S. Z. WATERBOUSB. iv^/ lomc account TAYLOR FAMILY. oiitt aictount Taylor Family {ORIGINALLY TAYLARD). COMPILED AND EDITED BY PETER ALFRED TAYLOR, M.P. " Le peiiple . . . a ses aiicetres lout comme les rois. Chaque famille a sa noblesse, Fa gloiie, ses tieres ; le travail, le courage, la vertii ou I'intelligence. Chaque homme doue tie quelque distinction naturelle la doi't a quelque homme qui I'a precede, ou a quelque remme qui I'a engendre. Chaque descendant d'une ligne quelconque aiirait done des exemples a suivre s'il pouvait regarder derriere lui, dans son histoire de famille. II y trouverait de nieme des exemples a eviter. ... Que chacun de vous cherche a tirer et a sauver de l oubli les bonnes actions et^ les utiles travaux de ses aieux, et qu'il agisse de maniere que ses descendants lui rendent le meme honnenr. l.'oiibli est un monstre slupide qui a devore trop de generations."— A'/V&wc de ma Vie, far Ccof^e Sand, vol. i. jip. 88-90. " I do believe, that if all my ancestors had set down their lives in ivriliiig. and left them to posleritv, manv documents necessary 10 be known of those who both participate of their natural inclinations and humours, must in all probability run a not much different course, might have been given for their instruciion ; and certainlv it will be found much better for men to guide themselves by such observations as their father, grandfather, and great-grandfather might have delivered to them, than by those vulgar rules and examples, which cannot in all points so exactlv agree unto them Therefore, whether their life were private, and contained only precepts necessary to treat with their children, servants, tenants, kinsmen, and neighbours, or employed abroad in the university, or study of the law, or in tile court, or in the camp, their heirs might have benefited themselves more by them than by anv else."— /.//;• cf EdwanI Lord Hcrhrl Cherbiiry, by himself, p. 1. . Lonlion: PRIXTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION. 1875. .V„.^/ ILLUSTRATIONS. TO FACE 1 TO I'ACE I'ACR r . /\, i a.\ lOr ....... George .Sherbrooke ...... i 54 Visittitionofllv-iiitiniTtion . . . 3 1 1 Henry Sherbrooke ...... 1 5 4 Richard Sherbrooke ...... ' 5-5 Street Funeral Card of George Sherbruoki.' . 1 54 13 crrircl Letter of Henry Sherbrooke .... I j-y J^CN'n GS . . , . , . 4 William Taylor (South Weald) as a Child . 158 4 Letter of William Taylor (Dantzic Man) '59 i civ 1 3.1 ci Monument ni IJocldin^ton CJliuicli 5 Sir Thomas Pengeily ..... 1 60 /\i lilo UI 1 Ul^L^l . . . . ■ . 5 Arms of Crispe ...... 164 40 Crispe's Speech to Cromwell .... 164 Taylor 4 ' Cromwell ....... 1 64 Daniel Taylor ....... 50 William Taylor (South Weald) .... 166 Inventory of Daniel Taylor's Effects . 60 AnnaCrispe, Wife of William Taylor (.Soiiih Weald) 166 Executors' a/c of Daniel Taylor's Estate 60 Richard Crispe ...... 166 Rev. John Goodwin ...... 61 Dorothy Crispe ...... 166 Prynne in Prison ...... 64 A Crisp ........ 166 .Satirical Frontispiece to John Vicars' liook 68 Hoses, now Burnt House, South Weald (2 \ icws) =34 William Taylor (Dantzic Man) .... H Rebecca, Daughter of the Dantzic Man =35 — in his Robes 84 Anne, Daughter of the Dantzic Man . 236 Dorothy Turner, Fir^t Wile of Dantzic Man 84 John, Son of the Dantzic Man .... 23S Re!)ecca Sherbrooke, Second Wife of Dantzic Man S4 Rev. Henry Taylor (Ben Mordecai) . 240 Arms of Turner ...... 8S Rev, Francis Fox ...... 242 Inventory of Effects belonginij to Charles I. SS Susannah Cotterell, Wife of Rev. Francis Fo.\ 242 Dorothy Turner, ^lolher-in-law of Dantzic Man . 101 Arms of Fox ....... 242 Susannah Turner (supposed) .... 107 Cotterell Children ...... =4^ Letter of Richard Turner ..... 130 A Miss Cotterell 242 Letter of Dorothy Turner ..... '3° Bishop Hoadley ...... 256 .\rnis of Sherbrooke ..... 141 Chancellor Hoadley ...... 256 Baby-clothes of W"illiam Taylor (South Weald) . ■45 Peter Delme ....... 257 John Wilkes r46 William Taylor (Romfurd; .... 342 Mary Mead, afterwards Wife of John Wilkes 146 Mary Taylor, Wife of Henry Kindon . 346 Mary Wilkes 146 E.\ccution of the Scotch Lords on Tower Hill 42S tjcorge Clarke .... 14S Colonel Thomas Diggcs ..... 42S Mrs Clarke (born Anne Rainton) .48 Rev. Henry Taylor (Bansiead) .... 47S An Epithalamy .... 150 St Winifred's Well 496 Letter of Richard Sherbrooke iji Rev. Peter Taylor ...... 504 Letter of Rebecca Sherbrooke .... '5 = Betty Buttcrly. Wife of Rev. Pcicr Taylor . 504 VI Contents. TO FACE I'AGH Catherine Courtauid, afterwards Wife of W'illiam Taylor (London) ..... 586 William Taylor (London) ..... 5S6 Catherine Courtauid, Wife of WiIU?m Taylor (London) ....... 5S6 William Taylor (London) in old age . . . 5S6 Collection of Family Signatures . . . 626 Ruth Minton, afterwards Wife of George Courtauid 642 Ruth, Wife of George Courtauid (in old age) . 642 Sophia Courtauid . . . . . .651 CONTENTS. Introduction ...... Colonel Chester's First Report . The Taylards of Huntingdonshire William Taylor (the Haberdasher) Daniel Taylor (the Dead Man) . Uaniel Taylor (the Dead Man) . Colonel Chester's Supplemental Report relating to the Brothers and Sisters of William Ta\ lor the Haberdasher Colonel Chester's First Report continued — William Taylor the Dantzic Man William Taylor the Dantzic Man Chancery Suit with Hildesley Pardon by Charles H. Mrs Turner's MS. Book the Sherbrookes the Wilkeses the Clarkes William Taylor of South Weald .Sergeant Pengelly the Crispes Correspondence Poetry .... Second Family of the Dantzic Man . Rev, Henry Taylor (Ben IMordecai) . Correspondence with his Wife with Mr Delme . with Re\'. Samuel Salter wiih various other persons . Poetry . . . , , The Brothers and Sisters of Ben Mordecai . William Anne her Correspondence Dorotliy John .Mary Martha 3-58 3 iS 50 58 75 S3 S7 93 96 106 141 146 149 158 I 60 .6j ■75 204 233 240 266 267 297 303 309 3-5 341 342 342 343 345 346 346 347 Tilt; Brothers and Sisters of Den Mordecai [Coiitiniu Elizabctli . . , , her Prayers her Correspondence Rebecca .... her Correspondence The Cliildren of Ben Mordecai . Elizabeth .... her Correspondence Correspondence rehatint; to hi Executorship . Rev. Henry Ta\-lor of Banstead Correspondence Rev. Peter Ta\ lor Correspondence Daniel .... Correspondence . Anna .... and Dr Adair Correspondence . William .... His Children Correspondence and Spccche Poetry The Courtauid Family Colonel Chester's First Report George Courtauid His Children Letters Sophia Courtauid Letters Colonel Chester's Second Report to the Island of Oleron . -Appendix — Introduction to Colonel Chester Margaret .Marsh The Widow of Daniel Taylor Purchase of Wenlock Barn . Purchase of Ashwell . Purchase of Lutterivorth '0- 347 349 351 397 400 4=4 426 439 453 478 4S8 504 511 532 537 562 565 571 586 595 598 621 627 627 643 646 647 651 652 635 665 666 666 667 671 675 ^ dditional References. vii A]5pcndix {Continued) — Pedigrees — I'AGC Purchase of Lands at Chester 677 Clarke ...... 696 Colonel Harvey the Regicide . 6S0 Courtauld ...... 699 Royal Proclamation for Suppressing a Crispe ...... 697 book by John Cj oodw'i 11 • , , 680 I' o.\ , 693 Address to Cromwell from John < lood- ti^ige 69 S win's Church ..... 6S0 Juxon ...... 693 Minute of CromwclTs Council as to Daniel Mayo ...... 697 Taylor ...... 683 Ramton 696 The Turners' House, " Croopers." at Sherbrookc . . . . . 694 Totteridge ..... 6S3 Taylard ...... 689 Sir Thomas Pengelly .... 683 Taylor ...... 690 Mrs Herrick ..... 6S5 ADDITIONAL R h r 1^ K h N C b b. PAGE I'AGH cQ^ tne name ..... 510 Clarivans and Denes ..... 17 ^ilioL> C, J-^XlZilUdii ...... 5 Clarkson, Robert ...... 43 -T, 1 1 i i 3 u 1 1 ix \ laiUjUcaCIlUllUIlUI 4 1 Clergymen, stories of loose .... 192 found in \\ ill ot \\ illiam Cocksedge, Mr, proposes for Anna Taylor . 571 Taylor of Newcastle ..... 78 Cole, Richard and Oswald .... 22 usQ(^ 5y Taylors Cotterells, the ....... 242 Addenda .... ... 687 Courtauld, George, a suitor to Anna Taylor 564 Barker Famil\', the ...... 483 various spellings of the name 630 Barnardistons, the ...... 86 Crests ........ 7S liedell, Cousin of Dorothy Crispe 165 Crispe, Edward, his Will ..... 166 Bennett, Mr, his Legacy to Ben JMordecai . 243 501 Richard, his Will .... 398 Bequests of Mrs Elmes, Mr Fox, and Mrs P^ox to Critical Review^ the, on Ben JMordecai 252 Stones, Birches, and Taylors 449 Cromwell family, the ..... 17 Birch, Mr 342 Black-lead Mine, the ..... 435 Deeks, Clara ....... 452 Bourmaster, Captain ..... 536 Downes, John, the Regicide .... 53 Bridegroom, a, of ten years old .... '3 Drane, Thomas, marriage of . 1 1 Brown, Young ...... 432 Druell, Mary Brudenell, Robert, Allegation of . . . 13 Brudencll, Sir Thomas, suppresses the Taylards . 16 Elmes, Mrs ....... 426 Butterly, Miss . . . 251, 417, 506. 520 Mr, death of .... . 442 Carter, death of Mr John 569 Family Estates, sale of the .... 39S Carter Lane Chapel ..... ,58 letter on, by Rebecca Taylur 405 Carters, the, of Portsmoutii .... -5° Female parish clerk, a . . . , , 480 Cary, Thomas, of Buckingham .... 81 Fernhill, Anna Taylor living there 569 Chapell, Margaret ...... 5 Fire at Crawley ...... 367 Charles I. and the Sherbrookes S7 Foster, Alice , ...... 6 Chester, Colonel, extent of his labours ^4 Foxes, first reference to the .... '95 his opportunities for further discovery 83 Fox, Daniel, Ben Mordecai's letter on his {.-} Will 321 Chcwton, Anna Taylor living there . 566 Fox, Mrs Elizabeth Caroline, Will of 433 Christian names, relative numbers of each . 24 Fox, .Mrs Susannah, her estrangement 198 Christian Refornur, Memoir of Ben Mordecai in the 249 her opposition to Ben Mordecai's marriage 242 Church and Crown I-ands 89 reference to her by William Taylor ** Cicely," William Taylors (London) song of 41S ^ South Weald) ..... 199 A dditioiial References. 4S Game Laws, Ben Moidecai on the Genealogy, previous inquiries as to . — — correspondence of chrislian names in the Upwood Register Goodwin, Rev. Jolin .... a book of his suppressed by Ciiarlcs II. his Funeral Sermon on Daniel Taylor (jordon, Lord George, Riots Grant of Buckingham, cousin to William Taylor the Haberdasher Sylvester .... Haberdashers' Company . Hackney ..... Hand-in-Hand Fire Office, the . Hard times, William Taylor (South Weald) 1S4. William Taylor ( London) Harvey, Colonel, the Regicide . Heralds, mistakes of the . . . 23, 42, matters unknown to the Herrick, Mrs, Ben Mordecai's letter to Hildesley, Mark .... Hoadiey family, the " Hoadley, Old" (the Bishop's father) reference to, by William Taylor of South Weald Herd, Alen and Dorothy " Hoses," the old Family House at South Weald . Housekeeping expenses in 1655 Howard, " Coz Matt" Hutchinson the Regicide . PAGE 249 24 61 6S0 69 415 33 81 19 141 1 6g 1 90 59' 680 S6, 84 26 253 59 ^55 186 Information still wanted . Ireiiiongcr, Mr Jackson, Rev. Thomas, funeral of Jealousy, homily on, by Elizabeth Tayl Jeffery, John , . . . , Jenyns, Soame ... Judd, Elizabeth .... Ju.Kon, John ..... 501, 534 95 241 6S2 346 252 62 360 653 . 495 17 45 Kemp, Mr Keppel, Admiral Kindon reference to 372, 3S5, 41 S, 5S5 ■ 413 igo King George III., Ben Mordecai's presentation to 260 Knight, John, Holborn, Will of . . 16S Leicester property ... Leweston, Christian Lock, Margaret .... Mansers, the .... Marriage Settlement of Geoffrey Taylard Marriage Settlement of the Dantzic Man 142 56 377, 3S3, 517 13 . 167 Marsh, Widow, and Richard Medicine, domestic, in i6go Memoir, as to continuing limit of this reasons for printing Merzeau, Peter Merzeaus, the . Missing, Mr . Mordaunt, Margaret Mugwell Street property, the Newell, Mr Newton, Sir Isaac Nokes, Nathaniel letter of Ogier, Mr Owen, Elizabeth, sister of William Taylor th Haberdasher .... Robert, of Buckingham Palliser, Sir Hugh ..... Pancras Lane ..... Perigals, the ...... Pictures, &c., from Binfield , . 4> Placet, supposed the Elmes' house at East Ham Pother, Captain John .... Portsitiouth, Ben Mordccai presented to \'icarnge ( Price, Dr ...... Rainton family, the ..... Rawson, Edward ..... Rawsons, the ...... Registers, Barnes .... Buckingham .... Ewelme ..... French Chapel at Chelsea, lost Great Warley .... St Faith, lost in the Great Fire St Mart.'toutuich St Stephen's, Coleman St . Upwood Walbrook Relics, the family list of Rivenhall, a party at Ben Mordccai preaching at . Tutor at . Roderick's, i\Ir, legacy to Ben Mordccai Salter, Dr . . . . Sandwich, Earl of . Seal, ancient, with Taylard .-\rms the Iron Sherbrooke, Henry, his business Sherbrooke, Rebecca (Will of) 139 594 587 387 s. 586 8 = 45 242 495 54 138 380 413 1 69 5S8 , 503 370 140 241 249 666 76 39 46 80 243 634 141 38 85 56 iS 341 5 1 l4 + 191 193 241 341 256 413 79 164 A ddifioual References, ix Slade, John ...... Spiritualism in 1762 .... Stair, Earl of, Ben Mordccai Chaplain to . St Olave's, Silver Street .... Stone, Thomas Outram .... Rev. Francis .... Stones, reference to them (.^), by William Tavk) (South Weald) . . . . " Summer Islands, the .... Tancred Studentship, the .... Taylard, a, Mayor of Leicester in 1376 Laurence, disappearance of his wido\\ and children ..... various spellings of, in one document Taylor, probable origin of the name Benjamin ..... Daniel, of How Hatch, his letters . his melancholy and suffering: his journey to Scotland Edmund ..... Elizabeth, daughter of Dantzic Man, reference to her death .... John, of Newcastle .... Mary, reference to her wedding Randall Rev. Peter, and Miss Butterly Robert, of the Summer Islands . 3 1 Samuel . . . . . 4 4, Samuel, of New England William of Wliitchurch William, cf Newcastle William, of South Weald, compares school with home ..... Theological controversy, advice against bitterness in 1 1 403 242 1 70 = 42 251 199 504 4 9 3 46 '73 17s ■73 9. 45 368 , 76 76 31, 76 178 I 90 Theological controversy. Eighteenth Century Nuts to Crack ...... Tichborne, Robert, the Regicide Titus, Colonel ...... Toast, a child's ..... Truth, homily on, by Elizabeth Taylor " Twitcher, Jemmy " .... Usher. Catherine . , . . . Gerard ..... letter of . Vicars, John . Votier, Martha, sister )f William Taylor tin Haberdasher 33 Ward, Sir Edward . 184 Washington .... 41 I Webb, Margaret, guardian to the Dantzic Man . lol Webb, William 42 Wellington, George . 55 Welsh scenery .... 496 Wesley, John .... 407 Western, Mr, his Family Picture = 41 Whcatfield, living of 192 241 Whichcott, Dr . 178 Wilkes, Mrs .... 376, 395 415 419 Miss .... 419 Williamson, General 428 Willoughby, , married Daniel Taylor's widow 57 Wills, places searched for . 90 Wilson, Dr Edmund, his mention of W. T. the Haberdasher 48 Woollen, burying in . 479 Wright's Bi idge 169 INTRODUCTION. BY p. A. TAYLOR, 1S74. •^HE descent of our family from the Taylards of Huntingdonshire has long been Family tradition a tradition amongst us, and on two occasions, at least, the proofs have been f sought for with entire belief in their existence. In a letter from the Rev. Henry Taylor of Banstead (in 1791) to Sir Isaac Heard of the Heralds' College, the writer says — With respect to our connection with Taylard of Huntingdon, all I know is, that my father always Inquiries of Rev. looked upon it that we were connected so, and that the old pedigree was of our family. The arms BamtLd'''''""''^ appear to be tlie same. ... I would not willingly spare any moderate expense in such investigation now I have the opportunity and favour of your opinion and advice to direct it, as a like advantage may scarcely ever occur again. ... I should be very desirous of uniting the two pedigrees together, of Taylard and Taj'lor, if they can be conjoined with truth. The inquiry was again pursued in 182S. In that year Mr Townsend, of the Mr Townseni Heralds' College, wrote concerning the use of the Taylard arms—" At present it cannot be traced higher than the Will of Daniel Taylor in 1736." Mr Townsend, indeed, finally gave up the theory of the connection between the two families, and declared the matter " set completely at rest " in consequence of the following passage in the Will of the first Earl of Cardigan, dated 1662 " I give to my kinsman Mr Lawrance Taylard (being the last of his name, and fallen into poverty) one rent-charge or annuity of five pounds per annum." This decision, however, was by no means accepted as conclusive by my father, My father takes who, in a letter dated "The Hill [Bocking, Essex] loth Nov., 1828," addressed to Mr Townsend, said — It is plain Brudenel did not choose to trace the family in Lawrance's line, and it is certainly curious that my family have for so long borne the same arms, and that a tradition should always have obtained that our name originally was Taylard. At all events, the idea that the family of Taylard was e.xtinct with the marriage of the heiress with Brudenel is erroneous ; and if we cannot trace to William Taylard, we may to some other branch of the same family. I do not attach much importance to Lord Cardigan calling Lawrance Taylard, in 1662, the last of the name; he might have been the only one Lord Cardigan was aware of; and if AVilliam sixty years before had dropped the name, for the more common one of Taylor, it is no wonder his lordship was ignorant of the existence of any of his descendants. Again, the assertion that the use of the Taylard arms could not be traced higher than the Will of Daniel Taylor in i 736, has been effectually disposed of by 2 Introductmi. — By P. A. Taylor, 1874. ThcTayiard the discovery of a seal with the Taylard arms on a Bond from Edmund Taylor to his nephew William, dated November 2, 1677, and another on the Will of William Taylor of Newcastle, 1669 ; also of a seal used by George Wellington on a Bond from himself to William Taylor ("The Dantzic Man") in 1684; by the Dantzic Man himself, and others. Pedigree of 1S46. In 1 846, all that was then known was embodied by my father in the pedigree of that date (now in my possession), and from that time the matter rested until the year 1862, when it was resumed by myself, with the valuable assistance of Colonel Joseph Lemuel Chester, a well-known American archaeologist. The introduction Colonel Chester, to Colonel Chester occurred in 1862. In July of that year, I made a speech in the House of Commons on the American War, against a proposal for intervention in the interest of the South. Colonel Chester wrote expressing his warm approbation and thanks, and asking for any information in regard to our family which might be interesting in the United States, and which he might make use of as a cor- respondent of the American press. This led to further communications,* and to the offer by the Colonel to take note of anything relating to the family history that might come in his way in the course of his archaeological researches. How valuable and interesting has been the information thus obtained will be seen in the following pages. Reasons for There was at that time no thought of printing ; but, as a result of the multifarious printing. ... mquines and researches we have made, I find myself the depositary of an amount of knowledge of facts relating to the family, such as probably never before w^as possessed by any individual member thereof, and which it is highly improbable that any one hereafter would take the trouble (or have convenient opportunity) of collating and preserving, if I do not. All the old letters, too, and documents have, in the search for facts, been read either by myself or by my friend and secretary Mr Grant, who has gone into the matter for me con amore ; thus affording a chance, never likely to recur, of extracting from them what is interesting or characteristic of the writers and their times. There is, I think, much that is interesting for its own sake, and without reference to family associations ; I have therefore resolved to place these family records in the lasting character of print— of course, only for private circulation. I do not intend to attempt anything of a biographical char- LMtoftiie acter in regard either to my own or the previous generation— the task would be too delicate. But we live in a writing age, and should any of the family in the year nineteen hundred and something feel any call to add a second volume, they will probably be rather embarrassed by the quantity than by the deficiency of the materials. With these few words of introduction, I now proceed to give the results of Colonel Chester's researches, which were embodied by him in the following report. His report, it will be observed, brings us down to about the middle of the seventeenth century. * See AiDpcndi.v, p. 665. A Historic-Genealogical Memoir OF THE FAMILY OF TAYLOR OF AUBREY HOUSE, SHOniNG ITS CONNECTION WITH THE ANCIENT FAMILY OF THE TAYLARDS OF HUNTINGDONSHIRE. BY JOSEPH LEMUEL CHESTER, IIONORAKV MKMllliK OF THE ESSEX AKCH.TOLOGICAl. ASSOCIATION ; CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE NEW ENGLAND HISTORIC-GENEALOGICAL SOCIEIY, ETC. DECEMBER 1863. Colonel Chester s Report. — The Tay lards of Huntingdonshire. 1375-1584. his own line with the one of his name who married the heiress of the Taylards — thus beginning the record of his family where that of hers ended. It is to this fact, probably, that we are indebted for the pedigree of the Taylards, who might have otherwise occupied at least a secondary position on the records of the Heralds. This pedigree embraces eight generations. It is very meagre in its dates and personal descriptions, giving of the former but a single one. It forms, however, a basis upon which I have been able, from the Wills, Inquisitions Post-mortem, Close and Patent Rolls, etc., etc., at the various public repositories, and from sundry Parish Registers, to construct a genealogical record of the family, tolerably complete when compared with the original, and thoroughly reliable so far as it extends, but still capable of many additions which it is to be hoped future researches will supply. [A copy of the Visitation referred to will be found on the opposite page.] I do not propose now to give a minute account of the various branches of the family, but shall confine myself chiefly to the direct line, through which I hope to be able eventually to trace satisfactorily the descent of the present family of Taylor of Aubrey House.* For convenient reference I will number the generations consecutively. I. The original progenitor of the family, according to the Visitation, was Walter TAYLARD,t described as of Wrestlingworth, in the county of Bedford, and possessing estates in Knesworth, Potton, and Waresley, in the county of Huntingdon. His wife's name is not preserved, and I have as yet been able to find no other reference to him. From the fact, however, that a grandson of his was born in 1431, we may be sure that he lived in the latter part of the fourteenth century, and that his birth occurred probably during the reign of Edward III., and certainly no later than the commencement of that of Richard II. His only issue recorded was — II. Walter Taylard. The Visitation simply says that he was of the Inner Temple, and was buried at Gamlingay. I have, however, found his Will, which, as was usual at that date, is in Latin. It is dated in December 1464, and was proved the i8th of May 1466. He directs that he shall be buried in the Chapel of St Katharine, in the Church of the Blessed Mary of Gamlingay, which chapel had been constructed at his own expense. He bequeaths the usual legacies to the Prior and Convent of St Neot's, and to various other religious houses, and desires masses to be said for his soul for seven years. He mentions his estates in Doddington, Gamlingay, Waresley, Buckden, and Potton, and bequeaths to his poor tenants * This property, situate at Campden Hill, Kensington, was sold in 1S73. t It may be as well to note that a Mayor of Leicester bore this name. "In the 5cth year of Edward IIL's reign (1376) the sum of /5 was paid to William Taylard [also spelled Taillard] the Mayor," etc., etc.— TXom^joK'j History of Leicester, p. 135. In Nichol's History of Leicestershire the name is given as " William Taylor." MONUMENT IN DODDINGTON CHURCH. ^ 1 TRACING OF THE TAYLARD MONUMENT. FROM HARLEIAN M.S N 79 & COTTON M.S. IN BRITISH MUSEUM. •'IN DODINCTON CHURCHE IN COM.HUMT. 20^". AUCUSTl 1613'.' Colonel Chester s Report . — TJie Taylards of Huntingdonshire. 5 threepence and fourpence each, equivalent to five and six shillings at the present 1375-15S4, day. His death evidently occurred early in 1466. His wife is only named in the Married Margaret Visitation as Margaret, daughter and heir of William Chapell of Gamlingay, who was son and heir of William Chapell of the same place, who was also son and heir of William Chapell of Gamlingay. (The Chapells bore for arms — Per fess argent and vert, a chapel gules between four escallops counterchanged.) Her Will is dated the 26th of September 1475, and was proved the 20th of February 1476. She desires to be buried with her husband in the Chapel of St Katharine, in the Church of Gamlingay, and bequeaths her property entirely among her children. By an Inquisi- tion Post-mortem, I find that she died on the 28th of September 1475, thus sur- viving her husband more than nine years. They had three sons and four daughters, all of whom survived her. The youngest son, Thomas, subsequently became a Doctor in Divinity, and, of course, died unmarried. The second son, John, married Anne, daughter of John Durem, one of the Barons of the Exchequer. He had two sons, who both died without issue, and the male line of the family was continued by the eldest son of Walter and Margaret, viz, — ni. William Taylard, who took the entailed estates, and established himself at Doddington, in the county of Huntingdon. The Visitation gives no further particulars concerning him. By an Inquisition Post-mortem, however, I find that he was forty- four years of age at his mother's death, which would establish his birth in 1431. His Will is dated the 2 2d of September 1 505, and was proved the i 2th of October following. He died, therefore, about the ist of October in that year, aged about seventy-four. He also desired to be buried in the family Chapel of St Katharine, at Gamlingay, and he was so buried; as in 16 13 an elaborate monument, containing effigies of himself and his wife, still existed in Doddington Church, with a Latin inscription recording his inter- Monument in 1 T 1 1 111* Doddington ment there. 1 do not know whether this monument is still preserved ; but there is a fine cimrcii. pen-and-ink sketch of it in one of the Cotton MSS. at the British Museum.* [A copy of this sketch is given on the opposite page.J He married Elizabeth, daughter of John Married EHzabeiii Anstye, by Joan, daughter and heir of Henr)' Street, of London, whose wife was Cecilia Reynes, heiress, on the father's side, of the line of knights of that name, of Clifton, in the county of Buckingham, and, on the mother's side, of the knightly house of Scudamore of Upton Scudamore, in the county of Wilts. By several Inquisitions Post-mortem, I find that she died on the 23d of January' 15 18, thus surviving her husband more than twelve years. They had five sons and five daughters. The Visitation gives only the mere names of all the daughters and three of the sons. Another of the sons it names as • It likewise appe.nrs in " The Visitation of the County of Huntingdon, 1613," edited by Sir Henry Ellis and published by ihc Camden Society in 1849. 6 Colonel Chester's Report.— The Tay lards of Huntingdonshire. William, " sometime Doctor of Laws, and Parson of Offord," in the county of Hunting- don, where he is said to have been buried. I find from a contemporaneous Will, that he was still living as late as 1528. I have not yet been able to discover anything respecting any of the daughters; but one other of the sons, viz., John, I have ascertained died at Upwood, in the county of Huntingdon, on the 12th of September 1528, and was there buried. From an Inquisition Post-mortem I learn that he inherited from his father the leases of the manors of Clarivans and Denes, in Upwood, which continued in the family during the five subsequent generations. His wife's name was Alice, who survived him ; but he evidently left no issue, as his estates descended to his nephews in the right line, which was continued through the eldest son, viz. : — IV. W.M.TER TAYL.A.RD, who in the Visitation is only called of Doddington, and said to have been buried in the Temple Church in London. I can only learn that he died somewhere between the loth of July 1500, and the 22d of September 1505, and in the lifetime of his father. Among the Harleian Charters at the British Museum, I find an original receipt of the former date, signed by him, for certain deeds and other writings respecting " the Inn called the Swan, without Bishopsgate, in London," of which he appears to have come into possession through his wife. In another of the Harieian Charters, dated the 4th of July 1500, he is called of Abbot Rypton, in the county of Huntingdon, and styled " Gentleman." Another of these Charters is the original receipt, signed by him, and dated the 13th of July 1495, for ^120 (equal to ^2500 at the present day), being the marriage portion of his wife, then paid to him by her aunt (or grandmother, the Latin word used bearing either signification), Agnes Morton, widow. The name of his wife was Alice, and she is described as one of the daughters and heirs of Robert Forster, Citizen and Grocer of London, then deceased, and of Agnes Forster, then his widow. I find from another Indenture elsewhere, that she was the eldest of two daughters and coheirs of the said Robert Forster. This marriage affords satisfactory evidence that, if the Taylards of this period were not them- selves engaged in trade, the very heir of the house did not hesitate to form an alliance with the daughter of a tradesman. Her Will is dated the 30th of March, and proved the 9th of May 1 5 1 3 ; between which two dates she died. She directs to be buried in the Church of St Lawrence at Doddington, and leaves all her lands and tenements in London to her late husband's brother. Doctor William Taylard (the Parson of Offord), in trust for her two sons, Lawrence and Giles. It is noticeable that she does not mention her eldest son, whose name was William, and who was living at the date of her Will, but to whom she does not leave the most trifling legacy. But, as she bequeaths nothing to any one else, this may perhaps Colonel Chester's Report. — T/ic Tay lards of Hitittiiigdoushire. 7 be accounted for by presuming that her sole object was to dispose by law of her 1375 15S4. own personal and inherited estates, knowing that her eldest son was amply pro- vided for as the legal heir to the entailed property of the Taylards. Very possibly, also, her Will may have been hurriedly made, and executed when she was in extremis, and there was no opportunity to accomplish more than this one purpose. The Will is very short, and comprises only this single bequest. This son William, the heir, survived his mother but little more than a year and a half, dying on the loth of December 15 14, and under age. The Visitation represents him as having married Agnes Wyatt, but I can find no confirmation of this statement. On the contrary, from several Inquisitions Post-mortem, by which he was found heir to various members of his family, and which state his age on the respective occasions, it is certain that he could, at the most, have barely entered his twentieth year at the time of his death. Still, as very early marriages were not uncommon at that period, the fact is not impossible, nor improbable. At all events, he died without issue. The third and youngest son, Giles, is said in the Visitation to have been buried at Doddington. I have not been able to trace him any later than 1559, when his nephew Geffrey left him a legacy in his Will. In 1530 he executed an Indenture conveying to Rowland Hill, Citizen and Mercer of London, the par- sonage and other tenements in the parish of St Stephen's Wallbrook, in London, being a portion of the property he had inherited from his mother. In this Indenture he is called of Doddington, in the county of Huntingdon, and styled " Gentleman." His wife was the heiress of Stukeley of Stukeley, in the county of Huntingdon, by whom he had two children, Robert and Anne. Of the latter I know nothing further, but the former was living as late as 1573, when he is mentioned in his cousin Philip's Will. The direct line was continued through the second son of Walter and Alice, who became heir to his brother William, viz. — V. L.vwRENCE, afterwards Sir Lawrence Taylard, of whom the Visitation merely states that he was buried at Doddington. Singularly enough, one of the Inquisitions Post-mortem of his grandmother gives the exact date of his birth, which was Christmas Day, the 25th of December 149S. No record has yet been discovered of the time or occasion of his knighthood, nor have I found him mentioned as a knight in any documents of a date anterior to 1573. He appears to have left no Will, but Letters of Administration were granted, on the loth of June 1583, to John Slade of .Shoreditch, in the county of Middlesex, who had married the widow of his son and heir. Ordinarily this would indicate that his death had occurred shortly before that date ; but I am able to determine, from one of the ancient Bills in Chancery preserved at the Rolls Office, that he actually died in or about the month of November 1573. This long delay of ten years is doubtless accounted 8 Colonel Chester s Report.— The Taylards of Huntingdonshire, Married first Margaret Mor- el aunt. A Taylard becomes a nierchani. for by the fact that, shortly after his death, the entire Taylard estates were thrown into Chancery — concerning which portion of the family history more hereafter. Sir Lawrence had two wives. The first was Margaret, daughter (according to the Visitation) of Edmund Mordaunt, Esquire. (A copy of the Visitation that I have seen states that her father was William Mordaunt of Hampstead, in the county of Essex.) By her he had eleven sons and four daughters. Of the latter nothing is known, except that one of them, Jane, married Richard Clifton of Lincoln, and had issue Gervase Clifton. The eldest son and heir, whose name was William, died young. Six other of the sons, and evidently the younger ones, are merely named in the Visitation as Philip, John, Nicholas, Francis, Thomas, and Edmund. Of the latter four I have discovered no subsequent trace. Of Philip more hereafter. John is doubriess to be identified with John Taylard of London, Ularlianl, who married a great-grand-daughtcr of the first Earl of Derby, viz., Margaret, daughter of Sir Thomas Stanley, first Lord Monteagle. (She was also the widow of William Sutton of Barlings Abbey, in the county of Lincoln.) They had issue four sons and two daughters. The youngest son and both the daughters all died in infancy. The three elder sons, Charles, Edward, and Stanley, were all living in 1585 — the former, then heir-apparent, being eleven years of age. I have not yet been able to trace this branch of the family farther, except that a iNIary Taylard, described as daughter of John Taylard, Gentleman, and doubtless a subsequent issue, was buried at Ramsey, in the county of Huntingdon, on the 14th of April 1600, aged about twelve years. The fourth son of Sir Lawrence was Giles Taylard, and, according to the Visitation, he married a daughter of (. . . .) Pynder. I find from his brother Philip's Will that he was still living in 1573, with a son Lawrence. The same Will also mentions Gilbert, another son of Sir Lawrence, as then living, but who is not named in the Visitation. Philip, the fifth son of Sir Lawrence, became a Citizen and Drapej' of London, and so described himself in his Will, which is dated the 7th of July, and was proved the 13th of August 1573. I have also found the record of his burial, in the Parish Register of St Antholin's, London, in which parish he evidently resided. The following direction concerning his interment occurs in his Will, viz. : — " If I die in this parish, I would be buried on the south side of the church, as near unto my kinsman Simon Street as may be conveniently, whose monument appeareth there in the wall." He was buried in that church on the nth of August 1573, and his death therefore occurred early in that month. He died apparently unmarried, and evidently without issue living, as he left the bulk of his property, which appears to have been small, chiefly to his brothers. His legacies to his particular friends are trifling, varying from ten to forty shillings. To his father he leaves only ^40. He mentions Margaret Ives as his partner, and also that he has £100 invested in a partnership with Ralph Colonel Chester's Report. — The Tay lards of Huntingdonshire. 9 Glossop, Citizen and Clothworker, of London. The contents of his Will are ■375-'5S4- otherwise uninteresting, except as they establish two very important facts, viz., — First, while in the fourth generation we find the heir of the Taylards marrying a tradesman's daughter, in this generation, the sixth, we find no less than two of the sons themselves engaged in trade. As will be seen hereafter, the Taylard estates Tayianis in trade, were strictly entailed on the eldest sons, and it evidently therefore became neces- sary for the younger ones to resort to the ordinary means of livelihood. That as far back, at least, as the third quarter of the sixteenth century, two of the younger sons became tradesmen, is amply established by this Will, and by the Visitation of York- shire of 1584, which describes John Taillard, the brother of Philip, as a Alcrchant of change of onho- t;raphy to London. Secondly, this Will also establishes the fact that, even at this early date, Taiiiard. one at least of the family had abandoned the hitherto common orthography of the name, or rather, had returned to first principles, by ignoring the unmeaning affectation of at least five generations of his ancestors, and resuming the legitimate appellation first conferred upon the founders of his race. The writer significantly commences his Will thus : " I Philip Tayler, Citizen and Draper of London, and son of Sir Lawrence a Tayiard signs , , _ himself "Tayler." Tayler, Kt. It was a very uncommon thing for persons making their Wills (I wish they had done so more often) thus to mention their paternity. I have not found more than one or two other instances in more than twenty thousand Wills I have examined; and it would almost seem as though the testator in this instance, not content with adopt- ing the change in his own case, was also determined to place on record his solemn conviction that his father was not Sir Lawrence Taylard, but Tayler. He uses this orthography — either Tayler, Taylor, Tailer, or Tailor (for he thus spells the name Various spellings indiscriminately) — throughout the Will, when mentioning his father, brothers, uncles, one doaimen" or cousins (except in a single instance), and finally signs it distinctly, " Philip Tayler!' Once, and once only, he mentions " Robert Taylerd, my uncle Giles' son." Even this exception is significant, and corroborates the theory that a portion of the family had thus early eschewed the innovation described, and re-assumed their original patronymic, while others still adhered to the then more modern ortho- graphy. The following extract from the Will illustrates this diversity of spelling :— " Item, to my said father, Sir Lawrence Tailer, ^40; to my brother William Taylor, and my brother Giles Taylor" etc. "To my brother Gilbert Tayler; to Robert Taylerd, my uncle Giles' son ; to Lawrence Tailer, my brother William's son," etc. And he appoints his brothers "William Taylor and Giles Tailor" executors. It is not, I think, unfair or unreasonable to presume, as the feud between the Brudenells Theory of a and Taylards (hereafter described) was just at that time at its height, that a portion spdUng of the . . name. of the family antagonism thus vented itself in an obstinate struggle, on the one part, to perpetuate what was regarded as the more aristocratic orthography, and on the other, whether from motives of honesty or out of sheer spite, to re-establish the still B lo Colonel Chester's Report— The Tay lards of Huntingdonshire. 1375-1584. more ancient and only rightful one. It is not the only instance in which a similar cause has disturbed the peace of families for years ; and, trifling and apparently unim- portant as the suggestion may at first seem, I feel bound to insist upon it, because I think I shall be able to prove that this spirit was perpetuated, and manifested itself in the representative of the Brudenells at a much later period — even after the lapse of nearly a century. At present, however, the points to be particularly re- membered are, that in the sixth generation, say as early as 1560, the Tay lards engaged in trade, and were accustomed to call themselves Taylors or Taylors. The second son of Sir Lawrence, Geffrey Taylard, by the death of his elder brother became heir-apparent. The Visitation only states that he died in the lifetime of his father, without male issue, and that he was buried in the Church of Ockley, in the county of Bedford. I have found his Will, however, which is dated on the 15th of March, and was proved on the 6th of April 1559, which establishes his death some- where between those two dates. He directs to , be buried in the parish church of Ockley, literally, " before the south altar, or before the place where I did kneel in my seat, and a marble stone to be laid upon me, and these English verses hereunto adjoined thereon graven in latten metal [the verses do not appear attached to the Will], and at the corners the arms that be painted on the tester in the little chamber beneath by the advice of an herald of arms." He leaves various bequests to the Church of Will by which Ockley and to the poor of the parish, and also considerable numbers of cattle and the Tayl.irds lost theirestates, 1556. sheep to his brothers Philip, Giles, and Gilbert, as well as a cow to his uncle, Giles Taylard. To his father he bequeaths all his " weaning calves of the last two years' breed," and twenty of his "best wethers." He then recites that his father, Sir Lawrence Taylard, by an Indenture dated the 27th of January 1556, assured all his manors, lands, tenements, and hereditaments, in the counties of Huntingdon, Cambridge, and Bedford, to him and his heirs, " according to the old and ancient estate and estates of inheritance ; " and in order " to avoid all doubt, contention, and extremity of law that fnay rise by and upon those words," he now wills them to be so expounded, construed, and taken, that the old ancient state-tails and fee-simples shall remain, and in nowise the said old and ancient state-tails by those foresaid words to be changed or discontinued." (This is all-important, although very dry.) Afterwards, as if in doubt himself as to the legal force of those words, he adds this provision, viz. ; — " that if Doddington be a fee-simple inheritance in me, then I will it to my next heir-male," who was then his next brother, William, through whom the male line was afterwards continued. The In- denture just mentioned was, doubtless, Geffrey Taylard's Marriage Settlement, as he Married Christian was married about that date to Christian, sole daughter and heir of Tohn Leweston Leweston. ^ ^ of Leweston, in the county of Dorset, Esq., who, if not at that time, was at his death in 1584, as stated in his Will, "Captain of her Majesty's Castle of Portland, Colonel Chester's Report. — The Taylards of Htmtingdonshire. ii marries and Lieutenant of her Grace's Isle of Portland, in said county," and evidently, from 1375-1584- the character of his bequests, a man of considerable wealth. The Visitation names -j-fylJ'j"';,,,,;, but one daughter as the issue of this marriage, viz., Catharine, who subsequently S,"","'^,^*"' married Robert Brudenell, Esq. She is not, however, mentioned in her father's Will, while another daughter, named Margaret, is particularly described. As one item in his Will provides for his daughters "apparent or insent" the probability is that Margaret was the only child living at the time of its date, and that Catharine, the future ancestress of the Brudenells and Cardigans, was of posthumous birth. As Margaret is never heard of again, and as Catharine was married at a very early age, and was then sole heiress, it is evident that the former must have died in her infancy or early childhood. Christian, the widow of Geffrey Taylard, shortly Geffrey widow after his death re-married John Slade, and both were still living in 1583, he being Joim siad described as of Shoreditch, in the county of Middlesex, Gentleman. Sir Lawrence Taylard, late in life (it must have been after 1555-56, because then his first wife sir Lawrence Taylard's second was still living), married Dorothy, the widow of Alen Hord, Gendeman, whose wife, Dorothy, widow of Alen death occurred in or about August 1554, in which month his Will was proved. Ho'"'J- There does not appear to have been any issue by this second marriage, and the direct male line was continued through — VI. William Taylard, of whom the Visitation only says that he was of Upwood, in the county of Huntingdon. He was the third son of Sir Lawrence, and married Mary, the daughter of Robert Druell, of Litrie Gedding, in the Married Mary Druell. county of Huntingdon. They appear to have had but two children, Lawrence and Robert. Of the latter, I have been able to discover nothing except the record of his burial, which occurred at Ramsey, in the county of Huntingdon, on the 27th of April 1600, he being described as a "Gentleman." His mother, Mary, was buried at Upwood on the nth of April 1596, and his father, William, at Ramsey, on the I St of March 1598, the record in the Parish Register merely calling him " Esquire." The orthography of the name in the Upwood Registers is generally Tailyarde ; but once the final "e" is omitted, and once the spelling is Tailard. Spelling of the name in the In the Ramsey Registers it is usually Talard ; but twice Taylard, and once Talyard. J^p^"""* These variations indicate simply the different orthographical tastes of the respective Registers, parish clerks who recorded the original entries. It was during the nominal heirship of this William Taylard, the si.xth in descent, that the affairs of the family culminated in its complete downfall. The chancery suit with Brudenell, history is, perhaps, not an uncommon one, but it is rarely that an intelligible record 1574- of the sort can be found after a lapse of nearly three hundred years. Thanks, how- ever, to the custodians at the Rolls Office, two documents of that date have been pre- ser\'ed which will enable us to comprehend the causes, character, and effects of this Colonel Chester's Report. — The Taylards of Himtingdoiishire. 1375-1584- family feud, as readily and as perfectly as if the occurrences were now transpiring before our own eyes. I shall present the evident facts in narrative form, scarcely doing more than to paraphrase in intelligible English the more formal technicalities of the Bill and Answer in Chancery, and drawing no inferences that are not fully justified by the language and statements of those documents themselves. Extent of the In about the middle of the sixteenth century, the entailed property of the Taylards family estates. . , , 1 i ■ i "t^i • i • i i must have been of considerable extent and magnitude. 1 he successive heirs had not only inherited the ancestral estates, and the constant additions made by the respective representatives of the family, but each in turn, for several generations, had married the sole heiresses of other wealthy families, whose possessions appear to have been generally added to the common stock. At that date, according to the revelations in Chancery, Sir Lawrence Taylard was seized of numerous manors and other lands in the three counties of Huntingdon, Cambridge, and Bedford, which may be recapitulated as follows, viz.: — In Huntingdonshire, the manors of Grimbales, Gimbers, and Waleshewes, all in Doddington, and divers other lands, tenements, etc., in Doddington, Buckden, Southove, Little Paxton, Haleweston, Ever- ton, Tetworth, and Waresley ; in Cambridgeshire, the manor of Melletts in Hinton and Fulburne, and divers other possessions in Hinton, Fulburne, Cambridge, Melreth, Melburne, and Gamlingay ; and in Bedfordshire, the manor of Brittens and other lands, etc., in Potton. This enumeration appears to comprise only the entailed property, there being also in the possession of the successive representatives of the family various other estates, which they disposed of in their lifetimes, or by their Wills, at their pleasure. There can be little doubt that the family was one of the wealthiest of the period. Down to this time there had been no question as to the entail, as each succes- sive heir, even when dying vita patris, had left male issue to succeed regularly to the estates. Unfortunately, however, Geffrey Taylard, the heir-apparent in the sixth generation, deceased not only in the lifetime of his father, but also without an heir-male living. From the terms of his Will it is evident that, at its date, which could have been only a few days previous to his death, he had but one child, a daughter, Margaret, then, literally as legally, an infant. It is also evident that his wife was at that time again enceinte, and his Will was clearly written under the hope that expectant issue would prove to be a son and heir, through whom the estates would continue to be regularly transmitted. In case, however, that this hope should be frustrated, he took the precaution to add the singular provision already quoted, declaring how he regarded the terms of the entail, and how he wished them to be construed. Catharine ihe We have already seen that this posthumous child proved to be another daughter, who was named Catharine, and that her elder sister, Margaret, must have died Colonel Chester's Report.— The Tay lards of Huntitigdonshire. 1 3 shortly after the birth of the former. This Catharine Taylard, then, was the ■37S--5S4. sole and undoubted heiress of all her late father's possessions that were not entailed. The Visitation states that she was also sole heiress of her grandfather, Sir Lawrence Taylard; but it must be remembered that the Pedigree in which this statement appears was furnished to the Heralds by her son. Sir Thomas Brudenell, whose testimony must be taken mm grano salis, although, strictly speaking, he was justi- fied in making the assertion, as he was then, as her heir, the possessor of the Taylard estates. It appears that at the time of the second marriage of Sir Lawrence Taylard to Dorothy Hord, several years before the death of Geffrey Taylard, the father of Catharine, there must have been some unintentional blunder made in the terms of the Marriage Settlement, on which afterwards hinged all the proceedings in Chancery. This Indenture was dated on the 27th of January 1556, and conveyed certain estates to trustees, for the use of Sir Lawrence and his wife Dorothy, Marriage settle- ment of Geffrey for their lives, with remainder to said Geffrey Taylard, then heir-apparent, and Taylard. "his heirs." It is clear, I think, that this expression was intended to be, "his heirs- male" or, at least, that it was supposed that the words " his heirs," could only be construed, under the terms of the entail, to mean " h&rs-male." This indenture was executed, not only by Sir Lawrence Taylard, but by Geffrey as the heir- apparent, and also by William Taylard, the next son, and then heir-apparent to his brother Geffrey, who had no male issue. This was, probably, very proper, and stricdv leo-al ; but it proved afterwards very unfortunate for William Taylard, Bkmder m the J a ' ' Marriage Scttle- as on his signature to this paper was based the allegation, which appears to have ment. been successfully sustained, that on this occasion he had joined in cutting off the entail. This blunder, if it was one (and if it were not, we must suppose that Sir Law- rence and his sons subsequently attempted the deliberate perpetration of a gigantic fraud, or series of frauds), does not seem to have been discovered until about seven years after the death of Geffrey Taylard, when measures were taken to rectify it. It is evident that Sir Lawrence himself regarded his son William as his heir- apparent after the death of Geffrey and the birth of his posthumous daughter, because the object of these measures was to establish and confirm his heirship, and prevent the transmission of the estates to the daughter of Geffrey. The method adopted does not seem to have been exactly straightforward, according to modern ideas, but was probably resorted to as the most convenient way of settling the whole question. The subsequent alleration of Robert Brudenell was as follows: Aiiegaiion of ' 10 , . . . Robert Brmlenct That " the said Sir Lawrence and Dorothy his wife, by the smister persuasion, coven, fraud, practice, and device of the said William Taylard, and of Philip Taylard, brother to the said William, and one Richard Henrie, and divers others, fraudulently, 14 Colonel Chester's Report. — The Tay lards of Huntingdonshire. 1375-1584. Date of the Chancery suit, 1574. etc., went about to disinherit the said Catharine of her right and reversion to said estates, and to convey the same to said William Taylard and his heirs." To this end, it was alleged, " Sir Lawrence was secretly to convey his estates to the said Richard Henrie and others, against whom William Taylard was to bring a writ of entry, etc., and so, by that subtle-minded policy, defraud the said Catharine," etc. The modus operandi is not exactly clear in the Bill, and it must be remembered that these are the mere allegations of the interested party, and not the results of positive evidence. The probability is, that the Taylards, father and son, took some course knoAvn to the law, and justified by it, which Mr Brudenell, or his counsel, chose to stigmatise in these very strong terms. The Bill goes on to recite, that this " subtle device, by God's providence, came to the ears of John Slade and Christian, his wife, mother to said Catharine, who, during the nonage of said Catharine, filed a Bill of Complaint in the Court of Chan- cery ; " and, briefly, that the suit thus instituted was decided against the Taylards, and, of course, in favour of the heirship of said Catharine. This probably means, simply that the intended sale of the estates was prohibited by the Court, although it virtually determined the entire destruction of the entail. It is evident that matters rested quietly during the continued nonage of Catharine Taylard, and until after the death of Sir Lawrence. It is certain that the latter retained in his own possession the deeds and other evidences of property until his decease, and that they then passed into the hands of his eldest surviving son, William, as his sup- posed heir-male, for it was to obtain from the latter these documents, which it was alleged he had "fraudulently obtained and wrongfully withheld," that the suit in question was instituted by Mr Brudenell. This child Catharine, then, suddenly found herself not only the heiress of her father, but of the whole line of Taylards, and must have been regarded by the ambitious young men of that day as what may be denominated expressively, if not elegantly, a "magnificent catch." We may imagine Mr Robert Brudenell, himself a younger son, saying to himself, " If I secure only the estates to which she is entitled of right, I shall do well ; and if I can, at some future day, also wrest the Taylard possessions from their rightful inheritors, I shall do infinitely better." We have an unquestionable right to assume that he sought the estates, rather than a wife — although to obtain the one he must secure the other — and that his was in no respects a love-match, unless we accept the ridiculous alternative that a full-grown man may have fallen desperately in love with a child scarcely out of the nursery. By the internal evidence of the Bill in Chancery, although itself undated, I am able to determine that it was filed or prepared about the ist of February 1574, as it refers to the death of Philip Taylard as having occurred about six months before, and the Parish Register of St Antholin's records his burial on the nth of August 1573. Colonel Chester's Report. — The Taylards of HuntingdonsJiire. 15 Geffrey Taylard, the father of Catharine, died about the ist of April 1559, and Catha- i375-'5S4- rine was born within the next few months ensuing. Consequently she was, at the Age of Catharine, . .11 . tlie lieiress, under most, Still under fifteen years of age at the date of the Bill in Chancery ; and as the fifteen, marriage must have taken place some time before, it is evident that she could not have much more than passed her fourteenth year when it occurred. The proba- bility is, that Mr Brudenell had ingratiated himself with the mother of Catharine, and with her step-father, John Slade, and, with their consent, had effected one of those very early marriages not uncommon at that period. (I have a case among my collections, where a marriage occurred under a license from the Archbishop of Canterbury, the bridegroom in which had reached the ripe age of ten years ! Four a bridegroom of years later, and exactly two days after he had passed his fourteenth year, the parties were re-married, and thenceforth lived together. The parties in this case were cousins, and the object was to retain certain property in the family, which, it appears, could be accomplished only by this match.) Whether the contract of marriage between Robert Brudenell and Catharine Taylard had been formed some years before, and was re-solemnised when she arrived at the legal age of fourteen, I do not know ; but at all events, she was his wife at and before the death of Sir Lawrence her grandfather, which occurred, as we have seen, about November 1573; for Brudenell alleges in his Bill that, on the death of Sir Lawrence, he, " as in the right of said Catharine, entered into all said premises, and now holdeth the same," etc. It is fair to presume that, as Catharine would have been fourteen years of age somewhere between the ist of April and An early mar- the I St of November in that year, the marriage, previously agreed upon, was solem- ""^ nised irnmediately on her reaching that age. In hot haste, therefore, for the Bill admits that Sir Lawrence had been dead only about three months, Mr Brudenell commenced the final proceedings in Chan- cery, the result of which was to secure him undisturbed possession of the ancient Tiie Taylards r y Til t~\ '^^^ estates. estates ol the laylards. On the presumption that the Chancellor of that period was immaculate, and that the decision was right because the law can do no wrono- we must conclude that the allegations in the Bill were sustained. The Answer of William Taylard, as a matter of course, denies all fraud, etc., and alleges that, on the death of Sir Lawrence his father, he was the " ne.xt issue-male, and right heir- male to the ancient estate-tail made to the heirs-male, by which he claims, and also by common law," etc. He avers that the plaintiffs, Brudenell and wife, have no good title to the estates, and that the object of the suit is " rather to put him, beino- a poor gentleman, to vexation, waste, and charges in the law." But, whether rightfully and legally or not (and I should hardly advise the representatives of the family at the present day to test the question by going to law with the existing Earl of Cardigan), it is enough to know that the Taylards i6 Colonel Chester s Report.— The Taylards of Huntingdonshire. 1375-.5S4. found themselves despoiled of their ancient patrimony, and, as near as I can ascertain, the heir de facto, if not dc jure, was compelled to retire to the very insignificant estate he had been able to retain, and which had descended to him from his great- uncle, in the obscure parish of Upwood, in Huntingdonshire. Later in life, he appears to have removed to Ramsey, the adjoining parish, where he died and was buried. The next in succession of the direct male line was his son — Suppression =ise. in no other Pedigrees than this and that of the Taylards of Huntingdonshire. Negative as this testimony may be, it becomes important when taken in connec- tion with that before recounted of a more positive character. We cannot reject both classes of testimony without inevitably coming to the conclusion that the family of the first William Taylor occupied a social position so very humble, that they never appeared in public in a single instance, never owned any property, or signed a Deed or Bond, and were never involved in a lawsuit ; and that the only evidence of their once existing at all is to be found in the pages of some obscure Parish Register which has not yet been discovered. To this conclusion I am by no means yet willing to submit. The other matter of which the Heralds were ignorant (and I speak thus posi- tively because I have had access to their notes, and the collections they made while Matters unknown pursuing their investigations), was the deadly family feud existing between the to the Heralds. Taylards and the Brudenells. No other record of this deeply interesting portion of the family history has been found than that contained in the Bill and Answer in Chancery already quoted ; and I only came upon them accidentally, after days of plodding through heaps upon heaps of musty documents, the dust upon which, Colonel Chester's Report. — PVilliam Taylor the Haberdasher. 27 accumulating for nearly three centuries, was thicker than the parchment upon 1584-1651. which they were written. I claim that, in this record, we find the secret cause that why s:.- Thomas Ijiudenell iijiiorefl mduced Sir Thomas Brudenell in 1613 to ignore the existence of the most of his ti": TayiarAs. mother's relatives, and, at a later period, to insert the remarkable item in his Will just mentioned. It must be certain that there could have been litde friendly feeling, to say nothing of intercourse, between the two houses of the despoiler and the despoiled. Besides, from all the evidence, it is clear that, in their reduced circumstances, the surviving branches of the Taylard family had entered into trade, or engaged in other avocations that still more widely separated them from their aristocratic connections. The son of plain Mr Brudenell, who had built his fortunes on the ruins of the more ancient house, had first been knighted, then baroneted, and had now become the Earl of Cardigan ; and it was not to be expected that he should recognise as his kindred the humble tradesmen of Paternoster Row, or the Puritan preacher at Witham— especially as they had still further removed them- selves from his affinity by resigning with their fortune the very surname of their ancestors. It is possible, indeed, that he had actually lost all trace of them. It would seem, however, that in his last moments, some tardy intimation of conscience aroused him, and he bethought himself of doing something for his mother's kin- dred. Still, a little of the old leaven yet worked within him. If he could overlook the difference that had arisen in their social position, he could not so readily for- give their abandonment of their ancient patronymic. So he finds a stray member of the family, who, from some motive, has clung to the old orthography — finds him, too, struggling with poverty— coolly turns his back upon the more favoured ones, who with their new names have acquired new fortunes— characterises him as the "last of his name" {not of his race), and, from the accumulated treasures of his oimi ancestors, generously doles out to him a paltry five pounds per annum for the rest of his life ! Such I believe to be the real meaning and only value of the passaf)-e in the Earl of Cardigan's Will. From this point, assuming for the time the identity of William Taylor with William Taylard — an assumption which I hope (if my life and health and powers of locomotion are spared long enough) to convert into a positive and legal certainty — I am prepared to pursue the family history more satisfactorily, merely giving warning that the dis- coveries I have made, render, at least the earlier portions of the family Pedio-ree, hitherto relied upon, in their present shape, almost valueless. William Taylor, then, born in 1584, took his freedom of the Haberdashers' Com- wuiiam Taylor - pany in 1605. He probably soon engaged in business on his own account, but did not marry for several years, as his eldest son was not born until 1614. There is a question, however, as will be hereafter seen, whether he did not marrj' early enough to have two daughters before the birth of his eldest son. 28 Colonel Chester's Report. — William Taylor the Haberdasher. 15S4-1651. 'l"he mercer's shop in Pater- noster Row. His ptirchttse uf the property in Paternoster Row at the sale of Bishop's lands. bijjn of his shop. Will of William Taylor the Haberdasher. The first, and indeed only, London locality with which we find him connected is Paternoster Row, where he carried on for many years the trade, not of a haberdasher, but of a mercer. He was not, however, a member of the Mercers' Company, and in all legal documents described himself properly as " Citizen and Haberdasher ; " but in the Parish Registers of Hackney, where he resided during the latter part of his life, he is invariably called a vicrcer, as is also his son Daniel. The property which he occu- pied in Paternoster Row, he is known to have held by lease as early as 1629, and on the 7th of March 1647, he purchased it in fee-simple, at a sale of what were known as the Bishop's lands, for the sum of _^987, 3s. 4d. (which would be equivalent to nearly _^io,ooo at the present day). The site may be very nearly determined. It covered a part of what has been known as the Woodyard of the Palace of the Bishop of London. In those days, the boundaries of St Paul's Churchyard were Pater- noster Row on the north. Great Carter Lane on the south, Ave Maria Lane and Creed Lane on the west, and Old Exchange on the east. In the angle formed by Paternoster Row and Ave Maria Lane, stood the Bishop's Palace, and its grounds and offices extended some distance eastward. Probably the present publishing house of the Messrs Longman occupies about the position of the two tenements owned by William Taylor, and one of which, at least, was evidently built by him. According to the custom of the times — a custom more prevalent then than now* — these tenements were known by distinctive names or signs ; and one of them was first heralded to the world as the " Golden Lion," and afterwards as the " Three Cocks," while the other bore the meeker appellation of " The Brood Hen." During the lifetime of William Taylor, the former underwent another curious transformation, being metamorphosed into the " Three Nuns ; " while the latter, having perhaps successfully reared her fledglings, took her offspring into partnership, and continued the business under the style of the " Brood Hen and Chickens." He owned other property besides this ; and some idea may be obtained of his possessions from the bequests contained in his Will, t The money legacies, including the sums already received by the legatees during his lifetime, amount to about _^io,ooo; the portion of his eldest son being £\ooo, that of his second son ^1400, and the marriage portions of his three daughters, each ^Soo. To his last wife, according to the terms of the Marriage Settlement, he left £i'~,oo. All these sums must be multiplied by ten, to render them equivalent to the currency of the present day. There are numerous other smaller legacies, * It is now indeed all but unknown. t Colonel Chester writes, 22d December 1S70 — " I was reading to-day the Will of Humphrey Gravenor, Citizen and Grocer of London, dated 22d August 1646. In it he directs that his own dwelling-house in Paternoster Row shall be immediately sold or conveyed to ' Mr William Taylor, mercer, or to his son, Mr Daniel Taylor, their heirs and assigns, for ever, for the consideration of £-]oo, according to an agreement made between me and said William Taylor.' This, of course, gives us no new information, but may be interesting as indicating that some, at least of the Paternoster Row property of the Taylors was not part of the Episcopal or Cathedral lands." — P. A. T. Colonel Chester's Report. — William Taylor the Haberdasher. 29 together forming a considerable amount ; and then the residue of his property is left 1584-1651. to his youngest son. From a careful estimate, he must have died worth, according to the present value of money, little, if any, less than _^200,ooo. I do not ascertain that he owned any other property in fee-simple, except a house, etc., in the town of Buckingham; but he held numerous leases in Hackney and Hendon, and also at Charing Cross, in Fetter Lane, at Paul's Chain, etc. If his origin were as humble as has been hereinbefore hypothetically suggested, he certainly made good use of his personal capacities from the time his apprenticeship expired, or he could not have left behind him such a record as this. It might have been hoped that this Will would afford some clue to his family ; but looking at the Taylard Pedigree, the reason why it does not seems clear. His father and uncle Robert were doubtless both dead, as also his next of kin (after his brother and sisters, whom he does mention), Margaret and Catharine, daughters of his great-uncle Geffrey, the latter of whom married Brudenell. I am sorry to be obliged to say, that he appears to have been rather litigiously His lawsuits, disposed ; for I have found among the old Chancery records, numerous suits to which he was a party — almost invariably, it must be said, as plaintiff ; but as, from his own statements, he always had good and just causes of action, I suppose we must conclude that he was actuated only by the very natural and proper determination of maintaining his own rights. I have been able as yet to ascertain little more concerning his social position or personal history. In the record of his burial at Hackney, he is called " Deputy;" Called '•Deputy." and it is therefore supposed that he was at the time of his death, Deputy of the Ward of Farringdon-within, as his house in Paternoster Row was within that Ward, and he is not known to have resided elsewhere in London. Before recounting his marriages and their issue, it will be as well to relate His brothers and sisters. what I have gleaned concerning his fraternal relations. The conclusion to be derived from the contents of his own Will, and from all other information I have been able to obtain, is, that at the time of his death he had but one brother and two sisters living, named respectively Robert, Elizabeth, and Martha. Two objections will naturally arise just here to the theory of the identity of this The Upwood Rei;ister as generation of the Taylors with the last seneration of Taylards. It will be remem- opposed m the y a J William bered that Lawrence Taylard, accordina: to the Parish Retristers, had ten children Jayior's sister * o ' Martha. — seven sons and three daughters — and we now find that we can trace to William Taylor but one brother and two sisters. To this it may be answered, that the deaths of two of the ten children named, certainly occurred before the year 1600. Henry, the third son, who was baptized at Upwood on the ist of November 15S6, was also buried there on the 24th of July 1595 ; and Mary, the eldest daughter 30 Colonel Chester's Rcpoi't. — IVilliam Taylor the Haberdasher. 1584-1651. and fourth child, baptized at Upwood on the ist of November 1587, was also buried there on the 29th of January following. The number is thus reduced to eight, who were all, apparently, li^'ing at the time of their father's death in 1600, and the eldest of whom was then sixteen years of age. Of this number, if our theory be correct, one half were still living at a period just fifty years later — quite as great a percentage, I think, as will usually be found in the records of mortality. I have so far been unable to trace satisfactorily the other children, viz., Lawrence, Edward, Walter, Barnaby, and the second Mary, and can only assume that they all died anterior to 1650, the date of William Taylor's Will. A Martha The Other objection is apparently of a more serious character, viz., that while Taylard may have been regis- William Taylor unquestionably had a sister Martha, Lawrence Taylard does not tered elsewhei e. ^ i ^ appear to have had a daughter of that name. To this I can only reply, at present, that although the Parish Registers of Upwood and Ramsey do not contain the baptism of a daughter Martha, it does not follow inevitably that Lawrence Taylard did not have a child of that name, born and baptized elsewhere. Of course, what I am about to say is merely conjectural and speculative, but the conjecture is worth noting. The eight children of Lawrence Taylard by his first wife, according to the Registers, were all born at intervals of about a year, with a single exception : between the births of the sixth and seventh a period of three years elapsed. It is not impossible that, during perhaps some protracted absence from home, while at London or elsewhere, another child was born, at what had then become a regular and established period, and was baptized in the parish where the parents chanced to be then temporarily residing.* I have frequent cases of the kind among my notes, where I have thus been able to fill gaps in the pedigrees of resident country families from entries in the Registers of some of the London parishes. Again, there is even room for another child between the two recorded of the second wife, who does not seem to have been less parentally disposed than her predecessor ; for while the latter certainly had eight children, if no more, in less than eleven years, the former exhibited her first effort somewhat within the conventional period. I might add, that the present Rector of Ramsey still persists that the name of the last child, as recorded in the register, is Martha, and not Mary ; but I have examined it carefully on three different occasions, and can only make of the chiro- graphy, a very bad Maria, which, as the record is in Latin, can be anglicised only Mary.\ I can suggest no other or more reasonable explanation of this apparent dis- * It is certain, at all events, that Lawrence himself was not buried at Upwood, nor was his wife. They were not, therefore, residing there at the time of their death. t The probable confusion between " Martha " and " Mary " appears to me to deserve more weight than is accorded to it by Colonel Chester. — P. A. T. Colonel Chester's Report. — William Taylor the Haberdasher. 31 crepancy, but do not despair of yet finding the record of the baptism of a Martha 15S4-1651. Taylard in some one of the city or country Parish Registers that I am almost daily encountering. The only record yet discovered of Robert Taylor, the brother of William, after Robert Taylor that of his baptism at Upwood in 1585, is contained in the Will of the latter, dated isbids.""'""" on the 29th of March 1650, at or about which time he was certainly still living, William Taylor bequeaths to his "brother Robert Taylor," then at the "Summer Islands," forty shillings for a ring, and also an annuity of forty shillings per annum for life ; and to 'his son Samuel Taylor, then in New England ^8. They are • each, also, to have a portion of his wearing apparel. Multiplying the sums men- tioned by ten, they will not be so insignificant as they at first appear. Twenty pounds, for instance, for a mourning ring, would not at the present day be discre- ditable as the legacy of even a millionaire. The annuity of forty shillings, also equivalent to £20 now, was probably not a ministration to his brother's necessities, but a fraternal token of regard, which, by its annual recurrence, would serve to keep green the memory of the testator. The bequest of wearing apparel was one of the most common in those and still more ancient times, and does not indicate that the legatees were in actual want of such garments, but quite the reverse. The articles of a man's wardrobe, as well as those of a woman, were usually thus dis- tributed among the nearest and dearest of the testator's kindred and friends, and regarded as almost sacred relics of the deceased. In this instance there is reason to believe that Robert Taylor himself was in good circumstances. He appears to have had four children, two sons and two daughters, and perhaps Family of Robert others yet unknown. Samuel went to New England, where he was in 1650, but I have not yet been able to ascertain whether he took up his residence there. I have inquiries concerning him in progress among the members of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, and shall probably be able to trace him in that country, if his visit was not a temporary one. Another of Robert's sons was William Taylor, who lived, at least during the wiiiiam Taylor latter part of his life, at Newcastle-upon-Tyne,* where he died about October 1669. ° His Will is dated the 15th of September, and was proved the 3d of November in that year. He was living there in 1655, when he is mentioned in the Will of Daniel Taylor as his "cousin." He is described as a "gentleman," and appears to have been a man of considerable wealth. After small legacies to his two sisters, he leaves his property among the children and grandchildren of William Taylor (the Haberdasher), his uncle. As he does not mention either of his parents, nor his brother Samuel, it is probable they were all dead before this date. His e.\ecutors * See p. 76. 32 Colonel Chester s Report.— IVilliam Taylor the Haberdasher. 1584-1651. were his cousin Samuel Taylor, the youngest son of his uncle William, and John Juxon, the husband of Samuel Taylor's youngest sister, Rebecca. The two daughters of Robert Taylor were Anne, who married (....) Dunkam (probably Duncombe), and Mary, who married Henry Moore. They were both living, at the date of their brother William's Will, at the Bermuda Islands. The presumption is, that their father, Robert Taylor, setded at the Bermudas, possibly as a trader, but more probably to escape some involvement of the Civil War. He may, however, have gone out in some official capacity. At all events, he evidently remained there, and his two daughters married and settled there. The son Samuel* may have subsequendy emigrated to New England; but the other son, William, returned to and died in England, as we have already seen. The Summer The Bermudas were discovered by the Spaniards in 1527. They were not, however, inhabited until 1609, when Sir George Somers was cast away upon them. They took from him a second name, and were most commonly known during the earlier period of their history as " Somers' Isles," naturally corrupted into " Summer Islands." During the Civil War, many of the voluntary or involuntary exiles from England redred to these islands — among them the poet Waller — so that the con- jecture respecting Robert Taylor is neither groundless nor unreasonable. It is but very recendy that I obtained the clew to this portion of the family history, and I have not yet had time to examine a large collection of documents at the State Paper Office relating to " Somers' Isles" (as I see they are officially called), from which I hope, in due season, to glean some further information respect- ing Robert Taylor ; and it is not impossible that in some one of them even his parentage may be mentioned. John Taylor of I am, however, already able to say that the record of " John Taylor of Newcastle, Newcastle. ' i i i r TTr-lT 1650," as the father of William Taylor of Newcastle, and as the brother of vVilliam Taylor the Haberdasher, is entirely erroneous, and must be expunged from the present pedigree of the family. From the first I have never been able to even conjecture how it got there. From the date attached to it, it would seem to have been based upon some statement in the Will of William Taylor the Haberdasher, but no such name occurs in that Will. I can only conclude that it must have been conjectural on the part of the person who compiled that pedigree, and this view is confirmed by the fact that it is omitted in the copy of the pedigree subse- quendy recorded at Heralds' College — an evidence that it would not stand the test of the rigid examination to which pedigrees are submitted before they are finally registered. My researches settle the question beyond a doubt. * See p. 76. Colonel Chester's Report. — William Taylor the Haberdasher. The eldest surviving sister of WilHam Taylor the Haberdasher was Elizabeth* 1584-1651 who was baptized, according to our theory, at Ramsey, on the 24th of June 1589. Elizaheth o wen. sister of William She married Robert Oivcn, and both were living in 1650 at Buckingham, in the Taylor th. ri TTTM1- Haberdasher. county ot the same name. William I aylor bequeathed to her a similar annuity to that given to his brother Robert, viz., forty shillings (or ^20) per annum for life. He also directed that she should be allowed to occupy the house in Bucking- ham in which she then lived during her life, without paying any rent, the only condition being that her husband should keep it in good repair. It is probable that his possession of this very house led to the tradition that William Taylor once held estates in Buckinghamshire, and even that he was originally of that county ; but I can find nothing else anywhere to connect him in the slightest degree with that neighbourhood. As he evidentiy owned no other property there, and as he says in his Will that he had purchased this house of one William Tebby, it is quite reasonable to suppose that he did so for the especial benefit of his sister Elizabeth, after whose decease it was to revert to his youngest son, Samuel. In 1650 Robert and Elizabeth Owen had a son, Robert, who was then appren- ticed to a person whom William Taylor called "Cousin Grant;" but I have been His "Cousin" so far unable to trace the relationship. The word " cousin" in those times indicated B™ki.,gham. almost any degree of affinity. It included, of course, the children of an uncle or aunt, but embraced also a nephew or a niece, and extended to the most distant degrees of consanguinity. To this cousin or nephew, Robert Owen, William Taylor \dt £10 {i.e., £100), to be paid to him, with its accumulated interest, when he should reach the age of twenty-two. He was still living in 1655, with a wife and children, to whom Daniel Taylor left legacies, as also to his brother, Timothy Owen, evidently the eldest of the two. Their mother, Elizabeth Owen, was then still living, but I have not as yet found any further notice of any of the family — the parish registers of Buckingham not being yet examined. t The other sister of William Taylor the Haberdasher was named Martha. M.inha Votier, According to former conjecture, she was born either in 1592-93, or in 1599. Taylor 'the Either date would accord very well with her subsequent history, as her marriage occurred in 161 9, when she would have been at least twenty years of age. Under all the circumstances, I am inclined to think that her birth occurred at the latter date, and that, as a girl of twenty, she made a more hasty and impulsive matri- monial connection than she perhaps would have done at the maturer and more sober age of twenty-seven. Her husband was the Rev. Daniel Voticr, rector of St Peter's, Cheapside. I have adopted his own orthography, as I find it in his W'ill, although in the Reo-ister • See p. 79. t See Supplement, p. 80. Rev. Daniel Votier. 34 Colonel Chester's Report.— IVilliam Taylor the Haberdasher. 1S84-1651. j^jg Q^^^ church the name is repeatedly written " Vocher," and is so spelt by William Taylor the Haberdasher. The name seems a French one, and he pro- bably was of French extraction ; but his father (as I suppose), Mr Edward " Votyer," who was buried at St Augustine's in 1603, is also described as a "minister." His mother, Joan, was also buried at St Augustine's in i5o8. Mr Votier seems to have been connected with the church of St Peter's, Cheap, at two different periods, for I find the records of the baptisms and burials of some of his children in the Registers of that church, others in those of St Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey, and others still in those of St Olave's, Southwark. As he was never the regular incumbent of either of the latter churches, it is probable that his first connection with St Peter's was as curate ; that he was subsequently curate at St Olave's and St Mary Magdalen in succession ; and that he finally returned to St Peter's as rector, remaining there in that capacity till his death. His first wife's name was Margaret, who died in giving birth to (probably) her fourth child. His Will mentions two daughters, Dorothy and Hannah, as both married in 1641, evidently her issue; and the records of St Peter's show the burial of a still-born child on the 26th of February 1618 ; while, on the i8th of April 1619, are recorded both the burial of the mother and the baptism of a female child, then named Marah, who afterwards died in her seventh year, and was buried at St Olave's, Southwark, on the 17th of July 1625. As this word, "Marah" (if my Hebrew has not failed me), signifies "bitter," it seems suggestive of the circum- stances of the bereaved husband on that sorrowful day. And yet, less than six months afterwards, he married Martha Taylor — the inconsiderate girl thus becoming the wife of a man evidently much her senior, and, it may be suspected, not of the most agreeable temper, as well as the stepmother of at least three children. This date must be necessarily adopted, as I have not yet found the record of her marriage, because her first child was baptized at St Peter's, Cheap, on the 8th of July 1620, less than fifteen months after the death of her predecessor. This was a daughter named Elizabeth, who was either born blind, or subsequently became so. Her uncle, William Taylor the Haberdasher, mentions the fact in his will, and also that the authorities of the parish of St Peter's (probably out of considera- tion for her affliction, and as the child of their old rector) allowed her the weekly sum of two shillings. This seems at first like a paltry pittance, but was really equal to £'^0 per annum at the present day. William Taylor bequeathed her a similar annuity in addition, for life, coupling it, however, with the condition, that the parish should at no time suspen'd its charity ; for which contingency, strangely enough, he made no provision. I presume, however, that the explanation of this is, that his object was to render her future condition even more comfortable than it already was, and imagining that the parish might take advantage of his liberality Colonel Chester's Report. — William Taylor the Haberdasher. 35 to withhold their contribution, placed the matter in such a position that they might, 1584^51, in such case, be burdened with her entire support. Daniel Taylor subsequently bequeathed her forty shillings (or £20), and left ^8 {i.e., £%o) to be expended for her, at proper times, in apparel. After this date (1655) I have found no further notice of her. The second issue of this hapless marriage was a son, Jacob, who was baptized at St Olave's, Southwark, on the ist of January 1622, and was still living in 1641. The third was a daughter, Martha, baptized at St Mary Magdalen's, Ber- mondsey, on the 6th of January 1624. Her godfather was William Rogers, a noted Citizen and Goldsmith of London, who died in 1631, and left her a legacy of forty shillings (i.e., £20). Her uncle William Taylor left £20 {i.e., £200) to accumulate as a marriage portion for her. Daniel Taylor also left her forty shillings {i.e., £20), and she seems then, in 1655, to have been married, as he speaks of her as his " cousin Martha Knolls " (possibly Knowles or Knollys). The fourth child was a son, Joseph, whose baptism I have not discovered ; but he was buried at St Mary Magdalen's, Bermondsey, on the 5th of September 1628. He is called in the Register a "child," and was probably born early in 1626. The fifth was a daughter, Mary, baptized at St Mary Magdalen's, Bermondsey, on the 3d of May 1627. Her uncle William Taylor left her also £20 {i.e., £200), which, with the accumulated interest, was to be paid to her six months after her mar- riage. She doubtless married shortly after his death, as Daniel Taylor, in 1655, calls her his " cousin Mary Singer," and bequeaths to her forty shillings {i.e., £20). The sixth child was a daughter, Rebecca, who was baptized at St Mary Magdalen's, Bermondsey, on the 8th of December 1628, and was buried there four days afterwards. The seventh was a daughter, Sarah, also baptized at St Mary Magdalen's, on the 28th of January 1630. She was buried in the chancel of St Peter's, Cheap, 30th August 1642. The eighth and apparently youngest child was a son, Daniel, who was bap- tized at St Mary Magdalen's, Bermondsey, on the 5th of September 1632. He died in his fifteenth year, and was buried at St Peter's, Cheapside, on the 14th of October 1646, in the same vault with his father. The St Alphage Registers also record the burial of a still-born child, 8th De- cember 1634. Mr Votier himself died about the ist of September 1646, as he was buried in the chancel vault of St Peter's, Cheap, on the 5th of that month. His wife survived him nearly five years, and was buried in the same vault on the 4th of May 165 1, dying only about two months before her brother William Taylor, who did not, however, alter the bequests in her favour already contained in his Will. 36 Colonel Chester s Report —William Taylor the Haberdasher. I have been thus particular about this branch of the family, because there is a bit of personal history connected with it that may not prove uninteresting amid so much of dryer detail. The Rev. Daniel Votier, " parson " though he was (and I only use the word by which he chose to describe himself in his Will), proved himself to be anything but a gentleman, and literally went to his grave harbouring resentments and cherishing sentiments very unlike those that are popularly sup- posed to animate peculiarly persons of his calling. On the 14th of March 1641, more than five years before his death, he wrote or dictated his Will. The preparation and execution of such a document should be, and usually are, among the gravest and most solemn acts of every good man's life- And yet this Christian minister deliberately commenced this, his iinal message to the world he was to leave behind him, with a cruel and cowardly attack upon the repu- tation of the woman who had borne his name for nearly a quarter of a century. Evidently with a heart full of bitterness, and a pen dipped in gall, he penned the following lines : — Imprimis, For that I had not in marriage with Martha my wife above the moiety of what I was faithfully promised with her by her brother Taylor, and for that she hath carried herself treacherously and rebelliously towards me about the space of twenty years, and not becoming a wife of a peaceable conversation, I do thereby give and bequeath to her only the sum of forty shillings. Apparently the writer is not entitled to the charitable presumption that he may have penned this paragraph in a moment of anger or irritation, as the result of some petty connubial quarrel ; for, not content with thus venting his spite upon his wife and the mother of his children, and instead of destroying the miserable record after he recovered his temper, he laid it carefully by for five long years, and making no other Will, suffered it to rise up against her, and be published to the world, after he had been rotting in his grave for a twelvemonth. Whether the allegations were true or false, it showed little manliness or decency thus to brand from his very sepulchre, the woman who had lain in his bosom for more than twenty years, and by whom, "treacherous" and "rebellious" if she were, he had nevertheless had no fewer than eight children. It may, however, I think, be safely doubted whether she was really obnoxious to these charges, and as strongly presumed that the real foundation of his bitterness lay in the fact which he first recorded in his preamble. From what we are able to judge of William Taylor the Haberdasher, by his Will and other family documents, he was, at all events, not a mean or penurious man, or one likely to repudiate an obligation he had once assumed, unless there were some good and sufficient cause for so doing. If he had promised, expressly or by implication, a certain marriage portion with his sister, and subsequently actually paid only one half of it, we may be pretty sure that he Colonel Chester's Report. — William Taylor the Haberdasher. 37 had some satisfactory reason for withholding the remainder, which would, in all probability, if the facts were known, be found in the character or conduct of the Rev. Daniel Votier himself It would be far safer to believe that William Taylor acted rightly in the matter, than to trust such a record, written by a man who retained by his side the woman so charged till his dying hour, and whom, though his last moments were doubtless soothed and made easier by her ministrations, he was cruel enough to subject posthumously, to the insulting innuendoes he had years before registered against her. There is nothing in the Will of William Taylor to indicate that she merited this opprobrium ; but, on the contrary, he makes a handsome provision for her and her children. To herself he leaves a legacy of ^5 {i.e., ^50), and, in addition, what would now be eqCiivalent to £\(>o per annum, "for the better maintenance of herself and children," as well as the annuity before mentioned to her blind child, and the marriage portions to her two other daughters. It may be added that, in one respect, at least, Mr Votier was very properly thwarted in the objects he hoped to accomplish. He had not only (attempted to) cut her off with forty shillings, but also denied her the executorship under his Will, by appointing in her stead one John Yates, Citizen and Goldsmith of London. It appears however, that the executor named — probably too manly to carry out such last wishes so expressed — refused to act under the Will, and the anathematised wife, after the lapse of more than a year, finally administered in person to his estate, — which may be regarded as a sort of righteous retribution. We may now return to the direct narrative. William Taylor the Haberdasher was the husband of three wives. So far all my researches have failed to discover even so much as the christian name of the first one. I have hitherto supposed that she was either a Burroughs or a Howard, having children by her former husband ; as William Taylor, in his Will^ mentions his sons-in-law, William Burroughs and Samuel Howard, and as Daniel Taylor also called them his brothers. I have, however, satisfactorily traced the ancestry of Samuel Howard, and find that his mother died in her husband's life- time, and was buried at Norwich in 1644; so that William Taylor could not have married the widow Howard. I have not yet completed my investigations concern- ing the Burroughs Pedigree, but have ascertained enough to warrant the strong presumption that William Taylor's first wife was the widow of (. . . .) Burroughs; that her christian name was C.\th.\rine ; that she had at least two children by her first husband, viz., William and Rebecca Burroughs, and that the latter married Samuel Howard. William Taylor, in his Will, mentions not only his "sons-in-law, William Burroughs and Samuel Howard, " but also his " dausrhter-in-law, Rebecca Howard." Rebecca was the name of Samuel Howard's first wife, and, as it appears, 15S41651. William Taylor the Haberdasher's first wife not positively Unown. 38 Colonel Chester's Report.— JViUiam Taylor the Haberdasher. 15S4-165.. his only one, and was doubtless thus referred to. It was the custom in those times to speak of one's step-children as sons and daughters in law, and no other conjec- ture that I can form, accords so perfectly with all the allusions in various documents to the Burroughs and Howards. Samuel Howard, having married the step-daughter, or daughter-in-law of William Taylor, would naturally be called his son-in-law; and Daniel Taylor, according to the custom of the times, would speak of him as his brother. In the present Pedigree of the family, the difficulty has been unwarrantably reconciled by the conjecture that one of Daniel Taylor's wives was a Howard, — a conclusion adopted simply, I suppose, because Daniel Taylor and Samuel Howard called each other brothers. I am able, however, to say positively, that Daniel Taylor never had but two wives, and that neither of th*em was a Howard, the proof of which will be furnislied hereafter. This entry, therefore, must also be expunged from the Pedigree. As this first marriage of William Taylor the Haberdasher must have occurred at a period the Parish Registers of which have generally been preserved (the few lost in the Great Fire of London in i566 being the chief exceptions), I hope even- tually to discover the record of it. It is, indeed, one of the chief objects of my researches, as this wife was the direct ancestress of the present family. The marriage certainly took place as early as 161 3, as Daniel Taylor, appar- ently the only issue of it, was born not later than July 16 14, of whom more hereafter. It is possible that she had other children, and not impossible that two of them were daughters, who married respectively William Burroughs and Samuel Howard, and were both dead at the date of William Taylor's Will. If so, however, it must have been a second wife of Samuel Howard whom William Taylor called his daughter-in-law, and I have every reason to suppose that Samuel Howard never had but one wife, who survived him. Registers of St This first wife of William Taylor died some time before the year 1624, and was noster Row, lost doubtless buried in St Faith's, then the parish church of Paternoster Row. Most in tlie Great Fiie. unfortunately, all the Registers of that church, previous to 1645, were destroyed m the Great Fire, and we are thus deprived of much valuable information, which they would undoubtedly have furnished, respecting the history of the family when resid- ing in Paternoster Row. I have been more successful in my researches concerning the second wife of William Taylor, who has hitherto stood in the family Pedigree simply as Margaret (. . . .). She was the daughter of Rev. William Wilson, D.D., an eminent His second Mife. divine of the time, who describes himself in his Will, dated in 1613, as "a Canon Margaret Wilson, ^. , . . . „ „ of the King's Majesty's free chapel of St George within his castle of Wmdsor. He was also, I find, a Prebendary of St Paul's and Rochester Cathedrals, and Colonel Chester s Report. — William Taylor the Haberdasher. 39 held the rectory of Cliff, in the county of Kent. Her mother was a niece of 1584-1651. Edmund Grindall, Archbishop of Canterbury. One of her brothers was Doctor Edmund Wilson, a famous physician of London, who died in 1633. Another brother was a still more celebrated clergyman. Rev. John Wilson, settled for some time at Sudbury in Suffolk, but who emigrated to New England in the very earliest days of the Massachusetts colony, and was the first preacher ever settled at Boston. He was instituted there in 1630, and died there in 1667, having been from the first one of the ruling spirits of the colony. Margaret Wilson was twice married. Her first husband was one (....) Rawson, said to have been a descendant of a very noted Sir Edward Rawson. The Rawsons resided at Gillingham, in Dorsetshire, where at least two of h er Tile Rawsons. sons were born, viz., William and Edward, the latter on the i6th of April 16 15. This Edward Rawson afterwards became one of the most important men in New England. He emigrated thither when about twenty-two or twenty-three years of age, and, almost from the day of his arrival, was entrusted with public offices of more or less importance, continually rising in reputation, until, in 1650, he was elected secretary of the Massachusetts colony, which position he held until 1686. He died in 1693. The only blot upon his memory arises from the fact that he was one of the most forward and relentless of the persecutors of the Quakers — a fact owing, perhaps, partly to his official position, but which also shows that, in spite of his great abilities and his otherwise irreproachable career, he could not escape the popular fanaticism of the time. It is not known when Margaret Rawson's first husband died, but she married William Taylor previous to the 23d of March 1624, on which day a Post-nuptial Settlement was dated. She did not long survive, as she was certainly dead before the 1st of January 1628. The issue of this marriage were three children, viz. — First, Edmund Taylor. I strongly suspect that he was what may be called the His son Edmund, "gentleman" of the family. Apparently he was never engaged in trade, or he would naturally have taken up his freedom of the Haberdashers' Company by patri- mony, and enrolled himself a citizen of London. He never did do so, and, from what little we know of his later life, we may reasonably suppose that he devoted himself to intellectual pursuits. Very little is known of his earlier life, except that he is repeatedly mentioned in contemporaneous Wills. That he was, at a later period, a prominent Nonconformist is sufficiently proved by the little that is known of him. Lyson, in his "Environs of London," under head "Littleton^' says, "Edmund Taylor was appointed by Oliver Cromwell in 1655" (to the rectory of Littleton). The authority given is, " Proceedings of the Committee in the Archbishop's Library at Lambeth, vol. xxxii. p. 338." There can be no reasonable doubt this is our Edmund Taylor. It is also stated by Lyson that Edward Westley, Edmimd Taylor uses the Taylard arms. 40 Colonel Chester's Report.— William Taylor the Haberdasher. 1584-1651. who was ejected in 1650, was re-instated in 1660. The next we hear of Edmund Taylor is, that after the Declaration of Indulgence he was licensed on the 29th of May 1672, as appears by the record at the State Paper Office, to open his dwelling-house at Witham, in the county of Essex, as a place of Presbyterian worship, and also to preach therein himself Palmer, the Nonconformist historian, says, that he also preached in several other places. He subsequenriy became involved in the Duke of Monmouth's rebellion, and was imprisoned for some time in Tilbury Fort. Upon his release he returned to Witham, and continued to reside, and probably to preach, there until his death. He was buried there on the 9th of February 1692. He apparently had a wife and one daughter, both named Elizabeth, who survived him, and were both still living as late as the nth of December 1695 ; but the Parish Registers of Witham, by their silence, show that neither of them died there.* Little as we know respecting him (although this little is more than was known before), he becomes, however, vasriy important in this family history from the fact that he is known to have used the arms of the Tay lards of Huntingdonshire. On the 2d of November 1677, he executed a bond to his nephew, William Taylor (son of his brother Daniel), merchant of London, the seal attached to which bears unmistakably these arms. This bond was dated at Witham, and in it he is described as a "gentleman," the only title that can be properly given him in a legal document, as he could not be lawfully denominated " clerk," the peculiar appellation confined to clergymen of the Established Church. As the right to use these arms belonged exclusively to the Taylards of Huntingdonshire and their descendants, the question may very properly be asked, why and how was such a seal in his possession, if it had not descended to him as an heir-loom, or if he had not had it purposely engraved as the only rightful one to which he was entitled ? The fact that he did use it is, under all the circumstances, one of the strongest links in the chain of evidence identifying the Taylors of Paternoster Row with the Taylards of Huntingdonshire. The fact that other members of his family did not use these armst in any of the few documents bearing their signatures that have been preserved proves nothing, and is doubtless to be explained by the simple fact that all these documents, being of considerable importance, had been previously prepared by scriveners, and were presented for the signatures of the parties (as is the custom even now) with the seals already attached by the scrive- ners themselves ; which will readily account for the various devices upon them, and also for the fact that some have no devices at all, but are mere lumps of * See p. 45. t Further search has shown that other members of the family did use these arms. See footnote p. 22. -V. X, T, Colonel Chester's Report. — Williani Taylor the Habe7'dasher. 41 wax. This little Bond of Edmund Taylor's is, however, a genuine autograph, and 1584-1651. its history is easily read. He wanted a little money — a loan of £\o (equal to nearly ^100 now, remember) — and sent to his nephew in London for it, enclosing this Bond, in the nature of a promissory note or modern I O U, written, pro- bably, in his own library, for he dates it at Witham ; and the impress of a seal being requisite to give it vitality, he naturally applied to the drop of wax the one which he wore habitually about his person, or kept for daily use upon his writing- table. The Heralds had this Bond before them, and must have seen that it bore the Oversight of tii Heralds. Taylard arms, and was dated at Witham ; and yet, simply because the Earl of Cardigan had recklessly reduced the race of Taylards to a solitary survivor a quarter of a century before, they gave to the former fact no consideration, and evidently did not pursue the clew afforded by the latter to identify the writer, simply recording him on the pedigree as the "second son, living in 1646 and 1690," with a wife, " Elizabeth, living in 1674." The Taylard arms, thus used by Edmund Taylor, I may as well say here are Description of ^ J J ' tlie Taylard ar thus heraldically described : — Quarterly argent and sable, a cross flory counter-charged. The family pedigree has them (I presume) correctly blazoned, in the proper colours, on which, in this instance, everything depends. I have not yet been able to discover the Taylard crest* An interesting reference is made to William Taylor the Haberdasher in " Howell's Familiar Letters," vol. i. sec. 5, letter 35, p. 212. The author, James Howell, was one of the clerks of the Privy Council in his day, and often sent abroad on con- fidential missions. His published letters are from all places and on all subjects. This one is addressed to his father, and is dated at London, 3d December 1630. In a former letter he mentions having apprenticed two of his brothers in the City — one of them to a Mr Hawes. Now he writes thus ; — Because Mr Hawes of Cheapside is lately dead, I have removed my brother Griffith to the Hen and An apprentice Cliickens, in Paternoster Row, to Mr Taylor's, as gentile a shop as any in the City ; but I gave a piece of ' =ylu plate of twenty nobles' price to his wife. The word " gentile," or gentle, then in use, was more expressive then than now. It meant something more than genteel or respectable, and was equivalent to "first- class." I suppose William Taylor was one of the " Swan and Edgars" or " Peter Robinsons" of the day. • Sec p. 78. On opposite pnge the arms and crest are both };iven, for no doubt they were always used together, although the crest is not in the Visitation, and wc have no instance of its use till the Will of William Taylor of Newcastle, in 1669. — I*. \- 1 . 15S4-IG5I. His daughter Margaret. William Webb, 42 Colonel Chester s Report.— J ViUiam Taylor the Haberdasher. The value of a noble was 6s. 8d. ; twenty nobles, therefore, were ^6, 13s. 4d. ; and allowing for the difference in the value of money, the piece of plate was equal to one that Avould now cost ^50. It was common to make presents of this sort to the masters' wives, probably because it was thought that they would induce the mistresses to take more interest in the apprentices. It is curious how the worthy old gendeman turns up occasionally in the most unexpected places. The second child of William Taylor (the Haberdasher), by his second wife, Margaret Rawson nee Wilson, was a daughter, Margaret, of whom the present family pedigree merely says that she was "unmarried in 1646, married before 1650 to William Webb, and that both were living in 1674." The second only of these statements is correct : * the first and third are both wrong. She was married at Hackney on the 2Sth of January 1641, and died before the 15th September 1669. The former fact I obtain from the Parish Register of Hackney, and the latter from, the Will of her cousin William Taylor of Newcastle. Her husband, William Webb, Miili^be of the Heralds. * On this point Colonel Chester writes, February 2, 1S71 "If I had looked at another rough pedi^'ree I have, I should have seen that our Margaret was married at Hackney, 28th January 1640-41. At least, I have no doubt it was her, though I suppose the Heralds rejected the entry on the ground that the parties were not sufficiently identified. My grounds of belief are these : — " ist, We know that Margaret married William Webb. " 2d, We know that her father lived at Hackney for some time before his death. "3d, Daniel Taylor was married there, 21st April 1653, to Abigail Taylor. " It is not only likely, then, that Margaret should be married there, but it is extremely unlikely that there should have been two William Webbs marrying two Margaret Taylors at just about the same period. "Opposed to this is the Heralds' statement that Margaret was unmarried in 1646, and for their authority they quote the marriage settlement of her sister Hannah, who married Clarkson (see p. 43.) I do not agree with them. I have an abstract of the marriage settlement, and the important passage is this : — 'And whereas the said William Tavlor hath had issue by the said Margaret, his wife, one son and two daughters, viz., Edmund Ta\lor, Margaret Taylor, and the said Hannah Taylor,' etc., etc. "Now the Heralds' view was, that if Margaret had then been married, this passage would have read, 'Margaret Tavlor, 720W ivifc of XViUiani Webb^ or something of that sort. But I do not so regard iL The previous recital was of the marriage settlement of Margaret the mother, in which William Taylor agreed with Edmund and John Wilson that the reversion or remainder of the messuage in Paternoster Row should go to the sons or daughters of that marriage. It was necessary, therefore, to set forth in Hannah Clarkson's settlement the names of such children ; and the passage simply says, in effect, that the issue of the marriage had been ' Edmund Taylor, Margaret Taylor, and Hannah Taylor,' which was strictly true. She was born Margaret Taylor, not Margaret Webb. In the face of the marriage of William Webb and Margaret Taylor at Hackney in 1640-41, I cannot accept the Heralds' construction of this passage. " Again, the Heralds found a document dated in 1674. I see it was the unproved Will of William Taylor, the Dantzic man, which I translated for you, in which he left twenty-shilling rings to a number of people, and among them to 'my Uncle and Aunt Webb.' They jumped at the conclusion that this aunt was his own aunt, Margaret Taylor ; but he would have called the third or fourth wife of William Webb, if he had one, his aunt, because Webb was his uncle, having married his father's sister. I hold that this 'Aunt Webb' was at least his second wife, because William Taylor of Newcastle, in his Will, dated September 15, 1669, has this bequest : — ' To my cousin, Mr William Webb, ^5 for a ring, and to his two daughters, Margaret and Hannah Webb, who he had by his first wife^ each £\o^ It is clear that Webb's wife then living was of no interest to the testator, as she is not even mentioned. Note also the names of the two daughters— j'I/i?r^izr^^ after the mother and grandmother, and Hannah after Hannah Clarkson. "If I were you, I should enter the marriage on the new tree, and add that she died before 15th September i65g — in spite of the Heralds." — P. A. T. Colonel Cliestcrs Report. — IVilliam Taylor tlic Haberdasher. 43 was the son of Augustine Webb, Citizen and Haberdasher of London, and Juditli 1584-1651. his wife. He was apprenticed on the 23d of December 1630, for nine years, to WiUiam Taylor, his future father-in-law ; his mother, then a widow, being bound in the sum of ^100 {i.e., ^1000) for his good behaviour. He evidently did not serve out the term of his apprenticeship, or, if he did, he afterwards changed his trade ; for he was never made free of the Haberdashers' Company, and was subsequently engaged in the business of a grocer. He remained long enough in the family, how- ever, to form a lasting attachment to his master's daughter, if not to his trade ; and the marriage between them must have taken place when he was about twenty-two years of age. Their only children appear to have been two daughters, named Margaret and Hannah, both of whom were living in 1669, and the former, with her father, who had married a second wife previous to 1669, were still living in 1674. The third and last child of William Taylor, by his second wife, was another His dau!;i,ie, daughter, named Hannah, of whom the family Pedigree only says that she was married to Robert Clarkson, Citizen and Draper, the Marriage Articles being dated Robert ciark, on the 2 2d of December 1646, and that both were still living in 1674. The only additions I am yet able to make to this record are, that although nominally a Citizen and Draper, his actual business was that of a mercer, as he is thus described in the Will of his father-in-law, and in the Parish Register of St Faith. I also learn from the latter source that he had two children, viz., Samuel, baptized at St Faith's on the I2th of November 1647, and buried there on the 6th of January 1653; and a daughter, Margaret, who was also baptized there on the 19th of April 1651. At the birth of the foi'mer, he was living in Ivy Lane, and at that of the latter, in Paternoster Row. Another son, Samuel, was subsequently born, and also a daughter, Mary, and these three children were all living at the date of his Will, on the nth of December 1695, about which time he died. , The daughter, Margaret, was then the wife of Benjamin Dryden, and Mary was apparently the widow of (. . . .) Knight, both having issue. Their mother was then dead. From Robert Clark- son's Will it is evident that he had been successful in business. He is described as " of Little Chelsea, in the parish of Kensington, in the county of Middlesex," and is called " Esquire." He bequeaths what would be even now large sums of money to the various legatees. As I have before said, it is impossible to determine the actual date of the death of this second wife of William Taylor. She was certainly not buried at Hackney, and was doubtless, therefore, interred at St Faith's during the period of which the Registers are missing. But as the first child by his third marriage was a party to a Deed on the 28th of May 1649, and must then have been at least twenty-one years of age, it is certain that this third marriage was contracted as early as 1627. 44 Colonel Chester's Report. — l-Villiam Taylor the Haberdasher. 15S4-1651. The name of William Taylor's third wife was also Margaret, but who she was, His third wife; I havB been as yet baffled to discover. The records of Marriage Licenses at one her name not .... , ^ , , posiiively known, of the officcs do HOt Contain this particular one, and, most untortunately, at the other two they do not commence until a later period. I have a strong suspicion that she was a widow Marsh, having a daughter by her first husband, and that father and son, William and Daniel Taylor, married respectively mother and daughter. Of this more hereafter. I do not doubt that I shall yet discover the record of the marriage, which will set the question at rest, in some one of the Parish Registers that I am almost daily examining.* His son Samuel. • fhe eldest child by this marriage was Samuel Taylor, who, as I have shown, must have been born as early as 1628. He also is called " Citizen and Haber- dasher." I find that he did not take up his freedom of that Company until he was at least twenty-eight 3'ears of age, and some five years after his father's death. The date of the record is the 17th of October 1656, and he was made free by patri- mony. Probably he had not designed embarking in trade until after the death of his eldest brother, Daniel, when, being also his father's executor, he decided to continue the business; for I find him in 1659 described as a mercer in Pater- noster Row, and doubtless at the old sign, as he inherited that property. He was living as late as the 3d of November 1669, when he was named as co-executor of the Will of his cousin William Taylor of Newcastle ; and he cer- tainly died before the 12th of December 1674, when a new administrator of his father's estate was appointed. WHien I have finished my examination of the Registers of all the City churches, and completed a chronological arrangement, now in progress, of all the thousands of deaths and burials of the name of Taylor that I have accumulated, I shall probably be able to identify him, and bring into use some portions of the particulars I have respecting a number bearing his christian name. Old Pedigree The present Pedigree of the family represents him as unmarried. This is an erroneously Slated that error. I have the record of the baptism of a son of his, named lohn, at St Samuel iaylor ^ was not married. Faith's, On the 22d of September 1659, he having been born on the 13th of the same month, but as yet have no other positive information concerning his mar- riage or its issue. Although he must at one time have been in possession of a Samuel Taylor's Considerable estate, there is no Will of his at Doctors' Commons, and no record \\ ill not louiid. of any administration. Judging from the references made to him in other Wills of about the period of his death, I cannot imagine that he had lost all his posses- sions, and the absence of any record of him at the Probate Office is at present * See note to p. 53. Colonel Chesic/s Report — IVilliam Taylor the Haberdasher. 45 unaccountable. The probability is, that I have particulars concerning' him some- 15S4-1651. where among my collections, but have not yet obtained the clew by which I can identify him.* * The speculations of Colonel Chester as to Edmund Taylor and his supposed wife and daughter (p. 39), as well as these in reference to Samuel, are supplemented, and probably corrected, in the following of a later date, from Colonel Chester, 14th September 1873 : — "The history of Edmund Taylor and his family has never been satisfactorily worked out, but I did everything I could. We traced him finally to Witham, in Essex, where he was buried, 9th February 1691-92. I had supposed (and it is perhaps so stated in the Memoir) that he left a widow Elizabeth, and a daughter Elizabeth, who were both living as late as 1695. This was based on a bequest in the Will of Robert Clarkson, dated nth December 1695, by which he left to 'his sister Elizabeth Taylor and her daughter Elizabeth' each ;^5o. There seemed to me no other of his brothers-in-law Taylor to whom a wife and daughter could be assigned. In fact, it must have referred either to the widow and daughter of Edmund or Samuel, and the latter had so disappeared from the family history, that it was most reasonable to assign them to the former. "I am now inclined to think that just the reverse should be the case. This 'cousin Wildegoose,' " Cousin Wilde- and her supposed brother, 'Samuel Taylor,' mentioned in the old letter, p. 405, I never heard of so^se. before, and they throw light upon a bit of pedigree I have long had, but which I never felt justified in connecting with that of the family. It all seems clear enough to me now. We know that Samuel Taylor (brother of Daniel the dead man) was living 3d November 1669, when he proved the Will of his cousin William Taylor of Newcastle. We never hear of him again, but know that he must have died before i2th December 1674, when Thomas Lawes, a creditor, administered de bonis non to his father, William Taylor, whose e.xecutor he had been. Now I find that on the 21st January 1670-71, letters of administration were granted to John White, father-in-law of Samuel Taylor, late of Barnes, Co. Surrey, deceased, during the minority, and to the use of Samuel and Elizabeth Taylor, children of deceased, the relict, Elizabeth Taylor, renouncing. I find also the Will of a Samuel Taylor, described as of St Gregory's, London, dated nth October 1691, and proved 18th August 1693, by his sister Elizabeth, who was sole legatee and executri.x. You will see how beautifully my present theory is sustained by the letter now sent me." [The letter is from Rebecca Taylor, daughter of William Taylor of South Weald, to her brother Henry (p. 405). The following is the portion to which Colonel Chester is referring : — " My aunt remembers a young Gentleman's coming here when she was a girl, which she thinks was her Aunt Rebecca's Grandfather's Brother's Son. His name was Samuel Taylor ; she imagines he was my Co. Wildegoose's Memorandum. Brother, as she thinks her name was Taylor before she married. As she never heard of this young Gentle- man since she was a child, she supposes he dyed young.] "I take it that our Samuel Taylor married, during the Commonwealth, probably about 1656 or 1657, Elizabeth, daughter of John White ; that he had a son, Samuel, bom in 165S (I fix this date because the only Samuel Taylor who took up his freedom in the Haberdashers' Company by patrimony, and who I have no doubt was this one, did so 21st January 1678-79, which would carry his birth back to this date); that he then had the son John who was baptized at St Faith's, 22d September (born 13th) 1659, and subsequently a daughter, Elizabeth. The son John, probably named after his Grandfather, John White, evidently died young, and before his father, as, if living, he would also have been a minor, and only the two children Samuel and Elizabeth are named in the Letters of .\dministration. The son Samuel lived on, took up his freedom in 167S-79, and probably went into business in St Gregory's parish, which, you know, adjoins the old family parish of St Faith's. He evidently died unmarried, and as his mother, although living, was doubtless well provided for, left everything to his only sister, Elizabeth. He was dead when Robert Clarkson made his Will in 1695, and therefore he only mentions Elizabeth the mother and Elizabeth the daughter. I have no doubt that this is Samuel, the ' young gentleman ' mentioned in the old letter before me, and that Elizabeth subsequently married, and was the 'cousin Wildegoose' therein mentioned. There is not a single flaw in the whole chain of evidence. If the old letter had 46 Colonel Chester s Report —William Taylor the Haberdasher. 15S4-165 His daughter Rebecca. Tohn Juxon. Rebecca called Abigail by mis- take in the Hackney Register. The family pedigree represents him as the only son of William Taylor by this marriage. This is also an error. I find, from the Parish Registers of Hackney, that another one, named Benjamin, was baptized there on the 27th of July 1638. His subsequent burial is not recorded there, and he was probably interred at St Faith's before 1646, when the Registers of that church commence. At all events, as he is not mentioned in his father's Will, it is evident that he died either in his infancy or early childhood. The only other child by this third marriage was a daughter, Rebecca, whose birth probably occurred between those of the two sons just mentioned, as she was still under nineteen years of age at the date of her father's Will in 1650. There is a litrie mystery connected with her history. She was certainly single in 1650, and as certainly the wife of John Juxon at the date of her brother Daniel's Will in 1655. The marriage evidently took place at Hackney on the 21st of April 1653; but in the Register, while his name is correctly given, she is called Abigail Taylor. There seems but one way to account for this discrepancy, as she is invariably called Rebecca in all the family documents, and was, under that name, her mother's administratrix, and that is by the presumption that it was an accidental error on the part of the clergyman or parish clerk who recorded the marriage. I have occasionally found interpolated corrections of similar errors, even after the lapse of years, in various Parish Registers that I have examined, and it is probable that. only said ' my cousin Elizabeth Wildegoose,' there could not be room for a doubt. I shall hope, as you go on, that her name may recur again among the old documents. It is possible that the Parish Registers of Barnes would give the baptisms of Samuel and Elizabeth, and perhaps speak of the father as of St Faith's, London, or otherwise identify him. I have never seen the Barnes Registers, but will go there if Mr Taylor wishes. Probably both the Samuels were buried there. I find no Will or Adminis- tration of the Widow Elizabeth down to 1700. " I think it would be safe to alter the memoir as to Edmund Taylor, striking out all that is said about his supposed wife and daughter, and inserting to the effect that there is no evidence that he was ever married, and then adding the substance of what I have now written to the account of Samuel." September 30, 1873, Colonel Chester writes; — The Barnes " The Barnes Registers contain neither the marriage of Samuel Taylor and Elizabeth White, nor- the Registers. baptisms of any of their children. I find the baptisms of several children of John and Jane White ; but the earliest is 1653, and Elizabeth ought to have been baptized before, as she had two children living at Samuel Taylor's death in 1670-71. Probably her parents only removed to Barnes about 1653, and she was baptized at the place of their former residence." A few days later the Colonel writes ; — "The Barnes Registers are hopeless as to Samuel Taylor or his widow and children. ... I have looked to-day in vain for the will of John White, father of Samuel's wife. ... I don't know what more to do about Samuel Taylor. It is not unlikely that his widow re-married, and so dropped out of the family history ; but you may turn up some allusion to her as you go through your papers." See p. 6?7. P. A. T. » Sec Pedigree, p. 693. Colonel Chester s Report. — JVilliam Taylor the Haberdasher. 47 no occasion arising therefor, this particular entry had never been seen by any 1584-1651. of the family after it was first made, and so continued to stand uncorrected. Of John Juxon I can only add to the account in the family pedigree that he was a Sugar-baker of London. The Hackney Register describes him as of Wal- brook. I suppose him to have been of a family of that name long engaged in trade in London, and having estates at Sheen, in Surrey. They were both still living in 1674, with four children. She administered to her mother's estate on the 6th of September 1670, upwards of a year after the death of the latter, for I find that she was buried at Hackney on the 1st of September 1669, having survived her husband a little more than eighteen years. The fact of her administering, instead of her brother Samuel, who would have been the natural and proper person to do so, proves, I think, that he was then dead, which will render his future identifica- tion more easy, as it brings the precise period of his death within the space of ten months. Having thus disposed of all the younger children of William Taylor, we will, before continuing the line of descent, return for a moment to the Haberdasher himself His Will, which was dated on the 2gth of March 1650, is very long and inter- TheWiiiof TT 1 . 11-1 Willi ini Taylor estmg.* He desires to be buried m the parish church of Hackney, " whereof," he 'he Haberdasher, says, " I am a parishioner, as privately as may be, yet in such decent manner as shall in some measure be suitable to the quality wherein I have lived." For his funeral expenses he leaves £\oo, then a large sum for such a purpose, part of which is to be expended in mourning for his wife, two youngest children, and family ser- vants. Some time before his death he had relinquished his business in favour of his son Daniel, and now mentions it as "worth at least ^300 per annum," — i.e., the nett profits were equivalent to ^3000 per annum at the present day, which shows that the business was a good one for the time. He had also previously given this son "^4000 and upwards." This sum, equal to ^40,000 now, must have placed Daniel Taylor in the foremost rank of traders of his class. To his son Edmund, doubtless already married, he had given ^1400 (or _^i4,ooo), and to his two married daughters, Margaret Webb and Hannah Clarkson, each ^800 (or /Sooo) as marriage portions. To these four children, already provided for, he now bequeaths only small sums for rings or pieces of plate, as tokens of affection, or, as he feel- ingly says, " in remembrance of my love unto them." By the terms of the mar- riage settlement, he was bound to leave his third wife, in case she survived him, the sum of ^1500 (or ^15,000), and he had already settled on her the leases which •A full abstract will be found, p. 49. p \ y • I5S4-I65I. Rev Jfihn Good- win. ])r Kdmimd Wil- snn's menUon of h i in . 48 Colonel Cliesters Rcpoyt. — I Till lain Taylor the Haberdasher. he held of sundry messuages or tenements at or near Paul's Chain, and Peter's Key, near Paul's Chain, which he now declares to be worth more than the sum mentioned. To his " daughter-indaw Rebecca Howard, and to Mrs Malpas," he leaves forty shillings in remembrance of his love. I suspect that these two were sisters, and the daughters of hi5 first wife by her former husband. A curious bequest here occurs to his wife, viz., " all the firing which shall be remaining in my house at Hackney at my decease." Such a bequest was, however, not uncommon in those times. A certain " Nurse Wentworth," probably an old attendant of his wife or children, has a legacy of twenty shillings (i.e., £10). "Mr John Goodwin, the Preacher in Coleman Street," gets forty shillings, and the poor of his congrega- tion the same sum (or £20) more. The poor of St Faith's precinct in Warwick Lane, and those of Clapton in Hackney, also receive forty shillings (or £20) each. Each of his household servants is to have twenty shillings (or ^10). The residue of his personal estate is bequeathed to his youngest son, Samuel, whom he appoints sole executor ; and he also names as Overseers of his Will, his wife Margaret and his "sons-indaw Mr William Burroughs and Mr Samuel Howard." To this son Samuel he also bequeaths, absolutely, the larger portion of the property in Paternoster Row, and the reversion of the remainder after the decease of his wife, as well as the reversion of the house in Buckingham after the decease of his sister Elizabeth Owen, and also his copyhold premises in Hackney. William Taylor lived exactly fifteen months after executing this Will, as he died at Hackney on the 29th of June 165 1, and was buried there on the following 8th of July. I find him frequently named in the Wills of his contemporaneous friends as Executor, Overseer, or Trustee, and generally with some expression of great respect or sincere regard. A passage of this sort in the Will of Dr Edmund Wilson, the brother of his second wife, dated in 1633, is so touching, and at the same time so suggestive of the character of William Taylor, that I quote it verbatim. He says, "And whereas there is none of my kindred to whom I would inlarge myself more than to my sister Taylor's children, if they had need, but because they have a loving and careful father, and of good ability, therefore I know what I should give them would not much augment their portions ; nevertheless, in remembrance of my love unto them, I give them," etc. I think this testimony may be safely preferred to that of the Rev. Daniel Votier. Dr Wilson further proved his confi- dence in and esteem for his brother-in-law by appointing him his executor ; and it appears that the latter then had in his hands considerable sums of money belonging to the former. On the whole, therefore, it is clear that, even if the present family do not feel justified in accepting the Taylards of Huntingdonshire as their progenitors, they Colonel Chester's Report. — William Taylor the Haberdasher. 49 may certainly regard with great respect, and even reverence, tlieir first undoubted 1584-1651. ancestor, tlie successful mercliant of Paternoster Row.* Abstract of William Taylor the Haberdasher s Will. " I, William Taylor, Citizen and Haberdasher of London," to be buried in the parish church of Hackney, " whereof I am a parishioner, as privately as may be, yet in such decent manner as shall in some measure be suitable to the quality wherein I have lived " (to which end he leaves ^loo), part of which to be expended in mourning apparel for " my well beloved wife, and my son Samuel Taylor, and my daughter Rebecca Taylor, and for such of my household servants as shall be then living with me, and for no other of my family, kindred, or friends," etc. ; to my son and heir, Daniel Taylor, ;^io for piece of Plate in remembrance of my love unto him, and to Rebecca Taylor, his wife, 40s. for a ring; to my second son, Edmond Taylor, ^5 for piece of Plate; to my two daughters, Margaret Webb, wife of William Webb, grocer, and Hanna Claxton, wife of Robert Claxton, mercer, 40s. each for rings — thus swerves from custom of City of London, and gives these two sons, Daniel and Edmond, and two daughters, Margaret and Hanna, no more in his Will, because he has formerly done more for them than said custom required, out of his great love for them — i.e., said eldest son, " Daniel, hath already received of me, and which I have secured to him by mortgage upon my house in Paternoster Row, in London, called the Three Nunns, payable in six months or thereabouts after my decease, what amounteth in value to the sum of ^4000 and upwards, besides the benefit of my trade, which I wholly relinquished to him, and did value to be worth at least ^300 per annum ; said son Edmond's part already received amounted to about ^1400, and the two daughters, Margaret Webb and Hannah Claxton, had each given them at marriage ;^8oo, besides other gifts, etc. ; to my daughter Rebecca Taylor, the lease, etc., of several houses, etc., at or near Charing Cross, Co. Middlesex, and also ;^8oo when nineteen years old, and not before. Whereas, by agreement before my marriage with Margaret, my dearly beloved wife, I stand bound to pay and leave her ^^1500 in case of my death, etc., to secure which had settled on her Lease of several messuages or tenements at or near Paul's Chain, London, lately purchased of Stephen Goodyeare, and also lease of several messuages or tenements at or near Peter's Key, near Paul's Chain, held by the Hospital of St Bartholomew, which estates I value above ^1500, now ratify and confirm said conveyance, on condition that she, within one month, executes release of all claim to personal estate, etc. Household stuff and plate after wife's decease to be divided between my two children Samuel and Rebecca Taylor. Also to said wife Margaret " all the firing which shall be remaining in my house at Hackney at my decease." " To my daughter-indaw Rebecca Howard, and Mrs Malpas, to either of them 40s., as a remembrance of my love ; " to my brother Robert Taylor, at the Summer Islands, 40s. for Ring, and also 40s. yearly during his natural life ; and to his son Samuel Taylor, of New England, ^8 ; and also to said Robert and Samuel a portion of my wearing apparel. To my sister Elizabeth Owen, 40s. per annum during her natural life, and also to live during her life without paying any rent " in the house wherein she now liveth, situate in the town and county of Bucks," on condition that her husband, Robert Owen, keep it in good repair, etc.; to Robert Owen, the apprentice of my cousin Graunt, ^10 when twenty-two; to my sister Martha Vocher, widow, ^5, and also for the better maintenance of herself and children, ^16 per annum. Whereas the parish of St Peter's in Cheapside, London, allows unto Elizabeth Vocher, the blind daughter of my said sister, 2 s. weekly for her better maintenance, I give in addition to their charity during her natural life ^5 per annum after decease of her mother, and this legacy to be revoked if said parish ceases its said allowance ; to Mary Vocher and Martha Vocher, two other daughters of my said sister, ^20 each, six months after their marriage ; * That William Taylor was a man of some position is evidenced by a notice of his death in a volume published in Contemporary 1849 by the Canidcn Society, entitled " The Obituary of Richard Smyth, Secondary of the Poultry Compter, London ; notice of him. being a catalogue of all such persons as he knew in their life, extending from A.IJ. 1627 to .A.I). 1674." The volume was edited from the original MS. in the liritish Museum by the late Sir Henry Ellis. On page 20, under date 1651, June 13, is this notice : — " Mr William Taylor at the Hen and Chickens in Paternoster Row, Mercer, died." The date he gives is, liowevcr, incofrect, as will be seen above. He was buried according to the Hackney Register on July 8, and could not therefore have died on June i j. G Colonel Chester's Report. — Daniel Taylor. 1614-1655. to nurse Wentworth, 20s. ; to Mr Jno. Goodwin, the preacher, living in Coleman Street, 40s., and to the poor of his congregation, 40s. ; to poor of Clapton in Hackney, 40s. ; to poor of St Faith's precinct m Warwick Lane, in London, 40s. ; to each of my household servants, 20s. Residue of goods, chattels, and per- sonal estate, after debts paid, etc., to my youngest son, Samuel Taylor, and make him sole executor ; appoints overseers, the said Margaret, my dear and loving wife, and my sons-in-law, Mr William Burroughes and Mr Samuel Howard, to each of whom £10. I give and devise all that east shop, with the appurtenances, called by the name of the Brood Hen, situate in Paternoster Row, in the parish of St Faith's, London, and the back part of same shop lately new erected by me, and a parcel of ground there lying behind the messuage called the Brood Hen, whereupon part of the messuage called the Bishop of London's Palace was situate, and also all that messuage or tenement situate in Paternoster Row, in parish of St Gregory's, formerly called the Golden Lyon, and since by name of the Three Cocks, and "all other the messuages, lands, void ground, shops, parts of shops, entries, ways, passages, lights, easments, commodities and hereditaments whatsoever of me, the said William Taylor, and heretofore purchased by me of the contractors or trustees for the sale of the late Archbishop's and Bishop's lands in the names of William Adams, Jno. Holmes, Samuel Howard, and George Clarke, which have since been conveyed and assured to me," etc., to said Samuel Taylor, my son, and his heirs lawfully begotten. In default of such issue, then the Brood Hen to son Daniel Taylor, his heirs and assigns, and the said Three Cocks to said daughter Rebecca Taylor. Also to said son Samuel, in reversion after decease of said wife Margaret, all that messuage known as the three Nuns, situate in Paternoster Row ; and also after decease of said Elizabeth Owen, all the aforesaid messuage, etc., now in the occupation of said Robert Owen, situate in Buckingham, Co. Bucks, which I lately purchased of one William Tebby, and for default of such issue, to my said daughter Rebecca Taylor, and heirs of her body, remainder to said Daniel Taylor, etc. ; also to son Samuel " all that house and land, part I bought of Mr Francis Coventrey and his wife, it lying in Hackney, I being admitted tenant last court in Hackney." Dated March 29, 1650. (r;'/««J«— Thomas Coun, Notarj', and Jan. Bunting, his servant. (Proved by son Samuel, July 19, 1651.) December 12, 1674.— Letters of Administration granted to Thomas Lawes, principal creditor of said William Taylor, of goods, etc., unadmmistered by his said e.\ecutor, Samuel Taylor, then also deceased. The direct line of descent was continued through IX. Daniel Taylor,* concerning whom the statements in the present family Pedigree are mainly correct, so far as they go, except in one particular, and I shall confine my remarks concerning him chiefly to the additional discoveries that I have made. That his relations with his father, and the other members of his family, were of the most cordial and affectionate character, we have already seen. He evidently engaged early in business with his father, and finally succeeded to it as sole pro- prietor, on the retirement of the former. I have found no record of him at any of the universities, but he must have received an excellent education for the time, and been possessed of no common natural abilities, or he would hardly have occupied * His portrait, on opposite page, has been supposed to have been possibly taken after death, from the almost o-hastly character' of the painting, which has given him the soubriquet in the family of " The Dead Man." I sup- pose it was taken shortly before his death, which appears the more likely from his apparent age at the time. He died when only forty one. — P. A. T. Colonel Clicslcr's Report. — Daniel Taylor. 51 the public positions he subsequently held, or become the chosen associate and inti- 1614-1655. mate friend of the Rev. John Goodwin and men of his stamp. For the tradition in the family that he assisted, at least by his presence on the issnidtohave scaffold,* at the execution of Charles the First, I can find no authority. It may or scaffold aUiing 1 T • • 1 1 1 1 • f Charles' execu- may not be true. It is certam, however, that both m religion and politics he identi- tion. fied himself thoroughly, during the last few years of his life, with the movements of the Commonwealth. He held at least two official positions under Cromwell, being His offices under one of the Commissioners for the Sale of the Church Lands, and also one of the weaUh."""°"" Commissioners and Collectors of Customs for the District of Berwick-upon-Tweed. His accounts (in connection with his associates) in the latter capacity, and sundry Deeds executed in the former, are still preserved at the State Paper Office. These offices were both lucrative and honourable, but the details of the business itself were transacted chiefly by subordinates. He evidently, also, engaged in the controversies of the times ; but the only His controversy publication known to be his that has been preserved, or at least that I have yet discovered, is a letter jiddressed to John Vicars,t a noted controversialist of the period, in defence of his pastor and friend, Mr Goodwin. A copy of this is in the King George Collection at the British Museum. The style of this letter is unusually elevated, and, although he indulges in some severe sarcasms, he never descends to those unwarrantable and often disgusting personalities that characterised much of the literature of that class at that time. This letter was written in January 1644, when he was scarcely thirty years of age, and affords internal evidence that he possessed a vigorous mind, and was no mean scholar. It is clear, I think, from some passages in his Will, that he was a more rigid His Puritanism. Puritan than his father. He was, in short, evidently of the stamp of the early New England setders, but probably had not the same motives to emigrate that impelled them, and could not so readily sever his extensive business and social connections in England. Daniel Taylor was born in the first half of the year 16 14. I am able to de- uuhMh. termine this fact in two wa3's. On the 31st of July 1635, he took up his freedom of the Haberdashers' Company by patrimony, when he fmisi have been at least twenty-one years of age. It is probable that he had then barely reached that age, as in his marriage license, dated just two years later, his age is stated to be then " aboitl twenty-three." Mis first wife, by this early marriage, is only named in the family pedi- • Amongst the family relics are " A piece of the flag hoisted when Charles I. was beheaded," and " A bit of stone from the window he tried to make his escape." These came to me with the clothes of William Taylor, mentioned p. 145. — P. A. T. t See p. 65. 52 Colonel CJicstcr's Report. — Daniel Taylor. 1614-1655. gree as Rebecca. After much difficulty, I succeeded in finding the record of the His first wife, marriage license (in an out-of-the-way room nearly at the top of St PauFs). It supposed to be a ijgj^rs date the 2^d of Tulv 16^7. He is described of St Faith's, Haberdasher, daughter of iris ^ ' fathers tfiird wife ^^^j ^ Bachelor, and his intended wife as "Rebecca Marsh, of Hackney, IMaiden, aged about twenty years." It is further stated that the marriage is to be solemnised "with the consent of her mother, Margaret Marsh, alias Taylor, of Hackney." My suspicion that she was then the third wife of William Taylor, the father of Daniel, is based on several facts : — First, although there was a good family by the name of Marsh living at Hackney about that time, I have pretty satisfactorily ascertained that she was not, directly at least, connected with it. The inference is, that she was thus described as of Hackney only because she now resided there with her present husband, William Taylor. Secondly, she is not described as Margaret Marsh, etc.. Widow, a word almost invariably used on such occasions, if the fact justified it, but Margaret Marsh, otlierwisc Taylor. Inference : — that she had re- married a Taylor, who might either be still living, or also dead : if the latter, she should still have been styled a widow ; if the former, and my theory be correct, there were obvious reasons why his name was not mentioned. Thirdly, the formal allegation of the intended marriage was not made by William Taylor, the father of the bridegroom-elect, as would have been naturally the case (unless the parties were acting without his knowledge and consent, for which suggestion there appears no reason, but rather proofs of the contrary), but by one William Franck, a Leather-seller of St Faith's, whose name never is seen again in connec- tion with the family. Inference :— that from motives of delicacy arising out of his own marriage with the mother of the bride-elect, William Taylor remained in the background, and requested some friendly neighbour to perforin this service in behalf of his son. Fourthly, the consent of the bride's mother to the marriage — a formality necessary, as the former was still under age — was not given by the mother in person, nor by a stranger, nor even by a mere friend, but by William Burroughs, the son-in-law of William Taylor. Inference ; — that, from the same motives, the third Mrs William Taylor did not wish to appear in the matter, and so delegated her authority to her husband's son-in-law. And, finally, the presumption is strengthened, and all these inferences, not unreasonable in themselves, made even more reasonable in combination, by the fact that the Christian name of William Taylor's third wife was certainly Margaret, which was also the name of the bride's mother. Such an instance, if rare, was not without a parallel. I have another among my own collections : Sir Robert Chester, of Royston, in Hertfordshire, and his son, married respectively a mother and daughter, on the same day, and at the same altar. I am pursuing thorough researches into the history of the Marsh family, and Colonel Clicstcy's Report. — Daniel Taylor. 53 hope ere long to render the matter clear ; for this Rebecca Marsh becomes impor- 1614-1655. tant as the direct ancestress of the present family, and not even her surname has until now been known.* This marriage took place at Hackney, on the 25th of July 1637, three days after the date of the license. The issue were fozir sons (the family pedigree men- tions only two) and three daughters. The eldest child was a daughter, Catharine, who was born about the ist of iiis daughter Catharine. August 1638, and probably baptized at St Faith's. The family pedigree merely notices her marriage to Gerard Usher, previous to 1671, and states that both were Gerard Usher. living in 1690. I find that the marriage took place at St Lawrence, Old Jewry, on the 19th of February 1663, he being described as of the parish of St Antholin's, and she of St Steven's, Walbrook, where she was probably residing with her aunt Juxon. He followed the business or profession (for such it was in those days) of a "Scrivener." From his Will, which is dated on the 4th of September 1691, I learn that he lived in Budge Row, and that he held considerable property at Stoke Newington and at Ashwell, in Hertfordshire. They had then but one son living, named John Usher, and both he and his mother were still living on the 13th of November 1694, when Gerard Usher's will was proved. I frequently find his name occurring in the Wills of his time as scrivener, executor, or trustee ; and, in his own Will, he mentions the fact that he is still holding large estates in the latter capacity. * On this point Colonel Chester says, under date December 14, 1871 : — "I return your parchtnent documents The Marsh relative to the lands in Hendon by the steward of the Manor of Hendon, of certain messuages or tenements belong- f^imfy- ing to the manor, lately in the tenancy of Sir Percy Herbert, Knt. and Bart., on account of his delinquency. They are called, I believe, admittances as customary tenants. As mere legal documents they possess no interest or value. To us, however, they are of extreme interest and importance. The new tenant in one of the documents (and they all bear the same date, 5th July 1645) is William Taylor, Citizen and Haberdasher of London, and in another the tenants are the same William Taylor, and Daniel Taylor, his son and heir-apparent. In a third, the tenants are Daniel Taylor, Citizen and Haberdasher of London, and Rebecca, his wife. And in the fourth, the tenants are John Downes, Esq., and Hannah, his wife, daughter and coheir of John Marsh, late Citizen and Grocer of London, deceased. In the third document, Rebecca, wife of Daniel Taylor, is said also to be a daughter of John Marsh. " We thus arrive at the absolute certainty that your ancestress, wife of Daniel Taylor (the Dead Man), was one of the daughters and coheirs of John Marsh, Citizen and Grocer of London, and we learn from the Marriage Alle- gation that her mother's name was Margaret. The Pedigree and Memoir should therefore be altered and amended to this extent, — and it is a very important gain in a genealogical point of view. I can find nothing more as yet of this John Marsh, but hope to do so sooner or later. I have before taken the ground that William and Daniel Taylor, father and son, married Margaret and Rebecca Marsh, mother and daughter, and these documents tend to contirm the opinion. We know that William Taylor's last wife's name was Margaret, and that in the Marriage Allegation of Daniel Taylor, — his wife is called Rebecca Marsh, and she marries with the consent of her mother, Margaret Afiirsh, at/as Taylor^ and we now find that the name of Rebecca's father was John Marsh, — nothing can be clearer. " As to the John Downes, Esq., who married Hannah Marsh, sister of Daniel Taylor's wife Rebecca, I can find no trace of him among the Wills, nor at the Heralds' College, and I have come decidedly to the conclusion that he was one of the Judges of Charles 1., and if you will look at the facsimile of the Death Warrant hanging in your stair- case, you will tind his signature near the end of the list. That John Downes was tried and condemned to death, but his life was spared, and he is said to have ended his days in prison. This accounts for my not finding a Will, or any further trace of him " — P. A. T. Sec Appendix, p. 666. 54 Colonel Chester s Report. — Daniel Taylor. 1614-1655. I have not yet attempted to trace the Ushers to any later period. I have a conjecture, and mention it only as such, that as Catharine, as a Christian name, was a strange one in the Taylor family, it may have been that of Daniel Taylor's mother, the first wife of William Taylor. His daughter The second child of Daniel Taylor by his first wife, Rebecca Marsh, was another daughter named Rebecca, of whom the family Pedigree says that she was a Nnthaniei x.jkes. minor and unmarried in 1654; that she married Nathaniel Nokes before 1671;* that both were living in i5go, with two children born before 1673 ; and that she was still living in 1711. I find that she was baptized at Hackney on the 2d of August 1639, and that he died about the ist of January 1697, she surviving him, and administering to his estate on the 23d of that month. In the Letters of Admin- istration he is described as of St Leonard's, Shoreditch. His son William, The next child of whom I can discover any record, was a son, IVilliam, who was who died youDg. , . , , baptized at St Faith's on the 12th of December 1645, and was also buned there on the 5th of Februar}' following. The exact copy of the Register is : — Baptised 1645 Dec. 12, William, sonne of Mr Daniell Taylor, of P. Nost. R. Mercer. Buried 1645-6 Feb. 5, William, sonne of Mr Daniell Taylor, of P. N. R. Mercer. The next, or fourth child, was evidently a son, Daniel, of whose baptism I can find no record, but who died at Hackney on the 9th of June 1650, and was buried there the following day. Between these two, or after the birth of the latter, was born another son, also named William — of whom more hereafter. * From Marriage Allegations in Faculty Office, London : — " 1664, December 6.— Nathaniel Nokes, of All Hallows, Honey Lane, London, Bachelor, aged about twenty- six, and Rebecca Taylor, Spinster, about twenty, her parents dead, and she living with her uncle Mr Jno. Juxon, of St Stephen's, Wallbrook, London, Sugar-baker, who is her guardian, and who assents— to marry at St Mary Abchurch, Woolnoth, or Aldermanbury, in London." The following account of their children is from the Parish Register of St Mary, Aldermanbury Z>apli::cd. 1673, December 21. Katherine, born 27th November. 1675, August 29. Rebecca, born 27th August. 1676, September 28. Sarah, born 15th September. 1677, December 13. Bartholomew, born 1st December. 167S, December 9. Rebecca, born 8th December. Buried. 1677-8, March 23. Bartholomew. 1688-9, January 11. Child of Mr Nockes ; and 1689, September 10. Daniel Nockes, late servant 'to Mr Henry Smith — in church — who docs not appear to have had any connection with the family. Colonel Chester's Report. — Daniel Taylor. 55 The next, or sixth child, was a daughter named Margaret. (Daniel Taylor len-iess. had thus, if I read the signification correctly, given to his first dautrhter the Christian His daughter - , . Margaret. name of his own mother, to his second, that of his own wife, and to the third, that of his two stepmothers and eldest sister.) She was baptized at Hackney on the 27th of October 1651, Mr John Goodwin going thither to perform the ceremony, which, doubtless, took place at the family residence, as it is not recorded in the Hackney Register, while it is in that of St Stephen's, Coleman Street. She was married to Mr George Wellington, of London, merchant, probably before she reached the age of twenty-one, as the marriage settlement is dated on the 29th of June 1672.* She brought her husband ^900 {i.e., ^9000), and he settled upon her ^1500 (or _^i5,ooo). She doubtiess died before the ist of January 1691, as Samuel Howard, in his Will of that date, does not mention her, while he leaves legacies to her two sisters. 'George Wellington was still living in 1684, and, on Ge..rgc wdiing. the 22d of February in that year, he executed a Bond to his brother-in-law, William '^"''^'''"^ Taylor, the seal of which exhibits the arms of the Taylards of Huntingdonshire thus proving that these arms were still perpetuated and in use among at least some of the members of the family. The date, it will be perceived, is exactly one hundred years after the last William Taylard was born. The seventh and last child of Daniel and Rebecca Taylor was another son, in, son Daniel, also named Daniel. He was born, not on the 6th of March 1652, as stated in the family pedigree, but on the 9th of March 1653. His birth only, and not his baptism (for what reason, I cannot account) was recorded in the Parish Register of St Stephen's, Coleman Street. He lived, however, scarcely two years, being buried at St Stephen's on the 15th of February 1655, only about two months before the burial of his father. Rebecca Taylor (iiie Marsh), the first wife of Daniel Taylor, died about the Death of his first ist of February 1654, and was buried at St Stephen's, Coleman Street, on the 3d of that month. Taking into consideration the customs of the times, and the repeated instances of the sort that have been developed during my genealogical investigations, it reflected no discredit upon Daniel Taylor, and was no insult to the memory of the mother of his children, that, exacdy six mondis to a day after wile. * Subsequently Colonel Chester found in the .Mairiage Allegations at the Bishop of London's Registry the following : — " 1672, July 2— George Wellington, of St Giles, Cripplegate, London, Bachelor, aged thirty, and Margaret Taylor, of Broad Street, London, Spinster, aged twenty-one, with consent of parents — to marry at St Alphage." It will be seen that Margaret is described as of Broad Street— -a. na-x /ixrair so far as our knowledge extends — and similarly in the Marriage Allcg.ition of her brother William, (p. 83) he is spoken of as of Throjpnorlon Street, also a place unknown to us in relation to the family. In respect of such Colonel Chester writes— " I don't think these localities of much importance ; they were likely to have been their temporary residences. William Taylor hailing from some inn in Throgmorton Street, and Margaret from the house of some one of her relatives, as Rebecca was, for instance, at her Uncle Juxon's " (p. 54). — P. A. T. 56 Colonel Chester's Report. — Daniel Taylor. T614-1655. His second wife, Margaret Lock. Mistake of the Heralds. Record of liis second marriatrc. the burial of his first wife, he signed the Marriage Settlement that was to bind him to another. Such, however, was the case, as that instrument is dated on the 3d of August 1654. This second wife stands upon the family pedigree as " Margaret, daughter of (....) Howard." This statement has caused me more trouble than all the rest of my investigations. Taking it for granted that the Heralds must have had some authority for their assertion, I could in no way reconcile it with the contradictory history of the Howard family. I found, also, that Daniel Taylor in his Will mentioned his " father and mother Locke," and thereupon directed my inquiries into another channel. The interest did not attach so much to her, as she evidendy had no issue, and soon disappeared from the family history ; but the previous connection of the Howards with the Taylors was important, and the question was perpetually arising, Why did William Taylor call Samuel Howard his son-in-law ? I have already, I think, suggested the most reasonable conjecture on the subject, and have at last, at all events, discovered the proof that the old pedigree is wrong. In one of the old Registers at St Stephen's, Coleman Street, in an out-of-the- way place in the volume, and the leaves being reversed, 1 came upon two or three pages of the records of the Publication of Marriages according to the custom of the Common- wealth, and among them, to my great joy and satisfaction, I found the one referring to Daniel Taylor's second marriage. The Heralds, who had twice searched this iden- tical volume, ended their task when they had examined the regular Marriage Register for that period, and probably did not dream of the very important item that was even then hiding itself away under their very hands. This record states, with all the customary formalities, that in the )-ear 1654, and on the respective days of July 23d and 30th and August the 6th, publication had been duly made of an intended marriage between Daniel Taylor, Esquire, of this parish (St Stephen's, Coleman Street), and Margaret Lock, Gentlewoman, of Wimbledon, in the county of Surrey, daughter of William Lock, Gentleman, of the same place." Thus the vexed question was set entirely at rest. The following extract from the Parish Register of Clapham, Surrey (since dis- covered), gives the date of the marriage : — 1654, August 8.— Daniell Taylor Esq'- of Stephen's, Coleman Street, London, and M" Margrett Locke of Wimbolton, Surrey, published July 23'" 30, August 6"' marryed August S'" before Alder: Tichborne. Witness, M' Jn°' Arthur, M' Tho: Locke. On searching the Parish Registers of Wimbledon, there proved to be a hiatus of ten or twelve years, covering the very period in question, so that from that source I have been unable to ascertain anything further respecting the Lockes. Daniel Taylor speaks of her in his Will, dated about six months after their Colonel Chester's Report. — Daniel Taylor. 57 marriage, as liis " loving and dear wife," and confirms the settlement he had already 1614^1655 made upon her of certain lands called Alton Park, Feverells, and Pettison's, in Bequests t.. his Little and Great Clackton in the county of Essex. He also gives to her all his fee-farm rents in the county of Chester, during her life, his household furniture, and /400 {i.e., £a,ooo) in money. He also mentions that, before their marriage, he had Gifts to i,is wir<- given to her a Necklace of Pearls, a Gold Watch, a Ring set with Diamonds, etc., and that he had since bestowed upon her another " Ring with about eight Diamonds ; " which does not exactly accord with the more rigid Puritanic instructions in the same Will respecting his children. I have not yet ascertained what became of her. As the guardianship of Daniel Taylor's children was entrusted, not to her, but to Appoints his 1 . A -.J- . . . si.ster Margaret their Aunt, Margaret Webb, it seems probable that she returned to her own family.* Webb guardian of his children. bhe is certainly not mentioned in any of the subsequent Wills of the Taylors or their connections, nor in any of the family papers that have been pre- served. Besides the property in Clackton, already mentioned, Daniel Taylor owned His real estate, estates of more or less magnitude in Belgrave and Lutterworth, in Leicestershire ; Middle Cleydon, in Buckinghamshire; Ashwell in Hertfordshire; and also houses in Fleet Street, Kerry Lane,t and Paternoster Row, in London, as well as the house in which he lived, and probably died, in Swan Alley, near Coleman Street. This he bought for ^750 of Richard Wilson in 1654. From certain expressions in his Will, it seems evident that the property in the country had been purchased for him at the sales of the Church Lands, he having, in his capacity as Com- missioner, been able to determine as to their value, and probably to effect good bargains.^ The bulk of his real estate he bequeathed to Trustees, to be held by them until his son and heir should reach the age of thirty-one years, t Daniel Taylor twice refers to Robert Clarkson and Samuel Howard, not only as his brothers, but also as his pai-tners ; but whether this alliance related to the regular business in Paternoster Row, or to what may be called "outside operations," does not appear. But the most curious portion of his Will comprises the instructions concerning * We htive since discovered that she married again one (. . .) WiUoughby ; this is shown by her appearance Marriage of l,is in the Hildeslcy su.t as a defendant, under the name "(. . .) Willoughby and Margaret his wife," and she is afterwards mentioned in the proceedings as having been formerly the wife of Daniel Taylor. We also find a Willoughby named as tenant of the Coleman Street house. The only further trace we get of them is in the Will of her sister J.ane Locke, dated 19th M.irch 1669-70, and proved 2Sth October 1670: she calls herself daughter of William Locke, gentleman, deceased, and leaves legacies, among others, to her sister Mrs Margaret Willoughby and her two children, Francis and Susannah. Her mother. Mrs Sus:inn,ah Locke, proved the Will. Colonel Chester reports, October 1873, "I have read every Locke and Willoughby Will down to 17C0, without obtaining any further mformaiion." >t- 6b6. t Now Carey Lane. I In the Chancery suit beHveen his children and Mark Hildesley [he younger in 1663-64 (p. 93), a full inventor^■ of his personal estate was produced by order of the Court, of which a facsimile is given opposite page 60.— 1>. A. f. § See Appendix, pp. 667 to 68a H 58 Colonel Chester's Report. — Daniel Taylor. i6i4-i655. the bringing up of his children— one passage of which, on account of its singular provisions, and quaintness of expression, I quote verbatim. He says — Mis directions as to the manage- ment of his children. Indications that when the Will was made he foresaw a speedy death. My will and earnest request to my executor and the respective guardians of my children, and which I chars^e them (I hope they will bear the word) to their power to see performed, is that they suffer not any of my children to learn to dance, nor give way by connivance thereunto ; nor that they put forth, or sufl'er to be put forth, any of my daughters to such boarding-schools where young gentlewomen used to be put, upon any pretence whatsoever There speaks out the true Puritan of two centuries ago ; but it reads strangely, as it stands in close juxtaposition with the other passage wherein he minutely recounts the Pearl Necklace, Gold Watch, and Diamond Rings, which he had so recently (and so un-Puritanically) bestowed upon his new wife. This Will of Daniel Taylor was dated on the 22d of February 1655, about six months after his second marriage, and indicates, I think, that he had been smitten with some hopeless disease. On the 28th of IVIarch following,^he added to it a long Codicil, explanatory of the former Will, and also comprising the particular be- quests. (For Will, see p. 59.) He probably died about a fortnight after, as he was buried at St Stephen's, Coleman Street, on the 20th of April in that year. He thus died in the very full bloom of life, not having long passed, if he had quite ended, his forty-first year. To prevent confusion in dates, I now leave for the present Colonel Chester's narrative, which is continued p. 83. I find the following memorandum on a paper which seems a sort of abstract of all that is known or reported of the family (and which, from the date going down as late as 1S03, may probably be by Uncle Henry of Banstead, or, as the writing does not seem to be his, from his dictation) — Daniel Taylor enjoyed a place under Cromwell, and purchased some of the Church and Crown lands ; andmn by j^j.^ ^^^^ j^j^ property during his children's minority to a particular friend, Mark Hildesley, Esquire, who died the thirtieth of December 1659; the trust then devolved on his son, who made away with some of the property. William Taylor, the son of Daniel, instituted a suit in Chancery for the recovery of his property. He was obliged to give up the State lands his father had purchased, and to buy his pardon of Charles II. This story of the dishonest guardian is repeated in a letter addressed "Dear Brother" (no doubt Ben Mordecai),* and endorsed "Sister Rebecca." t After speak- ing of Daniel Taylor, she says — Family Memor- ndum by • Atuit Rebecca." Norn de plume of Rev. Henry Taylor of Crawley, see p. 240. t See p. 405. 1 Daniel Taylor. 59 His son was my aunt's father, a child of eight years old [meaning, probably, at his father's death]. i6i4-trt55. He was heir to above a thousand a year, when he was but four years old.* We have papers concerning y" law sute then depending, but cannot read them. This Daniel on y" stairs Dyed extremely Rich, and my aunt has heard that he was a very pious good man — she don't Like him because he layd out so much money on Church Lands, & she thinks he was upon y" scaffold when y" King's Head was cut off The Story of the Hildesley suit, so far as we can get at it, will be found in its Mark inidesk-y. proper place, when we come to our account of William Taylor the Dantzic Man. The friendly relations between Daniel Taylor and Mark Hildesley — his " loving- friend," as he terms him in his Will — were probably based upon a similarity of religious opinions, as we find them both leaving sums of money to Mr Goodwin. The following is a full abstract of Daniel Taylor's Will : — Abstract of Daniel Taylor's Will, dated 22d February 1654-55. "I, Daniell Taylor of London, Esquire," to my son William Taylor and his heirs for ever all that niy Abstractor Iiaiiiel moiety of the manor of Belgrave in county of Leicester, and my moiety of Davenports manor in Belgrave, and Taylor's Will, my moiety of Zouches Fee, and my moiety of the Rectories and Tithes of Belgrave, and my moiety, interest, and estate, and trust of and in all other manors, lands, and hereditaments in the parish of Bel- grave aforesaid ; also to said son William all my fee-farm rents and other rents lying and being in or near Lutterworth, in the county of Leicester, and also my moiety or half part of the manor of AVenlocks Barne, near Old St. in the county of Middlesex, etc., also all my messuages, lands, tenements, and heredita- ments in Middle Claydon in the county of Bucks, to have and to hold, etc. Provided that said son William or his heirs shall, within forty days after he or they shall accomplish the age of twenty-one years, assign, convey, etc., unto my three daughters Katherine, Rebecca, and Margaret, or their survivors, all the customary part and portion and orphanage part which shall appertain to him, the said William, out of my personal estate, by the custom of London. To my loving friend Mark Hildesley, Esquire, and my loving brother Master William Webb, and Master Samuel Howard, and their heirs, during the life of my son William, all my messuages, etc., in Great Clacton and Little Clacton in Essex, with all their appurtenances, except the lands, etc., called Great and Little Stringers, and except a close called Park Meadow, containing by estimation three acres, which, and other lands, all in occupa- tion of Jno. Arthur, clerk, I have sold to the trustees of said Arthur ; also all that messuage, etc., in or near Paternoster Row in London, in occupation of Israel Knowles, and also the house, etc., in which I now live, lying and being in Swan Alley, in or near Coleman Street, London; also all my messuage, etc., in Ashwell, county Hertford; also my three houses in Fleet Street, London, in occupation of Master Hilliard, Master Reddish, and Mistress Bywater ; and also my house in Kerry Lane ; in trust that they shall dispose of the annual rents and profits of the same during the life of said son William for the livelihood, maintenance, and education of said son, and such wife and children as he shall have, remainder to first son of said William and heirs of the said first son, remainder to William's other sons in seniority, remainder to said William's daughters, etc. This devise to said trustees to become void when said son William reaches the age of thirty-one years, provided he keeps and preserves the rest of my land, etc, without selling, mortgaging, or encumbering them in any way, until he arrive • We have no tr.ice of her meaning in this reference to the D.mtzic Man's property, -ui/ieii he was four years old. The only guess I can give is, that she had in her mind the W ill of Willi.im Taylor, who died in 1631— when his grandson would be four years old— and which gave evidence of considerable wealth ; there is, however, no mention in it of bis grandson. 6o Daniel Taylor. at that age. My will is that my wife shall enjoy her jointure in Alton Parke, in Clacton aforesaid, according to the tenor of the conveyance thereof. I give, will, and devise unto my brother Howard and Master George Studholme, my trustees for my lands at Clacton aforesaid, all my lands, etc., in Clacton, called Stringers, being two several farms, etc., upon trust that they shall convey the same to the Lord Lumley, Henry Nevill and Isaac Creame, and their heirs, provided they pay ^288 with interest within six months after my death ; consents to enclosure of his lands in Belgrave, provided his friend Master Henry Colbron and other freeholders there also consent, and also authorises there any exclianges that may be necessary to accomplish it. If all my children die without issue before twenty- one, then I give all my property, etc., to my brother Edmond Taylor and his heirs, and for want of such heirs, to my brother Samuel Taylor and his heirs, and for want of such heirs, then to my next heirs. Personal estate and residue to my three daughters and survivor of them. Witnesses — Wm. Burroughes, Richard Barrett, Jno. Sherly, Robt. Tichborne,' Theo. Colcok, and I. Fenwicke. Codicil, dated March 2S, 1655, appoints executors "my loving friend Mark Hildesley, Esq.," late Alderman of London, to whom legacy of £-ioa, and also £20 per annum during his executorship for his trouble, etc. Whereas, by an Indenture dated August 3, 1654, I made over to my loving and dear wife, • Margaret Taylor, all those lands commonly called Aulton Parke, and Feverels, and Pettisons, lying in Little or Great Clacton in Essex, and to enjoy same during term of life by way of dowry, which Deed I do confirm, etc. I give unto my said wife all my fee-farm rents and other rents in the county and city of Chester, etc., all which I purchased of the contractors, etc., for the sale of Deane and Chapter land, in the name of my brother Burroughes, but in trust only for me, for her life, remainder to my son William and his heirs, remainder to my brother Edmond Taylor, etc., remainder to my brother Samuel Taylor, etc., remainder to my heirs. To my said wife .:^4oo in four payments — ist, six months after my death ; 2d, twelve months ; 3d, eighteen months, etc. ; also my household furniture, etc. To my mother Taylor, ;^2o ; to brother Edmond, £^0, likewise my silver tobacco-box, etc. ; to brother Samuel, ^10; to sister Webb, and my two fayre silver tankards; to brother Webb, 40s. for a ring; sister Clarkson, ; brother Clarkson, 40s. for ring; sister Ju.xon, ^5 ; and brother Juxon, 40s. for ring; brother and sister Howard, £^ to buy a piece of plate ; cousin Sarah Howard, ; cousin Matthew Howard, 40s. for ring ; brother Burroughs, 40s. for ring ; cousin Votier, cousin Martha Knolls, and cousin Mary Singer, 40s. apiece. "I give my cousin William Taylor att New Castle, ^5." To Aunt Owen at Buckingham, ^5; cousin Timothy Owen, £20; cousin Anne Graunte, £10; and to cousin Katherine Busby the elder, £^ ; her daughter, the young Katherine Busby, when married or twenty- one, .;^20 ; to "brother Edward Rawson, in New England, Tenn poundes;" to each of my two partners, my brother Clarkson and brother Howard, ;^2o ; to my honoured friend Colonel Harvey,tand Alderman Tichbourne, £ii\ apiece for mourning; to my dear friend Master John Goodwin, £20; to my father and mother Locke, £'i to buy a piece of plate ; to cousin Tucker, to buy her a ring, 40s. ; to luy good friend Master Henry Colbron, ;^io ; to my man Christopher CoUyer, ^3, and my maid Elizabeth Madden, ^3, if they be living with me at my death ; rest of servants 20s. each ; to the new corporation of the poor in London, £2e,; to the governors of Christ's Hospital for the use of their poor, .^^25; the poor of Coleman Street parish, ;^io. Whereas Master George Cooke stands bound to me in the penalties of .;^ioo to pay me £so, etc., I give the same to my good friends Master Richard Arnold, Master Samuel Sowden, and Master Tassell, for the use of the poor of Master Goodwin's Church ; to my dear friends Master Jno. Price and Master William Allen, 40s. each for rings. Whereas Master George Seupholme oweth me ;£3i, directs debt to be cancelled; widow Powell oweth p/^25, debt to be cancelled on payment of ^15; to daughter Catherine, ;^2oo and sundry articles of clothing; daughter Rebecca, ^100 and my white wrought bed; to said two daughters my linen, to be divided between them ; residue of personal estate between Katharine, Rebecca, and Margaret (his daughters). Sister Margaret Webb to be guardian of all the children, whom he earnestly requests not to refuse the trust and trouble ; in case of her death or refusal, then his wife Margaret. Son William to be sent to a good school, etc. "My Will and earnest request to my executor and the respective Guardians of my Signed warrant for execution of Charles I. t See A;>pendix, p. 680. INVENTORY, DANIEL, TAYLORS ESTATE, 1655, Y/ 0 ^iS^ /^.^^ Y^jc^-^^^ dJyjj^i cj/<^^\ UrJ^lJ' ^^ca ^^Jy Qj^ cM^o^ ^ 4JL.a.^rOil<9^ ^ ^ :^ ^ g) UlLrlfZr jCTLMt^, - iU-,^<- n.^.^ J"^- •■ T \ CrtnrO : 1^. crs 1 \^ ^ - — — T\\ — ^ --^ . f^ccTf uaIC - ,w ^ 4^.y^?f^f ^'^\am%:,6 ' ' - ^ ^ ^ av}i^ If . ^0ttJcai>^i^ ^ o ju^.i^ "^Ji) — ' ~ " ticri^ (rt<3 a (JViV fji^o*^ /zt<«^ tznr,hf»^ tui/u p^Cr^ ^ j^^tS^v ^(f^,-'m^ ^^y$/vv6f C OOS ' : '6 jrds^ cjifO-i^^ -^^rf^W- ^em^ — — — — • JU^p^f^^^^l^ ^a^;^i-^^i-ur^^ ■ '^■"^ ta^^ €^^7^ ^eaj.' -—OTVZ-.JV^ L ie.'h^^. fj^^'foMfQ o. feJe^ ... . ///^ ;^7^/.SV^ A ^ ''''■^ \^h^^ur&u- iynL,A( g-^ jUs' jWs^ ^='^2^ : lO -.SO IL^ IfJ^.JU^ CglM AjOr ^1^0 ^ cr7W\ : lO .ov ^As- O^.i" ^[ _: ^/ ■■ JU. 7 ^.L i^Jj^ ^a:^ ^/ ■^.■ , ^» •^Wf*f„f^..„,/.„^ ^.^^ h^l. 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AV/t^vJ ■ — avSo : ot>'- — czroo' OTj' CW ■ (TO inrdf. era: V .mf Wv^'<^(^ji^-y, otifo:n: ■0^%. ^(U^J 4 ;« f' ^^mtm-in^ ^ _ ^ , ^u^t^ &lir^t^a^U'^af S't ■ ' Daniel Taylor. 6i children, and which I charge them (I hope they will beare the word) to their power to see performed, 1614-1655. is that they suffer not any of my children to learn to dance, nor give way by connivance thereto, nor that they put forth, or suffer to be put forth, any of my daughters to such boarding-schools where young Gentlewomen used to be put, upon any pretence whatsoever," etc. To my brother Samuel Howard and my friend George Seupholme and their heirs, all my messuages, etc., in Middle Claydon, county Bucks, conveyed to me by Francis Drake, Esq., upon trust that if said Francis Drake, or Sir Ralph Verney, or their heirs, pay to Mark Hildesley, my executor, the sum of ^2456, los., etc., then my trustees to con- vey said lands to them. Whereas before I married my wife, I gave her a necklace of pearls, gold watch, ring set with diamonds, etc., and since a ring with about eight diamonds, etc., confirm these gifts. To Alderman Tichborne, my silver watch ; to Mark Hildesley, " my silver spurs ; " to my two partners and brothers, Robert Clarkson and Samuel Howard, all ray right, etc., in an agreement between my father Taylor, deceased, and myself, the original whereof is in Captain Richard Price's hands, concerning shop and warehouse in Paternoster Row, known as the Hen and Chickens. Appoint William Webb and Samuel Howard overseers of Will, and for their trouble give them each ;^io; children all minors; to brother Burroughs and sister Webb, J^i, to lay out in apparel for cousm Elizabeth Votier. To cousin Timothy Owen, ;^io to be laid out for the wife and children of his brother Robert Owen ; to cousin Temperance Pratt, ^10 ; to Aunt Gibbs, 40s. ; to cousin Nicholas Juxon, 40s. for ring; to John Arthur of Clapham, 40s. for ring; to Captain Richard Price, 40s. for ring; to Master George Foxcrafte, 40s. for ring, and to his wife, " to whom I am much engaged," 40s. for the same use. Witnesses to Codicil — Thomas Juxon, Nicholas Juxon, Richard Barrett, and I. Fenwick. Proved April 28, 1655, in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, by Mark Hildesley, Esq., late Alder- man of London, sole and only executor. (Registered in book "Aylett," folio 348.) April II, 1660. — Administration to Mark Hildesley, the son and sole executor in the Will of Mark Hildesley, Esq., deceased, and while he lived sole executor in the last Will and Testament of Daniel Taylor, "late of the parish of St Stephen's, Coleman Street, London, Esq.," to administer goods, etc., left unadministered by said Mark Hildesley, now also deceased. The relations between Daniel Taylor and his pastor, the Rev. John Goodwin, The Rev. John Vicar of St Stephen's, Coleman Street, were evidently of the closest, and even most affectionate character, as will be recognised by the extracts, etc., which follow; Daniel Taylor appearing on several occasions as the defender and upholder of Mr Goodwin, and the latter expressing himself in the warmest terms on preaching the funeral sermon of his friend, whom (though about twenty years older) he survived ten years, Daniel Taylor dying, as we have seen, at the age of forty-one. The father of Daniel was more nearly of an age with Mr Goodwin, being only some nine years his senior, and probably was likewise on terms of intimacy with him, as we find him leaving a small legacy to Mr Goodwin, as also to the poor of his church. He was, however, forty-nine years of age when Goodwin was appointed to St Stephen's, Coleman Street. * The name of Daniel Taylor appears as one of twenty who signed a statement, nis acfc-nce of entitled, "An Apologetical account of some Brethren of the Church whereof j^i^ John Goodwin is Pastor, why they cannot execute the Passionate and Unchristian * See Appendix, p. 6&1 62 Daniel Taylor. 1614-1655. Charge of delivering up their Pastor to Satan, which is imposed upon them in a late Printed Book, 1647."* Mark Hildesley, Daniel Taylor's e.xecutor, was also one of the twenty. This statement was in reply to an anonymous writer, who had solemnly adjured Mr Goodwin's church, in the name of the Holy Trinity, to deliver their pastor up to the devil, as having not only pleaded for universal liberty of con- science, but published the following query, which, according to the writer's apprehen- sion, contained "a complication of blasphemy," viz., "Whether it be agreeable to the mind of Christ for men to inflict the heavy censure of death upon their brethren for holding forth such doctrines or opinions in religion supposed contrary to admonition, which, for aught the said inflictors know, unless they make themselves infallible, may be the sacred truths of God?" — ("Life of John Goodwin" by Jackson.t London, 1822, p. 131.) Amongst Mr Goodwin's many assailants, one of the most virulent was John Vicars ; and on one occasion Daniel Taylor took up the cudgels for his friend, answering in his own name a letter written by Vicars. Of Vicars, Colonel Chester says — John Vicars. This John Vicars does not appear to have been a clergyman, altliough a controversialist. He was Ijorn in London, 1582, and descended from the Vicars in Cumberland. He was at Queen's College, Cxford, and finally became tisher (or under teacher) at Christ's Hospital, London, which post he held until his death, August 12, 1652. He was buried in Christ Church, Newgate Street. This explains Daniel Taylor's allusions to his profession. He was quite a voluminous writer, both in verse and prose. His controversial writings on religious subjects are full of the peculiar slang and personal invective com- mon at that period, and are fair specimens of that class of writing. The circumstances under which the letter by Daniel Taylor was written are thus described by Mr Jackson, p. 73 — On the publication of his " Innocency and Truth Triumphing Together," Mr Goodwin presented a copy to the noted John Vicars, of HudibrasticJ memory, and usher in the Hospital of Christ Church, London; * See also Appendix. t " Funeral of the Rev. Thomas Jackson. — One of the patriarchs of Methodism, the Rev. Thomas Jackson, more widely known as ' Father Jackson,' was buried at Richmond Cemetery on Friday. He died on the previous Monday. Mr Jackson was born in the village of Sancton, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, on December I3, 1783, and was therefore in his ninetieth year at the time of his death."— i'lz/// News, January 17, iS73- I called upon the venerable old man a year or two before his death. He seemed pleased to see the de- scendant of Daniel Taylor. X Butler in his " Hudibras" (vol. i. p. 55, Lond. 1S35) makes this allusion to Vicars— " We should, as learned poets use, On one that fits our purpose most. Invoke th' assistance of some muse,— Whom therefore thus we do accost :— Thou that with ale or viler liquors Didst inspire Withers, Prynne, and Vickars, We think 'tis no great matter which,— And forc'd them, though it were in spite They 're all alike ; yet we shall pitch Of nature and their stars, to write." Daniel Taylor. 63 a zealous Calviiiist, and author of several works both in prose and verse. " In tlie beginning of the Civil Wars," says the Oxford Historian, " he showed himself a forward man for the Presbyterian cause, hated all people that loved obedience, and did affright many of the weaker sort and others from having any agreement with the king's party, by continually inculcating into their heads strange stories of the wrath of God against the Cavaliers" (Atkeii. Oxon. V. 2, Col. 153). Having read Mr Goodwin's tract, Vicars addressed a private letter to its author, expressing the highest admiration of Prynne, censuring Mr Goodwin with great severity for writing against such a man, even in self-defence, and reflecting upon the people who had placed themselves under his pastoral care. Mr Goodwin does not appear to have taken any notice of this letter; but Mr Daniel Taylor, a member of his church, a man of considerable property, of eminent piety, of strong sense, and of great moderation, addressed to Vicars a few lines in reply. Vicars immediately published his own letter, and was very diligent in the distribution of copies among his friends. Desirous of furnishing an antidote to this intemperate and unseasonable production, Taylor also presented his epistle to the world. The following is Vicars' letter : — To HIS REVEREND AND MUCH Respected Good Friend MR JOHN GOODWIN: Be these I pray presented. REVEREND SIR Having lately received from you by the hands of my loving neighbour and friend Mrs Ducker a both undeserved & unexpected favour one of your last Books, intituled Innocencie and Tniih triumpJiing together ; I acknowledge it a just engagement of obliged gratitude, and therefore, accordingly, I do here return you deserved and most humble thanks for the same, by the same friendly hand. And because (worthy Sir) I conceived and considered with myself, that you sent it by way of love and desire to give me (who am, as I acknowledge, a poor and unworthy Presbyterian) satisfaction, if it might be, touching your Indepent Church-way; I having now perused it all over, even a capite ad calcem (and I hope with that pietie and impartialitie, as my God hath enabled me, which becomes a Christian and fellow servant to the same Lord Jesus Christ with you) I therefore hope you will, not so much pardon (which I pray not) as accept (which I heartily desire) with Christian Candor, mine ingenuitie and plain dealing with you, in now giving you an account, briefly, as I tliought it most fit, of what light or content and satisfaction I have received from it. Truly Sir, I having read your Epistle to the Reader, found therein very full and fair promise of your ingenuous aym and intention in the subsequent discourse, viz., that you projected four things therein, Brevitie, Perspiaiitie, Moderation and Satisfaction. But having, I say, perused your Book, truly Sir (if I am not mistaken, as I believe I am not) you have come extream short of your promised project, in every of the four branches thereof. For first, if I found you short, I am sure I found you sharp and tart. For Perspicuitie, I assure you I found much cloudie obscurities Veri similitudinem multam, non ipsam veritatem ; satisfaction therefore none at all. But especially in that of projected moderation, and promised temperature in writing, (the great defect, and foul fault, so cried out upon by Independents against all Presbyterian Writers or Speakers) instead of moderation I found abundance of bitter nesse and iinsavourie jerkes and jeeres (the light issues me thought rather, rather of a youthfull grecnhcad, then the solid expressions of such a grave heart), sprinkled almost, over all your whole discourse ; which I must confesse much troubled and affected me with wonder to meet with, after such a seeming promise of moderation : Some few of many many whereof (because I knew, Do/osus versatur in geturaJibus) I have here particularized with their pages where they are evidently and easily to be seen. As first (to omit your Via Sanguinea, with all its most bitter and biting, yea sorely wounding expositions of that term, in your Tluomachia, etc.) pag. 13. you compare Vicais' letter to Rev. Jolm Good- win. 64 Daniel Taylor. Mr Prynn* in his Reply, to the two false witnesses, who falsly accused our blessed Saviour. And in the same Page you tell the Reader, Here Mr Prynn vapours in his Reply; immediately after, in the same page how notably do you jeer and scoffe him about three Tabernacles 1 And with what an elated spirit do you answer him, page i6. line 4. together with a downright jeer about a Nationall Church, some twelve lines after? You also grosscly taxe him with errors. Page 17. Sect. 21. And Page 18 and 19. you frequently jeer him, and amongst those jeers you tell him, that Acts 15. is oncly Mr Pryntis Gosfcll ; what a bitter and unchristian censure lay you upon him, and all Presbyterians, Page 24. Sect. 26. towards the end of it? And O how you jeer him with his quotations, Page 37. towards the bottome ; as also Page 49. and Page 51. you slander him with want of Reason and Truth too; and Page 52. you tell him, his pen spits black reproaches in the face of Independetits. You also accuse him P. 65. of much untruth; and the same also again most fouly, Page, 84. Together with a Notable jeer, exalting your selfe, and vilifying Mr Prynn, which I have noted at large in your book, page 85. Together with many other such like expressions, too tedious to be here recited; and yet (strange to consider) you conclude them all (with the conclusion of your book) page 99. in a hor- tatorie way to Mr Prynn in these words ; That he would put lesse Vineger and Gall into his inke and more Wool and Gotten. And in the Apostles words. Ephes. 4. 3r. That all bittertiesse and evill speaking be put away, as becomes brethren. And now any impartiall person may judge, whether you yourself have followed this brotherly exhortation; Nay, whether contrariwise, you have not with unhrotherly aspersions indeavored to besmear the face of that precious Gentleman, most worthy ever to be honoured both by you all and us all 1 Truly Sir, you Independent Gentlemen have dealt with this most worthy servant of the Lord, just as the people of Lystra did with the Apostle Paul, whom at first they so honoured and admired, as that they were ready to deifie him and make him a god ; but shortly after, they furiously indeavoured to stone him to death : So ye at the first, in the time of Mr Prynns first most elaborate and learned dirine writings, yea and for his most glorious and SaintMkc sufferings; O then, how ye all (with us) most highly (and that most justly too) honoured him, and brought him home from banishment, as it were in the triumphing Chariot of your love and praises ! But now, since he hath piously and faithfully written against your Independant way, and onely for this, O how you and almost all of your way, indeavoured as much as in you is, to stone to death his illustrious reputation, by most unworthy and unchristian retailing and vilipending of him, both in words, and writings I Even him I say, who for his pietie, humilitie, incomparable constancie, fortitude and magnanimitie in suffering for Gospell Truths, was not inferior to any of his most faithfuU fellow-sufferers, yea, whose soundnesse and sinceritie, whose profound learning and indefatigable labours in writing upon deepest points of Divinity and controverted Gospel Truths (witnesse his Perpetuity of the estate of a regenerate man; his Anti Arminianisme, Unbislwping of Timothy and Titus, his Histrio-Mastix ; and many other his later, most learned, orthodox and precious peeces have made his never-dying name and fame most worthily renowned both in England and other parts of the world, beyond the Seas. And yet this noble Gentleman to be thus, I say, besmeared and bespattrcd with your unjust accusations, onely I say again, for writing the truth against Independant novelties; O ! it is most sad and bad to consider. Truly Sir, you must here give me leave to be yet more plain with you, 1 professe in the sinceritie of my soul, that I do most groundedly beleeve, that (had Mr Prynn been such a Nonsence, Cotisciencelesse, irrationall, false, and frivolous writer, as you and others of your way only have struggled (but all in vain) to make and demonstrate him by your lavish tongues and pens) that yet, I say certainly, Mr John Goodwin was the most unfit man of all I know in London, to lay those undeserved criminations to Mr Prynns charge. For you know good Sir, that qui in alterem paratus est dicere, ipsum vitio carere oportet. For you, therefore, Reverend Sir, to take upon you to tax Mr Prynn of errours, untruths, and such like, as you have done, how deeply you yourself (before ever this most unhappy and unholy difference of Independency with Presbytery was dreamed of) have been censured both of Socinianisme ; (and how justly too others have most learnedly in publike declared) and more lately also how you have been discovered to hold a most * A portrait of Prynne, in prison, is given on opposite page. Pm-NNE IN PRISON. Chrifti ferviis etiam in fiimma Captivitatc Liber- Tlie Places and Times of his Firft Imprifonments under his pro- feffcd Enemies the f RELATES, I. THe Tiwir of London, to which he was committed lor his Hifriomtflix,Tth. i. itfjj. and cenfured, though Licenfed. II. The Fliei, when his firft Sentence for his Hipiemtjlix was executed, Maj , 7. 1534. III. The Tmir of London , to which he was re-committed from the fleit, June 1. ias4. IV. Cfmrvm Cuflk in HortimUs, to which by his fccond Sentence he was lent clofe Prifoner from the lower, i^ugiijl 5. V. Mtunt Orguie! Ciftk in the Ide of J'-IJ-, ( where hee was clofe iraprifoncd , when removed from Carnarvan^) January, I 17. :6;7. Whence hee was lent for and enlarged by the Parliamenr, SimmK ip, I 1540. men vanity,' "Tku.lut ajhajorv, hen I'f/sK thine eye, Jfhim, tahsje vondrguJ clanpes clearh- shm>, .T^Iuii (}OD,iuitmen,Jn'a)-u all thi^UfS heiv l^elcf . j The Places and Times of his Second Imprifonments under falfe Brethren and pretended Friends. I.tJ£#in mfimmflcr by the Array Officers, forfpcakinghisconfcience and difchar- ging his duty in Parliament, Dfctwi.e, 1648. II. The Swan in the Strandby thcfamc Offi- cers, for the fame caufc, Decemh. 7. 1 6t,i. III. The Kings hiad'm theSfrWby thefarac Power, for the famecaufc, pn. j. 1 548: V^.DunjltrCijll' in Somtrfei/h.viheK he was kept clofe Prifoner without accufation.cxami- nalio ,heaiing,by 3(rA/(e*^// warrant under M. BAtdflims hand,exprefling no particularcaufe, and Icep: from Gods Ordinances,/*.'; 1 .1 tfjo. V. TMnim Cajlle and the Lrnih Uvirn in TMnton, when removed from Danihr,bj no particular warrant, June 1 2. itf; i. \%,Pinde/mis Ca/lli in CtrnaeS- where he re- mained dole Priloner by a co^y oUWhitchd warrant under M. Br^Jf],.m'i hind, mention- ing no caufe but T mntm unfitntfs to reftrain himin,from/«/)r J. 1*51. till/<^r. 24, 155,, r Cor. II. to »8. In Labours more ahoundant, in T%lSOU^S MO%S F%^QV£^T, in 'Deaths oft, infournftng often, in Terih oflVaters, in Terils of jobbers, in 'perils by mine orm Countrymen, in 'perils in the tity,inPenls inthe t>ea, inPerils among falfe'Brethren : Intveannefs and painfulne/s, inMtch- ings often, in hunger and thirfl, in faflings often, in cold and nal^ednejje. Loe here's the (liade, but not Heroick mindc, And Publike/c/w/of him, vvhomoft unkinde, Unjuft l^ejlraints. Bonds, Treffures hath fuftain'd ¥\om foes ind friends ■ becaufe he ftill maintain'd 'Religion^ Truth, Laws, Freedom, luflice, flight. His Countries common good , with his whole might, In all III 7" imes ; and nc'r would once combine VVithLawlcfs^;,«« fuch a MaintenaiicejSj due to Minifters by Divine Right.LaWjGof- ^ <|S pel : That iffubftraaed or dccamed, they may lawfully be inforced 3% <^ by Coercive Laws and PenaltiesiThat Tithes are no real Burden nor ^ ^ grievance to the people ; The abolilhing them, no eafe or benefit to ^ ^ Farmers, Husbandmen^ or poor people, but a Prejudice andLofs. ^ <|t That the prefent oppofition againft Tithes, proceeds not from any ft ^ teal |tounds of Confcience, but bafc Covctoufncffe, Carnal poHcy, hatred to, ^ ^« Tetye have rMtdme 78^1 yeh merein hive W me, even this whole Nitm. ' <^ Pm i» S'aceriali ; Hoc tott ii .- tfcm, qmd mn nccepit Chriffus. . ft i^""*"". Printed by V. CtaU.. ^ndL.P^rry, for 'idC^Eh^, and «r^ Daniel Tayloi'. 65 dangerous, yea, a most damnable opinion (as a learned Independent Brotlier of yours termed it in my hearing) and who then said he would justifie it against you, touching justifying faith by Christ. And now also, how fiercely you are fallen on this unhappily disturbant new way of Independencee I beseech you, therefore. Reverend Sir, seriously to consider these things, to muster up your saddest thoughts, and to see into what a Labyrinth you are strangely and strongly intricated. Sir, I do not, I cannot denie, but ingenuously confesse that God hath given you much learning, and eminent parts, but truly Sir, if I be not mistaken, I greatly fear your Independent Proselites do too much niagnifie, if not (almost) deifie you for them, and as it was with Pythagoras his Schollars, an Ipse dixit is enough, I feare for many if not most of your disciples, jiirare in verba Magistri ; Whereby I pray God, your great parts and gifts bee not (thus) a great Snare to your Soul, which I much feare, if not timely and truely seen into and prevented by cordiall Selfdeniall, and Holy Humilitie ih your selfe, being more kindely afectioncd with brotherly love and in honour preferring others before your selfe. Rom. 12. 10. And thus Reverend Sir, I have made humbly bold, by your own occasion, lovingly, and, I hope, fairly and friendly as a true Christian Brother ought (Levit. 19. 17.) Liberare animam meam, and thus to manifest my recipro- cal! love and gratitude unto you, praying our good God it may be accepted with the like right handed Christian Candor and Simplicitie of Heart with which it is sent and intended, I humbly take my leave and rest, Sir Yours in our great Lord and Master Christ fesus, to be commended Jan this. 18. 1644. JOHN VICARS. Imprimatur — Ja. Crauford Jan. 24. 1644. Of Daniel Taylor's reply Mr Jackson says — When Mr Taylor published his letter, it was accompanied by the following advertisement :— " The author of this Letter did not intend it for the Presse, but sent it to Mr Vicars in a private way : But Mr Vicars his Letter cumming forth in Print, and divers copies thereof being disperst into severall hands by himself, it was thought fit that this letter should be published also." To his much respected Friend Mr JOHN VICARS Hi3 ^^^^^ These be delivered. Vicars. SIR, Whether it was my good or hard happe to meet with your Letter directed and sent to Mr [ohn Goodwin, I cannot easily determine; for though all manner of knowledge, either of persons or things, be in some kind or other beneficiall; it being an undoubted Maxime, that Verum & Bonum convertuntur : yet some knowledge may be so circumstantiated, that it may prove more burdensome and offensive to the party knowing, then commodious. I confesse from the reading of your Lines I have gained this much, to say I know you : but this gain hath occasioned such a considerable losse in the things of my joy, that I doe even wish for my former ignorance, and could be well contented, to have met with no other description of your frame and temper, then what the promise of your counte- nance, and the report of your friends have made of you : Indeed it cannot but deduct somewhat from the comfort of a reasonable man, to see one, whom (one would thinke) gray haires would have taught the language of sobcmesse, shooting with his tongue at rovers, and speaking sharpe and devouring words against persons and things, which hec knowes not. Sony I am that Mr Vicars should break the fair face of his reputation upon this stone, against which this besotted world is dashing itselfe in ])eeces from day to day, I have some hope that though your zeal to Mr Prj-nns glory, did cast you into such an extasic of passion, that you scarce knew what you writ ; yet by this time you have pretty well recovered I 66 Daniel Taylor. your selfe againe : and lest the sense of your miscarriage sliould too much oppresse you, I give you to know that you are fain into soft and tender hands, and have discovered your nakednesse to such onely, who rather pittie, then deride it. For my part I love not to disport my selfe at the weaknesse of any man, or to turn his folly into laughter ; for what were this, but to reflect dishonour upon the same nature, wherein he partakes with my selfe. Rather, I could mourn over the vanities of your Pen, and weep to see you so farre intoxicated, as to call the most injurious dealing one shall lightly meet with, by the name of candor and ingenuitie. The truth is, you have so fouly betrayed your paper with bold and untrue assertions, imputations, exprobations, and such like excrements, that I thought even for modestie sake to have drawne over them the veile of silence, .and to have contested with that spirit that breathes in them no further, then by speaking to it in a secret wish, the Lord rebuke thee. But I considered with my selfe that perhaps you might communicate in the nature of such persons who (as Solomon saith Prov. 26. 5.) are apt (being unanswered) to be wise in their own conceits : and if I shall hereby demo- lish or at least weaken this conceit of yours, I presume I shall do you herein a very charitable and Christian peece of service. Think not I ata become your enemie, because I tell you the truth; you have injured me no other waies then by trespassing upon your own credit, and by making thereby a sad breach in that holy profession, wherein you stand ingaged with my selfe. Whatever your intentions were, I conceive you have done me no more wrong in clapping the title of an Independent Proselyte upon my back, then Pilate did to Christ in affixing this Superscription over his head. This is the King of the Jews. I think this name to be full as honourable, as that of a pore and unworthy Presbyterian, wherewith you have pleased to baptize your selfe : and conceive that herein only you have followed your owne, or rather the Apostle's counsell, in honour to prefcrre others before your selfe. But had you been minded to suppresse your name, your very Dialect had been enough to betray you : Me thinkes you write just like such a one as you say you are. Did I not hope for better things from the hands of more worthy Presbyterians, your unworthy dealing had set me off ten degrees further from your way, then now I stand ; But I will not take the advantage of your, or any misdemeanour, though more grosse and absurde then yours, to render Presbytery odious to the world. To cloath any opinion or practice with the garments of mens personall distempers, thereby to fall upon them and beat them with the more applause, is a method which I as much abhorre, as the Gentleman you admire, delights in: and if this property in him were one of those beauty-spots which ravished you into a passionate adoration of him, you need not fear that ever I should become your corrivall : and yet I love and honour Mr Prynn for whatever you can finde lovely and honourable in him : I cannot denie but that in some of his workes, he hath acquitted him selfe upon commendable termes : but to say that in all things, he writes after the rate of a God, when in many things he falls beneath the line of a man, is to make him and my selfe obnoxious to the wrath of God, and the scome of man, I acknowledge that for a time he ran well, but who hindred him ? questionlesse He who is ever and anon Hindring the Saints in the race of holinesse. The Prince of darkenesse owed him a fall for his sharpe contesting with his prime agents, and now hee hath payed his debt ; but if Mr Prynn will bee ruled by the advice of his best friends, hee may rise again to his greater glory, and notwithstanding his fall, triumph over the envy and malice of the Devill. Concerning Mr John Goodwin (over whom you shake the rod of your reproofe, as if lie were one of your Schotlers) I could speak as high and excellent Encomiums, as you have spoken of your precious Gentleman; I could compare him even with Mr Prynn himselfe : but such a comparison as this, would bee to mee most odious. I could tell you what hee hath done, what hee hath writ, how deeply hee hath suffered from unreasonable men ; yea, I could give you such a lively and bright description of him, as would dazle your eyes to look upon, and make you blush for shame to have grapled with such a person as hee is, upon such rude and unmannerly termes as you have done. For you, who are but a Teacher of Boyes, so haughtily to correct a great Master in Israel, is such an absurdity, as cannot but rend a more patient soule then mine, into disdaine and griefe, Tis a wonder to mee, that whereas at the beginning of your Letter, you confesse your selfe to bee but a foore and unworthy Presbyterian, you should" so far forget your selfe before you come halfe way, as to take upon you, like the Dr of the Chaire; and to censure the best of men and wayes with as much confidence, as if your pen had dropt the Votes of a Generall Assembly with its inke. Had a poore and unworthy Independent done the like, Daniel Taylor. 67 you would have cast this boldnesse into a Basiliske, and used it to batter down the way of his profes- 1614-165 sion, and to lay the glory of it even with the ground. But I well perceive, though you have scap't the snare of Gifts and parts (in which you fear Mr Goodwin is taken) yet you are fain into the pit, not of Divine, but natural! siniplicitie ; and have verified the old Proverb, A rash mans bolt is soone shot. As for that Book of Mr Goodwins, called Intiocencie and Truth triumphing together, though you are pleased to triumph over both, and to cast it out as an Arch-Rebell, to reason and morality, yet (I must tell you) it hath found joyfull and bountiful! entertainement in the judgements of sober and intelligent men : But certainly, it was the unhappiness of this Treatise to fall into your hands, when you stood upon the mount of Mr Prynns honour, and when the vision of his transfiguration wrought so strongly in you, that you did not wot, what you spake, no, nor what you did neither, for you laid about you with such regardlesse fury that you broke the head of your friend Priscian,* of whose safety men of your profession should be most tender. I thought to have argued the case with you, whether your exceptions against this Treatise and its Author, will hold in the Court of Reason and equity : but perhaps you are not so well skilled in the rules of this Court; and I am loath to take the advantage of you. I shall only propound a few Querees, peradventure the struglings of your thoughts to give them satisfaction, may dissolve the inchantment that is now upon you. What persons did ever most learnedly declare Mr Goodwin to be justly censured for Socinianismef When, or in what pttUique place did they make this Declaration? How call you that Brother of his, who will Justife against him the charge of holding a most damnable opinion about justifying faith? I suppose you must strain, not so much your memory as your invention, in shaping your answer : You had done well to remember, that though Fooles (as Solomon speaks) beleeve every thing; yet wise men will question such assertions as these : Alas (Sir) the best course you can run to gaine credit with the prudent, is to cut your allegations and your proofes, just of one and the same length : to cloath large and broad sayings with curtaild Arguments, reflects as much shame upon such sayings and him that speaks them, as Hanun did upon the servants of David in cutting off their Garments to their buttocks. You cannot but know how that many grave, sober Godly, and learned men have falne into that way you call Independencie. Now, your onely method, to have brought over these to your partie, and to have filled their mouthes with the cry of a confe- deracy against this way, had bin this ; not barely to have affirmed it to be a tiovell and disturbant way (as you have done) but to have poysed the lightnesse of your affirmation, with the weight and substance of a Demonstration. I assure you (Sir) whatever you may thinke) I approve of this way no further then I see the footsteps of those sweet sisters Truth and Peace printed in it : I have narrowly view'd it, and I can finde no drops of blood, no strivings of the liberties, estates, names, comforts, of the saints scattered in it, and yet some Travellers affirme, they have seen such things as these in that way, which the igno- rance of thousands lust after. But to conclude, I beseech you (Sir) be more watchfull over the extrava- gances of your tongue and pen for the future : since you are (in part) acquainted with their infirmities, let it bee your wisdome to seek their cure. I reverence you for age, piety, and some services you have done to the Publique i and I should rejoyce to see such an ancient standard in the Garden of God as you are, carrying your hoary head with honour to the grave : which that you may doe, as I have (you see) in part indeavoured, so I shall further prosecute with my prayers to him, who is able to keep you to the end : in whom (though I am unknown to you) yet with all sincerity I professe my selfe. Sir A cordiall well-wisher to your peace January 27. aW crcdite: 1644- D. T. [• The words in the written coppy of his Letter, are these, and thus speli'd, qui in allermn paratus est dicere, ipsum vicis careat oportcl, as may appeare from the originalt in Mr Goodwins custody. But it seemes the Corrector bein^^ the better Grammarian transformed them into good Latine in the printed Copie,] 68 Daniel Taylor. 1614-1655. It seems not unlikely that Vicars retained a lively recollection of this defence by Daniel Taylor of his friend Mr Goodwin, as we find the following somewhat scurrilous notice of him in the course of Mr Jackson's narrative, p. 178: — In his unprincipled attempts to injure Mr Goodwin's reputation, Jenkin was assisted by the noted John Vicars, "wire could outscold the boldest face in Billingsgate;"* and' whose powers of railing stand unrivalled in the history of human nature. The following is the title of the book which he published against Mr Goodwin, without having received the slightest provocation: "Coleman Street Conclave Visited : and that Grand Impostor, the Schismatics' Cheater in Chief (who hath long slyly lurked therein) truly and duly discovered: containing a most palpable and plain Display of Mr John Goodwin's Self-Conviction (under his own hand-writing) and of the notorious Heresies, Errors, Malice, Pride, & Hypocrisy, of this most Huge Garagantua in Falsely Pretended Piety ; to the lamentable misleading of his too too credulous, soul-murdered Proselytes, of Coleman-street, and elsewhere ; collected principally out of his own Big Braggadochia, Wave-like, Swelling, and Swaggering Writings; full-fraught with Six-footed terms, and Flashy, Rhetorical Phrases, far more than solid and sacred Truths ; and may fitly serve (if it be the Lord's will) like Belshazzar's hand-writing upon the wall of his con- science, to strike Terror and Shame into his Soul and shameless Face, and to Undeceive his most miserably Cheated and Enchanted, or Bewitched Followers, r548." Prefixed to this scandalous publication, as a frontispiece, is a portrait of Mr Goodwin, with a wind- mill over his head, and a weather-cock upon it. On one side there is a figure of a human head, with distended cheeks, resting upon a cloud, and inscribed "Error," blowing the sails of the wind-mill; and on the other side, there is a similar figure, inscribed "Pride," blowing the weather-cock round on its pivot. In his left hand Mr Goodwin holds a book bearing the inscription of " Hagio Mastix," the name of one of his tracts against religious coercion : on his right, a hand is stretched out presenting to him a book, on which is written, " Moro Mastix;" the title of an idle anonymous pamphlet which was published against him. An old decayed tree, stripped of its foliage and branches, stands on the left side of the venerable old man. At the top of this device are the following lines : " The cock my vain and various mind descries ; The mill my venting and inventing lies." The following couplet is issuing from Mr Goodwin's mouth : — " In all the grists I grind in error's mill. Unhappy I, I am mistaken still." Underneath this caricature are two sets of verses. The former of these, ascribed by Vicars to a "fawning flatterer," is taken from a fine portrait of Mr Goodwin, engraven by Glover, and bearing the date of 1641. [See 61st page. ] The following is a copy :— " Thou seest not whom thou seest ; then do not say That this is he. Who calls a lump of clay, Without its soul, a man ? Thou seest no more ; Nay but a shadow of that lump. What store Of gifts and graces, what perfections rare, Among ten thousand persons scattered are. Gather in one : imagine it to be This shadow's substance, and then say 'tis he." D. T. Mr Jackson's account of Vicars. Title of Vicars book. Frontispiece to Vicars' book. * Foulis's Hist, of Plots, p. 179. Edit. 1674. FRONTISPIECE TO J NQ VICARS BOOK COLEMAN CONCLAVE VISITED,' 'iQiu.J'tr. '/I notftviat tUni j'ee 'Jl, tfm £oe notfciy Xattax is yCee : mHo c aXs ''°'''s or Encomiastick lying lines besmearing it." On examining Mr Goodwin's book "The Divine Authority of the Scriptures Asserted," etc. (4to, London, 1647-48) I find [says Colonel Chester] a very modest Title-page (as Titles went in those days), a very good portrait, and the lines so abused by Mr Vicars." In the same book of Mr Vicars, p. 36, occurs the following : — Extract from Vicars. This grand metropolitan of Coleman Street [Goodwin] under a false colour of gifted men, forsooth, suffers divers of his disciples, and especially one of his Prime Proselytes, one Mr Tayler, a Mercer in Paternoster Row, and other such like Mechanicall daubers with untempered morter (when hee their great master of misrule hath some other serious avocations etc.) in a ministeriall manner, to officiate and preach to his people. On the death of Daniel Taylor, which occurred in 1655, the funeral sermon, to which relerence has already been made, was preached by Mr Goodwin. The circumstances are thus narrated by Mr Jackson, p. 341 :— While Mr Goodwin's mind was so painfully aff-ected on account of the division made among his Funeral sermou. flock by Allen and Lamb, he was called to sympathise witli one of his most beloved and valuable friends, on the bed of death, and to follow his remains to the silent tomb. This friend was Mr Daniel Taylor^ a merchant in London, and author of the Letter to John Vicars (p. 121). At the interment of this singularly excellent man, Mr Goodwin delivered a discourse, which he afterwards published under the title of " Mercy in her exaltation : or, A Sovereign Antidote against the Fear of the Second Death. A Sermon preached at the Funeral of Daniel Taylor Esq : in Stephen's Coleman-Street, London, on the twentieth day of April, 1655." This appears to have been the only sermon Mr Goodwin ever published in its original form, and is an admirable specimen of his talents as a preacher. The subject of the discourse is Christian Mercy, in the constant and vigourous exercise of which, its possessor, according to the constitution of the Covenant of Grace, is able to rejoice in the prospect of the genera! Judgment, and the awards of 70 Daniel Taylor. 1614-1655. eternity. The sermon is of considerable length, and is truly learned, argumentative, eloquent and impressive. In the preface to this production, the author states, that some of his hearers had expressed their apprehension, that several of his positions " trenched very near the Popish doctrine of justification by works." " But certain I am," says he, " that I speak nothing in reference to justification, nor did the subject of my discourse lead me to treat little or much of justification, especially of that which consists of remission of sins." In the introduction of this sermon Mr Goodwin says :— " It is well known to a great part of you, who now hear me, that for several years past, I have put from me the custom of funeral elogies and commendations ; bequeathing this service to the works of the deceased, which have a commission from God to perform it, if there be cause; (Prov. 21. i) whereas I have none that I know of, especially not to do it in consort with the work now in hand. But I have declined the practice partly because of the offensiveness of it to many, who are weak ; partly because of the offensive use of it by some, who seem otherwise strong. I confess, that it was the saying of one long since, 'If a dishonest practice be in any case tolerable, it is for the procurement of a kingdom ; in all other cases, justice and right must take place.' So if a minister of God could be venially tempted to dispense with so good a resolution, as that which he hath taken up against blowing a trumpet in the pulpit before the dead, my standing at present is upon the ground of such an opportunity ; being called to preach at the interment of a man of most exemplary and signal worth, in every kind, and whose life can hardly be remembered by those who have any knowledge of it,- without falling into an agony of sorrow for his death. It was the saying of the Poet, in respect of the enormous vices of the times and place wherein he lived, that it was a hard matter not to write satirically; so I may well say, on the other hand, in respect of so many things so highly commendable and christian in him, upon the occasion of whose death I am now speaking to you, a man must resist a temptation to refrain from praising him. "However, parUy for my resolution's sake, which is not far from a vow, but more especially for your sakes, whom it much more concerns to be made praiseworthy yourselves, than to hear another praised before you, I shall leave the deceased to the good report of all men, which he purchased at a high rate of well-doing, and of the truth itself, (the word of God, which giveth large testimony to him and to all like him,) and shall, in the name of God, and of the Lord Jesus Christ, by the opening and applying of the words read unto you, make an attempt upon you, to make you, if it may be, like unto him in that which was his glory whilst he lived, and his rejoicing at his death,— his goodness and mercy. Mercy enlarged his heart to rejoice against judgment : and O how happy shall you be, if you will be persuaded to cast in your lot with him, and suffer God to put into your heart by his Word and Spirit, which are now about to put you upon the trial, to take part and fellowship with ■ him in that his rejoicing." The remainder of the sermon^' contains no special reference to Daniel Taylor, but the dedication to the relatives of the deceased, and the address to the reader on its publication (given below), are interesting. To Mrs Margaret Taylor the late Wife of Mr Daniel Taylor deceased, Mr Edmond Taylor, Mr Samuel Taylor, his Brethren, together with the rest of his Kindred, Allies, Friends, and Acquaint- ance, Grace, Mercy, and Peace, from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Friends Christian and Beloved ; It was signified unto me by some of you, as the desire of many more, that what should be preached at the Interment of your dear Friend and mine, Mr * " Mercy in her exaltation, or a Soveraigne Antidote against fear of the Second Death. In a Sermon preached at the Funeral of Daniel Taylor Esq : in Stephens Coleman street London, on the twentieth day of April, An. 1655. London. Printed by F. Macock, for H. Eversden, and are to be sold at his shop at the Signe of the Grey-hound, in Paul's Churchyard, 1655." Dedication of funeral sermon. Daniel Taylor. 71 Daniel Taylor, miglit be commended unto the Press, that so the memory of his exemplary and 1614-1655 Christian life, might live upon the better terms amongst you, and be the readier at hand for your Christian service, upon all occasions. The Sermon, I confess, rather intiraateth, and this very sparingly, then discourseth, the particulars of his worth : Upon my entrance here into, I declared myself under a solemn resolution (not much short of a vow) not to offend the weakest of the living, by commending, no not the strongest of the dead, especially not in the Pulpit, not at such a time, when their highest concernments are in hand, and they most sacredly engaged to attend them with all their might and strength. Only the principal subject of the Sermon, Mercy, was indeed not the least of his commendations. His example herein will bless you, if you follow it, but will rise up in judgement against you, if you turn your backs upon it. His other endowments, as well moral, as intellectual, were very excellent, both for kind, and degree. He was Religious, not of custome, or of course, but of conscience, nobly disdaining to prostitute his judgement to any circumforaneous, or vulgar opinion in matters appertaining unto God, simply upon the credit, or recommendation of other mens Faith ; and withal studiously scrupulous and tender of receiving any Notion or Tenent what- soever into his Belief, until he had caused it to pass through the fire of a district examination and enquiry, and found that it would not burn. Whilst the health and strength of his body was able to bear the weiglit of exercises of Devotion, he maintained a constant and close trade of communion with God : and in the time of his last weakness, a few weeks before his change, amongst other savoury Discourse, he bemoaned himself, that since the prevailing of his distemper upon him, he was deprived of his heart-breaking opportunities with God. His heart was up very high in desires after know- ledge of the Truth, and this in the most profound Questions controverted between men of greatest judgements in these days. Books of Divinity that were any thing judiciously or accurately written, his delight was, at his spare hours. Nocturna versare manu, versare diurna ; By night to read, and not to spare by day. He put no difference between persons, either for their concurrence with him, or dissent from him, in matters of opinion, or form of worship. But that which commended any person unto him, was his own opinion of his integrity, and goodness of heart towards God. Some to whom his heart stood very close in affection, whilst they were yet sound in the Faith touching Infant Baptism, found no change in his respects towards them, after their judgements had warp'd the contrary way, no not after they had disclaimed all Christian communion with him in a Church way. His signal Integrity, Justness, and Clearness in dealings, as well in the administration of the Trust committed unto him, as in his private occasions, are freely testified by all that had to do with him in either kind, with a nemine coniradicente (as far as I have heard) The Greatness (which some call Goodness) of his Estate, made no breach at all upon the goodness of his disposition in his conversation : He observed no distance, made between himself, and the meanest of his Brethren, by his abundance ; Persons even of lowest degree, by the mediation of his affableness and humility, found access unto him upon all their occasions; and few, if any, came from him discontented. His carriage was composed and grave, yet without affectation : His Discourse, seasonable and savoury, without offence. His native temper seemed to incline him to much reservedness : but by judgement and conscience he reduced that which was less desireable or less usefull, m his inclination. His Habit and Garb ever was comly, sutable rather to his profession, then estate. Whatever savoured of ostentation or vanity, he left to be taken up by persons of looser and lighter spirits. The full cup which Cod gave unto him, he carried with ap even and steady hand, without spilling : yet freely gave to every man that was a thirst, and came in his way, to drink. His intellectual endowments were given him by the largest measure, which God in these days is wont to mete unto men. What Ethan, or Heman, Chalcol, or Darda, were in their generation, the like, or not much unlike, was he in his. His understanding was large, and very comprehensive. His appre- 72 Daniel Taylor. 1614-1655. hension quick and piercing ; his judgement solid and mature, his memory, fast and faithful ; his elocution, or speech, distinct and clear, elegant, and fluent enough, yet not luxuriant or pedantick. He was more then of ordinary abilities to argue the most thorny and abstruse points in Divinity ; ready of Discerning, where the quick of any controversie, or matter in debate lay. very expert he was in the word of Right- eousness, able to draw waters of life out of such Wells of salvation, from whence many men of good understanding, and parts of Learning, had not wherewith to draw, because of the depth of them. He had a singular dexterity to make the rough tilings of business, smooth, to turn the insides of matters, outward, to untie knots, and dis-intangle intricacies, in all manner of affairs that were brought to him. I scarce know any man amongst those he hath left behind him, of like felicity with him of giving counsel and advice, in cases of difiiculty, and doubtful consideration. In sum, as well for parts of Nature, as of Grace, he was an highly accomplisht man, adorned and set forth by God, for a pattern, as for others, so for you (more neerly related to him) more especially, I trust his life, though he be dead, shall speak unto you, whilst yours continues, and help to form and fashion you into the same image of Christian worth and desireableness with him. The best way to make yourselves as little losers as may be by his death, is to live by the pattern of his life, and to preserve the memory of all that was exemplary in him, not so much for story, or discourse, as for a spur to a conscientious imitation. Your day is coming, as his is lately past : yet a little while, and you will all overtake him in the dust. If in the meantime your hearts through the grace of God, will serve you so to live, as that you may be counted worthy to stand at the same hand ol Jesus Christ witli him in the great day, you and he shall never part company more. The God of all Grace shall mightily incline your hearts to desire part and fellowship with him in this blessedness, or else deny (which I confidently hope he will not) the fervent Prayer of From my study in Swan Your Friend in Christ Alley Coleman Street cordial and faithful May 15. 1655 to serve you John Goodwin. TO THE RE.ADER. Mr Goodwin's address to the reader on the publication of his sermon. Good Reader, I was bound with a threefold cord of ingagement to publish the Sermon in thy hand. First the memory of my dear friend deceased, at whose Funeral it was preached, pleaded the law of friendship, and by the Award hereof demanded, either this, or somewhat more momentous (if any such thing had been within my reach) at my hand. Secondly the solicitations of some of his relations and friends, in the name of many more for the publication of it, were too considerable to be neglected, especially by me, yea or by a person of greater breadth in the world then I. Lastly, the misunder- standing (as I hear) of some things by some persons, present at the delivery, requires a more steady representation of what was spoken, to make their crooked things streight. The vulgar vote and report of the outward estate of my worthy friend (now in an incapacity him- self to rectifie mens apprehensions in any thing relating to him) hath been somewhat injurious unto the preciousnesse of his memory, and this even amongst those, who know ground enough wherefore to honour him, and onely suppose a ground wherefore they should honour him lesse. The common estimate and discourse of his estate, surmounting a third part, and not a little more, the reality and truth of it, causeth the proportion of his bequests to appear lesse, and so lesse honourable and lovely in the eyes of some, then the truth of all things known and considered, reason representeth them. A twelfth, or thereabouts, sequestered by will out of an estate, where there is a wife, and several children to be considered is no proportion of disparagement either to the wisdom, or piety, or bounty of any man ; especially, where a life full of mercy hath gone before. When those that are rich in this world, are charged by God to be rich in good works, the charge (questionlesse) respecteth rather the time of the lives, then of the deaths, of such men. And when as God himself hath contented himself with prescrip- Daniel Taylor. 73 tions in general, as that rich men do good, be ready to distribute, willing to commujilcaie, be rich in good 1614-1655. works etc. for men to undertake to prescribe particulars, is a kind of pretending to be wise above that ' which is written. However, I wish, rather then expect, that they who complain that Grantham steeple stands awry, would set up a streighter by it, and fear that when themselves shall come to the triall, they will justify the truth of the Greek Proverb 'Pao» iioiij,ao.— P. A. T. Robert Owen of Buckingham. The sister of \VilIiam Taylor tlie Haberdasher not born at Buck- ingham. TJic Brothers and Sisters of Mil Ham Taylor tlic Habcrdaslier. 8r Secondly, William Taylor the Haberdasher was made free of his Company >5S4-i663. the 26th of April 1605, when he must necessarily have been at least twenty-one years of age, and was therefore born as early as the 26th of April 1584. The only William Taylor baptized at Buckingham anywhere near that period, was baptized the 3d of October 1585, nearly eighteen months later, and would not have been twenty-one till the latter part of 1606, till when he could not have taken up his freedom of the Company. These two facts are quite sufficient to set this matter for ever at rest. It now only remains to give the history of Elizabeth Owen nLe Taylor, whose fortunes and social position do not seem to have been quite equal to those of her brothers and sister. She was married, first, at Buckingham, on the 2 2d of September 1603, to Thomas Cary* (who then first appears in the Registers), by Thon,as Cary of whom she had three daughters, viz., Jane, baptized the 19th of August 1604, and buried the i6th of January 1613-14; Katherine, baptized the" isth of February 1606-7 ; and Martha, baptized the 27th of August 1609, and buried the 15th of June 1 610. Her first husband, Thomas Cary, was buried the 20th of December 1609, and on the i6th of August 1613 she married, secondly, Robert Robe.t Owe,,. Owen, by whom she had a son Robert, baptized the 22d of May 1614 ; another son, Timothy, baptized the 6th of April 1617 ; a daughter, Elizabeth, baptized the nth of April 1624, and buried the 22d of November following; and another daughter, Anne, baptized the 25th of December 1625, and married at Buckingham, the 9th of July 1648 to Sylvester Grant. Timothy Owen and Anne Gram: are' Syiv both mentioned in the Will of Daniel Taylor as living in 1655, as also the children of Robert Owen, who was probably then dead. Elizabeth Owen, the mother (William Taylor's sister), was buried at Bucking- ham, the 25th of October 1660. Her husband, Robert Owen, survived her, an'd was also buried there the 9th of January 1662-63. Both Timothy and Robert Owen, the sons, married and had children baptized at Buckingham, and their descendants appear numerously in the Parish Registers down to as late as 1735, when I ceased my search. I have been unable to find either Wills or Administrations of any of the Owens; for which reason, with others, I am forced to conclude that their social position was very humble. The other reasons are, that their names never appear in the Buckingham Registers with the prefix of "Mr" or "Mrs," nor any affix • I have since discovered that the Careys of Buckingham were all of the family of the Careys afterwards Barons Hunsdon and Viscounts Falkland. Indeed, some of the children of the 'nrst Baron Hunsdon were baptized at Buckingham. 1 do not know, and am not sure, that I shall be able to detennine the precise relation of the one who marr.ed William Taylor's sister with the Hunsdon fam.lv, but the fact that he wl! of that fam.ly ,s important as it proves that the Taylors or Taylards were then of sufficient social rank to mterniarry with a family already of considerable eminence. L 'Ivester Grant. 82 Supplemental Report by Colonel Chester. 15S4-.663. indicating a superior position ; that their marriages were invariably by banns instead of license; that there are no monuments of them either in the church or church- yard (nor monumental inscriptions in the collections of the Bucks historians in the Bodleian Library) ; and that, after the Registers begin to give the profession or occupation of the persons named in them, the Owens are always described as Masons, Tanners, Lacemakers, Poulterers, " Hicklers," and even Labourers. Robert Owen was probably a poor man, perhaps a humble tradesman — at all events, not a man of any note or prominence in the parish, for his name never appears as holding any official position, even the most subordinate, in the Town Records of Buckingham. I was told that descendants of the family are still living there, most of them in menial positions, and the only one with any pretensions to respectability being a small butcher in the suburbs. I do not think that any- thing more can be learned through them, but I should be able at any time to furnish a complete Pedigree of the family, from the middle of the sixteenth century. As I said before, these are all the positive results of importance that I have obtained since my first Memoir was written, and after an expenditure of time and labour that is enormous in the retrospect. As an interesting instance of the numerous episodes in my search, where I have spent much time to no purpose in the end, except as closing successive avenues that seemed promising, I may mention that I came upon the particulars of a suit in Chancery, in which the parties seemed to be William Taylor the Haberdasher and Sir John Washington, the supposed ancestor of the American President. There were, unfortunately, no dates, but the details seemed likely to throw fresh light upon the personal history of William Taylor, and 1 pursued the matter with much avidity. It was only last week that I succeeded in finding the original Bill in the case, and, alas! its date was 1653, two years after William Taylor died. At least a fortnight's labour had been thrown away, except that, having exhausted the subject, no one need be again misled by the same clew. In conclusion, I have to repeat my firm conviction, that the statements in the original Memoir are entirely undisturbed, and afford the true history of the family. I shall, of course, as the periodical accessions to the documents at the Public Record Office are thrown open for inspection, give them a careful examination, and will promptly report any further discoveries 1 may make. All of which is most respectfully submitted. JOSEPH LEMUEL CHESTER. London, 9M December 1867. Colonel Chester's Report.— William Taylor the Dantzic Man. 83 [In reference to the chance of obtaining further evidence in regard to the 1584-1663. descent of the Taylors from the Taylards, Colonel Chester writes, December 28, Oppovtimities for 0^01 1* 1 TT further discovery. ib6b, that his great and only hope is in finding at the Record Office some document that may help; that he has already exhausted those Records accessible by indices, but there are heaps and heaps yet unindexed ; and on 14th February 1869, that he has spent four weeks and three days at the Record Office unsuccessfully, having exhausted the accessible Records from 1580 to 1620; does not much expect to find anything after 1620, and advises to let the matter rest at present.— P. A. T.] CONTINUATION OF COLONEL CHESTER'S FIRST REPORT. WILLIAM TAYLOR THE DANTZIC MAN. "J^HE direct line was continued through Daniel Taylor's only surviving son — 1647-1707- X. William Taylor, who inherited all his father's estates, either absolutely or in Not 10 come i„to 1 V 1 r . possession till reversion, but who, as has been seen, was not to come into uncontrolled possession of thirty-one years the whole until he reached the age of thirty-one years. When he arrived at that age, it is impossible to determine, for no record of his baptism has been found. The statement in the family Pedigree, that he was baptized at St Faith's on the 12th of December 1645, is an error, as I have already shown that the William then baptized was also buried there on the following 5th of February. It is certain, however, that Daniel Taylor left a son and heir-apparent named William, whose Marriage Allegation shows that he was born about 1647.* As I have not hitherto attempted any regular investigations as to the later * From .Marriage Allegations in Faculty Office, London :— " 1672 3. March 5. W'"- Taylor of Throgmorton Street London, Merchant, Bachelor, aged about 25, & Dorothy His fir- Turner Spinster, about 19, daughter of ... . Turner of Totteridge, Middx. Gent, who consents— to marry .it Totteridgc aforesaid. Alleged by Peter Pykeringe of St Andrews Holborn Gent." In the suit between Hildesley and William Taylor, Hildesley puts in a plea that plaintifT, after attaining his full age on February 2:, 1667, came to a settlement of account, etc. This should be 1667-68, and confirms the date of his birth in 1646-47. Whether February 22 «.as quoted as his actual birthd.ny, or only as the day on which he signed the release, he being at that lime of full age, docs not appear. On following pages will be found two portraits of William Taylor, also one of Dorothy Turner, and another of Rebecca Sherbrooke, his wives. It used always to be said in the family that it was quite uncertain which of the two represented his first and which his second wife, and I have often heard resemblances, real or fancied, pointed out in each to some 1647-1707- Limits of Colonel Chester's inquiry. I'.rrors of the Heralds. His first wife. Dorothy Tiirntr. 84 Colonel Chester's Report— IVilliam Taylor the Daiitsic Man. generations of the family, merely preserving such notes as have come in my way concerning them— the chief objects of my pursuit having been the ancestors rather than the descendants of William and Daniel Taylor— and as this historic genea- logical sketch, much as I have tried to restrain it within reasonable limits, has reached a great (though I trust not tedious) length, I shall on this occasion con- tent myself with a mere running account of the succeeding generations only in the direct line, in order that the entire descent may be distincriy shown ; merely premising that I cannot be responsible any longer for the statements respecting them, as I take them solely from the existing Pedigree of the family. For every fact hitherto stated, I am prepared to furnish the amplest proof It is not, per- haps, improper to add, that if the Heralds' accounts of the remaining five genera- tions are as full of errors, both of commission and omission, as I have proved those of the first three generations to be, the whole Pedigree, as it stands, is worse than worthless, because it misleads. I must, however, say one word in apology for my friends — for such the Heralds are, every nook and corner of their wonderful repository having been freely and most courteously thrown open to my researches. It might be enough to say, that the facilities for such investigations are much greater at the present day than they were when the Heralds formerly pursued them. Various public repositories have been opened to the genealogist that were then inaccessible, and every year new sources of information are being revealed. For some of the errors, it may be, there is no good excuse ; such, for instance, as those that occurred from the want of careful and thorough research among the Parish Registers, Marriage Licenses, etc., which were at their disposal quite as much as they have been at mine, i.e., by paying the proper fees. To return to the last-mentioned William Taylor. He became a merchant of London and of Dantzic. He had two wives. His first wife was Dorothy, daughter of Richard Turner, Esq. of " Croopers,"* at Totteridge, in Hertfordshire, by Dorothy, his wife. Mr Townsend of the College of Arms states, that her grandfather (Turner) was woollen draper to Oliver Cromweh, and left his son ^39,000. See p. 102 for copy of monument to her memory. His second marriage took place at St Martin's Outwich, August 22, 1676, as may be seen by the Register there. The Marriage Allegation, at the Vicar- member of the present family. The having photograplis talccn of all .the old portraits has given me an oppor- tunity for close examination and comparison never before possessed, and has so convinced me of. the identity of the portrait of the lady from whom we are descended, that I have felt no hesitation in recording my conclusion as a fact. The elements for judgment are neither few nor indefinite. There is lirst the comparison of old i«rs Turner with the two wives ; there are the three brothers of Rebecca Sherbrooke to compare with both ; there is the likeness of William Taylor of South Weald, both as a child and when grown up, to be subjected to similar examination ; and finally, there are the children by the second marriage, to be regarded in the same way. I made these examinations as carefully as I could, aided by the experienced eye of a distinguished artist (Mr Archer), and we came to an unhesitating conclusion. — P. A. T. * See Appendix, p. 683. \V¥ TAYLOR (THE DANTZIC MAM.) B, 164-7, D. 1707. Colonel Chester s Report. — IFilliam Taylor the Daiitzic Man. 85 General's office, is dated 21st August 1676. He calls himself of St Mary, Alder- 1647-1707. manbury, London, Merchant, a widower, aged about twenty-nine, and alleges that he is to marry Mrs Rebecca Sherbrooke, of South Weald in Essex, a spinster His second wife. L . 1 -1 ^ , Rebecca Sher- about eighteen, with consent of her mother, Mrs Rebecca Sherbrooke,* of the •'rooke. same place, widow. They were to be married at St Stephen's, Coleman Street.f (Mr P. A. Taylor of Aubrey House was in business in the parish two hundred years later.) % Among the family documents is a draft of a Will, which seems not to have been proved, dated the gth June 1674, i.e., about six months after the death of his first wife. After saying that he desires to be buried at Totteridge, "if it shall soe please God that I die in England," he leaves the bulk of his property to his Hi^' Jiaft Wiii, son William, specifying various properties in Leicestershire and in Essex, besides the messuage in Swan Alley, Coleman Street, and, in fact, all the properties " what- soever and wheresoever, whereof or wherein I am, or at y" tyme of my decease shall bee seysed by purchase or inheritance." He names his "loving fifriends Pelatiah Barnardiston and John Archer, Merchants," his trustees. He leaves also to his son William various jewels, etc., describing some of them as havimx " belonged to my mother Turner, and were by her given to my wife, her daughter, when she married with me." In case of his son's decease before reaching the age of twenty-one, these and other personal property are distributed amongst his own sisters, viz., Catherine Usher, Rebecca Nokes, and Margaret Wellington ; and to his " sister Eliz""- Turner the said wrought bedd." Regarding his son he says : — " Item, my Will and mynd is that my sonne William be brought upp care- fully in y' true Religion of y' Land, and that at his attaining of y" age of Tenn or Twelve yeares hee bee put forth to some good Schoole where hee may bee well trained upp in good Littrature to fitt him for some One of y= Universities, or for directions as to 1 1 1 'T- 1 t^' 1 • , his son's training some honorable I rade or Calhng y' which shall best Sute his Genius. And my Will is. That his Apparell be not Gaudy or ffantastick, but Decent and Civill. And I committ y' Guardianshipp & Tuition of my said Sonne during his minority to my father Richard Turner Esq' & to my mother Dorothy Turner & to the sur- vivor of them. And if they both Departe this life During his minority. Then & in that case to Pelatiah Barnardiston & to Martha his wife, or to the survivor * Richard Sherbrooke, the father, was living at South Weald previous to 1671. + We have since discovered by the Register of St M.irtin's, Outwich, that they were, for some reason, married there on 22d August 1676. I As a further coincidence, 1 may say, that I was for many years in business in a house in Carey Une, formerly Kerry Lane, where W illiam Taylor had a house; and so far as 1 can find out, mine was partly on the precise site of his, viz., at the corner of Carey Lane and Foster Lane. And further still, as will be seen bv the Will of Daniel Taylor, he had property at Leicester, for which place I have been member since 1862; and William Taylor (son of Robert, brother of WUliam the Haberdasher) lived and died at Newcastle, where" I was the popular candidate in 1859 and 1S60. — P. A. T. 86 Colonel Chester's Report.— William Taylor the Dantzic Man. 1647-1707. of them." He leaves £\o {i.e.. £\oo) per annum to "my brother Gerard Usher," during his son's minority, as assistant and adviser to Richard Turner, Barnardiston, and Wellington, in the disposal of certain rents and profits. To the poor of Totteridge he gives .^^50 (or ^500). He then enumerates a number of legacies, including a large number of persons, to whom he gives respectively ten shillings (or /5), and twenty shillings (or ^^'lo), for purchase of a mourning ring, and "to my Sonne's nurse Whitton, twenty pounds" {i.e.. £200). His executors, during the minority of his son, were Richard Turner, Pelatiah Barnardiston, and George Wellington, to whom he leaves /20 (or ^200) each for mourning. One sheet at least of this Will is missing, and another Will, dated 27th March, 13 William HI., 1701, referred to in a Deed of 5th July 1707, has not been found. Codicil to his Will, 1686. The Barnar- dislons. Dorothy Tinner was a second [The next two paragraphs are compiled from Colonel Chester's notes, but are condensed, and not given in his own words.] By a Codicil to Will, dated 4th of February 1686-S7, he leaves certain proper- ties, namely, Alton Park, also property in Clacton, Essex, to his brothers Henry and John Sherbrooke and his cousin Richard Sherbrooke, in trust, to sell, and after paying off mortgage of /Soo secured upon the property, to pay the remainder to his children by his second wife, not including Daniel, however (the eldest son), who was probably provided for in the Will to which this was but an amiexe. The Pelatiah Barnardiston mentioned by the Dantzic Man, was his brother-in-law, he having married Martha Turner, half-sister to Dorothy Turner. He is described as merchant of Hackney; he died in 1679. Colonel Chester says:— His son Nathaniel succeeded, by limitation in the patent, to the baronetcy, and was the last possessor of the title, dying unmarried in 1712. This line was known as "Barnar- diston of Brightwell," to distinguish them from " Barnardiston of Ketton " (short for Keddington), in Suffolk. Without hesitation we describe Martha Turner as half-sister to Dorothy— although without direct evidence that Dorothy's mother was the second wife of Richard Turner— on the following sufficient grounds :— Dorothy Turner's MS. names her children in chronological order as Nicholas, Richard, Betty, Samuel, Dorothy, and Susanna. Richard Turner in his Will also names those who were then living, chronologically thus : — Nicholas, Richard, Samuel, and Elizabeth, but he precedes them by William and "my daughter Bar- nardiston" {i.e., Martha). He evidently named his children in succession according to their respective ages, as was very common in Wills. We know that Nicholas \yas Dorothy's first child, and it would have been odd if she had omitted from her list two others. Besides, if Martha had been her child, and born after Betty (who was born in December 1659), she would have been too young to be the wife of William Taylor the Dantzic Man. 87 Barnardiston in 1674. This last consideration, I tliink, settles the point con- '647-1707- clusively, as she could not have been born until the latter part of i66o, and would have been only (if quite) fourteen years old at the date of her father's Will in May 1674, when she was Barnardiston's wife. The foregoing completes Colonel Chester's narrative, which, as we have seen, does not profess to give, by means of his own research, anything in addition to our knowledge subsequent to the time of Daniel Taylor. I proceed to add what more we know, from the letters and deeds in my possession, concerning the Dantzic Man, the name by which he is usually spoken of amongst us. Of him our know- ledge is little, in the almost complete absence of correspondence, but of his wives and of their families we have much that is of interest to record. He is described as of London and Dantzic, Merchant, some time of Great Warley and of South Weald in Essex. A letter written by him — the only one we have — addressed to his son when about seventeen, will be found at p. 159. There will also be found several letters written to him, mostly by his mother- in-law, Mrs Turner. Whatever conclusions can be adduced from these sources in regard to him may best be left perhaps to the mind of each reader. It may not be amiss to narrate, at the outset, what I have been able to discover respecting the traditions e.xisting in the family in regard to his being im- poverished, first by a dishonest trustee, and subsequently by being compelled to surrender his property and buy his pardon of the Restoration Government. On p. 405 will be found a letter from Rebecca Taylor, daughter of his son William; and again a memorandum, probably by Rev. Henry Taylor of Banstead. already quoted, p. 58, in both of which reference is made to these matters. It would seem that the family (at least the Sherbrooke branch of it) have additional reason for not blessing the memory of Charles " the Martyr." I find amongst our papers a sort of Inventor)' headed, " Divident the 6th," and endorsed outside, " I conciue this was a divident of King Charls the first his goods : for mony oing to my husband with others; but never had much of it." By careful comparison of the handwriting, it appears certain that this endorse- ment was written by Mrs Rebecca Sherbrooke (mother-in-law of the Dantzic Man). It points evidently to some transactions, the result of which was that Charles the First was indebted to Richard Sherbrooke. and that in the opinion of Richard Sherbrooke's widow, at any rate, he never had much of it back again. Colonel Chester was at first of opinion that the document was unique, i.e., had King Charles I, " ■ Sher- 88 William Taylor the Dantsic Man. 1647-1707. never been printed, and was therefore of great value. On inquiry, however, he found that this was not quite so. I give the result in his own words ;— October 1873. I return the old historical document. It has been printed before, or at least documents embrac- ing this, by George Vertue, the old Engraver. An account is given of it in Walpole's "Lives of the Engravers." But there are only two or three such lists known to be in existence, and great value is set on them. Yours is probably a duplicate, and you will of course preserve it carefully. On the 23d March 1648-49 the House voted that the personal estate of the late King, Queen, and Prince should be inventoried, appraised, and sold. The receipts were to go towards satisfying the debts and servants of the royal family, provided such servants had not been delinquents, and the rest to be applied to public uses, the first ^£'30,000 to be appropriated to the navy. The Inventories were made, and the various articles appraised, and during the years 1649 and 1650 they appear to have been sold, not, as I gather, at public sale, but by people taking them at the valuation that had been put upon them. They appear to have been divided into various lots, and your copy is evidently a copy of one of the Inventories forming only a comparatively small portion of the whole, as the aggregate amount of the sales reached 18,000. I notice in the lists printed, several of the items named in your copy, with the same prices, e.g., The Twelve Emperors, £\^oo. In the list before me it is called "Twelve Caesers, by Titian, ^1200;" also, "Tiberius, larger than life, pfsoo," etc., etc. These facts I gather from Horace Walpole's " Anecdotes of Painting," etc. I doubt if your ancestors ever got any of the money, as it appears to have been only the private debtors of the King that were to derive any benefit, and those who lent money nominally to the King, lent it really to the crown, and surely the sum so advanced mu.st have far exceeded ^iiS.ooo (though that would represent over a million now). The document, however, is very curious, and a facsimile will be found on next pages. A few days later Colonel Chester adds ; — I went to the British Museum and saw Harleian MS. No. 4898. It is a ponderous folio of some 800 pages, containing apparently Lists of all the Royal Possessions, with the prices at which they were appraised, and generally the dates when, and names of persons to whom, they were sold. I recognised many of the lots mentioned in your MS. list. The only things that would interest you are, that on the 31st December 1649, the following lots are marked as sold to "Mr Taylor:" — "A Cristall Ewer garnished with a little gold," . . .^200 "A plain Cristall Cupp and cover garnished," . ■ . 10 ° "Two Cann glases, one broken, garnished in the bottom with silver gilt weighing 23 ounces," ° ° At the end of the volume is a list of " Payments made for y= late King's Goods," and among them ''''^^ I To Daniet/ Taylor Goods the following sold V far £js- ° Produced c. 00 . o Dec 31 j I take it that he purchased (or accepted) other goods than the three lots to which his name is attached— enough to make up £15. 10. o— and that he took them in part payment of what was due, and hence the sale to him froducei nothing. I suppose you can tell at once whether any of the articles mentioned have been preserved in the family ? It will be extremely interesting if they have. We find in the Inventory of Daniel Taylor's goods, certain cups that may very likely have been these; but they were left to his widow and daughters, so have not come down in the family. ^ / -co ^ ^ ^^^^ ''^/^ fit s^-ryo/^j^ tan. \ \ r *0 v^?- - I, Jt- a^-LfUit ^2 /JJ^ ^ V _ — •- ^ f>/ ^-z ^4^.r _-_-.4--^- -ZX ^^r^ —v^oi^ ^-t -fy^ ^^cUl Q^fl/fi ~ ^^-r^y q^j,^ '^A^^-s ^-"f^^fj :crj ^/ ^-^^r^ ^/ UU^^.^^ / — ' (T^Cr^lJi fr.h/iyJlt^i. Mu^lf.'-f* ^-^'^1 (i^-^^ C'/^ fir. ^ 7< ^ J^y^ c^(7^)^ ^r - ,^^ c)l-y i oir'.Ml- , tm /^^^ ^'■1'^'^ William Taylor the Da lit sic Man. 89 In regard to the possibility of obtaining- furtlier information as to the confisca- ■647-1707. tion of lands on the Restoration, Colonel Chester writes, December 22, 1870: I find tliat I have among ray books a printed copy of the only list known to exist of the sale of Resumption of what are called "Church lands," but which were exclusively lands, etc., belonging to the various bishop- Cro,™h"d. ricks and Deans and Chapters of Cathedrals. Those offices being abolished, the lands, etc., pertaining to them were sequestered by the Long Parliament, and the ordinance directing their sale was issued i6th November 1646. It is stated that they were sold at an appraisement barely equivalent to the value of the materials of the mansion-houses and timber on the various estates. This ordinance related only to the lands, etc., of Archbishops and Bishops; but in April 1649, another was issued extending to the lands, etc., of Deans and Chapters (which would include the Knights, or more probably Canons, of Windsor), The official records of the proceedings under these ordinances do not exist, or, if they do, have not yet been discovered. This list, evidently made at the time, is now among the MSS. at the British Museum, and is supposed to have been privately made by some person connected with the sales. It relates to the Episcopal lands only, and none has ever been discovered, official or unofficial, relating to the Cathedral lands. I had, of course, seen it long ago, but as it did not contain the names as purchasers of either William or Daniel Tajdor, it appeared of no use for our purposes. But if you refer to William Taylor's (the Haberdasher's) Will, you will find that he bequeaths, among other lands and tenements, the "Golden Lion," the "Brood Hen," etc., and mentions certain messuages "purchased by me of the Contractors or Trustees for the sale of the late Archbishops' and Bishops' lands, in the names of William Adams, John Holmes, Samuel Howard, and George Clarke, which have since been conveyed and assured to me," etc. I find that these men purchased the "Three Cocks," and part of the "Brood Hen," in Paternoster Row, 7th March 1647-48, for ^987, 3s. 4d., and that the "Golden Lyon" was purchased, 27th September 1647, by John Bellamy for ^222, los. They were of course afterwards transferred to William Taylor. Daniel Taylor's Will mentions his fee-farm and other rents in the county and city of Chester, "which I purchased of the Contractors and Trustees for sale of Dean and Chapter lands, in the name of my brother Burroughs, but in trust only for me." Whether any of the other premises he bequeaths, such as the Leicester lands, those in Clacton, Wenlocks Barn, etc., had been acquired in the same way, it is impossible to determine, but he certainly mentions only those in Chester. At all events, it is hopeless to expect any further light on the subject, owing to the non-existence of the records.* At the Restoration these two Ordinances were repealed, and the lands so sequestered were restored. Hallam (" Constitutional History," vol. ii. p. 8) says : The church, the crown, the dispossessed royalists, re-entered triumphantly on their lands; there were no means of repelling the owners' claim, nor any satisfaction to be looked for by the purchasers under so defective a title. . . . This is the more remarkable, if it be true, as Ludlow informs us that the chapter lands had been sold by the trustees appointed by parliament, at the clear income of fifteen or seventeen years' purchase. It thus appears that, unless we should hereafter come upon old family papers giving more specific information, the only clew we possess as to what properties, if any, William Taylor was compelled to surrender consists in noting those which appear in the Will of Daniel Taylor, and which do not appear in the Will of • Since this was oritten we have found, or rather have more completely examined, deeds relating to these transaaions, and giving much further information. See Appendix, p- 667. M go IVilliam Taylor the Daiit::ic Man. 1647-1707. William Taylor (draft unproved 1674) or the Codicil dated 1686 ; and these are Wenlocks Barne, Middlesex; property in Paternoster Row; Ashwell, Herts; Kerry Lane ; and in the county and city of Chester. I am, on the whole, inclined to HisWiiMi7oi) surmise that much of Daniel Taylor's real estate was either confiscated or not found. resumed at more or less nominal prices on the Restoration. It will be remembered that Colonel Chester (p. 86) referred to the Will of William Taylor dated 1701, which could not be found. We have now (December 1870) just made another attempt to find this WiU, which was sure to be interest- ing, and might be important ; but we have entirely failed. That such a document did exist is proved by a Deed in my possession, dated July 5, 1707, two months after his death, made between his widow, her son Daniel, and her brother Henry Sherbrooke, distinctiy referring to his Will, as follows : — " Whereas the said William Taylor did in and by his last Will and Testament bearing date on or about the seven and twentieth day of March in the thirteenth year of the reigne of our Soveraigne Lord King William the Third {i.e., 1701), give & devise," etc., etc. Colonel Chester writes, December 24, 1870, after concluding his search:* — I am more puzzled than ever about the Dantzic Man's Will. That Deed [of 5th July 1707] evidently records a transaction that took place undir and by virtue of the Will, and the Will, if not proved, was inoperative, and so much waste paper, unless — and 1 only offer it as a possible suggestion — unless the Will from some cause was unsigned, or otherwise improperly executed, so that it was not admitted to probate, while the family chose to act under its provisions from regard to what they knew to be the testator's wishes. Prima facie the Will was proved before the 5th July 1707, the date of the Deed, and yet we know that it was not so proved, or if so, not recorded, which is so improbable as to be practically impossible. Under these circumstances, I cannot advise any further expense in searching for it. I should really feel it a waste of time and money. I am ready, however, to continue the search if you desire it. But I cannot conceive, after the language of that Deed, the barest possibility that it was proved after the period I have already searched. If a valid Will in law, it must have been proved before the date of the Deed, and we know it was not. If an unsigned or otherwise imperfect Will, as I have suggested, it would not have been proved at all, and I confess I now incline to this opinion.t In reply to a question as to whether, under the third head (see note*), a Will describing him as of Dantzic — where indeed he might have died| — could have escaped notice. Colonel Chester writes, 29th December 1870 : — * This search included— ist. All the Wills of WilUam Taylor from 1700 to 1720, both inclusive ; 2d, All the Wills of Taylor proved in the years 1707 and 1708 ; 3d, All the Wills of Taylor, described as of London, Middlesex, or Essex, from 1709 to 1720, both inclusive. The Registries of Wills searched were those of the Principal Registry of Probate, the Commissary and Consistory Courts of London, and the Archdeaconry Courts of London, Middlesex, and Essex. t This theory seems disproved, as we have since discovered the charge for proving the Will in an account which contains full particulars of his personal estate. i It will be seen on reference to p. 102 that we think it probable he did not return to Dantzic after 1675. William Taylor the Dantsic Man. 91 No Taylor described as of Dantzic could have escaped me in the Will Calendars. But whenever 1647-1707. a person dies out of England, whether on the high seas or in some foreign country, the fact is indicated in the Calendars by the expression " Pts.," — a sort of contraction of "foreign fiarts." Of those that liave this affix after 1708. I only examined those of William Taylors. Of course all Taylor Wills having this afhx came under the second heading I gave you in my last letter, so far as the years 1707 and 170S were concerned. As you s.ay, if the Will was ever proved, it ought to have been before the date of the Deed of July 1707; but I am now, since seeing the language of that Deed, and having made these careful searches, decidedly of the opinion that it never was proved.* Colonel Chester adds, however, that it is just possible the Will may have been proved in one of the Peculiar Courts of Essex, whose jurisdiction embraced South Weald, but whose records are no longer in existence. The following- letter is in answer to an application respecting the unproved Will of the Dantzic Man Brentwood, T,oth January 1871. Dear Sir, — Mr Tower has handed to me, as Steward of his Manor of South Weald, your letter to him of the 26th inst. I have referred to the Rolls, and find that an extract from Mr William Taylor's ^\'ill is given in the admission of Rebecca Taylor under such Will, but the Will is not set out in full. Yours truly, R. H. POSTANS. And now for the other story of the dishonest guardian. The facts of the case do not come out very clearly from the papers we have The iii...i,„nest on the subject, but the general impression left by their perusal is, that the monies which ought to have come to the sisters of William Taylor disappeared to a considerable extent, partly through misadventure, and partly probably through dishonesty on the part of Mark Hildesley the younger, who became on his father's death, in 1659, trustee and executor. These papers consist of copies of the Bills and Answers in Chancery, Briefs and Notes of counsel, and voluminous Allegations and Denials ; but they do not come down to the end of the suit. After making the most exhaustive search at the Public Record Office, Colonel Chester writes, April 9, 1S72, " Having exhausted every Calendar covering the period, I must finally report that they [the papers in this suit] are not there. It is useless to pursue the search further, they are evidently lost." It appears that in January 1663-64 a Bill was filed in Chancer>' by Gerard First ch,ancery Usher and his wife, Nathaniel Nokes and his wife, and Margaret Taylor, daughter of Daniel Taylor, Esq., deceased, against Mark Hildesley, (....) Willoughby and Margaret his wife.t and William Taylor (his name being no doubt inserted as a necessary formality). It declared that Daniel Taylor's estate amounted to ^15,000; that a mortgage on Clayden was, when paid, to be taken as part of the personal * Sec note to p. 90. + The widow of Daniel Taylor, see p. 57. 92 William Taylor the D ant sic Man. 1047-1707. estate ; that upon being asked to account, Hildesley refused, saying that Daniel Taylor owed Cromwell upwards of twenty hundred pounds, as his share of a great sum demanded from him and the other Commissioners, to make good an embezzlement by their cashier, one Langham. To this plaintiffs replied, that no such loss took place during the lifetime of Daniel Taylor ; that credit was not given by Hildesley for Daniel Taylor's salary as Commissioner, of fourpence in the pound on the receipts, which was paid after his decease ; that the executor made no defence in the Exchequer Court to Cromwell's demand, as he ought to have done, seeing that the loss did not occur in the lifetime of Daniel Taylor ; and that his salary was not allowed. In the memorandum from which this is taken, prepared apparently for the use of counsel, it seems the defendant (Hildesley) had appeared and answered the Bill, and that plaintiff had replied. Then a day was fixed for the hearing (May 7, 1666), when Hildesley produced accounts, and in regard to the sum of ^2638, 3s. I id. paid to the Exchequer by his father, said it was only paid after legal process, and was not a voluntary payment ; he denied that he ever refused to account; asserted that, on the contrary, he was always desirous of doing so ; declared that the salary of Daniel Taylor went towards paying the sum exacted from the surviving Commissioners (amounting to ^'57,000), which sum was duly charged in an account made up during the lifetime of Daniel Taylor ; that in proof of his readiness to settle, defendant had paid into court ^584, 5s. 6d., which was all that was due from him on his own account ; and that if he should be called upon to pay the ;^2638, 3s. iid. over again, he had not assets to meet it. After hearing both sides, the Court ordered defendant to account for the whole estate of Daniel Taylor; and on 12th April 1667, the Master reported that the matter of ^2638, 3s. iid. was the great question in the case, and found that shortly after Daniel Taylor's death a loss for the year 1653 was discovered in the customs accounts, through the indirect practices of one Henry Langham ; that this account was not passed till after Daniel Taylors death ; that the amount in default was upwards of .;^5 7,000, which was paid by the five surviving Com- missioners and by the estate of Daniel Taylor, under an order of the Exchequer Court ; and that the salary of Daniel Taylor as Commissioner went as part of his payment* (thus allowing defendant this ^2638); that Hildesley the father died possessed of /4000, half of which was lost in the Great Fire ; that he had made the payments to Ann Field, an orphan, and to others, which are not to be allowed, etc., etc. The general result was, that the Court found (May 3, 1657) that a balance * It will be noticed that the amount said to have been paid by Daniel Taylor's estate is considerably less than one sixth of the deficit ; possibly it was made up by accumulated commissions of fourpence in the pound ; or, as we find the word " compounded " occurring in the accounts, it may be that the Exchequer did not insist on payment in full. .See Appendix, p. 683. Williani Taylor the Daiitzk Man. 93 of ^1029, los. I id. was due by Hildesley, and this he was ordered to pay to the ^7 with interest and costs of suit : but he afterwards moved to discharge this order, and produced his father's books. From a note on one of the briefs as to these books, it seems probable that Hildesley senior, doubting which account he should charge with this £^(^7, had for the time placed it to both, without any dishonest intention, charging it but once in the list of debts, as indeed he had done with other sums which had been charged correctly in the end. The honesty of the defendant, however, in the transaction may well be doubted, for in the instructions to William Taylor's counsel there is a note to the effect that sundry leaves had been torn out of the books, and many additions, alterations, and mistakes, made in them. Finding of the The Master finds (April 6, 1678) that the account delivered by defendant as to the charge of ^^^567 does not agree with his father's books, and that the account delivered to plaintiff differs from the books proved to the Master William Taylor the Dautzic Man. 95 to the extent of /1319, 12s. In January 1679, Hildesley petitioned the 1647-1707. Court for a re-hearing, repeating that he did not linow of the double charge, and had no advantage from it, his father not leaving assets to cover it. The new hearing was granted, and ordered for February 10, 1678 ; but we have no means of tracing the matter further. It is but fair to defendant to note the affidavit of John Juxon, of St Mary Axe, "Bonsett" (?), woodmonger (see p. 46), uncle of plaintiff, who says he was employed by him some time after he came to twenty-one years of age, at the time he went be- yond seas for about four years ; that he, the pjlaintiff, and defendant met to examine the accounts, when plaintiff did approve and allow defendant's account, and gave a general discharge; that ^1000 balance was paid to plaintiff, and there was no error complained of Portions of the affidavits are of some interest. Roger Chalkhill of Lincoln's Inn stated, that at Mark Hildesley's death there was ;^i330 due to Daniel Taylor's estate from Mr Howard and Mr Samuel Taylor, who were partners with Daniel. He also states that Hildesley died possessed of ^^'5500 in real and personal estate, and mentions various properties which since the Restoration had been taken away by his Majesty and " restored to the Queen Mother ; " thus confirming the pro- bability that the same fate may have befallen some of the Church lands purchased by Daniel Taylor, of which no trace appears after the mention of them in his Will, notably those of Wenlock Barns, and the property in Paternoster Row, and at Chester. Amongst the items charged by the executor is the astounding one of .1^467, 9s. FuMrai charges. " for funeral charges and other necessary expenses bestowed in and about the testator's funeral, and other necessary charges, and for blacks for mourning apparell, proving the 'Will, and praising the goods, making and ingrossing the Inventories, and exhibiting them into this Court." It may be of some interest to get a glimpse of the cost of housekeeping at that period, as set forth in the same account, viz.. Cost of house- '■ Item for housekeeping for the testator's family from the 13th of April 1655 to the 24th of June, according to his Will," /"51, Ss. Daniel Taylor's share of the jjartnership with "Mr Robert Clarkson and Mr Samuel Howard" is put down at .^3233, 6s. 8d. Our search for official records of these transactions has failed entirely. Colonel Chester writes, Januar)- 15, 1871 :— official record of the suit can \k I have looked in vain for the record of the suit between William Taylor and Mark Hildesley. But I do not imagine that, if discovered, it would throw any light on our dark points. The elder Mark Hildesley's ^Viil I have found, but he does not even mention the name of Taylor. The only points of interest for us are in the following legacies, viz., to Mr John Goodwyn, £2^, and to the poor of his church, ^^lo ; to the poor of Coleman Street, £ia. It is dated 15th December 1659 ; he is called " of Hackney," and leaves his son Mark sole executor. 96 IVilliam Taylor the Dantsic Man. 1647-1707. Again, April 27, 1872: — I have spent several days in a vain search at the Record Office for the papers in the Chancery suit. My search was exhaustive; they are certainly not to be found. It is no uncommon case; I have often met with the same result, sometimes finding part of the papers, and sometimes none at all. In this case, they are not in the Calendars at all." And now, as to the other matter of family tradition to which I have alluded viz., that William Taylor the Dantzic Man had to pay a large amount (^500 is the sum I have heard mentioned) to Charles II. on the Restoration for a pardon for his father's sins. A pardon certainly has come down amongst the family papers. I give a translation from the dog-Latin in which it is couched. It is a curious spe- cimen of " words, words, words." It pardons William Taylor, Gentleman, from more crimes, sins, and misdemeanours than it would be supposed it could come within the capacity of one person, let alone a boy of fourteen, to commit or imagine, It makes no mention of any .sum paid to secure the royal clemency ; it makes no mention of Daniel Taylor, and it seems to confirm his son in the possession of all his lands, tenements, etc., etc. I am assured that such documents were plentiful at the Restoration — were, in fact, merely a mode of putting money in the purse of the royal scamp. No doubt the persons selected for this form of direct taxation were those whose antecedents, individual or hereditary, were such as would not bear strict investigation in a Royalist sense. It is very possible that they first resumed the lands bought under the Common- wealth, and then confirmed him in the possession of all of which they had not robbed him ! Here is the document to speak for itself: — A Pardon for William Taylor Gent. The pardon. Charles the Second By the Grace of God King of England Scotland France and Ireland Defender of the Faith &c To all to whom the present letters may come Greeting Know ye that we from our special grace and certain knowledge and of our mere motion have pardoned remitted and released and by these presents do pardon remit and release unto 'William Tayler of our City of London Gentleman or by whatever other name or surname whether by addition of name or surname business or place the said William Tayler may be accounted to be called or named or lately was accounted to be called or named all and all manner of treacheries crimes treasons disloyalties wars rebellions and insurrections And all conspiracies and misprisions of the said treacheries crimes treasons disloyalties wars rebellions and insurrections And all and singular murders and slaughters and slayings of men by lying in wait assaults or from premeditated malice manslaughters felonies robberies burnings of houses depredations piracies offences crimes contempts evil doings and transgressions advised undertaken attempted done perpetrated or committed by the aforesaid William Tayler before the 10th day of June last past in relation to any war or any wars in any manner whatever pertaining or being concerned in whether by virtue colour or pretext of any commission of power authority trust warrant or instruction of us or of our very dearly beloved father of blessed memory our Lord Charles lately King of England &c or of Purchase of his pardon. William Taylor the Dantzic Man. 97 any other person or any other persons deriving or pretending to derive autiiority directly or indirectly 1647-1707. from us or from our very dearly beloved father Aforesaid or by virtue colour or pretext of any authority or pretence of authority derived directly or indirectly of or from the one or the other House of Parlia- ment or any of them or of or from any convention or assembly called reputed or of itself assuming the name of a Parliament or by or under any authority entitled or known by the name of Preservers of the liberty of England by authority of Parliament or by virtue colour or pretext of any Brief Commission Letters Patent or Instruction of or from any person or any persons entitled reputed or accepted as Lord Protector of the Republic of England Scotland and Ireland and of the Dominions pertaining to ^ them or Lord Protector of the Republic of England Scotland and Ireland and of the Dominions and Territories pertaining to them or assuming the authority of Chief Magistrate of the Republic or reputed or accepted as Chief Magistrate or Commander in Chief of the army of this Kingdom by sea or by land or by any pretext warrant or precept whatever from them or any or either of them or of the Council or Councils of them or any of them respectively or from any member of such Council or Councils or from any person or any persons whomsoever deriving authority or pretended authority from them or from any of them And also all and singular accessory acts in respect of the premises or any of them whatsoever albeit the said William Tayler is or is not indicted summoned formally sentenced outlawed condemned convicted or attainted in respect of the premises or any of the premises And all and singular Indictments Inquisitions Judicial trials Attainders Outlawries and Convictions for the same or any of them And further from our abundant Special grace and from certain knowledge and of our mere motion we grant and concede and for ourself our heirs and successors by these presents restore to the aforesaid William Tayler All and singular lands tenements hereditaments goods chattels and other things whatsoever by reason of the premises or of any of them by him the said William Tayler advised undertaken attempted done perpetrated or committed or by reason of any Trial Inquisition Conviction outlawry Judgment or attainder on that account occasioned extreated forfeited or lost to us or to our said father which now exist or ought to exist in the hands or pjossession of whomsoever or any one soever And also all and singular the issues and profits of the same lands tenements and hereditaments To Hold and enjoy the aforesaid Lands tenements and hereditaments to the said William Tayler his heirs and assigns And To Have and To Hold all the aforesaid goods and chattels to the aforesaid William Tayler his executors administrators and assigns from our gift in perpetuity And to take the same lands tenements hereditaments goods and chattels in whosesoever hands or posses- sion the same or any of them separately are without accounting or in any wise for that cause reckoning paying or making good to us or to our heirs and successors And we will and concede that these our letters patent and this our pardon remission and release contained in the same as well as All and singular former pardons remissions and releases may and shall be good and effectual in law although the aforesaid crimes and offences may be insufficiently specified and notwithstanding a Statute made and passed in the parliament of the Lord Richard II formerly king of England in the 13th year of his reign and notwithstanding a Statute made and passed in the parliament of the Lord Edward King of England the third after the Conquest in the 14th year of his reign or any other act Statute or decree to the contrary made and passed notwithstanding And further we pardon remit and release to the aforesaid William Tayler All and singular other treacheries whether great or small crimes treasons And all disloyalties wars rebellions and insurrections And all conspiracies and misprisions of all and of each of them the said treacheries crimes treasons disloyalties wars rebellions and insurrections by the aforesaid William Tayler before the said loth day of June undertaken advised attempted made per- petrated or committed And all and singular other robberies depredations piracies burglaries burnings of houses homicides and all and every other kind of felony as well against the Common law of our Kingdom of England as against any Statutes Acts Decrees or Provisions whatever of our same Kingdom before this had ordained or provided or of any of them by the aforesaid William Tayler before the 4th day of March last past undertaken advised attempted done perpetrated or committed And also all and singular accessory acts in respect of the same premises and which of them soever And also all and singular accessory acts in respect of any murders after the commission of such murders And also all and every kind of denials and evasions as well voluntary as involuntary and from inadvertence of such N 98 IVilliaui Taylor tlic Daiitzic Man. treasons murders homicides and felonies or accessory acts and suspicions of the same And all and singular accessory acts in respect of the same denials and evasions And all and singular offences punishments and forfeitures whatsoever of prseraunire or commonly known by that name by him William Tayler before the said loth day of June had done or committed albeit the said William Tayler is or is not indicted summoned formally judged outlawed condemned convicted or attainted in respect ot tlie premises or any of the premises And all and singular judgments attainders outlawries and convic- tions for the same premises or any of them And also all unlawful armed meetings riot rout illegal gatherings congregatings assemblages confederations conspiracies joinings together perjuries and suborna- tion of perjuries of words proclamations illegal bargains vows oaths engagements and promises and all countenancings of them or of any of them whatsoever And all undertakings strikings woundings briberies corruptions double dealings and deliberate forgeries both in respect of the deeds of any persons or ol the deed of any person of any will or of any other writings And all and all manner of illdoings and breakings of the peace whatever by him William Tayler alone or w-ith any other person at any time or any times before the said loth day of June after what manner soever had done committed or per- petrated We also pardon remit and release by these presents the aforesaid William Tayler all and all manner of offences and transgressions in the abrasure erasure and interlineation of any Rolls Records Briefs Warrants Recognizances or of any Memorandum in any Court or in any Courts whatsoever by the aforesaid Wilham Tayler before the said loth day of June undertaken advised perpetrated or done And also all and singular judgments penalties of death and punishments And the rents and profits of all and singular Dominions Manors Lands Tenements and other hereditaments of him William Tayler owed pertaining or belonging to us or to any of our ancestors before the said loth day of June by reason of the premises And further of our abundant Special grace and from certain knowledge and of our mere motion We pardon remit and release to the aforesaid William Tayler all schisms and causes of schism before the aforesaid loth day of June of which cognizance pertains to the Ecclesiastical tribunal and which are examinable and determinable in any Court of Christendom or before any Ecclesiastical Judge or any Commissions whatsoever beyond the Kingdom of England And all and singular contempts concerning or in respect of them or any of them And all and all manner of offences transgressions and inadvertent contempts against the form of any statutes whatever concerning the counterfeiture of the Kings Seal and against the form of any Statute in respect of witholding the Kings Stores done or perpetrated and all forfeitures and losses to us or to any of our ancestors or progenitors before the aforesaid loth day of June in respect of any abettings receivings and retentions And all and all manner of contempts and all kinds of inadvertent contempts by the aforesaid William Tayler alone or jointly with any other person or with any other persons against the form and effect of any statutes whatever concerning the nonuse of false weights and measures And all and all manner of usuries and usurious contracts corrupt bargains and illegal agreements And also all and all manner of forfeit\ires debts and demands to us owing pertaining or attaching by reason of any acknowledgements promises admissions injunctions writings obligatory or other writings whatsoever to us or to any of our ancestors or progenitors or to any other person or any other persons to our use or to the use of any of our ancestors or progenitors before the aforesaid loth day of June acknowledged promised admitted made or done by the aforesaid William Tayler alone or by him jointly with another person or other persons for himself or for any other person or for any other persons for or concerning our favour or the preserving the favour of any of our ancestors or progenitors or for or concerning his good conduct and proper behaviour before the said loth day of June in any manner forfeited And moreover we pardon remit and release to the aforesaid William Tayler all and all manner of outlawries whatsoever against him William Tayler alone or jointly with any other person or any other persons or against any other or any others of whom the said William Tayler is heir executor or administrator by reason or occasion of tlie premises or of any of them or of any other thing cause or matter whatsoever as well during our rule as during the rule of any of our progenitors or of any others whomsoever promulgated And we grant our firm friendship to him the said William Tayler so that he may nevertheless remain clear in our Court though any one should will to speak against him And moreover we grant and concede to the aforesaid William Tayler by these presents all and all manner of goods and chattels tVilliain Taylor the Dantzic Man. 99 forfeited lost or pertaining to us or to any of our ancestors or progenitors by reason of sucli outlawries And all and all manner of issues revenues and profits of all and singular Dominions Manors Lands Tenements and other premises and hereditaments whatsoever which now are or lately were belonging to the said William Tayler or to any other person or any other persons of whom he is heir executor or administrator that is to say from the time or times of any such outlawry against him or any of them being promulgated to the present time arising or accruing retained as well by his own hands as by the hands of our present or late Ministers Treasurers Baillifs Coroners and any others of our ministers whomsoever to take the same by virtue of our gift witliout accounting or in any other wise reckoning or making good to us And from our further special grace and certain knowledge and of our mere motion for ourselves our heirs and successors we do pardon remit and release to the aforesaid William Tayler by these presents All and all manner of offences and transgressions for any and what- ever alienation done or made before the aforesaid loth day of June without our royal license or without the royal license of any of our ancestors or predecessors to the aforesaid William Tayler or to any of his ancestors or to any other person or any other persons by any other person or any otlier persons of any titles manors lands tenements or hereditaments being in the power of the aforesaid William Tayler in possession reversion or remainder And all and singular fines issues and profits that by any pretext whatever or by reason of any such alienation without license may have accrued to our aforesaid ancestors or to us And we firmly order and command our esteemed and faithful Treasurer and Commissioners of our Treasury and our Sub Treasurer and Secretary in respect of such fines issues and profits (amongst other things) that without delay they make full and absolute release and discharge of claims in respect of such fines issues and profits And these our present letters patent shall be to them sufficient warrant in that behalf And we do pardon remit and release to the aforesaid William Tayler all and all manner of forfeitures and penalties in respect of offences by him William Tayler perpetrated against the form and effect and provisions of any statutes concerning the bearing and shooting bolts from cross bows and hand guns or any of them before the said loth day of June Excepting nevertheless out of these presents every kind of part taken in that execrable Rebellion lately raised in Ireland and all machinations conspiracies and designs providings procurings of aid and assistance in respect of that rebellion mentioned in a certain act of Parliament made on the 3rd day of November in the i6th year of the reign of our said father entitled "An act for the speedy and effectual reducing the Rebels in Ireland to their due obedience to His Majesty and the Crown of England" And all and singular oflTences committed by any Jesuit Seminary or Romish Priests And all and singular other offences by whatsoever persons committed against the tenour and effect of that Statute made and passed in the Parliament in the 27th year of the reign of the late Queen Elizabetli entitled "An act against Jesuits Seminary priests and other disobedient persons" And all outlawries for all judgments and executions for the same bfiences or any of them And all and singular Briberies corruptions perjuries and subornations of perjury tending to lead any person or any persons into danger of their lives And also all offences of the unspeakable crime of and And also all offences for or concerning forgeries whether in respect of any deeds or of any Debentures or Bills of public faith And all advisings or procurings of such offences And all offences and felonies against the Statute concerning the restraint of all persons from marriage until their first wives or first husbands may be dead And also all offences of conjuration invocation and witchcraft And all and singular accessory acts in respect of the same or of any of them before the same offences or any of them were committed And all and singular judgments convictions and outlawries concerning or for any offence or crime excepted by these presents And further from our special grace we firmly command all Judges Justices Officers and all others whomsoever that this present free and general pardon by the general words clauses and sentences before written may be construed interpreted and declared in all our Courts and elsewhere in the most beneficial and benignant sense And for the complete and lasting release of the aforesaid William Tayler according to our true intention without any ambiguity question T difference whatever and in as beneficial a manner and form and to all intents and purposes as if the aioresaid offences contempts forfeitures penalties judgments executions and other premises (except as before excepted) had been pardoned remitted and released by suitable expressions and special words lOO William Taylor the Dantzic Man. 1647-1707. And that these our letters patent and our remission release and pardon in them contamed may be pleaded and adduced in any Courts whatsoever and before any Justices whomsoever without any warrant concerning such allowance And notwithstanding that the same William Tayler may not find security for his good behaviour or otherwise as required by the form of a Statute of a Parliament in the thirteenth year of the Lord Edward formerly king of England after the Conquest and notwithstanding the same Statute so far as express mention is made at least in these presents of the true meaning of our mind concerning the particularly specified premises or any of them or concerning any other grants and concessions by us or by any of our ancestors to the aforesaid William Tayler made before this time or any other statute Act decree provision or restriction to the contrary before this deed made decreed or passed or any other thing matter or cause whatsoever in any wise notwithstanding In Witness whereof we have made these our Letters Patent Witness ourself at Westminster the 9 day of May in the 13 year of our reign Barker. William Taylor was born, then, as we have seen, about 1647 ; exactly when, we have no means of knowing, in the absence of any discovered Register record. We can, however, come pretty closely to the date, as we find it stated by Hildesley in his Answer to William Taylor's Bill in Chancery, and not denied by William Taylor, that after attaining his full age, viz., February 22, 1667, William Taylor came to a settle- ment, etc., etc. (p. 94). Now this may mean either that he was born February His age. 22, 1646-47, or that he came on that day to make the arrangement, he being then past full age. On the former reading, the exact day of course is fixed; on the latter, we must assume that his birthday could not have passed more than a few months, because his elder brother William, who died in infancy, was born, as we have seen, in December 1645 ; and it is not likely that our William Taylor could have been born at a less interval than about a year, or say from November to February 1646-47. In confirmation also of this, we have the affidavit, already given, of John Juxon, that he was employed by plaintiff for some time after he came to twenty-one years, at the time he went beyond seas, etc., etc. Now it is not likely that these statements as to age, on the defendant's side, would have been made if not correct, because it would have been so easy to deny them. Still more certain is it, that, if made, and untrue, they would have been refuted, and would have made a strong point in plaintiffs case, which does not appear to have been the fact. In- deed, in making his appeal to Chancery, he avowed that his release was good at Com- mon Law, and therefore implied that he must have been of full age when he gave it. Nor is it likely that he would have been sent to Dantzic, not only to represent his master, but also to trade for himself— which is William Taylor's own statement in his Bill— had he not at that time attained the legal age of manhood. In his Marriage Allegation (p. 83) he is described as aboid twenty-five years old in March 1672-73, which does not exactly correspond; as according to our reckoning he must have been just over twenty-six at that time; but we must remember that he did not make the Marriage Allegation himself It was made by one Peter Pykering DOROTHY TURNER William Taylor the Dantzic Man. lOI (probably a friend of the Turners), who, not knowing exactly, said " about 25 ; " the principal object being that he should be sworn above twenty-one. Again we find him dealing with some of his Essex property in 1678 (making over Bovill's Hall partly to his son William and partly to Rebecca and Henry Sherbrooke), which property he could not apparently deal with under his father's Will until he had attained the age of thirty-one; all these confirming 1647 S-S the date of his birth. Of the history of his childhood and youth we know nothing beyond the fact that he was apprenticed, probably at fourteen years of age, to John Doggett, Merchant, of London. It may be supposed that his master was a mercer, at least we find William Taylor a member of the Mercers' Company, and not of the Haber- dashers', like his father and grandfather. His grandfather, it will be remembered, died in 1651, when he was but four years old, and his father four years later, in 1655. His aunt, Margaret Webb, was appointed by his father's Will guardian to all the children, or, in case of her predecease or refusal to act, Daniel Taylor's widow was appointed in her place. Margaret Webb survived for many years, and there is no reason to suppose that she refused her brother's earnest appeal. We have seen that William Taylor went to Dantzic in 1667-6S, and there he appears to have remained some four years, i.e., till 1671-72, but was obliged, as he tells us in his statement in Chancery, suddenly to return to Dantzic till 1674. Probably this may mean that after 1674 he finally left Dantzic, as the last letters we find addressed to him there were dated in 1674-75 ; but certain it is that he did not remain in Dantzic from 1671-72 till 1674, as on March 6, 1672-73 he married Dorothy Turner at Totteridge, and we must allot some time for his successful courtship. It is probable that he had no fixed home at this time to which to take his bride, as she evidently remained at her old home for the nine short months of her married life. His wife died in giving birth to a son — known to us as William Taylor of South Weald— December 7, 1673. All the particulars that we know will be found in the interesting letters which presently follow, from Mrs Dorothy Turner,* and from the MS. book referred to on p. 103. Just two centuries have passed since these were penned, — four times the fifty years of which we say, " It will be all the same" after they have passed ; yet it is difficult to read the story without emotion. In the first letter, four months after their marriage, the young girl is described as yearning for her husband's return, and contains a sly intima- tion that " your littell one is able to spring for ioy at your returne come as soone as you will ; " then comes her death ; then we have the outpourings of the grandmother's love for the child that had cost them all so dear (he died, an old gentleman of seventy-seven, one hundred and twenty years ago. 1 750 ! ) ; then her mingled love, reproaches, and lectures to the young father, who hardly seems to have come up to her ideal; and then in three short years the sad surrendering of 1647-1707. Apprenticeship. His guardian. His connection with Dantzic. Marriage witii Dorotliy Turner. Old Mrs Turner's MS. book. * Sec her poiuait on opposite page. I02 IVilliam Taylor the Daiitzic Man. 1647-1707. the little one and his father to the new wife, in the touching letter addressed soon after the marriage to her new " deare daughter, ffor so you must give me leave now to call you, being now in the Roome and place of my one poore daughter" (p. 136). So far as we can tell, William Taylor did not return to Dantzic till after his wife's death, for on July 8, 1673, there is a letter addressed to him (by his mother- in-law) at Bovill's Hall. We find him, however, again addressed at Dantzic two or three months after his wife^s death, viz., February 23, 1674-75. Probably he not infre- quently passed to and fro ; at any rate, his mother-in-law writes to him in the follow- ing May, apparendy sorrowing for another departure. Other letters follow in August, September, and November; there is likewise a letter from Nokes in 1675, after which we have no evidence that he returned to Dantzic." The young wife was buried in Totteridge church, as appears by a monument there, of which the following is a copy : — M' IN MEMORY OF DOROTHY TAYLOR LATE WIFE OF M WILLIAM TAYLOR MERCHANT & DAV^cf^ OF RICHARD TVRNER ESQ & DOROTHY HIS WIFE OF THIS PARISH WHO DECEASED 7 DE= CEM'' 1673: LYES INTERRED VNDER THE TWO SEATES ADJOYNING y^ETATIS 20: Here Youth, St Virtue, Grace, &■ Beauty, met Rose like the morning sun but quickly set, In nine moneths space her Nuptiall Race she Run, Then God exchang'd tooke her & gaue A son Death soon on Earth her Mariage - Knot vnty'd That she might live with Christ A lovely Bride, Who will not loose one Attome of her dust But (rays'd in Glory) place it with the Just VNDER THE SAME PEWES LYES ALSOE INTERRED THE BODY OF SVSANNA TVRNER DAVGHTER OF THE SAID RICH ARD TVRNER AND DOROTHY HIS WIFE WHO DECEASED 14"' JULY 1672 : yETAT 15 &■ 10 MONETHS Now take thy Rest (Dear Saint) in thy cold Bed For (though to heav'n thy precious soul be fled) Thou shalt not here, as one neglected lye But be preserv'd by God's most watchful! Eye Wait but A while that thou mayst be Refin'd And thou shall rise & leave thy Droffe behind Grace made thee lovely & admir'd by all And sure since grace adorn'd thee glory shall * We have, however, three invoices dated from Dantzic in l6 of business relations was maintained to a later time. I 1684, and 1692 respectively, showing that some amount "4 JVilliain Taylor the Daiitsic Man. 103 It seems that the old church was burnt down about one hundred years ago, ■647-i707- and in 1853 some of our family happening to go to Totteridge, found by mere chance the stone set up against some pews in the new church to keep off the heat of a stove, and had it put up on the wall in the same situation it had occupied in the old church. The epitaph appears in Mrs Turner's MS. book as written by her sister Susannah Staynings. This MS. book, to which reference has already been made, came into my hands History of .Mrs \ c -i-i . . Turner's MS. m the lollowmg curious manner : — bonk. Mr G. A. Macirone, of No. 5 Park Village, West, N.W., writing to me August the 21st, 1868, says : — I saw it at an old book shop, Mr Westell's, in New 0,xford Street, and being interested in it, took it home. After reading it, I felt that if the lady had been my own relative, I should have valued the book for her sake, and therefore made some inquiries at Totteridge with the view of discovering her descendants. Through the very kind assistance of the Parish Priest, Mr Squibb, and through your having restored the inscription to Mrs Taylor, these inquiries were successful ; and I am pleased to have been able to hand the book over to you with no greater exertion than a pleasant Sunday afternoon's walk and one or tu-o letters. Mr Westell, it was discovered on further inquiry, purchased it at a sale of books belonging to the Rev. Mr Stainforth, minister of church in Mark Lane, who died about 1867. Mr Stainforth had bought it at a sale of the books of Miss Jenkins of Bristol. Further I did not attempt to trace it. By the following passage, written on the first page, it will be seen that about one hundred years ago (1760) it was in the possession of a descendant of Mrs Turner, viz., Richard Turner of Hatton Garden, who died in 1768 (see p. 104) ; — In this book is the writing of Doroiiiy Turner, who was daughter of S'^ Nicholas Martin of E.xeter, Ricliard Tui and married Richard Turner Esq of Totteridge Hertfordshire The 8 of August 1644 she Dyed The 24 Febniary 1689-90 He Dyed the 20 May 1676 Xx 66. The above Two Good Persons were Grandfather and Grandmother of me Richard Turner now livin" at Hatton Garden London Anno 1760. This book contains the Birth of their children &:c. &c. &c. And many of the Divine Poems of the said Dorothy Turner &:c. The father of this Richard Turner (also named Richard Turner), was brother-in-law to the Dantzic Man. He was born 1646, and died 1738. He is called Citizen nd Haberdasher. By his Will, dated in 1717, he gives to his Cousin William aylor (of South Weald) £200, — a legacy for some reason cancelled in a Codicil ted August 1730. He left his property to his daughters Elizabeth Boys and orothy Turner, and to his son Richard, whom he made executor. I04 IVilliam Taylor the Dantzic Man. The following is an abstract by Colonel Chester of the Will of Richard Turner of Hatton Garden, who died in 1768. It is dated 1767. He left legacies to Henry Taylor of Crawley, and to his sisters Rebecca and Elizabeth. The letter from his nephew and executor, Mr Dingley, to Henry Taylor announcing the bequest will be found amongst the correspondence of the latter (p. 311). The personal legacies amount to about ^20,000, and the bequests also include a farm and house in Essex. How much besides the residuary legatee took under the Will it is impossible to say; but the testator was evidently " a well-to-do man," as money was worth much more then than now. Apparently he was unmarried, and, as it would seem, the last of his family, as amidst a great number of bequests the name of Turner never occurs. He main- tained no establishment of his own, but was living with Dr Nicholas Robinson (in Hatton Garden), to whom he left ^800, as well as legacies to his wife, son, and daughter. The nearest relatives mentioned in his Will are his " nephew-in-law, Charles Dingley of Hampstead," writer of the above-mentioned letter, — who mar- ried his niece Elizabeth, deceased at the date of Will, — and their daughter Susannah. To him he desires to be given up a bond for £\ooo, "in acknowledgment of his having made a good husband " to his late niece, and constitutes him residuary legatee ; while to Susannah he gives the farm and house in Essex, also ^9000, to be paid when she is twenty-one, or on marrying earlier with consent of her father ; should she, however, marry without such consent, to receive £ipQO only ; the other £'^000, with ^5000 absolutely, to the Boys' Charity School in Norton Folgate, which he says was " the first Charity School in London," and that he and his father had been successively Treasurers of it, the latter having been greatly concerned in its establishment. Colonel Chester adds : — On consulting a volume I have, called "The Endowed Charities of London," published in 1829, I find that this school was then (and probably still is) in existence, and conducted strictly according to the provisions of his Will. It was removed from Norton Folgate to Primrose Street, in St Botolph's, Bishopsgate, and known as Turner's Free School. The Report says that sixty boys are educated, thirty entirely clothed in addition, and at least one apprenticed from the school annually. It is clear that he took a deep interest in the good working of the school from the elaborate character of the provisions of his Will, amongst other matters, enjoin- ing that the Trustees should once a year dine together, " and let the schoolmaster also dine with them, that he may be at hand to receive their orders and to anwer any questions." He made a large number of small bequests to clergymen, sextons, pew-openers, servants, with many others ; amongst them one " to the poor of the parish of St Andrew, Holborn, not receiving alms of the parish, ^100." It is noticeable that his connections seem to have been principally in Essex, for to per- William Taylor the Dantzic Man. 105 sons at Colchester he makes the following bequests :— " To my cousin Martha Bayles. i647-i7"7 widow, £200 ; to my cousin Elizabeth West, widow, /300 ; the three daughters of my late cousin Robert Meadows, ^50 each." To Thomas Bayles, ^200 ; to William Atkinson, ^200; to Charles Gray, Esq., M.P. for Colchester, /50; and to persons in other parts of Essex— to Jane Croule, widow, of Albyn's, near Ongar, /50 ; to Thomas Unwin of Castle Hedingham, ^100; to Walter Fletcher, Esq., of Wan^ stead, £20; to Hannah Finch, "my tenant at Hedingham Sible, £20." It may also be noted that some connection with Totteridge still remained, as he gives to the Rev. Bexworth Liptrot, curate of Totteridge, ^40, "for his care of my nephew James Boyes whilst he was with him." He likewise gives ^500 to St Bartholomew's Hospital. Before giving the extracts from Dorothy Turner's MS. book already referred to, this seems the proper place to insert the following curious bill for funeral charges : — ffor the ffunerall of Mrs Dorothy Taylor Intenlde the loth of ffor 15 escotcheon's wrought on Buckra : all two coates Impaled ffor 74 Escotcheons wrought on Paper: all two coates Impaled ffor use of A pall of velvet 3 dayes ffor 4 yardes J- of Black Boyes ffor the Pulpitt .... ffor use of 22 yartles of Blacke Boyes 2 yardes broade . ffor use of 104 yardes of Quinqo Boyes ffor the house . ffor use of 24 yardes of Quinquo Boyes ffor the chancell 6 weekes ffor 3 poundes of wax Lightes ...... ffor y« man's puting up y= Boyes escotcheons & coach hire home °9 15 5i £ s- d. 01 17 06 03 12 00 01 10 00 00 10 00 05 06 00 17 04 00 06 00 00 04 06 00 12 of) January f 2^tk 1673.— Then rec'' of Mr W" Ta)lor y= sum of nine pound's teen shillings in full of this Bill & all Accounts p mee John Johnson att y' in Little Britaine. But to return to Mrs Turner's MS. book. It will be observed that the old lady appears to have taken a curious interest in noting the day of the week in which any interesting event occurred. Mrs Turner'. MS Ijook. io6 JVilliain Taylor the Daiitzic Man. — Mrs Turner's MS. Book. EXTRACTS FROM MS. BOOK. Betty baptized on the Lord's day and died one tlie lords day Sue baptized on the lords day and dyed one the lords day Dorothy baptized on y" lords day and died one the lords day The 14th of July 1672 sue departed this life it was the lords day about six in y' morning and was buried y'' 19th being friday The 7th of Desem 1673 being also y' Lords day ray Daughter Taylor died betweene 2 and 3 in the morning and was buried by her sister the loth day being wensday On Saturday about . 7 . at night my Deare husband left this life: it being the 20th of may 1676 and was buried the 25th being Thursday at Totteridge my daughter Dorothy Tayler died the 7th of Desem : 1673 : betwene 2 and 3 of the clock in the morning being the lords day about an houre and a halfe after her son wiUiam was borne she was married the : 6th. ; of march before one a thursday sister staynings was married about may 54 and dyed may 85. my bro martyn dyed y' latter end of Novem 61 my father dyed may 53. The 8th of Agust 1644 being thursday I was married. Nicholas was borne the 12th of May 1645 being monday betweene 10 ; and [illegible] of the clock in y' morning and wa.s baptized the sabath after by Mr Seaman the 26th of Jime 1646 Richard was borne being friday and was Baptized the lords day se'night. after by Mr Seaman ["He was my Father and Dyed The nth July 1738"— Note by Richard Turner, owner of the book in 1760] the first of Feb 1647 : betty was borne at 2 of the clock in the afternoone being Twesday and was baptized the lords day after by Mr Seaman on Saterday the i6th of June 1649 : shee sickned of the small pox and dyed the : 22th : of July about : 8 : of the clock at night it being the lords day and was buried about 8 a clock the Twesday night following shee died at the Key in watling street and was buried in AUhallows Bread Street in the chansell under the : 3rd : pew ; by my Cousen thomas Downes the scriptur he spok to was the : 1 : thes : the 4th and the 13th to the end the 2d day of Jan 1649 being wensday I was delivered of a daughter Dead born betwen 9 and 10 a clock at night though I went my full time it was bured by the other the 3d of Jan : being Thursday the 6th of march 1650 Sammuell was Borne being Thursday about : 9 : of the clock at night and was Baptized by Dr Seaman that day fortnight [Note by Richard Turner— " He was consul in Cyprus Died there in Anno 1705."] the 5th of Desem 1652 : being the lords day about : 3 : in the morning ; I was delivered by Mr Bowden of a son being 22 weekes gone a day never to be forgoten by me I being then and before past all hopes of life the thursday before I miscaried of another I went 5 weekes after my first takeing ill before I was deliverd but was taken most despratly the Twesday before B.1656, D 1672. William Taylor tlie Dantsic Man. — Mrs Turner s MS. Book. 107 Wensday the 2d of November : 1653 about : 7 : in the evening Dorothy was borne and Baptized 1647-1707. the lords day foUowing by m' Tutty at Totteridge : she was Dead some time after slie was borne fryday the : 12th : of September ; 1656 : betweene : 6 : and : 7 : in y» morning susanna was borne and Baptized the 28th of sept : following by Dr Seaman at Totteridge [Note by Richard Turner — "Dyed it, July 1672 unmarried"] wensday the 28th of Desember 165(7?) between 5 : and : 6 : in the morning betty was borne with great peril of her life and was Baptized the first of Jan. by m' Tutty at Totteridge [Note by Richard Turner — "She married John Knight Esq'- and Dyed anno 1716"] The 14th of July 1672 : my Deare Sue departed this Hfe a littell before six in the morning it being Death of her the lords day at Edward mesers nere the grove at Tunbridge whose gratious life and happy death the ''a^g^'er Susanna, lord grant I may indavour to follow, never had any parents more Reall grounds of Comfort in so sharp a Triall : shee having strong evidences of her eternall well being to beare us up from sinking : for which I desire as long as I live to blese the lord After a long and Tedious sicknes god haveing graciously prepared her beforehand, gave her a sight of y* glory to which shee was a goeing, about nine houers before shee died which caused her to burst out into these words to morrow I shall be singing my Hallalujahs in heaven and begin my eternall sabath there : she was buried at Totteridge the fryday following under my pew by m' Parr who also preached her funerall sermon on the first verse of the sixty third psalme which psalme shee exceedingly delighted m and would call it by the name of her psalme often singing it in her sicknes and this first verse seting out lively the very frame and temper of her heart was thought a subject fitt to be treated on that others might be stired up by her exampell earely to seek after god and get an intrest in him as ther god, as shee did, finding the world to be but as a dry and a baren willdernes, shee would say shee was never borne for this world for shee never found that delight nor sweetnes in it that she had observed others did and did often warne her nere relations to beware of the pleasurs of this vaine world saying it would be bitternes in the end it was a vaine world and shee did fore see it would grow every day more and more vaine— often did shee refresh her hart withe the 40 of Isaya— the whole chap : but espeshally the frist verse comfort yee comfort yee my peopell speak yee comfortably to Jerusalem say to her that her warfar is a-Complished and her sin is pardoned and that verse where Christ promiseth to cary his lambs in his bosom Her poverty of sperit was very great and shee was exceedingly broken in the sence of her one un- worthynes acknowlidging all shee reseved wholy from the fi-ee grace and mercy of god and even the most ordinary expresions of love that shee reseved from any even the meanest of those about her would cause her often to say what am I what have I done that these should be so kind to me I have never deserved it it is only the mercy and goodnes of god to mee that Causes my freinds thus to respect and doe for mee— how pationatly would shee mourne for sin and that shee had done noe more for god how much Time would she say shee had lost which if shee had well improved shee might have bin a groivne christian wheras now shee was but weak, and should god damn her he were but Just and righteous saying the free goodnes and mercy of god to poore sinners and to her in particuler did make much against her for the more good god was and had bin to her so much the greater was her obligation to be the more serviceabell to him, in utering which words her hart seemed to melt and desolve so much within her that shee would uter it with much vehemency powering out her Teares in aboundance Oh how much said shee hath god done for mee in my education from a child how many good sermons have I heard and how litell have I remembred or practised how many mercys have I had and how have I bin vnder corrections and afflictions had I improved these what might I have bin her sincerity and plainnes in all her ways both to god and man was very obvious being but of few words but much in ilocing what shee beleved was pleaseing to god imploying her Time in her clasit (iayly praying with her sister ther morning and evening and at other Times in writing out the heads of sermons shee had heard or short prayers when shee betooke her to her work shee would doe it diligently and hated Idellnes exceedingly in any and yet even then as shee hath since said, her thoughts were not Idell intimating to us that thay were much with god even when shee seemed to be p io8 JJ'iUiaiii Taylor tlie Dantzic Man. — Mrs Turner s MS. Book. 1647-1707. hardest at her work when you have thought my not speaking was malencoly and have often Asked mee why I sate so long without speaking I was then imployed said shee which showed her inward integrity towards god when shee made the least show of it outwardly her faith was bottomed on a suer foundation saying shee knew her selfe to be a poore worthies creatur all over like a fiUthy leapar full of sores from head to foot but her trust was only in the free mercy of god through christ hee had made many gratious promises to poore siners he had bin free in makeing them and hee would be faithfuU in keeping them shee made noe doubt and upon this shee desired to stay her soule shee was exceding willing to take Christ upon his owne termes Hartyly loving his person his holy natur and all those heavenly graces with which hee is Beautified rendring him most desireabell to her and being asked whether shee could not like him better if hee were not so precise and exactly holy shee cryed out as with great abhorency of such a thought oh noe noe and being asked againe if shee found her hart inflamed with such a desire of Christ that shee could forsake all to cleave to him and to commit her soule into his hands to be saved by the sole vertue of his bloud shee cherefully and readyly gave her Asent her love to god also was vehement hartyly bewaileing that shee had done noe more to gloryfie him and that shee had bin noe more exemplary to others that so god might have had the more honer from them thay being stired up by her example my privat way of serving god said shee since my illnes as in praying in my bed and converseing with him in my on thoughts hath brought god but httell glory and certanly never did any show more love to god the meltings of her heart this way even drowning her expression her love also to the godly was evident and that for goodnes sake a person our minister m' Page coming to visit her in her sicknes shee seemed much to reioyce ther at saying he is a very good man oh how I love him because he is so good I could even hug him I love him so Dearely shee was very charitable to the poore and tender to them shee would seldom be without her poore box that shee might have to releve them lifting up her hart to god that shee was not in ther Condition how did shee excell in Humility and though in her aparell ,she allways loved neatnes yet hated prid neither could she abid it in any other neither did shee love much time should be spent in dreseing and therfor would allways be ready to helpe others for a sooner dispatch of that worke how did shee in her sicknes warne her sisters of that sin of curiosity in dreseing said shee have a care the divill will perswad you this curell is not stuck right and might be new done and this pin is not well till he hath drawn you to while away that time you should devote to god and then when you would serve god you have noe time shee was of a most meeke and quiet sperit and if shee thought any tooke any thing ill from her shee could not rest till shee had throughly informed them that shee intended them none shee was very tender to her parents allwais carrying her selfe so to them as might render her most acceptable since her illnes shee prayed her mother to forgive and pardon her with many teares saying shee had bin a rebellious child to her, which when shee could not any way remember and therfore prayed her not to lay more lode on her selfe then shee was guilty of shee said oh you have forgote it but I have not it has cost mee many a teare that you never knew you would about a yeare and halfe since have had mee to have put on somthing to keep mee more warme and I would not though you were earnest with mee to doe it but you doe not know what it hath cost mee and how much it hath trobled mee ever since and now I beg your forgivenes which being soone granted shee seemed very well satisfied her tender love to all her Relations did also much apeare in her kind deportment to them but espeshally in her earnest sutes to god for them that god would keep them from tlie vanity of youth and give them grace that shee might meet them againe in heaven in which shee would with many teares inlarge her selfe a long time together shee would say in the begining of her sicknes that shee was willing to dye only loth to leave so many nere and Deare relations as shee had but shee trusted that god that had made her willing as to other things, would inabell her to overcome this let also in his good time William Taylor the Dantsic Man. — Mrs Turner s MS. Book. 109 her weanednes from the world was admirabell in one so young shee would say she was never borne for this world never tasting that delight in the vanitys of it as shee thought others had, nay said shee when I have bin in mery company and have most put forth my selfe because I would not spoyle the company I never found that inward sweetnes that I have scene others have in it, one sober visit to some good and grave person hath done niee a hundred times more good, and said shee when I have bin apt at any time to be a littell merry with young company I have had some secret whispers upon my heart saying to mee what are you about now which hath put a stop to mee and sometimes I have apprehended that some young peopell have not cared much for my company be-Caus I could not so readyly follow them because of my weakenes and then I have thought I have hid somthing within mee to say Come you see thay doe not care for your company take the more delight in mine and solace your selfe the more with mee, which hath much satisfied her and having his noe mervill shee was noe more taken with the world her submition to the will of god in all conditions was exceeding great as much certainly as could be attained by any m this life allways contenting her selfe with what god saw best for her so that in all her long sicknes shee was never heard to speak one repining or murmoring word shee would say, lord, if it be thy will let it be so, or so, but if not thy will be done, a poore neibor who had bin long sick coming to see her her leges then begining to swell she told her she had now a new trobell come upon her but said shee, you and I have had great experience of gods goodnes let us not feare but trust to him still neither did shee seenie disturbed at any thing that god saw good to lay upon her shee had a great gift in prayer so tliat in her sicknes shee would pray nere an houer together in which sometimes shee would Argue her selfe into patients which grace also in her was eminent, from what Christ had undergone for her leaveing out not any thing but insisting one every perticuler Cer- comstance that might set out the bitternes of that cup he drunk of for poore sinners shee had the scripturs very perfect and would rekon them up so fist and aply them to her con- dition so, that all could not but admire that heard her Hartily would shee blese god for her afflictions saying had not god nipt her as it were in the bud shee might have bin old in sin though young in yeares shee was a diligent herer of the word having her eye selldom of the minester and as to this duty did shee also warne her sisters biding them take heed how thay heard for said shee the divill will be ready to interrupt you by his temtations some times heele tell you it is to hole some times to cold some tunes it may be a qualme may take you and then youle think you have a faire excuse not to here I know by my selfe said shee this it will be with you and is with you if you would confese it, but these are all your temtation and therfore I warne you of it and imploy some time on the work days to writ out what you have heard I have done som thing as to this but in this I found the divell ready to devert mee too feareing least any should see how ill I writ if they should find it the aftemoone before shee died being abroad in the coach and coming home very ill shee fell into I)rayer to god that hee would be gratious to her in pardoning her sin in asuering her of his favour and acepting of her in christ and that he would be her god but lord said shee who am I a poore unworthy wretch that I should beg such a great request from thee then did shee recall the time shee had lost the littell glory shee had brought to god much bewaileing her littell groth under all the nieanes shee had had, upon which the divill knowing his time to be short set upon her with his fiery Asalts which made her cry out in this manner with tears oh said shee if after all that god hath done for mee I should be Damd at last, upon which being told that all even the best that were saved were not saved by ■ny thing from ther one merit but upon termes of free grace shee said that that made agst her for the more free god was in his grace the more obligation had shee by it to love and serve him but what littell service said shee have I done him I have had much sicknes and when that hath bin a liitell over I have used some devertion for the refreshing my weak body that what with my sicknes and my devertions I have done but littell for god she was told that the work god hath now for some time called her too was more suffering then doeing worke which should not lose its reward and that shee did while shee was able indavour to serve god by doeing his will as now shee did by suffering his will shcc was also perswaded not to give way to sathan temtation but to remember whereon 1647-1707- I ip JVilliam Taylor the Dantzic Man. — Mrs Turner's MS. Book. 1 647-1 707. shee had formerly grounded her faith and still to keep to that which would not faile her but then said shee oh how sweet is it to dye in a full assurance Cou Id I dye as such a on as m' Baxter may dye how good would that bee upon that being told that her faith of Adherance to christ should cary her as suerly to him as his might doe more comfortably shee recoverd her strenth and begun to speak somthing cherefuUy saying oh mother the divill would faine shak my hold then begun shee to exhort her brother and her sisters that were in the coach with her to beware of being ensnared by the world and the vaine delights therof perswading them vehemently to the service of god upon which raiseing her selfe towards them shee showed them her hand biding them looke upon it and twise with great earnestnes repeated the word look upon it saying it was a clod of clay and wormes meat and such ere long thay must be said shee we are all but as a Company of candells lighted up and one goes out before the other but at last all goe out oh that you would all feare god that I might meet you againe in haven and bursting out into teares said what a joyfuU meeting will that bee to mee upon which being told that wee hoped shee had done god some service in what shee had exorted her relations to at that time who 'might by her good counsell endavour to serve god the better when shee was gone, shee seemed much to be affected therwith asking them one by one if shee had done them any good by what shee had said and Answer being made they hoped shee had shee desired them that god might have I the glory therof for said shee it was but his word to you in the mouth of a poore unworthy creatur after I this shee seemed to revive and was pritty well after her comeing home : her father comeing in from a Journey, shee rise up cherefully from her chare saying father s' how doe you after your Journey he answering hee was veiy weary shee turning to her mother said my father says he hath bin a long Journey and is very weary but I have a longer to goe and I am all most tird allready; yet seemed not consemed therat ]jut sate downe to super with the rest eateing hartyly a mese of Jely broth and a crust of bread after super shee leaned her armes on the table and laid doune her head upon them upon which feareing shee should fall asleep ther shee was desired to goe to her chamber and prepare for her bed but as shee was carying upstares her head fell back and shee fell into a sownding fitt but meanes being used to get her out of it shee coming to herselfe much admired where shee was saying am I in this world still after which goeing to put one her night cloths shee untyd a ribin that was under her chin and with great indignation flung it from her, saying away with this pride then did shee aske what day it was too morrow and being told it was the saboth day said shee too morrow shall I be singing my Halalujahs in I heaven and begin my eternall saboth ther then desird sliee her mother to take of her rings which shee allways wore being the gifts of some speshall freinds saying take them and doe what you will with them for I shall never ware them more being in her bed, shee complaind very much for want of breath and grew very restlese then did shee take her leve of her mother and sisters and brother severally biding them all farwell and prayd god to send them all a good voyage to heaven after which being in great extremity shee cryed out my god my god why hast thou forsaken mee why art thou so far from helping mee and from the words of my roreing being perswaded by her mother to try if shee could get a littell rest well said she I will goe try and laying downe her selfe lord said shee not for my one sake but for the satisfaction of my Deare freinds about mee if it be thy will let me have a littell rest but being not able to lye long she desired her mother to pray with her which acordingly shee did after which shee was heard to say I have Trusted in thy mercy my hart shall reioyce in thy salvation then said shee lord reseve my sperit and if it be thy will make death as easy to mee as thou canst, but if it be thy will that I shall longer abid in this misery thy will be done in this manner shee lay till nere six a clock in the morning at which time turneing her head on one sid to her pillow shee breathed out her last breath and her soule into the armes of her saviour without one sob or groane sweetly sleeping in Jesus a littell before her Death seeing her littell sister weep oh sister bety said shee weep not for mee if god should damn mee. you should not weap for mee because he would bee but Just and againe seeing her mother in some trobell and grefe Deare mother be com- forted said shee is ther any comfort in this world but in god I have too fathers to care for mee I have a deare father and a gratious god before in her sicknes haveing sent for an other Docter to come to her besides her one said she I know my one Docter would doe the best he could for mee but it is god that hath hid my distemper from him but I am content I know its a cup in the hand of a gratious father those whom he loves he rebukes and chastens William Taylor the Dantzic Man. — Mrs Turners MS. Book, iii Noe day in thy short life but thou didst run Towards that glory which thou now hast wonn Where its incirchng Beams besets thee round Thou dost with joy and pleasur sure abound once she told her mother that the first time that ever shee wept in prayer was one time that her father prayed in the family but said shee I know not whether my father prayed then more affec- tionatly then at other times or whether god did more espeshally worke upon mee this I set downe for the encouragement of family prayer and comfort of her father Rest now and sleepe deare saint in thy cold bed for though to heaven thy pretious soule be fled thy body here shall not neglected lye thy blesed lord will ever keepe his eye one the lest attom of thy sleepeing dust and in the Resurection of the Just will raise thee up unto immortal] glory Ne're more to heare of a memento mori thy expecting soule now waits to see that day of thy great change where in without delay its claime to thee it will bee suer to make and for its owne most heartily will Take But when A Clod of earth it then shall find [ Into Celestiall purity Refin'd with what great Joy will its reunion be what satisfaction will it take in thee then shalt thou wait upon thy glorious lord By all his saints Admired and Ador'd And quitted by his sentence ever sing Etemall praises to thy god and King Dorothy Turmer the fiyst by my husband farwell Deare saint though of an early date to high a mark for us to imitate How sweet and lovely were thy very lookes grace was discerned by those silent books Thy heart thy thouglits and all thy whole desire to a celestiall glory did Aspire Thy modesty Humility and Grace Did honner & adorne thy christian Race thy patience love & meeknese did Transend And unto all did highly thee commend thy parents & Relations that were nigh with what Religious zeale & fervency didst thou oblige with all thy power & might That they should after thy blest Coppy write Earely too earely didst thou goe from hence To intcrtaine thy Joyfull Recompence But our set times are secret in his Breast And not our wills but gods is ever best 112 Williani Taylor the Daiitzic Man.— Mrs Tniniers MS. Book. 1647-1707. earely to early didst thou leave this stage Even in the sprouting Blossom of thine age yet in that little time didst shine so Bright that to the bigger stars thou didst give light Thy body with Infermityes did pine yet didst thou not complaine or once Repine But with a patient sperit didst comply Teaching us how to live and how to dye And now thy swift-pac'd Hower glass is Run Thy worke on earth is finished and done Now all the Teares are past which thou didst weep And an Eternall sabath thou dost Keepe Thou wert to good for earth and didst retire To Joyne above with the Celestiall quire How readyly did that blest Consort meet That They so young a saint in heaven might greet Thy voyce was sweet melodious here on Earth But oh how sweet thy Halalujah's mirth Though wee have Cause to greive &: to Complaine our lose was great yet greater is thy gaine lord tliou hast done it : \vho knows what is fitt wee kisse the Rod & quiettly submitt thy wise disposing hand wee doe Adore Lord wee have sinn'd oh let us sin noe more How long with patience didsL thou wait And daily knock at hcav'ns Cate That God would thee from hence translate unto this glorious, blessed state At last he graciously appeared {who all thy supplications heard) with A full prospect of that Rest whereof thy soule is now possest. Susanna Turner, anag: A SERVANT RUNNS. A SERVANT RUNNS It was not sluggish pace would serve thy turne in thy Victorious Race But having done thy work thou didst sit downe And soon receivedst thy Celestiall Crowne He that a dull and sloathfuU temper shunn's Makes good thy motto, That A SERVANT RUNNS R. T. my slugish soule why lingr'est thou behind Thers nothing here below can fill thy mind How art thou now with sins & sorrows prest Arise depart for this is not thy rest JVilliam Taylor the Dantsic Alan.— Mrs Tjirners MS. Book. Shake of thy Drowsie slumber and Awake Thy selfe Reflecting powers which will make thee quickly find, where satysfaction lyes what true Contentment will thy hart suffice Can any thing without thy god thee please or canst thou in A warfring state find ease Dost thou not feel that bold intruder sin Disturb thy peace and vex thee still within And when toward perfection thou would'st climb And faine would'st soare aloft to things sublime How faint and slow & lifeles is thy pace How far from Runing this thy Christian Race yea if sometimes thou get'st a gratious frame it is not long before thou lose the same and when one creaturs thou hast set thy hart thou couldst not hold them but bin for'cd to part when with the wandring bird thou seekst to find from Twig to Twig some comfort to thy mind they either Breake or else like thornes they Rend and thou art left in vaine thy teares to spend Come then my soule lets unto heaven Ascend which will to all our sorrows put an end from all Confinement we shall there be free Like to our god wee shall for ever bee Thou shall noe more crose thy creators will Nor ever be defild by what is ill fully posest of all the heavenly treasur thou shalt desolve and melt into true pleasure And now as one compo'sd and made of love Embrace thy god and Joy in him Above And hee with sweet and infinet delight will thee behold and keepe thee in his sight Here shall the beames of full ey'd glory shine Thy saviours meritts having made it thine Such is the love of this thy Dearest lord That hee esteemes thy glory his Reward Nor could his heart at all contented bee If any good were wanting unto thee And that Deare saint which thither lately went Thy comfort not thy due thee onely lent withall the rest thou shalt Againe Embrace And with that Heavenly quire take thy place what Blesed change is this my soule what peace That all thy blustring stormes and feares should Cease when weary of thy selfe And like to Tyre all one the sudden thou art gotten higher The vitall quick'ning Beames of Devine light Are darted in upon thee Cleare and Bright The evening shadows Hence are fled Away And nothing now Apearcs but perfect day 114 JVilliam Taylor the Dantsic Man.— Mrs Turner's MS. Book. 1 647-1 707. Live thou to god Thy selfe to him Resigne And all this Joyntur suerly shall bee Thine Dorothy Turner one Death Before that I resigne my Breath Lord take from mee the sting of Death Then Though I walke through its Dark vaile My faith in thee shall never faile Thy presence shall my feares Remove Death cannot seprat from thy love How shall I Joy to bee set free Resting my wea'ryd soule in thee And wellCome Death as my True freind That brings mee to my Journeys end 3d D. T. o Lord my god whilst I am Here Let some first fruits of Heaven Appeare Increase in mee the Heavenly fiers of gratious holy good Desires Thy sperit lord give mee within A tender heart that feares all sin A strenewous Care in all my ways To live to thee and to thy praise But lord this Distance yeilds noe Rest In thy sweet presence I am Blest oh had I wings how would I flee And quickly mount my soule to thee Stay me with flaggons from Above for I am sick even sick of love These lesser Tasts will not suffice while so much in the fountaine lyes with new supplys refresh mee still That I may Drink and Drink my fill give Downe thy selfe that I may see my interest made cleare in thee And what I feel not now by sence let faith supply till I goe hence Dorothy Turner some passages out of letters of my mikle newtons. Extracts by Mrs Turner from her Uncle Newton's letters. I wish you and my Deare Cousen your daughter all Imaginable ioy, in the busines which is now upon the wheele and which I hope will turne to your full satisfaction, let the espeshall blesing of god be upon it, that the remembrance of it may be allways sweet, to all that are conserned in it, but yet let it not be forgoten that creatur comforts have a mixtur in them, we may thank our sin for that, so that it usually falleth out that they are sweeter in the expectation then in the fruition, well tempred ioyes are the most lasting William Taylor the Dantzic Man. — A^rs Turner s MS. Book. by my sister staytiings let this deare sister clieere your heart youle meet ere long and never part shee had the vanguard first and you must follow after your sweet sue shee was the best of all by odd but yet was not to good for god Susanna staynings A Dialogjie between a soule on earth and a saint in heaven SOULE oh tell me blessed saynt, what is that Rest of which in heaven, thou art now posest I long to looke, with in that Sacred vaile That to that Haven, I may speed my Sayle Saint I Sweetly Rest in god, him I enioy I doe not now my vast desires employ ^ one empty shaddows, for I have here still all satisfieing pleasures, at my will what I have lov'd desired and persu'd I have attaind and all my feares subdu'd I Rest in love in infinet delights and know not ether tedious dayes or nights Soule but is thy state as good as it can bee doth ther noe hovering thoughts remaine in thee dost thou not see, ther's somthing still behind which if thou hadst would more delight thy mind Saint what did once please, and with delight did fill can never cease to doe so, but hath still the same attractive power, so that I Can nere deflower its glory by my eye This affectation of variety proceeds from sence of want and vanity Creatur inioymenls blast, and quickly dye Thay have a bottom, and are soone drain'd dry IVilUam Taylor the Dantzic Man.~Mrs Timiey's MS. Book. I have enough, and can desire noe more Here's nothing can be added to this store for haveing god what else can I desire Noe Tempting object can I'm suer be hier SOULE suer some internall principall must bee the cause tliis Rest's so naturall to thee or art thou held in by some violent hand which by its strength doth cause thee thus to stand Saint I Rest as in my Centre, for my frame is naturally attempted to the same I now on Certaine knowledge, Choose this Rest because I know, that it is simply best SoULE but art thou suer, this Rest .shall still Remaine and that its glory, shall reseave noe staine will it be still the same, and all ways hold and shall noe wrinkells, make its face looke old Saint it never Certainly, Can fade away nor can its beauty suffer a decay god is its glory, and Eternall light while that sun shines, ther never can be night whilst everlasting glory, yeelds such store needs must those pleasurs, last for evermore SOULE but say it doe, yet how canst thou be suer that in this state thou still shalt Rest secure may not some sin in thee, procure thy fall disturb tliy peace, and Turne thee out of all Saint it is ray fathers gift, that I inherit its also purchest by my saviours merit and for my state, it doth admit noe sin here are noe lustings of the flesh within ag"' the sperit, but that warr doth Cease ended in Triumph and eternall peace William Taylor the Dantsic Man. — Mrs Turner s MS. Book. I may desolve and sooner Cease to bee then not be holy, I am from sin made free such is the glory which my soule doth fill it leaves noe place for any thing that's ill SOULE if this be so then what doth now remaine but that I strive and labour to attaine this blessed Rest, the thoughts of which are sweet shall thee and I, in heaven together meet I come I come ! I'm Ravisht with desire to Joyne with thee in the celestiall quire Dorothy Turner But stay my soule thy worke is not yet done heer's more to suffer ere thou take thy Throne one the death of my Dcare daughter Taylor A dreadfuU storme againe Alarms my hart and fills with feare and trembling every part how can I live when god doth thus Contend hee takes by Death my child my joy my freind my Deare familier in whose sweet converse I plac'd much of my terine hapines my case is hard and bitter is this cup but yet my god will have mee drink it up How Sudan was this change when iust before in Alors [?] vally hope set wide her dore and whilst we ioyd for A sweet infants beirth were forcd to mourne for the deare mothers death can these two passions Raisd within one breast afford a minuets ease or quiet Rest so says my flesh but lord what speaks my ha[rt] [illegible] .... smart I have no reason but to take all well though this be troble, yet it is not hell how can I stick at any thing for god who with much love doth sweeten still his Rod his love to her whose loss I now bewaile did speed her way to glory with full saile Hee knew her frame more tender then to bare The bo)-.strous stormes that shee must meet with here Her mecke and quiet spirit was more fitt for that Calme Region where she now doth sit Here shee did shine in vertu's of the mind not apt to change or tume with every wind but constant to the death shee kept her i^ce And haveing Run out this her christian Race 1 1 8 IVilliam Taylor the Dantsic Man. — Mrs Turner s MS. Book. 1647-170;. in Heavens bright orb shea now a higher gives and with her husband christ securely lives whose sweet embraces so refresh her mind she knows no want of what shee left behind wliat should I more desire, or can I crave when all the world can't Ransom from the grave that then thy soule should mount, and clap its wing . . . from its fetters Rayse its note, and sing its heavenly strayns with ioy that tis set free such is the hope Deare child I have of thee and being so, oh why should I then mourne as if my all were buryed in thyne urne thy lively hope in thy expiring breath made thee desire nothing more then Death though times swift streme did quickly bare thee downe yet now eternity hath fixt thy crowne A thousand yeares are ther but as one day Happy's thy end though Rugged was thy way our lives are checkerd here with ioy and sorrow To day we up hill goe and downe to morrow And whilst we looke that this our way should mend our Deepist slough lyes nere our Journeys end noe day so cleare but meets with Rayney wether our lives and trobles live and dye together life is our loss death is the christians gaine this good phisician death cures all our paine How forward then should wee bee to endure The Rending of this flesh to gaine A Cure And be enstated in that Rest above the blessed product of our fathers love why should we think too short thy days on earth [illegible] Rather lets hast that wee with thee may Raigne and think ech day a yeare we here Remaine till Death shall sound to us its sweet Retreat and call us from the feild from all our heat To come to Court and ther as Victors stand not holding weapons but palms in our hand with all the Saints unto our heavenly king the song of moses and the lamb to sing, gth Dorothy Turner my Daughter dyed the 7th of Desem r673 betweene : 2 : and : 3 : a clock in the morning being the lords day living nere : 2 : houres after her son william was borne which was at one of the clock and when we had thoughts that the feare of her was over and had noe other thoughts but all would have bin well when falling into fainting fitts she so continewed till shee departed of a suddan • How is it lord that one so weak as I should still survive and doe not sink and dye the burthens lately I have undergone I have before even quakt to think upon William Taylor the Dantzic Man. — Mrs Turner's MS. Book. 1 19 tis not at all from any power in mee 1647-1707. but from the strength that I reseive from thee Noe greater coward ever tooke the feild at every stroak I'm Ready still to yeeild but that thou sendst in Cordialls every day and stayst my hart which else would faint away immediately thy suckers doe mee Aid with fresh supplys when I am most affraid oft have I heard of thy AUmighty power but now I live upon it every houer needs must the drooping soule againe Revive whom never faileing mercy keepes Alive that promise made to david and his seed Shall still stand good though wee for sin may bleed god is the same and doth correct in love his loving kindnes never shall Remove Broch but that wine which in the promise lyes and sparkling comforts will from thence Arise Refreshing stremes will from this fountaine glide into the soule as none can give beside why should our hearts be trobled or affraid or any Terror make us much dismaid the generall of the feild that leds us on is still the captain of salvation in his owne amies he'el suerly hold us fast and bring us off with honner at the last he knew our frame how little wee Could bare and therfore left us to his father's care whose word wee have that he will never faile nor suffer hell ag" us to prevaile with us in fier and water he will bee and from the hurt of ether keepe us free when we hke burning bushes all on fier are not consum'd with moses we admire but tis no wonder that poore shrubs doe stand when thayr up held by gods on mighty hand To thee deare lord to thee be all the prays mercy and truth are still in all thy ways tis well our stock of strength is all from thee or else what broken merchants should we bee our leaking vessells soone would want supply did not fresh streames Run in continually from thee our Rock so fills up that defect Thus love doth cuer where justis might reject Sharp Trialls then can never doe us harme who hath thy hart, shall never want thy arme where then oh where for Refuge should I flee in all my Agoneys but unto thee to those, that doe themselves to thee Aply thou'hst strcnth to give, but noe strength to deny DoKOTHv Turner 1647-1707. 120 William Taylor the Dantzic Man. — Mrs Turner's MS. Book. by my htishajid Dorotlty Taylor Annag A HOLV Rod to Try A Rod, a holy Rod, a Rod to Try what meanes this dark and secreat mistery must wee expect a sharp and smarting Rod Arme us with Christian patience oh our god yet tis a holy Rod and from a freind and therfore tends unto a holy end To purge our drosse and hearts to purifie Thus let it prove a holy Rod to Try On her maiden Name Dorothy Turner True Honour Tryd by my unkell Newton Honour the princes darling the designe of god in his decrees and workes, is thine The end of saints, the sparkell in the Gem of heavens bliss twinkles in thy diadem Not a vaine bubble, A poore empty fame But true and lasting honour crounes thy name that hath endurd the test and will abid thy motto then shall be true Honour Tryd One her maried Name by my unkle Neivtoti Dorothy Taylor Annag To THV Royal Rod How heavy are thy stroakes o god thy servant with thy mind acquaint subdue me to thy Royal Rod so that I neither slight nor faint by Mr Daliell our minister Dorothea Taylor anag HiLAROR TOTA DeO I reioyce wholly in god Husband and parents Deare leave of to weep In god my soule doth ioy, my flesh doth sleepe William Taylor the Danlzic Man.— Mrs Turner's MS. Book. 121 ""IS 1647-1707. farewell Deceiveing world thy pleasuers all are toyes in god allone I find True sollid lasting ioyes D. T. mil 0/ Mr Herbert farwell deare flowers sweetly your time ye spent fit while ye liv'd for smell or ornament And after death for cures I follow straight without complaints or grief Since if my sent be good, I care not, if it be as short as yours the benignity of gods natur permits him not to take delight in our distresses and therfore whenever he administers to us a bitter cup we may be sure the ingredients are medicinall and such as our infirmitys require he dares not trust our intemperate appetites with unmixt prosperityes the lushious- nese whereof though it may please our pallats yet ingender the most fatal diseases so great are the vicissitudes of this world that all the certainty we have of it is that in every condition it hath its uneasinesses so that when we court a change we rather seeke to vary then end our miserys when ever therfore we are sinking in the floods of affliction let us support our selves with St peter by crying unto our gratious lord and the billows of this trobellsome world will serve to toss us closer mto his armes our solicituds serve only to bind our burthens upon us but prayer will releve us On the death of my Deare dimghter Taylor by my husband And is thy hand againe lord lifted up To give into our hand this bitter cup To snatch from us the comfort of our eyes whom wee deservedly did highly prize At one sharp stroke two Turkles to devide In whose warme brests True love was firmly Ty'd Hast thou Rent from the parents a deare child That was obedient loving pious mild In less then two yeares space lodg'd in one Tombe Two Tender sisters, bred in the same wombe oh let us know when thou dost thus contend That though thou smite us yet thou art our freind Let it not bee in wrath, an angry storme But a deare fathers Rod us to reforme That at thy footstoole our proud hearts may lye And with thy will submissively comply 122 JVilliain Taylor the Dan f sic Man— Mrs Turners MS. Book. 1647-1707. She was the gift of god and was but lent To be returned back when ere lie sent But our base hearts conclude she dyed to soone And that she went to earely to her Tombe Dos it become poore wormes to argue thus Is not that best that god thinks best for us Yet if a promise will abate the losse And make us better beare so great a Crosse of such gods promise Takes a speciall eye That in the faith abid and charity Thay shall bee sav'd in their childbeareing paines Thus as a cordiall Drooping hearts sustaines But as thy hand did Take, so thou didst give Thou tookst the Root, and leftst the branch to live And though the grave her precious dust doth keep To sleepe in death it is the sweetest sleepe her heart was weaned from these fadeing toyes And fixt on higher and sublimer Joyes Though in her prime shee long'd to be at Rest And goe to christ which is by farre the best on that best state shee wholy bent her mind And noe where else could True Contentment find This made her hast to her desired Rest That shee with him the sooner might be blest Her marriage knott with Christ was Tyd on earth Now finisht in a paradice of mirth why doe wee seeke the living mongst the dead shee is not here but gone to christ her head Take a full prospect of that land of light Ther you may see her shine in glory bright shee that the Throne of grace did humbly ply Now sings Hosannah's to the lord on high shee went before to her Triumphant state whilst wee lament her sad untimely fate Lord wee have done our mouths lye in the dust for thou hast done it and thy will is just Richard Tukner Dorothy Taylor Here youth and beauty grace and virtue met Rose like the morning sun but quickly set a maid, a wife, a mother in one yeare And a dead shadow ere the next appeare not twelf months since she was a lovely bride But shrouds and dust doth now her beauty hide Her freinds reioycet to see her mariage day but a short time did snatch this Joy away which Could they have presag'd her Nuptiall houre would soon have ended in a weeping shower IVilliain Taylor tlie Daiitzic Man. — Mrs Turner s MS. Book. 123 but all her feares and sorrows now are done 1647-1707. And her swift hower glasse is fully Run Yet left a pritty babe as who should say by this remember mee I must a way for to my better husband now I fly who will me love to all eternity and though my earthly parents I must leave my heavenly father will my soule receive where I with saynts and Angells shall Reioyce and in his prayses Rayse my cherefull voyce then doe not weep for mee my tender mother as you have bred me up breed up Another my little will pray tender as yo-ur owne your love to mee by this will still be shown To all my freinds this counsell I doe give Here learne to dye that you with christ may live Susanna Staynings Death strook mee in my young and primest yeares and when my freinds begun to quell all feares Resist this cruell tyrant I could not nor from him fly, noe helpe was to be gott but then my god alone did sucker mee and mee relest from all his cruelltee my deare fanvell I faithfuU was to thee thou hadst my hart untill it ceast to be my love to thee I seald with my last breth Nought could devid mee from my deare but death to you my freinds this counsell now I give doe not be sad because in heaven I live I am not overcome though I seeme dead but live in blise with christ my glorious head oh could you but conseave what I doe see Raysd your desires would be to come to mee Susanna Staynings To my son Taylor Come my Deare son wee both have had our part and felt the smart of onanothers heart How could wee chuse W'hen we liad one delight But in the lose of that our griefe unite Let us thus yok'd to gether not delay To serve our god though mirey bee our way as holy Bradford cher'd his suffering Brother So let us also comfort one another for though wee here into affliction fall Ther's that behind will make amends for all gods noe hard master nor his service ill though in your youth he gives this bitter pill To William Tay- lor on the death of his wife. 124 IVilliam Taylor the Dantzic Man.— Mrs Turner's MS. Book. 1647-1707. Doe wee not see and may wee not Admire what paines men take to greatnesse that Aspire Let heavenly Ambition Raise your spirit And you the Crowne of glory shall inherit let this great lose Teach us this holy Art with mary now to chuse that better part which will abid and with us still Remaine when all our comforts here will prove most vaine what pitty were it through our owne neglect To feele the smart, and Loose the sweet effect of this our fathers Rod, Love laid it on Then let it further our salivation why should wee for the pleasing of A lust forfit the Blessed kingdom of the Just And for the lap of pleasur loose the Crowne whilst wee in that, Contentedly sit Downe young men are apt to think, that suer they may Have time enough, they shall see many A day Though in ther youth, thay hope thay may be bold They'l salve up all, when they come to be old But you have seen, that soon the young may dye And in the grave, the freshest flower may lye if Death should come, and Take you in your prime Twill be your ioy, you have improved your Time doeing your masters worke throughout your Race with confidence you'l stand before his face But if your days should be prolonged still you'l not repent so long to doe his will the more you doe, more will your Blessed lord Brighten your Crowne, and Double your Reward As your Remembrances I this desin'd That I therby may stir up your puer mind were your Dorinda now Againe to live Beleeve she would to you, this counsell give Accept the same from mee who yet survive In whom her love to you is kept Alive ;;(|, DoROTHv Turner Funeral sermun As follolu are the coiicludiiig loovds frovi " my daitghtci's fimerall sermon preached on Dorothy , j, 7-, iit Taylor. by nf Dallicll Dcsem : lO . 73 Now I will speake but a few words of the young Gentlewoman she was young in yeares, baptized as I find by the Register Novem : 13 ; but borne Novem : the, 2d, 1653 : young also in wedlock, being in a maried estate but since, march the : 6 : last past, but not young in knowledge, nor m morall and christian vertue, not young in grace and piety, her education was both in vertue and godlines he that found her found solomans vertuous woman whose price is farre above Rubies, the heart of her husband did safely trust in her shee opened her mouth with wisdom and in her Toung was the law of kindnes, shee did not eate the bread of Idlenes though shee had noe need to worke, therfore let us give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own workes praise her in William Taylor the Dantsic Man. — Mrs Turner's MS. Book. 125 the gates And to vertue shee added godlines for she was a woman that feared the lord therfore ^^M-iT^l- shee shall be praised shee was to her Deare parents a dutifuU and a comfortable child and obayed them in the lord To her beloved husband as the loving hynde and pleasant Roe whose Breasts satisfied him at all Times and he was Ravished allways with her love and reioyced with her the wife of his youth shee was an handmaid of Jesus Christ frequent in prayer privat and publick an intire lover of the minesters and ordinances of Jesus Christ, shee was peaceable, meeke, modist a patterne of humility, patience, tendernes, sweetnes, and Amiablenes, of disposition, to relations, servants, Neibors, and strangers In a word when god had made her a Joyful! motlier, he was pleased after hard labour to cause her to rest from her labours, and her workes to follow her shee had indeed sorrow because her hower was come but being delivered shee began to forget the Anguish and called upon those about her to give god thankes, because a man was borne into the world but now behold her sorrow was turned to not a naturall but an heavenly ioy for Jesus Christ her beloved to whom as a chast vergin shee was bethrothed called her to prayse and reioyce in glory To you husband parents Relations, freinds let mee say you have lost, a deare wife, a deare child, a deare sister, a deare relation, a deare freind, well : but whence had you her methinkes her name Answers this question : for dorothy signifies the gift of god the lord then that gave her hath borrowed her of you and will yee not lend unto the lord what he hath given unto you the lord had need of her I may say as the apostell to phelemon in a sence a litell differing she is taken from you for a season that ye might inioy her for ever for her with the rest of his glorious saints shall the lord bring with him at his coming and then shall we ever be with the lord wherfore comfort on another with these words my husband on my daughter Taylor what needs a moneument or verse to fix upon her sable herse whose fragrant name Times longest date Can never quit obliterat Belovd in life bewaild in death gave living hopes in lier last breath Longing to be with christ her head in whose meeke steps shee here did tread 126 IVilUain Taylor the Dantsic Man. — Mrs Turner's MS. Book. 1647-1707. her nuptiall race in nine mounths Run god tooke her iience But left a son Then went to her Celestiall Rest where robs of glory her invest Richard Turner On the death of One my deare Imsband Ricliard Turner. my dearest saint, tho tis my sover'ns will us to divorce yet will I love thee still my heart in he'vin shall meet thee every day in sweet embraces He loves tribut pay our joynt united soules shall nere divide tho death to doe it hath its utmost tryd I must Confese in this my vvido'wd state I'm Hke the dove thats left without her mate as one that in the darke and gloomy night obscurely sits and cannot find the light thy Rays are now cut off from mee blest sun by whose refliction I my honner won whilst I had thee I still was in my noone but now like the dull body of the moone Alas my sad and black and dismal drese is but a faint low emblim to exprese the sadnes of my state I wont say loss because death was thy gaine though twas my Crose Thou hadst within a treasury of grace which made thee bright and useful! in thy place Thy poorest neibors seeme to take delight whilst to thy praise they cast ther litle mite and all of worth ther want of thee proclaim they love thy mem'ry and thy very name But oh how tenderly didst thou provide that all thy family might be supplyd not onely with a portion here below but also might in gods rich favour grow Thy Time amongst us was not vainely spent but was a course of holy government True reall love thy presious hart did fill and did to all aboundantly distill Thy downe right plaine nes and thy free commerce made all well pleas'd with whom thou didst Converse Thou wert a True nathanaell without guile which made thee in the face of death to smile Thou couldst apeale to god and beare thy part with Hezekia in an upright heart Deaths fatall summons when thou didst perceive with great serenity thou didst receive when thou revewing thy past life hast bin and god and Conscience did speak peace within IVilliam Taylor the Daiitzic Man. — Mrs Tnntcy's MS. Book. 127 thy warbling soule soone Tuned every string and simmeon lil;e its song of peace did sing thou didst affirme thy falls did all indeed from weakenes not from wickednes proceed The slanders by even ravisht were to see that conquoring death so conquo'rd was by thee The sweet foretasts of hea'ven did thee fill and Take from death what ere might make it ill thou'rt ente'rd into rest and dost behold god in his glory, saints out shining gold Thou art dislodg'd from sinful! flesh noe more to fight those Combats thou hast fought before oh what triumphant joys doe thee surround with high perfections thou blest soule are crown'd thou now dost feele the sweetnes of that love that now hath pla'sed thee on thy throne above and shall I be so cruell or unkind to wish thee thence Cause I am left behind shall I complaine for what I should admire Regret thy blise which I doe most desire Noe Noe my deare my True and pasionat love can nere endure that I unnaturall prove tliy griefes were mine and shant thy ioy be so art thou in hea'ven and shall I mourne below Be silent pasion Reason take thy place and let noe sorrows Cloud obscure thy face He sore aloft above all earthly things desire and love shall to my soule be wings He follow thee blest saint with as much speed as True affection can procure or Breed ami when at last I shall thee overtake and from these darksome regions shall awake Im lost Im lost the iby I cant exprese nor Beare the wait of that great hapynes but sure when these our twineing soules shall meet in highths of pleasur theyle ech other greet with all the heavenly host we'ele then fall in and in the same triumphant song we'le sing '2 Dorothy Turner The following letters (originals in my possession) will be found interesting. They are principally from Mrs Turner to her son-in-law ; one of them before her daughters death. One especially, from the old lady to " Madam Rebeca " — her daughter's successor in the affections of her son-in-law — com- mending her little grandchild to the love of its step-mother, is very touching. In following the little lad into his new home to which he was thus introduced, it is pleasing to suppose that he was vcr)' kindly received. His new mother seems to have been, at an)- rate, much attached to his father, if we may judge 1647-1707. I-eUcTi of Mrs I>ornitiy Turner. 128 U 'illimn Taylor the Dantzic Man.— Mrs Turner s MS. Book. 1647-1707- by a short letter addressed to him during an absence from home, dated 1678, which will be found in its place (p. 150) when presently we come to the Sherbrooke family. [Dorotliy Tiirncr to her son-in-law William Taylor^ These For M' William Taylor at M' W"- Reeves at Bovells Hall in forwrd it Essex Leave this at M' Stephen Raggs post ofl"" in ColchL-ster. postpaid to London 4" Totteridge y' 28M y^i/ty 1673 Deare Son as 111 as I am I cannot but let you know how kindly I take the title of affectionat mother from )-ou, for though it be so really as to my selfe ray heart god knows being very sincere in its love to you, yet I doe not a little icy in the confidence I have, that you beleve it and are sensible of it asuering my selfe your good natur cannot but make a sutable returne and if so I have enough give mee leave also to tell you tliat your litell one is able to spring for ioy at your returne c*me as soone as you will it often puts the mother to her blush and start ever since you went tliis night also since my daughter writ to you your sister usher is come downe to see us which will a httle I hope satisfye my daughter who is very impatient of your absence knowing not what to doe for her litle poore Deare wille and contenting her selfe with kissing your name very often in your letter pray be very carefuU of your selfe and god all mighty blesse you and returne you home in safty where you shall be hartily wellcome to your sincerely loving mother Dorothy Turner we all present our Respects to your good Companion M' pickenng. [Dorothy Turner to her son-in-law William Taylor^ Tliese {for M' William Taylor at W' Nokes his house over ag* the axe in AUdermanbery Deare Son I quit forgote when we parted to put you in mind of your former intentions Consermng the marble stone for a remembrance of your poore wife, I desire to know whether I shall proceed to doe any thine, in it or not for if it be not suddanly done it being so long since shee died allready I thinke it will not be so well if you doe not thinke to goe on with it I shall provide : 2 : littel thmcs like little scutchins and hange up m my one pew, you did once propound to mee that if we «ould pay for the bringing downe and setting up a stone you would be at the rest of the charge if you are still of that mind I am Ready to accpt the offer and will when I come agame to London take order for the doeing of it pray leave your mind m it with my cousin Nokes or William Taylor the Dantzic Man. — Correspondence. 129 else let me reseave a line or to from you I doubt you forget in your memorandom to your will 1647-1707. to put downe the minester and M' parr and his wife, god preserve your life and bless you and give you and us a Comfortable meeting againe if it be his will I thought all day yesterday my very hart would have broke, but deare child avoid all temtations abroad as much as ever you can and remember all my former advice and so I trust all will be well whether in life or death keep your selfe in the love and favour of god what ever you doe and he will never leave nor forsake you when all creaturs will, make suer of him now in life to whom you will be forced to flee in death, and let not small things which seeme but littell to us make a separation between us, and our god, I hope being now your mother you will not take such hints from mee amiss having a true love to your soule as well as your body and doe hartyly desire your Reall wellfare every way my Deare child once more farwell I leave thee in the amies of all mighty goodnes and ever remaine your truly affectionat mother Dorothy Turner Totteridge wensday morning your father Nick Dick betty and cousen boyse present ther kind love to you Remember mee also to your brother and sister Nokes {Dorothy T^irner to her son-in-law William Taylor.'] These For M' W" Taylor Merchant in Dantzwick Totteridge 23 feb 1674 My Deare son by the enclosed letter you will see that I have not bin vnmindfull of you all this while, my waiting so long in expectation of your pictur, hath bin the reall cause thereof and that at last Came to my hands, with my letter againe the very day that I sent it, to my cousen : and the last weeke my cousen sent mee word, that he could not send to you at all, and now I must returne you my many thankes : for this little resemblance of you, which you have sent, I must say little, for allthough I must needs say it hath more of you then any of the rest I have scene, yet it comes far short, of what I still beleve might be taken here at home, and so all that see it here, say as well as my selfe : even our Judge himselfe, who you know has a good Judgement in faces, only boy is very like, the spring now being come, I begin to Comfort my selfe in ex- pectation of the substance every day, and hope it will not be long ere that make up all defects in the shadow my little wille Continews very well and has a great desire to be a footman, though I beleve he will see most of the summer over first, yet he loves all ways to be on his feet, and is over ioyd much to goe abroad, I have much of his love, of which I am not a little proud, I trust god in his great goodnes will make him a comfort to us all, your brother Nicks wife lyes in a very dangerous condition, being full of the small pox and within five weekes of her time, so that her husband is very full of trobell for her, and I my selfe pittying ther Condition have bin to see her which was a great reviveing to them both, oh son how soone can god imbitter all our Comforts here, let you and I and all of us learne to walk as pillgrams and strangers and doe nothing wiflingly that may provock god to leave us in the evell day how sweet will it be when death comes, to be able to say, Remember o lord how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect hart and have done that which is good in thy sight, I can truly say I pray hartyly for you every day and trust god will not only blese you in this world but fitt you for an eternity of hapines in his heavenly kingdom : I Joy much to think of your returne, and of inioying you here againe, R I30 IVilliam Taylor the Dantzic Man. — Correspondence. 1647-1707. but what is this to the ioy of meeting on another in heaven, where we shall with our deare freinds that are gone before us, Joyne in our Haleluiahs to god for ever, and never part more, and now as I all- ways doe, I leave you in the protection of him, with whom I can best trust you, even your god, and my god, for so I hope he is, ever remaineing your most affectionat and sincerely loving mother Dorothy Turner your cousen evelling hath presented my sister web a most rare peece of his wife which cost forty pound in the garb of a shepherddise your sister betty withall the rest present you ther harty love \_No address; — Dorothy Turner to her son-in-law William Taylor.^ Totteridge y' 28th of may r674 MY MOST Deare son How bitter are the thoughts of thy departur from mee, and how dolefuU and desolate will thy absence make this place to mee, how shall I contentedly submitt to this trying providence, my heart even turnes within mee and my relentings are kindled together, well may I say as david when deprived of his Jonathan whom he dearely loved, I am destressed for thee, very pleasant hast thou bin to mee, god allmighty blese you and keepe you in all places whether you goe, and in his good time bring you in safety againe to this place. But shall my eyes see that day I am in some doubt that I may not, and therfore my deare child let me now be a little free with you, and I shall doe it in the sincerity and integrity of my heart god knows, such epistelle may seeme strange to you haveing never had an one mother to follow you with them, but now you haveing owned me as such a one, give me leave a little to discharge my duty, as to my owne naturall son, I am not onely solicitus for your temperall but everlasting wellfare, and therefore considering the deare love that puts mee on this work, I beseech you Beare with mee and pardon all my weakenes therin, I would not have you like that young man in the gosple, that was not farr from the kingdome of heaven. But to have a Reall intrest therin. And therfore what ever you doe be sure to make reall worke of your being a christian sathan will be content to let us doe something to wards it, to stop the clamors of contience, but my deare child Resolve firmly in all things to devote your selfe to god, god will have the whole heart or none, and what ever you doe, let mee commend to you this practise, allways begin your day with god as well as end it so, great is the Advantage of morning devotions, for the keeping of the heart in a right frame all the day after and let me begg it of you devote somethne though it be but a q' of an houre every day to read in some good booke besids the bible, though that be the chefe, and meditate a little seriously one what you read And lest your employments should be so intruding upon you as not to afford much time to read through a booke when begun, I have gatherd a few flowers together that you may have always at hand, and may be as soone Read as a gazet being but one sheet of paper, sometimes you may delate in your on thoughts opon some of those heads and sometimes upon others of them and you will find by the bleseing of god this course to be a great helpe to you to keepe you from the snares and temptations you may meet with in the places whether you goe, the strongest christian have need of the most quickening helpes, and oh how doe I feare the tempta- tions of evill company, for gods sake watch against it, and have a care of nibling to much on the sweet baits that sathan lays even amongst lawfuU enioyments, Deare love, consider, the many late providences of god towards you, they are all loud calls, to take you of from the allurem" of this sin- full world, and to make you truly to embrace things that are more exelent. Answer to these calls of god Readily, and then you shall not miss of that inward ioy and peace that others of gods people have, which all the world cannot give nor take away, the pleasurs of the world are soone gone and leave a bitternes behind them, but these are such comforts that are pure solid and abiding, I feare I am to tedious, but I have done, Resolveing to follow you still with my earnest prayers to god for you. FROM R.ICHARD TURNER, TO HIS SON IN RAW VVILR" TAYLOR. I ^,.3, fe'i x.A /..X ^'/Ir-.f ^Y/-^^^ '""If/ A FROM M?^^ D(!ROTm' TURNER TO HER SON INLAW WIL.LIAM TAYLOR. L^ J ^ Li It A- i '^ V ^ ^-^ * _ n 'i o-f //^r^' r/^A^ /ys^-' «i t;^ S 4 ^ c'/ ' . . /^^t /^-^ -'^f Cf '^ ixj ^/Mj ^;„Aa>^y I, /r-''/ r^.r/' ^ V^f- n r A . y^''^ ^ '^"^ .^-jMn^ aJ^^rC r^y^c'-'' -^J ^^'"J ■ I.I ii^^ r"-f •'t/'i'-.; J > 'y*-*- //■'('^ i.-^// i5 ««^^ J t/J/T // JVilliam Taylor the Dantzic Man. — Correspondence. and as for my poore Deare litle willy you have left behind as a pledge of your returne to mee againe 1647-1707. I shall ever have a most speshall care of him, and be very faithfull in what you entrust me with And Now must I say farwell, then fare well my Deare Heart the greatest distance shall not hinder mee from my enioying thee in my most inward affections being most cordially whilst I live Your true Hearted and sincerely loving mother Dorothy Turner Pray let mee here as often and as soone as you can how you doe and that under your one hand to mee which I shall take most kindly. \_No date; — Dorothy Turner to her son-in-law William Taylor^] Ffor M' William Taylor at M' Noke his house over ag" the Axe in Alldermanbery These D {Some time before Tunc 4, 1674I Deare son v j j * /ij Acording to your order I have sent up your chest and I shall desire you not to take it ill if you End not those things in it that you left of my Deare daughters, it is not that I intend to keepe them from you, for they are still in your owne closet, but I cannot have a hand in sending them away, I desire that when it is done it may be by your owne hand or some of your freinds and that I may not know when it is, for I fmd it a great trobell to mee, and my heart will not give mee to doe it I hope it will be noe prejudice to you that you have them not now, for I cannot Conseve any present need you can have of them, nor any preiudice to them by lyeing here, it may be you may wonder at mee in this, but I have the affections of a woman and a tender mother, and have a high valew for my deare child still, and for her sake for what was hers and therfore put the best construction and not the worst upon what I have done, I am very sorry that you have not bin well and as glad you have taken the right course for the preserveing of your health which I pray god to continew, I have bin very much conserned for my poore cousen Noks I hope god will in mercy restore him for his deare wife and childrens sake pray tell them I pray hartily to god for them and give them my true love, I went yesterday to nurses and got her to weane my deare wille last night, I here this morning he is very well only drunk once in the night and so went to sleep againe I shall be glad to see you here to morrow if you are well enough to come to us, if not I think to be in london tuesday or wensday next and then I shall see you, I intend to have your little boy to diner one the lords day next if you think good, ffor I am perswaded now we are free from any further infection your sister Betty presents you her love and service fanvell and bare with your poore mother in those things which may seeme small to you but are great to her I am most Really your most affectionat mother Dorothy Turner Totteridge friday night 1 have sent the key of your Chest by hike, I see you are drawing of more and more oh when will ther be an end of my treble I have put the things that were in the till of tlie chest in the midell and coverd all with a curtane lest they should be wet William Taylor the Dantzic Man. — Correspondence. 1647-1707. {No address ; no date ; — Dorothy Ttirner to her son-in-law William Taylor^ To my Deare son Taylor these present [Immediately after June 4, 1674] My deare son what wilt thou thinic of mee to see mee thus distracted in my selfe, the truth is I cannot rest quiet, being very sensible of what I might take unkindly, and yet so settled are my True affections upon thee, that I noe sooner sent you my other letter, but my heart smote mee I cannot brooke any thing that may seeme to relish of any discontent betweene thee and mee, Deare Hart if any thing be in that letter that any way trobles thee teare it in pesees let it not stand ther to provock discontent, or rather bume the whole, oh that thou couldst but see the integrety of my heart how loth am I to be any way troblesome, and yet so violent is my love that I feare it makes mee so to thee, you see what mallencoly pations and thoughts will doe, I beg thy pitty, and tender love to beare with mee, for indeed my heart is full, and cannot containe it selfe with out a Uttle vent, my thinks I long to see thee all ready how shall I then beare thy absence so long let mee if thou canst get so much time, have a line or so, in a loving farwell from thee that I may see all is well, it may be you may think mee to inquisitive as to what I desird in the latter end of my last letter, but truly when I consider what trobles have bin about things of that natur I think it but a nesesary desire though I trust god will prevent any such thing by prolonging thy one life, once more farewell, I supose this will be my last to thee in ingland, god send us if it be his will a joyfuU meeting with him I leave thee and remaine Your most affectionat mother Dorothy Turner I was with your son to day and he is very well and lively Totteridge Wensday night if the shipe should not goe so soone as you expected I hope I may see you once more here your sister betty presents you her kind love and desirs you would come to the funerall of one of your linnetts which she says is dead for love of its master, but your dogg [illegible] she says is like to recover having gote good vent for his lower end {Dorothy Turner to her son-in-law William Taylor^ ffor my Deare son Taylor in Dantzige these D Totteridge 3"" Agust 1674 My Most Deare son with most earnest and longing expectation have I waited allmost 9 . weekes : to here from you, and had not one word to releeve mee onely in the generall after : 6 : weekes I heard the ship was well which made mee hope you were so to, but last Saterday being at nurses, shee joyd mee with the good news of your safe arivall, I most gladly reseaved it, yet did a little grudge she should know it about 16 : houers before mee which shee excused saying she would have sent mee word but that shee thought I had a letter my selfe, but then thought I shall I ever be so William Taylor the Dantzic Man. — Correspondence. 133 happy, suer lie hath taken some of my scribblings to him ill but had he seene with what a hart 1647-1707. I writ and how much love did act towards him ther in, it would not have bin so, but oh how wellcome was this inoming in which your kind letter revived and cheared my heart and put mee out of all my doubts and feares, I shall lay it up as a treasure, when I can suffer it to lie still, for littell doe you think how often I have read it all ready, methinks I love to see your hand and every word a greater cordiall then gold to mee, your little son is not onely a lusty but a very fine boy we are now gating him some short coats and I hope he will be able to walk in your hand next summer nurse doe her part mighty well so that he is very lively and mery and full of play she presents her seruice to you, with many thankes for your kindnes to her and promises nothing shall be wanting one her part to forward her litle master, Totteridge is very full of gentry which are as lodgers but noe houses yet taken poore randell dwait is dead in a feavor taken by a surfitt of drinking, a sad sight it was to see him goeing out of this world all his talke being of his hay and cart and horses and what a doe was ther to make him a little sensible of his condition, saith m' gurnall, what folly is it to dandle this vaine world in our affections whose Joy is suer to end in a cry at last make suer of christ and he will never leave thee, hele chere thee in thy sick bed with his sweetest cordialls when worldly Joys will like davids cloths lye cold upon thee I dayly make it my earnest prayer to god to preserve you not only in helth of body but of soule in the place where you are I know ther is in the hart of all a secret dis- position to all sin, temptation doth not fall one us as a ball of fier on Ice or snow but as a spark on tinder and the more confident we are of our selves the more just it is with god to let us be shot with sathans darts that we may know our owne harts the better therfore my deare son look to^ your watch, excuse mee in my counselle this way, I count y' love little worth that goes noe further then the body of our freinds and dyes with that god all mighty blese you every way, and make mee thankfull for his preservation over you hetherto in him I will trust for your safe returne in his good time to us againe farwell I am your most aCfectionat mother Dorothy Turner as for the marble my cousen Nokes dos not understand that you intended to pay for the stone and seting of the letters but only the stone it selfe, so nothing is yet done all here your father brothers sister bety and Totteridge neibors present ther loves to you I may not forget your son Williams duty, Randall dawits mother says that you owed her son somthing for bringing things for you but she knows not what pray send word if you can tell, I hope to send you by my lady chevertons son some conserve of Roses and serrup of clove July flowers ag" winter be very careful of your selfe and I hope all will be well \Dorothy Turner to her son-in-law William Taylori] These ffor my Deare son m' William Taylor in dansick D Totteridge z"" sept 1674 Deare Son These are only to let you know that I have by Mr Burrin sent you the conserve of Roses and serrup of Juliflowers I writ you of pray uke it for it is very good both ag" a consumption and a cough which I know you are inclinable to and pray make much of your selfe and be not drawne into any inconvenience to prejudice your health to please any espeshaly those who when you are dead and gone will hardly afford you a tcare, 134 IVillinm Taylor the Dantzic Man. — Cori-espondeiice. my cousen Nokes haveing bin witli mee and her : 3 : children this fortnight I tooke the coach one day and entred your little son at bell hews where in Burnt claret we remembred father Taylor son Taylor Brother and vnkle Taylor and nf Taylor at my owne proper charge haveing never a man with us, and your sisters little willy was much pleased saying he loved to remember vnkell Taylor but at last he sayd he was afraid he should be fudled, this to make you mery But Deare son winter now Is drawing one and how shall I mise your company here but I please my selfe in hope it will ware away one q' of a yeare is past, and your pritty little son will helpe to comfort me the rest he is my pew fellow every lords day but last day was so full of his play that I durst not looke upon him, drawing the eyes of the Judge and all the ladys to him and much a doe we had to keep him from pulling on that had fine ribins on by the head shee sitting behind him in sister webs pew for his sake once againe be CarfuU and god allmighty Blese you both in body and soule your sister betty and bra : Richard being here, I should have said your father first present you ther True and harty love But Deare son more perticulerly acept the sincere affection of your intirely loving mother Dorothy Turner [This letter is endorsed " Ans : 17 : g"' ; 1674," in the handwriting of the Dantzic Man, and the following note, evidently of his intended answer, is written on the fly-leaf ; — Dantz : 17"" 8br 1674 : Hon"" Mother I reC yo" of y' 2 Septemb' I take notice y" have sent me by m' Anth° Burrin some Conserve of Roses and Sirrop of Gillyflowers for w'' I returne y" many thankes I am glad to heare of yo" and my deare Sons good health] {Richard Turner to his son-in-law William Taylor — Endorsed "An : 17 ; gier : 1674."] These For M' William Taylor Merchant in Dantzick : Son Taylor Having this opportune Convey by M' Anthony Burren I could not passe it by without A line, or two, to certify you of our good health, & to enquire after yours, we have had a solitary time at Totteridge for the most part of this Summer, our houses still standing empty, but now begin to flourish a little better at our Bowling green since S' Richard Chivertons returne from the West, & Capt Snow, & M" NicoUs being full of Lodgers w* seldom miss a day there, S' Rob'- Peyton alsoe & his Company this long vacation are often engaged in the same recreation : Our house hath seldome bin free from Company since Whitsuntide, the last was Coz : Nokes, and her little family, w='' staid w" us A weeke, or A fortnight, but are now returned againe. On Thursday last ray Lord Paget gave us A visit, but staid not long, but very hearty : our Judge is gon for Glostershire, and S' Tho : Aleyn to Northamptonshire. Randall Weight & Goody North are dead since you left us, little alterations beside. Only our Willy growes plumpe & lusty & begins to find his feet, & can kisse his hand & give you a salute ; he is w* us constantly (w'" all his nurses) every Sabbath day, & my wife there often on the working dayes. The small-pox is mighty rife, and mortall at London ; & M' Ben : Aleyn at St Thomas's is now infected w* it, poore Sam ; is in a great deale of danger at Smyrna by reason of the Plague that reignes much there. Take heed of your gouty Hoc I have had A touch of your distemper w* has made me a greater Enemy to all wine then ever. Sister Staynings has bin horribly handled and almost Bedridden w* it, & yet remembers you sometimes. I have not time further to enlarge, then to tender you the sincere love & aff'ection of all ours, and more particularly of i'^'^' aff-ectionate father Richard Turner Totteridge 5* Sept 1674 William Taylor the Dantzic Man. — Correspondence. 135 1647-1707. [Dorothy Turner to her son-in-law William Taylor.^ These for M' william Taylor in Dantzig present Totteridge 27 Novera 1674 My most Deare son my thmks the time seems so long since I either writ to or have heard from you, that I can noe longer forbeare to stire up that hand of yours that is so much delightfull to mee againe to show it selfe, I am your Really loveing though plaine harted mother and dorinda still and live much upon the Confidence I have of your constant love, and though I reioyce hartiely to reseave your letters oh how much more should I so doe to reseave you in person safe and well I dare not this time of the yeare prese you to a returne, though I often long for it and therfore will say nos more as to that, you know why, but I take it as noe small favour that you are sending mee your pictur in the meane while, I have good hope It is like or else you would not have sent it mee and yet you can not think how that ugly thing at my cousen ushers where I dind last weeke, gained my respect because it bore the name of yours, which made mee see afresh what love could doe, my deare little wille and yours is very lusty and well, looing the dogs with his short stick in his hand in which he much delights, is Ready for a huntsman and though the wether be extreme cold will not spare so much time from his feet and play with nurses children as to sit to warme him he now can give you a blow to beat the dog and is learning to kis his hand so that I hope he will be able to ask your Bleseing and doe his duty at your Returne I hope in god he will live to be a comfort to you after all your trobles, nurse presents you her seruice who is very carefull and now let mee give you an a Count as to the stone for your Deare wife, I thought by cristmas to have had it up and to that end gote a very honist man downe to see the place and take measure but he and every one else not likeing it nor indeed I my selfe upon a more serious revew, we thought to have it over the dore and I find it will be dearer then I expected so that I durst not proceed without your order, the bare stone and letters will come to 6 pound and ten shilling, the letters are seven shilling a hundred cutting and a halfepeny apeece guilding, besids ther must be coats of armes and some little ornament Round about which in all will amount to ten pound besids the seting up my husband is willing to pay for setting it up if you are willing to have it done pray order my cousen Nokes for the payment of ten pound to the man and I will privatly pay him forty shilling back of my one money towards it let mee have your speedy answer that I may know what to doe thus praying god to blese you and keepe you from all evell both in soule and body I rest your most afifectionat mother Dorothy Turner your father sister betty and the rest of your bro : and sisters present ther true love to you as also all your Totteridge freinds {_Nociate; — Dorothy Turner to her son-in-law William Taylor?^ These ffor M' William Taylor Marchant in Danzigg D Mv MOST Deare son About 5 weekes since I was in all hast desireing M' william Taylor marchant in danzig to let : know what was become of my deare son Taylor supposing he would have informed mee : but n a Wellcome letter from you gave mee full satisfaction and about a weeke after I reseaved another, 136 William Taylor the Dantzic Man. — Correspondence. 1647-1707. with your kind present which are very good indeed, since which time you cannot Immagin what a cruell Tirant I have bin in imprisoning myne one affections and not suffering them to take the liberty of venting themselves a little in some Reall expresions of ther reallity and my gratitud to your selfe the ocation of which hath bin the long expectation of your pictur which I had a mind to have seene before I had write that so I might have given you my thoughts more fully as to that you intend still to draw I could wish that that might be defered till your comeing here that so your sweet dorindas and that might have bin done by one hand haveing never as yet fancied any of your danzig draughts what I may doe by this that is a comeing I know not, however I give you many, thanks for your kindnes to mee therin my poore Sister Staynings, is so much affected with you remembrig her which shee says shee never deservd and much less lookt for, that poore woman shee cannot tell how to exprese her thanks enough to you, but wishes it were in her power to sarve you againe and earnestly expects your visit to her with me this summer but I doe not think of it being not able to leave my poore Deare little wille with whom I am as happy as if I had all the pleasurs in the world and hee begins to be as fond of mee he is very well only his teeth pull him back from being as yet a footman but he can give you 20 buses to be caried a broad I long to see you hartily oh that I could [torn] freely prese your returne as I shall bid you well come if you shall grant mee that mercy of seeing you once againe your father knows not of my writing but if he did I am suer he would have remembred his love to you with many thanks for what we have reseved and for what you also intended he taks your letter also very kindly and often braged to his freinds of his sturgan but that hath faild us yet your good will was never the lese your sister betty with all the rest of your freinds here in generall present you ther True [seal] respects I have not calld for the ; lOpf : as yet but the thing will be done speedily being now in hand, and now Deare son I bid you good [torn] for its now allmost ten 0 clock and my bed Time god allmighty blese you and send you safe to mee in his good Time I am your most Truly loving and sincerely affec- tionat mother Dorothy Turner Totteridge Ashwensday m^\—\probabIy 1675] {^Nodate; — Dorothy Tiirncr to her daughter-in-law Rebecca Taylor.'] These ffor madam Rebeca Taylor at wellsid — [ Wmld Side] in esex D Totteridge 29"" Sep [probably 1676] Deare Daughter ffor so you must give me leave now to call you being now in the Roome and place of my one poore daughter espeshally as to my son and this Deare little Jewell which with this I now present you, and I hope your good disposition of which I have heard very much, will cause in you a great Tendernes towards him, use him I beseech you as if he were your owne, much of my Comfort is bound up in him, being the only one of his Deare mother, and the blesing of god be upon you all, you must give mee leave a little to digest things haveing laine a long time under great afflictions but I shall have a reall and True respect for you and I hope when we doe meet I shall be able to exprese as much and if at any time you should think I fall short I beg you to Constrew all in the best sence for He asure you ther shall be noe willfuU neglect in me and now I once more Commend my deare babe into your hands and care, though cheefly into the hands of our good god oh that the decrese of my family may prove a hapy increase of yours and my sons give my True love to him I am writing to his bro ; sam"- so have not Time to writ to him but pray tell him my William Taylor the Dantzic Man.- — Correspondence. 137 bowells yearne much to leave his little son and I hope his will doe the like in reseaving him and i647-r7o7. he will give him leave sometims to see mee that I may not be forgotten I have p"" the maid for the Time shee hath bin with mee if shea should at any Time be apt to cary or leave the boy in the cold pray order it otherwise for I supose your aire may not be so dry and healthy as this I heartyly wish you and my son all hapines and be confident I shall now and ever continew to be Deare Daughter your most affectionat mother Dorothy Turner pray give my True Respects to m'" Sherbrook your mother I implore her kindnes allso to my poore wille SJSfo date — Dorothy Turner to her son-in-law William Taylor.'] These ffor m' William Taylor march" at m' Nokes his house over gs y' Axe in Alldermanbery in London l^About 1676 or 1677] Deare son That you may see I am not unmindfull of you at This distance these are to tell you that I have often resolved to writ since I came hether, but I know not how Time here amongst my freinds steales away before I am aware, I am therfore gote up this morning that I might be a littell a fore hand with my relations, which else might againe hinder mee, tho I must needs confese writting at this Time is a little Troblesome To me, being hardly able to see by a fall last night downe stares which hath swelld up my eye very much so that I can hardly looke downe, but am faine to hold my hand hard upon it while I writ by the helpe of the other, I long to here how you doe and my poore wille whom I hope you dearely love and make much of, pray give him one kise or : 2 : for mee and present my Respects both to your mother and Lady, Deare son tho you are now as it were snatchd from mee yet cannot but have the same Tender affection for you and it is noe littell comfort that I perceive by your raradge to me that you are so to, when my freinds forsake me it will be high Time for me to leave this world it being the greatest comfort I have to live in love amongst them all your brother Richard will direct you how to send yours to me I am now goeing to my sister Stanings and brother who I know will be sure to ask for you and would bid you iiartily wellcome I shall give your Respects to them pray assoone as you can viset with your letter your most truly affectiont mother Dorothy Turner Nick and betty are very well and are your humble servants The two following letters to William Taylor, from his brothers-in-law Nathaniel Nokes and Gerard Usher, are principally interesting as showing the intimate and confidential relations existing between him and them. After this time no further mention will be found in our memoir of Nokes or Usher; nor has any attempt been made to trace what became of these brothers- in-law of the Dantzic Man. It is too long ago to make success probable, even if it were worth while. We find in subsequent years — 1760 and thereabouts — several s 138 William Taylor the Dantzic Man. — Correspondence. if47-i707- memoranda relating to an allowance made from time to time by Ben Mordecai to a Mrs Usher. In 1761 Rebecca Taylor writes to him, "Mrs Usher lives at Mr Taylor's, a bricklayer's, in Winchester Street, Austyn Fryars." It is more than probable that this was a descendant or relation of Gerard Usher. Mr Townsend, of the College of Arms, writing in 1828 says — The arms of a fess between three Hons' or leopards' heads, with which some of the letters of the Rev. Henry Taylor are sealed, are those of a family of Noke in Berkshire, and belonged no doubt to his great-uncle Nathaniel Noakes, who married a daughter of Daniel Taylor's. \_Nathanicl Nokcs io William Taylor.'] To M' William Taylor M 'chant In P viam ham° Dantzige London y' 5"" Jany i6;J Deare Br° Xaihniiicl Nukes. I have been without any from you for severall weeks past, y' last y' came to my hands was dated 7 gb' advising of some things sent '«1 W Sanderson but not one line of his departure, nor of Confirmation of what had shipt in him although M' Upton & M' Archer also have demanded of me some Gurkins, whereof I told them I supposed should have advice 'e' shipping but had none ¥ post, I wonder at y' long silence but am in hopes of a ... . post .... The writer then gives a number of items relating to accounts with Mr Byerley and others, not easy to decipher, and of no particular interest, except this passage — M' WiUoughby Sen'* hath been in y= Country almost all y= yeare, & they could not find y= receipt for taxes w''' was y" reason that rent was unsettled, but he is now come home so intend God per- mitting to setde y= old rent & this last q' too in few dayes having been busy at y= Acc" this hoUydays in ball" their books The letter ending — .... we at home & friends abroad City & Country Totteridge are blessed be God in good liealth : so with myne & wifes hearty love ;s; respects to you & prayers for you I Rest Yo' Lo : Br° to Com'' Nath Nokes Accompanying this letter is a Dr. and Cr. statement of account between William Taylor and Nathaniel Nokes, looking as if the latter was acting as William Taylor's business agent during his absence. * This undoubtedly was the person who married the widow of Daniel Taylor, and "the rent," for house in Coleman Street, which we know lie occupied. JVilUain Taylor the Dantzic Man. — Correspondence. 139 1O47-1707. {From Gerard Usher to William Taylor.'] For M' William Taylor at his House at Weald in Essex London July 25* 1690 Lo : Brother your Cause in Chancery was summoned by Savage the Pe' to bee heard the ffirst of this month f;„^,^, y,,,^., I prepared for it and fee'd & instructed Councell .... M' Fynch & answer. But after a long Attend- ance the Court rising earlier then usuall wee lost our labour & it Came not on. The next day for Pleas & Demurrers was on Monday last I being forced to refresh our Councells memory with new fees. And then yours came on to be argued, and the Court inclined very well to your side & have ordered that the Pe' shall take our Plea for an Answer without taking E.xcep"" to it and that the benefitt of our Plea bee reserved to us at the Hearing, which is so well That I Do believe the Pe' will hardly proceed any further, for wee have this Advantage that wee have kept from Discovery of our Deeds which if wee should have answered at large wee must have byn forced to do and so have laid ourselves open to much trouble. It is my opinion you need not feare him at all for he has liad but a cold scent, and should he go further will never recover a"" — Bro : I have taken all the Care I Could in it to preserve you from trouble and the best Advice wee were Carefull to act warily and to make no Discovery of our Case further then absolutely necessary. And y= Antagonist having met with such discouragement I doubt not but will sit down Si proceed no further. If he does it will bee to his Disadvantage. Your Deeds & writings have byn in ill Custody severall of them beeing wanting & those materiall. Pray if the Pe' or any from him should Come or send to you keep your selfe private & say nothing but refer them to mee who am glad to heare of your Recovery so far from y' paine & wisliing you &: Sister health and happines am Y' affectio : & lo : Bro : to serve you Gerard Usher. For news I refer you to Bro. Nokes. Wee have good from Ireland, Waterford surrendered & Athlone taken by Storme [On the back of this letter are a few Hnes apparently in the handwriting of the Dantzic Man, probably notes of some letter he was writing, as he sometimes made such notes on Mrs Turner's letters.] 1 am heartily sorry to hear y' son is come home ill & y' my sisters cough continues & y' y" have an ague I hope it will not continew long pray doze it well w"" carduns posset : its y' best thing I could ever find for y' distemper : [There are also on the back of this letter a number of medical recipes in the same handwriting as the above, which would probably not be of much benefit in 1873, what- ever they may have been in 1690.] in a q' [Qy. Ague ?] 2 drams Amber grease: 3 head of wild garlick, mother of tyme : stinking olive, lavend' cotton, ))„mestic moli dill. Balm : double Brandy 2 q" -f Amber grease & garlick put in after y= things are well scum'il cine in 1^90, pirriwincle : y* strings tied ab' y* ancle & knee is good for y' cramp Likewise )•• leaves & strings stampt good to stop bleedig put up y' nose a Burnt Corke ground to powder stops bleeding 140 William Taylor the Danfzic Man. 1647-1707. for dropsy Take one hand of Stone Crop & boyl it in 3 pints of white wine ; let it boyle to a pint & half & y° straine it: y" boyle it ag° w"' an ounce of w'' sugar & 2 pennyworth of Cloves & let it wast to 3 quarters of a pint ; Take this quantity three mornings being a quarter of a pint each morning drinke posset drinke w"' y= working of it : & fast 4 houres after eating nothing but spoon-meat : wliile y" take it. for y*^ graven in y" Bladder Take a flint stone about y' bigness of an egg y' comes out of Chaulk & put it into -f fire, & it will fly w" its red hot beat y" ashes of when its broke in y" fire take y' bigest peece put it into J ]5int wi" wine & y" cover it w" its cold put in a peice of salt peter as big as y' top of y' little finger ur a thimble full of Gunpowd' & drink it off. plant garlick in y' 12 dayes S: take it up again ab' 14 d' after Bartholmewtide y= least heads best to plant : it is good to eat raw he saved a many life by it once: a Liquor to anoint y' Gout 2 Drams of Amber Greace, 8 handfulls stincking Olive, 3 handf young Dill, 3 handf Ballme 2 handf mother Tyme 2 handf Lavender Cotton, & as many of y' Burdock Leaves (cleare of y' Stalks) as you can put into a peck : y» take yo' Herbs & Stamp y° in a Mortar y° ming y" in a thick course cloth & for every q' of Liquor put in 2 small heads of Garden Garlick : Stampt in y° Mortar: y° take y' Liquor w'"" will be a" 2 q" & boyl it & scume it as long as any scurae will rise, let it simer & y" let it simer till is wasted ; & y° straine it through a sive & y° thro a fine Cloth & sive : & lett it stand till its cold y" put in it as much doble Brandy as there is Liquor : & Bottle it in q' bottles not fild close to y' Cork lye y'" down w"' leather & sett y° in yo' cellar covered over w"' sand : & six months after you may take it out & set it any where in yo' cellar ; In a MS. book, page 65, belonging to my uncle, Mr William Taylor, is the following, evidently in the writing of William Taylor of South Weald. I sup- pose there was more fun connected with Captain John Pother than is visible throuo-h the mist of near two centuries. Captain John P"tiier. ^. IVroA' under Captain John Pothers Picture." When I was aged 20 years I was called forth unto ye wars When I was aged twenty-one I was made a Captain at Bergen op zoom I hate all Riches and worldly pelf And as for these verses I made them myself So God preserve my Father and mother And so I conclude John Pother John Pother. William Taylor the Daiit::ic Man. 141 1647-1707. " Captain Pother's directions to my Grandfather Turner, sent by Post." Deliver this letter I desire To y' Hon'''= Richard Turner Esq' At Totteridge near Barnet his worship does dwell As all country know very well. We now come to William Taylor's second marriage (with Rebecca Sherbrooke), which took place three or four years after the death of his first wife. The particulars, as given in the Marriage Allegation, will be found p. 84. By her he had a large family, of whom all known particulars will be given hereafter. They all died unmarried. They are mostly stated to have been buried at South Weald, as was their mother, who lived till 1723, having outlived her husband some sixteen years. The only bit of her writing extant is a letter to her husband a year or two after her marriage (p. 150). How this connection originated we have no evidence. The Sherbrookes appear to have been in business in London, .^.j^^ sherinco Henry and John, brothers of this wife, are called " Merchants," and Richard Sher- brooke, her father, " Citizen and Merchant Taylor." He (the father) was made free by Richard Dabb, November 22, 1624. The acquaintance may have sprung up in the City, or it may have come to pass through neighbourhood in Essex, as William Taylor is described as of Great Warley in a deed of covenant between himself and the lord of the manor of South Weald in 1685;* or the connection between the families may have been of earlier date, for George Clarke, whose daughter was the mother of this second wife, is described as of Hackney. William Taylor , ' IlaL-kney. (the Haberdasher), too, lived and died at Hackney ; and we know by his Will that George Clarke purchased for him some of the Bishop's lands in his own name, and then conveyed them to him. Nor is it unworthy of remark that I have a card of invitation to the funeral of George Clarke (1668), addressed to John Juxon, son-in-law of the Haberdasher. Of the life of William Taylor we really know nothing from this time beyond the feeble glimpses afforded by the various deeds evidencing certain transactions, some of them more or less vaguely intimating his relations with various members of his family. Of these, I will mention some in order of date. It will not be • Since penning the foregoing the Register at Great Warley has been examined, and gives evidence of an earlier connection with that place. In i6So his daughter Anna ("baptized at home") was there registered; in (Irtnt Warley i(>8i-82, Dorothy; in 16S4, Daniel; and in 1686, Rich.ird. In 1689 Henry was baptized at South VVe.ild. Kcyisicr. !*erh.ips on his second marriage he went at once to live at Great W.irlcy, and remained there till some time between 1686 and 16S9 ; possibly his mother-in-law at that time went to live in London, where, as we have seen, she died ; but all this is conjecture. We have no evidence, however, of any connection with Great Warley bclorc this marriage in 1676. 142 William Taylor the Dantzic Man. i'n7-i707. forgotten that in 1676 he had a Chancery suit with Hildesley, whereof particulars have been already given; and it is apparent that in 1690 he was engaged in another suit, of which we know nothing beyond the reference made to it by his brother-in-law (and solicitor), Gerard Usher (p. 139). 1672. Bond from George Wellington to William Taylor and John Juxon, to perform marriage articles. 1673. Deed as to purchase of waste ground south of Fleet Street, by William Taylor, of the Cor- poration of London. 1677. Bond from his Uncle Edmund for ^lo. 1678. Bond from him to Rebecca Sherbrooke, to leave his wife ^loo ; and another for £200, same purpose. 1679. Bond from Nathaniel Nokes for ^25. 1683. Bond for ^^125 from George Wellington to him. 1684. Letter of Attorney from George Wellington to him. ,, Two more Bonds from George Wellington to him.* 1685. Transfer of Deane's Farm at South Weald, for which he gave j£'245°- 1686. Bond from him to his wife Rebecca Taylor, to secure ;^ioo to pay copyhold fines, should he outlive her. He gives a lease to Francis King of Bovill's Hall, ^60 a year; this was renewed in 1693, and again in 1705. 16S9. A deed of grant of next presentation of Rectory of Hornden Parva by Lord Petre to Henry Slierbrooke and \\'illiam Taylor. It is not impossible this was with a view of his son \\"illiam entering the Church, but we hear no more of it Ills death, 1707. Gout. Kmlal-l'n,,!;. He died, as has been already said, in 1707, and was buried at South Weald. We may guess that he died of gout; a reference to his suffering from it occurs in his letter to his son 16S9-90; indeed, as early as 1674 we find Richard Turner, his father-in-law, congratulating him upon having escaped it "in the midst of your great Plenty of Clarret; " and his son Daniel, writing long after, says (p. 175), "You are not a little sensible what pain I have felt in those fitts of the Rhumatism, and the return of those which not long agoe I felt ; . . . and that should it please God to afflict me as my father, how miserable should I be." We have his Rental-book, in which are mentioned a number of properties, such as Belcrrave,t Zouches Fee, Weald, Fleet Street, and Coleman Street. His personal * It will be remembered that George Wellington and Nathaniel Nokes were his brothers-m-law, and John Juxon his uncle. + The following in relation to this property, and of the connection therewith of Daniel Taylor and of his son and brother, William and Samuel, appears in Nichol's "History of Leicestershire":— " By articles for the inclosure of Belgrave, made March 14, 1654, it was agreed that there should be land laid out by the surveyor to and for the seven freehold cottages in Belgrave, whereof Richard Fowke, Richard Ward, William Moore, Henry Berridge, Edward Crosse, Thomas Stevenson, and Francis Keene, were then severally owners ; i.e., to each of the said cottages five acres of land, in lieu of their commons in the fields of Belgrave ; also that out of every yard-land there should be deducted one acre of ground, which should be laid together in one plot, to make a pasture for such cottagers as lived in such cottages whereunto there was JVilliam Taylor the Dantzic Man. 143 property was valued at ^270, i6s. Sd. on the 12th May 1707 by John Wright of ^647-1707. South Weald and Thomas Bowyer of St Pancras, Soper Lane, London, and among the items are the following : — In the middle garrat one feather bed one flock bolster two blankets two pillows one quilt Horse Arms & furniture for the Militia Soldier In the garrat called the Linnen Room Napkins Towells Table cloths sheets & pillow beers, childbed Linnen & window curtains & Linnen for the Kitchin In the passage that Leads into the garrats a bagg with Hopps & two Cyprus chests . In the chamber over the Kitchen one scrutore one picture two old cliairs one bed- stead camlet curtains & vallance three pillowes & one Trunck In the chamber over the great parlour foure peeces of Tapestry hangings one wal- nut tree table & Looking glass, one pair brass and irons shouel & tongs a bedstead feather bed & boulster case curtains foure blankets, three pictures & a fender ....... In the Little parlour seaven pictures six niapps Two tables eight chairs a stone fender Tongs shouvel & poker In the closset a parcill of Tooles & Lumber & a chest of old Iron In the great parlour Three peeces tapestry hangings, twelve turkey chairs one table a Tea Table a Cane Squob Cushon & pillow two pictures fine needle worke pictures, brass andirons shouvel & Tongs & a parceill of China ware .... 110 common of right belonging (excepting only out of the two yard-fmds of John Thistlethwaite) ; and should be settled on Daniel Taylor, Henry Coleborne, Charles Byerley, Thomas Johnson, Thomas Thompson, and William Breworne, and their heirs, in trust, for the purpose aforesaid ; and those only that did make or give such allowance out of their yard-lands as aforesaid, and their heirs, from time to time for ever, should have the disposal of the said pasture, and no other, to such person or persons as they, or their heirs or assigns, should think most fit ; and that there should also be taken out of the common, or other ground, eleven acres, which should be laid to the three cottages called The Town Houses, in lieu of all such commons as belonged to the said cottages in the open fields. The glebe land was two-yard land. It was also agreed that th°ere should be laid out one or more town-plot or plots, in lieu of the land there called The Town Land; and th it the same, together with the eleven acres aforesaid, should be conveyed to the said Samuel Taylor, &c. ; the said lot in lieu of the Town-land to be employed for such intents and purposes as the antient Town-land there had been, or ought to have been, employed ; and the said eleven acres, as the said trustees and their heirs should think fit. In pursuance of these articles, the inclosure was made in 1655 ; and the decree for confir- mation was passed February 10, 1662-3, by Edward Earl of Clarendon. " By a bill for confirmation of the inclosure, preferred in Chancery, in Michaelmas Term 1622, it appears that Charles Byerley and Daniel Taylor, of London, Esq., and Henry Coleborne, late of London, scrivener, both deceased, were seised of t«o manors in Bclgrave. In this bill we find the following statement :— "The complainants and the rest of the parties to the articles had also agreed that the ^100 per annum in lieu of all manner of tithes should be raised and paid in manner following : the complainant Byerley, and the said William Taylor and James Coleborne, their heirs and assigns, and the tenants and occupiers, which from time to time for ever thereafter should be, of the plott of ground called The Poor's Plott, should allow lor every plot, being of the worscr sort of ground, after the rate of i6d, the acre per annum, towards the . sing of the said /too to the then present farmer durmg his lease."— AVVAo/'j History of Leicestershire, vol. 1:1. part i. p. 175. And amongst the family papers is a decree by the Court of Chancery, dated February 10, 1664-5, i" an action between Charles Byerley and others, and James Colborne, William Taylor (an infant), and others. It recites articles of 4ih March 1654 between Charles Byerley, Daniel Taylor, and others, for the inclosure of lielgrave, and a dispute as to the tithe, and states that the case having been heard by E.trl Clarendon, High Chancellor, he confirmed the inclosure. ^4 10 o 19 12 6 2 10 O 4 14 o 1790 3 5 o 810 o 144 William Taylor the Dantzic Man. 1647-1707. In tlie Hall one Table six chairs twelve pictures two pair of andirons staggs Homes a Table bed, a feath' bed & bolster & three blankets . . • ■ In the Kitchin one table three formes a Jack & weights five spitts eight brass Candle- sticks two iron ones two brass Chafindishes two Iron ones two brass Chafindishes one Iron one five skillets two brass porrig pots a Dish Kittle fish Kittle foure box Irons & frame one frying pan two warming pans salt Tub & box two pair stillyards scale and weights 3 pasty panns & a parcill of tinn things two trays a pale two copper drinking potts, chopping block Knife & cleaver, beef forke Ladle & slicC: two Tubbs Tongs shouvel poker & fender & some earthen ware & of pewter one hundred sixty foure pounds Plate seaventy eight ounces The Testators wearing apparel Bookes & Arms , . . ■ • In the Coach house & two stables one coach & harness, cart harness for foure Horses two saddles five bridles In the court yarde & yards One waggon three carts a water cart two sledges . Quickstock fifteen Cowes & one bull five Calves three sheep one shee Ass & Colt ffoure maires one sow & piggs & three Hoggs poultry .... £i 7 16 5 74 3 Seventeen rooms are emimerated, and the prices put to the goods are, as far as we can esthnate, about one-sixth of what they would be in the present day. " A leather jack" is one of the articles mentioned, and in the cellar "three casks of strong beer." There seem to have been no wine or spirits— notice of their absence being suggested by the entry of "fourteen dozen of bottles,"-empty no doubt. Family relics. Some of the articles in this Inventory are still preserved by the family, and some also, as we believe, that are mentioned in the Inventory of Daniel Taylor's goods (1655). This seems the most convenient place to give a list of the family relics ; some of them are, however, of a much later date than the Dantzic Man. The following are in my possession: — Iron seal with Taylard arms. Cloth curtains and bed-hangings. Bedstead. Eight-day clock. Japan cabinet. The Hundred Cups. Child's clothes and lace. Seal with Taylard arms in lozenge. Small oval box (horn), on lid, " Rebeckah Sherbrooke before her sister was Born." Mourning ring, Anna Taylor, 1738 (wife of William Taylor of South Weald). Brooch with portrait of Ben Mordecai. Mourning ring. Christian Taylor, 1769. Do. Anna Maria Elmes, 177S. Do. William Bennett, 17S1. BABY CLOTHES OF TAYLOR, (SOUTH WEAI.D.) (born 1673) WITH OTHER LACE, SUPPOSED OF SAME PERIOD. ABOUT 1673. William Taylor the Dautzic Man. 145 Watch given by Ben Mordecai to his son Willinm when he came to London. , 1647-170 Seal with "A. T." Mourning brooch, jNIrs Daniel Taylor, 17S5. Bracelets, moss agates set in gold. It is difficult to draw a line as to the list of ancient relics, and indeed im- possible to include every article entitled by its antiquity to a place therein. In such cases will be found generally, if not always, noted on the articles them- selves anything that is known of them. I must not, however, omit the old book containing Daniel Taylor's funeral sermon, and the MS. book of Dorothy Turner. Henry Thomas Taylor of East Ham sends me (November 1S73) particulars of those in his possession as follows : — Quart silver tankard with cover, bearing inscription, "In memory of The Rev'' D' John Hoadly, who died the iS* March 1776, in the 65th year of his age." A pint silver posset-cup and cover, " W. R. T." on the bottom ; supposed to have belonged to William and Rebecca Taylor (Dantzic). "I believe my father's uncle, the Rev. Henry Taylor, used to have mulled wine taken up to him in it every night." — H. T. T. Walnut and oak cabinet of thirty drawers, etc., and cupboard in centre, and with shifting front ; said to have been brought from Dantzic by William Taylor the Dantzic Man. A letter from Rebecca Taylor to her husband William Taylor, 167S. "An Epithalamy" on tlie names of Mr Richard Sherbrooke and his wife.* The watch of the Rev. Dr John Hoadly, in shagreen case. I may note here, that the carved wooden toy known in the family as " The Hundred Cups," is supposed to have been brought over from Dantzic for the young William by his father. The clothes and lace worn by or made for this same " Willie " (see opposite page) were given by Aunt Beck (his daughter) to my grandmother, the wife of William Taylor (of London), whose daughter, Mrs Warren, has often heard her speak of the fact. In a letter, February 12, 1873, Mrs Warren writes: — The Japan cabinet was brought from abroad by the Dantzic Man ; it used to stand in the dining-room at Banstead, and was brought to my father's, in London, on my uncle's death, then to Booking, and finally to Gosfield. I cannot tell to whom the bracelets belonged; my Aunt Nancy, into whose possession they came, gave them to Mrs Lambert I believe they belonged to a Taylor, but do not know to whom ; neither can I give you any information about the seal with the head and star. . . . The heavy cloth curtains and bed-hangings belonged to the Dantzic Man. It was always said they were the hangings of his own bed, and were used by him, and his son after him, — certainly by my grandfather himself at Crawley ; at Banstead they were in the women servants' room !— ah, what a falling off was there ! They were formerly lined with yellow satin, but that perished in the using ; they were put up in my father's house at White Notley, where I once slept in them ; then they • The letter will be found on p. 150, and the Epithalamy on p. 15.. , T 146 IVilliam Taylor the Dantzic Man. 1647-1707. were lined with linen damask, the mark still being on them, W, R. T.,— William and Rebecca Taylor.* The silver posset-cup is referred to in a letter by Elizabeth Taylor to her father, Ben Mordecai, dated July 4, 1777- She says, "Aunt Betty has left you the silver cup you used to be so fond of." This does not, however, accord with the Will, in which the cup is left to Elizabeth herself •n.e Shell., ookes. The marriage of William Taylor the Dantzic Man with a Sherbrooke, would not of itself have called for much reference to that family, seeing that all their children died unmarried, but his son by the first wife having married the grand- daughter of Richard Sherbrooke, father of the Dantzic Man's second wife, the relationship becomes at once of importance. The Sherbrookes are an ancient family, going back (see Pedigree, p. 69.4) at least three generations before Robert Sherbrooke, who lived in 16 14, viz., to Robert Sherbrooke of Tipshall, county of Derby. We appear to have no evidence of any communication between the families after the marriage of William Taylor of South Weald, except in the single case of Mrs Mead, niece of Rebecca Taylor, the Dantzic Man's second wife (grand-daughter, of course, of Richard Sherbrooke), between whom and the children of the Dantzic Man there seems to have been whatever of intimacy is implied in pecuniary relations, t We find, for instance, under date 1721, an assignment by William Taylor of South Mrs Mead. Weald to Mary Mead of certain property in Mugwell Street (same as Monkwell Street), as security for a loan of /400. In 1723, and again in 1737, there are bonds from Daniel Taylor to Mary Mead for loans of ^150 and /250 re- spectively. In 1740 a deed of release from Mary Mead to Anne Taylor, evi- dendy for the /400 borrowed by William in 1721; and at Mrs Mead's death in 1769 she left a Will in favour of Henry Taylor (Ben Mordecai), as appears in a letter written by Mrs Fox, February 8, 1769, from which the following is an extract ; — Since Mr Fox's last letter to you the Will of Mrs Mead has been proved, and he has seen it. You are named in reversion as to some houses devised by the Will, also as to ^35°° "ew S. S. anuities, and ^£900 Bank Stock : but the powers given by Mrs Mead to her daughter Mrs Wilkes, under the restriction there mentioned, are so extensive, as to make your contingency, in Mr Fox's opinion, of very little value. TiK- w ilkeses. Mrs Wilkes seems to have been on friendly terms with Rebecca Taylor, and about 1774 left her a legacy; so likewise was her daughter. Miss Wilkes, to whose political opinions reference is made by Rebecca. It was this Miss Wilkes who left property to the Rev. Henry Taj'lor of Banstead, as will be seen p. 480. * These embroidered hangings are once more (1874) in use as curtains in my writing-room in London, 22 Ashley Place, W^estminster. , t We have since found a memorandum that on the publication of Benjamin Ben Mordecai s letters m 1784, a copy was sent by direction of the author to "Mr Slierbrook." MARY MEAD, AFTERWARDS M^:^« WILKES. BORN ABOUT 1717, D. 1784. Willimn Taylor the Daiitzic Man. 147 According- to Watson's "Biography of Wilkes," Mrs Mead was the dissenting* "^^^-i-o?- widow of a rich drysaher,t and residing at Aylesbury at the time when John Wilkes was at school there. Watson states that her daughter was heiress to great property from both parents, and that Mrs Mead being very intimate with the mother of Wilkes, the two mothers negotiated for a marriage between their children when time should serve. "But first [he continues] that the youngster should be further educated, and see something of the world, and he was accordingly sent to Leyden," etc., etc. The writer says that on his return he paid frequent visits to Mrs Mead and her daughter at Aylesbury, adding — ^ And such was the effect of his manner, that notwithstanding the repiilsiveness of a strong squint, he gained the affections of Miss Mead in a very short time, and married her in October °i749. The mother then removed from Aylesbury, and took up her residence with her daughter and son-in-law in Red Lion Court, in a house which was part of the lady's inheritance. Here in August 1750 a daughter the only fruit of their union, was born. ° ' In another biography of Mr Wilkes (by W. F. Rae), published in 1S74, the following account is given of the marriage : — Shortly after his return to England he married, at the age of twenty-two. Miss Mead, who was ten years his senior, and an heiress. Mrs Mead, an old and intimate friend of the family, had planned the match m concert with his father, preferring to have this clever and accomplished young man for a son- m-law to any of the numerous suitors for her daughter's hand and money. Miss Mead dutifully assented to this arrangement, and did so rather to gratify her mother than to please herself, while John Wilkes as dutifully acquiesced in a scheme designed by his fond father to give him a rich wife. The married pair had nothing in common. Tliey were as ill assorted as any couple whose sufferings ever moved a reader of romance, or whose errors ever brought them into the divorce court. The lady was a ricdd Dissenter; the gentleman was a professed member of the Church of England, regular in attending church and taking the sacrament His wife liked a quiet and retired life ; he enjoyed a life of bustle and gaiety. She was selfish and uncharitable ; he was self-indulgent, and indifferent to her. Later in life he thus defined their relative positions—" In my nonage, to please an indulgent father, I married a woman half as old again as myself ; of a large fortune— my own being that of a gentleman. It was a sacrifice to Plutus, not to Venus." Mrs Wilkes died in 17S4. Miss Wilkes died at her house, No. 9 Grosvenor Square, in 1802. Her death was very sudden. I believe that on the very day she died she was to have given a dinner-party, and a friend had to warn the guests as they arrived that it was a house of mourning and not one of festivity.;]: Frequent reference will be found in the letters of Elizabeth and Rebecca Taylor, while at Wandsworth, to Mrs Wilkes and to her daughter ; and the latter left some • She was, I believe, an attendant at Carter Lane Chapel ; and her brother, Henry Sherbrooke appears in the Minutes there as havinR attended meetings for choice of ministers, etc., from 1748 to 1766 At the pulhno down of the chapel, my Aunt Ellen caused a box to be made for me of the wainscoting of his old pew and i°t IS now in my possession. ^ ' t John Meade and Mary Sherbrooke were married (by license) at St Sepulchres, 23d December 1712. t Her portrait will be found on opposite page. 148 William Taylor the Dantzic Man. .647->707. property to the Rev. Henry Taylor of Banstead, to whom she was of course a cousin of some degree, her grandmother having been a Sherbrooke. This branch of the Sherbrookes appears to be extinct in the male line. Two daughters, co-heiresses of Henry Sherbrooke of Oxton, married in the last century Henry Porter and William Coape respectively, both of their husbands changing their names to Sherbrooke. Of the descendants of Richard Sherbrooke, father-in- law of the Dantzic Man, the last that we know, as shown by the Tree (no further inquiry having been made), are :— John Brett Sherbrooke, born in Fenchurch Street, London, loth November 1681 ; died s.p. 19th October 1738; buried at Great St Helen's. Henry Sherbrooke, born in Gun Yard, Houndsditch, 28th October 1685 ; died loth July 1687. Richard Sherbrooke, born in St Sepulchre's, 20th November 1689; baptized there; died s.p. iSth June 1772, aged eighty-three; buried at Great St Helen's. Rebecca, born 9th October 16S3 ; baptized at St Gabriel's, Fenchurch Street; died 24th September 1684 ; buried in Aldgate Church. Mary, born in Gun Yard, 4th December 1687; married, 12th December 1712, to John Mead; a widow 1732 and 1737; died January 1769, aged eighty-one; buried 23d January 1769, at Great St Helen's. It was the daughter of the last who married John Wilkes, and whose daughter, Mary, died, as we have seen, in 1802. The only portraits we have of the Shrrbrooke family (besides the portrait of Rebecca, the second wife of the Dantzic Man, already given) are of her three brothers when they were children. The funeral card of one of them (George) is a somewhat ghastiy specimen of the art of that time (see opposite page 155). We have a paper full of memoranda about the Sherbrooke family, written Memo,a,KU,„,as apparently by Rebecca Taylor to her brother, Ben Mordecai, and thus addressed :- K=S; Ffor the Rev^' M' Taylor Sen' at Titchi^eld, what never can be procur'd again for Love or money, to be Studied by all y' family of Taylors ; So pray take great care of it." This paper was apparently written in 1774, although from the endorse- ment (Titchfield) it could not have been sent till after 1782. There is some internal evidence that Rebecca copied her facts from some other paper or papers ; as, for instance, she speaks of herself in the third person, and in regard to the birth of one of the Sherbrookes, the description given is, "At my house in y= parish of S' Sepulchres." The following is extracted from the Burial Register of St Helen's, Bishopsgate, ' London : — ,669 Dec. 13. Richard Sherbrooke printice to Mr. Mayoe was buryed in the Church in the South quire under a great stone close to Mr. Mayoe's child's grave. 1671 Aug. 4. Richard Sherbroke who came out of the county of Essex was buryed in the South quire in his Sonne's grave closte to Mr. Mayo's cliild. 1674/5 Feb. =. George Sherbrooke was burj-ed in the South quire neere his father's grave. IVilliaiii Taylor the Dantzic Man. 149 1697 May 6. Mrs. Rebecca Shurbrooke, Widdow, was buried in the South Quire of the Cliurch, by 1647-1707. the end of the pews by S' Jn° Woolfe valt. 1710 June 23. Ann Crisp, widow, was buried in the South Quire at the side of the pues by S' John Woolfe tombe. 1 72 1 Aug. 30. Henry Sherbroock was buried in the South Quire in the Church under the stone by S' John Spencer's Tomb. 173S Oct. 27. John Brett Sherbrooke, Esq'- was buried in y= South Quire in y" Church near y= Vestry. 1769 Jan. 23. Mary Mead was buried in the Chancel. 1772 June 25. Richard Sherbrook was buried in the South Quire of the Church. 1784 Apl. 10. Mary Wilkes, buried in Foote's* vault in the Chancel. We have already mentioned the name of George Clarke, grandfather of the The ciarkes. second wife of William Taylor. On preceding pages will be found his likeness, and that of his wife. His Will (in which he is called Citizen and Merchant Taylor of London) was dated August 11, 1668, immediately before his death. Amongst the provisions, he leaves : — To my daughter Rebecca Sherbrooke, in addition to her lormer portion, and to make it equal with that of her sisters, ^300. . . . Whereas I have akeady given my son Nich'- Clarke .£1000, and have lent him ^500 more, I now give him .;^5oo more when his two sons Nich'- and George be 21, that each may have a portion of ^500 to set up their respective trades; said £\ooo in the mean- tmie to be in the hands of my partners Mr Edward Clarke and Mr Henry Sherbrooke. To my said grandsons Nich'- and George Clarke, each ^200 to put them out as apprentices. He mentions his grandson, George Clarke, whom I take to have been the writer of the letter dated from Oporto to William Taylor of South Weald (p. 236). He seems to have been a Puritan much after the stamp of our Daniel Taylor, as we find the following proviso : — " My messuages, tenement, etc., at Hackney, after my wife Anne's death, to ray son Nicholas Clarke for life, upon the condition that he shall not at any time let or dispose the same to any person whatsoever that shall follow use or keep in the said house or any part thereof, either a tavern or alehouse, that shall vend or sell any strong drink, least thereby such company itiay be entertained that may anyways dishonour the most glorious, and fearful name of the great and holy God by vain oaths and cursed swearing or otherwise." To twenty poor godly ministers each ^5 ; to tlie parish of Hackney ^6 per an. out of my lands m Hackney Marsh, on condition that the churchwardens and overseers of said parish procure "some godly learned orthidox and Protestant minister to preach a sermon on the 17th day of November yeariy for ever, being the coronation day of Queen Elizabeth of blessed memory, which day the Lord filled the hearts of all godly Protestants in this Kingdom with joy and gladness after the cruel burning of about three hundred godly bishops, pastors, and teachers, and other good Christians of several ranks and qualities never to be forgotten by any Protestant," etc. Before and after such sermon these Psalms to be sung, viz., the second part of the 125th Psalm and the 136th Psalm, or some other like Psalm; after saTd sennon said minister to be paid 20s., and twenty poor housekeepers, including the clerk and sexton of Hackney, and six poor widows in the six Almshouses lately buUt by Dr Spurston, late minister of Hackney, and tlie other twelve to be out of Mare Street and Church Street, each to be then paid 5s. : my executors to distribute said £b per annum during their Uves, and after their decease the churchwardens and overseers of Hackney. • Elizabeth Footc married Thomas Juxon, grandson of the John Juxon who married Judith K.iinion See rcdigrecs, pp. 693, 696. 150 IVilliam Taylor the Dantzic Man. — Correspondence. 1647-1707. Mrs Warren says, 13th February 1873: — In Stow's "Survey of London," in the account of Old Hackney cliuvch, there is the following notice : — "Just within the rail, on the south side of the Communion Table, a flat stone thus engraven: 'Here lyeth Interred the body of George Clark Esqre deceased 14 Aug. An. dom. 1668. If any desire to be me nigh Pray let my bones in quiet ly Till Christ come in the cloudy skey Who will us all both Judge and try.'" My mother, a very long time since, once showed me his house, standing out in the fields by itself, on the London side of Hackney. Those fields are all covered with houses now, and the house is no doubt taken down. The church has been taken down many years since, though I think it was standing when my father and mother were married in 17S3. The following- is extracted from the Hackney Burial Register 166S Aug. 27. George Clarke Esquire. On his gravestone (a Ledger on the ground) in the churchyard of St Augustines at Hackney is the following— " Here lyeth interred the boddy of George Clarke Esq'- deceased the 14th day of Aug. 1668."— [Here follow the verses as above, now illegible.] It will be observed that there is some discrepancy in the foregoing, as it is stated in Stow's "Survey"* that he was buried within the church, whereas by the Register it would appear that the gravestone in the churchyard says, " Here lyeth," etc. The explanation doubtless is, that when the old church was destroyed, the tombstone of George Clarke (with others) was placed in the churchyard, but it is not probable that the remains were moved. Robinson, the historian of Hackney, says : — This church before its demolition was extremely rich in monuments, some of which being considered worth preserving, were taken down and put up in the porches or vestibules of the new church, .... but most of them are scattered abroad, etc. We now come to some letters in connection with the second marriage of the Dantzic Man. The first, from his wife, is, as we have already mentioned, the only bit we have of her writing. [From Mrs Rebecca Taylor to her husband^ To M' William Taylor at y= house of Coll Edward King Esq'- at Ashby near Sleeford In Lincolnshire poss"- p-^ 3"- Sept' y' 30'" 1678 My dear love The 28"" instant I reseved yours : which was a great satisfaction : to my disturbed mind : m regard y" season is so sickly : and I could not hear from you : this is the second I have writ you to let you know y' continuance ; of all our healths save our little girle : whom hath bin very ill but now through marcy : is also well : I hoping your ocations is near acomplished ; that so I may reseve your self whos absence gives a soletarynes : to all inioyments with my true love I rest Your afectionate wiffe my mothers love to you & my Brother with mine Ree : Taylor * Stow died in 1605, but the "Survey" was continued by Strype. J AN EPI L Ooritiin oil f/(i Uaiiiepajid ms noST feNDEARBD ;■ COKS'^iRT. ^1 COI COROjMA'I\ 'i J ii^AicTi Of 7uYxl^£ of III ffeinisf^ Jiboiub ivi'tfi afPtiie X'^Qf - ^&Jl-""'tl! PJIof iff, lleuCK fc/ofc you iiiouf loia-G^ni aJP your )U»y£f, aJi'b.Miii onh'e, K I FROM RICHARD SHERBROOKE TO HIS WIFE. William Taylor the Daiitzic Man. — Correspondence. 151 The original of tliis letter is in tlie possession of my cousin, H. T. Taylor, '647^?' East Ham, Essex. The father and mother of Rebecca Sherbrooke were married at Hackney, 19th January 1646-47. The following records of them will be read with interest. The original of the " Epithalamy " (see p. 150) is curiously emblazoned and coloured. Richard Sherbrooke was born 1600, died 1676; Rebecca, his wife, born 1628, died 1697. Here follow two letters from Richard Sherbrooke to his wife, dated respectively eight and seventeen years after their marriage, then a letter of condolence on her husband's death in 1676, by a friend, Mr Chancy, and on opposite page an autotype of one dated 1654. {^No address; — From Richard SJicrbrooke to /lis wife] Deare wife passinge by the Cariers on my journey I left these to Convay my love unto you, former experiences of Gods mercies gives me hope that wee shall meete againe in comforte to our selves & childeren, but if the Lord shall by his wise & good providence order it soe as wee may never see one another more in the flesh wee must give God the glorie & bless his name, let me have your prayers that the Lord woidd soe bless my indeavors that I may setle those affaires I goe aboute as may be for the benefit of you & your childeren, & I shall have my desire, the paine in my hand & shoulder is quite gon (blessed be God) my lugg is sumwhat sore but not soe much sweld, I hope my iorney will doe me good, I thanke you for all )Our Care, I wish I did deserve it, but you must take Complacency that you are y" best deservinge, while I pore wretch goe burthened w'" a bad hart & unruly lusts w'" I must be content to undergoe tiU the Lord of his mercy dismantle my soule & set it free from this bondage of Coruption the good Lord bless you & be a sure defence unto you & inable you to warr a good warrfare & bringe you to his hevenly kingdom w'*' is the dayly prayer of your unworthy husband Weald this iSth of r,ch : Sherbrooke August 1663 Nanny is my cheefe companion scarce ever from me sometimes her company is burthensom but her prate is not unpleasante. all the rest are well Dicke is here at present [No date— Mr Chancy to Mrs Rebecca Slierbrookei] flTor My Hon'" fifreind M" Rebeckah sherbrook These Mr Chancy | .\ftcr my dear Father's death- j [^fo„/ ,676] Good Mrs Sherbrook I am not a litle sensible of y' great greif you must needs have sustained in y' incomparable losse of yo' Dcare & honoured father ; y' Good Lord support you under it ; sure lis some of the hardest work * Anno i6;6. 152 William Taylor the Dantzic Man.— Correspondence. of faith to suck honey out of such gall, & to behold love & fatherly tendernesse in such wounding stroakes ; I doubt not but your full confidence of his happy estate, & your owne hopes of entering into y= same pi" ere long hath wel qualified yo' spirit under this dispensation God hath not left him w-out a plentifuU reward of his integrity even on earth; his name is as a precious oyntment; his memory exceedinc. precious; gave him to see the blessings of the covenant taking hold on his children, & hath at length taken him to y' rest w=" he hath prepared for all his owne people : all w^- may not only comfort his relations (how deeply soever concerned in his death) under y= losse, but incourage y" to tread in his steps y' soe they may inherit y= same blessings w"' himself: I trust tis yo' comfort f you have a father w"- can never dye, & if y= losse of yo' Dear earthly father, hath driven you to cleave more closely to yo' heavenly, & to cleare up yo' interest in him, you w" have cause to blesse God for such a providence I was heartily glad to speak w* one y' had seen you, (viz a woman y' lives here in Bristoll) but sorry to hear of yo' crazy, sickly disposition of body ; I wish I w' able in any thing to advise you ; but I know you are amidst far more able councell : but I think m generall your body is not fit for much physick, and I have observed y' y= Gentlest physick hath still disturbed you; you know Culpeppers three Doctors w'" I advise you to repair unto viz D' Diet D' Quiet & D' Mem- man these w" cure all yo' bodily raaladyes, & for any other I advise you to a more y° humane phisician. I thank you for your lines inclosed in M' Sherbrooks ; & for y' receipt of y' Eyewater; As to my self (though I have met w'" some troubles w'" would be too long to relate) yet I am through mercy in health and my practise reasonable; would setle if y= Lord shewed me a way, if you can advise mee to a comfortable companion [ . . . ] be noe small favour; I long to hear of you: I cannot but sympathiz exceedingly w" your good old mother in her great losse : I pray give her my respects & service, y= like to yo' good sisters & take y' same your self tliis is all at present fro him who corn- ends you to y= Lord & is yo' unfeigned freind and servant JoH : Chauncy y The following letters are of some interest. The first is a portion of a letter giving an account of a great storm, evidently from the widow of Richard Sher- brooke to her daughter, second wife of the Dantzic Man. {From Rebecca Sherbrooke to her daughter Rebecca Taytor.] For M' Taylor at Warly in esex thes St mary Ax i6So may the 20 Dear Daughter In my last I forgott to give you an acount of the great storme I onely se it through the glas at Pinners Hall : but sofishenly heard it : it ratled in the Are : and fell at first by degres the gretest part about the bignes of a nutmeg : but intermixed with a bundance as big as eggs : som biger, som wer Long som round & squar hard & Ise : many waide after taken up in to hot hands a ounce, som more coz John Thorald saw one & a Gent man a nother wayed 4 ounces a pece many 7 inches a bout som more : your Brother & my Naibours wondred what was coming thay palted upon the stons & shed and a gainst the hous : thay all say as if a hand had thrown them brooke seuerall pames of my windoes : besids great raine and thunder : god is terible in his Judgments how should we fear be fore him : a Raven flying cros the thames had the wing brook & took up in a boat : som had thair heads brook one cam to se me tould me a Gent man he saw had his hat of complementmg to a nother : and a hail stone sudeniy came & broke his head by rasing down flesh and haire together : thes warnings calls for cencer repentans Lord grant I nor mine may not put it of till the eviU day FROM MRS REBECCA SHERBROOKE TO HER NIECE DOROTHY CRISPE. iail'ilu 6' ''4pc"Jn li^ina^cio-kf ktrounl d ixCiiqli-fs H ;irfu,'l^_^/ft Pear M.-j'sr-M^ /w^^'M./. 2i} lOUl in dl IVilliam Taylor tlie Dantzic Man. — Correspondence. 153 corns : that god may be bringin to try his people by : keep does to god by constant praing to him, 1647-170 reading his word meditating of his promises and his infenet Love in prouiding such a sauire as Jesus Christ our Lord. whom by his parfect righteousnes haith fulfilled his Law, and by his sufferinges satisfied his Justis for the breach and left us this worke that we beleive on him whom God haith sent ; keep his commandements : and love them that have his imag : and commanded us to repent that our smns may be blotted out when the time of refreshing shall com from the presence of the Lord : and haith purchased gras for us to perform r from his fullnes we all reciue : whom giiies hbaraly and upbraideth none : and will cast out none coms to him for he came to call the sinor a physician to the sick. to heall that that is broken to fetch back that is driuen away whom will not squench the snioak- ing fla.^: nor break the bruised reed till he bring forth Judgment unto victory We have two more letters from the old lady — the former * to Dorothea Crisp, her great-niece, and sister to Anne Crisp, who subsequently married William Taylor of South Weald ; the latter, without date or address left, appears below ; and then comes the notice of Mrs Sherbrooke's death in i697,tcontained in a letter from Henry Sherbrooke, her son, to William Taylor. These follow in due order, together with several others by H. S. A likeness of Dorothea Crisp will be found p. 166; she died unmarried. \No address ; no date — From Rebecca Shcrbrooke to one of her daii^hters. From a toini letter in her handwriting^ I know not in what you should so reflect upon yourself : as if by your care you could a hindred gods purpos : had she binn in the midst of a forest the Lord could a sent the same : you might more a blamed your self if you liad sent them away : when gods hand was so faforable to one if it was them she had : & this child should a binn thus in a nother plase ; she was a butyfull flower so was her sistur Doll : & twise as near death in mans apprehention as this : I perciue she is a object full of sorrow to you : but what a flebite is that deformite of her prity fase : to the deformety sinn makes upon a soull : you may comfort yair self as to her eternall stait : her soull being free from that gilt Longer years contract : & the infenet Love of god in providing a redemor to fre her from onganall sinn whom in the day of his humilation on erth manefested his Love to children & has put m our harts a great tendernes to all such : it coms in my minde to night for slep I have not much, how my to prity bedfellows said oft to me if we beleve in Christ we shall be saved & hanah askt me what it was to be saved & both had a greter senc then many biger we know not how the Lord efects the harts of children we may reioyce in thes good words I have herd them both uter. I thinck she is much as the quen was : doe what you cann & the Lord inable you to submit to him your trialls is great : as to your parting with your children : but this is from the Lord he knows best what to do with his own : tho a long sicknes in frinds doth somthing wain of our desir of thair continued Lifes in misery : yet to them selfs its more betor if the will of god be so to have a shorter time : I was reading not Long before your Letor came the first of the theselonians 4 : but I would not Iiave you to be ignorant brethren concarning them which are a sleep : that ye sorrow not even as others that have noe hope : for if we beleeve that Jesus died & rose again : even so them allso that slep in Jesus will god bring with him : read out, the rest : and take the Apostles advise to comfort one a nother with thes words : I right thus far in Bed thinckin Ned might goe a bout the bundle so to cary this to send to morrow ... I e.\pect Renals to night or in the morning . . . mother Ree : S • Sec autotype on opposite page, t Sec p. 688. 154 William Taylor the Dantzic Man. — Correspondence. 1647-1707. \_From Henry Sherbvooke to William Taylor?^ For M' W'"- Taylor These In Southweald near Burntwood Bro: Taylor. About 6 . thi.5 afternoon it pleased God to take to liimselfe his faithful! Servant my dear and ever honoured mother. she was sensible almost to the Last, about 10 . in the morning she began to grow cold but not much different from what she was yesterday . about 3 . she lay with her eyes some Time fixed up to Heaven, & we thought she was then expiring . but she Turned on her syde & lay slumbering till she resigned her soul to her Creator through the merrits of her Saviour in whome she allways firmely trusted & waited for that blessed Change, where no more sorrow trouble or Sick- ness encompasses her, but is enjoying the fruits of her prayers & earnest supplication to the Throne of grace, may all we that know her Labour to fight tlie good fight & finish our Course as she has don that so we may all attain that blessed Resurrection which will be to those that walk according to the rule of our blessed Redeemer my dear mother has according to her ability, bestowed that small portion God gave her to her Children. To you she has given Tenn pound for mourning, to my sister one hundred & fifty pounds to buy mourning for her selfe & Children— and those goods & things that she had in f house . a Diamond jewell' & sillver bason & to ray two Cousins Rebecha & Ann, the 200 . that is in their names on the survivorship fund. we designe to bury my mother in Great St Hellens Church London by my father according to her will-and that on Thursday next. we desire (knowing you & my sister cannot come That my two Cousins may come up Rebecha & Ann & also Edw" Crispe & my Coun Johny. & if you have a minde to y' son Daniel they must come to morrow if possible that they may have tlieir Cloths ready to perform the Last Service & Duty to their Tender Gran.l- mother. we are all blessed be God well but full of sorrow for the Loss of soe indulgent a mother, but blessed be God who has continwd her so Long for his glory & our Comforts. I hope sister got well downe I am Your ever Loving Brother Henry Sherbroukk Ffryday night 30 April! [1697] Saturday morn I have notliing more to add. but if you send up )-our horse Robbin may bring him It will not be out of his way to leave hhn at M' Skiffs at the flying horse just without Bishops gate for m' Russel but you must write direction {^From Henry Shcrbrooke to Dorothy Crisp. '\ Ffor M'= Dorothe Crispe I pray delever with Care sojorning at Mr Taillors In Essex Sepul-' 5. 7''=' 97 Dear Neice As we went up Oak Hill I enquired for you as wanting you in the Coach but when came to Stratford I found I wanted you more, for Askeing Molly for Her Box & garment it could not be HENRY SHERBROOKE. B. 1650, D. 1721. William Taylor the Daiitzic Man. — Coyycspojidcnce. 155 found— now I had bid mealcin talve it out of the Coach fearing they should be slipped away & 1^47-1707. molly says she spoke to my other neeces, that the things might not be forgotten — : when molly could not finde them in the Coach Quoth I what shall we doe now. why says she I i^annot goe to school without them. Her care to go in the Coach by her selfe might I thought make her forgett them. & probably ray neeces concern for Mad'" Hesters sickness might overwhelm their Thoughts — Soe all are pardonable at this rate, but besides things relating to molly there are goods appertaining to my selfe . which hope are not Lost good heads would have retreived the first error by sending them after us 3 Rumford Coach : Well : I ever found & Learn I pray ? my experience . that much Ceremony Complim" & state . dependance & Attendance . doe more Hurt then good when I had the baggage behinde me the luggage before me or on my Arme— all was well & went well but now you see whd comes on't. the future manag' of those things that may have them again I desire you'l undertake for can trust your prudence & Conduct in w='' 1 dare say you Surmount your good grand- moth' Crisp & may equalize her in knowledg & vertue So that may conclude He that findeth you will finde a good Thing for you'l be a Crown to your husband . & his Heart may safely trust in you— findeing in you all those propertys that Solomon's mother Bathsheba tould him would be in a good wife as you know is in the last of the proverbs. but Alas where's the man, the man that deserves— but Hold . I remember great part of this charact' was attributed to JA" Morris & right enough for t'was by her father & she was dear & Comely in his eyes & besides she did seek wool & flax, girded her loyns with strength . & sett her hands to the spindle & distaff, & t'was Roberts fault that he is not known in the Gates nor setts among the elders of the Land, pray Remember me to f hon"^ mother & tell her Dixon was here . & M'" Lane says will come again the end of the weeke. He showed her some mony in a bagg. shee says t'was very Little, for news I must refer you to the publick prints & remain none of the Least that can write my selfe f unkle H. S. The next are two letters to Mrs Rebecca Taylor, widow ot the Dantzic Man, from her brother Henry Sherbrooke ; then one from the same Henry Sherbrooke to his niece Dorothy Crisp. On the outside of this letter is noted a little domestic incident : — " 5 May set Y lien." [From Henry Shei-brooke to his sister Mrs Rebecca Taytor.~\ To m" Reb''^ Taylor at Her House in Southweald near Burntwood Essex. Dearest Sister Ever since it pleased God to take from us my much beloved nephew & namesake I have had in my thoughts to write to you a consolatory Epistle, fearing least overmuch sorrow might overwhelm you, as It has don on other occations but the many cares & distractions that every day produced, prevented my Intentions, I hope you have not stood in need of any comfort that any relation or object of this deceitfull world can give you, they are all but broken Cisterns that will afford you little r none, our blessed saviour told us that in the world wee should have trouble, but in him wee should nave grace, that He is our peace, such peace as the world cannot give but Blessed be God that no Trouble or affliction hath yet taken you, but what is common, and which is agreeable to his fatherly love & dispensations to the best of his servants : if He had, you must consider that He does not willingly afflict or grclve the children of men— that it is for our good & is to wean us from 156 WiUiaiii Taylor the Dantzic Man. — Coyrespondencc. 1647 1707, this world to bring us to place our thoughts & affections on a better state, when Jonah delighted much in his gourd, it caused it to be eaten by a worm & wither, when wee rely much on this or tlie other Object, it pleases God to deprive us of them, that we may place our trust & Confi- dence on him and make us consider that as He gave us tliose Comforts & blessings, and is the author of Every good thing wee Enjoy, so they are at his disposal, and when He takes them from us, we should be satisfied wee have had them long enough, & to have them Longer would be to our prejudice you should have your thoughts enlarged on the bright part of gods goodness unto you & not be allways reflecting on the Dark side of his dealings it has pleased God to be wonderfully good to you & yours He has blessd you with many hopeful! children & many remain with you this day when many others either have none or bad ones, or one hopefuU one & that snatcht away, many Instances of this there are God has jjrovided for you food & raiment & kept you in all the way you have gon, that you nor y" have wanted House or home or firiend or Conveniencys, when thousands are destitute of the Common blessings of this life, have not bread to satisfy their hunger, nor a hole to put their heads in are pushd & driven from parish to parish, a burden to themselves & Every one Else & which is worse many spend their sad & disconsolate days & nights under great afflictions from without & from within, in need of help & flriends but find none, and others Lye in prison Dungeons are in Cap- tivity & gaily slaves, having cruel and unmerciful! Tormentors & none to pity tliera. These things are daily obvious to those that walk the streets and Converse in the world. if you reflect even on this Last dispensation of God to you you may observe that his goodness to you therein has been very great and distinguishing. that He should preserve y' son from many dangers, & perils by sea & Land and bring him home to his native Country and to y' house, that He might have all necessarys, & depart this world in the arms of his freinds & relations and be buried with his kinred, when He might have perished in the wide sea, or have come to some violent death by the hand of a Turk or Lifedell and no body ever been able to report the cause or manner unto you as it is the case of many. and if it had pleased God to have continued him longer in the world what enjoyment could he have had more then he had. He had past the most valuable part of his life, the rest would have been but a state of Care sorrow & vexation. You know not (and it is well you dont) the snares tryals Temptations difficultys and disappointm'^ those that traffick in the world do meet with Espesially tliose that have occation to seek their bread, & probably be forced to go to Egypt for sustenance if wee consider our own lives what are we the better for having lived so long, or what benefit do wee make of a new day beeing adiied to our lives, the same Care & trouble attends it as did our former life, it is but a repetition of what is past & there will not be many of those days before an eternal! night will come upon us. had Adam lived till last night & then dyed what would his long life have advantaged him this is not a place of rest, and if in this life onely we had hope we should be miserable, as Job says one dyeth in his full strength beeing wholly at Ease & quiet another dyeth in the bitterness of his soul &: never Eateth with pleasure, they shall go down alike to the pit, and the worm shall cover them and every man shall draw after them as there is innumerable before them our fathers and the generation before us are gon, and wee are halting apace, & the next age will soon follow us, and how many ages there are more to succeed God onely knows, the world it selte has not been of any long duration, that doth perish & decay, and that and all the works therein will ere Long be burnd up. Blessed be god that has provided a rest for Ills people that our blessed saviour is entred into that rest, and has told us that wliere He is there wee shall be allso, has encouraged us to run the race set before us with patience what little reason then liave wee to lament for those that have runn their race sooner then wee, and are entred into rest, wee should not mourn as those without hope, but be comforting our selves & one another with the gracious promises of our saviour, & be encouraged by the Examples of the many worthies that have gon before us ; that despised this world, that were tortured and not accept deliverance that tliey miglit obtain a better resurrection as you may read William Taylor the Daiitsic Man. — Correspondence. 157 in the ii"" Hebrews may wee tlierefore unfeignedly and from our souls bless God for all the blessings 1647-1707. and good things we enjoy in this our pilgrimage, and if He [. . .] or takes from us any comforts say with Job shall we receive good things from god & not EviU (as we may think) for naked we came into this world & naked shall we return but let not our hope be onely in this life, but to be made partakers of that glory which shall be revealed in the Life to come, where all Tears shall be wiped away and no more sorrow or sighing, which is the Earnest prayer of him who is y' most affectionate & loving Brother H. Shererooke I thank you for your apples w='' have lasted sound & good till almost now and for the ring you sent me, whose memory would have been preserved without it. I did design to send you my mothers fine wrought Couch by him that brings up Cos" Taylors goods, but am told you'l not receiue it I would have a good freind have it, that values my dear mothers work kind love to neices Sse])ulchrees 29. March 17 15 [Hauy Sherbrookc to his niece Dorothy Crisp.'] To M™ Dorothy Crispe at Cowpers on weald side Common near Burntwood p Amicum Essex London i December 1715 Dear Neice I rec'' your kind present of a briaw pig, which was heartily eat & thanks drank round to the founder ; it is well some ffriends are left that doe not Slight or forget others, one may pretend great respect to another & to have his friend & his affairs much at heart (as the Late queen had those of Hanover & her Allyes) when no matter of fact does ever appear. But you, I thank you, by a generous Overt act has made your kind Litentions manifest Flnends have need to stand by assist and encourage each other what in them lyes, if they consider what one & tiie other is lyable too. In this worlds pilgrimage all of us are to expect to meet many Conflicts from Enemys without & within, real & imaginary, there are evill men & variety of Diseases, there are unruly passions & inbred Corruptions there are foreboding & disquieting thoughts, there are vain projects & wild Imaginations, there are fruitless Cares &: immoderate desires and there is super- added the great Enemy to our Souls the Devill It has pleased our great Creator & heavenly father for many great & wise reasons (many unknown to us) to permit our frail natures to be thus assaulted, it may be to try our faith and patience, it may be to make us sensible of our own frailty that wee may the more rely & depend on his grace & assistance ; it may be to make us reflect on our past Life of our affecting vanitys & trifles and to make us more Serious in matters of greater Import, it may be to mortify our affections to the things of this Life & this world & to make us desire & groan after a better state, & to love him truly & sincerely above all, who ought to be the onely object of our Love, for whom have we in heaven but him or on Earth to be desired in Comparison of him tis no more then what our blessed saviour has told us, that in the world we should have trouble, but in him wcc should have peace, such peace as the world cannot give, may we therefore make it our cheif Care to be getting an Interest in him to make our calling & Election sure, then tho the Earth be moved, the powers & works therein bee all on fire, & the whol system of matter be dissolved wee shall Lift up our heads with Joy, knowing in wliom »e have believed & that we shall ever be with him in a blessed Eternity. Amen Amen. 158 JVilliani Taylor of South I Tea hi. 1647-1-07. M' Meade, good man, beeing afflicted witli shortness of breath & a great cold is gon with wife & maid to stoke newington (where his Dear Babe dyed) for to Ease him thereof. I talie this Time & every oportunity to settle your matters, which shall be proceeding on with all diligence beeing allways very desirous to see your matters terminated knowing the necessity thereof. I never see none of my nephews, I have called once & again at Q Stiuare oftner at Cousin Tailors, beeing more in my way & the Company for so long as I stay more delightfuU : I was at Biggen neare a month to assist what I could, but things runn Crossly there, it cannot be helped. I should be glad to see sister Taylor & you but things will not permit, I do all ways remember you in my prayers that God would bless means for your health if it be his will, & direct us all in his fear. I hope neice Anna is better & wish when see her it may be so. She is one I love well. Tell her JI' Smothy in his prayer used to say, twas better to be on a sick bed praying to God then in health & sinning against him, may wee all experience that our chastizements come from our heavenly father & that it is good for us to be afflicted, am glad hear from you & am y' Lo. imk H. S. Son Richard & I am companions cheifly. am glad to see a nephew, if it could bee. knaves will be knaves still, but affairs go well, the Rebells are routed & in Captivity, and great forces are on the way to join the Duke of Argyle, against perjured Mar & the rest of the pretenders Rebells in the farthest jjarts of Scotland, pray for their success nephews when see you will advise the rest vali The last glimpse we get of the widow is in the following memorandum. She died, as has been said, in 1723, and was buried in the church. We the Minister & Churchwardens of the Parish of Southweald do hereby appoint M" Rebecca Taylor & Her Family, Widow, to sitt in that Pew adjoining to the Reading-Desk & Pulpitt, newly erected at her own proper costs & charges. Witness our hands this 29"' day of December in y' year i7rS. Ralph Bridges Vicar John Alridge Church Worden Rob : Bullythorpe It is worth noting, however, that her family, or some of them, appear to have presently left the church, as the name of Henry Sherbrooke appears on the minutes at Carter Lane Chapel as a member of the congregation from 1748 to 1 766. Passing now from the family records of the Turners and Sherbrookes, we come to the successor of William Taylor the Dantzic Man, viz. :— XL— William Taylor of South Weald, as we shall call him, to distinguish him from the many others of that name in the family. He was the only child of the Dantzic Man's first wife, Dorothy Turner, and was born at Totteridge, in Hertfordshire, on the 7th of December 1673. As we have already seen, his mother died in giving him birth, and his grand- mother, Dorothy Turner, had charge of him till the second marriage of his father, with Rebecca Sherbrooke, in 1676, when he was three years old. From this time we have literally no glimpse of his whereabouts or doings till 1689-90, when a FROM HENRY SHERBROOKE TO HIS SISTER (WIDOW OF D ANT Z 10 MAN.) ■10 ;5.V//- Ccj/l^JZ c^r^Z/rl^. ..'^f/rX ^70^*7 /)(^ f'!^^ loA^!>^ j^/r i^,'z.^ii/j'}2^v^ ic'-i'/vf cT/f^ '//eJ fim^ ^'kj/Z'^ ^^^^^^^ ^ D //hail «'- .^..^^M^'^/^^^^ ^^^^^^ .-^.,,^,^1 (f^^^/^^-yC ^^J^™' ..J'L^'^ ^A:^^A.^A,K^;^..-a . I I'Villiain Taylor of South Wcahi. 159 letter by his father was addressed to him while living in London with his uncle 1673-1750. Sherbrooke, probably soon after his leaving home. A facsimile of this letter will be found on opposite page ; it is the only letter extant written by the Dantzic Man. We do, however, get a glimpse of him personally in the likeness on the oppo- site page, taken, I suppose, from its appearance, when he was about eight or ten. It seems natural to suppose, that up to that time he was living at South Weald with his father and his father's new connections. From 1689-90, when we have found him in business in London, to the time of his marriage in 1699, we may fairly suppose that, with other members of his family, he lived for His places of 1 • T 1 r T • r residence. the most part m London, for the convenience of carrymg on his business, but that frequent visits were paid to the old house at South Weald, probably with more or less frequency according to the season of the year. Indeed, the distance being only some twenty miles, one may easily imagine them paying a weekly visit from Saturday to Monday during the long days of summer. It is pleasant to find that, years after his marriage, he and his family paid long visits to South Weald ; indeed, his relations with his half brothers and sisters seem, so far as it is possible to judge, always to have been of the most friendly and intimate description. I shall have more to say of this presently. We find evidence in the family accounts that he lived there for some months at a time. Under date December 20. I 70S, there is this item : — W" Taylor D' To Rdf- Taylor Ex': for his and family's board from loth June 170S to the loth December 170S And again, in June 17 10 — for board of himself and family from the 10"' Dec' 170S to the 26'^ June 1710 as per a/c made and p' ...... . ^109 14 o A picture of Weald life willj be found in a poem, p. 207. The possibility of his lie «-.is perhaps iiaving been intended for the Church has already been suggested, but it really awd"' ^" rests upon no stronger foundation than the purchase of the advowson of Hornden by his father and his uncle Sherbrooke. If such intention ever existed, it was very early relinquished, as in the following year, and when he was but sixteen or seventeen years old, we find him installed in business in London. Not knowing whether the idea was ever really entertained, we can still less guess at the cause of its abandonment. There would seem to be evidence that he had a better education than was perhaps usually given to lads intended to go into business at probably fourteen years of age; and the letter of his father already referred to reads as though he had but lately gone into his uncle's office— that is, two or three years later than Educn.on. the usual time for entering on apprenticeship. Now just at this time, as the 1 60 IVilliam Taylor of Soittli IVcald. 1673-1750. Probable change in liis carger oil Mrs Turner's death. " Sergeant Pen- gelly." letter shows, his grandmother Turner had died. The hypothesis might be set up, and, without putting much weight to it, it is not without some plausibility, that the Turner influence had been thrown on the side of the religious profession, while that of the Sherbrookes may have naturally inclined towards trade. If there is anything in this theory, the fact of the change at that period is explained. Certain it is that he appears to have felt considerable interest in theological questions, as we find him in 1695 engaged in a correspondence with Thomas Pengelly (the label by Henry Taylor of Banstead describes him as "Sergeant" Pengelly). They " reasoned high " " Of Providence, foreknowledge, will and fate, Fi.\'d fate, free will, foreknowledge absolute." I think I may add — "And found no end; in wandering mazes lost." I give a few extracts, as not without interest in respect either of matter or style, especially when considered in connection with the writings of his son, whose works as a controversial theologian stand deservedly high. This Sergeant Pengelly is identical, there can be no moral doubt, with Sir Thomas Pengelly, who was appointed Lord Chief-Baron in 1726. He died in 1730, leaving a bequest of ^100 to Henry Taylor. He is referred to by William Taylor in a letter to his son (p. 1S3) as "my best friend and your generous patron." * Their mutual expressions of affection and respect are of the warmest (not to say, rnost extravagant) description. William Taylor begins one of his letters by saying — I am Glad to see what I wrote in my former Confirmed in most peniculers by so good .\utliority as yours. I shall esteem it standard, since warranted with that stamp. The only thing you seem cautious in Assenting to. Is what in mine I took for granted viz That there is no reason for any man enstated in happiness to be discontent or melancholy At y" everlasting misery of one who has been dear to him in this world. Now tho I must confess I am rather Inclined to beleive y« Affirmative yet will not engage for its truth or enter it an article of my faith but only endeavour a Further dis- covery & submit to reason but tis by discourse & application of thoughts that things are brought to a clearer light & truth discovered from error. I desire to have as Gratefull acknowledgem'' and as large Apprehension of The divine philan- thropy as any one yet I dont remember any warrant for y= extension of it to the damned. The scripture abounds in expressions of God's love to undeserving man even when there was no eye to pitty or hand to help nothing to plead in his favour but God was mercifull because he would be mercifuU but then All this mercy this long Suffering this Goodness of God extends but to this life its end & its design being to lead to repentance And if it miss obtaining this Gracious End it only adds fuell to his inflamed Anger. There remains nothing but a dreadlull looking for of Judgement & vengeance * The following appears in a Codicil to his Will dated 30"' Oct. 1729:— "To [ ] Taylor the son of M' ■William Taylor whom I have assisted to support at Cambridge one hundred pounds." IVilliain Taylor of South IVcald. i6i from that God who then becomes a consuming fire tis enough to damp the resohition to Strike a 1673-1750. Trembling into the heart of the boldest Sinne/ to consider this one text " I will laugh at your Destnic- tion & mock when y' fear Cometh." etc. etc I have reserv'd myself to another aim w''' is to consider y' notion of God's prescience w=" attribute I find you are sollictous to maintaine tho at the expense of all his others. In straining it to an eternall decree whereby a Good man is Justified & a bad man condemned from Eternity to all eternity. For if his knowing a man shall be damn'd does damn him then does his knowing a man shall sin cause him to sin & so god becomes the author of Sin & after damns us for what himself did. There is no more reason to beleive that a man's damnation is decreed from all eternity than that every single action is so For God's foreknowledge is alike in respect of both But now you'l say ev^ry clown can spy a crooked furrow but where's the man can plow a straite one that I have been all this while usurping phaps to great a Freedom upon what has but escap'd y' pen (for I'm sure 'tis not your deliberate opinion) & lay down nothing of my own w* I shall now do that I may avoid y° imputation of Censorious Critick in pulling others by y" hair und' y" prerogation of my own boldness & making my defects y= means of escaping a requitaU. Tis no doubt Atheistcall to deny God's prescience & it is Sceptical! to draw such conclusions from it as make him contradict his own being & declared word. In this point like that of the Trinity & Incarnation when wee cannot allways Fathome the bottom we must be very cautious of entertaining Such opinions as Clasii or Interfere w'" known truths What falls under our Certainty must not be -relinquish for y" Sake of an objection w"' at present wee can neither repell or reconcile to it. Of this point in hand it is easier to Give a Negative then positive definition &: tell what it not extend to then how far it does I must confess the more I pore upon it & let my meditations Sink into it the deeper I finil it & myself farther from Satisfaction & am sorry I have spent so many thoughts already upon it. For the finding out shorter ways to heaven does but lengthen y= old one & make it more perplex'd and difficult Whatsoever is Eternall swallows up our thoughts it would loose its nature could it fall under our comprehension This wee know that w"' out holiness and purity of heart none shall see God (that is w"" Comfort) Tis by patient continuance in Well doing that entitles us to a Glorious immortality there are certaine virtuous dispositions w='' are Conditions and Qualifications of our hapiness and God has made it impossible to be happy w"' out them. Now could man persuade himself that he is decreed to be happy from all eternity then it follows that [ . . . ] he beleive (iod to be true to his own decree will some time or other work in him Those necessary preparations and on y' contrary if he has not then all his endeavours after them will be vain & to no purpose. To what end says he is watching preying & striving against a corrupt nature since if I'm destin'd for heaven irrestibly make me Good and fit me for it if not all endeavours will be fruitless I may ply y= oar to Stem y' tide of a degenerate nature but if I'm predestinated for misery God will never further w"' that Gale from heaven w* out w* I shall never succeed. Now there cant be a greater Argument against a holy life then this opinion. In one letter he discusses the question — whether in another world we shall love our old Friends with an extraordinary love or whether we shall love all in a like degree. There Seems to be two Questions but I think what Solves the former will answer y' latter— but I shall not pretend to positiveness in the case but onlv ofTer some considerations for you & myseh'e to make a further enquiry into. We may in the first place conseder that all externall advantages of giving and receiving love will then cease & those curtious civil & oblidging arts & charms w''' now endear us to one anothers affections will then vanish and togeather with them all The degrees of Love they have created in us Now the eye the ear & every sence drinks in Love a free and unaffected Aire an ingenuous o])en con- versation, agreeable Genius years features or address and 100 other circumstances recommend us to one anothers bosoms. Those outward occurrences administer fuell to encrease the flame impregnate fancy w''' is fruitfull of y* image of Love even to Superfetation. but in another world all this Sensative love shall disappear And only that remaine w" is of a Spirituall and intellectual nature, etc. etc .... -■Ml this epitoniis'd or rather morallized may mean that there is not a faculty of my soul w'' is not desirous tho unworthy to be your vassal] ready to Uke the oaths 5: swear you Fealty and that X 1 62 JViUiain Tayiot' of South IVcald. ■673-1-50. too not as acted by any base or ignoble principle but following the strongest and noblest motive — as can command obedience from a Rationall Creature L,OVE Tis this that give so uncontrolled an admission to y' recesses of my brest Sleep w''' locks up the cinqports of my sences to all externali objects locks you in and makes you my prisoner & sometimes I enjoy you more then than when awake Justifying y= saying of an antient father when the 5 windows are shut the house is fullest of light etc. etc Yet the good we have mutually done one another may as it has given us a greater resemblance to God be a reason to encrease our loves to a more Seraphick flame, And who can resemble God so much as my ffriend who is there that can advise w'" so much authority or reprove w"' so much freedome and so little offence whose example shall I so readily coppy as his whom I love for love is naturally prompt in imitation and endeavours not a likeness only but a Union or Identity w* y' beloved person Who so acquainted w"" my heart as he is ? and besides him who can look an indecent thought out of countenance to whose injunctions but his do I put off prejudice and put on the humility & willingness of a learner Whose frowns do I so much fear as his whose smiles I am so fond off In short none can have that influence over our moralls to determine them to good or evill as a Friend has. I-'riendsliip with As this is not a memoir of the Pengellys," I will not quote the letters of his * The following particulars, however, are not without interest. They are from " A Biographical Dictionary of the Judges of England from the Conquest to the present time, 1066-1870. By Edward Foss, F.S.A., uf the Inner Temple." ''Pm^elly Thomas, is said by tradition to owe his origin to an illicit amour of the Protector, Richard Cromwell. This story seems principally to be founded on the fact that Pengelly showed uncommon zeal in a suit between Richard and his daughters, and that the Protector died in Pengelly's house at Cheshunt. That this parentage was credited in his own times appears probable from the sly answer given by a witness to his question, how long a certain way through Windsor Park had been so used. 'As far back as the time of Richard Cromwell.' The Register states his birth to have taken place in Moorfields on May 16, 1675, and records him as the son of Thomas Pengelly, who in the son's admission to the Inner Temple is described of Finchley, Middlesex ; but who this father was is nowhere explained. He was called to the bar in 1700, and was dignified in the coif in 1710. Elected member for Cockermouth in both the Parliaments of George I., he was in the latter one of the managers in the impeachment of the Earl of Macclesfield, and undertook the duty of replving to that nobleman's defence. In a long and laboured harangue he with great ability and force answered all the legal points raised by the earl, and with more harshness than was requisite aggravated the offences with which he was charged. At this time he was the King's prime Serjeant, to which he had been appointed on June 24, 1719, having been knighted in the previous month, and in this character he, with the other law officers of the crown, had the conduct of the indictment of Christopher Laver for high treason in conspiring against the King in 1722, very ably and efficiently performing his duty in that important trial. On October 16, 1726, he was appointed chief baron of the exchequer. He presided in that court for four years and a half, and during that time he exhibited that patience and firm- ness, as well as legal knowledge and discrimination, by which a good judge is distinguished. He fell a victim to the cruel and disgusting manner in which prisoners were treated in that age. Travelling the Western Circuit, some culprits were brought before him from Ilchester for trial at Taunton, the stench from whom was so bad that an infection was spread which caused the death of some hundreds of persons. Among them was the lord chief baron, who died at Blandford on April 14, 1730- He was considered when at the bar a florid speaker and bold advocate, though perhaps at times too vehement. Steele's quibble on his name,-' As Pen is the Welsh for head, gudt is the Dutch for money, which with the English syllable ly, taken together, expresses one who turns his head to lye for money'— must be wholly disregarded as it was prompted by anger at having the license of his theatre taken away. As a judge he held a high reputation for his learning and his equal distribution of justice ; and m his private character he was esteemed for his probity and cheerfulness. His charity was not confined to his life, for by his will he lett a considerable sum for the discharge of prisoners confined for debt." Oa this matter Colonel Chester adds :-" I have read the Will of Rich'"- Cromwell (the Protector) dated I Julv 1712, and proved 29 Aug. 1712. The only mention of the Pengellys is as follows :—' Item I give and bequeath to mv good friend M" Rachell Pengelly widow, the sum of ten pounds to buy her mourning and I also give to her my little picture with the gold chain that belongs to it and that 1 had used to wear, with it.' I am afraid the question whether Sir Thomas was a natural son, of the Protector must remain an open one, but I think the evidence is strongly suggestive of it." See Appendix, p. 683. lyUlimn Tayloy of Soiifli JJ'cald. friend, except the following passage, to sliow the warmth with which the attach- ■■'73-i7 ment of William Taj'lor was reciprocated : — S' I received yours of 23'' May & the supplemental! sheet of this month w"' open armcs & hug'd f welcome paper as Iiatroducive to a Blisse I so earnestly long'd for, the Renovation of our Litterall comerce no female, no, not of y' most sanguine complexion could w"' greater joy behold y= person that first unty'd her virgin zone, than that w^'" I was fiU'd upon y' first view of y' grateful sight ; such a deluge of pleasure drown'd my soul at tlie receipt of y= i" part that had you not parcell'd out ray happiness by dividing y' epistle into moityes & detaining one halfe, it never would have emerg'd ; so that I may venture to say you were really kind in abridging me of a Delight, whicli yett taken in too great an excess might have had a fatall effect : a sudden & excessive joy has had a melancholy conclusion ; wee soonest surfeit on y' most delicious daintyes : the Light of the sun is pleasing to y= eye in a reflect light, or a transient view, but painfull & troublesome in a direct Gaze or a continued Look : wee are Ravisht w"" its morning Beames, but blinded w"' its meridian splendour. We have likewise two MS. sermons by William Taylor, one on the " Lord's .Supper," and one on " Future Rewards and Punishments." There is nothing to mark their date, nor is there perhaps anything in them to call for their insertion here. His views are what would be considered essentially Protestant and moderate. He repudiates the term " sacrament," as applied to the Lord's Supper, as unscriptural and misleading ; while his ideas of rewards and punishments are far removed from the coarse hell and unsympathetic heaven of ordinary orthodoxy. One or two extracts may not be out of place : — ■ I make no doubt but y' more immediate abiding & appearing in his presence in another life Extract fro. wherein consists y' fullness of our joy, will not be so much a fruition of what y" learned call y« beati- sprmon on fick vision, as in our being advanced to some higher employm"^ in y= service of our almighty Lord, such LidTunis^,^ as shall be more sutable to the improvement of our faculties, & y" exaltation of our happiness. For ™enis." thus wee find that reward of y' faithfuU servant w'' in S' Math, is expressed by. Enter thou into f Joy of thy L^-, is in S' Luke represented by. Have thou authority over 10 citys, & y' happiness promised & bestowed upon him for having been faithfull in a few things, is the appointing him a higher station in his master's service, & setting him over many things. The Holy angells are call'd in Scripture his messengers, his ministers, and the doers of his will, & as they are in some places describ'd as standing allways in his presence, so are they in others call'd ministring spirits, appointed to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation. Having thus laid down as I verily believe y' importance of y' phrase The presence of y' Lord, I proceed to consider what it is to be punished from it, & from his glory for ever w"" everlasting destruc- tion. & this certainly seems to imply nothing less than a being totally discarded and turned out of his family a being banished from all y= beneficent regards of his goodness & providence, & from f society of good natur'd friendly & benevolent spirits, a creature being left to itself to depend upon its own sufficiency for comfort & support against all sorts of injuries, & to have no wisdome but its own to contrive, no power or strength to effect, secure, or continue its own ease" & happiness. As follows is from the other sermon, on the Lord's Supper : — Hut y' early ages of y' Church having given it y' name of a Sacrament, all their followers have never txiract nom failed to represent it to us under that notion & thro that medium; ii: consequently y" word Sacra- 'crmon on th ment it self being no where to be met withall in scripture, much less any just i: true definition of its "'-""'''^"l' meaning ; it is no wonder that y' accounts wee have of y= doctrine, are allways wrapt up in terms full of darkness & perplexity, &: run continually into allegor)'s & similitudes: The explanations w'" 1 64 Williajii Taylor of South IVeald. 1673-1750. v= church catechism gives of y" word sacrament is very long, & consists of many parts & mem- Ijers w'" must all concur to compleat definition, & of w'' some perhaps may themselves stand in need of a further explication, at least some illustration before wee can fully understand them; and y= whole requires such a chain & series of reasoning & close attention as few persons are capable of, and qualified for, and wanting y= guidance of y' scripture throughout y° whole. How can this possibly be a necessary or even a tolerable medium to convey to us a plaine full & easy notion of this ordinance of our L''. w''' y= meanest & most illiterate of his servants are called & invited to i: therefore ought to be in a very good measure acquainted w"' On contrary I am apt to think y' y' conceit of a certaine inward &: intrinsic holiness & efficacy in y= elements themselves of some strange mistery & change wrought in them or conferr'' upon y" at y= consecration, of an unaccountable, momentaneous conveyance of grace through their means & operation ; of an instantaneous sealing of God's pardons to us, upon y= precise time & y= im- mediate act of our receiving y" ; distinct from his usuall communication of grace lir forgiveness pro- mised to our repentance of our Sins & obedience to his commandments. I say I am apt to believe that these & such like imaginations tending to alienate y' mind from y' spirituall worship of God and fix them too much upon y° externall representations & outward performances used in this solemnity took their rise at first from y' constant & universall practice of all Xtian writers & preachers, of Handling this subject under y° notion of what they call'd a sacrament & consonant w'" & adapted to their severall explications of that unscripturall & consequently arbitrary term of art. It is very probable that f i" fathers of y' church found their figurative & materiall way (if I may so call it) of writing & preaching more than any other parallel to y' minds & understandings of their hearers, whose Idolatrous ways of worship, & gross apprehensions of religion had rendered it necessary to inculcate the most spirituall &: sublime truths of y= gospell in y= most sensible manner they were able & by y' means endeavour to find a quicker way to their passions, to raise their Zeal & excite their devotion. & perticulerly in y° case before us wliere y= ofiice is exercised about materiall objects, & outward actions & circumstances of behaviour ; they might think themselves yet more at liberty to handle this doctrine & set forth f duty in such a manner as might prove most alluring & inviting to persons whose religion even in its most refined & spiritulized parts, was ever conversant about materiall & sensible objects, & whose practice & exercise consisted chiefly in externall performances & operations The words seem to me plainly to containe a command directed originally to our Lord's disciples, & virtually to all succeeding Xtians publickly to meet togeather & own him for their L"". & master, professing themselves to be his followers by y= outward action of breaking & eating of bread and drinking of wine, these being fitting & proper emblems to represent his death & sufferings, upon w='' they do hereby openly declare their hopes of salvation to be founded notwithstanding y' y" believing in a crucified Saviour might appear to y= jews a stumbling block & to y' Greeks foolishness. This institution seems ■ primarily to intend & relate to y= publick & open declaration of Xtianity w'* our B. S. required of his followers, whom he commands not to be ashamed of him before men, upon paine of their being finally disowned & rejected by him at y" last day. By his fathers letter we found him, in the early part of 1690, landed in London, at his uncle Sherbrooke's (whether Henry or John we do not know; as Henry is called of St Sepulchre's, perhaps it was John, who died in 1707, and was buried at Foster Lane on the nth June, as recorded in the Register of St Mary, Aldermanbury), and being inducted into the mysteries of his uncle's busi- ness. Strange to say, there seems no evidence extant of what that business was, beyond the documents in which they are called merchants. We may infer, how- ever, from the instructions of the Dantzic Man to his son to buy his stockings of his uncle John Sherbrooke, that the trade of John was in woollen merchandise. The letter of 1699, already referred to (p. 236), from George Clarke, speaks of this William Taylor as in partnership with " Mr Sherbrooke " and the writer's His uncle Sherbrooke's business. I 1^ •In jUp^ \\oun- Ittf"-, SCaU-tlittt >\ljou/«^tjMM^inVfn'U-4^)M)vti'-^ijounc (pu^Vrij ,tVfivA\i -uViW Hit' U.igM-jtt^iS v«;tW W ,?)Sv,W S:iv^vn.Vl<, «txU»rtW>a^ Ko^%i-nato.4 n.^V^'^o," tV„«>^V Wnn . '»u\v^e,.V-,^ \,^V,nx;; ^ rt,.- W^Uf- ,tH,.. 5„ c<„„„;feit, V, .^1- ^ W,aA ,o>« be"! .^^v"'"^ ^""^ . tlly^ , t^,^t\u,t«^„.^ 6..^, -^^.^ncu^WiM^tc^W,. ^ tU'n..^ ofg,.., sUolC far^^VU^ , tV,^ ^..^ Sy.r^,^ W~io>^^ ^c^^.^ , JUV. William Taylor of South IVcald. 165 brother.* In the "Little London Directory" of 1677 we find their place of business 1673-175°. was in Cheapside, and this no doubt was the business in which we find him taking the first steps in 1689-90. In 17 10 there is a letter to him (p. 173) written at Edinburgh, by Daniel, his half brother, who seems to have paid several visits to the Highlands on matters, one would naturally infer, connected with the same busi- ness ; but here again there is no evidence of the nature of the business for which the contracts mentioned were entered into. As the Highlands, I presume, had nothing to supply besides wool, and as the Sherbrookes were termed Merchant Taylors, there is some slight material on which ingenuity may speculate. In 1699 he married Anne Crisp, the niece of his master, Henry Sherbrooke, and of his step-mother, Rebecca. It is of course from this marriage that our blood relationship with the ^^'^ marriage. Sherbrookes has its origin. This perhaps will be the fittest place to say what we have to note of the Crisp family. The first record we have of them is of the great-grandfather of Anne, who is described as of Berwick, where he died. The Crisps appear to have been Puritans, like our other forbears, as we find Edward Crisp, the grandfather of Anne— at least, from the date and one passage in the The Crisps, paper, we suppose him to have been the man— making a speech to Cromwell in the year 1651, which will be found on the opposite page.t He is described in the family Tree as of Greenwich, sometime Master of the Trinity House, and in the Commission of the Peace for the counties of Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent. He died about 1676, aged fifty-five. His son, Edward Crisp of Bethnal Green, Merchant, married Anne, daughter of Richard Sherbrooke,— sister, of course, to the Dantzic Man's second wife. In 1663 we find him designated as Merchant of St Olave's, in a deed renewing the lease of property in Mugwell Street from the College, and in 1664 that he had a pew at St Olave's Church, Silent Street. In 1676 he assigned the property in Mugwell Street to his son Edward on his marriage with Ann Sherbrooke. (A daughter of this marriage became the wife of William Taylor of South Weald.) This Edward (of Bethnal Green) died 1690, aged forty. The following lines are all we have of Crisp writing. Dorothy died before 1732- I [No address.] I* Cousin Hedeli, I hear my Cousins your Mother and Sister are dead, I h.ave in my hands a Counterpane my Cousm Mary le t with me for two Guine.as I lent her on it, I shall be glad to return it as soon as vou please I now hve m S.lvcr Street over against the bunch of Grapes, where I shall be glad to see you , , „. 'V" Humble Servant wwi'' 6 Dor : Ckispe Me*ch."nt\an'l.°' ^ ""^""^ ^'"^"^ Sherbrooke are described as Cuzcns and t See also portrait of the Protector on horseback, with the London of those days in the distance. IVilliani Taylo)' of South IVcald. 1673-1 75a On following pages will be found portraits of William Taylor and his wife Anne Crisp, as also of her brother Richard and sister Dorothy ; and one of another Crisp, of whom we know no particulars. Richard was buried at Greenwich, August 7, 1756; it will be seen hereafter that he left property there to Rebecca Taylor (p. 400). At Greenwich were also buried Captain Edward Crisp, his grandfather, July S, 1676 ; and his grand- mother, Mrs Alice Crisp, March 2, 16S1. The following is an abstract of Edward Crisp's (father-in-law to William Taylor) Will : — Eilwai-a Crisp's Edward Crispe, of Bethnall Greene, in Stepney, Co. Middlesex, Merchant, dated 17th May i6go. '" To be decently buried, and laid by my father and mother, with no extravagant charges. To my wife Anna for life, all my lands, messuages, and tenements in East Greenwich, Co. of Kent; remainder to my son Edward and his issue ; remainder to my son Edmund and his issue ; remainder to my son Richard and his issue; remainder equally to my four daughters, viz., Dorothy, Anna, Martha, and Hannah, and their heirs for ever in common. To my said wife Anna for life, ^^63 per annum out of certain messuages (about twenty-two in number) in Silver Street and Mugwell Street, near Cripplegate, London, which I hold by lease from New College, Oxford ; the residue of said rents to my said children, and after my wife's death all my estate in said messuages to them. To my son Edward, my house in Water I.ane, near Trinity House, London, held by lease of the City of London ; but if he die before twenty-one, then the same to my son Edmund ; and if he die before twenty-one, then the same to my son Richard ; and if he die before twentj'-one, then the same equally to my said daughters. If I have any title or interest in any estate in Ireland, I give the same to the daughter of Mr John Bush, who died in his voyage to Jamaica, remainder to the right heirs of said John Bush for ever. To my wife Anna, the necklace of pearl, the jewels, one moiety of the plate and household goods, and ^100 for mourning for herself and children. To my daughter Dorothy, ^150 ; to my son Edward, £100 \ to my daughter Anna, .£50; to the poor of East Greenwich, £5; to my mother Sherbrooke, aunt Bennet, aunt Ellis, cousin William CoUings and Elizabeth his wife, brother Taylor and Rebecca his wife, brother Henry Sherbrooke and Mary his wife, brother John Sherbrooke and Elizabeth his wife, cousin Biddle and Margaret his wife, cousin Thomas Ellis, and cousin Bennet Gage, each for mourning. To my two apprentices, each £<^ for mourning. Residue of personalty equally to all my children, viz., Dorothy, Edward, Anna, Edmund, Richard, Martha, and Hannah, and such child or children as my wife shall be enceinte of at my death. If all my children die before twenty-one or marriage and without issue, then my estate to be divided into three parts, of which one to my aunt Ellis and her heirs for ever, one to my aunt Bennet and her heirs for ever, and the other to my wife Anna and her heirs for ever. I appoint my eldest son, Edward, sole executor, and as overseers my said children's uncles, Henry and John Sherbrooke. Administration, igth August 1690, to Anna Crisp, widow, curatrix assigned of Edward Crispe, a minor, son and sole executor named in the Will. Proved 26th January 1712-13 by said Edward Cnspe, son and executor, he having attained his majority. iiispecunmry What money, if any, William Taylor received with his wife we have no evidence pobinu,,. ^\io\N. The Monkwell Street property, long held by the Crisps, came, some of it, into his possession at a later period. We find him dealing with one-sixth of it in 1 72 1, as security for loan of ^400 to Mrs Mead. This property consisted of " man- sion house " called College Place, and " seven adjoining houses " in Monkwell and Silver Streets. It descended to Henry Taylor, his son, and was by him unfortu- nately lost, as will be more particularly narrated presently (p. 245). This seems a proper place to inquire, so far as we have the means, into the pecuniary position now occupied by William Taylor, whose grandfather, at any rate, had been a wealthy man. ANNE, WIFE 0FAV'^7WL0R (s.WEALD) RICtF CRISPE I IF ill ia in Taylor of South Jl'cald. 167 By the draft Will of the Dantzic Man, June 9, 1674, made immediately after 1673-1750. his iirst wife's death, he left all his property to their son William, specifvino- The Dantzic 'I/O MaiTinge various estates in Leicestershire, in Essex, and in Coleman Street, London; y'-iti='™"'s- but this disposition was naturally changed at the time of his second marriage, when by the Marriage Articles, dated 1676, we find him conveying certain pro- perties to the Sherbrookes under the following trust, viz., — for his own life and his wife's, then to their offspring if any, and failing heirs, to William Taylor, his son. The property thus conveyed was Bovill's Hall and Woodrows, and all the lands at Clacton, except Alton Park and Longlands ; also the messuage in Fleet Street called the Star. Not being at this time thirty-one years old, and therefore not able, under his father's Will, to deal with the property, he handed over that in Brick Lane, which he had a right to deal with, as collateral security for his performance of the covenant on reaching thirty-one. The Sherbrookes, on their part, agreed to add to the thus settled lands, &c., the farm at South Weald, and another farm called Paine's. In 1678, when he became thirty-one, this agreement was accordingly carried out; but it appears that in the interim he had settled a lien of ^50 a year on Bovill's farm upon his eldest son, William (after his own death), in consideration of which the messuage in Swan Alley was added to the property under setriement. Subsequently we find, by the account- books of the second family, that on the death of their father (" ordered to be sold" by his Will) the estate of South Weald was sold, or rather transferred to Daniel Taylor, for £\\oo, and the proceeds divided amongst the living members of the second family. \\\ 17 18 the Clacton estates were sold (including Alton Park, which was excepted in the Marriage Setdement), and the proceeds also divided in the same way. In this sale was Bovill's Hall estate, including that portion on which William Taylor's .^^'50 a year was charged; and it seems strange that the whole, without reservation, appears to have gone to the children of the Sherbrooke marriage. There were certain other properties belonging to the Dantzic Man, such as a messuage in Fleet Street called the Flower-de-luce, and another in White Lion Court; but these also we find, by the Will of Daniel Taylor in 173S-39, in the possession of the second famil}-. There remains now, to account for, nothing but the property at Leicester, worth, so far as can be made out from an old account-book of 1695, about /150 per annum. After 1698 we have no record of this property, and there seems reason to imagine that about that time It was sold ; at any rate, we find a bond for £ 1 200 given about that time by Charles Byerly, who was one of the tenants, and the account is closed five years afterwards, viz., Christmas 1702, by an entr>' of .^1009, los. lod., "money paid my son." This money, or some of it, may or may not have been given to William towards his advancement in business, or on his marriage in 1699, but of 1 68 William Taylor of South Weald. 1673-1750. 1 >oiotli3' Turiiev' Will not fontui. Will of John Knii^lll, HolboM fixed income we can find no trace of anything beyond the ,2^50 per annum which is stated in the memorandum of setriement to have been absokitely settled on the son WilHam, but only in succession to his father. This little settlement was the result of an arrangement between Dorothy Turner and her son, and the Dantzic Man, under which they paid him .2^500 on condition of his settling ,^50 a year out of Bovill's Hall on their grandchild. It is impossible not to note as peculiar, especially after considering the great care that was taken of the interests of the second family, that in regard to the first marriage there would appear to have been no provision whatever on either side. There are no traces either of a dowry for the bride, or of any settlement upon her, or provision for their family on the part of the husband. In a memorandum, however, in the handwriting of Rebecca Sher- brooke, without date, and otherwise puzzling enough, we find the phrase, " My sonn Tayler further said that all his other Lands in the hundreds of essex or els wher not settled upon his first uenter," This would of course seem to imply that some lands had been settled upon his first wife ; if so, it must have been the lands at Leicester, and they may have been sold by agreement on the son attaining his majority. There is no mention of William Taylor or his son in the Will of Richard Turner ; indeed, it is evident he had no expectation of the kind, seeing that his name appears as a witness to the Codicil. The Will of Dorothy Turner cannot be found. Colonel Chester writes (October 1873) — It is not to be found either in tlie Principal Registry, nor in any of tlie Arclideaconry Courts or Peculiars : tlie search is hopeless. If she left a Will, it was evidently not put on record. It will be of interest to note the rents of the properties above mentioned : — Alton Park, ^90; Bovill's Hall, ^60; Fleet Street houses, one £20 and another _^50 ; Coleman Street, /50 ; Payne's farm, .^^38 ; and South Weald, as we see by the sale in 1707, was worth about ^57 per annum. If any injustice was done to the issue of the first inarriage, it was afterwards set right by a strange nemesis ; for the whole of the large family of the second marriage died unmarried, and much of the property reverted to the eldest son, or rather to his heirs after his death. How it came that some portions of the property, settied in like manner, in case of the failure of issue by the children of the second marriage — such as Bovill's Hall and the rest of the Clacton estates— could be sold out of the family, as we have seen was the case, does not appear. Whatever may have been his means, he married, as we have seen, m 1699. He had seven children (of whom more hereafter), the eldest born in 1700. Our information in regard to his whereabouts and doings, gathered almost entirely from stray letters, deeds, or memoranda, is scanty enough. In 1706 he is men- tioned in the Will of his maternal uncle, John Knight of Brook Street, Holborn, JVilliain Taylor of South IP'cald. 169 who after leaving "^500 unto my nephew Richard Turner, junior," bequeaths "to 1673-1750. my nephew William Taylor, junior, Merchant, now living in Pancras Lane, near i.ivin-^ Queen Street, London, the sum of ^200." In 17 10 we have a glimpse as to his Lane.' relations with his brother Daniel, in a letter to which reference has already been made. The intimate and friendly relations subsisting with his half-brothers and sisters have been already referred to. They probably trusted him to manage many of their affairs for them. We find, for instance (171 1), one Field, a valuer, writing to him in regard to a farm which they were about to let. Again, 1723, on the death of the mother, a memorandum of agreement in regard to the division of her effects, signed by all the surviving children, drawn up in his handwriting, and signed by himself and wife as witnesses. In 17 12 we find him described in the He is described Romford Register as of Wright's Bridge. Now Wright's Bridge is still the Bridgr""**"' name of a farm within a few minutes' walk of the old family house, but it is on the opposite side of the stream which separates the two parishes, and is there- fore in the parish of Romford. In various documents after this time he is described as of London. As has His business i„ been said, we do not know what was the nature of his business; but whatever it may have been, it does not appear to have been successful. There is, I believe, a tradition in the family that he was unfortunate in losing some of his ships during Queen Anne's wars. Whether this means that he was a shipowner, or a merchant freighting his own ships, or connected with ship-insurance, it is useless now to conjecture. The latter hypothesis possibly derives some sanction from the fact that he was certainly connected with an insurance office— and that in an unfor- tunate way— at some time of his life. A document, without date, thus describes the cause of his dismissal from the Hand-in-Hand Fire Office. It is a memoran- Ti,e iiand-i,,- dum of the Directors, that he had been their chief clerk for many years to their ""'"^ satisfaction ; that it was his business to receive money from the under-clerks ; that one of them being deficient in his cash, William Taylor had not reported it so soon as he ought to have done, and the Directors "displaced" him, and held his securities liable (although they held securities from the defaulting clerk) for the deficiency; that after his dismissal all deficiencies had been adjusted with his securities; that he had not wilfully defrauded the office, and if his bondsmen had settled matters sooner, he might have remained. Whether the sum in question w^as large or small we are not informed, nor what other losses he may have sustained, but that he had had such losses, and dcejjjy felt them, is intimated in a letter from his half-brother Daniel (p. 175). Speaking of troubles, Daniel says, " I thinfc that most people have some or other ; you receive them one way, I another. You think losses great afflictions ; I want of health greater," etc. Jl'illiaul Tay/or of Soil f It JVcald, 1673-1750 Now this Hand-in-Hand Fire Office was in Snow Hilh We have various traces of him in that locahty, and probably he may have lived upon the premises. We find Henr)' Taylor,* his son, in a letter (p. 253) referring to a party "at the Fire Office in Snow Hill," "where I danced a minuet with you before our two mothers ; I think we were then both in our teens." If we guess Henry Taylor to have been thirteen years old at that time, the date of the party would be 1724. Again, in 1725, Dr J. Lynch writes to " Mr William Taylor at the Fire Office over against St Sepulchres Church, London." It may have been through the Crisps that he became connected with the Hand-in-Hand office, for we find, under date March 1735, Richard Crisp spoken of as of the Hand-in-Hand Office, near Snow Hill. He seems to have had a tendency to dabble in that sort of business, as in 1717, on two separate occasions he pays £10 for the purchase of a share (the venture consisting of two hundred shares) in an undertaking, the object of which is not distinctly e.xplained, further than by describing it as "a share of all and every wreck and wrecks, treasure and treasures, gold, silver, plate, coyne, bullion, riches, merchandises, goods, and effects whatsoever in the said indenture mentioned," etc., etc. One of these papers is endorsed " Share in a wreck ; " the other, " Share in a galleon." Again, in 1730, we find his locale described as Snow Hill, when Richard WooUey, Gentleman, gave him a general release "from the beginning of the world unto the day of the date of these presents," without mentioning any sum. Described as of In I 737 he is described as of St Olave's, Silver Street, Gentleman, in a lease St Olave's, Silver . j-,., Street. granted by him and Richard Crisp, of a messuage m Silver Street. It is unfortunate that all his letters to his son have only " London " as address. That he was greatly straitened in means is evidenced by a passage in a letter to his son Henry in 172S (p. iSo) ; — I would not willingly mention to you so often the word Frugality but the case being such that mony is as pretious as heart's blood one drop cannot be wasted w"' out great pain. And again, two years later (p. 184) : — The L"'- ch Barron has left you ^100 w'"" his execut' is not obliged to pay under a year and should he insist upon his privilege tho' the legacy is handsome yet wee may be greatly straitned to advance mony for present subsistence. I was forced to borrow of M' Cater y' last mony I sent you, and he was no sooner burried but y= Wid° press'd me w'" such vehemence that I was forced to take it of another and pay her y° very next day. No supply comes from y' North, etc. etc. Another passage in the same letter gives a still stronger impression of absolute poverty : — " Wee shall all be glad to see you, but our affaires have met w"' such an unhappy turn y' our weekly pittance will hardly make you wellcome w'" out some little contribution of your own, & a forbearance of two many visiters to enhance our expenses." * Known as Ben Mordecai, see p. 240. I JVilliaiu Taylor of South IVcald. 171 We may hope that his position was somewhat improved in 1732 by the i67_;-i75o. bequest of Hannah Crisp, — a Hfe-interest in half her estate to him and his wife. Whether William Taylor lost his money in the wars or otherwise, and whether as merchant or shipowner, and whether during the lives or after the deaths of his uncles the Sherbrookes (the last, Henry, died in 1721), must apparently remain matters of pure speculation. It is clear that at some time of his life — probably after the death of his uncles — he became connected, as we have seen, with the Hand-in-Hand Insurance Office, and after this we have no account of his occupation. We know that he continued to live in London. His Will and Codicil, dated 1739-40, describe him as living there, of St Michael's Bassishaw, and St Alphage respectively. From a mourning ring we learn that his wife died December 31, 1738, but we do not know where she was buried.* In 1743 he went to live at Wheatfieldf \yith his son Henry, who had settled there six years previously. He removed with Henry to Portsmouth in 1745 (at this Living with his date the Bishop of Winchester, writing to Henry, says, "my service to the w^Mfiddand old gentleman"), and remained with him there up to the time of his death. By a memorandum dated Wheatfield 1746, he gives to Henry "all the house- hold goods which I formerly lent him when he came first hither to help to furnish his house." Probably this was all the property actually in hand of the old gentleman's ; t with the property coming to him by reversion on the deaths of his half-brothers and sisters he deals in his Will as follows, viz. :— " Whereas I am seised of, or legally intituled u.nto the revertion or rever- m, wiii. tions of any interest in ffee expectant upon the several estates for the respective lives of my sisters Anne and Rebecca Taylor and of my brother John Taylor," etc. He makes his son and daughter, Henry and Anne, executors, and directs them to sell and divide his property into sevenths, whereof one and a half to his son William, a half between his daughters Rebecca and Elizabeth, one share to be invested and the proceeds to Mary Kindon (his youngest daughter), separate from her husband, during his life, afterwards to her absolutely; the remaining four sevenths equally to his other son Henr)-, and to his daughters Anne, Rebecca, and Elizabeth. By a codicil dated 1740 (Henry having married), he directs that We have since found by the Hackney register that she was buried there 5ih January 1738-9. t A ghmpsc of them at Wheatfield may be seen in the verses, p. 327. t In a sort of memorandum account-bool< belongmg to his son Henry, we find a statement of account under the heading :— " My Account with my Father as it stood at his Death." In this account Henry Taylor appears as debtor for a sum of/67, i8s. id., composed almost entirely of sums of ^10 a year received from SI Cross. On the other hand, he appears as creditor to the extent of ^232 odd. This amount is .made up of a sum of/135 for my Father's Hoard from 16 October 1743 to 17th Septem. 1750, Si.\ y" J at £20 p. annu " {from this alone do we derive the exact date of his going to Wheatfield, and of his death), of sums paid " for bill's board " at Carter s, together with some other items, including all the funeral expenses. From this it would appear that Henry Tai lor actually received nothing on account of his fathers board, and incurred further expenses beyond the amounts received on his father's account Among the items for which he gives his father credit are a watch, a silver jug, and some rings, spoons, Sc. Query : were these sold out of the family, or did Henry Taylor merely give his father credit for them in the account ? poetry. But little known of his wife. William Taylor of SoiitJi J Veal d. in case of Henry's decease before his own, tliat the children of Henry, if any, shall receive their father's share. The reference just made to the husband of his daughter Mary, seems to imply that he had not much confidence in him, or liking for the match. We shall .say more of this further on. He died at the age of seventy-seven, at Portsmouth, in 1750, and was buried there. We may fairly hope that the last years of the old gentleman were peaceful and happy. We find a reference to him in a letter of his son's, which gives that impression. Writing to his friend Dr Salter in 1 746 to advise him against neglecting opportunities of gaining money and advancement, Henry says : — You know upon what principles I have always acted, even to the next degree to an extremity of fortune, and by risking my own happiness I have now the joy of seeing all that depend on nie — and among the rest the man I am indebted to for life — happy by my means. This William Taylor is certainly far from being the least interesting of the family. He was something of a poet and a wit. Several of his jocular effusions are preserved among the epigrains in Dr Knox's " Elegant Extracts," of which one is entided "The Brewer's Coachman" (p. 222). His poem "The Spectacles" (p. 217), and probably others, appeared in the magazines of the day. William Taylor, his grandson, used to say he was very lively and witty, and was said by some persons to have been a superior man to his son the clergyman, though not so learned. The change from the staid writings of the Turners and Sherbrookes — with whom he was associated in early life — to his free and hearty style, is remarkable ; for while in the former the smallest attempt at jocosity is delivered almost in a tone of apology, the latter abounds with broad, hilarious fun (sometimes even extracted out of his own sufferings from the gout), good-fellowship, and enjoyment of life. It would be unjust, however, to remember him merely as a humorist, for the letter of consolation to his invalid half-brother Daniel (p. 175) is full of deep and solemn thoughts, as well as the tenderest sympathy. It is very pleasant to think of this large-hearted, merry old gentleman spending his last days in the culti- vated social circle of his son, tended by the loving hands of that son and his family, and, witty to the last, writing laughable love-letters to the lady-visitors, and songs for his little grandchildren. Perhaps he was rather fitted for a courtier than a patriot. His hints to his son in regard to his oration at Cambridge (p. 187) tend rather to that conclusion. It will have been observed that my notice of his wife has been unusually meagre and valueless. I - have, indeed, no records of her, and only recently learned the date of her death from the mourning ring just mentioned. In this dearth of material, it is but fair to refer the reader to a letter from her husband (p. 197), written after her death, which certainly seems to imply the highest appreciation and the deepest affection. We have not a line of her writing, unless a portion William Taylor of South IVcald. — Correspondence. 173 of the letter addressed by her husband to their son Henry, July 16, 1737 (p. 1673-1750- 195), but written in a different handwriting, be hers, as I believe it to be. In the following selections from the letters of William Taylor, the first three of earliest date, (about 1710) are to and from his half-brother Daniel. In the first, Daniel gives a humorous description of his experience in Scotland ; in the second, he speaks of suffering in health, and asks for his brother's advice and sympathy, which William gives in the third letter, in a tone at once grave, affectionate, and philosophical. The next batch of letters are from William Taylor to his son Henry (with here and there an exception), comprising a time from 1724, when Henry was thirteen, to 1740, when he married, and are full of interest, both as giving an outline of his son's life during those years, and also as being in themselves full of tenderness, wisdom, and humour. After these we have nothing more till we come to the last letter to his son, then absent from home, dated Portsmouth 1749. After this letter will be found a number of his poetical effusions, of which the reader will judge for himself If some of them are more than a little coarse, they are none of them immoral or prurient. To omit such would be to lose the evi- dence they afford of the change which a hundred and fifty years have made in our habits of expression. If not more moral in essentials, we are certainly less nasty in our lano-uaee ! \_From Daniel Taylor to his half-brother William Taylor7\ To m' Taylor at Southweald near Brentford Essex Edenboroufrh Octo' 7. 17 10 Dear Bro" I wrote my uncle & you from f Yarmouth on the 28'" past w'" hope came safe to hand viz' y' our a journey tn Contract was prolong'd untill the of January next, & I thought to set out for Lond" & y' at my Sc.uland on busi- arrivall I should acquaint you of the particulars, w'' hope will prove to y' Satisfaction y' letter I gladly rec' dated Sep' from Lond" but was danip'd when I opened it to finde y' you have had a simptome of my distemper, & y' you have been put to no small inconveniencies, was glad to finde you Jocose in your stile, y' Billy's danger was over & friends well. I wish M' Michell & Bagshaw are safe you men- lion nothing of them, hojje P Smith's Sister has got a good Husband. M' Locton I have had in mind, but w' we talk' of will not doe ; I have been thrice in the Highlands, & just at my last return I rec" y' letter, I wish a discription of the Countrey & people would divert you at the Bridge, at my first ! going under ground I thought y" custome of y' 'Subterraneans Somewhat Strange. Mheir Hou^ws being Their is many high and barren mountains, & many very fruitfull valleys, their pro- made of earth & 1 duct Cora & Cattle, the people strong & warlike, unco cunning & monstrous Coverd w^" Turf I ingenious, these Subterraneans have a custome that they must all be subject to y" * °^ i Head of the Clan viz" the petty emperor, & "some to the Prince, =who lives in a j'^'^^'^ ">'''' » ' valley upon the top of a high HilL The emper- rec" me very kindly & lodg" me 2 fo, I nights in his house & was handsomely enteruined, "for he has been upon the Sur- he's as proud as any. I face of y' earth & knows how things should be managd, w° I came to y' Princes, ' a HiJl with a valley ' he rec-" me handsomely, w" I hope you arc in good health, & well might y' be &c., »" 0 [illegible] 174 Williain Taylor of South JFcald. — Correspondence. nfter we had discours'd of buisness to little purpose, w"' a great many an please f honours & like y' honour & °a dram of his best liquor, He had us down to y' Church to See his fine 'Seat he told me he thought we had none so good in England, I answered none Such an like your honour, Sraileing he bad me read the verses over head part of which as follows No mortall yet a British Clan e're Saw, But of this glorious Tribe must Stand in awe May they still flourish till at length they come, To Sway the Scepter of all Christendome * Usfjiiebah ^ seat not so good as E . . Smiths, but it had a Cnnope over it to set it of ^ Honse cover'd w'^ Turf & walls of Dirt ^ sower niilke beat up like a Sullybub ' Firr chips instead of Candle ^ being strawed w''' sand an inch thick ' walls made w'^ Turf & nothing with- in but the dirt, the floor of Clay & stravv'd with sand ^ never was out of his own Countrey for he has but a little more sence then a foole • because they have none ^ with straw = with Chamberly a lofty Strain an like y' honour being pleased he had me back to his ''pallace under ground, I had a good Entertainment of Stinking Fish & Venison, Sower milke &r ale just breVd, oat bread & "Brocken, a boy to wait on with 'Flamboys in his hand, after grace & shakeing of hands & a Drachm, I was directed by a flambou into a fine Chamber, ''y" floor as soft as velvett, 'the walls painted of a dirt colour so naturall that if you ware not mistaken you would thinke it the Same next morn we tooke leave & appointed to meet his honour w"'in 3 dayes at an Ale house under ground, about 7 miles from y' Palace the Prince not comeing at the time apointed made me uneasy, but the Landlord diverted me Somewhat, being a man of good sence considering 'he never was above the ground, he play'd on the Violin was never taught, discourst of foreign news, w''' he knew nothing of, in short a brisk old Child, the Prince was gon to meet the former purchasers to discharge the Con- tract, the affair being weighty he stay'd 5 dayes to doe the buisness, "met me again having done nothing at all, the prince staying there the night, did me the honour to lye at my feet, in his Bonnet & w"'out his shirt, some of his friends meeting the next day did the buisness & we parted, to show you these peoples ingenuity beyond nature pray observe their Houses are orderd y' they are clean all times alike, 'no danger of breaking glass windows, can make as many ''Beds as y« please. Brew without hops, Bake with out yeast 'wash w"out Soap, lye w''out Sheets wear neither sheoes stockings nor Breeches, Blow their nose w" their fingers, have no occa- tion for a Chimney, a hole on y° Surface of y= House serves, talke of Religion, practice little, comeing back the last time near the road I spyes a fire w* I thought had been a lime kiln being just above the surface of the earth, comeing near I meets one of the Talps & askt him what that was burning, he s" by my sol man a House, but you'd admire in what a short time \ a Hundred were got together from under the ground, at length a brisk child, 'gets on y= surface of the earth & falls to tareing up the ground as if mad, up gets another & to the same worke, by w'x wrong means they put out the Fire, but seem'd in a great consternation for I believe the fire had burnt either an old stool, wooden cradle, or straw Bed, I break of or shall tire y' patience on Tuesday last I set out from Lord Boyns 4 miles beyond Bamf and arrived here this day at noon, had a good passage from Kingborn, I would not have you fixt any time for my being at London for the under ground Countrey has not agreed very well with my Mair so must make my stages the shorter, she has still the same marks uncle Sherbrooke described, but has lost some of her flesh, I thank you for y' invitation but believe I shall dine with you before my mother, I bless God have got very well hither, expect no more letters from me untiU you see me, I shall satisfie my uncle about [illegible] I must recollect concerning y' money w" I come, roads very good yett, mare feeds well, a good sign, a stmking City this, shall set out on monday, you mention nothing of the Lottery, I take for Blank, I have wore out my Bootes, Hat, Clothes, but my Breeches are whole or else should looke like a Subterranean, wishing you & all friends Health & happyness with my Due [illegible] as if named I am y' ever affectionate Bro Daniell Taylor f gets on Top of the House IVilliam Taylor of South IVeald. — Correspondence. 175 1 673-1 750. \^No date; no address from Daiiict Taylor to his half brother William.'] Lond° Dear Brother Your affections I acknowledge and veryly believe you desire my wellfare, I thank ychi for your ad- Daniel's melan ministring me of my over pensiveness as prejudiciall to my health and conversation, but would you '^f^^^ '"'Date'"^^ direct me how to throw off the same would be of singular use and my endeavour and practice, unknuwn ; he D' B' what can I say to afflictions who am over whelm'd w"' them, this I thinke that most peojile have some or otlier, you receive them one way I another, you tliink r.osses great afflictions, I want of health greater, you are not a little sensible what pain I have felt in those fitts of the Rhumatism, and the return of those not long agoe I felt, and that which I shewd you has been a great trouble and will employ my thoughts, and that should it please God to afHict me as my Father how miserable should I be, I must acknowledge these thoughts hard to over come, & your advice would comfort, if I am melancholly, shie, or what ever else you thinke amiss, would you please to direct & admonish I shall esteem it as the greatest favour & marke your directions. D' B' whatever undertakings I shall propose, sliall acquaint you with, and hope you will not seem strange to afford me your Councill w* I ever did & ever shall esteem & valine, I give you thanks for all your CiviUitys, & were I in a capacity w='' you are sensible I am not now, gladly retalliate them. A line from you will ever oblige Your most affectionate & Loving Bro' Dan' Taylor I desire you would not left this come to the vew or knowledge of any person [jVo date; no address; —f-om IVilliam Taylor to his halj -brother DanieT] Dear Brother I Rec'' y' Letter & am very sensibly affected w* its contents ; what you desire of me is so far from Letter of consola being a trouble (as you fear) y' twould be my greatest pleasure to be serviceable to you, & contribute "'eply «> , . ^ The foregoing, to y ease & happiness : nor can I think any thing y' is in my power Better Employ'd ; than in being Date unknoun; usefull to one, to whom I have all possible obligations both from Nature & my own affections, & from '"^'"'^'^ whom I meet w'" such constant returns of kindness & sincerity. — As I heartily pitty & commiserate y' ill state of health, the paines & weakness that are continually upon you, or return in such violent & frequent fitts; so I am Extreamly concerned to see y' great dejection, & melancholy fears, upon their acc' ; whereby you don't only feel y' present greivance but bear over again the past ones by reflection, & by forethought anticipate the future, w* yet may never happen— But as wee can't prevent our thinking, (for y' soul can never lye idle) so tis allmost impossible that our thoughts not be allraost wholly en- gross'd by those objects y' most nearly affect us : and what can be nearer than health & Ease. This it must be confess'd is a difficult task, (& not to be performed w^out great patience & Labour of our & y' assistance of allmighty grace) But to say 'tis impossible would be to accuse y' goodness of our creator, in making y' part wherein wee excell y'' beasts, as necessary ground of a greater unhappiness than they w"'out it are capable of. And it would moreover contradict y' experience of all Ages, w'* have ever shown us examples of those that have maintained their innocency against y" strongest suggestions of repining, or of sensuall carnall or any other sorts of evill thoughts. And indeed in our turnes wee all thmk this very reasonable for Each other to practice, (however difficult wee plead it to be for our selves to do so) for instance a man Battered & dispirited illness thinks it reasonable for another to resist anger & sensuall temptations : & a sensuall person in health & vigour can preach patience & resignation to f aflflicted; & y' like in other cases. And indeed altho wee do not allways know, how to make just allowances in other people's cases, yet wee seldome or never make good judges in our own : and y' advice of a good friend is here of greatest ser\ice, & is commonly (iho it comes from persons of inferiour paru to our selves) better than our own. This is indeed y' case in apjilying to me 176 WilUam Taylor of South l-Vcald. — Correspondence. 1673-1750. But shall however not decline to answer y' desire, because perhaps you may be shye of communicating y' selfe to a wiser head — I would have you all along remember, y' it is much Easier to give than take advice ; & y* y^ rules I may prescribe to you are what, (in y^ case) I should not live up to my selfe : Nor do I expect you should come to suclt a perfection, at least not all of a sudden, and therefore would not have you disturb f selfe, if many times you fall short in point of practice. You know y= precepts of Xtianity, are perfectly holy & Pure ; yet are they given to men of corrupted natures and utterly uncapable of conforming their lives exactly to them — and therefore you know very great allowances are made to y" infirmitys of our natures ;■ great assistances are afforded us; & our Honest endeavours accepted tho attended w* many failings. This I premise because I know you are too thoughtfull, & might unhappily turn w' is designed for y' Ease & releif to y' own further disquiet & melancholy. Were it not for this Temper in you ; a Free unthinking carelessness were y'" best prescription ; But since pensiveness is to you as necessary as living, I shall suggest to y' thoughts severall reflections proper in y' case ; & sliould be heartily glad if some or other of them may happily minister to y' ease & comfort — And first altho it be no very great releif to a person in paine to see otliers in y" same condition w* himselfe ; yet it is certainly a very great addition & aggravation of his misery ; for a man to think ■ himselfe peculiarly unhappy, & wretched beyond y' rest of mortals ; This naturally fills y' hasty & violent tempers, w"" rage & impatience, and y" more calm & sober minds w"' very sad & desponding reflections. Now every man feeling his own calamities, & not those of other men, is very apt to say there is no sorrow like to my sorrow. But this is surely a very wrong & illgrounded notion. For as Humane Nature lias ever been subject to y*" same misfortunes & has ever had y"^ same tenderness selfe love & feeling; so wee must certainly imagine y' there ever were ^ Ever will be, persons in y'' same unhappy case &" degrees of suffering w* our selves ; & persons as sensible of their Evills & as unable to undergo them. And as for those whose afflictions are of another kind ; wee are incapable of judging truly concerning them ; and therefore ought in justice to beleive what sober persons say con- cerning y' weight of their Burthen, as wee expect to be beleived concerning ours. And wee find y° complaints of all sorts Equally loud, & Equally challenging our help and pitty. If one Endures bodily paine, another suffers under Want or disgrace, continuall crosses & disappointments ; Is one afflicted in his person or affaires, another perhaps labours under y= cruell burthen of a sickly or declining family, wliose sufferings gall a man of a generous & tender spirit much more sensibly than his own. Now the use wee may make of y" That since wee are born into a miserable world ; and live among creatures wretched & unhappy like ourselves wee all Endeavour to bear our own load, since 'tis laid upon us by one y' remembers our frame, & considers y' wee are but dust ; Could wee change our Burthen for another y' in our Eye seems less, wee might perhaps find it much heavier when wee came to bear it. Let us therefore carry our own w" patience to our Journys end ; y' way is sometimes bad, But y* journy we are sure cant be long — Againe as these afflictions are laid upon us by a wise & good being. Wee may be sattisfied they are directed & may by us be improved to some good End. Some persons have hereby been bro' to reflection & a sober mind ; who would otherwise have hardly ever have been reclamed from a life of Looseness & debaucliery. Otliers have been improved in some virtues had otherwise been unpracticed & unrewarded and very many may be the benefits to us of such a discipline tho wee ourselves are ignorant of them for instance in y' Case Who can ever know, what snares you have avoided, by y' confinem' & abstemiousness, w'' y' distemper obliges you to ; what corruptions from Company, what quarrells or accid" what extravagances & sinfull Vanitys, what delusions & false principles what [ . . . blank . . . ] or foolish Engagements may you have escaped — When wee consider y' vast & numerous Variety of dangers & Temptations that arise from a generall & free con- versation y° world and from y° fire of youth Sr too Vigorous a Constitution. When wee reflect upon, y" universall debauchery & levity of mankind, & observe what paines & industry is used to gaine proselytes to vice ; and to secure & harden those by Erroneus principles and plausible excuses whom they have before corrupted by their infectious Example. When wee see how Eagerly y" Witty & ingenious men of y° age (men indeed of y' most winning & Engaging conversation) contend against all Revealed Religion & endeavour to argue it out of y° world. And add to this . When wee moreover think upon y= perpetuall shame & infamy, y= irreparable niischeifs and misfortunes, y' lasting & irretreiv- Williain Taylor of South JVcald— Correspondence. 177 able consequences sometimes of one single debaucli, nay Even of single foolish or liasty action, wlio I 1673-1750. say that casts his thoughts upon tliese things, & 1000 more of y" same nature, can be sure that a life of illness & infirmity, has not happily preserved him, if not from sharper suffrings or diseases yet per- haps from Ignominy & poverty intollerable guilt and selfe condemnation & ruine both in y' & an" world — This should a little reconcile us to our own misfortunes. A man saved from a wreck, Tho n.ahed & helpless half dead w"' Hunger & cold & Weariness, tlirown upon a strange, perhaps an Enemy's country; can yet amidst all this variety of miserys, find some ground not barely to be con- tented, but even to Rejoyce that he has saved his life, in y<= generali destruction that swep away y' rest of his companions— Let us Endeavour to beleive y' our troubles, are sent intentions of love & kindness to us, &: y' if our behaviour under y"' is such, as does not render um further necessary to our correction, When they to be of good use to us, we shall then be delivered from them ; for God takes no pleasure in y= misery of his creatures. — It may further be proper to the case before us, that wee take a just Estimate & measure, of wliat wee call our life ; w''" indeed consists, not only of y' small portion of time, allotted to us in y= world ; but comprehends y" whole term of our duration, w='' is to all Eternity ; in comparison of w''' our abode here is as notliing, &: consequently y" Hardshipps wee lye under, should appear to us less considerable, than wee are apt to represent them. Indeed were y' life our only portion, 'twould be y' saddest prospect in y' world to foresee, uneasiness & misfortunes attending our future hours ; biit since it is as nothing in comparison of our duration ; & is moreover but a time of tryall & probation, upon y' spending whereof our Everlastmg futurity does depend Let us by a meek & patient behaviour, endeavour to secure a Happy futurity ; & make these floods S: seas, of troubles & difficulties & distress, w''" threaten to overwhelm us (as wee do y' naturall ocean) subservient to our passage into our heavenly Country by a prudent conduct, by a patient & resolute enduring & striving, against cross winds & bad weather w'*' incommode & obstruct us in our Voy"'— The skilfull mariner when a storm lyes directly against him, lyes by, w"' a resolute patience & hardiness, till it clears up, & then sails on chearfully, makes y' best of his way, forgetts all dangers, & foul weather, and never sowres, his hopes of arriving safe at last, nor looses y' present pleasure of a fair gale, by foreboding new dangers, & future hardshipps, or by reflecting too seriously upon y= past. Tims sliould wee Endeavour, to bear our afflictions when present, w" a stout & manly resolution, & when they are blown over, to enjoy y' Easy & Quiet hours of our lives, w"' thankfull & Contented minds, reckon every day of, ease & pleasure as so much time gained, and as advancing us one day nearer to our harbour, where when once arrived, wee shall never suffer paine or sorrow or disappointm' any more. But Enjoy a long long rest, from all our labours & tryalls, our fears & our sufferings— Againe as Every man has in y' life some perticuler cross cS: affliction ; (for man is born to sorrow as y' sparks fly upward) So has he likewise some more perticuler tryall of his vertue (some one speciall instance of Virtue to be attained, or Vice to be denyed) in w'"" he finds infinitely more difficulty, than in all y' other parts of his duty whatsoever ; Insomucli that a man, notwithstanding y' Number of his dutys & y' ^'ariety (from w"'in & w'^out) of opposition he meets in y' discharge of them, may yet in a manner, be said to have but one good thing to do, to inherit Eternall life ; because in comparison of this all y' rest is easy — Now altho y= Temptations of crasy & sickly constitution ; of a life of paine & labour, of a poor & necessitous fortune, seem harsher & less eligible, than those w='' arise, from a Vigorous health &: fortunate circumstances. Yet wee see f Job maintained his innocency, against all the assaults of these outward calamities, (tho they were backed by a more speciall power from y' Devill) When Solomon y'' wisest of all y' sons of men, let go his integrity, to y= temptations of pleasure, and tho he saw & declared all was Vanity and vexation of spirit; yet were both his virtue & his wisdome to resist these pleasant Vanities ; whose consequence he foresaw was such spirituall vexation. Almighty God knows best how to try y' faith & y' patience of his s" and indeed y' e.\ercise of some people's patience is almost y' only thorough tryall of their faith. Job in his prosperity walked uprightly in y- sight of God, He likewise bore his losses w" a becoming submission. But put forth thine hand now said Satan, & touch his bone & his flesh & he will curse the to thy face, and here it was y' he began to stagger, & shew some tokens of impatience, Then says y' text Job cursed his day, for says he, (as it follows) the thing y' I greatly feared is come upon me, & y' w" I was afraid of is come Z 1 78 William Taylor of Soitfli IVcald.— Correspondence. 1673-1750. unto me ; Therefore my sighing cometh before I eat & my roarings are poured out like water : Here wee see y' good man feared nothing but paine, &' therefore here it was, y' his Virtue was put to y' truest proof, & when he had got over y=^ f Devill gave him over. Yet this very thing call'd paine is not to all men y greatest tryall, for some who have never been exemplary for resisting y' temptations of a sensuall life, by a constant watchfiiUness & self-denyall ;— have yet for y= sake of f Religion, (w=" they could never be prevailed upon to adorn w'" a Virtuous life), have they suffered y= Greatest hardships & persecutions, and Even death it selfe w* y° greatest Zeal & bravery. Now since it pleases God, to lay upon Everj' one of us, something w=" wee think peculiarly hard & greivous to be born,. Wee must take our lott from him, as a task committed to us, as y" great business of our lives, the discharge of w'" by how much y" more difficult it is, w* so much y« greater glory will it be rewarded. I beleive y= temptations of ease & pleasure have ever been y° most dangerous ; (before I was afflicted says David I went astray) and that y' Contrary tryalls, (altho they carry a more terrible & affrighting aspect) ; yet are certainly y' safer, and upon y" account f more Elegible. Those have slaine perhaps their 1000' but these their io,ooo' Further 'tis frequently recommended as proper in these cases to compare our condition w'" those who are in worser Circumstances than our selves. And here wee may allways find those, who visibly bear all y' wee bear & a great deal more, -W-retches, whose severe paines are accompanied w'" tedious & loathsome diseases, and both aggravated y= want of freinds, and advice & assistance, & a good accommodation; Who have neither a warm room, nor an Easy bed, nor a comfortable draught of drink, nor even food befitting y' weakness of their condition ; & which is yet more killing, (and enough to raise their sorrow to f height of madness & despair) They continually hear the sighs & groans their miserys draw from y'" echoed back in sad crys & complaints from y= Hungry & empty bellys of a starving family whose subsistance depends upon their daily care & labour. And yet God expects this should°be born by us, if he should ever be pleased to call us to it, and therefore whatever comfort wee enjoy beyond y' must be acknowledged w"" thankfuliness. D' Whichcott* {From William Taylor to his son Henryi] To M' Henry Taylor at M' Newcomes schole at Clapton Hackney Lond° 22 July 1724 Tlie pleasures of school compared with those of home. Honest Harry I have sometimes been tliinking what the reasons can be w'" make you so fond of Hackney and to spend so little time in London. Is it that the air agrees better w* your constitution? or that you love the retirements of a country life? or are you more delighted w* the Company you enjoy there? or is it the inclination you have to learning & the ambition of becoming a man of letters? f Sister indeed tells me it is this last inducem' w- engages you to so constant a residence at Clapton. And if it be so, pray give me leave to put 2 or 3 serious questions to y' consideration— In the i" place I would faine know if there are not all and the very Same letters upon a gmger- bread hornbook as there, are in a Littletons dictionary? and if it be not foolish to lye poring there, in hopes of finding more than all? 2"" Does learning promote y' growth, y' strength, or the athletic * The above is copied from the rough draft, which ends abruptly at"Dr Whichcott." It is probable that a quotation from his wr.t.ngs was added at once to the letter, leaving the draft as we see it, uncompleted Th^ Dr Whichcott, whose name we find mentioned also in the letters of my grandfather, was Dr Lenjamtn W hichcott Provost of King's College, and Vicc-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He was a theological writer, and it is worth notinc, that in 1651 " Redemption Redeemed" was dedicated to him by its author, the Rev. John Coodmn. William Taylor of South Weald. — Correspondence. 179 vigor of y' body? Do long periods & Hexameters stretcli out tlie lengtli of f carcass? or do laconic 1673-1750, sentences & saphics make y' feet move y= nimbler? Will y' turgid parentheses and y' sesquipedalia verba fill y= belly and fatten? Or Ovid's pretty storys of Atlas and Hercules make you ever the stronger? I have a flower in the garden has grown taller in 6 months than you have done m twice that Number of years, and have seen as many Seams split and buttons burst off w'" pudding and chees cake as ever you knew crack't w'" greek & Hebrew, What can you say to this Master Henry ? Then as to y' health, what can macerate and consume the body more than hard study and intense thinking ? It wasts and exhausts y= spirits, breaks the rest, brings on a hasty old age and oftentimes sudden death, as the Poet well describes it — Ora notat pallor, macies in corpora toto est, Et tetrico in vultu mortis imago sedet ; Nocte tibi nigrre fuligo bibenda lucernas Si modo Calliopes castra sequenda putes. — & againe — Hinc subit^e mortes & spes prorepta sencctas Nec tibi fert Clio nec tibi Phcebus opem In the next place as for wealth, I'll engage to Poll 10 rich men who cant spell English for one who understands a single sentence of latin— well might the above cited poet complaine— Ite leves nuga; sterilesqj valete camcenjE— Gratac|, Phceboio Castalis unda choro . Quffirite quern capiat jejuna cantus in umbra— Quffirite qui rota unda cantet aqua — Aonidum paupertas semper adherens— It comes et castris militat ipsa suis Then for Examples of men poor and learned he goes on — Bellagerunt urbes septem de patria Homeri : Nulla domus vivo, patria nulla fuit. Exul Hyperboreum Naso projectus ad axem Exilium musis imputat ille suum. Calliope longum ccelebs cur vixit in aivum ? Nempe nihil dotis quod numeraret habet. I would furtlier ask my master, Henry how learning does contribute even to the making us pliilo- sophers, i.e of what use is it to y" happiness of our lives, or the government of our passions. A great Author says No man is the wiser for his learning but that wisdome and witt are born with us. This IS certame that y' learned men are often the most peevish and splenetic of all others— are not y' greatest criticks the most proud and the most ill-natur'd ? where can you see greater signs of an angry and miplacable, a fretfuU and a malicious spirit than runs thro all their works & cankers every page of their writings? Learning shews us so many things w'" wee are ignorant of, that it is enough to make us run distracted. Whereas Ignorance is allways satisfied with it selfe, has such an inward fullness as knows no want & consequently no vexation. But if you become a man of letters— Sxpe caput sculpes, & vivos roseris ungues, Iraia fcnes puJpua ssepe nianu. I shall trouble ray Dear student but with one Question more & it is this. How learning does promote our pleasures or improve our recreations, How for instance the capping of verses can give us more diversion than a game at Crambo, or how the play at Totum is more entertaining when the letters on y' sides stand for latin words than when they stand for English ones? I am told by very- good anglers, that the talking latin will scare the fish and spoil the sjiort as much as the talking of English, and 1 have heard y' grooms and Huntsmen make as perswasivc Orations to their dogs and 1 80 IVilliain Taylor of South ll'cald. — Correspondence. 1673-1-50. horses as y= most Eloquent doctor in either of y' universities— A Blacksmith will play at [illegible] with an Hebrew professor, and a Butcher will be in at the death of a Stag as soon as an Archbishop.— And if it be thus M' Hall ; then I say once againe Quorsum ha? lucubrationes — et cui bono I doubt not but y' love to y' studies and a great partiality to y' old acquaintance Latin and Greek will provoke you to vindicate their honour to the last drop of y' ink. And I fear I have rowsed y' indignation to my utter shame & confusion. But as you are stout I beg you to be mercifuU and instead of insulting to pity the ignorance of S' y' very Loving friend Wm Taylor F.-itlierly counsels (in colleije lift-. {_No address from William Taylor to his son Henry l\ Lond° i" Nov' 17 28 D« Hal I have herew"" sent you what books I could meet w'^ the rest you must buy of M' Crownfield, to whom pray give my humble Service. The same to M' Adams whom I would have you keep an acquain- tance w" since he is pleased to do you that honour & friendship— pay Crownf ready mony, and husband y' stock well. I would not willingly mention to you so often the word Frugality but the case being such that mony is as pretious as heart's blood, one drop cannot be wasted w* out great pam— I would have you take great care How you read y' chapters in the chappie y' tirst time, I would read them over i" at home to be perfect in y' accenting, stopping, and laying a just emphasis on every word y' expresses the meaning clearly and easily, read slow and distinct, and w"' a voice easily to be heard so as to reach y= room you are in, and not to vociferate for y= benefit of the Bedmakers who are saun- tering in y= Quadrangle. If you begin to set out in a careless fearful! hudling muttering manner you'l find it hard ever to get rid of it, therefore be sure to endeavour at a decent behaviour and a Solemn carefuU & laudable way of expression at the beginning, I make no doubt but as y' master is a very strickt enquirer into y= attendance at Chappie so he is as curious a regarder of the behaviour and performance of every person there, and would not have you omit every possible way of wming his favour, whenever you have an oppertunity pray give him & his lady my Humble Service— When you write againe let me know if his kinsman has mentioned any thing more to you upon y' subject he once spake to you of — pray give me an acc' of y' manner of life and y" method of y' studys, and w' exercises you have been or are like to be call'd to in a little time; It is humanly speaking in y' own power to set out w" reputation into y= world and to make y' way into some handsome condition of life. All in a manner depends upon y' conduct for 4 or 5 y" to come w''' if it be regular and industrious I have friends both able and ready to do you any service, but if you happen to be -seduced into base tempta- tions of Idleness and vice, what Creature can be more despicable! what wretch can be more unhappy! espetially if you come out upon the Divinity line, for what Monster can equall a lew'd Dunce in a gown attending upon things of y° most sacred nature ! I take you to be so delicate in the choice of y' companions y' need not give you any cautions upon that head but shall refer you to y= observations of Solomon & the Son of Sirac, only remember that one considerable error stains a man's character for ever and hangs as a dead weight upon all his future endeavours to advance himself— and a continuall bearding w* trifling coxcombs and misspenders of time tho not greatly criminall in their common beliaviour, shall stick upon a man's reputation like small spots of dirt upon a postilons coat w='' render it almost as offensive as if he had tumbled over head & ears in a muddy hole— As to the 2 articles above of Conversation & expenses I might as well have said in fewer words. Be your own Example. Let y' future actions be only like f former for I desire no more than that you always remaine master of that good Sence and those good dispositions 1 IVilliam Taylor of South IFcald. — Correspondence. i8i w^'' you have hitherto exhibited — I have the satisftction to acquaint you tliat M' Hale has promised to 1673-1750. make up Quota ;^25 ? ann — I thinly f prospect all things considered is at least equall to any Lad's of y' condition and I assure you that take my hopes and expectations to be as large and as well grounded as any man's in my circumstances— pray present my Service to M' plumtree M' Sedgwick & all other friends you meet w"' all — I gave y' Letter to . . . Denne who promis'd to send it to M' Gee — M' New- come thanks you for his c& is heartily glad to hear y' you are well — y' mother Rec"" a letter from Q Col Camb : but the date does not discover whether it was written before or since the conquest. I perceive by some quotations from Ovid that it is more recent than y" reign of Augustus The Ladys think y"' latin is thrown in by way of defiance and have got their champion to answer in their behalf in y= following terms (resenting to be thus us'd by a Young gown man). I Ne nimium confide toj^a cum tuftibus atris Nec nimis immodice pileo gloriare rotundo. Sjepe enim doctrina latet sub veste puellje ; Nostra ctiam Anna sapit ; non pauca atq^ artibus Anna Omnibus ornata est, linguisq^ instructa modernis, Et Cantare par est, et respondere parata. But I shall leave the prosecution of this affaire to her self who is preparing something for y' learned vii I am going out and must break off w''' assuring you that I am y' most affectionate father W. Taylor. Mess" Tackill WoUey Voyce salute you Not' 1728 you see y" above was written some time ago — Nancy has prepared something of great consequence but is gon to Hackney & forgot to leave it out to be sent — I have rec"" y" of y'-" 4"" ins'. \^From IVilliain Taylor to his sou Henry. 1 To M' Henry Taylor at Queens Colledge In Cambridge Lond Nov 17 28 D" H'- You must not expect any great order or connection in this letter but such starts only &: hints as Queries as to these W'" follow. college doings. 1 am glad y' mony is like hold out consider this Q' will be but about 2 montlis long, you had every thing new & nothing to buy and no chamb' rent to pay. these things will agravate y' next Q' for w'*' you do well to previde— Q : where about comes y' score on y' buttery books— Q : how goes on y' correspondence or rather conversation with Morris & plunitre. M' Gurdon I perceive is a young Gent at whose fathers house the Archdeacon & I lay when wee were together in Suffolk, y' .\. R. remembers him very kindly to him he has not seen him in many years— Q what sort of acquaintance do you hold w"" young Davies. you should not let it drop because it lyes in his poiver to throw in a good or a bad word— if you mean in y" that I should not omit presenting my service to the Mast' &: Lady, pray do you do it whenever you have an oppertunity, I dont know if you have any common admission to him or what fredoms or intercourse is allowd— I wish you could inform y'self of the nature of Scholbr"" and their time of falling y' I may slip no occasion of soliciting— Q how comes y' acquain- II -1750. Ill 182 Prospect ' tutorship. IVi Ilia 111 Taylor of South IVcald. — Correspondence. tance to lye only among freshmen — Q did you writi to y' M' N in latin or Greek— my service to Mess" Sedgwick Adams & Lun. ubi vidisti Dom. Adams & quid dixit — When comes M' Sedgwick to Lond" — Wee want to see some themes & verses — Q. are they shewn up in publick or only to y' tutor? y' mothers recipe for making latin verses is to turn your subject into english verses first and when once you have got it into verse you have nothing more to do than to translate it into latin — Nancy wants to dispute with you but that tis as far from Lend to Camb : as it is from Camb' to Lond° — If M' Gee is like to be so little at Camb' methinks you might Chum togeather and you pay p' of y= rent, you may mention it to M' Sedgwick & take his advice — I'm glad to hear you have not miss'd chappie and that your Eyes are recovering — Q do you and any other lad con over y= lectures you have heard in y' Tutors chamber & make f selves masters of 'em from time to time, if something of this nature is not done immediately after hearing 'em they'l soon be forgot — y' mother thinks you catch cold for want of strings to tye y' nightcaps on — I may very reasonably suppose that you have wrote to M' Delme to tempt him to an academicall life— if M' Sedgwick comes to Lond° about Christmas I think you had as good do so too for Im told you'l lye under temptations of gaming tis better spend y' mony in coach hire than loose it at Cards, & better be out of y" way than look singular. [In a different hand, probably one of his sister's — D' Harry tis only for these good reasons to be sure that Daddy talks of your coming at Christmas not because he wants to see you no no not in the least what do you think father's are like mothers never well but when their babes are in sight] You see how a Saucy wench interrupts Y' L" fa W. Taylor \_Froin William Taylor to his sou Hcnryi] To M' Henry Taylor at Queen's College In Cambridge Lond° March 23"' 1730 D" Harry I have hopes in a few posts more to be able to congratulate you upon y' being prefer'd to be tutor to y' 2 Sons of S' Edw" Ward of Brixley near Norwitch, and to be his own companion ; I hear a very extraordinary character of y« family, and his seat is incomparably fine & sweetly situated. This is what I hinted to you once or twice already, and what all my friends have warm'd me in y= prosecution of being overjoy'd at y" opportunity, at i" it fell in most providentially and has been fora-arded w'" many circumstances concurring to facilitate y= conclusion— I met accidentally upon making a visit to M" Chandler when in town at her Bro. y' parson's a Gentleman who inter alia inquired of me for a tutor as above, I told him I wish'd you had done at y= university it would have been most agreeable and thouglit no more, imraediatly I fell in with Mess" Gurdon & Gary who sent me back agame f minute to see if your keeping 2 half terms more could not be dispens'd w" for it would not be a very great loss of time to f young Gentlemen who are but about 9 or 10 y" old— I think wee have got this over, being back' by y« powerful! interests of M' Ward & M' Burroughs both of whom had been desired to recomend a proper person w'" they could have done & did in f dissenting way but that would not do the Barr; being a _ch. man tho his Lady a dissenter, yet they insisted much upon one of moderate Williain Taylor of South IVeahL— Correspondence. 183 principles— M' AVard had spoke to M' Alorland 3 mo. ago but lie had very luckily foi-got it or he 1673-17 could never have wanted a fit person all our fr''' above knowing you & me & M Newcome the prin- cip' agent went to him possest w"> y= highest confidence in what character he should give w"" he did so much to his satisfaction that S' Edward also is perfectly satisfied & wrote to him to know y' terms M' Newcome intends to write this night that from this time to Xmas will be an interrupted space broaken by y' attending 2 terms at Camb' and therefore shall refer f reward to his generosity, but y' when you come to be setled he is sure S' E will be so pleased w'" y' behaviour & conversadon y' he will not offer or desire to give less than ^40 ann'" the Sum my Laily formerly mention'd to D' Scott their Friend &: agent here. S'' D' expects a letter of conclusion next post, and thinks the best way will be to get into possession as soon as you can after y= end of y= term. & to keep y" last ,1 of next term & not y-^^ i"— As for loosing y= benefit of a schollarship it will not be much because y= necessary residence will consume y" proflit of it. However you'l have from hence to Xm' to try y= diff-erence of t 2 ways of living & be able to judge w'" is most advantageous. The Barr' has 2 livings in his gift as M' Gurdon tells me but f Norfolk livings are generally small— U H The good providence of God seems to single you out from among us all as f object of peculiar favour & care, I hope he sees in you a disposition to make y= most suitable acknowledgments and to make the best use of all his bless- mgs. For this must be a most pleasing thought to a person of a fine & well turnd mind, and make him discharge all y" dutys of life with chearfullness & in such a becoming manner as will render him acceptable both to God & man. The eagerness, y° zeal, y= passion of M' Newcome to serve you can never be requited, his character of you may indeed be cali'd f whole duty of man and no thanks in y world can please him better than to see you fully answer it & thereby justifie both his judgm' & his veracity and in doing of this you will find this further advantage of knowing that commend'ations from worthy persons are so far from making men of Sence proud that they are rather occasions of humility in shewing them what is truly laudable & what strong & generous obligations they lye under to behave well their friends reputation lying at stake as well as their own— Wee are all well you see I have only room to add— y' Lo. fat. -^y^ Taylor Nancy has sent you by y" coach from y' Bull Inn this day 2 potts of hearts in a Basket— you would do well to rub up y' mathematics, run over Euclid to refresh y; memory, I find f Barr' has some opinion of y' study— write at large & f* first {_No address :— from William Taylor to his son Henry. '] Lond : 21 .April 1730 D" Marry 1 make no doubt but that you have heard the publick and sad news of the death of the L'' ch : De.-,!!! ofliis Barron my best friend & y' Generous patron, I was willing to alleviate to you this greivous loss f"'nJ 'h= as soon as possible, that you might not be too much afflicted, by telling you that he has not left you ferious'co"„"s immedially destitute, but has hati some remembrance of you in his will as his Execut' tells me but he has not informetl me any further. I was yesterday morning to see M' Cater another old an,l dear friend who was then in the Agonys of Death and doubtless is by this time in y' world of spirits. On Salter' day night I first heard of his keeping house yesterday I could not see him he was past hopes ^nother hand-is sence dead]-It is now the 23'- day of Ap' I was hindred from sending this on Tuesday D- Harry Smcc I have hopes y' the providence of God will enable you to persue y' studys in y man- ner you have begun them. So I hope y' Good sence will point out to you r necessity of Diligence fnigahty & a virtuous conduct These being the things upon w^' you must after all depend for y' future advancement at least for a comfortable station in life wlien all other flourishing expectations may William Taylor of South II ^cald. — Correspoitdence. ■673-1750- fail as being all but promissing uncertaintys — When I have more time I will write to you againe pray let me hear from you oftner y' Ever Lo. Fa. W. Taylor \_No address; — -from William Taylor to Ins son Henry i] Lond" May 1730 D'' Harry Bequest of [he I Rec"" yrs but could not answer it sooner having had many things to divert me from doing what LordCliief- ^ pleases me, The L"" ch. Barron has left you £100. w''' his Execut' is not obliged to pay under a Uaron : hard ^ ' , times. year and should he insist upon his privelege the the legacy is hansome yet wee may be greatly straitned to advance mony for present subsistance, I was forced to borrow of M' Cater y' last mony I sent you and he was no sooner buried but y" Wid" press'd me w'*" Such vehemence that I was forced to take it of another and pay her y' very ne,\t day. No supply comes from y'' North, but some hopes to see our friend before Xmas, I think you had best get proper certificates for the exhibitions from y" Leather- sellers & Fishmongers Companys due at Midsum' as for Rochester D' Denne while he pays it will do it without, Wee shall all be glad to see you but our affaires have met w"' such an unhappy turn y' our weekly pittance will hardly make you wellcome w"" out some little contribution of your own and a for- bearance of too many visiters to enhance our expences — pray let me hear from you — you give me no acc' of y' exercises or any other affaires I think y' term divides about 3 weeks hence, & I think it may be proper to come to town. "When you come wee sliall consult and be better able than now to take measures for hereafter all our loves to you I am y' Lo. father W. Taylor Preparations for entering tlie family of Sir Edward Ward as tutor. \^Trom William Taylor to his son Heiiryi] To M' Henry Taylor at Queen's College In Cambridge Lond° 25 March 1731 0"= Harry you see w"' in y' very great kindness of JI' Newcome & the happy result of his & other friends endeavours to serve you I write to S' EdW" this night that he may expect you in about a month I think you went before the division of y° term pray see what you were put into comons & from y' day you may reckon your time & perhaps come out before the term ends— I think you had best come to Lond° as soon as you can & new rigg, as well for y' own reputation as for that of y' family you are going into, a cheap gentell Tagathy suit & good linnen will do &=■ — pray communicate this affaire to D' Adams and advise w"' him about what is proper to be done in all respects espicially about what & when to say to D' Davies M' Sedgwick — This employm' will be so far from hindring you from a fellowship that it will rather helpe you forward in such a pursuit— pray enquire how y' county & Diocees stands— as for going out upon y= law line tho it has some advantage yet you must consider you have but fellowship in y' chance— send word when you can come w"' safety to y' keeping this term my service to D' Adams I expect a letter from you to morrow pray write me very particular I am y" Q have you seen m' Hale W^ T [The above was written on fly-leaf of letter from Dr Newcome as follows] :— William Taylor of South Weald. — Correspondence. 185 1673-1750. "[From Dr Newcome to Henry Taylor?^ \AIarch 25, 1731] Dear Sir, I thank you for f Letter & the Verses which were good in the main. I s" have been glad of the Arrangements Author's names. Pray send me those of y= 2- Tripos. I believe f Father hath acquainted you of the w.'^ Lucky Offer of your going Tut' to S' Edw" Wards children. I have heard from & writ to S' Edw" on y' Subject, who seems well pleas'd with that Character, which y' Behaviour, whilst with me and since, justly intitles you to from me. He consents to y' necessary absence, till the Degree be compleated'. He would be glad to have you come down immediately & return to keep the latter p" of May term. The Character of the Family is very good, S' Edw" a Whig & his Lady a Moderate Dissenter, He is about 35 has a good taste for Classical Learning, & proposes to make a Companion of you. you will find no difficulty to please them. the Children are young. There's a prospect of being very happy. However by spending the Summer there you will judge yourself best of future probabilities. D' Scott (S' Edw* Friend in Town) was just now with me. I promisd him to write, to know if you accepted tlie offer, &: was willing to go there immediately. He desires you will send the answer to him in Chiswell Street, to be convey'd to the Bar. If tire Norwich coach lyes at Cambridge you will be und' no difficulty to get down, the worst can be but to get to Bournbridge. Don't be bashfull & distrust y' abilities ; I have answer'd for them amply. & will give you my best Help, w" needed. I hope you have not neglected Euclid w'" the Bar' is fond of. If you can write with less freedom to a stranger, write to y Father who will wait on y' D' Let it be speedy, for such Opportunities slipt, seldom return.' If y' County or Diocese be full, w" it not be best for you to go out in Law? but this by y' bye I am D' S' Y' Sincere Friend ^'^''^'^'^ ^5"" ^ H. Newcome [i-Vtf address -—from William Taylor to his son Henry.'] Lond. 27 : March 1731. W I suppose you have rec'' M' Newcomes & my letters dated the 25-! have now y« of y= 25. ins' Advice in seems to be a very good but short answer to mine of last tuesday, tho it was dated in y= year To^TEdwari' "° 1730 w'" is a 12 m° ago— I am glad to see your mind in a right situation betwixt joy & fear: the W^'d'^' advantageous prospect must needs be pleasing; the desire of giving satisfaction to y' expectation of a patron, & to the recomendation of good friends, must needs create some carefulness, or perhaps some degree of fear; for as I told you once before, it is enough to make a wise man humble to see the careful! task w'" is implied in a good character, & the obligation he is laid under to perform it. But this very virtue of humility will of itself furnish a man w"> all necessary qualifications for discliarge of every duty, whereas a vaine confidence, will only put him upon acting to his own disgrace & to y' con- fusion of all who have interested them selves in his favour, and set him above begging direction & assistance from almighty God to enable him w'" patience diligence & discretion to discharge daylv all r » book is learned enough for me and more parallel to my capacity, the remarks are by some ascribed to one whom wee know I should be sorry if he should have so far out shot the Bounds of Truth ingenuity charity Humility good manners & Religious Honesty as I think the author of that Pamphlet has done Nam magna est Veritas et prevalebit— The Bps family are come to Town I thmk you should neglect no opportunity of seeing them or writing to 'em— Here is great complaint against you for not earning y' Gun that lyes ready in the office to be sent you upon recp' of some Birds, this is the Season and you must needs have plenty w'" you. I find every day that f world more and more conspires to report our fr" M' B . . . coe to be the author of the above remarks. D' Hal let one great business of y' Life be to keep y' heart free from the Fartus theologicus & t odium theologicum— Wee have a few instances of Men who can keep their Temper in controversies to shew that it is possible to be done and wee have very very few mstances to shew that it is barely pos5ible,-Wee are now at y" 12. you see all is not true W^" I wrote above-no shirts come this week. If you think of coming to L" next week w='> is as proper as any for besides y' visiting at Or . . r Square . pol's wedding will be then solemnized or for ever desperate, I now begin to think it may come about in that time. In hopes of seeing you I remaine Y' Lo^fa ^ {No address :— from William Taylor to his son Henry ?^ Lond" 10 Dec' 1735 Hall I Rec- y'^ The shoemaker send you a ?! last Saturday you shall have 'em "9 wagon w' the things Kendon : money f^^,^^ Kendon, 1? same convey"— Kekew'" will write to you-y' new fr* Stubbs has y' Character for an difficulties. Reference to I William Taylor of South IVcald. — Correspondence. 191 extraordinary person good schoUer and very ingenious good natur'd facetious I wish you joy of 1673-1750. him— I hear of a book against Wintou call'd y= Sacrifice of y= altar author unltnown, s'' to be in the scheme of D' Hiclts my acquaintance dont seem to admire it — y' mother & I are distress'd to last degree & in deep melancholy for want of mony to pay y° College fine have try'd all all forsake us & y' mony must be p"" this week or y« renewal! defer'd to next y' and then they will raise us yet higher, tho they already set us at 50 more than at this time 14 years vas victis & pauperibus— Knaplock held us in hand but now talks of mortgaging &=, which wee know not how to do shall write you further waggon y' Lo. fa. W. T. \No address -—from William Tayloi' to his soji Henry ^ Lond° q"' Sept' 17^6 D"* Harry ' ' f Sister Reb has just now given me an acc' of the late procession from Weald to Rivenhall and of a party at the Carnaval held there, I wish I had been with you at Dan' Burgess said of the Girls that used to set l'^'^'^''^"" ■ rofcrcncc to m the Gallery, but were in bed that morning instead of appearing so early at y= meeting. Had M' W. Henry's riding come homem f midst of y' Gallantry, seen his stable full of strange horses, his house illuminated, and preach!'""'''' '" the Court yard ecchoing and resounding the noise of vocall & instrumental melody, He would certainly have thought the seat of y' family haunted w"' an army of merry Demons & have stared like f Good son at y= return of his prodigal Brother— But how would the Good man have blessed himself to have seen country dances led up by so many sons of the Cloth and a train of spiritual shepheards w"" their Nymphs turn R Hall place into an earthly arcadia But sequitur post Gaudia luctus. Beck tells me she left you not J well, and yet obliged to ride from AVeald to ])reach on Sunday morning. The raine indeed on Saturday made it necessary and unavoidable otherwise I should never have forgiven your rashness for I dread y' consequences of such killing fategues and very much fear y' letter in answer to this will bring me a bad acc' of y' health ; & I wish you ever get it over pray put me and y' mother out of y-^ paine wee are in about you. I forgot to ask you y= name of Capt" Rich"" wive's sisters Husband.— I reckon you must suff'er a long Lent after y« carnaval above mention'd, and so therefore having no hopes of seeing you Suddenly I desire to hear from you the oftner— M' Kekewitch and Angunle present their Services to you Y'- Lo fa. W T pray send word if you will continue y= old whigs for you never see them [In another hand]— pray write us a letter the first post beck is well & pleas'd thank you for your \_From William Taylor to his son Henryl] To The Rev'' M' Henry Taylor at Tho' Westerns Esq' at Rivenhall place near Witham Essex D« Hall ""P"' I wrote to you last by y' Colchester coach & Ball Deliverd my letter to y' driver and a strict charge to Deliver it into M' Cranes Hands to whom I directed f cover begging him to send it by a messenger w'" all speed— fearing it might however miscarry I send you this to tell you that I think I 192 William Taylor of South Weald. — Correspondence. 1673-1750. liave row secured M' Rudge's Living in Oxfordshire y° particulars of incidents w='' conspired to bring He ihiiAThe has ''"^ ^^^out in 24 hours viz' from Sund° noon to this noon are like 5"' act in a play crouded w"' a secured the livhig Happy variety of matters all tending to finish y" Grand Event of Whcathi ( . ^^^^^^ iiavAt to town immediatly send y' Gown and some Sermons ¥ Reb in y= Colchest' coach you need not come round by Hackney unless you have time to spare you must for next Sunday at Rivenhall — I call'd yesterd" at M' Westerns all out of Town I dont know where. M' Hatsell is at Mitcham — I have a long pleasing Scene to entertain you with Service to M' & M" Larral Yrs W. T. SJ^rom William Taylor to his son Henry. \ To The Rev''- M' Henry Taylor at Tho^- ^^^estern s Esq'' at Rivenhall Place near Witham Essex Lond° 9'" June 1737 D'' Harry Stories of loose Not being able to tell j-ou any News from Oxf-'sh'^ you may amuse y' self w'" the following adven- cleriD'meu. j^^.^ -^^^ ^^,ci, ^ Gentleman of y' cloth & of y' acquaintance pars magna fuit. The Gentleman is wedded But the wife is now at a good distance in the Country, and if a Number of people can keep a Secret (for this you must know is under the custody of a very strong Guard of persons of both sexes) she may never be allarm'd by it or affected w''' it. The Case is of this Nature, The D' and several of the Top men of the parish, were met upon some publick affairs cheifly relating to the Poor, in a large commodious room, where he was speaking in a very Serious manner something relating to the occasion when he was unexpectedly interrupted by a mighty clamour and continued vociferation, w'" drew every body's eye to that part of y° room, where they soon saw that the cause of the disturbance was a woman w'" a Child in her arms, not to be pacified by any nods or motions or even words w'* the D' could use to quiet or stifle the disorder, in short things came to that height that the D', before the par- ishoners would be easy and composed found himself under a necessity of pronouncing w* a loud & distinct voice after the woman who spake 'em first before all y" company the following words "Take this child away and nurse it for me and I will give the thy Wages The woman's name I could not learn, but after this all was Hush't, for he is a man of Honour and his word will go for ^1000— But the form of words are certainly Registerd in one of the parish books \\'herein are enterd orders & Laws to be observed, by the parson and people & wherein are registred the names of Severall disorderly off'enders, & Transgressors of the Rules there laid down for the Society w'"' I am told will be read publickly at proper Times in perpetuam rei memoriam. But The wife may as well stay at Home upon those days, for their mutual contentment, or the parson being the reader may skip what concerns him- self. There is another sort of Narrative of this matter viz' That f acquaintance M' Tho Anguish being to preach a Charity sermon. Had chosen the above words Exodus 2. verse 9 " Take this Child &c. That At the end of his prayer— A child set up a long and loud fit of squawling— That his Naming the text, immediatly upon its being Silenced made some people Smile, But 1 shall refer it to the good wit and good Nature of the polite world whether this languid & unmalicious representation is fit to stand in Competition with the life and energy of my acc' and to believe accordingly especially since the story goes of a parson— Betsy is very ill Beck pretty well y' Lo. fa. W. T. P. S. I just now come from M' U. Howard who dined yesterday w'" old M' R & y" parson & he says the parson will not accept of it. JVilliam Taylor of South Weald. — Correspondence. 193 1673-1750. [_No address from William Taylor to his son Henry.~\ Lond° 15. June 1737 Harry This morning my Coz. Mat Howard call'd upon me and read part of a letter from his Daughter Further about Rudge, wherein she tells him that the old Gentleman had acquainted her Husband that M' Rich" HeliT''' retchin Rudge had refused the Living and [that He now designed it for you but I don't yet wish you joy M' ^'^ Rivenhall. W"' Hatsell call'd a few days ago at our House and wanted mightily to know how y' affair went on but y' mother could not then inform him, for w'" reason I went this noon to his Bro. M' Hen: Hatsell's and Gave him y' above acc' of y" matter— M' H. H. tells me that he has agreed for the rebuildmg his house and wants a house w" in a few miles that he may overlook y' workmen and officiate himself— M' M Howard & I think old M' Rudge go to Oxon next Saturday and M' M H. will send me word if it will be convenient, for you to come down thither and I'le give you immediate Notice— Per Varios casus per tot discrimina rerum— Tendimus m Latium— TantiE molis orat Romanum condere Gentem— M' Collett came from Weald on Monday talks much of their joyous way of living especially when you was there— Besse goes down to morrow & y' uncle P. & all of us are to sup to gether at our old House to night. When M' W. Hatsell saw y' mother He thought to be at Rivenhall in about 10 days, but for fear of the worst you had best take care to supply the pulpit for Sunday 7night that in case I should send for you, you may be soon upon y" wing w'" out loss of time— M' H Hatsell & Lady seem greatly pleased w'" y= hopes I gave them of y' success, He'l acquaint his Bro w"' it Y' Lo. fa, W. T. P. S. the 16— I just now met M' Wallis a Hackney man who wish't me joy & told me M' R Howard thinks all safe & said to s" Wallis that he believ'd you would be in town on Monday, w'" to me IS a hint that it would not be amiss that you should be so. you'l have at least an oppertunity of seemg him in his brothers absence & so y' complements of thanks will appear more personal to him who was the project' and you'l be ready to set out immediatly upon rec' of a lett' from Oxon w'" I may possibly have on Monday, you may dine at Hackney on Monday if you see fit He'l take It well to be particularly appl/d to and indeed may very justly expect it. W. T. [No address from William Taylor to his son Henry.] I have thought since Beck went away of a very material point w"> is the Insuring y' House & out Insuring the Houses against Fire accidit in puncto &= should it be burnt you are ruinatus & ruinandus-if ^ylZt^^A ■ you intend to have it done send word how much you value the House at, How much the out liisdaughier Houses, if Brick or Timber or how much each, if Tiled or Slated for if thatch't wee dont meddle w- fh'ere"" It. The I cant say if it be y" before induction yet y' policy is assignable to any other person who will be glad of it in case of a loss.— I have just seen M' M. H. he tells me many things pro & con. by W I find res est severa Voluptas many cares attending your new setting out in y' world but Nullum Numen abest si sit prudentia— or as Herbert says— Say not that this w'" that lace will do well. But this w'" my discretion will be brave-M' H. Tells me you are in some danger of preaching the Visitation Sermon before the Bp. but sure they cannot exact that from one so young & so unsettled— I hoiie Beck got down well and unplundered— I am glad to hear that you an Honest wise Neighbour- ing Divine who is able to advise you & may prove a worthy & useful! acquaintance, a few Such are 2 B 194 William Taylor of South IVcald.— Correspondence. 1673-.750. really valuable and many in any tolerable distance are hardly to be expected— as you'l see pretty near what is to trusted to before you furnish ... or set out in Life you'l have an opportunity of propor- tioning y' expenccs accordingly, and be sure allways to remember there is a Roderick. I pray God Bless you & give you a wise Humble and thankfuU Heart and make your Sister a blessing to you & you to her and y' parish & you the same to one another. I apprehend a good deal of trouble in waiting upon the Bp— and when you have done w'" him in attending the A-Deacon so that I dont expect you here these 3 weeks. Let me hear from as often as needful! or pleasant or novel— I think you & I are good Customers of late to the post ofBce I am y' Lo. fa. W. T. I suppose you correspond all along w'" M' Hoadly M' Hatsell M' Western & all other good friends. O should you thank y' Bp of Win. now you are certain or let it alone till you come to London. Idem W. T. Advice as lo business matters on Henry's taking Wheat- field, and on Visitation sermon. [yV(; address ;— from William Taylor io his son Henry ^ Lond° 16 July 1737 Harry I think f living is like some young Ladys who in the time of their courts" show forth all their charms w* a Dash of coyness to make their admirers more eager, but as soon as married the Landskip .-rows less lovely, and some little pettulances & asperities discover themselfs w* keep the fond possessor from surfeiting, even so M' Gurdon was observing that Y' Bishop being an Itinerant ubiquitarian The Seals & all powers of Institution must needs lye at Oxon in the Chancell" or some other Hands, this Seems very reasonable, or business can never go on w* proper dispatch. I'le waite upon M Hatsell after dinner I fancy the law w'" respect of parsonage Houses is very strickt against pulling down & carrying away for your Comons folk call things sacriledge which wee lay men only call sharpness-take good advice and do the thing is right-It was his predecessor who built the House & as he left it to him so he must leave it to you and doubtless if he put up Stone or marble he pulM Down other materialls w'" must be replaced for he that laid out so much mony m building made all things tolerably decent and good enough for y' use-Carrying away rails w=- fence the yard seems as odd as carrying off a Brick wall and leaving a Hedge, However what may come cheap & easy one would not be Quarelsome about for as y^' House comes to M' Rudge he may take some care 01 y Interest at y' Leaving it a Lawsuit will be chargeable and it is not good to be reckoned too severe-I am glad Reb got down safe and likes M" Rudge so well for it shews the goodness of her own Judgm- You know I have heard many visita" Sermon and generally found preachers affect to mount some puzling point to shew their learning, and away they tower like Sancho upon his flying horse into the regions of Heat & Wind and noise and Darkness and their Elaborate Harangues ever more despis'd than admird-But still let your motto be nullum Numen abest si sit pnidentia to speak known truths in a clear and strong manner will never fail of a lasting approbation if it miss of loud & transient momentany applause-When D' Wake came into Lambeth there were estimates made of Dilapidat^ w- rose up to several ijiooo they were printed I think at least I had the sight of em-the minutest thing in every room even to the value of is was taken down and hardly a pane of ordinary alass escaped' 'em-The widow may consider this and grow reasonable-Q. Have you got no Clerical acquaintance to preach for you when you come to town-I Hope you have not all this time pass W out writing to J. Hoadly. r\t this point the writer laid down his pen, and some one else added the following passage, probably his wife, considering its tone of mingled authority and anxiety as to the son's faithful performance of his duties] — IVilliani Taylor of South IVeald. — Correspondence. 195 Dear hary I dont see why you need keep any more ground in your hands then for a hors I am 1673-1750. afraid you should take to much of your time up in it your great buisness is takeing cair of that which -phe miJtte-'s is commited to you & I would have you have no more to do then to divart when you are tired & so interpolation, to the great buisness again : which I hope will be your everlasting comfort god has provided you a compitency, you must take cair to live within bounds. [Then William Taylor resumes] — Molly's nurse is not qualified for country afiaires— M' Hatsell says He thinks y' marble chimney peices &= may be taken away leaving them as Cornish found them But the railes ought not to be removed, but you dont describe of what nature the railes are as a fence &^ M' Western is expected from Sussex in about 3 weeks. If M' Cornish took his Tythes in kind surely there must be Wagons Carts & Horses w=" you mention nothing of— My Humble service to M' Rudge's good family & our Love to Beck y' Lo. fa. W. T. Sj^o address from William Taylor to his son Henry.'] Lend" 15 Dec' 1739 {suppose should he 38] D"^ Hal I durst not make the least doubt but that a Gentleman of f deep learning and good Sence is ever a fatherly employ'd in Sublime speculations and Scientifical researches, and as you are a person of great Humanity ye'i^'ing 'cr I make no question but the end of all y' Study's is the good of mankind, It is thus I excuse you to my self for y' so seldom favouring me w"' a Line or 2. And I often check the partial and Selfish desires w'" I have of hearing from you by the consideration of wliat the world may suffer from the Loss of any Quantity of Time w''' you may throw away in indulging my fond & private wishes, I therefore resolve to waite w'" patience till my time of Happiness shall come, and think that my chance is still in f wheel (as is n" 51 m. 222) and waite the drawing w* great discretion and a;quinimity— M' H. N. tells me that his son Ben is resolv'd to take orders & that he intends to solicit the Bp of W. in his behalf and see what he will do for him. I hope you have got the start & that something may soon happen otherwise he is so close at y' heels that he may easily slip before you {From William Taylor to his son Hc7iry.'\ To The Rev"- M' Henry Taylor at Wheatfield near Tetsworth Oxon Lond° 17 Jany 1739 D" Harry I Rec'' y" of the 9 inst. y' Life to me seems to be the Life of a Sojourner a pilgrim a Homoincerti Thoughts of laris a postboy a vagabond. I perceive you are Seldom at Wheatfield and when there, you are said to prefcrment ; be nun quam minus domi quam cum domi I would have Beck let the House &• appoint and furnish lo^thlfFoxes!^ you a room over the coach house with a Stool and a candlestick and tinder box where you may turn in as the old prophet did into his room over the wall ! when ever you come that way, If I find y' Shoes (of w'* I can hear neither Tale nor Tidings lie send em to compleat y' suppellex— I told Nanny Y Errands that about Surfeit Water especially, this being I suppose in y' Country the right season for Popp)-s— I can find no other way of approaching the Chan— but by H Newcome and M' Salter who 196 William Taylor of South IVeald.—Correspondence. 1673-1750. Addition by his daughter Anna. perhaps having their own Interests to make may not care to trouble his with others unless it be to back some other persons recommendation w'" a good word or so or if a small thing should happen in f neighbourhood not worth their acceptance perhaps That might speak for you— Tis strange that the Old Lady should smile and stranger still that such a phenominon should not be accompanied w"> some sounds or other Symptoms from w'" you could conjecture what it might prognosticate, had she got a 10,000 prize I suppose you must never have appeared before her againe nor have aspired to the Honour of having any relation to her exalted Family, The Lawyer here & his wife would have repudiated poor K ; for her ever having entertained any good opinion of you— I have had a good state of health this frost and as for coales I have not burnt a HattfuU so that their dearness will not much affect me— I hear nothing of late about your Garden But 1 remember that when Adam began to doat upon Eve he did not continue long in Paradice but turn'd rambler as you do— I see a poem advertised call'd y' Hornbook f M' Tickell but have not yet read it intend to get it ¥ i" leizure— pray mind that I use Gilt paper as a forerunner of a golden age being near. Q. are the Gentry come from Bath (verte) Where is Miss Hannah— Supposing you are only at home on Saturd' I have post- poned my letter— and now tell you that sent 6 for M' Tickell's Hornbook and have bought own not mended but set out w'" marginal notes for my better understanding my own meaning— The two £\o,aao were drawn yesterday Morning Sam Berington gives you his service & gives me leave to copy the following song When orpheus went down to the Regions below— w* men are forbidden to see— He tun'd up his Lyre as old History shews— To set his Euridice free— All Hell was astonish'd a person so wise- Should rashly endanger his Life— and Venture so far. But how vast their Surprise ! When they heard that he came for his wife— To find out a punishm" due to the fault— Old Pluto had piizled his Brain- But Hell had not torments sufficient he thought— So he gave him his wife back again— But pity Sue ceeding soon vanquish'd his heart— And pleased w'" his playing so well— He took her again, in reward of his art— Such power has musick in Hell. Think of this & smoake tobacco— you have observed that my Letters dye in the middle of their days and that I never finish them to comply w* the old custome I here break ofif & leave it to nancy to add & conclude Dear Bro ; I will look for the receipt & if I can find it will send it in good time : I dont know if Father has acquainted you in a former letter of the ticket I have of yours being a ;^io prize & the other a blank that W^*- Miss H d presented to Becky is likewise a blank according to my mforma- t.on w* perhaps is not entirely to be depended on but when the lottery is done drawmg will endeavor to get a more exact acco' pray tell Becky I communicated the contents of her last to Uncle who almost takes ill her making a question of her being as welcome as possible he shall rejoice to see her he sais whenever & for as long as ever she pleases-why does not she answer my last letter-Your & her affectionate Sister & ^^""1^" A T Approval of Miss Fox, and advice as to marriage. YFrom William Taylor to his son Henry i\ To M' Henry Taylor at Wheatfield near Tetsworth Oxon • Lond° 30 May 1739 D" Batchelor Harry Having been out of Town ever since y' 26 I rec" not y' left' or Letters until this day-In that from Henley signed w* 2 names I take the i" to be latin & by the help of my Dictionary find it signifies something like Fox the english of the latter I take to be Goose, for no Taylor can be without one, now the seeing 2 creatures of such contrary Natures joyn hands together is to me so strong prog- 1 William Taylor of South Weald. — Correspondence. 197 nostick of Peace that I sliall henceforth lay all my wagers against a war either by Land or sea — The 1673-1750. Widow Warnford you remember was vulpeculated of her Brood Goose but y' I think I can be in no danger of— I find the power of attraction increases as the attracted draws near to y= attracting body, and form some doubt whether the prudential considerations w'' you & I had concerted w='' operate cheifly m the Head, will be found to dwell too far off to be regarded (perhaps so much as they should be) in this affair, However it may be the joint interest on both sides, not altogether to lay Them aside, I at least tarry till the B. B" shall return an answer to J. H. and see what Hopes or assurance may he gathered from thence. Tho even such assurances may fail in case of mortality; and on the other side without running some Hazzard the Land would be neither plowed nor sowed & Famine & Misery would ensue, I heartily pray to God to direct you both for the best, for from the character I have had of y« Young Lady I have conceived such a real affection for her that I hardly wish it more for Y sake than for hers, you know Harry very well That as much of a philosopher as I am yet I have very little of the Stoick in me, and can Say, Nihil Humanum a me alienum puto, I can step back 40 years in life and with a perfect and most pleasing remembrance call to mind that Time when my condition bore as I suppose some near resemblance to f pres' circumstances & make me say with Q. Dido w"' some little variation in y' occasion agnosco veteris vestigia Flamma;, and it pleases me to see others enjoy the same happiness w* the same disinterestedness & sincerity But what is Happiness that can ever end? You have seen the reason why the Gr' coat is deferr'd. I directed my let' when my pen was pretty good & you See have omitted The Rev'' It was indeed without design but it may be excused by the latin verse Hand bene conveniant vel in una sede morantur (Reverentia as well as) majestas et amor. Pray if you go often to Henley take an In- ventory of all you carry out with you as the man did who began w"" imprimis here am I item here's my Horse my Boots &=. you needed not have given me an instance of y' own absurd behaviour I could have taken the Height of f capacity from an acc' I have had from S. Hampton of what company you keep one of whom was so ingenious as to tell a Lady y" ne.xt day after he had disswaded you from dining with her when you had rode 20 miles by 10 in y" morning w'" a design of so doing that the prettiness of y° contrivance was all his own implying that she could not entertain Such wor- p" Guests who had come so far upon a civil visit whereas she could have treated you as well as the Star with the best y= Town afforded, forced from her this strong and most pathetick ejaculation Oh monstrous and most amazing Stupidity — pray consult M' W. Newell and let me see what pro- bable scheme you lay of makeing one happy whose unhappiness will make you a most miserable being I am y' most affectionate Father W" T.A.YLOR \^No date;— part of a letter from William Taylor to his son Henry. '\ [ . . . torn . . . ] besides there is in it another article w''' I can never allow w'' is your doc- Praise of his late trine concerning y' external Beauty & internal perfections of a fine Lady, making it a point of Faith : Hemy's that these are to be ascribed, in the highest &: most absolute sence to a person now alive, whereas SeiSent. they never were in that Sublime degree centerd in any one but thy own mother, and when wee old men shall see thy 2"'' Temple, wee shall only weep at y' remembrance of the i", as I could now heartily do but that I am resolv'd to keep up y" spirit I am now writing in, and therefore volo ad hucduitius tecum insanire. I suppose you will contrive y' Settlement for the true and real benefit of you both, and of those that may come after, without any selfish end of overreaching or doing hardly by each other, w" ever turns out wrong and ends in coldness and mutual distrust and where there is the least tincture of these there can be no happiness, and let me tell you from 40 years experience and wading thro many troubles and misfortunes, that whilst real sincere Love and union 198 William Taylor of South IVcald. — Correspondence. 1673^1750. of soul are subsisting tliere can be no unhappiness in Life but what may pretty well be born, for even Greiving and mourning together has in this case something in it so soft and tender that the mind finds some ease and repose in the midst of afflictions and some releif and rest amidst all its sorrows. I have seen many a Lady not . . . [torn] . . . eyes may grow more curious her understanding more inquisitive and y' behaviour more awkward & rediculous. as for your 2 case if you really mean Coram vero Judice I say there is little or no Danger of exceeding but if you mean coram Non Judice, or only coram Testibus, ignotis, vulgaribus, vel garrulis, I say Seldome or never, but rather never, as to the Status Humdrummicus w"' you mention I shall only observe to you that whilst Numps held his tongue he was thought both wise and modest— as for smoaking a pipe tho it is much condemned on These occasions yet I confess it is my opinion that for some time past, y' mouth has been employed, in modulating smoke and air into sounds & phrases, much less significant and much more unintelligible. I have wrote all this at once in my aunt's Hall at Biggin & shall send it to Lond" post house to night, for f present amusement, and that I may have my whole time to spare (this being i" dispatched) to answer the large pacq' w'" I expect '4 Bro. Crispe to morrow night, as well as before the arrival of a Certaine Lady at adwell shall make you too addle headed to minde a word that comes from y' Lo. fa W. T. Love and Service to be distributed how and to whom you please aunt Coz" Beck & M" Lawrence (for she must crowd herself in) give their services to you & Nancy S: Reb' [From William Taylor to his son Henry i] On the birth of Henry's first child : reference to Mrs Fox's estrangement. To The Rev""' M' Henry Taylor at Wheatfield near Tetsworth Oxon London ig"" June 1740 D"' Hal as every plant is suited to one particular soil more than to another so I find that Oxfordsh' is a Country where Taylors florish & multiply and as I prophecy will spread & increase as fast as their Cucumbers and cabages do in other climes, for with much pleasure I find my own Stock there aug- mented 50 ¥ c' since I saw you in Town, and I don't much question but you are all as well pleased as I am and my most earnest and hearty desires are that you may always continue to be so— I thank God you are above the misery and temptation of want and I think that is the most that wee are allow'd to pray absolutely for w'" respect to the things of this world, and even these things and health itself the very and greatest worldly blessing wee ought allways be prepared to resign to the will of God. this temper of mind and a Sincere Love between those who are for Life joyned partners in all outward circumstances, thoroughly establish't in the Souls of young and Honest people, will ever Support them under all the evills of Life, and fill them w"- such inward peace & joy as no outw'' prosperity & abun- dance can equal, as for children they are the Gift of God and he that made 'em can & will take care of them 1000 ways without making you the instruments or deriving his mercys to them thro f hands. I wish w'" all my soul that y' mother in law had the Same sentiments of these things w'' I have, it would I am sure tend very much to her own happiness and contentment— As for y' Selves set out fair & softly w"' care and moderation & Nullum Numen aberit si sit prudentia — The Tuesday Lecture in Barth" Lane being vacant in y= Gift of the Haberdashers C° M t IViUiam Taylor of South JVeald. — Correspondence. 199 Wells M' Lewis of Hackney D' Lawrence the L'' May" Chaplain & 20 more put up for it Coz" 1673 -1750. Howard yesterday calld upon Mr Payne in favour of Lawrence — The 2 Gent, chosen by Guy's Governours refuse to sign their Bonds being thereby oblig'd to resign upon y" will of y' Court and they are about to chuse 2 more I communicated f Letter last night to the Fire-office, where wee regaled our selves upon the occasion and drank all y' healths wished you all happiness — Wee had some talk of Seing you before the Summer is over But conclude that it is best to Tarry till you are come to y' Selves, till you can set still and keep f hands quiet, till you can bring y' Eyes to an indifferent and just contemplation of every person and object that is placed before you. Till y' Braines can be exercised upon other Subjects besides y' own Dear Selves and y' lipps instead of blowing kisses cross the Table can talk pleasantly and properly upon any other matters— In the mean time live in Love take care that there never happen a first difference between you and then there can never be a second — f happiness must arise from y' Selves not from without, and when grounded upon that foundation things from w"' out can never make you thorowly miserable, as Kitty's Mama's difficulties spring from an over Sollictous & distrustfuU care of her Daughters wellfare I shall upon that score and the acc' of y' relation now between us have a due respect for her and if she continues to deprive her self of the comfort of a Good child shall heartily pitty her. Let y' behaviour be inoffensive and let the Parsons family be an example to the parish — May the Blessing of the all good God ever accompany you my D' children and continue you a comfort '0 y' most affect' Father W" Taylor M' Kekewich Ekins anguish & all our tribe give you their service & best wishes \No address ;— from William Taylor to his son Henry ^ Lond° 10"' July 1740 Rev** S' & my Ghostly Father For how can any longer use the familiar Stile of D' Harry under the present awe I have upon Reference to Mis me from the gravity of y' Epistle of y" 7. inst. Wonder not therefore If I am at a loss how to ivrite st°oles"(?)""' or behave in my present circumstances— I am glad you have p"" a visit to Madam and that you parted in so good an understanding. If sist' S. will strive to make her Self and her Husband perfectly Happy and f Spouse and you do the like, you will neither of you I suppose have any rexson to envy or pitty one another, and so you may as well live in friendship as not— If you let me know what Stock you intend to dispose of I believe I can get a letter of attorney from the respective Office to be sent to you into the Country to be Signed by you 2. to empower any person whom you shall appoint to do it for you w"' out her Journey to Lo. as for your Self should be glad to know y' time of coming beforehand if you can bring your Self to a temper of resolving to part from home for a few days.— I hope Kitty is not a Girl of that good sence as you and others are pleased to report otherwise her respect to my letter would be enough to turn my head & make me proud, tho when I consider it as founded upon the resemblance it bears to some 01 y" I find my vanity a little abated by considering that the prejudice she has in y' favour extends likewise to me and my productions— Pray give my hearty Love to her and tell her I shall be ever desirous to deserve her good Esteem my Love to Beck— Let nanny write about Spoons Seals When you come to Town I shall be able to judge how far it will be in my power to see Wheatf ' this Summer [.Added by his daughter Anna] — ^ Dear Uro : The spoons came on Wednesday but not till afternoon so too lat; to send em lo 200 William Taylor of South- Weald. — Correspondence. 1673-1750. you but I shall be sure send em on Wednesday next w* I suppose is the tirst opportunity Betsy is something better we have been to Vauxhall & to Greenwich Park & to Islington wells I rec"' sister Becks letter but am not at leasure at present to write more than that we all present our love & good wishes to you all I am yours sincerely A. T. Advice to his daugliter-in-la\v. \No address -—from William Taylor to his son Henry ?\ Jam alia vita alios Marite maritissime, Siva postulat uxo' usime Lond" 14 July 174° volo volo aliquando insanire was the saying of a very great philosopher and Dulce est desipere in Loco is a Sentence w'" I can very readily Subscribe to and have accordingly for a long time past have danced after f Pipe it is now time that the Spring tide of Joy should retreat into is proper bounds and run more gently and smoothly in its own channel, and thereby become more usefull and not less beautifull. The Subject should now be Res est severa voluptas, for to the keeping up true happiness and to make pleasure perpetual, there are required a large assemblage of Domestick virtues such as Diligence prudence care and circumspection patience contentment frugality and a regular ceconomy of f family and a just proportinating of y' Time to proper uses and employments. But not thinkmg you at present of Sufficient discretion, to manage so high a part I choose rather to put you under the Direction of a more Solid & judicious Govern' to whose care I recommend you in the underwritten letter Wherein I prudently committ ye To th' Governm' of "Wiser Kitty D" Mistress Christiana Taylor Altho I have not Yet had the happiness of seeing you, yet I have (I can't tell how) conceived so good an opinion of y' understanding and great abilities, especially in the well ordering and Dis- ciplining of heedless young people That beg leave to put into y' hands, the above youth, trusting him entirely to y' conduct and coiTection, and therefore most earnestly desire. That you will not Suffer him to lye in bed in y' morning, but rouse him betimes & turn him into his study locking hira up there for some hours (The morning being a friend to the Muses) Fear not his breaking his braines, for the young fellow dont greatly want parts and can Study fast enough when it takes him in the head— at a proper time let him out to a short Breakfast and a Turn or 2 in garden or to any business that shall occur. Then put him back againe to his Books, untill \ an hour before Dinner & then See that he tyes up his garters Brushes his hat & his Cloaths and washes his face and hands or he will soon degenerate into an abominable Sloven or perhaps bordering a little upon y' Brute— In an afternoon you may either command his attendance upon you to take the air or please to spare him a horse to go by himself upon any laudable occasion. The Duty of Chaplain to y' family I hope you will see him constantly perform, But Alas what am I about! I am assuming the oHice of a Teacher instead of occupying the place of the unlearned, for I am Sensible that an old Watch- man, from the philosophical gravity of his Habit and the Title of his Function might as well have pretended to instruct Minerva (in the person of Mentor) in the Education of Telemachus, as I presume to read you a Lecture about the Government of a Husband and therefore shall transgress no further But leave you to the Wisdom of one of y' Old Names and the Sanctimony of the other, and so with much respect take my leave & remaine &= TchiBdauglUcr Now my D' Becky I address my Self to you, hoping I may stile this part of my letter a word Rebecca. jfA,-^^ for betwixt you and I, to speak the truth, notwithstanding my endeavours about my fore- going correspondents, in order to Banter the one and complement the other into a sound mind I William Taylor of South IVcald. — Correspondence. 20 1 cant but have some small jelousy tliat neither of them are as yet come quite to their witts and therefore intrust you as a prudent Monitor to watch over them both, I think you need not acquaint them how much I put them under your inspection, But however I would not have you exercise y' authority in too Tyrannicall a manner, But consider them as persons of Wealc heads at present, but of Honest Hearts and tractable dispositions and so I hope they may not finally prove incorrigible— But that you may receive the Benefit of their recovery in their future care of you if you should ever fall into their unhappy circumstances — Now I am hurried to conclude in a moment, pray let us know when y' folk come to L" — if you have had any that I know to visit the yoke fellows & how many kisses you have had upon that occasion, & how the people at y' Great ?Iouse behave my Dear Love to you all y' affect' father William Tavlor \No address, no signature; — Evidently a jeu-d'esprit, written to some friend of the familyr\ W fa; february 1742/3 altho I think that when the ceremoniale of y' Correspondence w"' me was in debate you ought to have been governed by the judgement of 2 persons so notorious for their wisdom of y' own honoured father & my most sage c& Oracular Daughter who gave their verdict in favour of my superiority in years yet y' refusing to make the first advances was gilded w"' so hansome a compliment upon my youthfullness & gallantry that I not only approve of f resolution but am come fully into y' sentiments and in consequence of my intire conviction do now perform the task you injoyned me of writing fully into y' sentiments wliat wee are very desirous should prove true wee are easily induced to believe & besides the opinion I have always had of f great wisdom & sincerity have so far overcome my old prejudices that I am now thoroughly disposed implicitly to resign ray belief tho seemingly grounded upon facts & very long experience to f so vastly superior understanding. For indeed if I have really lived so many years as I lately imagined. Why where are they, whats become of them, what have I to shew for 'em; am I stronger, am I wiser, do I eat more, or sleep Sounder? I should indeed be glad to find my self grown older by my having grown better, but that is a proof too precarious, not much to be depended upon by my self or others ; my improvements are so clandestine and imper- ceptible ; Nay it is well, if upon a strickt examination there be not more marks discovered of a contrary nature. I find that I have as many teeth in my head as y' 2 youngest people in our family put 'em both together, and that I may not miss those that have deserted their post or got out of their rank I never call the look in glass to take a review but . . . triming, days & then I always keep my mouth shut, my curiosity of seeing y" face of another day is as strong as formerly, and I could laugh as heartily at y' sight of a poppet shew. I have as quick a relish as ever for minc'd pies at Xmas, & fritters at Sh. Tuesday, and there is not a School boy that rejoyces more in every thing that bears any relation to plumbs & Sugar than I do. Thus fair Lady you see how thoroughly I am become y' Convert, how I have sacrificed all my obstinacy to y' Authority and have quitted my oldest & most stubborn errors to embrace y" most beautifull and agreeable doctrine am ready to support with the best reasons I can possibly give out. But notwithstanding I am so well establish'd in these principles w'' you have instill'd into & govern my own practise accordingly (of w"' tliis long letter is a sufficient proof) yet I am apprehensive that in these parts I shall make but few proselites to my new opinions for I live among an heathenish sort of people into whose heads I shall never be able to .... the perswasion of my being a young man, no more than to beat out of their heads the belief of Fairies w'* they will never part with until you can remove a hill about \ a mile from this place w'* has been long famouse for 100 legendary stories of their having their rendezvous's on the top of it. I must confess that in 2 C 202 Williain Taylor of South IVcald. — Correspondence. W '(^75-1750 days of my ignorance, before you informd me better I have given to much countenance to this their vain conceit, w^'' respect to my age, & have frequently & silHly said thank y" S' to a long legg'd, lanthorn Jaw'd grey headed farmer of 73 when he drank to me w"' a nonsensical preface of Old Gent my Service to you. There are moreover lately annext to our family a Couple of young Cubbs who have fixt upon me a sort of indelible Character savouring most abominably of antiquity, and w*^''* doubt I shall never be able to get rid of. I dont care to mention the word tho there is something Grand in it, yet take it alto- gether the sound is sadly dolefull, & always putting one in mind of ones passing Bell. These things are so rooted in the peoples consciences that to endeavour to bring over such bigotted infidells would ■ be no better than trying to wasli the Blackamoor white and labouring for their conversion would be but casting pearls before Swine: my way therefore of dealing w*'' such a stupid generation must be by indulging them in their errors, and since they are determined to deem me old {and nothing but miracles, Such as handling a flail like a thresher, & my heels like a running footman will perswade 'em to the contrary) to encourage their mistakes outwardly as Socrates did the Idolatry of his Country men, & accept of that worship & veneration w'^" tliey Willingly pay to persons of that character. By this means I have the conveniency of being lifted over a dirty slow; my laziness is assested in getting over a malicious stile, or an enormous 5 bar'd gate ; in slippery ways I am supported & kept steady, and towed up steep & tiresome hills by a team of three robust horse limb'd animals, like a W. Country Barge up Chelsea reach. These & many others are y^ advantages w'''' accrew to nie from their absurde calculations, for indeed tlie priviledges of my suppos'd seniority are endless ; the bows made, the Curtisies dropt ^: the honours p'' me when ever I appear in publick w*"'' I commonly do every i^^ day of each week, being enough to set up a City Alderman & carry his election w"' out bribery or corruption. Now Miss Sally, be you my judge if I had not better swim a little w^'' the tide, or wait till time shall change their minds rather than contradict with too much violence this darling notion of theirs w'^'^ they are so monstrously fond of. Time you know brings strange things to pass, and I am in no great hast about it, & besides having Numbers on their side, they will allways- have the laugh on their side, & I shall only make my Self ridiculous to them as a young man, who am respected by them all as an old one. But relying upon y' jud"" [rather] than my own I beg y' opinion in the case w''' will solve all the doubts of, &: clearly determine the future behaviour I am sorry to see R. E. ass" so shamefully low; I suppose the stock of a Late Lordly director has been br' to Market for the benefit of y" clergy. I find a very few blew-beans in a true blew- bladder will make a mighty ratling. '[_Frovi ]Villiain Taylor to his son He7uy.~\ To The Rev-^' M^ Hen Taylor ?sent ECCE ITERUM CrISPINUS Poitsmniuh news. Carlos carryed me to Kingston Jack seem'd pleas'd to see us both &: I veryly belive he remem- ber'd us, a child may know his own grandfather w''' out being so remarkably wise Peter is sweetly tann'd \: is become of y'^ culler of Brown Sugar is grown a meer wild boy & may soon be taught to live upon acorns tS: pigmitts both I think in vigorous healtli — one Hay, Sir E Hawkes clerk (very intimate w"' one at Lond° who pretends to know Nat Carl" circumstances most circumstantially) tells Stan. Blankley y*^ he made up his acc*^ lately paid to all his C" what he ow'd them, & remain'd worth no more than ;£s° '• — -^^^ '"^'^ body not free from a distemper very unbecoming y^ office & cha- racter of a E^groom, these 2 circumstances let a great deal of Light into his story, ^haps these may deviate from y" real truth, & however the Data are hardly yet sufticient to answer y'^ catastrophy William Taylor of South IVcald.— Correspondence. 203 —f parishoner Lieut' Couchraan was shot on fryday and buried on Saturday w'" y= pomp of Pall bearers, Hatbands, Scarves the Lieut' of marines Morgan was buried at Kingston y= night of execution w'" less cliarge & ceremony— Churchman's poor motlier is distracted upon tliis affliction being added to y' of her Daughters poisoning her self upon being forsaken by villaine who deluded her upon a promise of marryage— The Normans y= Bucknalls Carlos Stannyford Linsey & 1000 others forgotten in my last send you their compliments— Have not Seen D Cuthbert. Nor heard any thing from Hoone all this faire Surely he must be gone somewhether & his man along w'" him— my Journey to see port down faire at a distance has rot as yet had any desirable effect I have had a great deal of paine in my hip rather more than before especially towards bedtime & in y= night But will make another tryall as far as Cumberland fort & see if that will have better Success O chaise is very easy & y= roads exceeding smooth— There is no man ahve more desirous of Saluting M' Delme his Lady & all his good family w'" his moor sinceer respects than my self but I put em on board Such a crazy vessel that I have very small hopes of their ever coming Safe to their hands such leaky bottoms are richly worth 50 ? c' insurance however for once, see y' y' memory be well mann'd that my com- pliments this time at least if possible arrive safe— Here M Hawkes makes his entrance and recrifies my story of Couchman it Seems there was a very splendid funeral intended White plumes of feathers a velvet pall & an undertaker from Lond° 6 Brother Lieutenants invited to be Bearers & have scarves and hat-bands But they all wisely refused y' office & do y' honour to a criminal you see how people glory in their shame Atkins cutts a great figure in his full furniture Carlos almost inconsolable for his Loss supp'd here last Satterday night— Not a poppy to be seen in all my travells— Besse sends you both her Duty, and her Love to Harry She is very good & behaves to admiration as I dont doubt that Harry equals tlie best of her performances— 2 Weddings ie 2 Wonders last Week— M' Walters &: wife come safe home, I think he has lost a callop she has gained a black eye I hope the worid will pass a milder sentence upon it than it did upon a late ladys mischance of y" Same nature tho I remember Lockton used to quote a moral sentence of Tully's y" latinity of w* I have heard some strictures upon viz' Qui slandrat Slandrabitur, as y« worid mends it will certainly grow better and mahce will cease— I have been very busy from 5 or 6 m y' morning this week past and shall continue a week longer upon the good work of healing uniting & reconciling party's of severall opinions and contradictory senriments in matters of y= greatest importance many breeches & wounds have I cured, have caused many not only Bretheren but enemies to d«-ell together in unity and in y= bonds of peace and suffer me to spread the covering of charity over all their infirmities & y' multitude of errors & schismatical violences crooked dispositions and obsrinate aversions You may expect to see a wonderfull reformation among y' inhabitants of y" parish especially in y' own neighbourhood Lodgers & inmates. I have had most amazing Success in Chirurgicall operation & practices ujion body's lacerated convuls'd distorted & have reduced dislocations & limbs disjoynted fortified & corroborated members decay'd and almost perish'd & restor'd em to vigour & utility But I shall not strive to imitate y= Stile of namesake y' oculist lest you cry out Quid dignum tanto &'— M" Deacon sent just now to know when you came home & on w'" side y= water I sent her word that I was now writing to you and when you acquainted me w'" f intentions I would acquaint her w"> them— Peter & Jack stout well & hearty last night N B Old M'' Carter did not stay at y' Brides logings to supper time Nat : was to have relumed to sup w'- them & then bring his wife to lye at C Fryors-But satis est suflo- cat Love to K' Ri' & take same for y' self Y' Lo. f W. T 1673-1750. Portsm" 17. July 1749 Not but that Beck sends you all her complim" most heartily 204 William Taylor of South Weald. — Poetry. 1673-1750. BY WILLIAM TAYLOR OF SOUTH WEALD. ONE MAN'S MEAT IS ANOTHER MAN'S POISON. A country client who had waited, Long time to he.ir his cause debated, Was forced at length to seek relief. For Stomack, & for Bowels grief, W" soon he finds : before his Eyes, A House of Entertainment lies, He enters the exhaUng room, Where smoke y' chops, & dishes fume ; Fair Sally spreads y" shining cloth, And smiling brings y" cordial broth. He drinks it down, but hard his fate ! The means of ease new pangs create. Loud eructations ease his pain. And fill y" vessel up again. Just in y' Nick with hasty gate. Comes in y= hungry Advocate. Loudly he calls, but no one hears. Why, where the Devil are your Ears? Some broth, I say — Can no one stir? My cause admits of no demur. Be patient, said y' Client strait, Here take my mess for I can wait. "By no means." Pray Sir, I implore ye, Tis ready cool'd and season'd for ye. His haste sav'd farther compliment; He supp'd it up, and down it went. How like you it? Oh, Sir, the Best I ever tasted, — Such a Zest! Much good may't do you, quoth y' Client, You've such a stomach Sir, as I ha'nt, I drank it once but I'm so weakly, I cast it up again, directly ; It wambled till 'twould stay no longer,— I'm glad your stoniack's so much stronger. W. T & CoMP; THE COW-T- Pan assist my homely song. Pan the God of rural lays, Rustick themes to thee belong, Artless Nature here takes place. IViUiani Taylor of South IVcahi. — Poetry. 205 2 167J-1750. I sing plain Natures homely Tansey, W"" with fragrant smell delights us, Pleasing both to eye, & Fancy, And to call for spoons, invites us. 3 Twas with this choice Amulet, Jove was by his lo treated, She the dish before him set, Tho' Ovid does not say he eat it. 4 Gentle Dews in Summers morning, Phoebus rising from his bed, Crowns of Gems thy head adorning Thousand Glories round thee spread. 5 Lovely are thy winter looks, When y= snow thy face does cover, Tis from thee, the Pastry Cooks, Shape their Cakes, and Ice them over. 6 Custards, that would fain disclaim, Kindred, with thy familv. Basely falsify their name. For they're all deriv'd from Thee. 7 And tho but thy S]}urious race, See what vigour they convey, To the nervous arms that sway, Londons monstrous sword & mace. 8 Thou'rt the happy Welchmans food, As to fairs their Cows they drive. Thou maintainst them on the Road, Tis no wonder if they Thrive. 9 Lincolns Children bless thy name, Cold and Starling they must lie. Did not thy enlivning flame, Th' element of fire supply. William Taylor of South IVeald. — Poetry. lO Fearing into thee to fall, Scorn in haughty Virgins ceases Young tliey yield to Hymen's call, And by Thee, mankind encreases, II Handling thee, the happy Bards, Are not paid with empty fame, More substantial those rewards, W"'' from Sh n luck tliey claim. EPIGRAM. It blew an hani storm, & in utmost confusion, The Saylors all hurry'd to get absolution. Which done, & the load of the sins they confesd Transferd as they thought from themselves to the priest To lighten y' Ship, & fulfill their devotion, They tos'd y' Poor Parson, souse into y° Ocean. EPIGRAM. A Canon Ball, one bloudy day. Took a poor Saylors leg away, And as on's Comrades back he made off. Another bullet took his head off. The fellow in this odd emergence Carr'd him Pick-Pack, to the Surgeon's. Z , crys the Doctor are you drunk. To bring me here an headless trunk ; A lying dog, quoth Tar, he said His leg was off, and not his Head. TO THE REV" M" JOHN WITTY. This gives you sir to understand. That yours came safely to my hand. "The former part of which consisting " Of complimental Scofs, & jesting, "And jearing praises; I account, " Tis meant by way of an affront. " The Banters good ; but mix't with Flatt'r)-, " Tis ten times worse y" Sault & batt'ry, "And after all go rack your Brain, " For such forc'd Rhet'rick, all you can. William Taylor of South JVcald. — Poetry. 207 "Each sorry Frenchman taught by nature, 1673-1750. " Shall prate extempore Nonsence, better. " Think not y' I in courtly phrase, " Shall in return shew forth thy praise, " In polish'd verse as in a glass, " I'll see you hang'd first by y" mass, " The other & more honest part, " I thank you for with all my heart. The Hist'ry of your splendid living, Not writ by you, were past beleiving, And looks much liker a description, Of Tony, & y" Queen Egyptian, Bate that you quaft not pearls so wantonly. As madam did, nor whore like Antony. But as for other Earthly pleasure. You enjoy it all beyond all measure. My dutys to congratulate, The blessings of your happy Fate W" in y' words of one o' the. Sages, Non equidem invideo miror magis. And now sir I shall take in hand, To execute your just command, In giving you a true relation. Of my whole Life, & conversation. Premising, y' because y° time is Short, I shall be so too. Imprimis, Tir'd with y° trouble, & confoun- -ded noise, & stink of London Town ; Each Saturday I take a ride, To peacefull mansion of Wealside, Weald. Where ease, & sweet content, maintain, A constant, and a gentle reign. No carmen there offend your hearing. With surly Porters inter-swearing. No Billingsgate or Temple stairs, Or drunken Mob, or Scavengers, Whose dust-carts, with their malice double. At once our eyes, & nostrils trouble, Nor kitchen stuff, or Oyster Wenches, Communicate itinerate stenches ; ■\Ve're neer alarmed with y' dire- -ful cry of theives, or midnight fire. U'e fear no piss-pots flung from windows, Nor stuff up our own vault witliin doors. Our lives are calm, serene, & quiet, Sound are our sleeps, and plain our diet, Our Sports are such as do inure The body labor to endure; Till labor seems to lose its name, And work, & play become y' same, Life at South 208 JVlUiam Taylor of South Weald.— Poetry. 1673-/750. We wellcome morn with chearfuU eyes, And vig'roiis as the Sun arise, And briskly to y" woodland repair, Our chimney magazines to prepare, One saws, one chops, & faggots makes \ Old logs another undertakes \ With beetle, wedge, & keenest Axe, J And treasures up each cleft and Splinter, To warm our noses in the Winter, Or taking Hammer, Saw, & Nails, Go mend old Gates, & broken Pails, And so keep ten'nient, in repair. Without the help of Carpenter, The Garden pays a due regard, \ Yeilding a plentifull reward, \ For all the labor we afford. ) Here we sow sallading & pot herbs, Of every sort with cold & hot herbs ; With cunning Art, & no less pains. Raise Melons, cabbage, & French Beans. Set Berries,— Straw— & Mul— & Goos For pleasure some, & some for use. Some trees we dung, round some dig trenches, From others trim superfluous branches, Contriving every rank & border, In such exact & reg'lar order, That all things thus dispos'd aright Produce both profit, & delight. And now hot sun & biting hunger. Persuade us not to tarry longer. But go in quest of some supply, To keep up frail Mortality, From churn a cake of butter fresh. With new born Sage, compose a Dish. Young wholesome scurvy Grass, stands by, And Radish glowing in y" Eye, Perhaps a Melon, or Cucumber, With proper sauce, encrease y° number, These with a cup of Supernaculum, ~v Serve us by way of a Jentaculum, L To keep up earthly Tabernaculum. j By this the little Imps come in With Garments light, & Faces clean, With whom we prattle, Romp, & play. And sing, & laugh the time away Or all the tribe of Knaves & Slutts, With father go, to gather Nutts. Or tender mushrooms, round as button, Well known in sauce to every glutton ; This or a merry game at nine- -pins, holds us till tis time to dine ; Jtis children. William Taylor of South IVeald. — Poetry. When thro the Hall fat pudding strutting, Preceeds a Joynt of Beef, or Mutton, This with a Sallad, or some pickles, Is sum total of our Vic'tles. You soon may guess without divining. We cant be very long a dining, The cloth remov'd, we sit & chat, \ Of tales domestick, or debate, \ The more sublime affairs of State, j Or play a rubbers at back Gammon, Only for sport, & not for Mammon, Or from the bench beneath the tree With various prospects please y" Eye, Where in sultry days we slumber — a Little by way of Nap, sub-umbra. But soon as the declining Sun, Points on y= Dial, 3 plus i, \ The working fit again comes on, ) And holds us till y" gentle even, In dusky shades descends from Heaven, Then give we o'er our toil & labour, And take a Pipe, with honest Neighbour Or sup, & take a cup of better Beer, with my honest Landlord Peter. Should honest Freind make loving visit. We presently are most inquisit- -ive what diversion pleases best. And most obliges wellcome guest. If he's for hunting we have terriers. Fox Hounds, & buck hounds, beagles, herriers, And Jolly roaring Company, Not all at home, but all hard by. Is coursing thought a better sport, Weve finders . . . and Grey hounds for"!, And Hares so thick that fearfull women, Can scarce stir out for fear oth' omen. For Hare you know, if path she crosses, Forbodes miscarriages, & Losses. For such as in the Element Of water, seek their game, there's plen- -ty of good ponds where fishes throng, From inches two, to two feet long. .And fowling if delights our guest in, We've Guns enough, & Dogs for questing. These Sportsmen cost us nothing treating They still purvey for their own eating, Find them but tackle, & they'll diet y° Each day with dainties, & variety. Or if not thus y" day we spend, At home we entertain y' freind. 1673-1750. 2 D William Taylor of South Weald. — Poetry. In horse pond deep we hunt a Duck, Or try with copper Johns our Luck, At chances, hustle cap, or chuck ■ Or shew most notable exploits. At bowls, at ninepins, or at quoits. Nor yet refuse if weathers dirty, Push pin the Great, or one & thirty. When we're alone & rains confine us, We take a touch at plus, & minus, Or when 'tis dev'lish cold, & raw Sir, \ And working goes against y^ maw Sir, \ By fire side read GeofFery Chawcer, \ Cowley, or Dryden, or Old Ben, Or Plutarchs lives of famous men. Which in my thoughts as short do come Oth' Champions seven, of Christendom, As do his morals, or that Cox- -combs Senecha's of Reynard y*" fox. Having read as much as necessary, At least untill our Eyes be weary, We venture at a game at crambo, Or riddle most obscure & ambo- -dextral with Sense profound & double, Tormenting head with crabbed trouble. With A, & B, & every letter, \ At once we love, our love, hate her, v And tell her name & how we treat her. \ Name her best parts as if she'd plenty, To answer letters, four & twenty. Cross purposes come next in hand Or learned questions, & commands. And thus we make a shift to pass Our days ; at night a chearful glass, Of Creature good, in moderate doses. To gentle rest, our head disposes. Theives crys a miser, when a mouse. Had strol'd by chance into his house, Why whence a Devil do you come, To eat me out of house & home ? Sir, says the mouse, there's no occasion, To put yourself in such a passion ; I'm no such fool texpect to sup here, Tis for a lodging I put up here. EPIGRAM. William Taylor of Soitfh IVcald. — Poetry. 21 I 1673-1750. TO A YOUNG LADY WHO MADE A PRESENT OF A PAIR OF STOCKINGS OF HER OWN KNITTING. I Thinking my Head, & Breast, well arm'd, On my own conduct I rely'd, And nor by Youth, nor beauty charm'd, Both Venus, & her Boy defy'd. 2 But these high powers will bear no mocking, I now by sad experience feel, Struck, by an unsuspected stocking, Like Great Achilles in y' Heel. 3 My wounded heart finds no repose. See how I pine & waste away, Consum'd by that enchanted Hose, Whose Clocks are watching my decay. 4 Strange that a tender lock of wool Should be so wrought by female art. To enter my obdurate skull And rive in twain, my stubborn heart. 5 Strange that my feet, so dull &: stupid. In dirt, & darkness, ever dwelling, Should such a notion have of Cupid, And of his darts, so quick a feeling. 6 But when two Goddesses combining Lend one fain Nymph their whole assistance Minerva with fair Venus joyning, What mortal youth can make resistance ? 7 Beauty began Troy's tedious Wars, Which dar'd at first y' Grecian force, Till Pallas, with her art prc])ares And then presents y' fatal horse. William Taylor of South IVcald. — Poe 8 The gift the admiring Trojans take, Pleas'd with the wonderful Machine, Down their high walls, & Gates they break, And let their own Destruction in. 9 Thus whilst your Texture fill'd my brain With pleasure, little did I think. The whole contrivance but a chain. And ev'ry artfuU stich a link. lO I veiw'd my legs with joy, & pride. And thoughtless of y' treach'rous shift, That burnt to death the great Alcide, Like hira I perisli by a Gift. A Sad, & malancholy, reflection on y= whole. Tis hard we cant witliout ill manners. Refuse a present from our betters. Yet see y' Donors, turn Trepanners, And 'stead of stockings, send him Fetters. THE HORNBOOK. Magni magna natrant nos non nise ludicra Podagra hoc otia fecit. Hail antient book, most Venerable Code, Learnings first cradle, & its last abode. The huge unnumber'd volumes which we see, By lazy Plagiaries, are stol'n from thee. Yet future times to thy sufficient store, Shall neer presume to add, one letter more. Thee will I sing in comely wainscot bound, The golden verge enclosing thee around ; The faithfull Horn before, from age, to age, Preserving thy invaluable page. Behind thy patron Saint, in Armour Shines, With sword, & lance, to guard tliy sacred lines. Beneath his Coursers feet the Dragon lies Transfixt, his blood thy scarlet cover dyes. Th' instructive handle's at the bottom fix't. Least wrangling Criticks should pervert y" text. Or if to Gingerbread thou shall descend, And liq'rish learning to thy Babes extend. IVilliain Taylor of South IVcald.—Poctr Or sugard plain o'erspread with beaten Gold, Does the sweat Treasure of thy letters hold, Thou still shall be ray Song, Apollos Choir I scorn t'invoke, Cadmus my Verse inspire ; T'was Cadmus, who the first materials brought Of all y' learning, vv''" has since been taught ; Soon made compleat ; for mortals neer shall know More than contain'd of old y° Chris-Cross row; What Masters dictate, or grave docters [jreach Wise Matrons hence even to our Children teach. But as the name of every plant or fiower, So common, that each Peasant knows their pow'r, Physicians, in mysterious Cant express, T'amuse their patients, & enhance their fees ; So, from the Letters of our native Tongue Put in Greek scrawls, a m)'stery too is sprung. Scholes are erected, puzling Grammers made. And artful! men strike out a gainfuU trade : Strange characters adorn y' learned gate And heedless Youth catch at y= Shining bate The pregnant boys y= noisy charms declare & Taus & Deltas, make their mothers stare The uncommon sounds amaze y" Vulgar ear And what's uncommon never costs too dear Yet in all tonges y" Hornbook is y= same Taught by y' Grecian master, or f English dame. But how shall I thy endless virtues tell. In w''' thou dost all other books excell.' No greasy Thumb thy spotless leaf can soil. Nor crooked Dogs ears, thy smooth corners spoil, In idle pages no Errata stand, To tell y' blunders of y' printers hand. No fulsom dedications here are writ, Nor flatt'ring verse to praise y' author's wit, The margin with no tedious notes is vex't. Nor various readings to confound y' text. All parties in thy lit'ral sense agree, Thou perfect Centre of blest Unity ! Search we the Records of an antient date, Or read what modem Histories relate. They all proclaim what wonders have been done By thy plain Letters, taken as they run. Too high y" flood of passion used to roul, & rend y" Roman Youth's impatient soul; His hasty anger, furnish'd scenes of Blood, And frequent Deaths of worthy men ensu'd, In vain were all the weaker methods try'd. None could suffice to stem the Furious Tide ; Thy Sacred lines he did but once repeat And laid Storm, & coold raging Heat; II 'ill ia in Taylor of South IVeald. — Poetry. Thy Heavenly Notes like Angels musick, chear Departing Souls, & sooth y' dying Ear, An aged Peasant on his dying bed, Wish'd for a friend some Godly Book to read ; The pious Grandson thy known handle takes. And, Eyes lift up this sav'ry lecture makes; Great A, he gravely roard, th' important sound The empty Walls, & hollow roofs rebound : Th' expiring Grandsire rais'd his drooping head And thank'd his stars, y' Hodge had learnt to read. Great B, y' younker cry'd — O heavenly breath, What Ghostly Comforts in y' hour of death ! What hopes I feel ! Great C, pronounc'd y= Boy, The Grandsire dies in Ecstasies of Joy. Yet in some lands such ignorance abounds Whole parislies scarce know tliy usefuU sounds Or ken which end of thee stands upermost, Be y' Preist absent, or the handle lost. Of Essex hundreds fame gives this report, But Fame I ween says many things in sport. Scarce lives the Man, to whom thou'rt quite unknown Tho' few th' extent of thy vast empire own. Whatever wonders magick spell can do, In earth, in air, in Seas, & shades below, What words profound & dark wise Mah'met spoke. When his old Cow, an Angels figure took ; What strong inchantments sage Canidia knew, '\ Or Horace sung fierce monsters to subdue \ 0 mighty book, are all contain'd in you. ) All Human arts and every science meet. Within the limits of thy single sheet ; From thy vast root all learnings branches Grow, & all her streams from thy deep fountain flow. And Lo while thus thy wonders I indite, Inspir'd I feel y' pow'r of w'" I write, The Gentler Gout his former rage forgets. Less frequent now, & less severe his fits. Loose grow y" chains w'"" bound my useless feet, Stiffness, & pain from ev'ry joynt retreat ; Surprising strength comes ev'ry moment on, 1 stand, I step, I walk, & now I run. Here let me cease my hobling numbers stop. And at thy Handle hang my Crutches up. ON CYMON & IPHIGENIAS PICTURE DRAWN BY A LADY. Thy fatal pencil over acts its part. When it displays y" wonders of thy art ; William Taylor of South IVcald. — Poetry. 215 The living colours strike beyond y° eyes, i Sufficient to engage his love ? ) Can Honour Tempt his high desire? Or pleasure set his soul on fire? Can plays, or song, &r dance divert ? Musick, or Beauty, strike his heart? Love does y^ universe controul. Can mighty Love subdue his soul ? William Taylor of South JVeald.—Poetry. 227 In Vain tliese Trials are apply'd, In Vain are these Enclia'ntments try'd. Still (tho 'tis Desolate & Shabby) He keeps him close within his Abbey. But sure y= Time does now draw nigh, Which shall fulfill a prophesy, Pronounc'd in y= Mendalian* Fane (W' living records shall retain) Thrice spake Priest, " Near yonder Hill ) On whose fair top stands Woodford Mill, > Ere long a Rev''- Sage shall dwell, ) To whose snug house, some half a dozen, Learned companions, wisely chosen, Whose hearts are free, & heads are clear. Who know to speak, & love to hear, Shall for y' poring mortal send, A chearfuU afternoon to spend, To eat & drink in sober measure, And mix Philosophy, with pleasure, These y" Deaf adder shall allarm. Nor shall these ciiarmers, vainly charm, In haste he'll fly, & leave his home When y' predicted hour shall come. The Hour's now come, methinks I hear, J The dozing student, quits his chair, \ And Folio's to their shelves repair ) The noisy slippers smite the floor, And now he locks his study door. Philosopher's dead for y" living he barters, 1 He calls for his boots, & he tyes up his Garters, > And hey for Lee Layton, & old father Carters ) Where laughing till moon shine he takes up his quarters Hang Criticks, & Classicks, Clarks, Counsils, & martyrs, True tipling philosophers never prove starters. THE DISAPPOINTMENT. HE NUT COMING ACCORDING TO v'= INVITATION. How he's misguided, who relies, On oracles and Prophecy's! T' expound them right no man is able Mead, Turieu, Beverly, nor Waple, When Roman .•\ntichrist shall fall, Or y Abbot for his horse shall call, To fix these times, confounds us all. • The Queen's Head Tavern, Paternoster Row. 228 William Taylor of South IVeald, — Poetry. W. T. TO CLUB AT Q HEAD W'''" MONEY DEPOSITED IN MV HANDS TO ENGAGE FOR ANOTHER MEETING. Y*" GOUT SEIZING HIM IN Y^ INTERIM. Whereever Plutus riches sends, Pandora, w''' her box attends, And evermore as wealth encreases, She deals out plagues, & sharp diseases, Least from y*' sweUing of y^'' purses Folks should forget where hang their arces. I never therefore made a doubt, But Wyat ought to have y^ gout, He who had sat for many a year, ^ In two fat posts, & fill'd chair, > As President, & Treasurer. ) And Knaplock needs must have a dash, And feel a little of y* lash. Wyant maynt suffer, he stands neuter. Who stood 4 months his Coadjutor; Long time he rul'd, & govern'd all, The feasting Tribe, at Stati'ners Hall. And Wine & Pasty's, pave y*^ way, To Rheumatism, &: Podagra, But why for making one collection, Must I endure such sore affliction ? Not ounce could I afford to guttle it. Even on beef steaks, or mutton cutlett Nor even more than shillings nine Pass'd thro these harmless hands of mine. Jove ! cou'd I thence such riches gain, T' entitle me to gouty pain. And yet such pain I undergo ^ From tortur'd ankle knee, & toe;> With twinges of y^ Gravel too, j That neither joy, nor rest I can take, A plaguy rout about a pancake. Take notice now my clubmates dear I quit my place, & send you here, The fatal coin, w*^^ you deposited. For w""" I'm chamber'd still, & closetted, And when another place I'm lacking, I'll buy a cricket brush, & blacking, Scrape dirty boots, & turn Japanner, And humbly "black your shoes your honour" But never Treasurer's post affect or Stand for Receiver or CoUector. JVilliam Tayloy of South IFeald. — Poetry. 229 1673-1750. RICH" CRISP. How long shall we thy cruel absence mourn, Quickly, ah Quickly, gentle youth return. Then I shall smile, Beck giggle, Pol shall grin, Mingo his tail shall wag, & Voyce his chin, Dick WooUey rub his hands, Jo Holmes shall bow, Sam : Hill look pleas'd, old Fairforth god knows how. The lowring sky her gloomy face shall clear And glorious sunshine gild y' happy year. But i" I charge thee leave thy cougli behind, And w"" soft air patch up thy broken wind, Let balmy Zephirs ease thy lab'ring tongue, And from hoarse accents free thy tuneful song, Stay, till pure ^ther shall th' obstructions clear, W='' press thy lungs, & stop thy tender ear, Till these 2 organs shall perforin y' part, Worthy each other, & their masters art. VVaite till y° fatal festival be o're, th' Eastern, from the Western churches tore. Alternate curses on each side were hurl'd. And Xtian preists damn'd y= whole Xtian world ; Return then sound as any sucking pig, Brisk as a Louse, & merry as a Grig. QUESTION FOR QUESTION. Q. Where was your church before Luther appear'd ? Q. Where was your face, 'fore you cut off your beard ? Answer expl.iixed. As Barbers purify our faces. With hair, & filth, disfigurd o're. Make no new features, but th' old graces, And native comeliness restore. So Luther form'd no new religion, But purg'd y' old from superstition ; And nearer th' ancient standard brought it, As X' & his Apostles taught it. A LETTER TO D" LINCH. ' Think not dear Sir, my long neglect, Proceeded from a disrespect; • Or want of {ready mind) of will, T' obey you, but pure want of skill 230 IFilliavi Taylor of South PVeald. — Poetry. 1^)73 »75o- Oft have I rang'd, & seaich'd in vain, Thro' ev'ry corner of my brain, W"'" could no earthly thing produce, Either for profit, or for use. Matter of ficts too worth relation. Fell not within my observation, And what can pen, & ink prevail, ' When facts, &: eke invention fail. You think 'tis no such mighty matter, For me, to furnish out a letter, Regardless how you overrate, The stock of my unfumish'd pate. Why Sir, a penny overburthens, A ficedy rogue, not worth 3 farthings. Twas a damn'd Pharoah Necho law, = That ask'd for brick & gave no straw. But if a tax must needs be laid Upon y^ produce of niy head ; ^ Seize y^ Quickstock, take lice in kind, ') Assess the outside, not the in, > A cat has nothing but her skin. ) And what have all the plundring race, Got by't, but hatred & disgrace. Think how his name stinks, past enduring. Who laid a nasty Tax on urine. That Heathen Prince has all men's curses, Who having drain'd his subjects purses ; Merely to make them know their riders, Oppress'd them with a tax on spiders. The Dev'l himself when hogs he shore, ^ Got httle wool, but great Clam— our. But writing news, you'l say, demands Only y*^ labours of the hands. For that our writers of Diurnals, Courants, & posts, & Daily Journals, For want of sea fight, seige, & battle, Of idle stories only prattle; ' And stead of Lisle, La Hogue, & Ramille, Tell tales of every private Family. Here you may read what fate attends, All your acquaintance, foes, & friends, Who places, &: preferments, get And who are run away for debt. Who wins at play, or courts an heiress ■° And who's with child, & who miscarries. Who by severest destiny, » Are doom'd to marry, break, or die. Whatever news affects y^ Clerum, You'll surely never fail to hear 'em. " Who gets a stall, or buries Baby, But lately christen'd in y'' Abbey. JVilliain Taylor of South IVcald. — Poetry. 231 I " Preaches of Charit)', loves a mistress, 1673-1750. "3 You'll find it all, ith' dayly Histries, Which iTiakes service I can do y", Of very small importance to ye ; And so I hasten to an end. Your servant Sir, & loving Friend. ' This word is sometimes used as a Term of affection, sometimes of fimiliarity, sometimes of mere ceremony, & sometimes, (especially in metre) as an expletive, like Froth in a pot to make it seem full. -The substance of this parenthesis being perfectly useless, might be very well expressed by y= vulgar Ch'T-sm ( ) but amongst dealers in poetry, it is thought proper for y' verse sake to support y° sound, & let y= Hiatus appear only in y° sense. 3 An antient word of great importance, eke not only signifying also ; but also ekeing out a verse upon occasion, & has been over hastily repudiated by our modern writers. * Here y" author discovers his good sense, good nature, & good manners, in not naming a man's name, after . having call'd him poor rogue 5 Pharoah Necho was king of y' Gypsies some years ago.— Brick &: straw are things so well known y' f most illiterate have just ideas of y»' & it would affront y' reader to explain them. The reader is desir'd to pronounce y" D, as if it were an E, the alteration of w'" one note, will give him more pleasure, & y= verse more credit. ' It is certainly a very ingenious practise, when we mention an infamous fellow, who is not of our own party, not to suppress y= truth, but tell y' world roundly what church he belongs to. 'The opening betwixt y= syllables Cla-&-mour occasions great speculations. Some good Criticks with seeming justice redargue y' judgement of y' Author, but as f thoughts of great Scholars are some- tniies very profound, I should advise y'^ modest reader, to suspect his own penetration rather y» y« writer's abilities, for besides that f pronouncing y= syllables conjunctively, would offend f ear, y" Gap itself seems not unfitly to represent to y'= eye, in a very beautiful manner, y= gaping of y' Hogs mouths, when under y= Devil's Tonsure. 'Here y= Reader ought to be admonish'd to use great caution, lest from y= Transposition of y'= words he apply Lisle, to y= Sea fight, & La Hogue to y= Seige, w'^" would lead into huge absurdities, & Solecisms, in Geography. The author is certainly guilty of gross inadvertancy, or an over vain affectation of writing a smooth verse, an humour by no means to be indulg'd, when (as in this case) y' majesty, as well as clearness of y= sense is endanger'd. "Here is room indeed for expositors to differ in their opinions, & draw forth on each side a great variety of curious learning. The grand question will be, whether y' word miscarry, is to be taken in a proper, or a metaphorical sense. I am apt to think he means y= former, from y" words (w* child) immediately preceeding, all Naturalists agreeing (especially since y'^ invention of Glasses) y" miscarrying does always in point of time succeeds being with child. However I cannot positively affirm y' y-^^ figu- rative sense ought altogether to be excluded. " This I conjecture refers to some instance of fact, well known in that age ; w'" I think cannot now be investigated for want of sufficient Date. '-■Charity sermons were very frequent about the latter end of )■■= if^ & y' beginning of y'^ iS"' Century, to w'" time y' best Criticks, fix y' date of this letter. There is yet a Chirograph of an Apothecaries bill, in y' year 1725— wherein there are several articles of Hiera picra blisters for y' head in' ; proper for y' dulncss of y' brain complain'd of in y" 3"' & 4"' couplets. "I suppose y' Idea of Charity, & love, lay next to one another in y' Author's brain, & y' one followed y' other by necessity, according to M' Hobbs doctrine. The word mistre^ I opine came next for y' same reason, the Idea of wife lying more disjunct. " The phrase of Servant S' was used in those times either in addressing, or taking leave, by y' most elegant & wellbreed personages; as y term loving friend, was by those, who professed less cereraonv, 232 IVilliain Taylor of SoJif/i IVeald, — Poetry. 1673-1750. ^ more Sincerity. — How finely does our author discover in this single line, y*^ Integrity of y' plain man, Os: y^ politeness of y^' fine Gentleman. [Note. — "This song was written by my great-grandfather, William Taylor, when living at the close of his life with his son, the Rev. Henry Taylor, Vicar of Portsmouth, where he was then living. The date of the verses is probably about 1744. My father wrote this out for me after he had been singing it to my litUe girl, Catherine Ellen Taylor, after dining with me on Sunday, 7th Feb'' 1S30. P. A. T. The Hill, Bocking, Essex."] I Papa no longer than Saturday next. In London town will tarry ; And then he will come Galloping down To see little Betsy & Harry. 2 And Betsy & Harry will both be glad, To see the Coach Horses come prancing, And bid a kind welcome home to their dadd, With singing & jumping & dancing. Mama will rejoice, her husband to see, Come back without any disastre. Papa will take up, & dance on his knee. And kiss httle missy, & master. For Master's, a proper young Gentleman grown, And Miss is improved in beauty. Papa will rejoice his children to own. So full of good manners, & duty. The foregoing poems have been copied (with the exception of the last) fron a MS. book in my possession, which contains also the following by the same hand: — "The Dropsical Man;" "Roger, a Tale (of a Cat);" "Dame Breedwell;" "On a Copy from Carlo Dolce;" "To Mr T. Durrant on his Present;" "On a Cat's Robbery on 30th Jan'' ; " " On y= Motion ; " and in a MS. book of poems by several hands, belonging to my uncle, Mr William Taylor, will be found " To R. C. at Bath," " To Familiar Lines," and " Long your Lawyers Defend,' also by W. T. of South Weald. 1 t TJie Second Family of tJie Dantzic Man. 233 Before passing on to the lineal descendants of William Taylor the Dantzic Man, 167S-176 I must here note the few particulars known of his children by Rebecca Sherbrooke, his second wife. They married, it will be remembered, in 1676, when she was but nineteen ; she lived to the age of sixty-six, surviving her husband sixteen years. The births and deaths of their children are given in detail below : — Rebecca, baptized in London, "by Mr Peck, minister of Romford;" registered at Romford, July 17, Copy of the 167S; buried at South Weald, September 20, 174S. Registers. Anne, baptized at home; registered at Great Warley, December 14, 16S0; buried at South Weald, February 12, 1764. Dorothy, baptized at home; registered at Great Warley, March 16, 16S2; buried at South Weald, February 3, 1690-r. Daniel, baptized at Great Warley, July 24, 1684; buried at South Weald, February 3, 173S-9. Richard, baptized at Great Warley, July iS, 1686; buried at South Weald, August 24, 1705. Henry, baptized at South Weald, March 27, 1689; died just before March 29, 1715. (See letter of consolation, p. 155.) John, baptized at South Weald, September 21, 1690; died Julys, buried at South Weald, July 8, 1766. George, baptized at South Weald, November 29, 1691 ; buried at South Weald, April i, 1694. Elizabeth, baptized at South Weald, September 17, 1693; died March, 1767. Samuel, baptized at South Weald, April 14, 1695; buried at South Weald, January 19, 1733. Jemima, baptized at South Weald, December 19, 1696; buried at South Weald, December 10, 1697. Entered in il, Annabella, baptized at South Weald, May 26, 1699; buried at South Weald, March 7, t7oo Repster as ' ' ' " From ill,- There is also in the list of burials at South Weald the following : — Ellen T.aylor from ye Upland, buried .\pril ist 1703. Jemima and Annabella have hitherto been regarded in the family as children of the Dantzic Man, but, on the whole, the final conclusion to which I come— on the balance of probabilities and improbabilities— is, that the second family of the Dantzic Man consisted of ten, and not twelve children ; i.e., that there was no child after Samuel, who was born in 1695. In the South Weald Register, Jemima and Annabella are specially mentioned in the deaths, as well as the births, as "from the Upland," as though to distinguish them from the family of the William Taylor to whom the other entries referred. Again, it will be observed that the death of an Ellen is recorded "from the Upland," and we have no record of an Ellen amongst the children of this second family. The names, too, Jemima and Anna- bella, are quite out of harmony with the simplicity of all the other names; and, on the whole, we seem driven to the conclusion that— strange as is the coincidence —another William Taylor was at that very time living at South Weald, at some place called the Upland. After this was written, I thought it worth while, before going to press, to make inquiry on the spot, when I found that "the Upland" is the name of a 2 G ' From tile Upland." 234 The Second Family of the Dantzic Man. district in the parish quite three miles from the residence of our William Taylor ; and therefore the correctness of rejecting Jemima and Annabella is fully confirmed. Of this second family we know little beyond what can be gathered from a few formal business papers and Wills ; for, as will be remembered, only one letter of their father has come down to us, and but one of their mother, neither of which, moreover, in any way relates to them ; and of the children themselves, we have only the two letters already given, pp. 173 and 175 (both written by Daniel, the eldest son); so that, excepting signatures to deeds and Wills, we have not a scrap of writing by any of the others. It is remarkable, too, that they are scarcely men- tioned in the letters of their half-brother William and his children. Of the ten children (assuming, that is, that Jemima and Annabella were the children of another William Taylor), three died young. Of the survivors, some seem to have lived together at the family house at South Weald, others at How Hatch in the same parish, while some went to London. As will be seen, there is reason to believe that all the sons were apprenticed in London as they arrived at the proper age ; i.e., in fact, all except George, who died young. But of the daughters we know little more than may be gathered from the Wills and the parish Registers. It is certain, however, that all, both sons and daughters, died unmarried. Apparently all the daughters, with the exception of Elizabeth, lived and died at South Weald, and all the sons were buried there. They were all (except Elizabeth) laid under the family pew in the church, which has since been pulled down and rebuilt, and the family pew made into two pews. When the vault was opened in 1 791, for the burial of the Rev. Peter Taylor, the coffins were found to be so much decayed, that it had to be bricked over at about half its depth, when his coffin, and afterwards, in 1S17, that of his sister Anna, were placed there. It is clear, from the little that does appear, that the South Weald family were in the most friendly relations with Ben Mordecai and his sisters. One, Anne, was godmother to Ben Mordecai's daughter Anne, and his sister Elizabeth pro- bably lived at South Weald up to the time of her aunt's (Anna) death, and her uncle's removal to Romford. It seems less certain whether Rebecca made South Weald as much her home. W e do not know, in fact, how long she remained with her brother after his marriage in 1740, nor, on leaving him, where she went to reside. A letter from her in 1756 was probably written from South Weald, and, as far as can be made out, she continued to live there up to the time of her aunt's death in 1764, and to have removed (she and her sister), with their uncle John, to Romford a few months later. In 1761, Rebecca, writing to her brother, sends cordial messages from her uncle and aunt, expresses the delight of the household at the prospect of a visit from her brother and all his family to spend the Christmas at South Weald, and the general hope that they may a [j3 b Q o The Second Family of the Dantsic Alan. 235 be able to pay a longer visit than usual. Again, "My Aunt says, Iiad you a 1678-1767. thousand Children, she should want to see them all. She longs to see Peter. We hope you will bring all your Stock of Children with you." As we have seen, Anna died February, 1764, and in October of the same year, They leave So„i: John, as we have already said, left the old house and went to live at Romford. He was now, with the exception of Elizabeth, who seems to have lived in London, the last of the family, and in ill health. Probably he found the old place too big, if not too sad, to remain in. Anyhow, their place knew them no more. Rebecca, writing to her brother at this time, says, " Dr Newcome has become our tenant. Our goods are to be sold, & we shall move to Rumford, I suppose at Michal- mas." After Dr Newcome other tenants came,— at least, in 1783, reference is made to a very unsatisfactory tenant named Jennings, then in prison for debt. About this time the house was burnt down. It was insured in the Hand-in-Hand Ti,eho„.en Fire Office, which paid /950. In two letters written in January 17S3 by Henry bu™t\io'"„'. Taylor of Banstead (pp. 500 and 501) will be found some references to the matter. The house, it appears, was rebuilt shortly afterwards, with the exception, I believe, of some servants' rooms which had been saved, and has since been called "Burnt House," instead of the old name of "Hoses."* Whether the house was let after it was rebuilt, as seems probable, we have no evidence to show. At one time it certainly was on their hands, and managed for his aunt Rebecca b)- Daniel. There is no doubt that it was finally sold very soon after her death. There are casual references in letters of that date to offers made for property, and to the appropriation of money received, but nothing at all definite in regard to the purchaser of, or the price realised for the little place which had been s^o long in the family. (See p. 39S.) Taking the children in order of birth, we come first to Relecca, who was baptized in London, July 17, 167S, by Mr Peck, minister of Romford, where her baptism is registered. Her Will is dated July 31, 174S. She releases her brother John from his bond of /170, dated April 13, 171S, also leaves him all her household goods, and ^20 ; to sister Anna, all her plate, rings, jewels, table linen, and sheets; to sister Elizabeth, wearing apparel, other linen, and ^10; to brother William and his sons and daughters, each a ring of 21s.; to , ' ''••'^•'^J"^' '^'^<^" dcvn to see the old place. From the general appearance of the house, I believe the state- ment that a portion, coni.wning offices and servants' rooms, was not burnt, to be correct. The whole of the house, and cspec.ally the part rebuilt, is in the most dilapidated condition. I, has evidentlv bee,, utterlv ne-^lccted for many years, and is apparently beyond reparation. Its present owner is Mr Towers of Weald Hali Ibe pan rebuilt «..s. I should judge, erected on the old foundations, and very likely much on the old plan. I tavc had two photographs taken, which will be found upon two of the foregoing pages; thev probably give a prttt^ correct idea of the general character of the place as it looked ,wo hundred years ago.ljunc .874. 236 Tlie Second Family of the Dantsic Man. 167S-1767. Elizabeth (daughter of William), five guineas ; residue to sister Anne, who is appointed executor. It is not improbable that she lived with her brother Daniel, and continued in the same house after his death, as she also died at How Hatch, and was buried at South Weald, September 20, 1748. Anne was born at Great Warley, and registered there, December 14, 1680. We know nothing of her, except, as already mentioned, that she lived with her brother John at South Weald and Romford, and that she was godmother to Ben Mordecai's daughter Anna. She is several times mentioned in the letters of Ben Mordecai's sisters, and was the aunt who told them particulars of " the long ago." She was buried at South Weald, February 12, 1764, having lived to be eighty-four years old. Dorothy,^ baptized at home; registered at Great Warley, March 16, 16S2 ; buried at South Weald, February 3, 1690-1. Daniel, baptized at Great Warley, July 21, 1684. The first we learn of him^^ is in 1699, from the following letter, written to his half-brother William by George Clarke of Oporto : — OPorto 26 7ber 1695. M" William Taylor, Letter as to S", — I Crave your pardon for having deferred answering your private letter of the 24 Janu" last I of UanieT'*'"'' '^^'^ y° some obstacle of an engagem' to a frd w''' was on y° same subject, & from which I am now disoblieged ; ] have been profferd with a young man j^^6oo : after 5 or 6 yeares time accordingly as I should see him capable to fix him in my business, or parte of it; it seemes a great deale of money, but then to consider how in London they give ^400 : & ;£soo : & after that two or three hundred Guineys to gett into such a station as it cost our late partner Mr Robert [Sauery?] who came in but for \ & there are many y' give ^4 to 500 pounds in London with' theire masters being oblieged to send y'" abroad & fix y'" in any buisness ; as it with a certain young Gentleman a lodger in our house who has been here these two yeares & onely trades with his oune stocke there are a great many other instances which is needless to enumerate; y' advantages of being bound to a factor abroad who will place y" in his buisness or parte of his buisness after y° termes of so many yeares 6 or 7 according to his abilities to take such a charge on him is very conspicuous aboue a serv' bound prentice to a merchant in London, for here having served such a terme of yeares, they know y' language, manners & oust' of y= people & method of buisness, & are not to seeke 3 or 4 yeares as those y' have served their times in London, which is well y" if they bee admitted to a parte after having given a large sumnie of money to theire masters &c Now Sir as for your Brother I arii very willing to take him under my care, as knowing your Good selfe & as being a partner with M' Sherbrooke & my Brother ; & I shall rest satisfyed wiili ^500 : with him, & after about 6 yeares time if I see him capable I shall place in my buisness or parte of it according as I see his abilities ; if it should please god to take mee away in y° Intrim I will obliege my partner to plant him in my station after my said Terme of yeares & during those yeares of service if you Incline to trust him with any stocke (which will bee his great advantage) I will take care to give him directions necessary for his well mannedgm' of said money, w" may compensate y' money given with him — if you are satisfyed with these conditions ; which I thinke are favourable & which I will assure you I would 1 's visil to the Scottish The Second Family of the Dantzic Man. 237 not grant to another after halfe ayeares time please to send him over, & in y= Intrim to gett him some Portugiiize master to instruct him something in t Tongue if he can cypher well & write its not necessary for him to leame acc- after you have considered hereof you will please to send mee your answer This with y' Tender of my service I commend f to Gods protection & am S' your most humble serv' Geo : Clarke It will be observed that the name of the candidate for apprenticeship is not men- tioned, but it must have been Daniel, the eldest son, for none of the others could have been old enough : he was at the date of this letter just turned fifteen. This negotiation with George Clarke, however, for some cause or other, fell through, as in February 1 701-2, when eighteen years old, he was bound apprentice to \homas King, Citizen and Mercer, of London, for seven years, which he in all probability duly served ; the masters copy of the indenture— given up it may be supposed at the end of the term— being among the family papers. In 1707 we find him deal- ing with the property in Coleman Street, purchasing that at South Weald, and generally representing his mother and family. In 1710 he wrote to his half-brother William the letter, p. 173. Now what his itaniei. business may have been in the Highlands we have but small materials for guess- Sighbn mg. It was the "Chief" with whom he had to trade, and probably in fulfilment of a contract made in England before his departure, for he wrote from Yarmouth that it had been "prolonged." We may fairly suppose he went to buy of the Scotsmen, for he mentions an appointment at a particular spot for three days after his inter- view with the Chief (as if to view the goods), and also "the former purchasers." Putting these things together, and bearing in mind the poverty of the Highlands, it seems probable he went as a purchaser :— but of what 1 He was a m^'ercer, not likely therefore to be in search of cattle or corn, which he particularly notices as pro- ducts of the districts. Could it then have been wool ? and in fulfilment of a con- tract into which himself, William, and perhaps Uncle Sherbrooke, had entered In 1 717 he administered to the Will of his brother Henry. In 1720 he hired a piece of land at Noke Hill of Mrs Mead. In 1723 he administered to his mother's Will, and was a party to the division of her effects. In 1735 he was overseer of South Weald. In 1737, and previously, he borrowed various sums of money of Mrs Mead. On January 27, 173S-9, he' made his Will, in which he is called of South Weald, Gentleman. He desires to be buried on the north sitle of the parish church, in as private a manner, and at as small an expense to his executors, as decency will permit. He bequeaths to his brother John his copy- i,a„,d'. w,il hold estate at South Weald, his stock of corn, hay, cattle, and all other goods. To his sister Rebecca, Payne's Farm at Noke Hill for life, afterwards to brother John for life, then to William and his heirs. To sister Anna, the " Flower de luce " in 1-leet Street, and houses in White Lion Court. Fleet Street, charged with f -o 238 TJic Second Family of the Dantzic Man. i6;S-i767. a year to his sister Elizabeth for Hfe (to be paid half yearly) ; after Anna, these two houses to sister Rebecca ; after her, to John, and then to William and his heirs. His South-Sea stock (amount not mentioned) to sisters Rebecca and Anna in equal parts; to William ^lo for mourning; John and Anna executors. He was buried just a week after making this Will, viz., February 3. Inventory of The inventory of his goods amounted to ^432, 19s. 6d., nearly double that Daniel's goods. ^ , . . , of his father ; and among the items are " i carbine, buff coat, pistols, sword, saddle and bridle for a militia soldier ; 2 muskets, i musquetoon, 4 guns, i pr of pistols, I scimitar, 3 swords, i cartouche box, 5 powder horns, i pouch, i pole-axe, i hanger, i stiletto," — quite a little armoury. It is probable he retired early from business, and spent the rest of his days at South Weald — apparently not in good health, judging from the pathetic way in which he speaks of himself in letter p. 175; and at last his death took place so soon after executing his Will, that we may take it he died suddenly. On Tree No. I. he is described as of How Hatch in South Weald, and Collector-General for the county of Essex. RiCH.\RD, baptized at Great Warley, July 18, 16S6. Our only knowledge of him comes from the entry of his burial at South Weald, August 24, 1705: — " Richard Taylor, single man, from y° parish of St Mildred, Poltry, in y" citty of London." It seems probable from this that he was apprenticed in London, died there, and was brought home to be buried. Henry, baptized at South Weald, March 27, 1689. On September 29, 1716, there is a settlement recorded in the family accounts in consequence of his death, in which the following charges occur : — P''- ^100 drawn from Legorn by Daniel Taylor .... -Qti, 5 5 [This seems to have been an insurance on goods " in the Teitipest Galley from Leghorn to London, December i, 1715," — a cover so labelled being amongst the papers.] P''- for Druggitt &c. sent to Lisbon the 26th February 1713, by D. Taylor, . 600 It is probable he was apprenticed in London, and carried on some business there ; but we have no further record of him than the above. John was baptized at South Weald, September 21, 1690. In July 1711, when, if we are right as to the individual,* he must have been twenty-one, he was .\ppieniiccsiiip apprenticed to William Wilks, Citizen and Silk Throwster, of London, for seven ^ years ; and there is a charge in the accounts of ^50 for this apprenticeship, and another for aprons ; there is also a memorandum of the day on which he left home. * To enter on an apprenticeship for seven years at the age of twenty-one is, I should think, almost unpre- cedented ; but, on the other hand, if such was not the case here, we have to imagine the death of the John wlio was born in 1690, and the birth of another John subsequently, and both without record. JNO. TAYLOR. The Second Family of the Dctntzic Man. 239 We know no more of him till 1718, when he gave a bond for ^170 to his sister 16781767. Rebecca; in 1739 he gave a bond to one William Trott for_^ioo; in 1743 he was surveyor of the highways of South Weald ; and in 1755 he was named in the Will of his nephew, William Taylor, of Romford. On the 26th of February 1764, he joim's wiii. made his Will, leaving his sister Elizabeth a year for life ; nieces Rebecca and Elizabeth, ^100 each, charged on his land at South Weald ; remainder of that property to the same nieces for life, then to nephew Henry and his heirs ; to Henry fifty guineas, and residue to nieces Rebecca and Elizabeth, whom he appointed his executors. As we have already seen, when, by the death of his sister Anne, in 1764, he was left the last of his family resident at South Weald, he removed to Romford with his nieces Elizabeth and Rebecca, where he died in 1766. He was buried at South Weald on the 8th of July. George, who died an infant, was born 1691, and died 1694. Elizabeth was baptized at South Weald, September 17, 1693. We find in the family accounts a memorandum that she " went to boarding-school the 4th Aug. 1713." There are also the following items: — "1712, Dec. i, for Opticks, IS. 6d. ;" "Jany. 6, for Opticks and gloves, 2S. 6d. ; " "1713, July 4, for a book- binder, IS. 6d., & for Mr Gouge's* book, 3s. 6d. ; " "Dec. 11, p'' schooling £t" "1714. Aug' 16, Snuff-box, &c., los. ;" "Nov. 3, p''- \ years schoohng, _^ii, 14s." She was twenty years old when she went to the boarding-school; what this may mean it is impossible to say; but later in Xiin—i.e., when she was forty- five — her brother Daniel singled her out from the others, by leaving her an annuity of .2^30 a year for life, to be paid half-yearly; and in 1764, when she was seventy-one, her brother John made a similar exception, leaving her a year for life. Putting these things together, they seem to point to some kind of infirmity; Elizabeth ha.i she lived nevertheless to a good old age, viz., seventy-four. We find further refer- Mmiijl ence to her in a letter to Ben Mordecai (p. 367) from his sister Elizabeth in 1766, immediately after the death of Uncle John, when it appears she paid the nieces a visit at Ilford, probably to inquire into the disposition of her brother's property. She came but for one day, and in a "grumpy" frame of mind; but "we treated her in verj- friendly sort," and the result was a fortnight's stay under more agreeable contlilions than the writer apparentl>- had ventured to anticipate. She appears once again only; in a letter written by her niece Elizabeth Taylor to Ben Mordecai (March 26, 1767, p. 368), it is said she died "in the vfsy spirit & raptures of methodism," leaving a Mrs Ayres executrix, and only a nominal sum to her relatives. We have not her Will, nor the Register of her burial. • Dr Gouge was a London pre.icher, contemporary with the Rev. John Jna Goodwin, and we find his " years, piety, and learning," referred to in a pamphlet of th.)t lime. 240 The Rev. Hciiry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai). Samuel was baptized at South Weald, 14th April 1695, and apprenticed ist of October 1 714— being nineteen years of age. For this he is charged /60 in the family accounts ; but there is no mention of his master's name, or anything to show the nature of the business. He died at How Hatch, the residence of his brother Daniel; and was buried at South Weald, the 19th of January 1733. On the death of William Taylor of South Weald, the line was continued by his second son — The Rev. Henry Taylor, A.M., Fellow of Queen's College, Cambridge, Rector of Crawley, and Vicar of Portsmouth, well known as a theological writer under the pseudonym of " Ben Mordecai." It will be convenient to note here, that I shall for the most part refer to him under this designation. He is very generally so termed in the family, and it will avoid danger of confusion with his son Henry, who will be described as "of Banstead." Eirtll. He was born at South Weald, Essex, in May 171 1, and received the earlier School. part of his education at the school of Mr Newcome of Hackney, at that day one of the best schools in the kingdom. His father was probably a friend of Mr Newcome, for we find him writing prologue and epilogue to a play acted at the school by the boys. In a letter addressed to his son in 1724, i.e., when the latter was thirteen years old, he rallies " Honest Harry " on his love for the learned languages, and assumes that to be the reason why the family at home are favoured with so little of his company. At Mr Newcome's, Henry had for schoolfellows, John, son of Dr Benjamin Hoadly, Bishop of Winchester, and Peter Delme, who lived near Titchfield, with both of whom he formed an intimate friendship, which was of lifelong duration. This Mr Delme was godfather to his second son, Peter, and gave him the living of Titchfield. College. From Mr Newcome's, Henry went to Queen's College, Cambridge, apparendy in T727; matriculated in 1729; completed his education; and before leaving there, took his M.A. degree and a College Fellowship. Tutor to Sir In 1 73 1 it would appear that he went as tutor in the house of a Sir Edward Edward . Ward. Ward, livmg somewhere near Norwich. Letters on this subject from Dr Newcome and his father, dated March 25, 1731, will be found pp. 184, 1S5. Dr Newcome appears to have thought this a very fortunate and desirable opportunity; the arrangement, however, very soon came to an end. A passage in a letter from his father, dated November 18, 1731 (p. 1S7), makes it evident that he had already left his situation. The reason is nowhere mentioned ; indeed, it will be ♦ Tlie Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordccai). 241 observed, that his father quotes the remark, " Reasons are not to be expected from 1711-17S5. people who have served four or five in y= same manner in one year." So far as money was concerned, all appears to have been satisfactory, as may be judged from a reference in a letter from his father in December of the same year (p.- 187). In 1733 he was ordained Deacon by Benjamin Hoadly, Bishop of Sarum, and subsequently was tutor in the family of Mr Western of Rivenhall Place, Essex. Tutov at Riven- 1 have a letter addressed to him there in 1735, and he says himself that he was there " some years." This Mr Western was the ancestor of Mr C. C, afterwards Lord Western. Colonel Chester having asked Sir T. S. Western about a family picture at Riven- Mr Western's hall, in which Ben Mordecai was said to be one of the figures. Sir Thomas replied p"""""' (January 28, 1872), that the picture by Hogarth in his possession did not contain a portrait of Mr Taylor, but that "In Pilkington's 'Dictionary of Painters' (1829), the picture you refer to is mentioned as being at Rivenhall, Essex, and containing likenesses of Mr Western, with his mother, Chancellor Hoadly, Archdeacon Plumptree, Mr Cole of Milton, and his curate, Mr Henry Taylor. This picture is not in my possession at Rivenhall, nor am I aware of its existence. I have never seen it." This seems worth further inquiry. In "Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century" is the following, by the Rev. W. Cole of Cambridge : — " The picture you mention I have never seen since it was finished and sent home. Chancellor Hoadly and Mr Harry Taylor were frequently at Rivenhall when I used to be there in my early age, but I do not remember their pictures being in the family conversation piece ; they might be added afterwards." He adds in a P.S.— " Mr Taylor was the curate of Rivenhall, and a great favourite in the family." It appears by the letters that at one time there was some question of the legal Thoughts of the profession for Henry. legal prores^io,,. In 1735 he was ordained Priest by Dr Hoadly, then Bishop of Winchester. In ordi„ai,on. 1 736, while at Rivenhall, he officiated as a minister, as we see by the letter of his father dated September of that year : but how early, or whether he was regularly appointed curate, does not appear. In 1737 he was presented to Wheatfield by Edward Rudge, Esq., whose son (apparently) married the daughter of " Coz Matt His first living of Howard" (see William Taylor's letter, p. 193), doubtless a descendant of the "CoTMaa Howard mentioned p. 37 as son-in-law of William Taylor the Haberdasher. This living was held for a minor. Mr Rudge's nephew. In 1744 the Bishop of Win- chester gave him the Rectory of Baghurst, worth about ^120 per annum, and, as a matter of form, he had to resign Wheatfield, but it was presented to him again immediately. In 1745 he was presented to the Vicarage of Portsmouth by Presented 10 , he the patrons of Winchester College, on the recommendation of his friend the Bishop, momu.^""'"'"' 242 The Rev, Hemj Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai). 1711-1785. Chaplain to Earl of Slair. Rector of Craw- ley. The Cotterells. Rev. Francis Fox. Mr Newell. Mr Birch. Thomas Outram Stone. In 1748 he was appointed Chaplain to the Earl of Stair, and in 1753 to the Rectory of Ovington, Hants (having obtained a dispensation to hold that with Portsmouth), also by the same Bishop, who was patron. In 1754 he was appointed a Surrogate of Winchester, and in 1755, became Rector of Crawley, also on the presentation of the Bishop of Winchester. His friend John Hoadly, writing from "Chelsey," February 1755, thus communicates the good news : — "That Job is job'd, & Crawley is much at your Service ; and y' Bishop is sorry for your sake that it is not so good a thing as is generally represented." He estimates it at the value of /300 a year. While at Wheatfield, his sister Rebecca presided over his household, up to the time of his marrriage in 1740 (before June 19, as his father's letter of that date (p. 1 98) refers to the marriage) ; and it is not improbable she remained with him for some time afterwards. As we have seen, shortly after this marriage his father went to live there with him. His wife was Christian, youngest daughter of the Rev. Francis Fox, M.A., Prebendary of Salisbury Cathedral, and Vicar of St Mary's, Reading, both which preferments he received from Bishop Burnet. The Rev. Francis Fox married a Miss Cotterell. Her sister was the wife of Mr Elmes, of whose family we shall have to say more when we come to the life of Ben Mordecai's daughter Elizabeth. On opposite pages will be found two pictures, one of two Miss Cotterells as children (the younger one is supposed to have married Mr Elmes), the other of a Miss Cotterell later in life. Whether the latter is one of the children grown up, or whether there were three Miss Cotterells, I am not sure. My impression is that there were three ; and in that case my theory would be, that the two little girls married respectively Mr Elmes and Mr Fox — (I fancy I can see a certain likeness between the elder child and the picture of Mrs Fox) — and that the lady in the other picture probably never married. The Rev. Francis Fox published — [I quote from a letter of Mrs Warren] — some Notes on the New Testament, and also " Remarks on the Service of the Church, with directions for a Devout Behaviour thereat." I thinlc this is the exact title of tlie little work. He had the living of, I think, Overton in Wiltshire, before he was Vicar of St Mary's, Reading. He had one son and two daughters besides Mrs Henry Taylor. His eldest daughter married Mr Newell, and her only child married Mr Birch. Of course Mrs Birch was my father's cousin ; they were children of two sisters. She died about thirty years since, in her hundredth year. The eldest son, John William Birch, was Clerk of the Parliament ; he had no family, but there were younger children, sons and daughters, from whom are descended the present family. There is a John William New'ell Birch livmg at Henley-on-Thames, who is grandson or great-grandson of the very old lady. His son, J. W. Birch, is one of the Bank Directors ; either his father or himself married a Miss Mildred, a daughter of the banker of that name. Rev. Francis Fox's second daughter married Mr Stone, who was, I believe, a clergyman : from him are descended Mr Stone, who was physician to the Charterhouse, and others. One of Mr Stone's sons is Thomas Outram Stone, a celebrated surgeon, now living. To return to Ben Mordecai and his lady. It will be seen by the letters that the course of their true love (and very true love it evidently was) did not " run The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai). 243 smooth." There appears to have been great opposition on the part of the lady's mother — (Mr Fox was no longer living) — who, it seems, absolutely refused consent until Henry should obtain preferment. The lovers used to meet at a Miss Bonny's of Reading at tea, and after a time were married, I believe, secretly,* but at any rate, without the presence or good-will of the mother. There are several letters addressed by Henry Taylor to Miss Fox at Mrs Curtis's, Fryer Street (Reading). In one of them, dated March 17, 1740, he addresses her as "Dear Wife," and signs himself as her husband. Whether he adopted this style before they were actually married, or whether a secret marriage had at that time taken place, there seems nothing to show. On the whole, and taking into consideration the style of the letter itself, I infer the former. In it he uses the expression, " I long to see you again to talk over y' old story of y" 25 of May 1740." It is not impossible that that was the day fixed for the marriage, t Mrs Fox's resentment does not seem to have come to an end when the object of her opposition was no longer attainable, as appears by the following short letter, after the birth of the first child : — Sir,— Yours I received, & am glad to hear y' Kitty is safely brought to bed. I wish her a good lying-in. I desire to be excused standing to f child, for I shall not be there in Person, nor will I have any one answer for me. My love to Kitty. I am S' your humble Ser. S. Fox. Nor did long years heal the wound or obliterate the sense of wrong. After her death, in 1764, Ben Mordecai thus expressed himself in a letter (rough draft), to whom addressed, or whether sent at all, we have no certain knowledge ;— Poor Woman She could not find in her heart to part with a Hundred pounds which Mr Fox desir'd her to pay my wife, & w<- she promised her, & so thought it necessary to pretend that she was ill used by her in marrying without her consent, which she knew to be false, as she declared to my wife & to me at different times when first we spoke to her on that subject, that her daughter had her fortune in her own hand, & was of age, & might do just as she pleased However, for my wife's sake, I should have been better pleased not to have her mentioned in y" will at all In Mrs Fox's Will, dated September 23, 1760, the only bequest to Ben Mordecai's wife is as follows :— " To my daughter Christian Taylor, five pounds." We have a number of letters between Mrs Fox and her husband and their son Daniel, from 1714 to 1727. They are very affectionate, and give a pleasing impression of the writers. It .seems strange, though perhaps it should not sur prise us, to find a person fulfilling her duties in certain relations of life in apparently so exemplary a manner, who, under other conditions, and in relation • The letters at pages 2S0, 281, seem to confirm this. _ t At the l»st moment all speculation is set at rest by rece.pt of the following extract from the Ewelme Register — The Reverend Mr Henry Taylor Rector of U heatfield in the County of Oxford and M,ss Chris.ion Fox of Kedin- in the County of Berks were married June y 16th 17+0. " 1711-17S5. Opposition of J Fox. His wife's parents. 244 Tlie Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A . {Ben Mordecai) 1711-17S5. I 41 Habits of fru- gality. A college bill. to another set of feelings, can behave in so unsatisfactory a way as Mrs Fox seems to have done to Ben Mordecai and his wife. As we see by his letter to Mrs Herrick (p. 253), they had eleven children, six of whom were then (1771) living. The pecuniary status of the family was no doubt gradually improving during his life, from the condition of poverty described in his father's letters to one of decent comfort at least. No doubt his father's lessons of frugality were rigorously adhered to during his college life. We have a series of his college bills, 1727 to 1733, all of the very moderate character of the following one : — Qr. to Michaelmas 1727 Bursar Qr. to St Thomas 1727 Qr. to Lady Day 1728 Bursar Qr. to Midsum' 1728 Bursar Qr. to Michaelmas 1728 Bursar Lecturer and Beadle 00 00 16 07 07 05 06 07 oS 14 04 Oct. ri* 1728.— Received then of Mr Taylor y' contents of y' Bill in full of all Demands on his son's acc' to Michaelmas last past by me. W*'' Sedgwick. I suppose that he received a little money with his wife, as in 1740 John Hoadly thus writes to Henry Taylor's friend Samuel Salter (afterwards Master of the Charterhouse) : — As to H. T.'s affair I have no particular View in my Advice to Him, any more than his Father has & all his Friends who think it right for any one in his circumstances to make sure of ^rooo & a Girl He has no Dislike to etc., etc. Thomas Newell, also, who married a sister of Christian Fox, writes that he received 1 000 with his wife, which confirms the likelihood in Ben Mordecai's case.* He was, I suppose, in receipt of rents from the Mugwell Street property, also from Noke Hill Farm after his uncle John's death in 1766, and of the Fleet Street houses after the death of his aunt Elizabeth. Referring to these properties, he says in a letter (without date), " A third part of these Estates (after the deduction of a tenth) belongs to me, the remainder to my sister, who lives at Wandsworth. The reversion to South Weald did not fall in till after his death, on the demise of his sister Rebecca, in 1799. * This is further confirmed by the fact, that about two months after his marriage Henry Taylor executed a Bond to Daniel Fox, "a trustee for Mrs Taylor," binding himself to settle/ 1 100 on her in case of his predecease. Probably this sum was made up of this .jflooo and of the /loo referred to by Henry Taylor on the previous page, " which Mr Fox desired her (Mrs Fox) to pay my wife." One of the witnesses was " John Usher." SUSANNAH, VV7FE OF REV? FRANCIS FOX, I il 11 I till COTTERELL CHILDREN, SUPPOSED AFTERWAP.DS M?^? ELMES & M^'? FOX. BORN (supposed) ABOUT 1690. COTTERELL. B. (SUPPOSED) ABOUT 1690. TJie Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A . {Ben Mordecai). 245 The Mugwell Street property was lost in his time through a piece of unfortunate lyi'-iySs- neelect, which I have heard caused him ereat reg-ret' and pain. It appears that Mugweii Street & ' ^> o r 1 1 properly. , this was College property (New College, Oxford), and was renewable on payment of some small fine. Through forgetfulness he let the time pass — immersed (it is said) in his studies. He rushed up to town, but was too late ; he was refused renewal. The date of this unfortunate transaction must be placed between 1771 and 1776, for at the former date he made a Will in which this property is mentioned, but in a letter of his sister Rebecca at the latter date, she mentions the fact of its loss as one of the reasons for an alteration in her Will. Perhaps the loss sustained by this unfortunate oversight may not have been so heavy as the family tradition would seem to imply. I, at least, had always under- stood that the leases were practically . renewable for ever at a small fixed fine. Now, of course, if the terms of renewal were not fixed, but were competent to be continually raised as the value of the property increased, the character of the , loss assumes a very different appearance ; and such would seem to be the fact from the following extract, addressed to Ben Mordecai by his father in 1735 (p. 191), which I cannot but believe applies to this property : — Y' mother & I are distress'd to last degree, & in deep melancholy for want of money to pay y' College fine, have try'd all f' all forsake us & y' money must be p"" this week, or y' renewall defer'd to next y' & then they will raise us yet higher tho they already set us at 50 more than this time 14 years vce victis <5j^ paypcrihus. In 1756 he received a legacy of ^1000 from his friend Roderick. Mr WVay Ugacy from Mr ,, Roderick. writes to say this friend "has expressed his love to you by a legacy of £\ooo\ and later another little windfall came in the shape of a legacy of £i>oo from a Mr Legacy from Mr IJeniiet. Bennet of Norton Bevant, Wilts, who died in 1781, as appears by a mourning nng in my po.ssession.* His income was likewise aided, both at Portsmouth and Crawley, by his taking a few pupils, at ^^50 a year, to educate with his sons, and to prepare for the Universities. , There are frequent expressions of good- will and gratitude for kindness and benefit received on the part both of boys and parents. His life was evidently a happy one. Probably his greatest suffering was from Hisdeaiii. the failure (and general bad conduct) of his son Daniel, which occurred a few months before his death, and which may very possibly have hastened his dis- solution. He was, however, troubled for many years, like his forbears, with the gout. Writing to him in 1755, his friend Dr Salter says, "Your Gout comes early * It will be seen that it was not till long after his death that his family were benefited by this bequest. It is probable the Benneis were connections of the family, as their name appears in Edward Crisp's Will (p. 166) as rel.ations of his. 246 The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai). at forty-five." He died at Titchfield, the residence of his son, the Rev. Peter Taylor, where he had hved since 1782, on the 27th of April 1785, aged seventy- four, and was buried in the chancel of the church at Crawley, by the side of his wife, who predeceased him sixteen years, she having died on the 23d July 1769. We have a mourning ring engraved with her name. His last Will was made November 30, 1784, in which he leaves his daughters Elizabeth and Anna sufficient goods (at their selection) to furnish a house ; the remainder of his personal estate (except books and literary property) to be sold, and the proceeds equally divided between his children, except one-si.xth to his son Peter and Thomas Drane, in trust for Daniel's wife and son, or for Daniel himself at their discretion. Printed books to Henry and Peter equally; copyrights and MSS. to Henry; Henry and Peter executors. The following letters upon his death may most fitly be inserted here : — \From the Rev. Henry Taylor of Banstcad to Mr Birch?\ Dear Sir, — I am very sorry to write to you on so unfortunate an occasion as tlie great afflictioii we are all under for the loss of our dear father, whose nausea & sickness grew worse & worse from the time your family favoured us with their company at this place [Titchfield]. On Tuesday he became very restless, & had a miserable night, requiring frequently to be raised in his bed & to change his position. On Wednesday morning he was seized with an exquisite gouty pain in his side, which went thence to his back & stomach, & could not lay quiet at all, but Peter & I were continually moving him. In the afternoon he got a short nap or two, which we hoped would have relieved him, but he always awoke in the same pain, so acute that it forced him to complain incessantly, and required him to be kept in such almost continual motion, that we at length kept him entirely in our arms, only raising ourselves or declining backward as he wanted to lean forward or back. He at last fell asleep in our arms, & in a short time expired without a groan, & so quietly, that we were doubtful of the event till we desired a friend, Dr Bogue, to step in, who had kindly given a constant attention to him. He immediately decided his departure, & that we might quit him & lay him down. It is a truly afflicting & melancholy stroke to us all, & though it could not be wholly an unexpected event, considering his years, yet we hoped it might have been not quite so soon. We cannot but earnestly lament our loss, & though we may not repine at the will of heaven, but ought rather to be thankful that he has been spared to us so long, & the consideration that it is from God, & that if he had lived it would have been in such a painful, weak, & uncomfortable state as would have made life a burden to him, much more than anything else reconcile us to our loss, since to recall him to all the pain and misery he felt at last (and there would be little hope of his being free from much of these if alive) would be the greatest inhumanity and cruelty. It is our greatest satisfaction in this scene of distress to reflect that we have done all we could to make his latter years more easy & comfortable, & his end more tolerable, & that he expressed himself well pleased with all our attention to him. Nothing but such thoughts can alleviate our sufferings for the loss of a Parent who was ever most dear to us as he was. I hope this will find you quite recovered from your cold, and Mrs Birch & all your family in prosperity & well. I am, dear Sir, yours most truly & affectionately H. T. Mrs Warren says : — Mrs Birch — [to whose husband this letter is addressed] — was i» cousin to the writer. She was the only child of Mrs Newell, who was sister to the wife of Rev. H. Taylor of Crawley, and the eldest The Rev. Heniy Taylor, M.A . {Ben Mordccai). 247 of the three daughters of Rev. Francis Fox. Her husband was cousin to the banker. He died rather early, and left her with a large family. She died aged one hundred above thirty-five years since. \_From the Rev. Henry Taylor {of Banstcad) to Dr Salter ; an extract only, omitting some repetition of description^ Our loss is very great in such a man, & such a Parent as few children can boast of, with Letter on whom we had ever lived, & always with an affectionate regard, who knew how to relinquish the authority of a Parent as his children became of age and understanding to judge for themselves, & treat them as friends, & was deserving of both the highest regard and sincerest affection. I need not say how truly we lament his departure, though when we consider his age, of seventy-three, we have no reason to repine at what has happened ; but to be earnestly thankful to the Supreme Being for the long time He has mercifully spared him to us. Nor, indeed, would one wish to recall him to his infirmity, & what in all probability he must have suffered had he lived ; & to think of seeing him enjoy life if alive, would be a wish almost extravagant. It is a great comfort to my sisters, as to Peter & myself, that we were with him in his illness, & our satisfaction to hope we have contributed to make his latter years more easy & light, & to hear him express himself that God would reward us for our love & attention to him. He desired to be remembered to all his friends, among which, I know, he long reckoned you to be one of the first; & as you have expressed to me a regard for him, I could have wished you not to have known the event till the duty of Sunday was over. The following letter from the Rev. Francis Stone is inserted, not because I think his estimation of great value, nor because I particularly admire its style, but rather to show that the old quarrel (when he left Crawley in 1762) was quite soldered up, greatly owing, we may fairly suppose, to the kindly and forgiving nature of Ben Mordecai. \From the Rev. Francis Stone to the Rev. Peter Taylor.'] May 11"', 1785. Dear Cousin, — Am much obliged by y' favour of the 8'" inst., which gave me infinit pleasure blended Letter of ih heartfelt grief for tlie loss of my worthy uncle, whose memory I esteem as the profound & general j^ith'^'^'' .olar, the liberal-minded Christian, the afiectionate parent & friend, & the agreeable facetious cora- . ::ion. His tranquil & easy death, with the retention of his faculties to the last, in the amis of his iiildren, would be much to be envied, if the base passion of envy c"" gain admittance to the breasts of well-meaning men. Tho' I lament that an unforeseen, untoward concurrence of circumstances prevented a personal interview at Titchfield, when both parties ardently & almost anxiously wished it,— yet I rejoice, that he did not die before he was fully convinced that I panted for the renewed enjoyments ' his company & conversation. I was early acquainted with the fatal event ; for it being settled ! my Coz Will & his (ara sposa, when my mother, wife, & self, spent the day with them in rch, that they should favor us with their company as soon after her recovery from her accouchee as -ible, I called in Osbom Place for the purpose of fixing the day on Saturday sevennight, just after my Coz had rec"" a Lre conteining the melancholy tidings. They accordingly gave us the • '•isure of their company yesterday to dinner, together with her brother & Aunt Courtauld. Cousin, who engages to be the bearer of this, seems to be a very honest man, & has a smack 248 The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai). 1-11-17S5. of dry drollery about him, different from the arch wit of my uncle; & his Lady is an agreeable woman, who improves upon me every time I see her. You have the happy art, my dear Coz, of metamorposing afflictions into eventual blessings, by making a proper use of them. They are certainly designed by our good Creator to teach us a sense of our dependence on him, & of humble complete resignation to his will, to meliorate our tempers, to purify our hearts, & to enable us to sit loose from the joys & cares of life, neither elated by prosperity, nor deprest by adversity, thankful, contented, & chearful under every event, without incuring the licentiousness of the Epicure in the one extreme, or the surliness of the Cynic, & the apathy of the Stoic in the other The consoUdation of your little stocks, the consequence of the mutual friendship subsisting between y' sisters, brother, & y' self, reminds me of the bundle of sticks in the fable, or of the seven arrows grasped in the dexter paw of the lion, the armoreal bearings of the 7 united provmces of the Netherlands May my 18 maternal cousins, inclusive of their spouses & children, myself, wife, & son, imitate the cordial harmony of y' united brother- hood & sisterhood, by preserving inviolate that beautiful & beneficial chain of benevolence & concord, which ought to indissolubly link us together & endear us to each other, not only as fellow- creatures, but especially as fellow- Christians, & still more particularly as relatives, by consanguinity or affinity Y' loving friend & obed' Servant 40 Brompton Row. Francis Stone. [Extract from a letter from his daughter Elizabeth to Mrs Fox on the same occasion, dated May 5, 17S5.] .... We have lived together so long in harmony, & know each others' tempers & dispositions so well, that we are determined not to suffer this melancholy event to part us My brothers Harry & Peter, Nancy & myself, have agreed to put our little stock together, & live at Hollam. In the midst of our grief we find our sweetest consolation in the hope that we have discharged our duty towards the good old man This is not confined to Nancy & myself; my two brothers have quite an equal claim to it. Always attentive & kind to him, that attention encreased with his infirmities, and particularly shewed itself in his last illness— a sense of which they had the satisfaction of hearing him express in his dying hours, &: when the fatal ^moment arrived, it was in their arms he expired. In attempting to form some estimate of the life and character of Henry Taylor, it is especially necessary to bear in mind the character and influence of his father upon him, who was, as we have seen, a man of considerable literary ability, a wit, and a poet. These qualities descended to his son ; and there are evidences in the correspondence (pp. 178 to 189) of the anxious care with which the father fostered and encouraged the promise he must have observed very early in his talented and persevering boy ; its tone, also, like that of an affectionate elder brother, is espe- cially noticeable. Apart from the natural abilities of Henry, this influence of his father must doubtless have had considerable effect in developing that freedom of thought for which he was remarkable. Throughout his whole life we find him earnest in his search after truth, and zealous and energetic in maintaining what he thought to be the truth ; while at I The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai). 249 College making anxious inquiries before he could subscribe the Articles of the lyn-iySs- Church, and in after-years uniting himself with several other eminent men in the '^'^^""^ Clmi'ch Relorin. attempt to reform its Liturgy, and to abolish the necessity of subscription to the Thirty-nine Articles ; an endeavour which at that time seemed far from hopeless. In this work he was associated with such men as Lindsey, Moxon the poet, Jebb, Disney, Tyrwhit, Frend, Archdeacon Blackburn, etc. He was likewise on intimate terms with the celebrated Dr Price. There are a number of letters from Dr Price to him, temp. 1778-81, very cordial in tone, Dr Price, evincing a very real respect for him, and a very considerable, though of course far from absolute, agreement with his opinions. The sympathies and exertions of Henry Taylor were by no means confined His liberality in to ecclesiastical and theological questions. He was at one on political questions with the most advanced reformers of his day. A letter from Mr Wyvil, one of the leaders of the well-known County of York Association for Parliamentary Reform, on p. 309, implies the relation which he held with this movement. We have a number of interesting letters addressed to him by Mrs Jebb, the wife of Dr Jebb, on this subject, one of which will be found p. 310. It is interesting to find him struggling for political liberty up to the very last. On a printed form of petition of the freeholders of the county of York I find the following note by Mrs Jebb, written, I believe, in 1785, i.e., in the year of his death: — Friday is our next quintnplc meeting. The Dr intends to try if possible to animate y' people & raise a spirit. He sometimes has great success y' way: he has been poorly ever since y' last, but I think is better to-day. On another question we have in his handwriting the following rough draft of a petition : — We the Justices of the Peace of y' County of Southampton duely impressed with a sense of y' Duty Game Laus. of our office as Magistrates, the respect that is due to the laws of our Country, and the impartiality and humanity we are bound to show in putting them in execution, beg leave to lay before this Honourable House some difficulties as frequently occur and much distress your petitioners. In the Course of our executing the office of Magistrates we are too frequently call'd upon to inforce the Game Laws, when we experience a severe struggle between our Humanity as Men, and our Duty as Magistrates. A memoir of Ben Mordecai appeared in the Christian Reformer of February m. emoir in the 1849, written by Mr D. M. Price, from which I take the following list of his publications, viz. :- (1760.) On the Beauty of the Divine Economy: a sermon preached before the son of Bishop His writings. Hoadly, who during his father's illness held for the Bishop a visitation at the Cathedral, Winchester, September i8, 1759. (The Bishop died two years afterwards, at the age of eighty-five.) 2 I 250 The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. (Ben Mordecai). 1711-17S5. ly?!' Answer to Soame Jenyns on the Internal Evidence of the Christian Religion. 1772. Confusion worse Confounded : Rout on Rout. By Indignatio. A tract against Bishop Warburton. 1777. Two Letters to the Earl of Abingdon, in which His Grace of York's notions of Civil Liberty are examined. By Liberalis. And Vera Icon : a Vindication of His Grace of York's Sermon, proving it to contain a Satire upon the Ministry, and a Defence of Civil and Religious Liberty upon the principles of Whiggism. By Mystagogus Candidus. 1771 to 1774. The Apology of Benjamin Ben Mordecai for embracing Christianity. 1781. Thoughts on the Grand Apostacy, with an Answer to Gibbon's Account of Christianity in the 15"' chapter of his "History of Rome." 17S3. Further Thoughts on the Grand Apostacy, and on the Laws concerning Heresy, Subscription to Articles, etc. 1788. Considerations on Ancient and Modern Creeds, the Supremacy of the Father, Personal Existence of the Holy Spirit, Pre-existence of Christ, and His Divinity. Published after his death by his eldest son, the Rev. Henry Taylor, Rector of Spridlington, Lincolnshire. This list, with a notice of the author, appeared in Rees's "Cyclopaedia" in 1S19. I further quote from the same review the following passages : — He was one of those men who, by means of their learning, their ardent love of truth, and dili- gent search for it, have produced important effects on the minds of their contemporaries, yet, owing to peculiar circumstances attendant upon their career and the times in which they lived, have not obtained a distinguished and abiding place in records of the progress of knowledge ; although the powers of mind discoverable in his writings, the keenness of his wit, his unwearied spirit of inquiry and powers of argumentation, mark him as a disciple, and not an unworthy one, in the school of Hoadly, Clarke, and Jortin. . . . It is certain that he was of a sprightly, cheerful disposition, and occasionally amused himself in writing verses, some of which, particularly one entitled " Paradise Regained," are preserved in Dodsley's " Collection." . . . His religions In religious opinion he was an Arian, but considered himself as coinciding more nearly with ApoUinaris than with any otlier of the ancient controversialists. He held the Father alone to be the Author of all things, and the only proper Object of religious worship. The Son he considered to be the first in time and in dignity of all created beings, the instrument of the Father in the creation of the worid, and in His direct communications with mankind ; that it was he who conversed with Adam, with Abram and the patriarchs, with Moses ; whose voice was heard by Samuel and the prophets ; and who in fulness of time took our nature upon him and revealed the will of God to mankind. He was in all points an anti-trinitarian. His talents and acquirements, as well as his mode of delivery, which was peculiarly pleasing, recommended him to public notice, and he ranked high in the estimation of all with whom he associated. Mr Price thus narrates the circumstances under which he settled at Ports- mouth : — Mr John Carter, ancestor of John Bonham Carter, who for many years represented it in Parliament, was at that time the leading man in the town, which had just lost its Vicar, with whom he and other dissenters had lived on very indifferent terms. Mr Carter having been a schoolfellow of Bishop Hoadly,* and through life kept up a friendly correspondence with him, applied to him on this occasion, requesting that the vacancy might be filled by some clergymian of good character and moderate principles. The Bishop immediately recommended the incumbency to Mr Taylor, who, though His connection with PorlsmouLh. The Carters. * Probably Mr Price intended to say Chancellor Hoadly, or else he must be referring to this Mr Carter's father as schoolfellow of the Bishop. The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai). 251 at some pecuniary loss, agreed to accept it, on which the Bishop prevailed on the College of Win- 1711-17S5. Chester (to whom the living belonged) to appoint him. He lived at Portsmouth some years in great cordiality with the inhabitants, particularly with tlie family of Mr Carter. The writer of these pages has met with only two persons old enough to recollect him. A late old inhabitant of Portsmouth bore testimony that he was a very pleasant man, and universally respected. His knowledge referred only to the close of the good man's life. His visits to Portsmouth had then become not very frequent; but, desirous of doing in his pastoral office all the good that he could, he was accustomed to occupy his congregation rather longer than was the custom of his curate, so that it was an understood thing with the bakers that, when the Vicar preached, the joints and puddings of the parishioners should be ready for the table half an hour later than ordinary. The writer had the good fortune once to mention Mr Taylor's name at the table of his venerable friend Mr Thomas Naish of Romsay, Hants, who immediately observed that he had lived as a boy in the parish of Crawley, and recollected that our latitudinarian divine always omitted reading on the proper days the Creed of St Athanasius. At length a churchwarden of the parish insisted on the parishioners having the full benefit of that sublime composition. The rector resolutely refused. The churchwarden, who was a tailor by trade, though not by name, applied to the Bishop, and " Quiamque vult" was at length delivered from the sacred desk, but not by our latitudinarian friend himself; he had prevailed on a neighbouring curate to do it in his stead, one who had no scruples of conscience standing in the way. Mr Price observes that " the Rev. Francis Stone, who was expelled from the Church after having advocated Unitarian sentiments in a Visitation Sermon, had for some years been curate to Mr Henry Taylor." It is said that the clergy of the diocese were not at all anxious to take notice of his heresy, but that he persisted in defying them so openly as to leave them no alternative. As we shall see presently, this gentleman seems to have been somewhat violent and intemperate in his language and demeanour, sufficiently so to afford ground for supposing that this theory is not without foundation. Mr Price thus describes Ben Mordecai's conduct in regard to his son Peter's His son reier marriage. I believe it is in the main correct, and is well calculated to raise Bmter'iy' one's estimate of the high-minded and unconventional tone of his life : — His son Peter liad formed an attacliment to a young woman, an attendant upon his mother, and whose parents were in humble life. He declared to his father the state of his feelings, who, finding that his son's comfort and happiness were deeply involved, and knowing at the same time the great moral worth of the young woman, thought it his duty not to permit disparity of worldly circumstances to stand in the way. He accordingly placed her, at his own cost, under tuition where she might acquire such information as would make her a fit companion for his son and for the circle in which she would have to move. The plan was crowned with complete success. After a suitable interval, the young man's sentiments remaining unchanged, she became his wife. A pretty little stor>' is related of him by the daughter of the clerk at Ports- nu humanity, mouth church. In the course of the service one Sunday, having put off the sur- plice for the black gown, and nearly reached the pulpit, he suddenly turned round and walked all the way back to the vestry, whence presently he again proceeded to the pulpit. A friend, amused by the incident, and curious as to the cause, found on inquiry that he had, while in the vestry arranging his surplice, observed 252 Tlie Rev. Henry Taylor, Al.A. [Ben Mordecai). lyi^^ss. an unfortunate bee struggling on its back upon tlie table ; that it had for the moment passed from his memory, but had struck him again when near the end of his journey ; whereupon he returned to set the bee again on its legs. '^il^tfj'!'""' '^'^ writings under the nom de plume of Ben Mordecai, the following remark was made in the Critical Review, quoted in a letter from William Taylor to his sister Elizabeth: — "We may venture to pronounce the writer is no Jew; but be he who he may, he is a man of liberal sentiments, extraordinary acuteness, and extensive erudition." I have many evidences of the high estimation in which the works of Ben Mordecai were held, but with which I refrain from wearying the reader. The Mr iremonger. following extract from a letter of eulogy by Mr Iremonger is worth noting, as it gives a glimpse into character and temperament. It is dated 1772 ; — But above all, I commend the true Christian charity and forbearance which appears almost in every page, and the cool manner in which the whole is conducted. I know the author is a warm little man, and can give as quick and smart a turn as any one, and therefore I am particularly pleased that his zeal in the cause has not been productive of the least keenness, either in thought or expression. You must not expect to escape without nibbles, but I hope you will not take any notice of them, etc. etc. His warm tem- perament. That he was somewhat warm-tempered ("a warm little man !" as Mr Iremonger observes) the following seems to show. On one half sheet of paper I find these notes. The first appears to be a reply from a neighbouring parson of the name of Bathurst to some request made by Peter Taylor, at whose house the father was staying, and runs thus : — Mr Bathurst returns his compts. to Mr Peter Taylor, is very sorry he cannot comply with his request, particularly at this time, for next Sunday there is a sacrament at Broughton, which being a very large parish, and a great number of communicants, it will be out of his power to oblige him. Lainston, Tuesday morning. To the Rev. Mr Peter Taylor. Note second runs thus : — I did not think Mr Bathurst could have written such an answer to my son's note at this time. What is y" w° at Broughton that a single man could not perform y= duty? My sons or myself would have undergone ten times y' difSculty or trouble to serve you. My eldest son has done more already. 'Tis a paltry answer, and shows y' you have no regard to any of us. I write this without my sons knowledge. P.S. — I have one friend less in y" world than I imagined. It seems that Mrs Bathurst intercepted the note, and offered some explanation, as note number three shows the brief spark of anger extinguished : — The Rev. Henry Tayloj\ M.A. {Ben Mordccai). 253 Madam, 1711-1785. You judged very properly in not showing my note to Mr Batliurst. As you say, it was founded upon my mistaking his words in such a time of distress, and I am much obliged to you for the kind regard you express in your answer to my note. I have desired Mrs Pye to give you this note privately, and believe Your Sincere Humble Servant, H. Taylor. Crawley r Aug'' 1769. The specialty of the time referred to was the death of his wife, a few days before, July 23. Of his correspondence we have unfortunately, though naturally, but very few His currespon- of his own letters, as compared with those addressed to him. By far the larger ' number are those to his wife, both before and after marriage, a selection from which, and a few from her in reply, will be found pp. 266-296. It is much to be regretted that those he doubtless wrote to his father, and some of which are referred to in his father's letters, have not been preserved ; and equally so of the many letters he must have written to his sons Henry and Peter at Cambridge, Daniel and William in London, and to his daughters at East Ham, for not one is to be found among the family papers, which is certainly remarkable. We may, however, form some more or less shadowy notion of a person from the letters addressed to him, and I propose to act upon this idea by giving extracts from such letters when they seem to throw light upon any interesting portion of his life. They will be found, with all the letters we have of his own, in order of date. I cannot, however, refrain from interpolating the following, because, giving as it does a sketch of his life by himself, it forms a sort of key to all we have to say of him : — Crawley — 1771.* Dear Madam, When I was in London a little while ago, my Cosin Wilks informed me you had been so Letter to Mrs kind as to enquire after me and my family. It gave me much pleasure to be remembred I^<='""'^'^- after so long a time ; and I told her I would write and thank you as soon as I got home, and give you an account myself I think y' last letter I receivd from my old Friend your Brother was in 1741,* in w'' he informs me he had fonvarded a letter of mine to you, & gives me y° first news of your Marriage, and wishes me joy of the birth of my eldest daughter; so that I find I was married about a year before you. 'Tis now 30 years ago, and yet when I look back to the first & only time I saw Miss Lucy Gage, and danc'd a minuet with her at the Fire Office on Snow hill, before our two Mothers (who thought we perform'd to admiration), it appears to have been but y' other day : however, short as it seems, I have some impertinent hints and intimations about me, which convince me, if I should ever have y° pleasure of leading you up a second minuet, I should not be able to perform it with same Reputation. I think we were then both in our teens. And you perhaps continue the same clever, lively, genteel, sensible, pretty Girl you then was ; indeed, I can form no picture of you but from memory. But with me y' Case is very different, — An old bald-headed fellow with an hour-glass in his hand ; a hypocritical Rogue, that looks as if he could crawl no faster than a snail, has seizd me into his clutches, whipp'd me upon his back, and has * See Appendix, p. 685. 254 The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. (Ben Mordecai). run me up in an instant from i8 to about 60. The swift motion has so hurt my Eyes that I can scarce write without Spectacles; and y= affright quite changed the Colour of my hair to Grey. I believe there was nothing happend remarkable to me till some time after I saw you ; for I shall give you my whole History for above 30 years, in hopes to hear yours during y' same Period. After being chosen fellow of Queen's College in Cambridge, I liv'd some years at Mr Western's at Rivenhall, and then took the Living of Whitfield in Oxfordsliire, where I married y° daughter of M' Fox, rector of St Maries at Reading in Berks; y' wisest and happiest thing I ever did in my Life. After some years I quitted that Living for Portsmouth in Hants, w* I now hold w"' Crawley near Winchester, where I live. And here it was that M' Peter Delme, an old Friend of 50 years' stand- ing, desired me to take upon me y» education of his children, upon w"" I thought it best to take half-a-dozen young Gentlemen at £<^a a year, that they might be company for one another, and this made y' education of my own children very easy to me, and afforded all y' conveniences of Life; but I have now pretty well given over that business and don't think of taking any more, having done with my own children and having only one besides M' Delme"s Grandchild. And here I must mention an affair which fretted me very much. It was, to hear from M' WoIIaston that he had enquired of my brother Fox about sending Master Musters under my care, which my brother never gave me any account of It would have been a great pleasure to me to have been of any Service towards making him a worthy man, for I find he is your Grandson, and the more so as the distance between us is so great, and our Correspondence so long intermitted, that we seem to have forgot our Relation : — But to go on, we have had eleven children, and six of them are now living, four boys and two girls. The Eldest son has y= Living of Spridlington w' was given him by M" Mead, w'" is but an indifferent maintenance of itself, and I designed to have chang'd for something in this part of the world, having no chance of anything to join with it in Lincolnshire. My 2-' Son has a fellowship at Queen's College, and y= promise of a Living in this County left him by the Will of M' P. Delme My s"" Son is with a grocer in Crutched Fryars, and my 4"' with a Silk Throwster near Spittlefields. All of them, as well as my Girls, turn out to y' utmost of my wishes, and as they have been all educated at home, have given a pleasure to their Parents w'' few can have y° opportunity of enjoying. In short, for 30 years nobody enjoyed a greater share of Happiness than myself. Too happy indeed to last to y" end of Life ! The loss of my dear Wife has given us such a dreadful stroke, that we, or at least I, shall never be able to recover it. The only comfort left me (and indeed it would be a sufficient happiness of itself, if I could avoid comparing it with the loss) is the tenderness of my Children, to whom She has communicated all her Vertues. — But I did not think of being drawn into this subject when I began my letter, quite pardon my dwelling so long upon it. I will a pardonable indulgence. I have now perhaps given you too much trouble in so long an account, and I wish you would revenge it with as particular a History of your Self ; but I shall so far blunt the sting of your Vengeance, as to assure you beforehand, that every instance of your happiness will give me a new Pleasure : and so the more revengeful you are, the more I shall be oblig'd to you, or, to speak poetically, I shall " Ride in the Tempest and enjoy the Storm." A correspondence of this Nature once in 30 years puts me in mind of y" days of Shalum and Zilpah in y° Spectator, N°. 5S4, and I can scarce avoid dating my Letter in the year of y" world 5775. In short, it will be a very obliging Favour to acquaint me that M' Herrick and your self are well in health, what Children and grand- children you have, and whether marry'd or unmarried, etc. etc. etc. I should have told you that two of my Sisters are living, both maidens, and they have y° Estate in Essex and some other things, and live very comfortably near Lond". I sliould have mentiond also two other Livings, that I have had, Baghurst and Ovington both in this County, but am almost afraid you should think me a Clergyman Vagabond to wander about y" Earth in such a manner. I beg my Compliments and best wishes to your Self, M' Herrick, and all y' Children and Grandchildren, And am, D' Madam, y' affectionate Kinsman and very humb' Serv' H. T. This is evidently only the rough copy of the letter, which accounts for some , ■ The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Bc/i Mordccai). 255 incorrectness. It will be observed he signs himself kinsman; and we find the 1711-1785. Mrs Herrick to whom the above was addressed was formerly Miss Gage. The name Gage appears in the will of Edward Crisp (p. i65) as a cousin of the testator. The only fact of interest in the letter referred to (1741) is, that Mrs Herrick lived at Beau Manor near Loughborough. This relationship with the Gages seems somewhat remote : a granddaughter of George Clarke of Hack- ney, i.e., a cousin of Rebecca the Dantzic Man's second wife, married a Mr Gage.* In no notice of his life, however short, would it be possible to omit all mention The iioadiy of the Hoadly family, for to two members of that family (the Bishop of Win- Chester and his son) Henry Taylor was indebted all through his life for much kindness and assistance. Nor is the history of that family uninteresting in itself. The grandfather of the Bishop was driven by the persecuting spirit of his times to America, from whence in later life he returned with his family, all likely, as one would anticipate, to be deeply imbued with the principles which had made him an exile; and it is interesting to find his grandson, as a dignitary of the Church, taking a prominent part amongst the reformers ecclesiastical and political of his time. The Rev. John Hoadly left England about 1641-42, as he married on the B voyage (a Miss Bucknell), and his eldest child, Samuel, was born at Guildford, New England, in 1643. Samuel, also a clergyman, returned to England with his father, and in 1666 married a Mrs Mary Wood. After her death he married, in 1669, Martha, daughter of the Rev. B. Pickering. In 1678 he had a school at Tottenham High Cross, and in 1686 "he kept a very great and gentile board- mg school " at Brook House, Hackney. His friend Mr Samuel Moreland, also a schoolmaster, was the father of Lydia, wife of Dr Newcome, who succeeded to the : school at Hackney about 1705. Benjamin, afterwards the famous Bishop of Bangor, f and successively Bishop of Hereford, Salisbury, and Winchester, son of this Samuel, r was born in 1671. Now, was William Taylor of South Weald a schoolfellow of the \ Bishop at Brook House, Hackney ? If so, it would naturally account for the sub- \ sequent relations between their sons. Of this we have nothing like proof; there are, however, one or two scraps of evidence that may be taken as tending in that !■< direction. William Taylor writes to his son Henry in 1731, "Yesterday I found Dr Hoadly afii.xcd to his bed w* a distemper better becoming a country girl in 1 love, viz., y' tooth ach" (p. 186). Now this of course implies a great amount of intimacy, which is at least consist- I ent with the theory- of their acquaintance from boyhood. And again, in a letter (same I page) wc find the following :—" Old Hoadly used to say of y' Westm' Grammer, ! y" all y' D' in Hell and Blockheads on earth, in convocation could not have • S« Appendix, p. 685. I7II-I7S5. Dr Salter. 256 Tlie Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai). made a worse." The Old Hoadly here referred to was of course Samuel, the school- master ; and altogether the sentence seems redolent of schoolboy associations. Of Bishop Hoadly it is needless here to say much. He was a man of some note in his time and with his party. He was born in 1676, which makes him the contemporary of Henry's father — only three years younger. Henry's great friend, John Hoadly—called Chancellor Hoadly, because he filled that office in the See of Winchester — was born in the same year as Henry. We learn from his bio- graphy that he was at first intended for the law ; that he was a friend of Garrick and Hogarth, and published several unsuccessful dramas. At the time when efforts were being made to secure the living of Wheatfield for Ben Mordecai, the Bishop supported them with the following warm recommendation, extracted from a letter written to Mr Rudge : — I write this in justice to tliat young man, to assure you tliat he is in all respects a most deserving Person. His learning is much above y" common Pitch. His behaviour is unblameable. His temper truly good, and his whole conduct such as recommends him to all who know him. Your most ob' Serv' B. WiNTON. The Bishop, writing to his son in 1740, says, "I am so far from being displeased with your endeavour to serve H. T., that I think y" better of you for them." It is evident that the Bishop had a keen eye, not only for his young friend's interests, but to his probable requirements, for " they will have much issue " is the phrase he uses, in pointing out to his son the course he thought Henry should take in regard to some offer he had made him. One more extract from a letter dated 1 744, when the question of the living of Baghurst was before them :— It is surely something, in all events, to have a place of your own to go to when you shall have outlived Wheatfield ; for who knows who may live to do anything better for you, or, whether anything may be in the power of Those who are willing to do it? . . . My best wishes of many happy years to you and your whole fireside, whether old, or young, or middling. His friend Dr Salter seems not to have been too partial to the Hoadlys. The general conclusions manifested throughout his voluminous correspondence are, that the Bishop was too worldly, and his son too careless, indolent, and insincere for real friendship. Throughout his letters there is a merciless analysis of their char- acters and motives. In 1740 he writes : — They have not common honesty but to their own minions, and the devil' has as much; but I give you joy of these minions dropping off day by day into prebends and livings, etc. etc. When they are all gorged, and the innumerous nieces put to bed to starveling parsons, you and Bob Ashe may come to be thought of. The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai). Again in 1 750 : — 257 1711-17S5. All the preferments in tlie Bp. of Winton's patronage were mortgaged when Dr H., the bps. brother, wanted so much to be physician to St Thomas' hospital — which he lost — & since to be physician to the Household — which he got. Again in 1753 :— Mr Delme did liimself no small violence when he waited on tlie Bp,, & afterwards wrote to him, & then wrote to him again, on your account, for he neither loves the Bp., nor cares to be obliged by him or any man. Dr Salter, of whose letters, ranging over thirty-six years, we have a large collection, was the schoolfellow, college mate, and lifelong friend of Ben Mordecai. They testify throughout to the close intimacy, as well as the congenial views and tastes of the two men. They relate to family matters, to the affairs of clerical friends, and the prominent ecclesiastics of the day ; to books and theological learning, college life, politics, and largely to the publication of Ben Mordecai's works, which Dr Salter took much interest in revising for the press. We have already mentioned his friend and schoolfellow Peter Delme, who Peter Deime. lived at or near Titchfield. Whether they were fellow-collegians, as well as school- fellows, does not appear, but in a letter to Ben Mordecai from his father, November 172S (p. 182), is the following passage: — "I may very reasonably suppose you have wrote to Mr Delme to tempt him to an academical life." Mr Delme appears to have been Member for Southampton, and it is probable his children were educated by Ben Mordecai — one we know was. We have a number of Mr Delme's letters, running from 1761 to 1769. They all bear testimony to great intimacy and friendship, and treat of all subjects — domestic, literary, and political. Their matter has naturally not retained its interest under a century's evaporation, still a few of them will be found amongst the correspondence, not wholly uninte- resting, and certainly throwing some faint light on the position, character, and opinions of Henry Taylor, the rather as, in at least one instance, I find scraps of a draft letter, apparently in reply to one that I have inserted. This, of course, will also be found in its proper place. With the same view, I insert also a very few of Dr Salter's letters. I have been tempted to give many more of the latter from their intrinsic interest, but am obliged to decide on their omission, simply because to extend these pages by any matter not directly referring to our own family would make the book too unwieldy ; but it may well be that other persons will find interest in their separate perusal. The same remark applies, though in a lesser degree, to much other correspondence which it is impossible to embody here, but which I shall take care to leave, with all the family papers and documents, in a better 2 K 258 The Rc%r Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai). ■ 711-1785- arrangement of date and classification than they have apparently ever hitherto enjoyed. Alderman of Hc was an Alderman of the Corporation of Portsmouth in 1778, and his son Portsmouth. Henry, and after Henry's death, William, were burgesses (a body of about twenty), and therefore voters for the borough members, as it was, I believe, the custom of the Corporation, on the death of one of its members, to elect one of the same family, quite irrespective of residence. They used regularly to go down to vote for the Carters up to the time of the Reform Bill. I have a number of letters from Mr The Carters. Jghn Carter, and his sons John and William, to Ben Mordecai and Peter, ranging from 176S to 1783, all of the most friendly nature, but having reference for the most part to matters of temporary interest only — principally political. It will be seen also hereafter, that two ladies of our family watched the deathbed of their friend Mr John Carter at Wymering in 1793 (p. 569). From a memorandum sent me by Mr Henry Bonham Carter, it appears that this ancestor of his was born in 1715, (four years later than Ben Mordecai) : the memorandum says the date of his death is not known to their family, but they know that he died at Wymering at a very advanced age. Putting together the fact of his birth in 1 7 1 5 with the date of his death as mentioned in Anna's letter, we arrive at the conclusion that he was seventy-eight. His sons, John, William, Edward, and James, were cotemporary with those of Ben Mordecai, the eldest (afterwards Sir John) having been born in 1 741. The memorandum mentions that Mr John Carter was first elected Mayor about 1747-50, holding the office also in 1754, 1759, 1762, 1765 and 1767 ; that "he became a keen politician, and entered into a contest with the Lords of the Admiralty to dispute their long-practised power of returning the members for the borough — leading to much litigation. His son. Sir John, was also many times Mayor from 1769 to 1804." It seems to our eyes strange enough that the alternative mode for the representation of Portsmouth should lie between nomination by the Government, and election by a corporation of twenty burgesses ! Mr Carter adds the following curious incident : — About 1774, Peter Taylor, Esq., being nominated by the Admiralty at an election for the borough, was opposed by J. Ireraonger of Wherwell, nominated by John Carter, who then had the principal influence in the Corporation, and the litigation consequent on this election lasted for some nine years, accompanied by popular tumults. This Peter Taylor was no relation of ours. We have a letter from him can- vassing for the family interest, which there can be no doubt he did not receive ; he dates from Purbrook Park near Portsmouth. In a letter written by his son Henry to his friend Rev. Mr Thomas in 1776, we learn a little of the way of living at Crawley. He says : — The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordccai). 259 My father w'' be glad if you enquire tlie following particulars concerning the man servant you 1711-17S5. mentioned to me. . . . "Whether he w'' like to come for my father's wages, ^7 ^ ann., Domesticanan a Livery of Coat, Waistcoat & Breeches, & a Frock & Waistcoat (f& a pair of Boots occa- ""^n's. sionally). His business you know, to look after two Horses, for that is the idea he sh'' have of them, & get my father's horse & sisters from y" farm yard & give them a rub when they are wanted to be used. To whet knives, & cleanse shoes, & brush cloaths, & do, in short, indoor work. In the Harvest time if we are out of beer he must Brew, which the Bailey may teach him if he does not understand ; & draw water for the Washing. . . . Beside the Wages P. & I give \ a Guinea each at X""" though that is not in y" agreem'. While upon domestic arrangements, it may be noted tliat a Portsmoutli friend of his, IVIr Hawlver, who seems to have managed little business matters for him, is found buying tobacco for him at one shilling and sixpence per pound, and port wine at three shillings per gallon, — including the duty, eight shillings ! He was very fond of flowers and gardening, as is shown by many passages and references to the best modes of management, etc. At Portsmouth he had much trouble with his curates, some of whom were men of bad character; notably one, a Mr Owen {1757), who was proved to have acted in a grossly immoral way, and when dismissed, made a great fuss, demanded publicity, and had probably a party supporting him. Mr Owen seems to have been either insane or lost to all sense of decency. Nor does his heresy appear to have passed altogether without appropriate (!) Anonymous rebuke, as witness the following anonymous communication — not the only one ; — Portsmouth, June y" 15, 1753. Mr Taylor, Reverrent Sir, — on Last Easter Day : asescension Day and not whit Sunday : you have omitted to Read St Athanasius creed which puts your perrishoners in some perplexity; and whare as they can make a Demand ; thay Rather Chues to Desier it as a favour of you to read it this Ensuing Trinity Sunday ; and all the days following for which it is opointed : and if their should be any body in the church tliat cannot of their unbeleiving harts Sencearly to say Amen ; to it thay throw themselfs under that sentance wheir whith that undenighable article concludes; which is to themselfs, but true belivers shall not for their unbelive be henderd to confess in publick the undenighable : and Etumal Truth, we are fully perswaided by your behavour that you are a Gentlman that Loves to follow peace, Espeshely that peace which the Gospel Declars, and as almighty God has honourd you with that great Dignity ; to be ambassadour and a preachor of his gospel of peace : we are all so perswaided that you will not be the beginner of any Discord : but should you not grant this Established Desier: you would oblige us to seek for release: and we do not dout but we should have our grant as the parish of Deal have had on the same complaint which is from Rever Sir Your sencer true and harty frend. One may imagine the scorn with which he endorsed the word "Impudence" on a circular amongst his papers offering to supply — One hundred & fifty sermons, such as have been greatly admired & are but little known, engraved Lithographed in a masterly running Hand, printed on stout writing Paper, & made to resemble Manuscript as ''""""^ 1711-1785. His presentation tii the KinLT. 260 Tlic Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai). nearly as possible ; .... in Length, from twenty to twenty-five Minutes, as pithy as possible, intelli- gible to every Understanding, & as fit to be preached to a polite as a country congregation. As these sermons are designed for the Use of Clergymen only, & consequently the less known to others the more valuable, they will never be advertised in the public Papers, nor any otherwise made public than in this manner .... The price of each sermon, stitched in purple Paper, will be only One shilling. Send a line to the Rev. D' Trusler, to the care of Burns, King S', Covent Garden. *** Secrecy may be depended on. An amusing incident turns up in regard to liis presentation to the King. His friend Seeker, a crentleman holding- some office at court, brother-in-law to Dr Salter, anxious that he should be presented to the King on the occasion of a roj'al visit to Portsmouth, had arranged the matter with the Lord-in-waiting, and written full instructions to Ben Mordecai. After the King's return, Seeker writes of — The glorious absurd part you have taken in the management of your Portsmouth expedition, & in direct contradiction to the wise plan I had laid down for you, in order to make you of some little consequence to your Parishioners, & to be Personally known to, & taken notice of by your Soveraign. If I had received your letter before 1 had seen Bradshaw [one of the Lords of the Admiralty], or Bamus, I should have thought they had not treated me handsomely in your regard; as all you say of them is, I saw the two Gent" to whose care you recommended me, but They were not there at the time I went to the Levee. — Now mark what they say of you, first M' Bamus says he by accident met you on the street, when ho told j'ou he had spoke to L"' B. Bertie y" Lord in Waiting, who had promised to introduce you in pai-ticular, & to acquaint His Majesty who you was — that your answer w'as, I believe, I shall go with the corporation, I don't much like being particularly introduced, but I unit consider of it. He says he again saw you &: desird to know when you would be introduced, & then your answer was, / have already been up at the corporation, / will go no more. Mr Bradshaw says he spoke to L"* Rob. Bertie, & particularly desired he would acquaint His Majesty who you was, & that you was a man of learning, which his Lordship promised to do whenever you came, that he, Mr Bradshaw, was ready to have accompany'd you any day you chose to call on him for that purpose ; but that )-ou never came. But I suppose the Corporation were thought to have some Wilkite blood in them — Because the going up with a set of custard-pated, pudding-gutted, Fellows in a Body, would make it impossible to show any distinction to Particulars, otherwise than the giving up his hand to be slobberd by all, & in which Body the chimney sweeper, cheesemonger, & Parson make the same figure, so you preferr'd the sneaking your little head under the arm of some fat alderman, & to pass thus unnoticed as one of the corporate Body, rather than Personally be introduced by yourself! Who the Divel do you think looks for exoticks on a Dunghill, amongst Toadstools & Pissabeds, & how was you to be observed where nobody thought of looking for you. Was you afraid to be spoken to by a King. . . . Fye upon you, fye upon you, what an opportunity have you lost, with what dignity would you have appeared, when the Lord in Waiting {taking you by the hand), had said, Sir, this is the ingenious & well known Harry Taylor, who has the cure of Souls at Portsmouth, wliich may be all d d for him, as he leaves them all to the care of Jiiurnenian. This Sir is a Gen" who has spent a great part of his life in writing of vol' to give a new liglit to an old story, & which tho : he to his misfortune has had nothing to do but to write, )'et tliere are few of your Majesty's subjects but will find something else to do than to read. This Sir is the extraordinary clerk who in those vol' is endeavouring in the malice of his heart to destroy the whole excellent unintelligible mystery of his own Profession, & to reduce Poor Christianity to the low estate of common sense ; which Sir your Majesty must see, as many of his own Brethren declare is besh g his own nest. This, Sir, is the bold & undaunted Hero who has Bull dog like fastcnd on the nose of your Majesty's High Priest The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai). of Gloucester, whose bellovvings have no doubt reached your Majes' ears as They have disturbed your 1711-17S5. whole kingdom. — This Sir is. But my pen vvoud be tired was I (as the Irishman says) to repeat what his Lordship did not say. Shame take you, you are more fit to hold the pisspot to a Presbyterian Elder than to grace the dignity of your profession in Lawn sleeves. At least I expected by the time my eldest son was in orders, to have procured him thro : your means a canon of Windsor, or I had not taken so much pains to point out to you the right path : but I forgot you was to be confined to no paths : I suppose you looked on my directions in the same light as one of the 39 articles, & made thumb stalls of the whole to wipe your a with, & away you went hollowing Wilkes & Liberty, Con- fusion worse Confounded You sent him [the King] back to us in very good humour. ... he brought home in his chaise a couple of Lobsters made him a present of — which he & the Queen eat for supper that night ; .& a basket of strawberries &: a nosegay as big as a broom — which the Queen had disposed of in her own room, tho ; I am afraid Her Majesty got but a small share of the strawberries, as the King had eat them up on the road. Before closing this notice of Henry Taylor, I may perhaps permit myself to His theological say a few words upon his works, which I have just read for the first time. It is more than thirty years since my grandfather (who was always most kind to me, and who entertained, I think, a good opinion of me), on hearing that I had never read his father's works, declared his unhesitating conviction that the time would come when I should do so. I remember receiving this with a smile (inter- nal) of doubt. I am far from sure whether, but for the purposes of this Memoir, my grandfather's prophecy would not have remained unfulfilled. Of course, I do not pretend to have studied these works as they deserve, still less to be able to give any effective criticism upon them ; but I wish to expre.ss how much, upon such hasty examination as I have been able to afford, I admire the ableness and power of the writer, and still more the profound sym- pathy which I think it is impossible not to feel with his character — he is so transparently honest, sincere, and good. I think a few extracts will be welcome to the reader, and not out of place in these pages. Ben Mordecai was far from orthodox, either in his opinions or in the bold rationalism on which he based them. He believed in Christianity, because his reason told him that its doctrines were sanctioned by common sense and by natural religion, and because they were justified by the divine testimony of miracles performed and prophecies fulfilled. It is not for me to speculate on what changes might or might not have been effected in his views under the light thrown upon these subjects by the later discoveries of biblical criticism ; but this I do feel sure of,— that if he had changed his opinions, such change would have been fearlessly accepted and manfully avowed. In evidence whereof I quote the following noble passage (Letter I.) : — What the Scheme of Providence hath been from the beginning, and will continue to be to the end of Things, 1 confess it is my desire to know ; as far as God hath thought it proi>er to revele it : 262 The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai). 1711-1785. and I look upon it as my duty to study his Revelation, and follow it wheresoever it leads me. And I am persuaded, that no Man will ever comprehend it; who does not endeavour to enlarge his Mind, by the same Spirit of universal Benevolence and Love ; by which the whole Scheme was at first planned, and has ever since been directed, by God the Father; and executed by his Son — to throw off all regard to party and prejudice, and sets of Texts appropriated to particular Notions — to under- stand all the Doctrines of it, whether they favour Christians, Jews or Heathens, (for the same Jehovah is God over all) in a manner consistent with one another, and with the common sense and reason of mankind. Gran.i Apostasy. His "Thoughts on the Grand Apostasy" are directed against the conduct of the Churches in leaving the Word of God (the Bible) and following the command- ments of men and decrees of Councils. On this he writes : — How natural & unavoidable does all this follow from leaving the Scripture, & trusting to the decrees of Councils or the Commandments of Men ! And from the time that the Nicene Creed was huddled up, as Episcopius expresses it, & the doctrines of the Church depended upon the Votes & management of the Councils, " Christianity became a mysterious, dark, incomprehensible, unintelligible Religion, loaded with the Inventions of Men. It consisted of artificial sounds & doctrines of men in power, & all the Engines of Authority were made use of to force an obed- ience to what they could not understand." Mi,.icie.. His belief in the miracles he based upon the ordinary principles of evidence. Nor did he at all stretch the rational idea of what a (proved) miracle is worth. He says (Letter VH.) : — It seems to be very true that a miracle (or what we look upon to be a miracle, which is the same thing to us) can prove nothing except mere Power; till we know for certain who is the author of it; so that when it is performed, as to all appearance, by a Man; it only proves him to be assisted by a Being superior to Man — But whether the Being who assists him be sent from God, or not; can only be proved from the nature of the Revelation he brings. I'riv.ite judgment. In the foUowiiig extracts Ben Mordecai not merely maintains the right and duty of private judgment, but he eviscerates by distinct implication the degrad- ing dogma of salvation by faith (Letter V.) : — No Person can be under a moral Obligation to do, what his Understanding is not able to inform him that he ought to do ; after he has taken all the pains he can, either by himself or others, to know his Duty The Understanding therefore is to every man, after he has taken all the pains he is able for Information, the Boundary of his Duty ; and Conscience is nothing else but the reflex act of the Understanding upon the rectitude or obliquity of our Conduct The case is just the same, under the benefit of a Revelation; and under the dictates of unassisted Reason. From hence it follows; that, if, upon a strict & impartial Examination into the Evidence in proof of a Revelation from God, our Understanding is not convinced ; there can be no merit in believing it, for the merit of believing consists «n opening our hearts to Evidence, and then deter- mining as our Understanding directs. In like manner, if our Understanding, after the best Enquiry, is not able to direct us: what Revelation comes from God, and what does not; there can be no Belief. J The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A . {Ben Mordecai). 263 more merit, in receiving a true Revelation; than a false one: it depends entirely upon Chance; 1711-17S5. and if in such a situation we should reject the Truth and espouse the Error; it would not be our Fault, but our Misfortune ; and we should deserve the Pity and Compassion, but by no means the Resentment of those ; who should be acquainted with the importance of the Truths we had rejected, and the ill consequences of the Errors we had espoused. But to apply Force and Violence, or any other means in such cases, except Evidence and Reason, to convince the Understanding; is as inconsistent with the Nature of Man, as it is absurd and ridiculous, to think of forming Axioms out of Halters ; or Syllogisms out of Chains and Gibbets. Having thus shown that opinion is neither a merit nor the contrary, he thus declares the impossibihty that God can punish where there is not guilt (Letter V.) : — The negative Justice of God consists in not extending the Punishment of his Creatures beyond their Guilt : that is, beyond what they have deserved. In the same letter he thus replies to what one may call the apology for God's injustice, by Mr Theophilus Gale, who said, "Man wills things because they zxe. jtist ; but things are therefore with God because he zuills them;" — But is it possible — [says Ben Mordecai] — that the same action and under the same circumstances should be just while performed by one Being and unjust when performed by another 1 May it not as safely be said, that a proposition may be true when asserted by one Being ; & false when asserted by another ? On the depravity of man as the result of original sin, he says in the same Naturaidepmity. letter : — To suppose that God would deprave the Will, or weaken the Understanding of Men, merely as a Punishment for what they could not help, is a most unworthy imputation upon the divine Good- ness ; and it is no less so upon his Wisdom, as if he were capable of contradiction and incon- sistency. In regard to vicarious punishment, he says in the same letter: — vicarious punisii- . menu Some of the Christians maintain, contrary to the first Principles of Christianity & even natural Religion, that the Guilt of Adam's Sin, descended upon his Posterity, & also the Punishment. But this is impossible from the nature of Justice. For Justice requires that the Punishment shall not be . extended beyond the Guilt ; and Guilt is merely personal and inseparable from the agent who con- tracted it ; for no one can be guilty of a fault — properly speaking — but he that committed it. It cannot therefore descend from one Person to another, and if the Guilt cannot descend, neither can the Punishment, for if the Punishment were to descend without the Guilt, it would fall upon the Innocent, but this it will not do, because God is just, and Justice requires (as above) that Punish- ment shall not extend beyond Guilt In his address "To the Reader," he thus describes the object of these famous Letters, written under the pseudonym of " Ben Mordecai." I need hardly say that they 264 The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai). 1711-17S5. Tcsus Christ. Ilis opinions Ariaii. The Church Establishment. are .supposed to be the explanation by a Jew of the grounds on which he has embraced Christianity : — The Author of these Papers hath long observed that the world is halting between two very opposite Opinions with regard to the Nature of Christ; some believing him to be the Supreme God; which is inconsistent with his Sufferings and Death ; and others believing that he had no Exis- tence before his Birth of the Virgin Mary, which is inconsistent witli the whole account of his Humiliation and Descent from Heaven to be made Flesh ; these Opinions therefore being both of them irreconcilable with the Scriptures, the Writer humbly conceives it may be of service to the Christian Cause to lay before the World a third Opinion, which lies between these two Extremes, viz., that Jesus Christ was the Angel of the Covenant or visible Jehovah, who so often appeared to the Patriarchs in Shechinah, and gave the Law. That is, of course, he was an Arian ; and he fought his fight gallantly against Athanasian on one side and Socinian on the other. But against whomsoever he might be fighting, he never skulked behind the ramparts of faith, pleading neither mysteries too deep for reason, nor the authority of the Church to which he belonged. His armour was reason, and his darts were forged in the furnace of thought. Thus he hurled his defiance at Atheist and Deist (Letter VII.) : — If any one therefore would convert me to Atheism ; he must not attempt to do it merely by point- ing out the Difficulties, in considering the nature of Eternity, and Space, and Creation, and the origin of Evil, &c. ; but he must give me a Solution of all the appearances I observe in Nature, less liable to objection than Theism ; he must shew me, that the material, vegetable, and animal Creation, and the Intelligence of Man, and the Government of the whole are to be accounted for more fully, & philosophically upon the hypothesis of no Cause at all, but Chance or Nature, wliich are Nonentities; than from the Superintendence of an intelligent and all-powerful Creator. But this he is not able to do : and therefore I discard Atheism. In like manner, if any one would convert me to Deism; he must not only point out the Difficulties which attend my present notion ; but he must account for the Existence of Judaism and Christianity and the Accomplishm.ent of the Prophecies, and many other things which will come into the question; upon such principles, as are less liable to objection, than what I now rhaintain ; and shew them to be more fully accounted for, without the supposition of a Revelation ; than with it. But he is not able to do this ; and therefore I discard Deism. He thus disposes of the theory, far from exploded yet, that the church establish- ment is to be defended either on the basis of giving an authoritative religion to the people, or for the sake of convenience to the state (" Grand Apostasy ") : — But the notion is as false as it is antichristian & scandalous. The whole Body of the people know, that they pay their Clergy, not for promoting Civil utility, for that is taken care of by other Taxes ; but for studying & preaching the Gospel, and explaining its doctrines ; not for the sake of supporting a Hierarchy to make a Religion for them, but they support the whole Body of the Clergy for the sake of learning Gospel Truths. And again : — .411 other Autliority in matters of Faith e.xcept Holy Writ, is an imposition ; and the doctrines it imposes may be safely rejected, if contrary to what appears to us to be tlie truth, and can no The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Moydccai). 265 otherwise be considered than in the light of mere opinions of weak and fallible men; and to whose 1711-1785. judgment no Authoritative interpretation of doubtful texts can be trusted, because Christ has not given such an Authority to any man, or any Set of men whatever. His answer to Soames Jenyns appears to me a masterpiece of dialectic force ^ Soaines Jenyns, and acumen. In answering the false bases on which Soames Jenyns had placed Christianity, he quotes Cicero and Socrates to disprove the argument that humanity was indebted to the New Testament for the idea of a future state. He likewise appeals to the heathen moralists to show that before Christianity had appeared, the duties of faith, of resignation, and of a contempt for the world, were recognised in the world — the excellence of virtue, and the infamy of vice. How could the talk about the duty of sacrificing reason be better met than thus ? (from the same book) : — Don't be too rash, but consider that if you reject Reason for your guide you can get no other , . . . You are arguing against Reason, and you leave the matter to be determined by the judgment of every considerate man— and what is he to judge by except that very reason which you reject as insufficient to the purpose When a man reasons against reason, what satisfaction or assur- ance can he have of his conclusion ? Again, in reply to the assertion that the Christian religion stood alone in preaching the necessity of repentance, he declares that, on the contrary, every religion he ever heard of asserted its necessity ! I may perhaps be permitted one observation in closing this notice of Ben Mordecai. He fought a useful fight, and he fought it well. For us who come after, the field is changed. Probably the battle of creeds will never again be fought on the same ground as he occupied — the religion of the future will hardly be Athanasian, or Arian, or Socinian. One can hardly read without a smile in these days Chapter XH. of Letter VHL, which contains "A summary view of the iJilficulties which attend the Homoousian Faith,* and the arguments which are gener- ally used by the learned Christians in the defense of it ; by way of queries." I hese queries extend to seventy-four in number. I subjoin a few; — Q. I. Whether the notion of the One Supreme God, as represented by the Athanasians, to consist of nighieenth cen- three Substances joined together by a peruhorcsis, like a threefold cord; two of them originate and one "ry ""its to crack. umripnaU; does not seem to imply that he is not a Simple, but a Compound Being? Q. 2. Whether the notion oi one Substance only, to the three Persons; as held by the SabcUians : does not destroy the real Trinity of Hypostases, & only leaves a Trinity of Modes ? y. 4. If there be three Persons in every respect equal, and these three are all joined together in one Substance; whether they will not be three Cotis in one Substance J Q. 7. If they be not distinct and separate litings, how could one of them be bom of the Virgin Mary distinct and separate from the other two ? Q. 13. Whether any Person can exist eternaHy in the infinite Being ; who does not exist in it originally 1 * That is, Chnst is of one substance with the Father, therefore not created. 2 L 266 The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. Q. 15. Whether an unoriginate Being who had no beginning, did not exist prior to Him who had a beginning received his existence from him ? Q. 17. Whether any one can be begotten into Being, after his existence? Q. I S. Whether if Christ existed before he was begotten ; he was not unbegotten 1 Q. 20. Whether any Being can be begotten in an unbegotten manner? Q. 21. Whether the Son was begotten by the Father voluntarily or involuntarily? Q. 26. Whether the generation of the Son be such a proper act of generation, as is the foundation of Paternity. Q. 28. Whether the generation of the Son could be out of the Father's Substance, without a diminution of the paternal Essence 1 Q. 54. Whether an indivisible Division, and a divided Conjunction, are not contradictions ? etc. etc. etc. We now come to his letter.s ; the first of them, written apparently on his return to London after a Christmas visit to South Weald, contains two or three words in his father's hand, denoting agreement and supervision : — No address ■,—'from Henry Taylor to his Aunt, one of the daughters of the Dantzic Man. [Endorsed "pats & Nance,"— nAtf " prety little harry sent me this after he went home Jan 1722,"— and in another hand, probably Ra.: H. T. of Ban stead, ".'jn Most motherly and honoured aunt To let you see I dont altogether want Or hant forgot all good manners or courteous behaviours— I send you this letter to thank you for all your manifold and multiplied favours— and pray give my grand- mother* as is certainly her due— my duty & love and my thanks too— for all her kindnesses and her good drink & daily food— & for her good looks & her money w=" was extraordinary good— so that I cannot tell how to express all my thanksgiving— Well aunt at y' house there is pure living— and pray give my love & service to my aunt Nancy t she makes rare pyes & potted beef & hams to my fancy— Ind as for aunt Hannah + why let my see— she is as good as good can be— When I came from f house & got astride— The [seal] horse to my Coz»- Wildegors § to ride— I a little damaged the skin of my backside— know aunt you must know that to school I am going— I there I suppose I shall become wonderfull learned & knowing— and when of latin & greek I have got a greater savour— I shall be more deserving of f Ladyships favour— My uncle sam || says Mrs Grace— has such a face— that he is resolved to have more of the'race- O pretty mis Hill— His love is more to her still— wine & water he does drink— & very often of You think— My sister Nanny got safe to London and if She has not a husband she is quite undone. The weather is so very cold— the pen in my hand I can Hardly Hold— And so I remain your dutifuU son Teague & your Loving nephew Henry Taylor. The following letters, to p. 296, are a selection from those of Henry Taylor and his wife, both before and after their marriage, and, with the exception of four to their children, are all addressed to each other.H ♦ Rebecca second wife of Dantzic Man. t Anne, daughter of Dantzic Man. : Hannah'crisp, probably. § See Aunt Rebecca's letter, p. +05. II The Dantzic Man's son. H I have since added one from Francis Stone, and one from Elizabeth Taylor, both referring to a matter mentioned in one of Mrs Taylor's letters. The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 267 \Torn letter ; without date ;— from Rev. Henry Taylor to Miss Fox^ To Miss Fox at Manley's Esq. at Early near Reading Berks by way of London Single Sheet [1738-9-] with a Robin singing at my [torn] .... frost continu'd to break ; & have been entertaining myself towards the close of y' day in y" garden, in one walk pleasing myself with y' Cawing of the rooks & in another with y" bleating of y' Sheep & the lowing of y'" Cows upon a rising hill about a mile off and the singing of several small birds which had perch'd themselves in the trees & hedges [illegible] side of y" mote in the garden & orchard. This scene w'" I have not before beheld this year inspir'd me with such a tranquillity of mind that I resolv'd to give way to my Imagination & let it have y" rein not doubting but y" subject wou'd naturally lead me into some reflections either useful or diverting. But two days ago & you might see these Same creatures, some dull & stupid under hedges & others muffling in the trees without a Single note to cheer us ... . [torn] .... the same time that they disallow a like priviledge to what they impertinently call the weaker vessels. There's Malevoglio after his 3 bottles comes home in the highest Jollity. Pru- dentia receives him between hope & fear as never knowing in what humour to expect him ; he Enters with y' beginning of y° last drunken Catch & wonders that he's not receiv'd with equall gayety of Spirits ; he fires immediately at her silence & y= Coldness of his wellcome. She Excuses it by the lateness of night & y" dullness of Solitude both which he receives as aggravating reflexions upon his manner of Life & keeps her up an hour longer in descanting upon her duty. What can a woman do in this case ? While her Husband at the same time that his Spirits are rais'd only by the Mechanism of Port & Company, denies his wife the vapours as an Excuse for melancholy who has spent the whole .... [torn] .... \No date from Rev. Henry Taylor to Miss Christiana Fox.'\ To Miss Fox Psent 11738-9-] Monday night 01 o'clock Dear Kitty, I love to indulge my imagination in the pleasing reverie of speaking to you as if present It seems the most tedious two days since I saw you that I ever spent in my life. In the mean time my whole thoughts are employ'd about you ; All niy hopes in life are center'd in you. If you knew wiiat a love I have for you it cou'd not but affect you to a regard for me. Our words and promises arc pass'd and we have nothing to consider but a mutual happyness, let us therefore continue always to be free and openhearted, without that farce and nonsence commonly attend people of our conditions. But you are above all y' trifling airs and follies of your Sex. 'Tis with extream pleasure I reflect on your goodness in receiving my addresses with so much unaflfected good nature, in not ndeavouring to put me to an unnecessary pain ; in Short, you are the very picture I have often drawn in my own mind for a partner in my fortunes, but w'' I almost despair'd ever to have met with, much more to have gain'd. Let my behavior to you express my love w'' never descended to so mean a ":ep as flattery or Hypocrisy nor ever shall; and indeed why shou'd I appear at present to you •her than I am? It is not a short visit y' I hope to pay you, it is not y* pleasure of a few happy umcnts in your conversation; But a life of perfect freedom & familiarity to last for life, and 268 TIic Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordccai). — Correspondence. 1711-1785. wherein my temper must soon appear, let me hide it at present under ever so thick a veil, and as surely render us both miserable if my present character be only affected. No, my D' Girl, such as you now find me such shall I always prove. A Generous & disinterested Love now warms me, founded upon the neverfailing principles of Reason, and w* can therefore never fail till Reason itself decay. May Heaven preserve us to each other's happyness. I write this now to please myself in reflecting ujion you. To prove my self a Villain if I ever forsake you, and to gain a place in your tlioughts when absent, as you wholly employ mine. D' Kitty, I am Eternally yours Henry Taylor. \^No date ;^from Rev. Henry Taylor to Christiana Fox.l at M' To Miss Fox Curtis's In Fryer Street In Reading Rawlins J hour past 7 [Labelled, before May 1739.] Dear Christy, I am arrived safe for to night without any fracture either Simple or Compound in any of my limbs; but find the family are all gone to M' Powis's, from whence they do not return till late. Upon this account, by way of entertainment to myself, I shall as usual be troublesome to you. I am, every time I see you, the more strongly confirm'd in y" belief of your constancy as well as of your other Virtues, & I assure you That is none of the least. There is scarce any reasonable undertaking but what succeeds with it, & y' failure of success is commonly owing to y' want of it. No creatures are so inconstant as man they are various in their Tempers & fancies in their Opinions & fashions in their Love & hatred & like Pene- lope undo at one time what at another was nearly brought to perfection. But men of this Character are never to be depended upon, they are reckon'd triflers & are always despisd ; In women who are less concern'd in matters of Consequence it is less regarded but in Love affairs 'tis uni- versally acconipany'd with loss of Reputation. And thus with y"^ help of a few moral Reflexions I shall be able to mend my fault in y' last & furnish you out a longer letter. 1 hope you have caught no cold by being out with me in the garden. Dont be perswaded to eat meat my Dear I beg ; for what sense is there in M" C. perswading you it wont hurt you, when you know by Experience that it does. Prithee Kitty be a little Philosophical in this affair, that is Stubborn. In short I dont think you have any right to destroy your health without my consent w''" I dont intend to give you till a month after marriage at least. & now to conclude with a few Verses on Con- stancy imitated from a Song of Beaumont & Fletcher on Melancholy. Hence all you wild desires As short as are the fires W^'' guilty passion move Pleasure is mixt with pain And all Enjoyment Vain But only constant Love Oh Sweet delights of Love! Welcome conscious truth & wishes chast Sighs that revive the Soul & waste Murm'ring Sounds & dimpled Smiles A Voice that eVry pain beguiles The bubbling Stream y'^ flow'ry meed These the growing passion feed; Nightly converse to y'^ moon Riding near y'= highest noon Dawning hopes of morning dreams Before the Sun displays his beams Joys to Sullen guilt unknown These are the Sweets we feed upon Then count your praises to Silent Grove Nothing so dainty Sweet as constant Love I shall take some other opportunity of sending y" song w'"" is here imitated. The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A . {Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 269 Leaves lines & Rhimes, sick her to please alone, 1711-17S5. Whom if please I care for other none. — Spenser. I am, Dearest Kitty, Y" with y° Utmost Sincerity & Truth H. Taylor. [jVo address; no date :~from Rev. Henry Taylor to Miss Fox.\ \ Early in 17 -^0.1 First giving you notice that you are not to mind a word of this letter till you come to y= end of next paragraph, I proceed. Mad" You may perhaps affect a Surprise at y' coldness of my Superscription to you, but if you read on you may not think it altogether improper. Tis true I have formerly writ to you with more familiarity ; but too much familiarity is not always agreable to Ladies of your stricktness of behavior. I can't say that ever since our last parting I have thought on you with less esteem than usual : But Love & esteem are different things ; esteem may be a reasonable foundation for Love, but does not always produce it, nor will it always continue it : & if my Love to you does not affect me now as it has for these five months last, if I find myself not to have gone upon a reasonable Scheme of Happyness, if my notions were rather enthusiastick than rational & proceeded rather from a heated imagination than good sense ; I hope you will not condemn me of fickleness in not continuing my addresses to you, but rather of rashness in first beginning them. If you yourself would but con- sider the troubles & uneasyness of a marry'd life, y' hurry & vexation, y' quarrels & peevish- ness y' are so common even among y" best of y' condition I don't doubt you'll be as willing to continue in peace & tranquillity as I myself am. I can still go so far as to wish we cou'd be happy in one another, but if such a scheme be impracticable : & happyness cannot consist with loss of freedom, I hope you will not take y" Sense of my letters to you in a Strickter sense than they were ever intended. In short Mad'" as I am now proprietor to y" io,ooO;;{^ prize I think it wou'd be very improper for us to see one another any more. I shall proceed no further I assure you in writing to you in such a nonsensical Stile. You'll pardon me for giving you this zest to my assurance of an inviolable constancy. I hereby give up all the aforesaid Ifs, renounce all change in my passion & will presently set my hand to it ; w''' I hope j'ou'll take for truth tho' y' paper be unstampt. My D' Kitty I beg you'll take care of your health & don't let ignorant folks perswade you against your own experience. I am now just return'd from a Visit to M' Clark of Asson, & think it a great happyness to set quietly & com- posedly down to think upon you without anything to ruffie nie ; on the contrary I indulge myself in the pleasing hope that some time hence I shall have you to talk to in person after such an Expedition. I have no other subject to think of that can give me i the pleasure : When I indulge myself thus I almost fancy you are with me and are a partaker of my thoughts w"" I really wish you was : for that wou'd be a sure way of sati_sfying you of ray Love to you in a greater degree then my words can evpress. But I shall not loose paper in assuring you of what I believe by this time you are well satisfy'd of. That \ am intirely fond of Vou, And that you take up all my time & thoughts. I have been uneasy at your illness ever since I left You and can not be quiet till 1 see you again. In short I am quite marry'd to you and find it is impossible for you to be anyhow affected but what I must be a partaker either of your joy or grief, & wou'd to God 1 had joys in my power sufficient to entice you into the same disposition towards me; tho' as for y' griefs I should certainly be such a sad Rogue as to sink them to my own private use & let you know nothing of them. I remain not with less Love by reason of my short subscription, Yours Sincerely H. Taylor. 270 The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. (Ben Mordccai). — Correspondence. 1711-17S5. [jVo address ; no date -—from Rev. Henry Taylor to Christiajia Fox.'] [Early in 1739.] I met this morning with a Copy of verses w'*" I thought bear a translation, & finding that nothing wou'd go down with me, but Love I set about it, and here they are. The muses after Cupid fearless rove Closely his Steps pursue & fondly love The Youth whom Love inspires with am'rous lays Well pleas'd they throng & crown with verdant bays But when a Loveless swain their steps pursues Their kind instruction they by flight refuse. Myself am witness to y*^ truth I tell \ Wou'd I the praise of men or Gods reveal > My tongue deserts me, & my numbers fail) But when to Kitty's charms I change my song The joyful lay flies swiftly o'er my tongue 1 have this afternoon again try'd the Experiment of w'" the song overleaf is a Specimen, & in all my foolery if I can but raise you some entertainment I am contented ; if not you can't but be pleas'd with me for endeavouring at it. Whatever subject I am upon Love that attracting power draws it forcibly into itself & swallows it up immediately. And thus have I liv'd 4 months converting every Idea into the most delightful; & I am convinc'd without obstruction gain'd that soul w='' like my guardian angel will I hope accompany & conduct me thro' this whimsical world, where the gravest mortals are y' greatest jest, & y' merryest mortals act the wisest part. But now begins the rab. Gold begets in brethren hate ; Gold in families debate ; Gold does civil wars create ; These the smallest ills of it : Gold alas does Love beget : — (as Cowley writes). This Gold whether I please or no will edge itself into my affairs & pretends to prevent that happyness w''" in my Opinion he has little to do with. For how can my Kitty value me less for not having y* gift of Midas, when I am endu'd with y" much greater power of Converting all things into Love. The little acid I have met with as Lady Townly says when mixt with y= Sweetness of your Conversation makes the prettyest Sherbet imaginable. We have as yet talk'd very rationally upon the affair of Love and left y' flames & darts to y' Sonnetteers but to talk gravely in a ballad wou'd be quite out of rule ; and as we are now settled In our opinions of one another and are left only to weather y' time till y' tying of the inseparable knot, I think we may be allow'd to jest a little upon y' subject & talk in y" strain of other folks who are as mad as ourselves. What a monstrous deal of Nonsense have I writ and what a strange Girl art thou to indulge me in it, what a Curious collection would my letters make in print, & what an out of y' way creature wou'd the world think me. Your two letters w'" I believe I have read as often as they contain words have entirely overpaid y" Reams I have sent to you. If you write me another pray dont take so much pains about it, you don't know y" pleasure I should take in unravelling a difficult character. But now I am come to y' End of my tether My d' Girl I wish you all happyness & am sincerely yours & will ever so .„„,o:n • H. Taylor. \_No address; no date -—from Miss Fox to Rev. He^iry Taylor:] \Siipposcd 1739.] Henly June y" 8 Dear Sir, In compliance with your request I write these few lines to acquaint you as I have often done by word of mouth that writing is a task to me by no means agreeable and as we see one another so often 1 think there is no manner of Occasion for it neither can it be of any Service and therefore I hope tis what you will not desire of me any more unless there should be much Longer absence between us than has been as yet. As you have Oblieged me to write and as I have been as good as my Promise I hope you will not ask the same again of me for you must by this sec writing is no I am Sir most afiectionately y" C. Fox. pleasure to me. The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 271 [Note by H. T. after marriage. — "I had rather kiss this letter than the finest woman in England 1711-17S5. except the writer & have Continu'd in y° same sentiment ever since y° receit of it. Witness my hand this day of May 1740 Henry Taylor."] \J^o address; no date; — from Rev. Henry Taylor to Miss Fox^ [1739-] Dear Kitty, Great wits they say are near ally'd to madmen & if we would believe the world great love is as near akin to folly. But if there be no more than a Relation between y' last mentioned Gentlemen I am very well contented. Nay further if I could but flatter myself that you would look upon me in a favourable light upon account of my love, let the world call it madness or folly or whatever their gross imaginations please to term it, so it end but in our mutual happyness (as it certainly will do) tis of little signification to me so we come but to our journey's end. Let them laugh] that win ; and if I gain but your esteem no man on earth will be able to outlaugh me. This is the wise reflexion I make at two o'clock in y* morning ; & I think considering y" time I talk pretty soberly. I think I have got over the greatest difficulties in gaining your love, I mean your objections to my person, the rest being in my own power shall never appear before you in a bad light. There is nothing I desire more than your esteem & if it be possible to be gain'd by a right behavior, I shall never be remiss in the pursuit of it. Since I i" declar'd my love to you I have bless'd myself more & more every time I have seen you, & not only found you beyond all your Sex that I have been acquainted with (w='' I saw at first) but always in a better light than what I before saw you. All y" world allow that tis impossible for me to know your Sex, but in young girls untainted with y' follies of life there must be a natural openness of Temper, they must be sincere as Young men are naturally honest. Our Virgin hearts are yet untainted with dishonour, you have mine as pure as it was at i" Created & I love you I am sure with as much Sincerity as you yourself are mistress of. And no man can be further from attributing your esteem to his deserts than I am. Tho what no man knows but myself (and I scorn to call it vanity or Self conceit, tho spoke in my own praise) if Sincerity and true love be of any value then you have plac'd your love as you ought to have done, if you regard your own happyness ; on one who will always use you with y' highest esteem, and make it his chiefest pleasure & happyness to promote yours ; on one who has no notion of Hypocrisy baseness & insincerity but acts upon the most generous principles, and is therefore capable of tme disinterested Love & wou'd not profess it without being conscious that he felt it. I am a kind of Whitfieldian in Love tho' not in Religion & may perhaps appear too enthusiastick & not guiUless of that folly I mentioned at y" beginning of this letter. But what can you expect I should imagine further than I find ? Let them who have been deceiv'd by your Sex suspect them of Inconstancy and insincerity ; I have never experienced it in them & tho' many might have us'd me in such a manner, yet where I am fix't, I am so confident, that I cou'd freely venture all the concerns of life ii: life itself into y" hands of that only Girl I have ever profess'd a love to. I. never found so many virtues in any, nor have ever found anything but what was praiseworthy in you, & am certain no one I ever knew was ever so capable of making my life a scene of continu'd calm tranquillity. 1 envy not y' possessors of y' greatest beauties or the greatest fortunes upon Earth, had 1 but a competency to make you easy; nor would I exchange you upon any consideration whatever for any woman upon earth. I am confident you love me with a generous disinterested Love, cS: that your notions are noble & far above y« common regards that hamper y' generality of mankind. I think I can say without vanity that mine are & ever were of the same Nature & two minds so form'il must necessarily promote each others happyness. You shall never see an end to the returns of kindness you shall receive (especially for that private promise w'* assur'd me of y* Sincerity of your intentions or) for all y* (other) instances of your good nature w" have eternally bound rac to you. Tis now going near three o'clock & while you arc ♦ 272 TIic Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 1711-17S5. y« subject of my thoughts I find no desire to refrain from writing. My dear Kitty either with me or without me (as Providence shall determine) I wish you all y"" happyness I wish myself and should it be my ill fate at last to lose you much much more than I can ever in this world expect. I am intirely sincere & openhearted ; I hope never to appear otherwise to any one & desire nothing more than to appear so to you. It grows now so late that if I write on I am afraid I shall appear before you tomorrow as dull & stupid as a log. Belive me when I assure you that I believe no man can love you better than I do or have a greater pleasure in promoting your happyness even abstracted from his own than your Sincere Lover Henry Taylor. I Confess I was most sensibly pleas'd with you for your overlooking y'^^ neglect I was guilty of in not waiting upon you according to promise. It shew'd that you would not insist upon trifles, but give a fair open & candid interpretation to my actions — If I had thought you wou'd have taken it ill I wou'd have undertaken anything rather than have even seem'd guilty of y" least neglect. I scorn to give myself such an air as to pretend to try your temper and y' world I find have been pleas'd to mention that as y° motive. But I should think myself a most ungrateful Rascal & unworthy your least esteem should I attempt it to you, who have always acted so Sincerely. No my Dearest Girl if ever you find me to shew y° least disregard to you, or to act w"" least insincerity, scorn me, dis- belive me in every thing, have no further thought of me — D"" Girl judge of my actions tenderly for by soul I am sincere and honest had I more room I should greatly enlarge upon this Subject. \No address ; — -from Rev. Henry Taylor to Miss Fox^ Lond : 17 Sep' 1739 D" Kitty, My arm has been so bad that I have not been able to write to you since I came to London without some pain, which not imagining you wou'd desire me to indure I have neglected it. Tis now grown pretty well. I have been at Mr Stone's where they are all well ; and to the Bp' & to day shall dine with D' Hoadly. If you approve of it pray tell your brother to get y" writings in ready- ness. we may then marry when we please, for I shall with your leave bring down a Ring & a license. As for any thing else will talk it over when I see you w'" I will do as soon as I can conveniently. I Don't find any body objects to our immediate marriage provided we be resolv'd upon it at all. I ask'd Mrs H. y° Bp' Lady whether she thought it wou'd prevent my preferment any how & she thought not. The B" drank my Inclinations & made me pledge him in a Bumper. As to wedding cloths they tell me you wou'd be wrong to buy them till the Spring. I find my Fellowship affair turns out different from what I mention'd to you. If you please to write me any thing (w''' wou'd be exceedingly agreeable to me to receive) I can call for it of your Mamma, or you may direct to me at M' Marshall's in Aldermanbury. I rec'" a Copy of verses from Cambridge upon you to'ther day from a particular friend of mine. I am D' Kitty faithfully yours & hope soon to be so more happily H. T.aylor. [TVo address ; — -from Miss Fox to Rev. Henry Taylor^ Henley 23 Sep. 1739 Dear S' I hope by this time your Arm is quite well, and tho it is always a pleasure to receive a letter from you it is what 1 never should desire, to put you to the least pain. I have had some talk with my Mamma and she says she will not consent we should marry till you have preferment, that I think you had better defer to bring down either a Ring or license till we have some further talk. If you leave London before I go to Reading which will be on Wednesday next I should be glad to see you before I go, if not if you will let me know when you can drink Tea with Miss Bonnys I The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A . {Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 273 will meet you there which I beleve will be better then your coming to Carneys. for I have a great 1711-1785. deal to say to you which I cannot so well write being but a bad scribe, but I know you will excuse ~ the faults in this letter so will not make any apology I am Dear Harry Sincerely yours Christian Fox. [From Rev. Henry Taylor to Rliss Fox.'] To Miss Fo .^- at John Carney! at Reading ^'°™) Bi Lond° Oct' I*' 1739 Dear Kitty yesterday my father & I waited upon M" Fox and she insisted to have him settle upon me what He intended to leave me ; He thought it not necessary because our agreement was only a Living & her consent. But However I went to day with his will to show what He had left me; at w'"- time M' Stone ask'd me if I ow'd any thing & I told him yes 150 pounds upon which she was very angry & said then she was off from any consent or promise because I was not y' person she took me for, for I ought to have told her of it. and so we parted. I went to my Eldest Sister immediately & told her what we dififer'd upon & she assur'd me if that was all she wou'd present me with the sum. I went again to M' Stones, but it seems now they will not beleive that she gives it me without Security nor any thing else that I assert & all this because I will not allow that I made a promise not to marry till I had a living. So that now it lies thus if she is off from her promises to me, so am I to her.— They ask'd me if you was engag'd & I said no, for that I shou'd not insist upon any thing that had past between us. Your Mamma has told me that If I now visit you tis without her consen"! for I shall not be her guest. She tells me she has something she intended to leave to you, but as to that I care not.— She now says her consent shall be according to the living I get if it is not a good one I shan't have you at all. I know you will have uneasyness enough in this affair. They think I am bound in honour to visit you no more, but I don't think so. I was oblig'd to let them know that I had told you long ago about the 150 pounds tho' I knew y' Mamma wou'd be angry with you about it ; but had I not told you they might with reason have accus'd me of dishonesty. I Beg of you not to make yourself uneasy about any thing that may happen. Next Fryday I intend to drink Tea with Miss Bonnys if possible .... am unchangeably yours. H. Taylor. My Eldest Sister gives her humble Service to you. [From Rev. Henry Taylor to Miss Fox.] By way of London To Miss Fox at M'' Curtis's In Fryer Street Reading Berks Dec' 23 1739 What shaU I say to my Dear Soul under the uneasyness you rcceve for your fidelity to me ? I heartily feel it, & wish it were possible for me to releve it by bearing a much greater in your stead. Hie only way there is to end it your own consent is wanting to make use of: yet my Dear Love in the 2 M 274 The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. S5. mean time imagine that I treasure up in my heart every instance of your Sincerity which will one time or other flow out in a perpetual spring of gratitude & love & I hope far more than overballance all y" anxiety that this affair has produc'd. Should I suspect y*' continuance of your affection I should do you a great wrong, no, I am ashamd of y' least suspition that should favour such a thought ; your word to me is sacred as an Oath. The expectation of that joy & lasting comfort that must arise from y° Conjunction of two such firm & untainted passions begets a sensible satisfaction to me at all times, & if you can be as satisfy'd of my fidelity, which by all my future hopes of Happyness I verily beleive nothing on this earth can ever alter; this belief I should imagine from myself, wou'd give some ease to you. Let UAC +ua and u.;uys* argue that you tempt y'^ providence of God by marrying a ALIJ man of a smaller fortune than you may elsewhere find & persuade you to falsify a solemn promise out of a religious consideration — what is this but palpable fallacy & hypocrisy. I thank God we are doing nothing to be asham'd of & had I never farther tempted Providence than you have done m this affair should think myself y° happyest man now breathing. If Providence means only y° Distribution of worldly riches & grandeur & y" Superfluities of Fortune — that kind of Providence I am yet unac- quainted with and were I possessed of all its richest gifts, I wou'd not only tempt it but despise its greatest offers before I would falsify my word to you. No my Dear Kitty every imprudence (and even that they cannot prove upon either of us) is not capable of so black a charge. And whatever state God has allotted us (whether we have acted hitherto prudently or no) he will never make us the more unhappy for our adherence to truth now. The Truth is we go upon more noble notions (ay & more rational too) than those of Riches & Splendor. Are not our tempers of mind agreeable to each other ? are not our desires of y° same size ? our hopes of a Comfortable & happy life reasonable & probable ? Do we not love each other with a pure & honourable flame ? Or have we any aims but what are agreeable to our hopes of future happyness, above sordid views, and what we may humbly beleive y° Supreme Being will be willing to grant us ? Away then w* ambition under y" cloak of Religion & fallacy under y° disguise of argument. — And now my traly Dear Love let us be gay & easy ; y" time I hope will soon come when we shall smile at our present vexation & enjoy y° true pleasures of sincere Love & mutual esteem. When Home shall be our greatest delight & all y° Ambitious shows of outward grandeur appear ridiculous when Compared to a comfortable snug habitation & y" blessings of our poor neighbours. I shall be always happy with you & hone after you when I am absent ; & be receiv'd at coming home with a soft embrace & a kind enquiry how I have spent my time, then finish y° evening in your agreeable conversation & as Milton expresses it, with looks of Cordial Love hang over you enamour'd. Let me follow y' pleasing thought. Far from our house be banish't all envy & repining, all ambition & pride all ill-nature & peevishness, at least I shall endeavour to imitate that sweetness of temper you are M" of for my own Happyness as well as yours. — A mutual Condescention & Confidence a firm Love & evergrowing friendship will keep our tempers in perpetual calm ; the Desires of pleasing each other be perceiv'd with pleasure, & y° beleif y' we have contributed to that end doubly return y° joy upon our selves. Oh my Dearest Kitty, when will these hours be present, I can paint in my mind 1,000 little amuzements w* in your company will arise to Substantial delights. I planted last Septemb' some Honey suckles & Jessamy w'"" will easily trans- plant to cover a little arbour w'"" I have design'd, & where I intend we shall sometimes drink Tea & chatt away many an agreable hour, or while you work I'll read to you some entertaining Author y' shall show y= reward of Constancy in former Lovers, or sometimes more serious discourses that shall improve us in y" Government of our minds & y= hopes of meeting in more substantial bliss w'' will give a Zest to all our temporal welfare & emprove y° most trifling Diversions. Thus my Dear soul, my Dear Kitty, I write you see without either fear or wit y" present airy Schemes of my own fancy; but yet such as if we meet, it must be I think entirely y' fault of my own temper y' can prevent. I can lay down with pleasure schemes of my own Conduct, consider y° faults y' I am to mend in my- self & others y' you must mend in me & after a long reverie of casdes form'd in my own brain * This seems to be a cipher adopted by the lovers ; it is quite unintelligible to me. The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai).— Correspondence. 275 return gravely again to consider that y' accomplishment of all our desires depends upon a Being with 1711-1785- whose Dispensations we must always rest contented, because he will always bring about what is best for us.— I Don't think to see Reading next week except you should send me word you think it proper. I shall be glad of a letter if convenient Sincerely. H. Taylor. \No address; no date;— from Miss Fox to Rev. Henry Tay/or.] [1739-] You cant imagine the pleasure your letter on Wednesday gave me. What happyness may I not expect from such a Companion. I am sure if I value my present or futuer happyness I can never change, and it is my greatest Comfort when any thing make's me uneasy to beleive that you are Sincere. My Brother is very agreable but we have had no talk about you yet he came down on Saturday. One of my Mammas Tickets is drawn a Blanke it is that I was to have had. I hope nither of ours are drawn tho you say nothing of it. Blank or Prize I am very easy. I wish I was half so, good as you think me I will do what I can to come as near as Posible I can tho I know I shall want a great deal of it. I am a going to Miss Bonnys to spend the Evening. I Beg my Service to Miss Becky. And am yours with the greatest sincerity. Dec' y 27- [From Rev. Henry Taylor to Miss Fox.] To Miss Fox at M" Curtis's In Fryer Street Reading by London Berks My CACo xUTJ, .... ADnA9 Kitty! No words are ou^C enough to serve for a super- scription. Whitfield Dec' 30: 1739 If I did not imagine that you always understood me so well as to take my oddest whyms in the best (which is the truest) light, I should never venture to use them : but I am so well satisfied that you thmk me true and hearty at the bottom that I very impudently choose to neglect all that grimace and reserve which perhaps might much better become the Character of humble Lover. But m short I hate the name .V Character; Husband sounds well & so does Friend & acquaintance but Lover, it brings nothing to my mind but hanging & drowning & rhiming & whyning & ah ! me's, & O ! Dears & such a long Catalogue of sighs & tears & puppy dog tricks f wou'd make a man sick, and whats worse still this Nonsensical farce must not only be acted (for so far 1 cou'd be as great a Fool as y' best) but be acted with gravity too, w- in short my merry muscles can never comply wtth. So much for introduction. Now for business. Far from making any excuse for my being so long absent; I shall make bold to boast of it, and to assure you, that (if you take it in r nght light w- your good nature & good sense assure me you must do) instead of resenting •t. you ought to take it as a veiy pretty Compliment. I know y Generosity of your temper must prefer one act which proceeds from Love to ,00 from y slavish principle of Fear; upon this belief I argue S: surely I must appear to act upon that latter despicable passion shou'd I pay my respects to you 276 Tlie Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. as y° poor Devils do at a great Man's Leve'e, no I scorn it. Love is tlie only proper incense to ■offer at the Shrine of Beauty. Fear is the Tribute due to Tyrants and Devils, but Love to Kings & Angels. Fear is natural where the will is constrain'd [torn] SJSJ'o address; — -from Rev. Henry Taylor to Miss Fox?\ Whitf- Jan. 29 1739-40 I Cant but think, my Dearest Kitty, how strange it would appear to Mamma should she have seen you reading my last letters. What cou'd she imagine? how many shrewd guesses wou'd she make before she would hit upon the cause of your . I hope our lives will be as different after marriage from the generality in that state as our Courtship has been before. This the General con- formity of our tempers promises & I can say without vanity to myself, I'm sure without compliment to you that I see no cause to fear on either side. Your goodness to me shall never want a grate- ful acknowledgement in all my actions, & it shall not appear by my words only, but thro' every part of my behavior how worthy a sense I have of your virtues & how unchangeably my esteem & Love are fixt upon you. As our notions of marriage are carr/d higher than common it will be our fault (I shou'd say mine) if our happyness be not more compleat. Your good sense has with great judgment taken Religion into the scheme, which is generally too much neglected. With what pleasure I expect the completion of my happyness with so sensible a companion is beyond the power of the pen to paint. To consider two hearts united in perfect Love & Harmony, agreed together in one rational scheme of life & innocently enjoying whatever pleasures \ the world runs madly into vice to gain, must give us the prospect of a sensible happyness in this life ; & y" Conscious sense of Virtue and a life agreable to y° will of providence extend the glorious prospect beyond all bounds. And what can interrupt a scheme so form'd but our own Negligence? "The person who lives "with a constant & habitual regard to y' great Superintendant of y" world, is indeed sure that no " real evil can come into his lot. Blessings may appear under y= shape of Pains losses & disappoint- "ments, but let him have patience & he will see them in their proper figures. Dangers may threaten "him, but tliey will either not reach him or if they do will be y' instruments of Good to him." (Guardian N' 117) And if so my Dear how happy must we be; If this hope be kept alive in us, as sure it may be, what can we fear? — Heaven fixes virtue as y" surest part of Human prudence, all human foresight is fallible & precarious, this alone is stable & immoveable. On this let us fix & leave the Consequence to Providence. Why should we repine at great possessions when we know not y' good or ill consequences of them. Humility & Resignation are much cheaper companions than pride & ambition & mutual Love y= spring of greater happyness than External Gayety. 1000 have fell short on better Expectations than ours, 1000 flourish'd upon much less. Be it as it may we shall still be happy if we keep to our Resolutions. With what pleasure can I now look upon that Dreadful Trap w'"" frights one \ of y" world & pinches t'other. How should I rejoyce to have it in my power to make you compleatly happy. I cou'd cheerfully reject every folly that might hinder it, & convert all my pleasures to that one end. You give me some hope you will not long delay my Happyness. Oh my D' soul You shall find in me the tendrest Lover & the fondest Husband. What ever joys this world can give I expect in you, my very Heart and soul are wrapt up in you & I grudge each lazy minute that now withholds me from you. When shall we meet my dearest Kitty, when shall I truly call you mine. Time is too short for delays, too short to enjoy ' your perfections. But Time shall never separate our Loves. Oh my Dear (would I could add the wish'd for name of Wife) what a scene of Happyness am I indulging? I have gain'd in you the choicest blessing upon Earth, a second soul much better than the first. How art thou form'd to give me the most lasting joy both here & hereafter. Thy Virtues my Dear Girl shall quicken mine & raise them to a greater perfection. I long to have you in my arms, to tell you how I love you, & utter a 1000 soft endear- The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 277 iiig words w=" y° pen can not sufficiently express. But I grow silly perhaps c& tiresome. but pardon 1711-1785. me I can't express y° Fondness y' I feel for you. God bless Tliee my Dear Kitty, (if it be his will) to make me happy. I Can never be so without you but impatiently expect to see the ring upon your finger. — How unworthy is that notion you heard hinted to'ther day that Riches are so necessary to lieep Children honest. Look into the world and see if it be true. Surely nothing less so, where does vice more flourish than in the richest soil, or where is virtue oftner found than in low life. Is the way to Heaven pav'd with Gold & is St Peter to be brib'd for admittance. Were this the Case our Savior wou'd have preach'd lago's rule in the Tragedy of Othello "Put money in thy Purse," & would never have Chosen such poor Disciples. Or to put the Question out of all Dispute Suppose your Fortune lost in some unhappy Venture, cou'd the world bribe you to what their good manners c& as good Philosophy pointed, I'd venture Life & fortune on y' Question nor dar'd I hint it Pardon me my Dear Soul but as their wisdoms force me to use to you the most conclusive argument ag" them. Tis indeed true my Dear that mischances fall indifferently upon the good as bad ; yet tis scarce ever known but virtue finds a friend or that God neglects to raise up unforeseen assistance in Extremity. I am well assur'd that J y= welfare of Children depends upon y= Conduct of their parents whose honesty & integrity is their best introduction into life & f Consequence of that a Careful Education beyond the possession of 1,000. The unhappy Cases raention'd proceed from the want of this & not from y" want of Riches ; otherwise all people of small fortunes must equally share in the shame. However if money be the sinews of Virtue I hope y' B= affluence will preserve him free from all unworthy actions. — I'm afraid They mix Religion & Reputation too much & esteem them too equally; as they lately seem'd to mean by trusting providence, a pursuit of Riches at y" Expense of Truth ; Adieu my worthy Giri & act according to the noble Principles of your own Mind & beleive me to have an equall regard to your wellfare as for my own. \_No address -—from Rev. Henry Taylor to Miss Fox.^ Whitfield. Feb: ij: 1739-40 12 at Night! Feb 20"" to y" post My Dearest only Love I know not with what materials I am about to fill this sheet, but wou'd fain write something that may amuze you while I myself am happy in the Contemplation of your virtues. While you are in my thoughts all Subjects give me pleasure serious or merry profitable or useless; nay whether in the hand- ling of them I change gravity to dulness or mirth to trifling. This I say for myself; as to you, my letters will at least show that I think of you in every humour & love you both in my senses c& my ravings. . . [torn] ... as when we sufi'er in ourselves such sudden starts of joy or sorrow, Excessive mirth or melancholy, good or ill nature & y" like which often happen we know not why &: go off again we know not how. These oddities in our Constitution are in no part of life so troublemsome as in the matrimonial State, and one General conceit has made it still worse & more insufferable ; The Husbands having taken it unaccountably into their heads that their humours of this nature must allways be comply'd with, that their wives must suffer them without any gainsay & expecting a licence . . [torn] . . . Nor does this variety of temper proceed only from artificial & vicious instigations but from y= natural influences of y" wind & weather. Bromio is chagrin'd & vapourd in a rainy day, Phantasio in a North or Eastern wind, others are not philosophers enough to know from what cause y" Vicssitude of their tempers arises & as a Curse upon their Ignorance lie under the reproach of Whims & fancy Vapours Mulligrubs & Megrims. The English are often raention'd as y* most subject to this malady of any Nation in the world. Every man is i a dozen according to the different modulations of y= air about him. ... . [torn] I long to know whether you rec'' my last & to have a letter from you. 278 TJic Rev. Henry 'Pfiylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. \From Rev. Henry Taylor to Miss FoxP\^ To Miss Fox at M" Curtis's in Fryer Street In Reading Berks ■\Vhitf Mar: 17. 1739-40 Dear Wife I can't help thinking that you fancy I have not the same Love for you that I had some time ago, which I do assure you Kitty is a great mistake, w""" I can never Suffer you to labour under. That I am often uneasy in your company proceeds from my considering the possibility of my making you unhappy, so that I am ready to find fault with myself when I press you to make an end of this affair; and yet this thought ought long ago to have been thrown out of the Question, as we have long got over it in our Resolutions, & my prospect is so fair that I cou'd venture any thing upon it myself, tho' every chance ag" my Dear wife weighs heavy upon my Spirits, & creates a melancholy which I can't conceal. I hate to think how much of your money I must Spend in paying my own debts, & perhaps leave you in a worse Condition than I found you. This makes your kindest looks touch me most Sensibly with uneasyness; and gives my excess of Love the appearance of indifference. I am desirous of cer- tainty in your welfare tho there be no such thing & foolishly fear to trust that providence w* has manifestly Supported me all my life. Oh Kitty if you knew me, if you cou'd see my heart & soul you cou'd never suspect me ; if ever I seem to look coldly upon you, you woud then read in my thoughts 1000 fears & anxieties w'" all proceed from y" Strongest tenderness for you. When you i" Suspected me at Henley you little knew y" workings of my breast & y" uneasyness I labour'd under. Will you too use me ill I thought. Nay then let me finish my unhappyness at once, & shut up all my hopes in despair &: disappointment. Assure yourself my love is of an unchangeable Nature ; pure & unviolable as y° object upon which 'tis fixt. I got home very well, & so continue but methinks I live here like an owl in a desart having lost my taste for any Company but yours. M' R. is given over. Admiral Vernon has taken Porto Bello y= 2^ of Dec' for the Restoring [torn] offer'd a million of money, as y" news says. I long to see you again & talk over y" old Story of y° 25 of May 1740. I am my Dear little Wife Your most Constant I^oving & 0-be-di-ent Husband Henry Taylor. I have just writ to your Brother. P.S. Your Suspitions may do well enough to supply us with discourse or furnish out a little letter; but I don't mind them for I'm sure there's nothing in them at y= bottom So you may even burn y' rest of y' letter if you think proper & keep y° postcript. N.B. The 1" sentence in this letter upon reading over I find to be a Confounded Lye, for I don't believe you have any such fancy. [Ill this letter, the discrepancy between the address, " To Miss Fox," and the signature as " husband," will be noted. They may have been at this time privately married ; but I think not. On the whole, I infer they were married in May of this year.]* 1711-1785, * The actual date was June i6th 1740. See note to p. 243. The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 279 [From the Rev. Henry Taylor to his Wife7\ To M" Taylor at the Rev M' Taylor's at Whitfield near Tetsworth Oxon by London. Basingstoke Maidenhead Oct. 4 : 1 740 My Dear Love After leaving you this morning happy in the enjoyment of your own contemplations, I miserable Soul to be depriv'd of so sweet a companion ! immediately prepar'd myself for my Departure from Whit- field. But lest I should by y= way grow too dolorous to proceed in my journey I i« cheered y= Cockles of my heart with a glass of white wine pleasing myself with y' thoughts that notwithstanding my distance from you we shou'd both drink out of f same bottle. When I reached y= top of y= How hill I imagined you was then just risen & wishing that I might not be caught in y= Rain, y= Clouds appearing very black. This fond imagination of mine kept me in heart till I came near Reading when y= i" thing I look'd after was y= two Summer houses, w* directed my Eyes to the window w"> had often answer'd but now deny'd my wishes ; however I was not much chagrin'd at that ; & retum'd my Indignation rather by looks of pity at their loss than anger. I then call'd upon Miss Bonnys who are all well & intend soon to make a visit to M' Newell at Henley ; but don't talk of coming to Whitf- till summer. Boudery is out of Town, so I call'd at M' Savages between 10 & 11. and whereas they were all going out to Dine with y" Dean I gave y' Service to them & desir'd them to hand it to M" Carney who was to meet y'"; There I eat some cold veal & M'» S. heated me a little more (viz*, broil'd) & would make me drink some port. After this M' Savage came in who has been ill & is so still of a Cold for w=" he has a blister upon his back, he told me that 4 shill^ remain'd out of y= 36 w* I left him for Cheese & those 4 he had paid to Bro Fox who expected to see us in a day or two after, w=» I suppose was y« ball day. I Saw no one else at R. & got out \ an hour after one; I found y= road hither Exceeding good without any rain settled in it; & without any Snow W^" was very thick upon y How hill. I arriv'd here before 4 and went to a wrong Inn w'" I did not at all like so I ordered Rob' to bait y= horses ; & call'd for J pint of wine of w* he took one glass & y" Maid (dont be jealous) took another w'" Ended I order'd horses out again & come Hither ; y Inn I put up at i« was y= Angel, this is either y' Queen'p head or t Maiden head. But as my head was full of you in whom all formerly center'd, tho' now you can only Stile yourself my Angel & my Queen y= mistake was not so great. I have now taken my pipe & have before me a pint of red wine, & here's your health not forgetting poor Becks cold. I am as well as can be expected in t State of Separated Souls, we had a very fine day & y" horses hold out bravely. Nothing in y= house for supper but fowls & teal & Rabbits all w'" will come I'm afraid dear so I have sent for a Sheeps heart w'" they think can not be got, & veal cutlets are not to be had so what I shall do I can't tell. I had once a thought of going on to Alresford & leaving Rob' here, but my careful Governor advis'd me to f contrary & I acquiesc'd very submis- sively. If you can't find out by my letter in what Spirits I am I'll never set you down for a Conjuror. The very thoughts of Reading revives me so that I could ride with pleasure if it were only to fetch y sirloyn of a Dead Dog ; for y pleasure I us'd to receive there always returns upon me when I see It tho' I know y Object of ray happyness be Absent. No Sheeps heart so I have order'd toast & butter & Eggs. I have been tr)ing as foolish a way as can be to spend my time w" by turning your name into an anagram but it comes too soon, as follows, You must give me leave to Spell your name «Tong C h ? i s't i i n e T a ^ T o V w«» turns out thus can h a r r' _y | 1 o J e titi you may examine if you please as I shall mark r-& so Kitty having" fi^sh'd my Supper i^' was as I said 1711-17S5. 28o The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 1711-17S5. before w"" y'' addition of a welch rabbit & finish'd my pint of wine I am smoaking another pipe over a pint of ale & have order'd my bed to be well warm'd. so wishing you all health & happyness & hoping that you now enjoy them I Conclude myself for to night y' most sincerely affectionate Husband (tis a charming name) H. T. I leave y= Rest till another opportunity. Love to Beck. Nov s* Arriv'd at Ahesford last night very well all well Shant return till Tuesday at soonest y' Lov^ Husband H. T. Just sent y= following verses to Molly Clarke. Damon's excuse for y" treatment w''' he reC from y' pretty Savage M. C. Where y= blind God wou'd shew his power, He often proves so blind, That when he wounds y» man before, He wounds y" maid behind. Thus when in sighs I tell y° pain. That rends my tender heart, You blow my sighs all back again, & answer with a f . But Cupid only bears y= blame. Who did us both inspire. Your slave to languish in y-' flame, & you to fan y= fire. \No address; no date; — Mrs Christian Taylor to her Husband^ Reading Feb : y° 24 [1740] Mv Dearest life Thou art very good in writing such long letters to me, I had no opportunity of answering them when I was at M' Manleys. I came . . [illegible] . . me last night and would not let a post slip without thanking you for them. I cannot anough admire the goodness of God to me in giveirig me such a companion that will asist me in serveing him, I never could have been so happy with any one as I expect to be with you. O my Dear what a scheme have we Iain for happyness our lives will be a Heaven upon earth if we keep to what we prepose as sure we shall do as it is so agreable to us both. Miss Manley desir'd her service to you. I beg my Love to Miss Taylor, beleive me to be yours with the utmost sincerity C. T. \No address; no date ;— from Mrs Christian Taylor to her husband, tlie Rev. Henry Taylor?^ To the Rev"" Mr Taylor ■"' ' Present [After June 16"' 1740] Sunday evening My Dear Dear life I hope you have not made yourself uneasy at my illness, I was blooded this morning and am I thank God much, better. Had I not some limes the Head-ach I should not be sensible of the great blessing I injoye in health and might forgit to be thankful! for it. I please my self with thinking how many agreable hours we shall spend together in the garden and when I meet with any thing that particularly pleases me shall step in and call my sister Becky to partake of it. I beleive the writing The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Moniecai) — Coi'i'cspondenec. 281 spelling and manner of exprecing my self in this letter will make you think that I am light-headed but 1711-17S5. I am not but writ what first comes into my head. Monday morning I have just took a dose of Physick which is the reason I cant see your man but I am so much better that the pain is almost gone out of my head. I did not come out of my chamber Saturday my Dear if I had I should have been very glad to have seen you but was obliged to go to bed soone after Betty saw you. I fear you had a very wet Journey home but hope you got no cold I beg you would take care of yourself. How can you ask when I choose to see you again as if I did not always like to see you this week or next or whenever it is most conveniant to you, for it will always be agreable to me. my Love to sister Becky. I am sincerly much better my Dear and hope you will beleive me. I am your most Loving and most Obedient Wife C. T. On the same sheet, in Rev. Henry Taylor's hand, is the following draft. Whether the letter was sent to Mrs Fox does not appear. \ Draft letter by the Rev. Henry Taylor to Mrs Fox, his wife's mother.'] Hon" Madam The Commendations you put upon Miss Dolly Blagrove lately now M" for marrying contrary to y'' Consent of her father & all her friends very well assur'd both K and me that you did not think she had acted contrary to any Religious duty, and when K said she wondered what her father wou'd say to it ; your answer that it wou'd be only a nine days wonder satisfied us no less that you imagin'd it reasonable for him to forget & forgive ; Nor did we doubt but that you wou'd judge in your own Case as favourably as in his. The whole turn of your conversation upon that aflSiir satisfied K : y' you did not think such an action so bad as she imagin'd you did ; & y' freeing her from y' fear of your displeasure & discovering to her your approbation of a like case did me more service than J a years conversation especially when she consider'd how much our Case had y' advantage of M' by your giving consent to my Courtship for 7 months together in w* time she imagin'd her honour was concern'd in proceeding. I might give several Reasons for my marrying now ; but my present business is not vindicate myself but to beg your pardon for our managing it in this secret manner, we should be extremely glad to be favour'd with jour Company, with Relation to y' settlement [_No adih-ess ;—from Mrs Christian Taylor to her Hicsl/aiuT] My Dearest Live I received your letter dated the 23 on Saturday and not before for which you have my hearty thanks it much inlivened my spirits and inabl'd me to bear the desopintment on Saturday much better. Sunday I ask'd Dunsdon if he had any letter for me he say'd no but he had one for M" Rudge from Master Oh my Dear Harry how my heart sunk in me I went to M" Rudge she told me M' Rudge did not come home till the latter end of next week I could hardly speak no letter no Dear Love I could freely have cryed for as you very rightly imagine your dayly endeavour to please me must fall short of any Expresion so it has gained so much on me that I cant be say'd to live when absent from you my Dearest Love I long to see you I will as much as possible hope the best and think you arc In health I cant help liaveing some fears. Our Dear little Girl has a cough but I hope she will have strength to go through it you are very good to remember her I beleive you love her you cant imagine how different every thing appears now you arc absent take care of thy self my Dear Soul I 282 Tlie Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. [Ben Mordecai) — Correspondence. 1711-17S5, ^jjj pfgtfy ,ygii ljut beleive I must soon take a Vomit for my Stomack is not quite easy pray let me hear from you as soon as you can I am going this afternoon to see M" Read remember me to all friends in Town I hope you are not all this time with the Esq' if you are I heartily pitty you, I am Truest Friend thy Truest Friend and most obedient loving Wife Christiana Taylor. AVheatfield Sep : 28 1741 I have just now received your letter it went to Oxford and came back last night you dont say when you come home or wether you stay for the Esq' I thank God you are so well ray Dear Love once more Adieu your letter was not dated but I suppose I should have had it two or three days ago {From the Rev. Henry Taylor to his IVi/e.'] To M" Taylor at the Rev'^ M' Taylor's at Wheatfield Free near Tetsworth E. Rudge. Oxon Jan 30. 1743 Mv DEAR Kitty I am got very well to town & find everybody well here the Bishop has receiv'd me with great good nature & civility; M' Rudge seems willing to agree with my measures. I cant tell when I shall come down again ; I shall see Baghurst first as soon as I have receivd the Institution. The Bishop has as good as promis'd that if he lives 'he will provide better for me & has promis'd that let the Esq' do what he will to make the expence as easy to me as possible. M' Stanyan thinks he can get me a Chaplainship if necessary if not the Bishop will who desires me not to give myself any trouble about the thoughts of the expence & if he lives he will give me somthing to hold with Baghurst or somthing better. I got my sister to write this for me because twas troublesome to me to write. I cant yet let M' Ray know when I shall be at Baghurst. I din'd on friday at the Bell at Henley where I did intend to lye but M" Newell pressd me so much to lye at her house that I could not with any decency refuse it; they were extremely civil. I beg you would order James to feed the bees the sugar is in Robert's cupboard. I long to come home & see you to enjoy our good fortune together, w'"" I hope is not yet come to its heigth I beg my love to my dear Children & my dearer Wife, with duty to Father love to Becky & service to M' Willoughby & M' Ray all w''" Unckle & Sister joins with me in I am my dear Girl Your most faithful & affectionate Lover & Husband Hen: Taylor. The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai)— Correspondence. 283 \_No address ;^from Mrs Christian Taylor to her husband, the Rev. Henry Taylor:] n'_'-^Ss. To The Rev" M' Taylor Wheatfield July y' 31 1743 My Dearest Life I hope to have a letter from you to day, your last gave me great spirits as it always does when I hear of your health, I long to see you for all the Company in the World cannot make up for the lose of yours. 'My Sister Betsy gos with M' Carter to Town to morrow, and Sister Stone in the coach on Wednesday, if she can git a place, all I can say I cannot prevail with ether of them to stay any longer. The Children and myself are well, as are all with us, they desire Love. M" Newell was brought" to bed on Friday Morning of a fine Girl after being two days in Labour and haveing a Man MkUvife, She and the child are both in a good way of doing well. Betsy often says Pappa come again Duty to Pappa Mamma. M" Carter is got much better, she and M' Carter was here yesterday. When shall I see my Sister Nanny, I shall have room for M" Pain if she can come, tell my Sister, take care of your self Sister Stone joins with me in love to my Brother and Duty to my Mother, she was much pleas'd with your takeing notice of her little Boys, my Love to them, when shall you be at home, let me know as soon as you can when my Sister and M" Pain will be here, my Love to her, and Duty to Uncle, shall we see him this Summer, I think you should ask him. I am my Dearest Love Your very Dutyfull Obedient and Happy Wife Christian T.aylor. I have just received your letter am glad to hear you have been blooded and are so well. I will send a Melon to M' Hawkins to day Sister Stone desires you would let my Mother know she has receved her letter she is not much better [From the Rev. Henry Taylor to his Wife.'] To M" Taylor at the Rev" M' Taylor's at Whitfield near Tetsworth Free Oxon E. Rudge My Dearest Love Notwithstanding I wanted some relaxation from business ^- some amuzement among my friends at London I am quite like a fish out of water in your absence. I suppose my father told you y- he met me and did not know me. He has been a sad rake I hear. I sent y' Key of y= ale by Dunsden I propose to go very soon to my Aunt Elmes. I am pure & well & want nothing but your Company for tho- my mother aiR my Shirt and my Sister Stone takes care of my Stock they always leave me at bedtime to my own inventions. I have bespoke a wig & shoes & boots. To morrow I think to call upon M' Willoughby f elder. How long I shall stay I can't say but I think one Sunday will do M; Newell will preach if M' Thombury cannot. I hope Bessy & Harry are very good and dutiful Children. There are 20 pounds in the Hamper is sent do«-n w- take care off. My Duty to Father & yourself, & Love to Beck & y= Children. My hand is very unsteady at writing. I am now at ) Tavern m a private room obeying your Commands is to mc one of y' greatest pleasures I shall enjoy whilst I continue in Town. For I know you to be too good not to be pleas'd with my obedience; too generous not to reward it ; 5: smallest mark of your affection overpays every thing 284 The Rev. Henry Taylor, ALA. [Ben Mordccai) — Correspondence. 1711-17S5. in my power to perform. Young Annesley after he had got his caiise said he had rather have lost his Estate y" his wife. Had he had my wife I should not have wondered at Him. Y' Sincerest Lover & most affectionate Husband H. Taylor. Wednesday Eve Dec : 7. 1743. \^From Christian Taylor to her husband, the Rev. Henry Taylor?^ To The Rev-" M' Taylor at M" Foxes in Hatten Garden Free London E. Rudge Wheatfiekl Dec: y° 11 1743 My Dearest Love I thank you for your letter which bro\ight me the most agreeable news I could possbly receive which is that you are well. What makes your letters ly so long are you sure they are put in safe for I did not receive yours till Friday which made me very uneasy and was a great disappointment. My Sister Becky desires her Love and begs you to buy her a string for the Spinet ask for Ffaut the forth line. Father is pure well and desires to be remember'd to you. The Children little Dears are very well and DutyfuU and beg their Dutys to Dear Pappa and want much to see him. I am as well as I can be without niy better half for I am but a poor part when you are absent I now quite long to see you and am not able to express how much I Love you and rejoys very much with the hopes of seeing you this week I am sorry your hand is no better I would ask M' Hawkins about it M' Thorn- bury is to preach to day here is a collor of Brown come I sepose from M' Wray I have received the 20 pounds and lock'd it up safe, if you can get Daffy's Elixer cheper in Town I wish you would bring me a pint I am afread you did not meet with M' Willoughby in Town for 1 had a letter from the young gentleman on Friday to desire me to send the letter he left to his Father at Croydon I have just received your letter M' Rudge gave it me at Church M" Lake is here that am in hast I have sent what you desired by Dunsdone have received the Key I should have expect'd a letter and been very uneasy if I had not had one it is a great comfort if it is but two lines my Father would have you go if you possbly can to see D' Denne he leives at Vaux Hall. Duty Love and service wear due I am my Dear Soul thy Dutyfull and Obedient Wife Christian Taylor. \No address from the Rev. Henry Taylor to his Wife.'] Whitfield Feb : 16 : 1745 Dear Kitty Yours of the 12'" I rec" last night upon my arrival from Baghurst at w=" place I arriv'd on Tuesday night last, I did not dare to go on the Monday after I left you, for fear the Waters should have continued out w* fell in such quantity on y« Saturday before : & I did not leave Baghurst in y' morning for fear of y= Ice about Aldermaston, so staid till y= afternoon when it was broke by y= Teams. I reach'd Henley on Frj'day night & laid at my Brother Newells. One adventure is worth your hearing w* happened as follows. As I rode thro Aldermaston I bethought me that I had not been shav'd since Tuesday morning & it was now Fryday afternoon; from whence I con- cluded it proper to leave my beard at that Town before I should call at y" Deans at Reading: accordingly I enter'd what was call'd y= Barbers Shop where to my great amazement I beheld a fellow who call'd himself y' barber employ'd in making a pair of Shoes, y= whole Shop as well as my woeful The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordccai) — Correspondence. 285 Experience bearing witness against his new Title of Barber. However he order'd on water & I 1711-1 785. look'd upon myself as an innocent Victim preparing for y° sacrifice. I beg'd of him not to use his paring Knife upon me ; w''' request he comply'd with, tho aftenvards I was Sorry that I had made it, for I believe it was y' sharpest instrument in y= Shop and y° only one he knew how to use. After part of my face had been unturfed (for I know not any thing so fitly to compare this operation to, as y° cutting of turf, w''' is y" most effectual way of mowing your grass, roots & all) I at lengtli was determin'd to examine whether -f Imperfection lay in y° Operator or y" instruments & took y" rasor myself, but found them both so well fitted for one another y' I resign'd my self once more like a patient Isaac into y' hands of y° old man. But alas ! there was no Vicarious sacrifice so I bore once more as long as human patience cou'd bear & then myself began a fresh attempt ; but all in vain after a 100 faces & as many different trials we were quite aground at the upper lip & oblig'd to leave it like a meadow with all y' hay canyd but y' Tithe. But now for business. Beck desires another yard if you think it necessary, Write me in your next what you would have me send you of Sashes & whether you want more money. The new maid is come &: I have reC* another letter from Jones and if Gibbon will give leave don't know but I may Stay here till mid- summer. It would on many accounts be better. We are all here very well. I am glad to hear y° little boy is like to do well. I have been trying to get you some fish but y" Ice is too hard. But I hope to send you some next week. All desire their Love & Service my Duty Betsy and Harry desire their duties to you. The Child seems to take to the new maid very well. What Bargain did you make with goody Learner or intend to make? I am y' most affect. Husband H. Taylor. \No date; — -from the Rev. Henry Taylor to his JVi/e.'\ To M" Taylor at Whitfield near Tetsworth Free P' Delme Oxon Dear Kitty In answer to your desires I shall give you some account of myself since y' sad time of leavetaking : I got between two & three to Reading, & din'd upon some cold beef at M' Savages, where I left y' Hare, they enquired very kindly after you. I went afterw'^ to the Deans, where they made me stay supper, & wou'd have persuaded me to take a bed, but I had left my portmanteau &r great coat at M" Bonn/s with promise to lye there if I cou'd, w'' I accordingly did, & y" Deans servant light me thither, & thereby sav'd my nose & shins, at y' D' I met M' Gabriel w"' whom I beleive the people are very well pleas'd. There I heard y' news that M" Sewell is in Jayl for Debt, Collection is making for her in y' parishes, but I find she bears a very indifferent Character, M" Carney will give her nothing. There is also in Jayl there S' John I forget y' simame. He came to Reading some time ago in mourning, with a serv' & sent to D' Rigby whom he had seen formerly in Company somewhere. He told y' D' He was going to Lond° but was so pleas'd with y" Country about Reading that he had a fancy to spend a month or two in that Country, y' a Relation of his was just dead in )■* North of Irland, & he had succeeded to a great Estate the D' was pleas'd with y' proposal & took liim to board with him expecting at least 100 a year with him. The Gentleman (S' John) was too nice to drink y' comon run of Wine, so agreed to let a Lodger of y' V" have what he pleas'd of his that was coming over, upon y' Condition of Drinking his y' meanwhile. Thus it pass'd about 3 months, when, no money coming, y' D' began to be peremptory, accordingly payment was agreed upon for y' following Monday, & S' John went off on Saturday morning, but like a silly Dog no further did he go y° Maidenhead or Windsor ; where y* D' snapt him. & has him in Jayl. The 286 The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai) — Correspondence. D' introduced him to Deans House. — I am now safe at Baghurst I can't say sound, for I have not rid a Journey a long time you know. — Robert desires y' James would hough y' earth to y= beans. — I lie to night at y= Parsonage all alone I believe, & I hope safe from Sprights both living & Dead. My Tenant or rather my Landlord has been these two days with Feather in Law to keep Tide, for mother cou'd not come to keep Tide at Parsonage, whereof she keeps a Shop & sells Tobacco People think me a strange man, for why, M' Harris has invited me to spend -f Evening & to lie at his house M' Price -f like but instead of that here I set all alone with a table & stool & Candlestick like y° Prophet & little wood fire some water gruel or a poach'd egg for supper & my own contemplations for my Company. Yet who so happy as I, even to think of my Dear Kitty & my little Children t What shall I be then when I return & meet 'em & see & talk to them & take 'em in my arms. Your Cholick is ■f only enemy y' gives me any uneasyness in life bating that I fear neither man nor beast. — Dear Girl take care of thy self & don't eat meat till I see you again, for If you do remember I am in a wood country & where Cudgells are cheap & please -f Lord you shall have y' belly full of them I am f affect : Lov^ : faithfuU &= H. T. \No address ; no date ; — -from Airs Christian Taylor to her Husband^ Sunday morning My Dearest Life I am afread you had a very bad journey yesterday and was very wet I hope you have not increased your cold pray take care of your self and have some advice if you should be ill, if you should be very bad let me know and I can come behind Rob' I know you are with very good friends that Love you and will take care of you if you take Physick I beg you would not go out Pray excuse me my Dear for troubleing you with my fears but I cant help it for my heart is full of you but I hope the best that the change of are will do you good which if it dose you had better stay a week you have taken the key of your scroutore and locked up the cards and mony Father was quite in the hip last night for a game at Lew so Pray send it us for we all want deversion more then ever now you are absent M' Rudge's family are all out to day but Miss Stannope and she sent to my Sister to spend the day with her but she haveing takeing Physick we sent our compliments to her and beg'd her company to spend the day with us but she says she has the same pretty imployment as my Sister. Pray send me a true account of your health and dont be angry with me for sending Rob' I beg my compliments to all the family I am my Dear Love Your most Obedient Loveing Wife CHRisTrAN Taylor. \No address: no date; — -from the Rev. Henry Taylor to his lVife.'\ [About 1746,] Well my little Kitty, what dost Thou think 01 these Changes? Is it not a fine thing to have 200 a year come in & the Bishop still alive ? Twas but a little while ago we were wisliing for only some- thing certain to keep above a Curacy, & imagin'd that would have been sufficient to have kept our spirits up & enabled us to have liv'd contentedly in hopes of what might fall. But 200 I think may very well satisfy us let what will come, there is a livelyhood, & no indifferent one. How many thousand people are there in y'^ world who have nothing like it ? Thousands to one tlrat has. Surely Providence is extremely good to us ; & I hope will teach us as good a lesson as many are oblig'd to learn from afflic- tions. What a Happyness it is for us to see before us so easy & pleasant a way of educating y' little The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai)— Correspondence. 287 children in a decent manner & throwing them into life above low temptations? For my part I am an 1711-1785. old man with regard to y' Common amuzements of life ; & If it was not for y= Children I should not be able to find any thing worth living for except yourself I did not intend you that Compliment when I began y= Sentence because I look upon you & myself as y= same Person & indeed upon y= examina- tion of my own breast I find That to be y= reason I don't say pretty things to you so often as I us'd to do before & just after marriage. They appear to me to be only a kind of flattering myself at second hand ; & indeed in f tendrest part, where I find myself lie y= most open to it. For I cou'd swallow flattery when address'd to you w'" I should look upon as gross to myself I am in Charming Spirits upon our future Prospect of things, & shall never think but these blessings are bestow'd by God, thro' my hands, not only for our own Sakes or that they wou'd have happen'd had we acted upon y' worldly scheme, but are meant as blessings upon those that we assist as well as upon us. I am upon Secrecy with regard to my future Expectations, but I can inform you that such I have, & all together better than I did imagine, however dont imagine too much, tis enough to make us veiy happy. Your mother thinks of prebends they will never think we have enough as long as more may be had, but it is not so with me ; my Ambition centers in you & y« Children & a Genteel Com- petency ; w* if y= Bishop lives we shall have. My dear Girl this opens my heart, gives me ease & satisfaction ; y" highest pleasure. The thoughts of leaving either my father or sister to scramble with world wou'd have greatly afflicted me, but I hope that God almighty has rais'd me up for a Support to you all. How unworthy soever I may be in myself, yet He has given me a spirit to dispense his bounties, & I never did nor I hope never shall have reason to repent it. How few Wives are there that wou'd have indulg'd me in this respect. How few have the Generous y' Xtian, y" truly Christian Spirit of my Dear Girl? It is in part, & I hope will be more amply rewarded to you even in this life; however 'twill be certainly fully recompens'd. You can't imagine how kindly y" Bishop receiv'd me- he told me he had been considering about y" affair ever since he writ y" letter to me & with one sen- tence took off all my objections to the taking of it. I am now at Farnham 40 miles from Lond° & must be at Winchester to morrow morning about 26 miles further, where I expect y" presentation. I intended to dine about 20 miles from Lond° but when I came there found it too far to go to the next town before dinner; so was forc'd to put in at a little ale house; where I got bread & butter & two red herrings ; however I paid it off with a Chicken & oyster Sause at Supper, w'" I intirely demolish'd. I came over a heath without knowing a step of y= way, 5 miles long; and was told to my Comfort if I miss'd of the way, I might travel all night, & it was full of sloughs ; yet, tho it was quite dark before I got over it, I happily found my way. I hope this letter will give you Spirits to wait till you see me. I have writ to M' Stanyan to night, whom I met to day in y" Coacli, to get me a Chaplainslnp, if such thing should be wanted. Reports that f 3'' Sliip sent by y" French is stranded or cast away.' & now my Dearest Life please God I live how .... [torn] {No address; no date -—frovi Mrs Ckristian Taylor lo her Husband.'] [Endorsed by B. M.— " Rec" on Saturday night & answered the same night." Note by Rev. H. T. of Banstead— bom 10 Dec 1747."— From the date this must be 174S.] Mv Dear Love I wait with Impatience for a letter to night, & must beg of you to write the night you receive this for I cant think of staying so long as Tuesday for a letter, which I must do if you do not write that night. Jack bears the lose of the Breast much better them could be expected, & is pure well, as are all the rest of the children & my Father, & all desire Dut)- Love & Service, they arj often asking after you & when you will come home, & indeed we are very dull without you for I have not been out since I wrote last but hope to get out next week, for the cramp in my Stomack has quite left me but the going of my milk has made me a little feverish but with M' Linzees Boles's & Draughts I am almost well, & have taken Physick to day which with another dose will set me II I 288 The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordeccti) — Correspondence. 1711-17S5. quite up. No letter last night has made me quite uneasy, and I must beg of you to get ray Brother Fox to write if you are ill, or any misfortune has happened for every Post the Papers are full of Robbery's attend'd with crueltys which makes me under terrible apprehensions that I shall be very unhappy till I hear from you for I have not heard since Sunday & this is friday & I beleive I never was so long without hearing from you when absent I hope you are not to venturesome but take care of your self in every respect for if any thing should happen to you how many Lives would be made miserable but none so compleatly so as her who is Your ever DutyfuU & affect: Wife Christian Taylor. P.S. Pray my Duty Love & service as due {From Mrs CIiristia7i Taylor to her husband, the Rev. Henry Taylor.'] To The Rev-" M' Taylor at M' Fo.'i's in Hatton Garden Near Holbom London Free P' Delme Portsmouth March y' 20 1750 My dearest Love I received your letter last night, which brought me the good news of your being Saftly returned from Essex, & that they were so well pleased with the Children, my Love to my little Dears, I beleive you will not be displeased with your journey, but I think it a long time since you left me. I shall like the coverled you mention very well, the Copy of D' Smiths will is in the hands of M Chandler, & M' Linzee went to him, but he could not find it, but they all agree, that the Vicar is not objected to. the incloseed I received on Monday Evening. Poor M' Clinch has lost his son, so M' Evens has got a Scarf & Hat band, which I am glad of, for he is very careful, S: all your Duty has been done very well. Mrs Champ has broke her arm Poor woman in two places by a fall down Stares, but is like to do well. Mrs Owen is brought to Bed, but I suppose they will Stay till you come home for the Chrisaning. I believe M' Bucknell expects to hear from you. Betsy has had a bad Cold, but is now better. Jack is very well, & I am Pretty well, & we all joyn in Duty Love &= to every Body. M' Leek has just been with me, he says the wine is in very Proper cass for carriage, & he will talk with the Carrier & get it carried as cheep as he can. JI' Black called here yesterday, & talks of calling on you, I hope you take care of your Selt I want much to see you, & hope you will let me hear from you as often as you can. I am my Dear your ever Affect ; & Dutyful Wife Christian Taylor. [Fi'om ike Rev. Henry Taylor to his daughter Eiizaieth.'] To Miss Eliz'' Taylor at M' John Taylor's at South Weald near Brentwood. In Essex Portsmouth 24 Ap' 1754 Dear Betsy, Your Mamma thanks you for your letter. I suppose your blown lace & gauze looks very pretty the' you dont say so. I imagine Miss Molly Newell is grown a good agreable young Lady, and J The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai) — Correspondence. 289 beleve the Miss Clarks have been of great Service to her; for they are clever sensible Ladies & 1711-1785. have no foolish airs. We propose being at Shidfield by y° middle of May & shall then think of Sending for you down ; for you have been away a long time & we want to see you again very much. We are glad to hear poor Betsy is better than she has been. I will send her as she desires the first opportunity. You may tell Aunt Becky in answer to hers that the medals may be colour'd box- colour with Lindseed oyl. — or you may make them very pretty witli doing them over when hot, as thin as possible with white wax melted, & when it is melted in by y° Fire, & grown cold, polish with cotton. You may tell Aunt Beck that it is not I that advertise for Scholars, for I have 5 ready engag'd & intend to take but one more w"" I don't doubt to have soon. Pray tell your Aunts to direct to me here; & inclose it in a Cover & direct the Cover to the Right Rev**' The Lord Bishop of Winchester; in Hill Street near Berkley Square London. & he will frank the inclos'd to me. His Franks will go at all times. M' Rudge has lost his Election, so there will be no Franks from him & M' Delme does not stand for any place. I have hired a great boy & left him at Shidfield to manage y° Garden & look after our goods, some of which we have sent over. D' Cuthbert has been ill & has set up a Post Chariot & I have bought his Chaise & went over yesterday with Mamma, & it look't so pleasant we wanted to stay all night. I have sent the Shells to M" Horn & told her if she lik'd any they were at her Service & y' rest were to be a present from you to Miss Pickering. Pray give our Duties Loves & Services to Uncle Aunts Brother Billy Sister Becky & Bess & M' Evans, respectively. we are all well. Nancy has 8 teeth. If you have not an opportunity of sending a letter by a friend soon send by the post. If you write from Essex send thro' y° B"" of Winchester as above directed, but don't wait for a Frank or friend if you are at London ; w'' I suppose you will soon be now ; where pray remember our Compliments to M' & M" Horn. I am Y' most afifec" Friend & Father H. Taylor. \No address; no date; — fro7n (he Rev. Henry Taylor to his Wife.'\ [About 1754.] My dearest Love I dent know whether I told you I wou'd not have Peters hair curl'd by Miss Rickman on Tuesday, for fear he shou'd cut out Harry too much. My Mother seems very fond of them & seems particularly to like Hal. You can't imagine how good they are & how prettily they behave, in short quite like men. I have walk'd them about with me a great deal to day & since dinner their cousins have been all at home & they have play'd all y' after noon, & are now in high Spirits. To day I have been to cousin Holfords w" them on Dowgate Hill & been out to covent Garden where we have bought your gown & bespoke a hoop aunt went with us. Peter is greatly pleas'd as well as Hal with y" Shew-boards & y= china Shop at corner of St Pauls Churchyard. The kind of shell I gave 3 shill' for ... . [torn] \From Rro. Henry Taylor to his daughter Elizabetli.'\ To Miss Taylor at Peter Petits Esq'- at Little Aston near Litchfield Staffordshire Sep IS- 1738 Dear Betsy, I have for a long time been in y' debt for a letter sent just after our Return from Little Aston, and mtended one time or another to answer it, but as there was nothing of Consequence, but what 2 O 290 The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai) — Correspondence. 1711-1785. I put into my Letters to the D' it might have been long enough before the writing Fit would have come upon me, if you had not spurred me up in y' last of y" 9"" — at present I shall try whether y' - Text will supply me w"" matter enough to fill up these few pages. I know that I must call back old time and recover 100 particulars which I have forgot, & expatiate upon 100 more that I should never have opened my mouth about to any soul upon earth, or I shall never get thro' and was it to any other than your Sweet Self I should never have patience enough to undertake such a business ; & might perhaps plead in my excuse that they wou'd never be able to read it thro'. — But as you are a great reader, and as great a writer ; I am apt to think if I can in some measure hit either you own manner of writing or y" stile of your favourite Authors (instead of dividing my discourse in so many heads) you may possibly give it one reading before it be condemn'd to Eternal oblivion. — I suppose you may expect a great deal of good advice from me before I come to the end ; But in that particular I intend to deceive you. For y° Company you are with will set you such examples (w'' are much better then precepts,) that you will want nothing of that Sort. You have nothing to do but to open your Eyes & your Ears, and you will be instructed when & in what manner to open your mouth. But don't mistake me ; I am not going to say any thing of the Government of the Tongue; and that for several Reasons. First, because it is not to be govern'd. 2"'' because I don't find you are apt to talk a bit too much & 3"" because when you do talk I am very well pleas'd to hear you ; & I wou'd by no means put a curb upon my own Pleasure in that Respect. Now I think we have done pretty well to get down all the first side without a word of News, or any encroachment upon y° particular business of w' you are to be inform'd : all w'' shall come in by & by. and I'll furbish up all I am able. But now let me look into your letter & see whether there is any thing to answer. I did not imagine you would like Woolverhampton so well as Aston. 'Tis quite another kind of thing. I will not commend Master Molineux for regarding your Mothers directions and not staying longer than he had leave for, for fear you shou'd think I mean it as a reflexion upon your Conduct in Staying so long at Woolverhampton : But you must not think I have any such thing in my Head oh no ! not in the least. However I don't imagine there was much to be learn't there. Tho' I don't wonder that you caught a cold there; for a harum Scarum kind of life will not agree with your Constitution. I do not wonder at Miss Petits tenderness towards you. Nor that y° whole Family were pleas'd to give you the Diversion of y° Races. 'Tis the most natural pleasure of all good & generous tempers to make every one as happy as they can. and every one that is sensible of favours, will endeavour to return y° obligation by preferring such Company to all others. For there is a great difference between hoity toity & real friendship. M" Carter & M' & M" Hawker & Sally have been here. M''' Hawker is a pretty behaVd woman. They spent about a week with us & then for a week Harry & Peter went to M" Bludworths and were very well pleas'd with their jant Iremonger is as well as can be expected after her Loss, for poor little Benny is dead of a Consumption. We never before heard of the Story of y' Fortuneteller. It shows us how silly all such nonsense is, & let a Person think themselves ever so wise, there is no body knows what effect it may have upon them, especially if one or two of their guesses happens to be turn out true. If you can't read what I write carry it to y° Doctor for if he ever reads his own letters after he has wrote them, he must be capable of reading any written hand. I suppose he employs you in copying his Prescriptions, w" he may very safely do, for they will remain no less a Secret to y° world after his writing & your copying than if he carried them in his own Brains. The illness I had when I was at M' Petits has shown itself to be the Gravell, of which I have had a severe fit, but by D' Bowles's help I got pretty well of it — I would sell my Dancing at a lower price than you wou'd yours ; for as to y" sneers of y° Quality it breaks no Shins nor does it cause one rinkle in y' face ; nor deprive our Beauties of a single charm ; And we have y' Liberty of laughing at them as much as they can at us. I have got a wheat rick and pretty well fiU'd my barn. I have not settled w* Fitter. I only take up Rookby & Crawley I have that D'" Lauder is just y" man I took him for. A chatterer that knows very little of y" matter. As to y' Mamma or not increasing, you must find it out when you see her. Your Aunt Nancy is better of her Leg but Betsy is ill the pain of her stomach being remov'd to her head. With regard to f Matches at Portsmouth, Miss Standards & Joe Arnolds are both over The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai)— Correspondence. 291 le; they are not to be.— The London Pride is alive and some of y' French Marigolds blown and y' 1711-1785. little Tree (I forget y« name) flourishes. & several others that I brought with me. I want sadly to hear from M' Petit about f Curate; who I suppose will not chuse a School.-Molineux says the Town Hall at Woolverhampton was never us'd but only to keep wild Beasts in. Perhaps he may therefore wonder to find you object to it. We have had pure Fun this harvest & shall have y« Harvest Home next week. I wish we had M" Haiyes here to tread the Mow, she wou'd do us a deal of good. I have a new Man, whom I shot flying as he was going to be hired any where, & I am sure of his Character, for I have had it from himself, I am taking Bees & shall in a few weeks have some honey but what I have yet taken are old Stocks. I intend to make mead. Now let us see what room there is when the letter is folded. Oh there's room enough to desire our best Compli- ments to M" Petit. Cap"- P. Miss P. M" Hayes & the Doctor & moreover to give you all our Loves & Subscribe myself your Affectionate Father H. Taylor. Crawley rs Sep. 175S INo date;— from the Rev. Henry Taylor to his Wife.^ To M" Taylor at the Rev" IP Taylor's at Crawley near Winton In Hants My Dear Love, ["Before 5 Feb. r76o."— Note by Rev. H. Taylor of Banstead.] I am just now return'd from y play at \ past 6, having left Harry there & my two Nephews I hey left me to seek better places and as soon as they were gone I consider'd that it was no pleasure to me to hear y« Beggars Opera w'" I have heard 20 years ago, so I e'en came away & left them to the.r Diversion.-: have sent part of the Essay to the Printers. I have seen S' Rob' Wilmot this morning whom his brother wrote to, about talking to me. I'm afraid y' Boy is Stubborn &^ but we must run y' Venture & do with him as well as we can. I have heard Salter preach & am amazd at him. I have ordered a livery for John & a wig for Hariy.-I long to be at home again 6: see my Dear Girl; who is beyond all that I can see or hear of. The power you gain'd over me ... . last letter, shews me how vain it is for us Men to give ourselves airs ; I love you ■ esteem you ; \- honour you.-I think to see Essex y<= beginning of y= week, if ... . [torn] {From the Rev. Henry Taylor to his Wife.] To M" Taylor at y« Rev'' M' Taylors at Crawley near Winchester Hants „ Lend" I Nov. 1760 ■MV DEAREST GiRL Many & myself continue very well but do not set out for Cambridge till next Monday, we sent inink yesterday. We have nothing particular to say to you but that we hope you are all as well as 292 The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben M or decai)— Correspondence. 1711-17S5. we are. Your new Sister seems a mighty good sort of a woman very good natur'd &=. I have bought you a pair of Spectacles to day that fix to f sides of f face they cost 8 shil? set in steel but I coud get a pair of silver if you approve of them for 18S. we have no news of any consequence that you are concern'd with. I saw M' Payne's family to day, who are all well. S' [S?] W. [torn] family was not come yesterday. I have paid Danny— I call'd at y' exchange to day & saw that my houses were all insured. I hope Frank is not yet surfeited of the school. D' Salter was here to day : his wife is not come from Holt yet. We have most abominable dull evenings here spent in nothing but writing Letters. Have a desperate fine glass above in the dining room, & two elegant book cases. You shall hear more of me when I get to Cambridge. You may send me f diameter of y' inside of f top of y' mustard crewit or oil cruet (tell me which it is) & y' diameter of y' outside of f bottom & I can buy one. My love attends you all. I hope y"= young Gentlemen make Franky's business as easy as they can I am y' most affectionate & constant Husband H. T. \_No address -—from Mrs Christian Taylor to her daughter Elizabeth.'] Crawley April 27 : 1762 Dear Betsy, I am very glad to find you are come a little nearer to us & I have fixd the day for coming home, but would not have you come e.xcept their is some other woman besides your Self in the coatch. It must greatly affect you to see the Poor Girl lay dying, but I hope you will get up your Spirits in Town, tho your Grandmama will not contribute towards it, I am much oblidged to my Sister Fox for smiling on you, & I hope you do not Suffer sour looks to give you any uneasyness, & you will be received with joy by all at home. I shall be glad to have you bring Nanny a cap, as she will want one very much & I leave it to you & my Sister Fox what Sort, but do not like a Fly by any means. I must get you to bring down with you Six Boxs of Issue Plasters, & a Pound of iSs. Tea & a Pound of 12s. Tea, & your Papa has desired my Brother to let you have what mony you want. The Cook was married yesterday, left her Duty to you & was sorry you was not at home; how is your Uncles Cough now, I hope he has lost it ; if M' Delme is coming into this Part of the world he may bring you with him if he will, but I suppose he will bring Peter, however see that family before you take your Place, aU hear join in compliments & Love & Duty to your Self & all the family you are with. | I am Dear Betsy ' Your Affectionate Mother & Sincere friend Christian Taylor. To M' Fox in Chancery Lane London Dear Bro : I desire you to let my daughter Betsy have whatever money she wants & place it to the account of your Affect" Bro' H. Taylor. Crawley Ap 27"' 1762 You may cut what your Papa has wrote of & give to your Uncle The Rev. Hejiry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai) — Correspondence. 293 1711-1785. \From Mrs Christian Taylor to her husband, the Rev. Henry Taylor.'] To The Rev" M' Taylor at M' Henry Taylors at Queens College in Cambridge Crawley Oct y' 14, 1762 My dearest Love M' Stone yesterday in the afternoon came into the study to me, while I was hearing Hood & Quarrel with Mr Nanny read, to make complaint that Cuthbert & Hood shot their arrows at • his Lamb, & he insisted that I should take a Proper notice of it, I therefore thought it the Best way to go into the School & speak to Cuthbert & Hood before him. Hood said he never did, George said he did once shoot at a little half starved Lamb in the Street, M' Stone got of, of his seat & I thought he would have struck Hood, & insulted nie in a very high degree, that the young Gentlemen thought he would have struck me, & said he would leave you as soon as you come home, tho you unprovided. Betsy has wrote to M' Newbolt, to desire him to write to the Gentleman that was to have come to you, when he was going before, as I thought you would give him the Prefer- ence before any other, but I should think you had better inquire at Cambridge for one, in case you are disappointed of him. I should think you had better Pay M' Wilkee now you are in town We are all as as can be expected & hope to hear you are all so like wise. Leigh is under a good deal of concern for the sake of Peter tho he trys to hide it all he can, it will show itself, all join with me in Duty & Love I am My Dear Your ever DutyfuU & affectinate Wife Christian Taylor. I suppose M' Stone has wrote to you as he has sent to know how to direct to you \_From the 'Rev. Henry Taylor to his Wife.] To M" Taylor at y' Rev-" M' Taylor's at Crawley in Hants Dear Kitty Just before Supper I would write you something or other that I may boast of being a good boy and not missing a post to you. Harry & Peter are returned from M' Elmes whom they left pretty well, he has had y° Gout but is now much better. I have been about y= chaise painting w'^'' will be done in time & to y= bookseller & to Betsy and M' Elmes's & M' Wrays & M' Bristows & S' Charles Hardys & D' Petits M" Pettit is ill. M" Philipson is dead, made a will before her Daughter died & left a letter for her maid who was to take all y' Keys & keep them till her nephew Colonal Burton came over who was then abroad. She had left her daughter one hundred pounds & her grand daughter y= same, w'' was to be put into y= Stocks till she came to eighteen. To morrow we dine w'" M' Delme, we shall send Peter or Harry, & Betsy & Miss Salter by y' Coach and I shall bring down other & Nancy as soon as I can afterwards for all is at it should be here in every respect ; I must not write too much for fear I should leave nothing to say by word of mouth, & supper is just coming up. I propose going to Placettee & Rumford as soon as y' first [torn] of children are set of for Crawley. All desire their Complim". Dan Stone is now here & have seen no more of y' family I am y* affec husband & Friend H. T London April 8. 1766. 294 The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai) — Correspondence. 1711-1785. It will be best to conclude this affair with Mr Stone by inserting here, instead of amongst her own letters, Elizabeth Taylor's account of the affair : — \_Fr07n Elizabeth Taylor to her brother Henry.'\ To M' Henry Taylor at Queens College • Cambridge Oct' 1762 Dear Harry As I question not but You & Peter will both be glad of a more particular account of M' Stone's late amazing behaviour; (tho' as I was not a Spectator till the very last & the Passion of those that were, being rais'd too high to remember very exactly what past, I fear I have undertaken a difficult task ; however) I will endeavour to satisfy Your Curiosity. It was the day You went ; that he came into the Study to Mama ; & said " Madam I am inform'd Your Young Gentlemen Hood & Cuthbert, shoot at my Lamb; Hood denied it (replied my mother) it may be you are wrongly inform'd ! oh (says He) I insist on your taking proper notice of it. My mother therefore went into the School ; & said (but for brevity I will write m : for mama & S : for Stone) M : Master Hood, & George M' Stone has brought an accusation against Yoh, that you shoot his Lamb ; I desire you would not; Hood said, no he had not, George answer'd that he had indeed shot a Half starv'd dirty Lamb in the street once S : said something about coming to shoot it : M : I hope Gentlemen you none of you Go down to shoot the Lamb : all : no indeed Madam. S ; No, No, (getting up & clenching his fist, & holding it to Harrie's face) did I not see you to day ; in our Court ? (Hood had been there after an arrow; that had light there as they were shooting, & had run after the Lamb; & M' S call'd to him out of Window) he however did not strike him but cried out 'twas Justice's business; Justice, Justice & then turning to Mama said You a Lady; You a Gentlewoman! You a Lady of Genteel education & by looks & actions as clenching his fist &" : insulted her) I am as much a Gentleman as you are a Lady : M : & your Wife to I suppose ; S : No reflections upon my Wife. M : Is it a reflection to say she is a Gentlewoman ? (My Mother's blood was up as well it might) S : then said he would leave M' Taylor the very instant he came home ; He would have left him before he went to Cambridge, but did not think it would be using him well ; but now, tho M' T ; was unprovided, & He was unprovided, he would leave him directly, that he had nothing to say against M' Taylor but for M" Taylor.— Harry came then, & told me y' M' Stone was abusing M" Taylor so I cou'd not think how he abus'd her Harry said. I then went in, saw him sitting down as pale as Death, & in a high Passion ; Mama was standing, and look'd very obstinately angry (if I may so call it) for she seem'd resolv'd if possible to hold her Tongue. What What is the matter? (says I) M: M' Stone is pleas'd to be a little insolent, but He is going to leave us. S: drawing himself up, & looking most provokingly haughty, & contemptuously at her: No, M'' Taylor is pleas'd to be a little insolent. Hey M' S : says I : but turning round I took hold of My Mother's hand, come Mam says I, you had better leave him, for he does not seem worth your troubling your Head about ; & out we went : at his saying My Mother was insolent, the Gent : set up a laugh which lasted till after we got out of the School ; it so anger'd him, that as we were going he pointed to my Mother & feigning to laugli with a Haugh, Hau, Hau ; upon which Storke told him Sir You are mistaken You need not Hau, Hau; for tis not at M" Taylor that we laugh, but at you. For which George as he had promis'd gave him a Penny. After school the Gent" Hallow'd him out of school, & down to his House some of them attended him, hallowing M' Stone & his shagged Lamb, this we foresaw not, or would have prevented. I should have told You that when He said he would leave my Father, m : told him it was Just what we had all wish'd for, & that She had told his Mother so. The Boys all say they fear'd he wou'd have struck my m : but if He had, they wou'd have beat him ; 3 or 4 had a great mind to have turn'd him out of School, but knew not each others intentions, Leigh wishes it was to come over again ; The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai) — Correspondence. 295 that they might turn him out. I wrote to M' Newbolt for a Curate; He came over on Friday, & says 1711-1785. the Gentleman that was to have come in January, saw his son at Oxford about ten days or a fortnight ago & told him, that he was tir'd of the life he lead as a Curate ; & would come to reside at Oxford, & live on his Fellowship, Young Newbolt therefore supposes he will not chuse to come ; or if he did chuse it ; He must give the Gentleman with whom he now is, six months notice. Young Newbolt has not wrote, nor will, till he hears further from my Father because if he should write, & M' Gotthorp should accept it, my Father may not be able to wait six months. Young Newbolt goes to oxford next week, & if my Father should determine not to try M' Gotthorp, he will enquire for some other for him. Newbolt desires my Father would let him know as soon as he can, what his determination is M' Stone has left the school entirely. For on Thursday afternoon Master Storke having a httle quill Pop Gun; shot it with an intention to strike Dan; but unfortunately it hit the very Tip of M' Stone's nose ; on which M' S. got up, & declar'd he would not be ill us'd any longer, that he had been insulted several days, but he would go off; & out he went, but returning for his Book, Storke told him. He did not intend to hit him & would do so no more. He did not care he said he suppos'd M" Taylor had set him on. He came not on Friday nor will any more I suppose. M' S. has set it about that there is an old gentleman a Relation of his, by London, that he expects will die soon, & he shall have his Fortune. We suppose he means my Coz. Elmes Leigh desires his Love to Peter; He wishes him here with all his heart. We divert ourselves of Evening with Cards Cribbage ie Leigh & I. AVe all miss you both extremely. The young Gent" work'd very hard without M' Stone, & promise to be very good Farmer's horse that you drove to Hartford bridge, was very ill, & did not eat till 11 or 12 o'clock at Night; & Munday was forc'd to sit up with him. however, he came home next day & is very well All join in Duty & Love & Comp'* to you all I am Your alfect. Sister & sincere Friend E Taylor Last night a Robbery was committed at Spittle Bushes a Gentleman has lost three pound Twelve. & his Watch. These are, of course, the statements of one side only : we have, however, testimony from outside which seems to show that the gentleman was at least perfectly capable of the outrageous conduct attributed to him by his aunt and cousin. Mr Daniel Fox says, in a letter to Ben Mordecai, July 6, 1762— After this genius left Charter House his conduct has been ridiculous, weak, & self-conceited, has been idolized by his mother & grandmo'; I think the fool is ruined past redemption. And Mrs Fox in a letter two days later (to her husband) says- There is that Weakness, Obstinacy, & Perverseness of Conduct, as Never Met in one Character. The Amazing Partiality of his Grandmother, & Mother, have led them to Consider friendly Advice as Unjust Suspicion of his Judgment, & not to Enforce it to their Utmost Influence for his Benifit. I shew'd M" Stone the Foolish Letters he Wrote Me on his Intention of Leaving Crawley. His Inability to Study, the Only Hours that he Could Use for that Purpose (being those of the School) And his Demanding Why if in Reality he had some small fortune, he Might Not be at Liberty to Spend it in his Own Way. All which She Palliated & brought to what she thought Reason, & there I left It, though it Appeared in a very contrary light to Me. We find the Rev. F. Stone again, quarrelling with his uncle Daniel Fox in '779. and using language of the most unmeasured and violent description. His 296 The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai) — Correspondence. 171^^785- violence may only have been skin-deep, but he can hardly have been an agreeable acquaintance. \_From the Rev. Henry Taylor to his Wife.'\ To M'^ Taylor at y= Rev"' M' Taylors at Crawley near Winton Hants My dear Kitty I hope we shall receive a letter by y= next post from you, otherwise shall be very uneasy as I have left you so dull & lonely, we have done very little business & there seems very few people at present to visit peter & Harry go to morrow to M' Elmes & return on Monday. I shall go on Monday to Essex on Teusday to M' Elmes & return on Wednesday & go to M' Delmes on Thurday; where I dind to day. Have dind with M' Coates. The B' of St Asaph is not in London. M' Bristowe comes home to morrow I called at S' Ch: Hardys to day. The boys have been to M' Westerns who is very ill. I walk a great deal to little purpose & am very weak in y= ankle. Dine to morrow with D' Moss, who they say will be a B". Have not seen Plumptre. Have suppd Salter, seen M' Berry & dind with Petit. I dont know but I may send Peter home to keep you Company for we shall not want him here & he is very willing to leave London. I have seen Nanny who is very well. I sent you a letter with nothing in it last post ; but hope it made you laugh however. Shall see Lady Hardy on return from Essex & M' Bristow. & M" Mead & Western. We are all well. Miss Salter talks of coming down with Harry. I call'd to day at Lord Ravens- worth who told Betsy he would be glad to see me & would call upon me ; but he was not at home. I propose seeing him before I leave Town. All our Loves attend you & y'' Children. M' Awdrey goes out of Town to morrow I saw him to day M' Delme carried me thither. I am my Dear Kitty Your affec' & faithfull Husb" H T Lond° Saturday night Ap : 1766. [From the Rev. Henry Taylor to his daughter Elisabeth?^ To Miss Taylor at M'= Elmes's at East Ham < in Essex Crawley 14. Ma' 1774 Dear Betsy Your letter came hither while I was gone with Nancy to M" Pye's whither I have sent Islander that she may ride out every day. — I could not therefore answer any sooner to your information with regard to M" Elmes's kind intention towards Miss Ridding.— I shall be very glad to forward any design that shall be agreable to M" Elmes; but I think y= method you propose is irregular; & you are beginning at y'' wrong end, in desiring me to write to y" Chancellor before you know Miss Riddmgs own Sentiments upon y= matter; because if her inclinations are not known first, we may unwarily make The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordccai) — Correspondence. 297 a disagreement between her & y= Chancellor. You tell me she has refused to accept of her Sisters offer ; 1711-17S5. she may therefore have some other engagements or designs. I think therefore upon the whole, that a more proper way will be to take your directions from M" Elmes's own mouth what she proposes; & if Miss Riddings agrees to them it will then be a proper time to write to y° Chancellor. For it will seem strange to her, that we should write to y' Chancellor about her affxirs witliout her knowing any of y" matter: & y° Chancellor may think it impertinent or at best trifling in me to write to him without knowing whether she will like it or not. After we know her mind, it will be y= proper time to enquire, whether y° Chancellor will do anything for her; & indeed every body wonders hereabouts that he has not done something already & I can hardly persuade myself, but that he will; however it is all uncertain. — If you write to Miss Ridding order her to direct her answer to M" Elmes, for the answer will not come till you are got to Crawley perhaps. If M" Elmes disapproves of what I now write & thinks it would be more proper for me to write to y' Chancellor first I shall do whatever she directs ; Pray give all our Complim" & best wishes to her & receive y= same good wishes & loves from Y' Affec' Father H. T. Tom Ridding has got a little place at Southampton. We hope to see you y° beginning of next week as I much miss you & want you. I ordered you some money from your aunts, but if you dont hear from them about it, you may take it of Dan & tell him to take it of your aunts, for I ordered what remained after giving some to you & Bill to be paid into his hands. I now give a few letters from Mr Delme, and two drafts of letters to him from Henry Taylor. These drafts are sometimes little more than scrawled memoranda, not over-legible, and with many erasures and interpolations. With this explanation I think it best to give them as they are. [D)-af( of letter from the Rev. Henry Taylor to Mr Peter Delnid.'] [No date.] Dear Sir, I rec'd your most extraordinary kind & generous Epistle and am extremely pleased to find that mine was agreeable to you & taken as I meant it w* mdeed I did not doubt. I assure you I could not have wrote such a letter to any one but y' self; for my pride wou'd not have suflfer'd me to run y' venture of appearing to write for my own sake ; but I thought you knew me too well for such a suspiscion, & so I find to my great Satisfaction. You may be certain & assure M" D. that my Care for your children Will be much greater than for my own. For tho' I may venture my own in little you are fearful of you may assure yourself and M" D. that there shall be no care on my part wanting to make you easy at the absence from your children : whatever I allow to others or to my own children will be no Rule to my conduct with regard to them But what you write that shall be comply'd with. I shall look upon it as the only way of returning you my Thanks & discovering to you my real love & friendship by making it my greatest care to be of service to them. The Report of their not commg to me at all must either be a mistake or M" H. must have given it only as her own opinion from f time being delay'd, that it woud continue to be so from y' to year for I am certain y= Chanc' knew very well that you had only put off y' coming for a time & did design them to be w" me. The encrease of y' Friendship & Esteem is a very great pleasure, and I hope in God no accident will ever happen to prevent me from doing all that lies in my power to show the sense I have of it Your Share m y" Building & Sending back my Notes I should have look'd upon as favours sufficient to have blotted out all thoughts of y' former discourses about your Serving Peter, especially as it was by y' assistance that I am so hansoraely preferr'd, but you arc detemiin'd to over power me with yj favours and while 2 I' 298 Tlic Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai) — Correspondence. 11-17S5, you free me from Legal obligations only plunge me the Deeper in y' Debt only you would not be at all the better pleas'd or think y= better of me in using many words to thank you, & indeed what signify words to a man that sends me back my Notes, Refuses my Notes of Hand, & indeed how can I expect you to regard my words when you refuse to take my Note of Hand. I can't find in Heart to say anything upon y° Subject of my choosing w='' of my sons I would desire you to serve. I must leave you to do as you please. You must give me a little time to digest these Notes. I cant gape & swallow so fast as you are for feeding of me so if you please we will leave it to another opportunity. {^Draft of letter from the Rev. Henry Taylor to Mr Peter Dclini.'\ {No date.] Dear Sir, I reciv'd y'* in a Severe fit of y^' Gout w^'' I am but just got clear of & am obligd to you for y' Information about y° schemes for money. But they dont do at all for me. — I was in hopes by y' last but one of seeing you here and talking to you upon y° subject of y' childrens education. I am not satisfy'd with saying barely y' I am ready to do them all y' good I can when they come to me & that y= time when is just as you please ; but I think myself farther oblig'd to speak y' whole Truth to you Si tho' unask'd to give you my opinion about your present scheme as far as I apprehend it. In y' i" place I lay it down that y' great Thing you want is to form the minds of y' children, so as to make them happy in themselves & worthy men in Society. To this purpose the i^' Thing necessary is to cure them of humours & passions of y" Nursery & that wilfulness & selfishness w^'' they naturally imbibe by having no equals to contend with. These are the things w* spoil y' temper & are frequently never got rid of, they make men impatient of contradiction, &: unhappy if they have not their own way : and in order to endulge themselves in it they become liable to flatterers who will humour them in it right or wrong, and become a prey to low company. This is one of y' objections I have to y' keeping y' cliildren at home. Another is this Master Delme' has lost above two years already, & has no time to trifle between two masters. If he does not make a good scholar, he does nothing. But if a man can relish such a good auther as Horace for example. He will never want entertainment and always meet with moral precepts laid before him in such a pleasing dress as can not but improve him at y" same time. Now this I aflirm that y° pleasures & amusements & avocations of home will take y' children from y' pursuit of their studies, that they will have no Emulation where there is no one but themselves and that by y' time a year or two more is past Peter will never do with me The Pleasures of home y" Indulgence of his humours & Passions y" custom of commanding everyone without contradict" will never brook y' restraint y' will be necessary to make him y° man that both you & I could wish him to be My meaning is this. The great thing that is wanted by young men of Fortune is to know how to entertain themselves alone in pleasures that will amuse & improve them, without horses & dogs & drinking &c. A man that loves reading will do this. But if a lad does not so far make himself master of the language at School so as to read the best anthers with ease. You know by many of y' acquaint- ance that as soon as they leave school they throw by their books & make no farther improvement. \_No address ;— from Air Delme' to the Rev. Henry Taylor.~\ Earlstoke Dec' 5"' Dear Harry I don't know to make up for my Negligence in not acknowledging the Rec^ of y'^ of the 24''' ']^' sooner, than by taking the first occasion of letting you know I rec'' y'^ of the 28^'' past yesterday. To answer y" particularly, our Kennel is compleat, our Dogs here since 7''" 8 coupples dead w"' the Dis- temper, our horses just recovering my Sons however have had a good deal of Diversion, our wheat TJie Rev. Hemy Taylor, M.A. {Ben Moi'dccai) — Correspondence. 299 yields better than last y' our Early &c. in plenty, our exports stopt our Imports att liberty, but still the relief not arriv'd, & I wish the Wise heads, & good hearts att West"" may unite effectually to find a Cure. I agree with you in the Spirit of Independency & am glad you have settled y' Son. 'Tis a careful & difficult Task in every condition of Life to do it properly, we must att last depend on good hearts & principles to find comfort in any thing. We all have some failings few have candour enough to own them, or Temper & spirit enough to amend them. Sure M' B'' behaviour to Miss H is very idle — you have been very good to the Widow H & M' B very generous. We go to London the first Week in Jan''' I have met with disappointm" in putting out apprentices, y' observations are right, & I hope you have a good Man to deal with, & that it will answer in every Respect to y' Wishes, you are the best judge in Church affairs. M'" B. will make y= most of 'em— with Regard to Tichf living you knew how I worded the gift of the next presentation in a Codicill to my Will when I executed it, & have not altered it. if you have forgot or mislaid it, I will be more particular when I write from Lon""- to y' best of my memory I gave it to you to hold till P' of proper age ; & trusted to y' honesty without Bond of Resignation. I hope he is. reconcil'd to the Certts & Harry to y° 39 art" am pleased to hear such good Tydings from Placette. You may depend I allways enjoy y' Happiness & I know you do mine. We all the Awdrys included join in seasonable Complim" to your whole .... [torn.] as ever y" Affect : F"" &c. P. D. P.S. no Frank so y' must seal this according to y' fashion. \_No address ;--fro7n Mr Peter Delmd to the Rev. Henry Taylor^ Ln' Feb>' le* 1762 Dear Harrv I am sorry to hear by f Daughter's Letters to mine, that you have been confin'd with the Gout, w" will never leave you till you arrive att my Sobriety and then you may escape with a short fit once m ten years. I hope you have not suffer'd much & are now easy as f Deputy Nurse intends for this Town, I have been confin'd with a bad Cold & Jacky with a Rash, but we are all now well again Com" Colds excepted. Since I saw you I have had a remarkable Correspondence with the D' & my Steward, in w" the former has continued his Candour & Information, & the latter behav'd oddly enough, by first confessing his Imprudence & shewing a strong attachment to the Woman, particularly the Child, by offering to marry her, to satisfy me, & then on my expressing my Sense of the affair, promising never to see her more. What will be the Consequence of these Resolutions I can't tell, but sure I am it must be a prejudice to 'm in my Favour, among my Ten'»- & in the Neighbourhood. The first escape I make from this Town shall be to you. we intend calling on M' Fox this even* & contributing to his Charity, & have got a Guinea from my Bro'— who does not Chuse to meddle in y' affair, w'" M' B but thinks you have a sufficient foundation in f acquaintance for an application from y self. I hate Politicks more than ever & nothing will satisfy mee but being first Min' & when I am so you shall be att the head of the Church & I defy you to claim this promise. I have seen & visited the Chancell' 'tis said the Brest fleet have join'd the Span'"' att Ferol, & that a rich prize or prizes has got into Cadiz a few hours before Saunders reC advice from L" B. how affairs were likely to be betwixt us. You'l accept our best Wishes, & Complim" to y' whole Self & believe nie as 1 truly am D' Harry your affect: & hble Servt P. DelmI I have not been so lucky yet, to meet the Bp. of Winf (except att Court) or I should have told him I knew something of you. 300 The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordccai) — Correspondence. \No address ;— from Air Dclind to the Rev. Henry Taylor?\ Lon" Dec^ i^' 1762 Dear Harry, After so lo7ig a Silence you must expect longer Excuses, but we have so long been acquainted & so easily settle our Differences when we meet, that I am under no Difficulty, but will no longer omit assuring you of my Remembrance, & wish I had the pleasure to think that all our Political & publick differences cou'd as easily be settled, but till we are ministers that can never be the Case, to be serious, I am sorry to find that some late unhappy Events, are likely to raise the Spirit of Party among us & it will want the utmost prudence, steadiness, & Conduct to settle us right, & to make the best of the Peace so lately concluded, & 'Tis pity so well dispos'd a should be thus perplext att his setting out. Thursday the Prelimanarys are to be discuss'd before both houses, & as the attendance will be great, & the Champions are all prim'd, the Result of that Day must have material Conse- quences, & I hope happy ones for Brittain. I won't mention the Date of f first letter 'tis sufficient now that I acknowledge the Rec' of it. Y' last was of y° 23'' past. The baskets were deliver'd safe & sound & the better half now in Lond" if I attempt to pay you for them I am in danger of a Challenge but I forget f Cloth. I shou'd have lik't to have met you in my (sh"' say M" T) carriage travelling to Cambridge, I hope you have taken my arms off; it puts me in mind of my travell^ from Leige to Spa where we took an additional Horse & postillion att Every hill, & all in the Cart fashion. I hope f Dancing boy rode your own Palfry tho' I think he caper'd sufficiently when we rode together to Micheldever. It was well such an old fellow escap'd meeting the Lady in bed, or you might have been a Grandfather long ago; you have had bad luck in Curates, you had best go to Scotland for y' next, hope M" T. did not miscarry which is our present fashion. I have got the Rheumatism, but scorn the Gout. My Daughter writes to y'" & therefore will say nothing more of us or the Awdry's as I don't seem to want matter. I have paid no Visit as yet but to his Maja' L" Chancellor's past & present, are reserv'd for Sunday, if an opportunity offers I shall tell him what an odd fellow you are ; the B of \V'° lives att Chelsea, I wish he may not think wrong of you, from what has Escap'd from mee, but I will set 'm Right, the first Visit:— you have more assurance than Ever, & sufficient for y' Wife & Son into the Bargain. We all salute you & y" Seasonably, you'l scarce soon again provoke me to write. I may have much matter whether more to the purpose you will then judge. I am y' Frd & Serv' &c. P. Delme. \^No address -—from Mr Peter Delmii to tlie Rev. Henry Taylor.'] Ln-^ March 2 8"> 1765 Dear Harry, I rece'd y' Favour lately without Date I was with M' Locke when his wife's Letter from Crawly arriv'd, I am sorry for them as their son is in such a ticklish Situation. if his Elder Bro' had^ hv'd he was intended for y' Cloth & had good living in prospect or I beleive in Certainty, I am pleas'd att his Lordship w- y Harry, it must be an agreeable Circumstance to both, & may be useful to y' Family I often have thought my Recomendation was a trouble to you, but you have a sufficient Reward in obliging a Friend, & in y little Indulgences as you call them, but you must take but half to y' self, as M" T. I am sure deserves her share. I have lately been reading Locke on Education his Essay on r Conduct of the Understanding, & att present his Correspondence w- M' Molyneuse w" much delights mee. The 2 former remind mee of many omissions on my Side in improving those excellent The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai)— Correspondence. 301 instructions to the benefit of my Self &l family the latter revives in me that Love for Truth & Friend- 1711-17S5. ship, I always valued & to be found only in the Few & I need not add that you are one of them, in my Esteem, y" Post Chaise is dear enough & a new one might have been made in the Country for the same Price to f own liking but perhaps not so substantially good, it will serve to parade in London, if you are satisfy'd w" y' driver Y' Jokes of breeding & not breeding, I leave to be settled in y' next Conference w* my Wife, who has lately been confind for a Week by the Rheumatism in her ankle & the Gout in her Finger, but has now happily dismiss't 'em. I met the Chancell'- in Lond"- w"' the Gout acoming, f dear Frd. his Wife you can never forget, you are the best judge how unlucky, on the contrary, their (then) Sepera- tion. M' Iremonger has just inoculated his Daughter's but why need I tell you that when their Bro' is with you. I met y' frd Bloodw'" att Court he talks much of y' high Spirits, he introduc'd me to S' S. Stewart. I hear from other parts of y' violent Pty. Rage, w'"- I cannot for my Life arrive att from the Nonsense or worse I've seen on both Sides Ever P. D. & affectly. \_No address ;— from Mr Peter Delmd to the Rev. Henry Taylor.'] D' Harry I rec'd y" of the 17*. Ragget call'd on me y' same Day Saturday & I directly inclos'd his Case & Certificate in a Lre to S' E. Hawke to acquaint 'm I had recom""" 'm to L" Egm'^ & to desire his fav' to 'm either att home or abroad in the way you mention'd in a former Lre he saw S' E. W. & bro" me a verbal message that he should be glad to serve him on a proper Occasion, had many to pro- vide for, & advis'd 'm against an american Station as it might be 5 or 6 y" before an opportunity offer'd. I will take an occasion to wait on 'm & S'' M. Fetherton y' other ports"" mbr & serve 'm if I can & have this day met w" his i" lre to me w'" y' Recomdatn I was pleas'd to find I had taken the method you advis'd before I knew it but great wits jump, as well as old frds. We have severe Weather indeed, but I have got rid of my Cold, & advise you not to get rid of y' flannels yet. I am y" affectly P. D. P.S. I am sorry I cannot say We are all well, but my poor is far from it tho' not confin'd till within this Day or two I hope to give you better Tydings in my ne.xt, as I am assur'd she is in no Danger. 20"' Jan' 1767. {No address —from Mr Peter Delmd to the Rev. Henry Taylor.'] London May 21" 176S Dkar Harry .•\s an old and true Friend I cannot help imparting my Griefs as well as pleasures to you & alt the same time acknowledging y" & y' Family's kind Wishes, which are now too late, as we have lost one of our greatest present as well as hopes of future Comfort & 'tis no more than his due praise to say there never was a better, or a kinder Son. My only Son now has much assisted & pleas'd mee by his manly & affect" behaviour, his tender mother & Twin Sister have excened themselves on the Occasion. We must all Submit to 302 Tlie Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai) — Correspondence. 7711-17S5. the Divine Will, & must study to alleviate our general Loss by a closer connection together, as the most agreeable Debt to his memory, & the best Comfort to ourselves. I am as ever y' affect. Frd & Serv' P. D. We are all as well as can be expected on so trying an Occasion. My Wife was lame with the Rheumatism, but happy to attend her Son, is now better. \Frflm Mr Peter Delme to the Rev. Henry Taylor7\ To the ReV M' Taylor at Crawly near Winchester Earlstoke July 29, 1769. Dear Harry I was intending to write to you the very Day I rec'd y' last the Contents of which gave us all great concern on account of y' heavy Loss, w'"" I should be happy to alleviate by any thing I could say or do, & I know of nothing better than to remind you of the many Blessings you have left in good Children, & how much happyer it is that you are remaining for their Sakes as well as the good Woman's you have lost, whose tenderness wou'd have made it more difficult to support herself under the like affliction, f own good Temper & philosophy will give you the best assistance in this trying occasion & pray God continue y' health for the sake of y' Family, you may assur'd we all feel w'" & for you & that I am as ever affectly Y" P. D. Lady Betty has made a slip after 3 months is well. 1 \^Rovgh draft of letter from the Rev. Hen^y Taylor to Mr Peter Dehn^i\ \No link.] Dear Sir The friendship with which your good & worthy Father honor'd me for a long course of years, and the regard which has always subsisted between his Children and mine unite in encouraging me to trouble you upon a subject which at present very much engages my thoughts. It has been long my wish to resign my Ijving of Crawley in favour of my Son Peter and I am now e.xerting all the interest I can procure to efifect it : His present preferment of about 130 Pr an : is but a very slight provision & when age or infirmity takes place would be hardly a maintenance for, (the duty being considerable) he could not procure assistance under a great part of his present income. Vou cannot wonder therefore that I am anxious to see him in a more desirable situation while I live. The living of Crawley is in y' Gift of the Bishop of Winchester & I understand that the most probable if not the only means to effect this business is thro' the medium of M' Fox, if therefore you could interest M' Fox to carry this point for us (& we all know his powers where he is in earnest) we are in great hopes of success & shall esteem ourselves as under a lasting obligation to you. Follow now a few letters from Dr Salter, with the rough (very) draft of a letter from Henry Taylor. Tlie Rev. He^iry Taylor, M.A. [Beti Mordecai)—Cori'espondence. 303 \_From Dr Samuel Salter to the Rev. Henry Taylor.']^ To the Rev" M' Taylor Rector of Whitfield near Tetsworth, Oxfordshire. Cambridge Sep' 14, 1740 Dear Harry, " ' +■ S S & F C C, are no more ; or, which is the same thing, are no more to be mentioned in one breath nor seen in one House. Wearied out by the bitter Reproches of some & the bold Assurances of others, both equally groundless, & both alike injurious, the former to Me, the latter (which I cou'd much less bear) to Her, I did very lately put the matter quite home to Her, & the very last Post brought me a peremtory Refusal, under her own hand. In the mean time, remark that in this cursed Instance the Judgment & Sagacity of the Great Vulgar & the Small ! The Man, whose Wit & Parts &c. it was impossible for any Woman to stand against, is rejected by the first He hath had the Con- fidence to ask ! The Woman, who was (most unjustly & causelessly) held so cheap, as to be deemed the certain & easy Purchase of any Bidder, hath refused the actual offer of one, whom their great Wisdoms pronounced a good & advantageous Match ! You cannot imagine nor cou'd I have imagined, what I now feel ! I am going to hide my diminished Head in my Parsonage : & you 6c all my Friends will do well to forget, as fast as you can, that there is or ever was, such a Wretch as .S. Salter. P.S. I am not going into Lincolnshire to-day, nor to-morrow : If therefore you have any word of Consolation or Exhortat", say on. You may a little ghess, how much I want it, by this single circum- stance, that I have notif/d this to no one, save J. H., C P & you, out of the University & to you three I have notify'd it (such is my Misery & Barrenness) in the very same words. Only 2 know of it here; Wray & Aylmer ; but it must soon be known to all who know Me & know Her. Adieu! My services to your Wife & Sister : but do not expect me in Jan'» 17U-1785. It is sati.sfactory to know that the writer's hopes of matrimonial felicity were not finally extinguished by this disappointment, as will be seen by the following letter announcing his marriage with a lady, who seems, so far as we can judae, to have been well suited to him, and whose name, whenever it appears in any of the Taylor letters, is always favourably and affectionately mentioned :— [From Dr Samuel Salter to the Rev. Henry Taylor.!^ To the rever' M' Taylor at Whitfield near Tetsworth Oxon Yes married! I'm married sure enough, & have been so, time out of mind: no, not so neither- for on the second of November (his own birth day) my Father tied the indissoluble knot ; & the very next morning my Wife, my Sisters and myself set out with Him for this place ; where we have con- iinued ever since, rather cheerful than mirthful ; rather wearing the face of Happiness than that of Jollity. I ought to make some excuse to you for not having notified this to you before ; but I know you despise such formalities, & are not capable of suspecting the reality & truth of my love for you 304 TIic Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A . {Ben Mordecai) — Correspondence. 1711-17S5. ^ yours because I now & then am guilty of omissions in point of cerimony We came hither, by way of Cambridge, where we lay one night only, the 5'" of Nov' ; & were so particularly unlucky, that Peter Newcome was that very morning gone, & Daniel Wray was to come the very next morn- ing : we had Morris & Plumptre with us, & took a short walk (w='' was all the time gave leave for), into the University And so my Wife & Sisters & I send our service & best wishes of every kind to you & your's ; & are, with great sincerity & truth Your most affectionate Friends, and most obedient humble Servants Samuel Salter. Norwich December 11, 1744 [Draft letter from the Rev. Henry Taylor to Dr Samuel Salter?^ Aug' g"" 1746 Dear Sir, I rec'd yours of y" 4"' instant and return you the shuttlecock again thus soon, not because of your insinuations in your Introduction, but because I think when as Providence may think fit to assist by your means you are going upon a Scheme w'' has no foundation in Truth ; & what you probably may severely repent of one time or another. All jesting apart I don't at all doubt that M" S & yourself are at present very happy in one another, & that you are so likely to continue for your Lives, I am truly rejoyc'd at it, and the more perhaps as being not unsensible of that kind of pleasure w*" arises from y' mutual Love & esteem of two persons of tolerable good sense & good nature so closely joyn'd together in one common Interest; and my Sincere wish is y'' long continuance of y' felicity. But wherein does this happyness consist, is it not in y' selves? Is it necessary for happyness that you shut yourselves up in holes & corners? But you say y' Wife does not love noise & hurry, especially y' of Lond" Surely you deceive y' selves on purpose. There is no place in y'' World where a woman may live more free from noise & hurry; you y' self know & so does every one, that you may there be as private as at Byrton. But this is not y° argum' I wou'd urge, But one of a higher Nature ; w" you hint at partly &: partially ; you know upon what Principles I have always acted even in y' next degree to an extremity of Fortune, & by risquing my own Happyness I have now the Joy of seeing all y' depend on me & among y'-" rest y' man I am indebted to for Life happy by my means & establish'd y' same Principle stronger y" before & therefore you must expect my Answer to you to relish of y" Cask ; & suffer me to put you in mind of y" good of others whom Providence takes care of by a 2'^ hand, & pursue y' thought & see whither it will lead you. Allow that you have no ambition after grandeur power — riches — a trifle! These are poor things in themselves; but if they serve as means of doing good If they fall to a man who knows how, & has a Spirit to use them to their proper ends? If they hang so in a man's way that only his own Idleness prevents his putting out his hand & laying hold of them, Does not this look as if they were designed for Him? For what ends God alone knows. But what is your small Fortune, against y" Chances of Life? How many 1000 Times may you wish for a competency to assist y' friends or even y' own family. And what will you be able to say for yourself if ever such a Case should happen? (as 'tis a million to one but it does) You that can feel for others will be deservedly afflicted for their misfortunes & justly condenm yourself, for preferring your own paltry ease & obscurity, to their happyness. What can a man of a barbarous Temper do worse, than such an idle Humanity? Assure yourself if 2 & 2 make 4; these considera- tions are worth a 2'' reading. Extremes meet. Your Contempt of y' World, is just ; but you run the argument out of Breath. 'Tis a Virtue not to be sollicitous while we have food & raunent, but no Virtue to set idle & lose those advantages in Life w'' if you had you wou'd employ so nobly; for I know your Spirit. Were all men of Virtue to refine so upon y' folly of ambition &c all riches & power must be in y' hands of y= Vitious & y;-' Commonalty be 10 times more miserable y" they are at I The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Moinkxai).— Correspondence. 305 present. No. Be soUicitoas for Nothing. Enjoy what you have. Don't push y'self too forward, but if 1711 17S5. y' Friends will draw you on, let 'em do it, to as high a Station as your understanding &c will fit you for. By this means you will do more good & be more happy in yourself. Nay Tie answer for it for every good you do, your Wife will love you f better. As for myself (for you may possibly stop to consider whether I take my own prescription) I am in as high a Situation to y° full, as my Capacity is fitted for, I can be happy in what I have ; yet I think it my Duty to add to it for my Children's sake as well as others; but have done w"' all SoUicitous thoughts; & feel my own Happiness more sensibly than ever I did in my Life. You can't Suspect me of Speaking out of any paltry Love of Wealth; but believe me Sincere when I urge you to y= pursuit of it as y' duty for y= good of others. You are certainly in a wrong Scheme if your Brothers or yourself should be bound for a dishonest man, should meet with misfortunes, should your Sisters or Children marry unhappily, or your Children be extravagant &c &c. you would too late be sensible of it. Tis silly to talk of trusting Providence if we don't use y' means y' are given to us & so Sir with my best wishes to Salter & yourself I end my dull Preachment & Conclude Y' sincere Friend & Serv'' H. Tavlok. Aug' 9"' 1746. I shall not wonder if your friends conclude against you too severely. Don't lay your Inactivity on this question to y' door of Philosophy for 'twill never father such Bastards. We are all come into this world to do something else besides kissing & reading plays. Even I now flatter myself with y= pleasure of being belov'd & esteem'd by human Creatures, & am ambitious of setting a fair Example to my numerous flock & thus being Serviceable to y" world in my particular Station. What is in you I shall say nothing to ; be what it will you are a man of Virtue which does no great good where you are, & you can instruct in a manner beyond what is requisite there. To conclude, I am fighting aris focis. If you have anything to say for yourself be grave ' Serious. '\_From Dr Samuel Salter to the Rev. Henry Taylor.'] To The rev" M' Taj-lor at his House in Portsmouth, Hants. Byrton ; monday, July 2%'' iiKo Dear Sir, 1 y i. li I thank you very heartily for a Letter, w'" You must have forgotten, long e'er this ; & which I will not tell you the date of; it was written by you, in answer to a complaining one of mine, dictated by spleen at a disappointment I had just suffer'd. And though it is actually true, that I had in a great measure subdued that spleen, & gotten the better of my low spirits ; before my vaporish letter arrived with you ; yet so awkward & preposterous is our Love of a Friend, when it is most sincere & honest ; that He forsooth must have his share of every uneasiness, that tiezes us; how short lived soever it be. 1 was not ashamed of what I wote, because it was the undisguised sentiment of that minute; & because it eased me to utter it to you, who I am sure w" pardon it; but I was sorry I sent it; because the Fit was short: & my old tranquillity & cheerfulness soon returned. Your answer was not however one jot the less acceptable ; for my humour being changed : on the contrary I both thank & love you for what you have said. You observe very tnily, that I have still Interest enough to obtain what w" make me entirely happy ; & ask why I cannot go on still to contemn the Honours of the World; after having saucily kick'd them from me, or, (to speak more modestly) turned my back on them ; as well & as heartUy as I did, when I set all my friends a staring by my strange & unusual »ant of ambition, at an age, in a situation, with a prospect both from without & within me ! that *^ abundantly have justified me in the wantonnest indulgence of it? I know not what to reply; »hen I say, I find myself fittest for a private & humble station; the honest meaning is, I have made mystlf unfit for any other ; & when my conscience reproves me with this, & with having thrown away 2 Q 3o6 The Rev. Heiwy Taylor, M.A. [Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 1711-1785. the fairest opportunity, young fellow ever had of advancing himself; I am sorry & ashamed, & have a momentary thought of labouring to retrieve all; But it will not do; the affair has gone too far, both with others & w" Me. Yet very lately I was afresh tempted : a man was dying, who is possess'd of a good Living of my Lord's in London ; & I c" not help thinking to ask for it ; VVray & the young Yorkes clap'd me on the back ; my Wife acquiesced ; & I had done it ; but happily the man recover'd. I say, happily ; because I sh'' probably not have succeded ; or, if I had, it is more than probable, my wife's Health had been ruin'd, & sacrificed to an imaginary benefit to Me. I begin almost to resolve against all such schemes, & to intrench myself here up to the teeth ; & then I may defy the world to remove me. My friends too urge & plague me ; one wants me to sollicit the maskrship of our College ; for w'"" I am just as well qualified as for Command of the Army. That I absolutely refused; & it is now extremely well fiU'd by another. My Father wants me to come to his assistance at Nonvich ; his aged shoulders begin to bend under the weight of business &c. The call is natural & reasonable; but the pretense vain & idle ; nor is anything in the world so like it, as a fine Lady's complaint of the multitude of her Visits ; or a Courtier's of the St James' life. Yet tenderness is due to a father's weaknesses, &: the infirmties of age sh'' be sooth'd not reproved. I am going now to Him with all my family ; for my residence at Norwich comes on the first of next month ; & ends the last of November ; but it will towards Christmas, before we return hither. Charley Plumptre will succede me there ; a most excellent good man, but the very reverse of me ; whom yet I have preserved an uninterrupted friendship with, for near 20 y". Peter Newcome & He came hither last month & made me a short kind visit w'''' rejoiced me; & reviv'd The Memory, I will not say of my happier, but of my wiser days. Poor Roderick is going apace : what strange Creatures we are. R enjoys life to all appearances as much as you or I do ; yet He has been wantonly destroying himself many years ; & seems to be altogether indifferent about the event. You will readily agree with me. He will not leave many better men behind Him. Peter is veiy jolly again I see Michelmersh in the papers ; what is become of Bob Ashe ? My Lord Ch' has married 3 of his 7 Children, the Bp of AV his only 2 ; but not one of all the 5 brings any Children : You & I can have them fast enough ; yet we are all for aught appears equally hearty & healthy. But it is fit these great people sh" be wean'd from this world, by some little morti- fications; & that we little people sh*" be attract'd to it, by some great comforts. I pray God to increase y" daily; & to continue what you are in present enjoyment & relish of! Write to me in the Close at Norwich. We are all & purely well. Holt has done us wonderful service. I write thro the Bp now [From Dr Samuel Salter to the Rev. Henry Taylor^ Norwich; Wday, Sept' 26; 1750 Dear Sir, I cannot honestly condole with you on your Father's death; because I cannot but think an arrival at y" end of all one's troubles (to borrow y' own phrase on y" occasion) far preferable to a life of perpetual pain & misery: As for the unbounded prospect in another life, it strains our mortal eyes to look mto it ; & becomes not our finite capacity to judge concerning it beyond what is written ; the little we find there very much suports ourselves ; but we sh"* leave others to themselves & to their God & our God. I received y' Letter in a hurry of company. Some friends out of Lincolnshire followed us hither, & spent near a fortnight with us, while they were here, I was scarce an hour from them ; when they went we brought them on their way 3 days journey ; & it was 2 more, before we returned to our cell : since w"" we have been so variously taken up that I am now first able to thank you for y' kind thoughts of me & for me. I regret my own inactivity in a peculiarly smiling fortune, on no one account but this ; that had I follow'd where she beckon'd, I might have serv'd some worthy friends, as well as myself; but when I consider, how many have risen in the world with as good & generous resolutions, I doubt not, as any I c" form ; & how few have thought of them, after their advancement : I find more reason to rejoyce, that I have not been lead into temptation; & thereby have been deliver'd from an evil w=" I c" less have forgiven my self, according to my present way of thinking, than almost any other. J The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai).— Correspondence. 307 The Bfi of Oxford, after having slaved at St James' 17 years, in a way w''" some contemn him for, but 1711-17S5. more (I hope) love & honour him; has at length obtained a quietus & little farther benefit, by exchanging that Rectory & a Prebend of Durham for the Deanery of St Paul's : some people who look a great way into the mill stone of futurity, reckon this a step to the Bishoprick of London ; however that may be, it is said, the Bp that now is, knows not how to fill up St James': Moss is talk'd of, as the greatest known favorite of Sherlocke ; but He is so over-wise as to have put his character in hazard, by certain super-subtleties lately, both at Salisbury & at Cambridge. Did I tell you, that a scheme was laid, for bringing back T Bury to college, without involving him in a fresh subscription? It pleased him, but somehow it failed. Have you read the Canons of Criticism in just ridicule of M' Warburton's Edition of Shakespear? Be sure you have; for J H honour'd the Author with no bad Epigram. If this sort of reading &: writing profits the AVorld & ones self less than studying & translating Sir I N' chronology ; yti it pleases more & keeps us out of harms way. But are you so much out of y" world, as to be ignorant that Sir I. N's chronology is an out of fashion Book ; in so much that I question, whether any Bookseller w'' print a translation of it; if a man sh"" so far subdue his laziness as to make one. The thought is plausible, & I thank you for suggesting it : Nor do I apprehend, the labor w" be vastly great ; but I am just now as I suspect selling myself to a slavery of a very different kind ; some booksellers have advertized a compleat collect" of Dr Jejfery's Tracts formerly printed separate ; this Dr Jiffery was my Grandfather ; & these Tracts are mine ; for the D"s Executor who was his nephew & my Godfather, left me by Will all his Uncle's papers 2 years ago. In this legacy I take to be included the D"* property in his printed tracts w'"" he never parted with; & I have accordingly remonstrated with these men, who pretend to collect «& reprint what they have no business to meddle with. If they will comply with my terms, I foresee a good deal of trouble I shall have in serving & assisting them ; & as much expense, if they will not, in procuring an inhibi- tion of their proceeding: one of w* I have engaged myself to do.— We came hither the last day of July ; & shall continue here, till near Christmas ; I thought I had told you so, when I wrote last, but yours is directed to Byrton whither it went, & was sent hither from thence. I hear f Bishop gives up himself to utter indolence ; w* indeed he may seem to have a right to ... . [torn] .... after the labors of his Life : but a public man has never .... [torn] .... a right to rest & there- fore can never be the object of my envy. You have scratch'd out slightly what you had said concerning applying to Christ-Church O.xon, for a school in their gift : I hope, you do not think of it ; because I do not like it for you & cannot assist you in it ; farther than to correct your mis-nomer ; That society is not a Master & Fellows but a Dean & Canons & is rather a Church, than a College tho' there are Students of it of all ages, from 20 to 70. I hope Waltham is better than Michel-mersh & I fancy Michel- mersh is better than Portsmouth : But what then ? All the preferments in the Bp. of Winion's patronage were mortgaged, when D' H wanted so much to be Physician at St Thomas' Hospital ; w'" he lost ; & since to be Physician to the Household; w'" he got. Whoever of us looks into this mortgage will find nil Sibi legatum praeter phrase suisque. My wife loves your's &• you & is very well I am ever Your affectionate To the rev'' M' Taylor S. S.^lter. at his house in Portsmouth Hants. [Froin Dr Samuel Salter to the Rn\ Henry Taylor.'] Wrest, September 4 1753. Tuesday. Mv riEAR H. T. I do most sincerely condole with you, on the Aa/A of so fine & iofr/uJ a boy; & if my sentiments differ at all from your's on this argument ; I wou'd choose to suppress on this occasion such peculiarities in my way of thinking, as must now be disgusting & oflfensivc. De statu mortuorum & resurgentium 3o8 The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. [Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 1711 17S5. we know excedingly little; yet perhaps, nay certainly, as much as it is fit we should know: farther communications w"* either have wean'd us from this world or attach'd us to it, more than w*" have been proper ; & both living & dying w'' have been attended with new difficulties, as well in the case of our friends & relations, as of ourselves. The more I think, the more I am convinced that the degree of knowledge we can ordinarily attain to, best suits our state & condition ; & that either more or less w'^ have been improper. It is enough, that we can be very sure, we are in the hands of a wise & just good God ; &: that the very hairs of our head are all numbered by Him, & not a sparrow falls to the ground without him. IFmy is here & Charles Plumptre ; both very sincerely condole with you on the loss of your son ; & congratulate you on the little living, that is fallen to your lot. M' Yorke too received your complement with great good nature ; & it pleases me to see, that he improves daily more & more in manly & generous & humane sentiments : He is happily the reverse of a Courtier, in some respects ; particularly, in attending to things & following them up, more than he gives reason to expect; while the best of a Courtier, I mean his universal affability & gracious smile on all he (I tliink, wisely) chooses to fall in with. Nothing in your last makes me recant what I said about y' Garrison Chaplain; but it is a matter of small consequence: save that I wou'd ever set myself against a way of thinking, which tended to draw me into a dislike or contempt of the world I live in & the worldlings I live with. Wray received your letter; & was sorry he was out of London when you were in it ; this he holds, with what I said from him above a full answer to you ; & so idly saves himself the trouble of writing. You talk of the Colonel. There is a Lieutenant Col Iho' IVeldon, who spends I know not how much but some time every year at Portsmouth : He has an estate at Norwich & in other parts of Norfolk ; & has a younger brother now lives at Nonvich, with whom I am H-ell acquainted, & the Col. knows me a little. His elder brother is a man of some consideration in Ireland ; & his younger, who has been in both services both sea & land was sent for out of that country to live at Norwich, he, this last, has only one child, by a sister of Sir Jn° Glynne of Flintshire, who is a very sensible agreeable Girl about two & twenty : for whom I have a very great Love. She is said to have some expectations from the Col : but I have been told that he lives not in such a way as to leave any thing behind him. I do not imagine, you consort much with these people, or seek to do it : if you think it worth your while to tell Col. W. you had a letter from Me & in it i:w«pliments for Him, you may ; & you are equally at liberty to say nothing at all about it : for He is not a man, in whose company you w"" find much satisfaction ; I never saw him but once. If your Aphorism was sent you from the Bookseller, there are many false prints in it, besides what are noted in tlie Errata ; of by the way the first is itself an Erratum : but if you had it from Me, they are all cor- rected, & after all, I never saw a book of that size so accurately printed ; for the copy was most carefully corrected, before it went into the printer's hands, & the professed corrector of the proofs was very attentive & diUgent, as well as very capable. I am very sensible of the real goodness of Ovington, if you sh'' never get anything more. That which will barely pay off 2 Curates & keep a Horse, is of great value to you ; but if they will farther give you what will do all this, & put 50 or (io£ pr ann into the sinking fund for y' Children ; it will be still better. We conclude D' P will now have the Stall w'"" Cutler had erst the promise of but we want to know what waiting at the Princess' Court is required of any Chaplain ; & particularly, of J H ; because it is alleged he talked when lately in town, of his being come up to wait &c. Your account of the B. P's reception & message to P D (to whom pray give my service & to M" D) is obscure ; much more so than P D's answer w"' was veiy good. If the B P is satisfied, you knew nothing of the late application, his reception of you c'' not be afl'ected by it tho' his own mind might & probably was. You must in all money matters do exactly what M' B bids you; or else you with a slender income will be a saucier & prouder Priest, than he, with a great one, is a Squire. I have no time to write more now; my wife is at Norwich with the Bishop, very well & very happy; except quod non simul ego sum caetera lacta Wray & Charles will stay here over Sunday, as I hope; & then M' Y will be removing to \\lraple whither he is to take your most faithful & affectionate ^- The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai).— Correspondence. 309 Pray comend me to Kitty in the tenderest & most respectful maner. 1711-17S5. I hate so much to send a page with nothing on it; that altho' rather pinch'd for time, I will tran- scrible a sonnet of Tom Edward's from what is call'd & is the Root-house in this Garden; a room the walls of w'' are wholely composed of Roots of Trees in their native deformity, with faggots & moss interspersed & the Floor is a tessellated pavement of small pebbles, horses' teetli, sheep's Trotters & other small Bones, all set in a strong & firm cement. Stranger or Guest, whom-e'er this hallow'd Grove Shall chance receive, where sweet Contentment dwells Bring here no Heart, that with Ambition swells ; With Avarice pines, or burns with lawless love. Vice-tainted souls will all-in-vain remove To Sylvan shades, & Hermits' peaceful cells ; In vain will seek Retirement's lenient spells ; Or hope that Bliss, which only good men prove. If Heav'n-born Truth & sacred Virtue's love Which cheer adorn & dignify the mind ; Are constant inmates of thy honest breast : If unrepining at thy neighbour's store, Thou count'st as thine the good of all mankind ; Then welcome, share the friendly groves of Wrest. The two following letters referring to the question of Parliamentary reform those mentioned in p. 249 : — {^No address -.—from C. U'yvil* to the Rev. Henry Taylor.^ Nerots Hotel King Street. St. James's Dec 24" 1784 Sir I am authorized by Pitt to declare, that He will bring the subject of Parliamentary Reformation before the House of Commons, as early as possible in the next Session ; that He will support his intended propositions to the utmost of his strength ; & that He will exert his whole power and credit « Mm, & as a Mimstcr honestly &■ boldly, to carry such a meliorated system of Representation as may place the Constitution on a footing of permanent security. I am happy to communicate this intelligence, because l' trust it will give satisfaction to vou, Sir is: to every other firm & unquestionable Friend to the Liberty of the People. From recent communication in Yorkshire I can venture to assure You. that it is highly probable forCn^J , , rf/"""''"''''"''"' """""^ Canwright,and other nrdent politicians in the Society ^ 1 I n '"f"™^""." J .'"'y "™' -ff-Se. It is well known that Home Tooke, wnh Hardl by a dmner r'^'u", X-'" '^^ °" " '""""^ '^'S'' 'r'"^'^ ••"^1"""' celebrated for manv yea;s my f ' c V of November, ,he date of the acquu.al of Thomas Hardy. For many successive ye! my lather .-.nd I took part at those commemorations. When I first attended, and made manv of mv- earliest sDCcche. ^cre were sfU several men present who had been members of the old Corresponding Societv ; b. " grnduaUy tme we;;' loIV nT."' " ' "- '°nour to'be cha.^arth 3IO The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordccai). — Correspondence. 1711-1785. if the Gentlemen of Hampshire should be disposed on this most critical occasion, to declare their sentiments in fa\our of a substantial Reformation of Parliament, (by Petition or in any other mode) the County of York will make a vigorous effort, in co-operation with your respectable County to give effectual support to that most necessary measure. I am Sir, with great respect Your most obed : and humble Serv'- C. WVVIL. \^From Mrs J ebb * to ihe Rev. Henry Taylor7\ Dec^ 21 1784 I hope poor Harry as you call him arrived safe, but I fear he had an unpleasant journey. I wished to have seen him once more before he left Town, for after I saw him, I heard some more particulars respecting the reform — Mr Wyvil has been authorised by M' Pitt to assert y' he will bring on the question of Parliamentary Reformation as early in y^' next sessions as possible, that he will support his propositions to the utmost of his power & credit as a ?>hm, or as a minister, honerhly & boldly to carry such a meliorated system of Representation as may place the Constitution on a footing of permanent security, so far M' Wyvil from the Minister — this he sent to our Society last friday for y" information of all present & he is writing into Yorkshire & to every other county, exhorting them to come forth & meet to support the reform. It seems I think as if y' Minister wishes to be so supported, but be y' as it may — if the people do not meet &: demand their rights, it will be great cause of triumph to y" Enemies of Reform, who will avail themselves of their silence, & if those who support it are tiot sincere, it will afford a good excuse for not carrying it — at any rate therefore it is good policy to meet & exert yourselves like men if you do not, you will not deserve a reform. Now what y' Ministers plan will be I know not, some say short Parliaments will form a part if so, it will be worthy of our support — But our business is to call for what we want, not for what he pleases to offer. the septenial act must be repealed — our rights are of no party, for till now both parties have opposed 'em, & many of each party will continue to do so — but those who are real friends of y' people will join on this subject if they ever did, or ever mean to support anything for y good of their country — I lay y= most stress on short Parliaments, because I think Men who have been chosen for seven years will not very willingly shorten their own existence nor can we suppose y' a Minister will be so very desirious of parting from Men so much devoted to his service — But I who am of no party & properly &• truly speaking never was of any party, except y" great body of the people, would willingly part with y' present House of commons to morrow if I thouglit it necessary for y= general good. L*" Camden's coming in has, Pm persuaded, given y" friends of y' cause great strength in y" Cabinet & has enabled the Minister to speak so boldly — Camden has always been a great friend & approved of Major Cartwriglits, "Give us our rights, or else take " y' choice, I forget which. I thank you for 2 sets of B. B. M.t I had y'" some time ago & w"' have written, but for y« tax upon Letters. I find you think you are going to dress the Socinians, but I am so well clothed with jny own arguments y* I shall not feel y*^ weight of a si?igle blna — so if you send y' bantling to me I will foster it & rear it, without fearing it will ever pluck out y" Eyes of my understanding. Call a meeting — support y'' own Rights without favor or afiection, & never, fear but all honest men will in time reap the advantage of it, send the words of M^ Wyvil to y' M' Carter & other friends, & encourage & exhort every man to exert himself & so push for y" reform he likes, without considering whether his plan will please best y" Inns or y' outs — I think short Parliaments are what y*' Foxites w'^ like to push most, because I'm sure 'tis most for their interest ; but I'm sure 'tis also for ye interest of y° people. I'm for annual Parliaments — But. The D' joins in good wishes to your & y" w"' y' sincere friend Ann Jebb. * In consequence of his anti-trinitarian opinions, Dr Jebb (her husband) had given up his preferment in the church, and practised as a physician, t Benjamin Ben Mordecai. The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordccai).~Correspondeucc. 311 I'm glad you are better. The Yorkshire men I believe will meet I hope they will not fntt, away their alredy frittered Plan merely to pleas y= Minister— support f own Cause say I Rev" M' Taylor Titchfield N ' Farsham Hants INo address from Mrs Mead, supposed, to the Rev. Henry Taylor.-] Dear Cousin. I received your Letter, & should have answered it before now but for a melancholy providence. My good Cousin Sherbrooke on Monday the s'" Inst' went to take a walk in S' James's Park, & was brought home by four men in a Hackney Coach, being struck with the dead palsy, & is still very bad, has two men & a woman to sit up with him, so that I have three persons more than mv own family to attend h.ra. I bless God we are all pretty well, & are sorry to hear you have got the gout, but hope when warm weather comes it will go off As to the next presentation of the Living, I never had a thought to part with it, nor do I intend It, I was pleased witli the present Incumbent, being assured of his good Education, but if there must be a Change, I hope he will be succeded by a true Protest & one worthy of the Trust committed to him. We are in great trouble, & beg a Share in your Prayers. My Brother & Daughter join in our best Compliments to you & my Cousins, with Your loving Cousin & humble Servant London i;'" Jan' 1767. ^'"^•^i'- [No address from Charles Dingley to the Rev. Henry Taylor.] RevD Sir London y' 13"' Decem' 1768 My beloved Uncle, our respectable Relation Richard Turner Esq' who died on Friday last has directed me m h.s Will, to pay you a Legacy, & your sisters Rebecca & Elizabeth Taylor, if they are living (as the three Children of his late Cousin WUham Taylor) the sum of Fifty Pounds to each, which Shall most readily do on your applying for the Same at the proper time, & wishing you your Health I remain Rev'' Sir your very liuni Servant Cha. Dinglev. The followin.tj are a few letters altogether miscellaneous :— [From Mr John Hau^kcr to the Rev. Henry Taylor.] To The Rev' M' Taylor at Crawley Dear Sir, Portsm'" 7 Feb' 1763 I am glad .0 find by your Sons Mess" Peter & Harry-(I should rather have Harrj- & Peter)- ^ indeed by your own jocund manner of writing that AP' Taylor & yourself are better than might be I 312 llic Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 1711-1785. expected from so long a Confinement. — Had I ever known you guilty of so much Complaisance to M" Taylor as to have Commanded a fit of the Gout at any one of her Layings-in, for the sake of Company, I should have suspected something of it now as you treat your Complaint with so much Pleasantry — sufiicient is it almost to induce us Duller Mortalls here, to wish for a moderate fitt (or rather Dose of it) as it shou'd be taken Physically This Acc' reduces all- 1 have said before, to nothing, & indeed nothing so certain to be gather'd from anything I have wrote as that I am Sir, most respectfully & with my best Wishes attending all the good Family Your much Obligd & Obed' Serv' Jn. Hawker. 1 \Fr07n the Rev. Henry Taylor to Mr Daniel Foxi\ To M' Daniel Fox in Chancery Lane London Dear Sir When your favour arrived at Crawley, I was out upon a visit to Tylney-hall & so could not answer it immediately. — I am glad to hear that M" Elmes & M" Fox are well; & take it for granted, as you say nothing to the contrary that you are so yourself. I am much obliged to you for your friendship on all occasions, & especially for your good wishes, that the friendship and regard between M" Elmes & every part of my family may be continued. We are all very desirus that it should be so 1 and am very happy to think that it is her desire as well as ours. AVe are much obliged to M" Elmes for her inclination to have Nanny again with her ; & to M" Fox and yourself that it would be agreeable to you to have her in your family ; but her bad health is a bar against such a design however agreeable; & as her Constitution is still very crazy & stands in need of every help of bathing & riding & continual Advise of her Physician ; & all little enough to keep her in tolerable health. I am sorry for poor Hannah Ridding : but I dont know any time so proper to mention your designs to her, as when you move to London ; nor any Ostensible reason so proper as the change of M'" Elmes Situation and the Smallness of your house at London. I think it should be done in as delicate a manner as possible, that it may not of prejudice to her with the Chanceller & other friends. If Nanny's health will permit her to discontinue riding & bathing for a short time this winter, the girls have a scheme to return M" Taylors visit in Town, & they will then endeavour to spend as long time as they can with their friends in Chancery Lane. We all join in Love & Compli*^ to M" Elmes M" Fox & yourself I am Y' most oblig'' & affe" Brother & very humble Ser. Henry Taylor. Crawley Nov. 1774. \No address; — -from the Rev. Henry Taylor to the Rev. Mr Williams^ To Rev'' M' Williams. 1780 D" Sir, I am glad to hear by your last favour without date that your family are all well, especially as the weather is so very unseasonable. I thank God the Gout has used me more favourably than for some years. I dont enjoy his Company, tho' I believe myself the better for it afterwards. As to M' Mathias's The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai)— Correspondence. 313 improvement by my instructions, you have given as good an accoimt of it as I cou'd have expected viz; 17U-17S5. that he knows just as much of the matter as he did before. Poor Gibson !— I am glad however that he has left his family in good circumstances. You need not fear to set me down for a Puppy, I shall pay great respect to my transatlantick Brother when I see him, you may bring him to Titchfield if you can conveniently, or rather I will send for him, I was thinking of your bringing him, but am afraid I am here at too great a distance, little less than 40 miles. Your visit will be more easy when I return to Crawley this is too much out of your way. I agree with you entirely about your Reviewers that their Notice of our writings is of very little moment ; so much that tho' I know the Critical Review has given the Character of my last M.S. & I know where to get it, I have never had the Curiosity to enquire after it. We must be contented that any body at all takes notice of such writings in this dissipated age ; & in truth I wou'd not stir over the threshold to have an eulogy in any of them. If we can do any good it is worth our Care but for the Fame, let it take its Chance. I am too Proud a Puppy to concern myself about it, as proud as a puppy dog w'" a Primrose stuck in his breech. Mea virtute me involvo : & I give you the same advice. I have some Books sent me by a friend of Ben Mordecai's of which I cannot understand anything at all ; written by a M' Clarke. But so mystical it only makes me stare, as at Soame Jenyns's late Disquisitions where he abuses me under the Character of a rational Christian to which I have written the following answer— A Dispassionate Review by a Rational X"— You shou'd pardon the blunders in Jenyns' view Nor wonder his Whimsies are Queer For the morning was hazy & show'd nothing true And the Writer himself was no Seer. 'Tis allow'd the smart Author did give some offence. While both weather & Eye-sight was dim, In opposing your Scripture & eke common sense — But did they not first oppose him ? 3 The Deist he tells us our Saviour wou'd Maul Which he seems to think not much amiss — But the Rational Christian's the Devil of all. And like Judas betrays with a kiss. 4 'Tis an old fashion'd Method, by turning the Heart To convert and much labour in Vain Our Doctor has got a Short Cut— & his art Lies wholly in turning the Brain. 5 For when Reason and Scripture are both out of sight (Common Sense lying dead without feeling) The only way left him to let in New Light Must be by a crack in the Ceiling. Yr most obsequious & oblig'd H. S' Uisquision. pa. 118. H. Compliments to M' Skates shall be glad to see you It Crawley. How do his flowers blow this year.' 2 R 314 The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai) — Correspondence. \No address;— from the Rev. Henry Taylor to the Duke of Richmond.^ To his Grace the Duke of Richmond w"" Ben Mordecai's letters Oct 3" 1774 Your Grace may with reason wonder to receive so many letters written by a Person in amsterdam by one of the circumcision, with whom your Grace is totally unacquainted : & y° more so, when you find they contain a defence of those articles of Faith which were in fashion before the Council of Nice had depraved the Theory of X' & rendered it a heap of inconsistency, by removing the criterion of Truth from the, Word of God to the commandments of men: I consider my Lord Duke that Bp. Hoadly that great Defender of civil & religious Liberty has been gone many years ago, to receive the reward of his labours & for what y" world cares his works may follow him. To whom then could I send these letters, that would relish such principles rather than to your Grace. I have contended with myself upon this point ever since L"" G. Lenox was here to vote for a member of Parliament upon the death of Sir Mat : Fetherstoneheugh & at last my Vanity has pre- valed— & to confess the truth, after having spent many years upon these studies & compleated them to my Satisfaction I could not help longing to be read and approved by some living judge of his Lordships good sense & liberal way of thinking, & I know of no man who has so true a relish of his Lordships Principles whether in Politicks or Religion as your Grace. But tho' I have called it Vanity & perhaps the generality of y° world would judge it to be entirely so & I can't quite clear myself of y" charge, yet I flatter myself that it is a laudable ambition to court the approbation of y° wise & good by endeavouring to merit it — & that f Grace will consider my Presumption in that light. I am w"' greatest Respect y' Graces most obed' humble Serv' Benj : Ben Mordecai. Crawley. Hants Oct 3'' 1774 The following from Mrs Boyle (a relation of the Hoadlys) is inserted as it contains a draft of Rev. Henry Taylors reply. The correspondence was in relation to business connected with a Will in which she was interested and sought his assistance. [No address :— from Mrs Boyle to the Rev. Henry Taylor.'] To The Rev'' Doctor Taylor Sir Just as I had dispatchd a pacquet to you in new London Street, London : I rec'' the . favor of yours from . Crawley I hope the letter inclosed to your Son will go safe I thought it would Shorten the direction & might be as safe ; but indeed I did not imagene — you would be able to make — your escape from London & the Gout so soon I hope. I may congratulate . you on the last but I think you did . not stay for the christining ; this goes with . a letter . to M" Hoadly which I hope . will be . well taken you are . very merry about y" young Folk I will not answer . for . their . discretion . so much . as I can . that they are of age I am sure . that is saying enough . to you as the . young Lady is not marryd but Ive hinted . the same . to M" Hoadly tho only as accidental . as 1 have wrote you a terrible . long letter . a very few days agoe I will only tell . you . how much I am . pleasd with your agreeable & friendly letters I asure you my Daughter is very pert & I think is a little jealous, tho I tell her of all the fine things you say of her . I think you must draw her into a cor- The Rev. Hettry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai) — Correspondence. 315 rispondance for I asure you she can write very well, much better then her poor mother. In case of a miscarriage of my fine, epistle sent to London, I repeat my Request to inclose y= letters you Hon' me . with . to John . M Mason Esq' at the Custom . House Dublin as his letters as a . Comiss' are . allways free. I will now conclude with my good wishess for your . health & beg you . will believe . me, your most obliged humble Ser' June y^ 29''' 1776 {^Draft reply fi'om the Rev. Henry Taylor to Mrs Boyle.l I suppose the money will be paid or the transfers made soon, & as soon as Miss has her fortune intirely in her own hands I may take some further notice of your hint and write to her upon y' subject. You tell me she is a little jealous and I argue from thence that as there can be no smoke but there is some fire, so there can be no Jealousy but where there is some love. However I shall not press this matter till I am informd both of y' girt of her ancles & y° breath between her shoulders. For as I am troubled w* y' gout and do not like to depend on servants I am determind that my next wife shall be able to carry me up & down stairs herself. But as it is the Custom in this Country for y" Man to make y' first addresses (whereas we find in Solomons Song that the method was quite contrary) and I am apprehensive that a personal Courtship would be rejected, as her modesty might suspect that my wisdom may be too great to match w* hers, I imagine y= best way would be to manage that matter by Proxy and hope you will be so good as to look out some sensible handsome young fellow that may do that business for me. [Here follow a letter from Ben Mordecai to the young lady herself, and her reply.] [Rotigh draft frovt the Rev. Henry Taylor to Miss Boyle-'] Dear Miss Though it was the Fashion some years ago for the Ladies to make the first advances in afifairs of this delicate Nature (as you must have frequently observed in reading Solomons Song) yet as the custom has alter'd since that time, & I have such hints from your Mamma as amount almost to a command, I wave the Right I might maintain from Scripture and begin the business myself Your mamma has without doubt inform'd you of the pains she has taken in your behalf; that she has given me an account of your age fortune & disingagement : not to say how much she has enlarg'd upon your discre- tion & other excellent qualities. A little Pertness indeed she did accuse you of, that I must own : but tlien y* accusation was slight, & when the cause was mentioned, quite excusable : for Jealousy is a passion that puts one oflf ones guard amazingly. But how could you think of being Jealous of your own mamma? assure your self Miss there is nothing at all in it. The preliminaries we have been settling, regarded you & not liir ; in truth your Mamma is quite wrapped up in her daughter, & prefers your welfare to her own : And how happy must I esteem myself, to be so fortunately introduced, upon this important occasion, & to see before me so fair a prospect of Success. For as there is no smoke without Fire; so, (I argue) there can be no Jealousy without some Predilection. I wish I had once seen you, that I might now expatiate upon all your Perfections, for this is the proper place for it : But y' mischeif is, that I may chance to stumble in the way, & praise you in y' «Tong place, while I am adoring your auburn hair, it may perhaps be black, when I admire your fair complexion, perhaps it may be olive : if I talk of y' soft languishing blue eyes, perhaps they may be green ; & when I become more general & would immortalise >•= elegant proportion of your whole Form ; your head, for what I know, may be bigger than all the rest of your body : like our La- grows up y" wall, Or else imperfect were y" rites of funeral. 4 Him liveih near in Gentle Neighbourhood, An hcartsome friend replete w''' bounteous love Whose generous wine long time hath corked stood Not to avoid >■« taste, but to improve, With him good man's moments softly move Nor yci complcat, if I should leave untold. The Uamc, who of his Joys, sweet partnership doth hold. THE COUNTRY CURATE.— H. T. I In t'other hundred o'er yon Swarthy moor. Deep in the mire, w* tawny rush beset. Where bleak sea breezes echo from y' shore. And foggy damps infect y noontide heat. There lies a Country Curates dismal seat. View well those barren heaths with sober eye, And wonder how a man can live so wretchedly. See to y= Farmers yards where close ally'd, A ragged church the adjacent Dikes commands. One Bell y« steple fills (y' Tinkers Pride) The beams are wreathd about w"" Hempen bands, Wove as the roof decay'd, by pious hands. Drops from y« thatch, still keep the whitewash wet, God bless y' holy man, y' dares to preach in it. 3 The house stands near, this churches Foster brother. On crutches both, advanc'd in hoary Eld, A double rail runs from y= one to t'other. And saves the Curate from y" dirty field. Where muck of various kind & hue is melld. O'er this each Sunday to the church he climbs. And to preserve his antient cassock, risks his limbs. 4 Him liveth near in dirty Neighbourhood, His clerk, a Blacksmith he of sallow hue, Whose empty cellar long hath open stood, A certain sign of penury & Rue ; Him wou'd y* Curate fain pcrswade to brew. Still happy man if I should leave untold. The shrew, who of his life shrill government doth hold. 334 The Rev, Hairy Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai) — Poetry, 5 Well knows she when to govern, when obey, Vers'd in y^^ Rights, & Laws of Womanhood, Nor hath she too much wisdom to be gay, Nor hath she too much wit, to be o'erloud, Nor hath she so much beauty to be proud, But chearful sense, & decent mirth impart, The sweet domcstick Joys, of a well naturd heart. 6 Eight years hath heaven possessed y'" of a boy, Who loves a sister, younger by a year. And as they prank about w^'' silent joy. They sit & smile upon y^ prattling pair, Who two sweet roses on one stalk appear, And think upon themselves once fair & young, Before soft Cupid's golden Bow became unstrung. 7 Each sun arises fresh w'"^ sweet content, And leads y"" on a course of new delight, With the same joy their summers day is spent. And o'er a chearful fire their winter night, Such are their joys who spend their lives aright, Tho' seasons change no sense of change they know. But with an equal eye, veiw all things here below. 8 When th' am'rous Earth is woo'd w^'' smiling weather, To wear y'^ Verdant mantle of the spring. Forth walk y^ little family together, To see y'= wood, & hear its natives sing ; The flow'rs sweet odours to their senses bring ; The world appears in blossom far & near, Joyful they veiw y'' purple promise of y^ year. 9 Summer beholds y'= good man near his bride, In sweet contentment smoaking in his chair. He vciws y*' flocks nibling y'= mountains side, And every tenth he reckons to his sliare. Now to y^ Hay feilds walk y"^ happy Pair, And w*'' such kindness greet y'= Country Folk, The Parsons bush is plac'd upon y^ biggest Cock. 10 The promisd fruit now fills teeming soil, And certain plenty all his doubts relieves, The peach he planted, pays his honest toil, The Farmer brings him home his yellow sheaves, And his stufd barn y^ willing tax receives, His servants to his loaded Orchard hie, To lay in liquid store for future Jollity. 5 The well known power of an English wife, Ne day, nor night, she ceases to explain, Her wit unrein'd promotes eternal strife, Her Beauty makes her arrogant & vain, And both conspire to sharpen her disdain, While rank ill-nature poisons all his Joys, Confus'd in endless squabble, & unceasing Noise. 6 Eight years hath heaven plagu'd them w"^ a Boy, Who hates a Sister younger by a year, Whose hungry meager looks sans life, or Joy, They view & frown upon y'= wrangling pair. Who like two Rav'nous Locusts do appear, On one small Flower repent that e'er they sped, Since Cupids golden shafts they find are tip'd w*'' lead 7 Each Sun arises in a noisome fog, Tir'd of their beds they rise as soon as light, With like disgust their summers on they jog, And o'er a few stray chips their winters night. Such is y*^ marry'd Essex Curates plight, Tho' seasons change, no sense of Joy they know, But look w"' . . . discontent ... on all things here below. S When meager Lent her famish'd look appears. Her Eyes indent w^*^ penury, & pine, Forth go y*^ hungry family to prayers. And pious sermon while y^ Farmers dine, In vain y^ children for their meals repine. The blooming feilds administer no chear, Joyless they veiw the purple promise of y'^ year. 9 Summer attends him w*'' fresli troubles ply'd. His breeches hung aloft for winters wear. He spies y^ flocks fly the returning tide, And every tenth he wishes for his share, Now to. y^ hay feild trudge y" hapless pair, And if they kindly greet y"^ country folk, They compliment his Rector, w"* y^ biggest Cock. 10 Now faithful Autumn fills y^ teeming mead. And plenty frees y^ Farmers heart from care. Meantime y^ thoughts of surplice Fees delay'd, And th' hollow Gulping of y^ tilted beer, Unpaid for yet, distract his mind with fear, No hopes another Vessel to procure, Unless w''' learned Scraps, he funs th' admiring Brewer. BS The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai) — Poetry. 335 1711-1785. When icy bands y*^ stiffned Waves enfold, Still is y'^ Parson w*'' contentment crown'd, The chearful blaze chaces y'= chilly cold, In circling cups all winter thoughts are drown'd, And no ill-nature sends y^ laugh around. Or in his study pent, thinks what to say, May touch yet not offend y'' squire next sabbath day. When Icy Bands y= Stiffned Wave enfold At grudging Neighbours is he often seen. Chafing w'^ borrowed heat, y*^ outward cold, But ah ! no Beer to thaw y^ cold within ; And then his wife pursues w* hideous din. Thence in y*^ barn he muses what to say To mend, yet not offend her, on next Sabbath day. Thus still in age y*^ same he journeys on, Till envious fate oertakes him on y*^ Road, For y*^ calm pleasures of y'= holy man, Claim not y'' madness of a youthful blood, For many winters thus serenely stood Strong in its smooth decline y'= sturdy Oak, Till came from heav'n th' unfeard & unresisted stroke. Still worse, & worse, her lashing tongue he feels. The spurns of Fortune, & y' weight of years, The Post-horse thus, an antient Racer, reels. No longer now a steady course he steers, His weak knees tremble, & he hangs his ears, He sweats, he totters, cover'd o'er w"" gore. And falls alas ! unpity'd, as he livd before. A SONNET. ON TAKING LIVING OF PORTSMOUTH. Me safe in Port, y" treacherous seas in vain, Shall tempt w* smiles, to leave y' faithful shore, In fortunes bark, new Voyage's to explore. Who now look back in safety o'er y" main. See by that rock, what shining wealth appears. What power, & honours, o'er that Whirlpool rise. With swelling sails, to catch y' tempting prize. And eager wishes, yon proud Vessel steers. Now on y' deck the fatal draught they heave, Lo ! now y" Vessel sinks beneath y" main, And bears th' inverted keel to rise no more. (So small y' space 'twixt greatness & y° Grave !) Me safe in Port, y" treacherous seas in vain. Shall tempt w"" smiles, to leave y" faithful shore. A NEW BALLAD, COKTEVNING A PLEASANT, & DEVISFUL BiCHERMENT, YUROUGH IN COUTHLY GUISE, ATXVEEN FORTUNE v 'Welder & arranger of earthly meeds & Guerdons & a Learned Clerk yclipped Maister Henrv ; Showing forth his dolorous tene, & dreriment, for \' loss of his Leman FOR V HE BANNETH HER MALENGINE, & BEWAILETH HIS H.ARD MISH.\P. FORTUNE INCONTINENT ABETS HERSELF FROM HIS UPBRAVS, & SENDETH HIM IN PURSUIT OF HIS LIEFEST LIFE, Y' PARAGON •IF MAIDENHOOD; & PROMISES HIM HIS BONNIBEL, FOR HIS BELOVED FEER. HENRY IS MOTED BY ' ' Strife. * . ■ form, condition. ' Governor. J Reward, prize. - Trouble. ' Sorrowfulness. ' Mistress. » [not given.] evil artifice. " instantly. "OKi. " companion. ditto. ! Called, vindicate. fair 336 The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai) — Poetry. 1711-1785- HER GOODLY THEWS. SHE ASLAKETH HENRIES BALE PARTING IN ERIENDLY SEEMING, & LEAVETH HIM CHARY & GLEEFUL. TH& FORTUNE YEADETH TO Y= COURT TO AGGRATE MANY LEARNED BRETHREN W"" GRATEFUL HadYWIST, WHO HAD YODE FROM THEIR DARTWARS IN WELLING TEARS, & GOODLY AMENANCE, TO WAYMENT THEIR LEARNED BROTHER DONE TO DEATH. HENRY & FORTUNE F. Why so serious. Why so grave, Prithee what wou'd Henry have ? Wliat has now thy passion mov'd. To rail on me, whom late he lov'd ? When last we met you bless'd your fate ; Contented w* a humble state. And happy in a moderate store ; Neither desir'd, nor wish'd for more. But when I swell ungrateful purses, Love is quickly turnd to curses. Hen. O Fortune I can never brook. That Flattering, that deceitful look, When Fortune once our wishes grants. Nature encreases still our wants. And all y' we from thee receive, But makes a man y° greater Slave. F. You've had your wish, you ask'd of me, A life above dependency. Above temptation to deceit, Above all flattery to y" great, A sister crown'd your wish to share In all your pleasures, & your care. From all her Sexes follies free ; Such were y° Gifts I pour'd on thee. Then why so serious ? why so grave ? Prithee what more wou'd Henry have ? H. Shall thy false look again beguile. Again deceve, that treacherous smile ? Think on my love, & jealous pains. When on Arcadia's fruitful plains ; Where were thy gifts, O fortune then. You curb'd my tongue, restrain'd my pen ; Till Phcebe fell to Damon's share. And Henry mourn'd in deep despair. Too well may I my fate bewail, And at thy cruel treachery rail. F. When will Henry's anger cease Rais'd by whim, & mad caprice, « Manners. ■« to appease. " sorrow. to go. ■» To please. " Preferment at Court. =' went. = Or dortours, dormitories lodgings for Monks. flowing. =* behaviour. =5 to lament. The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai).— Poetry. 337 PhcEbe was a Monarch's dower, 1711-1785. But faded, like y= short liv'd flower, Quickly from y' ruddy lip (Where y= little Cupid's sip) The honey dew was all decay'd. The peachy bloom began to fade. All pale, & wan where roses grew Never, ah never to renew ! Had'st thou enjoy'd y" lovely maid And all her charms so soon decay'd; With reason you might then regret, And call my friendly gifts deceit. H. Alas ! y° melancholy scene. Has softened all y' wrath within. Too strong alas thy reasons prove ; I wrong y" freind I most should love, — But tell me Fortune to what end, Do all your new inventions tend ? Methinks I see y" fatal net, Again prepar'd t'entrap my feet. Art thou for ever bent to prove, A constant hinderance to my love. Must I always live in pain, Still to love, & love in vain; Love & Hymen, safe defend, Henry from so false a friend. F. Full two long hours e'er Phcebus ray. Has reach'd y" brightest glare of day. With keen delight pursue his course Nor .spare y" Vigour of your horse. Till sickning w"" meridian heat. E'en Sultan's courage deigns to bait. There veiw y' Gods intensest beams, Dancing in y' Silver Thames. Scarce shalt thou well his charms espy, But brighter beams shall strike thine eye. Fair Virtue whom y" Poets feign. All outward clothing to disdain. Has late a milk white Robe put on, And w"" superior lustre shone. Not she whom great Alcides veiw'd (When in Minerva's garb she stood And w"" disdainful scorn surve^d The subtle trains w'" vice had laid) Nor less than she : but gentler sway, Dwells in her eye, a purer ray Of Virgin softness, such as moves. And yet forbids y' assaults of love. Her let Henry strive to gain, Fondly love, nor love in vain ; 2 O The Rei.'. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai) . — Poetry. Content to live & die her slave, What wou'd ambitious Henry have? H. What more alas ! what nobler meed, Cou'd great Alcides virtue plead? What more cou'd greatest monarch's grant? What more cou'd fond ambition paint ? Too great a height for me to soar, Unless advanc'd by Fortune power. Mean is y" mind w'^'' passion moves. To injure y° fair maid he loves. Wouldst thou my warm desires approve And once her grateful passion move To hear sincerity & Love, Soon as our faithful hands we joyn, We'll humbly otfer at thy shrine. F. My dearest friend as things are now, I can but promise you I vow, The world of late so crafty's grown. Refuses to repay my loan. In vain my Rigourous Bailiffs write, They plead possession proves a right. He who in youth desir'd supply To feed his young Debauchery, With wine & women since grown old Now dotes as much upon his Gold. Scarce lives y" man whose wiUing heart Obeys Death's order to depart; But forms excuses to delay. And then you may be sure he'll pay. I oft allow it but alas ! Tis all a cheat, 'tis all grimace, They curse me w"' their latest breath, And grasp my treasures e'en in Death. Such is my case, — But thou my friend. Careful before my shrine attend. My num'rous Slaves will soon supply, My boundless Generosity. Then Henry wide ejctend your arms. To Virtues & to Fortunes charms. No more. — Shrill Babells voice I hear. The Deanerie's void in Winchester ; And further prayers from Sarum's Spire, Call for my friendly aid, — retire ; The interest meet for such promotions. May give disgust to Vulgar Notions. Your friends are stanch, let that suffice. And view your state with careful eyes. They neither lov'd, nor liv'd at court, But hold I must no more. — In short. If I should tell you half the story, Ihey'll all be got to court before me. The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai).— Poetry. 339 1711-17S5. TO MISS C. F. [CHRISTIAN FOX] .ITTEN IN A RAINY MORNING BEFORE THE READING RACES & BALL, 1 739. Stop, Stop, ye winds, & cease ye impetuous rains, The God of Love, your savage rage restrains ; The Storms & Show'rs the Low'ring morn infest, (As tears & sighs distract the Lovers breast) Yet soon as Phcebus lab'ring Steeds arise. And panting reach the summit of the Skyes, The winds shall cease, the swelling rains give o'er, & pleasing calms welcome th' expected hour. Such is the Lovers change when Cloe smiles. Sooths his dull cares, & all his pain beguiles. Again the Nymphs shall grace the happy plain. And flying glances wound the heedless swain ; Mysterious rites in just disorder move, & sighing Vot'ries own the God of Love ; Cupid himself shall view with sweet surprize, 1000 Psyches strike his wondring eyes. But see obedient to his sovreign pow'r. The welkin clears : The clouds no longer low'r. The Wind & Rain their different Lords obey, & Jove, & Cupid bear an equal Sway. RIDDLE. Sometimes through realms of raging fire I run. Sometimes I live, deprived of heat & Sun. In various climes I prove a friend to man And keep him safe, from stormy winds & rain, I help the mental eye to judge aright, And lay all nature open to the sight. Shew how the planets, in just order move. Teach men to know themselves, & to improve. THE SCULLION TURN'D COOK; OR THE DEIST DIVINE. 'Cause Jenny the scullion the pudding could stir And confound the materials together, She set uj) for a cook without further demur And so stuck in her cap a new feather 3 And when this same pudding to table was brought, In each eye that beheld it was woe For instead of a pudding well boil'd they had got A pudding all nothing but dough 340 The Rev. Henry Taylor, M.A. {Ben Mordecai). — Poetry. 1711-17S5. 3 Just so a fam'd treater on Gospel has done In his zealous & late Christian fits He's so maul'd it & dress'd it & hack'd it, no one Can believe it if sound in his wits 4 Helo'gab'lus says he, & such kind of men Have a far better claim to salvation Than they who make morals or reason their plan Or think Honour a recommendation S No longer good Soame on Religion then pore Nor mangle it thus with a pother For the Church as you paint her is surely much more Like a Bawd, than our Good Holy Mother ANOTHER ON THE SAME SUBJECT. But two objections can be brought 'Gainst Jennings's inditing Tis contrary to Common Sense And all the Sacred Writing But he most cunningly provides Against the first objection Demonstrating that Common Sense Is foreign to the question And as for sacred writing, that He found cou'd never teaze him, For when of Reason rid, and sense. He turn'd it till 'twould please him [The above poems have been copied from the MS. book referred to at the end of William Taylor's (South Weald) poems, which also contains by the same (Rev. Henry Taylor) tlie following, viz.:] — Session of y' Gods The Bachelor's Soliloquy An Epitaph Female Florist Riddle To W"' Shenstone Esq' To M' Horn Architect Roger or love at first sight Beneath a beech's shade When Damon to Corinna joyn'd On Corinna Sleeping. [By the same hand, in two MS. books belonging to my uncle, Mr William Taylor, are poems on the following subjects ;] — The Brothers and Sisters of Rev. Henry Taylor {Ben Mordecai). 341 No. I To Pen Pendelps Garland Method of Courtship On a favourite Cat Bout Rimez At a Dance Corinna's Hair No. 3 Defect of Writing & Painting Anti Lucretius Damon's Consolation The Comprehension To M' Butler The Mystic Key To D' Makkitrick * York Town Epitaph on A. & G. Smith Madeira Wine Defence of Soame Jenyns Psalm i" St Antony's Fire Also several by his Friends R. R.t M' Jackson, John Hoadly 1 700- 1 7 Here must be recorded what we have to say of the brothers and sisters of Ben Mordecai. So far as we know, there were nine children, viz., three sons and six daughters. Up to a few days ago (October 1873), we had no authentic record of the birth of any but Martha, whose baptism is registered at Romford, September 8, 1 712. But now the Register of St Stephen, Walbrook, gives us the dates of baptism of five — probably the first five — of the children, viz.: — William, May 22, 1700. Anne, November i, 1701. Dorothy, January 10, 1702/3. John, March 18, 1703/4. Mary, July 25, 1706. There remain Henry, Elizabeth, and Rebecca, whose | Registers may still be found. J We assmne the birth of Henry to have taken place at South Weald in 171 1, because it is so stated in an article in " Rees' Cyclopa:dia," said to have been furnished by, or at least submitted to the criticism of his sons, who doubtless were well informed. * M.D. of Winchester. + R. R. is Richard Roderick, patron of H. Taylor, jun. Rev. Jabez Earl, who is mentioned in the poems, was a writer and minister at Hanover Street, etc. : After most extensive researches in Registers, boih London and country, too nunierous to particularise here, but of which a list will be found in the family papers, the where and exact when of the births of these three remain unknown. In a memorandum by Henry Taylor of Banste.id, ivritten apparently with a view to an inscription probably on the tomb of lien Mordecai, he leaves blank the day of the month in which Ben Mordecai was bom, evidently showing that he, no more than we, had succeeded in finding its registr)-. The Walbrook Register. 342 The Brothers and Sisters of Rev. Henry Taylor {Ben Mordecai). Of William, the eldest son, born in 1700, we have but the slightest in- formation: he is called "of Romford" in his Will (dated 1755), and in the family is so designated to distinguish him from the other Williams. An account of his death, with particulars of his Will and a memorandum of the bill for his funeral, will be found p. 354, in a letter written by Elizabeth to her brother Henry, and that is really all we know. He is mentioned, however, in a letter from his sister Elizabeth to his sister Rebecca, July 24, 1750, p. 351, in a manner that seems to imply that he was far from being in a flourishing condition pecuniarily, and there is perhaps a sotipcon conveyed of mutual dissatisfactions between himself and Henry in regard to money matters, of which the following is an extract : — I have told Brother Bill what order I received from Brother that He must give a receipt to him for the money to pay for his Board, & discharge the debt when he is able, he is extreamly uneasy about it, & thinks it is a hardship so I promis'd I would let my Father know so. I can't help thinking it is a hardship on him indeed poor Boy & tho' tis true, It does not concern me yet it has grived me excedingly not that I suppose my Brother would be hard on Bill, but if he should dye, he could not answer for what others might do after him, I can see no prospect of Bill's being able to pay should he contract the Debt, I am sure there is none for him here for my uncle J made a will a great while agoe. . . . Anne. Qf Anne, born in 1 701, if we know a little more, it is only because we have four of her letters. She appears to have lived in London, probably with her father till his removal to Wheatfield, and afterwards with or near the Crispes, as in 1740 we find her described as of St Olave, Hart Street, which was their parish, and that she was intimate with the family is quite evident. She after- wards removed to Snow Hill, possibly with her uncle Richard Crispe, who, we know, was about that time connected with the insurance office there, and which we may guess was the house in which they lived. In 1732 she is mentioned in the Will of her aunt Hannah Crispe. In 1739 she paid Henry Kinder and Mary his wife (her sister) ^50 for their share in the Mugwell Street property. In 1740 she repaid Mrs Mead £6,00 that had been borrowed by her father. She made her Will on September 6, 1743, in which she left her father "whatever he may owe" her; she left no real property except her interest in Mugwell Street: her uncle Richard Crispe and Mr John Mann of Snow Hill, executors. The Hackney Register records her burial on April 30, 1747. That she was clever, lively, and affectionate, may be safely inferred from the following letters, which we are fortunate in possessing: one to her brother Henry at school; two later, when he was nineteen and twenty-four ; and one to his wife, not long after the birth of their first child. See also her father's classical eulogium upon her in a letter to Henry, p. iSi. I 700-1 799, \Vm. Taylor of Romford. Anne, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor {Ben Mordecai). "701-1747- \_No date;— from Anne to her brother Henry {Ben Mordecai)^ To M' Henry Taylor at M' Henry Newcomes at Clapton in Hackney Dear Hal You desired a letter of me but I protest I am at the greatest loss imaginable what to write about ; is not it necessary first to have been a schoolboy before one can tell how to address a Young Gentle- man of that profession? if I should write of any of the trifling concerns which come within the sphere of our sexes learning, you would I fear not only condemn me for my sillyness, but your self for losing the time even so much as to read them ; but on the other hand if I should pretend to meddle with any high & learned matters, alass it would easily appear how unfit I am to treat of such sublime subjects as are only fitt for you to be entertained with; so that in this case what can I do I must ev'n set down content with saying only one thing w'" I think you cannot object against without opposing the very truth which is that I am w"" the greatest sincerity Your Loving Sister Ann Taylor. But 0 Harry! shall I congratulate or condole w"- you for having this moment (when I protest I could not say a word more) received a new supply (or Theme if you please, for that is the most schol- astick word) which may perhaps carry on this part of my letter beyond the length of a postscript? my father just coming from hackney tells me of your masters design & your backwardness to act part of a play, which he sais he thinks proceeds from too great a degree of bashfullness, but why should you ray dear give way to Shame & indulge That passion to the hinderance of vertuous & praiseworthy actions which is only emplanted in us for the prevention of punishment of Evil ones ? now I would by no means have you think that I am all this while perswading you against modesty No, only to such a degree of boldness as may sett off instead of lessning the beauty of any handsome action, now I am afraid by this time you are quite sick as well as amazed at such a sober lecture from; your loving sister one might say now but only you know that's done already & tho I could afford you 2 begin" nings yet I cant 4 endings & so s' yo' Servant {No address from Anne to her brother Henry {Ben Mordecai).'] Bath Nov. i" 1730 birthday Dear Bro; of the Church. After the manner of my predecessors the peripeteticks I am walking up & down my chamber studymg what to say to you having after a 2 months consideration of the matter just come to a certainty that I am in duty & gratitude bound to say somewhat by way of answer to your letters whether I understand it or no, tho if I dont at present by the means of a dictionary perhaps sometime or other I may (not w^-out understanding your eructations decorations conflagrations catharticks microcosms or subterraneous glysters w"^ the rest of the filthy crew of barbarous words you have put together) I can just find out that you are designing to make a jist of the D r & your own poor sister for w» undutifull attempt I wonder you dont fear that the ravens of the valley should pick out your eyes & the young Batu should eat em however this once He forgive you upon account of that seasonable & Anne, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor {Ben Mordecai). 1701-1747. by good luck as it happend timely peice of advice you gave me in your second epistle, & to let you see my good nature for w'' reason likewise I forbear greiving you with the melancholy catalogue of the murders I have undesignedly (I protest) committed here but you know how can I help it. If to their fate unheedingly they run And gaze tho gazing sure to be undone tis indeed a sad thing to think of but I fear both my shocking beauty & your stupendious learning will like Samsons great strength prove our destruction too : but important & your own care will I hope avert the cracking those entrails of your head as time will inevitably put an end to the cruel effects of the beauty of Your affectionate Sister & Humble Serv' Anna Taylok. I hope to see London next week early [Frot}t Anne to her brother Henry {Ben Mordecai)?^ To The Rev" M' Henry Taylor at Riyenhall near Witham Essex. Aug' 26 1735 Dear Bro. I shall execute your commands concerning your shirts in the best manner I am able, that is buy the finest linnen in M' Payne's shop & order them to be made after the largest pattern known in town for unless I receive different directions I cannot help supposing this to be your meaning. I fancy Polly is going to be married but question whether she wont be much longer on the road than she imagines or wishes. You cant wonder any person should be tired in so unpleasant a way. Whatever might be my sentiments twelve years ago I am now of opinion that if shame is implanted in us for the ends you mention it very commonly dissapoints those ends preventing & punishing good actions instead of the contrary not that I should be ashamed of the marriage state but if I should rejoyce & glory in it I am not so vain as to pretend to those extensive motives you speak of nay I am inclined to think those motives beyond the sphere of a mere private persons activity As the matter is settled in England a wife who should take much interest in the happyness of the rest of mankind would be apt to make her own family have no very good opinion of her conduct ; some persons may raise a doubt too whether peopleing the world our part of it I mean all things con- sidered is quite so laudable an action as at first view it may appear. The greatest number of mankind is universally allowed to be bad. All proffesions complain of being overstock'd with hands : The wisdom of our Legislature dis- coureges encrease as much as possible without an absolute prohibition Marriage is taxed higher than french wine or silks & a large number of children w'" amongst the Greeks & Romans entitled the father to honour & rewards as my lover informs me in England bring him to certain contempt & a jail; From the conduct of the Bishops in this matter I shrewdly suspect the Clergy would be at their single life again & make the laity maintain their mistresses & children : As for the state of Virginity the people here affect to treat it w" contempt it has been held honourable & is so still in the greatest part of Christendom : I have read in Kennetts Antiquities of the vestal virgins who were regarded w- the utmost respect as nuns are now in all Roman Catholick Countries being called the Spouses of Christ some performing miracles, & all being looked on as holy persons & tho their religion is not so good as ours I hope I am not obliged to believe them wrong in all things. Your argument of my moral obligation to multiply the human species I own my self not able to see the force off & shall be glad to know where you place your unfathomable abyss of non exist- Anne, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor {Ben Mordecai). 345 ence into w^'' you are so ready to plunge the unborn : You'l pardon my want of apprehension 1701-1747, of the meaning of a useless expence of nature It gives one an idea of nature as a weak old woman clambering up a steep sandy barren hill to catch a shadow at the top Here I must acknowledge my views more extensive than yours It is impossible for me to conceive nature to be at any expence in her operations or that any of them can be useless. Your conclusion w'" a compliment w'" I persuade my self proceeds from kindness I shall be very glad to requite and if I have any perfections & my 'producing children would multiply & extend them I would rejoyce to see a hundred at my table w"' a peculiar view to their shining forth in one extensive blaze & by their benign in'adiations extinguishing all envy to you damping all ague exciting vapours w* would exalt me to condition the thoughts of which only make my head giddy & force me to end this letter from Your Affectionate Sister Ann Taylor. Postscript.— To tell you the truth & my mind dear Brother as you know women never do but in the postcript on the receipt of yours I thought that which was the produce of so many years from so great a man as you ought not to be lightly answered if at all by me therefore desire assistance in so extraordinary a case so that having hitherto been only an humble transcriber you perceive these are the words of Chanticlere not mine, I honour marriage & think the state divine ; And Oh Beloved that all your hearers were but as heartily convinced of the truth & excellency of your doctrine in other points & as willing to put them in practice as in this Your aforesaid Sister. \No address ;—frovi A^me to Christian, wife of the Rev. Hemy Taylor.'] \A portion of ilie beginning of i/iis letter is torn on the left-hand side— some words are therefore guessed at, and some omitted^ Sept' 30, 1741 Dear Sister What must I say for my self? how excuse my self for opening as you see I have done your letter to y husband which I do assure you I should not have done but that I fancied there might be one inclosed for me, but when I open'd it & found it neither signed nor directed I own my inclination to peep farther prevaild, for w'" I beg pardon heartily, the at the same time I confess I cannot be heartily sorry, nor I hope will you ; for by it I am thouroughly convinc'd that the more one sees into the very heart & soul of you, the m.ore much the more one must love you ; my dear Sister wou'd you believe it I cou'd scarce read it without tears 1 indeed I love you ten times better than I did if possible, you are so good, I dont much doubt of your pardon : in short I am more afraid for Brothers if you should let him know it. I should be glad of a letter from you now & then : Bro : told me little Bett's head was bad, I think that will be rather for the better, but I want to know how her cough does, & whether it is the hooping cough or not. I suppose by this time you have received your husband safe & sound, I sent the cloth to day by Dunsden & since that have receiv'd a small parcell for you from Bett but must wait the next oppor- tunity for sending it No body but myself has seen your letter & pray let no body see mine I think I have nothing to add & lis late so conclude Your Most affectionate Sister A. T. DoROTHV was the third child. She was baptized January 10, 1702-3, at St Do^o'i'y- Stephen's, W'albrook. She, no doubt, died young, as we hear no more of her. 2 X 346 The Brothers and Sisters of Rev. Henry Taylor {Ben Mordecai). i7o<^i799. It may be inferred that she lived a few years; until, in fact, her father changed his residence, and the place of register for his children, i.e., after 1701 (but where that was we have not yet discovered), as her death is not recorded at St Stephen's. John. John comes next, whose baptism and burial are both recorded in this Register —the former, INIarch iS, 1703-4; the latter, June 22, 1704. Mary. Mary is tile ne.xt name that appears in the Register of St Stephen's, Walbrook, her baptism being on July 25, 1706. From the date we may fairly infer that she was the fifth child, although there was of course time for a birth between her and John. Our record of her is as nearly as possible a blank. We know that she married, and have no doubt that she died, but we have not the date of either event ; the latter we have nothing to indicate, and the former but approximately. In a letter from her .sister Anne to their brother Henry, August 26, 1735 (p. 344), occurs this passage : — I fancy Polly is going to be married, but question whether she wont be much longer on the road than she imagines or wishes. You cant wonder any person should be tired in so unplea- sant a way ; and on September 11, 1735 (p. 190), her father writes to Henry: — If you think of coming to L" next week .... Pol's wedding will then be solemnized or for ever desperate. I now begin to think it may come about in that time. Whether the marriage did take place at that time, we have nothing to show, unless the following words, written in December of the same year by her father to Henry, can be interpreted as evidence in that direction: "You shall have P :ienry Kindon. wagou the things from Kindon's." The name of her husband was Kindon or Kinder, as I believe his descendants at present call themselves. Be this as it may, she was certainly Mrs Kindon, September 22, 1739, when she and her husband signed a joint release from all claim on the IMugwell Street estate, in respect to her share in the reversion after her father's death, upon receiving the sum of £^0. After this we have no mention of her name whatever. The tradition of the family has always regarded this marriage as a misalliance; the phrase used in regard to her has been "Pretty Mary, who married the barber." I think this is probably a little bit of scandal, or perhaps a little evidence of family conceit. In the document referred to he is described as " Henry Kindon, of St Michael, Wood Street, Barber-Surgeon." Now, of course, a barber-surgeon is no more correcdy described as a barber, than a merchant tailor would be as a tailor. We have not a word of her handwriting except her signature to the deed referred to, but it is noticeable that in that case it is far inferior to that of her MARY, WIFE OF HENRY KIND ON. Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor {Ben Mordecai). 347 brothers and sisters— less practised and cultivated. As Mary is not named in i7o6-ii(?)-i777. the Will of her sister Anne, September 6, 1743, we must conclude she was either dead at that time or had become estranged. Martha was baptized at Romford, September 8, 171 2, and as she is never Martha, heard of subsequently, it is probable that she too died young. In the Register her father is described as " of Wright's Bridge," which is in the adjoining parish of Hornchurch. We do not know how or when William Taylor was "of Wright's Bridge," and the Registers of Hornchurch and Romford afford us no further information. There remain only Elizabeth and Rebecca, of the dates of whose births we are at present ignorant. I believe there is no doubt that we are correct in taking first as the eldest — Elizabeth : where she was born — whether in London, like the five eldest of th family, or at South Weald, as was her brother Henry — we are at present entirely in the dark. 'The matter stands thus : The marriage of their father and mother took place in^i699; the first five children came in the following order: — May 1700. November 1701. January 1703. March 1704. July 1706. Now, so far, there is barely room to interpolate another birth, besides which, these are all contained in the Register of St Stephen's, Walbrook, and no doubt any other child coming within those years would likewise have been registered there. The next births that we know of are Henry (May 1711), said to have been born at South Weald, and Martha, September 171 2, baptized in London and registered at Romford. Now there is room for Elizabeth and Rebecca, or for either of them, between Mary (i 706) and Henry (1711). As has been shown in note to p. 341, we have entirely failed to discover when they were born, or where they were registered; it is therefore the merest guess to say that it is not improbable Elizabeth (who died 1777) was born between 1706 and 1711, while Rebecca, who lived till 1799, may with probability be placed after 1 7 1 3. It is at South Weald that we find the first record of Elizabeth, in a letter written by herself in 1750, when she must have been a middle-aged woman. As has already been recorded in speaking of the South Weald family (p. 234), the probability seems tliat South Weald was her Iiome for many years. Whether from her child- hood she lived with her uncles and aunts, or whether she lived with her father and mother up to the time of her mothers death in 1 738, we have not a word to tell e Elizabeth. Date of the births of Henr\', Eliza- betii.aiid Rebecca not linowli. 11 348 Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor {Ben Mordecai). i7o6-ii(?)-i777. US ; but she certainly remained at South Weald up to the time when her uncle John quitted it in 1764. He died in 1766, and in 1767 we find her addressing her letters from Ilford, where apparently she was living with her sister Rebecca. They left there in March 1770, and three months later we find them settled at Wandsworth, where indeed both remained for the rest of their lives. She was a great letter- writer, and her letters are^^full of vivacity and interest. She was a quaint, intelligent, and most affectionate old lady. Such particulars as we have of her are entirely derived from her letters, and are perhaps best left to be gathered from them. For this reason, and also because they contain numerous little family incidents, I give a larger number than I otherwise should do. One little bit of information concerning her from outside we have, and it is not a cheerful one. Dr Price, writing to her brother Henry in 1778, says : — B Taylor was one of the best women I ever knew; & she was blest with a great ' deal of liberality & good sense, as well as piety. But it was melancholy to see the distress she suffered at the close of life from groundless fears & scruples. The best people are sometimes the greatest Sufferers by Such distresses and they are render'd very grievous by the dejection of Spirits that often attends a dying sickness. Will of Elizabeth. On November 15th, 1776, she made her Will, in which she leaves her brother Henry twenty guineas; his daughter Elizabeth "my pint silver mug & diamond ring i" his daughter Anna " my silver porringer & one large silver spoon ;" Mrs Wilkes a ring of one guinea ; Mrs Barker five guineas ; and Mrs Elizabeth Waugh five guineas; to her sister Rebecca for life, the rents of houses in Fleet Street and White Lion Alley (after to her brother Henry) ; also to sister Rebecca for life, the rent of farm at Noke Hill (after to brother Henry) ; and the residue of her property to her sister Rebecca, whom she appoints executrix. She died on the 26th June 1777, and was buried at Wandsworth.* She appears to have been a great sufferer for many years, and her death was evidently felt to be a release to herself, and a relief to her friends. Her niece Elizabeth, writing in this sense, adds : — Had she lived one day more, her miseries must have been greatly increased, it being out of the power of three women to have moved her any more; she seems to have been tried to the utmost, & then taken, to be rewarded for her Patience which was very great indeed, etc. etc. The following extracts are from a MS. book written by Elizabeth, the dates running from 1743 to 1764. Without being in any way very remarkable, they are interesting, both in themselves and for the insight they afford into the theological opinions and religious sentiments of the writer : — Elizabeth's MS. book. * An impression prevailed in the family that she was buried at Tooting, but upon inquiry there, I find the Register contains no such entry. Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor {Ben Mordecai). 349 1706-ri (?)-i777. a Prayer for fixed Dczwtion Prayers. 1743 How happy are thy Servants whose Souls are ahvays fix'd on Thee, who can come to Thee as their Father ever compassionate, ever ready to hear them, with joy & gladness, who believing thy favour is towards them, can approach Thee with confidence, with grateful & Joyful hearts, our ad- dresses to Thee Thou hast of thy great mercy appointed to be for the refreshment, support, & comfort of our minds. It is o Lord the burden & grief, the occasion of continual anxiety of my heart, that I do not always in a more suitable manner worship Thee, as I ought in spirit & in truth. Alas ! thou knowest that often when I draw nigh to Thee with my Lips, my heart wanders from Thee, that my Prayers often times, are cold & dead, my thoughts absent, vain — while I am thus prostrate before Thee sometimes the fear of thus oftending, takes up my mind & draws it aside from Thee, & when I have concluded my Petitions & thanksgivings to Thee thus interrupted, what am I able to do, but to bewail the imperfect performance of my Duty, & even dispair of being heard or regarded by thee, surely tis out of my Power to help myself, for when I am most solicitous to do well, & yield thee a rational & acceptable worship, this Evil is present with me. O Lord thou art ready to succour & help all those who cry to Thee, thy succour, thy help Lord, I implore Extract from Prayers to be used at y' hegiiming of sickness. August 1754 I am Sensible O God, there is all possible Reason that I should' be ruled & govern'd by Thee. f It IS my happiness to be at thy Disposal, for Thou art only wise. Infinitely so, & knowest what is best for me ; Powerful, & canst bestow what thou pleasest on me, infinitely Good, compassionate & merciful, and therefore ever ready to relieve the wants of thy creatures, & to do them good I desire meekly & heartily to submit to thy Fatherly correction, if this sickness w'"' is now come upon me, is design'd as such unto me; or if as a Tryal of my Patience only, to be Patient under it, & entirely resign'd. nor Suffer Pain & sickness to make me swerve from y" sincere purposeses of my Heart in the seasons of my health & ease, but grant, y' one steady Rational, & uniform Principle, may actuate my soul in Life & Death : Thanksgiving for Recovery Most mighty God & merciful Father, I thine unworthy Servant whom thou hast raised from (a dangerous) Sickness, do now humbly present myself before Thee, acknowledging it to be owing to thy goodness alone y' I am now alive, & have once more an opportunity of offering up my Thanks & Praise at the throne of thy Grace. Thou Lord has chasten'd & corrected me, but hast not given me over unto Death. Blessed by thy divine wisdom, who saw this late affliction seasonable. Blessed be thy tender Compassion who hast, notwithstanding y" innumerable Instances of my past ingratitude, been gracious unto me, past by my many Infirmities, & inclin'd a favourable ear to my supplications, kept my mind from gloomy & terrible apprehensions, & granted to thy Servant in the season of my distress, hope in thy mercy, in X' jesus, even for eternal Life. Blessed be thy goodness w' by prolonging my Days, hast now given me an opportunity of rectifying y' errors of my past Life & reforming whatsoever IS amiss in my disposition, & y' thou dost dispose my heart now Life & health are return'd, to endeavour to do this. O Lord let not this goodness of thine nor my own serious Purposes of obedience ever slip out of my mind, but preserve therein a constant sense of y' indispensable obligations I am under to scr\'e Thee faithfully all niy Days But for as much as without Thee I am not able to please Thee, Grant me I beseech Thee o Lord, such a measure of thy grace as may enable me effectually to amend whatsoever has been amiss in y' temper & disposition of my mind, or in any of the actions of my Life. Lord increase my Faith, & grant y' my hopes & affections may be unalterably fix'd upon that ciemal & unchangeable happiness w" thou hast prepard for such as truly Love Thee, & sincerely obey Thee. 350 E/babcfli, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor {Ben Mordecai). i7o(j-ii(?) 1777. and may I ever retain a tender Pity for all who are in affliction, & be ever dispos'd to relieve the wants & necessities of all my fellow creatures, & to administer to y° Peace & happiness of all w"" whom I converse, to y° utmost of my Capacity. Enable me to improve y' Talents, thou hast again com- mitted to my Trust, & faithfully discharge the Duties of every station. meditation. 1755 why art thou so full of heaviness my Soul, & why art thou so disquieted within me ? Is there any thing in the action I am going to engage in, y" can Possibly depress y" mind ? Does it not rather on the contrary, naturally tend to disperse all gloom &: Pertrubation from it? seeing all we are call'd to reflect on. all we are commanded to commemorate, is y' Infinite Benevolence, Goodness & Love of our Heavenly Father our Almighty universal Benefactor! & y' Wonderful means he has appointed to carry on y' great & Beneficent Design, for w''' he at first call'd us into Being, viz : our eternal happi- ness, & our preparation for it. at y' giving of the Law indeed God appear'd in majesty & terror, but under y' xtian Dispensation as an indulgent Father in xt Jesus by whom he is reconciling a whole world of his rational the' offending creatures unto himself. & in whom his' glorious perfections shone with unparalleled Luster A Prayer for Peace August 1762. . O Everlasting Father of Peace ! whose almighty wisdom has directed & guided us in our late Emer- gencies, whose Power has Protected, & whose never failing Goodness & mercy has been our support & succour thro' every threat'ning Danger : when our Hearts failed us thro' fear, thine arm brought Deliver- ance, renderd the counsils of our Enemies against us of none Effect ; crown'd all our Endeavours with success, & render'd us thro' thy Blessing happily victorious, all Praise & grateful Thanks be yielded to thee our almighty guardian & Deliverer. And may it be our care to express our gratitude by the Future Obedience of our Lives, we humbly implore the continu'd Interposition of thine all wise Providence in all our great Interests, & that thou oh God wouldst continue to be gracious to thy People, & in thy mercy cause to cease that Havok war hath made both amongst our Enemies & us. and dispose both their Hearts & ours, to Terms of peace & concord, that there may be no more Destruction, no more leading each other into Captivity, no more complaining in our streets, and that the Tears of the Widow & orphan, be no more seen to flow amongst us Direct our Govemours in all their consultations for the good of thy People, the settling of Peace, on a solid & lasting Foundation for the securmg our Rights and Liberties, & above all the continuing to us the free & quiet enjoyment of our Religion, & thy holy Truth, oh ! may Peace & Happiness, Truth & Justice, Religion & Piety in its genuine purity, S: peace & harmony each with other, be Restor'd, establish'd, & ever more Flourish & abound amongst us, & all future Generations, to the Praise & glory of thy name Tis very commendable to endeavour to become acquainted with ourselves, & a Task necessary for all sometimes to charge themselves with, most satisfactory indeed to those who are most innocent & virtuous, if more were so, no doubt but that this would be more universally Practis'd. & we should not so frequently find many condemning m others, those very vices they themselves are particularly adicted to. But grant we are not guilty of this, yet y" wisest & best may Err, It is our own Judgment with regard to ourselves, that is to be depended upon, for if we are determln'd by the opinions of others, all is uncertainty. Our Friends may make us almost Angels (so great is y" partiallity of Friendship) our Enemies the very opposite, & tis ten thousand to one, but we err, if we implicitly follow either, & are not too much elated, or to much depress'd. If we think at all on this subject, it ought to be in search of Truth, and where need we wander to find it ? seeing it is near us, even in our own Hearts. There we may fully discover our Intention in any action, which goes far in determinating it to be either good or bad, & the motives of it, which is absolutely necessary towards passing a right Judgment on any part of our Conduct and as our own hearts therefore either condemn or acquit us. So are we in ourselves, let the World's opinion be what it will, concerning us. Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 351 i7o6-ii(?)-i777. Reflections. Rcflcctiojis on a few Interesting siihjeets. we need not be told we exist, we feel we do. Did we give existence to ourselves ? every ones mind will tell tliem they could not. There must then have been some first cause, or Author of our existence, where are we to seek this Cause, below or above us ? Tis certain, if we could not give being to our- selves, a Power inferior to our own, could never do this. It must thus be a Superior Power, y' gave & preserves our Existence, is it possible it should be otherwise ? certainly no. This original author of Life, must as necessarily be wise & Powerful, wise to contrive, & Powerful to execute y' grand scheme of universal Creation Thus wise & Powerful, he must ever have been sufficient for his own happiness, no inferior Power could have ever added to Infinite Wisdom, Power & happiness, no one being in any possible capacity to give to, or to diminish ought from him. What then could induce a' Being thus self sufficient, great, wise, & Powerful, to form a World, & give Existence to Rational Beings ? There cannot be the least appearance of any other possible motive, than y' of unbounded Goodness, crowning all y' attributes & Works of God ! delighting to communicate Life & happiness to a whole creation. For he gave not bear Existence, but a happy one. Providing every accommodation, an abundant supply for y= wants of the various creatures he should form, so that the whole Earth was, & is, full of the manifestations of his Goodness ! Man & Beast according to their different capacities amply furnish'd from y'^ overflowing Bounty of y*' all gracious maker \^No address; — -from Elizabeth to her sister Rebecca Taylor I] Dear Beckev M" Rudge some time ago send to my uncle Crispe a parsel for you to send to Portsmouth when he had an oportunity, but as he had none, he sent 'em to me, I suppos'd they were Franks, & could not all be sent by the post. I made bold to open 'em & found a dozen Franks by nothing else, so I think to keep some to write to you, & to send some one or two to you at a time when I do I have told Brother Bill what order I recceiv'd from Brother that He must give a receipt to him, for the money to pay for his Board, & discharge the debt when he is able, he is extreamly uneasy about it & thinks it is a hardship so I promis'd I would let my Father know so. I can't help thinking it is a hardship on him indeed poor Boy & tho tis true. It does not concern me yet it has grived me excedingly not that I suppose my Brother would be hard on Bill, but if he should dye, he could not answer for what others might do after him, I can see no prospect of Bills being able to pay should he contract the Debt, I am sure there is none for him here, for my uncle I — made a will a great while agoe We are all prittj' well aunt Liz has been with us near these 3 months we have a prodigious deal of thunder which sinks my spirits very much for I can't for my life get over the fear of it I shall be glad to hear how you all do, & how your back is, for it is a great while since I WTOte to you last pray write to me soon I hear uncle C is tolerable well, so I have no thoughts of going to Town till October I forgot when I sent a cartificate last to Brother, should be glaily carri'd it on to some desirable length I heartily rejoice in the Fruit your honest Labour lias already yielded you. Oh persist my Dear Girl persist & Heaven, I dare aver, will Bless your endeavours with a compleat victory, & restore to your Heart that peace & tranquility, which the envious never can possess. Let mc see— why I should think the strongest antidotes against this harass- ing & unwarrantable Passion must be the cultivating the strongest desire after the Divine approbation complacency and Love (worthy this of being the first Principle of action) The Love of moral Rectitude & universal Benevolence 'lords all our fellow creatures, especially of the most virtuous & worthy; & a Disposition (ever grateful in the eyes of our maker) to rejoice in every degree of virtue & happiness, communicated by the overflowing unbounded Benevolence of our all Gracious universal Parent! to his 360 Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. i7o6-in?)-i777. whole Family around us. a mind thus actuated, should I imagine be strongly guarded against all assaults of the Enemy, & gain universal esteem & Love, tho' freed by superior motives & considera- tions, from all troublesome anxiety to procure it. The wise man saitli, Favour is deceitful & Beauty is vain, but a woman who feareth the Lord she shall be praised. Beauty is truely pleasing to the Eye, & may penetrate the Heart of many a Lover but I never have seen that alone, it could procure a lasting esteem or do little more than please the Eye. be that as it may, tis Heavens gift to whom he willeth & a good understanding is preferable thereunto, so thought soloman, when he fix'd his choice to wisdom. I Bless Heaven it has not deny'd a very com- petent Portion thereof, to Thee my Dear Friend Bess, for tho' tis true, it can little change the outward form, yet can it form the mind to every amiable, estimable & Lovly Disposition, Lovly in the sight of God & man, & must I should imagine afford more internal joy than the beholding in a mirror the most beauteous set of Features (tho' not dispising) pass we off from Beauty, say there are other objects viz. of the mind that charm & more Justly claim our veneration, & engross our Love, but why our envy? this would seem as tho' we lov'd not what was lovly, admir'd not what was amiable, or had contracted blindness in the inward man. whereas it should rather animate us to be imitators of such as merit applause. Is a mind well Fraught with useful Knowledge, a Power join'd to a propensity to be uni- versally useful & beneficial, commendable? cannot a good capacity with opportunity of improvement by diligent application, acquire this? why the mind is a thing that may improve to endless ages. Is a modest, courteous, & afhble disposition, in opposition to a self-opinionated overbearing carriage, form'd to please, & Lovely in itself? wherefore may we not acquire all this, as well as others? Is a sweetness of Temper, a disposition to please, & to be pleas'd engageing? what should hinder that we make not this our own? is St Pauls most excellent Difinition (i" Cor & 13) of charity or Love, of intrinsick & never failing worth ? Give it we then the possession of our Hearts, & it will Guard us from every un- social, unfriendly, & unpleasing sensation, above all things, my dear child, guard against contraction of Heart. The heart is of an expansive nature, & by taking in, will hold the more, never confine it to the Love of one Friend, to the exclusion of many equally worthy of its regard, never fancy or wish the Heart of your Friend so pitiously narrow, as to hold but only you, or to be under the least necessity to lessen the strongest regard to you, while it extends its affections .... Friends some con- ceive of Friendship, as of the sun thro' .... the narrower the compass its Rays are drawn into, the more strong &' it is. our sex are mightily prone to be fond of a romantick iSc confin'd Friendship, but give me a Irirnd with a Heart that can hold many Friends, truth, I list not to abide in a cold dark Dungien by myself, nor even in the finest appartment, lock'd to all but me, & saw I one of much superior merit entering, why let 'em enter & heavens Blessing with 'em should I repine, or Love my Friend the less, for being charm'd with worth exceeding mine? or think therefore she Lov'd not me? Love I not the amiable myself & should I not better Love my Friend for being in Love with a virtuous & amiable Person. I would wish 'em to Love many such, to be discarded or loose the share I once possess'd tis true would hurt me. neither do I conceive this to be your case by any means having much reason to think the contrary, all I know express a strong & unvarying regard & afTection for you, & such I'm very certain I feel for you myself. I could wish you would search if perchance there may On jealousy, not have enter'd unperceiv'd into your Heart, some small spirit of Jealousy, if so extinguish it with all your might for believe me tis in its nature a very Fiend, a deceitful mischief making Toad as any in the world, & will If it meet with the least encouragement destroy your repose & happiness in every possible situation & connexion, as a child, a Friend, or a wife. If anything herein, you can improve to your advantage, I shall be very glad, otherwise when I can get on my Legs, & to my own fire-side I will try again to serve you, in the mean time my Dear Bett, take all in friendly part, for so my Heart doth mean it & my Pen belyeth it shrewdly if it expresseth ought otherwise, not any one creature, has seen, or heard your Letter, or shall do. So far at least you may depend on not repenting of your trusting your sincerely affectionate Eliza. Do my Dear write soon & Let us know how your father got home your aunt Beck desir'd he would write himself, & is exceedingly anxious to hear of his safty. Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspondence. 361 No, if I cannot help you, I will never deceive yon, nor love you less, truely noble is the endeavour to i7o6-ii(?)-i777. reform a Foible ! & who can say they have none to mend before the name Eliza, read aunt Nov 2"'' 62 Since I finish'd this I reed your Fathers & f Letter all are rejoic'd to hear he is safe & well & all Join in Love to him, mad" & the young folk, adieu. Nov'- 3'' 62 [No address;— from Elizabeth to her niece Elizabeth Taylor.] My Dear Bess, the true reason that I have not been so speedy as you desire in my return of an answer to yours is, that it found me not at weald, but had another Journey to take to London e'er it could reach my hand, & where it found me so engaged in gadding abroad &c, that you will imagine I could not possibly set down composedly to write in such sort, as I could wish, however here I am now again at your service so far forth, as my ability serveth me to serve you. but first I must tell you I was glad of your Letter to inform me how your mother was, for I had in Town heard she was very ill, but could gain no information of the true nature of her disorder. I doubt the vexation she has lately met with, has been but too prejudicial to her health, it has indeed been an unlucky affair from first to last, & I am heartily sorry for it, but glad to hear that both your Father & mother are better. What a foolish Girl was you, to have a whitlow seeing if you had but scalded it in hot water 3 or 4 times a Day, & took a little gentle Physick on the turn of the humour, you need not have had any sore finger at all, if you know not this, I do, having try'd the experiment often no, no, m' B had no design to kill me I dare say, only as he found there was no curing my Knee while the Rheumatism laid such close seige thereunto, he had a mind to raise it, thinking should It attack my stomach, he could sooner cure it there as indeed he did. my stomach & head I thank God, are now pure well, tho I have it in my shoulder, knees, & Elbow, but not so bad as to prevent my using all these materials tolerably well, & old age will have its aches, do what a man can. I really have so little remembrance of the contents of my long letter to you as tho I had wrote it not & as for your last on the particular subject now in hand, I burnt it to secure it from all possibility of telling Tales, so that 'tis a hundred to one, but I shall be guilty here of repeating what I have so long since pened unto you. There is nothing more common than for Parents to try to rouse their young ones emulation by setting before them, & expressing their admiration of an apparently amiable object, proposing the conduct of such to their observance & imitation, & perhaps here they are not altogether to blame yet I find 'em guilty of a great defect in not farther leading them, so far to the admiration & Love of the truly excellent & amiable, as might enable 'era to see themselves (in all such particulars as might possibly be beyond their power to acquire) even out shone with the utmost composure & tranquility, for few can expect to attain to the highest acquisitions, & to pass unexcell'd by any. they should be taught therefore to esteem superior merit wherever it shines conspicuous, & love it for Its own intrinsick worth, be pleas'd with hearing it commended, joining themselves in that Love which others bear unto it To imagine there is no Person of superior virtue, excellence, & real merit to myself, would be so high a pitch of vanity, & self inthusiasm, that I cannot conceive it possible either for myself, or any other to arrive thereat, to be able to Love no one superior to oneself to me appears as abso- lutely irrational. Thus must the Heart become strangely contracted, its most pleasing sensation absorb'd, & render'd as odious & miserable as its hatred becomes extensive, not to esteem an Object worthy in itself of esteem, not to Love the truly excellent virtuous & lovly, is unnatural, & consequently shocking to human nature, originally impress'd with flowing Benevolence, the love of Rectitude, & every deserving amiable object & to grudge to such the real regard of our Friends, must be as truly unjust, « to withhold our own from them. To fancy our Friends cannot love us or must Love us the less! for esteeming & loving another, is a narrow & weak way of thinking, no matter how soon discarded for this tormites the Heart, generally the very end of a Parents or a Friends extolling another, is to 2 Z 362 EH::abcth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. i7o6-iii?)-i777. animate those who most they love, to the like acquisitions (as I before observed) for I do not suppose People to be such numpses as to have their affections engag'd solely by natural, external unacquirable Decorations of a Person, (if I may so speak) & as for a Polite Behaviour or what exceeds the outward form of Ms, a thorough good & amiable Disposition & pleasing deportment, every one may use their utmost efforts, & by so doing, acquire in a great degree even this, which I imagine is all their Friends could wish. what I take to have given rise to all your pain is, that you have read the matter wrong my Dear. Homily on I am not so absolutely certain, the true definition of Jealousy rising to any considerable hight jealousy. jjgareth no anology to Envy or whether the first can subsist in the heart unblended with the other, so ready an attendant. By the length the malady went, I should fear it stood not entirely clear thereof, seeing any degree of hatred arose to an object not culpable for 'tis certain if she was undesignedly the cause of your trouble she was actually innocent, & of course by no means a just object of your dislike, neither can I any more than your mtm heart vindicate the abatement of your affection to her or think it so Justifiable as I could wish all yotir actions & propensities of mind & heart to be. you see I spare you not, but I would have you take me as I really mean, as a most sincere Lover of yourself, tho' by no means of such a tendency of mind, as must ever be productive of your perpetual disquietude & torment, in whatever station of Life you may be fixed &: which I greatly applaud you for your dislike of & honest eff'orts to erase, whatever you do, pcrsrocre in this Resolution. To be perfectly happy my Dear, Let your first S: most ardent solicitude be to gain the divine approbation for this will go far towards animating your diligence in rendering yourself a suitable object thereof Consider what dispositions of mind & heart, it must be indispensibly necessary to acquire, to render you amiable in the sight of a Being of absolute Rectitude, universal Benevolence, goodness, & Love, and make it your constant endeavour to cultivate them. For those dispositions that are consonate to his nature & Laws, raise no commotions no turbulent & painful sensations in the mind, but sooth it & render it not only humane, affectionate, Friendly & lovly in itself, but serene & Joyous. Fix not your mind then, so much on the grievences you have, or may suff'er, as on every possible method that may help you absolutely to extripate a tendency of mind so wrong & alarming in itself, so fatal to your repose, & which has been the sole cause, of all this evil to you, & a behaviour to your Friend (if she Lov'd you) grievous to her, I had almost said, unworthy her affection. But farther by the indulgence of such a disposition, we must render ourselves incapable not only of content here, but of compleat felicity even, in Heaven itself where if Jealousy & Envy enter, alas ! how must our Joy be clouded, interupted, spoiled. If we are thus shagreen'd & hurt to see an amiable & virtuous Person rise equal, or say above us, in the Love & estimation of a Friend, a fellow mortal, how shall we bear unpain'd to view numbers widely surpassing ourselves, out shining us, standing above us in the applause & Love of our supreme Parent & Friend? whose approbation is I trust I'm sure it ought to be of infinitely more concernment to us than that of all the worlds, must not He Love in degree superior, such as in superior degrees of virtue rise? certainly it cannot be otherwise. & unless we can arrive at an assurance that we ourselves are the most excellent of all mortals that ever were, or can be, I can see no possibility of any other rational supposition than the above, to wit. that numbers must, & will far exceed us, in virtue, the love of their maker, & in consequent happiness. are we tlierefore eternally to hate them? now in my opinion, these are the very Persons, next to God himself, that will ingross the highest share of our veneration & love. & while we shall receive such testimonies of his favour as shall far surpass our conscious merit, our Joy shall, I am persuaded, acquire great augmentation by beholding their higher virtues, & higher Bliss, & while with transport we contemplate the most perfect Excellence, shall delight & Love, in proportion as we shall view the traces hereof; in each member of the heavenly society, with David then let our delight be now in the excellent of the Earth, & in such as excel in virtue. So strong an antidote this against the indulgence of that most unwarrantable & baneful passion of Jealousy, that I have never felt any degrees thereof, which these reflections have not been able immediately absolutely to quell &r cure. Try it my Dear, for I doubt, nay I heartily wish there may be numbers far exceeding you & I and I hope you will soon be able to join me in saying, thus have I gam'd the victory over my wrong Passion .1 can heartily reioice in & love every degree of virtue, in whatever Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 363 Person it exhibits itself to my view, & am so far from feeling any painful sensation at my most beloved Friends expressing their warmest regard to such worthy objects, that if I know my own heart, I truly love both the loving, & the beloved, the better therefore. Enjoy great satisfaction & pleasure in beholding a person excelling in what is truly laudable, praise, & love worthy, in giving place to superior worth, & in the discernment and Love of my Friends thereof, & thereunto, as the numbers of such can never too far increase, as the happiness of such must ever more abound, & as the highest degree of Bliss must ever be, to rational agents the enjoyment of the divine approbation, thus would I excite my diligence in imitating every virtuous & lovly character & disposition. But if we invert nature, & hate that that is excellent, what charms can it have to us? what will spur us to a laudable emulation? Sweet will be come bitter, & bitter sweet, our Heart deprav'd & our conduct with its motives, mean, sordid, base despicable. I fear I have tired you, but I would give you as full & ugly a view of this vice as possible, to the end that you may most gladly turn your view to its contrast, & have That to wit, universal benignity, Benevolence, & Love, beam on your heart with all the splendour the charms, the intrinsick beauty & lovliness of a thoroughly amiable & virtuous disposition. Be these my Dear your constant study to acquire. Do but contemplate them their pristine rise, their worth, their tendency & they will charm themselves into your most eager embraces. Thus shall serenity & peace again revisit thy disturbed heart. Harmony of soul, & solid happiness for ever more be thine. So Heaven grant unto you, sincerely prayeth your truly affectionate Friend Eliza. Feb ye i8"- O3 Distribute all our Loves & good wishes as due from Friends to Friends. {From Elizabeth to her niece Elizabeth Taylor.'] To Miss Taylor at the ReV Mr Taylors at Crawley near Winchester Hants These are to certify my Dear Besse, that I am really very uneasy & much alarm'd that I have not heard from you ever since the iS"' of Feb' when I wrote to you. some times I fear your poor mother is worse, or your Father ill, or your self out of sorts. & sometimes I think perhaps I did not write with sufficient tenderness to you, iSc that I have thereby hurt or vexed 50U. in .short 1 am as full of thoughts as an Egg is full of meat, as the vulgar have it. but as none at present are very pleasing unto me, neither can I be certain of the real cause of your long silence, it as suspence is a painful situation, I am determind at last to go in search of Truth in this my present emmergency, & as I know no one more capable than yourself, nor I trust more ■nnV/inj; to help me in the discovery thereof, I do here apply to you solely, beging you to send me as soon as possible, all the information in your Power. & first to tell me, how your Father & mother does & also how all your Brothers, your Sister, & you your self are. & then to let me know if I vexed or Aurt you, or if you are mortal mad with me or not. but as I knowing my imffi Heart towards you, & trusting you read the same aright, I am not so apprehensive here about, as about your welfares my Dear. I have been very bad again with my Stomach, but I thank God it is now better. I have at last consented to have an outlet made in my arm which contrary to my expectation goes on & answers wonderful well, whether it will prove of any service to me, a longer time must determine, having had it only about a month, so now I hope you'll be pleas'd. Vour Aunt Taylor is but poorly &: has a new core in her ancle, well I wish you was here 364 Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. i-o6-in?)-i777. for I am well nigh as Dull as a Post. I beg you write soon, for I shall not be an easy woman till I hear from you. so give every one of our Loves to your Father, & to your Mother & to your Sister, & to your Brothers, & fail ye not to accept a good deal thereof your self. I am Dear Bess loving Thee right well & much your sincerely affectionate Aunt Eliz*- Taylor. Bearing Date the 6"' of April 63 Your Aunt Beck desires her Love to all. She is very sorry to hear your mother & Father have been ill. \_From Elizabetli to tier brotlier (tie Rev. Henry Taylor.~\ To The ReV M' Taylor at Crawley near Winchester Hants now as for my Horses I have had them valu'd by Carter who we really hold to be as good a Judge of a Horse as any one here about, he bouglit them, & knows them well. I did not tell him who I intended them for, but only ask'd him what he truly though they were worth, he said he valued Ball at Twelve Pounds, & Jolley at eight Pounds. so if you like to give Twenty Pounds for the Two, & will pay ready money for them, you may have 'em on Tuesday or Wednesday sennight (& not before) if you please to send for them, or order how they shall be sent at your own expence, as I can nothing bate of the clear J^20 which I must have directly to pay of my aunts Debts, so far forth as that sum will go. if therefore you like the price, I had rather you should have them than another, if you care not to give so much, I had rather another should have them than you ; & must seek my fortune w"" them at my Back. & now I have honestly bespoke my mind, & desire your direct answer. I shall not let John know you are to have them a moment before they go off, as I know he approveth not of you for a master for them, but I shall not ask his advice neither inform him the Horses are my property till they are gone, for his behaviour to me is well nigh intolerable, but they are my own & I will dispose of them without either his consent or knowledge as I please. I will not let the sermon go out of my Hands, we all Join in kind Love to you my sister & the young Folk I am Dear Brother your affectionate sister Eliz*- Taylor. may y' zs* 64 The House not yet let, but we shall sell the grass. if you send for the Horses, I do beg you will not fail to send the money, to wit £20 for them by the messenger, if I am to send them, pray desire m' Fox to send me your money for them on the Day they are to set out. I would not be thus strict with you could I help it, but am oblig'd thereto, being dun'd & really in distress for the money. I was greatly oblig'd to you for y' offer to lend me, but I choose not to borrow, seeing I love not to pay again. & so I have this I shall not want. \_No address from Elizabelti to tier brotlier ttie Rev. Henry Taytor.'\ June y° 5"" 64 Dear Brother we have had one Captain Hinde to see the House last week, he came again with his lady on Sunday, both are exceeding agreeable People, they seem'd much pleas'd with every particular save Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspondence. 365 the Rent, greatly shall we be mortifi'd to part with them, but greatly fear it must thus be. I expect '/ofi-'il?)-!???- to hear m' Fox's determination to morrow. had we gone soon, my uncle would have been in spirits, whereas now thro' dispairing of ever letting it, & so many disappointments, he is quite sunk & dejected. I know not what to do with him, for to a dispirited man no thing is pleasing Eliza Taylor. Ill give our knave a crown for you pray do the same to yours for me [From Elizabeth to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor?^ To The Rev"- M' Taylor at Crawley near Winchester Hants Dear Brother This Day your Bank note & Letter came safe to me at Rumford, for both I am greatly oblig'd to you. we really have been so fatigued first with Packing, & then with unpacking, moveing & settling, that we have not been able to write before. I was indeed thinking of sending you a Line some two or three Days hence, but as the old Proverb is, money maketh the man- to go, & therefore do I write by this Post, that my Thanks may be convey'd to you with all speed, for your kind remembrance of me which will set me on my Legs & make a man of me stout & strong, without any farther addition, we have been here, (near the Dolphin at Rumford) about a fortnight. my uncle John was greatly affected on leaving the House just at last, but is now easy & amused much, tho' his head is frequently out of sorts, in he is very poorly. The Docter & we go on passing well, agree as Hand & Glove. he is indeed an amiable Being & so is M" newcome. but his Reverandship desired me to tell you we are saucy Girls. yet have we indulg'd this man (so far forth as our abilities extended even as the apple of our Eye ! he woteth nothing of the song but saith he will learn to sing at some convenient season, & hopeth to have a good Laugh with you. he is now at Worcester. but was so obliging to come from thence to settle all matters, & grant us leave to leave iveald, which I had promis'd not to do till he should again make his appearance there. he has taken all the stock to the amount of ;^233-ii which is to be paid into M' Foxes hands. & I have a note from the D' to receive it of his Brother when we please, but I shall first see M' Fox without whom I cannot wag a finger for he is my most Trusty counsellor, my Jaithful Friend, & my constant consoler in every emergency & tribulation. God Bless him for such a Head & such a Heart hath hardly one man in a looo Im sure. I hear Besse Harry & Dan have been at Binfield, should have been glad to have seen them, had it suited. when I see M' Fox, I will talk of what you have mention'd till then I know little or rather nothing concerning this affair, save that at the expiration of each possessors Life, there is a larg sum to pay. my uncle reed the spying Glass & thanks you for it, desires his Love Becky sends her kind Love to you, & we both join here in. to my sister & all the young Folk we were much entertain'il with your Letter, & so seem'd the D' to whom we shewed it, after we had first examin'd him according to your Injunction & puzzled his poor head to find out our meaning in asking such a strange question Sincerely Affectionate Sister Ei.iz* Taylor. Rumford Oct' lO 1764 366 Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. i7o6-ii(?)-i777- [No date; — -from Elizabeth to Iter brother the Rev. Henry Taylori] To The Rev'^ M' Taylor at Crawley near Winchester Hants [about 1765,] Dear Brother, I was glad to hear by M' Fox that you got no cold nor harm with your Ride on the Box from hence. should have been glad to have heard that you got safe home. my uncle is much as he was. I am better with the Disorder of my stomach than when you was here, but am in a Dropsey, tho' the D' thinks I have rather gain'd grown, & that I am not worse, than I was a month ago. I still take tl5e very same medicine that made me so extremely bad when I had it here I now have it from London & it has never once in the least disagreed with me. we are all greatly vexed about D' N who some time after I sent that note (for at the time he was from home) came and brought most part of the Rent, is to settle the account another time. I made an excuse for my writing which he politely said he did not take amiss, but he was highly offended, said he took it very unkind & hard that my uncle should deny him a Tree, that he thought this was very unpolitick, for a Tenant had it in his power to give uneasiness, as well as a Land Lord, he had never touch'd any thing without consent, that People said there was Timber enough on the Estate, & thought it very hard he should not cut it to do his repairs. that he had not been by the Lease alow'd Plough Boot &c, but that tho' M' Fox would not put it in the Leese, he said we should not deny such a Tenant as him such a Trifle, so much as he had laid out on our old House, & so good a Tenant as he was he thought he was hardly used, that what he should buy of Trees for the repairs, he should buy out of what he should otherwise have laid out on the Farm. Another cause of his displeasure was, that he had he said, been told by some of our old neighbours that we had said he had made alterations for the worse & that it was very ridiculous. & we were much condemned by them for such conduct. I declar'd & with Truth that we had never said such a thing, he said Besse had hinted to M' P N when She was there that there were too many Trees cut down & it was spoiled. I said I knew not what Besse had said. I imagin'd she spake but according to her own fancy some might like more opening & some more inclosure & no harm ment. we were never against his cutting down the Trees nor card at al that they were down. I beg to know what Besse did say there, & if She spake only her own fancy, or said we thought it too much exposed. all that I know we have ever said was that we liked very well the D' should please himself that he had made eveiy thing very smart & cleaver but we fear'd it might increase the Fine & this my uncle said to the D' himself. I persuaded my uncle to give up the Tree which after a refusal, the D' at last accepted. my uncle was a little too rough in his manner of speaking, which I could not help, & the D' went down as much displeas'd as he came up to him, but seeing how bad he was, he said I believe the less to him. I beg'd we might part Friends, but the D' I find is dis- pos'd to be displeas'd, whether he will come about again I can't say I wish he may, for this has vexed us much indeed. carter we find is determin'd to be troublesome & I suppose will not at the upshot leave his Farm without force. but I need care for none of these things as I suppose I shall not hold it long, our maid tell Bett, went out yesterday for a Holy Day & got married that is another vexation to. I do not think it does well to keep People after they are doubled, so that if we could hear of a good servant steady & honest I should be very glad. but I must wait till we can. tell Besse also that I drew her Brothers Picture in a Pulpit & gave it to the young Lady — who liked it well & said she found he was sensible by his noise, the aunt said I had not flatter'd him, & that I Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. was afraid her neice should like him, they both send compliments to Besse. we Join in Love to you all & thanks for y' kind visit : I am Dear Brother y' affectionate Sister Eliz*' Taylor. I thought I should have heard from Besse before now, I beg to know if She carrid the Books I sent by her to my Cousin mead. I beg you will be careful what may at any time be said to M' P N as he has told liis Brother what Besse did say about his alterations & I [fear?] he has taken it ill. we should have been glad to have remain'd in concord & not discord.— however the D' thank him, has sent this Day to know how we did, & I am I think worse & worse, may y' 21 or whitson Wednesday. should be glad to hear from you. \No address: no date;— from Elizabeth to her niece Elizabeth Taylor?^ [about 1765.] It is very extraordinary it [the fire at Crawley] should happen on a Sunday. Heaven preserve you F're =>t Crawley, from the Evi! doer. I imagine you must sustain a great loss notwithstanding your corn was insured, but happy, S: great matter indeed of thankfulness it is, that your Lives are saved & no dammage to any ones person. I would wish a sharp Eye to be kept tor'ds the Blacksmith, we were glad to hear of all your healths & that Billy is better, indeed I do not understand your Poetry, so how should I like it woman? your uncles Legs swell much, his head is very bad & he is very poorly, aunt Beck indifferent & I so, so not extraordinary. I can Just tell you how we are but I can't write. I have none now that I write to. M" French is Dead an old Friend, as for new ones I shall never get any. we have made a visit to D' Newcome where all things appear new & wond'rous smart, I wish I had been wise enough to have bargen'd to have had one garret or little corner to have gone to when I pleas'd, for I often think that but to breathe one 24 hours in weald air would revive & help me greatly when I am ill, as for the air here [Romford probably] I find it (save in the late extreme dry & hot weather we have had) so very damp & heavy, that it agree'" not with my constitution atal. I was delighted with the children for they are very pretty, sensible & cleaver, & I could have staid there till this time if I might the Air was so sweet & salutary to me, that I thought I could never gape & swallow enough of it, but alas I lost it all long e'er I reached the Turnpike, that this is not a good air or one that will agree with my constitution is ... , [torn] {A^o address ;-~from Elisabeth to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.] Dear Brother, I have waited, if perchance I might be able to send some account of the abatement of my Disorder, but I have gone thro' with almost all the medicines used for my malady with so little success that I am rather worse, than in any way of growing better, as I increase in size, tho as yet not to any great degree. I walk a good deal as that seems to lighten me, & give me both appitite & spirits. I suppose accord- ing to the Docter, I am not in immediate danger, nor do I (having no reason so to do) imagine I shall ever get the better of this same dropsey, the water in me having increas'd with in these last three weeks, so much for that. My Aunt Liz wrote us a grumpy sort of a Letter on hearing my uncles will, but She came down to us for one Day only last monday, when we fairly talk'd over all matters, read over my uncle Daniels Will, which she has long thought she never was permitted to see, & satisfy'd her in all particulars ibout which She had been so long grumbling, we treated her in very friendly sort, & on a little invi- Ution, She consented to spend a week with us (for the cat was Just going to Kitten) & which She has 368 Elisabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspondence. 1706-1 i(?)-i777. past with her usual cheerfulness, & we have had since we met no discord at al. by her own choice & proposal She is to spend another week with us & we are to carry her home next monday & spend a night w"' her in Town we are greatly oblig'd to you for your kind invitation & should like much to come was I able to take so great a Journey, my last which was to London & back to Romford the same Day did me much harm, & I have been worse ever since, so that I dare not attempt a long Journey any more. my uncle you know left you 50 Guineas which when M' Fox has sold the Stock, we hope to be able soon to pay you. it will be a monstrous Fine, but hope there will be sufficient for you, for that & some small affairs as yet unpaid. carters & Fleet Street come I think now to the disposal of my Fathers will, & if I remember right are to be sold in order to a division according thereto. & if either both or one of these are sold you may pay yourself Becky & I each lent my Father ^^50 to pay off M" Egerton, which we were to be repaid, when M' Fox is at leisure, & you can consult him, all these affairs may be adjusted & the sooner they ^re settled the better. we shall not take that is to say, dispose of any of carters next Rent without advice of M' Fox & you, tho' I suppose part at least thereof is my uncles. carter I suppose will give us trouble enough. Fleet Street Rents are ^46 10. whereof my Aunt Liz has £zo for her annuity clear of all Taxes. It is Let much under its prestine Rent, & may in a few years again be raised to, when the Lease shall be expir'd, which I think will be in the year 1771 so that I see not how this can be sold, or if it could, it must as it should seem to me, be at present to a disadvantage. with regard to my uncles [John's] will, I do not remember there was any alterations made after you left us, save our being nam'd his Executrixes &= instead of my Aunt Taylor. My aunt Liz is to have clear of Taxes out of the weald Estate. I hope that Rent will be paid regularly, but I shall not for both my Ears dare to say so, tho' tis very natural for the Rich to think others may not want their money to a moment. Docter Newcome preach a charity Sermon here last Sunday perform'd admirably It was a rational « Sensible & cleaver Discourse indeed, we were greatly pleased with it. what we had in the afternoon was all Rant & Stuff, an immoral character an affected Orator & a Heart unpenetrated. we shall be glad to see Besse when she comes to Placet have not wrote to her lately, we ioin in hearty Love to you all I am Dear Brother your affectionate Sister E. T. August y' ig* 1766 [From Elizabeth to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.^ To The ReV^ M' Taylor at Crawley near Winchester Hants Dear Brother on friday was Sennight we were sent for to Town on account of my Aunt Lizas being ill we went & found by Docter Petits & M' Youngs opinion that she was past Recovery, on monday M" overy wrote us word of her death & M" ayers desir'd we would come assoon as we could, for there could be nothing done till we had been there so yesterday morning we went in a Post chaise as I could not (notwithstanding overy had seen my Aunts will a good while ago & thought we, or one of us was left her Executrix) be certain this was the fact, I sent for one Harrison a Friend of my Aunts & dark of Bloomsbury to read it, he had made it I found last month for my Aunt, the purport of it was, that he being an undertaker, was nominated to be hers; & Mrs ayers her sole executrix, to whom she Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 369 bequeath'd all her Effects only she has left to you Becky & myself lialf a Guinea to be paid us 12 calender months hence. I told Harrison I thought as he knew my aunts Executrix he needed not have let ayers sent for us. but he said He thought we should not be satisfy'd if we did not see her will that M" Ayers knew not till then that she was left Executrix. I can't say as to that, but think if she had not suspected it she would have deliver'd us my aunts Keys on our arrival. Harrison wanted us to Join M" ayers in the expence of the Funeral, but I said I had no Right to interfere in it & would not at al concern myself about it, as my aunts will was to be Buryd at the discression of M" ayers. he said he thought I had more love to my Aunt than not to give a couple of guineas to make her funeral more decent as the Effects were small & invited one of us to the Burrying but we did not choose to go. M" Ayers is a methodist & was M" Baldwins maid. M' Harrison was also this way, before he was made dark to Bloomsbury Church, so we were all just right in fore seeing how my Aunt would dispose of her Fortune had it been in her power & ever so large & we cant but reflec'd on the Kindness of Pro- vidence tords us all in its having been not put in her power to deprive us of a comfortable subsistence from generation to generation. She has been greatly disturb'd I believe on this account. we were told she made a glorious End & died I find by M" ayers account in the very spirit & Raptures of methodism, fixing the Day before slie died the next for her departure seeing crowns before her Eyes & expressing full assurance of receiving one from her Jesus the next Day. Joys these never withheld from a methodist her will is sign'd by M' Harrison his wife & a Lodger of theirs. I suppose M' Fox has told you as how I cannot yet pay you your Legacy, I have fretted [torn] could not, but shall so soon as tis in our power. I sent over to Besse yesterday morning She is well, we are to go visit M" Elmes on monday & hope to have Besse for one night at least before She returns to Crawley. I think poor M" Elmes if she continues there by herself will be very gloomy now. we like our new little Habitation exceeding well & are tolerably well we Join in hearty Love to you all I am Dear Brother your affectionate Sister ' Eliz*' Taylor. i7o6-ii(?)-i777. y'= 26"" 1767 we have a spair Room & hope to see you & my Sister if you come at Ilford march Easter &c. I am better for Docter Petits prescription he has been extremely good to me. has also visited my Aunt Liza 4 times in her illness I think he is absolutely loaded with having thus the whole Body of Taylors on his back & think we should offer fees for my Aunt tho' we be not Executrixes, dont you think so to? \_Fro?!i Elisabeth to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.'] To The Rev" M' Taylor at Crawley near Winchester Hants Dear Brother m" Elmes has got the larger Pigion House the other her man approvd not of her having. She calld once with nancy to fetch home miss newel who was so obliging to come & spend a Day with us, we did not ask for nancy's company, because we thought it improper to purpose M" Elmes's being left ilone. I should be glad to hear how you got home, & how you all do, & to hear from Besse when she is at leisure, we Join in Love to you all I am your affectionate Sister Eliza Taylor. Ilford may y' 25"' 1767 3 A Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspondence. i7o6ii(?)-i777- [^Ff'om Elizabeth to her brother the Rev. He?iry Taylor.'] To The Rev" M' Taylor at Crawley near Winchester Hants Dear Brother [After a long letter, in which she enters into the question of what proportion of the rents was due, and had been paid, to her brother, she proceeds] I Desire you will keep this Letter by you, as I shall yours, for I would not write it again for a round sum. It has cost me 5 pence for a Dish of coffee to settle my Brains again. we have heard of mr Peter & miss Eliz" arrival in London, & that they were expected last Sunday at Placet,* but have not as yet seen either of them I beg the favour to know if this comes safe to your Hands. we Join in Love to you & my Sister Taylor & Henry & Billy I am your affectionate Sister Eliz'^ Taylor. Illford Oct y' 25'" 1768 I \_From Elisabeth to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.^ To The Rev"*- Mr Taylor at Crawley near Winchester Hants may y' 27* Dear Brother [On the legacy by Richard Turner she says] :— now seeing you have got such a parcel of young eagles tho' not to pick out your eyes, Heaven be Frmsed; yet that they will gauyp & caw for money. Food & Raiment, ever & a non ; Beckey & I purpose, if so be, that the Repairs of Lowndes House come within the sum of our two Legacys together to bear you free from that incumbrance, & pay the whole ourselves, any thing beyound the sum of 'our Legacy, we cannot go, but so far as the £joo will go, we are willing to pay towards the repairs, if they, or what they may come to, beyond the £100, you must pay. If they come to less, so much the better, we shall be main glad to have the overspruce to buy each of us a gown, or for any emergency. NB we mean the above proposal, as a free proposal. & by no means to mvolve you m any Debt, a Burden which neither we, nor our fore Fathers, were able to bear. I abhor both borrowing' & lending, for one & the same Reason, even because I hate to ^ay. so get you to writing, & let us get the money as speedily as we may, & then we may be able to pay off this odious Debt, so shall we sleep in better peace. Fare well. ^ may y° 27"" 1769 our Love attends ye all. \ {No signature— endorsed "Sister Eliza."] I rather suppose this to have been the Elmes's at East Ham. Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 371 [From Elizabeth to Iter brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.~\ To The Rev"- Mr Taylor at Crawley near Winchester Hants. Dear Brother heartily glad should 1 be to come & see you but I am so heavy Heeld a Xtian, & so abominably lame it is not possible for me to stir. I was in hopes the summer might at least have recoverd my knee, but I find I am like to be lame ever m'ore. for striving against the stream, does but increase the malady & weakness thereof. we are very glad to hear you are better. I am very glad you have inquird after M' marzaus charrector, & find it so exactly agreemg with what m' Ferrard said of him, as I was fearful lest he might have esteem'd him above his worth, & that you might after all have been disappointed, we heartily wish Billy may be happily fixed. & when you come to Town with him we beg we may see you both. we are always glad to see any of your young Folk when we can. I fixed no time for Anne to come to us, only told her should be glad to see her when she could conveniently come that we would take care of her in her passage to & from wandsworth. our Garden is about 30 yards long a wide gravel walk down the middle, & a narrow grass walk on each side, & within these a Bed beset with Parsley, mint sage, Thyme, Rosemary &c French Beans for Food, & French marigolds by way of Decoration mth a few Roses, it beareth also on its walls currant Trees, Pears, Peaches, & apricots in small quantities, & we have a stout young man who keeps all this in good order, tight & trim'd for two Guineas a year. as to Flowers they are beautiful, but too expensive. I doubt your Hay faireth bat ill, so unseasonable as the weather has been, but so long as you can but get strength & bear well on your Legs it mattereth the less what the weather is. I shewed your Letter to M' Farard, chusing so to do, lest he might think we might slight his Brother in Law the mercer, but as you he saw fix'd on the other Trade there could be no offence or appearance of slight. & I think m' marzau is by much the best. Becky desires her kind Love to you, our best wishes attend you all. I am Dear Brother your affectionate Sister Elizabeth. June y° 3'' 1770 why indeed I was thinking I had not wrote to my Dear neice a long time, so on Friday I began a Letter but not liking it destroy'd it purposing to begine another to Day which accordingly I shall now do. i7o6-ii(?)-i777. Dear Bessy I thank you for your Letter & very glad we are to hear so good an account of your healths, we To her Niece, read the Papers to be sure, but set not up for Polititions neither can we converse on such matters, most of our neighbours I believe are on the contrary side, but I am sorry for the death of so great a magistrate, but there are who rejoice therein, having lightly esteem'd him we arc reading the Reign of C y' i« 'Tis a great misfortune for a Prince to be brought up m arbitary Principles, but can by no means approve of taking away his Life, the Barons according to the charter granted by old John might have use'd other methods to have procur'd Liberty to the People. I have heard that someing of this sort is now in agitation, great is the Power of the Barons, this may be very well, if the People are agrieved, seeing the Life of the Sovereign & his Family are to be secure. m' & m" H are gone, no exception to the old Proverb the House is Let— by aU accounts to a Person far exceeding poor PoU W" every other beareth a good character & are really beloVd. 372 EUzabdli, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. i7o6-iii?)-i777. 'tis vexatious indeed the creature is out of all Patience, should we visit, it would be no easy matter to manage her, & as hard I suppose to keep such at a distance, who will thrust themselves into familiarity. I have had a great inflaniation in my Leg. what with that, & the old complaint in my Knee, I have not been able to go out this month not so much as once down the garden only I have been in a coach to clapham, & to D' Petits. Mad" Laid in, the child Dead having came before its time he was very good, & said he would come & see us. poor M' L is still bad, & not able to stir out of his House above four or five days in a Fortnight, so was we to be really bad, we must be sadly off, for 1 see no prospect of his getting the better of this bad complaint. I should not like his man to attend us, nor could think that he under the strong deception of an opiate was able to prescribe. I wish we had gone to the other, who has a very good character & I find walk'd the Hospital under M' Young who knows him well, & I should therein have had much advantage had I had him but should we chang we should give offence & I like L was he but well. I am sincerely affected for poor miss Delme her affliction being so exceedingly highten'd by such distressing circumstances. 1 hope her Friends will not suffer her to continue by herself or stay where she is, as I should think a change of Place must be absolutely necessary for her & that she has need of some Friend to be constantly with her to sooth & comfort her poor thing, if it was but by the leading her to talk as She could bear it, every now & then on different subjects it would be of some Mr Kemp, sgj-yij-e to her m' Kemp* spent two nights with us last week, he will not leave Illford till we give him leave, but 'twill be grievous to him to stay, as this People want to have him with or near them, & he must have r2 miles to go to 'em every Sunday, if he rides it nothing suiteth his Pocket, & if he rideth not, it lesseneth him in their esteem, besides the fatigue he must go thro', so that what to do with him I know not. 'tis a good soul, but an odd mortal, he was very sorry they could not see you before you went home, desires his compliments to you. 'tis a Poor Stipend he is like to have, he talks of practising Phisick also, but I doubt it will not do. oh I am to have a Pug Dog in a few Days. The weather is indeed amazingly cold, we all get cold without end, I am hardly recover'd from a bad one. yesterday we went to m" Johnsons but 3 Doors off, & notwithstanding I had my crutches, the strong Rails, & Betty to help me, niy knee is so bad to Day I had much ado to get down & cannot bear on it at al, the calves of my Legs are all in hard Lumps & inflame on any motion, but m' Lardner advises me not to cure them, thinking it best to let the humour spend itself there, as best for my health, which appears to be honest advice. I have not been able to see M" Knaplock. dreading to go as I must set the whole Day in mesir)-, & Ij e a Bed to get but tolerably again in some Days, our Lease is finish'd, we have got a seat in M' Shepleys Pew. but I cannot now go even to church, your Uncle & Aunt Fox din'd with us Sunday was Sennight, has sent us a very fine great cheese, & so with our kind Love to you all, I remain, conclude & End my Dear Bessy your sincerely affectionate ."Vunt Elizabeth. [From Elizabeth to her brother the Rev. Heniy Taylor. \ To The Rev"- M' Taylor at Crawley near Winchester Hants Dear Brother Dan, m' Hughes & a very agreeable young Gentleman a Friend of Dans din'd with us notwithstanding the uncouthness of the weather for traveling Dan is a very good young man cleaver & punctual in * Mr Kemp would appear to have been an unfortunate Dissenting minister, perennially in trouble of one kind or another. He appears again in a letter of Rebecca's (p. 418), some ten years afterwards, when she is trying to raise a subscription for him. Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 373 Business, & has every ones good word which I believe he Justly deserveth. we liad also a Gentleman 1706-1 i(?)-i777. (whom you know not) Just come from traveling alamode franceise a good honest English man is in my estimation a thousand times beyond these french Foplings, & our native sincerity infinitely preferable to foreign politeness, which tho' m' wilkes was wont to say would pass for sincerity, I doubt has but very little if any meaning & solidity in it. we din'd on Tuesday with mrs wilkes & miss at clapham. nirs wilkes has Just got into a new House there Oct y° 26"" 1770 your affectionate Aunt Betty. [No date ■—from Elizabeth to her brother the Rev. He7iry Taylor?^ To The ReV M' Taylor at Crawley near Winchester Hants Dear Brother so well as your work is spoken of both by the Reviewers & others, I hope the Publick will be favourd with more of the same sort, cousin Sherbrocke liked it much m" wilkes said, & also m' Pickering whom you din'd with at clapham. my curiosity was on the utmost stretch till I had hir-d the Review, to review their opinion, with which I was much pleased. & had wrote it out to send you, little thinking their sentiments would have in so short a time been known so far off as crawley. but I want to know if the Book selleth in so good sort as to answer the printing the other Letters &c Elizabeth Taylor. [^Address torti ;—from Elisabeth to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.] To ReV H. Taylor Dear Brother Richard came yesterday to see us here, & tells me the Dean has sold the Lease for ^225 to one Paterson a yorkshire man, that he took possession of the House last Saturday. Richard says he does not know what to make of him & gives I think a very quere account of him, sais that he liv'd 5 weeks with his wife & a child in the House we left at Illford, that his wife did all the work herself as they kept no servant atall. they kept Fowls in the coal House, Geese in the woodhouse, & a sow & a Pi^ in the celler under the summerhouse. he has hir'd a girl since he got to weald, would have had Dick° but he would not live with him. he bought some of the D" goods but none of the stock save 3 cows & 2 Horses, Dick thinks he seems to understand nothing of Farming, but all this is nothing to us, so long as the Docter stands our Tenant, & I would on no account change him for Ms TAin^'. Your sincerely affectionate sister „ , Elizabeth Taylor. Oct' y S'" 1 77 1 Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspondence. i7o6-li(?)-l777- [From Elizabeth to her niece Elizabeth Taylor^ To Miss Taylor at the Rev"" M' Taylors at Crawley near Winchester Hants Loving Neice It grieveth me sore, that I hear not from you so often as I was wont, here is the 2^'^ of Oct' & I ' think in my Heart, I have had but two Letters from you sith you went to crawley. I trust the Harv'est is in, & that your Porkers are kill'd & dryed before this time, & if you have seen the great Kittle well scouerd, & the long Pudding Bag well darn'd & wash'd, sure you may lay aside the cares of the Farm, & take up your Pen, & say somewhat to your poor Aunt Betty, who loveth much to hear from you. It wondereth me that I hear not from you Inconsolable should I be if the Rats should have devoured my sweet little morsel. I pray thee niy own Dear Love to send me a few lines to comfort me. pray did M' K write to your satisfaction ? I have 2 Letters of his unanswer'd but they must remain so tiU I return from Clapham where we go this Day to spend, a few Days a week perchance, so & if you write within that time, Betty will bring it over to me there. I heard from our Dear Anne last week, & She is well & seems cheerful, we have been reading the Reign of W" & Ann by Smallet. he gives I think but a poor character of him, who I thought had been an extraordinary good King, but he seems more favourable towards Mad" what do your wiser heads think of him as an Historian ? I was quite balkd to meet with so poor an account of Billy y= King how do you all do my Dear? my Breath is passing bad. we were yesterday to visit M" Monk, a very Pious woman indeed, & I am inclin'd to think a good woman to. M' K s Sister I find has left them & gone from whence she came, but can't tell whether she has taken the child with her or not. your uncle Fox &: aunt I hear are well but not return'd from Bath, we have heard nothing of the Dean & his Tenant, he & his wife live altogether in the Kitchen at weald, & Dick thinks he is no Farmer, so it appears to me a poor affair, & I shall not desire him on any account to commense our Tenant, & So with our kmd Love & best wishes to you one S: all. I conclude your sincerely affectionate Aunt Elizabeth. Oct' y" 24"' 1 77 1 when shall we see you? \No address i~fi'om Elizabeth to her niece Elizabeth Taylor.] I thank you my Dear Love for your kind Letter. Love they say will creep, where it cannot go— we had a little while ago a visit from M' Paterson the Deans under Tenant, he wants us to give him some Pollards to mend the Gates stiles &' & which I have consulted your uncle about, & shall I suppose refuse. I shall write to M' K & get him to overlook all matters at weald ever & anon, for I can fi.x on no other Person to employ in it, & whether he will do most good or mischief I can't say, but must try. M' Paterson has a good appearance & behaVd very genteely, & invited us to weald, he did live in our House at Ilford one quarter of a year, at present he tells us Miss WiUson lives there, but that she is going to quit that House, & that one M'= C who is now with her, is going to take a House & She is to live with her altogether. I cant say this news was very pleasing to me. we have heard her say vile things of her Brothers wife, who by oiAer People we have been assured is an amiable woman, & hardly treated by her Family & self I nothing like one such being to be perpetually at the Ear of another (on Tuesday we din'd with your uncle Fox, who I think looks much better than he did, & seem'd pure well, both mention'd Ben as a very great & cleaver Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 375 performance, it wanted more time than he had to peruse it sufficiently, but his wife had done it & he took the report from her, who was often in the Right & had long been on that side of the question he seem'd more of the same opinion than I expected. I affirm'd her to be always in the right, & thought he could never do better than to depend absolutely on her Judgment, so we fun'd it & was very cheerful & comfortable, & the Journey did us no harm, your poor aunt Beck has had so terrible a cough for above 3 weeks, that she has had no rest, the fatigue has made her feverish & taken away her appitite & strength, but she has at last had two good nights, & seemeth on the mend- ing hand, I have had near a fortnight one little sneaking ulcer in my Throat, for which I have taken a power of Bark &= thought it was well last week, but it returnd again on Monday Evening, & when it will be well I wote not, but it does not spread, nor am I at al 111 with it. my Legs hold their own rather increast than otherwise, they cannot be mended without marring my stomack, but I can set still (on the whole & in general) in tolereable plight & spirits. poor Barnard is half broken hearted striving against the stream of adverse fortune. we exceedingly pity, but can not help her. that creature might have made both her & herself happy but she has done her all the hurt she could, taken away the Furniture of the Dinning Room & chamber, which she promis'd never to remove. poor miss Barnard cannot furnish 'em herself, or Let them unfurnish'd nor gel enough children to make matters do. 'twas Sally whom your Father went to Town with, that 1 wrote to you about, the school your way does not answer by any means, a Place would better suit her. the 3" sister is in that sort provided for. we weep with poor Barnard & wish to help her either to children, a Boarder or Lodger but cannot. she has a good Heart, belov'd by all, but unhelped by every creature. you say you intend to go to M" Birch for a few Days & I say if I knew when you would be there, & thought the man & his wife would nothing object to receiving us, we would take the coach & meet you there, spending a few Hours with them, having long wish'd to see them & the little one whom fame reporteth to be a witty child.— our servant is I still believe a good & worthy Person. has struggled hard to bear her Head above a state of indegence, but has unavoidably been plung'd into the greatest degrees of it. She would now think herself happy was it not her strong affection for her little Boy but 8 years old, who is in a work house, & must if she cannot help him (which she cannot with her wages do) be brought up with the lowest class of mortals, & instead of having any Education, be forc'd to hard labour thro' the Day above his small strength. when this subject comes on the carpet she cannot restrain her Tears, nor can we refrain from joining ours with hers. She cannot submit to this, we have inquir'd but there is no charity school that takes in Boys to board them, the boarding him is the difficulty as to schooling 'tis a trifle, & I would not stand for that She is in hopes another year to get him in to Xts Hospital, but not certain I will tell you the whole History when I see you. but what to do for the poor little fellow I know not. if she will not agree to have him brought up & so labour'd as they at the work house please, he must be turn'd on her own hands at whistontide, numerous are the distresses of mortals 1 we are just got acquainted with a widow & her Daughters, of whom we had had a melencholy History, they are come to be & Lodge at wanswoth miss we saw for f 1" time yesterday, a Genteel behav'd Person, with a constitution shotterd & ruen'd by deep distresses of many years standing, having hardly sufficient for the necessaries of Life & too bad a state of health to admit of her getting more, a mother almost worn out with affliction, now in a strange place, & none to take notice of them. we shall comfort them what little we can, as they have the character of deserving People, came of good Family, & their condition truly pitiable. so write to me & let me know if cousin molly & her good man will like a visit from us, or if you shall like It, &: if all parties ai;ree what Day we shall set out, or if you think we shall interrupt you, & It may not be altogether pleasing tell us freely ; as we shall take it nothing amiss. & so God Bless you, & send you all things that shall be best for you, accept our kind Love, & give our compliments to .M" Elmes. I am your sincerely affectionate I ■ , , Aunt Betty, 1 heard from .-Vnne this week & shall write to her tomorrow Thursday April y* 2' itj2 I706.ii(?)-i777. 376 Elizabeth, Sistey of Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspondence. 1706-1 i(?)-i777- \From Elizabeth to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.'] The Rev"' M' Taylor at Crawley near Winchester Hants [about 1772-] Dear Brother I liave given Dan a Ring which M" Wilkes gave me for you, with one for each of us, we are glad to hear nancy is better, & hope she will get the better of all her maladies, but these affairs frequently make sad havock on young & tender minds. Did I not tell you a little of the History of the young Person we call the child, poor thing her constitution has been de- stroy'd by great Distresses she has gone thro', & her striving beyond what her tender Frame could bear to maintan herself: & will never be able I believe to do any thing atall. her Lover is striving very hard to get into some Business that may enable him to take her to himself from a mother who is ever consigning her over to perdition, ever thretening her with Death & Damnation thro' her excessive zeal to methodism, so that the poor thing has no comfort of her Life. , & her dislike to him on the same principle, is really shocking ! tho' she can say nothing against him, for he is an amiable man, & their love as delicate & pure as that of the first pair in Eden. Bessy as well as we is delighted with them both. we have rais'd a little matter & should be glad to raise a little more to assest him in the Business he is trying to engage in. in the mean while we foster & console them all we can. all I can hear of cousin Sherbrookes will is, 'tis the 2" part of the same tune of his sisters that m' Pace is his executor. we din'd at clapham on Tuesday with Bessy who is very well & this morning finishd her very kind & agreeable visit to us. m' Pickard is highly delighted with your Ben : his assistant would not accept the offer of read it without purchasing of it himself. I am Dear Brother your sincerely affectionate sister Betty. July y' 23'' & so forth ing \_No address; no date ;— from Elizabeth to her niece Elizabeth TaylorP[ [about 1772.] Dear Bessy, none of your Laco for me, I Love Gospel better, nor have I time to read now open your Ears or rather Eyes, why my Dear we have hardly breath'd these 9 Days, the nights I have spent in forming speeches & the Days in looking & watchings & anxious expectation of a <»reat Personage who had inform'd us that she would make us a visit, so have I forborn writmg to you till I could tell you the result of this great encounter, well. She came not, our patience was exhausted & my prejudice to quality rais'd to a high Pitch, however I was determin'd to go thro' shret & sent a note to her to acquaint her I was very desirous of waiting on her if a greeable having some- thing particular of consequence to communicate to her. the note found her from home, but she return'd late in the evening, & sent me a note of welcome & desire of seeing us next morning, accord- ingly we got a coach & a way went we. & found the most amiable affable & lovly Being I ever saw. oh we are delighted, & charm'd with her. every thing succeeded to our wish. She was alone heard all our Say out join'd heartily in the Interest we espouse gave 20 Guineas towards increasing the stock promis'd to use her Interest in their favour sat out & visited musidoras carried with her the great Box mm Elizabeth^ Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. of wafTers, came back & drank Tea with us in tlie afternoon. Pamela Iiere kiss'd & treated iier with i-o6-ii(?)-i the utmost tenderness, will speak to her Bookseller to get him in to the way of a circulating Library, & will send some Books of her own to help fill the shop for this purpose. The man is made I trust. & all before Bluster could here a word of it. She will soften him, & not let him bluster aboud the wedding which she does not disapprove of. She thinks him good at heart tho' he has a quick im- petious way, & I dont know but it may be so. M" Waugh is furnishing her Lodging buisey as a Bee, & Pamela thinks of going home next week. IJ' D carried her from hence in her post chaise home. my Heart is so light so joyful & delighted, that all my anxious hours for this week past nay months I may say is abundantly repaid. She invited us to see her again, but this I declin'd, on which she desir'd we would let her call on us sometimes, we could not deny so modest a suit you will believe, well she surly has a noble & xtian Heart God Bless her. as to L" Dartmoth he is a well meaning man, & tho' he has followed the ranters. I have heard he was hearing these People in a large congregation, when the Preacher was saying how few saints & holy ones there was to be found tho' there was a few, & pointing to his Lordship declar'd him to be one, this so disgusted him (as certainly it must any modest man) that they say he spake to the preacher & protested he would no longer follow the party, how true this is I know not, but this I was told. we much rejoice our Dear Anne is better, & also in the reacquisition of favour towards her, I much long to know how poor Dan is, if he is return'd. we commenced compleat old maids last thursday addmg to our cat & Dog & Parot, no more news musidoras will send you some cards, will have some printed e'er long. Dear my Heart is as light as a Feather! tho' my Legs are as heavy as Lead, no more news Aunt sends her Love to you your sincerely affectionate Aunt Bettv. Monday night all these matters I write of has been transacted since lo o'clock this morning, I would have wrote to my Dear Anna but in short it has been impossible to find time, let her not take niy silence in part unfriendly. \_No address; no datc;—fwvi Elizabeth to Jier niece Elizabetli Taylor.'] [about 1772.] Right musidoras 6'^ p' quire. Thanks to you my Dear Bessy for you Letter, I have reed one from your Father who with calidore & Guyon [Henry and Peter?] has sent 3 Guineas. Heaven Bless them! a Great Personage does not come home this month yet. our application there has been without success. have had a genteel answer to that I told you I sent. musidoras sent his Pamela [the Mansers] such a Letter that I could not possibly read it out. his The Mansers, anxiety is so excessive lest he should not prosper in his undertaking, that I greatly fear t/iat & his not allowing himself necessary support will destroy his health & spirits. I really think he has done the very best & the most that a man could possibly do with such a little matter, but he neither eats nor sleeps thro' dint of care. Pamela spent two nights with him, could he but have her with him, he would be cheer'd & supported, all that can be got, goes to increase the stock so no stead can as yet be gotten, & therefore the Lodging must be kept on. your Father saith no particular Paper is wanted for the clergy, but I wish they had sent an order for some sort, as no matter how soon the present stock was dispos'd off, that a new one might be taken in. K has spent a night with us & has well neigh spent me with talking & the vain Efforts I have made to thrust in one word eddg ways, however he has told us where to Buy Paper at the best hand, which we wanted to know, & will inform us how 'tis best to proceed, in the way of Trading, so perhaps wc may get a little advantage. I cant say why what can one do with that learned Physi- cian ? he & yX" Lemon promised to write whether her mother would come to board with Patience or not, they seemd to like her, & the appartment, & to think it would do. but they have not wrote to us in all this time. I like not to write to them. & there is a Lady that would take the Rooms, but 3 B 378 Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspondence. i7o6-iit?)-i777- Patience can do nothing till she hears from the Docter, & she likes best to have his mother, tho' she Is teaz'd to take the other so I know not which way to turn me in the 'affair. Do you think they will write. your aunt is poorly with her Bowels, we expect M" Waugh tonight, I wish she would take musidoras's appartment but I fear 'twill not do. I hear by M' K ■ that Miss Williamson is gone to board with M' Patterson at our House at weald wheither her Friend is there also, I cannot learn, I suppose she will have a fine heap of stuff to chatter about weald, but give some People Rope enough & they will hang themselves. I suppose musidoras has sent you tlie Rec" & some cards, who should come last week to see us but Betty Franks. She saith he is a good natur'd man, & a good Husband. knows not of his character here, so as she said She was happy I would by no means try to make her otherwise. The mother it seems is bad enough & had underhand got a promise from the great man of the Place never to grant a Licence to any one to keep the ailhouse but her. so M" Atkins & her Husband was no better than as servants to her, & could by no means get her out of the House. so they have left the Place & got a Lodging at Kingsington where she is to follow her trade & he works with a gardenen so they may do if they will but work She look'd very well, & seem'd glad enough that she was got out of that dismal Place. but I cannot say I have a very high opinion of her Husband, or shall ever wish to see him here. ■ Pamela has determind to spend the last sows Pig in a Bedstead &c. old Bluster has been with her this morning & \ demolish'd her again with his rough treatment I abhor the man & his manner, tis terrible to be dependent on a insolent high Priest. you see now they are engag'd in Trade, where much more than all would be necessary towards increasing the stock, how impossible it would be to pursue the first scheme of the Rec" hope it will not therefore be ill t.aken, but suppose musidoras has wrote to you Pamela saith She will write you a letter of her own composing when She has time & desires her Love to you your aunt sends her Love to you, I am my Dear Bessy your Sincerely affectionate Aunt Betty. Father saith Anne is much better & returns home next Saturday. tis confidently affirm'd that FlirtiUa has intirely subdued calidores Friend, & that will be a match, slie & the Brother does not deny it, tho' calidores friend will not at present own it. she'l work him a penny worth I doubt. what shall I do about D' Petit 'tis very wrong in them not to write at al, amendment take them. Pray let me know if this comes safe to hand, our compliments to M" Elmes Adiew my Dear Love at last I suppose M" Jennings will come here, we hope all to go see musidoras next monday \_No address; no date -—from Elizabctti io her 7iiece Elizabeth TaylorP\ [about 1772.] My Dear Bessy I have communicated the contents of your Letter to the Child, who most gladly accepts your proposal, & returns her most grateful Thanks to the Lady for the offer of the Rec'» I did not say (as you did not tell me I might) who the Lady was. but the child is exceedingly pleas'd to engage ra this Business. If in any Respect it may prove ought above her strength, she can, she will have a help meet for her. The cholick water I can conceive the usefulness of, & eke the Pomade Devine for Ladies, but of what use the Walnut water can be off, I cannot think. Indeed I have no objection to hurting the Faculty not L This engagement will entirely suit her. but I hope the Ladies will favour her with their custom, & also recommend her to others, as I otherwise fear her gaining much here by this Trade, tho' we shall help her to all we can. She should know what the cholick water & Pomade is to be sold lor. we should highly rejoice in any thing that would be of Benefit to our Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Heiwy Taylor. — Correspondence. 379 amiable child. She is now very poorly again desires her compliments to you, & thanks you for your '7o6 ii(?)-i777- interesting yourself in her favour. Her Lover has been here this morning, & has been exceedingly entertain'd with reading us Confusion worse confounded. you would have been delighted to have seen how highly he enjoy'd it. The cleaverest thing he ever read in his life. The author was a cleaver Fellow he was sure, he was certain he was a man great learning as well as wit, in short he was quite in Raptures with him & laugh'd till he cryd again, read & constur'd as fast as Hops all the Latten. all this had been nothing had he had the least knowledge of the author, which he still is an absolute stranger to, so that we were greatly pleas'd with his Encomiums on the author & his Book. He reads to us what we please explains all he thinks we understand not, & opens all mysteries wrap'd up in all Languages from the Knowledge of us females. then he sings well plays delightfully on tfie German Flute so that we have musick at our will, & no one thing that he thinks will please the old maiden Ladies, but he is ever ready to perform it. not an old maid in wansworth is perchance more cheer'd & happy than we. But then poor soul he has his griefs which we must partake in, till Providence shall raise him Friends more able than we to extricate him out of them. we have happily heard from the Dean. old Bettys Husband has wrote to her Friend Betty Jetting here not to tell his wife any thing that may be said against him at Wandsworth, he saith She is well, & gone to make a visit to a Brother of his, & is from home. I believe he is a Raskel, & wants to keep her Friends from writing to her, & that She is afraid to write having 6 miles to send a Letter to the Post. Honesty was here the Sunday before last, & Faith paid us a visit beginning on Saturday night & ending on Sunday Evenning. your uncle could not do any thing to help our young man. I have wrote to a very great Personage whom I never saw in my Life absent at present from England on his behalf, but shall not know these 6 weeks if I shall succeed. Hope So to do. I am in hopes M" Jennings & her best sister will take a House here, they were with us yesterday, as to her Sister who is worth a Plumb, I would not give a Fig for her. my Dear we long to see you, & come when you will come, you will certainly be welcome to your Aunts, I want you to see our young man, but you shall only look at him, you shall not have him I promise you. Flirtilla is still surrounded with Beaus. happy indeed are all who have scaped the hands of this horred creature who has reuen'd his two Brothers & allraost all he could draw into his insatiable Paws. I hear nothing of Prutentius, I Love him not, nor wish any one to do so. I hate methodism, it erases natural affection, contracts the Heart, sowers the temper. Destroys morality, makes Religion to consist in Trifles, produces a deal of spiritual Pride censoriousness & uncharitableness, & dams the world with as much composure as one would eat a Sillibub. 1 hope our Dear Conscientia [Nancy?] will entirely recover her health by Bathing &c. am glad calidorej & Guyon [Henry and Peter ?] are with her, but who takes care of the good old man? wherefore should he be berieved of all his young ones at once? hope he will not be ill in their absence. Aunts Love to you, our compliments to M" Elmes. your sincerely affectionate Aunt Bettv. Thanks to M" Elmes & you for the character of Ann. I hope she will do. she is very neat & dresses exactly to my mind neither with a high head nor like a dowdy or a slattern. [Front Elizabeth to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.'] To The Rev'' Mr Taylor at Crawley near Winchester Hants Dear Brother we are very sorry to hear you have had the gout in your stomach & hope you will take care of yourself, not to get cold in your Feet nor cat cold Food & vinegar, all which are exceeding bad in 380 Elizabcfh, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspondence. i7o6-ii(?hi777. that disorder, on Tuesday we din'd with m" Rudge who is a pitious spectacle indeed! we din'd so late that it has hurt my stomach greatly, & made it necessary for me to apply to a prescrip- tion of D' Petits to wit a mixture of salt of Hartshorn & velerian, which generally relieves my disorder whether it may be gout or what it may. but long fasting brings the wind into the stomach & is exceeding bad for any of these Disorders I am certain & therefore it wisheth us you would not practice those long fasts in the manner you do, when you are from home. It gave us very great satisfaction to hear from Bessy that you was better & anne also on the mending hand. we Join in hearty Love to you, & the rising Generation within your Inclosures. I am Dear Brother your sincerely affectionate sister Elizabeth Taylor. may y' 15"" 1772 Billy and m' Ogeir* spent Saturday night & din'd with us the Sunday leaving here in the evening, they were well sprent & entertaining. Dan was well, but came not only sent us a friendly caution with regard to our two visitors. \_From Elizabeth to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.'] To The Rev""- M' Taylor at Crawley near Winchester Hants Nov' y° 26"" Wednesday night Nov' y' 25"" Dear Bessy yes we have seen that most delightful of all human Beings Doctor Salter why my Eyes would never be satisfi'd with beholding, nor my Ear with hearing him. & then his strong affection to your Father like Jonathan surpassing the Love of women. I am absolutely delighted with the man & his manners ! he has such a soul shining out at his Eyes that absolutely strikes & charms one, he is a most amiable man thats certain, mad" to also favour'd us with her company & was very good, she seems to have some good stuff in her also, your Father was better then & we were Joyous & very happy together. They wanted an account of m" mansers Family & his. I thought to have pick'd it out of the old woman but could not so I wrote to manser to write it me, but did not [tell] him my reasons for requir- ing it. monday last M'' Salter wrote to me for this same account, which I had been several Days expecting & fretting at M' Manser for not sending, to Day it come, & I sent it immediately to M" Salter. I liked not all he wrote to me, & would have written it over again, but M" Salter said She wanted it to send down to crawley, so I was forc'd to let it go as it was. I went yesterday morning to Mansers on purpose to scold at, & hasten him. but my anger was soon disarm'd. I would have had him have written it not by way of a Letter in which I found he had Just began it, but he said he could not write it any other way & indeed he would not, so I was obligd to let him do it as he could & I believe he wrote all night to let me have it this morning, poor soul he has had no rest several nights with his poor ann who is very bad indeed. & he is exceedingly tender & affectionate towards her. Boon by M'^ waughs means has sent a Phisician to her who has discover'd her Disorder to be worms & thinks he shall be able to cure her. the little mortal swarms with them, tho' she has parted with a great number, they have been * See the Courtauld Pedigree, p. 699. Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 381 years gathering together, the Doctor sais & have greatly hurt her nerves & brought on other com- plaints She look'd sadly but reviv'd & was cheerful on seeing her old Friends, so back we came to dinner & I wrote a note to M™ Salter to patient her till I could send the account she desir'd I wrote to her with it again to Day but I am greatly afraid to write to her, so fine a writer as I have head you report her to be. so I have been taking oxymel of squills as I told you, the worse luck for me I am sure, they almost demolish'd me tore out my whole Inside threw me into a violent Laxation sicken'd me to death, took a way my appitite & strength & spirits. I know who will be a Fool if ever I take any more. I have had enough to do to sooth & heal my stomach nay even yet I sicken at all food but a boil'd chicken & a Toast sop'd in your Father's mead. That is good indeed, it was a little fretful on its traveling into so distant a country, but by pulling out the corks it has some what recoverd its temper, tho' it still begins to bounce & swagar on any confinement of this sort, indeed it could not have came at a more acceptable season as it has prov'd a drop of comford unto me after the rough treatment I have had from good D' Petits prescription. I shall nothing like a D" prescription these two months I promise you. & then how could I have it without its being know where it should not? all here are errant Blabs. M" Wilkes will go to Town in a Fortnight & then perhaps I may go there & have Hinckley snug he may be as well as another, for I know not how to get at any other conveniently. Do you not remember Miss Woodwards at Illford She who gave you a Detale from Ilford to Barking of her Familys maladies. She wrote last week to say she had heard there were Houses to be let here & beg'd I would let her know so I wrote there was one empty next door & invited her over to see it she came saw & bird it. which I am very glad of, as we shall have quiet neighbours & shall not be afraid of being fir'd by bad servants, they are good sort of People. I have heard much of Miss Williams who was absolutely despis'd by every creature as she justly merited to be. She has affronted and is quit out with her Friend M" Coc they say she declares the old gentleman promis'd to have her when his wife should dye, & that Miss W went to the cunning man to know how long she would live, but he was all out as it happen'd. Miss Griffith IS marri'd to a M' Edmons or some such name, Dan knows him, it was a grand wedding, they say she has lower'd her Topsails & mended her manner, her Uncle has given her a good Fortune & that is Beauty wit Prudence & every thing. M' stoddart is in a poor State has a Fever every Day which wears him greatly & the Bark has no effect on him, and hard Duty presseth him sorely, I hear not of the marriage now, on some account it is postpon'd. I wish he could change the air, but the expence of a Labourer in his stead would not suit I suppose. M" Waughs Sister is Dead, whereby she cometh to her Right of I suppose a Thousand or 15 hundred Pounds, which I think her deserving of. pray give our kind Love to your Father & tell him his son Dan came down last week & settled with me his account I paying him all the Ballance due to your Father, my whole reason of wishing to part with it was lest the Evil doers here should have wrested it out of my hands, we have had a good deal of Reason to be apprehensive of them Tis all Right, for Dan did it [referring to an account sent] his Heart is good, his Brain clear, &: his Head well tum'd for Business. & I have copy'd it from Dan who has set it all down cleaver, plain, clear & fair in a Book, & so I trust it will appear here to your Father, notwithstanding I have been oblig'd to place my Figuers somewhat askaunt, for want of room your sincerely affectionate aunt Elizabeth Taylor. Thursday Nov: y' 26"' 1772 I should think before you shew the account of M" Manser to any one of consequence, you had better write out the real matter, & throw the superfluities away, it should not have gone as it is, had I hid time to have transcribe iL your Father will Judge how to manage it 382 ElizabctJi, Sistcy of Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspondence. i7o6-ii(?)-i777- \_From Elizabeth to hey niece Elizabeth Tayloy.'] To Miss Taylor at the Rev""- M' Taylors crawley near Winchester Hants Dear Bessy It is a good while ago to be sure since I wrote to crawley, but I think I wrote last, but I mind not that. I have been greatly fretted about the mansers, & witli Waugh I both blame & pity them. I have left them to her, she will try to help them as much as she can, & is endeavouring I believe to get him some writing to do, that they may be Just kept from absolutely starving, & so much for them, Tis time I think to inform you that we are in mourning for our old Friend M" Knaplock which I have not had an opportunity of doing before, but signifid as much to M" Salter which I suppos'd would soon reach your Ear. She has left your aunt a Legacy of £^0 & me ^£200 in old south sea annuities very kind and generous She has been to us I think, we went on Tuesday was sennight to meet her Kxeciitor &' & accept the Stock &c & intended to have gone to M" Wilkes & had a little advice from Hinkley as I could there have liad him snug without an Oration about it thro' all wandsworth. but it •was such a violent Fog that I could not thing of seeing any Doc' or staying in London, so we speeded home as fast as we could, & thought ourselves well off to have got clear & safe by all the carriages we met unbroken & unbruis'd, & unpoison'd with the abominable stench of the Fog in which & by which many suffer'd great harm. I imagine you will have an account of its terrible effects from M' Steward, happy indeed it was that he waided safe thro the many perils he had to encounter. He & BUly favour'd us with their company on Sunday, & left us yesterday Just after dinner, what a fine & amiable Lad he is ! we entertain'd them as well as we could, as we wish'd to make their visit as agreeable to them, as it was to us. But pray Let Stewar & Billy say what they will, I do beg your Father will not put himself to the expence of sending me any more mead I love not to take the Bread & Liquor from him & his little ones. we think to go to London on monday next to dine with your Aunt & Uncle [Fox] & stay 2 nights with M" Wilkes & see if the D' can do me any good ah or no. I take no sgmls that I'm detennin'd my Breath is passing bad, but the worst is I cough so hard that it strains & damages my Head intoler- ably. I have by Waughs advice been trying some genuine castor oyl. I tliought it lacker'd my Lungs made me sleep easier, but I am too heavy a Body to be mov'd by one large Teaspoonful, & more makes me sick, so I am oblig'd to leave it off, for something that will work me a better penny- worth. I do not hear that you at Crawley know how to make this castor oyl mix, but I have discover'd that it will mix with a very little Honey & then by adding water or any Liquor by little & little, it will become all smooth & pleasant, fit for a Xtian Body to swallow, & Honey I trust can hurt no one. our new neighbours are come to next Door & we din'd w"' them on Xmas Day. poor M'^ Barber has lost her Elder Son a very worthy & amiable young man, whose Industry & genious, had gain'd him a prospect of doing well in Life, & gain'd him the esteem of many Friends, tis indeed amost heavy affliction to her. we were right glad to hear your Father was so purely, & Nancy better, we heartily wish you all to see many very happy new years. They say your Brother Henry is coming to London, we hope to see him at wandsworth. & so with the month of Dec' & the year 1772 & our hearty Love to you all, I conclude vour sincerely affectionate Aunt ' Betty. M" Stoddart is rather better not as yet niarrid, we see very little of hen M'» Salter has written me a very kind long Letter, what a fine writer She is. but I am not fit to write to her by any means. & writing hurts my head besides, truly I am good for nothing between you & I my Dear Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 383 [_No address; — From Elizabeth to Mrs Salter.'] Oh my Dear M" Salter how excessively kind & Friendly have you been to me, thus to sooth &: assist me in my tribulation !. I really know not how sufficiently to thank you. Not having conceiv'd it possible you should have taken so much trouble & pains for me on my only saying what can I say? I wrote to Manser on Tuesday morning 7 o clocks post, & in order to avoid all debate & dispute, & being loth all at once so greatly to shock them, only said I was very sorry to be oblig'd to inform him that we were disappointed in our Endeavours to serve him, & that it was not in our power to get anything at al for him as we had wish'd to have done. I have indeed suffer'd much on this ugly affair, I wrote my long Letter to you 3 times over before I could send it, & batter'd my Head to pieces between thinking on the Distress that would follow on a disappointment to them, & my determination to hide nothing from the Doctor & you nor suffer my Brother to be deceived. I am truly hurt by mansers conduct, & convinc'd of the necessity of following your advice, to have done with them. I here trouble you with a copy of ray Letter to him, written as nearly as I could agreeable to your advice. now where is Docter Salter ? Does he not think that in Equity I ought to pay M' Simons, seeing it was really through my means that he was led to trust manser. I hope he will not go farther in his Debt, should I interfere & warn him not to trust him again ? It would be inconvenient for me to pay more, but t/ms I may bring mansers creditors more speedily upon him. truly I am at a loss how to act, for I generally am in the wrong, & consequently dissatisfi'd with my own conduct, while I see most about me happy in their own approbation, at least. I doubt the Docter will only say alas for thee, I cannot make thee wise Betty. Indeed I am sorry to have been accessary towards leading both the Doctor & you, into both Trouble & e.xpence. we join in our best Respects & many thanks to you & the Doctor for all your goodness to us. I am Dear Mad" Your most oblig'd & obedient Humble Servant Ti, J • , . ,h Elizabeth Taylor. Thursday night Dec y' 17'" 1772 pray present our Compliments to the young Ladies. i706-ii(?)-i777. \_No address from Elizabeth to Mr Manseri] M" Manser, being loth to shock you with the whole truth at once, I therefore only said in my last, I was very sorry to be oblig'd to inform you that we were disappointed in our Endeavours to serve you, & could get nothing at al for you as we wish'd to have done. I must now tell you honestly & more fully that you yourself have been the cause of this disappointment, you know when we first interested ourselves in your affairs we told you we would be your Friends to the utmost of our Power so long as you was sincere— but if you once deceiv'd us we would have done with you. we are now con. vmced you have deceived us, & have not been that open, sincere & ingenuous man we took you for when we first recommended you to our Friends, was it sincere, your declaring to us that you owed nothing but a few weeks for your Lodging, when you had contracted a Debt very imprudently (to say the best of it) with which you never acquainted us? nor was it consistent witli that openness we had reason to expect from you, your concealing from us the gift you had of a good suit of clothes, & what we had a far greater Right to have been inform'd off, viz. the kind, & most generous present you received of money at another time, how contrary this to any degree of ingenuity & gratitude, both to the giver & us. your going in Debt to M' simons who we had got to be influenc'd in your favour, as we tliought he was an honest man & would have sold you goods on more advantagous Terms than most others, has given us mucli vexation as we suppose he will not be paid. 384 ElizabctJi, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor —Correspondence. i7o6-ii(?;-i777. you promis'd us you would send my Brother good Paper &:c as you told M" Waugh you had done. but he thinks you liave used him ill in having sent all he ordered, very bad. you have lost his good opinion of you also, your case therefore, could not be sent where it was Intended to go, nor ever can. nor must you expect after all these things that we & our Friends can recommend, or be further serviceable to you. I hww you have lost much by the badness of your Goods (on which I so much caution'd you with regard to my Brothers otherwise I believe you might have done much better in your Business than you have, you have no occasion to answer this since it will serve no End at all, as I shall not chuse to write any more, or to see you again, we wish you & M" manser well. Yours Elizabeth Taylor. Thursday night Dec' y= 17"" 1772 The kind old lady seems to have been greatly troubled and distressed at the failure of her good intentions in regard to this Manser (probably a plausible ne'er- do-weel). Apparently after this time she quite gave him up. The following extract from a letter of Mrs Salter (Dec. 25, 1772) bears that interpretation: the letter apparently was written soon after Elizabeth had written her letter declining to have anything further to do with him, and when she was recovering her usual serenity : — It was a very great pleasure to me to find that my last letter was of any Service to you : I hope now you are determined, y' benevolent mind will be more at ease about the unworthy object w'" dis- turbed & distressed it In y' last but one to me, you said you believ'd you must have done with Manser, or something of that kind. D' Salter sent y' letter to Crawley, with some others of Y" : & in one he had from thence a day or two ago, y' Brother says he thinks you will be much in y' right to have nothing more to do with him. D' Salter has lately sent to Crawley y' Copy of y' letter to Manser. \_F7'om Elizabeth to her niece Elizabeth Taylori] To Miss Taylor at the Rev''- M' Taylors Crawley near Winchester Hants My Dear Bessy I receiv'd your Fathers kind present of mead & Honey all safe & sound, & here return him many thanks for the same. I have done fretting about the mansers, for as why 'tis to no purpose. M" Waugh can do better with them than I. she has furnish'd her Lodging very smartly indeed, made all things to fit the Rooms, & is loth to tare all down in a moment again, & so long as the Landlords mouth shall be stofed no one can molest her go matters as they will. She has made a small gethering for them, & will see it expended to her own satisfaction, & sais She has some hope tho' but faint that they will get over the winter, & to get him some employment, she does not scruple to tell them their own, but whether she will be able to mend them I know not, I am satisfi'd 'tis best for m to have done with them, on all accounts. well I went to London, spent two nights with M" Wilkes & saw D' Hinkley, have swallow'd a Dozzen & i, save one of Draughts, they have not made me sick, & on the whole I think I am rather better than worse, & when I can get a Day to study my case & pen it down I am to write to the Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspondence. Doctor, but I have badish nights & am sleepy when I should rise, & cannot get ann up to make me a Fire, nor am I able to light it myself being become an absolutely dependent Being on the will as indolent in health, as I can be in sickness: tis noon e'er I can be ready for Business, then one or other drops in to hinder me, the Day passeth, & I can do little or nothing therein so last night when Ann was just demolish'd with washing your poor Aunt Beck so bad & lame with the Rheumatism she can hardly make one Leg follow the other, no provisions in the House, nor Bed made to go into, came M' Kemp as comfortless as ever, & worri'd us up this morning to get Breakfas that he might go by the coach, these visits so ill timed & unnoticed, are really harrasing when People are not well & have but one maid, & she no Bustler. & as to me, I am got entirely off of my mettle, so that whatever I do, is a Burden to my indolent disposition, my cough fatigues me I believe, a sorry excuse is better than none I was much pleas'd with Billy's giving me the satisfaction of knowing he & his young Friend were pleasd with their late visit at wandsworth. Steward call'd here last week. I love him much. we are very glad to hear so good an account of your Father & hope he will hold Bonny & sprent pray give our kind Love to him. you do not purpose I trust, to make any long stay at Ham we shall be heartily glad to see you when you come, we have heard of your Brother Henry, whether we shall see him or not, I know not. Steward will tell you about Lucy, 'tis too long an affah for me to have patience to write, & he knows but little of her neither. She belong-d to M" Waugh, who now wants a maid instead of a child to serve her. She is at present with M" Hankey who Cooks every Day, & Lucy with us to be kept out of harms way till a Place can be got for her, a most wonderful active genius & like to be very good or very bad according to what hands she fails into. no indeed shall I not write down the other side [of the page] but you say nothing how our Dear Anne does nor she neither, but they say She is better, & I hope She is. notwithstanding She con- cluded her Letter to me before She had well began it. give our kind Love to her & eke to your Brother Peter, & so endeth my writment for this time, your aunt sends her kind Love to you & I am your affectionate Aunt Betty. M' Stoddart has got one young gentleman with him, & is gone to live at M' Squhes's, not marri'd yet. Scarce is well, Mad"" Petit gone a very long season— beyond her Reckoning Jan'' y= 19 or 20"' 1773 God Bless you, I wish you all many happy years if I can write to the D' to morrow I will, he is reckon'd a very sensible ingenious man, but it does not follow that he can cure all my maladies how- ever the man will try. Dear Bess you would laugh to See now how I hop the Little Girl offers to help me but only takes hold of my Hand and holds it up as high as ever she can well well tis better than being Blind S^No address i—from Elizabeth to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.^ Dear Brother You know I have ;^2oo stock in the old south sea annuities— when I last saw M' Fox, I (not knowing how you had gone on with regard to the mortgage) ask'd him if I could be serviceable to you for Dan with some of it. It appeard to him at that Ume, that no partnership was fix'd on. my Determination was to leave half of the stock to you, & half to my Sister. Half of it is now absolutely at your service, not as borrow'd money, but as your own, the other I will lend you if you please, but not on usury on any account. I should not choose to do so to a stranger, much less to my Brother, holding this inconsistent with f Law of nature, of moses & Xtianity. now the mis- fortune is, that £^00 stock is not ^joo, & yet it may possibly be thai, if stocks should rise, might n not then be accepted as that sum, by being transferr'd to the Partner? If not, M' Fox has my i7o6-ii(?)-i777, 386 Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor— Correspondence. i7oG.ii(?)-i777. Letter of attorney either to receive the Interest, or to sell the stock, & as you shall find it necessary either to transfer it, or sell it out, I will desire him to do so soon as I shall hear from you again. Beckey has £sa m 3 & J annuities which she sais you are very wellcome to, & which she will desire M' Fox to sell for your use. as to winterton* 'tis but the last ^ years Rent lS: from thence to Xtmas that can be lost. I suppose as the Land lord must be first paid, it will not be lost. I have wrote to M' Fox about it who I trust will order cooper what to do in the case. his House cooper saith wants great Repairs, & will come to a vast deal, Lowndes will take it as it is, & I should think it much the best way to let him have it, so I wrote to M' Fox saying it should be as he & you Judg'd best I should have written before this about it & have thanked you for your mead, but I have been so much out of sorts, that writing & all things else is become burdensome to me. I have had the advice of Docter Hinckley but this is a secret, as I would by no means give D' P offence, yet certain it is that his medicines either too much heated me, or sicken'd me to death. what I have had of D' H at least agree with me. I have also been with my abominable Legs to M' young who saith their malady is both scurvy & water, he thinks I have water between the skin on my Belly, the D' thought only in ray Legs, both advis'd to foment my Legs to open the pours, but this gives me colds & sore throats do what I can, so you see I am but in a poor way, make' the best of it. Beckey has the Rheumatism very bad, & so great pain some times in her great Toe, that she fears it is the Gout. She Joins me in kind Love to you & all yours. I am Dear Brother your aflectionate Sister Elizabeth Taylor. Monday night feb y° 7'" &c Sarah alder is now dead indeed. m" Pettit is a last brought to Bed of another Boy. / Do chuse to present you with one half & lend you the other. I wish it was in my Power to let you have the whole of what is wanting, for I abhor paying Interest which like a canker worm devoureth the very marrow of a mans Bones. ^ ^ I have this Day ReC a Letter from M' Fox since I wrote the above who saith we must Join in the mortgage w='- we shall do. I have this afternoon written to M' Fox to desire him to sell the stock for your use, unless it may answer the end by transferring it to the Partner, which he will know. Tuesday the 9'" of Feb" 1773 The Doctor thinks I am rather better than worse, every one to their Trade, for my part 1 know nothing of the matter. all I know is lie is cleaver, a sensible man, reads Ben & has cast otf the prejudices of education & imbraces Reason & Truth, in spite of the world the Flesh & the Devil:, \_Froni Elizabeth to her niece Elizabeth Taylori] To Miss Taylor at the Rev-"' M' Taylors at Crawley near Winchester Hants Dear Bessy, . , I forgot to tell you in my last that M' Kemp had lost his eldest Daughter, a very fine stout gul that he had by his first wife, who had she lived would have had a pretty Fortune, but as it now is, I suppose M' Kemp will not have any thing at all. her Aunt had her carri'd down in to Norfolk I think to be buri'd, drag'd the whole Family with her, & expended such a sum as would have been of far greater service to the Living. The poor child dyed of a consumption. he goes on as usual poor man, & talks of going abroad. She has lost her Brother, so that he hopes to brmg her * One of their tenants at Silver Street. ElizabetJi, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 387 the more easily into tliis scheme, but I do not think they will go tho' it might be as well perhaps i7o6-ii(?)-i777- if they did, as I believe he will never make anything out here, he is printing some tiling, I asked not what, as I did not imagine I was capable of passing any Judgment on it, whatever it might be. we are very glad to hear your Father is well, & that anno is better, as there was not any thing strikingly agreeable in her Disorder in her Legs. we are sorry to hear you have so bad a Malady at crawley as a Fever & sore Throat, hope you will not run into it, as it certainly is catching, & we most heartily wish you may all escape it. Bark I believe is the most soveraign Remedy for it. as M' Squires holds, & I believe mary would not have recover'd without it. The heat has really been intolerable, we seem'd all as confin'd in an air Pump, every breath of air being drawn from us. indeed it affected us greatly, & has affected my nerves very much. I am unbrac'd & as low as a cat. but exceedingly rejoice in having again air to take ni & throw out at pleasure &: to be freed from profusion of spespirations, which I believe has rather done me good, as I have neither had Fever nor drought. being tired out with Phisick & my stomach greatly harras'd therewith, I have for several weeks drank Treacle & water which has been of much service to me, tho' I think I am lower with so small Liquor, but it keeps me in regular motion at a reasonable rate. your Aunt has had an ugly Disorder in her Bowels which has made the poor woman very weak & low, but she is rather better, why my Dear, Bread is 8i a quartern Loaf, I wish our fine Prospect of a Plentiful Harvest IS not destroy'd by the late violent storm & heavy Rains, we had here a storm of Thunder &c which lasted from 7 at night to that Hour in the morning, & 2 Days of heavy Rain after, so that I fear for the corn greatly. But should it abound the vices of self Interest & covetuousness so aboundeth, that I fear we shall hardly feel the Blessings Providence should send us, amendment take all these mercenary Beings ! what a Distraction have they made about money well we are better off now though we must loose some. The Dean [Dr Newcome] has on a Letter your uncle Indited for me, sent a Draft on his Banker, the case was his Tenant instead of paying his Rent, wanted to borrow it of him. & when he refus'd to lend it him & insisted on his paying it to your uncle, he payed it not as the Doctor suppos'd he had done, but this is no Bread & Butter of ours, the Dean sent it, & all is well. I thought we had made a good stock of black currand Jelly against we might have a sore Throat & very thankful was I to Miss Bamerd who had presented us with the Fruit. But all is not Gold that glisters, neither was the Fruit Black currands, but Hurts. I thought I should have pull'd her cap when She inform'd me of her mistake so have spent the sugar in vain, & now I cannot get a black currant for Love nor money, the season being over. oh, I had like to have forgot the Honey, I would have 13 Pounds of it if you please, the best you can procure for Love or money. M" Stoddart is pretty well, as Big as may be, but bears it so uncoiithly you would be sworn she never was with Bern in her life before. She is making Baby things in all haste. They are prettylee at next Door, tho' Humbuz has been but very poorly. They have lately heard that their Brother of whom they have had no Tidings for 8 years past, & thought him Dead, is now Living &: well, but his long silence agitates & concerns them much, as he was when he left them a very affectionate Brother, & they cannot now tell tho they have heard of him, whether they shall heard from himself or not. we have got a New neighbour where Miss Teelings Liv'd. a widow with 4 very fine Pretty Daughters agreeable & well behaved, one M" Barber, whose Husband & his Family I formerly knew full well, we visit & like them. & now what can 1 say to thee my Love, but that I long to see you, but fear we shall not soon, as our Dear anne is so poorly, pray let us hear soon how [she is] & how you all are, as we shall be anxious [torn] get this bad sore Throat. I am much cblig'd to you for your Gown shall make it up for miss very soon, have Just finish'd I'aper Hat for her, & bought her a brown cloth Petycoat made by the Taylor to keep her strong S: •'i^hL for a slight garment will not last the creature, & she cannot mend for herself worth a Pin. mary is pretty well. Sail quite stout, & pretty good 1 think, I see no bad Dispositions in her. you have I trust heard we have had the whole Train of merzaeus, I was glad Billy came with them as he was very useful in keeping the little ones out of harms way. I said (supposing bearing tlie character of « 388 Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspondence. 1706-1 i(?)-i777. Aunt I must say something) I hop'd Billy's conduct gave them satisfaction, Master said he had nothing to say but what was in praise of him, & all seem'd pleas'd with the stripling, I hope they were pleas'd with their visit, our kind Loves to you all your affectionate Aunt Betty. August y= 21=' 1773 \_From Elizabeth to her niece Elisabeth Taylor^ To Miss Taylor at M' Hawkers at Portsmouth Hants Mv Dear Besse It was I do assure you no small consolation to us to hear our Dear Anna was better, sith it is over, I am not sorry to hear she had a Fever, as that was a rational cause of weakness, whereas so great weakness in so young a Person unaccounted for, appear'd to me alarming. but how goes on the Dear maid? does She Sleep & not only eat but digest her Food? does she gather more strength by her loss (of the Fever I mean?) does She Bath yet, & how agreeth that with her? how long do you purpose to stay at Portsmouth? all these particulars we much want to be inform'd off, & in particular how she is. we have been reading on Toleration, the Reasons off & indication of the Discenters Petitioning, &' &' & of their renewing their Petition in opposition to the wise Heads of the orthodox Indepen- dents, who know our articles, & love subscriptions. we are now reading Beattie's Essay on the nature & immutability of Truth, a learned thing but I beheve sensible & cleaver. we had a fine holy Day yesterday from 8 in the morning to that hour at night, & were all those hours free & Inde- pendent People. but tis all over with us we are again Dependent & inthralld. The appearance indeed at present is not very formidable, but I am not to be soothed & flattefd by appearances, knowing too well by experience that none are free who cannot make their own Bed, wash their own Linen, cook their own Food & do all their work themselves. Molly left us yesterday with a Heart fraught with the highest Rancour accusing us of destroying her health by confining & starving her when She had the ulcerated sore Throat & Fever, most heavy complaints She makes against us. declares She was able to have done her work all the time if we had not confin'd her to her chamber, declared She would pay no Bill, that she did not order any medicine for herself, nor wanted any. that she was old enough to Judge what was necessary for herself, & that we should not force the money out of her Pocket. & I suppose -| the Town really believes we actually confin'd starv'd & treated her extremely bad. She has exercis'd our Patience pretty handsomely for this month past a worser Temper & a greater Lyer I have not met with, I know not what I may do. She has done Sail no good, what- ever she was before, but Sail is very artful & can lye pretty well to.— but I shall see how she goes on now with another. I e'en took the first maid I heard off, for thinks I, neither Barral better Herring, a servant is a Servant, & recommended or not recommended 'tis all to nothing the same. They say this Nanny (I know not yet what other name She has) is honest sober good natur'd & not given to leasing, twill be brave indeed if all this here is tnie, & when I see it I will believe it, that's all. I'm sure we have not dared to say Boo to a Goose many months past, so the Folk at next Door are pretty well. M" Stodart as big as she can tumble. I have got no news to tell you, but we have been harrasd out with marys perverseness & obduracy. when shall I hear from you ? pray give our kind Love to nancy I hope her spirits are not too low for her to be pert over her Elder sister. I would by no means have her write herself, but I think she might say some says, & Let you write them for her, for I would have her be careful to keep her Elder Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 389 sister in constant employment, lest she should run in to mischief. Indeed (jokeing aside) I much long to i7o6-ii(?)-.777. hear from you both, so now I have said my says out. your Aunt sends her kind Love to you both I am your sincerely affectionate Aunt Oct' r IS" 1773 Betty. 2 Gowns for 27 shillings! they must surely be Penniworths. or so many shillings worth at least. I have not seen my Dear male Pirtling* this Fortnight, tis a sweet Fellow & we are main fond of him. Dan was here about a Fortnight ago & brought a young courier with him wil— s head was chop'd of at the corner of the Table in a whift but my sweet w» stood up for Liberty & gave not way an ace I cannot make that Dan agree : to make a settlement on his Lady, & I will not agree to let him have any one without he will, we were all mery & happy together & full of Fun. {_From Elizabeth to her niece Elizabeth Taylor.'} To Miss Taylor at the Rev""- M' Taylors at Crawley near Winchester Hants Thanks my Dear Besse for your Letter, we certainly rejoice with you in the union Dan (I suppose we must not call him Dan now he is marrid) has made with so worthy a Family, & taking to him so amiable a wife, now they have left you, we shall have them the whole Family I mean & Friends, to spend a Day with us as M" Drane prorais'd us. they can only come on a Sunday, by your Letter I find you will not be one Sunday in Town or disengag'd, otherwise I would not have had them till you came, but it will be so long, & as I said you are not to be disengag'd one Sunday I shall write to the man & his wife to fix the Day to come assoon as they can. we shall certainly have our Dear W" & poor Hughes who has been long a stranger to a Holy Day. you talk of our making a Present to the man & his wife, why I gave her a spining wheel the very Day she was marrid, & your aunt & I have made Mad" a Present of a set of nankin Tea china w'"" <^ost ^5.1 I sent it the Day before they set out for Crawley ordering it to be open'd by no Preson but herself. I hope it will please but as yet I know not. M" waugh bought it for us. what a shocking thing it is that there should be but one Protestant Bishop on the whole Bench & that such a Bill t should Pass, it makes us sick at heart to think of it. greatly are we pleas'd with the citys Petition on the occasion tho' we can entertain no hopes of its meeting w'" success where Religion & Truth are discarded & voted against, o Endland how threatning & horrible is thy Prospect of returning Darkness superstition & suffering! sure I am every Protestant Heart must feel greatly on this most alarming occasion. we shall be exceeding glad to see you my Dear tho' it be but for a short space, more glad most certainly could we see you for a longer time, so poor Nancy would be well, if She was not sick, we are very sorry her health is so prevented by this ugly Disorder, was it not for the greatness of the contraction of my Stomach & the exceeding shortness of my Breath I should also be well & boney, but these maladies have much increas'd on me for this month past, & keep me sorrily on it your aunts Eye far better but not entirely well. we are exceeding glad to hear your Father is recover'd of his jiainful disorder pray give our hearty Love to him & eke to your Brother & sister together with your aunts hearty Love to them & you Your sincerely affectionate Aunt July y' 2""' 1774 ■ Betty. VVtUiam probably. t The East India Company's Regulation Bill 390 EUzabdJi, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspondence. i7o6-ii(?)-i777. tell you Father that Lambridge has not mention'd his wife at al in his will not to leave her so much as mourning. She is therefore much reduc'd, having only her own Fortune settled on her. L'' Chancel' has given her £so for mourning & the Firnature of Two Rooms. She has one Boy of 13 years old in the Charter House poor Soul She looks like the Picture of Death, the woman he kept ■went stone blind before his Death. we hear nothing of Ben— though we thought he had been set on his Legs for running, before your Father Left Town. in y' news a sermond is proposd to be preech'd before y= Bps zephaniah ch. 3"' v. y" 4"' 'yFroin Elizabeth to her niece Elizabeth Taylor.'] To Miss Taylor at the Rev''' M' Taylor Crawley near Winchester Hants Mv Dear Bessy very sorry we were to hear so bad an account of our poor Dear anna, 'tis a sorry child to be thus ever & anon so pitiously on it, but we hope seeing She is on the mending hand she will soon get entirely well & bear her self more stoutly for the future. If as I fear this violent heat may not greatly relax her tender nerves & prevent her gaining strength so fast as I wish her to do. why the heat well nigh demolishes me that am so big, I cannot sleep with it on nights, nor stir on Days nor hardly bear my Legs so swoln & painful in Short it affects me from the crown of my Head to the sole of my Foot, & your aunt has got the Rheumatism a cold & cough, & so much for the weather & its uncomfortable effects on us, twill be cooler I trust in time. The tall miss who calld here with M" Ironsides has been here two or three times & appears to be a sensible agreeable Girl & can fun a little on occasion poor soul She has had a violent pam m her Face, & came here wropd up like an Egyption mummy, but she was patient & cheerful notwithstand- ing, & I liked her the better therefore. She with her mother are coming into your neighbourhood to board at Winchester they did live at Chester I think so said I to the Damsal (seeing she was^ going into a strange Land & to a People but little known to her I suppose) can ye not take a ride to crawley, & see my neice there t/iat little tinny thing you met here the other Day? it might be a Ride & a gossip for you to go to crawley, where you would find young men & maidens to make merry with. I do not know but this same miss Roberts may come & look at, or see you. If you like her so, if you dont you may let her alone, there will be no great harm done I trust, her sister marri'd Colonel Ironsides son to our neighbour. I have heard nothing of the man & his wife since I saw you. shall send a how d'do to them soon, being almost out of Tea. we were right glad to hear your Father was so well & hearily wish he may continue so. pray give cur kind Love to him & abundance of thanks for his admirable Book Xtianity appears far more Rational & amiable in her native Garb than She has for many centuries done, loaded & vaild over as she has been with a heap of Rubbish & Trumpery which your Father has thrown off her. Tis certainly a noble performance I think it must please his best master what- ever acceptance it may meet with from fii" Bigots & a superstitious world, the unprejudic'd must I should think feel the pleasing energy of its Truth & admire it as I do. Indeed we are greatly obligd to him for it. & so with our Love to him to your Brothers & Sister, I conclude myself as I would have you always conclude me to be, mv Dear Bess your affectionate aunt ^ Betty. August y" 9" 1774 , I do believe Miss Roberts is a cleave girl here she is & she salth she will come & see you s 1 loveth not ceremony so you may be free & chatter away at pleasure, but she cometh not to Winchester till Mich" Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspondence. 391 \No address; no date -—from Elizabeth to her niece Elisabeth Taylor.l (Extract) [a/m/t 1775.] Dear Bessy As to your caster oyl, I find tis abominably dear, all oyl I suppose is opening why should not Lamp oyl do? that is cheaper & as nasty as the other, my cold is better & your aunts Fever, but her Toe is very bad & paniful. however, & if I thought castor oyl was not only opening but also a Diuretick, I would try it. but I exceedingly grudg i a Guinea for a Pint whereas a quart can be had for 15 shillings. I sent nancies Handkerchief to Dan desiring him to give it safe & sound to her. Sexton is much mended yesterday her cousin came (long since sent for) poor Sherlotte has fallen down stairs & hurt her side was oblig'd to be blooded to ease her Breath, hope now she will have less fatigue & will do better. Becky is no better, she set the best foot foremost & went on Saturday with M' Squires in his carriage to the Review, where she fainted away with standing, & was very bad after she got home. [From Elizabeth to her niece Elizabeth Taylor?^ To Miss Taylor _ at M' Moses Hawkers at Portsmouth Hants Wednesday Sep. y' 28"' My Dear Bessy our Love affair has gone on unnotic'd till this Day, last night the old man came & honestly told me of It, blam'd the girl as being very forward & desir'd me to speak to her. he did not seem to think his son intended to have her. I have told her of it, she denies it all, & that he has taKd of Itaving her. she is abash'd, like a Post & a fool, & I can get nothing out of her to the purpose she is a most weak mortal & what to do with her I know not, as 1 cannot depend on her word atal for she has been exceeding sly, nor can I have any opinion of Ids underhand proceedings, his father does not like he should lye here again, nor do L but we shall have the old one for y' winter I know not if this will find you at portsmouth as you said not how long you should stay there, but there I must direct to you I suppose. I can make allowance for Lovers, I'm sure I have been absolutely mild & gentle with her, but what can one do with a thing petrifi d with stupidity & will not * say a word of Truth. ought I to keep her in * nger of being rucnd for any advantage of my * ? I will tell her mother & let her determine ks » she will I think, but she is a weak mortal & will I suppo.se believe her daughter. I find Love like strife is as when one Ictteth out water, 'twere best therefore to leave it off before it be meddled with. & so with our kind & hearty Love & best wishes to you all I am my Dear Bessy Your sincerely affectionate AixT Betty. Sep' )- 28" 1774 * Obliterated by seal i7o6-ii(?)-i777- 392 Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspondence. \_From Elizabeth to her niece Elizabeth Taylor?^ To Miss Taylor at the Rev"^ M' Taylors at Crawley near AVinchester Hants Dear Bessy Nancy is a very good Girl, but as the Quaker said by St P. she is very much ont there io wit in thinking it tiresome to me to receive Letters even ever so often from you. I find writing myself often inconvenient when I am sorrily on it, but it always gives me great pleasure, & comfort, & satisfaction, & Joy to hear from my Friends & Dear neices. you are all out, I have not seen Heliogabalus's Letter, & I fear I shall not, so I am fretting about it. your Brother Henry promis'd me to send it by the Post for I was in post hast to see it, after Dan call'd on me & thinking the first a slipery chap that he had forgot it, I beg'd Dan to send it me, both promis'd well, but I have it not, possibly it was not to be had, Dan promis'd me that if his wife was pretty well he would bring her to dine with us last Sunday, & hoping w» would also come I had got a Dinner tho' plain sufilcient to supply the calls of nature in each after a Journey, but they came not, I sent on monday thinking mad" was ill, but She sent word they were well & had been prevented by M' Henrys dining with them, I sent also for Heliogabalus's Paper, but Dan was from home, & the woman knew not what I ment, I shall not have it I find, She talk'd of coming to see us soon. I should Like to take the Paper, but it would be too much expence I think, they say 'tis the best Paper of all. There is a 3" Edition of the Paraphrase on the Revelations by moses Lowman oct° printed for T. cadell in the Strand 1773. which at last I have got & like well. Miss Buckl is quite happy in the acquisition of a new situation much more to her mind & ad- vantage than her old one to be with a young Lady & to look to her Father's House, I hope it wiU prove agreeable he is a Person of large Fortune, & She is to be treated with equal regard with his Daughter. She is not yet gone but all matters fixed to her mind, & I daily expect her to come & take" leave of us. I am exceedingly pleas'd with her good fortune, & glad she did not accept of what was propos'd from another quarter, with regard to a Removal for ourselves, we have as yet done nothing, but I think we must, & that a Lodging will be the thing. Kensington they say is a good, a wonderful good air & dry. as to the Palace I think not thereof, they talk of raising the window Lights & other Taxes. & we are I hear like to loose our Pew on account that a great Person is coming to Wandsworth, & must be served, so we must go where we can, or set under his Footstool, & yet we°must pay to parson and Poor the same & term'd very shabby to scotch off the least mite,^ as to jjmi-j B I believe she never intended to remove, her mind is just the same, one may pity, but cannot help her. such People are not to be talk'd to & advised. I am thoroughly convinc'd by experience, having lately exceedingly ofi-ended out of pure good will a Person of about 50, by speaking my mind too freely on a pretty little amour they wish'd to engage in. I should have been sUent had I not been requir'd to interest myself in the scheem, & affirm a thing I was sure to be false in order to procure a meeting & carry on the Farce, on my refusal & remonstrance I had a pepper hot Letter, I answer'd mildly promis'd to be evermore a silent woman & we was to meet in friendly sort, but by a blunder in the writer, I most unluckily fixd on a day on which it appeared most certain they would not come to be from home, they came, & sure enough I was gone, so I had another Letter brimful! of Flouts, & here follows my answer, I will not say I have sent it, one should only write when one is angry & burn the first answer the sais. Well, I think we have got in a very poor way ! How we shall go on, I really can't say. By your Letter I think you seem to be glouting I am sure it contains abundance of Flouting. Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. To answer it fully requires some art But if you'l ride rusty, I shan't care a F — t If you chuse to be Friendly, I'm ready to be so, If you chuse to be Jarring, why then you may e'en go. Take with you my Thanks for all y' great Favours I wish I had more to return for your Labors. But you must consider this very true Thing, That you cannot have more of a Cat than her skin. And so I remain without further failure Your most oblig'd servant Elizabeth Taylor as to my health Harry will tell you it could not be well spoken of, I really was so very bad in my Stomach when he was hear I knew not how to talk & be cheary with him. I was very ill all that week, I am better now but exceedingly short breath'd heavy, & but sorrily on it. I have read his L''ships lying speacli & set him down what he is. I wish your Father could come to London to divert off the melancholy impressions the loss of his old Friend has made on his spirits. I think he might have remember-d him in some small Legacy, so much as he abounded in wealth. pray give our kind Love to your Father & Brothers & Sister Anna. I am my Dear Bessy your sincerely affectionate Aunt. April y' 2"'' 1776 i7o6.ii(?)-i777. "yFrom Elizabeth to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.'] The Rev"^ M' Taylor at Crawley near Winchester. Dear Brother Will" & George [Courtauld] dind with us on Sunday were well & sprent merry & Funny, your Bacon was admirable we thank you for it, & fed the Lads with some of it together with some Beans veal colly flower & Tart, & they were refresh'd & strengthen'd. ive Join in hearty Love to you I am Dear Brother your affectionate Sister Elizabeth Taylor. Dear Bessy you see I here save you Postage of a Letter by writing on your Fathers, I thank you for your last, & To her Niece, should have answer'd it sooner was not writing a disagreeable task to my eyes, that views all writing pale & cloudy. I hope nancy is confirm'd in strength & vigour by her Bathing, it must make it veiy delightful to have such worthy & agreeable People to spend your time with while you are oblig'd to be from home, as your being with strangers would render it a very uncomfortable affair. 1 am sorry for your young Friend, you have I doubt not endeavoufd to fortify her mind against the worst, I hope by your strong sympathy with her, you have not caught y' Infection, for Love is a most terrible &: sore malady ! but I can't help thinking this to be a great deal owing to the undue & unreasonable Indulgence of it the reading novels plays has in my opinion done irreparable harm by leading young minds to a rediculous expectation of having made a conquest of every mans Heart that does but look at them, or say a common civil thing to them. They immediately proceed to indulge the sweet Passion of Love even before the m>a/ object has once thought of making any declaration of that sort to them. If he does wf, then oh how cruel is the Disappointment ! sighs & Tears &: Umentations succeed, & can only be cured, by the next sweet Passion which the next 3 U r 394 Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspondence. i7o6-n(?)-i777. sweet Looks of the next sweet man they meet with, raises : If they suceeed in a return, or a pro- fession of Love in the first, the swed Passion which has been suffer-d to take such speedy & so strong possession of their minds, renders them incapable of any prudent caution or conduct that must be necessary to render the union happy or even tolerable. I fear poor m" con — y has found this a fatal Truth. I did not intend you should discover my acquaintance. all I wish'd was, to expose the Folly, or but to draw it & it must expose itself as all who are not involv'd in it, which when People are, 'tis certain they can see no one thing, least of all the one thing necessary in its true Light, There cannot certainly be a more contemptable Being than an old maid (such I reckon all turn'd of 30) useing stratagems to draw in the men, & languishing under the swed Passion of Love. Let me therefore my Dear Bess, entreat you to guard against it, & detest all these artful & absurd schemes, for the Honour of your sex &: the sisterhood of maidens. In short I am sick [seal] heart with such nonsense. H. B. really acts as if she [seal] out of her Head, has I'm well inform'd actually made a declaration of her mind, & has been positively refus'd & assur'd the Party never had any such Inten- tion, nor ever shall. her Resentment & Jealoussy is intolerable, & yet she will not give up her pursuit, & is now absolutely ill with vexation, she is the redicule of every creature, will hear no Reason, & the affair is really threatening & shocking ! He has not deceiv'd her, nor acted dishonourably, she has deceiv'd herself & is on ly to blame. She will not leave the Place, nor give the affair peaceably up. The other affair I shall hear no more of, & shall never mention it, by both, I have been led to write as I have, so I've been so prolix on all this stuff, that I've no room to conclude, no matter for that, I thmk the Passion of Love indulg'd too much, is dangerous at all ages, & I'm sure I am your afiectionate aunt Betty, our hearty Love attend you all. I suppose you'l see Will'" this week. June y' 25'" 1776 m" Waugh spent 2 nights with us, is well & gone a Journey. \_No date; -from Elizabeth to her niece Elizabeth Ta.yl(?ri] To Miss Taylor at the Rev""- M' Taylors at Crawley near Winchester Hants [aioHt 1776.] My Dear Bess had I not had the satisfaction of seeing your Brother H , & also of hearing poor nancy was better I should doubtless have writen before now. tho' I much long to know how your Father is, whether he Rides like a Dragon & if such exercise does him any service with regard to his health; as to me I have been pretty thoroughly exercis'd for above a week, not with Ridmg, I grant you, for that has not been in my Power to do, nor yet with walking for I have not been able so long to set one step but with a violent fit of the Rheumatism in my Leg, so that I have been confind to my chair close to my Bolster & it has been with excess of pain I have got in and out of Bed, your aunt has had a heavy task with it, being oblig'd to supply the use of it to me with her Hand lifting it by Inches up and down to & again, as I wanted it, on Sunday I got with much pains taking to the Fire end of the Room, & to Day to my great comfort can go with my crutches mto the Dressing Room. I have been oblig'd to take Bark & guiacum which has restor'd my appitite given me Spirits & greatly strengthen'd my outward man. I do assure you my Dear Bess I did not take your Letter at all 111; I really wish I could (at least in some more tolerable degree) Love Lyars I should be a better Xtian. I talk'd to H on the occasion-1 Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 395 believe many People may not think it so wrong & therefore it may not possibly be so bad in them, & yet I think by the same Rule every other vice may be foster'd & countenanc'd, & Respect paid not to whom it is due but equally to those to whom it is not so Justly due.) what did you think of all that H told you ? & what are you determin'd to do with regard to the young Lady. I think your Brother is entirely right in his Judgment to Lay aside the thoughts of all beginning of an acquaintance with miss R • I believe the old Lady is rather asham'd, as She was assur'd by the Person She so basely treated, that we should know it, & besides She Knew She had said the very same to us herself. no notice on either side has been taken, but she comes sildomer & is more stiff, perhaps we more coole. I'm sure we have been very civil. we had the pleasure of seeing our Dear W" Sunday was a Fortnight. &: the satisfaction of hearing from Dan the next Day, that he escap'd being in a most violent storm of Thunder & Hail. m'= Taylor was then able to go out a little, but was not come liome, since I have not heard from nor of her. I sent a note yesterday to miss Bucknel to desire her company but the Lady was in Town, & when we shall see her I wote not. Miss Bernard comes about once a week to see us She is very kind, cheerful & comfortable & does me good, poor m'^ Stoddart has been so exceeding bad with a Disorder in her Bowels they thought for some Days she was in the utmost danger. She is recover'd poor thing, but very weak & low. I fear she will neigh break her Heart when she leaves her Brother she cannot bear to talk of it. \\" Wilkes has been very ill with a Fever but is better she tells me to Day She intends coming to clapham tomorrow, & to send her coach for us next Day, but I am her nimble Pig in a string for that for I cannot get down the Stairs to the coach if she would give me the tempting vehicle for my own. I am as Tender as a Baby, hardly dare put my Head out of window for the Rheumatism is playing its pranks ever & a non with my Jaws, for two Days & a night Forsooth I could not draw my breath in peace for the twinges it gave me in my side, so that I dread cold as a burnt child does the Fne. your poor aunt has been much fatigu'd with me being forc'd to rise once or twice every night to watch my w r & assist me in performing a Jobb I cannot possibly execute but with a Person of stria Integrity. You may laugh, but tis an absolute Fact, for having lately detected Nanny in a Brace of confounded Lies, I am oblig'd to send her out of the Room on these occasions ever since. I excus'd & most freely forgave her when Love led her into deceiving me, but I cannot excuse now nor regard her as heretofore. She is most certainly a very artful perverse Girl. & I less wonder now that sail grows worse instead of better, but I will not part with her, till I do with the other, I doubt we shall not go on very agreeably together again for any length of time, we much long to know how your Father is, & how nancy is, & how Peter is, & Join in Kind Love to all these People, & also to your Brother H. & your own Dear self. I am ray Dear Bessy your affectionate aunt r T >. Betty. [tornjay y= 16"' or thereabouts i7o6-ii(?)-i777. {_From Elizabeth to her niece Elizabeth Taylori] To Miss Taylor at the ReV- M' Taylors at Crawley near Winchester Hants when the cat's away the mice play you dare not have wTitten so much had your tender nurse been at home I trust. I was frightend to see it, I hope my Dear Besse you did not greatly hurt your- self by it, a little I am sure you must, for vcriting in your weak state is the worst thing to wony your Head & Spirits you can do. I hope by this you are fully convinc'd that you are much better but tis 396 Elizabeth, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. i7o6-ii(?)-i777. the nature of these wretched Fevers to make such havoke on the nerves & grievous langour on the spirits the concoxtion of Bark is the only Bracer of relaxd nerves & effectual restorative of lost strength, this weather too I trust will cheer thy tender Frame I thought much sooner to have written to you, but heavy Bodies move slow, & every thing is a Burden to sloth so invincible as mine. I lay a Bed late, am daudling on my cloaths till noon e'er I can set about any thing, then comes dinner then a little nap, tords evening my uneasiness increases & all is over with me, & setting to write at a Table is a possition that by no means agreeth with me. Miss Bucknal being a fresh Person & better qualifid I got her to write when she was here to entertain you. She staid from Friday to raonday Evening with us. & was very comfortable. but I cannot bear the confinement of much company, & seldom see any one but Miss Barnerd who is very kind & friendly to me. Dan & wife made us a kind visit on Wednesday & din'd with >is & I was glad to see them for they are very good to me & so is w" & every Body, all are this Day as mute as Fishes the Bps having injoin'd a strict observance of it, & now who should come in but Will" tis proper I address myself to him & therefore after assuring you my Dear Bessee that I most heartily wish health & happiness to you, & all at crawley & Joining in hearty Love to your Father Sister & Brothers I conclude your sincerely affectionate Aunt Elizabeth Taylor. Good Friday 1777 \^Addcd by her ncfhew Winiani] : — I am commissiond to attest the truth of the above asseveration, to Wit "W"- is here," but one's handwriting is nowadays but a poor proof of one's presence, since forgery is so in fashion ; however my Aunt asserts it, & tis your place to prove an aUbi. I cannot help saying there is more of my Aunt than is good for any thing. however time we hope will be of service to her, [sage?] she always was you know, & there is a bottle of Pepper Mint Water, on the table, & Winter Savoury, & Sweet Margerum, in the Garden, will greatly help to dish her up. [No address; — From Elizabeth to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.'] \_No date — supposed 1777.] Dear Brother, exceeding kind did I take your very affectionate U comfortable I-etter, which ever & anon cheereth & consoleth me. yet the apprehension of being Judg'd according to our works that a far higher degrees of virtue than what in general is thought necessary is requir'd as the terms of our acceptance in the Gospel & then what I have acquir'd I cannot help doubting whether so great confidence of the Divine approbation may not be rather presumptions than rational & acceptable, but I am not always either in the same mind or Disposition, some times I am compos'd &: think I am intirely satisfied, & some times I feel wicked restless & impatient & then I fret at myself &r am unhappy. so that I am an inconsistent Being, a little good blended with much Evil a little hope with many doubts & uncomfortable Fears. then I feel angry, fret & am uncharitable to People that appear to want Integrity & act as I think wrong, & I cannot get the better of this tendency of disposition, ray head is always at work &: goes as you see like the mans a nudle a nudle. but I only fret at this, I shall never mend I find, so do not wish to live for that end, nor see any reason to do so on any account, my whole fear is the final Decision either for my admittance into or banishment from the Divine Presence & Favour. I have no other idea of either happiness or misery, having little employd my thoughts on Hell or the Devil. my Disorder increases daily nothing I have taken for these 3 months past makes the least alteration so there can be no prospect of my amendment, I am as heavy as a Bear, am oblig'd to have a nurse to help me in & out of Bed. I would on no account have Bessee or Nancy come as they could do us little good & themselves a great deal of harm, nor do I wish Rebecca, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor. 397 you to come, if you write to me I shall be glad I am a mere Baby & it does me good to be taken i7i2(?)-i799. notice of & pittied. Indeed I am greatly oblig'd to you all for your affection & tenderness to me & to Dan & will"' who are exceeding good & have always treated us with affection we are sorry to hear you have had so much of the Gout & that my poor Bessee is got into so weak a state of spirits hope she will get the better of it soon, we Join in hearty Love & thanks to you & Love to Henry Peter Bessee & Anna I am Dear Brother Your Sincerely affectionate sister Elizabeth Taylor. I hope Bessee does not take it unkind I answerd not her Letter, but the setting to write is a posture intolerable to me. \_Added by her Sister'] : — poor Belt is very uneasey both night and day very much Swelld from her Toes to her Hips and her Belly pits write to her Soon Yours Reb. Taylor. We now come to Rebecca, the youngest child, as we believe ; but at present Rebecca, there is no information where, or exactly when, either she or her sister Elizabeth was born. In an old paper, containing what appears to be a summary of all that was known, or supposed to be known, of the family, it is stated that Rebecca was born in 1710. The birth next before that date, that we know of was Mary, in 1706; Elizabeth, therefore, may have been born in 1707, 1708, or 1709. At a guess, I put Rebecca as born after Ben Mordecai (171 1), but it is only a guess. It may perhaps be a question whether it might not have been better to have coupled our notice of Rebecca with that of her sister Elizabeth ; for our knowledtre of her is about equally litde, and almost the whole that we know of either is of the time during which they lived together. The earliest letter we have of Rebecca's is dated 1756. We do, however, catch an earlier glimpse of her, keeping her brother Henry's house at Wheatfield. from about 1737 to 1740, when he married, and It seems probable she remained with him for some time after the marriage. After this, the little we have said of Elizabeth may be applied to her. She too was at South Weald certainly from 1 758— probably much earlier; and in imagination we may follow her to Romford and Ilford when the South Weald house was let ; and there is no reason to doubt she accompanied her sister to Wandsworth, where she lived for twenty-two years after her sister's death. As in the case of Elizabeth, I leave her letters— of which all of any interest are printed — to tell their own story, to mark the little incidents of family occurrences, of the visits of relatives, of affec- tionate feelings for her brother and his children, and to suggest conclusions in regard to her character, and to the shades of difference between the two sisters. In her Will, made January 1793, she desires to be buried at Wandsworth, and for wiii of Rebecca. Mr Skinner of " Wondsor" to be the undertaker. She leaves her nephew William J. 398 Rebecca, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor. i7i2(?)-i799. Taylor, her furniture, pictures, etc., a book, and five guineas; to her friend the Rev. Mr Phillips of " Wondsor," and to Mrs Catherine Barnet of Putney, twenty-one shillings each for rings ; remainder between her nephews and nieces, Elizabeth, Henry, Daniel, Anna, and William; her nephews Henry and William executors. In November 1795 she made a Codicil, leaving Betty, widow of her nephew Peter, ;^io, and her servant Elizabeth [Eries ?] £10. She died at Wandsworth in 1799, and was buried there. Will of Richard In 1756 she was left executrix to the Will of her uncle Richard Crispe, in '^"'P'- which she was to some extent beneficially interested. In a letter of hers of that date, which will be found on p. 400, she thus mentions Mr Fox's opinion of the value of this bequest : — After a calculation of the interest to be paid, repairs & every probable expence he reckons my uncles part will bring in ^20 a year dear, but I cannot think of living to have this, as it will be 12 years e'er the estate can clear all the Debts &c. It is pleasant to think that these two old ladies, if not wealthy, enjoyed a modest competence, probably quite sufficient for their wants. The following state- ment, made by her nephew Daniel to Rebecca in 1780, shows her income as follows : — Reijecca's income in 1780. From Weald, -£^0 Carter's Farm, . . . . • • • ^5 Lowndes House, 4° Welbore Ellis,* 5 £^S° 5 I Afterwards her nephew William managed her money matters, and used to be continually going to Wandsworth to see her. Sale of the family After her death, there seems no doubt that all the real estate belonging to the family was sold; indeed, Henry, writing to his sister EHzabeth, 24th December 1800, says as much. Speaking of a suggestion to settle a small annuity on Daniel, secured on the family estates, he says : " They were all sold, & the money arising therefrom divided before you wrote," etc. Who were the purchasers, and what the price, we have no record of; but in a letter of Mrs William Taylor to her husband, May 3, 1800, she says that Henry gives consent to dispose of the estate (not naming it) for ^1250, if more cannot be obtained. I rather infer that the sale could not take place until after the death of the last of the family of William * The Right Hon. Welbore Ellis, Secretary at War in 1763. A "Cousin Thomas Ellis" is mentioned m the Will of Edward Crispe (p. 166). Whether or not there is any connection, I have no evidence (,see v- 403). Rebecca, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor. 399 Taylor of South Weald, as they all held life-interests in it. As soon as it became i7i2(?)-i799. possible through their demise, it is probable that all the beneficiaries would desire to realise. William, we know, was in great want of capital at that time. It does seem a pity that at least the houses in London should not have been retained. It is probable that at the present time they are worth not much less than twenty times their then value. (See p. 235.) It is evident that her pecuniary position became afterwards less satisfactory, staitened drcum- no doubt the result of her losses through Daniel. March 13, 1786, says William, writing to his wife. I went to Wandswortli yesterday, & the Old Lady seem'd pretty willing to grant a mortgage to Harry, but I am convinced she will not be able to keep house any longer, when it is considered" how heavy an interest she must pay, & so I have informed her. She said it was quite time for her to die, & seemed not to enjoy the thoughts of quitting her house at all. Poor Old woman I wish it was not necessary. Whether such change took place, we seem to have no evidence, but the question seems to have arisen year after year. About 1780 Daniel writes as follows:— As to my Aunt Becky's going into Lodgins, is a thing she is much against; she is very desirous to live in the House she is in. I do not see any hurt there can be in trying it one Year; Esspecially as her income is certainly enough for it. I make it at least ^150 ? annum. But if i^iy F. writes to her on y' Subject & gives any hints that he wishes her to go into lodgings it will make her very unhappy. Therefore I wish you would once more consult together about it, at least before my F. writes. Again, in 1783, the old lady expresses the same alarm. In 1795 we find Mrs William Taylor staying with Rebecca during one of her husband's business journeys, with little Peter, then five years old. It appears that Aunt Rebecca did not conceal her troubles, as we find the following in a letter written by Mrs William Taylor during the visit : — Peter said to me this morning when he first waked, "A'nt it very odd Aunt Beck always tells ev'ry body how poor she is, when I myself have seen loads of Shillings in her drawer. I think it is very wicked for such an old woman to tell such monstrous great Story's." The following extract from the same letter gives a little insight into a now quite exploded fashion, and would seem to show that, in those days of severe discipline as we are told, boys of five years old could occasionally be a little audacious. " Yesterday after dinner I gave my William as my toast. Well says AchUd's.oast Peter, takmg his Glass, 'And here is my Bill.'" Amongst her letters is one to which I should like to call particular attention (P- 403), as of more general interest and value than tho.se merely relating to family matters; it gives an account of a spiritist stance in the year 1768. U bears a I 400 Rebecca, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspondence. quite startling resemblance to similar doings of the present day, and is on the whole satisfactory, as showing that in our follies and superstitions we have not retrograded since the days of our great-grandfathers. \_From Rebecca to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor?\ [endorsed — " Sister Reb."] To the Rev"- M' Taylor at Crawley near Winchester Hants July f 2i" 1756 Dear Brother, I have been in Town & by M' Fox's advice have prov'd my uncles will, he is excessive good to me indeed, & has offer'd to advance money to pay off such debts as must be immediately discharged, he paid M" Chamberline above ^18 for me, but the money I sold my uncle Crisps goods, books, & Clothes (all which are very indifferent) has paid him that again, everybody is much pleas'd that I have proved the will & seem very easy to for their money. M' Fox intends to sell the Greenwich estate by auxion, but he was so good to go see it himself, & says tis in a sad case, he hopes there will be some small matters over for me, but I have very little expectations of that, as the Debts amount to 7 hundred & 50 Pounds but the reason he was so much for my acting was, that if my uncle's part of Silver Street should have fain into strange & bad hands, none of us would ever have had anything from our own parts, but M' Fox tells me I shall be allow'd for what expenses I have been at on my uncle's account which is a great comfort to me let things turn out as they will I desir'd He would not lend me any money, if he was not apprehensive that it would be in my power to pay him again out of my uncle's effects. I'm sure I could never have found such a Friend as he is, had I search'd ever so long, for I could not find any that were both able, & willing to assist me, & therefore when I went to him, I was in my own mind determin'd not to trouble myself at all about my uncles affairs, you can't think what pains Ke has taken, & after a calculation of all the interest to be paid, repairs, & every probable expense, he reckons my uncles part will bring in ^20 a year clear, but I cannot think of Living to have this, as it will be 12 years e'er the estate can clear all the Debts, tho' if it was not for stocks being so low, I could pay of ^200 & save so much abominable Interest, but Bing is run away, & I cannot descry the least prospect of any amendment of the times. we Tre all now indifferent well tho I can't say I am yet so strong as I was before my last [No address ;— from Rebecca to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor?^ South Weald June 4"' 1760 Dear Brother 1 am quite abash'd, asham'd, and confounded, to think how long I have been m acknowledging your kindness, indeed I can with truth assure you, my will was good to have answer-d your kmd letter long ago, & to return you thanks for your very kind present of your Books, which you sent to me, and also to my friends. my Uncle Aunt & Sister is also much obligd to you for the same and returns you thanks. I would have wrote before but one thing or other has always prevented me. Bett has been a long time exceeding bad with the Rheumatism in her Stomack. She is at last better of that Rebecca, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor.—Correspondciice. 401 but has it now in the nape of her neck hand and shoulder. Miss Palmers came here to see us for a .7.2(?)-,7g9. few days, but no sooner were they arriv'd, then Miss Bett Palmer fell sick and keept her Bed of a • fever and violent pain in her Stomach, this, for some time hindered my writing, and after they went away I waited to hear how your Book was liked by M" Barker and M' Price. I am pretty sure did you know her, you would .allow her to be, a tip top judge, and one who would scorn to flatter. She writes me word M' Price has read it and is much pleased with it, and does assure me, she don't like ,t less than he does. She says it appears a very worthy and noble, design in M' Taylor, thus to trace the ways of providence in keeping up the knowledge and worship of the one true God amidst the general Idolatry of the world : and by this means preserving the prophesies of the messiah, and preparing the world for his Reception. M' Price she says is pleased with the freedom of your sentiments. But are we only to see this book, and not the Author? indeed we all hope to see you Sister and as many more as you can bring with you this summer, or we shall be sorely disappointed. we all join m thanks for Besseys company we wish she could have stayd longer with us for mdeed she is a most delightful Girl and we hate to part with her. we were very sorry for her that both times she came, she should meet Death in the Family.* tho indeed we had no reason to repine at the last Death as we now live much more comfortable then we did, and I think the old son- my father once made may be reviv'd viz : my Good Uncle John is become his own man and Standeth upon his own Bottom. and all his past years of service and cares for joy he has clearly forgot them I suppose you have heard by Bessy or M' Fo.x that M' Evans left Bett and I twenty pounds a piece we have no news now, so know not how the world goes. only there is a talk of our havin- another camp upon Wally common. ° Have you read the Tryal of Lord Farrers ? I have and think it happy for the world to get rid of such a vile creature. how do you all do this terrible hot weather? we know not what to do with ourselves. I hope in some part of your House you carr set and be Fanned with some gentle Breeze my Aunt ,s pure well, my Uncle but very indiiterent we fear a Dropsy. Bett often in pam with the Rheumatism, and your Sister Beck very well we all join in hearty love to you Sister, and all our Dear neices and nephews and beg you to believe me Dear Brother your truly affectionate Sister R. Taylor. {^From Rebecca to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor^] To the Rev" M' Taylor at Crawley near Winchester Hants Nov" S 1761 Dear Brother I have long wish'd to hear of the welfare both of your Self and Family. when I wrote to you last gave you an account of my Aunts illness which confind her to her Bed Ten weeks. She has lost part of her Toe; but is now charming well. M' Hawkings came here a little while ago and staid » nights with us : he told us, that all the Surgeons in London could not have done better by her than M Boodle had done, he desired me when I wrote to you to give his Compliments. I have been ob igd to have my Aunts [Anne?] Surgeon for a great Pain in my Side which no Bleeding would remove •mt since I have been Blisterd and cupt upon it, I also am pure welL Bett has long labourd under disorder m her Stomach but is now pure well and gone to Town after her great an.xiety and long confinement with my Aunt, to take a little diversion which is sometimes absolutely necessary for every * See note to p. 403. 3 E 402 Rebecca, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. I7i2(?)-i799. Body. My Uncle [John?] holds much as usual very Lame and grunting. I have just rec'd a letter from my Dear Neice Bessy, directed for Bett which I sent to Town after her. but she was gone further a Field, but I have heard from her, and She intends to write to Bessy very soon pray tell her we all love her dearly; and thank her for the charming news she sent, and giving us hopes of Seeing you and my sister at Christmas, and herself in the spring, indeed we all long to See you; and hope nothing will happen to prevent our promisd pleasure, my Aunt says had you a thousand Children, she should want to see them all. She longs to See Peter, we hope you will bring all your Stock of Children with you the more the merrier.— I Suppose you read in the newspapers of the Death of poor M" Ellis who I am greatly grievd for; her Death was occasiond by a concussion of the Bram occasiond by a most violent Jolt in a Post chase which struck her head with great force against the top. this account I reed from M' Ellis; who found in her Pocket Book a most affectionate letter recommending her last requests to his care; among those she had most kindly mentiond mc; and he will comply with her request to continue what she had done. I will show his letter to you when you come to weald, and my answer. but must tell you, that before I had heard from him, I reed a letter from M" Rudge, wherein both he and She made the same offer in case M' Ellis had not done it. this from him, I own surprizd me. yet it was vastly kind in both. but Still I have lost in her a most truly excellent and valuable Friend, poor M" Rudge has likewise lost Lady Rothes, the greatest loss she could have sustaind. She has got her 2 neices with her who are a great comfort to her. this place affords no news, and I am sorry to put you to the expence of this which is not worth any; to save you one post I send it to Town by our worthy Priest M' Territt. miss Hymene is married to a Clergyman but I dont yet know where she resides ; Bett will enquire : Surely now all her doubts will be resolvd. I wish you would tell me your opinion of atonement and redemption ; as I know not what to believe, but could pin my faith upon your sleeve. all here desire much love to you and all your Dear Children except of mine ; and believe me to be Dear Brother your truly affectionate sister Reb. Tavlok. my hearty love to sister and all. S^From Rebecca to her brother tlie Rev. Henry Taylor7\ To The Rev"^ M' Taylor at Crawley near Winchester Hants South Weald Dec' 11 i76r Dear Brother _ I rec'd your most kind and friendly Epistle for which I Sincerely thank you, and do assure yoa, that it is great joy to us all the hearing of your and my Sister Taylors very kind and good intention of coming to Weald at Christmas ; indeed should anything happen to prevent us of this promis'd pleasure, it will be a Sore disappointment to our whole Family. My Uncle and Aunt desires their hearty Loves to you with every member of your Household, and begs you would let them know Some days before you come that the Bed may be well air'd, and our man John with his two Quadrupeds may be in readiness to meet you at Browns near the Bush and conduct you Safe to our Asylum where you may range at pleasure ; for they are Dead who Sought to distroy our peace and make us all Subservient to their humours.* we hope you will come Soon, and make a longer Stay with us then usual. My Aunt was excessively pleas'd and highly delighted with Nannys pretty Letter She Shews it to every Body and is not a little proud of her God Daughter. M' Boodle came, her Surgeon, with an entension to talk of Heels and Toes ; but she would not ■ To whom this mysterious sentence applies is lost, past even a guess. There is a similar reference p. 401- Rebecca, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. give him leave to mention such things till he had read Nannys letter and had heard what a Cleaver i7i2(?) 1799. Girl She was. my Aunts Heel is just broke out which makes us in fear about her, but hope it may not prove to be a mortification. Bett is retiirn'd from her late excursion in good health. I was taken suddingly a fortnight ago with a Cold ; which turn'd to a high fever and inflamation in my Throat, I was Blister-d, and oblig'd to be Blooded 3 times in 3 days; but am now very well again, and am heartily glad it is over before you come for I should have fretted myself to a Skeleton, to have kept my Bed and not to have been able to enjoy you and my Sisters company, when we have not Seen you an age. my Aunt desires my Sister Taylor not to forget her Apron again, for 'tis very possible that both you and She may be invited to Dine with the Chief Barron as he talk'd of being down here at Xmas. I thank you for your kind offer ; and readiness to inform me when you come what your opinion is of what I want to know. Pray give all our kind loves to Bessy and tell her Bett is extremely oblig'd to lier for her very pretty letter which has not affronted her in the least. but she has well nigh puzzled her Aunt Bett I can tell her. we Shall all be vastly glad to See her Sweet face in the Spring and hope then to be able to give her Some pleasure, we have got a very agreeable neighbour a very Sensible Cleaver Lady who often enquires after Bessy as She has heard of her fame in her visits in Town and would be glad to See her : She resides here all the Summer. Miss Parkers too are very good Sort of Girls the eldest the age of Bessy. I now must take my leave of you after assuring you of all our good and Sincere wishes for your safe arrival at Weald and beging you to accept of our hearty loves to yourself and every one of you I remain Dear Brother your very affectionate & obliged Sister Ree. Taylor. My Sister can't write to Bessy this time, but will as Soon as she can. \_Frovi Rebecca to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.'] To the Rev"- M' Taylor at Crawley near Winchester Hants Feb'' 16 62 Dear Brother Tho' your last letter was to Bett yet as she is at this present deeply engag'd, I have taken pen Spiiiiualism. in liand in order to Say a few words unto thee, first, to inform you how truly sorry we all are to hear you have been so ill and to beg you to believe we shall not fail of our most hearty wishes for your speady recovery, next I must tell you that M'' Usher lives at M' Taylors a Bricklayers in Winchester Street at the corner of oystin Fryers. 3'' I must say that we are all pure well, my Aunts feet almost well ; she is in better Spirits, and Sets up the whole day tho' she has not yet venturd down stairs. I have lately been at London very near the Ghost of Fanny, yes ! I have been among the Believers but could not help being, and owning myself an Infidel notwithstanding I w^as so near the spirit Oh ! that all the Clergy had but as niucli understanding in their whole composition as my Brother has in his one little Toe, they would not then give in to such rediculus nonsense, a friend of M" Frenches a person of veracity & whose Integrity & Honour she could depend on, was present while the following Farce was Acting he was admitted at lo o'clock one night where he found about 15 more persons 3 of whom were rev*' the Candle was imediately put out and silence desired, soon after a soft rapping began & scratching, but not in an angry mood, one of the clergymen declared the spirit was come, and asked if he should question it which was assented to & accordingly he began. Fanny are you come? to which one knock was given, (which you must know is yes; and 2 knocks is no.) are you willing to answer such Questions as I shall put to you? if you are give one knock if not give 2 knocks one knock given. He then proceeded with great Solemnity to Interogate this Female Ghost — arc you a spirit ? one knock, are you a good spirit ? one knock, are you in a state of luppiness? one knock, are you in a state of progressive happiness? 1 mean by that an increasing 404 Rebecca., Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. I7i2(?)-i799. happiness one knock, are you troubled in mind — one knock, have you injurd any one 2 knocks, has M' Parsons injurd you? 2 knocks has his wife 2 knocks. Did you die an unnatural death 2 knocks. Some persons present having heard that the Ghost came to reveal its being poysoned, was Surprized at the answer to the last Query, but tlie Parson gravely said it was his fault in not Stating the Question right; he therefore would ask it again. Parson. Did you Die a natural Death? Spirit gave 2 knocks, was you poisond one knock, was it in Beer Tea or Purl? knocked for Purl— what is it o'clock? gave 10 knocks. How many Quarters after? 2 knocks. Some persons said the Ghost was again out, for that it gone 3 quarters by S' Sepulchres chimes— the rev" Gen" answerd that clocks might be faulty, but by real time the Spirit might be right, he then pursued his Interogation can I be of any service to you? one knock, would it appear that you died by poyson if your Corps was taken up— one knock, yes.— would it give you satisfaction if M' K was hangd? yes. will you appear in a Court of justice if he should be prosecuted ? Yes, one knock. is there no one here that comes to scoff? no. Do all present come with a serious mind? yes. how many Clergymen are in the room. One knock. Parson. What, only one knock?— then 2 knocks. Some observd there was 3 Clergymen in the room to which the parson judiciously observed that the 3'' was a stranger & not in a Canonical habit then M" Frenches friend askd if it could tell the coulour of the arsenick by which it was poisond one knock yes. was it Red arsenick— yes. . . . now am I convincd of the imposture for red arsenick has not the least poisonous quality in it tis white I appeald to a physician present for my assersion this was excused how should a woman know such nice distinctions as to the coulour. M" Frenches friend, pray Gentlemen how does she know that she took arsenick at all? she declard she livd but 3 hours after taking it. its plain she did not know the Tast or she would not have taken it, upon this much altercation ensued, at which the spirit shewd great anger by scratching. I hant room for more we shall be all heartild glad to see my neice here she is now safe in Town, all join in much Love and best wishes to you and all thanks for your companys. with living in hopes to see you all again I am Dear Brother your affection- ate sister R. Taylor. I was much pleasd with one clergyman who sayd it was a Damd Lying spirit \_Froni Rebecca to her brother the Rev. Hciuy Taylor.'] To the Rev"' M' Taylor At Crawley Near Winchester Hants nov*" 16 r763 Dear Brother We are much obligd to you for your kind letter, and goodness in enquiring concerning the poor unhappy Lad we mentiond, whose Friends have never heard of him. Since the time he said he would go to Portsmouth. Some time ago I wrote to you, to acquaint you of what t/uy desired me to beg the favour of yon to do in this affair, but as I have reed no answer to my last, I fear you never had it, therefore must again in order to perform my promise to his friends write to you once more, to tell you that in M" Barkers last letter to me, she Says all her wish was, that I would so far. move M' Taylor in his behalf as to induce him to take only so much notice of Jack Summers, that she might through his means know what was become of him now how you can do this, I know not, but should you hear of him be so good as to let me know, as his friends are very uneasy about him. M" Barker says she wrote to M' Bradley who I suppose lives at Portsmouth to desire him if Jack should call on him to Supply him with necessaries perhaps he is gone on board some ship, if so, it must be as a Common Sailor or else I fear by this time he is become a common Beggar, by his own faults as he was placd out well. Rebecca, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspondence. 405 We are Sorry we cannot vote for M' Luther but alas! my Uncle [John] has no vote so that we I7i2(?)-i79,. can only wish well to Luther, my Uncle thanks you for your kind offer but could he vote, he is so lame that he could neither get on a Horse, or into the Chariot. we are all pretty well. Bett has found much benefit by taking Rhubarb, my Aunt [Anne] is better, only very old and very feble and is nothing but Skin and Bone, we hope to see Bessy this winter pray tell her she must, See my new Gound and Long Tail, as also my beautiful Linnin which was bought in the summer but only wore to the Chief Barron Parkers who askes most kindly after her and her Father; when ever we see them, he with his 2 very good Daughters (who he is not a little fond of) will be down here at Christmas and hope then to spend a Day with them with Bessy, to whom we desire you would give our Loves, as also to every one particularly to my sister Taylor who we hope is well, what is become of Harry and Peter? are they yet at the university? pray when you write next give us a full and true account of all your family. how you all do, and how you go on. My Aunt says you write very short letters, and she wants to hear Something of every one, and you, never mentiond her God-Daughter who she longs to see. M' Territt our parson, you 'know is married, and has got an agreeable wife, who we hope will make him as happy as he deserves, for he is indeed a most good and excellent man. She loves a little fun, and is comical, but also prudent. and I think has made him more free and communicative which renders him more agreeable, he has lent us the last years Review to entertain us; what do you think of those Criticks who write it? I dont think them infallible. little I find they say of our wonderful Cousin. and whitlier he is in the right or wrong, I shall never know till you tell me. well once more I must say that my Aunt gives her kind love to you and Sister and begs she may see Bessy I am Dear Brother your truly affectionate sister Reb. Tavlor. uncle Aunt and Bett desire much love to you and all \_No address ; no date -—from Rebecca to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor?^ \Endorscd—" sister Rebecca."] Dear Brother \tefoie 1764.] my Aunt thinks y" Daniel Taylor you wrote about is y= same person whose picture is upon f stairs, for by some writings She has in an old Box, we find he Dyed in y' year 1655 and that he had a wife Margret. he left 3 Daughters & one Son. viz Cattren who married M' Usher. Rebecca who married W' Nokes. & Margret who married M' Willing. ... his son was my aunts Father. a child of S years old. he was Heir to above a thousand a year when he was but four years old but cheated by his Guardians we have papers concerning y' Lawsute then depending but cannot read them. This Daniel on y' stairs Dyed extremly Rich and my aunt has heard that he was a very pious good man she dont Like him because he layd out so much money on Church Lands & slie thinks he was upon f scaffold when y' Kings Head was Cut off there is mention made of a Brother of his whose name was Edmond & to whom he left a Tankerd. my Aunt remembers a younains taking, it is not knowledge that will gain esteem alone, for hear what Doctor price says— The only Science worth pursuing with anxiety is that which leads to the amendment of y heart, & helps to establish our souls in purity & tranquility. If God gives us knowledge enough for this, we need not be very sorry for our ignorance in other respects. I must say a little furder as I have got myself into a hobble, which is A thirst after knowledge is a noble & excellent principle & we cannot cherish it too much, if we take care to keep it in a proper Subordination to a thirst after moral improvement.— Thus you See Doctor price approves of your pursuing knowledge & prevents in Some measure, my discontent at viy muii ignorance. Dent you like y' Bishop of Chester D' porteus ? •hose Text was so'" .... For ^ Kingdom is -f Lords & he is govemer among y' people ? or do you hkc Arthur Onslow who said people had nothing to do with affairs of state. That their greatest blessing was due subordination. I have not seen M" Waugh since September 30"' and then she just 3 r 4IO Rebecca, Sistcy of ReiL Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. i7i2(?)-i79(;. call'd and neither enquired or sent from that time to linow how I did till Jan" 29"'- She then sent a note to know how I did .Sc said she was lame and had been so for seven weaks. I sent a note to her saying I was sorry for it & heartily wish'd her better but never askd her to come to me nor dont entend it. M" Wilkes desired I would see her in Town, I sent her word, my Spirits & nerves was So bad I could not go to Town by myself neither could I take Betty with me & leave poor Sail alone, but if she would let me bring Miss Barnet with me who had an honest & good Heart, I would see her. But she writes me word she never saw Miss Barnet, she sliould be glad to see me, yet strangers are, she said rather a restraint upon conversation. So I shall stay at Home, as I have done ever since I saw you. I verily believe some people would not step over a Straw out of their way, to do a kind- ness to any one. I have been told King William had no right to Reign, & he tumd his Father out & used his wife very ill. I mention'd this to M" Wilkes; but Miss Wilkes has wrote me a clever sensible letter, wherein she sais The important & interesting subject of y' Revolution cannot be properly treated of in a letter, she can only express her approbation & admiration of that glorious & necessary Event. King William had certainly y" most just right to reign as y' Crown was given him by y' nation. Only those who are advocates for arbitrary power and hereditary right, and as such enemies to y" natural rights of mankind can think otherwise. She says also we are in a sad situation. & thinks those whose youth is past, are y= happiest part of f nation; they have seen it a glorious one, but those who are young have only been y" witnesses of its declining in every thing with very little hope of seemg better times and assures me, she wishes she was not among the number. She always enquires after all at Crawley and now desires her compliments to you all. poor thing I have a value for her she would come to see me but she says without a carriage she is deprived of many things that would be agreable I write all things from others to divert you my Dear Bessy & who belongs to you as I cannot entertain you otherways. But what I have most at heart is to know how my Brother does & Nancy does. I long to see you all. and thank you for saying you will come to me if ill. I am vexed with M' Roberts, that wise man ; to like Somes Jenning's Book ; and that he will not read my Brothers answer. Tattersil sayd he likd it, & I have lent him my Brothers Essay on the Beauty of The Divine economy, he appears to me noble, but I am distressed for him at present, with regard to his Love affair. I hant room to tell you Bill & Courteau Dind with me yesterday he desired me to tell you he is in Debt to you for letters & he was well Now my dear excuse this, write me a long letter when you can. give my hearty love to my Brother and all. tell me how every one does & believe me thy affectionate Aunt Beck pray read this once at least & I will say you have y= patience of Job. you linow M" Barker has got my pig. \^No date;— from Rebecca to her niece Elizabeth 7'aylor.] Miss Eliza Taylor at the Rev'd M' Taylor's at Crawley near Winchester Hants [About 1778.] Yes my dear Bessy, I will write to you this moment, and wish I could have answer'd your very kind long letter Sooner. I am quite ashamd to have neglected you So long, but believe me you have never been out of my thoughts and greatly concernd I have been for poor Nancy. and I rejoice she is better & your Father So chearful. I also congratulate peter on his Five hundred pounds I dont know M" Leigh, but She must have been a person of good Sinse or she would like some others have been blind to merit. I thank you my Dear for that peace of news which gives me great pleasure, now I will tell you why I did not write. My Spirits have been So low and I have been so resless with the pain of the Rheumatism in rny Limbs that I was not able. I have not Stird above twice out of the House except to Church Since I Saw you. and I Set quite alone & read the News till I frighten myself to Death, but still I cannot help reading it, which I never do, but it is Some Rebecca, Sister of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 411 Consolation to think your poor Aunt Belt is Safe & freed from all troubles which Seems to be I7i2(?)-i799. coming upon this Nation. I believe is was the Ministrys entention all along to bring us to this woful State. I thank you for y= Verses which are very Cleaver tho' Some may Say not over Delicate. I cannot make the lines go to tlie tune of Joans placket, but hope to See peter soon, who will Sing it. Yes I remember y' Spech of I/' S— d— hs & all their speaches. why do people imagine y' French will be more civil then they were wont to be ? I am quite a Coward, & always feard y" French. I know I must not turn, and greatly fear to Burn. I long to See you & Nancy & hope to see my Brother one time or other, pray tell me a deal of your Father : for I see no harm in speaking the truth of our worthy Relations. Mr Evins was a Decenting Minister at Brentwood. & I believe the Curates name that did not believe athanasion, was Hopkins, & liv'd at Rumford. but I cannot remember exactly. I have asked M" Barker if it was Doctor prices Sermon, but have had no answer yet. M" Barker talkes of coming to me with Miss Burrows in April. I wish you & Nancy could be hear at y= same time. She Says the Bishop spends y= summer in his Dioces but she hopes these two good men, whose Sentiments agree So well & who are likely to enjoy so much Satisfaction in each others company will by some lucky chance become acquainted in this World, if they do not she trusts they will meet in a better. She says Does your Brother never come to Town? If he does D' price would be very glad to see him at Newington Green. & / should be very glad too, as its a pleasure I have wishd for many years. M' Jellico who is Settled in her neighbourhood speaks highly of my Brother & his family and he is acquainted with M' Wren, but what a fool is M' Jellico's Relation, who Says if M' Jellico follows Doctor prices political Sentiments he would be hang'd, & if his religious ones he would be d— nd. M" Barker says let us not distress ourselves: the Lord reigneth; & tho all human Governments are imperfect, there is a perfect direction of ail events ; as will finally appear, but let M" Barker Say what she will, I cannot help my fears. I never shall be like St paul, no Bessy was I capable of entertaining you or my Brother I would write oftener. So to tell you M" Barkers sayings I thmk is best, and to write Some of yours to her which I have done, but you must let me know what I may tell, and what not. & I shall always obey your orders, now if you are tyerd leave off if not turn over to y= other side. there I will inform you that M" Ironsides is turnd for y' Americans and that Miss Roberts is now at Wandsworth and has been to See me. she is again with M" Iron- sides. She certainly acted right to fly from M' Allison when he did not entend to liave her. She is a very agreeable companion but is not thought Sincere which mens all in my opinion. Your Brothers both Dan & William, are very good to me God Bless the Lads. Dan has made me a Noble present, the medal of Washington that brave man. & I make Miss Barnet drink his Health whenever she comes, tho' she calld him Coward.— How do you like D' prices last Book? I should be sorry my Brother at any time, Should take y' trouble to go to Newington Green, & not find him at Home. Bill told me \y price said he should be at Home on y' Friday but when Dan went that Day to be introduced by M' Jellico, he was not at Home. You told me to direct to Crawley and you would have it. So I send this there, but I told M" Barker I would let you know of D' prices invitation to my Brother. So I suppose some notice ought to be taken of it by your Father, or Some body in a handsom manner I wish you happy at Binfield. I do long to see you prodigiously, and pray my Dear write to me as often as you can, lis all y" com- fort I have to hear from my Friends. There was an old prophysy as I well remember being told, wliich is prehaps now coming to pass ; the begining I know not ; but it ends thus : Then Shall Religion to America Flea, They have their Times of Grace as well as Wc. — Who is that Lord of y' A^Pl^natio„. one of us, but only thought we did not seem happy & contented ourselves, and therefore has been a good wh.le uneasy herself on tliat account, as she is never better pleas'd than to see us all happy & therefore the thoughts of our being not so made her indeed quite miserable, but She is now well assur'd of the contrary & begs You will be as comfortable as we are, & that I will say every thin- in my power to comfort You from her. 'Tis agree'd that Nancy goes to Margate, & doubt not we shaU all be as happy as ever, & therefore You need not ve.x my Uncle & Aunt with a supposition of the contrary, as my Cousm's fears & ours have been all imaginary, hers least we were not happy & ours least we shou'd have disobhg'd her. She desires her kindest Love to You, & only begs you will make Yourself as easy & happy as possible, & hopes to see You at the end of the Year as usual in health & Spints, Written in Counsel all three together, quite close together, this 2i« day of May 1760 .Attested bv ^ / / y Anna Maria Elmes Mary Newell Anna Taylor Elizabeth's residence at East Ham may have been the turning-point upon which all her future life hung. Mrs Elmes was on the most intimate terms with the Foxes; and it was Elizabeth's subsequent close intimacy with Mrs Fox which procured her the honour-and a most disastrous honour it turned out— of being nominated by that lady as her executrix. Daniel Fox and his wife. 428 Elizabeth, Dmighier of Rev. Henry Taylor {Ben Mordecai). i74'-iSoi. In a letter by Mrs Fox to Elizabeth, November i, 1778 (p. 445), will also be Removal of Mre found an account of the removal of Mrs Elmes from East Ham to the house ot Klmes to llinfielcJ. , . _ - -n ■ u Mr Fox at Biniield in 1774.* On this point see also a letter from Mary birch to Elizabeth (p. 443). The Foxes of Binfield were Daniel Fox and his wife. He was the only son of Rev. Francis Fox. We have no record showing any intimacy with the Crawley family up to the time of his marriage, which occurred but a few years before the death of his mother. It seems not improbable that Daniel had yielded to, if not shared in, his mother's prejudices against the Taylor connection— at any rate, after his mother's death their relations became of the most friendly and intimate character ; and it may very well be that the liberal religious notions of Mrs Fox had their effect in promoting this result. Her opinions and their effect upon her husband's mind are referred to in a letter by Aunt Elizabeth in 1772 (p. 374). Mr and Mrs Essex Street Fox Were afterwards members of the Essex Street Congregation, where the Rev. Theophilus Lindsay preached, who, as is well known, seceded from the Church, and became a leading man amongst the Unitarians. Mrs Fox was the daughter of General Adam Williamson, who had a house at Binfield, not improbably the same afterwards occupied by the Foxes ; her mother was Elizabeth, daughter of Leonard Digges, of Chilham Castle, Kent. General Williamson, we learn from a letter written by Mrs Fox in 1781, died in debt. She states that it had been her and her husband's desire to pay all those debts, adding, that at the time of her husband's death "the completion of that just & desired End was in full view, & nearly attained." General Williamson was Deputy-Governor of the Tower, i.e., the chief-in-command on the spot, the governorship being an honorary sinecure. We have a copy of his diary, and also of his official order-book, wherein are chronicled with the most punctilious exactitude every detail of his official life. The following refers to the execution of the Scotch Lords : — clmpel General Adam Williamson. Execution of the Scotch Lords. General William- sou's diary. 1746 Aug' 18 the Lords beheaded. The Stage Rooms of the house & the Stairs Leading to the Scaffold being covefd with black, all prepared at the expense of the Sherifs, they came at 10 o'clock precisely, & knockt at the Outward Gate, which with all the others were kept close shut, & demanded the Prisoners. I had Appointed the Mayor to be there to attend their call. The whole account of the execution (see opposite page), with its ghastly details, is given with the General's usual preciseness, and is not without interest; it would, however, be out of place here. ^ The diary of his private doings is likewise most precise and particular: what he ate and what he drank, where he went, what sort of weather prevailed, with * A ttiemorandum on a copy of her 'Will states that Mrs Elmes died October 12, 177S. THE HON^?.^-' COL^ THO. DIGGES. 1725. PERHAPS BROTHER OP m? WILEIAMSON. Elizabeth, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor {Ben Mordecai). 429 his opinions political, moral, social, and philosophical, are all duly recorded. To 1741-1801. give one or two illustrations : we are informed, under the head, " Oakingharti, May 1736," that on the 26'" went to See a play by poor Strolcrs, a bold Stroke for a wife. . . . 28 prevail'd on against my inclination to go again to the play, but no company coming I gave the poor wretches half a Guinea & went No More June 13 Stayd at home, it raind Small rain, went to the little house, & was bit again. ... as if prickd with a lancet, just on the same place as before. I took a Candle & found a great old Cobweb Just by the Place, which I had swept clean away, believing it was a Spider for I never was bitten after. The gallant General likewise informs us of the curative process he adopted, with all its beneficial results, on occasion of his experiencing "for three days past .... uneasiness in my Stomach & guts." I must say I find much to approve of in his opinions political and other. May 29, he records : Gave the Boys 6- for y= bone fire against my inclination for the Restoration of K. Charles y= 2^ a King who Reignd as a meer Vice Roy to France. And again (this is not in his diary properly so called, but on another paper amidst a collection of wise sayings and moral apothegms) The common way of abusing men who oppose arbitrary principles in State or Church is to call Collection of 'em Republicans, Libertines & Deists, Sometimes Atheists is thought good enough for 'em. Enemies to Religion, to Christianity, to the Clergy, but Surely they are the best Men who Support our Libertys as by Law alowd, & they the worst who would preach us into a Slavish Subjection to their unreasonable Scheams. The gentleness of Cowper could not have gone beyond, " It is a Sort of Murder to kill any Living Creature when it is not for our Safety, Convenience, or nourishment ; " nor could the philosophy of Mill have expressed more scorn for some of the usages of " Society " than the General. " People who are adicted to visiting may be Sayd to be troubled with a chronical Distemper or with Fitts." " The true causes of living, & the Solid pleasures of life are lost in visiting. Show, imposture & impertenencc." An e.xtract from one of the General's books shows him to have served in the General wiinam- army from the year 1702 as Lieutenant, Captain, and Colonel, in the 3d Regi- service?'" ment of Foot Guards. I have the old trunk said to have been his military chest ; but as the date on the lid is 1688, it is possible that it belonged to his father before him. Adverting to his appointment at the Tower, he says: — His Majesty was pleas'd to make choice of him at a time when the Wicked Bishop of Rochester had with others Layd a dangerous Scheme for bringing in a Popish bigotted Pretend' and for which he was more than Justly banishd for life. His commission for Deputy-Lieutenant bears date "8 bre y"' 29"" 1722." 430 ElizabctJi, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor {Ben Mordecai). ly^r-iSoi. Earl Ciarenilon, General William- son's Prayer- Book. Among his papers are MS. diaries of Earl Clarendon, 16S7-9. They are written in several hands ; but what the Williamsons may have had to do with them does not appear. They relate to the Earl's government in Ireland, his dismissal to make room for Tyrconncl, etc. Another paper contains particulars of the claims of George Villiers to be Earl of Buckingham, etc., 1723. We have also his Prayer-Book, on the fly-leaf at the end of which he has written a statement of his creed, which he begins by saying : — I desire it may be known that the author of the foregoing remarks & corrections is a Christian Deist. . . . That the doctrine of a nonsensical Trinity is not founded on the Gospel of Christ, but is merely the invention of fallible men. He concludes with a list of proposed omissions from the Prayer-Book which he would desire — some as tedious repetitions ; some, such as the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds, as objectionable in themselves. Some of the corrections to which he alludes are actually made in the passages in which Christ is spoken of as God ; he also strikes out the curses in the Commination Service. In the service headed " K. Charles Martyr," he hacks out right and left ; and finally, in the Collect, substitutes for "violent and bloodthirsty men," "-brave and good Englishmen:'" and for "barbarously murdered," "deservedly (reated." Well done, General William- son ! I am proud of the connection ! 4 It will be seen (p. 643) that the mother of Ruth Minton, my grandmother, was Eliza Williamson. It is believed, though on what ground I have been unable to discover, that her family was the same as, or at any rate connected with, that of General Williamson. % To return to Elizabeth : In 1777 we find her staying with her Aunt Rebecca, at Wandsworth, and in 1778 at Binfield. In 1781 her brother Daniel mentions her name in connection with " the Porters of Clapham," and says, " They are to learn to ride of Astley's of Blackfriars Bridge," and in 1785 she writes a letter to Mrs Fox (p. 44S), immediately after her father's death, mentioning the intention of living with her brothers and sister at Hollam. In 1787 we find her sister Anna Her executorship, directing to her at Binfield, immediately after the death of Mrs Eox ; and from this time arose the troubles in relation to her executorship which must have embittered her existence, which apparently all but overthrew her reason, and which only ceased with her life. I shall leave the correspondence, on all sides, for the most part, to tell its own story ; premising merely a few hints by way of key to it. It is clear, I think, that whatever mistakes in this matter Elizabeth may have made, they were at least perfectly free from all taint of personal interest and selfish gain ; and if this is so, we have of course to look in other directions for the basis of a course of action which alienated all her friends, wasted the property which she was called upon to deal with. Mrs Georg Courtauld. Elizabetli at Binfield. Elisabetli, Dmighter of Rev. Henry Taylor {Ben Mordecai). 431 and finally left it to the Court of Chancery to take into its own hands and administer. 1741-iSoi. I think the probabilities are that she was a person of considerable intellio-ence o-reat Estimate of he o J & character. conscientiousness, and independence of character, with an abundant supply of vanity. At least such hypothesis seems consistently to account for the phenomena presented. Her conscientiousness supplied a passionate desire to do her duty in the matter ; her independence and sense of general intelligence made her feel it right to judge for herself upon every point as it arose, while her vanity incapacitated her from perceiving how impossible this was, in the absence of all special training in regard to the matters with which she had to deal ; while perhaps that vanity, as will be found somewhat broadly hinted in her brothers' letters, laid her open to the insidi- ous flatteries of those who had no thought but personal interest. It is in harmony, I think, with such characteristics that we find her— after having arrived at, or per- haps jumped at, some conclusion as to the proper course to be adopted on matters of law, of which she could neither understand the theory nor the practice— ranging over her whole universe of thought to justify her resolution. She arraigned the British Constitution, and the interpreters of the law ; she appealed to the Bible in defiance of her enemies, and denounced Popery as the basis of their wrong-doing. We know too little of her earlier years to judge how soon the characteristics which I have attributed to her appeared; they may have lain dormant, waiting to be evoked by the peculiar trials and temptations which may be said to have over- thrown her. There is a letter to her from her Aunt Elizabeth in 1762 (pp. 360-362), ..„„t Elizabeth which is well worth the study of any who would understand her character. It is not improbable that the "foible" (jealousy) which her aunt praised her for confess- ing and seeking to eradicate, started up under the unfavourable circumstances in which she was placed, as a passion too strong for control. It may be inferred that law was not the only profession which Elizabeth thought herself entitled to dabble in, with no further experience or knowledge than that developed by a strong will. William Taylor writes to his future wife in 17S2 :— D' Betsy arrived from the Country the i?* instant, & has taken up lier residence in Osborne Place, Medical atl«ke Where she gives out handbills & practises the noble science of Phisic. The poor have advice »ratis she stiles herself the Crawleian Sage. [ ! ] She certainly was no ordinary commonplace person; her friend Miss Bucknell, Miss iu,cl<„ell. a lively correspondent, whose letters to Elizabeth extend over many years, says in one of them, January 22, 1780: Thou hast more orisimHty, wmicall.ly, & mixtur«,miy in thy composition than I have ever met with in one piece of Workmanship. Mrs Fox, no doubt, never dreamt of the consequences of the power she was in the appoint' ment of executors, Mr Mitford. Young Brown. 432 Elizabeth, Dmighter of Rev. Henry Taylor {Ben Mordecai). 1741-iSoi, placing in her hands, and as Mrs Fox was evidently a very sensible and intelligent MrsFi^views woman, it is reasonable to suppose that Elizabeth had manifested no tendencies to arouse her fears; in fact, she probably thought to benefit by the characteristics of honesty, zeal, and independence which I have attributed to her. Doubtless Mrs Fox had not the remotest fear that Elizabeth would think it necessary to act as one "learned in the law;" indeed, she associated with her Mr (afterwards Sir John) Mitford, of whom the letters give abundant evidence that he was entirely in her confidence. Mr Mitford in one of his letters to Elizabeth, soon after Mrs Fox's death, observes that " nothing but a promise to the late Mrs Fox should have induced me to accept a trust so inconsistent with my engagements." Poor Mr Mitford had soon reason to perceive that the trust was inconsistent with his peace of mind as well as with his business engagements. He had been articled to Mr Fox, and afterwards became Lord Redesdale, father of the present Chairman of Committees of the House of Lords. In associating Mr Mitford in the trust, Mrs Fox no doubt intended that he should decide and act in relation to all the legal necessities of the case, while doubtless she expected from Elizabeth, and especially in regard to young Brown, a mixture of good judgment and womanly tenderness. It is con- ceivable, too, that Mrs Fox wished to have a woman as co-executor with Mr Mitford, with a view to her dealing with the more private letters and papers. This young Brown was a relation or proUgi of Mrs Fox. His father, a lawyer, who had died at her house, was separated from his wife, and she seems to have enjoined upon Elizabeth to take interest in and look after the lad, and to allow him no communication with his mother. Whether Mrs Fox took a just view in this matter we have no grounds for judgment. Mr Mitford thought she had exceeded her authority (see his letter, October 23, 1790, p. 462), while Henry Taylor thought she had been altogether wrong; for in a letter on this subject, after deprecating what he considers the wrong judgment of his sister in allowing her- self to be appointed to the guardianship, he adds, in respect to Mrs Fox's injunc- tions : — What can be a worse Action than to rob a mother of her Child, & deprive her of all opportunity of gaining his Affections. I cannot conceive many things to be more diabolical Mrs Fox° indeed, was obliged in self-defence to suppose, or affect to suppose, and to persuade herself y' M" Brown was . , . unfit to be trusted with her Son, & conseq. y' the father was justified in depriving her of him, but as you have y= greatest reason to believe M' B. to have been a bad man, & no reason to believe his Wife to have been a bad woman, it w" surely be highly culpable in you to execute his Unjust devices ag' her Comfort & Happiness &= Brown seems to have been an ill-educated young man, but we hear little more of him. He died in 1795. Whether Henry was right or not in his opinion of Elizabeth, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor— {Ben Mordecai). 433 the propriety of Mrs Fox's directions, tliis part of the matter intrusted to Elizabeth 1741-1801. turned out as ill as every other part. The business part of it was taken out of her hands with all the rest by the Court of Chancery, and her moral influence over the lad is illustrated by a curt note of his in reply to an invitation that he should make her house his home, saying that he should remain at his tutor's till he became of age, and would certainly never desire to make her house his home. To return, however, to Mr Mitford and the executorship ; any such notion of the division of labour as has been sketched out would not answer for Elizabeth. When Mr Mitford would not obey her behests, she threw herself into the arms of another lawyer,— a Mr Haddon ; but I shall leave it to the letters to fill out the story. One immediate result appears to have been that Elizabeth lent ^500 to or through her new legal adviser, in respect of which we find she received no security, and think it highly improbable that she ever received payment. In one of his letters Henry throws out the intimation that her infatuation of confidence in the man could only be accounted for by a personal attachment to him ; but this was probably only a grimly facetious mode of expressing his disgust ; besides, in Haddon's letters to Elizabeth he sends messages from Mrs Haddon. A letter from Mr Stone (p. 459), and another (p. 460), give the history of the mode of introduction to this Mr Haddon. Two letters from Haddon himself, February 1789 (PP- 45S, 459). do not tend to a favourable view of his character, especially the insolent reference to Peter; while another, also from him, in 1795 (p. 469), shows that the friendship with Elizabeth had come to an end. No better time than the present, perhaps, will offer for giving the text of the Will, in abstract, under which the circumstances just referred to occurred ; it is taken from an official copy dated 15th March 1796, which states :— That on the 12th February 1787, Elizabeth Taylor and John Mitford admini- stered to the Will of Caroline Fox, which is as follows To be buried in a coffin of lead enclosed in one of oak in the church at wiiiofM,. Binfield, in the vault belonging to her, the entrance to which is beneath the pew o^BMdl"'' where the women sit to be churched, and in which her husband and father and mother are interred. Leaves to the Rev. Theophilus Lindsey, ^500 ; to Elizabeth Creed, widow, /loo, as a mark of regard; to Elizabeth Hawkins, daughter of the Rev. Mr Hawkins of Kingsworth. Kent, /looo; to Mr Thomas Wilmot of Woking- ham. Berks, apothecary, ^100; to her very worthy friends Mrs Ann Cowsladt, -Mr Thomas Cowslade, and Mr Frederick Cowslade, all of Donnington, Berks! ^100 each, as a mark of esteem and regard; to Mrs Mary Maze, wife of Mr James Maze of Spitalfields, ^100, as a mark of regard and esteem; to Elizabeth Parker, wife of Thomas Parker of Wokingham, ^40 per annum for life, to her sole and separate use, and a further sum of ^50 to her separate use; to her servant 31 434 Elizabeth, Datighter of Rev. Henry Taylor— [Ben Mordecai). 1741-1S01. Ann Stokes (who was more than twenty years in the service of her cousin John Wood), ^100 a year for life, to her own separate use, also ^50 in money; to William Philips, her former servant, /'lOO; to William Buder, Judey Heley, and Sarah Gibbons, if in her service at the time of her decease, £20 each ; to each of her other men and women servants, £\o. William Brown, late of Spital Square, having by Will appointed her guardian of his children, William Sparkes Brown (since" deceased), and James Duffell Brown, and having in writing given her instruc- tions as to the care and management of those children, and enjoined her not to let his wife, Elizabeth Brown, or any of her family, or his sister, Mrs Pritchard, or her husband, see or have any intercourse with them, she appoints Elizabeth Taylor guardian of the said James D. Brown, and requests her to observe the instructions given by the father, to which end the writing containing them is to be given to Elizabeth Taylor; and she expresses an earnest hope that this part of her Will, " if it can have effect," will be likely to fulfil Mr Brown's intentions. She leaves to James Duffell Brown £\ooQ, the interest of which is to be applied to his maintenance and education, in addition to whatever other funds may be applicable to that purpose-^principal to be paid at twenty-one; to Mr Francis Stone, .^200; to A. D. Stone, his son, ;^i30o; Rev. Henry Taylor, Rev. Peter Taylor, and William Taylor, ^100 each; to Henry and Peter, ^100 in trust for Henry' Thomas; to Mary Birch, wife of George Birch, ^2000 for her separate use ; the interest of /400 Bank Stock for the support of Sarah Baugh of New- ingt'on, Surrey, for life. As there are certain debts still owing by her late father, General Williamson, which are stated in a schedule to the answer of her late mother, Elizabeth Williamson, put into a Bill filed against her in the Court of Chancery by George Williamson deceased, she directs such debts to be paid (before any of the bequests now left), but without interest. To her cousin Colonel Adam Williamson, of Spring Gardens, the manor of Sandhurst, Berks, with the land, houses, and cottages belonging thereto; also her lands, etc., at Flinthampstead, Berks; to A. D. Stone, her freehold, copyhold, and leasehold property at Lime- house,' also her leasehold at Spital Square; to Elizabeth and Anna Taylor, the house and two fields at Binfield for their lives; in the event of the determination of the estate by forfeiture or otherwise during their Hfetime, then to John Mitford, Esq., of Lincoln's Inn, during the lives of Elizabeth and Anna, or the survivor of them', to bring actions, etc., but nevertheless to permit them to occupy and enjoy the said hous'e, etc., for life ; after the decease of Elizabeth and Anna, said pro- perty to their children ; if no children, then to A. D. Stone and his heirs ; to Elizabeth and Anna equally, all her pictures, glass, plate, linen, china, books, and household goods, her chariot, and any two of her coach-horses they may choose, wines, liquors, etc. She declares she does this that they may have a comfortable Elizabeth, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor— {Ben Mordecai). 435 habitation for their lives, and with a wish tliat they may reside there (Binfield), 1741-iSoi and not let it. The leases of the two farms she held at Binfield, to Elizabeth and Anna, if they will take them ; if not, to be sold. Also to said Elizabeth and Anna, her house in Fleet Street, with all household goods, etc. AH her other real and personal estate to be sold, and of the amount received, Susannah Stone of Reading to receive the interest during life; after her death, ,^500 to Francis Stone; a third part of the remainder to A. D. Stone; another third to Mary Birch; remaining third to Elizabeth, Henry, Peter, Anna, and William Taylor, and to Henry Thomas. Appoints Elizabeth Taylor and John IMitford executors ; if Elizabeth accept the trusts, she leaves her .^^"500 additional, and Mr Mitford the same. Will dated 17th January 1787; witnesses, Edward Wise, jun., John Lawrence, John Horne, jun. It will be seen that by this Will the house at Binfield with two fields are left Binfield left to to Elizabeth and Anna for their lives, and in succession to their children, if they ArS"'""'"'' have any ; if not, to go to the Stones ; also to them equally all the household goods, with chariot and coach-horses, etc., etc. ; and this is specifically stated to be done with a view that they may have a comfortable habitation for their lives at Binfield. To them also are left the leases of two farms, if they will take them ; also house in Fleet Street, with all household goods; while to Elizabeth is be- queathed £^00, in addition, if she accept the trust. All this is excessively puz- zling, not to say incomprehensible. Neither of the sisters ever did live at Binfield, and what became of the Fleet Street house no record remains. The Black-lead shares, to which continual reference is made in the letters, pro- bably came from Mrs Fox, as there is a note of hers on a rough draft of her Will in 1779, expressing her intention to leave her "Black Lead shares" to Mr William Brown. This Mr Brown died during her life, and no mention of the shares is made in her Will.'*'" Either, then, they were included in the phrase, "all other real and personal estate," or she gave them away during her lifetime ; and this latter theory is confirmed by Mrs Warren, who writes, " I have heard my father say that my grandfather's share was given to him." This view is likewise strengthened by the following extract from a letter of William Taylor's, June 5, 1790: — The Chancerv- Bill was filed against the Exors yesterday, so Mam Betsy will find it to be serious to day. I am fully convinced of the necessity of the proceeding, but I hope we shall be able to get the Black Lead divided before any proceedings are had. Now, had the Black-lead been a portion of Mrs Fox's assets, it seems im- probable that it could have been taken out of the Jurisdiction of the Court of The Black-leail mine. • We find from one of the deeds in my possession that the Black-lead shares came into the hands of Daniel fox in 1758, and that one-sixth pan of them were transferred to William Taylor by the surviving executors of .Mrs Fox in 1815. 436 Elisabeth, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor— (Ben Mordecai). .74.-.S01. Chancery, while, if not already divided amongst those to whom Mrs Fox had given it before proceedings were taken, it is easy to imagine that complications might have arisen. This view is further confirmed by the fact that the Birches and Stones were likewise interested in the mine. This Black-lead property is so frequently referred to, that it seems to call for a word of explanation. The mine is at Borrowdale, Cumberland, and, if I recollect right, one half had been leased to parties, at this time represented by the Taylors and others, for a hundred years, the freehold of the whole vesting in the Bankes family, who retained in their hands a working interest in the other moiety. It fell to my lot, some twenty years ago, to wind up the business in so far as the lessees were concerned, although the hundred years had not quite expired. It was a very long time since any lead had been found. This mineral seems to be found in lumps rather than in veins, rendering its discovery, so to speak, unusually capricious. The last lump found was said to be worth ^90,000, of which, however, the sale went on for many years ; the plan being to bring out on sale days only such quantity as was sufficient to satisfy, without overloading, the not extensive market for the article. At last, all that was good of this great find was exhausted ; some of the shareholders were tired of expending money in vain, and the Bankes interest entirely refused to join in further attempts at working. Some thought Mr Bankes was influenced by the consideration that in a short time the whole would lapse to him. My father proposed that those of the shareholders who were willing to make one last effort should subscribe for that purpose, those who declined sur- rendering all claim to share, should success be attained. This suggestion was acted upon, but the experiment failed. My father having at this time fallen into ill health (he died in 1S50), I had to carry out the consequent business arrange- ments, and finally to wind up the affair, selling the heaps of almost valueless rubbish in the Essex Street Chapel vaults to a number of Hebrew pencil-makers, whereof large bundles of papers, books, etc., remain to attest the facts, if not to amuse the student. Whether Elizabeth ever had any love affair is not revealed to us, but the foUow- j Macccnndi. ing passage in a letter from J. Macconnell to Peter, answered by him August 31, 1789 (p. 579), may or may not refer to an aff^air in which Elizabeth's affections were concerned : — I know that my late brother had the highest respect & esteem for your sister Miss Taylor, to whom he fondly hoped he would have stood in a very near relation. Alas! for poor Elizabeth. From her correspondence, which seems to have been religiously preserved, even to the most useless scrap, it would appear that she quarrelled with every person with whom she had any business relations; Elizabeth, Dang/ifcr of Rev. Henry Taylor — {Ben Mordecai). 437 the last years of her life were passed amid storms, and her sun apparently went 1741-1801. down amidst the densest clouds. Only three days before her death she received R^^- Matthew Thomas. the following- from Mr Thomas, the friend through so many years of the family, in reply to a note of hers in which she asked for an interview, and complained that her letters were returned unopened ; it is scrawled on the foot of her own note : — I neither mean to write to yoii, or meet You at my Lodgings, or any where else ; as to your writing sooner tlie only fiivour I request is that you write no more to M. T. Even Daniel could scoff at her : he writes, April 1801 : — I must request you will never trouble yourself either to defend me, or the contrary, as you are so perfectly wrong-headed that you cannot do otherwise than mischief. She died in London, after but a few days' illness, December 12, 1801. The rier death, only particulars we have of her death are in a letter from Henry, announcing that event to Lady Robert Conway (p. 43 S). If he did not much admire his sister in this world, he seems to have anticipated a satisfactory continuance for her in the future. She had an ardent love of truth, as is shown in her letter to her cousin Daniel Stone (p. 450). It is a satisfaction to close this notice with the kindly and Her sister Anna generous estimate of her character by her sister Anna. opmionofher. Her letters will be found in two divisions (pp. 439 and 453), the second contain- Her letters, ing only those to, as well as those by her on her unfortunate executorship. By a memorandum on the cover in which her papers were wrapped, we find that she left them to Henry Thomas Taylor, and that he gave them to his uncle Henry. \_From Anna to her brothcv the Rev. Henry Taylor^ The Rev" M' Taylor Miss Leventhorps Square Winchester Titchfield Jan" lo"' 1802 Dear Henry .... As to what you say about my poor Bessey I do not recollect hearing any thing said in Estimate of Eli; Town respecting her Memory one way or the other, it was a subject that past in perfect silence ; but * "^'^r"'":' never from One moment at any time did I doubt the uncommon excellence of my Sisters heart, I greived over & pity'd the unhajipy derangment of her head, (in consequence no doubt of her minds being too steadily fixt on one subject ;) but her heart was generous, affectionate, perfectly sincere, disinterested & Candid in the extreme ; Not one of the six Brothers & Sisters possest a heart of more true excellence than my Sister, I always felt to Esteem & Love while I pity'd her, & was distrest by peculiartis nor did I ever think her rral character & that of the person you allude to would ever bear the least comiarison, so greatly did I ever think the advantage of my Sister's Side Her failings were striking to every body, her good qualities known only to those who took the trouble to look after them, S: those were but few. Her happiness I can have no doubt of, for her good qualities were r I 438 Elizabcfli, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor— {Ben Mordecai). 1741-1S01. of that kind which were more calculated to promote her happiness in another world than in this to the last I always hoped the time would arrive when we might again sit down together, & I might be the comfort of her latter Years.— You know M" T & Myself have often talkeil of leaving Titchfield, we have now come to the resolution of joining M" How &: Miss Rickraan & living together at Fernhill ; M" How is to keep liouse & we Allow her so much a Year— it will assist them & be a comfortable situation to me for nothing could be more truly comfortable & happy in every respect tiian I was during the two Years we lived together; Minds repleat with chearfulness good humour & content made tliem constant & invariably pleasing companions, & from that time I have often looked back with a wish to return to so comfortable a life & one so conformable to my own inclinations Aflectionaely y" A. Taylor. [From the Rev. Henry Taylor to Tady Robert Conway.'] Sat. 19 Dec'- iSoi. De.ar M.\dam, Death uf It is with real concern I have it to my lot, to inform you of the loss of my eldest Sister Elizabeth. Elizabeth. ^^1^^ breathed her last on Saturday the 12'" Instant, after an illness of but a few days continuance, & from a Life, I fear, latterly of little or no feelicity to herself, & of much anxiety and solicitude to her friends on her acct & for her sake. Such a Life, we can hardly esteem it any great loss to her to part with. And her friends may find some consolation, in y' fullest persuasion y' as this sleep of y« frst death does not so properly destroy life as suspend & intermit it only for a time, When she shall arise from Sleep, her sentence will be, to enter into joys of permanent happiness, without alloy of trouble or distress. Give me leave to return you many & very sincere thanks for y' long and continued course of kindness she ever & invariably experienced from your goodness to her in every respect. I observe in her Accounts very cursorily inspected, several Sums borrowed from You, at different times. Whether they are all, & y' whole pecuniary Sums, in which she is indebted to you; and, whether or no she ever repaid any of them are to me alike unknown & possibly may not be found in her Accounts, I shall y'fore be much obliged, if You will be so good as to favour me with informa- tion, how y' Accounts stand with you, that whatever its amount maybe return'd, soon as it can be with convenience, in y= »etding her affairs. I find in my Sisters Books as below With every good wish to Yourself Lord & to all y' family believe me to be ever and sincerely your oblig'd & obed' Serv'- H. Taylor. Please to direct to me at Miss Leventhorpes in y= Square Winchester— Hants Money borrowed Of L>' Rob' Conway Of Of Of Of Of Of do. do. do. do. do. do. Of Lady Rob'' Seymour Of Lord Rob'' Seymour Paid Lady Rob' Conway 10 : N.B. No Dates are affixed to any of these sums Elisabeth, Daughter oj Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspondence. 439 I now proceed with those of her letters under the first division (sec p. 437), viz., those not referring to the executorship. [Added on her aunt's letter, March 26, 175S (p. 35:.), written from South Weald.] Hon" Sir My eyes are better since this Rash but I Dare not try tliem to mucli so pray excuse this scrawl— I am as my Good Aunt has said much better ii: hope in a short time to get out, my Aunts have been all extremely good to me & have taken great care of me. I am in hopes I shall not have any occasion for an Issue as the D' said this Rash would very likely be a means of my having better health but however if you think I ought to have one 1 shall not be against it. Fray let me know if I am to have any allowance whilst I am in Town my Duty & Love to my Mama and accept the same from I Hon"" Sir your most Dutyful Daughter Eliza Taylor. \_No signature: no date ;~from Elizabeth to tier father, tiie Rev. Henry Taylor.'] The Rev" M' Taylor at Crawley near Winchester Hants [About 175S] I am glad to hear M" Iremonger is well, as I fear'd the effect what I am going to relate, had upon her might have made her otherwise. When She was Young and single. She went to a fortune teller, who told her. She shoud marry a rich old man bury him; and afterwards marry a Young Man of good fortune, and shou'd dye of her third Child This She never thought of till She was breeding tliis time, and as y' rest of what y" woman had said, had happened to be true; She was afraid this shou'd be so too. but what effect'd her still more, was, one day meeting with an old acquaintance, She was asking after a Lady who They both know. She said She was dead, dead reply'd M'> Iremonger; yes, says y' Lady, and her death was very odd; for She had been told by a fortune teller, that She shoud dye of such a Child ; which She never thought off till after She was brought to bed. She had a very good lime, and was very well, till about a week after, this came into her head, w'" seiz'd upon her spirits so much, that it kill'd her in a short time, this had such an effect, as You may Imagine; ujjon M" Iremonger, that it made her very low spirited, however I am glad She is well. I have heard nothing of my Aunts in Essex lately pray [torn.] P.S. I have long flatter'd myself with the hopes of a letter from you. I hope you are all well as It is now above three weeks since I heanl from any of my Crawley Friends {No address -.—from Elizabeth to her father, (he Rei\ Henry Taylor.] Chancery I^ne March 2'' — 62 Hon" Sir I spent the day yesterd.iy at U' Pelits who tells me He has spoke to D' Blanchard, who has promis'd to speak to one of the Fellows of Chrisls for his interest with the Master of Chrisls. I'ctit has likewise applied to I)' Askew, a Physician, to use his interest with the Master of Caius, in favor of my lire', But the Mas" is so o' she will take the first opportunity of answering— She intends to stay about a week after me, but wishes you wou'd fix my time oi returning in your next, as she can then fix hers here, & at home. M" E: told her she should be welcome as often, & for as long a time as she could come, so molly is well pleas'd with the scheme. M' Elmes is to be buried on Tuesday, we M : & I are to have rings. My Uncle & M' Carr to attend the Funeral M" S: went very far on Thurs : , hinted something about a Will; M" E. told her there was one, & that she knew its contents, but she would not satisfy her impertinent Curiosity further.— We know nothing neither, but that all that are mention'd in it are done handsomely for. We ask no questions, Nor pursue any hint further than she pleases to go on of herself I think the scheme of our being with her a good one ; She told me to day she had one or two people oifer'd themselves, but she lik'd us much better. Our Mourning is very light Grey, plain Linnen, for the first three weeks, black gloves, Fans, & Ribbons : she told us that we might wear it, or not when we left her, but that here it was necessary : so I do not think any but those that come here need Mourn : but that as you think proper. My un, aunt S, &c are in mourning for M" Stephenson : I fancy M" S. intends another Gown for M' Elmes I shou'd think Nancys grey with white Ribbons wou'd do when she comes here, as that will be at the end of the time. I thank you for your offer I shall not want money I think till I see you having 5 guineas. I would be glad to know what you think I ought to give the Servants. My Un : Fox offer'd his service if he cou'd be of any, to M" E (when he sent to enquire after M' E : during the last of his illness.) on Sat : Morn ; (the day poor M' E died) M" E wrote a Card of thanks & that he wou'd accept of his offer, so down in the afternoon came he: she thought his coming was very hasty & did not half like it. so he went back as wise as he came ; he meant well, but that & M' Stone's questions, afford M" E : great entertainment, so we move not as I said before, but stay till we are told. I am Hon'' S' y' DutyfuU Daughter E T. Duty & Love as, due I cannot but say I think tlie proposal of M" E: a good one; I like every thing here very well ElizabetJi, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 443 except talking as we do of my Uncle hurts me much, I endeavour to turn the discourse when I can, but 1741-1801. it does not always do, To defend & palliate will not please often I see. This gives me uneasiness I own sometimes : the more so because we cannot even be silent on that head, as he is frequently our subject. However to refuse the offer will not do at all, but will highly displease, nor do I think what we say injures my Un : for he was entirely out of favor 'tis plain, before we were in. As you may perhaps chuse to consider of these things, I wou'd not desire you to hurry yourself to write on my acc', for I shall not be surpris'd at not hearing the usual Post. But shall guess the reason if it is a Post later. \_From Mary Birch to Elizabeth^ To Miss [Elizabeth] Taylor at Crawley near Winchester Hants Mortimer S' Oct 12"' 1774 My Dear Bessey As to what I think relative to the very sudden & very extradionary change of affairs — you must know without my telling you — because my sentiments exactly coincide with Yours — which it is very natural they shou'd do — as we are both equally acquainted with every circumstance of disUke ever expressed on the side of M" E s— & as you truly say it was carried so far as to be the greatest offence to utter the least kindness for y'" I never was more surprized than to hear my Uncle say she had made it her request to live with them, w' he told us on Sunday the 2"'' of October when we went over to pay them a visit of three days (from Sunday to Thursday) seeing M" E. there concluded she came upon a visit, but when M' Fox and we were by ourselves he told us, she particularly desird it, & when M" E s & I were by ourselves she told me, she was very unhappy, that all her Neighbours used her ill, & M' & M" Fox made her the offer to live with them, and she gladly embraced it— I rather think she made it her request, for I hear every thing with grains of allowance the reason for w'" you well know — All I cou'd say was to wish they might all be happy together; but indeed I very much fear it, people so little used to conformity & so little acquainted with each others characters as they all are — will find it difficult to acquiesce in many things they both must, to make their lives easy & tolerably comfortable; She says M' & M" Fox have been beyond expression kind to her, & they now indeed seem most prodigiously attentive to her. all that may be easy enough to put on for a short visit, but constraint behaviour will not render either Party that happiness they are in search after — I lamented to my Uncle her being so left the last of a large Family of Bro" & Sisters said she had been a kind Sister to them, & that she was very well intentioned I believed— Ah ! Molly says he & is a very sensible Woman I assure you Tis much better for her to be with our relatives certainly than with any other people & most likely if this had not happen'd that wou'd. I think it will be difficult for me to do right when we are such near Neighbours, but I'll do what I think is for the best & nobody can do more. The 3 black dogs are come to Binfield & 3 Horses & 2 carriages. Kind Love to y' good Father Bro' & Sister & believe me my dear Bessey ever Y' sincerely afl'ectionate Cousin Mary Birch. 444 Elizabeth, Daiightcr of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 1741-1S01. \_From Elisabeth to her father, the Rev. Henry Taylor?\ To The Rev" M' Taylor Crawley near Winchester Hants My dear Sir, My Aunt Becky desires me to say, She hopes you rec'd her Letter, in which she told you, " that my uncle having got the Half years Rent for Weild, She did not at present want your Fifty Pounds, & that it was in Dan'' hands." She will now be glad of it to defray the expences of the Funeral ; She will therefore be glad if you will send Dan : a fresh Order to pay it, as soon as you can, and. She will write to my Uncle Fox to give Dan' a proper discharge; that is, to send the Discharge to her to sign, before she receives the Money, which she will not receive, till she has that Discharge, She is but indifferent, & is not at present very well able to write herself : She desires her kindest Love to you, & hopes you are well; She has been greatly hurried by this late event; though considering the State my Poor Aunt Betty was in, She cannot but esteem it a very happy one, both for herself and her Friends; as, had she liv'd one day more, her Miseries must have been greatly increas'd, it being out of the power of three Women to have mov'd her any more: She seems to have been try'd to the utmost, & then taken to be rewarded for her Patience, which was very great indeed. My Aunt Becky has been greatly fatigued, for she has paid a most unwearied attention to her Sis' which has much injur'd her Constitution, & shatter'd her Nerves : She has however the pleasing satisfaction of knowing She has thoroughly done her Duty. My Aunt desires I would add, that my Aunt Betty has left you Twenty Pounds & the Silver Cup you used to be so fond of: She intends paying you out of the Money You have of hers. For as She wants all her Money at present. She thinks that the best method of payment, by which your Debt will be reduc'd, (She thinks) to a Hundred & Thirty Pounds. My Aunt is left Sole Executrix she has written to M' Fox to know the proper method of paying you your Legacy. I am going to Limehouse next week, for a day or two, & design returning hither with Nancy for a little time, as she is desirous of seeing my Aunt again before She leaves this part of the World. M" Elmes's Eyes having again become very painfull to her, she came up last week to Town, to have a Consultation on them between D' Fetheyill, Baron de Wenzle & M' Potts, who all declare the Eye is perfectly destroyd. My Aunt joins me in Love to my Bro' you will accept my Duty & believe me to be My D' Sir, Yr DutyfuU Daughter & Affect: E. Taylor. Wandsworth July 4"" 1777 I here send you the character of a Good Christian, tho' I fear you will not come up to the Description. He sees things Invisible, Believes things Incredible, Does things Impossible, Bears things Intolerable. Elizabeth, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 445 \_From Elizabeth to her brother, the Rev. Henry Taylor.^ Rev" H. Taylor Jun Crawley Winchester Hants Binfield May 1778 Harry Nothing can be more obliging than my uncle & M" Fox; They behave in as friendly & kind a manner as can be : & the more I see of them the better I like them My Uncle told me M" E : had conceiv'd strange notions of us, which he had taken great pains to eradicate ; & he did not know who had put them into her head. — I told him I was very sensible she had taken up strange ideas; & was as well convinc'd of his pains on our account, by the alteration of her Behaviour to us. I told him I cou'd not guess how such ideas gain'd entrance; but I saw they had; that our conduct had been such as we thought right & just, & we left the rest to Providence. He said she told him She design'd giving us ten Pounds a year apeice, which he advis'd her to tell us ; & that She wou'd do so he suppos'd. — She said that she had done it often, & did last year. — To which I answer'd She did so, & had often, but as we were not certain of her future intentions, we never spent on that supposition. She does not however intend giving it us till Aug" when my Uncle told her he design'd inviting us again but of that we shall talk when we get home, so long a visit now, will make it the less necessary then. But till the twelvemonth is fully up we shall not have it. She does not love parting with her Money till the last minute: & whether she will then have it to give is a matter of great uncertainty; as indeed it is whether she will be in this World I think. — for it appears to me a hard run Match between her Life & the breaking of the funds. Miss Hawkins We like much, their is a Tightness in her behaviour, & rectitude of mind visible in her conduct : I dare say she has had a very upright good Education, Sz I hope M" Elmes will not forget her hereafter, as she once told me She shou'd not My Aunt Becky met Peter at Dans, which made her very happy ; M" Fox tells me she looks pure well ; I have satisfied her respecting the alteration in our Religion by Turning & Burning Make our Duties & Loves to ray Father take same for Y'self & beleive me Yours E. Taylor. \_No address ;— from Airs Fox to Elizabeth^ Binfield Nov' i" r778 D" Madam, On my return from London on Monday I found your letter at Binfield, & I read with concern that you felt Disappointed in the Provision made by the Will of M" Elmes for the Benefit of your Family We know not what were the hopes she had given your Family, nor did we at all know the state of her Mind on affairs in general till the year 1774, Previous to which, or early in the course of it she frequently sent for & came to M' Fox in Chancery Lane with very distressing complaints of Discomfort & i)articuiarly in her Residence at East Ham, of Unkindness & Incivility from neighbors there, & of being alone which was what her spirits could not support, and she wish'd us to enquire for some reasonable cheerful Companion to be with her, We did attempt such enquiry, during which time Miss Ridding was proposed by some of your Family— M" Elmes consulted M' Fox who thought from what he heard, for he knew her Not, she might give & receive Comfort in the Connection. She Came, and seemed not Unlikely to Acquit herself to the satisfaction of M" Elmes and consequently of all her Friends.— but still distress hung on M" Elmes's Mind,— she continualy sent for M' Fo.x, and in the Autumn of 1774 in Tears bewailing her Miserable sute, made it her earnest Request he would 1741-1801. 446 ElisabctJi, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 1741-1801. consent to take her into liis Family. It was then Matter of Astonishment to us, who had never seen the least Partiality from her, nor could Conceive she felt such Inclination towards us, but as she express'd it to be her only Wish for Happiness, or even comfortable Existence in this Life, we com- plied with her request and with the most generous friendships to Miss Ridding in her Unhappy Circumstances; M' Fox Offered to receive her with M" Elmes, & to make his House an Asylum for her, and to be a friend to her. M" Elmes was Impatient for the completion of her Plan, M' Fox desired it might be postponed till he could execute some Appointed Business, which would engage him near 3 Weeks, during this Interval we went to Crawley, and did Inform M' Taylor and his Family of the request & Intention of M" Elmes— as I well remember and doubt not he does. At our return, M" Elmes Ordired the Discharge of her Servants, and hastned to remove all things from East Ham but we then found Miss Ridding in other guise. Insolent to a degree quite unassistant to M" Elmes in Effecting what she wished & desired who toiled from Morning till Night in Packing & while Miss Ridding sat making Pin Stitch, & Eyelit Holes, or Amused herself in walking up and down the Gravel Walk in the Garden. We thought this very extraordinary Conduct, but hoped she might mend and in consequence of our Invitation she Accompany'd us i" to London, then to Binfield. and both, in her Progress & stay throw every circumstance of discomfort in M"^ Elmes's way to dissatisfy her with the step she had taken ; and her continued Insolence to M' Fox, and the Tenor of her con- duct made it absolutely necessary to part with her, which was done about Christmas 1774 she left Binfield. We saw with Concern on more Intimate acquaintance with M" Elmes, that she had conceived a strong Prejudice against both you & your Sister, but particularly against you, and IM' Fox was Incessant in his endeavours to remove it, being well Satisfied it was without cause, and that you had endured much Anxiety & your Sister Also in your risidence with her at East Ham on Account of her Temper and disposition towards you, and we Labor'd to bring her to a friendly regard for you both, which was a reason we wishd you to be with her as often, and as long as you Conveniently could. It would have given us Pleasure if the Appointment to your Family, had answerd your expectation, but know had it not been for the Pains M,' Fox took to Reconcile her affectin to them, they would have had yet more Discomfort in her disposition : She Disposed of her fortune as to her seemed Best, and has Established 3 Industrious Farailys Related on her Fathers side in a comfortable Independence of their several callings— ^£^3000 she gave to Charities & it was for her to ... . satisfy her own mind & she did so [From Elizabeth to Mrs Foxl\ M" Fox Dan' Fox's Esq' Binfeild near Oakingham Berks. Crawley Nov. 8* 1778 D" Mad" When I express'd myself as disappointed in the Donations M" Elmes has made to our family, I meant not to imply that I was discontented, or even dissatisfied with her remembrance of us, as she had undoubtedly a right to the disposal of all her effects, in what manner she pleas'd, even to the total exclusion of every one of us. All I meant, was, to speak my mind to you as a Friend ; That, consi- dering the hopes She & her Brother had given my Father & Mother, & which She had repeatedly confirm'd, I was, in respect to my Sister & the male part of the family disappointed ; As to myself (tho' not conscious of having given her any reasonable cause of displeasure) I was sensible that I was quite out of her favor, & am well convinc'd I owe more thanks to my Uncles endeavors in my behalf, than to any kindness on her side toward me. But, that you may not think we indulg'd hopes without foundation I will just point out some of the grounds on which we built them. Elizabeth, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspondence. 44y When in consequence of a Common invitation, M' Jolm Elmes & his Sister visited Crawley; She, took an opportunity of telling my poor Mother, we " shou'd have some Thousands left us,"— At their desire my Sister & I made them a visit (I think it was) in the following Spring; during our stay, my Father came to Town to Apprentice my Brother Dan; when consulting M' Elmes on the subject & expressing a fear lest he shou'd not be able to set him up as a Grocer, especially if any accident happen'd to himself, M' Elmes, bid him "be easy on that head for by the time that was necessary Dan wou'd have sufficient;" He died however without making any Provision for his having it. — M" Elmes desir'd them as a favour, that we might live with her alternately, which we continued to do as long as it was possible: But, after Six years an Unhappy Jealousy & change in her temper made it impracti- cable ; as She then began to entertain Suspicions & mistrusts of us, that it was impossible to obviate : & treating us like Dependants instead of Friends, it became inconsistent with rectitude of mind & propriety of conduct to continue any longer in so painfull a situation; which, added to the ill states of health of my Father &: Sister, oblig'd us to quit the plan of living with her : which we did with so little appearance of dislike at that time, that. She offer'd my Father a Hundred a year to let us continue with her ; which offer, tho' it shew'd her regard for us, was impossible to be complied with, as it could neither restore my Sisters health (already much impair'd by her vexations at East Ham) or alter M" Elmes's change of disposition : my Father therefore declin'd accepting the offer in as handsome a manner as he could devise, promising we shou'd visit her as often as he cou'd spare us. — At this time it was that Dan. was to be set up in business, when she generously gave him ^500, at the same time telling him, " she shou'd not have done so, had she not design'd to make it up a very handsome sum at her death ; " which she frequendy repeated, & that not long since : as she had never discover'd any particular partiality for Dan' my other Bro"' naturally flatter'd themselves with the hopes, that they shou'd have an equal share with him, including the sum she had already given hira — As to my Sister She ever express'd a warm affection for her, telling her that " She lov'd her better than any body in the World, that She (Nancy) had always been good to her, & she wou'd take care & reward her for it : " which manner of expression, & the repeated assurances of her continuance of affection, when ever She saw her, both at London & Binfield as well as at East Ham, led me to hope she wou'd have deriv'd more advantages from her Cousins bequest, than She has done, & been more amply provided for by her.— In short numberless were the things thrown out at East Ham, as if we shou'd be both handsomely provided for; but our expectations have been only built on what She told my Mother, & what M' Elmes said at our first being there, & what She said to Dan' since.— These were the reasons on which we rais'd our expectations, & from which I was led to say I was disappointed on the whole; which expression had reference to the rest of the family & not to myself. Thus much I thought it necessary to trouble you with, that you might not think our hopes unreasonable, we are all sensible of our obligations to my Uncle, for the kindness he has at all times shewn us & the regard he has paid to our interests, more particularly so, for the pains he took to set our actions in a favorable light to M" Elmes, of which we are all fully convinc'd ; especially in respect to myself, to whom he gave all the opportunities he cou'd of regaining her esteem ; & I beleive if I added your friendly endeavours for that purpose, I shou'd not be mistaken. One thing more I must beg leave to notice, & that is our proposing Miss Ridding as a Companion for M" Elmes; which is a mistake I wish to rectify. The fact is simply this.— On the receit of a Letter from Miss R: in which she inform'd me of her distressful situation, I communicated it to M" Elmes as a peice of news, not thinking or indeed knowing of her being in pursuit of a person to live with her; She instantly caught at this, & desir'd me to write to her about it, & as I coud not then stay, to come up again & give her the meeting: Now tho' I thought Miss R a very good sort of Girl, yet I by no means wish'd her to be with M" Elmes, I had many objections to it : But it was not for mc to counteract her desires ; an attempt to dissuade her from it, I knew would be interpreted mto a Carelessness for her happiness, or a resolution neither to live with her myself, nor to assist her procuring a Companion; I therefore wrote to Miss Ridding, but contriv'd to delay as much as I •-uu'd the bringing this matter to bear, & therefore when I return'd home sent all my Letters to Miss R : thro' M" Elmes hands, & rec'd her answer the same way, in hopes, that by gaining time, 448 Elizabeth, Danghfer of Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspondence. 1741-1S01. my Cousin might change her mind: which tedious proceeding added to my being detaln'd a week longer than I propos'd, by an illness of my Sisters, & a day or two that Miss R: was confin'd in Town by illness; had so protracted the time of her coming, that my Cousin grew suspicious I did not mean She shou'd come at all. & told me so when She saw me. Such was her introduction, nor, can I say I was surpriz'd when she left Binfield. My Uncle is very kind in his intention respecting the two Notes, & the use he imagines M" Elmes intended to put them to, we shall be glad to accept them, whenever he pleases to set them on their journey to us. I am oblig'd for the recipe, which I shall forward with all Diligence to M" Glide, & hope by its efficacy, to enable her to rise & move with ease. I find our old Neighbours the Goodenoughs are in treaty for M' Rainsfords Old House if he takes it, he proposes many alterations, & I tell him he cannot do a wiser thing, than to get a little advice from you on that Head.— They are worthy good kind of people, cSc very much of our Minds in Political matters. Nor at all strait lac'd in their religious opinions. They wish to find Neighbours at Binfield of such an easy free turn, that they may visit without Ceremony: Their two Daughters are at school at Reading, & they have with them a little Boy about two years old: My Uncle may remember her perhaps as Miss Carter of Ports We account ourselves very happy in having my Father still at liberty & unconfind by the Gout. Such a length of time as he has escap'd this year will contribute much to shorten our Winter; last year he was laid -up in Sept'- Keppels fleet is at Ports : & is to go out again it is said but not under his Command : I see Rodney is talk'd of to command one fleet, if so.— but Cowards are safe you know; that entre nous his Character is not publickly known I beleive. Adieu. Accept our best wishes for Yourself & my Uncle & beleive me D' Mad" Y affect & Oblig'd Hum Ser" K Taylor. [No address -—from Elizabeth to Mrs Fox.'] Titchfield May 5" ijSs- D" Mad Death of Ben We thank you for y' invitation of my Sister and Self to Binfeild at this Melancholy period; but Mordecai. yc various business that necessarily follows our dear & excellent Parents loss, puts it out of our power to accept it. Nancy & I foreseeing what must soon take place, had fix'd our plan for a more distant residence near some friends in this County ; but we find that this event has more endear'd us all to each other; & that tho' we have had the misfortune to lose that valuable link, which has hitherto kept . us so closely together through Life ; yet, the connection of the other parts of the Chain, are but more firmly rivitted.— We have lived together So long in Harmony, & know each others tempers & principles so well that we are determined not to suffer this melancholy event to part us, but wish still to endeavour as much as possible to add to each other's comfort & happiness; We have therefore agreed, my Brothers Harry & Peter, Nancy & myself to put our Little Stocks together, & live at Hollam, where with frugaHty & kindness, we hope to pass our time in peace & Harmony, & (after we have recover'd of the present severe shock) with a good share of Happiness ; We left the Vicarage early on tuesday morning (on which day our dear Father's remains were carried to Crawley to be inter'd by our excellent Mothers) and enter'd on our Plan. I acknowledge that in the midst of our Greif, we find our sweetest consolation in the Hope that we have discharged our duty towards the good Old Man, & endeavor'd to contribute to the happiness of his days ; but this is not confined to Nancy & myself, my two Brothers have quite an equal claim to it; always attentive & kind to him; that attention encreased with his infirmities, & particularly shew'd itself in his last illness ; a Sense of which they had the satisfaction of hearing him express in his dying hours; & when y' fatal moment arrived, it was in their arms he expired. we have the satisfaction to find y' kind attention of all our friends & neighbours in this part of Elizabeth, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 449 world, exceeds every thing we cou'd possibly claim or expect f"' them, & I am persuaded they have 1741-1S01. sweetened the latter days of a valuable Parent : all which engages our gratitude & adds to our attach- ment to our present situation. Taylor's death, & Henry's inoculation, call'd my Brother D : to Town some days before our loss took place, & before we apprehended any immediate danger; I know of no design he ever had of mtroducing himself to you, & am morally certain it was never even t/wiig/it of by his relations. All Unite in Love & good wishes with dear Mad"" Y' Affectionate & Obligd Friend E. Taylor. this is an exact Coppy of Betsys Letter to M'" Fox. May 5* 1785 [jVo address -—from Elizabeth to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.] Harry I enclose you the several donations of the several wills, to each family. Or rather I write them underneath, under the supposition that Bank Stock, & all Stocks are five p' Cent, the real Hundred. I have reckon'd them accordingly. M" Elmes Stones Birch Taylors iSoo 1440 4000 240 100 2040 1540 M' Fox 2052 1842 3924 M" Fox 1500 2000 900 2052 1842 3924 2040 1540 4000 5592 53S2 8S24 I do not know whether you have ever made this estimate, & as I send it to the rest, I send it you. I cannot lift my hand to my head for the Rheumatism in my shoulder & Arm. Therefore will bid you farewell. Is M' Thomas at home or not? Adieu Y'^ affect » K. Taylor. 18'" Sept' 1793. I thank you for your kind intentions of coming to see me, & hope the Little Girl will soon be well & that you will dine with mc. I can hear nothing of Wrench's Money yet. I suppose he has his difficulties. Let me know you receive this 450 Elizabcfli, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspondence. I 741-1801. l^From Elizabeth to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor?^ D" Harry Kimberley I have seen, who shew'd me these. Rev'' M' Taylor M' Corbyns Attor-at-Law Winchester Hants Paper of the little Pictures you wish'd to have, which are a small Portrait H ; S* do Edw-" 6"- do Charles i'" queen Blind restor'd to Sight Faith . . . ■ A Night peice Student with a Candle Miniature of Titian by himself Two Miniatures Two do Two do that's Y own Picture I think MI'S Fox copied this I wish we had kept but Kimberley tells me you have ask'd him several times what the amount of these Pictures were he not being able to recollect. Have you ever receiv'd that you have not setUed with them? 7"' Sept' 1794 him, D' Harry Y" Affect' E. Taylor. I suppose as your head like everybody elses is on the French war you will think this stuff very insipid, I hear nothing but dismal , tales about it 4 or 500 men dreadfully maim'd went thro' the Strand a few days since to the Hospitals. On truth. \_No address; no date ;— from Elizabeth to her cousin Dattiel Stone.'\ As my Sis' inform'd you I intended speaking, or rather writing on the subject of Truth ; I am set down to perform my promise; tho not in reference to your situation, but in ans' to a Paragraph tn your letter on Truth in general. You say "As to what you say of Truth in speech, it is in my Idea of much less moment. I am sattsfied that the most rel.gious person, who has much intercourse with the world, will frequently find disstmu- intirm necessarv to the cause of virtue." . . , , , iSn & very, very many passages of the Old Testament & Gospel are absolutely, ^ postttvely declara- tory of fhe heinousness of the Crime of Falshood; & very severe in the denunoattons agamst tt. Rehgton as I apprehend means principally a steady firm reliance on the Deity, testified by a strtct adherence to ^ s cTt^m^nds. That person therefore, who pretending Rehgion. violates Truth, rs but a Pretender ; sL rcommand is 'not to lie" but, "to speak every man Truth to his neighbour^ I rememb had once an occasion to put a case to my Father, where Truth on one stde seemd destructive of Elizabeth, Dmigliter of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 45 1 happiness; & Falshood was in my estimation wrong: tlie question arising from tliis statement was 1741-1S01 Is it ever justifiable to Lie? He replied "If you saw a madman with a knife in his hand running after another with intent to liill him, & having lost his Prey applied to you to know where he was ; you certainly would & ought to point a contrary way, because the man is out of his wits : but in no other case that I can recollect, is falshood to be used. In the case you draw he continued you may often be involv'd; & then Betsy, observe wliat (I think it was one of the Prophets) such a one says in the scripture " I will stand still & see the Goodness of the Lord." we cannot see one step before us, nor be answerable for the consequences of one action ; new things are continually opening before us, which may direct our judgments ; & while we act with Truth we have nothing to fear from them ; & may expect to be the care of the Almighty ; " Trust in God.' " His remarks were justified in the event; Falshood was practic'd, tho not by me with the very best intentions; c& the consequences could not have been worse, had the greatest Truths been spoken. That man who starts at Falshood, can never engage far in the course of Vice ; because every vice wants falshood to conceal it. That man who being so engag'd has resolution to break those engagements, & regain the paths of Truth is perhaps one of the greatest of human Characters, & is an object for angels to look down on with benignity ; For to subdue ourselves is harder than to conquer an Enemy. Falshood has ever appear'd to me as a presumptuous sin, it is taking the direction of human events out of the hands of Providence, into our own. For what does he do who tells me a falshood but mislead my ideas. From Faith in his Veracity I believe him ; by my Ideas of things I must act, but, if they are wrong, so must be my actions, & how far the injury may extend of wrong acting it is impossible to say, or for short-sighted ignorance to guess at. Had events been left to Provi- dence, my ideas & acting had been right — this we do know, that the great chain of humanity, so links individuals together, that it is almost impossible that a single act can be perform'd that does not effect some other in some degree; & I think my D' Dan I may venture to say that virtue & vice, are in a great measure increas'd or diminish'd, according to the degree, in which they give happiness & misery to others ; & also, according to the extent of that happiness, or misery. When we have ought that it appears Prudent to conceal Reflection will generally poifit out other means, than those of Falshood ; but this cannot be done but in the cause of Virtue, it being the nature of Virtue & of Truth to be always able to support themselves; because, they have no little dangers to guard against, nothing they fear to have laid open to view, & if they have err'd, have from their nature a resolution to confess their errors ; & Falshoods used by others to support them, will in the end appear to be injurious to them, by involving them in the like suspicion of deceit with their mistaken friends. I would also observe, that the habit of Falshood destroys the finer feelings of the mind, & we are imperceptibly led on to much greater degrees of Falshood than we ever imagin'd we should arrive at : The mind grows debas'd & the character loses its dignity. Not that we are madly to tell all the Truth to every impertinent enquirer into our affairs ; but we must take care to tell nothing but the Truth. There are various ways of silencing impertinence besides Falshood. Thus my Dear Dan' have I thrown together a few observations that have struck me on reflecting on a subject, that I have often had occasion to think of. If they should be of any service to you, my heart will feel a very great satisfaction, for believe me, I have a very sincere ection for you ; as a Bro' I ever lov'd you, your friendly kindness to me has increas'd my regard y the additional tie of Gratitude, my opinion of your veracity was the first cause of ray esteem, tho that must be now shaken, yet the tie is not broke in every event in which consistently with my Ideas of rectitude I can serve you, or add to your happiness it will give me sincere pleasure to do it. you may imagine perhaps, that having liv'd a recluse life, I know not the World ; & therefore cannot udge of the necessity for pursuing your maxims : but my D' Cousin it is not for this world we should act ; a higher & nobler Prospect is in view.— But for this World, my acquaintance in it have been good, such as practic'd no falshood : &. of those few that do I see them held out as objects of dislike by all " M" such a one told me this, so whether it is true or not I am sure I cannot tell," is the end of every thing said after them. — you have been unfortunately situated ; thrown off as it were by a Father, & connected with a house where Truth I am sorr>' to say it was not adher'd to 452 Elizabeth, Datighter of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 1741-1S01. & where to adhere to it requir'd the strictest attention. Such have been y' disadvantages I very readily make tliese aUowances for you : &: wishing you every happiness and a perfect Peace of mind, remain my Dear Dan' . Your very affec' Cousin & Sincere Friend Eliz. Taylor. \_No address ; no date ; — -from Elisabeth io her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.'] Vi^ Harry Lady Rob' [Conway?] with whom I spent two or three days lately, informs me that She has only B : B : M : & the Apostacy. She seems to imagine you design to give her the remainder of my Fathers works, which if you do, I am sure I shall not wish to prevent you by making the Present myself. And as she is very kind to me, I am certain it will give you pleasure so to do, or to inform me where they are sold that I niay make Her a Present of them. Louisa & Anna call'd on me one day when it was very Cold, ihey made me smile, the little Anna, at her being very proud of having her hands so wrapt up that she could not move a Finger, & Louisa, by assuring me, that Presbyterians never had Godfathers or Godmothers to their Children when they were Christen'd. I laugh'd, & told Will" & Kitty of it, who made me frown by gravely defending that point on the argument of its very great Inutility — I beg you would laugh at them about it, for I George Court- believe that is the best way of treating it. I suppose you know that George Courtauld has brought auld's slave. ° j . , ^ , over a black Girl, havmg sold her Mother who was his Slave. It is so indefensible a step, that I have said little at Will"" about it not to hurt Kitty, but the arguments used in his defence being truly French viz : The bad Conduct of the Mother, with' any attention to the feelings of her heart, & her desire for them to have the child & to be sold herself, without the least regard to her situation, which really allow'd her no choice is dreadfuU to the principles of their own Children. The Natural right of Manhood to Liberty, & that right being the gift of God, never seems to enter their minds. Just like Monseiur this. & Madame Thats Stories for Children ; & Plays for their acting ; The morals in both of which are quite of an inferior kind : & are translation from French Authors.* By the way how came you to give Henry a Milton with notes? I read two or three but must confess, I was not the least edified thereby but tout a la contraire, or in plain English, quite the contrary. Did you read it before you gave it him ? for to say the truth of the matter, I have * This is a quite incorrect, and, I fear I must add, rather spiteful version of an incident which, so far as I know, and as I have no doubt in every particular, was only an illustration of my grandfather's kindness of heart and benevolence. He did, indeed, buy a slave woman (Margaret), but it was only at her own earnest entreaties, and after previous refusal, that he consented, by such means, to save her from the cruelty of her master. Mrs Clemens thus describes her recollection of the story, as told to her : — " When my father and mother settled in America, they determined to have 7ioihing to do with slavery, but one day Clara's mother came weeping and begging that they would buy her, showing the wounds and bruises received from her cruel owners, and so at last they did." I am sorry to say that Margaret's reputation as a servant did not stand high ; idle and worth- less as a servant is the description given of her, and it is said that when she was found fault with, she used to grin and say, " Me no floggee, and words break no bones ! " When they came to England, they brought with them Margaret's child, Clara, then, I believe, about two years old. Whether the mother did not wish to come, or whether they could not afford to bring her (which latter is very probable) I do not know ; but there can be no doubt that nothing but kindness could have prompted them to burthen themselves with the child, nor can there be the slightest doubt that the mother permitted and desired her to come. What finally became of the mother there is no trace ; I find, however, that my grandfather lent her his horse, in order that she might find out a home that she would like. But how then arose Elizabeth Taylor's story of the sale ? Had it no other foun- dation than the fact of purchase, or did my grandfather, having given Margaret the fullest latitude of choice, take her price from the person whom she elected to serve ? Margaret herself may probably have preferred to have an owner responsible for her maintenance, rather than enjoy a freedom which might only have meant liberty to starve. Did my grandfather, perhaps, reason thus under these conditions ? " To the woman herself Elizabeth, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 453 I a strong suspicion you did not. You have no idea in respect to Religion of tlie rubbisli 1741-1801. that is printed, any more than you seem to have, how little the Lawyers Know of the Constitutional Principles of a Protestant Government. Tho' I think M" ' Fox's will might show you that both are at a very low ebb. Adieu Yrs affect. E. Taylor. The rest of the correspondence relates solely to the executorship business and troubles. [No address ; — from Mr Mi ford to Elizabeth Taylori] Madam The melancholy event you inform me of has been the subject of my daily expectation. The intelli- gence therefore was no surprise to me. The firm mind of our departed friend had looked to the event with perfect composure, which I do not doubt (the pangs of disease & death excepted) remained with her whilst sense remained. I cannot regret her relief from misery, tho I must feel in common with those whom she honoured with her friendship, my private loss. Respect to her memory, respect to the memory of the late M' Fox & attention to yourself & your sister are strong motives to me to comply with your wishes by attending you immediately at Binfield ; & if my being there could be of any use, or if a personal interview could afford you any particular satisfaction, I would readily put myself to the very great inconvenience of being with you tomorrow morning. But I apprehend I could do nothing if I was now with you. You inform me you have sealed up the keys & wills, & I think they ought to remain in that situation till after the funeral, or at least till some of the family can be present. The only direction given in her will on the subject of her funeral is " That her body may be put in a coffin of lead inclosed in another of wood made of oak & buried in the vault belonging to her at the west end of the church at Binfield, in which M' Fox & the late General & M" Williamson were interred." It will be proper to give directions accordingly ; & I think I can be with you on Sunday, so as to assist in any way you think proper & to open the will if any of the family can be there for the purpose. Col Williamson informs me you have written to him, cS; I inclose a letter from him. I presume you have also written to M' Fox's family. M" Fox's relations on her mothers side I apprehend are distant, & I do not know who is the proper person to inform of her death ; I have mentioned this in a note to Col' Williamson. I hope you & your sister continue well notwithstanding the agitation which you have experienced ; fi: I trust you will not feel any disagreeable anxiety on account of my delay in waiting on you. M' Brown I presume is with )'ou M" Fox has by her will particularly recommended him to your care I am, Madam y\ faithful humble servant John Mitford Lincolns Inn 24'" Janry 1787. With respect to the funeral I should think whatever was done by M" Fox in the interment of M' Fox ought to be done with respect to her remains. it can make no difference whatever whether she is sold or given ; the only question is between her fuluie owner and myself, and as between the two, the greater ri^ht to her price is obviously mine." If he reasoned and acted thus, he reasoned and acted as ninety-nine out of every hundred men would do. For my part I believe him to have been the hundredth man, and that he never did take money for a human being. 1 quote with pleasure Mrs Clemens' words : — " Clara came over with us, and I cannot believe for a moment that my father or mother would ever have sold the poor creature [Margaret] again." Nor did they ever cease, nor Ihcir children after them, from caring for and protecting Clara Decks, as she became on her marriage in this country. My mother writes: — '■ I remember my father's taking her into our house in the night, from a brute of a husband who was beating her for taking from him a little child whom he was belabouring ; he took in mother and child till the husband promised amendment. He kepi his promise for a time." I knew her well for many years. 454 Elizabeth, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 1741-1S01. — \From William Taylor to his brother the Rev. Henry Taylori] The Rev" H. Taylor HoUam near Titchfield Hants Osborn Place 29"" March 1787 Dear Harry I am sorry to find that you are so dissatisfied with Betsy on account of her accepting the charge of young Brown, since I am fully convinced, that undesirable as the charge most certainly is, she has acted from a principle of conscience, & it belonged to herself only to consider, what weight her promises to Fox ought to have with her ; the inconveneinces attending her situation, are very evident, & I am perswaded slie would gladly have avoided them, but I can readily conceive she does think herself bound to be the gaurdian, & when I consider that the father, in law, the mother, the Uncle, & Aunt, all wish her to be the gaurdian, I see not how she can avoid it, but by her own refusal ; w'" is contrary to her engagements with M" Fox of the weight & obligatoriness of which engagements, her own breast can alone inform her — With respect to her return to Titchfield it is evident to me that at present she cannot quit either Binfield or London intirely; being prevented both by her Executrixship & the care of her own affairs. The lodgings in fleet Street is certainly not a desireable situation tho' I by no means think it so very full of objections as you do, it is however out of the question since they seem to wish to quit them as soon as possible Till they have finished their busyness, I believe they will board with me. & then I should imagine Titchfield or its neighbourhood is most likely to be the place of their choice, but if it is not & they should think they will be able to live more to their own satisfaction, any where else ; I see no reason for any one, to be justly ofi'ended, on account of such a determination. I hope & verily beleive your fears respecting J. B. are intirely groundless; I do not think she has any further thoughts of him or he of her. .... beleive me your aff Bro. W. Taylor. IFrom Mr Mitford to Elizabeth.'] Elizabeth Taylor at M' W"' Taylor's Osborne Place White Chapel London Madam If jealousy is to attend every step of our proceedings I must act seperately, & I have accordingly directed RI' Denison to meet any attorney you think proper to appoint on M" Fox's affairs. I am. Madam, Y' most humble Ser' John Mitford. Paris Sep' 27 1787. [_No address i—from Mr Mitford to Elisabeth.'] M;= Taylor Madam I am so totally at a loss to conceive the motives which have induced you to write the letter I am favoured with thro' M' Blake, & two which are just returned to me from Paris, that I cannot tell ■what answer to give them Elizabetli, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 455 It surprises me as much as it gives me pain, to find that you have imagined I doubted either your veracity or integrity. I am sure I have no reason to doubt either; but when I found every- thing I attempted to do misrepresented or misunderstood, & that I was to be engaged in a correspondence which appeared to me to have no end, I thought it necessary for my own repose to act by another person. M' & M" Fox both employed M' Denison, & I therefore applied to him. I am very sorry he suffers from your displeasure I am Madam, your most humble servant. John Mitfoed. Lmcoms Inn 26 Oct. 1787 {No address ;—fro7n Mr Mitfo7-d to ElizabctliT^ Madam, M' Denison has been with me a considerable time this evening, & has just left me. I was much surprised at the terms of your two last notes, which seemed to take it for granted that I should discharge M' Denison, & employ M' Hadden, in all the affairs of M" Fox He conceived your reflections upon him to be very injurious & ill-founded : & desired to know what charge you had to make against him. He knew that I did not accuse him of any dishonourable conduct, & therefore he apprehended I did not mean to join in an act which must reflect highly upon him I am Madam yr m' hble ser' John Mitford. Lincoln's Inn 30 Oct. 1787 \_No address -—from Air Mitford to Elizabeth?^ M" Taylor Madam, My time has already been taken up most unprofitably in the transaction of M" Fox's aS'airs by conversations which have no object tending to the arrangement of those affairs I must intreat you will be so good as to desire your solicitor, M' Hadden to meet my solicitor, M' Denison; as I am determined in future to transact the business of the executorship without my personal interference, except in case of necessity I am Madam your most humble servant John Mitford. Lincoln's Inn 2'"' Nov' 1787 [From the Rev. Henry Taylor, her brother, to Elizabeth.'] Titchfield Tues" 22'' Nov' 17S7 Dear Betsy I cannot but express myself to be verj- seriously uneasy at the acc' we hear you have taken Lodgings m Holbom & do not think of being here at Xmas, "that you have employed a New Lawyer whose Name we never before heard of and y' without its being said what can make it requisite so to do as you seem too suspicious of your own family to communicate to them afterwards the reasons for what you do to apprise them of your intentions, and afford them an opportunity of giving you their Opinions upon any step before it is taken ; I have no doubt but y' you mean to do what is right, but to enable us so to do, it is necessary y' wc fii^t inform ourselves what that right is, w" is only to be known by consulting & hearing y Opinions of others, as well as by considering the matter ourselves 456 Elizabeth, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspondence. 1741-1801. Do not imagine that I wish to force myself upon you to become your adviser or wish you to come down hither sooner than is agreeable to y'self things may be going on very well for anything I can certainly know, without being at all inform'd of the State they are in ; I only wish you w" consult any person who can have no Interest in the matter, & who at y= same time; is competent to give you sound advice ; & cannot but be uneasy to see y' whilst every thing is kept in profound secrecy from your own family, the persons you prefer to advise with, are all along the very persons whose Interests are most likely to be opposite to Your own good & happiness, & to any benefit that can possibly derive upon y' family. Be assured / I do not write this from any desire to give you any unnecessary trouble and uneasi- ness, or from y-^ mere love of scribbling. I am certain y' I have not the least inclination to the one, and so little time to spare for y" other, that it is with no small inconvenience I can wTite this. With Sincere Love & good wishes to Yourself & Nancy, I will now subscribe myself your Aff Brother H. T. {^From Elizabeth to her brother the Rev. Peter Taylor.] Rev*" Peter Taylor Titchfield Hants Jan: 18'" 1788 D" Peter Yours of the 17"' I have just rec'd & am sorry to see you seem so much offended with my letter. I know not how it is, or why, but certainly there has been from the first, a great misunder- standing between us. I was in hopes, that a Calm Conversation or two especially thro' the mediation of r Good woman's kindness, wou'd fully have clear'd up all differences between us, & establish'd a lasting because a clear good understanding between you & me. I am certain y' last was wrote with warmth & that when you reflect, that as you are coming up to Town so soon, it is better to converse with M' Mi(ford than write to him, you will adopt that plan— Writing I am sure he will think teizing— If however you chuse to open a Correspondence, with him, I cannot on my own account have any objection, since there is no one Circumstance of my Conduct respecting the Ex" business shall I fear to have strictly scrutiniz'd both by him & yourselves. I would however wish you to reflect whether if questions shou'd arise relative to' the first part of the business when you were with me, you wou'd wish me to give a perfect true account of all that pass'd relative to the Horses? It is not my wish by any means to bring forward anything, not for my own sake, but for the sake of those related to me. You are not I am sure, aware of what I suffer'd from Harrys teizing, nor how my heart was afterwards wounded by his kindness when he saw he had almost knock'd me up.— It grieves me to see these coolnesses taking place between us all, more especially with you who I love better than any. Had I communicated to you every Circumstance as it arose at Binfield it would have been a great increase of trouble to me & would have serv'd no one good end— no two people scarcely ever think exactly on any one given point ; not even when they are together & can communicate their ideas as they rise, much less at the distance we were at / was to act, you were not you had vow'd almost to see Binfield no more; what then could I do, but act the best I could? What can I do now but just the same? When you come up we may converse on any thing but not harp on it as Harry did. But then as I may consider you as an adviser, you must not consider yourself as a Commander-the too frequent error of advisers my Peter. What the matter of importance is, that you think may be to be agitated I am sure I know not, unless you mean what you propos'd to M' JIadden about the Black Lead ; & in this I am resolv'd to abide by what ever shall be the determination of Mr MU/ord, as he I am fully convinc'd will be govern'd by what he thinks most just. I do not think myself an adequate judge, nor will consult (of myself) the various opinions of so large a Body. It is my happiness that my CoUegue is a man of such strict honour that I may venture to abide by his Elizabeth, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspondence. 457 opinions at all hazards, when those opinions are his own, of which I can have no doubt in the present case. I have not seen M' Mitford some time & am sufficiently satisfied rot to teize him, while I can hear his sentiments thro' M' Hadde?i, or M' Stone. The first however I generally apply to, as understanding business best, and being himself a man of Good Sense & Honour. I find myself very comfortable in having his assistance when I want it, in directing me. Let me know when you write to M' Mitford which I hope you will not do, lest wearied out he shou'd throw the whole business into Chancery— r/&7/ remember it will not be my fault but_' yours. I assure you he hates to be teiz'd. Give our Loves to all Y" Aff'ect" E. Taylor. I \_From Elizabeth to her brother the Rev. Peter Taylor:\ Rev" Peter Taylor Titchfield Hants 21" Jan 1788. My D" Peter S'"''^ I ^^""^ I Iiave rec'd yours of the 2o'- It is apparant to me that we have misunderstood each other from the first-We shall talk the matter over, & perhaps come to the knowledge how it has happen'd that we did so I never suspected you of being Tyrannical but I have found .n the world in General mostly a disposition to take it ill, if the advice they give is not complied with. You & I have look'd on the same things in different lights, & I much suspect that a mischief making woman who has told me lies surpassing all conception, has somehow or other sew'd the seeds of uneasiness between us. I will now bid you adieu. I hope soon to see you And shall meet with satisfaction a Bro' I so dearly love; because I know he will be ready to for..ive the mis- takes of his Sis' If he can convict her of them " Y" Affec'"^ E. T. \_No date; no address -—from Elizabeth to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.] [about 17SS.] D" Harry I will now a httle more fully expatiate on y' Letter, you hurt me much by the constant Suspicion you seem to entertain of me; & your anger (tho' coolly & kindly e.xpress'd, yet visible) at my not consulting you. How is it possible at this distance, to inform you of events as they rise I will however do my best to satisfy you. Our Attor: would not come near me, & treated me very cavalierly, many Circumstances concur-d to make me chuse another. M' Mitford approved it-But suspicion of M- Mitford never enterd my mind his character is above it : He is however I think a httle Careless (which his great business occasions) & trusts too much to his attor. of him we differ' in our judgments. You will say leave it all to M' Mitfords better judgment.-I cannot as things stand It IS impossible to make you understand the whys & wherefores, with' writing incessantly & Then we shou'd not agree perhaps in our opinions. Harry I must judge, & act for myself. If wrong I 'only am to blame ; wilfully »Tong I hope I never shall act. But you wound me, I own you do' by the very very low opinion you entertain of me. What is there so very difficult in these matters' that by proi)cr aid I cannot do? you yourself thought thus at Bingfield, that I should have got an attor & now I have one, you are frigh.en'd-How can I please you? In respect to the person you are so delicate m naming tho you have not / hav, seen him in very trying situations, I observ d him as a 3 M 458 ElbabcfJi, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspondence. 1741-1S01. Cat watches a mouse, & ever saw the man of sense & honour. I may be deciv'd most certainly as ' soon as any body, but in this case there is no danger. Our interests are the same, his greater than anyone of ours where we should singly lose one Hundred he would lose six—\ wonder this does not strike you & make you easy as to our Interests— As to the preference you are so jealous of, He was willing to assist roe, he had nothing to do : you were employ'd, & busy. Peter could not bear the expense of being in Town, & Will" is engag'd from morn: to night & half sick to boot. To stay at Will"" was inconvenient to me.— Our expenses will not be so great as you imagine.— and trust me, I will never injure Nancy. Have Confidence in me my Bro;— Leave me to act & do my best; & cease to whorry me, lest you provoke me to say things I may repent of; & you be hurt at. Adieu. Give our Loves to Betty & Peter & beleive me Y' Affec' Sis' Eliz* Taylor. If you fear being run into expenses by my attorney I must tell you he takes no advantages: he never offers to write my letters for me, but only tells me what to say, nor ever comes to me but when I desire him. M' Dennison took shabby advantages & made me pay him money for doing nothing {From William Taylor to his brother the Rev. Hetiry Taylor^ The Rev" H. Taylor Titchfield Hants 16 Jan'^ 1789 Dear Harry, I had in my own as well as your name & Peter's name, stated to M' Mitford our intire reliance on him, & our little confidence in Betsy, before the arrival of yours to y= purpose, which I con- ceived myself authorized to do, by what passed between us when at Titchfield : .... He said Ha n* did not understand his busyness, & that a large sum was needlessly lying in Child's hand without interest I would not willingly beleive Betsy would cheat us for her own emolument; but her poor little head, is so brimful! of poor little vanity that she would for the sake of being flattered with imaginary consequence, give her own & all our interests up. Kitty joins me in love to all at Titchfield, & beleave me Your affect, fr. & Br. W. Taylor. {From Mr Haddon to Elisabeth.'] U" Eliz'" Taylor Wandsworth Madam I agree with you entirely respecting your Conduct towards your Brother Peter, and if he behave with a proper degree of gratitude and punctuality to you it will be a satisfaction to you to thmk you have been the means of his retrieving the Character he has lost M" Haddon desires her Comp'" & am Madam y' obliged friend & humble Ser' B. M. Haddon N° 10 Clifford's Inn lo"' Feb> 1789 ♦ Haddon Elizabeth, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 459 [From Mr Haddon to Elisaiet/i.'] M" E. Taylor Miss Tealings Plain Lambeth Madam, I am extremely sorry to trouble you on a Disagreeable Subject but I understand M' A. D. Stone wants to see you under a pretence of doing good to you and the residue and to you. in particular ; It really seems as if M" Fox's Executorship was to do me more harm than good and as if certain parts of the person Intrusted wished to destroy me & my Character to — but as I trust in you after having eased your mind I rest contented hoping you'l stand my friend as I have done yours, One thing I beg is you'l not submit to an Interview with Stone but desire whatever he has to say may be in writing which will prevent any prevarications — and you'l at the same time remember how he has treated you and his suspicious turbulant Disposition— under the Idea of your friendship I shall sleep easy I am Madam y' obliged friend & hble Ser' B. M. Hadden Cliffords Inn 14"' Feb' 1789 1741-1801. [From William Taylor to his brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.'] The Rev" H. Taylor Titchfield Hants 4"' March 17S9 Dear Harry, M' Mitford's Idea I find is to throw it into Chancery, & w"^" if I understand right will not cost more than 4 or 500^^, & as I verily believe that must be the finish, it may as well be done now as by and by. I have undertaken to Speak to Betsy on the busyness, altho' I have not the smallest expecta- tion of succeeding with her. Yet I am determined to try one expostulation & if she obstinately peisists to sacrifice all to the rapacity of H.* & her own folly & Vanity I shall be myself convinced that we have no way to escape the effects of that folly but by placing the whole in Chancery. Love to all at Titchfield & beleive me your Aff'ec' Bro. \\. T. [No address ;— from A. D. Stone to the Rev. Peter Taylor.] No 13 Southampton Buildings, Holborn Ap' 18'" 17S9. Dear Sir, I have mention'd to all my friends who have any knowledge of the Law, the Conduct of your Sister M" E: Taylor and of Af' Baddm, and all are uniformly of opinion that a Bill in Chancery will be necessary at last and that the expense of such a Bill will be nearly the same at any future time as at present : whilst the expense and trouble under the present Mismanagement is truly enormous nd however long it may continue will very little, if at all diminish the Expense of the Bill itself. I am Dear Sir Very sincerely Yours A. U. Stone. 460 Elizabeth, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. I 741-1801. \From A. D. Stone to the Rev. Peter Taylor^ Rev'' Peter Taylor Titchfield Hants N" 2 Brick Court Middle Temple June 9, 1789. Dear Sir You know that I was introduced to M' Hadden by my friend M' Clarke as a very poor, but honest Man On my own Business he necessarily saw your Sister and she very soon sent to me and inclosed a Note for M' H. requesting that I would get him to act as her Attorney for that she could not bear M' Denison: — I suppressed her Note to M' H. — till I had seen her; she came to me, when I return'd her the Note, and used all possible means to prevent her from with- drawing Affairs from the hands of M' Denison : She went away as I thought satisfied ; in. a very few days however she eraploy'd Mess" Blake and Norrts in a manner that M' Mitford wholly disapprov'd :— she then came again to me, and was seized with an hysteric fit, at my Apartments : — Hadden came in with his accustomed Intrusion, and nothing could prevent her from employing him ; — I soon found that M' H. had many faults, and as you well know remonstrated with your Sister repetedly on the Impropriety of tlic unlimited confidence she placed in him. My Remonstrances served only to increase her fondness : — and I found it necessary entirely to withdraw myself from her, since I did not chuse in any shape to countenance such improper Conduct. I had long consider'd M' H's faults as the result of folly and dissipation and that he was an honest man. — but after I had pressd him for his Bill for above a twelvemonth, I at last insisted on having it, from my having been informed that he had demanded five pounds of a Gentleman to whom he had to pay some money for me : at last he sent his Bill and I found near four pounds charged to me for the very same Attendances :— tho' in the opinion of the best Judges 40s would have been very good pay for the whole. — he of course did not inform me of his Charge to the other party ; besides this atrocious double charge which he does not attempt to disprove, there are many other unjust charges : — as for Attendances, when he invited himself to dine with me, and one in particular as to a Policy of Insurance, about which he deceivd me in a scandalous manner, and by means of which he was first introduced to your Sister, he having persuaded me that it was necessary for him to attend her at Bed-Style on the Business, which Atten- dance I now find was by no means requisite. — I went to your Sister on receiving his Bill and in a very mild manner laid it before her, but she will attend to nothing against him even the Assertions are fully proved as to his bad conduct. — these are the principal facts, and after such Conduct on my part; I cannot think that I merit such a reflection to be thrown out against me as, that her Errors arise from her being deceivd & misled by a Person whom / myself introduced and recom- mended to her. I remain very sincerely yours A. D. Stone. \No address; 110 date; — the Rev. Peter Taylor, her brother, to Elizabeth7\ [about 1790.] Dear Betsv You cannot well imagine the uneasiness You create in the bosom of those Friends who have ever had a Love for You, & have been interested, thro' life, in your welfare— How can you persist in rejecting the advice [of] every worthy person however disinterested? Look back & consider whether You have not disagreed with every person ^\'ith whom You have had to do? — Is it probable that every one with' exception sh"* differ from You, if you were in the right? In my opinion this is next to ElisabetJi, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 461 impossible— Are tliey all rogues or fools, except yourself? You know to y= contrary: why then do you voluntarily shut your eyes, & refuse to do that justice to the Residuary Body to w''' You are bound by every tie of honor & honesty— I hear You getting into a contest about your Guardianship as well as executorship— I know not upon what grounds— but surely to quarel w"' every body indicates a bad disposition and that there is something wrong in the state of your mind— I fear I greatly fear You will render Yourself despicable — awake before it is too late — no body will give You credit for integrity or common honesty, if instead of dividing the property agreeable to M" Fox's Will (w'"" ought to be your rule & guide) You either extend it, or occasion its expenditure. If You have not harden'd Your heart against conviction, I am very sure a time must come, when You will look back on your past conduct w* the most thorough disapprobation & will bitterly repent of the injustice. You have done to the Parties, whose interest You ought to have made Your own, & to have promoted conscienciously & religiously— If You go on in injustice these sensations will be infinitely augmented & become in the end a torment to You— take warning & prevent such a dreadful evil It is the worst f can befall a human Being, & it is the height of folly not to endeavour to prevent it. I know You had rather be flatterd to your destruction, than hear the truth, to your preservation, but I must & will exhort You once more to render Yourself an object of approbation not of contempt, to recover if possible the credit you have lost, w''' I assure You is very great, for I tell You the truth when I assert, that Your respectability is nothing to what it was a few Years ago — God grant you may come to your senses before you are undone both in fame & fortune is the sincere wish, tho' anxious fear of one who is your sincere friend & Brother P. T. \_From Elizabeth to her brother the Rev. Peter Taylor.'] Rev" Peter Taylor Titchfield Hants Wandsworth April 34"' 1790 D** Peter I do not wonder at your impatience, but I can see no real cause for throwing the Estate mto Chancery. I hope you will give up that idea & think you will do so. You will communicate this to Harry, & inform me in whose hands he will have his money plac'd Y' affect Sis' & Sincere Friend Eliz* Taylor. [No address ;— no date ; draft of notice to Elizabeth by her brothers the Revs. Hcniy and Peter Taylor.~] [abojit 1790.] To M" Eliz'" Taylor executrix to the late M" Fox— It is now upwards of two years since the death of M" Fox, and >ve are extremly sorry to observe that many things which might & ought to have been settled before this time, still remain unsettled to the great prejudice of the parties concern'd, whose interest it is Your peculiar duty to consult & with religious attention to promote, S: we have reason to believe from the best authority, that instead of expediting business as much' as possible, & putting the parties concern'd to as little expense as affairs would permit, you have actually been the occasion by which the affairs have been delay'd S: thro' whom very great & very unnecessary expenses have been incurr'd, & are accruing, to the great loss & injury of those who are interested— Particularly we have not a single doubt but the employment of M' Hadden is attended with an expense to a great amount, & toully & absolutely without any use & that the confidence reposed in him is much 462 Elizabeth, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 1741-1S01. abused & will augment the expence far beyond what ought or can be submitted to by those con- cern'd in the residue. We therefore request, I may say insist, that M' Haddens bill should be immediately call'd in & laid before M' Mitford for we are well convinced it ought to undergo a strict examination before it is paid & that you cannot do Justice to f Residuary Body if you pay it without M' M' inspection, We also require M' Hadden be immediately dismiss'd from having any thing farther to do in a Business in which we are so much interested. Which request if not directly comply'd with, we will all join in a petition to M' Mitford that he will put the affairs into Chancery, where we trust we shall not be suffer'd to be injured either thro the want of integrity or want of abilities of those employd to transact our business, & we have no doubt M' Mitford will gratify us in this our wish as you have occasional him so much trouble & vexation that he is I understand more than half inclined already to do it, & may possibly even without our concurrance. \_No address from Mr 31 i ford to Mr Haddon.'] Lincoln's Inn 23'' Oct' 1790 Sir I cannot interfere in respect to M' Brown I can see no Impropriety in M' Mazes permitting M' Brown to visit M" Taylor, but I can easily See the Danger of permitting a boy of his age being for any length of time under the care of a person who I am persuaded would have no weight with him. M" Taylor has herself told me that She could not manage him, if She is discontented with M' Maze, I wish her to Act as she shall think proper — I must decline interfering in any manner but am willing freely to say with respect to herself that I think she will only involve herself in expense and trouble by requiring M' Brown to be Deliver'd to her — She knows that M" Fox had no Authority to appoint her Guardian of M' Brown : and tho' M" Fox's Recommendation had weight with the master in naming her Guardian jointly with M' Maze I believe he declined appointing her alone — I well remember when it was done M" Taylor expressed her great Satisfaction at having got rid of so troublesome a Charge- As however this has no concern with the executorship I have nothing to do with it I am Sir y' m' hble Serv' John Mitford. \Fro7n Elizabeth to her brother the Rev. Peter Taylor.~\ Rev." P ; Taylor Titchfield Hants D" Peter I am so astonish'd at your letter, that I can hardly find words to express my surprize. That a divine an Enemy to the subscribing to the articles of the Church, shou'd maintain the Right, & rejoice m the power, of a Lord chancellor of England, to dispence with the duties of Conscience & the Perform- ance of a Promise, are things so inconsistent, that I know not how to reconcile them. What right has any man to dispence with anothers Conscience in any thing, that other may hold himself bound by : From whence does he derive that right ? not from God I am sure he never gave that Power to any one. The Pope indeed claims that Privilege, but I hop'd you had been too good a Protestant to allow that claim ; but by my troth if you allow it, the L" Chancellor (tho he " sits not in the Temple of God, shewing himself that he is God ") you make a Pope of him to all intents & Purposes. I hope he has no such real Power, but on my word I think the Law have a great deal of the Beast in it, by Law I mean Chancery I do assure you I am so far from fearing to find any difficulty in managing M' Brou'ii, that I should not have the least fear on that account. 1 Elizabeth, DaugJitcr of Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspondence. 463 We Women are vastly oblig'd to you for f good opinion of us ; but as I have not the faculty of i74t-iSoi. thinking the men a jot wiser that argument has no effect, as to y= argument that the Law of England will not admit the plea of conscience in one person to the injury of another. It is a mystery what you mean especially as I am very certain it will be very much to the benefit of Brown to receive now Sr then a little of my sage advice Y" affect Eli2* Taylor. Feb. 5'*" 1791 Cheara {No address ;~from the Rev. Hemy Taylor, her brother, to Elizabeth.'] To M« Elizabeth Taylor [Endorsed by H. 7:—" Never sent"] Titchfield Sat. 7 May 91 Dear Betsy, Yours of y' 3'' I reed, & was not at all surprised y' you said nothing to me of your intended scheme to Wimering. And for the reason you assign, viz y' You thought I shd oppose it. It is y= same reason wch has kept every thing else close from your family connections, & has involved you, in much un- necessary trouble & turmoile & vexation, with y' loss of credit & confidence; all because you do not chuse to be opposed, or to hear & attend to any reasons maybe urged ag' any thing you have a fancy to do. It leads you to give up your own Relations & to sacrifice their interest to any stranger or any little Attorney, who finds his account in flattering your vanity, & making you think you are raising your importance by the very steps, wch render you of less & less estimation. This is a price your own family cannot pay ; nor will any, who are your true friends, buy your good favour so dearly. But I fear you will buy your knowledge of these truths at too dear a price ; wch I shall be truly sorry for; but it seems inevitable, as you chuse to consult, place your confidence and commit yourself to those, who have a manifest interest in misleading you. However I will forbear to Say more, as I have not y° lest expectation y' any thing from me will have f lest weight with you. nor indeed wd any thing from any of f own family have much if any I have added another Box to the lading which is for W : T : I have not directed it, to him, that carriage may not be charged upon it ; as coming to You it will add nothing to y» expense, as f things will not be charged by y= article I am glad to hear you got safe to Town, where I hope you will enjoy your health & be situated to your liking For though I cannot support or encourage You in what is wrong & imprudent, & mjurious to the Interest of those whose Interests you have engaged to promote, yet am, I, what for these reasons perhaps You will not believe. Your afi'' Brother & Sincere friend H. Taylor. You will inform lS; he will send his porter for y" Box Peter continues much y' same Mada.m, \_No address :~jrom Mr Mitford to Elizabcthl] M" Eliz Taylor A previous engagement would put it out of my power to wait upon you tomorrow: but I must add, that the language with which you continually treat me, your affecting to discredit me on every occasion, & the constant tenor of your conduct for some time past, make it impossible for me to go beyond bare civility in any intercourse which I may be compelled to have with you— You have involved me in great difficulties for a considerable time,— & I am at a loss to see the end of them, as I cannot get any body to stir in the suit, & bring forward our accounts. There is nothing which l' 464 Elizabeth, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspondence. 1741-1S01. more sincerely regret than my having engaged in the execution of the trusts of M'^ Fox's will. Whilst you acted rationally, I was happy to comply with the wishes of an old friend; but if I had known before hand the disposition of the colleague she has given me, no respect for her memory would have induced me to act in the trust I am. Madam, Your most humble Sen-ant John Mitford. Lincolns Inn 28 March 1792. \Fnmi Elizabeth to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylorr^ Rev'' Mr Taylor. M' Corbyns Attor : at : Law Winchester Hants Jan : 1 793 D" Harry I cannot see why M' Van.* was the person to whom I should have sent my rec'* instead of S' J : Mitford, S' J: being the Executor. But I want to know how you came to know I did send them there? I not having inform'd you? . . . . As to boarding it is in many respects disagreeable. If I could get cheaper Lodgings I should be glad but I wish for room to put my (or rather the) Papers Deeds &c. in, till I have examin'd them myself. For, as I am answerable for the Trusts, I think I ought to fuUfiU them, to do which I must understand them, which can only be known by reading the Deeds &c E. Taylor. \_No address ;— from Elizabeth to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.^ D" Harry Y' ans' about Peters death is not satisfactory. What did you mean by these words. " She shall not kill us as she has kill'd Peter." How often I have long'd to enquire this of you, but had not Courage, yet fear that something I said or wrote to him had too great a weight on his mind. Do not fear to pain me, which I know y' affectionate heart will do. Shew all the Letters I have wrote you to William & come to a clear understanding between you about this Y" affect Sis' Eliz" Taylor. Jan. 23'' 1793 The laws of adultery & Parting are those I allude to in what you say you do not understand, t [jVf address -—from the Rev. Henry Taylor, her brother, to Elizabeth.'] [Endorsed l>y H. T.—" This Letter was never sent : as I went to Town & saw Betsy, soon after."] 26* Jan 1793 Dear Betsy Yours of the 23'" is now before me. Whether you agree with me or not, in the opin : that the Foundation of many things & forms in Law proceedings may, and almost necessarily must be of difficult explication to those, whose educations, & ways of life have never led them to be acquauited * Mr Van Hcytheysen, a solicitor employed on behalf of young Brown. t This doubtless refers to her objection in a previous letter to Milton's works being given to her nephew. Elizabeth, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspondence. 465 with Grounds & Reasons, on which those Laws were made & the Occasions w* calld for them, & the same wth respect to the Forms of Law; whether you can agree with me or not in this, is of htae consequence. But I shd think the necessity that, whilst we hve under the Laws of any Society or Country whatever, we must submit to the Laws of that Country or Society, and in all Legal Suits must Conform to the forms of its public Courts; & y' if we will not willingly & readily so conform, must be compelled so to do, & this for y= general benefit, (as otherwise Suits at Law cd not be pro- secuted at all & consequently no redress cd, in any case be obtained by course of Law) this is so evident that, I think, if you will consider it at all impartially, you may easily see y° truth & force of it. And may discover how vain it is for you to quarrel with these things, when you ought to conform to them, as by your unwillingness so to do, you prejudice the interests of all you have to do with, & pre- vent their concerns from being settled, because you will not do regularly what y= Law requires. That Suits in Chancery might often be avoided by Peoples meeting to converse fairly on the Subject is certain. But y' misfortune is y" some People will not converse but affect mystery & will not give any satisfaction & information to others but keep them as much as possible in the darke & in uncertainty, even where the interests of those others are concerned. With what sovereign Contempt have you treated every thing that any of your own family have s" to you. Myself in particular who cd never obtain any information from you, but was only told to give myself no trouble about it let every thing alone & all wd come right at last. It is this Line of Conduct together with your persisting to employ as your directer a person in whom the parties concemd had no opinion or confidence, that has made it requisite to go into Chancery. What your promises & Oath have to do with blind Obedience to y Courts I understand not; for as you have never been open enough to explane wherein your difficulties or objections consist, it is impossible to assist, or help you out of them, or to shew you in any respect wherein you are mistaken. Whatever delay may now rest with other Lawyers it has heretofore been occasioned by yourself & your Lafl^er, and as that might go on for ever, for there appeard no likelyhood of its having an end, It was expedient to apply to Chancer>'. I have not the lest recollection of ever having spoken y= words you mention; so there is nothing for me to clear up William about this. M' Brown and Suits in Chancey I knew nothing of as connected together, we ever suspected, all of us I believe y' he was con- cerned in making M" E's Will contrary to her wishes. How yfore you cd always think him an honest man, I know not. Laws of Divorce & Adultery neither You nor I have to do with & we had both better mmd our own concerns y- those of other People. Let us duly & properly attend to our own & do what is requisite I am your Affec' Brother H. Taylor. \_From Elizabeth to Iter brother the Rev. Heniy Taylor.^ Revf M' Taylor M' Corbyns Attor: at- Law Winton Hants D» Harrv I am going again to abuse the Court of Chancerj-, which I cannot think had any right to have en either Brown or his Fortune out of my hands, no one objecting the least to me, & M" Fox's honesty as his guardian remaining unimpeach'd, by any one. The situation of James, made me more pro,«r than M' Maze : while he, M' Maze, acts without the Consent of the mother in having the Boy seems to have considefd that they have no right either as Protestants ill pi 466 Elizabeth, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 1741-1801. Christians, or the Inhabitants of a free Country to force me to breali my promise, or not to' fulfill my Trust & M' Sprainger* wishes to rid his hands of such a dirty business I believe Is it Religion to place a Ward in Chancery? Is it not setting the power of men in direct opposition to God ; by forcing me to forego my duty ? April g'* 1793 Y" affect : E. Taylor. \From Anna Taylor, her sister, to Elizabeth.^ M" E. Taylor N"' 61 Stanhope Street Clare Market London August iS" 1793. My dear Bessy I cannot say I have sufficiently weighed the consequences that might attend making the punish- ment of Adultery to be Death, to be able to give my Opinion respecting it— where we indeed certain that our doing so would be more pleasing to the supreme Being as you say, there could be no doubt about it, but how shou'd we know this. By the Jewish Law it was death, but so was transgressing the Sabbath but I do not imagine we cou'd answer making either of them so without an express order ; even then it was falsehood of the Womans side only & her paramour which was call'd Adultery the Man had as many Concubines as he pleased provided they were not married women .... God bless you my dear Bessey & with every kind wish for Your comfort & happiness beleive me f sincerely Affectionate Sister A. Taylor. M" T's love she continues pretty well My D' Bessey I have this moment received Y' circular Letter I have no doubt that the Chancery^ will settle every thing very justly, but we all know it is both a very tedious & expensive Court. I do not apprehend since our affairs have been placed there that You have any thing more to do with them than the King of Prussia or with the deeds, as every thing is taken entirely out of your hands & placed in those of the Court of Chancery that we have now nothing to do but to sit quietly down & wait the result. I do not expect ever to receive much more as the Law expenses are so very great but it will be a comfort to have things settled "yNo date ; —fro7it Anna Taylor, her sister, to Elizabeth^^ M" E ; Taylor N°' 6 Stanhope Street Clare Market London \ahout October 1793.] It was with the greatest pain my dear Betsy I reed your letter of Oc' rr"'— in how sad a state must your affairs be ! I am greived to my heart when I reflect how comfortable a fortune you possest a few Years ago, & the unhappy Manner in which it now seems nearly all dissapated without comfort to Yourself or any other person— Your Fortune was by the Legacy M" Fox left You as Executrix ;^5oo more than mine,— & tho' I have had Expenses which have some Years ago Oblig'd me to sink 200 yet I can still reckon 2400^ remaining, so that Yours must have been ^£3000 a Sum it seems quite * One of the Masters in Chancery. Elizabeth, Dauglitcr of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 467 incredible for You to have sunk without its being quite given away — ^^500 you say You lent to a friend of M Hadden's which I hope you may recover again, but think you very possibly may not from Your not having taken the precaution of having the security in your own possession; & tho' you might possibly have a good Opinion of M' Hadden, yet as you could not be ignorant that many other people had not so, that precaution seem'd indispensibly necessary. — I do not mean to give you pam my dear Betsy by a retrospect of y' conduct, as I sincerely feel for its consequences, & as in future Life You probably will have hardly sufficient to support Yourself, you shall always find me ready to shew myself an Affectionate Sister ' towards You .... M" Taylor joins me in Love I am dear Betsy y' Sincerely Affectionate Sister & Friend A. Taylor. \^From Anna Taylor, her sister, to Elizabeth^ W E: Taylor N°' 6 1 Stanhope Street Clare Market London Titchfield Dec' 4"" iiax. My dear Betsy Your letter that I received yesterday gave me great pain as it brought me the intelligence that you did not intend to leave London a step so absolutely necessary, that ruin must be the consequence of your continuing in your present situation.— As to your having Young Brown with You, it is an Air built scheme, without the least probability of its ever taking place ; & if he was disposed to come to You it would be the most improper thing he could do : at M' Morgans he will probably continue till he is of Age, & only One vacation will happen between this time & that, which in all probability he may as well spend there as at any other place, as he is beyond the Age of regarding his situation in the liglit of a school ;— & you cannot be weak enough surely to imagine now so many years have past since his fortune was taken out of your management by the court of Chancery, that you have at this time any thing to do eitlier with his Estate or Money ; I cannot therefore suppose that it is really on his account that You wish to continue in Town ; but if it is so, every person must allow such an intention to be folly in the extreem.— Your Fortune already is so far spent, & your debts so great, that all you could now afford would be a lodging in some cheap Farm-house in the Country but if you go on living on the principle as You have hitherto done penury & distress must be the unavoidable consequences & m a Little time the absolute want of every comfort & every necessary, the conditions I would therefore have made on advancing Money for You are those only which are calculated to keep you from ruin, & without which the lending You Money is but aiding Your imprudences & giving it to be dissipated without benefit to Yourself or others ; as much the greatest part of your own fortune has already been.— Betsy, my dear Betsy, consider what you are about, consider what must be the End of every person who like Yourself instead of spending the interest of their fortunes are consuming the principle, & every day drawing nearer to beggary & want.— With Joy we would discharge your Debts on the conditions mentioned in my last, but without these conditions it would be only disabling myself of the power to assist You when the day arrives (as it must before long, if You go on as You have done) that you will not have bread to Eat, S: this without any good purpose being answered, and your situation in a prison only for a short time dela/d :— think then I conjure you of the imprudent manner in which You are living, & resolve at once to quit London entirely: You are now relieved from ail business resjjecting the lAccutorship by our Affairs being in Chancery; Brown is well situated with M' Morgan till he is of Age, nor can you have any real cause of wishing to stay in London ; and if your circumstances are so far exhausted (as I apprehend to be the case) that your annual income cannot support you I will endeavour to assist you in some proper situation, if you will accept our conditions & adopt some cheaper mode of Life in the Country before your finances arc totally ruined ; I know our good Friends at Fernhill would take you to broad with them till such time as your affairs are settled & I doubt not you might have a comfortable situation near them & be received by them with open Arms. 468 Elizabeth, Daiiglitcr of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 1741-1S01. You were very much mistaken indeed when You imagined either M" Taylor or myself wished the Executor affairs to be put into Your hands, It is what we should very particularly object to, as we are perswaded they are at present in the best situation they can be, & tho' the Chancery is tedious in its determinations, Yet ' we shah be certain of having every thing properly settled at the last— When I hear where Ld How's Fleet now is I will write to Cap' Bertie if he continues our Tenant it shall be on the Terms you mention & Cap' Bourmaster has promised to enquire how a letter may reach him & let me know M'= Taylor joins me in Love & good wishes to You she longs as much as I do to see You in some way of life which may be productive of More permanent comfort to You, I am Dear Betsy with the utmost sincerety your Affectionate Sister & Friend A. Taylor. you were mistaken when You directed y' last to Wimering, I had written to You once or twice since my return to Titchfield about ten days ago. S' John Mitford has certainly at this time no power over our Binfield Estate nor did I ever hear that he pretended to any : therefore I see no reason to take any step to get it out of his hands, when it is not nor ever has been in them. \_From Anna Taylor, her sister, to Elizabeth.^ M" E. Taylor N"- 61 Stanhope Street Clare Market London Titchfield Feb' i" 1794 Dear Betsy You ask me my dear Betsy why I gave my consent to our affairs being placed in Chancery — for this plain reason that near four years had elapsed since the death of M'* Fox in which Our Affairs were neither settled nor likely to be so by the Executors; consequently it was become absolutely necessary some step should be taken to bring them to a conclusion, & nothing in such a state could be so proper as to take them out of the hands of the Executors & place them in Chancery; this was accordingly done with the consent S: entire approbation of every person concern'd. why Affairs were not settled, or who was to blame is not the question, the fact being such as I have stated required our taking the only method in our power to get justice done us; & by this means I hope we shall at last be put in possession of our own tho' we have long waited for it I believe I did object to Cap' B. rent being paid into your hands, & thought it better to be in those of some third person, because you seem'd so very confused in regard to all Money transactions that I appre- hended it would be liable to continual mistakes — spent one Night here last week when he brought his girls to Portsmouth. & I thought seemed in better health than I had long seen him Your sincerely Affect' Sister & Friend A. Tayloe. \No address ;— from Elizabeth to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor^ D" Harry, I do beg you will write your Letters directly to me, & not in such a circumroundabout way. I have this Day rec'd Two Hundred & Twenty Five Pounds, for which I acknowledge myself obliged to you. tho' at the same time I cannot understand the ^115.— In future I had rather transact business with you, by you yourself, or f Attorney, it interrupts Will"' & we do not always hit the matter off between us to my satisfaction. Adieu Y" Affect' Mar: 6'" 1794 / E- Taylor. Elizabeth, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspondence. 469 1741-1S01. \Fr07n the Rev. Henry Taylor, her brother, to Eliza6eth.~] — M" Elizabeth Taylor N°' 61 Stanhope Street Clare Market ^ Winter Frid : ij* May 04 Dear Betsy, ' ^ I am sorry you will persist in writing such silly Letters, whilst you do so, you cannot reasonably expect any body will give themselves y' trouble to answer or pay any regard to them. We have found it expedient to engage in a Chancery Suit on purpose to take things out of your hands, and that has gone on for some years ; & now you weakly imagine y' merely a letter from you to y= other executor will put every thing into your hands again can any fancy be more childish— Besides I have long since told from good Authority y* y= Suit must now go on — I am dear Betsy y' affec' Brother H, Taylor.- {^From the Rev. Henry Taylor, her brother, to Elizabeth^ M" Taylor N°- 61 Stanhope Street Clare Market Winter xo Dec' 1704 Dear Betsy '^^ I have asked M' Burdon y" price of the Statutes at large. But as I foresaw to no purpose, as you have given no data to answer it from. You have neither s'' what Edition, nor what size, whether Folio or otherwise neither whether bound or unbound : all wch are requisite before your question can be answered. And when all this is done to what purpose. Whatever be the price. If you have disposed of what is rot your own you must make it good to those who have a right to it. You shd have fully informd yourself to whom they belonged, before you took upon you to give them away ; But this is not ye only thing you have disposed of without right so to do. The Law dictionary, wch Anna wd have been glad to have you took upon you to give away without her consent. That line of Conduct is very unbecoming, to say no worse of it & leaves you little room to arrainge the Conduct of Lawyers or any one else. Had you minded your own conduct more, & that of others less, it would have been far better. As to what you write of Lawyers making Oath as they like, & of defeating them. It is all too silly for me to ask anything about. The -words of the Oath when I administered to ye wills of my father & of Peter I do not remember ; but ye purport was faithfully to execute ye trust & office of an Executor & to give a just acct : whenever legally called on so to do I am y' Sincere friend & Brother H. T. S^From Mr H addon to Elizabeth.'] M" E. Taylor Stanhope Street D" Madam, From the great regard you once had for me I hope you will not be offended at my addressing you I take the liberty of troubling to answer me the following Question I cannot take my leave of you Madam without acknowleging the many Obligations .1 was under to you & to assure you Notwithstanding my Misfortunes & what you may have been told, that the same have arisen to me from a goodness of Heart which has been imposed on — I will take the liberty of sending for an Answer to this on Friday Morning as it is oblige one of the M" Elliotts family that I ask the Question. 470 Elizabeth, DaugJitcr of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 1741-1801. I hope you are in Good health &: assure you I shall be happy to be of any service in my power. I have the Honor to be D' Madam y' obliged hble ser' B. M. Haddon 4"' March 1795. \_No address ;— from Elizabeth to Iter brotlicr tlie Rev. Henry Taylor?^ D" Harry Yours I rec'd some days since, but having written to Nancy waited for her ans' which as I have not had, I write to you to say, that I think the 83— 6— 8 due to me as part of Dan" ;^5oo. should go to the assignee for the purpose of discharging other debts of Dan" as Far as it can. As Nancy has not ans'' my Letter I cannot teil whether her intentions in respect to this are the same with mine, but think that very probably they are so. I never read my Fathers Will but once in my life, & know not whether he has by that, or in any other manner cancell'd this Obligation on this 500;^, tho' I think it very likely he has done so. William having rec'd the Monies on the Bankruptcy, & not given me any regular account S: I not having kept one in the supposition that no Assignee will pay any one more than they ought to have, I really do not know what has been paid, which I should have done ; had I been paid by M' Thwaites himself. & between ourselves I do not recollect, that I ever authoriz'd Williams receiving this money for me. It seems to me a very dirty trick his doing this, without my Authority, & let it be advis'd by whom it would, a Compliment paid him with a very ill design, being just like Flattering him with his being so much better a Man than his Brother, while it was at the same time meant as an abuse of his linderstanding if he did not to see this. In short it was a Compliment to his Vanity, at the expence of his Feelings, do not you think so? And what do you Call that but Chicane? Papal Chicane. I wish you would enquire of Nancy what her inten- tions are in respect to this ^500. Adieu. But if you continue to write me such Cross Letters, depend upon it, I shall not Correspond with you. however I am y" Affec" E. Taylor. July 25'" 1795 Kingston [From Mr Jno. Slieplierd to Elizabetlii\ M" Taylor M' Levers Camden Town Madam, I have received your last Note in which You say You must insist on seeing me at Camden To™ — Civilly requested I would certainly have done myself the pleasure of waiting upon You — any After- noon between five and six You should think proper to appoint, but I must observe to insist upon my doing a thing is Language I am not used to, even from a Lady — I am Madam Your most humble Servant Jno. Shephard. Doctors Commons 26 Aug' 1797. \From Mr Jno. Slicplierd to Elizabetlii\ M" Taylor at M' Levers Camden Town Madam, Whatever advice or assistance I can give You in the Line of my Profession I shall always do with pleasure, but I cannot consent to degrade it by becoming a mere Messenger to D' Battine, and I Elizabeth, Daughter of Rev. Hciny Taylor.—Correspondcnce. 471 rather wonder You should again wish to put me upon such a Business— when I declined that Office to Master Spranger. You say You have written to D' Battine— it is for him then to consider the propriety of answering your Letter, and for me to urge him to it would be little short of insulting him. From me He is entitled to every regard and respect I can shew him. and that Consideration alone would prevent me from intruding in a Matter lahich concerns him ow/j-— were I not restrained from the Motive I first mentioned, that of degrading the Proctor to a Porter or a penny Postman. I am respectfully Madam Your obedient Servant Jno. Shephard. Doctors Commons June 5 179S YF7-om Elizabeth to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.'] Rev" H. Taylor M" Leventhorpes Square Winchester Hants D" Harry y°" tiike no notice of the Times mention'd in Dan' 8: v: 14 nor of the Leprosy in a house ; which I presume you would have done, had you not thought me right. When the Bible was Translated by a Papist, I conceive the Translating it took rise from a concurrence of events that almost compel'd its Translation [seal] it was falsified in these instances to keep [seal] of slavery about the necks of the People, should they be so impertinent, as to inquire into their duty, from a source superior to the knowledge of their Priests. And a Cardinal (Ximenes) was therefore but a bad one to Trust ; for a Cardinal might come to be a Pope, & it was not wise (worldly) to abridge his own power. He reasond as our Masters in Chancery do; & prefer'd his own Int', & the Int" of the Church to Truth, as they do the Int' of the Lawyers, w'' is never more effectually serv'd, than by keeping power out of the hand that has a right to it. Nor more effectually secur'd, than by Criminal silence, & Chicane not easily penetrated. But enough of them. They are to ans' for this at a Tribunal which I believe few of them think of, or believe, I judge so by their actions I shall add much of yours, as the Learned seem to have consider'd the question, I do not see that It is Popery to give credit to their assertions, If they can give proof of their Truth, which I presume can be done, & which I hop'd you would have done. For as you are a Protestant you must necessarily love to prove your points True as well as clear. By natural series of events I mean rising out of each other, arts [?] discover'd unsoug/it for is what I mean, as accidental. What is not so but arises from experiments, to ascertain what may be the probable efl'ect arising from such & such causes combin'd, but uncertain till those experiments have prov'd is Science is it not? adieu I tliank you for y' Criticisms & am V' aflect : Sis' E. Taylor. 2'' Oct' 1799 Camden Town 472 Elizabeth, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 1741-1S01. \_From the Rev. Henry Taylor, her brother, to Elizabeth^ M" Eliz. Taylor M' Levers Camden Town London Winchester a*" Dec' 1799 Dear Betsy, I must now enter on a less pleasing topic & assure you I am not able to express the sincere concern I feel, to hear of the strange incoherent letters you write, utterly uninteligable to Thomas or to me. And that, you still persist in your abuse of those, to whom your family is greatly obliged; I mean master Spranger who has probably saved us some hundreds, beside a great deal of trouble and uneasiness, Why will you go on, so to do in despight of every thing can be sd to persuade you to y' contrary : That you are perfectly wrong & unjust in so doing every body but yourself sees clearly. It is much to be wished y' you would moderate & subdue your passions ag' those who have done you no wrong We have now done with Law & Lawsuits & M" Fox's affairs are long settled; & it wd be greatly for the benefit of your mind, as well as body, if you wd not plague yourself more about Law which neither you nor I understand, farther than just enough to puzzle & perplex ourselves, & to distract our minds. This, indeed seems to be very much ye case with you, so that, you have brought yourself to that pass, by worrying and confusing yourself; that now you often seem incapable of comprehending the easiest things. I y'fore most sincerely wish you wd give your mind rest, & quiet from these subjects of Law, wch so continually agitate your passions ; I fear what will be ye consequence. You will really disorder your head, & be considered as a disordered person. Surely it were far better, for your own peace & happiness, to endeavour to entertain more favourable thoughts of others, than to be always encouraging yourself in jealousy & illwill. Do let me prevail with you, to forbear abusing men without reason & harrassing your own mind. What cd you possibly mean by writing to M. T.* " Do not oblige me to seek for that Relief at ye hands of recent French families which I ought to find at ye hands of English men." A strange unintelligable sentence as cd be pend. It seems utterly impossible to conjecture what you mean, what you allude to; or aim at Your sincere friend & affect ; Brother H. Taylor. \No address; — from Elizabeth to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.'] D" Harry, As there are many subjects on which I cou'd wish to talk to you ; & as it is desireable we shou'd be somewhere together, where we can have a free Conversation, which can neither be here, from the want of conveniencies, nor at Will"" nor M" Petits, from the overbearing temper of the Ladies of both houses ; I have been thinking, that if we could meet at Sutton Lodge for a few days, it would be a desireable thing, and having now got a decent Gown, I will with M' Thomas's leave, join you. If it is agreeable to him & you or He will send me the direction how I am to come down to you, I will be of your houshold immediately, adieu y'' AfiecP & Sincerely Eliz* Taylor. 27"" Jan 1800 Bishopsgate Street * Rev Matthew Thomas. Elisabeth, Daiigliter of Rev. Henry Taylor.— Correspo7idence. 473 1741-1S01. \_From Elizabeth to the Rev. Mr Thomas.^ Rev-^ M' Taylor Wintin Hants \TJm letter was written to Mr M. Thomas, and sent hy liim to Henry.} D" Sir This IS the last time I shall write to you on this subject : But for Friendship's sake, give me leave to ask you. Whether you do not think, more than one Person as Executor to a Will ; (no matter of which sex) is Feudal Law ? Or whether there can be any kind of Justice, in one being oblig'd to sign Deeds (because the other has done so) without any proof, or Conviction of their Propriety; but merely because an attorney tells you that so it must be? Is our understanding given us for no more satisfactory purpose to ourselves, than to obey an Attorney, or even a Master, blindfold? Is this Protestant? Is it the True Principle of Christianity? Is it the Principles of the Constitution ? Your Friend E. Taylor. Aug" 28"' rSoo Howard Street \_From the Rev. Hetiry Taylor, her brother, to Elizabeth.'] M" Eliz. Taylor Howard Street Norfolk Street London Winchester Wed: 24"" Sep' 1800 Pear Betsy I am very sorry to find, by a Letter reed this Morning, y' you "still refuse to execute the Deed of Conveyance to M' Larkin (whose Money is lying dead in his Attorneys hands) & say your doubts are not yet removed." I understood, from my Brother W" y' you w'' execute, if I wrote to approve & desired you so to do which I have already done. What doubts you want to be removed I know not. All that you talk about fewdal Law appears to me, and to every one esle whom I hear of your have"! spoken to about it, quite bewilderd & unintilligible. And your Notion of no more y" one Executor being Legal is quite erroneous, & universally contradicted, by every days experience y' more Executors are continually appointed, what you were told at D' Commons was that, only One Probate was rti|uisite & could be granted. But, this does not imply but one Executor; for many Executors may act under y' authority of one & y' same Probate. The granting One probate depends on y' Rules pre- scribed for y' Office to go by ; but y Number of Executors depends solely on y' pleasure of y' Testator to appoint, & where more than one Executor is so appointed more than one may act Now y' Fact IS that both in our Fathers & in our Aunts will, more than One Executor are actually appointed by each of them & y'fore what is to be done ? Can we recall y' dead from their Graves, to say w"* out of y' Number they have made, shall act as Executor. If not for us to say, & appoint w'' only out of the Number shall act wd be, to take upon us arbitrarily to fix an Executor by our own Will, instead of complying with y' Will & pleasure of y' Testator who has thought proper to name more than one. 3 o 474 ElizabdJi, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 17 41-18 01. Oxicz more, as to whatever y' Feudal Law may be, we must act upon the Common Law of the Country, & its Customs with y= practise of y* Courts. I mean not on any mere Theory of Law, whether erroneous or Just; but on y" Common practise of y° Land we live in, or we cannot act at all; but all our buisiness must stand still for ever For Instance. If y' Parties will not sign y' Sale of y' house cannot be made good, the purchase Money cannot be reed & divided among y= pro prietors, w'' to some will be an inconvenience, to all attended with hazzard. For suppose a fire was to happen, either by accident or design, or fury of y= mob, how w'' you excuse yourself for y= injury you bring upon y' Family by so unnecessary a refusal to ratify y" sale & in that their security, now all y= business of y« sale is agreed upon & settled Of W' refusal then you will repent & be sorry for. I wish you w'' consider of all this & apply to M' Baxter to send you y= deed to execute, & that without delay; for it is really an injustice done to y' purchaser to delay needlessly y' execution & keep his money in unprofitable expectation, y' he cannot use it. I am Dear Betsy, your sincere friend & Affect Brother H. T. I shall y'fore hope to hear from you in a post or two y' you have executed. As I know neither f Name of y" person where you lodge nor y= Number I must send this circuitously \Froni Elizabeth io her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.'] Rev"" M' Taylor M" Leventhorpes Square Winchester Hants Dear Harry, I rec'd yours last night, but shall not enter into any further argument on the matter, than just to ask whether it can possible be the Law of this Country to make Two People Executors in the same Will whereby one of them must be liable to the Arbitrary Controul, or being overrul'd of the other? And whether the 2i« Chap; of Deut: from the 15'" to the iS* Verse does not set the matter of your • having the right, in a clear light? by its being evidently intended to exclude all Injustice, or unnecessary expences, that may arise from the too Estates being placd in the hands of Lawyers? by placing it in the hands of that son, who is grown up to years of Understanding. I abide however by what are the Laws of this Country, not by what are the Laws of any County, or part of a County, as Cradle holding. ' Y" Affect' E. Taylor. Sep' 26"- 1800 How'ard Street, \_From the Rev. Henry Taylor, her brother, to Elisabeth.l M" Eliz : Taylor Howard Street Norfolk Street Strand London Winchester Sund. aS* Sep' 1800. Dear Betsy M' Baxter had informed me before I reed your Letter this Morning, that You still refused to execute the Deed of Conveyance, as not being yet satisfied. I do not see what you can want to be Elizabeth, Dangliter of Rev. Henry Tayloy.--Corycspo)idcnce. 475 satisfied about, as neither Feudal Law, Executors to Wills, nor y' 21" Ch— of Deuteronomy, have anything to do with the Question of Executing y= deed, nor bear any the most distant relation or respect to it. Both my Father and my Aunt have now been dead for some Years, and ever since they have so, we (my fathers Children) have been m actual possession of their Estates & have reed y' Rents of them ever since, in virtue of their leaving them among us. The present Question y'fore does [not] relate to our inheriting, for that we have done for some few years, & have reed y' Rents accordingly. And now have the House at Fleet Street now already in our possession, and are in full receits of y' Rents from year to year. The only Question y'fore respecting this house we already being in possession of it, as we are, is solely & simply this, whether we shall, or shall not sell y= house ? We wish to sell it. But we cannot unless we all join in y' Sale; and the only way we can join in it IS by all executing the deed of Conveyance, because Anna cannot sell your Share and Right in it, any more than you can sell mine. Anna has executed to sell her own Share, I have executed to sell my own share {,wi because I am Executor) and William has executed [not because he is an Executor, but) to sell his own Share in y" house. But, who will buy our Shares, if you will not execute to sell your Share? No body will buy part of a house, who wants to have a whole one. Nor can any of us execute to sell your Share. Why then will you prevent us from selling our respective Shares, now we have agreed with a purchaser, by refusing to sell your Share, or refusing to execute y' deed of Con- veyance, for y' sale of your own Share, as we have done, in order each of us, to sell his, or her own particular Share. For no bodies Executing will sell any more than such persons own Share. Executor- ship has nothing to do with y" matter, the House is not sold by y= Executor nor does any one e.xecute, as being an Executor, but it is sold by y' Parties themselves; and, by their executing, each one in his or her own right & for him or her self. I hope this will convince you f Will"» executing to sell /«> own share was nothing improper, & y' it will prevele with you to execute, for y' Sale of your own Share. For it really is very hard y' W"' sh" be deprived of y' Money, he wants to put into Trade, merely because you do not under- stand & misconceive these matters, & will not listen to those, who do, Nor is there any reason, why you sh-" put me to y" trouble & expence of a journey up to Town, to persuade you to do what is so manifestly right and ought to be done. Innocent mistakes & misunderstandings are excusable. But, misunderstandings & mistakes persisted in & in matters, w'" we must know we do not understand, &' listening to no body, whilst we are thereby injuring every body concernd, & where interests are afTected, by such Conduct, You sh" consider I say, y' such mistakes are not innocent. Do y'fore be prevaled w'" to execute y' every one may have his own Share, to apply as he thinks best. I am Dear Betsy y' afl'' Brother H. Taylor. You have given me no direction how to direct to you. I must beg you will favour me with an Answer to this Letter; and soon as you conveniently can. And as I have stated the matter in its true simple form, I hope it will meet your approbation, & prevale with you to execute [No address /row Elizabeth io her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.'] D" Harry I shall just write this Letter to say That I neither shall nor will, sign the deed of Conveyance for my unt Taylors Estate. I am now at M' Stones, on a short visit, surrounded with a set of Fine t hildren. Adieu Y" Affect'' E. Taylor. 6" Oct' 1800 M' Stone desires to be kindly rememberd to you. 476 ElizabetJi, Daughter of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 1741-1801. \^From the Rev. Henry Taylor, her brother, to Elizabethl\ M" Eliz: Taylor M' Jones N° 10 Howard Street Norfolk Street Strand London Novr 1800 Dear Betsy, I have rec'' your two extraordinary Letters, for very extraordinary I cannot but think them both. I now sit down to notice them. You look in Chambers and there see what was the Law respecting Trusteeships among the Romans in some cases, and then without knowing any thing of the matter of fact, whether it be so applicable or not, you apply what you have read of Roman Law, to y' Law of this Country, to which in truth & reality it is widely inapplicable. Also what has, all you have written about French Law to do with any thing we are concerned in. It has not y= least relation or similitude You look into books & read Scraps, without in the least understanding what you read or how to apply them, & so puzzle & perplex your brains As little can I comprehend what you mean by saying " It is high time to get y' power into your own hands, before y' Estate is quite frittered away." What power is it you are talking about ; and what Estate ; or What Will is it you mean. Your power under M" Fox's Will you will not e.Kercise, to do y= common & necessary matters, so much as to sign a Letter of Attorney ; & y'fore y' Residuary Body is obliged to pursue some other mode without you, to come at their Property. All the Estates under her Will have been sold, and the Purchase Money divided long ago. As for Protestants being Subject to Heathen Clau.ses. It is only you that have recourse to Heathen Roman Law ; & so puzzle your head, Every one else concerned is content to go by y' Law of England. As to dispossessing me without a Suit. I do not in -f least know what it is, you want to dispossess me of. .... I like not such supreme delicacy, such visionary & fantastique honesty as you affect. As It almost always turns out in y' End. y' forming imaginary duties and superlative fanciful! honesty, Ends but in y= neglect or breach of real & plane obligations of moral honesty. Thus while you affect Scruples of receiving what is justly due to you such as have no foundation whatever in truth & reality, & w''' no mortal can understand or make any thing off; you make no scruple to defraud those to whom you owe, by not paying your debts in a reasonable time. It is your duty to receive y' you may be able to pay. & if you will not. It is not all this scrupu- losity ag' receiving that can make such conduct right & honest, but y= Creditors have just reason to complain y' they are not paid. They want their debts to be paid y' they may carry on their business to support their families, and it is an act of cruelty, to distress them for y° sake of indulging any idle and fanciful objections. You know not what distress & misery you drive them to by such preceding, w'^ though Sport to you may be nearly death to them. I much wish I awaken your feelings, make you see y" injustice & hardship of your conduct, & shame you out of this speculative refinement, of honesty, to practise what is truly honest, & what y'' duties of common life require. I am your affec° Brother H. T. \^Trom the Rev. Henry Taylor, her brother, to Elisabeth^ | Winchester Wed : 24 Dec' 1800 Dear Betsy, You write y' you have made your Will & made but one Executor, Have you spoken to, & engaged that One to take y= Trust upon him. If not, your but One may prove in y= Event to be none at all. sh"" y= person named refuse y' Office. If such person be willing to accept Y Office; yet is it very possible such may not out live you, but may die a short time before you & you not hear of it, & m that Case again your but One will prove to be no executor. Or sh<' such but One Executor out hve Elizabeth, Daiiglitey of Rev. Henry Taylor. — Correspondence. 477 you & die soon after or any time before your concerns are settled; In that case y' Executors to sucli 1741-1S01. person will take his place as your Executor & these maybe, you knew not whom. These I state as some of the Consequences w'"" may take place by having only one Executor, As you are so great an Enemy to more than One Executor, & fancy it so very wrong and illegal. Why do you not set that matter to rights. Did it never occur, to you that, it is quite in your own power to set it to rights, w" respect to M" Fox's Will ? You have nothing more to do than to give up the Trust of Executrix and then there wiU be only One Executor, agreeably to your own hearts wish & to your own Notions of Propriety. And all the Residuary Body will be well pleased. For as you now hold y' Office making a second Executor (contrary to your own Opin : of Legality) & will not act, You only embarass matters & create a great deal of quite unnecessary trouble and perfectly useless. With your peculiar Notions This seems to be y" Line you ought to take, & not to stand in y= way an impediment to every step of buisiness. It is probable many of y' Texts are Corrected in y° oct. Edit, of B B Mord. But you have that Edit. I am pretty sure I sent it to you when at Camden Town. I am in haste & must conclude Dear Betsy y' affc Brother H. Taylor. You have written something on your Letter of 20. about sending Some Scrip : & about a drafft which cannot read Anna, as you desired her, has shewn me your two Letters respecting an Instrument to empower me to settle 2o£ a Year out of my Fathers Estates on Dan'. — The first & insuperable Objection to this is y' there are no longer any such Estates in our family, as they were all sold & the money arising therefrom divided before you wrote about it. — The second Objection is y' He really does not want it. His income is already larger than your own. He told mc himself his Employers allowd him £,\'^a a Year. To encrease it, might make him less attentive to his buisiness, and be the occasion of his loosing a good situation \^No address: — -from Elizabeth tv her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.l D" Harry as to noticing your Letters, you must excuse one ; their absurd & false arguments you cannot expect me to ans' it would be mere loss of Time, as to what you say of Dan' & Tom Drane, I apprehend it is an invention of your own, or fabricated by some busy body who knew not how to employ their time to any better purpose, ls: I give it credit accordingly. Y" Affect' 1 2'" Jan i8or E. Taylor. Howard Street {From the Rev. Henry Taylor, her brother, to Elizabeth.'] Eliz Taylor N. 10. Howard Street, Norfolk Street Strand London Winchester Thur* 5"' Feb. 1801. Dear Betsy I have duly rec'' Yours inclosing Receit for y' Drafft, safe. " I hope you will soon releive me from rench Shackles or, I believe, they will do away all y' Good Laws of England " So you write. But understand not wliat Shackles, or what I.aws, or what Relief is intended. 1 y'fore have nothing to answer Your Letter to y' [Peachsl] is equally bewildered. "A Probate" you have had years ago. .\nd as to your demanding "a Satisfacior)- & final Settlement of affairs." Those have been settled some Years, 6nally; & been passd through y' Court of Chancery and in a mode fully satisfactory & convincing, 478 The Rev. Henry Taylor, LL.B. {of Ban stead). i74t-i8oi. every one concerml, except to Yourself, who therein appeard to be y" only defaulter. — The Estates are all Sold & y' Property distributed accord^ to y' will So y' contending farther about it, is only fighting y= Air : — Such Contention can only serve to worry & perplex yourself. For as nothing more remains for division (except certain annuties falling in from time to time) not any thing farther can possibly be divided. Therefore, if your Finances & Income do not meet your Expenses. The only step can be taken, by you, is, to make y' Expenses conform to your Finances. This will be y'^ greatest quiet & peace to your mind. Sincerely wishing you so to do, I remain dear Betsy Y' Afte' Brother H. T. \Fro7n Elizabeth to the Rev. Mr Thomasl] To Rev" M' M. Thomas Sutton Lodge Croydon Surrey I was much surpriz'd the other day, that you did not do me the favor of Calling on me, after so strange a return of my Letter to M' P. which wanted some sort of Explanation. After reflecting on what appears to me to be the only manner I can act in viz' applying to a • Councel, I can only come to this Conclusion ; That such an application is Legal & Constitutional. And, that the being accompanied in my first Visit by some Gentleman not of the Law, nor entided to any part of the Property, is one of the Great Barriers of our Liberties : Is a favor One Fellow Creature is conscientiously oblig'd to do another. And that it is left perfectly Optional to the Person who wants that assistance to request this favor of whoever they will. I request it of you or M' Peach, nor care which it is. In the situation I am in, any One possessing Power but myself is, as I apprehend Popery. At least if Protestantism includes the Idea, not only of Freedom of Action, but also Freedom from any Fear of Unjust Controul & Unjust Expense, it certainly is so. I am now about leaving my Lodgmgs and have not in my Pocket more than one Farthing to discharge them. Nor do I for many reasons chuse to get supplied but by borrowing : which it seems to be tlie design of the Lawyers to force me on ; that they may have wherewith to asperse my Character. Will you lend me six Guineas ? If you will, I wish you would let me have them by next W'edn : noon. My weekly board being compleated that day, & I intending to decamp that Evening. Farewell Feb. 9"" 1 80 1. Howard Street Eliz» Taylor.* We now come to Henry, the second child and eldest son, who was bom (no doubt at Wheatfield) i6th June 1742, and of course went with his father to Ports- mouth in 1746. To what extent his father's teaching may at this time have been supplemented by outside schooling, we do not know; the only light we have on the matter is a bill dated 1751 (when Henry was nine years old), of twelve shillings for a half-year's tuition, probably in writing ; but it seems probable that in all essentials the boys were taught at home. When the family went to Crawley, in 1755, as Ben Mordecai tells Mrs Herrick (p. 253), Mr Delme pressed him to undertake the education of his sons, leading to a resolution on the part of Ben Mordecai to take some half-dozen lads to educate with his own sons. Henry subsequently went * See p. 437 for M. T.'s rejoinder. The Rev. Henry Taylor, LL.B. [of Banstcad). 479 to Queen's College, Cambridge (in i 760) ; some of his letters are written from there 1762-66, at which latter date we find him hesitating (see p. 491) as to the subscrip- Doubt, as 10 tion necessary before taking his degree. His scruples were overcome* or passed by (we have unfortunately no correspondence between him and his father upon the subject), as we find that, on taking holy orders, he was presented to the Rectory of Sprid- Livi„!;ofSp lington, Lincolnshire, by Mrs Mead (it was in the gift of the Sherbrookes). This living he held to the end of his life, i.e., for about fifty-five years, but he never resided there, or regularly officiated (the duty having been performed by a curate), only going there for a short time every year, and staying with his tenant, Mrs Mackender. He is mentioned in the "Black Book," pubhshed in 1820, as aThe-Bbck pluralist; this was, however, a mistake, for the other livings there described as being held by him he certainly did not hold— the error probably originating in the identity of name with some other incumbent. Still he was of course liable to the accusation which is the gravamen of the charge, viz., that he received money for personal services which he only discharged by proxy. The following curious certi- ficate shows him to have been, in 1776, officiating as curate of Ashley, a village in the neighbourhood of Crawley. What was the meaning of this regulation ? Could it be to protect our woollen manufactures 1 Mary Shepherd of the Parish of Crawley maketh oath y' y= Body of John Pinton was not wrappd Cmiuuscevtif. up when buried in any thnig but what was made of Sheep Wooll onlyt Sworn before me this 22 day of Feb : 1776 Henry Taylor Curate of Ashley It is said that in the latter part of his life, when clerical absenteeism was attracting attention and e.xciting much hostile criticism, the Bishop of the diocese more than once intimated disapproval of his non-residence. By that time, however, Henry had become both deaf and infirm, and on his declaration that he would rather surrender the living than go to live there, no further notice was taken of the affair. He is said always to have appointed curates of his own liberal views, and to have been on all occasions ready to help both the schools and the poor. He possessed a small property at Rowston, in the same county, left him in 1802 Property n by Miss Wilkes. We have many letters and accounts from his friend and business factotum, the Rev. Tillotson Laycock, a clergyman of a neighbouring parish (ap- Kev. Tiiiotson parently Hackthorne). In one of them, dated March 29, 1802, he writes :— " I have given several smock frocks, stockings & flannel, tea & meat where I judged • He took his degree of LL.B. in the year 1767, and it was, 1 believe, in the s.ime year that he was jsented to the living of Spridlington. t On inquiry, I lind thM the Act 30 Chark-s II., ch.ip. 3, which ordered th.it ail the de.id should be ludcd in woollen stulTs. was passed for the encouragement of the woollen trade : it was repealed in 1814. pe refers to this Act in his will-known lines :- ** * Odiuus I in woollen ; 'twould a s.iiiu provoke !' Were the last words that poor Narcissa spoke." 480 77^1? Rev. Henry Taylor, LL B. {of Banstead). 1742-1S22. jj^g mo'il necessary, to some I have privately given money .... The poor thank you kindly for your bounty." Apparently Mr Laycock acted as curate at Sprid- lington, " half-a-year's salary for curacy " being a constant item in the accounts. When he became old, he went to reside with his son and daughter-in-law in London, where he died somewhere about 1812. In 1808, Mr Needham, the curate who succeeded Mr Laycock, writes the following, which is perhaps worth recording in these days, when the enlargement of women's sphere of action is so much canvassed : — A female parish Y' poor old clerk is declining very fast ; he attends his duty at church, rings the bell, but is unable to make Responses— it is a natural Decay He is so weak as to be obliged to use crutches. His Daughter officiates for him, she has an excellent voice, & reads very well indeed, & is much approved of. When old George is called hence, I wish to recommend her as his successor. She can easily procure assistance for the Graves ; every other office she can do very well ; the Parish approve of her. It appears from the Lincoln paper that the old man died about a year after this, aged ninety-five, having been clerk and sexton of Spridlington si.xty-two years. Eythom Court. Henry also inherited from Miss Wilkes the small estate of Eythorn Court in Kent. This he sold, as is believed, on account of a verbal imperfection in her Will, the words "to his heirs" not having been repeated where they ought to have been, on which omission some question might have arisen after his death in regard to the succession. From Cambridge he returned to Crawley, where he resided up to the death of his father, for whom he was some time curate. He probably officiated there from the time when his father removed to Titchfield. The exact date of this removal does not seem recorded, but from a letter of Peter's dated September 1782 (p. 522), it was no doubt in that year. After his father's death, we must suppose that he lived with his brothers and sisters at Hollam ; such at least was their determination, as described in Elizabeth's letter, referred to on p. 430 ; but how long that plan of life continued we are left to conjecture. It was a plan which, however natural to adopt in the first days after their father's death, was probably not likely, considering the marked peculiarities of some at least of the family, to continue very long. In the case of Elizabeth it certainly did not, and I am inclined to infer the same in regard to Henry. We know that Elizabeth did not remain long, from a letter addressed by her in 1787 from London to Peter. This was in the early days of her executorship, and before she was immersed in the difficulties already described. In that letter she evidently held the intention of returning to Titchfield, but clearly not to Hollam ; because she discussed the relative advantages of a house which her brother had mentioned to her—" Monday's"— and the "Vicarage. The Vicarage, it must be remem- The Rev. Henry Taylor, LL.B. {of Baiisfcad). 481 bered, was not Peter's residence. For what reason he resided at Hollam, instead of the Vicarage, does not appear ; but the latter, which of course went with the living, seems to have been furnished with the goods from Crawley specially left by Ben Mordecai to his daughters Elizabeth and Anna, apparently for the purpose of letting. We shall find presently, in our notice of Anna, that it was let to one Dr Adair, from which conjunction dire events ensued. But to return to Henry : there is, I believe, no doubt that for a long course of years he lived for the most part at Winchester. We find letters addressed to him elsewhere, sometimes to the house of his friend Rev. Matthew Thomas, at Sutton Lodge, near Banstead, sometimes he dates his letters from Titchfield ; but these may, of course, have been merely passing visits. By the following reference he seems to have lived for a time at Warlingham near Croydon. It probably was not for long, as I do not find any tradition extant upon the subject. In 1793 Anna writes to him at that place, expressing her surprise at his being so soon tired of the retirement of his situation, and asks how he could expect his neighbours to call before he was ready to receive them. For the last twenty years of his life he lived with his sister Anna (up to the time of her death in 1S17) and his sister-in-law Mrs Peter Taylor, at Banstead. He died February 27, 1822, and was buried there, having nearly completed his eightieth year. I apprehend he was what upon the whole may be considered rather a dis- appointed man. With considerable learning, with good natural powers, and with a long life of leisure, he did little or nothing, and has hardly left a record behind him. His profession may probably be largely responsible for this. We have seen that he had scruples both in regard to the Thirty-nine Articles and the Book of Common Prayer, and that these scruples were surmounted,^by what process of reasoning, or how far satisfactorily to his own mind, we cannot tell. It is believed, and is probable, that he might have had further preferment in the Church, but that he could not persuade himself to sign the Articles a second time. In 17-S we find Daniel Fox, who, it will be remembered, was of the six Clerks Office in Chancery (Mrs Fox also seems to have had personal in- fluence with the Chancellor), making application to Lord Chancellor Thurlow for preferment for his nepiiews. Apparently the application was favourably received, l.ut the following extract from a letter, written in the following year by Mrs Fox to Ben Mordecai, shows that Henry's honourable scruples again obstructed his path : — 1742-1822. The Vicarage .at Crawley. His deatli. We cannot but applaud M' Harry Taylor's resolution to give up any future views .... which are His objection ,<. inconsistent with the satisfaction of his own mind in matters of subscription. I have enquired & find "'""'P- that every sort of Church preferment (except a Bishopric) calls for renewed subscription. 3 P 482 The Rev. Henry Taylor, LL.B. {of Ban stead). 1742-1S22. Such a position must have been wellnigh intolerable, both to the conscientious man and to the man of the world. He probably felt that he was acting in a fashion hardly consistent with his loftiest sentiments, and that whatever sacrifice he was making was for such a poor reward as Spridlington. A man in such a position, without the nearest ties, without, therefore, any very special object in life, and with a strong will, to say nothing of the sarcastic element — both of which we may per- haps call natural to the family— was pretty sure to fall into a condition mildly desig- washeiniove? nated as "eccentric." Whether at any time he approached the probable confines of matrimony does not with any distinctness appear. The following letter can hardly be considered in a very serious light, as we never hear again of the fascinating Miss Attwood ; but it may be taken as a picture of how Henry Taylor, struck by the tender passion, would have in the opinion of a lively friend conducted himself ; — ^No address -—from Miss Eliza Rickvian to the Rev. Peter Taylor.'] "Hal in love." Oh! P. T. How I blush to send your Brother Hal, Home, so chang'd. He came from Crawley a Man, He returns to it an Owl, never sure was there so sudden a metamorphesis. Attend & you shall know the whole story. Thursday the sixth of August, He arose perfectly sound in Head & Heart, He & Nancy took a ride to Lymington, But when they came back, alas how alter'd, He sat down in a chair, & in a moment both Hands were clap'd into His pockets, & He staring cries bless Me where can it be, & His looks express'd great astonishment, when one of Us Harmless Maidens, ask'd what He had lost? Lost! why I have lost a Letter which I brought for Miss Atwood, O Here it tis, Poor I, out of great civility, ask'd if I should send the Maid with it, Hal reply'd, No, I shall carry it myself, Well to dinner we went. poor Hal spoke little eat less, but the very Instant, He returned thanks for Us, left us & retir'd to His chamber, where He remain'd two whole Hours, & then came down, with a Head as white as snow, but with such a visible tremor all over Him, that convinc'd us He would want a second powdering before He got to M» Goldwirers for His Locks shook most amassingly. But off He went, presently in came Our Maid, well Miss, I wish you could see M' Taylor, He is sittmg in M" Goldwirers Bower, with Mrs Goldwirer on one side & Miss Atwood on the other, & He do look so pleas'd I can't help laughing, then came Peter Jackson. There is M' Taylor as happy as a King, & as great as a King for I have been standing just by Him & He will not know Me, He looks six foot high ; at 7 o'clock, in comes Hal come get your Hats, Ladies, as fast as possible. Miss Atwood will walk with you, we three could not go. Nancy & Molly Brown ran up to get their Hats. but it requires a more able Pen than mine to describe His Fidgets while they were tying their Hats on. there was runing to the bottom of the stairs come Nancy how long you are, then runing up Stairs Miss Brown will you- never be ready, then down stairs to Me, to be sure Miss Rickman they will never be ready, how long women are puting on their Hats. His looks the whole time expressing the greatest uneasiness, for fear the insensible Molly Brown & Nancy Taylor would tire the patience of the Divine Attwood, at last away they went, & never returned till supper. All day a Friday He appear'd very dull, but Saturday brought to light such a scheme, as convinc'd Us he had been ploting the whole Day on Friday, He was the conipleat Beau by II 0 clock on satureday, & out He set, & went down the Green, & up the Green & down the green & up the green again, & then came to Me Miss Rickman dont you want bread? No reply'd I, Shall I fetch some biscuits? there is none to be had quoth I, Shall I buy you some Ginger- bread. I never eat any said, I; In comes Peter, up steps Hal. Peter I will be oblig'd I TIic Rev. Henry Taylor, LL.B. {of Baiistead). 483 to you if you will do an errand for Me at Lymington, if not I must go myself, Sir, I'll do anything for you with a great deal of pleasure reply'd Peter & at the same time gave Hal a Nod by way of a bow. well then says Hal Ask at the Post Office if there is any Letters for T/icm. And buy two King Crabs for Them. For T/icm who is T/iem I cried the impertinent I'eter, why M" Goldwirer & Miss Atwood., We all like rude bears burst out in a Laugh, which so confus'd poor Hal, that He undesignedly discover'd to us, that He had callM on Them & pretended He was going to Lymington, on purpose for an excuse, & they seeing His great attachment, confer'd on Him the Honour of buying Them a King Crab, But alas, poor Peter could get no Crab & my whole fear now is That Hal will fancy Hnnself a King Crab, & offer Himself to Them. He seems already to take hold of everything as if He had claws instead of Hands, on finding His disappointment about a King Crab & He would not be admited to suck the bones in company with His Dulcinea another thought occur'd He went & ask'd Her to ride with Him to Hordle Church, She comply'd, & they are just returned, & going together to drink Tea at Doctor Simpsons. Hals whole behaviour, convinces Me that although He never was in Love before, yet He have spent twenty years out of Thirty in scheming how he should behave if ever He was struck for I am sure His ])lan of proceedings must have taken up a length of time, before they could be brought to sucli maturity. And now my worthy agreeable Peter, allow Me to assure you that if ever you will favour us with your company I will keep a better look out, you shall never be made a Crab buyer to any Woman, neither should Hal had I had the least Idea of what He was at, I am afraid that if they should conjure up a King Crab before Hal goes He will be invited to crunch the bones for the Old Lady. but this I will prevent by setting His Teeth on Edge, with our Tamarines, Hal & His lady are just gone by. Her Arms are stretch'd down to their full length & pin'd (by the look of them) to Her side. Hal I see is in great agitation, & as He have not courage to say much He is making quick work with His Hands. His right Hand is luging at the collar of His shirt, I can hardly forbear calling out to him, I fear He'll tear the collar off & that will add to His confusion. the left Hand is smoothing the flap of His waistcot, I wish you cudd see how nimble both Hands are. His Eyes are expressive of Love, Humility, Hope, despair, & every other passion that a most ardent Lover feels. Molly Brown have this moment assur'd us P. Taylor would not leave any of Us for Miss Atwood, you must know she is a little nettld for Hal got the Horse She us'd to ride, for His Divinity. I make no doubt but I have tir'd you for I am sure I have tir'd myself, will only add that I • am most Sincerely P. T. Friend Eliza Rickman. Milford .\ug : 9* 1772. 1742-1S22. Mrs W. Taylor, in a letter to her husband dated June 6, 1797, says: "Harry Vapie rerereno came to Town (unmarried) yesterday, to attend the wio; club ; he goes on Friday '° "'"""S"' to Lincoln, & returns to London again on his way home in about a fortnight. He is quite deaf & I think looks old & less Handsome or likely to captivate the Ladies than usual." An act of the imagination would perhaps bring us to the conclusion that his marriage even then was not considered an absolute improbability. Again, as late as 1802, Anna, writing to congratulate him upon his accession of fortune, doubtless from Miss Wilkes' Will, in discussing its probable effect upon his happi- ness, uses the phrase : " Thus, should your increase of income induce you to take a wife," &c., &c. Now, the boldness of this hypothesis, addressed to an old bachelor of si.xty, would seem rather indubitably to infer that he had not always been looked upon as incorrigibly opposed to ■wedlock. However this may be, it 484 The Rev. Henry Taylor, LL.B. {of Banstead). 1742-1S22. Ilis objeclioiis to marria're. Eccentricity. Personal peculiarities. i.s certain that he was never married, nor, as it is reputed, was he willing to assist in marrying other people. The tradition is, that he could very rarely be prevailed upon to perform the marriage ceremony, even for members of his own family, usually excusing himself by the observation, that he would not be instrumental in making two fellow-creatures miserable for the rest of their lives ! There is no doubt that he was considered, as he advanced in life, not always a pleasant com- panion. I suppose he was apt to be what is familiarly called " grumpy " and antagonistic. As early as 17S4, I find his brother William, writing to his wife at Titchfield, and suggesting arrangements — she being unwell — for facilitating her journey home, taking a post-chaise part of the way, and so forth, adds — " But if Harry, which I think is very likely, should for any or no reason prevent that, then," &c., &c. In October 1795, William writes to his wife: "God bless you, tis my constant pleasure, & the balm of my Mind, to think on you, & I ever rejoice I have a wife & children to come home to, & am not an Old Bachelor like H. T. with his turn of mind & principles. Oh Dissipation, I am convinced thou art Joyless." Dissipation of mind I take to have been his meaning, and not in any degree the ordinary and coarser application of the word ; unless, indeed, the end of the sen- tence was an exclamation quite irrespective of H. T., and unconnected with the beginning. Again, about the same time, l\Irs William Taylor writes to her husband (then on a journey) : " Nancy & I are sadly afraid we are going to be worried with Harry's Company. I have not heard of him, but his trunk arrived yesterday, which looks frightfull." Her husband rejoins : " Tell Nancy she must make more stay in Town, since I have been absent so long, & she is the only friend & relation of my father's family left, in whom I can take any delight. H. may, nay certainly lias his ex- cellencies, but he is an uncomfortable Creature." * This reads sadly enough ; — Peter * On submitting this sketch to Mrs Warren, she is of opinion that I have shaded far too deeply what I have called "these little peculiarities." She takes exception to the phr.ise I have used, as to his being probably somewhat of "a disappointed man;" observing that he was of a remarkably cheerful and contented disposition, always self-contained, satisfied with his position, and finding ample employment and satisfaction in his literary pursuits. Mrs Warren was, when young, in the habit of visiting hiin at Banstead, and had therefore opportunities for forming her opinion. She describes him as universally respected and liked by all, rich and poor, with whom he ever came in contact, whether at Spridlington and Rowston, where he was known rather by his kind deeds than by his presence, as at Winchester and Banstead, where he resided. In a note, dated Ar.ril 1874, she writes I could multiply instances of his kindness to those who needed it, and mention the grateful, affectionate attachment to him the poor people at Banstead entertained. He was very approachable, never speakin;,' roughly to them, nor giving grudgingly. He was very self-sufficient, always able to employ himself to the last, without troubling anybody in consequence of his blindness or his deafness. I have watched him very often in his back-room— as it was always called— quietly laying down one book and taldng up another, when the print suited him better, never showing the slightest impatience, and preserving his cheerfulness unaltered." Mrs Warren is of opinion that the quotations 1 have given from my grandfather's letters do not convey a fair impression of his brother's (Henry's) character, and probably not one that, as a whole, my grandfather would have been willing to endorse as conveying his own matured opinion ; for she thinks he was very apt The Rev. Henry Taylor, LL.B. {of Ban stead). 485 dead; Daniel gone very wrong; Elizabeth in her tantrums; and Henry " uncomfor- 1742^18 table!" About the same time Mrs William Taylor asks her husband: "How did you spend your time with Henry, for he is a strange creature ? " This feeling of discomfort in his brother's company is continually reappearing in my grandfather's letters. Writing to his wife from Marlborough, in April iSoo, he says : " Harry some time ago staid three days with Mr & Mrs Barker,'"' & went to see Mr & Mrs The Barker James. Mrs Barker, had she known exactly when I came, would have invited H. to brood over small troubles, and to express himself at the moment in somewhat exaggerated terms. It is her impression, too, that he did not quite appreciate or understand the character of Henrv, who was, she believes, more tolerant in mind, more reticent in expression, and more likely to pass over and forget any temporary misunderstanding. She has kindly sent me the two following extracts from her own letters to her sister Mrs Courtauld, written shortly after her uncle's death, and they clearly show that the views she now holds are not newly formed : — November z'jth 1822. — So Lord Erskine is dead. Whenever anything of this kind happens in the political world, I think what uncle would say to it were he living, and fancy myself going to the back-room with the newsp.ipcr in my hand, and giving him a little push, as he would be sitting either with a book on the table and his head almost close down to it, or leaning backwards in his chair holding up his book ; and when I had told him my news, he would say, ' Aye ? dear, dear.' I often think of him, and remember how benevolent and generous and disinterested he was ; how much attached to us, and how deeply interested in our welfare ; but though 1 think of him with respect, I am not foolish enough to wish him back agam, for 1 am sure he is happier than 1 can, or he could once conceive." " May 2yd 1823.— Papa and William came home from Portsmouth on Wednesday evening, much pleased with their visit. They were everywhere received in the most friendly manner. Mr Carter, the member and Sir George Grey, Earl Grey's brother, went down from London to make a court of aldermen, but they could not get one, as somebody was suddenly taken ill, so papa w as obliged to swear at the town-clerk's house ! This will do quite as well. Mr Carter dined with them at Mr James's, and William was much pleased with him. They all spoke of dear uncle with very great pleasure, for he was a very great favourite there ; but he was a general favourite at Rowston and Spridlington. They think they cannot speak too highly of hini. Everybody remarked papa's great resemblance to him, and said William is just like Uncle Peter." * The Barkers here referred to demand a word of notice, as having been in relation with our family for several generations. We first meet with the name (Mrs Barker) in the letters of the old ladies at ^Vands^vorth, by whom she is spoken of in the highest terms for intelligence and character (p. 409). She was evidently connected by acquaintance and sympathy, if not by relationship, with Dr Price. We next meet with Mr and Mrs Barker at Newbury, in the letters of my grandfather, who seems always to have made a point of seeing them when he took that journey. I infer the connection between them and the first-named Mrs Barker, although I have no evidence for it. They kept a school, which subsequently failed. Perhaps the following, from a letter of William Taylor in 179S, may give a glimpse of the reason: — ".Mr B. goes on quite as bad as ever, & is sometimes obliged to get to bed twice a day : it is wonderful her health 1^ not mi re impaired." Collett Barker, their son, born 1784, was apprenticed to my grandf.ithcr at Tottenham i»urt Road. He paid his addresses to Louisa, which not being approved of by her parents, there was a great 'i.^turbance, and he afterwards went into the army. It was probably m reference to his suit to Louisa that my grandfather, in a letter referring to the pecuniary embarrassments of the family, expressed himself thus : " We h.ive been wonderful lucky in escaping that connexion." A daughter of these Barkers married a Mr Dobson, and their son, Collett Dobson, an attendant and singer at Mr Fox's Chapel, and subsequently taking an important part in the agitation against the taxes on knowledge, has for long years been known to my father and to myself r.s an amiable and excellent, if somewhat eccentric, man. lie has alwa;s been known i^s Dobson Collett, an inversion which he preferred, because, as I have heard, Dobson was an inharmonious cognomen in the e.irs of young ladies who desired to avail themselves of Mr Dobson's talents as a teacher of music. In this c ■nncction I would just mention the n.lmc of Mr Richeno, also of Newbury, and whose name is r.tinually found in my grandfather s letters whenever he was passing through that town. He also kept a ^ iiool, and preached at the Unitarian Chapel. His son was, I believe, a barrister in London, and was a Inend and correspondent of my father's. .Mrs Warren spc.iks of the intimacy of her father with the elder Xlr liicheno — and of the continuance of the iniimacy between the children on both sides. 1 have a bundle of letters written by the son to my father, and I just remember seeing him at my father's house when I was a child. 486 Tlic Rev. Henry Taylor, LL.B. [of Banstead). T : She asked me if I had informed him, I said I had not, & I could have said I did not long for any such meeting. I thought it quite as well as it was." Again, in 1802, he writes to his wife : " Harry I find is in town, but I have not seen him, nor do I care how little I see him, or indeed whether I behold his Miserly Phiz at all." In the same year, and still writing to his wife, William says : " I saw Harry to-day Who thank God leaves London to-morrow. He is looking out for a house in Surrey, whether he means to be connected with a curacy I know not — I care not. I only hope it will be a good way off I shall not however trouble him with my Company more than I can possibly help should he pitch upon the Borough High Street." It must be admitted that the following, from a letter addressed to his sister Anna in 1794, is, to say the least of it, not a graceful way of communi- cating a determination not flattering to the person addressed : " Mrs Taylor has communicated your letter respecting your living with me. I have only to say y' I desire you will not think of any such thing, as it certainly can never be." It did, however, come to pass, as we shall see, some eight or nine years later. Again, in a letter to his sister Elizabeth, dated 1795, I find the following, which has rather a harsh ring about it : — I am glad to find the Money you have had of Lady R. Conway, is only borrow'd, as it would have been shameful in the extreme with the Income You have had or indeed w'"" you still have to have made yourself a Pensioner upon her bounty, & must have disgraced your Character with all your friends & Acquaintance If you will not let me pay for y= Cabinet & Tray I wish to know where you w"" have them sent to, or what you w'' have done with them as I certainly cannot think of accepting of them otherwise. Notwithstanding, however, these litde peculiarities, I do not in the least doubt that he was, au fond, a just, honourable, and kindly-meaning man. As he advanced in years he became almost impenetrably deaf, and his eyesight likewise failed him in nearly as great a degree ; yet he was still fond of writing on his favourite subjects of theological inquiry and scriptural criticism ; but his handwriting, under these conditions, was frequendy not too easy to decipher, especially as he was always greatly given to abbreviations and interpolations. He occasionally corresponded with the late Rev. Russell Scott, Unitarian minister of Portsmouth, who, a few years before his death, received from him a paper of considerable length, which he found quite impossible to decipher. Mr Scott accordingly returned it, with a request that it might be made more intelligible ; but the writer himself was not much more successful, for he could only make out that it was an attempt to elucidate some of the obscurities in the Book of Job, a subject in which both parties took great interest. In his politics he was, as will be seen by the correspondence, a Liberal, like his father and brothers. His letter on Pitt's (supposed) intended Reform scheme The Rev. Henry Taylor, LL.B. {of Bans (cad). 487 (p. 502) is Radical in character, shrewd and caustic in expression, and is worth 1742-1822. comparing with Peter's (p. 524). PoiiiicZ^inions. I should have mentioned earlier that he was fond of riding, and that both he Fund of iiuniing. and his brother Peter kept hunters. In 1790 we find him ordering "two pairs of leather breeches, one black, the other white." Sporting parsons were in those days less obnoxious, perhaps, than they would be now. They appear to have been well horsed, too, as we find " Sultan " valued at a hundred guineas — a large sum in those days. I have referred to his eccentricity, which perhaps may be further illustrated iiis method of ...f... ri . t. ir TT doctoring himself. by his tasliion 01 doctoring himself. He was, I suppose, of the gouty habit, then so prevalent in the family; and his brother Peter remonstrates against his mode of treating himself, as may be seen in his letter of 24th June 1791 (p. 528). His friend Mr Thomas likewise thus rallies him : — I was very sorry tho not at all surprised to hear of y' late Illness. The very e-xtraordinary Care you take of y' Health will easily account for anything y' may happen to you : a Quart of Cider Vinegar taken when going to Bed must be a Sovereign Remedy for any Constitution, especially a Gouty One, or at least one y' may be supposed possessed of Gouty Particles. However, Go on & Prosper, i.e., Kill y'self. So much for y' Old Callicoe Carcase. Unwholesome medicine, one would have supposed ; still he lived to be eighty. Perhaps this treatment was only a temporary freak ; it is evident that Mrs William Taylor and Mr Thomas were both referring to the same occasion. He had collected a large library, chiefly relating to his favourite pursuits. His collection of Among its contents were found, at his decease, about three hundred copies of the Bible, in nearly as many various editions. He was not forgotten in Winchester as late as 1S41, as is recorded in a letter by m)' father to my grandfather :— P. A. T. was at Winchester Wednesday & Thursday giving lectures— with distinguished success- among his auditors was an old gentleman named Deverell with whom P. conversed, & who wi delighted to find he was of the Crawley family. It was Henry Taylor whom, I remember, the old gentleman recollected. I don't (/link, however, he heard my lectures (on the Corn Laws) ; I met him at the hotel, and my impression is, that he was somewhat taken aback by my " extreme " views ! His Will is dated October 7, 1817, and occupies 147 folios ; there are codicils, April His Wiu. 7, 1819, and August 24, 1820. His first-named executors arc Rev. George Ogle Basilden, Berks; Thomas Drane, the elder, of Church Row, Limehouse; and 488 TIic Rev. Hcni'y Taylor., LL.B. {of Banstcad). 1742-1822. Jeffrey Salter of Shenfield, Essex ; altered in last codicil, as regards the two last, to Daniel Lambert and William Bromley. He desires all lands, etc., to be sold ; trustees to invest ^400 for Betty Tay lor for her life, after to residue ; brother William to retain for life ^^1300 due on bond, after his death to residue; to Henry Thomas Taylor of Limehouse interest of ^2500 for life, with residue to his issue; .ifiooo to his nephew William Taylor, not to be paid to him till he is twenty-three, then to have the principal ; the interest of .i^"iooo to Catherine Bromley for life, with residue to children. He declares that if his nephew, Peter Alfred Taylor, or his executors, pay to him or his executors £(iOO, he will release him or them from the full sum of ..^3300, and said ^600 to be applied to increase the legacies to his five nieces. To his curate at Spridlington, Mr Wilkinson (in codicil altered to Rev. Thomas Brown) ^50, whereof /30 to the poor of Sprid- lington, £\o to the poor of Rowston, and ^10 for himself. He leaves in great detail his pictures, books, MSS., and other personal property, to various members of the family, for the most part to Henry Thomas Taylor, and to his brother and nephew, the two William Taylors, and in most cases specially entailed on survivors. He leaves the interest for their lives, the remainder to their children, of ^1000 each to his nieces Anna, Sophia, Georgiana, Wilhelmina and Ellen Taylor ; the same also to his great-niece Louisa C. Jeffery; to Harriet Taylor ^1200, with the same limitations. Residue of personalty to be sold, one-eighth of the interest thereof to nephew William Taylor till twent)'-three, and then to him absolutely, the remaining seven-eighths in equal amounts to the seven daughters of his brother William, with remainder to their issue. Such of his letters as do not relate to subjects connected more especially with his brothers or sisters, and which are therefore given in my notice relating to them, will here follow. \From Henry to his sister Elizabeth Taylor?^ To Miss Ta\-lor j3 Free Win- At Peter Delmes Esq' cliester At East Stoke near Tin-liead Wilts. Dear Sister Crawley i*' Nov 1757 I am very glad to hear by the letter which you wrote me that you have had so much pleasure & particularly in dancing, Peter is got pretty well again & will go out soon. So I believe we shall not try your receipt unless he should have a return of his illness which I hope he wiU not. As for the Lottery tickets "We know nothing of them. But I dare say \\"e have none of the ^1000 Prises. Pappa says will fetch you & then let you know what you should give the servants. The Summer House at the end of the terrace fell c^own in the raoveing but has hurt none of the inhabitants that is to say the rabbits who were taken out. Mr Cruickshanks has had 12 more stolen The Rev. Henry Taylor, LL.B. {of Banstcad). — Correspondence. 489 & is resolved to give off & so we fiave 2 does & a buck & are to have 4 does more but however i as the proverb is we must not reckon our cliickken before they are hatched for they are too cunning for us & we have had many attempts & cannot catch any of them but hope we shall have better suc- cess next time. M' Glide is building a Chaise house & a very good rabbit house in the farm Yard. So you may let M' Delme know, the' one house is down, a better is up. And we do not forget his promise of giving us a couple of white ones. And we will try to get Pappa to bring them when he fetches you in the Chair. We are glad to hear that M" Newell is brought to bed. Mamma is to stand Godmother. Mr Huntingford spent the evevening here last night & he & pappa playd at blind- mans buff with us. pray present our compliments to M' & M" Delme Misses & Masters not forget- ting our loves to yourself I am Dear Sister Your Most Affectionate Brother H. Taylor. \F7-om Henry to his sister Elizabeth Taylorr\ To Miss Taylor at M' Newells Attorney at Law at Henley upon Thames. Oxfordshire Crawley June 13, 1760 Dear Sister Mamma desired I would write to lett you know, y' ye Horses are to come for you next Friday, the 20, that you may be ready. & also to desire, you would thank M' & M" Hersy & M' &: M" Newell for the many civilities they have shewn you. I thank you heartily, for the many Letters, I have rece"* from you, during your absence w^'' on a moderate computation amounts to 000000000000 or there abouts. I dont speak as to a single o ; I cant tell how it comes about, unless you have got into the same custom as Stone has, of writing to me, & directing to Pappa. I suppose He intends by it, y' We should both answer his letter & by y' means to have two Letters for one : but you may tell him, if you see him again, y' he is quite off his mark, for Pappa will quote the inside, & I the outside, & so He will have no answer at all. Pray remember us all to all at Henly not forgettin" yourself I am Dear Sister Your Affectionate Brother H. Taylor. \From Henry to his sister Elizabeth Taylor^ To Miss Taylor at M' John Taylor's at South Weald near Brentwood in Essex. Q. C. C March 29, 62 Dear Sister I thought I should have been forc'd to have begun in D' Petits way, of telling you I had mislaid ur letter, but luckily I have found it. I got Peter enterd of Christ's last Fryday, & know a irson there, who will be a very good acquaintance for him. I hope Miss Mansell & you, lik'd going ' be seen by the Magdalens, for I think that seems to be a more proper expression than going to see the Magdalens, who are certainly put out of sight. I am glad to hear you have so often been to M' Delme's. I am glad to sec you set so good an example to the rest of your Sex, as to call M" Peers her Husbands worser half. There's a good Girl — you shall be marry'd for this. Pray give me leave, lo be so bold, as to touch the tip of great toe, & with the humblest sence of the 3 Q 490 The Rev. Henry Taylor, LL.B. {of Banstead). — Correspondence. great indignity in me your Slave & Blacknioor, to wish you joy in the most submissive terms, of your having seen the Queen. Now I may safely gabble all this stuff over to you, for if you should grow an inch the higher for it, you will not be in the least too tall. You say you have wrote me all of Consequence & then tell me it is just Supper time, now this seems to contain an absurdity, for certainly Supper was of consequence, so you seem to have put the Cart before the Horse. I hope to hear, from you, that all my aunts & my Uncle be well, to whom, I must desire you to give my Love, or Duty, or whatever is proper, as also to yourself Birch gives his compt' to you. Pray let me know when you go to Town & how long you stay there exactly. I have done D' Petit the Honor of making him my Post boy as far as London I am Dear Sister Your Afif. Bro. & Humb. Ser' H, Taylor. All the Coll. attended him at Scholes on Thursday & Saturday, when the Queens men cut a grand figure. On Thursday he gave a Supper to all the Fellows, & Fellow conmioners about 20 in number, in the Combination Room. They staid some of them till 2 oClock. It was the Grandest Supper that ever went into the Combination Room. Wy Love to my Aunt Taylor in particular & hope she is better than when I was in Essex. [From Henry to his sister Elisabeth Taylor.1 To Miss Taylor at M' John Taylor's at South Weald near Brentwood Essex Q. C. C. April 62 Dear Sister I rec'd your obliging letter, but I dont know when ; but however I have not forgot how to thank you for it ; which I will do directly, not by complimenting you up to the skies, (as is the common way now a days) & telling you you are all perfection, & quite angelical, & your eyes are like diamonds, your lips like rubys, &c &c &c But, as I take it, in a way will be much more agreeable to you, who despise all flattery, & that is by answering your letter, & letting you know how all friends do here, & how we go on, I cannot help agreeing with you, in the description you give of my Aunt Fox, & I think every one who knows her must do the same. I do not however, see any reason why you should despair of being as clever & agreeable as she is, since you possess the chief qualification requisite to that end, & that is, good nature; for that it is w* gives a grace to all our actions, & is so powerfuU that, without due consideration, it almost makes even vice itself seem amiable, but however we will not grow grave, &: therefore I proceed to the next topick in your letter. I must needs tell you I envy you your retirement, much more than your Racketting in Town, smce the latter was always my aversion, as much as the former my delight. It joys me to hear my Uncle, & Aunts, (to whom I desire, with yourself, my love) are well. I am sorry to find by your Epistle, that the little Girl is not got well. I hope with you, the Trustees will not oblige the Students to reside long for their Exhibition, as it will not, if they do be worth Peters accepting. I have not heard from home since my Father return'd to Crawley, but hope it is nothing but lasiness prevents it. I cannot tell what time Birch will be at Crawley, as he does not as yet know himself However I am not a little glad to hear Jno Newel will be with us. Ridding went out of College on Monday, I fancy to Town, but cannot really say, however I believe it is unknown to his Father, & therefore a secret. Birch is well & desires his comp". I am Your Aff: Brother H. Taylor. The Rev. Henry Taylor, LL.B. {of Banstead). — Correspondence. 491 You will see plainly, by the writing, that this is from my Father to day, he does not indeed say nothing to the contrary, we will take that for granted. not to be shewn to any body. I rec"' a letter '742-1 all at Crawley are well, however as he says \F7-om Henry to his father, Den Mordecai.'] To the Rev-" M' Taylor at Crawley near Winton Hants Camb : Nov' 5-1766 HoN° Sir As I saw not the Professor till yesterday I have been looking over the Art' & examind Conscisnce stands them with no small pains & all the impartiality I am master of but cannot yet make the A : C : consist ™ "'^ with Script or persuade myself into a belief of it. Nor am I convincd that the Common Prayer B : has in it nothing contrary to y' Word of G : w"'' is what the Statutes require to be signd before my Admiss : to my Degree I cannot therefore think of taking my Degree at present whatever I may do hereafter, but can only keep exercise for it. Yet as this will be attended with equal expence I think myself not at liberty to put that scheme in practise till I hear from you S: have your consent, since if I should never take farther Orders this will be entirely useless. But if you cannot agree to this let me at once ask your final consent to quit this way of life before I am too deeply engaged in it only continuing as I am till get into some other way. One thing more I must add that whatever expence may hereafter attend my coming to take a degree, if I now keep exercise will not fall on you but myself I must farther desire you not to look on what I have now written as proceeding from uneasiness or discontent but merely as the result of teas : & consideration Duty & Love attend all at Crawley I am Hon" Sir Your Dutf : & A£f Son H. Taylor. [From Hcmy to his sister Elizabeth Taylor.^ To Miss Taylor at the rev'' D' Sailers Master of the Charter House London Crawley May 9"" 1772. Dear Betsy Nancy .... is much better than she was, & we hope D' Makitrick will in time be able to set her up again, but he does not think that can be done immediately, as her Constitution itself, he says, is greatly impaird & will require time to alter it, but he seems not to doubt its being perfectly rectified in the End. He attributes her illness to a too great confinement, w"" want of air & exercise. Which, as I believe, you both alike need, makes us suspect y' your healths having been better lately, than for some years, may be owing to your having had less of that confinement within doors & more of the Air &; Exercise, of Air more especially, than you used to have at Ham. This makes me wish you would not think of confining yourself to make Bills shirts, but when you have cut them out, cither put them out to make to somebody near you, or send them down hither with directions, & we will send them over to Milsomc. Cutting out may be of great advantage both as to making the most of things & as preventing being cheated, but the mere mechanical part can be no farther use than merely substituting your labor, for the saving what will purchase that labor from another hand, & that at the probable expence of your health & making your situation 492 77/1? Rev. Henry Taylor, LL.B. (of Banstead). — Correspondence. too irksom & slavish by depriving you of what little amusement in reading, & that small share of Air & Exercise, which your situation at Ham will admit of, and as for any other employ your own things will keep you out of want of needlework. Of P. Hat we have lieard nothing from Dan so w"* be glad if you will remind Bill of it that when he comes he may not forget it but this we may do by letter. My Father has had an attack or two in the Stomach of y= Gout but he is now quite free from it. & seems very well &: in spirits. \No signature^ [From Henry to his sister Elizabeth Taylorl\ To Miss Taylor at Elmes's at East Ham Essex Crawley 6" July 1772 Dear Sister I rec'' a letter from Nancy & Peter on Monday last importing that they were both well & in good sjjirits w''' you will not be sorry to hear. My Father also continues very well unless y' he has something of a Cold which makes him sneese, but I hope it will go off quietly My Father joyns in Love to y'Self & Comp" to M" Elmes. I am Dear Sister y' Sincere Friend & Aft' Bro : H. T. Wednsd : 8'" PS : My Father is at present too busy in his garden to look over the Receipt Book, so I send to you those w''" I have already written out by y° first opportunity & if there are any others you shall have them at some future time, but you want this for y'' Surfeit Water in haste Y" H. T. [From Henry to his sister Elisabeth Taylor.]^ To Miss Taylor at M" Elmes's at East Ham Essex Crawley Frid : May 21. r773 Dear Betsy James .... brought us your letter of Dog in the Evening to which I shall send you for answer immediately, in the words of D ; Hughes after trying every horse in Cambridge without buying any, His reply to each owner when he had ridden his horse was always, that the horse was a very good horse that he had no fault to find with him only that he ditl not like him. \\\\\ch prudent conduct trying one mans horse to his living one Sunday & another mans on another, enabled him to go on very well without hiring till his own Mare got well again. Not y' I w"" have you think we are quite in y' same situation w"' D. H : No indeed, dont flatter y'self, neither Lion nor Towser are returned back again to this world; S: as to their walking (as, Whosoever will believe it, it is before all things necessary that he should have a strong imagination) they do every night round our Church Yard & Well Whele) they pat it about so lightly y" like the operation of some other Spirits (not Fairies) with all their labour nothing is done, & the Bucket, instead of being full as you might expect is found as empty the next morning as if they had slept all night quietly in their Graves. However the they are not come to life we have a prospect of a prety good substitute from ^\'inchester. The man at the Jail to whom The Rev. Henry Taylor, LL.B. {of Banstead). — Correspondence. 493 James applied in vain some time ago for a puppy told him Yesterday that one person to whom he had 1742-1822 promised, cared not whether he had one or no, & y'fore he thought himself bound in gratitude ; for the Lodger sent him from our Parish to send us a puppy in return. Nor is this the only companion you & Nancy may have to nurse, in the Dog & Puppy way. Peter has gotten for M' Thomas a young son of a Lady he gave two or three years ago to L : Iremonger well known by the name of M" Guts. & Poor Minx has broken one of her leggs all to shatters or at least Whitenose has for her. & to comfort Bill that he may not be quite disconsolate for the loss of his traveling companion, you may tell him y' to make up for his sad disappointment down hither he is to have the Son & Heir of the afores"" & celebrated Beauty M" Gutts to acSompany him back to town, for y" use of M' Thomas, who is going to Paris &r consequently will be glad of some body who has been well educated in a Sober Clergymans family to officiate for him in Flart Street during his absence. As to your Dogs character & Reputation of Wch you make such boast y' from them he promises to be of a Size fit for our Whele; I dont chuse to take your Dogs word without a better acqaintance, for tho he may be able to say with Huncabunca y' "once he ate two fowls & half a Pig," I shall be but of the same opinion w* that same judicious Lady & reply in her words " small be that praise." I think before Bill comes down he sh'' consult M' Sharp upon his diet ; whether he sh*" drink milk from y° Cow, Cyder or Mead. These may either or all of them be very good or very bad for him cSc there will be no harm to know w''' they are I am very glad to hear y' Miss D. is going to be married, if it is to a worthy good kind of man & wish her all happiness most sincerely, as she has certainly done all in her power to make others happy. \No signaturei\ \_From Henry to his sister Elisabeth Taylor.'] To Miss Taylor at M' Hawkers, in S' Tho» Street Post Portsmouth Crawley Sep' 22. Wed: 1773 Dkar Betsy I am now to thank you for your two letters which I truly do, I much wishd to know how .'ju got to the end of your journey, as I feard Nancy would bear it but in differently. We are all much obliged to XP J : Hawker for his civilities ; but I think you managed much for the best in not sleeping there, as Nancy is so very soon overcome. I am glad she found her spirits recruited by a good dinner. I cannot tell or ghess who the Skiping Foreigners could be whom you fell in with, unless Candid had lost one of his Sheep from Eldorado in your way. If that be the Case I expect to hear shortly y' you have bought the Isle of Wight, with the pebbles the Sheep was laden with, for the better convenience of baithing at Ride as D' Smyth advised. Had any body else returnd safe again from Town who set out for it in M' Carlos's situation I sh'' indeed have . -cn amazed, but he has one security peculiar to himself, & proverb strongly on his side of mg often in danger & coming to no hurt, for if any one sh'' be so curious an antiquarian S: lover of the omit/ sciences as to enter on a fruitless search after a Body belonging to y' said G: < arloss he must in the end be forced to acknowledge y' y' Proverb belongs to him & to him only, - have & to hold, to himself & his heirs for ever. But Where is y' wonder, y' he has escaped all Jails of Ixmdi'n whose bar^ are only calculated to confine fat Englishmen, Sleek headed men. ^\hen it is well known y' even in France the narrower bars contrived for meagre french were not half close enough to hold this Proteus. And as for Death he needs no fear of him. It answers the purpose of that Grim monarch far better to have him his Vicegerent or Jf/rfer General here 494 The Rev. Henry Taylor, LL.B. {of Banstead). — Correspondence. 1742-1S22. on Earth. Brave Man that can represent that fierce Monarch, not as a living instance but as an emblematic Caricature, cSc be almost a libel upon Death himself. You say in y° 2'' letter y' C call'd & looks bonney. I suppose yoa w'' have written honey. Remember me to all you are with. Love to Y'Self & Nancy & many wishes y' she may find benefit from baithing I am &c ; Yours Sincerely H. Taylor. \_From Henry to his lister Anna Taylor.~] To Miss Taylor at M' Hawkers St : Thomas's Street Portsmouth And how go ye on at Portsmouth dabbling & ducking like Coots in a Fish Pond; or walk ye too & fro' in the earth seeking for dry places, or how are ye employd. Or are ye of the Amphibious kind in & out like a Dog in a fair (to keep up a Comparrison).— for of all these things no Deponent sayeth aught, but we live, as to these matter in a Land of Total Ignorance we do not know, we cannot tell, ne ever other Answer give. Such dull Swine are we, as Miss S. Hawker said or more properly sung.— Peter went Yesterday to foot it at Southton Assembly whither M' & M" Goodenough are set out for. — I hope you have been able to get a double Horse & a Rider & y' you go out constantly I desire you will make all the use of him that you can. I wrote in Peters letter after it was made up, to know if you w"" have our Pillion sent to Ports : let us know if you w-". We thank Betsy for her American News. But do not beleive above one half of it. The Ministry may for a short time hire Foreign Troops, but in the way they go on, of diminishing the Revenue by destroying our Trade with the Americans, they will not long have wherewith to pay Foreigners or other troops. The Quarrells of the Americans among themselves I believe to be all idle tales. M' Hawkers house is by this time again filld I suppose, but yet shall direct this to you at his house as I know not where ye are. We hope M'« & M' H : are well as also Miss H : if She is at Ports : we desire our Compt' to them all. Whom have ye seen & what do they say, & how do they all do, for we have not heard since your first arrival at Portsmouth. My Father holds very well, but not very willing to ride. We have not heard from Town or from Brightthelm- stone I think since you left us.— You see I suppose in the paper y' L : Iremonger has got his Election to a Fellowship. These Things at Oxford go confessedly by the Interest of Great Men, differently from what they do with us at Cambridge.— We have rec" since I wrote the above a letter from Little Madam who reports y' she finds not much if any benefit from Baithing, which we are sorry to hear. We have also rec" yours, & are glad to hear you are well. If you see the Salters family you may inform them y' I have rec" my Great Coat safe, as it laid at M' Newbolts unknown to us & I wrote for Dan to speak to Sherborne about it, & he said he wd write to y' Salters, So they need give themselves no trouble about it.— My Father is very well.— I am sorry you are disappointed of Miss S. Lindzeys company especially by so disagreeable a Circumstance.— Wheat Harvest is over, we have brought in a few Oats But no Barley is as yet ready. We all join in Loves & best wishes to you both, & in Comp'' to the Hawkers, & all friends who enquire after us. We expect Pain & Atherley from Southton this week. I am, dear Nancy, Your afft Brother H. Taylor. We are sorry to have so bad an account of Betsy, but hope in a few days to hear, y' she is gotten much better, if not quite well Crawley Aug' 14 1775 The Rev. Henry Taylor, LL.B. (of Banstead). — Correspondence. 495 1742- I K22. \_From Henry to his father, Ben MordecaiP\ To the rev'' M' Taylor, at M' Dan' Taylors New London S'" Crutched Friars London Crawley Frid ; May 31*' 1776 Dear Sir A day or two after you left Crawley D' Makittrick called here He has made what interest he c"" to get a sight of S' I. Newtons Papers w'"" are in the hands of y° Portsmouth family & through Sir Isaac Newton, some people of Consequence but to no purpose, the Answer given him is y' they are putting them in order, but no Promise of obteining a sight of them (though he gave his word not to transcribe or publish & to make the handsomest acknowledgem" in his Preface but all this has obteined nothing as yet at least, (who they are, now busied in arrainging them I know not) Soame Jennings has Soame Jennings. lately publishd a small book in favour (as he calls or intends it) of the Xtian Relig" on which D' [torn] reverses the answer of Felix to S' Paul & says, almost thou persuadest me Not to be a Xtian. The D' read me two or three passages from it, from whence (excepting the force he allows to y" internal evidence) he might I think even as well have continued an Infidel as he confesses himself some time to have been, & have left Xtianity as he found it, without his friendly & assisting hand which props it up so forceably on one side y' it almost pushes it down on the other. Moses history of y' Creation, may be all false the Prophecies fictitious & Miracles Nought & yet Xtianity never the more doubtfuU ; I hope you dont think him an Infidel any longer, who is so ready to take a House after he has parted with its Supports. Because not to be found recommended in Scrip' Valor, Patriotism, & Friendship, are no Virtues nor commendable qualifica" so great is the Zele of this Writer How are all in Town, particularly Little Madam, who I hope has quite recovered her fright & goes on well. Remember us pray kindly to them & Bill & all friends. Bill writes word to Mitford y' M" Elmes has entirely lost her Sight, is it so, &: how does she bear it? We hope you are well & your head & stomach free from Giddiness & Sickness. How is D' Salter & family . & all in Chancery Lane or from it? I am Dear Sir y' ■'\ff' Son H. T.^VLOR. The next letter is from Wales, whither he went for an excursion ; immediately following is a description of Llangollen, apparently intended for the press. In the same bundle of his papers was the " Description of St Winifred's Well." This I have thought worth reproducing (see over), as a milestone marking the road of Ijrogress. I think such grave report of the miracle, with the anticipatory denuncia- tion of sceptics who should presume to doubt " in the present loose and degenerate age," etc., etc., could hardly be matched in 1S74. 496 77/1" Rev. Henry Taylor, LL.B. {of Banstcad). — Correspondence. 1742-1R22. \From Henry to his brother the Rev. Peter Taylor.'] (By London) Rev" M' Peter Taylor Free Crawley near Ph ; Yorke Winchester Sund : Aug' 4"' 1776. Esthig Dear Peter It was with no small pleasure I rec" yours informing me y' My Father is pretty well, as I was under some apprehension after leaving him in the state I did ; I hope he will ride as regularly as the weather will permit, & find no more of his troublesome complaint. & that both himself S: Nancy, by constant E.xercise, will lay in a large store of health ag' the winter. Remember my love kindly to them both, as also to Betsy and y'self, who I am glad to hear a good account of, though I was less in fear of the contrary, than for my Father, &: for Nancy, whom I think this hot weather is much against, if it is with you as it is here. As your Letter was dated Saturday Jul; 17 & arrived not here till this day you find they are a whole week on the way hither, whether they are so long in their passage back I know not I am Dear Peter w"" Sincere Love & Aff' to All at Crawley Y" most truely H. T. J. \_From Henry to .] [Apparently intended for the press^^ S'/. Welsh scenery. Llangollen is a small Town, about four miles from Chirk Castle in Denbeighshire (y' noble & delightful! Seat of Rich'' Myddelton Esq') & about 12 miles from Oswestry; it is situated in a little Vale, upon the River Dee, over which there is a very elegant strong stone Bridge of four or five large Arches, whose foundation is not to be shaken, each Buttress & Pier being built upon y' same Rock, which extends itself from one side of the River to y= other. The Rapidity & great winding progress of y" Water occasions a foam & noise extremely awfull & pleasing; almost every ten yards exhibits y= finest cascade in nature the whole River being composed of them. Many Hills in various directions, of most amazing & different Heights almost encompass the Town. There is to be had plenty of good provisions particularly Mutton, for w* Llangollen is even in Wales famous. I mention this that if any person has an Inclination to visit this Paradisiacal Spot, I can promise him most pleasing entertainment, & good Food. But Sir! I have not yet done w"' y' beauties of this place; I treat you in y= order in which I was treated myself; for I was an Itinerant & y' Visitor of a day only. About a mile off are y= Ruins of a Castle, call'd by the Inhabitants of the Country Castle Dinas Bran which some tell us signifies in English y" Castle of Crow City ; Bran being Welch for a Crow, Sr y'fore it is often call'd Crow Castle, but I have reason to believe from some accounts w''" I have received, y' it was built by one Prince Brennus, who lived here many years & then withdrew & died at Rome. The Castle is situated upon y" top of a most singularly strange & amazing Hill, of a Conical Figure, whose Base cannot be above one hundred Yards in diameter, & yet I think its perpendicular Height from the Plain is not less than three hundred Yards ; on the top of y' romantick place, are the ruins of y' Castle ; it is extremely difficult to ascend the Hill ; particular care must be taken in fixing your feet, otherwise you slip many Yards down before you stop. The Tradition of y" Country is y' there are great Treasures within y" Castle, concealed in an Iron Cradle, a considerable depth in the Ruins, but y' it is most dangerous to attempt to get at them, as the Devil resides there & has the care of y' Cradle. This is most seriously believed by the Country People, & till this last summer, no person A DESCRtPTtON of at Holy-JVell, in Flintflnre^ produces, every Minute, tired Tons of Water ^ and ny Distempers, - and dinary Manner, all fuch Pox, or any other fevere LIFEHPOOL: Printed by William Sr. WINEIRhD. Virgin. Martyr. AbL:e;s, and Patronels of H ah:. 660. St. Winefred''^ Wdl^ iVor^/z I \vhich Spring Night and Day, One Huh* Bathing therein cureS ftia* ftrengthen^y in ah extraor* as have had the S m A L L Disorders. NvETT, Takon Jlky,CaJlle-Jlreet, IJ76. The firfl Rife of St. Winefred's V/ell is by fome accounted a Miracle, and related as follows; ily"^l»ti"ii contains replies to the words indeed w'' I have there made use of, though perverted to a widely ilififerent sense from what I sh'' think c"" have been understood by them, if the passsages you quote, and allude to, had been considered with their contexts. However, as that is y' Case, in answer to yours, I will endeavour to set the passages so mistaken in a clearer light, though it be onely saying what I have before urged. And I must desire that when you have read this you will peruse my last with more deliberation than you appear yet to have done. And also must request that, if it is not alreaily destroyed, I may have that Letter returned to me again, rather than have it burned, as the whole tenor of yours imputes motives for my Conduct which, as they were very far from 500 The Rev. Hciiry Taylor, LL.B. {of Banstcad). — Correspondence. 1742-1S22. entering into my mind, I cannot but wish to be able effectually to refute, by having that Letter to produce, as a full confutation of these insinuations. I made indeed no foul Copy of mine. But I must first premise that yours contains assertions as from my Letter, w* I am almost certain were not in it ; and w"'" have not the same import and meaning with what I have there s"" ; however you (in haste I presume) might concieve them to be equivalent : Of this Kind is what first of all you profess y'Self surprised at " that Our family have no sort of Clame on M" F : " w='' is one thing ; but, what You go on to say " & no more foundation to expect a favour from her, than from any other indifferent person" is a very different thing. A foundation to expect a favour may be built on her civilities & liking to keep up an acquaintance with us : w"" if cultivated may produce a regard c& some attachment to us more than to others, or, from many other circumstances ; w'" yet can give no clame, nor any thing like it. And what can be our clame upon her. No Relationship ; nor established friendship that we know of, as yet subsists. Neither can we say that M" Fox has used us ill ; in whatever light we may look upon my Uncles conduct towards us. Or, if you think y', as His Representative & Succeeding to his fortunes, she ought to rectify what he had done amiss, & sh"" restore to his family, what he has deprived them of; This is a matter on w'"" she may reason very differently ; & may view in a very different light. It is what indeed Generosity might dictate. But what perhaps we cannot as of right demand. And y'fore, to rest our clame upon such foundation might be thought to have more the appearance of wresting by violence as a demand of what we deemed she might to do, than requesting as a matter of favour. And might even be construed into an insinuation y' we thought her concerned in my Uncles misdemeanour toward us. A Suspicion w* we have no sufficient Foundation to warrant. For the next Sentence I must desire you will again look over my last ; & see if you can there make out y' I have s'^ any thing like your being " so taken up wth y" little self as to be y' Sum & Centre of every thing in your own iileas." or that " your application to M" Fox was suggested on the idea y' you were likely to be continually present in her mind," this is nothing like any observation of mine, but is what you observe. What I s'' was general ii: founded on a principle of human nature necessary to our preservation, that as our attention must hourly, & even minuetly be attracted to protect ourselves, & to avoid numberless dangers, we sh"" otherwise fall into, y'fore our first care & thoughts are directed & fixed upon ourselves ; & we naturally acquire a habit of viewing all thmgs around us, as relative to ourselves ; w='', however necessary it may be to self preservation, is attended wth this inconvenience, y' it leads us into y= error & mistake y' we are apt to conceive y' we stand as nearly to other persons as we do to ourselves ; forgetting y' they also have a self in like manner, wch for y" same reason naturally so occupies their first thoughts, y' we cannot be so continually present to the minds of others as we are apt to imagine, from finding ourselves so present to our own thoughts. And the conclusion I thence infered was, that if we wished M" Fox at all to think of us, & our Interests, we must be at the pains of keeping up an acquaintance with her, & present our- selves sometimes to her siglit, in order f we may be in her mind, and occupy in some degree her thoughts. [^'^ ^i&nature:\ [^From Hetiry to his brother the Rev. Peter Taylor^ To The Rev'' M' Peter Taylor Titchfield Hants New Lond. Street Thurs" Jan 2"^ 1783 Dear Peter After the fire at I had a very cold journey hither Yesterday ; We have spoken to a Surveyor to go down with South Weald, ^^^x q„ Saturday to meet y" Surveyor & a Commissioner or two, of y' hand & hand Insuring Fire Office. Wch is y= first step necessary to be taken ; to estimate y= Old Materials & judge whether or The Rev. Henry Taylor, LL.B. {of Baiistead). — Correspondence. 501 no a loss equal to y' 950^ ensured on y' premises has been incurred — When that matter is adjusted & 1742-1822. if y' Office pay y' Sum & do not build rather. — the next point for consideration will be whether we sh^ build (to wch by y" present holding of y' Estate y" Ld I apprehend can compell us) or to free the Land from y° Subjection it is now under of such obligations, & y° Herriots & every duty to y° Lord & make it free ; & then not build wch may be y" more advisable mode of proceeding. This is what strikes me at present Yr Aff. Bro. H. T. Jun' . \_From Henry to his brother the Rev. Peter Taylor?^ To The Rev" M' Peter Taylor Titchfield Hants Limehouse Mond. Jan 6'" 1783 Dear Peter, The Assurance Office make no hesitation of allowing y' 950^^ ensured on tlie house at The old house at Weald. & for that Sum M' Willett y= Surveyor whom Dan' took down with him on Saturday, says that a house may be built to cover the Same spot of Ground, though a House so substantial as was that wch is burnt down, cd not be built for above 1400. as the Walls up to y° first Story were 2 Bricks thick . y'" foundation.? partly 4 Bricks thick With Love to all am dear Peter Y' AEfec' Brother He.n'ry T.wlor, Jun' \J^roi;i Henry to Mr Spr anger. ^ To John Spranger Esq Chancery Lane London Titchfield Nov' 6 1783 Hants Dear Sir My Brother Dan' informs us y' agreeable to my Fathers direction so to do, he has sent you .MrBenneu'sWill. M' Bennets Will. And my Father will be glad if you will look into it, &: advise him icf/ial /lis Title is to y' Legacy of boojQ tiierein bequeathed to him and devised after him to go among his Child" And how he sh'' pnvaic in making his demand for the payment of it. If I am not mistaking, the Legacy was to be pd in 3 months after the decease of .\I' Bennet. who died in March 81, & the Caveat entered by his Uncle has been taken olT nearly ij not qiiile these 12 months In 82. my father wrote to M' Bennets Widdow, and rec' (from M' Parry whom M" has married) to the follow purport, y' M' Thos Bennet denies his Nephew made such Will, or if he did, y' he was not of sound mind ^S;' & y' till a Decree had passed in y" Court of Chancery it was impossible to say when y' Legacy w" be p'' that he sincerely wished to put an end to y' business, & y' nothing in his power sh' be wanting V'* ever most trucly Henry Taylor, Jun' 502 Tlic Rev. Henry Taylor, LL.B. {of Banstead). — Correspondence. I742-fS22. \From Henry io his brother the Rev. Peter Taylor.'] Crawley Sat : Dec' 30 /84 Dear Peter, Poliucs. I arrived here safe about 5 o clock, after a very Slipry Journey. I just saw M' Borman, who believes not one word about M' Pii/s bringing in any Reform Bill that will be of the lest service. He says y' the Yorkshire men & Wyvil are shabby fellows . that y' whole Reform IVyvil wants, is 100 new Knights. I believe this to be true, as I think I remember that to have been his Idea long ago ; an expedient w''' I fear will do a great deal jnore harm than good, as it will only strengthen y' hands of y*" Aristocracy ag^ the People at large, and will render any effectual Reform more difficult than ever, as it will bear the name and Form of a Reform wthout the Sjjirit. The Yorkshire Men & the RockiugJiams aim & always have aimed by this mode, under y" Appearance and Profession of Reform to add power to Aristocracy. \Vy~iiil is not sound for y' people in matter of Reform ; nor did D' Jeb think him so, I know about twelve months ago. I wish you w*" see Jenwise Clarke & M' Carter before ive procede any farther in this Buisness. I fear we shall only make ourselves dupes & cats paws to keep in M' Piit ; allured by a false bait & pretence of Reform, when in Reality no such Reform is intended as can be any benefit to y' People. But the Snake of Aristocracy lies in y° Grass. This is a matter in wch M' Pit has always Shuffled & Cut most egregiously & y'fore, it is in no wise probable y' now, when Minister, he sh"* be sincere in this point, wherein he has always been insincere before. Indeed the expressions in Wyvils Letter do not warrant us to expect any thing effectual. A Meliorated Reform is in other words a Mutilated Reform ; an ineffectual Reform, in Words only, not in reality. A Reform adapted to Wyvils Ideas, not in y° least to ours. & what I do not ever wish to see. It is all going backward I fear, & just so much worse than nothing. I see this matter in quite an other light, when I consider what ever has been M' Pitts Conduct in this Matter, & What the Object of Wyvil who conveys M' Pitts Assurances. — To let M' Pitt stay in, till he does y" Nation this Service, is a most dangerous Experiment, seeing it may for ever be kept on foot, without any design ever of bringing it to any good issue. & coming in as He does, I cannot think his continuance is to be toUerated for an hour, if it may be avoided. All is not Gold that Glisters nor All that Reform wch bears y' Profession of it. Do consider this over again, & reflect, whether coming from such a Source, & through such a Channell, it be not much more probably intended to answer M' Pitts object, of keeping in; or M' Wyvils of 100 Knights, whch perhaps is worse, than calculated to benefit the People. Pitt is y'' Minister of Secret Influence & y" House of Lords, ag' y' Commons House. But in ascending to his Station, he has necessarily offended part of the Lords House or Aristocratic Party, wch now he w"" gladly reconcile, by adopting their Idea of Reform & in the end & reality throwing Strength into their Hands, when he has been professing to Empower y° People. For as soon as y" 100 Knights are admitted, the House of Commons is disposed of in y" House of Lords With Love to all Y" sincerely H. Taylor, Jun' \Tr07n Heni-y to his brother the Rev. Peter Taylor.] To The Rev" M' Peter Taylor Titchfield Hants Dear Peter, Monday 24 May 1790 I found M' & M" & all y= Dranes very well H : T : T : has a cold w'" puts him out of order wth a little fever ; not however so as to confine him. Remember me to all & believe me to be your afif" Brother H. Taylor. Marriage of I believe I forgot to inform you that M' T. Drane is going to be married to a Miss Smart, whose Ihomai, Dranc. ^ Maltster. I have written to desire M' Richards to attend The Rev. Henry Taylor, LL.B. {of Banstead). — Correspondence. 503 1742- 1S22. [From He?iry to Ms brother the Rev. Peter Taylor7\ Rev'' M' Peter Taylor M' William Taylors Terrace No 3 Tottenham Court Road London Titchfield Tuesd. 21 June 91 Dear Peter, It gave me great satisfaction to hear so good an ace' as your letter rec'' this Morn= contains, for though you have [not] gotten rid of your fever it seems to be very considerably abated. & I trust will soon leave you. Languid & Weak you must expect to be after so long confinement, even had you been free from illness but I hope y' as y' Weather gets fine & mild you will get out & recover your strength w'' I have no doubt of now your Appetite is so much mended. At present perhaps you are better in town than in the Country, as you can easily take a little exercise in a Hackney Coach for a Shin L or Two & in a few minuets though in y= Country you could not have a Carriage without more expence & without bespeaking it before hand. I am sorry to hear Bill has been so much out of order I shall be anxious to hear frequently how you both go on ; but, from what you say, flatter myself y' it will not be long before both of you may be so far recovered as to stand in no need of nursing or keeping within doors. Remember me to him & to all, & thank M" W. T : for the Prescription she has been so good as to send & I have taken this Morning. I hope both M" Taylors & the Little ones are all well, my Loves to them all, w''' I desire you will give to the Little ones. I shall be glad to hear the Quinsey is broken. The Tree in Ch. yard is cut down & brought round into y' field. I will call at Hawkers soon & enquire after M" English. All at Titchfield are well except M' Lee whose Knee gets more troublesome, whc he wonders at, forgeting 83. I am got pretty well again, but have reed a Letter from M' Westreme saying he will take care of Ashly y" 26'* but being confined with an inflamation in y' Throat they cd have no duty on Sund. last The Bourmasters and also y= Dixons desire I will not forget to give their Compli- ments & good wishes to you. I am Dear Peter your Sincere frend & aff' Brother H. Taylor. No news stirring here the Bourmasters are gone to Portsmouth for two or three Days are to be on board the Hannibal to morrow. \_From Heiuy to his sister Anna Taylor.~\ Miss Anna Taylor Titchfield Hants Winton Sund. 14 Sep' 1794 Dear Anna, The inclosed from Betsy it is as well you sh'' see. in case you sh'' be able to say anything in Pictures, ic, from respect of the Contents. I have wTitten for answer y' liinfield. Of the Pictures she mentions I have only Night piece Man reading by Candle i : 12. Miniature of Titian by himself 2 : 8. Charles i" or 2"'' Small Square glazed (whether y' one mentioned by her I know not) I have also some others whether y* same mentioned by her S: described only as 2 Miniatures I know not. Those I have in addition are as under. : Pictures of Monks in oval Frames, oil Colours ; Gen' Webb Miniature, Duke of Monmouth, Charies S04 The Rev. Peter Taylor, B.D. 1742-1S22. 1 2"' of Sweden 1706. — Prints. 3 large by Tenners. 4 Small by do. I have likewise a Cabinet or rather Nest of Drawers on a Stand i.e. 4 drawers below & y' Top opens to a place about as deep as y" drawers price 15 shs. Besides these I have, wliich I wish to return St Peter & Cocks crowing a Brass Medallion. 2 oval Pictures. One of Coll Thos Diggs of ChiUiam Castle Kent 1726. The other a Young Man. marked Third day No 23 Lot 48. These / never ordered & do ?iot chiise io have. (The Nest of drawers used to stand under the window in y' passage Room leading to niy Uncle's Bed Room.) I do not recollect y' I have any thing from Einfield beside the above believe me your aff. Brother H. T. The only interest attaching to the above is, that it mentions several pictures and miniatures now in my possession. Birtll. We now come to Peter, born April 25, 1745, no doubt at Wheatfield. Whether any child was born between 1742, the date of Henry's birth, and 1745, I do not know. Probably what has been said of the early life of Henry will exactly apply to Peter. Of course he went to Portsmouth in 1 746, and to Crawley Education. in 1755, ^^^< ^'kc Henry, was educated by his father with his brothers, and a few companions, including the Delme's. He also went to Cambridge, like his brother, but Enters Christ's not to the Same college, — at least not at first. He went to Christ's College in 1762, College. for the sake, apparently, of getting a Tancred Studentship, then just established The Tailored for some divinity and medical members of that college. This was worth (I quote Studentship Dr Salter) " ^^50 per annum for seven or eight years, that is, from their admission (if at or over sixteen) to their taking the first degree, and three years after." Elsewhere it appears that it varied with the income of the property left. Through the zealous aid of his friends Dr Salter (one of the Trustees of the fund), Mr Daniel Fox, and others, he obtained the studentship in 1762. He took his degree of B.A. in 1766.* His letters home upon the subject will be found pp. 512 and 513. About this time a great difficulty occurred in relation to the Tancred Studentship. There is an enormous correspondence, extending over a long period of time, leaving, how- ever, both the cause of the dispute and its conclusion in rather a hazy condition. The Trustees passed a resolution that every recipient of the fund should be a resident for at least six months in the year. This does not appear to have been required under the Trust ; such, at least, is the assertion of Dr Salter and Ben Mordecai. Whether the Trustees so acted in what they conceived for the best interests of the benefaction, or wheter they were not sorry to create one or more vacancies — for which the competition was considerable — is not easy to conjecture; but the contest was fought with great warmth. Ben Mordecai was evidently very angry * 'We learn from the College Registry that he took the degree of B.A. as third Junior Optime in 1766 ; that he was admitted Fellow of Queen's on January 13, 1769 ; took his M.A. degree the same year ; and that of B.D, in 177S. REVD PETER TAYLOR. The Rev. Peter Taylor, B.D. 505 indeed. He talked of an appeal to Chancery, and wrote a play, " Tancred in the Realms of Pluto," in ridicule of the Trustees, which he threatened to publish. In fact, his friend Dr Salter, whom earlier letters show to have been particularly out- spoken, if not rash, had to remonstrate and try to lead him to conciliatory courses. The matter appears to have ended by Peter's leaving Christ's and going to Queen's College in 1768. There appears to have been some difficulty in getting his Bene Discessit, without which I believe he could not have been received at another College ; the objection having been raised that his not complying with the order for residence was contumacious. Of course, by this he lost the annuity for any time for which it would have been due to him under the regulations ; but this must have been for a very short period. There is another point in this affiair which seems mysterious : the reason we find given by Ben Mordecai for his dislike to the residence order was, that Peter's studies could be better pursued at home, while he could have the benefit of his services. Why then Peter should enter himself at Queen's, seems difficult to understand. He was elected to his Fellowship, and was also made Bursar of the College. In one of his letters, without date, he estimates their united value at ^150 a year. He took deacon's orders in 1768, and was at the same date licensed to the curacy of Hunton (Crawley parish). In 1769 we find him preaching in the neighbour- hood of Cambridge (see p. 516). He entered into full priest's orders in 1771, and in 1776 was appointed chaplain to Lord Hawke. Somewhere aljout the former date, I suppose him to have gone to live at Crawley, and presume he must have given up his Fellowship in doing so; but the Bursarship he still held in 17S0-2. In 1779 he was presented to the 'Vicarage of Titchfield by Mr Delme ; in 1787 to the Rectory of Clanfield by Mr Jervoise ; and in 1788 to Ashington, with Buncton, in Susse.x. Buncton is a small chapel at the foot of Chanctonbury Hill; I believe there was only occasional service there. The patron was Roger B. Clough, who made the presentation on the recommendation of the Bishop of St Asaph. Mr Clough, in accepting the Bishop's recommendation, writes, December 5, 17S7 — I am made extremely happy by the good character you give me of M' Taylor — [the letter is ad- dressed to the Dean of St Asaph] — not only on account of the valuable acquisition to the Neighbour- hood, but as I have from thence good Reason to hope he will be as indulgent as possible to the poor helpless widow & four children of the deceased etc., etc. Allusion has been made in the notice of Ben Mordecai to the little romance of Peter's attachment to, and finally his marriage with, Betty Butterly. We are very scant of letters and information about this matter. Before, however, giving what little we know, I must refer to a previous attachment. The lady was a Miss Leigh — very likely sister to the Master Leigh who was one of Ben Mordecai's pupils. She died early, and before the affair had taken any definite shape. Mrs 3 s Changes to Queen'i College. Fellow and Bursar of Queen's. Chaplain to Lurd I lawke. Tiichfield pre- sented by Mr Delme. 5o6 1 he Rev. Peter Taylor, B.D. 1745-I79I- Leigh, the mother, as we suppose, of this lady, left him /500. Sir N. D'Aeth, to MissLdgh. whom a letter will be found, p. 520, from Peter, had been (probably) also a pupil of Ben Mordecai, as there was a lad of that name with him, and I believe that he married a sister of the Miss Leigh in question. The story will be found in a letter from Anna of October 26, 1S02, p. 584. The Leighs seem to have lived in the Isle of Wioht. o As I have said, we know very little about all that relates to Peter's marriage. I believe the story, as told by Mr Price (p. 251), to be tolerably correct. There is Marriage. a short note (p. 520) from Henry to him, dated May 6, 1780, referring to a matter which he had asked Henry to break to his father, intimating that there would be no difficulties on his father's part, and begging him to return. The difficulties anticipated I have no doubt had reference to Miss Butterly. The im- pression left by this letter is, that Peter was gone away in an anxious and excited condition, to which his father and brother were desirous to put an end as soon as possible. The story is, I believe, that it was a condition, or understanding, that the lady should go for some time — it could not be to school, seeing that she was Hiss Buttcrly, then twcuty-uine years old — to some place where her shortcomings in education or manners might be rectified. From Aunt Rebecca's letter, December 12, 1781 (p. 417), it would seem that at that time she was with a Miss Lockman, at or in the immediate neighbourhood of Wandsworth. This notice of Miss Butterly was, as will be seen, of the most warm and affectionate description. It is clear that she was a universal favourite, as she is never mentioned anywhere but in terms of esteem and affisction. I cannot forbear quoting one passage from her brother in-law William Taylor, in illustration of this universal opinion. The letter is dated June 24, 17S2, and addressed to his future wife. It says — I hope M" Taylor will not be return'd to town before you get there, as I look upon her to be one of the most worthy, & most rational women in the world ; the more you are acquainted with her, the more will you esteem her, she has indeed many good qualities, which are not possess'd by either of my Sisters, who are nevertheless both very amiable women ; this is between ourselves, comparisons are odious you know, & I love them all very much, & know them all to be very worthy. This letter, by the by, is the only evidence, so far as I remember, which proves that the marriage took place before that date (1782).* She lived to the age of eighty-six, surviving her husband nearly half a century, dying in the year 1837, Streatham, where also she was buried. In the following note addressed to my father her peaceful death is described : — * Colonel Chester, writinjj October 28, 1874, thus supplies the lacking information, extracted from the Parish Register of St Olave, Hart Street : — " 1782 Mch 28. Peter Taylor, of Titchfield, Co. Southampton, bachelor, and Betty Butteriy of St Olave, Hart Street, spinster, were married by License." They were married by the Rev. Matthew Thomas, and the witnesses were Daniel Taylor and Elizabeth Taylor. Tlie Rev. Peter Taylor, B.D. SOI Sept' 12, 1S37. 1745-1791. Mv Dear Uncle, At a little after 12 o'clock today Aunt P. expired as quietly as possible. She became considerably worse about the middle of the day yesterday. For the last three weeks she has had seizures which we have expected would carry her off, and the last took place on Friday, from which, however, she seemed to recover on Sunday. M" Lambert and I were with her, M" L. is tolerably well, considering her fatigue, and I have sent her home, to keep her so. In haste, believe me to be Yours affect'' Louisa C. Jeffery. The kindly old lady is affectionately remembered by all the elders of the pre- sent generation as " Aunt P." I well remember her — a kindly, gracious, old lady, who used to "tip" me on my way to school. Her face was one of those which in old age puckers up into a thousand wrinkles, and there seemed a smile in each ! She was a native of Sparshall, Hants. I am sorry not to have been able to obtain a single specimen of her hand- writing (the signature under her portrait is from a tracing of that to her Will). Her chief correspondent was, I believe, Mrs Lambert. There were, I have heard, none of her letters without some allusion to her late husband, to whom she was deeply attached. After her death Mrs Lambert destroyed all her letters, at her own special desire. Her Will is in her own handwriting, and on an ordinary sheet of letter paper. It commences: "I, Betty Taylor, widow of the Reverent will of Betty Peter Taylor, Vicar of Titchfield, Hants, now living at Streatham, in the county of Surrey." She left to Mrs Lambert all her pictures, plate, linen, etc. ; to her niece Ann Robinson, her Bible, etc. ; to her niece Ann Butterly, daughter of her late brother William Butterly, ^20 ; and to her said three nieces the residue' of her things ; to her goddaughter, Mrs Gicsler, her few trinkets ; residue of per- sonalty to her two brothers, Jaines and Peter Butterly, equally. The Will was proved under ^^1500; IMr and Mrs Lambert executors. In 1779, when Peter received the living at Titchfield, he went there to live, not — as I have already explained in speaking of his brother Henry — at the \'icarage, but at " Hollam." In 1782 his father went to live with him. There is not much more to relate of his apparently very uneventful life. In i 7S3 he preached a sermon Prcaci.in.!; a .... 1 , 1 I . I 1 .1 11 , , sermon at W.ini at \\ andsworth, to the great delight, and pride, and glory of good Aunt Beck wonh. (see p. 421). He died in 1791, and was buried at South Weald, where there is a monument to his memory in the church near the pulpit. Some particulars of his illness, as well as the part he took in the two great family troubles which occurred in the few years preceding — viz., Daniel's bankruptcy and the litigation with Elizabeth — will be found elsewhere, in the notices respectively of Elizabeth and Daniel. 5o8 The Rev. Peter Taylor, B.D. I must not omit to note that in politics he was emphatically liberal, like the rest of his family, and his letters show that he knew how to maintain his inde- pendence in their exercise. I don't find any evidence, however, that he had his brothers and father's scruples about the Articles, etc., of the Church. In saying this, I don't forget Elizabeth's letter (p. 462) ; but she was somewhat loose in statement ; and besides, Peter may have had an objection to enforced subscription, as harassing the scruples of others, even though not violating his own opinions. Anyhow, he must have signed again and again, and I hope not against his conscience. His health never seems to have been strong. He alludes, I think, more than once to excessive fatigue produced by riding and preaching, which would hardly have so affected a man of his age in vigorous health. In a draft letter in his handwriting (17S4), he declines to take pupils on account of his health, sedentary occupations not agreeing with him, etc., and before this, in 1782, Henry gives him a lecture upon the subject. He writes — Henry's letter Anil here let me earnestly intreat you to pay some attention to your health, w'*' is by no means o aivice. what it was, but seems to bring on a listless langour w"" greatly disinclines you to engage in any under- taking w"' earnestness & pleasure to itself, in w'' every thing appears to it indiflerent, &: every prospect to be without hope, a State in w^'' all y^ mind desires is but to be at rest, quiet & inactive. This is in itself little less than the most unhajipy state, if it continue for any long time. It is indeed the most uncomfortable part of Nancy's disorder sometimes so depresses her as to make her almost wish to be released from this life. You may not yet have felt it so bad, but surely it is coming upon you, if you do not vigorously exert yourself to resist it, w'' surely you w'' wish to do, not only for your own sake, but also for that of all your friends around you, if you did but consider that it will make life become a burden so great that even y*" Gout may be desirable to free the Constitution from this unhappy infirmity. And upon hearing y' account w"'' Jackson gives of y' d' consider what y^ Gout may be if it come upon an inactive person so early in life, for my Father's Gout has never been to compare w"' that of many other Gouty people. What then w'' I have you do ? What is the remedy? you will ask. Man was certainly made for employment, & his Constitution formed to require some engagement, & being such he must ever suffer for the want of some occupation or otiier, in some degree both for y'' mind & Body, tho y^ full exercise of one, may in some measure compensate for a want of it in y' otlier. Yet not entirely, — But y" due Exercise of y° Body prepares & enables, & invigorates y*^ mind to apply w'"" y" greater assiduity in its pursuits, & to pursue them to y*^ greater Effect & Purpose w''" y' fore I w'' earnestly persuade you to if I might hope you w'' not take it amiss that I have said so mtich on tliis sul^ject, is to contend vigorously ag' this mallady (w^'' is by so much y'^ more dangerous because a manself will be y" last persons sensible of it,) & this is onely to be done by seeking every occasion of using exercise w'"" will by imperceptible degrees mend y" Spirits and health, and be daily y" less irksome y" longer it is continuetl in etc., etc. His last illness. In the letters will be found many particulars of his last illness, and of its sudden conclusion at the supper-table of his brother. The nature and cause of his disease seem not to have been understood. The principal symptoms were appar- ently continual fever, fits of chilliness, great perspirations at night, a general TIic Rev. Peter Taylor, B.D. 509 though not extreme weakness, accompanied by a swelhng of the legs. Three '745-1791- weeks before his death, Mrs William Taylor writes to Henry — Adams last night said Peter was in a very critical situation, that Sir George Baker as well as himself thought there was some hidden mischief that occasioned the fever & other symptoms, the seat of the mallady they do not yet seem to have ascertained, indeed M' A. said last night lie thought all depended on what effort nature would make to restore herself and what strength he had left to bear him through it. One theory seems to have been, that it was what they called " messentery ; " another that a strumous affection which had shown itself in the glands of the neck, and had been, as they said, too roughly dispersed, had settled upon some part of the viscera, producing, I suppose, the " obstruction " they sometimes talked about. Probably the extent to which he was crammed with medicine and food (as he describes) would surprise the Faculty of the present day. The precise manner of his death is described in a letter from Henry to Lady Delme (p. 531). He was evidently a very agreeable person, and a great favourite wherever he His ciiamctcr. went. I picture him as of very good capacity, very honourable and independent, very tender and affectionate, with, as has been seen, indifferent health, and with a tendency to melancholy. If of less natural force than his brother Henry, he was clearly without the dash of acrid humour. He was probably the heaviest loser by Daniel's failure, something like ^1000 perhaps — a large sum for him to lose ; yet there is less bitterness in his allusions to Daniel than appear in those of either of his brothers ; and in the year succeeding the failure we find his defaulting brother staying with him at Titchfield. There is abundant testimony in the letters written upon his death to the Letters uii his death. respect in which he was held. Mr Jervoise C. Jervoise says — I sympathise most trueiy with you on the death of your brother, I have lost a man wliose honor & Integrity I held in high esteem : I may say one whose friendship & acquaintance did nie honor to those that knew it. Miss Wilkes also writes condoling with Henry "on the loss of his worthy brother, whose good qualities, by endearing him to all iiis connexions, must render him deservedly lamented." George Courtauld writes to Henry — For a peculiar agreeableness of manners & honest warmth of friendship I believe few men were more uni%ersally beloved ; in sterling virtue, unaffected piety, gentleness of temper, warm & universal benevolence there are few who equal him. It must have been a great satisfaction to him to perceive the cause of Liberty was in so flourishing a state before he died. Tlic Rev. Peter Taylor, B.D. i£i79i- Again, his friend and neighbour, Rev. J. Richard of Hambledon, writes— I cannot say how much I was shocked He lov'd virtue, had abiUties, & wish'd to promote it. He lov'd mankind & rejoic'd in Everytliing that might contribute to their iiappiness. He was at times really depress'd at a contrary prospect. There are few such left. The following is from Mr Carter : — Rev" M' Taylor Tottenham Court Road Terrace London Wimerincr 28"" Tuly 1701 Mv DEAR Sir = j i ij Your Letter I received this morning, the melancholly event it relates (which I had heard) greatly dist resses roe which I hoped would not have happened during the few remaining davs I can continue here. It is our duty to submit to the stroke of the Almighty but yet human nature must weep the loss of such valueable friends but say Thy Will be done. I esteemed and loved your honoured Father, I likewise had the same regard for you and your brother, tlie kind attention you both have shown me and mine in my decline of Life will be ever most gratefully remembered by me. But I can say no more at present but to turn my mind to his beloved Wife her distress must be peculiarly pointed, every act of friendship I can show her I will exert for her not only on account of my dear departed friend but also on her own as I greatly esteem her. I observe your intention of coming into this Country early in the week, now my Wife joins me in thinking you had better stop at Wimering, and as she has no Servants we hear at Titchfield it may be more convenient to her and my ^Vife will carry her backwards & forward as she chuses I need not tell you M" Taylor will ever meet with the warmest friendship here. Think of this and lett us know. My Wife joins me in our best wishes to M'^ Taylor and yourself God Almighty bless you I am Your most affectionate Friend John Carter. I hope there will be no excuses of giving trouble away with all that. Remember me to William & his Wife and M' Thomas if with you Hereafter follow a number of his letters, with some addressed to him, all in order of date. As already explained (p. 425), such letters as refer particularly to subjects especially connected with any one of his brothers and sisters will be found where those subjects are dealt with. His last letter was written on the very day of his death. The name The name "Alfred" was, so far as I know, unknown in the family until mv " Alfred." ^ ^ father was named Peter Alfred ; it has since become common amongst us. It is not impossible that it was from Peter's love of the name that his little nephew (my father, who was born the year before his death) was given that name. Writing to his sister Elizabeth (the letter has no date, but was written probably about 1 786), he says — You know perhaps that I am to stand godfather to Capt Thompson's Child, who is to be named Alfred, because I was one day extolling King Alfred, as a prince to whom the English were more indebted than to any other that ever Reign'd, & I should be tempted, I said, had I a boy, to give him that name. From that moment (tho before his birth) he has been called young Alfred. The Rev. Peter Taylor, B.D. — Correspondence. 1745-1791- {From Peter to his sister Elizabeth Taylor.] For Miss Taylor at y" Rev" M' Taylors at Crawley near Winchester Hants Portsmouth June 13, 1759. Dear Sister, I rec'd yours yesterday I wrote to you but did not think til it was to late of sending it. I have been in the bath three or 4 times & it agrees very well with me the D' has had my hair cut short becouse it being so long it would not dry so fast S: would make me catch cold. I have set down every thing I have spent as mama told me. Miss Cuthbert has had an ague but is got very well again Poor M' Ragget is dead he dyed 4 oclock Sunday morning I here know talk of the French coming M' & M" Cuthberts compliments to you & Mamma & beleive me to be Your Affectionate Brother P. T.IYLOR. PS. The last words that M' Ragget spoke was this, my Duty & everlasting thanks to M' Taylor & all his Family [From Peter to his father {Ben AJordecai)l] To The Rev" Mr Taylor at Crawley near Winton Hants Dear Sir On Thursday evening Salter & I arrived safe & well at Cambridge, about the examination he was to pass for his admitance & desirous possible, We went immediately to Bennet & he was civil to him he seems excessively happy & proceeds Christ Coll : Cam : May 13 1764 & as he was somewhat anxious of having it over as soon as examind that night. Tlie whole CoU i on his journey to Norwich Fridav next very The Master of Trinity has not yet laid aside his anger against the Pensioners of that College for not being present in the Hall when my Lord Sandwich dined there. He commanded last Friday all the Pensioners & Scholars to be at Chapel in the evening & to sign a paper Confessing that they by absenting themselves from the hall had debased themselves & branded the College with perpetual inf.miy & disgrace & that by the 38 statute of [the University] they deserved expulsion. He threatened y' every one who would not sign should be expel'd that College The thirty four men which were first call'd up positively refused to sign & out of 45 there were but 4 who have so far cast all kind of modesty &: regard too their Charicters as to leave on record under their own hands a confession of so black a nature, as they represented. & a confession which they are far from thinking true. How they will proceed now so great a number have refused is not known, if there had been but few in all probability they would have expell'd them im- mediately. If they are expeld as it is not by the University Many other Coll : will receive them. I hope you had a pleasant journey to Crawley & found My Mother & the rest of the family well & in good Spirits My Duty to My M : Love to Nanny & Brothers & beleive me Dear Sir Your ever Dutiful! & Aflf: Son P. Tavlor. 512 Tlie Rev. Peter Taylor, B.D. — Correspondence. 1745-1791. \_No date from Peter to his brother the Rev. Henry Taylor^ To M' Henry Taylor at the Rev'' M' Taylor's at Crawley near Winton Hants March 1765. Dear Harry, I have just left the Schools, the Act was kept by a very intimate friend & acquaintance of yours & mine. But while you guess who this Man is, you will be so kind as to excuse me a minute, if I just stop & burn all these Arguments & Syllogisms Disjunctive & Hypothetical one cannot keep the room in any toUerable order for them, they so belitter, & becroud the Tables, Chairs, & Windows, nay every place is bescatter'd with objections on some Moral, Metaphysical, or Mathematical Question or other. There is scarse room on the table for the Ink cS: Paper to stand. When this is done I will pro- ceed, upon my word they flame admirably, Well but guess, have you guessed who it is, Why Harry, it is no less nor greater a personage than your most obedient humble servant Peter Taylor Esq : He has in- deed kept an Act When first he received this piece of exercize to make use of a poHte phrase. How he funck'd he could neither sit or stand in any comfort; nor was less restless when he walk'd or run up & down, round & round the room. If you had seen him when the fatal day came ; When the Clock struck one ; what a situation he was in ; The poor Gentleman could not eat a morsel of dinner (But to speak in the first person) I would at that time, I declare have given ten pounds rather than stand in conspectu omnium, to be beat by sixteen bulldog argument, haloo'd & set at me by a person behind in a great long large Wig.— It is now all over Huzza, huzza, Huzza — I expect letters of congratulation from all my correspondents. Fol de dol, dol, dol de dol de dol. Aden for some time all y' ratios y= X' & y' y' lines & y= Cords y" Circles, & tangents I was unwilling to inform you before what a pretty Peice of work I was engaged in, as I knew you would all sympathize with rne in my fear & un- easiness, I can now look back with pleasure, & tell you with a smile that the most disagreeable step, towards my degree, is already taken. March 19''' 1765, ever memorable. March 20'" I no longer dream that I am got half through my Thesis, & by some accident or other not able to proceed a word farther for my life — But you have some curiosity to be shure, to know what the Questions were I kept on— Observe the First— How grand it sounds, (really your brother Peter is a great man) The Second Section of 8' Isaac Newton's Principia, proposition the fourth on Centripetal forces, there's for you Harry— The Second Q : against Clarke's demonstration of the Being of a God a Priori, on this was my Thesis. The 3"' against innate moral sence. I did not put up Mora/is oMigatw pcndet ab intellectu because if I ever keep another Act I intend to have my Thesis on that Q : which for want of time could not be done this act. But now that I may please my Father and Mother, who I know are in no little anxiety for me in reguard to these publick affairs I will inform them of the Com- pliment Watson made me, when I came down, tho' not a great one yet much greater than I expected. Satis . is. M' Brograve said Ad' Rodney had inqured of him by letter whether he had heard or seen any thing of me, which he had just answerd in the negative, but not having sent the letter he alter'd it ; great interest is making for my Tancred against I drop it. Cuthbert I hear has dropt all thoughts of it : & P. Salter thinks y' Master wants me to give it up. \J'rom Peter to his sister Elizabeth Taylor^ To Miss Taylor at M" Elmes's at East-Ham Essex Jan 10, 1769 Your observation, my dear Girl that 1 was particularly grave when I was with you last, I believe was very true for indeed I observ'd it myself, & made several bold attempts to put on an air of gaiety, 5i6 The Rev. Peter Taylor, B.D. — Correspondence. ■745-'79'- but to no purpose: I am obliged to you for your expressions of concern on my account; but indeed there is no occasion for you to be concern'd, for I know no reason for my gravity at that time, or in truth at any time I am really happy & more free from cares or uneasiness than almost any man upon the face of the Globe, & had, at East Ham, particular reasons to be in good spirits, I was among Friends I loved & that I knew had as great a love for me — & had just surmounted, what I had dreaded taking orders : notwithstanding all this, without a shadow of reason, I was grave. Human nature is a strange composition — I have often been in the highest spirits & dancing about with a severe head- ake, when every motion gave me great pain & when I have been well I have been as much down in the mouth. I do not pretend to account for this. I dare say you have experienced the same. I dont know whom you mean by M' C : my Father said nothing about him to me & if I laught at you about him, it was entirely without suspicion, & I recollect nothing of it ; pray let me know every thing how & about him. I recei\''d a letter from Leigh a week or ten days ago, he presses me to come & see him in the Island which, you know, I am not at present able to do. I have promised however to go over to him, if I possibly could, after my return to Crawley — I have preach'd these two last Sundays & indeed the last performed double duty & rid four or five & twenty miles. I must own it a little fatigues me, but I flatter myself I shall soon do it & make nothing of it : I begin to look on the congregation as no better than whited walls — I am sorry M" Elmes has such bad luck, in the, horse my Father bought ; I hope he does not continue ill ; let me know how he turns out. The election is on Friday next, I think we shall have good success. I imagine I shall not reside long after it is over, & shall be with you in less than three weeks. Excuse my writing more, for I have a great deal to do Comp" to M" Elmes & believe me Your Sincere Friend & Affect Brother P. Taylor. Queen's Coll. Cam. Jan' lo. 1769. I will write again soon I have just received a letter from Nancy. She writes in good spirits \No address; — -from Peter to Jiis father {Ben Mordecai)^ Dear Sir As soon as my design of going from hence, as next monday was known : the people here exclamed against it prodigiously & insisted I should at least stay a month with them, and as much longer as I could — I assured them that I was wanted at home, as you had business in Town, & must supply your place during your absence from Crawley — They said other assistance might be procured, & insisted on my writing home to you ; which, in compliance with their commands I accordingly do — but not with a design you should comply w* My request for any longer time than a week, & not even that, if it will be the means of preventing your going to Town on Billys account I should be glad therefore if you will endeavour to procure assistance from Winchester for one Sunday — that is the Sunday after next. If it is wholy inconvenient let me know by the return of the Post, & I will set out home this day sennight as, at first, agreed — Dont make any scruple of sending me word to return, for tho' I am very much pleased with my situation & am used very friendly, my heart is not set on staying much longer — Pray present my Love to all at Crawley & believe to be Your ever Dutiful Son P. Taylor. Knowlton'^ Nov' 5''' ryyo All here desire Comp" * Knowlton was the residence of the D'Aeths. The D'.\eths, LeiL;hs, Conways, Audreys, and Seymours were all apparently of the Delm^ circle. The Rev. Peter Taylor, B.D. — Correspondence. 517 \From Peter lo his sister Elizabeth Taylorl] To Miss Taylor at M'^ Elmes's at East Ham Essex [yH'out 1772,] Dear Betsy, Nancy receive! your letter last night giving us an account of the very great things you have done Advice as to iher for Mr [no doubt Manser, see letters of Aunt Elizabeth, pp. 377-383], We admire greatly D' Salter's ''I""^'^"- noble & generous temper, indeed He is (as indeed are all the Family) good, very good people. But my Dear Girl, we are greatly astonish'd at the very large sum requisite to set this man clear in the world : till now his affairs have not seeni'd so deeply involved, but that 40 or 50 pounds would have made his circumstances easy, the more you have done for him, the more he seems to want your assistance. We all hope, c& are willing to believe that He does not take advantage, from y= sympathy & goodness of your heart & that of my two aunts, wlio are ever charitably disposed, to trump up a false tale in order to draw money from you — But we ought to be vciy sure that his distress is great & real before we venture to give him so large a sum as 60 pounds. He has receiv'd from Miss Delme & from my Father nearly sufficient (according to the i^' representation of his case) for his relief: from whence arise his fresh difficulties & distresses : that he s~^ want 80 pounds more ? These things you perhaps may be able to answer, but to us, who know them not, it looks suspicious tliat He should apply to other uses the money you procured liim to [illegible] & that instead of being relieved from what you have done, He s'^ represent himself as farther involved. You must enquire his character (if you can) from people who have known him many years — & He ought to make you thoroughly acquainted w"" his circumstances before you proceed any farther. — He may fancy because you have viewed his distresses, with an eye of compassion, & have endeavoured to lend him assistance, that you will still go on & support him in his attempt to rise to an higher station of life, but this you must be aware of, it is too great an undertaking, nor does our charity demand it — I3ont think my Girl that we mean to throw a damp on your very good designs, but as 60 pounds is much more than we have ever understood his wants required, we w"" have you take care & not be deceiv'd — We all desire comp'^ to Ar^ E. & Love to yourself. I am Dear Betsey yours Sincerely & Affi P. T.4VL0R. What you receive from Miss D' or elsewere my F. thinks you must send to D' Salter. 1745-1791- \^Froiii Peter to his sister Elizabeth Taylorl] To Miss Taylor At M' Moses Hawkers in St Thomas Street Portsmouth Crawley Sep' 7"' 1774 Mv DE.\R Girls, My Uncle & M" Fo.\ came hither on Saturday after dinner & stay'd till Monday eIoim' re- afternoon they are in health. They inform'd us of an affair w'' will surprise you as much as it did ""oyal to BiDAcld. us. About 10 days ago M" Elmes desired by Dan, to see my Uncle, my Uncle accordingly went— & she was very wretched about the conduct of her Neighbours &' & wish'd to remove from thence w" 5i8 Tlic Rev. Peter Taylor, B.D. — Coj'respondence. 1745- lygi- my Uncle advised her to do, if she could not be happy where she was. Uy Uncle mention'd several places round London. No. she wish'd to be nearer to him — & accordingly Oakingham & Reading were named. But nothing agreed upon. But she desired to see him again y" next week. He went w"' M"" Fox & stay'd a day or two — When to his great surprise after a short conversation she declared she wish'd to live in his famdy — ^V'hich she is to do. & Miss E. : with her. An odd turn surely — However as she will be surrounded by our Friends, it may be as well as anything she could have done — Much better certainly than her marrying or going to relations on y' other side — We are pretty well reconciled to it Yours P. T. [^Rozigh draft; no address; no date; — -from Peter.~\ [Sii//>oscit hi Ra<. Mr Stone on the death qf his wife; about 1775.] I fear I must not press you so soon after your loss to visit Hollam ; when however such a change of scene can be made convenient & agreeable to you & my Aunt, we shall be gratify'd in giving you every attention that may serve to relieve your distress & restore your spirits & indeed I have no doubt but you shew a proper -degree of Fortitude on this present occasion f™ your own philosophic disposition & the long & painful illness of your worthy partner M" Stone I am led to believe that you shew & in truth I am doubtful from the description I have had of her sufferings, whether I ought not rather to rejoice with you upon her relief than to condole with you upon her decease, for surely, all selfish considerations being removed, it cannot be a thing to be deplored, that a good Woman has exchanged a state of tortor for a state of rest & happiness. \_Fr07n Peter to his father [Ben Mordecai).'] To The rev" M' Taylor At M' Taylor New London Street Crutched-Friars. London Crawley ii June 1776 De.^r Sir Sir Edward is at last made Lord Hawke — As it will be necessary, perhaps, that I should be, one day or other Chaplin to some nobleman would it be amiss to apply to Lord Hawke to nominate me as one of his; in all probibility he has not yet fill'd up all his Chaplainships; & I should think this would be a good opportunity either to speak to him yourself in person, or to apply to him thro' M' Carter for that purpose which ever method you think most eligible. I only mention this you know best whether it will be proper : I see no objection my self We are very anxious about Little Madam as y' critical time approaches Your Dutiful & Aff: Son P. T. \^No address ;— from Peter to his brother the Rev. Henry Taylor^ The Rev" M' Taylor Saturday July 27. Crawley 1776 Dear Harry By your account of Little Madam she is getting better, & stronger, tho' she does not yet shew any feats of activity, the first she will attempt of that kind will be perhaps in her way from The Rev. Peter Taylor, B.D. — Correspondence. 519 London to Crawley — My Father had something of Iiis pains in the Stomach on Tuesday last, which he attributed in a great degree to tlie soop he ate at dinner. He clear'd his stomach compleatly with horse radish tea & it afterwards went of, & he has not had the least return of it since & seems extremely well L'" Hawke has written a very handsome letter to my Father wlien he returnd the form for my Chaplainship I am yours most sincerely P. T. July 28"' Sunday night. 1776 Craw. \No address I—from Peter to his brother the Rev. Henj-y Taylor.'] Crawley Aug' 3'' 1776 Dear Harry I received Your letter the night before last & am glad to find your long journey pass'd off so agreeably — To begin w* what you seem most anxious to know. My Father continues pure well since I wrote to You last. He has had no return at all of the Gout in his stomach, & seems extremely well in Spirits &= Nancy & I intend, weather permitting to set out for Binfield next Tues- day, we shall go on horse back & make two days of it : Foxhunter will be ray conveyance & the Grey Nancy's : she carry's Nancy as well as possible & as quietly & steadily as an old horse, she is become a very great favouarit & has put poor Islanders nose quite out of joint, who is discarded not in disgrace I assure Y'ou, for tho' he has no pension yet we have procured him a place, M' Waller having undertaken to provide for him & Miss Waller to keep him in proper exercise— I am glad to hear that Newcombe & Warrington are among the number of those who can distinguish between resistance & rebellion. I beg you will remember me to those honest Gentlemen. I wish they abounded in greater plenty. We had a very good club on Thursday N° about 53 others say more, present the Dukes of Bolton & Manchester the last of whom desires to be elected a Member Lord Charles Montague & many Gentlemen of Fortune. Sir Thomas Miller &= Sir Ph. Jennings, & Peter Gauntlet & several others were elected, our number of Members are now about 87. The whole was conducted very properly, & will prove I believe a very formidable affair to the Jackobites — Rolestone they say has left us, the Duke of Chan : shew'd him some civilities lately & complimented M' Roles; & has quite knock'd up all his Patriotism— a poor creature— You see in the paper that there are 9 West India men taken by y' Americans. It is very true & some of our friends are sufferers— M' Larance has lost about ;^i5o— Delany ^250— & M' Edwards still more— They are valued in all at 60 or 70 thousand pounds. The insurance of goods f" that part of the ivorld is risen 20 p' cent upon it 1785 Dear Harry, I am just return'd from M' Jervoise and M' Carter; M' Carter has no objection to join in a requisi- tion to the Sheriff, for a County meeting, if on a due consideration it shall be found adviseable : M' Jarvoise cannot be expected to act as being Member. Upon the whole it is thought best to send Wyvils letter to M' C. Powlett who is a great friend to the reform in Parliament, and who is so con- nected, as to move with some weight in the business & I should hope with some activity & policy. It ■ is thought on all hands that inactivity will be wrong in itself & give the adversaries to reform an opening they will gladly take advantage of, indeed, I think it would look as if we were not sincere, which, as we do not deserve, we should be careful to avoid being suspected of I differ from You about your Aristocratic ideas; S: tho' I am not fond of y' 100 additional members to y" Counties (that not being y' proper mode of cure for our present evils, nor sufficiently efficacious) yet y° County members have ever spoken nearly the voice of the People in General & have been less under the influence of Ministers & Great Men than any others & consequently I think would not increase the Aristocratic Party — I would not however depend on y" Minister for his plan of reform (for Ministers are not to be trusted) but call aloud for such an one as the people are entitled to &: have a right to demand Yours ever truly P. T. \_From Peter to his brother tlie Rev. Henry Taylor?^ The Rev" M' Taylor at M' Taylor's Osborn Place Osborn Street White Chapel London Dear Harry Letting South I rec'' your letter last night. I think the state of our affairs to be such at this time, that Hoses Weald. must be let at all events, for my Aunt suffers a great deal of uneasiness in her mind for want of the rent, & the rest of y" Family will do the same if they are compelld, by their own feelings, to relieve her, &: I trust you will not. leave Town till You have adjusted this business. My Aunt tells Nancy in a letter of Yesterday that a Gentleman has been over to her twice, who wislies to take it, but whether it is the same you speak of (Mr Swainton) I cannot tell ; but think you sh'' enquire, & by all means see my Aunt before You come down & assure her of our Love & regard for her. Her letter to Nancy The Rev. Peter Taylor, B.D. — Corycspoiidence. 525 is kind but full of trouble & unhappiness — M' Swainton's offer to be sure by no means answers our '74S-'79i- former expectations, but it must be taken if no better can be procured, the harder the terms the shorter should be the Lease, & vi: versa but if it requires 150 Pounds to compleat it, I fear He may not be satisfy'd with a 7 years lease, if however he requires a longer one He should not have so much as ^20 P' An : deducted from the rent. Willock seems to have conducted himself extremely ill in this business, & so I should tell T. Birch, for my part viewing impartially the whole of the transaction I cannot but look upon him not only as dilatory but greatly worse. The House ill done, y" money expended upon it exceeding what Willock said from time to time was more than sufficient, & his own demand encreased upon Us with' apparent reason. While no building was going on — & at last so much left undone that the rent must be lower'd — In the matter of Lounds too he has done nothing or Carters I am Your Truly affec : Brother Hollam June 11"' 17S5 p. T. [From Peter to his brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.] The Rev" M' H. Taylor at M' Taylor's Osborn Place Osborn Street White Chapel London Hollam July iS"" 1785 Dear Harry If a mortgage must be taken up on the Estates it should be on Fleet Street House and Carter's farm, as in those my Aunt has a permanent property & the having mortgaged them must pre- vent the leaving away from Us. believe me ever yours most truly & affectionately P. T. [Extract from a letter of Peter to his sister Elizabeth Taylor, October 14, 1785.] I think my Aunt Taylor will not long have any difficulties in money affairs, the House at Hoses & Fleet street being so well let, I fear she will become Childish, if she is not already, & perhaps it would be prudent to request M" Ironside to let us know from time to time how she is, that we may take such steps as will be prudent & proper should her understanding fail her entirely: but of this we will talk more fully when we see You We are all pretty well & desire You would accept & distribute our love to all Friends {No address; rough draft -.—from Peter to Mr Dcliiu'l\ Aug. i;. 17S7 Dear Sir, I think it incumbent upon me to trouble You once more on the Subject of my former Letter S: in justification of myself to enter more fully into y' Nature of the request contain 'd in it. The peculiar cir- cumstances of y' Living of Titchfield & the manifest disproportion between the Emoluments & Labour of it, have led every Patron, (I believe with' Exception) to see the propriety if not necessity of easing in some measure the Incumbent, for the time being, from y' burden of repairs at the Vicarage 526 The Rev. Peter Taylor, B.D. — Correspondence. 1745-1791. House & premises, by constantly allowing him timber for that purpose — It was upon the strength of this, I grounded my application to You, not doubting your ready & chearful acquiescence in what had been done so constantly & as I conceive so reasonably — & I am not a little hurt in finding that You have had much hesitation on the subject, indeed your long silence sufficiently imply'd — I write therefore now to do away any idea You may entertain of my having made an unprecedented request & to assure you that you have no acquaintance that is more backward to ask any thing unreasonable & improper or disdains more thoroughly the shadow of an imposition on your Good Nature & that my feelings on this occasion will not suffer me to accept the Timber you have authorised M' Lee to allot me. unless You can dispell from Your mind every idea of my having ask'd anything more than Other patrons of this Living have ever granted — for the result of all my Enquiries has convinced me that I have only desired to enjoy the same advantages, with those who have gone before me. If however You wish to place me in a less eligible situation in this respect, than my predecessors, it will give me no small satisfaction to receive an assurance now from Your own pen that I have not forfeited by any of my conduct that place w"*" I flatter'd myself I once held in your esteem, & w"" I am ambitious to preserve, but whether You can or cannot view this matter in the same light with myself I beg leave to subscribe myself D' S' Your aff : Friend & Humble servant P. T. Titchfield Aug' 17"' 17S7. \No address ; no date; roHgh draft from Peter (sttpposed) to Mr DelmL~\ [About 1790.] Politics. I imagine You may be inform'd thro' other hands of what we did Yesterday at Portsmouth — The Com' Martin having offer'd himself the day before to represent the Borough in the next Parliament, S"" John Carter call'd the Body together yesterday at i o'clock & finding M' Martin had began a canvass the day before, we were deterniind to speak out ourselves & M' Will" White proposed S' H. Featherstone & Old M' Carter M' Erskine as Representatives & on a division we found we had 22 for these Gentlemen & 4 only for M' Martin — I hope & indeed have no doubt but this transaction will meet your approbation. The violent attack upon You in the County has certainly done no good to Ministry at Portsmouth & perhaps some of us felt a degree of resentm' in our Breasts — It is thought M' Martin notwithstanding his ill prospect must go thro' with the business, but I am satisfy'd he can liave no hope. As I have not heard of your coming into Hampshire, I direct this to You in Town. [No address ; rotigh draft ; — from Peter to .] Tit ; March 30"' 1 790 Sir, Tho' I have never had the pleasure of a Personal acquaintance with M' Martin, yet, from his general Character & the esteem, with which I have always heard him mention'd by my intimate Friends of the Carter Family & Cap" Bourmaster, I am made to feel particular regret that I cannot give him my voice to represent the Borough of Portsmouth at the next general Election I have the honour to be Sir, Your most obed' : Humble Servant Peter Taylor. The Rev. Peter Taylor, B.D. — Correspondence. 527 1745-1791. [From Peter to his brother the Rev. Henry Taylor^ The Rev" Mr H. Taylor Titchfield Hants Sutton Lodge 13 June 1791 Dear Harry Finding myself not at all fatigued with my ride to Warnford, we took horses & went on, almost Journey to Sutton immediately for Alton, where we dined, and finding myself a little tired, I lay down as usual & had about an hour & half's sleep— After which being much refresh'd, we took Chaise for Farnham, where I latter'd myself I should be well accommodated at the Bush, & should pass as comfortable a night as my health would permit— what then was my disappointm' when I found my accommodations were very bad, for we could procure no other bed room but a very noisy one next the Street ; & the attendance upon Us so shamefully bad that you might ring the bell half a dozen tiines & no one would come near You, & might speak for any thing as often & not have it brought to you, never any thing was worse. I have done w"' y' house — I pass'd as you may suppose a very indifferent night. We had a very pleasant ride to Guilford the next mortf, & took Chaise from thence to Leather- head, where we dined, after w='' I took my sleep, w"' was much wanted— & we arrived at Sutton Lodge between 5 & 6. Tho' [Mr Thomas] was in Town, but came home about 7— I thought I should have had a good night's rest last night, but the pain in y= Chest prevented. I cannot help attributing this pain to the bark & have accordingly taken none of it to day — indeed I shall take nothing more till we have been in Town, — for which place, if nothing prevents we mean to set off to morrow. Thom' is well as is M" Taylor, & I believe I am not the worse for my Journey, tho' they were two very cold & disagreeable days. I perform'd it \No s!gnaiure\ [From Peter to his brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.'] \ To The Rev'' M' Taylor Titchfield Hants Tottenham Court Road June 16"' 1791 Dear Hakkv, S' George liaker detains me in Town for a week at least, in order to see the effect of his prescrip- tion ; he certainly has given a good deal of attentioB to my disorder, & I at jjresent take by his direction a Draught every eight hours, & at breakfast & tea, I drink Seltzers Water, with a little milk in it & as my common drink at meals without milk. It contains a great deal of fix'd air, is not unpleasant, & as yet, 1 find it agrees extremely well with me— My nights pass away much more tran- quily than they used to do, which I attribute to leaving off the Bark none of whicli I now take — The weather is so severe, that 1 cannot get out to take any exercise which is a disadvantage to me in many respects, & occasions my legs to swell & be more stiff & troublesome, & certainly I may as well be resident in the Town as y* Country, till it becomes warmer. My api)etite improves, not only for every sort of vegiuble but almost for any sort of meat— This rain that has fallen, will, I hope, produce a change in the weather believe me Dear H : Your afiTcc : & sincere Friend P. T. 528 TIic Rev. Peter Taylor, B.D. — Correspondence, ■745-1791- \From Peter to his brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.^ The Rev" H. Taylor Titchfield Hants Tottenham Court Road June 20 1791 Dear Harrv The D' still continues me in Town, & still continues his care & attention to me. That I am in a fair way of recovery. I make no doubt, but I am very languid & weak, which I am persuaded the D' pays attention to, as well as the removing my fever — I had a good night's rest last night, notwith- standing which, I had a slight degree of fever, some part of it. What I take I suppose is calculated both to give me strength & remove this feverishness. I drink, as before, Seltzer's water as my common drink. Morning, Noon, & Night I take Steel Draughts. And about Ten o Clock in the fore-noon, & 4 or 5 in the afternoon I take a glass of water with 20 drops of Elix : Vit : — My appetite is good, my nights are more comfortable, & my perspirations are nothing to speak of — I suppose the D' will soon form the plan upon which I am to proceed & when he has done that he will send me into the Country, but it signifies little whether I am in Town or Country while the weather is so cold ; for the D' forbids my walking into the open air, till the wind gets into a more mild c& salutary quarter [Added by Mrs William Taylor}— Dear Harry Wiir is not well enough to write himself tho' I flatter myself he is much better to day than yester- day & Peter seems vastly better indeed, I really think you will find him as well as ever — we are very sorry you are so much indisposed — if your complaint is bile I make no doubt the underwritten pre- scription will relieve you — W|" does not take it except he finds his Stomach disordered, & two bottles generally performs a cure — let us hear how you do in a day or two & with sincere good wishes believe me y' affect : sister & friend C. Taylor. For bilious complaint, inward weakness, cough, &c Half an ounce of finely rubb'd Spermaceti. Three or foui" nobs of sugar. The yolks of two Eggs. Eight ounces of cold Spring water. Three ounces of simple Cinnamon water. Two ounces of Spirituous Tincture of Rhubarb. Two Drams of sweet Spirit of Nitre — The Dose, a Tea cup full two hours before dinner, & if not too opening the same dose going to bed. \_From Peter to his brother the Rev. Henry TayIor.'\ The Rev" H. Taylor Titchfield Hants 24 June 1791 Dear Harry I have the pleasure to inform you that Bill is perfectly recover'd from his Quinsy and seems as well as ever — We hope your indisposition has likewise, taken its leave of You & that You have adopted some more rational means of putting your stomack into a proper state than drinking Vinegar, nay we hope You have call'd in M' Stocker's assistance and do not undertake to quack yourself; which I am very clear would be attended with bad if not fatal consequences, for whatever knowledge You may have in other things, yet do not fancy You have any skill in Physick, a fancy that may cost You Your life? I am sorry to say respecting myself, that I have had more perspiration the last 3 nights, than I The Rev. Peter Taylor. B.D. — Correspondence. 529 have had before since I came to Town, in consequence of which S' G. Baker has changed the Steel 1745-179 Draughts, for some other medecine, whicli I am to begin upon today & has order me to leave Town & go to Sutton Lodge on Monday for a week or ten days, when he shall wish to see me here again — He has told Bill & so has M' Adams the Apothecary, that they have no doubt of my recovery, but that it will be a great while first : indeed, I am so reduced & become so weak, that it must take up a con- siderable time before I can be reinstated in perfect health \ I should think the present Summer too short to effect it, & the Winter will do little or nothing towards it ; I fear therefore we must look as far as next Summer for a Perfect reestablishment if a Perfect reestablishment is ever obtaind. I imagine I have advanced some Years in age, within these three Months — I have an appetite to my food, and sleep in the 24 Hours very sufficiently, but till the fever is gone, the grand object remains unaccom- plished — The is very attentive & careful & what caji be done, I am persuaded ivill be done, but as yet we have fail'd, and unless, the mildness of the approaching season or a change of air, can do something for me I fear mere medicine will not be powerful enough to bring about my cure. I shall not write to You again till I go to Thomas's on Monday. \The remainder of the letter in IViNiam's writing.'] Peter is gone to take a walk before the house & has left me to conclude his letter ; I wish I could say he improves dayly — Yet tho I think there has been a Stagnation of improvement for these two days, yet he is hardly to be said to have gone back ; he goes to M' Thomas's on Monday & I am in hopes that the change of Air will be beneficial to him. His meals are not amiss upon the whole, & that his recovery is slow ought not to surprize us, since no person among the faculty has given us any reason to e.vpect an expeditious one. He walks [torn], but I hope that arises from his being so little used to walking since he has been with us. In short compared to what / hear he has been, he is very much amended ; but he is still far less improved than I flatterd myself he would have been by an improvement in appetite & abatement of Night sweats. Kitty joins me in love & hopes our Nostrum has been serviceable, believe me Your Affect Bro. W. Taylor. '[From Peter to his brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.'] Rev" H. Taylor Titchfield Hants Sutton Lodge June 27. 1791 Dear Harry, I arrived at this place Yesterday before dinner without fatigue. The Sun kept in most part of the time we were on the road, I fear however that I caught a slight cold The two or three last days we were in Town the heat of the weather was quite overcoming particularly in the Evenings & nights ; I attribute an encrease of perspiration which has taken place to that cause & hope now I have changed the air, & got into the Country it will diminish or depart. I drink Asse's milk & I have been on horse back this morning for about 20 minutes, & intend by & by to take another ride of equal length We left Bill, ^Vife &: Cliildren well, indeed the Children, are fine Children, & the Boy is not inferior to any of the rest — Thomas is w ell — Excuse my writing more than that I am Your Aff: Brother & Sincere Friend P. Taylor. Remember me kindly to all my Friends & Neighbours ; I wish much to see them all, but fear it will be some time before I have that pleasure 3 X 530 The Rev. Peter Taylor, B.D. — Correspondence. 1 745- 179 1. \_Fyoin Peter to his brother the Rev. Henry Taylor^ ReV H Taylor Tichfield Hants Sutton Lodge June 30* 1791 Dear Harry Since I came to Sutton I think I am better notwitlistand my appetite I tliink is not quite so good as it was — my perspirations are somewhat encreased, owing to the heat of the weather perhaps, & my Legs are weak & sometimes painful — You will not wonder however that my appetite is no better when I tell you that I drink Ass's milk at 6 o C : in y"-' Morng : at 7 a strengthening bitter Draught— 9 Break': 11 Strawberries & milk to nourish; 12 Bitter Draught — 2 0 Clock 30 Drops of Elix : Vit : in water ; — 3 Dinner — 5 Bitter Draught— 6 Ass's Milk — 8 Elix : Vit : 30 Drops in Water — 9 Supper — My Time you see is compleatly taken up — & I am nearly as busy in my way, as you are with all Your books about you — Since I came hither, I have, for a short space of time every day, ridden twice which seems to agree with me, & as Bill to day is come over to see me I have try'd his Grey Mare, which I much like I think I have extended my letter to a great length & shall therefore conclude myself Your Aff : Brother & Friend P. Taylor. \_Froin Petc7' to his brot/tcr the Rev. Henry Taylor^ [This was written the very day he died.] The Rev" H. Taylor at M' Taylor's N° 3 Terrace Tottenham Court Road London Dear Harry Just as we came to the door of W"" House he came in & immediately went to the D" whose Carriage was at the door & who came to me immediately — He has altered the Steel Draught for the Myrrh powders & made them twice as strong as those I before took — we had a good deal of conversation respecting D' B' : idea of the Messentery, which he says he sees no reason to suppose at all disorder" d — If a person was to affirm it was disordered, He certainly could not deny it— no more he could of many other internal parts of the Body ; but he saw no reason to suspect any such disorder, however the Myrrh powders he had order'd would be beneficial were that the case— The D' farther s"' what would these Gentlemen Prescribe for You, in this disorder? (w='' however is mere conjecture) The usual remedy is Mercury— Mercury in its active state he never coukl consent to give me, in my present situa- tions—Dead Mercury he should not be so averse to, & might submit to make a short trial of— He ask'd me if I chose to have a consultation of Ph's. I said by no means, I wholly rely'd upon him & sh" do so : he seems anxious to be of service to me ; will write to Stocker in what manner I am to be treated : & he shall not care what number of letters he receives from him on the Subject of my health. I shall not see him today, but tomorrow (that is Saturday) he should visit me, & as he does not wish to detain me in Town, he has appointed Monday for my leaving this Place ; I shall therefore set out from hence on that Day, & hope to meet you well on Tuesday to Dinner— I have had another bad night, & have consequently been very pooriy this Morning, low & uncomfortable— I try'd to take a sleep upon the bed, w=" has succeeded, & I am got up rather revived— Indeed my Dear Harry, I think my situation at present is by no means flattermg— & an expectation of the worst, as well as a hope for the best must begin to occupy the minds of us all. The Rev. Peter Taylor, B.D. — Correspondence. 531 Perspiration & flying pains take possession of me during the night; & I have little appetite in 1745-1791. the Day by which I might regain strength to balance what I lose at that period — so that I am likely to go on in a retrograde direction. And should the Messentry be disorder'd I must go in my weak state into another course of medicine, which will weaken me still more : which will be setting out on a race at a time we might reasonable expect the conclusion of it: for 16 weeks have the Faculty had me under their care. It is disheartening to have my bad symptoms continue at this distant Period. I have nothing more to add but all our loves & good wishes. I am D"' Harry Your Affect : Friend & Brother Tottenham Court Road P. T. July 22"'-^ 1791 \_No add7'css ; — -from a draft letter, 110 doubt from Rev. Henry Taylor to Miss Wilkes?^ It is with much concern I undertake the painful Task of informing you of the irreparable loss we His death, have sustaind in the death of my Brother, Peter ; For about 4 Months passd he had laboured under a fever, w'" continually wasted his Strength & Constitution, & had greatly reduced him. On friday last about 10 in the Evening, as he was sitting at y*^ table after Supper, he was suddenly seized with a Spasm in the Stomach, w^'^ in less than one minuets time carried him off ; & left us to deplore the loss of a Relation whose affectionate temper & amiable disposition & sincere affection (a most severe stroke to us all as we were most strongly attached to him, from the experience we had of the Sincerity of his heart and Affections) toward all his friends & relations, c'^ not but greatly endear him to us all. With best respects to M' Wilkes. I am with great sincerity your sincere friend and cousin & obliged hbl Ser'. Tues 26 July 1791 \_No address; rough draft; — -from tlie Rev. Henry Taylor to Lady Delm<'.^ Lady Betty Delme Tuesday 26 July rygi Madam It is a very painful Task, w''' has fallen to my Lot, when it comes upon me to inform your Lady- ship, of the loss we have to lament in my Dear Brother Peter one of the kindest & best of friends & Relations just taken from us. It is indeed a very severe stroke, as his amable & affectionate disposi- tion C' not but strongly attach all our loves & regards to him. I doubt not but y' yrself & Lady Juliana will sympathise in y' concern we feel for him. On friday night a little after Supper as he was leaning his head on his hand he was suddenly taken with a Spasm in his Stomach. He raised his head, shook it once or twice in a trembling quivering manner, & then dropd dead upon the table.* The distress & consternation w'' must have ensued in family upon so sudden a stroke of Death on a relation so near & so dearly beloved by them all, is not easily described. But, however exquisitely it may be felt, it must be acquiesced in, and as it is y' will of heaven ought not to be repined at. We must do our best endeavour to reconcile our minds to it, though that can only be done by degrees. & must y'fore be a work of time to effect — With best regards & every good wish to /self Lady Juliana & y' rest of y' family I am Madam Y' most obed' hbl Set* li. T. * This took place at the house of his brother William io London. 532 Daniel Taylor {Son of Ben Mordecai). 1745-1791- \J^o dale I — 'fro7n Mrs Bourmaster to the Rev. Henry Taylor.'\ The Rev-" M' Taylor at M' William Taylor's N° 3 Tottenham Court Road London My D" Friend [^Endorsed 1791.] Thank you for telling me how niy belov'' M" Taylor is. How my heart bleeds for her is not to be describ'', may the Almighty give her fortitude equal to her tryals, greater no woman can meet with ; — as our worthy & ever to be lamented Friend has left few like him, never was mortal more Sincerly mourn"'. Make my best my warmest offers of love & friendship to her, & happy I shall be to Sooth or Comfort as much as the occasion will admit but time only can Kind wishes to Those You are with & beleive no one can more Sincerly Sympathys with you all then Your ever aff" M. Bourmaster. 1751-1S07. First plans. With Mr Clarke in London. With Hughes & Saunders. In partnership with Hughes, The next of Ben Mordecai's children that we come to — decidedly the most unsatisfactory member of the family that I have had to deal with — is Daniel. He was born in 1751, and, as appears by the Portsinouth Register, was baptized the gth October in that year. The first that we hear of or rather in relation to him, is in 1767, when Sir C. Knowles writes to Ben Mordecai, " I asked L"" Howe to take your son into his office ; " and alludes to his desire to serve him out of gratitude for Ben Mordecai's care of his own son. This must have referred to Daniel, because Henry and Peter were already in course of preparation for the Church, while William was only eleven years old. Did this imply a taste on Daniel's part for the sea, or was he to be a clerk in the Admiralty Office on shore ? I cannot say. The fact that Daniel did go to sea many years afterwards weighs, perhaps, though very slightly, for the former suggestion. The ne.xt note we have of him is in 1768, in London, when Dr Salter writes that Mr Clarke, Daniel's master, is very ill, and shortly afterwards that he is dead, adding a hope that a new master might soon be found for him. In 1769, J. Hughes (Hughes & Saunders) writes to Ben Mordecai, February 23, with an invoice of a quantity of groceries, " In regard to your Son's coming I can say but little on our parts as we are young beginers in Business, but his coming from Mr Draper, & we being well acqainted with each other I told him if he pleased to come & put up with an inconvenlency & it was agreeable to you, we should be glad of it." He adds in a P.S., "Danny desires his Duty & Love." Thus we find him settled in the business in New London Street, in which he afterwards (1773) became a partner with Mr Hughes, and which in after years (17S4) became Daniel Taylor {Son of Ben Mordecai). 533 bankrupt, involving ruin to Daniel, and a heavy loss to his friends. Up to this i75i-iSo7. time we hear not a word in derogation of his character. He was in the liabit of '--"ikmpicy. visiting his aunts at Wandsworth, the- Salters, and no doubt the Elmeses ; and it is evident he was a great favourite with his aunts then, and for many years after- wards, as his name is frequently mentioned as manasjin"- their business affairs, etc. Family confi- His father, in his letter to Mrs Herricic (1771), p. 253, includes Daniel with all the rest when, in speaking of his children, he says they have turned out to the utmost of his wishes. The following passage in a letter from Anna, in 1785, would seem to imply that she was not particularly partial to him, although she was afterwards one of those who showed most tenderness for his bad conduct. It is written from Titchfield, where Daniel was staying: "Dan' behaves very well, an agreeable companion he never was, even when one had an opinion of him in other respects, but he is not particularly otherwise." His aunt Elizabeth, in October 1773, expresses some disapprobation at his His character, declining to make a settlement upon his future wife ; and this is the place to refer to his engagement with Miss Drane. His aunt's disapproval of the conduct to which I have referred does not apparently go very deep, nor does it appear to have made much impression upon his other friends. With all the letters now before me, it is at about this time that serious doubts of the worth of his character present themselves. We find him in one letter declaring that neither circumstances nor friends shall keep him from the girl he loves, while presently we find him hinting to his father that it would be well if he would raise objections to the proposal of the lady's family for a settlement, and intimating that probably, after all, the lady cared more for him than he did for her. However, his character stood clear with the world for many a year after this, and I am somewhat antici- pating. It is evident that his proposal to marry Miss Drane was not very Negotiations for favourably received by the families on either side, though probably for no other than pecuniary reasons. In a draft letter by Ben Mordecai to Mr Drane he says — I rec"" yours & in answer to it can only repete my fears that Daniel's small fortune will hardly be able to maintain y' daughter as you would chuse, even with your help, for in truth he has not quite 600^ & I shall not be able to make it more than 1000/^. He goes on to say that lie believes he will be a good economist, and attend to his business, and that, if it turns out in accordance with his hopes, they may do very well ; — adding, " I was in hopes he would not have thought of a wife till he had a little more experience how his trade succeeds." However, all difficulties were surmounted, and the marriage took place probably in 1 774 ; and all, so far as any records remain to show, went on with entire satisfaction to all parties. His wife, writing to Elizabeth, August 20, 1774 (p. 540), wishes her "& all the 534 Daniel Tayloi' {Son of Ben Mordeeai). 1751-1S07. single Girls as good a Husband as I have got, & I believe I cannot wish them A better." She was evidently a general favourite, and is never mentioned but in terms of cordial affection. She seems to have been universally spoken of in ■Little Madam," the family as "Little Madam." She deserved but little if she did not deserve his wife. better treatment and a happier fate than awaited her. I cannot give a better illustration of the universal estimation in which she seems to have been held than the following passage in a letter from George Courtauld (without date) to Elizabeth Taylor — She was indeed a most excellent & amiable woman I admire her for her fortitude. She has shewn a degree of courage & selfcommand when with her father & mother, that were astonishing. She would eat when she loathed victuals, appear cheerful & gay when in the greatest distress, & laugh with an aching heart. She would then leave the room & burst into tears. If D. was alive to the tender feelings of humanity he could not possibly support the Cutting reflection that he has injuriously treated this excellent woman, & done all that he could to make her wretched, and then laiigh'd at her complaint as 'Presbyterian stuff.' It is now out of his power ever to make her amends. You knew her Betsy, you lov'd her, & will I hope excuse my ^vannth, for I lov'd her too, every body lov'd her. Henry Thoinas They had but One child, a son, Henry Thomas, to whom frequent reference Taylor. ^ ^ will be found in the letters, and who w^as born September 3, 1778. He married, December 1S32, Louisa, daughter of William Kenny of Limehouse, and leaves issue. He lived to a good old age, dying 9th January 1S71, at the age of ninety- three, and was buried at East Ham, in the vault of the Elmes family. He was, of course, in a generation below that to which this memoir is strictly limited, or I should have had something to say of the good old gentleman. He had several of the marked Taylor characteristics ; was of a most kind disposition, with a certain dash of half-assumed cynical humour, not unmixed perhaps with a little real eccentricity. With a smile upon his face, he would banter away if any one laid claim, either for himself or others, to any peculiar e.xcellence in private or public life. " Lord, Peter, they are like other people, Ell be bound," was a sort of phrase I have often heard him use ; but I have frequently been told, by those who know him best, that he would never suffer an unkind word of the absent to be spoken in his presence without rebuke. He had lived at East Ham for upwards of thirty years. He married rather late in life, and leaves a widow, two sons, and three daughters. Whether Henry Thomas was the only child born I do not know. There are references in the letters, both in 1776 and 17S3, to Little Madam's being enceinte; but what happened does not appear. It is needless to pursue in any detail the narrative of Daniel's life. The letters are, more than perhaps in the case of any other person I have had to deal with in this Memoir, sufficient to bring out the facts. \\\ them the reader will see the story of his bankruptcy, and how he demeaned himself under Daniel Taylor {Son of Ben Moydccai). 535 it; the negotiations for a separation from liis wife; tlie attempts of liis friends to 1751-1807- find liim something else to do, with but httle success (there is a curious expression rjecaJencc. in a letter to Peter in June 1786, when he speaks of remaining in Hampshire, " where perhaps I may enter into closer connexions ; " whether he was already looking out for another wife is more than appears) ; and his going to sea, where Going to sen. we find him employed in 17S6, and again in 1789 in the Bellona, and in 1790 in the Elephant. In the latter year he will be found leaving his seadife, and, so far as appears, never returning to it ; although quite at the end of that year, he being in London with nothing to do, the proposition seems to have been enter- tained by his brothers of advancing him money enough to fit himself for a lieutenancy ; but nothing appears to have come of it. From this time Daniel probably lived for the most part upon a small pittance allowed him by his Uvingin Londo brothers and sisters, eked out, like enough, by some petty remuneration for small services rendered. In 1791, for instance, we find him employed by a Mr Panter, perhaps the same person in regard to whom Henry was in negotiation for him in 1796. Some little trace of him will be observed in a letter of Anna's in 1802; Ueath. and in 1807 he died, and was buried at Hackney. And now, what shall we say of his character as a whole.' Was he a bad His character, man, or was he only a weak man 1 Perhaps the difference between the two is less than the world is apt to think. He certainly was not that monster, if such indeed exists, who loves evil for its own sweet sake. I take him to have been of the stuff of which vicious men are generally made. That is, I fancy his chief characteristic to have been a want of moral backbone, so to speak ; probably greatly lacking imagination, and failing altogether in the region of the ideal. I trace this from the fact that he seems to have had no ideal to measure his own conduct by, and was apparently really unconscious of his own turpitude. It is true he occasionally made confessions of ill-conduct, but there is no true ring about them ; they give the impression of having been uttered only to mollify the person to whom they were addressed. Indeed, I really believe, when he speaks of himself as having a clear conscience, and as a man assailed rather by external ill-fortune than as one suffering from his own misdeeds, his utterance is more e cordc than when he patters about repentance. Such a man would have kept straight enough while all things were going prosperously, with sufficient worldly means, and while supported and fortified by the public opinion of his family and friends; his very moral weakness would have tended to guard him from going wrong; but the moment that the scene changes, and he finds on all sides his conduct branded as selfish and dishonest, he falls, and falls utterly, because all his supports are gone. The world seldom makes a greater mistake than when it says, in regard to a man who has made a slip, " We must excite his conscience by 536 Daniel Taylor (Son of Ben Mordecai). 1751-1S07. showing- him what a worthless scoundrel he is." It would be safer practice if, in such cases, we should set ourselves to prove to the sinner how much of good yet remains in him. Whether Daniel's salvation could have been procured by such means may be doubted, and certainly cannot be proved. In 1793 he was staying at Titchfield, and his brother William, in a letter to his wife, thus mentions him : "We have now the delectable pleasure of Daniel's company. Poor Mrs P. loves many better ; he is however meanly dressed, but not much humbled." This may or may not be significant of the kind of mistake which I have suggested as not impossible. Not to be loved, allowed so little that he was meanly dressed, and then further disliked because not sufficiently humbled, is perhaps hardly the way to effect the reformation of a human soul. There is certainly something ineffably mean about some of his transactions. What could possibly be worse than his refusal to sign the agreement of separation, for which his wife pleaded, on the ground that he had taken an oath to the contrary ? I fear there is reason to suppose that, at some time or times, he fell into habits of vicious indulgence. I should not attach much weight by itself to the report in Aunt Becky's letter (p. 424) of Daniel's being drunk, drinking punch at inns in the neighbourhood of South Weald, instead of attending to business, and looking after the house and land as he ought to have done, as it is fair to remember this was only the report of a carpenter, poured into ears ready to believe stories to the prejudice of a man whose loss of the family money just at that time had naturally greatly irritated. But Mrs Fox, in her letter of condolence, February 12, 17S5 (p. 549), distincriy refers to a course of vice and degrading sensuality. It is a tradition, too, that when he was missing at Portsmouth, at the time he ought to have joined his ship, he was spending his time in anything but a creditable manner. Captnin Bonr-" One of the few persons of whom Daniel speaks with apparently real regard and respect is Captain Bourmaster, whose name is frequently found m the correspondence of this generation as a warm friend and trusted adviser. I could not omit saying thus much of one of whom all the family evidently thought so much. A letter from Mrs Bourmaster to Henry on the death of Peter bears evidence of how strong was the attachment on both sides ; an extract from it •will be found p. 532. The letters written by or relating to Daniel or his wife follow. There is no need in his case of making any division in regard to their subject-matter, because his letters related only to himself and his own affairs ; — a fact, I doubt, too typical of his interests in life. They will be found, therefore, simply in order of date, Daniel Taylor {Son of Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 537 [From Daniel to his sister Elizabeth Taylori\ To Miss Taylor M'^ Elmes's East Ham Essex lo* May 1773 Dear Betsy I dont the least desire you to go to Lime house if you think it an improper thing: But I must His engagement imagine you doubt that my Father will consent to my ever having her, otlierwise I see no objection. '° '^''"^ Both you &: I know my F is very well acquainted with my attachment to her ; or I'm mis-inform'd (which I dont think I am) I may say know exceedingly well ; for which reason, I think he ought to have at least flung out some hints, that he does not approve of it, before now that I know her good quallities too well ever to forget the Dear Girl If there had been nothing particular between us, you would as I have have gone to see her as the Miss Kilners, but because I've a greater regard for her, than for any other person on Earth (let the other be whom it will) & she as great a one I've all the reason I ought to have to suppose for me therefore you must not go see them least they should think I will ever have her I should be very glad to have y' consent of all & every one of you & should be happy to oblige all & sorry to disoblige any ; But I must at the same time consider that it is neither my Brothers, Sisters or my F who is to live with y" woman I marry but myself therefore the Question is whether I shall consult the fancy of my Relations or my own happiness ; which I think requires no answer at all I very well know that when I ask consent there will be a very great oposition a thousand objections started & very likely refus'd at last, for which reasons sometimes I think it y° best way never to ask at all & always that the sooner 'tis over y^ better. I shall be told 'tis not prudent, that I had better marry a Girl with more money & stay a longer time first. As to y' i"' I always have & always shall look upon prudent matches as a thing inconsistent with Human Nature & that a man who's life is continually guided by a prudential scheem is neither capable of hapiness him self or of doing a charitable action to another. My F I'm sure did not much consult it when he was young & he did very well, why should not I do the same if I'm carefull & indus- trious ? As to y" 2"'' A man must be very happy, beyond doubt who marries a woman with a Deal of money (tho' he the whole time wishes her lain underground) because then he may go to balls & routs & live on in a continual round of pleasure which he might not otherwise be able to do. May I never have one who is fond of Diversions, I had rather have one without a gown to her back that will stay at home & keep me company. To stay a Year or two longer is much better Theory than Practice I'm sure I dont believe I ever shall stay half so long ; however this I'm sure of I had better be without business than without her for I shall never carry things on proper as I ought to do with her continually running in my thoughts. Tho' I at present know my dear Betsy would not have me without the consent of my Family I doubt not but I could bring her to alter her opinion before long Comp; to M" Elmes, M" Stone. Love to Nancy & accept the same from Dear Betsy Your aftectionate Brother & Sincere Friend D. T. \No date from Miss Salter to Elizabeth Taylor, daughter of Ben Mordecai.] Miss Taylor Crawley near Winton Hants [About 1773.] I have had a letter from My Friend Dan to tell me he has open'd Shop and to ask My advice concerning his Love affair, he wishes to break it to his Father, but knows not how to set 3 V 1751-1807. 538 Daniel Taylor (Son of Ben Mordecai).- — Correspondence. 1751-1S07. about it; especially as he fears that None of his family will stand by him except Peter, and he can not bear the thoughts of giving up so amiable and so charming a Woman, when their affections are Mutually engaged to each other. I have advised him by all Means to write to his Father and to acquaint him in a respectful with the true state of the case and to add that he hopes he will not object to a measure upon which his Sons happiness depends, to assure him that he does not wish to do anything rashly but if he is fortunate enough to Meet with his approbation he will wait with patience as long as prudence May make it proper to do so. I have ventured to tell Dan that I was very sure that You would be as strong an advocate for him, as Peter could be. and indeed I hope you will all join to farther his suit, if there is no objection to the Young Lady, but her want of fortune, since I am persuaded there cannot in the World be so strong an inducement to industry as a Virtuous attachment ; when he thinks the happiness of the Woman he Loves is concerned, he will spare no pains that May promote his business ; but if he meets with opposition in this Matter, 'tis very probable that he May in a short time conquer his affection for her, but he will no longer think it of any consequence whether he succeeds or not. He will be out of humour, disoblige his customers, and neglect his business, and in all probability form connections which will entirely ruin him here, and perhaps endanger his future happiness. I own myself much interested in this Matter, as indeed I ever must be in any event of consequence relating to Your Family. I love Dan, and have his wellfare much at heart, and in this age, when a Man is early his own Master living in such a Nursery of Vice as London, shews a desire to Marrj', I confess I think he ought to meet with every encouragement. I trust You will not think me impertinent but that you will take what I have said into Mature consideration, and plead My Friend Daniels cause with as much eloquence as you are Mistress of. ray hopes are much more sanguine than his are, for I flatter myself You will all be on our side, whereas, he fears You will all blame him he tells Me his Dear Girl's Health is better than he has known it for a long time. I hope it will be considered, that the Young Man is not sighing for every Girl that comes in his way, but that he has long known this Girl and I believe never was attached to any other believe me your affectionate faithful E. Salter. Norwich May the 12* \_No address ;—fro7n Daniel to his sister Elizabeth Taylorl] 26 June 1773. Dear Betsy I sent the things last Thursday, & by the time you receive this they will be down at Winton. I . have charg'd Peters Chamber Pot to nty Fathers account so he must Pay my F. I receiv'd your letter and am much obliged to you all for your good wishes towards me. I thank you also for your advice & must own I think there may be more prudence in your way of reason- ing than I may be capable of Practising ; or even than I ever wish ; the next time you write be so good as to mention the time in which you thmk I may marry. As for there being a necessity for my Brothers Pleading for me I have no Doubt. Whenever it shall happen I know that both my F & myself are much to hot to talk on any subject, & as for writing I don't know a Subject I should be so little able to write upon, For to write & Praise the Girl I love ; I look upon to be the most arrant Nonsense a man can be guilty of for tho' she may be amiable in my eyes, is that a reason I should suppose she would be so in anothers & as for teUing him that I love her & that I cannot be happy without her, old men are apt to think it a parcell of Nonsense & that one may as well love one Girl as another, besides tis writing the same over twice for If I love her how can I be happy till I have her. What do you suppose I went into business for? I know, you think meerly with an intent to get money ; to get money was part of my intentions but not that alone, any body else might have went Daniel Taylor {Sou of Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 539 into the same house for what I cared if I had not had an intention of marrying when I was there; 1751-1807. & so they may now if I do not ; for what is money in ever so great a degree if I am debar'd her. You have painted a very black scene but it is not sufficient besides 'tis not right in my opinion to anticipate one's ills, they'll come soon enough and as 'tis best for us. Love to all at home & am Your affec' Brother D. Taylor. \^Fro7n Daniel to his brother the Rev. Peter Taylor^ To The Rev" M' P. Taylor Crawley near Winchester Hants 15"' Oct' 73 Dear Peter To all of you in general &: you in particular I am much oblige to for you endeavours & wishes to serve me with respect to Miss Drane ; M' Drane must & I'm certain does know of my regard for his Youngest Daughter & of hers towards me, he cannot I'm sure be the least ignorant of it as no pains was ever taken to hide it from him what Fortune is he able to give her I cannot at all say for any certainty. That he will give her all he is able, that comes to her share I make no doubt as he is a man that loves his children & has always acted uprightly in everything Your aff Brother & Sincere friend D. Taylor. \_From Daniel to his father, Ben Mordecaii] To The rev" M' Taylor at Crawley near Winchester. London S' Nov' ii"" 1773 Dear Sir I was yesterday evening at M' Drane's who told me he had receiv'd a letter from you : that he He objects to had no objection if we could at all settle things : that it would not be in his power to give her a great JJ^"",'j'^'^ deal ; but that he should wish to have that settled upon her he ask'd if that was agreable, I told him I could not give any answer without first writing to you : for that I should not think of doing any- thing without the concurrence of my Father who had always acted towards me as a friend, &: who, I was sure, would not insist upon anything unreasonable. But this settling upon a woman what she brings is what I never can nor will consent to, for the following reason which in my opinion is unanswerable by reason. Suppose she brings me 500 (I only suppose a sum) it is a pretty help in trade, but to look on it as bringing in the common interest it cannot e.vceed at most p' annum. Now this I should wish you would make as an objection of your own, if you think my reason sufficient & not consent to more than half being settled upon her. Perhaps he thinks I'm oer head & ears in love & will therefore consent to any thing rather than not succeed. I dont deny but that I have the tendcrcst regard for her & should be sorrj- ever to give her a moments uneasiness. But then 'tis no more for her good than mine to have it all tied up so besides I know she has as much if not more affection for me (inasmuch as women are more sus- cepuble of tender feelings than we are) than I have for her. He will write to you soon, I suppose in a day or two. I do not desire to enter into any connection that will in y' least be detrimentall to 540 Daniel Taylor {Son of Ben Mordixai).— Correspondence. 1751-1S07. my Brothers & Sisters, &: had much rather give up any happiness myself than that they should be sufferers by it, or than disoblige you. Love to all at home & I am Dear Sir Your most DutifuU Son Dan. Taylor. I hope you are gotten better of the gout \_Froin Daniel's loife to her sister -in-law Elizabeth Taylor.'] Miss Taylor Crawley near Winchester Hants London August 20" 1774 Dear Bet.sy I have at last sit down to congratulate you on Nancys recovery which I do very sincerely and believe me it was not through any want of affection, or respect, that I did not do it before, I am sensible of my neglect in this, as well as in not writeing, to your Father, to thank him for his kind behaviour to me at Crawley, but hope an Indifferent state of Health will plead my excuse. I am how- ever much better than I was, and hope I shall continue so, my Sister left me last week, which you may suppose was no great addition to niy Spirits, though I assure you I bore it, much better than she seem'd to do, and very well you might, I suppose you say, when you have got a Husband by the bargain, well, my Dear Girl dont be peevish about it, for as it was your Brother it could not rob you of your Chance & consider you may, get one yet, their are some Men in their Dotage you know, &: who knows, but one of them, may chance to stroll down to Crawley — I imagine you have now lost all patience with me, and begin to exclaim, Dear Nancy ! was ever any body, so abused, while poor Ann, with all the meekness of a Lamb, endeavours to calm your rage by saying nay Betsy, dont be angry, you know you are an Old Maid, though it is not quite right in our new Sister, to reproach you with what you can't help, and what you would so willingly avoid — Well then, I will say no more about it than to wish you and all the single Girls, as good a Husband as I have got, and I believe I cannot wish them A better I was extreamly sorry to hear that your Father was not well, I hope he has now quite got the better of it, as Bill inform'd rae it was only the Gout, I beg you would make Daniel's Duty, with mine, acceptable to him, and tell him we are much obliged to him for his kind present & as we had bought everything, we thought necessary before, have taken the liberty, of placing, the Table China, to his account, which is just eleven Pounds, Miss Ridding was here on Wednesday last on her return from Rochester, she desired her Love to all the Family, and likewise that I would acquaint you her Sister and Family were all well when she left them, I was at Limehouse yesterday, my Mother is not so well as I could wish, I believe she complaind of a Cold when you saw her, which she has not yet got rid of, we are all very uneasy about it, particularly as she will not be perswaided, to have any advice, the others are very well, they all desire their Love and Compliments to the Crawley Family, and say they shall be very glad to see any of them, whenever it is agreeable on the Banks of the River Cocitus, which, on Friday' last, smelt most Fragrantly, I heartily long to see some of you in Town, tell your Father that Dan & myself think a trip to London would be of service for the Gout and therefore keep a Bed always aired for him, besides I hope he has not forgot, the great Debt which has been so long oweing to me I mean the Kisses which he was indebted to me, when I left Crawley, and the very great interest, now due upon those Kisses, we shall be likewise very glad, to see Peter, and Harry, whenever it is agreable, but I would not have your Father, suppose that any Kisses I shall receive from them, will at all lessing his Debt, for though I shall certainly expect to be Kissed, more than once, by them, yet I am determined, to receive your Fathers debt by no other Mouth, but his own, and insist likewise on its being paid in Crutched Friers, where I hope, it will not be long before I shall have it my power, to give him, a Receipt in full — I hope Daniel Taylor {Son of Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 541 Nancy, is by this time quite recovered, I was very much surprised, when I heard her illness, had been 1751-1S07. so very severe, as I had not the least suspicion, of its being more than usual, except her being low spirited, at your absence, I think it is not unlikely that she me enjoy a better state of Health, than she has had for some time, at least, I hope it will prove so for the Future, give my Kindest Love to her as also to Your two Brothers, in which Dan likewise, desires you would join his, and accept the same from him and Your Affectionate Sister Eliz"^" Tavlor. PS. I shall expect Nancy & you in Town, as soon as you can, for you dont know, how I long to see my Dear Girls & therefore desire you would come, otherwise I can't tell the consequence Conip'^ to all enquiring Friends particularly the Iremonger and Bathurst Familys I hope you admiie the staitness of the lines as well as the elegance of the writeing, otherwise iny vanity will be very much mortified \_From the Rev. Henry Taylor to his brother the Rev. Peter Taylor.^ To the rev'' M' Peter Taylor k Crawley Winton Hants New Lond S" Wed: Apr: 15"' 1778 Dear Peter I have this Moment rec'' Yours, on my return from Wandsworth where Little Madam & Dan dined with me to day, & left my Aunt Beck well, & desiring her love to ray Father & yourself. ^Ve are all glad to hear of the Crawlites wellfare, & sh"" indeed have been somewhat anxious if we had not Little Madam w'' not have you grow too vain in your idea of the happiness they will derive from Your Company Lds Chatham & Shelburn are surely strangely wrong in opposing the Independence of America, so late in this matter I shall conclude this as Little Madam Dan : & W'" are assembleil round me & with Love to my Father & Yourself in w''' they all join subscribe myself once more. Your Aff Bro & Sincere friend H. Taylor, Jun' \_No addix'ss: ho date ;— from the Rev. Peter Taylor, his brother, to Daniel.'] \^Al>oiit 17S4.] Dear Dan, In the i"* jJace my Newspapers have not come down, with any regularity, & as I think the Anxiciits con- expence of them is rather too great for merely satisfying my curiosity. I am determined (on farther tSess""""^' thoughts) to desire You to discontinue them — In the next place, I think you told me it would not be inconvenient to You to pay me the interest of my money J Yearly, if so, I wish you would make up my account (deducting what you have paid for me out of the Principle) & let me know what sum I should draw upon You for, as I believe the i» of this Month is the very day the i year is up — \- now My Dear Dan let me ask you how my moneys prosper in your hands S: how Your business answers I hope to your utmost expectations and desires ; You have been now ten years or more in business & can know pretty accurately from your increased or diminished capital how your affairs stand, tho' You have seldom or never dropt a word on this subject to me, yet believe me my Dear Dan, nothing in the world would give me more exquisite satisfaction than to learn that your situation in that respect was comfortable. All other blessings You have in a large degree, an amiable wife, 542 Daniel Taylor {Sou of Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. & charming Boy and friends that esteem & love You— I am likewise interested in the above question from a proper attention to my Dearest Girl and any child I may have who would be poor indeed sh"" I die & You do otherwise then well in y' World. Do therefore my Dear Dan inform me how your business answers for I so love you &; Yours, my own relations, & the worthy Family You are connected with, that I should rejoice to hear that You go on Well and Prosperously. But sh'' Your affairs be less comfortable then I could wish, believe me tho' I sh"" feel most sensibly on that account, yet I sh"" sympathize & endeavour to the utmost to ectricate You from any difficulties that surround you. — My Father thank God, recovers of his gout & his spirits mend, my Wife is not quite so well as I could wish, the rest pure \No address; no date: rough draft -—from the Rev. Peter Taylor, his brother, to Daniel.^ [About 1784.] Dear Dan, I wrote you a letter a fortnight ago & imagined the contents to be of such a nature as would have procured me a speedy answer. I am much more willing to attribute your delay in writing to your negligence than to your inability to give me a satisfactory reply : & the more so as S' John Carter was complaining to me the other day that neither He, nor another person he mentioned of Portsmouth could procure answers to their letters to You upon business. You may be sure I was vex'd to hear this, as I have ever been particularly anxious for Your welfare & cannot but foresee that omissions of this sort must in the end, be prejudicial to Your affairs I also requested to know how Your affairs went on, & how my monies prosper'd in your hands. on this subject. I have no idea You can wish to be on y"' reserve with me, as I flatter myself I have ever proved myself not only an affectionate Brother but a sincere & loving friend ; to whom You might open Your heart without y' least disguise or concealment— I am sure I feel myself so much attached to You, Your amiable AVife and most promising Boy, that I am doubtful whether my own interests or theirs are the most dear to me — I beg you will give me an answer to this in a post or two \_No address; no date ;— from the Rev. Henry Taylor to his brother the Rev. Peter Taylor?^ [About 17S4,] Dear Peter His bankruptcy. As I cannot get any information from Dan' whether the 500^ he had from my father when he first set up, was put into trade, or if it was, whether on y" Partnership account. I must send M' Baxter to him. He declares he will not answer any Question to me, I ask so many whether in matters of buisi- ness or out of buisiness & in things that I know nothing of. .... He says once for all y' he will neither answer anything to me, nor whilst I am present : so y' ray continuance here is of no farther use when I have done everything to be transacted w"* y= Lawyers I wish y' both my father & yrself & Nancy w'' write separate & distinct Letters to M' Baxter Attorney at Law in Furnivals Inn, to act as y' Agent in Petitioning y' Chancellor for leave to prove y' debts due to you from Dan' on his private Acct, under y" commission of Bankruptcy taken out against y" Partnership. And also each of you sh"" state y several Natures of Each debt, as whether you have any Security to shew for it, & if any, what Security — whether it was lent to Dan alone or to y' Partnership truly & affec''' yours H. T. J"' Complaint tliat he gives no infor- mation about business matters. Daniel Taylor {Son of Ben Mordccai). — Correspondence. 543 1751-1S07. \_No dak;— from Daniel to his brother the Rev. Peter Taylor^ The Rev"- P. Taylor Titchfield Fareham ' Hants Dear Peter I never could nor ever did doubt of your kindness to me, {About 1784.] your letter lias given me fartlier proofs of He defends it for which I return you many sincere thanks. As to the imprudence of my conduct or what els- one chuses to call it I shall never think of defendii Mse any ^ tho' I cannot say that either T Drane or Harry have behaved to me with any degree of propriety. They have even insinuated that they believed I should keep some of my property back. And at the same time have been surprized that I should resent such an opmion. I know I have also given great offence by not being cast down & that I ever have apeared in tolerable spirits, indeed I hope nothing that can ever happen to me will have such an affect upon me as to make me low spirited, have I not every reason to the contrary. Lett me but consider one moment of the many benefits that God has granted to me since I have come into this world, have I not been blessed with parents, Brothers Sisters & then a wife & Child with connections on her side that are very valuable & sliall I because I have not made that use of what he has given me that I ought to have done, be in dispair, & cut ray Throat, No rather left me have that confi- dence in the Supreme Being that if I do what is proper to help myself he will second me, & tho', he may not think fit to put me into such a «ay as to make my fortune here, yett that shall undoubtedly be rewarded in the next world. I certainly should never think of not consulting both our family & Betsy's concerning my schemes for going into any Business. But as to consultmg on what is past, it would never have answered any end. T. Drane has thought fit to call me a Rogue a Lyar & one that cares not the least for his wife & Cliild. And when I said in the course of conversation that my principles where different he sneer'd up his nose & told me I need not talk of principle does he suppose I will ever enter into a defence on such topicks, no : as being Brother to Betsy I told him I gave him leave to say just what he pleased. As it is absolutely necessary that words of that kind are resented in a disagreeable manner or with great scorn I told him I did not stay at his fathers house to be treate.l in that manner & I was certain I was welcome to \iUesible\ as your letter I look upon as equal to an invitation if it was of service to me) if I could not live there in a proper manner ; upon which he told me I might go as soon as I pleased I say'd Betsy & Child, he said yes : I asked also if it was his fathers message he said no Upon this 1 told him that in the first place the House was none of his, I looked upon myself to have as much right there as he had, & in the second it was his father that must turn me out not liim. However Peter it ever has been my principle to forgive sincerely all injuries lett them be what they will. He threatens to be very troublesome on the last day of meeting lett him I fear not meeting any one nor every one. I am perfectly at ease and am sure Harry & Tom have given me more plague liian all the rest put together ever will, certainly it is their little Knowledge of Buisness. My love to Betsy Yours Sincerely & affectionately D. T. 544 Daniel Taylor {Son of Ben Mordecai). — Con'espondcnce. \_Front Thomas Drane to the Rev. Peter Taylor^ The Rev. M' Peter Taylor Titchfield near Fareham Hants Woodford Aug' S'" 1784 Dear Peter Pn>ceeding^ in I am set down to the disagreeable Task of giving you some Acc' of the Proceedings Yesterday at Haiikiuptty. Guildhall ; I suppose Harry inform'd you that I meant to ask M' Hughes some questions before y" Com- missioners respecting the Deficiencys in their cash, I did not mean to ask Dan' any Questions but to address them to M' H but in y° intermediate time seeing Dan' so totally unconcernd w' the Situation he had reduced his "Wife & Child to, and w' the Injury he had done his Brothers Sisters & Friends I could not help asking him some questions about a fortnight ago at Woodford to which he would not give any proper Answers, I told him I would if possible make him give an acc' of his Conduct in publick, as he had then and at other times refused to satisfy me in private — It struck me upon seeing M' Hughes was able to get Friends to lay down the Money for all his Household Furniture and also for the Stock in the Shop that as I could reckon nearly Twelve Hundred pounds having come into his hands within the last Twelve Months, that it would be proper to look into their Cash Acc' in order to see to whom the Monies had been paid ; For which purpose your Brother W"' M' Hyatt &: myself went to M' Parnthers on Friday Eveng, but I soon found by inspecting it, that we should not be able to make anything of it — as tho' Money was set down daily as Cash out of Till we could know nothing of Money taken out of Till by both the Parties without any Account and that Money was so taken out, M' Hughes himself told us upon our (W" and myself) speaking to him when the Matter first broke out M' Parnther told us that he had never in the course of his Business w' Men in that Situation, met w' any who were so entirely unconcerned about it, "They appear, says he to make it a mere Matter of Convenience to themselves, and think it no Disgrace' to be unable to Satisfy their Creditors, for I am afraid the Dividend will be very small " At Guildhall on Saturday they were desired to give an Acc' how the Deficiency had arisen, M' Hughes said he could account for it no other way than that y° Profits of y' Trade had not been equal to y' Expence of y'' two Familys, that he had used the greatest economy, that he had deliverd up every thing, & that he supposed he had spent about 250^ p' Annum M' Taylor said that he supposed he had spent about 500;^ p' Ann" — I asked which way he had spent so much, as I was sure no Person who knew how the Family had lived could make it (all known expences) above half that Sum He still persisted that he had spent S°°T ^ Year & Smiled or rather I believe laught at my not being willing to be satisfied so. Upon which one of the Commis- sioners observed that it was a serious Business & that he was sorry to see M' Taj'lor laugh at a time when it appeared he had made so bad an use of Money borrowed from his own Brothers and sisters, whom he had so deeply injured upon which to the astonishment of W" & myself who knew the Circumstances Dan' with the greatest Spirit imaginable contended that in fact y= Money never was borrowed of them (you all) at all, for that he had had the Money in his Hands two or three Years & so that Matter dropt with the Commissioners saying to him " Then you do allow that you yourself have spent 500^ a Year when you knew Your Trade would not have allowed you to have spent more than half that Sum between both Familys." Upon our leaving the Hall Dan' was [illegible] laughing and joking w' some of y= Creditors as if nothing had happened I could not help telling him that I thought it was high time for him to change his Behaviour, as every Person that saw him observed how scandalous it was, one Word bro't on another and I scolded him pretty harisomely — M" Taylor, is gone to bed this Even"! very poorly, When she will be much better God only knows. My Mother was last week very ill indeed. She is now much better. My Father & Polly are indiff' & Henry very well. I hope you are all well & Conclude myself Yours &' Tho^ Drane. 1751-1807. Daniel Taylor {Son of Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 545 1751-1S07. \From Thomas Dra7ie to the Rev. Peter Taylor.] The Rev'' M' Peter Taylor Titchfield, Fareham, Hants Limehouse Aug' 31" 17S4 Dear Peter I have for some time past been fearful that he was telling Betsy some stories, about my Behavior and the Behavior of all his friends to him, that might perhaps make her think unkindly of us. Your letter of Tuesday last determined me to speak to her about it — I began with saying, that as I understood Daniel had shewn her my letter, refusing to advise w* him about his future proceedings, I hoped she did not from that think that I or any of her friends had the less regard or affection for her, I assured her she never was higher in the Love & Affection of all her Relations and Friends both here & at Titchfield than she was at present. But that D' had conducted himself in such a strange unaccountable way that his friends had no Confidence in him, respecting his future Proceedings I mention'd two or three Circumstances of his Behavior and among them his having, at the last Meeting before the Commissioners, when upon His Oath, said, that he had spent ^£'500 p Ann" — She seem'd very much affected at this Circumstance, as I found Dan' had all along told her, that he did not know what had become of the Money, for that he had never in his life, spent five Guineas more than w' she knew of, And had thrown out hints of the possibility of M' Hughes's having behaved unfairly — She said she never had reckon'd their Expenses amounted to ^300 p Ann" (out of which ^45 a Y' ought to have been deducted for y= Board of the two Men) & that she could nor imagine what could induce Dan' to say, that he had spent £s°°' I find she has since spoke to Dan' about it, and urged him to go to the Assignees, and declare what she looks upon as y' Truth their having spent less than ^300 p Ann" And at y' same time told him (Dan') that if she could have supposed he would have given such an Acc', she would have appeared herself, before the Commissioners and spoken against it — My Conversation w' her was on Sunday last, I left Woodford on Monday Morni^ early, & went down there again last Night, when I found she had been very ill both on Monday & Tuesday I am very fearful of the Consequences to her & yet cannot help thinking it proper for her to know more of his Afiairs than she does at present I am your Sincere friend Thos. Drane, Jun' \_From Dafiicl to his brother the Rev. Peter Taylor.] The Rev"" P. Taylor Titchfield Fareham Hants Jan' 1785 Dear Peter I now can say for certain that I shall not do myself the pleasure of visiting Hollam at least for The Drancs wisi a long time, having discovered the designs of Betsy & her Family to contrive matters so that We '° ''^^^P ^'^^''^ should not again live together. I am sorry you who I find knew it did not inform mc of it before. *" I can assure you it is a thing I will not submit too, I know the Laws will protect me & I also know the power a Husband has over his wife, besides I can very safely say she has no other excuse for 3z 546 Daniel Taylor {Son of Ben Mordecai). — Correspondenet 1751-1807. desiring of it but that I am not in good circumstances, I Icnow well many lies have been told of me. I never lifted my hand against her nor ever to my recollection swore at her since we were married. As to saying I have no place to keep her at nor a way of Maintaining her. that I should soon be able to overcome even if you all as well as her family refuse to assist me I certainly would take a small public house, or go into ever so low a way of Business. however I do not think they will be mad enough to attempt it. I am certain we may live happy together if she chuses it. The Boy also, do any of you imagine I would suffer him to be brought up in that case but under my own eyes, or by myself Teaching him. what let him remain where he shall learn to dispise his father, no not if I ever see any of either of the family's again. I have taken Three days to consider of this, so do not think it is done in a passion. Was I kindly used or spoken too in a Friendly manner I certainly would do any thing or enter into any line of life thought best for me, tho I am treated quite in another manner I am now determined to put up with it but 'tis impossible to think myself equally obliged. I am sorry in the Letter before the last that you wrote me, you threaten me that my certificate shall not be signed without I send you my Aunts account, that I was much more willing to have done without the threat than with it, but really I know not if you mean that of M' Hughes's & my partnership or of the residue of the Money not paid through that channell but by myself privately. The Partnership account I suppose you have if not I must apply to M' Thwaites. The other I will send you at any time. My Love to all at Titchfield particularly to my Father. I must say my Head has been much bewildered of late for these two Months. I was in great hopes once it would have affected my Senses & there would have been an end of all my Care. For as to making away with myself I am not quite reconciled to it. tho I think it perfectly lawfuU when I have tried what I can do for myself by friends & otherways & find every thing fail; dont take it into your head that I am going to do so, for I believe no man ever did commit that action but from expectation of what should happen not from what has for God always gives us Strength to bear our misfortunes if we will but take courage & look them in the Face. My trust has ever been in him & I have not the smallest doubt but he will raise me out of my misfortunes. I know not if this doctrine is to your taste to be sure 'tis rather old fashioned Yours Sincerely D. T. \_No addi-css ; no date ; rough draft ; — from the Rev. Peter Taylor to Thomas Drane.'\ [About 1785.] Dear Tom, His bad conduct. After having written, conversed & thought so much & constantly upon the melancholy event, that has taken place among Us You may be sure I take up my pen with great reluctance. I am astonish'd and confounded, at the conduct of the Man, which seems to have no tendency to satisfy & reconcile his Friends ; to clear his Character to the World, or to advance his own interests. There is as much folly as want of principle in his proceedings, for he is destroying, or rather has destroy'd every degree of confidence, which his Friends might have reposed in him, had he conducted himself with propriety, — on this trying occasion ; & has taken abundant pains, to convince them all that, he pays no sort of regard to their good opinion, or peace of Mind. It is now y" business of us all, to be upon our Guard against any thing he can say, do, or insinuate; — for, I fear, He would not scruple to create misunder- standings between our two Families, or any individuals among us, if it might answer any point he might have in view : that would be adding evil to evil indeed. The love, that has hitherto subsisted between Us. has been more than that of common Friends, at least, on my part, it has been y° tender affec" of brothers & that of the nearest Relationships. & I hope it will be preserved thro' life, with addition rather than diminution; care however must be taken, to be particularly open one witli another; in y' present occasion : and to admit nothing he should say for or against either, till we had consulted the parties concern'd. I was never a Friend to Mystery; but I hate it now beyond expression. — Little Daniel Taylor {Son of Ben Mordccai). — Correspondence. 547 Madam is now the subject of our anxious solicitude, I wish her every blessing ; but can see no comfort 1751-1807. for her: her ignorance, of many things, gives him an opportunity to deceive her, & possibly to lessen her misery at present : but to what uses he may convert her ignorance may be worth considering. I cannot tell. To clear himself perhaps, he may criminate his Brothers ; and, she may believe him : & tho, it would give me concern, to lose her good opinions undeservedly, yet I readily submit to it, if it would add to her mind a moments ease & comfort. [A^b address; no date ;— from the Rev. Peter Taylor, his brother, to Daitiel.'] [About 1785.] Dear Dan, It strikes me Dan very forceably, with a good deal of concern as well as surprise, that in A brotherly all your difficulties you have never thought any individual of Yo7ir own or Your wife's Family in the ^P'"^^'- least wort/iy Your confidence, but from first to last have thrown them at a distance as Enemies, to whom You had a settled & insurmountable dislike & with whom. You had not lived in the habits of Love & Friendship, but in a state of perpetual warfare. And it gives me real grief, that you drop no expression, in any of your letters, of remorse or sorrow for having involved all your worthy con- nections in ruin, & fix'd anguish in the breasts of those, who had ever embraced You as a Brother & a Friend, & whose confidence in You, & wish to serve You, were so unbounded as to border on culpable imprudence — But suppose you undervalue the rest of Us, You cannot but Honor your worthy Father, that best of Parents, to whose advanced Age & grievous infirmities. You have added a heavy load indeed — May He long, long survive the Shock. Good God my Brother where have you disposed of all Your manly feelings? Great as your faults & vices may be, they cannot surely have eradicated all your natural affection But however you may bury every thing both past & future in clouds of darkness however you may shut up your heart against Us, c& conceal Your thoughts of what has been or may be, leaving us in doubt respecting your principles of Action, & even your affection, Dan, towards your Father, Wife, Child, Brothers Sisters or Friends, yet I take it for granted, that you are anxious to extricate yourself from your present state of absolute dependence, & would be glad to be put in a way to gain a daily provision — I am sorry to say that want of money brings the enquiry wliat to do within a very narrow compass : yet as You can write a good hand & are pretty well versed in accounts, I think You might get employment among the Mercantile part of the World, or might procure some eligible situation in the service of the East India Company: Now should this last be your choice (& indeed I can see no objection that can reasonably be urged against it) we will endeavour to exert our interest in that line for you. & should we procure You the appointment of a Cadet, I understand the rise to be rapid in the East & should hope that in time (& You are yet in the strength of Life) You might gain a support for Yourself & Family — Give me Dan, your Ideas upon this Subject by the return of the Post or at farthest in a post or two [Front Thomas Dranc to the Rev. Peter Taylor^ The Rev" M' P. Taylor Titchfield Fareham Hants Osborne Place Jan" 1785. Dear Peter, Dan' having begun a Conversation w' my Sister M" T. this Morn'' w' a desire to know whether any His quarrel with Money was to be advanced to him and hav' upon her Refusal to apply to her Friends for any, put lJ"n«- it repeatedly to her whether she meant to live w' him again or not. She at last told hira she did not mean It; Upon which he declared she should live w" him let the consequence be what it might: High 548 Daniel Taylor {Son of Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 1751-1807. words insued between my Father Mother & every Person at Woodford w' him. In consequence of the Business being bro' forw'' in a way we so little intended it should, I have to request (& hope you will not refuse) that you will come to Town immediately, to talk to him If I thought you wanted any Motives to induce you to come to us, I might urge the Health of all our Family, But particularly of that of my Mother, thus cruelly disturbed, at a time of Life & in a Situation so little able to hold up against it, But — persuaded as I am of the worthiness, & Goodness of Heart of You and of all at Titchfield who I am sure will feel for my Father & Mother's distress of Mind, in hav^ their latter days thus imbittered, I am sure you will not refuse to come to us, when we all so much depend upon y' being able to afford Relief, to their distress, upon the probability of y' prevailing w' D' to hearken to Reason &: Justice. Come then my good & worthy Friend & try what you can do Your sincere & obliged Friend Tho^ Drane, Jun' \No address; — from Daniel to his brother the Rev. Peter Taylor.'] Feb" 2. 1785 Dear Peter I shall not be able to gett to Titchfield till Tuesday when I hope to see you. I am sorry your journey was of so little use, but I really think I went as far as I could go. Could any other way be pointed out, I should be glad to sett her heart at rest, as I can assure you the greatest uneasiness I have is the thought that she is not happy. I must own it hurts me exceedingly to lett her mind remain on y* rack. I hope my Father is well, Betsy & all of you give my love to all & I wish you all more comfort than I can ever receive till Betsy is in some respect more at ease I am Dear Peter Your Affectionate Brother D. T. [From Thomas Drane to the Rev. Peter Taylor.] The Rev" M' Peter Taylor, Titchfield, Hants. Limehouse Feb'' 5"" 17S5. Dear Peter, His separation I am sorry to find by y' letter of Wednesday that you intend to apply for a place for D' so soon from hib wife. j apprehensive such a provision being obtained for him will make his Acceptance of our proposals much less likely than it was before I received a Letter from him on Thursday wherein he says that now he is convinced that Betsy does not wish to live w' him, he is very willing to give her up But at y° same time refuses to sign any papers so to do : Now as his signing y° Seperation is the only Mode of showing his willingness to give h^ up, consistent with her (and indeed w' either of their) peace of Mind. We were in hopes that a short time would have made him consent to give that proof He mentions in his letter to me, his Intentions of quitt^ England, & the improbability of his ever returni^ to it again. He has also I find wrote a long letter to M' Ogier, in America, & expects to have an Ans' from him before the proper Season for sailing to that Country — He told M" W. Taylor yesterday, that he sho"" certainly go to America, All which proves that he has by no means given up the American Scheme Your sincere friend Tho^ Drane, Jun' Daniel Taylor {Son of Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 549 . 1751-1S07. \_From Mrs E. C. Fox to the Rev. Peter Taylor^ The Rev" M' Peter Taylor Titchfield Fareham Hants N° 17 Fleet Street Feb' la"- 1785 Dear S" I sincerely participate in the general discomfort of the whole Family of my worthy friend, at Titch- field on the distressing Sittuation of affairs which are truly Lamentable and particularly Your Suffer- ings in Mind & Estate with due thanks for the friendship of Your Confidence, I think from Your Account the friends & relations of the most Suffering & Injured party act with great generosity & goodness of heart in their Offers to him in whom I fear little confidence is to be safely Placed > but My sincerest wish is that the exalted & pure sentiments of Your Mind may kindle some spark in his, if all his fire be not spent, & Extinguished in a course of Vice & degrading Sensuality — Shall be truly glad to hear he listens to the Voice of truth & Reason in the Wishes of his Liberal minded friends who are willing to embrace with painfull CordiaUty so Unpromising a Son & Brother, and that he will no longer withhold himself from them with the pride & Obstinacy he has done. My best wishes of every kind Attend the Success of Your Negociation and the health & happiness of M" Taylor & Yourself I am D' S' Your Obliged & Affectionate Humble Ser' Eliz. Caroline Fox. [From Thomas Drane to the Rev. Peter Taylor.~\ The ReV M' Peter Taylor Titchfield, Hants Limehouse Feb'' 28* 17S5. Dear Peter What dependance can be placed on a Man's saying that he will not molest his Wife, The deed of who a few days before he agreed to such a plan, told both You & me (at Woodford) "That he ^"^l""""""- sho'' at all times be very careful what he committed to paper. But that he did not much care what he said," I always thought, (and my last letter to You stated some Reasons for so thinking) That Dan' refiising to sign a Seperation upon the plea of his Oath, was merely a plea made use of to serve his purpose. Your last Letter, has put it out of Question as I find from it, that he agrees to sign a Security (or in other words a Seperation, for a Seperation is only a Security) for Twelve Months Now if he can sign a Security for that time, without breaking his Oath, Is it to be supposed that he would commit any Offense against his Conscience, by signing a Security for a longer Term. I much wonder that Dan' has given up his Scheme of going to America, .-Vs he wrote me word a few days before he left London, that he intended going, whether he received any Assistance from our Family or not; But perhaps he never had any real Intentions of going. The first Dividend was settled at 7' in the jQ and will be payable in the course of this Week I remain Yours Sincerely Affectionately Tho' Drane, Jun' S50 Daniel Taylor {Son of Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence 1751 1S07, * \_Fi'om Daniel's wife to her bi-otJier-in-law tlic Rev. Peter Taylor^ \Enihrscd — "before 27"' April 17S5 on w''' day H. T. Sen' died."] The Rev" M' Peter Taylor, Titchfield, Fareham, Hants. 1785 My dear Peter The separation. Their needs no apology for your wish of talking to Dan in order to see if you can work a reforma- tion, it is a thing that would give me great pleasure, but I am sorry to say I fear your labour will be in vain, for I did not propose a seperation till I found by repeated conversations with him that he seera'd to look upon his past conduct in a very different light to what it must appear to every honest Man — I understand your Father does not mean to talk to him upon the matter which I am sorry for as I think if he could divest himself of passion & argue with him coolly & rationally it might have more effect than any other persons talking to him & among the many reasons that must strike every Mind of the propriety of advice & admonition coming from a Parent, I have this to add that I asked him one day if he had written to his Father since the Bankruptcy, he said no, what should he write for, I told him I thought it would be proper to make an apology for the uneasiness he had given him, to which he made answer. Oh ! dont fret yourself about that, I will answer for it my Father does not make himself uneasy about me, for I dont believe any of them care a straw about me — Now if as I said before your Father can be prevaild upon to talk to him he will then see that his Father is uneasy & that he does care about him, which may have a good effect whereas if he is silent upon the subject it will strengthen his opinion & by that means perhaps harden his Heart — But if after all your Father & you can say to him, you find it necessary to propose a seperation, I wish you to be very careful not to let him see that we have any fear of his taking the Child, but speak of his being with me as a thing of course and if he gives any hints of an intention to keep it it will be proper to express a surprise at the thought, c& then set forth the inconvenience it will be to himself, as well as the dis- advantage to the Child. — You will forgive me for being so particular on this matter when you consider the cause — I never can part with the Child, I should then more than ever tremble for his Morals, and not without reason, example would be sufficient to ruin him if no other methods were used, the very thought freezes nie, & I never will part with him be the consequences to myself what they will. — Neither this Letter nor that I wrote before must on any account be seen by Dan, they would irritate him so much that nothing would pacify & he would stick at nothing to be reveng'd on me. I do not doubt but he will make complaint of me in having sometimes received him coolly, & it is true that I have so done my Mind has been at times so agitated that I have not been able to disguise its feelings & if he will candidly examine the cause, he will see I am not without excuse. The agitation, my Mind has suffer'd in relating the faults of a Man who was once very dear to me, & is still so in some degree, are more than you can imagine or I can describe & indeed when I think of the many faults I have laid to his charge I cannot help asking my own heart if I can lay none to my own, but except that I have just mention'd I do not know any I can accuse myself of — Far, very far be it from me to blacken his character in order to whiten my own, in the daily examinations of my conduct I fear to allow myself the approbation of my own conscience least my pride should tempt me to say "Lord 1 thank thee that I am not as other men are etc," when I have so much more reason to say "God be mercifull to me a Sinner," but the fear of what I might suffer in future & the dread of not being able to bear it properly has driven me to speak of what I shudder to think of — But so far am I from bearing any malice to Dan or wishing to get rid of him at all hazards that had I any reason to believe he would renounce his errors & amend his conduct, I should think it my duty to take him cordially by the Hand & forgive what is past — Indeed my seeking a seperation is not a thing taken up Daniel Taylor {Son of Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 551 in a moment of anger, but from a full conviction of its propriety, & I hope & trust that my conduct m this matter is such as I shall approve on my death bed. I shall make no apology for the trouble I give you all, the affection you all express & which I beheve you all feel for me, will make it unnecessary; & I have only to add that I hope it will not be long before you will all enjoy the happiness I wish you & that I am with the truest affection Yours ever Sincerely E. Taylor. 1751-1S07. \_No address; tio date ;— from Daniels wife to her brother-in-law the Rev. Peter Taylor?^ [1785-] Once more my dear Peter do I trouble you about my unhappy affairs as the proposals are sucli as m their present state I cannot accede to, but as I have in ray letter to my Brother made particular mention of my objection to the Childs given up his Sundays, & as I find myself too much indisposed to be able to write much more, I will refer you to him for information on that head, & will immediately proceed to my present request, which is that you would endeavour to prevail with Dan' to alter the above as stated in my B. letter & also to sign an agreement of separation. If he looks on himself as bound by his word, why should he hesitate in making everything easy to my Mind — He knowing his own intention of abiding by his word, may look on it as sufficient security, but for me who cannot know his inward feehngs, it is absolutely necessary for my happiness that some better security should be given; as I must otherways live in a state of continual fear & anxiety— He always said no Man could be certain of keeping a promise, therefore why if he means to act honourably, does he not put himself out of the danger of acting otherways ; why not do his utmost to be out of the way of the temptation of doing wrong— Oh Peter if Dan could know but half my feelings for the last five years & what I suffer now, he could not in pity refuse this small request ; is it not the least he can do, to endeavour to recover the happiness of the Woman he still professes to love & which has hitherto been destroyd by his means. He says he will do anything to make me happy now then let him show it, these are the only things he can do, and surely, surely he will not deny me; it is probably the last request I shall ever make him, & therefore do not let him refuse. Oh! Dan, if you have any compassion for me, any wish for my happiness, any desire to convince me of your sorrow for your past conduct, comply with the above requests ; it will be a proof to your friends of your intentions of altering your future conduct, & remember that in doing an action of com- passion & Charity you will not only pave the way for my comfort in this world but, also for your own in the ne.xt— If my pleadings are in vain, if my sufferings have no effect on him then must I remain in solitude; as I am sure the doubts my Mind must suffer by consenting to the proposals in their present state, will prevent my receiving any comfort with my friends— But I hope & trust that they will mt be in vain, he cannot feel happy by denying to make me so, nor can he find comfort in the reflection tliat he has made unhappy (& perhaps shorten'd) the life of the person, whom it was his duty to make happy— May the Almighty give him inclination to comply with my petitions— My prayers for Iiis felicity shall never be wanting, for daily will I offer them to God, for his happiness here & hereafter— Oh my dear Peter their are many arguments to be used why Dan should give way in this matter ; but my poor disordered brain will not let me now make use of them— Do you then my friend plead for me, & may you never want a friend to plead for you ; but may all your days glide smoothly on unruffled by care & uneasiness, & may you never want that happiness that by your successful! endeavours I shall receive— adieu my head is too bad to say more, than that I am Yours ever affectionately E. Taylor, 552 Daniel Taylor {Son of Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 1751-1S07. \_No address; no date ; — -from the Rev. Peter Taylor to {probably) his sister Anna ■- piece of letter.'\ [About 1785.] He proposes to It is Daniel's plan to go to America as a planter, which from all we can here, is likely to prove n content. settle in Ameiica. p^^yg jj^qj.^ Advantageous to him than any other scheme, & will leave is Wife in more comfort & Yours ever P. T. \f\lo address ; no date; draft letter ; — from Rev. Peter Taylor to Mr T. Drane.^ [Endorsed — "after 9 May 1785."] Dear Tom Provisions as to You See that you & I are named as trustees relative to Daniel with power very extensive, the Mordec'ai's'will. °^ entirely left to our Judgments and opinions. Now as the judg'^ of all men are liable to differ tho' they mean well & act upon the most upright principles ; & as we have ever retaind for each other the highest opinion & Friendship, my Father before his death had an intention to add a third person. M' Thomas, who sh^ be appeald to (not on all occasions) but on such only where a difference of sentim' should arise, & then on his determination matters sh'' proceed. My Father did not live to fulfill this intention. But as I conceive it to be highly prudent to adopt the Idea, I sh"" wish (if You have no objection) that a paper sh"" be drawn up, to that purpose. Not that I have any reason to suspect we sh'' differ in essentials, but that it may make the adjusting matters more easy to Us, & be a means of preserving that Friendship which has hitherto subsisted between Us, & w^'' I hope will subsist thro' life, however long may be its continuance. \_No address; no date ; — f-om the Rev. Peter Taylor to his brother William7[ [Endorsed — "Oct. or a little before, 1785."] Dear Bill Seeking employ- I have had Daniel with me now a considerable time nor have I any immedate prospect of being relieved from the burden he is to me. He has written & we have written to some Friends in order to procure him some imployment by which he may earn a livelyhood and I hope you are not back- ward in looking out and enquiring after some means by which he may be subsisted — If we hear of nothing soon it is in contemplation to send him up to Town that he may look after something himself on the spot, where it is most likely he should procure employment — for this purpose Harry intends to give him five Guineas, & when he is in Town he must send for the Cloaths which were his wifes & every thing else she had any claim or title to, & must live upon it during the time he is looking out for the means of subsistance for while he has any thing of his own, I know not why he should distress me in my circumstances. Should he not be able to procure any thing in this Journey to Town, we mean he shall be rated as a Midshipman in the Spring in one of the Guard-ships — But as his situation there & y" emoluments arising from it, will not be quite sufficient to support him, he must be supply'd with a few pounds more annually, till my Aunt T.'s death or something better may be procured. Dauicl Taylor {Son of Ben Mordccai). — Correspondence. 553 Now I do not see why in this case the small additional supply to his pay should wholly fall upon 1751-1S07. me, who have lost by him 8 or 10 times as much as either Harry or you & consequently I think it but reasonable that Harry & you should join me, in granting him such small allowance, as shall seem absolutely necessary, & w'"" when thus divided will not be much felt by either of us — for something must be done with him, & tho' he has lost our confidence, & has done nothing to concilate our love & affections, yet all our duties towards him are not extinct, nor must we suffer want to press upon him so hard as to drive him from bad to worse & this for our own sakes as well as his. \From the Rev. Peter Taylor to his sister Elizabeth Taylor.~\ To Miss Taylor M" Stones Elliotts Buildings near the Black Bear Inn Reading Berks Oct 14, 1785. Dear Betsy I am much obliged to You for the kind letters I have rec"" from You while You have been absent Daniel and the from Us, particularly that which had relation to Dan' the contents of which express'd so much love & regard to Me — You may be assured I wish to have no interference between him and the Dranes & shall avoid, it as much as I can consistantly with what I shall at any time think my Duty— The matter between them is so entirely at an end, that I think it cannot be mr renew'd — I saw the letters that pass'd and surprised I was indeed, to see that the contents of T. Drane's letters had less of temper and less, I think of propriety in them, than I could possibly imagine, or indeed could have believed, had I not seen them nor did Dan'" letters justify the expressions made use of I am con- vinced they mean to keep their money, rather than secure the Boy: & I am not sorry for it on the whole : for had they taken advantage of the present circumstances of Dan' & y" Family they might have procured the sole command of the Boy, exclusive of the Taylor Family which I must own I do not wish to be the case for tho' I have a good opinion of them in general yet 1 see enough not to have an implicate confidence— I beg You will give my Duty & M" Taylors, to my Aunt Stone, & assure her we shall be at all times happy to see her and our Cousin Frank &' at Hollam : I should have written to her before on the subject but Daniels being with Us has so compleatly fill'd our small house that we have hardly room to stir about — When he leaves us (w'"" on many accounts is an event much to be wish'd) we shall be rejoiced to shew my Aunt Stone how much we honor & esteem the worthy Sister of our Dear & ever beloved Mother, whose memory always pleases as well as pains my Heart Yours Sincerely P. T. \_From William Taylor to his brother the Rev. Peter Taylor.'] The Rev'' M' Peter Taylor at Hollam near Titchfield Single Sheet Hants Osborn Place 21" Oct' 1785 Dear Peter When I was at Titchfield last Summer, you declared yourself of Opinion, that the family could not Ht most cirn his pretend to support D. T. &: that he must do something to support himself. I must therefore confess owlmns. 4 A 554 Daniel Taylor {Son of Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 1751-1S0-. myself extreenily surprized, to find you have so far altered your opinion, as to think it requisite that we should join for his maintenance. — What is his situation ? He is a young man of 34, can read, write, & cast accompts ; he has himself, & himself, only to keep ; his only child is taken care of by his wifes relations, who are both able & willing to provide for him. What is my own Situation? I am burthend with an annual interest of 10. o. I have a wife, & two Children to depend on me ; It is probable my family will become larger. If I die, I shall leave them in very poor circumstances, but supposing I live, & should be fortunate enough to save money; where is the person in our family, who has so strong inducements & so much need of saving as myself? I must therefore, utterly, & positively decline, bearing any share of expence whatever, in supporting him ; & so far am I, from feeling myself wanting in any duty, by this resolution, that I feel myself obeying the strongest duty ; & am clear in my conscience, that I am acting right, & that I should do exceedingly, & even criminally wrong, were I to answer you Otherwise. I should also act unecessarily wrong, in giving my substance, to a young man without a single incumbrance whatever, who can, & ought to work. Had he acted as well, as he has ill, & was his character as fair, as it is otlienvisc, still, he ought to support himself. He is perfectly able so to do. Let him be a journeyman, in a Grocers or any other shop; he will then have his board, & Lodging, & 12 or 14 Pounds wages must do for his cloaths, & washing ; or indeed even less. Many do with less; or if he still prefers a footmans place, let him take that, or a grooms ; as for talking of his starving, it is idle, for even a porters place, will keep him from that. A Genteel livelihood may be difficult to get, but a meer livehhood, I have not the smallest doubt he may obtain, whenever he really chooses to set about it. M' Millikin or Weaver could certainly get him something, if he is really willing (as he ought to be) to do any thing for his support. As to a midshipman's Birth, I by no means think it eligible, if the pay arising therefrom, is insuf- ficient to support him in that situation. I must further add, that I cannot receive him at my house, if he comes to town. He shall not live on me as he has on \ou. I find my expences sufficiently great nor will I consent to sacrifice my own happiness, or that of my wife, for him, & the comforts of ray family must vanish in his presence. You say, you see no reason, why you should support him alone. I never saw a reason, why you should support him at all. Nor did you ever do so, at my desire. Had you not done so, I have no doubt, he would have got into some way or other, e'er this. You doubt- less thought yourself right in supporting him, & I am as firmly perswaded of the propriety of my own conduct, in refusing that support. As to endeavouring to get any thing for him ; I would willingly do, what is in my power, but I cannot recommend him, as fit to b'e trusted, that I should think very wrong. He is, I am perswaded, best able to manage this matter himself, by his credit with M' Millikin, who by his own account, is disposed to serve him. He has it also in his own power, to serve himself in another way; for I have never understood the Dranes to have absolutely refused to lend money, to enable him to prosecute his design in America. Altho, I know they are determined not to be threateiid out of their money, & was he to request their assistance without the addition of that threat of resuming his boy, I have no doubt whatever in my own mind, but he might obtain his request, even now, but it certainly ought to be by request, & not by menace. I perceive by your letter that my answer will not meet your approbation. I shall be sincerely sorry to offend you, I esteem & love you much, & am sensible of the obligations I am under, both to Harry & yourself, but I cannot think myself bound on that account, to adopt any other conduct than what I clearly perceive to be right & proper. My own approbation I am sure I have, & that is the principal thing every one ought to look to. I can have no objection, to receiving his Cloaths, or to disposing of them to any person, he shall choose, or to selling them for him if he thinks good, in as advantageous a manner, as I am able. I will order the rings. Kitty joins me in Love to all & believe me your affect friend & Brother W. T. P.S. I will be obliged to you to let Nancy know that in case she has a mind to write to our friend G. C. [George Courtauld] in America; she will be in time if she will send us a letter for the ship. Daniel Taylor {Son of Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 555 1751-1S07. From Thomas Drane to his brotlier-iti-law Daniel Taylor ; directed " The Rev. Mr Taylor s, Tichjicld, Hants" and re-directed'] — M' Dan' Taylor Gosport to be left at M' Tho' Marshalls Hants Limehouse Nov i^' 17S5. Sir, I have agreeable to your desire, sent the wearing Aparel and Effects of my late dear Sister, to M' W" Taylor's, and have also given into his hands her Watch &=, as to "any Money my Sister might have at the time of her Decease," I should suppose that you could not be ignorant, that she was left almost without any, so long ago as in June 17S4. There is ^100 in the 4 pr c" standing in my Sister Marys name which belonged to her, & which if it had pleased God, to have spared her Life, she meant to have had sold out, and to have paid my Father, £20, which he paid for her, at the time the last part of the Stock was purchased, (which she was before to have repaid him w' y= ^20 left to You & to herself by the late M' Fox) and the remainder of it, it was her Intention to have sent to your Sister Nancy, in some small part to replace her Loss. You are now to determine what is to be done with it ; I have further to add, that we should be glad to purchase the Watch, as we should wish to keep it to give to Henry, when he is of a proper Age to wear one, — Henry desires his Love to you, he is very well, and goes to School, with great good-will and he improves in his Reading & Writing; All at Woodford are well, and joins in Good Wishes, to all Friends at Titchfield. I remain &' Tho^ Drane, Jun' [No address; no date ; draft letter -—from the Rev. Peter Taylor to {probably) Captain Bourmaster.~\ [Al'out 1786,1 Dear Sir, ^ 1 am truly astonish'd that You have neither seen nor heard from my brother Daniel who I thought to be with You a week ago, I know he has not been well, but I am far from thinking that a valid excuse for his not waiting on You, or giving You a satisfactory reason for his absence— I sent an express to him immediately on the receipt of Your obliging note & as my letter to him had more of vinegar than milk in it, I hope it will have the desired efTect & You will see him before you receive this if You do not, I have only to thank You for Your kindness in so readily & obligingly taking him & to regret that the exertions of his friends in his favour have proved so fruitless & farther to request that You would not put yourself to any inconveniency about him, but supply Yourself with some more steady c5c diligent Person Your Obliged Friend P, T, \_No address; no date: draft letter from the Rev. Peter Taylor, his brother, to Daniel.'] I am truly astonish'd & grieved at your late conduct, and Your letter to me in justification of Reproof and ' yourself contains many things which indicate a disposition by no means calculated to get forward 556 Daniel Taylor {Son of Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 1751-1S07. in life if you shrink from employment & confinement & avoid the means of rising, how can You gain the end You aim at or how can we for you — If you do not endeavour to prove Yourself an active Officer & to be useful in every mode You can, & by that means ingratiate yourself with those You serve under how is it possible You sh"" acquire interest or preserve that you have already got — I do assure You, You have hurt Cap" Barmaster exceedingly & have forfeited in a great measure the confidence he had placed in You. To leave the Ship in the manner You have done at such a busy period not to attend even at the muster — is putting it out of the Power of your friends to recommend You or to rely upon You. — Besides on shore You must live at a much greater expense than on board, w'"" ought to be a very material consideration in your circumstances & as your pay on board the Elephant is much better than the Royal William you ought surely by no means to quit her — You say, You enter'd into the Navy against your will — now if you think your brothers have any predilection in favour of the Navy any further than that line might lead to Your own advantage, You are much mistaken ; but if You can gain your livelyhood in any other mode more agreeable to Your self we do not nor ever have objected to it, but surely it is no more than reasonable that a Man in the prime of Life, in the full possession of his understanding & the use of his limbs, should exert himself to support himself — all mankind are forced to do it, & why You should be exempt I cannot conceive, nay You have the strongest possible reasons to do it. I am therefore concern'd when You say You are unwilling to do the Duty of a Midshipman & am surprized when You say You have never done it, for I till now thought You had two objects in view, either to become an Officer or a Purser, & You were preparing Your self to be push'd forward in either direction as opportunity sh"" offer — & hitherto when You could not be employ'd as a Clark, I thought You acted as Midshipman & I am convinced Cap" B. thought the same. You used to say likewise that You w'' take no step at any time with' y= advice of Cap : B : how is it y' Your sentiments on that head are drop'd — The Friendship subsisting between Cap : B : & Cap ; Thompson is such that had You made yourself acceptable to the latter Cap" B : was in great hope he C' have served You thro' his means, who is a man of interest with the present people. As to politicks You have nothing to do w"" them they operate as much against you on shore as on board & no one can say whether they might not turn out in y" long run to your advantage but if they are against You it requires greater diligence & exertion to overcome the difiiculties. If you were disappointed in not being employ'd as Clark by Cap : Thompson why had You not waited upon Cap : B ; & talk'd to him about it & not have absented yourself & displeased Your commander ? You wish to Sail w" Cap : Bour' or Cap : Barker, but if they are unemploy'd are You to stand still &: do nothing — Consider Dan' tho' we are very willing to help You & to use our interest (whatever it may be) to advance You, yet You must second our wishes & endeavours Yourself, & exert Your abilities to get forward, for what must be Your situation if totally unemploy'd, what retreat have You for You cannot think of throwing Yourself a dead weight on Your Friends — However if you have a better way of providing for Yourself by all means adopt it. \No signature.'] 'iNo address: no date; draft letter from the Rev. Peter Taylor to {probably) Captain Thompson. ] {About 17S6.] D- S" A report having prevaild here tho' it now seems to have been unfounded, that Your Ship was not to procceed to Plymouth w"' the others, but was to be retaind at Ports : in your possession, I had not the least suspicion that I should be deprived of an opportunity of seeing You, which I anxiously wish'd to have done on my Brother Dan"" account — I do not mean to justify his conduct, which has been very extraordinary & bad to You, Cap : Bourmaster & ourselves, and in consequence of which he no longer Daniel Taylor {Son of Ben Mordccai). — Correspondence. 557 has a welcome to the Vicarage house at Titchfield or rec"" any where by us in the manner he used to be — for it is a very ungrateful return to all his Friends who have endeavour'd to serve him. It is how- ever proper I should acquaint You that in a letter we have received f" him he expresses himself as abundantly sensible of his ill beliaviour which he seems seriously to lament & accutely to feel & not having courage himself to wait on You or to write to You, he has desired we would see You & promise every thing for him in the strongest terms as he was determined to reform & to attend Your business w"" y= utmost care & diligence — indeed he seems touch'd w"' a strong degree of remorse, w'" I hope will be of use to him. In order to thank You in my own Name for your kind intention towards him & in his Name to ask Your pardon for his shameful conduct Your Obli: & obed' Hum. S. [From the Rev. Hemy Taylor to his brother the Rev. Peter Taylor.'\ To Tlie Rev" M' Peter Taylor Hollam Titchfield Hants Tuesd. June 17S6 Dear Peter On my return from Lincoln this morni= I was greatly disappointed & mortified to find so little Attention had been paid to the Letter I wrote from Osborne Place just before I left Town in my way thither, and y' Daniel was come up prematurely for no other purpose but to break the plan M' Panter & I had settled, as I wrote you word, viz ; y' during my Absence in Lincolnshire he should see whether what he had to offer would probably prove permanent, v.''"' he w"" be better able to judge of by that time He has refused the place, w''' probably he had never any thoughts of taking, & has made a Journey to Town, w* probably he may like very well : & I must make no very good figure ; so there ends this matter ; ii: the Application to M' Panter drops I do not suppose that anything w"" requires Application will please him. And an encrease of Income, I am pretty well satisfied, will be no real benefit or advantage to him. But believe he may as well stay where he is : As to a pursership. he will then leave all to his Clarke, as before to Hughes & y' Shopman ; & in consequence, will run out what s*"' go to liis Son ; and then become a Charge & dead weight himself upon his family, w'' I protest against bearing : as he may as well live upon the Interest of what sh'' come finally to his Child from my Father; as squander away the Principal and live always to distress his Brothers and Sisters Believe me to be Dear Peter Y" Sincerely H. T. [From Daniel to his brother the Rev. Peter Taylor.'] The Rev" P. Taylor Titchfield Hants Springfield 23 June 17S6. Dear Peter I cannot see what end is to be answer'd by my accepting M' Panters Place, as to money I am clear Hints of a wconi it will not be better than I now have, & no prospect of ever getting any fordwarder. When if I con- '"^'""S"'- tinue at Sea (if I do not meet with any thing more worth my while) should a War break out. I might gett forward. 1 take it for granted by your seeming so desirous of my accejiting it, you will took on nie, as one who cares not fur his own interest if I do noL 558 Daniel Taylor {Son of Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 'Tji-iSo?. I am very much oblig'd to Capt" Bourmaster for his kind offers But have at present no idea that I shall stay in London I saw Harry on Tuesday on his return from Spridlington, he was very angry that I came up & went to M' Panters, saj'ing it derang'd his plans, & was using M' P. ill. but he & I see every thing in so different Lights, that we never shall be able to act any how together. I shall be glad to hear from you as soon as you can & to know also concerning the Cloaths as I shall return with M' Mitchell to London on Tuesday & go & see my Boy & then return to Ports'" as soon as I can ; I shall have some talk with Millikin concerning the offer. Certainly an equivalent to my Sea life will never bring me to London or take me from that part of Hampshire, where perhaps I may enter into closer connections. But as that is a thing I cannot from what has already past between us, consult any one of my Family on I shall say no more on the Head. This you may be sure of that did I think the matter in any light worth taking I should not refuse it. With Love to all believe me Dear Peter Yours affectionately D. T. \_No address I — -from Thomas Drane to William Taylor7\ Dear Will" Limehouse 28"' Aug' 1789. Ilcnry Thomas. I am very glad to be able to inform you that Henry seems to be settled at School, much better than I expected ; I went to see him a few days ago, and he was quite well & in very good Spirits M' French informed me that after the first three days, he seem'd to be quite happy : I intend to bring him to Limehouse, to dine w' me in the course of next week, (I believe on Thursdy) when I shall hear more from him : I hope M" Taylor & Family are all well, to whom I beg my best Respects : All at Woodf^ are well : I remain Your Sincere friend Tho'^ Drane, Jun' SfSfo date ; — from Daniel to his brother the Rev. Peter Taylor^ The Rev" P. Taylor Titchlield Hants {About 1789.] Dear Peter Bellona Spithead Sunday Morni^. Still unsettled. I have an invincible aversion to go to Sea even a cruize in this Ship. I am clear it cannot be to my advantage and certain it will be much to my unhappiness. I have neither Quarelled or ever had a word with either Captain or Officers, but still there is that in her would make me always dissatisfied ; the only thing I wish to avoid is displeasing Captain Bourmaster, whom I have the greatest real respect for & with whom I had rather sail than with any other person. Captain Hartwell knows I intend leaving the Ship, as I professedly came over to Titchfield with that intent. Captain Dixon I am informed has the Elephant, if he wants a Clerk I should like to go with him (if Cap'" B. is not likely to get a Ship) or if he wants any assistance till his Clerk comes, I should like to be discharged into her. Yet after all P. Cap'" Bourmasters opinion is what I should wish to abide by. I am Dear Peter Yours Sincerely D. T. I hope you had a pleasant time in the Island, & that Cap'" B. family were the better for it. If a letter could be convayed into the Post Office at Portsmouth I should have it without any trouble. Daniel Taylor {Son of Ben Mordccai). — Correspondence. 559 1751-1S07. [No address ;— from the Rev. Henry Taylor to his brother the Rev. Peter Taylor.] — Dear Peter Bond Street Tuesd i" June 1790 I understand by M' Drane y' Dan' is quitting the Bellona, & expects to go to Sea. I suppose h& removes for some advantage to himself. But hear nothing of it from you I am Y' Affec : Brother H. Taylor. [iVo address from Daniel to his brother the Rev. Peter Taylori\ Dear Peter 31 July go Never was I more astonished than to find there was any idea of my going to Sea in the Elephant, Will not 1> which I should by no means like, as I should wish to go as Clerk, at least to do the duty of one on "^"'^'"P"" board; I had therefore better have stay'd on board the Royal William with Cap" Gayton, & indeed I much wish that Cap'" B. would desire Cap'" Thompson to discharge me & I will apply again thro' S' John Carter to Cap"" Gayton to again receive me & I think there is no doubt but he will. For the duty of Midshipman is wliat I never have done & at my time of life should be very unwilling to begin it. Now I am in the Sea line I know I must go on, but then I can as well do it in the hne of Clerks as any other, & drag out the remaining part of my Life as well as I can. All I wish is that I never had accepted the Elephant, adieu & believe me Yours Sincerely Dan. Taylor. 31, Ju'y 179° I have written a Note to S' J. Carter (for my staying here will be of no use either to the Ship as I am no Midshipman nor to myself) for him to speak to Capt" Gayton. \No date,— from Daniel to his brother tlie Rev. Peter Taylori\ The ReV P. Taylor Ashington near Storrington Sussex Dear Peter \Aiigusi 1790.] In all probability if we go out to Sea, I shall not See you first, if any thing should happen Remorse. to me you will find my Will in the Trunk in y' Garret, appointing you Henry's Guardian One thing I heartily pray for that the first action we get into I may not come out of it alive Your Afl' Brother & Sincere friend Dan. Taylor. {No address: no date ;— from Daniel to his brother the Rev. Peter Taylor.] Dear Peter, [About 1790.] I certainly have used you Harry & all my Family very ill, I wish it was in my Power to do more than confessing that & promising to act better I can assure you Peter you cannot look on me worse than I do myself. I have not thought of coming over to Titchfield as I imagine you would not like it. Adieu & believe me Yours affectionately D. T. 560 Daniel Taylor (Son of Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 1751-1807. \^No address; — from Daniel to his brother the Rev. Peter Taylor.'] Dear Peter, I did not receive your letter till yesterday afternoon & therefore have had no oportunity of speaking to Cap'" Thompson but hope I shall e'er the day is over. When I shall, join the Captain as soon as possible. & shall certainly like her better than the Eliphant, tho excepting the Capt"' being so exceedingly passionate as seldom to give himself any time to reflect & sometimes even not to stay to hear whether things are true or not, I have no objection to her but that is a very great one. If we are going to Sea directly on my joining her (the Captain) which you must know better than I do I will thank you to send me by the same conveyance (Goodeve) as before. Yours Harrys, & Nancys Guineas due this day but if we are not shall not want it till I see you I hope M" T. Harry & yourself are well & am Your affectionate Brother D. Taylor. I wish I had known this affair before. I have written Two Letters to Betsy but received no answer 20 Oct' 1790 Elephants Hulk \Frotn Daniel to his brother the Rev. Peter Taylor^ The Rev" P. Taylor Titchfield to go by Badbroke Hants Dear Peter I thank you for your kind Letter, I acknowledge your house has been always open to me & that you all have done what lay in your power to make me happy, and that it has been my own ill conduct that prevented matters taking a better turn I have promised reformation in my last & will certainly perform it. I hope to see you on Monday but pray come not to upbraid me, for you cannot see my actions in a worse light than I do myself I thank you again for your kind letter indeed I did not expect one half so kind, as I had no reason to think myself hardly used, had I been for ever discarded by all of you. I am with Love to you all Yours Sincerely & affectionately Ports" Dan"- Taylor. 13 Novemb' 1790 [Extract from letter of Elizabeth Taylor to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor?^ I din'd with Dan' th' other day, & was much pleas'd with my visit; particularly at seeing the Tears in his Eyes at his speaking of his son, with great affection. I did not know he was got into a Family, & was happy to find he was so. I have written a little thing for Henry Thomas, I shevv'd it Mat: Thomas, that is, the first part, but he refer'd me to you as the better divine, however I shall ^ give it him without waiting for either of you, unless I can see you soon I thought Dan' look'd older, & was sorry to see it. How totally he is cut off from all Connection with his own family ! at least so it seems to me. adieu once more. Y" sincerely & affect' 11" Sept 1799 E. Taylor. Camden Town Daniel Taylor {Son of Ben Mordccai). — Correspondence. 561 1751-1807. {^Extracts from letter of Anna Taylor to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.'] Rev" M' H. Taylor Miss Leventhorps Square Winchester Began on Sunday 23'' May 1S02 Dear Henry, As It is now lialf a year since my return from London and it was very uncertain wliat Daniel's situation was at that time, & I have not been answered when I applyed to W» for information since : I own I came to be uneasy; to have reason to suppose a Brother distress'd & make no farther enquiries respecting him was cruel, & not discharging the duties of our relationship toward him ; When therefore our Friend M' Thomas was with us at Titchfield the other day, I beg'd of him to procure for me a real account of Daniels situation, & I yesterday received the following information; that Daniel was not constantly employed by any person, but M' Bamford told him He believed he occasionally did some little business at the Custom House. As this has I now apprehend been his situation for many months we may persume him to be at this time in very unpleasant circumstances, & what distress may drive him to we none of us can tell. Is there any probability of his soon receiving any thing from poor Besseys property? I should like to know, but as it may be some time first I shall by this days post send a draft to M' Thomas for ten pounds & request him to give it to Daniel : after which I think we ought to consider what should be done about him, I do not think independence as (poor Betsy talk'd about) is at all requisite, but I think our situations are much too easy & affluent to let a Brother be in want, now he is out of employment especially as the Son has been advised (& perhaps very properly) not to assist him, at least not to pay any regard to the anonymous letter. My Idea respecting the Son is this— tho' I see danger may result from too ready an attention to every application from the Father especially those in such a questionable shape yet I do not think he could consistent w"> duty sit down in the full enjoyment of his fortune & leave his parent entirely to shift for himself; for tho' others have sufifer-d from the bad conduct of the Father, it is to that circumstance the Son owes his so entirely supplanting him in every thing. Daniel has behaved very bad, & I plead not for him ; but from t/iat time the Son has stood entirely in his Shoes & taken every thing in his place. I should have a much better opinion of the Boy if before he went into business for himself he was to settle something on his father for life, or purchase him a small annuity, for he is now beyond the prime of Life, & JI" Taylor told me when in London that he was almost always complaining in his health— this is a delicate point to mention to H. T. T. or the Dranes, but if thought proper to do so at all, would best come from those who advised no notice to be taken of the anonimous letter. Do not think when I speak thus of the Son I wish to avoid doing anything that may be proper for the Father myself, I am ready to join in any thing & every thing that may be judged right & proper, generous & satisfactory to our own minds on reflection aftenvard. but am sensible this requires thought and attention & we must consider the character we have to act w"' in our manner of doing it— this subject I commend to your consideration & hope to hear from you upon it I have like- wise put into the Drawers a Box of M' Lindseys which is much at your seri-ice if you think it worth your keeping. I cannot be a Socinian, I have often kept their opinions in my mind while I read the Bible & New Testament, & 1 cannot acceed to their notions, therefore do not value their writings, thus you see like a truly well-bred woman I endeavour to remove from your mind all the painful sense of Obligation in my present I have rcturn'd you Your treatise on Education, are you aware it is written by the Gentleman under whose care Peter Alfred is placed. I like it very well but by the extract fr" the Review & some other things I think there is too much appearance of its being written with a view to catch Scholars. Our determination still holds of leaving Titchfield some time m the first week in June I suppose towards tlie end of it, if therefore you wish to talk over the subject 4 1! 562 Anna Taylor {Daughter of Ben Mordecai). i75;-iSi7. of this letter we must see you within that time. We have every day been packing up some thing or other since we saw you ; & are now a good deal stripped we shall however be glad to see you if you wish to see us farewell Yours sincerely A. Taylor. Tho' M" Taylor's parcels are directed to her different Brothers, they are all to go to Edward Butterleys, & he will see them properly sent afterwards. Birth. We next come to Anna, born in 1753; baptized at Portsmoutli May 8th. Slie lived to be upwards of si.\ty, and was buried at South Weald. Her life can hardly be considered as very fortunate in external circumstances, but her letters leave a very favourable impression of herself. As was the case with her sister Elizabeth, we see or hear amlost nothing of her until she leaves home. We find Living with Mrs her accompanying her sister to Mrs Elmes's, at East Ham, in 1766, where for about six years she for the most part lived, either with or alternately with her sister Elizabeth; and until 1771 our knowledge is not much greater. In that year Proposed engage- she had a love affair with a certain Mr Cocksedge, in regard to which our entire ment with Mr . , ^ ^ y,, Cocksedge. knowledge is contained in three letters (pp. 571 and 572), the hrst trom Mrs times to Ben Mordecai, introducing the matter — this is in August 1771 ; the two others also to Ben Mordecai, from Elizabeth and Peter, both written apparently in the ensuing month, when the affair seems already to have come to a termina- tion. Perhaps inore information might make the matter appear less mysterious. In August all would seem to have been going in contravention of the saying that such matters never run sm,ooth ; two young people evidently attached to each other, of good character, and apparendy with no lack, on one side at least, of sufficient means ; the friend at whose house the lady was staying favourably dis- posed, and the uncle of the gentleman pleading on his behalf. This uncle was apparently acting in loco fareiitis, and his nephew was in business with him. Mrs Elmes wrote to Ben Mordecai suggesting that he should come to town upon the business; this, as is evident from Elizabeth's letter, he did; and then we hear no more till next month, when the alTair is at an end. Elizabeth expresses herself in very strong language against Mrs Elmes, — language certainly stronger than is pleasant to read, when we take into consideration that the writer was about to return as a visitor to her house. Perhaps the best guess at a solution of the difficulty that one can give, is that the gentleman and his uncle expected more dowry than the lady's family could afford, and that Mrs Elmes, whose assistance may have been anticipated, more or less justified Elizabeth's charge of avarice by Anna Taylor {Da?ighfcr of Ben Mordccai). 563 declining to do her part. We may perhaps comfort ourselves with the reflection 1753-1817- that Anna's entire reference of the whole matter to her father's pleasure, and the young man's facile acquiescence in his uncle's prudent objections, go far to prove that neither heart was likely to be broken by the dc'?ioucmeuL Anna's health throughout life appears to have been indifferent. Her brother iier weak health. Henry, in a letter of May 9, 1772, refers to it as probably arising at that time from want of exercise and air in her residence at Mrs Elmes's, and he also refers to it in a letter to Peter, when advising him in regard to his health (p. 508). In 1785, in a letter to Elizabeth (p. 581), she describes her nervous and even hysterical condition ; and other letters bear testimony to the same fact. How patiently she bore her afflictions may be inferred from the following lines : — WRITTEN IN A VERY LONG ILLNESS— A. T. 1777. I Oh Health, thou greatest blessing heav'n can send Next to a mind at ease & Conscience clear; May thy mild influence ere my steps attend, Raise my faint Frame, my languid spirits chear. 2 And, while the sovreign Lord of all shall deign To smile propitious on this worthless Clay, Still may this Clay, from eVry ill repair. Nor know the act which marks one guilty day. 3 But, shou'd it be thy Will oh mighty Lord, To prove thy servant with a lot severe. May thy afflicting hand be still ador'd. And while I grieve the stroke, the Rod revere. 4 Or should it please thee through a length of days That I shou'd only Pain & sickness know, Still may 1 chaunt my heav'nly makers praise. While resignation softens ev'ry woe. 5 For well I know that like a Parent kind. Thou only send'st them to correct ray heart. To prune each latent folly from my mind, In which the world still claims too large a part. 564 Anna Taylor {Daughter of Ben Mordecai). 6 But, shou'd it be thy will dread sovreign Power Once more to grant me a return of health, Gratefull I'd bless each quick revolving hour, Nor envy Csesars Fame or Csesars Wealth. 7 But with a mind still chearful, still serene, Pleas'd I wou'd taste whatere thy bounty gives Enjoy tlie Winter's or the summers scene. Whose varying pleasures still the heart revives. 8 In social converse pass the winter hours. The joyous sun gives lustre to the Spring, Rambling amidst the meadows & the bowers, Each opening Landscape does fresh pleasure bring 9 Thus let me spend the hours thou hast assign'd, While all my days thus gently steal away, Benevolent &: innocent my mind, To no ungratefuU discontent a prey. 10 Yet one more blessing I will ask of heav'n One warm petition graciously approve Of the dear Friends which thou hast kindly given Oh ! make me studious to deserve the Love. And when my days are flown, may I enjoy The approbation of my conduct past That heartfelt pleasure which can never cloy That noblest feast the virtuous soul can taste. After leaving East Ham, about 1772, she probably divided her time, like her sister Elizabeth, between visiting friends and living at Crawley ; but we have very little help from the letters in determining her exact locality. After her Living at Titch- father's death, in 17S5, she went to live with Peter at Titchfield. About this time George Courtauld (my grandfather) paid his addresses to her, but our records are very slight in regard to this. In a letter from my grandfather William Taylor to his brother Peter, dated October 21, 1785, he says: "I will be obliged to you Mr George Com- to let Nancy know that in case she has a mind to write to her friend G. C. in tadd a suitor. , , •!! i 1 r 1 i • " a ■ America, she will be in time if she will send us a letter tor the ship. Again, the same writer, in a letter to his wife, March 11, 1786, says: "I think Nancy Anna Taylor {Daughter of Ben Mordecai). 565 had better write another letter to George instead of that which I have, where 1753-1817. she may take notice of his second alteration ; this will make her refusal more explicit." The only other documentary evidence I find on this matter is in a letter from Dr Adair to Mrs William Taylor, in which he asserts, on the authority of conversation which he has held with Anna, that his suit had never interfered with his (G. C.'s) interest in Miss T. ; which being interpreted, must, I suppose, be held to mean that Anna would never have accepted the proposals of my grandfather. To this last evidence I need hardly say that I attach the smallest importance. Upon the whole, the impression produced upon my mind is, that the addresses of my grandfather were not accepted, while they were not definitively refused. There is a tradition, given me by Mrs Warren, of a rather romantic character, and which is in harmony with this impression. it is said that my grandfather, while in America, wrote to Anna a letter accepting as reasonable and conclusive the arguments which she had brought forward to convince him that the affair had better be definitively broken off; but that no sooner was the letter despatched than he experienced an overwhelming revulsion of feeling, and rode hard through the woods to prevent its transmission ; that in this he failed, but immediately wrote another letter cancelling and withdrawing the previous one, and desiring to be still recognised as her suitor. The story goes that the first letter was accepted and taken as final in spite of its desired withdrawal. It will be observed that this story is to some degree confirmed by the letter I have quoted from William Taylor, March 11, 17S6; — by the phrase "his second alteration." Anna's third love affair, as I suppose I must term it, was of a more serious Projected mar- description, or at least led to much more serious disturbance. It was a curious Adi'lr"" ' compound of farce and tragedy, whereof the hero was a certain Dr James Mak- kitrick Adair — the peculiarity of whose name suggests that he must have been some connection of Dr John Makkitrick, an old friend of the family. He was a Scotch physician, who. forty-two years before (he was now si.xty), had been a surgeon's mate in the Navy, and afterwards surgeon to the Colonial troops in Antigua ; he had been practising at Bath, but was now (17SS) living at Titchfield, in a fur- nished house belonging to the two sisters, Elizabeth and Anna. Anna, at this time about thirty-six years old, was living with her brother Peter, and was no doubt the attraction which took the Doctor to Titchfield ; he seems, however, to have been on terms of intimacy with the family during Ben Mordecai's life. It will be seen by their letters tiiat her brothers were from the first strongly opposed to the marriage, the grounds of their objection being stated in Henry's letters of November i/SS, and March 26, 1789 (pp. 573 to 575); but their advice, as is lot unusual in sucli cases, appears to have been quite insufficient to change the 566 Anna Taylor {DaiigJitcr of Ben Mordecai). 1753-1817. lady's determination. We do not possess a line from her at this time to give any insight in regard to her views upon the matter. All preliminaries were set- tled ; the brothers gave in their adhesion to the Doctor's proposed settlements (see p. 575), and the wedding-day was fixed. Here however arose a difficulty, which proved insoluble (happily I am inclined to believe for all parties concerned), in regard to the security for the settlements proposed. The nature of the security proposed by the brothers, under the advice of Mr Missing, their friend and counsellor, was utterly repugnant to the Doctor, whether upon economical or sentimental grounds does not very clearly appear ; in fact, after this time there is nothing clear but a tempest of fury, hatred, denunciation, and insanity on the part of the unhappy Doctor. The voluminous letters must be read to give any idea of the tornado which ensued. Charges of every description, anonymous letters, and affidavits taken before magistrates, appeals private and appeals public (to the gentlemen of Titchfield and the Bishop of London), must apparently have made Titchfield hideous for the time. The battle, however, was won ; the lady, probably terrified by the Doctor's reckless and unscrupulous violence, was con- verted to the opinions of her family, and finally dismissed her too fierce admirer, retiring herself for a time from the scene, whither, the Doctor could not discover. We do not positively know to what place she went in the first instance; but as no harm can now arise from a discovery of her probable whereabouts, it may be mentioned that amongst her letters will be found one (p. 582) dated so soon after as April 21, 1790, from Chewton (Lymington postmark). In June of the ciiewton. same year we find Mrs William Taylor staying at Chewton with Anna, nursing her little boy William, who was very ill with fits, and who died in the following year. In a letter to her husband she says — Nancy looks very well in health, but I think much older & not so handsome — if I may so say — as she used to do ; her skin looks more brown & red, in short I think she looks ten years older than she did when she was at our house, but I think she seems easy & liappy in her retirement, & perfect retirement to be sure it is. In another letter about the same time she says — I do not believe Nancy likes her lodging much, it is indeed quite an old dull rickety farm house I have not spoken a word about the D'; I have not yet had the heart, & she has, I think, carefully avoided the subject. I think if she continues to live here she will never marry; I find there is but one single farmer any where about their neighbourhood, or any they have the most distant knowledge of, & that one I believe is engaged to the single Miss Spry. A melancholy prospect truly if matrimony was her aim ; but her experience in that direction had not been encouraging, and her character and resources were such as by no means to lead to the conclusion that marriage was likely to have been her sole aim in life. Anna Taylor {Daughter of Ben Mordccai). 567 The following letter, referring to her while at Chewton, throws some light on her character. Who the writer was does not appear ; but we have several letters addressed to Ben Mordecai by persons of the same name (Jackson), and written as from old friends : — \From Eliza Jackson to William Taylor?^ M- W» Taylor N" 3 Terrace Tottenham Court Road London '^'^'^'^ Sir Milton July f 1790 Knowing the affection you have for your worthy sister, & prompt'' by the unfeign'd regard / have for Her, I take up my Pen, to beg of you to send for your Dear Uttle Boy, I forsaw what would be the consequence of leaving it, & beg" Nancy to let Me spake to you not to leave it with Her, but Her affection for you & M" Taylor would not let Me, She do not know that I am now writing, the Dear Infant was taken worse last Wednesday, & was thought to be dying all Day, but it reviv'd m the Evening, & had no fitt till yesterday Morning, but the severe Shock it receiv'd on Wednesday, have made Him a very different Child from what you left Him, His senses are much hurt. His sight IS much impair'd, His hands hang useless or if He attempts to put them out it is in such a manner as show Him almost insensible, Your Sister who gives Him Constant attendance, is so hurt in Body & spirits, that you would scrace think 'Her the same Person, She has Hysterics to a great degree, my Sisters are almost as much Hurt, it makes them so low that they do nothing but cry, the poor maid Nanny is near distracted. She declares, She cannot stay, at such a great distance from Her Mistress, the Child is at the Farm House it is too ill to be brought to my Sisters, The Farmer & His wife have been remarkable civil & attentive, Do Dear Sir take pity on your Sister & mine & get the poor Dear remov'd, its plain the sea air is no way beneficial to it, neither can Your Sister, do it any good, its only injuring Her own Health & Spirits to No purpose, I declare to you I could not undergo the fatigue of body & Mind, that Nancy doth, She gets No rest at Night, having a dread tliat She shall be call'd up, all Her Friends that see Her, tell Me How very ill She looks, & what a pity tis. She should be so terrify'd, In short I could not forbear writing, & must intreat You to relieve them all from their anxiety, I have said every thing I could to make Her write Herself, but I cannot Hear that She has, wrote, I was therefore determin'd to do it myself, As my motive was pure friendship, I thought No one could be angry with Me, my sincere good wishes attend M" Taylor & Yourself Being Dear Sir Your Sincere Friend Eliza Jackson. excuse blunders bad writing, as its a busy day, & my eye sight bad By the following rough draft of a letter in Henry's handwriting, no doubt drawn up with the idea of being sent to Dr Adair, but endorsed "not sent," it will be seen that if Anna's sentiments were correctly described by her brother, she was then (some weeks afterwards) far from regretting the resolution she had come to : — II is now above 2 months ago that I sent D' A his dismission by a Letter wherein I assigned the true reason for my so doing ; induced by his promise y' after reading some Letters from him to my 568 A una Taylor {Daughter of Ben Mordccai). Brothers, & one to myself with an Affidavit made by his Ser', if I sh'' write him word y' I continue to hold the same sentiments with respect to his dismission that I did before he w"" not give me any farther trouble, my Brothers laid those papers before me, & I wrote to confirm my former Senti- ments & dismission. I did y'fore expect after such Promise & my Brothers & myself having complied wth the conditions (w='' were proposed by y° D' himself) the D' w" have kept his word & w'' not have made any farther attempt to press upon me any more Letters or Messages on y" Subject. Every step the D' has since taken has but served to confirm my mind still more & more in y' expediency & propriety of my having dismiss'd this affair entirely ; & more fully to convince me y' I must have been most wretched cS: unhappy if I had not done so, & y'fore whether y" D' may or may not think proper to pay y° regard due to y° promise he made to my Brothers when they & I myself have fully complied wth y" condit' prescribed by y" D'. It is wholely improper for me to receive any farther Letter or Message from him on y" Subject, & I am sure it w'' be utterly repugnant to my peace & happiness ever to think of any connexion w"" him. Amongst the appeals which the Doctor showered on all sides, the following extract from a letter (dated April 21, 17S9) addressed to Mrs William Taylor is given in consequence of its reference to her brother : — On this evening I was to have had the pleasure of paying my personal respects to you ; but, Alas ! how are circumstances changed : my pride & obstinacy have I fear undone me. Read I beseech you the enclosed letter with attention, & you will not I hope think I take an improper liberty with you in entreating your friendly interposition. I need not, I am sure, attempt to awaken your humanity & love of justice in my favour ; but you will do more, for you will essentially serve a Woman, whom you & I love, & who loves us both. Knowing as I do, M' George Courtaulds quondam & perhaps not yet extinguished attachment to her, I should not be so ungenerous as to request your interference, could there be any hope of his success from this rupture ; but as she has more than once conversed with me on the subject, with all the candour & delicacy possible, I have the comfort to believe that I never interfered with his interest in Miss T. She & my daughter both know, &: Miss T. may one day explain to you a circumstance which will evince my high opinion of your brother; I mean George; for I know not that you have any other. With the following fierce and characteristic demand for his letters (enclosed in a letter to William) we may suppose this wretched affair came to an end : — M' Adair (no longer Doctor, thanks to the family of the Taykurs) demands that as none of his Queries, vouchers, or even Ins letters to a certain female, are to be returned to him her letters to him, which he restored months ago may be : for if she retains Ids letters under the pretext of having paid postage for them ; he has an equal right to re-demand those he had returned, on the ground of a similar claim. Whether they are, or are not, returned, it is his resolution, to hurl at the whole infernal crew such a tempest of vengeance & defiance, as shall expose them to the derision, the contempt, and the detestation of mankind. The letters may be sent to No 16 Devonshire Street, Queen's Square. By a letter of William Taylor's, dated August 29, 1791, it appears that the Doctor did not remain inconsolable very long. He writes : " I am glad the Old D' is married, as it will insure quiet to Nancy, & who has he married ? is she Anna Taylor {Daughter of Ben Mordeeai). 569 young or Old, Rich or poor? Is it Jenny Wray." Next day he adds, "I have '753-1S17. just received your Acc' of D' Adair's Venture, & rejoice at its conchision : I hope the channel thro' which the intellig-ence has been transmitted to Titchfield is undoubted. He is served just as such an hypocritical Old Wretch & scoundrell ought to be treated." In what fashion his punishment came to him we do not hear, but in a letter dated 31st of May 1802, William Taylor writes, "You have seen the death of D'' Adair in the newspaper I suppose." And so he passes out of sight. We have now come down to 1790. In 1791 her brother Peter died, and from Living »!U. m,s this time Anna and the widow lived together, making Titchfield their home till Titc"fili'!t'°'' 1802. Of course they did not continue at HoUam ; it would have been altogether too expensive. In 1793 we find both ladies at Wimering, the house of their friends the Carters, assisting at the last illness of Mr Carter. Anna writes to her brother Henry from Wimering : — About an hour ago my dear Henry, our good worthy friend was released from all liis earthly Deatli of Mi Join, suffering : from Sunday Morning till that time he has been struggling with Death. I liope his actual pain has not been very acute, but the fever, restlessness &= have been truly distressing. Thank God he is at rest, M" Carter is tolerable, once in the conflict was quite knocked up, but something recoverd again. James is liere. We liave suffered much in paying tliis last duty to friendsliip, but liappy I am we hatl it in Our power to do so. He seem'd to receive so much satisfaction from our being with him, e\-en wlien words fail'd he shew'd it by tenderly pressing our hands to his Lips. For M" Carter's sake I rejoice likewise that we are here. I am not disposed for writing, but with M" Taylor's love, believe me to be aflectionately yours, Anna Taylor. In another letter, written about the same time, she says — M" T, is as well as can be expected, we have both suffer'd mucli from our last week's employment, but perhaps that time will never arrive in which we can be so essentially serviceable to so many people; for things were so situated that we seemed almost as necessary to S' John as I flatter myself we had been useful before to & Carter. We therefore rejoice at our being here tho tlie time has been distressing to our own feelrags, M" T. & James join me in Love: the funeral is to-morrow, after which we sliall return to Titchfield as soon as M" C. can spare us; which as she will have many things to attend to, I imagine will be soon : I am D' Henry. Y' sincerely Afl'ectionate Sister. A. Taylor. Wimering Tuesday morn. In 1799 we find her staying at Bath for some weeks, and subsequentl)- at the Living ai house of some friends (Stanleys) in Abergele, North Wales. In 1802, Anna and her sister-in-law left Titchfield, as we have said, and went to reside at Fernhill with Mrs Howe, who seems to have been an old friend. E.xactly where or what l-'ernhili is. I have not been able to find out. It is clear, from the following e.xtract from one of William Taylor's letters, that Fernhill is in the neighbourhood of Lymington : — Pool 7 Oct 1795: I arrived at Fernhill about half an hour before your letter to .Miss Rickman. .... I came this morning from Fernhill to Christchurch, & thence hither. I of course rode by the house where we visited Nancy & Miss Rickman at Chewton. 4 c 570 Anna Taylor {Daughter of Ben Mordecai). >753-iSi7- Both Fernhill and Chewton seem to be names of houses or farms, or small districts only. Apparently Miss Rickman lived at Fernhill in the parish of Milford, and the letter from Mrs (or Miss) Jackson, p. 567, dated Milton, indi- cates that Chewton — where we know the little boy was being nursed — was in that parish. Both Milford and Milton are near Lymington. The Rickmans seem to have been old friends of Ben Mordecai. There is a letter from the Rev, Mr Rickman to him, dated Milford 1763, which describes itself as the recom- mencement of a long previous acquaintance. In going to Fernhill, their intention, as appears from Anna's letter of January 1802, was to make that a permanent arrangement. It appears, however, that shortly Living with her afterwards her brother Henry setded himself at Banstead (about 1802), when she (with brother Henry at Banstead. j^rs Petct Taylor) went to reside with him, and remained there up to the time of her death. That this account is somewhat meagre, is of course attributable to the scarcity in the preserved letters — if indeed many were written — of a person of whom it is Evidence of her quite tantalising to hear so little, all her letters evincing so much of sound jnilginent and i' not be proper it shd fall into y" hands of Person hinted at. Tlie Other reason is y' I am persuaded you are y<= onely one of y= family that has any weight or influence w'" A: or whose judgment she has any opinion of; & y'fore it will rest with you, to apprise her w'" any Effect & to any ])urpose, of y= real State in w='' I fear she will find herself when too late to be remedied : When I consider y= Offer lately made, I must own it gives me very serious uneasiness, & y= more 1 think upon it, & y= more I see & hear y= more fully am I persuaded y' it can never promote her happiness, & y' y' Person himself is a very different Character from what we have apprehended. That he is not a man of deep Affection or quick sensibility, his Conduct towards his late Wife, & also toward his Brother John clearly proves beyond contradiction. The first of which I understand was forced to go abroad much against her will, & in a very ill state of health ; And now she is scarce cold m her Grave, at a place she was reluctantly compelled to go to, when he is indecently seeking an other. I shd think this Circumstance must shock A's Delicacy, as it certainly must strike every one else. His ardent aftcction to A : whom he professes to have long admired is made his excuse for this indecent Conduct; how this may strike her, she can best judge; but I fear any indifferent person will think it more indelicate than y" thing itself; it is no other than confessing y' he cherishd thoughts of hei- when his wife was living, w " is but a bad earnest of conjugal affection. His behaviour to D' John the last time he was at his house before D' John's fatal illness, was such y- his Wife was so greatly hurt at it, y' she mucii lamented it to D' John, & sd she cd not think what was come to her husband, or what he had taken into his head, and one circumstance of it struck D' John so deeply y' he expressed himself y' he felt from that moment he had lost a Brother, and it occasioned him to alter the disposals of his Will. Indeed if he had really possessed any good degree of sensibility or affection, he cd not have gone into y= Auction Room, a little after his Brother's death in y' house, to have spoken in commendation of a Watch he had to dispose of, & in a manner well struck y= hearers so much y' (as I was at that time in another Room) a person came and told me y" his Speech was enchord. His Temper is irritable in extreme, which at the same time it makes him apt to get into hot water & altercation, renders him impatient of his adversaries retorts, and unable to bear, wch keeps him continually uneasy & fretted.— One of these Altercations in wch he has been engaged, is s" to have driven liim from Bath, and his Antagonist docs not seem inclined to drop it, but is still pointing Squibs at him in y" News Papers, to his no small mortification, discomfort & vexation. He is precipitate S: unsteady both in his principles & Conduct, changing without any good & sufTicient reasons to urge for so doing, yet positive & violent wch has greatly changed y' Opinion entertained by some of our Neighbours, as well as our own, both of his Understanding, & Temper, indeed he has lately lost himself here very much. His taking to his bed y' Evening we went to visit him he may pretend to have been because his great regard to A. occasioned him to be indisposed. liiit I must say y' at 60 it has more the appear- ance of an artful trick, for if really sick with vexation & uneasiness surely he wd not have been 574 Aiiiia Taylor {Daughter of Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. amusing himself w"' reading ; this leads one to suspect y' his Conduct in other things, wch we have imputed to better motives, may have proceeded wholely from artifice and design. His fancying A like his first Wife may possibly be true, but more probably is a mere pretence & artifice to give some appearance of stability in his affections, & to palliate a conduct he is sensible is wrong &: grossly indelicate. — This is no new plea to be urged in a second or third Courtship. His Daughter is stingy beyond measure, & he approves her management under y" term of her being an Oeconomist. Will not this ever be a cheque to A — 's doing a generous action, or even to doing what she may think ought to be done ; &: must not A — become stingy in conformity to her ideas, & bear y° Character of so being herself. Can she submit to this & be happy with such Characters. Let her not flatter herself she shall have an influence w'*^ him wch his late Wife had not, this may be for half a year, or for Twelvemonths ; but it is not reasonable to expect that this will be any thing more than short & transitory; where as y° Daugiuer is fi.xed in his highest good opinion & favour, & will be always a thorn in A — s side, & a constant impediment to her having y° full & proper management & Authority in her own house. & it would be y^ height of Vanity to hope y' A — will have that weight of influence wth both father &: Daughter, wch his late Wife cd not have over y° father alone. Let her fully consider y' by connecting herself wth a Man of so wandering & unsettled a Disposition, she is probably quitting all her friends & acquaintance in this Kingdom, to roam from place to place in Distant countries, where no one friend can assist to moderate his Temper, wch we have but too much reason to fear is violent & arbitrary in any extravag* fancy he may run into. If she A grounds any hope of having an Influence over him from his sense of making a gratefull return to her for accepting so old a lover, she greatly deceives herself. His ideas on that matter run very difierently, that B: & N. had both given over all expectations of ever being married; this notion he had neither prudence nor delicacy enough to keep to himself, y^ other day when speaking of •j' house, he s"" it was fitted up under y-= idea that B. & A. were always to live together, & y' neither of them he supposed (I believe he put in he supposed) had any thoughts of ever marrying ; so that he seems to me to imagine he confers a favour on A — in preserving her from the dreadful calamity of dying an Old Maid. These are my Ideas on this Subject, and in part y" reasons on wch I ground them. If any of these Ideas slid be erroneous, yet they certainly are not all so ; Nor are tlicy all mere matters of Opinion, but mostly founded on facts here stated ; whether they will have any weight or no I know not : that I presume may depend much on your Opinion & y" weight you may give it. but, I shd not think I did my duty as a Brother, if I did not state them for inspection. I have not agravated anything, as far as I am aware, beyond my settled Opinions, nor set down aught in malice ; nor have I other object in view beyond our Sister's happiness. we probably, shall not ever see much more of each other after y' first half year or twelvemonths if this Matter takes place, & I can y'fore have little interest in it but as wishing her welfare, wch will no longer be in y" power of herself or family to influence after y' Dye is cast. I mean y' A. may see y° whole of this Letter, but not to take a Copy of any part from it; & y'fore I must desire you will not part wth it out of your hands without a promise y' she will not, & then not for more than one day. these injunctions I desire may be strictly observed, & y' you will return it to me again when opportunity offers of so doing, on these particulars I must insist ; for though I am fully persuaded y' y' Contents are not groundless & with out founda- tion, & y'fore shd not discuss them, yet if this affair shd take place notwithstanding all reasons to y= contrary, there is no occasion for me to be upon ill terms with the person spoken of &: hope A. will not take it amiss & y' I am so anxious in an Aftair in wch her happiness is so nearly concernd. With Love to Yourself & all yours not forgetting Little Chris : & very particularly to Anna believe me to be Yrs very sincerely H. Taylor. Anna Taylor {Daughter of Ben Mordccai).— Correspondence. 575 \_No address; no date i—from the Revs. Henry and Peter Taylor, her brothers, to Dr Adair.] [Endorsed.— Adair in answer to liis propositions: March 5. 17S9."] Dear Sir We liave perused & consider'd the propositions You sent Us whicli are necessary to be settled previous to Your union with our Sister Anna. & we readily acl;nowledge that they meet with our approbation, i- that her own Fortune whether in possession or reversion shall be at her own disposal, together with the rents, interests accruing, & shall be vested in Trustees appointed by herself, & solely for her use & subject to her disposition & controul as if she were a Single Woman. 2" that she enjoy from your Property a Dower settled upon her for her Natural Life of the annual sum of £160. 3" tliat ^4000 be settled upon the Children which may issue from this Marriage, the interest of which shall be enjoy'tl by You, & should there be no children from the connexion the principal afterwards to be at your own disposal. It remains only to speak to the mode of security for the Dower & the ^£'4000 to descend to the Children of the Marriage. And here we must beg leave to remark that it is not the wish of Miss A Taylor's Friends to put D' Adair to any inconveniency in the disposition of his Property, that can possibly be avoided, consistent with the necessary security: much less can they ever consent that the D' should tye up his whole property so absolutely during his life & after his Decease to attain the end proposed, as his letter intimates, which might in the course of e\'ents prove a great discomfort to him & his Family. We therefore propose that some Gentleman learned in the Law shall be consulted in what manner this security can be made so as to be satisfactory to Miss A : 1' Friends, & of least inconveniency to Yourself We however think that the Sum of ^4000 should be vested in Trustees, for the Security of the Dower & y= Children's Fortunes, & placed in the English Funds for that purpose. But if it is out of the D" power to do this immediately (w* we understand to be the case) we are willing to consent that the best security that can now be given, shall be accepted for the present, & the D' shall bind himself to place that sum in the Stocks at some future Period, to be named as a convenient time for his so doing, not exceeding a Year & Half, or two Years after the Marriage. We are Dear Sir With the most sincere wish to promote the future Happiness of yourself & our Sister Your Sincere & Affect : F^riends H. & P. T.iYLOR. \_Froi?i the Jicv. Henry Taylor to his brother the Tev. Peter Taylor.] To the rev;' JP Peter Taylor Titcbfield Hants Sutton Lodge near Croydon Surry. Tuesday Ma' 2O"' 1789. Df.ar Peter 1 cannot but be y' more uneasy the nearer y' fatal moment approaches, wch I greatly fear will put an end to all our Youngest Sisters enjoyment & happiness in this Life ; not this only ; but from such an unfortunate connection with a Character, appears to make its own interest, gratification A: vanity so strongly y ruling principle of Life, & motive of Conduct, and to wch she will be obliged to assimilate, will render herself daily less & less amiable & worthy & y'fore less fit for a -576 Anna Taylor {Daughter of Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. Station of more exalted reward hereafter. These are very serious Considerations, & when we con- sider the artfull means have been made use of to draw her into tliis situation, I cannot but hope something might possibly yet be done to preserve her from such impending ruin ; Might it not open her eyes, if you wd state to her the artfull steps, wch have been taken to lead her to this preci- pice, & bring her to consider, before it be too late, the abyse of trouble & anguish she is plunging into ? Whilst it was thought y' her Friends & Relations wd have influence with her they were attended to & courted ; how meanly, by insidious affectation of making a Will in favour of one of them, you know when not anything real or substantial was meant by it. When it appeared y' her Relations had no in- fluence, and were not favourable to ye Union projected, an attempt is made to disunite her Affections from them, & compliments are continually niade to her at their K.\pcnse, persuading her to rest solely upon her own judgment without regard to the councel & advise of her friends & those who wish her best, & are only solicitous for her happiness & welfare The very same plan & line of Conduct will dictate a simular treatment toward herself when once secured ; her influence then will be as triffling as is the regard &: decorum shown toward her family, now their interest in ye matter to be effected is conceived to be of no weight. That arbitrary Spirit contracted by living in a Country where Slavery is exercised, wch now shews itself in a haughty & insolent mode of behaviour toward Ser" as inferior as I understand is generally ye case wth those who have lived in such Countries toward all they can command will then be exerted toward her who will be but as ye higher Slave in the family of an arbitrary Lord & Despot; a Lord full of self sufficient Vanity & Vagaries, without sound judgment or good sense. If also she cd be brought to see the artifice & cunning of pretending to be ill c& taking to jx- bed when company was invited to ye house, in order to excite pity & compassion, & so obtain an end desired, a contemptible & despicable hypochicy, & wch a child at Scheie wd have been whippd for, if these things were duely set before her, surely there is a hope still remaining y' her eyes might yet be opened before it is too late. In answer to your idea of the matters being gon too fir, I w^ ask. If apprised & made sensible of y' real state of these things & of this real Character, of wch she does not appear to be at all aware, can there be any obligation upon a person to run herself into so great misery & unhappiness as seems to be preparing for her, & to entail upon her descendants such an extravagant wrongheaded- ness as gives to many people ye strongest suspicion of hisanity, because she has been deceived into a consent by such artfull S; insidious methods as she was not aware of, & able to discover & see through at ye time. If so, honesty & fair dealing can never stand anychance against knavery & hypochricy. — Be assured it is only want of resolution & too great timidity, wch makes us act in such Circumstances when we have been so artfully circumvented from some partial Circumstances only wch wd be against us, & not from ye whole & true state of ye Case wch is in our favour, when we discover ye fraudulent impositions & fallacy under wch such consent was given & by wch it was obtained. I y'fore wish & hope you will talk to her upon the subject & contents of ye above. The direction to this place you have in my date of this : I hear from M" y' Nancy has written to know if they can receive her ye End of April or toward that time. Now Spranger is from Town for a Month till April 23 gon to Liverpool to settle some matters as Executor of his Relation iSr Hughes deceased & thence into Wales to S' Peter Burrells Estates. I doubt y'fore whether the Settlement can conveniently be laid before him till his return, of wch I think ye party with you shd be apprised & it will be madness to conclude ye matter without his inspection for I know not any other person we could depend upon to give it full consideration & it will require ye fullest, as it is much out of any common settlements, & whilst on his Executor Buisiness & in Wales he will scarsely have liesure to give it due attention. Shall I apply through M' Jervoise to Detrany & M to know whether such kind of demand on West India property may be considered as a good security. & if so, what shall I make to be the specific Question of enquiry Let me hear from you & how things stand, & in answer to this Ques' With Loves to All believe me Y" Sincerely H. Taylor. A7ina Taylor {Daughter of Ben Mordccai).~Corresponde7icc. 577 \From the Rev. Peter Taylor to his brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.'] The Rev" M' Taylor at the Rev'' M' Thomas's Sutton Lodge near Croydon Surry Sunday March 29"' 17S9 Titchfield Dear Harry, I enter fully into Your feelings respecting Nancy, but I am persuaded it is out of our power to render her any service & am convinced it is much too late to undertake it & Bourmaster is of the same opinion, & thinks as does M" Howe with me that it would be imprudent to endeavour to prevent the union— From the r« she has had no confidence in us, & now when she owns him to be in fault, she is reserved & distant to us, & for ever going to him, so much so, that it is really astonishing— since his late conduct has not opend her eyes I am sure nothing will— He asserts that I said, if there were no Children it would be his fault, & he says he will stake his salvation upon the truth of it— I have told her the contrary in strong terms but it is of no consequence, & weighs nothing with her— We are, towards each other, in the same situation as when You left us, & I do not imagine any reconciliation will take place indeed I begin less &: less to wish it, nor do I think it is of any import- ance—for when I consider that it is not probable that any Friendship or even intimacy would exist between me & him : in future were we to make up the present difference, & that she has long withdrawn all confidence S: friendly communication, & does not in the least resent the ill treatment her Friends have met with from him, in transacting her business I am thoroughly persuaded that our communica- tions will never extend beyond those of a common acquaintance, & the footing T : & she will be upon (in the present state of things) will be as comfortable to Nancy as that would be believe me my D' Henry Your ever truly Affec : Brother P. T. \_Fro)ii the Rev. Henry Taylor to his brother the Rev. Peter Taylor I] To The rev'' M' Peter Taylor at the Rev'' M' Jenkin's Steying Sussex Titchfield Sund 26. Apr. ivSn Dear Peter The strain of his writing must surely give offence, seeming as if he thought he had a right to demand her to marry him; and not sparing even herself, wherever he imagines y' saying any thing ag' her may forward his designs. & also as it it were a favour in him to receive her, & continually recurring to her attatchment to him, surely these things are highly disgusting I am tired of hearing, it is so unhandsome. & you know he has shewn all but the inclosed Letter to Ad" Faulkner & to Cap' Bourmaster.— And so w" it be if they came together he w<" at any time expose her to carry any point or fancy of his own extravagance I think A shd. put an End Finally to this affair, by sending him a clear & positive & most express dismission, for the Letters he writes & shews arc very unhandsome in many respects towards her. And sh" stand for the real reason as the true one of his dismission & wch she has already given him. And ag" wch not any thing he has written does in the least degree apply, nor is any answer or palliative. I hope A. will be firm & decisive— or all that is done is worse than nothing as it will only call forth his displeasure & be a foundta" of reproche hereafter believe me Y" sincerely \\, 'p. 4 D 578 Anna Taylor {Daughter of Ben Mordecai). — Correspoiidence. \^No date; — -from the Rev. Peter Taylor to his brother the Rev. Henry TaylorT^ The Rev" H Taylor at the Rev'^ M' Thomas's Sutton Lodge near Croydon Surry \Aiout April 1789.] Dear Harry We were last week at Wimering [Mr Carter's] otherwise I should have answer'd your letter before — ■ I continue exactly in the same situation with the D' as when You left Us, & am every day more & more reconciled to it, & begin to be of opinion that it is the best footing we can be upon with him — I am persuaded the security we are to have is extremely good, & what ought perfectly to satisfy Us, whatever alterations are likely to take place in West India property & I have no doubt M' Missing is of the same opinion — The D' Wanted to give M' Missing some instruction in drawing up the Deed & in consequence rec" a severe repremand from M' M.— He has also I under- stand express'd a wish to have the security made in some other way, but M^ Missing refused to make the proposition to Us, so it dropt — S' J. Le Roche has again offer'd to pay in y° Mortage next Year, but as neither the D'' nor Nancy has made any mention of this to me, I have taken no notice of it to them. — For as we have adopted a mode of security already, w''' I believe is good. I think it is better to let things proceed as they are now doing, than propose an alteration S: I am the better pleased with the security from S' J being so ready & willing to pay in the money, as it proves the security to be so good that the sum can easily be raised upon it — I know of no particulars to be enquired about S' J. Le Roche but his Character & circumstances I am Dear Harry Your ever truly affec ; Brother P. T. \_No address; — from the Rev. Peter Taylor, her brother, to .] \Eiidorsed — " From Peter Taylor in answer to D' Adairs of i" & 4"' May 17S9," tht-ovgh some frknd or agent?^ May 4"' 1789 Dear Sir As I imagine you will soon have an opportunity of seeing D' Adair, I beg you will be kind enough to inform him with our Comp" that we accept, in our Sisters name, his warning of three months for the House & my Sister Anna's furniture, from the first of this Month, which is the date of the D" letter, but if it shall prove convenient to D' Adair to leave the house at any earlier period I wish you would inform him, that no rent either for the Flouse or Miss Anna Taylor's furniture will be expected beyond the day the D' resides in the House & has given up the Keys into Your Hands or those of M' Monday. The warning the D' gave to M" E Taylor stands good, & will end some day, We think, in the next month — My Brother who is absent has the affidavit with him — I have no letter from M' Barton but what is directed to myself & cannot therefore be parted with, &: as the expences to M' Missing and M' Barton will not fall upon the D' such letter can be of no consequence to Him — With respect to the report of insanity, I am sure I have no means of tracing from wlience it has arisen, but many are the reports about every man, which have little or no solid foundation. Excuse the trouble I give you & believe me Yours Sincerelv P. T. Anna Taylor {Dauglitcy of Ben Mordccai). — Correspondence. 579 \_No address from her brother, the Rev. Peter Taylor, to Miss Adair.'] To Miss Adair Titchfield July 26"> 1789 Dear Madam, I am not at all surprised or displeased at the partiality towards your Fathers conduct which runs thro' the whole of your letter— It is quite natural, and as I sincerely hope it may long continue & be a source of happiness to him & you. far be it from me to attempt to remove or lessen It, by entering with You into a vindication of my Friends, my Relations or myself, which could only be done at his expense— It is however the greatest satisfaction to ourselves that the more we look back & the oftener we review our past conduct, the more we approve it & are thoroughly convinced we have acted properly & uprightly, in which, we have the farther consolation of being confirm'd by the disinterested & unreserved approbation of all our Friends & Neighbours~& what has pass'd since my Sisters dismission of the D' has only served to strengthen every one in the opinion that She is fully justified in the step she has taken & that she has fortunately escaped from a connexion which must have involved her in misery. It is therefore my Sister's absolute determination as well as our own to have no future intercourse with y= D'' on the Subject— A Subject he ought to have drop'd long ago had he kept the promise he made of giving her no farther trouble & y' breach of which can never redownd to his Character with Men of Honor cSc Veracity. Give me leave however Madam before I conclude to assure You that I shall be happy at all times to render You any service in my power & to hear of your welfare, but if your letters must refer to an event w'* is already concluded & will never undergo an alteration. I must with reluctance decline the correspondence, at the same time that I with truth express my sincere & hearty good wishes to your future happiness I am D' Madam Your very Obt Servant P. T. That any one could think of my Sister's visiting D' Adair is to the last degree astonishing \Fr07n the Rev. Peter Taylor, her brother, to Mr John McCoimell.'] To M' John M'Connell Gloucester Street N" 40 Queen Square S'^' Titchfield Aug' 31" 1789 .\fter D' Adair had solicited a number of worthy & respectable Persons both here & elsewhere, who are well acquainted w'" every transaction between the parties concern'd & each of them had refused to become his instrument in the business, I am not surprised he sh" at last prevail upon You (who know little of him, less of y= merits of the affair & nothing at all of us) to take up your pen & become his advocate.— Had you known more, I am persuaded, you would not have made so rash an assertion as "that Vou see both parties were wrong" a position we can never admit to be true— for the' the D''' ill conduct has been so very gross & evident nen to himself, that he has thought proper to confess it & to write Us a long apology for it, yet we are certain he never received from Us any ill treatment whatever— It is not my intention however to enter into this business, yet it may not be improper to apprize You of one circumstance. D' Adair has strongly bound himself in a paper under his own hand, to give my Sister no farther trouhle. How his conduct since can be made con- sistent with such a promise requires more Jesuitical cliicanery than men of Honor can have recourse to— Even at the age of 20 with all the allowance that can possibly be made for the impetuosity & inconsiderate rashness of Youth, a sufficient excuse cannot be found for the breach of an absolute 580 Anna Tayloy {Dauglitcr of Ben Mordccai). — Correspondence. promise voluntarily made, wliat tlien can be said for a man nearly arrived at his grand Climacterick, with sucli a pliilosophic coldness of affection, that he could forget a wife (with whom he says, he had lived harmoniously 28 years) before she had been deposited in her grave so short a time as t-iuo Months'! "ere those shoes were old &c." Sir it demands more casuistry than honest good sense can call to its aid, to make such a breach of a voluntary engagem' compatible with veracity & I defy any man of Character to attempt it, without immediate ruin to his own reputation — & who can credit the D" professions of ardent affection to a Lady he is continually abusing & endeavouring to traduce by every means malevolence can suggest even at the expence of his oivn word? The threats however w^'' D' Adair is for ever throwing out & circu- lating, if there were no other reasons would make it highly improper for me to comply with your wishes of interposing in his behalf It is with reluctance I have taken up my pen upon an affair, w^'' has been long unalterably decided. & I have no doubt but you easily perceive that a continuance of our correspondence will yield neither of us any kind of satisfaction. I am Sir Your most Hum : Servant P. T. \_No date ; — from Mr Adair to her brother JVilliaiti Taylor.~\ JI'^ Anna Taylor or . M' William Taylor \Aboiit 1790.] Adair (no longer Doctor, thanks to the family of the TayUurs) demands, that as none of his Queries, vouchers, or even liis letters to a certain female, are to be returned to him, her letters to him^ which he restored months ago may be returned, for if she retains his letters under the pretext of having paid postage for them, he has an equal right to redemand those he had returned, on the ground of a similar claim. Whether they are, or are not, returned, it is his resolution to hurl at the whole infernal crew such a tempest of vengeance .S; defiance as shall Expose them to the derision, the contempt, & the detestation of mankind. The letters may be sent to N" 16 Devonshire street Queen's Square. The above concludes the Adair correspondence. \fSIo date; — from Atnta to her sister Elizabeth Taylor^ Miss Taylor M' W"' Taylor's Osborne Place Osborne Street White Chapel London Hollam — Sunday Even. D"* Betsy, [1785.] As you are going to have dear little Mad"" Hair made into a Locket, shou'd you not like to have some of my dear Old Man's nii.xt w'" it — tis no uncommon thing to have several Anna Taylor {Daiig/itcr of Ben Mordccai). — Correspondence. 581 Friends made up together. Willocks Bills I hear come very high. As often as I hear any thing New which I think would Plague him & make him Uncomfortable, I feel a satisfaction diffused through my Mind in the One reflection, he is at rest— I cou'd not bear to see him Unhappy. — the same reflection comforts me when I see any thing New & untoward in Dan' — My Father & Bessey are at Peace nothing now can trouble them — 'tis a reviveing thought. We are None of us entangled as she was, nor old & infirm as the good Old Man whatever was to befall we are able to struggle with it, they were not. God bless you my Love to Bill & Kitty Yr Affectionate Sister A. Tavlok. \_No date;— from Anna to her sister Elizabeih Taylor^ To Miss Taylor M'* Taylors New Buildings Wandsworth Surry ^ „ \Mout 1785.1 Dear Betsy, ' ^ As to my Hysterick fit it was I believe very much owing to haveing repeatedly set to my work when I felt an extreme propensity to be walking ; a thing which many years experience ought to have taught me I never do without repenting of it - afterwards, & loosing more time than I gain, by being oblig'd to give double the time to nurseing which I need have done to exercise, which when anxiously wish'd for, is indispensibly necessary with me, & I am apt to think it is a com- plaint in itself which occasions that restless & extreme wish for motion which I often experience, & which it gives me health & Spirits if I indulge, but a gloomy Mind and disorder'd Body if I resist & never fails to bring on a low fever, indeed my Fit fatigued me violently, & for above a week afterwards I felt too Low & weak to admit of the least comfort : but by takeing Emetic Tartar I got the better of the feverish complaint & by makeing it a rule not be departed fr" to walk the i" hour After Breakfast before I attempt any thing else, I have got a good deal the better of the Nervous complaint tho' that is a disorder I never expect to be so freed f" as if I never had been troubled w'" it. & now there is no danger of my being bad again as Dan'' things are conquer'd (that is all that is of consequence) & lately tho' I have work'd when sitting within doors, yet I have allow'd myself plenty of time for walking, or gossiping when disposed to do so. I have taken so much time talking of myself in order to convince you that you need not return a moment sooner than you wish on my Account as I dont doubt w"" the cause of my indisposition the effect will cease The reason I gave you before still holds in full force against going to Binfield, especially as I am convinced I shall no where be better than here as to health, & if M' F. was to offer to frank me it wou'd always be look'd upon that the obligation lay on my side a thing I shou'd wish to avoid. I feel oblig'd to M" Fox for being so kind to my poor .\unt, & greatly rejoice that all her difficulties will now be soon at an End, as I find weald house is so near being let, cou'd Dan' also be got into some way of life I think our keenest feelings wou'd be over; but heaven best knows ; & I often think the having much time alone & seeing P. so different from him- self, the being obliged to hear serious discourses iic. &c. &c. may possibly have a good effect even on his hard [seal] Y" very .Vffcctionately A. '1'avlor. 582 A una Taylor {Daughter of Ben Mordccai). — Correspondence. '7S3-'Si7- \_F7'om Anna to her sister Elizabeth Taylor^ W E. Taylor M'^ Fox's Binfield near Oakingham Berks Osborn Place Feb'' 4"' 1787 Dear Betsy, As to the Will I think Some things might better have been Otherwise but still the addition is so comfortable to us all that I think we may be all very happy things are as they are; I never had raised my expectations higher till very lately ; & if you can escape the Boy you will be happier than if you had him & all her riches, & that I ardently hope you will do. W" don't seem to think there will be any thing improper in Your taking the ;^5oo. as the circumstances were so different from what they were stated, c& I dare say the Wills different too. As to what regards ourselves perhaps the less that is said about it the better. — I have nothing io speake out about as you term it. I have no kind of quarrel with you on any account tho' Y' expressions in that well remembred letter in which You advised me against marriage, least I should "rack my Husbands heart to death" &: told me how miserable I often made you. Opened to me a quite New view of the manner in which we lived together. & the light in which I was viewed had you supposed my extreem ill behaviour as you represent the effect of illness you would no more have pretended to perswade me out of it than to Argue me out of a sick headaclie. but this affair has been too often mention'd already & never shall on my part be spoken of again, it will be much the most convenient for us to live together & we will make ourselves as com- fortable as we can & shou'd I ever again fall into any ill health which may make me troublesome to )-ou we will then part I am dear Betsy your affection : Sister & Friend A. T. [From Amia to her brother William Taylor 7^ To M' William Taylor N° 3 Terrace Tottenham Court Road London Chewton April 21" 1790 My Dear William It would give me real pleasure to see Kitty down here & to take a thousands walks & chats with her; tho' I am sorry so uncomfortable a reason as your little Boys illness should occasion her coming I am dear W"' Affectionately yours Anna Taylor. \_No address ; — -from Anna to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor?^ Bath May 16"' 1799 I thank you for your enquiries respecting my health.-:— I flatter myself that I have received great benefit from the Waters, they agree perfectly well with me, & I have great hopes they will in some measure assist my bilious complaint ; I certainly feel a degree of inward strength I have long been a stranger to & every body praises my looks. I wish I could say Bath did as well for M" Taylor, but She has been languid & uncomfortable from the time She first enter'd the place ; neither does it ever agree with^ Miss [Stanley; but I am much Obliged 'to them both for consenting to continue here tiU Anna Taylor {Daughter of Ben Mordecai).— Correspondence. 583 Monday sen'night on my account. We have past our time very agreeably ever since we have been here, the Beauty of the Buildings, & the fine prospects from the surrounding hills have much pleased us ; while the Novelty (to us) of the amusements, & numbers of well drest people assembled together, all have contributed to entertain us I do not think our visit will do any harm either to M" Taylor or myself, but of all places I think it the most unfavorable to Young people whose minds are still to be formed; the whole morning is spent in lounging, sauntering about & gossiping with all you are acquainted with either in the different Streets or in the Pump Room; amusements of One Kind or Other take up the Evening : in short a frivolous round of triffling is the business of Life : it does very well for a month or six weeks ; but that is abundantly sufficient ; & I begin to look forward with satis- faction to the time when we shall wing our way to the Mountains; Denbighshire, is the County we shall be m I would now look at your first long letter but for three reasons— I must go upstairs to fetch It : I think I fully recollect there was nothing in it that wanted answering, & that I have written till I am quite tired I shall therefore bid you adieu with both our Love, & believe me Affectionately y" A. Taylor. Remember after Monday sen'night, our direction is at M" Stanley's Grwych— Abergele— North Wales. {From Anna to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor^ Rev" M' Taylor No 164 Opposite New Church Strand London Dear Henry Titchfield April i5"> 1S02 I am pleased to hear of the ^£'200 addition to your Incomes but own I should have been better pleased had it been double that sum, & no chancery suit tacked to it; however we must not be too nice in these things but take them as they come, & be content I do not see any more than Yourself that there is any reason to make any talk or enter into particulars respecting Ones private affairs I shall not therefore say more than I can help about your Legacy or mention its value— most probably shall not have occasion to say ought about it. M" Taylor joins me in Love & wishes to add her hearty congratulations on your being remember'd Yrs affectionately A. T. I did not express my wishes that your additional income might be a reai blessing to you from an apprehension tliat you would make it otherwise, but as having often in Life observed such a combination of circumstances (or rather perhaps I should say connexion) that we see the most flattering events lead to ill the most unpromising to good & that in a manner no human Eye could foresee, but which has often struck my mind as the proof of an overruling Providence— Thus should your increase of Licome induce you to take a Wife whether the Lady turns out the blessing or misfortune of your future days yet still your ever having her might in truth have never happend had it not been for your Additional fortune; & so on in ten thousand instances \From Anna to her brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.^ The Rev^ M' Taylor Miss Leventhorp's Square Winchester Hants Dear Henrv Femhill Oct 26'" 1802 I received your last letter yesterday Even': & will proceed to answer t/iat & your former letter as fast as I can i & trust for an opportunity of conveying it to the post.— In the first place I am glad to 584 Anna Taylor {Daughter of Bcii Mordccai). — Correspondence. hear y' will is made, & tliank you for your kind offer of leaving me any thing I particularly wish'd for, but I do not know there is any thing I should desire, tho' I equally thank You for Your offer. — I had been eniploy'd nearly the same way myself lately, & would ask you whether you would like to have the Pictures of my Grandfather & Grandmother Fox left to you, otherwise I will give them to W" for they certainly would not be proper things to be sold & the value very triffling except to the family. My Room is now colour'd & painted & the good Old Couple look very Smart & comely in it. The Locket you mean that I wish'd to keep, was not one of poor Betsy hair, but one my Sister had made of M" Daniel Taylor's hair. I should value it for both their sakes, it is likewise a pretty thing & at this time a fashionable female ornament; I sent it to Town wth the Pictures &' every thing else I could find of Betsy's ; the Maps you enquire for are fasten'd down under the large Picture, but tho' I sent them so long ago I never have heard whether they got safly to Town. — I had a letter a few days ago from William his family are all well & got home again ; M''' P Taylor says Christina Fox is Y' GodChild, but we neither of us know what others you have in the family Chris : is a nice Girl, her mind is good & her person pleasing ; indeed they seem all as amiable well disposed young people as ever I met w"' — M" Shutes after taking so many Years to consider of it is at last dead, which will bring something more to the Residuary Legatees of M" Fox & 1 suppose what Betsy was entitled to will be to be divided in the same proportions as the rest of her property — I think my Mother died about 33 Years ago which must be about the Year 1769 it was I believe in 66 I went first to East Ham &: about 72 or the begin- ning of 73 that we ceased to make our constant Annual visits — Your Hundred Cups are safe here under the care of M" P. T. as trusty a Gaurdian as they can possibly have. — I always knew of Peters affection for Miss Leigh & that the whole of her family were much attach'd to him, but I do not apprehend his regard was openly avowed as he thought her fortune so superior, tho' I imagine it was seen by them from the mothers regard to him & how in a course of Years it might have turn'd out had she lived I know not, but do not imagine when she dyed anything had ever been said on either side & M" Taylor looks on the aftair to have been situated just the same as I do — Amongst the things sent to Town was a small picture of M''" Fox, I should like to take that at an appraisment, it wou'd be a shame for it to be sold out of the Family, we are not in any want of Honey I thank you. — I do not think there would be any cliance of a Roasters arriving while it is good as we have no settled intercourse w* Lymington, & a Pig should be eaten the same day it is kiU'd : — Nancy says she had rather by half you would bring yourself for she does not suppose you would stink if you lay a night or two on Your journey, but your Pig most probably would. They beg to be affectionately remember'd to You & thank You for thinking of tliem tho' your plan does not seem practicable. It was as well you did not go to Hook, for I hear all things sold wonderfully high : The Library alone I am told brought Three thousand Pounds The books were elegantly bound which I dare say caught the Eyes of many who were not so good judges of the contents, we have heard nothing from M' DoUinger about our Legacys nor any farther of the little woman's will except her leaving ^100 to the poor unfortunate Miss Clewer. I am glad to find by your first letter that your hearing is mended, & hope it continues in that recoverd state, if it is nervous }'0U may probably find winter better agree with it than the heat of summer Affectionately y" A. Taylor. Query is Harriet your God Daughter also? Asking news of a Person wlio lived some miles f"" Titchfield I was told how iiiconsolablc the Admiral had long been for his recent disappointment j — I do think I should have tryd hard to play the Hypocrite rather than have had myself the talk of the Neighbourhood on such an occasion. Anna Taylor {Daughter of Ben Mordccai). — Correspondence. 585 \_From Anna to Iicr brot/ier tlic Rev. Henry Taylor.'\ Rev" M' Taylor Opposite tlie New clnirch Strand London Fernhill Nov' S"" 1S02 Dear Henry I have frequently weigli'd in my mind the subject of your last letter since I received it ; but it still strikes me exactly in the same light it did when you mention'd it to me at Fernhill, tho the unfortunate circumstance of your deafness at that time prevented any readiness of conversation on the subject ; as to the value of the ten Pounds itself, it is of too little importance to be taken into the Consideration on eitlier side.^Could any person have thought that we had any farther motives than benevolent good will towards Miss H. by our sometimes calling on her S: endeavouring to raise her spirits by amuseing an hour of pain & Languor, every impression of the kind must have been done away by our leaving Titchfield entirely just at the important Crisis, & even when we might without being particular have stayd a Month longer till y= time of our house was expired ; which month in all probability at that time would determine her fate (tho she did revive & struggle with torture nearly another.)— M" Bourmasters expression is "that amongst several ten pounds Legacys left to different friends M" Taylor and myself are mention'd" It struck me at first, & does the same to this hour that our refusing to be reckon'd amongst her many other friends by a refusal of so small a remembrance could imply nothing more naturally than that we were angry & disappointed our Legacy was not larger; or else from our intimacy w'" the Bour" that we resented their not being the principle people concerned in the Will; now as I neither expected any thing myself, or wish to take a part on their side in the business, I think our only method of avoiding such an appearance must be by taking our Legacy f" her as we would do any small friendly remembrance from any other person. M" How & Miss Rickman when I mention'd the circumstance of how you saw it both said immediately that if they had heard of our giving it up without thoroughly knowing us, they should at once have set us down m the list of disappointed people & were convinced such a conduct would give that appearance to the world ; and M" Taylor is decidedly of the same opinion. As to the Children it is too inconsiderable a sum to be of any real service to them, as the interest of both our Legacys together would not amount to above six shillings & eightpence a peice to them, or the principle to more than six pounds each when the Legacy Stamp is p'' a sum too inconsiderable to be any advantage to them, tho' the making ourselves particular by giving it them would have a great appearance of Ostentation in us : & I rather would give some little present to them to the same amount by & bye, when they begin to grow up than make them a present of the Legacy at this time, when it probably would be more known & whether supposed to be done from pique or ostentation would in neither case reflect any credit on us; & I own it does appear to me that even the candid & liberal could hardly regard it in any other light :— we are however much Obliged to You for giving us Y' Sentiments on the subject, nor is there any thing strange that the same circumstances should strike different people in different lights. I thank you for saying I shall have M" Fox's picture & my Sisters Locket— the last I should par- ticularly like the first I should likewise wish for, if it is not particularly wished for by any other person : if it is I have no claim to the preference especially as I am to have the other & am willing to give whatever is their value for one or both of them— It is immaterial to me when I pay Dan" money I would wish you therefore to consult y' own convenience only I want it to be always at the same time of Year that I may never be liable to any unexpected call for it. My aunts got acquainted w"' M' Kemp a little time before they left Ilford which was on the if"- March 1770— He was much distresd & they were very generous to him, but I believe he was some how wrong headed tho' of an upright hearL I do not know whether he ever preach'd at Ilford,-his prayers were very tiresome that I 4 E 586 Willia7n Taylor (Son of Ben Mordecai). 1753-1S17, shou'd not suppose any congregation cou'd keep him long — but lie & liis family were almost starving — I do not know what afterwards became of him. All here beg to be remember'd kindly to You, & none more so than Y' Affectionate Sister A. Taylor. 1755-1S43. The next of the children of Ben Mordecai, and the last with whom we shall Birth. have to deal, is William (of London), born 1755, at Shidfield in Hampshire, where he was baptized by his father on the 29th July, as appears by the Mr Missing. Portsmoutli Register. His birth occurred at the house of Mr Missing, a friend of the family, and whose name has several times appeared in the letters I have inserted. Amongst other matters, his name will be found as the leeal adviser of Henry and Peter in the matter of the proposed settlement by Dr Adair on his contemplated marriage with Anna. He was one of the Town Council of Portsmouth, whence doubtless the term frequently applied to him of " Councillor Missing." He was the author (as Mrs Warren tells me) of a letter on the " Immortality of the Soul," published anonymously at the end of Ben Mordecai's work on Creeds. That William should have been born at his house came to pass, I believe, thus: Ben Mordecai, on going to Crawley in March 1755, found it necessary at once to make some additions to the parsonage, which was not in a fit condition for occupation in time for the expected event in June (on the 17th of which month William was born), and Mr Missing kindly offered his house as a refuge. His life for the first fifteen years must be left entirely to the imagination, as we have not a line by him, nor, so far as I remember, even any reference to him, except this somewhat indefinite one, from which it may be inferred that at ten years old he was not very strong. Mr Hawker, writing to Ben Mordecai in the summer of 1765, thus refers to William, who had been staying at his house at Portsmouth, apparently with others of the family : — My friend William, we all think is a Somewhat improv'd in flesh, & hope your own observation will confirm our oppinion, a little more time might have more fully answerd the purpose of being with us. His brother One little incident in regard to his earliest years has come down to us, and Edward. it is a pleasant one. It relates to his little brother Edward, who died quite young. William used to speak of him to his children as the pet of the family, and a " pickle." He used to narrate that one day, on his little brother's beating him, he was asked why he did not defend himself and hit back, to which he replied, " That I would, but I am afraid of hurting him." CATHERINE. WIFE OF TAYLOR (lONDON), r (about 1841.) W" T/\YLOR (LONDON.) William Taylor {Son of Ben Mordccai). 587 Mrs Warren says that he early developed those tastes for theological subjects, 1755-1843- which seem always to have characterised the family, adding : — ■ I have heard my father mention his Aunts Elizabeth & Rebecca as very clever women, who Early studies, wrote remarks upon books that were very good : hearing my father was fond of reading & particularly fond of books of a theological character they sent him some; he mentioned Newton on the Prophecies, and whoever has the book will see E. A. Taylor written in it in a very small, neat hand. It is Mrs Warren's impression, from what she has heard her father say,- that Thoughts of there had been some idea of placing him in Mr Fox's office, to be bred up for MrFoVs'offi're. the law, but that relations between the families at that time were not such as to warrant Ben Mordecai in making the application to his brother-in-law. I give this in consequence of the directness of the information, although it is not confirmed by such letters as we possess ; as from them it would appear that at that time, and for some few years before, the relations between Daniel Fox and the Crawley family had been (as has been shown in the notice of Elizabeth) of the most friendly and intimate character. It is, of course, not impossible that about the time when the question of William's future life arose that some temporary estrangement may have taken place. We have, however, no evidence of such estrangement, and, on the whole, I think the balance of probabilities against it. In his father's letter to Mrs Herrick (p. 253 ), so often quoted, William IS Apprenticed to 1 T • 11., -1, • 1 /- , ^ Peter Merzeau. mentioned as at that time placed with a silk-throwster near Spitalfields. This silk-throwster was Peter Merzeau, who seems to have been the cousin of Miss Courtauld, who afterwards became William's wife. It was at Mr Merzeau's, I believe, that William Taylor and George Courtauld became acquainted — an event The Counauids. important enough to both families, seeing that it led to an intermarriage then, which has been since followed by others. At Mr Merzeau's, too, was Mr Kilner, for so many years the friend of both. Whether their friendship commenced there I do not know. It was rather a curious conjunction, this meeting of two families, each of which could show a very unusual length of record of known ancestry ; with this similarity, also, that both seem to have maintained a position in the middle ranks of life, not ascending into dangerous altitudes of great wealth, with its not uncommon accompaniment of vicious and vitiating indulgences, nor descending into the ranks of poverty, where the blood may be supposed to be impoverished, and the brain left to some extent undeveloped. He was apprenticed to Peter Merzeau in April 1771, for seven years. P- 597 ^^''1 be found a letter to his father, giving a full account of his 588 JVilliam Taylor {Sou of Ben Mordecai). Removal to Ilampstead Road '"5-1S43- expenses for his first year (1772) in Spitalfields. This has some httle interest "'L'^appremicl perhaps, as showing- the expenditure of a young gentleman a century ago. All his necessaries were to be found, under the indenture, by Mr Merzeau. This account, therefore, includes only his small luxuries and superfluities. He no doubt stayed out his full time with Mr Merzeau ; subsequently he went into business on his own account. In 1778, December 10, he writes to his father asking for money, on the ground that he would be very shortly giving out silk to wind on his own account (p. 598). Exactly how long he continued in the silk business I have no means of knowing. In 1782-S3 we find him still engaged in it. At this Living at Osborne time he WES living at Osborne Place, Whitechapel. About 1788 he removed to Place, Wliite- •^''"P":'- 184 Tottenham Court Road, and entered into partnership with Mr Jones in a tin- manufacturing business. Mr Merzeau was also a (sleeping) partner in this business, and so remained until the death of Mr Jones, which occurred about 18 1 3. About this time my grandfather removed to No. 36 Frederick Place, in the Hampstead Road, the lease of No. 184 having been purchased by Mr Jones, who expressed a wish in his Will that his widow should live there, as she accordingly did until her marriage with a Mr Smith, with whom my grandfather went into partnership, and remained as the active partner till 1829. The business was finally wound up about 1832. Like other businesses, it had been sometimes better and sometimes worse ; on the whole, however, it seems never to have been more than enough to live upon, and my grandfather left it as poor as he went into it, if not poorer. Pecuniary There arc many evidences that all through his married life the necessity for a strict economy was felt. The following extract from a letter of his wife to him, dated June 6, 1797, bears strong testimony to the fact: — Tlie Perigals. The Perigals came yesterday ; I had not a bit of any thing to give them, save Bread &: cheese, & a small piece of Bacon, about the size of the Palm of my hand ; so I got them a shilling's worth of Pickled Salmon, & with that & Bread & cheese they made their Supper : after which I had put on y" Table one Pint of Ale, & one of Porter — no wine. In 1799 things were a little better. Writing to his wife, September 19, he says — Public matters out of the question I think we have a more comfortable prospect than we ever had, but I am quite of opinion we should not Spend i'' more in consequence. He himself, and afterwards his sons Peter and WiUiam, travelled in all parts of the country for this business. The house he went to in Tottenham Court Road was called " 3 Terrace," afterwards 184 Tottenham Court Road. It was a portion of the same property with the factory, which adjoined in the rear, and therefore especially convenient. gagement to Miss Courlauid. iich IVilliain Taylor {Son of Ben iMoniccai). 589 It was in No. 41 Frederick Place, to which he removed from No. 36 in 1S19, tliat '75S-1S43 I first saw him, when, on my father and mother going to America in 1S21, I was taken to hve in his house till 1S23 or 1824. In 1797 there seems to have been Thoughts of some question of returning to the silk trade. In that year he writes to his wife:— sTiktrldl'" If only half of G. C.'s expectations are realised I shall think the undertaking most fortunate, & if they (the profitts) are reduced to any certainty by the event at the end of a year I cannot do better than withdraw from Tin to Crape : howei-er ihis certain])- must not be done till things are made clear by experience, for after all the pud"-' is only ijroved by the eating. Crape was destined to make once more the fortune of the family, but it was not to be for many a long year afterwards. His brother Henry seems to have advanced him money for the purposes of Money af&irswiih his business. In 1799 he writes that " H. T. will not admit the money to be applied in any other way than to pay him the money I owe him." This apparently refers to money lately come to him— no doubt his share of the pro- perty sold on the death of Aunt Rebecca. The incidents of his life were few and simple, and call for little further descrip- tion. The most interesting perhaps, his engagement and marriage with Miss Engage Courtauld, will be clearly traceable in the letters following the copy of verses whii he sent her in 17S1 (p. 599), to their marriage two years afterwards. His devo- tion and attachment to his wife, her attachment to him, and the love of both Great affectio,, for for their large family of children, were quite remarkable, and very lasting. Their 'hUten.'"'' letters to each other, and especially his to her, almost entirely while on his business journeys, give the strongest possible proof of this. He was very fond in his messages to his children— either sending his love or promising to drink their healths— of crowding them all together in this fashion, " Louchriscatpetanhargeor ; " Wilhelmina, Ellen, and William were not born. The Roman emperor wished that all his subjects' heads were on one pair of shoulders that he might cut them off at one blow ; my grandfather seemed to wish to include all his children in one word, that he might in imagination fold them all in one embrace. I prefer to give here, rather than mix up with the rest of the cor- respondence, the extracts which I have made in evidence of his deep affection for his wife : — [May 1 7S4 —lo his i^ife at BiiifiM.] Next Saturday I shall have the pleasure of meeting my own Kate, than which nothing in this world Extracts fro,,, can be greater satisfaction ; Nor is there a more cutting reflection t/,a,, that there « a day we must part, for ever? no surely I trust not, I confidently hope we shall one day meet, never to part again Perhaps this may be a gloomy reflection to you. for my part the least doubt on such a subject terror to me, I cannot dwell on it My sweet soul we will leave then these thoughts to him who I hope smiles upon our lives & will do that which is really best for us both; May he be our friend: Nay surely he is. S90 JVilliam Taylor {Son of Ben Mordecai). 1755-1843. \J\Iarch 1787; — to his wife at Binfield^ Thursday night, My Very Dear Kitty, I was got into bed, but I cannot lay, my mind is so full of dismal forebodings for your welfare, I call to mind your repeated good byes at the gate & they sound in my ears as a last farewell, good God I have left you unwell, I wish I had brought you with me, I desired you to stay long, let me retract the request, & instead thereof beg You to be with me unless prevented by illness early in the ensuing week ; awkward & joyless is the House without you. I have not treated you so kindly as I might have Don, Do sweet girl come to me, forgive me, & let me see you again near me. \Octobcr 6, 1795; — from his wif^ God Bless you my dearest Will" : think of me Often. I think of you all day, &: dream of you all night — I waked myself last night with crying, for I dreamed you would not speak to me, or take any notice of me. I was glad to wake & find it only a dream. I am for ever dreaming this same dream when you are from home, again God bless you & keep you in Health, & bring you home in Safety. [_Octo6er 7, 1795; — to his wife in London.'] I am much Obliged to you for your letter but am concerned to learn by its contents that your spirits are low, which I judge to be the case by your dreams. Who should I speak to & notice but her who I love far far above every other living being on earth. To think of whom is my solace & delight, yes my sweet love I esteem it one of the most fortunate occurrences of my life that I am united to you, & do often lament that the pettishness of my temper is too frequently the cause of giving you pain, & sowering too many of your moments. Nevertheless I love you with the most fervent affection, & always desire to return to you, I of course rode by the house where we visited Nancy & Miss Rickmans at Chewton when we carried poor little Willidaw to the sea side. chewton. I add the following for the purpose of identification should any of us visit Chewton : — The house at Chewton ivhere Nancy lived is made quite smart ; Green Rails before the door, the Yard before the Barn planted, & a very neat little Cot I assure you. \J\iay I, 1797; — to his wife, from Brighton.'] I for ever have you & my Chits in my remembrance & the thought of you all makes me happy, & indeed was it not for the affection which we bear to one another, the seasoning & relish oi life would be entirely gone. I would not change my particular happiness for fortune or fame, or for any Other species of happiness, which other persons do enjoy or are thought to possess. I am most thoroughly satisfied with my own situation of life. I am glad I am not either an Attorney or Bishop or Courtier, or in the Army or Navy ; Good God ! what a blessing it is not to be under the con- troul of Insolence & Power. \_yime 27, 1802; — to his luife, from Folkestone7\ Yes, my dearest Kitty, you are perfectly right in saying your loss would to me be irreparable for I verily believe the happiness of no one more depends on the existence & comfort of his own imme- diate family than mine does, & on your life most particularly. I cannot express without tears how much I am gratified & blessed in my three eldest children, their affection, their just estimate of life. William Taylor {Son of Ben Mordecai). 591 A painful incident. their fine dispositions & good sense, make them to me a blessing & comfort I cannot reflect on without 1755-1843. the Strongest emotions of Gratitude & Satisfaction, & I should have expressed these feelings at Rams- gate in words but my feelings would not permit me to do it without being overwhelmd with tears, & indeed I cannot write them with dry eyes. Such extracts might be indefinitely extended. It is very sad to think that these sentiments should not have remained in their full force to the end of their lives ; but unhappily such was the case. A few years before my grandmother died (1826), i.e., about 1818 or iSig, some incident occurred which shook my grandfather's confidence in her, and which he seems never to have been able to get his mind free from after. This incident seems to have been nothing more than her applying money intended by him, and no doubt received by her, for the payment of certain debts, to other uses — probably for current expenses — as at the time they were somewhat pressed by the " 7'es angusta domi." * Of course the bare fact tells almost nothing ; accord- ing to the attendant circumstances, of many details of which I am necessarily ignorant, it might have been absolutely trifling and innocent, or it might have amounted to a grave breach of trust. One can imagine that, to such a mind as his, it might easily have assumed an aggravated character of domestic treason and commercial immorality. One might assume as a probability, that the worst that should have been attributed to it was want of prudence and want of moral courage to avow the truth ; and I have reason to believe this the true interpretation. Indeed, this speaks for itself, as no one ever imagined for a moment that the money was otherwise expended than for household wants, if not requisites— linen and so forth. That such an incident should have destroyed the confidence and disturbed the deep affection of forty years is sad indeed, and only proves, if proof were needed, how harsh, if not unjust, the best of men can be upon occasion ; for my grand- father was emphatically a good, a just, and a kind man. Perhaps after her death he felt differently ; perhaps regretted his severity of judgment— it would be very natural ; and I have heard there was an impression of that sort on the minds of some of his children. As to my kind and gracious and loving grandmother, I shall think no ill of her. I believe I was but four years old when I last saw her, but I have always cherished an affectionate remembrance of her love for me. Since writing the above, I have been informed by my cousin Louisa MacKee that I certainly was at Harwich with my grandfather and grandmother (and with her too) in 1S25, when I was six years old. If this is so, I can only say * It will be remembered that about this time, for some years after the ending of the wnr, the distre5s in Hard times, the country was vcrj- gre.ni, many causes combining with bad harvests almost to paralyse the trade of the country. An old account-book shows that for two of those years— I think 1S16-1-— the profits of the business .imounted to only about £400, to be divided between the two partners— the family consisting at that time of six children at home. 592 IVilliani Taylor {Son of Ben. Mordccai). -1S43. Retires from ljusiness. Rockii Amusements of old age. Enjoying his glass. Domestic medicine. P>laclc Notley. Death. I-Iis politics. Was a burgess of Portsmouth. that it is curious that I should remember my grandmother in Frederick Place when I was only four years old, and have lost all recollection of her when I was two years older. He retired from active business, as has been mentioned, in 1S27, and in that year went to live at Docking, where he remained with his daughters Harriet and Georgiana. He was about seventy-four years of age when he left London, but he enjoyed a green and vigorous old age. He was fond of his garden and his poultry-yard. I have often seen him trudging about the former with his umbrella up, enjoying in imagination the thirsty delight of his flowers and vege- tables. His chief amusement indoors was long whist. Many a time I have sat down at three o'clock, after his early dinner, to that e.xciting amusement. Though he played for love, he preferred not to lose ; and I have often seen his daughter Ellen, to whom he was especially attached, and who was as devoted and good to him as to all who came within the wide range of her affection, cheat him into victory by enormous sacrifices of the principles of Hoyle. I must not say so much without one word of mention of his daughter Harriet, whose whole life was one of sacrifice and devotion to one after another of her family. For many years my grandfather lived this simple life of quiet and peaceful enjoyment, mingling with much of happiness, especially in the Christmas gatherings of the family. He was strictly temperate, but enjoyed his glass — to say the least of it — of port wine. He had a horror of spirits ; and I remember him saying to me one day, " Peter, my boy, never take spirits ; they will do you no good. For my part, I take my pint of port at dinner, and my pint of port at supper, and that can hurt no one." Alas ! it would kill his degenerate grandson in a week. Probably he was thinking of his travelling days, for I never knew him take so much. His notions of medicine were of the old-fashioned sort. I have seen him many a time with an enormous jorum of Epsom salts, hotter than he could drink, and which he would pour little by little into a saucer, blowing away the superfluous heat, until he could sip down the nauseous mixture, with evident satisfaction. These habits and customs are not in harmony with the notions of the present da)', still the good old man lived to be eighty-eight. About 1841 he removed to Black Notley, some two miles from Bocking, and there he died in the )^ear 1843, and was buried at Gosfield. His life at last melted away in the most peaceful and easy fashion. He was a Liberal in politics, like his father and brothers. I remember his siding with me in favour of universal suffrage, in opposition to some of the genera- tion younger than his own. After the death' of his brother Henry, he was elected a burgess of Portsmouth, on the peremptory nomination of his friend Mr James Carter. In his religious opinions he was a firm disciple of his father's views, although his father always remained in the Church ; and he was, I believe, the first J'Villiam Taylor {Son of Ben Mordccai) 592 avowed Dissenter of the family. Still the times were changed, and the Church .755 .S43. expected a stricter orthodoxy from its members, the attempt to secure which has Rdigio^ resulted in a violence of internal dissension which it would be out of place to descant upon here. He was not an advocate for the separation of Church and State, as he believed the result would have been at the time to favour a rampant Calvinism which would override free thought. An interesting insight into his habits of thought on religious topics is obtained in "A Prayer written under Great anxiety of mind in iSio or 1 1, & copied into this Book Sept. 1840" (a MS. book of prayers). Oh Lord my God, I come before Tliee with an anxious & greatly distress'd mind; and to A pray«. whom shall I fly for succour, But to Tliee, the Great Disposer of all events. I am embarrased in my Worldly concerns, I am afraid, of the Gloomy Prospects which lie before me,— I am extreemely Solicitous for my Cliildren's Welfare, & future Comforl.— I am dismayd at the Dismal appearance of Publick Affairs. I do most sincerely acknowledge Thou hast hitherto protected me, far beyond what I had any grounds to hope, from my demerits & carelessness, for I have neither loved Thee, trusted in Thee, nor Obeyed Thee as I ought to have done.— I have not been Ignorant of my duty, or of Thy Will, and I have no excuse to plead ; I would now Oh my Maker turn to Thee. I would entreat thy Protection. I would beseech Thee, Grant me thy Divme Spirit. That my mind may be tranquihized ; my heart strengthened within me. Oh Suffer me not to sink in Despair, but raise me up, that I may yet hope m Thee. Give me a poignant sense of my transgressions, but Let my heart be softened by Penitence : Cheered by Hope in thy mercy. With respect to my Worldly prospects, I would desire to leave them to Thee. Thou, & Tliou alone, knowest wliat will be for the best for my ^\'ife, my Children, or myself. Do Thou order all things, according to thy Infinite Wisdom, & perfect Goodness, & assist me to receive Tliy mercies with Gratitude; or thy Judgements with Submission. I have been permitted to live to advanced Years, & Know my daj-s of Adversity (should Thou so appoint) will not con- tmue for any Great Length of Time, since my Hfe is far Spent, my decease is at hand Anil Oh Lord I would further entreat Thee, That when that awfull hour shall arrive, & I am about to render up my Spirit to Thee my maker who gave me life at first ; Thou wilt then asswage my fears, & enable my departing Soul to trust in Thee Througli Christ my Saviour. Tlmt° so I may meet the Pangs of Death w'- Calmness, Resignation, & Hope. And Oil my God, Be Thou the Guard, & Guide, to all my Dear Children; Take them into thy Holy Keeping, and let not the Blandishments of Vice Subdue their hearts, or Debase their Minds; and teach them by thy Spirit to pursue the precepts of their Saviour. Protect them from the & and Vim of this World, & may we be Hereafter admitted into those Realms of Bliss where Sin & Sorrow shall be known no more, through Christ our Saviour. It is touching to find a few lines appended to this prayer, written more than thirty years after the time when he thought " my life is far spent, my decease is at hand;- and to see that gloom and anxiety had given way to a sense of overnowing gratitude. If he was correct in referring to the praxer as at the "period of 60," it must have been written in 1S15, and not in iSio or iSii. The additional words are as follow : Oh, most mercyfull & Gracious Creator; I have indeed Abundant cause to liless Thee, >vith overflowing Gratitude, when I call to mind my former Supplication in behalf of myself & Children, 4 F 594 IViUiam Taylor (Son of Ben Mordecai). I J I755-'S43- His cliaracter and abilities. As to continuing tile family history. & behold Thou hast placed them in a situation of Affluence, Greater then I had even formed a wish for, & whilst I considered my days far gone at the period of Sixty, Thou hast Graciously preserved me to call on and Bless Thee, in my Eighty Sixth Year, in Peace & Tranquillity, Sur- rounded with every Comfort, & free from Pain & Disease. I have also to bless Thee for thy Gracious and Overruling Providence, which has attended me through life, of many of which, in my earlier years, I was unconscious, but have from Reflection clearly perceived, & wiiich were Granted by thy Merciful! Goodness, & have been replete with many beneficial results to my mind. I will not claim for my grandfather that he was orator and poet, but he certainly wrote clever verses, mostly of the humorous kind, and he was a leader in the Philomath Debating Society, a society of some repute I believe, and where, as I have heard, his speeches w^ere much appreciated. His sentiments, at any rate, were always honourable and high-minded. Extracts from his speeches and some of his verses will be found with the letters. A number of his letters are given in the following pages, and will serve to clothe to some extent this bare skeleton of his life, and to illustrate, I believe, the view that I have taken of his character. In his case, more than in any other account that I have given of members of the family, I have been reminded that I have come down to a time in which it is at least verging upon the premature to attempt even my huinble efforts at biography. It will be observed that for the last thirty or forty years of his life, I have but very little of his correspondence at command. This is natural and inevitable. It may be that, in the next generation, some one may be found to make use of the facilities which will then exist for filling up the gaps and blanks which are necessarily left now in the correspondence of the last genera- tion, whose lives I have undertaken to sketch, and slill more of one who would have made indeed a most worthy and important addition to the series — I mean my father. Williain Taylor {Son of Ben Mordecai). The Children of William and Catherine Taylor were — 595 Louisa Caroline, Christiana Fox, Edward, Catherine, William, . . Peter Alfred, Charlotte, . Anna Sophia, Harriet, Georgiana Eliza, , Wilhelmina, Ellex, . William, 17S3 17SS 1786 1787 1789 1790 1792 1793 1795 1796 1798 1800 ISOI 1803 Married. 1805 Rev. John Jeffery, Unitarian minister of Billingshurst, left issue. 1811 Daniel Lambert, of Banstead, left issue. 1S12 William Bromley, of Gray's Inn, left issue. 1818 Catherine Courtauld, left issue. 1823 Rev. John Philip Malleson, Unitarian Minister, left issue. 1830 Thomas Picard Warren, of Highbury, left issue. 1822 Samuel Courtauld. 1808 At Billingshurst. 1856 At Banstead. 1789 At Hackney. 1859 At Highgate. 1791 At Hackney. 1850 At Gosfield. 1794 At Margate. 1873 At Finchley. 1S73 At Gosfield. 1804 At Hackney. 1872 At Gosfield. The following monumental inscriptions are in the new churchyard of St John's, Hackney (head, foot, and body stone) : — In Memory of the following children of William and Catherine Taylor of London. Edward who died 4" Feb' 1789 aged 2 yrs & 6 months. William who died 21" April 1791 aged 2 years. The above are buried in the Old Church yard. In this grave lies Eliza who died 22°^ Jan' 1804 aged 5 y' & 9 mo'; also Catherine the wife of William Taylor, and mother of the above children, who died June 1 7"' 1826 aged 66 years. 1755-1843- His children. St John's Chiircli- yard. Hackney. 596 William Taylor (Son of Ben Mordccai). ';55-iS4j. And thus ends my self-imposed task. Had I known the cost of time and labour involved, perhaps I might have hesitated to undertake it. Perhaps some Taylor a hundred years hence may feel grateful to me — who knows ? The task has, however, been far from uninteresting. I have gradually found myself, so to speak, cn rapport with generation after generation, knowing intimately their several localities of residence, much of their general course of life and fortune, and something of their individualities of character. Could I have projected myself into the past (I fear that is a hill; if so, it must be attributed to my Irish blood) at any time within about three centuries, I should have known where to seek the then existing representatives of the family, and should have surprised them by my knowledge of themselves and of the circumstances surrounding them, to say nothing of being able to teach them something of the history of their ancestors. The Couriauid On p. 627 will be fouud Colonel Chester's Report on the Pedigree of the Courtauld Family. Closely connected as the two families have been for near a century, this addition is manifestly appropriate. Such letters or extracts of letters written by my grandfather as it seems important to give, follow in order of date, always excepting those which have already been given as referring more particularly to matters connected with his brothers or sisters ; a few of his poems and selections from his speeches are also given. PVilliam Taylor {Son of Ben Mordccai). 597 Spent 1772 Washing in 1772 . Play Twelth Night . D° Zara Buns ..... A Tart Treakle ..... Silver Buckles Flannel waist Coat Almanck .... Mending Cloaths . Magnetia .... Carriage of a Bundle fro E. H A Shoes .... Magnetia .... Stage fro Wandsworth . My Aunts Maid . Fire Dust all the Winter M" KInies's Servants Oil Skin .... Shirt Buttons .... Letters ..... My Aunt Stones Maid . Letters ..... Ribbon ..... Letter ..... Barbers Quarter feb 26"' Stage fro Newington D' Nowells Sermon Mending Stockings Taylor Bill mar. 3 ' Plasters .... A p' of Raw Silk Stockings Letter Manna ..... Letter Mending Shoes Green Buttons A p' Garters ... Salt-s & Manna Mending Watch Box JajKin ... Mending Stockings Black Paper ... Worsted ... 1755-1S43. Tlie Rev" M' Taylor at Crawley near Winton Hants L s. D. £ I 1 2 4 Brought Up' 1 0 19 5 0 4 9 Mending Cloaths . 0 1 9 0 0 Stage to Stratford . 0 0 9 0 1 0 Letter ..... 0 0 3 0 0 ^ Do .... . 0 0 I 0 0 I Mending a Buckles . 0 0 9 0 12 6 Stage fro Wandwonli 0 I 7-i 0 5 0 ,' Two Letters .... 0 0 6 0 0 8 A Letter .... 0 0 3 0 5 Mending Stocking 0 0 6 0 0 6 Four p' Worsted StockinL;s 0 16 0 0 0 4 A p' Shoes .... 0 4 9 0 6 6 A Memorandum Book . 0 0 8 0 0 5 Lint seed .... 0 0 2 0 I 6 Letter 0 0 I 0 I 0 Ribbon .... 0 I 0 0 I 0 Treakle & Brimstone 0 0 4 0 1 5 0 A p' of Shoes 0 6 6 0 0 6 Sacrament thrice 0 1 6 0 I 0 An Apron .... 0 I 5 Letter 0 0 3 Barbers Quarter May 26"' 7 0 0 6 Tears of Friendship a Poent . 0 0 6 0 0 6 Dressing a Hat 0 0 6 0 0 3 Journey from Lond to Crawl 0 18 3 0 7 0 Andover .... 0 I 6 0 0 S Salisbury Cathedral 0 I 0 0 I 0 Wilton 0 14 I 0 0 6 From Crawley to London ' 9 7 4 17 I 0 Mending Cloaths . 0 0 0 0 David for Carrying Box 0 0 6 0 7 0 Glauber Salts 0 0 8 0 0 3 Magnetia .... 0 0 5 0 0 6 A Hat 0 '4 0 0 0 3 A Quire of Paper . 0 c 6 0 0 9 A Letter .... 0 0 2 0 0 8 Accounted for . . . . 16 iS 0 0 6 Remaining .... 0 0 4 I 12 I 0 7 0 Rec^ in 1772 C s. n. 0 0 9 January 1" . ■ 4 4 0 0 0 ^\ Feb 24'" .... ■ 7 0 0 0 0 6 May 26'" .... • 4 4 0 0 0 June is"" . 3 3 0 10 9 5 June 27'" 1773 1 1 0 598 JVilliani Taylor [Son of Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 55-1843. [From William to his father [Den Mordecai')?\ Mason's Court June 27"' 1772 Hon" Sir The foregoing is my account of 72 & the former letter of 71. I was at East Ham last Sunday & Betsy is exceeding well indeed; & is of opinion, that East Ham is the place for Nancy, till She is better; or quite lively well. I intend going to my Aunts to night. I hope your gout is gone off, by this time. M' Merzeau has not said any thing about your Letter, nor will he I dare say I am Hon'd Sir Your Dutyfull Son W" Taylor. PS I suppose you have heard of the two great Bankers that are broke. Viz Neale, James, Fordyce, & Down. &: S' Rich" Glyn & Halifax [From William to his brother the Rev. Peter Taylor^ The Rev" M' P. Taylor at Crawley near Winton Hants come, come, good M' Peter, Lay aside your Sermon, & your Bible. Let Molly feed the Chicken, & James the hprses, & write to your Brother W" What a plaugue are you about, can't you get up a little sooner for one morning, & scribble a little nonsense to me, as I do to you too much Learning makes a Man mad, was the opinion of M' Festus. How goes Crawley? Where does the Church stand now ? Who's dead married or born ? Where have you been ? & Where are you about to go ? How does the Rector. &c &c &c There are an hundred things, I want to know, but the duce a word am I like to have, now the two female correspondents are absent. I see you are gone to Coventry, & Crawley may be gone to York for ought I know. I therefore take this opportunity to declare, that I, W" Taylor, Late of Crawley, do Live move & have my being, in Spittalfields London. Given under my hand this le"" Day of September 1774 W" Taylor. ' And j'Ou too M' Henry, might as well set down, and write a line or two, to me, after dinner, and refer your teeth & nails, to another opportunity, or indeed, bite, pick, & write at the same time, & no harm done. But no, not a word ; not a single syllable, Silent, Mute, Dumb. And now most Hon" Sir, I most humbly intreat your interposition, & most earnestly beg you, to exhort your sons, my brothers, to write to their loving brother Will. Seeing that he does not desire the correspondence, shou'd in least interfere, with M' Peter Taylor's scratching his head, or even work- ing at his nail afterwards ; or with any other, their innocent amusements. And lastly, most humbly begging pardon, of the two Worthy young Clergymen for this his Sauciness & of yourself, for the trouble he gives you, he subscribes himself Your very dutiful & afl'ect Son W" Taylor. [From William to his father [Ben Mordecai).'] The Rev" M' Taylor Crawley Winchester Hants Mason's Court 10"' Dec' 78 Hon" Sir As I shall now very Shortly give out Silk to Wind on my own account, I shall have occasion for more money to pay the Winders, & should therefore be obliged to you, for the other four hundred William Taylor (Son of Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. Pounds S' Jo: Carter was so kind as to lend you on my Acc' D' Price says he believes he 1755-1S4 shall not be frightened at your book be it ever so frightful. He was very chearful, & seems to be a very good Natured man; nor has he that formal appearance in conversation which he so eminently possesses in the pulpit. Dan : & Little Madam desire their Duty & Love as also does your dutiful Son W. Taylor. \_No address ; no date ;— from William [supposed) to his fither {Ben Mordecai)— about 1 7 So.] My Aunt Beck is deep in Politicks, & is drawing up a list of all the Good & Bad men, that is whigs & Tories, in the Kingdom. Religion she holds to bo in danger, & The French will come. But I comfort her, by assuring her, nobody cares any thing about Religion, & That one Englishman can beat 10 Frenchmen, any day. As for Dan &= I suppose you know all there improve, & Dan grows very fat. farewell. I am W. T. Duty & Love as due \_No date;~from William to Miss Coiirtaiild.'] Miss Courtauld at the rev'' M" Taylors Crawley near Winchester Hants [1781,] A Sad & Melancholy, but no less faithful & true Account of the dreadful disasters, which lately fell out on the Banks of the Lee ; On Account of the Loss of the favourite Nymph Florimel ; together with the fatal effects consequent there upon to the sorrowful streams, of that said Sad Sorrowful River itself.— Done into a Dismal Ditty, by a Doleful Swain, who went to drown himself on the direful! occasion, in said sad sorrowful Stream; but finding the River dry, sat down & consol'd himself, by writing the following most Melancholy & Mornfully melting measure. The streams of Lea their course forsook, & Left the marshes dr)-, & not a drop in Hackney Brook To catch the passer by. 2 The birils forgot to chaunt the lay, The grass forgot to spring; Nor flow'rets to tile op'niiig day. Their fragrant odours bring. Nor wou'd a grasshopper jiresume, The ev'ning tide to chear The little Gnatling scorn'd to hum But all was dull and drear. 6oo iniliani Taylor {Son of Ben Mordccai). — Correspondence. I755-IS43- 4 Oh ! Lea declare, & say thou Brook AVhy cease your streams to flow ? [torn] And, tell me Grasshopper the woes which makes your musick dumb Thou little Gnatling too disclose, Why hush'd thy busy hum ? Has Florimel forsook those plains, She lias so often trod ; & do you mourn those gentle strains. Her choral lips bestow'd? She has ; She has, old Lea reply'd & I my course give o'er ; She's gone; — & what have I beside, To deck my either Shore ? My banks so eerst, her wonted seat. No more her seat will be ; Nor more my waves that voice repeat Repeated oft with glee. Why should I run ? quoth Hackney brook. Since Florimel is gone. No more her eyes on me will look. Her face, in me be shewn Why more should I, or Linnet raise, Cry'd Philomel our note. If Florimel's not by to praise. Shall biddling strain its throat 12 William Taylor (Son of Ben Moi^dccai). — Correspondence. 60 1 14 1755-184 Return, then Florimel, Return, & nature bid agree Your presence makes each bosom burn With Love, & Harmony 15 The Lea shall wander in our view, Hacknean streams .renew'd, Their courses which were staid for you For you, shall be pursued ; i5 The Linnet, & the Nightingale, Again shall charm the scene; The flow'rets all their sweets exhale. The grass again be green 17 The Grasshopper no longer dumb. Shall chirp beneath the trees, & Gnatling's loud Organic hum Shall mingle in the breeze Return, then Floriraell Return, & Nature bid agree; your presence makes each bosom burn, With Love, & Harmony. " Thou Silly swain give o'er thy Lay, " Nor deem thy Flor'ell near ; \ From Elizabeth Taylor, his sister, to Ben Afonlecai.'] The Rev" M' Taylor, Titchfield near Fareham Hants Limehouse 23 Ajiril 17S2 Dear Sir I am desired by William to let you know that since he wrote to you, his affair with Miss Courtauld has taken a disagreeable turn, M" Courtauld having absolutely refused her consent to the Marriage— I will in as few words as I can relate the whole matter, & leave you to judge of the propriety or impro- 4 G 602 William Taylor {Sou of Ben Mordccai). — Correspondence. 1755-1S43. priety of it, The Sunday before last G CourtauUl, who knew Will™ attachment to his Sister, told him M' Amory the Banker had enquired if Miss Courtauld's affections were disengaged, intimating that he meant to make his addresses, & that M" C was to have a meeting with him on the Monday morning; in consequence of which Will'" set of to Clapton early on Monday & laid open his affairs to M" C — desiring her permission to address her Daughter, he told her his inclination would have led hira to have offer'd himself long before, but his Business not answering to his wishes, had put it out of his power but that having last year clear'd 300 pounds, he hoped it would be thought sufficient to authorize his proposing himself. M" C — told him she could say nothing to it, her daughter was not ambitious, but that she would wish to live genteelly. she would however mention it to her, though in her own Mind she thought the income too small— she then (after opening the matter to her) introduced Miss C— wlio said she had never looked upon his Visits in any other way than as friendly & was sorry he had & that it gave her uneasiness to be the cause of unhappiness to any one he asked her if he was to look upon that as a refusal, she told him she was too much agitated to say anything more then, but that she would write to him. On his return to Town, he told the whole of his reception to George who knowing his Sister had a partiallity for Will", was surprised at her refusing him, & there fore went directly to Clapton to enquire about it when he found that what Miss C. had said, was merely from agita- tion of Spirits & by the tuition of her Mother, who was then gone to Town to meet M' Amory, & who had upon Miss C— declaring an regard for Will'", beg'd that she would oblige her, by seeing M' Amory once — On If" C — return, she told her daughter what had passed between M' Amory & herself, that he had informed her he had last year cleared 900 Pound by his business— She then desired her daughter would consider the matter & determine— Miss C— who during her Mothers stay in Town had time to recover & recollect herself immediately told her she had considered, & had determined not to sec iV Amory, this surprised M" C— but after talking to her daughter & finding her resolved, she consented that George should tell Will'" they should be glad to see him at Clapton, he accordingly went on Tuesday, when M'^ Courtauld inform'd him, she had always said she would not absolutely oppose her daughters Marrying any Man for whom she had an aflection e.-icept it was a Man of bad character, that in the present instance that was not the objection, her only fear being that they would find their income insufficient for the manner they would chuse to live in, she recommended their staying some time longer before they married, but did not say anything about her daughters fortune, only Will" knew Miss C— had 500 Pounds independent of her Mother— This was the situation of the affair when he wrote to you, Judge then Sir, what must be his surprise, on going on Sunday Morning to be told that M" C— did not chuse her daughter should see him, he however met with her at D' Prices Meeting & C— not being there walk'd with her to M'^ Merzeau's where they were going to dinner— She then told him that on Friday her Mother had told M'" Merzeau of it who directly e.xclaimed, What refuse a Man with 900 A year & take one that cant find her in Bread & Water, she Must certainly be either Mad or foolish he hoped M' Amory was not so far rejected, but that he might be brought back, in short M" C— who I should suppose could want no great deal of perswasion, determined if she could, to put an end to the matter, &: accordingly told her Daughter, she could not say she should ?ioi Marry him, but she would say that if she did she would leave Clapton directly, for that she would not be Witness of her ruin, that it would be the Death of her & by a great deal of this kind of conversation prevail'd on Miss C— to say the afiair should go no further She wanted her to say that this promise was not at the request of her Mother but from her own conviction that it was an improper Match, but this Miss C— would not say— She offerd to defer it any number of Years her Mother should fix, but that would not do, nothing could make her happy but the giving it entirely up— M"^ C— called on Will"' Yesterday to let him know She could not consent it, & to desire that he would not think of gomg any more to Clapton, the only reason she pretends to give is that she is sure her daughter wdl never be happy with so little to live on. I should have told you that M' Merzeau said the business was good for nothing, that it was every day getting worse & that before Christmas there would not be a Mill going. This may be a reason for her wishing them to defer it a few Months, in order to see how the business may answer at the end of that time, but why she should be so violent against its ever being, is I think astonishing, & certainly argues a little Mind — Willi am Taylor {Son of Ben M or dec a i). — Correspondence. 603 Now Sir wliat can be done in this case, do you tliinl^ a few lines from you arguing tlie matter with her in a reasonable way, would have any eflect it will be a few days before she can receive your letter, in which time her passion may cool, & she may be open to a little reason & common Sense. Miss C — has promised Will" upon her Honour, that sliould they endeavour to introduce M' Amory to her, she will not receive his addresses— Will" tells me she does not want Spirit, in this case it is luck)-, & may be of use to her— Dan has advised Will" to call on M' Amory, & let him know the whole of the aiiair, if he is a Man of any generosity, he will not think of addressing a Woman whose affections he will know are already engag'cl, but if on the contrary he should be mean enough to pursue his addresses, it will let Miss C— see the Man in his proper character & will be a strong argument for her preference to ^Vill"'. After what has been said, I need not I am sure Sir urge tlie propriety or rather necessity, of keep- ing this affair from the knowledge of any one out of your own Family, more particularly, as M" C— has relations in or about Portsmouth, & one Word carried from one to another, will frequently do more mischief, than twenty spoken face to face. I shall my dear Sir, make no apology to you, for the luany imperfections you will find, both in the writing & inditing of this Letter, assuring you I did it to ease Will" of what from the sitnation of his Mind might appear a burthen, & that in so doing, I have attended more to tlie matter, than the manner.— All our Family send their kindest wishes to you & yours.— & Dan joins with me, in Duty to yourself, & Love to the rest of the Family — I am Dear Sir Your oblig'd & affectionate Daughter Eliz"^" Taylor. [No address; no date;— from William to Miss Conrtauld'~ij?,2.~\ Mv VERY DEAR GiRL Debarred as I very unjustly am your company & conversation, & refused the consent of your mother w''' I had first (as you very well know) received. You cannot I hope be averse to an epis- tolary correspondence, by the means of our very good friend George; I am fully perswaded the opposition Your mother now makes, to our union arises more from her ambition, & pride, than from any belief she can seriously entertain, of the impossibility of our living on our income; & that M' Amory's offer operates more on her conduct, than any thing else. Did she not declare, she would never oppose her daughters inclinations except they were placed on a villain? What now is her conduct? Am I that Villain? She will not, cannot say I am; And has she a right to recall at pleasure her given consent, 'tis cruel & unjust; If I was not myself, upon the maturest consideration fully convinced we can live on ^300 P' annum, with ease & comfort, I would acknowledge the imprudence of marrying; but even then, am far from thinkmg it just' to insist in breaking off the connection. Our case is by no means unpresidented. Our union may be delayed, but we cannot be render'd finally unhappy, but by ymr own consmt ; Do not yeild to solicitation; Do not cease to Love me; And be assured I never can regard you, but with the most sincere & earnest affection, I have indeed one merit more than You once knew me to possess, the merit of dearly loving you ; Oppose any other connection & time will bring about tlie rest, the longer we are known to maintain the same affections, the more advocates we shall have the more likely to make a proselite of your mother, or the more justified in marrying against her consent Your situation must I know be very uncomfortable, & I heartily wish it was in my power to relieve you, but remember no duties of any kind are binding farther than the requisitions arisin- from those duties are just & reasonable. Need I say your mothers are far otherwise. I hop°e your Sister remains in my interest, as an adversary in her would render your situation more disagreeable than ever. I hope you will not drop your Titchfield Correspondence & I think your mother cannot desire it, since she declares she has no objection to the friendship of our family. If not too much trouble, a line from you will be exceedingly gratefuU to your very affect : Sc obliged friend & Humb. Servant Saturday 27'" Ap: W. Tavw,^ 6o4 IVilliam Taylor {Son of Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. \_Fj-ot7i William to his father {Ben Mordecai)7\ The Rev" M' Taylor Titchfield near Fareham Hants 1 1* May 1782 Hon- Sir You have been informed I suppose, thro the means of George, of the whole of our conduct & application to D' Price ; & the unexpected turn of M" C. in this busyness ; In consequence of which change in her, I on Saturday last — 4"' May, wrote to M" C. ; wherein I requested permission to shew my face at Clapton again ; — I sent the letter by George, who on Monday Morning brought me an answer, which invited me to dinner, on the next Sunday i ; e. tomorrow. M'^ C. assures me in her letter, that her attempt to break of the attachment between her daughter & myself was by no means an Interested one ; that her change of conduct has arisen from my busyness appearing better on George's examination of my books, than the account I myself gave ; (the differ- ence is ^340 instead of ^300) She concludes with saying " Should busyness increase, or even con- " tinue as it was last year, (as you will be enabled by not increasing your expences, for some time, "to make a considerable saving towards making good the arrears of your two first years) I shall '■then readily give my consent, with the utmost pleasure being well perswaded you wou'd not wish " to engage in that state, on any other conditions." Now tho the attempt to break it off, proceeded I am clear from no good motive, there is no occasion to say so. — But I should be much obliged to you if you wou'd write, her a handsome letter (as we think she would be pleased with it.) expressing your approbation of your son's choice, & I would wish you either to take no notice, of what has passed, or only such notice, as will not at all reflect upon her conduct. I wrote to D' Price the day after I had been with him, desiring he would not say anything of our having been with him, about this busyness ; as we thought it might vex M" C. to have her conduct stated to him, he returned me one of good wishes, & an assurance of his silence ; so that M" C. is to know nothing of that matter. I am Hon'' Sir Your dutifull & affec : Son W. Taylor. fJo date; — from Anna Taylor to Iter sister Elizabeth TaylorP\ To Miss Taylor Crawley near Winton Hants {Aboiil 1782.] We entirely differ from you in our Opinions about M" Fox's scheme nor do we see what pretence W'" can have for makeing so extraordinary a request to Fox we have neither Relationship nor Obligation to Plead, One of which we had to My Uncle & both to M" Elmes ; nor do I see what pretence W' has to ask this favour more than Peter or Harry one of whose incomes is uncomfortably small to settle on, & the other too much confin'd to settle at All. I William Taylor (Sou of Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 605 don't think there is the smallest chance that She shou'd give hira anything but think the conse- quence will certainly be the giving up to all of us the small chance we have remaining of ever being benefited by M" Elmes's fortune you must consider M" Fox is no Relation, that whatever we receive, from her is her free gift that we have no claim of having given up any time to her, & that such a request without the appearance of a claim must be very extraordinary, as it woud, be to apply to any other person for a fortune, & that most particularly from Bill, who has never taken even common prudent pains to please her I don't wonder Love makes VV" desuous to venture every thing but I think Prudence is extremely on the other side the question. I acknowledge were I as M" Fox I shou'd think the request was very very improper, & as our family are remarkable for hanging together, her opmion of us all must be hurt, or at least her displeasure towards us excited by his request. Harry & Peter will both give you their own Sentiments on this Subject I shall therefore only add my being with Duty to my Father & Love to yourself ever affect : A. Taylor. \0n the same letter — " My opinion exactly coincides with what Nancy has said above, with this addition, that as Bill's business has answered so well lately I see no plea that he can with pro- priety or modesty urge in his behalf. Peter Taylor." Henry adds — "I think y' Application Improper & Unadvisable, And must write to him on y= Sub- ject, You say if she means us well now is y" time to show it. But that is to us a mere abstract matter, as it is for her Consideration not for ours. All we have to consult is whether it be proper for us now to apply, & that I think it certainly is not."] \_From William to his brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.'] The rev'" M' H. Taylor Jun' Crawley near Winton Hants London 17" July 1782 De.\r Harry I am a good deal surprized to find it the opinion of yourself, Peter & Nancy that Our family have no sort of claim on M" F : & no more foundation to expect a favour from her, than from any other indifferent person ; My opinion is certainly widely otherwise, nor do I pretend to a greater right, then the rest, to expect a favour, but having an equall one, am clear that is fully sufficient to justify an application M' Birch argues in every respect the very reverse from your three letters, so that you see whether right or WTong I am not iniirely singular, nor is it as you observe that / am so taken up vit/i my liitlc self as to be the sun &• centre of nerything in my mvn ideas if near as I may be to myself. However be not alarmed, as you all three look upon it so dangerous to your interests, you may be assured I shall for that reason give up the application, for the present at least I am your affect. Brother W. Taylor. 6o6 Williani Taylor {Son of Ben M or dec at). — Correspondence. 1755-1S4J. \From William lo his father {Ben Moi-decai).'\ The rev" M' Taylor at Tichfield near Fareham Hants 1 4'" Jan" 1 7 S3 HoN° Sir I suppose Harry has already inform'd you of C.'s demand respecting a contract to be enter'd into by me, & of my offering to accede to part of her requisition, & refusing that part which I esteem'd unreasonable & improper, which unreasonable part is at length given up by her & I am happy in being able to inform you that the 2^*• of this month is fixed upon to give me my dear little Girl; who has indeed thro the whole of this contest as well as before, proved herself everything I could wish her to be ■ & stood firm in favor of my propositions against her mother ; nor did she in tlie least wish for any contract at all, had I desir'd to be free'd from one, but as I conceive t/iat I am about entering into perfectly equitable &: just, I cannot wish myself rid of it. I have this morning been with D' Price & consulted him, who thought I might very consistantly with rectitude enter into that which M" C. pro- pos'd ; altho' he preferr'd mine & said the matter was not worth contesting. I am however very glad to have got rid of the disagreeable part of the contract. We propose setting of for Titchfield on the day of our wedding, & of arriving there the 28"" if it is convenient for you to receive us. By C.'s desire nobody is to be present at our wedding, but her own family, but this is a matter of Small importance I hope my conduct in the whole of this affair will meet your approbation; As I could not refuse to bind myself to leave Miss C. t/iat ; after all her dis- interested conduct towards me; which I should not have objected to have left any other woman; I had married, even tho she had not given me such indubitable proofs, of her affection & confidence I am dear Sir Your dutyfull & aff: Masons Court Son otherwise W. Tavlor. Osborne Place D' P : desired I would give his Respects to you, when I wrote to you as I told him, I was about to do. \_No address; no date from William to his father {Ben Mordecai).'] \_About 1783 — 18 Jan.] Hon" Sir George Courtauld has Just now call'd upon me, & thinks that it might tend to set things on an amicable footing, if you was to write to M" C. & invite her to Crawley with her daughter, I have therefore set down to say as much — I wish however to have it understood that I by no means, mean to request it of you, if you think her treatment of your former letter; such as to make a second letter from yourself appear too condescending ;— as I see no reason on earth why any of my family much less Yourself should do any thing to flatter her Pride— However I have given this hint in compliance with G : O desire. But would wish you to do no Kind of Violence to your own ideas of the matter & am Your affect. & dutyfull Son Saturday night W. Taylor. 18'" Jan' JVilliam Taylor {Sou of Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 607 P.S. I think tlieve can be no danger of her accepting the invitation supposing one given : And 1755-184 perhaps that is no bad encouragement to give it — but not to run into unnecessary danger — if an invita- tion is sent ; a ceremonial one will do ; as well cold as hot. \^No address ; — -from Miss Coiiriatdd to Ben Mordecai.'] Dear S[r I received yesterday your very kind letter & I am much Obliged to you for it. My Mother desires me to give her Comp" and begs you will excuse her not accepting your invitation at this time, some other Opportunity she will do herself the pleasure of waiting on you. Sophy begs me to say she shou'd have been very happy to have been of our party to Titchfield, but that we know not how with propriety to let my Mother return to Town alone : My friend Will" I believe has inform'd you that my Mother & sister are to accompany us half way. George has leave of absence and means to accept your invitation. I shall indeed be very happy to see you, & the rest of my good friends at Titchfield, to whom present our united Love & Comp", I am dear sir with great respect and esteem Y' Obliged humble servant C. COURTAULD. Clapton 23"' Jan>' 1 7S3 [From Wd/iam to his brother tlie Rev. Henry Taylor.'] The rev*" H. Taylor Jun' at Crawley near Winchester Hants 15"' June 1784 Dear Harry I have been so very full of employment lately, & some of my money being sunk in Silk, that is not yet due, I am obliged to apply to you for some assistance, & shall be glad if you can advance me ^100. My busyness you know has been a continual topick of complaint with me, excepting for a very few & very short seasons. Nevertheless, I can assure you I am under no difliculties than what result from having much Silk to wind & consequently much to pay for. I have given you these assurances, because of a matter which by letter I think it improper to say much about ; than only to tell you that the person Peter & myself talk'il much off in his grove when I was last at Titchfield, is I believe in other circumstances than I then said, to him that altho' I could only speak from opinion, I thought his busyness answerd very well. I have strong reasons now to be alarmed ; [in reference to Daniel and his partner M' Hughes] indeed M' H. has informed me in pretty plain terms, that a supply of cash is absolutely necessary to their going on. I wish niy fears may have less founilalion, than I think they have. Your presence in town is necessary I should imagine, as soon as you can come : they have about £()o of mine in their hands, which indeed is one reason of my application for money to you at this lime As I cannot procure that from them. I am your .\ffect Bro : \V. Tavlok. 6o8 JVilliam Taylor {Son of Ben Mordccai). — Correspondence. r755-iS4j. '\^Address torn; — -from William to his brother the Rev. Peter Toy lor 7\ near Farehara Hants ae* June 1784 Dear Peter 1 hope you have by this time, got a little over the uncomfortable sensations you experienced in London ; & have found that altho the pleasures of life may be interupted by the loss of so considerable a sum as you have been deprived off they cannot be quite put out, & that friendship & Love are the best balms in all misfortunes, indeed I am firmly persvfaded they are match for any thing but guilt ; & that does not belong to us, at least in this matter. God bless you all & give you that happiness which results, & will ever result too, from a good heart & kind disposi- tion. Love to your wife, & Nancy in which Kitty heartily joins me. Let us know how my father is & believe me ever Your affect. Bro : & friend W. Taylor. \ Froin William to his brother the Rev. Peter Taylorl] To the Rev'' Peter Taylor at Titchfield near Fareham Hants 25'" July 1784 Dear Peter I would much rather that my father could secure you your money than Harry ; with whom, I am pretty sure it will be impossible for me to hit on any means thoroughly to satisfy him. I do not see any thing so desireable to your security as the mode I mentioned to Betsy. I am yours ever sincerely W. Taylor. \_No date; — from William to his wife.'] Taylor at M" Fox's at Binfield near Wokingham Berks {Endorsed 1784.] I am much obliged to my dear Girl, for the speedy information she has afforded me, of her safe arrival at Binfield ; & am sorry Miss Lukin [Louisa] behaved so very ill in the presence of her god- mother; but that did not, I suppose occur to her little mind; however you may give her a few kisses on my Account. I daresay, you will like M" F when you are acquainted with her more thoroughly & for the Country you cannot dislike it in such very fine weather, I have rejoiced at the very favourable & delightfull days, you have had & the likelihood there is of a continuance of them. Let me hear fre- quently how you go on, & remember your B n [Bilkin] has no other pleasure in his tiresome hot warehouse, equal to that of hearing from you. One of the 13 Chickens is drowned, & another IVilliam Taylor {Son of Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 609 is pickd almost to death, by the Mother of the Nine, the rest are very weh. Old Kilner is Ukely to 1755-184 die, at least he thinks so, I wish he may be fit to die ; He cannot be much regretted I should " imagine I am with the most earnest affection Your truely faithful friend & husband W. T. \_From William to his brother the Rev. Henry Taylor^ The Rev" H. Taylor Jun' at Titchfield near Fareham Hants ^ 21 April 178? Dear Harry ' ^ You have by this time been informed of the death of poor M" D. Taylor, the Old folks have received a blow by this event which they will not get over thoroughly in this world, but as for herself she has had no loss, for I know that her life has been too sadly & cruelly embittered, for these four or five years past to make her covet its prolongation. We are glad to hear so good an Account of my fathers health. Our girl will take the name of Fox together with Christiana, according to Peters wish, & indeed it was thro him that I thought of calling her Christiana ; as he told me his intention was to name his little Girl, if he should have one. Kitty joins me in Love & duty. She has a strong wish to visit my father next Whitsuntide with me ; believe me Your affect Bro : W. T. \_From IVilliatji to his brother the Rev. Henry Taylor.'] The Rev"" Henry Taylor Hollam near Titchfield Hants ^ „ 23' Jan"' 1786 Dear Harry, Daniel Stone dined with me the other day, & brought me the account of his fathers sur- prizing feats of activity & expedition in the wife way. I do believe he has entered into this engagement merely & only to make people siarc. foolish man ! to think any body can slare at what he does. Remember to tell Betsy I have bought her a Si.xteenth of a Lottery ticket, the N° is 13.751 which is as lucky a number as any in the present letter)- Believe me your Affect Bro W. Taylor. {From William to his brother the Rev. Henry Taylor?^ The Rev' M' H. Taylor at Titchfield Hants Osborn Place 3"' Oct' 1787 Dear Harry, I'oor Kilner has sold all his Mills & engines for no more than ^141. I suppose full ^1000. loss. The Dranes are all pretty well, Harry Tom is very well he called on us ten days ago with his Aunt. He grows tall. I am not at all surprized you wish 10 ascertain my ideas respecting our foreign broils. I have indeed been frequently ask'd the question you put to me. " Is it pane or war 4 H 6io J van am Taylor (Son of Ben Mordccai).— Correspondence. 1755-1843. M' Taylor" It will certainly be War, As the French have designs on our possessions in the West Indies, &: have been for some time collecting a force there aganist us slyly. The Admirals & Generals who are to conduct the same in my next & in the mean time I remain your affec" W>; Taylor. The following are extracts from a MS. book of speeches delivered at the Philo- mathic Institution, London, about 17SS. On the first page is written, "After my decease I give this book to my daughter Anna Sophia Malleson. 26th February 1836. Will" TAYLOii." It is not good for Man to be alone. He is a Social Being, and if we do not form Virtuous connections, There is little Chance that we should escape those which are vicious. — The unmarried Man, as he advances in life, feels insulated; Unconnected in all around him; without End, Object, or Interest. Let us advert to a different Scene. Behold the Virtuous fair one. Her smiling Infant clinging at her breast ; It drops the tube of nourishment, and casts its eye upon its mothers face whilst its little hand, Softer than Eider Down, traces the surface of the swelling breast, the fountain of its food. The happy fiither stands admiring by, beholds with joy the gratefull sight,— His healthy cheek assumes a Deeper hue ; whilst he beholds the lovely partner of his bed, & smiling produce of his Virtuous love. Happy, thrice happy Man Thou hast not spent, thy Strength for nought— Thou hast not battind in a Harlots Anns ; Thy pleasures are without remorse ; Contamination flows not in thy veins. When time shall lay thee on the bed of sickness Thou shalt not want a duteous Child To smooth thy pillow in the hour of death and when Slie holds the cordial to thy lip the trembling tear shall glisten in her eye; whilst thou shalt lift to heaven thy fainting look and bless thy God, who kept thee in the Paths of Virtuous Love,— These Joys are Real, they are Natures Oivn ; They flow fro Virtue We may perhaps, accustom ourselves to behold some Vices, with a more indulgent eye, than Others but if wrong conduct is to be condemned according to the degree, in Which it becomes pernicious ; I know scarcely any more extensively destructive than the unrestrained indulgence of the inclinations to which I have alluded— Therefore Betray not Innocence, Corrupt not Virtue, nor Dream that Youth, can be a plea for baseness. [Delivered 2,"" Ji'ly 1788.] It is generally allowed, that Man is principally distinguished from & exalted above the Brute Creation by his reasoning powers; That it is on account of this faculty he is said to resemble his maker & by the improvement of 'Which he can only render himself, a fit Object of future exaltation & happiness. But it is the Opinion of Some persons, that the weakness of our reasoning powers is so apparent ; as to render an Institution of this kind, dangerous to Religious principles & apt to engender a dis- position to cavil & raise doubts in the mind, not easily satisfied. It is observable however, that Those who are most inclined to discountenance free Discussion & fetter our reason, are nevertheless compelled to have recourse to it; themselves, even in their Arguments against it, thereby proving the impossibility of discarding it; And its most zealous Opponents, are only its Enemys, when by the exercise of it in Others, they feel themselves Confuted. By which we may perceive the meaness of the principle, from which it is wislied to be rejected. Like the Assassin they would disarm that they may strike securely. To say that our reasoning Power is weak, is no just Objection to the Use of it as far as it will go. It is as absurd, to deny ourselves the Use of this faculty on account of its defectiveness ; as it would be to refuse to exert our bodily Strength at all because it does not equal the strength of an Horse. In both cases our powers (be they ever so small) will be considerably encreased by exertion ; & thus their weakness, or insufficiency, so far from being an Argument against their Use, becomes one of the Strongest in favor of their Exertion ; since the Weaker they are, the greater the necessity of Strenr'thening them, & the Stronger they are, the Greater the encouragement to improve them. William Taylor {Sou of Ben Mordccai). — Correspondence. 6ii It is however contended that the' reason in most cases may be freely exerted, yet with respect to some points, it ought to be restraind & debarred the examination of certain sulyects. If discussion is allowed to be restraind at all it can only be done by human authority & that Authority must be the judge of the degree & nature of the restraint, requisite to be imposed. To restrain the mental powers is indeed impossible ; the propagation of opinions is all, that can be checked & such restraint cannot be advocated without admitting the propriety of persecution, for if the right of restraining any Opinion be granted, it will follow that such measures may be adopted as will be found requisite to insure the end proposed; & thus the restrainer becomes invested with powers of the Persecutor. Otherwise his Authority is Nullified. To say tlierefore that Opinions may be restrained, & to deny that such measures & punishments may be resorted to as may be found necessary to obtain the end proposed, is most palpably absurd. The only just mode of opposing false Opinions on any subject is by their Confutation & as this is the only fair mode, so is it also the most efficacious. The Weapon of Trutli is Argument, She thirsts for information She seeks for knowledge; She Desires to ascertain whilst Error Battens under the Wing of Authority. But it is further urged, that Subjects above our capacity, are unfit for investigation, & cannot be proper Objects for our research. Everything, to which a man can turn his mind at all, must at least be a proper Object in which to attempt enquiry, There can be no danger he will be able by such an attempt to obtain any know- ledge he was designed to remain ignorant of Even right opinions which have been accidentally adopted without examination or enquiry, will do no honour either to the head or heart. In such Orthodoxy there can be no merit whatever. The only merit of Faith, consists in a willingness to receive instruction, in possessing a candid mind, & teachable Disposition ; A Readiness to attend to, & examine, any Evidence which may be proposed to us. How much, then do those mistake who imagine we ought to believe Implicity & who put Reason aside in matters of Religion I shall now take notice of a few Other advantages Attending our establishment. And first I would Observe that it tends to guard us, against the too ready admission of any principle which may be laid down It also greatly tends to promote a liberal Spirit towards our Opponents; by associating with them, we are experimentally convinced, that men may possess opinions highly derogatory to Truth accord- ing to our Notions, & yet deserve our Respect & Good Will, a Conviction far more Strongly impressed on our minds, by social intercourse than it could possibly be by mere precept Who- ever fancies he has formed an opinion on any Proposition whatever without knowing the grounds on which such Opinion rests deceives himself, since Conviction can no more exist in the mind without evidence than a building can Stand without a foundation. He may indeed form an erroneous Opinion, from false, evidence which he deems to be true ; & in this case he may be said to have an erroneous Opinion but when he can assign no grounds for his decission he has in truth & reality formed no Opinion at all. Implicit faith therefore is not only absurd, but impossible, since all Opinion must rest on Evidence, that is true, or appears to us to be so Tis true Evidence may be more or less Strong & conviction of course be more or Less conclusive. But unless a Man perceives the Grounds, on which he believes (be those Grounds true or false) He cannot with Truth be said to possess an opinion. It is not to be expected (says D' Whichcot) that another Man should think as I would, to please Me, since I cannot think as I would to please Myself; it is neither in his or my power to think as we will ; but as we see reason & find cause. {^No address; no date; — a joint letter to his wi/e.'\ [No doubt l^&<)—t/le year in which Edward died.] As pants the Hart the water brooks to gain So eager throbs the mothers heart oppressd & big with earnest wishes longs in vain For her lost child to Clasp it to her breast 6i2 JVilliam Taylor {Son of Ben Mordccai). — Correspondence. 1755-1S43. Your Edward thus my Kitty you deplore & teach your sorrows still anew to flow Each action look & Word recounting o'er Still fondly covet to prolong your woe What tho my love thy Dearest Edwards gone His death perhaps may be to him relief 1 Art thou then sure he's lost to joy alone Sure he's not rescued from severest greif Tho in his breast each Virtue's [immature ?] The pangs of Vice shall likewise be unknown Ah look around, & see alas how few Possess'd of Virtue as you'd wish your Son Chris to Mamma. At Earn ham Dear Mamma Aunt peter has gave me a ribbon for my doll. I've got a little sampler & I'm a making of Snail crape. I'll be glad to see you. I want to see William. I want to see Catherine why now I must say I dont no what. I have been very good. Your affec' Daughter Chris. Louisa to Mamma. I want to see William & I want to see Cassy too. I want to see Mama, I am very happy & very "ood. I've eat every thing up that's in the house. Your Affect. Daughter ° Lou. My Daughters seem very stupid to-day & can think of nothing else I remain your 9"' Dec' 89. Affect. Husband & friend W. Taylor. [From William to his brother the Rev. Peter Taylor?^ The Rev" P. Taylor Titchfield Hants 26" Jan'' 1790 Dear Peter, The enclosed I received on Saturday last from D' Adair, to which I have not returned any answer, nor do I mean to return one ; but the question is, whether as we do not return his letters to Nancy back to him, is it requisite to send him back her letters to him. which were sent me a few months back I shall be glad, you & Harry will consider this, & let me know your opinions upon it. The insolence of the enclosed does not, in itself, merit the least attention ; but what in the nature of the case is fit & right to be done. Perhaps Cap" Bourmaster will be no bad adviser in the case Believe me your affec. Bro W. Taylor. \The enclosed referred to will be found p. 580.] William Taylor {Son of Ben Mordccai). — Correspondence. 613 [From William to his brother the Rev. Peter Taylor.^ The Rev'' P. Taylor Titchfield Hants Dear Peter I am just informed that a process is issued against Betsy to take her into custody, on account of the total inattention she has hitherto paid to the bill & proceedings thereon, I imagine I shall hear more of the matter in a day or two, when I will further inform you. Kitty joins me in love to yourself & M" T. & Harry & believe me Your Affect. Brother Will"' Taylor. 23'' Oct' 1790 October 5, 1795, he writes to his wife — The feelings I experienced in this ramble over the Old premises [Crawley] were a mix- ture of pleasure & pain ; nor do I know that any thing can raise in a Man's mind so strong a reflection of the vanity & shortness of life, as such a kind of visit. I cannot e-xpress to you the Solitariness of Idea which beset me, whilst I traversed the Garden cS: house, I could not help feeling as if I had no busyness there. I had the sensation of being an intruder. \JVo date ; —from Catherine Taylor, his wife, to William^ M' Will™ Taylor 3 Terrace Tottenham Court Road London Dear Will" [Endorsed 1795.] Your Boy was made very happy yesterday, by the receipt of your letter, as soon as the Post man said there was a letter for Master Peter Alfred Taylor, he ran to the door & Coloured up, as red as Scarlet Adieu, believe me truly yours C. T. \_No date; — from William to his vjif-.^ U" Taylor at M' Courtaulds at Greatnesse near 7 Oaks Kent My dearest Love [Endorsed 1795.] I dined & supped at Mr Jacob's yesterday — & have got a Copy of the Acc' — wherein he notices the fifteen Pounds in his Aunt's possession at her Death. I hope M" C. continues well — that you take as much care of yourself as possible, it is very cold indeed to day — & I fear you have felt it so — Sophia lay here on tuesday night, & brought me an answer from your Mother — it is civil M' Forbs has twice called here, but I have not seen him either time. M'| Jones is come home, her Mother is still living. I am Yours ever affectionately W. Tavlok, I wish George & his wife joy — [no doubt of my mother's birlh.^ 6i4 IVilliam Taylor {Son of Ben Mordccai). — Correspondence. S^From ll^illiam to his wifc^ M" Taylor N° 3 Terrace Tottenham Court Road London Chudleigh 14"' Oct' 1795 Dear Kate, I am much pleased with my Peters health. I am sure to give a loose to the mind and manners of a Child, wliilst young — has a great tendency to forward, its faculties & causes them to exert them- selves whilst harshness makes them draw back like a snail into his shell when you touch its horns — Nevertheless there is undoubtedly a Reasonably degree of encouragement proper ouly — I think we have never exceeded that dc^Tec hitherto — You will give my love to him & tell him I shall drink Mammas health tonight in one Glass, & tlien his Sister & his health in another. Talk to Anna about me, that she may not forget me, — as for little Brouney Harriett — she knows not me but I hope she grows a fine little maiden Farewell ever your ^Vii.liam. \From Catherine Taylor, his wife, to William7\ M' Will" Taylor Exeter Devon To be left at the Post Office till called for A few lines my Dear Will" I will write to you altho' I am as tired as any little dog — The Emery's are leaving Chelsea, and as they paid me a visit when I laid-in, I thought it proper & kind to give them a morning call, which I ha\-e done this morning, and to save my money I have walked there and back, & so wean,' am I, that there is not a living creature except my Bill could enduce me to put pen to paper — our dear Children are all well Harriet is grown since you left London a little Herculus — and as pretty as Christiana — and her very image. Adieu the Post is going believe me my d"" Will"' Always yours Tuesday 5 o'clock C. T. Oct' 28"' 1795 \fSlo date; — from Catherine Taylor, his wife, to William^ M' Will" Taylor at M'* Moses Hawker's St Thomas Street Portsmouth \No date — endorsed " 12, March 1798."] ilY Dear Will" They are stili Opening the Graves over the way — yesterday before Breakfast one of the Men in the Factory saw Ten Opened — Nine of which had only empty Coffins — in One out of the Ten there was found a Body — One Man not finding his wife, carried home the empty Coffin, with great Sang's Froid, saying it was a very good Coffin & might do for his next Wife — The Body's are taken out of the Chapel, as well as out of the Yard — and the people are so much enraged, that yesterday they took up the Sexton & grave digger. Our children desire Love — Happy shall I be to see you again for I cannot be in such good Spirits now you are gone, as when you was with me. Adieu dearest Will" Y'ours ever C. Taylor. i755->84j- William Taylor {Son of Ben Monlecai). — Coyyespoiidciice. 615 1755 -1S4 \^From William to his zui/ei] M'^ Taylor , N" 3 Terrace Tottenham Court Road London Grantham 3"' Oct' 1799 Dear Kate, Friday morning— a wet morning — I thinli I have already bespoke a letter at Retford. I have walked a lame horse all the way fro Melton Mowbray to this place which is 16 nnles — but your letter has revived me & made me forget all my troubles. Yes indeed, I am gratified, to hear the dear little boy gets forward so fast ; & is possessed of such good abilities, — I cannot however say I am at all surprized, to hear so good an account of him, I have long been satisfied he is a clever little fellow; & I am glad we have resolved to give his understanding full play. I take also some credit to our mode of treating our children which has always been of a friendly & encouraging kind. We have not been afraid our children should think too much of them- selves — to treat Children as if they were of no importance is a Stupid conceit. & deadens every com- mendable exertion of mind. Children of no importance ! Somebody wisely observes a plain truth (I forget who it is) The boys & girls of these years will be the men & Women of a few years hence. I am convinced there would be ten Clever fellows where there is One, if Children had their own natural love of praise properly excited, & rightly directed. — Sweet fellow he has an inherent Modesty which will be of the greatest advantage to him — 'nhey clap me so they make me quite ashamed." but who are those who Clap? Is any person present except M' Evans cSc his School fellows? Whilst I praise & exult in my boy, I do not forget my Excellent & assiduous Louisa — No indeed I often think how well she repays our Attention & expectations. Catherine must not think her abilities are incapable of being exerted to the best effect. The applause Peter has gained — I am fearfuU may make her disesteem herself — this should be taken care of, for she is fully adequate to exertion to the best purposes, dont let her fall into an idea she cannot get forward. I am sure it would be an erroneous opinion. My Chris : I do not think liable to any such conceit, dont let any one read this but yourself & Louisa except you think it will be of any Use— God bless you all & make us properly thankful! but it is impossible we can be adequately grateful! to him for his most especial favors to Us. Not one fool amongst all my Children— 8 in number let all the world laugh but I will call it as I feel it a ikssiiig. Yours W. T. \_From M'itliam to his ''o.'i/c.~\ M'= Taylor N" 3 Terrace Tottenham Court Road London I do assure you my dear Kate I am mucli concerned that )-ou should be made less happy through any peltislmess of temper I have been guilty of, & I am resolved I wil! sedulously endeavour to get the better of it. We have passed seventeen years together with satisfaction, & surely now we have such Strong reasons to be satisiied more than ever with our lot as it respects Worldly concerns — Since the only cause about which we ever felt anxiety is removed. — Shall we be less happy— Xo we will be as happy as ever, at least it shall not be owing to ourselves if we are not — I have myself felt a long time (a year past I believe) that I do not ])ossess the same degree of animal Spirits I used to do — S; this may have caused me to be less good tempered perhaps. This however is no justifiable cause A: I am determined I will see to it that I will not be the occasion of uncomfortableness to my truest friend & who I can sincerely declare 1 not only love better, but far far better, than any other 6i6 William Taylor {Son of Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. S-1S43. jjerson on Earth — & to loose whom would put a complete finish to all my real Hiss of life. It is with you & with my children, in my own house I am always best pleased & most happy & indeed excepting when on a journey You know I never seek other company. I know only of one circum- stance which can encrease my satisfaction & that is a more lively hope or assurance that I was approved by the Great Author of all mj' Comforts. Was I more uniform in family Worship, I think my Spirits would be better — You & Louisa must help to regulate these matters & Stimulate me when I slacken & grow cold — Frequent intercourse with that good being is the greatest calmer of the Spirits— & sweetener of the temper let Us Stimulate each other to the Practise of Duty — & we shall feel all our pleasures in this life more sweet — our bosoms more tranquil. These improvements I think we want— I bless God we do not stand in need of greater reformation — But if we improve our hearts & mind we shall perhaps percieve some farther improvements &: perhaps delight to advance farther in the paths of Excellence I am my dearest Kate Ware most Affectionate 12 Sep' iSoo William. \Fi'om William to his wifei\ Taylor N" 3 Terrace Tottenham Court Road London Pebmarsh i"' Nov' 1801 George & his wife & All the Children are well. Sambo was at the Mill with his father when I arrived. Louisa was dispatched to inform him. She first met Sam, who set of to see me without waiting for his father & came sweating in to me— He whisper'd his father to ask me to let Louisa & Anna come down to Pebmarsh— They are all fine Healthy Children believe me ever your William. \_Froin William to his wi/e.] M" Taylor at M' Turman's St George's Fields Ramsgate Kent I have made up my mind to subscribe two Guineas per Annum to Salters Hall in case, we loose M' Worthington for I will not be deprived of hearing him by all the Machinations of the Evangelicals put together twice a day always to attend M' AVinter I will not, thats poss. He is a very worthy man but a very confused & dark preacher F'arewell love to all & believe me Sincerely yours 6'" Aug; 1802 • William. [JVo address 'from Catherine Taylor, his wife, to William i] Mr Taylor i" June 1803 We are all well. I am very glad you are so, and sorry you are sometimes low spirited, but this is natural to my Bilkin, and I believe will continue to be so, as long as he is a bilkin- so that can't be helped. I am happy to think we have not really any great cause for dejection Williain Taylor {Son of Ben Mordccai). — Correspondence. 617 of spirits ; but very great cause indeed for content and tliankfulness What a lying " 755-154 Cur Buonoparte is ! I hate all frenchmen, & frenchwomen and I liope we shall be able to give them a more compleat beating than they have ever had before — this last paragraph is a proof I have but little to say to you, I never write politicks but when I have nothing else to say — I have written you so many long letters that my subjects are all exhausted — when I have seen f Sisters I shall again have to tell you all the pretty things they say of our children, of whom I know you are desperately proud and so you should be, for they as well as their agreeable Mother are sweet creatures believe me ever yours truly C. T. \_Froin William to his zvi/e.] M" Taylor 184 Tottenham Court Road London Poole 30 July 1804 My dear Kitty, The house at Crawley is greatly improved, as is the Garden — Very few trees are cut down & tho the alterations are many, yet tlie Larger part is like what it was believe me ever Sincerely your William. \From Williain to his wi/e.~\ M" Taylor 184 Terrace Tottenham Court Road London My Dearest Kitty Towcester Wednesday Evening 4"' Dec' 1805 Having time on my hands, I have desired to express to you some of my ideas of the present times, as I would not wish if I can help it, to appear by my anxieties egregiously absurd in your opinion. When We behold as we have done one Nation after another falling under the yoke of France & Calamity & sorrow spreading fro place to place — Is it not natural, or is it unreasonable to feel alarm, & fear that the lot which has afflicted so many — may assail us also — It may be true I am too much dejected — but I am sure every reflecting mind ought to be deeply impressed with these circumstances — For my part I have many times earnestly entreated my Maker that he will be graciously pleased to protect this Country fro the miseries of subduction — Or if he shall in his divine Providence see fit to deliver us over to Our enemies — that He would not suffer My Wife & Children to fall a prey to the Lust or sword of the destroyer— & I find in such appli- cations to the Almighty more releif to my soul & comfort to my Mind then I can reap fro foreign Alliances & Newspaper assurances— or anything else. The Calamities which befall the World are no proofs that the Supreme Being ceases to be kind & merciful & good. They may be necessary to call of the Attention of mankind fro worldly pursuits or worldly ambition I have lived 50 Years in the World in bliss & Comfort. I have no right nor am disposed to complain of my lot with respect to its enjoyments or length. Death will finish every anxiety, & is doubtless a blessing the' an awful One I remain, my dearest love Yours most truly S: Aflfectionately W. Taylor. 41 6i8 JVilliani Taylor {Son of Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. \_No date ; — fro7n William to his wife7\ I M" Taylor Terrace 184 Tottingham Court Road London ^Endorsed 1810.] My Dearest Love Fryday Night I thought I would go over to Ramsgate & see our old house there— drink tea at Pegwell bay — & walk our Old walk to nettlecourt-farm — I am just veturnd fro thence & a very fine afternoon I have had. (NB. Rode there & back) But the whole scene brought to my Mind My dear Louisa so forcibly that My Yearning heart was only relieved by floods of tears. I cannot help regretting her loss tho I well know that Death was no evil to her. Yet I think I have many reasons to regrett her departure. But whether I have or not / do regret it I hope however I shall never live to loose another child — who is big & grown to an Age which entitles them to be calld reasonable Creatures — & makes One feel them as friends. The little ones I love very much But when Ones Children commence One's friends, ls; love One not by Instinct only — but with the Affections friends as well as Children, then are they treasures indeed I have been happy to perceive this is the Case with Chris. Cath & Peter & I will add Anna Thank God I have keenly felt these things to be blessings lately I dont know whether all this will give you any pleasure to read but I feel pleasure in disburthening my heart Your true & faithfull William. \From William to his grandson Peter Alfred Taylor^ Rev"" J. P. Malleson Hove House Brighton Sussex Master P. Taylor March 11"' 32 I thank you my dear Peter for your letter. All the various animals you enquire after, are well, fro Aunt Sophy (old) down to the white Cat. With respect to any jaunt to Brighton, I have not the least thought of such an undertaking, & indeed I am in great hopes that your Uncle and Aunt Malleson, will spend their midsummer holidays either wholly or in part at Booking. I am glad you are accommodated with a watch, & I cant doubt, but now you know so well how time goes, you are careful! to improve every minute. & would not lose even a moment of the day in unprofitable Idleness. When you put it to your ear, & hear its admonitory Tick, Tick, Tick, you will instantly be on the alert. Give my kind love to my dear Anna & M' JIalleson & be assured I am my dear boys most Affectionate Grandf;ither W. Taylor. William Taylor {Sou of Ben Mordecai). — Correspondence. 619 '755-184 [From William to his grandson Peter Alfred Taylori\ P. A. Taylor Junior Esq' N° 42 Gutter Lane Cheapside London Becking 6 Nov' 1S40 My dear Peter, I was much gratified by tlie intelligence you have given me, as I am fully perswaded that nothing is more calculated to promote the happiness of a man, than early marriage, with an amiable woman, forasmuch, as it greatly tends to virtuous conduct. & virtuous Conduct, is the panacea of all real & lasting felicity. The Secret I will call it of all Substantial Satisfaction. The one thing Needfull — the Sine qua non of Mental Delight. Nothing can with success become its substitute. All ottier acquisitions may, & generally, if not alhvays, are Esteemd too highly. — Rectitude of Conduct never can be. It has abundantly more to do with happiness, than all other circumstances put together. But the necessaries & comforts of Life, are surely requisite I Grant it. But the Ostentatious Vanity & Display, so constantly Observable in Life, is not conducive to Happiness, & the absurd conceit that A. must do as B. does, is a common Rock on which most split. Let Common Sense, be the rule of Conduct. Let the question be, 'What is right & commendable for me to do in all occurrences — & thus take your resolve — And if any choose to blame or sneer Let a braying world Bray on. They will commend by and by. And now Shall I send this epistle.^ — Why perhaps it may produce laughter. Well Let it. I have been a long time answering your letter. Not for the want of the sincerest Affection and hearty Good Will, for thou my Boy wert committed to ray care, when thou wert a very little fellow, & I always lovd you, & not without a few tears of affectionate regard Subscribe myself, ever Your sincerly Affectionate Grandfather Will" Taylor. [From Wil/iam to his daughter Mis Lamberti] M" Lambert Dan' Lamberts Esq' Banstead near Epsom Surrey Booking 3'' Dec' 1840 Mv DEAR Christiana, You could not give me a greater pleasure than shewing a desire, to hear & know all you can learn of my father. Being myself fully imprest with the convictions that he has been, a most able defender of Christian Truth. Tho' that System he has advocated, is not now Esteemed so by all, & I am not a little pleased to hear your Son Daniel, is also reading his work ; & I trust whatever may be the Opinion, his Great Grandson may adopt, with respect to his .Ancestors faith — He will be at least con- vinced, of his .Ability in the Advocation. & Let it be rememberd, that altho his Work has now been publishd full Seventy Years, Not a single Individual, has ever Attempted to Answer it. I am not solicitous with respect to my Grandsons Religious Opinions. — Since I well know the Great Author of Life, approves of his Creatures according to their Acting Virtuously, & not according to the accuracy of their believe. — But Daniel has been so accustomed to application I am perswaded he will be thoroughly able, to perceive the justness of his Reasonings, & force of his Arguments. 620 JVilliain Taylor {Son of Ben Mordccai). — Coryespoiidence. 55-1S4,;. As for my Children, they appear to me to be little diposed to invcstigaticn, & to take up their opinions as they would choose their flowers Wliai they best like &• most pleases them &■ accords with the fashions. Nor do they feel that Respect for their G. father he so well merits I also would have it rememberd that my Mother's father received his living of St Maries at Reading & also a Prebendary at Salisbury Cathedral from Bishop Burnett : another friend to freedom & solid sense. I have often seen Chancellor Hoadly (ie. D' J. Hoadly) as above named at Crawley— as also M' Delme' & M' Iremonger & other Men of Fortune at Crawley, who were my father's Schoolfellows at M' Newcombs, And whilst I am boasting, I will record an Observation made on my fathers Work by a Learned Clergyman at Winchester 1 allways considered M' Taylor as capable of Great things, But I na'cr thought hiui equal to this. With best & affectionate Regards to yourself &: all your Family & especially to my little Lamb, who is by this time grown up to be a Sheep I suppose I remain my Dear Christiana Affect" father W. Taylor. Your Grandfather went to Queen CoUedge — Cambridge from M' Newcombs I have the pleasure of saying my health is greatly improved, & should the Great Disposer of all events, continue to pour out his abundant mercies & blessings on my head, I have a hope of seemg you, at Banstead next Summer, & also my dear little Nancy at Brighton. {From William to his grandson Peter Alfred Taylor^ M' p. A. Taylor Junior N° 42 Gutter Lane Cheapside London Booking 2 June 1S41 My Very dear Grandson, I cannot defer expressing the satisfaction it gives me, to hear of the fame you have acquired, by your lectures at Lewes, on the corn Laws, not so much on account of the subject you were advocating but rejoicing, in the conviction that you possess &: are endeavouring to improve, the abilities which are granted & conferred on you, by the giver of all good. And as I verily believe, that your mind S: principles of action are sound. So I flatter myself you may become a valuable & Usefull advocate m the cause of Truth & Virtue. Being fully convinced myself, that the Scene about to be displayd before the Rising Generation, will be as arduous, as important. I am solicitious that should it so happen, that any exertions may fall to your lot. you may determine to support and advocate nothing whatever with the mere view to your own personal Interest. But Keep up in your mind (alive Sr fresh) the recollec- tion—Aye the solid recollection. That Truth, & Justice Right & Rectitude are the only causes worth supporting, & whether tliey may produce to yourself profit or power, or loss & suffering. Will procure to you— Self Applause & internal Satisfaction, which are abundantly more valuable, than the plaudit of a thousand tongues, or the possession of a Throne. The constant & unvaried determination to do what is right. Is the first Step to Greatness of Character— & if persevered in raises in the mind a Grandure of Sentiments & Self devotion, which constitutes the Hero & the Saint But the first of all arguments, I have left till last. Such conduct will assure to us the approbation & favor of that Almighty Being which wisdom cannot be deceived. Whose Power cannot be resisted & Whose Goodness is unlimited. All this is enthusiasm says folly. Prate away folly, Prate away, I regard you not. Your Affec fgrandlfather W. Taylor. William Taylor {Son of Ben Mordecai). — Poetry. 621 1 755-1 '''43- SONNET TO BRITAIN Britain ! whicli once could Slavery defy And when y*^ Scottish monarch had prepar'd Chains for thy Liberty most nobly dar'd Justly severe ! to bid that monarch die. What's now thy Senate poor abandon'd isle? Where Hampden, Russel, noble Sydney sat Villains & Slaves urge on thy hapless fate And faithless Tories at thy ruin smile Shall these the honest Briton's hearts beguile ? No ! rising Patriots shall thy rights maintain Nor what we scorn'd a Stuart should obtain Be giv'n up tamely to the Brunswick line. Freedom again or Britain's sons shall shine ; (unfinished) Why should man in Labour toil After honour, fame, or treasure ? Knowing well that all the while They can give no lasting pleasure. 2 Why should all his life be spent In the anxious paths of gaining? Ever on the things intent Which are never worth attaining. 3 Worldly profits to enhance Shall we strive with keen endeavour? Yet forgetful leave to chance Int'rests which will last for ever. 4 Can the Gem that decks the head. Calm the wretch by conscience wounded ? Sooth the sorrows of his bed, When by Guilt and Death surrounded? 622 irHliam Taylor {Son of Ben Mordccai). — Poetry. I755-IS43- — 5 Those of Honour, or of Fame, Those of Wealth, or those of Power, Diff'rent living die the same, Equal victims of an hour. 6 Coolest sense forbids desire. Or to wish a monarch's station ; Best of Passions, noblest fire, Scorns the Sycophant's oblation. 7 Value not a great man's frown, Nor descend a King to flatter; Low indeed does he sink down, A\'ho debases thus his nature. 8 Rectitude must guide your will. Threats nor pain, nor ruin fearing ; And if more heroic still, Dare do right tho' worlds are sneering. 9 Deem not little of a state, Assign'd by God's benignity ; Virtue only makes us great. And worth alone gives Dignity. Man, may to man, an injury forego, Forgive the wrong, and pitying mercy shew ; Justice too stern, may Equity despight. And Right, become unmercifully right By Pity unrestrained. — But when a Knave Shall dare attempt a People to enslave, IVilliam Taylor {Sou of Ben Moniccai). — Poetry. Shall dare attempt to buy our rights with gold, — Those Rights which Britons have so oft of old Bought with their blood; nor ever ought to sell But with their lives. Does Mercy here impel Or urge one plea to let the miscreant live Whom, but a villain, no one can forgive ? Mercy, which oft so lovely does appear Is criminality and madness here. What tho' a lov'd and supplicating friend Should beg his life, — tho' on his knees descend Mercy to sue ; — what tho' a woman's cries Earnest requested, and with streaming eyes ; — Were / to grant, the sought-for mercy give, I swear that such a miscreant should not live. Pardon I firmly ever would deny, Unmov'd by lifted hand or streaming eye; Friendship and Love must here both lose their weight, — You must be callous, or you can't be great. Yet could I then refuse my Florio's prayer, And bid his boon evaporate in air ? Or thine my dear Eliza, could I hear One warm request from thee and see a tear Fall from thy lovely eye, yet falling be Unheeded, unregarded, e'en by me ? My blood shall cease its wonted course to seek Refuse its colour to my pallid cheek And stagnate in my heart ere I ; — yet should My private ties outweigh my country's good? The mean idea wounds in every part. By heaven it should not, though my struggling heart Should yearn as it denied, I'd not recall The sentence passed, but still deny to all ; — Yea Florio's hon, Eliza's tears should be Unheeded, unregarded, e'en by me. THE MISAXTHROPE He that would know of Leie that never fails Must read of lovers in the fairy tales ; Would know of Friendship, constant in mischance, Must study novels and peruse romance; Would know of Patriots, truly such, must find Books that contain no record of mankind. Vainly he seeks, and still must seek in vain. Who digs the mine for Gems they dunt eontiun JllUiaiu Taylor {Son of Ben Mordecai). — Poetry. ANSWER Love, vigorous still in undissembled truth, Glows ardent in th' unbleniish'd breast of youth ; And Generous Friendship's firm & constant mind, In virtuous bonds indissolubly bind; The fearless Patriot scorns the tyrant's hate, And suffering, triumphs in his glorious fate. Still is our nature true to virtue's plan, The vacuum's in thyself, and not in man. Shall we decry the generous apple's juice. Because the crab the verjuice does produce ? BUTT'S GATE (1775) The statesman is happy in politick care, The soldier's delight is in bloodshed and war; And what pleasures & feelings with those can compare Of the counsellor pleading his cause at the bar? But the swain's who is free from all care in his pate. And foots it away on y° green at Butt's-Gate. 2 How joyous the lover his mistress to see, How pleas'd he her lilly-white hand to enfold ; How warmly old Galen there graspeth his fee, Tho' his patient be ever so languid and cold ; But more happy y'= Swain who with spirits elate. Can merrily sing on y" green at Butts Gate. 3 The miser is happy in counting his gains. The alderman stuffing his gross calipee, The sage politician with cracking his brains, And lamenting y' dangers he loves to foresee; But happier far who's appointed by fate, To join y" loud laugh on y" green at Butt's Gate. 4 The methodist preacher with sanctified pride. Delights in describing y= torments of hell. And the people rejoice in their hearts to be fry'd, And with common consent cry "Amen, it's, all weh," They from terror a pleasure do surely create. And had need cool their brains by a walk at Butt's Gate. William Taylor {Son of Ben Mordecai). — Poetry. 625 5 1755-1S4 To draw their attention, how happy's the beau, Of all the fine ladies around at the play, While solicitous they their sweet faces to shew, Only give themselves airs, but ne'er mind what they say; But much happier the swain who can fondle & prate With a lass of his own on the green at Butt's Gate. 6 The astronomer's pleas'd with sitting up late. To gaze at the planets, and mark how they roll ; The courtier's delight is to flatter the great ; The hermit's to cheer his unsociable soul ; But his pleasures are gain'd at an easier rate, Who feeds his young Iambs on y= green at Butt's Gate. 7 Say first shall I sing of y° flow'rets so gay. And wholesome young grass that's besprinkled each morn, Or else of the Stone (while around it we play) That does with such beauty its summit adorn. How first shall I tell? How first shall relate The beauties transcendant we see at Butt's Gate. 8 This stone is scoop'd out in the middle so clean. The bottom of every swain it does fit. And y° softest fair nymph that ever was seen, Without inconvenience may cheerfully sit ; Not uneasy & painful bke sitting in state, Then who would sit any where but at Butts Gate. 9 From hence at a distance lies St John's fair mount, Adorn'd with fine woods, most majestic to see. And with lofty high branches you view in y" front, Tlie so-fam'd & so-noted, & tall Stockbridge Tree; Not forgetting tlie ash which so tow'ringly great, Stands close by y^ side of green at Butt's Gate. 10 Let others then sing of great deeils & great Kings, Of warriors mighty, and battles most fierce I'll have nothing to do with such terrible things, Nor with grandeur or blood stain the lines of my verse, But still sing of y' pleasures, serene &• sedate, Which from innocence flow from y' green at Butts Gate. 4 K 626 William Taylor {Son of Ben Mordecai). — Poetry. 1755-1843- II Tis Friendship and Love tliat give blessings to man, With a heart that is gentle, & a mind that's sincere. Ye lads and ye lasses, all make this your plan, And in peace & good neighbourhood spend all y° year; Then the lords and the ladies shall envy your fate, And wish they could live as you do at Butt's Gate. These poems have been copied from a MS. book belonging to Mr William Taylor of Bond Street, which also contains by the same hand — "The Haut Gout, or Human Greatness." "On M' W" C s." "On M' W. C. becoming a clerk in the Excise." " To the same." I have also by the same writer a long MS. poem, "The Siege of Troy." COLLECTION OF FAMILY SJG^]ATURES. (for others see portraits.) ^ *~y^ DAUR.OF W.T. THE HABERDASHER, ~^iL~- x"^^^ /^J ^/-a^-ffnd// ' ^^^isjV?^ ^^^^^ '^'^^li^t.j i-ov, son of y/.t. (dant-io.) 16 *e; SON IN LAW OF W.T. THE ^ '^V ^ T'l 0; BROTHER IN JJW OF W. T. HA..™AS„.a. ^^^^^^^^^^^ -^^^^ I ^ 1651; THE HABERDASHER. y/ (s. WEALD.") 1710; SISTER (M LAW OF W. T : rs^^,„.. , // ^yi^ C X /7 (. ^ 16T5; SON IN LAW OP DANIEL TAYLOR. ' V / 1760: ;739; SON IN LW OF W. (s. WLALD.) 1760; BROTHER IN LAV» Of BEN MORDECAI. :B80; son of W.T. Py l' < * ^'"•E HABERDASHER. , ^/ y A J ^ ~ «0K!j: 1762 WIFE OF BEN ■■/IOPjjECAI. neSi NIECE OF BEN DF DANIEL mmin. SISTER OF I. OLLECTION OF FAN-ULY SIGNATURES, (for others see portpaits.) ^^i<^^fXr^^c^ C^clr-x^ c*^^*-'^^ 1751; WIPE OF DANIEL FOX. ROTHER OF Mf? Vflt TAYLOR (LONDON.) (y (A,AyLJ^ ' 1785; WIFE OF DANIEL TAYLOR. 1783: DAUR. OF BEN MORDECAl. 1790; SON OF BEN MORDECAL 1790jDAUR OF BEN MORDECAl THE COURTAULD FAMILY.-COLONEL CHESTER'S FIRST REPORT. ^HE French origin of the Courtauld family in Kngland no longer rests on 1660-1706. mere tradition, while the traditions themselves preserved in that family have Correctness of the family traditions. proved unusually correct. As to the exactness of their minor details, it will probfibly for ever be impossible to determine ; but the main fact, that the first Courtauld who settled in England quitted France with an infant child shortly after The first Court- the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, is, through the following investigations, definitely confirmed. The present Memoir commences almost immediately on the arrival of that emi- grant in England, now nearly two hundred years ago, and continues unbroken, and without any important lack of testimony, down to the present time ; while there is also a strong probability of being able to trace the French history of the family still farther back into antiquity. Two reflections naturally suggest themselves just here : The number of existing families of English origin who can trace their history backwards for two centuries is very small— smaller even than is generally supposed ; and the number of instances is still smaller where the repre- sentative of the present day is only the fourth in descent from his ancestor who then commenced the line. The generations of the Courtaulds in England now number seven only from the commencement of their English history, while the eldest living member of the family was born only eighty-seven years after the death of the founder of the English race. It is a very rare thing in genealogy that five consecutive generations can span a period of two hundred years. The following Memoir will treat of each generation separately, the representa- tives of the direct line being distinguished by Roman numerals. I. AuGUSTiNK Courtauld, the original French emigrant, was, as is learned The cmigram. from his Will, born in the parish of St Peter, in the Isle d'Oleron, one of the two islands protecting the harbour of La Rochelle in France. From the data furnished by sundry documents to be discussed hereafter, it is probable that his birth 628 The Coitrtauld Family. — Colonel Chester's First Report. 16601706. occurred somewhere between the years 1660 and 1665. The first record obtained of him in Eng-land is that of his second marriage, which took place at the French Chapel in Glass House Street, London, on the loth of March 1688-89. How long he had then been in England, it is impossible to determine exactly ; but from the fact that the name does not previously occur in any of the Registers of the French Chapels in England (all of which I have carefully examined), either as godfather or witness, and that it does afterwards occur repeatedly and continually, those who bore it evidently being of the superior class of anigris, whose offices were solicited on occasions of baptisms particularly, — I am inclined to the Date of his Opinion that he had not long left France, or the Continent, at the date of this his arriv.Ti. second marriage. This would seem to be confirmed by the family traditions of the difticulties encountered in the escape from France, which indicate that such escape was made at a time when the Protestants were more closely watched than they probably were at the general exodus immediately after the revocation of the Edict. At all events, the date of this marriage was only a litde more than three years after the revocation. In the record of the marriage he is described as of the His second wife province of St Onge. The name of his wife was Esther Potier, and she was described as of the province of La Rochelle. They were married at the morning service of that day, and the witnesses were "Jean Bopos," "J. Mesnaud," " Jane Courtos," and " Elizabeth Burjaud." These names do not ever occur again in connection with the family, and they were very possibly those of chance persons present at the ceremony. His son Peter. On the 1 9th of January in the following year, 16S9-90, is recorded in the same Register the baptism of their son Peter, and he is distinctly called the son of Augustine Courtauld and Hester Potier, of the Isle d'Oleron in St Onge, and the father's profession is given as that of a merchant. As in his Will, referred to already, the father states that he was born in that island ; and as some thirty years after he is still described as of the same place, it is quite clear that that was his ancestral home, that he continued to reside there, and when of age en- gaged in business there, only quitting it when driven to do so for conscience's sake. This son Peter appears to have been the only child by his second wife; and as he and his issue are of no immediate interest, and soon disappear from the family history, they may as well be disposed of at once. He was born on the loth and baptized on the 19th of January 16S9-90, at Glass House Street Chapel. On the 5th of February 170S-9 he was married at " Le Tabernacle" (another French Chapel in London) to Judith Pantin. The Marriage Allegation, at the Vicar- General's Office, describes him as of St Martin' s-in-the-Fields, a bachelor, aged twenty years (a slight discrepancy not at all uncommon, he being just past nineteen), The Coiirtaiild Family. — Colonel Chester s First Report. 62() and as having the assent of his mother, then a widow. Judith Pantin is described 1660-1706. as of St James's, Westminster, and the Allegation is made by Isaiah Pantin, of that parish, goldsmith. I have not learned anything further respecting her, nor when or where she died. The only other record of her that I have found is, that she was one of the sponsors at the baptism of one of her husband's brother's children in 17 14. I have been able to find the baptism of only one of their children, viz., Judith, who was born the 17th and baptized the 21st of December 1714, at the West Street French Chapel in Soho ; but there were certainly others, as their uncle Augustine in his Will mentions his nephew Peter and his other nephews and nieces of the name of Courtauld, who must have been children of Peter and Judith (Pantin), as Augustine, as will be seen, had no other brother. I have found no subsequent trace of any of them, but it is quite probable that a stray Courtauld who has occasionally been heard of in modern times may have been a descendant of this Peter, who was himself buried at St Martin's-in-the-Fields on the 8th of March 1728-29. There is no Will of his in existence at any of the Registries — a tolerably reasonable evidence that he did not die in very good cir- cumstances. His son Peter, however, and other children, were living as late as the 13th of March 1750-51, as they were then kindly remembered in their uncle Augustine's Will, who left the former £10. and all his linen and woollen wearing apparel, and the latter each ^5. We must here take final leave of them, and return to their grandfather, Augustine the emigrant. Before proceeding, however, with the direct history, it must be mentioned that His brothei I'cter. he had a brother, Peter, whom, in his Will, dated in 1 706, he appointed co-executor with his wife, or rather, sole executor so far as the position of his eldest son Augustine was concerned ; and without their joint consent neither of his sons was to marry, under the penalty of having his portion reduced to barely ^'25. This brother Peter proved the Will, jointly with the widow, in October 1706, and according to the record of Probate, in person, which shows that he must have been in England at the time ; but I have not found the slightest subsequent men- tion of his name in any of the French records in London, nor any Will or Admini- stration to show that he died in this country. The second Augustine Courtauld, his nephew, in his Will, dated in 1751, forty-five years later, leaves mourning rings to his "cousins Peter and Augustine Courtauld," who were doubtless the sons of this Peter, but there is nothing to show that they were then living in this country, and the aksencc of their names from all the records affords the presumption that they were not. One of the most distinct family traditions is to the effect that the iicirtoan founder of the family in England was the heir to a considerable estate in France, Fniice"."'" which was confiscated and bestowed upon his younger brother in reward of his apostasy. Singularly enough, the \\'i!l of the first Augustine shows both that he 630 Tlic Conrtauld Family. — Colonel Chester's First Report. 166(^1706. had a younger brother, and that there was an estate in France, for he bequeathed it, under the general description of " the estate in France," to his two sons equally ; and as he also made his brother executor as to his eldest son's portion, he would doubtless have had the management of that estate, whatever it may have been, as the widow certainly remained in England. The son Augustine says nothing about this estate in his Will in 1751, and appears to have been the founder of his own fortune, while the presumption is, that the other son, Peter, died in humble circum- stances as early as 1729. It is not at all unwarrantable to suppose that the family tradition was substantially correct, and that the executor and guardian may have been tempted to benefit himself at the expense of the children of his dead brother. The bequest of the mourning rings already mentioned would seem, however, to indicate that there was no ill-feeling maintained between the children of the two brothers. One thing is certain, viz., that there was in 1706 an estate in France of some sort, which the first Augustine had, or thought he had, the right to bequeath. At all events, this Peter Courtauld and his issue are never more heard of, and may therefore pass from further consideration in this Memoir. His Will. The Will of the first Augustine Courtauld, already mentioned, was dated on the 5th of September 1706. He is described as Mr Augustine Courtauld, born in St Peter, in the Isle of Oleron, in France, and then residing in the parish of St Anne, in Soho, in the Liberty of Westminster. The original Will is in French, a tran.slation being attached. The surname throughout is spelt " Courtaud," but his own signature, in a good hand, is distinctly " Augustin Courtauld." It may here be remarked, that, in the numerous records examined, the orthography Various spelling of thc name is almost as various as the scriveners who made the records. I have of the name Courtauld. found it in the following forms : — Cortald, Cortauld, Cowrtald, Courtaud, Courtault, Courtaut, Courtaux, Courteau, Courteauld, Courteault, and Courthould. I have also found it written Courfauld and Courdaud, but these two instances were clearly clerical errors. But whenever the actual signatures of the Courtaulds themselves have been obtained, the orthography has been without a single exception Courtauld ; and it may be added, the handwriting is invariably and remarkably excellent. In this Will, which was executed, according to the legal requirements of the day, before a Notary Public and " Tabellein Royal," as that official styled himself, luiia Giron, his the tcstator declared that he had been twice married: first, to Julia Giron, by nrst wife. whom he had one son, Augustine ; and that by his second wife, Esther, still living, he had also one son, Peter. He then, after bequeathing to the poor £2 sterling (no inconsiderable sum in those times, and equal to about £20 at the present day), gives to his wife all the movables in his house (except one bed, which he gives to his two sons — a curious bequest, but one quite common in the Wills of that period), after which he directs that his wife and two sons shall each have one The CoiD'tanld Family. — Colonel Chester s First Report. 631 third of his estate, or, as he calls it, his Inheritance, appointing his wife executrix 1660-1706. for his son Peter's portion, and his brother Peter Courtauld executor for that of his son Augustine. If the son Peter should die before reaching the age of twenty- five, or without marrying, his portion was then to go absolutely to his mother, while if the son Augustine should die before similar events, his portion was to revert to his younger brother Peter. " And for the estate in France " (so reads the translation), " he giveth it to his two children for to share them by equall parts and portions." The translation is rather bunglingly done, but the fact and the meaning are clear. If either of the sons marry without the consent of the testa- tor's wife and his brother Peter, he is to receive only ^25 sterling (equivalent to /250 now), and the residue of his portion is to go to the son who shall marry with such consent. It may be worth noting that, in the Marriage Allegation already referred to, on which the License for the marriage of the son Peter was issued, the consent of the mother only is stated, which may possibly indicate that his uncle Peter was then dead (in 1709), as it is not probable that the mother would have risked the loss of her own son's portion by neglecting to obtain the consent of her co- guardian if he had been living, or that she would have been satisfied with any- thing less than his formal consent, which, in that case, should have appeared on record with her own in the Marriage Allegation, otherwise her son's portion would have been at any time at his uncle's mercy. There is nothing else of importance in the Will, which was proved in the Archdeaconry Court of Middlesex on the 5th of October 1706, exacdy one month after its date, and by both the executors. The testator probably died about the His death. 20th of September in that year, as he was buried at St Anne's (Soho), West- minster, on the 26th of that month. The Register of that parish records simply his name, " Augustine Courtauld," against the date mentioned, with the addition of the letter " m," indicating that he was a man, or a grown person. His age, as will be seen, must have been about forty-five. His second wife and widow, Esther Potier, was also buried at St Anne's, Esther Potier, Westminster, on the 14th of May 1732, having survived him nearly twenty-six '""""""'^ years. She is of comparatively little interest, so far as this Memoir or the family history are concerned, as the present line does not descend from her. That she was a native of Rochelle is certain, but the character of the entries in which the name of Potier occurs in the records I have examined does not indicate that any of those bearing it were of a superior rank in life. I find her as one of the witnesses to the marriage of James Potier in 171 1, probably a relative (though in his Will, made in 1745, which I have found, he makes no mention of her or the Courtaulds) ; but the signatures of the parties on that occasion, and her own then, 6.^2 The Conrtmild Family. — Colonel Clicsters First Report. 1660-1706. and when she signed the record of her own marriage, are not suggestive of any great degree of refinement or cultivation. Like her son, she left no Will, and we may here dismiss her from further consideration. The history of Julia Giron, the first wife of the first Augustine Courtauld, must be sought for in France, where the marriage doubtless took place, where her son was born, and where she was probably buried. There is scarcely room for a doubt as to any of these points, though the evidence is mainly circumstantial. The only positive testimony is to be found in the fact that her son Augustine, when he applied for the Marriage License for one of his daughters, on the 21st of May 1729, swore that he was then forty-three years of age. This fixes the date of his birth as early as the commencement of the year 1686, and it may have occurred any time after the 21st of May in the preceding year. At all events, the marriage of his parents must have taken place either in 1685, the very year of the revocation of the Edict, or before. We know from his father's Will, that he was the only issue of this marriage, and that within three years of his birth the father married again. It is, of course, only a speculation, but I think only a reasonable one, that the young wife and mother may have fallen a victim to the terrible anxieties of the period, or possibly to the personal hardships she may have been compelled to endure. If we remember that the revocation of the Edict oi Nantes was declared so late in the year 16S5 as the 24th of October, and that the son Augustine was certainly born before the following May, it is not difficult to conjecture that that event may have occurred just at the period when the Protestants were in their greatest distress, and that the mother, sharing in this distress, failed to surmount the perils of maternity. When and where she died, however, I am afraid there is no hope of discovering. She may have attempted flight in company with her husband and child, and perished on the way. He may have gone first to Holland or Germany before coming to England, and her ashes may be reposing in one of those countries. I am assured by a corre- spondent at Rochelle that no record of her burial, and indeed no entry of the name of Courtauld, occurs in the regular Parish Register of St Peter's, in the Isle d'Oleron, during the period from 1680 to 1690; but my impression is that the Protestant Churches before the revocation kept their own records, which would account for such omission. Those records probably were hopelessly lost. That Julia Courtauld, iii^e Giron, did not die in England, seems certain, for I have carefully examined the Burial Registers of all the English parishes in which the French emigres took up their abode, and have failed to find the record of her burial. This fact, in connection with the others already mentioned, and especially that the name of the first Augustine does not appear in the The Conrtauld Family. — Colonel Chesfc/s First Report. 633 records of the French Chapels until the date of his second marriage, when it is 1660-1706. quite clear that he belong-ed to the superior class of emigres, as well in respect to his pecuniary as his social position (for these old records were excellently well kept, and have been remarkably well preserved, and show distinctly the clanship that existed among the different classes), leads me to the conclusion that the founder of the English family reached this country with his infant son some time in the year 1688. That he remarried so soon as the following March, is, I think, a further evidence that his first wife had been some time dead. The discovery of his Will has set at rest several important questions, and was only made after having almost abandoned the search in despair. In fact, the depository from which it was at last exhumed was the very last place in which it could possibly have existed, and one that is very rarely resorted to by the genealogist. We are now prepared to continue the history of the family through the direct line, and proceed to II. Augustine Court.4uld, who was the eldest son of Augustine Courtauld Augusiine the emigre, and the only child by his first wife, Julia Giron. He was born, as has been seen, about the year 1685 or 1686, and probably in the parish of St Peter, in the Isle d'Oleron, the birthplace of his father. Whatever may be the accuracy of the family traditions respecting his infancy, it is safe to say that his advent into life took place amid one of the most important historical religious convulsions that have ever shaken the world, and that he was literally cradled in the tempest. It is, I think, hardly probable that his father would have left behind him his only child, and he an infant; and we may safely con- clude that he reached England with his father about the year 1688. Of his early life there is no record whatever. At his father's death, in 1706, he must No record of his have been about twenty years of age, and, as has been seen, he was not to come into possession of his portion until he should reach the age of twenty-five, unless he previously married with the consent of his mother and uncle, when he was to have it at once. This proviso seems to have been a sort of pre- mium inciting to an early marriage, which appears from the records of the French Chapels to have been the prevailing disposition on the part of the emigres, and Early marriages it is partly on this fact that I have predicated the presumption that father's first marriage was also an early one. (Supposing him to have married Julia Giron about 1685, I have assumed the date of his birth somewhere between 1660 and 1665, so that he would have been from twenty to twenty-five years of age at his marriage.) That the younger Augustine did marry early is certain, but I fear that the precise date of his marriage, and the personal history of 4 L life. French Chapel at Cllelsca lost. 634 Tlie Court anid Family. — Colonel Chester s First Report. 1660-.706. his wife, must for ever remain unknown. I am only able to confirm the family Anne liaidin, his rccords that her name was Anne Bardin. Of her parentage and family the records of the French Chapels fail to give any information, nor have I been able to discover any Wills that afford light on the subject. She is called Anne only in the records of the baptism of her children, and the only absolute proof of her identity is that her husband in his Will mentions his brother and sister Bardin. The name of Bardin occurs but seldom in the French Registers extant, and then those who bore it are described as of Chelsea. Both she and her husband, and several of their children and grandchildren, were buried at Chelsea, and one of their sons was there married. The difficulty I have had to contend with is an insurmountable one, and is simply this : When the Registers of the French Chapels, in common with all other non-parochial registers, were called Register of the in by the Government, and deposited at Somerset House, those of the French Chapel at Chelsea, of all others in the kingdom, alone failed to make their appearance. Those from all the other French Chapels in London and its vicinity, from Canter- bury, Thorpe in Essex, Norwich, Southampton, Plymouth, and Bristol, were brought in, comprising some ninety volumes, many of them immense folios, all of which I have carefully examined. Those from Chelsea alone were missing, and all subsequent efforts to discover them have failed. The Chapel long ago ceased to exist, and the Registers are hopelessly lost. There is not the slightest doubt that in those Registers the history of Anne Bardin and her family would have been found, as well as a number of entries of the Courtauld family ; for, as will be seen hereafter, there are a number of the latter I have been unable to dis- pose of; and as baptisms, marriages, and burials did not take place at any of the other French Chapels, nor in the churches of the parishes in which those chapels were, it is almost a certainty that they did take place at the Chelsea Chapel. Besides the bare records of the baptisms and burials of the children of Augustine Courtauld and Anne Bardin, but little has been learned of them, until we arrive at the Will of the former. Their names often occur in the French Register as sponsors at baptisms, and it is noteworthy that the persons to whose children they stood godparents, and those who performed a similar office to their children, were evidently, from the character of the records, among the superior class of the French residents in London. We may, however, arrive at an approximate date oi their marriage from the data obtained, and a brief enumeration of their children, to be hereafter elaborated, will perhaps best accomplish this end. I place them in this list in the chrono- logical order . in which I think they should stand, affixing the dates of birth or baptism, wherever positively ascertained, thus : — The Courtauld Family. — Colonel Chester s First Report. 635 1. Anne. 2. Esther. 3. Julia, born November 30, 1712. 4. Judith, born July i, 1714. 5. Catherine Renee, born June 13, 1715 6. Peter, born August 2, 17 16. 7. Augustine, baptized July 24, 17 18. 8. Samuel, born September 10, 1720. The earliest birth on record, it will be seen, was that of the daughter Julia, on the 30th of November 171 2. But it is certain that Esther was her elder sister, and almost so that Anne was still older ; and I have therefore placed her first on the list. Esther was married to Stephen Goujon in 1729; and in the Marriage Allegation at the Bishop of London's Registry, dated the 21st of May in that year, she is stated by her father to be seventeen years old and upwards. As Julia would not have been seventeen until the following November, they could not have been twin-sisters, and it follows conclusively that Esther was born somewhere after the 21st of May in the year 1711. There is a possibility that Anne was her twin-sister, but this cannot now be ascertained ; for as neither their baptisms nor the marriage of their parents are to be found else- where, there is litrie doubt that they took place at the Chelsea Chapel, and before the parents finally settled down in St Martin's-in-the-Fields or its vicinity, as the baptisms of all the other children took place at the French Chapel in Leicester Fields. The probability is, however, that the birth of Anne preceded that of Esther, and I base the presumption partly on the ground just stated, but chiefly on the fact that the father in his Will, when mentioning his two daughters Anne and Esther, invariably names the former first ; and the fact that, as an almost universal and most natural practice, testators thus give precedency to their children in chronological order, warrants us in accepting the conclusion that in this case the precedence was naturally given to Anne because she was the eldest of the two daughters named. Under this view of the case, Anne must have been born no later than the early part of 1710, and the marriage of her parents, Augustine Courtauld and Anne Bardin, must therefore have occurred sometime in the year 1709, if not earlier (possibly even before that of his brother Peter), and almost certainly at the French Chapel in Chelsea, where the Bardins lived. \Vc will now examine more particularly the history of each of these children. I. Anne, as has been said, was probably the eldest child,, and naturally iiis daughter received the Christian name of her mother. She was doubtless born early in the i'h""^rcwilj'' 1660-1706. His children. 636 The Courtaiild Family. — Colonel Chester's First Report. ,60-1706. year 1710, and both baptized and married at the French Chapel in Chelsea; for I can find no record of either event elsewhere, and no approximate date of the latter. Her husband's name was John Jacob, but I find no particulars of him, and in only one instance is his residence given. In the baptismal record of one of their children, in 1750, he is described as of St Martin's-in-the-Fields. The baptisms of seven of their children are on record in the French Registers; and if there were none earlier, the marriage did not take place until the year 1738 or 1739. The children were as follows: — Anne, born the 12th and baptized the i6th December 1739, at the Leicester Fields Church, her sponsors being Augustine Courtauld and Esther Goujon, doubtless her grandfather and her aunt; Susan and Judith, twins, born and baptized the 5th of April 1741, at the French Chapel in the Savoy (or, more probably, at home, by the minister of that chapel), their sponsors being John and Anne Jacob (the parents), Stephen Goujon (their uncle),, and Judith Courtauld (their aunt) ; John, born the loth and baptized the i6th January 1742-43, at the French Chapel in the Savoy, his sponsors being Augustine Courtauld (the grandfather), John Jacob (the father), and Renee Bardin (probably the mother of uncle Augustine's wife) ; Samuel, born the 6th and baptized the 15th July 1744, at the French Chapel in the Savoy, his sponsors being Samuel Courtauld (his uncle), and John Jacob and Renee Bardin (as in the last instance); Augustine, born the 2d and baptized the 7th December 1747, at the church in Leicester Fields, his sponsors being his grandfather, Augustine Courtauld, and his aunt, Judith Courtauld; and Samuel (the second of that name, the former having evidently died young), born the i8th and baptized the 22d of July 1750, at the French Chapel in the Savoy, his sponsors being John Bardin, Augustine Courtauld, and Louisa Perina Courtauld. (One of the daughters is said in the family papers to have subsequently married a Mr Cowles, a partner in business with Mrs Louisa Perina Courtauld, widow of Samuel Courtauld, their uncle.) When or where the parents died has not been ascertained. In his Will, dated the 13th March 1751, her father, Augustine Courtauld, bequeathed to her and her issue one-fifth ot the residue of his estate, having formerly given her ^^400 as a portion. She was godmother to her nephew Samuel Courtauld on the 25th October 1752, and he appears to have been godfather to George Courtauld on the Sth October 1761. His daugliter 2. Esther, probably the second child of Augustine Courtauld and Anne Bardin, E^tlier. . , ^ and born m the latter part of the year 1711. She was named, doubtless, after her father's stepmother, then living. She was married, in her eighteenth year, to Stephen Goujon, who is described in the Marriage Allegation as of St Anne's, Westminster, aged thirty-three, and a widower. From the French Registers I find that the Christian name of his first wife was Marianne, and the The Coiirtanhi Family. — Colonel C/icslc/s First Report. 637 births of six of their children are recorded, the earliest being the 25th of March lesc^iyoe. 1719, and the latest the 17th of March 172S, shortly after which the mother must have died, as the License to marry Esther Courtauld was granted on the 2ist of May 1729. In this License she is called of St Martin's-in-the-Fields, and a spinster, aged seventeen years and upwards, and is to marry with the consent of her father, Augustine Courtauld, of St Martin's-in-the-Fields, who declares his own age to be forty-three. The License authorised them to be married in the French Chapel at Chelsea, where the ceremony of course took place. I find the records of eight of their children, all of whom were baptized at the French Church in Leicester Fields. As the earliest date is four years after the marriage, it is possible that there were others who were baptized elsewhere. Those of whom there is any record are as follows: — Anne, born the 13th and baptized His daughter the 27th May 1733, and buried at St Anne's, Westminster, loth April 1739; Esther, born 28th January and baptized nth February 1736-37; Samuel, born 20th May and baptized 6th June 1738, his aunt Judith Courtauld being his godmother (he was subsequently married, i8th June 1764, at St Anne's, Westminster, to Dorothy White, spinster, of Christ Church, London) ; John and James, twins, born 2 1 St and baptized 30th September 1740; Stephen, born 12th and baptized 27th February 1742-43, and buried at St Anne's, Westminster, 17th September 1747; Augustine, born nth and baptized 23d September 1744; and Judith, born 5th and baptized 8th July 1746. (One of the daughters is said in the Courtauld family papers to have subsequently married the Rev. Mr. Attwood.) The Goujons were living in Gerrard Street, Soho, in 1739 and 1747, when their two children were buried, and also at the death of the mother, Esther Goujon, nee Courtauld, who was buried at St Anne's, Westminster, 28th August 1763. Her husband did not long survive her, as he was also buried there on the 12th April 1764, but is described in the Register as of St George's, Queen Square. He had probably removed into Bloomsbury after the death of his wife. He was a joint trustee and executor under the will of his father-in-law, Augustine Courtauld, in 1751, whose entire confidence he seems to have possessed. I find among the French records the names of Simon Goujon, Chateau d'Oleron in La Ouge, and his wife Mary, m'c Blanchet, which may perhaps furnish the clew to his origin. 3. J-ulicj. the third child of Augustine Courtauld and Anne Bardin, and pro- His daughter bably named after her own grandmother, Julia Giron, was born the 12th and baptized the 30th November 1712, at the French Church in Leicester Fields. Her sponsors were Mr John Bardin and Mile. Renee Aveline (who will be men- tioned again hereafter). She probably died young, certainly before her father, and the record of her burial was doubtless in the missing Register of the Chelsea Chapel. 638 Tlic Courtauhi Family. — Colonel CJicstcrs First Report. i I IS daughter L'atherine Renti 1660-1706. ^. yuditii, evidently named after her uncle Peter Courtauld's wife, Judith Hi|.d^nsii<=^'' (Pantin), who was her godmother, was born on the ist of July 17 14, and was baptized in that year in the Leicester Fields Chapel, but the precise date of the ceremony was omitted in the record. Her godfather was Mr Stephen Riboleau. In the family papers she is said to have died in London from having been acci- dentally burned, and unmarried. She was certainly living at the date of her father's Will, 13th March 1750-51, when he bequeathed to her specifically ^400, to make her portion equal to those already given to her brothers and sisters, also all his furniture and linen, and a diamond ring, and generally one-fifth of the entire residue of his estate. It is also probable that she was godmother to her nephew Lewis Courtauld, 15th August 1758. 5. Cat/icrinc Rende was born the 13th June 171 5, and baptized the same year (but the precise date again omitted) at the Leicester Fields Church. Her god- father was Augustine Courtauld, doubtless her own father, and her godmother was Renee Bardin, whom I take to be the same person as Mile. Renee Aveline, who was also godmother to her sister Julia, and of whom I shall speak again. This daughter I suppose to have been buried at the parish church of Chelsea on the 15th February 1736-37, after interments had ceased at the French Chapel, as Catherine Courtauld — her second name (Renee) being omitted in the Register. The name Catherine, probably derived from the Bardins, occurs in no other instance in the pedigree at that period, and seems, as she was certainly dead before 1751, to establish her identity. 6. Peter, the sixth child, but eldest son, of Augustine Courtauld and Anne Bardin, and bearing the name of his uncle and great-uncle, was born the 2d and baptized the 6th of August 1716, at the Leicester Fields Church. His sponsors were Peter Riboleau (after whom he may have been directly named) and Marianne Thomas. He evidently also died young, and was probably buried at the Chelsea Chapel. 7. Aiipusiiiie, named, of course, in honour of his father and grandfather, was baptized at the church in Leicester Fields on the 24th of July 1718. The date of his birth was omitted in the Register. His sponsors were Jacob de Milon and Jane Riboleau. He was married at the parish church of Chelsea on the 19th March 1748-49, when over thirty years of age, to Jane Bardin, both being described in the Register as single persons, he of St-Martin's-in-the-Fields, and she of Chelsea. The Marriage Allegation in the Faculty Office confirms these particulars, and is dated on the 17th of the same month. From various evidences gleaned from the French Registers, it is certain that she was the daughter of John and Renee Bardin, and the latter I believe to be identical with Mile. Renee Aveline, who was the god- His son Peter. The Courtaiild Family. — Colonel Chester's First Report. 639 mother of Julia, the third child of Augustine and Anne Courtauld, and of her 1660-1706. sister Catherine Renee, she having in the meantime married John Bardin. This John Bardin was clearly a brother of Anne, the wife of the second Augustine Courtauld, and hence the Augustine Courtauld and Jane Bardin married at Chelsea in 1748-49 were own cousins. I find the baptisms of two of their children at the Leicester Fields Church — viz., Anne, born 27th February, and baptized 4th March 1749-50; and Catherine, born 29th August, and baptized 24th September 1752. (Catherine is said in the family papers to have married a Mr Latter, and to have had a daughter, Catherine.) Augustine Courtauld is mentioned in his father's Will, 13th March 1750-51, as a residuary legatee of one-fifth of the estate, having already had a portion of ^400; but after this date I have been unable to obtain any information respecting him or his family. 8. Samuel, as he continued the direct line, will be noticed more particularly hereafter. Of these eight children of Augustine Courtauld and Anne Bardin, five were still living at the time of the deaths of their parents, which 'occurred within three weeks of each other. On the 13th March 1751 the father made his Will ; on the 26th of the same month his wife was buried, and on the following 14th of April he was himself buried, both in the parish church or churchyard of Chelsea. The Parish Register simply records their names, Anne Courtauld and Augustine Cour- tauld. In his Will he describes himself as of St-Martins-in-the-Fields, and a gold- smith. It will perhaps be noticed that he does not mention his wife, although she was apparently living at its date. There are several ways of accounting for this discrepancy, but the most reasonable presumption is that she was actually dead on the 13th March, though for some reason not interred at Chelsea until the 26th, perhaps having been temporarily deposited in the vault at St Martin's in anticipa- tion of his own speedy dissolution. The contents of his Will have been generally recited already, and an office copy is attached to this Memoir, but I give a full abstract here. He recites that he had already given to his two daughters, Anne, His wiii, wife of John Jacob, and Esther, wife of Stephen Goujon, each /400, the same sum to his son Augustine, and a like sum to his son Samuel, in addition to all his utensils and patterns belonging to and used in his trade and business ; and now, in order to put all his children as nearly as possible on an equality, he gives his daughter Judith, then unmarried, /'400, all his furniture and linen, and a diamond ring : he gives to the Elders of the P'rench Church in Orange Street, commonly called Leicester I-'ields Church, ^10, for the poor of that church: he gives to his nephew Peter Courtauld £\o. and all his linen and woollen wearing apparel, and to each and every other of his nephews and nieces of the name of Courtauld, £1 : he gives mourning rings to his brother and sister Bardin, his cousins Peter and Augustine Courtauld, Mrs Thomas, and Mrs Peter Roubeleau : he gives to 640 Tlie Courtauld Family. — Colonel Chester's First Report. 1660-1706, his maid-servant who shall be with him at the time of his decease: he then divides the entire residue of his estate, whatsoever and wheresoever, after the payment of his just debts and funeral expenses, into five equal parts, giving one each to his sons Augustine and Samuel and his daughter Judith absolutely, and the two others to his son Samuel and his son-in-law Stephen Goujon, in trust for his other two daughters, Anne Jacob and Esther Goujon, and their children. He appoints as joint executors his said son Samuel, and son-in-law Stephen Goujon, and they proved the Will on the 13th of April 1751, the day before he was buried, in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. From the character of his Will he seems to have done well with the portion left him by his own father, and to have acquired a considerable estate, for even the ^2000 bestowed in portions on his children was a very considerable sum in those days, and the business in which he was engaged was at that time one of great respectability and profit, the goldsmiths generally being private bankers as well. His age at his death was about sixty-five. We will now pursue the family history through his eighth, and apparently youngest child, viz. : — Samuel Courtauld. III. Samuel Courtauld, who was born the loth and baptized the 13th September 1720 (not 1 72 1, as in the family records), at the French Church in Orange Street, commonly called Leicester Fields Church. He was the first ancestor of the present family who was of English birth. His sponsors were Samuel Aveline and Catherine Blanchard. Of the latter I know nothing. The former, from whom the Christian name, Samuel, was evidently derived, and now first introduced into the family, I suppose to have been a brother of Renee Aveline, heretofore men- tioned, who married John Bardin. The name occurs often in similar instances, and there appears to have been great intimacy between the two families of Courtauld and Aveline. Samuel Courtauld did not imitate his predecessors by marrying early, for that event in his life did not occur till he was nearly twenty- nine years of age. A curious incident in his personal history developed itself accidentally while pursuing my researches. On the 18th January 1748-49, he obtained a License to marry one Elizabeth Chase. In the Marriage Allegation at the Bishop of London's Registry, sworn to by himself, she is described as of St James's, Westminster, and a spinster, aged twenty-one and upwards, and they were to marry, either at St James's, Westminster, St Martin's-in-the-Fields, or the Chapel Royal of St James. The marriage was not, however, solemnised at either place, but was abandoned from some cause which might be interesting to know, but which it will probably be ever impossible to discover. He does not appear to have taken his disappointment too seriously, for only seven months later, namely, The Coiti'tauld Family. — Colonel Chester s First Report. 641 on the 28th August 1749, he filed another Allegation in the same ofBce to the ,660-1706^ effect that he intended to marry Louisa Perina Ozier, of the Liberty of Norton i,oimaM„a Folgate, a spinster, aged twenty years and upwards, with the consent of Peter Ozier, her brother, and testamentary guardian under the Will of Peter Ozier, her father, deceased. They were authorised to marry either at St Luke's, St Leonard's, Shoreditch, or St Mary's, Islington, and on this occasion the former contretemps was not repeated, for they were married at St Luke's, Old Street, three days after, viz., on the 31st August 1749. In the Parish Register of St Luke's his name is registered as Cour/auld, but hers is given correctly, and there is, of course, no doubt as to their identity. In both of these Marriage Allegations he described himself as of St Martin's-in-the-Fields, and a bachelor, aged twenty- eight, which was strictly correct in both instances, as he would not have been twenty-nine until the following 13th of September. It is evident that he succeeded to his father's business, one of whose executors he was, and remained at St Martin's-in-the-Fields until about 1751, for his first child was baptized at the Leicester Fields Church in 1750, and his second at the French Church in Thread- needle Street in 1752, between which dates he probably removed into the parish of St Michael's, Cornhill, where he remained until his death in 1765. His wife, Louisa Perina Ozier, as is confirmed by the French Reo-isters, was born in Poitou, probably at Sigournay in that province, in 1729, and was the fourth daughter and ninth and youngest child of Peter Ozier, by his wife, Catherine Rabaud. Some members of her family appear to have been in this country as early as 1716, but her father evidently did not arrive with his younger children until after 1 730. Most of the family settled in Spitalfields, but the father, with his unmarried children, in Norton Folgate, where he died about the loth of December 1740. His widow is said to have died in London in 1745. He de- scribes himself in his Will as a " silk weaver." Louisa Perina (who is invariably called Louisa only in the Will, though the double names of the other children are always scrupulously given), in common with her eight brothers and sisters, received a portion of ^250, besides an equal portion in the division of his estate, real and personal, all of which was to be converted into money and invested in the public funds, or some other good securities. The issue of Samuel Courtauld and Louisa Perina Ozier were as follows :— I. Augustine, who was born the 26th and baptized the 31st August 1750, at the Leicester Fields Church. His sponsors were his grandfather, Augustine Courtauld (doubtless the last time he officiated in this capacity, as he died the following April), and Elizabeth Ozier, the wife of Peter Ozier, the child's uncle. This child survived its birth only a few dajs, and was buried on the 7th of September follow- ing in the parish church or churchyard of Chelsea. 4 M 642 TIic Coiirtauld Family. — Colojiel Chester's First Report. 1660-1706. 2. Samuel, who was born the 20th and baptized the 25th of October 1752, at the French Church hi Threadneedle Street. His sponsors were Peter Ozier (his uncle) and Anne Jacob (his aunt). He subsequently established himself in the United States of America as a merchant, and died in the year 1821, near the town of Wilmington, in the State of Delaware. He was twice married, and by his second wife, Sarah Norris Wharton, a member of one of the best families in the city of Philadelphia, and the widow of Dr Tollman, an eminent physician of the State of New Jersey, had three daughters. The mother was born in the year 1772, and died in 1836. The history of the daughters may be thus briefly stated : — 1. Louisa, born 7th October 1800, died unmarried in Philadelphia, 27th August i860. 2. Amelia, born loth August 1S03. After the death of her younger sister, Sarah, she was married to her husband (an alliance thoroughly recognised by the American laws), but had no issue. 3. Sarah, born 15th February 1806, married Milton Smith, Esq., of the city of Philadelphia, by whom she had several children, some of whom, with their issue, are now living in that city. She died 7th October 1841, and her husband remarried her sister Amelia, as before stated. 3. Louisa, the third child and eldest daughter of Samuel and Louisa Perina Courtauld, was born the 9th and baptized the 17th of March 1754, at the French Church in Threadneedle Street. Her sponsors were Mr Stephen Goujon (her uncle) and Mrs Marianne Jane Julien (her aunt). She died young, and was buried at Chelsea on the 8th of July 1756. 4. Esther, the fourth child and second daughter, was born the i6th and baptized the 24th February 1757, at the French Church in Threadneedle Street, her sponsors being Mr Thomas Abraham Ozier (her mother's brother) and Mrs Esther Goujon (her father's sister). She also died young, but the exact date and the place of her burial have not yet been discovered. 5. Letois, the fifth child and third son, was born the 5th and baptized the 15th August 1758, at the French Church in Threadneedle Street, his sponsors being Mr Lewis Ozier (his mother's brother, from whom he evidently took her name) and Mrs Judith Courtauld (his father's sister). He also died young. 6. Catlierine, the sixth child and third daughter, was born in Cornhill the 7th and baptized at the French Church in Threadneedle Street the 2 2d April 1760. Her sponsors were Mr Giles Godin (whom I suppose to have been the husband of Elizabeth Ozier, daughter of Peter Ozier, the eldest brother of Louisa Perina Ozier- Courtauld) and Frances Catherine Merzeau (her mother's sister). She was married at George Conrtanld. 643 Hackney, on the 27th of January 1783, to William Taylor, Esq. (p. 589). The 17'Ji-iS-j direct line, as has been stated, was continued through the seventh child, and fourth but second surviving son, viz. : — IV. George Courtauld, who was born in CornhiU on the 19th of September, George Counimw. and baptized at the French Church in Threadneedle Street on the 8th of October 1 761. I find no record of his early life, except that he signed the Marriage and Baptismal Registers of " L'Eglise de la Patente " (the old French Chapel in Brown's Lane, Spitalfields) as "Secretaire," from the 25th February 1784 to the 30th September 17S5. Shortly after this period he went to the United States of Goes to the i\ ■ IT .1 , , _ , United States of America, where he was married, on the loth July 1789, to Ruth Minton, a native America, of Cork, in Ireland. (According to the family records, this marriage took place Mtoon.'^'"''' " at the house of Mr Cornelius Cayler on the Mohawk River, in the State of New York," which is rather an indefinite description, as the Mohawk River is 135 miles long, and runs through several counties.) Ruth Minton was the third child and only daughter of Stephen Minton of Cork, by his second wife, Eliza William- son,* and was born October 4, 1761. George Courtauld, "after a life of most varied enterprise in America and in England, invested what property he finally ound himself possessed of in the purchase of lands in the Western (United) States, and died as he was about to introduce the growth and manufacture of silk into the State of Ohio. He was a man of great power of character and of great philan- His character, thropy, and it is said of him that "in all his path through life he left a track of light behind him." He died on the 13th of August 1823, at the city of Pittsburg, in the State of Pennsylvania, and was there buried. His widow survived him until the 24th November 1853, when she died at High Garret, in Becking, Essex, at the age of ninety-two, and was buried in the Gosfield vault. \Here ends Colonel Chcstei^s First Report. '\ I am fortunate in having obtained some further particulars of my grandfather George Courtauld, from his daughter Sophia Courtauld, under the title of "Recollections uf my Father, 1874." After some years of varied enterprise in .\merica, George Courtauld left that country for England in about 1794, with his wife and their two children, Louisa Perina, then three years, and Samuel, one year old. He returned to England to engage in the silk business in connection with Mr Noailles, at • In regard to this family, see p. 4:8. 644 George Courtaiild. 1761-1S23. Seven Oaks in Kent. He remained there till about the year 1798, when, in connection with Mr Witts, he undertook to establish and conduct a silk business at Pebrnarsh, in Essex, building factory, dwelling-houses, and cottages for workpeople, and turning a wilderness into a scene of tasteful comfort and extended usefulness. Until these works were completed he lived at Sudbury in Suffolk. He re- mained at Pebmarsh till about 1S09, when he engaged in partnership with Mr Joseph Wilson of Highbury, London, and establislied a silk business on a much larger scale than heretofore at Braintree, again erecting dwelling-house and e.Ktensive factory buildings. After some years of partnership, Utigation of an extraordinary and long-protracted character arose between the partners, in which an adverse verdict, under the peculiar circumstances of the case, would have been absolute ruin ; the jury, how- ever, awaidcd ,-^5000 to our father, and released him from the burden of a large number of apprentices, who had been articled to him individually. This lawsuit, which created warm interest in the neighbourhood, was concluded in, I think, 1817, when the partnership was dissolved. His personal thought for and care of the children apprenticed to him, for whom he always provided an intelligent and educated matron, were very characteristic, and their instruction and health were ever objects of his earnest thought and care. He had much mechanical genius; and as early as 1793 or 1794, he was interesting himself in the application of steam as a pro- pelling power. He made many improvements in machinery, for some of which he took out patents. He had from early youth been radical in his political opinions, and indeed held republican principles ; and being again free to choose his path, he in, I think, 1819, at the age of fifty-nine, once more turned his steps to tlie United States of America, whither he went alone, intending to purchase land wherever it might seem most advantageous for the carrying out of a project he had of forming an association for the union of capital and labour on terms mutually advantageous. He purchased large tracts of unculti- vated land in the State of Ohio, near the town of Marietta, and returned to England early in, I think, 1820, to organise the society, and to take over his family. On his homeward journey he went the whole distance from the Ohio River to New Orleans alone in a little skiff, navigating the Mississippi, a difficult and dangerous river, especially to those unacquainted ^A'ith its peculiarities, his only guide being a little painted chart. He arrived in New Orleans in safety, after facing and surmounting many difiiculties and some dangers with his indomitable courage and inexhaustible buoyancy of spirit. The long voyage, without companion or helper, in so frail a vessel, through hundreds of miles in unbroken solitude, would have overpowered a less dauntless spirit. He arrived in England early in the year (I think) 1820, and with the help of his eldest son, Samuel, organised the association he hoped to establisli in the United States. Several persons, and some families of different ranks in life, joined the association, and in August 1820 sailed with him and most of his family from London to Philadelphia; only two of the intended members of the association proceeded with him to Ohio, therefore the whole plan fell through. Much hardship and many difiiculties were encountered by him, and those of his family with him, alone in " the forest primeval," which were greatly increased by three years of almost unexampled sickness throughout the Union. All the family suffered severely from fever and ague, and from the fever of the country, which was of the type of yellow fever, though not so malignant. To this fever he fell a victim, August 13, 1823, while on a visit to the Bakewell family in Pittsburg, with his youngest daughter, Sophia, who only of all his family was privileged to be with him during his short illness of one week, and to follow him to his grave, far from family and friends. His remains were removed from this city many years afterwards to the Alleghany Cemetery, near Pittsburg (by the Bakewell family), as soon as it was formed, and interred in the enclosure appropriated to them. George Courtauld, the subject of this slight sketch, was a man of great force of character, and was animated with a warm and enlightened philanthropy. A saying of him has already been quoted, that in all his path through life he left a track of light behind him. He was energetic and indefatig- able, both as worker and thinker, habitually rising at four in the morning, or even earlier ; and although with multifarious affairs ever on hand and in brain, he always began the day by giving some time to devotional duties. While entering with the ardour and warmth of his temperament into all the questions of the day affecting the development and progress of humanity, he had a truly religious George Coiu'taitld. 645 spirit. He was the pupil of Dr Price. He was himself a Unitarian, always fearlessly following trutli, '7^1 in full conviction that every truth gained was a step in approach to tlie infinite Source of all truth. The majesty of truth reigned over his whole being, guiding thought, word, and deed, in absoUite simplicity and singleness of heart and mind. He was the most placable of men ; even when suffering from injustice and duplicity, although feeling at the time very keenly, he could not endure, the action once past, to retain any resentful sense of injury on his mind. His spirit threw it ofif in forgiveness of the wrong, and was again clear and bright, and restored to itself. The same beautiful spirit was unfail- ingly manifested in his hastening to acknowledge any unconsidered word or hasty action, even to his own children, who venerated and loved him all the more, even at an early age, for this rare candour, humility, and generosity. Griffith in her defence of Wolsey says — "Men's evil mcinnei-s live in brass ; tlieir virtues We write in water." The saying might truly be reversed for my father; lie let men's virtues live in brass, their evil deeds he wrote in water. In all his changes of residence he was held in high esteem and affection by a wide circle of friends, entering into closer and more enduring friendships than is often given to men so much engrossed in the active business of life to enjoy. In the family circle, his bright, active, genial, enjoying spirit gave a warm living interest to all tlie concerns of everyday life. He was the friend and companion of his children ; all affairs were considered and consulted upon with those of the firmily of an age to understand the subjects under discussion, and he was peculiarly open to the ideas of others. Every little circumstance and incident was brought under the light of principle, and thus made steps onward, upward. In his intimate, unreserved intercourse with his cliildren, he imparted witli the utmost simplicity his earnest, truthful, nobleness of heart and mind. In all things he strove to attain to the most perfect, and would never allow his children to rest m " That will do." " If you can accomplish better, never say ' that will do,' " was his constant reply ; therefore indolent mediocrity found no favour with him. Strong and most tender affection, clear and powerful intellect, high principle, carried into all the affairs of life, with firm and unswerving courage, these, added to indomitable energy and activity of mind, formed a character to love and revere in no common degree. The following extract is from a letter written by his eldest son, Samuel, to a distant relative in 1816, during the long and wearing contest of his father with his partner Mr Wilson : — " I wish I could shew you my father, how godlike he bears, & acts and resolves ; with what heroic constancy of purpose, with what intrepedity of soul, with what tenderness of heart, cheerfulness of spirit & pious resignation : how much humility he joins to such inflexible determination ; how much softness of heart, with so much firmness of soul, & occasionally, of late indeed but rarely, easy playfulness of feeling.*' I am sorry to have so few of his letters at my disposal : the two which will be found pp. 647 and 648, written to the Rev. Henry Taylor of Banstead, are very inter- esting. It is matter also for ret^ret that I have not the materials for an)- important account of his wife, my grandmother. I have no doubt that enough exist, from which an interesting record might be written. To me she was always most affec- tionate and kind. She was an only daughter, and, as I have heard, much thought of and admired ; well read in, and fond of quoting our old poets. The change from the free, and probably somewhat lavish, life of an Irish country gentleman's 646 George Couj'taiild. 170^-1823. establishment, to the difficulties and trials of her American sojourn, and afterwards to the life in England, in somewhat straitened circumstances, must have been a severe trial. After her husband's death, she lived with her daughter, Mrs Ash, at Halstead ; and after the death of Mr Ash, in 185 1, they removed to High Garrett, where, as stated in Colonel Chester's narrative (p. 643), she died, at the great .age of ninety-two. Two letters from her to my mother will be found p. 650, the one expressing a wish to see her new-come grandson (myself), and one giving a picture of an Irish christening " sixty years since." The cliildren of George and Ruth Courtauld were — Born. Married. A son 24tli Mciy 17(^0, in tlic State of New York. Died the day he was born, viz., 24th May 1790. Louisa Perina, 28th May 1 791, near Johnstown, in the State of New York. June 1842, at the Lodge, Nel- sonville, Athens, Co. Ohio, Abraham Clemens ; no issue. Living in 1S75. Samuel, ist June 1793, at the city of Albany, State of New York. 4th July 1 82 2. Ellen Taylor, their only child, died an infant. Living in 1875. Catherine, 22d November 179s, at Seven Oaks, Kent. loth September 1818, Peter Alfred Taylor ; has issue. Living in 1875. Eliza Maria, 22d May 1797, at Cork, Ireland. i6th November 1S21, at New Lancaster, Ohio, Joseph Thomas Paul Ash ; their children all died infants. Living in 1875. Sophia, nth August 1799, at Sudbury, Suffolk. Living in 1875. George, 24th May 1802, at Pebrnarsh, Essex. 23d April 1829, Susannah Sewell ; has issue. Died 17th April 1861. Buried at Gosfield. John Minton, 24th August 1807, at Pebmarsh, Esse.x. 9th December 1837, Sarah Bromley ; has issue. Living in 1875. George Court anld. — Correspondence. 647 'iNo date;— from George Coiirtanld to the Rev. Henry Taylor 0/ Banstead.'] Tlie Rev" M' Henry Taylor At M' Corbyn's Parchment Street Winchester Hants [Endorsed— ]m 1793.] Dear Harry I was sincerely sorry to hear of your loss of our Friend Peter. From a peculiar agreeable- ness of manners & honest warmth of Friendliness I believe few Men were more universally belov'd When Old Folks die, the Young & middle ag'd look upon it as a thing of course, but which scarcely concerns them— but when those of our own Age drop off, & suddenly as well as unexpectedly, we are irresistable led to feel that we also may soon die. Poor D' Price is gone too — Much did I love him — Highly do I revere his Memory Tho' a Man greatly respectable for Learning & Abilities, yet in these I believe he was excell'd by many — but in Sterling Virtue, Unaffected Piety, Gentleness of Temper, Warm & Universal Benevolence— in ev'ry real praiseworthiness of Character I think with you, there are few who equal him. It must have been a great satisfaction to him to percieve the cause of Liberty was in so flourishing a State before he died, his heart was so warmly engag'd in it, that he might sing with Simeon y= Nunc Dimittis — That he was eminently useful in bringing ab' the Amer : Revol — there is no doubt; & that y" Rev: has produc'd all the succeed^ ones in favour of Liberty appears I think evidently. You ask whether we are all peaceable & United in America, or whether we wish to return to y" former Governm' under your Sovereign Lord the King of G' Brit" in short you ask whcdi' we are run": mad. That we are not wise enough to agree perfectly in all points is very true, tho' considering the great extent of Territory settled by such a Variety of People, who have so many different & sometimes opposite Interests we do extremely well owing to our State Governments not being very materially bad, & our Federal Government sound & vigorous — but we are not foolish or mad enough, I can assure you to wish to be govern'd by George 3"", his Ministry, or Parliament. The Americans hold Monarchy in sovereign contempt, & can hardly avoid looking down with Pity upon those People who pay homage to the Person or Name of a King. The enlighten'd part of Europe have long been convinc'd that absolute Monarchy is a great Evil, I hope the time is near at hand, when they will become persuaded that all Monarchy is Evil, that ev'ry hereditary Governm' is & ever will be ridicu- lous, till .Men can find the means to make Virtue & Abilities hereditary also : — & even then it would be wrong, because our Posterity may not agree with us as to the Standard of Virtues & Abilities, we might chuse for their Governors — & why should they not chuse for themselves? No my good friend, the Americans are in no danger of petitioning for a King to Rule over them, they experienced under George y° 3"' that Kingly Govem' was an evil, & since the revol" they have experienced that it is an Unnecessary one. For I believe never did a country thrive faster than the United States have done for these last 3 years Ijerhaps there never was a Comitry more happily circumstanc'd — If the French do but succeed in estab- lish^ a free Governm' for themselves, what a noble Footing will Liberty then have in Europe .A.las poor M' Burke what will he do— he never could survive the firm establishm' of a Republican Governm' in France. But pray what do you who are much better inform'd than I can be here in y" Woods, think of Fayette, the old National Assembly, & the present Jacobin party— Many here highly blame Fayette some even abuse him as a Traitor, Villain &c but I have heard nothing yet : to alter the favorable impression 1 first receiv'd of him. 'Tis true he wished to retain the form of Monarchy, probably in order to prevent if possible the active interference of other European powers. there was enough to be done within themselves & it was certainly prudent to keep all quiet around them almost by any Means— However now the whole People seem roused & enlightn'd I have great hopes they will carry their Point, ag* all the Kings & Emperors in the World. — & glad I am that the King is likely to have nothing to do with the Government I am not fond of half measures, (if they can be avoided) in the business of Reforms. & the French seem to be of the same way of thinking. Instead of a total 648 George Court aiild. — Correspondence. 1761-1S23. Revolution, had the Patriots of France attempted a partial Reform, it is I think certain they could have done nothing of consequence — the People w'' not have been rouz'd to have help'd themselves with the same degree of Spirit & they would have had all the Powers of Goverment ag' them. When a Government has become very corrupt, it is I apprehend far easier to destroy it utterly & form a New One, than sufficiently to amend the Old one by gradual Reform — For how many years have the Friends of Liberty in Engl"" been attempt^ to bring about a Reform in the Representation, & a shorter duration of Parliaments— & what have they done ? Little or Nothing. I believe the latter is very near the truth — & I hardly expect anything to the purpose will ever be done till you have recourse to first Principles til! the Wisdom of the Nation shall unite in forming a Constitution & a Mode of Government approved by at least a Majority of the People — at present I cannot but think with M' Payne that you have no Consti/utmi—yoM have indeed a form of Governm' but how you came by that, is very difficult to say — certainly it was not that Form which after mature deliberation the People of England chose for themselves I have just receiv'd the weekly Albany Paper, which mentions the g' success of the French ag' the Germans in Oct' publick rejoicings are s*" to have taken place in several of our Cities on the occasion & we do hope soon to see the French quietly settled enjoying the fruits of their labors — The Irish it is expected here will not be long behind them — England I hope will not remain asleep when all the World about her is awaking to reason &: common Sense — Do the English still say We are well why should we risk a change — Oh Harry did they see how the laboring People (who are the Bulk of evry Nation) live & thrive, & enjoy themselves here, — they would not think themselves well of In Engl"* if a Man has neither Friends nor Money he may rise early & go to Bed late, & eat the bread of Carefulness & he will still be poor all his life. — but here a common laborer — a poor & friendless Man if he rises early, he may go soon to Bed, may live a little carelessly, & take a chearful glass & be still grow» richer ev'ry week. — he will soon have both money & Friends & may if he pleases die rich. — Adopt a cheaper Governm' you may then lessen your Taxes, & the Industrious laborer may live well, as he does in America. May God bless old Eng"* in a Polit' Sense she is corrupt & abominable — but I love her private character, — & her Manners are congenial to my own. Adieu. Rememb' me very affectionately to M" P. & Nancy (who I understand live at Titchf) & to all the Taylors & Dranes when you see them. Till now I had forgot to notice your congratulations on my marriage for which I thank you, & must in return inform you of my young family — the first was a Boy — dead — the second is a Girl, alive & well — the third whether 'tis a Boy or Girl, — alive or dead — well or ill — I know not — however the Mother is in good health, so Time will perhaps reveal those secrets — again Farewell accept my best wishes for your happiness & believe me affectionately yours George Courtauld. \From George Coiti-t'Mdd to the Rev. Henry Taylor of Banstead.'\ The Rev" M' H. Taylor Parchment Street Winchester Aug 17. 1794 Dear Harrv, ' I am sorry I could not have the pleasure of seeing you before I left London ; however you will no doubt occasionally have business in Town. And it may sometimes happen that you may be inclin'd to take a Trip to Seven Oaks in Kent. — the ride is extremely pleasant, thro' a fine Country thickly strewd with Noblemen's Seats ; — which tho' not in my opinion a desirable circumstance or in the least advantageous to the Country at large, contributes greatly to embellish the Landscape, when you arrive at Seven Oaks in order to find George Courtauld (who is almost lost in such a mob of Gentry) you must enquire for Greatness, the name of the spot where my Principal (M' Nouaille) resides, it lies I J Mile about N.W. from 7 Oaks : when you shall have reached the Village (& not before) you may enquire with Success for my house. Its appearance will not alarm you by its stateliness — however it makes a tidy little dwelling — I am sure you need not be told that you will be heartily welcome to the best it can afford. George Coiirtanld. — Correspondence. 649 I have a Copy of the Federahst the same Edition as tliat you have seen whicli as I could not 1761-1S23. obtain a better, I intended for you— but as I find you have the Copy I left for you at Williams, I shall not press your acceptance of this, having no other for myself. From what I have experienced of my new Situation, there is I think a probability (if the Nation keeps Its legs) that it may answer my purpose — however as all human events are uncertain, & especially as I consider the state of Europe as very unsettled—I have retained my Farm in America, which as it is rented for certain Improvements to be made, will every year be more valuable. The Farmer has from me a lease for 8 years ; but by the payment of about 60 Guineas I may reenter at the expiration of 5 years.— & in that time the Farm (which consists of 300 acres) will be in a high state of Improvement for that Woody Country. I have also 300 Ac' of Land in the State of Kentucky which must improve in Value in the same proportion with other Lands in that back Country. It does not I believe admit of a doubt, but that America is at this day, the most desirable Country in the World. — I saw D' Priestly the day before I left New York, he was receiv'd as you may imagine with every mark of respectful Attention, he told me he should remove in a few days to Philadelphia, that his Sons were establish" a Settlem' in the back Country of the State of Pensylvania, & he purpos'd living near the land he had purchas'd. I do not suppose the D' will thoroughly enjoy the Com- pany he will there meet with — for tho' he is no doubt a very respectable Character, yet he may perhaps find an abatement of happiness from meeting very few persons to admire his Learning, scarcely any whose praise he would think worth obtaining. — Our late worthy Friend D' Price would have lost little of what he car'd for by such a Remove. — in any Country & in all circumstances— he could have found room for the exercise of Benevolent affections, he would have receiv'd the same pleasure from an unaffected Piety in the Woods as in a City— & would have had equal opportunities of improving his own heart — which I do believe was more perfect than that of most good Men. with all his good Qualities of Head & Heart, he had so modest a sense of his own attainments that he not only appear'd not to expect applause— but even not to think about it I am happy to find you have a good opinion of the American funds— there cannot be a doubt of their aftbrding the best security of any Earthly Government we know of for my part, I am one of those happy persons who cannot lose much, let what will take place— My riches are certainly not of this World If it were therefore certain, that I had a good Interest elsewhere, I might be said to be peculiarly happy. As it is I have no reason to complain. Nothing is I believe more true, than that Riches & Happiness have not the least necessary connection— nor a want of them & Unhappiness— but I forget myself— who ever before undertook to preach to a Parson? The French go on hacking away at a strange rate — Their situation is so peculiar, & so little dependance can be plac'd upon most Acc" propagated concerning them, that I find it difficult to Judge of their conduct — Sometimes I can scarcely help con- sider^ their Leaders as a set of lawless Ruffians, who under pretext of serv" the People are wholly guided by a mad ambition & a love of Plunder — but more frequently I am inclin'd to think them in general worthy & daring Characters, who in defiance of all Dangers, either from their Foreign or Domestic Enemies, are determined at any risk to support the Infant Liberty of their Country, sup- ported in their most Arduous Task by an almost Enthusiastick desire to promote the Happiness of the world— That the Happiness of the World is greatly connected with the success of the French Cause, no Friend to Liberty can doubt— & that that Cause will support itself against all the Kings and Princes Icagu'd against it, is now I believe certain — Nevertheless the Agents of Ministry seem still to say that Peace cannot take place, because they dont know with whom to treat. Men & Money must be thrown away in France, because we do not know with whom to treat. So they said during the American War— & yet, were obli^d to treat with that same Set of Men, with the same Congress, whom they had before treated with so much contempt But we had not then W. Pitt at the head of affairs.— & he is, or was last Winter determin'd to give no Peace to the French, untiU he had establish'd a regular Government for them, & made them pay him a reasonable compensation for his disbursem" in fighting them— What ! Pitt ! He establish a Govemm.ent for us, say they Ah ! Ah ! Ah ! I forgot to tell you in its proper place that this comes from your very sincere Friend George Courtauld. 4 N 650 George Courtaiild. — Correspondence. \No date ; — -fi'oin Mrs George Coiirtaidd. to her daughter Cathei'ine.'] Miss C. Courtauld M' Taylors N° 184 Tottenham Court Road London Springvill Ejidorsed — "received Dec 22 1809" My dearest Cath^'' I was in hopes to have answered your letter (which I receiv'd some weeks back) without putting you to the expense of Postage, as M' Campion has been talking of going to London these three months, so I wrote a large packet for him to take &: among the rest there was a letter for you, but yesterday I receiv'd a letter from M'^ Campion saying tliat she thought he would not go untill Spring, so I will send this by Post as I would rather put you to that expense than that you should suppose I forget you, I hardly know what to write as the Girls will not be pleas'd I should tell you any news but leave it for them as they were not with me last Monday perhaps I may tell you that I spent that day at M' Freemans one of his Daughters is married to a M' Hamilton & their little girl was Christen'd we had a very large Company 45 at dinner, there were 8 livery Servants tended besides several out of livery, every dish that came on the table for two Courses was Silver as were the tureens, the Apergne, the branches & Candlesticks (for the Candles were lighted before the desert came on the table) there was a silver knife & fork to each plate with the desert Silver forks at dinner, Lord & Lady Doneral & the Honorable Standish O'Grady were Sponsors, the poor little Christian deafen'd the Whole house with her cries & while she was by her sureties promising to renounce the pomps & vanities of the World, her Godfather was dazling her little Eyes with a superbe Watch & Chain. M'^ Freeman sent her Cariage for me as there was so large a party. I only took Miss Osborne with me. Kind regards to your Uncle, Aunt, & Cousins & beheve me Y' ever affec' Mother R. C. \From Mrs George Courtauld to her daughter Mrs P. A. Taylor.'\ W P. A. Taylor Booking Edinburgh 27"' Oct 181 g My dear Cath^'"^ I this week receiv'd your affec'" letter containing a hope of seeing me in England next summer but alass my acking bones seem to protest against such long and far distant visits, but as I realy do want to see my little Grandchild, & as one part of your letter seem'd to hint a possability that some movements may be the consequence of future arrangements would not that be a good time to gratify your Mother with a peep & a kiss of her new relative. I am call'd away but your Sisters will fill up this for me — give my aiJect. regards to M' P. T To dear Sam & George, remember me affect>'- to all friends & to little baby & believe Y' very Affec' Mother R. C. Pray do not put down all my anxiety for this visit to the little one, believe me I am as anxious to see my Child as youis. Sophia Coru'tanld. 651 And now I must say a word or two about my grandfather's sister Sophia lyCj-iSso. (dear " little Aunty !"), the only one of that generation I ever knew, with the exception of my grandmother, who, as we have seen, died when I was but seven years old, while Aunt Sophia lived till long after I was married ; and she fills a large space in my recollections during those long and impressionable . years which fill up so large a proportion of our whole lives— or seem to do so, which is much the same. I wish I could hope to present Sophia Courtauld as she lives in my memory. She was almost a shadow of a woman, worn down by a life's continual illness, but active, sprightly, more than cheerful when not actually suffering, volatile, like a Frenchwoman, but full of kindness, love, and unselfishness. She had always been an invalid. I remember my father saying that his earliest recollections of her were as of a confirmed invalid ; and yet, with indomitable vitality of mind and body, she lived on. In "The Cottage," where I first remember her, at Bocking, her great delight used to be in giving little parties to us all to lunch, where she would be the merriest of the merry, till sometimes an involuntary scream, and a falling back on the sofa, or sometimes the bed, on which she would receive her guests, would come to chill us, and show that one of her agonising spasms (of the heart, I suppose) had seized her. For these attacks she used to take drugs of the strongest character, largely, I believe, morphine. It was for years a duty of mine to get these made up at Apothecaries' Hall and sent to her. Her medical man used to say that she took poison enough to kill a regiment. When suffering, she used to say she felt like a pocket- handkerchief; and she looked like one, when the tiny, limp frame, with livid face, sunk together, her hand pressed on her heart, and with the terrible cry, "Oh, my God!" seemed lost and confounded in the folds of her bed-covering; while almost before she could articulate, she would be full of sorrow for our suffering, and in a hoarse whisper would declare she was better now. Dear old lady ! how much of noble patience, of unselfish love, was contained within that tiny frame ! What a life it was! She lived till 1S50, and in 1S06 my grandfather (William Taylor) thus wrote of her to his wife :— I am wny to hear so poor an account of Sophy. I dont doubt her death would greatly afflict you, but you would not be left alone in the world without many to love you. I am glad however you keep up your spirits & indulge your hopes, for after all it is not improbable she may with care rub on several years. Yes ; she rubbed on for forty-four years. I have not many records of her, but every one is full of appreciation and affection for her. My grandfather (W. T.), writing to his wife in 1 7S3, thus speaks of her :— 652 Sophia Conrtaiild. — Correspondence. 1763-1S50. I hope poor little Sophy has been happy as she well deserves to be, for next yourself there is no one I love better, nor is there anybody more truely free from every impropriety of disposition & conduct, or who possesses more of every thing that is good & amiable ; she is very like her sister Kitty, who if you are thoroughly acquainted with her you must be conscious to yourself is one of the most truely worthy persons on earth. I do assure you I love her much & think of her often. I give four letters of hers, two to her sister, my grandmother, in 181 1, and two to me (in 1838 and 1S45); they are nearly all I have, and without having any special interest in subject-matter, are full, as I am sure all she ever wrote would be, of her own cheerful, loving, beautiful nature. I have few details of her life. I believe she lived with her mother at Hackney until the death of the former in 1807; after that, I think, for a time she made a home with her sister in Tottenham Court Road ; but such arrangements seldom answer for long, and I am told this did not. She afterwards lived in various lodgings, until about the time when my grandfather went to live in Essex — 1829 or there- abouts ; and from that time she lived amongst her friends in Docking, passing, I am happy in thinking, upon the whole, as pleasant a close of life as positive physical suffering would permit. As I have said, she died in 1850 (aged eighty- seven), and was buried at Gosfield. [From Sophia Coitrtatdd to !icr sister Mrs William Taylor^ M" Taylor Dane Court S' Peters Isle of Thanet. 24 July iSii Thanks dearest Kate, a thousand thanks, for your nice long letter received on Sunday last. I hope now you will soon be quite comfortably well, & pray say in your next how near upon you are approaching this blessed state. You were indeed lucky to get the very little cot you had so set your heart upon, & you make me long to see it, look for me then sharp on the i2"- of Aug' for I am told Sadler mounts a balloon early on that day from Chelsea College, & if the wind is but fair it may get to S' Peters in no time; look then my dear, look till you see me. By your account methinks the Squires & the maidens have hitherto made the most of bathing, but how am I stonished to find Dame Kate haii even a distant intention of pickling her old bones in the salt seas ! ! ! to be sure as how strange things happen ! Ah poor Sir Francis ! what a troublesome sea, or "sea of troubles" has he got in! from which I suspect he will not easily rise; but let not this discourage you, you will rise from your sea easy enough depend upon it, and I will hope too, the better for your souse. you suppose right my dear, I have paid my visit in Martin's Lane, it is also true that I was most kindly & well received, but alas ! your brother in law was not at home. I have in idea you see pro- fitted by your friendly hint already, the thing you see is as good as done, for I will not pine and die O Love ! at this my tender age. And I mean to profit by your other friendly hint & shortly look upon little Anna & we will run up & down, & all over about the poor deserted Castle, which you know cannot now be haunted by evil spirits. I am glad to my heart our dear first cousin has recovered —for O what a mint of good money must it have cost to have put me in dessent mourning this line Sophia Courtauld. — Correspondence. 653 hot weather when I could not possibly hide my poor old habit's deformities by a wrapping shawl, but 1763-1S50. on further thinking, I need not, and should not have mourned at all thus circumstanced. Witli unspeakable delight, my Kate, I now assure you that I begin to /ire again : in the first place I have been in possession of my pretty little room about a week ; in tlie second place we seem to have a treasure in our new housemaid ; she certainly understands her work perfectly, & is in her person clean & tidy & respectable, & has hitherto kept the house in print, and my room is regularly put in print by the time I have breakfasted. O the delight of being nice & clean ! ! ! and we are now well attended & comfortably waited on at dinner (I mean) when she waits which should be always, were I mistress, that you could but this moment witness these mighty changes ! vain & foolish wish ! better for you a thousand times, you are were you are, so God bless you, write often and believe me in sincerity of heart yr very affec"= Sister & friend S. C. \_Froiii Sophiei Cou7-taiild to hej' sistei- RIrs William Taylor.'\ M" Taylor Dane Court gt petgfs Isle of Thanet. 30"' Aug' 181 1 Sincerely happy & thankful am I, dearest Kate, at tlie improvements mentioned in the letter now before me, & I hope you will give a still more flattering account in }-our ne.\t. ily best love to the children, your account of them and of the little man in particular, quite delights me, as does also that of dear J. J.* and his little girl, who by your account and by all accounts, seems like her own dear mother become a child again. That Chris ; under present circumstances, should not be likely to increase the number of your honours, is a thing to be not violently miserable about, and I dare say you do not take on very much, and for your comfort be it said, I do not yet regard this as quite a hopeless source, and there are too so many other pretty little sources to reckon upon, that no doubt but you will yet have honour upon honour heaped in full measure, do not now therefore shed a sin^'le tear on this score. You of course know that about a fortnight since I spent a few days in Tottenham C Road, and the young folks my dear, did so treat & cosset me ! they stuffed, they roasted me and made me so vastly nice & sweet that I feared next they might be tempted to eat up their own work and so prudent I thought best to remove while yet in my whole skin. I do really feel something like concern that our poor sick cousin seems so near the eve of his departure hence, to me indeed this is a link in our chain of relations which we shall really miss as little as any, yet it is a link to which we have been long conjoined and have been used to see, and the removal of which will a^ain shorten a chain which we already feel to have been so curtailed ! but alas, this is no new thing, no new feeling, it is at this time felt & expressed by a very many, and so it was long before our time, and will again when our links too shall have ceased to clench their remaining holds ; — and then after a few more years, we and our's may seem in this gay world as tho' we had never been, yet God grant that we may not have been here in vain ' we shall then meet never more to separate. Every thing in this place goes on as when I last wrote, which you may remember was quite nicely and comfortable, and I like my delightful little room as much as ever, which is invariably put into perfect order by the time I have breakfasted, and indeed the whole house is put into this comfort- able state every day early, Saturday excepted, when it is all quite to rights by tea time, now what can more clearly shew the grtat excellence of method & good management you know I have often said the business of this house required more hands. I am now convinced (with its other helps) it only • John Jcffcry. 654 Sopliia Coin'faitld. — Cori'cspondence. ■ 7f'3-iS5o. wanted a tliorough good servant, which I hope earnestly we may keep, she is in every respect so pleasant & well behaved. God bless you, pray write soon, and say very particularly how y' health goes on in every respect. I am vastly well, remaining, with the truest love, yours unalterably S. C. You say nothing of Samuel's late letter; what does he say for himself \no doubt her brother, see p. 646] Has he again thoughts of visiting us. You have no doubt heard that poor George is again in trouble about future prospects. [From Sophia Courtauld to Iter grand-nephew P. A. Taylor, yiinr7\ For dear P. A. T. Juif obliged by Aunt Sam Euston Square I trust my dear Peter you have received even more than once my heartiest thanks for the darling Love* you so kindly sent me a few weeks since. O, if you have not, you will think me the most ungraciousest Aunty that ever was ! and if so, I must not allow you to think so a single moment longer than I can help, and therefore avail myself of this very good opportunity of telling you that my darling little girl is in the highest favour — not only with myself, but with all the world ! ! only I fear, I shall never teach her to tie on her shoes ! perhaps you will scarcely believe that even one is not yet tied ! ! Hoping most sincerely this will find you all quite well, gay &: happy, I remain every body's obliged & very affectionate Booking Auntv. March if' 38. \_No address; — -from Sophia Coitrtaiild to her grand-nephew P. A. Taylor, yunr.'] Bocking Jan 10"' 1845 I took pen in hand yesterday my dear Peter to express my heartiest thanks for the two dozen of Edinburgh Ale and beautiful preserve received the day preceding, but O dear I how I do blush this day for so perversely withholding my hand in so righteous a cause, and one indeed in which my whole heart was bent upon, but I know well your kindly feeling will readily excuse me this tardy acknowlege- ment with my best-of-all thanks. I shall begin a bottle this very day. begin do I say? aye and more too ! for your dear Aunt Sam dines with me, and we all hope to have a most delightful chearful day, and you may take my word we shall drink to your precious health and happiness, not forgetting the dear One to whom you are united. Heaven bless you both — which ever will be the truest hearty wish of dear Peter your very Affect" Auntv Sophie. Aunt Harriet begs me to add her hearty good wishes with my own. When you next see, the dear Croydon folks do say how much I love them, but can you — can you ! ! ! * The "darling love" was a poor little Parian figure I bought for her mantelpiece. It now stands on mine, in accordance with the following lines written by herself on its base : — " This little Pet was dear Peter Junior's pretty gift, & he has promised that when I cease to look upon & take care of it, he will cherish & call it his own again, which has greatly pleased his affectionate Aunty. April 22d 1838." THE COURTAULD FAMILY.-COLONEL CHESTER'S SECOND REPORT. REPORT of a Visit to the Island of OliJron, in August 1871, in search of the History of the Family of Courtauld. JIJJ'AVING by my former researches determined the fact that the birthplace of 1666-16S6, Augustine Courtauld, the founder of the family in Eno-land was St Peter Augustine Cou in the Island of Oleron, I was desired by Mr George Courtauld to proceed thither and make a thorough examination of the records of that parish, in the hope of ascertaining something more of the earlier history of the family. After a succes- sion of troublesome, and sometimes whimsical difficulties (including my arrest and subsequent surveillance, as suspected of Communist sympathies, there being some 10,000 Communist prisoners on the island and in its immediate neighbourhood), I at last reached St Peter, probably the most primitive village now existing in the Panj.ofSire whole of France. My first visit was to the ofifice of the Mayor, where all the official records of the place are kept. Having with me a passport as -bearer of despatches from my own (the American) Government, and a special letter of introduction from the American Consul at La Rochelle to his high mightiness the Mayor, my social position with him was readily established, and the prospect of a golden harvest in the shape of fees opened to me the entire archives of the establishment. The records in the Mayor's office extend back to about 1550, and are in per- fect preservation down to about 1645, when occurs a gap until about 1695, after which they are again regularly preserved. What became of the archives during this half century no one has ever been able to ascertain, or, indeed, if any were ever Lost records kept at all. It was a troubled period, and. at all events, if any ever existed, the\- are now hopelessly lost. The period of this hiatus would have been the most interesting to our purposes, if there was any reason to suppose that the missing documents contained any records of the Courtauld Family. But there is every reason to believe that they would not. The Courtaulds were undoubtedly Protes- 656 The Courtanid Family. — Colonel Chester s Second Report. 1666-16S6. tants, and the records of the Protestant congregations were never kept at the Mayoralty. Each congregation kept its own records of marriages, baptisms, and burials (as was also the case in England after they re-established themselves here), and when these congregations were dispersed, after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, those records also disappeared. I carefully examined the Mayor's archives, from their commencement down to 1750, and neither before nor after the hiatus mentioned does the name of Courtauld once occur. This proves, either that the family had not resided for any length of time at St Peter, or, which is the most probable, that it had always been a Protes- tant family. At all events, the official records of St Peter failed to be of the slightest assistance. Here most persons would have concluded that their task was ended, as there are no other public depositories on the island, no Somerset House, Public Record (Office, British Museum, or Heralds' College, where one might hope to obtain Visit I" iiie genealogical data. But it struck me that possibly the notaries of the place might notaries, , . , , , , . be in the habit of preservmg copies of such documents as passed through their hands, and there was the barest chance that they might also have preserved those of their predecessors. I found that there were two notaries in St Peter, and my friend the Mayor introduced me to them successively. The first had no papers at all except such as had accumulated during his own term of office. This was discouraging, and I made my way to the office of the other fully expecting to be met with the same reply. To my delight, however, he at once pointed to a collection of some hundred folio volumes, nicely bound and appropriately lettered, containing the archives of his predecessors back to the year 16S5. Although commencing too late to expect them to prove of much service, I need hardly say that I commenced my examination of them with the greatest avidity, pursuing my searches down to the year 1750, beyond which it was useless to proceed. Records of tiie Between the years 16S6 and i68q, I found documents relatincr to Coiirtatild CourtauWs. ^ ^ ^ five times. Of three of these I had official copies made, and they will be found attached to this paper. In the other two instances, the name merely appeared among those of witnesses to other documents. I will take these documents in order, and give the substance of them in English. The first is dated 19th September 16S6, and appears to be the draft of an agreement or acknowledgment after marriage. The name is spelt Courtatid, but there is no difficulty in identifying him with the same person in the other docu- ments called Coiirtaiild. My translation is nearly literal, and I must not be held responsible for the goodness or badness of the original French. It reads freely thus : — The Cozirtauld Family. — Colonel Chester s Second Report. 657 This day, the 19th of September 1686, before me, royal notary of Saintonge, 1666-1686. the undersigned, and in presence of the witnesses undernamed, has appeared per- Peter Comtaui.i - ^ and his wife Annt; sonally Peter. Cmtrtaud, merchant, living at this village of St Peter, of the Island c=igna, of Oleron, who has acknowledged and agreed that he has received from A7i7te Cagna, his present wife, here present and agreeing and accepting, namely. Firstly, a feather bed, mattrass, two blankets, and two shrouds, also a cabinet of walnut, wmoryof Anne also fourteen and a half livres [pounds?] of [indistinct]; also six casks of new "^"P""'^ S""''^- grape-juice ready to be made into wine; also eight bushels of measure at fifty sols [sous] the bushel; also two bushels of wheat at three livres the bushel; also one copper kettle ; also one kettle and two pails and two old hooks and one turnspit ; also two wine-presses, one of six sommes the other of seven ; also one little port- able press for the vineyard ; also three carts with seats within ; also one bushel of beans worth fifty sous ; also two little o^nllets with their sousilles [?] ; also a large hatchet (or axe) ; also nine shrouds [pieces of linen], five fine and four coarse, of which the fine are new ; also two dozen napkins and four tablecloths ; also three pieces of linen; also one garniture \i.e., bed-curtain and other fixtures] of linen efrangde ; also one table service and seven silver tea-spoons ;— all which above enumerated furniture, etc., he, Courtaud, has declared that he received at the time of his marriage to the said Cagna ; and since July, and after the death of Magde- lame Cagna, sister of said Anne, he has also received, as he acknowledges by these presents, three tablecloths (one of very fine thread) and five of Beurre [?] ; also one pair of linen curtains, one mazarine destin, three livres of [blank in original], and some smaller articles of housekeeping; of all which furniture, etc., he, Courtaud, being obliged to render an inventory, has not done so, but has given the present acknowledgment. In testimony of which, I have made this instru- ment, in order to show that he, the said Coiir/aud, has really done, and duly authorised it, and that all the above-enumerated articles of furniture, etc., are still in kind ; and for the faithful execution of these presents binding the said Courtaud in all the goods that he possesses at this date. Signed and executed at St Peter, at the house of the said Courtaud, in the afternoon, in presence of Nicolas Bous- sard, clerk, and also Augory, labourer, inhabitants of said St Peter, witnesses called — and the said Cagna and Augory declaring themselves unable to sign, etc. (Signed) Nicolas Boussard, and Bouffard, Royal Notary. The foregoing account, taken by itself, would afford us little information, beyond the fact that a Peter Courtaud, having married Anne Cagna, executed it in pur- suance of some French law or custom under which she retained the right of property in the articles mentioned. I will give the other documents consecutively, and then recapitulate the substance of the whole of them. 40 658 Tlie Courtaiild Family. — Colonel Cliesters Second Report. Judith Guibaud, first wife of Peter Courtauld, Conveyance to Peter Courtauld, brother of the emit^rant. 1666-1686. The second document is dated 29th October 1686, and is to the following effect : — This day, before me, notary royal in Saintonge, the undersigned, and in presence of the witnesses undernamed, have appeared personally Mr ["S'" or " Sieur" in the original] Peter Courtauld, merchant, residing at present in the village of St Peter, of the Island of Oleron, and Peter Courtauld, his son, also merchant, between whom it has been agreed, etc., that said Coiwtauld the father, having already given marriage portions to his eldest son, Augustine Courtaidd, merchant, and to Judith Courtauld, his daughter, wife of Gideon Gannet, of Chateau d'Oleron, merchant, of 1200 livres each, out of the estate of his first wife, Judith Guibaud, he now conveys to his said son Peter Courtaidd the following property : — viz., a house situated in the village of St Denis [He d'Oleron], with wine-house, hen-house, and other appurtenances, of the value of 500 livres ; also three-quarters of vine-land or thereabouts in various parts of said parish of St Denis, of the value of 900 livres ; also the wine utensils in the wine-house (with some reservations), of the further value of 50 livres— making altogether the sum of 1450 livres; of all which property said Peter Cottrtaidd son shall enjoy the use from this moment, and it shall be in lieu of his marriage portion; and because he, Courtauld the father, has given to his other children the sum of 1200 livres each, he, Peter Cotirtaiild the son, will be bound, after the death of his said father, and on the settlement of his estate, to pay to his said brother and sister 250 livres each, according to his promise; and for the performance and execution of these presents, the parties have pledged all their property— said Courtauld the father agreeing to pay all duties (taxes, etc.) up to the present time, and said Courtaidd the son to pay them hereafter. In presence of John Ferret, blacksmith, and Louis Vepon'net, shoemaker, who are unable to write their names. (Signed) Courtauld, Courtauld, Jr. BouFFARD, Notary Royal. On the nth November 1687, the name ot Peter Courtaidd appears among those of witnesses to certain Marriage Articles, and on the 17th August 1688, he was called to serve as a witness to a Will. In the latter instance he is styled, " Le Sieur Pierre Courtauld, Marchand, a St Pierre." The following is the substance of the Will of Anne Cagna, wife of Peter Courtauld, merchant, living at this village of St Peter, of the Island of Ol<^ron, being in bed ill of a cruel disease, but of sound mind, memory, and understanding, and "of holy state, have made my will and stated my last wishes, after being fully authorised by the " Sieur Courtauld," my husband, by virtue of these presents. First, I reconunend my soul to God the Father Almighty, who hears this prayer Wilt of Aime Cagna. The Courtauld Family. — Colonel Chester's Second Report. 659 for the sake of his most dear Son my Saviour Jesus Christ, who has shed his "eee-iese. precious blood upon the cross for our sins, to have pity and compassion upon it, and at its departure from the body to receive it graciously into his holy paradise in the ranks of the faithful, to the enjoyment of eternal life ; and I thus dispose of the goods which it has pleased God to give me in this world : remembering the great friendship, care, and protection, which I have received, and hope still to receive until the day of my death, from the said Co2crtmdd my husband, I give to him the use and enjoyment of all my goods real, together with six silver spoons, during his life, he preserving them as a good father of a family, and to pay the duties, etc. ; I bequeath to John de Lajaille, my nephew, a bed and its fixtures, four new sheets of fine linen, six handkerchiefs, etc., which he is to have at my death, without being obliged to account to my heirs at the settlement of my estate ; I bequeath to Susan Cagna, my sister, an emerald enclosed in a gold ring; I give ■ to Amm Cagna, my niece, another gold ring in which is a stone similariy enclosed ; and to Jeane de la Jadle, my niece, a silk dress and a petticoat, which they shall not be compelled to account for at the settlement of my estate. I give and bequeath to Maddaine Ftirneau, my cousin and goddaughter, a black silk dress the residue of my personal goods to be divided between my brother James Cagna, my sisters Susan and Anne Cagna, and my nephew and niece John and Jeane de la Jaille ; and I constitute them my lawful heirs, etc. The royal notary under- signed to be kind enough to put in writing and to read to me what I have said, which the said notary has done, in presence of the witnesses undernamed, and the testatrix has declared that she understands the same, and that this is her last Will and Testament, which she wishes executed at her decease, and to be binding upon all the goods she may have, subject to all requirements royal, etc. Signed and executed at St Peter, at the house of the testatrix, before me, the 19th August 1689, in presence of Vincent Vignier ; Elie Perin, master shoemaker; Peter Larne, hosder; Isaac Emonnet, merchant butcher; Peter Jaff"ard, butcher's man; Isaac Emonnet, Junior, clerk; and Peter Cornereau, labourer, inhabitants of St Peter (said Perin, Larne, and Cornereau being unable to write, as also the testatrix). (Signed) Isaac Emonket, Courtauld, V. Vignier, Jaffard, Isaac Emonnet. BouFFARD, Notary Royal. Taken together, the.se three documents furnish us with the following facts, Thef.miiyof viz., that Peter Courtauld of St Peter, merchant, living there from 19th September ^rh^nT"'""' 16S6 to 19th August 1689, had two wives. By his first wife, Judith Guibaud, he had two sons and one daughter, viz., Augustine, eldest son (a quite new fact), who was married before the 29th October i586; Peter, second and youngest son. 66o TIic Courtauld Family. — Colonel Chester's Second Report. then evidently unmarried ; and Judith, also married previously to that date to Gideon Gannet, merchant, of Chateau d'Oleron, the adjoining parish. ' We thus obtain the name of the father of the Augustine and Peter whose names commence the Pedigree already recorded, the Christian and maiden surname of their mother, and the name of their sister (of whom we never heard before), with that of her husband. As a matter of simple genealogy, the addition of a generation to one's Pedigree is an enormous gain. But these documents do more, for they furnish satisfactory evidence of the social standing and pecuniary condition of the family before its emigration to England. This Peter Courtauld, or, as he was designated, " Le Sieur Pierre Courtauld, marchand," was evidently the " great man " of St Peter, socially speaking, and a man of considerable wealth. He gave his three children each a marriage portion of 1450 livres, making an aggregate of 4350 livres; and this sum, so nearly as I can ascertain, allowing for the difference in the value of money between the two periods, would represent now no less than between thirty and forty thousand pounds sterling. As a matter of course, his fortune must have been considerably greater. The word" marchand," although literally translated "merchant," had then a dif- ferent signification from that assigned to it now. There were merchants of all sorts— merchants of hats, of shoes, of iron, of wine, etc. ; and a witness to one of the documents quoted is styled a "merchant butcher;" but the simple word " marchand " implied something more than and superior to all these. I inquired of the notary, of the Mayor, and also of distinguished scholars and antiquarians at La Rochelle, Cognac, and Nantes, and without putting any leading questions, they invariably replied that the word at that period (and even now to a great extent) described a person in France whose counterparts are to be found in England among the men described as merchants in contra- distinction to tradesmen. The inference is, that Peter Courtauld of St Peter was the monied man of the place and neighbourhood. The population, then as now, was composed almost exclusively of small tenant-farmers and husbandmen, fisher- men, petty tradesmen, and mechanics, labourers, etc. There was no convenient market, for even now the means of transit from the island to the mainland are of the most inconvenient character. The probability is that he and his two sons, until the emigration, bought up the grape-juice produced by the vine-growers s of the island, and converted it into wine, and purchased also their other surplus products, and again disposed of them by wholesale to their correspondents on the Continent. Indeed, this may be stated as something more than probable, because the staple article of production was grape-juice. In the inventory of the possessions of Peter Courtauld's second wife, which she carried to her husband, are mentioned casks of this very commodity. The Court an hi Family.— Colonel Chester s Second Report. 66 1 At all events, taking the condition of the island, and the character of its popu- if.6(i-ioSi.. lation at that period into consideration, it is quite clear that the man whom officials respectfully designated as " Le Sieur, ' and who signed his own name "Courtauld" (without the Christian name), and who was able to give his three children in his lifetime portions amounting to thirty or forty thousand pounds, must have occupied a position far superior to those in whose midst, probably for purposes of business, he dwelt. The question arises whether his residence at St Peter was merely temporary Doubts wheiher and for purposes of business, or whether the family really belonged to the island, resided p"",'!"!,'! T r T 1 1 1 . • ently at St J'eier 1 confess I do not see how this is to be definitely decided. As I have before said, the Courtaulds being Protestants, their names do not occur in the records at the IVlayoralty. I went both to the Chateau and St George, which includes Thonmsimcs. St Denis, the only other parishes on the island, and the records at the Mayors" offices at both places also fail to mention the name, while the notaries at both places have no documents that would give any assistance. I exhausted the archives preserved by the notary at St Peter, and the three documents quoted, with the other two incidental occurrences of the name, are the only references they contain to the existence of the family. There is no other place where to look for records of the family. I went to Napoleon Vendee, and to Saintes, and to Nantes, in the hope that I might discover something in the extensive libraries there, but in vain. I also exhausted the archives at La Rochelle, with similar ill success. The records of the Protestant church at St Peter, as well as those of other Protestant congregations in France, probably were carried away at their dispersal. or perhaps fell into the hands of their opponents, and were destroyed. None have ever been heard of and if they had reached England and been preserved, they would probably have turned up when the Registers of the French churches in this country were all collected under a Royal Commission and de posited at Somerset House. What became of Peter Courtauld, senior, must doubtless remain a mystery. The e,„i „f reie. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes took place near the end of the year 1685. kn"™."''' Augustus Courtauld, the son, and founder of the English branch of the family, must have reached here within the next three years or so, as his second marriage took place in London loth March 16S8-S9; but the father was still at St Peter as late as the following 19th August, when his second wife made her Will. He must have been then quite advanced in life, as his eldest son, Augustus, had already been twice married. We have never found the slightest trace of him in England, and, on the other hand, there is no record of his Will at St Peter. Any suggestion as to his fate would be purely speculative. He may have; after his second wife's death, attempted to escape and failed; or he may have made 662 I'lic Coui'tanld Faiiii/y. — Colonel Chester s Second Report. 1666-1686. his way to Holland, or some other part of the Continent, and died there. There seems no clew at present by which his after-history may be pursued, and there are no data which would enable us to prosecute a reasonable search for his own partentage. The Pedigree, instead of beginning with a nameless Courtauld, should now commence thus : — First ll'ifi. Smnd Wife. Judith Gtiibm^d, died ante 1686. Peter Courtauld of St Peter, Isle of — Anne Cagna, married ante 19th Sep- Oleron, Merchant. Living there igth tember 1686 ; made her Will igth September 1686 and Igth August l68g. August l6Sg. Augustine CrjuuTAul.n, eldest son, Mer- Peter Courtauld, Merchant. Judith, married ante 2gth October 16S6, chant. Married ante 29th October 16S6. Living 2gth October 16S6. to Gideon Gannett, Merchant of Cha- From whom tlie Courtaulds of England. teau d'Oleron, and then living. lyk No-.'CHllH'r 1S71. I should also add, that I searched in vain for any trace of Julia Giron, the first wife of Augustine Courtauld, and ancestress of the Courtaulds of England • and that other names connected with the family, such as Potier, Bardin, etc., nowhere appeared in the course of my investigations. They were unquestionably all Protestants, and all records of them have disappeared. APPENDIX. NOTE TO Page 2. This little incident has proved so important a link in the production of this Memoir, that it is perhaps worth while to give the letters. 44 Queen Square Bloomsbury W.C. Sir London July 21, 1S62. As a loyal American I am desirous to express to you my sincerest thanks & those of my countrymen for your noble speech of Friday last. And, as a Representative of one of the leading Journals of that Country 1 am extremely desirous to obtain the best version of it, that I may send it (without mutilation) for publication in its columns. Have you your notes — or a copy of it written out ? If not will you be good enough to inform me what London paper gives the most correct report. very respy your obedient Serv' P. Taylor Esq, M.P. Jos : L. Chester. Writing again on the following day, he adds : — I have endeavoured to do you justice in my communication to my paper — but my people will be verv anxious to have some particulars concerning you, which I do not know how to give them, unless you will kindly waive for the moment all personal reticence & furnish them to me yourself. Delighted as they will be with the Member of Parliament, their "proverbial curiosity" will not be satisfied without knowing something of the man — whom I have ventured to set before them as a parallel with Col. liarre, who stood up in similar manfulness, in the same place, in our behalf, in Revolutionar;- times. Another communication, dated August 25th of the same year, shows how the Colonel's researches for me commenced : — Our first correspondence naturally led, step by step, to my doing what little I have done in examining your family history. The pursuit of such inquiries is itself congeni.al to me, but I was also actuated by a spirit of gratitude to one who had raised his voice as you did in behalf of my countrj-, & felt anxious to do something, however trifling, to evince that gratitude. As I wrote you on Friday last, in examining my own collections & in making further investigations at the British Museum &c I should consider myself only too happy, if, through such efforts, I could bring to light any facts of interest or importance to you. 4 P 666 Appendix. NOTE TO Page 53. The following letter from Colonel Chester is interesting, as showing how he obtained the evidence connecting Margaret Marsh with the Rainton family ; II June, I 87 5 I got home last evening, after two weeks (lacking one day) of about as hard work as I ever did in my life. I did not write as I kept hoping, from day to day, to be able to telegraph the two words "perfect success." I am sorry to say that I am not able yet to do this, so far as positively identifying Margaret Rainton as the 3d wife of William Taylor, but I have got everything I want except the absolute, technical, legal evidence. So far as Anne Clarke is concerned I have been perfectly successful, and as you descend from her. this is quite as important as the other object I had. Besides, I think that when I come to put what I have obtained in shape, you will agree with me that there is no moral doubt about the identity of Margaret Raynton. You will remember Judith Chambers (Anne Clarke's sister) the woman with 4 husbands. I now think she had Jive. Certainly her Jirst husband was a Juxon, as I learn from her father's will which I got at Lincoln, & this accounts for Sir Nicholas Rainton talking of his cousins Juxon, before the marriage of John Juxon and Rebecca Taylor. I was obliged to go to York, in order to exhaust the subject, but I got nothing there. I have exhausted the Will Offices & Marriage Licences at both places, made a thorough search of the Parish Registers of Washingborough, the principal home of the Raintons, and was obliged to go to seven or eight other parishes, of which the Raintons whose wills I got described themselves. In short, I have covered the whole ground, and there is nothing more to be done, but to work into shape the accumulations I have acquired. I shall of course look up the early Juxon wills here there are none at Lincoln or York. I want also to search the wills of the Commissary & Consistory Courts, which will probably have been brought to Somerset House by this time. I shall be able in the course of two or three weeks to put all that I have acquired into pedigree form. NOTE TO Page 57. \The Widow of Dmiiel Taylor^ Colonel Chester writes (much after the eleventh hour, but just not too late for insertion), 19th January 1876 : — Margaret Lock was the third daughter of William Lock, of Wimbledon, co. Surrey, Gentleman, by Susanna, second daughter of Roger Cole, of St Olave, Southwark, Gentleman, both being of heraldic families. William Lock was son of Thomas Lock of Merton, co. Surrey, by Jane, his wife, which Thomas was son of Matthew Lock of Merton, who was son of Thomas Lock, who purchased the rectory of Merton of the Crown in 1 552-53, and was son of Sir William Lock, a very celebrated Knight and Alderman of London, born 14S0, and died 1550. Roger Cole was son of William Cole of Sudbury, Suffolk, descended from an ancient family of that name in Devonshire, whose history is distinctly traced back to 1243. Through both father and mother, therefore, Margaret Lock had what may be called a splendid descent. We know that she married Daniel Taylor, at Clapham, Sth August 1654, and that he was buried at St Stephen's, Coleman Street, 20th April 1655. As her connection with the family was very brief, and she left no issue, she is not of vital importance in the Taylor Pedigree, but it is interesting to know what became of her, and my inability hitherto to learn her fate has always worried me (genealogically speaking). By the barest accident I am just now able to clear up the mystery. The facts are briefly these : — She remarried Francis Willoughby, Esq. He was son of William Willoughby, Colonel of the Regiment of the Tower Hamlets, and a prominent Cromwellian, who had held various public positions ; was finally appointed Commissioner of the Navy, and died at Portsmouth, 30th March 1651. He has a monument in the church at Portsmouth, and I took a copy of the inscription many years ago, little thinking that in 1876 I should be able thereby to help two of my friends about their family history. His son, Francis, had Appendix. 667 been in New England ns early as 163S, where he buried two wives. He came back to England in 1651, after his father's death, probably to settle his affairs, and remained some years. In 1652 he was also appointed a Commissioner of the Navy at Portsmouth, and was chosen M.P. for Portsmouth in the Parliament that met 27th January 165S-59. It is impossible to tell at present when or where he married Daniel Taylor's widow, but their eldest child was born in London, 29th February 1659-60, and registered at St Olave, Hart Street. He returned to New England in 1662, of course taking his wife with him. He always held important public appointments there, and was finally elected Deputy-Governor of Massachusetts, and held that office till his death, 6th April 1 67 I. His widow, Margaret (Daniel Taylor's widow), remarried, in New England, 8th February 1674-75, Captain Lawrence Hammond, own cousin to her second husband, Francis Willoughby, being the son of his mother's sister. She had no issue by him, and died 2d February 1682-S3. By Willoughby she had two sons, viz., Francis, already mentioned, and Nathaniel, both of whom died young. Her only surviving child, Susanna, married Nathaniel Lynde, and was ancestress of a cousin of mine, wife of Professor Salisbury of Yale College, New Haven, whose pedigree I have been looking up ; and it was from an abstract of her Will, sent me from America, that I got the clew to the old mystery. This clew was very trifling, and probably could not have been worked out by anybody else. She left to her sister, Elizabeth Lock, ^100, due out of her rents in England. This hint was sufficient for me, and I now send you the result of my researches. NOTES TO Pages 57 and 89. [_Purckase of lVe?zlock Barn; Draft Indenture?^ This Indenture made the eiglit and twentyeth day of September in the yeare of our Lord God according to the computacoii of the Church of Englatid one thowsand six hundred forty and nyne Betweene Sir John WoUaston, Knight, Robert Titchborne, William Hobson, Owen Rowe, Stephen Estwicke, George Langham, John Stone, Marke Hildesley, Jolm White, William Wyberd, WilUam Rolfe, and Rowland Wilson, Esquires, being amongst others, by two several! Acts of this present Parliam', the one intituled An Acte of the Commons of England in Parliam' assembled for the abolisheing of Deanes, Deanes and Chapters, Cannons, Prebends, and other Officers and tytles of and belonging to any Cathedrall or Collegiate Church or Chappell within England and Wales, and the other intituled an Acte with further instruccons to the Trustees Contractors, Treasurer and Register for the sale of the lands and possessions of the late Deanes, Subdeanes, Deanes and Chapters, &c, and for the better and more speedy e-xecucoii of the former Acts, ordinances and instniccoiis made concerninge the same persons trusted for the conveying of such of the lands and possessions of the said late Deanes, Deanes and Chapters, Canons, prebends, and other persons named in the sayd Acts as by the same acts respectively are vested and settled in the said Trustees and their heires in such sorte as in the said Acts respectively is menconed. of the one parte, and Thomas Noell, Thomas Arnold, and Danyell Taylor, of London, Esquires, of the other parte, \Vittnesseth, that the said Sir John Wollaston, Robert Titchborne, William Hobson, Owen Roe, Stephen Estwicke, George Langham, John Stone, Marke Hildesley, John White, William Wyberd, William Rolfe, and Rowland Wilson, in obedience to the said Acts respectively, and by vertue thereof, and in e.vecucoii of the power and trusts thereby respectively committed to tliem, And att the disire and by the Warrant of Sir William Roberts, knight, Thomas Ayres, Edward Cressett, Robert Fenwicke, John Blackwell and Nathaniell Wetham, Esquires, whoe together with others named in the said Acte herein before first mencoiied, or any five or more of them, are by the said Acts, or one of them, authorized to treate, contragt, and agree for the sale of the said Lands and possessions in such sorte as in the said Acts respectively is menconed And in con- sideracon of the summe of Two thowsand one hundred and seaven pounds Nyne shillings and three pence of lawfull money of England, the one moyetye whereof, one thowsand fiftie three pounds foureteene sliillings and seaven pence halfe pennye, the said Stephen Estwicke and ^\■illiam Hobson, two of the Treasurers in that be halfe appointed by the said first menconed Acte, have by writeing under their handcs, bearing date this eiglit and twentyeth day of this present moneth of September, now produced by the said Thomas Noell, Thomas Arnold and Danyell Taylor and remayning with 668 Appendix. them, certifyed to be payd and satisfyed in such sorte as by the said writeing appeares— And the other moyetye thereof is to be payd or secured by the said Thomas Noell, Thomas Arnold, and Danyell Tayler according to the contracte certyfyed to the said Trustees by the said Contractors to have byn made for the purchase of the premisses— Have graunted, alyened, bargayned, sold, remised, released and quite claymed, and by theis presents doe graunte, alyen, bargayne, sell, remise, release and quitt clayme unto the said Tliomas Noell, Thomas Arnold and Daniell Taylor, their heires and assignes. All that the mannor of Wenlockes Barne, with the rights, members and appurtenances thereof, in the Countye of Middx., and all quitt rents, rents of assize, or freehold rents to the said Mannor belonginge or in any wise apperteyninge. And all that parcell of meadowe or pasture grounde with the appurtenances commonly called the tenne Acres Feild, upon which the Barne commonly called Wenlocks Barne heretofore was scituate, abutting west upon a lane there commonly called Brick lane, and east upon a feild commonly called the sixteene acres feild, adjoyning south upon parte of the freehold land belonginge to the said Mannor, and North upon a feild commonly called the Eight acres feild parcell of the Demeasnes of the said Mannor now or late in the tenure or occupacon of Brewer his assignee or assignes, conteyning by estimacon tenne acres more or lesse. And all that parcell of meadowe or pasture grounde witli appurtenances commonly called the Eight acres Feild or Lowefeild above menconed, abutting west upon a feild commonly called Six acres feild parcell alsoe of the demeasnes of the said Mannor, and East upon the aforesaid Common feilds, and adjoyninge South upon the Tenne acres feild last above menconed and North upon certayne Lands belonginge to the parishe of Iseldon alias Islington now or late in the tenure or occupacon of the aforesaid ( ) Brewer his assignee or assignes, conteyning by estimacon Eight acres, more or lesse — And all that parcell of meadowe or pasture grounde with the appurtenances commonly called Six acres feild, abutting west upon the aforesaid Lane commonly called Brick lane, and East upon the feild last above menconed commonly called the Eight acres feild, and adjoyning South upon the aforesaid feild commonly called the Tenne acres feild and North upon a feild commonly called the Foure acres feild parcell alsoe of the demeasnes of the said mannor, now or late in the tenure or occupacori of the said ( ) Brewer his assignee or assignes, conteyning by estimacon six acres, more or lesse — And all that other peece or parcell of meadowe or pasture grounde with the appurtenances commonly called the Foure acres feild abutting west upon the aforesaid Lane commonly called Brick lane, and East and North upon certayne lands within the parishe of Iseldon als Islington aforesaid, and South upon the six acres feild last above menconed, now or late in the tenure or occupacoii of the aforesaid Brewer his assignee or assignes, conteyning by estimacon foure acres be the same more or lesse — And all that otlier peece of Pasture grounde wiih the appurtenances commonly called tlie Common Feild or sixteene Acres, wherein the freehold Tenants of the. said Mannor have right of Common from Michaelmas to Shrovetyde yearly, abutting west upon the aforesaid feilds commonly called the Tenne acres feild and the Eight acres or Lowe feild, East and South upon parcell of the freehold lands belonging to the said Mannor, and North upon certayne lands within the parishe of Iseldon als Islington aforesoid and belongings thereunto, now or late in tlie tenure or occupacon of the afore- said ( ) Brewer his assignee or assignes, and conteyning by estimacon Sixteene Acres more or lesse— And all that other peece or parcell of meadowe or pasture grounde with the appurtenances commonly called the Six Acres feild, abutting East upon a parcell of grounde now used or ymployed for the emptinge of the Widdraughtes of the Cittye of London, and west upon the high waye leading from Aldersgate streete to Iseldon als Islington aforesaid, and adjoyninge South upon a Lane or passage leadeing betweene the said higli waye and Brick lane aforesaid, and North upon certayne lands in the parishe of Iseldon als Islington aforesaid now or late in the tenure or occupacon of the said Brewer his assignee or assignes and conteyninge by estimacoii six acres more or lesse. All which Lands and premisses are scituate lyeinge and being within the said Mannor of Wenlocks Barne in the afore- said Countie of Midd., and are, or are reputed to be the demeasne Lands of and belonging to the said Mannor, And all Courts leete, Law dayes. Courts Baron, and other Courts whatsoever, services, franchises, Customes, custome Workes, Forfeytures, escheats, relifes, herriotts, fynes, yssues, amerciaments, perquisits, and profitts of the said Courts and leets and every of them, post fynes, fynes upon discent or Appendix. 669 alienacon, wayfes, estrayes, deodands, goods and chatties of felons and 'fugitives, felons of tliemselves, outlawed persons, Clerks convicted, and of persons put in exigient, rivers, streames, waters, watercourses, hawkeings, huntings, fisheings, fowleings, Commons, grounds used for Common, wayes, passages, ease- ments, wastes, wast grounds, rights, royaltyes, jurisdiccofis, libertyes, priviledges, ymmutments \sic, evidently error for immtinilies] profitts, commodityes, advantages, emoluments, possessions and heredita- ments whatsoever, with their and every of their appurtenances of what nature or quallyty soever they be to the said Mannor lands and premisses above raenconed, and to every or any of them, or any parte or parcell of them, or any of them incident belonging or in any wise apperteyning, and which the late Prebendary of the Prebend of Wenlocks Barne aforesaid, or any his Predecessors in right of the said Prebend, or any other person or persons clayming by from or under him them or any of them his their or any of their estate att any tyme within the space of Tenne yeares next before the being of this present Parham' or since had held used occupied or enjoyed within the said Mannor and premisses and every or any of them, which said Mannor and premisses are mencoiied in tlie particular thereof to have bene late parcell of the possessions of the late Prebendarye of the Prebend of Wenlocks Barne late belonginge to the late Cathedrall Church of St. Paull, London and to be of the present yearly value of one hundred sixtie two pounds two shillings and three pence, And the revercon and revercons, remaynder and remainders of all and singuler the said premisses, and of every parte and parcell thereof, and all the right, tytle, interest and estate of the said Sir John Wollaston, Robert Tytchborne, William Hobson, Owen Roe,* Stephen Estwicke, George Langham, John Stone, Marke Hildesley, John White, William Wyberd, William Rolfe and Rowland Wilson, of in and to the said Mannor lands and premisses and every of them, except and always reserved out of this present bargayne sale and conveyance all mesuages, Cotages, farme rents, in possession or reversion, parcell of the Mannor aforesaid, not mencoiied in this Indenture, other then Customary lands or tenements holden by Coppie of Courte Roll, Commons and grounds used for Commons wayes and wast grounds. And alsoe excepte all Parsonages appropriate, tythes appropriated, fee farme rents yssueing out of tythes, oblacoiis, obvencoiis, porcoiis of tythes, parsonages, Vicaridges, Churches, Chappells, Advowsons, donations, nominations, rights of patronages and presentations, and all such other things as by the said Acts or either of them are saved or excepted or appointed to be saved or excepted or not to be sold— To have and to hold the said Mannor lands, teiits. and hereditam" and all and singuler other the said premisses before in and by theis presents graunted alyened bargayned sould remised or released or herein before mencoiied to be hereby graunted alyened bargayned sold remised released w"' their and every of their appurtenances, unto the said Thomas Noell, Thomas Arnold, and Danyell Taylor, their heires and assignee forever, to the onely use and behoofe of the said Thomas Noell, Thomas Arnold & Daniell Taylor, their heires and assigns forever, as amplye as the said Trustees or any of them by the said Acts or either of them are enabled to convey the same, discharged of all demaunds, payments and incumbrances, as amply as by the said Acts or either of them it is enacted or provided in that behalfe. In Wittnes whereof the said partyes to theis Indentures interchangeably have sett their scales— Yeoven the day and yeare first above written Et Memorandum quod quarto die Octobris Anno suprascript. prefat. Robertus Tytchborne* Venit coram custod. libertaf. Anglie authoritate Parliamenti in Cane, et recogn. Indentuf. predict, ac omnia & singul. in eadem content, et specificat. in forma supradicf. Juf. sexto die Februaf. Anno predict. [By a draft indenture dated a year later, September 20, 1650, Thomas Noel assigns to Thomas Arnold and Daniel Taylor his share of this property on receipt from each of them of ^ 1 52, los. What was the nature or meaning of the transaction under which one third of the property, valued the year before at /'2107, 9s. 3d., was thus parted with for ^305, we have nothing to show.] * Signed the warrant for cxccui;on of Ch.-irlcs_I. 670 Appendix. \Assignmcnt of his share in Wenlock Barn by Thomas Nocl?\ This Indenture made the twentieth day of September in the yeare of our Lord God according to tlie computacoii of the Church of England one thousand six hundred and fifty, Between Thomas Noell Esq' one of the Aldermen of the Citty of London of the one parte, And Thomas Arnold and Daniell Taylor of London, Esq" of the other parte — Whereas the sayd Thomas Noell, Thomas Arnold and Daniell Taylor by virtue of a certaine Indenture of bargaine and sale beareing date the eight and twentieth day of September in the yeare of our Lord God one thowsand six hundred forty and nyne made or raenconed to be made betweene Sir John WoUaston, Knight, Robert Titchborne, William Hobson, Owen Roe, Stephen Estwicke George Langham, John Stone, Marke Hildesley, John White, William Wyberd, \A'ilIiara Rolfe, and Rowland Wilson, Esquires, of the one parte, and the said Thomas Noell, Thomas Arnold, and Danyell Taylor of the other parte. And within six monethes next after the date thereof duely inrolled in the high Courte of Clrauncerye according to the forme of the Statute in such case made and provided. And by force of the Statute for transferringe of uses into possession the said Thomas Noell, Thomas Arnold and Daniell Taylor are jo;-ntly seized in their demeasne as of fee of and in the Mannor of Wenlocke Barnes, with the rights, members and appurtenances thereof in the Countye of Midd., and of and in diverse lands tenements, rents, royaltyes, Courts, jurisdictions, libertyes, privileges, franchises, services, customes, immunityes, profitts, Commodityes, advantages, emolu- ments, hereditaments, appurtenances and other things to them and their heires by the said Indenture graunted, alyened, bargayned, sold, remised, released, or quite claymed, or therein mencoiied to be thereby graunted, alyened bargayned, sold, remised, released, or quite claymed, in such manner as by the same Indenture appeares. Now this Indenture Wittnesseth that the said Thomas Noell for and in consideracoii of the summe of One hundred fiftie two pounds & Tenne shillings of lawfuU money of England to him by the said Thomas Arnold well and truely payd, and of the like summe of one hundred fiftie two pounds of like English money to him by the said Daniell Taylor well and truely payd, before the sealeing hereof, the receipte of both which summes the said Thomas Noell doth hereby acknowledge, and thereof and of every parte and parcell thereof doth acquite release and discharge the said Thomas Arnold and Daniell Taylor and either of them, their and either of their heires, executors, Administrators and assignes forever by theis presents. Hath remised released and forever quite claymed, and by theis presents doth for him and his heires remise release and forever quite clayme to the sayd Thomas Arnohl and Daniell Taylor and their heirs, All the right, tytle, interest, estate, clayme and demaund which he the said Thomas Noell hath, or which he or his heires may, can, or ought to have, of, in, or unto the said Mannor and premisses, or any of them, or any parte or parcell of them or any of them, or of, in, or unto any other Mannor or Mannors, lands tene- ments, liereditaments, or other thinge or things which by the said Indenture or any other Indenture have bin graunted, alyened, bargayned, sold, released, or quite claymed, or are therein mencoiied to be graunted, alyened, bargayned, sold released or quite claymed by the said Sir John Wohaston, Robert Titchborne, William Hobson, Owen Roe, Stephen Estwicke, George Langham, John Stone, Marke Hildeslej', John White, William Wyberd, William Rolfe and Rowland Wilson, or any of them, to the said Thomas Noel!, Thomas Arnold and Danyell Taylor and their heires, Soe as the said Thomas Noell and his heires or any of them shall not att any tyrae hereafter have, clayme, challenge or demaunde any parte, right, tytle, interest, estate, or other thing, of, in, unto, or out of the same or any parte thereof, but shalbe thereof both in Lawe and Equitye barred and forever excluded by theis presents. And the said Thomas Noell for himselfe, his heirs, executors and administrators and for every of them, doth covenante, graunte and agree, to and with the said Thomas Arnold and Danyell Taylor, and either of them, their and either of their heires, executors, administrators and assignes, by theis presents, that the said Mannor and premisses and every of them, and every part and parcell of them, shall or may from tyme to tyme, and att all tymes hereafter, remayne, continue, and be to the said Thomas Arnold and Danyell Taylor, their heires and assignes, free and clere or otherwise well A ppendix. 671 and sufSciently saved and kept Iiarmles and indempnifyed by the said Thomas Noell or his heires, of and from all and all manner of incumbrances either in charge, tytle or estate had, made, committed, done or suffered, or to be had, made, committed, done, suffered by the said Thomas Noell, his heires or assignes, or any of them, and that he the said Thomas Noell, his heires and assignes, and every of them, and all and every other person or persons whoe now have or hath, or who att any tyme her- after shall or may lawfully clayme or derive any right, tytle, terme. interest, estate, charge, trust or demaund of, in, unto or forth of the said Manner and premisses or any of them, or any parte or parcell of them, by, from or under him, them or any of them, or by, from or under his, their or any of their right, tytle, interest, act or estate, shall and will from tyme to tyme and att all tymes hereafter, within the space of seaven yeares next ensevveing, upon the reasonable request, and att the Costs and charges in the lawe of the said Thomas Arnold and Danyell Taylor or either of them, their or either of their heires or assignes, make, doe, execute and suffer, or cause to be made, done, executed or suffered, all and every such other and further lawful! and reasonable act and acts, conveyances and assurances in the lawe for the further or better convcyinge or assureing of the said Mannor and Premisses or any of them, or any parte of them or any of them, to the said Thomas Arnold and Dan;-ell Taylor and their heires, as by the said Thomas Arnold and Danyell Taylor or either of them, their or either of their heires or assignes, or any of them, or by their, either, or any of their Counsell learned in the lawe shalbe reasonably devised or advised and required, Soe as noe such further conveyance or assurance conteyne any further or other warrantye or Covenante for Warrantye than onely against such person or persons respectively whoe shall make the same and his or their respective heires. And soe as noe such person who shall make doe or execute any such further act, conveyance or assurance be for the makeing, doeing, or executeinge tliereof compelled to travell further then to the Cittyes of London and Westminster, or one of them — In Wittnes whereof the partyes abovesaid to theis present Indentures interchangeably have sett their hands and scales the day and yeare first above written Et Memoranda quod tercio die Octobris anno suprascript. prefiit. Thomas Noell Venit coram [ ] Custod. libertat. Anglie &c. in Cancellar. &: recogn. Indentur. perdict. ac omnia & singul. in eadeni content. & specificat in forma supradict. Juf. xviij" die Octobris Anno predict. This Coppie agreeth w"' y° record and is examined by me. Rich : Broughton. [The three following papers refer to the purchase of the Ashwell property. The first, dated December 20, 1650, is a copy of the deed authorising the purchase; the second is the actual deed of conveyance ; the third is a survey of the property taken in 1647.] NOTE TO P.\GES 57 .\ND 89. [Perniii io Pnr chase As/iwcli.~\ 2o'°» Decembris 1650"° At y' Comittee of Pari"' for remoueing obstruccons in sale of Manors of Rectories & Gleab Lands heretofore belonging to Deanes, Deanes &c. Whereas Daniel Taylor Esq' one of the Trustees for sale of Deanes and Chapt" I^nds presented his |>eticon this day and therein tlesired this Comittee to give way that he may purchase the Gleab belonging to y' Parsonage of Ashwell in the County of Hertford — Ordered that the said Daniell 672 Appendix. Taylor have leave of this C5mittee (according to the Act for sale of y' Manors of Rectories (S:c) to contract for and purchase in his owne name or in the name of any other person to his use the Gleabe of the s'' Rectory or Parsonage of Ashwell afores"" : And that the Trustees Contractors, Trears [Treasurers] and other Officers for the s"" Lands doe admitt him thereunto accordingly. James Chaloner. Tho : Pister. Nath. Hallowes. B. Lechmere. [and one signature quite illegible.] \_AsJrd)eU, Deed of ConvcyanccP^ This Indenture made the one and thirtieth day of January in the yeare of our Lord God accordinge to the computacon of the Church of England one thousand six hundred and fifty, Betweene Sir John Wollaston, Knight, John Fowke, Samuel Avery, Christopher Packe, Thomas Noell, Stephen Estwicke, Aldermen of the Cittie of London, James Bunce, William Gibbs, Francis Ash, John Bellamy, Edward Hooker, Thomas Arnold, Richard Glyd, William Hobson, John Babington, Laurence Bromfeild, Alexander Jones, Richard Vennar, Robert Mead and James Storie, Cittizens of the said Cittie of London, Trustees amongst others nominated in an ordinance of Parliament of the ninth of October one thousand six hundred forty six intituled an ordinance of Parliament for abolishinge of Archbishops and Bishops within the Kingdome of England and Dominion of Wales and for setlinge of their lands and possessions upon Trustees for the use of the Commonwealth, And by an Act intituled an Act for sale of the Manners of Rectories and Gleab lands late belonginge to Archbishops, Bishops, Deanes, Deanes and Chapters authorized to convey such of the said Manners of Rectories & Gleab lands as by the said Act are vested in them & their heires in such sort as in the same Act is menconed of th' one part, And Daniell Taylor of London, Esquire, of th' other part, Witnesseth That the said Sir John Wollaston, John Fowke, Samuell Avery, Christopher Packe, Thomas Noell, Stephen Estwicke, James Bunce, William Gibs, Francis Ash, John Bellamy, Edward Hooker, Thomas Arnold, Richard Glyd, William Hobson, John Babington, Laurence Bromfeild, Alexander Jones, Richard Vennar, Robert Mead & James Story, in obedience to the said Act & by vertue thereof & in execucon of the power & trust thereby comitted unto them, and at the desire & by the warrant of Sir William Roberts, knight, Thomas Ayres, Robert Fenwicke, Timothy Middleton, Edward Cressett and John Blackwell, Esq", who, togeather with others named in an ordinance of Parliam' of the sixteenth of November m the said yeare one thousand six hundred forty six, intituled an ordinance of the Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament for appoyntinge the sale of the Bishops lands for the use of the Common- wealth, are by tlie said Act of Parliament authorized to treat, contract & agree for the sale of the said premisses in such sort as in the said last menconed ordinance is menconed, And in Consideration of the somme of One thousand three hundred eighty three pounds six shillings & eight pence of lawful! mony of England, the first moyty whereof, beinge six hundred ninety one pounds thirteene shillings & fower pence, the said Stephen Estwicke & William Hobson two of the Treasurers by the said Act of Parliament authorized to receave the same, have by writinge under their hands, bearinge date the eighteenth day of this present month of January, now produced by the said Daniell Taylor & remayninge with him, certifyed to be payd & satisfied by him in such sort as by the same writinge appeares. And the second moyty thereof is to be payd or secured by the said Daniell Taylor accordinge to the Contract certified to the said Trustees by the said Contractors to have beene made for this purchase — Have granted, aliened, bargained & sold &: by theis presents doe grant, alien, bargaine & sell unto the said Daniell Taylor his heires & assignes, All that the Parsonage house with th' appurtenances of & belonginge to the Rectory of Ashwell in the County of Hertford, And all & singular houses, edifices, buildings, barnes, stables, mault howses, graneries & other out houses, gardens, orchards, yards, & Curtillages, togeather with the scite, ground and soyle of and belonginge to the said Parsonage, house and premisses, conteyninge by estimacon fower acres be the same more or lesse, And all those severall Appendix. 673 Closes or inclosures & parcells of pasture ground with their and every of their appurtenances to the said Parsonage & Rectorye belonginge, beinge commonly called iSr knowne by the names of the Football close, Poisain meade and the Lord's meade, And all those severall peeces or parcells of arrable land with their appurtenances lyinge is: beinge within the Common feilds commonly called Quarrye feild, Middle feild, North feild ^ Prisain feild conteyninge altogeather by estimacoh one hundred forty three acres be the same more or lesse — xVnd alsoe all that water corne mill with th' appurtenances togeather with a litle house thereunto adjoyninge with a Utle backside thereunto belonginge with their & every of their appurtenances beinge now or late in the tenure or occupacon of John Griffin or his assignes, And all Commons & Common of pasture, woods, underwoods, timber trees & other trees, waters, watercourses, rivers, streames, floodgates, mill pooles, suit of mill service, sucken wayes, passages, easements, profits, commodities, advantages, emoluments, & hereditaments, with their and every of their appurtenances to the said Parsonage house, Gleab lands & premisses, and to every or any of them belonginge or in any wise appertayninge. Which said parsonage house, Gleab lands and premisses are mencoiied in the Particular thereof to have beene late parcell of the possessions of the late Bishopricke of London and to have beene, togeather with the Tithes belonginge to the said Rectory, by Indenture bearinge date the one and twentith day of March in the third yeare of the Raigne of the late Kinge Charles demised by William then Bishop of London to Thoinas Cokayne, Gentleman, for the terme of the naturall lives of William Lord Russell now Earle of Bedford, Francis Cockaine and Scipio Cokayne, & the life of the longest liver of them under the yearly rent of two hundred & twenty quarters of mault mencohed in the said Particular to be valued two hundred & twenty poundes the proporcohable part whereof for the said parsonage house, Gleab lands, mill, and other the premisses hereby granted accord- inge to an apporcofiment thereof made accordinge to the said Act, is in the said Particular menconed to be sixty pounds, as by the said Particular wherein the said Parsonage house, gleab lands and pre- misses hereby granted are mencohed to be upon improvement of the yearly value of threescore pounds thirteene shillings & fower pence over cs: above the said proporcohable part of the said yearly rent reserved appears. And the revercon and revercohs, remainder & remainders of the said Parsonage house, gleab lands & premisses & of every part & parcell thereof, To Have and to hold the said Parsonage house, Gleab lands mill, tenements & hereditaments, & all and singular other the said premisses hereby granted, aliened, bargained or sold or herein before mencoiied to be hereby granted, aliened, bargained or sold with their & every of their appurtenances unto the said Daniell Taylor, his heires & assignes for ever. To th' only use & behoofe of the said Daniell Taylor, his heires & assignes for ever, As amply as the said Trustees or any five or more of them are by the said Act enabled to convey the same, dis- charged of all demands, payments & incumbrances as amply as by the said Act or ordinances or any of them it is enacted, ordayned, or provided in that behalfe. In witnes whereof the parties aforesaid to theis Indentures interchangeably have put their hands & scales the day & yeare first above written. Will : Hobson. John Babington. Stephen Estwicke. Tho : Arnold. John Bellamie. \Sjirvey of As/nucll, [647.] .•\ Survey of y' Mannor i'^ rectory of .Ashwell in y' parrish of .\shwell in y' County of Hertford, parcell of y' jKissessions of Doctor William Ju.\on late Bishop of London, taken in y" month of June 1647 by us whose names are hereunto subscribed, being Surveyors appoynted by y" Trustees for y" said Bishopricke, together with (according to our best skill & discovery) all woods, rents, reversions, services, annuities, franchises, liberties, priveledges, immunities, conditions, Commons Courts I>eet, Courts barron, & all other possessions, & hereditaments whatsoever, with all & every th' appur- tenances of what nature & quallitie soever they be, to y° said Manners belonginge, w'" now are, or at any tymc w"^ ten yeares before y* beginning of this present parliament were belonginge to y' said late Bishop, he had & held in ■f right of his said Bishoppricke, dignitie, or office respectively. 4 Q 674 Appendix. Imprimis — Rents of assize of freeholders by free soccage tenure & of Coppyholders of inheritance by fynes certaine accordinge to custome of y" said Mannour . . ^£'35. I2- n Waifes, Estrayes, & fellones goods vallued by estimacon communibus Annis . 20= Fynes, Amerciaments of court, together with fynes of Alienacoii and descent, valued by estimacoii Communibus Annis ..... ^^5. The Demise of the Demeasnes. William, Bishopp of London, did by his indenture dated the xxx* of Novemb. in the xiii* yeare of King Charles demise unto Jeremiah Whitacre, Gent, all those his xxx acres of arable land called the Lord's Land alias Y Lord's denieasne lands, and also those his Ixvii acres of arable land lying in the common feild of Ashwell, Habendum for xxi yeeres from y" date, Redendum xlii' viii'' with a clause of re-entry for not payment. The Particulars of the s° Demise. Severall pavcells of arable land lying in the common feilds of Quarifeild, Middlefeld, Northfeild, & Redlandfeild, all w'"' together doe conteyne by estimacon cxx acres, w°'' are in y" occupation of W" Sell, & at an improoved value are worth per Annum ^^xxx. One Lyme Kilne being one parcell of y" Demeasnes, valewed by estimacoii comiibus annis xxx' which said demise is by meane assignement come unto Thomas Hanchett. The Demise of the Rectory or Parsonage of Ashwell. W", Bishopp of London did by his Indenture dated the xxi'" of March in the iij"" yeare of King Charles demise unto Thomas Cokaine, Gent, all that y' rectory & parsonage of Ashwell w"" the appur- tenances. And allso all meadowes, feedings, pastures, rents, Tyths & conmiodities whatsoever to y' said rectory or parsonage belonginge. And allso all that Water-Mill, with the waters pooles, & other the appurtenances to y'= said Mill belonging (except y' Advousion of y" Viccaridge & allso all great trees) Habendum duringe the lives of W°' Lord Russell (now Earle of Bedford) Francisse Cokaine & Scipio Cokaine, Redendum ccxx quarters of cleane, good, able, & better sort of mault, between y= Feast of All S'^ & Pentecost, with a clause of Re-entry for not payment, w''' said Mault wee estimate Comuni- bus Annis at ;^ccxx. The 3 lives before specifyed are only alleadged to be in being. The Particulars of the said Rectory. The parsonage house, consisting of a Hall, a parlour, a kitchin, two Butteries, a brew house, a dayry house, a mault house, tyled, with five chamf>ers over them, three great Barnes, two stables thatched, a granary, a garden, an orchard, a great yard, all w'"" conteyne by estimacoii fower acres, & are worth at an imjirooved valewe ^^6. 13. 4. Severall closes of pasture called football close, prisam meade, &: y" Lord's meade & severall peeces of arable land in the common feilds called Quaryfeild, Midlefeild, Northfeild, & prisanfeild, w"'" conteyne in all by estimacon cxliij acres, together w"" the Tythes belonging to y' parsonage are in the present occupacofi of W" Sell at y' improoved yeerly rent of ;£xc. and ccxx quarters of mault, estimated in the whole to be ;£cccx. One water mill for come, with a little house to y" same adjoyning, & a little backside, is now in y= present occupacion of John GriiBn, Gent., and at an improoved valewe is worth per annum ^xxiv. Appendix. 675 Ther is belonginge to y= Lord of y= Mannour of Ashwell a court Leet, & a court Baron to bee kept at y° parsonage Irouse at y= will of y' Lord, wlier y' free & customary tennants are to perfornie sale & service. Wee liave valevi'ed the premises as they were worth in y= yeare 1641. Will: Webb, 1647. W» Elee. John Guye. Ralph Davis. NOTE TO Pages 57 and 89. \J\Ianor of Ltitlerworik ; Deed of Convcyancc7\ This Indenture made tlie fower and twentieth day of March in the yeare of our Lord one thousand six hundred & fiftie. Between Thomas Coke, William Bosevile, John Sparrow, William Kenricke, Ralph Harison, William Scott, Esquires, William Steele, Recorder of London, Sylvanus Taylor, Thomas Hubbard, Cornelius Cooke, Esquires, John Hunt, Gent, Sir Edward Barkham, Baronett Sir William Roberts, Knight, John Humphreys, Thomas Ayres, John White, James Stocall, Esq", Edward Cressett, Gent. Sir Richard Saltonstall, Knight. Daniel Searle, Merchant, Nicholas Lempriere, Nicholas Bond, Richard Sydenham, and Robert Fenwicke, Esquires, nominated in an Act of this present Parliament, intituled an Act for selling the fee farme rents belonging to the Commonwealth of England, formerlie payable to the Crowne of England, Dutchie of Lancaster and Dutchie of Cornewall, (or any five or more of them) whoe are by the said Act, And alsoe by one other Act of this present Parliam', intituled an Act for further explanation of the former Act, authorized to contract, sell and convey the said fee farme rents, and all Tenths or rents reserved, Dry-rents hundreds. Liberties, Baylivvicks, reservacoiis, condicoiis, franchises and pencons, amongst other things menconed in the said Acts (excepting such Tenths and Pencons as in the said Acts are excepted) which by the said severall Acts, and also by one other act intituled an Act for sale of the fee farme rents and for the doubling of moneys there- upon, are vested and setled in the said Trustees and theire heires in such sort as in the said Acts is menconed, of the one part, and Daniel Taylor of London, Esquire, William Webb, Citizen and Grocer of London, and Henry Brandreth, Citizen and Clothworker of London, of the other part — Whereas the late King James by his Indenture bearing date the tenth daie of Januarie in the fower- teenth yeare of his Raigne, did graunt unto Sir Francis Bacon, Sir John Walter, Sir James Fiillerton, and Sir I'homas Trevor, Knights, all that the Manor of Lutterworth in the Countie of Leic^ with its rights, members and appurtenances whatsoever, And all the lands, tenements, rents and hereditaments what- soever called or knowne by the name of the Manor of Lutterworth, And alsoe all those lands, tenements, meadowes, feedings, pastures, and hereditaments whatsoever called or knowne by the name or by the names of Morebarnefeilds with theire appurtenances whatsoever in the parish of Lutter\vorth aforesaid. And all other the landes, meadowes and pastures with theire appurtenances lying and being in the parish of Lutterworth aforesaid late in the tenure or occupation of Edward Ferrers, Esq' or his assignes, and afterwards in the tenure or occupation of Peter Temple and John Temple Gent, or theire assignes, by the Particular thereof menconed to be of the yearelie rent or value of Thirtie seaven pounds And alsoe all that Toll of the Towne or Lordshipp of Lutterworth aforesaid, And all Faires, Marketts, pic- cages, stallages, houses and shopps, with other profitts and commodities whatsoever, then or late in the tenure or occupation of Thomas Farren or his assignes, by the Particular thereof menconed to be of the yearehe rent or value of fower pounds, And alsoe all those landes, tenements, messuages, meadowes and pastures, with the ajjpurtenances, to the said Manor belonging (over and above five poundes for the fee farme of a mill there) by the Particular thereof menconed to be of the yearelie rent or value of Twentie three pounds seaven shillings and five pence halfe penny, and by the same Par- ticular, the said Manor of Lutterworth and other the premisses are menconed sometimes to have been 676 A ppendix. parcell of the lands and possessions of Henry late Duke of Suffolke — To Hold the same premisses for the Terme of fower score and nineteene yeares — And Whereas the said Sir John Walter, Sir James Ftdlerton and Sir Thomas Trevor, being the surviving lessees, by tlieire Indenture bearing date the sixteenth day of May in the fowerth yeare of the raigne of the late King Charles, did graunt, bargaine and sell the premisses to William Williams, Robert Michell, Walter Marks, and Robert Marsh, To hold the same for the residue and remaynder of the said terme, of fowerscore and nineteene yeares then to come and unexpired, paying therefore yearelie for and during the residue and remainder of the said terme the yearelie rent of fower score and five poundes eight shillings and seaven pence halfe penny farthing — And ^Vhereas the said late King Charles by his letters Patentes bearing date the fourteenth dale of June in the fowerth yeare of his raigne did graunt to Edward Ditchfeild, John Highlord, Hum- phrey Gierke and Francis Mosse, theire heires and assignes, in fee farme for ever the reversion and reversions of the aforesaid Manor of Lutterworth in the Countie of Leicester aforesaid (except the Mill there) the same to be holden of the said King, his heires and successors as of his Manor of East Greenwich in the Countie of Kent by fealtie onelie in free and common soccage, and not in Gapite nor by knight's service, paying therefore yearelie at the feastes of Saint Michael the Archangell and the Annunciation of the blessed Virgin Marie by equall porcons the fee farme rent or yearelie rent of fower score and fower pounds eight shillings and seaven pence halfe penny farthing, the first payment thereof to beginne at that feast of the feasts aforesaid which first and next should happen after the expiration of the aforesaid terme of fower score and nineteene yeares by the aforesaid King James mencoiied to be graunted as aforesaid, As by the Particular of the said premisses certified to the said Trustees under the hand of Francis Phelipps, Auditor, the fourteenth day of March one thousand six hundred and fiftie, according to the direccon of the said Acts, and remayning with the Register to the said Trustees, And as by the aforesaid Lidenture, the Assignement thereof, or letters patents before men- coned, relation being thereunto had may more and at large appeare— Now this Indenture witnesseth that the said Thomas Coke, William Bosevile, John Sparrow, William Kenricke, Ralph Harrison, William Scott, William Steele, Sylvanus Taylor, Thomas Hubbard, Cornelius Cooke, John Hunt, Sir Edward Barkham, Sir William Roberts, John Humfreys, Thomas Ayres, John White, James Stocall, Edward Cressett, Sir Richard Saltonstall, Daniel Searle, Nicholas Lempriere, Nicholas Bond, Richard Sydenham and Robert Fenwicke the Trustees before nominated, in pursuance of the said Acts of Par- liament, and by virtue and in execucoti of the powers and trusts thereby committed to them, and in consideration of the somme of one thousand threescore and seaven pounds eight shillings halfe penny farthing paid by the said Daniel Taylor, and which Thomas Andrewes and John Dethick, Aldermen of the Cittie of London, Treasurers appointed by the said first mencohed Act to receave the same, by writing under theire hands bearing date this present fower and twentieth day of March &c, have certified to be paid and satisfied by the said Daniel Taylor, William Webb and Henry Brandreth in such sort as by the said writing may appeare, Flave graunted, aliened, bargained, sould and confirmed, and by these presents doe for them their heires and assignes, graunt, alien, bargaine, sell and confirme unto the said Daniel Taylor, William Webb and Henry Brandreth theire heires and assignes for ever. All that the aforesaid yearelie rent of fowerscore and five pounds eight shillings and seaven pence halfe penny farthing reserved and payable for and during the residue of the said terme of fower score and nineteene yeares yet to come and unexpired by virtue of the aforesaid Indenture and assignement, And alsoe the fee farme rent or yearelie rent of fower score and fower pounds eight shillings and seaven pence halfe penny farthing reserved and payable upon the graunt of the reversion of the premisses in fee for ever the first payment thereof to beginne upon the determination of the aforesaid terme of fower- score and nineteene )'eares aforesaid by virtue of the aforesaid letters patents of the said King Charles ; And all penalties, benefitts of forfeitures nomine penaes distresses powers and conditions of re-entry or reteyner by the said Indenture, the Assignement thereof or letters patents before menconed, graunted or reserved for or by reason thereof, or incident or belonging thereunto, and all liberties, powers, actions, suits, wayes and meanes for the recoverie of the same rent and everie part thereof by reason or by virtue of the aforesaid Acts of Parliament, or of any of them, or of the said Indenture, the assignement thereof or letters Patents before mentioned, or of any graunt, covenant, reservation. Appendix. 677 provision or condition therein mentioned or conteyned — To Have and to Hold tlie aforesaid yearelie rent of fowerscore and five pounds eight shillings and seaven pence halfe penny farthing and the aforesaid fee farme rent or yearelie rent of fowerscore and fowerpounds eight shillings and seaven'pence halfe penny farthing hereby graunted, aliened, bargained and sould, and everie part and parcell thereof, reserved and payable as aforesaid, And all penalties, benefitts of forfeitures Nomine penaes advantages of distresse, liberties, powers to distreyne, and to detaine, sell or dispose of the same. And all powers and conditions of re-entry for non payment of the said rent, and all actions, suits, waies and nieanes for the recoverie of the same rent and everie part thereof by reason or by virtue of the aforesaid Acts of Parliament, or of any of them, or of the said Indenture the assignement thereof, or letters patents before mencofied or of any graunt, covenant, reservation, provision or condition therein menconed or conteyned, to the said Daniel Taylor, William Webb and Henry Brandreth, theire heires and assignes. To the onelie use & behoofe of them the said Daniel Taylor, William Webb and Henry Brandreth, theire heires and assignes for ever, in as full, large and ample manner to all intents and purposes whatsoever as any King or Queene of England, or any person or persons in trust for them, or any of them, for- merlie had receaved was seised thereof or enjoyed the same, or may, might or could have formerlie had receaved, recovered, distreyned for or come by the same, and as fullie and amplie as the said Trustees or any of them by the said Acts or any of them are inabled to convey the same, and as arnplie as by the said several! Acts is enacted or provided in that behalfe. In Witnes whereof to the one part of this Indenture remayning with the said Daniel Taylor, William Webb and Henry Brandreth, the said Trustees have sett theire hands and scales, and to the other part thereof remayning with the said Trustees the said Daniel Taylor, William Webb and Henry Brandreth theire hands and scales have sett. Dated the day and yeare first above written. Tho : Ayres. R. Harison. Jo : Sparrow. Ri : Sydenham. Cor : Cooke. Sealed and delivered in the presence of Clement Baker, Gierke attending the Trustees. Richard Stevens. Acknowledged y' 21"' day of February i653~Before me Rl : TOMLYNS. Inrolled in the Remembrances of the publique Exchequer (to wit) amongst the Records of Hillary terme 1653 in the custody of the Second Remembrancer there. NOTE TO P.\GEs 57 .\ND Sg. \_Lands at Chester ; Deed of Conveyance.^ This Indenture made the foure and iwentith clay of December in the yeare of our Lord God according to the computation used in England one thousand six hundred fifty and one Betweene Sir John Woilaston, Knight, Robert Tiichborne, Thomas Noel, Marke Hildesley, Stephen Estwicke, Thomas Arnold, Daniell Taylor, William Hobson, Owen Roe, George I^ngham, John Stone, John White, William Wyberd, William Rolfe and Rowland Wilson, Esquires, being (by two severall Acts of this present Parliament, the one intituled An Act of the Commons of England in Parliament assembled for the abolishing of Deanes, Deanes and Chapters, Canons, Prebends and other Offices and Tytles of or belonging to any Cathedrall or Collegiate Church or Chappell within England and Wales, and the other intituled An Act with further instructions to the Trustees Contractors, Treasurers and Register for the sale of the lands and possessions of the late Deanes, Subdeanes, Deanes and Chapters &c. And for the 678 Appendix. better and more speedy execution of the former Acts, ordinances and instructions made concerning the same) Persons trusted for the conveying of such of the lands and possessions of the said late Deanes, Deanes and Chapters, Canons, Prebends and other persons named in the said Acts, as by the same Acts respectively are vested and setled in the said Trustees and their heires in such sort as in the said Acts respectively is mentioned, of the one part, and William Burrow, of London, Gent, of the other part, Witnesseth that the said Sir John "Wollaston, Robert Titchborne, Thomas Noel, Marke Hildesley, Stephen Estwicke, Thomas Arnold, Daniell Taylor, William Hobson, Owen Roe, George Langham, John Stone, John White, William Wyberd, Williain Rolfe, and Rowland Wilson, in obedience to the said Acts respectively, and by virtue thereof, and in execution of the powers and trusts thereby respectively committed to them, And at the desire and by the warrant of William Parker, Thomas Ayres, John Blackwell, Clement Oxenbridge, and Edward Cressett, Esquires, who, together with others named in the said Act herein before first mentioned, or any fyve or more of them, are by the said Acts or one of them authorized to treate, contract and agree for the sale of the said lands and possessions in such sort as in the said Acts respectively is mentioned, And in consideration of the suuime of One thousand one hundred sixty foure pounds nyneteene shillings and three pence of lawfull money of England, which the said Thomas Noel and , William Hobson, two of the Treasurers in that behalfe appointed by the said first mentioned Act, have, by writing under their hands bearing date tlie seaven and twentith day of September last past, now produced by the said William Burrow and reraayning with him, certified to be paid and satisfied in such sort as by the same writing appears, Have graunted, aliened, bargained and sold, and by these presents doe graunt, alien, bargaine and sell unto the said William Burrow his heires and assignes, All that annuall or yearely rent or summe of one and twenty pounds fifteene shillings and fyve pence of lawfull money of England, late due and payable to the late Deane and Chapter of the late Cathedrall Church of Christ and the Virgin Mary in Chester by Orlando Bridgman, Esquire, his assignee or assignes, out of or for the Manner of Bromborough in the County of Chester, and other lands, tenements and hereditaments there, And all that annuall or yearely rent or summe of fifty two shillings and eight pence of like money late due and payable to the said late Deane and Chapter by William Huntington, Gent, his assignee or assignes, out of or for certame lands and tenements in Childer Tliorneton in the said County of Chester, And all that annuall or yearely rent or summe of foure shillings and two pence of like money late due and payable to the said late Deane and Chapter by Robert Taylor his assignee or assignes out of or for other lands and tenements in Childer Thorneton aforesaid, And all that annuall or yearely rent or summe of thirty three shillings and foure pence of like money late due and payable to the said late Deane and Chapter by John Halhvood his assignee or assignes out of or four other lands and tene- ments in Childer Thorneton aforesaid, And all that annuall or yearely rent or summe of fifteene shillings and Tenne pence of like money late due and payable to the said late Deane and Chapter by the said John Halhvood and Thomas Bennett or one of them, their or one of tlieir assignee or assignes, out of or for other lands and tenements in Childer Thorneton aforesaid, now or late in the tenure of Oliver Boden his assignee or assignes, And all that annuall or yearely rent or summe of forty three shiUmgs of like money late due and payable to the said late Deane and Chapter by Robert Francis his assignee or assignes out of or for other lands and tenements in Childer Thorneton aforesaid. And all that annuall or yearely rent or summe of thirty nine shillings and foure pence of like money late due and payable to the said late Deane and Chapter by Thomas Bennett his assignee or assignes out of or for other lands in Childer Thorneton aforesaid, And all that annual or yearely rent or summe of seaven shillings and eight pence of like money late due and payable to the said late Deane anil Chapter by John White his assignee or assignes out of or for other lands and tenements in Childer Thorneton aforesaid. And all that annuall or yearely rent or summe of sixteene shillings and foure pence of like money late due and payable to the said late Deane and Chapter by 'William Yate his assignee or assignes out of or for other lands and tenements in Childer Thorneton aforesaid, And all that other annuall or yearely rent or summe of foure shillings and eight pence of like money late due and payable to the said late Deane and Chapter by Wihiam Keale his assignee or assignes out of or for other lands and tenements in Childer Thorneton aforesaid — A ppendix. 679 Whicli said several! yearely rents or summes are parcell of the yearely rent or summe of Tliirty two pounds thirteene shillings and three pence reserved due or payable by the letters patents first hereafter mentioned out of or for the said Mannor of Bromborough and other lands and tenements in Bromborough and Childer Thorneton aforesaid and Bebington in the said county of Chester, or some of them — And all that annual! or yearely rent or sunmie of forty one pounds twelve shillings and nine pence of like money late due and payable to the said late Deane and Chapter by Henry Harper Gent, his assignee or assigns out or for the Rectory or Parsonage of Neston in the said county of Chester, whicli said yearely rent or summe of forty one pounds twelve shillings and nyne pence IS part and parcell of the yearely rent or summe of seaventy one pounds three shillings and nyne pence reserved due or payable by the said letters patents out of or for the Rectoryes of Great Neston and Little Nestou and other things in the said county of Chester, or some of them— And al! that annual! or yearely rent or summe of foure pounds of lil^ht even by the greatest Enemies of his Family ? " ° ' One rather wonders who the "lady" could have been that expresses herself in such a wav, and on such a subject— and one of whose anecdotes is a very strange one for her sex. Mr Webb also quotes, from the same work, the following passage, which gives further insight into the intimate relations e.xisting between the Pengelly family and Richard Cromwell : — " Mr Perkins (with whom young Pengelly was placed to learn his profession) seems to have been conscientiously desirous of discharging the duty of a master, though he acknowledges he may have been harsh. The father of Thomas Pengelly was then quite in the decline of Hfe, and he was left to the management of his mother, whose fondness interfered with the duties that the master of her son required. She was anxious to have him at home, and upon one occasion of illness retained him longer than his furlough. This and some fancied tendency m young PengeUy to levities that Perkins had reproved, and some mutual incompatibility in their tempers, occasioned more than one breach between them. On two occasions Mr Clark [R. Cromwell] was applied to as mediator. Upon occasion of his absence Mr Perkins wrote to Mrs Pengelly through Mr Clark. It appears that they had a conference in the garden at Cheshunt, and that Richard, as a peace-maker had tried to appease all parties. Upon another occasion when Thomas Pengellv sought to be freed from his service he apphed to his mother through the same kind friend." ' Mr Webb adds the following, which seems to show that not much importance can be attached to the gift of the picture : — The little picture mentioned by Colonel Chester is in my possession, though the gold chain is lost. It is a very fine miniature, supposed to be by Cooper, but it is uncertain of whom-no doubt, some near relative certainly not R. Cromwell. Appendix. 685 NOTE TO Page 253. \Lettcr referred to by Boi Mo7^decai in his letter to Mrs He?rick^ dated 1771.] \From the Rev. Mr Ga'^e to the Rro. Henry Taylor. \ To The Rev=' Taylor Rector of Wheatfield near Tetsworth in Oxfordshire Firlc 13 Oct' 1 741 D'^ Sir, I'm sure it wo'' be greater pleasure to you y" any body to hear of any good fortune attending my Sister & me, as you are one of my best Friends ; but there happens to be a defect in the Will, besides the difficulty of recovering effects from thence^ so that there may be occation for the assistance of many friends, as I dont think of going over, till we see w' can be done without it. My Sister is married to M'" Herrick at Beau Mannor near Loughborough in Leicestershire who will be very glad to hear from you at that place. I have transmitted your Letter to her. We cant sell y"" effects because of Miss Meads Interest in the Will, but 1 believe we shall have occation for your Acquaintance in other Business. Wish you joy of your little one I am with my best respects to M" Taylor y most obliged Friend iS: humble Serv"^ J. Gage. P.S. I was in Nottshire last year & saw all o' old acquaintance M' Western ^ Vl\ Plumt[7-£r] were some little time agoe in o' neighbourhood. NOTE TO Page 255. I received tlie followins^ from Mr William Perr)- Herrick of Beau Manor Park, datetl January 2d. 1S75, in rcidy to a communication from me : — In a letter from Mrs Wilkes to my grandmother dated Feb 2 1769 she says "Cousin Taylors who you enquire after are all dead except three of cousin Taylor's children of the Fire Office, Henry who is a clergyman & has been married some years has several children of whom two are in orders. His two sisters Rebecca & Elizabeth, who are unmarried, live at llford in Essex." In a letter from Mrs Wollaston dated March i, 1802 to Mr Jno Herrick who, that is Mrs Wollaston, I believe was connected with the Wilkes, she says " Here a word in answer to your letter regarding Miss Wilkes. I have not heard anything but what was in the newspapers, that she has left her large fortune to a Lady Baker, who I guess to be of the Taylor family." fl know nothing of Lady Baker. — P. A. T.] The person to whom the Rev H Taylor's letter is addressed was my grandmother (ntJe Lucy Gage) Lucy Herrick. I have seen in some of her letters the names of Wollaston & Musters, with whom she was related, & she was also acquainted if not related with the families of Wilkes & Mead. 686 A ppciidix. In the hope of receiving; additional information, — or perchance of finding letters, papers, or pictures in their possession relating to the family, — I have (1874) communi- cated with the present representative of the Sherbrookes, the Delmes, and the Carters. Their replies will be found with the family papers, but they contain nothing which I think would add interest to the iVlemoir. ADDENDA. NOTE TO Page 46. [IVill of John IV/iik.'] Colonel Chester writes 27th April 1876 (after tliis book was printed) : — I have fortunately discovered the Will of John White, which furnishes conclusive proof of the identity of Samuel Taylor's wife and children. This John White was a native of Truro, in Cornwall, and of an heraldic family in that county. He appears in the Visitation of Cornwall in 1622, as son of Robert White by Mary Sidenham his wife, and was then 8 years old. He became a Citizen and Merchant Taylor of London, and so describes himself in his Will, which was dated 24 Aug. 1670, and proved 8 Dec, 1685. He was of the parish of St Faith, London, but was buried at Highgate, Middlesex, 13 Mch. 1684-5. By his first wife, Elizabeth, who was buried at Highgate 24 Nov. 1660, he had an only daughter, Elizabeth, who became the wife of Samuel Taylor. By a second wife, Penelope Prior, a widow, he had one other daughter, Penelope, who married Martin Ryder, Esq. The following are the only passages in his Will which mention his daughter Taylor and her family : — " Item, I give unto my daughter Taylor's wett nurse that brought her up several children, ^3. *' Item, I give unto my daughter Taylor's maide for mourning, ;^3, if she have one at my decease. " Item, I give my daughter Taylor, widdow [this last word inserted] for mourning, tenn pounds, and to her son Samuel Taylor and daughter Elizabeth Taylor, to each of them mourning, ^5 a peice. " Item, I give unto my dear daughter Elizabeth Taylor [Samuel Taylor's wife being by his ill husbandry hath undone her and her children, for and towards her and her children's substance, 30 shillings to be paid her every Fryday weekly, while she is Samuel Taylor's wife, by my executors, from and after my decease ; but, if it shall please God by death to separate them, and shee shall survive her said husband Samuel Taylor, then my will is that she shall have and injoy]* dureing her natural life the benefitt of my lease of the house and shop in Paternoster Rowe called the Henn and Chickens or Brood Henn, which house and shop I have leaste out to Mr George Naylor and Mrs Timothy Kinge, from Christ tide 1670 for the term of 21 years, they paying ^120 per annum quarterly, which my will is she should have for the terme of her life, and after her decease my will is it shall goe unto her sonn Samuel Taylor dureing liis naturall life after his attainment of the age of 2 1 years, and to the heirs males of his body lawfully begotten, and for want of such issue it shall goe and bee for the use and benefitt of his sister Elizabeth for and during her naturall life, if she survive him her said brother, and from and after her decease my will is it shall bee for the use and benefit of my daughter Penelope Wliite, &c. " Item, I give unto Samuel Taylor my daughter's son ^100 for tlie setting of him fourth to learne some trade or other imployment, as shall bee thought most meete, at his attainment of the age of 16 yeares, at Lines of erasure are drawn through these lines in brackets. 688 A ddenda. which time I desire it may bee paid for his soe placing forth ; Item, I give unto him more, ^400, to bee paid unto him when he shall have faithfully served the full time and terme of his indentures, if fitt to settle on imployment, otherwise my will is my executors shall pay unto him ^30 per annum for his maintenance untill said sum of ^400 be paid, but if he die before said ^£'400 be paid, then the same to be paid to his sister Elizabeth at her age of 2 1 years, or on the day of her marriage, and I give her over and above the same ^£^500. [And for my disobliging son in law Samuel Taylor, who at this time is greatly indebted to myself and many others, presuminge it will not bee much better with him, my will is that mine executors shall deliver up unto him what specialtie or specialties they shall finde wherein hee is indebted to mee, which, with all other disbursements to and for him, I freely forgive unto him, not as any desert in him, but from my paternal love to my deare daughter his unhappy wife.]" * It is clear, I think, from the fact that the well-known Taylor property in Paternoster Row (the Hen and Chickens, &c.) had passed into the possession of John White, that the Samuel Taylor who married his daughter Elizabeth was the younger brother of Daniel Taylor. It is also evident, from the two erasures in the Will, that he was living at its date (24 Aug. 1670), but died soon after, as letters of administration to his estate were granted the following 2rst of January. All the other statements respecting him, and his wife and cliildren, may safely remain as already stated in the text. I have taken a little more time over the enclosed matter than I intended, hoping to discover some trace of Samuel Taylor's widow, but I liave been unsuccessful. NOTE TO Page 153. I ]Vill of Rebecca Shcrbrooke?\ Under date April 12, 1876, Colonel Chester writes : — I don't remember ever seeing the Will of Rebecca Sherbrooke among your papers, though I believe it was referred to in the old Pedigree. I came upon it accidentally yesterday, it having been proved in one of the out of the way courts, and now send you a full abstract of it. It does not of course give any new facts, but is worth preserving. Abstract of Will proved in the Commissary Court of London. Rebecca Sherbrooke — dated 28 Apl. 1697. — Of that small estate which I have reserved, having done well for my children, I give as follows : — to my son John Sherbrooke ^50, for mourning for him and his — to my daughter Elizabeth Sherbrooke ^5 for a ring — to my eldest daughter Rebecca £,iS°> mourning for herself and children, the diamond Jewell her father gave me, my silver bason, my cloth bed lined with green silk and all my goods in the house of her husband, my son Taylor — to my son Taylor ;^io, for mourning — to ray grandson William Taylor ^3, for mourning — to ray daughter Anne £200, for mourn- ing for herself and children — all my wearing apparel between ray z daughters Rebecca and Ann, and to Ann my muff — to Mrs Maurice 20/ — to Mrs Chappel 20/ — to Mrs Bell ro/ — to nurse Laud 10/ — to Mrs Collison 5/— to Mary Egglesfield 5/— what money was put by me into the funds of the King I give to Rebecca and Ann Taylor — residue to my eldest son Henry Sherbrooke, and appoint him executor. Proved 14 Oct. r697 by the executor. * These nine lines have lines of erasure through them in the original. PEDIGREES. i ii GENEALOGY OF TAYLOR FAMILY. Sir SIMON BORRARD, Knight, Lord of Clifton, Co. Biicks, Oakley, Co. Bedford, and Statherne, Co. Leiceste Sir Simon Borrard, Kt., 11 and heir. = Margaret, daur. of Sir Asceline Sydenham. Lord of Tichmarsh, j Co. Northampton : Inherited part of the Manor of Tichmarsh. Thomas Reykes. = Joan, heir to her brothers Ralph Reynes Lord of Clifton, Oaktey, Statherne, and --== Amabel, daur. of Sir Richard Chaniberlaine, Knight, p.irt of Tichmarsh, in right of his mother. WILLL\M CHAPELL, of Gamlingay, Sir Thomas Reynes, Knight: Buried at Chfton = Cecilia, daur. of Tyrin^ham of SiR GODFREY SCUDAMORE of Uoto ' " ' aforesaid, and had a cross-legged effigy. Tyringham, Co. Bucks. r- , .' , ^ Co. Cambridge. Sir Thiimas Reynes, Knight: Buried — Joao Seyti at CUfton aforesaid. I Scudamore, Co. WiltSj Knight. T Sir Peter Scudamore, Knight. = Joan, daur. of Henry Brisley. Walteh Taylard, of Wrest Lng worth, Co. Bedford : Had Estates at Knesworth and Potton, Co. Bed- ford, and Waresley, Co. Huntingdon. William Chapell, of Gamlingay aforesaid, son and heir. Sir jlhn Reynes, Knight, had 3 Wives, but their issue — Calhirine, daur. a all e.ttinct in the second and third generations, except | heir, isi Wife, as to his daughter, and eventual heiress. I I Walter Tayiard, of the Inner Temple, in 12 Henry Vi. = Margaret, daughter and heir: Will dated (1433/4) '■ Will dated 12 Dec. 1464 and proved i3 May 14G6 : Had Estates at P..tt(>n, Co. Bedford, Dodding- ton and Buckden, Co. Huntingdon, and Gamlingay, Co. Cambridge : Buried at Gamlingay- i September 1475 and proved 20 Feb- ruary 1475/6 : directed to be buried by her husband at Gamlingay : died 28 September 1475 (Inq. p. m.). Henry Street, buried — Cecilia, heiress ; in London. I her brothers. John Anstev. z^Joan, danr. and i heir. \ J I'hn Taylard. 2d son: Died 28th Oct. 1506: Lord of Polton and Waresley aforesaid. , daur. of John Thomas Taylard, Emi I of the Barons of the Ex- cheijuer : Died be- fore her hiisband. Doctor of Divi- younger : Living 1491. fe nf Eliza'beth.wife of Cathirint John Dale: Rogek Hunt, of John Living 1476. and proved his cutt. Will 3 August 1491. Wii I I -lAM Taylard, of Dodding- Elizabeth, daur. RtcHARDs : Living 1476. ton, Co. Huntingdon, Geni Found heir to his mother by Inq. p. m. 29 October 1475, then aged 44 and upw.irds : Will d.ated 22 September and proved 13 October 1505 : Buried at Dod- dmgton. nd co-heir and eventually heir of her sister Joan, wife of Sir William Aling- lon, Kni. : Died 23d Jan. 1517/8. Huntingdon, Gem. : Died loth January 1507/8: Will dated 1^07 ajid proved la Fehnwrj- 1507 '8: directed lube bitried in Church of All Saints, Cambnd^c- I Mari^aret, eldest daur. : Living '507- ogcr Taylard. found Humphrey Taylard. heir to his father of St Neols, Co. by Inquisitioti post- mortem 33 January 1506 7, then aged jo and upwards ; Will dated 36 AugU'^t, am! proved 31 Oct- oherijo?: directed to be buried in the Temple Church. L'tndoD. Died .S. P. I a Septonber William Taylard. uf Doddinjitaii ~ Agnes, daur. of Catherine, wife of Richard Bakos-, and proven : daur. and heir .ivingtjS9: Buried at Doddugton afore- said. of Slukeleyof Stukeley.Co- Hun- tingdon. Robert Taylard: Living 7 Ju'y >573- 4 ^ 6qo Pedigree of Taylor — [eoiitiuitcd). A. I William Taylard, , son and heir : Died young. I Geffrey Taylard, eldest surviv- - ing son and heir-apparent : Will dated 15 March, and proved 6 April 1559' Died V. P. and S. P. M. : Buried at Oakley, Co. Bedfoid. Christian, daur. and heir of John Leweston, of Lewes- ton, Co. Dorsetl Remarried, about 1565, John Slade, of Shorediich, Co. Middlese.x, Gentleman, and both living 7 July 1582. Margaret, apparently only child at date of her father's Will: Died young. KobeutBkudenell: Died 4th July 1599 : Buried at Deene, Co. Northampton. William Taylard, of Upwood, : Co. Huntingdon, 3d but 2d surviving son : Called Tay- LER in several documents of the period: Buried at Ram- say, Co. Huntingdon, ist March 1597/8. Mary, daur.of Robert Druell, of Little Gedding, Co- Hun- tingdon : Buried at LTpwood aforesaid II April 1596. : Catharine, evidently posthumous child, and eventually sole heir : Married 1570. Lawrence Taylard, oK= d, Upwood, Co. Huntin_ don, Gent. : Called Judd. Tailer in his Uncle 2d Wife. PhiUp's Will : Died at Ramsay, Co. Hunting- don, 31 December 1600. Thomas Brudenell, eldest son, created a Baronet 29 June 1611, Baron Bbudenell, of Stanton Wivill, Co. Leicester, 26 April 1627, and Eaklof Cardigan 30 April 1661 : Died i6th September 1663. Philip 'raylartl. Citizen and Draper of London, 4th but 3d surviving son : Will dated 7 July and proved 13 Aug. 1573 : Signed his name Tavlek : Buried at St An- tholin's, London, 11 Aug. 1573, as Philip Tailor. I Giles Taylard, = dam 5th but 4th surviving son: Pynder-. Living 7 July 1573. Called Tayler in his brotherPhilip's Will. Robert Taylard, say, Co, Hun- tingdon, 27th April 1600. Lawrence Taylor: Named in his Uncle Philip's Will 1573. Sir NICHOL of O.vton, in thi Co. Devon, Kn William Martyn, aged 27 in 1G20 ' market 15 Feb 35th March 16 in Kentoi AS MARTYN, e Parish of Kenton, t., son and heir of Recorder of Exeter, : Knighted at New- ruary 1624/5 ■ Died 3, aged 60 : Buried Church M. L Robert Taylard, alias Taylor, - 2d son : Baptized at Upwood aforesaid 16 September 1585 '■ Living 1650 al the Summer or Bermuda Islands. of Married before 1614, died before 1624. istWife. Samuel Taylor, living 1650 in New England. William Taylor, buried at All Saints, Newcast!e-on-Tyne, 2d October 1669: Willdated 15 Sept. and proved 3 Nov. 1669 : (Seal, the arms of Tayiard). Mary, wife of Henry Both living 1669 at the Bermudas. ■ WiLLIA.M TAVLARD,n//rtJ : Taylor, Citizen and Haberdasher of Lon- don, eldest son : Bap- tized at Upwood, Co. Huntingdon, 6th Sept. 1584: Died aglh June, and buried at Hackney, Co. Middlese.\-, 8th July 1651, as "Deputy Wil- liam Taylor": Will dated 29th March 1650. and proved 19th July 1651. Margaret,daur. of William Wilson, : D.D., Canon of Windsor, and sister of Edmund Wilson, of St Mary-le-Bow, London, M.D., and of Reverend John Wilson of Sudbury, Co. Suffolk, for- merly wife of Rawson of Gillingham, Co. Dorset, and mother of Edward Rawson, Se- cretary of the Colony of Massa- chusetts Bay from 1650 to 1686: Marriage Settlement dated 23d Marchi623/4; Died before 1627. 2d Wife. Margaret, daur. Thomas Rainton Washingborough, 1 Lincoln, and widoi John Marsh of Lon Grocer: Married a 1627 ; Buried at ney i September Admon. of her eff granted to her da Rebecca Ju.xon 1670. 3d Wife {See Rainton Pedigree, p. 6g6 Willi^im Martyn, = of Nethere.v, Co. Devon, only son : Will dated 28 Dec. 1661 : Admon. with Will annexed ' granted in the Principal Regis- try of the Bishop , of Exeter 14th May 1662, to Eliirabeth, his widow. I Nicholas Turner : Born 12 .May 1645 : Living 1674. Susanna : Living 1674. : Elizabeth, daur. of Sir Shilston Calmady, Kilt. : Died 26th April 1695: Buried at Kenton afore siJ. M.I. Richard Turner, of Totteridge, ■Co. Herts: Died 20th, and was buried at Totteridge 25 May 1676, aged 66. I Dorothy: Married 8 August 1644: Died 24 Feb. 16S9/90, aged 65. Susanna : Married Stayn- ings, about May 1654, and died in May 1685. Rebecca Marsh, daur. of Margaret, [ 3d wife of her hus- Iband's father by her former husband John Marsh : Marriage License in the Bishop of London's Office, dated 22 July 1637, aged about 20, with consent of her mother: Married at Hackney, 25 July 1637 : Buried at St Stephen's, Coleman Street, 3 February 1653/4- Daniel Taylor, of London, Citizen — and Haberdasher, son and heir : ACommissioner of Customs 1651 : Described in his Marriage Li- cense in 1637 as a bachelor, aged about 23 years : Died in Sv/an Yard, Coleman Street : Buried at St Stephen's, Coleman Street, 20 April 165s : Will, in which he mentions his cousin, William Taylor, of Newcastle, dated 22 Feb. 1654/5, Codicil_ 28 March 165s, proved 2S April following (34S Aylett) : Mentioned in the Will of William Taylor, of New- castle. proved in 1669(149 Coke) as his cousin deceased. : Margaret, daur. of William Lock, of Wimbledon, Co- Surrey : Marriage Settle- ment dated 3 Aug. 1654 : Publication of banns at St Stephen's, Coleman Street, 23 and 30 July and 6 Augt. 1654: Married at Clapham, Augt. 8th : Had a jointure in Alton Park in Clackion, Co. Essex, as appears by her husband's Will 1654/5. Edmund Taylor, of With ai Co. Essex, 2d son, 1650 Mentioned in the Marriage Settlement of his si Hannah in 1646 : Living 2d November 1677, as appears by a Bond to his nephew, William Taylor. Merchai London, sealed with t Taylard Arms : Appointed by Oliver Cromwell to Rectory of Littleton, Co, Middx., in 1655 ; afterwards preached at Witham afore said as an Independent, and was there buried g Febru- ary 1691/2. Probably never . married. Richard Turner, Citizen and Haberdasher of London : Born 26 June 1646 : Living 1674: Died II June 1738 : Will dated 14 Nov. 1717, Codicil 21 August 1730, pre iSJu' Samuel Turner: Born 6 March 1650 : Was Consul at Cyprus, and died .there in 1705- Elizabeth: Born I February 1647/8. .1738. John Knight, — Elizabeth: Dorothy : Born 2 Born 12 of Brooke Born 28 and baptd. 13 and bapt. Street, St Dec, 1659 : November 1653, 28 Sept. Andrew's, Baptized at Totteridge : 1656: Died Hoi born. I January Marriage License unmarried Gent. : Will following: Died in dated 5th March 14 July dated 19 April 1672/3 (Faculty 1672 at T706, proved 1716. Office) : Married Tunbridge; 9 Jan. 1707/8 6th of the same Buried at by Elizabeth, month : Died 7th Totteridge. his relict. and was buried at Totteridge loth December 1673, aged 20, M.I. William Taylor, of the - City of London and of Dantzic, Merchant, and sometime of Great War- ley and South Weald, Co. Essex, only surviv- ing son and heir : Born ini647: Buried atSouth Weald 5 May 1707. Rebecca, daur.of Richard Sherbrooke, of London, Citizen and Merchant Taylor, by Rebecca, his wife, daur. of George Clarke, of Hackney, Co. Middlesex : Born 22 J Illy 1657 : Marriage Articles dated iS Aug. 1676 : Buried at South Weald 5th September 1723: Admon. of her effects granted to her son, Daniei Taylor, z Oct. 1723, in C. P. C. [See Sherbrooke Pedigree, p. 694.) WiUiai Taylo, Bapt. at St Fai ■ ■ . London. 12 Dec. 1645 : Buried there 5 February 1645/6. Richard Turner : Living in Hatton Garden in 1760 : ; Mentioned in the Will of his uncle. John Knight, 1706: Proved his father's Will in 1738: Will dated 3 May 1767, Codicil 20 May, and proved 19 Dec. 1768. Other issue, William Taylor, of St: Michael Eassishaw and St Alphage, London, and after- wards of Portsmouth, Co. Hants, son and heir : Born 7 December 1673 : Died at Portsmouth 7 Sept. 1750, and was buried there: Will dated 2 April 1739, Codicil 7 August 1740, proved 23 March 1750,51. - Anna, daur. of Edward Crispe, of Bethnal Green, Stepney, Co. Middlesex, Merchant, by Anne, his wife, daughter of Richard Sherbrooke above named : Born 1680: Buried al Hackney 5 January 1738/9- {See Crispe Pedigree, p. 697.) Daniel Taylor, of How Hatch, South Weald afore^^aid : Baptized at Great Wariey 24 July 1684: Died unmarried, and was buried at South Weald 3 February 1738/9: Win dated 27 January 1738, proved 13 February following. John Taylor, of South Weald, and of Romford, Co. Essex : Baptized at South Weald 21 Septem- ber 1690 : Died unmarried, and was buried there 8 July 1766: Will dated 26 February 1764, proved 21 July 1766. George Taylor : Bapt. at South Weald 20 Nov. i6gi: Died unmarried: Buried at South Weald 1 Apri 1694. Samuel Taylor, of How Hatch aforesaid : Bapt. at South Weald 14 April 16(35 ■ Died unmarried, and was buried there 19 Jan. 1733- Pedigree of Taylor — {continued). 691 Gilbert T.iylard: J.-ine, wife of Richard Ciifton : Had issue Gervase Clifton. Mary. Henry Taylard.: Baptized Mary: Bapt. at at Upwood aforesaid Upwood a/ore- ist November 1586, and saidai Nov.1587, buried there 24ih July and buried there 1595. 29 January 1587/8. Thomas Gary, married - at Buckingham, Co. Bucks, 22 September 1603. and buried there 20 December i6og. I Husband. - Elizabeth : Mentioned in - the Visitation of Hun. tingdonshire 1613 : Living at Buckingham aforesaid 1650 and 1655; Buried there 25 Oct. i56o. : RobertOwen: Mar- ried at Buckingham, Co. Bucks, i6ch Aug. 1613, and buried there 9 Jan. 1662/3. 2 Husband. Martha ; Married ii 1619: Buried at Saint Peter's, Cheap 4 May 1651. 2 Wife. Elizabeth, eldest child, baptized at St Peter's, Cheap, 8 July 1620. Rev. Damel VoTlER, Rector = Margaret : Died in of Se Peter's, Cheap, Lou- childbed : Buried at don, 24lh Nov. 1615 : Se- St Peter's, Cheap, questered for his loyalty in 18 April i6ig. 1642: Will dated 14 March 1st Wife. 1641/2, and proved 18 Sep- tember 1647 : Buried at St Peter s. Cheap, 5 Sept. 1646. WitxiAM Webb, Grocer, 1650 : Mentioned in the Will of William Tayior, of Newcastle, in 1669, as his cousin. I Margaret : Married 28 Jan. 1640/1 : Died before 15 Sept. 1669. Robert Clark- - SON, of London, Draper, of Ivy Lane, Mercer, and of Little Chelsea, Co. Middx. : Living 1674 : Will dated 11 Dec. i6g5, proved 27 Feb- ruary 1695/6. - Hannah : Marriage Articles dated 21st Dec. 1646; Married 22 Dec, 1646: Living 1674. Samuel Taylor, of London, Benjamin Citizen and Haberdasher, Taylor: 3d and youngest son, 1650 : Bapt. at Proved his father's Will Hackney, 27 1651, and also that of his July 163S : cousin, William Taylor, of Not nientd- Newcastle, in 1669 : Mar- in his ried Elizabeth, daur.of John father's Will, White, and had issue ; Ad- 1650, ' mon. 21 Jan. 1670/1: Called of Barnes, Co. Surrey. John Jitxon, of St Stephen's, Walbrook, London, Citi- zen and Salter and Sugar Baker: Party to certain indentures, dated 4 March 1670, and also 10 the Mar- riage Settlement of George Wellington and Margaret Taylor in 1672 : Proved the Will of William Taylor of Newcastle in 1669. Rebecca: Living unmarried 1650, then not 19 : Married before 28 March 1655 : Admox. to her mother's effects in 1670: Buried at St Stephen's, Walbrook, slh February 1676. [_See JuxoN Pedigree, p. 693.) Daniel Taylor : Died 9 and was buried at Hackney 10 June Daniel Taylor: Born 9 March 1^52/3: Parish Register. St Stephen's, Coleman Street: Buried there 15th Ftbruary "65^/5- Gerard - USHEK, of St Antholin's, London, Scrivener: Will dated 4 September j6gi, proved 13 Novem- ber 1694. - Katherine : ^ minor and un married 1654 Married at S; ' Lawrence, Jewr>', London, 19 February 1662/3, then described of St Stephen's, Walbrook : Mentioned in the Will of William Taylor 1669 : Living 1690. nt Nathaniel = NOKES, of St Leonard's, Shoreditch: Described in his Marriage License of AH Hallows, Honey Lane, 1664, aged about 26 ; Admon. in C. P. C. to his widow, 23d January 1696/7. = Rebecca: Baptized at Hackney, 2d August 1639 ; Marriage License dated 6 December 1664, then aged about 20 (Faculty Office) : Mentioned in the Will of William Taylor i66g: Living 1690. George = Wellington, of London, Merchant : Described in his Marriage License of St Giles, Cripplegate, 1672, aged 30 : Living 1664. - Margaret : Bapt. at Hackney, 27 Oct. 1651 (Parish Register of St Stephen's, Coleman Street) : Marriage Articles dated 29 June 1672 : Marriage License dated 2d July following (Bishop of London's Office) : Mentioned in the Will of William Taylor 1669 : Living 1674- Richard Taylor : Ii.ipti7cd at Great Warley iS^uly 16S6: Died unnurricdi and Inined at South Weald 94 Aug. 1705- Henry Taylor : Bapt. at South Weald J7 March 16&9: Died unmarried March 1715- Rebecca, eldest daur. : Baptized at Romford July 17, 1678: unmanicd, and WIS buried at South Weald aoth Sept. 1746. I Anna, zd daur: Baptized at Great Warfcy 14 Dec i63o: Died unmarried 6th, and was buried at South Weald laih February 1764 : WUl dated 34ih Dec. 1762, proved loth March 1764. I Dorothy : Baptized at Great Warlcy 16 M.irch 1681/2. and buried at South Weald 3 Feb. 1690/1. Elizabeth : ilapiizcd ai South Weald 17th Sep*. 1693: Laving 17^ : dW unmarried March 1767. 692 Pedigree of Taylor — {continued). William Taylor, of Romford, Co. Essex, eldest son : Born 22 May 1700 : Living 1739 : Died unmarried in April 175S : Buried at South Weald: Will dated i May 1755, proved 23 June 1759. John : Bora 18 March, and buried at St Stephen's, Wa I brook, 22 June 1704. Henry Taylor, Clerk, ^= Christian, daur. of Franc M.A., sometime Fellow of Queen's College, Cambridge, Rector of Crawley and Vicar of Portsmouth, both Co- Hants : Born May 1711 : Died 27 April 1785 : Buried at Crawley : Will dated 20 November 1784, proved 20 August 1785. Fox, M-A., Clerk, Vicar of St Mary's, Reading, Co. Berks, and Pre- bendary of Salisbury Cathedral : Not 21 in 1736; Married at Ewelme, Co. Oxford, 16 June 1740 : Died 23 July 1769: Buried at Crawley. {See Fox Pedigree, p. 693.) Anne : Born I Nov. 1 701 : Died unmarried 32 April 1747- Mary : Born 25 July 1706; Wife of Henry Kindon in Elizabeth : Living 1732 ; Proved her uncle John Taylor's Will in 1766, and her aunt Anne Taylor's Will in 1764: Died unmarried 26 June 1777 : Buried at Wandsworth, Co. Surrey ; Will dated 15 November 1776, proved 16 Ju!y 1777. Rebecca : Living 1732 ; Proved her uncle John Taylor's Will in 1766, and her sister Elizabeth's, in T777 : Died unmarried 1799 ; Buried at Wandsworth, Co. Surrey- Henry Taylor, some- time of Queen's College, Cambridge, LL.B., Rector of Spridlington, Co. Lincoln : Born 16th June 1742 : Died unmarried 27th February 1822 : Buried at BanstL:ad, Co. Surrey. Peter Taylor, sometime of Queen's College, Cambridge, B.D., Vicar of Titchhela and Rt^ctor of Clanfield, Co. Hants, and of Ashington- cum-BuncIon, Co. Sussex : Born 25 April 1745 : Married, 28 March 17S2, at St Olave's, Hart Street, Betty, daur. of Bulterly, of Sparsholt, Co. Hants : He died 22 July 1791, and was buried at South Weald M. I. there : She died at Streatham, 12 SepL 1837, aged 86. John Taylor : Baptized at Portsmouth 28 December 1747: Buried there 29th August 1753. I Daniel Taylor, of London, Merchant; Born 10th September 1751, baptized at Portsmouth cjth October following: Married Elizabeth, daur. of Thomas Drane, of Limehouse, Co. Middlesex: He died in October 1807, and was buried at Hackney : She died in March 1785, and was buried at Limehouse. Elizabeth : Born 24 April 1741 : Died unmarried 12 Dec. 1801 : Buried at St Mary-le-Strand. Edward : Bom at Crawley : Died young. Anna ; Born (7th March 1753 : Bapt. at Ports- mouth 8 May following ; Died unmarried 29th September 1817 : Buried at South Weald. William Taylor, — Catherine, daur. of Samuel of London : Shidfield, near Farebam, Co. Hants, 17 June 1755 ; Bapt. there 29 July fol- lowing, Portsmouth Register : Died 26th April 1843 : Buried at Gosfield, Co. Eiscx. Courtauld : Born 7 and b tized 22 April 1760 : Married at Hackney 27 January 1783: Died 17 June 1826: Buried at Hackney- {See Courtauld Pedigree, p. 699.) Edward William Peter Alfred ■[■.lyior : Taylor : Taylor, of Lon- Born 13 Born don, Silk Auii. 10 April Manufacturer, 17S6 : 1789: sometime of Died Died Bocking, Co. 4 Feb. 21 April Essex, and of 1789: 1791 : Croydon, Co- Buried Buried Surrey, eldest surviving son ; Hack- Hack- Born 10 Septem ney. ney. ber 1790 : Died 14 March 1850 : Buried at Gosfield, Co- Essex. : Catherine, daur. of George Court- auld, of Brain- tree, Co. Essex : Born at Seven- oaks, Co. Kent, 22 November 1795 : Married at St Pancras, Co. Middlesex, 10th Sept 181S ; Living at Frognal Lodge, Hampstend, Co. Middlesex, 1875. {See Courtauld Pedigree, p. 6gg.) William Taylor, of London, Gent. : Born 9 Decem- ber 1803: Living Londor 1875- Christiana Fox : Born 4th April 1785 : Married at St Pancras, 21 Feb. i3ii, to Daniel Lambert, of Well House, Banstead, Co. Surrey : He died in Dec. 1857, and was buried at Banstead 29 same month, aged %i ; She died 11 April 1856, and was buried there. I Catherine: Born 31 December 1787: Married at Saint George's, Bloomsbury, to William Bromley, of Gray's Inn : He died in New Zealand 18 Dec. 1849, aged 62 : She died 7 Oct. 1859, and was buried in Highgate Cemetery- I I Charlotte : Born 8th July 1792 : Died 8th Georgiana ; Born 2ad October . 796 : Junei7g4: Living un- Buried at married Margate. 1875. Harriet: Born 9th April 1795: Died 12 Dec Eliza: Born 9th April 1798: Died 12 Janry. 1S04 : Buried at Hack- The Reverend John Philip Malleson, sometime of Hove House, near Brighton, Co. Sussex, Schoolmaster : Died at Croydon, Co. Surrey, 16 March 1869 '. Buried at Finchley Cemetery- Buried at Gosfield. I I - Anna Rev. Sophia: John Born 23 Jeffery, August of 1793: Billings- Married hurst, at St Co. Pancras Sussex: 14 Jan. Died 1S23; 15 June Died at 1815. Croydon 14 July 1873: Buried at Finchley. - Louisa Caroline : Born nth December ■783: Married at St Pancras 18 October 1805: Died 3d January 1808: Buried at Wiihelniina; Born gMarchiSoo: Mar- ried at Bocking, Co. Essex. 29 Sept. 1830, to Thomas PiCKARD WaRKEN, of Highbury House, Islington, Co. Middlesex; He died 20 Janu- ary 1867 : She living at Manor House, Streatham, Co. Surrey, 1875. Ellen ; in Londoi 20 Novemt 1801 : Marr at St Panel . New Chur 4 July I to Samue Courtauld Died 8 M: 1872 : Buri 1 at Gosfieh {See CoUR AULi) Pedis p. 69y.y Peter Alfred Taylor, now of Brighton, Co. Sussex : Born 30 July 1819 : M.P. for the Borough of Leicester ; first elected 1862. - Clementia, daur. of John Doughty, of Brockdish, Co. Norfolk: Married 27th September 1842 at Lewes, Co. Sussex : Living 1875. William Taylor, : formerly of Bridgwater : Bora 16 July T825 ; Living at Birmingham 1875. Caroline Watson, Henry - daughter of Taylor, Edwin Shute, of of Saint Bristol : Married John's there 19 October Wood, Co. 1852: Living Middlesex: 1875- Born 29th May 183 1 : Living 1875. - Emily Louisa, 3d daur. of Henry Whitehead, of Whitehead's Grove, Chelsea: Born 19th Dec. 1832 : Married 3 Sept. 1856 at the "Unitarian Chapel, Little Portland Street, London: Living 1875. Sherbrooke Taylor : Born 15th December 1835 : Died at sea, on voyage undertaken for health, TO Dec. 1869. Catherine - Ellen: Born 26th June 1829: Married 5th July 1853. William Taylor Malleson, B.A,: Living at Croydon 1875- Other issue. Louisa Caroline, only child : Bom 10 August 1806 : Married 2 January 1844 to the Rev. James Riddell MacKee, then of Drum^, Co. Down; Both living in London 1S75. Ellen Courtauld : Samuel Jeffery : Born at Tavistock Born at Pendleton 26 Nov. 1844. 24 Dec. 1850. Peter Alfred Taylor: Born 22 February 1855: Registered at Bridgwater 21 March 18,4 : Died 6 July 1873: Buried at Birminghan- Cemetery at Wilton, near Aston. I 1 John Willia Taylor : 4 June 1856 ; Died 10 July following, and was buried at Bridgwater. Catherine Cou: Boi Id: 26th February 1854: Registered at Bridgwater 21 March 1834: Married A. C. Osier at Birmingham ■,Feb. 1873. Caroline Ellen : Born 17 July 1858 : Registered at Bridgwater, Edith Sherbrooke : Born nth September i860; Registered at Bridgwater- Ernest Malleson: Born 25 June 1854 : Registered at Huddersfield, 27lh July 1854- Edmund Taylor Malleson : Born 31 October 1858 : Registered at Hampstead nth December I Oliver Malleson : Born 7 February i860: Registered at Hampstead 1 March i860: Died 25 February 1860- Peter Alfred Taylor Malleson : Born i2th July 1863: Registered at Hampstead 22d August 1863- John Taylor Osier : , Born 4 Feb, 1S74. John JPhilip Malleson : Born at Hampstead a3d January 1865. Mary : Born 5 July 1856: Registered at Gresley, Co. Derby, T6th August 1856 : Died i4ih August 1865 : Buried at Finchley- [ 693 ] PEDIGREE or JUXON. John Ju-von, of London. : Richard Juxon, eldest son, of Chichester. Anne Tbomas Juxon, 2d son, =■ Eiiz.-ibeth, Citizen and Mert;hant Ireland, Ci Taylor of London: Died of London : Nov. 1620. daur. ofjohn Ralph Juxon, 3d son, - lizen and Salter Citizen and Merchant Died Jan. 1637/8. Taylor of London : Will dated 20 Feb. 1586/7, and pi'oved 27 June 1587. Sarah, daur. of John Howkins, of Rugby, Warwick, executrix both husbands, anc living S May 1646. Matthew Sheppard, of Christ 0. Church, London, Grocer: f Called 3d husband in the Visitation of London in 1634: Will dated 3 July and proved 11 Oct. 1625. Most Rev. William John Juxon, of Lon- Juxon, Bishop of don : Buried at St London and Arch- bishop of Canter- bury, who attended King Charles. I. on the scaffold : Died 4 June 1663: Will dated 20 Sept. 1662, and proved 4 July 1663. Elizabelh, ist wife, daur. ofjohn Kirrill, of London and East Sheen, co. Surrey ; Whar^is Jan. 1654/5 : By his 2d wife Anne, daur. of Laurence Pountney William Michel- London, 22 Nov. borne, of West- 1619. meston, Sussex, he had a son William, who was created a Baronet 38 Dec. 1660. John Juxon, eldest son, Citizen' and Merchant Taylor of London, and Sugar Baker : Owned the Manor of East Sheen, co. Surrey : Died 23 and buried at St Laurence Pountney, 31 Aug. 1626. Judith, 2d wife, eldest daur. of George Mary, 3d daur, Rainton, of Washingborough, co. Lin- of Edward coin, where baptized 21 Feb. 1596/7 : Wimbish, of Married rst Richard Laurence, and Washingborough, administered to his estate, 6 April 1621 ; co. Lincoln by 2d John Juxon : 3d, at St Laurence Alice, daur. of Pountney, i April 1628, Thomas Ferrers, Robert Rainton, Citizen and Clothworker of London, of same, and whose Will was proved 17 Jan, 1636/7 ; there baptized and 4th Richard Chambers, Alderman 26 April 1601 : of London, who was buried at Highgate, Buried at St Middlesex, 16 Aug. 1658: She died 2 Stephen's, Wal- Aug. 1668, and was buried at St Martin brook, London, Outwich, London. 22 Dec, 163T. {See Rainton Pedigree, p. 6g6.) {See Rainton Pedigree, p. 696.) Arthur Juxon, = youngest son. Citizen and Salter of London, and Sugar Baker: Buried at St Stephen's, Wal- brook, 31 March 1652 : Will dated 25 and proved 29 March 1652. Anne, ad wife, sister of Richard Saunders, lier 1 husband's Executor : Re- married at St Stephen's, Wal- brook, 13 Feb. 1654/5, to William White, of St Martin's, Ludgate, Nicholas Juxon, eldest son: Buried at St Stephen's, Walbrook, May 1671: Will dated 26 April and proved 30 Nov. 1671. Elizabeth Johnson, 2d wife : Married at St Thomas-the- Apostle, London, 30 Sept. 1650, and buried at St Stephen's, Walbrook, 23 May 1671. Rebecca, ist wife, daur. of Wil- liam Taylor, Citizen and Haber- dasher of London, by his 3d wife Margaret (Rainton), widow ofjohn Marsh: Buried at St Stephen's, Walbrook, 5 Feb. 1675/6, {See Taylor mid Rainton Pedigrees, pp, 690 & 696.) William Juxon : Buried at St Stephen's, Walbrook, 7 March 1673/4. John juxon : Bap- tized at St Stephen's, Walbrook, 15 Feb. 1655/6, and buried there 26 Nov. 1686. Arthur Juxon: Bap- tized at St Stephen's, Walbrook, 13 March 1656/7 : Died un- married : Admon, \ 10 Feb. 1689/90. Samue! Juxon: Bap- tized at St Stephen's Walbrook, 4 Feb. 1658/9, i John Juxon, second son, baptized : at St Stephen's, Walbrook, 24 Sept. 1627, Citizen and Salter of London, Sugar Baker, and after- wards Woodmonger: Buried at St Stephen's, Walbrook, 17 Feb, 16S5/6 : Died intestate. le- : Mary Parki St Martin Grand, Londi 2d wife: Marri at St Giles-it the- Fields 25 June 16S0 Arthur Juxon, — 3d son: Bap- tized at St Stephen's, Wal- brook, 2 July 1629, and buried there 25 June 1657- Mary Flexmore, of St James, Clerkenwell : RLnrried at St Stephen's, Walbrook, 20 April 1654: Remarried at St Peter's, Paul's Wharf, 1 Jan. 1658/g, to Francis Rainsford. Robert Juxi Sarah juxon : Living 10 Feb. Mary Juxon : Rorn 4 and baptized at St Stephen's. Wal- brook, 21 March ^653/41 snd buried there 12 Nov. 1673. Rebecca Ju.xon : Born 26 March 1661 : Had a license from the Faculty Office, 13 Jan. 1680/1, to marry Bacon Gwyn, of St Thomas, Southwark. 'Young child," buried Walbrook? ^' 20 Feb. 1654/5, 22 Feb. 1658/9, 3 April 1660, 21 March 1662/3, 6 Jan. 1665/6, 2 March 1676/7. PEDIGREE OF FOX. , Fox. = Phebe : Liv 5 March i636,'7. first wife, daur. of: Josiah Townscnd {who adminisiered de i-onis noK to her husband's estate 24 July 1689), and sister of Jonathan, James EliMbcih, and Sarah Townscnd. all living 15 March i6&6.'7. I I I : Francis Fox, of ^ Mary, 2d wife, daur. of George Fox Andrew St Paul's, Shad- Francis Barham and proved his Fox, of well, CO. Middle- Mary his wife, and sis- brother Tedding- scx, Ropemaker: ler of Francis and Juhn Francis's ton, co. Willdalcd Barham: Sheand ihey Will 22 July Bedford, 15 March 1686/7, all living 15 March 1687. but in 1730: and proved i686'7 : Her Marriage died before Living aa July 1687. Settlement cited in bus- 24julyi66ij- 23 Sept- band's Will, dated 31 1746. Dec 16S3. Elizabeth : Living S Dec. Daniel Fox. of — St Dunstan's, Stepney, co. Middlesex, Merchant : Will dated 8 Dec. 1730, and proved 13 Juiyi733- Denne, daur, of Captain Francis Butlr.-im: Died before 8 Dec. 1730. (From a letter of Rev. Francis Fox she appears to have died about I Oct. i72>-) Elizabeth: Living unmarned 1 Phebe, 16S6/7 : Married, iSt, Ashby iby whom a son, John Ashby, living T730 at Sundown, Beds. Husbandman) : Married, adiy. Wjtis, and . both living 8 Dec. 1730. Mary : Living unmarried in t68£/7. Rev. Francis Fox. mairiailatcd .it Oxford, — from Edmund Halt. 14 April 169S, as of Brentfonl. Middlesex, aged aa. .ind was B.A. M Oct. 1701. and M A. 5 Ju'V 1704 : Became Chaplain (o Lord Cado- faii, and Vicar of Foiiern. Co. Wilis: Vcbcndar}- of Salisbury aj April 171?. and Vicar of St Mary's. Kcadinfc, 7 April i7»6 : Amrior oTsc^-cral rcliciuii^ works : will dated 16 Oct. 1736, and proved 16 Aug. 1738. Susanna Coltetcll : Proved husliand's Will lO Aug, 1738: Her Will dated 33 Sept, 1746, with a cdicil ai>parenlly dated t8 Dec. 1760: Had a sister, Elizabeth Elincs, living in 1746. Josiah Fox. not 21 — in 1686, 7 : Will as of St Mary-lc-Bow, London, Hosier, Citiicn and Bowj'er of London, dated 73 March i7o8.'9. and proved 9 June '■ Martha, proved hu-band s Will 9 June 1731 : Living 6 tcb. I72S;9- Living 8 Dec. 1730- George Fox: 8 Dec 173a Thomas Fox, of RaiclifTc, CO. Middlesex, Ropemaker : Living 8 Dec '730. Daniel Fox, not at in 1736, = Elizabeth Caroline, only surviving child only *on in 1746: Api«- rcnily of ' ' Office in ( one of ih-r dated as iiinfel' •General Adam Willianuon, <.f Ct .IT-,! T::! llr^■, by eldest daur. : Died before 16 Oct. 1736. and buried ai Si Mary's, kcading. Susinna : Married Arthur Stone, of the Midtllc Temple: Both living 16 Oct. 1736: She livin,;, a widow, 35 March 1779. I Elirabeih : Living 8 Dec 1730 : Wife of Captain Michael Taylor. Anne: Susan: Married Living Ciplain 8 Dec, William Taylor Wife (by whom a daur. ot Denne): Married Potter. 2diy Steven- ,son. and living 8 Dec 1730. '730 Frances: Manicd Thomas Newell, of Henley. on-Thames, CO. Oxon : Boih living 16 Oct- 1736. I Chriiiian, not 21 in 1736 : Married, at Ewelme, co. Oxford, 16 June 174^ to Kcv. Henry Taylor. {See Taylor FtfOfrtt, p. 693,) Denne Fox : Living 8 Dec. 1730 : Wife of Hughes. I Anne Fox: Living 8 Dec 1730: Wife of — Wbcatley. 4 T [ 694 ] PEDIGREE OF SHERBROOKE. Robert Sherbkooke, of Tipshall, co. Derby Robert Sherbrtioke, second son. Alice, daur, of Brailsford, of co. Derby. Thomas Sherbrooke, of Oxton, co. Notts. Elizabeth, daur. of William Hall, of Saxondale, co. Notts. John Sherbrooke, of Little Grenley. co. Nntts : Living 1617, as appears by the books of the Merchant Taylors Company of London, on the apprenticeship of Richard Sherbrouke. Henry siterbrooke : Died ante 1671, as appears by the Will of his brother Richard : Baptized at Clareboro'i co. Notts, 16 March 1593/4- Richard Sherbrooke, of St Sepulchre's, London, Merchant Taylor, and of South Weaid, co. Essex : Born in January 1600 at Clareborough, CO. Notts: Baptized there 17 Aug. 1600: Buried at Great St Helen's, London, 4 Aug. 1671 : Will dated 26 March 1671, proved 15 Aug. following. He mentions legacies left to his children by their uacle Henry Sherbrooke. Rebecca, eldest daur. of George Clarke, of Hackney : Born 38 November 1628 : Married at Hackney 19 January 1646/7 : Died in St Sepulchre's 30 April 1697, ^t. 5q : Buried at Great St Helen's 6 May : Proved her husband's Will i67i_: Her own Will dated 2S April 1657: Proved in the Commissary Court, London, 14 October 1697. [Sec Clakke Pedigi-ecy p. 696,) William Taylor, of the - City of London and of Dantzic, Merchant, and sometime of Great Warley and South Weald, co. Essex, only surviving son :ind heir : Born in 1647 : Buried at South Weald 5 May 1707. ■ Rebecca, daur. of Richard Sherbrooke, of London, and Rebecca, his wife : Born 22 July 1657: Marriage articles dated 18 Aug. 1676 : Died at South Weald, and was buried there 5 March 1723 : Admon. in C.P.C- a3 Oct. 1723 : A widow 5 July 1707. VLoK t'cdigrei:, p. 6go.) I ^ I Richard George Sherbrooke : Sherbrooke, Born 30 citizen and Nov. 1647: Merchant Taylor Died 29 June of London, eldest 1652 : Buried son 1671 " I at St Gregory's, 19 Nov. 1649 : Died at Sir Edward Clarke's in Cheapside 27 Jan. 1674, a:t. 25: Buried at Great St Helen's 2 Feb.: Will dated i5 Nov, 1674 : Proved 16 Feb. following. Henry Sherbrooke, = of St Sepulchre's, London, son and heir : Born 4 March 1650 : Died at his house in St Sepul- chre's 23 Aug. 1721, Kt. 71 : Buried 30th, at Great St Helen's : Will dated 10 Dec. 1719: Proved 6 Sept. 1721 : Called eldest son in his mothei 's Will 1694, which he proved in 1697. Mary, eldest daur. of John Brett, of Gracechurch Street, London : Born 22 April i56o: Marriage settlement 29 Sept. 1680: Married at St Dun-tan's in the East 14 Oct. 1680: Died at Ewell, in Surrey, in July 1691 : Buried with her ancestors in Si Bennet's Grace- church, I Aug. following. brooke : Born 30 Dec. 1652: Died at South Weaid in Dec. i65g: Buried at Great St Helen's the 13th. 1 John Sherbrooke, nf - London. Mercer : Born 17 Dec. 1655: Living 24 June 1 707: Died 4 July 1707 : Buried in Fosier Lane, London, with his children, II June 1707 : Will dated iS July 1704 : Proved 15 July 1707, in which he mentions a daur. Elizabeth Sherbrooke, and a son Richard Sher- brooke, and children. : Elizabeth, daur. of John Brett and Bar- nardtston, his wife ; Living 1690: Proved her husband's I Anna, — youngest I daur. : Born ! 16 Oct. 1660 at Hackney: j Married in ■ 1676 : Died I 17 June I 1710, ast. so : I Buried 23d I at Great St | Helen's. : Edward Crispt Beihnal Grei Stepney, co. Midd sex, and London Merchant; B at Greenwich 7 Au 1690, ast. 40 : dated 17 May [6g( Admon. ig .Aug. following : Proba to his son Edwan •6 Jan. 1712/13. i^See CKlsi-ii Pedigree, p. 697.) John Brett Sherbrooke : Born in Fenchurch Street, London, 10 Nov. 1681 : Died S. P. 19 Oct. 1738 : Buried at Great St Helen's 27th. Henry Sherbrooke : Born in Gun Yard, Houndsditch, 28 Oct. 1685 : Died 10 July 1687 : Buried in Aldgate Church. Richard Sherbrooke : Born in St Sepulchre's 20 Nov. 1689 : Baniized there: Died S. P. 18 Ju'ie 1 775, ait. 83 : Buried at Great St Helen's 25th. I Rebecca : Bom 9 Oct. 1683; Baptized at St Gabriel's, Fenchurch Street : Died 24 Sept. 16S4: Buried in Aldgate Church. John Mead, =^ Mary : Born in Gnu Yard aforesaid, 4 Dec. 1687 : Married 23 Dec. 1712 at St Sepulchre's: A widow 1732, 1737: Died in Jan. 1769, ast. Si : Buried 23 Jan. 1769, at Great St Helen's: Living in St Sepulchre's 1723, 1732, and 1737. Nathaniel Wilkes, a Distiller. John Wilkes, Alderman, of London (Farringdon Ward Without), : elected 1769: Mayor 1774: Chamberlain 1779: Born 28 Oct. 1727. in St John Street, Clerkenwell : F.R.S. ; Died 26 Dec. 1797 : Buried in Grosvenor Chapel, set. 70. Mary, only daur- and heir I Mary, only daur. Born abnut 1717 about 1749 : Bi Helen's, Bishops; 10, 1784. d ca;l. 1802. and heir : : Married ried at St gale, April Sherbrooke Lowe : Bap- - tized at Southwell 17 Feb. 1741/2, and buried there i Dec. 1794. Bridget, daur. of Richard Turner Becher, of Southwell: Married there 8 May 1764, and buried there 6 June 1820, aged 77. Robert Lowe of Southwell : High Sheriff of Notts i8or : Baptized there 31 May 1746, and buried there i Aug. 1822. : Anne, daur. of Richard Turner Becher, of Southwell : Married there 29 Oct. 1770, and buried there 11 April 1S26- I Rev. Robert Lowe, Rector of - Bingham, co. Notts, and Pre- bendary of Southwell: Baptized at Southwell 27 Oct. 1779. Ellen, daur. and co-heir of Rev. Reginald Pyndar. Rector of Madresfield, co. Worcester. Henry Porter Lowe, eldest son, of Oxton Hall, CO. Notts, assumed the name and arms of Sherbrooke (Henry Porter Sherbrooke) on succeeding to the estates of his cousin in 1S47 : Born 3 Sept. 1810 : High Sheriff of Notts 1859 : Is J.P, and D.L. Louisa Anne, elde-t daur. of William Fane, H.E.I. C.s Civil Service. Rt. Hon. Robert Lowe, M.P. : : Chancellor of the Exchequer i858 to 1S73: Born iSii, - Georgiana, daur. of George Orred, of Aigburth, co. Lancaster: Married 1836. liam Sherbrooke Born 1844. : Margaret, daur. of Alexander Graham. Henry Nevill Sherbrooke. Lady Alice Curzon, daur. of Earl Howe. Sybilla Mary [ 695 ] PEDIGREE OF SHERBROOKE. Robert Sherbrooke, of Oxtoii : Living 1614 Mary, dai Thomas Sherbrooke, of Oxton, co. Notts, Gent., only son and heir, Sit. 14 ill 1614 : Died Aug. 1654 ; Buried at Oxton i Sept. follow- ing : Will, sans date, proved by his widow 22 Nov. 1654, in which he mentions his kinsman, Mr Richard Sherbrooke. of London, Draper, and his kins- man, Henry Sherbrooke, of the Middle Temple. I : Elizabeth, daiir. of Thomas Jopson, of Cudworth, co. York : Buried at Oxtoii : Executrix to her husband 1654. Thomas Jopson, of Cudworth, co. York : Mentioned in the Will of his brolher-in-Iaw, Thomas Sherbrooke : His Will, dated 22 Ang. 165^, mentions "my sister Sherbrooke," and was proved 28 Sept. following. Richard Dobson, of - John Grundy, of - Bleseby, co. Notts : Died 1658 : Will dated 28 Jan. 1656: Proved 26 July 1659, Oxton 3 March 165a. Robert Sher- - hrooke, of Oxton, eldest son : Born circa 1630 : Bnried there 8 May 1710: Willdated29jan. 1708/9 : Proved at York 4 Oct. 1710: Living a widower and S.P. 1677. : Elizabeth, daur. of William Thompson, of Roxham, CO. Lincoln : Buried at O.Mon 17 [Sept. 1715. I Thomas Sherbrooke, of O.xton aforesaid, ad son : Buried there 4 Nov. 1702: Will dated 28 Feb. 1702: Proved at Southwell ig March following. I - Sarah, dniir. of Thomas Johsoii, of Cudworih, CO. York: Admin, granted to her son Henry 23 Oct, 1733, at York : Men- tioned in her father's Will 1653 under 21 yeurs of age. I I Henry William I Sherbrook of Arnold, CO. Notts, 3d son : Burled at Oxton 22 Oct. 1714: Will dated 20 Sept., and proved at York 16 March '714/5- 4th son, Richard Sherbrooke, Citizen and Fislnnonger, 5ih son : I John Sherbrooke, of Ox I on : Buried at Oxton 30 Jan. 1684 : Will dated O.vton; Will 25 May 1680, dated 1 May and proved 1694, and at Southwell proved4jan. 7 Aug. 1685. 1607/8 in the Commissary Court nf Margaret Buried at O.xton 28 Aus Henry Sherbrooke, of Oxton: Baptiifed at Southwell, CO. Notts, 13 Feb. 1682: Died in fune 1754, and was buried It Oxton 9lh same month : Will dated 27 Aug. 1751, and proved 9 July T754, and also in C.P.C. 22 Oct. 1754. Andrews. Elizabeth, ad daur. : Married her cousin, John Grundy. 3d daur. : Married Edward Taylor, Citizen and Mercei Londo Margaret, 4th daur. : Married of ; Margaret, daur. of Thomas Thomas Porter, of Sherbrooke : Arnold, co. Notts : Baptized Married there 10 Feb. 36 Nov. 1667 1710; Died in at Oxton : Nov. 1756 ; Buried Buried at Oxton 2 Dec. there 10 Dec. following. following. Lucy : Born circa 36 Feb., and baptized 27 March 1672. I I Robert Thomas Sherbrooke : Sherbrooke .* Baptized at Baptized at Oxton Oxton 8 Nov. 1675. 6 March 1677- Sarah. Elizabeth. Sherbrooke, eldest son : Living 1680. I Joseph Sherbrooke, of Oxton, ad son: Will dated 3 June ^ '730 ; Robert Slierbrooke : Bom ai Oxlon, and there baptized 3iM.iyi7i4: Buried there csel- 23 Aug. Henry Porter, of = Edmonton, co. Midaie-e.y ; Assumed the name of Sherbrooke on his marriage ; Died S. F. at Oxton. and buried there 39 Jan. 1779. 1 Margaret : Bap- tized at Oxton -5 Aug. 1716: Married at St George's. Han- over S(|uare : Died S. P. 30 Jan. 1799. SarLh Baptized at 15 Oct. .717: Buried there. Rebecca. 5th daur. .^t. 36 ii 1675: Married John Walker, eldest SOI Ofjol.n WalkeL. . Eperston. CO. Notts. John Malin. of . Catheriii. 6tb daur Robert Malin : Living 1C94. Mary : ■iving 1694. Samuel Lowe, of Southwell aforesaid : Bum there 8 and bap- tized II Nov. 1718, and buried there 30 Aug. 1765. - Elizabeth : Baptized at Oxton aS Dec. 1730: Married there 8 Nov. 1740. William Coape. of Furn.ih, in the - parish of DufReld, co. Derby, and of Arnold, co. Notts : Born in 1712: Took the name and arms of Sherbrooke on his marriage, pur- suant to the Will of his father-in- law: Died at Arnold 28 June 1791. and buried at Oxton 6 July 1791. Lec Henry b>tnincl Lowe : Bapiiied at Southwell 4 Jan- •744.'5: Died S-P. George Augustus Lowe: Bapdicd at Southwell 28 Oct., and buried 27 Nov. 1749. I Saiab, youngest daiir. and co-heir: Baptized at Oxton 23 Aug. 1723; Married at Notting- ham 5 April 1756 : Died at Arnold, and was buried at Oxlon "799- Henrietta Margaretta Lowe ; Baptized at Southwell VI Oct. iir John Coape- shcrbr'>oke. K.B., 3d son : Boro at Arnold 11 .April 17O4 : Nominated K.B. 16 Sept. 1809, and obtained the Roy^l Licence, 23 Feb. i3io, to continue ttic Surname and Arms of Sherbrooke. EliaLeth: Bapiited at Anne: Baptized ai Rem: Baptiied at Southwell 97 April Southwell ao July Southwell 16 June 1773- 1774- 1777- Rev. Frederic Pyndar - Liowe: Born 1813. Helen, daur. of John Manin I^ealce, of Thorpe Hall, Euex. Ellen Pyutiar Lowe. Margaret Anuc Lo«e. CuoLm. = JohnChawonh MuMen, of Anncsley Park atul Col wick, oa Notu. Alice = George Jarviv of Doddingion HaII, LiiKobuhire. Mary Bereifard. [ 696 ] PEDIGREE OF CLARKE. Georhr Clarke, of Haclcney, CO. Middlesex, Citizen and Mer- chant Taylor of London : Died 14, and buried at Hackney, Middlesex, 27 Augnst 1668: Will dated 11 Aug. and proved 3 Sept. 1668. Anne, daur. of George Rainton, of Heighington, in Washingborou<;h, co. Lincoln, by his first wife, Elizabeth Maltby : She was niece of Sir Nicholas Rainton, Knight, Lord Mayor of London, and twin with her brother Nicholas : Baptized at Washingborough 23 Oct- 1601 : Un- married at the date of her father's Will, 22 July 1627, but had a bequest for her wedding clothes: Buried at Hackney 7 Feb, 1671/2 : Will dated 5 Sept. 1671, and proved 9 Feb. 1671/2. (See Rainton Pedigree, below.) I leorge Clarke, Nicholas Clarke, Baptized at Hackney, 12 July 1639: Died in his father's lifetime. of Hackney : Buried there 2T Julyi67i: Will dated 24 June and proved 27 July 1671. Nicholas Clarke: Living 11 Aug. t668 and 5 Sept. 167J, not 21. Elizabeth : Richard Sherbrooke, of St Sepulchre's, Was her London, Merchant Taylor, and of husband's South Weald, co. Essex : Born at executrix, Clareborough, co. Nottf, and bap- and living tized there, 17 Aug. 1600: Buried at 5 Sept. 1671. St Helen'.*, London, 4 Aiig. 1671 : Will dated 26 March and proved 15 Aug. 1671. 3eorge Clarke: ..iving II Aug. 568 and 5 Sept. 1671, not 21, Rebecca, eldest daur. : Born 23 Nov. 1628: Married at Hackney 19 Jan- 1646/7 : Died in St Sepulchre's, London, 30 April, and buried at St Helen's 6 May 1697. Charles Thorold, Alder- man of London : Buried at St Andrew Undershaft : Will dated 2 March 1690/1, and proved 12 Dec. 1691. {See Shekbrooke Pedigree, p. 694.) I Anne, 2d daur. : Married before 1655 ; Will dated 12 Aug. 1699, and proved 2 Dec. 1702 : 2d Elizabeth, 3d daur. : Married Israel Mayo. {See Mayo Pedigree, p. 697.) Sir Charie's Thorold, Alderman and Sheriff of London: Knighted 5 April 1704; Died unmarried i April 1709. Sir George' Thorold, 2d sur- viving son, Alderman and SheriffofLondon: Knighted 10 May 1708: Created a Baronet p Sept. 1709 : Died without issue 29 Oct. 1722- Mary, youngest daur.: Mar- ried John Mayo, (See Mayo Pedigree, p. 697-) I Sir Samuel Thorold, succeeded his brother as 2d Baronet : Died with- out issue I Jan. 1738/9, and the tide became extinct. PEDIGREE OF RAINTON. William R.-\inton : Will daled 7 Feb. 155B/9, and proved in the Archdeaconry Court of Lincoln 8 April 1559. : Died before her husband. Robert Rainton, of Heighington, in the parish of Washingborough, co. Lincoln: Buried at Washingborough 8 Feb. 1582'j : Will dated 19th Jan. and proved at Lincoln 16 March 1582/3. Margaret, was her husband's Execnirix, and remarried at Washingborough i Oct. 1583, to Edward Wimbish, I Hammond Rainton, 2d son, of Nichol; Kirkby Green, co. Lincoln : Married three wives : Will daled i and proved at Lincoln 30 Oct. 1573. Rainton, 3d son, of Great William Rainton, 4th son; Rich- Barrington, CO. Gloucester: Will ard Rainton, 5th son : Both dated 25 July and proved in living in 1558/9 under age. C. P. C. 10 Nov. 1597 : Left a widow and one son. Elizabeth Maltby, ist wife : Married at Washing- Ijorough 3 Dec. 1 558, and buriei there 23 Oct. George Rainton, eldest son, and his father's executor: Buried at Washingborough 2 Aug. 1627 : Will as of Heigh- ington, dated 22 July, and proved at Lincoln 2 Oct. 1627. Jane, ed wife, widow of Fleming ; Living 2 May 1646. Sir Nicholas Rainton, 3d son, = baptized at Washingborough 10 June 1569, Citizen and Haber- dasher of London, Alderman of Aldgate Ward : Sheriff of Lon- don 1621, and Lord Mayor 1632: Purchased Forty Hall, in En- fie.d. Middlesex : Died 19 Aug. and buried at Enfield 15 Sept. 1646: Will dated 2d May and proved 11 Sept. 1646: Left no issue : His great-nephew Nicho- Rebecca, sister of Sir Thomas Moulson, Kt., Lord Mayor of London : Married at St Christopher-le- Stocks, London, 16 Nov. 160Z : Died 1640, and buried at Enfield. Thomas Rainton, 2d - .son : Baptized at Wash in -borough 2S April 1565, and buried there 21 March 1637/8 : Died la: ivas his heir-at-law. I 1 Anne Tubb : Alice Rainton: Baptized Other issue Married at at Washingborough 20 five daurs. Washingborough Feb. 1571/2: Married 27 April 1590, Edward Wimbish, who and buried there was buried at Washing- 2 Nov. 1638. borough 3 April 1610, and she was buried there g April 1625 : Their daur. Mary m:irried Arthur Juxon, of Loudon. (See JuxON Pedigree, p. 693.) Nicholas Rainton, twin with his sister Anne : Baptized at Washingborough 23 Oct. 1601 : Died in 164T, and was buried at Enfield, Middlesex: Only .surviving son by first wife. Rebecca, daur. of John Moulson, of Nantwich, co. Chester (brother of Sir Thomas Moulson) : Married Oct, 1632 : Died 1642, and buried at Enfield. I I Anne Rainton, twin with Judith Rainton, eldest her brother Nicholas : daughter : Baptized i " Baptized at Washing- borough 23 Oct. i6or : Married George Clarke, of Hackney, Middlesex. {Sec Clarke Pedigree, above.) Washingborough 21 Feb. 1596/7 : Married 1st Richard Laurence, 2d John Juxon, 3d Thomas Ferrers, 4th Richard Cliambers. (i'fe JuxoN Pedigree, P- 693-) I I I I Three other sons, and one daur.: All died_ before their father. I Nicholas Rainton : Baptized at Wash- ingborough 5 Aug. 1591 : Apparently named in Will of his uncle Sir Nicholas as of Wapping. Middlesex, Haber- dasher. John Marsh, Citizen and Grocer, of London, ist husband. Margaret, only daur. : Biiptized at Washingborough 9 Nov. 1594 : Liv- ing as Margaret Marsh 22 Aug. 1626 : Remarried as early as 1627 : Buried at Hack- ney I Sept. 1669. I 1 I I William Taylor, Four other Citizen and Haber- sons, dasher, of London, apparently 2d husband, and all dead she his 3d wife : before Buried at Hack- 1646. ney, Middlesex, 8 July 1651. (See Taylor Pedigree, p. 690. Nicholas Rainton, of Enfield, co. Middlesex, heir-at-law to his great-uncle Sir Nicholas Rain- ton : Will dated 30 July 1694, and proved in C. P. C. 22 Dec. Marj'-, daur. of Michael Harvey, of London, Rebecca, eldest daur.: Married at St Mary, Aldermanbury, London, 27 Feb. 164S/9, to John Pye, Esq., who was created a Baronet 13 Jan. 1664/5. daughters. I John Downes : Living — Hannah Marsh, 5 Julv 1645 : Evidently daur, and one'of the Judges of co-heir on 5 King Charles L July 1645. I _ I Rebecca Marsh, daur. andco-heir - — Daniel Taylor, on 5 July 1645 : (Old deed eldest son of fc7tes P. A. Taylor :) Married at William Taylor Hackney 25 July 1637, then above, by his aged about 20. first wife. Mai-y Rainton, only daur. and heiress: Married March 1675 Sir John Wolstenholme, 3d Bart, of Edmoaton, Middlesex. 697 ] PEDIGREE OF CRISPE. David Crisi'e, of Berwick : Died there. Edward Crispe, of Greenwich, co. Kent; sometime Master of the Trinity House, and in the Commission of the Peace for COS. Middlesex, Kent, and Surrey: Buried at Greenwich, as "Captain Edward Crispe," 8 July 1676, aged SS' Dorothy, daur. of Capt. Edward Grove of Step- ney, CO. Middlesex : Buried at Greenwich 24 April 1690. Margaret, eldest daur.: Married Bennett; Living 17 May 1690. Elizabeth : Married Thom^is Ellis: Liv- ing 17 May 1690. Edward Crispe, of London, Merchant, and of Bethnal Green, co. Middlesex: Buried at Greenwich 7 Aug. 1690, aged 40 : Will dated 17 May, and proved 19 Aug. 1690. ilward Crispe, eldest son, Bged 5 years in 1687 : Proved father's Wili 26 Tan. 1712/13: Buried at Bt Helen's, London, 31 Dec. 1722; Admon. as of St Bartholomew the r.reai, bachelor, 8 March 1 722/3 ■ Edi id Crispe, 2d son, aged 4 years in 1687 : Buried at St Helen's, London, 29 Dec. 1729: Admon. as of St AI- baii's, Wood Street, London, 7 Jan, 1729/30; Died unmarried. Richard Crispe, 3d son : Born and baptized at All Hallows, Barking, London, 9 July 1684: Will, as of London, dated 30 May 1748, a codicil 28 Dec. 1752, and proved 10 July 1756, by his niece and sole legatee, Elizabeth Taylor. \nna, youngest daur. of Richard Sherbrooke, of St Sepulchre's, London. Merchant, and of South Weald, Essex, by Re- becca, eldest daur. of George Clarke, of Hackney, co. Middle- sex : Born at Hackney 16 Oct. 1660: Married in 1676: Died 17 June 1710, and buried 23, at St Helen's, London. {Si-i: Shekbsooke Pedigree, p. 694.) , Samuel Crispe; Died in infancy. I 4th son : Bon baptized at All Hal- lows, Barkini Dec. i68s; t at Greenwich, Kent, 29 Oct. 16S6. =3 I I Dorothy, Rebecca, !dest daur.: 2d daur.: n about Died young : 1677 : Buried at Buried at Boi St Helen's, Londot I July r 3 July 1679. William Taylor, of South Weald. {See TaylOH Pedigree, p. 6go.) I Elizabeth, 4th daur.: Born 5, baptized 21, and buried 25 Feb. 16S6/7, at All Hallows, Barking. I Martha, 5th daur.: Baptized at Alt Hallows, Barking, 22 May 1688: LivinK 17 May 1690 : Died young. Hannah, 6th and youngest daur,: Died unmarried ; Will, as of St Olave, Silver Street, London, dated 25 Sept. 1732, and proved IS March 1732/3. PEDIGREE OF MAYO. Francis Mavo, ofCharfield, co. Gloucester. John Mayo, Citizen of London, and of Bayford, co. Herts: Born at Kings- wood, Wilts, and founded a Free School there; Died ag May 1675, aged 83, and buried in Bayford Chapel : Will dated 15 March 1674/5, and proved 6 May 1691 {Sii). Margaret, daughter of Hannah Mavo, living at Gill, of Avery, co. E^sex : Chariield, 8 Feb. 1671/2. Died before her husband. i:l Mayo, only son : Sheriff of lerts in 1668; Died 11 Feb. 71516, aged 85, and buried in iayford Chapel : Will dated 28 UDC 1713, and proved 21 March Elizabeth, 3d daur. of George Clarke, of Hackney, Citizen and Merchant Taylor of London, and sister of Mary, wife of John Mayo : Married before 1662 : Living 5 Sept. 1671 : Died before her husband. {See Clarke Ptdigree, p, 696.) Three daughters. Ten other dju^hlers. Jonathan Wollaston, 4th son of John Wollasion, of Loscby .ind Worm- ley, CO. Herts: Aged at his marriage: Living sS Juoe 1713. RcbeccaMayo: Marriage Licence from Bishop of London dated i June 1699, then aged 26; Liv- ing 26 June 1720. - ist wife. = George Mayo of " Hackney, Middlesex: Aged 57 at his second marriage : Will dated 8 and proved 12 Feb. 1671/2. Helen, ad wife, widow of Richard Stock, of London, Citizen and Dyer, who was buried at St Lawrence Pountney, 7 July 1666: Marriage Licence 13 May 1667, then aged about 48: Buried at St Lawrence Pount- ney, 19 Nov. 1672. John Mayo, of Hackney, Middlesex, and of St Helen's, London, Merchant; Aged abnut 23 at his marriage : Died at Leighton's Hope, co. Hereford : Admon, 5 May 1675. Mary, youngest daur. of George Clarke, of Hackney, Middlesex, Citizen and Merchant Taylor of London, and sister of Elizabeth, wife of her husband's cousin, Israel Mayo: Married at Hack- ney 9 April 1667, then aged about 20: Remarried, and living as Mary Brayne, ja Aug. 169^ {See Clarke Pedigree, p. 696.) I Mary; Living 1671/2 ; Wife of Nathaniel Box. I Ldaur.: Wife 01 Charles Empson. jcorge Mayo : Baptized at St Helen's, London, 29 Jan. 1669/70: Liv- ing 8 Feb. 1671,2: Died Anne Mayo: Baptized at St Heien's, London, 19 Oct. 1668, and buried there 16 Sept. 1669. Lucy Mayo, only surviv- ing child and heiress: Married in 1701 to John Gage. {Set Gagk Pedigree, p. tyS.) Israel Wollaston, only Mm, an eminent Solidior of Chancery Lane : Died ao March 1765, aged 64. and buried in Bayford Chapel : Will dated 26 Uec. 1761. and proved a; July 1765. Sarah, only chad of Daniel Waldo, of London, Hamburgh Merctiani. by hi» first wife, Ann Mercer: Born in Cheaptide, London, in 170S, and married 1716: Died 1 Fcl*. 1806, aged 08, and buiicd ia Bayford CnapeL Twenty children, who all died yoanju [ 698 ] PEDIGREE OF GAGE. Sir John Gage, of Firle, co. Sussex, K.G., Comptroller = Philippa, daur. of Sir Richard Guildford, K.G. of the Household, and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lan- caster : Buried at West Firle 25 April 1556. Robert Ga"e, of Haling, in Croydon, co. Surrey, 3d son, = Elizabeth, eldest daur. of Nicholas Wilford, of London. m!p. for Lewes : Died 20 Oct. 15S7. John Gage, of Wormley, co. Herts. — Eleanor, daur. of Richard Habingdon, and widow of Sir Thomas Baskervile, Kt. Edward Gage, of Wormley aforesaid, afterwards of Eeniley, = Clare, daur. of William Bendloes, of co. Essex, in par. Framfield, co. Sussex. William Gage, of Bentley : Buried at West Firle 24 May 1653: Will dated iS May 1653, and proved 15 March 1653/4. : Catharine : Survived her husband. Thomas Gage, of Bentley ; Burled at West Firle 30 July 16S2. Juliana, daur. and co-heir of Robert Ca;.-ar, of WilHan, CO. Herts, 2d son of Sir John Cffisar, of Hyde Hall, Herts, Kt. John Gage, of Bentley, youngest son : Died at Seville, in Spain, 22 Oct. 1731, and buried there the next day : Will dated iS Sept. 1731, and proved 3 July 1732. Lucy, only surviving child of John Mayo, of London, Mer- ciiant, and of Hackney, co. Middlesex, by Mary, youngest daur. of George Clarke, of Hackney : IMarried in 1 701 : Died the 15th, and buried iS March 173S/9, at St Nicholas, Nottingham. {Sa IVLWO Pedigree, p. 697.) Thomas Gage, Charles Cffisar John Gage, 3ci Rev. John Gage, 4th and youngest eldest son : Gage, second son : son : Died an son : Was of Corpus Christi Proved father's Living 18 Sept. infant. College, Cambridge, A.B. 1736, Will -x lulv 11%-^ 1731 ^"'l U4o: Became Rector ^ ■ ofCoIwickandWestBridgeford, CO. Notts : Died 14 Jan. 1770 : Admon. 26 March 1770. William Herrick, of Beaumanor, CO. Leicester : Born 1689 : High Sheriff ofco. Leicester 1753 : Died 27 Sept. 1773. Lucy Gage, only daur, : Born 7 Aug. 1713: Married in 1740 ; Died 25 March 1778, and buried in Woodhouse Chapel : Will dated i May 1776, and proved 29 April 1778. William Herrick, of Beaumanor Park : Born 14 Dec. 1745 : High Sheriff 17S6 : Died 18 Feb. 1S32, S.P. Sarah Stokes, of Woodhouse ; Married 1 789 : Died 29 Aug. John Herrick, of the Middle Temple, London : Born 9 Nov. 1749 : Died 14 May 1S19 unmarried. Thomas Bainbrigge Herrick, of Gray's Inn: Born 23 Nov. 1754: Died 24 Sept. 1824. Mary, only daur. of James Perry, of Erdesley Park, co. Hereford : Married 15 Aug. 1793 : Died 29 Aug. 1S36. Lucy: Married, IMaich 1768, Richard Giklart, of Norton Hall, co. Stafford, and had issue one son, Richard, \\'ho died unmarried 24 Nov. 1802. Two daughters : Died in infancy. William Perry Herrick, of Beaumanor, co. Leicester, J.P. and D.L., and also D.L. forco. Stafford; M.A. of University College, Oxford ; Barrister-at-Law ; High Sheriff in 1835: Born 1794: Living 1871. - Sophia, youngest daur. of Jonathan Henry Christie, of Lincoln's Inn, Barrister-at-Law: Married 13 Aug. 1862. Mary Anne. Lucy : Died unmarried II Oct. 1S32. [ 699 ] PEDIGREE OF COURTAULD. PETER COURTAULD, of the Isle d'OIeron, in the Provhice of St Onge, France, Merchant : = Juui i-ii GuiBAun, 1st wife : Died before 1686. Living there in 1 68g. 1 Wife. Julia Giron : Died ■ about i685, probably in France. Augusiiiie Courtauld : Born in St Peter's, in the Isle d'OIeron - afiiresaid, Merchant there : Came to England after the Revo- cation of the Edict of Nantes : Will dated 5 Sept. and proved 5 October 1706 : Buried at St Ann's, Soho, 26 SepCember 1706. 2 Wife. - Esther Potier, of Rochelle, in France : Mar- ried at Glass House Street French Chapel, in London, lo March 1688/9 ■ Buried at St Ann's Soho, 14 May 1732. Peter Cniirtanld ; Mentioned in his brother'; Will as living 5 September 170G. Peter Courtauld : Livin] 13 March 1750, 1, Augustine Courtauld: Living 13 March 1750/1. Auaustile Courtauld : Born about i685, probably in the Isle d'OIiiror aforesaid: Aged 43 in May 1729; Of St Martin's-in thc-Fields, Co. Middlesex, Goldsmith; Buried at St Luke's, Chelsea, Co. Middlesex, 14 April 1751 : Will dated 13 March 1750/1, and proved 13 April 1751. AnneRardin: Buried a Chelsea, 26 March 1751. Peter Courtauld: Born 10, and bapli at Glass House Street Chape!, 19 Ja ary i6Sg/go: Buried at St Martin's Ihe-Fieids, 8 March 1728/9. :ed = Judith, daughter of Esaie Panti St James', Westmin