, I thank Ood, thtn ww oothiRg to your 
 
 ^^^.^^ M^^^^* ft^^fl M^M^^tol na tl^t V^MI ^i^WM mni*w* f x\ 
 ' : ' - .' i'l.v., i :/:':: "- ' 
 
 - 1 bop* ffMtboann nay ha hatlar for jon. 
 
 ':.! . : : -.;.:-..-, 
 
 UA^MkA>l ^nk I A r * 1 I 
 
 " ' ' - ..... 
 
 httl I nufier graai pain, aod ay oighta ar rMtkam. 
 
 of iiomriy two ywtfv* cMoneoctit, Ood, to hk great OMrcy, 
 enabled IM to |o to church, and 1 hata ainot hatit twice 
 to toe ecnooii, woicn arv vwry Dounatuoe^ ^ "i "Dcejejp wo 
 neither of at are vety oocopeteot, we hold on. 1 la Ootober 
 waahaU keep our tweottelh amtTnary of the opeoiag of 
 the didder echool*. We hare Tcry maoy children of 
 thoe* who wm heretofore eohobra, and withio the bet 
 eight or oine yean abore cue hundred are gone out to 
 acnrioe (weft iMtraotod and proarictn*;) from Cheddar only. 
 Do you remember John Hill, our Ant scholar, whom? piety 
 and food mannett you ued to notice I He afterwards 
 
DEATH OF BISHOP PORTE 
 
 became a teacher, but war tore him from us/ Judge of 
 our pleasure to see him at Weymouth, in full regimen 
 acting as paymaster and serjeant-major ! There was a sort 
 of review. Everybody praised th$ training of eight hun- 
 dred men, so well disciplined. The officers said t 
 fit for any service. One of them said to us, ' All tl 
 owing to the great abilities and industry of Serjeant Hill : 
 he is the greatest master of military tactics we have. At 
 first he was so religious that we thought him a Methodist, 
 but we find him so good a soldier, and so correct in his 
 morals, that we do not trouble ourselves about his reli- 
 gion.' He will probably be adjutant on the 
 cancy. 
 
 " I did feel for you on leaving Broomfield ; but still 
 more, I confess, for those you left. Clapham seems coming 
 to nothing. By the way, we never had so good a meeting 
 as this year at Shipham. I did not dare venture. Poor 
 Patty, though ill able, entertained near a hundred gentry 
 at dinner, among whom were about twenty clergy. It was 
 a fatiguing and expensive day, but I trust it has had its 
 uses. Many similar institutions have sprung up in conse- 
 quence. We had a young Irish nobleman there, who talks 
 of setting up something of the sort. He is lately settled 
 in this neighbourhood, and seems fond of visiting us. 1 1 < 
 has been spending seven years amidst the seduction 
 infidelity on the Continent, but now seems remarkable- 
 well-disposed. Ho rides here to breakfast ten mil 
 before eight o'clock, that he may not lose pra 
 
 u A letter this moment from t B 
 
 aays things now look very promising among the Spaniards : 
 a week ago we were rather desponding. 
 
 "Pray give my love to Mrs. W., in which rny sisters 
 join. Patty desires to be particularly remembered. 
 " Yours, my dear friend, 
 
 "H.MORE." 
 
 Some check was given to the alacrity with whit I. 
 H. More was addressing herself to her new literary un 
 taking, by the death of Bishop Porteus, who finished his 
 course with Christian joy, and with the hope of the faith- 
 
fill in the year 1800, and in 
 
 Ufa. A few 
 to bare paid a riatt to 
 MB in iMoh * 
 
 that iftttia of that 
 
 Dr. Pbrut biMMlfcti to Mra Mofi t l^pcjr of 
 yxi aha oMMKCfBli to Itt0 nof7 in Iba i " 
 her bouao at Bariay Wood an mm, with ac hMiiirtiim aa 
 iiiHaaimiiiit aa her aorrow waa aipoare. " To Beilbj For- 
 tooa.latoLoni Bubop of London, to mamofy of long aod 
 fkilbftil Maftdahip." Tba life of UM Biabop, by DcaA 
 flndpea^ Jam racordad bia laai Tlart to Oarttoai Hooae, and 
 tb* apoatolkai ptirpoae of that Tit ; la wlation t* which 
 it maj be addad, aa an 
 
before the relate eat out on his holy errand, Mrs. 
 
 i note from him, requesting her prayers for 
 
 the Divine Messing on the arduous and delicate task he 
 
 had thought it his duty to undertake, without further ex- 
 
 ii ir his purpose ; and in a few days afterwards she re- 
 
 I a second note, with which their earthly communica- 
 
 closed for ever, informing her of the success with 
 
 h it had been attended. 
 
 The work which next issued from Mrs. More's pen was 
 an experiment upon which she did not venture without 
 
 h anxious hesitation. She published it at first without 
 her name, not intrusting the secret even to those very few 
 who were usually in her confidence on similar occasions. 
 
 peared in December, 1809, in two vols. octavo, under 
 tic of Cockb* in search of a Wife, and excited such im- 
 mediate and universal attention, that she received, in the 
 course of a few days, notice from her bookseller to prepare 
 for a second edition ; but before this edition could !> put 
 to press, and in lees than a fortnight after the first ap] > 
 ance of the work, it was out of print, and the booksellers 
 
 ver the country became clamorous for copies. In nine 
 
 tha after its first appearance she was followed to Daw- 
 lish, whither she had gone to try the effect of repose and 
 sea-air, by the eleventh edition, which presently gave place 
 to the twelfth. 
 
 An American Caleb* found a proportionality favourable 
 reception ; four editions succeeded each other with a 
 rapidity almost unexampled in that country, where her 
 works have been always duly appreciated, 'i ions 
 
 of 1000 copies each were printed in that country du: 
 the lifetime of Mrs. More. She continued for a long time 
 after the publication of Codebs to receive, to her no small 
 amusement, letters from her intimate acquaintance, ear- 
 nestly recommending her to read it, and giving a descrip- 
 tion of the characters, sentiments, and general tendency of 
 
 work. Others, however, discovered her style before 
 
 had proceeded far in the perusal, and in letters of a 
 
 humorous character addressed her as its author. She 
 
 stood firm, however, against all these attempts to draw 
 
- UFB Or HASSAN MOWL 
 
 nfMMnn from her, till it had mo through 
 In 1811 Ahc product * woi* of two votamc* 
 
 in Uw prt^ ftnJ tt rmn on rcrj ip^ Jy to tcath. Tube 
 hiiii^bk to U Urtfaaoay to her merit, implied in the 
 
 iOf her tflbfftft, *frt Mi tO hft? bttt ttfNOlKl OfM 
 
 nnah Mom by thow thnt oflt admirwdi IMT ; bo t 
 hor \m+w**mti4*d that UM n*u 
 
 I ^J tf^tJ A^b IM vtkM^I ^B^^ t IkA >l^^^M_ 
 
 ' 
 
 th ptyum with which boh>d MMitmi it toQod had 
 
 %, _^^^^^^ i Ak. %L^^^ ^vAk^^A. ^ -^ ^^t^ * AI 
 
 |. . ...'..... 
 
 ppj wigbU who do not 
 M you wrttt, M% to 
 but their own. ' 
 
 - io 
 
 I wondarmt my 
 r from you. Tbo 
 
 on which I on do IH*U or 
 
 ctitoC Hmog boilittk 
 
 r or bid hfldlB, way tin* do* not turn 
 toi 
 
 or mpprobrtkm of my book Urary comforting ta* 
 
LETTER TO SIR W. W. TEPYS 261 
 
 encouraging to me. My expectations from it were low. It 
 is nothing to the public, that it was written in constant 
 pain ; and it is the worst of all apologies, that it was done 
 in such a hurry, that it was very little longer in writing 
 than in printing. But life is short ; mine is particularly 
 uncertain, and I had persuaded myself that it was better 
 to bring it out in a defective state, than not at all. I now 
 sec many faults and deficiencies, which I have somewhat 
 laboured to diminish. I thank you for telling me of the 
 objections made to it. Your remarks would lead to a 1 
 field of discussion, which I wouM rather enter upon with 
 you in conversation than in writing ; because they would 
 s and rejoinders, which could not con- 
 veniently be made. 
 
 .in not aware of that excessive strictness of which 
 your pious friends complain. The Gospel is strict : ' The 
 cutting off a right hand, and plucking out a right eye, 1 
 though only used as metaphors and illustrations, is su 
 more strict than anything I have said. It is true, I in- 
 variably maintain the same 01 ;ut the standard of 
 religion should always bo kept high. The very best ol 
 are sure to pull it down a good many pegs in our 
 but how much lower is the practice of those who ti 
 r standard than the New Testament holds out ! Your 
 i<ls who, you say, ' are in tho constant habit of doing 
 justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God/ 1 
 
 -d reached high attainments. I believe I do wrong to 
 judge of others by myself, for i to you I i. 
 
 a constant sense of imperfection in my 1 hts, 
 
 words, and actions, that I continually IH <! the refug- 
 
 IK! continually petition 1 him, 
 
 for the purifying and comforting assistance of his 
 it. I must have expressed myself very ill, if I have 
 said, 'that, at the end of a long 1 nitof 
 
 fault/ I am sure I cannot remember mine at the 
 of a month, or a week, which was my reason for re- 
 . acnding our spiritual accounts to be kept short. But 
 we can, I think, all remember the particular sins and fail- 
 ings to which we arc most addicted ; and I meant that wo 
 should not content ourselves with general confession, ex- 
 
oept in public worship, but duvll on oar pemoMl and 
 diTMtttlMii*. Tbc irdmaual witMf pfopeaiaty, til Mltinj 
 
 Mf- in 1 - , V || :"'-, kv..%:i ?.. ,-<,. i* m- 
 
 o th* tnilh of U* OO.JH and Mo' the oblkjui- 
 tfaa of hi* own hMit AM! thi< M wUt I aMtut br a 
 
 I noeBiK 700 wM 
 
 lik ^ ^': ^^^.1 
 
 .! 
 
 I ihink. w tbe iiifcrtMeu of ytwr 
 w;!l : rt^tt l,..k for Mi w,-nU V^,' m v riear fnmd. 
 
 Ik &I^M4*l t A I ^Hki^k^ A^k M^k^& ^M^M 
 
 . : . . . '. I . 
 
 tn yuur <Urm. I lot* tad hoooor IboM two MO to A 
 
 YH I am 
 
 yim to ten to TV #M* ! 
 
 noble author*, tbotigb 1 thought tt would b* 
 
 MT what I turn herr a^d, of my nit thM thaj did not 
 
 -1^_^|| ^^.^.^ __ *WA 1 ,^t -+ f^L.^*L~^.lA-~ AMJ! -- ^Wm* 
 
 .' , ' I .' . ; .'. . 
 
 :'. - - . .. . , = . 
 
YS. 263 
 
 " I have been reading with pleasure Bennet's Chr 
 Oratory. It is not a brilliant work, but full of sound good 
 sense, very spiritual, practical, and serious. I deal little 
 in speculation, and never in controversial works, and like 
 no devotion that is not sober-minded. Some of old Bax- 
 practical works, I think, you would admire. I have 
 lately read his Advice to the Aged, his Dyi/iy Thoughts, and 
 his Saint* Rest. One must allow for the style and diffuse 
 manner of these voluminous old writers. They are, how- 
 ever, full of matter. I like them far better than our 
 wordy moderns. I except Bishop Horsley and some few 
 others. 
 
 " A propos of moderns, one of the most valuable has, 
 with his amiable family, been passing some day 
 I mean Mr. Oisborne, with whose Sermons, Duties of 
 Men, Duties of Women, and Survey of Scripture, I doubt 
 not your family are well acquainted. It is hard to say 
 whether he be a more sound divine or amiable man. His 
 sermons are truly scriptural, without the least tincture of 
 bad taste or enthusiasm. He lives like a pa ' the 
 
 head of his nine children, with his estimable and 
 lady. ' I have thoughts of visiting li t of Need- 
 
 wood, of which, as he draws finely, he has taken the scenery, 
 before it was, alas ! nearly disafforested. We had other 
 authors, too, among our last week's visitors. 
 
 " To-morrow I am expecting to see a grand-daughter of 
 your old revered friend, Lord Lyttleton ; I mean Lady 
 Lucy Barry ;* she is lovely in mind and person, and from 
 being a little gay, is become very serious. She gives a 
 pleasing account of the piety of the dowager Lady Lyttle- 
 ton, whom I used to meet at your house, and of whom I 
 had lost sight. 
 
 " I was equally grieved and surprised to hear of the 
 loss Sir Lucas had sustained. I truly sympathise with 
 
 i and you. Your Croydon epitaph is admirable and 
 appropriate. It is in the manner of Crashaw or Fletcher, 
 er some of our other old poets. I hope you have shown it 
 to your afflicted brother. I do pity him from my heart. 
 
 * Adieu, my dear friend ! Think of me as one who 
 
 Afterwards Lady Farnham. 
 
BBM i :IA>NA;; 
 
 Yountnilj, 
 
 1 1. MORE. 11 
 
 From Mi* H Mon, to Mr* King :-. 
 
 jferfry BW. .V*~m*rr 6. 1M1 
 
 " - . ' ' -M 
 
 ioi 
 
 for IDJT MMOC% till 1 MTV nK|OMA0d you to M^f^ JT<MUT KIDQ 
 \ to flUpHDi olab^joo tMtaf tbo only BMcnbcr 
 
 . .. ... . . , ... , . 
 
 Oo l..c., r r|i.Ai t" ;2:< fa:.T;r. 
 
 . 1 1 KJ. i .1 A I^MA 
 
 . 
 
 I ' ' 
 
 MA out wita nlly oo & MQf4lQBHBM VHn to our CJICM* 
 
 > __ A At | %_ ^1_^. , - , | / 
 
 ' ' ' ' 
 
 T . . i 
 
 i . ' . 
 
 UMboii^ wbicbbibe bo<U of 
 
 od a month with oar frittxk at YonD, and 
 
 .ry, : . .-...:..;.'* :'.. V, 
 
 rad Ttvtad tht oolebfatad ltdifi of JJaiMoUto Vale. ^ 
 
 . ' . .:.. .'...'" .-..' ^ : :.'.' '. . ; W. ! 
 
" CHRISTIAN MORALS." 265 
 
 it, on our way home, to our valuable friend the Bishop 
 of Gloucester, who received us most kindly. He spoke 
 i affectionate concern of the domestic loss you have 
 had the misfortune to sustain. 
 
 journey was of service to me on the whole. The 
 chief benefit I reaped from it was, that it improved my 
 sleep, which I had never recovered since my great ill: 
 
 y's complaint in her head continues. It has extremely 
 affected her hearing, and her eyes are so weak and in- 
 flamed, that she can scarcely read or write : this is u great 
 trial to her ; aud my two elder sisters are very infirm. 
 " I am very sorry not to have had the pleasure of seeing 
 (Jollinson, but he was so circumstanced that I could 
 not reasonably expect it. I hope he : a copy of 
 
 Practical ich I directed Cadell to send him. I 
 
 should have ordered one for you, but I did not know 
 
 o to find you. 
 
 " Your future plan of life, my dear Madam, will, I trust, 
 prove as comfortable as it is rational. I hope it will j >. 
 God to sanctify to you I, and to make your re- 
 
 maining days days of peace. Should you this 
 
 part of the world, I hope you will not forget your fn 
 at Barley Wood, 
 
 u Yours, my dear Madam, 
 
 Very faithfully, 
 
 " II. Moiu:." 
 
 Lftcr the lapse of another year Mrs. More began to feel 
 that she had not, in the two volume.- 
 fully discharged her mind upon this copious and moment- 
 ous subject; and when the usual interval she took for 
 pausing between the publication of one work and the 
 mencement of another had a sort of 
 
 sequel to it, which she entitled and 
 
 which the abundance and variety of ideas that flowed in 
 upon her as she proceeded, induced her to extend likewise 
 to two volumes. No sooner was it announced to the 
 public, than the whole first edition, as in the former in- 
 stance, was bespoken. "We have said that her feelings 
 y frequently gratified by communications de- 
 
1 1 1 WW OBgBv appOl 
 
 am now living for ail 
 DP* to raaob bor earn 
 
 ti. More to Um 
 
 -/;,/., ii +. 
 MM! if 1 lire aucb loogQf, I 
 
 I L. *.t_* ^ t _^ ^t . 
 
 omoyoa ta ia\a oyaaanaiawi i 
 tbai ia ^jring t graU deai Great 
 ag beea eaoitted tae laei 6ra weak 
 
 aottng ooomnr, aake part of my ftpoiogy . I aboukl 
 kMM^TB It wm trmUng yoo bke Uie friend 
 
 m wnUogaoaaoyloUatma* I 
 
 I bare not 
 
 to look forward to, I am willing to tarn 
 to aom lit Ua aeuMBt, and bare bean 
 
 bowfre- 
 
 j M Mr. DoAL Thk ht* 
 fMti bti^Umck I aoooi 
 lin iiij | I. Jit I *a led to My 
 
 14ft Ml 
 
 talk of it, conapl to OM or two ] 
 I do not like to bat 
 
 Ibare not I 
 
 Joglba/dly knot 
 
 or f wtak inetnmkcnta. If I bad expected to be aoorar* 
 
 VMM! Kw tfvtmt^ui Y I I^J MTVA I aiwMiVi ba!VM MMM foun 
 
 *: : :.. . . - '- .' 
 
 MOO. Wo bad ofactaan j^ieomi bere ywterd* v. of 
 
LETTER TO MBS, KENXICOTT. 
 
 whom I did not know six. I have, however, had some 
 pleasure in seeing some old friends. H. Bowdler last 
 week ; and another day Mrs. Barbauld, an acquaintance of 
 forty years. I greatly admire her talents and taste ; but 
 our views, both religious and political, run so very wide of 
 each other, that I lose the great pleasure that might other- 
 wise be found in her society, which is very intellectual. 
 
 " You give me a reviving hope of seeing you here next 
 year : a hope which I will not suffer the thoughts of an 
 intervening winter to dm 
 
 " I long to know whether you have been able to estab- 
 lish your Bible Society in the teeth of so much opposition. 
 I am vexed you are likely to lose those valuable persons 
 you allude to. I was surprised to receive last week from 
 the Bishop of Lincoln, his late charge to his clergy, entirely 
 against the Catholic question, after having voted for Lord 
 Grenville's motion. 
 
 " I have so many things that I wish to say, that not 
 knowing to which to give the precedence, I am obliged to 
 forego them all. Two most amiable and interesting fri< 
 
 the Rev. C H and his wife, are now staying with 
 
 us. If all society were like theirs, I should be the last to 
 complain of too much company. 
 
 " When you write, do not forget to mention your own 
 health particularly. 
 
 " Do you get good accounts of the Bishop of Dui i 
 How are Mrs. Porteus, Lady Cremorne, &c. ? Tell 
 everything, and believe me, 
 
 uthfully and affectionately yours, 
 
 H. MOUL;.' 
 
MIL 
 DMUVS or Lin Dim or 
 
 %, pAttt,* '** MflfUif 8*KTCHBi" ^SrOttT Of PfcATBL 
 
 8000 after tbe publication of OK*** jfrrt*, tha 
 i fcr tb ftnt ti me broken, after tha *Mt 
 
 Bftd lOfolW ftfly ywi, by IW dMlfc of Mm >Ui7 Mor^ 
 
 l|^_ Jj|^^_ lun. litti IMMA M^BA ftimA in A d^wJtnitur fAl^t 
 
 mod whocftmptd slifcofttPOomMO mtftihiMi, fait<n 
 
 * T . *. ' . %.M *>L4 A A */ tJ ^-^Jt ALu.m-l*~* 
 
 Mm DOMTOMIMM PJ CD OH Mi Of INB6MI M fl|IUIKCI 
 
 ettnlt j, tod a .Icmlh ibD of hope and 
 
 From lira, H. llo* to Udy 0. R 8p*mm 
 
 through tba mntm of bar God' and tbe merit* of bar 
 1 to a world of peace, wbara thara wffl ba 
 r ai&9 aotTOWf nor separation, oar daavv to ba KOQO 
 
 (when ^iMdUM ISM oClMrrt M Dn)wifrmt We bad 
 U oC M Ibo ntlmMf ^^to M te b 
 
 to ibe fnfo on tb* day wben Jem 
 
 trtawUdoTerit 
 
 ^ plMttot to m dflrtb witbout Ha term* Wo 
 TuH ibo cold remain* Umrtj tim a-dar t al 
 
 * ' ' ' :. f f r 
 
 a Your ererfktthftil and aflbctkmate, 
 
 L Mom. 1 * 
 
HER DECLINE OF LIFE. 269 
 
 In the summer of this year (1813) Mrs. More visited 
 her friend, Lady Olivia Sparrow, at her seat in Huntingdon- 
 shire. It was now becoming an effort to her to make long 
 journeys, and her determination had been formed to desist 
 from such undertakings. Repeated attacks of severe indis- 
 position, although her mind resisted their effects and 
 seemed to come out from them a gainer in strength, and 
 more advanced in the Christian walk and character, had 
 made serious impressions on her constitution, originally 
 slight and easily disordered. The attractions of this invi- 
 tation induced her to venture from her home with a frame 
 for which home was the proper asylum. She reached her 
 
 id's house, but it was only to keep her apartment 
 under a fresh seizure, which unfitted her for society during 
 the greater part of the month she remained there. From 
 this illness, however, she so far recovered as to proceed on 
 a journey into Kent, to visit Lord Barham, an old and 
 much-valued friend. In her way thither she stopped a 
 few days with Mr. IK-ury H..UIV, at Mite-ham, whoso name 
 none can hear who knew his qualities, without that tribute 
 of feeling which is due to the Christian example ho be- 
 queathed. He was "a rich man furnished with ability, 
 living peaceably in his habitation." He was a rich man, a 
 negociator in riches, but had his treasure in heaven, an-1 
 his heart where his treasure was. It was at his house that 
 Mrs. More heard of the death of Lord Barham a Chri 
 nobleman, and one of those of whose character she carried 
 with her an affectionate remembrance to the last hour in 
 which her recollection remained to her. He had visit < 1 M i> 
 More in the summer of 1812 ; and although then beyond 
 his eightieth year, had gone with her the round of her 
 schools and her other beneficent institutions, with a brisk- 
 ness in the cause of humanity which had in it the promise 
 of years and active continuance. But this year, like every 
 other in the remaining life of Hannah More, lengthened the 
 long list of her bereavements ; now a sister, now a friend, 
 now a pleasant correspondent ; till the whole of ono age 
 disappeared from before her, and the vacancies of her early 
 associates were filled by a new generation, whose infancy 
 had felt, and whose maturity confessed, the benefits of her 
 lessons and her example. 
 
i 
 
 ' '' 
 
 i ioatpid ; hot thoaa who det*fat in the 
 of wta* wiU km to tmd aa mock m ny be to tha 1 
 
 har fD*H out and bar ooaonqpi in. opoa war aowah of ck- 
 
 _^^BA - * _ *^ - ^^^^JA -^ A> M. ^"^ J ^t ^ ^^ - ^ 
 
 and to tDotv aloof anj omiaus of mat uiuiuaji aMHB/of 
 11 
 
 mtWplb+r.U oTUair 
 
 _ ^ _ oobly tatW 
 
 - - , 
 
 Htm R M to U*r Obfto 8pwn 
 
 /F. 
 I b^ iwt vritUa to ^M, nj dwwi Udy Olhpfe, 
 
 _lfl^ftA *W^. -1 _^ _ j %tfT4 1 ^> ^ 
 
 BOO toe <MJ wo roMMa ttoom utov% it MB not Mtn 
 
 HtoMflty kftvv ooi IMM! inn MMrtv <rf MI IMV uBOiHptai 
 by iWnic-, or Umvelling. or oompuiy. White 1 M 
 
 H 
 
 prci tbflt to the week I rtajcd at Mr. 
 OD)J tmko OM rned with the &mil7. Sottpi^^dOo. 
 pteiiMd him aUo to nu*e m tip Agmm ; and w> MOO I 
 WM able, wo HiftOtud lor two d^rv ooi/ to PHttifni R wo, 
 There I uw some ioUraiUog pcrwos and rmlued fncoJn ; 
 
LETTER TO LADY OLIVIA SPARROW. L>71 
 
 but the viait was too transient to allow as much inter- 
 course as we wished. I did not dare prosecute our intended 
 
 ney into Kent, and I hope Mrs. Porteus was tolerably 
 satisfied with my reasons for declining a visit which I 
 feared might have again made me a burden when I wished 
 : )rd pleasure. We went to Kensington Gore, and Mr. 
 erforce returned from the funeral of my revered old 
 friend at Barham Court just in time to receive us. We 
 would not be prevailed on to stay more than two days ; 
 but in that short space their kindness enabled us to see 
 an almost incredible number of friends, the greater part 
 of whom I had never expected to see again till we should 
 BMet in a better worM. 
 
 " Though we were obliged to drive through Hyde Park, 
 I kept my resolution of not entering London. As I called 
 on no one there, no one could say they were specially 
 
 We took Strawberry Hill in our way, and spent one 
 night with Lady Waldegrave, who was as thankful for our 
 short visit as if we had conferred on her soin* 
 obligation. She was more cheerful than usual. That well- 
 known spot recalled to my mind a thousand recollections, 
 partly pleasing, but more painful The same feelings were 
 ted in us an we called afterwards at Mrs. Garriek's (we 
 
 not find her). The library, the lawn, the temple of 
 Shakspeare, all of which I would see for the last time. 
 What wit, what talents, what vivacity, what friendship, 
 had I enjoyed in both these places ? Where are they now ? 
 I have been mercifully spared to see the vanity and empti- 
 ness of everything that is not connected with eternity, and 
 seeing this, how heavy will my condemnation be if I do 
 not lay it to heart ! 
 
 "We had a good journey home, and the comfort of 
 finding all pretty well, and our little spot blooming as 
 n. We have been at home only a few hours, but my 
 heart yearned to thank you for all your kindness. Your 
 letter followed me hither. I pray God to bless you and 
 yours. " Ever most affectionately, 
 
 "H.MORE." 
 
LITE Or RAXVAR MOO. 
 
 
 by \lriL H. Mow ami Iwrr 
 to U toMftt dofe U tod* of 
 
 ^__ t bnpporUooof both a* mployvd tot 
 ttriag ooMolatioa to fritnda te < 
 MHli i.^tairniMiBH t tbo^wtomar*dteb f r 
 for adriot : to wlucli ntmbw wero tMfeKHdi loaoy yom^ 
 
 rfiiitftHj ifciiiiijhj ihi ifiiiii nr 
 
 To pmoM te this 
 
 -t . ^ i^ttnB ft . J i , 
 
 i ajwy opcOt oo IMT ano cnuiK^y < 
 frvrlv labrtkd Ib 
 
 .1*.! M^ AJI_1.IJ_L. **^ AM .,.., tl J iirAM fjt Almlml^ k^ 
 
 . I ' i k <.'...'... V .' 
 
 I; and applied 
 
 K , i : 
 
 aerMofycwL She likewk^ laid it down 
 to refine or dalay aui^tfiiig any 
 for epiaiolary adrk*; xhmnf UM iiifMMnt 
 out of th iuUroourn with ioda* 
 
ACCIDENT BY FIRE. 273 
 
 fetigable 'v frequently saying that these continual 
 
 crossings and gfl were so many lessons to teach 
 
 her to conform herself more to the life of Him "who 
 pleased not bin. 
 
 Those who have lived much with Mrs. H. Merc will 
 recollect how peculiarly her mind was impressed with the 
 excellences of St. Paul's character, and with what dis- 
 ; nation she was accustomed to descant upon his actions 
 and writings. Her thoughts had been gradually teeming 
 upon this subject, till at length her full mind sought the 
 relief which intellectual abundance finds in the freedom of 
 communication. She composed an Et.< 
 and Writings < '. in two volumes, and gave it to 
 
 the public at the end of two years after the publication of 
 receding work. 
 
 A dreadful termination was nearly put to her labours 
 and her life in the very moment of her completion of this 
 excellent performance. She had retired to her apartment, 
 of which she had locked the door (a thing unusual with 
 her), to exclude interruption, when, in reaching across the 
 fire-place to a book- shelf, the end of her shawl caught fire 
 behind, and before she was conscious of the accident had 
 communicated it to some of her other clothes, so that when 
 her cries had alarmed the family, they beheld her at the 
 head of the stairs, almost enveloped in flames. The instant, 
 however, that she perceived aid approaching, she gently 
 retreated, with admirable presence of mind, out of the cur- 
 rent of air into her chamber, and had the calmness and 
 recollection to abstain from any quick motion ; to which 
 composure and self-possession it was chiefly owing that the 
 prompt assistance of one of her friends was successful in 
 extinguishing the flames, before her person had received 
 any material injury. 
 
 general anxiety excited by the imperfect account 
 of this accident in the public papers brought every day an 
 overflowing tide ofvi>its and letters, which could not but 
 be pleasing to one who, with a natural sensibility of kind- 
 ness, thought it no reproach to enjoy a popularity pur- 
 chased by efforts to amend the hearts and correct the con- 
 duct of her fellow-creatures. But those who lived in inti- 
 
., . , , . 
 
 mac? with her, witataaed the true efiecta of Uria inniiiant 
 
 '. 
 
 . 
 *> fern aba* DOC be 
 
 ahali the feme 
 kindle poa the*.' 
 
 The cMj ocoubooed by Una 
 
 tkm of her an <NI Jfc. /W wee 
 
 Ut to the cimtatai of qr work DO* nnoaini I 
 
 . 
 
 MY dear Fnrod,-l aftmki hare thanked you bcfo, 
 
 for yor fend lector U> MM* K*berta ; but aa Utroogh the 
 
 _* * '. - - 
 i or my mefKia, i 
 
 a| .- . ur? . wh.ch 1 Mi 
 
 lor i 
 
 oth thai i bad not written. 
 flar < mTaaif a mofMsment of Ooo a BBcrry 
 ^c/aaaM b^ore apybeaparT^iilatfgiv 
 
 to be f TDTidentialijr dtfeot ed, con tnbnied to my preaerva - 
 
 L mt Jf .m**^*^. ^li f .^ W^k^KMtt^.^ 
 ' 
 
 mnalin gown* I bad alao on three ahawkx Tbeoncncxt 
 me wa Mdnoad ahnoat to tinder before it oooJd be ^ 
 of thr olheni littk i* left It waa in ao betofaaily t iiriaad 
 off theet, and taking me, flaming aa I waa, aa if 1 bad 
 
AUL." 275 
 
 Roberts burnt re healed, 
 
 however, sooner than my slighter wounds, which 
 healed also, and I am able to put on a gown. I am con- 
 fined with another severe cough, which I ascribe to the 
 i>8. What a warning was my late visitation to keep 
 > ired for a sudden call ! Yet I fear that I do not turn 
 its proper account. 
 
 " My book will be called, and justly, a presumptuous 
 undertaking. It is an Essay on the Cha, 
 
 ings of Saint Paul. I am sure beforehand of two 
 classes of enemies, the very high Calvinists, and what is 
 called the very high Church party, two formidable bodies ; 
 but as I have written, I trust, from my conscience, I shall 
 patiently submit to their different awards. I own the sub- 
 ject is above my strength at best, and now that ! 
 strength is of course less. It will be my last attempt. 
 Perhaps you will say a few of its predecessors might have 
 been spared. 
 
 letter from dear Mrs. Garrick, 
 
 telling me that she is very near ninety-one. I enclose a 
 copy of it for you. 
 
 is a very considerable time since I have 
 long a letter. You do not quite deserve it ; but as H;i 
 says, ' Give every man his due, who shall 'sc;i ,g ?' 
 
 Patty's health is still indifferent ; she sends her love t 
 " Yours, affectionately, 
 
 H. MORE." 
 
 The Essay on the Character and Writings of St. 
 made its appearance at a time when the spirits and feel- 
 ings of Airs. Hannah More were under much agitation. 
 The peril to which her own life and that of Miss Rol 
 (who had narrowly escaped the destruction from which she 
 had rescued her friend) had < >sed, though it had 
 
 ended in increasing her piety by supplying it with fresh 
 motives and incitements, had produced its natural con- 
 sequences upon a frame suffering under much debility and 
 
 )us disturbance. But these recollections and 
 preesions were succeeded by events of a more painful in- 
 terest. Two of those friends, in whose society and friend- 
 
176 ur or HAsnuH Mom* 
 
 fthi p aba placed much of bar happioeaa, at a time when 
 aoiiimi^jHwiUi aymprtbatte and rirtoom mipda,Drt 
 
 A*iltfft* Mintvtrt. IMJ! IMMI tA^Mi fWtm |MT MM! I!MNP ^rt K^v 
 
 coajpariona, to the piaoa oftbajaM aada parfoct Mr. 
 
 _,_, M tn m^fMi A*^ ^ tinailM ttl^^Mi aaula Vf . t-t 
 
 jMBry j oofiwoo m^t aaa aoocvj aiwarwaraa jtr. f ODB 
 
 bafiiiiitiigoftbaTaarlMA. 
 
 I^tiMfiLRMafr to I^OIWa Sparrow - 
 
 Otim.-I!o. *k! ahall I 
 
 ' iW 
 
 IWOT wIUI 
 
 m, Ito UM 
 
 /'^ ^^^ ^^^M! A!^AM 
 
 ijv tjw vviv BO* ano nar 
 
 \l. tf ^^ - - * - - - k^ft^M ^ -^^. - 
 
 Jl r. II* INJf WVtlB BVMIW wV VvQWW 
 
 Uov tei Utti oC Mr. J. Bovdlar ; aod M fc is aippo^dUMt 
 BawdJrr* kiod HamlaDoa OB bli d/iag Maod wu UM 
 iouBodialo oatae of bit own rimth, ao Iha ataattdattoa of 
 
 to Imo f^aa Mai Ibo ittaaai Uob aaa* kirn to Uwgram 
 Wo nay aaj wttfc food old Jaco^ 'AH 
 
 itfL* Bttl Oodfb waja apt not aa oorwtja; 
 
 teioad than to a Mridofam aodtriaL 
 vaaiaaiplaaboUibovtolKroaMl bow todia: ibetr 
 
 Harriet Dovdlar; aho 
 
 ta wj anikma to iec me ; but mjr atate of heaJth in rery 
 had,orIalMmldthiiikttadQtytofo to bar. Itraatthia 
 avent wiU be grcaUt anctificd to bar. la Mr. Thornton I 
 hare lnat not only the mo* wiaa and oooaialeBtly rirtoooa 
 and plow* bat the moat attached, ttthA 
 
REACHES HER SEVENTIETH YEAR. 277 
 
 friend. My schools, too, have lost him who was their prin 
 cipal support for twenty-five years ; but ray own life is 
 likely to be so short, that I trust the goodness of Providence 
 will enable me to carry them on to the end. 
 
 " I >r. Buchanan is an irreparable loss to the Oriental 
 Scripture translations. You will be pleased with a con- 
 versation he had with a friend a short time before his 
 death. He was describing the minute pains he had been 
 taking with the proofs and revisions of the Syriac Testa- 
 ment, every page of which passed under his eye five times 
 before it was finally sent to press. He said ' he had ex- 
 pected beforehand that this process would have proved 
 irksome to him ; but no,' he added, ' every fresh perusal 
 of the sacred page seemed to unveil new beauties.' Here 
 he stopped and burst into tears. * Do not be alarmed/ 
 said he to his friend, as soon as he recovered himself, ' I 
 could not suppress the emotion I felt, as I recollected the 
 delight it had pleased God to afford me in the reading of 
 his word. 1 
 
 ;s rather ridiculous that I have not a single copy 
 
 :. Paul for my sisters to read, the first edition having 
 been sold the first day. 
 
 ours, very affectionately, 
 H. MOKE." 
 
 At this period (1815), so eventful to Mrs. More, she had 
 
 accomplished her seventieth year, with her mind unspent 
 
 <T successive labours, the latest of which, the Essay on 
 
 "'till, had been most remarkable for its rapid execution, 
 public mind, which extended its care to everything 
 connected with the spiritual and moral welfare of her coun- 
 try, associated her in co-operation or in correspondence 
 with almost every person distinguished for his activity in 
 the promotion of national piety and social happiness. 
 
 Her heart was warm towards those whose hearts were 
 warm in the cause of righteousness and truth. If there 
 have been some who have been more remarkable for throw- 
 ing aside the dross of earthly attachments, and sublimating 
 their thoughts towards heaven, there have been none wh<. 
 striven with more success to draw from their earthly 
 
" " 1IFK Ofr WAIt^** VOJBL 
 
 With * mind to coofttitaloi, it oould M* but be i 
 of oroch r*jokii* to Mm IL Hon to vfeM to* ( 
 rBra&cbfiibl6ootetytti IMT own put 
 
 by bee pairooAfB, tin UM> ftcuw MnriotB of her 
 
 to **1 *bo wctv Mftkm^lir iflbcted ui fV+ gtKMJ OMHM^ On 
 
 
 
 by IU MitM, aod hunkUd 
 
 nf 
 
 for them both for mil Mid bod Jf UHHI tl 
 
 w *JP ^* * - 
 
 * ... . . .-.:: 
 
 liiiHig II will, I hop* ako inrigoni* you for your 
 
 v : | : :>>. .;n 
 
 tbm BciDy dwtfWM that jm her* Uko op t Ifthey 
 
 yoa 
 
 ho know it. How joot on your DW cwjplrt of tujti f I 
 
 . 
 
 . \ . . ' : 
 
 pficmw U> be rtiMdiy *dvmoctng. Tb^i OMM mko to U 
 
 road a ** W*l bunng, they my tn ocnr of the pror inoem, 
 
 ' Thi hot wr*tber, tirmg M it i% !M% on the whole, 
 
DEATH OF MISS ELIZABETH MORE. 279 
 
 been of service to us both ; as you will believe, when I tell 
 you what a gala we have been enabled to give. Our anni- 
 versary Bible Meeting at AVrington was held lately. Our 
 surrounded by the sea on one side and Mcndip 
 
 he other, is so thinly planted with gentry (the spiritual 
 climate also being rather cold), that, without some effort 
 somewhere, it would come to nothing. The meeting 
 was the most genteel and numerous we ever had. If our 
 oratory was not of the first brilliancy, it had good souse 
 
 good temper to recommend it. We had near forty 
 clergymen of the Establishment : so that even Archdeacon 
 cannot plant us in his ' hot-bed of heresy and schism.' 
 
 n the meeting was over, which was held iu a waggon- 
 yard, as there was no room for them in the inn. all the 
 superior part of the company resorted, by p; .\ ita- 
 
 :, to Barley Wood. A hundred and one sat down to 
 dinner, and about one hundred and sixty to ten. Happily, 
 -.i.s a tine day, and above fifty dined under ti; 
 
 overflowings from our small house. They all enjoyed 
 
 iselvea exceedingly, and it had all the gaiety of a public 
 garden. Some may think tl. 'oetter to have 
 
 added SOL to iption, and to have saved om 
 
 so much trouble ; but we take this trouble from a con 
 tion of the contrary. The many young persons of fortune 
 present, by assisting at this little festivity, will learn to 
 connect the idea of innocent vith that of re- 
 
 ligious societies, and may 'go and do likewise.' For no 
 other cause on earth would we encounter the fatigue. 
 
 " I have a great loss in poor Mr. . He was both a 
 
 useful and a pleasant neighbour, though our disagreement 
 on certain great points prevented that union without which 
 all friendship is imperfect. I have seen her she sees no 
 one else. Love to Mrs. 
 
 " Yours, ever affectionately, 
 
 H. MORE." 
 
 In the year 1816, the sisterhood suffered a second loss 
 
 lore, and were now reduced to three in 
 
 .iber. She was a person of great kindness, and filled 
 
 department of domestic duty in their hospitable hou.se, 
 
whiob, tboofh MM marked, k uwaUy mm 
 othon of gnotor ioUmt and 
 
 From IU. IL MOM to Lody OUria Sparrow s 
 
 lOlOb 
 My dtarLadyOtfria^-How food MM! kind yoo an* 
 
 T M^t^l ttttl M A kAlk MMM* tf^ ^MM ft^BWt f^^iiBkJ* i^AA^^ t I 
 
 1 coruiauy UMDK y*o ior your two HOBMJ MIUMC it baa, 
 os yoo hovo hooid, pUoaad Ood of hte gnot mr 
 
 IWiajfrom thu world of ob and 
 
 tJOTikofUfci 
 
 IDMv Ol MOT 
 
 to wish to jr, for be: 
 
 IbrooghUilh and 
 
 JfOU 
 
 J m^f^mA > 
 
 IDQ ptOB%BMM> DBTO wOfH TOO O mtM> < 
 
 ooaoeaixifrahfri^idTtbrcfyplcMoroorMe. 
 
 ing thorn, olwayo nuooiniM to me v and 1 Ubrrr 
 
 ..,,,-. 
 
 ' : v . .. . " . - : 
 
 much at tbc Umc. ami more aAcrwank. Qoiotoooa, erro 
 
 to dobMO. ia, I alwaym end, tho Urt atato for baaltb and 
 
 Hiapi 1 do you iojoitJoo in pr*- 
 
 . . ;..'. . . } 
 
 art young, hot you arc dcbcaU aloo ; 1 am therefore giad 
 to know that yoo art aafe at Bnuoploo, wbcrc, though yon 
 
SCARCITY OF EMPLOYMENT. 281 
 
 have more business, you have not so much wear and tear 
 of the mind, as in keeping up, in repeated societies, ani- 
 mated conversation. I say, repeated societies ; for, when 
 one stays long with the same set of friends, things are more 
 suivies, and there is not that novelty of perpetual excitation 
 and mutual interest. 
 
 " It rejoices my heart to think that we shall see you 
 (and see so much of you, I hope,) early in the autumn. I 
 think you will find cause a little to alter the direction of 
 your route. The Bishop will not be at Gloucester, where 
 talk of making your first stay, but at Wells, only 
 eighteen miles from us, on the Som< side. 
 
 " You have seen Mr. Marriott's Lilliputian book, / 
 to Travellers. It is very good and pleasing, like the amiable 
 writer ; and he has well maintained the one point he tm- 
 ikcs ; but I wish he had gone a little further. Bish.,j> 
 Porteus and I made it a frequent topic of debate which 
 was most calamitous to this country, war or peace with 
 France ? Even then, we concluded that the latter would 
 be the moro formidable evil to us. Does not the event 
 jubtify the terrible prognostic ? piety ! virtue ! O my 
 country ! 
 
 " IB it not the precise moment for the great and the opu- 
 lent to dedicate their time, their example, and their purses, 
 to their own distressed country ? It grieves mo that the 
 absentees have escaped the chance of being even politically 
 useful to their own nation, by the repeal of the property- 
 tax. This universal mania at such a time is, I fear, a 
 marked era of deterioration in the English character, 
 .or gratefully and faithfully yours, 
 
 "H. MORE." 
 
 Towards the close of this year (1816) the universal stag- 
 nation of trade and depression of agriculture, afforded too 
 plausible an occasion to ill-intentioned men for perverting 
 minds of the working people, irritated by the disap- 
 pointment of their ill-founded expectation that plenty 
 would be the immediate attendant upon peace, and by the 
 severe distress consequent upon the general scarcity of 
 employment. The services Mrs. More had already ren- 
 
UFBOTIAXXAH 
 
 1li i mi rflnjiHj HI I 
 
 
 vanouft quancni for KMT powerful 
 
 , '. - 
 
 km oftnttt* aid tallafc, whWi riw 
 
 ' My <kr FHMA, << IW ! * ! br dirty wort 
 B. 9 THfai tact, fvHtm wMi t wmk bd Md A wwk 
 i OHM hi upon you <MI ftn vty to UOIKJOQ. rY*y rwi 
 
 : 
 
 Mlir ^ ,_k ? j, . . . _ |... _ 
 
 
 
 p. 
 
 , MI to haw pot- IOJT ^t tnpwiuMM MMf too 
 Tbob I Iww ttMto ID Lop or to tor to thfc wotid, 
 -H-twr^h mtnan^tobehuidi^laboat IVmrW- 
 
 iarw Irmdtoror 
 
 4W ^(aK xv 
 
 oo, not "fw* loc WMO to 
 
 Tbm it 
 
V WORKS. 283 
 
 through another line of such unparalleled blasphemy. Is 
 there no power in magistrates to punish the vendors ? 
 
 a Last night arrived my ten songs (new and altered) for 
 
 correction. They have all wooden cuts. I have seiit you 
 
 ; i/ifj* which I fear you will not think a farthing's 
 
 worth ; and I hope you have likewise received a visit from 
 
 James Dawson,f and that he is now on his travels to 
 
 his na: pitalfields. 
 
 "An admirable letter from Sir Thomas Acland ! He 
 canvassed the whole county from house to house. 
 How delif/htful, when this shall be done ev> He 
 
 says, 'pebbles or bullets 1 is now the only subject of dis- 
 cussion. I shall send next Sunday, for your edification and 
 station, the very profoundly learned and di vpiy tragical 
 Fantom, or rather the death of that eminent 
 patriot. If you can assemble the Fords as soon as you get 
 i *hall be glad of the remarks of the whole party ; it has 
 been scribbled with more hurry than .suits so eminent a 
 work. Tell Miss Eliza Ford, that being invited to this Ice- 
 is but poor payment for her beautiful present m< 
 rday, of two sweet drawings of Barley Wood Lord 
 
 K has sent 000 Village Disputant* to six gent! in' n at 
 
 Manchester, for distribution in their separate district-. I 
 shall now stop my hand, feeling exhausted, and not ha 
 had an hour's time even to read the British Review, except 
 one or two articles ; the Byron subject is admirable, but 
 twelfth page is so remarkably good, sound, and power- 
 fully written, that I read it twice over before I went on. 
 Patty is remanded back to her room, and I fear to her bed, 
 with a great increase of fever ; her chest so bad, that she 
 is reduced to a whisper. Sally's leg gives her great pain ; 
 strength.. s are really astonishing. 
 
 I pray God to give us all grace to bear our di IK.- rent infirm- 
 with entire submission to his will. We cannot expect 
 :i at our age t e, but it may please Infinite 
 
 Mercy to soften them, and to make them eventually bless- 
 & God bless you both. 
 
 "Y . very affectionately, 
 
 "H. MORE." 
 
 The title of one of the ballads. 
 
 f Tho hero of the tract called 77 Ddtgate. 
 
2*4 tire or RAJTKAR MOEI. 
 
 In the eprinc of 1817, by fee death of Mr* Star* MM* 
 the eldest of UM tbco unriring aiaiiia, the faim! v waa 
 again atricken. A companion waa taken from them wboce 
 bveij aallje* of orfgmal wit had often made aoriow **itti^ 
 it VM the lot of t 
 
 farf^ 
 
 .:.!.!,: 
 
 ; . . : ' ' h : i i ' ..' . . 
 
 oT UM i 
 to 
 M UM iMd io do all UM* ooolA to tet 
 
 TbeClM 
 
 Tbt 
 
 i WM abb to i 
 of btr < 
 
 to a oooAdoBtMi M 
 poMiv tad to cqaioeooc in tbe Dhrk will trolj^i 
 able, and wbiob sever for rnomeoi Ibreook bor; adding 
 aiUMwe time, thmt not an bow of anjr day peeead in 
 wbkbebedid not inwardly aend op that eoppUoatioo of 
 tboLitasij, la tbe boor of death, and in tbedajrof judg- 
 
DEATH OP MISS SARAH MORE. 285 
 
 ment, good Lord, deliver me.' It was a considerable time 
 after the wound broke out in her leg, and began to wear a 
 threatening appearance, before she permitted a groan, or 
 any strong expression of suffering to escape her ; and when 
 at length they were extorted by agony, she seemed to re- 
 proach herself for them, as implying a departure from that 
 submission and acquiescence for which she daily and ear- 
 nestly prayed. At one time, when she was sitting in the 
 parlour under very sharp suffering, one of her sisters ex- 
 claimed, ' Poor Sally ! you are in dreadful pain/ She 
 answered, ' I am indeed, but it is all well/ She still for some 
 time longer continued to enjoy the society of her friends, 
 who were often deceived by the playfulness of her conver- 
 sation, and the placidity of her manner, into the belief that 
 the sad accounts which had been given of her situation 
 were the exaggerations of affectionate alarm. 
 
 u While still so well as to be able in some degree to 
 pursue her usual sedentary employments, she gave a strik- 
 ing proof how entirely she was withdrawing her mind from 
 the things of this world, by refusing to have her chair 
 placed near the bow- window, from whence she could enjoy 
 the sight of those plants and flowers which it had been her 
 constant amusement and delight to cultivate, but from 
 which she now turned with an expression of the most en- 
 lifference. 
 
 " At length it became impossible for her any longer to 
 support a sitting position, and just before she was assisted 
 tip-stairs for the last time, she threw a look all around her, 
 ntly taking a mental farewell of the scene to which 
 she had been so long accustomed, with an expression 
 which, though she uttered no word, was full of solemn 
 meaning. The extremity and constancy of her sufferings 
 at length deprived her of the power of attending to a chain 
 of reading which had hitherto been her chief delight and 
 solace. To supply in some measure this loss, her sisters 
 used to repeat from time to time a few detached texts, in 
 which she would constantly join with the greatest fervour. 
 During the last two years of her life more especially, she 
 had been so diligent and constant a reader of the Scriptures, 
 as well as of other devotional books, that her mind had 
 
Ufl i i . 
 
 U tbefll ; afed it waa Try rv- 
 ihr mnniinai of hor abarpo* j*in, bor 
 Jy ajMitad, aoa bor oui u>- 
 
 citad * ten* faxn UH 
 in wh*cb.orro when unaUe to 
 
 0B0 day t aHo? aba bad lain aoow tinw ID ao aJbaoat n* 
 ribk alot% > ftted triad bor wilb a Mr Unta^^H 
 loir; abo aaddtt^f bunt toftb. 'Qu> anytbuig be tur 
 
 kMo? part of her iliMOi ab aakcd ooaday to baTc 
 
 .rl 
 
 itriftHa) Mfai hM^I |p - - HtaHMi * ; bai --ii 
 <*, God Ui tba% agrdatf cbild; fevo Ood, aorv 
 I ; low to prty lo God man I ban to do any olbor 
 n ' OM tricbt abo oooHjaaiajad of too amcb Iighi> 
 i nliart bf hi M tooogb to dj* 
 
 Y^*ateivf4W;MlmoBOMoadbrtai alL* fiba wa 
 tbati aakod tf ab knew aaw frioad tbat wu 
 Ob, y I ' too tiOTOTd, I know mry body, and MMBH 
 wrTtbia^.' * ftoor daw ^^i!/ aaid oaa of bar Hand- 
 
 IA a loo* of tba aBooA affadioc faabraatic^ : < 
 do not tbittk of UMOL' Wbaft aba WM MMBMad lo bo 
 
 of UM i 
 
 I * 
 
 lofo Ood, and to Uko mt* of bis aool 'Ob,' be cx- 
 may 1 (be th* dc^tb of ibe nthHOM. od BHgr my 
 
 |Ml 
 
 in' a mf*ura,'BU*nm,:. and hooour t id g 
 
 bon 
 
 bo wan im^iood to bo m tbo Tory act of dying, rccow 
 
 . . : :.-:.. . i .-:,:. bi i - M 
 
 : : .- -. : . . . ; - . . i 
 
DEA > SARAH MORE. 287 
 
 for a little cold water, and turning her head towards 
 a nurse who was attending her, * Do you know who it was 
 that said, ' A cup of cold water given in my name?' 
 
 "Again, in the* intervals between her wanderings and 
 
 'xtremity of pain, she exclaimed incessantly, 'Oh, tlio 
 blood of Christ ! He died for me. God was made man ! 
 May his blood be shed on me ! ' ' Lord, let the light of 
 Thy countenance shine upon me. 7 ' When shall I appear 
 before God?' And then, half bewildered again, she cried 
 out earnestly to her sister, * Patty, do love the blessed 
 God ! Lord, shield me with the wings of thy love.' After 
 a little interval, she said to Mrs. H. More, * I hope I huvo 
 had all my stripes; Lord, I am ready finish the work!' 
 On awaking in the afternoon, she again poured forth this 
 ejaculation, ' Lord, look down upon me with the light of 
 thy salvation ; let thy Holy Spirit shine upon me. Look, 
 O Lord ! upon thy afflicted servant.' When somebody 
 present said to her, ' The Lord will release you, and tako 
 you out of your pain,' she seemed to fear lest she had be- 
 trayed some impatience. .'Ay, 
 
 s own good time.' She then broke out into the Gloria 
 
 . and added, * Lord, look down upon a poor 
 humble, contrite sinner.' 
 
 "Nearly three days now passed, either in strong deli- 
 rium or total stupor, at the end of which time she became 
 more composed, and, as at every other time, uttered no 
 sentence in which supplication or praise was not mingled. 
 Her chief cry on this day was for pardon and sanctification, 
 and she charged her sisters to strive for the gift of tho 
 Holy 1 [er wanderings were frequent, but whether 
 
 sensible or incoherent, calm or agitated, still the names of 
 her ( led and her Saviour were constantly on her tongue. 
 
 r sister asi she kn-wher: she answered, 
 
 1 1 know nobody but Christ.' In the evening of her last 
 day but one, though scarcely able to articulate, she mur- 
 mured out to those who stood around her, ' Talk of the 
 Cro8 9 the precious cross the king of love.' On the morn- 
 ...f her blessed and quiet release from an earthly ex- 
 istence, though no longer able to swallow food or discern 
 
 utward object, she was still enabled to give an evi- 
 
HPJ ' } ! VNNVH 
 
 dano* of U* heavenly frmmt of her mind ; when a friend 
 
 i. :' ', '. - '". '/'-'.,' ' ! 
 
 vith a derout motion of bar handi end 9jm> OeaMcih,' 
 
 kat of IMT worda thai could bo coBatted. It i* aeait^j 
 rto ivpaai, altar attoh a rdatioo, that her whole 
 
 ' ',;!,* ^"t 
 
 - ; : t . : , : 
 
 iwiltka) of thmMH of tht Spirit i 
 , UMapoaU^'Um, |*aoa,iMakiKa^lofif4BL 
 Wlh:' and H only faMirn for oa to pray thai 
 
 U- i Ac 
 
 1817, wv hfti 
 of Instl^ and UM 
 
 wfco had iwy rwtoUj 
 
 of BttrofM i fa the IMP* cbtrmcty. To 
 
 ;atnl 
 
 M 
 
 iako her Mttft ki^iiaft, wUeb abe wm dmkliij wtib a 
 r of otJMfi, with naphnr aaal Tbcaooooiit 
 
 flfo b T l>r. ROrK ofthii 
 i P 
 
 > waa ao odifjiny inataooo of toe power 
 ofrrligioo. Tb truth had foond iu wmj to her brcait, by 
 
THK PRINCESS METSCHKRSKY. 
 
 the operation of the great transforming Agent, (Mr. Piu- 
 kerton being the ostensible instrument), and had wrought 
 [K?cinc work by softening and reducing a character 
 : to have been naturally haughty, to the low level to 
 which high imaginations are cast down, when the thoughts 
 are brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Dr. 
 Paterson requested Mrs. More to present the princess, 
 through his hands, with the three volumes of the //./><><'- 
 tor)/ T. "'/,-; whk-h was dune; and in return Mrs. More re- 
 ceived the following letter, which it would be injustice to 
 withhold from the readers of this work : 
 
 .s/. y. /. nfcrtyft, 0rf. 2 
 
 lam, Though I am really unable to express my 
 
 sentiments in English, and though having often tried in 
 
 !o it, I have always been obliged to lay my pen 
 
 aside, yet I cannot help, I must write, my heart desiring to 
 
 fihow you my gratitude. My 'miration overcomes 
 
 .' I feel to addies> you, madam, in such an incor- 
 
 to tell you how much I was 
 
 oks you were so kind as to 
 
 send me. I receive them, dear mndain, as a new encourage- 
 
 ment to translate part of them, as I have already dune 
 
 youi \ ''tl'H Farmer*, 
 
 . which are read with great plea- 
 
 mire in my country. I am sorry indeed not to be capable* 
 of translating some of your other works, as the rr<:ti<'l 
 /' '7, the Chi'itfia'ii Moral*, &c. &c. But, alas: madam, I 
 am a very poor and weak translator; the little I do, is all 
 that I am able to do, and I thank daily our merciful hea- 
 venly Master, for having permitted me to have even this 
 little share in His service, and in the important work in 
 ich a distinguished part. Yet 
 
 let the strong and the experienced be the helper and the 
 
 10 of those who, though willing to do good, are, how- 
 
 1 ignorant. I love my Lord and my Saviour 
 
 Jesus Christ, in Him alone do I trust, therefore I eagerly 
 
 Jay hold of the hand you stretched out to me, in His 
 
 : and laying aside every ceremony 
 
 . f declare to you plainly that I love 
 
 u 
 
UFB OF 
 
 yen in the Lord, and Uurt you have aide DM quit* btppy 
 wu - uf vour own hu>dwrittt in U Uok vmi 
 
 witt*. I <Ur not mk, neither hope toreomMhinf aort, 
 
 I ealnt yOU, BudMD, U> M**! 
 
 u>r bct4e*, *od, I poppo^ htf nnt rrtdhfihto MBUOOI: 
 IV jr^ ID UM otijy i 
 
 ,.-, 
 
 | iU Mfid. IbM COold 
 
 bb to t-r 
 
 in U i MI ii U ISia to A Irftar frt UM hU 
 
 by ftp 
 
 
 
 X^L^AMB >l ! 
 
 I.. U 
 
 ,.. M..I tKt U,. , .rt. n*.! wilt, 
 lh*Mlm: coaflmiaflhe 
 
 of the wood of Uw 
 
 by a btttturul po- 
 
 in 
 
 r. fkhly 
 
 by UM Ourf Joilto thiU 
 of Mrrerml ptfU '4 bcr ajr CA & /W waa 
 so profnMB, towmnb whidi the UUoUoo of UM Mttfw 
 would, h* doubled not bt aaokaetUd^M the New TC*U. 
 ilntr own Uogni0i htd DOW beta far otM timo in 
 ibrir haiwU. The har which 9r A. Johmtnoe had to 
 efiKtifif Uw gmduai tbolitioo of tk?efy in tto Waml 
 
TRANSLATION OF HER WORKS. 291 
 
 circumstance with which the reader is probably acquainted. 
 As a step towards the consummation of this most desir- 
 able object, it was enacted that every child which should 
 be born after the 12th of August, 1816, should be free; 
 and it was at the same time resolved, that the anniversary 
 of this triumph of benevolence and justice should be cele- 
 brated among the natives by a grateful commemoration. 
 was requested to furnish an appropriate 
 ballad for the occasion. She complied, and produced a 
 little poetical dialogue, which she called the Feast of Free- 
 dorr^ and which, by its dramatic form, was well suited to 
 the habits and tastes of the people of the island. 
 
 We now return to the year 1818, which was as prolific 
 as any of the former years in interesting introductions to 
 Hannah More. Soon after Sir A. Johnstone, with his Cin- 
 galese credentials, had finished his diplomacy at Barley 
 Wood, it was the turn of Persia to be represented at that 
 court, in the persons of two noblemen, who having come to 
 country with a view to the acquisition of the English 
 language, and an acquaintance with the arts and sciences in 
 which Britain had the fame of superiority, presented them- 
 H at her residence, and were admitted with the TCM 
 to the dignity of their rank and commission. We 
 M not speak with hyperbole of these distinguished in- 
 itials, or of the circumstances surrounding them, but it 
 surely was no common case, that in the same year the 
 -ts of Budhoo were occupied in giving a Cingalese dress 
 to some of the productions of that pen, which by its power- 
 ful attraction had drawn to her residence two noble tra- 
 rs from Persia, and brought u letter of affectionate 
 homage from a Muscovite Princess. Mrs. More presented 
 her new Persian friends with her work on Practical Piety, 
 which they declared they would translate into their language, 
 tcly on their return home, and that it should be 
 first work which should bring into exercise the know- 
 ledge they had acquired of the art of printing, and employ 
 the printing-press which they were carrying back into their 
 country. 
 
 An extract from Bishop Jebb's own published corre- 
 
TIfE OF HA30T AH TOML 
 
 pondenee, describing a rutt made about thi* period 
 not be uninteresting to the reader. The Bbhop 
 
 i< time to amy, that on Tuaday laat, wt 
 thi* fiunily) went orer to breakBut at Barley Wood. Tbe 
 - party proceeded, after brakfbat, on a farther cxcur 
 aton, which occupied the remainder ofTtwadayar 
 day ; a portion of time that C. P. and I puacd moat agree- 
 ably with Hannah More and her ai*ar. Filing, a* 
 
 wd bnach made in their c; 
 
 are wweJy, cbcerfaOy, and j:ou*Jy osbmiatire to thU ap- 
 lM>intmcnt of Providence ; and neither their talent i nor 
 vivacity are in the leartanbdned. lamdbpoaed 
 tlu- be hie* to the b*, with the* 
 
 thoee tottltU* which they hare employe! ao w. 
 
 PiiHy 1 bad a long ami intrtwting coowwatkm, of the moat 
 
 . .. > *.'' .. 
 
 auici^y cooouenttai nacore, on IM aonjec* 01 wmcn you are 
 
 aware, and on which, abo, I am hereafter to confer withyou. 
 Thi lotemting woman U anffcring, with exemplar 
 ttence, the mart excruciating pato ; not a mttmmr CKOupcn, 
 tliough. at night enpocially, groan* and eriea are itu*\ 
 
 rted; and, the moment alter the paroxyam, the U ready 
 
 H fttll internrt and animation, whaterc: 
 
 
 " Hannah iafftiO heraelf ; ahe Uwk f*. F. and me a 
 to DrockJcy ComU ; in the roianc of which, her anecdotea, 
 (her wit, her power* if cntirum, aixi her admirable ta! 
 Mcttation, had ample aoope. iWl waa,ofcourar 
 
 * irorc to acquhmyiefa 4 ; not indeed aa I wished, 
 but aa I could. It mnaina for me to aay that you h 
 
 the aftctkrfbc4h afctera; and 
 dcainja to be mnetnbemi to you with aO poaaiUe . 
 
 jr. On the whole, though not unmingM with melan- 
 choly, the impreeaion of thin nait to Bvlrv 
 dominantly agreeablcr-;! might indeed uae a 
 word : diflmneea of opinion there do, it caimot 1 
 exist, but they are diffcrtncea, on their p 
 growth of circninstanccA , tlitTcrcticea, too, which will \ 
 beam* of - 
 
as i. whom, in t 
 
 beL< -virile I ft'.' .Vv)iild not 
 
 willingly have relinquished, it was with deep comfort that 
 I looked forward in hope to an hereafter, when we might 
 <f those drawbacks, iu some shape or 
 otiu . ; i >le perhaps from the intercourse of mortals." 
 
 D the autumn of 1818 
 .irniing illness, in \vhich her | ;ha could 
 
 her own stAt-.- 
 >>roach of the closing scene. A letter t- 
 
 i about this time, presents a picture, at 
 once sad and surprising, of mental and spiritual 
 contending with time and disease. 
 
 From Mrs. H. More to Mr. Wilberforcc 
 
 "Bim.y II 
 
 " My dear -Lest you should hear circuitoualy, 
 
 and not hear truly, as was lately the case, I sit bokt 
 :i my bed to write you a line. On Sunday poor ! 
 was seized suddenly in the most alarming manner- a 
 hivering fit, intense pains, and a half sort of 
 ing for the poor Queen,* whose want of 
 lance sat heavy upon her. She felt as if it 
 i struggle between : loath. She co: 
 
 state all day . only her head became per- 
 
 fectly clear. We had yielded to the kind importunities of 
 :'. ,m. I lui-1 promised to go to him the next day. 
 ^reat effort in the evening to read to : 
 beautiful sermon on 'Boast not thyself of to-morrow.' 
 v hours after Patty's seizure, I was atta arly 
 
 ^une manner a shivering fit of many hours, with such 
 se pains iu my body and limbs, tl. 
 ated, as if cut with knives. After several hours the 
 ing fit (as might be expected) became a burning one, 
 i seemed to feel the pains of dissolution, with extreme 
 nausea and giddiness. At length it resolved itself into a 
 
 ' Queen Charlotte. 
 
ura or BAinc AR 
 
 bOioua few, each as I bate often had. I ba?e been in 
 bed the whole week, the poiat is quite reduced, and the 
 wont ajmptoma, thank* to a merciful God, hare mibaded. 
 
 k * ' . \V . . 
 
 nert room, we had not aeen each ether atoee the beginning 
 teweek. Prmy <br o, my dear, T^ dear fckod; that 
 
 they may aneww-tbe^Tlbr whUtearMfwrUyaafit, 
 to quicken our repentanee and nrvparattoei. My whole luV f 
 \ early yooth, ban been a i 
 k!< 
 
 I 
 
 Oil 
 
 \ happened to me ten yean agO| i 
 
 far Marty two yeaia: yai (lat nt grmtcftiDj rnnnher 
 after that anptaai diaMM, I wma r- 
 
 this) at near ality, 
 
 tocwi to atra^th (phy^cal atfUi) aafldavi ID wnu 
 
 ten Tolumo uch at they are ^ and in thai long i 
 
 Ai^kflK 4^ ^fc - ..^LA *4&^A t k>. A^i^AxAMK ki^.A^^I ^ 
 
 QOiif uiOQgD a* ooe maw i wy aaraain omaa ny eyva in 
 
 - t-^ tnat- 1 1, M |, m -.J ---- f t^-^ \ ,,y, 
 
 ior^ oayv ana ngnwi i nerir naa MM novrv 
 
 though ahmya my Uahle to agHatioo. I 
 
 * ' ; ; ' ' ' ' ' : . 
 
 > </ * -- - tlia ! A^ Ak^A M^^^Hal ^BKJ 
 
 -. * ' ' . . . t ' - . . . ' t 
 
 . ; _ ...... . ,,.;.... 
 
 My health ha* not bee 
 
 ^ n ,i 1^,4 1 __ . , 1 I l i - 
 
 I ' ' 
 
 arc mending, nit * Wbao I wake vp altar Hie 
 
 augend their ifato to BaHey Wood; and thia 
 forbeannoo waa attended with aaiutary eflccU on the 
 health and apiiita of Him. R More. The 
 
HER " MORAL SKETCHES." 295 
 
 pose which she now for the fir- years 
 
 enjoyed, gave a new spring to her thoughts, a 1 
 them on the existing state of society. Every short imV 
 of improved health brought with it a feeling of oMicution 
 :ake it answer a beneficial end. She had often said she 
 1 write no more; but her ardour in the cause of 
 religious truth, and the happiness which flow.- 
 determined her to expend her little stock of strength in 
 exposing certain dangerous errors in o; 
 by which society was at that juncture disturbed and 
 figured ; and in this new aggression upon folly and 
 she soon made it apparent that age had abated not! 
 
 r of the rapid flow of her ideas or i ex- 
 
 pressing them. The book, which was intended s! 
 much exceed the sue of a pamphlet, scon grew under 
 hands into a thick volume, which appeared within ; 
 months after its commencement, under the title of M 
 Sketches of Prevailing Opinion! and Manner^ Foreign and 
 Domtxic. In a letter to her old friend, Sir W. Pepys 
 
 From Mrs. H. More to Sir W. W. 1 
 
 >19. 
 
 " My. dear Friend, I have been long wishing, as in 
 nd, to transmit to you the thanks, both my own 
 those of the naked, the hungry, and the ignor 
 whom you have bt >f clothing, feeding, 
 
 r, this year ! May God increa 
 to V" mercy you have shown to others ! ^ 
 
 justly say. * If you wished to write to me, 
 you not write 1' The newspapers will probably 1 
 you why, and I am sorry that you shou! 
 before you heard from ? been gui 
 
 weakness, at my age, of doing that in. 
 
 Tig, writing a book. I had fully resolved, as 
 
 became me, to commit no more indiscretions of this 
 
 ! have broken, as did not become me, my resolution. 
 
 igh living in retirement, falsely so called, I see so 
 
 many people from - iss, that I find 
 
 there is a fresh crop of errors sprung up in a quarter where 
 
. : 
 
 wo did not so much look for them, naaBa|v,ajBOttg tLc rrli- 
 giou* or rather the i*<jemi*g part of the worKl 
 4 book which, in addition to iU being feeUy wi 
 bring me no mall diacredit, a* well with UM grave a tho 
 gay. For one |mri of it, 1 ei|icot to have the whole fa- 
 ahionahle world, *t Joa* aU that part of it woo look into a 
 bciok, laUing upon uio without mercy. But I oannot 
 
 
 
 that ' while 1 wa* muaing thr Art burned, aod at last 1 apako 
 with my' pen. , I fear, think 1 h*ro 
 
 vehement, but whan 1 aw our country aj 
 ui this aacond aaainH upon iU aafrty, an 
 
 couid not restrain my Jeetioga* Tba nf for a J^iia axonr* 
 aion haa bocoma oaoh a awml ioJaotioav thai owateand 
 
 cvi unnem in our pan of tho world, have 
 
 malady. A clergyman with tarn children haa ban twioft, 
 
 and hi* wife ia now la* therm, with akooar 
 
 term, that they may bring homo UM farumn aeoasl to a 
 
 l.Ulo country village! I hof* thia impudent hook will 
 
 liavc the honour to wait u|mo you in about A fortnight* 
 
 .to told you a bokl thing of my doing, 1 will now 
 
 tell you a gajr thing. What do you think of my enter- 
 
 Uining utie hundmi and twenty gcntkmen and ladloi at 
 
 tlinuer kai wcrk, and about two hundred at tarn I Tho 
 
 nor part of tho compftfi? which attended a Bible 
 
 to ikrley WooiL It waa a beautiful day. Tab)** wtra laid 
 
 in tho garden, ).rodipd of flowers ; the ooOatioQ WM a eohl 
 
 one, but aueh at it took two day to cook. We bad, ha. 
 
 i our neighbouring gentry, many paratm tnm Clifton, 
 
 !<vty clergymen of the eatahfalMatnt ; and the white- 
 
 robed uympla madv with the grou| under the treoe the 
 
 kai ahow ima s J >. Vmi will judge thai my health 
 
 T . ' ' - - - ' 
 
 tlmea we hear of 'Christian Knowledge- 
 le Socict i belong to both 
 
 there waa no anch thing aa party, 
 
RURAL FESTIV 
 
 ii foolish iiook has so engaged me (for 1 
 thought of it a few mouths ago), that the l.wt volui 
 
 X the ]' ' 
 
 all lie on my table it ! I wi 
 
 had thought of my book sooner, for this is u 
 of the year to bring it out, as I suppose the town 
 but I may not live to another year, so I preferred pul ' 
 ing it with all its faults. I hope it pleases our heu\ 
 Father to continue to you those many blessings for wi 
 you frequently express such lively 
 
 tinuc to enjoy his grace, which is the crown < 
 his other blessings, is the cordial prayer of, 
 
 u Your very attached and faithful friend, 
 
 -II " 
 
 little rural festivals are alluded to by a writer in 
 the ' . with the addition of some i 
 
 ticulars which make us acquainted with the expense not 
 
 , but bodily and mental a: 
 
 hese cases, what she looked upon as a 
 
 y : 
 
 .in. i!i More shone very brightly ou these occasions* 
 was just the woman to manage the intellectual port of 
 a rustic fete ; while she never forgot the Ics- 
 of animal hospital i* of these 
 
 1 of these occasions, was once i; 
 i >cing on a visit at Barley Wood 1 >< 
 the meeting, with the busy preparations of housek* 
 in assemblage. It was a fine 
 More had been ill the day bcfon 
 
 writer's accosting her on the morning of the meeting with 
 some alarm, as to how i be able to get through 
 
 the fatigues of the day, she said 
 
 :or I was obliged to take laudanum last night, 
 _c in great pain ; and to make sure of some i 
 
 : but it had not the effect of sending i, 
 
 1-, so that I am very tired and stupid this mon 
 
 1 never count more than a hundred ; for if I do not 
 
asleep then, it t k> of time, and I torn my thoughts to 
 meditation. But I gat so tifttia reet now, that I begin to 
 think aieep a rulgar error; and aa for pain, I nvrerwm* 
 abeofately free from it for U* minute* cam I waa tea 
 yemn, old.' Thfreeemad a bad beginning fee % flu ; yai 
 ftbo received her gueete ee n notlun^ DM hAppcood | 119 
 
 or who waa introduced to her, (and tew aaiaaed that oere- 
 py) ; the haaJmii of thedafltoilanad aaeptetop^of 
 
 kind 
 
 tion to * jelly, or to brwmn? 01 A MOCJ poddUng.* 
 bar goarii had 
 
 *Al^A*l *A 
 
 .urt>i u> 
 whoi 
 
 fW *K rait Ji i^l rai *Jt *- itmmt 
 
 \fn %4W jMUJOTflHMMi tf IM JVVvVi ' 
 
 taatnnony waa gnrffi, aa on fctvnef ooaeekma of the < 
 
 , -At ^ ^B^l^L * -- ^^A^^M _ fc^-t^ fc *k,^. ,, J | -^ 
 
 ... 
 
 4Kil !!*&. ^rlftti^WI lMl4ffi ^tfkld Ml f^MI ilftV 4%f lf m ^M^^W^M^ 
 
 while rery few of tha ooaatry bnokaaDan oooJd obtain a 
 
 whilarerybv of tha ooontry 
 
 loo, to bava f olniUd tha 
 
 that tha only 
 
 anauthori 
 
 tbaafaotaiity. 
 
 !:.' M H V 
 
 ia now to ba atdhnngad for latlinaa of a 
 vary liMiarant kind. -You alwaya look,* amid aba to a 
 
 ground* with pfeaaura; I look aft than with pain, lor I 
 azpeettobalaftalonaintiim. 99 And aioa* aha waa now 
 about to ba laft A few weeks altar tha appearano* of 
 H fkaaad Him, M who gHith and Uketh 
 
DEATH OF 1088 MARTHA MORE. :2;n) 
 
 deprive her, after an illness of only four day 
 her best-beloved and sole-surviving I 
 More her zealous coadjutor in all her 
 the judicious promoter of all her wishes and designs. 
 tender nurse and soother ot her sickness, and tlu 
 ing and intelligent companion of her healthier hours. To 
 be bereaved, after so short a warning, of one whose eves 
 had for so many years met hers with delight, whose bosom 
 had been the depository of all her interior scntim 
 and whose counsel had been her best human support in 
 frequent seasons of agitation and conflict, was a dispensa- 
 
 that summoned all her fortitude into action 
 to the test the temper of her Christian armour. The 
 flict was very sharp, and she " would utterly have fainted, 
 but that she believed verily to see the goodness of the 
 Lord in the land of the living ; n and that goodness she 
 
 I to experience, in a calm and trusting oompo 
 which was her companion to her latest hour, filling the 
 " aching void " caused by the loss of all her four sisters, 
 and comforting her on every side. 
 
 When first she gazed upon the world after this last 
 bereavement, the peopled scene most have seemed t 
 a wide desert ; standing in the midst of which she had no 
 stay bat Him who come* to the pious soul with a fresh 
 approximation as each competitor is withdrawn, until he 
 sits enthroned within the inner circle of its affections. 
 was a spectacle as touching as it was solemn, to see 
 Christian lady thus gathering her resources towards 
 proper centre, and turning to their best aocou 
 adverse circumstance. In a strict sense t 
 hood could hardly be said to sympathise with her in tho 
 aad event, for to every one it was a personal and pc< 
 sorrow each appearing to have lost a sister as well as 
 
 The character of this common sister of all the friend- 
 leas, and this common friend of all ous who < 
 
 within the range of her philanthropy, has been drawn v. 
 a faithful pencil by one * who well knew and was well 
 
 The Rev. John Henaman of Clifton. 
 
300 uru or HJUKAB MOJUL 
 
 to fed her worth, in letter to a fneudoftho 
 
 moult to reabee the eolcmn not and atill 
 more ao to acqoieaoc m it I think I b*re never 
 
 of those qualitiee which are 
 calculated to deticut and JiMWti, with nrflh an aheenco 
 of all that u dtaa*reeable and rvpoleWe. Voo Urc had 
 
 , . ... ^t^_ 
 
 01 aan ; DOW oooanafvia wjwania omcm ; 
 in her kbottrm to promote the UmifionU 
 
 of her 
 pmvrm for Uo 
 
 with the 
 
 .,-,,-; . , 
 
 piety in eld age whioh mmwianH our veneration, but how 
 rarely have we aeen at that period eneh warmth of heart 
 witli Mich attractive charm*. There waa eomethinf eo 
 
 I in her aook^r, that I alwaja teod 
 it difficult to take my lemve of her. hot tf she waa eo daar 
 
 :' ' ' , ! : 
 
 tathe loaa; how inpoarfhla it U for any to empply her 
 place, God am, indeed, by the rich comtimiikmUofw of 
 hfefn 
 
 lap the void. I ckmbt not that he will do it, 
 
 
 nation of Mr* More'e mind. All of ua, 1 am aure, are 
 bomid to remember her in otar preyera. But ahe doe* net 
 wntnr m one without hope, Hhe can never think of her 
 briw>tterie^ without *Wh^ 
 
 To nave enjoyed for ao many/ yeara the aflbotionato attm* 
 Uou, and aid, and cottneel of eooh a aiater ; to have been 
 hcnclf a happy m4mment in fnrwjin| her iharanlar to 
 aneh exoeDence; to have bean ooiatid with her 
 UK>tir eo eminently Wcod by God, are atremj ground of 
 thatikfulmm To have witneeeed the peace and bleeacd- 
 
ness of her latter end to anticipate an indissoluble union 
 with her hereafter, will surely mitigate the anguish of the 
 separation ; and I trust that she will be . ex- 
 
 emplify that submission to the will of God which sh 
 80 well taught to others, and of which peace is the in- 
 able concomitant." 
 
 :ig the sickness of her sister, and aft 
 cease, letters replet omiumsui><>n IUT la>t . v. 
 
 and acknowledgments of the acceptable service she 
 once more rendered to the cause of sound and practical 
 religion, were continuing to pour in upon Mrs. Mo: 
 variety of quarters; but h lauso had 
 
 -.. She ! riling 
 
 lit to her faithful friend and sister, and nothing 
 
 remained to comfort and encourage her as an author but 
 
 the humble hope of a blessing upon her labours, to be 
 
 manifested in their cfiect on the sentiments, principles, 
 
 *s of her coin.' 
 
 An instance of the sympathetic feeling manifested by 
 some of those to whose welfare the sisters had long been 
 themselves, is thus related by a friend who was 
 herself witness to it : 
 
 poor people of Shipham have long been accus- 
 < I (as I believe you know) to look to the inhabitants 
 of Barley Wood, and one or two other families, as t ' 
 only resource in the extreme poverty, nearly amounting to 
 famine, to which, by the scantiness of employ n 
 are frequently reduced ; and their applications to 
 house for relief have, consequently, become so 
 that commonly thcro scarcely passes a day wi 
 
 d of some poor petitioner from that neighbourhood. 
 
 eks, however, after the death of our < 
 1, their v <-ly ceased; and when at length, 
 
 the arrival of tin? .Shipham schoolmaster, with his 
 donkey and panniers, to carry off the annual d< 
 
 the scho him how 
 
 : they had so long entirely absented theni&c: 
 dam, 1 he a . be so cut up, that they 
 
 e not the heart to come ! ' '' 
 
UFBOT1 
 
 From Mn. H. More to the Krv. DtoMl Wii 
 
 " My daar Sir, I waa mm* obbftd by yaw wry kto* 
 kite, though I hato baaa jiiiiMmiil by iiftiinp, both of 
 body and mind, from tattfa you ao bafcr* Thaformrrl 
 am willing to !^ m bran tho ohftaf ifgivaaQcv for thia 
 
 __^^i, Ifc^^l _ A ^ -a a^_ , ^ ^t | _ a- _ . . 
 
 OTTVpCiDW Doay prvMMa aown uw KNU. i mm, Dowfvvr, 
 httto blwr m both i 
 
 :'- .,:...-, V. : -.: ,- 
 
 m U*ey bw U^tmooy to UM worth of what I Ur* Ion. 
 
 .'': ....' 
 
 o ttador tho hwrimt trkl 
 
 f M^ Mtf^A W ^MM^^. MMtkt*^vl fll <" 
 
 I of my btamod mtiT, w ho WMI QAhlm to hoBF 
 trait hot in a crudftod fftditmny and ottod on erery 
 
 **%A IWmtlv ^t^tfw ^rMK ^M ^!M*** M|^A MM* I 
 
 MUI^ ^P^IW wjMi iv wim vov ww mmm^ 
 
 k ; ho ). A< i |-^ji ). : / j.rrjari: | f -r h< r -/n-Jit 
 
 of ptpor 1 moHwtth omflrmjithm. 
 ; I teoad thorn mm* * Tkk to tm> ka> 
 
 1 
 
 God doobtiom, *mw that 1 jain<d too moth on *i^ wiak 
 how inflnitely gmUr hor gain than my km. 1 am 
 
 ---.: . ,.- .' -r , 
 
 kirn UM tod, and adotv UM> haiid that ccnpioy* it 1 do 
 not ao much brood ow my lorn ow the mjnv flMpoini 
 which iccompanr it I blom God that aha was spared to 
 
A SEVERE ILLNESS. 303 
 
 me so loog ; that her last trial, though sharp, was short ; 
 that she is spared feeling for me what I now feel for her ; 
 taflHVQgh I must finish my journey alor is a 
 
 very short portion of my pilgrimage which remains to be 
 
 " I hope the country air is strengthening you for your 
 winter labours. What a state our country is in ! But for 
 16th Psalm one's spirits would quite sink. The Biblo 
 and Missionary Societies are, I believe, at the bottom of 
 those mischiefs. Satan could not bear their triumphant 
 prosperity, and invented this counteraction ; but ' greater 
 is He that is for us, than he that is against us.' 
 
 grieves me that Lord Teignmouth should have 
 been at Clifton a fortnight, without my being able to see 
 Pray for your sincere and faithful servant, 
 
 " H. MOBB." 
 
 Mrs. More, in these affecting circumstances, did not 
 neglect the preservation of her health, nor did she so draw 
 the curtain of her sorrow around her as to shut out the 
 wants, the comforts, or troubles of others from her view 
 and her sympathy. She claimed none of the privileges of 
 grief; and, least of all, the right of sequestration. To 
 make others happy was in her so strong a propensity, that 
 no considerations of private or personal indulgence could 
 contract the scope of her practical philanthropy, or cool 
 the fervours of her ardent mind. If she gave utterance to 
 was to make it instructive, by showing its 
 alliance with humble trust, and its subjection to spiritual 
 discipline. But although her mind never sunk in fl*flff% 
 her thoughts seemed to be much loosened from the world, 
 and to travel in hope after her lost sister. Every interest 
 and every event seemed to want the witness and the partner 
 which had given it its value and its viva 
 
 In this year (1819) all Mrs. More's patriotic Tracts and 
 Ballads were collected into a volume. The turbulent and 
 seditious proceedings which had disgraced the count r 
 preceding years, were renewed with increased viol' 
 and with some additional circumstances of atrocity, which 
 gave them a portentous aspect Nothing was found bi 
 
urs or HANNAH IKNUL 
 adapted to oouactenct the poteon, admsoietertxl with mob 
 
 wicked industrr, than tbooe Itttlc 
 
 
 of Mi* 
 
 abe was at thia time eunVinft prevent h 
 forward to meet theee public lUnfeii, with her bow 
 truiig, and her quiver on her cbouklcr, at the age 
 
 But her health appeared at Una time to be ninktog 
 rmpi.ll v. She wee prorated from leaving her chamber 
 throughout the whole pring and eumtncr of 18ft, by 
 
 length, at the approach of < 
 
 fork 
 
 er^afUrtb^iBorefa^mediate.ieiitMifr^'^tobopmt, 
 there rcauinnd but a mint hope of her ncmplehi recovery. 
 On tho night of the Ifth of Auguet, MPK H.MorecaQed 
 all the family out of their beue around her own, bemf 
 
 earoeetly reoumted the prayen of the friend who waa eup 
 potting her head; and at interval* aa aha wee abk 
 peatad a great part of the I6th Ptaalm, with a Uttle altera- 
 tion to make it apeak the batter to her ownaonl: M Tbo 
 riotk^temy i otUinlieU.!orUio.ibdi4iioteaor: 
 
 .OoetoeecoormpikMi.** She wmi on, - Thou ehoK 
 howmthr jwthofbfc; io thj pmeoee fe faloeeeof 
 and at thy right hainl there are pleaanfea for ewta 
 
 hare aome rmee here and there fium the l!9th rr 
 
 roc. a poor Muncr'" She waa iiMieenil, 
 Mrmgth tor all need ;* to which ahe nrpliol. I haf n- . 
 doubt ol it Ufa te of no raloe upon the term* I hav. 
 held it for the laet dcren moot) 
 pleeanra, I oould hope that my udering may not be very 
 tedkme; btit I dare wuh for oothiiy that k not eoaeiHmt 
 w:thlual4ee . poo another omMiom Mi- Fr 
 
 :-.-ndcr friend who WM chiefly with her 
 
A SEVERE ILLNESS. 305 
 
 having said, " I trust you will be better to-morrow," she 
 answered, * ; If it 1: ill, I hope so: when, where 
 
 as thou wilt, O Lord. I, who hav. >o much 
 
 i submission to the will of God, ought now to 
 To her physician who attended her she said. ' This 
 old crazy building is a long time in breaking up. Doctor ! 
 A gentle dismission, if it please ( ; 
 Psalm being repeated to her, beginning, " Bles> 
 that considcreth the poor and IK 
 
 beautiful psalm ! but all my trust is through grace ; all 
 my hope is for mercy ; all I ask is acceptance through 
 
 ;s Christ What should I do now if the work were to 
 be begun ?" Clasping Dr. LovelTs hand she said i 
 you ao much trouble, Doctor ! indeed I am not worth 
 taking so much pains about" " Leave that to us," he 
 replied : " we arc willing to keep you amongst us as long as 
 we can." She never, when able to speak, forbore long 
 from breaking forth into a repetition of some of 
 beautiful and applicable ports of the Psalms, as the 27th, 
 :)0th ; and one day, after she had been 
 solacing her weary spirits, she remarked, " 'Tin perhaps a 
 low idea of heaven, but one not void of comfort to me, 
 who rest so very ill in general, to think that 11 be 
 
 no night there ; also that it is a land the inhabitants of 
 which will no more say, I ani sick." She one day obscr 
 
 ;gthened sufferings showed how g: 
 
 needed purification ; M and being told of the death of a 
 neighbour, a very amiable and worthy man, after a short 
 illness, she said, " Ah, how many more stripes have I 
 needed than he ! a few days* suffering can o his 
 
 rest, while I have required many, many months ! " She 
 added, u But I ' i favoured with so many more 
 
 talents and opportunities than he enjoy -caking of 
 
 >tate of burning fever, she said, " Nothing but the last 
 icy hand will cool me. Poor Patty i very soon 
 
 her !" and added, " How short is the longest 
 eternity is long enough ; py in ; a thousand years 
 
 are to Him but as one d; .we not a wish or a 
 
 hope, but that the Lord should do as secmeth it good unto 
 11 feel the same penitence an<l 
 
LOT OF1 
 
 ato as dear Plrtty did. Ibrcgrrat 
 
 oaaa in my mind ; and exaapt in the 
 
 softrfflf, wbsn tht body will be diatubad, I hope it may 
 
 ba aaid, I basr my aickw*. patiently Wbat a 
 
 a sbophcrd-boy wHb Ma bsrpotoJd farniab Mtotkl for 
 
 4 Bo ttttMOf, MK! IM tuUI eocnfbrt TOOT botfta ; and pot yo 
 jourtmatlDtlial^ni' Olmairy Um UM Lord'a bftmt, 
 Ha btaHtlf b the porttoo of mj iohariuooa, and ofay 
 cup!' Whan wa ar upno tha ltok ofaUniity.bowdo 
 
 i Al. ^ ^Ib^M*^^ 4^V ^P&*^ Aft^MM ^ ^\ /^M| Alft^M* K4 
 
 Is los pototiFOBB wajSBjoaw wvwasjsaBs v/ ooo, UKW art 
 yOod,myaoultb*ta4hrflartbatr- 
 On Mooday, tbs 14th, a Af*oil Masi 
 
 lid. -In OOM of! 
 
 Is A pledge of , and a*vao gitaa ua 
 
 >o tba 
 
 nflffa) appfopriatad too litlla to ptfaajto d aroiioii | owt ajiy 
 oog nigbtiy jjf ayai a and raflcctiooa ba>vo pcwad a> great 
 to m wbcn ny daily ODOB have 
 
 tuat 
 
A SEVERE ILLNESS. 307 
 
 of need. " It requires great 1. '" to re- 
 
 ceive pain and trials with thankfulness, and with a 
 suasion that they are sent in love : it is so natural to i 
 and blood to love ease and enjoyment !*' V,' 
 the worst, she said to Miss F., " I think I have left nothing 
 very material undone ; I hope I can say that I have never, 
 igh all my long illness, expressed a wish, or put up 
 a single prayer for recovery. I find it the only thing to lie 
 at the foot of the cross and say, Thy will be don- 
 
 In an interval of severe Buffering, she cried, " Lord, say 
 unto my soul, Thy sins be forgiven thee!" and after a 
 moment she resumed, " ' The sufferings of this present : 
 are not to be compared/ &c. Oh, how this c< 
 body presseth down the soul ! Oh, Adam, what hast : 
 done ? There had been no sickness had there been no 
 : and no Saviour, a happines 
 
 short, possibly, of what we hope for through Oh ! 
 
 what will it be, w she said, " when our eyes close on 
 scene, and open upon the world of spirits ! I have often 
 thought, since I have been lyinr 
 wood's expression : ' We shall soon know the grand st- 
 A Christian may say the same ; it is a ' secret,* < 
 him ; but he says it with a firm faith and well-grounded 
 assurance that there is a reward for the righteous ; that 
 there is a God who judgeth the earth. n 
 
 In the course of conversation, she spok <>ys of 
 
 heaven, and said, " It is delightful to know that they 
 be unspeakable and full of glory : rest in the bosom of 
 God and the Saviour, and a full enjoyment of his prefv 
 are the ideas that chiefly present themselves to my ii 
 The meeting with dear friends will, perhaps, constitute a 
 part of our felicity, but a very subordinate one ; like Whit- 
 
 I think we shall be apt to say, ' Stand back, and 1 
 me not from the sight of my Saviour.' Important as doc- 
 trine* are," she observed, " yet, except the leading ones, 
 for which we ought to be ready to be led to the stake, < 
 yield much with me to t ] :ig of the inward hidden 
 
 man of the heart. Conformity to God, a walki; 
 steps, spiritual inindcliicss, a subduing of the old Adam 
 here is the grand difficulty and the acceptable 
 
i j re or ' 
 
 Offering to God! It is oh^rrmUc/ she retiurl^l. - 
 
 e introductory veraea to alino* ell 8C IWe epiotioi 
 he aeya, ' Grace, merer, and peace' peace come* after 
 grmce and mercy ." 
 
 tremtty of akkneie. ebe looked up with qnk*na to tboae 
 who were loippociing to, and aeid, - 1 eon* 
 imiticit, I bop*, only iaftnait 
 
 wtut oy to M^Tf * I OD offer iifltlMH lm% totiow MM! 
 
 ; to gnwc alotM I MB lUbtor 
 
 I. 
 
 iJdi about her modietoe..^ Mid. * I wkb-oot 
 1 do not wkib| nor tfoublo tuTtcu About IM en.* 
 
 takmg it i my cat* ; with tbe not I have nothiaf to da* 
 When holding her fetter potion in her bend, ebe would 
 
 UMM mm Mk irn -'** WM tk*t ' 
 
 Xr(M|ooO4ijr ay . now HMOM uotw Oliver waw law 
 
 twelfth ebepter of Hebrews. - ' It (..r. oomotkm) 
 
 tbe peaceable fruit of ijjbtiPMBuei;' but,* ebe added, 
 
 ; ; .-: .' .,.:- . ' 
 
 To tbe Be*. Mr. , who calM and prayed by bar 
 
 bedrid* ebe aaid, - 1 thank (KM! I bare not an anxiety 
 
 ..:.,, . i .:.- 
 
 i . . . 
 
 r on that Uood that wajebed 
 to tbe world,- aai.1 
 
 lofCbrieUareallin all' 
 
 How (oof liow 
 
 long i Ikitlhavenotyet aYinatedetioitgb*or UTptinMation. 
 Her attendant obeerrcd, - If yon need all tb>a Ma aiu. 
 we may waU be filled with diatnej.* To which ebe an- 
 awcrod, "Tbe blood of On-t te ennViant; there w no 
 acot|ftanoc te tbe beat without it, ai. tbe wont 
 
 need not fear obtaining pankm and aahation upon rqientr 
 it it moat be profound boast-repentance" An 
 
HER RECOVERY. 
 
 earnest hope being expressed for her recovery, she i 
 
 :Tt wish it ; pray that Hi> will may be done in me and 
 hat I ma -lifnl- 
 
 ness unto the end. I would renounce everythi; 
 my hold upon the Rock of my salvati... 
 
 On receiving the letter of a friend, win i 'uiow- 
 
 ledgment was made of the blessing which / 
 had proved to him, in ti: 
 
 1, she said with great emotion, " I am sure I ought to 
 
 eply humbled and grateful that God has d 
 
 D instrument a> him be all the 
 
 glory. I .nything in the wo. 
 
 poor doings ; I utt. m ; to him \ye all praise 
 
 and thanksgiving for cv 
 
 ften said, when she heard hopes expressed for her 
 recovery, " It will be all well ; my rase is in good hands: 
 Buffering is the p -t only aro our diseases 
 
 :"nl. but t r them arc also foi 
 
 most part bitt< nful to me a very striking proof 
 
 and consequence of tin* fall, 
 prosperity, that I n cdfd powerful correc* 
 was in trouble I went wrong ; nnd, oh ! that I were able to 
 add the latter part of th \v have T kept 
 
 thy law.* " Thru, in allusion to the restless night she had 
 passed, " If we have wearisom what a happiness it 
 
 is to know that they ar< -nn." 
 
 After . however, the friends of this adn, 
 
 woman were relieved from all apprehension of her im- 
 
 :atc dissolution; although she still continued in so 
 weak and suffering a state as to al 
 
 any hope of ht-i ;ig amon;: I 
 
 winter. While in this state, as those about 
 
 -ing on the \v. md tli.- Wrn:'.' 4 n:i : 
 
 meetings, &c., in which sters 
 
 had taken so li : t, she ol^- 
 
 now \x> to .submit to be useless. the very 
 
 rection I stood in need of ; to annihilate self is tli 
 
 t, and to rejoice that the thing des as well, or better, 
 though I am not permitted to be the doer of it : 
 Thoao also serve who only utir.d an 1 
 
310 
 
 Bot I find it learn cany to j/r than to do for God a 
 aaaV 
 Infpf^ingtoathopdofaoaKiFi"iC"o/herpaatU^ 
 
 >aa f 
 
 yet abe had been lad to uodertake man; bol 
 i and to cairjr than through with pafaBfatauoa 
 avaatofbopefehMofthcirattccea*: that 
 
 ilhiiM, which waa aspacud to 
 be her iaat, abe one day nscnarked to har 1 
 that, though ana had attained to ao 
 ^f ||gj| aaaiianaad the pa&na of mt 
 
 , md that, prol bi j, MI attack u^"" " OM0I would 
 final ; hut ah did not HMB to Mw^t for the 
 might j, and Ud not tU itighUrt owt or ftiukty ahout 
 OM mrthod of IMT dkniML 
 
 * j_tii_ A ^-'-- * LIV 1 
 
 10 urmogiflg iOBM ntntrv fwan wita a ITMQII, wmcii n 
 - Not UM* I hM tbTmNtai idw at IM* tl^k Ite 
 
 . 
 
 ntty." ' At aootlMT time aho Mid, * 1 olUb think wo art 
 not thankful enough for our Mgatiw metric* . 1 have f r*- 
 quanUj feU grmtdul thai 1 bare wrw hoco conancd in a 
 maclhouaa, a priaon, or a coort.- Thaat nmita of har ooa> 
 
 that paonlt wtva too art at an adfanoad agm, to imagino 
 that, baQMaa thay wm ahia to do boi littia, Uiaj wv% 
 from doing anything : hut that our 
 
 wlftJMh ^M k^rl rij.|M - ___ ft^t^M* 1^^ ^^ 
 
 
 
 hwltomaka the o*t of thai one. 
 
 ^**WM AA Al^M 
 
 cation of nor intramarahla Ttattot^aha atid, that upon har 
 &rat intnxkHttoo to woridljr charactcfv, if aha had a ptoa- 
 pao4 of aaai&vr Ifr***** tnorc tHf 1 171*1*11 aht *iui not imma* 
 iiataly praaa tha aubjeci of rchgioo, but rathar atrove to 
 *ny prejudJoa, and to i rrparo tha wmjr by making a 
 favourable imptaaiioii ; but if aha knew it would bo a 
 
RECOVERY. Oil 
 
 single opportunity, she endeavoured to lose no time, but 
 to come to the point at once. 
 
 She went on to observe, that young persons, whose 
 affections were too much wedded to the world, had been 
 frequently brought to her by their pious relations, in tho 
 hope of her being able to dissuade them from the L 
 public amusements ; but (she added), I always answered to 
 their anxious solicitations on this head, by saying, that in 
 my little way of practice, it was not my method to attack 
 symptoms, but to apply myself, in the first instance, to 
 the internal disease. 
 
 She remarked that many things had been cultivated 
 since her youth by her own sex, which she had deteri 
 to make no effort towards acquiring ; as a suj 
 even a deeper knowledge of them would tend to no u: 
 either to herself or to others ; that she frequently heard 
 ladies using philosophical and technical terms ; but , 
 
 inspire her with any desire to dabble in the sciences, 
 which would have consumed much time, without any of 
 that good which was the sure result of a thorough ac- 
 quaintance with a few things. 
 
 At another time, adverting to the multitude < 
 proving and entertaining books which were daily issuing 
 from the press, for the use of children and young persons, 
 she added, " In my early youth there was scarcely any- 
 thing between Cinderella and Th* Spectator" 
 
 Mrs. H. More not only passed tolerably well through 
 the winter, but continued to advance gradually in strength, 
 and the number of her visitors increased in proportion. 
 All were delighted to remark, that the sprighUiness <>: 
 conversation was unabated ; nor had her interest in her 
 country's weal and moral advancement been at all di- 
 minished by the illness which had for so many months 
 held her in perfect seclusion. 
 
 From Mrs. H. More to Sir W. W. Pepys : 
 
 icy Wood, ' 
 
 "My dear Friend, I am, for the next week, under $ 
 bondage, to me the most oppressive of all th 
 

 Jil 
 
 tare no rot! diatvea* in tham. An 
 Thouuwt Aciaxid, who, bj the nut ai 
 U mire to carry everything hi* own 
 agaimt m v vehement Jy-nppaatcd reftu 
 Mckef*;pU frxwi Loadoti, ail jour poo 
 
 demncd, iordy apinat her will, and on the verge of 
 . to aae U iaA4oati tya/ and cunuptiil HMU . 
 
 Matched a ItttU white from otthrioo. Tlio pkAnm u te 
 .sfum aixl at lot cipcu^c JkMiio> the fMifM of 
 
 tatting fuur Uouni -tUT to imiiittt, I ol.jort, iu m noral 
 
 point of Tw f tUt so tmwh tnocr oat of my Hftftb ft^Mtti: 
 
 upon. Hie 
 
 t , i . 
 
 thi* dMMOBl cofnplntil ' Oik faftppr. if thty 
 knew Uiair btff^r^^ !' You ujr trvmbt* it boek 
 
 rhUth. I thank IheGrtmtGi^r, UtmtUr bettor 
 Uuui iw UAL 1 otii a soovt itiMpliBrit ininiil, and ruo 
 Mid fall with UM bMOOMftcr. You will judgv fiiroiirmbij of 
 uiv ortliodoxy, wbcn 1 toil you 1 o*vo lately ontrmiood 
 four biabopa ; aot a concbra, for Ibct r rat u irart at citfb 
 
 M asn gmUy totcmUd for the GMU I canoot Uar 
 UM! tbo iU^aoiknto of tboa OliMtiiom iitiinti, of whom 
 aomcbody aatm. Uuit 
 
 ocMMMa. 
 (nndaona trill aw tbc Uuircmtv |ojctod by I 
 
 v.v U in a Hottmbinc aUI* 
 Itliaca,! :oUtb 
 
 cuufomid much with a young < intcfc, plaotd at QuabiidfD 
 
 iw LcmUiu)*. Thia gcotkoMUi waibtd to 
 fcwonhip for theological atudioa. Altogether, i 
 
 44 1 wish I bad timo (for I aiu aniMMif yoo aboul 
 ccirc my ackoowiodgmcot of your bounty), to enter at 
 
large into the subject of instructing the poor. I : 
 thought much on the subject. I think there is ult,- 
 
 i-otli sides of the questi" !' popular in- 
 
 struction are narrov. : some others I think too 
 
 tch of my own poor 
 
 'ting out, but opposition obliged me to lower it. 
 f " Not the very poor only arc dcplor 
 
 era arc as illit \eir workmen. It 
 
 therefore occurred to mo to employ schoolmasters who, 
 to sound piety, added good sense and competent k: 
 ledge. In addition to ii all the poor ci 
 
 the palish on Sundays at my exj :vcic<l him to 
 
 take rs 1 sons on week-days, at a 1< 
 
 paid by them, and to ad 
 ing, which last was all I thought necessary for labou 
 
 fully instructed these higher 
 
 boys also ;.s principles, which t ; not 
 
 object to wh-; i they got it gratuitously. I had long 
 thought that the knowledge necessary for perso; 
 class was such as would qu 
 
 -rdc us, jurymen, and esp< 
 the awful nature of an oath : 
 
 fear, is too commonly taken without any sense of its 
 sanctity. Further than this I have never gon ( 
 
 .: I know the ultra-educationists would despise 
 limits. I know not if you have seen a book 
 popular education, written by a man of great tal< 
 Truth compels me to bear my public testimony agn 
 his extravagant pla. . that there is nothing wl 
 
 the poor ought not to be taught : they must not 
 short of science. They must learn history in its widest 
 extent: Golds: "cc is nothing; he recomin 
 
 absurdity of is most 
 
 I money t 
 
 uld they find time to : 
 neglect of all business an 
 
 where is all this to terminate ? Only cast back your 
 :i Athens, when- >n<>uncc'l 
 
 ophocles and Euripides, and an herb-woman c 
 detect the provincial accent of a great philosopher. v ; 
 
wm there ever a more torbolcot, imfowereehle nbblet 
 8t Pl^telbjou how they peoi their time, * It wmaoolj 
 to toll or to beer of tone new tiring.* 
 
 , ' ' 
 
 ScyiU of bnrtal igaoraoo ad the CbarybdU of litetmry 
 
 ** I he>ve> pooled ooi oiy erode opuuooe eo fBpid^j end 
 with eo tttUe etteptioa i IP m !*> UM I faar you wdl 
 
 a Uyootkeini^fciilefeelfailbie 
 
 woqU look a U book 1 have beeo eiiodti^ la Voti 
 ted in it much theA ie abU,ai BMMBI thei ie tnie and 
 I dmU amUj dmd the adoplte of Ow 
 
 M For * penoo wbo proaieed to lei jron off with only 
 a lew Uoe% I think 1 he*e been todione eooogb. \ 
 
 In the epring of the year Idtt, Hm Moee we* 
 with an ioiaminatioo of the ebe* of whkh 
 out eo fcnokkbie ee to allow hot fcfa* b 
 her frame could witiMtood their rkOeoce : they 
 
 ,.:.:: 
 
 Dr. Qvhek, who we* her jdijiheiii to thie 
 crilioal ilhuaa, ecknowledgod how fneiljr hk art WM 
 
ANOTHER ILLNBBB. 
 
 it to have been very sharp and trying, and to have L 
 occasion to new displays of her powers of thought and 
 
 : ession, directed by the soundest scriptu . t ion, 
 
 to the best and highest objects; but when anything like 
 admiration of her cheerful acquiescence in t will 
 
 from the lips of her friends about her, she took pains 
 to assure them, that what seemed like courage was none oi 
 it her own : " It is (she exclaimed), all superinduced 
 strength ; none of it is natural to i. 
 
 In discoursing upon her illness, when the result was 
 most precarious, with one of her friends, she said, ' 111 
 could determine for life or death by holding up my hand, 
 I would not do it. If (she continued) I have given any 
 sign of progress in a religious life, it is that I have never 
 felt reluctant to ascribe all due credit to the virtue and piety 
 of those who did not love me, and have heartily and 
 sincerely rejoiced in all the good that was in them, or has 
 
 t ened to them." When reference was afterwards made 
 to sonic little inconsistencies in the conduct of a per> 
 
 s character, she exclaimed with a sigh, " Ah ! the weak- 
 nesses of the wise, and the errors of the good, would make 
 many more volumes than I have written, or should like to 
 read. When I turn my thoughts upon the world, there are 
 .but three things there which deeply interest me the state 
 of the church the religious progress of the king and the 
 abolition of slavery.* 1 At every interval from pain she was 
 more disposed to convene than was advisable for 
 deed her thoughts never appeared to flow in a fuller and 
 clearer current. She observed of herself, that she never felt 
 so sensible of the majesty and beauty of the Psalms, or so 
 capable and desirous of writing a commentary upon them, 
 as when upon a sick-bed ; and added, that Bishop Porteus, 
 
 never he heard she was confined to her bed by sick- 
 ness, always said he looked for a new book from her. I 
 not unworthy of being recorded, that during all the mul- 
 ed and dangerous illnesses with which she had been 
 visited, most of them attended with strong paroxysms of 
 
 : , her mind wa - served to lose its strength, or 
 
 sank into delirium, till the sickoess that overtook h 
 
 y- ninth year, and carried her to 1 .10 of 
 
316 LIFE OF RAVVAR MORE. 
 
 her coo relation* abe observed, that repot* ami quiet had 
 becti the Uraaiiip aho had moat tongtd for durini the 
 greater pert of her exiatonee; that *be had retiml from 
 
 !. . ' ' i ':>-.' 
 
 calm reflection between tha fPOtid and the gmra, and with 
 tha hope of eojoyinf literary leiwa, roiml euniloymetila, 
 and religious meditation ; hot thai it waa not thought food 
 for her by an afl-wie* Prorideoee to hare thaat vftehee gr*. 
 tffled; for. that very woti after takmg finainaion of 
 aUp UraaBt a outer of lahoor opcoed to her m tha variooa 
 
 ^^^^-j^ A ij^ &hii aoim_| it KAT -luiiy tA i 
 
 ' ':.".''".','; 
 of all h*f lamnia) for 
 
 her of all her Irieure for eeveral yean; i 
 
 UUer period of her life, a c 
 
 letter* had left her no time thai eomid be called her own. 
 
 Then retttmmg to the earlier |utof her IHb, which abe 
 
 '.,", , . !', 
 
 the world ; <** fe the apoere of her ttearolneai ; thoywiU 
 
 not let M come tugh them.' Oti a fiartkitlarday, wheoher 
 to be maataring har frame, her i 
 
 tione appcmd to he more Una ordinarily clear, and to 
 j fuU oT inetroctioo to herself, ajnJ to thoae who wore 
 
 : 
 , . , , .,, 
 
 ^T m j ><>1 ^?f > ^y^V* ^* ^^ ** a ^ a w^*Q^_^ i ^ 
 
 when travelling abroad ee a young man he took pain* to 
 omiverae aa much ae poaaihle with the French poetiBettey 
 that be might gain from them aom new method* of 
 
 parha|M| aha MUU, writtan too r*'*??* yet eke 
 epaMedth^ahem^MlfoIlovadtiharpi 
 
 aerious iuUntioo of writ::ig a little ti titan, e&pramfy on 
 - The kw of ooBaidentton," which wee ao eoatena^r and 
 beedkaalg %;oUte-l m t).- -.:.- manoli l:tt> . :n nn^ar, 
 andattaationiof IhV To partieiilariae a fow caaa% wiHj 
 rcapeot to tradeamea\ to avoid taking loug credit, which 
 
COMPORT DC AFFLK 7 
 
 1 much anxiety and distress, and not unfrc- 
 
 not to change them capricioi;-' 
 
 :'mlt ; with respect to servants, not to give them 
 trouble wantonly, because we will not c i to tliink 
 
 it of any consequence ; towards tho^e who are 
 
 . to avoid those little acts which point out to 
 in a painful manner their ii.: 
 
 to lodging-houses, to be ireful not to injure 
 
 the furniture of them. Of all which rules ami \ 
 . .man being exhibited a more beautiful 
 
 self. 
 
 In speaking of the Divine attributes she 
 " There are some qualities which the Aim ig! . 
 not ' t.s humility, resignation, patic : 
 
 Dg: ;i:i-l it is amongst the innumerable four 
 
 blessed S carnation, that he could set us a p< ; 
 
 pattern even of tlx 
 
 The day after this con versati< > 
 
 1. \\hose i 
 was to watch her sick-bed, came t< > 
 
 sufferings ; she exclaimed with a g 
 1 1 have ; much good at the 1 
 
 of the Lord, and shall I not* receive I became 
 
 pcncd not my mouth, for thou 
 ' Th< more upon me, than thou wilt en 
 
 me to bear.* " - ing been oblig- 
 
 tantly to disturb the servant who sli-pt in her . 
 ment : " but indeed," she added, * my strokes were he 
 than my groaning?. I dread my remedies (she con ti:. 
 almost more than my disease ; but it i- 
 to them, and I had rather sutler '.' 
 will, than triumih by h 
 
 During the various fluctuations of her &f. 
 
 said (alluding to an expression u 
 The old i.. 
 .ing corruption that struggled in the mind of a person 
 
 lo the truth), 4i The ol<i 
 I do not think," she added, u that I a 
 ly going to die, but I feel persuaded I shall no; 
 *o that that - . 1 
 
318 UFl Or BAJQUB MOHL 
 
 > be for eome time bed-ridden: but it n ail 
 U all good! I dob* Dr lUm- 
 nmdamy%'notto *rt*ir qrtki*g ! * Yet ahe could uot 
 help ooc*ekaUy erring out, "Oh, thai I had the wings of 
 udofel* Being on* day abort to write a tribute of grati- 
 ted* te the bleak fame of a book to be pr*eotod to bar 
 
 . eo iUieaary farerieh oduttette. -Idoo.it 
 hkrtotruet toaiDomeoC ahe inhered, * and when tbe 
 
 i ,., . 
 ** all my poor doing* 
 
 fffy iHoeei ipeTMeid ftbooi tbi tlflMeo 
 
 lMWW*lMM*iMi 
 
 crideot and eAoteg todtattone of her 
 
 rlfc,,,^ *fc^- W* ^fcl A |LI M i 
 
 oepwi* one oeggeu a meno 10 pray 
 
 agoniee i end when theft friend etpreaaed bar full ooo* 
 
 !!,..!.->. .-! ;..:' ..--.-... 
 
 donj4 tt| ibr be hae never eiiflered my Catth to mil tor en 
 inetant; K le not arwtye to eo^eJ 1111 !!, but 
 mydieorder(aimdmgtoheri 
 
 thry are all girco in 
 
 one more than oeceaeary.' Shortly After 
 
 -,..: ,:,":..,.: t: 
 
 God !' yet ttffl I am not duly prepmred, or I abould be 
 taken. I tmnnorate them that I may thtek upon the km*, 
 nlfering and ftpviaff foodnam of my hemvonJy Fatter ; bt 
 .un not better lew I am, after eo much lofiog cor- 
 
COMFORT IN Ai: 319 
 
 rection, what should I have been without it ! " She after- 
 wards mentioned, as a remarkable circumstance, that the 
 year in which she wrote Moral Sketches her seventy- 
 fifth, was the only one she could recollect of her life 
 during no part of which she had been confined to her 
 bed. 
 
 She one morning told a friend, who came early to her 
 bed -side, that she had enjoyed during the past night 
 nearer and more endearing views of the eternal world than 
 she had ever before been favoured with, and was able to 
 bring to her mind every text of Scripture which bore upon 
 the subject ; and that she had amused her sleepless hours 
 with paraphrasing them. " I seem," she said, " to long as 
 much for the holiness as the happiness of heaven ; it is 
 such a blessed idea to be delivered from the possibility of 
 sinning !" The following night was a peculiarly suffering 
 one, and after describing it to her anxious friend, she 
 exclaimed, "'Heaviness may endure for a night, but joy 
 coraeth in the morning.' Ah ! what a morning will that 
 be when unceasing joy will come !" She then dwelt n 
 upon that beautiful text, " I reckon that the sufferings," 
 Ac. a It was not," she said, "a slight, unpremeditated 
 assertion, but made upon calculation ' / reckon? he had 
 counted the cost." 
 
 As her strength appeared to be rapidly declining, 
 she mentioned her symptoms to one of her medical at- 
 tendants. " But," continued she, " I shall still be en; 
 to fight the battle for it is not to the strong." After 
 his departure she repeated the 39th Psalm, till she came 
 to the verse beginning, " Oh, spare me a little," when she 
 broke off, saying, "That part I will not repeat it does 
 not express my feeling.** She observed that she could not 
 but reflect, " What a happiness it was, both for her 
 sister Patty and herself, that they had never had any 
 speculations in religion, and had never disturbed tl 
 selves about those mysterious parts of Scriptu 
 human reason was unequal to solve ;" and said, " she ol 
 thought of what Dr. Stonehouse used to say, 
 with a passage the hidden meaning of which I cannot \> 
 trate, I tie a knot and go on/ " Once more, ho\\\ 
 
lire, or BASQUUI MOBS. 
 
 repeated floctaattoni, an abatement of the maUrud *> 
 ton* gm* e renewed bopo of her leotnejj ; *be mi U*cu 
 retaotaiittj obliged to Uke ongnifiitot of MOW peon 
 jocen; ami when peaking on tb mibjeoi ehe enddcnhr 
 mtemipted hcrtcU; cidaunin*. ** Ah ! if* had no aeffcr 
 be*'* n her pbjmickn npiaawi bb bopet tfet 
 
 WM uov bc^imuQf to liiMMl S pragrcM tvarvui rrooKXjrr, 
 be mid lo him, " i fctr I tm ooi UMakftU mmgb ; 
 nuppuc yoo WOT going a tag joonwy to rootjvr * Unr 
 mlienum^ tail, wbco atew* aoiftd at iu tod. 
 ftttddctily ailed Udt to rtcmvo two or thm irUKii 
 of noiMj 9 would you not bt gmvt* 
 
 COlA f^^MCl HMt^Kf^^tft. (InMt^V IMW ittl^^^A O^ftA. it. ^rmM riMl-n. 
 
 of tbo0rU0of siokDoaf lo iaikioo MUUMMti Mid WM tv 
 
 
 fort and lOooouDodatioo of thovt vbo altoodcd upon bar* 
 
 
 . further MMfltAOcc t*iff"M bo ooowjixl to UMOL it 
 WM A relief to b<r fncnd* to bo tMbUd to t*A to her, 
 without pMiig ow a wfiteooa, and without Icar or 
 
 lavtrjaaar 
 
 About tbm Urn* amatwl tbt Jfmou of tt* la* to,. 
 
 ^*a_ ** ^AM A !A|V ^viMft I^M! f 1^ 
 
 bar BWDJ pwia of it * her baaV 
 
 hialovy of this 
 
 lint 
 
 herown. She told ue thai aba 
 reeideoeee in London, not onljr to attend hie [ 
 the Look, but frequently to go from the weei end of the 
 town to Bread Street io hie lecture there, often walking 
 nearly i* mOaa to hear, in his northern diaJeot, the troth* 
 of the Qoepel fcuthfuUj delitiomtod. 
 
 rcflMBbared that hc mnarkoJ upon the 
 which trrmu of the naefulnc* of hnman learning, UuU it 
 ahoukl never be foifuiteu bow unefiil an inatntn 
 
RESTORED TO HEALTH. 321 
 
 made at the Reformation, and that its revival had imme- 
 diately preceded the manifestation of our religion, adding, 
 " No ! it should never be despised as an auxiliary : I put 
 religion on my right hand, and learning on my left." 
 Coming to that part of the Memoir in which Mr. Venn, the 
 father of the late excellent Rector of Clapham, is mentioned 
 with such high and merited esteem, und the failure of whose 
 faculties is lamented, as having deprived his friends of the 
 edification which they might otherwise have expected to 
 have received in his sick and dying chamber, she st 
 that on returning from a visit to Sir Charles Middl. 
 she was informed that Mr. Venn had expressed a 
 see her once before he died ; she instantly repaired to 
 and enjoyed with him two hours of instructive and 
 iated conversation, almost immediately aft er which his 
 vigour of mind and ion forsook him, no more to 
 
 return. 
 
 The subject of prayer, as it was one which had often 
 engaged her pen, so it now employed i much of 
 
 her discourse ; and in speaking of it, as it regards 1 
 
 ice, she said, that being under an overwhelming sense 
 of sin, she had given so large a part of 
 cues to confession as to make her sometimes fear she had 
 not devoted enough of them to praise and thanksgi 
 
 leased God to restore this eminent Christian from 
 the bed of sickness and suffering to the use of her still 
 powerful faculties for the benefit of so Two of her 
 
 friends, who had for many months been ho\ ir, or 
 
 watching over her, being now about to depart on a distant 
 journey, she took an affecting leave of them, common 
 them to the Almighty arm for protection, and conclu 
 with these words, " If we see each other no more in this 
 world, may we meet where, as Lcighton says, 'no fi 
 
 goes out, and no enemy ever comes in ; where there 
 will be the absence of sin, and the presence of God for 
 evermore.'" Her recovery, however, continued to be pro- 
 
 ^ive, and the autumn of 1822 witnessed her restora 
 to nearly her former state of health. Barley Wood now 
 again became a place of general resort, many being anx 
 
? of teeing ha 
 MJOW Uichi 
 
 *Dd It Wl 
 
 . !. 
 
 Barky Wood. 
 
 HBM to OKI of p oUoil 
 
 fbiftck. I !i*r ben in 
 
 OTYW MI it mm ihumhio. 
 
 ' : 
 1 
 
 had dttnn* the wh. 
 . i rl 
 
 V* 
 
 vwrtcdniy.cbnoU 
 
 .vei 
 
 ToU kM fM>l 
 
O MR WILBFrvFORCT. 
 
 yon, my dear friend, come in for a portion. I 
 able to direct all my little charities myself, so that nof 
 was- ; rion to the g i v.ant, 
 
 us fever has been i: rcat ravages L 
 
 within a mile ten families were in ; 
 
 from my chamber-window were seen two cott 
 fc to the ground within 
 lightning. Through your genero 
 materially to mitigate these ca 
 
 relieved, as I commonly do, through \vlio 
 
 mis them and me. I had a little bag pinned to my 
 c-urtain, from which I sent the almost dai :M [ 
 
 believe some lives were saved, and others mndo more < 
 fortable. And here I cannot but rxpivsR a wish .ill 
 
 my opulent friends who live in the COM 
 conscientious apothecary 
 vny. In my little way I have done it them- 
 o said too much of mys< : 
 
 >t attempt to write. W: 
 will be perfect, I am not anxious to know. 
 
 i it but to I bless God : 
 
 great tranquillity of mind at the worst, and was v. 
 
 t and be with Christ,' had it been HIS will ; but I 
 t in HIS hands who does all things well. 
 
 now not if you are at your villa, but for st* 
 shall direct to your town-house. Could you n<i I 
 
 i y things we should have to say ! but I t 
 hall meet in a more perfect state, ' through him who 
 
 
 ** Ever grateful 
 
 " M 
 
 Fn ; . More to Mr. Wilbcrforce : 
 
 " J^ 
 
 14 My dear Friend, Having obtained help of God, I 
 continue to this day, which is th iry of my 
 
 seizure. May God have sanctified 
 
 Bfchop Hall says, * We carry about us such a luggage of 
 rahmitifiri that we arc never secure. 1 Do not be fright < 
 at my writing so soon ; it is not my wont, but 
 
unr or KUOUJIMOUL 
 
 that your time will aoon be more than wallowed u 
 wiahed to trouble you with one more of my ecrmwU. If 1 
 
 . . . . : . , ! : : I :..,. 
 
 V. ' ' I * r ' 
 
 rfdfftd by UfcnM*tadfa by tbeb abettor*, aa the 
 t enemy of my country. 'WaabanV 
 , oraweoofctodreaaaaboolderi 
 J cry. Got of 1 
 Wei 
 
 t) f f%^A a.A* 
 
 loa MMBBiaav icoor oc our way. IVB% 
 
 ... . . . 
 
 tmyania. 
 
 Our poor are now to be 
 
 . 
 
 of ignorance, but Town fam alarmed at the riolenoo of 
 
 thecontnut Eren our excellent MUM to me to 
 
 refine too much . but my friend F i an ultra of tbo 
 
 ! ' ' I :.../:'. ;, ' : i ' 
 
 but indent hUtory, and tran the edcncea aro to belaid 
 
 r to them. Now, not to inquire where they woul- 
 Honey, I a* k , Where would A labouring man g 
 time! Tiinob the fortune of a poor man; and an to what 
 they would gam from Grecian bietory, why, they would 
 Irani that the meanest r.tirn t.f A- 
 
 on the tucriU of *tnedy of Euripidat ; to do which they 
 
LETTER TO MR. WILBERFORCE. 
 
 have always lived in a play-house, as, indeed, they 
 almost always did ; they were such critics in language as 
 to detect a foreign accent in a great philosopher, &c. and 
 yet history does not speak of a more turbulent, unmanage- 
 able, profligate people. 
 
 w only in the great national schools, but in the 
 little paltry cottage seminaries of threepence a-week, I hear 
 of the most ridiculous instances of the affectation of litera- 
 ture. A poor little girl of this stamp was in my room one 
 tlay when a gentleman was sitting with me. 1 le ;i-krJ her 
 what .she was reading at school. l Oh, Sir. the whole circle 
 of the sciences ! ' ' Indeed ! ' said he, ' that must be a very 
 large work ! ' it 1s a very little book ; it cost 
 
 half-a-crown ! ' My friend smiled, and lamented that what 
 was of such easy attainment had cost him so much time 
 and money. I asked a little girl, a servant's chil I, the 
 other day, what she was reading, and if she could say her 
 catechism. ' Oh, no, Madam, I am learning syntax ! ' 
 
 u In many schools, I am assured, writing and accounts 
 are taughf on Sundays. This is a regular apprenti. -ship 
 to sin. He who is taught arithmetic on a Sunday when a 
 boy, will, when a man, open his shop on a Sunday. Now, 
 in my poor judgment, all this has a revolutionary as we II 
 as irreligious tendency ; and the misfortune is, that the 
 growing ultraism on the side of learning, falsely so called, 
 will irritate and inflame the old bigotry, which hugged 
 absolute ignorance as I. \isure not to be parted 
 
 with; while that sober measure of C lion 
 
 which lies between tho two extremes will be rejected l>y 
 both parties. 
 
 " Tuesday. This frail and feverish being of mino did 
 not allow me to finish my letter yesterday, so you must 
 bear with one more absurdity. Many a child is brought to 
 me in my room for a lit I of a tract, &r. 
 
 began this scrawl, :le girl was brought for this 
 
 purpose. She repeated a short poem extremely well. I 
 then said, 'Now I must examine what you know of tho 
 Bible. Who was Abraham ? * After some hesitation, she 
 answered, ' I think he was an Exeter man ! ' 
 
 u As experience is a sort of substitute for wisdom, I 
 
LUTI.OI 
 
 *aj laHaih of tb 1091 nadar my own ; e 
 i tin. U *ii|aiy my own acbool* go on i u 
 
 i A!..: 1^1^ ' 
 
 int, and UppUjr for >ou. 
 whtr. I b.i 2 w Mr*. V 
 d to aU UM- juuug oncm. 
 
 ID * 
 
 jruur ttoi aJrinf wbar 1 MB, M I *m uv to ba fiwiad IB 
 in u^y U<UUmi nuwtbottttwo 
 
 ivvo UHHI duwB aUiim, and, I tbittk, four 
 
 r aiooo I haw Uo m any I 
 grown, li m not al pMaul Ibal 
 
 A: '. . . ' *.... .- . . . 
 
 for a taoiiMi^j? My toaitk M 
 i tbr grmii 
 
 oC Ua olgbu. HM art nniMirj lo 
 me U^t thi t ooc my mk I nw a good dm. <rf 
 
 i aw ^n*vrh more 4baa> my coaata. I/ you a^v 
 my teal* OB am* day*, ytm would lldak, I0mt 
 
 a^a ollau prartai my vnuog to 
 tboao dar fncixb with whom a would be my drtgbt u. 
 1 find, bowwar, a good deal of 
 
LETTER TO A FRIEND. P> iT 
 
 to work with niy hands. whi' 1 \s for 
 
 the entertainment of my head. The learned ' 
 ' ing-needle are now accumulate 
 i e Missionary So ;.:v. \vh 
 
 School at Ceylon. So yon 
 I am still good for sometl 
 
 u The Protestant Church wl i i < -h i s 1 
 very ashes of that jr 
 
 to be just was, 
 
 / /"ittf era*er Fln/ame,' should have the Gospel of the 
 Saviour he vilified, and whose very name he swore he wu!-l 
 exterminate, preached over his grave, is an r 
 
 lote following the poisdn Howl 
 
 honour the Baron de Stael ! Had li 
 employed her talents (m <ly 
 
 son has i 'MS, she would li 
 
 an m inject of love and esteem as she always must 
 
 be of admiration. 
 
 a Adieu, my dear M . Tha v bless you 
 
 all thebest of his blowing*, prays 
 
 Mrs. H. More seemed to view her wonderful rescue 
 mg grave as an imperative call upon her to 
 impove with increased vigilance every passing hour to 
 tennoral or spiritual I" 1 frllmv -creatures. 8 
 
 coniidered that her life was thus unexpectedly gr 
 to ter for y witnessed s 
 
 pnxf of her be- / was no uncomni"n tl 
 
 tho who solicited her contr had 
 
 bed beforchapd with them, and that before then 
 hat set out hers had rea< i-;ct ; while the mai 
 
 h accompanied her kindnesses gave coinplctone. 
 
 n charactt "ill eontinur.l a Tniu-h 
 
 as ever to the pleasures of i 1 1 1 nl msn-m 
 
 iitercourse with her friends; and it was admitted on all 
 If that her conversation had lost none of its accus- 
 omed sprightliness. 
 
LOT* Or KAJOULH MOUL 
 
 IothemoothofJuljiiithbjcv(lHft4XtheWrttifloii 
 BUe Matting took pUcct of whieh^ 
 and Biit, Although unthfc to bo pmoodly |iuiiii. 
 Tto Afwtoho BiAhop of Ohio (BiAhop <*) MS brr^ghi 
 to Uw matting hy Sir T. Aflftud, and WM oat of i 
 who dined At IkHcy Wood, whoa the \xmi*m wm i 
 
 v , 
 
 i 
 
 - _ - - _Ji M^^l ^UlA^ I ^ V^^ A W^ t , , -A ^-_ ^^ 
 
 lift pOVAf Of TttAl MB V BMpMg UM OOKIT W/HV MM 
 
 Sb* WA to U b)ecUa to 
 
 IpMtVMtOI 
 
 i... HJ| : 
 
 || H| i 
 
 tntA luilA ttKA ilAci ItfMW ^^iltti- ^**ji KAW llAl^iliAl ' 
 
 tfao to UM DMM will wm mat MuiUvte to tto D 
 
 ^botaoiuB^hAd 
 
 ofi 
 
 Ojmg U^unooj to tho foodDMorOod v 4iAi 
 
 M oot proof* of UM BMTCJ HKywo tof^ 
 in her pmrtm* thu far m*oy ymn too hod oM 
 y^l aaioiL whioh hod hom t^lDHi ffooi hor o/ A 
 
 - 
 thcj hAJ mseoUy 
 
 M. , - . . 
 
 " r * ' ' ' J ' 
 
EXTRACTS FROM HER WORKS. 329 
 
 Take physic, pomp ;" and then raising herself in her bed 
 with surprisiiig energy, though obliged to pause for breath 
 between the words, she repeated, 
 
 " Oh, insolence of wealth, xvith all thy store, 
 How durst thou let one worthy mail be poor?** 
 
 On another occasion she thus broke forth, " What 
 ,-mful, vile, miserable bodies we have, and yet we can be 
 proud, and dainty, and fastidious ! " When she heard the 
 bell toll for the funeral of her late medical attendant, she 
 excLi l Ppy Mr. James, he has escaped before me ! 
 
 Pray sing the funeral hymn at family prayer this evening." 
 Upon those about her answering that nobody had spirits 
 to raise their voice in song, she said, u Why not ? it will 
 raise your heart in love." In a moment of particular suf- 
 ^, she exclaimed, "Can my friends wish such a state 
 as mine to be prolonged? death would be the greatest 
 mercy, but it is all for the best I am not yet fit, 1 want a 
 few more stripes or I should not have them, for He docs 
 nothing without design." She remarked, with grateful 
 emotion, upon the affecting beauty of that expre.- 
 " God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes ;" not only 
 that they should be wiped away, but that God himself 
 would wipe them away. 
 
 Vet once more it was the good pleasure of Providence 
 to raise up this eminent Christian to bear a little longer 
 her testimony to the power of faith and the Spirit's <>; 
 tion on the heart and understanding. Before she was able 
 to quit her bed she had vigour to project, and partly to 
 execute a plan to which she had been often ur^ed when in 
 tolerable health, that of extracting from all her later 
 works, each of which contained a chapter on prayer, her 
 thoughts upon that all-important subject. These passages, 
 when brought together with some additions, composed a 
 little volume, to whieh .she prefixed a few touching sen- 
 tences by way of preface, and bequeathed it to her friends, 
 not expecting herself to witness its publication. No sooner 
 was this little book advertised than the whole edition was 
 bespoken, and another was in preparation before she herself 
 
cot >. a a Umd eri 
 
 , * - * **t *AAM*_ *-- -***- ttki - * - * - ri i^ 
 
 ...... * 
 
 than she bad for many jrcan enjoyed or thin 
 
 i I 
 
 age of eighty two, aba ww abla to dtckfr 
 cam I}* raooDrot any patt b*r Mi in wMon abc Bad 
 bato no Itttia cuoiMl to bfr bid aa dorb^ ta* U%r 
 jtat* Tbaaa two taar, bovvvar, <U|Vvd barCbr 
 
 " W IViLUU- tlMt 
 
 w . I PJ*i ^BP 
 
 d 
 
 a 
 
 it aa aa ^fcoHiig aad adMtiHaty i. toiHlu.1, tbat dba had 
 . a ft M A wMa gtsiOTliaci paaa a way. 
 
 !:.'.. 4 -i I "' *:;".. * *. .' . } ..: ! ., . '. ! 
 
 Mr> I! M-rr t ., Mr 
 
 My 4Mr FVtod^-M 
 
 ^flrwi te ffi^w^Itcw^ A!! tW4f^iB tfVWfe^k^ff^vl tuit I ain f 
 
 (Hand Iba Bv. Mr. JotT^7a loan that 
 
 _ I .., ; , . . . I _ 
 
 .....'.. - .' . . ' 
 
 wasaaobolar and a ginlliami, and ooa of tbe principal 
 ornaiDaotaoftbrftclaci aociaty to wbicb I|MMa<i 
 
 I h*a UM rr. - i - -*-..r . f MHrtti I ' 
 
IKTJttRVIEW WITH ROWLAKD HILL. 331 
 
 of a 
 
 irking thoh. [ wished him more 
 
 particularly to dwell h- ; y. His K i 
 
 for several years pa^t, without losing any of that classic 
 elaganci) for wliich he- was remark character 
 
 by a spirit of devotion truly gratifying. 
 
 "Ask Mr>. ,r old 
 
 Va church !xty- 
 
 years that 
 
 A more exempi Ten 
 
 clergymen attended his funer ctcd, 
 
 _;h poor. AH to myself, 1 think I was never more 
 lain engaged, or 
 
 prefc 1 want of 
 
 le for which I buiii ^o and planted my 
 
 grove, I mean retirement; W^f know by 
 
 ; .ink Miss ! rhty 
 
 u laat week, -ly the sar 
 
 week. I know not how to 1. 
 I sec them out of rvspect ; if 
 A little good ; 
 
 ought to see them on that act 
 l>oui> would he jcalou> of my seeing strangers an 
 ing then \ % e, however, is froi lirec 
 
 o'clock, so that I p< 
 
 night or two, as the frank 
 
 "It is a rcumstance that o ( 
 
 ilj, I believe, has just n 
 into Dutch, by a converted Jew at 
 Piety has been published in iMitci. 
 
 vo to Mi*s. W. 
 u Youre aftectiouat 
 "II 
 
 Amongst her most interestin ;_ 
 
 were Dr. Marshman, of whos nurs 
 
 and interesting and informing conversation she spoke ^ 
 great delight ; and the pious utric Rowland i 
 
 who.se interview with her is related in so fresh and 1; 
 
: M.LI 
 
 Mannar by bar kind friend Mke Frowd, then reaidani in 
 the hooae, that she muet tegta the liberty here Ukanof 
 a portioo ofbar ktttr 
 
 bow deticbfted we were with dear 
 of a com 
 
 oidBowiand; 
 
 to deal out hie witty 
 
 who were not of hie 
 
 ''-. 
 aelft^H 
 
 : , ; -.:, 
 
 WM 41 hk own, DM* w 
 
 proUbjy 1^ koi ti>oo thk^cW 
 
 hip which will ieet for erer in the region* of eternal 
 aea^aaar 1 MUMM^M tKAi BA ivn I^BMMM aa their own 
 grneration bare done more apod in their own raapeotto 
 
 
 and T%POT of ip- 
 /Omie.yeblaaaedol 
 which wae poured forth in an eioafleni Toiea and i 
 
LETTER TO MR. WILBERFORCE. 333 
 
 I really do not know that upon any occasion I have been 
 more gratified." 
 
 From Mrs. H. More to Mr. Wilbcrforce : 
 
 "My very dear Friend, Your kind and interesting 
 letter cheered my heart, and served to put me in more 
 humour with myself than it found me. It brought back 
 former days to my mind. I too, who am much older than 
 have not one contemporary left. My early set, the 
 Johnsons, the Garricks, the Burkes, the Bryants, the Rey- 
 noldses, &c. I do not reckon, as they were old ; of my 
 second set, the Bishop of Durham and Lady Cremorne 
 were the last, both ninety-four: of your period ( 
 poor H. Thornton !) there remain yourself (to me a host), 
 the Gisbornes, the Babingtons, my old accomplished friend, 
 now new neighbour, the Bishop of Bristol, &c. Do not say 
 you havo nothing to do in your retirement from public 
 life; yes, my dear 1 .-an point out to you an em- 
 
 ployment not less important than those in which you 
 spent so many laborious days and nights. You can and 
 must write the history of your own life ; such a work 
 would be sure to embrace three great classes of readers, 
 the fashionable, the religious, and the political. You, who 
 were so long the intimate friend of the first rn 
 the world, might introduce such a proportion of public 
 and political remark, as would attract the v,<>rl<lly, who 
 might thus be seduced to read the abund <nt instnu :ti< 
 the more serious pages. They will meet with what will 
 benefit their souls, while they look for nothing less. Von 
 say in your letter, how much time you have lost 1 ;. 
 too long, and making too much i fore you 
 
 begin to set about anything. My fault is of a directly 
 contrary character: in avoiding Scylla I have fallen into 
 Oharybdis ; for I have such a horror of delay, that I called 
 myself and they now call me the ultra-ant iprncrastinator. 
 Though I have not done much, yet with a sickly life. 
 an annual dangerous fever of long duration, which I ! 
 had till the last two years, if I had been sober and con- 
 siderate, I should have done nothing. My thick volume, 
 
than QW ntifHifoal pofca, waa ftfw} 
 t of in January, entirely written, printed, and i^K- 
 I at the end of August la the September of the mo 
 
 var.i,.u-:, "v M ChwH I 10 faOJ Oi th^ n. k*d I 
 
 delayed the work, it would new fern boon 
 otBaaaa that it would haw hm an j loan to the wi. 
 
 M f <Kit 't ^WMlbl ^^IV^V ft^ftH^ Avifewi tibk r*ftrf>l (*k ^ WWW** 
 
 Do yoo know toot I am vorj ilmfcnm of af4!iof 
 
 " , .- I I... " A^ , 
 
 ' . 
 
 MI it would bfiof rtrattgom ; ond I <io Dot bk* the pnt> 
 
 * *t-~ W.^ A^M MAMM f 
 
 mo iwo joom 
 
 and havo pot thoaa and the hooae m compMe n 
 
 t that 1 kawo oiooadod my tnmcnr 
 i by thm Iwadtwl poonaV I IMVO aonk a tittle tnm 
 ^ m Pbpe aajra of ABa% 
 
 ifMhV.' TWwoMa>ttotl 
 utM. rjlnol a bod ki Jtl yot ii .- V M%- 
 p vrjraaf at foe wry wr^o of eternity \ ao 
 I amt unavoidably toe by the aale, yrt Hit 
 
 _ \| ,_ ! rM^ A. Id WflM lt_l_n_M |'_u 
 
 IF, M rm. " , MMP JWB% VO|B MOv pMBV IO* ~ ~ i i * Ig 
 
 a ntoa placw. Dot wo* to oo OMwpojpao m pomS or ajojnejy 
 
 H M -r 
 

 MBS. MOKE'S REMOVAL FROM BARLEY WCOD HER LAST 
 DAYS DEATH AUD CHARACTER. 
 
 A.D. 1828-1833. 
 
 :as already appeared that Mrs. More had become de- 
 
 -r of the reversion of Barley Wood, but 
 
 i instances uow took place which made it necessary for 
 
 .possession. 
 The course of her life had in a great degree exempted* 
 
 the cares, and unaccustomed her to the duti 
 the i household ; and those duties, when now cast 
 
 the days of her weakness and old age, proved 
 too great a burden for her exhausted energies. 
 
 Under a system of excessive tolerance and indulgence 
 
 10 loses something of its value an i 1 of 
 
 this species of tacit injustice and indirect mischief to 
 
 M re's memor 
 
 To bestow co Pi experience shouM 
 
 suspicion and inspire caution, is to sleep on duty ; and 
 although age inity, seconded by a gentle tem- 
 
 perament, might plead her excuse with .society for the 
 
 ty with which she exposed herself to be il 
 yet it must be own iieii her sound umlr. 
 
 health and strength for their allies, she discovered too 
 little of that vigilant exactness so essential to the equity 
 and consistency of moral rule. Her domestic govern ii 
 ;ight be expected from one whose reluct 
 to oft end, or t please, was too apt to disarm 
 
 ; and when the ill effects of this amiable v. 
 ness, which at the age of eighty-three had nature on 
 
UFIOT 
 
 , . '. .:. :' . ' ..-.::. :. : '. f ! 
 
 in rmin to com* the eril by nttd 
 
 ' * "... .... 
 
 to tab U infliction , 
 to which it WM hr duly to About, without 
 iMat All 
 
 DdOMdb*rfrMOll.lOI 
 
 to her Uw duifw of b*r ppMriac to be 
 
 vice, or. it lew*. indiArait to U prograw, and tbcn-by 
 
 of )0AB(aii)g the 
 
 l^_j klik^ M * ... I. .-,% ^ TV*, 
 
 Dea oiuieno DMA pfeoBOOve, toe 
 
 V4flH 
 
 SSihginniiiMb^ Biiihiil; eai^ftbtok 
 iortheyeftr,endooeA 
 
 li ta h ril 
 
 which they were eer to pay her. 8be tod her abode on 
 
 V, . . 4 : . ( ! : : 
 
REMOVAL FROM BARLEY WOOD. 337 
 
 The influx of visitors which poured in upon her was 
 now perfectly overwhelming and bewildering, till she was 
 persuaded by the friends more immediately about her to 
 reserve two fixed days in every week to herself for quiet 
 and calm recollection. 
 
 In the meantime she gradually contracted her earthly 
 concerns into as smajl a compass as possible. Her little 
 estate at Barley Wood was disposed of to William Harford, 
 . the brother of her much-esteemed friend the possessor 
 of Blaise Castle ; and she shortly afterwards neiroeiated 
 with her bookseller the sale of the copyright of the last por- 
 tion of her works, compr ten volumes. Their sale 
 had conti ; * eady as to afford a constant increase to 
 her income, which < lie laid up in no earthly trea- 
 sury ; and her expenditure Uing no longer unduly in- 
 creased by fraud and speculation, she found herself able to 
 send forth the streams of her bounty more abundantly than 
 ever; and this she did with an ui m<l, her whole 
 heart seeming to be set on " devising liberal thin 
 
 Her change of place had little of the shock of transition. 
 There was nothing strange or novel in the now seci.r. She 
 was brought back to terminate her pilgrimage v, 
 career of usefulness had begun. The vicinity of Bristol had 
 ao long been a witness and participator of her virtue 
 long identified with her fame and glory, that one could not 
 have seen her living elsewhere without looking upon the 
 removal as akin to one of those dislocations which are pro- 
 duced by a convulsion of nature. It is in that vicinity that 
 she has left so many monuments of her benevolence. There, 
 the schools and public institutions of charity arc so many 
 living and lasting records of her compassionate feelings 
 and social sympathies. 
 
 To this neighbourhood, from which, as the starting- 
 post of her brilliant course, she had set out some sixty years 
 before, with the whispers of conscious power urging her 
 
 . ird in a career of publicity, from which the modesty 
 and moderation of 1. ition shrunk back with trem- 
 
 bling, she came at last, her race being ended, to receive a 
 victor's reward in that peace which speaks comfort to 
 the weary soul, and ioliows it to tho land of the saint's 
 
 z 
 
aoana of her csiaUoce, tint at it bad baemaaaoi* bar bow 
 ftfodly woman could live, both in tha work! and abo 
 o in her it might be mm bow fnirfailj a oda> annn 
 a.otolit totoabrttat. 
 
 B after aw ftiiaf bar abode at Ctiftoo, it waa ra> 
 i ^btrniorvioUmaUlhaoda, with thai MHinoam of 
 
 
 Ikit ;t vma 
 
 ^ to tba | 
 
 The romuuioo of i 
 it may U at - UU prod of kt* to tba Mpport of the 
 
 aootlctmiaa tbo docuoA of mcnUl aoerxy. To pfaainrt the 
 fMtthioi from dcoajr aa jaia tooruaa^ m not within the 
 powvrofparidbiogttorlahtjri but to protnct the daU of 
 
 . . ..:. i i .. . . . i : . 
 
 them ma ( 
 tai 
 
AT C 
 
 From the earliest age at which th 
 their maturity, to a very late period o: 
 had kept her mind, if not at the top of its bent, yet at a 
 considerable stretch ; and when her last long vacation . 
 study and composition was entered upon, the retrograde 
 course became more and more decided, till time comj > 
 the undoing of its own work, and dissolved the stru< 
 which long exercise and experience hai > so lofty 
 
 an elevation. 
 
 Mrs. More came to reside on Windsor Terrace on the 
 18th of April, 1828, at the age of eight here she 
 
 lived in Christian composure to the 7th of Se; 
 a period of five years and a half. The reader will 
 to some idea of her average mental cap; 
 four years of her res i 'lifton, from the age of cL 
 
 three to eight; following letters, the first 
 
 written in the month of October, 1828, the others in 1829 
 and is:;o. 
 
 From Mrs. H. More to Mr. Wilberfbroe : 
 
 " Windtor Terrace, October 27, 1 
 
 * My very dear Friend, I cannot express the immense 
 joy your most welcome letter gave me. It ;ul to 
 
 !c we shall meet once more on this si do Jordan. I am 
 diminishing my worldly cares. I havo sold Barley Wood, 
 and have just parted with the copyright to Cadell of those 
 few of my writings which I had not sold him 1- r 1 
 have exchanged eight * pampered minions,' ober 
 
 .inks. 1 have greatly lessened my house expenses, 
 which enables me to maintain my schools and enlarge my 
 charities. My schools alone, with clot , &c. cost 
 
 me - r. Dear good y ;hem, 
 
 though \ve are re: : from them, 
 
 squire of Cheddar attends them for almost the whole of 
 
 ta stateme: 
 merits and wants ; so that I h comforts. 
 
 As 1 have sold my , want no 
 
 coachman ; as I have im . I want no pirdcner. My 
 
 removal here LKI been i ially d y '.rood. 
 
IN -r 
 
 who frequaoUy devot* an **emnf to aipoond mud prmy 
 with my family, uniformly OB Seittfdaye, My mot kind 
 
 to come to me, hae now not modi abort two him- 
 
 __- -.fcl. I /^... -- *. JMA^A^A ^t^tw wikMM ^^ 
 
 Oreo jarOa, 1 MM lam ft great OXMBfOT* IMJ, W 
 
 VMnt\l*if 1.^ A injal WlW^fl>M*V *rf W W. IW ilkA Kl^^ftilMV tf 
 
 God oo Us ^ffl,I am Mvty Motml ; hoi I w ^01 Ml 
 AJIIO yoor kind rim,wr cmnriTtjyou 
 ; I mmnjp I cmn 
 
 Mr 
 
 ~.~! * ^ . 
 
 vyonu aoa piety, i owe i 
 
 ~m __, . i I* . V -* i. m nj- 1 ,- - ^ ^4*V 
 
 1 
 
 the Wyii A /VtW. It grrtito me thai hie traoeia- 
 tioii of the A*rU*Pr*~r to now dmitoUng in P*mu 
 
 tO M JT 9 MM INOhy I tlUK* U) 
 
 lUj iUOod ofaQgnm and food- 
 
 Mn. II. More to a frier. 
 
 We m afl agitation and ontaloo bout the Chdbcd 
 bowicML I tall my frimb iheyomi be oil litre. The 
 *i of oar clmrxh and cmr country to at Uke We 
 hmvc jitftt got your note and the printed paper. Send 
 down by coach at leat a do of the aaiue, and I wiU 
 diai^iae tkum among all who are likely to turn them to 
 
THE CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION ACT. 341 
 
 a good account. I did not expect to see the king sur- 
 rounded by a half-Protestant ministry ; had it been Turkish 
 or Jewish I might have put up with it. My clear and able 
 friends, the Misses Roberts and Miss Frowd, arc running 
 about like mad folks, and I am not over sound. My duty 
 as well as love to the champion of Protestantism. God 
 you all 
 
 *H.Mon." 
 
 To a friend on the Oxford election of 1829 : 
 
 "Joy, joy, joy to you, to me! Joy to the individual 
 victorious Protestant ! Joy to the great Protestant ca 
 I have been almost out of my wits ever since 1 
 your delightful letter, in which insanity my dear col- 
 league, Miss Frowd, joined me. Thatd r T. 
 Acland, brought the first news of a great majority: 
 
 i r h I could scarcely doubt of our success, yet I applied 
 the words once used to me by my old friend Dfc Join 
 'My dear, I must always doubt of that which has not 
 
 " Nothing short of this great 'need 
 
 me to hold a pen. I have been confined to my bed, and 
 still am, by a severe cough and cold. My good doctor 
 attends me daily, and rejoices in our joy, but he would 
 scold me for writing. I cannot answer the t -.rlii T part of 
 your letter, not being sufficiently stout to say more than 
 that I am, 
 
 u Your ever affectionate, 
 
 "B Ho 
 
 "The last time," says Dr. Valpy, "that I .siw her, was 
 at Clifton in 1831. Her rule was to admi her 
 
 friends on Wednesday; but, finding that my stay 
 short, she desired that I would come to her. I stayed with 
 her above an hour, and she appeared to be in full po 
 sion of her bodily and mental powers. She pointed to 
 large bookcase, which contained nothing but her own pub- 
 ions, and translations from them in various 1 
 She said, that when she began to wri 
 
.- 
 
 they obtained. '1 know not,* 4* ad 
 
 . -: . ..' . : - -. . . 
 
 ' . ' ' ' -' 
 
 '.mot from * 
 
 Owrkk, of amom wffl TO? oate! 
 ttf* 
 
 ID CUIUm, ia tiw tpbac of 1 1 IMT 
 liiao to t 
 
 - 
 
 RI 
 
 during tlMflr* jwinftad ft hftlf 4 Ural ftl Oifta*! 
 
 4_ ^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^ 
 
 1O OBC* VtOMOjft aBOJOMPJOffy OOBMH 
 
 
 
 ID* ntWtjT oC MP 
 
 liariy m><n*d for hr fay tofaw UM vtatar 
 
 Wv KLi4k M - iii^ 
 
 I UJ Ivumi I VIBOTB IW 
 
 pftJDOJWo ODC WOOlo mtflMMl|y DO OBfFIOQ Oft I'jTlOO tlDr*- 
 
 MM of alom 
 in ft grmi OMftnrt wdod off or 
 
 ' 
 
 - W^^K^^^W^^ t- ^ 
 
 Of IIOWDOOr y MnPVVOfy Off 
 
 without ao 
 
R DEATH. 3^3 
 
 '. whioh '-Tally extended to the chest, in the usual 
 . of bronchitis in elderly pi-: !i milder, 
 
 i>8, in appearance than on some former occasions. 
 
 end of November ili^se >ymp- 
 
 to be giving way, when, during the night ot 
 f that month, a considerable degree of I 
 or mild delirium was observed to sup nich 
 
 i'l. with only occasional remission or it, to 
 
 the termination of her life, about ten month >!s. 
 
 "1 alluded 
 
 was apparent to those who i unity of 
 
 seeing Mrs. More, that h< nergy was gradually 
 
 undergoing a process of deterioration and 
 ceptibly, indeed, from day to day. 
 at 1< rvals. Towards thr 
 
 still >iderable falling oft', both in 1 
 
 bodily powers, was observed to take place. Whether the 
 severe illness and dear i'cnt 
 
 Miss Roberts, had a Mr-. 
 
 '.s state of he;'. a it 
 
 certainly was about the period of that inei 
 
 r end of September, that a very marked deter 
 of her faculties became ob l-ut it was not 
 
 ibout two months afterwards, the 26th of Is 
 that her intellectual powers sn 
 
 greatest shock, upon the trans 1 ., '. ot 
 
 i)id action te chest to tli- h* ."1. I 
 
 d her symptoms underwent but . A 
 
 slight or moderate degree <> v to 
 
 r strength. The c vinptoms, 
 
 : . About a fortnight be; 
 appetite for food, which had hitherto been 
 her condition, suddenly fai 
 
 nourishment led unavoidably to the termination of her 
 lengthened struggle. 
 
 " For the space of a -carcely seemed 
 
 to recognise those about i haps 
 
 one or two individuals. The last day, the 7th of Scptem- 
 
 she did not speak, but, without any painful or con- 
 
 ve efiort. < 
 
: 
 
 > the friKU and ftdmlm* of Mm, Hmunmh ' 
 WM pMiinrt flMiHg nffT ftMT yitn to 009 those great 
 
 - - - t - 
 
 . , ::'-.. .''' . . f : 
 
 Mfypmoa. Yet U*r ww thfc 
 
 , . . ... 
 
 I t| ^ ^M^^Jt A)i*ink* aaM | 4n%f^ifM 1 1 Krwl I rw%^ 
 
 ** fc A ... . : . '., _ .1 "l . 
 
 rail T i *^7t I^MTwww UiV IHMB vVW9 
 
 to ti 1*0* oflifc, totne 
 
 > > A .J >_ i tt I 
 
 Notmjwillbatthtoebedofie" 
 <n worthy of mnarlL, that M it |Jn<Mr! the 
 to ptoteoi thie HbtinfrtAed WOMB to rery 
 
 which ofUntaod to iWKWa^r both owuafable MM! 
 
 ) it UlwwiN aoootdHl wiU hi. goodMM to apM* IMT ftom 
 
HER LAST MOME>T3. 
 
 length of years. To the very last her eye was not dim : 
 she could read with ease, and without spectacles, the 
 smallest print. Her hearing was almost unimpaired ; and 
 until very near the close of life her features wore not 
 shrunk, nor wrinkled, nor uncomely, and her person re- 
 tained, to a considerable degree, its wonted appearance, as 
 at a much earlier period. Even to the last, her death-bed 
 was attended with few of the pains and infirmities which 
 are almost inseparable from sinking nature. 
 
 " It has been my fortune, during a long and close inter- 
 course with mankind, to have enjoyed many and valuable 
 opportunities of observing and studying the human cha- 
 racter, under various and trying circumstances ; but in 
 I can say with truth, have I known a character in all 
 respects so perfect as that of Mrs. Hannah More. 
 
 "I remain, 
 " Very truly and respectfully yours, 
 
 "A. CARRICK." 
 
 It has already been observed that, as th nnali 
 
 More approached its termination, her thoughts often tra- 
 velled to far-distant scenes, and seemed sometimes to be 
 lost in visions of eternity. The forces that kept the citadel 
 seemed to be gradually disappearing, except those d 
 thoughts and holy certainties which still sustained her 
 its, and suffered neither sadness nor distrust to intrude 
 upon her last hours. Amidst all her wanderings she was 
 coherent and consistent on whatever had an immediate 
 relation to the place to which she was going. 
 
 " Upon one occasion," says the faithful friend who was 
 always about her dying-bed, li in the early part of her ill- 
 ness, I read to her the office for the visitation of the sick, 
 and the burial-service in the Book of Common Prayer. 
 She was still and engaged while I was reading, with 
 hands clasped in devotion. Some of i the 
 
 Psalms, after I had begun them, she would finish, exclaim- 
 ing with rapture, * How delightful ! how sweet ! delighting 
 the taste and touching the heart!' The fifty-first Psalm 
 was continually on her lips : * Create in me a clean heart, 
 and renew a right spirit within me. Cast mo not . 
 
. . 
 
 Th* ladj wfco hid long Ukf> Mich kind 
 awl TO bMtta* i U bed *U, wwi Urn* 
 y her obort^r bcfav her <fap*r km 
 
 r chiW. with fawir he pltt* 
 
 oo t 1 may IM& oat a f w d*r ; how 
 ctor think I luU ht* f* *afM 
 
 :0 ft 
 
 Dd WIMII*. WMU*! Of 
 
 In 4 
 
 \ I 
 
 1 hop* mj 
 
 "> 
 
 Had l*t fthMHl tf 
 
HER LAST MOMENTS. 
 
 and her soul braced, as it were, to meet without an . 
 nient the strange and awful encounter which was uppmach- 
 Like one preparing for a great expedition, all impali- 
 ments weie thrown aside, all but the necessary imple- 
 ments to set up her tabernacle in the place of her destina- 
 
 ;ind final rest. 
 
 "She was sometimes," says Miss Frowd, "painfully 
 dons of the disturbed and confused state of i 
 One day she put her hand to her head, and exclaimed, " I 
 am all confusion, I seem quite to have lost my and 
 ing. My mind is all so (shaking h 
 
 I used to entertain my friends and be agrn .n-m. 
 
 But if I shed tears, they are tears of gratitude, and flow 
 from a sense of my un worthiness." 
 
 To save space, we lay before our Christian readers the 
 
 aces which escaped from her lips at intervals during 
 
 the latter portions of her last illness, requc. i not 
 
 rget that at this period she had an ;hty- 
 
 !i year. They wore committed to wr one* 
 
 who dearly prized her posthumous hoi lie sake of 
 
 the generation which has suc< 
 
 nor any other consideration could ever hav. 
 to dress up her sentiments in any oti 
 own. Plain as it was, it was the vehicle of her last ea 
 pleadings with her merciful and awful Judge. 
 
 She said to those who sun <>w in 
 
 grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Chi 
 * Jesus is all in all : God of grace, God of light, God >f 
 love: whom have I in heaven but thee?" \V 
 
 . she said, " What can I do ? What can I not do with 
 
 owthatmyRc: .vth. Hap. 
 
 those who are expecting to be together in a I < 
 'I. The thought of that world lifts the mind above 
 itself! Mj bd! a I bless thy holy name. Oh 
 
 :rist, the love of Christ ! Mercy, L 
 :! I am never tir ;.<T. Pray, pray, that the 
 
 mistress of this house maybe supported in In 
 s. I pray to orgive my many oi 
 
 e me humble, and \ to Jesus the author and 
 
 _ survivor of the two Missea Roberts. 
 
2 ; : in: or BAXSAB *or^ 
 
 ofourfkHk Urd,eUblUh,etreBftlieott.? 'Hie 
 declare the glory of Ood ;' bow I lore thet 
 O eternal. immorUl Lord, I 
 
 betbee,utterry unworthy of thy Bwroy! Holy Lord, 
 into thy bands I ivmmmt my apirst: into thy hand. 
 1 commend my unworthy aetf unworthy but proi- 
 LTpon belBf eaied if anythmf oould bo dooe to 
 
 mak* IMY imuij. fwunAwtaKW ^V^ Dftid. " NothiiM i^^. low 
 , . ' . i ..--. . I ; :. : . 
 
 to rd iftqilg to br , ahe MK4 
 lortmar MM! p Uinf told. UK 
 
 with UMB* tntepi 
 
 b-r.i. :.*<. i 
 
 rtothywtlL ICay thy wiU be dooe to 
 m% Bod by m% to thy prmlee and glory : I desire only to 
 be foejod at the loot of the oroam> Lord t I am thioe, I am 
 
 o^ death of the Tnid lama Obrtet Lordbevei 
 
 JM, my ferioor Mi 
 I o tb m*xj owtte <rf Ood to IMT. I 
 
 > I. . ^-- * *^ _| 
 
 i nwc% ID giory , IOT DWI BBV ova om ODV oojooi 
 in mv v BBd thst WB*to wmtt U Lord** time -Lord! 
 
 MM * ** ^ iV M *--t ^|| ---> t-^- 
 
 B^y imynvooQ 10 vBy Doiy WUL UPVB OBVP 
 BIO, * miimble Bta&flr ! Thou hMt oM lea 
 Oh, Lord! eliei^hoii me in the know- 
 
 I.-.'-. .- .,..'. < . ; . ; , . !. 
 
 Hownaay parUof8cnptun speak of the iiuioaily of our 
 i ! Batee my dcaira, purify my (fcfltionB 
 
HER LAST MOMENTS. 349 
 
 sanctify my soul. To go to heaven think what that is ! 
 To go to my Saviour ! who died that I might live ! Lord, 
 humble me, subdue every evil temper in me. May we 
 meet in a robe of glory ; through Christ's merits alone can 
 we be saved! Look down, O Lord, upon thy unworthy 
 servant with eyes of compassion." A friend said to her, 
 "Our good works will not save us." She replied, "Our 
 good works are nothing, but without them we cannot be 
 saved. You must pray for me, that my sins may be for- 
 given me for Christ's sake." After repeating the fifty-first 
 Psalm she said, " Pour out such a measure of thy grace 
 upon me, that I may be enabled to serve thee in spirit, 
 soul, and body ; and that, loving thee, I may conic unto 
 thee through Jesus Christ. Oh, my Saviour, forsake not 
 her whom thou hast redeemed. Feeling herself lingering 
 long in her sickness, she said to a friend, r, do 
 
 people never die ? Oh, glorious grave ! I pray for those 
 I love, and for those I pity and do not love." She said, 
 " It pleases God to afflict me, not for his pleasure, but to 
 do me good, to make me humble and thankful. Lord, I 
 believe, I do believe with all the powers of my wr.ik, sin- 
 ful heart. Lord Jesus! look down upon me from thy 
 holy habitation, strengthen my faith, and quick 
 my preparation ! Support me in that trying hour when I 
 most need it ! It is a glorious thing to die !" When one 
 talked to her of her good deeds, she said, " Talk not so 
 vainly ; I utterly cast them from me, and fall low at the 
 foot of the cross.'' 
 
 The gradual dissolution and departure of this gentle 
 ornament of her sex, shall be described in the natural and 
 affecting language of the friend who cheered and comforted 
 her last days and her last hours, and counted the last beat 
 of her pulse. u During this illness of ten months, the 
 time was passed in a series of alternations between 
 leBmess and composure, long sleeps, and long wakefulness, 
 with occasionally great excitement, elevated and sunken 
 spirits. At length, nature seemed to .shrink from further 
 conflict, and the time of her deliverance drew near. On 
 Friday, the 6th of September, 1833, we oflercd up the 
 family devotion by her bed-side : she was silent, 
 
wit, i her bonds i 
 
 : , ::'" , 
 
 , and 
 
 o.jock. I>r iVr. *. MM T'.r t-:U- K*.i U^>nr n 
 
 L Ai ftbo^ taa, iU ijnaiHiii qC 
 mrl bt ili^Mxl HW foD mto a 
 
 I to b attrodad with tx> ] 
 Tbt frnl 
 
 WiaihaaMaa<iaoCma1ajiaraaaam ? Uiafm^i 
 but Ott faatU broa&htnir of 
 
 he aarrlred tbe nliiL Ai ati o eUiok an 
 
 iam^tei 
 
 aftar Qor T bo I MW the la* j 
 
 l|allMM BWI 
 
 Ood ml oTllMi LMnb far w U 
 
 kMff 1Mb Of tttt dkU^ttW-d Udr; 
 oftfcfc kod, 
 
 m an cm uf 
 
 lojrml Imrt, * payihtrf pinl,.a 
 mholywmk. 
 
 to the trite 
 the an abauld mamUu 
 
HER CHARACTER. 
 
 teaching and example, and leaving it to the rougher sex to 
 tread the doubtful path of speculative daring upon the thin 
 border which separates between liberty and licentiousness. 
 
 Her love of her country, and her love of 1 
 woi'O without any alloy < > 
 
 her sound and correct understanding, liberty presented 
 itself as including among its essential constituent 
 allegiance, security, and duty. Patriotism in this view of it 
 nhoiiid be placed in the front c! 
 really took the lead of every other temporal o; 
 
 As a writer, all the powers of her mind were de 
 to the solid improvement of sod v all 
 
 practical; and it would be difficult to nan; 
 has laid before the public so copious a variety of original 
 thoughts and reasonings, without any admixture of s>j 
 lation or hypothesis. To keep within this tangibl 
 without contracting the range of her imagination, or 
 nying the truth any advantage to which it is fairly entitled, 
 
 i lustration or entertainment, is a secret 
 
 sition with whir', been so 
 
 } en was ever at work ; 
 
 in motion by a principle of incessant activity, never 
 the refreshment of change ; never weary in 
 Thus to do good and to distribute, was no less the 
 work of her head than of her hand, and the rich and 
 great were among the objects of her charity. Ti . 
 relief of which they stood in need, she was ever forwai 
 supply; and as she had passed so many < rliest 
 
 years among them, she knew well their wants, and he 
 administer to t. 
 
 On her religious opinions much need not be 
 was too pious to be a professed theologian, and too muck 
 in earnest for curious criticism or speculative discus 
 To make a right application of religious truth, to 1 
 home to the consci ' to be conformed to its 
 
 cepts, \vas, she thought, our immediate concern with i 
 lation, as soon as its great doctrines of redemption 
 grace were vitally apprehended. After saying this, it is 
 ill i ni it needless to add that she was adverse to theological 
 Wrapping herself up in a simple and humble 
 
: J un: <>r HANNAH 
 
 MM* * A * 
 
 uui to meet 
 ttfc with a conpOHi* of mind *ad a pirn 1 
 
 If Mia Mora's ratigkHi u norml, bcr motmlity WM 
 
 ^^|^MM %m ^^ frl^M I^^UMM^M! tA fmit Xt JiLpfi in Kfrp i 
 
 rb.<f *' 
 
 ,tti 
 
 - 1 t /.ik It .._.>_ |^ - - * .at * 
 
 a*|>cctiUuTo I xi in. 11 migtil ne conAUU-Di wiUi her i 
 
 to ppoee ^imihliii btMtj bci eo lol^M 
 oT ^iirfiliiii IMtk Amffdiag to ber 
 view of the eo^eo^ 
 
 wMwitk her to* mieod Mtedpteof i 
 
 rwitb 
 Wkoi 
 
 MffJT to fondly cbembed by bor at to 
 of frrt/ul ao&ietj. Thoee wbo pofeUdovt 
 
 bj bar M giriog proof of their kind i 
 her. TothoitwboUaedberwith ?frii/,be 
 
HER CHARACTER. 
 
 was too conscious of the careless rapidity with which she 
 generally worked, to be offended at that which she had 
 taken so little pains to avert, or to be wounded by the 
 animadversions which her own salutary censures naturally 
 provoked. It is true that the homage of the world at- 
 tended her throughout her life, with little interruption ; 
 but then it is equally true that homage is not the nurse 
 of contentedness, nor fame and succ- :-ual pre- 
 
 servatives of a patient spirit and a gentlj temper. 
 
 xeiuptious or immunities of genius were claimed 
 by her. In bat dress she was very neat and decorous, but 
 also very plain and frugal A great enemy to singularity 
 and artifice, but especially to the artifioe of seeming to 
 ise art, as far as it was called for by the infirmities 
 of our condition and the duty of reciprocal respect, she 
 was, however, so little taken with the tinsel of life and 
 studious decoration, that what she ofteu said of herself 
 has been confirmed by the testimony of those who knew 
 her longest and best, that she never wore a jewel or trinket, 
 or any adjunct to her dress, of the merely ornamental 
 kind, in her whole life, though much of that life was . 
 in the society of the great and splendid. 
 
 A cultivated relish for rural scenery was one < 
 distinctions, and so great was her delight in the disposition 
 of her garden and grounds, that she would sometimes say 
 that Providence had consulted her good by disabling IMT, 
 during the greatest part of the year, for exposing herself 
 to the air, as there was danger, had it been otherwise, of 
 her allowing this strong propensity to absorb too large a 
 portion of her time. Akin to this innocent relish was the 
 flirty with which she entered into the happiness of young 
 children, who were seldom introduced to her without re- 
 ceiving some advice from her, conveyed in so pleasant a 
 form as to engage their attention and impress their me- 
 
 moi 
 
 The energy of her mind in carrying into execution any 
 purpose which had been adopted after sufficient consi- 
 deration was very remarkable. In conformity with this 
 part of her character, her plan was, in any new resolution 
 which involved the exercise of self-denial, to contend 
 
 A A 
 
; UFB or HAWAII Mufti. 
 
 wHh tha mo* diftouH part oT the ttodaftottof to*, after 
 which, she uaci to aay , ah* found the remaining a*ort ftcca 
 compamircly 1*17. On thia principle, Uring r^r<M to 
 detiatfoai going to the Iheatra about too feat her play 
 of /Vrvy waa iwrwad, aho mad* thai the fennadiata ocoa- 
 
 _MI Mkttrtl* AM tlLJJL V^^Ltf^ IdH \ ' r ^. 
 
 . 
 
 ftddooa waa UMD at U* beigbl of bar glory, and wan to 
 act the pan of tba banmM of tho tfv^dy , a cbatmcUr 
 which aha waa amid to cdtibii with rvmarkabk auc 
 od Ufa. iUfinah Mora vaa in UM mkUi oT a briUtaiU 
 aocMty Of frMDaa aaw adaaifan^ wnoaJlaMMHMiao luc rc|ra- 
 t ; bqt hara ab< was Jataraiiaad ID ttaka bar ftraj 
 
 oo which aho aa about to Ml 
 
 pay a TiaH lo a i 
 
 ool, IB oot oT thaw vafcfalaa j wMah, aa tbar* waa a pttblio 
 
 road tlmmgh tba part, aai bar down at tba door of U* 
 
 / i *>!. I ^-~**u~^ teMK 
 
 ' " 
 
 WWtho policy of thai able tactioiao to 
 operation* by a decJatve blow, wharabj tba naio i 
 
 aod bar wnAuty mada aaay and 
 
 IT J,v. I,-- 
 dinoar, drawing him into a corner of the i 
 
 O/M 
 
HER CHARACTER. 3-3. r ) 
 
 before people, for they are always too backward to do 
 good, and they are sure to dwell on such facts to justify 
 their illiberality." She finely added, " It is well for us 
 sometimes to meet with such instances of ingratitude, to 
 show us our motives ; for if they have been ri^lit. we shall 
 not repent of our doing, though we lament the depravity of 
 a fellow-creature. In these instances, also, as in a glass, 
 we may see little emblems of ourselves ; for what, after all. 
 is the ingratitude of any one towards us, coinpmd with 
 our ingratitude towards our infinite Ben 
 
 Mr. Jay observes, this was but in character with all she 
 said and did through a long and favoured intimacy with 
 her after he came to Bath ; adding, " Great as her fame 
 has been, I never considered it equal t 
 a fine and complete combination of talent and goodness, 
 and of zeal and discretion, I nev ed. All her 
 
 resources, influences, and opportunities, we; 
 invariably made to subserve one ]>urise, in which she 
 aimed to live not to herself, but to Him vi- 
 and rose again." 
 
 There was nothing he admired more than her con- 
 versation ; and not only its eloquence, but :ous- 
 iiess, its selectness, its appropriateness. Whatever was 
 the party or the topic, " upon her tongue was the law of 
 kindness." There never was a word to offend, or wound, 
 or grieve, but always something to instruct and improve : 
 " her speech was always with grace, seasoned with 
 and ministered to the edifying of the hearers." 
 
 " You could not," says the same gentleman, " touch 
 her, without finding her electrical wit, gei god- 
 
 liness. Her very praise was moral. If she ser- 
 
 mon, it was not a sermon that might have a little air of 
 originality, but one that commended itself to every man's 
 conscience in the sight of God. She often remarked, that 
 preaching was an instrument, and the best instrui.. 
 was that which did its work best." 
 
 Mr. Jay further relates, that when, forty-four years 
 ago, he first saw her in his congregation, she tried him 
 more than any person he had preached before ; but v 
 he had become acquainted with her, and was secure of her 
 
Ufl r invvi'i 
 
 _, he WM pleated to Me her praaant ' 
 . her a oooftduita ; entuwttng bar to point 
 
 . :. . '. : . : i . . -..'' . . - 
 
 - 'QO eo young Mid inespOfteooed ; end bo erenow* 
 
 i- J_ J 1*U. 
 
 I v. ' 
 
 Tbt EdUor oftW OMMnOlwMr 9 fai kto 
 
 . .... 1 
 
 AM, ... 
 
 A ^***m*o*l^i**^*i frfl A 4.. 
 
 .: . . - 
 
 "JT the poor, ejuwpt ooaa to 
 
 1 Tbe wnl*r WM ooot ?r*Jinf wtih her for 
 
 wtuW oo t r Wl ml lUHcy Wood, MM of her 
 
 V > i .... . fimft M U- 
 
 would woo my, 'Enough of Haoomh Iforo; now Iti us 
 
 M kM< ; i t^* . __ 
 
 .^J> : .r -.. ll * r 1> r :."fi 
 
 Mdoto of UM PVvocb wit, who 
 Miod~U> go with, him and talk hod grmmtMr by w* y of 
 
 . '. . . : ,;.;.- 
 
 Ooo day when a nriior oiOMid to expect KXD* grand 
 dkpkj, Mra. Mora turned round pkjfoilj to the writer of 
 this note, tad n*fj oud, * 1 like fan, Mr. : do not 
 
HT:R CHARACTER. 3:>7 
 
 you r This word was, however, singularly inappropriate : 
 for her conversation was never mirthful or jocose ; its cha- 
 racteristic, next to its moral and religious bearing, was 
 literary vivacity : it was full of wit, but too refined for 
 humour : the mind laughed, not the muscles ; the counte- 
 nance sparkled, but it was with an ethereal flame : every- 
 thing was oxygen gas and intellectual champagne ; and the 
 eye, which her sisters called 'diamond,' an( i which the 
 painters complained they could not put upon canvas, often 
 gave signal by its coruscation, as the same sort of eye did 
 in her friend Mr. Wilberforce, that something was forth- 
 coming which in a less amiable and religiously -disci- 
 plined mind might have been very pretty satire, but which 
 glanced off innoxiously in the shape of epigrammatic play- 
 fulness. 
 
 " She certainly was no admirer of dulness. ' I agree,' 
 i she, ' with Voltaire, where he says, ' 1 can away with 
 writers of any calibre, except the wearisome ones ;' or, as 
 she allowed the maxim to be punningly translat 
 ' any calibre except a great bore.' Yet she had well stu 
 what most persons would consider heavy authors : Rapin, 
 for instance, whom she commends, is not a light one ; and 
 she strongly urges, in all her works, the solid before the 
 shining, especially in books of education. In divinity, most 
 of her favourites were not superficial authors ; no, nor even 
 authors whose piety the world will half forgive for the 
 sake of their genius. ' What are you reading just now V 
 said she one day to the writer of this note. ' Jeremy 
 Taylor.* ' Yes, one reads him as the Shakspeare of the 
 Church ; but I meant for the heart.' 
 
 " But with all her abhorrence 01 prosing, she never said 
 lively things for the sake of their liveliness. Her conver- 
 sation was always instructive, and remarkably character 
 by sobriety and good sense. Her advice-giving was sin- 
 gularly judicious. ' What do you do, Mrs. More, when 
 young ladies come to you with their difficulties ? Suppose, 
 for instance, they have been brought up in a practically 
 irreligious, though perhaps decorous circle ; but, by the 
 -ing of God, religion has touched their hearts ; their affec- 
 
tione are a* opon things above v and not upon things upon the 
 earth; they reel thaimportaaot of theeoolandofeten 
 but their frieods ami eoooexkMia, perhaps UieirowQpann^ 
 oppose their oouaciitio..t fcstoga. The 1 
 to come out from the world, MM! they wiah to do ao ; 
 their friends wish them to B? to rt ; and benot arise what 
 
 how to raeoodle their dory to God with their doty to 
 
 andjn forth.* Ml b a very aisetmg CMS,' she would aay; 
 'hot 1 always tefl them to ha i 
 
 of uibacii; aad that God will ia time 
 
 In her 
 wttoh ooew to U above cor- 
 
 *---- W/AJM! 
 
 " 
 
 ihc whole pbn echoed the MUM of Borta, fkrrirfc. 
 
 other remtrahle nxfo of ber rm r I T 
 
 ,1,.- 
 
 ! ' V ''--.. . ' I \l 
 
 - . -' v 
 
 \f > ^Jk^ * _. * ~ ~ * ^fc ^ -- ^ 
 
 ore { BJBB onon nare ws> nearej \iooogn gsnerauy from 
 MdMtd iv r : Mr WDbari mfl prfM Maod) P 
 tanMrjr;*i vrilvcr'TkttoMUsW MM! otercf 
 the deep jhyeeffery TVwo, who Oarriok aaid had the 
 - powejra of httmottr of any woman be had erer met 
 
 rh* fltftifMMital AWfl ffM>^^Affwl wliinil ^-11 
 
 be forgotten while the OMM either of Howard or 
 
 ! : . : ! 
 
 Toe writer well remembers being niuctt struck with 
 her manner the laat time ho law her at Barley Wood, 
 shortly before her < 
 
 on her with hie fcmily ; ebe ni^enteil to them, m wm her 
 of ber books, and 
 
 to one of them her own Greek Grammar, atying, ' I am 
 eighty-Urn* yean old, and it ia time 1 1 
 
HER CHARACTER. 309 
 
 with Greek ; you, I suppose, are just beginning : so here is 
 my Greek Grammar.' To give up elegant literature was 
 in her case to sever one strong tie to earth, and she 
 appeared so to feel it, though contentedly and even joy- 
 fully. Barley Wood is a mournful place now to those who 
 knew it formerly. Its tenants are gone ; but they are at 
 rest, for they rest in Christ." 
 
 THE END. 
 
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