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 FROM THE LIBRARY OF 
 REV. LOUIS FITZGERALD BENSON, D. D. 
 
 BEQUEATHED BY HIM TO 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF 
 
 PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 
 
 DNfetaft ^CB 
 Section I^H/Jd 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2013 
 
 http://archive.org/details/johnarmsOOcart 
 
A MEMOIR 
 
 JOHN AEMSTEONG, D.D., 
 
 LATE LORD BISHOP OF GRAHAMSTOWN. 
 
4 
 
I 
 
 
 . t i 
 
 \/i-t(/(^a ^ 
 
A MEMOIR 
 
 ** 
 
 JOHN ARMSTRONG, D.D., 
 
 LATE LORD BISHOP OF GRAHAMSTOWN. 
 
 REV. T. T. CARTER, M. A., 
 
 RECTOR OF CLEWER J 
 
 WITH AN INTRODUCTION 
 
 SAMUEL, LORD BISHOP OF OXFORD. 
 
 THIRD EDITION. 
 
 OXFORD, 
 
 AND 377, STRAND, LONDON : 
 JOHN HENRY AND JAMES PARKER. 
 
 MDCCCLIX. 
 
PRINTED B* MESSRS. PARKER, COP.N-MARKET, OXPORD. 
 
TO 
 
 EOBEET GRAY, 
 
 LOED BISHOP OF CAPETOWN, 
 
 WHO PLANTED THE ENGLISH EPISCOPATE 
 
 IN SOUTH AFRICA, 
 
 AND HAS GIYEN AN EXAMPLE OF APOSTOLIC TOIL AND LOYE, 
 
 NOT UNWORTHILY FOLLOWED 
 
 BY HIM WHO, 
 
 THE FIEST OF THE SACKED LINE, 
 
 HAS YIELDED UP HIS LIFE 
 
 IN THAT LONG-NEGLECTED LAND, 
 
 Eljis Volume, 
 
 AS AN OFFEEING OF EEYEEENCE, 
 
 IS INSCRIBED 
 
 BY HIS LORDSHIP'S SERYANT IN CHRIST, 
 
 T. T. CARTER. 
 
CONTEXTS. 
 
 TAGE 
 
 Eaely Lite and Education. 1S13— 36 ... 6 
 First Theee Yeaes in the Ministry. 1837—40 . 17 
 
 Exeter. 1841—45 23 
 
 llee at exetee continued s7 
 
 Tidenham. 1845-1853 ... .109 
 
 Literary Work at Tidenham: . 1 16 
 
 The Church Penitentiary Cause . . .194 
 
 Appointment to the Bishopric of Gbahamstown . 2 IS 
 
 Geahamstown 26S 
 
 The Last Illness. 1S56 . . 3S0 
 
PKEFACE. 
 
 Biography depends for its interest and use- 
 fulness upon that answering of heart to heart 
 which makes one man, in so far as he is tho- 
 roughly human, an exponent to another of his 
 own inward being. It is not, therefore, in de- 
 picting singularity of character, or in relating 
 strange adventures, that the highest merit of 
 Biography consists. Such narratives as these 
 can at best but move the mind to wonder, or 
 excite it to a passing interest. But the revela- 
 tions of the depths of the heart and spirit of 
 another, even though the outward incidents of 
 his life be in themselves ordinary and common- 
 place, may be full of the highest dramatic in- 
 terest for one exercised by the same inward 
 trials, and engaged in a like outward struggle. 
 
 The qualities, therefore, which mark a fit sub- 
 ject for Biography, are those thoroughly human 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 traits of character which, when they are exhi- 
 bited by another in action or in suffering, lead 
 us naturally so to associate ourselves with him, 
 that for the time we strive with him in his strife, 
 partake with him in his deeds, or suffer with 
 him in his sorrows. The faithful portraiture of 
 such a man must be full of interest : and what 
 is required of his Biographer is the capacity of 
 understanding the character he is to draw, and 
 simple truthfulness in his narrative. Now I 
 may venture to promise the reader of this vo- 
 lume that he will find, in no slight degree, 
 these various materials of interest in the life 
 of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 The late Bishop Armstrong was one of those 
 who had received from God the great gift of a 
 thoroughly genial nature. From early years 
 this made him the favourite of his associates, 
 whilst it exposed him to the temptations which, 
 as a necessary correlative, belong to such a 
 temperament. But for the blessed working of 
 the Holy Spirit of God, he, like so many others, 
 might to his dying day have been nothing more 
 than the ornament of a drawing-room, or the 
 favourite of some social circle. Some of those 
 
PREFACE. XI 
 
 many baits by which society ensnares its vic- 
 tims might have led to his permanent entangle- 
 ment, and he might have lived and died popular 
 and blamelessly respectable, but with no depth 
 of character, and having done no work for God 
 or man. But his was to be a higher and a 
 better course. As his course at college pro- 
 ceeded, his tone of mind became more fixed and 
 earnest. His service as a deacon was careful 
 and conscientious : and it was with him, as in- 
 deed it is with all, that to him that hath the 
 more was given. In that momentous season 
 which immediately precedes the receiving of 
 priest's orders, God of His great mercy visited 
 his soul with fresh and yet more quickening 
 influences of His Grace, Deeper views of the 
 reality of life, of the blessedness of serving 
 Him with all his heart, and of true devotion 
 to his Lord, possessed his spirit. From this 
 time he became more and more separate from 
 the world, and kept a strict watch over himself 
 against its power of encroaching on his affec- 
 tions. In other respects, also, his growth in 
 grace was manifest, His doctrinal views became 
 far deeper, as well as more definite, than they 
 
Xll PREFACE. 
 
 had been ; the great and peculiar doctrines of 
 Christianity filled his soul. He was more con- 
 scious of living as a redeemed man, in union 
 with the Crucified, and in the midst of those 
 marvellous operations of God the Holy Ghost, 
 wrought through the appointed means whereby 
 He is pleased to effect His unseen work of 
 might and mystery within the Church of Christ. 
 He learned more and more of the marvel of 
 Christ's indwelling in His own. He knew by 
 the secret knowledge of the life of God in his 
 soul the force of the apostle's declaration, " The 
 life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith 
 in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave 
 Himself for me a ." And as his soul became 
 more full of light, so did his life become richer in 
 the works of the Spirit. The energy of his own 
 spirit, now that it had been thus purified by God, 
 began at once to display itself in that extraor- 
 dinarily unselfish activity for which, from this 
 time forth, he was so eminently distinguished. 
 He was, in truth, one who laboured, " in season 
 and out of season," for the souls of men ; fill- 
 ing the pauses of a diligent parish ministry 
 
 a Gal. ii. 20. 
 
 tl 
 
PREFACE. Xlll 
 
 with the unwearied service of his pen ; writing 
 sermons of no common interest ; editing others 
 for the Church's seasons with remarkable suc- 
 cess ; and, above all, awakening through God's 
 blessing those efforts on behalf of the most 
 miserable class of outcast women, which have 
 led to the exercise of so much of that skilful 
 and affectionate care for such penitents which 
 surely ought especially to mark the followers 
 of Him, w r ho, in spite of the jeers of the Pha- 
 risee, suffered the woman " who had been a sin- 
 ner" to "wash His feet with her tears, and to 
 wipe them with the hair of her head." Truly 
 was he one in whom nature was transfigured by 
 grace. All the old elements of attraction re- 
 mained in him ; there was nothing stiff, formal, 
 or unnatural about him : though now absorbed 
 in the highest spiritual works, he was as genial, 
 as simply amiable, as he had ever been. Nay, 
 all these attractive features marked him even 
 more than they had done of old : for he was 
 now eminently single-minded, and the light of 
 heaven lit up the sparkling flow of his loving 
 and loveable spirit. Such an one these pages 
 will, as far as they can, set again before us. 
 
XIV PREFACE. 
 
 And the study of such a character, under the 
 aid of God's grace, cannot but be profitable. 
 
 To us, especially of the clergy, who more 
 than any others need a full acquaintance with 
 our own hearts, that we may be able to deal 
 with the hearts of others, and who specially 
 require to be guarded against a decent con- 
 formity to the temper of this world with the 
 lifelessness of inward spirit which it commonly 
 breeds, these pages will, I believe, be found 
 full of the most profitable instruction. They 
 will shew us one who was drawn gradually 
 and peacefully to give up all for God, who 
 passed within that veil which evermore parts 
 formal respectability from a true loving ser- 
 vice of our Lord Jesus Christ ; one on whom 
 the Pierced Hands were laid, reproducing in 
 the servant the likeness of his Lord. They will 
 shew him diligent in labours, abundant in ser- 
 vice, simple in mind, ardent and yet gentle in 
 temper, loving, watchful, and devout in spirit. 
 
 Finally, they will shew him to us leaving 
 home and its comforts at the voice of the Be- 
 loved of his soul, for yet severer toils in his 
 South African episcopate, and there " forming 
 
PREFACE. XV 
 
 large plans for the evangelization of the hea- 
 then within and beyond his diocese, marking 
 out and occupying the ground which was to be 
 the field of the Church's main efforts against 
 the powers of darkness in that land b " of his 
 adoption ; and at length, with a spirit some- 
 times worn by opposition, but ever rising above 
 it on the strong wings of faith and love, they 
 will shew him to us at last with a body fairly 
 wearied out by toil, laying himself peacefully 
 down to rest in the everlasting arms, and 
 without a doubt or a fear commending his 
 own departing spirit, and the widow and father- 
 less children whom he was leaving in the rude 
 world behind him, to the love and faithfulness 
 of the Lord his Redeemer. 
 
 Such an example should not be lost upon us. 
 Such tracks of light should draw our eyes up- 
 ward to the living fountain of light and glory ; 
 they should lead us more earnestly to thank 
 God who has cast our lot in a Church which is 
 still the mother of such sons, and which can so 
 train her children for service, for rest, and for 
 glory ; they should lead us more earnestly to 
 b Extract from the Bishop of Capetown's Primary Charge. 
 
XVI PREFACE. 
 
 seek for and to cherish in ourselves the gifts 
 which were vouchsafed to him, and to make, in 
 the strength of Christ, full proof, like him, of 
 our ministry of love. 
 
 To my brethren, then, of the clergy I com- 
 mend especially these pages, earnestly beseech- 
 ing God of His great mercy to add to this 
 endeavour to promote His glory and His peo- 
 ple's good, that heavenly blessing, without 
 which nothing is strong, nothing holy, and 
 nothing effectual for good. 
 
 S. OXOK 
 
 Cuddesdon Palace, 
 July, 1857. 
 
ME MO IE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 LIFE OF BISHOP AEMSTBONG. 
 
 rpHE personal histories of the children of God 
 -*- are among the choicest treasures of a Chris- 
 tian's inheritance. They are manifestations of 
 divine grace ; lessons scattered along our way- 
 side path, to be reverently gathered up ; lights 
 going before us, pointing out the lines along 
 which the Spirit of God moves, revealing the 
 end of a course of faithfulness, and tending to 
 encourage and gladden a too often failing faith. 
 Especially in days of controversy and strife, 
 like our own, it is restful and refreshing to 
 trace the progress of those who, their struggles 
 over, have passed, as we believe, into the bles- 
 sedness of the vision of God, and therein rest, — 
 "whose works do follow them." While dwell- 
 ing on their memories, the stillness and bright- 
 ness of their blessed state steal through the veil, 
 and fall like the dew on our troubled lives. 
 
2 Memoir of the Life 
 
 Such an influence hangs around the memory 
 of the subject of this Memoir ; for all who knew 
 him felt the power of the love which burnt with- 
 in him, and the peculiar absence of all conten- 
 tiousness of spirit, — a grace seldom combined 
 with so much earnestness, activity, and con- 
 scientious firmness to distinctive principles. This 
 fervent, loving disposition was accompanied 
 with a high intelligence, and a bright, buoyant 
 hopefulness that made his presence ever wel- 
 come to those who sought him as their coun- 
 sellor or leader in carrying out their labours of 
 love. And these graces, which made his friend- 
 ship so much valued, were felt to be instinct 
 with a single-mindedness, and devotedness of 
 purpose, which could not fail to impress those 
 who were brought near to him with a conscious- 
 ness, not only of superior qualities of mind and 
 heart, but of a "life hid with Christ in God." 
 
 The fact of having been in some measure 
 associated with him, in one of his works of 
 deepest interest, and having thus had the op- 
 portunity and the blessing of sharing his ardent 
 sympathies, and watching the grace of God 
 that was in him, led to the expression of a 
 wish, that the task of gathering together these 
 details of his life should be undertaken by the 
 writer. Though acquainted with him but a 
 
of Bishop Armstrong. 3 
 
 short time, his heart was drawn to his friend, 
 as to few others ; and to the eventful period 
 of their intercourse he looks back with no 
 ordinary feelings of reverence and affection. 
 A large circle of friends can testify to what 
 is here feebly expressed ; for his was a life of 
 active service in the world, and his generous, 
 earnest nature quickly drew hearts towards him. 
 But far wider than the circle of his friends has 
 been the influence of his character and works ; 
 for his great aims, unwearied labours, and steady 
 perseverance have made for him a name fami- 
 liar throughout the Church of England. To 
 him it was given to originate a new line of 
 action in the Church, in one of its deepest and 
 most vital functions ; and this he was enabled 
 to effect — a singular felicity in our days — with- 
 out stirring controversy, or awakening oppo- 
 sition. Ordinarily, they who seek to introduce 
 new principles, or found institutions at variance 
 with popular experience, are doomed to toil 
 through a life of suspicion and painful an- 
 tagonism, bequeathing to their successors the 
 joy of reaping the fruit of their labours. It 
 was his rare destiny not only to infuse largely 
 into the mind of the Church of England new 
 and great principles, but also, though his life 
 was short, to witness with his own eyes the 
 
4 Memoir of the Life 
 
 rapid progress of the movement which, under 
 God, he had originated. 
 
 The last two years of his life were passed in 
 a more romantic and distinguished, though 
 hardly a more eventful sphere of duty, than 
 that to which allusion has been just made. It 
 was not without misgivings that some of his 
 friends heard of his being called to rule one of 
 the episcopal Sees of the missionary Church of 
 Southern Africa. It was so novel a field of 
 labour, and one requiring such great endow- 
 ments, that those who had known him so 
 richly gifted for the great work effected in 
 England, doubted whether he possessed power 
 sufficient for so weighty and momentous a 
 charge in so unwonted a sphere. But the 
 event justified the choice, only leaving the re- 
 gret that he was so soon taken away. During 
 those two last years, which were passed in lay- 
 ing the foundations of one of our most im- 
 portant colonial Dioceses, though under the 
 constant pressure of bodily weakness and suf- 
 fering, he exhibited a wisdom, a love and an 
 energy, which called forth the most marked ex- 
 pressions of attachment and respect in that 
 distant region. It is a singular lot to have 
 befallen him, that he should have a twofold 
 history ; to have done so much and exerted 
 
of Bishop Armstrong. 5 
 
 so momentous an influence in England, and 
 then to have been transplanted to Africa, to 
 win fresh honour and affection, and take so 
 prominent a place in the progress of the king- 
 dom of God in another quarter of the world. 
 
 It may be felt as a deficiency in the Memoir 
 of his life that there are so few letters, opening 
 to us his inner mind and thoughts. It was, 
 however, but rarely that he wrote letters, ex- 
 cept from some immediate call bearing on the 
 work which he had in hand ; for his whole life 
 was given up to constant action, ever carrying 
 out some purpose, in which for the while he 
 was absorbed. His writings were chiefly of a 
 public kind; but they were the pouring forth 
 of the earnest thoughts which stirred within 
 him, and thus in a great measure supply 
 what might otherwise have been gathered from 
 letters. In all his published writings there is 
 an unusual transparency ; his inner mind shines 
 out so fully and so clearly in them, that we 
 need no other written index of his character, 
 and of the prevailing tendency of his thoughts. 
 Some few letters, however, are introduced which 
 shew the tenor of his private intercourse ; and 
 the inner details of his Penitentiary work, and 
 also of his work in Africa, are to be gathered 
 mainly from his own letters. 
 
EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION. 
 a.d. 1813—36. 
 
 John Armstrong was born at Bishop-Wear- 
 mouth, August 22, 1813. He was the second 
 child and eldest son of Dr. Armstrong, a phy- 
 sician of eminence. The name is familiar as 
 one of the ancient border clans of Scotland, and 
 from this once distinguished source the family- 
 takes its origin, though the parents of Dr. Arm- 
 strong had raised themselves from humble cir- 
 cumstances. He was a man of considerable 
 talents, and though dying at the early age 
 of forty-six, had already attained the highest 
 ranks in his profession. Many points of cha- 
 racter which distinguished his son may be 
 traced in Dr. Armstrong. His love for the 
 poor, his zeal and devotion to his work, his 
 unremitting labour, continued even when death 
 had visibly laid its hand upon him ; the elo- 
 quence displayed in his lectures, which are still 
 remembered with admiration by his many 
 pupils ; the combination of the practical and 
 imaginative elements in his mind, — are points 
 
Early Life and Education. * 
 
 of character which connect the parent and the 
 child, coming forth in the latter in devotedness 
 to the more direct service of God. 
 
 Mrs. Armstrong, the mother, the daughter of 
 Charles Spearman, Esq., of Thornley, in the 
 county of Durham, is described, by an intimate 
 friend of her husband, as a person of very 
 amiable disposition ; placid in temper, simple 
 in her habits and desires, and devoted to her 
 children. Those who also knew her son in after- 
 life, might have recognised the resemblance to 
 his mother in personal simplicity ; in his san- 
 guine, cheerful temper, and the love of his 
 children which was so strong a feature in his 
 character. Dr. Armstrong settled in London 
 about the year 1818. His son John, at eight 
 years old, was sent to a preparatory school at 
 Hanwell, under the care of Dr. Bond. Of the 
 teaching which he there received he spoke in 
 after-life in the highest praise, and especially 
 felt the value of the pains, unusual at that day, 
 taken with his English reading. He suffered 
 much during this time from rheumatism, and 
 delicacy of health, and his studies were often 
 interrupted. 
 
 In the year 1827, when now fourteen years 
 of age, he was sent to the Charterhouse ; but 
 the loss of country air seems to have affected 
 
8 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 him, or the locality was in some way unfavour- 
 able to his constitution, for he used to say that 
 he felt depressed there, and did little in the 
 way of study. This cause, added to an habitual 
 shyness and reserve, which in later years was 
 confined to a shrinking from the expression 
 of his religious feelings, combined to render 
 his schoolboy days less happy than might 
 have been expected from his buoyant, cheer- 
 ful temper. 
 
 To his school-fellows he did not seem to give 
 any promise of those powers which he mani- 
 fested afterwards. A friend of his father's re- 
 members him at that time, as " a gentle, good- 
 tempered boy, not quick or bright, nor giving 
 promise of the energy and devotion which he 
 displayed in his ministry." His eldest sister, 
 however, seeing him in the freedom and unre- 
 serve of home, gives a different account. " I do 
 not believe," she writes, " that my father and 
 mother (both very much occupied) ever noticed 
 his great talent, as a young boy, for compo- 
 sition. He wrote a play when not more than 
 twelve, and two novels between fourteen and 
 seventeen. The scene of the last was laid at 
 Durham, and there were in it some striking 
 sketches of character. From my earliest recol- 
 lection of him, he was always occupied, either 
 
Early Life and Education. 9 
 
 drawing, reciting poetry, singing, or compos- 
 ing. All his boyish, leisure time was employed 
 in this manner." 
 
 One of his school-fellows also speaks of him 
 in a similar way : — " Dear John Armstrong was 
 one of my first school-cronies, for whom I had 
 always a sincere regard. As a hoy he was a 
 great Whig, and we used to have great battles 
 in politics. He was always very kind to me, 
 and was my superior in point of talent. I 
 remember his doing my holiday task on one 
 occasion — a set of English verses." 
 
 The following interesting letter from Arch- 
 deacon Churton, then a master at the Charter, 
 house, while it gives us a very graphic picture 
 of the schoolboy, tells as much for the pastoral 
 heart of the tutor, as for the amiable, thought- 
 ful character of his pupil. The letter was ad- 
 dressed to Mrs. Armstrong, after her husband's 
 death : — 
 
 " Cray Ice, near York. 
 "Nov. 13, 1856. 
 " Deae Madam, 
 
 " I have read your letter with much interest. Your 
 good husband, the late Bishop of Grahamstown, was 
 ray pupil at the Charterhouse about thirty years 
 ago ; and though I had at that time from sixty to 
 eighty boys in the forms which I taught daily, I 
 have a distinct recollection of his figure and features, 
 
1 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 and the expression of his countenance, as he appeared 
 from day to day before me. His character as a boy, 
 I should say, was that of a good-tempered one, 
 patient and persevering as a student, with a medita- 
 tive turn of mind. His modest, fair face and quiet 
 attention to his book were such as could not but 
 make a favourable first impression on any equitable 
 teacher ; and in the course of further acquaintance 
 there was nothing to weaken, but much to confirm, 
 that first impression. In many respects his character 
 resembled that of his school-fellow, also my pupil, 
 the present Bishop of Newcastle, in Australia. I do 
 not think that with either I had ever any occasion 
 to exact the appointed, task of the day by com- 
 pulsion, or any sort of boyish punishment. The 
 sense of duty was enough. Perhaps of the two, 
 I should say that Bishop Tyrrell conversed the most 
 freely with me ; there was a modest reserve in 
 Bishop Armstrong's boyish manner, which required 
 a little more invitation or encouragement to draw 
 it out. 
 
 " Once only since those early days I had the plea- 
 sure of meeting your late husband, at Elford, in 
 Staffordshire, four or five years ago. I should have 
 recognised him by my remembrance of his boyish 
 features, which were expanded, but not otherwise 
 altered, in him as a man. I had an interesting con- 
 versation with him on some works of mercy and 
 pity which then occupied his earnest thoughts. It 
 was impossible not to be struck with the -prudence, 
 
Early Life and Education., 11 
 
 as well as the loviDg spirit, which had guided him 
 through a most difficult course of labour, from which 
 a less devoted heart thau his would have shrunk, as 
 from something dangerous and impracticable. But 
 he was doubtless upheld in this, as in the last noble 
 undertaking of his life, by his own affectionate 
 compassion, and humble confidence in that strength 
 which is supplied to God's true servants according 
 to their need. 
 
 "I believe I left the Charterhouse while he was 
 yet at school, so that I cannot speak to the last days 
 of his sojourn there. Eut you may be assured, and 
 I hope the particulars I have mentioned will be suf- 
 ficient to evince to you, that I have a very lively 
 and grateful recollection of his boyhood ; and as in 
 his case, at least, * the boy was father of the man/ 
 I am thankful to have known him, and in any 
 degree to have assisted in the early tuition of such 
 a mind and character. 
 
 "Believe me, dear ATadam, 
 
 " Yery sincerely yours, 
 
 "EDW. CHURT02T." 
 
 When he was sixteen, his father died, and 
 he was left one of a large family, dependent, 
 humanly speaking, for his future success in life 
 on his own exertions. At this time his deep 
 love for his widowed mother was strikingly 
 manifested. His sister says, "It was quite 
 peculiar: his manner towards her had an in- 
 
12 Memoir ofJBishoj) Armstrong. 
 
 describable tenderness, mixed with playfulness, 
 as though to hide the depth of his affection." 
 
 He went in the year 1832, when nearly nine- 
 teen years of age, to a private tutor, the Rev. 
 Jas. Tweed, of Harlow, Essex, with the view of 
 fitting himself to become a candidate for Lord 
 Crewe's Exhibition at Lincoln College, Oxford. 
 About this time the resolution was formed to 
 devote himself to the ministry. He studied 
 hard at this period. A son of Mr. Tweed says, 
 " He read more than any of the others ; read 
 by himself, in addition to the necessary work. 
 Occasionally he wrote English verses. I re- 
 member seeing some that he had written for a 
 prize at Charterhouse, though they were not 
 sent in his own name. The verses shewed con- 
 siderable facility of composition. I did not 
 hear, however, that they obtained the prize. 
 If I recollect right, he was also fond of draw- 
 ing. That which most distinguished him in 
 my father's mind from almost all his other 
 pupils was, that he could associate with him 
 on such pleasant terms, and had in his pupil 
 so agreeable a companion, though this might 
 partly be accounted for by his being a year 
 older than the rest of the pupils." Mr. Tweed 
 himself describes the tone of their intercourse 
 with some characteristic touches, the truth of 
 
Early Life and Education. 13 
 
 which will be readily recognised by the friends 
 of his later years : — " My pride, as a tutor, 
 was gratified by the talents he displayed, 
 and the progress which he made in the short 
 time he was with me — scarcely three-quarters 
 of a year. Any particular traits of character 
 I have forgotten, except that he was appa- 
 rently of a thoughtful turn, occasionally relax- 
 ing into a quiet humour, in which, with a 
 grave face, he would say something very droll ; 
 for his seriousness was mingled with a quick 
 sense of the ludicrous. He was shy, and did 
 not often break through that conventional re- 
 serve which pupils keep up in the presence of 
 their tutor ; so that, though it was easy to see 
 there was ' something in him/ I was hardly 
 aware of the higher qualities and powers which 
 he afterward practically exhibited, though his 
 scholarship and his compositions especially, 
 both in prose and verse, were much above 
 par." He always spoke gratefully of the bene- 
 fits he received from Mr. Tweed. He obtained 
 the scholarship at Lincoln College, and then 
 went there to reside. 
 
 Of his college life there is little to record. 
 He did not read hard ; but he had been, and 
 was then, imperceptibly laying the foundations 
 of that cultivated taste, that quick discrimi- 
 
14 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 nation and chastened expression of thought, 
 which afterwards served so high a purpose in 
 his preaching and writing, whether for the 
 educated or uneducated. His tastes, during 
 leisure hours, lay chiefly in music and poetry ; 
 his chief exercise was boating. His college 
 friends retain a grateful remembrance of his 
 warm-hearted, affectionate disposition, and have 
 felt that during the time spent at Oxford a 
 deepened sense of religion was growing within 
 him. 
 
 It is always interesting to compare the earlier 
 and later manifestations of character, and trace, 
 if it may be, the natural features of boyhood 
 and youth, matured and exalted, through the 
 indwelling Spirit of God, into the virtues of 
 manhood ; thus marking the unity of the soul's 
 growth, and the connection between nature and 
 grace. One interesting notice exhibiting this 
 resemblance of the matured image of the man 
 to the growing features of the boy, has been 
 quoted from Archdeacon Churton ; another 
 slighter observation of the same kind may be 
 here added : — " My intimacy with him," writes 
 a friend of his early days, " was one of those 
 close, earnest, yet transient acquaintances, often 
 experienced under the circumstances of college 
 life. We were staying up to read during the 
 
 
 , 
 
Early Life and Education. 15 
 
 Christmas vacation of 1834-5. Till then we 
 had been unknown to each other ; a mutual 
 friend made us acquainted. But during the 
 month we met daily, and spent our evenings 
 together. He, my senior, took his degree and 
 departed ; and, except through some relatives 
 at Durham, I saw no more of him till we sat 
 next each other at the opening of Eastnor Church 
 in 1852. The same hearty zeal and genial feel- 
 ing marked the ripe man which had been shewn 
 in the social academic, and which found a very 
 fit opportunity for its utterance when, at a 
 meeting held after the service, he proposed a 
 vote of thanks to the rector's fellow-labourer. 
 6 Two and two together/ was the theme of his 
 remarks, and the spark to his feelings. When 
 I remember how very intimate for a brief while 
 we were, yet how little I garnered from it, — 
 how, in fact, it passed quite away with its ephe- 
 meral enjoyment, — I seem to have lost an op- 
 portunity, from the proof afforded by the future, 
 of what, deeper than its sociability, lay in that 
 warm, earnest mood." 
 
 He took a third-class degree in classics in 
 Michaelmas term, 1836. In the following 
 spring he lost his mother, a trial of which, 
 even after the lapse of years, he could hardly 
 bear to speak to those nearest and dearest to 
 
16 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong, 
 
 him ; though he would often talk of her in 
 terms of deepest affection and admiration. He 
 was wont especially to dwell on her cheerful- 
 ness with her children after the death of her 
 husband, whilst yet he believed her to be a 
 broken-hearted woman. 
 
 , 
 
FIRST THREE YEARS IN THE 
 MINISTRY. 
 
 1837—10. 
 
 The interval between the close of a college 
 career and Ordination is generally an unevent- 
 ful period. It is a pause in the current of a 
 man's life, passed ordinarily in the bosom of 
 friends, and in repose from the previous course 
 of study and discipline, during which are made 
 such preparations as circumstances admit, or 
 individual tendencies dictate, for the eventful 
 crisis at hand. The w T ant of opportunities for 
 special training for the ministry has been the 
 subject of keen regret to many. At the time 
 of which we are speaking, there were no such 
 colleges as Wells, Chichester, Cuddesdon, or 
 Birkenhead, and the Universities could be used 
 only by the few who were attached to some 
 foundation, for such special study as might be 
 compatible with the habits and pursuits of col- 
 lege life. The future Priest was, for the most 
 part, left to his ow r n individual exertions, or 
 casual circumstances, to make him meet for the 
 c 
 
18 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong, 
 
 most momentous change in the course of his 
 earthly existence. Such was the case with the 
 subject of this memoir, and of the progress of 
 his mind and course of study at this period we 
 have no record. 
 
 The same year that his mother died he was 
 ordained Deacon, and commenced his ministry 
 as Curate of Alford, in Somersetshire. His 
 sisters lived with him, sorrowing together for 
 the recent loss of their mother. They re- 
 mained not more than four months at Alford, 
 for the place was found to be unsuited to their 
 health ; and shortly afterwards he took the 
 Curacy of Wotton-Fitzpaine, Dorsetshire, which 
 again he was obliged to relinquish for the same 
 reason. At this time a chaplaincy in the East 
 India Company's service, of the value of £600 
 a-year, was offered to him, but it was declined; 
 and he finally settled on undertaking the Curacy 
 of Clifton, having been ordained Priest while 
 yet at Wotton. 
 
 It has been remarked that " the two or three 
 years after ordination usually give the whole 
 complexion to a clergyman's after-life a ." The 
 remark was verified in the subject of this me- 
 moir. Though there is little to record during 
 these few years, and the changes which oc- 
 curred have nothing to distinguish them from 
 
 a Mr. Isaac Williams' Memoir of Robert Suckling, p. 11. 
 
First Years of his Ministry. 19 
 
 a young clergyman's ordinary course, yet it is 
 evident that he was then passing through a 
 transition state of the utmost moment, during 
 which his character and future destinies were 
 determined. Through the grace of God, he 
 was borne safely through what must have been 
 to him a very searching trial. 
 
 He had entered upon the work of the mi- 
 nistry with his characteristic ardour, but at 
 the same time he joined with great zest in 
 society. Gifted with more than ordinary social 
 powers, he was naturally inclined to seek the 
 opportunity of exercising them, and even, per- 
 haps, to strain the rules of conscience to justify 
 himself. One who knew and loved him well, 
 says, "He always had considerable conversa- 
 tional power, and great warmth and energy in 
 all matters, great or small, which interested 
 him. He had, too, a friendly and affectionate 
 spirit, and believed the best of all who shewed 
 him kindness. He had a beautiful voice ; he 
 sang agreeably, though without musical know- 
 ledge. Society became a snare to him, espe- 
 cially at Clifton. His society was much sought 
 there, and at the earlier time of his residence 
 he seems to have mixed in it more than was 
 healthy for him, though being at the same 
 time most earnest in his parish work, and 
 much loved by his flock/' 
 
20 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 To those who saw him only in such scenes, 
 his lively, cheerful manner, and genial flow of 
 humour, may probably have little led them to 
 suspect what was really passing within. There 
 were, moreover, at the same time other snares 
 besetting him. His preaching was much ad- 
 mired, and attracted a degree of notice which 
 could not have been without serious hazard to 
 his spiritual life. Still, even while these dan- 
 gerous influences gained a temporary hold upon 
 him, a very different aspect of his character 
 was opened to those who knew him in his pas- 
 toral ministrations. They were conscious of 
 the deeper convictions which were gradually 
 asserting a predominance in his soul. A cler- 
 gyman who knew him well at Clifton says, — 
 "I had a great and sincere admiration for 
 him as a parish priest. There was an evi- 
 dent determination to do his duty, and in 
 any case of difficulty, there was a promptness 
 of decision and an elasticity of spirit which 
 carried him through difficulties that would 
 have daunted many another man. At the 
 time I speak of, the whole charge of the 
 parish really devolved upon him, and there- 
 fore the qualities I have named were in con- 
 stant requisition V 
 
 b It may be mentioned as a characteristic trait, that when 
 at Clifton, gifts of money were occasionally offered to him, 
 
Early Life and Education. 21 
 
 While lie was at Wotton there occurred an 
 incident in his ministry opening more in de- 
 tail this deeper view of his character, and 
 bearing upon what afterwards became the dis- 
 tinguishing feature of his chief work in Eng- 
 land. " He had strong ideas/' (thus writes 
 one of his sisters then living with him,) "oi 
 reforming those considered past hope. There 
 was a wild, desolate part of the parish called 
 Chapney Marsh, chiefly inhabited by a gang 
 of thieves and desperate characters. He first 
 heard of a man there just out of prison, dying 
 of gaol fever. He took this place in hand 
 with his usual energy, and effected a wonder- 
 ful change even in the short time we were 
 there (about eight months) ." 
 
 On becoming Curate of Clifton, he made rules 
 for himself as to visiting, which he carefully 
 observed ; only accepting invitations for a cer- 
 tain fixed number of days in the week, never 
 going to balls or dancing, and always retir- 
 ing early : but during the latter period of his 
 life there his views became sensibly stricter. 
 He began by abstaining from all parties in 
 Lent, and the desire of a more retired and 
 concentrated life grew within him. One rela- 
 
 which he declined, saying that he desired all such offerings to 
 be made in common to the clergy ministering together at the 
 church, and not to himself personally. 
 
22 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 tion whose house he frequented more than any- 
 other, says, " I remember well telling him our 
 house should be an exception to the rule, (that 
 of abstaining from all society in Lent,) which I 
 entirely approved ; but he then told me he felt 
 his own weakness, and to do any good he must 
 give up going even to us." This same dear 
 friend adds, that "from that time he always 
 appeared to me to deepen in character and 
 thought." It is the opinion of this relative, as 
 well as of another to whom he was yet more 
 intimately known afterwards, that the reading 
 of the earlier " Tracts for the Times," and the 
 studies to which they led, were the means 
 which conduced to form, or deepen, that truer 
 estimate of the religious life and his own re- 
 sponsibilities as a priest, as well as those defi- 
 nite views of doctrine, which afterwards charac- 
 terized him. It would seem that the Church 
 movement of that day, then in its vigorous 
 infancy, was, under God, the means of giving a 
 permanent direction to the powers and energies 
 then expanding within him, and elevated to 
 a higher sphere the thoughtful religious in- 
 stincts, and amiable dispositions, which had 
 marked his boyhood. 
 
EXETER. 
 
 1841—45. 
 
 In the year 1841, Mr. Armstrong went from 
 Clifton to Exeter, having been appointed one 
 of the priest-vicars of the Cathedral. The 
 change was of great importance in the forma- 
 tion of his character, and at first involved 
 much trial. The priest-vicars of Exeter occupy 
 a peculiar position. They form with the lay- 
 vicars, or members of the choir, one corporate 
 body, having estates and funds in common and 
 under their own independent control. 
 
 The custom had been, that out of this body 
 four were ordained to chaunt the service. They 
 had no preaching licence, nor any pastoral du- 
 ties ; and neither in their social grade or edu- 
 cation were they in any respect superior to 
 the lay- vicars. This was felt to be a position 
 wholly unworthy of such an office ; and the 
 late Bishop of Exeter determined not to admit 
 as priest- vicar, any one who had not had an 
 
24 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 university education. This rule changed by 
 degrees the state of the priest- vicars, and their 
 relative position towards the Canons of the 
 Cathedral. They became empowered to take 
 curacies or incumbencies, and since that time 
 there has also been a growing disposition on 
 the part of the Canons to draw them into their 
 own circle, as men of the like sacred calling, 
 and brother-members of the same venerable 
 foundation. Mr. Armstrong became a priest- 
 vicar at the time when this change was only 
 in its infancy, and was himself the second who 
 entered the body having had an university 
 education. 
 
 Passing from Clifton, where he had found 
 a ready access into the first circles, ever wel- 
 come and much beloved, it was a trial to find 
 himself unexpectedly in a subordinate grade, 
 and doubtful social position. After a little 
 time, indeed, he made himself friends, and 
 became valued and beloved as before ; but the 
 first part of his residence at Exeter sorely 
 tried him. There is no doubt that the trial 
 had the beneficial effect of loosening still more 
 the hold which an undue love of society had 
 for a while obtained over him. 
 
 In April, 1843, he was instituted to the 
 rectory of St. Paul's, a parish in the city of 
 
Exeter. 25 
 
 Exeter, containing 1,200 inhabitants. It con- 
 sisted chiefly of a main street, with numerous 
 alleys running from it on either side, where 
 the parishioners were very closely packed. The 
 inhabitants were composed of the less wealthy 
 class of shopkeepers, or the very poor, with 
 some few exceptions of the ancient gentry of 
 the city, who still lingered on in their good 
 old houses, giving signs of its having once 
 been a more wealthy quarter. Into the work 
 of this parish he threw himself with an un- 
 sparing energy and ardent affection ; and from 
 this time he determined to withdraw himself 
 entirely from society, that he might the more 
 completely devote himself to his charge. 
 
 Just before he entered upon the rectory of 
 St. Paul's, he had commenced a style of writing 
 of which he afterwards made an admirable use 
 in furtherance of the highest spiritual objects, 
 — that of a reviewer ; and it is interesting to 
 note the subject which he selected for his first 
 essay in this department of literature. The 
 subject of the article was " Mr. Markland's Re- 
 marks on English Churches," and some kindred 
 works, with special reference to the subject of 
 monumental devices and inscriptions. The ar- 
 ticle appeared in the January number for 1843 
 of the " British Critic," then the most noted 
 
26 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 Church Review. The following extract will 
 shew his tone of thought and style of writ- 
 ing at this time, which was, in fact, the com- 
 mencement of a course distinguished more 
 and more by a decided and ardent devotion 
 of all his powers and faculties to the service 
 of God :— 
 
 "The earliest monumental tombs found in this 
 country which can be considered at all of an archi- 
 tectural character, are the stone coffins of the eleventh 
 and twelfth centuries : the covers of these were at 
 first simply coped. Here, then, we have simplicity 
 itself. It was enough for men to lie in the house 
 of prayer, to rest where they once had worshipped : 
 mortality is the only moral of these early tombs; 
 individuality is lost in that which is common to all, 
 mortality. The stone covers of these coffins were 
 'afterwards ornamented with crosses.' We could 
 almost feel that the very perfection of monumental 
 architecture, by this addition, was attained : nothing 
 can more eloquently express the quiet, unobtrusive, 
 private piety of those ancient days, when the cross 
 was the only ornament on the tomb — when to sleep 
 near the altar was the highest honour — when neither 
 name, nor escutcheon, nor verse, nor encomium is to 
 be found. "We cannot look on that symbol of the 
 faith without reverencing that silent humility which 
 desired no other sign, which taught men not to 
 blazon forth themselves, but simply to shew that 
 
Exeter. 27 
 
 they were members of the mystical body of Christ. 
 Inscriptions followed next; but these are remark- 
 able for the same simplicity, the same unselfishness, 
 the same humility, — a pious and pleasing contrast to 
 the bombastic flatteries of modern epitaphs. Often 
 the name of the deceased, with the date of his death, 
 forms the only inscription; or if he was founder 
 of a church, that act of piety is noted, but very 
 simply, without a word of commendation for muni- 
 ficence and zeal. Often, after the name, the follow- 
 ing sentences were graven: — 'Jesu merci;' or, 'Cu- 
 jus animae propicietur Deus. Amen;' or, 'Orate pro 
 animal Long inscriptions were unknown. Up 
 to this point, then, which we will call the first or 
 primitive age, simplicity is the chief architectural 
 feature, while a strong religious character marks 
 such brief inscriptions as are to be found. 
 
 " To proceed to another age, we see next the be- 
 ginning of monumental sculpture : l subsequently,' 
 says the ' Glossary,' 'they (the altar- tombs) were 
 sculptured with recumbent figures in high relief, but 
 still generally diminishing in width from the head 
 to the feet, to fit the coffins of which they formed 
 the lids/ This was a considerable change ; for the 
 features of individuals began to be expressed; but 
 still a religious character is strictly retained. The 
 hands of the recumbent figure are usually clasped 
 over the breast in prayer, as though to teach us the 
 fittest attitude for the hour and bed of death, and 
 doubtless also expressing the prayers of the souls 
 
28 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 ' under the altar.' Towards the close of the four- 
 teenth century the custom became general of inlay- 
 ing flat stones with brasses. They were introduced 
 at an earlier date, but were for some time rare : the 
 earliest extant is the full-sized effigy of Sir Eoger de 
 Trumpington, at Trumpington, Cambridge, a.d. 1289. 
 Inscriptions now become more numerous, though 
 even yet not general, and very brief; the brasses 
 also were remarkable for their simplicity, often re- 
 presenting the favourite emblem of the cross elegantly 
 worked; often the figure of the deceased praying, 
 with some text, pious rhyme, or holy ejaculation 
 engraved round the border, or on some portion of 
 the dress, or on labels from the mouth. The ex- 
 clamation 'Jesu merci,' the most touching of all 
 epitaphs, is the most common. This may be seen 
 on the helmets or sword-belts of knights. On the 
 fine monument of John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, 
 in Wimbourne Minster, the front of the helmet has 
 been inscribed with some such devout motto, of 
 which the word 'marci' is still legible. In the 
 church of Higham Ferrars, one of the most mag- 
 nificent brasses on an altar- tomb, beneath a Deco- 
 rated arch, represents a former rector with his hands 
 clasped in prayer; on the breast is the sentence, 
 i Fili Dei miserere mei ;' at the bottom of the figure, 
 'Hie jacet Laurentius Sane to de Mauro quondam 
 Rector istius Ecclesioe cujus anima3 propitietur Deus. 
 Amen.' On one side of a crocketed canopy we read 
 1 Suscipiat me Christus qui vocavit me ;' on the other, 
 
Exeter. 20 
 
 ' In sinu Abrahc angeli dedncant me :' the whole 
 monument is well worth inspection. 
 
 • # # # # # 
 
 " The above kinds of monument, and this style of 
 inscription, prevailed, with some modification, till 
 the Reformation. The more elaborate architecture of 
 the fifteenth century was naturally introduced into 
 the tombs, producing a greater degree of splendour, 
 richer decoration, and loftier structures. Canopies, 
 first of a simple, then of a more florid kind, during 
 this period made their appearance. Eringing, then, 
 another age of some duration to a close, we still ob- 
 serve that the monuments themselves were, archi- 
 tecturally, in keeping with the building, and that 
 they were, together with their inscriptions, essen- 
 tially religious : this point we wish especially to be 
 remembered. 
 
 *- # # # • * 
 
 "We now reach the third age, in which the hu- 
 mility and devoutness of those preceding it begin 
 gradually to decline and disappear. The recumbent 
 figures represented in the act of prayer were mixed 
 with a new and different race; we see ladies in 
 ruffles, leaning on their elbows, staring us in the 
 face, and lords and knights rising to the same posi- 
 tion. The religion of monuments begins to be less 
 considered; at the same time we note an equally 
 painful change in the inscriptions. The cross is for- 
 gotten ; self is commended ; lengthy epitaphs, pro- 
 
30 Memoir of BisJiop Armstrong. 
 
 verbially false and incredible, appear; men's virtues, 
 not Christ's merits, — what they .have done, not what 
 they need, or have left undone, — make up a pompous 
 record, seldom read and never believed. "Witticisms 
 and puns, especially on names, are among the un- 
 seemly innovations of the age ; our smiles are pro- 
 voked when the most solemn lessons would more 
 naturally suggest themselves, and we are brought to 
 the graves of men to be amused. 
 
 " After this, which we will call the ' transition 
 state/ we come to another age, far more dark and 
 melancholy ; it is the last, in which all remains of 
 humility and self-abasement vanish away ; it is the 
 age of religious apathy, of worldliness, bombast, and 
 show, when ultra-Protestantism had grown to its 
 full and gross maturity: piety is no longer even 
 affected ; the recumbent figure, which in the pre- 
 vious age had so far risen as to be resting on its 
 elbow, now, altogether spurning its lowly and pros- 
 trate attitude of prayer, stands upright on its feet. 
 Man has risen in his own eyes ; his greatness is now 
 to be commemorated ; he is to be admired in effigy. 
 Statues, such as Lord Elgin brought from Greece, 
 represent the character of the day ; a more imposing 
 place is given to man in the house of God ; self is 
 exalted; before it the cross melts — the ' Jesu merci,' 
 the * miserere mei,' all that speaks the weakness and 
 dependence of men : worldly heroes usurp the sanc- 
 tuary; statesmen, generals, poets, politicians, with- 
 out creed or religion, infidels or sceptics, as it may 
 
Exeter. 3 1 
 
 happen, supplant bishops, confessors, saints, foun- 
 ders of churches. Then, too, — the worst reproach of 
 all, the last stage of degradation, the sign of an age 
 of unbelief, — heathen devices crowd the Christian's 
 house of prayer, the temple where the ever-blessed 
 Trinity is to be worshipped l in sphit and in truth/ 
 Never, from the foundation of the Church by the 
 Lord Himself, in any land or time, till the age we 
 treat of, did those who bear the name of Christ turn 
 back to heathen idolatry for emblems wherewith to 
 grace their tombs. To this it was left to bring the 
 fabled gods and goddesses into the sanctuary of the 
 One True God, who is a c jealous God/ and to defile 
 His temple by reviving the remembrance of the 
 darkest, grossest superstition ; to this it was left to 
 surround the sepulchres of professing Christians 
 with the tokens of a religion in which they utterly 
 disbelieved, shewing full well how careless they 
 were concerning that in which they professed a 
 belief. 
 
 "But as the monuments of this period have, on 
 the whole, cast off any religious character in their 
 design, except what is of heathen religion, the in- 
 scriptions, as is usual, have followed in the same 
 track ; they are either of a worldly and classical 
 tone, or, if religious, such a preposterous accumu- 
 lation of excellencies are attributed to the deceased, 
 as renders it in effect a most irreligious commemo- 
 ration, because it must of necessity be untrue. 
 
32 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 "Beviewing, then, for a moment the progress of 
 monumental architecture, we must confess that the 
 result tends little to the honour of modern times; 
 and the days of Anne, William, and the Georges 
 hardly can be said to gain in this respect by being 
 contrasted with any preceding period. 
 
 # •& ^» * a- n> 
 
 Both the early effigies and the early legends do in- 
 deed speak the shame of these latter days, and amid 
 all our own supposed enlightenment, we have yet to 
 learn to give the dead Christian honour." — Monu- 
 mental Devices and Inscriptions, "British Critic" 
 No. 65. 
 
 One who could write thus in his leisure 
 hours, was learning to realize the deeper tone 
 of earlier devotion, which loved to lose itself 
 beneath the cross, counting all things but loss 
 that it might win Christ. And we may well be- 
 lieve that he was at this time feeding on the 
 idea, which his mind had embraced, of an en- 
 tire self-devotedness separate from the world, 
 and was secretly being prepared and strength- 
 ened for any work or sacrifice in the service 
 of God, to which he might be called. 
 
 About this time he married Frances, the 
 eldest daughter of Edward Whitniore, Esq. 
 Tlie}^ lived in a house within the parish, in as 
 much seclusion as possible, avoiding all general 
 
Exeter. 33 
 
 society, and devoting themselves wholly to the 
 care of the parish. 
 
 To general lookers on, Mr. Armstrong ap- 
 peared the hard-working, painstaking parish 
 priest, undistinguishablc from many other 
 equally devoted men. The life of a parish 
 priest is made up of details, which, although 
 to himself of absorbing thought and anxiety, 
 and possessing their own peculiar varieties and 
 special points of interest to those immediately 
 concerned, are yet for the most part of a simi- 
 lar character in all cases. To those, however, 
 who can look more closely, characteristic fea- 
 tures come out to view, distinguishing one 
 man's ministry from that of another. What 
 especially struck one who knew Mr. Armstrong 
 well at this time, was that "he always threw 
 himself so completely into each particular ca.se 
 of sickness or trouble, which appeared to be 
 the secret of his winning, so much as he did, 
 the affections of his people. Though reserved 
 on many points himself, others never seemed 
 to feel reserved with him, and in a very special 
 manner he carried out that great law of love, 
 of weeping with them that weep, and rejoicing 
 with them that rejoice." 
 
 It may be observed, that the fulfilment of 
 the latter part of this precept is far more rare 
 
 D 
 
34 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 than that of the former ; but the union of the 
 two was remarked by Mr. Armstrong's friends 
 as a distinguishing feature of his character. A 
 clergyman who knew him somewhat later than 
 the time we are now speaking of, again points 
 it out in connexion with the same great gift of 
 individual sympathy. " His love and his ca- 
 pacity for sympathy seemed inexhaustible, and 
 yet, while ever more and more expansive to 
 the increasing requirements of his great Peni- 
 tentiary work, his heart lost none of its ten- 
 derness and susceptibility for entering into 
 individual joys and sorrows. I never met 
 with one to whom it was so impossible not to 
 rejoice with those who were rejoicing, and 
 to weep with those who wept. He quite car- 
 ried by storm, and singularly retained, the 
 affections of my parishioners, high and low, 
 by the way in which he entered into our dis- 
 tress on an occasion of great trial to us." 
 
 But to proceed with the records of his life 
 at Exeter. A touching testimony to the cha- 
 racter of his mind and ministrations came spon- 
 taneously, on hearing that this memoir was in 
 preparation, from a member of a family whom he 
 visited during severe domestic affliction. " The 
 striking points of his character were the deli- 
 cacy, tenderness, and amount of feeling, so rarely 
 
Exeter. 35 
 
 combined with decision and promptness of ac- 
 tion, and although so important and beautiful 
 a feature, yet it is impossible to give examples ; 
 the whole essence consisting in the simplicity, 
 tact, and time, in which it was done, — a spon- 
 taneous overflowing, as it were ; at the mo- 
 ment in all probability, the recipient could not 
 have expressed what it was, but only knew 
 there was some one who fully entered into 
 and shared his feelings." 
 
 In regard to the public services at St. Paul's, 
 the line which he took was to revive the neg- 
 lected features of the Church's system, trusting 
 that the Church's own ordained forms of life 
 were the truest and fittest to infuse the mind 
 of God, and to cherish the highest tone of de- 
 votion among his people. In consequence of 
 his engagements at the cathedral, he was un- 
 able to have daily morning prayer in his parish 
 church, but he at once commenced daily prayer 
 in the evening at 7 p.m., as the hour most con- 
 venient for working men. He established also 
 a stricter observance of the rubric, using, e. g. 
 the prayer for the Church Militant every Sun- 
 day, and administering holy Baptism during 
 the service after the second lesson. At the 
 same time there was an earnestness in detect- 
 ing any spiritual want, and a quickness of de- 
 
36 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 cision in endeavouring to meet it. Thus, e. g. 
 finding a system of Sunday-schools at work 
 which prevented his knowing or gaining hold 
 over the children of his parish — it being the 
 custom that the children of several parishes 
 should meet in one of the larger schoolrooms, 
 where they were classed indiscriminately toge- 
 ther ; he set about forming a separate Sunday- 
 school for his own children. Moreover, having 
 observed how, in consequence of the prevailing 
 habit of parents of the labouring class attend- 
 ing evening services, the poorer children of his 
 parish were either left to play in the streets, or 
 were shut up at home without any one to look 
 after them, he established a Sunday evening 
 school for the boys in the schoolroom, and for 
 the girls in his own house ; the parish clerk, 
 and some younger sons of tradesmen, giving 
 voluntary aid in teaching. 
 
 During this period, Mr. Armstrong's reli- 
 gious views were acquiring that depth and 
 power, that clear and definite substance, which 
 characterized him as a teacher. It is im- 
 portant to note his views on some points of 
 doctrine, as illustrating his mind and cha- 
 racter, especially such as bear upon ques- 
 tions now anxiously discussed amongst us. He 
 was one of the lecturers at the cathedral, 
 
Exeter* 37 
 
 and there the greater number of his "Ser- 
 mons on the Festivals," published in 1815, 
 were preached. From these Sermons may be 
 gathered some idea of his pastoral teaching, 
 and the main ground- work of his religious con- 
 victions. To note the opinions of a man of 
 so much mental power and depth of devotion 
 on disputed questions, w T hen the public mind 
 is anxiously looking out for guidance in an 
 hour of peculiar unrest and doubtfulness, must 
 be a matter of no common interest and import- 
 ance ; nor can his life or character be under- 
 stood, without knowing the principles of doc- 
 trine and belief on w r hich, through the grace 
 of God, they w T ere formed and grew. 
 
 Every age, especially one of strong religious 
 excitement, has its own special forms of strife, 
 in which some portions of the mystery of Christ 
 arc gainsaid or imperilled. We are now happily 
 spared, at least within the Church of England, 
 some of the momentous controversies which 
 saddened the course of preceding generations, 
 such as those which concern the truth of the 
 Scriptures, the Divinity of our Lord, or the 
 necessity of the grace of the Holy Spirit ; but 
 we have our own grounds of perplexity and 
 division. The controversies of the present day 
 within the Church of England turn chiefly on 
 
38 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 two questions: (1.) the general principles of 
 dogmatic truth ; and (2.) the grace of sacra- 
 ments. On both these momentous lines of 
 thought, more eventful struggles than we have 
 yet seen may arise hereafter, and it is of the 
 utmost importance to mark the cloud of wit- 
 nesses whom God raises up from time to time 
 to sustain His truth. It is also of great mo- 
 ment to observe the effects of sound and earnest 
 views of doctrine in their connexion with the 
 life of those who cherish them. 
 
 On both these questions Mr. Armstrong's 
 mind had evidently been long intent, and he 
 had formed clear and decided opinions regard- 
 ing them, not merely as questions of external 
 religion, but as of vital interest to the soul's 
 growth. He was wont to express his opinions 
 strongly, yet to no man was it ever given to 
 shew more considerateness for the prejudices of 
 others, or to be more careful in not laying un- 
 necessary stumbling-blocks in the way of those 
 who, from difference of education, or other cause, 
 had been led to receive ideas of the revelation 
 of God at variance from his own, ever endea- 
 vouring " to speak the truth in love." 
 
 On the first question alluded to, he speaks 
 very decidedly in the sermon on the festival of 
 St. Mark, the subiect selected for the day beins; 
 
 
Exeter. 39 
 
 " the Personality of Satan/' The following ex- 
 tract is a sample of the important and earnest 
 thoughts there expressed :— 
 
 " Now the Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist seems 
 a fit occasion for dwelling on such a subject as this; 
 because, while we bless God for the gift of the 
 heavenly doctrine which he was appointed to de- 
 liver, it suggests to us one great object of temptation, 
 I mean, our doctrine. Here is one point on which 
 we are constantly and craftily assailed. Blasts of 
 error and vain doctrine, against which we pray, arid 
 by which unstable souls are swept into perdition, 
 are constantly breathed into us by the Prince of 
 Darkness. As the Spirit of Truth guides into all 
 truth those who obey the truth, so the Spirit of 
 error seeks to lure men from the truth unto his 
 lies. And it is in the highest degree important that 
 we should consider both the fact that our doctrine is 
 assailed, and that there is the possibility of our being 
 borne down by the blasts of vain doctrine, because 
 we are disposed, perhaps, to watch our doctrine too 
 carelessly ; and, however ready we may be to allow 
 that we are tempted by Satan to viciousness and 
 worldliness of life, we are slow to allow or to feel 
 his attempts against our creed ; practically at least, 
 we little suspect or fear the trials which will be 
 made against the very profession of a sound faith ; 
 we little distrust our own stedfastness or correctness 
 m religious views ; we think it hardly possible, or 
 
40 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 most unlikely, that we should be drawn to mistake 
 the sense of Scripture, or to read it with a per- 
 verted mind. We may feel the evil one tempting us 
 to objects of ambition, to the excitements of the 
 world, to the hurtful lusts of the flesh, to the love of 
 money or of fame, to revenge, or gluttony, or selfish- 
 ness; but we do not see him working divisions 
 amongst us, dismembering the body of Christ, sug- 
 gesting new, and therefore false, interpretations of 
 the Word of God, and putting it into the hearts of 
 men to devise new systems by which strife is multi- 
 plied, the sheep scattered, the energies of many weak 
 but earnest minds wasted on vain disputations. And 
 yet, if he be a person, subtle, active, deliberative, 
 wise, deceitful, and above all, able mysteriously to 
 penetrate into the hearts of men, and to mingle 
 secretly his own thoughts with theirs, he cannot 
 have left so important a field as that of religious 
 doctrine undisturbed, without any tares being cast 
 upon it. He cannot have left the stream of sound 
 doctrine to flow to the edifying of the Church, with- 
 out any efforts to turn its course, or to disturb its 
 purity. The history both of natural and revealed 
 religion presents us with a succession of assaults, 
 which betray both his skill and eagerness in smooth- 
 ing down the image and superscription of God, where- 
 ever it may have been in any degree impressed. In 
 the Litany we are devoutly led to consider this, as 
 well as his more obvious mode of temptation, when 
 we are taught in the same clause to pray for de- 
 
Exeter. 41 
 
 liverance both from ' all false doctrine, heresy, and 
 schism/ and also ' from all hardness of heart, and 
 contempt of God's "Word and Commandments ;' that 
 is, as well from any corruptness of doctrine as of 
 life. And it is, perhaps, one of the strongest proofs 
 of the present power of this Prince of Darkness, 
 that he has been enabled to make so large a portion 
 of the Christian world careless about differences of 
 doctrine, almost blinded as to the sin of schism, 
 ready to think that it matters not what we be- 
 lieve, and to form hollow combinations, in which 
 no jealousy for the whole counsel of God can be 
 perceived, and no fear of an evil leaven. How 
 could he more craftily have paved the way for the 
 reception of ' damnable heresies' and doctrines con- 
 trary to God ? He has lulled our fears of doctrinal 
 error, and our sensitive affection for the truth; he 
 has brought us to mix with heretics, and he has 
 familiarized us with sounds of error from other men's 
 mouths, which become less and less hateful to our 
 minds the more we are used to hear them ; and then 
 
 his last step is to suggest error to ourselves 
 
 And in speaking on this point, let me warn you of 
 the indulgence of a passion, most sinful, and now 
 most popular, — I mean that of religious curiosity. 
 By this restless inquisitiveness into other men's 
 opinions, Satan entices us to offer our ears to the 
 blasts of his vain doctrine. If we are members of 
 the Church because we believe it to be indeed the 
 Church of Christ, the true keeper and preacher of 
 
42 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 His "Word, we should go nowhere else ; we should 
 not trifle with so great a thing as our religion; 
 we should not waste one opportunity of grace ; while 
 we are hearing error we are losing truth ; we 
 put ourselves in the way of temptation; we are 
 helping to the confusion and unsettledness of our 
 minds; we shew a restlessness, which is of the 
 world and not of God; we betray the want of 
 a holy reverence for the truth, by our readiness 
 to touch its counterfeit, and to please our ears by 
 the sound of that false metal, the circulation of 
 which should only sadden us; for the time we 
 give countenance to error, which is a sin; we ac- 
 cept for the time Koran's ministrations; though we 
 y not begin, we may end by embracing the error, 
 for Satan may turn our curiosity to his account. 
 The very fact that we allow ourselves to indulge 
 curiosity on such points is a proof that our minds 
 are in so light, so unfixed a state, as to render us 
 peculiarly open to false opinions when enthusiasti- 
 cally and plausibly set forth. We may be moved by 
 eloquence, and think it grace. "While we are con- 
 sorting with the despisers of the least of Chr' 
 doctrines, we are despising Christ Himself. Though 
 we may come away from such assemblies with no 
 direct infection, with no other sin upon us than that 
 of having exposed ourselves to error, we have en- 
 couraged others to do likewise, and to wander to and 
 fro in search of excitement rather than of religion ; 
 these may not go forth unharmed. ^ ho in the 
 
Exeter, 43 
 
 practical part of religion counts it safe to familiarize 
 himself from curiosity with all the modes and varie- 
 ties of vice, and to go round watching the countless 
 forms and attitudes of sin? "Who counts it safe to 
 trust himself in such a course ? And why in doc- 
 trinal matters, where there may be equal sin and 
 equal temptation, should another rule be applied ? 
 How many heresies and schisms would die at once, 
 almost at the hour of their birth, were it not for 
 this profane ensnaring curiosity, by which they are 
 swollen first into an apparent, and then into a real 
 vigour!" 
 
 In another Sermon, on the Festival of tlio 
 Holy Trinity, the Athanasian Creed having 
 been chosen as the subject, the same line of 
 thought recurs. He there speaks strongly and 
 very impressively of the lax and dangerous 
 habit of passing over lightly, or depreciating, 
 the dogmatic statements of that confession of 
 our faith, and the unassailable ground on which 
 those statements rest, as well as the necessities 
 which occasioned them. After alluding to the 
 objection ordinarily urged against the Creed, 
 he says : — 
 
 " Now, I would first observe, in answer to such 
 views, that the objections to the Athanasian Creed 
 have ever been most loud and violent in times 
 
44 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong, 
 
 of coldness, laxity of life and doctrine, worldliness 
 and infidelity. Thus, a century ago it was more 
 bitterly opposed than in our own day ; and we can- 
 not look at the temper of those times without be- 
 holding a startling picture of the ruin and decay of 
 vital piety, and the proportionate boldness and in- 
 crease of infidelity. The voice of an age divided 
 between lethargy and unbelief, should hardly be 
 accepted as that of a wise counsellor ; and the fact 
 is not without significance, that in the same propor- 
 tion as Gospel principles have increased or lost their 
 power over the hearts and lives of men, so have the 
 objections to this Creed increased in violence or 
 declined. 
 
 " Again, if we consider the circumstances from 
 which the Creed arose, we shall relieve the Church 
 from the blame which has wrongly fallen on her — 
 the blame of having desired and introduced such 
 minuteness of doctrinal statement. The Church on 
 her part was content with the simplest and briefest 
 Creed; she desired in the fulness of her faith no 
 nicer definitions ; but the very vagueness and brevity 
 of her earlier forms were turned against her; her 
 simple expression of the great Christian verities was 
 explained away, mis-read, wrested from its obvious 
 meaning, opposed by the subtleties of ingenious 
 heretics, who sought with the serpent's wisdom 
 to catch men in an intricate web of words. The 
 Church desired no expansion nor more precise expo- 
 sition of the faith, but, contrary to her will, she was 
 
Exeter. 45 
 
 constrained in this manner to defend the truth deli- 
 vered to her, to meet the subtle errors of the ene- 
 mies of Christ, to expand her more compressed 
 forms of speech, to explain, to defend what she had 
 said more simply, where, for lack of closer definition, 
 error was successfully thrust in. She was first 
 driven to add the jS'icene to the Apostles' Creed, and 
 next, as new modes of error continued to be de- 
 vised, like a besieged city she threw out fresh 
 defences, opposing the refinements of heretics by 
 such counter refinements as were esteemed consistent 
 with godly reverence. Thus the Athanasian Creed 
 was, as it were, an outer wall cast round the first 
 bulwarks of less contentious ages ; and though she 
 rejoiced in its strength and soundness, she grieved at 
 its necessity. Nor has it been ever consistent with 
 the security of the truth to trust herself to her first 
 defences, and to throw down her later works, be- 
 cause the same heresies, or equally dangerous modifi- 
 cations of them, have continued to encamp about her. 
 
 Again, while it is true that the Creed 
 
 threatens with the everlasting wrath of God those 
 who deny the Catholic faith, which faith is made to 
 consist in the confession of the Holy Trinity, and 
 the Incarnation and Godhead of Christ, before we 
 count such threatenings contrary to the law of Chris- 
 tian love, it would be well to consider, whether any 
 sentences of condemnation as strong and terrible are 
 to be found in Holy Scripture. For if Scripture, 
 which contains the law of love and grace, does use 
 
46 
 
 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 sentences of condemnation of like severity, then 
 we mnst confess that it is possible to threaten men 
 with the wrath of God without any breach of charity, 
 unless Scripture be supposed to offend ; and the only 
 question which can then be raised will be, whether 
 the Church and Scripture agree as to the objects, 
 manner of life, or opinions, which are to be con- 
 demned; there will be nothing unscriptural, and 
 therefore nothing uncharitable, in the threats them- 
 selves, provided they be scripturally aimed. Let us 
 then listen to some awful denunciations of wrath 
 inspired by God the Holy Ghost, Who is the Spirit 
 of love, "Who is Love Himself. 
 
 " c If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let 
 him be Anathema Maran-atha.' ' Eut though we, 
 or an angel from heaven, preach any other Gospel 
 than that which we have preached unto you, let him 
 be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, 
 If any man preach any other Gospel than that ye 
 have received, let him be accursed.' 'He that 
 belie veth not shall be damned/ ' "Whosoever shall 
 not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye 
 depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust 
 of your feet. Verily I say unto you, it shall be 
 more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha 
 in the day of judgment than for that city.' ' Eut 
 the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and 
 murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and 
 idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the 
 lake which burneth with fire.' ' Who shall privily 
 
Exeter \ 47 
 
 bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord 
 that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift 
 destruction/ ' that they might all be damned who 
 believed not the truth.' 
 
 " Now, if we compare these denunciations of wrath 
 with the severest and the sternest words in the Atha- 
 nasian Creed, we must instantly confess that no 
 terrors are threatened in the one which are not 
 threatened in the other; though it is beyond the 
 present question to decide whether the terrors threat- 
 ened equally by the one and by the other, are di- 
 rected against the same kinds of sinners. And the 
 fact is, that such texts as these open out a side of the 
 Gospel, and of God's dealings with mankind, which, 
 from its very awfulness, we naturally shrink from 
 looking at ; we would fain soften down those strong- 
 assertions of the necessity of holding the truth and of 
 holding it in righteousness, and of the peril of not 
 holding it, or of holding it in unrighteousness ; 
 we turn from the darker side of the Gospel, which 
 threatens tribulation and anguish, and hesitate to 
 face those images of wrath which run parallel with 
 its pictures of peace and love ; and when this sterner 
 view is propounded to us in other forms, we try to 
 cast discredit upon the forms, by accusations of un- 
 charitableness so easily caught at by a careless world. 
 And yet we instantly are led to see the inconsistency 
 of such views of charity as would disarm the Church, 
 if not the Scripture, of all sharpness of reproof and 
 power to threaten ; as long as it seems to disturb but 
 
48 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 little our own peace in the world, we care but little 
 what * damnable heresies' abound, and we hesitate 
 to say that they who hold such things ' shall perish 
 everlastingly;' yet from very selfishness we are more 
 bold to grant that the terrors of the Lord ought to 
 be denounced on evil doers, because the sins of 
 theft, murder, adultery, and the like, if not re- 
 strained by some such voices of awful warning, 
 might increase to the destruction of our own earthly 
 quietness. While the express assertion that they 
 who deny the Godhead of Jesus Christ ' shall perish 
 everlastingly/ through their unbelief, is held to be a 
 bold offence against the Gospel law of charity, it is 
 held to be no such breach of love to affirm that 
 thieves, and murderers, and profane persons, shall 
 also perish ; or at least such assertions are suffered 
 to be made more quietly. May we not then justly 
 question the nature of that charity, which is thus 
 inconsistent with itself and partial ? May we not 
 doubt whether this be evangelical love, which thus 
 inclines us with a selfish tenderness towards one 
 class of sinners, while it consents to the denun- 
 ciations of wrath against another ? 
 
 "And we have the more reason to suspect this 
 charity, when we consider that the texts already 
 quoted are as severe in condemnation of certain 
 doctrines as of certain ways of life. 
 
 "Further, though the Gospel abounds in love, 
 and teaches us to abound in love one to another, it 
 is not merely a revelation of love, but also a revcla- 
 
Exeter. 49 
 
 tion of trutli ; while we have to seek that ' love 
 which is in Christ Jesus/ we have equally to seek 
 * the truth as it is iu Jesus ;' and as God is both 
 1 love' and ' the truth/ both love and truth as em- 
 braced in ourselves are gifts of the self- same Spirit, 
 Who is not divided against Himself. If therefore any 
 views of love would lead us to disparage and slight 
 the truth, and to allow that it mattered not what 
 men believed, that error of doctrine is not to be con- 
 demned, or that those who hold error in doctrine 
 are not to be condemned ; we should at once suspect 
 such views as forming a spurious charity within us, 
 because jealousy for the maintenance of love swallows 
 up all jealousy for the maintenance of truth. "Where 
 the gifts of the Spirit seem to oppose each other, 
 where mercy and truth do not meet together, where 
 truth is sacrificed to love, there one gift is imper- 
 fectly known, or we have added to it human opi- 
 nions, or we have not the gift at all, but a counter- 
 feit." 
 
 It is scarcely possible to exaggerate the im- 
 portance of these precepts, enjoining the morti- 
 fication of curiosity and unsound speculation, 
 which by accustoming the mind to religious 
 differences, renders it a ready prey to laxity of 
 belief, if not to positive error ; nor are those 
 precepts less important which enforce the ne- 
 cessity of not shrinking from the assertion of 
 the divine judgments, which, revealed in holy 
 
50 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 Scripture, and taught by the Church in all 
 ages, come to us as the voice of God Himself, 
 and are intended by Him to guard His truth 
 and to preserve the souls for whom He died in 
 the profession of a true faith. 
 
 Equally decided and important are the views 
 which he expressed regarding the divine insti- 
 tution of the Church and the grace of sacra- 
 ments, as the means of communicating the 
 virtues of the Incarnation and Death of our 
 Lord. He had formed distinctive opinions as 
 to the meaning of holy Scripture, and the 
 teaching of the Church of England on these 
 points, and expressed them with his own pecu- 
 liar power of lucid and impressive eloquence. 
 An instance of this mode of treating the sub- 
 ject of holy Baptism occurs in the sermon for 
 Monday in Easter-week. After speaking of 
 the change which had come upon the Body of 
 our Lord after His Resurrection, he compares 
 this change in a striking and beautiful manner 
 with the effects of our regeneration : — 
 
 " Though some mysterious change had passed upon 
 His flesh, by which He was enabled to pass through 
 walls and doors as though they were but so much 
 unopposing air, it is clear that there was no visible 
 glory in our Lord, nothing in His outward appear- 
 ance that pointed Him out at once as one risen from 
 
Exeter. 5 1 
 
 the dead. He ate, drank, and conversed as before 
 with His disciples, though He seemed perhaps not 
 to mix quite so much or so familiarly with them, 
 while He spoke, if possible, in a more tender and 
 solemn tone. 
 
 "Now the blessed Sacrament of Baptism makes 
 us like our Lord ; it puts us in some sort into that 
 very condition which was His after His resurrec- 
 tion; for in Baptism we 'put on Christ/ this same 
 risen Christ ; and having put on Him, ' Who is our 
 life,' and having risen with Him, Who is ' the Resur- 
 rection of the dead,' we in like manner must tarry 
 for a season in the world; we must be content, 
 though possessing a risen life in our souls through 
 Him, to be as sojourners upon earth, — to eat, drink, 
 buy and sell, and do other worldly acts, though no 
 longer of the world ourselves nor attached to it. 
 We must seem, too, in outward appearance un- 
 changed ; we must look the same ; and, though sons 
 of God, wear no signs of the Divine Presence; the 
 children of the light have as yet no fairer counten- 
 ances than the sons of darkness ; the illumination is 
 within ; they that are from above and they that are 
 from beneath pass before us, and we cannot tell them 
 by their looks ; the inner man has the light of the 
 other world and the life, and Eaptism has secretly 
 put this life into us. 
 
 " That this first Sacrament does as much as this, 
 that it is our resurrection or New Birth, that it 
 is closely and intimately connected with the great 
 
52 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 doctrine of our Lord's Resurrection, will be clear, if 
 we string together those texts which more directly 
 define and enforce it." 
 
 Then, again, afterwards in a similar strain : — 
 
 " There is no need to lower Christ's ordinances, 
 lest we should obscure the sufficiency of Christ, and 
 the doctrine of the Atonement, and the power of the 
 Cross ; for in nothing is the sufficiency of Christ and 
 the natural corruption of man more forcibly main- 
 tained than in high views of the Sacraments. "What 
 are they but Christ's gifts ? "What origin have they 
 but from Christ? What power, what vitality? 
 How are they preserved but through faith in Him ? 
 We cannot, with a true faith, separate Christ from 
 His own words, or His own doctrine, or His own 
 ordinances; if we would make them no more than 
 forms, we make Him a mere giver of forms, pre- 
 senting us with grand and awful types, such as the 
 Deluge and the Baptism of Israel in the Red Sea, 
 and then making the antitypes dry and powerless 
 rites, weaker by far and fainter than the shadows. 
 If we bring down His ordinances in order to jxk our 
 eyes more directly upon Him, as though they were 
 obstacles, and not helps, we virtually bring Him 
 down, who gave them that they might be a medium 
 through which to approach Him, and to know that 
 He is approaching us and we Him, that we are 
 meeting together, He in us and we in Him, the 
 faithful with the great Object of faith. If we try to 
 
Exeter. 53 
 
 look past these or above these, we are as men with 
 weak eyes trying to gaze on the mid- day snn with- 
 out interposing some substance to soften and yet to 
 communicate the light. 
 
 "But if we think that all the terms so repeatedly 
 applied to Baptism are designed to tell us that it is 
 our Hew Birth or spiritual Regeneration, then we be- 
 lieve that we have that new life, that principle 
 of Divine life, which, if not destroyed by wilful sin, 
 will be continued into eternity, and perfected in 
 heaven itself. "We are new creatures in an old 
 creation; we belong to another city ; we are al- 
 ready citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, though 
 for a season absent in the body ; we have been 
 naturalized therein by Christ's purchase, AYho bought 
 for us that freedom with a great price ; but whether 
 here among sinners, or there among the angels, this 
 life, which is from Christ and in Christ, is the very 
 eternal life : we cannot be born again spiritually, no, 
 not in heaven ; there is but one natural birth, and 
 there is but one spiritual birth; and whatever we 
 attain unto in the life to come, it will be only the 
 manhood and maturity of this present spiritual life ; 
 we shall not become new creatures again ; we shall 
 be changed, but not regenerate; we have already 
 been made " partakers of the Divine nature/' par- 
 takers of Christ, children of God, and grafts on that 
 tree of life. What higher life than this can be given 
 us ? AVe can have no better place than that of sons, 
 no better nature than that of the Divine nature, 
 
54 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 no Diviner Person of whom to partake than Christ. 
 This life will be matured, gladdened, devoted to 
 blissful occupations, spent in a purer dwelling, spent 
 at home ; qualities will be developed which it now 
 contains, but which are obscured, and veiled, and 
 dormant, of which we are now unconscious. It is 
 now a new power dawning in us, opening itself out 
 by degrees, shewing by such beauty of holiness as 
 breaks from it, its Divine nature, and leading us 
 to think by such glimpses as we have, to what a far 
 higher stage of excellence it may be advanced by 
 being placed in a better world. We feel that it 
 is something which is but in its infancy, excellent 
 and heavenly in its kind, but now only manifesting 
 the beginnings of its strength. As we say of newly- 
 discovered powers in the physical world, that we do 
 not know yet what they will lead to, that our know- 
 ledge of them is in its infancy, that from what we 
 know and see we should be surprised at no results 
 however wonderful, that we discern in them that 
 which in its fuller development and application may 
 be, — so in like manner may we speak of the prin- 
 ciple of Divine life given us in holy Baptism. We 
 have it now in l earthen vessels/ in its infancy, in 
 its first stage and operation, amidst the remains 
 of sin, in a wicked, uncongenial world. As Christ 
 after His resurrection could not in such a scene un- 
 veil the glory that was in Him ; and make His 
 Divinity to appear to carnal eyes and minds, so we 
 who are baptized bear in us a risen life, which ' is 
 
Exeter. 55 
 
 hid with Christ in God,' which is 'as unknown' 
 among men." 
 
 So likewise in the sermon for Tuesday in 
 Easter-week, he teaches the true connection 
 between the holy Eucharist and the Sacrament 
 of our regeneration : — 
 
 " But this life, like bodily life, must be sustained. 
 We do not necessarily go on living because we have 
 begun to live, but the first excellent gift of spiritual 
 life requires a second excellent gift, which is spiritual 
 food, for the support of life, in order to complete the 
 goodness of the Lord. Again, the natural body, with 
 which the spiritual may be so fitly compared, not 
 only needs food, but its own proper and peculiar 
 food, which has some secret harmony with the inner 
 parts, which the system instinctively accepts and 
 thrives upon. For i as all flesh is not the same 
 flesh ; but there is one kind of flesh of men, another 
 flesh of beasts, another of fishes, another of birds/ 
 so these different kinds of creature require, according 
 to their constitution, structure, and manner of life, 
 different and suitable kinds of food ; all do not profit 
 by the same thing, but what is sweet and wholesome 
 to the one is hurtful or worthless to the other. So 
 is it in the spiritual world. Not only does the soul 
 which has been born anew, need food, but that food 
 which possesses some inherent fitness with its own 
 new nature. The Divine life cannot be sustained by 
 earthly nourishment ; there is the want of something 
 
56 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 heavenly, by the use of which it would expand and 
 thrive. 
 
 "Nor are we left without such divine nutrition. 
 As Israel was not saved by water to die in the wilder- 
 ness, but a table was prepared in the wilderness, that 
 the life miraculously redeemed might be as miracu- 
 lously sustained, so Christ has not created us afresh 
 by the mystery of Baptism without ordaining other 
 means as mysterious for carrying on and finishing 
 the good work which He hath begun in us. Bap- 
 tism implies, so to speak, the gift of the Lord's 
 Supper; its nature, as declared by Christ, leads us 
 to expect that it would be followed by a second gift, 
 to be used continually, for there is but i one Eaptism/ 
 as there can be but one birth in Christ ; and we may 
 suppose, for this reason, that it is the only Sacrament 
 mentioned in the Creeds, as if the confession of the 
 one implied and contained the confession of the other ; 
 as if the gift of life and of the means of life, were 
 viewed as one continued act of grace, the beginning 
 of which it was enough to speak of in any brief form 
 of words. 
 
 "Now when we consider our own new nature, as 
 born of water and of the Spirit, and the nature of 
 the Lord's Supper, which is the mystical nourishment 
 of faithful souls, we see an admirable harmony be- 
 tween the two, — Divine food being given for the 
 growth and increase of the Divine life already be- 
 stowed; and we see the force and fitness of those 
 terms by which the elements of this good feast are 
 
Exeter. 57 
 
 represented. TVe partake of f Angels' food ;' that is, 
 food fit for Angels, suitable to the angelic nature, fit 
 for those who have fellowship with the Angels, who 
 are lifted up to the rank of that sublime society. "We 
 partake of the ' true manna/ ' the bread of heaven/ 
 not the typical manna, which, though a wonderful 
 sustenance for the militant Church of Israel, is mean 
 in comparison, but of the true Bread prefigured there- 
 in ; for both the bread rained down from heaven 
 and the camp of Israel itself were but types and 
 shadows of the Christian Church and of that spiri- 
 tual food by which it lives. 
 
 " Hence, too, we learn, in one sense at least, the 
 peril of eating and drinking of the Lord's Supper un- 
 worthily ; that is, with unprepared and unrepenting 
 souls. We see how that, when we are in such a 
 state, we eat and drink to our own destruction. For 
 if we draw near while we are walking after the flesh, 
 fast bound in the bonds of deliberate habitual sin, 
 with the life once given us weakened and decaying, 
 we taste that which hurts us, because we are not 
 able to bear it, being weak ,• there is little left in us 
 with which such food could agree ; we have reduced 
 ourselves to that state of spiritual languor and feeble- 
 ness which makes such strong meat perilous; not 
 only does it become a wasted meal, but dangerous ; 
 we have unfitted ourselves for such nourishment; 
 and as far as we have followed that which is ' earthly, 
 sensual, devilish/ as far as we have suffered our 
 new life to waste away within us, so far do we in- 
 
58 
 
 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong 
 
 jure our souls by touching that which is opposed to 
 the carnal mind. 
 
 " But if we desire earnestly to ' renew the spirit 
 of our minds/ if there is a true longing after spiri- 
 tual strength, if we have not utterly lost the principle 
 of the risen life, nor suffered it utterly to decay, then 
 the Lord's Supper, meekly and reverently received, 
 becomes the principal and richest means of life, the 
 very stay and health of our hungering and thirsting 
 souls. For what is it of which we partake ? is it 
 not Christ Himself, ' Christ our Passover' sacrificed 
 for us ? Christ, ' who is our life/ with whom we 
 have been buried and have risen again, — Christ, who 
 is our feast, our Bread, the Bread of heaven, the living 
 Bread, our Meat, which is 'meat indeed/ — Christ, 
 who is the c Lamb of God that taketh away the sins 
 of the world/ Himself without sin? What are the 
 elements of bread and wine but the Body and Blood 
 of Christ, ' verily and indeed taken and received by 
 the faithful in the Lord's Supper/ not after a carnal 
 and fleshly manner, but spiritually ? It is the Com- 
 munion of the Body and Blood of Christ; it is the 
 commingling of our life with His, of that which is 
 Divine in us with His Divine nature. We are made 
 one with Him, and He one with us \ He dwelleth in 
 us, and we in Him." 
 
 At the close of this same sermon he suggests 
 an important thought as to the causes which 
 have conduced to the prevailing depreciation of 
 the Church's sacramental system : — 
 
Exeter. 59 
 
 u The mystery of the Sacraments stands in the way 
 of their reception; men count them as little more 
 than forms, as though Christ would have pressed 
 mere forms with so much, urgency on His Church. 
 It requires a strong faith to believe them to be what 
 they really are, a strong faith in the power of Christ, 
 especially when men around us think so little of 
 them, and try to cast the reproach of resting in forms 
 on all such as seek the grace of God therein. In a 
 land torn with divisions, and intersected with a 
 thousand paths of religious error, there will always 
 be, according to the extent of schism, low views of 
 the Sacraments ; for there will always be among the 
 teachers of schismatics some scruple and distrust 
 and doubtfulness in administering the Sacraments ; 
 and these misgivings about their authority will break 
 out in endeavours to think little of that which they 
 cannot confidently touch." 
 
 While dwelling on these vivid descriptions 
 of the grace given through the Sacraments, it 
 is well also to observe how truly he had realized 
 the danger which may arise from an exaggerated 
 view of any mere external system, and the pos- 
 sible evils of an undue love of symbolism, how- 
 ever true and beautiful if preserved in its true 
 proportion to vital religion. In one of the ser- 
 mons of the series he says : — 
 
 " May not the mind spend itself on these points, 
 and yet only, or chieny, treat them as so much food 
 
60 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 for the logical or imaginative powers to feed upon ? 
 Or again, take the history of the Church, its sub- 
 sequent history, its controversies, its schisms, its 
 polity, its action upon the world, its influence in all 
 the changes of the world. AYe may search into such 
 subjects, and embrace them only with our minds ; 
 we may all the while be barren of vital piety, or 
 without earnestness, or meekness, or any real appre- 
 hension of the doctrine of Christ crucified ; our views 
 of the doctrines of the Church may be sound and 
 clear ; we may argue eloquently for the truth ; but 
 we may be debating after all only for the form of 
 things : the life, the soul, the reality of the system 
 which has engaged the mind, may be wanting in us, 
 or may be but partially and faintly known. 
 
 " So of lesser things than creeds and doctrines, 
 such as architecture and music, as applied to the 
 Church, — sciences which have been always dignified 
 by such application, which have always burst forth 
 into grander forms and sublimer harmonics, which 
 have always attained a wonderful and awful sub- 
 limity, the instant they have been brought to bear 
 on the service of Almighty God ; we may enter into 
 these things zealously, and attain great knowledge, 
 and yield ourselves to their fascination; our taste, 
 our mind may be delighted and refined, but yet our 
 souls may not get within those outward, well-chostn 
 forms and symbols, or those deep-moving sounds. 
 There is enough in the sublimest architecture, in the 
 gravest and richest music, to interest, even to en- 
 
Rvefer. 61 
 
 gross, our minds; we can be enthusiasts in those 
 sciences, and, because they are devoted to the faith, 
 we may deceive ourselves as to our own ruling mo- 
 tive in pursuing them.' , 
 
 One other striking passage may be added 
 from the sermon for Easter-day, on a doctrine 
 little realized even among the faithful, — that of 
 the "Resurrection of the body:" — 
 
 "And the wonder of the Resurrection is, that it 
 will be a resurrection of the flesh, a quickening of 
 our mortal bodies, a rising from the grave and house 
 of corruption. It is not merely revealed to us that 
 the souls of men appear before God in judgment, and 
 pass after the last sentence into a glorious or mise- 
 rable world; this would be no rising from the grave, 
 for the soul does not rest therein ; it would not be 
 a resurrection, but a passage from the intermediate 
 state, where the soul tarries after death, into the 
 final state, where it abides for ever, whether in bliss 
 or torment. The words ' rise from the dead ' and 
 4 resurrection ' are designed to express the motion 
 and exaltation of the body ; as it is said in the text, 
 ' with my dead body shall they arise . . . the earth 
 shall cast out the dead;' as though by the 'dead' 
 were signified not merely the souls of the departed, 
 but the bodies also ; as though some part of them, 
 that is, their flesh, were hidden beneath in the earth. 
 And St. Paul does not so much combat any unbelief 
 in the existence of the soul in a future state, which, 
 
62 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 from the very nature of the soul was believed in by 
 the more thoughtful portion of the heathen world, 
 and was no new doctrine to heathen ears, but he sets 
 himself to the work of teaching the peculiar doctrine 
 of the resurrection of the flesh: this was the in- 
 credible mystery, this the new doctrine that startled 
 the world, and drew down the contemptuous mock- 
 ings of the wise Athenians ; — they would have under- 
 stood the immortality of the soul, which many of 
 them already believed, but an immortal body, or the 
 resurrection of the dull frail flesh, the incorruption 
 of the corruptible, the immortality of this husk and 
 covering of the soul, what babbling did this seem, 
 what raving, to a world of reasoners who were 
 without faith ! And when St. Paul, after a sub- 
 lime statement of this doctrine, makes some ima- 
 ginary opponent arrest him in his discourse, it is 
 upon this very point that he supposes the interrup- 
 tion. 'But some man will say, How are the dead 
 raised up ? and with what uody do they come V He 
 felt that this was the question which would be raised, 
 and was to be met; he foresaw that men in their 
 natural conception of the w r orld to come, and the 
 spirituality of such a state, would stumble and be 
 perplexed when they heard of the resurrection of the 
 flesh, not being able to understand ' the spiritual 
 body/ the change of corruption into incorruption, 
 and of the natural body of flesh and blood, which 
 1 cannot inherit the kingdom of God,' into some im- 
 mortal and heavenly fashion. 'Thou fool/ breaks 
 
Exeter. G3 
 
 forth the Apostle, as the fire kindled, ' that which 
 thou sowest is not quickened except it die ; and that 
 which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that 
 shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or 
 of some other grain ; but God giveth it a body as it 
 hath pleased Him, and to every seed his own body/ 
 He points out the analogy between the operation of 
 God on the visible and material productions of the 
 earth, and on the visible and material parts of a man. 
 1 A resurrection,' he says, ' is before us ; the bare 
 grain, dry and dead and uncomely to the eye, breaks 
 out by the secret working of God into a spreading 
 and fragrant plant, beautiful in its fashion; such 
 grace and beauty appearing in this risen body, as the 
 lifeless and uncomely appearance of the seed would 
 have by no means led us to look for, had we argued 
 without experience of the thing.' Or, to put the 
 analogy in a closer light, ' A resurrection is before 
 us; the seed dies, and then is quickened; it can- 
 not be quickened except it die; it breaks forth 
 into a new body ; it puts forth from itself that 
 which cleaves the earth and forces itself through 
 the clods by the power of the hidden life within 
 it; and more than this, to every seed God gives 
 his own body; every dead seed is quickened, but 
 every seed does not, in its resurrection, put on 
 the same fashion, but the vile seed of the bramble 
 rises into the worthless bramble, and the good seed 
 of the rose puts forth the flower of the rose.' i So is 
 the resurrection of the dead.' When we walk 
 
64 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 through the fields plucking the ears of corn, the dry 
 grain which we rub in our hands is an Apostle's 
 argument for the resurrection of the flesh. 
 
 " It is a great mystery, even when we view it by 
 itself, as a single act, apart from its after conse- 
 quences, and from any consideration of that state of 
 life to which it leads. As the scattered parts of all 
 . the bodies of men have to be drawn together again in 
 some wonderful way, in order that no part, however 
 minute, may lose its portion either of reward or 
 punishment, how can we understand the process of 
 quickening and reuniting these several parts, which 
 will be a sudden thing, i in a moment, in the twink- 
 ling of an eye/ at 'the voice of an archangel and the 
 trump of God ?' how can we understand the feeling 
 either of the soul on being again restored to the house 
 from which it has been so long driven, or of the flesh 
 on recovering its life and consciousness? It is a 
 great mystery, that some dust which has lain sense- 
 less for thousands of years should ever live and feel 
 again. And it strikes us the more, when we try to 
 apply it to individuals; St. Stephen, for instance, 
 whose soul has been so long in peace, will rise again 
 with his body which was once beaten to the ground 
 with stones. "Where in the land of Judah is the 
 dust of the Martyr ? 
 
 " However the souls of the dead have existed since 
 they were divorced from the flesh, (and it is one 
 punishment of sin of which even the saints partake, 
 that there should be such a divorce between parts 
 
Exeter. 65 
 
 designed at first for a perfect endless union,) however 
 they have passed their time, or in whatever place, 
 whether in ' Paradise* or in Judas' 'own place/ this 
 disembodied state ceases at the resurrection. Every 
 soul by some mystical attraction will find its own 
 tabernacle, and will enter it again and diffuse its life 
 throughout it. St. Stephen's spirit will recover the 
 bruised flesh, which has long since been dissolved. 
 * The earth shall cast out the dead.' The human 
 dust, and that which has never moved with any breath 
 of life, or living soul within it, will be separated; 
 though they seem things of the same kind, and are 
 not now to be distinguished the one from the other, 
 they will be sifted the one from the other ; the one 
 will be burnt up in the fires of the last day, the 
 other will wake into consciousness. The earth will 
 have no power to hold any longer that which has 
 once lived and felt ; for, as the earth has to be de- 
 stroyed, so it cannot draw into that annihilation any 
 parts or substances that once constituted the outer 
 house and tabernacle of a man. "When the world, 
 which in seed-time and harvest has been giving its 
 yearly types of the resurrection of mankind, has 
 ceased for the first time to shew forth its sign, when 
 the last grain has been sown and the last corn reaped 
 from the field, when this stage of human action, this 
 scene of the probation of an immortal family shall 
 have served its end, then, before it breaks into no- 
 thingness and melts away, it must cast forth those 
 earthly members of men which cannot be destroyed 
 with it, and which are but in a state of suspended 
 
66 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 life : not one grain of human dust will be anni- 
 hilated, nor one grain of mere common earth 
 quickened. 
 
 " Sometimes, as one stands musing among the 
 tombstones of some old churchyard, and feels one- 
 self in the midst of a silent company of brethren 
 resting in their quiet graves, one cannot but think 
 with strange awe of that great day, when all will be 
 life and motion in this still place, when the ground 
 shall shake, and the sods break asunder, and a mul- 
 titude of men rise from their green dormitory. And 
 here, again, we cannot consider the Resurrection 
 without thoughts of the multitude that must rise 
 coming over us : it will be a universal resurrec- 
 tion ; the whole family of Adam will rise at once, 
 whether from churchyard, or sea, or river, or desert, 
 or pyramid, or field of battle. We shall not rise 
 as we died, generation after generation, but Abra- 
 ham and Daniel and John Baptist and Clement 
 and Chrysostom will meet at once; as also Cain 
 and Pharaoh and Jeroboam and Herod and Judas. 
 There is something strangely exciting in looking 
 on any amazing crowd of men assembled into one 
 place, but what will be the spectacle of all the 
 generations of men gathered together before God?" 
 
 While these sermons contain such clear, deep 
 views of the mysteries of the revelation of God, 
 they exhibit also touching instances of that keen, 
 warm-hearted sympathy with suffering or trial 
 which so remarkably characterized him. His 
 
Exeter. 67 
 
 views of great principles were constantly con- 
 verging to some practical detail, some duty of 
 daily life, as the proper end to which they 
 ought to lead. An interesting illustration of 
 this turn of thought may be noted in the sermon 
 for Christmas-day, towards the close of which 
 he eloquently describes the trials of the aged 
 poor removed from their parishes, and the 
 scenes and associations of a whole life, into 
 distant union-houses : — 
 
 " That the tendency of commerce is to blind us to 
 the spiritual relations which exist between rich and 
 poor according to the Gospel, is capable of proof. If 
 we look at our older towns, we shall find in them 
 rows of ancient alms-houses for the aged poor, built 
 before the great hurrying tide of commerce had set 
 in ; if we turn to the new manufacturing towns, that 
 have sprung up since, we find no such works of Gos- 
 pel love, no such signs of the influence of the Faith 
 upon the richer sort. Our large workhouses are the 
 sad substitutes ; I say ' sad/ because, though in a 
 country liable to all the fluctuations of commerce, by 
 which large masses of the able-bodied may be thrown 
 suddenly into poverty, we must have some certain 
 system at work capable of instant expansion or con- 
 traction, to provide against such uncertainties as vo- 
 luntary alms-giving could but imperfectly cope with, 
 still the aged poor, who are not suddenly thrown 
 
68 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 upon us, should be differently cared for ; some better 
 retreat should be provided for those who have spent 
 their days in severe and honest toil. Did we, as in 
 the old time, shelter the grey hairs of our poor in 
 decent alms-houses within their own parishes, we 
 should then undo, in a great measure, those hard- 
 ships which must be felt under the best poor-law, 
 which is not designed to supply the place of volun- 
 tary bounty, but to act where voluntary bounty fails. 
 We make its hardships, by making it almost the 
 only refuge of the poor. Did we, by building alms- 
 houses, put the old deserving people out of the ne- 
 cessity of its assistance, workhouses would then be 
 no longer the lasting liome of any, but the temporary 
 place of refuge in times of temporary distress. It is 
 sad not to keep the old amongst us ; we know not 
 how much love we lose when we let them depart 
 from their old haunts; we hardly can know their 
 attachment to place, because we move so much our- 
 selves, and have such unfixed restless ways ; we 
 know not what it is to be torn from the one village, 
 which has been their whole world, — from the one 
 old church, which has been a whole life's delight, — 
 from the one old seat where they have knelt till 
 they can hardly kneel, — from those old familiar faces, 
 which have grown old together, and from the young 
 around, in whom they see the likenesses of their own 
 fading generation ; — we cannot fully enter into these 
 things, but these feelings of home attachment it is 
 our wisdom to preserve." 
 
Exeter. 69 
 
 It is still more important, as illustrative of 
 the growth of his mind and character, to point 
 out two other passages in these sermons, which 
 prove how he drew his teaching out of the 
 depths of his own experience, and was learning 
 the doctrines of the spiritual life by an earnest 
 self-discipline. This was, indeed, one great se- 
 cret of the reality which marks his style of writ- 
 ing, and the fervour which generally breathes 
 throughout it. One such passage occurs, where 
 he touches on the dangers and abuse of society. 
 His hearers at the time could hardly have dis- 
 cerned the sources out of which his ardent, so- 
 lemn words were springing ; but they will come 
 home to those who bear in mind what has been 
 said of his own struggle out of an ensnaring 
 temptation, and as being the words of one who 
 had " suffered, being tempted." The passage 
 alluded to occurs in the sermon for Tuesday in 
 "Whitsun-week, which treats on " The Perils of 
 Society." He there says : — 
 
 "And yet, as cases of doubt arise, we may in 
 some measure help one another ; we may throw out 
 hints for the guidance of beginners in the spiritual 
 life, who are becoming more scrupulous and tender 
 in their treadings, and who rightly judge that it 
 matters greatly at the beginning where they tread. 
 Let us consider then one subject, about which the 
 
70' Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 learners of the wisdom of the Cross, to whom I would 
 chiefly speak, are apt to he perplexed ; they are often 
 at a loss what to do or say concerning ' entering into 
 society/ as it is called : sometimes they think it 
 harmless, and sometimes perilous to their spiritual 
 state ; they cannot quite make up their minds either 
 way; and acting according to this uncertain mind, 
 sometimes they refuse to enter it, or enter with some 
 secret misgiving, while at another time they are 
 without dread of any hurt to their souls. Now, 
 where we are in doubt concerning the lawfulness or 
 the Christian prudence of such and such a thing, we 
 had best at once take the stricter and more self-deny- 
 ing side, as being in all likelihood the safer ; for we 
 had better miss many earthly pleasures, which might 
 have been enjoyed, than lose any degree of glory 
 which but for them we might have attained, while 
 any sacrifice made through faith is profitable for the 
 growth of the heavenly mind. Thus, if we doubt 
 concerning the influence of society on the soul, we 
 can do no wiser thing than, by the grace of God, 
 resign cheerfully what is doubtful. But if we ex- 
 amine the nature of that sort of mixing with the 
 world which we understand by ' entering into so- 
 ciety/ we may find some positive grounds for shrink- 
 ing from such light-minded intercourse, and for sup- 
 posing that it is a fearful yet insidious snare to the 
 higher orders, causing them to love this present 
 world, and being the more fearful, because it does 
 not result in one direct evident sin, but because it 
 
Exeter. 71 
 
 produces a general state of mind most disinclined to 
 religious strictness, or any earnestness about heavenly 
 things. It not a little confirms this view, that the 
 thing we speak of is popularly called a ' living in the 
 world/ and the contrary ' being out of the world/ 
 phrases which are not without appropriateness, and 
 which do let out the character and tendencies of such 
 intercourse. But, to go beyond the popular expres- 
 sions by which it is known, as we are pledged, in 
 order to our salvation through Christ Jesus, to re- 
 nounce the pomps and vanities of the world, where, 
 I would ask, are these pomps and vanities to be 
 found, where 'the pride of life/ the 'vain pomp and 
 glory of the world/ if not in the ceaseless rounds of 
 entertainments in which the rich vie with the rich, 
 and which, while they are set forth with all possible 
 splendour and luxuriousness, are designed to fill the 
 head with worldly images, and to bear our hours 
 along upon the smoothest course? Where is the world, 
 if it be not here, among those whose life is gaiety, and 
 whose hearts are bent on fashion, or on that which is 
 thought to be such ? Where is opposition to the world 
 and deadness to it to be found among the throng 
 of pleasure- seekers ? where is that * godly, righteous, 
 and sober life/ for which we so wisely pray ? Plea- 
 sure in some shape is the avowed and evident pur- 
 pose of a life spent in society, and it would be pro- 
 faneness to say that all things are 'begun, con- 
 tinued, and ended' in God, or done to the glory 
 of God/ 
 
72 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 " But, while pleasure is confessedly the general 
 object of society, we shall find that the action of this 
 mixing with the world is in its details dangerous to 
 the soul. Thus, among other things, it tends to pro- 
 duce great artificiality: it is no easy thing to be 
 simple and natural ; we are so in our own homes and 
 among real friends, where real life is disclosed, and 
 men seem to be no other than they are ; but how 
 few of us are quite natural in other places. We are 
 often conscious of putting on a different manner, of 
 talking in a different tone, of hiding much of the 
 real man, sometimes our better feelings, sometimes 
 our worse. While we consent to be thrown among 
 all kinds of people, of all creeds however deadly, of 
 all characters, dissipated or correct, as it may be, 
 there is and almost must be much forced, made, 
 unreal behaviour ; there must be great and important 
 concealments of character ; and the acknowledged dif- 
 ficulty of knowing people as they are, or of seeing 
 them through the veils of a worldly and courtly man- 
 nerism, goes far to prove how much there is of a kind 
 of acting and playing of parts, and consideration of 
 appearances and effect. Now, must not this artifi- 
 ciality, this putting on of something which is not 
 our own, or hiding that which is our own, be most 
 hurtful to the edge of the soul, and tend to produce 
 some sort of untruthfulness and hypocrisy and un- 
 reality, which are evil things ? 
 
 "In the next place we may consider the ordinary 
 tone of conversation which we find in large and 
 
Exeter. 73 
 
 mixed assemblies ; and what must we say of it, but 
 that it bears commonly most decided marks of the 
 world ? There may be at times bursts and gleams 
 of a better light, where better spirits may have 
 power to take the lead and to give the tone ; but on 
 the whole, what an open manifestation there is 
 of everything that is vain and worldly; what dis- 
 cussion of our neighbours, what scandal, what parade, 
 what exaggerations, what amplifyings, what want of 
 strict truth, what flatteries, what respect of persons, 
 what light and irreverent words, what low prin- 
 ciples of action confessed ; the Gospel view of things 
 being treated as something impracticable now, and 
 not suited to modern manners ! How much which 
 is purely frivolous, which under any view must 
 come under the head of those idle words of which 
 we must give account on the Day of Judgment ! 
 We may indeed continue running with others the 
 smooth round of continued feasts and gaieties, with 
 the intent and hope of raising the tone of conver- 
 sation, of dropping words of wisdom among less 
 thoughtful minds, of checking what is unseemly, 
 and drawing them towards what is good. We may 
 suppose that the mixture of religious with worldly 
 people will imperceptibly leaven the lump with the 
 leaven of the better part. Some good may be ef- 
 fected by such a course, and some evil stayed; but 
 what risks do we run to obtain a doubtful good; 
 risks, which at least the beginners in the straight 
 and narrow way of faith would be wise to shun. Oh 
 
74 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 how much, easier it is to be drawn down ourselves, 
 than to raise others up ! how much easier to sink 
 to the level of the world, than to raise the worldly 
 to the high standard of Christ which we aspire to ! 
 How very easy to glide into the spirit of those that 
 are about us, to get interested in their objects of 
 interest, and to learn some love of the world by 
 mixing much with those that love it ; the more so if 
 we have ever given our hearts to vanity in former 
 days, and if its restless pleasures were once our ob- 
 jects of desire and pursuit ! None but the fixed 
 and practised Christian can thus tread the borders of 
 the world without being denied by the mire and 
 clay on which he trusts his foot. We catch tastes 
 and habits from our associates ; our minds are bent 
 by the prevailing wind of opinion which blows upon 
 us ; and, if we live in worldly society, with all the 
 sounds of the world around us, it is a strange thing 
 should our tenderness of conscience, our zeal, our 
 earnestness, our anxiousness for our souls, be in no 
 degree hurt or weakened. 
 
 "And this brings us to consider what sort o.f 
 qualities are in most esteem in society and possess 
 the chief attractiveness. Is piety in request, sober- 
 ness, goodness, meekness, want of spirit, humility ? 
 Surely meaner things are preferred before these, for 
 these do not help to the liveliness of a feast. Powers 
 of entertaining, and intellectual acuteness of one kind 
 or other, are the letters of commendation here ; the 
 man of wit, of brilliant conversation, of quick fancy, 
 
Exeter. 75 
 
 is the acceptable person, even though his private 
 manners should be somewhat questionable. Here, 
 too, ' accomplishments,' as they are called, are raised 
 into objects of almost idolatry, as also personal come- 
 liness, rank, wealth, power, and the like. And in 
 all these things there are no slight temptations to 
 pride, display, rivalry, jealousy, vain-glory, self-love. 
 If we are where such things are esteemed as the all 
 in all, if we habitually hear them admired and 
 coveted, it cannot be anything but difficult to think 
 little of such things or to retain a sense of their 
 littleness. He is indeed dead to the world, and 
 ' strong in the Lord/ whose heart is quite sealed 
 against the deceitfulness of riches, and the love of 
 admiration, and excitement, and pleasure. To how 
 man}' persons have their powers of conversation, 
 their wit, and their agreeableness, proved the very 
 ruin of their souls ! To how many their beauty, or 
 their accomplishments, or their taste, or money ! 
 Alas ! what a field is this for the growth of the 
 spiritual life, which calls into play so many varieties 
 of worldly passions, and across which are passing so 
 many forms of worldliness ! He whose whole heart 
 is given to leam Christ, and to die to the world, can 
 hardly think that in such scenes he will be led on 
 and helped towards Christ, or that his natural love 
 of the world will be here discountenanced, and his 
 soul weaned from vanity." 
 
 While able to write thus strongly, and with 
 
76 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 such keen apprehension of what touched in- 
 juriously upon the soul's life, there was yet no 
 tendency to moroseness in the view which he 
 took ; and he could distinguish clearly between 
 the use and abuse of society, as his hearty, 
 kindly temper never lost its natural zest for 
 innocent social fellowship. In the latter part 
 of the sermon he speaks thus : — 
 
 "But in opposition to such views as would call 
 the earnest seekers after Christ from any constant 
 mixing with the world to a more retired and sober 
 life, it may be asked, Does the Gospel life, the walk- 
 ing after the Spirit, drive us into a cheerless solitude ? 
 Does it separate us from one another ? Does it make 
 us each take a lonely path, and destroy that social 
 feeling by which we are irresistibly drawn towards 
 each other ? Now we would shew the perils of so- 
 ciety and its worldliness; we would draw Christians 
 out of that unsatisfying system of knowing faces 
 rather than hearts, in order to point out a true and 
 sanctified fellowship, in order to bind them together 
 Math some stronger bonds than cords of vanity, in 
 order to supersede that which seems to be commu- 
 nion but which is selfishness, by something real and 
 substantial. It is not that we would check social 
 feeling; we would rather cause it to expand and 
 feast itself where it might be truly satisfied; the 
 heartles>ness of worldly friendship has become pro- 
 verbial, and we would lead men to that which has 
 
Exeter. 77 
 
 an enduring principle. If we seek to know those 
 who know God, we are seeking to associate upon 
 principles of divinely-born love, and immortal truth, 
 and holy hope. Home and our families, and the 
 friends that are about us, would yield us opportu- 
 nities enough for the wise and devout indulgence of 
 all social affections. Here are to be found quietness, 
 sobriety, well-governed relaxation, cheerfulness, and 
 all innocent pleasures, while we are saved from all 
 excesses of mirth, all vain-glory, all contact with 
 opinions frivolous or worse than frivolous, all enticing 
 sounds of vanity, besides obtaining direct edification 
 from words kind and solemn and well-timed; as 
 intercourse with worldly persons tends to draw us 
 down to the spirit of the world, so calm familiar 
 communion with thoughtful men tends to elevate our 
 thoughts and desires; heavenly things are not suf- 
 fered to be forgotten ; they are kept before us ; and 
 while we are removed from the glitter of the world, 
 we are provoked to love and good works; we are 
 sustained in our love of heavenly things, when we 
 are about to droop, by the incitements to holiness 
 around us; when we are weak, our friends are 
 strong ; when we are looking back, like Lot's wife, 
 to the places we have forsaken, they turn our 
 thoughts and constrain us to advance; or we, in 
 turn, in their time of weakness and fainthearted- 
 ness, may help to support their faith. Thus, with- 
 out being conformed to the world, we have fellow- 
 ship one with another, and kindly intercourse and 
 
78 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 interchanges of thought, * as using the world, yet not 
 abusing it.' " 
 
 The other passage alluded to is to be found in 
 the sermon for the festival of St. Bartholomew, 
 in which he treats of " The Use and Abuse of 
 the Intellect." Conscious as he must have been 
 of great intellectual power, and tempted in no 
 ordinary degree to give free vent to its natural 
 aspirations, his words afford a striking proof of 
 the thoughtful watchfulness that he was at this 
 time exercising over the strongest outgoings 
 of his inner life ; how he was aiming to guard 
 every faculty, and " bring every thought into 
 the obedience of Christ :" — 
 
 " There is always a fear lest intellect should be- 
 come idolized among the educated classes, lest it 
 should create false views of the dignity of human 
 nature, lest it should be used selfishly, because it 
 lifts men so easily above their fellows, and places 
 them on high as objects of admiration. Literature 
 and science in their countless branches, are, after 
 all, great tempters; they are apt to become idols, 
 to make men their devotees; the fame and attention 
 and note which they bring, when successfully pur- 
 sued, are cords of great power in tying our souls to 
 the world, and the Christian graces are apt to be 
 secondary objects of desire, if desired at all, amid all 
 the excitement of a scientific or literary life. The 
 
Exeter. 79 
 
 very exercise of intellect, apart from any feelings of 
 ambition, is so pleasurable, as it seems the nearest of 
 anything to the creative power, that v> r e are all dis- 
 posed to treat it as such, to live in a world of our 
 own making, to live upon our own thoughts, virtually 
 to worship that through which we succeed, to delight 
 ourselves with our own mind's work, to gaze with 
 fond admiration on the surprising nights of reason, 
 and to fill ourselves with those notions of the dignity 
 of man as a reasoning being, which little dispose us 
 for the humbling doctrines of the Cross. 
 
 " When the mind is rejoicing in the discovery of 
 some new vein of truth hitherto hidden from the 
 world; or when it is pursuing subtle and difficult 
 investigation with conscious penetration ; when feel- 
 ings of pride and superiority, natural to the natural 
 man, are swelling within us, and the prospects of 
 fresh intellectual achievement brighten ; it must 
 needs be unpalatable doctrine to be told, that we are 
 nothing, that our great intellectual researches, which 
 are noised, it may be, through the world, and draw 
 men's eyes towards us, are but vain and unfruitful 
 dreams ; that all this wisdom, the pomp of intellect, 
 is but vanity, unless it be esteemed as something in- 
 finitely less than faith, and innocency of life, and 
 those other graces of the soul which the dullest 
 ploughman may possess equally with ourselves, while 
 he is ploughing his dull round of labour with a mind 
 thick and unfanciful. It is, I repeat, difficult among 
 the educated classes, where the appreciation and 
 
80 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 praises of intellect are to be found, to lower our own 
 intellectual powers to their proper place, to be going 
 against the opinion of the world in our estimation 
 of them, and to use them with an overruling seri- 
 ousness and fear. 
 
 "It is hard to keep faith uppermost, to restrain 
 ourselves from high thoughts, to make practically a 
 true estimate of that knowledge which shall vanish 
 away, to use our attainments directly or indirectly 
 to the glory of God, to cultivate our minds not for 
 pleasure's sake only, nor for fame, nor out of natural 
 inquisitiveness and restlessness, but with a view of 
 rendering an account of our stewardship, and of ad- 
 vancing the truth of Christ in the world 
 
 "But while the arts and sciences of the world, as 
 distinct from religion, are great temptations, and of- 
 tentimes exalt the man to his own ruin, whose life 
 is a life of thought and reasoning and mental cul- 
 ture; while we see daily before our eyes how far 
 separate philosophy is from saintliness, acuteness and 
 greatness of understanding from heavenly-minded- 
 ness and the love of Christ, intellectual from spi- 
 ritual growth, we find, on entering even the bounds 
 of religion, that even here there are temptations to 
 grapple with it as an intellectual question. Great 
 minds have wrought upon this ground with pure and 
 simple piety ; the Gospel has drawn towards it great 
 intellects, and these have been sanctified while they 
 were searching the Divine philosophy ; but still it is 
 possible to be without this vital piety, even though 
 
Exeter. 81 
 
 our minds employ themselves on religious questions ; 
 it is very possible for the eager and learned theolo- 
 gian to be self-deceived in his toils, and to have but 
 a cold love towards Christ while he argues concern- 
 ing His doctrine. The fact that life is spent in 
 evolving or illustrating religious truth, is so apt to 
 disarm us of all suspicion, as being a religious occu- 
 pation profitable to others, that we forget how dif- 
 ferent a thing it is to he spiritual, from employing 
 our minds on spiritual subject-matter. "We may stop 
 with self even here ; our real end may be our own 
 celebrity, or our real satisfaction in the exercise of 
 our intellectual powers. We may happen to make 
 religion the field of our mental energy, and may dis- 
 cern the grandeur of the views which open on us, 
 and yet we may not be leading that spiritual and 
 mortified life, or rejoicing in those spiritual influences 
 which would sanctify our labours. Of all studies, 
 theological studies seem to need most prayer and 
 watching in the midst of them, lest while our in- 
 tellects are feasting our souls starve, lest we keep 
 touching holy things, and having them in our mouths, 
 and writing of them, while we are not advancing in 
 grace and holiness. After much intellectual fami- 
 liarity with the Gospel scheme, pursued without any 
 fervency of spirit, it is hard beyond all expression to 
 recover a feeling for it ; when the ground has be- 
 come hardened by our treading over it, it is indeed 
 difficult to distinguish between the theory of faith 
 and the life of it." 
 
82 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 It is, moreover, another instance of the true 
 balance between conflicting tendencies, which 
 the grace of God was preserving in the forma- 
 tion of his mind, that while thus reducing to 
 the lowest scale mere intellectual powers in 
 contrast with the spiritual life, he could pro- 
 foundly recognise the greatness and value of 
 such gifts in their proper exercise, and had ac- 
 customed himself to note and contemplate the 
 intended purposes of whatever God had created 
 for His own glory : — 
 
 " But while we state the difficulties that surround 
 the use of intellect, let it not be supposed that we 
 are speaking against its use. No; it is as much a 
 duty to use it rightly, as it is a part of Christian 
 prudence to see the snares that encompass the use. 
 It is the gift of God, and as such is to be used and 
 honoured, as such to be improved, and trained, and 
 advanced towards perfection. They who, being 
 gifted with a great reason, consecrate it by making 
 faith its guide, who unite genius with devotion, wis- 
 dom with harmlessness, knowledge with humility, 
 philosophy with meekness and godly fear, are great 
 indeed. These are they to whom much is given, 
 and who are faithful in their stewardship ; who, sinn- 
 ing in the beauty of holiness, at once attract men by 
 the manifold rays of light with which their cross is 
 lit, and have power wisely to defend the truth, to 
 give a reason of their hope with meekness of wis- 
 
Exeter. 83 
 
 dom, conquering that abused reason, which is void 
 of the truth of Christ, by reason armed with grace.' y 
 
 It is deeply interesting and instructive to ob- 
 serve by what means God illuminates the minds 
 of those whom He guides by His grace. Ordi- 
 narily, He vouchsafes to infuse His inward light 
 through natural faculties and habits which He 
 has formed for this end ; and according to this 
 law, we may venture to form an opinion as to 
 the mode in which the Holy Spirit was secretly 
 influencing him whose life and character we 
 are now contemplating. His habits were not 
 studious. He never was a close or steady reader. 
 He read a good deal, but he read diffusely. 
 Though, the judgment lie formed of the spirit 
 and aim of a book was generally correct, it was 
 owing rather to a peculiar tact, guided by a 
 pure and cultivated taste, than to regular study. 
 He was practically a poet, and the easy flow of 
 the peculiarly picturesque and fervent language 
 in which he clothed his thoughts, shewed this 
 innate power ; yet he did not give his mind to 
 writing poetry. His literary strength was evi- 
 denced by the rapidity with which, shortly 
 after this period, various publications, mainly 
 from his own pen, passed under his hand ; and 
 yet he was not a literary man. He was emi- 
 nently practical. His mind was always tend- 
 
84 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 ing to action. It was not mainly through 
 books, or close study, that he was led into the 
 deeper spiritual knowledge that he attained. 
 God taught him, as it would appear, partly 
 through the natural energies of a superior in- 
 tellect, but more especially through the ardent 
 affections and enlarged sympathies of a pure 
 heart, overruled and strengthened, as they grew, 
 by a practical sense of duty which more and 
 more absorbed all the outgoings of his life. 
 He learnt by what he saw and felt, and his 
 heart was open to a very wide circle of human 
 interests. He was moved by suffering, where- 
 ever it came before him, and his quick intel- 
 ligence was instantly at work to devise a re- 
 medy. He was remarkably real, and his powers 
 seemed ever turned to the best account, from the 
 prevailing tendency to subject every thought 
 to some practical aim. There was a sincere 
 humility and great disinterestedness mingled 
 with this habitual desire to glorify God in any 
 work to which he felt himself called, and to do 
 good; and the wisdom that grew within his 
 soul seemed to come through these commingling 
 elements of his inner being, rather than from 
 any deep and settled study, and in the way of 
 the blessing promised to a rightly trained heart 
 by our Blessed Lord, when He said,— "Thou 
 
Exeter. 85 
 
 hast hid these things from the wise and pru- 
 dent, and revealed them unto babes." 
 
 It was owing, probably, to this practical cha- 
 racter of his mind, that he was enabled often to 
 anticipate results which by most men are gained 
 only by experience, — a power w T hich infused 
 into his theories so much reality. One remark- 
 able characteristic of his articles on the Church 
 Penitentiary question, though they treat of a 
 new and theoretical system, is the value of 
 their practical suggestions. And what struck 
 those who were afterwards associated with him 
 in his Penitentiary labours, was the quickness 
 and general correctness of his answers to their 
 enquiries on questionable points of manage- 
 ment, though he never had the care of a Peni- 
 tentiary. It is a minor point, but one that 
 shews this practical habit of mental discipline, 
 that he always studied to employ Saxon words, 
 especially in writing sermons, and he was ac- 
 customed to attribute to this usage the attrac- 
 tiveness which his sermons had in the ears of 
 uneducated people. 
 
 He had gathered much wisdom in a short 
 time. In looking over his various writings, 
 and considering the premature age at which he 
 was called away, one is struck with the variety 
 of subjects on which he had formed opinions, 
 
86 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 and the justice, the largeness of heart, and in- 
 telligence which characterize them. The life 
 of a parochial clergyman is necessarily one of 
 thought, of inward communings and toil of 
 heart, rather than of stirring incident. His 
 heart had taken a wide range of interests, most 
 practical, and touching what is nearest to the 
 common heart of Humanity,' while yet his brief 
 day was hastening to its close. 
 
LIFE AT EXETER CONTINUED. 
 
 While Mr. Armstrong was still at Exeter, 
 the surplice riots took place. He had com- 
 menced the use of the surplice in preaching, 
 before the Bishop's Pastoral recommending it 
 was issued, from the feeling that it is the only 
 dress directly ordered by the Church in her 
 services, and that its use causes less interrup- 
 tion than a change of vestments. He was wont 
 to say, that " it is very hard for a clergyman to 
 lose the singing, while putting on his black 
 gown." This change had produced no excite- 
 ment in the parish, and was apparently well 
 received by the parishioners. Afterwards, when 
 the agitation commenced, and became so vio- 
 lent, that, to preserve the peace of the city, the 
 Bishop considered it necessary to advise the 
 general discontinuance of the practice, this most 
 unreasonable excitement was felt comparatively 
 little in St. Paul's. There was some disturb- 
 
88 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 ance in the vestry; but it appears to have 
 been met with firmness by the better disposed 
 parishioners, and it had the good effect of 
 eliciting strong demonstrations of good feeling 
 from many persons in the class of tradesmen, 
 whose really firm Church principle, as well as 
 personal attachment to their pastor, had been 
 little anticipated. Still it was an anxious and 
 very trying time for all who valued the pre- 
 servation of Church order, and whose loving 
 spirit shrank from such a contest. To be gentle 
 and yet firm, to preserve charity and yet up- 
 hold spiritual authority, to bear witness to the 
 truth, and yet to know how to yield to violence 
 without loss of respect, in such scenes of popu- 
 lar commotion, is a matter of no common diffi- 
 culty. The excited passions of the people rose 
 to such a height, that in one of the city pa- 
 rishes, a clergyman who wore the surplice, not 
 himself having commenced its use, but simply 
 preserving the custom of his predecessor, could 
 not pass from the church to his home in safety 
 without the protection of the police. 
 
 The trial to which these occurrences subjected 
 such a man as Mr. Armstrong, with his sensi- 
 tive and tenderly affectionate spirit, and ardent 
 attachment to Church principles, must have 
 been peculiarly distressing. The feelings which 
 
Exeter. 89 
 
 were manifested towards hirn on leaving the 
 parish, shortly after the excitement had sub- 
 sided, shew that, as a Christian pastor, he had 
 not been found wanting in that trying time. 
 That he gained the respect of the clergy then 
 in chief authority in the city, by his conduct 
 throughout these troubles, may be concluded 
 from the testimony which Dr. Lowe, then, as 
 now, Dean of Exeter, bears, while connecting 
 together his recollections of him at St. Paul's 
 with his after-work in the great Penitentiary 
 movement. Observing, with regard to the lat- 
 ter, "With what zeal and energy he threw 
 himself into it, giving himself to the work 
 with all his heart and mind ; how clear and 
 comprehensive were the views which he had 
 formed, and how they were pervaded by the 
 spirit of purity and love ;" — he adds, " This 
 earnestness of purpose, and conscientious de- 
 termination to act up to his convictions, at 
 whatever cost, were so conspicuous in him du- 
 ring the time that he occupied the posts of 
 Priest-Yicar in the cathedral, and Eector of 
 St. Paul's, that even those who were most op- 
 posed to him in religious matters could not but 
 give him credit for his stedfast adherence to 
 that which he believed to be true." 
 
 Perhaps Mr. Armstrong's character may be 
 
90 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 more truly described as decided than firm ; or 
 rather it was an effort to him to be firm. It 
 was the strong sense of principle prevailing 
 over great sensitiveness and tenderness of feel- 
 ing which led him to decided action. But none 
 could be firmer in a case where the principle of 
 duty was clear. It was afterwards feared that 
 he would have been found unequal to the bur- 
 den of the episcopate, from defect in this point 
 of character. But it did not prove so. He 
 had then severe trials of feeling ; but whether 
 through increasing depth of his inner life, or 
 through the special grace given in his con- 
 secration for the work committed to him, he 
 shewed a constant firmness, though accom- 
 panied with all his habitual gentleness of 
 heart. 
 
 The trial which he passed through at Exeter 
 evidently told upon him in forming his views, 
 and had its influence in after life in a higher 
 sphere of action. He established as a rule at 
 Grahamstown, that in new congregations the 
 surplice should be used in preaching ; but that 
 in those already formed, the custom prevailing 
 should not be disturbed. To the experience 
 gained at that time of deep anxiety may also, 
 probably, in great measure be traced the care 
 which he shewed to avoid giving offence in 
 
Exeter. 91 
 
 cases which he believed not to be essential in 
 point of principle, — a habit of mind which 
 tended greatly to his success in his subsequent 
 undertakings. 
 
 Work of various kinds, in addition to his 
 pastoral duties, now grew rapidly upon him. 
 The Architectural Society of Exeter was then 
 just growing up. He was one of its most 
 active supporters, and a member of the Com- 
 mittee of Lecturers. He was also the chief 
 originator of a Library for the middle classes, 
 to which was joined a Literary Institute on 
 Christian principles. He was also one of the 
 original promoters of the Exeter School of 
 Church Music for the working classes. These 
 various plans were intended to supply a special 
 need caused by the " early closing movement, " 
 which had this attendant disadvantage, that 
 it suddenly threw an active-minded but un- 
 taught class on their own resources, for the 
 long evenings. 
 
 In the course of the year 1845 he wrote his 
 second article, which appeared in the last num- 
 ber of the " English Review" for 1846 ; the 
 subject being " Englishwomen of the Seven- 
 teenth and Nineteenth Centuries." The article 
 is remarkable in connexion with the personal 
 history of the writer, because it shews a line of 
 
92 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong, 
 
 thought evidently tending towards the great 
 work which has given to him so enduring 
 a name in our generation. Of the earlier por- 
 tions of the article, where he contrasts the 
 character and condition of Englishwomen at 
 the two periods named, it would be irrelevant 
 here to speak. It is where he dwells on the 
 results of the habits of modern society, that we 
 may trace the working of those enlarged sym- 
 pathies, and that keen appreciation of neglect 
 of duty, with its consequent sufferings, which 
 characterized his subsequent labours on behalf 
 of one most suffering and neglected class. In 
 the article alluded to he points out the effects of 
 modern social habits, not only on the education 
 and religious state of the higher classes them- 
 selves, but in the neglect of duty towards 
 their dependents, towards the poor, and all 
 works of charity. He shews what elements 
 of practical usefulness are lost, what energies 
 wasted, in the trivial round of polished society, 
 and what an untold amount of sins of omission 
 lies at the door of its votaries. The same mind 
 which so keenly perceived and so vividly pour- 
 tray ed the evil, had also perceived the true 
 means of providing a remedy; and towards 
 the close of the article he suggests what was 
 then growing into shape in his mind, to be 
 
Exeter. 93 
 
 afterwards applied with such, signal success in 
 the cause of Church Penitentiaries : — 
 
 " But the insufficiency of the education is a slight 
 evil compared with others which the love of ' so- 
 ciety' inflicts upon woman's early life. Think of 
 the prospect which is presented to the girl at the 
 end of the dull avenue of lesson life ! Is not her 
 whole mind, with an eager longing natural to youth, 
 bent upon the door at the end which in a moment 
 will open out into a dazzling course of ease and 
 pleasure. . Parties, parties are the things of which 
 she hears, and of which, therefore, she thinks and 
 dreams. Infinitely hurtful must it be to the un- 
 formed and buoyant mind, the importance attached 
 to * coming out,' to see it by the fact that a given 
 time is fixed upon for so sudden and so great a 
 change of life, when she is to burst into the gaieties 
 of the world ; a wrong idea must be running through 
 her brain, a false notion of human life. It will be 
 strange if this wrong idea does not influence her in 
 her studies, by leading her to place a wrong motive 
 for improvement before her eyes, to pursue it with a 
 view of appearing to advantage and shining in so- 
 ciety, in short, to regard education as a mere pre- 
 paration for society. Consider, also, the undue pro- 
 minence which the coming out into the world neces- 
 sarily gives to the mere fringes, and trimmings, and 
 ornaments of education, the lesser but the more 
 showy parts, we mean ' accomplishments/ Music, 
 
94 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 dancing, drawing, &c, no longer hold a subordinate 
 place, nor fill up the chinks and corners of the day. 
 1 Accomplishments' strike and tell in society, carry 
 admiration by storm, and therefore are studied for 
 their quick effectiveness ; and even the modern lan- 
 guages are learnt in a shallow waj~, rather with 
 regard to conversation, than as opening out stores of 
 wisdom to be mastered and digested. 
 
 " And when the great epoch is reached, when the 
 girl is ' out' fairly in the world, think of the re- 
 action! Eleven professors one week and none the 
 next! All her course changed, and all her hours 
 upon her own hands. To dance, to dine out, to 
 make morning calls, to receive visits, these are the 
 beginnings of full-grown life. The school-room 
 opens into the ball-room. It is but one bound from 
 French exercises and dreary strummings upon the 
 piano, to fetes and gaieties. ^Vhat young head can 
 bear all this freedom after all that restraint, all this 
 self-indulgence after all that discipline : And what 
 shall we say of the effect of late hours, frivolous 
 conversation, questionable amusements, or at best 
 excess of amusement, of the care for dress, the 
 habits of self-indulgent expense, of flatteries and 
 compliments, of the surrounding idolatry of fashion, 
 and rank, and riches, upon an unformed character, a 
 mere girl ?" 
 
 Then follows a painful picture of the wide- 
 spreading evils resulting from this state of 
 
Exeter. 95 
 
 things, and telling upon the whole aspect of 
 outward religion in this country : — 
 
 "As we are disposed to accuse society-life, not 
 only of being an active course of vanity and self-in- 
 dulgence, but of being one prolonged sin of omission, 
 what shall we say, in speaking of the omission 
 of home-duties in this undomestic course, of the 
 treatment of servants ? It is the fashion to com- 
 plain of servants ; but masters and mistresses should 
 first complain of themselves. The olden interest in 
 servants is all but past; much society prevents 
 interest ; the dissipation of mistresses dissipates the 
 servants ; the spirit of the heads of the house de- 
 scends. "We believe the habits of servants in large 
 towns to be vicious in the extreme, vicious almost 
 beyond belief ; they have caught the vices of those 
 above them, and exhibit them in grosser and coarser 
 forms. Extravagance, luxurious ways of living, 
 self-indulgence, passion for dress, these are among 
 their more obvious sins. "Whether servants are 
 Christians or infidels, as long as they preserve a 
 show of propriety and respect, seems among a host 
 of persons to be a matter of no concern ; their spiri- 
 tual state is not cared for, and is not known. The 
 constant entertainments which they attend throws 
 them among large numbers and varieties of servants, 
 who corrupt each other and provoke each other 
 to sin ; late hours, an unquiet house, want of regu- 
 larity, stiff, formal, brief glimpses of their mis- 
 
96 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 tresses, worldly examples before them; all these 
 are injuries which ' society' inflicts upon the de- 
 pendants of her votaries. If servants' morals be at 
 the very lowest ebb, what an awful weight of re- 
 sponsibility rests upon the souls of those to whom 
 they have been given in charge by God Himself ! 
 
 " Omitted duties thicken upon our minds as we 
 begin to number them. "What regard is paid to the 
 poor by those who fly from home-life to society? 
 We go into the narrow streets of our larger towns, 
 where the poor are packed together in their close 
 homes; where there is many a sick-bed, and the 
 sickness aggravated by want. How rarely do we 
 see any sisters of charity turning out of the broader 
 and sunnier highways of the world to dive into the 
 gloomy abodes of poverty ! Where is the heart for 
 such a task, where the time ? A few stragglers may 
 occasionally be found, and but a few; even these 
 making often rather irregular incursions, than carry- 
 ing on a systematic and well-directed mission ; act- 
 ing often without the knowledge or guidance of the 
 clergy, and going perhaps where they had better 
 not, and not going where they would do well to go ; 
 meaning well, and yet, for want of order, hindering 
 their own charitable design, or making it less fruit- 
 ful. While women shrink from the sickly sights 
 which meet the visitors of the poor, and disturb not 
 the serene life of self-indulgence by agitating spec- 
 tacles of distress, anything like a system or due pro- 
 portion of almsgiving is not to be hoped for. Where 
 
Exeter. 97 
 
 there is not real pity, there will not be real bounty ; 
 a selfish life, and a self-denying life in order to be 
 bountiful cannot be led by the same person at the 
 same time ; a few shillings at a charity sermon, or to 
 a i troublesome' beggar, or a few guineas squeezed 
 out by the ingenious importunities of some l collec- 
 tors' for doubtful societies, ' to get rid of the men,' 
 make up the sum-total of gifts. Society-life is vora- 
 cious ; it demands the whole purse, it leaves scarcely 
 any shreds or scrapings of worldly means for the 
 poor ; all the resources of those who are much out, 
 all the 'allowances,' or i pin-money,' or whatever 
 other name is given to a woman's privy purse ; all 
 are required to keep pace with the costly and rest- 
 less fashions of dress. 
 
 " Again, we go into the schools of the poor in 
 London, and in our large towns, and we see one 
 hot, wearied mistress acting as colonel, captain, 
 lieutenant, and ensign of her regiment of 200 or 300 
 girls, while some dozen little corporals, a lesson or 
 two ahead of those they teach, are placed as ' moni- 
 tors' under her. Occasionally a lady hurries from 
 class to class, but being unable, on an emergency, to 
 multiply herself into a dozen, she is able to effect 
 but little, and is almost lost in the sea of little ones. 
 Where, we ask, are the ' daughters of England ;' the 
 daughters of the upper classes, who have time and 
 leisure on their hands ? There is time for worsted 
 work, time for polking, for shopping, for calls, but 
 no time can be found for the blessed work of teach- 
 H 
 
98 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 ing the children of the poor. We know women's 
 aptness to teach, their power of adapting themselves 
 to children's minds, and of interesting them; and, 
 therefore, we bewail the more the lack of devotion 
 to so great a cause, the neglect of those natural 
 gifts which would give blessings to others aod re- 
 bound in blessings to themselves. 
 
 " Again, we go through our cathedral towns, or 
 other places where the privilege of daily common 
 prayer is offered. "We pass down goodly streets, 
 crescents, rows, terraces, where the wealthier classes 
 live. Well, we say to ourselves, how happy a thing 
 for this busy town ; these houses must yield a host of 
 at least female worshippers ; here are those who can 
 go to pray for those restless multitudes of busy men. 
 Here there must be an army of defenders to go daily 
 into the citadel, and by their prayers in the temple 
 to defend the place against the powers of darkness. 
 How excellent the economy of God, who in His 
 mercy gives so large a portion of His servants, in the 
 very places where temptations most abound, time 
 and opportunities for the work of daily intercession. 
 Filled with these thoughts, we wend our way hope- 
 fully to the cathedral or the church in the morning ; 
 alas ! only to be chilled and saddened. All those 
 houses, all those streets and terraces, yield but a 
 dozen or so who have the heart and spirit to seek 
 the Lord in His temple. If household cares employ 
 the mothers, where are the daughters? As we 
 return, we catch the sounds of a multitude of pianos, 
 
Exeter. 09 
 
 and in passing from house to house cany in our cars 
 a shred of secular music from each ; here the end of 
 the overture of 'Don Giovanni/ and there the middle 
 of a quadrille from ' Robert le Diablo/ and then the 
 last notes of ' Soave immagine d'amor.' Again, 
 however, we tread the same path in the afternoon, 
 determined to hope even against hope. "We behold the 
 doors of these goodly houses opening, and female 
 crowds issuing forth ; our spirit brightens with fresh 
 hope ; but, alas ! we quickly discern, to our dismay, 
 card-cases, and not Prayer-books, in their hands : 
 they are bent upon that work of confessed and most 
 profitless self-denial which even the world exacts 
 from its worshippers. We see carriages rolling by, 
 we hear the knockings at doors, and with these 
 sounds in our ears we enter the almost forsaken 
 temple." 
 
 Afterwards he touches upon the means already 
 at hand for breaking through the mesh of en- 
 tanglement which long habits of false conven- 
 tionalities have cast around many capable of 
 better things : — 
 
 " JNow if we have in any degree taken a true view 
 of the undomestic tendencies that are at work among 
 the upper classes, making them frivolous 'lovers of 
 pleasure more than lovers of God/ taking them from 
 their proper duties, from all objects worthy of their 
 care, or able to recompense them at the last, from all 
 that constitutes a spiritual, unworldly, and useful 
 
100 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong, 
 
 life, what can be done to stem the tide ? We must 
 look to the Church — this is the true domesticating 
 power ; this is the true nurse of home affections, of 
 genuine well-grounded friendships. Here, when the 
 mind is beginning to have some longings after a more 
 satisfying life, and conscience between the exciting 
 acts of gaiety remembers something of the renounc- 
 ing of the world, when the l heart, distrusting, asks 
 if this be joy/ or rather, if this be the proper use of 
 human life, then the Church meets the awakening 
 conscience with a given system, with a satisfying 
 course of life marked out, with clear and denned 
 schemes of nobler occupations. "We must look, we 
 repeat, to the Church ; — this is the divinely appointed 
 antagonist of the world, and of that form of the 
 world now developing itself among the upper classes. 
 As society really dislocates while it seems to unite, 
 as it wastes and weakens the natural love of fellow- 
 ship, while it pretends to gratify it, by substituting 
 a hollow system of acquaintanceship, too broad and 
 universal to be deep and true, — so the Church, on the 
 other hand, increases the reality of communion, while 
 it reduces the number of persons known; it opens 
 out hearts, while it checks the mere knowledge of 
 faces. It presents, too, as we have said, a distinct, 
 intelligible plan of life ; it gives those who are sick- 
 ening of the world something positive to do ; it has 
 a work prepared for them; and system is a great 
 help ; human nature needs it. 
 
 " If it be asked, how does the Church rescue souls 
 
Exeter. 101 
 
 from the life of the world, and lead them into a 
 home-life, where they can enter upon a useful course, 
 let the Prayer-book, not the only voice of the Church, 
 speak. This at once, if it be obeyed, breaks the 
 round of society-life, causes the wheel to pause, and 
 claims no slight portion of the week for the retire- 
 ment of home. It takes, for instance, every Sunday 
 as a matter of course, and sets it apart as the great 
 day of devotion and charity ; it forbids all parties 
 and entertainments of every kind on Saturday, as 
 being the vigil or eve of the Lord's Day, on which 
 Christians should prepare themselves in quietness for 
 the solemn duties of the morrow. It marks all Fri- 
 days of the year as days of abstinence and humilia- 
 tion ; and if we take the loosest view of fasting, 
 perhaps to beginners the best view, we should at 
 least interdict ourselves from the pleasures of society 
 on that day, and practise that abstinence. Here, 
 then, has the Church rescued three days out of seven 
 from the world, while to these we may add the forty 
 days of Lent, which would indeed be a gain to the 
 soul, if it were but spent strictly at home. Here is a 
 plan prepared for those who want to break the flow 
 of society. It is not left to us to say, ' some day we 
 will pause ;' it is not left to us to choose the day, or 
 number of days, which shall be kept inviolate and 
 consecrated to home ; but, what is of the greatest 
 help, especially to unstable novices, certain days are 
 marked out for them and chosen ; a rule is ready at 
 hand, which they have but to use. It saves them 
 
102 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 also from the appearance of inventing over- strict 
 rules of life, in a moment of new-born zeal; they 
 can meet remarks by saying, * We have set up no 
 private standard ; we are doing no iinheard-of things ; 
 we are simply obeying the plain rules of the Church, 
 and taking her standard of strictness. ' If the clergy's 
 wives and daughters led the way in such an ob- 
 servance of these days, that is, in withdrawing from 
 all society thereon, the task would be made still 
 easier for the lay members of the Church. 
 
 "Then, again, as regards the duty of prayer, and the 
 hearing or reading God's Word, the Church does not 
 leave her members without guidance; she arranges 
 a course of devotion to arm them against hurry, 
 changeableness, lessening of prayers ; though she 
 gives no direction as to the length or time of private 
 prayer, she enjoins daily Common Prayer. And 
 where this privilege can be had, what is to hinder 
 the mass of the women of the upper classes from a 
 regular daily attendance in the House of God ? The 
 offer of this privilege is almost daily multiplied. 
 The golden remarks of the Bishop of London on this 
 point are still fresh in our minds; while in our 
 cathedral towns the privilege has never been with- 
 held. Even where it is not as yet to be enjoyed, the 
 spirit of the Prayer-book would lead us to go through 
 the service devoutly at home, to read the Psalms and 
 Lessons of the day, and to use the prayers appointed. 
 We may remember the custom of the Scotch saints, 
 who, when prevented by the bigoted tyranny of their 
 
Exeter. ' 103 
 
 opponents from receiving the Holy Communion, were 
 wont to receive it, as they said, spiritually, en the 
 same day when they would have actually received 
 it had it been administered. If no such rule of 
 reading and praying be observed, some clays might 
 pass without any reading of God's Word, or a few 
 verses might be read hurriedly, or some portions of 
 Scripture might be dwelt upon to the neglect of 
 other portions ; we know that there is a tendency to 
 read the Epistles more than the Holy Gospels, and 
 to cast the Old Testament into the shade altogether. 
 We must, also, suggest the devout observance of 
 the festivals of the Church, that relish for spiritual 
 feasts may be learnt, and the love of earthly feasts 
 may be lessened. "We need hardly speak of the 
 Church's view of the duty of communicating, nor 
 of the many excellent devotional works which her 
 members have supplied to aid communicants in a 
 due preparation for that great feast. 
 
 " But we must not forget the union of devotion 
 with active piety, which we saw in the Church- 
 women of the seventeenth century. It is not enough 
 for the daughters of the Church to be found at daily 
 prayer, to be frequent communicants, to keep fast 
 and festival ; the means of grace must not be mis- 
 taken for the end ; there must be no patching of a 
 worldly life upon a devotional course; there must 
 not be a piebald life; consistency in action is im- 
 peratively required. We must guard against inac- 
 tivity or worldlincss after these devotional duties 
 
104 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 have been fulfilled. There is great temptation to 
 rest here; to begin to build, but not to finish; to 
 pray, bnt not to act: among young persons the 
 danger is greater; we have seen painful incon- 
 sistencies, which have provoked the ridicule of the 
 world, and brought discredit npon a great cause. To 
 be praying in the morning, and waltzing at night ; 
 to be talking at dinner-parties upon high, solemn 
 subjects to one neighbour, and nonsense to the other ; 
 to be gabbling about architecture, or the Gregorian 
 tones, as the mere hobbies of the day ; to be reading 
 good books, and to be spending as much as ever on 
 dress and gaiety ; this is just the conrse which must 
 be at once denounced ; this flimsy shadow of earnest- 
 ness mnst be guarded against with especial care. We 
 want consistency; we want action; we want calm, 
 nnostentatious, deep devotion of daily life to the ser- 
 vice of our blessed Lord, and of onr brethren in Him. 
 "But, supposing that a course of action is desired 
 consistent with the course of devotion, what guid- 
 ance does the Church give ? Here the Church sug- 
 gests the aid of the ministry. It is the part of the 
 parish priest to direct any member of his flock who 
 desires to do good towards some definite actions, to 
 point out a course of usefulness. Here he meets the 
 enquiring portion of his family, not as preacher only, 
 but as pastor, as the spiritual guide and friend. 
 When, then, any earnest women desire to do good, 
 we may say that he is not only likely, but certain, to 
 suggest the visiting of the sick and poor, to set them 
 
Exeter. 105 
 
 forth on that course of charity in which 'pure re- 
 ligion and undefiled before God and the Father* con- 
 sists. He is able also to temper zeal, that it may 
 be more useful, to suggest the particular individual 
 whom particular individuals would do well to visit, 
 to hinder his visitors from going into scenes unfit for 
 female feet. It is true that in our larger towns this 
 personal contact with the clergy is not always easy 
 as yet, for it implies the proper action of the parochial 
 system; whereas, from the unexampled increase of 
 population, and the Church's neglect in former times, 
 this system has become, in many parts, a fiction 
 rather than a reality. Still the fiction is fast be- 
 coming a reality again, and the overgrown parishes 
 are undergoing a rapid process of dismemberment, 
 that the parochial system may be adapted to the 
 altered state of things ; and thus a close and familiar 
 intercourse with the clergy, now overburdened with 
 care, will be attainable where it is desired; oppor- 
 tunities of seeking their guidance will be obtained, 
 without those difficulties in reaching them which 
 sometimes deter timid minds from revealing their 
 desire to be employed in some labour of love. 
 
 " In a thousand cases, however, notwithstanding 
 these present and partial hindrances, arising from 
 the defective organization of the parish system, the 
 members of the Church who desire to know the poor, 
 and to shew kindness to the sick, can procure from 
 their parish priest judicious direction in such a 
 course. And when this course is entered upon, there 
 
106 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong, 
 
 are spectacles enough of misery and distress to touch 
 even hearts of stone; we know no such cure for 
 personal luxurionsness and self-indulgence, as the 
 sight of the homes and wants of the poor. The 
 ' visible rhetoric ' of such sights is strong ; a visible 
 sermon is preached to the soul through the eye, and 
 never does personal extravagance seem so sinful, 
 never does it pierce the conscience with such keen 
 and sharp reproach ; the trappings and costly orna- 
 ments of the rich, ' the wearing of gold and the put- 
 ting on of apparel,' seem then to be malefactor's robes, 
 rather than things to be coveted ; and when the cry 
 for bread is heard, or the want of bread is seen, the 
 extravagant trifles and gewgaws seem to torment the 
 wearers with stern accusations of cruelty. Pity is 
 sure to flow, self-indulgence to be seen in its true 
 light, if the poor be really visited, and their state 
 really revealed. If the visiting is regular and 
 habitual, the pity becomes habitual; and habitual 
 pity will produce what is so much to be desired, 
 habitual alms-giving and personal self-denial. And 
 it is constant giving, not by fits, nor on impulse, nor 
 in gusts, which is of real good. There should be 
 a fixed and stated portion set apart and consecrated 
 to the poor by those who would be true alms-givers, 
 to secure them and help them against themselves, 
 to prevent the spirit of self-indulgence or self-deceit 
 from creeping in. Would not the tithing of an ' al- 
 lowance' or ' pin-money' suggest itself, as the least 
 that should be done ?" 
 
Exeter. 107 
 
 The close of this interesting article, contain- 
 ing so much painful truth, is relieved by ex- 
 pressions of buoyant hopefulness, and hearty 
 recognition of the tokens of a better promise, 
 very characteristic of the writer : — 
 
 "Now, in -thus freely commenting on the present 
 condition of the women of the upper classes, in con- 
 trasting them with no small portion of the same 
 classes in former times, and in anxiously urging a 
 return to a more domestic, unselfish, and Christian 
 mode of life, we write hopefully and in good heart. 
 Though we see great evils, we are not disposed to 
 sink into the gloomy apathy of despair; it is no 
 time to despond ; we can discern a break in the sky. 
 Though the smooth, deadly current of worldly life 
 sweeps down with fearful force, and gathers into 
 itself a vast multitude of lighter minds, there is, as 
 we have already said, a counter-current setting in, 
 breasting with the other tide, with a still, deep, and 
 mysterious power; not noisily, not tumultuously, 
 nor with great show of power, but steadily, and with 
 a firm, unyielding earnestness. The Church is be- 
 ginning to be stirred with a new life, and to lay hold 
 of souls, and to w^ork in them, and to possess them, 
 with a spirit such as she has not had the grace to 
 put forth for a century and a half. "We see the re- 
 newal of olden zeal, and faith, and love ; we behold 
 a more self-denying spirit spreading itself into the 
 very seats of wealth, — simplicity of life, adopted as a 
 
108 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 duty and as a means to greater usefulness, — the 
 s}*stem of the Church better understood, more fully- 
 felt, and entered into, and obeyed, — an increase of 
 earnestness; and this earnestness tempered by a 
 teachable spirit, and uniting itself to order. All 
 these marks of renewed vitality give witness that 
 ours is no ephemeral, no schismatical body, raised 
 for a time to provoke the true body to faith and to 
 good works, but a true, living, enduring branch of 
 the Catholic Church." 
 
 The germ of Mr. Armstrong's Church Peni- 
 tentiary efforts lay hid in these deep views of 
 the evils of our social state, and of the powers 
 of reviving life abiding in us. 
 
TIDENHAM. 
 1845—1853. 
 
 Early in October, 1845, Mr. Armstrong re- 
 moved from Exeter to Tidenham. Circum- 
 stances, humanly speaking, entirely accidental, 
 led him to exchange his Priest-vicarship for the 
 Vicarage of Tidenham, and the Rectory of St. 
 Paul's was of necessity resigned at the same 
 time. The offer of the exchange came to him 
 wholly unsought and unexpected. 
 
 Mr. Burr, the Vicar of Tidenham, in seeking 
 advice about a monumental memorial which he 
 wished to raise over his child lately deceased, 
 was directed to a Paper on the subject pub- 
 lished by Mr. Armstrong, and found in the 
 author an old College friend. It happened at 
 the time, that Mr. Burr's parish was in a very 
 disturbed state, in consequence of the changes 
 he had introduced in the Church services. 
 Thinking that a stranger might succeed, where 
 he had failed, in reconciling the parishioners to 
 the more correct, though, as being unwonted, 
 the unpopular practices he had commenced, he 
 
110 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 proposed the exchange to his friend. The offer 
 came at a time when Mr. Armstrong's health 
 had suffered from the close confinement of the 
 town, and country air and a more bracing 
 climate were much needed. An increase of in- 
 come, moreover, was involved, — a matter justly 
 of important consideration to one whose means 
 of livelihood depended chiefly on his office, and 
 with an increasing family to support. 
 
 The exchange, probably, had a very critical 
 bearing on Mr. Armstrong's after course. The 
 incessant calls of a town parish, with the vari- 
 ous engagements in addition to strictly pastoral 
 duty, which in our stirring times would cer- 
 tainly have grown around one so popular and so 
 ardent, and which had already rapidly increased, 
 would scarcely have left time for the quietness 
 of thought necessary for such a work as that 
 which now forms the prominent feature of his 
 ministry in this country. Had he remained at 
 Exeter, his warm energies and affections would 
 no doubt have been spent as earnestly on many 
 valuable objects, but could scarcely have con- 
 centrated themselves on one so vast and absorb- 
 ing as the Church Penitentiary movement. 
 
 There are few parishes in England which 
 can compete with Tidenham in beauty and 
 cheerfulness of situation. It lies in an irre- 
 
Tulenliam. Ill 
 
 gular triangle, the apex of which is formed by 
 the confluence of the Severn and the Wye. 
 The ground is hilly, stretching from the banks 
 of these two rivers toward " the Chase," a wild, 
 heathy upland on the outskirts of the Forest of 
 Dean. The lanes and pathways command love- 
 ly views of the Severn, backed by the woodied 
 hills of Gloucestershire towards the east, and 
 of the rich secluded valley of the Wye, with 
 its singularly picturesque and winding cliffs, 
 towards the west ; while the view stretches 
 far away over Chepstow and down the Bristol 
 Channel to the south. The church and par- 
 sonage stand near each other, on high ground, 
 overlooking a very extensive reach of the 
 Severn and the opposite hills. A traditionary 
 couplet current among the poor of the parish — 
 
 " Blessed is the eye 
 That dwells between the Severn and the Wye," 
 
 marks the impressions which this beautiful 
 scenery produces even on the minds of the 
 uneducated. 
 
 The writer of this Memoir passed four days 
 at Tidenham w T ith his friend, in June, 1852, 
 a visit that forms one of the most agreeable 
 reminiscences of his life. It was a busy week ; 
 for a Confirmation was near at hand, and fre- 
 
112 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 quent classes were being held. One day too 
 was occupied by the entertainment of the 
 tithe-payers ; for he was himself in the habit 
 of receiving the tithes, — considering it a valu- 
 able opportunity of friendly intercourse with 
 the principal tenants of the parish, and a 
 means of keeping up the true idea of tithe 
 as a payment made to the Church. 
 
 We had, however, some delightful walks. 
 The exhilaration of those beautiful and ever- 
 varying scenes ; the rich flow of his animated 
 conversation, passing rapidly from grave to gay, 
 and even in its gaiety clothing some earnest 
 conviction of truth ; the occasional pause to 
 mark some sign of spiritual progress in the 
 parish ; the hearty greeting of a parishioner 
 passing by ; — all together combined to give to 
 those walks a charm not readily forgotten. 
 Among other signs of hope, he pointed out 
 a school-room on the Chase, which he play- 
 fully called the " papier mache" school, be- 
 cause it was built out of the proceeds of his 
 "Parochial Tracts;" and another school-room at 
 Tutshill, a hamlet at the opposite corner of the 
 parish, (both built from his own plans,) which, 
 together with a third school near the par- 
 sonage, erected some years before he came to 
 Tidenham, formed what he called "the edu- 
 
Tidenham. 113 
 
 cational network" cast over the district. At 
 both these school-rooms he had established 
 Sunday evening services. At Tutshill there 
 were then rising the walls of the chapel, which 
 was consecrated shortly before he left Tiden- 
 ham for Africa. 
 
 It was a happy sight to see him in his own 
 home. Those who have held intercourse with 
 him only when absorbed with pressing and 
 anxious work, with health often scarcely equal 
 to sustain the pressure, can form no idea of 
 the bright buoyancy of his mind, and inno- 
 cent flow of pleasant and instructive converse. 
 And he was the same at home as among his 
 friends. To him was given the happy power 
 of being a delightful companion equally in 
 his own family circle, or in more general so- 
 ciety. He seemed to understand talking to 
 any class of persons, and to be peculiarly fitted 
 to recommend religion to worldly people, when r 
 ever his shyness was overcome, and it readily 
 yielded to any response. His thorough reality, 
 combined with exceeding cheerfulness, and a 
 hopeful sanguine temper, which loved to dis- 
 cern some good point in every one, was pro- 
 bably the secret of this peculiar influence, and 
 of the good which he often managed to draw 
 I 
 
114 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 forth from those who would generally be set 
 aside as worldly and thoughtless. 
 
 There was something remarkably touching 
 in the earnest active man's love for his in- 
 fant children. He enjoyed having one of the 
 youngest at play with its toys in one corner of 
 the room, while he was at work in another ; 
 and was often discovered writing a sermon with 
 one of his children on his knees. He seemed 
 to be able to bear any amount of interruption 
 from his children, whether he were writing 
 or conversing — as though their happiness was 
 only a pleasant under- strain of music to his 
 ears ; and at a cry which betokened danger or 
 distress he would instantly rush to see what 
 was the matter, and give help, if necessary. A 
 remarkable tenderness was mingled with the 
 strong and ardent features of his character. 
 Mrs. Armstrong says, " Our first domestic af- 
 fliction occurred in August, 1848, in the loss 
 of our infant child, at 18 days old. He had 
 been ill, but the doctor assured us not dan- 
 gerously, and my husband suspected no danger, 
 when he was suddenly called out of the room 
 where he was sitting with me, to baptize him. 
 He shewed on this, as on all trying occasions, 
 the utmost calmness and presence of mind ; 
 administering the necessary remedies with his 
 
Tidenham. 115 
 
 own hand, directing the agitated and fright- 
 ened servants — and yet displaying almost wo- 
 manly grief when all was over." 
 
 The calmness and high resolve, of which this 
 incident gives some indication, and which at 
 times was strikingly manifested in him, ap- 
 peared to be a special gift of grace ; for there 
 were elements of character— an exceeding sen- 
 sitiveness and excitability of temperament — 
 which, if left to their natural play, would have 
 been incompatible with such qualities. 
 
 Mr. Armstrong's life at Tidenham was like 
 that of any hard-working priest in an extensive 
 and scattered parish. The day was begun with 
 8 o'clock prayer in the parish church ; the rest 
 of the morning was occupied with teaching in 
 the school, writing, and seeing his parishioners 
 at home ; and in the afternoon he started on 
 his rounds, not returning till after dark in 
 winter, or about half-past seven in summer; 
 liking to be out thus late, as he then had the 
 chance of catching the men after their working 
 hours. Latterly, when various engagements 
 pressed on him, he would hasten home at irre- 
 gular times, often long after his dinner-hour was 
 passed. " I remember," Mrs. Armstrong says, 
 "an old woman who used to see him hurrying 
 past her house after his afternoon's work, giving 
 
Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 me a grave warning, that I ought not to be 
 angry with him for being late, and cause 
 him to hurry so." 
 
 "To see him," writes one of his curates, 
 " rushing about the parish with heart and soul 
 in what he was about, with a kind word and 
 most taking look for every one, quite put 
 vigour into oneself, and spurred one on to work. 
 It was amusing, too, to see him sometimes, 
 regardless of personal appearance, in a bad 
 hat, indifferent coat, and long, flowing, dishe- 
 velled white hair, walking along at railway- 
 speed through rain and dirt, which quite put 
 one to shame, when a wet day kept one snugly 
 in doors." 
 
 Another, his first curate, describing the cha- 
 racter of mind displayed in his ministry, says ; 
 " What must, I think, have struck any one who 
 had the opportunity of observing his ministry, 
 was the holy zeal which pervaded his life, and, 
 as I may say, transmuted its commonest ac- 
 tions. He seemed always working, even when 
 I have seen his natural powers flagging under 
 the task. Nothing was to be omitted, and yet 
 fresh fields of labour, both within and without 
 his parish, were constantly opening and always 
 taken in. Set down by the hand of God in a 
 large and straggling parish, (part of which, 
 
Tidenliam. 117 
 
 bordering on the Forest of Dean, and still 
 known as the Chase, is one of the wildest parts 
 of the county,) he found his work already a 
 missionary one. I could never leave convers- 
 ing with him without a feeling of shame at 
 one's own standard of effort for Christ by the 
 side of such an example. All his thoughts of 
 themselves seemed to flow into one channel; 
 so that whatever were the topic, it soon gave 
 place to considerations of parochial usefulness 
 and some practical improvement. He was al- 
 ways on the watch, as it were, to save souls. 
 Nor was there ever a heart more true to its own 
 English instincts of honesty and genuine uti- 
 lity. It turned intuitively from all affectation 
 and assumption, all appearance of sham. It 
 was won in a moment by any hearty promise 
 in the cause of good. It was this practical 
 character, and real zeal for the truth at all 
 cost, which imparted so much force to his ser- 
 mons and catechizings. The former were 
 always heart-stirring and practical, the lan- 
 guage and style simple, not without imagery 
 of thought and expression, but adapted strictly 
 to the circumstances of his people. His cate- 
 chizings were, I should almost think, unri- 
 valled for the interest and life which they ex- 
 hibited. His plan was to pass insensibly from 
 
118 Mem o ir of Bisli op Arm strong. 
 
 question and answer into an address, which, re- 
 taining all the individuality of the occasion 
 suggesting it, seemed to single out for itself 
 every person in the Church. His confirma- 
 tion addresses were equally remarkable in this 
 respect. No opportunity seemed to escape him, 
 and the slightest incident of present, though 
 passing, interest was sure to find a place among 
 his words. He was always very earnest in im- 
 pressing on the sick the value of intercessory 
 prayer. They soon learned to be beforehand 
 in requesting that their names might be among 
 those prayed for in the Church. It was a need 
 which he himself recognised most strongly, 
 and all who have been in correspondence with 
 him at any holy season, at the new year, or 
 when, at length, he was called to the highest 
 order in the ministry, will remember the ear- 
 nestness with which he pleaded for the prayers 
 of his brethren/' — The writer adds, " He al- 
 ways reminded me of the Greek word o-irovbatos, 
 never man more cheerful, yet always doing, and 
 always in earnest." 
 
 Another of his curates speaks of his power 
 of catechizing in similar terms. " The Sunday 
 afternoon services at the church consisted of 
 prayer and catechizing, and in this I think 
 he was very successful. He did not exactly 
 
Tideriham* 119 
 
 catechize the children, but made a question or 
 two a handle for a plain, practical address to 
 the whole congregation." "Yet," he adds, 
 " the service was not appreciated, nor well 
 attended/ 1 
 
 This same friend brings out what he felt to 
 be a prominent feature of his character, which 
 was specially manifested in his ministry : — " I 
 should say that an exceeding warmth and 
 depth of love for everything that came before 
 him as an object of love was kcli e^o^qv his 
 characteristic. This was the secret of his 
 Tidenham labours. He was not one who had 
 taken up his notion of working a parish and 
 acted accordingly, but simply, I think, as the 
 needs of his people, in regard to church accom- 
 modation, schools, &c, were pressed upon him, 
 he could not rest till he had done all in his 
 power to supply them. This was the secret of 
 his labours in behalf of female penitents, more, 
 I conceive, than any special circumstances 
 leading his attention to that class of sufferers. 
 He was impressed with their grievous need, 
 and the injustice their case met with, and 
 thus threw himself so very earnestly into their 
 cause. And this would have been his strength 
 as a bishop. His new flock, especially the 
 Kafirs, had won his heart, and he would have 
 
120 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 worn himself out in the necessary course of 
 things, apart from the particular dispensation 
 that took him away, in doing what he could to 
 win them to the true faith." The same friend 
 continues : — " He had one of the tenderest 
 hearts that ever beat in a man's bosom, very 
 loving and gentle, remarkably indisposed to 
 give pain or suffering to any animate creature. 
 The Tidenham people used to say to me, when 
 they asked me to look at a bad sore or any- 
 thing of the kind, c Poor Mr. Armstrong would 
 not look at it : his heart is as tender as a 
 woman's/ M It had been once proposed that 
 he should be a surgeon, and he had in his 
 youth a great taste for the practice of medi- 
 cine ; but he was deterred from it as a pro- 
 fession, from the thought of the suffering he 
 must witness. One of his curates, already 
 quoted, speaks of the effort which such scenes 
 must often have cost him, especially when they 
 touched on another most sensitive chord of his 
 nature : — " I remember that we had some bad 
 fevers during the time of my stay there, and 
 his remarkably tender affection and excessive 
 anxiety for his children did not in the least 
 lead him, as far as I am aware, to save himself 
 from such visits." — Mrs. Armstrong says, upon 
 this point, — " Knowing, as none but myself 
 
Tidenham. 121 
 
 can, his exceeding sensitiveness of mind and 
 body, I look upon Lis unremitting attention 
 in visiting the sick poor as constant efforts of 
 self-denial. I remember one frightful fatal 
 case of small-pox at Tidenham which he visited 
 three times a-day. I know it must have given 
 him the acutest pain. But perhaps what in 
 his whole life, in such kind of duty, tried him 
 most, was visiting at Grahamstown a wretched 
 murderer under sentence of death. It was of 
 course not in the ordinary path of his duty, 
 and the poor man was not even a Churchman; 
 but there seemed a ray of hope that he might 
 make an impression on him. He only knew of 
 it, I think, the day before the execution was 
 to take place. He went twice that day, once 
 late at night, and the next morning was at 
 the gaol again by daybreak, remaining with 
 the convict till his own c minister' came to at- 
 tend him to the scaffold. I believe he had 
 reason to hope that his pleadings with the 
 poor man had some effect, but he did not re- 
 cover the strain upon his nerves for weeks. 
 At the time, the state of his health might 
 have been an excuse for any omission of duty 
 not absolutely needful." 
 
 This acuteness of feeling amounted, no doubt, 
 in some cases, to a failing. To administer re- 
 
122 
 
 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 buke was one of his greatest difficulties, and lie 
 seldom did it directly. But when a fault was 
 committed, bis pained, yet gentle manner, his 
 grave face, instead of his usual cheerful, lively 
 greeting, affected an offender often more than 
 a reproof could have done. This extreme sen- 
 sitiveness might have been a serious hindrance 
 to usefulness, if its tendencies had not been 
 counteracted by a sanguine and hopeful tem- 
 per. Unlike sensitive people in general, he 
 habitually looked on the bright side of things : 
 if he saw difficulties, he seemed at the same 
 time to see grounds of hope lying beyond 
 them. 
 
 " The history of his life," says one among 
 the higher classes of his parishioners, " may be 
 compiled easily enough by those who can write, 
 from the materials already existing ; but who 
 can give an idea of himself to those who never 
 knew him? His own work, 'The Pastor/ 
 describes him best, for what he prayed to be, 
 that he truly ever strived to be. Who can tell 
 of that wonderful sympathy which, without 
 a word on either side, made one quite sure that 
 he knew all one meant, but failed to express, 
 and never forgot it ? that bright and innocent 
 gaiety which adorned and made way for his 
 graver thoughts ; even his anger, so genial, so 
 
Tidenham. 123 
 
 honest, and with such transparent depths of 
 kindliness under the ruffled surface ?" 
 
 "One hears," the lady just quoted, goes on 
 to say, " little traditionary sayings of his now 
 and then : as, for example, the other day I was 
 so late for the week-day service, that I was 
 ashamed to enter, but just afterwards met a 
 woman hurrying along;— she told me, 'Poor 
 Mr. Armstrong said it was better to join in 
 some of the prayers than in none ;' so in she 
 went, leaving me justly reproved." This same 
 lady quotes a passage concerning the daily 
 service from one of Mr. Armstrong's letters 
 to her in connexion with this anecdote, which 
 is beautiful and characteristic : — "It seems 
 to hallow a common day, and to keep one 
 in the true tone of mind. Something of the 
 kind seems to be required in addition to one's 
 private prayers, to give week-days the right 
 hue, and connect them with the Lord's Day. 
 The contrast between week-day and Sunday 
 seems too sharp and strong without it ; this 
 acts as a link, threading one's whole life to- 
 gether into a more harmonious whole." 
 
 Mr. Armstrong, on his coming to Tidenham, 
 found a careful observance of the rubrics esta- 
 blished, and some neglected portions of the 
 Church's services revived. Daily morning 
 
124 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 prayers, weekly communions, (on all festivals 
 also,) the offertory collected from the whole 
 congregation, catechizing in the afternoon ser- 
 vice, — had all been introduced by his prede- 
 cessor. The dissatisfaction and opposition caused 
 by their introduction were still very strong, 
 when Mr. Armstrong came to the parish, but 
 he surrendered nothing, and by his gentle 
 earnestness, perseverance, and considerate ex- 
 planations, succeeded in a great measure in 
 allaying the irritation ; so that at last but 
 a few dissentients remained, and the sym- 
 pathy of by far the greater number of the 
 parishioners was won. It is observable that 
 secondary motives came in aid of the weekly 
 offertory, generally the most obnoxious of 
 recent restorations. The farmers felt the value 
 of the relief which it was the means of giving 
 to casual sick labourers, enabling them to keep 
 off the parish. The account of the receipts 
 and expenditure was carefully kept, — the 
 churchwardens, generally farmers, periodi- 
 cally auditing them. 
 
 Mr. Armstrong was, as might be expected, 
 marked in the neighbourhood as a High Church- 
 man; but his opinions were never inconsi- 
 derately put forward, or without the most 
 kindly allowance for long-established prejudices 
 
Tide nli am. 125 
 
 and varieties of opinion among those who had 
 been differently educated. One whose words 
 have been already quoted, records a familiar 
 but expressive remark of one of her neigh- 
 bours, a parishioner. "They say," he one day 
 observed, " that our Vicar is a Puseyite. I 
 don't know much about that, but if he is, I 
 say it's a pity there ain't more of them." 
 
 During the time we are now considering, the 
 Gorham judgment and the Papal Aggression 
 occurred. Mr. Armstrong keenly felt the con- 
 sequences which they involved. It was not, 
 however, so much the ecclesiastical aspect of 
 these questions, or their bearing on the catho- 
 licitv of the Church of Eno-land, which weighed 
 upon him. The character of his mind led him 
 to dwell rather on the practical and personal 
 effects of these events. He viewed them in 
 reference to the evils out of which they had 
 sprung, or which they would tend to produce 
 in the souls of men, rather than in reference 
 to the shock given to the Church itself. One 
 who knew him intimately, and often conversed 
 confidentially with him at that time, says, 
 "He viewed the uncertainty attached to the 
 doctrine of baptismal regeneration as the de- 
 priving English Churchmen of a precious heri- 
 tage, especially their little children, who were 
 
126 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 unable to defend their own rights ; and on this 
 ground chiefly, I think, he would have been 
 one of the foremost in resisting the attack. 
 And so, likewise, with regard to the distressing 
 exhibition made by professing Churchmen in 
 resisting the Pope's aggression. He considered 
 it more as a demonstration of bitter feeling and 
 ignorance of Catholic truth, than as affecting 
 the Church's existence with regard to the rest of 
 Christendom." This friend speaks of the cheer- 
 ing and strengthening effects that his brighter 
 view of things had upon him. " I must con- 
 fess," he says, "to the comfort his cheerful, 
 hopeful mind brought to me under very con- 
 siderable depression. He used to dwell chiefly 
 on the bright visions of better days, when 
 the Church should have fair play. I remem- 
 ber, as though it were but yesterday, walking 
 with him, when I was sadly oppressed by the 
 thickening trials of the times, to a part of the 
 Chase, — a point commanding most glorious 
 views of the Severn, looking on the one hand 
 far down the Bristol Channel, and on the 
 other, over the rich valley of Berkeley, which 
 stretched to Gloucester and beyond it ; while op- 
 posite to us the Cotswold hills bounded the pros- 
 pect, sloping down to the river, well wooded and 
 dotted over with pleasant villages. I remember 
 
TidenJiam. 127 
 
 well his calling my attention to the singularly 
 beautiful, smiling prospect, and with that play- 
 ful look which, perhaps, you may have noticed, 
 quoting to me in mirthful earnestness that line 
 of Heber's hymn, — 
 
 ' And only man is vile.' 
 I have often since thought of the lesson his 
 gentle reproof (if so it may be called) brought 
 with it." 
 
 Mr. Armstrong's mode of treating the ques- 
 tion between us and the Church of Rome, 
 when called upon for special counsel, may be 
 gathered from some letters which were written 
 at this time to one who was greatly troubled, 
 and tempted to leave the Church of England. 
 In answer to a letter received by him, giving 
 an account of the joy felt by a recent convert 
 to the Church of Rome, and the doubts felt by 
 the writer, which were strengthened by this 
 experience of her friend, he thus wrote : — 
 
 "May 24, 1850. 
 
 "The joy and enthusiasm expresses is, of 
 
 course, no sign whatever of her course being a right 
 one : the same joy and enthusiasm have been often 
 felt by those who have plunged into systems fright- 
 fully erroneous; it is a mere matter of feeling, which 
 is no argument at all. As to the particular line of 
 argument which you have used, and which she has 
 used to you, it seems to me not in any way to un- 
 
128 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 church us, but simply to prove — what we do not 
 deny — that the Eomish Church is a Church. That 
 they have saints, that they have missions, that 
 they have good points, is confessed by all of us, 
 but the question for you to decide is, whether 
 the great notes and marks of a Church are want- 
 ing in the Church of England. Unless you can 
 prove this, you will commit a fearful sin in leaving 
 the Church in which you were baptized. Look, 
 then, at her missions, increasing daily both in 
 size and holiness, with such saintly bishops as the 
 
 Bishops of , , , , &c. ; 
 
 look at her long list of saints, both alive and gone 
 to rest ; look at the increase of schools and colleges, 
 of churches, of clergy, of communicants and con- 
 gregations; and not only an increase, but such a 
 revival of the devotional and spiritual life as is 
 most marvellous, when we look back even sixty 
 or seventy years. Can it be safe to leave such a 
 Church, so changed, so quickened, so increased and 
 increasing in spiritual energy, as though God had 
 deserted her? Have we not plain visible marks 
 staring us in the face, of renewed life, of revived 
 zeal, and of awakened self-denial and self-devotion; 
 and where, I ask, has this come from? Who has 
 done it ? Is it the work of God, or the work of the 
 devil ? If the work of God, can you without peril 
 leave such a body and say, God's Spirit is not 
 
 here ? 
 
 "But with evident marks of life, of practical piety, 
 
Tideriham. 129 
 
 of holiness, in the English Church, shewn in the 
 whole state of social life in England ; in increase of 
 all means of grace, and all manner of good and holy 
 works, the question is, whether you will be able to 
 acquit yourself before God at the resurrection of the 
 dead for leaving such a Church where He has placed 
 you. It is a bold step, a bold act of private judg- 
 ment for you to take, to condemn as no Church a 
 body that has such a cloud of witnesses, to say that 
 you cannot be saved in this fold. Eor remember, 
 while we say the Romish Church is a branch of the 
 Catholic Church, the Eomish Church says of us, we 
 are no Church at all. Dare you in the presence of 
 
 God say so ? . I will bring you to one or 
 
 two points of unsoundness which may well make 
 you pause before you allow yourself to turn your 
 head towards Rome. I will speak of the denial of 
 the cup to the laity. Our Saviour Himself says, 
 'Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and 
 drink His blood, ye have no life in you.' You have 
 read of and known these words from your youth; 
 you cannot escape from the responsibility of such 
 knowledge ; you are answerable to God for your 
 knowledge of them. JS T ow, if by any wilful act of 
 your own you place yourself in such a position that no 
 more in this life will you ever drink of the cup, how 
 will you make your defence on the day of judgment? 
 If you willingly, knowingly, to your life's end, cease to 
 taste of this cup, which you know your Saviour com- 
 manded you to drink, which God's own inspired Word 
 tells you to do, which the very voice of the Holy 
 
 K 
 
130 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 Ghost bids you do, on your own head be all the con- 
 sequences. You may speak of the voice of the Church, 
 but is this superior to the voice of God? If your 
 Saviour says, 'Drink ye all of this/ and you be- 
 lieve He so said, then, if any body of men, any com- 
 pany of men, any Church in short, comes to you, 
 and tells you not to drink it, and you consent to 
 live and die without drinking it — what will you or 
 can you say in your defence when quick and dead 
 stand before the awful throne of God? The Ro- 
 manist has been trained in a different system; he 
 has not read the Scriptures to the same degree ; he 
 has not had your advantages ; — and this will palliate 
 his guilt, but you would have no such palliation. 
 With your eyes open you cast the cup from you, 
 you refuse it; you leave Christ's own words for the 
 present words of the Romish Church. I say the 
 present words, for it has changed on this point, and 
 it may change on other points. It may in course of 
 time refuse the Bread, and on the same principles 
 you would be bound as a Eomanist to give up eating 
 the bread. A more perfect quibble I cannot con- 
 ceive than saying, as Eome does, you take of the 
 Blood when you take of the Bread : your own com- 
 mon sense shrinks from such a quibble. Why does 
 the priest take the cup s If it is necessary for Ms 
 life, is it not for yours ? I cannot conceive a more 
 awful thing than for one trained in our Church, and 
 knowing the Scriptures, to clioose to refuse the Blood 
 of our dear Lord to his life's end. May Christ's 
 own words, ' Drink ye all of this/ ring in your 
 
Tidenliam. 131 
 
 ears, and to the very bottom of your soul, and may 
 you shudder to take that step which takes the cup 
 of life from your hands for ever! Unwarned you 
 shall not be, and as we shall meet on the day of 
 judgment, so in the name of Him whom I serve, 
 and who shed His blood out of His own most pre- 
 cious side, I do implore you to esteem His Word 
 before all things. I warn you of your guilt, if you 
 close your lips for ever against that which is ' drink 
 indeed.' 
 
 " I will only allude to one other point : I mean 
 the worship of the Virgin. Here, again, I take you 
 to your own knowledge of the Scriptures. I take 
 you to the Acts of the Apostles and Epistles espe- 
 cially, and I ask you in God's presence whether you 
 see there any plain evident marks that the Yirgin, 
 while living, or after death, had that wonderful and 
 awful degree of honour and adoration which is now 
 paid to her in the Church of Eonie? Is there a 
 trace of it? And mind, you cannot choose a part 
 of the Eomish system, — you must choose all ; you 
 must lift up your soul in prayer to her whom you 
 know to be a creature, to whom there is no single 
 sign of the Apostles' praying, who you know is not 
 everywhere present; and you have to deal with a 
 'jealous God.' I am not going into all the refine- 
 ment about the definitions of prayer. The matter is 
 too awful and too plain for such refinements ; they 
 will not stand the light of the last day. If I were 
 to take a Eomish book, and blot out in some prayers 
 
132 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 the Name of God, and in others the name of the 
 Yirgin, we should not be able to say which was the 
 highest and which the inferior kind of prayer ; you 
 take a most bold step on your own responsibility, if 
 you put yourself into a position in which you must 
 pray to the Yirgin all your life, and you will not 
 be able, after using the Eomish prayers on this sub- 
 ject, to say on the last day that you did not pray to 
 a creature. 
 
 "I have written most hastily, most unworthily, 
 but I do implore you to pause, — nay, to decide on 
 remaining where you are. I hardly know whether 
 it is desirable for me to write furthers you have not 
 taken my counsel hitherto, and I do think you trust 
 to yourself too much. I must speak plainly. You are 
 sitting in judgment upon the English and Eomish 
 Church. Are you equal to the task ? If not, are 
 you called upon to leave that body in which you find 
 yourself providentially placed ?" 
 
 The second letter, written shortly afterwards, 
 to the same person, breathes his calm and ear- 
 nest confidence in the truth and great destinies 
 of the Church of England, yet without conceal- 
 ing his conviction of the danger to be appre- 
 hended, though, as he trusted, to be overruled 
 for good, in her present distracted state : — 
 
 "A%28th, 1850. 
 
 " My dear , 
 
 " Your letter greatly affected me ; and though I 
 
Tidenliam. 133 
 
 cannot squeeze time enough out of the day to answer 
 it as I would wish, and as it deserves, yet let me 
 assure you that my very interest in your spiritual 
 welfare made me speak as I did, — from the abun- 
 dance of the heart the mouth speaketh ; and at this 
 time one cannot but speak plainly and boldly to 
 those in whom we are interested. Your letter gave 
 me much comfort, as it shews that you have had no 
 more than floating ideas, instead of fixed ones, as 
 to any change. Perplexities, of course, are natural in 
 these times. The facts you state, and others which 
 it is no use disguising, are sufficient to perplex ,• but 
 this we must remember, that in all fiery trials some 
 yield and break whom we looked up to, and some 
 shine forth with increased steadfastness ; some leave 
 the ship the moment the winds howl, and there is 
 danger, others stick to the last plank. This has 
 always been the case, and always will be ; and we 
 argue wrongly that the danger is a deadly one, because 
 some in whom we trusted desert at such a time, and 
 deem it to be deadly. That we are going through a 
 fiery trial I am sure, and therefore it is that I feel 
 we should at once pray for patience and steadfast- 
 ness, and fix our eyes upon a few plain points, as it 
 is very hard to go through the whole arguments of 
 the case. Thus, if we take individuals, while we 
 
 find , and , and it may be and others, 
 
 on one side ; on the other we find , , , 
 
 , and others. This may perplex us, but still at 
 
 least we have authority for staying where we are, 
 
134 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 even taking the rumours of secession at the greatest. 
 But passing from this, which is the least part of the 
 question, look steadily at other plain, clear facts; 
 look at the signs of life, the fruits of the Spirit I 
 adverted to; and look back and see what was and 
 what is; see the marvellous change for good; see 
 the two great providential movements, the spirit- 
 ualizing and the churchifying movements : the one 
 bringing the great Christian doctrines before men's 
 souls ; the other giving the proportion to faith, and 
 shewing the appointed means whereby the Spirit 
 works. What wonderful good has been effected by 
 these movements ; how completely changed has the 
 Church been ! It has penetrated the remotest vil- 
 lage; it has renewed even the outward aspect of 
 things. Now, in so great a change, was it not to be 
 expected that there should be overflowings and ex- 
 cesses ? Might not a good mind, foreseeing the spirit- 
 ualizing movement have foreseen some aberrations, 
 some unruliness, some erratic notions of spiritual 
 influence, some wanderings from the Church towards 
 dissent, as well as excesses from the other movement ? 
 This has taken place. "We had losses from the first 
 movement. Many schismatical bodies were formed 
 with vague principles of spirituality ; and now we are 
 having the expected excesses from the churchifying 
 movement towards Rome. We cannot have a great 
 revival without loss, and we ought not to expect it ; 
 but look steadily at the signs of the Divine Presence 
 in the English Church, notwithstanding all our losses, 
 
Tidcnham. 135 
 
 both actual and threatened ; everything is improved : 
 homes, schools, colleges, missions, pastoral offices, care 
 for the poor, the sick, the penitent, — all this denotes 
 plainly God's favour. It is He who has done it. 
 His Spirit is at work amongst ns. We cannot shut 
 our eyes to these facts; they meet us throughout 
 our system; and can it be that God has for years 
 been working amongst us — purifying, quickening, 
 elevating, enabling us to put forth a wonderful 
 energy into all works at home and abroad ; and after 
 all, designs that this whole spiritual machinery, so 
 improved, so busy, so energetic, should be broken to 
 pieces as a worthless and fruitless thing ? Can He 
 mean us to understand that it is in no sense a por- 
 tion of His household, or flock, or Church? And 
 I cannot too often repeat, that while we grant the 
 Romish Church to be a Church, Eome makes no 
 such grant to us ; and though she is forced to speak 
 and act most inconsistently towards us, owing to the 
 overpowering testimony of Divine favour possessed 
 by us, yet theoretically she is bound to say we are 
 in no sense whatever a portion of the House of God. 
 Look, again, at the fact of an apostolical ministry, at 
 the due administration of the Sacraments according 
 to primitive custom. I allude especially to the Lord's 
 
 Supper 
 
 "The present Gorhani question may so far be 
 viewed as a collision between Church and State, the 
 issue of which is yet to come. We must not look 
 upon it as a finished thing, for the permanent, habi- 
 
136 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 tual acquiescence of the Church cannot yet be proved, 
 and we all know that the State and Church have to 
 come into different relationships, and there must be 
 harassing collisions, and in them, perhaps, for a time, 
 the Church may seem to be worsted. I feel very 
 deeply — as deeply as any — the value of unity ; but 
 with the deepest sense of its value, I doubt much 
 whether the way to preserve all the truth com- 
 bined with unity is to be found by joining Eome. 
 On the contrary, I think I can see a very high des- 
 tiny for the English Church as a preserver of those 
 truths which the Eomish Church has obscured, and 
 I do not think the abandonment of these truths for 
 the sake of union will make that union which will 
 be blessed by God. Truth is to be cared for as much 
 as unity. Brothers in a family may be estranged, 
 and if one brother will but sacrifice what he ought 
 not, union may be restored; — union, however valua- 
 ble, however needful for brothers, would be wrong- 
 fully bought at such a price j the estrangement should 
 last, however sad or painful. I believe that there 
 will be a great struggle between infidelity and the 
 Christian Church, but I also believe the Christian 
 Church must purify itself for this struggle, — the 
 English Church must correct what is erroneous and 
 faulty, the Eomish Church must reform ; and it 
 may be, to take a sanguine view, that the reforming 
 element may come from England. . . . Passing, how- 
 ever, from these topics, which I only have adverted 
 to in the hope of shewing, in a most sketchy way, 
 
Tldenliam. 137 
 
 that there are grounds for abiding patiently and 
 thankfully where you are, and that there are points 
 which you may turn to, I pray you earnestly to be- 
 lieve that I really feel for you, and sympathize with 
 you, in the trials to which your patience and stead- 
 fastness are put in such trying times. It would be 
 so great a grief to me to see you doing what I be- 
 lieve to be a great sin, that I could not but speak 
 strongly, out of very earnestness. I have felt your 
 letter very deeply, and the course you have resolved 
 upon, the tone in which you have written, have 
 given me the sincerest satisfaction. Pray persevere 
 in your resolutions, by God's blessing. Do those 
 plain duties which bring God's favour; think of the 
 saints, Hooker, Herbert, Andrewes, Tajdor, Ken, 
 Cosin, and a long list of others, both known and un- 
 known, who have fallen asleep under the shelter of 
 this vine. If we are in error, may God pardon us, 
 and grant that our error is not such as to shut us 
 from the kingdom of heaven. Search the Scriptures, 
 for I do believe that, as in past days we have too 
 much neglected tradition, there is a danger of really 
 running down the plain, obvious, and straightfor- 
 ward meaning of Scripture ; and may God's richest 
 blessings fall on you to the salvation of your soul, for 
 Jesus Christ's sake. 
 
 "Ever very sincerely yours, 
 
 "JOHN ARMSTRONG." 
 
 In another letter he expresses what he be- 
 
138 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 Heved to be one great providential purpose com- 
 mitted to the Church of England : — 
 
 "I trust you have increased confidence in our 
 branch of the Church, which certainly is shewing 
 increased signs of vitality, notwithstanding all her 
 trials. I quite agree with your friend, who, in see- 
 ing what was good in the Eoman Church, was not 
 prepared to un- Church us. "We have good points 
 where they fail, they have good points where we 
 fail; and the question is not whether theirs is a 
 Church or not, but whether it is the only Church, 
 the sole Body of Christ. It seems to me we have a 
 great mission, which is to preserve the sense of the 
 true object of faith, which is obscured in Christendom 
 by the increasing adoration of the Virgin. When I 
 read the Old and New Testament, the greatest point 
 of all seems to be to worship the true object, and not 
 to let any creature or created thing divide the stream 
 of adoration." 
 
 The advice contained in the following letter 
 bears closely upon the same subject, and will 
 come home to many hearts with a conviction of 
 the momentous importance, though at the same 
 time the great simplicity, of the advice con- 
 tained in it : — 
 
 "March 14, 1850. 
 
 "My dear , 
 
 11 1 must make my usual excuse for not writing, 
 
Tidenham. 139 
 
 i.e. want of time. This has been strictly true of 
 late, as labours have seemed to multiply. 
 
 " I was very deeply grieved to hear of the step 
 
 and have taken, and I fully sympathize with you 
 
 in your sorrow for their desertion of our true branch 
 of the Church Catholic, who now needs all the love of 
 all her children. By holding secret communications 
 with the Jesuits, they clearly put themselves into a 
 place of temptation, and exposed themselves by error 
 of moral conduct to error of doctrine, — matters far 
 more closely connected than many imagine. The 
 counsel you yourself received, and have acted upon, 
 was wise, viz. to put aside all controversial books, 
 and to drink thankfully of our own waters. I am 
 sure that counsel is more than ever needed now. 
 Since you wrote, we have had a great event, and 
 though I look upon it as far from finished, and likely 
 to end in good, still it is now a time of trial. At 
 such a time, patience and steadfastness are our plain 
 duties, and these duties are more easily performed by 
 putting aside all writings of a controversial and un- 
 settling character. I hope you will be very firm in 
 declining all correspondence, should there be any 
 endeavours to introduce religious discussions. It 
 must be a great relief to you to have dealt openly 
 with your mother. I am sure openness is our real 
 Christian course, and happily you have been most 
 affectionately met on your mother's side. I must say 
 that I think our Church does tend to form openness, 
 ingenuousness, and straightforwardness of character, 
 
140 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 I hope we may all have grace to grow in godliness, 
 and amid all this strife and division, whether within 
 or without, to look more than ever to that perfect 
 rest above, humbly trusting that the errors of others 
 may not be of so fatal a character as to shut them 
 out of Christ's kingdom in heaven, and that any 
 errors we unconsciously hold may be forgiven. 
 
 "I was interested in the letter you sent me. Oc- 
 cupation would be a great matter for the writer, — an 
 even, quiet routine of practical duties. Why should 
 she not work for the female emigrants ? Here there 
 need be no union with Dissenters, and no support of 
 their peculiar views and institutions. We have been 
 setting our parishioners to work through Lent in 
 providing common clothing for the emigrants, and 
 sent off a large package to-day, to Sidney Herbert's 
 receptacle in London. 
 
 " And now, praying God to give you His guidance 
 and blessing in all things, believe me very sincerely 
 yours, 
 
 "JOHN ARMSTKONG." 
 
 Mr. Armstrong, while urging so earnestly on 
 those who sought his counsel the necessity of 
 openness and a humble spirit, felt, at the same 
 time, the importance, on the part of parents and 
 guardians of the young, of an enlarged con- 
 sideration of the different wants of different 
 souls, and the fairness of allowing whatever 
 the Church has provided for her children. 
 
Tidmkam. 141 
 
 An extract from another letter expressing his 
 opinion on this point may be added in con- 
 nexion with what has gone before : — 
 
 " Perhaps, too, your mother may see that the fa;]! 
 use of all that our Church recommends and sanc- 
 tions does not in reality, or of necessity, loosen the 
 hold; hut, on the contrary, strengthens the affections 
 for that branch of the Tine into which we have been 
 engrafted by God's great mercy, and that a craving 
 for something out of the Church is rather likely to 
 arise from not having all that can be had within it. 
 At any rate, some prejudice may be softened down, 
 and that is a great matter.'' 
 
 But to return to the scenes of his pastoral 
 life at Tidenham. 
 
 Mr. Armstrong was not a systematic man. 
 He betrayed — what so many parish priests 
 have painfully regretted — the defects arising 
 from the want of early pastoral training ; but 
 what was lacking in system seemed to be sup- 
 plied by his unselfishness, and the warm-hearted- 
 ness with which he threw himself into what- 
 ever he undertook. It mattered not from 
 whence the suggestion came : he was as earnest 
 in carrying out a design proposed by another, 
 as one originating with himself. One of his 
 curates, who suggested to him the idea of pro- 
 
 
142 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 viding the schoolroom, and the additional Sun- 
 day service, for the rougher and more neglected 
 people dwelling on the Chase, says, — " I remem- 
 ber well how eagerly he threw himself into the 
 proposal, and, when no existing house seemed 
 to do for the purpose, at once set about build- 
 ing a room at one end of a cottage belonging to 
 him as vicar. I think that at the time I hardly 
 appreciated, as I have since, the willing and 
 thankful zeal with which he began the work, 
 and charged himself with so considerable an 
 addition to the many heavy expenses of the 
 parish." 
 
 Another instance is recorded by the same 
 friend, whose words have just been quoted, of 
 what he considered a scarcely prudent expendi- 
 ture for some important parish work which he 
 desired to carry out. 
 
 It is hardly common to find a perhaps over- 
 daring generosity in behalf of others, combined 
 with great caution in trusting overmuch to the 
 future, or, as it is sometimes said, " to faith," and 
 a rigid self-denial in personal expense. This 
 combination seems to have been one feature in 
 his character. He had a strong feeling, which 
 amounted to a principle of action, against leav- 
 ing works with a heavy debt upon them. It 
 was a great difficulty to raise funds for build- 
 
Tldenham. 143 
 
 ing the Tutshill Chapel, an object which he 
 had greatly at heart, but he was resolved not 
 to exceed the means at his command ; and 
 though he left the parish shortly after its con- 
 secration, all liabilities connected with it were 
 discharged. As to his own personal expense, 
 Mrs. Armstrong says in a letter addressed to the 
 writer of this Memoir: — "About expense he 
 was very self-denying; though delighting in 
 books and prints, he only rarely bought the 
 former, and I cannot recollect his ever buying 
 more than one print, the Choristers, as a pre- 
 sent to me on some particular occasion." It 
 may be well to add, in connection with what 
 is here said of his own personal self-denial, an 
 extract from a letter in which he gives ad- 
 vice as to those simpler kinds of practical self- 
 mortification which are open to every one in 
 common life. The letter specially treats of the 
 observance of Lent : — 
 
 "As regards the observance of Lent in the way of 
 fasting, I know full well that many persons, whether 
 from natural delicacy or previous habits of life, are 
 unable to bear even any lessening of food with- 
 out suffering in health. In such a case, all we can 
 do is to try some of those other modes of self-denial 
 which do not so affect the bodily frame ; and ordinary 
 home-life supplies abundant and various ways of self- 
 
144 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 mortification and self-contradiction. You have, no 
 doubt, many useful books containing the experience 
 of good men, which suggest modes of abstinence. 
 It is one privilege of our age, that we have so many 
 of these good helps to a more holy life. "While, of 
 course, I myself incline to an entirely secluded life 
 for all the members of the Church during Lent, yet 
 such a rule must have its exceptions ; and it is only 
 by a knowledge of the peculiar circumstances of the 
 individual case, that it would be easy to determine 
 in what case that rule might be relaxed. Taking, 
 however, the whole use of Lent, we are all safe in 
 increasing our prayers ; in reading Scripture in a more 
 devotional way ; in choosing such parts as shew God's 
 wrath and judgments on sin, and bear on the charac- 
 ter of acceptable repentance. To have, too, great 
 battles with our ruling faults, and to see with in- 
 creased eagerness and clearness what these are, is a 
 great matter. And when I speak of increased prayer, 
 how much do we all need to worship God more en- 
 tirely ' in spirit and in truth/ Increased kindliness 
 and affectionateness towards our family are great 
 parts of a true Christian fast. — I know that I have 
 said nothing that is new, but still old things want 
 to be newly said. 
 
 * # # * # 
 
 "Do you know Bishop Cosin's ' Devotions,' and 
 Bishop Ken's ' Manual ?' They are most valuable, 
 and I always incline to English devotional writers, 
 as being more expressive of our peculiar English 
 
TidenJiam. 145 
 
 character, and more natural to us. National charac- 
 ter is, after all, a gift; and there is something so 
 very sterling in ours, with all its faults and reserves, 
 that I am always disposed to encourage the reten- 
 tion of it. Foreigners feel differently about the same 
 things, and express feelings differently, and we run 
 risks of lashing ourselves into an unnatural state in 
 endeavouring to reach that peculiar development of 
 devotion which is natural to them. There is some- 
 thing very sober, very deep, in genuine English 
 piety." 
 
 The schoolroom services which, have been 
 mentioned were intended to carry out a view 
 strongly impressed on his mind, of the necessity 
 of providing for those who are hindered from 
 going to regular Church-services, not merely by 
 distance from the parish church, but also by 
 their not liking to appear there in their com- 
 mon working dress. He sought, by meeting 
 them thus half way, to draw them on to the 
 regular observance of the Church's ordinances, 
 when they had once been led to feel the bless- 
 ing of devotion and religious teaching in a sim- 
 pler way, and with less effort to themselves. 
 Of the success of this plan the Curate already 
 quoted thus writes : — " Our Sunday services 
 did not in any degree draw people away from 
 the parish church, but served to prepare them 
 for the fuller worship there, and so draw them 
 
146 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 to it. And I had much pleasure in hearing, 
 afterwards, how many of the congregation were 
 confirmed and became communicants. It was 
 a picturesque sight, our little schoolroom on a 
 fine Sunday afternoon. It stood on a fine com- 
 manding situation, with an extensive view, the 
 home scenery wild enough for anything. The 
 simple Latin cross on the gable alone distin- 
 guished it from any wholly secular building ; 
 and under its shelter used to be gathered toge- 
 ther a goodly flock of some of England's least 
 polished sons, filling the little room to overflow- 
 ing, some sitting on the low platform on which 
 the simple lettern stood, which was prayer-desk, 
 and pulpit, and all ; and those who could not 
 find a place within, standing with much seem- 
 ing reverence without, only disturbed in their 
 devotions by the noise of the geese of the old 
 woman who lived in the adjoining cottage, and 
 which sometimes used, sadly to their mistress's 
 disquiet, to dispute with us the occupation of 
 the ground." 
 
 The simple Latin cross on the gable of this 
 rude schoolroom seems to have had its intended 
 effect, of marking a building otherwise without 
 a single outward characteristic to distinguish it 
 from an ordinary cottage. One day, during 
 the height of the Papal Aggression mania, a 
 
Tidenham. 147 
 
 worthy gentleman of the neighbourhood; at the 
 time out hunting, and passing by, was surprised 
 to see, in so unfrequented and wild a spot, this 
 Christian emblem surmounting so poor a build- 
 ing He concluded it must be some new erec- 
 tion of the Roman Catholics, and with this idea 
 in his mind stopped to lnake some enquiries of 
 an old man who lived in the adjoining cottage, 
 and was in some measure custos of the school- 
 room. The old man was no theologian, and 
 was somewhat puzzled by the enquiries ; but, 
 thrown back on what he had unconsciously, 
 perhaps, imbibed from the plain, simple teach- 
 ing of the English Prayer-book, answered, 
 "Sir, I don't know much about these matters 
 about Roman Catholics, or any others of that 
 sort of people, but somehow I always have 
 thought that that cross on the gable yonder 
 was the very same mark that was put on all 
 our foreheads — on mine, Sir, and, I dare say, 
 on yours, — when we were baptized, as little 
 children." 
 
 Towards the latter period of his life at Tiden- 
 ham, Mr. Armstrong was occupied with the 
 series of Tracts and Sermons which will be 
 further noticed in the following chapter. These 
 and other large undertakings hindered his giv- 
 ing the same undivided personal attention to 
 
148 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 the care of his flock, as had been bestowed at 
 first ; but by means of these writings he was 
 enabled to do far more for the parish than he 
 could have effected by his own unaided labours. 
 His curates, and the main cost of the schools 
 and other works, were defrayed by this means. 
 When the Penitentiary cause after a time added 
 its own very pressing weight, it was another 
 happy result attending the publication of the 
 Tracts, &c, that being thus enabled to keep his 
 curates, he was enabled to devote himself to this 
 great cause without neglect of duty at home 3 . 
 
 * It is touching to observe how, when called from home 
 in the progress of the Penitentiary movement, his heart 
 turned towards the parish. Short notices occur in the hasty 
 notes written from a distance under the pressure of work, 
 such as the following : — " I am much distressed about poor 
 Mrs. H. I am only glad I saw so much of her before I went, 
 and that she seemed so very anxious to improve her spiritual 
 state. It is such a miserable feeling to be absent when 
 one of one's flock is so ill." Or again, in a note to Mrs. 
 Armstrong, he says : — " I am anxious to hear of poor H. I 
 hope you will pray more than ever for the sick while I am 
 away." In the same spirit was kept up the ever-ready flow 
 of open-hearted kindness which pervaded his intercourse with 
 his parishioners in any case of difficulty. One of the tithe- 
 payers happening to be a defaulter through some unlooked- 
 for loss, he writes : — " Let off. Send for him, if the 
 
 have acted on my orders, and give him back half (the half, on 
 second thoughts, erased,) the money at once, only beseeching 
 him to pay me when he can." 
 
LITERARY WORK AT TIDENHAM. 
 
 Mr. Armstrong's literary labours were not 
 those of a recluse, whose life is passed among 
 books. They were the earnest outpourings of 
 a heart which lived among men, seeking to 
 provide for the necessities which his pastoral 
 experience brought before his notice, or to 
 give vent to aspirations and schemes of good 
 which opened upon him; and this with an 
 ease of writing, and a happy flow of simple, 
 impressive eloquence, peculiarly his own. 
 
 The " Pastor in his Closet" was published in 
 the year 1847, two years after he came to 
 Tidenham. It is a small devotional manual 
 for the parish priest, and expresses the yearn- 
 ings and self-reproaches of a deeply ardent 
 spirit. It bears upon it the indisputable evi- 
 dence of being the genuine transcript of his 
 own mind, with all the reality and transparency 
 of his own beautiful character. 
 
150 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 After viewing the pastoral life of the writer, 
 it becomes necessary to quote some passages 
 from this manual, to convey an idea of what 
 thoughts and feelings were working within. 
 The power which animated his outward ac- 
 tions will be better understood, when we enter 
 into the spirit which breathes in these out- 
 pourings of his heart before God. The manual 
 opens with some thoughts for general devo- 
 tion : — 
 
 " Lord God, I am alone with Thee in my 
 chamber ; I have shut the doors of my chamber and 
 entered into my closet, that I might pray unto Thee 
 in secret, for Thou nearest and lovest the secret 
 prayer. No man seeth or heareth me; no man 
 knoweth that I have come to pray; this is my 
 1 solitary place ;' it will not be known that I 
 have now sought Thee in prayer till the last 
 day, when all hidden things shall be brought to 
 light. 
 
 "When I pray in Thy house of prayer, when 
 I pray with my household, I am seen to pray ; but 
 here I pour out my soul, I lift up my soul, I 
 seek Thy face, I bow myself to the ground be- 
 fore Thee, I hold communion with Thee, God ITcst 
 High, through Thy Son's Name, and ' Thou Lord 
 only knowest it.' 
 
 " gracious Father, I do desire to be alone : 
 when I am occupied before men, I know not the 
 
Literary Work at TiJenliam. 151 
 
 power of the opinions of men over me ; I know 
 not how much I do to be seen of men, or out 
 of regard to men ; I know not mine own self, 
 I am not sure of myself; whatsoever I do in secret 
 seems to be more entirely sincere, and done in 
 singleness of heart to Thy glory. When I kneel 
 down here in this secret place, I can but be seek- 
 ing Thee ; I can but desire Thy favour toward 
 me. Awful is it to be with Thee, God, with 
 my own solitary soul, with myself such as I am, 
 with my single spirit, a most sinful creature, ap- 
 proaching Thee alone. Awful it is to feel Thy 
 presence, to consider it, to believe in it, to know 
 that I am alone with Thee, — I a most sinful man, 
 Thou the great God of heaven and earth. I might 
 well desire to hide myself from Thy light, as did 
 Adam, when he had sinned, among the trees of 
 the garden. I might well desire to be joined by 
 devout men in my prayers, to be mixed and in- 
 corporated with them, to escape standing alone be- 
 fore Thee and feeling my own solitariness, oneness, 
 singleness of my own individual personal life. I 
 might well desire to cast myself among a mul- 
 titude, that I might be, as it were, a part of a 
 multitude. But yet it is good for me to be alone, 
 to feel that I am one, single, separate, respon- 
 sible soul, who must in my own self live eter- 
 nally." 
 
 It is said bv one of his flock, in regard to his 
 
152 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 outward manner in the Church-services, — " He 
 would complain of his difficulty in feeling the 
 service, while saying it in church ; but the 
 devotion of his manner was most striking, and 
 he was so natural, that one could not but be- 
 lieve the manner the true indication of his feel- 
 ings." The sources and nourishment of what 
 thus appeared in his outward demeanour will 
 be discerned in the " Meditation for Sun- 
 day:"- 
 
 "Asl have many things to do, — to pray, to read 
 Thy holy Word, to preach accordingly ; to offer up 
 supplications for the sick, and thanksgivings for 
 those to whom Thou hast shewed mercy; to baptize, 
 to receive the blessed Sacrament of Thy Body and 
 Blood, to administer it ; to lay in the grave those of 
 our brethren whom it hath pleased Thee to take 
 from us unto Thyself, — help me, holy Jesus, in all 
 these acts of devotion, that the spirit of devotion 
 may be sustained throughout, that all my ministra- 
 tions may be done with a single mind, and may 
 be blest unto myself and unto those to whom I 
 minister. 
 
 " Outward reverence at all times, Lord, is easy ; 
 but inward reverence, inward attentiveness and so- 
 lemnity of spirit, it is hard always to keep. I may 
 not wound my flock by outward carelessness, in- 
 difference, haste, negligence, or any other visible 
 
Literary Work at TiJenliam. 153 
 
 fault) but how much may I lose them, if I do not 
 inwardly worship Thee, and heartily pray for them ; 
 if my spirit is backward and remiss, or hurrying to 
 many unprofitable thoughts, or thinking of the opi- 
 nions of men! 
 
 " It is right that I should outwardly honour Thee, 
 for there cannot be inward worship beneath outward 
 irreverence ; but what are things outward, if I lack 
 devotion within ! No man knoweth from outward 
 appearance how much my thoughts wander in my 
 prayers, but Thou knowest mine infirmities ; l my 
 faults are not hid from Thee ;' and ' my secret 
 sins are in. the light of Thy countenance.' I fear 
 being formal in my worship, — I am often formal ; I 
 want perseverance in prayer, collectedness, abstrac- 
 tion, — true fervent elevation of soul. As the shep- 
 herd, I ought to go before the sheep, and lead them 
 unto Thee ; but I doubt not many of the sheep do 
 outrun me in fervent praying, and in the heartiness 
 of their praise. 
 
 " Lord, I could for hours pray Thee to give me 
 the true spirit of prayer : I am so dull, so easily 
 carried back to the world; so often dwelling upon 
 worldly affairs ; so grovelling in my thoughts ; and 
 when men think me devout, then oftentimes I most 
 need that very thing which I am supposed to have. 
 
 " Assist me, heavenly Father, for Thy dear Son's 
 sake, especially in the more solemn parts of my 
 ministrations. Assist me,- most merciful Saviour, 
 especially when I administer Thy blessed Sacra- 
 
154 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 ments, those mysteries whereby we are new-born, or 
 renewed in the spirit of our minds. 
 
 " When I administer holy Baptism, may I do it 
 with a devout will, with faith, with sincere prayers. 
 Though my unworthiness or absence of mind hinders 
 not the reception of grace, yet it were a thing most 
 sinful, most hurtful to my own soul, if, while the 
 Holy Ghost was descending, I were wandering afar 
 off; if, while He was present, I were absent in 
 spirit. Let me consider how many thoughtless god- 
 parents in these times speak solemn words lightly ; 
 and so may I be moved to pray as though none be- 
 side myself were praying. Make me to look upon all 
 children dedicated to Thee as mine for Thy sake. 
 If the prayers of their kindred be lacking at that 
 time, make up what is lacking by the fervency of 
 
 mine. 
 
 •& # # * * 
 
 " When I stand at Thine altar, grant that I may 
 have the profoundest sense of Thy presence; take 
 me, as it were, out of the world ; shut the gate of 
 my heart against it ; lift up my spirit ; let the house 
 of prayer be unto me as a heavenly place ; let the 
 very rails of the altar remind me of my especial 
 separation from the world ; may I feel myself to be 
 on holy ground : I cannot draw nearer unto Thee on 
 earth, may I feel Thy nearness. Fill me with a 
 sense of my own sins, and Thy great love ; of my 
 own unworthiness, and Thy mercy; for who can tell 
 the love wherewith Thou hast loved us. I altogether 
 
Literary Work at Tidenliam. 155 
 
 sink to the earth when I think of Thy wonderful 
 condescension towards us, and the awfulness of our 
 sins, that could in no way be atoned for except by 
 the spilling of Thy own blood. 
 
 "I have sometimes, yea, many times, rejoiced 
 with unspeakable joy when I have been suffered to 
 partake of Thy Body and Blood in the Sacrament of 
 Thy Supper, and to minister it to the more mature 
 members of my flock ; my soul has been filled with 
 sensible consolations ; I have experienced overflowings 
 of love and great peace. But must I not confess that 
 at times, when I have been called to minister at 
 Thine altar, if it had not been my office to serve 
 thereat, I might have abstained from the feast ! Must 
 I not confess that I have at times come coldly, with 
 little heart ; that I have ministered coldly, and not 
 with a full soul ; that I have said those great words, 
 1 Take and eat this,' and ' Drink this/ without 
 deeply considering that I was distributing a heavenly 
 and life-giving meal! I have passed on from one 
 communicant to another without that devotion of 
 spirit that was meet. 
 
 li Grant, Lord, that henceforth I may always 
 weigh those words, and speak them from my innermost 
 soul, and be warmed with a most holy love for each 
 single soul that receives the mystical elements from 
 my hands. Grant that my intent may go with my 
 ministrations; though, should my intent be want- 
 ing, I believe that they may still be blessed to my 
 flock. 
 
156 JSIemoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 " In these, and all other acts of divine service this 
 day, be present with me, most gracious Lord, that I 
 may perform them holily, with a holy purpose. 
 "When I perform the rite of holy matrimony, or of 
 the churching of women, or the most moving service 
 for the burial of the dead, preserve in me an atten- 
 tive and earnest spirit. In all the order of common 
 prayer, in all litanies, and supplications, and con- 
 fessions of faith, in all psalms and spiritual songs, 
 nil me with the Spirit, lead me by the Spirit to the 
 throne of grace. When I preach, may I preach 
 faithfully according to Thy holy Word, delivering 
 Thy Gospel ' with meekness of wisdom.' May I 
 preach not only true words, but in a true spirit. 
 May I seek not to please men's ears, nor to raise ad- 
 miration of myself, but to turn their hearts, and 
 draw them unto Thee. May I preach holily, know- 
 ing that plain words from a holy and spiritual mind 
 are more apt to minister grace to the hearers than 
 most eloquent words that come not from a devout 
 heart. If men should listen eagerly to my own 
 fallible words, may I never be puffed up; may I 
 strive against a self-seeking and vainglorious mind; 
 may I kneel down and meditate upon the multitude 
 of my sins. Easily might my soul be lost through 
 the sweetness and deceivableness of human praise. 
 Or if through lack of eloquence, a gift now over- 
 esteemed to the neglect of prayer, my flock come but 
 ill to the house of prayer, may I by true seriousness 
 seek to edify the more devout and stable souls. It is 
 
Literary Work at Tidenham. 157 
 
 not a multitude of listeners that bespeaks the growth 
 of piety. May I myself think more of prayer, that 
 I may lead others to esteem it more. 
 
 " Grant also, Lord, that I may spend all little 
 intervals between the parts of divine service in in- 
 ward prayer. When I enter the vestry, may I use 
 it as my oratory, my place of secret prayer, of pre- 
 paration for common worship. May I waste not the 
 time, but spend it either in praying, or meditating, 
 or reading Thy holy Word, that I may enter upon 
 mine office with a prepared and collected mind. 
 While I robe myself with the decent vestments ap- 
 pointed by the Church, may I offer up short ejacu- 
 lations, praying for inward purity, that, as one of 
 Thy priests, I may ' be clothed with righteousness ;' 
 may the white robe be unto me as a sign of the inno- 
 cency of life required of me. When I pass from the 
 vestry to the appointed place of prayer, or from the 
 place of prayer to the altar, or from the altar to the 
 place of preaching, may I lift up my soul secretly as 
 I walk, and offer up secret prayers for the gift of 
 the Holy Ghost, for power to pray, for grace, for the 
 divine blessing both upon myself and the congre- 
 gation assembled in Thine house. 
 
 "But not only at the time of public prayer, and 
 in the house of prayer, give me a devout will, but in 
 all other parts of the day, and in all other acts help 
 mc, most blessed Lord, that whether I walk through 
 the fields, or sit at home, or read, or meditate, or 
 teach in schools, I may preserve a holy and thankful 
 
158 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 mind, and use the whole day holily, and consecrate 
 all its portions.' ' 
 
 This same breadth of view, the same con- 
 tinued watchfulness, the same lowly thoughts 
 of self, and the same constant reference to the 
 Source of all strength in the fervent yearning 
 after a sustained spiritual life, breathes in the 
 " Monday Meditation/' which opens to us his 
 inner mind as to his daily pastoral work, and 
 reveals the secret spring of his unwearying 
 activity : — 
 
 "Lo, I am Thine! and now I must enter afresh 
 upon Thy service. Yesterday was the day of dedi- 
 cation, of prayer, of resolves, of devout thoughts. 
 To-day I must be exercised in those things that I 
 resolved upon through Thy Spirit ; to-day is the day 
 of action, — prayers, devout thoughts, raptures, re- 
 solves, holy exultations of heart, what are these, if 
 in action I fail ? 
 
 # * # * # 
 
 " I do greatly fear and distrust myself. Preserve 
 me, holy Jesu, from my own particular thoughts, 
 from indolence, from worldliness, however secret, 
 from love of self, from love of men's opinions, from 
 pride, from love of advancement, from cowardice in 
 rebuking sinners, or from harshness in rebuke. 
 
 "I know that I oftentimes yield to sloth; I am 
 often indolent, a waster of time, an ill husbandman 
 
Literary Work at Tidenliam. 159 
 
 of time ; I abide at home when I should be labouring 
 among my people ; I linger and hesitate to go forth, 
 or I leave off too soon and do my work but partially, 
 or I shrink from those who most need exhortation, 
 from the most sinful and hardened of my people ; I 
 please myself with the conversation of the devout; 
 I choose rather to sit with the righteous, than to go 
 among sinners ; I have often distaste for my toils ; I 
 want heart for them and patience; I often go to 
 them unwillingly and end gladly ; or when I have 
 done little, I think I have done enough. Indolence 
 doth much possess me, and backwardness; I had 
 rather read holy books than work holy works ; I had 
 rather sit meditating upon holy things, than perform 
 holy labours. I am often seeking excuses for easing 
 my neck from the yoke. 
 
 " And yet, whensoever I have devoted myself to 
 my flock, and have spared not myself, I have re- 
 turned home with a recompense in my heart, with a 
 gift in my bosom, a treasure of inward satisfaction, 
 with a light conscience, with a rejoicing spirit, with 
 great peace. I have tasted of the cup of peace for 
 my obedience to Thy will ; I have knelt down and 
 been glad ; I have had exceeding great refreshment 
 in my evening prayers. Thus hast Thou ever re- 
 warded me instantly for my service ; thus hast Thou 
 encouraged me diligently to do Thy will. 
 
 " O that I should ever shrink from the pure plea- 
 sure of devout action ; that I should ever be loath 
 to repeat such peace-giving toils ; that I should ever 
 
160 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 go coldly and give myself unwillingly to these godly 
 labours, that so soon recompense with such and so 
 much joy ! ... that I should ever be drawn from 
 that part of active obedience, which has the promise 
 of peace, and is the path of peace ! 
 
 * % * % % 
 
 "It is said of the men of the world that they 
 'rise up early and late take rest/ in their careful- 
 ness for perishing things ; shall not the like be said 
 of the men of God, Thy ministers, in their zeal for 
 imperishable souls ? In the sweat of my brow ought 
 I to labour, yea, in the sweat of my heart, for I am 
 an husbandman of souls, and of this harvest angels 
 shall be the reapers. That I may thoroughly do this 
 work, I must gather up the fragments of time, that 
 nothing be lost. Ease must be unknown to me, for 
 what has the preacher of the Cross to do with ease ! 
 He who would effectually preach the Cross must bear 
 it, and be crucified himself. 
 
 " And how many souls hast Thou given me, 
 Lord ! even . . . [the number of his parishioners were 
 1,500]. This is my charge, this number of immortal 
 souls ; and each one of all these souls has to be num- 
 bered among the angels or the devils ! How can I 
 abide at home, or rest, or take my pleasure, with 
 such a burden and such a charge laid on me ! Is 
 not each separate soul worth a life's work, all the 
 labour I could give ? What, then, must be the value 
 of all this multitude of souls? How can I give 
 sufficient labour ? 
 
Literary Work at Tidenham. 161 
 
 " take from me, merciful Lord, all sleep and desire 
 of sleep : souls may be lost even through the un- 
 watchfulness of but a few days. Of how great a price 
 is even one opportunity of speaking Thy Word, if 
 Thou art with me ! Teach me after Thine own 
 most perfect pattern, to go about doing good and to 
 be zealous in doing good, that I may be a faithful 
 pastor, and that nothing be lost to this people through 
 my unfaithfulness. Make me not only an evan- 
 gelist, but a true pastor, going about from house to 
 house. From house to house ought I to carry Thy 
 Word, that the state of individual souls may be the 
 better discerned, and that words in season may be 
 the better spoken. 
 
 •>{• "& ¥? if- & 
 
 11 If it should please Thee to bless these my la- 
 bours, and to give them increase in my time and 
 before mine eyes, then, Lord, increase in me the 
 grace of humility ; humble me so much the more. 
 With all my heart, with great fervour, even with 
 passionateness of spirit, I do beseech Thee to keep 
 me humble in the day of success. Let me not say 
 'my persuasion or my pastoral activity hath done 
 this.' Grant that I may give Thee all the glory, 
 heartily, with a sincere mind. Grant that I may 
 take nothing to myself of all the good done, but 
 thank Thee with humble joy for having used such 
 an one as myself to promote Thy glory. Grant that 
 my rejoicing may be in Thee ; so, in profiting others, 
 shall mine own soul be profited. 
 
162 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 * ♦ * * * 
 
 " Or if, Lord Jesus, I should seem to labour in 
 vain, let not my heart fail ; move me by Thy Spirit 
 to persevere. It may be that Thou desirest to keep 
 me humble, and to make me feel mine own insuffi- 
 ciency, and to trust more entirely to Thy grace, and 
 to seek Thine help more earnestly in prayer. It may 
 be Thou makest trial of my patience, withholding a 
 blessing, that I may seek it with more importunity 
 and continue labouring in faith. Or it may be, Thou 
 givest me no visible success, that I may the more 
 undistractedly desire the final and most glorious re- 
 compense of faith. Thou canst give increase when 
 Thou wilt; if not in my day, give it afterwards: 
 make me content to labour without visible fruit of 
 my labours in this life. God the Father, bless 
 me in my going out and coming in before Thee; 
 bless all my labours this day and always for Thy 
 dear Son's sake Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." 
 
 Something has been already said of the deep, 
 abiding sense which seemed to possess him of 
 the value and power of prayer. There are some 
 bsautiful expressions of such a feeling, and 
 especially of his desire for the prayers of others, 
 in the "Meditations for Tuesday and Wed- 
 nesday :" — 
 
 "But, most blessed Jesus, with so great a work 
 laid on me, with so holy a frame of mind continually 
 to sustain that I may fulfil my work, I feel the need 
 
Literary Work at Tidenliam. 163 
 
 of other prayers beside mine own, of a broader stream 
 of prayer than can flow from my single soul. I 
 need, I very greatly need, the prayers of my bre- 
 thren in Christ, that I may myself incline to prayer 
 and keep this ready mind. If I had mine own self 
 only to watch, I should need the prayers of others. 
 How much more, then, when I have this Thy flock 
 to watch over ! 
 
 "I pray then, God, for the prayers of my flock; 
 grant that they may have the mind to remember me 
 daily in their prayers. I do earnestly beseech Thee, 
 move them, through the power of the Holy Ghost, to 
 do this good work for me, that I may do my work for 
 them. Hake them to feel my need of their prayers. 
 As I pray for them, so may they pray for me. This 
 gift I desire at their hands, this great gift, this act 
 of love, better than silver and gold, which the poor 
 of this world can bestow on me if they be rich in 
 faith; 'for the prayer of a righteous man availeth 
 much.' 
 
 " May my own flock ask a blessing on me daily in 
 my labours : then I doubt not a blessing will de- 
 scend on me from the Spirit of grace, the dew 
 of Thy blessing. with what a refreshed spirit 
 should I go forth, if I felt that my people had been 
 pleading for me before the throne of grace, in their 
 morning sacrifice of prayer ; if I thought that the 
 children, and the aged, and the full-grown had be- 
 sought Thee to make Thy "Word fruitful in my 
 mouth.' ' 
 
164 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 The following striking words form the com- 
 mencement of the "Wednesday Meditation," 
 which throughout is one continued prayer for 
 the different members of his flock : — 
 
 "In the morning watch do I come unto Thee, 
 God, yea, in the morning watch; I remembe 
 Thee when I awake, and I remember the great 
 charge which Thou hast given me, even all these 
 souls, these living souls, this multitude of souls, all 
 this people, ' fearfully and wonderfully made,' pain- 
 fully redeemed, bought with blood, even with Thy 
 blood, Thou 'Lamb of God, that takest away the 
 sins of the world/ 
 
 " On my knees, Lord Jesus, Thou great Shepherd 
 of the sheep, Thou good Shepherd, that laidest down 
 Thy life for the sheep and gavest it to the wolves, 
 out of Thine unspeakable love, love past finding out, 
 for the height and depth and breadth thereof, I do 
 pray Thee remember these souls, this portion of 
 Thy universal flock, this parish, my own dear flock, 
 my care and my joy. Remember them and have 
 mercy on them now, and always, in this life and in 
 the day of judgment. 
 
 " All these souls in this parish are mine; mine to 
 present unto Thee at the last day ; as the steward ot 
 them, they are mine, good and bad together, to be 
 watched, nourished, carried in my bosom, in my 
 innermost heart, to be worn next my heart, to be 
 loved with heart-love, exceedingly, holily, * through 
 good report and evil report/ whether they hear or 
 
Literary Work at Tidenham. 165 
 
 whether they forbear. I should stretch out mine 
 arms; yea, stretch out my soul and embrace them 
 in my love, as mine own spiritual children, high 
 and low together, rich and poor, one with another, 
 for Thou hast died for all. 
 
 * * *• * * 
 
 "Every face that I behold must be changed by 
 the mighty working of Thy power into an eternal 
 fashion, fit for the eternal light of Thine own king- 
 dom, or for the place of devils; yea, not face only 
 must be changed, but the whole body ; and not only 
 the body, but body and soul together God, 
 when I look upon this present fashion of my people, 
 I am filled with a great awe, not knowing what 
 their change will be, their eternal fashion, and see- 
 ing how great a work each soul has to perform in 
 this short life, to be ripe for Thy coming." 
 
 In our present day of trial, when such deep 
 anxiety is pressing upon those who, like Mr. 
 Armstrong, hold dear the f iill deposit of the Ca- 
 tholic faith inherited from our fathers, and when 
 the hearts of so many have failed, — some for- 
 saking our communion, and others lingering 
 amongst us only with chilled affections, — it is 
 refreshing and strengthening to mark the low- 
 ly, unjudging spirit, and warm attachment to 
 the Church of England, which breathes in the 
 "Thursday Meditation :"— 
 
166 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 "But more especially am I bound to pray for that 
 branch of the Catholic Church into which, by Thy 
 unspeakable mercy, I have been baptized; for this 
 dear Church of Eng'and, my nurse in the faith, my 
 mother that has borne me all these years, and borne 
 with me, that has fed me and nourished me, though 
 a wayward and unworthy son, oftentimes disho- 
 nouring her with my misdeeds. 
 
 "For this Church of England, for all members 
 thereof, priests and. people, in all times, through all 
 changes and chances of times, I do pray most ear- 
 nestly. Lord, send Thy blessing upon this branch 
 of the vine, Thy workmanship, Thine own branch, 
 so long and wonderfully preserved, with so long a 
 history of grace." 
 
 In 1848, the year after the "Pastor in his 
 Closet" appeared, Mr. Armstrong commenced 
 a series of publications which have proved to 
 be of considerable importance in parochial reli- 
 gious literature, not only supplying a serious 
 deficiency long felt, but raising the whole tone 
 of such publications, both in respect of doc- 
 trine and style of writing. He was the re- 
 sponsible editor for these works, and himself 
 wrote a great portion of them. The " Tracts for 
 the Christian Seasons" were issued in monthly 
 parts, commencing with Advent, 1848, and clos- 
 ing with Advent, 1849. They were intended 
 to bring out in a warm, earnest and attractive 
 
Literary Work at Tidenliam. 167 
 
 style, the full practical teaching of the succes- 
 sive seasons of the Christian year. They have 
 had a large sale, and can hardly have failed 
 to produce a considerable effect, tending, with 
 other influences which have been at work, to 
 impress on the mind of the age a more lively 
 sense of the value and beauty of the Church's 
 commemorative seasons. A second series was 
 commenced, on the close of the first series, in 
 Advent, 1849, and was concluded in Advent, 
 1850. Each series occupies four volumes. 
 
 These works were followed by a series of 
 " Sermons on the Christian Seasons," which 
 were commenced in Advent, 1852, in monthly 
 parts, like the Tracts, and were brought to a 
 close in Advent, 1853. In the course of these 
 two last years, Mr. Armstrong also edited a 
 series of " Tracts for Parochial Use," intended 
 to fill up another void long felt by the paro- 
 chial clergy. They embrace a very extensive 
 range of subjects, falling under the following 
 heads: "The Chief Truths of the Faith; the 
 Creed, Lord's Prayer, and Ten Command- 
 ments; the Sacraments of Baptism and the 
 Eucharist ; Offices for Confirmation, Marriage, 
 Visitation of the Sick ; Churching, Commina- 
 tion and Burial Services ; Observance of Holy 
 Davs and Seasons ; the Church, and Church's 
 
168 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 Common Prayer; Devotions, &c, for the Sick 
 and Afflicted, and for Penitents ; Prayers, 
 Hymns, Meditations, &c. ; advice and warning 
 on general subjects ; Tales and Allegories, and 
 a Series for miscellaneous reading." 
 
 Besides writing a large proportion of these 
 tracts and sermons, he had to procure wri- 
 ters, overlook the MSS., correct, and often 
 make additions to complete the required quan- 
 tity. Each tract or sermon, as he playfully 
 expressed it, " went upon all fours," i. e. was 
 composed of four, or a multiple of four, pages. 
 Thus each tract, or sermon, could be printed 
 separate and complete in itself, while yet form- 
 ing part of a series. This plan made it pos- 
 sible for such a large quantity of matter, by 
 different hands, to be prepared in so short a 
 space of time, and much of it simultaneously. 
 It must have been an intense mental effort to 
 keep up the necessary supply at such brief and 
 fixed intervals, especially when so much de- 
 pended on correctness of taste and doctrine; 
 and the accomplishment of it affords a striking 
 instance of his fluency of thought and language, 
 and quickness of judgment. The burden and 
 pressure of toil which these works involved 
 must have told seriously upon his strength. 
 The writer remembers meeting him when he 
 
Literary Work at Tidenham. 169 
 
 had just completed tlie last of the series, and 
 was struck with his -worn look, and expressions 
 of thankfulness and relief that the work was 
 done. 
 
 Mr. Armstrong still continued from time to 
 time to write articles in the Reviews, and 
 always on some question touching the well, 
 or ill-being of society, — a class of subjects 
 which seemed to be committed to him as a 
 special mission. One was on Mr, Wilson's 
 great and successful w r ork in raising the cha- 
 racter of the young persons employed in Price's 
 patent candle factory at Vauxhail. Another 
 was on the " History and Modern State of 
 Freemasonry," which appeared in the July 
 number of the " Christian Remembrancer" for 
 1847. This latter article is a good instance of 
 his peculiar power of elucidating grave sub- 
 jects with a playful, graphic humour. 
 
 The article opens with a view of the external 
 state of the Society at the present day : — 
 
 " Among the multitude of convivial advertisements 
 which reveal the associative tendencies of an appetite, 
 some will be found to proceed from a body which 
 garnishes itself with the title of ' the free and ac- 
 cepted llasons. 5 By these epithets they distinguish 
 themselves from the common herd of Masons, — those 
 plain, drudging, hard-working men, who do not play 
 
170 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 at their trade with silver trowels and kid gloves. 
 Of Masons, this building age knows and sees enough; 
 of Freemasons, it knows and sees but little. It is 
 neither the wiser nor the better for their existence : 
 they are not to be seen performing any useful work ; 
 neither are they like moles, which, though they them- 
 selves are out of sight, throw up from their hidden 
 chambers visible tokens of their toils. The strongest 
 microscope would fail to discover the minutest grain 
 or particle of good which the Freemasons confer upon 
 mankind. The body, with all its invisible action, is 
 as utterly useless to the world at large as a clock 
 would be to its owner which went wheeling and 
 ticking on, with all its busy machinery, after the 
 amputation of its hands. "Were the Fraternity to dis- 
 solve itself to-morrow, and, to appease the common 
 sense of this practical and working age, to make a 
 hecatomb of their aprons, the world would be uncon- 
 scious of the dissolution, except for the unsavoury 
 smoke of the leathern sacrifice. 
 
 "The energies of our countrymen are too often 
 devoted to dinners, to make any succession of feasts, 
 however excellent, shed fame on the festive brother- 
 hood. It is possible that many associations need to 
 have their axletrees oiled with an annual feast, to 
 carry them through the wear and tear of a year's life. 
 A dinner in this country appears to exercise a gal- 
 vanic influence on the constitution of societies ; but 
 with whatever warmth of expectation it may be 
 looked to through the vista of the working months, 
 

 Literary Work at Tidenliam. 171 
 
 it is, after all, the reward, the refreshment, and not 
 the work, of societies. Every Society, except the 
 Freemasons', has something to do ; but this, enter- 
 taining the notion of freedom which has been so 
 strongly impressed on the popular mind in all ages, 
 and which makes it consist in having nothing to do, 
 shews that its members are ' free' in this sense of the 
 word, whether they are ' accepted' or not." 
 
 The following is the view given of the moral 
 aspect of the Society : — 
 
 "And yet the Freemasons profess to have an 
 object. It is certainly vague, so vague as to involve 
 no trouble, so ingeniously vague that even an in- 
 crease of dinners might be regarded as one means 
 of attaining it. ' Universal benevolence' is their 
 aim ; they would have ' lodges' from pole to pole : 
 1 The true mason,' says one of their greatest writers, 
 ' is a citizen of the world ; his philanthropy extends 
 to all the human race. . . . The distant Chinese, the 
 wild Arab, and the American savage will embrace 
 a brother Briton.' Over and over again we hear of 
 1 universal benevolence ;' it meets us at every turn. 
 Now we know nothing easier than the profession of 
 benevolence, especially of universal benevolence ; the 
 wider it is, the easier it is ; for as one does not meet 
 wild Arabs every day on Hampstead Heath, nor 
 Chinese in Piccadilly, those who dwell in such re- 
 gions may easily offer to "'embrace' them without 
 much risk; and after all, if such benevolence leads 
 to nothing more tangible and definite than 'em- 
 
172 Memoir of Bis li op Armstrong, 
 
 bracing/ there would be no great difficulty, though 
 perhaps a little unpleasantness, in clasping an ' Ame- 
 rican savage' in our arms. Universal benevolence 
 must end in profession; it cannot be carried out; 
 we cannot ask all the world to dinner : where our 
 sympathy extends to all the human race, we know 
 not, as a matter of practice, where to begin. The 
 moment we fix our minds upon some particular 
 people, or upon some particular course of action, the 
 universal has sunk into the particular. So wide a 
 circle as the world, so vast a waist, is difficult prac- 
 tically, though very easy theoretically, to span ; our 
 feelings may circumnavigate the world; but when 
 we come to practical charity, we find ourselves 
 tethered to some particular post, and moving in a 
 narrow round. The sympathy of your universal 
 philanthropists is gloriously obscure, indefinite, im- 
 practicable, and cheap; it may be indulged after 
 dinner in a nice easy-chair, on a winter's night, by 
 a blazing fire, the curtains drawn, — consisting of a 
 few rather comfortable sighs for ' the poor folks out 
 of doors;' they cannot house all the world, nor 
 mount all the Arabs, nor give oil to all the Esqui- 
 maux, nor feather all the Indians. Such gigantic 
 feelings end commonly in Liliputian actions. It is 
 so with the Freemasons. A dinner or two ends the 
 matter, where all the nations of the world may come 
 — if they can. 
 
 11 Thus, after we have tried to grasp this idea of 
 universal benevolence, to place before our minds all 
 
Literary Work at Tidenliam. 173 
 
 the world in aprons, or to conceive some countless 
 'deputations' from all nations marching to some 
 monster hall on some monster festival, in coats, or 
 skins, hats, or turbans, Hottentots and Turks arm 
 in arm, the natives of Paddington and Japan, of 
 Pimlico and Peru, — when vre come down, after these 
 conceptions, to a few matter-of-fact details as to the 
 means of carrying out so magnificent a design, we 
 find very little machinery provided for the purpose 
 beyond flags and orations, compasses and waiters, 
 dish-covers and white wands. It all ends in ' being 
 social/ as it is called. This Universal Benevolence 
 is no more than one of the bubbles of sentiment, a 
 mere hollow phrase, an unmeaning motto, painted 
 on banners, and mouthed by after-dinner orators. 
 
 " It is true that the Freemasons plume themselves 
 on their charities, but their charity is of that peculiar 
 kind which begins at home, and there ends. The 
 body helps itself; the members pay, and the mem- 
 bers receive. And when we consider the habits 
 which such a body is almost sure to form among the 
 middling classes, of whom it is chiefly composed, the 
 support of a school and an almshouse is but a small 
 atonement for the mischief which it most probably 
 works. We are convinced much private ruin and 
 derangement of affairs will always be found to fol- 
 low the course of a society which, whatever its high- 
 sounding professions may be, is neither more nor less 
 than a convivial club. Such bodies are especial 
 snares to the tradesmen of large towns.' ' 
 
174 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 The article embraces an interesting account 
 of the supposed history of Freemasonry, and 
 towards the close exposes in strong, energetic 
 language the dangerous and false system of 
 religion, if it may be so called, which it em- 
 bodies and encourages among its members : — 
 
 " And now let us see what this religion is. "We 
 might suppose, we ought to suppose, that a body 
 which can procure the services of the priests of the 
 English Church as its chaplains, must needs be a 
 Christian body ; we ought to suppose that Christian 
 priests would shrink in horror from giving their ser- 
 vices to a professedly religious society, which was 
 utterly, plainly, unequivocally antichristian, or un- 
 christian, in its character. We grieve to be con- 
 strained to say, that all such suppositions are en- 
 tirely false ; what ought to be, is not. However 
 fearful a thing it is to say, yet so it is, that clergy 
 of the English Church are found acting as clergy to 
 a body which rejects the profession of Christ's re- 
 ligion. In short, the religion of the Ereemasons is 
 neither more nor less than plain, downright, undis- 
 guised, unequivocal Deism. Whatever their Chris- 
 tian chaplains may say, or then Christian members 
 — a deistical body it is; a deistical body we shall 
 prove it to be from their own writers. 
 
 "Eirst of all, we turn to the authorized 'constitu- 
 tions' of the fraternity, the first rule of which pro- 
 claims the religious character of the body, for it is 
 
Literary Work at Tidenham. 175 
 
 thus headed, — 'Concerning God and religion ;' the 
 rule itself, which is a formal and official exponent of 
 their religious views, runs thus : ' Though in an- 
 cient times Masons were charged in every country to 
 be of the religion of that country or nation, what- 
 ever it was ; yet it is now thought more expedient 
 only to oblige them to that religion in which all 
 men agree, leaving their particular opinions to them- 
 selves;' i.e. an exhausting process is to be applied 
 till all the distinctive features of all the various reli- 
 gions of the world are gone, till all the opposing 
 dogmas are drained out, till we come down to the 
 lowest form of religion, and accommodate ourselves to 
 that lowest form, till, in short, we have come to that 
 which can just be called religion, which is but one 
 remove from atheism. 
 
 "All has to be pared away, and suppressed, and 
 rejected, and lopped off, till we come to that one 
 universal dogma, that there is a God : anything 
 more than this would be a breach of their rule ; any- 
 thing less than this would be a breach of it: we 
 must not rise above the most naked deism ; we must 
 not sink below it. "We are not to be more than deists, 
 we are just not to be atheists. This is 'the one 
 religion in which all men agree;' and this is the 
 religion of Freemasons. The Christian is to sup- 
 press all that is peculiarly Christian, the Jew all 
 that is peculiarly Jewish, the Mahometan all that is 
 peculiar to the Koran ; and then casting off their 
 peculiar doctrines of Christianity, Judaism, Mahom- 
 
1 76 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 niedanism, as hindrances and stumbling-blocks in the 
 way of universal benevolence, as the mere excres- 
 cences, as it were, of the one universal religion, 
 Christians, Jews, Turks, infidels, and heretics are 
 to join together in one religious brotherhood. Here 
 we have the creed of the Freemasons ; here is their 
 grand religious basis; here are the features of a 
 most complete deistical catholicity, which is to ab- 
 sorb all the great doctrines of the Christian religion, 
 and, instead of placing before us a holy Catholic and 
 Apostolic Church of Christ, invites men to join in an 
 unholy, deistical, catholic alliance. Truly, among the 
 yearnings for catholicity that break out in an irre- 
 gular and defective way, this is the worst. 
 
 "The same view, with equal distinctness and 
 equal boldness, is still further expressed in the se- 
 cond rule of the sixth section, in which we read 
 that there are to be ' no quarrels about religion, or 
 nations, or state-policy, we being only, as Masons, of 
 the Catholic religion above-mentioned.' And yet it 
 is into this deistical catholicity that Christian men, 
 nay, Christian priests, are found to cast themselves. 
 It is this sort of ' Catholics' which wants to come in 
 procession to our Christian churches, and on their 
 show-days to have Christian services, and to be ho- 
 noured by the Christian Church ; and it is the with- 
 holding the Christian ministrations of the Church 
 from this deistical brotherhood which is proclaimed 
 as an act of narrow-minded bigotry. ,, 
 
 Afterwards he touches on an important prin- 
 
Literary Work at Tidenliam. 177 
 
 ciple that lias a far wider bearing than upon 
 the state of religious teaching among the Free- 
 masons : — 
 
 "But while we are heaping proof upon proof of 
 the Deism of Freemasonry, we find a thousand cla- 
 morous voices assail us with the question, 'Do we 
 not honour the Bible? Are not the brethren ex- 
 horted to study the Sacred Law, to consider it as 
 the unerring standard of truth r' 'Is not the Eible 
 carried on a cushion in our processions, and kept 
 open in our lodges ?' It is this very so-called hon- 
 ouring of the Bible which we denounce ; it is this 
 outward show of respect to Holy Scripture, after 
 all its peculiar and most blessed truths have been 
 suppressed, which we emphatically condemn. It is 
 like honouring the empty sepulchre where our Lord 
 lay, and denying the Lord ; for if the truths of the 
 Gospel be expelled, as they must be, to make up a 
 'religion in which all men agree/ then the Bible is 
 no more than an empty sepulchre ; then the honour 
 is bestowed upon the words and letters of the book, 
 not on the truths which those words and letters are 
 designed to teach. With all our strength we protest 
 against this bandying about of the Bible, this hollow 
 unmeaning mock-reverence, this profane cushioning 
 of the Bible amid a company of Jews and Socinians, 
 who trample under foot all the most glorious truths 
 which it contains. We know no more prevailing 
 stratagem of Satan at this present time than that of 
 N 
 
178 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 persuading infidelity to pay a sort of homage to 
 God's written AVord, whereby many well-meaning 
 Christians are deceived. The mere presence of the 
 Eible is supposed to sanctify any meeting, and 
 the purposes of the meeting, and the opinions 
 broached. The struggle now is not what it was 
 in the last century; it is a more subtle struggle, 
 more dangerous to common minds; the Bible is 
 nominally accepted now; all the varieties of in- 
 fidelity now support themselves by texts from Scrip- 
 ture, and derive their systems from a perverted 
 and blasphemous interpretation of the AYord of God. 
 It is the acceptance of the Eible, without attaching 
 any distinct meaning to it, or attaching an here- 
 tical meaning, which is among the fearful signs of 
 the day. "We want no longer a host of ' evidences' 
 for its inspiration ; they have done their work ; cha- 
 meleon infidelity has changed its colour. It is now 
 the Bible against the Bible ; that is, the true sense 
 against the false sense, the Catholic verities against 
 infidel interpretations, the right interpretation against 
 the wrong. It is now an internal war. Believers 
 and unbelievers meet within Bible-ground, both ac- 
 cepting the Sacred Volume as the Revelation of God, 
 but each disputing what that revelation is, and draw- 
 ing from precisely the same words an opposite view. 
 
 "For ourselves, we feel that while the authority 
 of the Church as the interpreter of Scripture is so 
 widely denied, it would be an easier contest for those 
 
Literary Work at Tidenham. 179 
 
 who hold the faith, if the Bible itself were denied by 
 their adversaries. Better far that it should be denied 
 than that Deism should be drawn therefrom ; better 
 far that it should be denied with all its true doc- 
 trines, than that false systems should be built upon 
 it, that structures of infidelity should be made out of 
 the material of the revelation of the mystery of 
 Christ. When men see the walls of a temple of in- 
 fidelity patched over and cemented with Scripture 
 texts, they may be led to mistake it for a Temple of 
 the true God. ' To extract the heart and the sinews 
 from the oracles of God, and to boast of honouring 
 those oracles, is the modem stratagem of the infidel, 
 by which he at first disarms, and then poisons the 
 unsuspicious and confused mind of unstable and un- 
 learned men. He first puts their spirit to sleep by 
 droning in their ears a multitude of texts, perversely 
 applied, to ' prove/ as he calls it, that his is ' the reli- 
 gion of the Bible/ and then he pierces them through 
 and through with heresies. 
 
 "And what sort of honour is that which the Free- 
 masons bestow upon the Bible, and of which in the 
 anxious justification of their chaplains we hear so 
 much? On this, as on the other religious questions 
 connected with their body, we will call one of the 
 most celebrated of their chaplains, as the fairest wit- 
 ness we can find, that we may give the fairest repre- 
 sentation of their case. ' As a Mason/ says the charge 
 at initiation, ' you are to study the sacred law.' And 
 what does Dr. Oliver say to this ? "We tremble to 
 
180 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 quote his fearful words. ' In England the Bible; 
 hut in countries where that booh is unknown, what- 
 ever is understood to contain the will or law of God P 
 Yes, this is the Freemasons' honour of that book. 
 It is but one compartment of ' the Sacred Law/ — the 
 oracle of Delphi, and what we call 'the oracles of 
 God/ are but different tones of the same divine voice 
 sounding in the world. Here we have a Christian 
 priest, a minister of Christ, actually belonging to a 
 body, which, on his own plain confession, looks upon 
 the Bible only as a revelation of God, and which re- 
 cognises the creeds of heathens equally as portions of 
 the sacred law. The Bible and the Koran are placed 
 upon a level, as species and varieties of the genus of 
 revelation; the Bible is the species here, the Koran 
 is the species among Mahometans. ' Eead the Koran/ 
 says Dr. Oliver to the Turks, ' Read the Bible/ says 
 Dr. Oliver to the Christian ; ' both volumes are but 
 parts and sections of the Sacred Law; and both of 
 you, by suppressing the points of difference in your 
 two revelations, can meet together, according to our 
 Masonic principle, in one common religion. ' Such 
 treatment of God's Word, however it may startle us 
 where it is so plainly put, is after all but the natural, 
 the necessary result of those deistical principles on 
 which the Masonic body rests. They cannot, con- 
 sistently with those principles, recognise the Chris- 
 tian as the one true revelation, nor in their honour 
 of the Bible can they insist upon the honour of its 
 peculiar doctrines : so that theirs is an honour of the 
 
Literary Work at Tidenham. 181 
 
 Bible, after all those peculiar doctrines, which make 
 it a revelation of better promises than other so-called 
 revelations give, have been put out of sight and 
 covered. As those peculiar doctrines, which we es- 
 pecially call 'the Christian verities/ go beyond the 
 one 'religion in which all men agree,' so, when the 
 Freemasons carry the Bible on their cushions in sup- 
 posed reverence, they do not mean to include in that 
 honour those Christian verities." 
 
 In another article on Mrs. VidaFs well-known 
 tales, " Cabraniatta and TToodleigh Farm," he 
 expresses with his usual power and graphic truth 
 what he, together with so many others, had 
 keenly felt, — the alienation of the middle classes, 
 who people our cities and towns, from the 
 Church, and the momentous importance of in- 
 creasing every possible means of reaching that 
 intelligent and influential mass of men : — 
 
 "But one class has almost escaped our notice : we 
 have walked amid the cedars of the mountains ; we 
 have laboured in the flats and levels at the bottom of 
 the hills ; but the half-way district, the middle re- 
 gion of men, the middling classes, have but slightly 
 attracted the Church's toils. We have left this im- 
 portant class alone ; we have let it increase amongst 
 us without grappling with it in any deep or searching 
 way ; its internal life is almost as unknown as Cen- 
 tral Africa; its internal codes, its principles, its 
 habits, its modes of thought, its temptations, its 
 
182 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 amusements, all lie like an unexplored desert or a 
 frozen sea. The whole class of tradespeople and 
 shopkeepers, with their maxims, their convention- 
 alities, their usages, have been well-nigh untouched. 
 "We look in at the shop-windows ; we traffic across 
 the counter ; we receive, as purchasers, studied civi- 
 lity ,- we look at the respectful outsides of men ; we 
 hold mercantile converse ; but here all communication 
 ends ; it is a mere buying and selling intercourse, — 
 a cold, stiff, business-like interchange of words ; our 
 talk is of ribbons, or grocery, or furniture, or plate, 
 as it may be ; it is mere shopping. But what foot 
 has passed all those bales of goods, those long coun- 
 ters with busy customers on one side and pale shop- 
 men or shop women on the other? "What foot has 
 pressed into the shop ' parlour,' or to the apprentice's 
 room, or learnt the private life of the principal, or 
 the private manners of the apprentices ? Who knows 
 anything, for instance, of the goings on, the recre- 
 ations, the leisure hours of the young men in the 
 large drapers' shops, who are measuring tapes, or 
 silks, or calico all the day ? The clergy, if the truth 
 be told, have but little knowledge on this matter; 
 and as they have little knowledge, they have little 
 weight: they feel their tradesmen to be difficult 
 parishioners to feel with or to know ; and not unna- 
 turally, though wrongly, they have somewhat shrunk 
 from diving deeper into the character of this class, 
 or from throwing themselves into their ways, and 
 working themselves into anything like real commu- 
 
Literary Work at TidenJiam. 183 
 
 nion. They pass into drawing-rooms ; they mix with 
 the higher orders, because they have* come from them, 
 and this is their natural position : it is true they are 
 now acting upon the higher orders in a more minis- 
 terial way, and are obtaining a wholesome influence 
 of a higher kind, but their position by birth helps 
 them in this matter ; there are many sympathies be- 
 tween them and the higher orders. They also find 
 no difficulty in a free thorough intercourse with the 
 poor ; they lift up the latch of the cottage or of the 
 houses in the back streets, and take their seat by 
 the fireside, and are received with friendly courtesy ; 
 the intercourse on both sides is open, genuine, and 
 unreserved, without artificial stiffness. But with 
 the tradesman it is different. An occasional formal 
 call, an occasional admission into the parlour, in 
 which hang the portraits of the tradesman and his 
 wife, an occupation of the bright mahogany arm- 
 chair with its horse -hair bottom, is as much as many 
 clergy can boast of, while the conversation is on 
 both sides stiff, conventional, icy, and restrained. 
 Neither party really knows each other ; neither party 
 talks freely ; neither party thaws ; and the visit ends 
 with little fruit on either side. 
 
 " We do not mean to say that the ice is not thick, 
 and that it is not a difficult matter to thrust the 
 wedge into the thick-grained material of that peculiar 
 class which, as it hangs between the high and low, 
 just risen above the low and aspiring toward the 
 high, wants the natural courtesy or freedom of the 
 
184 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 one, and the more easy and conscious refinement of 
 the other ; it is a class somewhat touchy, sensitive, 
 afraid of not doing ' the proper thing/ oppressed 
 with artificialities, afraid of losing dignity, pro- 
 foundly versed in mysterious and peculiar laws of 
 etiquette, the occupants of a middle territory which 
 they tremblingly hold, ever fearful of aggression on 
 either side, neither at the top of the ladder nor at 
 the bottom, suspended between earth and air, dread- 
 ing to be pulled down by those beneath them or 
 trodden down by those above them, the half-castes 
 of our social system, too keenly alive to castes and 
 grades, and ever suspicious of inroads on their posi- 
 tion. But still, while many circumstances combine 
 to make them a class of difficult access, hard inti- 
 mately or closely to approach, yet enough has not 
 been done to gain admittance among them, or to in- 
 fluence them for good. TV r ith all these freezing 
 points among them, there is heart and feeling, and 
 many excellent traits and tendencies are to be found 
 beneath that crust of mannerism; there are sym- 
 pathies that may be stirred ; spiritual longings to be 
 satisfied, when once the apparel, the artificial coating 
 of the inner man of the heart, can be unstarched. 
 And it is now time to be stirring in this cause ; past 
 neglects must be remedied; the Church must no 
 longer withhold herself from the tradesman class; 
 we must not content ourselves with gazing at shop- 
 fronts ; we must not creep round by the edges of the 
 desert, but must plunge boldly into the interior life. 
 
Literary Work at Tidenhcnn. 185 
 
 y^e have lost time; we have lost ground already; 
 large parts of London, of Manchester, of our com- 
 mercial and manufacturing districts, have slipped out 
 of our hands, and must be regained. TVe owe it to 
 them to go among them, if our Church is to be the 
 Church of all ; and we may be sure, that whatever 
 class we may have neglected, therein we shall find 
 the sharpest and strongest weapons that are formed 
 against us. 
 
 "Not only have the clergy failed as pastors to ob- 
 tain any real footing among those we speak of, of a 
 decided kind, but other means of influence have been 
 little used. Take our literature : has this been 
 adapted to the middling classes ? Has it described a 
 tradesman's life? has there been anything between 
 our ' Susan Carters' and our s Margaret Percivals,' 
 any midway works bearing directly on the peculiar 
 state of life in these classes, shewing intimate ac- 
 quaintance with their peculiar features ? Of course 
 there are many books which are of a general charac- 
 ter, which are not for this class or that, and which 
 suit all alike. But with the various modes of thought, 
 tone, tendencies, pursuits, influences, prejudices, at 
 vork in each separate class, we want a certain de- 
 gree of what may be called class-writing ; and, as a 
 matter of fact, we have written for different classes, 
 though we have excepted this particular class. Of 
 course we are speaking generally throughout : there 
 are some books for this class ; there are some clergy 
 who have found their way into their interior life. 
 
186 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 " And yet we see the leisure of the whole trading 
 masses begins to be increased; the ( early closing' 
 movement is an important one which the Church 
 must not forget or overlook : the whole life is not 
 given up to ribbons, and grocery, and soap ; the 
 streets in the evening no longer glitter with the light 
 of busy shops, a glitter that was dearly bought, and 
 that helped to burn out the minds and bodies of the 
 shopmen so ceaselessly employed. "Whether the time 
 gained will be really gained, rests much with the 
 Church; more time is not of itself a gain; it is a 
 space that may be filled with poisonous weeds or fair 
 flowers ; it may give occasion to wildness and hurt- 
 ful festivities, or to mental improvement sanctified 
 by a religious spirit : never was good literature more 
 wanted than among these freed apprentices and their 
 masters: there is a taste for literature rising up 
 among them ; but it is not Church-like, or even reli- 
 gious; as yet, Chambers' books strew 'the parlour' 
 table, and reign supreme." 
 
 It was the conviction of the necessity of in- 
 fluencing the middle classes through the press, 
 as one means of acting upon their mind, that 
 led him shortly before he left England to 
 undertake a monthly publication called the 
 " National Miscellany," which was intended to 
 provide healthful reading of a light caste, to 
 pave the way for what was deeper and more 
 strictly religious. An article found among his 
 
Literary Work at Tideriham. 187 
 
 papers, (on " Almshouses,") written for this Mis- 
 cellany, but never printed, is here subjoined, 
 as a sample of the kind of subject and style 
 of writing which marked the publication : — 
 
 "In wandering about the pleasant villages and 
 older towns of England, I have been struck here and 
 there by a low range of gable- ended buildings, with 
 green lawns before the doors, and honeysuckle climb- 
 ing about the old casements. Mostly in the centre 
 of this little group of houses, clustered together, there 
 is some inscription which testifies that a Miles Purvis 
 or a Marmaduke Browning, merchant, erected these 
 almshouses for six aged widows and six aged widow- 
 ers of this parish, a.d. 1674, a little earlier or a little 
 later. And on enquiring the history of these said calm 
 retreats for old age, where feeble widows and helpless 
 old men are able to husband the flickering flame of 
 life in their native place, amid their old haunts, their 
 old companions, and within reach of the old church 
 where they have been wont to worship their whole 
 life through, I have found that the history of these 
 almshouses commonly forms some such tale as this. 
 The aforesaid Miles, or the aforesaid Marmaduke, 
 was the village tailor's apprentice, and whether from 
 being well beaten by a hard master, or being of an 
 adventurous spirit, started off to better himself with 
 youthful hopefulness to London, or some great town, 
 thinking the streets were paved with gold, and that 
 the country lad had the world before him. Then 
 
188 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 came want, friendlessness, years of servitude, many 
 bitter looks cast towards the old village, the old 
 home ; then the patient spirit drawn out by trial ; 
 the persevering struggle ; the gradual advance in 
 life ; the rise from step to step ; the increased as- 
 cent ; the changed tide of fortune ; the prosperous 
 days shining forth ; the station and the wealth ; and 
 then, amid all civic dignities, and riches, and repute, 
 the memory of the old village, the old folks in the 
 one straggling street, the trials and the struggles of 
 the poor, the hunger and the want, — and then Miles' 
 heart, or Marmaduke's heart, melts beneath the 
 alderman's robe, with its grand fur, and he recollects 
 what he was, what he felt, what he endured. Though 
 he has not for years visited the place, it all rises up 
 before his mind. There it is, the old man who shook 
 his head when he talked of going away, the old 
 woman who for a crust of bread and the broken meat 
 would come to scrub his master's shop, and often 
 save him from a cuff, or bid him to be of good heart, 
 when he was in a despairing mood. 
 
 " And as these things rose up in his mind, and all 
 his boyish days stood before him, as it were, he re- 
 solved on doing something for the place of his birth and 
 boyhood. This was thought of, and that was thought 
 of, but at last Miles or Marmaduke, the rich mer- 
 chant, remembering the aged and the poor, resolved 
 to erect an almshouse in his native place for six old 
 women and six old men, and to endow it out of his 
 ample means. After his day of business was over, 
 
Literary Work at TidenJiam. 189 
 
 he would go to his desk and there delight himself 
 on winter's nights in drawing out a scheme for the 
 governance of the whole. He would settle all about 
 the dark cloaks of the women, and the allowance of 
 the men ; how they were to be elected, what they 
 were to have a week ; what rules of order were to be 
 observed ; what lands the endowment was to come 
 from, what manner of building was to be raised; the 
 size the chapel was to be of, and the chaplain's 
 lodge. No pleasure was so great as that of settling 
 the whole almshouse scheme ; and there in his own 
 hand was. the scheme drawn out, so carefully, with 
 such precision, and with such minute details, that 
 we could see that no small space of time, no slight 
 care was spent. And then, after this, the plot of 
 ground was bought, and the townspeople or the 
 villagers talked of the new almshouse, and some 
 thought it dear and some cheap; some wondered 
 how he could make so much fuss about the poor ; 
 some thought it a wise plan; some recollected all 
 manner of tales about him when a boy, and always 
 thought there was ' something in him,' and that he 
 would rise, — though these prophecies were not de- 
 livered till after the event ; and some thought it was 
 all luck, and a dangerous thing to the State to have 
 such i upstarts' put into high places. 
 
 " However, while the gossips were having their 
 say, wondering, or not being the least surprised, 
 praising or making light of him, the work went on. 
 And when all was finished the merchant came down, 
 
190 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 and on the feast of St. Luke went to church with the 
 first six poor men and six poor women whom he ap- 
 pointed, and the rector preached a good, affectionate 
 sermon about the duty of loving the poor, and the 
 blessings which the poor may bring upon the rich by 
 their good-will and their prayers. 
 
 " Then in due time Miles or Marmaduke died, and 
 he had left instructions to be buried in the old church 
 at home, and to be followed by the almshouse folks, 
 to whom he left a black cloak or a black coat apiece ; 
 and as they all stood round the grave, with their bent 
 forms and wrinkled faces, as the coffin was lowered, 
 many a tear made its way down their cheeks, and 
 the merchant had some true ( mourners/ who did not 
 put on, like 'mutes' at our fine funerals, a hired 
 gravity and a professional look of woe. 
 
 " Since that time the almshouse has had, like other 
 things, its changes of fortune, its ups and downs: 
 sometimes the governors have been scrupulously 
 faithful to their trust, most anxious to admit those 
 most worthy of admittance, and to do the utmost 
 good with the founder's institution; at other times 
 they have put in their decayed butlers, whom they 
 wanted to pension off at a cheap rate to themselves, 
 and who had loved their cellars too well ; or the ap- 
 pointments all went by interest, and favour, and in- 
 trigue, not by worth ; sometimes there was peace 
 and brotherly feeling amongst the almsfolks, some- 
 times a good deal of bickering and strife ; but on the 
 whole — and in this evil world, we must always judge 
 
Literary Work at Tideriham. 191 
 
 of things by their general effect, and not by their 
 particular abuses for a time, — on the whole, it has 
 worked well. Many a hoary head found shelter in 
 time of need, and many a wrinkled hand was lifted 
 up to the throne of grace in heartfelt thankfulness 
 for such a quiet resting-place after hard and unsuc- 
 cessful toil. 
 
 " Such, then, is the sort of history which I have 
 woven out of the various accounts of these old alms- 
 houses, which are amongst the best ornaments of our 
 old towns and villages. But where, I often ask, 
 where are. the modern almshouses ; where that old 
 spirit of love for the poor which those who have risen 
 in the world ought to feel for those who are at the 
 bottom of the hill ? "Where are those grateful offer- 
 ings of the thriving tradesman, the prosperous mer- 
 chant, who has carved out his own fortune, and by 
 a good strong head has made his way upward in the 
 world ? Where the love of the village, or the native 
 town, and any goodly proofs of care for the worn-out, 
 the infirm, the decrepid, who have now to be dragged 
 from their old haunts and homes, and crowded into 
 dismal unions ? Alas ! it is but here and there, few 
 and far between, that modern almshouses rise up, or 
 that successful men think of providing for the last 
 days of the destitute. It is more common to see the 
 1 villas, ' and the ' mansions/ and the ' places in the 
 country/ absorbing the wealth amassed in the shop 
 or the merchant's office, and the poor are left to 
 Boards of Guardians and Believing Officers, to that 
 
192 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 legal provision which, however well managed on the 
 whole, does not pretend to do more than keep body 
 and soul together in the cheapest way. 
 
 " It always strikes me as a very sad thing to see 
 old folks packed off from the place where they have 
 spent their lives ; and a quantity of old people from a 
 multitude of places, each uprooted and torn from his 
 accustomed home, huddled together, with all the 
 physical and mental infirmities of age, strikes me as 
 one of the most painful spectacles in the land. A 
 place stripped of its old folks is a melancholy place, 
 and a place filled with them equally melancholy. 
 A park filled with nothing but young trees is but a 
 poor concern to look at, and one filled with nothing 
 but old and decayed ones equally wanting in excel- 
 lence : what one likes is the mixture of the two ; 
 here and there the old oak, with its topmost branches 
 bare, and its trunk hollow, and then some fine 
 stalwart timber, middle-aged trees, rich in foliage, 
 spreading their broad shadows over the grass. So 
 with towns or villages. "We want all sorts amongst 
 us, young cheeks and wrinkled ones, the curly- 
 headed lads and white-haired old men. This makes 
 up the goodly picture of human life. But to weed out 
 the old, to rend away all the hoary heads of the poor, 
 to pack off the stooping forms of the aged, to bundle 
 them into one great workhouse, as if they were so 
 much waste material, choking up the way of younger 
 life, to tell them, in so many words, we have no 
 reverence for them, no care, no love or compassion, 
 
Literary Work at Tidejiliam. 193 
 
 but that they are in the way, and must be done for 
 as cheaply as can be, is sad, sad work, which will 
 make, at last, trade wither, and our wealth to turn 
 into poverty, and all our commercial successes to be 
 without a blessing. 
 
 ""We want a different state of things from this; 
 and those thriving men who have well-filled purses 
 tinkling in their pockets, who have got on in life, 
 who have risen from being shopmen to be shopkeepers, 
 who have the highest stool in merchants' offices, and 
 are now sitting in. bankers' parlours, and have be- 
 come partners in good substantial firms, whose name 
 is worth so much money, and who ' stand high' 
 among business men, would do well to consider what 
 is here said to them about almshouses." 
 
 It is said that a man's character is better 
 seen in his recreations, than in his more serious 
 employments. The observation applies to these 
 lighter pieces of miscellaneous writing ; for the 
 kindly disposition, and hearty, healthful Eng- 
 lish feeling, elevated by a prevailing tone of 
 simple, genuine piety, which mark such fugi- 
 tive compositions as that last inserted, make 
 them to be very characteristic of the writer. 
 
 The other articles of any importance written 
 during this period relate to the Church Peni- 
 tentiary movement ; but these more fitly will 
 fall under our notice in connection with that 
 great work, which requires to be dealt with 
 in a separate chapter. 
 
THE CHURCH PENITENTIARY 
 CAUSE. 
 
 We have outrun the course of our narrative ; 
 for the incidents to be related in this chapter 
 occurred during the latter part of the period 
 which forms the subject of the two last chap- 
 ters. It seemed important to bring together 
 in one continuous history the rise and progress 
 of the Church Penitentiary movement. 
 
 Mr. Armstrong's work on behalf of fallen 
 women specially connects his life with that 
 of the Church of England. It may justly be 
 regarded as one of the greatest and most hope- 
 ful efforts of the present century, and one cal- 
 culated far more than can now be estimated to 
 influence the penitential discipline and practical 
 condition of the Church. In some respects, 
 Mr. Armstrong would have seemed an unlikely 
 person to take a leading place in such a move- 
 ment. His extreme sensitiveness and habitual 
 shrinking from publicity in spiritual matters 
 of a delicate kind, were hindrances in the way 
 
The Church Penitentiary Cause. 195 
 
 of his coming so prominently forward as the 
 origination of such a scheme required. And 
 it is probable that it often cost him strong 
 efforts to overcome the timidity and reserve of 
 his nature during its progress. But there were 
 other elements of character, springs of remark- 
 able energy, which counteracted and overbore 
 the reluctance caused by such tendencies. As 
 already has been said, the secret source of his 
 untiring ardour in this cause was the exceeding 
 warmth and depth of his love for any object 
 that excited his compassion. He was im- 
 pressed with the deep misery of this class of 
 sufferers, and the injustice their case met with. 
 This strong feeling, combined with his ardent 
 sanguine hopefulness, urged him on, and carried 
 along with him those whose hearts God had 
 prepared for this good work. It has already 
 been pointed out how his thoughts had been 
 occupied, as under a peculiar guidance, with 
 questions affecting the weal or woe of different 
 classes of society, and this habitual bent of 
 mind now concentrated itself on one engrossing 
 object, all the more keenly because of the pre- 
 vailing neglect with which it had generally 
 been treated. 
 
 Mr. Armstrong is unquestionably to be re- 
 garded as the originator of the Church Peni- 
 
196 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong . 
 
 tentiary movement, although, in this, as is the 
 case in all great changes whether in the natural 
 or the spiritual world, the thoughts of other 
 minds were simultaneously drawn in the same 
 direction. The then Archdeacon Manning had 
 published a sermon, " Saints and Penitents," 
 preached at the Magdalen, which had a very 
 considerable effect. But this and other like 
 expressions of the feelings and convictions then 
 stirred were but insulated cases. There had 
 been little communing together, no attempt at 
 combination, and no awakening of the public 
 mind ; no sign of action. The cause needed a 
 special instrument to gather together the scat- 
 tered elements of sympathy, and impress on a 
 wider circle the idea of a new effort adequate 
 to the greatness of the cause. To effect this 
 was Mr. Armstrong's distinguishing grace, given 
 to him of God, and his praise now throughout 
 the Church. 
 
 It is not intended in anything here said to 
 disparage the work done by the old-established 
 Penitentiaries. They alone had for many years 
 stood in the gap to provide a remedy against 
 the dreadful progress of perhaps the greatest 
 spiritual curse prevailing in the midst of us. 
 They had no doubt effected considerable good, 
 and many admirable persons had been devoting 
 
 
The Church Penitentiary Cause. 197 
 
 themselves to their support and management. 
 But it was a general and increasing conviction, 
 that some vital change was needed in the plans 
 that had been pursued ; that the root of the 
 evil had not been reached ; and that both 
 greater powers of influence upon the inner life, 
 and a fuller working out of the Church's sys- 
 tem, were needed to promote any adequate and 
 satisfactory results. Hence the whole work lan- 
 guished, and obtained little confidence. In the 
 public mind there was for the most part either 
 a complete torpor or a chilling hopelessness as 
 to the possibility of any good being done. 
 
 Of the commencement of Mr. Armstrong's 
 interest in this cause we have no record. The 
 following letter from Mr. William Ford, of 
 Gray's Inn, gives the first intimation we possess 
 of his thoughts having been drawn to the sub- 
 ject, and from this letter we learn that it had 
 attracted his attention for some years, and that 
 he had already worked out in his mind the 
 general principles of the new system which he 
 was destined to introduce. His subsequent more 
 defined views were but a development of what 
 he hastily sketched in his conversation with 
 Mr. Ford, on the evening which proved so 
 eventful as the starting-point of this moment- 
 ous undertaking. 
 
198 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong . 
 
 The following extract, therefore, from Mr. 
 Ford's letter, addressed to Mrs. Armstrong, in 
 answer to an enquiry on the subject, has no 
 ordinary interest : — 
 
 " Highgate, 
 " Oct. 28, 1856. 
 "Hy deae Mes. Aemsteong, 
 
 " It was in the spring of 1848 that my dear friend 
 was staying at my house in Milfield-lane. We sat 
 up talking after the rest of the family had retired. 
 The conversation fell upon the melancholy position 
 of females who had committed sins of unchastity. 
 
 " I shall never forget how his voice quivered with 
 emotion as he descanted (with a pathos and earnest- 
 ness which those who have heard him preach can 
 understand) on their pitiable, almost hopeless, con- 
 dition ; how the same sin, when committed by men, 
 is deemed venial, — when committed by women, un- 
 pardonable, whereas in the eyes of God the guilt of 
 all is equal ; how all egress from the practice of this 
 particular sin seemed barred against the weaker sex ; 
 how feeble and unsuccessful were the efforts of ex- 
 isting Penitentiaries, and how the Church had neg- 
 lected its duties towards her erring daughters. 
 
 " This led to the discussion of the remedy for these 
 glaring evils. He mentioned that his mind had been 
 at work for some years on the subject ; that it spe- 
 cially enlisted his sympathies ; that he was convinced 
 no real good could be effected except through the 
 
The Church Penitentiary Cause. 199 
 
 instrumentality of self-devoted and unpaid ladies, 
 working upon sound Church principles ; and that 
 less attention should be paid to work, and more to 
 gaining a religious influence over the mind of the 
 Penitent, than prevailed in existing institutions. He 
 felt that this experiment of Sisterhoods was of the 
 greatest importance, as well as difficulty and delicacy ; 
 that many who were friendly to Sisterhoods gene- 
 rally, might shrink from entering, or encouraging 
 relatives to enter, a Sisterhood of this particular cha- 
 racter ; that failure would be a very serious evil, be- 
 cause it would discourage the formation of Sisterhoods 
 for any purpose ; that it would be difficult to find 
 ladies willing and able to devote themselves to this 
 work, and not easy to procure funds, because the 
 conventional usages of society almost forbade the 
 open discussion of the subject; and without dis- 
 cussion and ventilation, how was interest in the 
 cause to be excited, or called into action where it 
 already existed ? 
 
 "It was clear that the subject must be brought 
 under the consideration of the public ; but how ? A 
 book we voted too heavy, — newspapers unsuitable. 
 The ' Quarterly' or { Edinburgh ' Reviews seemed to 
 us the most fitting channels. It occurred to me that 
 my neighbour, the late Mr. Thomas Clarke, then 
 solicitor to the Ordnance Office, had been the solicitor, 
 and still was the friend, of Murray the publisher ; 
 that I might obtain through him and Murray an in- 
 troduction for your husband to Lockhart, the editor 
 
200 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong . 
 
 of the * Quarterly/ who might possibly be interested 
 in the subject, and prevailed upon to insert in his 
 'Review' an article to be written by your husband, 
 and revised by himself. 
 
 # # * * # 
 
 "I remain, my dear Mrs. Armstrong, 
 " Always yours most truly, 
 
 " ¥M. FORD." 
 
 From this time the cause continued to ad- 
 vance with a rapid progress. Mr. Clarke, at 
 Mr. Ford's request, kindly communicated with 
 Mr. Murray, and the article was quickly writ- 
 ten and despatched, as the following letter re- 
 cords : — 
 
 " Tidenham Vicarage, 
 "May 23, 1848. 
 
 " My dear Foed, 
 "I am really very much obliged to you for your 
 exertions in the Penitentiary cause. I packed off my 
 article yesterday, as I had spun it to sufficient length, 
 and got as great an amount of English statistics as I 
 thought it advisable to give. Should the ' Quar- 
 terly' accept my MS., which is at best doubtful, 
 I look upon it only as a pioneer, and fresh materials 
 might be worked up for other channels. Should the 
 ' Quarterly' reject my MS., I propose putting it 
 into the form of a pamphlet, in which case I should 
 be glad to improve it by additional information. 
 
The Church 'Penitentiary Cause. 201 
 
 The more I enter into the subject, the more I get 
 interested in it. I confess to a certain furor in 
 the cause. 
 
 " Believe me, in haste, 
 " Tours most truly, 
 
 "JOHN AEMSTEONG." 
 
 The news of the article haying been ac- 
 cepted, together with increasing grounds of 
 hope, and fresh plans for a further advance, 
 were communicated to his friend in August. 
 
 " Tideriham Vicarage, 
 "August 17, 1848. 
 " My deae Foed, 
 " I know you will be glad to hear that my article 
 has met with Lockhart's approval, and I have just 
 been correcting the proof-sheets. This is a tre- 
 mendous lift to the cause, as it will get it placed 
 before a large number of excellent men, lay as well 
 as clerical. Palmer, the editor of the 'English 
 Eeview/ will also admit an article from my hand 
 in the Christmas number of the ' English Eeview/ 
 in which I shall go more into detail, and give a sort 
 of sketch of my proposed Penitentiary. In the 
 1 Quarterly ' I have merely shewn the want of 
 more Penitentiaries, and the duty of supporting them. 
 I have greatly to thank you for getting the door 
 of the l Quarterly' opened. Now since I saw you, 
 I have been able to interest many persons in the 
 
202 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 cause, and as far as I can judge, there seems a strong 
 latent feeling in the Church that something more 
 ought to be done than has been done. My little 
 private agitation has been in the highest degree 
 encouraging. I am now busy in getting the names 
 of such clergy and laity as would approve of the 
 general idea of a good Church Penitentiary, for 
 I feel that one must not content oneself with making 
 general remarks, but must try to put forward some 
 definite plan and proposal, and to band men toge- 
 ther for the execution of such a plan. 
 
 " As I propose giving all the proceeds of the article 
 to the cause, I thought it might be well to plunge 
 boldly into a positive proposal for a new Penitentiary 
 about a couple of months after the appearance of the 
 'Quarterly/ by advertising in the papers in some 
 such way as this : — 'Proposed Church Penitentiary. 
 — All such clergy and laity as desire to aid in the 
 formation of a new Hospital for female Penitents, are 
 requested to communicate with the Honorary Secre- 
 taries, A. B., C. D.' 
 
 " In the meantime a considerable number of 
 names will have been privately got. I am ready to 
 undertake the office of Secretary in conjunction with 
 any good layman thoroughly hearty in the cause, 
 and resident in London, if such can be found. 
 
 " Immediately after Christmas, when the effect 
 of the aforesaid advertisement has begun to be seen, 
 and the article in the ' English Keview' has made a 
 certain way among its readers, I thought of printing 
 
The Church Penitentiary Cause. 203 
 
 a good plain, strong address in the name of the 
 Secretaries, with the ontline of our plan, and (with 
 permission) the names of all our supporters. Then 
 in February (D. V.) I thought of coming to London 
 and agitating as far as possible, and, if possible, 
 getting a Committee afloat. Such is my Quixotic 
 project. I have told you all this because I thought you 
 might give me good counsel on any portion of my 
 plan, and privately agitate yourself in such a way, 
 and on such portions of the plan, as you approve. 
 
 " Of course the attempt would be really Quixotic, 
 unless I believed there was a strong consciousness of 
 neglected duty upon this point among a large class 
 of Churchmen ; but as I think I see a sense of this 
 neglect, a child's hand may set such a cause afloat, 
 which under other circumstances an army of giants 
 could not move. This is my ground for moving so 
 decidedly in it myself. Somebody must begin, and 
 it little matters who that somebody is, though he 
 be only a remote country parson. ■ Is there not a 
 cause ? ' The cause, I think, will tell in the present 
 temper of the Church. At any rate, it is worth the 
 trial. At your leisure, let me have your opinion: 
 I shall esteem it a great favour. 
 " Believe me, 
 
 11 Yery sincerely yours, 
 
 " JOHjS* AK^STKONG." 
 
 Mr. Ford meanwhile had been active in dis- 
 cussing the subject with his friends in London, 
 
204 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 and one fruit of his exertions was the following 
 valuable letter from the Rev. John Lake Cromp- 
 ton, expressing his opinions as to the form 
 into which the proposed Church Penitentiaries 
 should be cast, thus drawing out in detail one 
 portion of the idea which Mr, Armstrong had 
 put forth in general terms. 
 
 "29, ITowland-street, 
 "August 26, 1848. 
 " My dear Ford, 
 " I am not aware of the existence of any such 
 institutions as that proposed in Mr. Armstrong's let- 
 ter ; and if there be none, it is certainly a deside- 
 ratum. I believe the Romanists have such an in- 
 stitution at Bermondsey. If the attempt be made, 
 I hope the founders will take the highest ground 
 possible. It must be borne in mind every instant, 
 that the idea to be realized is one of the spiritual 
 works of mercy, and not one of the corporal ones; 
 that in whatever degree the latter may enter into 
 the design, it is only accidentally; — that the ob- 
 ject is of a missionary character; that its Church 
 character is not ' by the way,' but that the one end 
 is to bring the Church and those for whom the Hos- 
 pital is intended into contact. I dwell upon this, 
 because in these days the public are not quick at ap- 
 preciating it, and their actions will have a tendency 
 to drag the founders into a line of almost unconscious 
 compromise. The popular sense of the word ' hos- 
 
The Church Penitentiary Cause. 205 
 
 pital' alone (much as I approve of it in the present 
 instance) will confuse many; whilst many more will 
 derive from it solely the idea of temporal benefit. 
 How should it be otherwise, in days when large 
 masses are wholly ignorant of the Church as a divine 
 institution ? And I think this distinctness of idea is 
 of the greatest practical importance. For whence is 
 the authority of the institution to proceed ? Is it to 
 be a body of well-meaning individuals, members of 
 the Church, who club together to hire agents to re- 
 call sinning women from their course of life, some 
 of these agents possibly being clergy without mis- 
 sion, chosen rather from an idea that they have 
 served their apprenticeship in that kind of labour, 
 than from any sense of their being thereto called ? 
 And is the Bishop of the diocese to be made Presi- 
 dent for the sake of his name, whilst the whole 
 power resides in the majority of a self-chosen com- 
 mittee, or, what is worse, an annually elected com- 
 mittee ? These things do very well where the object 
 is merely of a temporal nature, but will not, I ap- 
 prehend, suit the present case. A committee would, 
 I suppose, be necessary to bring the Hospital into 
 existence, and perchance to raise funds afterwards 
 for its support. But I do not believe in its being 
 able to carry such an institution to its highest degree 
 of usefulness, to say nothing of the likelihood of its 
 bringing it to nothing. 
 
 " I have read somewhere, lately, (I think in some 
 extracts from Sewell's Journal at St. Columba, or 
 
206 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 Radley Hall,) a strong expression of opinion that 
 institutions of sundry kinds cannot succeed under 
 the management of committees and trustees. Such 
 an institution as that concerning which I write re- 
 quires a foundee, who need not have a penny, but 
 who will forecast with wisdom and Christian piety 
 in its fullest sense, the mould in which the matter 
 is to be shaped: one earnest mind dwelling con- 
 tinually on an idea, and asking advice of friends, 
 will do more and better than a dozen who meet for 
 an hour once a-fortnight. And the same stamp of 
 man who would frame such an institution would 
 raise its funds, because he would have a deep sense 
 of the value of his object, which would enable him 
 to beg with zeal and importunity. I believe that 
 many worthy women would gladly undertake such 
 part of the conduct as was fitting for them, if one 
 were found who had the faith to appeal boldly to 
 the Church ; and such would be worth an army of 
 stipendiary officers, to say nothing of the economy. 
 I believe funds would be obtained as easily for such 
 an institution carried on in this spirit, as if you 
 created a large ' ladies' committee ;' and the same 
 boldness would meet with such a response as would 
 induce our bishops to venture to give their cautious 
 sanction to it. Times, indeed, at present, are bad, 
 and many have no money to spare ; but in an ordi- 
 nary period, I should not fear for the result of this 
 course. Only there must be simple-minded earnest- 
 ness, which speaks with no faltering tone. The 
 
The Church Penitentiary Cause. 207 
 
 Bishop of Oxford's Bill, though rejected, will have 
 in some measure facilitated the proposed scheme. 
 
 # # * * # 
 
 14 1 am, my dear Ford, 
 
 " Very sincerely yours, 
 "J. L. CBOMFKMST." 
 
 Mr. Armstrong's next letter shews rjow ra- 
 pidly the cause was spreading : — 
 
 " Tideriham Vicarage, 
 " August 29, 1848. 
 "My dear Ford, 
 " I was on the point of answering your first letter 
 this morning, when your second arrived. For both 
 of them I thank you heartily, as they are both most 
 cheerful and inspiriting. Tour suggestions are very 
 valuable. I quite agree it would be best to wait till 
 three months have elapsed after the next ' Quarterly/ 
 before we commence a little vigorous advertising. 
 I think it also decidedly best to get names privately 
 from the present time, but not to form any Com- 
 mittee till the spring, at which time (D.V.) I will 
 run up to London. TTe shall then see our instru- 
 ments and material in the way of likely men for a 
 good committee, and perhaps we might follow the 
 example of the Nurses' Institution, and privately 
 select a Provisional Committee, taking good care to 
 pick our men : this provisional body might easily be 
 
208 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 proposed at any general meeting, to be continued 
 with a few additions. The first Committee is a most 
 important matter, as the whole affair will derive its 
 tone from them. The lay Secretary is indeed a great 
 matter; a host of rare qualifications, coupled with 
 leisure, is required. I only propose myself as Hon. 
 Clerical Secretary pro tern. ; i. e., till the spring, 
 when the Committee is formed ; then it strikes me 
 as best to have two permanent Secretaries, resident 
 in London,— one clerical, the other a layman. As the 
 institution would be one for all England, and take 
 Penitents from all parts, so we might have local se- 
 cretaries also, by way of keeping up interest in good 
 localities. I would gladly act for this part of the 
 world ; I have an active friend who would act in 
 Exeter, another in Oxford, and your friend Mr. "Wil- 
 liams in Cambridge. 
 
 " The thing is already getting on in the way of 
 promises of support, and Mr. Chester's cheering let- 
 ter is a fresh corroboration of the truth I feel more 
 and more, that there is a chord in good men's hearts 
 which has only to be touched. The more recruiting 
 sergeants we can get like him, of his mind and spirit, 
 the better. I use a very homely phrase, but it ex- 
 presses what we want, i. e., a few warm minds, in 
 different circles, to rouse minds to the subject. 
 The ' Morning Chronicle' will do us good service, 
 even by an allusion of the right sort, when the time 
 comes. A friend of the editor of the ( Times' has 
 promised his utmost influence with him. As to the 
 
The Church Penitentiary Cause. 209 
 
 c Christian Remembrancer/ it is of great importance 
 to get that on onr side to take np the subject. Most 
 willingly would I write for it ; and in this case, as 
 the i Quarterly' is a very general article, I would 
 make my article in the 'English' somewhat ecclesias- 
 tical and doctrinal, and then in the ' Christian Re- 
 membrancer' go into details of the project, and sug- 
 gest in detail the sort of institution required. I 
 deeply thank Mr. Williams for his exertions, and 
 should be glad to know whether my services 
 would be definitely accepted. I have written for 
 that Review before, and thus by letter know the 
 
 editor 
 
 "Believe me, 
 
 " Very sincerely yours, 
 
 "JOHN ARMSTRONG." 
 
 The plan of an actual institution grew by 
 degrees, and different portions of the scheme 
 quickly assumed a definite shape. Mr. Arm- 
 strong communicates in September some fur- 
 ther thoughts which he had been working 
 out : — \ 
 
 " Tidenham Vicarage, 
 "Sept. 8, 1848. 
 " My dear Ford, 
 
 " 1 must now be somewhat merciful to you in the 
 
 way of letters, as you are again under the harness of 
 
 business. I am glad your mind has been at work 
 
 upon the practical details and difficulties of the Peni- 
 
 P 
 
210 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 tentiary, because before the time comes for positive 
 legislation in the matter, we shall be able thoroughly 
 to meet many points that would then arise 
 
 " I think it should be possible for, at any rate, a 
 certain portion to continue permanent inmates : many, 
 conscious of their weakness, would prefer staying 
 where they felt their very position offered security. 
 "We might have a permanent ward ; many offices of 
 trust might be conferred on them; they might be 
 placed as a sort of monitors. Again, I am strongly 
 in favour of an auxiliary Hospice in some colony 
 under clerical control, where we might draft off the 
 promising Penitents, and secure them a fresh start in 
 good places and families, instead of exposing them to 
 the worse places at home, where bad pay and hard 
 work might again break down their virtue. Again, 
 there should be a probationary ward, and a very 
 careful classification throughout the house. It should 
 be in the country, not less than six, nor more than 
 twenty, miles from London, in order to secure fresh 
 air and capacious grounds for exercise, (a most im- 
 portant point, both spiritually and bodily) 
 
 "As regards ' the constitution' of the Penitentiary, 
 I do not see how we are to do without a council, 
 though without an annual election. The Warden 
 clearly must not only have statutes, but some over- 
 seers to see that the statutes are observed. I sup- 
 pose it would be best to get the modes of manage- 
 ment of various bodies where councils exist, and to 
 see their powers. Some of the public schools seem to 
 
1 
 
 The Clmrcfi Penitentiary Cause. 211 
 
 have the sort of council we want. They do not 
 usually interfere in any way, but they elect the 
 master, and leave him pretty much to himself as long 
 as he well manages the school. Yet while he is inde- 
 pendent he is not irresponsible, but can be called to 
 order in case he should break the traces. By exa- 
 mination and comparison of statutes and governing 
 bodies, we might be able to get an idea of a proper 
 constitution ; and I quite agree with you in thinking 
 that no set of statutes should be sealed, say, till two 
 years of trial were over. At the end of the first 
 year we might have a thorough examination of the 
 working of the first draft of statutes, and a thorough 
 revision; at the end of the second year, a second 
 revision and formal confirmation. So, again, as re- 
 gards the internal management : we might get the 
 apportionment of hours, of work, modes of disci- 
 pline and punishment from existing Penitentiaries 
 both here and abroad, and then insert a warmer and 
 more thorough religious system. I doubt not the 
 existing bodies, with their experience, could furnish 
 us with good plans of secular management, if I may 
 so speak ; and we might ourselves well weigh the 
 additions that should be made, in order to render 
 it a more decidedly religious house than those that 
 exist; and in this case, too, we might have a two 
 years' trial. I think it would be no bad plan to 
 open it gradually, so as to feel one's way the better, 
 and get discipline well fixed before the whole house 
 was full Mind, I like to hear all your 
 
212 
 
 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong, 
 
 thoughts: it is well thoroughly to think over the whole 
 subject, from its very deep and solemn importance. 
 I feel great pleasure in all your communications. 
 "Believe me, 
 
 "Most sincerely yours, 
 
 "JOHN ARMSTKONG." 
 
 One most interesting point in these details is 
 the fact that so many ardent minds were con- 
 spiring together, each bringing out of its trea- 
 sures some important feature of the general 
 idea, and adding its contribution to the sum 
 total of intense thought and affection which 
 was now being more and more concentrated 
 from so many different quarters on this one 
 subject. One of those with whom Mr. Ford 
 had corresponded was Mr. Brett, of Stoke New- 
 ington, and it elicited from him a response 
 which shews what deep and stirring thoughts 
 were at that time awakened in men's bosoms, 
 waiting only some slight touch to kindle into 
 energetic life. 
 
 " StoJce Newington, 
 "Sep. 13, 1848. 
 " My dear Mr. Ford, 
 "I hope you will excuse all faults, as I sit down 
 late after a fatiguing day to make a few remarks on 
 the very interesting letters which you have sent me. 
 The subject of them has long so touched my inmost 
 
The Clmrcli Penitentiary Cause. 213 
 
 heart, that if I had possessed time, money, and influ- 
 ence, I should have made some effort to rescue those 
 unhappy beings from their sin and degradation. 
 
 o Archdeacon Manning has already expressed 
 
 his feelings on this subject. He says, in his sermon 
 preached at the Magdalen Hospital, — ' It is urgently 
 necessary, 1st, that these institutions be greatly en- 
 larged, for the reception of Penitents in London 
 alone ; 2ndly, that institutions of the same kind be 
 formed in the country : for instance, in all our large 
 and more populous towns. A Magdalen Hospital 
 would be of the greatest benefit in every diocese ; 
 the parochial clergy would feel thankful for such an 
 efficient auxiliary to their pastoral ministry/ &c. 
 How remarkably the same thoughts have occurred 
 to Mr. Armstrong, Is it not a voice from God ? 
 
 . . I would therefore exhort your worthy 
 
 friend to go forward in the love and might of Him 
 who has enkindled the desire in his heart ; go for- 
 ward in the resistless power of calm, unwavering 
 faith, and the work will prosper in his hand. Let 
 him use the instrumentality already enlisted, and 
 then, instead of advertisements, let him put forth 
 an address full of burning thoughts and burn- 
 ing words, offering himself and asking for support, 
 and the means will assuredly come. I would put 
 away all thoughts of a fine building and a large 
 number of inmates, and begin in a small way, so as 
 to let the institution gradually expand. To com- 
 mence with a house full of such women would break 
 
214 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 the heart and spirit of any man. There would 
 
 be no difficulty in procuring a commodious and 
 
 suitable house near London, or, at least, one which 
 
 a few hundred pounds would fit up for the purpose. 
 
 Having thus far organized the institution, it would 
 
 be well worthy of serious consideration how far 
 
 a well-selected council might be necessary to give 
 
 stability and permanency to it. But on this matter 
 
 we will talk on Tuesday. 
 
 * # •» # # 
 
 " Thursday morning. — How would it do to have 
 a Warden, Sub-Warden, and Sisters, governed by a 
 body of fixed statutes, and subject to the visitorial 
 power of the diocesan ? I think it would be very 
 unsafe in most cases to give recommendations after 
 so short a period as two years, unless in such cases 
 as mentioned in page 6 of Magdalen Report. In 
 other cases, you have not only to break the strength 
 of the most powerful and soul-enslaving sins, but 
 you have to impart new life and power to a palsied 
 soul, which will be repeatedly borne down by the 
 
 fierce assaults of a strong temptation I 
 
 must apologise, my dear Sir, for this rambling and 
 prosy letter, which I trust you will excuse. I hope 
 I need not say how ready I shall be to throw 
 the energies of a loving heart and resolute will into 
 the cause, which has so long dwelt upon my con- 
 science; I will spare no pains to enlist the sym- 
 pathies and obtain the support of all good people. 
 
 " With the highest admiration of Mr. Armstrong s 
 
The Church Penitentiary Cause. 215 
 
 zeal, energy, and self-devotion, and with earnest 
 prayers for his success, 
 "I remain, 
 
 " My dear Mr. Ford, 
 
 " Tours sincerely, 
 
 "R BEETT." 
 
 Among other questions that came under con« 
 sideration at this time was that of endow- 
 ments. Some persons entertained doubts of their 
 expediency. It was feared lest they tended 
 to generate inactivity, by removing one great 
 stimulus to exertion. These doubts drew forth 
 some judicious remarks from Mr. Armstrong, in 
 a letter which also contains the fuller expres- 
 sion of an idea already slightly mentioned, 
 viz., that of providing in the proposed houses 
 the means of permanent shelter for such Peni- 
 tents as seemed to be too weak ever again 
 to bear the difficulties or temptations of the 
 world. In a letter of later date, Mr. Armstrong 
 speaks again of such a provision, as " a point 
 in my mind of the highest importance." 
 
 " Tidenham Vicarage, 
 "Sept. 16, 1848. 
 "My deak Ford, 
 " Your zeal in our cause is perfectly refreshing, 
 and truly your friends seem to have good hearts 
 
216 
 
 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong, 
 
 too for this great work. It is of infinite use to 
 have the subject thus working in many minds, and 
 thus looked at in all possible lights. The very 
 difficulties of the undertaking claim earnest deli- 
 beration ; its awfulness as a religious work rises 
 before me in increased and increasing size. "When, 
 indeed, one considers the immense mass of wanderers 
 who are yearning for such a house, I do feel anxious 
 that some great work should be set on foot : as so 
 many souls are perishing every year, time is indeed 
 important ; if one hundred women press for admission, 
 it is sad to be compelled to drive them back. Again, 
 are we not to consider the duty of male penitents ? 
 I can imagine great penitential offerings coming 
 from individuals by way of restitution, when the 
 subject is put before them in a plain, strong way. I 
 feel that, for the sake of such male penitents, we 
 should ask help for a great institution. It is this 
 consideration that prompted me to speak of ' adver- 
 tisements :' surely we should give publicity to our 
 work, that male penitents might know where to 
 give alms. Prom most unexpected quarters such 
 alms might often come. There is a difference be- 
 tween 'puffing' and really giving the members of 
 the Church Jcnoivledge of our proposed institution 
 and opportunity of aiding it. Size, too, is required 
 in the House of Mercy, if we are to have permanent 
 inmates, who may there be sheltered from the ' slip- 
 pery places' of the world. And my feeling deepens 
 of the importance of not only allowing, but encourag- 
 
The Church Penitentiary Cause. 217 
 
 ing the Penitents to stay, instead of hurrying them 
 out to make way for fresh applicants, as, I fear, is 
 the case in the confined and imperfect institutions 
 now at work. Of course, if we have a large institu- 
 tion, we must increase the staff. Thus, supposing it 
 is to hold one hundred, there should be a Warden and 
 two Sub-Wardens, and a sisterhood of ten widows ; 
 that is, allotting ten of the women to each of the 
 Sisters, and about thirty to each clergyman. I 
 am supposing two branches, one of permanent, the 
 other of temporary inmates. I cannot myself see 
 the objection to endowment for such an insti- 
 tution, nor quite go along with the idea that faith 
 is weak when endowment is desired. "We must 
 remember that the divine system of tithes is a 
 system of endowment : and though, of course, the 
 Wardenship might be looked upon as a l piece of 
 preferment/ we should not get rid of that idea by 
 refusing endowment. Take, for instance, the exist- 
 ing Magdalen Hospital : a post of some £300 or £400 
 per annum, made by subscriptions, might be sought 
 for by men not sufficiently devoted to the work. 
 We shall not escape this possibility either way. On 
 the other hand, moreover, in a post of such intense 
 anxiety as that of the Warden, I think it a great 
 matter to remove by a reasonable and moderate 
 endowment, all monetary anxiety from the mind of 
 the Warden. With the weight of such an insti- 
 tution on his soul, he should have little to think of 
 as to worldly means, and have a fixed unfluctuating 
 
218 
 
 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 income. My idea is, there should be sufficient endow- 
 ment to support the officers of the house, and that 
 the rest should be supported by subscriptions. I 
 happen to know that the head of an existing un- 
 endowed institution cannot always meet demands on 
 his private purse, and has his monetary trials : you 
 little suspect who it is. Give a fixed and not 
 ambitious stipend, and then monetary trials are the 
 faults of ill-managing Wardens, and are not charge- 
 able to the character of the institution. I also 
 regard again the male penitents. I can fancy many 
 bent on offering endowment, and wishing by this 
 means to secure permanency to such a house. Under 
 any circumstances, there will be fluctuations in the 
 zeal, devotedness, and fitness of the presiding powers. 
 Neither endowment nor non-endowment will secure 
 us from these spiritual fluctuations. Mind, I am 
 not speaking in an interested way on the sub- 
 ject, for I assure you I do feel, as the whole awful- 
 ness of the question comes nearer to me and in a 
 stronger light, my own unfitness for the "Warden's 
 post. I say this in no mock humility, — and God 
 forbid that I should shrink from any call ; but while 
 I would labour with all my heart and strength for 
 the establishment of such a House of Mercy, and am 
 feeling an increasing intensity of interest in the 
 cause; while I am prepared to ask the Church to 
 trust me, and to devote myself, with such friends as 
 seem rising round us, with all the powers God has 
 given me, to the formation of this House of Peni- 
 
The Church Penitentiary Cause. 219 
 
 tents ; yet I do tremble at the thought of under- 
 taking myself so very great a spiritual work as 
 that of being the guide of the Penitents. I think 
 a devoted man might be found, of mature piety, 
 combining tenderness and strictness, who might be 
 appointed to the post w 7 hen we had got all things 
 ready. I think you will recollect that in one of my 
 former letters I felt myself in a ' strait between two/ 
 feeling that the duty of remaining here, in the pecu- 
 liar position of this parish, was to be considered, and 
 yet not knowing whether there were a call to this 
 different work. This is to me personally a most 
 anxious question. At present I can, however, at 
 least devote myself, with my friends, to the present 
 formation of the institution. I think it might be 
 of use to come up to Town, and have a good thorough 
 talk of the whole matter with yourself and your 
 friends. It certainly appears to me that God is 
 opening the way to us to do something on behalf of 
 our erring members. You could tell me what is 
 the most convenient time for a consultation. Your 
 own letters and those of your friends quite excited 
 me this morning, and my pulse has not yet quite 
 returned to the even tenor of its way. "With all 
 kind remembrances, 
 
 "Believe me, 
 
 u y erv sincerely yours, 
 
 "JOBjST AEMSTEONG." 
 
 " On consideration, I am inclined to qualify my 
 
220 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 remarks as to size. Perhaps it would be best to 
 begin with, thirty inmates and a well-proportioned 
 staff, so that individual character might be thoroughly 
 cared for and understood, and not to let it ever 
 admit of more than one hundred. That is enough 
 for any single Penitentiary, and sister Penitentiaries 
 might spring up in various parts. 
 
 " I wrote all this on Saturday night. I seem 
 to have spoken almost too much about endowment. 
 Let me not be misunderstood ; I do most earnestly 
 want it to be a work of faith. " 
 
 Mention occurs in some of the letters written 
 at this time, of emigration, as affording one im- 
 portant means of future provision for reclaimed 
 Penitents. It is to be observed, that, at least 
 on the scale then contemplated, experience 
 has hitherto failed to verify such expectations. 
 The unsettlement and difficulty of supervision 
 during the voyage ; the uncertainty of proper 
 care on landing ; the fact of a lower standard 
 of morality prevailing, at least in many parts 
 of the colonies, in comparison with that of the 
 mother country, and the risk of finding due 
 spiritual care, together with the certain cost of 
 the passage and outfit, — combine to render the 
 experiment hazardous, and have hitherto pre^ 
 vented its being made, except in a few rare 
 cases. 
 
The Church Penitentiary Cause. 221 
 
 On the other hand, experience has altogether 
 disproved the fears which existed, and were ex- 
 pressed in these letters, of unmarried women 
 entering a Sisterhood for the care of Penitents. 
 That the sisters must needs be widows was 
 perhaps a not unnatural feeling, before the 
 experiment had been made. But the clergy 
 who have been subsequently engaged in this 
 work, unanimously agree in feeling that such 
 fears were groundless. Mr. Armstrong's views 
 changed, as he gained more experience. 
 
 Shortly after the above letter was written, 
 he speaks on the subject in an altered tone. In 
 a letter dated Oct. 3, 1848, he says, — "As re- 
 gards the Sisterhood, I somewhat prefer widows 
 to single women, though, perhaps, it would not 
 be desirable positively to exclude them." He 
 was still speaking theoretically, and the writer 
 of this Memoir had the opportunity of knowing 
 that subsequently, when these communities 
 began to be formed, he perceived that there 
 was neither any risk to single women them- 
 selves, nor any deficiency of power in their 
 dealing with Penitents. As a necessary safe- 
 guard, a very stringent rule is always observed, 
 that the Penitents should not speak to the 
 Sisters of their past sins,— a rule which is the 
 more easy to enforce, because the Penitents 
 
222 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 instinctively shrink from such disclosures be- 
 fore the Sisters. The only knowledge which 
 the Sisters have, is that they are dealing with 
 sinners whose faults, as they appear in their 
 conduct within the house, they have to cor- 
 rect, and to whose minds and hearts they 
 have to impart the knowledge of a pure re- 
 ligious life. 
 
 The proposed meeting in London was now 
 urged to take place without delay, as appears 
 from a letter of Mr. Ford's, in which he says, 
 — " I should say the earliest day would be the 
 best for your visit to London, as nothing is to 
 be gained by delay. Please give as long a 
 notice as you can of your plans, that I may 
 secure Chester, Crompton, Butterfield, and 
 Dalton, to meet you. Do not hurry your 
 visit, I pray you, for nothing is well done 
 that is hastily done, and surely the most mo- 
 mentous consequences may be expected from 
 the course you may eventually decide upon." 
 Mr. Ford's observation, that at the proposed 
 meeting the selection of a Warden for the 
 House of Mercy, and the question of his (Mr. 
 Armstrong's) offering himself for such an office, 
 would be taken into consideration, led to the 
 following letter in reply. The strong sense of 
 duty, and close watchfulness over his own im- 
 
The CliurcTi Penitentiary Cause. 223 
 
 pulses and inclinations, in this perhaps the 
 most exciting question that ever pressed upon 
 his mind, as well as the lowly sense of his 
 own powers, and love of his parish, which habi- 
 tually influenced him, come out very strikingly 
 in this letter, and invest it with peculiar in- 
 terest : — 
 
 " Tidenham Vicarage, 
 "Friday, Sept. 22, 1848. 
 "Mydeae Fokd, 
 
 " No letter can convey what I want to say, yet I 
 will just ease my mind of a few thoughts, till I can 
 talk out the several points that rise before me. And 
 first of all, I will call to your recollection what I said 
 in one of my former letters, as that is a sort of text 
 of all my present remarks. I told you, if you re- 
 member, that when my heart was warming with this 
 cause, I had an impulse to offer myself to the work 
 as a sort of founder, and as something more — as the 
 conductor of the work when fairly launched; but 
 that after this impulse, I had my doubts how far I 
 was justified in quitting my present post, or in going 
 beyond a sort of originator ship of a good Penitentiary, 
 i.e. how far I ought to offer myself as conductor of 
 the institution when formed. 
 
 "Now these doubts still meet me. I do not see 
 my way plain before me, and yet I desire most 
 strongly to put aside all worldly considerations what- 
 
224 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 ever, and simply to search out my line of duty. 
 There is much on each side that seems to draw me ; 
 I am in a strait between two. Now as this is the 
 case, it seems a matter of duty not at once, or sud- 
 denly, to offer myself to the post of "Warden, for that 
 would be cutting the knot which deliberation, prayer, 
 and the strict counsel of my most religious and free- 
 speaking friends, are the most providential means of 
 untying. I think it would be best to keep the 
 Wardenship a reserved question, a matter to be set- 
 tled by-and-by ; and I am more inclined to take this 
 course, because I think 'the cause' should stand on 
 its own merits. If the thing is good, if the neg- 
 lect of the Church has been great, if the system 
 of a most religious Penitentiary, with all the pro- 
 posed apparatus of "Warden, Sub-Warden, a Sister- 
 hood, &c, in which the doctrines and practices of 
 the Church shall be thoroughly and warmly carried 
 out, is worthy of the support of good men, surely all 
 of us should put this cause before the Church in 
 faith ; we should not be a whit less ardent in carry- 
 ing out so great an enterprise on behalf of souls, be- 
 cause the point of Wardenship is not at once settled. 
 If we bide our time, and work this cause with all 
 our hearts, and cast it upon the Church in perfect 
 trustfulness, should it not be enough to say both to 
 ourselves and others, ' We will do our very best to 
 get as "Warden one who will thoroughly devote him- 
 self to the work, and thoroughly carry out all its 
 intentions.' And I am still more impressed with 
 
The Churcli Penitentiary Cause. 225 
 
 the belief that the cause itself, without reference to 
 persons, is worthy of trust, and would have trust, 
 from the fact of the ardour already shewn in the few 
 minds which it is now leavening. Take, for instance, 
 yourself: what interest had you in this question a 
 year ago ? May not many clerical minds be touched 
 with like ardour, and may not many warm friends, 
 now unthought of, rise up admirably fitted for the 
 "Wardenship ? The chief qualification that stands 
 out to the eye in my own case is simply ardour and 
 heartiness in the cause ; but I see the likelihood of 
 other far more mature and pious minds catching this 
 very warmth. For this reason, I do not see the 
 necessity of my committing myself at once. 
 
 " If, indeed, I thought the immediate and voluntary 
 offer of one mind warm in the cause as mine is, were 
 necessary to its success, then certainly I would come 
 to as quick a decision as possible. Mind, I am not 
 shrinking from a post of anxious duty. If I felt it 
 my duty, I would at once stand forth. But as re- 
 gards pressing the cause upon the Church, with the 
 pledge that the best Warden shall be got whom 
 we can get, I see a plain decided duty ; in short, 
 something I really believe to be a call. Though I 
 have already spoken so much of myself, I must con- 
 tinue so to speak. Soberly judging myself, I do not 
 see any peculiar fitness which I have for conducting 
 such an institution. I am speaking now not so much 
 of spiritual fitness as of what I may call constitu- 
 tional fitness, or an aptness in managing, and calmly 
 Q 
 
226 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong, 
 
 guiding, a corporate body or fellowship. The power 
 of originating is a very different gift from that of 
 conducting. I would not venture to speak of spiri- 
 tual fitness, though persons might trust me because 
 I originated the institution. I know those infinitely 
 better qualified for the conduct of it. But now I 
 come to those Providential circumstances which have 
 all along raised doubts in my mind whether I am 
 justified in offering myself as first Warden : I allude 
 to the peculiar position of this parish. As you know, 
 this parish has not only been singularly subject to 
 change of pastors — residents of ten years' standing 
 seeing in me the fourth vicar — but it has gone through 
 a considerable religious change, I might almost say 
 shock. From a single service on a Sunday they have 
 got to one daily service, to weekly communions, com- 
 munions on festivals, weekly offertory throughout 
 the congregation, and other such things ; and not 
 only this, but a new school is now just about to be 
 opened, and I am already engaged in negotiations for 
 a chapel-of-ease at Tutshill, near the new school, in 
 which an afternoon daily service will be observed. 
 Burr a was with me last week, for the purpose of 
 granting a piece of land, and getting Beachley lopped 
 off, and made a separate ecclesiastical district. Be- 
 sides these coming events, the minds of the people 
 after a great shock are settling down, cordially, on 
 the whole, acquiescing in all that is done, and get- 
 
 a The late Rev. Henry Scudamore Burr, his predecessor at 
 Tidenham. 
 
The Church Penitentiary Cause. 227 
 
 ting habituated to the altered system. Now if I 
 was at once to offer myself as Warden, all would be 
 doubt and unsettledness in the people's minds. The 
 chapel-of-ease would not improbably fall to the 
 ground, and when the time of my departure came, I 
 much doubt whether the movement would not be 
 backwards. Now, I confess these thoughts oppress 
 me ; I can hardly bear to think of these 1,200 souls 
 either losing privileges, or not having that increase 
 of privileges which it is my heart's desire, by God's 
 blessing, to offer them. Add to which, the place 
 has so agreed with me, that I have been capable of 
 far greater exertions than in any portion of my life. 
 Now when I set these things before me, I do feel a 
 hesitation in at once giving up the rule of this flock. 
 I assure you, by God's help, I only want to see my 
 way. Could I be subsequently convinced that many 
 of my thoughts about a backward movement here 
 were imaginary, or that I ought to undertake the 
 Penitentiary, I will, by God's help, take the post, 
 I feel I am too much speaking of myself, for I think 
 in six months' time our little body of friends will 
 see many instruments rise to their hands, who will 
 at once strike them as best fitted for the presidency 
 of the House of Mercy. I have not talked of my 
 private circumstances ; of these I will speak more at 
 length when we meet. I will only say, my own 
 private means are next to nothing. As regards 
 wife and children, a point on which I will also 
 speak more at length when we meet, and am most 
 
228 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 anxious on, yet I may now say that, -whatever is a 
 father's Providential course, I believe is the Provi- 
 dential course of wife and children. I am ready to 
 trust them into God's hands, and I can even see 
 amid some trials, and disadvantages and points of 
 difficulty, there might be something in their father's 
 post in such an institution, which would help more 
 entirely to separate them from the world. Ab- 
 stractedly, perhaps, I should say a childless married 
 clergyman would make the best "Warden, but of 
 course it is not always easy to find one in such 
 circumstances. Having clone my best to express by 
 letter what it is difficult thoroughly to go through 
 on paper, I will only observe, in conclusion, that 
 I have not dwelt at any length on the reasons which 
 seem to draw me to the Wardenship, as they would 
 more easily be seen by yourself. 
 
 " Believe me, dear Pord, 
 
 "Most sincerely yours, 
 
 "JOHN AEMSTEOJSTG. 
 "I, of course, write this with the view of having 
 your candid comments on my position." 
 
 Among other subjects which were necessa- 
 rily pressed on Mr. Armstrong's mind in con- 
 nexion with this great movement, was that of 
 confession ; for it was impossible to contem- 
 plate any earnest dealing with Penitents, with- 
 out laying down some principles of private 
 
The Church Penitentiary Came, 229 
 
 spiritual intercourse between them and the 
 Chaplain. The subject was not new to Mr. 
 Armstrong. In the " Sermons on the Festi- 
 vals/' preached at Exeter, he had expressed 
 himself with his wonted earnestness on the 
 loss incurred through lack of spiritual disci- 
 pline and confession of sin, in the case of those 
 whom the Spirit of God has stirred to repent- 
 ance after grievous sin. 
 
 In Sermon XXIII., on " Christ's Ministers 
 Sons of Consolation/' he thus speaks : — 
 
 " Does not our impatience for the consolations of 
 the Gospel strongly mark the religion of the day ? 
 We are all in haste to escape the sight of sin, and 
 there is little to check us in our hasty steps towards 
 peace with God, when we have felt the deceitfulness 
 and hollo wness of the peace of the world. Our Church 
 confesses to this impatience ; for while she long since 
 expressed her desire to restore some penitential dis- 
 cipline, to put grievous sinners to some open shame, 
 she contented herself with such an expression of her 
 desire, feeling that she spoke what she could not 
 effect. And now the case is even worse; men are 
 less disposed to submit to any such abasement for 
 their sins. We are almost without discipline. Men 
 join the Church, or leave it, or return to it again, 
 without reproof, without trial, without any act of 
 reconciliation, without any confession of sorrow. 
 Notorious sinners are suffered to remain ; the sores of 
 
230 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 the body are not cut out and excommunicated, but 
 visibly bring it into disrepute ; our borders are loosely 
 kept ; there is laxness, and want of rule, and a readi- 
 ness to admit or retain without enquiry, without 
 care. When notorious sinners seem to be desiring 
 to repent, they are allowed to yield to their natural 
 desire to escape pain ; they are not schooled to their 
 great work, nor set tasks of penitence, nor restrained 
 from the fullest privileges of the Church, but are 
 suffered to step on ever so boldly, according to their 
 own will, without any course of humiliation. And 
 though individuals, by rules and tasks of their own, 
 by keeping themselves under the yoke of godly sor- 
 row, and by striving against impatience, may by 
 God's grace perfect their repentance, in others the 
 inward work is rendered imperfect from very haste. 
 The whole work of repentance is unwatched and 
 undirected, without system, or deliberateness, or a 
 sufficient space for its full performance ; every man 
 repents according to his own fashion. 
 
 "And yet the formal confession of sin, when it 
 has been dark and grievous, is a wholesome task for 
 the soul from its very painfullness ; it is humbling, 
 it is a breaking of the heart, it is the active subjec- 
 tion of natural pride ; we are all conscious how hard 
 it is to confess faults even when we feel them ; it is 
 something beyond feeling them, it bespeaks a more 
 thorough repentance, it is the act of a deeper sorrow 
 to make confession, and to overthrow that pride 
 which would refrain our lips." 
 
The Church Penitentiary Cause. 231 
 
 About the time of which we are now speak- 
 ing, he also expressed, in a popular way, his 
 sense of the need and the benefit of reviving 
 the Church's rule of confession for burdened 
 consciences. The passage alluded to occurs 
 in the fourth number of the "Tracts for the 
 Christian Seasons," one written by himself: — 
 
 " Suppose you have committed sin, and the sin 
 sits so heavily upon your soul that you cannot rest ; 
 that though you make confession to the Lord, yet 
 you feel it would be a relief to confess it also to 
 some man of God ; your Bible sanctions such method 
 of relief, for St. James expressly says, c Confess your 
 faults one to another.' But to whom could you the 
 better lay open your sores, to whom could you better 
 unbosom and unburden yourself of this load, than to 
 him who is set over you in the Lord, who is ap- 
 pointed to keep watch over your soul ? Not only, 
 too, would he give you ease, by tenderly hearing the 
 confession of your sins, and by keeping all you con- 
 fess within the depths of his own heart, but he is 
 gifted with still greater powers of consolation ; he is 
 empowered to pronounce, in the Name of God, the 
 absolution and remission of sins to ' all them that 
 truly repent and unfeignedly believe His holy Gos- 
 pel. ' You might tell your sins to other friends, but 
 other friends would have no such power of removing 
 your burden. In the exhortation to the Holy Com- 
 munion, after being pressed to confess your sins unto 
 
232 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 God, you are told in your Prayer-book, that ' if there 
 be any of you who by this means cannot quiet his 
 own conscience herein, but requireth further comfort 
 or counsel, let him come to me, or to some other dis- 
 creet and learned minister of God's Word, and open 
 his grief; that by the ministry of God's holy Word 
 he may receive the benefit of absolution, together 
 with ghostly counsel and advice, to the quieting of 
 his conscience, and avoiding of all scruple and doubt- 
 fulness; " 
 
 It became necessary, in forming plans for 
 the spiritual guidance of the proposed House 
 of Mercy, to decide on a definite course to be 
 pursued in this important particular; and in 
 the course of the correspondence which was 
 now going on, Mr. Armstrong thus expressed 
 his views to his friend : — 
 
 "As regards confession, I quite think with you 
 that the Penitents, who ought all to have been ex- 
 communicated, should make a formal confession, and 
 receive absolution, before they should be allowed to 
 receive the Holy Communion; and that with the 
 Sisters it should be an open question.' ' 
 
 The writer had the opportunity of knowing, 
 from private intercourse with Mr. Armstrong, 
 that he felt the need of great caution and 
 soberness, to prevent the possible abuse of this 
 means of grace, and that experience alone 
 
The Church Penitentiary Cause. 233 
 
 could decide to what extent it should be en- 
 couraged. 
 
 The difficulties of a real and effectual work 
 in dealing with the Penitents evidently grew on 
 the minds of these friends the more they con- 
 templated it. It is a remarkable proof of the 
 keen practical sense with which they were pre- 
 paring to carry out their plans, that they had 
 perceived the fallacy of the common idea, that 
 those who apply to become inmates of Peni- 
 tentiaries are already Penitents, as their name 
 would betoken. Mr. Ford, in one of his letters, 
 thus expresses what experience shews to be the 
 real, though often little suspected, truth : — " I 
 cannot conceive that the persons who would 
 apply for admission to the House of Mercy 
 would be Penitents in any real and saving 
 sense, but merely weary of the town, disgusted 
 with the hopeless misery of their plight, and 
 anxious not to be outcasts from friends, rela- 
 tives, and the respectable part of the commu- 
 nity. Real repentance and sorrow would have 
 to be produced after their admission." 
 
 But to return to the progress of the cause. 
 Mr. Armstrong's articles appeared in quick suc- 
 cession : one in the " Quarterly/' in September, 
 1848 ; the second in the " Christian Remem- 
 brancer," in January, 1849; and the third in 
 
234 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 the " English Review/' in March, 1849. They 
 were followed by an "Appeal for a Church 
 Penitentiary," early in the year 1849 b . At the 
 close of a letter to Mr* Ford, in which he 
 speaks of the " Appeal," he alludes again to an 
 object continually present to his mind, that the 
 efforts they were making should be directed 
 not merely to the case of fallen women, but 
 also of those who had sinned with them : — 
 
 " I will only add," he says, " that, as you know, 
 I want to do good to male penitents at large, and to 
 give them an opportunity of testifying repentance. 
 A published appeal would reach many who might 
 be glad to see a way open to satisfactory assistance 
 to a satisfactory Penitentiary, — such gifts rebounding 
 to their own good." 
 
 Mr. Armstrong had been exceedingly anxious 
 for the sanction and support of his bishop, and 
 not long after the publication of his "Appeal" the 
 following encouraging letter was received : — 
 
 " My deae Sie, 
 "I have read your tract with great interest, and 
 while I thoroughly sympathize with your feelings 
 towards the miserable portion of our fellow-creatures 
 
 b The Articles and Appeal here alluded to will be published 
 together uniformly with the Memoir, in a separate volume, 
 the Proprietors of the several Reviews having kindly given 
 their consent. 
 
The Church Penitentiary Cause. 235 
 
 whom you wish to benefit, I cordially admire the 
 forcible and eloquent terms in which you urge their 
 cause upon Christian readers. 
 
 94 I shall be happy to advance your project ac- 
 cording to my power, and am ready to contribute in 
 both the ways which you mention,— by donation to- 
 wards the foundation, and by annual subscription 
 to its support. But I must know more of the de- 
 tails of your project, and its probable cost, before I 
 can name any amount. 
 
 " Believe me to be, 
 " "With very sincere respect, my dear Sir, 
 "Very faithfully yours, 
 "J. H. GLOUCESTER and BRISTOL." 
 
 The good news was rapidly communicated to 
 his friend in the following hearty expression of 
 thankfulness : — 
 
 " My dear Ford, 
 
 " The inclosed glorious letter from the Bishop 
 will doubtless fill your heart with gladness, as it has 
 mine. It is indeed a Bishop's * God-speed;' no cold 
 assent, but warm and substantial sympathy. Is it 
 not cheering ? God seems putting it into the hearts 
 of our bishops really to meet and foster the endea- 
 vours of the Church in these institutions, which are 
 new in our own land, and yet so greatly required. 
 Pray make the fact known where you can, as it will 
 strengthen our hands. The same post brought £5 
 per annum from the Dean of Exeter. 
 
 "Yours, in haste, J. ARMSTRONG." 
 
 To the articles above mentioned, and the 
 
236 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 appeal which so quickly followed them, may- 
 be distinctly traced the growth of the wide- 
 spread sympathy with which the cause of Church 
 Penitentiaries has been supported. They de- 
 serve to be studied by any one interested in the 
 cause, not merely for their historical value in 
 connection with this great movement, but for 
 their important practical details and enlarged 
 views of the subject. They met with a response 
 far beyond what was anticipated by the writer. 
 It was the realization of what he himself said, 
 in a letter quoted above : — 
 
 " I believed there was a strong consciousness of 
 neglected duty upon this point among a large class 
 of Churchmen ; and as I think I see a sense of this 
 neglect, a child's hand may set such a cause afloat, 
 which, under other circumstances, an army of giants 
 could not move." 
 
 He was himself destined to be " the child's 
 hand" to whom power was to be given to call 
 out into earnest and combined action these 
 latent energies of the spiritual life of the Church 
 of England. 
 
 There is perhaps scarcely an instance on re- 
 cord in which the successful realization of a 
 theory so rapidly followed upon its enuncia- 
 tion, as in the present case. The "Appeal" 
 appeared in March, 1849. In June the House 
 of Mercy at Clewer, near Windsor, was com- 
 
The Church Penitentiary Cause. 237 
 
 menced, and in the autumn of the same year a 
 similar House was opened at Wantage also in 
 Berkshire, and a move was made in Glouces- 
 tershire, within Mr. Armstrong's own Diocese, 
 which eventually led to the establishment of 
 the House at Bussage. 
 
 The works at Clewer and Wantage arose 
 independently of the plans and consultations 
 which have been above recorded, though under 
 the influence of the same idea, — remarkable 
 instances of that concurrent quickening of 
 many hearts, without mutual communication, 
 which is one special mark of Divine influence. 
 Mr. Armstrong at once threw all his energies 
 into these works, as each needed his assistance, 
 and, although having offered in his appeal to 
 carry out the proposed scheme in his own 
 neighbourhood, he hailed these commencements 
 as an answer to his prayers, and gave him- 
 self with the most disinterested zeal to aid 
 in the establishment of institutions in which 
 he could take no personal share . 
 
 c One of the first Penitents received at Clewer was rescued 
 by Mr. Armstrong himself, from the streets of London, the 
 first-fruits of his earnest efforts. In a letter written about a 
 year afterwards on one of his visits there, he says, — " Had a 
 most satisfactory visit at Clewer ; all going on well. I am to 
 go down on Friday -week to receive Holy Communion, when 
 
 will receive it for the first time It will be an 
 
 affecting day." 
 
238 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 In August of the year following, (a.d. 1850,) 
 Mr. Armstrong became acquainted with Ro- 
 bert Suckling, of Bussage. Their earthly in- 
 tercourse was scarcely of more than a year's 
 duration, but it was one of those deep intense 
 friendships which have only their beginnings 
 in this world, to be ripened in the world 
 to come. On many points of character, they 
 were singularly unlike. Mr. Armstrong was 
 reserved in the expression of his religious 
 feelings ; from Mr. Suckling they gushed forth 
 at the slightest touch. The one looked at 
 every thing with a sanguine buoyant hope- 
 fulness; the other took a much sadder, and 
 even a desponding view of things. The sym- 
 pathies of the one were of a wider, more ex- 
 pansive kind; those of the other, as deep, 
 but more concentrated. The one found his 
 vocation in directing the mind of the Church 
 at large, and establishing the system of Church 
 Penitentiaries; the other in moulding and 
 guiding one special House of Mercy. Both 
 were gifted with an entire self-devotion and 
 great energies. When they met, there was an 
 instant response of heart to heart in the one 
 common subject which had brought them toge- 
 ther, and the differences of character seemed 
 to bind them the closer, from the mutual aid 
 which each in his separate characteristics was 
 
The Church Penitentiary Came. 239 
 
 able to give to the other. They first met at 
 the house of one of the curates of Tidenham ; 
 but it was during a short visit to the late 
 Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol that they 
 had a "midnight talk/' when the idea of the 
 House at Bussage was fully discussed, and Mr. 
 Suckling offered to undertake its spiritual 
 superintendence. Mr. Suckling about this time 
 alludes to his friend in a letter to a clergy- 
 man who had condemned the proposed institu- 
 tion : — " As you mention Mr. Armstrong, I will 
 add that he is a personal friend, with whom I 
 have often held sweet counsel, from whose eyes 
 I have often seen tears flow, as we have spoken 
 together of this blessed work for reclaiming 
 sinners. Alas ! must I throw in my lot with 
 him, and take the opprobrious term by which 
 you call him to myself?" 
 
 A letter of Mr. Suckling's to Mr. Armstrong, 
 dated March 10, 1851, has been already pub- 
 lished in Mr. Isaac Williams' Memoir. The 
 next letter of Mr. Suckling's which has been 
 preserved is dated March 15, and in it he says, 
 
 " I trust that whether the House of Mercy 
 be placed here or not, yet the love of the work 
 will unite us with no common tie, for I assure 
 you I have never found any one with whom I 
 felt my opinions so to harmonize as yourself." 
 
240 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 It was at last decided that Bussage should 
 be the site of the proposed House, and the 
 work was commenced in a small cottage be- 
 longing to Mr. Suckling, in April, 1851. On 
 the sixth of October of that same year, Mr. 
 Armstrong was present at the anniversary 
 festival of the consecration of the church 
 at Bussage, when Mr. Suckling was far from 
 well, and depressed in spirits. It was their 
 last meeting. Not long afterwards came the 
 sad and unexpected intelligence of his brief 
 illness, and death. His sudden loss involved 
 the House of Mercy, of which he had the 
 charge, in great difficulties, and Mr. Arm- 
 strong occasionally visited it, supplying Mr. 
 Suckling's place as far as he was able, till a 
 successor was appointed. 
 
 In the spring of 1852 a still further ad- 
 vance in the Penitentiary cause was made in 
 London, the Bishop and many of the clergy 
 combining to form a central Society to carry 
 out the new principles on a very extended 
 scale. A comprehensive plan was sketched, 
 embracing two kinds of Houses : (1) Refuges, 
 or Houses of Penitence " of the first instance," 
 into which sinners from the very streets of the 
 city might at once be gathered ; and (2) Peni- 
 tentiaries, or Houses of Penitence "of the 
 
The Church Penitentiary Cause, 241 
 
 second instance/' to be situated in the country, 
 to which the more promising cases might be 
 transferred from the Kefuges after due testing, 
 for the purpose of a more complete training. 
 The Society formed to carry out this plan 
 took the title of the " Church Penitentiary 
 Association," its object being, not to found or 
 superintend Penitentiaries, but by grants of 
 money to assist local efforts in the formation 
 and maintenance of such institutions. The 
 Association is ancillary to all who are engaged 
 in such works, and forms a centre of commu- 
 nication and bond of union between the vari- 
 ous Houses and friends of the cause scatter- 
 ed throughout England. Two points of detail 
 marking this Association are worthy of being 
 noticed. One is the rule, that the members 
 meet once every year to partake together of 
 the Holy Eucharist, as the one true bond of 
 union in Christ. The other is the principle of 
 personal service which, either with or without 
 contributions of money, constitutes the ground 
 of membership ; many of the associates being 
 actively engaged in seeking out the lost, find- 
 ing situations for Penitents when reclaimed, 
 providing for the sale of the work of inmates 
 of the Penitentiaries, or in other similar means 
 of assistance. 
 
 R 
 
242 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 Mr. Armstrong's joy at the establishment of 
 this central association in London, is expressed 
 in the hasty notes which conveyed to his home 
 the report of his proceedings : — " Only time to 
 say we had a glorious interview with the Bi- 
 shop (of London). He has given the plan his 
 formal consent, and gives it heartily ; promises 
 to bring it before the archbishops and bishops. 
 The matter is clenched, thank God. My joy is 
 tremendous." Again, noticing the first public 
 meeting of the Association i — " It is a grand 
 feature that we should receive the Holy Com- 
 munion together. I think it is an era in 
 Church Societies," (alas ! that this should have 
 to be acknowledged !) "as well as in this great 
 cause of the Penitent." And afterwards follows 
 his report of the first meeting: — "It was a 
 striking day yesterday ; all went off admirably. 
 There were 167 communicants; a large crowded 
 meeting afterwards, and a good hearty spirit 
 throughout : above £70 collected, and several 
 fresh subscribers besides. The Bishop of Ox- 
 ford's was a grand sermon, and, at the Bishop 
 of London's request, is to be printed with our 
 Report. I dine with the Bishop of London to- 
 morrow. All the houses are full : much more 
 must be done." Bishop Blomfield's steady 
 support and hearty co-operation, combined with 
 
The CJiurch Penitentiary Cause. 243 
 
 the Bishop of Oxford's earnest and powerful 
 advocacy, were among the chief means of giv- 
 ing to this cause the position it now occupies 
 among Church works d . 
 
 In the course of the afternoon of the day on 
 which the meeting was held, Mr. Armstrong 
 had the opportunity of rescuing an outcast 
 from the streets of London, — the second whom 
 he himself gathered in as the first-fruits of his 
 labours. The following extract from a letter to 
 Mrs. Armstrong is characteristic : — 
 
 "I feel very confident about her case. It really 
 made my heart ache to hear her talk. The only 
 difficulty is where to place her. Every House is 
 crowded and crammed. Now, though you may 
 think me rash and Quixotic, I am really disposed to 
 make a venture, and rather than let her sink back, 
 to take her home with me on Saturday for a fort- 
 night, and then try to get her at the first opening 
 into one of these Houses. This day, being our great 
 day, struck me as though it were Providentially 
 designed for her rescue ; and as I had been speechi- 
 fying, I desired to act up to my speech. There 
 is nothing in her appearance to suggest suspicion, — 
 indeed, quite the reverse,—- and we might really make 
 trial of such a case once." 
 
 d In March, 1854, the Association numbered 399 asso- 
 ciates, including fifteen bishops. 
 
244 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong, 
 
 Some difficulties occurred on the poor girl's 
 part about going as was proposed, and she 
 was placed under the care of a friend in 
 London. Afterwards, when in Africa, he heard 
 of her still going on well. 
 
 Between the London meeting and his setting 
 sail for Africa, little more than a year elapsed. 
 But before leaving England, he saw in addi- 
 tion to the works already mentioned, two Re- 
 fuges established in London. He also attended 
 a meeting at Norwich for the purpose of form- 
 ing a Penitentiary at Shipmeadow, near Bec- 
 cles ; and gave his aid in the establishment 
 of the London Diocesan Penitentiary, subse- 
 quently fixed at Highgate. He also assisted 
 Bishop Denison in his efforts to infuse a higher 
 principle of management into the Salisbury 
 Penitentiary. During the same time the Houses 
 originally formed were extending their borders. 
 New buildings on a large scale were being 
 raised at Clewer. At Wantage the foundations 
 of a new and enlarged House had been laid, 
 and the new buildings at Bussage, planned in 
 part by himself, and erected on the site of the 
 old cottage, were completed just before he left 
 England. 
 
 It might well have been thought a serious 
 risk to so great and difficult a cause, that its 
 
The Church Penitentiary Cause. 245 
 
 master-spirit should be withdrawn, when it was 
 still in its infancy. But it was part of the 
 Providence of God to combine together at the 
 very commencement of the movement so large 
 a number of earnest-minded men pledged to 
 extend and develope what had been so success- 
 fully begun, and, under God, Mr. Armstrong's 
 large and loving heart in giving the first im- 
 pulse to combined action, tended to impress 
 upon all who were associated with him a gene- 
 rous co-operativeness which has survived his 
 own immediate personal influence. 
 
 Much, no doubt, remained to be done after 
 Mr. Armstrong's removal, to extend the Church 
 Penitentiary system throughout England ; but 
 though at work only in a comparatively nar- 
 row circle, it had already become an integral 
 portion of the organization of our Church, 
 and its practical effects, wherever it has been 
 tried, have been so satisfactory as to encou- 
 rage the hope that ultimately it will win 
 the sympathies and confidence of the Church 
 at large. 
 
 Time also is yet needed to complete the 
 system, for a work depending so much on 
 practical experience necessarily requires oppor- 
 tunity to test and methodise many of its de- 
 tails. One important principle in particular has 
 
246 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 yet to be fully developed. It lias been already 
 stated, that the main distinction of the new, 
 in comparison with the old, Penitentiaries, is 
 the employment of self-devoted women serving 
 for Christ's sake, instead of paid matrons. The 
 difference in the treatment of the Penitents in 
 the two cases, and the introduction of a higher 
 Church element, depend on this primary idea. 
 But at first it was expressed only in general 
 terms. The idea had to be formalised, so to 
 speak, in the actual progress of the work, and 
 Sisterhoods, or the system of religious commu- 
 nities, was a legitimate and necessary, but yet 
 a developed advance upon the first simple 
 theory. It is manifestly impossible for ladies 
 to bear the burden of such works single-handed : 
 they need the sympathy and support of others 
 like-minded. Moreover, where even a few are 
 constantly working together, some order is re- 
 quisite to give unity and power to the work. 
 There must be constituted authority and fixed 
 rule, and this according to some Church form. 
 Hence Sisterhoods arose out of the Church 
 Penitentiary movement from the very neces- 
 sities of the case. 
 
 It may be hoped that, in time, general con- 
 fidence will be given to a mode of service 
 which, though until lately unknown amongst 
 
The Church Penitentiary Cause. 247 
 
 us, has been long valued, not only in the 
 Church of Rome, but by all the Protestant com- 
 munities on the Continent % and has already 
 given to those who have had the opportunity 
 of observing its effects amongst ourselves in 
 this special cause of Church Penitentiaries, a 
 very deep conviction of the blessings it is cal- 
 culated to effect. 
 
 e In an account published some years ago of the " Institu- 
 tion at Kaiserswerth, on the Rhine, for the practical training 
 of Deaconesses," it was stated that there were then 100 Sis- 
 ters in that Institution, and Branch Societies in fifteen places- 
 There were also at the same time thirty Sisters in the Mut- 
 terhaus, in Berlin ; at Charenton in the Fauxbourg St. An- 
 toine, Paris, a society of twenty-four Sisters ; a similar society 
 in Strasbourg of twenty-four Sisters, and another at Echallens, 
 in the Canton de Vaud, Switzerland, consisting of fifteen 
 members. 
 
APPOINTMENT TO THE BISHOPRIC 
 OF GRAHAM STOWN. 
 
 The years 1852-3 pressed heavily on Mr. 
 Armstrong. His accumulated and unremitting 
 toil was evidently overtasking his strength. 
 The services and other plans for the good of 
 his parish had been gradually increased. The 
 House at Bussage was still in its infancy, and 
 entailed much correspondence as well as anx- 
 ious thought. The Church Penitentiary Asso- 
 ciation was being formed. In 1852 the Chapel- 
 of-ease at Tutshill, a hamlet of Tidenham, bor- 
 dering on Chepstow, was commenced, and to 
 raise the money, overlook all the proceedings, 
 &c, involved of necessity much care and anx- 
 iety. In 1853 an unexpected increase of pa- 
 rochial work came upon him. The district 
 of Beachley, situated within the parish of 
 Tidenham, had been made a separate cure ; 
 but the patronage was not as yet transferred, 
 as was intended, to the Bishop. The clergy- 
 
Appointment to Bishopric of Graliamstown. 249 
 
 man who had hitherto served it was at this time 
 obliged to leave, and until the new appoint- 
 ment could be made, the care of the district, 
 with its two Sunday services and schools, fell 
 on Mr. Armstrong and his curates. Moreover, 
 he still continued to write for the press. A 
 series of articles on the Penitentiary cause, 
 which appeared in the " Morning Chronicle," 
 were written at this time. He also published 
 some single sermons ; one preached on Lord 
 Somers' death, at Eastnor, Oct. 1852, another 
 in Gloucester Cathedral, for the parochial 
 schools, in June, 1853. During this period 
 also he was preparing materials for the " Na- 
 tional Miscellany/' The " Parochial Tracts" 
 and " Sermons for the Christian Seasons" were 
 not completed till Advent, 1853. 
 
 In August, 1853, Tutshill Chapel was con- 
 secrated. It was an event that occasioned in- 
 tense thankfulness, the consummation of ardent, 
 long-cherished hopes ; but from that very day 
 the decline of his health began to appear. No 
 sooner was the excitement of the consecration 
 over, than he shewed signs of being greatly 
 worn, and a cough from which he had been 
 long suffering became worse. As soon as he 
 could leave home, he went for a few days' rest 
 to his aunt's house at Clifton, where he had 
 
250 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 the pleasure of meeting his friend the Bishop 
 of Lincoln. They were sitting at tea, when 
 the Bishop enquired whether he had heard 
 from the Bishop of Capetown. On Mr. Arm- 
 strong replying that he had not heard, the 
 Bishop said that it had been decided to offer 
 him the new Bishopric of Grahamstown. The 
 tidings came as a shock to his weakened nerves, 
 and the fortnight's suspense that followed was 
 in his exhausted state trying to him. On the 
 8th of September the Bishop of Capetown's 
 letter arrived, asking whether lie would allow 
 himself to be nominated for the See then in- 
 tended to be created. 
 
 Mr. Armstrong at once felt that the invita- 
 tion was a call from God ; but conscious of his 
 inability to judge of his own fitness, he wrote 
 to six of those whom he regarded as his most 
 thoughtful and religious friends, for their coun- 
 sel. The following is one of the letters writ- 
 ten on this occasion : — 
 
 " Tidenham, 
 "Sept. 10, 1853. 
 
 " My deak , 
 
 "As I have now reached the most momentous 
 crisis of my life, I apply at once to you as one of 
 my warmest and most candid friends for your help 
 and counsel. The truth is, that I have just been 
 
Appointment to Bishopric of Graliamstown. 251 
 
 offered the new Bishopric of Grahamstown, at the 
 Cape; and the tidings have so startled me, that I 
 am wanting all the aid I can get from others to help 
 me to decide. "Will you then freely tell me what 
 you think I ought to do. as a matter of duty to my 
 Heavenly Master and to His Church. While the 
 offer seems, as is the case of all colonial bishoprics 
 especially, a Providential one, if I may venture so to 
 speak, do you see any other reasons which should 
 make me shrink from so interpreting the offer in my 
 own case ? I will not write at any greater length, 
 as I can hut ask the same thing — help to decide. I 
 know, at such a time of trial, I shall have your 
 prayers : ask your wife also for hers, 
 " Believe me, 
 
 " Tours most affectionately, 
 
 "JOHjST aembtbong* 
 
 Some days of anxious deliberation passed, 
 during which the question of his appointment 
 was pending. The result was communicated 
 to the same friend in the following note : — 
 
 " Tidenham, 
 "Octoberb, 1853. 
 
 "My Deae , 
 
 " I thank you from my heart for your affectionate 
 letter and your counsel. The matter now may be 
 considered finally settled, though the formal assent 
 of the Archbishop has not come. The Bishop of 
 
252 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 London has just sent to congratulate me. Your 
 advice took the same direction as that of all the 
 friends I consulted. I myself felt it a direct call. 
 I need not say what a trial it is to go, but I hope 
 and trust I shall go with a good heart ; and it will 
 cheer me to think of the warm friendship of my 
 affectionate friends in England, among whom I have 
 to reckon with thankfulness yourself and your 
 wife. 
 
 " Believe me, 
 
 " Your affectionate friend, 
 
 "JOHN ARHSTEONG." 
 
 To another friend about the same time he 
 writes as follows : — 
 
 "After consultation with a few of the friends I 
 could most readily ask, (as I was pressed for a prompt 
 decision,) I have agreed to accept the office. It 
 came in so Church-like a way, was so utterly un- 
 sought for, and instead of being riches, will be so 
 decidedly poverty, that I myself felt it as a direct 
 call, though I wished my friends candidly to tell me 
 whether there was anything in my particular case 
 which would modify that view. The answers were 
 all of one kind, telling me I ought to go." 
 
 The formal appointment came at length from 
 the Duke of Newcastle, then Colonial Secretary, 
 in a letter which alludes in a kind manner 
 
Appointment to Bishopric of Graliamstown. 253 
 
 to the great work in which he had been en- 
 gaged :— 
 
 " Downing -street, 
 " October 25, 1853. 
 " Deae Me. Ae^isteoxg, 
 
 " Having, with the assent of the Archbishop of 
 Canterbury, and of the Lord Bishop of Gloucester, 
 had the honour of submitting your name to her 
 Majesty as that of the first Eishop of the newly- 
 created See of Grahams town, in South Africa, it 
 has now become my agreeable duty to inform you 
 that her Majesty has been pleased to signify her 
 gracious approval of my recommendation. 
 
 " In becoming the means of inviting you in the 
 first instance to occupy so important and responsible 
 a position in the Colonial Church, I was alone 
 influenced by a desire to aid the best interests of 
 that Church, and the steady increase of true reli- 
 gion in a valued and interesting portion of her 
 Majesty's dominions. And when humbly repre- 
 senting to her Majesty your qualifications to be 
 so placed, I had much satisfaction in referring to 
 your early labours in the cause of the Church, and 
 in reclaiming those who had erred from its pre- 
 cepts. 
 
 " I trust you will have found in the experiences 
 derived from these labours, and from those ministra- 
 tions of the Church in which you have been so long 
 and faithfully engaged, a fitting preparation for that 
 
254 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong, 
 
 rule, and for those labours and trials, which you are 
 now about to enter upon. 
 
 " It only remains for me to express an ear- 
 nest hope that a more extended usefulness being 
 thus open to you, will be supplied by your energies 
 and watchfulness ; and that you will at an early 
 period enter upon that good work and solemn 
 charge which I am entrusted to place under your 
 keeping and guidance. 
 
 " Believe me, dear Mr. Armstrong, 
 
 " Tours very faithfully, 
 
 "NEWCASTLE." 
 
 It was shortly before the arrival of this 
 letter, that, being very unwell, and his cough 
 assuming an alarming character, he was per- 
 suaded to consult Dr. Symonds of Bristol. 
 Then for the first time he learnt that he had a 
 slight affection of the lungs. The announce- 
 ment was the more serious, as his father had 
 died of consumption. He resolved at once to 
 see Dr. Watson of London, and referred it 
 entirely to his decision, whether he might 
 reasonably hope to be able to fulfil the arduous 
 work of a colonial bishop. Dr. Watson de- 
 cided in favour of his going to Africa, believ- 
 ing that the climate would be beneficial to his 
 health ; but advised him to abstain from preach- 
 ing, as far as possible, for one year. The 
 
Appointment to Bishopric of Graliamstoicn. 255 
 
 disease was in so early a stage, that hopes were 
 entertained of its being removed by rest, the 
 influence of the voyage and change of climate. 
 This opinion proved in a great measure to be 
 correct. The disease in the lungs, though never 
 entirely removed, lessened considerably, and 
 there is reason to believe, that even at the time 
 of his death it had not advanced beyond the 
 stage which it had reached when Dr. Symonds 
 first saw him. 
 
 The following letter was written to a dear 
 friend after seeing Dr. Watson : — 
 
 " Deae Miss , 
 
 "Dr. Watson, thank God for His mercy, tells me 
 I need not think of abandoning Grahamstown ; that 
 the flaw is at present slight ; that I must rest, and 
 that the change of climate when I do go out in the 
 spring may be of great service. I need not say, after 
 feeling almost hopeless, what light this is to me." 
 
 His letters after this time speak continually 
 of improvement : — 
 
 "The air is foggy, but still I am wonderfully 
 well, though my chest is a little weak with the 
 talking. I go up-stairs capitally, which I regard 
 as the surest test. 
 
 "It is only three weeks yesterday since I saw 
 
256 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 Dr. Symonds. How deeply thankful we ought to 
 be for God's great mercy." 
 
 A week later he says, — 
 
 "I feel really well as regards my chest, and as I 
 have still three weeks before consecration for perfect 
 rest, I expect, by God's blessing, to be quite myself 
 again. It is only four weeks to-day since I reached 
 London, and the change is immense.' ' 
 
 Early in November he planned a visit to 
 Bussage, and on the 7th writes to Mrs. 
 Poole :— 
 
 " Would you kindly send your carriage for me, 
 as I am not able to walk up your hill? It was a 
 very great pleasure to me to hear of your kind in- 
 tentions concerning a set of robes, as it certainly will 
 often carry back my memory to Bussage, and I trust 
 stir up my spirit, when in remote South African sta- 
 tions I robe myself in vestments made in a place 
 which is endeared to me so much, and which is 
 always connected in my mind with a great spiritual 
 work. I often think, at the present time, of our 
 dear friend a , now parted from us, and of the warmth 
 with which he would have prayed for me, and given 
 me a God-speed. However, we know not what is in 
 his power now." 
 
 The robes mentioned, he always carried with 
 
 a He alludes to Mr. Suckling, of Bussage. 
 
Appointment to Bishopric of Graliamstoicn. 257 
 
 him on Lis visitations, and in the rochet made 
 by the Bussage Penitents he was buried. 
 
 One Sunday night, Nov. 13, while at Mitchel- 
 dean, whither he had gone to stand godfather 
 to a friend's child, he thus expressed in a letter 
 to Mrs. Armstrong the thoughts which were at 
 his heart : — 
 
 " I have been feeling very deeply the altered posi- 
 tion we are all about to occupy, and the awful 
 spiritual responsibilities which will rest upon our 
 whole house. I feel that we must give up our- 
 selves afresh to God, and seek really to devote our 
 lives to Him, I must not, however, write more on 
 this point, otherwise I should be up till midnight.' ' 
 
 From Oxford, Nov. 15, he writes home : — 
 
 "All safe here; — enjoyed Eussage very much. 
 Dined with Tweed, Dr. Jacobson, (Regius Professor,) 
 Marriott, Eaton, &c, &c. You will be delighted be- 
 yond measure to hear that Marriott and others are 
 raising a fund to place at my disposal. Other Ox- 
 ford people are going to present me with a pastoral 
 staff. Dr. Jacobson, in his speech with which he 
 presented me, made very touching remarks, very em- 
 phatically delivered, about my Penitentiary labours. 
 Altogether, these acts have quite overcome me, as 
 they took me by surprise.' ' 
 
 About this time he engaged himself to spend 
 Christmas with his relatives at Tidenham, when 
 
258 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 he discovered that it was expected lie should 
 preach, a farewell sermon. He at once writes :'■ — 
 
 " "Will you please beseech the curates to tell the 
 people the Christinas visit will not be the last, and that 
 it will not be a farewell sermon. It quite makes me 
 tremble to think of it. I am not up to it in nerve." 
 
 He never was able to bid his parishioners 
 farewell in person, and when he found he 
 could not bear it, he wrote a letter which was 
 printed, and a copy signed with his own hand 
 was left at every house in the parish. 
 
 On the 28th of November, Mrs. Armstrong, 
 with the elder children, joined him in London. 
 " He came to the train to meet us," writes Mrs. 
 Armstrong, " and was happy and cheerful ; but 
 notwithstanding all the improvement in health, 
 I was startled by the extreme transparency and 
 delicacy of his appearance." 
 
 On St. Andrew's Day he was consecrated 
 Bishop of Grahamstown, at Lambeth Church. 
 The friends who had worked with him in the 
 Penitentiary cause gathered in numbers. No 
 one who was present can readily forget the 
 crowded church, the concourse of clergy, the 
 impressive sermon of the Bishop of Oxford 
 on the burden of a bishop's heart and the 
 power which sustains him, and the first 
 
Appointment to Bishopric of Grahamstoiun. 259 
 
 three English, bishops of South Africa minis- 
 tering the blessed Sacrament. Many were 
 struck with the peculiarly earnest and impres- 
 sive tone in which he made the promises in 
 the Consecration Service. His voice was heard 
 distinctly at the farther end of the crowded 
 church. 
 
 After his consecration, he made frequent 
 journeys, being compelled by means of per- 
 sonal appeals to obtain aid for his future work. 
 After attending meetings at Oxford, South- 
 ampton, and Bridport, he went to Exeter, and 
 thus records his visit to a friend ; — 
 
 " TVe have had a delightful, but of course, in some 
 sense, a melancholy visit at Exeter, and as I had to 
 speak and preach over-much, I am somewhat over- 
 done at present, and feel I have used my lungs too 
 much. However, I have a week's rest before me at 
 Tidenham, though it is somewhat trying to see all 
 our old friends again, and our dismantled home. ,, 
 
 The weather at this time was extremely 
 severe, but it seemed to have no ill effect upon 
 him : damp, not cold, did him harm. 
 
 From Tidenham he went to Clifton, where 
 he was constrained to give himself entire rest. 
 At Bath he received a very kindly reception, 
 and found great interest shewn in his work by 
 
260 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 many of the clergy who held views very dif- 
 ferent from his own. It was a peculiar joy to 
 him, for he was always most anxious to seize 
 upon points of agreement, and hold Christian 
 fellowship, wherever it could be had without 
 conceding principle, with men of discordant 
 opinions. 
 
 He attended meetings also at Durham and 
 Sunderland, the scene of his father's earlier 
 life:— 
 
 " A very warm reception," he writes from Sunder- 
 land : " church crammed in the evening, and col- 
 lection much larger than usual. Old friends of my 
 father's came into the vestry, and I was somewhat 
 overcome by all that was said." 
 
 On his return, he attended at Norwich a 
 meeting in aid of the proposed House of Mercy 
 at Shipmeadow. On the 13th of March he 
 writes from Oxford: — 
 
 " Though very much tired, I am very fresh to- 
 day. Yesterday was a long day : service from 9 to 
 half-past 11, then St. Mary's at 2, with sermon." 
 
 It was the Bishop of Oxford's ordination, at 
 which he preached the sermon which was after- 
 wards published in the volume of "Parochial 
 Sermons," on the text, " I will very gladly 
 spend and be spent for you :" — 
 
Appointment to Bishopric of Grahamstown. 261 
 
 " Then service at St. Mary's, at half-past 6 ; then 
 a very large and pleasant party at Her ton common- 
 room ; then a wind-up at Archdeacon Gierke's, to 
 meet the Bishop." 
 
 During this journey lie attended a meeting at 
 Gloucester, at which he spoke with the warmth 
 and earnestness which so characterized him. 
 A clergyman who was present said at the time 
 to a friend, observing how ill the Bishop looked, 
 "There is a fire burning in that frail body 
 which must before long consume the vessel 
 which contains it." He preached also at 
 Yatton-Keynell, and on March 16 writes thus 
 from Eastnor : — 
 
 " A service and meeting to-day here, Lord Somers 
 presiding. A splendid congregation at Yatton-Key- 
 nell. ... I was very glad I went to Gloucester. The 
 Bishop himself suggested a special fund. A meeting 
 to-morrow at Ledbury ; then on Saturday to Chel- 
 tenham. I still keep wonderfully fresh, though I 
 am really going through hard work." 
 
 Again from Eastnor, March 17 :— 
 
 " All went off beautifully here : a large congre- 
 gation, then a crowded meeting; Lord and Lady 
 Somers very kind : they are going to give me plate 
 for Holy Communion. It was rather hard work, 
 preaching first, and almost immediately afterwards 
 
262 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 speaking in the schoolroom; hut I am fresh and 
 well to-day, quite up to the Ledhury meeting." 
 
 On the 21st of March his youngest child was 
 born, and from London, which was at this time 
 his head-quarters, he writes to a friend to ask 
 him to be one of the godfathers : — 
 
 " "We purpose calling her Euth : we think the 
 name rather fits one whose lot it is to be taken from 
 her own land." 
 
 The unconscious Euth could not say, " Where 
 thou diest I will die, and there will I be buried ;" 
 but so it was ordained. She now " sleeps" by 
 her father's side in the cemetery of Grahams- 
 town. She is not the only one of his children, 
 who is with him in " the land which is very far 
 away." Little Frank, but eighteen days old at 
 his death, was the first of the " store" that 
 grows for him in Paradise. His body rests 
 in a peaceful corner of the churchyard at Tiden- 
 ham, literally " within the church's shade." 
 
 On Good Friday (April 14), he writes from 
 Micheldean : — 
 
 " I arrived here safely last night, after a very nice 
 visit at Culham, (the Oxford Diocesan Training- 
 Sehool for Schoolmasters). They are training a 
 pupil for Grahamstown, and intend always doing 
 
Appointment to Bishopric of Graliamstown, 263 
 
 so, — a nice link with us ; and I was very glad I went. 
 I am feeling particularly well." 
 
 On Easter-day tie writes from Eastnor : — 
 
 " I preached twice, as I found it was thoroughly 
 expected of me. After the afternoon service the 
 whole parish adjourned to the schoolroom, where I 
 was somewhat overpowered by the exhibition of feel- 
 ing on the part of all the people when the holy 
 vessels were offered. It really is very refreshing to 
 have such a gift from such a place." 
 
 From Kemerton he writes on Easter Mon- 
 day:— 
 
 "It is late, and I am tired. Chalice veils came 
 as a present this morning, so the Communion service 
 is complete. Had a good meeting at ITalvern, and a 
 tremendous congregation here of poor folks." 
 
 After attending meetings at Bussage and 
 Thornbury, and services at St. Mary Redcliffe, 
 Bristol, Wantage, and Dursley, he returned to 
 London, greatly worn and exhausted. On the 
 evening of his return he attended a parochial 
 missionary meeting at Christ Church, RegentV 
 park. 
 
 He was engaged to preach on Thursday, the 
 27th of April, the second anniversary of the 
 Church Penitentiary Association, and on the 
 previous evening, though very much over- 
 
264 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong, 
 
 worked and tired, had no doubt of being able 
 to keep his engagement; but while dressing 
 the next morning he was taken, as it was feared, 
 seriously ill. The sermon was never preached, 
 but was published in the volume of " Parochial 
 Sermons/' already alluded to. After this he 
 was constrained to give up preaching and tra- 
 velling during the rest of his stay in England. 
 His stay was unavoidably prolonged. He in- 
 tended to have sailed at the end of April or 
 the beginning of May, but was detained till 
 July 22, in consequence of not finding any 
 suitable vessel sailing on an earlier day. 
 
 On July 19, three days before he sailed, he 
 attended the great meeting of the Society for 
 the Propagation of the Gospel, held at the 
 Mansion-house, in the City. He was unable to 
 speak at any length, but the following extract 
 from his speech gives some idea of the work 
 which was before him, and of the vision which 
 rested on his heart when leaving his native 
 land : — 
 
 " I go forth in a few days with the very first 
 missionaries of the Church of England for that Kafir 
 race with whom we have been in intercourse for the 
 last fifty years. If the Kafirs abound in the diocese 
 of Grahamstown by thousands, the Church of England 
 has yet done nothing for them. She has not yet 
 
Appointment to Bishopric of Graliamstown. 265 
 
 spent one farthing : she has not sent one missionary ; 
 she has not formed one mission- station. Look at the 
 religious state of these Kafirs. It is not an ordinary 
 state. We cannot go among them as the apostle of 
 the Gentiles in olden days, and point to the altar to 
 the Unknown God, and beginning with natural reli- 
 gion, already confessed among them, unfold to them 
 from that the blessed mysteries of Christ. They are 
 without a God, true or false. They have no wor- 
 ship whatever. They have no word in their lan- 
 guage which represents any idea, however imperfect 
 or however mistaken, of any Supreme Being, that has 
 love and .goodness as His attributes. And therefore 
 is there not given to us the glorious privilege of 
 teaching them that there is not only a God in heaven, 
 but One too Who, in the fulness of His unspeakable 
 love, has sent forth His only-begotten Son, that dark 
 souls may look up to Him for light, and life, and 
 immortality, and resurrection from the dead ? This 
 is the condition of the Kafirs, and it is from this 
 fearful, unnatural, and godless condition, that it is 
 our privilege to raise them, if we will only do our 
 work in time. 
 
 " And then, can any thoughtful mind for a moment 
 look at the edge of South Africa, where God has 
 placed the English,, and think that our mission is to 
 be fulfilled simply by keeping, as it were, a fringe of 
 gold to that dark and benighted land ? Do you think 
 I go forth thinking the diocese of Grahamstown is to 
 be the bound and the limit of Christian enterprise ? 
 
266 
 
 Memoir of Bislwp Armstrong. 
 
 God forbid. Africa is given to us, if we will first do 
 our part. It is sowing the small seed, that shall by 
 God's blessing be a mighty tree. Africa lies before 
 us as a great field for spiritual enterprise, and the day 
 I trust will come when native ministers, taught by us, 
 will again teach the tribes beyond them, and so go on 
 widening and widening the blessed empire of our 
 Lord and Saviour, till the light reaches from north 
 to south, and from east to west." 
 
 Note.— Before his leaving England, the following address 
 was presented to Bishop Armstrong by the Council and other 
 Associates of the Church Penitentiary Association : — 
 " Right Reverend Father in God ; 
 
 " We, the Council, and other undersigned Members of the 
 Church Penitentiary Association, looking forward to your 
 approaching separation from us, cannot suffer you to depart 
 without expressing to you our feelings of mingled, regret and 
 thankfulness — regret at the loss which we are about to sus- 
 tain, thankfulness at seeing you raised up to exemplify and 
 uphold as a bishop those great principles or Christ's holy 
 Catholic Church to which, in your humbler sphere of paro- 
 chial labour, you have been so earnestly and so consistently 
 devoted. 
 
 " We tender you the offering of our heart-felt respect and 
 affection, which you have so well earned ; for, when it pleased 
 God to stir us up to new zeal and charity in seeking to gather 
 in the lost sheep of His fold, that they might be saved 
 through the mercy of Christ for ever, you were foremost in 
 doing the work of the Lord, awakening in the hearts of your 
 brethren the love which burnt so ardently in your own. 
 
 " To us it will be a cause of joy if, in the toil and care, or, 
 it may be, the peril and distress, which now await you, the 
 
Appointment to Bishopric of Grahamstown. 267 
 
 assurance of the warm sympathies of many hearts, and of 
 their earnest interest in your future course, impart to you 
 that consolation of which they only know the power who 
 believe in the Communion of Saints. We ask of you in 
 return that you will remember us in your prayers, that thus, 
 though separated in the flesh, we may still work together in 
 the fellowship of the same Spirit. 
 
 * We shall follow you to your distant home with our best 
 wishes, and with our fervent prayers that He Who has 
 called you forth to this arduous enterprise of building up and 
 extending His Church in Southern Africa, may Himself make 
 you sufficient for these things; that He may strengthen, 
 direct, and comfort you, and so bless your labours that, in 
 the gathering of all nations before the Throne of God, you, 
 together with the rest of our fathers and brethren who, 
 moved by the love of Christ, have left behind them all that 
 was dear to them in their native land, and gone forth to do 
 His will, may * shine as the stars for ever and ever/ " 
 
 
GRAHAMSTOWK 
 
 The first Bishop of Grahamstown embarked 
 at Gravesend July 22, 1854, and on the Fes- 
 tival of St. Michael landed at Capetown. The 
 weather was remarkably calm during the voy- 
 age, so that a service was held upon deck every 
 evening, and during the latter part of the time 
 every morning also. The Bishop thought it 
 right to avoid all risk of fatigue, that he might 
 be fitter for his work on his arrival in Africa, 
 and therefore did not venture to take any part 
 in the service, beyond saying a few collects and 
 giving the blessing. He also administered 
 Holy Communion every Sunday, when possi- 
 ble, in his cabin, for his own party and any 
 others who were willing to join. 
 
 On the 6th of October he writes from Cape- 
 town, giving an account of his arrival and first 
 impressions of Africa : — 
 
 " My deae , 
 
 ""We are all, thank God, safe so far, after a long 
 voyage ; and we are greatly struck with the extreme 
 
Graliamstoim. 269 
 
 beauty of the country, with its fine mountains, and 
 countless flowers. It is a most striking place : — we 
 are crushing geraniums and arums under our feet, 
 and we are looking up on the fine cliffs which the 
 clearness of the atmosphere shews off to their full 
 height. We are not, however, long to dally among 
 these glorious scenes, but start to-morrow for our 
 own less beautiful country of Grahamstown. Port 
 Elizabeth, where I first touch my diocese, is full of 
 Church troubles, though with many bright features 
 presenting themselves in the midst of them; but 
 there is something sad in beginning with internal 
 strife. Two of our missionaries who sailed before us 
 took possession of mission-ground last week, so that 
 the Church of England has at last begun missionary 
 work, and the staff with me go as quickly as they 
 can to the same station for the present, till we can 
 divide our forces. The work before us is immense, 
 and the roughest work is for us, if we choose to enter 
 upon it. As regards health, I am very much stronger ; 
 though my cough has not yet quite gone, it is much 
 less troublesome, and I feel very hopeful about my 
 recovery 
 
 " Yours very sincerely, 
 
 "JOHN GRAHAMSTOWN." 
 
 The opening prospects of his mission the 
 Bishop thus describes to Mr. Hawkins on the 
 following day : — 
 
270 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 "Bishop's Court, Capetown, 
 " Oct. 7, 1854. 
 u My deae Me. Hawkins. 
 u I am thankful to say that we are all safe, so far, 
 after a long voyage, and sail to-morrow for Algoa 
 Eay. "We found the Bishop and Mrs. Gray quite 
 strong and well ; and with true episcopal hospitality 
 they have entertained our whole party of sixteen in 
 their house for the last week, as we could not get 
 on. The Church in this district is evidently getting 
 on. There are signs of increasing strength and 
 vitality on all sides : in my own district more has 
 yet to he done. Thank God, however, the first 
 Church of England Mission among the Kafirs was 
 commenced by Mr. Clayton and Mr. Garde last week 
 at temporary quarters, near King William's Town, 
 in Umhalla's country. They both preceded me, but 
 were not able to get any place to shelter them earlier. 
 Archdeacon Merriman thinks they are admirably 
 qualified for their work, and have already shewed 
 great earnestness, though not directly employed till 
 now. I think, too, the Missionaries who sailed with 
 me will do very well. They got on capitally with 
 their Kafir during the voyage, and worked very hard. 
 There is an immense field open to us, especially in 
 the rougher districts, where, alas ! we are the very 
 last to take the field. I think we ought to take 
 these rougher parts. "We shall want a great increase 
 of help from the Society if we are to do anything at 
 all. The great expense of travelling in this country 
 
Grahamstown. 271 
 
 is swallowing up the means at my disposal. By the 
 time all our party are placed out, I shall have spent 
 the £300, and more, that was the grant for this year; 
 and then I have to begin to support them. "We 
 ought with our staff to have three, or at least two 
 stations at once ; and others are waiting for us. Un- 
 less we take a good stand at once, and enter vigor- 
 ously upon Missionary work, we shall be a bye- word 
 in this country, and shall only be exposing our 
 spiritual feebleness. I cannot, however, but hope 
 that the movement which began at the Mansion- 
 house will have done, and be doing, great things, 
 so that we may look for a great increase of support. 
 Pray remember me to Mr. Vernon and Mr. Bullock, 
 and to any of my friends whom you may see. 
 
 " Believe me, 
 
 " Very sincerely yours, 
 
 "JOHN GRAHAMSTOW. 
 
 u Iam much better in health. 
 " The Rev. E. Hawkins/' 
 
 From Capetown the Bishop quickly passed 
 on to Port Elizabeth. His arrival, and further 
 progress, and first entrance into Grahamstown, 
 will be best given in his own words : — 
 
 " The moon was up when the good ship 'Natal, 9 
 on the 11th of October, 1854, steamed into Algoa 
 Bay. About two in the morning the gun was fired, 
 the anchor was let down, and our voyage was at an 
 
272 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 end. As I hurried upon deck, I saw the town of 
 Port Elizabeth glimmering dimly along the shore, 
 and then felt the reality of having found another 
 country, henceforth to be adopted as one's own. In 
 the morning, when after some delay it became our 
 turn to leave the ship, a strong surf-boat carried us 
 towards the shore; but as it could not get within 
 many yards of it, a group of half-naked Eingos — 
 strong, lusty fellows — dashed through the surf, with 
 a chair for my wife, while our other friends and my 
 children were carried in their arms. As for myself, 
 it was certainly impossible to land with dignity. I 
 had to sit on the shoulders of a strong Eingo, grasp- 
 ing his woolly hair as the waves at first seemed to 
 make him somewhat stagger ; and at last he pounced 
 me down from his dusky shoulders amid a group of 
 clergymen and laymen who had kindly come to the 
 beach to welcome me. We were enabled in ihe 
 evening to go up to the house of God, and so 
 humbly to return thanks for a safe and prosperous 
 voyage. 
 
 ''The next day the clergy, churchwardens, and 
 vestry presented me with an address, congratulating 
 me on my arrival, and touching many topics of in- 
 terest. Though I had now to deal with some trou- 
 bles, and tried in vain to heal differences that had 
 arisen, yet I was pleased with the general tone and 
 temper of the laity. There is ground both for 
 thankfulness and hope. The town itself is tho- 
 roughly English, with good large English-looking 
 
GraJiamstown. 273 
 
 warehouses and ' stores,' — a ' store' being a wondrous 
 receptacle for all manner of goods, from silks and 
 satins down to ploughs and saddles. The popu- 
 lation is English; and at first one hardly fancies 
 oneself so far away from home, till one suddenly 
 swallows a mouthful of African dust, or sees a line 
 of African ox- waggons moving drowsily through the 
 streets, or comes upon a group of Eingos basking in 
 the sun, with their brass armlets and necklaces and 
 blankets. The Eingos — who pitch their cluster of 
 'hives,' if I may so designate their huts, about a 
 mile or so out of the town — form a numerous body, 
 beginning to partake of the good and of the evil of 
 their masters, the English ; some learning their re- 
 ligion, others their drunkenness. I found, alas! 
 that the Church of England had not made any 
 attempt as yet to teach them. The Independents 
 have a chapel in the midst of them ; and as they 
 are first in the field, we must for the present stand 
 aloof, lest we should confuse the half-trained, half- 
 clisciplined nature in any endeavour to shew him 
 what we believe the more perfect way. The clergy 
 now deal with any individual cases brought before 
 them, without trenching on what has been taken 
 possession of by others. 
 
 "On the 18th, St. Luke's-day, I laid the foun- 
 dation stone of a second church, which will be well 
 placed, as the tov\ n straggles a long way on ; and on 
 the 19th I held my first confirmation, a solemn and 
 impressive day. I was struck with the seriousness of 
 T 
 
274 
 
 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong, 
 
 the candidates ; the wholly different position of the 
 Church in a country where it has no temporal or 
 worldly advantage, gives it advantages of other 
 kinds. A good deal of unsatisfactory adherence is 
 lost to it ; people belong to it from real attachment ; 
 at least, there is less mechanical adherence, if I may 
 so speak. The effect of this position I have noticed 
 in almost all the confirmations : as there is more 
 independence of action, so there are fewer who seek 
 confirmation simply because it is expected of them ; 
 it is more thoroughly voluntary, and hence a larger 
 number of the confirmed have become communi- 
 cants than usually happens at home. 
 
 " On the following Sunday there was a special 
 Communion, first, that I might myself partake of this 
 feast with my brethren, both clergy and laity, on 
 my arrival, and also because I determined, wherever 
 it was possible, to take part in administering the 
 first Communion to those whom I had confirmed, 
 that in the young persons* minds the one act might 
 be connected intimately with the other. The old 
 clerk told me he had never seen so many communi- 
 cate at one time before, though I have been glad to 
 learn that at Christmas there was even a greater 
 number. 
 
 " The rest of our time was spent in receiving and 
 returning visits, in accepting many acts of hospi- 
 tality, and in making personal acquaintance with 
 the members of the Church. We thus received our 
 first insight into colonial life — a life distinct from 
 
GraJiamstown. 275 
 
 English, with its own peculiar gains and losses. 
 The scantiness of servants struck us much, and 
 seemed a great drawback on one's accustomed com- 
 fort. On calling one day on the clergyman of the 
 new church, his wife, who ' roughs it' with a cheer- 
 ful and buoyant spirit, told us that the butcher's 
 boy had brought in the breakfast, and that on going 
 into the kitchen she found her own black girl gone, 
 and two strange blacks in possession of it instead. 
 
 " After a fortnight's sojourn, it became time to 
 make our first experiment in South-African tra- 
 velling. General Jackson, the Commander of the 
 Forces at Grahamstown, and now our Lieutenant- 
 Governor, as the first of many acts of considerate 
 kindness, sent us a good mule-waggon, with a span of 
 eight excellent mules and two excellent muleteers, 
 one of them a picturesque, handsome, Spanish-look- 
 ing personage. Having packed ourselves into this 
 vehicle, the fastest that travels on African roads, we 
 commenced our journey. The first effect of the 
 jolts, the jars, the bumps, the tossings to and fro, 
 over these wondrous roads, made us inclined to 
 groan or shriek; but at last it turned to laugh- 
 ter, and we proceeded pretty cheerfully, though, an 
 elbow or a head occasionally got a good hard blow. 
 The first idea of the country was its boundlessness. 
 After the confined, fenced, hedged state of England, 
 we seemed to be at sea, with a boundless expanse 
 around us. Nor was it so African-looking as we 
 expected ; it was less arid, less sandy, less dry — as 
 
276 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 the year had been singularly rainy; the flowers 
 were countless, and our waggon- wheels crushed whole 
 greenhouses, as it were, in a perfectly reckless way. 
 In some parts the herbage was of an aromatic kind, 
 and we pressed sweetness and fragrance out of the 
 earth to scent us on our way, as the good mules 
 jolted us along, and as the skilful muleteer twisted 
 them about to avoid holes and steep descents, with 
 the influence of his long bamboo whip. Driving in 
 England cannot be compared to this for skilfulness. 
 Then we came to 'the bush/ which instinctively 
 suggests to an English mind the rushing out of wild, 
 dark Kafirs, with guns and assegais. In this part 
 of the colony, however, there are no Kafirs in time 
 of peace. The bush itself attracted our attention ; 
 it is totally unlike the thickest copse or brake, be- 
 ing closer, thicker, more utterly impenetrable, as if 
 the earth in these parts had thick, matted hair, quite 
 uncombed and uncombable, and as if all the various 
 plants and shrubs had become perfectly clotted to- 
 gether. 
 
 " About mid-day we stopped by the banks of 
 Sunday Eiver, or rather, in African language, we 
 1 outspanned ;' and after ' knee-haltering' the mules, 
 the muleteers let them loose, to get their dinners, 
 while we spread our viands, somewhat smashed 
 and huddled up together, on the grass, under the 
 shade of some fine shrubs. It was a lovely spot, 
 and we greatly enjoyed the picturesqueness of the 
 scene. We reached a ' house of accommodation' at 
 
Graliamsiown. 277 
 
 night, like a humble village inn. I longed to re- 
 store that good and expressive word 'inn,' which 
 tells so much, instead of this colonial circumlocution 
 which everywhere prevails. The next day, as we 
 had done half the journey > about forty-five miles, 
 our muleteers were resolved to take us into Gra- 
 hamstown. We had some fine views on our way ; 
 and in splashing through one river, the mules, in- 
 dulging in their one defect of not facing water well, 
 in the middle of the stream turned straight round, 
 and looked us in the face. However, a flank of 
 the wondrous whip put all things straight, and we 
 landed safely on the other side. 
 
 " It was getting dark when, we reached Grahams- 
 town, and we found that our proceedings had been 
 so rapid as to have prevented a considerable caval- 
 cade of Church people, who had intended, on the 
 following morning, to have ridden and driven some 
 twelve miles out to welcome and escort us to our 
 new home. I was sorry to have unintentionally 
 frustrated this kindly design ; but, as an intended 
 act of kindness, it was not lost upon us. Arch- 
 deacon Merriman hastened to greet us the same 
 evening. 
 
 " Soon after our arrival, an address was presented 
 to us in the schoolroom, by the Rev. J. Heavyside, 
 the colonial chaplain, on behalf of himself, the other 
 clergy, and the laity. After I had made my reply 
 the evening was spent in pleasant social intercourse ; 
 and the large number of Church people present con- 
 
278 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong, 
 
 vinced me that the Church was not asleep or 
 dead. 
 
 " On the first Sunday after my arrival I preached 
 from the text, ( Grace be to you and peace from God 
 the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, who 
 gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us 
 from this present evil world, according to the will of 
 God and our rather.' (Gal. i. 3, 4.) The congre- 
 gation was very large and attentive; and I could 
 not hut he moved at thus, for the first time, enter- 
 ing the cathedral church, the heart and centre of all 
 future wanderings and labours. 
 
 "The exterior of the cathedral is plain and un- 
 interesting in the extreme; it occupies a noble po- 
 sition, at the end of the broad main street; and 
 though I see vast works of a more needful kind, 
 as regards their direct spiritual bearing, to which 
 I must first put my hand, and for which I must, 
 with an earnest voice, plead with my countrymen at 
 home, yet I do trust I may be spared to see a better 
 and a worthier structure reared as our cathedral, 
 through the joint offering of brethren in the colony 
 and at home. The interior, through the successful 
 exertions of Archdeacon Merriman, the colonial 
 chaplain, and the vestry, has been made as comely 
 as possible, and has, on the whole, a reverential and 
 church-like aspect. 
 
 11 The city of Grahamstown struck us ogrceahly, 
 There is one broad, handsome street, lined on either 
 side, to a great extent, with Kafir booms, oaks, and 
 
Graliamstown. 279 
 
 other trees, with the Drodsty-house and the bar- 
 racks at one end and the cathedral at the other. 
 The gardens attached to the houses are beginning to 
 be well planted, and most of the other streets have 
 lines of the blue gum-tree or oak, which give a 
 green and refreshing look to the town. The hills 
 round it are well formed; and though, generally, 
 we ought to relieve the bareness of them with plant- 
 ing, in one direction there are still some remains of 
 shrub or bush. Flowers, as usual, may be found in 
 multitudes the moment one leaves the town. Like 
 Port Elizabeth, Grahamstown is thoroughly English, 
 and there is plenty of good English feeling. About 
 3,000 Eingos, and Hottentots, and Kafirs form the 
 native share of the population, and there, as at 
 Port Elizabeth, have their ' hives' outside the town. 
 TheAVesleyans have erected a chapel for the Eingos, 
 the Independents for the Hottentots; and as the 
 Church has hitherto done nothing, and the Kafirs, 
 not mixing with the Eingos, have been left alone, 
 I am just about to erect a school-chapel for them, 
 with our Governor's monetary aid. 
 
 " On the second Sunday after our arrival, Novem- 
 ber 5th, there was Holy Communion and a large 
 number of communicants. Since then the number 
 has still further increased, and I hope soon we 
 shall be enabled to have it weekly. "We have given 
 many special Communions on various occasions, so as 
 to multiply them in this way first, and have in- 
 variably been rejoiced to see a good attendance. 
 
280 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong, 
 
 " We were glad to find a good grammar-school at 
 work, under the charge of the Eev. P. Bankes, who 
 thoroughly loves his school and scholars, the true 
 source of all success. ,, 
 
 The journey from Port Elizabeth to Gra- 
 hamstown proved fatal to his youngest child, 
 Ruth. She suffered severely from the effects 
 of the jolting in the waggon, and a sickness 
 came on which never ceased till she died, on 
 the 13th of December. 
 
 The account of the journey is taken from 
 "Notes in South Africa," a journal written by 
 the Bishop, and published by the Society for 
 the Propagation of the Gospel, from which also 
 other accounts of his subsequent journeys are 
 taken. The following history of the Church 
 troubles at Port Elizabeth, which has been 
 kindly supplied by a very trustworthy autho- 
 rity, seems necessary to be here added : — 
 
 "Archdeacon Merriman, who had the temporary 
 charge of the parish during the interval between the 
 death of the previous chaplain and the arrival from 
 England of his successor, the Eev. "W. H. Powle, 
 introduced, in accordance with the rules of the 
 Prayer-hook, the Offertory throughout the con- 
 gregation, and the prayer for the Church Militant ; 
 he also used the surplice in preaching, which was 
 speedily discontinued, as a matter of no real moment. 
 These changes were much resented . by a small por- 
 
Graliamstown. 2S1 
 
 tion of the congregation, some of whom set up 
 a congregation of their own. in an unlicensed room, 
 the number assembling being about sixty, including 
 children ; laymen said the prayers and read printed 
 sermons. They commenced a subscription for a 
 church of their own, claiming the right to appoint 
 their own minister, for whom they required a li- 
 cense from the bishop. The dissidents, as they called 
 themselves, appealed to the Bishop of Capetown, 
 and added charges against the archdeacon's doctrine 
 which they refused to substantiate when called upon 
 to do so. JSIr. Eowle, on his arrival, carried on the 
 service in. the manner appointed by the Archdeacon, 
 and as it was strictly in accordance with the rubric, 
 the Bishop of Grahamstown, on his arrival in his 
 diocese, would not alter it, though he made many 
 efforts to reclaim the dissidents, but in vain. Those 
 who remained faithful increased in love and attach- 
 ment to the Church, and the outbreak, sad as the 
 position of the seceders is, seems to have drawn out 
 the hearty love and zeal of many. ,, 
 
 In a letter to a friend, the Bishop speaks of 
 the state of Church feeling at Port Elizabeth 
 and in Grahamstown, and the last sentence 
 deserves to be recorded, as containing a whole- 
 some lesson to those of us who are apt to com- 
 plain of the Church/ s troubled state in Eng- 
 land : — 
 
 " As regards Church matters, we found good heart 
 
282 
 
 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 and good Church feeling at Port Elizabeth, and 
 there is evidently the same here, but the Church 
 has a severe struggle, and we occupy a very dif- 
 ferent position from that in England. There is an 
 anxious life before me, but I hope I may have 
 strength given me for the work. You cannot tell 
 how calm the aspect of England seems to be to one's 
 imagination, compared with the state of spiritual 
 things here." 
 
 The opening of the first mission to the 
 Kafirs, to which allusion was made in a letter 
 already quoted, and the remarkable manner in 
 which aid was provided for the mission in its 
 first serious difficulty, is recorded by the Bishop 
 in the following words : — 
 
 " In a humble temporary chapel near the kraal of 
 the chief Umhalla, to whom the Bishop of Capetown 
 had promised a missionary, the white flag, the token 
 both of Sundays and of divine service, was for the 
 first time hoisted, and the first call given by the 
 Church of England to the gentiles here. "When 
 Mr. Clayton, the first missionary, told me of this 
 great event, I need not say how full I was of thank- 
 fulness and rejoicing. Soon, however, after this 
 daybreak, as it were, in mission- work, a cloud came 
 on. Circumstances compelled Mr. Clayton to return 
 home. There was not a clergyman who could be 
 sent to fill his place. "We seemed just to be be- 
 ginning in order to leave off, and to hoist that em- 
 blem of peace in order to pull it down. Mr. Green- 
 
Grali amst own. 283 
 
 stock, who sailed with us in order to share 3fr. 
 Clayton's toils, could not be ordained deacon till 
 Christmas; and thus a break in our work seemed 
 to be inevitable; though Mr. Garde, a catechist, as 
 the sole representative of the English Church, was 
 prepared, as best he could, to hold the ground. It 
 so happened, that when Mr. Clayton started on his 
 way from Umhalla's to Grahamstown, the rivers 
 were up, and after some hesitation he resolved to 
 take a longer but less watery route. It so hap- 
 pened, also, that as he took this longer road he fell 
 in, providentially, with the Eev. J. .Hardie, a clergy- 
 man, who was travelling through the country for 
 the sake of his health. The talk was soon of the 
 mission. The result was, that Mr. Hardie turned 
 his horse's head towards Grahamstown, journeyed 
 thither with Mr. Clayton, came to see me, and, thank 
 God, was soon installed in Mr. Clayton's place. I 
 have since made him my examining chaplain ; his 
 health has considerably improved, and I have the 
 greatest reason to rejoice in his devotion to mis- 
 sionary work, in which he shews no small measure 
 both of discretion and zeal. Thus, at the most de- 
 pressing hour, when the plough was in the ground, 
 and no one seemed at hand to drive it through the 
 soil, a labourer was given us. The heaviness that 
 endured for a night was succeeded by the joy that 
 1 cometh in the morning.' The white flag was not 
 hauled down*." 
 
 * Mr. Hardie, who is here spoken of, became the Bishop's 
 
284 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 Shortly after Christmas-day the Bishop left 
 Grahamstown on his first journey into Kafir- 
 land. He has given his own account of his 
 first Christmas-day in Africa and his subse- 
 quent journey : — 
 
 " Christmas- day was, outwardly at least, most un- 
 Christmas-like, and it is difficult to resist the power 
 of outward things. With an overpowering sun, with 
 a hot, scorching walk to church, with flowers looking 
 languid from the heat, with no evergreens in church, 
 with the flowers and green boughs that we hung 
 about our rooms dead upon the walls even by mid- 
 day, it was difficult to believe that it was indeed 
 Christmas-day. Flowers, sunshine, birds, all looked 
 out of tune ; and one longed for the clear frost, the. 
 frosted trees and grass, the hard, crisp road, the 
 church bright with the glossy leaves and berries of 
 the holly. However, thank God, it was Christmas- 
 day, though stripped of its accustomed outward asso- 
 ciations. To the colonist it has not of late brought 
 happy thoughts and memories ; for Kafir wars have 
 been wont to break out about this time, and many 
 English graves have been dug for those whose un- 
 conscious kindred were hanging up the holly happily 
 
 valued friend, and when Archdeacon Merriman was obliged 
 to relinquish missionary work, he took in his stead the super- 
 intendence of the missions. On the death of the Bishop, 
 Mr. Hardie was made Commissary of the diocese by the Bi- 
 shop of Capetown, Archdeacon Merriman being in England. 
 
Graliamsiown. 285 
 
 at home. At this very time there were no slight 
 fears of another outbreak. A general dread of another 
 Kafir war began to arise, and to cloud every man's 
 spirit; the dark rumours ran rapidly through the 
 whole country, and deepened as they ran ; the alarm 
 was soon so great that many farmers ' tracked' at 
 once, as it is called, — that is, got their flocks and 
 herds together, packed up their goods, and left their 
 homes on the border for safer territory. The Fingos, 
 on whom Sir G. Cathcart had relied, and whom he 
 had placed as a kind of living wall of enmity along 
 the Kafir border, were said to be leaguing with the 
 Kafir. There was good reason to believe that some 
 such combination against the white man was going 
 on ; and it certainly seemed but rash to build hopes 
 of peace on the idea of a prolonged and necessary 
 enmity between different portions of the same tribe, 
 even though the feebler portion had once been ill- 
 treated and enslaved by the stronger. 
 
 " However, when these rumours began somewhat 
 to subside, and no outbreak actually occurred, I re- 
 solved to visit our mission- station, to take several 
 towns in the way, and to make my first excursion 
 into Kafir-land. General Jackson was again prompt 
 in obliging us ; and as Mrs. Armstrong was much 
 weakened by domestic trouble that had fallen upon 
 us, I resolved to take her with me, and to introduce 
 her into these new scenes, especially as the General 
 put a good mule-waggon at our disposal, and also gave 
 us an escort through such parts of the country as we 
 
286 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 desired. Packing ourselves and three children into 
 the said mule-waggon, and attended by two mounted 
 police, we started on January 2nd. After nine miles 
 of uninteresting country, we came to the grand Ecca 
 Pass, a good military road, as roads go here — a kind 
 of narrow ledge that the soldiers have sliced out of 
 the side of a steep mountainous ridge. The views 
 were fine in the extreme ; though when one looked 
 down the precipitous crags, shaggy with bush, one's 
 head was inclined to swim round, or one thought of 
 the mule-waggon toppling over. The Euphorbia, that 
 grew thickly in the bush, gave an Eastern look to it ; 
 while geraniums fringed the road-side, and beautiful 
 creepers were rambling gracefully over the rocks. 
 
 " When it began to wax towards evening, we drew 
 near to the river Koonap ; and as we had fully reck- 
 oned on reaching the inn on the opposite side, and 
 had made no provision for a night in the bush, we 
 were by no means gratified to find that the river had 
 risen, and that our muleteers dared not cross. There 
 was no help for it ; so the remains of our luncheon 
 made up our scanty meal. . . . !Nor is a mule-waggon 
 a very spacious bed-room for five. However, we 
 crumpled ourselves up as well as we could; and after 
 an uneasy night we gladly saw the sun rise, and 
 looked anxiously towards the river. It had gone 
 down a little, but the muleteers did not seem quite 
 comfortable; and as it was a dangerous 'drift' in 
 bad weather, we did not much fancy the crossing. 
 However, as some ox-waggons, which are larger and 
 
Grahamstown. 287 
 
 higher, happened to have been detained also during 
 the night, and were now about to cross, the owners 
 kindly lifted us on the top of their goods and took us 
 over, while the mules had to swim for it. "We break- 
 fasted at the inn, and our regrets at the loss of our 
 tea were not so great when we found so thick an 
 atmosphere of flies in the house. We seemed to eat 
 them, drink them, breathe them ; and right joyfully 
 we got into our waggon, and again jolted along the 
 craggy road, with flowers and shrubs beautiful as 
 ever. When the rocky pass was over, we saw some 
 fine extended views stretched out before us. On the 
 calm, quiet day, as we were travelling along so 
 peacefully, the rumours of war could not but come 
 back to us, as our drivers pointed out the spots where 
 many a bitter struggle for life had taken place, and 
 especially where a body of poor Sappers had been 
 surprised and slaughtered by the Kafirs in the late 
 war. 
 
 " We outspanned at mid-day at Liew Fontein, the 
 Lion's Fountain — a significant name, that has now 
 happily ceased to be alarming, as the lions have 
 moved far northwards. At night we reached Fort 
 Beaufort, a town prettily situated, with fine hills 
 around it, in the midst of a rich sheep-farming dis- 
 trict, with a good river running near; but as no 
 efforts have been made to cool the ground with irri- 
 gation, it is hot and dusty in the extreme. The ex- 
 penditure of a little capital on machinery for raising 
 the water would alter the place. We were most 
 
288 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 hospitably received by the Eev. J. Henchnian, the 
 active clergyman of the place. On Friday, the 5th, 
 I held confirmation; twenty were confirmed, and 
 all seemed serious. On Sunday, the 7th, I preached, 
 and took part in administering the Holy Communion, 
 while seventeen out of the twenty who were con- 
 firmed became communicants. On the Monday I 
 received the heads of families, and we had much in- 
 teresting conversation on parish matters and on the 
 general state of the Church. In the evening we were 
 invited by the clergy and parishioners to tea in the 
 Government schoolroom. The room was hung with 
 flowers, and the evening passed pleasantly away ; it 
 gave me an opportunity of making personal acquaint- 
 ance with the parishioners. I was sorry that I had 
 not time to visit Heald Town, one of the largest and 
 most successful of the AYesleyan stations. The ex- 
 ertions of the TVesleyan body, both among the Eng- 
 lish and the natives, have been very great. The 
 only pity is, that a body which did not separate from 
 us upon any doctrinal point, and which did not de- 
 sign at first to exist as a separate body, should not 
 be re-united. It seems now a division without a 
 cause, and both the Church and the "Wesleyan body 
 are necessarily weakened by divided action. 
 
 " On Tuesday we left our hospitable friends, with 
 an escort of two Cape mounted riflemen, and, accom- 
 panied by Air. Henchman and the churchwardens, 
 proceeded towards Alice and Fort Hare. About the 
 middle of the day we stopped at Air. Bury's house of 
 
GraJiamstoicn. 289 
 
 accommodation, and found what, to African travellers, 
 would be called a sumptuous luncheon prepared for 
 us, and no charge made for it. The house itself 
 shewed both the present fear of war, and also the 
 ordinary state of the country; it was flanked by 
 two projecting buildings with loop-holes, and all 
 the front windows were strongly barricaded. In the 
 afternoon we reached the neat little town of Alice, 
 where as yet the Church has done nothing; and, 
 splashing through the river, reached Fort Hare, a 
 considerable fort which lies just outside the town. 
 Immediately I arrived I held a confirmation within 
 the fort, and then I proceeded to Alice, with Mr. 
 Henchman, to hold consultation with the members 
 of the Church. At this meeting it was resolved to 
 raise a building which should be licensed for divine 
 service on Sundays, and used as a schoolroom in the 
 week, till we were strong enough to have a church. 
 This building has since been raised, a school has 
 been opened, many scholars received, good congre- 
 gations on Sundays, and thus another instance given 
 us of that wondrous reviving power contained in the 
 Church, even after long past neglects. 
 
 "In the evening I dined with Colonel Jephson 
 and the other officers of the 2nd at the mess, and had 
 a pleasant evening, missionary subjects being far 
 from unwelcome as topics of discussion. Captain 
 Wolfe kindly got us quarters ; and though the rooms 
 even of the colonel and his wife were but wattle- 
 and-daub, with mud floors and rough beams across 
 
 IT 
 
290 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 the rooms, and calico ceilings, still it was wonderful 
 how the hands of English ladies had contrived to 
 diffuse an air of comfort, and how contented under 
 these rude roofs they all seemed to be. 
 
 u The next morning, when the mules were caught, 
 we again got under way, accompanied by the Bev. 
 H. Beaver, the military chaplain. The country gra- 
 dually grew in beauty as we journeyed on, and we 
 found ourselves approaching the very choicest portion 
 of the diocese. Distant views of the Amatola moun- 
 tains had been already seen ; but now we were creep- 
 ing into the lovely country which they either en- 
 fold or bound. And here, too, we began to see the 
 strange reality of real savage life. There is some- 
 thing striking in seeing man, for the first time, in 
 his wild and rude state ; and as here and there we 
 caught sight of groups of black youths on the plain 
 or in the bush, watching their cattle, I had feelings 
 which I cannot describe. All the youthful stories 
 and youthful books about savage life that one had 
 gloated over with so intense an interest in one's 
 youth, seemed fulfilled before my eyes. 
 
 " "We outspanned at Middle Drift, a small military 
 post, and the officers kindly received us. Kama, the 
 only Christian chief as yet, and one whom the 
 "Wesleyans have been the honoured instruments of 
 converting, lives close to the fort; and as he had 
 paid me a visit in Grahamstown, I gladly returned 
 it. He is a tall, fine-looking man, with a mild, 
 pleasing countenance, and he is always spoken of as 
 

 Grahamstown. 291 
 
 a sincere and consistent Christian. Some coloured 
 Scripture prints which I had given him hung on 
 his walls, and he had carefully covered them with 
 thin paper, as if he only occasionally indulged him- 
 self in looking at them. 
 
 " Captain Houlds worth joined our party on leav- 
 ing Middle Drift, and rode with us towards Fort 
 Cox. We seemed to be driving through the most 
 exquisite shrubbery, the pet piece in some exquisite 
 park, though it extended for miles and miles ; while 
 in the distance rose the grand range of the Ama- 
 tolas, with their rounded folds or plaits, which gave 
 a peculiar softness to their grandeur. Though the 
 space between these rounded folds is called a kloof ; 
 I suppose, in English, it means cleft; yet cleft de- 
 scribes something rather abruptly cut. Not such, in 
 reality, are these green and wooded hollows. We 
 outspanned at Port Cox, and the officers did their 
 best to provide a quick repast, and to shew us hos- 
 pitality. The fort, which looks out on one of the 
 grandest views, is memorable in African story as 
 the place in which the Governor, Sir Harry Smith, 
 was cooped in by the Kafirs. On the road, I was 
 struck with the appearance of some Kafirs. Mr. 
 Eeaver told me they had evidently just undergone 
 the rite of circumcision. It appears that for a cer- 
 tain space they are parted from their fellows, as 
 being unclean, and build temporary huts for them- 
 selves, to which they retire ; and as if in token of 
 an act of purification, they whiten their faces during 
 
292 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 this separation. They have no religious interpreta- 
 tion of the rite they perform. It seems a tradition 
 which has lost its soul, an unexplained and unmean- 
 ing act, or one which has no other meaning with 
 them than the accidental one that they have reached 
 manhood. 
 
 " On we journeyed, Mr. Duff of the Engineers 
 riding with us, as Captain Houldsworth turned 
 back. "We were overtaken on the road by a Kafir, 
 riding fast, whose sole apparel consisted of a pair of 
 "Wellington boots and a blanket. We crossed the 
 beautiful Keiskamma times innumerable, and we 
 envied the mules the cooling which they got in 
 these several passages of the river, as we were 
 undergoing the broiling inflicted by an African sun. 
 Colonel Nesbitt was drowned in one of these drifts 
 last year ; but the water that had then rushed down 
 in torrents within the steep wooded banks, now only 
 babbled musically over the stones. Some of the 
 dips we had to make in the road were certainly 
 rather startling at first ; and as the mules rushed 
 down perpendicularly, I fully expected the pole to 
 run fast into the slosh and mud at the bottom, and 
 there to stick, with the waggon suspended in an 
 upright position. How we went down these pitches, 
 and how we got up again, was a mystery. 
 
 " The road along the celebrated Eoma Pass was 
 exquisite, though the scene was saddened by the 
 account of one of those sudden massacres at the 
 beginning of the last Kafir war of our soldiers, who 
 
Graliamstown. 293 
 
 were passing, with unloaded muskets, entirely off 
 their guard. It was here that Colonel Bissett was 
 desperately wounded, being left by the soldiers in 
 their night. After they had carried him a little 
 way, he contrived to crawl with one leg and one 
 arm, the other side being wholly disabled, a consi- 
 derable distance, scarcely indulging in a hope of 
 life, till at last he saw a Hottentot sergeant, who 
 conveyed him to a place of safety. About five 
 o'clock we reached another military post, called 
 Xeiskamma Hoek, and found comfortable quarters 
 prepared for us, thanks to Mr. Duff, and the Eev. 
 G. Dacre, the military chaplain. 
 
 "I dined at the mess with Colonel Barnes and the 
 officers of the 6th ; and in the morning, after break- 
 fasting with the colonel, I visited with Mr. Dacre 
 the military school, which appeared to be well con- 
 ducted, and then took part with Mr. Dacre in di- 
 vine service among the sick soldiers in the hos- 
 pital. 
 
 " I had been especially anxious to visit the i Hoek/ 
 which by the way seems to mean a piece of land 
 hooked in by hills, because I understood that there 
 were some Fingos in the neighbourhood who were 
 within the range of no existing mission. Accord- 
 ingly, in the afternoon, Mr. Dacre, Mr. Croker, of 
 the 6th, Mr. Finn, the Government interpreter, and 
 myself, mounted horse and rode off to the kraal of 
 a petty Fingo chief. The ride was beautiful, and 
 we had to clamber down a somewhat precipitous 
 
294 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 path, so narrow that I thought some of us must 
 have been fairly skewered by the long white teeth 
 of the Mimosa bush, which threatened our legs at 
 every step. On reaching a picturesque spot, we 
 sent off a Kafir for the chief, who was attending his 
 melies. When he arrived a conversation commenced, 
 and I proposed, through the interpreter, to form a 
 mission among his people. He himself, now an 
 oldish man, stood somewhat in front of his people, 
 his counsellors squatted on the ground near him; 
 the people, with the children, silently listened with 
 the greatest attention, while the counsellors, acting 
 thoroughly as such, prompted the chief, and seemed 
 voluble in their advice. Altogether, it was a new 
 scene to me, and an interesting one, and I could 
 not but feel, as we all stood together, Christian and 
 heathen, how many souls might be hereafter acted 
 upon through this one day's meeting. When I ex- 
 plained my object, and described, first, the religious 
 teaching which we desired to give, and then the aid 
 we desired to render them in the tillage of their 
 land and such-like industrial operations, the chief 
 gladly caught at the latter part of the offer ; and of 
 course I felt that as ' by all means we ought to gain 
 some/ we might well be thankful if any interest we 
 took in their temporal welfare were the means of 
 inspiring that confidence which might afterwards 
 incline them the more to listen to the very Word of 
 Life. When it was fully agreed between us that a 
 mission should be formed, we had to ride sharply 
 
 
Grahamstown. 295 
 
 home, as the night was coming quickly on, and 
 in this country we have no pleasant thoughtful time 
 of twilight. On gaining the Fort we again dined at 
 the mess, and I was glad to find that the officers 
 seemed inclined to take considerable interest in our 
 missionary plans. Since that time, l[r. Dacre, who 
 then volunteered his aid, has toiled with remarkable 
 success as a conductor of the industrial operations, 
 and as an energetic manager of the Fingo mind. He 
 has spent every spare minute among the Fingos, has 
 gained great influence over them, and has paved the 
 way for the missionary whom I hope soon to place 
 as a resident at the station. 
 
 "On Friday, the 12th, we left the Hoek, not 
 without regret. It was a spot that singularly 
 charmed us; and to take the first step in a new 
 mission was a matter of no slight interest. As 
 Mr. Croker kindly lent me a horse, I rode ahead of 
 the mule-waggon with Mr, Dacre, the road winding 
 through soft green sloping hills, covered at the top 
 and down the kloofs with bush ; great blue patches 
 of the Agapanthus brightened portions of the road, 
 and it would take a page to enumerate the green- 
 house flowers that were ' as thick as blackberries' on 
 either side. One English-looking brook delighted 
 us, overhung with dark massive trees that shielded 
 us for a moment from the fierceness of the sun. 
 "Wh.en the heat had become most intense we reached 
 a small military post called * Baily's Grave ;' and we 
 were no sooner safely housed and hospitably received 
 
296 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 by the officers, Captain Bligh and Mr. Williamson, 
 than a terrific thnnder- storm bnrst over our heads, 
 and forked lightning played about in terrible pro- 
 pinquity. After this storm was over we again set 
 out, and found the air considerably cooled. Mr. 
 Dacre was here obliged to turn his horse home- 
 wards, and I had to climb into the waggon, where, 
 after the extreme heat of the ride, I fell asleep, not- 
 withstanding the great jolting. 
 
 " As we got near King "Williamstown we perceived 
 a group of horsemen approaching us, and found that 
 Colonel Pringle Taylor, the Commandant of British 
 Kaffraria, with some officers, Mr. Bell, the military 
 chaplain, and Mr. Parker, the churchwarden, had 
 kindly ridden out to escort us into the town. We 
 dined with Colonel Taylor, and had the use of the 
 Government House. 
 
 "On Saturday, the 13th, I confirmed twenty-four 
 persons, and on Sunday there was Holy Communion. 
 The chief part of the congregation were soldiers, and 
 I preached to them plainly. The new church is 
 still unfinished, though the most beautiful building 
 in my diocese ; it is beyond our colonial means, and 
 now it is too small for the admission both of military 
 and civilians. For many years to come King "Wil- 
 liamstown must be an important military position ; 
 and by the time the military can be safely dispensed 
 with, the civilians will have become too numerous 
 for the church. I wish much for means to throw 
 out an aisle. 
 
Grahamstoicn. 297 
 
 " On Monday we resolved to visit the chief Um- 
 halla, near whose kraal the first mission of the 
 Church of England had been formed. Colonel 
 Maclean, the Chief Commissioner of Kaffraria, who 
 kindly called on me before my departure, was evi- 
 dently uneasy about a Kafir war, and especially 
 uneasy about Umhalla, who, he thought, was now 
 inclined to look darkly upon our mission, and to 
 wish it away. Not without anxiety, therefore, did 
 I start on this visit. Mr. Taylor, the resident 
 magistrate, Mr. Fleming, the former valued mili- 
 tary chaplain of King AYilliamstown, and an inter- 
 preter, rode out with us. After these horsemen had 
 got somewhat ahead, we saw them cantering back 
 towards our waggon, and were agreeably relieved 
 to find that they brought the intelligence that Um- 
 halla, with a group of followers, was on his road to 
 meet us. We accordingly drew up, and the first 
 great Kafir chief I had seen soon reached us, accom- 
 panied by a considerable group of wives and fol- 
 lowers. As we alighted from the waggon they all 
 dismounted, and our first conference commenced. 
 It appeared that Umhalla had designed to catch me 
 in King Williamstown before we started. He was 
 an old man with a shrewd countenance ; and though 
 his wives and followers were all clothed — that is, to 
 a certain limited extent — after Kafir fashion, the 
 chief had confined himself in European clothing. 
 The greeting, to our surprise and pleasure, was 
 a kindly one, and our anxieties were speedily set 
 
298 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 at rest. After a satisfactory chat we distributed 
 tobacco among his wives and counsellors, who thank- 
 fully regaled themselves thereupon. The women 
 were pleased with our fair-faced children, and Um- 
 halla seemed glad to see my wife, as it appeared 
 a mark of confidence thus bringing her into his 
 country at such a time. He seemed a little afraid 
 of the mules bringing the dreadful lung sickness, 
 now raging so widely in the colony, into his kraal ; 
 and we found, such is their police, that he had 
 known exactly where the mules had slept even as 
 far back as Fort Beaufort. Paris in this respect, in ' 
 this noiseless observation of all that is going on, 
 does not beat Kafirland. As Umhalla was so near 
 King William st own, and had other business, he 
 thought it best to go on, promising to return im- 
 mediately to his own place. Much relieved, we 
 hastened on. As the wives of the chief were about 
 to mount, a Fingo passed, and, as if by instinct, the 
 Kafir women beckoned him to stop ; and, as if 
 by instinct, this member of the once enslaved tribe 
 knelt on one knee, the women in turn placed their 
 feet on the other, and using it as a step gracefully 
 leapt upon their horses, riding after male fashion, 
 though shewing considerable modesty. The action 
 of both parties struck us, and was highly charac- 
 teristic of the two natures in these portions of the 
 one great Kafir family. 
 
 "Mr. Taylor soon turned back. Mr. Fleming 
 still accompanied us. We outspanned at a pretty 
 
GraTiamstoicn. 299 
 
 spot, and Kafirs were seen approaching with their 
 baskets of sour milk, — a liquid I can only contrive 
 to swallow in times of extremity, though our chil- 
 dren took to it directly. Further on we saw valleys 
 streaked with Kafir population, among whom no 
 missionaries toiled. Towards evening, as we reached 
 the top of a considerable hill, we saw nestled 
 modestly under an opposite hill the first little 
 mission- station of the Church amid these heathen 
 tribes. It was a scene not to be gazed upon with- 
 out emotion ; and as we stood near the ruins of old 
 Fort Waterloo, we looked thankfully on the house 
 of peace below. The structure was indeed a simple 
 one — mere wattle-and-daub — only one end of it 
 looked at all finished, but that was the chapel, and 
 there was a wooden cross at the east end, which thus 
 visibly declared that the preaching of Christ cruci- 
 fied had commenced among these darkened people, 
 and that in His JSame we had taken spiritual posses- 
 sion of the land. 
 
 " The Eev. Mr. Hardie, Rev. F. Bankes, the Head 
 Master of our Grammar School, who was taking 
 a holiday tour, reached the mission soon after us; 
 and together with Mr. Fleming and Mr. Greenstock, 
 the missionary, we found ourselves forming a goodly 
 company of clergy, while we had also Mr. Garde, 
 the catechist, and Mr. Mullins, a youthful catechist 
 of promise, whom I had brought with me from 
 England, thus gathered together in the wilderness. 
 
 " We ourselves, with our little girl, were placed 
 
300 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong . 
 
 in possession of the best Kafir hut ; our boys 
 wrapped themselves up in the mule-waggon ; the 
 other clergy slept, some in an ox-waggon — some, 
 I believe, in Nature's lap ; and as the night was 
 extremely hot, the mosquitoes abundant, none of us 
 seemed very fresh in the morning. After break- 
 fasting in the unroofed portion of the station, we 
 soon saw the Kafirs — men, women, and children — 
 poiuing down to us. Umhalla himself, who had 
 ridden some twenty-eight miles back, was not long 
 in coming ; and as I thought our first intercourse 
 should in this place be solemn, I proceeded to robe, 
 as the other clergy also did, and we walked in our 
 robes from the hut into the chapel. "We then 
 allotted a front place to Umhalla, while his people 
 squatted on the ground, filling the chapel; then, 
 through an interpreter, I told Umhalla that we 
 were come to teach him the truth in God's Name, 
 that I put the missionaries under his charge and 
 protection as chief, and that I hoped both he him- 
 self would listen to the good words which they 
 would teach, and also urge his people to give heed 
 to this teaching. 
 
 " After wishing that peace might be with him, 
 we left the chapel; and after unrobing, we pro- 
 ceeded to have a business talk with Umhalla, who 
 seemed excellently disposed to do what we wished, 
 and was really kind. I gave him distinctly to 
 understand that we did not wish to interfere with, 
 but to respect, his temporal authority, and that we 
 
Graliamstown. 301 
 
 should look to him as the chief in temporal things, 
 requiring in return his good- will and guardianship. 
 
 " While we were conferring with Umhalla, my 
 wife, surrounded by Kafir women and children, 
 went into the chapel; and bidding them sit down 
 quietly, she played solemn tunes on the harmonium 
 we had brought with us, they sitting like things 
 entranced, with earnest faces and motionless limbs, 
 evidently shewing that sacred music might become a 
 powerful instrument in influencing and softening 
 them. I heard afterwards that one Kafir said, that 
 1 where there was music, there could be no war ;' 
 and another, listening one Sunday outside the cha- 
 pel, thought that ' heaven must be there ;' and an- 
 other, a very bad fellow, said that he *' could have 
 almost cried.' 
 
 " After this, we were still in the midst of the 
 multitude, who seemed bent on having i a day of it.' 
 Our children then set to work to entertain the 
 youthful part of the company, and hit upon the 
 strange idea of keeping a play-school, though nei- 
 ther party understood one word of the other's lan- 
 guage. However, with great quickness and great 
 delight, the native children entered into the game, 
 submitted to be placed into classes, and to be ordered 
 to say their lessons, repeating, with excellent imita- 
 tive powers, 'd-o-g, dog, c-a-t, cat/ after my chil- 
 dren. This game lasted a long time, and created a 
 great deal of laughter on both sides. Other amuse- 
 ments followed ; and it was really somewhat both 
 
 
302 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 of a touching and of an amusing sight, to see the 
 sudden friendship between the white children and 
 the black. I was also struck with the extreme 
 good-temper of the young Kafirs. Through the 
 whole of that long day, I did not see a push or 
 a blow, nor hear one angry word. My wife enter- 
 tained the women with the marvellous operations 
 of the needle on their bags, and karosses, and 
 blankets, while Mr. Fleming gave us beads to dis- 
 tribute, which the chief himself was not above 
 soliciting. 
 
 " In the afternoon we had divine service for our- 
 selves in the chapel. As the chapel walls were 
 mere mud, some of our party had previously gone 
 into the neighbouring bush and brought in green 
 boughs and branches of flowering shrubs, with which 
 they beautified the mud walls, and turned the whole 
 into quite a comely place. My wife played the har- 
 monium, and for the first time the Psalms were 
 chanted, and the hymns of praise went up, amid 
 these wild hills. The solitary deacon and the cate- 
 chist, strengthened by their brethren's presence, 
 offered thankfully Christian worship, and took heart, 
 while the heathen stood outside, listening to the 
 music with the deepest delight. 
 
 " After this, accompanied by Mr. Hardie, I re- 
 turned Umhalla's visit. Creeping through the door 
 of his hive, I saw, through the smoke and darkness, 
 a multitude of bright, glistening eyes ; and then, as 
 I got accustomed to the atmosphere, the swarthy 
 
Grahamstown. 303 
 
 forms of himself and a dozen or so of his friends, all 
 squatting round the hut. At one time a dark figure 
 stood accidentally in the little doorway, and I could 
 not but feel, as the rumours of war had not yet died 
 away, how completely one was in this chief's power. 
 Confidence, however, in a chief and a chief's word, 
 are strong protectors. When some black-looking 
 meat began to be fingered and handed about, thinking 
 it might give offence if I did not put my hands into 
 the unsay oury dish, I prudently made my retreat. 
 
 " As the night drew on, we were all fairly tired 
 out ; and in defiance of heat, huts, mosquitoes and 
 all, we got a fair night's rest. 
 
 " Early next morning, Umhalla was at the door of 
 our hut, telling us that he had killed a cow in honour 
 of our arrival, and wanted us to stay for a two days' 
 feast. This, however, we were unable to do, as our 
 new Governor, Sir George Grey, was expected in 
 Grahamstown, and I was anxious to be there to meet 
 him. Accordingly, after much shaking of hands, we 
 again mounted our mule-waggon and set off, tho- 
 roughly gratified with our visit; and though not 
 daring to hope too much, with such uncertain and 
 fluctuating minds as savages' to deal with, yet in- 
 dulging thankfully in some hope of a future spiri- 
 tual harvest from that field. 
 
 " On our way back we passed by numerous groups 
 of Kafirs, some quite naked, others wrapped up in 
 thin blankets, which lose, by-the-bye, the look of 
 blankets, by being stained a kind of reddish brown. 
 
 , 
 
304 Memoir of Bis It op Armstrong. 
 
 Some of them kept up by the side of our mule-waggon, 
 running at great speed* and with great powers of en- 
 durance. In time of war they perform prodigious 
 journeys, and in an incredible short space of time. 
 We made a short pause at Mr. Eirt's station, about 
 eight miles from King Williamstown — a station con- 
 nected with the London Missionary Society, and 
 celebrated for its industrial operations. It is cer- 
 tainly one of the most successful missionary under- 
 takings, and reflects great credit on the zeal and 
 energy of Mr. Birt. 
 
 " I must candidly confess that the outward effect 
 of the first stage of civilization, such as these Kafirs 
 exhibited, is by no means attractive. The natural 
 Kafir, giving him his blanket, is a most picturesque 
 object; his form is fine in the extreme, his move- 
 ments graceful, his face intelligent, his attitudes 
 animated, his language melodious, reminding us of 
 soft Italian. Group after group, taken in their 
 natural attitudes, would have been perfect models 
 for the sculptors; and I often gazed at them with 
 warm admiration. Nor is the artistic capacity of a 
 stained blanket in the least degree understood until 
 it has been seen. I have seen no Grecian statues 
 that excel native Kafir groups, with the graceful 
 folds of these aforesaid blankets. 
 
 " When, then, passing from the graceful freedom 
 of pure savage life, one beholds them be-trowsered, 
 be-jacketed, waistcoated, with old wide-awakes and 
 forage-caps and corduroys, one recoils instinctively 
 
Graliamstown. 305 
 
 from this first ungainly unsightly development of 
 civilization. The anklets, the armlets, the assegais, 
 the elegant bands of shells round the head, the 
 necklaces of wolves' teeth, skilfully and artistically 
 arranged, beat the dirty, gaudy 'tie,' the clod- 
 hopping shoes, &c. Such was my impression on see- 
 ing Mr. Birt's Kafirs, though I doubt not solid ad- 
 vantages are obtained,* and, though not without a 
 sigh of human weakness, one must abandon the 
 picturesque for the useful and industrial. 
 
 " "We reached King "Williamstown before dark, and 
 left it the next morning for Grahamstown, stopping 
 the first night at the Tamacha Post, a fine situation, 
 and receiving, as usual, great kindness from the 
 officers. The next day we had to descend Line 
 Drift Hill, a kind of rocky staircase, which is called 
 a road. Dreading a state of general dislocation, we 
 walked down the staircase, enjoying magnificent 
 views, and the children revelling in the flowers by 
 the road- side. 
 
 ••There is a small military post at Line Drift, 
 after passing which we reached the plain of the 
 Gwanga, where, for once, the Kafirs were caught in 
 open field, and were so hotly pursued and put to 
 the sword by Sir H. Darrell and the 7th Dragoons 
 that the river actually ran red with blood. Then we 
 reached Fort Peddie, another military post, where I 
 stopped to baptize a child, and reached Trumpeter's 
 Drift at night, another small military post on the 
 Pish river. The next day, after a hot and rough 
 
306 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 day's journey, we found ourselves safe again at 
 Grab amst own. Mr. Fleming, I should have said, 
 accompanied us all the way home and rendered us 
 good service. In this journey we had not visited a 
 single town or village that was not reared under the 
 shadow of the bayonet. It was a region of forts, and 
 yet by far the loveliest part of the eastern province. 
 " And now let me give my first impression of the 
 Kafir race, formed from my own brief observation 
 of them, and from the varied opinions of all sorts of 
 people that have been breathed round about me. 
 They seem to be essentially a noble race, noble out- 
 wardly, noble as regards intellectual power, and also 
 as regards many moral qualities. They are a happy, 
 healthful, good-tempered people, not naturally cruel ; 
 even in time of war not more cruel than many Chris- 
 tian armies have been even in modern wars. A 
 Kafir's word is truth itself— the moment that peace 
 is proclaimed the English traveller might journey 
 from one end of Kafirland to another without the 
 slightest risk. They are never angry; and from 
 their great command of temper, and their natural 
 argumentative powers, many an able Englishman 
 has been fairly worsted in disputes. Though, like 
 our worthy Christian ancestors on the Northern 
 Border, they have been great thieves and cattle- 
 stealers, a glance at the map convinces us that after 
 all we English have been the greatest gainers by 
 these thefts, and have succeeded in gaining con- 
 siderable territory. It is true that the Kafir is 
 
Graliamstown* 307 
 
 himself an invader — but still we ourselves should 
 sigh were we English invaders driven from the fair 
 plains of India which conquest had made our own, 
 Their laws seem, on the whole, equitable and good ; 
 and though they believe in witchcraft, and cruelly 
 put to death those convicted of that art, we really 
 do not know what Satanic powers may be exercised 
 among them ; and even if theirs is an unreasonable 
 credulity, we have only to remember all the fortune- 
 telling that is still going on in England, and the 
 success even among the higher classes at home of 
 such awful impostures as spirit-rapping and the like. 
 " Though but few of them have as yet embraced 
 any form of Christianity, they have always respected 
 the missionaries; and when war has been deter- 
 mined on among them, they have in every instance 
 given safe convoy to the missionaries. Not a hair 
 of a missionary's head has been ever touched. Their 
 religious state is peculiar. They have little of their 
 own to shake off, and their souls seem a kind of void. 
 Certain outward rites that have evidently a religious 
 significance, are not religiously understood. There 
 is no altar to the unknown God. The reports of the 
 missionary bodies that have been at work do not 
 really speak of many converts. There are many 
 listeners. A chapel will be full every Sunday, and 
 yet but very few converted and baptized. It may be 
 that they have so lost the remains of natural religion 
 that we can hardly expect any great and immediate 
 change. It may be that they have to go through a 
 
308 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 transitional state ; that is, giving, as they do, a kind 
 reception to missionaries, respecting and looking up 
 to them, listening to their words, but not at present 
 embracing the Christian faith in any numbers. As 
 a fact, there are very few Christian Kafirs. The 
 Church of England, indeed, is only just beginning 
 to do her part. She is the last in the field. Her 
 missions, more perfect in form, may have greater 
 success ; but while the field is vast, and the door is 
 open, and the Kafirs disposed to receive us, we must 
 not be impatient of success. I myself expect no 
 sudden fruit; and though longing for help from 
 home, for devoted men, for larger means, that we 
 may enter energetically on the work, I believe it 
 to be a work that will need patience, that will try 
 our steadfastness, that will make a strain upon hope ; 
 and in appealing warmly to the English Church for 
 help, I enter a solemn protest against the impatience 
 of the age, which requires, in spiritual as in com- 
 mercial matters, 'quick returns/ — glowing accounts 
 of great triumphs, no depressing tale of failures and 
 disappointments. " 
 
 At this period extensive missionary prospects 
 opened upon the Church, through the noble 
 Christian policy of Sir G. Grey, then, as now, 
 Governor of Southern Africa. The Bishop gave 
 the following details of Sir George Grey's plans 
 in a letter to Mr. Hawkins : — 
 
Grahamstown. 309 
 
 " Grahamstown, 
 "Dec. 28, 1854. 
 " My deab Mr. Hawkins, 
 " I believe that the Bishop of Capetown has already- 
 told you what a great and golden opportunity for 
 missionary work, on a great and noble scale, is pre- 
 sented, by God's mercy, to the Church of England in 
 South Africa, through the plans of the new Governor, 
 Sir George Grey. "When I see the utter and complete 
 neglect with which all the native tribes have been 
 hitherto treated by our Church, and the exclusive 
 application of all funds, and of all ministerial action, 
 to the English population, I am certainly filled with 
 wonder and with thankfulness that God should be 
 dealing with us at all, much more that He should 
 open out the way, after all our spiritual neglect, to a 
 vast spiritual work. Sir George Grey proposes to 
 expend no less a sum than £30,000 a-year on mis- 
 sions, the missions to extend beyond the limits of the 
 colony, and the grants being intended to call forth 
 and be met by corresponding efforts on the part of 
 religious bodies prepared largely to enter on the 
 work. "With such grants and such designs, it is im- 
 possible to over-rate the importance of the crisis as 
 regards the Church of England. I feel that I am 
 not pleading for my own diocese alone, but for the 
 Church of England at home, when I ask her through 
 the Society to offer noble offerings, both of men — 
 earnest, self- devoted men — and of money, at such a 
 time as this. Half-measures at such a time will not 
 
310 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong* 
 
 do. "We must make a great stride in missionary 
 efforts ; and I must ask the Society at once to dare a 
 good deal, though they may not see the way to do a 
 great and extraordinary work. I must ask them to 
 run a great risk, and I feel sure if they commission 
 you to give me great and immediate aid without 
 seeing their way to pay it, that the Church, stirred 
 up hy a special appeal, will not disappoint them, or 
 leave them in the lurch. It is just that one oppor- 
 tunity upon which our whole character and career as 
 a missionary Church, loving and seeking the souls of 
 the heathen, may in all likelihood rest. If, to use 
 a homely expression, we only nibble at this oppor- 
 tunity, and enter on a feeble work, my heart will in- 
 deed sink as regards our existence here as a Church. 
 I had intended, before this great news of Sir George 
 Grey's plan had arrived, to have addressed a very 
 urgent appeal to the Society for increased aid in 
 mission work ; but now I must learn to enlarge 
 my own views, which were not, I think, at all dimi- 
 nutive before. I must say, too, that our first mission 
 (which has commenced since my arrival) is looked 
 upon with considerable interest by all parties ; and I 
 have a strong conviction from all I have now heard 
 and seen, that there is something in what I may call 
 the genius of the Church, her tone, her spirit, her 
 order and discipline, which is specially suited to the 
 Kafir character. 
 
 " Of course the first great want is that of men, and 
 I hope you will be able to make this want known, 
 

 Graliamstown. 311 
 
 and at once to send off any clergy or catechists whom, 
 on examination, you may think qualified for the work. 
 As regards money, I boldly ask for an additional four 
 thousand a-year ; only adding that if this is given for 
 five years, the mission by that time will be to a con- 
 siderable extent self-supporting: at any rate, half 
 that income will then do. I can only say again, that 
 I believe, if at the very first meeting of the com- 
 mittee, on a holy impulse, and without examining the 
 pockets of the Society, this grant is made, and then 
 followed up by a special appeal, the Society will be 
 backed up, and their courage in giving well re- 
 warded. 
 
 % # % % % 
 
 "As regards our general work, lam thankful to 
 say that six churches are in the course of erection. 
 I held my first ordination in this cathedral on Dec. 
 24, and had the pleasure of ordaining a most excel- 
 lent Berlin missionary, who labours among the con- 
 victs, and has for some time desired to enter Orders 
 in the English Church ; also Mr. Greenstock, (of the 
 mission,) who came out with us, and has made most 
 rapid progress in Kafir ; and Mr. Smith, of the Uni- 
 versity of Durham, who will have work among the 
 English. A "Wesleyan teacher has been for some 
 time anxious for ordination, and from what I hear of 
 his character, I am inclined to ordain him, D. V., on 
 Trinity Sunday. I made it known that I was anxious 
 to train the sons of colonists who knew the Kafir 
 tongue, for holy Orders as missionaries among the 
 
1 
 
 312 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 Kafirs, and two excellent religions youths, who speak 
 Kafir like their own language, and one the son of 
 another Berlin missionary, have of themselves wished 
 to offer themselves, and the parents have heartily 
 consented : they will he at once of the greatest value 
 as teachers and interpreters. A third yonth I have 
 heard of, but the matter is not quite settled. All 
 this, I trust, will shew you that there is life in the 
 Church in South Africa, signs indeed of increasing 
 life. May the Church at home now put forth her 
 strength to strengthen us in this strange land, and 
 put the Cross on herself that we may be enabled, by 
 the gift of some of her most earnest sons, and of her 
 substance, to preach the saving doctrines of the Cross. 
 If such a response is made as my hopes lead me to 
 expect, I shall indeed go on my way rejoicing, and 
 devote myself to the blessed work of furthering the 
 kingdom of our Redeemer with gladness of heart. 
 "With my whole heart I commend the proposals I 
 have felt it my duty to make to the Committee of 
 the Society, asking their prayers. 
 
 " Yours, believe me, very sincerely, 
 
 "JOHN GEAHA3ISTOW. 
 "The Rev. E. Hawkins." 
 
 In consequence of these proposals, the Bishop 
 convened a synod of the clergy of the dio- 
 cese, to take counsel as to their future plans. 
 Owing to the rapid rise of the rivers, several of 
 the clergy were unable to reach Grahamstown ; 
 
Grahamstown. 313 
 
 but twelve assembled. After receiving the 
 Holy Communion together, they took the sub- 
 ject of missions into earnest consideration, and 
 the result was communicated in the following 
 letter to Mr. Hawkins : — 
 
 " Grahamstown, 
 "February 10, 1855. 
 " Deah 11k. Hawkins, 
 " Since I last wrote I have had several inter- 
 views with our Governor; and, without being able 
 to wait till I could hear from the Society, I have 
 been required to make a formal statement as to the 
 amount of mission- work which the Church of Eng- 
 land will pledge itself to undertake this present 
 year. I confess that I could not give a pledge 
 without great anxiety: as on the one hand, I am 
 perfectly convinced that the very existence of the 
 Church of England here depends on our occupying 
 considerable missionary ground, and on our dealing 
 boldly with mission- work ; and on the other hand, 
 I undertake responsibilities which the Church at 
 home may not support me in. Happily, however, I 
 had a meeting of the clergy of the diocese ; and they 
 felt the crisis to be so momentous to the whole in- 
 terests of the Church, and that the Church of Eng- 
 land was altogether so completely put upon her 
 trial before the whole colony, that they cordially 
 and unanimously assented to the scheme which I 
 am now laying before the Governor. I have pledged 
 
314 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong* 
 
 the Church to undertake this present year, mis- 
 sions — 
 
 "I. To Umhalla, the great chief; this mission to 
 consist of a central school, &c, with a sort of out- 
 post about ten miles off. 
 
 "II. To Kreli, another great Kafir chief across 
 the Kei. 
 
 "III. To Sandili, another great chief. 
 
 "IV. To the Fingos at Keiskarnma Hoek, with 
 an outpost. 
 
 " Y. The formation of a school in the Kafir loca- 
 tion close to Grahamstown. 
 
 "The Governor on his part will immediately pay 
 into the bank for the erection of buildings on these 
 several missions, the total sum of £4,000 this pre- 
 sent year ; intending also to make some further ad- 
 dition next year, that the buildings may be com- 
 pleted. I myself start at the end of this month on 
 a journey to Kreli and Sandili to obtain their leave 
 to commence missions. Umhalla I have already 
 visited, and he gave me a promise of land to erect 
 larger buildings upon than those we had com- 
 menced. 
 
 "As regards men for the work, I think we may 
 lay claim to the support and sympathy of the Church 
 at home, when I tell you that the clergy of the 
 diocese are prepared to send some men out of their 
 own number to these missions, on the conviction 
 that their offer of service will draw out some bre- 
 thren from England to aid them in the work. We 
 
Grali am stolen. 315 
 
 arc not going to call upon England for all the 
 sacrifice, but out of our own body will send out 
 labourers into the wilderness. Thus, first of all, 
 Archdeacon Merrinian has undertaken the headship 
 of the mission at the chief TTnihalla's,in all respects a 
 most important point of action; and he will move 
 thither with his family the moment a residence is 
 built. I propose also creating him Archdeacon of 
 Kaffraria, and having a separate Archdeacon of 
 Grahamstown for the English, in order that he may 
 visit and superintend the various missions. Mr. 
 Hardie, a presbyter, with Mr. Greenstock, a deacon, 
 have offered to give their aid at the same mission : 
 as it is important that it should be a centre of ope- 
 ration; and it is proposed to itinerate round the 
 country, which is very thickly peopled. Mr. Lange, 
 lately a Berlin missionary, a most excellent man, 
 whom I ordained at Christmas, and who has a per- 
 fect knowledge of the Kafir character and language, 
 has offered to take charge of the proposed school of 
 Kafirs at the outskirts of Grahamstown ; and as we 
 propose making it a kind of chapel- school, he will 
 also hold divine service in it on Sunday. I have 
 also secured two catechists, one for Sandili, and one 
 for Kreli, and I want two clergymen for these posts 
 immediately. 
 
 " I have now told you what mission ground I felt 
 bound to pledge the Church to undertake this year ; 
 and in so doing I have doubtless pledged it to an 
 expenditure of £1,500 this year. Xext year, each 
 
316 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 of these missions will have to throw out off-shoots, 
 as these are but the beginnings of mission- work. I 
 hope that by thus making a gradual progress, the 
 Society will gradually increase its grants till they 
 reach £4,000 a-year. When this sum is reached 
 it will not require to be given long : for the land 
 attached to the missions will gradually become pro- 
 ductive, and the £4,000 a-year will gradually de- 
 cline. 
 
 " Unless I had pledged the Church to the occu- 
 pation of such mission ground, the grants of the 
 Governor would have been within reach of other 
 religious bodies, who already have got from him 
 their proportion ; and not only should we have lost 
 the great benefit of so much monetary aid for the 
 erection of the buildings, but we should have lost 
 for ever mission ground. Already I find whole 
 tracts of country peopled by the Fingos, in the 
 hands of the Wesleyans and Independents, so that 
 we cannot make any effort at present, or find room 
 for the sole of our foot ; and unless we bestir our- 
 selves to meet this crisis, large and more important 
 districts full of Kafirs would slip out of our hands. 
 In such a case I am convinced the Church could not 
 keep her ground many years as a mere Church of 
 the English. While, therefore, I have committed 
 the Church to this large and immediate expenditure, 
 I hope the Society will cordially approve of the 
 steps I have taken, and enable me to meet this ex- 
 penditure at once, promising also to aid me in more 
 
Graliamstown. 317 
 
 extended efforts next year. The Society must not 
 think that these efforts will be confined to the legal 
 boundaries of my diocese : the surrounding country 
 calls for our care, and is closely connected with the 
 various tribes under British rule. 
 " Believe me, 
 
 " Very sincerely yours, 
 
 " JOHN GRAHAMSTOWN. 
 
 " In my last letter I asked for £4,000 a-year at 
 once ; but as we shall not be able to expand greatly 
 till nearly half the year is over, I have limited my 
 request to £1,500 to be paid within this year. 
 
 " Eev. E. Hawkins/' 
 
 The Bishop resolved to make a second ex- 
 pedition into the scenes of these prospective 
 missions, and has given the following detailed 
 account of his movements. 
 
 " Having thus resolved on embracing at once this 
 extensive area, I determined on going myself to the 
 chiefs Sandili and Kreli that I might secure their 
 permission to plant our missions among them. Pre- 
 vious to my departure I held my first Confirmation 
 in Grahamstown, when fifty candidates were con- 
 firmed. "We had a special Communion on Sunday, 
 when above forty of the confirmed partook of it — a 
 great addition to our numbers. Altogether the num- 
 ber of communicants was unusually large. 
 
318 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 " I now set up my carriage ; that is. I bought a 
 good strong waggon and a span of good strong oxen, 
 and I hired a couple of Hottentots, as driver and 
 leader, determining not only to go to the Kafir 
 chiefs, but to make a visitation of those parts of 
 my Diocese which I had not seen — a visitation that 
 would probably occupy some three months. On 
 Friday, February 23rd, I commenced my journey, 
 driving in a gig down to Southwell, having one 
 grand view on my way which involved the descent 
 of a long and dreadful hill, and holding a Confirma- 
 tion immediately on my arrival. There were twenty- 
 three candidates gathered together from a thinly- 
 peopled and scattered district, where Mr. Waters 
 has toiled hard, and with good success. The next 
 morning, Mr, Keeton, a considerable landowner and 
 farmer, kindly lent me a horse, and Mr. Waters and 
 myself had a beautiful ride of about fifteen miles to 
 Cowie Mouth. Here we were hospitably received 
 by Mr. and Mrs. Cock \ and after dining with them 
 we proceeded to a room attached to his extensive 
 works, where we held Divine Service, and I con- 
 firmed two candidates. "When Service was over, 
 accompanied by the Rev. J. Barrow, who had come 
 to meet* me from Bathurst, we crossed the mouth of 
 the Cowie in a boat, again mounted horse on the 
 other side, riding another ten miles through a plea- 
 sant, bushy, undulating country, — but just as it got 
 dark we reached Eathurst. The Southwell district, 
 under Mr. Cock's management, yielded more corn 
 
Grahamstown. 319 
 
 than I had yet seen, and it was really quite refresh- 
 ing to see good English-looking stacks. An illustra- 
 tion of Scripture met me on the road, as I observed 
 the oxen treading out the corn. 
 
 " The next day being Sunday, I held Confirma- 
 tion, when nine candidates presented themselves. I 
 also baptized Mr. Barrow's little child, and three 
 others. I preached and took my part in the admi- 
 nistration of the Holy Communion. In the after- 
 noon I preached again. Bathurst is a pretty English- 
 looking place, though, I fear, owing to the wars, it 
 is drooping much. It was sad to see nice farm- 
 houses on all sides turned into black and roofless 
 ruins. Such sights gave a melancholy air to the 
 whole country ; and the scantiness of the population 
 in so rich a scene, added to the melancholy feeling. 
 
 " My waggon met me at Bathurst, and on Monday 
 we started for Cuylerville, a kind of outpost of 
 Bathurst, where Mr. Boon, a catechist, is placed. 
 A good congregation of farmers and their wives and 
 children were waiting for us, though really the peo- 
 ple are but few in these parts. The people seemed 
 in earnest. I baptized one child, confirmed one per- 
 son, a nice married woman, preached, and, aided by 
 Mr. Barrow, administered the Lord's Supper to ten 
 persons, — one old man of seventy receiving it for 
 the first time, and the mother of the child I had bap- 
 tized kneeling down to receive it with her infant 
 in her arms. There is something very refreshing 
 in visiting these out-of-the-way distant places and 
 
320 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 bringing all the ordinances of the Church even to a 
 few — for it is evidently the Church's part to shew 
 great regard even for the very fewest sheep of the 
 fold. In such places, too, I often found a very warm 
 response. Mr. Boon, the catechist, has happily pre- 
 served English cleanliness and tidiness — things a 
 good deal wanted in colonial life. Everything, both 
 in the school-room, chapel, and in his house, was 
 beautifully clean and well-ordered. After Service 
 some women, who had been sitting with their chil- 
 dren near the door, found that an adder had been all 
 the while coiled up close to them — they had had a 
 great escape. 
 
 "The next day we started off towards the Fish 
 river. I baptized a child on the way. On reaching 
 the river we crossed on the Pont, while the oxen got 
 a good swim by our side. "We then reached what 
 Sir Gr. Cathcart intended to be the town of New- 
 castle, but as yet not a house is built. This whole 
 district, extending about twenty-five miles or more 
 along the sea-coast between the Eish river and the 
 Keiskamma, has been recently parcelled off in small 
 farms, about 1,000 or 1,500 acres each, and many 
 of them were already occupied. It was something 
 to feel that in this case, at least, the Church of 
 England was the first to care for these people's 
 souls. On my arrival I found that no religious 
 teacher had set foot in the district, and no religious 
 service had been held, and it was something to feel 
 that the Church was for once the first in, the field. 
 
Grdhamstown. 321 
 
 Hastening to the temporary farm-house of Mr. Loyd, 
 a wattle-and-daub structure, we there found a little 
 congregation gathered together, and with great thank- 
 fulness we commenced divine service. I confirmed 
 two young farmers, preached, and, aided by Mr. 
 Barrow, administered the Holy Communion to eight 
 persons, — two mothers kneeling with infants in their 
 arms, the wives of the farmers I had confirmed. 
 After service we discussed the necessity of erecting 
 a church. We all agreed that we had better imme- 
 diately raise a church of moderate cost, instead of 
 waiting for the distant day when we could indulge 
 in architectural grace. Mr. Loyd offered four acres 
 of land; about £30 was subscribed on the spot, and 
 we propose not to spend above £100, if that can 
 be got. 
 
 " The next day the waggon was again in motion; 
 as the drivers turned round to look at a large snake, 
 the waggon went with its whole force against an ant- 
 hill, which it failed to knock down. What are the 
 pyramids, after all, as compared with ant-hills, if 
 we consider the size of the builders? Passing 
 through a grassy, undulating country, and somewhat 
 pinched for food during the day, we reached a farm 
 of Mr. Tainton's at night. I noticed a swallow's 
 nest in the thatch, and was struck with the neck or 
 passage which the swallow had constructed to pre- 
 serve the brood the better from the snakes. That 
 same swallow, such is instinct, flying to a particular 
 farm or cottage in a particular village of a parti- 
 y 
 
322 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 cular county in England, constructs his nest there 
 without this appendage. 
 
 "The next morning we reached Fort Peddie, 
 where I held divine service, which was well at- 
 tended both by military and civilians. Here the 
 Eev. C. E. Lange, the Berlin missionary whom I 
 had ordained at Christmas, joined me, having got 
 leave of absence, as he was not well. Being both a 
 Dutch and Kafir scholar, I felt that he would be of 
 great value as travelling chaplain. He had indeed 
 to combine many other and secular qualities in the 
 course of our journey, as he was often commissariat- 
 officer, cook, carpenter, driver, &c. Captain Tainton, 
 of the Eingo Police, a splendid Kafir scholar, also 
 joined me, having obtained permission to aid me in 
 my interviews with the Kafir chiefs. Captain Espi- 
 nasse of the 12th, and Mr. Monsell of the Cape Corps, 
 rode with me the next day to Line Drift, the latter 
 officer kindly mounting me. At Line Drift I bor- 
 rowed a trooper's horse, and rode to the Tamacha 
 post, where I slept; the waggon and Mr. Large 
 catching me up. "We (Jined at the mess, and finding 
 my proposal of holding service the next morning 
 was cordially received by Major Preston, we repair- 
 ed in the morning to a room prepared for us, and had 
 an attentive congregation of officers and men; Mr. 
 Lange reading prayers, and I preaching. Major Pres- 
 ton then lent me a horse, and I rode on to King 
 "VVilliamstown, where, being again hospitably received 
 by Col. Taylor, we spent the Sunday. 
 
Grahamstown. 323 
 
 " On Monday we started towards the chief San- 
 dili's. The road was tolerably good, and abont one 
 we made our fire in the bush, cooked our dinner, 
 and gave the oxen a couple of hours' rest and pas- 
 ture. We had not long got under way again before 
 a violent thunder-storm fairly forced us to stand 
 still, and this forced delay cost us very valuable 
 time. It was quite dark when we heard the sound 
 of rushing water, and found ourselves close to the 
 Kabousi river. Our Hottentots went down to see 
 how high the river was, and soon found that it had 
 risen rapidly, and that it was utterly impossible to 
 risk a passage in the dark. All was slosh and mud 
 where we stood, and we had to pass a miserable 
 evening, unable to light a fire on the ground, and 
 sitting in our waggon eaten up by mosquitoes. The 
 next morning, when we got up, the river seemed still 
 too high to pass. About mid-day Mr. Erownlee, the 
 Gaika Commissioner, and Mr. Liefeldt, of the Berlin 
 Mission, appeared on the opposite side. They then 
 sent some Kafirs to sound the river, and to shew us 
 the shallowest part; fastening strong "rieins" to 
 the leading oxen, and half- swimming, half- wading, 
 they led them through the shallower water, whoop- 
 ing and hallooing to keep the oxen up to the mark, 
 lest they should be borne down into the deeper 
 water. At last we were safe on the other side, and 
 were soon safely sheltered in Mr. Erownlee' s house. 
 
 "Mr. Brownlee, knowing the terror that was 
 spreading among the Kafirs about the cattle-sick- 
 
324 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 ness, kindly offered to send one of the Kafir police 
 to ask Sandili to come and meet me at his house, 
 that he might thus be saved any risk of injury from 
 my oxen. As Sandili was not at home, some delay 
 was occasioned, and I used the time in visiting the 
 Dohne Mission Station; a mission which has been 
 sadly injured and sadly weakened by the wars. As 
 we were anxious to get some good religious youths 
 well acquainted with Kafir, who might be useful to 
 our missionaries, and might be trained up by them 
 for the ministry of the Church, I found Mr. Liefeldt, 
 one of the Berlin missionaries, was desirous of 
 placing his son in our hands, and having him trained 
 for holy orders in our Church. Theophilus was a 
 nice fair German boy; and though his mother, in 
 true motherly spirit, had a little momentary hesita- 
 tion in parting with him, it was soon settled that he 
 should go to Umhalla's ; and at the present time he 
 is at St. Luke's Station, conducting himself very 
 well. As he has spoken Kafir from his youth, he is 
 of considerable service. 
 
 " On Friday a group of horsemen were seen gal- 
 loping towards Mr. Brownlee, and the chief, with a 
 troop of followers, was speedily at the door. The 
 conference soon began, after some preliminary talk- 
 ing upon common matters, and some smoking. The 
 result filled me with the deepest thankfulness ; San- 
 dili at once consented to receive our missionaries, to 
 let them place themselves near his own kraal, and 
 to choose their own site. Considering how recently 
 
 
GraJiamstoivn. 325 
 
 wc had all reckoned on a fierce and bloody war, it 
 was with feelings of solemn joy that we heard the 
 chief of this large and powerful tribe breathe words 
 of peace and welcome. What an opening was thus 
 given to us among this large multitude of dark 
 souls ! 
 
 " Mr. Brownlee was of great service to us in the 
 interview, as he, like Captain Tainton, knows Kafir 
 as well as he does English. Sandili himself is a fine 
 tall young man, though injured in appearance by a 
 withered leg. He has not a strong, but a good- 
 tempered countenance. He may certainly be ranked 
 among Kafir dandies. We have heard of our grand- 
 mothers sitting up whole nights before a ball to 
 have their heads duly daubed and whitened by pow- 
 der and pomatum, but even in Kafir huts like sacri- 
 'fices of sleep are made at the altar of fashion. San- 
 dili's head seemed to be studded with rhubarb pills; 
 that is, the woolly hair, pomatumed as it were with 
 red clay, had been twirled and twisted into small 
 balls. This operation had probably made him sit 
 upright for a night, if he wished to shew the pills 
 unbruised, in all their fashionable and fresh ro- 
 tundity. After presenting him with a blanket, and 
 giving him and his followers some tobacco, we took 
 our leave of him, and the dark group was soon over 
 the hill again. 
 
 " We determined on leaving Mr. Brownlee the 
 same afternoon, having had every reason to be grate- 
 ful both to him and lErs. Brownlee for much kindness 
 
326 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 and much intelligent counsel about Kafirs during 
 our stay. About six we arrived at a few Kafir 
 huts, and found the commencement of another small 
 Berlin Mission, under the guidance of Mr. Ehein. 
 My companion, Mr. Lange, was not a little rejoiced 
 at the prospect of a German evening. "We stopped 
 our waggon, and wended our way to Mr. Rhein's 
 hut. Here we saw in a moment the presence of a 
 woman* s hand. Though a mere hut of reeds, every- 
 thing was so nicely and so neatly arranged, that it 
 looked quite bright and comfortable. Mrs. Ehein, 
 a happy, bright, contented-looking woman, clearly 
 fitted for a missionary's wife, soon had a beautifully 
 white table-cloth spread, a nice tea prepared, and we 
 all became cheerful together over our refreshing and 
 simple meal. Two German artificers formed a part 
 of the mission. After tea, one of the artisans took 
 out his accordion, while the rest of the party sang 
 with taste and feeling their fine German hymns. 
 Though to me it was 'music without words/ yet 
 thoughts were suggested by the music, and with the 
 understanding I trust that I also sang. Then we 
 had a lesson of Scripture read in German; then 
 German prayers, and then I went to bed in my 
 waggon, heartily pleased with my kindly host and 
 hostess. 
 
 "¥e were off early next day, and travelled into 
 an uninteresting country, utterly .bare and sometimes 
 boggy; we saw planks of wood strewn along the 
 road, which waggons had reluctantly cast overboard, 
 
Grahamstown. 327 
 
 in order to enable them to get through the bogs. At 
 last we ourselves stuck fast ; but after unyoking the 
 oxen, and tying them behind, so as to draw the wag- 
 gon backward, we hit on a better piece of ground, 
 and moved on again. Not a human face, not an 
 animal, was seen all day,— scarcely a bush ; while a 
 hot sun glowed down upon us. I was lucky enough 
 to have a Kafir police horse lent to me, which, saved 
 me the jolting of the waggon. At night we out- 
 spanned on a bare leafless plain, with the prospect 
 of a hot Sunday before us, and the wilderness for 
 our church. However, it so happened that we had 
 halted only about a mile from a station of mounted 
 police, who guard this frontier. This was a happy 
 circumstance, for these poor police never get a ser- 
 vice except by accident, being far removed from all 
 ministrations. 
 
 " I sent word in the morning that we would come 
 down and hold divine service. On our arrival, we 
 found the men all prepared to receive us; and as 
 their wattle -and- daub huts were not large enough 
 to receive the little congregation, it was agreed to 
 hold service under the shade of a fine mimosa thorn. 
 It was indeed quite a wilderness service, and I greatly 
 enjoyed it. Sot wishing to force anything upon the 
 men, I told them that in the afternoon we should 
 have service near our waggon, and that we should 
 be glad to see any who were inclined to come. Mr. 
 Thompson, the captain, returned to dine with us; 
 and as the hour fixed for service drew near^ we 
 
328 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 were rejoiced to see a considerable number of police 
 hastening towards the waggon. There was some 
 thunder and rain : indeed, now for about ten days 
 we had an afternoon thunder-storm every day. 
 
 "On Monday we journeyed into a pleasanter 
 country, but there was the usual inspanning and 
 outspanning, while our provisions were neither abun- 
 dant nor luxurious. I got used to every possible 
 variety of water, from the rarity of a pure stream to 
 the chocolate-looking contents of a road-side puddle. 
 Good or bad, it was always gratefully received. At 
 first I preferred drinking without looking, but at 
 last I got over this fastidiousness, and drank nature's 
 chocolate in its thickest state without wincing. 
 
 "In journeying through the Eolotta, we found a 
 considerable number of Kafirs, who, whenever we out- 
 spanned, brought us baskets of sour milk and a kind 
 of sweet cane, which is refreshing on hot days ; and 
 Captain Tainton always contrived to produce some 
 pleasant talk. Indeed, they seemed quite to scent 
 him out, and to cluster round him by a kind of in- 
 stinct, while I silently studied the manners of these 
 loquacious visitors. Their powers of talking are 
 unrivalled. Captain Tainton often sat by the fire 
 till midnight, with his group of dark friends fight- 
 ing all their battles o'er again, and recounting va- 
 rious incidents of the late war. "We found some 
 Kafirs in these parts who had never seen any Eng- 
 lishman, except a soldier or a ' winkler,' i. e. a petty 
 Kafir trader. One set seemed quite puzzled with 
 
Graliamstown. 329 
 
 us, because we had nothing to sell. They pryod 
 and peered into the waggon, thinking we could not 
 be in earnest, renewing and again renewing their 
 request, and probably thinking w r e had w r hat is 
 known as ' onion-seed' in reserve (that is, gun- 
 powder), which we were rather coy in disposing of. 
 At last one of them was overheard to say that ' we 
 were not common people.' As for myself, being 
 silent, I was pronounced to be 'deaf.' Iso mis- 
 sionary had ever been among them. 
 
 " The night after we had met this group we out- 
 spanned by some fine large mimosa thorns ; and as 
 a good large fire was soon blazing up, and a con- 
 siderable group of Kafirs was soon clustered round 
 us, talking in their animated way, I was struck 
 with the picturesqueness of the scene. As they had 
 evidently mingled little with the English, I shewed 
 them common English things. My watch, when 
 the works were opened, greatly interested them; 
 and as again and again I opened it, and still and 
 still the wheels were going round, one of them ex- 
 pressed his surprise that 'they were not tired.' 
 
 " The next evening two messengers arrived from 
 the chief Kreli, to announce his approach. They 
 were remarkably fine, handsome young men, looking 
 like the young aristocrats of the tribe, which I be- 
 lieve they were. In their company we had another 
 pleasant evening. As the whole party lay stretched 
 along the ground by the fire, the conversation 
 turned on war. One of the young men, in a 
 
330 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 thoughtful kind of way, put a decidedly puzzling 
 question: — 'You missionaries/ he said, 'are always 
 preaching against war, and telling us to listen to 
 you. Now, why do not the English listen to you 
 themselves, and give up war ?' Then, after musing 
 with himself, he said, - He wished the missionaries 
 had a river of their own, and then he would go and 
 live with them, apart from the English and the 
 Kafirs, who love fighting/ The river, the mission- 
 aries, and peace — such was this poor native's ideal ; 
 and yet how often have I been told that the Kafirs 
 are a hopeless race ! 
 
 " We were now close to the banks of the White 
 Kei, and Kreli's own kraal only about seven miles 
 off. As he was afraid of the lung-sickness, it was 
 agreed that I should not cross the river into his 
 country, but that he should pay me a visit where 
 I was. Accordingly, in the afternoon, as we were 
 resting by our waggon, we saw a large group of 
 natives descending towards the river. The river 
 was soon crossed, and then the group, about fifty 
 in number, with Kreli in the midst, approached us. 
 After the usual shaking of hands, we offered the 
 chief and his counsellors seats, while the rest of the 
 party squatted on the ground. Enquiries about 
 'news,' and smoking, consumed some little time; 
 then we set to work, and again I had cause for 
 thankfulness, as Kreli readily allowed me to send 
 missionaries into his country. As he is in no sense 
 under British rule, and has an entirely independent 
 
Grahamstown. 331 
 
 position, with 60,000 people under him, the per- 
 mission was in all respects an important one, and 
 I only trust that God may fit us for such a momen- 
 tous work, and give us good instruments for ef- 
 fecting it. 
 
 " After much friendly conversation, the chief and 
 his followers took their leave. Kreli quite looks 
 a chief, and both in stature and in bearing was evi- 
 dently the prince among his people. One great ob- 
 ject of my journey being thus fulfilled, I need not 
 say with how light a heart I betook myself .to my 
 waggon that night. 
 
 " The . next morning we set out for Queenstown ; 
 making our way, not without regret, from the social 
 territory of the ."Kafirs, into pure English and Dutch 
 ground, with lonely outspannings and inspannings, 
 and lonely evenings before us. Captain Tainton, 
 having fulfilled his part, turned his horse's head 
 homewards. We were very sorry to see him depart. 
 
 "We were soon overtaken by an awful storm. 
 The road, in about a quarter of an hour, became 
 literally a river, and the oxen unwillingly splashed 
 through it. At last we were compelled to stop 
 while it was still broad daylight, and we had a 
 most dreary evening in the waggon ; everything wet 
 and clammy around us; no fire, and, as regards 
 myself, no tendency to sleep. The next day was 
 bright and sunny; indeed, as I walked somewhat 
 ahead of the waggon, the sun seemed to be striking 
 one as with its hand. I looked round for shade, 
 
332 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 and tried to hide myself behind a small rock from 
 the amazing power of the sun, — thoroughly realizing, 
 as the text came to my mind, the refreshment of 
 1 the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.' 
 
 " About mid-day, the Eev. E. Green met us, and 
 we found ourselves only five or six miles from 
 Queenstown. This town, formed by Sir G. Cath- 
 cart, is finely placed in the middle of a considerable 
 plain, with fine ranges of mountains all round. It 
 promises to be a most successful settlement, both in 
 a commercial and a military point of view. Sir 
 George divided the country round it into moderate 
 farms, seldom exceeding three thousand acres each ; 
 giving them chiefly to young men capable of bearing 
 arms, and bound to assemble once a-year well- 
 equipped; and thus, with the town in the centre, 
 and this large population of young farmers round, 
 able to defend themselves in case of need, and pos- 
 sessed of good farming- ground, it is regarded as one 
 of the safest districts in the neighbourhood of the 
 Kafirs, and likely to yield much produce. 
 
 "It was some refreshment to find oneself in a 
 house again. Though Mr. Green had only been 
 a few months in Queenstown, and there had been 
 no clergyman to precede him, I was greatly grati- 
 fied by the state of things^ On Sunday, March 
 18th, the day after my arrival, we had very con- 
 siderable congregations in the Court-house, and I 
 found a good Sunday-school at work in the after- 
 noon. The plans for a church were completed, 
 
Graliamstown. 333 
 
 a little parsonage was rising from the ground, and 
 the people were giving liberally towards the church. 
 " On Monday we left Queenstown, Mr. Green 
 kindly lending me his horse, and borrowing one 
 for himself, so that he might accompany me. We 
 had a pleasant ride through a pleasant country, and 
 passed through a "Wesleyan mission station, Lessing- 
 ton, abandoned in the wars, but now just about to 
 be re-occupied. I was struck with the tidiness and 
 good manners of the natives. In the afternoon we 
 reached a station of the Frontier Mounted Police, 
 called ' Andrew's Neck/ where Mr. Green ministers 
 once a-month. He has no less than four stations 
 besides : one at "Whittlesea, about eighteen miles 
 from Queenstown ; another at this place, about 
 eighteen miles ; another at a group of farms in one 
 direction ; and a fourth at a group of farms in an- 
 other direction. 
 
 " Immediately on my arrival we held divine 
 service. It was but a wattle-and-daub room, with 
 rough poles and sticks, but the congregation was 
 a most attentive one. I always feel peculiar plea- 
 sure in ministering in such remote, out-of-the-way 
 places, in the midst of such wilderness scenes. My 
 heart seemed that day quite to burn within me, 
 and I preached from the fulness of it to that little 
 group of English, whose occupation it is to rove 
 amid the wild places of the earth. After service, 
 I was surprised to find, not only something to eat, 
 but a very excellent repast, prepared for us by the 
 
334 
 
 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong, 
 
 police. They seemed, with the aid of a farmer of 
 the neighbourhood, to have consulted our comfort 
 in everything, and to have taken great pains to 
 please us. 
 
 "The following morning it rained too hard to 
 start. As it cleared in the afternoon, we got all 
 things ready, and then, as the oxen were put in, 
 a considerable portion of police mounted, and of 
 their own accord escorted us some miles on our way. 
 I need not say that this fresh act of kindness greatly 
 pleased me. At night, after eighteen miles of 
 sharpish riding, we reached an inn at the bottom of 
 the Storm-Berg. My bedroom had no windows, 
 but plenty of fleas, — and I wished for my waggon as 
 a pleasanter apartment. The next day it again 
 rained heavily. About two, however, it cleared, 
 and we proceeded to climb the Storm-Berg, — a hill, 
 or rather mountain, with a zig-zag road leading to 
 the top of it. The country had been gradually 
 changing its features. "We had been gradually 
 leaving tree and bush and shrub behind us, but on 
 the top of the Storm-Berg the change was complete. 
 All was bare, not a tree nor shrub, though for a 
 time we retained the grass. At night we reached 
 the farm of Mr. Boardman, the son of an English 
 clergyman, who hospitably received us. In the 
 morning, Mr. Green was compelled to return to 
 Queenstown, and to take back his horse. Up to 
 this point I had contrived, by borrowing, to in- 
 dulge in the luxury of horseback, and only to fly 
 
Grahamstown, 335 
 
 to the companionship of Mr. Lange, in the waggon, 
 under stress of weather or fatigue. As, however, 
 borrowing was at an end, I asked Mr. Eoardman to 
 sell me one of a large troop of horses that were 
 round the farm. He bade me mount the horse, and 
 he set out with us, and then refused all payment. 
 His gift proved a most valuable one, and eased me 
 greatly on my journey. 
 
 "Nothing remarkable occurred in our journey, 
 except that we found ourselves getting into the 
 'Karoo* country, losing the grass, without any 
 wood to make our cheerful fire at night, picking up 
 with greediness any little piece of stick that any 
 previous travellers had left, any remnant of a broken 
 barrel that had been used for firewood. "We found 
 ourselves also in a thinly-peopled district, with no 
 sociable, loquacious Kafirs crowding round us at 
 night, with but few English farms, with Dutch 
 farmers some eight or ten miles from each other, 
 and these mostly with poor, comfortless houses, on 
 bare, hot fiats, and offering to a stranger like myself 
 no hospitality. 
 
 "On Friday night we found ourselves close to 
 the town of Burghersdorp. Having fallen short 
 of all provision, we sent into the town for bread, 
 &c. ; also for letters. I was sitting outside my 
 waggon, on the lonely and silent and barren waste, 
 with a bright, calm moon above, when the messenger 
 returned, bringing me a large batch of English 
 letters. It was almost too much for me. After 
 
336 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong* 
 
 a dreary fatiguing journey, in the midst of a deso- 
 late plain, England, with all its old cheerful, homes, 
 its familiar faces, its friends and kindred, its well- 
 loved scenes, all rushed upon me, and I was over- 
 come* 
 
 "The next day we drove into the town, and a 
 friendly Dutchman kindly lent me an empty house, 
 where we spread our mattresses. The town, origin- 
 ally founded by the Dutch, is now chiefly inhabited 
 by the English, who are more skilled in commercial 
 life. The Dutch church is large, the Dutch par- 
 sonage singularly large : there is a small "Wesleyan 
 chapel, and the Church of England has neither 
 church nor clergyman. I called a meeting of 
 Church members in the afternoon. A good many 
 assembled, and I was especially pleased to see seve- 
 ral of the working classes. I told them plainly that 
 I had not a farthing granted or given me for their 
 aid ; that out of my own scanty means I would try 
 to do a little ; that they must really give liberally 
 themselves ; and that as there seemed a dearth of 
 good education, I would try and get from England a 
 clergyman who might unite scholastic with minis- 
 terial duties. There seemed a considerable desire 
 to do what they could, a considerable attachment 
 to the Church, and a love for its services, if this 
 does not get weakened and deadened by our ina- 
 bility to supply them with Church ministrations. 
 On Sunday, through the kindness of the Wesleyan 
 minister, I had the loan of the Wesleyan chapel. 
 
GraJiamstown. 337 
 
 The congregation overflowed the building, and a 
 large body of persons remained standing outside 
 throughout the service. With Mr. Lange's aid, I 
 administered the Holy Communion. The evening 
 service was also largely attended. 
 
 "On Monday morning we started northwards, 
 not without melancholy thoughts concerning the 
 neglected state of our Church-people in Burghers- 
 dorp, and not knowing how a clergyman could be 
 fully sustained, even if he could be procured. The 
 difficulty of all such places is, that that kind of 
 romantic feeling, if I may so speak, which helps to 
 sustain the spirit of a missionary amid woods and 
 forests, wild people and wild scenes, has nothing 
 to live upon in a small town in the midst of a mo- 
 notonous, uninteresting country. The sense, too, of 
 making a great sacrifice for the sake of doing great 
 good is also non-existent in such a case ; for if even 
 half of a population of a thousand can be won to 
 the Church, or retained within it, greater work, a 
 greater multitude of souls, can be found pressing 
 upon a clergyman close to the doors of his own 
 English home. It is such towns as these that have 
 impressed me so deeply with the necessity of raising 
 a clergy from the midst of the colonists themselves. 
 With kindred in these towns, used to the outward 
 aspect of the country and to the mode of life, with 
 strong local ties, a colonial-bred clergy would have 
 the very sphere suited to their providential position. 
 I am making every exertion to turn the thoughts of 
 z 
 
338 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 religious-minded colonial youths towards the mi- 
 nistry, and to secure the approval of parents. A 
 college at Grahamstown is indispensable, though, 
 of course, it will be always in the highest degree 
 desirable to have a large mixture of clergy from 
 home, and at present we must rely entirely upon 
 them. 
 
 " Our starting was not very successful. One of 
 our Hottentots asked for a shilling to get some 
 tobacco. He ran into the town to get it, and came 
 running back, not with tobacco, but all the worse 
 for a shilling's-worth of brandy suddenly quaffed off. 
 Two or three miles out of the town he fell off the 
 waggon-box, and the wheel was close to him, when 
 the other Hottentot leaped out, and rescued him. 
 He fell, however, himself, and one of the wheels 
 went over him; so that we had a lame and a 
 drunken Hottentot. Mr. Lange, on this occasion, 
 shewed his powers as ox-driver. In the afternoon, 
 after all these morning delays, a very heavy storm 
 burst over us ; torrents of rain fell, the thunder and 
 lightning lasted for hours, and we were forced 
 to stop and spend a damp, dreary evening in the 
 waggon. 
 
 " The next morning we came to a very awkward 
 drift, which the rain had filled, and which was 
 formed at the junction of two streams; in the 
 middle, forking the stream, was a mud-bank ; on 
 the other the mud was very deep. I confess I felt 
 uncomfortable, though Mr. Lange, with his greater 
 
Grahamstown. 339 
 
 experience, thought we should get safely through. 
 Mr. Lange was right. 
 
 " For the first time, we now came across quanti- 
 ties of game. The one thing that has struck me in 
 Africa is the absence of animals. The birds are 
 beautiful; not gaudy, but of intenser colours and 
 more graceful forms than the English ; not so melo- 
 dious, nor indulging in song, yet yielding pleasant 
 and cheerful sounds ; suffering one also to approach 
 very close to them, and to study them well. Animals 
 of all sorts, however, till now, seemed singularly 
 scarce. It was, therefore, no slight pleasure, in this 
 thinly-peopled country, where in the week's jour- 
 ney between town and town so little of life had met 
 one's sight, to see hundreds of spring-boks bounding 
 gracefully along ; while herds of gnus, happy, merry 
 fellows, were galloping in circles, swishing about 
 their tails, and bending their thick necks to the 
 ground. "When we outspanned at night, and the 
 moon was up, a tremendous storm of wind arose, as 
 sharp and piercing as it was strong. Though I 
 heaped coats, cloaks, everything I could lay hands 
 on, I could not get warm the whole night through ; 
 and a waggon is certainly but a thin, shivering habi- 
 tation at such times. Add to this, we were still 
 without wood, and had to conduct our fire on most 
 economic principles. We had the same kind of 
 weather for some days — very cold at night, very hot 
 and scorching in the day. I turned my face a con- 
 siderable number of times on the journey. Some- 
 
340 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 times a few minutes were quite enough to scorch 
 the skin off one's cheeks and nose; and I often 
 thought, with a kind of envy, of the pictures of the 
 bearded bishops of the olden time. 
 
 " Our commissariat department was not splendid; 
 we were far removed from inns, even of the hum- 
 blest and roughest sort. A Dutch farm was the 
 butcher's and baker's shop. "We used to rush 
 out of the waggon as we passed one of these lonely 
 homes ; there got a tough piece of kid or sheep, 
 killed perhaps an hour before; bought some milk 
 where it was possible ; cooked the aforesaid kid, as 
 soon as we outspanned, with all its native tough- 
 ness ; and often found the milk of the consistency of 
 blanc-mange by the time we stopped for tea. How- 
 ever, the open air the whole day through gave us 
 the luxury of a goodly appetite, which made many 
 things taste sweet. 
 
 " On Thursday, by a great push, we reached 
 Colesberg : as the next day was Good Friday, we 
 were necessarily most anxious to escape the desert, 
 and to join our brethren in the town. The ap- 
 proach to Colesberg is very curious. There are 
 large, not rocks, but heaps of huge loose stones, 
 scattered about on every side ; as if some race of 
 giants, having undertaken some vast contracts for 
 the Macadamising of giant roads throughout Africa, 
 had collected a great deal of their material at this 
 spot. The road wound through these curious heaps, 
 and I certainly little thought that a town could 
 
GraJiamstown. 341 
 
 have been placed in the midst of such a barren and 
 unfruitful scene. On rounding a corner, I was 
 struck with the immense number of conies which 
 were running about the rocks; and the Scripture 
 expression of the ' stony rocks for the conies' seemed 
 to supply me with the exact description that I 
 needed, for they were not rocks, but l stony rocks/ 
 The town itself lies in a narrow gully, backed and 
 walled in on either side by a hot range of these 
 rocks, which narrow both the street room and 
 the garden-ground of the inhabitants ; while a broad 
 and deepening 'shirt* cuts the town in two — one 
 side of the main street looking at the other side, 
 across this perilous sluit. We had had experience 
 of these sluits upon our road, and they often make 
 very awkward work for travellers, as a sudden vio- 
 lent storm sometimes rapidly widens or deepens 
 them. The word * sluit' probably is synonymous 
 with slit. At any rate, slit precisely describes 
 the thing. Imagine yourself travelling along a 
 smooth road ; and suddenly you come, not to a 
 ditch, or trench, or river, or cutting, but to a sharp, 
 abrupt slit. In some cases the road is quite striped 
 with these sluits, and they vary from one foot in depth 
 to thirty; the width also varying. I have seen 
 nothing like them at home, as there are neither the 
 same tremendous torrents of rain, nor the same pe- 
 culiar kind of soil. 
 
 We were extremely thankful that we had so 
 pressed on ; for on entering the town we found the 
 
342 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 prospect of an absolute dearth of all ministrations 
 for this most holy time. Poor Dr. Orpen, the cler- 
 gyman of onr Church, had received so serious an 
 attack that he had been quite incapacitated for the 
 slightest duty, and had been compelled to leave 
 the town for change of air. The Dutch minister 
 had had some disagreement with his people, and was 
 gone. Mr. Every, the "Wesleyan teacher, had re- 
 signed his congregation and joined the Church, and 
 there was no successor. Mr. De Koek, the London 
 missionary, had intimated to me some weeks before 
 his desire to join the Church, having the strongest 
 doubts as to his orders, and therefore was by me re- 
 ceived into lay communion. 
 
 "On Good Friday we held divine service twice 
 in Mr. De Koek's chapel, as the church was not 
 yet finished; and again on Easter-day, when we 
 also administered the Holy Communion. As Mr. 
 De Koek had the coloured congregation of the town, 
 I found a few of them were anxious to be admitted 
 into full communion of the Church of England. This 
 I thankfully assented to ; and for the first time these 
 poor people knelt beside the white, and with the 
 white received the blessed Sacrament of the Lord's 
 Supper. Commonly, the black congregations and the 
 white are quite distinct. The Church has to beat 
 down boldly these walls of partition. 
 
 " Erom the very peculiar state of things, I resolved 
 at once to license Mr. De Koek as catechist, that 
 the coloured people, if they were minded to join the 
 
Graliamstown. 343 
 
 Church, might not be utterly destitute of all reli- 
 gious service ; and certainly it was a peculiar state 
 of things, when this town of some 700 or 800 people 
 suddenly was left in charge of a solitary catechist. 
 In the evening of Easter-day, Mr. De Koek held 
 service as catechist of the Church of England, in 
 Dutch, and I found myself for the first time in the 
 midst of a considerable congregation of coloured peo- 
 ple. Though the service was utterly unintelligible 
 to me, I felt it greatly, and I trust that in spirit I 
 was united with these my brethren. 
 
 "Mr. De Koek proposed the day after my depar- 
 ture to call his congregation together, and to tell 
 them plainly what he had been led to do, at the same 
 time telling them that they were not bound to follow 
 him. They followed him to a man, and thus the 
 Church received her first coloured congregation in 
 this portion of South Africa, about 200 souls in num- 
 ber. I have since purchased the chapel. 
 
 " On Monday we were compelled to start. Indeed, 
 a hard week's travelling was before us, in order 
 to enable us to reach Graaff Eeinet on Saturday. 
 Nothing can exceed the dreariness of this ' Karoo ' 
 country. Imagine large, hot, sandy flats speckled 
 over with a low, dingy shrub, which the sheep and 
 cattle browse upon — the country not unnaturally, 
 but unwisely, called ' desert' by Sir V. Molesworth. 
 These sandy, burning flats are surrounded by a low 
 range of hills ; and as you approach an opening you 
 think to see some change of feature, some alteration 
 
344 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 in the scene, some token of the approach of grass, or 
 tree, or bush ; but lo ! another flat, most brotherly 
 in its features, like the alleys of Dutch gardens, 
 spreads itself before your eyes ; again you plod on 
 with the slow, patient oxen, and for days flat opens 
 upon flat. At the end of the week a town appears. 
 The unmentionable article of cow-dung forms the 
 material of the traveller's and of the farmer's fire, 
 for lack of wood. 
 
 "To-day, or rather to-night, Monday, we heard 
 the horrid yells and howlings of the jackal round the 
 waggon, and in the course of the day we saw the 
 pleasant delusion of 'the mirage.' We must have 
 passed about eighty gnus, and an untold number of 
 spring-boks. The days continued to be hot, the 
 nights to be intensely cold ; and no wonder that we 
 felt the keenness of the air, for we were on table- 
 land some 8,000 feet above the sea. As we ap- 
 proach Graaff Eeinet, on Saturday, we suddenly 
 dropped down about 2,000 feet. The road was far 
 too precipitous for me to feel comfortable in the 
 waggon, as it slid downwards, rounding point after 
 point ; accordingly, I walked, in the midst of thun- 
 der and rain. The scenery was refreshingly grand, 
 with crags and rocks, and our old friend the mimosa 
 once again. The town of Graaff Eeinet is an ex- 
 tremely striking one. It is placed in a kind of oasis 
 in the midst of the Karoo, with fine mountains risin<* 
 up around it ; with a river rushing through it ; with 
 trees and shrubs, and garden-ground, green and 
 
Grahamstown, 345 
 
 pleasant to the eye ; with fine broad, straight Dutch 
 streets crossing each other at right angles ; with 
 rows of orange-trees, cypresses, syringas, lining and 
 shading the streets ; with a Dutch church actually 
 possessing a spire ; with a nice English church well- 
 placed, and the ground well planted and kept ; with- 
 in, quiet, easy-looking Dutch people sitting on their 
 stoops, a kind of raised pavement in front of their 
 houses, with a few English of brisker movements, 
 with an air of comfort and prosperity diffused 
 throughout the place. Such is Graaff Eeinet ; and 
 the gable-ends of the houses, and their Dutch fashion, 
 just give one of those ideas of antiquity which in a 
 colony is so refreshing. No one knows what it is 
 to live in a country where there is nothing old, till 
 he has tried it. 
 
 " We were hospitably received by the Rev. Mr. 
 Steabler and his wife ; and it was no slight pleasure 
 at the end of a hard week in the waggon to find one- 
 self in a comfortable English home. Mr. Steabler 
 has the sole charge of the English in the town, who 
 number at present about 400. The Dutch number 
 two or three thousand. The English are likely to 
 increase. The next day, Sunday, we had large con- 
 gregations in the church. I preached twice. On 
 Monday morning I baptized a half-caste girl, an 
 adult, who afterwards partook of the ordinance of 
 confirmation ; so that I literally followed the apo- 
 stles, in baptizing first and confirming immediately 
 afterwards. We had an immense congregation pre- 
 
346 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 sent at the confirmation, among whom were many- 
 Dutch. The candidates behaved devoutly. They 
 were twenty in number. The Holy Communion was 
 afterwards administered, of which a large portion of 
 the confirmed partook. 
 
 " On Wednesday I left GraafF Eeinet, accompanied 
 by Mr. Steabler, Mr. Southey, and one or two more 
 laymen. We reached a group of farms in the even- 
 ing. Mr. Powell kindly housed us ; Captain Eu- 
 bridge gave us breakfast in the morning ; and again 
 we were off, Mr. Steabler returning home. Our poor 
 oxen now began sadly to fail; they had got weak 
 and thin; having been grass-fed, they would not 
 take to the shrub on which sheep and oxen that are 
 used to it thrive so well. The only wonder was, 
 that in this fatal season, when we passed so fre- 
 quently through sick cattle, when hundreds of car- 
 casses were lying along the road, they were alive at 
 all; and I evidently saw that, even in the most 
 favourable year, it was almost impossible to perform 
 such a journey with one span of oxen. I ought to 
 have had one span of oxen for the grass country, and 
 another for the " Karoo.' ' The expense, however, 
 is staggering; even as it is, my journey has been 
 most costly; and though I wish to make annual 
 visitations, I do not see how it can be accomplished 
 where travelling is so enormously dear. With a 
 diocese nearly as large as England, and a day's 
 journey not averaging more than twenty miles, it is 
 easily seen what a visitation must be. 
 
GraTiamstown. 347 
 
 u As the week advanced we saw, alas ! that for the 
 first time we should be behind our time. At one 
 time I had hardly a hope of getting to Cradock at 
 all before Sunday. On Saturday our hopes were 
 very low ; I sent, therefore, ATr. Lange forwards on 
 my horse, that he, at any rate, by pressing on, might 
 give a morning service. He succeeded in reaching 
 the town that night ; but I, with the waggon, was 
 some sixteen miles off. However, Mr. Gilfillan sent 
 off his light cart in the morning to bring me in. By 
 this means, though I missed the morning service, 
 I was enabled to take part in the afternoon service. 
 The town was without a clergyman; Mr. Gray 
 having left, after a three months' notice, — a notice 
 far too short, now that steam communication is at 
 an end. It is impossible, ordinarily, to fill up a 
 vacancy under nine months. As I approached the 
 town, I could not but be saddened by the thought 
 of our religious divisions. No less than three places 
 of worship were visible, besides the Church of Eng- 
 land. This, in the midst of a population of some 700 
 people, was indeed a melancholy spectacle. What a 
 waste of men, of zeal, of means for their support, 
 when this 700 is split up into four divisions, each 
 division requiring its own teacher. One earnest, 
 faithful pastor might easily supply all the wants of 
 the place. 
 
 "I have forgotten to mention two new sights that 
 met me as I neared the town. One was a huge 
 cobra, which crossed the road, with its hood spread 
 
348 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 open. The other was that of a huge, stout, massive 
 Dutchwoman, riding her horse like a man, (a com- 
 mon custom, as I afterwards found,) her petticoats 
 spreading like vast sails on either side. In the dis- 
 tance I could not, at first, make out the nature of 
 the apparition. 
 
 "Mr. Gilfillan very kindly received us during our 
 stay. He was then somewhat unwell. Later in the 
 year his illness assumed more alarming features; 
 and it pleased God to take him, leaving a widow 
 with a large family in her charge. 
 
 " On Monday we started on a cross-country route, 
 towards Post Eetief. The country began to lose its 
 Karoo character, and to be both undulating and 
 bushy again, to our great relief. We were travelling 
 into the pleasanter regions of the south. Our oxen, 
 alas! betrayed still greater signs of weakness, and 
 by the time we reached Mr. Haskell's, some thirty 
 miles from Cradock, we found that it was impossible 
 to proceed. Hr. Maskell, ever ready to oblige us, 
 had neither horse nor ox to lend or let ; the farmers 
 in the neighbourhood, he told us, were all walking, 
 having lost both horses and cattle ; and thus we 
 stood, with our heavy, motionless waggon, in the 
 middle of the road, in blank despair. Begging, 
 buying, borrowing were all out of the question. 
 However, after a depressing pause, we saw a waggon 
 approaching, and curiously enough — what we had not 
 seen before our whole journey through — a spare span 
 sauntered behind. Mr. Lange hastened to see what 
 
Graliamstown. 349 
 
 could be done, but returned in a hopeless state. I 
 urged him to make one more effort. To my inex- 
 pressible relief, the application of the golden argu- 
 ment this time succeeded, and we soon set off. The 
 same day we actually came to grass again, and out- 
 spanned at mid-day beside a beautiful babbling 
 brook, with trees hanging over it. The very sight 
 of the grass rejoiced me, and I could almost enter 
 into the oxen's feelings at the sight. 
 
 " We passed through the new town of Bedford, 
 which is beautifully situated ; and the next day we 
 passed through splendid scenery that quite exhi- 
 larated me. We were again amid high green hills, 
 wooded up to the crown, with brooks, and trees, and 
 flowers, and shrubs in the valleys. By way of coun- 
 terbalancing our enjoyment, we had to climb the 
 most tremendous hill I had yet seen. I thought 
 the waggon must have gone to pieces, as it was 
 jolted upwards from rock to rock by the wondrously 
 patient oxen. I had crossed the road where the 
 Bishop of Capetown's cart had broken down; but 
 this was infinitely worse. The stone staircase of a 
 London house, prolonged for the distance of a mile 
 and a half, is the sort of thing it was; though, of 
 course, the steps were not so even, and often steeper 
 far. The neighbourhood of Post Eetief is grand in 
 the extreme, with a more bracing air than is com- 
 monly found, and with the Winterberg grandly rising 
 up, a mountain about 7,000 feet above the sea. The 
 Bev. J. Willson and his wife kindly received us into 
 
350 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 their comfortable house. The next day, Sunday, we 
 had good congregations. Major Savage, and another 
 officer, and a sergeant, came over from Fort Fordyce, 
 some sixteen miles : the soldiers of the fort and the 
 farmers of the neighbourhood made a goodly and an 
 attentive group of worshippers. I confirmed eight 
 candidates, and administered the Holy Communion to 
 eighteen persons. On Monday I had a satisfactory 
 interview with the parishioners regarding the erec- 
 tion of a church. 
 
 " On "Wednesday we were off again, satisfied that 
 Mr. "Willson was doing good amid his scattered flock. 
 On Friday we reached the pretty, English-looking 
 town of Somerset, where Mr. Pain has been labour- 
 ing with good success. There is a nice company of 
 lay people in the town, who seem to live on very 
 friendly terms with each other, and I received from 
 them many tokens of hospitality. On Sunday there 
 were good congregations. I preached twice, and 
 administered the Holy Communion to thirty persons. 
 On Tuesday I held a confirmation, and on Thursday 
 I consecrated the new church and burial-ground. 
 The church is very church-like, — plain, simple, and 
 well suited to the place. It is a thoroughly satis- 
 factory work, and has cost Mr. Pain much well- 
 spent toil. In the afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Pain 
 entertained the parishioners, and we all sat under a 
 vine-trellis, enjoying the parochial feast. On Friday 
 we started homewards, well pleased with the pastor 
 and his wife, and his kindly flock; and seeing in 
 
 
Graliamstown. 351 
 
 this, as in other places, the wonderful reviving power 
 of the Church. Some six years ago the Church 
 hardly existed here. 
 
 " I have little to relate as concerns my journey 
 home ; and I need not say, after a three months' ab- 
 sence, with what joy I saw my children coming out 
 to meet me, and to get a ride in the waggon, and 
 with what joy I once more leaped from the waggon, 
 and found myself at home. The great fact that 
 seemed to cling to me on my return was this very 
 reviving power of the Church : while other religious 
 bodies seemed, for a long time, alone possessed of 
 life, and alone were caring for souls, God, at last, 
 seemed to quicken the Church, and lo! the brook 
 became a river, and the river a sea ; the few, very 
 few scattered pastors who had toiled far apart from 
 each other, soon found, after the Bishop of Cape- 
 town's arrival, a large company of brethren follow- 
 ing one another quickly, and quickly gathering again 
 the people into the fold. Everywhere churches have 
 risen, or are rising; everywhere congregations have 
 been formed, communicants have increased, and are 
 increasing; and as the means of grace have been 
 multiplied, so have the people availed themselves 
 of them." 
 
 The privations and fatigues of this long jour- 
 ney had been at times very great. The uncer- 
 tainty and scarcity of food was trying to one 
 who even in England had suffered from any 
 
352 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 irregularity in the hours of his meals. In his 
 letters home he mentions on one occasion " get- 
 ting an apple or two instead of his dinner ;" on 
 another, that " Owing to some defect in the 
 lock of the provision-box of the waggon, where 
 he had a small stock of preserved meat for 
 emergencies, he got a cup of tea at a friendly 
 farmer's, and ended the day with only the 
 same fare." 
 
 In another letter he writes : — 
 " I get used to dirt, and eat and drink without 
 looking : it is certainly a trial.' ' 
 
 The heat, too, often severely tried him, as 
 well as the difficulty in getting rest after the 
 day's fatigue. Once he writes : — 
 
 "After passing about ten days in the waggon, 
 and not having had one wink of sleep for three 
 nights till daylight, owing to bites, I was quite re- 
 freshed by a bed, though very tired and fagged." 
 
 Sometimes there occur in writing to Mrs. 
 Armstrong touching expressions contrasting 
 their past with their present life ; such as the 
 following : — 
 
 " I am sorry beyond measure to find how very 
 poorly you have been. I wish indeed I were with 
 you, to comfort you. I feel that our life here must 
 have many bitter trials and anxieties ; but we must 
 
Graliamstown. 353 
 
 try and bear up, and keep good hearts, remembering 
 how many years of sunshine we have had." 
 
 In speaking, however, of these minor difficul- 
 ties and trials, his usual cheerful tone of mind 
 is still preserved. The only words which be- 
 trayed real depression of spirits occur in a 
 letter written from Colesberg, the furthest point 
 in his diocese : — 
 
 "We had two services yesterday, (Good-Friday,) 
 and propose to give two to-morrow, with Holy Com- 
 munion. This, however, entails four sermons on me, 
 which is too much, and the weather is dreadfully 
 against me. However, I must trust in God. It is 
 a sad, sad Easter. Then the post does not come 
 in till Monday evening, and we must start in the 
 morning." 
 
 The Bishop, before he left England, paid a 
 visit to Price's Candle Factory at Vauxhall, 
 and inspected the schools. He examined the 
 boys and girls in Scripture history, and ad- 
 dressed them in his own cordial way, and was 
 so much pleased with what he saw, that he 
 promised to send the young scholars a letter 
 when he reached Africa. He fulfilled this 
 promise after his return from his journey into 
 Kaflrland, and gave no little pleasure by the 
 following account of some of its details : — 
 a a 
 
354 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 " Grahamstown, 
 11 July 28, 1855. 
 " My deae, Feiends, 
 
 " I have not forgotten the happy afternoon I spent 
 among you in your schoolroom last year, when I 
 told you of all the plans which I desired by God's 
 blessing to carry out for the conversion of the poor 
 heathen in South Africa. Since I spoke to you on 
 that day, a great deal has happened to us. I trust 
 you have been offering up your prayers according to 
 your promise, as God seems opening the door for us 
 among the Kafirs. I have now wandered over the 
 whole of this vast diocese, among the Dutch, the 
 English, and the Kafirs, — over rough places and 
 smooth, through rivers and across mountains ; hold- 
 ing divine service sometimes under the shade of a 
 mimosa thorn, sometimes in a rude thatched hut, 
 sometimes in a court-house, sometimes in a comely 
 church. 
 
 " Before I set out on my travels, I bought a good 
 strong waggon and twelve oxen ; I then hired a 
 couple of Hottentot drivers, who managed a huge 
 bamboo whip, the handle about ten feet long, and 
 then a long lash besides, with which they very 
 cleverly flanked the oxen. We should have looked 
 very strange, had we been able to take a drive down 
 Vauxhall, and to stop at the Factory gates. Then 
 behind the front seat I had my mattress spread, 
 which served for my bed at night, as I seldom slept 
 in a house for more than two or three nights a- 
 
Graliamstown. 355 
 
 week. I carried also a small tent, which we used 
 to pitch at night ; and when it got dark we unyoked 
 the oxen and turned them loose to graze (for there 
 are no such things as hedges or fields), cut down 
 some of the mimosa bush, made a blazing fire, had 
 our kettle out, and made our tea. The water we 
 got was often about the colour of chocolate, and 
 somewhat thick besides ; luckily, it was rather a 
 rainy season, so that we were never quite run 
 short, though I confess nothing but extreme thirst 
 would have made one relish it sometimes. When 
 we travelled through Kafirland, the moment our fire 
 burnt up, and the Kafirs caught sight of our waggon, 
 a group of them, men, women, and children, used to 
 come and sit down by the fire, and chatter away 
 merrily till quite a late hour. They would bring 
 thick, sour milk in baskets, and sometimes sweet 
 milk and Indian corn : sixpence and a few pieces of 
 tobacco sufficed as payment. They were always 
 good-tempered and friendly, though there were 
 threatenings of war, and they shewed great quick- 
 ness and intelligence in their remarks. They are 
 very fond of talking, and their language is beautiful 
 in sound ; their figures are fine and handsome ; and 
 they fold their blankets, which they stain a kind of 
 reddish-brown, gracefully around them. 
 
 " Their villages are very different from our nice, 
 pretty English villages. If you had a group of bee- 
 hives on the floor, and looked at them through a 
 microscope, you would then know exactly what a 
 
356 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 Kafir village is like, only, instead of bees, you would 
 see black Kafirs crawling out of the little holes which 
 are their doors. The country in which they live is 
 in many parts very beautiful, and the most exquisite 
 flowers brighten it on every side: geraniums and 
 jessamine, and many such flowers grow quite wild; 
 and I wish I could send you a few waggons-full to 
 deck your rooms at home. 
 
 " I suppose you know that these Kafirs are divided 
 into tribes under different chiefs, just as the Scotch 
 used to be not very long since. The chiefs I went 
 to see were — Umhalla, an old man, but an extremely 
 clever one, and possessed of great influence; then 
 Sandili; and then Kreli. There are about 12,000, 
 perhaps more, in Umhalla's tribe, about 25,000 in 
 Sandili's, and 60,000 in Kreli's, who lives, by-the- 
 bye, beyond British territory altogether, and is com- 
 pletely his own master. As none of these three 
 chiefs had any religious teachers, or any missions of 
 any kind, at the time of my arrival, I thought I 
 would go to them first. At Umhalla's, a few weeks 
 after my arrival, the white flag, the sign of Sunday 
 and of Sunday services, was hoisted for the first 
 time by the Church of England; in a few weeks 
 after I proceeded to visit this our first mission, 
 where we have some earnest missionaries at work. 
 The chief, with his seven or eight wives, received us 
 very kindly. I was particularly struck with the 
 boys and girls, — they were so quick, and so kind to- 
 wards each other ; they made quite a holiday of it 
 
Graliamstown. 357 
 
 and I did not hear, in the midst of all their play, one 
 rough word. The missionaries are now beginning to 
 get a few of them to school, so I assure you the Fac- 
 tory School must look sharp. I then visited Sandili, 
 a tall young man, who also received me very kindly. 
 Mr. Allen, a good and zealous clergyman, is just 
 starting to take up his residence among them, and 
 he will soon have, I trust, his school of little black 
 scholars around him. I next went to Rreli, a very 
 princely and powerful chief, who gave me a kind 
 welcome; so that God is at least giving us the 
 opportunity of preaching His Gospel, and planting 
 His Church among them, if we are faithful ourselves, 
 and use our opportunities. 
 
 " Mr. Waters, an excellent clergyman, was with 
 me yesterday on his way to Kreli, going quite away 
 from the English, and trusting his wife and children 
 and himself among these savages. Curiously enough, 
 he told me that he had to get some goods in the 
 town to take up into this wild country, and among 
 other things he said that he was about to get some 
 Belmont Candles. Thus, you see, what you make at 
 Vauxhall will light the missionary who settles amid 
 these distant tribes of South Africa. In addition to 
 the Missionaries we have, we hope also to have some 
 others from England soon; and if God mercifully 
 blesses their Christian toils, and accepts our prayers, 
 we hope to see this land, so often ravaged by savage 
 wars, converted into a land of peace, and those who 
 now live in the darkness of unbelief brought into the 
 
358 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 fold of Christ, lightened with His marvellous light, 
 and taught to know that Saviour's love which pass- 
 eth knowledge. 
 
 "Hoping that you, my friends, will continue to 
 pray for us, and to use your own gifts as Christian 
 privileges, 
 
 "I remain, 
 " Most faithfully yours in Christ, 
 
 "JOHN GBAHAMSTOW." 
 
 On his return from this journey the Bishop 
 to his great joy received a reply from Mr. Haw- 
 kins, with the promise of increased aid from the 
 Society, and he thus expresses his feelings in 
 reply :— 
 
 " Graliamstoivn, 
 "July 18, 1855. 
 " My dear Me. Hawxiks, 
 " I cannot tell you with what great joy and deep 
 thankfulness I received your letter. It must he a 
 day marked alba nota, or rather albissima nota, in my 
 calendar. An immense burden of anxiety was taken 
 in an instant off my mind ; and I am filled with hope 
 as to the future of the Church of England among the 
 Kafir tribes. I have still to report that the chiefs 
 are in a most favourable mood towards us. Mr. 
 Allen went to Sandili last week, and had a cheering 
 welcome ; he has returned to take up his wife. I 
 also had a friendly message from the chief Kreli, 
 
Graliamstoicn. 359 
 
 and Mr. "Waters goes up next week to choose the site 
 of the mission there. 
 
 "Pray assure the Committee that I deeply appre- 
 ciate the very generous and prompt respond they 
 have made to my appeal; and I trust, by God's 
 mercy and blessing, the sort of venture they have 
 made will really prove to be one of the ventures of 
 faith, and that fresh friends, with fresh offerings, 
 will be raised up to enable them not only to sustain 
 the present grant, but to do what they evidently 
 wish, — increase it in future years." 
 
 The first year of his mission was now closing. 
 Its last incidents were thus recorded by the 
 Bishop, together with touching expressions of 
 his sense of what he owed to the Society which 
 was sustaining him in all his efforts : — 
 
 "Soon after my return, I held my second con- 
 firmation, when twenty-five additional candidates 
 were confirmed, making seventy-five altogether this 
 year in Grahamstown. Considering that we have 
 raised the standard of preparation, and that it is now 
 well known that the confirmations will be annual, 
 this number is considerable. I have been extremely 
 rejoiced to find that the number of communicants 
 continues steadily to increase. 
 
 " The great event that succeeded the confirmation 
 was the receipt of a most cheering letter from the 
 ? Society for the Propagation of the Gospel ;' a letter 
 
360 Memoir cf Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 I had waited for with intense anxiety, and which I 
 received with liveliest joy and warmest thankfulness. 
 Somehow or other, this diocese had received ex- 
 tremely slight help from home. Though, as the 
 district in which all the fierce Kafir wars had taken 
 place, — the heart and centre of these desperate and 
 often repeated struggles, — it had attracted a large 
 share of public attention, yet the Church had passed 
 the district over. I myself stole out of England 
 almost empty-handed ; and because an attack of ill- 
 ness prevented me wandering about to plead for 
 Kafir missions, Kafir missions created but little in- 
 terest. It is among the evils of the day that, un- 
 less missionary bishops, or other missionary clergy, 
 speechify from one end of England to another, and 
 live on platforms, little is effected. 
 
 "It was therefore a day of no common joy, when 
 Mr. Ernest Hawkins told me of the immediate help 
 which the Society had generously made, and of their 
 desire to increase this help in future years. I can 
 only hope most earnestly that large offerings will 
 flow into the treasury of the Society. 
 
 u Cheered by this news from home, 1 now took 
 occasion of one of the Saints' days to send forth from 
 the cathedral church, with prayer and after recep- 
 tion of the Holy Communion, two of our mission- 
 aries — Mr. Allen, recently arrived from England, 
 and Mr. Waters. A considerable congregation was 
 present, and a large number of lay persons com- 
 municated. Just before this I held my second ordi- 
 nation, when Mr. Steabler and Mr. "Waters were ad- 
 

Grali am si own. 361 
 
 niitted into the order of the priesthood , Mr. Meaden, 
 and Mr. Every, lately a "Wesleyan teacher, into the 
 diaconate. 
 
 " Since then, I held a third ordination, when Mr. 
 De Koek, the London missionary of whom I have 
 spoken, was admitted into the order of Deacon. By 
 a curious and happy coincidence, the Bishop of Cape- 
 town was ordaining another Dutchman the same 
 day, who also was to minister amid a coloured flock 
 now gathered into the English Church. 
 
 " The last event I have to record was the laying 
 of the foundation-stone of our infant college, which 
 I dedicated to St. Andrew, as on St. Andrew's Day 
 I received consecration. It was altogether a bright 
 day in our annals. The clergy in their surplices, 
 with Archdeacon Merriman at their head, moved in 
 procession, with a large "body of lay people, to the 
 site of the chapel, where the Lieutenant-Governor 
 and his staff were waiting. There, joining the 
 clergy, I accompanied them to the place prepared. 
 The service was a very solemn one; a large con- 
 course of people appeared to take a lively interest in 
 the undertaking ; and when the stone was laid, we 
 all proceeded in due order to the cathedral for even- 
 ing prayer, which a large congregation attended. 
 The college is now rapidly rising, and, if all is well, 
 will be open in a few months. 
 
 " Thus has passed the first year in South Africa, 
 Another is opening with fresh work on every side ; 
 much to call forth earnest endeavour ; much to enter 
 
362 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong, 
 
 upon with hope ; and in all things God's blessing to 
 be sought. The last words I uttered in England 
 may well be sent forth from hence to the brethren at 
 home, — ' Finally, brethren, pray for us.' " 
 
 Towards the close of the year the Bishop 
 shewed signs of increasing weakness. In the 
 course of September and October he had been 
 a second time at Port Elizabeth, and it was a 
 fatiguing journey; the weather very hot and 
 thundery. He was much depressed, though 
 able to go through a good deal of work. At 
 TJitenhage he had a severe attack of influenza. 
 On his journey homewards he was very unwell, 
 though rejoicing in the thought that in the 
 first year of his episcopate he had visited every 
 town in his diocese, and had been twice at King- 
 williamstown and Port Elizabeth, the two most 
 important places next to Grahamstown. 
 
 On the Sunday after his return the Bishop 
 was too unwell to preach, and from that time 
 Mrs. Armstrong had secret misgivings as to 
 the possibility of his health being restored. 
 She was startled by the peculiar look of languor 
 and exhaustion in his sleep, and the trans- 
 parency of his pale face. He was able, how- 
 ever, after Christmas, to make a short journey 
 to Bathurst, Southwell, the Kowie mouth, &c, 
 though suffering from the excessive heat. 
 
Grahamstown. 363 
 
 "While thus labouring in the special work of 
 the ministry, the Bishop had also exerted him- 
 self for the social improvement of the inhabi- 
 tants of Grahamstown. Among other plans 
 which he had at heart was the foundation of a 
 Literary Institute and Reading-room, which, 
 though embracing all classes, were specially in- 
 tended for the benefit of the mechanics and 
 artisans of the town, whose only resource in 
 their leisure hours hitherto had been found in 
 the canteens. The undertaking met with strong 
 opposition, but the Bishop persevered, and be- 
 fore his death he saw it successfully established. 
 "While he lay on his death-bed, the working 
 men, unconscious of his danger, were pre- 
 paring an address of thanksgiving for his la- 
 borious efforts on their behalf. 
 
 After dwelling so much at length on the 
 Bishop's large designs and unwearying efforts 
 for the advancement of religion throughout this 
 vast diocese, it will help to complete the pic- 
 ture of the man, if we add, as an instance of 
 the care which he exhibited for all the wants of 
 his people, — the less, as well as the more, di- 
 rect needs of the soul, — a lecture, subsequently 
 published, which he gave at the close of this 
 year, on the advisableness of forming an Insti- 
 tute. It recals to mind one remarkable feature 
 
364 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 of his ministerial life in England, — the com- 
 bination of devotedness to the deepest spiritual 
 wants with an enlarged Christian philanthropy, 
 embracing whatever touched upon the moral 
 well or ill being of mankind. It shews how 
 true a continuity existed between the spirit and 
 scope of his work in England and what now, 
 in a larger and more advanced sphere, he was 
 seeking to extend into Southern Africa. The 
 lecture, moreover, proves how, with the full 
 burden of the episcopate pressing on his weak- 
 ened frame, he still retained, in its former 
 freshness, his peculiar power of adapting him- 
 self to the wants and apprehension of various 
 classes of minds, and his open-hearted libe- 
 rality, in the best sense of the term, which in 
 him was ever combined with a most loyal and 
 unswerving adherence to Church principles. 
 It will recal, too, something of the spirited, 
 buoyant flow of lighter eloquence which so sin- 
 gularly characterized his miscellaneous writ- 
 ings in his less burdened life at home : — 
 
 " It was my pleasant portion to act as a kind of 
 herald, and to introduce a series of lectures which 
 were crowned with good success throughout. Re- 
 joicing as I did in any such experiment in a city 
 which has been singularly barren of good or sen- 
 sible relaxations, I rejoiced still more in the (lis- 
 
Grahamstoivn. 365 
 
 covery that when sensible relaxations are supplied, 
 the demand is fully equal to the supply. There was 
 no dearth of attentive audiences ; there was no back- 
 wardness in partaking of the repast prepared ; there 
 was no disheartening utterance of well- digested in- 
 formation to a few stragglers scattered thinly about 
 the room. On the contrary, the lecturers reaped a 
 most abundant harvest of encouragement. Whatever 
 toil or time was spent upon their essays, they were 
 repaid to the uttermost. A large concourse of kindly 
 listeners, who seemed determined to be pleased, 
 flowed together, or rather overflowed, in this and in 
 the other place of meeting. Altogether, there was a 
 general impression that the whole matter had gone 
 off, in Shakespeare's language, ' excellent well ;' and 
 if the object of the undertaking was to create a pro- 
 fitable, or at least a harmless, expenditure of winter 
 nights, to feel the pulse of the community as regards 
 their appreciation of such winter pastime, to test the 
 extent of the want or demand for such recreations, 
 that object was most satisfactorily fulfilled. We 
 found out that lecturers must brush up material to 
 meet the increasing appetite of the increasing au- 
 diences. We found out (and it would be a perilous 
 thing to forget the discovery) that, whatever foolish 
 or vicious amusements may be going on, there are 
 hundreds who prefer what is good when it is offered, 
 — that however youthful lips may taste forbidden 
 fruit, there are hundreds ready to partake of what 
 is innocent and allowed. And as one who thank- 
 
366 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 fully forwarded this experiment, who carefully 
 marked its progress and results, and who feels the 
 deep importance of seizing this and every other 
 means of doing battle with folly, frivolity, and vice, 
 I confess myself emboldened to seek the expansion 
 of the design just accomplished, to enlarge our sphere 
 of operation, to vary and multiply our instruments of 
 attraction, and to open out many channels, instead of 
 one, for the moral elevation and intellectual enrich- 
 ment of the colonial character. 
 
 " Indeed, you may recollect, that at the close of 
 my introductory lecture, I expressed the hope that 
 the time was fast approaching when ' a general in- 
 stitution should rise up in some central position, em- 
 bracing museum, library, lecture-room/ &c. No re- 
 mark was received with stronger or warmer tokens 
 of assent, and I seemed simply to be giving expres- 
 sion to a general, nay, a universal wish. And later 
 still, at a meeting relative to a museum, I ventured 
 to introduce a resolution affirming that 'it was de- 
 sirable to form a General Institute,' and the resolu- 
 tion was unanimously assented to. Convinced, then, 
 by these facts, that there is a desire to embark in 
 such an enterprise, and being also a determined 
 enemy to procrastination and delay, I resolved to 
 make an effort to bring the matter to a practical 
 issue, and hurrying past intentions, wishes, hopes, 
 and unsubstantial projects, to see what can be done, 
 as regards decided and united action. 
 
 "Let us then consider, as a kind of preface or 
 
 _^ 
 
Grali am stoicn. 367 
 
 preliminary to action, the several wants of a city- 
 like ours, in its present state, and the advantage of 
 containing and concentrating various objects under 
 one expansive roof. First, then, let me speak of a 
 museum, — a matter that can be ill staved off where 
 valuable material is apt to get wasted, injured, or 
 dispersed. You are aware that since the commence- 
 ment of the lectures, a museum has actually started 
 into life ; shelves have been filled, gifts have been 
 made, more gifts are doubtless on the road, — the 
 fossils once despised as old bones and stones are now 
 enthusiastically received, unconscious illustrations of 
 the uncertainty and fickleness of human opinion; 
 while ancient reliques of native manners have not 
 been stored up in private repositories in vain. But 
 is this museum to stand alone, to bloom in single 
 blessedness, to lead a solitary life, with its own 
 curator, its own roof and door, its own distinct ex- 
 istence, its own set of friends, its own expenditure, 
 its own resources ? Or, as a library exists already in 
 another part of the city, is it intended, upon medical 
 and sanitary grounds, by the separation and sever- 
 ance of these two establishments, to promote the cir- 
 culation of the blood, to increase the appetite of the 
 citizens, to keep in exercise their locomotive powers, 
 to prevent physical stagnation and inactivity, and 
 to lure the studious from the distant library to the 
 distant museum, and back again from the museum to 
 the library*, when they have wished to see some spe- 
 cimen that illustrates the book they have in hand ? 
 
368 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 "Is the library to be motionless, stiff, unyielding, 
 to make no advances to the museum, no proposal for 
 a partnership for life, to spurn amalgamation, to allow 
 no American idea of annexation ? Is it to have its 
 own librarian, its own separate walls, its own knot 
 of supporters, its own isolated life, its own boast 
 that ' it has no connection with any other house ?' 
 
 "And then comes the lecture-room. Are we for 
 ever to be bandied about from one schoolroom to 
 another, first to one at the far, far end of the town, 
 and then to the other at the bottom of the hill, well 
 suited for boys in day- time, but not built, or rightly 
 placed, for pedestrians in the dark ? Are we, as the 
 lecturers and lectured, to be a kind of vagrants, to 
 have no certain home, no fixed abode, no resting- 
 place of our own, but are we to be ever borrowing 
 house-room of those who most willingly lend it to us 
 at present, but who may bye-and-bye need it for 
 themselves ? 
 
 "As to a town-hall, a generous municipality, hap- 
 pily not inclined to hoard up their revenues, like 
 Dutch farmers, in their waggon-chests, must be pre- 
 pared to bestow some generous contribution by which 
 they might secure what this rising city does not as yet 
 possess. A lonely town-hall, with the present means 
 of the municipality, would not, if I may dare to 
 whisper it, be a very imposing structure ; and though 
 in the very unfitting apartment which they occupy 
 I have been awed by the vast dimensions of a grand 
 Grecian pile pictured on the wall, I fear it is among 
 
Gralictmstoicn. 369 
 
 'the castles in the air/ and has not mnch chance of 
 coming down and settling substantially in its place, 
 till about the year 2000. In the meantime — say for 
 a century or two — we might condescend to have a 
 good large room, to play the part of a town-hall, in 
 connection with the library and museum. 
 
 " Again, supposing it becomes a rale to have a 
 course of lectures during the winter months of every 
 year, these, after all, are not, I trust, to be our only 
 implements of war in battling with the fatal in- 
 fluence of canteens, especially if we regard the im- 
 provement of the working men, who are not pos- 
 sessed of abundant means, and who cannot afford to 
 subscribe to everything, or to pay any high sub- 
 scription. Lectures are but occasional relaxations, 
 and therefore, in order to be up to the canteens, we 
 should provide well-lighted, cheerful reading-rooms, 
 with good periodicals and newspapers, and these 
 rooms opened at the lowest possible cost, so that 
 when the young working mason or carpenter has 
 laid down his trowel or his saw, he may leave his 
 lonely lodging, and find both a little social life and 
 some reading to his taste, to carry off the evening 
 without harm. 
 
 " I must not forget to mention the Medical Society, 
 a young but vigorous and active body, which doubt- 
 less might be glad of a good and permanent place 
 of meeting. 
 
 " Having, then, seen that we require a library, 
 museum, town-hall, lecture and reading-rooms, the 
 
 Bb 
 
370 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 question is, are we to indulge in the useless luxury 
 of half-a-dozen separate structures, which we cannot 
 afford either to rear or to rent, which will pinch us 
 in their accumulated and separate expenses, and 
 which will make each set of supporters justly dread 
 the depressing period of Christmas bills ? Take the 
 mere expense of area or of roof which will be re- 
 quired; descend to the sublunary consideration of 
 rent, see the waste involved in ' the separate sys- 
 tem,' consider the difficulty of getting adequate sup- 
 port; a separate subscription to each separate object, 
 when it leads a separate life, and has not a common 
 staff or common roofage, would soon cause the wheels 
 of this dislocated machinery to stop for want of oil. 
 I see no hope of any single undertaking attaining 
 permanent prosperity, if each tries to live in costly 
 and extravagant isolation. The disease called atrophy 
 will soon do its work. It is clear at once that it 
 would be a great economy of funds to combine these 
 various parts of a system into one systematic whole, 
 to have one area for the erection of one fabric, to 
 spread one roof over all, to blend together things de- 
 signed to work one way. 
 
 " What great convenience, too, to have these vari- 
 ous projects housed in one central spot; and I can 
 only hope that some generous citizen, fired with a 
 generous impulse, may at once be led to offer a fitting 
 site, on condition that these various limbs and mem- 
 bers of a general plan may be brought together, and 
 compacted into one vigorous and harmonious frame. 
 
GraJiamstoicn. 371 
 
 We are not strong enough, we are not populous 
 enough, as yet, to sustain with energy a divided 
 multitude of institutions ; our strength lies in unity, 
 our success in combination, even upon grounds of 
 economy, while our community is of its present size : 
 the bundle of rods must not be untied, else they will 
 be broken to pieces, one by one, and soon scattered 
 to the winds. 
 
 " Whether the formation of a General Institute 
 would answer as an investment, as a mercantile 
 affair, as an undertaking likely to yield fair interest, 
 and so to obtain a sufficient number of proprietors or 
 shareholders, I do not pretend to know. I am not 
 skilled in per-centages. But whether the under- 
 taking should be raised by donations or by shares, I 
 trust there is sufficient public spirit to secure its 
 erection in one way or the other. A building might 
 be reared that would at once grace and beautify the 
 city, and greatly further, as a social instrument, the 
 rational refreshment, the intellectual and moral pro- 
 gress of the citizen. With good hoj e might we 
 enter on such an enterprise, for whatever is devised 
 for the purification of our social state, though it may 
 be among the indirect influences and agencies, will 
 not be without its blossom and its fruit. Good re- 
 creations, good amusements, good stop-gaps for the 
 leisure hour, have their use and office in moulding 
 and toning the character of an age. 
 
 " Now, so far I have been speaking of the value of 
 union as an element of success on economic grounds, 
 
372 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 and I have been speaking entirely, as yon mil have 
 observed, of material nnion, of the combination of a 
 certain amount of brick and mortar, and slate and 
 deal, on one given spot, that one stmcture might 
 economically supply our varied wants. 
 
 " But in this first view of the question I feel that 
 I have been pointing to the lesser class of advantages 
 likely to result from one good scheme, one good cen- 
 tral institution. I have been dwelling on the lesser 
 evils of the dismemberment of the various objects we 
 have in view, and have been taking rather the 
 pounds, shillings, and pence aspect of things, and 
 the convenience of the frequenters of lectures, libra- 
 ries, and museums, though neither of these topics, 
 the monetary or the convenient, can quite be waived 
 aside. 
 
 "But the great ground, the great argument, the 
 great cause which has urged me, as by a constrain- 
 ing necessity, to take the part which I have now 
 entered on, to invite you here, and to appeal to you 
 with all earnestness, is this, — the desirableness of 
 unity, not of brick and mortar, not of stones and 
 planks, not of rooms and roofs, but unity among 
 ourselves on points and subjects where we can 
 unite, co-operation where we can co-operate, har- 
 mony and concord where we can agree and be har- 
 monious. Just revert to the spectacle of unity, of 
 co-operation and of harmony without any compro- 
 mise, any sacrifice, any surrender of one jot or tittle 
 of real principle which we enjoyed during the recent 
 
Graliamstown. 373 
 
 lectures. May we not frequent museums, read peri- 
 odicals and newspapers, sit in libraries, and hear 
 lectures, without any serious clashing of opinion ? 
 Is there not certain common ground, such as art, 
 and science, and literature afford, which we can 
 amicably occupy together, and which we should 
 jealously preserve as i commonage/ if I may so call 
 it, where all have equal right and privilege of out- 
 spanning, without any trespass upon other men's 
 principles, and without any abandonment of our 
 own ? We saw during this series of lectures, Church- 
 men, "Wesleyans, Independents, Eoman Catholics, 
 and other religionists, sitting side by side, and I 
 have yet to learn whether any of us were the worse 
 for the contact. 
 
 "But unless we have a general institute, I see 
 plainly that institutes will be thrown out by the 
 different religious bodies; and such a prospect is, 
 in my judgment, to be deeply dreaded, because, in- 
 stead of concord and kindly intercourse, where these 
 can safely and honourably exist, without the least 
 risk or sacrifice of deep religious convictions, we 
 shall have discords, antagonisms, proselytisings, 
 party efforts, and party spirit. A religious hue will 
 be given to each separate music-class; a struggle 
 about doctrines and views will be carried into read- 
 ing-rooms; periodicals will be voted in or voted 
 out, according to their religious bearing; the stu- 
 dents of drawing will not be suffered to sketch trees 
 or rocks without the consciousness that it is part of 
 
374 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 a religious movement, and the peace of the city will 
 be gone. 
 
 "lam not one of those who make light of reli- 
 gious differences, who would overlook or smear over 
 real points of diversity, who would aim at laxity or 
 indifferentism as to creeds and doctrines, or who 
 would try to create an unsatisfactory and hollow 
 form of religious unity by suppressing, or treating as 
 unimportant, or holding in reserve, topics of dis- 
 agreement. But it is because I reverence, and would 
 not treat as unimportant, a man's grave convictions, 
 because I do not wish for a shallow, apparent reli- 
 gious unity where we do not agree, because I feel 
 that on many most momentous points we are con- 
 scientiously separated from one another, because we 
 have subjects which we cannot make common, and 
 which we cannot merge, — it is because of this that 
 I would all the more strenuously advocate the pre- 
 servation of what common ground we have, all 
 the more jealously guard against the needless en- 
 croachment of religious opinions, all the more anx- 
 iously assert the need of unity where we can con- 
 scientiously unite. As there are matters of general 
 interest, information of a general nature which we 
 can communicate or receive, occasions and places in 
 which we can all meet together, — then, for religion's 
 sake, let us keep these clear and distinct, just as it is 
 important to keep the religious ground clear and dis- 
 tinct. Our religious disunion may, we hope, at any 
 rate, be less embittered, and may be more mercifully 
 
Graliamsioicn. 375 
 
 considered by Him who is above, if we try to com- 
 bine where it is possible, if we do not lessen or 
 narrow the boundaries of what I would call our 
 secular unity; while I believe that religion must 
 most grievously suffer, if we are struggling about it 
 in reading-rooms and drawing classes, in museums 
 and libraries. 
 
 "You must see, of course, that no one class of 
 religionists would be suffered to have a monopoly of 
 the idea of an institute. As this idea is no par- 
 ticular person's invention here, and cannot be appro- 
 priated or claimed as personal property, and has 
 been for some time generally entertained, so no one 
 religious body can take out a patent for it, and use 
 it as an article exclusively its own. * And if any 
 religious body, in the midst of the general discussion 
 of this idea, rises up, and says, ' Here is an insti- 
 tute, we have started the thing already, and we 
 intend to give it our own religious hue, and our 
 own religious periodicals will lie upon the table, and 
 our own religious teachers will be the managers, in 
 a perpetual succession/ — what is likely to result 
 from this ? Why, of course, every other religious 
 body will start up and say, ' If instead of a General 
 Institute these undertakings are to be directly reli- 
 gious enterprises, seeking the advancement of parti- 
 cular religious opinions, taking a religious side ; we, 
 out of self-defence, must each of us have our insti- 
 tute, and our religious periodicals, and our religious 
 teachers at the head ; and then the thing will run, 
 
376 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong, 
 
 of course, through the town, and there will be 
 a struggle in every religious body for its institute, a 
 rousing of its zeal for its institute, a busy, ardent 
 canvassing for its institute, — and then we shall all 
 be plunged into the war of institutes. 
 
 "Do not think that in such a state of things, 
 a museum without a creed, a library without a creed, 
 a reading-room without a creed, would have the 
 least chance of flourishing. "We should be in the 
 midst of the Crusades, — the bones and stones, fossils 
 and Kafir ornaments, pickled snakes and botanical 
 specimens would be either divided into minute par- 
 ticles between the several contending institutes, or 
 more probably would be abandoned as useless imple- 
 ments in a religious movement. I care not who 
 begins, the result will be the same. I am arguing 
 out a general principle. When once one religious 
 body has thrown out its institute, the rest must 
 follow, each forced into action to guard and to pre- 
 serve their several domains. Then would come the 
 melancholy spectacle and the melancholy reality of 
 an utterly distracted town, — distracted, too, not 
 where it was a necessity, not where it was a high 
 and solemn duty, but where with the most scrupu- 
 lous conscientious adherence to any particular faith, 
 there might have been agreement, concord, peace. 
 
 "Nor will it at all remedy the case, if any parti- 
 cular religious body starting an institute (in order to 
 state the case with the utmost possible fairness, let 
 me imagine that body to be the Church of England,) 
 
Grahamstown. 377 
 
 were to say, '* We have, it is true, our bishop and 
 our clergy as our governing body, but we do not 
 intend to be in the least degree exclusive ; we will 
 receive, in the language of the day, ' the members 
 of any denomination;* our doors are open to all; we 
 are not bigoted, and do not wish to keep the thing 
 to ourselves ; we are liberal and large-hearted, and 
 care not who comes in;' because I can imagine the 
 "Wesley an or the Independent immediately saying to 
 us, 'Why do you then have an exclusive manage- 
 ment, if there is no idea of proselytising, of influ- 
 encing, of getting a religious hold over young men ? 
 Why not have the ministers of any denomination 
 united with you in the governance of the body ? 
 Then we should have some confidence; then the 
 character of non-exclusiveness would be fulfilled; 
 but now we are afraid of you on this very ground, 
 not that you are going to look after your own 
 people, but that you are wanting to draw our 
 people into the net, under your religious govern- 
 ance.' And as I am putting the case quite fairly, 
 so may the Church turn round to the Wesleyan and 
 Independent, and say, ' If you have an exclusive 
 board of management, and yet open your doors to 
 the members of any denomination, and to our young 
 Churchmen among the rest, we are afraid of you, 
 and we must look after our own young people our- 
 selves, and we are not the least uncharitable or un- 
 wise in regarding an institute, so governed, as a 
 proselytising machine? 
 
378 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 " Seeing, then, all these evils and difficulties likely 
 to rise, if religions bodies, as snch, separately start 
 their institutes, — seeing the preservation of a good 
 deal of -unity if we enter as allies into a campaign 
 with idleness, and its fatal train of vice and profli- 
 gacy, without classifying institutes as direct reli- 
 gious undertakings, I feel impelled to plead for 
 the formation of a General Institute. By such a 
 plan we shall prevent religious heat, and advance 
 the morals of the place ; we shall have in the region 
 of literature and science certain common ground 
 where we can come together without any damage to 
 our own religious views. It is my sincere and my 
 intense desire for such harmony and concord as we 
 are capable of attaining, that has impelled me to 
 take this step, and to force myself upon your atten- 
 tion. I make an earnest and heartfelt appeal to 
 good feeling and common sense. The issue is with 
 yourselves. I could not rest without speaking out 
 my mind. Having freely delivered it on a subject 
 on which I warmly feel, it only remains for me to 
 say that this very expression of feeling brings its 
 own relief; and I trust that I have so spoken as not 
 to wound one single person, however sensitive, as 
 my sole desire has been fairly to state the case, with 
 good- will towards all. Perhaps, to bring the matter 
 to a practical issue, it would be best for me to pro- 
 pose that such gentlemen as are in favour of a 
 General Institute should meet in the Court-house, 
 on Tuesday, at four o'clock, to consider the best 
 
Graliamstown. 370 
 
 means of furthering the design. Let me now thank 
 you for the hearing you have given me. Whether 
 this attempt fails or prospers, I can only assure you 
 that I have been warmed with a desire to advance 
 the general good, to increase the intellectual re- 
 sources of the city, to encourage sensible and im- 
 proving tastes, to promote kindly feeling and kindly 
 fellowship with each other, and the largest measure 
 of unity within our reach, without trespassing on 
 those grave and solemn subjects which are reserved 
 for their own fitting place and time." 
 
THE LAST ILLNESS. 
 
 a.d. 1856. 
 
 A letter to a friend written at trie begin- 
 ning of this year, betrays the conscious burden 
 of physical infirmity under the pressure of un- 
 ceasing toil : — 
 
 "Jan. 15, 1856. 
 
 " ~My deae , 
 
 " I feel that I have treated you infamously, or, at 
 any rate, have appeared to have done so. But the 
 truth is, that an attack of influenza, a pressure of 
 business, many worries, absence at Port Elizabeth, 
 absence again on a visitation along the sea-coast, 
 extreme heat, have combined to make me appear 
 most forgetful and most unfriendly. Since the in- 
 fluenza, all my work has been a strain upon me, and 
 I have had a great amount of varied cares and busi- 
 ness. However, thank God, I am now somewhat 
 rallying after this weakening and depressing malady, 
 and a projected tour into Kafirland, among my 
 friends the Kafirs, will, I trust, set me up 
 
Graliamstown. 381 
 
 " The college is rising rapidly near our own house. 
 It looks well so far, and as I am surveyor of the 
 works and architect, it affords me constant interest. 
 The progress of the Church in this place has un- 
 happily raised the opposition of the Wesley ans. . . . 
 
 However, there is no progress without 
 
 antagonism, and as they were once dominant in 
 Grahamstown, some allowance must be made for 
 their feelings under changed and changing circum- 
 stances. 
 
 11 Our missions are all, as far as I can judge, pros- 
 pering, and the natives shew great friendliness to 
 the missionaries. At this season there is usually a 
 dread of war, but not a rumour is heard at present, 
 
 which looks well I am full of hope 
 
 about our Church missions, if we are but well backed 
 up from home. It is remarkable, too, that though 
 last in the field, we are almost exclusively dealing 
 with the Kafir race, the noblest of all. The "Wes- 
 leyans have narrowed themselves chiefly to the Ein- 
 gos, so that a field is open to us that we hardly could 
 
 have expected To keep the English towns 
 
 all supplied with clergy is difficult, and just when I 
 am wanting more clergy for missionaries, I have 
 about four vacancies among the English. In some 
 places a good layman is found to volunteer as a 
 kind of catechist during vacancies, but this is not 
 always the case. Then money-matters are trying. 
 
 I think our accounts, so multifarious and 
 
 so large, would drive you wild in a week. All pay- 
 

 
 382 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 ments of all sorts come through my hands, and with 
 missionaries, and buildings, and clergy for the Eng- 
 lish, and transport of clergy, and help for church- 
 building, &c, the work is great and harassing 
 
 " With every good wish for your welfare in all 
 things, 
 
 " Believe me, dear , 
 
 " Most sincerely yours, 
 
 "JOH^ GRAHAMSTOW." 
 
 In another letter written about the same 
 time he speaks more fully and very touchingly 
 of the declining state of his health. It is 
 a very valuable letter, because of the wise 
 counsel which it contains, and as shewing 
 how, under the heavy burden of his episcopate, 
 he was able to preserve his individual care for 
 his friends whom he had left in England : — 
 
 " Grahamstown, 
 "Jan. 19, 1856. 
 
 " MT DEAJt , 
 
 " I really have not been able till now to sit down 
 quietly and calmly to answer your letter. It came 
 just before my journey to Bathurst, when I was 
 both very poorly and very busy, and since my return 
 I have not been able to get a quiet time for writing 
 as I would wish. 
 
 u And first, you must let me prose a little about 
 myself, as you so kindly ask me to tell you how I 
 
The Last Illness. 383 
 
 feel, and what I think abont my present health. A 
 few weeks ago I should have written gloomily, as I 
 then felt myself gradually slipping back, but I am 
 now again more hopeful. At the same time, I have 
 come to the conclusion that I am likely to be a 
 'creaking wheel' for the rest of my days. I may 
 go on creaking for a considerable time, but I do not 
 expect health again. The cough has become chronic; 
 the doctor here evidently doubts its ever leaving me, 
 though he does not think my lungs affected. If 
 God should give me health, I shall take it as a great 
 but unexpected gift. However, I am able to get 
 through my work, and though I cannot do half I 
 wish, yet work is certainly good, as a diversion of 
 the mind from self, — a hard matter in poor health to 
 effect, as one is so apt to be analysing and criticis- 
 ing all one's sensations. So much for myself; a 
 longish tale, not written, I assure you, despondingly, 
 but simply a sincere narrative of wha£ I think my 
 real condition is. 
 
 " And now for yourself I think the 
 
 particular trials of your condition, and your par- 
 ticular feelings, as described in your letter, I am 
 able more feelingly to enter into from my own two 
 years' ill-health. I mean, that I am able now better 
 to understand the effect of a lengthened state of 
 things than before. Short, sharp sicknesses have 
 been apt greatly to impress me, and to bring hea- 
 venly things vividly, strongly, warmly, before me ; 
 but I see the danger of lengthened invalidishness. 
 
384 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 I expected more from it. I thought I should keep 
 those same sort of impressions about religion that 
 seemed to absorb me when under shorter and sharper 
 trials : whereas I find an immense temptation to 
 lassitude, dulness, deadness, a sort of leaden state of 
 mind, little pleasure from outward things, and yet 
 little warmth and fervour about inward things; 
 1 the better country,' the reality of it, not so vividly 
 presented to, or abiding in, the mind as I expected. 
 Thus I have learnt to find out by actual experience 
 that there are particular dangers and temptations 
 about any prolonged form of trial. And thus I 
 have been speaking of my own feelings only that I 
 might transfer what I have said in some degree to 
 yourself. Your trial seems especially to be a pro- 
 longed one, and without entering into its particulars, 
 which I purposely avoid doing, I see plainly the 
 temptation you speak of as a natural accompaniment 
 of such a form of trial. That is, it is natural that 
 you should get simply uninterested in things without 
 and within; that you should just get through the 
 day, and get one day off after another; that you 
 should fall into a calm indifferentism or toleration 
 of trial, unwarmed by deep religious feeling ; that 
 you should say to yourself, I am going through 
 with it ; I am not conscious of not doing my duty ; 
 I think I am doing it ; I do not resist ; I acquiesce 
 and bear in a certain kind of way ; and with little 
 enjoyment in life, with a dull sky, is not this as 
 much as can be expected? This is the natural 
 
The Last Illness. 385 
 
 state of the case, and it is well that you should 
 place all this plainly and decidedly before you, as 
 you seem to have been doing; because, though 
 natural, it is the very state of feeling to be struggled 
 against with all your heart, that you may rise from 
 a dull, dreary acquiescence in God's will, first to a 
 more loving submission, and then, I trust, to those 
 inward comforts which in due time the love of God 
 briogs, i. e. after, in the beautiful language of 
 Scripture, we have been i exercised ' in trial. I 
 speak the more freely because I know you wish it, 
 and because you see that I am personally neither 
 unconscious of, nor exempt from, the same state of 
 mind, though mine arises from physical, yours from 
 mental causes. 
 
 "And while I take you at your word, and be- 
 lieve that you do not feel enough of the love of God, 
 and while I see the natural effect of continued trial 
 in your present state of feeling, I have always felt 
 most strongly that God had great purposes of love 
 
 towards yourself in all his dealings with you 
 
 Whenever I have been disposed to feel sad about 
 you, I have always checked myself by calling it a 
 kind of rebellion not to discern God's manifest 
 hand of love in measuring out your earthly por- 
 tion. ' The better country' always rose to my mind, 
 as if on that you were to bend and fix all your 
 thoughts, and all your views of happiness. Of 
 course, the practical question is, how to get out of 
 dulness of heart, and to rise in warmth of love 
 c c 
 
386 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 towards God. Probably different ways will succeed 
 at different times and moods. Sometimes I think 
 the study of a particular character affects one pro- 
 fitably, especially that of St. Paul. (Of course, that 
 of our Lord Himself is always to be our study, and 
 in such a case as yours especially, His life from His 
 youth till He went forth, a realization of His life 
 among His kindred who knew Him not, from week 
 to week, and year to year). St. Paul seems so espe- 
 cially to shew a loving and thankful spirit. Then, 
 again, warm writings like Thomas a Kempis. I 
 need not speak of prayer ordinarily, but I would 
 speak of occasional prayer at odd times — a remedy I 
 would urge you to use much more ; I mean, when 
 anybody went out of the room and you were alone, 
 the instant raising up of the heart in silent prayer, 
 or the hurrying up-stairs and kneeling down. Then 
 I think a particular selection of texts of Scripture, 
 written out and chosen by oneself, are good to refer 
 to ; a single text often does more good than a whole 
 chapter. Then, again, the recollection that as a 
 spiritual fact God does not seem to give to some so 
 much present comfort from religion, and it will not 
 matter soon what the degree of comfort was, as 
 long as we were religious. I can only hope that 
 these few hints may help you a little. I feel very 
 thankful that you have written, and if I thought 
 that the slightest possible grain or atom of harm 
 existed in such expression of your state of mind, I 
 should be the very first plainly to urge you to say 
 
The Last Illness. 387 
 
 nothing, and to bear your burden alone. But I 
 believe that God does wish us to help one another 
 along the narrow way ; and as we do need help, we 
 may seek it of each other without infringement of 
 any duty. You know that I am not one who has 
 ever encouraged morbid longings after godly counsel 
 or sympathy, but there are real cases and real states 
 of trial, in which plain, sincere counsel may be sought 
 and may be given." 
 
 A few days later he gives a full and very 
 hopeful account of the prospects of the mis- 
 sions, in a letter to the Secretary of the " So- 
 ciety for the Propagation of the Gospel :" — 
 
 " GraJiamslown, 
 " January 21, 1856. 
 " My deae Hk. Fleming, 
 * # % # * 
 
 "Now as to missions, I hope to be able to tell 
 you more of these bye-and-bye, as we start on Fe- 
 bruary 11th, please God, for Kanrland, in hope to 
 visit all our new missions. Last year, you will re- 
 collect that only one, that at Umhalla's, was at work, 
 and even that only in its infancy. Now we have 
 three others in operation, and all the e'entres, I trust, 
 of an expanding work. I need not tell you — indeed, 
 you know to a certain extent, how deeply important 
 it is that these expansions should rapidly take place. 
 The centres are well-placed, the people favourable, 
 our missionaries so far well received, the fields white for 
 
388 
 
 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong* 
 
 
 
 the harvest, the heathen population streaking thickly 
 every valley, and outposts easily thrown out, till the 
 land is studded with missions communicating, sym- 
 pathizing with, and sustaining each other. All this 
 is to be done — is within our reach, and needs only a 
 bold, determined effort made in faith. I do not say 
 that after such an occupation, the conversion will be 
 rapid ; on the contrary, I expect no hasty movement 
 from a deliberative race ; but they must see some- 
 thing like a great work done among them, and feel 
 the influence, not of a straggling, isolated missionary, 
 but of a body, a sympathetic fellowship, shewing 
 forth the beauty of holiness and the power of the 
 Gospel over their own lives. All this you know, 
 but still I must say it, that you may say it as from 
 me to the Church at home, and to my brethren who 
 incline to succour us in our work. As to any details, 
 these must come after my journey; but still I must 
 tell yon at once that I have just heard from the mis- 
 sionary at Keiskamma Hoek, who sends me the joy- 
 ful tidings that the Eingos there are now asking us 
 to receive some of their children to board and live 
 with him. This is an important movement ; as this 
 separation from heathen parents will give us a valu- 
 able hold over' them. Sir George Grey has kindly 
 offered to aid us in the erection of dormitories, and 
 the plans and estimates are being already prepared ; 
 as we have no idea of letting the grass grow under 
 our feet. I had also a very hopeful letter from Mr. 
 Waters, at Kreli's, who still continues to receive 
 
The Last Illness. SS9 
 
 kindness from this powerful chief, and who lately- 
 had an interesting interview with him. He is get- 
 ting on with schools ; has one native teacher at work ; 
 and requires, if we could have them, a couple of dea- 
 cons to aid him, that he may extend his labours. 
 He had a good deal of hardship at starting. To shew 
 what occasionally has to be borne : — The wife of one 
 of the mission-party was confined in her waggon, 
 and then had to jolt on; the weather wet, the roads 
 all slush and mud ; and a shed to be knocked-up on 
 their arrival to shelter the party. However, now 
 they are more comfortable; and there is evidently 
 plenty of work opening upon them, and, thank God, 
 a willing labourer at the head. At Sandili's mis- 
 sion, Mr. Allen is hard at work, superintending 
 brick-making and house -building, necessary prelimi- 
 naries for his more important labours. At Umhalla's 
 the year's labour has evidently told: progress has 
 been made, — as much, indeed, as we could expect 
 where men work with the ordinary assistance of the 
 Spirit. Attachments are springing up between the 
 missionaries and the natives ; and I am thoroughly 
 content with the measure of blessing that has been 
 given. I think you may judge from all this, how 
 very, very anxious I am, not only to have as much 
 monetary help as last year, but double the amount. 
 So much depends now upon our enlarging our 
 labours, quickly and decisively. Present vitality, 
 present exertion, present spiritual energy, is what we 
 want, and what I pray for earnestly. 
 
390 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 # * * * * 
 
 On the 24th of January the Bishop took 
 possession of Bishopsbourne, the house which 
 he built for the See, planned and superintended 
 during its building by himself a . It is situated 
 on high ground, at a short distance from the 
 town. The walls of St. Andrew's College, also 
 built after the Bishop's own plans, were at the 
 time rising from the ground, on a site nearly 
 adjoining Bishopsbourne. 
 
 On the 12th of February the Bishop started 
 on his last journey to the mission-stations. The 
 rains were heavy, and greatly impeded his pro- 
 gress. The heat was overpowering; even the 
 older colonists regarding it as unusually oppres- 
 sive. The Bishop travelled in a light-horse 
 cart, the jolting of which proved to be even 
 more distressing than that of the waggon in 
 which his former journeys had been made. 
 The roads, too, had become worse than usual 
 from the violence of the rains. He suffered 
 
 a The Bishop was enabled to build Bishopsbourne by in- 
 vesting in it £1,500 of the endowment of the sec, the Society 
 for the Progagation of the Gospel furthering this arrange- 
 ment. The Bishop's friends in his late diocese had raised a 
 fund of £400, which was also devoted to this object. An ad- 
 ditional sum raised among the friends who had worked with 
 him in the Penitentiary cause, was expended on the college 
 chapeL 
 
 .,, 
 
The Last Illness. 391 
 
 greatly from sickness which continued daily, 
 like the sickness at sea. More than usually 
 harassing work awaited the Bishop at King- 
 YTillianistown, one of the chief places on his 
 route ; difficulties having arisen from ques- 
 tions affecting the appropriation of seats in the 
 church, and the unexpected resignation of the 
 catechist. He was consequently detained be- 
 yond the intended time, and his visits to other 
 places were rendered more hurried and fa- 
 tiguing. 
 
 The Bishop hastened home to spend Holy- 
 week in Grahamstown. 
 
 A letter to Mr. Hawkins records his im- 
 pressions of the state of the missions, his 
 vast plans, his glowing hopes. It is a very 
 touching circumstance, that at the time when 
 the powers of his own life were sensibly ebbing 
 away, the life of the missions which he had 
 planted was just freshly springing, and open- 
 ing before his eyes into boundless prospects of 
 blessing, to follow him whither he was even 
 then, as it seemed, " fleeing away to be at 
 rest :"— 
 
 " Grahamstoivn, 
 "March 26, 1856. 
 " My deae Me. Hawkixs, 
 * * * • * 
 
 " It is now little more than a year since, with much 
 
392 
 
 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 anxiety, and yet, I must say, with something of 
 ardour also, I laid a plan before Sir George Grey, 
 our Governor, by which I committed the Church of 
 England to the prompt occupation of a large mis- 
 sionary field. I undertook to plant missions, pend- 
 ing the good- will of the chiefs, in Sandili's country, 
 and in Kreli's, and among the Eingos at Keiskamma 
 Hoek, and among the Kafirs labouring in this city; 
 in addition to a promise of enlarging our then infant 
 operations in the territory of the chief Umhalla. 
 Such promises were momentous, and in making them 
 while there were neither missionaries nor money 
 within reach, I confess that I could not but some- 
 what tremble, even though I believed that God was 
 Himself calling us to toil for the conversion of the 
 heathen here, and even though I had a strong con- 
 viction that the heart of the Church of England 
 would at last, by God's grace, yearn in true Chris- 
 tian love towards the people of a land so long neg- 
 lected by her. 
 
 "Having made these promises, my next step was 
 personally to visit the chiefs, and this visit, marked 
 by such kind greetings, and such kind offers of pro- 
 tection to our missionaries, filled me, I confess, with 
 hope and joy. 
 
 "And now let me describe our condition, and the 
 actual progress that has been made. Eirst of all, the 
 good news came that the Society itself, shewing a 
 generous ardour in the cause, made a grant of £1,500. 
 Next, missionaries sprang up, or rather were quickly 
 given to us, and went forth gladly into the wilder- 
 
 .Li 
 
The Last Illness. 393 
 
 ness. I have just returned from visiting three out 
 of the four stations. First, I went to St. Luke's, in 
 Umhalla's country. Here I found the mission-party 
 to consist of the Rev. J. Hardie, M.A., the Bev. ~W. 
 Greenstock, Mr. Pascoe, a catechist, Mr. Birt, our 
 agriculturist, and Mrs. Sedgeley, our matron. I at- 
 tended the services on Sunday, and found Mr. Green- 
 stock able already to preach with ease and animation 
 in Kafir: the congregation was considerable, and 
 most attentive. The chief himself, when not pre- 
 vented by illness, was always present, and he en- 
 couraged the people to go. The natives, who had 
 known no .Sundays, now for some little distance 
 round generally respected the day, and abstained 
 from work. As I stayed some few days, I saw much 
 of the people, and my impression was that, spirit- 
 ually, a good year's progress had been made. The 
 natural inquisitiveness of the Kafir seemed, in some 
 cases, to be rising into an enquiring spirit. I am 
 not in expectation of speedy conversions ; but look- 
 ing soberly at the case, I left the station with feel- 
 ings of thankfulness to God, and with a good hope of 
 a coming harvest, even though the ' due time' might 
 yet be far off. The same mission-be dy had esta- 
 blished an outpost in a thickly-peopled district some 
 ten miles off; and though the work had been but 
 recently commenced, our zealous catechist, Mr. Pas- 
 coe, had gathered about thirty-five children under 
 instruction. From St. Luke's I rode, accompanied 
 by Mr. Hardie, through a fine country towards San- 
 
394 
 
 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 dill's. Here I found the Rev. T. T. "W. Allen fairly 
 settled as missionary, living in a Kafir hut, while a 
 very nice and suitable mission-house was approach- 
 ing completion. Mr. Tainton, an excellent Kafir 
 scholar, was also residing at the station as agricul- 
 turist. The spiritual work has commenced too re- 
 cently to make it advisable to speak of it, but Mr. 
 Allen was in good heart. The extremely high state 
 of the river Kei forced me back again, and with very 
 great regret I was compelled to abandon my intended 
 visit to Kreli. However, I am able to say that all 
 the accounts of that mission are most interesting. 
 The mission-party, who do indeed live in the wilder- 
 ness, consists of the Eev. H. T. Waters, and his 
 wife, — Mr. Mullins, the son of an English clergy- 
 man, a useful and active catechist,— Miss Gray, an ad- 
 mirable schoolmistress, — and an agriculturist. They 
 are opening schools in all directions, and holding 
 services which seem well attended by the natives. 
 
 "Baffied of this expedition, I returned to St. Luke's, 
 whence, accompanied by Mr. Hardie, and Mrs. Arm- 
 strong (whom stress of weather hindered from reach- 
 ing Sandili's), we bent our steps to the Fingo station 
 at Keiskamma Hoek. Here we found a range of 
 most excellent mission-buildings finished, in a lovely 
 situation, a considerable watercourse cut, many acres 
 of land under cultivation, thanks to the zeal and 
 ability of the military chaplain, the Eev. G. Dacre, 
 who resides at the adjoining fort and thus Chris- 
 tianly spent his leisure hours. "We found the Eev. 
 
 dJ 
 
The Last Illness. 395 
 
 H. B. Smith residing at the station : Mr. Gray also 
 was living there as agriculturist, and there was a 
 native schoolmaster and interpreter. No less than 
 ninety-one scholars were on the books of the school, 
 and the average daily attendance was thirty-eight ; 
 while some of the parents have expressed a desire to 
 have their children entirely given up to the mis- 
 sionary, and received as boarders. Thus you see 
 the cause we have for the deepest thankfulness to 
 God, who has blessed us so wonderfully during the 
 past year. We may well go on our way rejoicing, 
 when we find that, with the exception of the Kafir 
 school here (which we trust is just about to com- 
 mence), we have been enabled to fulfil our pledge ; 
 and a large body of persons, whether clergy or cate- 
 chists, whom we knew not of when the pledge was 
 made, are now actual dwellers among the heathen. 
 The Church at home, which so nobly responded to 
 us, may well rejoice with us over her timely and 
 warm response, 
 
 "And now for the future. While I have been 
 shewing you what has so far been done, I must 
 plainly tell you that I am learning day by day the 
 vastness of the work committed to us, and the need 
 of immediate and still greater efforts. After all, we 
 are only ploughing, as it were, a few acres, with 
 almost a whole country before us; for, what is so 
 remarkable, real, wide Kafirland, with its thousands 
 and thousands of Kafirs, has scarcely a mission-sta- 
 tion except our own. The other religious bodies are 
 
396 
 
 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 mainly at work among the Fingos, or the Kafirs that 
 are near the English towns. In my ride from St. 
 Luke's to St. John's, I passed through numberless 
 valleys, each with its Kafir kraal; and I saw one 
 large kraal just about half-way which it is very im- 
 portant we should fix upon as the site for a mission, 
 from which the missionary might radiate. It is a 
 great matter to have these links in our work, so as 
 to have one system in operation, extending with 
 evident, visible unity, from point to point. The 
 most important district, however, is that of the 
 Chief Kreli. "While it is the most remote, it is also 
 by far the most populous, and at present this vast 
 tribe, spread over a vast area, has no mission what- 
 ever, except our own, under Mr. Waters. The 
 whole country is open to us ; we are not near any 
 other religious body; we could carry on a great 
 work here in our own Church way without any in- 
 terference with others, and without being interfered 
 with, without any jars or clashings. I wish that, in 
 God's name, a noble band of some twenty of our 
 brethren would offer themselves, and come out toge- 
 ther, and together take spiritual possession of this 
 country, that they might with many voices preach 
 the saving doctrines of the Cross. I long for a great 
 work. 'The Lord gave the word; great was the 
 company of the preachers.' It is no less than a com- 
 pany of faithful men, warmed with a holy love for 
 souls, that I so ardently desire. A passage in Mr. 
 "Waters' last letter, written on the spot, makes a 
 
 ._ 
 
The Last Illness. 397 
 
 stronger appeal for help than I can do: — 'I have 
 promised to go and see Ilizwi the Queen of the 
 Tambookies, who wishes to have a missionary for 
 her people. "What shall I say? or what shall I 
 do? The mission-field seems boundless; the skirts 
 of every mountain, and the banks of every river, are 
 crowded with living souls, without anyone to point 
 the way.' 
 
 " In such a state of things, I boldly ask the Society 
 to give me £2,500 this year, and a proportionate 
 number of missionaries sent out, if God puts it into 
 the hearts of any to offer themselves. 
 
 "Hoping you will commend me to the prayers of 
 the Society, 
 
 "Believe me, 
 
 " Very sincerely yours, 
 
 "J0H5" GRAHAJIBTOWK" 
 
 This was the Bishop's last letter to the So- 
 ciety. The next communication from Grahams- 
 town conveyed the tidings of his death. The 
 last journey had told severely upon his debi- 
 litated constitution. The heat greatly affected 
 him. The sickness which had been produced 
 by the jolting of the cart never entirely ceased. 
 On Sunday, April 6, it happened that the un- 
 usual violence of the rain prevented the house- 
 hold going to church, walking being impracti- 
 cable. The Bishop, however, resolved to go on 
 horseback. He got very wet, and an attack of 
 
398 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 influenza followed. At this time four can- 
 didates for ordination, and a young catechist, 
 arrived from England, some of whom stayed in 
 his house. The Bishop exerted himself more 
 than usual, and was greatly fatigued. Mental 
 anxieties, moreover, at this time pressed upon 
 him, especially a very painful question relating 
 to one of his clergy, whose licence, after trying 
 in vain the effect of friendly remonstrance, he 
 had been obliged to withdraw. A concurrence 
 of unfortunate circumstances led to a great deal 
 of opposition, and the Bishop's conduct was 
 subjected to much misunderstanding, though 
 not in his own diocese, where the true state of 
 the case was fully understood. This distressing 
 question was still unsettled at the time of the 
 Bishop's death b . 
 
 b Allusion is here made to the Rev. P. W. Copeman's sus- 
 pension, to which the Bp. of Capetown thus refers in his late 
 visitation of Grahamstown, &c. : — 
 
 " The only thing in the diocese at the present time to cause 
 pain is the state of the parish of Uitenhage. One of the last 
 acts of the late Bishop before his death was to inhibit the 
 clergyman of that parish from performing spiritual functions 
 in his diocese. The reason which led him to adopt so strong 
 a measure was, that his ministry had been marked through- 
 out by carelessness and indifference, and ended, at length, in 
 open disobedience. The Bishop would, had he lived, have 
 restored him, if he could have had any hope that the future 
 would be marked by greater earnestness and devotion than 
 
The Last Illness. 399 
 
 On the 25th of April, though still suffering 
 from influenza, he exerted himself to deliver 
 
 the past. At his death, I entered into communication with 
 the suspended minister, but found all efforts to bring him ot 
 take a true view of himself and of his duties hopeless. I 
 therefore licensed the clergyman whom the late Bishop had 
 appointed to fill the post before he died. Around him the 
 flock has gathered, the former minister still officiating, but 
 without a congregation ; i.e. with but a very few attendants at 
 a single service. The whole of the clergy of the diocese have 
 since addressed the following letter of remonstrance to him : — 
 
 " ' Rev. Sir, — We, the undersigned clergy of the diocese of 
 Grahamstown, feel deeply pained at the course you have 
 thought proper to pursue with regard to the Church at 
 Uitenhage. You are aware that you were formally forbidden 
 by the late Bishop to officiate within his diocese, and that the 
 Metropolitan has confirmed your suspension, and appointed a 
 minister to replace you. When a clergyman thus suspended 
 defies the authority of those who have been set over him 
 in the Lord, persists in attempting to officiate, intrudes upon 
 and impedes the services of the duly appointed minister, his 
 conduct plainly tends to subvert all order and discipline 
 among the clergy, to unsettle the minds of the laity, and to 
 provoke dissension where unity and brotherly love should 
 prevail. 
 
 " ■ We therefore cannot refrain from expressing our disap- 
 probation of your conduct ; and we entreat you, before it be 
 too late, to desist from a course so injurious to the Church as 
 well as to yourself. 
 
 " ' (Signed by every clergyman in the diocese of Grahams- 
 town/) 
 
 " 'The Rev. P. W. Copeinan.'" 
 
 The following account of the origin of the dispute has 
 
400 
 
 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 an opening lecture at the Institute, which, 
 after many difficulties and delays, had been at 
 length established. The subject was "The 
 Character and Poetry of Oliver Goldsmith." 
 The lecture was written in the style of many 
 of his early reviews, teaching valuable lessons 
 in the most attractive way ; entering with all 
 his buoyancy into the good points of the poet's 
 character ; charming the scholars of the Gram- 
 mar-school with the contrast between the ac- 
 tive schoolmaster of the present day and Gold- 
 been kindly supplied by one of the clergy present on the 
 occasion referred to : — 
 
 "When the Bishop visited Uitenhage in Oct. 1855, at 
 a public meeting in the room licensed for service, the question 
 of the offertory was brought forward. It should be observed 
 that Mr. Copeman had long used the offertory, but to gratify 
 the caprice of certain members of his congregation, (without, 
 as he said, having any feeling in the matter himself,) used it 
 before, instead of after the sermon, as the Church directs. 
 
 "The Bishop was appealed to by the churchwardens to 
 say whether this was allowable, and of course had no alter- 
 native but to request it should be used in the proper place. 
 This Mr. Copeman, in my hearing, at once 'promised to do, 
 but did not do it. 
 
 " His conduct was reported to the Bishop, and drew forth 
 an earnest remonstrance, and request that he would at once 
 conform to the rules of the Church. This he now refused to 
 do. Thus it appears the use or disuse of the offertory was 
 not the cause of the Bishop's proceedings, but rather Mr. 
 Copeman's refusal to fulfil his own pledge, and his utter con- 
 tempt of the Bishop's lawful injunctions." 
 
The Last Illness. 401 
 
 smith's more ponderous Dominie, and touch- 
 ing many hearts with the beautiful manner 
 in which he recited the description of the 
 Pastor, much of which may perhaps have been 
 applied by many persons present to the speaker 
 himself. 
 
 The Bishop was greatly fatigued after the 
 lecture, and, though present at church on the 
 following Sunday, was too unwell to preach. 
 On Sunday, the 4th of May, it happened that 
 the carriage in which a friend had of late kindly 
 taken him to church could not be had, and he 
 was unable to walk. 
 
 From this time the feeble remains of his 
 declining strength rapidly gave way. The 
 sickness from which he had so long suffered 
 had been checked, but the remedies employed 
 produced headache with a sensation of ful- 
 ness and drowsiness. His mental anxieties, 
 increased by disappointment at not receiving 
 some expected letters, were at their height. 
 Thursday morning, May 8, on awaking from 
 sleep, his mouth was filled with blood. In 
 the course of the day it was discovered that 
 this proceeded not, as was expected, from the 
 lungs, but from the gums. It was hoped that 
 rest and entire withdrawal from business, which 
 were immediately ordered, would, under God's 
 Dd 
 
402 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 mercy, restore him. He then exhibited the 
 same strong determination to do his duty in 
 abstaining from work, and even from thoughts 
 of work, as he had before shewn in applying 
 himself to it. From that moment he never 
 asked for a letter, nor spoke on the subject 
 which had caused so much agitation and anx- 
 iety. The bleeding lessened, though it did not 
 entirely cease. The cough nearly disappeared, 
 and the same evening he seemed certainly 
 better. 
 
 On the following morning a few small spots of 
 purpura had appeared on the skin, and at night 
 his illness assumed a more serious character, 
 though he was not considered by his medical 
 attendants to be in danger. On Sunday, the 
 11th, Whit- Sunday, notice for the ordination 
 was to have been given, but it was thought 
 necessary to defer it, and the Bishop desired 
 that prayers should be offered for him in church. 
 He had been in a state of great depression, 
 partly caused by a dream of which his own 
 death formed a main feature ; but as his ill- 
 ness increased, this depression entirely passed 
 away. 
 
 On Monday a consultation was held, and the 
 physician who was called in was of opinion that 
 there was extreme danger, though not so much 
 
 
The Last Illness* 403 
 
 from actual disease as from general exhaustion. 
 He continued apparently much in the same 
 state till Thursday morning, when he suffered 
 greatly from faintness and extreme debility. 
 About one o'clock on Friday morning he ap- 
 peared to be dying. Mr. Hardie, his dear 
 friend and counsellor, who had arrived on the 
 "Wednesday, prayed by his side. Afterwards 
 he said to him, " Thank you from my heart." 
 Mr. Hardie then offered to administer to him 
 the blessed Sacrament. While the necessary 
 preparations were being made, the Bishop said 
 to Mrs. Armstrong, that he supposed they con- 
 sidered his case hopeless, and turning to the 
 medical man he held up his finger, and said 
 very solemnly, "The truth." He was quite 
 calm, and seemed engaged in deep thought and 
 inward prayer. He made them understand 
 that he heard and comprehended everything, 
 though unable to articulate distinctly. During 
 the celebration of the Holy Communion, once or 
 twice he said " yes," and when It was over he 
 kept murmuring "yes" to himself. Mr. Hardie 
 proposed that the children should be called up 
 to receive his blessing : they came, and his wife 
 and children knelt by the side of the sofa on 
 which he lay. Mr. Hardie was obliged to say 
 the words of the blessing, while the Bishop laid 
 
404* Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 his hand on their heads. Suddenly, at that in- 
 stant, his countenance brightened, and he ex- 
 claimed — " Better. — I have read in books — . 
 — Try, try." He meant that he had read of 
 sudden recoveries from the verge of the grave. 
 Restoratives were given, and nourishment in 
 very small quantities every quarter of an 
 hour. The disease appeared to have taken a 
 favourable turn, and the haemorrhage almost 
 ceased. 
 
 The improvement continued through the night 
 and the following day. He dozed frequently, 
 but when awake an expression of unusual and 
 unearthly brightness was on his countenance. 
 There was no care, no anxiety, — it was the look 
 as of one who had committed himself, and all 
 he had, with an entire trust into the hands of 
 God. Mr. Hardie frequently prayed with him 
 during the day, and said that his whole soul 
 seemed to be rapt in prayer. 
 
 An important paper required his signature. 
 He had expressed a wish to put it off till the 
 evening, as he said he generally felt stronger 
 at that time, and it was resolved not to speak 
 to him again on the subject, but suddenly he 
 shewed a great desire to sign it immediately. 
 When dissuaded from it, he persisted in the 
 desire. The paper was given to him, so placed 
 
The Last Illness. 405 
 
 that, as far as possible, lie might be spared any 
 exertion. The first pen did not suit him, and 
 Mr. Hardie was in the act of procuring an- 
 other when he uttered a loud cry. He had 
 been seized with a violent spasm, and was evi- 
 dently dying. Mr. Hardie commended his 
 departing spirit to God. He gave one sigh, 
 and sank to rest. 
 
 Thus fell " asleep" a man endowed with great 
 gifts, large and true of heart, pure and high 
 in purpose, fervent and single-minded in de- 
 votedness to God ; " in labours abundant ;" one 
 who in a short time had fulfilled a long course, 
 unceasingly spending a life fed by the Spirit of 
 God, for the good of others, and, as each fresh 
 call came, rising with ever-renewed energy and 
 love to its fulfilment. 
 
 The tidings of his death were communicated 
 to Mr. Hawkins by Mr. Hardie in the follow- 
 ing letter : — 
 
 " GraJiamstown, 
 " May 24, 1856. 
 " Rev. and deae Sie, 
 u It is my painful duty to announce, through you, 
 to the venerable Society for the Propagation of the 
 Gospel, the death of our beloved Bishop, which took 
 place, after a short illness, on the 16th of this month. 
 
406 
 
 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 His strength had been on the decline for some 
 months, but his zeal would allow him no rest ; and 
 I have reason to believe that the fatigues and 
 anxieties of a visit to the missions in Caffraria, from 
 which he had just returned, had so reduced his vital 
 powers that they were unable to cope with the 
 disease {purpura hemorrhagica) which after a short 
 interval attacked him. He may be truly said to 
 have died in the harness of a Christian soldier. It 
 was my privilege to minister to him in his last days 
 on earth ; and in the midst of sorrow for his loss, it 
 is a comfort to be able to bear witness to his friends 
 at home that as his life had been, such was his end, — 
 full of faith, and hope, and love. After he had 
 made his peace with God, and sealed it by the recep- 
 tion of the Holy Communion, he blessed his wife and 
 children with much emotion. From that moment 
 nothing disturbed him more. A few hours, entirely 
 free from pain and troubled thoughts, during which 
 he frequently joined in prayer, were yet vouch- 
 safed to him, and at last he fell asleep, almost with- 
 out a pang. To us, who have watched the course, 
 short, yet already fruitful, of his apostolic labours in 
 South Africa, the loss seems irreparable; but our 
 sight is too short to reach the issue of God's coun- 
 sels. Faith teaches us that Sis work has not been 
 begun by His servant in vain, but that other labour- 
 ers will be raised up in succession to carry it on. 
 May they be as gentle, and pure, and wise as he who 
 has been thus early called to his reward, and may 
 
 .4. 
 
The Last Illness. 407 
 
 they walk in Ms footsteps, who himself strove humbly 
 to follow his blessed Lord's ! 
 
 * # # # * 
 
 " I have, &c, 
 
 "JOHN HARDIE." 
 
 The Bishop of Capetown's notice of the event 
 arrived at the same time : — 
 
 "Bishop's Court, 
 "May 23, 1856. 
 " My dear Hawkins, 
 
 "It is with the deepest grief that I write to 
 announce to you that last night's post brought the 
 news of the death of my dear brother the Bishop of 
 Grahamstown, after a short illness. He died on the 
 evening of Friday the 16th, and was to be buried 
 on Monday. I enclose his chaplain's short and 
 hurried note to me on this sad occasion, and also Sir 
 George Grey's kind note. With him, I think the 
 Bishop's death not only one of the greatest cala- 
 mities that coidd have befallen the Church here, but 
 a heavy loss to all South Africa. 
 
 " During the short time that he has been amongst 
 us, he had endeared himself to very many, and won 
 the respect and confidence of his diocese. His many 
 gifts, his deep and fervent piety, were producing a 
 great impression around him. Over-work and over- 
 anxiety have, I believe, been the chief causes of his 
 death. 
 
 * # ♦ * 4 
 
 " Believe me, &c, 
 
 "R. CAPETOWN." 
 
408 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 A few notices may be added, to convey to 
 the Bishop's friends in England some idea 
 of the change which passed over him when 
 removed out of their sight. It was felt in 
 the Bishop's own family, that after his con- 
 secration, though never losing his natural 
 cheerfulness, he yet became a graver man. 
 This arose, no doubt, in part from the con- 
 stant sense of the precariousness of his health, 
 and partly from the separation from his old 
 friends and the loss of various employments 
 which in England used to refresh him in the 
 intervals of toil ; but his increased gravity was 
 evidently occasioned in great measure by an 
 absorbing sense of the weight and responsibility 
 of his sacred office. In England, he had availed 
 himself during his lighter hours of the resources 
 which his many innocent tastes furnished, and 
 thus often relieved anxieties which pressed on 
 him in his pastoral or penitentiary work. In 
 Africa, the whole powers of his being seemed to 
 be concentrated on one great end of life, and 
 when not engaged in this, he simply rested, 
 as though only seeking to get more strength for 
 carrying it on. His chief recreations in Africa 
 were planning and overlooking the building of 
 his house or the college. During the first year 
 he frequently gave quiet evening parties to the 
 inhabitants of Grahamstown; but it was in 
 
The Last Illness. 409 
 
 order to find a pleasant means of intercourse 
 with his people and with a view to higher 
 ends, and they were probably times of increased 
 exertion, rather than rest, to himself. 
 
 He always preached extempore in Africa, — 
 a practice which he had occasionally adopted at 
 the simple schoolroom services at Tidenham. 
 The cathedral at Grahamstown is surrounded 
 by a large gallery, in which the soldiers of the 
 garrison sit. Their rapt attention to his ser- 
 mons was very striking ; and when a fresh 
 regiment came in, though at first the soldiers 
 were careless, after a few Sundays they sat with 
 their eyes fixed upon him. His voice was earn- 
 est and energetic, but his manner quite calm ; 
 "his white hair," as was once observed, "hung 
 like a silver halo around his head." His confir- 
 mation charges were short, but peculiarly im- 
 pressive. The confirmations altogether had a 
 very striking effect. It was the prevailing cus- 
 tom in the diocese for the women to dress in 
 white, with simple veils over their heads. The 
 Bishop introduced the practice of the candidates 
 standing together in the chancel during the 
 charge. A friend writing from Grahamstown to 
 Mrs. Armstrong, since her return to England, 
 says that "the Bishop's grave is constantly 
 strewed with fresh flowers by persons who had 
 
410 
 
 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 been confirmed by him, and once a lad from 
 a country district was seen kneeling there by 
 moonlight." 
 
 It was one of the Bishop's trials in Africa, 
 after his long intercourse with the English 
 poor, whose feelings are more transparent than 
 those of the classes above them, that he never 
 knew the love felt for him by his flock. His 
 loving heart naturally longed for a response, 
 and he had been accustomed to find it. But 
 the leaving his own land became perhaps a 
 truer sacrifice, since he enjoyed not the con- 
 sciousness of having won the praise and love of 
 men. Otherwise one might have wished that 
 he had known the warm affections and sincere 
 reverence felt towards him, and which were so 
 strongly manifested on his death. 
 
 Another trial, common to all the bishops of 
 our colonial sees, was the secular, and, as he 
 feared, secularizing nature of much of his work. 
 All th.Q monetary business of the Church passed 
 through his hands. Even the accounts kept at 
 the different mission-stations, not merely for 
 the spiritual, but also for the industrial, parts 
 of their work, towards which grants were made 
 by the Governor, were required to be audited 
 and sent through him. The building of new 
 churches and schools, the stipends of most 
 
 
The Last Illness. 411 
 
 of the clergy, their journeys or removals, — 
 all were arranged by him. Not merely was 
 this responsibility peculiarly irksome to him, 
 but he had also the constant apprehension lest 
 it should hinder the entire concentration of his 
 thoughts on the things of God c . Mrs. Arm- 
 strong believes that this fear made him more 
 watchful over himself. It is her strong impres- 
 sion that his spiritual life was rapidly matured 
 during his brief course of service in Africa. 
 His private prayers appeared to increase in 
 length and intensity, and he was oftener found 
 with his Bible open before him than at any 
 former part of his life. 
 
 c The care of money had always heen to him a very irksome 
 business; and his private accounts, though not wanting in 
 correctness, were kept in a very unmethodical manner. This 
 want of care never appeared in his charity accounts ; and the 
 writer of this memoir was greatly struck, on looking over the 
 Bishop's letters to the Society for the Propagation of the 
 Gospel, at the accuracy of his returns of all receipts and pay- 
 ments. It was evident in these matters, how a sense of 
 duty had acted in overcoming a natural want of method. He 
 had also preserved to the last the principle already mentioned 
 as characteristic, of carefully regulating his expenditure by 
 the means on which he could depend. Though very fond of 
 architecture, and desirous, wherever it could be had, of deco- 
 ration in building, he had abstained in Africa from any un- 
 necessary expense in this direction, as the resources at 
 his disposal were not more than were needed for essential 
 work. 
 

 
 412 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 The cemetery at Grahamstown was prepared, 
 as it were, by the Bishop's own hand to be his 
 meet resting-place. When he followed his in- 
 fant to the grave, he was painfully struck with 
 the contrast between the cemetery — then bare 
 and treeless, and overrun with weeds, so as to 
 be difficult to discern the pathway to the grave 
 — and the beautiful churchyard at Tidenham, 
 where his other child was buried. He at the 
 time resolved to change its aspect. He preached 
 and had a special offertory for it, and the ground 
 was soon planted and put into decent order. 
 In a letter written during one of his visitations 
 there occurs a very touching expression of his 
 desire to have his child's grave dressed with 
 flowers. Alluding to a custom prevailing in 
 Gloucestershire along the Welsh border, he 
 writes, — 
 
 " Remember to put some flowers on the eve of 
 Palm- Sunday in the churchyard, that our two dear 
 little graves in England and Africa may be flowered 
 alike." 
 
 He also formed the intention of building a 
 chapel in the cemetery, both to save the mourners 
 the long journey from the church in the town, 
 and to give greater solemnity to the spot. He 
 did not live to carry out this intention, but 
 after his death, when there was a desire among 
 his people to raise some mark of love and re- 
 
The Last Illness. 413 
 
 spect to his memory, it was resolved to build a 
 eliapel over his grave, thus accomplishing in 
 his death what in his life he had designed. 
 
 The feelings of his people at his being thus 
 early taken from them may be gathered in 
 some measure from the notices which appeared 
 in the chief journals of the colony. In one of 
 them the funeral was thus recorded, in an 
 article which also contained a brief memoir 
 of his life : — 
 
 "The mortal remains of this venerated prelate 
 were carried to their last resting-place on Tuesday, 
 As the funeral passed along the High-street, many 
 of the inhabitants closed their stores and shops, to 
 express their deep concern for the loss of the illus- 
 trious deceased. Indeed, one feeling seems to have 
 pervaded the community of Grahamstown, — that of 
 real, silent grief at the departure of one whose whole 
 existence since his arrival in this city had been 
 bound up in their happiness. Christians of every 
 denomination thronged the procession to the ceme- 
 tery. His death was sudden, notwithstanding that 
 he had been suffering from a pulmonary disease 
 for some time previous. He was in the act of sign- 
 ing his name to a document, when he fell back a 
 corpse. Thus ceased to beat a heart truly excellent 
 and estimable, — thus died, leaving a void in the 
 affections of all classes, one of the most amiable and 
 respected men we ever knew. Dr. Armstrong will 
 
414 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 be long and gratefully remembered in this town. 
 His works survive bim ; they form a chaplet on his 
 grave, the memorials of his efforts to do good to all 
 without distinction. ,, 
 
 Two of the clergy of his diocese have ex- 
 pressed the feelings entertained by their bre- 
 thren. One, the Rev. John Hardie, who was the 
 most closely drawn to him, and had the best op- 
 portunities of observing his mind and course of 
 action ; the other, the Rev. Edwin Giles, late 
 incumbent of St. Paul's, Port Elizabeth, who, 
 to the Bishop's sincere regret, had to give up 
 his valuable labours in South Africa and re- 
 turn to England, on account of ill-health, about 
 the time of the Bishop's last illness. As one 
 was chiefly engaged in the missions, the other 
 in the home-work of the diocese, they may 
 together be taken as a true index of the feel- 
 ings of the clergy in general. The notices 
 which have been collected together of his life 
 and character, cannot be better closed than 
 with their earnest expressions of reverence 
 and love: — 
 
 " King Williamstown, 
 "Nov. 28, 1856. 
 
 "My deae , 
 
 "I will gladly attempt to fulfil your request that 
 I would give my impressions of our late dear Bishop's 
 
The Last Illness. 415 
 
 public character and teaching in that later and more 
 eminent period of his life and ministry which was 
 passed in South Africa. On looking back to the 
 commencement of my intercourse with the Bishop, 
 the first thing which strikes me is his singular 
 power of attraction. The venerable aspect, the 
 kindly words, spoken in such earnest tones, and the 
 courteous yet natural manner, instantly won me, 
 and made me feel that it would be a delight to 
 serve under him. I shall never lose the impression 
 made by his summons, when, after I had placed my- 
 self in his hands as an invalid, who had little else 
 than a willing heart to offer, he ' called me to the 
 work of missions.' If an angel had spoken, it could 
 hardly have thrilled me more. I believe that the 
 clergy, with scarcely an exception, would bear simi- 
 lar testimony to the facility with which he thus, as 
 it were, took their hearts at once in his hand, and 
 secured their allegiance rather as dutiful sons to their 
 spiritual Father, than as inferior ministers to their 
 ruler. JSTor was this a mere transitory feeling of re- 
 gard, excited by a happy outward address, but one 
 which was fed by an inner spring of grace, and 
 which grew day by day insensibly, so that only 
 when the source dried up suddenly, did we become 
 aware how deep and full it had been. 
 
 " The laity of his diocese were hardly less attached 
 to him than his clergy. So easy of access was he to 
 all who needed help or counsel, that there were few 
 who had not held some personal intercourse with 
 
416 
 
 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 their Bishop. Still, with the majority of his lay 
 brethren, the Bishop's influence of course depended 
 mainly on his public ministrations. This leads me 
 to say a few words on the style and character of his 
 sermons. I shall ever regret that I had not the 
 opportunity of hearing more of them. Many of those 
 which I did hear were preached amidst the distrac- 
 tions and fatigues attendant on the visitation of a 
 colonial diocese. They were all of them spoken 
 extempore, and, I believe, without more than a few 
 minutes' premeditation. Yet so plain was the enun- 
 ciation of the subject, so clear the course of thought, 
 so direct the appeal to the conscience, and so lively 
 and copious the language, that I marvelled when I 
 heard, from undoubted authority, that the Bishop 
 had hardly ever delivered any unwritten sermons 
 before he came to this colony. Certain it is that 
 he had all the facility which most men only attain 
 to by long exercise in public speaking. His dis- 
 courses were, in the best sense of the word, popular. 
 The l people heard him (as they heard his divine 
 Master) gladly' Not that he handled God's Word 
 deceitfully, or prophesied smooth things only, or 
 spared rebuke when needful, but that he preached 
 to them the glad tidings of the kingdom of God with 
 a simple earnestness which made them feel that their 
 souls were at stake, and that he really loved their 
 souls, and would not that any of them should perish. 
 His diction, too, although chaste enough to satisfy 
 the most fastidious critic, was cast in the solid Saxon 
 
The Last Illness. 417 
 
 mould, so that the weight and force of each word 
 told on the most unlettered of his hearers. The 
 sermons were usually short, — who that listened did 
 not think them too short ? — and limited to the setting 
 forth and enforcement of some one evangelical truth, 
 so as to stamp it in clear characters upon the mind 
 and heart of the hearer. These spontaneous out- 
 pourings without doubt reflected faithfully the ordi- 
 nary tenor of the good Bishop's thoughts upon 
 divine things; and, from this point of view, they 
 argued a habit of elevated contemplation. Yet, on 
 the whole, they seemed to me hardly equal to his 
 published sermons. It was not to be expected, how- 
 ever, that the effusion of the hour, amidst the weari- 
 ness and painfulness of his frequent apostolic jour- 
 neys, — and such were most of the sermons I heard, — 
 would attain to the height which a spirit like his 
 could reach in the unbroken calm of meditation at 
 home. I am very far from implying that the Bishop 
 was ever feeble. No! his discourse was always 
 effective, seasoned with salt, and full of grace, fitted 
 to win, and, I believe, actually winning many souls, 
 else lost to Christ and His Church. 
 
 " But, after all, the wonderful sway which he held 
 over us was owing to the heartiness with which he 
 threw himself into his work of all kinds. Whatever 
 his hand found to do, was done with his might. The 
 very obstacles which crossed his path served but to 
 draw forth sparks from his zeal, not to quench it. 
 And then how wide was the range of duty which he 
 e e 
 
418 
 
 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 assigned to his office ! Nothing short of leavening 
 the whole mass of society, in all its relations, could 
 satisfy his aspirations. The edification and good 
 government of the Church committed to him was ot 
 course his chief and direct object, but he left no sub- 
 sidiary means untried which might possibly conduce 
 to this end. Eecognizing a power in secular know- 
 ledge, and perceiving that it must necessarily spread 
 here as elsewhere, he strove to make it minister to 
 the highest uses, by placing himself in the van of 
 the movement, and guiding it into the right channels. 
 If there was truth in it, he would hallow it as truth. 
 It is easy to dream of a faultless past, and to be- 
 moan the defects of the present time, without lifting 
 a finger to repair them. What is this but the idle 
 worship of a golden image set up by our own fancy ? 
 The past has its foul side as well as its fair ; the age 
 in which we live brings forth good grapes as well as 
 wild grapes. No one could have a deeper reverence 
 for primitive truth and purity than the Bishop, but 
 he had little sympathy with mere antiquarian opti- 
 mists. The world of to-day was not to him the 
 waste, howling wilderness which they would repre- 
 sent it to be. He could detect buds of promise even 
 in the desert ; nor was he without hope that they 
 might be brought to blossom, and fill the earth 
 again. To drop metaphor: he saw good (not in- 
 deed good unmixed, for that had been a vision ot 
 heaven, — but still much good) in his time and among 
 his people, and in the spirit of active Christian love, 
 
The Last Illness. 419 
 
 he made the best of it, by cherishing and striving to 
 sanctify it. Again, he regarded literature and the 
 natural sciences as common ground, on which Church- 
 men, -without resigning one jot of Catholic truth, 
 might meet Dissenters as brethren, and hold kindly 
 intercourse with them. Might not a spirit of can- 
 dour be cultivated at these friendly meetings, and 
 prejudices vanish, and a way be opened for the pas- 
 sage of higher truths ? Might not affection be found 
 a more potent instrument of persuasion than con- 
 troversy ? — Here, too, he practically took the lead by 
 founding an Institute, and delivering lectures, in 
 which solid truth was charmingly set in the liveliest 
 humour. 
 
 "His very last public effort was in furtherance of 
 this plan. It was an essay on the life of the poet 
 Goldsmith, with one side of whose character the 
 Bishop's own genial and tender nature was so 
 thoroughly in accord. After this exertion, the tide 
 of life ebbed fast away, and only those who had 
 marked, with anxiety, the languor which stole over 
 him during the last few months of his life, could 
 tell how severe the struggle had been for his en- 
 feebled frame to bear up thus far against the current 
 of what, in moments of depression only, he would 
 call l this weary world.' 
 
 " I must not forget to make mention of a work of 
 mercy which had for some time engaged his thoughts. 
 Conceived by his ardent love of souls, it was rapidly 
 growing and taking shape, and would doubtless have 
 
420 
 
 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 soon come forth, into action, had not its author been 
 called to rest from his earthly labours. He earnestly 
 desired to find some remedy for the besetting sin of 
 the colony, — drunkenness, — with its attendant brood 
 of hideous vices. To check this habit, everywhere 
 fraught with evil, but here really frightful in its 
 effects, be would have formed a brotherhood of peni- 
 tents, who should meet together on stated days in 
 church, and then and there renew their resolutions 
 of amendment, and pray for the help of God's Holy 
 Spirit. A special service would have been provided, 
 and the clergy would have been charged to watch 
 over the brethren, to exhort and encourage them to 
 persevere. It is almost needless to add, that no vows 
 or pledges would have been taken. A touching proof 
 of the influence which he might have exerted on the 
 class most exposed to the temptation of strong drink, 
 is to be found in the fact that, at the very time of 
 his falling sick of his last illness, the artisans of the 
 city were spontaneously preparing an address expres- 
 sive of their gratitude to him for the lively interest 
 he had taken in their well-being. 
 
 " Had this simple homage from hard-working men 
 ever reached him, his large heart had overflowed, 
 and all the impediments which interest or petty jea- 
 lousy had thrown in the way of his benevolence had 
 been forgotten,— blotted from his memory in tears 
 of joy. 
 
 u I should leave a great blank in this hasty review 
 of the good Bishop's ministry in South Africa, if I 
 
The Last Illness* 421 
 
 said nothing about his zeal for the conversion of the 
 heathen within and beyond his diocese, and the 
 share which he personally took in that arduous task. 
 Twice, in his brief episcopate, did he visit our sta- 
 tions ; and how bright was the light which, on each 
 occasion, he shed upon our work! How did we 
 long that his playful threat, ' that he would leave 
 the colonists to themselves, return all letters un- 
 opened, and come and live in a hut in Kafirland, 
 could have been executed ! Even the hard, stoical 
 nature of the Kafir instinctively drew towards him, 
 and recognised not merely the inkosi, (chieftain,) 
 but the umfundis inhulu nomhlobo, (great teacher 
 and friend,) in that gentle and gracious presence. 
 We felt how great would have been his personal 
 weight and influence, could we have kept him 
 among us, and we grieved at the necessity of his 
 departure. Keener still had been our regret, could 
 we have foreseen that his approving smile would 
 cheer us no more ! But his influence on the course 
 of our mission-work was not merely personal. A 
 consistent scheme oi policy was formed, and steadily, 
 yet not tenaciously, adhered to. Every reasonable 
 allowance was made for the feelings, habits, preju- 
 dices even, of the agents and of those to be acted on. 
 There were no capricious orders given ; yet the hand 
 of the ruler was felt to be there, and he must have 
 been dull indeed who did not yield to that touch, at 
 once so gentle and so firm. 
 
 " It was not my lot to know the good Bishop in 
 
422 
 
 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 England. The gift of his friendship here was un- 
 merited, and is now treasured among the precious 
 things of memory, to be revived, I humbly hope, 
 hereafter. A mutual friend — one who laboured side 
 by side with him in earlier years, and who watched 
 his after-life with deep interest — has summed up 
 his course so truly in few words, that I cannot do 
 better than quote them, in conclusion : — ■ The death 
 of good Bishop Armstrong is an additional reason 
 for writing to you. I fear you must feel this very 
 much. lie appears thoroughly to have risen to all 
 the parts that he has had to fill. He will be a sad 
 loss to the Church in Africa, — indeed, to the Church 
 at large.' 
 
 " I remain ever, my dear , 
 
 " Sincerely yours, 
 
 "JOHN HAKDIE." 
 
 u Godalming, 
 11 Nov. 7,1856. 
 
 f My deae 
 
 "If I jot down my own impression of the good 
 Bishop's character, during the time I was connected 
 with him, it may not be unwelcome to you. His 
 great charm — that which endeared him to me while 
 living, and embalms his memory now he is at rest — 
 was his intense love for his work, and his perfect 
 sympathy with those over whom he was placed. In 
 every trouble and difficulty, (and you know we had 
 
The Last Illness. 423 
 
 our share at Port Elizabeth,) I always felt that my 
 Bishop was not only the man of all others from 
 whom I might expect the best counsel, but the 
 man of all others to whom I would go for sympathy 
 with the fullest assurance that I should find it. In 
 other words, I felt that he was not only my Eishop, 
 whom I could revere for his office, respect for his 
 talents, and trust for his discretion, but my warm 
 friend, to whom I could open my heart, and state 
 my own views openly and unreservedly, with the cer- 
 tainty of being not only understood, but thanked 
 for the expression of entire confidence which he 
 knew so well both to win and to retain. We all 
 know good men, to whom we feel we could not 
 speak freely ; we acknowledge their worth, but the 
 door of our lips is barred against them — we cannot 
 give them our confidence. "Why is this ? Doubtless 
 because a natural instinct warns us we shall meet 
 with no sympathy in those quarters, and we shrink 
 from the gratuitous task of telling our tale to one 
 who will not understand us. To my mind, no man 
 I ever met had greater power of attraction than the 
 good Eishop. Few who came within the circle of 
 his influence could resist him ; and the secret 
 of his power was nothing less than this: — every- 
 one felt that his kind, placid, holy face was the 
 dial-plate of a large, charitable, holy mind, which 
 embraced all mankind in its love. 
 
 " Another trait which was very marked in him, 
 and which is, perhaps, a rare companion of such a 
 
424 
 
 Memoir of Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 gentle, loving spirit as his, was his great firmness 
 and consistency in the maintenance of a principle. 
 
 "None more tolerant than he where tolerance 
 was allowable; none more determined in his re- 
 sistance to errors which affected the pnrity and en- 
 tirety of 'the faith.' His extreme sensitiveness 
 made him wince under the opposition he sometimes 
 encountered, but it never led him to yield one iota, 
 where to yield would have been criminal. His 
 clergy might always feel sure that, if they had right 
 on their side, their Bishop would stand by them and 
 support them, let opposition come from whatever 
 quarter it might. I would not be thought partial 
 in these remarks, for, though I state my own im- 
 pressions of my late dear Bishop, I feel that I may 
 safely say, I am but the mouth-piece of all who had 
 the happiness of knowing him intimately. 
 
 " Yours, my dear , 
 
 "Most sincerely, 
 
 "EDWIN GILES." 
 
 Note. — The author of the Memoir would take this oppor- 
 tunity of expressing his obligations to the Secretaries of the 
 Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, for their ready 
 kindness in supplying copies of the letters which have added so 
 much interest to the history of the mission. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 It was stated that Bishop Armstrong in 
 his earlier life frequently wrote poetry. In 
 after years he would still occasionally write 
 short pieces, of which many have been found 
 among his papers. A few have been selected 
 as specimens of his style and tone of thought. 
 One is printed in its unfinished state. They 
 are chiefly early productions : one only, the 
 last, has a peculiar interest, having been written 
 in Africa : — 
 
 I. 
 
 CHKIST'S EKTEY INTO JEETJSALEM. 
 
 Fobth, Israel, from your sacred gate ! 
 
 Lest ye be late : 
 The King is here whom ye did wait ! 
 Flowers, boughs, and garlands hither bring, 
 Speed on the cry, "The King, the King!" 
 Strew all His way with branches meet, 
 
 Lest the vile street 
 Should soil a Monarch's holy feet ! 
 
426 
 
 APPEXDIX. 
 
 And forth they came, — a startled throng, 
 Each with his song, 
 [And noisy welcome, loud and long,] 
 And ev'ry hand green boughs threw down, 
 Or flowers weav'd quick into a crown ; 
 While some with sudden rapture tore 
 
 The robes they wore, 
 And laid them on His way before. 
 
 On, on He came : all turn'd to trace 
 
 The Monarch's face, 
 The promis'd flower of David's race ; 
 When lo ! a humble Man doth pass, 
 Sitting in meekness on an ass ; — 
 Yet still the crowd with lavish tongue 
 
 His welcome sung, 
 And the whole heavens with triumph rung. 
 
 'Tis past, — the triumph and the day; — 
 * * a- # 
 
 Dead garlands strew the silent way ; 
 The host has fled that gather' d there, 
 The shout has died upon the air ; 
 Night's [gathering] shadows dimly fall, 
 And darken all 
 
 Hours, days have pass'd : we look again 
 
 On the same plain, — 
 From the same gate as vast a train 
 
AITENDIX. 427 
 
 Rush forth, with murmurings wild and deep, 
 Like torrents thund'ring down the steep ; 
 But who is He they bear with curse and cry, 
 
 Grief in His eye, 
 And His brow wet with agony ? 
 
 Say who is He whose robes they rend, 
 
 Whose mild eyes bend 
 
 Round the hoarse crowd, yet meet no friend ? 
 
 Whom as He moves, slow, spent, faint, pale, 
 
 Vile shouts and viler strokes assail ? 
 
 Though stones and scourges tear His cheek, 
 He doth not speak, 
 
 But bears all wrongs, calm, silent, meek. 
 
 Oh, who is this ? for now the cry 
 
 Is "Crucify!" 
 
 A guilty cross is rais'd on high, 
 And lo ! they lift Him o'er the crowd : — 
 Earth never heard a shout so loud ; 
 For as all see the hated Form, 
 
 Their wrath doth warm. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 Can this be man ? 3Xan never bore 
 
 Such pangs before. 
 
 * ♦ * # 
 
 It cannot last * * * a 
 
 Are deepening, thick'ning towards the close, 
 
 * The lines wanting in the unfinished MS. are marked with 
 asterisks. In two cases, words have been introduced to com- 
 plete the lines, but they are marked with brackets. 
 
428 APPENDIX. 
 
 A mist is o'er His eyes ; 
 
 Father, forgive, forgive, He sighs ; 
 The spirit flies, 
 He droops, He dies. 
 
 The very earth, as though in pain 
 
 To see Him slain, 
 
 Doth heave a mighty sigh, — in twain 
 
 Is rent the temple's sacred veil ; 
 
 The snn doth mourn, the sky grows pale. 
 
 "What ! Did earth, sky, sun, ever shew 
 Such signs of woe 
 
 For the best Saint that died below ? 
 
 Who, then, is this ? Draw near and see : — 
 
 About the tree 
 Some women hang. Ah ! is it He, 
 Once worshipp'd ? Yes, 'tis He, the Same, 
 Thus roughly dragg'd to death and shame, 
 "Whom the same crowd so lately bless' d, 
 
 A kingly Guest, 
 Whose path their brightest garments dress'd. 
 
 It is not generally supposed that the Lord left Jerusalem 
 on Good-Friday by the same gate by which He entered it on 
 Palm- Sunday as stated in this poem. — (Ed.) 
 
APPENDIX. 429 
 
 II. 
 
 THE ASCENSION". 
 
 "And when He had spoken these things, while they be- 
 held, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of 
 their sight." — Acts i. 9. 
 
 TnE Apostles stood, the holy few, 
 Sons of the Cross, the first, the best, 
 
 The faithful followers, pure and true, 
 
 These stood around earth's Heavenly Guest. 
 
 No wond'ring crowd that idly stray, 
 
 Blind souls that knew and lov'd Him not, 
 
 That would not worship, praise, or pray, 
 Were there to desecrate the spot. 
 
 Those who had followed long and far, 
 
 Through scorn, and hate, and all His woes, 
 
 True to their King, as Bethlehem's star, 
 Such witnesses the Master chose. 
 
 These, as they prized each sacred word, 
 And caught the sound with watchful ear, 
 
 Knew not the loving voice they heard 
 "Would speak no more to mortals here. 
 
430 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 He touch' d the mountain, on His own 
 Th' incarnate Saviour paused awhile ; 
 
 Then from His footstool to His throne 
 He rose, and left this world of guile. 
 
 E'en while His flock were circling round, 
 Straight from the midst He soar'd on high, 
 
 "With wondrous motion spurn' d the ground, 
 And brighten' d as He reach'd the sky. 
 
 Still they, the few that lov'd their Lord, 
 With awful wonder watch' d His flight, 
 
 Till a deep cloud around Him pour'd, 
 In mercy spar'd their aching sight. 
 
 Else the full Godhead, hid within, 
 In all its glory breaking through, 
 
 Had smitten senses weak through sin, 
 
 And dimm'd those eyes that dar'd the view. 
 
 No angry thunder shook the air ; 
 
 As at His death, no signs of wrath ; 
 No tremblings of the earth were there, 
 
 No lightnings flash' d about His path. 
 
 But all was solemn, quiet, still, — 
 
 Earth felt the calm, and Heav'n above ; 
 
 Eejoicing in His Father's will, 
 
 He went in peace That came in love. 
 
APPENDIX. 431 
 
 III. 
 
 " Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of 
 the angels of God over one sinner that repent eth." — St. Luke 
 xv. 10. 
 
 " God's angels," — 'tis the Saviour's voice, — 
 " E'en o'er one sinner's prayer rejoice." 
 "What ! do the Spirits midst heaven/ s bliss 
 Feel for a world as dark as this ? 
 
 Do they, whose voices clear and sweet 
 God's praise in endless songs repeat, 
 Like some strong river, ever flowing, 
 Like wind in early freshness blowing, — 
 
 Do they, who are as suns in light, 
 "With sapphire garments shining bright, 
 With wings like crystal, all on fire, 
 A dazzling, holy, glorious choir, — 
 
 Do these in heaven all pure and fair 
 For things on earth so keenly care, 
 That not one prodigal unseen 
 Kneels to confess himself unclean ? 
 
 Does every tear from sinner's eye, 
 Does every contrite throb and sigh, 
 Each broken, trembling prayer for grace, 
 Or blush of shame that warms the face, 
 
 Pass from the earth on unseen wing, 
 And make rejoicing angels sing, 
 Chanting their raptures through the sky, 
 Till all the air is melody ? 
 

 
 
 432 APPENDIX. 
 
 One sinner charms that glowing throng ; 
 One sinner fills the heavens with song ; 
 One sinner "brightens angels' smile, 
 Who, sinning, feels and weeps his guile. 
 
 Yes, every secret, still retreat, 
 Where, fearful of its own deceit, 
 The bleeding heart to men unknown 
 Reveals its guilt to God alone, 
 
 Has hidden angels gliding in, 
 All list'ning to that tale of sin, 
 Hov'ring in airy shape above 
 The lowly form in joyful love. 
 
 The gladd'ning Spirits round his head 
 Mark the quick tears sincerely shed, 
 Each holy purpose seal'd with prayer, 
 Each pure intention whisper' d there. 
 
 Where is that friendless spot of ground 
 That hath not angels wand'ring round ? 
 Where solitude, if these be near 
 With anxious, watchful, loving ear ? 
 
 Strange, joyful thought ! how high a place 
 Man holds that hath such gifts of grace ! 
 Himself how low ! how far from heaven ! 
 Yet for his brethren Seraphs given ! 
 
 How great, how deep His love, Who sends 
 
 Such ministers to be our friends ! 
 
 At this our dazzled senses sink, — 
 
 " Lord, we believe/ ' — yet dare not think ! 
 
APPENDIX. 433 
 
 IY. 
 
 A REYEKIE. 
 
 Save me, ye woods, from this hot, jaded world, 
 And while ye twine your green arms o'er my head, 
 Make the cool arches of yonr ancient trees 
 Lead me to contemplation calm and pure. 
 Ah ! this is freedom, here refresh* d I pace 
 The chequer' d pavement of the turfy floor, 
 Alternate cross' d with light and shade, the sun's 
 Kind mixture, as aslant his golden eye 
 Looks thro' the chinks of the high leafy roof, 
 And stripes the path with lines of cheerful light. 
 Yet is not silence here ; — better far 
 Than silence is the concord of sweet sounds : 
 Silence hath only charms when Harmony, 
 Her fairer sister, is not by ; or when 
 Between the intervals of such sweet speech, 
 She gives us time to ponder on those tones 
 In an entranced pause of mute delight, 
 Ere harmony begins again ; or when 
 Hoarse Discord's raven throat has grated loud 
 In harsh vibrations on the tortur'd ear. 
 Here is no silence, but no wrangling, for 
 The feather' d world is singing all in peace,— 
 Light, shade, birds, breezes soft, the higher key 
 Of cheerful blackbird, mix'd with deeper tones 
 Of solemn rooks that sweep like funeral train, 
 
 Ff 
 
434 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Chanting their dirge aloft, — these fill the mind 
 With a compos' d and tranquil joy, — the pulse 
 Of sober pleasure beats with healthful strokes, 
 And all the frame with temperate gladness glows. 
 
 Now stop and hearken, for the humblest brake 
 Yields its divinity to thoughtful souls. 
 Are not these notes of birds all different ? Yet, 
 Tho' all these diff'rent throats in diff'rent keys 
 Are pitch' d, lo! nothing jars; and though 'twould 
 
 seem 
 Confusion, it is concord. Harmony 
 From many sweets thus sweetly is distill' d, 
 As rose and woodbine, musk and violet 
 Mar not each other's perfume, but combine 
 With various breaths to scent the fragrant lawn. 
 Unwise were they, who of the higher tones 
 Enamour' d, wish'd that all the rest were hush'd. 
 They each set off the other ; — clouds and sun 
 Both make the glory of an April day. 
 
 And thus, methinks, these flutt'ring choristers 
 Shadow the saintly music of the Church. 
 For do not Saints for diff 'ring graces shine, — 
 This for his faith, and that for love or truth ? 
 Faith, love, truth, knowledge, in each other's arms, 
 Each like the issue of one stock, impress'd 
 With mark of common origin, yet each 
 With something quite apart from all the rest, 
 
APPENDIX. 435 
 
 Make up a living, loving harmony. 
 
 ! tuneful spirits by One Spirit tun'd, 
 Ye are the music of the world, the harps 
 That holy inspiration sweeps, and lo ! 
 Your thousand strings, so various, all speak 
 One language ; strongly ye articulate 
 
 The truth, both strongly and yet sweetly true, — 
 
 Strong sweetness and sweet strength alike are yours ; 
 
 Variety yet unity, as when 
 
 We hear in some cathedral's tuneful aisles 
 
 The blending tones of men and children meet. 
 
 Here in this green cathedral, thus o'erarch'd, 
 
 1 see the image of the Church ; 'twere ill 
 So to admire with such exclusive love 
 One grace as to neglect the rest, — to dote 
 On faith, and have no ear for charity. 
 Give me the love of all th' inspir'd tones 
 That Saints in their pure lives express ; let me 
 Not one, but all, embrace in wond'ring awe, 
 Discerning in that multitude of notes 
 
 One breath that stirs them all — that breath Divine ! 
 
 V. 
 
 THE KAHSTBOW. 
 
 Lo, o'er the world, half sun, half storm, 
 The promis'd arch doth shine, 
 
 And as th' harmonious colours form, 
 We trust in mercy's sign. 
 
436 APPENDIX. 
 
 So o'er our hearts, 'mid all our pains, 
 Hope still divides the view, 
 
 And shapes, as sorrow darkly rains, 
 Its glory from the dew. 
 
 So o'er our chast'ning hours of woe 
 The Cross a brightness sheds, 
 
 And while our life seems rough below, 
 A light gleams o'er our heads. 
 
 PRINTED BY MESSBS. PARKER, CORN-MARKET, OXFORD. 
 
Just ready, fcap. Svo., price 7s. 6d., the Second Edition of 
 
 A 
 
 MEMOIR OF JOHN ARMSTRONG, D.D., 
 
 LATE LOED BISHOP OE GEAHAMSTOVN. 
 By the Rev. T. T. CARTER, M.A., 
 
 RECTOR OF CLEWER ; 
 
 With an Introduction by 
 SAMUEL, LOED BISHOP OE OXFOED. 
 
 New Editions of the following Works by the late Lord Bishop 
 OF Grahamstown have "been recently published. 
 
 Fcap. Svo., price 2s. 
 
 THE PASTOE, IN HIS CLOSET; 
 
 OR, 
 
 A HELP TO DEVOTIONS OE THE CLEEGY. 
 
 Fcap. Svo., cloth, price 5s. 
 
 PAROCHIAL SERMONS. 
 
 Fcap. $vo., cloth, price 5s. 
 
 SERMONS ON THE FESTIVALS, 
 
 Fcap. Svo., cloth. 2 v. 6d. 
 
 ESSAYS ON CHURCH PENITENTIARIES, 
 
 Edited by the Rev. T. T. CARTER, M.A., 
 
 RECTOR OF CLEWER. 
 
The following Series of Works were edited by, and 
 partly ivritten by, the late Bishop Armstrong. 
 
 Those Parts which were out of print have been reprinted, and the whole 
 may now be had, either in complete sets or separate Parts. 
 
 tracts for t!)t ©Ijrfsrtfan Reasons. 
 
 First Series. 
 
 4 vols., fcap. 8vo., cloth, 18s. ; or in 8 parts, one or more for 
 each Season, in limp cloth, 2s. each. 
 
 
 ADVENT. 
 
 Introductory Tract. — Thoughts on Godly Order. 
 
 1st Sunday in Advent. — The First and Second Coming of 
 
 our Lord. 
 2nd S. — Divine Meins or Preparation tor our Lord's 
 
 Coming : — 1. Gift of Holy Scripture. 
 3rd Sunday. — 2. Gift of the Christian Ministry. 
 4th Sunday. — 3. Gitf of God's Presence. 
 
 CHRISTMAS. 
 
 Christmas-day. — The First Coming Of our Lord. 
 
 St. Stephen's Day. — St. Stephen the first Martyr. 
 
 St. John the Evangelist's Day. — St. John the Evangelist. 
 
 Feast of the Holy Innocents. — The Holy Innocents. 
 
 1st S. after Christmas. — The Christian's Adoption. 
 
 The Circumcision of Christ. — Our Spiritual Circumcision. 
 
 2nd S. after Christmas. — The Need of Outward Kites. 
 
TUACTS FOR TIIE CHRISTIAN SEASONS. 3 
 
 EPIPHANY. 
 
 Feast of the Epiphany. — Part I. The Manifestation of Christ to 
 the Gentiles.— Part II. The Church of Christ is for all Peoj le. 
 1st S. after Epiphany. — Holiness. 
 2nd S. — The Marriage -Feast. 
 
 3rd S.— The Duty of Extending the Church of Christ. 
 4th S. — The Church resisted hut prevailing. 
 5th S. — Unholiness in the Church. 
 6th S— The Church Triumphant. 
 Septuagesima. — The Church Militant. 
 Sexagesima. — The Church Militant. 
 Quinquagesima. — Charity. 
 
 LEITT. 
 
 Ash- Wednesday. — The Work of Lent. 
 1st Sunday in Lent.— Satan, the Tempter. 
 2nd S. — Satan, the Tormentor. 
 
 -.— Sar.an, a false Angel of Light. 
 ■ith S. — Part I. Joseph and his Brethren. 
 
 Part II. The Miracle of the Loaves. 
 oth S. — Jewish Blindness. 
 
 HOLY WEEK. 
 
 Gospel Harmony. — The closing days of Christ's Ministry on 
 Earth during Passion or Holy Week. 
 
 Svnday next before Easter. — Christ's Entry into Jerusalem. 
 
 Jljnday before Easter. — Christ curses the Barren Fig-tree, and 
 drives the Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple. 
 
 Tuesday before Easter. — The Fig-tree is found withered, — Jesus 
 argues with the Pharisees in the Temple, — Pronounces the 
 Destruction of the Temple. 
 
 Wednesday before Easter. — The Jews take Counsel against Je- 
 sus, — Mary anoints Jesus' feet, — Judas bargains to betray Him. 
 
 Thursday before Easter. — Jesus institutes the Sacrament of the 
 Last Supper, — Suffers Agony in the Garden, — Is betrayed by 
 Judas, — Denied by Peter, — Condemned by the High-priest 
 and Council. 
 
 Good-Friday. — Christ Crucified. 
 
 Easter-eve. — The Lord's Body in the Sepulchre, — The Tomb 
 scaled, — The Women prepare for anointing the Body. 
 
4 TTOBKS EDITED BY BISHOP ABaISTBO>~G. 
 
 EASTER. 
 
 Easter-day. — The Resubrpctton. 
 
 Easter- Monday. — De ath. 
 
 Tuesday in Easter-week. — Life. 
 
 First Sunday after Easter. — Living Faith in the Resurrection. 
 
 2nd S.— The Good Shepherd. 
 
 3rd S. — Our present Life. 
 
 4th S. — Our Lord present, THoraH bisen. 
 
 bth S. — Christian Action. 
 
 WHITSUNTIDE. 
 
 Ascension-day. — Our Lord's Ascension. 
 S. after Ascension-day. — Action and Contemplation. 
 Whit-Sunday. — The Coming- and Comeoet op the Holy Ghost. 
 Wuit-jlortday. — The Giet oe the Holt Ghost in Baptism. 
 Whit-Tuesday. — The Gipt op the Holy Ghost in Confir- 
 mation. 
 
 TRINITY. 
 
 Trinity Sunday. — The Doctrine of the Trinity. 
 
 1st Sunday after Trinity. — Want of Love. 
 
 2nd S. — Christian Fear and Love. 
 
 3rd S.— The Holy Angels. 
 
 4th S. — The Sin oe judging our Neighbour. 
 
 bth S. — Christian Perseverance. 
 
 6th S. — Baptism into the Death of Christ. 
 
 1th S. — David's Principle of Offering. 
 
 8th S— The Sin of Jeroboam. 
 
 i)th S. — Presuming on Church-membership. 
 
 10th S.— Spiritual Gifts. 
 
 11th S. — Covetousness is Idolatry. 
 
 12th S.— The Gift of Speech; its Use and Abuse. 
 
 13th S.— the Meaning of Bigotry. 
 
 14th S.— The Ten Lepers. 
 
 15^ S.— The Sufficiency of each Day's Evil 
 
 lKth S.— Xain: the lovely City. 
 
 17th S.— Every Soul in the Hand of God. 
 
TBAOTS FOR THE CHRISTIAN SEASONS. 5 
 
 18^ £.— Real Worship 
 
 19th S.— Bodily and Spiritual Labour. 
 
 20th S. — The Christian Duty of Sympathy, and the 
 
 Church's Provisions herein. 
 21st S. — The Condition of Acceptable Worship. 
 22?id S. — Love towards One Another. 
 23rd S. — Heavenly Citizenship. 
 24,th S.— The Power of Faith. 
 25th &— The Man of God. 
 %§th &— Thoughts for the End of the Year., 
 
 HOLY-DAYS. 
 
 Instructions concerning- Festivals. 
 
 St. Andrew's Day. — Prompt Obedience. 
 
 St. Thomas's Day, — The Use of Saints' Days. 
 
 Conversion of St. Paul. — Going against Conscience. 
 
 The Purification. — Watching. 
 
 St. Matthias's Day. — The Ne^d of Prayer for the Clergy. 
 
 The Annunciation. — The Highly Favoured. 
 
 St. Mark's Day. — Unsteadfastness. 
 
 St. Philip and St. James. — Two and two. 
 
 St. Barnabas's Day. — Almsgiving. 
 
 St. John the Baptist's Day. — Repentance. 
 
 St. Peter's Day. — The Fear of God's Presence. 
 
 St. James's Day. — Faith. 
 
 St. Bartholomew's Day. — Guilelessness. 
 
 St. Matthew's Day. — Covetousness. 
 
 St. Michael's Day. — The Presence and Services of Angels. 
 
 St. Luke's Day. — The Medicine of Christ's Doctrine. 
 
 St. Simon and St. Jude. — Unity. 
 
 All Saints' Day. — The Dead in Christ. 
 
 Concluding Tract. — Last Words. 
 
tracts! for tfje ©fcrfetfan £>eastonss* 
 
 Second Series. 
 
 4 vols., fcap. 8vo., cloth, 16s. ; or in parts at Is. each. 
 
 ADVENT. 
 
 Introductory Tract. — Thoughts on Godly Progress. 
 
 1st Sunday in Advent. — The Day of Christ. 
 
 2nd S. — A Pastor's Word concerning the Use of Holy Scripture. 
 
 3rd S. — Repentance. 
 
 4th S. — One among ye whom ye know not. 
 
 CHRISTMAS. 
 
 Christmas-day. — The Incarnation. 
 
 St. Stephen's Day. — Faith and Loye triumphant in Death. 
 
 St. John the Evangelist's Day. — Family Loye. 
 
 Feast of the Holy Innocents. — Christ's Loye of Children. 
 
 1st S. after Christmas. — The Loye of Life. 
 
 The Circumcision of Christ. — The Name of Christ. 
 
 2nd S. after Christmas. — Christ's Presence in Public Worship. 
 
 EPIPHANY. 
 
 Feast of the Epiphany. — The Call of the Gentiles. 
 
 1st S. after Epiphany. — The Childhood of the Holy Jesus. 
 
 2nd S. — Christian Unity. 
 
 3rd S. — The Centurion an Example of Faith and Piayer. 
 
 4th S. — The Miracles of our Lord. 
 
 hth S.— The Mohawk Mission. 
 
 6th S. — The Prayer-book and the Gentiles. 
 
 Septuagesima. — The Curse of Labour turned into a Blessing. 
 
 Sexagesima. — The Seed which fell among Thorns. 
 
 Quinauagesima. — Charity at Home. 
 
TRACTS FOB THE CHRISTIAN SEASONS. 7 
 
 LENT. 
 
 Ash- Wednesday. — FASTING-. 
 
 1st Sunday in Lent. — Warnings neglected, and their Judgments. 
 
 2nd S. — Esau's Voice of Warning. 
 
 3rd S. — The Strong Man cast out. 
 
 4th S. — The Penitent's State and Provision. 
 
 6th S. — The Cross the Penitent's Hope. 
 
 HOLY WEEK. 
 
 Sunday next before Easter. — Human Greatness. 
 
 Monday before Easter. — The Barren Fig-tree. 
 
 Tuesday before Easter.— The Discourse on the Mount of Olives. 
 
 Wednesday before Easter. — The Betrayal. 
 
 Thursday before Easter. — The Holy Eucharist. 
 
 Good-Eriday, — Goodness. 
 
 Easter-eve. — The Great Sabbath. 
 
 EASTER. 
 
 Easter-day. — Things before Death. — Newness of Life. 
 
 Easter Monday. — Things after Death. — Paradise. 
 
 Tuesday in Easter-week. — Things after Death. — Heaven. 
 
 1st Sunday after Easter. — The Christian Victory. 
 
 2nd S.— The Good Shepherd. 
 
 3rd S. — Obedience ever Increasing. 
 
 4th S. — Frequent Communion. 
 
 hth S. — Our Lord's Last Sunday upon Earth. 
 
 WHITSUNTIDE. 
 
 Ascension-day. — Christ's Ascension, and ours through Him. 
 S. after Ascension-day. — Waiting for God's Promises. 
 Whit-Sunday. — The Coming of the Holy Ghost. 
 Whit-Monday. — The Guidance of the Spirit into Holt 
 
 Living. 
 Whit-Tuesday. — The Guidance of the Spirit into Sound 
 
 Doctrine. 
 
8 
 
 WORKS EDITED BY BISHOP ARMSTRONG. 
 
 TRINITY. 
 
 Trinity Sunday. — The Mystery op Godliness. 
 
 1st S. after Trinity. — The Law and the Gospel. 
 
 2nd S. — Neglecting God's Calls. 
 
 3rd S. — Christ receiving Sinners. 
 
 4th S. — The Groans of the Creation. 
 
 $th S.— The Time of Peace. 
 
 6th S. — Causeless Anger, and the Unkindness of Dislike. 
 
 7th S. — The Miracles of the Loaves. 
 
 8th S.— The Widow of Sarepta. 
 
 9th S. — Temptation. 
 
 10th S. — Jerusalem and her Children. 
 
 11th S. — Great Ends from small Instruments. 
 
 12th S. — Harvest Lessons. 
 
 13th S.— The Good Samaritan. 
 
 14th £.— Gratitude. 
 
 16th S.— The Ember Season. 
 
 16th S. — The Resurrection of the Widow's Son. 
 
 17th S.— One Body. 
 
 18th S. — Abuse of Privileges. 
 
 19th S. — The Truth as it is in Jesus. 
 
 20th S. — Watchfulness. 
 
 21st S.— Our Warfare. 
 
 22nd S. — The Paths of Pleasantness and Peace. 
 
 23rd S.— The Voice of the Church. 
 
 24th S.— Ridicule. 
 
 26th S.— Man's Way not God's Way. 
 
 26th S. — The Year's Remnant. 
 
Sermons for tin Ctnfetiait £tason& 
 
 4 vols., fcap. Svo., cloth, 16s. ; or in parts at Is. each. 
 
 ADVENT. 
 
 Introductory Remarks. 
 
 1st Sunday in Advent. — The Call to Repentance. 
 2nd S.— The Long-suffering op God. 
 3/t? S. — The Loye of God. 
 
 4th S. — The Means op Preparation for Christ's Coming. 
 Part II. • Worthy and Unworthy Reception of the 
 Lord's Supper. 
 
 CHRISTMAS. 
 
 Christ mas-da if. — The Glory and Humility of Christ. 
 
 Part II. Our Oneness with Christ. 
 1st S. after Christmas. — Sorrow concerning our Departure, 
 2nd S. — Success sown in Defeat. 
 
 EPIPHANY. 
 
 1st S. after Epiphany. — The Life of Jesus at Xazareth. 
 
 2nd S.— God's Ways and the World's Ways. 
 
 3rd S. — Christ our Physician. 
 
 4th S. —God's Presence with the Humble. 
 
 5th S. — Doing all in the Name of Jesus. 
 
 6th S. — We shall see Him as He is. 
 
 Septuagesima. — TnE Fall and Restoration of Man. 
 
 Sexagesima. — Influence. 
 
 Quinquagesima. — Charity. 
 
10 
 
 WORKS EDITED BY BISHOP ARMSTRONG. 
 
 LINT* 
 
 Ash- Wednesday.— Repentance. 
 
 1st S. in Lent. — The Temptation. 
 
 2nd S. — The Sinner's Sleep and Awakening. 
 
 3rd S. — The Tests and Tokens of the Sinner's Conversion. 
 
 4th S. — A Penitent's Consciousness of Sin. 
 
 hth S. — The Penitent's Hope. 
 
 HOLY WEEK. 
 
 Sunday next before Easter. — Christ's Entry into Jerusalem. 
 
 Monday in Holy WeeJc. — The Unfruitful Tree. 
 
 Tuesday in Holy Week. — The Last Warnings. 
 
 Wednesday in Holy Week. — The Betrayal. 
 
 Thursday in Holy Week. — The Agony in the Garden. 
 
 Good Friday. — The Death of the Cross. 
 
 Part II. Our Part in the Crucifixion. 
 Easter-eve. — Rest. 
 
 EASTEB. 
 
 Easter-day. — The Resurrection. 
 
 Part II. Our Hope in Christ 
 Easter-Monday. — The Victory over Death. 
 Easter- Tuesday. — Holy Baptism. 
 
 Eirst Sunday after Easter. — Balaam's Character and Designs. 
 2nd S.— Living unto God, the Preparation for Dying 
 
 unto God. 
 3rd S. — The Peace of the Devout. 
 4th S. — Divine Expediency. 
 hth S.— Our Departure. 
 
 WHITSUNTIDE. 
 
 Ascension-day. — The Ascension. 
 
 S. after Ascension-day. — Christ's Witnesses. 
 
 Whit-Sunday, — The Coming of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Part II. The Spirit and the Church. 
 Monday in WMf sun-week. — Offices of the Holy Ghost. 
 Tuesday in Whitsun-week.— Quietness of Spirit. 
 
SEEMOXS FQR THE CHRISTIAN SEASONS. 11 
 
 TRINITY. 
 
 Trinity Sunday.— Faith VS Mysteries. 
 
 1st S. after Trinity.— The Present and Final Lot of tee 
 
 Wicked. 
 2nd S. — Conscience. 
 3rd S— Pride and Humility. 
 4th S.— Sufferings and Joy. 
 5tf &— Calmness the Gift of God. 
 6th S. — Evangelical Righteousness. 
 7th S. — The Courts of Heaven upon Earth. 
 Sth S. —Fear fulness and Christian Fear. 
 Oth S. — Judgments of Old our Present Warning?. 
 10th S. — Christ Weeping over Jerusalem. 
 11th S. —Acceptable Prayer. 
 12th S.— Christ Sorrowing over the World. 
 13th S. — The Fewness of the Redeemed. 
 14th S.—Outl Depfndence on God. 
 16th S.— The one Object. 
 
 16th S.— The Apostle's Prayer the Rule of Christian Perfection.- 
 17th S. — God's Willingness to Save. 
 18th S.— Thoughts of Christ, 
 19th £.— The Renewing of Man. 
 20th S. — Home, a Training-School for Heaven. 
 21st S. — Spiritual Strength. 
 22nd S. — The Plenteousness of God's Ways. 
 23rd S. — The Resurrection of Christ to he accomplished in us. 
 21th S.— The Bands of Sin. 
 2oth S.— Character Determined by Conduct. 
 26th S. — Stirring up of God's Gifts. 
 
 HOLY-DAYS. 
 
 St. Andreiv's Day. — Spiritual Affection for Kindred. 
 
 St. Thomas' Day. — The Fall of Saints the Hope of the 
 
 Fallen. 
 St. Stephen's Day. — The Opposition of the World. 
 St. John's Day. — Lasting Trials. 
 
12 
 
 "WORKS EDITED BY BISHOP AEMSTEONG. 
 
 (Holy-days continued.) 
 Innocents* Day. — The Blessedness of an Early Death. 
 The Feast of the Circumcision. — The Circumcision of the 
 
 Heart. 
 The Epiphany. — Christ the Light of all the World. 
 The Conversion of St. Paul. — Conversion. 
 The Purification. — The Scripture View of the Reverence 
 
 due to the Virgin. 
 St. Matthias's Day. — Prayer for God's Ministers. 
 The Annunciation. — The Great Message. 
 St. Marie's Day. — Abiding. 
 St. Philip and St. James' Day. — One Mind. 
 St. Barnabas* Day. — Christian Sympathy. 
 St. John Baptises Day. — Repentance. 
 St. Peter's Day. — Good Resolutions. 
 St. James' Day. — The Transfiguration. 
 St. Bartholometo's Day. — Knowledge of the Truth. 
 St. Matthew's Day. — St. Matthew and Ordination. 
 St. Michael's Day. — The Services of Angels. 
 St. lathe's Day. — Luke and Demas. 
 St. Simon and St. Jude?s Day. — Zeal. 
 All Saints' Day. — The Recollection of the Saints. 
 
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