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 IN MEMOR1AM 
 BERNARD MOSES 
 
LIFE OF ROBERT BICKERSTETH 
 
 BISHOP OF RIPON 
 
:H 
 
 THE LIFE AND EPISCOPATE 
 THE RIGHT REVERENJ) 
 
 :,RT BICKERSTETH, D,D. 
 
 BISHOP OF RIPjQN, '18571884 
 
 BY HIS. SON 
 
 H.-M.A. 
 
 WITH A PREFACE BY HIS COUSIN 
 
 EDWARD HENRY BICKERSTETH, D.D. 
 
 ' LORD BISHOP OF EXETER 
 
 Jfcefo 
 
 . P. OUTTON AND CO 
 
 PUJ , 
 
A SKETCH 
 
 OF THE LIFE AND EPISCOPATE OF 
 THE RIGHT REVEREND 
 
 ROBERT BICKERSTETH, D.D 
 
 BISHOP OF RIPON, 18571884 
 
 BY HIS SON 
 
 MONTAGU CYRIL BICKERSTETH, M.A. 
 
 l\ 
 
 VICAR OF ST. PAUL'S, PUDSEY, LEEDS 
 
 WITH A PREFACE BY HIS COUSIN 
 
 EDWARD HENRY BICKERSTETH, D.D. 
 
 LORD BISHOP OF EXETER 
 
 E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY 
 
 PUBLISHERS AND IMPORTERS 
 31, WEST TWENTY-THIRD STREET 
 
 MDCCCLXXXVII 
 
TO HER 
 
 WHOSE LOVING DEVOTION 
 
 WAS THE CHIEF EARTHLY COMFORT 
 
 OF HER HUSBAND'S LIFE, 
 
 THIS VOLUME 
 IS DEDICATED IN GRATITUDE AND LOVE. 
 
 887335 
 
THIS volume will' be* treasured- oy'mahy, ks recording for 
 them the deliberate judgments of no common man on 
 some of the great religious and social problems of our time. 
 These judgments are not always expressed in his sayings 
 or writings, though not seldom the reader will be able to 
 glean them from extracts of letters, or speeches, or Charges 
 in the following pages. But even when not so expressed, 
 the mind of the workman is transparent in his work. He 
 was a working Bishop in a working age ; and what he did, 
 as sketched in this biography, tells what he thought. It 
 has been so with many of the truest sons of this nineteenth 
 century. They have had but little leisure for writing 
 learned treatises. They have wrought the twelve hours of 
 the solid day. But their actions, prompt, decisive, master- 
 ful, in perplexed circumstances have proved an intimate 
 acquaintance with the great issues at stake. Such a 
 labourer was Robert Bickersteth. 
 
 And this makes me regret the less that an interval of 
 nearly three years has elapsed since his death, before these 
 memorials have been given to the Church. When a Cathe- 
 dral stands in the centre of a crowded city, you may be 
 
vi PREFACE. 
 
 very near it, and yet see little or nothing of its grandeur ; a 
 row of ordinary houses may obscure or hide it altogether ; 
 but if you pass beyond the city walls and gain a distant 
 point of view, you see at once how easily that Minster in 
 its magnificent structure and proportions dwarfs all the 
 inferior buildings around it, and is the centre to which all 
 the thoroughfares 'apd. streets .QOJI verge. And the work of 
 many servants of Christ i ""hot : f atiy known even by the 
 men of their owrl gehbjtejtion/ufctit tfe. lapse of time reveals 
 its symmetry and completeness. This memoir will at least 
 afford a vantage ground from which to contemplate the 
 life now before us. 
 
 All patient observers must acknowledge the simplicity 
 and godly sincerity of his course. His character was in- 
 deed without a fold. As an undergraduate at Cambridge, 
 as a curate at Sapcote and Reading, as Vicar of St. John's 
 Clapham, as Rector of St. Giles-in-the- Fields, as Canon of 
 Salisbury, as Bishop of one of the most arduous dioceses in 
 England whether as pastor and evangelist, or as a stan- 
 dard-bearer in the front ranks of Evangelical Churchmen ; 
 whether in the sacred circle of his own home, as son, and 
 brother, and husband, and father, and friend, or on the public 
 platform and in the House of Lords, as an unflinching 
 witness for the truth and denouncer of compromise, one 
 motive animated Robert Bickersteth, and all who knew 
 him will confess the motive was, The love of Christ con- 
 straineth us not to live unto ourselves, but unto Him Who 
 died for us. 
 
 It was this which gave him such influence with men 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 of all parties in the Church and State. It was not only 
 his genial courtesy to all, nor his singular felicity of utter- 
 ance, nor his indefatigable labours in journeying and preach- 
 ing and correspondence, nor his administrative power, 
 invaluable as these talents were, but it was his unwavering 
 adherence to the Scriptural principles of our Reformed 
 Church, and his downright honesty in avowing them, which 
 made men feel they could trust him through and through. 
 They rallied round one who was staunch and true to the 
 Church of their fathers. I have been told by members of 
 the Upper House of Convocation, that his clear incisive 
 sentences in the united meetings of Bishops at Lambeth 
 were looked for with an interest, and listened to with a 
 respect not inferior to that accorded to the eloquent 
 words of the late Bishop Wilberforce of Winchester. Even 
 where others conscientiously and resolutely differed from 
 him (and I confess on the subject of marriage with a 
 deceased wife's sister, I strongly hold the very opposite 
 view to that he strongly advocated) no one could doubt 
 the sincerity of his convictions, nor the simplicity of his 
 aim. 
 
 Unwearying industry, and an apparently inexhaustible 
 cheerfulness characterised him. I remember him once 
 saying to me, " You cannot think what those words have 
 been to me in the throng and pressure of work ' Do your 
 best, and leave the rest.' " 
 
 He did his best, grudging no toil, never asking, "Is 
 it so nominated in the bond ? " seeking only the Master's 
 approval, and counting not his life dear unto himself, that 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 he might finish his course with joy, and the ministry which 
 he had received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the Gospel of 
 the grace of God. And having done his best, he could 
 afford to leave the rest confidingly and gladly in a Heavenly 
 Father's hand. Duties were his ; events were God's ; and 
 thus the joy of the Lord was his strength. It never seemed 
 to cross his mind, Will this display my knowledge, my 
 judgment, my tact ? but only, Is this for the glory of God 
 and for the promotion of the Redeemer's kingdom ? And 
 so, amid the innumerable claims of his busy life, he ever 
 seemed to live like one who said 
 
 "All is, if I have grace to use it so, 
 As ever in my great Taskmaster's eye," 
 
 and realized the double benediction which rested on 
 Abraham of old, " I will bless thee, and thou shalt be a 
 blessing." Surely it was of such single-hearted labourers 
 Charles Kingsley sang 
 
 "Be good, and let who will be clever : 
 Do noble things, not dream them, all day long ; 
 And so make life, death, and that vast for-ever, 
 One grand sweet song." 
 
 I have deeply felt the responsibility of reading the 
 proof sheets of this memoir as they passed through the 
 press, for it has brought me into such close contact with 
 one whose walk with God and consecration to duty must, 
 I think, be very humbling to all who are seeking to be 
 imitators of those who by faith and patience inherit the 
 promises. God grant us all to follow him as he followed 
 Christ. 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 This life needs no preface. It speaks for itself. But 
 I cannot close these few words without saying how much 
 I am persuaded the Church is indebted to his son, who, 
 aided by other members of his family circle, has so patiently 
 and skilfully grouped together these life-etchings of his 
 beloved and honoured father. The biographer is hidden 
 throughout ; for his only object has been to present his 
 father to us just as he was, a noble type of personal 
 piety, of Evangelical Churchmanship, and of whole-hearted 
 devotion in every office of the ministry to the Great 
 Shepherd and Bishop of souls. 
 
 E. H. EXON. 
 
 THE PALACE, EXETER, 
 January 7, 1887. 
 
ILLUSTRA TIONS 
 
 PORTRAIT OF BISHOP BICKERSTETH "' Frontispiece 
 
 GRAVE AT RIPON Face p. 302 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 EARLY FAMILY HISTORY. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Influence of family and early training The Bickersteths of Kirkby Lons- 
 dale The brothers, Henry (Lord Langdale), Robert, Edward, Rector 
 of Watton, and John, Vicar of Acton The Gorham Judgment and 
 the Evangelical party Friendship with Rev. C. Simeon Mrs. John 
 Bickersteth, her character and influence upon her children, extracts 
 from her devotional books . . I 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 BOYHOOD AT ACTON. 
 
 The parish of Acton Pupils at the vicarage Dean Alford, Bishop Pel- 
 ham, etc. Recollections of the latter A model parish Large num- 
 bers of communicants Strict churchmanship of the older Evangelicals 
 Robert Bickersteth as a boy His early talent for surgery Portrait 
 of a true parish priest Evangelical, but not Low Church .... 19 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 YOUTH AND EARLY MANHOOD. 
 
 Death of Mrs. John Bickersteth A career in the navy promised, but ex- 
 changed for that of a doctor Robert Bickersteth a medical student in 
 London and Paris He comes under the influence of Henry Melville 
 Goes to Cambridge with a view to ordination His first curacy at 
 Sapcote Reading and Clapham His first sermon and studious life 
 Tenderness and sympathy with the poor What a little child thought 
 of Cousin Robert's sermons Appointment to St. John's, Clapham, and 
 marriage with Miss Elisabeth Garde A crowded church and attached 
 congregation Growing reputation as a preacher Style and matter of 
 his preaching Controversy with Rome, and work in connection with 
 Irish Church Missions 33 
 
Xll CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ST. GILES'S, 1851-1857. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Rector of St. Giles's Organisation of an overgrown parish Secular and 
 sanitary work Strong views on the connection between the physical 
 condition of the people and spiritual work The possibilities of vast 
 improvement What the Church has done for London A sudden 
 diminution of income and providential supply of temporal wants 
 Offer of canonry at Salisbury and other preferment Lay work and 
 district visitors A controversial class for inquiring Romanists ... 57 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 SALISBURY, 1854-1856. 
 
 Residence at Salisbury Intercourse with Bishop Hamilton Strict atten- 
 tion to cathedral duties Correspondence with Bishop Hamilton 
 Bible Society, etc. Narrative of the way in which my father received 
 the offer of Ripon Palmerstonian bishops Bishop Ryan's summary 
 of Providential preparation for the episcopate . . t ..... 78 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 DIOCESE OF RIPON, 1857. 
 
 Diocese of Ripon Wilfrid and the distant past Reconstitution of the 
 See in 1836 Bishop Longley and his work Rapid progress and great 
 needs Dr. Hook's work at Leeds His estimate of religious life in 
 Yorkshire Relations between High Churchmen and an Evangelical 
 Bishop Rev. C. Clayton Letters from Dr. Hook and Bishop Barry 90 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 DIOCESAN WORK: PREACHING. 
 
 The chief duty of a bishop Incessant preaching Outdoor services 
 " Gig Bishops " Sympathy with sufferers from the Oaks Colliery dis- 
 aster A Sunday at Barnsley Watchfulness and energy Confirma- 
 tions Tact in winning over Dissenters to the Church Letter from Sir 
 E. Baines 104 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 HOME LIFE AT RIPON. 
 
 Home life at Ripon Depth and tenderness of domestic affection Letters 
 to his wife The Palace and the garden The village of North Leys 
 Spiritual care of the villagers Early rising and methodical habits 
 Sundays at the Palace A custom of the Clapham sect Letters to his 
 
CONTENTS. Xlll 
 
 PAGE 
 
 children Tender solicitude for their spiritual welfare Advice on 
 school and college life On ordination and the choice of a curacy 
 Happy relations with the cathedral and city Dr. McNeile Letter 
 from Dean Fremantle Singular happiness of his home life The first 
 break in 1872 Death of Ernest Letters from his tutor Recollections 
 of Rev. C. Cobb . .121 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 DIOCESAN WORK: CHURCH BUILDING AND CHURCH RESTORATION. 
 
 Church building and restoration Movement in the great towns Splendid 
 liberality of Yorkshire churchmen Letter to a non-resident incumbent 
 Jealous regard for the interest of the Church and tenderness in cen- 
 suring defaulting clergy Letters from friends of one to whom the 
 Bishop specially ministered, and from Bishop Kennion of Adelaide . 145 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 DIOCESAN WORK: ORDINATIONS. 
 
 Ordinations at Ripon Searching inquiry into motives of candidates 
 Efforts to raise the standard Theological colleges Letter to the Dean 
 of Lichfield The Leeds Clergy School Letter of Rev. C. Cobb 
 Reminiscences of a clergyman ordained at Ripon 162 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 LONDON WORK. 
 
 London work The House of Lords Letter from Archbishop of York 
 (Musgrave) Speeches on Deceased Wife's Sister's Bill On disestab- 
 lishment of the Irish Church Life in London Wants to preach every 
 night Political opinions Relations with eminent statesmen Letter 
 from Mr. Disraeli on Church questions The Bishop of Durham (Dr. 
 Baring), and the question of his successor Work on Ecclesiastical 
 Commission, etc. Tribute of Bishop Thorold May Meetings . . 175 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 OPINIONS ON QUESTIONS OF THE DAY. 
 
 Opinions on various subjects " Essays and Reviews " Letter to a clergy- 
 man and extract from Charge on rationalistic interpretation of Holy 
 Scripture A subtle connection between rationalism and superstition 
 Condemnation of Ritualism Letter to a clergyman Criticism on an 
 erroneous definition of the " Real Presence " Wears the cope in Ripon 
 Cathedral Dislike of prosecution for ecclesiastical offences An elo- 
 quent appeal for personal holiness in the clergy 194 
 
XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 DIOCESAN WORK: EDUCATION. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Diocesan work Education The Training College Progress of ele- 
 mentary education in the diocese before 1870 Great increase of Church 
 schools Diocesan inspection in religious knowledge The Bishop 
 deeply thankful for Mr. Forster's Bill Analysis of the Act He 
 warmly advocates the increased efficiency of Church schools and the 
 importance of religious teaching Speech at Huddersfield, in 1879 . 218 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 RETREATS, MISSIONS, CHURCH CONGRESS, AND DIOCESAN 
 CONFERENCE. 
 
 Retreats and Missions Letter from Dr. Gott My father conducts the 
 first Episcopal Retreat for Clergy Bishop Kennion's notes of his 
 address Advocates Mission work and takes an active part in Missions 
 in Bradford, Huddersfield, Leeds, etc. The Leeds Mission in 1875 
 Letters from Canon Temple on the Church Congress at Leeds, and 
 on the Diocesan Conference Bishop Forbes of Brechin Letter from 
 the Rev. H. D. Cust Nunn on the rural deans' conferences .... 236 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 EPISODES OF A BUSY LIFE. 
 
 Hard work and scanty holidays Confirmation tours in the dales Hospi- 
 tality of the laity Visits the sick, and constantly talks with working 
 men on spiritual things A railway accident Illness in 1877 Spends 
 six weeks at Cintra Letters home from thence Experience of Roman 
 Catholic processions Returns home The exercise of patronage 
 Practical sympathy with the impoverished clergy Temperance work 
 and the Navvy Mission Society 269 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 CLOSING YEARS. THE END. 
 
 Death of Craufurd Tait Pan- Anglican Synod Sermons before the Synod 
 and the Church Congress at Sheffield Visitation in 1879 Growing 
 weakness Hard work in 1880 Winters at Bournemouth Arrange- 
 ments for the appointment of a suffragan Kind help of Bishops Ryan 
 and Hellmuth Weakness, but regular attention to letters and fervent 
 intercession for the diocese Return from Bournemouth in March, 
 1884 Great hopes of recovery, and the sudden end on Easter Tuesday 
 The funeral, and extracts from letters .... . 286 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 EARLY FAMILY HISTORY. 
 
 Influence of family and early training The Bickersteths of Kirkby 
 Lonsdale The brothers, Henry (Lord Langdale), Robert, Edward, 
 Rector of Watton, and John, Vicar of Acton--The Gorham Judg- 
 ment and the Evangelical party Friendship with Rev. C. Simeon 
 Mrs. John Bickersteth, her character and influence upon her 
 children, extracts from her devotional books. 
 
 PROFESSOR DRUMMOND reminds us, in his most inte- 
 resting chapter on environment in " Natural Law 
 in the Spiritual World," that it is of the essence of 
 a good biography to point out, in the earlier chapters, 
 how the subject has been influenced by his parents 
 and remote ancestors, no less than by the religious and 
 political atmosphere of the times in which he lived. 
 
 This is especially true when we try to sketch 
 the portrait of one who may be regarded as a typical 
 representative of a great religious movement. 
 
 Bishop Bickersteth was always known as an 
 Evangelical bishop, and, though no one was more 
 anxious than he to be the bishop of his whole 
 diocese rather than the bishop of a party, his con- 
 sistent public action, no less than his training and his 
 avowed sympathies, leave us in no doubt as to the 
 party within the Church to which he was uniformly 
 attached. 
 
 B 
 
2 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 Happily now the old party lines are less strongly 
 marked. Nevertheless, a very large body of the 
 clergy are still reckoned aV Evangelicals, and not a 
 few High Chuirchine^.ar.G.ready^tO'^dmit that they 
 owe at least a^*'rhlfch* : tb ; trre'Eva'gelical traditions 
 as to the great Oxford Movement itself. 
 
 It is this which gives a permanent interest to 
 the life of one who was connected by birth with the 
 pioneers of the Evangelical Movement, and who, 
 through the course of a long ministerial life, never 
 wavered in his attachment to the same great truths ; 
 while he learned to love and work in harmony with 
 men of widely different views, so long as they loved 
 the same Lord in sincerity and truth. 
 
 This must be the excuse, if one is needed, for 
 a son, who desires to do honour to his father's 
 memory, and to sketch his life as best he can for 
 the sake of many who loved him, as well as for the 
 wider circle who may profit by reading the record 
 of a good man's life. 
 
 I call this book a sketch, for there is material 
 for nothing more. My father's life was not eventful ; 
 and his correspondence consisted almost entirely of 
 short business letters. Many of those which have 
 been preserved are admirable illustrations of clear 
 judgment and lucid expression, while some of them, 
 written to his family and near relatives, are the index 
 to a character of the deepest piety and the tenderest 
 affection ; but they do not in themselves present a 
 complete picture of his mind, like the letters of 
 Bishop Thirlwall, or take us behind the scenes of 
 Church politics, as many letters of fascinating 
 interest preserved in the life of Bishop Wilberforce. 
 
HENRY BICKERSTETH, THE SURGEON. 3 
 
 All I can attempt to do is to show something 
 of the " environment," and let a busy life speak for 
 itself. 
 
 To follow the hint of Professor Drummond to 
 which I have already alluded, I must take my 
 readers to the little country town of Kirkby Lons- 
 dale, in Westmoreland. At the close of the last 
 century there lived in that place a surgeon, named 
 Henry Bickersteth. The family name was often 
 spelt Bickerstaffe, and their earlier origin is to be 
 traced to the manor of that name near Ormskirk, 
 in Lancashire. 1 Henry Bickersteth, the surgeon, 
 married a lady named Elisabeth Batty. She was, 
 according to the testimony of all who knew her, a 
 woman of strong individuality and high character, 
 and an account of her is given in the life of her dis- 
 tinguished son, Edward Bickersteth of Watton. 
 
 Henry Bickersteth was the author of a little 
 book entitled, " Medical Hints for the Use of Clergy- 
 men," which we notice with interest, because it is 
 the first trace of the steps by which so many of the 
 family have been led from the cure of the body to 
 the cure of souls. 
 
 The surgeon's family was a large one. The 
 eldest son, James by name, was lost at sea in early 
 
 1 The Bickersteths, or Bickerstaffes, were seated at Bickerstaffe as early 
 as the twelfth century. In the reign of Edward II. the office of Sheriff of 
 Lancashire was held more than once by a member of the family, and Dugdale's 
 " Monasticon " testifies to numerous benefactions which religious houses in the 
 county received at the hands of one or other of the same name. The manor 
 passed, by the marriage of an heiress, to an ancestor of the present Earl of 
 Derby, but a branch of the family continued to reside in the neighbourhood, 
 until James Bickersteth, or Bickerstaffe, the father of the above-named Henry, 
 left his native county to settle in Westmoreland, rather before the middle of 
 the last century. 
 
4 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 youth ; but his four brothers, born in Kirkby 
 Lonsdale, each earned more or less distinction in 
 Church or State. 
 
 Henry, the third son, was, like the rest, intended 
 by his father for the medical profession, and went 
 to London in his sixteenth year, to walk the hospitals 
 with his uncle, Dr. Batty, who was practising there. 
 He seems never to have cared for his father's pro- 
 fession, and went to Caius College, Cambridge. His 
 University career was one of great distinction, and 
 he took his degree as senior wrangler in 1808. 
 
 In those days, at any rate, senior wranglers 
 made themselves a name in after life, and Henry 
 Bickersteth became equally distinguished at the Bar. 
 His chief public work was devoted to the reform 
 of legal procedure, and he showed a remarkable ab- 
 sence of ambition in refusing the Great Seal when it 
 was pressed upon him by Lord John Russell, in 1850. 
 
 He had, however, been raised to the peerage as 
 Baron Langdale, many years before ; and held the 
 office of Master of the Rolls from 1836 till his death, 
 in 1851. 
 
 It will probably be interesting to my readers to 
 be reminded that Lord Langdale, as Master of the 
 Rolls, drew up the judgment of the final court of 
 appeal in the celebrated Gorham case. Whether 
 right or wrong, that judgment was the means of 
 preventing a schism which threatened to tear asunder 
 the Church of England ; for it is notorious that a 
 large section of the Evangelical clergy would have 
 considered their position in the Church untenable, if 
 the contention of the Bishop of Exeter had been 
 maintained. As it is, the baptismal controversy has 
 
REV. EDWARD BICKERSTETH. 5 
 
 well-nigh ceased, and the great majority of the 
 clergy accept the language of the Prayer-book ; 
 though they are not agreed in the exact sense of 
 the word "regenerate." 
 
 Of this judgment, Dean Stanley said, in the 
 course of an essay on the connection of Church and 
 State 
 
 " There is perhaps no decision of any council or Holy 
 Office equal in moderation and insight to that of the Gor- 
 ham judgment, unless it be that which so greatly resembles 
 it, in its inclusion of two opposite principles the decision 
 of the first Council of Jerusalem" (Essay, p. 284). 
 
 Of Edward Bickersteth, the fourth son, there is 
 less need to speak, for those who read this book 
 are likely to be familiar with the outline of his life, 
 and as a great leader of the Evangelical party, and 
 a zealous supporter of the Church Missionary Society, 
 his name is in all the Churches. He was for many 
 years Rector of Watton, Herts. 
 
 His influence and position were almost unique ; 
 his spiritual force was intense, and the active energy 
 of his character brought him into contact with many 
 of the most zealous clergy throughout the country, 1 
 while he was disposed warmly to co-operate with 
 those whom he regarded as Evangelical ministers 
 outside the Anglican Church. In this direction he 
 was more tolerant or more lax than his brother 
 
 1 In the Life of Lord Shaftesbury, by Mr. Edwin Hodder, there are several 
 allusions to the intimate relations existing between the Evangelical leader and 
 the great philanthropist. The latter wrote in his journal, February i;th, 1850, 
 " Lord, he whom Thou lovest is sick. Is this too much to say of Bickersteth ? 
 I trow not. This dearly beloved friend and fellow -servant is grievously ill ; 
 and prayers, we bless God, are daily made for him throughout the Church. 
 How little can we afford to lose such a champion for the truth !" 
 
6 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 John, who occupied a position of comparative ob- 
 scurity as Vicar of Acton, in Suffolk, and after- 
 wards Rector of Sapcote, in Leicestershire. 
 
 Edward Bickersteth left behind him one son, 
 who, after thirty years of laborious work as Vicar of 
 Christ Church, Hampstead, was appointed to the 
 deanery of Gloucester in 1885, and on the very 
 day of his installation was offered the bishopric of 
 Exeter. 
 
 Robert Bickersteth, the youngest of the Kirkby 
 Lonsdale family, was the only one who remained 
 in his father's profession, and became a surgeon at 
 Liverpool. He was distinguished in religious and 
 philanthropic work, no less than in his medical 
 profession. 
 
 John Bickersteth, my grandfather, was the second 
 son ; and his sons were, Henry, who, in the course 
 of a long residence as a medical man at the Cape 
 of Good Hope, earned the gratitude of churchmen 
 by his devotion to the interests of the Church of 
 England in that colony ; Edward, now Dean of 
 Lichfield, who was for many years Archdeacon 
 of Buckinghamshire, Vicar of Aylesbury, and Pro- 
 locutor of the Lower House of the Convocation 
 of Canterbury ; and the subject of this sketch, 
 Robert, Bishop of Ripon. 
 
 If the Vicar of Acton occupied a position of 
 comparative obscurity, yet his work was of a very 
 remarkable character ; and it will not be without 
 interest to some readers to dwell for a space on the 
 uneventful life of a country clergyman in the first 
 half of the present century. 
 
 Several modern biographies, and especially Mr. 
 
REV. JOHN BICKERSTETH. 
 
 Mozley's Reminiscences, give a graphic picture of 
 the time when the Oxford Tracts were first launched 
 upon the world, and startled the slumber of many 
 a quiet parsonage with the perplexing rush of ideas 
 at once new and old. 
 
 But it would be a great mistake to suppose that 
 till the Tractarian Movement, there was nothing to 
 break the deep sleep in which the Church had lain 
 all through the Georgian era. The burning love of 
 souls and the fiery energy of the Methodist Revival 
 found an echo within the Church, and there were 
 those who combined the fervour and piety of the 
 Wesleys with a spirit of sober loyalty to Church 
 order, the lack of which had turned a powerful 
 auxiliary of the Church into a sect separate from 
 her. These were the men who formed the Bible 
 Society, who supported Missions to the Jews, and, 
 with Wilberforce and Clarkson, stormed against the 
 slave-trade till the conscience of the nation was 
 aroused to roll away that terrible reproach to 
 England and Christendom. 
 
 Such a man was John Bickersteth, of Acton. 
 Like his younger brother, he had left Kirkby Lons- 
 dale for a clerkship in the Post Office, but, not con- 
 tent with any calling lower than what he deemed 
 the highest, took Holy Orders. 
 
 The Rev. John Bickersteth was a young man 
 when he went to Acton in 1812, and his ministry 
 there lasted till 1837. 
 
 What the life at Acton was like, we are able 
 to picture vividly enough from a few letters which 
 have been preserved, and from the recollections of 
 some of those who lived at the vicarage as pupils 
 
8 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 of Mr. Bickersteth, or candidates for Holy Orders 
 who spent a year or two with him to gain an insight 
 into parochial work. 
 
 At Cambridge John Bickersteth had made the 
 acquaintance of the Rev. C. Simeon, whose great 
 influence over the younger members of the Uni- 
 versity made itself felt long before his name became 
 a household 'word throughout the Church. The 
 following letter, which was preserved by the Rev. 
 Canon Carus amongst Mr. Simeon's correspond- 
 ence, shows how strong an admiration and respect 
 the writer had for the great Cambridge leader : 
 
 Dear Sir, Believe me, though I have had so little 
 opportunity of manifesting it, I have not ceased to retain 
 a lively gratitude towards you for all your undeserved 
 kindnesses to me during my residence in the University, 
 and an affectionate interest in your spiritual and temporal 
 prosperity. May the great Head of the Church long 
 continue your valuable labours for the good of His people ! 
 I think you will pardon the freedom of my writing to you 
 upon the subject of one dear to you, and dear also to me ; 
 on different accounts, and yet not wholly dissimilar. You, 
 dear sir, were, I believe, under God, Mr. Martyn's spiritual 
 father : I am not sure whether, under God, I am not the 
 same Mr. Martyn's spiritual son : I am sure that his 
 preaching, which most providentially I had the happiness 
 of hearing, just before he left England, at St. John's Chapel, 
 was the means, by God's grace, of strengthening if not 
 establishing impressions still, alas ! too feebly operative in 
 a heart not yet sufficiently made captive in every thought 
 to the obedience of Jesus Christ. Under these circum- 
 stances, though I never had any personal knowledge of 
 Mr. Martyn, nor could have, as he left England almost 
 immediately after I first saw and heard him, yet, feeling a 
 lively regret for the loss which the Church sustains in him, 
 
MRS. JOHN BICKERSTETH. 
 
 and desiring to contribute my mite towards the promotion 
 of an object near his heart, I, in common with a London 
 friend, who wishes to remain unknown, but was alike a par- 
 taker of the benefit of his public labours, beg to enclose 
 two guineas (one from each of us), which we doubt not you 
 will be at the trouble of appropriating to the right channel. 
 I am afraid amidst your numerous avocations it would be 
 too much to hope for the happiness of seeing you at our 
 humble vicarage. Permit me, however, to add that we 
 should consider such a sight of you so great a happiness 
 that we will hope you would not neglect a favourable 
 opportunity of gratifying us in this particular. In the 
 mean time I am sure we shall have your prayers, which I 
 hope, together with our own, and those of other Christian 
 friends, God will continue to bless for the good of the little 
 but dear flock which God my Saviour has put into my 
 hands. I feel that I am unworthy of being His under- 
 shepherd ; but if He guides, directs, and blesses, then I am 
 safe. Mrs. Bickersteth has lately presented me with a dear 
 babe. She would feel herself honoured by an introduction 
 to your acquaintance, which she both is prepared and 
 knows how to value. 
 
 I am, dear sir, 
 
 Your sincerely obliged and grateful, 
 
 JOHN BICKERSTETH. 
 
 Acton Vicarage, near Sudbury, 
 June 2, 1813. 
 
 The infant to whom reference is made in the 
 letter was Edward, the present Dean of Lichfield ; 
 but on a subsequent occasion Mr. Simeon visited 
 Acton, and it was thought a matter of great rejoicing 
 in the family that he consented to act as sponsor 
 to Robert, the future Bishop of Ripon. 
 
 The Rev. John Bickersteth had married Miss 
 Henrietta Lang, who seems to have been admirably 
 fitted for the position of a clergyman's wife. After 
 
10 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 her death in 1830, her widowed husband published 
 a little memoir, which shows her to have been a 
 very remarkable woman, and one who could not 
 fail to have a most powerful influence upon her 
 children. Before her marriage she had passed 
 through a change in her religious convictions, which 
 led her to give herself almost entirely to good works 
 amongst the poor in the little village of Natland, 
 near Kirkby Lonsdale. 
 
 At Casterton Hall, where she was a frequent 
 guest, she made the acquaintance of her future 
 husband, who had just commenced his work at 
 Acton. 
 
 How deeply she was impressed with the respon- 
 sibility of becoming a clergyman's wife is shown 
 in a letter written to a friend before her marriage. 
 She writes : 
 
 I humbly trust I did not presume to listen to the 
 proposal till I had begged the blessing and guidance of 
 my Heavenly Master. And though it appears to be His 
 will hitherto to sanction the step I am about to take, yet 
 it is a duty still to pray for a negative to any plan which 
 will not promote my spiritual progress. By the assisting 
 grace of God, it is my wish unreservedly to surrender all 
 I have and am to His service and glory ; and I can 
 earnestly pray that I may be kept from anything that 
 would interrupt such a surrender. I am in some measure 
 sensible of my present temptation. Oh, implore of Him 
 Who hears and answers prayer, that all His gifts may be 
 sanctified ; that the streams of mercy may never draw me 
 from the Fountain ; and that, through all created comfort, 
 the steady eye of faith may be fixed on the Creator. Acton 
 is a retired corner of the vineyard : pray for its minister 
 that he may be endued with strength from on high equal 
 to his day ; and especially pray for her who must so soon 
 
THE EVANGELICAL MOVEMENT. II 
 
 share his labours. Oh, that my heart may be carefully 
 impressed with a sense of the responsibility attached to 
 such a situation, and also with a still deeper sense of God's 
 distinguishing mercy and my own unworthiness ! 
 
 Mrs. John Bickersteth was fitted to share in 
 her husband's work not only because of her deeply 
 devotional mind and the simple love of Christ, which 
 forms the strongest bond of union even between 
 those who have learned their faith in different schools, 
 but she, like her husband, had imbibed an almost 
 identical form of Evangelical piety, long before their 
 acquaintance commenced. 
 
 It may be that some who read these pages will 
 be puzzled to know exactly what is meant by the 
 constantly recurring phrases that belong to the early 
 period of the Evangelical Movement. 
 
 Religious phrases are so apt to mislead, and so 
 soon lose their value, if they become the watchwords 
 of a party instead of the natural utterances of those 
 who feel them, that a word of caution is needed to 
 explain their use. 
 
 If good people talked and wrote to-day in the 
 language in which their grandfathers expressed 
 themselves seventy or eighty years ago, the world 
 would not be very far wrong in bidding them beware 
 of cant ; but in those days it was natural enough for 
 them to talk as they felt, and there is no question 
 that in such a home as the vicarage at Acton, the 
 inmates felt as strongly as they spoke of the great 
 need of an entire separation between Christ's people 
 and the world. 
 
 It was a very different thing fifty years later, 
 when the Evangelical party had become powerful 
 
12 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 and wealthy ; and it was high time for Charles 
 Kingsley to warn us that the religious world might 
 be at least as worldly, as full of envy, hatred, and 
 malice, and all uncharitableness, as the other world 
 which it professed to shun. 
 
 But the few clergy who called themselves 
 Evangelicals at the beginning of the century were 
 certainly not taking the popular course. 
 
 Their clerical neighbours were not in a position 
 to rebuke them for neglected duties and defective 
 loyalty to the Church, for there was hardly one of 
 the old High Church party who made any attempt 
 to carry out the Prayer-book scheme with the dili- 
 gence that is now happily so common. And the 
 laity squires, farmers, and labourers alike had been 
 so long familiar with an easy compromise between 
 the claims of this world and the next, that a clergy- 
 man who boldly rebuked vice, and spoke of Sin and 
 Hell as great realities, could hardly escape some 
 measure of unpopularity and opposition. 
 
 In trying to show what the home life at Acton 
 was like, I make no apology for borrowing largely 
 from the memoir of Mrs. Bickersteth, to which 
 allusion has already been made. Her husband says 
 of her 
 
 In her ardent thirst for spiritual knowledge, and in 
 that devotional spirit with which she was so eminently 
 blessed, will be found the mainspring which guided and 
 regulated the movements of her active and industrious life. 
 What delight she took in, and how unremitting was her 
 study of, the Word of God ! Besides chapters and portions 
 daily read, morning and evening, with her husband, children, 
 and servants, and in the constant routine of the family 
 worship ; besides what she read occasionally in her visits 
 
STRICT RELIGIOUS LIFE. 
 
 amongst the poor, and statedly twice in the week when 
 she assembled around her, in her own house, those of her 
 own sex who chose to attend, every day, and twice, at 
 least, in the day for herself, and solely upon her own 
 account, she was an accurate, diligent, and prayerful Bible 
 student. 
 
 Then follows a list of devotional books which 
 were in constant use. Amongst them were " Jenks' 
 Prayers," "Thomas a Kempis," Adam's " Private 
 Thoughts," Bishop Taylor's " Holy Living and 
 Holy Dying," with the devotional expositions of 
 her brother-in-law, and Bridges on Psalm cxix. 
 
 " In her," says her husband, " the flame of devotion, like 
 the fire upon the altar, never, went out ; it pervaded and 
 sanctified all she attempted, said, or did. Even in her little 
 account books, which were most methodically arranged, 
 and kept with scrupulous exactness, may be discovered 
 traces of the same devotional spirit. In that for the opening 
 current year was transcribed, by her own hand, within the 
 cover, Agur's beautiful prayer, ' Give me neither poverty 
 nor riches/ etc. (Prov. xxx. 8, 9), and, just beneath it, the 
 important Apostolic aphorism, ' Godliness with content- 
 ment is great gain.' " 
 
 Next in the memoir come two forms of self- 
 examination, and some " Rules of Daily Use," which 
 were constantly employed. It may interest the 
 reader to see them, and they are noticeable for this 
 reason : It is often supposed that the tendency of 
 " Evangelical principles " was rather to make light 
 of Manuals of Devotion and strict habits in the 
 religious life. It has been the fashion to contrast 
 the strict rules of life, the minute self-examination, 
 and the rigorous insistence on such matters as fasting 
 
14 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 and the sterner side of religious discipline, with a 
 supposed laxity in those who are called Evangelical. 
 
 Certainly there is no ground for this comparison in 
 the glimpse of a spiritual life which this memoir gives. 
 
 The forms of self-examination could only have 
 been drawn up by one who had a very definite view 
 of the meaning of holiness, and who was prepared 
 to seek it by a life of strict self-discipline. 
 
 An attentive reader will notice that they differ 
 from most modern forms, because they are based on 
 holiness, rather than on sin. That is to say, the 
 soul is taught to inquire and accuse itself, rather for 
 the neglect of grace given and privileges bestowed, 
 than for the faults which may have been committed. 
 
 But others will, perhaps, like to see these forms 
 for the same reason which makes them precious to 
 the writer. The memoir of his mother was the 
 only book, except the Bible, which my father con- 
 stantly used in his own devotions, and the little 
 book from which this copy is taken is soiled, and 
 its pages almost worn through with constant use. 
 
 SELF-EXAMINATION. No. i. 
 
 1. Did I awake as with God this morning, and rise 
 with a grateful sense of His goodness ? How were the 
 secret devotions of the morning performed ? Did I offer 
 my solemn praises, and renew the dedication of myself to 
 God with becoming attention and suitable affections ? 
 
 2. Did I lay my scheme for the business of the day 
 wisely and well ? How did I read the Scripture, and any 
 other devotional book, or practical one? Did it do my 
 heart good, or was it mere amusement? How have the 
 other stated devotions of the day been performed, whether 
 secret, family, or public ? 
 
SEL F-EXA MINA TION. 1 5 
 
 3. Have I pursued the common business of the day 
 with diligence and spirituality of mind, doing everything 
 in season, and with all convenient dispatch, as unto the 
 Lord ? What time have I lost this day in the morning, 
 or at noon-day, or in the evening ? and what occasioned 
 this loss ? With what temper, and under what regulations 
 have the recreations of this day been pursued ? 
 
 4. Have I seen the hand of God in my mercies, in my 
 health, cheerfulness, food, journeys, clothing, books, preser- 
 vation, success in my avocations, kindness of friends, con- 
 versation, etc. ? 
 
 5. Have I seen the hand of God in afflictions ? and, 
 very particularly, in little things which had a tendency to 
 vex and disquiet me ? And, with regard to this interposi- 
 tion, have I received my comforts thankfully, and my 
 afflictions submissively ? How have I guarded against the 
 temptations of the day, particularly against this, or that, 
 temptation, which I foresaw in the morning ? 
 
 6. Have I maintained an humble dependence on divine 
 influences ? Have I lived by faith on the Son of God, and 
 regarded Jesus Christ as my Teacher and Governor, my 
 Atonement and Intercessor, my Example and Guardian, my 
 Strength and Forerunner ? Have I been looking forward 
 this day, to death, and judgment, and eternity, and con- 
 sidered myself as a probationer for Heaven, and, through 
 grace, an expectant of it ? 
 
 7. Have I governed my thoughts well, especially in my 
 intervals of solitude ? 
 
 8. How was my subject of thought chosen for to-day, 
 and how has it been regarded ? Have I governed my dis- 
 course wisely and piously in such and such company ? Did 
 I say nothing passionate, mischievous, slanderous, impru- 
 dent, or impertinent ? 
 
 9. Has my heart been full of love to God this day ? 
 and to all mankind ? and have I sought, and found, and 
 improved opportunities of doing and getting good ? With 
 what attention have I read the Scriptures this day ? How 
 was self-examination performed the last night? and how 
 
1 6 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 have I profited this day by any remarks I then made on 
 former negligences and mistakes ? 
 
 SELF-EXAMINATION. No. 2. 
 
 1. Do I walk by faith in an unseen world, Saviour, 
 Eternity ? 
 
 2. Do I love God, trying always to please, and fearing 
 to offend Him ? Desiring to draw near to, and longing 
 to enjoy Him ? 
 
 3. What end do I propose to myself in my pursuits, 
 endeavours, and studies? Is it the glory of God (i Cor. 
 x. 31)? 
 
 4. How are the Scriptures heard and read ? Do I desire 
 and pray for spiritual knowledge ? 
 
 5. Of what sort are my prayers ? Do I watch, strive, 
 and pray against distractions and wanderings in prayer, 
 against coldness, deadness, dulness, formality, etc. ? or do 
 my tempers, words, and actions contradict my prayers ? 
 
 6. Do I daily call myself to account for my daily sins, 
 humbling myself before God with a broken and a contrite 
 heart, seeking, through Jesus, pardon and peace, and not 
 allowing myself in any known sin ? 
 
 7. Do I love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity ? 
 
 8. How is my heart kept ? Have I found out my beset- 
 ting sin, and placed the curb on that in particular ? Do I 
 aim at heart purity, and freedom from inward, secret sins ? 
 
 9. Do I eat and drink to the glory of God, and practise 
 daily self-denial in governing and restraining my appetites 
 and passions ? 
 
 10. Do I keep an eye to the standard, "Love God with 
 all thy heart," and " Love thy neighbour as thyself" ? 
 
 11. Am I hasty or rash in judging any? Do I despise 
 or slight any on account of natural defects or infirmities ? 
 Do I abstain from uncharitable and unkind looks, thoughts, 
 words ? Am I quick to see, willing to own, and anxious to 
 undo, as far as may be, what has been done amiss ? 
 
 12. Do I pray for, and desire the spiritual good of all. 
 
BORN AT ACTON, 1816. I 7 
 
 doing what in me lies to promote it by my consistent 
 example and patient, persevering endeavours ? Do I ear- 
 nestly desire the spread of the Gospel, and the success of 
 its ministers ? And do I cherish the sanctifying influences 
 of the Holy Spirit for my own growth and fruitfulness in 
 grace ? 
 
 RULES OF DAILY USE. 
 
 I. Begin with God. Never neglect to make prayer 
 first. Should anything unforeseen occur to shorten, yet 
 upon no account, and for no pretence, omit the duty. 
 Though short, be devout, earnest, serious. Be this your 
 motto, " Begin with God " (Ps. v. 3). 
 
 2. Expect trials, and to have your own will often thwarted. 
 Seek strength for the day of trial, and grace for the duty of 
 that day (Deut. xxxiii. 25). 
 
 3. Watch occasions of good, to improve, and of evil, to 
 shun them (Rom. xii. 9). 
 
 4. Make the best of that which looks ill, and let not the 
 sins of others provoke you to sin. 
 
 5. Be not weary of well-doing (Gal. vi. 9), nor cease 
 from striving against sin (Heb. xii. 4). 
 
 Enough has been quoted to show the character 
 of the mother whose influence left such a permanent 
 impression upon my father's whole after-life, and the 
 little volume with its evident traces of incessant use, 
 is a sufficient record for those who loved him of that 
 inner life which is hid with Christ in God. 
 
 But I cannot forbear to add an extract from 
 the blank leaf of his mother's Testament, which has 
 a special interest after seventy years, when one feels 
 that its prayer has been fulfilled. 
 
 The extract is dated August 24, 1816, and that 
 is the day on which Robert, the fourth son of John 
 
 c 
 
1 8 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 and Henrietta Bickersteth, was born. It is written 
 in pencil in the mother's hand : 
 
 Again I have received richly the support and mercy of 
 my Lord. O bind my heart -and future life to Thee and 
 to Thy service for ever! Sanctify this Thy new and 
 precious gift to us ; teach us, that we may be enabled 
 through Thy grace to train our child in the way wherein 
 it ought to go. O adopt it, blessed Jesus, into Thy family 
 on earth; and may it be partaker of eternal glory hereafter! 
 Amen. 
 
 And the father adds when, fifteen years after- 
 wards, the mother has passed away 
 
 May this striking recognition of a mother's gratitude, 
 and memorial of affectionate interest in, and thoughts for 
 his welfare in the season of his own unconscious infancy, 
 be imprinted on the youthful breast of him who is most 
 concerned, as with an iron pen and an indelible mark ! and 
 may the solemn charge, " Be faithful unto death," 1 also 
 appended to this document by the same hand, be as a 
 talisman to guard him from the sins of unfaithfulness, that 
 none such may cleave unto him, and as his never-to-be 
 obliterated watchword in every hour of trial or peril ! 
 
 1 In 1857 my father adopted the words " Esto Fidelis" as his motto, in 
 place of " Frappe Fort," which had been borne by his family. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 BOYHOOD AT ACTON. 
 
 The parish of Acton Pupils at the vicarage Dean Alford, Bishop 
 Pelham, etc. Recollections of the latter A model parish Large 
 numbers of communicants Strict churchmanship of the older 
 Evangelicals Robert Bickersteth as a boy His early talent for 
 surgery Portrait of a true parish priest Evangelical, but not 
 Low Church. 
 
 THE village of Acton stands in a purely agricultural 
 district of Suffolk, about three miles from Sudbury. 
 The old church is mentioned in Domesday Book, 
 and part of the present structure dates from the 
 eleventh century. It is now sorely in need of 
 the repairs which have just been commenced by the 
 present vicar, the Rev. Arundel Leaky, and there 
 is good hope that the restoration will be completed 
 in such a way as to preserve several interesting relics. 
 
 There is in the church a fine brass of one Roger 
 de Brues, a crusader, which is said to be one of the 
 oldest and best in England. However, the antiqui- 
 ties with which we are concerned date no further 
 back than 1812, when the Rev. John Bickersteth 
 was appointed to the living by Lady Howe. 
 
 The parish contains several outlying hamlets, 
 and there is but one gentleman's house, called 
 Acton Place ; so the vicarage, which was unfortu- 
 
20 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 nately placed nearly half a mile distant from the 
 church, was necessarily the centre of charitable and 
 medical relief, no less than of directly spiritual 
 influence. 
 
 What the home life was like at Acton, appears 
 from a Journal which my father kept in his thir- 
 teenth year, and from the recollections of some of 
 the pupils who lived beneath his father's roof. 
 
 His parents enjoyed eighteen years of unbroken 
 happiness in their married life. One child died in 
 infancy, but on the mother's death in 1830, four 
 sons and three daughters survived. At the time 
 of his mother's death, Robert was fourteen years 
 old, but as he was evidently much older than his 
 years, it is not surprising that his mother's in- 
 fluence should have left so deep an impression. 
 In after-years he remembered a conversation 
 which he had with her only a week before her 
 death, in which she said, " I should die happily if 
 I knew that you were to be a clergyman." 
 
 It is evident from the Journal that his thoughts 
 had been already turned in this direction. Each 
 day there is the record of large portions of the 
 Bible read, and there are elaborate notes of his 
 father's sermons, of which the texts were noted each 
 week. Besides this, he was already his father's 
 constant companion in pastoral visitation, so he 
 was initiated at only thirteen years of age into all 
 the fascinating interests of the life of an active 
 parish priest. But there is nothing morbid or 
 unlike the healthy instincts of a light-hearted boy. 
 Side by side with the sick visiting and the cate- 
 chising of his class in the Sunday school, are the 
 
PUPILS AT ACTON VICARAGE. 21 
 
 records of bathing in the Stour, rides on his pony, 
 fishing, sliding, and all sorts of country pleasures 
 which he shared with his brothers and his father's 
 pupils. 1 
 
 Amongst the pupils who were from time to time 
 inmates of his father's house, were Lord Thomas 
 Hay, Francis and John, two sons of Lord Grey (the 
 Lord Grey of the first Reform Bill), Henry Alford, 
 afterwards Dean of Canterbury, Bishop Pelham of 
 Norwich, and Lawrence Ottley, who married Miss 
 Elisabeth Bickersteth. The latter succeeded his 
 father-in-law as Vicar of Acton, became Rector of 
 Richmond, Yorkshire, and Canon Residentiary of 
 Ripon. The Rev. John Bickersteth was an old- 
 fashioned classical scholar, and thus his children, who 
 never went to a public school, shared with his pupils 
 the opportunity of gaining a good education. 
 
 But the great feature of the home at Acton was 
 the prominent place given to religious duties, and 
 the incessant effort of the vicar to frame and fashion 
 the family life according to the doctrine of Christ, 
 and to make both himself and his, as much as in 
 him lay, wholesome examples of the flock of Christ. 
 
 For a further sketch of Acton, I am indebted 
 to Bishop Pelham of Norwich, who allowed me to 
 take down the reminiscences that occurred to him 
 after an interval of fifty years. 
 
 Bishop Pelham has a vivid recollection of the 
 two years he spent at Acton Vicarage, from Novem- 
 ber, 1832, to October, 1834. He had just taken his 
 degree, and was recommended to spend the interval 
 
 1 There is a brief entry in Dean Alford's Life which refers to one of their 
 bathing expeditions : " Saved Robert's life while bathing in the Stour." 
 
22 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 before receiving Holy Orders in getting some in- 
 sight into parochial work. 
 
 Amongst other clergymen to whom his father 
 applied, was the Rev. John Bickersteth. At that time 
 my grandfather had given up taking pupils, and 
 was reluctant to begin again. However, Mr. Pelham 
 was invited to spend two or three days at Acton, 
 and on the first night of his visit he was so much 
 struck by the piety and simplicity of the house- 
 hold, and by the kindness of his reception, that he 
 registered a vow, that if God would allow him 
 to go to Acton, he should esteem it among his 
 greatest blessings. The vicar's scruples were over- 
 come, and Mr. Pelham was for two years an inmate 
 of the vicarage. Mr. Bickersteth allowed Mr. Pel- 
 ham the use of his library, and constantly took 
 him on his daily round of pastoral visitation, and 
 to the three cottage lectures which were held weekly 
 in the outlying hamlets of the parish. 
 
 Mr. Pelham esteemed this as a very valuable 
 opportunity, and still looks back upon Acton as a 
 wonderful parish. 
 
 He remembers several points in illustration of 
 this. First, there was the average attendance of 
 ninety at the monthly Communion, out of a parish 
 of six hundred, and this in spite of the fact that 
 the farmers were at first, at any rate, hostile or 
 indifferent to the teaching of the vicar, and, with 
 the exception of the family at Acton Place, the 
 communicants were all of the labouring class. One 
 proof of the hold which religion had upon the 
 hearts of the parishioners was, that it was quite 
 the exception when a household had not morning 
 
A MODEL PARISH. 
 
 and evening family prayer. A card of prayers 
 used to hang up in each cottage, and in his pastoral 
 visits the vicar would notice whether it had been 
 duly used on the previous morning or evening. 
 
 Mr. Bickersteth's teaching was very accurate 
 and thorough. Each Sunday in Lent, and on the 
 first Sunday in the month throughout the year, 
 there was public catechising in church, and on 
 these occasions the church, always full, was crowded 
 with the parents and others, anxious to hear their 
 children's answers. Each child was thoroughly 
 grounded in the Church Catechism, which formed 
 the basis of all his teaching ; and, in addition to this, 
 there were three little Catechisms compiled by Mr. 
 Bickersteth on Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy 
 Communion, which all the Acton children were 
 made to learn by heart. Mr. Bickersteth always 
 insisted on the children giving the exact words of 
 the answers for the sake of the older people, and 
 when the correct answer was given, he had great 
 skill in eliciting the children's knowledge of the 
 sense. Of my grandfather's accurate teaching and 
 strict churchmanship there is more to say by-and- 
 bye, but I continue Bishop Pelham's recollections as 
 they come. 
 
 At that time Edward was at Cambridge, so 
 Robert, then a boy of sixteen, was Mr. Pelham's 
 usual companion. He remembers his eager interest 
 and enthusiasm in all kinds of subjects, and especially 
 his early love of surgery. Though he was only 
 sixteen, Master Robert was often sent for as the 
 village doctor, and many of the poor people pre- 
 ferred him to any other practitioner. He had a 
 
24 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 sympathetic power and skill which were quite 
 remarkable. An instance of this occurred in the 
 
 case of an old man named J E . He had 
 
 been ailing for some time, and was constantly 
 visited by the family at the vicarage. One evening 
 Robert came home and told his father that he 
 
 believed E was suffering from an acute disease 
 
 requiring an immediate operation. 
 
 His father, who had some knowledge of surgery, 
 went to the cottage at once, and sent for the surgeon 
 at Long Melford, a man of great ability and repute. 
 The doctor came, but did not admit the gravity of 
 the case, and, promising to send some medicine, 
 went home. 
 
 About midnight, J E was worse, and 
 
 again sent for Master Robert, who persisted in his 
 former opinion. He obtained leave from his father, 
 and set off in the pony carriage to fetch the doctor. 
 He came, was much surprised at the development 
 of the malady, and was forced to exclaim, " The 
 boy is right!" Robert was sent off at once to 
 Sudbury for another surgeon, and the operation 
 was performed ; but both surgeons were very much 
 impressed by the skilful diagnosis of the boy. It 
 seems he had acquired all the information on 
 medical subjects within his reach from encyclo- 
 paedias, etc. 
 
 In connection with the services in Acton Church, 
 the Bishop remembers how in the Communion 
 service, in the midst of the deep solemnity which 
 always prevailed, Mr. Bickersteth, who had a beau- 
 tiful tenor voice, would begin very softly to sing 
 the words " Therefore with angels," and the Sanctus 
 
BIS PI OP PELHAM'S RECOLLECTIONS. 2$ 
 
 was taken up by the whole congregation. This was 
 a long while before the era of choral Celebrations. 
 
 Mr. Bickersteth was very scrupulous about the 
 church, and would never suffer a speck of dust to 
 be seen in the building. On Wednesday afternoon 
 it was Robert's duty to see that the lamps had 
 been made bright, and that everything was in good 
 order for the weekly lecture, and he was usually the 
 organist. 
 
 It was this training which made him in after- 
 life so exceedingly particular that there should be 
 nothing slovenly or untidy in the House of God. 
 
 I am also indebted to Bishop Pelham for an 
 amusing illustration of the feelings of reverence and 
 affection with which the parishioners of Acton re- 
 garded their vicar. The time came for his removal 
 from Acton, after a ministry of twenty-five years 
 among them, and there was a dispute amongst the 
 farmers as to which should have the honour of 
 conveying his furniture and books into Leicester- 
 shire. Somewhat to his annoyance, all refused to 
 let him hire, and at last it was arranged that two 
 farmers should supply the necessary waggons and 
 horses to convey his effects to Sapcote, free of 
 charge. 
 
 Mr. Pelham spent a Sunday in Acton soon after 
 Mr. Bickersteth had left. It so happened that he 
 was delayed by sickness on the road to London, 
 and, being in the neighbourhood of Acton, was 
 compelled by the people, ill as he was, to come over 
 and preach. He was led to give out the same text 
 that Mr. Bickersteth had chosen for his farewell 
 sermon, and no sooner had he uttered it, than he 
 
26 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 found he had touched a chord which strangely 
 moved the congregation. 
 
 As he went about the parish afterwards, even 
 the roughest lads and the least religious people 
 welcomed him warmly as " one of Mr. Bickersteth's 
 gentlemen," and so a link with the happy past. 
 
 Bishop Pelham tells a touching story of a visit 
 which he paid on that occasion to an old woman, 
 who, though a very pious person, often suffered from 
 great depression. He was surprised to find her 
 quite happy, while nearly every one else in the parish 
 seemed cast down by the recent separation. He 
 inquired the reason of the contrast, and she replied, 
 " Well, sir, you see when I had been to the Table and 
 to sermon, and came back happy in my mind, I used 
 sometimes to think my religion was all Mr. Bicker- 
 steth ; and now he is gone, I know it is all Christ." 
 The scaffold was removed, but the edifice remained. 
 
 These are happy recollections which are likely 
 enough to find a parallel in the simple annals of 
 many another country parish, but they may possibly 
 interest some of those who loved my father, and 
 help them to see how the early training influenced 
 his whole after-life. 
 
 Surely there is a reminiscence of Acton days 
 and a half-unconscious portrait of his father in this 
 passage from his Charge to the clergy of the 
 diocese of Ripon, delivered in 1873 : 
 
 The influence which a clergyman may exert for good 
 is beyond the power of utterance. . . . Let him be a man 
 of intellectual culture and refinement, fitted by taste and 
 habit and previous education for the work of the ministry ; 
 let him be possessed of those higher qualifications which 
 
EVANGELICAL, NOT LOW CHURCH. 2J 
 
 no mere human training can impart ; let him be an able 
 minister of the New Testament, a man of faith, a man of 
 prayer, full of the Holy Ghost, under the all-constraining 
 influence of the love of Christ, and one who yearns for the 
 souls for whom Christ shed His Blood; let him exemplify in 
 life and conversation the Gospel which he has been set 
 apart to proclaim ; and let it be evident to every beholder 
 that he is a man whose settled purpose it is to live to the 
 glory of God, and to commend to others the religion which 
 has brought peace and comfort to his own soul ; let him be 
 diligent in the discharge of the varied duties of his sacred 
 calling, a faithful dispenser of the Word of God and of 
 His Holy Sacraments, a watcher for souls as one that must 
 give account, a true pastor to whom his parishioners may 
 at all times turn for advice, instruction, or sympathy, as 
 their several needs require ; and lives there, I ask, a man 
 from whom a more blessed, a more hallowed, or a more 
 potent influence for good may be expected to emanate 
 than such a parochial clergyman ? You have but to 
 imagine the whole country subdivided into such parishes 
 and blessed with such clergymen, and who would then dare 
 lift up his hand against the National Church ? 
 
 This is probably the place to draw a distinction 
 which was ever present to my father's mind, and 
 which he doubtless owed to the example of his 
 father. He gloried in the title of Evangelical, but 
 he always repudiated the charge of being a Low 
 Churchman. And certainly no one can attentively 
 read these notices of Acton or some of the later 
 letters of my grandfather without seeing that his 
 Evangelical principles were quite consistent with 
 genuine loyalty to the Church. 
 
 The Church Catechism was thoroughly taught. 
 The whole Liturgy was constantly explained in the 
 course of sermons and lectures, and, to notice a 
 
28 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 trivial but significant detail, salt fish always appeared 
 upon the table on Fridays and Fast-days throughout 
 the year. 
 
 With regard to daily service, the Dean of Lich- 
 field remembers that at one time his father felt it 
 right to obey the rubric, and read the morning 
 prayers in Acton Church. He did not long con- 
 tinue the practice, because the church was at a very 
 inconvenient distance from the vicarage, and, indeed, 
 from the bulk of the parishioners ; but it was his 
 habit to welcome all who would come to family 
 prayers in his own house. 
 
 On the question of Dissent, or rather, of union 
 with others outside the Church, my grandfather was 
 a stricter churchman than his brother Edward of 
 Watton. The latter took a prominent part in con- 
 nection with the Evangelical Alliance, but my grand- 
 father, though full of charity to all who loved our 
 Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity and truth, felt it 
 inconsistent to join in public worship with those who 
 caused needless division in the Body of Christ. 
 
 This difference between them comes out in a 
 letter written by Edward Bickersteth to his brother 
 John, dated October 31, 1810: 
 
 To Christians of all other classes (excepting Socinians, 
 Arians, and Pelagians), who love the Lord with sincerity, I 
 would give the right hand of fellowship, however they may 
 differ in non-essentials ; nor should I, after mature con- 
 sideration, hesitate to go to their assemblies. / know you 
 differ from me here, ... I am not, therefore, anxious to be 
 exonerated from the charge of Methodism, nor to prove 
 my principles by the Church of England. 
 
 It is only right to notice that the letter was 
 
REMOVAL FROM ACTON TO SAPCOTE. 29 
 
 written before either of the brothers had been 
 ordained, but it seems to indicate a certain difference 
 in standpoint which both of them maintained in 
 after-days. 
 
 In 1837 my grandfather was offered the living of 
 Sapcote, in Leicestershire. This was not altogether 
 a happy change from Acton, but, since his wife's 
 death, Acton could never be the same as in the 
 earlier days, when he had seen his children growing 
 up around him, and his parish gradually transformed 
 under the influence of the Gospel which he preached. 
 
 There were sundry changes made in the manner 
 of conducting service at Sapcote which gave some 
 offence to the Chapel party. 
 
 In a letter written to my father in 1838 my 
 grandfather says 
 
 We are all alive at Sapcote, and as we have begun 
 catechising in the church, I suppose we shall soon be 
 imitated in this also by the chapel. Alas ! I really believe 
 some of those who now cry out, " The Chapel in danger ! " 
 would have been much better pleased had what they call 
 " the Gospil " never come to the church. 
 
 In another letter to my father there is a graphic 
 description of the opening of a new organ, and the 
 introduction of choral service, with the Te Deum 
 sung after the evening service : 
 
 When the organ came, which old Mrs. W. designated a 
 " load of summut," the cry of the Wesleyans was, " Here 
 comes Mr. B.'s Dagon." 
 
 Another letter to my father speaks still more 
 strongly. It is dated February 7, 1839, and, after 
 some family news, he says 
 
30 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 The spirit of division is rampant. Ranters first, I 
 suspect, were encouraged by the Methodists, to whom now 
 they are beginning to be troublesome : a result which 
 might have been anticipated, if the " Chapellists " had not, 
 in their shortsightedness, forgotten that this mode of war- 
 fare against the Church would probably act with double 
 force against themselves. On Sunday afternoon, from 
 Hosea vi., I preached with the view to an improvement 
 of the present opportunities, and spoke of the parish, 1st, 
 as torn with religious divisions, 2nd, as smitten both with 
 sin and sickness. Under the first head I started the 
 question whether religious divisions might not be shown 
 to be the fruitful source, on one side, of infidelity and 
 atheism, on the other, of profligacy and profaneness. 
 
 This was tolerably plain speaking for a represen- 
 tative of the party who are sometimes supposed by 
 their amiable weakness to have encouraged the sin 
 of schism. 
 
 There will be more to say of Sapcote later on, 
 when my father commenced his ministry as curate 
 there. A few years have been anticipated to com- 
 plete the picture of my grandfather. Some of the 
 old folks at Acton still remember him. One told the 
 writer she "minded Mr. Bickersteth. He was very 
 strict about the Catechism." Another remembered 
 the first sermon that led her to think seriously of 
 her soul ; and she can never forget many texts 
 imprinted upon her memory by his singularly im- 
 pressive manner of preaching. Many of his special 
 sermons were published, and he occasionally visited 
 neighbouring parishes on behalf of the Church 
 Missionary Society ; but he was, as a rule, singularly 
 retiring, and was content to live amongst his own 
 people. 
 
LETTERS FROM HIS FATHER, 31 
 
 The same devoted spirit which was shown at 
 Acton distinguished him at Sapcote, and letters 
 written from thence to his children mention different 
 people with the same affectionate individual interest, 
 which shows how closely the heart of the pastor was 
 bound up with the joys and sorrows of the people 
 committed to his care. 
 
 One more quotation from a letter addressed to 
 my father while an undergraduate at Cambridge, 
 is an amusing illustration of the writer's theological 
 sentiments. He speaks of having been to preach in 
 a neighbouring church, and says of the incumbent 
 
 God can work by any instrument, but I do not think 
 
 that seems at all likely to draw around him any of the 
 
 mass of no-church-goers at T . Mr. P. is mighty easy 
 and low in his churchmanship notions, although a holy, 
 good man. His plan does not seem to prosper. He says 
 of his people " They respect, but they do not mind me ; " 
 but surely a people will mind the man whom they truly 
 respect. 
 
 It may be interesting to add an extract from a 
 letter to my father, in 1835, in which my grand- 
 father explains his somewhat neutral position in 
 politics : 
 
 To-day is our county election. We have a sort of 
 opposition, and no opposition ; we have Rushbrook, and 
 Logan, a religious man and a temperate Reformist, and 
 Hales, of whom I know nothing, except that he is claimed 
 by the Radicals. Though quite unpledged, I shall probably 
 give one vote to Logan and one to Wilson. Logan called 
 and behaved very courteously, but I consider a vote like 
 that I am going to give rather imperfect as a specimen of 
 my own feeling, and all but neutralizing, as it respects 
 
32 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 those it may seem to benefit ; still, it seems to be better 
 than not voting at all. 
 
 At this time the sympathies of the Evangelical 
 clergy were mainly with the party of reform, chiefly 
 because they had been allied with Wilberforce, 
 Clarkson, and the so-called Clapham sect, on the 
 question of slavery ; and my grandfather had an 
 additional reason for being in the main a Liberal 
 from his intercourse with his brother Henry (after- 
 wards Lord Langdale), with whom, at one time, he 
 used to spend his annual summer holiday. How- 
 ever, it is not surprising that a country clergyman 
 should hesitate to vote for a candidate of whom 
 he knew nothing, but that he was claimed by the 
 Radicals. 
 
 In the general upheaval of political parties that 
 followed the first Reform Bill, there was a good deal 
 of wild talk about the disestablishment of the Church, 
 and the Radical in question may have been com- 
 mitted to some such scheme. 
 
 If it be true, as a very eminent authority is 
 reported to have said, that the disestablishment 
 of the Church looked more remote in 1885 than it 
 did in 1835, the change in public opinion, and the 
 firmer grasp which the Church has obtained upon 
 the hearts of the people, is largely due to the faith- 
 ful efforts to promote their religious and social 
 interests, of which the work of the Rev. John Bicker- 
 steth at Acton is a conspicuous example. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 YOUTH AND EARLY MANHOOD. 
 
 Death of Mrs. John Bickersteth A career in the navy promised, but 
 exchanged for that of a doctor Robert Bickersteth a medical 
 student in London and Paris He comes under the influence of 
 Henry Melville Goes to Cambridge with a view to ordination 
 His first curacy at Sapcote Reading and Clapham His first 
 sermon and studious life Tenderness and sympathy with the 
 poor What a little child thought of Cousin Robert's sermons- 
 Appointment to St. John's, Clapham, and marriage with Miss 
 Elisabeth Garde A crowded church and attached congregation 
 Growing reputation as a preacher Style and matter of his 
 preaching Controversy with Rome, and work in connection with 
 Irish Church Missions. 
 
 AT the time of his mother's death my father had 
 evidently begun to think of being a clergyman, and 
 it was not strange that all his father's sons should 
 have shared, for a time at least, the same inten- 
 tion ; but it was not yet the settled purpose of his 
 life, and for a time he was attracted by the offer 
 of a career in the Royal Navy. His father's friend, 
 Lord John Hay, entered his name at the Admiralty, 
 and promised him a midshipman's berth. However, 
 there was a delay of two years before Lord John 
 got a ship, and by that time my father's naval 
 ardour had cooled. 
 
 Meanwhile he had followed up his taste for 
 
 D 
 
34 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 surgery, and in 1833 he went to Norwich as a 
 pupil to Mr. Crosse, one of the surgeons of the 
 Norwich Infirmary. His stay at Norwich was cut 
 short by a trifling accident which brought him home 
 to Acton, and in the following year he went to 
 London. There he lodged in the house of Dr. 
 Whiting, in Rodney Buildings, New Kent Road- 
 one of the lecturers at the Webb Street Medical 
 School. He entered as a student at St. Thomas's 
 Hospital, which then stood in Tooley Street, oppo- 
 site to Guy's. 
 
 Bishop Pelham was then a curate in London, 
 and the friendship which had begun at Acton was 
 steadily maintained. The student confided in the 
 clergyman the difficulties which beset a young man 
 who was beginning to walk the hospitals. Coming 
 fresh from the religious atmosphere of Acton, he 
 found himself in a world very different from that to 
 which he had been accustomed. The rough jokes and 
 the vulgar materialism of the dissecting-room were 
 doubtless a sore trial, but he was well able to hold 
 his own, and no doubt his faith was strengthened 
 by the opposition against which he had to fight. 
 
 In 1836 he passed his classical examination at 
 the Apothecaries' Hall, and subsequently went to 
 Paris to attend the hospitals there, before applying 
 for the licence of the College of Surgeons. A few 
 letters from Paris, to his father and sisters, seem to 
 show that his life was a lonely one. He speaks of 
 his little chamber in the Hotel Corneille being 
 " like that of the prophet Elisha in the house of the 
 Shunamite," and in these days his spare time was 
 spent in the composition of sermons, which marks 
 
INFLUENCE OF HENRY MELVILLE. 35 
 
 how the leading motive of his life was becoming 
 more and more apparent. 
 
 My father was elected in after-years a governor 
 of Guy's Hospital, and retained the office to the 
 end of his life. 
 
 From the time of his first leaving home, he 
 had always been a regular teacher in the Sunday 
 School connected with Mr. Hawtrey's church in 
 Southwark, and it was during his residence in 
 London that a change, or rather, a deepening, of 
 his religious convictions took place. At that time 
 no preacher in London exercised a wider influence 
 than Henry Melville. Camden Chapel, Camden 
 Town, was always densely crowded, and the charm 
 of his sermons, evident enough to those who are 
 only able to read them, was enhanced by an ex- 
 quisite delivery, and the strange fascination of the 
 crowd which hung upon his lips. My father was 
 generally amongst his hearers each Sunday night, 
 and in after-days he could never speak of Melville 
 without emotion. He writes in a Journal with which 
 he relieved the weariness of the last months, while 
 he was waiting for the end 
 
 I can never be sufficiently thankful for the privilege 
 of hearing that wonderful man. The marvellousness of his 
 eloquence was to me something entirely new. I had never 
 heard anything to compare with it. And now, after a lapse 
 of forty years, the impressions made upon me by his 
 unrivalled power as a preacher remain as vividly fixed in 
 my recollection as if they were only of yesterday. 
 
 His sisters recollect how, in holiday visits to 
 Sapcote, my father would repeat whole passages 
 of Melville's sermons, which he had committed to 
 
36 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 memory. And the same remained stored up for 
 after-years, when sometimes they would be re- 
 peated to his children in the course of a ride 
 through the woody lanes round our beautiful home 
 at Ripon. 
 
 The influence of Melville upon my father was 
 of a double character. It was his ministry, under 
 God, which, co-operating with other providential 
 circumstances, led him to forsake the medical 
 profession for the ministry of the Gospel of Christ ; 
 and his manner of preaching doubtless had its 
 effect upon my father's style. Of other external 
 circumstances which led to his decision to take 
 Holy Orders, there is no need to speak. 
 
 For a long time there was a conflict in his 
 mind whether to give up the profession in which 
 he had every prospect of success ; and he seems 
 to have shrunk from throwing upon his father the 
 additional burden of maintaining another son at 
 Cambridge, when the whole cost of his medical 
 training would be thrown away. However, he con- 
 fided his desire of ordination to his uncle, Edward 
 Bickersteth of Watton, in the course of a Sunday 
 morning walk through St. James's Park, and the 
 latter urged him to acquaint his father with his 
 wish. 
 
 It was late in life for so important a change. 
 His classical attainments had been growing less 
 during the last four years, and his early mathematical 
 training had been scanty enough. 
 
 However, unwearied industry, and the concen- 
 trated purpose of one who had at last found his 
 work, and meant to do it, enabled him to pass 
 
LIFE AT CAMBRIDGE. 37 
 
 through Cambridge with greater distinction than 
 might have been expected from his training. He 
 entered at Queen's College in October, 1837, and 
 used to recall in after-years the fact that he came 
 into residence on St. Luke's Day. The coincidence 
 marked the providence by which he, too, was called 
 to be an evangelist and physician of the soul. 
 
 Of his career at Cambridge there is little to 
 say. In his second year he obtained a scholarship 
 at Queen's. 
 
 He entered the University later than other men, 
 and with his mind already made up on points 
 which are, to most young men, a source of per- 
 plexing speculation at the outset of college life. 
 This, perhaps, accounts for the fact that he mixed 
 little in the ordinary pursuits of undergraduates, 
 and was less affected than others by the secondary 
 influences of University life. 
 
 The venerable Master of Queen's, Dr. Phillips, 
 who had been his tutor, wrote after my father's death 
 to testify to the recollection, after forty-seven years, 
 of his high example, and the feeling of respect with 
 which he himself used to regard his pupil. As a 
 teacher in the Jesus Lane Sunday school, he retained 
 the habit which had been formed at Acton and main- 
 tained in London. There was nothing in his under- 
 graduate life to which he looked back with greater 
 pleasure than the opportunity of hearing Melville as 
 select preacher in two successive years, and it was 
 at Cambridge that he first had the opportunity of 
 meeting in private the great teacher to whose public 
 ministry he owed so much. 
 
 My father's private tutor was Mr. P. Mason, and 
 
38 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 the latter was grievously disappointed at the degree 
 which his pupil obtained. 
 
 Coming, as he did, to the University after four 
 or five years spent in the preparation for another 
 profession, it was not likely that my father would do 
 justice to his natural ability ; but Mr. Mason had 
 given him every hope of being a wrangler. When 
 the list came out, and my father appeared amongst 
 the junior optimes, it was explained by the fact that 
 he had followed too literally his tutor's advice, and had 
 neglected parts of the work on which the examiners 
 were determined to insist. And yet it is impossible 
 to regret it. My father used often to trace the Hand 
 of God in thus stopping the career which might have 
 been his had he obtained a higher degree, and, in 
 consequence, a Fellowship at his College. My 
 father took his degree in January, 1841, and was 
 ordained Deacon by the Bishop of Peterborough in 
 Peterborough Cathedral, in the following March. 
 
 His father gave him a title to the curacy of 
 Sapcote, where the former had been for the past 
 four years. 
 
 The time of ordination can hardly fail to be 
 the most solemn period in a man's life, and yet the 
 arrangements at Peterborough, as everywhere else 
 until recent days, were not of a kind to deepen the 
 natural feelings of solemnity appropriate to such a 
 time. The candidates were all lodged at the prin- 
 cipal hotel, and dined together each evening, at an 
 hour which might have been utilised as a precious 
 opportunity of prayer and meditation. The exami- 
 nation itself was purely formal, and there was no 
 address or devotional help given to the candidates. 
 
CURACY AT SAPCOTE. 39 
 
 My father remembered this in after-days, and 
 was very particular at Ripon, where it was impos- 
 sible to lodge all the candidates at the Palace, to 
 arrange that they should obtain quiet lodgings, 
 while he was anxious to make the most of the golden 
 opportunity for deepening the spiritual life of those 
 who were entering on their sacred profession. 
 
 The curacy of Sapcote was an admirable pre- 
 paration for future work, and in the Journal to which 
 I have already alluded my father wrote 
 
 I had ample time for reading. As a rule, I read in my 
 father's library every morning from nine till one, spent the 
 afternoon in visiting the poor, and got some time for read- 
 ing every evening besides. It was seldom that I had to 
 preach more than once on Sunday, and this allowed of my 
 giving full time to the preparation of sermons. It was 
 then, and for several years afterwards, my habit to write 
 out every sermon, word for word, and spend an amount 
 of care on the style and composition which was invalu- 
 able to me in after-years, and other places of ministerial 
 labour. 
 
 These sermons preached at Sapcote bear evident 
 traces of most careful study. The original text of 
 the New Testament and the Septuagint seem to 
 have been always consulted. 
 
 From a bundle of the sermons I cannot forbear 
 to quote the concluding paragraph of the first he 
 ever preached, sounding as it does so emphatically 
 the keynote of his ministry. The text is i Cor. ii. 2 : 
 " I determined not to know anything among you, 
 save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." Showing 
 how every doctrine necessary to salvation centred 
 round the Cross, he concluded with one of those 
 
40 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 intensely earnest personal appeals which were the 
 chief characteristic of all his sermons : 
 
 I glory in the privilege of being permitted to proclaim 
 the glad tidings of redemption that there is not one of 
 you for whom Christ's Blood has not been shed, not one 
 who has not salvation within his reach. I care not what 
 may have been your sins in time past. They may be like 
 mountains, but there is strength in Christ to cast them into 
 the depths of the sea ; and He is just as willing as He is 
 able. " Him that cometh to Me I will in nowise cast out." 
 Then yield yourselves, body and soul, to the touch of your 
 Redeemer. But come like men resolved to be saved ; like 
 men who feel that unless on the Rock they must finally 
 sink in a deluge of wrath. 
 
 You will readily believe it is not without much anxiety 
 that I enter this day on the duties of the ministerial office. 
 It is an office from which I can only be released by death ; 
 an office on which may be dependent the interests of hun- 
 dreds, nay, of thousands ; their interests not for time alone, 
 but for eternity. Each soul that conies within the reach 
 of the sound of my voice may hereafter be a witness either 
 for or against me. This I know, that nothing can prevent 
 their being written against me, but the determination on 
 my part to preach nothing but Christ and Him crucified. 
 How, then, can I forbear on this, the first morning of my 
 ministry, to entreat your prayers that, whether called to 
 labour for a brief or an extended period, it may be my lot 
 at the last, in summing up my ministry, to say of it, I 
 determined, and through God's grace have kept the deter- 
 mination, to know nothing but Jesus and Him crucified ? 
 
 A cousin, Mrs. Wheeler, wrote last year, only a 
 few hours before she died, some reminiscences of my 
 father as curate of Sapcote : 
 
 I very frequently visited Sapcote. My cousin Robert had 
 recently been ordained to his father's curacy ; the people 
 
VISIT TO THE CHANNEL ISLANDS. 41 
 
 were already growing attached to him, he showed such 
 sympathy in their troubles. One Sunday my uncle asked, 
 " Why did you preach about the lion and the bear this 
 morning ? " " Because they took a lamb out of the flock, 
 and I wanted to say something that might comfort poor 
 
 Mrs. , who has so lately lost a little lamb out of her 
 
 flock." It was beautiful to see the loving, trustful terms on 
 which father and son were. 
 
 About this time he was invited to preach by his 
 uncle at Watton, " And," says a family letter, " con- 
 sidering what the Watton Sundays are, we all think 
 this no small honour for so recently ordained a 
 curate." 
 
 A pretty story is preserved of a little cousin 
 Janey, only child of his uncle Henry, who, when 
 only eight years old, and a visitor at Sapcote, used 
 to say, " I do like Cousin Robert's sermons ; they 
 always make me want to be good." Can any 
 preacher have a higher tribute paid to him than that ? 
 
 In 1841 my father paid a visit to his old friend Mr. 
 Hawtrey, who had charge of St. Mary's, Guernsey, 
 and occasionally preached in that and other churches 
 in the Channel Islands, where he first addressed an 
 educated congregation. In the following year he 
 took charge of the parish of Wooler in Northumber- 
 land for six or seven weeks, for his friend, Mr. John 
 Grey ; but, with these exceptions, the curacy of Sap- 
 cote was a very quiet time, in which my father was 
 laying up a store of material which stood him in 
 good stead in busier days to come. My father often 
 quoted the advantages he received by this time for 
 study, in advising young men to seek their first 
 curacies in parishes where they could have some 
 leisure for personal improvement. 
 
42 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 And the moderate work of a country parish 
 helped to form the habit of close pastoral oversight 
 and house to house visitation, which, when once 
 formed, sets the ideal of the ministry, even when 
 overgrown populations render its realisation almost 
 impossible. 
 
 Leaving Sapcote in 1843, my father accepted 
 the curacy of St. Giles, Reading, under the Rev. 
 T. C. Grainger. The two years spent at Reading 
 were very happy ones. A kindly vicar, whose holy 
 example and powerful preaching he always gratefully 
 remembered, and the active work of a large parish, 
 were important elements in his training ; while he 
 gradually obtained an insight into the larger ques- 
 tions which were perplexing the Church. Writing 
 on December 10, 1844, to his brother Edward, 
 the present Dean of Lichfield, my father says 
 
 What a fearful state our poor Church is in ! I am 
 anxious to see what the Exeter diocese clergy do. I should 
 be greatly puzzled whether or no to obey the bishop. His 
 letter seems very cleverly written, but his decisions appear 
 to me to go upon entirely false assumptions, and certainly 
 they are in the direction of Tractarianism. 
 
 The same letter has another item of curious 
 interest 
 
 I have been asked to look out for clergymen for some 
 of the new districts in Yorkshire, under Peel's Act. The 
 salary is ^"130 till a church is built ; it will then be i$o, 
 with a house. It is a relative of the Bishop of Ripon's who 
 asked me, and if you know of any one, I should be glad to 
 get his name put before the bishop. 
 
 From Reading my father went to Clapham, to a 
 
ST. JOHN'S, CLAPHAM. 43 
 
 curacy at the parish church, under Dr. Dealtry, to 
 whom he had been recommended by the Rev. 
 Charles Bradley, father of the present Dean of 
 Westminster. 
 
 He entered on his duties at Clapham in 1845, and 
 about the same time, without any solicitation on his 
 part, he was elected to the Limborough Lectureship, 
 at Christ Church, Spitalfields, and the chaplaincy of 
 the Weavers' Company. His power as a preacher 
 had already attracted considerable attention ; and 
 his name, well known through the wide reputation 
 of his uncles, soon brought offers of preferment ; but 
 he remained at the parish church until Dr. Dealtry 
 offered him, at the close of 1845, tne incumbency of 
 St. John's, Clapham Rise. 
 
 This appointment was a very important one to 
 my father, for not only did it place him in a position 
 of great influence, where his preaching soon attracted 
 a large congregation, but it enabled him to con- 
 template a step which secured the singular happiness 
 of his whole domestic life. He wrote in the dark 
 days to which I have already alluded, when he was 
 so much dependent on the loving tenderness of the 
 best of all possible nurses 
 
 To that period I look back with the deepest thankfulness 
 to Almighty God, as a turning-point in my life, the com- 
 mencement of a career of unmingled happiness and pros- 
 perity, and the occasion of never ceasing praise to God for 
 His mercy, in having guided me to the choice of one so 
 incomparably qualified to promote my happiness in every 
 possible way. 
 
 My father entered upon his new duties on St. 
 Matthew's Day, 1845, an d he writes 
 
44 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 From that day until the close of my ministry in St. 
 John's, goodness and mercy seemed to follow me without 
 interruption. 
 
 In the beginning of 1846 he resigned the 
 preachership at the Magdalene, which he had held 
 for some months, and devoted his whole time and 
 energy to St. John's. 
 
 Some two years before this my father had 
 first made the acquaintance of his future wife, 
 Miss Elisabeth Garde, the third daughter of Mr. 
 Joseph Garde, of Cork. Her parents had died many 
 years before, and she was then staying with her 
 brother, the Rev. Richard Garde, in whose church, 
 at Harold, in Bedfordshire, my father and mother 
 were married by my grandfather, on the 2ist of 
 July, 1846; and, after a brief wedding tour, my 
 father brought his bride home to Clapham. 
 
 St. John's Church soon became filled with a very 
 large congregation, devotedly attached to their new 
 Incumbent. The Rev. Clement Cobb, who served 
 under my father as curate at St. John's, and was 
 afterwards one of his chaplains, has kindly written 
 a sketch of his ministry at Clapham, to which this 
 narrative is largely indebted. 
 
 The parishioners of St. John's consisted chiefly 
 of business men, who resided at Clapham, and were 
 engaged daily in the city. 
 
 My father made it a rule to devote his evenings 
 to the wealthier members of his flock, but he 
 certainly did not mingle with them in merely social 
 intercourse. It was clearly understood at St. John's, 
 that when Mr. Bickersteth was a guest at some social 
 gathering, the conversation would turn on matters 
 
ATTENTIVE CONGREGATIONS. 45 
 
 uppermost in the hearts of Christian people, and the 
 evening would be closed with family prayer. In this 
 way many fast friendships were formed, and a power- 
 ful influence for good was brought to bear upon the 
 families and friends of those attending the church. 
 
 But the public ministries of the pulpit were the 
 means of exercising a wider influence. 
 
 At this time, at any rate, my father's sermons on 
 Sunday were always written, and bear the marks of 
 laborious preparation of both style and matter. 
 Though there was nothing in the least artificial in 
 his diction, yet the exquisite modulation of his voice, 
 which contributed so largely to cast a spell over his 
 hearers, was not acquired without careful cultivation. 
 On Sunday mornings the sermons were compara- 
 tively free from any appeal to the emotions, and 
 were addressed rather to the head than the heart ; 
 but the evening sermons, which attracted a wider 
 class, were models of popular oratory. 
 
 Mr. Cobb, speaking of the crowds which were 
 attracted to St. John's, says 
 
 The plain and unecclesiastical church had its best 
 ornament in the eighteen hundred people who filled every 
 seat that was constructed, or could be extemporised, and 
 hung on the preacher's lips with breathless attention. I 
 never saw anything like it, excepting when I have heard 
 Melville, the then prince of sacred orators, preach a special 
 sermon. 
 
 Though by no means his only power, there is no doubt 
 that preaching was Mr. Bickersteth's great power. There 
 was no complaint of long sermons, though he usually 
 preached for fifty minutes. His sermons on Sunday were 
 written throughout. They would frequently commence 
 with a clear restimd of the Scriptural narrative with which 
 
46 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT B1CKERSTETH. 
 
 the text was connected, which enlisted the interest of all, 
 and was most instructive to those who had read their 
 Bible without careful thought. On this would be founded 
 the argument, usually divided into several periods. 
 
 Every one was attentive to the forcible closing up of 
 each of these ; after which the silence caused by pent-up 
 feeling was relaxed in a momentary outburst of coughs, 
 movements of position, etc. 
 
 It is certainly true that the chief attraction at 
 St. John's was the pulpit, and there was nothing 
 in the externals of the church or its services to 
 account for its popularity. The old black gown 
 was the preaching vestment, and a surpliced choir 
 was unheard of; but the service was by no means 
 carelessly rendered. A volume of sound showed 
 that the responses were heartily given, and the 
 fervour of the worshippers was evidence that the 
 preaching really stirred their hearts, as it de- 
 lighted their ears. Then, as always, my father had 
 the greatest dislike to any negligent ways in the 
 House of God. His own reverence was instinctive 
 and contagious, and no service for which he was 
 responsible could fail to be rendered decently and in 
 order. 
 
 The immense number of communicants com- 
 pelled my father to be one of the first to introduce 
 the early Celebrations of Holy Communion, which 
 have been at once the effect and the cause of much 
 revival of spiritual life. 
 
 The elaborate preparation of his sermons, and 
 the growing calls of public duty beyond the limits of 
 his parish, did not mean that the ordinary parochial 
 duties were neglected. The schools were a first 
 claim upon his attention ; and the whole parish was 
 
CHARACTER OF HIS SERMONS. 47 
 
 mapped out and regularly visited by himself and 
 his curates, as well as by an organised staff of 
 district visitors ; while every kind of parochial 
 charity was largely supported by the wealthy laity 
 who were drawn to the church. 
 
 One feature at St. John's, which he reproduced 
 in St. Giles's, and which was always very near my 
 father's heart, was a special service for the poor, 
 which he held every Monday night. It was the 
 rule that people should come in their working 
 clothes, and each Monday night the schoolroom 
 was filled with an audience, chiefly of laundresses, 
 to whom he would preach in homely language the 
 Gospel which " the common people " hear as gladly 
 now as when they flocked round the Master Him- 
 self in Galilee. My father used sometimes to tell 
 us how people invaded this service for whom 
 it was not intended, and well-to-do parishioners 
 used to try to sit unnoticed amongst their poorer 
 neighbours. 
 
 The one subject uppermost in the preaching 
 at St. John's was the everlasting Gospel of our 
 Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Then, and through- 
 out his life, my father used to say, that no sermon 
 was worthy of the name which did not contain the 
 message of the Gospel, urging the sinner to be 
 reconciled with God ; and he himself never forgot 
 that he spoke as the ambassador of the King of 
 kings, bearing the tidings of pardon to all who 
 knew their need of forgiveness and of peace. Yet 
 this never meant a ceaseless repetition, nor that 
 identical sermons were formed on different texts. 
 The sermons were full of scriptural exegesis, and 
 
48 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 were often masterly expositions of great doctrines 
 of the Trinity, the Incarnation, or the Person and 
 work of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, at Clapham, 
 my father was controversial, and he was by no 
 means backward to avow an uncompromising hos- 
 tility to what he thought the deadly errors of the 
 Roman Church. On the occasion of the Papal 
 aggression he delivered a series of lectures on the 
 characteristics of Romanism, which were listened 
 to with eager interest by very large congregations. 
 To my father's mind the Papacy was the gigantic 
 lie which attempts to stand between the soul and 
 Christ. He thought the whole system dishonouring 
 to our Blessed Lord as the one Mediator between 
 God and man. He dreaded what he thought 
 showed a growing tendency in our own Church 
 towards similar doctrines, and he was by no means 
 displeased to be known as a champion of those who 
 were opposed to the Tractarian Movement. He 
 had an intense desire to bring each soul into con- 
 tact with Christ ; and though he did not insist on 
 a sudden, sensible conversion, he taught that a 
 conscious turning from sin to God was the crisis 
 of the religious life, and the only true foundation of 
 future peace and progress. He was very jealous 
 for the true relation between the processes of justifi- 
 cation and sanctification, and felt how great an injury 
 is done to souls, by trying to build up a holy life 
 when the right foundation has never been laid in 
 the surrender of the heart and will to God. 
 
 In later days my father fully believed that this 
 Evangelical doctrine was faithfully taught by many 
 High Churchmen, and if he was once convinced 
 
IRISH CHURCH MISSIONS. 49 
 
 that the aim of a ministry was to exalt Jesus only, 
 he had no heart to quarrel with other beliefs and 
 practices widely different from his own. 
 
 His strong anti- Roman views led my father to 
 embrace with all his heart the work of the Society 
 for promoting the Irish Church Missions to Roman 
 Catholics. 
 
 From his close connection with this work, it 
 may be interesting to give a brief account of the 
 origin of the society, which was founded by a very 
 zealous and able clergyman, the Rev. Alexander 
 Dallas, in the year 1847. 
 
 Of course there had previously been efforts to 
 influence Roman Catholics, but up to this date the 
 Irish Church, as such, had not made any effort to 
 grapple with the difficulty of Romanism. 
 
 The clergy had been content to minister to their 
 scanty flock, consisting of what the Nationalists 
 call the English garrison and their few dependents. 
 It was a humiliating position for a national religious 
 establishment, which claimed to be the representa- 
 tive of the same Catholic Church as St. Patrick. 
 They had sunk so low as to surrender the past to 
 the Romanists ; and, careless of the fact that Roman- 
 ism itself had, in many districts, only a slender 
 influence on the morals and civilisation of the 
 people, the Established Church made no adequate 
 effort to preach the Gospel to the poor. Of course 
 their position was one of peculiar difficulty ; and 
 my father clearly stated its extent in the House 
 of Lords, in the course of a speech in which he 
 strongly opposed the disestablishment of the Irish 
 Church. The speech will be found at length in 
 
 
50 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 a later chapter of this book, so I will not quote 
 it here. 
 
 If my father and his friends had been able, thirty- 
 years ago, to fire the Irish clergy with their own 
 evangelistic spirit, the state of Ireland might have 
 been very different to-day. We should have seen 
 a fusion of hostile interests in the love of a common 
 Redeemer, and the Irish Church, instead of meeting 
 with the treatment its apathy had done much to 
 justify, might still have been the cherished heritage 
 of a people at once Catholic and reformed. 
 
 The story of the Irish Church Missions, as 
 told by Mr. Dallas, is one of thrilling interest, 
 and some of my father's happiest days were those 
 he spent in company with his honoured friend 
 in visiting the mission stations, and preaching the 
 Gospel of Christ where the utmost spiritual desti- 
 tution prevailed. 
 
 It is only fair to notice, in treating the religious 
 question in Ireland, that the Romanists have been 
 blamed for a state of things which they were power- 
 less to prevent. 
 
 In the thinly-populated districts of Connemara, 
 where the people had lapsed into a state of uncivi- 
 lised barbarism, many were attached to the Roman 
 Church only in name ; but it is a strange character- 
 istic of the Roman system, that it retains some sort 
 of hold over the affections of people who are 
 practically untouched by its moral and spiritual 
 teaching. Without charging the Roman clergy 
 with wilfully keeping their nominal adherents in 
 ignorance and superstition, it is no exaggeration to 
 say that they left vast tracts of country untaught. 
 
LECTURE AT EXETER HALL. 51 
 
 Surely this left the more responsibility upon the 
 ordained ministers of Christ, who were settled in 
 each parish as teachers of a pure Catholic and 
 reformed faith. These were the men whom Mr. 
 Dallas and my father tried to stimulate to a sense 
 of compassion for the outcast and degraded people 
 amongst whom they lived. 
 
 In the course of a lecture delivered in London 
 to the Young Men's Christian Association, at Exeter 
 Hall, in 1852, my father gives a graphic description 
 of the Irish Church Mission work. After showing 
 the method of attack, which was to promote inquiry 
 and bring every doctrine to the touchstone of Holy 
 Scripture, he goes on 
 
 I come, thirdly, to the results, the visible and appreciable 
 results, which have followed from the labours of the society 
 in Ireland. . . . Within four years of the commencement 
 of the work, an impression has been made which has far 
 exceeded the most sanguine expectations of the founders 
 of the Association, aroused the attention of the empire, and 
 wrung from the Romish hierarchy the unwilling admission 
 that their power in Ireland is fast approaching destruction. 
 The reformation, which commenced in Galway, at Castle 
 Kirk, quickly gained ground in various parts in and around 
 that place. Spite of every opposition on the part of Romish 
 priests and those who were influenced by them, the preach- 
 ing of the missionaries was attended by crowds of eager 
 listeners ; the agents found ready access to the cabins of 
 the Romanists, the school-houses became overcrowded by 
 children and adults, thirsting for instruction out of God's 
 Word. A place called Oughterard was soon adopted as a 
 second missionary station ; agents of the society were planted 
 there, opposition was kindled ; but it issued in the advance- 
 ment of the truth. . . . Conversions rapidly succeeded each 
 other. The spell of the priest was broken, and the desire 
 
52 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 for spiritual freedom, then kindled for the first time for 
 ages, was developed in the irresistible determination to 
 shake off the bondage of Romanism. 
 
 From thence the reformation proceeded right and left. 
 Clifden, an important town about thirty miles west of 
 Castle Kirk, soon became a rallying place for an extensive 
 district all around. January, 1848, witnessed the first 
 operations of the missionaries in that quarter. In an 
 almost incredibly short space of time 250 children were 
 under regular weekly instruction in the mission schools. 
 The light which had dawned upon Clifden radiated to other 
 villages on every side, till, ere long, the ray fell upon Sel- 
 lerna, Cleggan, Salruc, Barratrough, Ballyconre, Ballyna- 
 boy, Duholla, and Derrygimla. 
 
 All Connemara caught the glorious illumination. In 
 each of these places mission schools were established, Pro- 
 testant services were held ; slaves of Popery, being in- 
 structed in the truth of the Gospel, rejoiced to shake off their 
 bondage and embrace the liberty wherewith Christ makes 
 His people free. Within one year from the commencement 
 of the work 401 converts came forward to receive at the 
 hands of the Bishop of Tuam the rite of Confirmation : 
 to a man have these converts remained staunch to the 
 profession which they then made, and forty-six have died 
 rejoicing in Christ Jesus. In September last the Bishop of 
 Tuam again held a tour of Confirmations in the same dis- 
 trict, when 712 converts publicly avowed their renunciation 
 of Popery, and their adhesion to the Protestant faith. In 
 one union of parishes in West Gal way, where in 1840 there 
 were not more than 500 Protestants, there are now between 
 5000 and 6000 converts. 
 
 In the same district there are 3500 children in daily 
 attendance at the mission schools. The erection of ten 
 new churches for the accommodation of as many congre- 
 gations has become imperatively needful. ... So decisive 
 has been the progress of the work, we are able to affirm 
 that a tract of country extending about fifty miles in 
 length from Galway to Omey, and thirty miles in breadth 
 
WORK IN IRELAND. 53 
 
 from Salruc to Inverin, which five years ago was essentially 
 Popish and ecclesiastically desert, has now become cha- 
 racteristically convert and Protestant, dotted with churches 
 and schoolrooms, with a flock gathered by pastors of the 
 United Church. 
 
 Nor is this great work of reformation confined to Gal- 
 way. It is gradually advancing throughout various other 
 extensive tracts of country. The flame which was kindled 
 amid the rocky passes of Connemara soon extended to the 
 town of Galway ; from thence it has reached Limerick, 
 Belfast, Carlow, Kilkenny, Drogheda, Enniscorthy, and 
 Wicklow ; and it is even now lighting up at this moment 
 some of the murkiest alleys in Dublin itself. Two thousand 
 Romanists in that city are visited weekly by the agents of 
 the Irish Church Mission Society. The lanes and courts 
 of the metropolis are penetrated by these indefatigable 
 pioneers of the Gospel. Every Tuesday evening there 
 meets a class of inquiring Romanists, in a large schoolroom 
 attached to St. Michan's Church, for the express purpose of 
 comparing the doctrines of God's Word with the dogmas 
 of the Church of Rome. 
 
 These are no coloured representations. These are no 
 exaggerated statements. I speak of what I have seen ; I 
 am giving you the facts which I have verified from my own 
 observation. I have wandered through the desert wilds of 
 Connemara, I have preached to the poor wretched pea- 
 santry there the truths of the everlasting Gospel, and I 
 have watched with delighted amazement the devouring 
 eagerness with which they drank in the tidings of the 
 blessed story of peace. I have seen the hearty and spirit- 
 catching enthusiasm with which they welcomed the appear- 
 ance amongst them of the English missionary. I have 
 heard the young and old, men, women, and children, wake 
 the mountain echoes with their " Cead mille fealthe ! " for 
 the messengers who came from afar to disenthral them, 
 by the sword of the Spirit, from the chains which Rome had 
 forged and fastened. I have examined the children in the 
 crowded school-houses, where hundreds and hundreds are 
 
54 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 packed into the narrowest compass, and never did I witness 
 quicker intelligence, readier apprehension, or a more inti- 
 mate acquaintance with the facts and the precepts, the 
 promises and the distinguishing doctrines of the Gospel. 
 I have been present at the inquiry classes in Dublin when 
 the avenues of approach were blocked up by the crowds, 
 eager to gain admission to the overthronged room in which 
 the fortress of Romanism in that city is being undermined 
 by the diligent search into the doctrines of God's Word. 
 
 It does not come within the scope of this sketch 
 to inquire how far the Irish Church Missions have 
 fulfilled the promise of their opening years. The 
 disestablishment and disendowment of the Irish 
 Church, which have crippled its resources, have in 
 some degree altered the responsibility of that Church 
 towards the Romanists ; but still the work of the 
 Irish Church Mission goes forward, not without 
 signs of encouragement ; and the friends of the 
 society were cheered by the appointment of Lord 
 Plunket to the archbishopric of Dublin, as one who 
 has always had warm sympathy with its view of 
 the wider obligation of the Irish Church. 
 
 I have quoted this passage from my father's 
 speech for two reasons : first, because no one can 
 understand his life and ministry aright without 
 knowing the warm interest he took in this work, 
 and how it reacted on his view of contemporary 
 Church questions at home ; and again, because the 
 closing portion is a sample of my father's power 
 as a platform speaker. 
 
 During his ministry at Clapham and St. Giles's, 
 much of his spare time was devoted to the deputa- 
 tion of the society in many of the large towns in 
 
CLAP HAM RE-VISITED. 55 
 
 England ; and it was in this capacity that he first 
 made the acquaintance of some of the Ripon clergy 
 at a meeting held in Bradford in 1856. 
 
 No sketch of my father's work at Clapham 
 would be complete without a notice of an institution 
 in which he took the deepest interest. The British 
 Orphan Asylum, which now stands opposite the 
 Great Western Station at Slough, was then located 
 on Clapham Rise, and my father acted as 
 honorary chaplain to it. He used to conduct a 
 service there each Saturday night, giving an address 
 to the children. And in after-days he had fre- 
 quently the comfort of hearing how gratefully his 
 words of counsel were remembered by those who 
 were thus brought under his influence. 
 
 He was never weary of advocating the claims 
 of the Orphanage in London pulpits ; and his power 
 of pleading earnestly for charitable purposes, which 
 was so useful in his episcopal work, was discovered 
 and developed in connection with this and similar 
 societies, whose practical philanthropy was so near 
 his heart. 
 
 To complete this chapter, perhaps the best idea 
 of what the affection of the Clapham people for my 
 father was, is given in the following letter, written 
 to my mother, when he had the happiness of 
 revisiting St. John's in 1858. He was staying in 
 London, and writes from the House of Lords : 
 
 I had a pleasant day yesterday. In the morning 
 I preached for Burgess, at Chelsea. He is always very kind, 
 and seemed pleased at my preaching for him. There was 
 a very large congregation, several M.P.'s, and, amongst 
 others, the solicitor-general, etc. I preached a written 
 
56 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 sermon on the Rainbow, and then made an extempore 
 appeal for the Charity. Burgess seemed grateful, and 'said 
 the case had never been so clearly stated to the congrega- 
 tion before. I came home afterwards, had luncheon, and 
 remained in my room all the afternoon ; dined between five 
 and six, and at six I went to Clapham. Somehow I had 
 not expected a great crowd there, but when I got to 
 Kennington I soon suspected what it would be. The 
 people were pouring along the roads in crowds, and, in its 
 most crowded days of yore, I never saw poor St. John's 
 fuller. Every seat full ; the aisles, double columns of 
 people all the way up, and people standing up the middle 
 aisle. It was a work of time and difficulty to get up the 
 aisle, and you may imagine what a crushing the lawn 
 sleeves got ! All my old friends seemed to be there ; 
 even my old churchwarden Hill was in his old place. . . . 
 It seemed to me like a dream, so like what it was in 
 times past. The B.'s were there, Mr. B. in his father's old 
 place, and all the E.'s. I was very glad I had not a written 
 sermon. I preached from St. John xiv. 6. They were very 
 attentive. I think the sermon was nearly fifty minutes, 
 and we closed with " All hail the power of Jesus' name." 
 Mr. Bed dome came into the vestry afterwards, very affec- 
 tionate, and much moved by the whole scene. Perhaps 
 it would not be well to occur often, but it made me feel 
 what a golden opportunity God gave rne in those years of 
 my life when I was in that sphere. Oh that I had done 
 more for His glory ! I looked to the old corner where my 
 heart's treasure used to sit. F. sat in our pew. One could 
 almost fancy it was old times, and that we had been going 
 afterwards to our wee house in Bedford Place. ... I had 
 a nice note from poor old Miss B., regretting that she 
 cannot get out to church, and enclosing IQS. for the col- 
 lection ; this, by the way, amounted to 37 18^., which 
 they thought very good for the evening. To-night I have 
 to preach at Spitalfields, at eight. Indeed, I almost wish 
 I had a service every night It seems nearly the only way 
 in which I can be doing any good in London. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ST. GILES'S, 1851-1857. 
 
 Rector of St. Giles's Organisation of an overgrown parish Secular 
 and sanitary work Strong views on the connection between the 
 physical condition of the people and spiritual work The possi- 
 bilities of vast improvement What the Church has done for 
 London A sudden diminution of income and providential supply 
 of temporal wants Offer of canonry at Salisbury and other pre- 
 ferment Lay work and district visitors A controversial class for 
 inquiring Romanists. 
 
 DURING the time of his residence at Clapham my 
 father received the offer of several other livings, 
 and amongst them was a very important post in the 
 diocese of Ripon, the rectory of Richmond. This 
 was in the gift of his uncle, Lord Langdale, who at 
 that time was one of the commissioners who held 
 the Great Seal. The fair country town which stands 
 so grandly on the banks of the Swale, with its grim 
 Castle and fine old parish church, was certainly an 
 attractive spot ; but my father had no mind to 
 exchange his busy life at Clapham, with its manifold 
 opportunities of external usefulness in London, for 
 a post of comparative ease. Not long afterwards, 
 however, he was offered by Lord Truro, who had 
 succeeded to the vacant Woolsack, the important 
 rectory of St. Giles-in-the-Fields. 
 
58 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 Thirty years ago the duties of the Rector of 
 St. Giles's were formidable enough. The popula- 
 tion was about forty thousand, and round about the 
 church there lay a dense mass of pauperism and 
 crime, like a festering sore in the heart of London. 
 It was more like a little missionary diocese than 
 the care of a single parish priest. 
 
 The existing spiritual agency for grappling with 
 this great task was wholly inadequate. 
 
 One rector, one curate, one Scripture-reader, had 
 been the representatives of the Church's efforts to 
 evangelise and shepherd a flock which needed an 
 immense amount of loving labour if they were to be 
 kept, in any sense, within the fold of Christ. 
 
 But this was not all for which the rector of the 
 great town-parish was held responsible ; for his 
 energy and strength were taxed by an amount of 
 work which really formed no part of clerical duty. 
 The government of the whole district was in the 
 hands of a select Vestry, of which the rector was 
 cx-officio chairman, who, if he was to do his duty, 
 must spend hours of valuable time in considering 
 questions of lighting, paving, and draining a tract 
 of London quite sufficient to form an independent 
 municipality. 
 
 It was no wonder my father shrank from such 
 a task ; and it was not without a very serious 
 wrench that he left a work so full of happiness, and 
 a congregation so generous and sympathetic, as that 
 of St. John's. 
 
 He recalls in his diary a touching scene on the 
 day when he announced to the congregation that 
 he was about to leave them. After the morning 
 
PAROCHIAL ORGANISATION. 59 
 
 service, in response to his invitation, thirteen or 
 fourteen of the leading parishioners met him in the 
 vestry. He told them of his decision. They uttered 
 no reproach, and all felt he was right to accept the 
 post ; but one gentleman expressed the feeling of 
 them all, when he asked my father to unite with 
 them in prayer, that God would send them a faithful 
 minister to fill his place. 
 
 The kindness of the people of St. John's was 
 unfailing; and not content with giving the usual 
 testimonials of their affectionate regret when my 
 father left them, they agreed to provide him with 
 funds to further his work at St. Giles's. 
 
 If the years spent at Clapham had drawn out 
 my father's capacity as a preacher, the rectory of 
 St. Giles's afforded scope for talents of a different, 
 and perhaps a higher order. He was by no means 
 content with the comparatively easy task of filling 
 his church, for in London an able preacher is sure 
 of a large congregation ; but he set himself reso- 
 lutely to face the gigantic problem of how to reach 
 the masses under his care, who were not in the least 
 likely to come to church until the Church had 
 shown its capacity for serving them, and relieving to 
 some extent the hard lot of their daily lives. 
 
 And my father began his work in no narrow 
 spirit. Theologically he had little sympathy with 
 the Broad Church party, but he was in substantial 
 practical agreement with those who recognised that 
 the Church had a wider mission than merely to 
 save souls in the world to come. 
 
 He gladly availed himself of the right, as chair- 
 man of the Vestry, to make himself acquainted with 
 
60 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 the secular matters that were entrusted to that body. 
 The remarkable business talents he displayed, and 
 his singular grasp of detail, were cultivated and de- 
 veloped by this experience. In later days Yorkshire 
 laymen were often surprised at the aptitude their 
 Bishop showed for deciding problems, with which 
 they not unjustly considered the clergy are generally 
 incompetent to deal ; and the secret was the train- 
 ing he had received in the patient discharge of his 
 duty in the Vestry of St. Giles's. In the course of a 
 lecture which he delivered to the Leeds Philosophical 
 Society in 1860, my father showed the robust and 
 practical view he took of the obligations of the 
 Church, and the clergyman's duty towards the 
 squalor and misery of the dense populations and 
 overcrowded dwellings of great towns. He says 
 
 For several years it was my lot, as a parochial clergy- 
 man, to live in one of the densely populated metropolitan 
 parishes. The population was little short of forty thousand. 
 A large proportion consisted of the poorest classes. Within 
 the limits of that parish it might have been easy at any 
 time to meet with every type and form of social, moral, 
 and physical degradation. Various practical measures had 
 been adopted with a view to counteract the manifold evils 
 which existed in every direction. Thus we had churches, 
 clergymen, schools, ragged schools, district visitors, Scrip- 
 ture-readers, and city missionaries all in active operation. 
 Other remedial efforts had also been tried, and happily 
 not altogether in vain. The provisions of the Common 
 Lodging Houses Act and the Nuisance Removal Act 
 were, so far as practicable, enforced. Baths and wash- 
 houses were also erected, from which great good resulted ; 
 and yet, in spite of all these efforts, it was too painfully 
 evident that there still remained a dense mass of the 
 population unreached and unbenefited a multitude of 
 
CONDITION OF THE POOR. 6 1 
 
 our fellow-parishioners, fellow-immortals, upon whom all 
 attempts for their social or moral amelioration were appa- 
 rently so much wasted energy. 
 
 It was their physical condition, as to the wretched dwell- 
 ings in which they lived, which paralysed the action of the 
 clergyman, the schoolmaster, the Scripture-reader, and the city 
 missionary. Till this was remedied I could see little pros- 
 pect of permanent benefit. We must cease to do evil, that 
 we may learn to do well. Mind and matter are closely 
 connected ; and the moral constitution, like the mental, 
 may be elevated and depressed according to the material 
 influences to which it is constantly exposed. 
 
 He goes on to urge the importance of studying 
 the actual condition of the masses in the provincial 
 towns, no less than in London. Now that the 
 housing of the poor and the condition of the people 
 is the question of the hour, no excuse is needed for 
 these rather lengthy extracts ; which are given in the 
 hope that they may quicken the zeal of clergy and 
 laity alike in the discharge of a very important part 
 of their duty. 
 
 In describing the class of persons with whom he 
 had to deal, my father says 
 
 The district is composed mainly of those who reside in 
 narrow alleys, courts, and lanes, closely packed together in 
 houses ill-ventilated, with no adequate provision for the 
 access of air or light two of the most important requisites 
 for the preservation of health, badly drained, with no 
 adequate supply of water, no arrangements for securing 
 domestic privacy, or that separation of the sexes which a 
 regard to the first principles of morality demands ; a class 
 amongst whom you meet with persons who seem utterly 
 devoid of all moral sense ; in whom conscience is seared ; 
 who live in defiance alike of religious control or obligation ; 
 to whom all days are alike ; in whose creed theft is no 
 
62 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 crime, immorality no disgrace, intemperance no reproach ; 
 who know nothing of self-control or self-respect ; who see 
 nothing degrading in falsehood, and whose standard of 
 superiority is dexterity in crime ; persons who never use 
 the Name of God but to blaspheme ; who are as ignorant 
 of Christianity as if their lot had been amongst the unevan- 
 gelised heathen ; who regard the distinctions of society as 
 simply a combination of the rich to oppress the poor ; 
 whose only regard to the law is inspired by some lingering 
 dread of its penalties, and of whom, as regards their moral 
 condition, the description which an inspired Apostle gave of 
 the Gentile population is strictly accurate " They have no 
 hope, and are without God in the world." 
 
 All this may appear exaggerated ; but I venture to 
 affirm it will appear so to none who will be at the pains to 
 investigate for themselves. 
 
 Of course it is not intended that all these features of 
 moral debasement are presented alike in every member 
 of the class to which the description applies; but of its 
 general accuracy, I scarcely believe that any one who is 
 qualified by experience to give an opinion will for a 
 moment doubt. 
 
 In the course of the same paper there follow 
 statistics to show the overcrowded condition of the 
 Metropolis at large, which are no longer interesting, 
 as, in spite of much recent improvement, there are 
 facts equally distressing still before our minds ; but 
 some figures with regard to the parish of St. Giles's 
 show the nature of the work my father undertook. 
 
 " In one street," he says, " there were thirteen houses in 
 a row, containing a population of 1 300, or an average of 
 one hundred to each house. In another lane in the same 
 parish, there were thirty-two houses, containing in all 190 
 rooms. Till the provisions of the Common Lodging 
 Houses Act were enforced, the number of persons inhabit- 
 ing those thirty-two houses was 1710. The average number 
 
COST AND CONTAGION OF VICE. 63 
 
 living and sleeping in each room was nine, but in many of 
 the rooms the number was nearly twice as great. In a 
 Return which was printed by order of the House of Com- 
 mons in 1851, it is stated by Mr. Grainger, that he found 
 in a certain street as many as eighteen or twenty persons 
 living in one room. There is a place in the parish of St. 
 Giles-in-the-Fields called Short's Gardens. A man hired 
 a house in that quarter, for which he was to pay i a 
 week. He immediately sub-let one of the rooms for 12s. 
 to one set of lodgers, who used it by day, and to another 
 set of lodgers for 12s. a week, who used it by night, thus 
 realising by the sub-letting of one room more than he paid 
 for the whole house." 
 
 There follows a forcible statement of the direct 
 connection between this state of things and the 
 prevalence of epidemic disease ; for my father's mind 
 used often to revert to its early medical bias ; and 
 while he was labouring to be a true physician of the 
 soul, he never forgot that it is of the essence of 
 Christlike work to labour for the " redemption of 
 the body." 
 
 He gives an instance, drawn from his own 
 observation, of the fearful contagion of vice : 
 
 The father of the family, up to the time of his death, 
 was a practical thief; the eldest daughter lived on the 
 wages of infamy ; the eldest son was a convict under 
 sentence of transportation for fourteen years. The second 
 brother was also a convict under sentence of transportation. 
 The third brother, who, at the time of which I speak, was 
 only nineteen years of age, had been a thief for five years, 
 and in prison eight times. Imagine the cost of such a 
 family to the country. It is said that every prisoner costs, 
 while in prison, at the rate of from 4.0 to 50 a year. 
 The Pentonville prison alone costs 100,000 a year. At 
 a reformatory institution which I occasionally visited in 
 
64 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 London, there were at one time one hundred inmates. 
 The amount of money which had been stolen by these 
 men, as proved by evidence, was not less than ^"76,400. 
 The aggregate number of years spent in prison had been 
 one hundred and eighty ; and the expense incurred 
 through their imprisonment was computed at 4500. Thus 
 the crime of these one hundred men had cost the public 
 and the country at the lowest estimate 80,900. 
 
 Now, if there were only a faint probability that the 
 physical condition of the people could have anything to do 
 with the several points to which I have alluded public 
 health or sickness, the crime of intemperance, or the im- 
 morality of the community it would be a case demanding 
 investigation ; but when it is morally certain that the 
 health of the whole population is endangered, that crime 
 of every sort, drunkenness, and immorality, are fostered by 
 this cause, surely it is a matter which ought to engage the 
 attention of the wise and good, of politicians, philosophers, 
 magistrates, ministers of religion, of all who have a heart 
 to feel or any influence to exert. 
 
 These fearful pictures of misery and crime would 
 be enough to drive one mad, were it not for the 
 practical results which can be shown to have attended 
 the efforts made to combine sanitary and social im- 
 provements with the all-powerful instrument of the 
 Gospel of Christ. 
 
 My father insists in conclusion 
 
 It is no unreal or unattainable result to which we may 
 look forward the converting the dwellings of the millions 
 into dwellings where morality and peace and contentment 
 and godliness may abide. 
 
 I have seen, in courts that were once the receptacle 
 of all that was materially abominable and morally vile, 
 this amazing transformation ; a transformation, moreover, 
 effected at a comparatively small cost, and that outlay 
 actually remunerative. 
 
DIMINUTION OF INCOME. 65 
 
 Thank God, there is to-day a widespread zeal for 
 the cause of God and the poor, in London and other 
 large towns, that has never been surpassed, and the 
 bitter cry of outcast London has reached the hearts 
 of many who were long careless of the needs of those 
 less fortunate than themselves ; but in days of new- 
 born enthusiasm it is well to recollect that there has 
 been for many years a steady, and on the whole suc- 
 cessful, effort put forward by the Church. If the 
 Gospel of Christ has not expelled the glaring sins of 
 our great cities, at least the salt has been thrown in 
 which has hindered London from perishing in one 
 mass of corruption. And the record of all honest 
 effort, whether of a Lowder at St. Peter's, London 
 Docks, or of work like that of St. Giles's and many 
 another London church, is as full of hope as it is 
 full of inspiration. 
 
 Before attempting to give some account of the 
 parochial work at St. Giles's, and of the organisation 
 my father was enabled to set on foot, we must refer 
 to an incident which greatly affected my father's 
 future career. It is best told in his own words : 
 
 About the year 1854 what at the first appeared a 
 calamity befell me. An Act of Parliament had been passed 
 by the Government for putting an end to intramural inter- 
 ments, and under the provisions of the act the cemetery 
 belonging to St. Giles's, from which the greater part of the 
 rectorial income was derived, was closed. No compensation 
 whatever was provided, and the income of the rectory was 
 suddenly diminished from at least 1400 to about 400 a 
 year, a sum upon which it was impossible to maintain the 
 position. I wish here to record the goodness of God more 
 especially displayed in answer to prayer. Within a few 
 weeks of its becoming generally known what a loss I had 
 
 F 
 
66 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 sustained, I received from Mr. Courthope (a gentleman 
 with whom I had not the least personal acquaintance) the 
 offer of the living of Brenchley, in Kent. It was a valuable 
 living in a beautiful part of the country, near to Tunbridge 
 Wells. Mr. Courthope made the offer in a most generous 
 way, expressing his readiness to do anything towards 
 enlarging the house if I wished it. 
 
 There was much about the proposal which appeared 
 at first sight to make it my duty to accept the appointment. 
 On the other hand, the vast population of St. Giles's and the 
 fact that the blessing of God was apparently resting on my 
 ministry, made me most unwilling to leave. Accordingly, 
 I thanked Mr. Courthope gratefully for his offer, and 
 requested a fortnight's time for consideration. In the 
 mean time my beloved wife and myself made it a matter of 
 constant daily prayer that it would please God to show us 
 His Will in the matter. 
 
 In the course of a few days a leading publisher in 
 London called upon me, to ask if I would undertake the 
 nominal editorship of a biographical series which he was 
 about to bring out, and which he wished to connect with 
 the name of some well-known clergyman. The salary he 
 offered was 300 a year, certainly for five years and possibly 
 for much longer. I could not but regard this as an indica- 
 tion of Providence that my wants would be graciously 
 provided for ; but still it did not plainly follow that I was 
 to go into the country, although, under one point of view, 
 it might be thought that a country living would afford 
 more leisure for literary employment. We still continued 
 our prayer that God would show us what to do, and strange 
 to relate, the same week a gentleman called upon me from 
 the committee of the Foundling Hospital, to offer me the 
 Sunday afternoon Lectureship of that Institution. 
 
 The income arising from the two offers thus mentioned 
 would have enabled me to retain my position in St. Giles's, 
 although at the risk of being somewhat overworked. My 
 mind was made up at once, and within an hour of my 
 receiving the offer of the Foundling I wrote to Mr. 
 
CANONRY AT SALISBURY. 6j 
 
 Courthope, declining the offer of Brenchley, and announced 
 to him my intention of remaining in St. Giles's. 
 
 This being decided, my first impulse was to go and see 
 my dear friend, Mr. Montagu Villiers (afterwards Bishop 
 of Carlisle), who had taken a warm interest in the whole 
 matter. He expressed his unqualified gratification with 
 the decision at which I had arrived. My interview with 
 him lasted only a few minutes, and I returned to my house 
 in Gower Street. In the brief interval since I left I found 
 that Sir Culling Eardley had called, and left a message to 
 the effect that he was leaving town, but wished to see me 
 before doing so. His carriage was at the door to convey 
 me down to Adam Street, Adelphi, where he had gone. I 
 immediately went thither, and my surprise and thankful- 
 ness may be imagined, when he told me that his object 
 in wishing to see me was to convey a message from the 
 Lord Chancellor (then Lord Cranworth) that the Govern- 
 ment had determined to appoint me to a canonry in Salis- 
 bury, then vacant by the appointment of Dr. Hamilton to 
 the bishopric of that city. There was a degree of un- 
 certainty whether the appointment was vested in the Prime 
 Minister (then Lord Aberdeen) or the Lord Chancellor ; but 
 in either case the canonry was to be mine. Such was the 
 unexpected relief which, in the Providence of God, set my 
 mind free from all anxiety with regard to my stay at St. 
 Giles's. 
 
 I declined the Preachership at the Foundling, and 
 resolved to devote all my energies to the work in St. Giles's 
 and the duties connected with my new office in Salisbury. 
 
 The canonry at Salisbury set my father free from 
 pecuniary anxiety, and enabled him to devote his 
 undivided attention to the cure of St. Giles's. The 
 details of the work are full of interest, but are not 
 very different from the system of parochial work 
 now happily general ; it should, however, be borne 
 in mind that the best specimens of parish work 
 
68 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 to-day are seen in parishes where the population is, 
 at most, not greater than 10,000 or 12,000. 
 
 My father carried with him to St. Giles's the ideal 
 of being in a real sense the shepherd and overseer 
 of the 37,000 souls committed to his care. The 
 Evangelical tradition which he had learned at Acton 
 was to bring the parish priest, if possible, into direct 
 contact with each family. At St. Giles's, then, he did 
 not set himself to evangelise a small fraction of the 
 whole, but at once set on foot a complete system of 
 house to house visitation. 
 
 The number of clergy working in the parish 
 towards the close of my father's incumbency was 
 seven. The whole parish was mapped out into 
 districts, and a staff of no less than eleven Scripture- 
 readers and city missionaries were paid exclusively 
 for spiritual work amongst the poor and destitute 
 classes. Each reader was personally responsible 
 to the rector, and was summoned to meet him 
 every fortnight in the vestry. As often as possible 
 the rector would accompany the readers into the 
 worst parts of the parish, and so become familiar 
 with every class of his parishioners. In the course 
 of his annual report in 1856, he justifies this method 
 to those of his parishioners who were doubtful of 
 the value of such lay ministrations. He says 
 
 At the first, I believe, there was a misgiving as to its 
 probable results. Some thought that the employment of 
 lay agents to read the Scriptures to the poor and to visit 
 from house to house, might insensibly have the effect of 
 weakening their attachment to the Church. Five years' 
 experience of the working of the agency in the parish 
 ought to have scattered their objections to the winds. So 
 
WORK OF LAY AGENTS. 69 
 
 far from weakening their attachment to the Church, this 
 agency has kindled an attachment where it never existed 
 before, and only confirmed it when it did ; it has given 
 practical evidence to the poor of the sympathy which is 
 felt for their spiritual wants, on the part of those who love 
 the Lord Jesus Christ. In very many cases it has led the 
 careless and the unconverted to inquire and seek after the 
 things which belong to their peace. The visits of these 
 agents are purely of a spiritual character ; they go to the 
 poor in no other capacity and on no other errand than as 
 messengers of the Gospel. There is nothing to make their 
 visits attractive but the simple fact that they are for a 
 spiritual object, to read the Word of God, and point out 
 the way of salvation through faith in Jesus. And yet it 
 would be impossible to find a body of men whose visits 
 are more welcome or whose labours are more successful. 
 
 It has been my privilege repeatedly to go with them 
 (though not so often by far as I could have wished), and 
 I have witnessed the cheerfulness with which they are 
 welcomed, even in some places where, a few years ago, 
 when their work was less understood or appreciated, they 
 would have met with insult or repulse. Of all agencies 
 for the spiritual good of the parish, there is not any which 
 exceeds in value that of the Scripture-reader and city 
 missionary. But for the employment of this agency it 
 would be utterly impossible to bring the dense masses of 
 our poor under systematic visitation ; as it is there is no 
 portion of the parish (I allude, of course, to those parts of 
 the parish which are inhabited by the poorer classes) which 
 is not included within some district assigned to one or 
 another of our lay agents. 
 
 It was of the essence of this scheme that the 
 ministrations of Scripture-readers should be of a 
 purely spiritual character, while the alms of the 
 Church for the relief of temporal distress were 
 administered through a separate organisation. A 
 
70 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 number of ladies devoted almost their whole time, 
 and worked with the same devotion as the members 
 of Sisterhoods and Deaconess institutions who now 
 form so important a part of the Church's ministry. 
 In later days my father was deeply sensible of the 
 value to the Church of those who, for the love of 
 Christ, would sacrifice family ties and live wholly 
 amongst the poor. Jealously as he watched the 
 obvious danger of our Anglican Sisterhoods in their 
 threatened approach to the Roman model, he had 
 the heartiest appreciation for the devout spirit and 
 consecrated lives of some whom he knew as Sisters 
 of Charity. 1 But his own feeling was, I think, far 
 more in favour of the system which sends a lady 
 fresh from the purifying influence of a Christian 
 home, to carry with her into the poor man's cottage 
 the idea of the home life at Nazareth, or the family 
 at Bethany, where Jesus lodged with Martha, and 
 Mary, and Lazarus. 
 
 This thought is expressed in words which drew 
 their inspiration from the singular gladness of his 
 own home life, and form part of the address on the 
 physical condition of the people which has been 
 largely quoted above : 
 
 Let the poor learn that there is a sympathy felt for 
 them amongst the classes which, in social rank, are above 
 them. Encourage, by all means, neatness, order, and 
 cleanliness in the cottages of the poor. Let all, as far as 
 they have the ability, strive to make the dwellings of the 
 poor really habitable ; worthy, in every sense, of that 
 musical word, " home." What a thousand hallowing asso- 
 ciations belong to that one word ! Which of us has not felt 
 
 1 My father willingly accepted the office of Visitor to the Sisterhood 
 established at Horbury, in his own diocese. 
 
CHARITABLE RELIEF. 
 
 its endearing, ennobling, purifying influence ? Alas ! that 
 in this Christian land there should be so many tens of 
 thousands to whom that word home brings no recollection 
 of parental love ; no sweet remembrance of happy hours 
 spent under one roof, sheltering fond and united hearts, 
 happy in each other's love ; no sanctifying memories of 
 solemn seasons, when, morning by morning and evening 
 hy evening, the family group gathered round the family 
 altar in supplication and praise to the God and Father of 
 us all. 
 
 Of the various parochial works an authentic 
 record remains in the annual statements which were 
 circulated by the rector each year. A map of the 
 district, showing how each part was allotted to one 
 of the Scripture-readers or members of the district 
 visiting society, is evidence of the care with which 
 the whole was superintended ; and the subscription 
 lists show how heartily the congregation attending the 
 church supported the various works for the ameliora- 
 tion of the condition of their poorer neighbours. 
 
 It appears from the report for 1856 that the 
 district visiting society had in the previous year 
 expended ^513, most of which was distributed in 
 kind, and money was only given directly in some 
 urgent cases. Over and above this, upwards of^i 10 
 was spent on a maternity charity managed by Mrs. 
 Bickersteth, and at the same time ^250 was raised 
 by voluntary subscriptions for the National Schools. 
 Nor did these charities begin and end at home. 
 My father was an enthusiastic supporter of the 
 Ragged Schools so justly connected with the great 
 name of Lord Shaftesbury, and for this object, in 
 the year 1855, a sum of ^702 was remitted by the 
 congregation of St. Giles's. 
 
72 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 In the last year of his stay in London the contri- 
 butions towards the Church Missionary Society had 
 reached j6, and to the Irish Church Missions 
 
 The offertories in church were always exceed- 
 ingly liberal, and ;6o, jo, or ^80 were often 
 raised by what in those days was termed a Charity 
 Sermon. Amongst the great variety of classes and 
 institutions to which allusion is made in the annual 
 report, appears one which forms an unusual feature. 
 Each Tuesday night a controversial class for inquiring 
 Romanists was held in the vestry. In 1855 the 
 rector was able to report 
 
 The controversial class for Romanists continues to be 
 well attended. Many cases of conversion have occurred in 
 the course of the past year, in which there is reason to 
 believe there has been not only a turning from the errors 
 and superstitions of Romanism, but also a real turning of 
 the heart to God. 
 
 Many people are inclined to think that a clergy- 
 man in charge of a vast town population is entitled 
 to wipe off all responsibility for a large section of 
 his parishioners, if he can comfort himself with the 
 assurance that they are sufficiently cared for by the 
 Roman priesthood ; but if it be the business of a 
 clergyman to reclaim those who are wandering from 
 the Church in the direction of Protestant Dissent, it 
 must be no less a duty to do what in him lies to 
 recover those who, though nominally adherents of 
 the Bishop of Rome, are often the most degraded 
 and the most spiritually destitute of the souls com- 
 mitted to his care. 
 
 A candid critic of the parochial system at St. 
 
SPIRITUAL PROGRESS. 
 
 73 
 
 Giles's is drawn to the conclusion that the " Contro- 
 versial Class for Romanists " is evidence, not so much 
 of the rector's Protestant bias, as of his effort to 
 leave no section of his parishioners beyond the reach 
 of the Gospel he was commissioned to offer to all 
 alike. 
 
 Behind this varied organisation there lay a depth 
 of spiritual work of which it is difficult to speak. 
 Neither crowded congregations nor numbers of 
 communicants thronging the Holy Table are a 
 trustworthy indication of the life of God energising 
 Christian hearts. No one shrank more than the 
 Rector of St. Giles's from the thought that any out- 
 ward sign could adequately describe the operation 
 of the Holy Spirit, Who worketh where He will. 
 From year to year he could tell of an ever-increasing 
 body of communicants, and the church had con- 
 stantly to be expanded to receive the congregations 
 eager to hear sermons whose principal charm lay in 
 the simplicity and earnestness of the way in which 
 the preacher sought to exalt the saving Name of 
 Jesus. 
 
 In a farewell Address my father gives a table 
 showing the acts of Communion of the five preceding 
 years, as follows : 
 
 1852 
 
 1853 
 
 1854 
 
 1855 
 
 1856 
 
 2885 
 
 3387 
 
 3670 
 
 4128 
 
 4289 
 
 One gets nearer to the subtle charm of a real 
 spiritual influence, when one reads the recollec- 
 tions of those who date strong and undying con- 
 
74 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 victions from words spoken in St. Giles's thirty 
 years ago. 
 
 One who first began to work in the district visit- 
 ing society in 1856, and still carries on in a little 
 mission chapel in Short's Gardens a work of self- 
 denying charity which God has greatly blessed 
 wrote shortly after my father entered into rest 
 
 Well do I remember in the autumn of 1851, when the 
 Rev. J. Endell Tyler, Rector of St. Giles's for twenty-five 
 years, died (after having been laid aside for two years from 
 active work), the anxiety and excitement felt throughout 
 the parish as to whom his successor would be. When we 
 heard the living had been offered to, and accepted by the 
 Rev. Robert Bickersteth, of St. John's, Clapham, the name 
 prepared us to welcome and honour him ; and when he 
 appeared and preached his first sermon all our favourable 
 expectations were confirmed. He commenced his ministry 
 on New Year's Day, 1852, and his first sermon on Ps. 
 xxxvii. 5 is still graven on our memories. The holy 
 expression of his face, with his genial manner and never 
 varying kindness, soon won the affection and confidence 
 of his parishioners. Of course he found the parish (after 
 being so long without a head) somewhat out of order, but 
 he soon reorganised it ; and during the five short, happy 
 years of his ministry in St. Giles's he was " instant in season 
 and out of season," and did more than most would have 
 accomplished in ten years. 
 
 One of his first appeals was for district visitors, and 
 very soon he had eight ladies hard at work ; he also 
 obtained a staff of Scripture-readers, in addition to the city 
 missionaries at work in the parish. One of these, Mr. 
 Huston, carried on his work for at least twenty-five years, 
 and was looked up to and respected as a father by the poor 
 in St. Giles's. He only retired when his health completely 
 gave way. Now he also " rests from his labours, but his 
 works do follow him." 
 
RECOLLECTIONS OF A PARISHIONER. 75 
 
 Mr. Bickersteth put the Sunday and day schools on a 
 new footing. He always opened the Sunday school him- 
 self, and soon gathered a large staff of able, willing teachers, 
 who still look back with pleasure to the monthly meet- 
 ings for preparation. The fine old church ere long was 
 crowded with attentive listeners ; his preaching was so 
 simple, earnest, and loving. In every sermon the whole 
 scheme of the Gospel was unfolded and pressed home to 
 the hearts and consciences of the hearers. On Whitsundays 
 he preached an annual sermon to young men, and on those 
 evenings there was scarcely standing room in the church ; 
 the pulpit stairs were full, many standing outside the doors 
 and half-way down the gallery stairs. His Bible class for 
 ladies, held in his own house once a fortnight, was greatly 
 valued and regularly attended. We have notes of all, and 
 frequently, when teaching others, refer to, and are helped by 
 them. On Monday evening the minister of Christ Church, 
 Endell Street, Mr. Swaine, placed his church at his disposal 
 for a special service for the poor, who most thoroughly 
 appreciated their privilege. Hundreds thronged in, and 
 truly " to the poor the Gospel was preached," with very 
 blessed results to many. He also had meetings of the 
 "Labourers' Friendly Society," to try and improve the 
 dwellings of the poor. 
 
 During the five years he was in St. Giles's he relighted 
 the church, rearranged the pews, greatly increasing the 
 accommodation, and almost rebuilt the organ at a con- 
 siderable cost ; the funds came in quickly and cheerfully, 
 no debt incurred. When the canonry of Salisbury was 
 accepted by him all his parishioners were heartily pleased ; 
 but when the announcement suddenly came that he was 
 appointed to the bishopric of Ripon, and St. Giles's was to 
 lose the rector so greatly beloved, it was an effort to be 
 able to rejoice ; and the next few weeks were very sad and 
 trying to those about to be parted from one to whom they 
 owed so much. His farewell sermon was on S. Jude 24, 25. 
 
 One of the last of his evening sermons, which made a 
 great impression on us, was on the text, " Blessed are they 
 
76 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 that are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb ; " and 
 many of those who listened to it are now with him in the 
 presence of the Lamb, and know what that blessedness is. 
 Our dear Bishop of Ripon did not forget his friends in 
 St. Giles's, but was ever ready to help them. When I began 
 a "Mother's Meeting" in 1866, and wrote to him on the 
 subject, with his wonted generosity and kindness he at once 
 promised an annual subscription, which was continued to 
 the last ; and on one occasion he came to the mission room 
 and gave a beautiful address to eighty mothers, who gave 
 a hearty welcome to their former loved Rector whom they 
 gratefully remembered. During the London Mission in 
 1 874 he occupied his old pulpit on two Sunday mornings, 
 besides giving addresses in the afternoons to the children 
 in the school. 
 
 Almost the last time I had the pleasure and privilege 
 of speaking to him was at Tunbridge Wells, in June, 1879. 
 I had gone there with my dear sister, then in the first stage 
 of her last illness. To my great joy and surprise, the day 
 after our arrival I met our dear Bishop, who had come on a 
 visit to some friends for a few days. He welcomed me with 
 his usual hearty kindness, came the next day and paid us 
 a long visit, and then proposed coming on Sunday after- 
 noon to read the service for my sister. She was deeply 
 touched with such thoughtful kindness, and looked eagerly 
 forward to the promised treat ; and though it was a cold, 
 wet afternoon, and he was then in failing health, he ap- 
 peared at the appointed time ; and a very happy, blessed 
 hour we spent together, the lesson being i S. Peter i. As 
 he read it we recalled the happy hours spent at the Bible 
 classes more than twenty years before, when he explained 
 the meaning of each verse. My dear sister often referred 
 with gratitude and pleasure to that Sunday afternoon during 
 her long and suffering illness. 
 
 There are few left in St. Giles's who knew him ; but there 
 are many who will be his "joy and crown of rejoicing in 
 the day of our Lord's appearing " to " count up His 
 jewels." 
 
HIS SUCCESSOR AT ST. GILES'S. 
 
 I must add that God in His great goodness sent to 
 St. Giles's one 1 who carried on all that he had begun, and 
 continued to build on the foundation he had laid. "One 
 soweth and another reapeth, that both he that soweth and 
 he that reapeth may rejoice together." 
 
 C. G. H. 
 
 1 My father's successor at St. Giles's was the Rev. A. W. Thorold, now 
 Lord Bishop of Rochester. 
 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 SALISBURY, 1854-1856. 
 
 Residence at Salisbury Intercourse with Bishop Hamilton Strict 
 attention to cathedral duties Correspondence with Bishop 
 Hamilton Bible Society, etc. Narrative of the way in which 
 my father received the offer of Ripon Palmerstonian bishops 
 Bishop Ryan's summary of Providential preparation for the 
 episcopate. 
 
 THERE is a twofold interest about my father's resi- 
 dence at Salisbury ; for not only was an intimate 
 acquaintance with the working of the cathedral 
 system a part of the Providential preparation for the 
 episcopate, but it brought him into close contact, 
 perhaps for the first time, with a very able and 
 very attractive representative of the High Church 
 party. 
 
 The canonry had made it possible for him to 
 remain in St. Giles's in spite of diminished income, 
 and a sojourn for three months in that beautiful 
 country sent him back refreshed in mind and body 
 for his arduous work in London. 
 
 Happily, now there is a growing feeling that it 
 is time to revert to the old ideal of the cathedral 
 system, in which the canons are engaged exclusively 
 in diocesan work ; but the income of a canonry was 
 
CANON IN RESIDENCE. 79 
 
 well spent when it enabled a man without large 
 private means to hold elsewhere a post of great 
 importance, which otherwise he would have been 
 obliged to resign. 
 
 My father's conception of the duties of a canon 
 during his term of residence was very strict, and 
 nothing was deemed a sufficient excuse for absence 
 from the daily services. Even when his father lay 
 very ill at Sapcote, it was a great surprise to the 
 family that the Canon of Salisbury could tear him- 
 self away from his cathedral engagements. When 
 in residence, my father used to preach every Sunday 
 afternoon in the cathedral, and he was always ready 
 to preach in the surrounding churches on Sunday 
 nights. 
 
 In the cathedral services he found a source of 
 keen enjoyment, and though his experience had lain 
 rather amongst those whose ideal of worship is a 
 hearty service and congregational hymnody, he could 
 thoroughly appreciate the same devotional rendering 
 of the Liturgy which had charmed George Herbert 
 after his walks across the Plain from Bemerton. 
 
 My father's intercourse with the saintly Bishop 
 Hamilton demands more than a passing word. At- 
 tached by training and inclination to widely different 
 schools of thought, both Bishop and Canon were 
 united by the highest of all bonds, in devotion to 
 their common Lord ; and if it was an edifying sight 
 to notice the Bishop's gladdened expression, and 
 hear his ungrudging words of pleasure as his people 
 flocked in unexampled numbers to hear the new 
 canon's simple pleadings for Christ, it is no less 
 touching to observe the ready deference which the 
 
8o LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 latter was well content to pay to his Father in 
 God. 
 
 There is an interesting correspondence between 
 my father and Bishop Hamilton, which illustrates 
 the submission to episcopal authority of the one, and 
 the true Christian courtesy of the other. Then, as 
 always, my father was a warm advocate of the Bible 
 Society and the Irish Church Missions to Roman 
 Catholics. In the eyes of not a few churchmen 
 these societies had fallen into disrepute, because 
 their advocates seemed to disparage Church order, 
 and their operations had unhappily engendered strife. 
 Bishop Hamilton had expressed a strong opinion on 
 the unwisdom of some of their methods ; hence this 
 letter : 
 
 The Close, July 23, 1855. 
 
 Dear Lord Bishop, Will you pardon me for troubling 
 you with one line relative to the conversation which 
 I had with you this morning ? I am most anxious to 
 refrain from anything which might be painful to you, or 
 have even the appearance of a want of deference to your 
 wishes. 
 
 After the strong opinion which your Lordship has 
 expressed, relative to the Irish Church Missions, I can 
 take no part in any public meeting for that Society in 
 this place. 
 
 But the point upon which I desire to be clear is this : 
 I understand that the annual meetings for the Bible 
 and Church Pastoral Aid Societies are to take place in 
 Salisbury in the course of the ensuing month. Under 
 ordinary circumstances I should attend those meetings as 
 a matter of course, as I did last year. But it would be a 
 great relief to my mind to be assured that you will not 
 consider me as acting contrary to your wishes in doing so ; 
 for if this is your feeling, I shall endeavour to believe that 
 
CORRESPONDENCE WITH BISHOP HAMILTON. 8 1 
 
 the cause of Christ will be better promoted by my re- 
 fraining from taking any part in these meetings. 
 Believe me to remain, dear Lord Bishop, 
 
 Very faithfully yours, 
 
 R. BlCKERSTETH. 
 
 The Bishop replied 
 
 Palace, Sarum, July 24, 1855. 
 
 Dear Canon Bickersteth, I have just received your 
 considerate and Christian letter. I am, believe me, fully 
 aware of the difficulties of the whole question ; and as 
 the bishops are not agreed together, we can hardly expect 
 the clergy to act differently. 
 
 That it is an enormous evil that meetings should be 
 held for circulating God's most blessed Book, and for pro- 
 viding destitute parishes with the means of grace, and that 
 yet principles should be involved in these works which sepa- 
 rate the clergy and laity from their bishops, and from one 
 another, I cannot doubt. But perhaps the things said at 
 such meetings, not only by our lay brethren, but constantly 
 by the clergy, are still more mischievous. 
 
 But pray do not let anything I said to you in free con- 
 versation be an unfair shackle to you, for I am not prepared 
 to lay down any definite rule about these matters. 
 
 I will certainly do what I can to prevent intrusion into 
 the parishes of clergy who disapprove of particular societies, 
 but I see not my way further. Pray, I must repeat it, be 
 assured I shall be always ready to enter upon any question 
 with you in a most friendly spirit. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 W. K. SARUM. 
 
 Another letter, two years later, after my father 
 removed from Salisbury, shows how their mutual 
 regard ripened into a relation of warm personal 
 affection. Bishop Hamilton had occasion to write 
 upon a matter of business, and ended 
 
 G 
 
82 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 I am writing this note at my old desk. 1 It recalls to 
 my mind much duty and much happiness in former days, 
 and will, I trust, not only be a memorial of our relations 
 to one another here, which have been full of pleasure, and 
 not, I trust, without profit to me, but will constantly remind 
 me to do for you, as, I trust, you will be able sometimes to 
 do for me, and assist me with your prayers. 
 
 With affectionate remembrances to Mrs. Bickersteth, 
 and with all hearty good wishes, 
 
 I remain, my dear Bishop, 
 
 Your sincerely and affectionately, 
 
 W. K. SARUM. 
 
 March 21, 1857. 
 
 The three months' residence at Salisbury in the 
 glorious summer weather was always a very happy 
 time. The roomy house, in which my father was 
 able to entertain a number of relatives and friends, 
 stood, like the Deanery and other ecclesiastical 
 residences, in the beautiful Close, in a garden which 
 stretched down to the river. His immediate pre- 
 decessor in the tenure of both house and canonry 
 had been Bishop Hamilton himself, and it would be 
 difficult to say whether the constant visits of the 
 Bishop and his family to their old house gave more 
 pleasure to them or to its new occupants. 
 
 By a curious coincidence, this one house was the 
 temporary residence of three bishops in succession ; 
 for my father, who succeeded Bishop Hamilton, was 
 in turn followed by Canon Waldegrave, who, after 
 holding the canonry for three years, the same period 
 as each of his immediate predecessors, was appointed 
 to the See of Carlisle. My father had much friendly 
 
 1 This desk was a piece of furniture which had stood in the house occupied 
 by Bishop Hamilton and my father in succession, as Canons of Salisbury. 
 
DEATH OF HIS FATHER. 83 
 
 intercourse with Mr. Waldegrave during his re- 
 sidence at Salisbury ; and he thus had for near 
 neighbours in the Northern Province two bishops 
 with whom he had been closely associated in London 
 and Salisbury work, Bishop Villiers and Bishop 
 Waldegrave. 
 
 My father busied himself in Salisbury affairs ; 
 took an active interest in the Training College, and 
 preached frequently for neighbouring clergy ; but 
 still it was a time of comparative rest, and the diary 
 he kept mentions pleasant drives and evenings spent 
 in playing " with the chicks," an occupation very 
 delightful to him and to them, for which there was 
 no leisure in London. 
 
 One great trouble overshadowed the second year 
 of his residence at Salisbury the death of his father, 
 who had paid him a visit at Salisbury, and greatly 
 rejoiced in his son's growing usefulness and minis- 
 terial success. 
 
 But in September, 1855, the latter was called to 
 his rest, after a few weeks' illness. He had been 
 tenderly nursed by his children and by my mother, 
 whom he always regarded as his own daughter, and 
 my father was able to be with him at the last. 
 
 He notes in his diary on September 2 
 
 This day, at 3.45 in the morning, my beloved father 
 passed away ! Oh that it may be henceforth my constant 
 aim, in dependence on the grace of the Holy Spirit, to follow 
 him as he followed Christ. Wrote a number of letters this 
 morning ; walked a little in the garden. Very, very sad. 
 May God bless and comfort us, and sanctify this grievous 
 trial. 
 
 The intensity of his family affection was one of 
 
84 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 the most marked features in my dear father's 
 character ; and the complete sympathy in all their 
 work between his father and himself, made the 
 bereavement a far heavier trial than it is to most 
 men to lose a parent who has fulfilled the allotted 
 span of life. 
 
 Before passing from Salisbury it should be 
 noticed that my father was elected Proctor for the 
 Chapter in the Convocation of Canterbury (of which 
 his brother Edward, then Archdeacon of Bucks and 
 Vicar of Aylesbury, shortly afterwards became the 
 Prolocutor), and that he held the office of Treasurer 
 of the Cathedral. 
 
 It was at Salisbury also that my father made 
 the acquaintance of another who became very highly 
 distinguished on the Episcopal Bench. The Rev. 
 James Eraser wrote to him in 1870 to announce 
 his nomination to the See of Manchester ; and after 
 saying, with characteristic modesty, how he shrank 
 from the office, adds 
 
 I believe a bishop elect has the privilege of choosing 
 the bishops who will present him at his consecration. 
 The Bishop of Chester (Dr. Jacobson), who is an old Oxford 
 friend, has promised to act as one, and I thought I should 
 like to ask you, on the strength of the acquaintance we 
 formed at Salisbury, and out of the respect I have for your 
 character, to be the other. Will you grant me this favour ? 
 
 It is best to tell in his own words the story of 
 my father's appointment to the bishopric of Ripon, 
 of which he received the offer on November 27, 
 1856. He wrote 
 
 I was hardly aware of the fact that the See was vacant, 
 so little attention did I pay at that time to such ecclesi- 
 
OFFER OF THE BISHOPRIC. 85 
 
 astical events. It was brought to my knowledge in a 
 singular way. For some time past I had been Honorary 
 Secretary of the Society for Irish Church Missions to Roman 
 Catholics, and had taken a warm interest in that society. 
 Certain difficulties in the working of the Bradford Associa- 
 tions led the committee to ask me to go down to Bradford 
 to preach for the society, and to attend the annual meeting. 
 I was received in Bradford with great hospitality by 
 Mr. Rollings, and a large number of clergy met me at his 
 house in the evening. Almost before anything else was 
 said, they asked me if I could tell them who was to be their 
 new bishop. I could tell them nothing. It was their 
 question which first brought to my knowledge the fact that 
 the Ripon diocese was vacant, and that Bradford was one 
 of its principal towns. I preached the same evening in 
 St. Andrew's Church for the Irish Church Missions, and 
 spoke at the meeting on the following day. I then returned 
 to London ; and two or three days later, while sitting alone 
 with my wife, a messenger arrived, bearing a letter from 
 Lord Palmerston, in which he stated that he was authorised 
 by the Queen to offer me the See of Ripon. 
 
 The private journal for that evening notes : 
 " Committed myself in prayer with B. to God. Oh, 
 how unworthy am I ! " 
 
 My father called on Lord Palmerston the follow- 
 ing morning and accepted the offer. 
 
 An apocryphal story was for a time current in 
 certain quarters where my father's appointment was 
 viewed with disfavour, that Lord Palmerston, who 
 was advised in the distribution of his ecclesiastical 
 patronage by Lord Shaftesbury, made some con- 
 fusion between his uncle and himself ; but for this 
 there was absolutely no foundation, for the Rector 
 of St. Giles's and Canon of Salisbury had a per- 
 sonality quite sufficiently distinct to be known even 
 
86 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 to one so little versed in ecclesiastical affairs as Lord 
 Palmerston ; and the Rev. Edward Bickersteth, of 
 Watton, had died six years before. 
 
 At that time there had been a quick succession 
 of changes on the Episcopal Bench, and Lord 
 Palmerston had appointed a considerable number 
 of so-called Evangelical bishops. The group of 
 Palmerstonian bishops included, however, men 
 differing as widely as Samuel Waldegrave of Car- 
 lisle, and Archibald Campbell Tait ; and those who 
 are most opposed to the party principles of the 
 Evangelical bishops, will generally admit that Lord 
 Palmerston was well advised in appointing men 
 who were chiefly eminent as parish priests. 
 
 The days of " Greek Play Bishops " were over, 
 and the times demanded something more than a 
 dignified prelate with a large store of theological 
 learning, but removed equally from the clergy and 
 the people. 
 
 Happily there are still upon the Bench men 
 who represent the highest culture and the soundest 
 learning, whose solid theological work is the glory 
 of the English Church, and the bulwark of the Faith 
 in conflict with unbelief all over Christendom ; but 
 the credit is due to Lord Palmerston of having 
 sought to appoint the practical, working bishops, 
 who have been so singularly successful in infusing 
 into the clergy their own energy and spiritual force ; 
 and it is the work of men like these which has 
 restored the office of a bishop to so high a place in 
 popular esteem. 
 
 A clergyman, who was at Cambridge at the 
 time, writes that the episcopal appointments of Lord 
 
SELECT PREACHER AT CAMBRIDGE. 87 
 
 Palmerston in 1856-57 caused great excitement in 
 the University : 
 
 The idea of Evangelical principles having authority 
 in the Church seemed, to the profound theologians who 
 thronged the college halls, the height of absurdity. The 
 appointment of Mr. Bickersteth was the occasion of a 
 manifestation of great bitterness and wrath. When it 
 was known that the new Bishop of Ripon was to be the 
 University preacher in that year (1857), much curiosity 
 was roused. It is only just to say that a vast amount of 
 the dislike of Evangelicals then shown, arose from sheer 
 ignorance, and from creating ideals of men and opinions 
 which had very limited, if any, existence. 
 
 The undergraduates who favoured the new appoint- 
 ments had a hard time of it ; and were subjected to 
 unceasing ridicule and ironical comment 
 
 I shall not easily forget the total change in the situation 
 brought by the Bishop's first University sermon. It was 
 on Advent Sunday. St. Mary's was crowded in every part. 
 The personal appearance of the Bishop, and his remarkably 
 dignified manner, did not fail from the first to produce a 
 favourable impression. He preached from Rev. i. 7 : 
 " Behold, He cometh with clouds ; and every eye shall see 
 Him," etc. The sermon was listened to with riveted 
 attention ; so different from an ordinary University sermon ! 
 It was a thrilling and eloquent statement of the certainty 
 and nature of Christ's second coming, and of the rapid 
 completion of the world's story. Towards the close he 
 vividly depicted the different states and conditions in which 
 men would be found at that Advent, and the joy or con- 
 sternation which must ensue. Evidently a profound im- 
 pression was made on all present. In the hall of my own 
 college that evening the difference was marked. A re- 
 verential tone prevailed ; and from that day I never heard 
 anything in Cambridge but praise of the Bishop of Ripon, 
 and hearty appreciation of his after-words in the University 
 church. 
 
88 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 To leave St. Giles's was a serious wrench, for the 
 work was one in which my father was associated 
 with many valued personal friends ; and the ties 
 between the pastor and his flock were of the same 
 affectionate character as those which had rendered 
 the separation from St. John's so painful only five 
 years before. 
 
 There were, of course, many outward tokens of 
 regard ; but no personal gift was more valued than 
 the portrait of my mother, by George Richmond, 
 which was given by the members of the Bible class. 
 
 In Yorkshire my father was welcomed with the 
 utmost kindness by Archbishop Musgrave, and his 
 first visits to Ripon were made from Bishopthorpe, 
 and from Richmond Rectory, the home of his brother- 
 in-law, the Rev. Lawrence Ottley. 
 
 This brings to a close the sketch of my father's 
 life, up to the time of his consecration ; and I must 
 leave for a new chapter a review of the diocese at 
 the time when my father was consecrated second 
 Bishop of Ripon, in the parish church of Bishop- 
 thorpe, on January 18, 1857. 
 
 But here should be noticed a point which was 
 well drawn out by Bishop Ryan, in a sermon 
 preached in Ripon Cathedral, on the Sunday follow- 
 ing my father's death. He showed how remarkable 
 was the Providential preparation by which my father 
 was trained for the duties of a bishop. The in- 
 fluence of his father's saintly character in the quiet 
 home at Acton ; the successive curacies of Sapcote, 
 Reading, and Clapham ; the varieties of parish work 
 afforded by the widely different cures of St. John's, 
 Clapham, and St. Giles's-in-the-Fields, all contri- 
 
PREPARATION FOR HIS FUTURE WORK. 89 
 
 buted their part to the sum of his pastoral effi- 
 ciency ; while his skill in organising work as secre- 
 tary of a great religious society, and an insight into 
 the cathedral system gained by his residence at 
 Salisbury, enabled him to enter on the duties of his 
 new sphere with a wide experience, and a heart 
 well qualified to sympathise with the clergy in the 
 varied necessities of parishes so different as the 
 busy manufacturing towns in the West Riding, and 
 the little villages sleeping peacefully in Craven and 
 the northern dales. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 DIOCESE OF RIPON, 1857. 
 
 Diocese of Ripon Wilfrid and the distant past Reconstitution of the 
 See in 1836 Bishop Longley and his work Rapid progress and 
 great needs Dr. Hook's work at Leeds His estimate of religious 
 life in Yorkshire Relations between High Churchmen and an 
 Evangelical Bishop Rev. C. Clayton Letters from Dr. Hook 
 and Bishop Barry. 
 
 THE diocese of Ripon, when my father was con- 
 secrated, on January 18, 1857, was one of the 
 most important cures within the English Church. 
 If there were some of wider area and two or three 
 of denser population, there was no diocese within 
 the United Kingdom which, both in area and popu- 
 lation, exceeded that of Ripon. The Minster church, 
 though it had long been shorn of its episcopal 
 dignity, had traditions stretching into the distant 
 past ; and the diocesan history, whenever it is 
 written, must begin not with Bishop Longley, but 
 with Wilfrid and the line of Saxon bishops who 
 made Ripon a centre from which mission priests 
 went forth to evangelize the Yorkshire dales one 
 thousand years ago. 
 
 For the present we are only concerned with the 
 state of the diocese within the memory of living 
 
FIRST EPISCOPAL CHARGE. 91 
 
 men ; but it would be a graceless act to tell the story 
 of my father's work at Ripon without speaking of 
 the great debt which the diocese owes to Bishop 
 Longley, who spent in it the best years of his life 
 before he was called in quick succession to the 
 greater Sees of Durham, York, and Canterbury. 
 Unhappily, no life of Bishop Longley has yet been 
 written, though it would be of real interest, both for 
 his own sake, and for the insight it would give into 
 the marvellous growth of Church feeling during the 
 last half-century. 
 
 My father's first Charge, delivered in 1858, gives 
 a striking picture of the condition of the diocese on 
 his appointment, and contains an eulogy of his pre- 
 decessor which I feel sure he would wish preserved. 
 He says 
 
 The name of Bishop Longley will never cease to be 
 remembered in this diocese with grateful affection. I 
 believe it may truly be said that this affection was enter- 
 tained for him amongst all classes, as well for his office as 
 for his work's sake. 
 
 As the first bishop of the diocese, it fell to his lot to 
 do more for the organisation of the work of the Church 
 within its limits than will probably ever devolve again to 
 his successors in office. How admirably, with what un- 
 wearied diligence, with what a combination of zeal a.nd 
 kindness, and with what patiently sustained effort he dis- 
 charged the duties of his office, for the long period during 
 which he presided over the diocese, many of you, my 
 reverend brethren, well know, and many an enduring 
 evidence will testify for years to come. 
 
 You will bear with me, if I embrace the present oppor- 
 tunity briefly to remind you of some of those more pro- 
 minent works of piety and usefulness, which your late 
 Bishop was instrumental to inaugurate. The benefits 
 
92 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 resulting from them are felt in every part of the diocese ; 
 and I trust that even a slight recapitulation of them may 
 strengthen our perception of the responsibilities which lie 
 before us, and give increased vigour to the determination, 
 by God's grace, to act up to the measure of our high obliga- 
 tions. 
 
 It will not be necessary for me to dwell upon what more 
 immediately relates to the constitution of the See ; such as 
 the territorial boundaries of the diocese, and other matters 
 of a similar nature ; although it would not be difficult to 
 show in regard to these, how largely the whole diocese 
 is indebted to the forethought and judgment of its first 
 bishop. Passing by these topics, I shall simply refer to 
 what has been attempted in furtherance of the work of the 
 Church within the limits of the diocese since the compara- 
 tively recent revival of the ancient See of Ripon. The 
 present diocese was reconstituted in the year 1836. It was 
 an eventful period in the history of our Church. Public 
 attention was beginning to be awakened to the fearful 
 amount of spiritual destitution which prevailed in many 
 parts of the country. The appalling fact had been recently 
 brought to light, that upwards of three millions of our 
 home population were in a state of comparative spiritual 
 destitution. Successive years had witnessed the almost mira- 
 culous increase of the population. It was computed that 
 this increase had been going on at the annual rate of above 
 300,000 souls ; yet little or no corresponding effort had been 
 made to render the spiritual provision within our Church 
 commensurate with the continually augmenting spiritual 
 necessity. In the second Report of the Commissioners, who 
 were appointed in 1835 to consider the state of the Estab- 
 lished Church in England and Wales, it is put on record : 
 "The growth of the population has been so rapid as to 
 outrun the means possessed by the Establishment of meet- 
 ing its spiritual wants ; and the result has been that a 
 vast proportion of the people are left destitute of the 
 opportunities of public worship and Christian instruction, 
 even when every allowance is made for the exertions of 
 
WORK OF BISHOP LONG LEY. 93 
 
 those religious bodies which are not in connection with the 
 Established Church." 
 
 I am not aware of the relative proportion in which the 
 destitution prevailed in this particular diocese, as compared 
 with other parts of the kingdom. At the same time, 
 bearing in mind that the evil itself had arisen in great 
 measure from the attraction of large masses to certain 
 districts, where the facility for manufacture or for commerce 
 called for the employment of a vast amount of labour ; and 
 recollecting also that, with only one or two exceptions, all 
 the great manufacturing towns of Yorkshire are included 
 within the diocese of Ripon, it is a reasonable inference 
 that this diocese must have had its full share of the spiritual 
 necessity which was then proved to exist in the country at 
 large. 
 
 Hence it arose that on'e of the most pressing wants 
 which were immediately forced upon the notice of my 
 predecessor in office was, the necessity for a large extension 
 of Church accommodation. 
 
 To meet this want, within two years of his appointment 
 to the See, Bishop Longley founded the Diocesan Society 
 for the Increase of Church Accommodation. In addition 
 to promoting the erection and enlargement of churches, it 
 was proposed, by means of this society, to aid the endow- 
 ment of churches, and the erection of parsonage-houses, 
 with a view to secure, as far as possible, to each separate 
 benefice the advantage of a resident incumbent. 
 
 The results which have followed afford ground for 
 thankfulness and encouragement. 
 
 The society has been the direct instrument to accom- 
 plish much, and it has also served indirectly to awaken a 
 lively zeal for the building of churches, of which the fruits 
 are apparent in every part of the diocese. 
 
 It is just twenty years since the society was first estab- 
 lished. In the course of that period of time, it has made 
 the following grants : 
 
 For the erection of eighty-six new churches, a sum total 
 of 29,965. 
 
94 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 For increased accommodation in twenty-six churches, a 
 sum total of .4,836. 
 
 For converting into churches two buildings which pre- 
 viously existed, ^"500. 
 
 For the provision or the augmentation of endowments 
 in fifty-one different parishes, a sum total of ^"10,970. 
 
 For the erection of parsonage-houses in 107 separate 
 parishes, a sum total of ^"21,700. 
 
 The general summary of the society's operations shows 
 that a total amount of ^67,971 has been raised and ex- 
 pended for the objects already specified. And through its 
 means the church accommodation of the diocese has been 
 augmented to the extent of 50,744 sittings for adults, and 
 13,345 sittings for scholars, in Sunday schools. 
 
 But the foregoing statistics do not nearly represent the 
 whole of what has been done for the increase of church 
 accommodation in the diocese during the episcopate of 
 your late Diocesan. 
 
 In the year 1836, when the present See was formed, 
 there were in the whole diocese 307 churches, 297 incum- 
 bents, 76 curates, and 170 parsonage-houses. 
 
 At the close of the year 1856, when, in the Providence 
 of God, I was called to my present office, I found in the 
 diocese 432 churches, 419 incumbents, 146 curates, and 
 301 parsonage-houses. Consequently there had been during 
 my predecessor's term of office an increase within the diocese 
 of 125 churches, 122 incumbents, 70 curates, and 131 
 parsonage-houses. 
 
 Such facts, my reverend brethren, speak for themselves. 
 They call for thankful acknowledgment. They tell aloud 
 of generous, self-denying effort put forth for the glory of 
 God and the welfare of His Church nor put forth in 
 vain, but signally owned and recompensed with the Divine 
 blessing. 
 
 There is another great work, with the commencement 
 of which the name of Bishop Longley is inseparably 
 connected. I allude to the Ripon Diocesan Board of 
 Education. 
 
DIOCESAN ORGANISATION. 95 
 
 This institution was founded in the year 1841. The 
 design, as originally set forth, was to promote and extend 
 popular education, according to the principles of the Estab- 
 lished Church. It was proposed, by aid of grants, to assist 
 in the erection of schools ; to provide stipends for masters ; 
 to facilitate the training of young persons for the office of 
 teachers ; to afford pensions in certain cases for masters 
 and mistresses ; to grant rewards for scholars, and to 
 proVide for the periodical inspection of schools. 
 
 The funds which have been hitherto placed at the dis- 
 posal of the Board, have been insufficient to accomplish 
 more than three of the proposed objects : at the same time 
 the society has done much towards the promotion of edu- 
 cation. The educational wants of the diocese have been 
 ascertained and made known. To a large extent those 
 wants have been supplied ; and it is due, in a great 
 measure, to the existence of the Diocesan Board of Edu- 
 cation, that, with the exception of only twelve churches, every 
 church and district in the diocese has one or more schools 
 connected with it. And in almost all of those exceptional 
 cases, the children are instructed in Church schools which 
 are situated in adjoining parishes and districts. 
 
 Amongst other measures which have contributed to the 
 efficiency of the Church within the diocese, I may enu- 
 merate the subdivision of the whole diocese into rural 
 deaneries, the appointment of a rural dean to each of 
 these deaneries, and the increased number of parishes in 
 which the rite of Confirmation is periodically administered. 
 The former of these arrangements is calculated to promote 
 in various ways the well-being of the diocese, especially by 
 bringing the clergy into more frequent intercourse with 
 each other, and, through the rural dean, with their bishop : 
 and it is owing to the latter arrangement with regard to 
 Confirmation, that this important service has come to be 
 better understood, more highly valued, and more numerously 
 frequented. 
 
 The foregoing remarks will serve to indicate how much 
 cause for thankfulness we have upon the review of the 
 
96 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 labours of your late Diocesan. May the time never come 
 when the work which God permitted him to accomplish 
 in this diocese shall cease to be held in grateful and 
 affectionate remembrance ! 
 
 These words describe twenty years of continuous 
 progress ; and yet it was evident that the Church in 
 Yorkshire still came immeasurably short of fulfilling 
 her responsibility to the great masses of population 
 with which she had to deal. 
 
 One year after the consecration of Bishop Long- 
 ley, Walter Farquhar Hook was instituted to the 
 vicarage of Leeds ; and the record of his work is 
 the history of a magnificent struggle, which ended in 
 restoring the Church to something like her true 
 position, in one town at least, and forming a noble 
 ideal for the parish priest of a vast commercial 
 community. 
 
 This is not the place to give a detailed account 
 of the marvellous growth of Church work in Leeds, 
 under Dr. Hook, for those who are interested in 
 the history of the Church in the West Riding, are 
 familiar with the volumes in which the Rev. W. 
 R. W. Stephens has told the story of his life. But 
 outsiders may easily suppose that the changes in 
 Leeds are unique. 
 
 Certainly Yorkshire churchmen cheerfully ac- 
 knowledge the supremacy of Leeds Parish Church, 
 and he would be a bold man who denied to the 
 great vicar the title of the " prince of parish priests ; " 
 but there are results no less striking in other West 
 Riding towns. 
 
 Bradford has its group of more than twenty 
 churches within the borough to mark the progress 
 
PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH. 97 
 
 of the Church during the last thirty or forty years. 
 There are living men who remember when there 
 were three churches only for the whole borough of 
 Bradford, and when the system of parish work, as 
 we know it to-day, was so little understood that the 
 visitation of the sick throughout the whole town 
 was divided by an amicable arrangement between 
 the vicar and two or three non-conforming ministers. 
 There is not a word to say against courtesy and 
 brotherly love between those who are trying to 
 serve in different ways the same Lord and Master ; 
 but Church people would be not a little astonished 
 to-day, if a clergyman refused to visit his own 
 congregation on the ground that the services of a 
 Nonconformist minister were at their disposal. 
 
 Dr. Hook, after a short experience of Leeds, 
 pronounced that " Methodism was the established 
 religion of the West Riding;" and it was a long time 
 before Church principles took its place. 
 
 We feel sure that Dr. Hook would be as little 
 likely as my father to use these words in any sense 
 offensive to the Methodists. It was so obvious to 
 a thoughtful man that the Methodist societies had 
 kept alive the flame of religious zeal during the 
 days of torpor in the Church, that to speak of 
 Methodism as the established religion was to admit 
 a fact very creditable to the Wesleyans, if it cast a 
 not unmerited reproof upon the apathy of the clergy 
 in days gone by. Yet it would be a great mistake 
 to suppose that there was no feeling for the Church, 
 or no real religion in the hearts of the people who 
 were living without the means of grace. 
 
 Many a Yorkshire clergyman has marvelled at 
 
 H 
 
98 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 the ready response which has been made by his 
 parishioners where the Church has been shown to 
 them in its true light. Unexpected changes reveal 
 a deep-rooted attachment to the parish churches in 
 which their children were christened, and around 
 whose venerable walls their fathers sleep. Let the 
 people recognise that the Gospel is preached with 
 the same freedom and fulness in the Church, and 
 with the same simple earnestness that makes so 
 attractive the ministrations of the pious local 
 preachers, and the Methodists develop very quickly 
 into the most zealous adherents of the Church. 
 
 It is the evidence of a gradual awakening to 
 such facts as these that gives the real interest to 
 the statistics of the new churches and schools, which 
 sprang up in the Ripon diocese with such startling 
 rapidity. 
 
 Those who attribute this marvellous extension 
 to the impulse of the Oxford Movement, and in 
 Leeds, at any rate, to the influence of Dr. Hook, may 
 be inclined to say that they have not been in the 
 habit of thinking that Bishop Bickersteth was work- 
 ing on the same lines. Certainly he was at times, 
 like Dr. Hook himself, a staunch opponent of the 
 Romanising element in the Tractarian party ; but 
 none who knew him will question his sympathy for 
 all that was at once Evangelical and Catholic. 
 
 It was not unnatural that those who knew my 
 father's reputation as a controversialist, and a zealous 
 advocate of societies supported by one party in the 
 Church, should have felt some misgivings when he 
 first went to Ripon as to what might be his relations 
 with the High Church clergy of his diocese. 
 
REV. CHARLES CLAYTON. 99 
 
 Of his own convictions an unmistakable sign was 
 given in the choice of the Rev. Charles Clayton, as 
 examining chaplain. Mr. Clayton was at that time 
 Fellow of Caius, and the foremost representative in 
 Cambridge of the party of the Rev. C. Simeon. 
 Never was there a man of more unflinching honesty 
 and consistent attachment to the principles he pro- 
 fessed ; but, steadfast as was his allegiance to the 
 tenets of a particular party, his evident holiness and 
 earnestness of purpose compelled the respect of 
 those who most disliked what they thought the 
 narrowness of his theological position. Of the many 
 hundred priests and deacons who were examined 
 by him for Holy Orders, in the diocese of Ripon, 
 there are few who have not a grateful remembrance 
 of his personal kindness, and none can entertain a 
 doubt that his task was fulfilled under a deep sense 
 of prayerful responsibility. 
 
 But this appointment was not followed by any 
 effort to harass or repel clergy of opposite views. It 
 is conceivable that some young men from Oxford 
 may have shrunk from encountering Canon Clay- 
 ton's searching inquiries into their knowledge of 
 the Articles on "original sin," and "justification by 
 faith ; " but those who came to Ripon found there was 
 no attempt to narrow the comprehensiveness of the 
 English Church, and earnest men of all sorts rejoiced 
 to learn that the chief weight was given to know- 
 ledge of Holy Scripture, and signs of aptitude for 
 real ministerial work. 
 
 Some of my father's Evangelical friends seemed 
 to expect that he would find it difficult to work 
 in harmony with the Vicar of Leeds ; for it was 
 
100 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERS 'TETH. 
 
 notorious that Dr. Hook, with all his respect for the 
 office of a Bishop, had achieved a position in Leeds 
 which might have made him quite independent of 
 episcopal control. 
 
 Shortly after his appointment to Ripon, my father 
 was invited to preside in Leeds at the annual meeting 
 of the Bible Society. He had given his consent to 
 do so before he was aware of the strong dislike which 
 the vicar felt to the methods of the society. Dr. 
 Hook went so far as to claim that, since all Leeds 
 was his parish, the Bishop could not fairly hold a 
 meeting in the town for any object which had not 
 his support. 
 
 My father was firm, mindful, no doubt, of his 
 own deference to episcopal authority illustrated by 
 the correspondence with Bishop Hamilton quoted 
 above, and kept his promise to the society. 
 
 I mention this incident to show that the cordial 
 relations which existed afterwards between himself 
 and Dr. Hook were not purchased by the surrender 
 of principle on either side. 
 
 In his journal Dr. Hook notes, on the appoint- 
 ment of Dr. Bickersteth to the bishopric of Ripon 
 
 This is the first time that I have been placed under a 
 Bishop younger than myself. He is almost young enough 
 to be my son. It is difficult, therefore, at first to produce 
 filial feelings towards him ; but they will come. 
 
 In a letter to Sir W. P. Wood, dated April 8, 
 1858, Dr. Hook says- 
 Easter Tuesday was a busy day. The Bishop laid the 
 foundation stone of the Grammar School, with a beautiful 
 service and an admirable address. We then gave the boys 
 
THE VICAR OF LEEDS. IOI 
 
 a dinner, to the high table of which, -.subscribers, were 
 admitted. I was, of course, in thfe . 'chaiiif. >'Barry s spoke 
 admirably, and, of me personally,; With sucjx ; ;affec,tip5T, ;that 
 if I had not been in the chair I should' 'have cried \ tut I 
 gulped down my maudlin with a glass of wine. Then we 
 went to church, where the Bishop gave us a beautiful 
 sermon, one of those sermons which remain upon my mind. 
 He offered to go in his robes to open the schools, and to 
 say grace for the children. He spoke of me as " his valued 
 friend the vicar," which made my heart, as darling Jim 
 would say, go pit-a-pat. 
 
 And in September in the same year, writing to a 
 friend on the Queen's visit to Leeds to open the 
 new Town Hall, there is a further allusion to my 
 father : 
 
 Amidst it all I lacked my old enthusiasm, and suffered 
 somewhat from rheumatism. I must own to a little morti- 
 fication at first, at being entirely superseded on my own 
 dunghill. The Bishop said the prayer and spoke at the 
 banquet. But this nasty feeling soon gave way when I 
 found him doing everything so much better than I could 
 have done it myself. 
 
 I have before me a number of letters from Dr. 
 Hook, which make it evident how he and my father 
 were at one in the effort to weld together the whole 
 diocese in brotherly love ; and of these I quote one 
 to show how much my father was assisted by his 
 thoughtful consideration. 
 
 The Vicarage, Leeds, August 20, 1858. 
 
 My Lord, I see by the papers that you have fixed the 
 27th of September for the Visitation in Leeds ; but as we 
 have not received a formal notice, I write to say that this 
 will be in the midst of the meeting of the British Associa- 
 
102 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 tion: .'The Association meets on the 22nd, and will last till 
 the izpth. 
 
 , , I .do, riot jityotor whether this will occasion any great incon- 
 venience, frut the town will be full, and the excursion trains 
 will be going ; and I think it worth while to mention the 
 circumstance, as it may be possible so to arrange matters 
 as to have the Visitation a few days later. At all events, 
 I am sure that you will not think me officious in writing. 
 
 I should wish also to receive your directions as to the 
 service. I have hitherto had a plain service at the Arch- 
 deacon's Visitation, under the notion that some of the 
 clergy might object to chanting ; but at the Bishop's Visita- 
 tion I have directed our choir to attend. It is a subject 
 upon which I am perfectly indifferent. Plain service and 
 cathedral service are the same to me. I delight in both. 
 I mention this lest your Lordship, with your usual kind- 
 ness, should take my supposed wishes into consideration. 
 If you will consider what is best to be done, and then give 
 your orders, I shall be ready to obey, and to take care 
 that all things be done " decently and in order." 
 
 I am, my Lord, 
 Your Lordship's obliged and dutiful servant, 
 
 W. F. HOOK. 
 The Lord Bishop of Ripon. 
 
 That other High Churchmen soon learned to 
 appreciate their Bishop is shown in the following 
 letter from Canon Venables. Writing to the 
 Guardian, in May, 1884, he narrated a conversation 
 between himself and Dr. Barry, then head master 
 of Leeds Grammar School, and now Metropolitan of 
 Sydney, in the course of which the latter said 
 
 We cannot be sufficiently thankful for him. The only 
 complaint we have to make of him is, that he works so 
 hard that there is a danger of our too soon losing the 
 blessing of such a Bishop. 
 
DR. HOOK'S FAREWELL. 103 
 
 My father always remembered with pleasure 
 having been able to number among his clergy, 
 though only for two years, the great Vicar of Leeds. 
 And he preserved with affectionate interest Dr. 
 Hook's farewell letter to him on his appointment to 
 the deanery of Chichester. 
 
 The Rectory, Eydon, Daventry, February 25, 1859. 
 
 "My Lord, I can assure you that none among the 
 many letters of congratulation which have flowed in upon 
 me, has given me more sincere satisfaction than that which 
 I have received from your Lordship. 
 
 I lament leaving your diocese and "dear old smoky 
 Leeds," as my children call it. But my position had 
 become anomalous by late Acts of Parliament, especially 
 by that of Lord Blandford ; and the heavy responsibilities 
 which rested upon me with respect to the chapelries and 
 unendowed churches, together with other difficulties, induced 
 me, after a day's consideration, to consider the offer of a 
 deanery as a Providential call to an old man, from an 
 active to a contemplative life. 
 
 I have become so much of a Yorkshireman that I feel 
 that one suffers loss by a removal to any other county. 
 
 I have come here on a visit to my daughter, because I 
 could not stand the kind of congratulations I received from 
 my Leeds friends. I have to preach at Oxford on Sunday, 
 and shall then return home. 
 
 I shall ever feel grateful for the kindness and considera- 
 tion I have received from your Lordship. And when I have 
 ceased to be one of your clergy, I hope you and Mrs. 
 Bickersteth will permit Mrs. Hook and myself to be 
 numbered among your friends. 
 
 I am, my Lord, 
 Your dutiful and obliged servant, 
 
 W. F. HOOK. 
 The Lord Bishop of Ripon. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 DIOCESAN WORK: PREACHING. 
 
 The chief duty of a bishop Incessant preaching Outdoor services 
 " Gig Bishops "Sympathy with sufferers from the Oaks Colliery 
 disaster A Sunday at Barnsley Watchfulness and energy 
 Confirmations Tact in winning over Dissenters to the Church 
 Letter from Sir E. Baines. 
 
 " PR.EDICATIO evangelii est praecipuum munus episco- 
 porum." This is the motto which is placed in the first 
 page of the Bible which was the constant companion 
 of Bishop Bickersteth in his journeys throughout the 
 diocese. The quotation is taken from the decrees 
 of the Council of Trent, 1 and my father cordially 
 accepted it as a true definition of the chief function 
 of a bishop. It has been often said that he was 
 eminently a preaching prelate. In his parish work 
 he had laboured incessantly to win souls for God 
 by preaching Christ. He was, before all things, 
 an " evangelist ; " and in his eyes the chief attrac- 
 tion of the office of a bishop was, that it gave wider 
 opportunities of preaching the everlasting Gospel of 
 the Prince of Peace. He desired to preach in every 
 parish of his diocese. By his study table hung 
 
 1 Sess. V. De Reformatione, Cap. II. 
 
INCESSANT PREACHING. 105 
 
 a list of all the churches, and one by one those 
 were marked off in which he had had an oppor- 
 tunity of preaching. He was ready for all occasions. 
 As he said at a public luncheon in Bradford, in 
 
 There were so many claims on a bishop, that it was 
 impossible for him to meet them all. Certainly some of 
 the clergy were ingenious in finding out reasons why they 
 thought the Bishop ought to attend their parish and preach. 
 He had been asked to preach a charity sermon for the 
 purpose of draining a churchyard ; and again, he had been 
 desired to preach for the purpose of raising a harmonium, 
 These objects were certainly, in one sense, insignificant ; 
 but it had very rarely occurred that he had not complied 
 with the demands, as he believed that one of the greatest 
 functions of a bishop was to preach the Word. 
 
 It mattered little to the Bishop why they asked 
 him to preach, for he felt that God called him to 
 deliver His message. Wherever he was he spoke 
 as the messenger of God, and as one who was 
 charged with the care of the souls of men. 
 
 It was the fashion in the early days of the 
 Oxford Movement to disparage the value of preach- 
 ing. It was said that people thought too much of 
 preaching and too little of worship. And there is 
 a sense in which this is certainly true ; but earnest 
 men have recognised that preaching the Gospel is 
 the necessary preliminary to any worship worthy 
 of the name. This was certainly the method of men 
 like Dr. Hook, whose work at Leeds was not 
 accomplished without incessant preaching. Often 
 he would preach, especially in Lent, day after day ; 
 for he knew that if men were to use the Sacraments 
 
106 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 aright, and value the other Services of the Church, 
 they must be quickened by the power of the Word. 
 
 By example and precept my father was never 
 tired of inculcating the same truth. Thus, in his 
 first Charge, he writes 
 
 With regard to the ministry of the Word. It is almost 
 impossible to over-estimate the importance of preaching. 
 It is the distinguishing ordinance of the Gospel dispensa- 
 tion ; the instrumentality whereby God is ordinarily pleased 
 to convert souls, and to save them that believe. Need I 
 say that with regard to the subject-matter of preaching, the 
 one theme is Christ ? Christ in the dignity of His Person, 
 and the all-sufficiency of His Work ; Christ, as Head over 
 all things to His Church Prophet, Priest, and King ; the 
 only Mediator, Advocate, Redeemer, Theme of all prophecy, 
 and Anti-type of all type ; Christ, as crucified for our sins, 
 according to the Scriptures, and risen again for our justifi- 
 cation ; Christ, as ever living to intercede for those who 
 believe in His Name ; Christ, as ordained of God to be the 
 Judge of quick and dead ; Christ, as the sinner's substitute, 
 who of God is made unto every believer wisdom, and 
 righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption ; the 
 Author and Finisher of our faith, the Giver of all grace, 
 and the Fountain of all blessing. This is our one theme, 
 " We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord." 
 " Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every 
 man in all wisdom ; that we may present every man 
 perfect in Christ Jesus." 
 
 Such being the subject-matter of our preaching, great 
 is the importance of the manner in which the message is 
 delivered. Public attention is keenly alive at the present 
 day to the defects of the pulpit. Men demand a great 
 deal, and eagerly cavil at whatever comes short of the 
 standard which they erect. What we especially seem to 
 want, with regard to the manner of our public ministrations, 
 is reality, earnestness, affection, and unction. 
 
POWER OF THE PULPIT. 107 
 
 We want reality. Possibly the reproach is not alto- 
 gether undeserved, that much of the preaching of the 
 present day is devoid of apparent reality. The preacher 
 uses a set of phrases which, however familiar to theological 
 students, are little understood by common men. Thus 
 there grows up the feeling that the preacher has not thrown 
 himself into the case of the hearer ; that there is a want of 
 sympathy between the messenger and those to whom the 
 message is brought. A high standard of spiritual excel- 
 lence is uplifted and recommended ; but sufficient care is 
 not exercised to point out the means whereby, in depend- 
 ence on Divine grace, this standard may be reached. 
 
 Possibly, if we used greater plainness of speech, and 
 endeavoured to point out the connection between vital 
 religion and all the diversified cares, pleasures, trials, or 
 pursuits of daily life, there would be the appearance of 
 greater reality, and therefore a vast accession of power and 
 effectiveness in the delivery of our Master's message. 
 
 So, again, with regard to earnestness. If the preacher 
 be not thoroughly in earnest himself, it will be hard to 
 make his hearers so. If he really is in earnest, he will 
 make it appear that he is so. I do not mean that this is to 
 be done by vehemence of manner or of gesture. There is 
 a gravity and solemnity which ought never to be absent 
 from our pulpit ministrations. But when a man feels 
 strongly, the strength of feeling will display itself in an 
 earnestness of tone, of look, of utterance, which none can 
 mistake. And what can justify a man in being thoroughly 
 in earnest, if not the feeling that he stands up as an 
 ambassador for Christ, to plead with his fellow-men for the 
 salvation of their immortal souls, and that of those souls 
 he must give account at the bar of Christ ? 
 
 Again, there must be affection and unction. We need 
 affection like that which filled the Apostle Paul, and gushed 
 forth in such expressions as these : " My heart's desire and 
 prayer for Israel is, that they might be saved ; " " My little 
 children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be 
 formed in you ;" "Many walk of whom I have told you often, 
 
108 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of 
 the cross of Christ." And, in addition to this, we need that 
 unction which shall make it plain that the truth we preach 
 is " with the Holy Ghost sent down from Heaven ; " that 
 it is not a mere theory, but a living reality, and that what 
 we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we 
 have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the 
 Word of Life, that we declare unto men. 
 
 For twenty years my father was able to go on 
 preaching incessantly, and in days of health and 
 strength often preached to overflowing congrega- 
 tions three times a day. 
 
 The author of " Our Bishops and Deans " pub- 
 lishes a letter from a friend, who describes a Sunday 
 which he spent in company with the Bishop : 
 
 When staying with a manufacturer, an old friend of 
 mine near Barnsley, I had an example of the Bishop's 
 labours. He was a guest with the manufacturer, and that 
 Sunday preached three times, each time extempore, with 
 great power and feeling, and wonderful simplicity. The 
 Bishop was quite forgotten in the earnest preacher. He 
 preached that day in three different churches, which were 
 all filled with attentive congregations. The intelligent 
 artisans of the manufacturing districts, I believe, know how 
 to appreciate the devotion, simplicity, and natural eloquence 
 of their good Bishop. His presence in the pulpit is noble 
 and impressive, and his manner dignified, and yet at the 
 same time humble. As I accompanied the Bishop that 
 Sunday from church to church, I could not help rejoicing 
 in the immense amount of good his preaching must effect 
 throughout his diocese, in the course of successive years. 
 And I understood this was a sample of his ordinary Sun- 
 days. There are few of our bishops who are serving their 
 generation more faithfully and self-denyingly and suc- 
 cessfully. 
 
A DISSENTER'S OPINION. 1 09 
 
 Nor was my father's preaching confined to stated 
 sermons to ordinary congregations, and Confirmation 
 addresses. He was never happier than when taking 
 part in mission services, or addressing large bodies 
 of men supposed to be outside the pale of the Church. 
 In days when the idea of episcopal dignity was 
 much stiffer than it is now, my father caused some 
 surprise to old-fashioned people by delivering an 
 address to the crowd which assembled to witness the 
 consecration of a cemetery. 
 
 To him the episcopal acts of consecration with 
 legal formalities were incomplete without something 
 to express the overflowing desire of a heart that 
 yearned over the people committed to his care. He 
 would take such an opportunity to speak in language 
 of the utmost plainness to those who gathered as 
 mere sightseers, of the great realities of death and 
 judgment, which lay behind the unhappy divisions 
 of Christian people, and which concerned churchmen 
 and Dissenters alike. 
 
 The writer well remembers listening to such an 
 address at the consecration of a cemetery. He stood 
 beside a Dissenter who listened at first with critical 
 interest, and then with rapt attention ; and when the 
 Bishop's words were done, he heard him say, " If 
 Church parsons were all like ' yon/ there would be 
 no dissent." 
 
 Nor was it only in the manufacturing districts 
 that the Bishop won the hearts of the people. The 
 venerable Archdeacon Boyd, whose bright example 
 has done so much for the Church in the West 
 Riding during the last fifty years, was among the 
 first to recognise the simple earnestness of his new 
 Diocesan. 
 
110 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 In those days churchmen generally, led by 
 " S. G. O.," in the Times, were asking for what they 
 called " Gig Bishops." The days when it was thought 
 natural for a bishop to drive about in a coach and 
 four were passing away ; and as my father made 
 his first appearance at Arncliffe in the humble vehicle 
 which had brought him across the moors from 
 Pateley, Mr. Boyd rejoiced in the fulfilmentof his ideal. 
 
 It often happened in the Yorkshire dales that all 
 those who came over the hills to hear the Bishop 
 could not find places in the church ; and then, when 
 prayers were over, he would gladly preach from a 
 tombstone to those who were gathered outside. 
 
 The Bishop was so strongly possessed with the 
 parochial instinct, that he was never happier than 
 when he could arrange to spend a whole Sunday 
 with some earnest clergyman. On those occasions 
 he would visit the schools, speak to the teachers, 
 address the children, and enter into all the parochial 
 machinery with eager interest ; and it was no empty 
 phrase he often repeated in his Charges, that he 
 longed to share in the labours of the clergy. 
 
 The Rev. Clement Cobb, sometime his chaplain, 
 gives a graphic account of my father's conduct on 
 the occasion of a terrible disaster the explosion of 
 the Oaks Colliery at Barnsley, on December 12, 
 i 866: 
 
 " I had charge," he writes, " of one of the parishes in 
 Barnsley ; and the explosions having happened on the Wed- 
 nesday and Thursday previously, I received a letter from 
 the Bishop on Saturday, to say that as he was sure we 
 should want much help, and as he had no engagement for 
 the Sunday, he would come and assist us. 
 
A COLLIERY DISASTER. Ill 
 
 " When he arrived we drove up to the colliery, and saw 
 the sad sight of a crowd of new-made widows standing at 
 the pay-offices, to draw the last wages of their husbands. 
 
 " We went into the room where was weeping the widow 
 of the steward, and the Bishop knelt down and commended 
 her and the wailing crowd outside to the Father of mercies. 
 " The lips and faces quivered with emotion at his genial 
 and outspoken sympathy. A black rain was steadily pour- 
 ing on our dismal streets and courts where these poor men 
 had lived. We went into the house of one widow whose 
 husband and sons were lost. She said, ' All my house is 
 lost down that pit.' He knelt down on the stone floor to ask 
 for her comfort. In another cottage, a woman rocking on 
 her bed in grief told us she had lost all her five sons in the 
 explosion. ' Ach ! ' she said, ' but they were good lads, and 
 they were good sons.' The^Bishop told her of Aaron, about 
 whom it is written, that when he lost both his sons in one 
 day he held his peace. 
 
 " At my house in the evening some of the influential gen- 
 tlemen of the place came to meet the Bishop, who readily 
 gave us his sage and business-like advice about our efforts 
 to raise a sustentation fund for the widows and orphans, in 
 which we succeeded to the extent of ^"60,000. On Sunday 
 he preached solemn and touching sermons in each of our 
 three churches, and accompanied me to the cemetery where 
 I think about seventy bodies which had been got out after 
 the explosion were to be interred, in the presence of multi- 
 tudes of sympathisers. Five coffins and five parties of 
 mourners were received in the chapel at one time. The 
 Bishop put on a surplice and took his turn with his clergy, 
 each undertaking one set of five at a time for service, first 
 in the chapel, and secondly at the graves. So in work he 
 made himself one of the clergy, and in heart one of the 
 people." 
 
 In later years I remember an unhappy scandal, 
 when a clergyman made the terrible mistake of refus- 
 ing to bury a parishioner until an exorbitant fee was 
 
112 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 paid. My father heard of the case, and was hardly 
 prevented, though weak and ill at the time, from 
 undertaking a journey of some hours to perform the 
 last offices in person for the unfortunate people, who 
 were the victims of the clergyman's misguided 
 folly. He told me that in his earlier days he 
 would certainly have gone, but contented himself 
 very reluctantly with telegraphing to the nearest 
 clergyman to set the matter right. 
 
 It was this sort of watchfulness over details, and 
 readiness to undertake any work in person, which 
 made his administration seem so vigorous and suc- 
 cessful. 
 
 His constant activity soon made him familiar 
 with almost every parish in the diocese, and large as 
 the area was, it was hardly possible for anything 
 to occur in its remotest corner which escaped his 
 observation. A gentleman whose official duties 
 called him to all parts of the diocese wrote to my 
 mother a letter of sympathy, in which he said 
 
 I desire to bear very ample testimony to the real love 
 there is no other word with which the Bishop was every- 
 where regarded. So far as I know, I do not remember a 
 parsonage where his portrait did not hang, often twice or 
 thrice ; and in the best parlour of the glebe houses it was 
 seldom absent. Churchwardens in out of the way villages, 
 and on those hills and in those dales the Bishop so much 
 admired, have told me curious anecdotes of his wonderful 
 recollection of minute details which happened years and 
 years ago, and the reproofs administered to them for neg- 
 lected recommendations. 
 
 For the purpose of his Visitations my father 
 collected statistics with extraordinary care. Great 
 
HIS FIRST CHARGE. 113 
 
 piles of MS. testify to the laborious industry with 
 which he tabulated the answers to his inquiries. 
 People were sometimes surprised that he insisted on 
 doing with his own hand work which might have 
 been easily done by others ; but he felt the time was 
 well spent, for it served to impress upon his mind 
 the circumstances of every parish in the diocese. 
 
 His first Charge was delivered in 1858 ; and by 
 that time, after a residence at Ripon of less than 
 two years, he had made himself acquainted with 
 the details of diocesan work in a way that com- 
 pletely astonished those who heard it. 
 
 With reference to this Charge, the Rev. W. N. 
 Molesworth wrote to the Guardian on May i, 1884. 
 He says 
 
 Shortly after the appointment of Dr. Bickersteth to the 
 See of Ripon, I met Dr. Hook ; and, after our first greet- 
 ings, I said, " Well, how do you like your new Bishop ? " 
 rather expecting an unfavourable answer ; but the reply 
 was a warm eulogy of the newly-appointed Prelate, con- 
 cluding with the words, " There is not another bishop on 
 the Bench who could have written such a Charge as he has 
 lately delivered to the clergy of his diocese." 
 
 The first Charge, like all the rest, does not 
 challenge comparison with the utterances of bishops 
 who are essentially theological students. He was 
 rather fitted, alike by previous training and natural 
 inclination, to suggest to the clergy methods of 
 practical work. 
 
 He had to complain in the first Charge that 
 there were still a considerable number of churches 
 where the Holy Communion was celebrated less 
 frequently than once a month. He- says 
 
114 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 It is most desirable that in every parish church the 
 Lord's Supper should be celebrated at least once in the 
 course of every month. I cannot regard it as a sufficient 
 reason for infrequent Communions that the number of 
 those who frequent the ordinance is small. A scanty 
 attendance, when it occurs habitually, may be due to 
 ignorance or misapprehension. Surely this should supply 
 a motive for multiplying, in place of diminishing, the 
 opportunities for the exercise of so plain a duty. The 
 proportion of communicants to the regular congregation 
 in any given church will generally afford an index of the 
 extent to which vital religion prevails. How, then, can it 
 be otherwise than a source of painful anxiety to a minister 
 who is watching for souls, as "one that must give an 
 account," when the average number of communicants falls 
 habitually below what he might reasonably expect ? 
 
 In each succeeding Charge he is able to notice 
 a steady improvement, alike in the number of com- 
 municants and in the frequency of Celebrations. 
 
 In those days early Celebrations were a novelty, 
 at least in the North, but my father was able to 
 quote from his own experience as to their great 
 value. 
 
 He went on to speak of the great importance 
 of Confirmation, and expressed his readiness to 
 increase the number of centres. The clergy soon 
 took advantage of his readiness to do so, and 
 thus in the course of his episcopate the annual 
 number of Confirmations rose from nineteen to 
 sixty-three. 
 
 In Confirmation my father took a real delight. 
 Often he would take two or three Confirmations 
 a day, for weeks together, so as to meet the wishes 
 of the clergy, who naturally like to have their candi- 
 
CON FIRM A TION ADDRESSES. 1 1 5 
 
 dates confirmed in Lent, in readiness for the great 
 Festival of Easter. 
 
 There was a wonderful freshness about the 
 addresses. To the candidates he spoke of the 
 solemn responsibility of the step they were taking, 
 and never failed to remind them of the privilege 
 they would henceforth enjoy of becoming regular 
 communicants. 
 
 It was no part of my father's Evangelical creed 
 to disparage the value of the Sacraments ; and if 
 his language sometimes fell short of what High 
 Churchmen desired in defining the nature of the 
 Mystery, they never had cause to complain that he 
 did not give the Holy Communion a prominent 
 place. He constantly urged upon the clergy the 
 duty of keeping together those who had been con- 
 firmed, and pressed them all to keep a speculum 
 gregis, or list of communicants. 
 
 A clergyman told the writer how once, when the 
 Bishop was present at a gathering of so-called Evan- 
 gelical clergy, he pointedly asked them why it was 
 
 that Mr. , a well-known High Churchman, was 
 
 so much more successful than themselves in keeping 
 together his communicants. It was terrible to my 
 father to feel that any who gloried in the name of 
 Evangelicals, should be behindhand in the exercise 
 of pastoral care. 
 
 Other clergymen gratefully remember how the 
 Bishop would ask them, before the Confirmation, 
 whether there was any special subject they wished 
 him to mention, and how he always strove to give 
 emphasis to the teaching the candidates had already 
 received. Sometimes when the candidates in country 
 
II 6 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 districts were listless and inattentive, he would pause 
 to ask them questions ; but it was very seldom that 
 he failed to secure the deepest attention before he 
 proceeded to administer the Apostolic Rite. Usually 
 my father repeated the words several times as he 
 passed along the communion rails, but he was 
 always glad to fall in with the wishes of the incum- 
 bent ; and on more than one occasion he consented 
 to sit down and confirm the candidates two and 
 two. 
 
 In some places it was not easy to secure a 
 fitting degree of reverence. Sometimes the church 
 would be crowded with mere sightseers, who had 
 no notion of the solemnity of the service. My 
 father would speak a few earnest, words ; and even 
 if the old-fashioned galleries were full of Dissenters, 
 or persons quite ignorant of Church order, the 
 Bishop's manner soon reduced them to attention. 
 
 Confirmations in Yorkshire are very different 
 from those in the South. In not a few parishes 
 a large proportion of those confirmed in recent years 
 have been adult converts from Dissent ; and in 
 many cases those who come to be confirmed do so 
 in spite of considerable opposition from their com- 
 panions in the mills. 
 
 In one large parish where the Bishop was 
 confirming, it came to his knowledge that a local 
 Dissenting minister had circulated tracts dissuading 
 the people from Confirmation, and pouring contempt 
 upon the ordinance of the Church. A large congre- 
 gation assembled when the Bishop arrived, and he 
 took with him into the pulpit a copy of the tract 
 which had gained considerable notoriety. 
 
EVANGELICAL CHURCHMANSHIP. 
 
 Answering its objections seriatim, he first gave 
 a lucid history of the Rite, showing how literally the 
 Church followed the practice of the Apostles ; and 
 then spoke of the wickedness of trying to hinder 
 those who were coming forward publicly to profess 
 their allegiance to their Saviour. 
 
 The tables were completely turned, and no more 
 was heard, in that parish at least, of public opposi- 
 tion to an ordinance which was capable of such 
 Scriptural defence. 
 
 My father had the gift of winning the sympathy 
 of those who valued Evangelical truth, even if they 
 had an imperfect view of Apostolic order ; and I 
 venture to think that his special tone of Evangelical 
 churchmanship was designed in the Providence of 
 God to conciliate those who would have resented 
 a more aggressive assertion of some doctrines of 
 the Church. 
 
 His episcopate was a time of transition. If it 
 was true that when Dr. Hook came to Leeds, 
 Methodism was the established religion, it is 
 admitted to-day, by some of those best able to 
 judge, that while Dissent is losing ground, the 
 religious earnestness of the people is finding once 
 more its centre in the Church. Those churchmen 
 have been most successful in welcoming back people 
 once estranged, who have recognised most cordially 
 all that was good in the old-fashioned belief. The 
 writer well knows the value of definite dogmatic 
 teaching ; and perhaps the time has come for speak- 
 ing out still more emphatically on the spiritual 
 constitution of the Body of Christ ; but he is con- 
 vinced that the wise moderation of Bishop Bicker- 
 
Il8 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 steth was as opportune as it was successful. The 
 pious folk learned to trust him, and so were led to 
 see that the Church was able to preach to them, 
 in all its fulness and simplicity, the Gospel they 
 loved so well. 
 
 My father greatly valued the friendship and 
 esteem of members of the Nonconformist body. 
 He liked to dwell rather on truths they shared in 
 common than on points of difference, however im- 
 portant he considered them to be. I venture to 
 publish a letter which shows the terms of affec- 
 tionate regard which he enjoyed with one whose 
 name stands very high in Yorkshire for Christian 
 principle : 
 
 St. Ann's Hill, Burley, Leeds, December 8, 1880. 
 
 My dear Lord Bishop, Your name to my memorial, 
 and your cordial congratulations on the honour I am to 
 receive from her Majesty, are of the highest value in my 
 estimation. For, much as I respect the friendship of others, 
 it is the sympathy of the true Christian that makes my 
 heart glow, and assures me that I am in the right way. 
 From the days of my conversion I have felt my faith 
 strengthened into assurance by my consciousness of the 
 love I bear to the followers and ministers of Christ There- 
 fore I hailed the very sight of your letter, being sure that it 
 would contain words of Christian wisdom and sympathy ; 
 and so I found it. Accept, my dear Lord Bishop, my warmest 
 thanks for your goodness in sparing some of your precious 
 time to cheer and help an old fellow-pilgrim. Your esteem 
 is highly valuable to me, but your " speech of Zion " is 
 much more so. 
 
 How certain I am to be right and safe, if I can view 
 earthly honour as our Lord would have viewed it ! And 
 how should I be put on my guard, if I should feel puffed 
 up or drawn down to backsliding. May your valuable 
 
LETTER FROM SIR E. BAINES. 119 
 
 life be long spared, as a teacher and example of the doctrine 
 and spirit of our Blessed Lord ! And then may we meet 
 amidst the unfading joys before the Throne. 
 I am, my dear Lord Bishop, 
 
 Yours most truly, 
 
 EDWARD BAINES. 
 The Lord Bishop of Ripon, D.D. 
 
 In this chapter I have tried to convey some 
 impression of the way in which my father infused 
 warmth and earnestness into the diocese by his 
 incessant preaching, and the contagious example 
 of a life wholly devoted to his Master's service. 
 His own life was the best commentary on the burn- 
 ing words with which he concluded his Charge in 
 1876, when, after twenty years of incessant work, he 
 was still full of energy and fire : 
 
 For a season we depart, some of us, probably, never 
 to meet again at a similar Visitation. We go to resume 
 our wonted duties in that part of the vineyard in which 
 Christ has appointed us severally to labour. May we go 
 with an increased sense of the magnitude and responsi- 
 bility of our work, with fixed resolve to apply ourselves 
 with redoubled energy to the fulfilment of the task which 
 God has given us to perform. For myself, suffer me to 
 say, I long to be more and more your fellow-helper, by 
 prayer, by counsel, and by sharing, so far as it may be per- 
 mitted to me, in all your efforts for the glory of God and 
 the salvation of souls. Ours is a glorious embassy ; to be 
 the torch-bearers of light to a dark world ; the messengers 
 of pardon to the guilty, peace to the troubled conscience, 
 salvation to a world lying in ruins. The work is, indeed, 
 one of incomparable difficulty ; but we are not left alone 
 in its execution. Our sufficiency is of God. His promise 
 ensures the requisite strength for the performance of His 
 command. The presence of the Redeemer is never wanting 
 
120 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 to His faithful ministers. " Lo, I am with you alway," is 
 the unchanging promise given to His faithful ministers. 
 The same grace which made Apostles valiant for the Faith, 
 even when confronted by the opposing forces of Jewish 
 unbelief and Gentile superstition, so that they counted not 
 their lives dear to them, if only they might finish their 
 course with joy : the same Divine aid which upheld the 
 noble army of Martyrs, and sustained Confessors amid the 
 tortures of the flame, is freely offered to each one amongst 
 ourselves. Let us be diligent while the time lasts. It 
 needs no prophetic insight to perceive tokens of a coming 
 consummation. In the stir and upheaving of nations and 
 systems ; in the development of anti-Christian heresy ; in 
 the march of infidelity ; in the visible pressing into the 
 kingdom, of God's elect, we may almost hear the distant 
 sound of the chariot-wheels of the Son of Man returning in 
 glory to judge the world. Yet a little while, and the long- 
 delayed, long-expected Advent will come. The Chief 
 Shepherd will appear, and we, His ministers, if we have 
 been faithful to the trust confided to our keeping, shall 
 share His triumph and inherit the promise, " They that be 
 wise shall shine as the firmament, and they that turn many 
 to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever." 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 HOME LIFE AT RIPON, 
 
 Home life at Ripon Depth and tenderness of domestic affection 
 Letters to his wife The Palace and the garden The village of 
 North Leys Spiritual care of the villagers Early rising and 
 methodical habits Sundays at the Palace A custom of the 
 Clapham sect Letters to his children Tender solicitude for their 
 spiritual welfare Advice on school and college life On ordina- 
 tion and the choice of a curacy Happy relations with the 
 cathedral and city Dr. McNeile Letter from Dean Fremantle 
 Singular happiness of his home life The first break in 1872 
 Death of Ernest Letter from his tutor Recollections of Rev. C. 
 Cobb. 
 
 IN many ways the most difficult part of my task is 
 to give some account of my father's life at Ripon. 
 One shrinks from speaking too much of those sacred 
 memories, which, dear as they are to the home circle, 
 have little connection with his public life. And yet 
 I think people understand a man's life and work 
 better when they get some idea of what he was as 
 a husband, a father, and a friend. It often happens 
 that the publication of a biography by a near relative 
 throws a different complexion upon a public life, and 
 one learns to know and love a man the better when 
 one sees him at his ease. 
 
 The life of Charles Kingsley, written by his 
 
122 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 wife, is a case in point. Even his books, which are 
 so expressive of the real thoughts of a true man, do 
 not teach us half so much as the record of his ordi- 
 nary life and talk, and the outpouring of his heart 
 in letters which were never meant for the public 
 eye. And there is another book which many who 
 read this sketch will remember, " The Life of 
 Catherine and Craufurd Tait." The Archbishop 
 was right when he decided that the record of those 
 saintly lives would help a wider circle even than 
 that of those who were privileged to know them. 
 The charm of that book, which all its readers grate- 
 fully acknowledge, is that it shows how the deepest 
 Christian principle may underlie the simple duties of 
 social and domestic life. 
 
 I am encouraged to say something of my father's 
 private life by the letters and words of friends, who 
 say how much they owe to the charm of his personal 
 intercourse. 
 
 No man ever loved his wife, his children, and 
 his home with more passionate devotion. Those 
 who knew the dignified reserve and absorption in 
 his public work, are hardly prepared for the tender- 
 ness which comes out in letters to his wife and 
 children in the intervals of public business. Most of 
 them are far too sacred for any eye but theirs for 
 whom they were intended ; but a scrap like this, 
 written at the Bounty Board, reveals what he was 
 as husband and father : 
 
 Thank you for your very precious letter of this morning. 
 I am so thankful for all you say about the darling children, 
 and especially R. and F. You cannot imagine how I long 
 to see them sometimes. I can scarcely bear to look at 
 
HIS LOVE OF HOME. 123 
 
 little children for the longing desire I have to see my 
 
 own. 
 
 It was a great disappointment during the first 
 year or two of his episcopate that he was detained 
 in London all through the spring and summer by 
 the duties of Chaplain to the House of Lords, which 
 then, as now, devolved on the junior bishop. 
 
 On May 15, 1857, he writes from the House 
 
 I must send you a line from my new sphere of action ! 
 I have just been reading prayers for the first time. I took 
 my seat last evening, and this morning, 10.30, have com- 
 menced my duties. The Bishop of London has asked me 
 to dine with him on Monday, the Lord Chancellor for 
 Wednesday, the Archbishop for Thursday, so that I shall 
 have as much dining out during next week as is good, if 
 not rather more. I met nearly all the bishops yesterday. 
 They were all very friendly and kind. 
 
 Soon afterwards he writes 
 
 I am rejoicing to think I shall be with you this day 
 week ; but I am quite dreading the future, for I find there 
 is the greatest difficulty in getting the duty taken. The 
 House of Lords is quite uncertain as to the time it meets, 
 and I am obliged to be always in the way. 
 
 The Palace at Ripon was built in the time of 
 Bishop Longley, and it was a source of unfailing 
 interest to him and to his successor to watch the 
 trees he had planted gradually growing up around 
 the Palace, and surrounding the house with a belt 
 of leafy verdure. The garden was attractive; the 
 roses on the terrace were the admiration of the 
 neighbourhood. The laurel walks ; the shady path 
 through the wood ; the mound upon the lawn ; the 
 old chestnuts that flanked the west parlour, as it 
 
124 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 was called before the H olden Library was built ; the 
 apple tree, which went on bearing though its roots 
 were mostly above ground, and the tree prone upon 
 its face, were landmarks as dear to the Bishop as to 
 his children. No country squire with ample leisure 
 was more particular than my father in keeping every- 
 thing in perfect order. A broken railing, or a gate 
 off its hinges, was soon detected in some ramble 
 with his children ; and the gardeners knew that the 
 Bishop's oversight of his temporal possessions was 
 as vigilant as the watch which he kept upon his 
 flock. 1 
 
 About half a mile from the Palace northwards 
 is the little village of North Leys, containing two 
 farmhouses and a dozen or more cottages. My 
 father, following the example of Bishop Longley, 
 took this as a semi-parochial charge, and constantly 
 visited the sick and the poor. He used to tell with 
 great satisfaction the story of his greeting from a 
 poor woman in the village. On his first visit to the 
 Palace, accompanied only by his eldest boy, he 
 repaired to the village to make the acquaintance of 
 his poorer neighbours. He was greeted in the first 
 cottage at the door of which he knocked by a 
 poor woman, who first indulged herself with a good 
 look over her visitor, and then said with thorough 
 Yorkshire bluntness, "Well, thou beest our new 
 Bishop, I suppose ! Thou bearest a pretty good 
 character. I hope thou deservest it!" If the vil- 
 lagers of North Leys were polled after a pretty long 
 
 1 My father sought to recommend the Dilapidation Act to the clergy by 
 his own example. He invited the Diocesan Surveyor to inspect the Palace 
 and the premises, that the expenditure in painting and repairs might be done 
 under his direction, and that the Bishop might hold the five years' certificate. 
 
THE VILLAGERS OF NORTH LEYS. 125 
 
 experience, they might be trusted to own that the 
 Bishop had proved himself a good friend to them. 
 
 In St. Giles's my father had been deeply in- 
 terested in the question of providing better dwell- 
 ings for the poor, and at North Leys he found that 
 there was in this respect much room for improve- 
 ment. He was never satisfied until he had induced 
 the Ecclesiastical Commissioners to pull down the 
 insanitary tenements, of which there were too many 
 specimens in the village, and to build in their place 
 a row of substantial cottages. He considered all the 
 plans, and insisted on an adequate supply of light, 
 water, and sleeping accommodation, with as much 
 care as though he had nothing else to do. He in- 
 vited the villagers to attend the chapel services on 
 Sunday afternoon, and in his busiest days found time 
 to visit his little flock. There are frequent entries in 
 his diary such as these, taken from different years : 
 
 Aug. 30. Rose at 6. Mr. F. and Mr. Wise called. Very 
 busy writing. Held a Confirmation in Ripon Minster at 2 ; 
 a large number confirmed. Called on Geldart's boy and 
 Mrs. Hardy in the village afterwards. Wrote some of my 
 Charge in the evening. 
 
 July 14. My groom attacked with illness ; in great 
 danger. May the Lord be merciful to him for Jesus Christ's 
 sake. 
 
 March 5. Rose at 5.45. Busy with correspondence all 
 the morning. Walked with B. to the village in the after- 
 noon. Snow deep on the ground. Called on Mrs. H. ; 
 prayed with her. 
 
 Jan. 2. Called on Mrs. A., who is seriously ill ; adminis- 
 tered the Holy Communion to her. 
 
 April 30. In the afternoon, with B., called on all the 
 poor people in the hamlet. 
 
126 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 The Church lands surrounding the Palace were 
 all made over to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, 
 so my father had not the obligations of a landlord ; 
 but he cultivated friendly relations with the farmers, 
 who all felt that in any dealings with the Commis- 
 sioners the Bishop would be sure to stand their 
 friend. 
 
 In his children's sports my father took the 
 keenest interest, and it gave him real pleasure to 
 hear of a good day's shooting or a large capture 
 of the perch in Queen Mary's Dubs. His own chief 
 recreation was riding, and he was known as an 
 excellent horseman. When the shocking news of 
 Bishop Wilberforce's death from the fall of his horse 
 reached Ripon, it was remembered by those who 
 had seen the Bishop and my father ride together, 
 that the former had not so safe a seat as his 
 Northern brother. My father thoroughly enjoyed 
 a good gallop across country with his children, and 
 he also had much pleasure in quieter rides, when 
 he was accompanied in early days by Dean Erskine, 
 or in later years by one of the canons of the Minster. 
 A list of forty rides all upon grass was compiled by 
 his desire, and many of them went by the name of 
 one of the family, or were called after passing inci- 
 dents, trivial enough in themselves, but linked with 
 happy associations. His children remember how, in 
 later years, my father would often draw rein in some 
 silent wooded lane, and repeat passages of a sermon 
 which was revolving in his mind, to be preached on 
 the next Sunday in some busy manufacturing town. 
 
 The life at Ripon was orderly and punctual. For 
 the greater part of his time there my father used to 
 
ROUTINE OF DAILY WORK. 127 
 
 rise at six, and the early morning hours were spent in 
 devotional reading, prayer, and meditation. He read 
 prayers in the chapel at nine o'clock for the house- 
 hold and outdoor servants, and after breakfast set 
 himself to the task of answering a great pile of 
 letters. He never cared for the services of a regular 
 secretary or chaplain, but succeeded in getting 
 through all his writing in person by his singularly 
 orderly and methodical habits. He answered every 
 letter by return of post with his own hand, till quite 
 recent years, when he availed himself of his daughter's 
 help. At the same time, however, he owed an 
 immense debt of gratitude to his Ripon secretary, 
 Mr. Samuel Wise, whose ripe judgment and unfail- 
 ing courtesy were valued as much by the clergy as 
 the Bishop, though the latter had fuller opportunities 
 of knowing his inestimable private worth. 
 
 Mr. Wise was the first to welcome my father to 
 Ripon, and the Bishop wrote not long before his 
 death of the " thoughtful kindness in which, for four 
 and twenty years, he had never known him wanting." 
 
 The mornings were spent in writing and inter- 
 views with clergy, lasting till two or three o'clock ; 
 and then would come a ride or drive. The later 
 afternoon and evening were spent usually in more 
 general reading. My father was exceedingly fond of 
 good English prose ; he generally had in course of 
 reading some such authors as Macaulay, Alison, or Sir 
 Walter Scott ; and he also looked forward with eager 
 interest for the arrival of new books, and especially 
 the Quarterly and Edinburgh Reviews. His own 
 library was a good one, for he spent on books the 
 proceeds of his literary work in London ; and it 
 
128 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 was a real pleasure and interest when Mr. H olden 
 of Liverpool left to him and to the See a library 
 of some six thousand volumes. With the books 
 was bequeathed a sum of money, part of which 
 was utilised in building a room at the Palace for 
 their reception ; and the remainder was invested 
 for the maintenance and increase of the library* 
 Up to the time of my father's death, however, there 
 was little opportunity for purchasing new books, 
 as a good deal of the income was swallowed up in 
 binding, and other preparation for eventually lend- 
 ing the books to clergy and students of divinity. 
 
 After dinner my father sometimes found pleasant 
 relaxation in a game of draughts or chess ; in the 
 latter he was more than usually proficient. The 
 writer remembers that when he was receiving his 
 first lessons in the game, and was absorbed by its 
 strange fascination, the Bishop suggested that it 
 was unsuitable for Saturday nights, such was the 
 strong feeling he had of the need of preparation 
 for the due observance of the Sunday. 
 
 It is impossible for any one to forget what the 
 Sundays were at Ripon on the comparatively rare 
 occasions when my father was at home. He 
 always attended the cathedral in the morning ; and 
 in the afternoon there was service in the Palace 
 chapel, crammed with a congregation, which com- 
 prised not only his family, servants, and villagers 
 from North Leys, but also included the students 
 from the Training College and visitors from Ripon. 
 On these occasions my father used to preach in a 
 way that was quite distinct from his ordinary style, 
 but singularly impressive and persuasive. 
 
SUNDAYS AT RIPON. 129 
 
 After dinner on Sundays there was a custom, 
 handed down from Acton and Sapcote traditions, 
 and continued long after the elder children at Ripon 
 had left the parental roof, on occasions when they 
 returned for a Sunday at home. Every one, includ- 
 ing any guests who might be present, was asked in 
 turn to repeat a hymn, beginning with the youngest 
 and ending with the Bishop himself. By this means 
 my father took care that, from their earliest days, 
 the minds of his children should be stored with a 
 rich treasury of all that was best in English hymnody. 
 Keble's " Christian Year," Mrs. Alexander's " Hymns 
 for Little Children," Kemble's and Mercer's collec- 
 tions, Lord Selborne's " Songs of Praise," Hymns 
 Ancient and Modern, and the Hymnal Companion 
 to the Book of Common Prayer, were all brought 
 into constant requisition ; but of the hymns which my 
 father used to repeat himself, none were oftener on 
 his lips than Toplady's matchless " Rock of Ages," 
 " O God, our help in ages past," a short hymn of 
 which his own father was the author, beginning, 
 " Heaven is our promised, purchased home," and 
 (especially in later years) " Jesu, Thou Joy of loving 
 hearts." The same custom of repeating hymns 
 after dinner on Sunday prevailed in the house of 
 my father's lifelong friend, Mr. Henry Thornton, 
 of Battersea Rise, at Clapham ; and, probably, it was 
 one of the habits of the good old Clapham sect, not 
 the least part of whose tenets was their reverence 
 for the day of rest. I do not think my father ever 
 forced religious conversation, but it was easy to 
 see that he was not content if Sunday talk was not 
 befitting the day. For many years whenever he 
 
 K 
 
130 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 was at home, he preached once a month in Ripon, 
 at Trinity Church. He also, from time to time, 
 though at rarer intervals, occupied the pulpit in St. 
 John's Chapel, Bondgate, or in the chapel attached 
 to the ancient almshouses, on the opposite side of 
 the Cathedral city. 
 
 The letters to his boys at school are interesting, 
 because they sometimes give glimpses of his work, 
 and always reveal a heart overflowing with tender- 
 ness and solicitude for his children's spiritual welfare. 
 Thus he writes to a son just gone to Eton : 
 
 The Palace, Ripon, January 28. 
 
 The day must not pass without a line to you, although 
 this is my twenty-fifth letter, and I am still far from the 
 end of what I ought to do ; and I am expecting all the 
 rural deans ! But it would be strange indeed if my pen 
 could not express what my heart is full of tender love to 
 my precious boy, and earnest prayers that he may be con- 
 stantly kept under the care and protection of our Heavenly 
 Father. May God bless you ! Next Saturday ! and (D.V.) 
 we shall meet. All are well ; the weather delightful. I have 
 had two pleasant rides with Trot. 
 
 Ever your own loving 
 
 P.S. I send an autograph for the boy who wants it 
 
 All the letters to his children, even when they 
 are written to amuse, and speak of their shooting 
 or other sports, turn into a prayer, showing that 
 the uppermost thought in his mind was his children's 
 growth in grace. 
 
 Sometimes the letters speak of his work. 
 Writing from near Mirfield, in playful allusion to 
 the not infrequent criticism of those who derided 
 
PLENTY OF HARD WORK. 131 
 
 Lord Palmerston's bishops, he says (September 
 28, 1861) 
 
 Would my son like to know what the lazy, indolent, 
 do-nothing Palmerstonian Bishop of Ripon has been doing 
 during the last few days, and has to do before he returns 
 home ? 
 
 Saturday, September 21. Ordination at Ripon and 
 sermon. 
 
 Sunday, September 22. Two sermons at H arrogate, 
 morning and evening. 
 
 Tuesday, September 24. Consecration of church and 
 churchyard at Dunsforth and two sermons. 
 
 Wednesday, September 25. Sermon at Milnsbridge, 
 near Huddersfield, at n ; and consecration of cemetery 
 at Sowerby Bridge, at 4. 
 
 Thursday, September 26. Confirmation in Halifax 
 parish church, at 10.30 ; 441 candidates. Confirmation 
 in Brighouse, at 3 ; 94 candidates. Sermon in Brighouse, 
 at 7.30. 
 
 Friday, September 27. Confirmation in Batley, at 1 1 ; 
 66 candidates. Confirmation in Dewsbury, at 3 ; 279 
 candidates. 
 
 In futuro ! 
 
 Hodie, September 28. Confirmation in Mirfield, at 
 10.30. Consecration of churchyard, at 12.15. Confirmation 
 in Birstal, at 3. 
 
 Sunday, September 29. Sermon in Earls Heaton, at 
 10.30. Sermon in Ossett, at 3. Sermon in Earls Heaton, 
 at 6.30. 
 
 Monday, September 30. Consecration of cemetery in 
 Hanging Heaton, at 10.30. Consecration at Cleckheaton, 
 at i. Go home. 
 
 I wonder what Palmerston can have been about to 
 appoint such lazy drones. They ought to be made to 
 work. Don't you think so ! Farewell, my own precious 
 boy. God bless you. 
 
 Ever your own loving 
 
 liarrip. 
 
132 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 This letter may be illustrated by quotations from 
 his sermon register. He kept a book showing the 
 number of sermons preached in each year, no 
 mention being made of Confirmation Charges or 
 informal addresses. 
 
 The list rises from 96 in 1857, to 149 in 1875 ; 
 and even in the year 1880 he preached no less than 
 80 times. 1 
 
 Here is another letter, written to a son who had 
 to choose between business and the University : 
 
 My dearest , The great anxiety which I feel re- 
 specting your future prospects at this crisis leads me to put 
 down my wishes in writing, and I hope you will carefully 
 read this note before my letter goes to - - and let me have 
 your answer to-morrow. You have a momentous choice 
 to make, and you should seriously weigh the consequences 
 involved in it. You know my willingness to send you to 
 the University, but you must look steadily at what this 
 involves, and count the cost of it. Experience has taught 
 me the necessity of laying down some fixed rules with 
 regard to University life. The University is a scene of 
 terrific temptation, especially to the idle and to any who 
 go thither without a fixed purpose, by God's grace, to resist 
 temptation and to secure the intellectual advantages which 
 the University affords. You must clearly understand that 
 the only condition upon which I send you to Oxford is, 
 that you promise to practise industry and economy, with a 
 view to obtain a good degree, with no more expense than 
 is necessary to your position. I wish you to promise me 
 that while you are at college you will give not less, as a 
 
 1 The following occurs in a letter to one of my brothers who was abroad 
 in 1872 : " My father is as busy as ever ; he was away all last week confirming 
 at Leeds, Halifax, and elsewhere, and to-day he has gone to confirm at the 
 Grammar School at Richmond. Between Monday and Saturday in last week 
 he confirmed 2,800 children, and preached fifteen times! I think he is none 
 the worse for it, in spite of the weather, which has been miserably cold." 
 
LETTERS TO HIS SONS. 133 
 
 rule, than from seven to eight hours daily to reading, 
 including lectures ; that you will keep morning chapel and 
 abstain from going to parties which would draw you into 
 idleness and expense. In saying this, it is not my meaning 
 to find any fault whatever with you ; but I think these rules 
 are necessary for your success, and for my own peace and 
 satisfaction in sending you to college. If you will only 
 adhere to them, you have sufficient ability to ensure your 
 passing through the University with honour and credit, and 
 you will be a source of joy and comfort to us all. . . . 
 
 Ever your loving 
 
 FATHER. 
 
 The letters to his children give ample evidence 
 of his unfailing generosity. And in this place it 
 should be noted, that throughout the period of their 
 education my father made a point not only of cor- 
 responding regularly with his sons, but also of 
 paying them frequent visits whenever work in 
 London or elsewhere brought him within reach 
 of them. Probably no public man who led an 
 equally busy life ever contrived so many opportunities 
 of personal intercourse with his sons during their 
 terms of residence at school or college. His per- 
 sonal self-denial was extreme, and he cheerfully 
 dispensed with holidays and trips abroad to secure 
 for his sons the inestimable blessing of University 
 education. To all his children alike my father 
 represented that the work of a clergyman was the 
 highest and happiest calling on earth, but he never 
 pressed his personal wishes in the least, and in the 
 case of those who did not feel something of an 
 inward call, he never uttered a word of reproach. 
 
 The writer possesses many letters written to 
 himself on his approaching ordination, and on the 
 
134 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 choice of a curacy, from which the following extracts 
 are taken : 
 
 I wish you many happy returns of your birthday anni- 
 versary, and pray that every blessing may rest upon you 
 now and always. It is likely to be a most important 
 year upon which you will enter to-morrow. I trust it will 
 witness your entering upon the work of the ministry the 
 noblest calling which any one on earth can embark in, 
 and, if only entered upon with right motives, the very 
 happiest. No words can describe all I fear and desire in 
 your behalf in connection with the great work ; and I trust 
 that He Who has guided you so far will graciously bless 
 and prosper you in all that lies before you. 
 
 In another letter when the Rev. G. W. Kennion, 
 now Bishop of Adelaide, had been kind enough to 
 offer his son a curacy at All Saints, Bradford, my 
 father wrote 
 
 It weighs very much with me that Mr. Kennion's offer 
 has come unsought and unsolicited, and may fairly be 
 considered as a Providential offer. All my own steps in 
 the ministry have come in the same way, and this fact has 
 been an inexpressible comfort to me. Almost the only 
 place for which I became a candidate I did not get. I do 
 not attribute much importance to your having a longer 
 stay than till next Lent at the clergy school. You will 
 have been there fully six months next Lent, and you are 
 not to expect to go from thence with an education fully 
 complete. Your whole ministerial life will be an education, 
 and you will learn more in a few months of practical minis- 
 terial work than you would learn in years of college life in 
 Leeds. I would not wish to say anything against a parish 
 church curacy in Leeds, but I think you would learn more 
 and have more experience in preaching in Mr. Kennion's 
 parish. You will see, therefore, which way my inclination 
 bends. I pray God to guide you and to bless you in the 
 
DR. McNEILE. 135 
 
 momentous decision which you have now to make. All 
 my sympathies and your mother's sympathies are with 
 you, and our prayers. May God guide and bless you. 
 
 Your loving father, 
 
 R. RlPON. 
 
 With the home life at Ripon is naturally con- 
 nected the memory of much happy intercourse with 
 friends and neighbours, and the citizens of the little 
 borough, for which my father had a real affection. He 
 was always ready to take part in local matters : the 
 grammar school, the local charities, schemes for im- 
 provement of the city, had always a claim on his 
 interested attention ; and he took it as a special com- 
 pliment to himself when one of his sons who had 
 entered the corporation achieved the dignity of mayor. 
 With the cathedral clergy and with six successive 
 deans, he maintained most cordial relations. 
 
 It was a source of real happiness to my father 
 when Lord Beaconsfield gave the deanery of Ripon 
 to the venerable Hugh McNeile. My father had 
 stood beside him in Liverpool, and on the platform 
 of Exeter Hall, and used to tell us of his extra- 
 ordinary power as an orator, and his influence as a 
 champion of Evangelical truth. Dean McNeile was 
 already in failing health when he came to Ripon, but 
 there were times when the old fire of his eloquence 
 broke out, and his dramatic power held spell-bound 
 the cathedral congregation. 
 
 My father felt how much a younger generation 
 lost, who never knew him at his best ; but for himself 
 it was a source of keen enjoyment to have the oppor- 
 tunity of hearing him preach, and to talk over sub- 
 jects on which they shared intense convictions. 
 
136 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 There were those who thought that Dean 
 McNeile was an unlikely man to superintend the 
 restoration of the Minster ; and yet it was in his 
 time that not only was the restoration of the material 
 fabric brought to a successful consummation, but 
 also the long-neglected double daily service was 
 restored, and a precentor appointed the Rev. S. 
 Joy under whose guidance the choir was brought 
 to a state of efficiency and a point of reverence and 
 order which left little to be desired. 
 
 Perhaps it is not too much to say that my father's 
 hearty interest in and advocacy of these reforms were 
 the means of removing the scruples of a Dean, whose 
 natural bent was not in the direction of merely 
 ecclesiastical improvement. 
 
 Certainly the Bishop took a keen delight in the 
 cathedral service, and whenever it was possible he 
 walked in from the Palace, a distance of nearly two 
 miles, to be present at the daily evening prayers. 
 
 The venerable Canon Worsley, who, though 
 many years his senior, survived my father, wrote to 
 say how much the Chapter was indebted in old days 
 to the Bishop's ready co-operation and tact. And 
 the following letter from the present Dean will be 
 of interest to many : 
 
 The Deanery, May 10, 1886. 
 
 Dear Miss Bickersteth, You have asked me to send 
 you some reminiscences of my friendship with your dear 
 father. I will endeavour to put together a few thoughts 
 which may add to the many expressions of affection for 
 him you have no doubt received. My acquaintance with 
 the Bishop dates back a good many years, and has always 
 worn the same complexion of respect and love. I had not 
 
LETTER FROM DEAN FREMANTLE. 137 
 
 been thrown much with him in private or social life until 
 I came to Ripon ; but from my intimacy with his uncle, 
 Edward Bickersteth of Watton, and with other members 
 of his family, I have always felt that I knew him, as I knew 
 them ; and this enabled me to form the high estimate of his 
 character which I have always had. I was brought into 
 nearer acquaintance with him publicly upon his appoint- 
 ment to St. Giles's, when, through the late Bishop Villiers 
 and Alexander Dallas, I came to know more of his paro- 
 chial and missionary work ; and from that day to the day 
 of his death have followed with admiration the steady, 
 faithful, and courageous consistency of his conduct, which 
 has been so great a help to myself and to many others in 
 these days of change and of controversy. I do not hesitate 
 to say that when the appointment to the deanery was 
 offered to me, the prospect of being under the shadow of 
 your father and being brought into association with him 
 in diocesan work, was one of the principal inducements to 
 my acceptance of this office ; and I shall not forget the 
 solemn and loving manner in which he welcomed me to 
 Ripon, and after prayer instituted me to the deanery. It 
 would be difficult for me to refer to any particular events 
 during the last ten years. I must speak generally of my 
 official and social intercourse. In them I was always 
 struck with his prompt decision and business-like way of 
 dealing with the subjects which were brought before him. 
 As chairman of a committee, or as president of a con- 
 ference or congress, he specially excelled. There was a 
 profound reality in his decision arising, as it always 
 appeared to me, from the depth of his sense of responsi- 
 bility. With some this might appear to assume an air of 
 coldness and reserve ; but his conception of duty was of a 
 high order, and he seemed to have known what St. Paul 
 says, 2 Cor. ii. 17 : " As of sincerity, but as of God, in the 
 sight of God speak we in Christ." 
 
 In the part I have taken to erect a fitting tribute to his 
 memory, by placing a grand west window in the Cathedral 
 in the place of one upon which he never looked without a 
 
138 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 sigh, I have received many letters full of the most affec- 
 tionate regard from all parts of the diocese ; and I trust that 
 the example he has left us of what a bishop can be in all 
 godliness, consistency, and zeal, may never be lost in the 
 annals of the Church of England and the clergy of this 
 diocese. 
 
 I am yours affectionately, 
 
 W. R. FREMANTLE. 
 
 When my father came to Ripon his family con- 
 sisted of four sons and one daughter, and in the 
 following year the youngest son was born. Up to 
 1872 there was little to mar the singular happi- 
 ness of his home life ; but in that year came a heavy 
 trial, in the sudden death, in the nineteenth year of 
 his age, of the fourth son, Edward Ernest. This 
 event, the first shadow of death upon our home, 
 may justify a slight digression, for Ernest was one 
 who cannot easily be forgotten by many besides the 
 members of his own family. His childhood was 
 full of promise, and his ways were wonderfully 
 winning. As a boy, his uncommon beauty had 
 attracted the notice of Mr. Sant, who met him when 
 staying with his parents at Battersea Rise, the home 
 of their kind friends and constant hosts, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Henry Thornton. The artist, whose pictures 
 of children are so justly prized, begged to be allowed 
 to paint Ernest's picture, which was exhibited in the 
 Academy in 1865. His face was the index of no 
 ordinary mind. After his first term at Eton his 
 tutor wrote as follows : 
 
 My Lord, I do not think there can be many pleasures 
 in the life of a tutor equal to that of writing an account of 
 a boy who has done well and met with deserved success. 
 
HIS SON ERNEST AT ETON. 139 
 
 I do not much care to tell you of the honours which Ernest 
 has gained, and which he has probably told you himself. 
 I think his perseverance and evident interest in his work 
 are points more worth dwelling on than the success which 
 happens to have rewarded them. . . . He has a scholar- 
 like and accurate mind, and is fond of acquiring knowledge. 
 He has also a keenness in competition which I think he 
 will not allow to mislead him. I am glad to see also that 
 he takes a vivid interest in things exterior to his school- 
 work, and has a thoroughly healthy tone of mind. The 
 way in which he has been prepared reflects great credit on 
 the school he was at before he came to Eton. 1 With regard 
 to other matters, he has a reverence for sacred things, and 
 a love of what is good, which gives a public and an ever- 
 increasing value to a clever boy's influence. You will see 
 from what I have written that I have a very warm affec- 
 tion for the boy. His simplicity, and his desire to please 
 me and to do his duty, have quite won my heart ; but I do 
 not think I have been partial in what I have said. The 
 fact is, it is very hard to over-estimate the reasons which 
 one has for taking pleasure in a good boy. The good that 
 may be done, the value of example, and the pleasure of 
 feeling that one's work is appreciated, are considerations 
 which make it a real pleasure to have to do with such boys. 
 I have one other boy near him in school who is rather like 
 him. To see these two working, and the mutual influence 
 of what they did, has been a study of the greatest interest. 
 With regard to his- Trials, I was surprised at his taking 
 so high a place, for in some of the papers of which I saw 
 the marks, I thought he had done less well than I should 
 have expected ; e.g. in the Greek Testament and divinity 
 paper. But I saw none of the composition, in which he is 
 very accurate. 
 
 Believe me, my Lord, 
 
 Yours very faithfully, 
 
 ARTHUR JAMES. 
 
 1 My father placed all his sons in turn, under the care of the Rev. R. S. 
 Tabor, at Cheam. 
 
140 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 The promise of his first term was sustained. 
 He passed through Eton with credit, and entered 
 King's at Cambridge, in January, 1872. In the 
 long vacation of that year he went abroad with an 
 Eton master and an old schoolfellow. One summer 
 evening in July there came a letter to say that he 
 had caught a chill on the top of Strasbourg Cathe- 
 dral, and was lying seriously ill at Baden Baden. 
 Not many hours afterwards a telegram summoned 
 my father to come at once, but it was too late. He 
 died with no relatives at hand, and his father only 
 arrived in time for one last look at his beloved child 
 before he was laid to rest in the beautiful hillside 
 cemetery far away from home. 1 
 
 This blow, all the more crushing because my 
 father had good hope that Ernest would be the first 
 of his sons to take Holy Orders, was borne by the 
 Bishop with a Christian fortitude remarkable to those 
 who knew the intensity of his paternal affection. For 
 years afterwards he was as strong and vigorous for 
 public work as ever ; and though the home at Ripon 
 was never the same again, amid the disappointment 
 of the brightest earthly hopes, he looked forward to 
 the reunion with loved ones in the Eternal Home in 
 meek submission to the Will of God. Many letters 
 of friends, which have been gratefully preserved, 
 show that others outside his family recognised that 
 the death of Ernest was no ordinary bereavement. 
 A schoolfellow and college friend wrote of him 
 
 1 A white marble cross, erected by my father, marks his grave. His parents 
 also founded in his memory a small lending library in connection with the 
 British chaplaincy at Baden Baden. It is known as the Bickersteth Memorial 
 Library, and there is reason to believe that it is much appreciated by the 
 English community. 
 
A SUDDEN BEREAVEMENT. 141 
 
 Your letter only came this morning. You must know 
 the grief it is to me, for I think you knew more than 
 any one how much I loved him. The happy days at 
 Helsdon I remember as if they were yesterday. He was 
 the most lovable person I ever knew ; so bright and yet 
 so very tender to others. His friendship for the last five 
 years has made those years the happiest of my life, and as 
 such I shall remember them, with his figure standing out 
 most prominently in the memory. I think you are right 
 in saying that he would not have been altogether a happy 
 man. I often talked with him about his anxieties as to a 
 profession, and often thought that he would be always rest- 
 less in his eager aspirations. He confided to me, at Cam- 
 bridge, a plan of his for doing good to the poor going 
 among them as one of them which seemed to strike his 
 imagination as possible, and which touched his tender 
 heart. Almost my first thought was of you, whether you 
 were with him, and I am glad to know you were. He will 
 have many mourners besides his own family, for there was 
 no one who attached his friends to him as he did, and there 
 is no one I could less easily resign. I cannot say half of 
 what I feel, for it is too soon yet to realise that the boy I 
 loved best in the world I shall see never again ; it seems 
 so hard to lose him after such a short five years. I re- 
 member now bitterly that I never saw him to say good- 
 bye before he started ; little omissions are magnified now 
 by grief. But there will always remain the great thankful- 
 ness for having known him and loved him. It was very 
 good of you to think of writing to me, a part of the great 
 kindness with which you have always looked upon my love 
 for him. 
 
 The writer, whose name will be learned with 
 interest, is the Hon. and Rev. Arthur Lyttelton, 
 Master of Selwyn, and examining chaplain to the 
 present Bishop of Ripon. Another letter from a 
 relative runs as follows 
 
142 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 We met an Eton master who spoke so highly of your 
 dear boy Ernest, as one of "rare excellence." " A character 
 you seldom meet with," he said ; " too good to be long for 
 this earth." 
 
 But perhaps the most touching tribute of all to 
 Ernest's memory was that which appeared a few 
 weeks after his death in the magazine conducted 
 by his former schoolfellows. The following extract 
 is taken from the first number of the Eton College 
 Chronicle for the next ensuing half-year, and those 
 who read the pathetic and unaffected words of grief 
 will probably agree that no apology is needed for 
 their reproduction in these pages. 
 
 Hn J^Umoriam. 
 
 The worthy son of a noble father is dead. Edward 
 Ernest Bickersteth has gone " where the wicked cease from 
 troubling, and the weary are at rest." He died at Baden, 
 of fever, July 30, 1872. 
 
 Many who read this will have known him : some as 
 a passing school acquaintance, others as a valued friend ; 
 besides those in whom his whole life was bound up by the 
 ties of the warmest affection, and who will ever connect 
 with his dear name the happy and unfading memories of 
 their boyish days. All these, from first to last, must and 
 will lament the untimely end of him who is as deeply and 
 poignantly regretted in his death as he was beloved 
 and cherished in his life. 
 
 Thus will the memory of our dead schoolfellow re- 
 main with us, hallowed and unforgotten among the many 
 Etonians who have so lately died, who are "ever going, 
 thick and fast, like falling leaves." 
 
 The picture of the Bishop's home, which it has 
 been the object of this chapter, however slightly, to 
 pourtray, can best be supplemented by a further 
 
RECOLLECTIONS OF REV. C. COBB. 143 
 
 quotation from Mr. Cobb, who was so intimate a 
 guest at the Palace, and, as one of his chaplains, 
 in such frequent attendance on my father in his 
 travels through the diocese, that his reminiscences 
 have a special value. He writes 
 
 My little sketch would not be complete if I did not say 
 a word about my observations on his domestic and personal 
 character. It was a marvel to me to witness the combina- 
 tion of domestic tenderness with public energy thought- 
 ful love for his own with abounding labours abroad. I 
 suppose such a combination is a sign of real greatness. I 
 can picture him to myself riding in the lovely lanes about 
 Ripon, with a whole troop of pony-mounted children, all 
 radiant with health and joy. With surprise and admira- 
 tion, knowing his enormous correspondence, I heard him 
 say to one of his boys just returning to school, " Now, 
 
 , if you will write to me once a week, I promise to do 
 
 the same to you;" and I saw him, just as the intense 
 strain of an Ordination was over, himself closing and direct- 
 ing a school hamper for one of his sons. 
 
 The dark shadow of a terrible loss passed over the 
 home, and if his grief for his own bereavement could not 
 be concealed, his tender care to shelter others from every 
 circumstance which might reopen healing wounds was 
 still more conspicuous. Often he would say, " It is not 
 work, but worry, which kills a man." And when, in addi- 
 tion to his enormous burden of public work, domestic trials 
 became mingled with that soothing peace of home which 
 most of all recruits the man who labours to weariness 
 abroad, it was impossible not to see that native energies 
 were strained almost beyond power. But the good Bishop 
 lived in a power and strength beyond his own, and I well 
 remember his saying to me, as we were driving about to 
 the scenes of his labours in the magnificent country of the 
 West Riding, "The thoughts which are ever floating 
 about my mind and at present bear me up, when power to 
 
144 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 bear seems to be almost overborne, are those of the 
 beautiful hymn 
 
 " Abide with me ; fast falls the eventide ; 
 The darkness deepens ; Lord, with me abide ; 
 When other helpers fail, and comforts flee, 
 Help of the helpless, O abide with me." 
 
 His warm affection and geniality as a friend, his bright- 
 ness and self-forgetting courtesy as a host, the patience, 
 carefulness, and sagacity of his counsels, will never be for- 
 gotten by the writer of these lines, and seem like a bright 
 dream gone for ever and too soon. 
 
 " And the stately ships go on 
 
 To their haven under the hill ; 
 But O for the touch of a vanish 'd hand, 
 And the sound of a voice that is still ! 
 
 " Break, break, break, 
 
 At the foot of thy crags, O Sea ! 
 But the tender grace of a day that is dead 
 Will never come back to me. " 
 
 Never on earth ; but those who were privileged to know 
 and to love our dear Bishop here, and who belong to the 
 same Master he so faithfully served, will have the fountains 
 of pleasure in association with him gush forth once more, 
 when they see the many gems which will shine in the 
 crown he will lay at that Master's Feet. I think the first 
 sermon I ever heard him preach was from the text, " The 
 Lord God is a sun and shield : the Lord will give grace 
 and glory : no good thing will He withhold from them that 
 walk uprightly. O Lord of Hosts, blessed is the man that 
 trusteth in Thee." That blessedness he is realising as " he 
 rests from his labours." 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 DIOCESAN WORK: CHURCH BUILDING AND CHURCH 
 RESTORATION. 
 
 Church building and restoration Movement in the great towns 
 Splendid liberality of Yorkshire churchmen Letter to a non-resi- 
 dent incumbent Jealous regard for the interest of the Church and 
 tenderness in censuring defaulting clergy Letters from friends of 
 one to whom the Bishop specially ministered, and from Bishop 
 Kennion of Adelaide. 
 
 THE last fifty years have shown a marvellous de- 
 velopment of activity in the erection of new churches 
 and the restoration of others which had long suffered 
 from ruin and neglect. To give some idea of the 
 work accomplished during my father's episcopate, I 
 quote the figures compiled by the Rev. Canon 
 Kempe, the indefatigable editor of the Ripon Dio- 
 cesan Calendar. He writes 
 
 In 1836, when the See of Ripon was constituted, the 
 population of the diocese was 870,000; in 1856, when Bishop 
 Bickersteth succeeded Bishop Longley, 1,120,000; and in 
 1 88 1 had increased to nearly 1,600,000. During the epis- 
 copate of Bishop Longley 137 churches were consecrated 
 in the diocese, of which 113 were new parish churches, 1 8 
 were churches rebuilt or enlarged, and six were chapels of 
 ease, built for the most part in more or less remote hamlets 
 
 L 
 
146 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 of large parishes. During the episcopate of Bishop Bicker- 
 steth 158 churches were consecrated, of which 92 were new 
 parish churches, 47 were churches rebuilt or enlarged, and 
 19 were chapels of ease. In 1836 the number of incum- 
 bents was 418, and of curates 146 ; and in 1883 the number 
 of incumbents had risen to 500, and of curates to 266. In 
 1857, tne fi rst year of Bishop Bickersteth's episcopate, the 
 number of Confirmation centres was 19, and the number of 
 persons confirmed was 3753 ; in 1883 the Confirmation 
 centres were 63, and the number confirmed 10,781 ; so that 
 whilst the population increased by some 50 per cent, the 
 number of persons confirmed increased by nearly 200 per 
 cent. 
 
 The following Table, extracted from the Bishop's 
 Charges for 1867, 1870, 1873, 1876, and 1879, shows 
 the sums raised and expended in the diocese for 
 Church purposes during the fifteen years, 1864 to 
 1878 inclusive, (i) For the increase of church ac- 
 commodation, (2) For the restoration of churches, 
 (3) For the erection or enlargement of schools, (4) 
 For the building of parsonage houses, and (5) For 
 the augmentation of endowments, irrespective of all 
 contributions to societies, diocesan or general : 
 
 
 1864-6. 
 
 1867-9. 
 
 1870-2. 
 
 1873-5. 
 
 1876-8. 
 
 Total. 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 4 
 5 
 
 
 
 112,498 
 87,468 
 41,021 
 40,098 
 27,780 
 
 
 
 112,514 
 
 88,678 
 
 59,197 
 36,767 
 
 33,059 
 
 
 
 63,227 
 106,042 
 119,081 
 
 39,5 6 9 
 16,147 
 
 
 
 98,773 
 "3,38o 
 99,576 
 41,986 
 40,958 
 
 
 
 137,400 
 87,892 
 
 47,415 
 14,512 
 
 30,024 
 
 
 524,412 
 483,460 
 366,290 
 172,932 
 147,968 
 
 Total 
 
 308,865 
 
 330,215 
 
 344,o66 
 
 394,673 
 
 317,243 
 
 1,695,062 
 
 The work of church building was promoted not 
 only by the Diocesan Society to which allusion has 
 already been made, but by the local societies formed 
 
ERECTION OF NEW CHURCHES. 147 
 
 by the public spirit of the wealthy manufacturers in 
 the large West Riding towns. 
 
 Twice did the churchmen of Leeds meet together 
 to hear an address from the Bishop and the Vicar on 
 the spiritual destitution of the town, and twice they 
 pledged themselves to the erection of at least ten new 
 churches. Like results have been achieved in Brad- 
 ford, Huddersfield, Dewsbury ; and the local pride 
 has been turned to good account when men have 
 vied with one another in works to promote the glory 
 of God and the good of their poorer neighbours. 
 
 In the country districts, if there has been less 
 need for the erection of new churches, the age has 
 been especially one of restoration. In the course 
 of Confirmation tours the Bishop never missed an 
 opportunity of calling attention to churches which 
 were unfit for their purpose, and squires and parsons 
 alike were stimulated by his pointed rebukes. 
 
 My father used to tell with some satisfaction the 
 story of a church in the Archdeaconry of Richmond 
 which sorely needed restoration. There was no 
 resident squire ; the newly-appointed incumbent 
 was young and inexperienced, and much as he 
 desired to see his church restored he knew not how 
 to begin. The Bishop volunteered his services. 
 He asked the clergyman to call the farmers to- 
 gether, and himself met them in the schoolroom. 
 He talked to them in that homely way in which he 
 knew how to go straight to Yorkshire hearts, com- 
 menced a subscription list with a substantial dona- 
 tion from himself, and there and then obtained from 
 the farmers present the promise of a sum which 
 enabled them to commence the work at once. 
 
148 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 Nor was the Bishop's idea of a restoration easily 
 satisfied. The writer remembers that he went with 
 his father many years ago, when the Bishop was to 
 preach at the reopening services of a church which 
 had been, as the promoters thought, thoroughly 
 restored. When the village was reached it turned 
 out that nothing had been done except the merest 
 necessary repairs, and the churchwardens had sought 
 to cover all deficiencies by a plentiful use of white- 
 wash. Doubtless they expected a sermon which 
 would eulogise their efforts and praise a magnificent 
 restoration ; but the Bishop from the pulpit called 
 attention to the unsightly pews and structural defects 
 which still remained, and urged them not to rest 
 content until they had made their church far more 
 worthy of the worship of Almighty God. 
 
 On the other hand, when the work showed signs 
 of generous sacrifice and loving zeal, the Bishop did 
 not withhold words of hearty approbation which 
 are gratefully remembered. Thus in the course of 
 a sermon at Netherthong he said 
 
 Now, my brethren, you would be disappointed if I did 
 not say a word with regard to the occasion which has 
 brought us together to-day. I do sincerely congratu- 
 late you upon what you have done for the restoration of 
 this church. I cannot look upon the change which has 
 been effected in this sacred edifice without feeling that it 
 reflects the greatest possible credit upon all who have been 
 concerned in carrying out the work, whether by contribut- 
 ing the necessary funds, or by managing the details which 
 have resulted in our having a church now so thoroughly 
 fit for a place of public worship, in which you may meet to- 
 gether to pray, and to praise our God and Father in Heaven. 
 We rejoice in all such works of restoration, not because we 
 
CHURCH RESTORATION. 149 
 
 can admire what is architecturally comely and beautiful, 
 but because there is a very close connection depend upon 
 this between a well-ordered church and that spirit of rever- 
 ence which is an essential part of true religion. Go into 
 one of your churches happily they are rarely to be found 
 now-a-days one where, in the first place, the whole build- 
 ing is blocked up with unsightly pews, telling of a spirit of 
 exclusiveness and selfishness, which is the last spirit which 
 ought ever to be found within the walls of a building 
 devoted to the worship of God. Go into a building where 
 the walls are green and mouldy, where there is no appear- 
 ance of comfort, but every appearance of neglect or decay, 
 and what feeling of reverence is likely to be produced in 
 such a building as that ? Will not all of you say that such 
 a building indicates a neglect and contempt of what ought 
 to be found in a place of which we may speak as a 
 palace for the Lord, and not for man ? And when, on the 
 other hand, we come into such a building as this, which you 
 have cleansed and adorned and beautified, we cannot but 
 feel as we enter the building, that this is indeed the house of 
 God, a place where everything tends to lift up the mind 
 from earthly to heavenly things, and to make us realise the 
 truth that this is none other than the gate of heaven. I sin- 
 cerely trust that this restored church will be what many a 
 restored church has proved in other places instrumental to 
 a spiritual revival among the population. God grant that 
 this church may be a nursery for many, many souls who 
 shall be nourished and developed in the truth as it is in 
 Jesus, and prepared for that heavenly temple above not made 
 with hands. 
 
 Amongst the works of restoration, first and fore- 
 most stands that of the venerable Minster church 
 of Ripon. The writer remembers his first expe- 
 rience of going to church was sitting in one of the old 
 green baize boxes which disfigured the fair propor- 
 tions of the cathedral choir. The whole structure 
 
150 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 betokened terrible neglect, and the arrangements 
 were as unsuited for the due performance of public 
 worship as those of the most neglected parish church. 
 The responsibility for the cathedral fabric and the 
 credit of its restoration rest, of course, with the 
 dean and chapter ; but my father looked upon it 
 as a diocesan work, and greatly aided in the collec- 
 tion of funds. In 1867 he wrote in his Charge 
 
 I must at this time allude to the efforts that have been 
 made for the restoration of the ancient cathedral of Ripon. 
 More than five years have elapsed since active measures 
 were adopted with this end in view. The cathedral was at 
 that time in many parts in a state of perilous dilapidation. 
 Had not steps been then taken for its preservation, it is 
 more than probable that some portion of it must have 
 actually fallen. Aided by public subscriptions, which have 
 amounted to 18,287, a donation from the dean and chapter 
 in their corporate and private capacity, and a grant of 
 10,000 from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, applicable 
 only to repairs essential for the safety of the fabric, the 
 Restoration Committee have been enabled to effect the 
 necessary repairs ; but the restoration is still far from com- 
 plete ; and from a Report recently issued by the Committee, 
 it appears that the funds are exhausted, and a sum of ,7000 
 is still required. 
 
 Now, the cathedral is the mother church of the diocese ; 
 nor is it fitting that the cathedral should be inferior to any 
 other church in the diocese in its external appearance, or 
 in its proper adaptation to the solemnities of Divine worship. 
 The time has arrived at which a vigorous effort should be 
 made to raise the sum which is required to complete what 
 has thus far been well and prosperously accomplished. 
 
 As the result of a pastoral letter which the Bishop 
 put forth, accompanied in many cases by private, 
 personal appeals, the money was raised, and the 
 
SPLENDID LIBERALITY. 151 
 
 restoration was completed in January, 1867, at a 
 total cost of ,40,000. Amongst the parish churches 
 restored two stand out prominently Wakefield, soon 
 to be a cathedral; and Halifax, no less fit for such a 
 purpose. 
 
 Nor was this widespread zeal for church building 
 and restoration merely utilitarian. In the neigh- 
 bourhood of Ripon, by the princely munificence of 
 Lord Ripon, who provided the whole cost before 
 his lamented secession from our communion, and 
 Lady Mary Vyner, two memorial churches were 
 built at Studley and Skelton, which are replete with 
 the most lavish adornment, and represent an outlay 
 of not less than ,60,000. But, in the manufacturing 
 districts, churches have been erected as noble gifts 
 to God and the poor, which minister not to the 
 enjoyment of those who are the favoured denizens 
 of nature's fairest fields, but form the one bright 
 spot on which the eye can rest of those whose daily 
 toil confines them to the unlovely surroundings of a 
 busy, smoke-begrimed town. Such is the exquisite 
 fabric erected by Colonel Akroyd at Haley Hill ; 
 and the noble church of All Saints, Bradford. Here 
 Mr. F. S. Powell built a stately church, with schools 
 and a parsonage house. His large-hearted chanty 
 has been rewarded by seeing that within twenty 
 years the parish has become a model. Between 700 
 and 800 communicants frequent the church ; nearly 
 2000 scholars and teachers assemble in the schools ; 
 and not only the church itself, but two flourishing 
 mission churches are filled with large congrega- 
 tions of the working class. It is one instance out 
 of many where the new-born zeal for church building 
 
152 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 has proved an incalculable benefit to the people. Nor 
 are the Leeds churches devoid of beauty. St. Bar- 
 tholomew's Armley, and All Souls (the Hook Me- 
 morial), to mention two out of many, are very 
 different from the old chapels of ease which were 
 once thought sufficient. Happily they remind us 
 more of the days when men gave God of their best, 
 and did not count the cost when they sought to 
 do honour to His Holy Name. 
 
 In all this work my father bore a share, not only 
 by his wise counsel and unostentatious liberality, 
 but chiefly by the example of sacrifice in the ready 
 surrender of time, health, and strength for God. 
 This was cordially recognised by clergy and laity 
 alike, and it would be easy to quote scores of tributes 
 like this taken at random from an article in the 
 local press reviewing his Charge of 1873 : 
 
 The Charge bears unconscious testimony to the inesti- 
 mable services which the Right Rev. Prelate has rendered 
 to the Church in his own district ; for the activity and 
 vitality of which it gives evidence are unquestionably due, 
 in a large measure, to the example of zeal set by the Bishop 
 himself. Yorkshire Post, May 3, 1873. 
 
 But the building and restoration of churches are 
 valuable chiefly as the expression of the revival of 
 true religion, of which they are only the sign ; and 
 my father's labours were directed far more to the 
 inward and spiritual than the outward and visible 
 structure. 
 
 His Charges are still read, not so much for the 
 statistics which he could arrange with remarkable 
 skill, nor for the weighty expression of his views on 
 questions of current controversy, but because they 
 
SPEECH AT HUDDERSFIELD. 153 
 
 breathe throughout a spirit of fervent piety, and 
 have not lost their power to stimulate and quicken. 
 
 When he came to Ripon, in spite of the untiring 
 efforts of Bishop Longley the standard of spiritual 
 life amongst the clergy was by no means high. It 
 is not so much that there were cases of moral 
 failure and open scandal as that there was a low 
 standard of clerical duty. 
 
 In later years my father was fond of contrasting 
 the present with the past. Thus, in the course of a 
 speech at Huddersfield, he says 
 
 If our Church survived that long period of deadness, 
 coldness, and want of energy, and want of vitality, surely, 
 now that she is in such a state of fervent activity in every 
 part of the country, we may take courage, and feel that 
 God will not desert her. 
 
 Let us look at the present state of things. I confidently 
 hazard the opinion that in no past period of our Church's 
 history since the Reformation has there been I will 
 not say more so much of that activity, energy, piety, 
 and devotion to their work on the part of the clergy, 
 speaking of them as a body, as you have at the present 
 day. Why, I can recollect in the early period of my history 
 a clergyman was thought very active indeed if he preached 
 two sermons on the Sunday. I remember when I first 
 came to this diocese twenty years ago, I went to stay with 
 a gentleman, who showed towards me that hospitality 
 which I have experienced in such large measure from the 
 laity in every part of the diocese for so long a period. 
 When he heard that I intended to preach three sermons on 
 the Sunday, I really think that for the moment he thought 
 I had left my senses behind. He could not believe it. 
 He asked me if I thought it possible to do so. I said I 
 did. You would be amused if I were to tell you all the 
 kind and thoughtful provision he made for my reception 
 when Sunday came. He would not let me have a single 
 
154 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 meal with the family, because I was not to talk. He would 
 have me left alone. He seems to have thought I ought 
 to go to bed between each sermon. He was so careful of 
 me that I really believe he feared that I could not survive 
 the exertion. Thank God, I have survived many a day of 
 the kind since. The standard of activity amongst the 
 clergy has risen almost incalculably, not only in the dis- 
 charge of their public duty, but in their parochial work. 
 I remember a clergyman who thought it was a very peculiar 
 kind of proceeding indeed, not at all becoming a clergyman, 
 to go out amongst the poor parishioners, visiting them from 
 house to house. Now we all hold that it is a very apostolic 
 thing for a clergyman, and what St. Paul would have had 
 them do ; and we consider it a very great neglect on the 
 part of clergymen who fail in the visitation of their flock. 
 I have heard the same clergyman say that times have so 
 much altered that he had begun occasionally to lift the 
 latch of his poor parishioners' doors and visit them, and he 
 thought it a great achievement. 
 
 My father helped to bring about this change, not 
 only by example and public exhortation, but by 
 not shrinking from the far more difficult task of 
 personally appealing to those who needed his fatherly 
 admonition. 
 
 Here is an example of the delicate courtesy with 
 which such appeals were made : 
 
 4, Gloucester Square, Hyde Park, July 7, 1858. 
 
 Reverend and dear Sir, I have received an applica- 
 tion this week from a gentleman who states that you are 
 willing to give him a title to a curacy, provided I can accept 
 him as a candidate for Deacon's Orders. I have written to 
 appoint him an interview, and in the meanwhile I write 
 to make a communication to you with regard to the two 
 parishes of N. and M., which I wished to have made earlier, 
 but have refrained from doing so, in the hope that I might 
 
A NON-RESlbENT INCUMBENT. 155 
 
 hear from you first on the subject. You will, I am sure, 
 pardon me for writing with great frankness, and attribute 
 my doing so to no other motive but a sincere desire for 
 the spiritual welfare of the parishes with which you are 
 ministerially connected. First, I must express my regret 
 that these important parishes should be held by you in 
 connection with your very important and responsible duties 
 
 at . My own experience, both of cathedral duties and 
 
 of parochial ministration, enables me to say that the duties 
 
 which devolve on you in virtue of your office in , are 
 
 amply sufficient to engage the sole energies of a clergyman, 
 even had he no other duties to attend to. But this is a 
 matter of long standing, and however much I may regret 
 for the sake of the Church that it should be so, any change 
 in that respect must, of course, emanate from yourself; nor 
 should I allude to it, but for the sake of writing with per- 
 fect frankness. 
 
 Assuming, however, that there can be no change in this 
 respect, I have felt for some time past the necessity for a 
 change with regard to the provision for the two chapelries 
 of N. and M. I do not think it possible for one curate to 
 perform the duties of those two parishes. 
 
 N. and M. are five miles distant from one another. N. 
 has a resident population of 700 people, and, if I am credibly 
 informed, an increasing population. L. (another hamlet) is 
 more than a mile from the church, and a mile from the 
 school. The population at L. is, I am informed, in a most 
 deplorable state. Immorality prevails, and there is great 
 alienation from the Church. Then, in addition to this, you 
 are aware there is a Roman Catholic chapel, school, and 
 priest's house in M. The Dissenters are active ; they have 
 a chapel and school there. All these circumstances point 
 to the absolute necessity of a resident clergyman, who 
 can give his whole energies to the work of the ministry in 
 M., unless the Church of England is wholly to yield up her 
 proper standing. 
 
 At present M. has only alternate services on each Lord's 
 Day. There ought decidedly to be two full services, and a 
 
156 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 sermon at each on every Sabbath. It will require years of 
 patient and laborious effort to recover the ground which 
 the Church ought now to be occupying in M. I have formed 
 this opinion partly upon my own knowledge of the facts 
 of the case, partly from representations which have been 
 made to me by persons in the neighbourhood, who take 
 an interest in N., and partly as the result of conversation 
 
 which I had some time since with Mr. ; and the result 
 
 is, that I do not feel that it would be my duty to sanction 
 a similar arrangement in future to that which has been 
 hitherto the case ; i.e., I consider N. needs an active and 
 efficient curate, on whom no other duty is to devolve but 
 the care of N. and L. ; and this will, of course, involve a 
 separate arrangement for M. I feel a confident persuasion 
 of your desire to do what is best for the interests of the 
 Church, and I hope, upon consideration, you will agree 
 with me that the present circumstances of N. are such as 
 to make it essential to have a separate curate for M., so 
 long as N. has a non-resident incumbent. 
 
 I am, reverend and dear Sir, 
 
 Very faithfully yours, 
 
 R. RIPON. 
 
 This letter not only shows the tact with which 
 the Bishop pressed upon his clergy a higher sense 
 of ministerial responsibility, but it shows how ac- 
 curately he considered the needs of what might be 
 thought an insignificant country parish. 
 
 Though the Bishop never sought to enforce 
 obedience by an appeal to the law, yet there were 
 instances in the course of his long episcopate, in 
 which clergy who had been guilty of moral lapse, 
 and obliged to leave their parishes, submitted to 
 his judgment. In such cases he knew how to com- 
 bine a jealous regard for the interests of the Church 
 with the tenderest sympathy for the accused, if 
 
A GRATEFUL LETTER. 157 
 
 he was really penitent. I have before me a long 
 correspondence relating to a clergyman of great 
 excellence in many ways, who had been overtaken 
 in a grievous fault. I choose two letters out of 
 many, in which his family and himself expressed 
 their gratitude for the Bishop's fatherly attitude 
 towards him : 
 
 My Lord, The account I have received of your kind 
 and affectionate visit to my beloved brother has filled me 
 with gratitude. It is about the only thing which could give 
 us all comfort For, first, it shows your forgiveness of the 
 past, and that my brother retains an affection which he 
 so dearly prized. Secondly, and more especially, because 
 it opens a ministry to him which, above all others, is what 
 I should have wished. You know, perhaps, his early and 
 long love of God, and devotion to His service. You know 
 how many souls he has helped to bring into the fold. You 
 can hardly know the deep tenderness of his affections, and 
 in some sense the simplicity of his nature. But your Lord- 
 ship also knows that he has fallen in various ways. I will 
 only add that, should you be able to repeat your visit, 
 and to give us any assurance of your sense of his penitence 
 and grounds for acceptance with God through Christ, it 
 will be a great and unspeakable comfort. 
 
 I am, my Lord, 
 Yours with deep respect, 
 
 The clergyman himself wrote as follows : 
 
 My dear Lord, I left the Palace yesterday, thinking I 
 should meet you on the way towards Ripon. I longed much 
 to have one more word with you ; but simply to tell you 
 how deeply grateful I felt for all your conduct to me yester- 
 day, and for your truly fatherly love shown towards me. 
 I thank you for every word you said, and I only entreat 
 that, whenever you wish it or think it right, you will always 
 
158 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 speak openly to me ; and I believe, under God, it will be 
 received with a most grateful and attentive ear and mind. 
 It was a great pleasure to me to be back again in a place 
 which I have ever associated with some of my happiest 
 thoughts of - and its work ; and I left the Palace full 
 of comfort and gratitude. 
 
 I remain with the deepest respect, 
 
 Yours ever affectionately grateful, 
 
 It would be easy to illustrate far more fully 
 my father's relations with the clergy, but I will 
 only add a letter addressed to the writer by one 
 to whom he is bound by ties of the closest grati- 
 tude and affection : 
 
 Bishop's Court, Adelaide, South Australia. 
 
 My dear Cyril, You have asked me to place on paper 
 some recollections of your dear father. His kindness to 
 me when I was a boy I can never forget. This he showed, 
 not only in thoughtfulness for my amusement when I went 
 to stay with him riding with me to places of interest, and 
 talking cheerily and brightly about great duties and great 
 work but doing these things in a manner most attractive 
 to a boy. He was a capital rider, and mounted me well ; 
 and he always looked so bright, and had so many jokes 
 and stories, that it was no wonder that, as a boy, I learnt 
 thoroughly to admire him. And there were closer ties that 
 bound me to him. When I was at Eton I suppose it 
 would be in 1860 or 1861 my sister was to be confirmed 
 at Harrogate. We naturally had a wish to be confirmed 
 together. I had not been prepared for Confirmation at 
 Eton, and when I came home for the holidays there was 
 little or no time in which I could be prepared. Your dear 
 father heard of this, and sent for me to come and stay at 
 the Palace, and there most gently and affectionately talked 
 of deep spiritual truths to me, and so won me that I can- 
 not say how much I owe to him. When my dear father 
 
LETTER FROM BISHOP KENNION, 159 
 
 died he drove over from Ripon to see my mother, and 
 nothing could exceed the tenderness with which he spoke 
 to her and prayed with us. After this I did not see much 
 of him until, in 1876, I was appointed to a benefice in his 
 diocese ; and when he instituted me, gave me his blessing, 
 and prayed with me, he seemed to be a real Father in God 
 to his newly-instituted priest Whenever he afterwards 
 came to confirm at All Saints, he always inquired most 
 earnestly into the state of the parish and the kind of 
 work that was being done, and made a point of asking 
 me, before he gave his Charge to the candidates, whether 
 there was anything particular that I desired to have said 
 to them. 
 
 Our people there had a great admiration for him : 
 business men, in particular, listened with the greatest 
 interest to all his utterances, because, as they said, " every- 
 thing he said was so clearly put that they could carry it 
 away with them." The high estimation in which they 
 held him was, no doubt, partly due to the fact that he was 
 an excellent man of business, so clear-headed a chairman, 
 and so punctual in keeping all his engagements. 
 
 Perhaps even you, my dear Cyril, hardly know how 
 deeply your father was overcome by joy when it was 
 decided that you were to be ordained. When it was 
 arranged for your coming as my curate to Bradford, he in- 
 vited me to visit him at Ripon, that he might talk over the 
 matter with me. I remember well with what thankfulness 
 he was speaking of Dr. Gott's work in Leeds, and especially 
 of the* Clergy School, where you were at that time. He 
 paced up and down the garden with tears filling his eyes 
 as he spoke, with deep reverence and thankfulness, about 
 his youngest son becoming a clergyman of the Church. 
 
 It was natural when I was offered the bishopric of 
 Adelaide that I should go at once to my Diocesan. Few 
 men could have had a kinder friend to whom to go. He 
 entered warmly into all my anxieties about leaving my 
 parish, and gave me most cheering and useful advice about 
 my future work. 
 
160 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 Although, generally speaking, he was impressively grave 
 and serious in his manner, the Bishop was sometimes full of 
 humour. One of the last stories he told me, he told with 
 infinite amusement. One of his ordination candidates had 
 shown a lamentable ignorance of Holy Scripture in his 
 papers. In his interview with the Bishop he was asked 
 whether he read his Bible every day. " Certainly, my Lord, 
 every day." " Have you any plan upon which you read 
 
 your Bible, Mr. ? " " Certainly, my Lord." " Do you 
 
 follow the Church's Calendar, and the lessons provided for 
 every day ? " " Oh no, my Lord." " Have you a plan of 
 your own, then ? " " Certainly, my Lord." " What is your 
 plan ? " " Oh, it's just a plan of my own. I always read 
 what I think is likely to bear on the events of the day." 
 " Well, to-day, for instance ; what did you read ? " " Oh, 
 my Lord, knowing I was going to see your Lordship to-day, 
 I just read all the comforting passages I could." 
 
 I leave it to others to describe the admirable way in 
 which he conducted, as chairman, the business of the 
 Diocesan Conference, or of any public meetings in which 
 he was concerned. Notably this was the case at the Leeds 
 Church Congress in 1872, and it ought never to be for- 
 gotten that it was to him we owe the introduction of the 
 recitation of the Creed at the commencement of each 
 annual meeting of the Congress. Two further points are 
 worth noting. First, the promptitude with which he in- 
 variably replied to any letter addressed to him by any of 
 his clergy ; and, secondly, the fact that in spite of the 
 widely divergent opinions of some of the clergy of his very 
 large diocese, no single prosecution on account of ritual 
 ever took place during his episcopate. 
 
 Speaking for myself and I think that I should represent 
 the feelings of many others we realised that we had in our 
 bishop one whose quiet, steady judgment seemed a strength 
 on which we could always fall back, and who, while he was 
 ready to support us in any work which we attempted, 
 always left us plenty of room in which to do it without 
 interference. 
 
TRUE PROGRESS. l6l 
 
 I have not alluded to the extraordinary growth of the 
 Church in his diocese during his episcopate, simply because 
 I expect that others better qualified will give full informa- 
 tion upon this point. 
 
 Yours affectionately, 
 
 G. W. ADELAIDE. 
 
 Testimony like this shows that the material and 
 spiritual progress of the diocese went side by side ; 
 or, in other words, that the Bishop, whose skilful 
 organisation led to so large an increase in church 
 building and restoration, sought to be to his clergy 
 a true Father in God, winning their love and ad-* 
 miration no less than their deference to his authority. 
 
 M 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 DIOCESAN WORK: ORDINATIONS. 
 
 Ordinations at Ripon Searching inquiry into motives of candidates 
 Efforts to raise the standard Theological colleges Letter to the 
 Dean of Lichfield The Leeds Clergy School Letter of Rev. C. 
 Cobb Reminiscences of a clergyman ordained at Ripon. 
 
 THERE was no part of his work in which my father 
 took a deeper interest than that of selecting candi- 
 dates for Holy Orders. As compared with the efforts 
 made now in many dioceses to conduct the ordina- 
 tions with due solemnity, the plans adopted at Ripon 
 thirty years ago seem simple ; but no bishop laboured 
 more earnestly to impress upon his candidates a 
 devotional spirit. 
 
 Some months before the ordination, my father 
 insisted upon a personal preliminary interview ; and 
 in this way he was able to prevent many candidates 
 from appearing at the examination who would cer- 
 tainly have failed. He usually asked them to con- 
 strue a few verses of the Greek Testament, and 
 inquired into their theological reading ; but in every 
 case he asked candidates to define their views on 
 certain fundamental doctrines. 
 
 He had especially prepared a volume, in which 
 
CANDIDATES FOR HOLY ORDERS. 163 
 
 candidates' names were entered ; and, as an illustra- 
 tion of his careful accuracy, it may be interesting to 
 see the form. 
 
 Each page contains the following : 
 
 I. Candidate's name. 2. Address. 3. Age. 4. College. 
 5. Parentage. 6. Preliminary education. 7. References. 
 8. Title. 9. Application (whether one had previously been 
 made to another bishop). 10. Motive, n. Sunday school ? 
 12. Parish work. 
 
 13. Reading. Bible, Greek Testament, Church History, 
 Articles, Prayer-book, Pastoral Theology. 
 
 14. Fundamental Doctrines. Human Depravity, Atone- 
 ment, Justification, Sanctification. 
 
 15. Remarks. 
 
 As, in every case, an answer was required to 
 each of these queries, it is evident that the Bishop 
 could easily form an impression of the capacity of 
 the candidate, as well as of his motives and character. 
 The terms in which a man would answer my father's 
 question as to his motive in seeking Holy Orders, 
 were sufficient to give a good idea of his character ; 
 and in not a few cases the Bishop was able to 
 suggest the higher and deeper motive, when a young 
 man had been first led to devote himself to the 
 ministry in deference to a parent's wish, or some 
 other reason far short of the highest. 
 
 It was sometimes supposed that the examination 
 at Ripon was less searching than that in other 
 dioceses ; and certainly it was not possible to 
 maintain so high a standard as in those nearer the 
 Metropolis, which naturally attract the abler Uni- 
 versity men. And yet the examination conducted 
 by Mr. Clayton and his brother chaplains generally 
 
164 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 proved disastrous to some of those who presented 
 themselves, while many more were rejected by the 
 Bishop himself at his preliminary interviews. 
 
 The writer remembers that the Bishop once told 
 him that he believed that he had applications from 
 Dissenting ministers seeking Orders in the Church, 
 on an average once a fortnight. This is a startling 
 fact, as showing how gladly many Nonconformists 
 would enter the ministry of the Church. Of these 
 candidates many were disqualified by age, many 
 by deficiency of education, and others were ap- 
 parently only anxious to share the social position 
 of the Established clergy, and had no sense of the 
 spiritual superiority of the Church. 
 
 There were, however, many Nonconformists 
 ordained by my father, who brought into the Church 
 intellectual and spiritual qualifications of the highest 
 order. 
 
 My father had a great desire to raise the 
 standard of intellectual attainments in his candidates 
 for Holy Orders ; and it was to him a matter of 
 great regret that so many University men choose 
 the Southern Dioceses rather than the hard work of 
 our Northern manufacturing towns. The following 
 letter was addressed to his brother, the Dean of 
 Lichfield, and contains a fuller statement of his 
 views than is usually found in his hurried and con- 
 cise correspondence : 
 
 The Palace, Ripon, November 21, 1878. 
 
 My dearest Edward, I only returned home this morn- 
 ing, otherwise I would have answered your letter by return 
 of post I have not any hard and fast rule respecting can- 
 didates from Lichfield, or any other Theological College, but 
 
GRADUATES PREFERRED. 165 
 
 my aim is, as far as possible, to secure University men for 
 ordination, in preference to those who have only been trained 
 at a Theological College. The proportion of candidates for 
 ordination who have graduated has considerably increased 
 in this diocese of late, and I wish to encourage University 
 men to come forward. This has made me decline some 
 who have applied from Theological Colleges, whom otherwise 
 I might have accepted. Again, the standard of attainment 
 which secures the usual certificate of Lichfield is, so far as 
 I can judge, not high. The Mr. A., whom I ordained last 
 September, did most feebly in the Examination. He 
 knows nothing of Greek, and it was mainly due to your 
 recommendation of him that the examiners agreed to treat 
 his case as exceptional. But if this were to occur frequently, 
 it would involve considerable inconvenience to the ex- 
 aminers, and an appearance of injustice to other candidates. 
 Besides, I was recently informed, upon what seemed good 
 authority, that Bishop Maclagan now requires a higher 
 standard than has been usual hitherto in candidates for 
 ordination from the Lichfield Theological College. One 
 result of this is that for a time, till a new class of students 
 has been admitted, there will be a flight of Lichfield 
 students to other dioceses for ordination, because of their 
 inability to meet the requirements of the Bishop of Lich- 
 field. This has suggested a little extra caution in accepting 
 Lichfield students just at present. 
 
 I am afraid you may think this reply vague and unsatis- 
 factory, but I think you will sympathise in my desire to 
 obtain candidates who have a degree, and to make the 
 admission of candidates from Theological Colleges who are 
 non-graduates, the exception. Of course all this relates to 
 intellectual training ; but I would infinitely prefer a man 
 from a Theological College of high spiritual qualifications, 
 though of inferior mental culture, to a man of the highest 
 intellectual attainment, with a low standard of piety, what- 
 ever his academic distinction. 
 
 I need hardly add that I shall always be most grateful 
 for any private and confidential communication from you 
 
1 66 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 in respect of any candidates for whom you think an 
 exception ought to be made. 
 
 Ever your affectionate brother, 
 
 R. RlPON. 
 
 This letter refers, of course, only to those Theo- 
 logical Colleges which attempt to supply the sole 
 intellectual, as well as theological, training for the 
 ministry. 
 
 My father felt the great value of institutions 
 which were intended to supplement, by a special 
 theological and devotional training, the advantages 
 of an University education. 
 
 He watched with the keenest interest and the 
 heartiest approbation the Clergy School at Leeds, 
 which, founded by Dr. Gott, the Dean of Worcester, 
 is justly regarded as the model of a clerical seminary, 
 which combines theological reading and spiritual 
 training with opportunities for gaining insight into 
 the varied machinery of a large and well-worked 
 parish. 
 
 The Leeds Clergy School is only for graduates 
 of Oxford and Cambridge, and the credit of its 
 foundation belongs exclusively to the Dean of 
 Worcester. It was solely owing to his munificence 
 and his fatherly oversight that it attained an unique 
 position, cordially recognised by the whole English 
 Church. It has not yet become strictly a diocesan 
 institution ; but my father from the first watched 
 its progress with the deepest interest. He was 
 frequently a lecturer within its walls ; he was glad 
 to offer his counsel whenever it was sought, and 
 used his office as Visitor, not to direct or control, 
 but to stamp with his approval an Institution of 
 
THE LEEDS CLERGY SCHOOL. 1 67 
 
 whose value he was deeply sensible. He frankly 
 recognised that it helped to raise the standard of 
 clerical efficiency in the diocese, and expressed to 
 its founder and the lecturers his heartfelt thanks for 
 the training which they supplied. 
 
 Since the above was written, the writer has seen 
 the eloquent sermon preached by Canon Temple, on 
 the occasion of the Clergy School Commemoration 
 Festival, on June 8, 1886; and he is glad to have 
 his account confirmed by the high authority of one 
 who knew its history from the first : 
 
 Exactly ten years have elapsed, or will have done so 
 when St. James's Day comes round, since I had the privi- 
 lege of standing in the parish church pulpit and preaching, 
 not the anniversary sermon (for anniversaries had not then 
 begun to arrive), but the first festival sermon in connection 
 with the Leeds Clergy School. That duty I had been 
 asked, on short notice, to discharge. It had been under- 
 taken in the first instance by one who very highly 
 honoured this then infant Institution, who laboured per- 
 sonally to serve it, who showed the value he set on its 
 work by sending his own son to reap benefit therefrom 
 the late Lord Bishop of Ripon. He had been taken ill, 
 and was unable to do what he had promised ; and I well 
 remember the letter of fatherly, kindly appreciation, in 
 which he afterwards expressed thanks for, and approval of 
 the effort unworthily made by another to supply his place. 
 Pardon this personal reminiscence. It is made solely on 
 account of its reference to the departed. For, indeed, it 
 was a point of first consequence in the struggling baby- 
 hood of the Clergy School, that it threw itself boldly on 
 the sympathies of its Bishop, that he responded frankly 
 and warmly to its action in so doing ; and while refusing 
 pointedly, as I believe he did refuse, all responsibility for, 
 or interference with its independent management, he yet 
 
1 68 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 gave it that warm-hearted countenance and support, without 
 which it could never have become what, in fact, it has 
 become, or have enjoyed the success which has, in fact, by 
 God's gracious blessing, crowned the earnest and watchful 
 efforts of its founder. 
 
 My father felt very strongly that no young man 
 should undertake the awful responsibilities of the 
 ministry without a thorough previous training ; and 
 he constantly urged candidates not to present them- 
 selves for Holy Orders until they had gained some 
 practical experience by taking cottage lectures, or at 
 least by teaching in Sunday schools. 
 
 And he used to enforce the same views on 
 clerical education in his Charges. Thus, in 1876, he 
 writes 
 
 I am aware of the great difficulty which is experienced 
 in finding, in sufficient number, really efficient curates, 
 especially if the range of choice is limited to University 
 men. The difficulty may fully be accounted for without 
 supposing that there is any falling off in the number of 
 young men who wish to enter the ministry of our Church. 
 The explanation is found in the constantly increasing 
 number of new churches ; the far more general employ- 
 ment of curates by incumbents ; the higher standard of 
 piety and efficiency which incumbents seek for in those 
 whom they select ; and the large demands of the Colonial 
 Church for English clergymen. At the same time I would 
 urge the importance of selecting candidates for ordination 
 as far as possible from amongst those who have graduated 
 at one of the Universities. 
 
 I am far from wishing to speak in any tone of dis- 
 paragement of Theological Colleges. In the existing state 
 of the Church they are simply a necessity ; a sufficient 
 number of candidates to meet the demand for curates 
 cannot be obtained from the Universities. Many of these 
 
IMPORTANCE OF GENERAL CULTURE. 169 
 
 Theological Colleges are doing their work most efficiently. 
 In some instances I have found candidates from these 
 institutions excel even University men in the examination 
 previous to ordination. If considered merely as supple- 
 mentary to the University, affording a more specific training 
 in theology than could be obtained at the University, their 
 value can hardly be overstated ; and yet I think it would 
 be a serious evil should it ever come to pass that a majority 
 of candidates for Holy Orders should be drafted from Theo- 
 logical Colleges, without having received any University 
 training. There are advantages combined with education 
 at the University which cannot be secured at any Theological 
 College. The teaching in the latter is directed to a special 
 end. A large proportion of the students have been imper- 
 fectly educated, to begin with, and they resort to the 
 Theological College with the view of qualifying themselves 
 in the cheapest and most expeditious manner to pass the 
 ordination examination. The students are all destined 
 for the ministry. This, which might be deemed in some 
 respects an advantage, is not without a serious drawback. 
 No man, it has been said, is a good theologian who is 
 nothing but a theologian. The education of a Theological 
 College is necessarily a class education. This is the last 
 thing to be desired for the clergy of our Church. If they 
 are really to influence society, if they are to mould or 
 direct the current of thought on questions of vital im- 
 portance in the affairs of ordinary life, not less than in 
 matters of religion, there should be a breadth and depth 
 in their education which the contracted sphere of a Theo- 
 logical College does not permit. They should mingle freely, 
 during the period of their intellectual training, with students 
 for other callings in life, if they are to escape the narrowness 
 of view which generally characterises persons who associate 
 exclusively with one class. It is surely a part of our high 
 vocation, as ministers of Christ's Church, to exercise a 
 wholesome influence on all orders of men and all classes 
 of mind. Now, the system of a Theological College, if relied 
 
1 70 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 upon as the only preparation for the ministry, is, to say the 
 least, not favourable to this. 
 
 Upon the whole, then, assuming the existence of 
 personal piety, which is the first and highest qualification, 
 for the want of which no degree of intellectual ability or 
 attainment is any counterpoise, you are more likely to find 
 the elements which combine to make an efficient clergyman 
 in one who has received an University education than in 
 one who has merely passed the prescribed course in a theo- 
 logical college. Having this conviction, I strongly recom- 
 mend that in the selection of candidates for ordination, 
 every effort should be used to procure them from graduates 
 of one of our Universities." 
 
 The Rev. Clement Cobb, from whose recollec- 
 tions more than one quotation has been already 
 made, writes of the ordinations at Ripon : 
 
 Most solemn and heart-stirring were the ordination 
 seasons. Before he began work the Bishop called his 
 chaplains to earnest prayer for the presence and help of 
 the great Head of the Church. While we set the papers, 
 and conducted the written examination, he was in a 
 separate room, and had each candidate for a private inter- 
 view. This was in addition to a preliminary interview, on 
 which he always insisted before accepting any man as a 
 candidate. I was never present at any of these interviews, 
 but I believe there was always viva voce examination in 
 the Greek Testament, a careful and suggestive sifting of the 
 motives which were leading a man to seek the ministry, and 
 in the case of deacons, an examination into their work and 
 self-culture during the diaconate. The examination at 
 Ripon had the character of not being severe ; but while the 
 experience of rejecting men was the most painful, it was 
 a satisfaction to my mind, as proving the reality of the test, 
 at least to some measure, that I hardly ever assisted at an 
 examination that one or more men were not rejected. 
 
 Our examinations were usually spread over four days 
 
THE EMBER WEEK. 1 71 
 
 and on three of these, after the work was over, all were 
 gathered together to hear an address from one who truly 
 stood before them as a Father in Christ. The addresses 
 were most solemn, most heart-searching, most moving. 
 The Bishop would clearly set forth the qualifications and 
 credentials which were necessary and desirable to constitute 
 the outward call to the ministry. Then he would pass, in 
 clear and careful discrimination, to the indispensable inward 
 call the " moving by the Holy Ghost " about to be publicly 
 professed, the personal reception of those truths which they 
 were about to teach, so that they became a very constituent 
 part of our moral and spiritual nature. 
 
 Nor were the men thus with prayer and pains, careful- 
 ness and earnestness, examination and exhortation, admitted 
 to Holy Orders afterwards forgotten. The Bishop always 
 had his eye on good men to be placed in charge of parishes 
 in his diocese as they fell vacant. It is not too much to 
 affirm, that not only parishes were blessed with a happy 
 revolution by many of these appointments, but that the 
 whole tone and character of Church life in some of the 
 great towns of the West Riding was rectified and revived. 
 To be sure, there was one great difficulty, which the 
 Bishop's desires and cares could not overcome ; and that 
 was, that many of the so-called livings to which he had to 
 present were starvings, and he could not get good men 
 to take them. Hence he thought that an arrangement for 
 the augmentation of poor livings should be prior in its 
 claims even to one for the augmentation of curates' stipends. 
 
 In my last interview with him, when by the sea, in 
 health broken down prematurely by his over-abounding 
 labours, he referred to the early days of his episcopate, and 
 went over with pleasure the names and locations of those 
 whom he had ordained. " Ah ! I have always felt the 
 greatest interest in So-and-so ; he was one of the very first 
 whom I ordained." 
 
 One plan he adopted with excellent results, viz. to 
 hold his ordinations not always at Ripon, where people 
 were accustomed to them, but in various populous centres 
 
172 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 in his diocese, e.g. Leeds, Huddersfield, Bradford, Richmond, 
 etc. The large old parish churches were crowded with 
 interested worshippers, who thus, generally for the first 
 time, learned the solemn responsibilities to which ministers 
 of the Church pledge themselves. The laity of the place 
 chosen had the option put before them of receiving the 
 candidates for ordination as their guests during the exami- 
 nation. This was done with more than readiness, and the 
 Bishop courteously went round to call on the hosts and 
 offer his thanks in person. Thus he wove bonds of union 
 in the Church, and he told me with amusement that he 
 found one great advantage resulting from this kindly 
 hospitality was the profound impression established of the 
 searching character of the ordination examination. The 
 hosts with one consent had been moved to sympathy by 
 the keen anxieties of " their gentlemen." 
 
 In later years, when health and strength were 
 failing, my father sought the aid of others to give 
 devotional addresses during the week of exami- 
 nation, but in earlier days he used to give all the 
 addresses himself, and frequently preached in person 
 on the ordination day. 
 
 It is difficult to convey to those who never heard 
 them the subtle charm and the intense force of 
 words which came from his very heart ; but not a 
 few of his clergy will never forget the impression 
 of their Bishop's character which they gained on 
 the eve of ordination. 
 
 One gentleman, a stranger to the writer and no 
 longer in the diocese, has kindly sent a little note 
 which he terms 
 
 ORDINATION REMINISCENCES : A PERSONAL TESTIMONY. 
 
 I shall never forget my ordination in 1857. On many 
 accounts it was a season to be thankfully remembered. 
 
ORDINA TION MEMORIES. I 73 
 
 From my boyhood I had read with much interest, and I 
 hope profit, the writings of the revered Edward Bicker- 
 steth of Watton ; and when I decided to enter the ministry, 
 I determined to seek ordination at the hands of his epis- 
 copal relative. After some correspondence I obtained an 
 interview with the Bishop in London, who examined me 
 carefully as to my object in seeking Holy Orders, my 
 religious experience, attainments, etc., and finally com- 
 mended me in prayer to God in a way that won my heart. 
 He was kind enough to mention my name to several 
 incumbents in the diocese, so that I soon received four 
 different offers of a title to a curacy. Choosing one of 
 these, I duly presented myself at Ripon with a number 
 of other candidates. During the examination the Bishop 
 addressed us every day in the Palace Chapel, and nothing, 
 I am persuaded, could surpass the earnestness and pointed 
 character of his appeals. They were most solemn, eloquent, 
 impressive, and led, I know, to great searchings of hearts 
 on the part of his hearers. Even at this distant day I seem 
 to see his fine handsome countenance glowing with emotion, 
 and to hear his voice pleading with intense fervour the 
 cause of our own and of our future congregations' immortal 
 souls. Alas ! for the Church he loved and served so well, 
 that that voice of powerful entreaty should have been 
 put to silence in the grave. On the succeeding Sunday 
 morning it was arranged that we should walk to the 
 cathedral in our gowns, two and two. The gentleman 
 appointed to accompany me was a stranger. I had scarcely 
 noticed him previously. But we soon got into conversa- 
 tion, and I could not help referring to the Bishop's ad- 
 dresses, and saying what cause we had for thankfulness 
 that Providence had directed our steps to that place. " I 
 especially have reason to say so," said my companion ; and 
 on my looking for an explanation he remarked, " I was 
 
 ordained deacon some time ago by the Bishop of . 
 
 The whole proceeding was cold, formal, lifeless. It made 
 no impression upon me whatever. But immediately on 
 my coming here I was effectively aroused. For the first 
 
I 74 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 time my eyes were opened to see the responsibilities I had 
 incurred. As the examination went on I became very 
 uneasy, perceiving myself to be utterly unfit for the work 
 I had undertaken. I felt I must speak to the Bishop and 
 lay my case before him. Obtaining the desired interview, 
 his lordship," continued my informant, with faltering ac* 
 cents, " received me most kindly, listened to me, questioned, 
 counselled me, and then, kneeling down at my side, prayed 
 for me in words and with a sympathising fervour I can 
 never forget, that the event might be a turning-point in my 
 ministerial life ; that I might hereafter be endued with 
 'power from on high/ and made the means of winning 
 many sinners to the Saviour. And now," added my friend, 
 " I shall, please God, return to my parish to work as I have 
 never worked hitherto, with a new motive and a higher 
 aim, trusting my labours in the future may be owned and 
 blessed." By this time we had reached the cathedral doors, 
 and were soon in our seats. The service we all, I think, 
 felt to be refreshing. The Bishop's sermon was from the 
 text, " I will go in the strength of the Lord God : I will 
 make mention of Thy righteousness only." He urged us 
 to take this verse for our motto in our ministry, to prose- 
 cute our work in the Lord's strength, and to preach His 
 righteousness alone to our respective flocks. Never, I ima- 
 gine, will the discourse be forgotten by those who heard 
 it. Then came to us, the candidates, the great event of 
 the day. But I shall not attempt to describe the solemn 
 and impressive manner of that laying on of hands. It 
 need not be told how the remainder of the day was spent, 
 partly at the Palace, nor how the Bishop watched over us 
 subsequently with unabated interest and kindness ; but I 
 cannot close this hasty sketch without remarking Oh that 
 all ordination services were of the same character ; oh that 
 we had more such prelates ! 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 LONDON WORK. 
 
 London work The House of Lords Letter from Archbishop of York 
 (Musgrave) Speeches on Deceased Wife's Sister's Bill On 
 disestablishment of the Irish Church Life in London Wants 
 to preach every night Political opinions Relations with 
 eminent statesmen Letter from Mr. Disraeli on Church ques- 
 tions The Bishop of Durham (Dr. Baring), and the question of 
 his successor Work on Ecclesiastical Commission, etc. Tribute 
 of Bishop Thorold May Meetings. 
 
 IN a former chapter mention has been made of the 
 great reluctance with which my father was absent 
 from his diocese when detained by duty in the 
 House of Lords, and he never attempted to take 
 any considerable share in the business of that 
 assembly. And yet on the one or two occasions 
 when he spoke, he showed that he possessed more 
 than ordinary power. 
 
 Early in the year 1858 he was asked by the 
 Archbishop of York (Musgrave) to speak in answer 
 to the late Lord Redesdale, who had entered into a 
 controversy on the subject of the Northern Con- 
 vocation. On July 19, the Archbishop wrote as 
 
 follows : 
 
 / 
 
 Bishopthorpe. 
 
 My dear Lord, A thousand thanks for your valuable 
 and very efficient help on Friday last. From a near relative, 
 
I 76 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 who was in the House at my desire^ I heard that you were 
 well and most attentively heard by those who were present, 
 and Lord Redesdale had clearly little to say in answer. 
 You made all the use that was necessary of the papers 
 with which I troubled you. The weight of your own 
 business and correspondence I can well guess at, and I 
 was quite sorry to have to add to your labours. 
 
 * * * ft * 
 
 From time to time my father spoke in the House 
 on a subject with regard to which he took a line 
 quite distinct from most of his Episcopal brethren ; 
 this was the question of marriage with a deceased 
 wife's sister, upon which the substance of his views 
 may best be gathered from the following resumd of 
 a speech which he delivered in the House of Lords 
 in the session of 1870 : 
 
 He asked for the indulgence of their Lordships while he 
 stated the grounds on which he should support the Bill ; 
 and he asked for it the more earnestly, because it was his 
 misfortune to differ from the large majority of his Right Rev. 
 Brethren, and also from many others, whose opinions he 
 greatly respected, and to whose judgment, if it were possible 
 for him to do so, he would gladly bow. 
 
 The first question which presented itself to his mind in 
 connection with the particular class of marriages which 
 the Bill proposed to legalise was, " What is the voice of 
 Scripture with regard to these marriages ? " If that voice 
 had clearly and definitely spoken, and if the Word of God 
 had prohibited these marriages, no human enactment could 
 possibly make them lawful. Indeed, the mere attempt to 
 do so would be wholly unjustifiable. After a most patient 
 investigation of the subject, he was entirely unable to 
 arrive at the conclusion expressed by his Right Rev. Brother 
 (Ely) who had just addressed the House, that Scripture 
 prohibited these marriages. On the contrary, he believed 
 
SPEECH IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS. 177 
 
 that tacitly, and by implication, the Law of God per- 
 mitted them. He would not attempt to follow his Right Rev. 
 Brother into the intricacies of that verbal criticism which 
 he had made of different texts of Scripture, but he wished 
 to quote the testimony of some theologians who were 
 admitted to be very able and learned, whose attention had 
 been specially directed to this particular question, and 
 whose opinions entirely coincided with his own as to the 
 lawfulness, according to Scripture, of these marriages. 
 He then cited in turn the opinions of the Bishop of 
 St. David's (Dr. Thirlwall), the Rev. Dr. McCaul, and 
 Dr. Tregelles. 
 
 If he stood alone in his opinion that the Word of God 
 was not opposed to such marriages, he should be ready to 
 suspect the soundness of his judgment ; but when he found 
 that his opinion was confirmed by some of the ablest and 
 most diligent students and interpreters of the Scriptures, 
 he felt strengthened in the conviction that the restriction 
 on such marriages as this Bill proposed to legalise was not 
 founded upon any authority of Scripture. If, then, Scrip- 
 'ture did not support the existing law, was it wise or right 
 to make, by human enactment, that a sin which the Word 
 of God does not declare to be a sin ? 
 
 Of course, if the Scriptural argument against such 
 marriages were abandoned, those who objected to them 
 were, as every one acknowledged, thrown at once upon 
 social considerations. Now it seemed strange to assume 
 that the various social evils which had been referred to would 
 certainly arise in this country if these marriages were legal- 
 ised, although in countries where these marriages had always 
 been permitted by law no such evils were found to exist. 
 He believed this was almost the only country in the world 
 in which a marriage with a deceased wife's sister was 
 illegal ; and he had not heard that any of the social evils 
 which existed in countries where such unions were lawful 
 could be directly traced to the state of the law. Bishop 
 M'llvaine stated that in America, although these marriages 
 were celebrated without disapprobation, he was not con- 
 
 N 
 
1 78 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 scious of any evil having arisen from them. But it was 
 said that the sanctity and purity of domestic life would be 
 imperilled if this Bill were allowed to pass. He confessed, 
 however, that he had a far higher opinion of the sanctity 
 and purity of domestic life in this country than to believe 
 that it rested on so weak a foundation as a restriction which 
 was not sanctioned by the Word of God. 
 
 He believed the sanctity and purity of domestic life 
 would remain unaffected if this Bill became law, as he 
 sincerely trusted it would. All the arguments employed 
 with respect to the social aspect of the question were 
 directed against certain imaginary evils, which it was 
 assumed would arise if the law were altered ; there had 
 been no allusion whatever to the great social evils which 
 existed at the present time, and which might be directly 
 traced to the operation of the law. Was it no evil that 
 we should have a law which was found in practice utterly 
 impossible to maintain, and which was broken and violated 
 continually? Was it no evil that there should exist among 
 a large class of the population a sense of wrong and 
 oppression, because it was felt that the law of the land 
 hindered them from doing that which by the law of God 
 they were permitted to do ? Lastly, was it no evil that the 
 existing state of the law was in many instances directly 
 provocative of crime ? . 
 
 He wished to adduce some testimony on this point. 
 His Right Rev. Brother who last addressed the House 
 stated that he had been stationed in many different parishes 
 with large populations, but that he had seen no evils result- 
 ing from the operation of the law as it now stood. The 
 Right Rev. Prelate's experience had been singularly fortu- 
 nate. He had himself had the care of parishes with large 
 populations, and he had seen very great evils result from the 
 operation of the law. He would not, however, quote his 
 own authority, but would take the testimony of one who 
 was revered by a very large number of Christians in this 
 country, and who, to the regret of his friends, had been 
 recently removed from among them Dr. Dale, Dean of 
 
DECEASED WIFE'S SISTERS BILL. 179 
 
 Rochester, who for a long period of his life had charge of 
 very large parishes. . . . 
 
 He would also cite the testimony of another divine, 
 whose name was never mentioned without honour he 
 alluded to Dr. Hook, Dean of Chichester, who had, perhaps, 
 had a larger experience than any living man in the charge 
 of large parishes. Also he would quote, to the same effect, 
 the Dean of Carlisle, Dr. Close, and the testimony of the 
 Dean of Lichfield, better known as Canon Champneys. 
 
 Such were the opinions of eminently practical and Chris- 
 tian men who had had wide experience in dealing with 
 large parishes. The Bill would affect a class of cases involv- 
 ing very great hardships which ought to be removed by the 
 legislature. After the passing of the Act of 1835, com- 
 monly called Lord Lyndhurst's Act, there was a very 
 general impression whether a right one or not 'he would 
 not say that persons who wished to contract such mar- 
 riages as were under discussion might legally do so in 
 a foreign country where such marriages were lawful. It 
 was believed that marriages so celebrated were lawful 
 according to the law of this land. In very many instances 
 persons had acted in this belief; they had gone abroad and 
 had complied with all the conditions which they supposed 
 necessary to make their marriage valid ; and it was not 
 until a decision to the contrary was recently given (Brook 
 v. Brook) by one of the superior courts of law that for the 
 first time they learned that they had acted under a mis- 
 take, and that their marriage could not be recognised by 
 the law of this country. Such persons had to endure a 
 great hardship in no legal remedy being provided to render 
 valid marriages which had been so contracted. This Bill 
 would have that effect, and for that, among other reasons, 
 he most earnestly hoped it would pass into law. Believing, 
 as he did, that the restrictions which were sought to be 
 removed were not founded upon any authority of Scripture ; 
 that, on the contrary, the Word of God tacitly sanctioned 
 such marriages ; that the existing restrictions imposed a 
 grievous burden on men's consciences, and that they were 
 
l8o LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 in many cases provocative of crime ; and believing that the 
 alteration of the law would be a great relief to many who 
 justly deserved to receive it, although it was with the deepest 
 regret that he found himself at variance with the opinions 
 of so many for whom he had a profound respect, he must 
 vote in favour of the Bill. 
 
 It was characteristic of my father that he never 
 swerved from an opinion once deliberately formed ; 
 and he continued to vote on the same side, even 
 when he had no longer the powerful support of men 
 like Bishop Thirl wall ; while other prelates, who felt 
 less strongly on the matter, shrank from opposing 
 their brethren on the Bench and the great bulk of 
 clerical opinion. 
 
 At the request of some, by whom the impression 
 which it made is still remembered, I insert here the 
 speech which my father delivered on the second 
 reading of the Irish Church Disestablishment Bill. 
 As an example of his style the speech is none the 
 less valuable because it was delivered in aid of a 
 lost cause, and those who remember the circum- 
 stances of the debate and read it with attention, will 
 understand why some good judges thought that my 
 father's speech compared not unfavourably with the 
 brilliant oration delivered on the same occasion by 
 Bishop Magee. 
 He said- 
 It is with the utmost diffidence that I venture to take 
 any part in this debate. Nothing but a sense of duty 
 would induce me to trespass, even for a few moments, on 
 your Lordships' attention. But this is a question on which 
 I cannot give a silent vote. With the details of the measure 
 under consideration I will not attempt to grapple ; partly 
 because I look upon this as being the proper stage to 
 
THE IRISH CHURCH. l8l 
 
 discuss its principle, and partly because I deem it right 
 frankly to confess that, in my judgment, that principle is 
 so bad, that I despair of rendering the Bill a good one by 
 any manipulation of its details. 
 
 A variety of arguments have been urged in the course 
 of this debate against the measure, in all of which I fully 
 concur. 
 
 Its principle is the disestablishment and disendowment 
 of the Church in Ireland. 
 
 Now the primary objection which I entertain to it is, 
 that it involves the assumption that it is no part of the 
 duty of a Christian State to connect itself with the main- 
 tenance of Christian truth. Should this Bill become law, 
 the State, so far as Ireland is concerned, will have discon- 
 nected itself altogether from religion. It will have virtually 
 declared that all creeds are equally true, or equally false, 
 that it will recognise none, and have a preference for none. 
 This conclusion I deprecate in the interests of the Church, 
 but still more in the interests of the State itself. I believe 
 there is a national as well as an individual responsibility. 
 Nations as well as individuals are morally accountable, and 
 we cannot ignore this responsibility without challenging 
 the disfavour of God. If we believe that all power is from 
 God, and that the powers which be are ordained of God, 
 then I cannot see how it can be right for those in possession 
 of power to ignore their responsibility to Him from Whom 
 it is derived. And how, I would ask, is a State to exercise 
 this responsibility except by connecting itself with some 
 ecclesiastical organisation ? 
 
 Now I, for one, altogether deny that the question on 
 which that organisation should depend is the question of 
 the majority of the people. There are higher questions 
 than that at issue. The question of truth ought, I contend, 
 to be paramount to every other consideration. I believe 
 it to be the duty of a Christian State in determining the 
 ecclesiastical organisation with which it is to connect itself, 
 to look mainly and chiefly to the question of religious 
 truth. This principle is recognised by the British Consti- 
 
1 82 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 tution. The Church is an integral portion of the State. 
 It is inseparably connected with it. You cannot impair the 
 position of the one without injuring that of the other. 
 You cannot destroy the Church without pulling down the 
 Constitution of which it forms a part. Notwithstanding, I 
 may add, all that has been said on the subject, I confess 
 I entertain the opinion that the principle of this Bill is 
 inconsistent with the Act of Union. 
 
 It must, of course, be admitted that it is competent to 
 Parliament to repeal and alter laws which itself has made. 
 This is the case with reference to all ordinary Acts of 
 Parliament, but it seems to me that the case is altogether 
 different when we are dealing with the Act which has been 
 passed for an express purpose to ratify a treaty entered 
 into between two independent nations. I, for one, believe 
 that it is a breach of national faith and honour to ignore 
 the conditions of a treaty thus solemnly entered into con- 
 ditions without which that treaty would never have been 
 accomplished. 
 
 I concur, moreover, in the opinion that this measure is 
 calculated to have an indirect effect in shaking the security 
 of property. I admit that there is a difference between pri- 
 vate and corporate property ; but to ignore the undisputed 
 possession of three hundred years is, in my opinion, to 
 unsettle the security for all property ; and this Bill I think 
 calculated to inflict a blow on the security of property of 
 every kind. Upon that point I would quote the testimony 
 of the late Mr. Anthony Richard Blake, a Roman Catholic 
 layman, given on oath before a Parliamentary Committee. 
 He said : 
 
 " The Protestant Church is rooted in the Constitution ; 
 it is established by the fundamental laws of the realm ; it 
 is rendered, as far as the most solemn acts of the Legis- 
 lature can render any institution, fundamental and per- 
 petual ; it is so declared by the Act of Union between 
 Great Britain and Ireland. I think it could not now be 
 disturbed without danger to the general securities we 
 possess for liberty, property, and order, without danger to 
 
THE PRINCIPLE OF ESTABLISHMENT. 183 
 
 all the blessings we derive from being under a lawful 
 Government and a free Constitution. Feeling thus, the 
 very conscience which dictates to me a determined ad- 
 herence to the Roman Catholic religion would dictate to 
 me a determined resistance to any attempt to subvert the 
 Protestant Establishment, or to wrest from the Church the 
 possessions which the law has given it." 
 
 I entertain another objection to this Bill, founded on 
 what I conceive to be the probable effect of its passing 
 into law. It has been called a great measure, and I think, 
 notwithstanding what fell from my Right Rev. Brother the 
 other night, who called it a little Bill, that it is a great 
 measure. The noble Earl who moved the second reading, 
 told us that it had engaged the most anxious labour and 
 thought of the Government in its preparation. The noble 
 Lord who moved its rejection, spoke of its striking at the 
 roots of the Constitution. By others it has been termed, 
 and I think rightly, a revolutionary Bill ; but, be that as it 
 may, few, I presume, will deny that it is a measure of 
 great importance. If that be so, I cannot help feeling 
 that we are entitled to ask for some evidence to show that 
 it will accomplish the end which its authors propose to 
 themselves an end which we all desire to see attained 
 the welfare and prosperity of the sister country. Is this 
 Bill, then, likely to promote the pacification of Ireland, or to 
 confer important benefits on that country ? My own con- 
 viction is, that if passed into law, it will not have a 
 feather's weight in producing contentment and peace in 
 Ireland. And in support of this view, I would ask, in what 
 manner has it already been received by the Irish people ? 
 Has the notice of it been welcomed as an olive branch of 
 peace, or has it not rather been received as an apple of 
 discord ? Has not the discontent by which that unhappy 
 country has so long been distracted been rather increased 
 than otherwise, since the measure has been brought under the 
 consideration of Parliament ? Are your Lordships not aware 
 that the great grievance of Ireland, as proclaimed by the 
 Roman Catholics of that country, is, not the existence of 
 
184 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 the Established Church,but the position of the land question ; 
 and that Irish Roman Catholics affirm, they will never be 
 satisfied until that question is settled ? 
 
 I entertain another objection to this Bill, founded upon 
 the inopportune period at which it seems to me to have 
 been introduced. 
 
 Among the many arguments employed in favour of 
 this measure there is one that is frequently used that 
 the Established Church in Ireland has not discharged its 
 missionary obligations ; that it has failed to perform the 
 duties that devolve upon it with regard to the whole 
 population of Ireland. I must say here that the clergy of 
 the Established Church in Ireland have, as it appears to 
 me, been very unfairly dealt with. If they confine their 
 ministrations to the Protestant parishioners of their re- 
 spective parishes, they are told that the Church has failed 
 in discharging its missionary obligations ; and if, on the 
 other hand, they display any zeal in endeavouring to gain 
 converts from among the Roman Catholics, they are 
 immediately denounced as firebrands. And yet it must be 
 within the cognisance of all your Lordships that there has 
 been a most remarkable revival of fervour and zeal among 
 the clergy of late years, showing itself in increased efforts 
 for the conversion of the Roman Catholic population, and 
 that these efforts have been attended by the most remark- 
 able success. Having visited those portions of Ireland 
 where these missionary efforts have been most vigorously 
 and actively carried forward, I can testify, from personal 
 observation, to the importance and genuineness of the 
 work which is being accomplished. 
 
 But we are not merely dependent for proof of the 
 success upon Protestant testimony. The Nation, the organ 
 of the intensely Irish party in the country, says of 
 Ireland : 
 
 " There can no longer be any question that the sys- 
 tematised proselytism has met with an immense success in 
 Connaught and Kerry. 
 
 " It is true that the altars of the Catholic Church have 
 
ROMAN CATHOLIC TESTIMONY. 185 
 
 been deserted by thousands, born and baptized in the 
 ancient faith of Ireland. Travellers who have recently 
 visited the counties of Galway and Mayo report that * the 
 agents of that foul and abominable traffic ' " (the term they 
 apply to the work of our Church) " are every day opening 
 new schools of perversion, and are founding new churches 
 for the accommodation of their purchased congregations. 
 Witnesses more trustworthy than Sir Francis Head, Catholic 
 Irishmen who grieve to behold the spread and success of 
 the apostacy, tell us that the west of Ireland is deserting 
 the ancient fold ; and that a class of Protestants, more 
 bigoted and anti-Irish, if possible, than the followers of the 
 old Establishment, is grown up from the recreant peasantry 
 and their children." 
 
 We have, then, incontrovertible evidence of the fact 
 that the Church in general is making exertions hitherto 
 unexampled in modern times for the purpose of winning 
 Roman Catholics to the fold of the Established Church ; 
 and yet we are told, as an argument in support of this 
 measure, that the Irish Church has failed to discharge its 
 missionary obligations. 
 
 But this measure is recommended to us on the plea of 
 justice and religious equality. There is one consideration 
 with respect to this plea of justice which has occurred 
 forcibly to my mind in the course of this debate. Justice 
 is a high and sacred principle. Now, if there is injustice 
 in the existence of the Established Church in Ireland at 
 the present moment, there must have been injustice in its 
 establishment at the time of the Union, and there must 
 have been injustice in its continuance from the time of the 
 Union down to the present moment. If this be so, how is 
 it that the plea of justice has never been mooted before ? 
 It is not that Ireland has been neglected in the delibera- 
 tions of British statesmen. It is not that Ireland has not 
 had its full share in the consideration of Parliament. 
 Statesmen the most sagacious, keen-sighted, and far-seeing 
 have, from time to time, considered the interests of Ireland. 
 Ireland has given rise to questions which have, I believe, 
 
1 86 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 on more than one occasion decided the fate of Govern- 
 ments ; it has occupied the anxious and solicitous attention 
 of numbers of those who have been called to the helm of 
 the Constitution. Are we to suppose that they have not 
 been far-sighted enough to see the injustice, if it existed ; 
 or are we to admit a supposition which is still more 
 untenable that if they did perceive the injustice, they 
 were unwilling to interfere to redress the grievance ? But 
 I take the testimony of a Roman Catholic on this point, 
 and, according to his testimony, I think it is conclusive 
 that, in the opinion of some enlightened Roman Catholics, 
 there is, in reality, no such injustice. Dr. Slevin, a Roman 
 Catholic professor at Maynooth, in his evidence before the 
 Commissioners of Education in 1826, said 
 
 "I consider that the present possessors of Church property 
 in Ireland, of whatever description they may be, have a 
 just title to it. They have been bond fide possessors of it 
 for all the time required by any law for prescription ; even 
 according to the pretensions of the Church of Rome, which 
 require one hundred years." 
 
 Another plea is that of religious equality. I would not 
 on any consideration utter a harsh or unkind word with 
 respect to my Roman Catholic fellow-subjects. I am not 
 conscious of entertaining an unkind feeling towards them, 
 or of having, at any time, uttered against them an un- 
 charitable word. I believe toleration is a great principle, 
 and that to exercise toleration is the duty of a Christian 
 State as well as of a Christian Church ; but equality, as 
 between Roman Catholics and Protestants, you cannot 
 possibly have. It is not in the essence of Roman Catholic- 
 ism ; it is not in the essence of Protestantism. Between the 
 two there is an impassable gulf. We Protestants hold that 
 Roman Catholics entertain fundamental errors, and the 
 Church of Rome hurls her anathemas against Protestants 
 for repudiating that which she maintains to be fundamental 
 truth. The effect of this measure will be to produce, not 
 religious equality, but Romish ascendency. I believe no 
 other result will follow this measure, than to give to Rome 
 
FEELING IN YORKSHIRE. 187 
 
 the ascendency in Ireland ; and, therefore, the very evil of 
 which the noble Earl complains, would exist, even if this 
 Bill were passed into law. 
 
 I will not touch upon another question the verdict of 
 the country with regard to this measure beyond saying 
 that I concur with those who have said that they are 
 not satisfied that the verdict of the country has been 
 pronounced upon this particular Bill. I will go even further 
 than this. It is my honest conviction that there is a 
 change coming about in the feelings of the country at 
 large with respect to this Bill ; and although a taunt was 
 thrown out the other evening with regard to what were 
 called the tumultuous assemblages which have been con- 
 vened with regard to this measure, I cannot help saying 
 that in that part of the country with which I am officially 
 connected, and especially in the great towns of the West 
 Riding of Yorkshire, I have satisfactory evidence that there 
 has been a change in the feeling with regard to this measure 
 a change expressed not in noise or tumult, but in calm, 
 clear, and unwavering utterances of dissatisfaction and dis- 
 appointment ; and it is my conviction, that if your Lord- 
 ships reject this Bill on the second reading, and it be 
 submitted to the country for further investigation and con- 
 sideration, the verdict of the country will ultimately confirm 
 and approve the decision of your Lordships. 
 
 I listened with the greatest attention to the speech of 
 the noble Earl who addressed the House at the opening 
 of the debate on Tuesday evening (Earl Grey), when he 
 endeavoured to show that it was our duty to accept the 
 second reading of the Bill, and then try and improve it in 
 Committee. If it were merely a question of political ex- 
 pediency, if no moral considerations were involved, I might 
 feel disposed to accept that advice ; but, believing, as I do, 
 that it involves moral considerations of the highest import- 
 ance, I cannot prefer to accept expediency as my guide, 
 rather than what is morally right ; believing, as I in my 
 conscience do, that this Bill is not called for by any claim 
 for justice to Ireland ; believing that it will not confer any 
 
1 88 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 lasting benefit upon that distracted and unhappy portion 
 of the United Kingdom ; believing that it will prove a blow 
 to Protestantism, and a triumph to Romanism ; believing 
 that it will exasperate Protestants, without conciliating 
 Romanists ; believing, further, that it will necessarily be the 
 precursor to other measures still more disastrous to the 
 Church and the Constitution ; believing that the adoption 
 of this measure would amount to a national sin, and that 
 what is morally wrong can never be politically right, I 
 must enter my protest against the second reading of this 
 Bill. 
 
 During his shorter visits to London, when my 
 father was alone, he stayed at the National Club, 
 in Whitehall Gardens ; and at other times he was 
 the guest of Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Braithwaite, who 
 had been amongst his chief friends and supporters 
 at St. Giles's. Occasionally he was obliged to stay 
 in town, sorely against his will, for a longer period, 
 and then he usually occupied a house in South Ken- 
 sington. In London his Sundays were fully occu- 
 pied. Once he wrote home to say, " I wish I had 
 a sermon every night, for I feel so idle when I am 
 away from the diocese." And no wonder that he 
 liked to preach, when he was cheered with abundant 
 proof of the way in which people hungered for the 
 Word of God. He wrote on March 23, 1858 : 
 
 Last night, after remaining in the House till near seven, 
 I went to preach in Spitalfields. I think you would have 
 been greatly struck with the scene. It is a very large 
 church. It is where I was once lecturer for a short time, 
 when I first came to Clapham. It was crowded with the 
 poor Spitalfields weavers from end to end. Galleries and 
 aisles all full, and many standing. Patteson read the Litany, 
 and then I preached for fifty minutes. They were amazingly 
 attentive, and listened with great eagerness to the end. 
 
POLITICAL OPINIONS. 189 
 
 When all was over I yielded to Patteson's entreaty, and 
 went into the rectory, which was close by. Presently some 
 one came and told us that the crowd was waiting at the 
 church door, and would not go away till I was gone. He 
 sent one of his curates with a message that I should be in 
 his house for half an hour, and it was no good their waiting. 
 However, they said they did not care ; they would wait. 
 And when, at last, I came out, they were in great numbers 
 filling up the street, and standing all round the cab. So I 
 just called out once or twice, " God bless you all, my good 
 people ! " and they then cried out, " God bless you, sir ; God 
 bless you ! Thank you ; and won't you come again ? " It 
 was very touching, and one cannot help hoping there may 
 be some fruit seen from it in Eternity. The Bishop of 
 London has asked me to preach for him in April. I said, 
 " By all means ; only, please don't send me to Deptford." 
 " Oh," he said, " but that is where they want to have you 
 again." So one hopes my stay in London may have been, 
 through God's grace and mercy, of some blessing to some. 
 
 On questions of general politics my father was 
 in the main a Liberal. His genuine sympathy with 
 freedom and progress, and hearty advocacy of all 
 schemes calculated to advance the interest of the 
 working classes, leave no doubt as to the spirit in 
 which he was ready to approach the perplexing 
 social problems of the day ; but when confronted 
 by those who advocated a more Radical pro- 
 gramme, he would frequently describe himself as a 
 " Palmerstonian," in playful allusion to the Minister 
 to whose recommendation (under Divine Provi- 
 dence) he owed his bishopric. He possessed the 
 friendship and respect of political leaders on both 
 sides ; and Mr. Gladstone and Lord Beacons- 
 field alike placed considerable reliance on his judg- 
 ment. Confidential inquiries as to the fitness of 
 
1 90 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 particular men for important posts are not available 
 to illustrate this without trenching upon boundaries 
 of discretion which ought not to be overstepped ; 
 but there is no reason why it should not be known 
 that in one weighty instance, and that a case of no 
 little difficulty, Mr. Gladstone in after-years expressed 
 his satisfaction that the Bishop's advice should have 
 turned the scale in the direction of a particular 
 appointment. The nomination in question had in 
 some quarters been warmly opposed, and in others 
 its announcement was received with a certain amount 
 of disfavour ; but it has since been reckoned by 
 universal consent amongst the substantial benefits 
 which Mr. Gladstone has conferred upon the Church. 
 
 Less reserve is necessary in making public the 
 following letter from Lord Beaconsfield, which will 
 be interesting to many people, not only because it 
 shows what that eminent statesman thought of my 
 father's judgment, but also because it shows that 
 Lord Beaconsfield himself deserves credit for a deep 
 sense of responsibility in his ecclesiastical appoint- 
 ments, and for a personal interest in theological 
 questions, which he has not generally received. 
 
 My father wrote to inform him of the sudden 
 death of Dr. Goode, and received the following 
 
 reply :- 
 
 [Confidential.'] 
 
 Hughenden Manor, August 15, 1868. 
 
 My dear Lord, Your letter of the I3th instant gave 
 me a great shock. You will fully comprehend this, when 
 I tell you, in confidence, that being forced to consider 
 within the last few days, unhappily, the probability of a 
 vacancy on the Bench which you yourself adorn, I contem- 
 plated advising the Queen to nominate the Dean of Ripon 
 
LETTERS FROM LORD BEACONSFIELD. IQI 
 
 to the See, which would in that event have been at Her 
 Majesty's disposal. It is therefore unnecessary for me to 
 assure your Lordship that you need be under no appre- 
 hension, that in the appointment of his successor, I shall 
 not be influenced by the representations which you have 
 made to me. I am myself bound up with no party in the 
 Church. I frankly admit that my bias, years ago, was to 
 High Church principles, which I held not only to be con- 
 sistent with the principles of the Reformation, but their 
 best safeguard and security. The secession of Dr. New- 
 man, however, and his friends very much affected me in 
 this respect, and I have ever laboured since to induce 
 moderate men of both parties to act together against the 
 combined efforts of disguised Jesuits and avowed infidels. 
 I should feel very much obliged to your Lordship if, in 
 confidence, you would indicate to me any men who, not 
 only from their Protestant principles, but their becoming 
 learning, knowledge of mankind, and administrative power, 
 would be fitting in your opinion for the Prelacy. No one 
 is more impressed than myself with the present critical 
 state of affairs, both for the Church and the Nation. It 
 cannot be exaggerated. But whatever may happen, I wish 
 to have the consolation, that in a responsible position I 
 have, under Divine Providence, done my utmost to main- 
 tain the true interests of the Church of England. 
 
 I have the honour to remain, my dear Lord, 
 
 Yours faithfully, 
 
 B. DISRAELI. 
 
 Another expression of Lord BeaconsfielcTs views 
 on ecclesiastical questions occurs in the following 
 letter, written by Bishop Baring to my father : 
 
 Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland, December 9, 1878. 
 
 My dear Bishop, You will have heard of my intended 
 resignation of my See. To my great surprise, not only did 
 Lord Beaconsfield write in reply a most kind and com- 
 plimentary letter, but added at its close, "Ecclesiastical 
 
LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 appointments in these days of difficulty and trial are those 
 which cost me the greatest anxiety. I should feel obliged 
 to you if, in strict confidence, you would give me some 
 names of those whom I might consider for your See." 
 
 I have sent him but two names, and have placed yours 
 very decidedly first. There will be doubtless other influ- 
 ences at work, but I think it possible that without letting 
 any one know the contents of this letter, you might know 
 some friend of Lord Beaconsfield who would confirm my 
 recommendation. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 C. DUNELM. 
 
 Those who knew my father need not be told 
 that he did not act on the Bishop's suggestion. 
 Never in his life did he ask for preferment for him- 
 self; l and he wrote to Bishop Baring, grateful for his 
 kind thought, but saying that he left all such matters 
 in the Hand of God, and would certainly make no 
 effort in his own behalf. 
 
 Lord Beaconsfield was happily guided to the 
 choice of Dr. Lightfoot, and my father's friends 
 cannot regret that he was not summoned to under- 
 take a new charge at a time when his working days 
 were drawing to a close, and when it needed the 
 strength and vigour of a younger man to divide 
 the great Border diocese, and to create the See of 
 Newcastle. 
 
 It is in this chapter that I have tried to show 
 something of my father's public work outside the 
 diocese. When in London, he was constant in his 
 attendance at the Bounty Board ; and on the Eccle- 
 
 1 The occasion mentioned in my father's letter, quoted on p. 134, can hardly 
 be called an exception. The allusion in that letter is to my father's unsuc- 
 cessful candidature for a London preachership, to which no one could be 
 appointed who had not allowed his name to be brought before the electors. 
 
LONDON WORK. 193 
 
 siastical Commission his business talents were the 
 admiration of his brethren on the Bench. One of 
 them, Dr. Thorold, of Rochester, who followed my 
 father at St. Giles's, wrote an obituary notice for 
 Church Bells, in which he says 
 
 As a speaker and debater he was cogent, vigorous, and 
 sometimes impassioned. His striking presence, singularly 
 beautiful countenance, and melodious voice, winged his 
 words. One adjective exactly characterises his administra- 
 tion habilis. He was one of the ablest men that ever sat 
 on the Bench ; and the writer of this notice well remembers 
 once sitting with him at a Trust meeting, and observing 
 how the Junior Optime, by his quickness of resource, de- 
 cision of character, and prompt acumen, distanced in his 
 faculty of business a double first class man at his side, as 
 completely as a greyhound would run past a cob. He saw 
 instantly the kernel of a question, went at it, and, when it 
 was possible, settled it. 
 
 My father usually spent the months of May and 
 June in London, ever ready to preach for charitable 
 objects ; and no bishop figured more often at the 
 meetings of the great societies in Exeter Hall. 
 
 The old-fashioned prejudice against the appear- 
 ance of bishops at such meetings has long passed 
 away, and the Evangelical clergy no longer mono- 
 polise the month of May with meetings of an exclu- 
 sively party character. If the Evangelical bishops 
 led the way, the great body of their brethren now 
 take their place as platform speakers ; but none have 
 exercised a more powerful influence over the public 
 of Exeter Hall than he who gained their veneration 
 as Rector of St. Giles's, and made the name of the 
 Bishop of Ripon a household word throughout the 
 Evangelical world. 
 
 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 OPINIONS ON QUESTIONS OF THE DAY. 
 
 Opinions on various subjects " Essays and Reviews " Letter to a 
 clergyman and extract from Charge on rationalistic interpretation 
 of Holy Scripture A subtle connection between rationalism and 
 superstition Condemnation of Ritualism Letter to a clergyman 
 Criticism on an erroneous definition of the " Real Presence " 
 Wears the cope in Ripon Cathedral Dislike of prosecution for 
 ecclesiastical offences An eloquent appeal for personal holiness 
 in the clergy. 
 
 IT has been often noticed that during the whole of 
 my father's long episcopate, the diocese was quite 
 free from any of those vexatious prosecutions for 
 ritualistic practices which excited elsewhere so much 
 ill feeling, and are now generally condemned. And 
 yet the diocese of Ripon contains representatives of 
 all parties within the Church, and there were times 
 when it needed much patience and forbearance to 
 prevent the combustible elements from bursting into 
 flame. 
 
 People who knew how strong my father's per- 
 sonal convictions were, and how heartily he disliked 
 whatever he thought was disloyalty to the principles 
 of the Reformation, wondered at this result. The 
 limits of this book would be unduly extended were a 
 detailed account to be given of the different questions 
 
"ESSAYS AND REVIEWS." 
 
 which came before him ; but it is only right to show 
 what were my father's opinions on some of those 
 matters which still perplex the Church, and how he 
 dealt with various cases of complaint. 
 
 In the autumn of 1860 was published the once 
 celebrated volume entitled " Essays and Reviews." 
 In one book were bound up some articles to which, 
 in themselves, little exception could be taken, with 
 others which were perceived to strike at the founda- 
 tion of the Faith ; and the publication, as a whole, gave 
 rise to the gravest apprehension. My father joined 
 with the other bishops in uttering a solemn protest 
 against the book, but expressly declined to be a 
 party to the prosecution of the authors. In answer 
 to a clergyman in the diocese, who forwarded a 
 petition on the subject, my father wrote 
 
 My dear Sir, I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your 
 letter of the i6th instant, which has reached me by this 
 morning's post. 
 
 I do not believe there is a single clergyman in this 
 diocese who can have any doubt as to the opinion which 
 I entertain respecting the volume entitled " Essays and 
 Reviews." I have never attempted to conceal the ab- 
 horrence with which I regard the spirit of irreverence and 
 unbelief with which the truth of God's Word is handled in 
 that pernicious book. 
 
 At the same time, and with special reference to the line 
 of conduct which you suggest at the present crisis, you 
 must allow me to say that it is in my judgment a point 
 of practical wisdom to refrain from a course of active 
 opposition, in the face of an absolute certainty that such 
 opposition will be of no avail whatever to avert the result 
 at which it is aimed. 
 
 Our best resource, under existing circumstances, is 
 earnest prayer that God may be pleased to overrule for 
 
196 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 good the many trials with which the Church is at this time 
 afflicted. 
 
 Believe me, 
 
 Very faithfully yours, 
 
 R. RlPON. 
 
 In the Charge of 1861, after alluding to the pro- 
 posed revision of the Book of Common Prayer, which 
 was then desired by those who were anxious to be 
 rid of the Athanasian Creed, etc. a proposal which 
 he emphatically condemned my father went on 
 to say- 
 Important, however, as the foregoing topics are, they 
 are trifling in comparison of the perils by which we are 
 threatened from a different quarter. I refer to the dissemi- 
 nation, on the part of eminently learned and distinguished 
 members of our Church, of opinions which go to unsettle 
 all the grand fundamentals of the Christian Faith, which 
 scoff at the idea of a direct inspiration from God, exalt the 
 human intellect to the position of sitting in judgment on 
 revealed truth, discard the doctrine of the Atonement, dis- 
 credit the truth of prophecy, and disparage the evidence 
 of miracle. 
 
 It is, indeed, cause for humiliation and reproach that 
 opinions such as these should have emanated from 
 members of our own Church, upon several of whom the 
 solemn vows of ordination rest to dispense faithfully 
 the Word of God, and to administer the Holy Sacraments. 
 We have surely fallen on perilous times when ordained 
 ministers, who have professed to subscribe willingly and 
 ex animo our Thirty-nine Articles, and all things contained 
 in them, can reconcile it to their sworn allegiance to the 
 Church at whose altars they minister, to propagate opinions 
 to which avowed infidels turn in confirmation of their 
 sceptical theories. I fully agree in what has been so ably 
 and truly said of the book to which these remarks mainly 
 refer, by one whose judgment is entitled to great considera- 
 
INSPIRATION OF HOLY SCRIPTURE. 1 97 
 
 tion : " I say, without the shadow of a doubt, that the 
 book does tend and minister to infidelity, and to nothing 
 else. It tends neither to real soundness and clearness of 
 thought, nor yet to real truth, nor yet to a high standard 
 of action ; it will not add one to the Kingdom of God ; it 
 will not convince a single gainsayer of any one Christian 
 truth ; it will not win over to Christ a single enemy ; it 
 will not confirm a single waverer ; it will not satisfy a 
 single doubt, or solve a single difficulty ; it will but suggest 
 doubts where they have been hitherto unthought of, and 
 confirm them where they already exist." l 
 
 It is not my intention here to detain you by any refuta- 
 tion of these pernicious writings, still less to indulge in any 
 harsh expressions concerning their unhappy authors ; but 
 I should be unfaithful to my office were I not to deliver a 
 warning against them. You will find it common to all the 
 writings to which I have referred to call in question the 
 authority of the Bible as the inspired Word of God, to 
 overlook the fundamental doctrine of the corruption of 
 human nature, and to invalidate the doctrine of the Atone- 
 ment of our Blessed Lord and Saviour. Be it your con- 
 stant endeavour, my Reverend Brethren, to set these 
 doctrines plainly forth, and the rather because of the 
 assault which has been directed against them. Uphold 
 the doctrine of the Inspiration ; show in what sense you 
 regard the Bible to be an inspired record ; not because you 
 take it to be the production of men of brilliant genius, but 
 because you believe it to have been written by men who 
 spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. The dis- 
 tinction between the Inspiration of Scripture and that of 
 any other production of human intellect is not a difference 
 of degree, it is a difference of kind. In the imagery of 
 Homer, or the rapturous flights of Milton, I recognise the 
 play of marvellous intellect; but this is as remote as 
 possible from the Inspiration of the Bible. In the one case 
 the production is human ; in the other, Divine. In the one 
 
 1 " Supremacy of Scripture : an Examination, etc., in a Letter to the Rev. 
 Dr. Temple." By William Edward Jelf, D.D. 
 
198 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 case, I may criticise, censure, or approve. In the other, I 
 hear the Voice of the ever-living Jehovah, which it must be 
 at my peril to disregard. You cannot be too careful to 
 point out that while it comes legitimately within the pro- 
 vince of reason to collect and to weigh the evidences 
 upon which the truth of Inspiration depends, having once 
 established the point that the Bible is Divinely inspired, 
 our only attitude with regard to its statements must ever 
 afterwards be that of reverential submission. 
 
 Dwell likewise upon the doctrine of human corruption. 
 Let there be no reservation on this point. Scripture is 
 plain : be our expositions of Scripture plain also. Man is 
 by nature alienated from God, afar off, an enemy in his 
 mind by wicked works the heart deceitful above all 
 things, and desperately wicked the carnal mind at enmity 
 against God, the understanding darkened, the will per- 
 verted, and the moral powers enfeebled. "The natural 
 man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they 
 are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, 
 because they are spiritually discerned/' The reception of 
 such Scriptural statements as these will leave no plea for 
 the arrogant assumption of " a verifying faculty " in man 
 qualifying him to sit in judgment upon the truth of 
 Revelation. 
 
 In the Charge of 1864, after dealing as usual 
 with diocesan details, my father went on to trace, 
 in a passage of much force, the subtle connection 
 between two apparently opposite tendencies which 
 he equally condemned : 
 
 Within the memory of most of those whom I am now 
 addressing, two opposite schools of theology have displayed 
 within the bosom of our Church the greatest activity. 
 They are still striving for ascendency. The distinguishing 
 feature of the one is the exaltation of authority ; the dis- 
 tinguishing feature of the other is the exaltation of intellect. 
 By the one class of theologians, implicit, almost unquestion- 
 
TWO OPPOSITE DANGERS. 1 99 
 
 ing obedience is claimed on behalf of the Church, on the 
 ground of her Divine original ; her Ministry derived by an 
 unbroken series of links from the Apostles themselves ; her 
 right of administering the Sacraments, her traditions, her 
 guardianship of Holy Writ ; her office both to keep and to 
 expound the mysteries of Divine truth. By the other class 
 of theologians, this claim on the ground of exclusive 
 authority is, to a great extent, if not altogether, set aside. 
 Truth is to be tested by the powers of human reason. 
 Revelation itself must submit to the same searching pro- 
 cess of investigation as that by which the facts of profane 
 history or of science are weighed and determined. Con- 
 science is elevated to a position of pre-eminence over the 
 revealed Word of God, and a claim is set up on the part 
 of man himself to the possession of a verifying faculty, by 
 the exercise of which he may determine what is to be 
 accepted and what rejected, even in the volume of Revela- 
 tion itself. 
 
 How far it may be the case that secret affinities exist 
 between these two apparently antagonistic schools of 
 theology is a question by no means devoid of interest. 
 It might not be difficult to show that the natural con- 
 sequence of claiming more than is due on the side of 
 authority is to provoke resistance to every species of 
 control. Unnatural restraint almost inevitably leads to 
 unbridled licence. It is therefore more than possible that, 
 with all their palpable divergencies, the two schools of 
 theology to which I have referred have this relation to 
 each other. The extravagant claim on the footing of 
 authority which has been set up by ithe one has prepared 
 the way for the extravagant exaltation of reason, as 
 independent of authority, by the other. 
 
 But in each case the real root of the evil is to be found 
 in the want of due reverence for the supreme authority 
 of Scripture as a Divine revelation. In each case, singu- 
 larly enough, the practical result is the same as regards 
 the dishonour which is done to the Word of God. The 
 disciples of the one school maintain that we are indebted 
 
200 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 to the Church for the possession of the Scriptures, and 
 that, independent of her teaching, we are not at liberty to 
 interpret their meaning. The disciples of the other school 
 maintain that, owing to the extraordinary advance of 
 historical, geographical, or scientific research, the progress 
 of human intellect, and the freer range of thought, the 
 time has arrived when the facts and even the doctrines of 
 the Bible must be submitted to methods of trial and 
 investigation similar to those which are applied to verify 
 the conclusions of the historian or philosopher. Thus, in 
 either case, the fundamental truth of the supreme authority 
 of Revelation is practically obscured or denied, and we 
 are in peril of being drifted into superstition on the one 
 hand, or swallowed up in the vortex of infidelity on the 
 other. 
 
 In 1867 my father writes : 
 
 When I addressed you at my last Visitation, the 
 necessity was laid upon me to warn you against the 
 dangers to which we were exposed from the attempt to 
 shake our confidence in the veracity of God's Word. To- 
 day, it is my no less solemn duty to lift up a voice of 
 warning against a tide of error, which threatens to destroy 
 the heritage of truth, which our forefathers recovered by 
 the battle of the Reformation. ... If I use great plainness 
 of speech, it is, nevertheless, my desire to fulfil the Apostolic 
 injunction, ' AArj&uovrec $e iv aycnrrj. 
 
 It is always painful to have to speak in terms of censure 
 of any of our brethren ; but the interests of truth are 
 paramount to every other consideration ; nor should it be 
 forgotten that personal piety and zeal do not afford a 
 criterion by which to determine that a man is sound in the 
 Faith. Amongst the disseminators of error have often been 
 found men of a blameless life, of untiring energy, and of 
 intense religious feeling. Whilst, then, we admit the zeal 
 and devotedness which characterises many of those who 
 have taken a prominent part in controversies which now 
 
RITUALISM. 201 
 
 agitate the Church, we cannot allow their personal ex- 
 cellence to blind our eyes to the pernicious character of the 
 agitation with which they have become identified. 
 
 Foremost amongst these matters of controversy to 
 which I allude is the so-called question of Ritualism. We 
 all admit that ritual is an essential feature of public 
 worship. It was prescribed under the ancient dispensa- 
 tion by God Himself; and although the Jewish ritual 
 together with the whole ceremonial system, of which it 
 was a part, has been abolished, yet it must be clear to 
 any one who reflects on the subject, that an established 
 religion can scarcely exist without an appointed ritual. 
 Far be it from me, then, to disparage the importance of a 
 due regard to rites and ceremonies, which, although they 
 have been devised by man, are still reserved, according to 
 the statement in our Book of Common Prayer, l< as well 
 for a decent order in the Church, (for the which they were at 
 first devised) as because they pertain to edification, where- 
 unto all things done in the Church (as the Apostle teacheth) 
 ought to be referred." 
 
 Within the last few years, however, we have witnessed 
 a movement in favour of ritualistic observances which has 
 taken the country by surprise, led to much controversy, 
 and aroused both the indignation and alarm of many of 
 the best friends of the Church. Whether or not this move- 
 ment is only the natural development of principles which 
 have for many years past been industriously propagated by 
 an active party within the Church, it is beyond dispute 
 that it involves a strange innovation upon the established 
 usage of the past three hundred years. The promoters of 
 it claim to have discovered that the legal vestments to be 
 worn by the officiating minister in the Celebration of the 
 Holy Communion are such as, to say the least, have been 
 in disuse if not altogether unknown to the Church from the 
 time of the Reformation. Not only this ; changes have 
 been introduced in the internal arrangement of churches, 
 and in the mode of conducting Divine Service, which con- 
 vey to all ordinary observers the appearance of a close 
 
202 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 and studied assimilation of the ritual of our Church to that 
 of the Church of Rome. The costly and elaborate decora- 
 tion of the Communion-table ; the blaze of candles in broad 
 daylight when the Holy Communion is celebrated ; the 
 practice of mixing water with the wine in the Lord's 
 Supper ; the elevation of the Elements in the act of Conse- 
 cration, and the various postures assumed by the officiating 
 minister, are amongst the innovations, the introduction of 
 which in some churches have shocked the minds of many 
 who love and reverence the Church of England as a pure 
 and reformed branch of Christ's Holy Catholic Church, and 
 are not willing to see her simple ritual exchanged for the 
 imposing ceremonial of the Church of Rome. As regards 
 some of these innovations there is confessedly a degree of 
 ambiguity in the law. It may or may not be true that the 
 adoption of these obsolete vestments is legally permissible. 
 Opposite opinions on this point have been given by lawyers 
 of great eminence and learning. At the same time, I think 
 it should occur to those who are eager to introduce innova- 
 tions of this kind that it must tend to the entire subversion 
 of due order and discipline if individual clergymen, acting 
 on their own judgment, may exercise the liberty to disturb 
 the uniformity which the custom of three centuries has 
 established. Such persons might do well to consider the 
 forcible words in our Book of Common Prayer, " Although 
 the keeping or omitting of a Ceremony, in itself considered, 
 is but a small thing ; yet the wilful and contemptuous trans- 
 gression and breaking of a common order and discipline is 
 no small offence before God. Let all things be done among 
 you, saith St. Paul, in a seemly and due order : The appoint- 
 ment of the which order pertaineth not to private men ; 
 therefore no man ought to take in hand, nor presume to 
 appoint or alter any publick or common order in Christ's 
 Church, except he be lawfully called and authorized 
 thereunto." 
 
 Now, the adoption of these novel vestments has received 
 almost every kind of censure short of a direct judicial con- 
 demnation. It stands condemned by the custom of three 
 
DOCTRINAL SIGNIFICANCE. 203 
 
 hundred years ; by the almost unanimous voice of the 
 rulers of the Church ; by the Convocations of both Pro- 
 vinces ; and, lastly, a Royal Commission, appointed to make 
 inquiry concerning this and other matters, has reported, 
 " that it is expedient to restrain in the public services of 
 the United Church of England and Ireland, all variations 
 in respect of vesture from that which has long been the 
 established usage of the said United Church." It remains 
 to be seen how far this Report from a Commission so con- 
 stituted as to afford the most ample opportunity to the 
 Ritualists for the full exposition of their opinions, will have 
 any weight with those of whom it is no breach of charity 
 to say they have manifested hitherto very little disposition 
 to defer to advice or counsel from those in authority. 
 
 But it is transparent to every one that the real import- 
 ance of this Ritualistic movement is not to be measured by 
 what only meets the eye. The colour and shape of a vest- 
 ment may be in itself utterly insignificant. But if the 
 vestment be made a symbol of a particular set of doctrines 
 or opinions, then it is no longer a trivial matter. It is this 
 which renders the whole question now under consideration 
 one of such serious moment. There can no longer be any 
 doubt that the revived Ritualism of the present day is 
 meant to be the exponent of certain doctrines which its 
 advocates are eager to restore to the Church of England. 
 We are not left to infer this merely from manuals of devo- 
 tion, hymns, and a host of other publications which have 
 streamed from the press under the sanction of names which 
 are identified with the movement, but with singular open- 
 ness and candour the fact has been again and again 
 avowed. Thus, " Ritual," we are told, " is the expression 
 of doctrine and a witness to the Sacramental system of the 
 Catholic religion." * Again, " The whole purpose of this 
 great revival," it is affirmed, " has been to eliminate the 
 dreary Protestantism of the Hanoverian period and restore 
 the glory of Catholic worship. The churches are restored 
 after the mediaeval pattern, and our Ritual must accord 
 
 1 " Directorium Anglicanum." 
 
204 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 with the Catholic standard." l And in language still more 
 bold and explicit, another organ of the Ritualistic party 
 writes thus : " There is no attempt to disguise the fact 
 that the Eucharistic Vestments are adopted as significant 
 of the Sacrifice of the Mass, and the Church Times justly 
 regards them in this light." 2 Nothing could be further 
 from my wish than to misrepresent in the smallest particu- 
 lar the character of this movement. I am willing to hope 
 and believe that many have been drawn in by the current 
 who are little aware of its dangerous direction ; but I doubt 
 if any one can attentively examine the subject and deny 
 that the questions at issue in this whole Ritualistic revival 
 are questions of doctrine, and not of mere dress or cere- 
 monial. 
 
 Nor can there be any real difficulty in determining 
 what these questions are. One point is self-evident : that 
 in some way or other they all centre in the Holy Com- 
 munion. " The fact/' as it has been justly observed, " which 
 presents itself most obviously on the face of the whole 
 matter is the change which has been made in the adminis- 
 tration of the Lord's Supper ; the Communion Service of 
 the Prayer-book is set, as it were, in the frame of the 
 Roman Catholic ceremonial, with all the accompaniments 
 of the high and chanted Mass vestments, lights, incense, 
 posture, and gestures of the officiating clergy. It is inter- 
 polated with corresponding hymns, and supplemented by 
 private prayers translated from the Roman Missal." 3 It 
 is abundantly clear that the doctrines which it is the design 
 of this Ritualistic movement to assert, relate to the nature 
 of our Lord's Presence in the Holy Communion and to the 
 sacrificial aspect of this sacred ordinance. 
 
 It therefore becomes of the utmost importance to 
 ascertain how far the plain and obvious teaching of the 
 Church of England is in favour of or against the doctrine 
 of the " Real Presence," and of the sacrificial nature of the 
 
 1 "The Church and the World." 
 
 2 Leader in the Church Times, June I, 1867. 
 
 3 Charge, by the Bishop of St. David's, 1866. 
 
THE REAL PRESENCE. 205 
 
 Lord's Supper, as these doctrines are maintained by the 
 advocates of modern Ritualism. In the present controversy 
 all turns upon this point. It is the bounden duty of the 
 clergy to examine how far the doctrines in question can or 
 cannot be maintained consistently with the loyalty we owe 
 to the Church of England. 
 
 Now, the ultimate standard of appeal in all matters of 
 faith is, according to our Sixth Article, " Holy Scripture." 
 " Whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, 
 is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed 
 as an Article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary 
 to salvation." At the same time the standard of doctrine, 
 which our Church holds and teaches, is to be found in the 
 Thirty-nine Articles and in the Book of Common Prayer. 
 It is assumed that both the Articles and the Liturgy are 
 agreeable to God's Word. The clergy are bound by the 
 standard which they exhibit. They are not at liberty to 
 teach otherwise. I have yet to learn how a clergyman 
 can with a clear conscience retain office in the Church of 
 England unless he fully holds and maintains the doctrine 
 which is plainly taught in the Liturgy and the Articles of 
 the Church. Hence the inquiry, which is forced upon us 
 by the present aspect of the Ritualist question, is simply 
 this : What is the teaching of the Church of England as 
 contained in the Articles and in the Book of Common 
 Prayer concerning the nature of our Lord's Presence in the 
 Holy Communion ? Does that teaching support or con- 
 tradict the views of those who maintain the Real Presence 
 in the Sacramental Elements and the sacrificial nature of 
 the Holy Eucharist? 
 
 Now, it is not unimportant to remark that the term 
 " Real Presence " does not once occur in the Prayer-book. 
 There is a sense, no doubt, in which our Church maintains 
 that Christ is really present with His faithful disciples in 
 the Holy Communion. It is a most precious truth, and 
 full of comfort to every true Christian, that our Blessed 
 Lord, seated though He is at the right hand of the Majesty 
 in the heavens, is present in that sacred ordinance, through 
 
206 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 the operation of the Holy Ghost in the heart of every faith- 
 ful communicant. And the teaching of our Church is most 
 explicit against the notion that the Sacraments are merely 
 bare signs, and in no sense means of grace, for the Twenty- 
 fifth Article affirms, " The Sacraments ordained of Christ 
 be not only badges or tokens of Christian men's profession, 
 but rather they be certain sure witnesses, and effectual signs 
 of grace, and God's good will towards us, by the which He 
 doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken but 
 also strengthen and confirm our Faith in Him." 
 
 But this is an essentially different doctrine from that 
 which affirms that Christ is present in or with the Sacra- 
 mental Elements themselves by virtue of the act of Con- 
 secration, and more particularly if this view of the matter 
 is pushed to its necessary consequence, that every com- 
 municant who partakes of the Sacramental Elements is a 
 partaker of the Body and Blood of Christ. For this latter 
 doctrine of the " Real Presence," whatever support it may 
 be supposed to obtain in the writings of the Fathers, I can 
 find no support in the Articles or the Liturgy ; but, on the 
 contrary, I do find in those formularies statements which 
 are clearly inconsistent with the maintenance of it. 
 
 Thus in the first exhortation appointed to be read at 
 the time of the celebration of the Holy Communion, we 
 have this hypothetical form of expression, " For as the 
 benefit is great, IF with a true penitent heart and lively faith 
 we receive that holy Sacrament ; for THEN we spiritually 
 eat the Flesh of Christ, and drink His Blood." According 
 to this language the reception of the Body and Blood of 
 Christ is evidently contingent on the possession of repent- 
 ance and faith, and it is a spiritual participation to which 
 reference is made. Surely this is inconsistent with the 
 idea of a " Real Presence " in or with the Elements them- 
 selves. 
 
 Again : in the prayer of Consecration we have this 
 petition, " Grant that we receiving these Thy creatures of 
 bread and wine, according to thy Son our Saviour Jesus 
 Christ's holy institution, in remembrance of His Death and 
 
EVIDENCE OF THE LITURGY. 207 
 
 Passion, may be partakers of His most Blessed Body and 
 Blood." No words could more distinctly imply the possi- 
 bility of partaking of the Consecrated Elements without 
 necessarily partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ ; yet 
 how could this be the case if by virtue of the act of Conse- 
 cration Christ becomes present in or with the Sacramental 
 Elements ? 
 
 The form of words which the minister is directed to use 
 in delivering the Consecrated Elements is also very signifi- 
 cant : " The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was given 
 for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life. 
 Take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died for thee, 
 and feed on Him in thy heart by faith with thanksgiving." 
 The first clause directs our thoughts to the Body which 
 was given, to the Sacrifice which was presented once for 
 all on Calvary. The second clause directs our thoughts 
 to the Sacramental sign, and bids us take and eat this in 
 remembrance that Christ died. Memory relates not to 
 what is present, but to what is absent ; the bread is to be 
 eaten in remembrance, and we are bidden to feed on Christ, 
 not with the mouth, but in the heart, by faith with thanks- 
 giving. 
 
 Again : what can be more explicit than the statement 
 which occurs in the rubric at the end of the service for the 
 Holy Communion ? " The Sacramental Bread and Wine 
 remain still in their very natural substances, and therefore 
 may not be adored ; (for that were Idolatry, to be abhorred 
 of all faithful Christians ;) and the natural Body and Blood 
 of our Saviour Christ are in Heaven, and NOT HERE ; it 
 being against the truth of Christ's natural Body to be at 
 one time in more places than one." It is wholly irrecon- 
 cilable with this plain statement to maintain that the Body 
 of Christ is so present in the Sacramental Elements, that It 
 may be eaten by the mouth of the communicant. 
 
 On the other hand, our Church distinctly holds that 
 there may be a reception of the Body and Blood of Christ 
 without any participation whatever of the Sacramental 
 Elements ; for in the rubric at the end of the office for the 
 
208 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 Communion of the Sick, the words are as follow : " But if 
 a man, either by reason of extremity of sickness, or for 
 want of warning in due time to the Curate, or for lack of 
 company to receive with him, or by any other just impedi- 
 ment, do not receive the Sacrament of Christ's Body and 
 Blood, the Curate shall instruct him, that if he truly repent 
 him of his sins, and stedfastly believe that Jesus Christ 
 hath suffered death upon the Cross for him, and shed His 
 Blood for his redemption, earnestly remembering the bene- 
 fits he hath thereby, and giving Him hearty thanks there- 
 fore, he doth eat and drink the Body and Blood of our 
 Saviour Christ profitably to his soul's health, although he 
 do not receive the Sacrament with his mouth." 
 
 The doctrine of the " Real Presence " in the Sacramental 
 Elements is inconsistent with the definition of a Sacrament 
 as given in the Catechism. A Sacrament is there defined 
 to be "an outward and visible sign of an inward and 
 spiritual grace given unto us, ordained by Christ Himself, as 
 a means whereby we receive the same, and a pledge to 
 assure us thereof." Now the word " Sacrament," as applied 
 to the elements in the Lord's Supper, can only refer to the 
 Consecrated Elements. The bread and wine are clearly not 
 Sacramental till after Consecration. According, then, to the 
 definition given in the Catechism these Consecrated Ele- 
 ments are " an outward and visible sign." If, however, the 
 Body and Blood of Christ are in or with the Elements on 
 the Holy Table, the sign ceases to be a sign through being 
 changed into the thing signified, and thus the nature of the 
 Sacrament is overthrown. 
 
 The Catechism again distinctly teaches that it is the 
 faithful by whom the Body and Blood of Christ are verily 
 and indeed taken and received, not according to the words 
 there employed, " in the Sacramental Elements," but " in 
 the Lord's Supper." 
 
 From the Liturgy and the Catechism I turn to the 
 Articles. The Twenty-eighth Article states, "The Body 
 of Christ is given, taken, and eaten, in the Supper, only 
 after an heavenly and spiritual manner. And the means 
 
ARTICLES AND HOMILIES. 2OQ 
 
 whereby the Body of Christ is received and eaten in the 
 Supper is faith." Again : the Twenty-ninth Article states, 
 " The wicked, and such as be void of a lively faith, although 
 they do carnally and visibly press with their teeth (as Saint 
 Augustine saith) the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of 
 Christ, yet in no wise are they partakers of Christ : but 
 rather, to their condemnation, do eat and drink the sign or 
 Sacrament of so great a thing." If language has any mean- 
 ing, surely these Articles plainly declare that it is by faith 
 only, and spiritually, we can feed on Christ in the Eucharist, 
 and that the wicked are not partakers in any sense of Christ 
 in the Lord's Supper, even though they do eat and drink 
 the Sacramental Elements. 
 
 If we turn to the Homilies, we find statements to the 
 same effect. In the first part of the " Homily of the worthy 
 receiving and reverent esteeming of the Sacrament of the 
 Body and Blood of Christ," the following passage occurs : 
 " It is well known that the meat we seek for in this Supper 
 is spiritual food, the nourishment of our soul ; a heavenly 
 refection and not earthly ; an invisible meat and not bodily ; 
 a ghostly substance and not carnal ; so that to think with- 
 out faith we may enjoy the eating and drinking thereof, or 
 that that is the fruition thereof, is but to dream a gross 
 carnal feeding, basely objecting, and binding ourselves to 
 the elements and creatures ; whereas, by the Council of 
 Nicene, we ought to lift up our minds by faith, and, leaving 
 these inferior and earthly things, there seek it where the 
 Sun of Righteousness ever shineth. Take then this lesson, 
 O thou that art desirous of this table, of Emissenus, a 
 godly father, that when thou goest up to the reverend 
 Communion to be satisfied with spiritual meats, thou look 
 up with faith to the Holy Body and Blood of thy God, thou 
 marvel with reverence, thou touch It with the mind, thou 
 receive It with the hand of thy heart, and thou take It fully 
 with thy inward man." 
 
 These passages, when taken in their plain and obvious 
 meaning, are inconsistent with the belief of the " Real 
 Presence " in the Sacramental Elements ; and I am con- 
 
 p 
 
210 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 firmed in this conclusion when I call to mind what many 
 of our greatest Divines have written on this subject. At 
 the period of the Reformation, it is well known that the 
 great controversy with the Church of Rome centred in 
 the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. Many in the noble 
 army of martyrs, who loved not their lives unto death, 
 died rather than admit the doctrine that the Elements are 
 changed in the Lord's Supper, by the act of Consecration, 
 into the Body and Blood of Christ. I admit, of course, the 
 distinction between the Romish doctrine of Transubstanti- 
 ation and the doctrine of the " Real Presence," as main- 
 tained by some who still remain in communion with the 
 Church of England. At the same time I must say that 
 the terms in which this latter doctrine is avowed are such 
 as to render it extremely difficult for ordinary minds to 
 detect wherein it differs from the former. Arguments 
 against the one apply with equal force against the other. 
 The same terms in which the Reformers of the sixteenth 
 century contended against the Romish error might be 
 applied against the doctrine of the " Real Presence " as 
 asserted by some at the present day. Thus, Bishop Ridley 
 maintained that the Body of Christ is " communicated and 
 given, not to the bread and wine, but to them which 
 worthily do receive the Sacrament ; " and when Archbishop 
 Cranmer was asked, " When Christ said, ' Eat ye/ whether 
 meant He by the mouth or by faith ? " his reply was, " He 
 meant that we should receive the Body by faith, the Bread 
 by the mouth." 
 
 Take, again, the testimony of Richard Hooker : " The 
 Real Presence of Christ's most Blessed Body and Blood is 
 not, therefore, to be sought for in the Sacrament, but in 
 the worthy receiver of the Sacrament. And with this the 
 very order of our Saviour's words agreeth. First, ' Take, 
 and eat ; ' then, ' This is my Body which was broken for 
 you.' First, ' Drink ye all of this ; ' then followeth, ' This 
 is my Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many 
 for the remission of sins.' I see not which way it should 
 be gathered from the words of Christ when and where the 
 
BISHOP JEREMY TAYLOR. 211 
 
 bread is His Body or the cup His Blood, but only in the 
 very heart and soul of him which receiveth them." 
 
 Bishop Jeremy Taylor writes : " By ' spiritually ' they 
 (i.e., the Romanists) mean present after the manner of a 
 spirit ; by spiritually we mean 'present to our spirits only;' 
 id., so as Christ is not present to any other sense but that 
 of faith, or spiritual susception ; but their way makes His 
 Body to be present no way but that which is impossible 
 and implies a contradiction ; a body not after the manner 
 of a body, a body like a spirit ; a body without a body ; 
 and a sacrifice of body and blood without blood, corpus 
 incorporeum, cruor incruentus. They say that Christ's Body 
 is truly present there as it was upon the Cross, but not after 
 the manner of all or any body, but after that manner of 
 being as an Angel is in a place ; that's their ' spiritually ; ' 
 but we, by the ' real spiritual presence ' of Christ, do under- 
 stand Christ to be present as the Spirit of God is present 
 in the hearts of the faithful, by blessing and grace, and 
 THIS IS ALL WHICH WE MEAN BESIDES THE TROPICAL 
 AND FIGURATIVE PRESENCE." 
 
 To my own mind the conclusion is evident, whether 
 you examine the Book of Common Prayer or testimony 
 such as that which I have quoted from the writings of men 
 who, by the depth of their learning, and the fervour of their 
 piety, shed lustre on the age in which they lived, and on 
 the Church to which they belonged, that if we are to 
 understand by the Doctrine of the Real Presence that 
 Christ is in any sense bodily present, by virtue of the act 
 of Consecration, in or with the Sacramental Elements, this 
 is a doctrine which is not maintained in the Articles or the 
 formularies of the Church of England, nor can it be held 
 consistently with those standards of belief. 
 
 The Bishops are often rebuked for trying to 
 enforce the law in the case of those who err by 
 excess, while they leave without rebuke those who 
 
212 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 err by defect ; and it is sometimes said that they do 
 not themselves show an example of obedience. 
 
 My father was anxious to leave no room for such 
 a charge. The celebrated Purchas Judgment called 
 attention to the Twenty-fourth Canon, which runs as 
 follows : 
 
 In all Cathedral and Collegiate Churches the Holy 
 Communion shall be administered upon principal feast- 
 days, sometimes by the Bishop if he be present, and some- 
 times by the Dean, and at sometime by a Canon or Pre- 
 bendary, the Principal Minister using a decent Cope, and 
 being assisted with the Gospeller and Epistler agreeably 
 according to the Advertisements published Anno 7 Eliz. 
 
 My father felt it his duty to obey this judgment 
 in his Cathedral, and secured the concurrence of 
 Dean McNeile. The writer well remembers the 
 first Christmas Day when the Bishop and Dean 
 both appeared in the Minster, arrayed in purple 
 copes. The Bishop was the Celebrant, and the 
 Dean was the preacher. The latter prefaced his 
 sermon with words to this effect : 
 
 Good people, you will be surprised to see your Bishop 
 and myself arrayed in these unwonted vestments, but we 
 have been reminded that it is our duty to wear them, and 
 we wish to set an example of obedience to the law. 
 
 The people of Ripon were not likely to accuse 
 either Bishop or Dean of a newborn love of eccle- 
 siastical millinery, but his ready compliance with the 
 law as then interpreted certainly strengthened my 
 father's hands in appealing to the clergy to accept 
 the decision of the court. My father continued to wear 
 the cope on all great festivals, when he took part in 
 the Celebration of the Holy Communion at Ripon ; 
 
THE COPE AT RIP&N. 
 
 and I believe three or four other bishops, including 
 the late Dr. Jackson, of London, adopted the same 
 use. It will be remembered that Bishop Eraser, 
 when challenged to do the same, endeavoured to 
 show that the cope was represented by the "chimere" 
 which forms a part of the usual episcopal robes. 
 This is a question for experts in ritual on which 
 the writer is not prepared to express an opinion ; 
 but the Bishop's attitude in the matter showed a 
 readiness to sacrifice personal feeling and a deference 
 to authority which is worth recording, for it was 
 thoroughly characteristic. 
 
 In several cases, when " aggrieved parish- 
 ioners " complained to the Bishop of changes in the 
 accustomed order of service, he was very successful 
 in acting as mediator between the clergyman and 
 his people. He asked them to show a spirit of 
 mutual forbearance, and often the clergy showed 
 their gratitude for his fatherly admonitions by yield- 
 ing to his request. My father very much preferred 
 to settle these and other disputes by a personal 
 interview. Of these interviews of course no record 
 remains, but the following letter, written to a clergy- 
 man in the diocese, who has since died, illustrates 
 the way in which he treated cases of the sort. It is 
 only fair to say that the particular instance was one 
 in which the clergyman had introduced some of 
 those eccentricities of Ritualism which go far beyond 
 what is now practised even in so-called advanced 
 churches. The church was attractive to sightseers 
 collected from a distance, while the parishioners 
 were alienated and ordinary parochial work was at 
 a standstill : 
 
214 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 The Palace, Ripon, January 19, 1876. 
 
 My dear Sir, I am sorry to find from your own account 
 that the statement which I forwarded to you is correct. 
 I had hoped that you would have followed the advice which 
 I gave you a few months since, not to introduce any novel- 
 ties into the mode of conducting public worship in your 
 church, without consulting me. 
 
 I should be the last to desire to abridge any liberty 
 which the law allows to the clergy, but I think, upon calm 
 reflection, you will see that it is surely not right for indi- 
 vidual clergymen to make changes of this kind in dress 
 and in the mode of celebrating public worship, without any 
 regard to the general usage of the Church, or to the judg- 
 ment of their own diocesan. 
 
 It may be to some extent for the present an open 
 question how far the vestments which you have adopted are 
 legal or otherwise. It is certainly not clear that a bishop 
 has power to forbid their use. The same might be said 
 of a variety of other points which the law has not par- 
 ticularised. But it is an ungenerous use to make of the 
 liberty which the Church allows to her members, to adopt 
 a practice which is clearly foreign to the spirit of our Church 
 system, even though its observance may not be expressly 
 forbidden. I cannot entirely regard these innovations of 
 dress as merely circumstantial and non-essential. In the 
 eye of the Church at large they are almost inseparably 
 associated with tendencies to Romish error and super- 
 stition, and I do not believe it to be possible for you or 
 any other clergyman who makes such innovations to acquit 
 himself in the judgment of the Church at large of an 
 attempt to assimilate our own forms of worship to those 
 which our Reformers repudiated. But even if these matters 
 were altogether non-essential, should not this constitute a 
 strong reason for being guided by the authority to which, 
 both at your ordination and upon subsequent occasions, 
 you have promised to yield obedience ? In the present 
 uncertainty of the law, I have no power to prohibit (so 
 
TOLERATION AND PEACE. 215 
 
 far as I am at present advised) your wearing the unusual 
 vestments, but I feel it my duty to tell you frankly that 
 the wearing of them by any clergyman in my diocese is 
 contrary to my wish, and can only be done in defiance of 
 any authority which I might exercise to prevent it. 
 I am, dear sir, 
 
 Very faithfully yours, 
 
 R. RiPON. 
 The Rev. . 
 
 With my father's well-known views on the 
 matter, it is not surprising that he supported the 
 Public Worship Regulation Act of 1874, for which 
 Archbishop Tait and Lord Beaconsfield were mainly 
 responsible ; but he was quite unprepared for the 
 unfortunate results of that Act, which led to the 
 imprisonment of hard-working clergymen who re- 
 fused to recognise its authority. He was utterly 
 opposed to proceeding to such violent extremes, 
 and saw clearly enough that anything which looked 
 like religious persecution could only strengthen the 
 cause of those who were attacked. 
 
 In quite recent years, when High Churchmen 
 were indignant at the continued imprisonment of 
 the Rev. S. F. Green, a meeting was held in Leeds, 
 at which an appeal was made to moderate men to 
 join the ranks of the English Church Union as a 
 protest against further prosecutions. The Vicar of 
 Leeds, Dr. Gott, whose large-hearted charity has 
 done so much to soften the bitterness of party strife, 
 reminded the meeting that they had the best possible 
 guarantee for the peace of the diocese of Ripon, 
 at least, in the rule of a wise and tolerant bishop. 
 
 In closing a chapter in which I have quoted so 
 
2l6 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 largely from his Charges, it may be well to notice my 
 father's practice with regard to his Triennial Visita- 
 tions. At first he followed the prevailing custom of 
 delivering the written Charge at the various centres. 
 Finding, however, that its freshness was lost, when 
 those whom he met had already perused the sub- 
 stance of it in the columns of the press, he adopted 
 the plan of delivering the Charge once for all at 
 Ripon or Leeds. He then utilised the time left 
 at his disposal by speaking of matters more es- 
 pecially interesting to the separate localities. One 
 of his chaplains, the Rev. Canon Pulleine, writes : 
 
 I remember at a Visitation at Skipton with what sym- 
 pathy he described the difficulties and trials of the country 
 clergy, calling forth the openly expressed gratitude of 
 more than one for his helpful words. One was struck by 
 his great knowledge of the details of his diocese. He 
 knew the character of his clergy and the circumstances of 
 their parishes. 
 
 In this chapter I have been obliged to tread on 
 delicate ground. In justice to my father's memory, 
 I could not set aside the emphatic expression of his 
 views on subjects about which his clergy were not 
 all agreed ; but I gladly close with a quotation from 
 his Charge in 1873, which was welcome to men of all 
 shades of opinion who could appreciate the burning 
 words of one who longed to kindle the strongest 
 sense of ministerial responsibility : 
 
 My Reverend Brethren, by the tremendous responsi- 
 bilities of your sacred office, that office to which you con- 
 secrated all your powers at the solemn period of ordination 
 by the eternal issues of glory or of shame which are 
 suspended upon its exercise ; by the priceless blessings 
 
DEVOTION TO MINISTERIAL WORK. 21 7 
 
 which you may be instrumental to convey to others, and 
 by the recompense you may yourselves inherit ; by that 
 "greater condemnation," which is the doom of the faithless 
 Shepherd, suffer me to entreat of you to aim more and 
 more at the great end of your ministry, even the salvation 
 of souls. Every other object is insignificant in comparison 
 with this. Short of this result the main purpose of your 
 ministry is not accomplished. The ministerial reward will 
 not be gained. Let not this Visitation pass by, without a 
 fresh resolve, that, by God's grace, we will be more than 
 ever devoted to our sacred calling. TJie influence of a 
 deeper spiritual life in our own souls would make itself felt 
 throughout the diocese ; we should be more earnest for the 
 salvation of others ; we should be more united amongst 
 ourselves. In drawing nearer to Christ, the true Centre of 
 unity, the Fountain of all life and blessing, we should be 
 insensibly drawn nearer to one another, and realise more 
 of that blessed and holy fellowship, which binds together 
 in one the members of the mystical Body of which He is 
 the living Head. In proportion as we contemplate more 
 steadfastly the great purpose of our ministry, and fix our 
 attention more earnestly on the swiftly-approaching day 
 when each of us will be called to give in his account of 
 talents, responsibilities, opportunities, of souls committed 
 to our care, we shall enter into the mind of the Apostle, 
 when he exclaimed, " This one thing I do, forgetting those 
 things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those 
 things which are before, I press toward the mark for the 
 prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." May 
 God of His infinite mercy pour down upon us more 
 abundantly the gifts and the grace of His Holy Spirit. 
 May He increase amongst us true religion may He 
 nourish us with all goodness, and of His great mercy keep 
 us in the same through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 DIOCESAN WORK: EDUCATION. 
 
 Diocesan work Education The Training College Progress of ele- 
 mentary education in the diocese before 1870 Great increase of 
 Church schools Diocesan inspection in religious knowledge 
 The Bishop deeply thankful for Mr. Forster's Bill Analysis of the 
 Act He warmly advocates the increased efficiency of Church 
 schools and the importance of religious teaching Speech at 
 Huddersfield, in 1879. 
 
 SIDE by side with the work of church building and 
 restoration went forward that of religious education ; 
 and in connection with the latter it is right to men- 
 tion the erection of the Training College for mis- 
 tresses at Ripon. 
 
 This was an institution in which my father took 
 the warmest interest. Up to the year 1860 there 
 had been a department for females in connection 
 with the Training College at York, but the institution 
 was not in a good condition, and it was thought 
 advisable that the two departments for male and 
 female students should be kept distinct. 
 
 My father gave the College a hearty welcome to 
 the diocese, and amongst his earliest public appeals 
 for funds, was that which he made for the erection 
 of the commodious building at Ripon. 
 
 The Principal, Canon Badcock, writes : 
 
DIOCESAN TRAINING COLLEGE. 219 
 
 It was mainly through his influence and exertions that 
 the Diocesan Training College was established at Ripon. 
 On February i, 1860, he presided over a public meeting, 
 and forcibly recommended the scheme for the building of 
 the College, of which he laid the foundation stone on 
 December 4 of the same year. 
 
 From that time, and to the end of his life, his interest 
 in the Institution never flagged. He made a point of being 
 present at the meetings of the committee of management. 
 I well remember how frequently he used to come to the 
 College and to address the students on the duties and 
 responsibilities of their future work. Often he was accom- 
 panied by friends who were visiting at the Palace, and 
 evidently it gave him pleasure to explain to them the 
 working and arrangements of the Institution. Sometimes 
 he sat down to the harmonium and practised the pupils in 
 singing hymns (in preparation for the Chapel service on 
 Sunday afternoons). 
 
 He was conversant with all details of the work, and 
 annually, until he was prevented by illness, he even took 
 the trouble to come to the College to audit the accounts. 
 It was an immense encouragement to the governesses and 
 officers of the Institution to know that the eye of their 
 good Bishop was always upon them ; and after the students 
 had left the College they still felt that his influence and 
 interest extended to them. He often mentioned that he 
 had in the course of his travels among the towns and 
 villages of Yorkshire, met with schoolmistresses who had 
 been trained at the College, and he was pleased when he 
 found them faithfully carrying out the work for which they 
 had been educated. 
 
 It was to my father a most important part of his 
 episcopal work to exercise a direct control over the 
 institution, and especially to have the opportunity of 
 preaching to the students afforded by their attend- 
 ance at the service in the Palace. It has already 
 
220 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 been mentioned that when he was able to spend a 
 Sunday at Ripon, my father always attended the 
 cathedral in the morning, but preached at the after- 
 noon service in his private chapel. The little 
 building" was on these occasions filled to overflowing 
 with a somewhat miscellaneous congregation ; but 
 the chief interest to my father was the presence of 
 the Training College students, to whom he spoke 
 very earnestly of the immense responsibility of the 
 work to which they were called. 
 
 He never failed to remind them that, next to that 
 of the clergyman, theirs was the highest calling on 
 earth, for all education worthy of the name was 
 pregnant with results that only eternity can reveal. 
 
 As no attempt is being made to give a strictly 
 chronological account of my father's work at Ripon, 
 it may be well to bring together here his views on 
 the education question expressed at various periods 
 of his episcopate. To many persons of a younger 
 generation, and from the tenour of not a few political 
 speeches, the impression is given that the Education 
 Act of 1870 found the country and the Church 
 in a state of complete apathy on this important 
 question. That this was not the case, at least in the 
 diocese of Ripon, is manifest from the way in which 
 the subject constantly recurs in my father's earlier 
 Charges. The Church was certainly grappling with 
 the problem ; and though no one can say that the 
 efforts to provide elementary education were ade- 
 quate, yet each Triennial Charge speaks of continuous 
 progress. Thus in 1858 there were 57,180 day 
 scholars attending Church schools, and in 1864 the 
 number had risen to no less than 74,412. 
 
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION. 221 
 
 In 1867 the Bishop records: 
 
 Your returns on the all-important subject of education 
 show that 407 parishes in the diocese are supplied with 
 elementary day schools in connection with the Church. 
 The number of registered scholars, including boys, girls, 
 and infants, is 78,434. This exhibits an increase of 4022 
 scholars compared with the numbers in 1864. . . . 
 
 I regret to find that there are twenty-three separate 
 parishes in which there is not any elementary school over 
 which the clergyman exercises control or supervision. A 
 large proportion of these are, however, newly constituted 
 parishes, where sufficient time has not yet been afforded to 
 establish schools. In other cases the defect is explained 
 by the circumstance that it is found convenient to let one 
 school building serve for two small contiguous parishes. 
 At the same time, the ecclesiastical organisation of a parish 
 is incomplete without a school, in addition to the church 
 and parsonage. There is no function of our sacred office 
 of higher importance than to make due provision for the 
 education of the poor ; and I would strongly recommend 
 every clergyman who is in charge of a parish not to rest 
 content without a good elementary school for the benefit 
 of his poorer parishioners. 
 
 That only twenty-three parishes out of 407 were 
 unprovided with schools three years before the 
 passing of the Act of 1870, is a sufficient answer to 
 the charge that the Church had altogether neglected 
 elementary education. 
 
 In the same year my father commenced a system 
 of diocesan inspection to promote the efficiency of 
 Church schools. He writes : 
 
 My attention has been directed to the benefit which 
 might be derived from the adoption of a system of diocesan, 
 in addition to Government inspection. The system has 
 been tried and found to work well in other dioceses. The 
 
222 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 additional stimulus supplied to the teacher, the advantage 
 gained by the scholars through being subjected more fre- 
 quently to examination, the fuller information to be obtained 
 as to the actual state of education in the diocese, are 
 amongst the reasons by which the recommendation to 
 appoint diocesan inspectors of schools has been urged. To 
 these it may be added that many schools, not being under 
 Government inspection, never undergo any examination ; 
 while in other schools, which are subject to the visits of 
 Her Majesty's inspector, there is some reason to fear that, 
 owing to the operation of the Revised Code in making the 
 Government grant depend mainly upon proficiency in secular 
 subjects, the religious element does not receive all the atten- 
 tion which it ought. In such cases, the visit of a diocesan 
 inspector, one of whose chief duties would be to examine the 
 scholars with respect to their knowledge of Scripture facts 
 and doctrines, would supply a remedy for this evil. Influenced 
 by these considerations, and aided by the advice of the arch- 
 deacons and rural deans of the diocese, I have resolved 
 to provide for the diocesan inspection of elementary schools. 
 There are no funds out of which to provide for the proper 
 remuneration for an inspector for the whole diocese, whose 
 time should be exclusively given to this work. Under these 
 circumstances, the plan which I have thought best to adopt 
 is to appoint a separate inspector to each rural deanery. 
 In several cases the rural dean has kindly undertaken to 
 inspect the schools in his deanery ; but where, from the 
 pressure of other duties, the rural dean is unable to dis- 
 charge the office, it will be filled by one of the incumbents 
 in the deanery. Already fourteen rural deaneries are pro- 
 vided with a diocesan inspector, and appointments will 
 speedily be made in the remaining deaneries, which are 
 as yet unsupplied. I wish it to be clearly understood that 
 this inspection is not intended to interfere in the smallest 
 degree with the legitimate authority of the incumbent 
 within the limits of his own parish. It must rest entirely 
 with each incumbent to avail himself or not of the services 
 of the diocesan inspector. No school will be examined 
 
INSPECTION IN RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE. 22$ 
 
 without the sanction of the clergyman to whose parish or 
 district it belongs. I am thankful to find that a large 
 number of schools have been already examined. A strong 
 opinion has been expressed by several of the clergy in 
 favour of the plan, and in only one or two cases hitherto 
 has the visit of the diocesan inspector been declined. 
 
 This is interesting as showing how the way was 
 prepared for the appointment of a special diocesan 
 officer, aided by volunteers, when the complete 
 separation of religious and secular inspection was 
 rendered necessary. 
 
 Firmly as my father maintained his strong con- 
 viction that education, to be worthy of the name, 
 must be essentially religious, he welcomed in no 
 grudging spirit the great Act of 1870. 
 
 For Mr. Forster personally he entertained a very 
 high regard, and he was convinced that the author 
 of the Act intended by it no injury to religious 
 education. 
 
 On this, as on many kindred subjects, my father's 
 liberal sympathy and generous appreciation of reli- 
 gious effort outside the Church disposed him to 
 interpret to the clergy in the most favourable light 
 acts of the Legislature in which some of them were 
 apt to read only hostility to the Church. 
 
 He writes in his Charge of 1870 : 
 
 A more important problem than how to secure a both 
 sufficient and suitable elementary education for the country 
 at large could scarcely at any time occupy the attention of 
 Parliament ; and without pronouncing an unqualified ap- 
 proval of the mode in which this problem has been solved, 
 it does appear to me that, taking into consideration all the 
 practical difficulties with which the subject is confessedly 
 beset, we have reason to be deeply thankful for the Elementary 
 
224 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 Education Act which received the Royal assent in A ugust last. 
 On the question as to the best mode in which the influence 
 of the Government should be exercised for the promotion 
 of elementary education, there were three rival plans pro- 
 posed for adoption. On the one hand there were those 
 who advocated a system of purely secular instruction. 
 Their theory is that the teaching of religion should be 
 banished from the school, and relegated to the homes of 
 the scholars. The advocates of this system will not allow 
 that it is a main part of education to impart moral as well 
 as intellectual culture, and they appear strangely to over- 
 look the consideration, that to withhold religious instruction 
 in elementary schools would necessarily be in a large pro- 
 portion of cases to abandon the scholars to utter destitution 
 of all religious teaching. Those who are practically 
 acquainted with the class from which the scholars in 
 elementary schools are for the most part drawn, must be 
 well aware of the extreme improbability which there is 
 that the majority of the pupils, if denied the advantage 
 of religious instruction in school, would receive such instruc- 
 tion either by precept or example elsewhere. 
 
 There were others, again, who, although alive to the 
 importance of making religion the basis of education, even 
 if with no higher end in view than to produce loyal and 
 good citizens for this world, advocated an elimination of all 
 distinctive doctrine from the religious instruction given 
 in school; they were in favour of a system of religious 
 teaching which should be perfectly colourless, which should 
 not exhibit a shade of dogma, in order that it might 
 disturb no prejudice and awaken no controversy. 
 
 It is difficult to understand how any persons who really 
 believe that there are such matters as fundamental truths, 
 truths which are necessary to be believed for the soul's 
 salvation, can give their adherence to such a system as this. 
 The remaining alternative seemed to be to invigorate and 
 extend the system to which the name of denominational 
 has been given, and in connection with which the country 
 has already derived large and beneficial educational results. 
 
PRINCIPLE OF VOLUNTARY SCHOOLS. 22$ 
 
 The advocates of the purely secular theory of education 
 have made no secret of their dislike of this system. What- 
 ever may have been the origin of that dislike, whether it 
 was due to the inherent nature of the system, or whether it 
 arose on account of the preponderating influence which, 
 under its operation, the Church has acquired in the educa- 
 tion of the country, the fact is beyond dispute that the 
 zeal of the Education League was energetically directed 
 against the denominational system, with a view to its entire 
 demolition. 
 
 Happily, however, the feeling of the country, both in 
 and out of Parliament, has been unmistakably manifested 
 in favour of religious, as opposed to merely secular educa- 
 tion. The belief was firmly rooted in the public mind, 
 that to offer nothing better than mere secular instruction 
 to those who need education at our hands, would be to act 
 the part of unnatural guardians, and give to the hungry a 
 stone in place of bread. 
 
 At the same time, the more the matter was discussed, 
 the more evident it became that it would be equally waste- 
 ful and unwise to abandon a system which has existed for 
 many years ; with which the country has grown familiar ; 
 which has shared to a considerable degree the public 
 confidence ; on whose maintenance large sums have been 
 expended, and under the operation of which the education 
 of the country has advanced with great and surprising 
 rapidity. True, the system was not perfect ; it had its 
 defects ; the whole country was by no means adequately 
 provided with the machinery for education ; masses of the 
 population might be found whom no efforts either of the 
 Church or of Nonconformists to impart elementary educa- 
 tion had hitherto reached ; and it might be said without 
 risk of exaggeration, that thousands of children were grow- 
 ing up in ignorance, whom the existing system, unless it 
 were modified or supplemented, never could reach. 
 
 And yet for all this, could it be fair to overlook the fact 
 that by the aid of this denominational system, in the com- 
 paratively short space of thirty years, the number of scholars 
 
 Q 
 
226 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 in elementary Church schools has risen from I in 367 of 
 the population to i in 13, and that out of 14,709 parishes 
 in England, 13,016 have schools of their own; that 1355, 
 although not possessing schools, are supplied with education 
 in adjoining parishes, while only 338 remain which have 
 neither schools of their own, nor the means of instruction 
 within a moderate distance? These results and I am 
 speaking only of Church schools indicate a degree of 
 power and vitality in the system to which they may in a 
 great measure be attributed, which entitle it to a better 
 fate than the process of "painless extinction" to which 
 the Education League would have gladly consigned it. 
 
 Parliament has pronounced that this system shall not 
 be recklessly abandoned. An Act has been passed, from 
 the operation of which we may reasonably expect that in a 
 few years the country will be adequately supplied with 
 the requisite machinery for a complete system of National 
 Education. The attempt to destroy the denominational 
 system has signally failed, and the efforts which the Church 
 has put forth in the cause of education have been fairly 
 recognised. 
 
 At the same time some changes have been introduced, 
 by which existing schools will be affected, of a nature 
 which none can regard as trivial, and many must view with 
 deep regret. Amongst these changes the most prominent 
 are the following. Hitherto the managers of Church schools 
 have been at liberty to enforce, as a condition of admission 
 to the day school under their charge, the attendance of the 
 scholars at the Sunday school and the services of the 
 Church. This liberty is at an end for the future, in all 
 schools which are under Government inspection. Again, 
 while no restraint is placed upon the kind of instruction 
 in religion which may be given in existing elementary 
 schools receiving Government grants, such instruction must 
 in future be given only at the commencement, or at the 
 close, or at both the commencement and the close, of the 
 school hours. Moreover, any parent is to be at liberty to 
 withdraw his child from such religious instruction without 
 
THE CONSCIENCE CLAUSE. 22 7 
 
 forfeiting any of the other benefits of the school. Again, 
 it is to be no part of the duty of Her Majesty's inspector 
 to make any inquiry as to the religious instruction given in 
 the school ; nor is the annual grant which the school may 
 receive from the State to be in any respect regulated with 
 reference to the religious instruction which the scholars 
 receive. 
 
 With these important exceptions, existing schools which 
 are doing their work efficiently will be left undisturbed. 
 They will be aided more liberally than heretofore by the 
 State ; but this is a boon which would be more welcome if 
 it were not clogged with the condition, that the annual 
 grant shall not in any one year exceed the income of the 
 school for that year, which is derived from voluntary con- 
 tributions, school fees, and from any sources other than the 
 Parliamentary grant. There is reason to fear that by the 
 operation of this clause efficient schools in poor and popu- 
 lous districts, where help is most needed, will obtain the 
 smallest share of Government assistance ; while schools in 
 wealthy parishes, where subscriptions are most easily pro- 
 cured, and where State aid is less required, will benefit 
 most largely. 
 
 So much for existing schools. But the Act regulates 
 for the establishment of schools in places where the pro- 
 vision for elementary education is inadequate or unsuitable. 
 An inquiry will be first made as to the provision which 
 exists ; should that provision be pronounced inadequate, 
 and should no prospect appear that within a limited period 
 the deficiency will be supplied by voluntary effort, then 
 schools will be established, and placed under the manage- 
 ment of a school board, the cost of their establishment 
 being defrayed by a rate to be levied under the authority 
 of the Act. In schools thus established I quote the 
 words of the Act " No religious catechism or religious 
 formulary which is distinctive of any particular denomi- 
 nation shall be taught." In certain specified cases the 
 school board will have the power to make the education 
 entirely free of charge to the parent, thereby, of course, 
 
228 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 throwing an additional burden on the rate ; a discretionary 
 power is also given to the school board in certain cases to 
 make the attendance of children at rate-supported schools 
 compulsory. 
 
 Such are the main provisions of the Elementary Educa- 
 tion Act so far as this diocese is likely to be affected by it. 
 Some important questions arise for consideration in con- 
 nection with the changes which the Act will introduce. 
 Foremost among them is the probable effect of the measure 
 with regard to religious instruction. The introduction of 
 the principle of a conscience clause need not of itself excite 
 any alarm ; in most large elementary schools the principle 
 has been tacitly recognised for many years past. I do not 
 anticipate that the enforcement of this principle by Act of 
 Parliament will occasion any great change. Instances 
 seldom occur in which parents having on the one hand 
 shown confidence in an elementary school by seeking 
 admission for their children, betray on the other hand a 
 want of confidence by stipulating that they shall not share 
 with the other scholars in the religious instruction. Such 
 exceptional cases will not in all probability be more 
 numerous in consequence of the passing of the Elementary 
 Education Act. But should it be otherwise, it will be well 
 to bear in mind that the liberty which a clergyman may 
 justly claim to have every doctrine of God's Word taught 
 in his parish school is left unfettered ; and it is in reality 
 the liberty of the parent to exercise a control over the 
 religious education of his child for which provision is now 
 for the first time made by Act of Parliament. But what 
 we have real cause to apprehend is this. The religious 
 instruction given in an elementary school which receives 
 Government aid is not, as I have explained, in future to 
 come in any shape within the inquiry of Her Majesty's in- 
 spector. His report will contain no allusion to the religious 
 teaching or condition of the school. His estimate of the 
 character or capabilities of the teacher will be formed with- 
 out any reference to skill or fidelity in communicating reli- 
 gious knowledge. The grant from Government upon which 
 
MAINTENANCE OF RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION. 229 
 
 the support of the school and the credit of the teacher may 
 so materially depend, will not be regulated in the smallest 
 degree by the proficiency of the pupils in Scriptural know- 
 ledge. Not a fraction of the aid given by the State will 
 depend upon the condition of the school with respect to 
 religion. Will not this fact operate on the mind of the 
 teacher ? Will he be proof against the temptation to slight 
 the subject which the Government inspector ignores, and 
 expend his teaching energies on those branches of learning 
 which have a palpable influence in procuring a favourable 
 report, and, in consequence, a liberal grant ? 
 
 To guard against this result will demand the utmost 
 care and -vigilance. You will agree with me, my Reveren d 
 Brethren, that at all cost the religious instruction and the 
 religious tone of our elementary schools must be maintained. 
 As one practical mode of securing this result, I think it 
 essential that we should have thorough and effective dio- 
 cesan inspection of all Church schools. I am not insensible 
 to the advantages which have accrued from the system of 
 diocesan inspection which we already possess. My grate- 
 ful acknowledgments are due to those who, at my request, 
 have filled the office of diocesan inspectors. They have 
 freely given their time and labour to the discharge of this 
 office, and by the zeal and tact with which they have per- 
 formed its duties they have entitled themselves to the 
 thanks which I now tender in my own behalf, and in behalf 
 of the managers of the schools which they have inspected. 
 But the altered circumstances in which we are now placed 
 seem to render a different arrangement necessary in future. 
 If the religious teaching is to be upheld in thorough effi- 
 ciency, it is all but indispensable that we should have a 
 paid diocesan inspector, whose main duty shall be to 
 examine the schools placed under his supervision with 
 respect to their religious knowledge, and whose whole time 
 shall be devoted to the duties of his office. 
 
 The only practical difficulty is the financial one. Whence 
 are the funds to be derived for the salary of such an inspec- 
 tor ? Now, if the managers of our Church schools are alive 
 
230 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 to the importance of upholding the religious standard, and 
 if they are convinced of the danger which exists of this 
 standard being lowered unless some effective means are 
 adopted for diocesan inspection, is it too much to hope 
 that a fund may be created by a contribution from each 
 Church school, and that out of such a fund, supplemented 
 by a grant from the Diocesan Board of Education, the 
 means may be provided for securing the services of a com- 
 petent inspector, and also for affording some pecuniary 
 inducement to the teachers of elementary schools not to 
 relax their endeavours to impart religious instruction to 
 their scholars ? 
 
 Another consideration arising out of the changes to 
 which I have referred is also of pressing importance. 
 Inquiry will be instituted without delay into the existing 
 amount of school accommodation. Where a deficiency is 
 proved to exist, and where there appears to be no prospect 
 of its removal by voluntary effort, a school board will be 
 elected, and a school established in which neither the 
 Church Catechism nor any other distinctive religious for- 
 mulary may be taught. It is the plain duty of Churchmen 
 to anticipate this inquiry, and by prompt effort to aim at 
 founding Church schools wherever the necessity is found to 
 exist. 
 
 Your replies to my Visitation queries afford some data 
 for guidance in this matter. It appears from these returns 
 that there are thirty-five benefices which have no Church 
 school connected with them. In four of these subscrip- 
 tions have been already obtained which will ensure the 
 erection of schools in the course of a few months ; nine are 
 newly-constituted districts where there has not been suffi- 
 cient time since the consecration of the church to provide 
 schools ; in a small proportion of the remaining cases 
 sufficient school accommodation is met with at a moderate" 
 distance ; but as regards the rest, there can hardly be a 
 doubt that the result of the inquiry which is already in 
 progress will be that the school accommodation will be 
 pronounced inadequate, and unless due provison is made, 
 
APPEAL TO A POPULAR AUDIENCE. 231 
 
 within a reasonable interval by voluntary effort, the alter- 
 native will be schools provided by rate, and placed under 
 the direction of a school board. 
 
 It appears from the returns now before me that the 
 numbers upon the register in elementary Church schools 
 in the diocese are 41,732 boys, 30,838 girls, 22,258 infants. 
 The Sunday schools have 83,009 scholars, and there are 
 8131 scholars in attendance at night schools for adults. 
 
 The Bishop promoted religious education not 
 only in these Charges to the clergy, but also by 
 appealing to the religious instincts of the main body 
 of the people. He had the utmost confidence in 
 the right instincts of the people if they had the 
 truth placed before them. Thus he gladly availed 
 himself of an opportunity, which was offered to him 
 in Huddersfield, of addressing a mass meeting of 
 working men held in the Armoury in 1879. 
 
 I quote from his speech on that occasion, as it 
 seems a good illustration of his capacity for making 
 great truths clear to a popular audience. 
 
 The Bishop was warmly received, and said the meeting 
 had been called for the twofold purpose of advocating 
 the cause of religious education set in contrast with a 
 system of secular education ; and to offer an opportunity 
 for stating the claims to public support of the National 
 Society for the Education of the Poor in the Principles of 
 the Established Church. He wished, then, first of all to 
 consider whether they really understood the full force and 
 meaning of the word " education." He was inclined to think 
 there were many persons who talked about education, who 
 scarcely realised the exact meaning of the word " education" 
 itself. Education was not comprehended in what was 
 commonly spoken of as teaching the three R's, still less in 
 cramming the mind with facts, whether of history, literature, 
 or science. Education he took to be the calling forth, or 
 
232 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 the development, of the faculties with which God had 
 endowed them, with a view to their employment for the 
 good of others, as well as for the glory of God, which was 
 the highest object at which any human being could aim. 
 If that were a correct definition of the term " education " he 
 came to consider the fact that man was a compound being ; 
 that every human being was so constituted as to consist 
 of a natural part subject to death and dissolution, of a 
 mental part, by which he was distinguished from animals 
 that could not reason, and of a spiritual part, which was 
 destined to survive the wreck and ruin of matter, and to 
 live throughout eternity. If man was thus constituted, 
 and if education rightly meant the calling forth, or the 
 development, of faculties with which he was endowed, then 
 he maintained that education which really deserved the 
 name ought to touch each of these three parts of man's 
 being ; and education which did not touch each of those 
 parts he pronounced to be essentially defective. With 
 regard to man's physical constitution, education to be 
 valuable ought to teach the laws of health, and develop all 
 those physical powers which so much contribute to their 
 enjoyment, and to their ability to discharge the various 
 functions of life. As to their intellectual being, education 
 to be valuable ought to teach the laws of thought, to 
 supply the mind with facts, whether of history or of science, 
 and to cultivate all those powers by which man might be 
 able adequately to discharge the various duties which 
 devolved upon him as a reasoning, intelligent being. 
 
 Secular education exclusively was both defective and 
 mischievous : defective, because it did not touch the higher 
 part of man's being, the moral and spiritual part ; mis- 
 chievous, because while secular education endowed the 
 student with enormous power, it omitted altogether the 
 communication of the only principle by which that power 
 might be used to advantage. The power which knowledge 
 gave might be used for good or for evil, and he maintained 
 that it would only be used for good in proportion as it was 
 under the control of right principle. Directly they came 
 
THE AIM OF EDUCATION. 233 
 
 to speak of right principle as the governing power, they 
 must have religious teaching to educate man's moral being. 
 What was the highest knowledge which a man could 
 acquire as a spiritual being ? Was it not a knowledge of 
 God ? Were they not told that this was eternal life " To 
 know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom 
 Thou hast sent"? And was it not a fact that moral power, 
 or the education, which they sought to give with a view to 
 man's moral being, must take into account the relation 
 in which they stood towards God, and the relation in which 
 God had been pleased to place Himself towards men? 
 Well, then, if they were to have moral teaching, he came to 
 this further point, that they must have Bible teaching, the 
 teaching of revealed religion. He thought that must be 
 evident to those who would consider the fact for a moment. 
 There were two ways in which God had been pleased to 
 reveal Himself. He was revealed in His works ; He was 
 revealed in His Word. The book of Revelation admitted 
 that God was revealed in His works, for they were told, 
 " The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmanent 
 sheweth His handiwork." It was impossible to gaze abroad 
 on the works of God unfolded to them in the visible 
 creation without deriving many a lesson with regard to 
 the power, the wisdom, the faithfulness, the constancy of 
 Jehovah. He maintained, on the one hand, that the revela- 
 tion of God in His works was in a measure defective ; and 
 he maintained, on the other hand, that by reason of sin 
 man had lost the power which, as an unfallen being, he 
 possessed of reading and discerning the lessons which the 
 works of God were intended to teach. Now, if there were 
 any truth in these observations, then they were driven to 
 the conclusion that if man was to know that which was 
 most essential for him to know with respect to God and 
 his prospects, they must have Bible teaching. . . . He was 
 very far from speaking against secular education. He 
 would have secular education carried to its very furthest 
 point, in order to qualify a man for the right discharge of 
 the duties appertaining to his particular vocation in life, 
 
234 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 be what it might. But he maintained this: if they neg- 
 lected to sow the seeds of religious principle in what he 
 might almost venture to assert the virgin soil of youth, 
 they neglected an opportunity which they would never 
 regain. That soil might become prolific only of weeds, 
 which might otherwise be prolific in the fruits of Divine 
 grace. Therefore it would be wrong on the part of those 
 who undertook the education of children to neglect their 
 religious education. Suppose it were the highest object of 
 education (which he did not at all admit) to cultivate the 
 intellectual powers to the utmost, he would still denounce 
 the unwisdom of excluding religious teaching. He would 
 tell them why. The laws of mind in some respect were 
 similar to the laws of matter. They knew in respect to 
 material things that the muscle which was unused dwindled 
 and decayed, that if they wanted to develop the muscular 
 system they must call the muscles into play must make 
 them familiar with exercise so as to develop their power 
 and strength. Now, if they wanted to invigorate the powers 
 of the mind, they must bring those powers into contact 
 with subjects which demanded thought and careful study. 
 The mind had the property of gradually contracting itself 
 to the limit of the matter with which alone it was familiar- 
 ised ; and if the mind was in contact only with things which 
 were trivial, small, and minute, the powers of the mind 
 gradually dwindled and decayed ; whereas, on the other 
 hand, in proportion as the intellectual powers were sum- 
 moned to grapple with what was large and difficult did 
 they develop and strengthen. Where in all the range of 
 science, or philosophy, or of secular knowledge were there 
 any truths to compare with the truths of revelation in 
 respect of the grasp of thought which they required in 
 order to reach their full understanding ? Try and measure 
 eternity. Try and measure the attributes of God, His 
 omnipresence, omniscience, omnipotence, and they would 
 find that as the powers of the mind were called to grapple 
 with such truths as these, they would grow in power and 
 force, just as the muscle was developed by being used to 
 overcome what was difficult. 
 
THE NATIONAL SOCIETY. 235 
 
 The Bishop went on to advocate the principles 
 of the National Society ; but while he urged Church- 
 men to maintain their denominational schools, he 
 was no less anxious to urge the general public to 
 see that that religious education was supplied in the 
 Board Schools, which the illustrious author of the 
 Act of 1870 so earnestly desired. 
 
 The Education Acts have done so much for the 
 people, and the future is so full of vast possibilities 
 for good, that the writer trusts this weighty speech 
 may be read with attention by many who, whether 
 in Church or Board Schools, can direct the education 
 of the young. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 RETREATS, MISSIONS, CHURCH CONGRESS, AND DIOCESAN 
 CONFERENCE. 
 
 Retreats and Missions Letter from Dr. Gott My father conducts the 
 first Episcopal Retreat for Clergy Bishop Kennion's notes of his 
 address Advocates Mission work and takes an active part in 
 Missions in Bradford, Huddersfield, Leeds, etc. The Leeds 
 Mission in 1875 Letters from Canon Temple on the Church 
 Congress at Leeds, and on the Diocesan Conference Bishop 
 Forbes of Brechin Letter from the Rev. H. D. Cust Nunn on 
 the rural deans' conferences. 
 
 ALLUSION has been already made to my father's 
 connection with the first of the four distinguished 
 men who, during his episcopate, held the Vicarage 
 of Leeds. Another of them, when he heard that 
 a sketch of my father's life was contemplated, ex- 
 pressed his warm interest and the wish to write 
 a letter to the biographer, giving his recollections 
 of my father's work in Leeds ; but Bishop Wood- 
 ford's lamented death has deprived the reader of what 
 would have lent a special interest to this book. The 
 Dean of Worcester has very kindly filled the gap, 
 and has written the following letter, in which he 
 brings out the part my father took in two very 
 important branches of directly spiritual work. He 
 says : 
 
LETTER FROM DR. GOTT. 237 
 
 My dear Cyril, I wish I could help you worthily in 
 the life you are writing for us, for your book is a true 
 chapter of English life, telling of a ripening Church, and 
 a Bishop's constant presence, touch, and blessing on a 
 teeming part of England, which seems to many of us a 
 typical diocese of the nineteenth century. 
 
 The only difficulty I have is the simple fact that the 
 Bishop was permeating all things and places so habitually, 
 that there were no comings and goings in a way that would 
 make scenes and events ; there were few incidents, for his 
 life was a single incident in the growth of the Church in 
 the North. This was specially the case in Leeds, in and 
 out of which he was passing two or three times every week, 
 for it was the road to many of the chief towns of the 
 diocese, and the scene of most of his diocesan meetings. 
 
 Yet some things stand out in the front of my memory, 
 for to your father we owe the first authorised Retreat for 
 Clergy, to which he summoned us during the summer of 
 1876. Many clergy had held aloof from any devotional 
 time of this kind, until it was conducted by their Father in 
 God, by one who had authority to speak to the conscience, 
 and appeal to the spirit of a clergyman ; and it was, per- 
 haps, the last addition which he made to the spiritual 
 organisation of the diocese. 
 
 When I first wrote to ask him for work in Yorkshire, he 
 put my purpose through a long and hard trial, lest it should 
 be the child of secondary motives. When Yarmouth was 
 offered me, and I laid the matter before him, he asked me 
 three questions, (i) Did my doctor allow me to under- 
 take a parish of that size ? (2) Was I needlessly leaving 
 the work at Bramley to which God had called me ? (3) 
 Had I raised a finger to get myself the offer of this church ? 
 
 In one of those walks or rides in which he used to draw 
 us out, and put his own experiences and higher aims into 
 us, I asked him how he had managed to be the parish 
 priest in society when he was a vicar in London. He 
 described the ways by which he gradually led his people 
 to wish him to have family prayers at the close of their 
 
238 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 parties, and the habit that grew among his own parishioners 
 of referring to him some intellectual difficulty of the Bible, 
 or the application of some chapters to modern life and 
 London society, until this became a common practice when 
 he spent the evening socially in his own parish. 
 
 And he always honoured the priesthood of his clergy. 
 In the first parish I held in his diocese, one of my wardens 
 complained to him that I had introduced a hymn-book 
 containing expressions that he considered very High Church ; 
 he thought he should find a willing ear in Dr. Bickersteth, 
 but he found something better, for the Bishop bade him 
 look out all the hymns in the book that would help him 
 to Christ, and to put the best construction upon those of 
 which he complained. 
 
 These are among the blessed memories that recall 
 the Father in God ; not only the ordainer of his clergy, 
 but our director and counsellor, who stood by us, and 
 helped us to rise to the height and ripeness of our ministry. 
 Other memories are not wanting ; let me go to the 
 opposite end of a bishop's life, his touch on the outside 
 world, " the people," (especially as they rise to the crown 
 of their wave in the men that work in our great factories). 
 
 We were planning a great Mission for the whole town 
 of Leeds, and the question arose, What part shall we ask 
 the Bishop to undertake ? if he preached at any one church, 
 it would be unfair to the others ; and if he scattered him- 
 self among the churches, preaching once to each of the 
 leading congregations, it would interfere with the plan of 
 the regular missioners. He consented, therefore, to address 
 the chief mills of the town. The manufacturers willingly 
 opened their works, and made excellent arrangements for 
 gathering their people round the Bishop. 
 
 The men came in orderly crowds, and gave us a lesson 
 in the art of listening. Yet it cost them much. In many 
 mills the masters gave them half an hour or an hour out 
 of working time, at a cost in some cases of 100. In others 
 the masters gave twenty minutes, and the men out of their 
 dinner or tea-time gave as much more. In this way the 
 
THE LEEDS MISSION. 239 
 
 Bishop addressed all the larger mills and workshops of the 
 town, three and often four a day, for ten days. The vicar 
 of the parish and two or three younger clergy generally 
 accompanied him, to learn their lesson, or to follow up the 
 work afterwards. It was certainly the most difficult, and 
 often the most valuable part of the Mission. It brought 
 the Church to the masses ; the men said it brought it home 
 to them. 
 
 The people saw the use of a bishop, and grew to know 
 him personally. It showed that religion was distinctly 
 in its place in working days and scenes, a thought that 
 seemed new to many. Deeper results mostly work out of 
 sight, yet the men told us that their Bishop's presence in 
 their mills brought numbers of them to Church. 
 
 Nor did his contribution to our Mission stop here ; it 
 began before this, and ended afterwards. To his hand we 
 owed the Pastoral that authorised and founded our work ; 
 he preached to the clergy and churchworkers before the 
 Mission commenced ; his words summed up the whole at 
 the conclusion of the ten days, and his hands confirmed 
 double the usual number of candidates two months after 
 the missioners had left us. 
 
 The youngest lay helper felt himself a fellow-labourer 
 with his Bishop, and the new communicant recognised his 
 part in sealing the influences that had moulded him. 
 
 I have only touched two points of his work among us, 
 its innermost and its outermost point ; yet these may fairly 
 serve as samples of the life and ministry that has passed 
 but not passed away from the heart of the Diocese he ruled 
 for a great quarter of a century. 
 
 Yours ever affectionately, 
 
 JOHN GOTT. 
 
 In his Charge of 1876, insisting as usual on the 
 absolute necessity of personal holiness in the clergy, 
 my father suggests the observance of a Retreat or 
 time of special meditation for deepening the spiritual 
 life. He writes : 
 
240 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 First, and above all things else, let me implore you to 
 aim at raising the standard of personal holiness amongst 
 yourselves. This is the secret of all ministerial influence 
 and success. Come any trial to the Church rather than 
 the lack of a pious clergy ! The severest calamity which 
 could possibly befall a Church would not be the want of 
 worldly resources, nor the disruption of the ties which unite 
 her with the State, nor the want of learning in her ministers 
 (although this would be a fearful disaster), nor the want of 
 gifts, but the want of personal holiness in those who minister 
 at her Altars. Apart from this, human wisdom, ability, or 
 eloquence, are of little or no avail. Covet earnestly, if you 
 will, the best gifts ; but still there is " a more excellent 
 way." Grace is more than gifts. As the standard of our 
 own spiritual life is raised, we shall be stronger and stronger 
 for the work which lies before us. 
 
 To this end need I observe how necessary it is to secure 
 time for prayer, meditation, and the study of God's Word ? 
 We live in a busy and restless age. Amidst the ceaseless 
 activities of a public ministerial life, there is often a strong 
 temptation to abbreviate the time which ought to be de- 
 voted to private communion with God. We have each need 
 to keep in mind the exhortation to which we hearkened 
 at that solemn period of our lives when we were called to 
 the priesthood, which bade us " continually pray to God the 
 Father, by the Mediation of our only Saviour Jesus Christ, 
 for the heavenly assistance of the Holy Ghost ; that, by 
 daily reading and weighing of the Scriptures, ye may wax 
 riper and stronger in your Ministry." 
 
 Amongst the means which may tend to the deepening 
 of spiritual life, I believe that seasons of retirement for 
 prayer and meditation and mutual exhortation out of God's 
 Word would be found eminently useful. We have the 
 warrant for this in the example set by our Blessed Master. 
 To His chosen Apostles, the daily companions of His 
 ministerial life, He said, " Come ye yourselves apart unto a 
 desert place, and rest awhile." If they needed such a 
 season of rest and meditation, although living daily within 
 
A RETREAT FOR THE CLERGY. 241 
 
 the hallowing influence of personal intercourse with Jesus, 
 how much more must we, His ministers, need it, whose lot 
 is cast in the midst of temptations, and who find it often 
 hard to realise the Presence of Him Whom, having not seen, 
 we love. Such seasons for special retirement have been 
 found precious in the experience of the many who have 
 enjoyed them ; times of spiritual refreshment which have 
 left a special blessing behind. I am not without hope of 
 being able in the course of the present year to arrange a 
 season for private devotion and meditation upon God's 
 Word for such of the clergy as may desire to avail them- 
 selves of it. 
 
 I am indebted to Dr. Kennion, the Bishop of 
 Adelaide, for the following notes of an address given 
 by my father at the Retreat for Clergy, held at the 
 Training College, Ripon, in August of the same year, 
 1876: 
 
 HEB. xii. 14. 
 
 Peace and holiness our object. 
 Our hearts must be grateful for the office we hold. 
 Yet dangers from office : 
 
 1. Professionalism in spiritual things. 
 
 2. Critical (only) study of Holy Scripture. 
 
 3. Errors we meet with. 
 
 4. Our very successes retard growth in grace. 
 
 5. Want of intercourse with one another. 
 
 6. Misconception of each other's views. 
 
 It is a solemnising thought that we meet here to help 
 one another. 
 
 Weighty responsibility on each of us. 
 Our subject : 
 
 Sanctification, its necessity. 
 means. 
 
 source. 
 
 R 
 
242 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 Necessity of Holiness. 
 
 1. Perception of spiritual truth depends upon 
 
 degree of Holiness. 
 
 " If any man will do His Will, he shall know." 
 Surely essential to Ministry. 
 
 2. To make us meet for inheritance of Saints in 
 
 light. 
 Holy Ghost will not dwell where impurity reigns. 
 
 3. Holiness very atmosphere of Heaven. 
 Pure in heart shall see God. 
 
 Holiness always implies separation, dedication, 
 
 or consecration. 
 
 Christian consecrated by vows of Holy Baptism. 
 Holiness involves purity of thought, word, act. 
 In Heaven but one mind, one impulse. 
 Where all these are consecrated to God's service 
 there you have a foretaste of true Sanctifica- 
 tion. 
 Source, Holy Ghost. 
 
 What worth without the Holy Spirit ? 
 His province is to quicken. 
 Resort to prayer. 
 Seconded by effort. 
 
 (Here the notes break off.) 
 
 Each of these points was clearly and lovingly enlarged 
 upon. 
 
 To the best of my recollection the Bishop spoke on the 
 " means " of Sanctification, though, with the exception of 
 the two last phrases recorded, the notes do not allude to 
 what he said. 
 
 This was, I believe, the first Diocesan Retreat 
 conducted by a bishop in person for the benefit of 
 his clergy ; and the part my father took in it dis- 
 armed the opposition of those who supposed that 
 there was something un-English and anti- Protestant 
 in such a movement. 
 
A PASTORAL LETTER. 243 
 
 The following letter to the clergy was sent out 
 in 1880, and perhaps, considering the growing in- 
 terest in devotional meetings of the sort, it may be 
 interesting to see what the proposed arrangements 
 were. 
 
 " Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching 
 anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father Which is 
 in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there 
 am I in the midst of them " (Matt, xviii. 19, 20). 
 
 "We will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the 
 Word "(Acts vi. 4). 
 
 The Palace, Ripon, May 3, 1880. 
 
 In compliance with an earnest wish which has been 
 expressed to me by some of the clergy, I am making 
 arrangements to hold a Retreat, or private meeting of 
 Clergy for prayer and meditation, with a view to the 
 deepening of their spiritual life, at the Female Training 
 College, 1 Ripon, in August next, from the pth to the I2th. 
 
 At the suggestion of several of my Reverend Brethren, 
 who feel a warm interest in this proposed gathering, I have 
 consented to take the principal part in the conduct of the 
 religious exercises. The great aim to which our thoughts 
 and prayers should be directed is the glory of God in the 
 increase of our own personal piety ; the promotion of a 
 higher standard of devotedness in the service of our Lord 
 and Saviour Jesus Christ ; the growth of brotherly union 
 between all, who, whilst differing, it may be, in minor 
 matters, recognise the solemn responsibilities of the Sacred 
 Ministry, and the indispensable need of personal holiness 
 for the effective discharge, under God's blessing, of the 
 work of winning souls. 
 
 The General Arrangements will be as follows : 
 
 The clergy will assemble at the Female Training Col- 
 lege, Ripon, on Monday, August 9th. Sufficient bedroom 
 accommodation will be provided in that Institution for 
 those who shall have previously signified their intention to 
 
 1 This large and commodious building was available for the purpose owing 
 to the absence of the students for their usual summer holidays. 
 
244 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 attend. The time of the gathering will extend from Mon- 
 day evening, the 9th, to Thursday morning, the I2th of 
 August. All meals will be in common in the College Hall, 
 and the expense to each will be limited as nearly as pos- 
 sible to fifteen shillings. 
 
 PROPOSED ORDER OF PROCEEDINGS. 
 
 Monday ', A ugust 9. 
 
 5 p.m. Clergy arrive at the Training College and select 
 their rooms. 
 
 6 p.m. Tea in the Dining Hall. 
 
 7 p.m. Service in Magdalene Chapel, with Address. 
 
 8 p.m. Silent Prayer and Meditation. 
 
 9 p.m. Supper. 
 9.30 p.m. Prayer. 
 
 10 p.m. Retire for the night. 
 
 Tuesday, August 10. 
 
 8 a.m. Holy Communion in the Magdalene Chapel. 
 
 9 a.m. Breakfast. 
 
 10 a.m. Morning Prayer in the Magdalene Chapel. 
 10.30 a.m. Address, followed by Silent Prayer and 
 
 Meditation. 
 
 i p.m. Dinner. 
 
 1.45-3 p.m. Free time. 
 
 3 p.m. Address. 
 
 4.15 p.m. Service in the Magdalene Chapel. 
 
 5.30 p.m. Tea. 
 
 6-7 p.m. Free time. 
 
 7 p.m. Service in the Magdalene Chapel, with Address. 
 
 8 p.m. Silent Prayer and Meditation. 
 
 9 p.m. Supper. 
 9.30 p.m. Prayer. 
 
 10 p.m. Retire for the night. 
 
 Wednesday, August n. 
 
 8 a.m. Holy Communion in the Magdalene Chapel. 
 
 9 a.m. Breakfast. 
 
 10 a.m. Morning Prayer in the Magdalene Chapel. 
 
ARRANGEMENTS FOR RETREAT. 245 
 
 10.30 a.m. Address, followed by Private Prayer and 
 Meditation. 
 
 i p.m. Dinner. 
 
 1.45-3 P- m - Free time. 
 
 3 p.m. Address. 
 
 4. 1 5 p.m. Service in the Magdalene Chapel. 
 
 5.30 p.m. Tea. 
 
 6-7 p.m. Free time. 
 
 7 p.m. Service in Magdalene Chapel, with Address. 
 
 8 p.m. Silent Prayer and Meditation. 
 
 9 p.m. Supper. 
 9.30 p.m. Prayer. 
 
 10 p.m. Retire for the night. 
 
 Thursday, August 12. 
 
 8 a.m. Holy Communion in the Magdalene Chapel. 
 
 9 a.m. Breakfast. 
 
 10 a.m. Morning Prayer in the Magdalene Chapel. 
 10.30 a.m. Address. 
 
 11 a.m. Disperse. 
 
 Each clergyman to whom this paper is sent is par- 
 ticularly requested to let me have a line within the next 
 ten days, to say whether or not he intends to be present ; 
 if no answer is received by that time it will be assumed 
 that he does not mean to come. I have only further to 
 entreat the prayers of my Reverend Brethren that a bless- 
 ing from God may rest on this proposed gathering that 
 it may tend to God's glory, to our own growth in grace t 
 and the good of His Church. 
 
 It is expected that those who signify their intention 
 to be present, will let nothing short of absolute necessity 
 prevent them from coming. 
 
 R. RlPON. 
 
 To the Reverend . 
 
 In the other branch of spiritual work to which 
 Dr. Gott refers, my father took the warmest interest. 
 In the Charge of 1876, he writes of Missions : 
 
246 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 My next counsel is this. Do all in your power to cul- 
 tivate the as yet unreclaimed portion of the field committed 
 to your care. It may be you have an eager and crowded 
 congregation. You cannot be too earnest or prayerful in 
 dispensing the Word of Life to those who thus wait on 
 your ministry. But bear in mind the wandering, and as 
 yet unfolded sheep. Do all in your power to gather them 
 in. Be instant in season, and out of season ; testify publicly, 
 and from house to house, as did the Apostle. Adapt your 
 ministrations to meet their special need. Multiply services 
 in their behalf. Preach, if necessary, and if strength will 
 allow, in the open air ; establish Mission-rooms, and Missions 
 for them, till you render it impossible for any member of 
 your flock to say with truth, " No man careth for my soul." 
 You may say all this involves expenditure. So it does ; 
 but I believe the necessary means will be provided for the 
 clergyman who is evidently fully bent on making full 
 proof of his ministry. Missions such as those which have 
 been held in so many places, and with such wonderful 
 results, are invaluable not only for breaking up fallow 
 ground, but also for quickening spiritual growth in those 
 who are already followers of Christ. I have seen results 
 over which angels in heaven rejoice, follow from such Mis- 
 sions. It is not all passing excitement ; I believe some 
 permanent blessing invariably attends a carefully prepared 
 and rightly conducted Mission. Let me say one word by 
 way of caution, and it is this : Under God the success of a 
 Mission such as I am recommending depends upon the 
 previous preparation. Months of preparatory work are not 
 too much, if you would ensure a lasting blessing. I have 
 not known an instance in which such preparation was 
 made, and the simple message of the Gospel has been the 
 key-note of the Mission, where a visible blessing has not 
 followed. 
 
 The Bishop took an active personal part in 
 special Missions in Bradford and Huddersfield, and 
 in the great Leeds Mission of 1875. 
 
PREPARATION FOR A MISSION. 247 
 
 In a very interesting account of the Leeds 
 Mission, which was drawn up by the committee, and 
 published by Messrs. Jackson, is to be found a fuller 
 account of my father's special work to which Dr. Gott 
 alludes. 
 
 There had been long and thorough preparation, 
 and almost all the clergy in the town took part in 
 the movement. Three or four months before the 
 Mission my father met the clergy in the parish 
 church for a day of special preparation. 
 
 At 1 1 a.m. there was a Celebration of the Holy Com- 
 munion, and the Bishop preached from 2 Chron. xxix. 36 : 
 "And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had 
 prepared the people." The preacher, after expressing his 
 gladness that a Mission was to take place, and his pleasure 
 at being invited to address his reverend brethren on a sub- 
 ject of such importance and interest, said 
 
 " I will speak to you with regard to (i) The objects 
 of the Mission ; (2) The means to be employed to secure 
 its success ; and (3) The results which we may reasonably 
 anticipate from the Mission. 
 
 " i. The minister's work is partly pastoral, partly mis- 
 sionary : pastoral as regards his congregation ; missionary 
 to those outside who seldom or never come to the House of 
 God, and who are careless as to their eternal interests. One 
 great object of the Mission is to bring the Gospel message 
 to every home and every heart. Another object of the 
 Mission is to leave the beaten track, and by a special effort 
 to endeavour to arouse the members of our congregations 
 who are but Christians in name, to rebuke their lethargy, 
 to raise them to a higher spiritual level. 
 
 " 2. There can be no success to the Mission unless God 
 the Holy Ghost gives spiritual life. In dependence on His 
 promised aid we must 
 
 " (i) Recognise the magnitude of the work to be done. 
 A combine*! attack is to be made on the empire of Satan. 
 
248 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH, 
 
 " (2) Examine well the state of our own hearts. We who 
 are Christian ministers need greater zeal, humility, love ; 
 more of the Mind of Christ. 
 
 "(3) Not only amongst the clergy, but amongst the 
 people at large there must be preparation for the Mission. 
 Sunday school teachers, district visitors, tract distributors, 
 Church workers, should pray for its success, speak of it to 
 others ; and when January comes take part in it. 
 
 " (4) In the Mission, and in preparation for it, Christ and 
 Christ alone must be exalted. Let there be no divisions, 
 no party feeling, no aim lower than this to exalt the 
 Redeemer, and to bring souls to Christ. 
 
 " 3. If God gives success, as I trust He will, we may 
 anticipate 
 
 "(i) A higher standard of spirituality amongst our- 
 selves. 
 
 " (2) Greater union. 
 
 " (3) The conversion of souls. 
 
 " (4) Larger congregations and growth in zeal and 
 holiness. 
 
 " (5) An increase in the number of persons who openly 
 profess Christian discipleship by presenting themselves for 
 Confirmation. 
 
 " (6) An increase in the number of Communicants. 
 
 " These are great results. They have accompanied and 
 followed special Missions in other towns, and I trust they 
 will do so in Leeds." 
 
 When the Mission began in January, the Bishop 
 went to Leeds for ten days, and his time was fully 
 occupied. The addresses to which Dr. Gott alludes 
 were delivered day after day in the various factories. 
 Once the pulpit was an enormous Armstrong gun, 
 from which the Bishop addressed a workshop densely 
 crowded with foundry men fresh from their work. He 
 thoroughly enjoyed these services, and always looked 
 back upon them with the deepest thankfulness. 
 
BISHOP WILKINSON OF TRURO. 249 
 
 At the parish church the chief missioner was 
 Dr. Wilkinson, now Bishop of Truro; and my father 
 greatly valued the opportunity of making the ac- 
 quaintance of one for whom he conceived a sincere 
 love and admiration. 
 
 He wrote at the time, speaking of Dr. Wilkin- 
 son's sermons : 
 
 I have never seen the parish church so full as it was 
 last night. There were certainly more than 3000 present ; 
 and I have never listened to a more thoroughly clear, 
 simple, and loving statement of the Gospel. It was indeed 
 a glorious sermon, and must do good. The people were 
 riveted the whole time. After the sermon came a hymn, 
 and then an after-address. The service began at 7.30, and 
 was not over till nearly 10. I have just had a visit, in the 
 morning-room which the Gotts have kindly given up to me, 
 from Mr. Wilkinson. There is certainly a wonderful 
 charm about him. He came to ask my advice on some 
 points connected with the Mission, and to ask me to pray 
 with him. . . . 
 
 I am quite well, thank God, and not at all tired. Some 
 of them seem amused at my strength, and tell me I must 
 be a very strong man. 
 
 As the value of Missions becomes more widely 
 known and felt, there may be improvement in the 
 method of conducting them ; but there can hardly 
 ever again be such a Mission as the one in Leeds, in 
 1875, for its novelty and the power of the missioners 
 engaged, combined to make a profound impression 
 on the town. 
 
 The shops were shut throughout the week at an 
 early hour, and the busy manufacturing community 
 seemed stirred to its very depths. 
 
 In addition to the addresses in workshops and 
 
250 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 sermons to special classes in various district churches, 
 the Bishop usually presided at the prayer meeting 
 which was held daily in the Church Institute from 
 2.15 to 3. 
 
 The report of the Mission having given a brief 
 account of its origin and history goes on to say 
 
 It only remains to ask What has been the result ? 
 There were long and anxious preparations for it ; thought 
 and care and toil were expended ; prayers were offered in 
 family circles, in churches, in schoolrooms, in sick chambers, 
 in private and in public not only in Leeds, but in distant 
 places. It was known that during the Mission Week peti- 
 tions were publicly offered to God in at least sixty churches 
 in different parts of the world ; in Cornwall and other Eng- 
 lish counties, in Scotland, in Ireland, in France, in India. 
 Missioners came from busy towns and quiet country 
 parishes ; Church workers of every rank toiled and prayed ; 
 crowded meetings and crowded churches were seen on every 
 hand ; men who for years had never been within the doors 
 of a House of God, and who at first seemed utterly at a 
 loss what to do when there, or how to follow the service, 
 were found night after night listening to the Gospel Mes- 
 sage. It has been computed that during the Mission about 
 40,000 persons were at one and the same time listening to 
 the Word of God. 
 
 What is the produce of the vast machinery set in 
 motion ? With so much sowing of the good seed, is there 
 any fruit ? 
 
 To begin with, so manifestly had the Divine Presence and 
 Blessing been felt during the Mission Week, that the clergy, 
 unknown to each other, announced that in their various 
 churches, a special Service of Thanksgiving would be held. 
 And there was a universal feeling amongst the missioners, 
 parochial clergy, and Church workers, that there should be, 
 for themselves specially, a United Service of Praise to God 
 for His goodness to them, and for prospering their work. 
 
A THANKSGIVING SERVICE. 251 
 
 This last took place on Monday morning, February I, 
 in the parish church. It consisted of the Administration 
 of the Holy Communion, and sermon by the Bishop of 
 Ripon, from Rev. i. 5, 6 : " Unto Him that loved us, and 
 washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made 
 us kings and priests unto God and His Father ; to Him be 
 glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." 
 
 The Bishop said : " We meet together in this sacred 
 place to offer up our united praises and thanksgiving to 
 God, for the blessing which He has been pleased to pour 
 down upon the Mission. I believe very few of us fully 
 anticipated so copious a shower of blessing as that which 
 has been received. God has abundantly answered our 
 prayers : He has been better to us than our fears. Far 
 be it from me to use the language of exaggeration, but I 
 think on reviewing what has taken place during the last 
 week, I am not mistaken in saying that this large and 
 important community has been deeply stirred. There has 
 been a remarkable unanimity amongst the clergy with 
 respect to this great work. With very few exceptions, the 
 whole body of the clergy of Leeds have thrown themselves 
 into it ; and I learn, with the deepest satisfaction, that 
 through all the preparatory work that has been going on 
 for months with respect to it, there has not been one 
 jarring note of discord ; all has been harmony ; all have 
 been of one mind. 
 
 " The Mission has been remarkably characterised by the 
 absence of every kind of excess and of undue excitement. 
 There has been a very kind and generous feeling expressed 
 on behalf of the Mission by all classes of the community. 
 Even those who do not belong to our own Church have, 
 nevertheless, wished God-speed to the effort ; and, if I am 
 rightly informed, in the chapels of some of our Noncon- 
 forming brethren, prayers have been offered that God would 
 pour down His abundant grace upon this great effort to win 
 souls to Christ. Most of the principal firms in Leeds have 
 kindly thrown open their places of work, to allow the 
 preaching of the Gospel to the hands whom they employ. 
 
252 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 Those opportunities were freely accepted by the men for 
 whose benefit they were intended. Our churches have 
 been crowded with eager and attentive listeners. Many 
 have come inquiring about their soul's salvation. Many 
 have been anxious who were never anxious before about 
 their spiritual state ; and can we for a moment doubt that 
 many, through God's grace, have been brought to Jesus, 
 and have found joy and peace in believing, and that a 
 fresh anthem of praise has resounded through the courts 
 of Heaven, over many a returning sinner brought to God, 
 instrumentally through this Mission ? . . . . On the review 
 of the Mission, the first feeling which ought to be uppermost 
 in our minds is one of profound humility. All the success 
 of a Mission like this is of God, and not of man. It is not 
 man's eloquence, nor man's imagination, nor any gifts which 
 God may have granted to any to possess ; but if there is 
 any success, as we doubt not there has been, " Not unto 
 us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy Name give the 
 praise." The next feeling we ought to cherish is one of 
 greater personal devotedness to our Blessed Lord and 
 Master. Every one who takes any part in Missions ought 
 to look for an increase of spiritual grace in his own soul. 
 We should also, on reviewing the Mission, cherish a feeling 
 of greater earnestness than ever in seeking the salvation of 
 souls around us. Let us bind ourselves on this, the day 
 of our thanksgiving, that we will, with redoubled energy, 
 devote ourselves to the work of trying to bring poor 
 wandering sinners to the feet of Christ." 
 
 The service closed most appropriately with singing the 
 Te Deum. 
 
 The Bishop had the best means of judging of the 
 success of the Mission, for he found a very great 
 increase in the number of Confirmation candidates, 
 especially in the case of adults, who were brought 
 into the Church chiefly through the special efforts 
 which were then put forth. 
 
LEEDS MISSION OF 1883. 253 
 
 When the time came round for another Mission 
 in Leeds, in 1883, my father was no longer able to 
 take a personal share in the work, but he wrote 
 the following Pastoral, and prayerfully watched its 
 progress : 
 
 On behalf of this Mission, the Bishop of the diocese 
 earnestly invites the co-operation, and bespeaks the cordial 
 sympathy of all classes. The object at which we aim is 
 to uproot the seeds of vice and immorality, to check the 
 growth of infidelity, to advance the cause of pure and 
 undefiled religion, and to raise the standard of vital godli- 
 ness in the heart and life of professing Christians. In the 
 midst of this vast and overwhelming population, notwith- 
 standing its many churches, chapels, schools, teachers of 
 religion, and multiplied agencies for the spread of living 
 Christianity, we are surrounded by tens of thousands who 
 are living without God in the world, without care for their 
 eternal welfare, ignorant of Christ and His blessed Gospel, 
 with no thought for their souls, for Heaven or for Hell, for 
 God or for the Judgment to come. Is it not a duty to 
 endeavour to rouse such persons to a sense of their peril, 
 and to prevail with them to ask the question, " What must 
 I do to be saved ? " They are not reached by the ordinary 
 means of grace ; the Sabbath bell in vain calls them to the 
 house of prayer ; all its many opportunites for religious 
 instruction are for them provided in vain. May we not 
 hope to reach them by special efforts on their behalf? 
 Such efforts have been tried and proved effectual. They 
 were tried in this town some eight years ago, with results 
 which astonished many, and put to shame the unbelief of 
 thousands who doubted the effect which may be expected 
 to accompany such an attempt, made in reliance on the 
 living power of God the Holy Ghost The clergy of this 
 town, charged with the duty of watching for souls, have 
 determined, after much thought and prayer, to repeat the 
 effort. We will undertake it in dependence on Divine 
 
254 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 strength, and in reliance on Divine direction. To convert, 
 or to save the soul, is not in the power of man ; but the 
 power of God is made effectual in connection with the use 
 of appointed means. Earnest, believing prayer, the ministry 
 of the Word, heart-stirring appeals to the conscience, the 
 faithful delivery of the messages of the Gospel, telling of 
 the love of Jesus, of His ability and willingness to save to the 
 uttermost all who come unto God by Him, these are the 
 means which have not lost their efficacy ; under their faith- 
 ful use strong hearts have been broken, souls dead in tres- 
 passes and sins have been quickened by the power of Divine 
 grace, drunkards have been reformed, unchaste lives have 
 been purified, evil habits have been renounced, peace and 
 purity, holiness and happiness, have shed their moral fra- 
 grance, where all was formerly strife and misery and sin. I 
 ask you to unite in this special effort, from which we con- 
 fidently anticipate many spiritual blessings. Among them, 
 not the least will be a growth of spiritual life, zeal, and 
 
 fervour among the professing disciples of Christ To 
 
 your fervent prayers I commend this Mission, and may it 
 please Almighty God to grant that, in answer to our sup- 
 plications and united efforts, there may be poured down 
 copious showers of blessing. 
 
 Passing from the subject of Retreats and Missions 
 to another important event in my father's episcopate, 
 I am greatly indebted to the kindness of Canon 
 Temple, who has written an account of his work, as 
 President of the Church Congress held at Leeds in 
 1872, and also of the formation of the Diocesan Con- 
 ference, which was summoned to meet for the first 
 time in 1878. 
 
 Canon Temple writes : 
 
 . Leeds Church Congress, -1872. 
 
 In the minute book of the Nottingham Church Con- 
 gress, which now lies before me, is found the following 
 statement : 
 
CHURCH CONGRESS AT LEEDS. 255 
 
 " At a meeting of the Executive Committee, held after 
 the Congress Morning Session, on October 14, 1871, the 
 Bishop Suffragan in the chair, Archdeacon Emery read a 
 letter, signed by Dr. Woodford, of Leeds, and others, in- 
 viting the Congress to hold its next meeting in that town. 
 
 "Archdeacon Trollope moved, Rev. G. Venables 
 seconded, and it was resolved, 'That the next meeting 
 take place at Leeds.' " 
 
 This is the first indication given of an event which 
 was fraught with important consequences to the Church 
 in the diocese of Ripon, namely, the meeting of that 
 Church Congress in which Bishop Bickersteth played so 
 important a part, first as its chief promoter, and afterwards 
 as its president. In November, 1871, the first meetings 
 were held to prepare for the coming work. In spite of 
 some little difficulties raised at these early meetings, a 
 spirit of harmony and energetic co-operation very quickly 
 became the distinguishing mark of all that was done. That 
 this was so, every one felt was due in large measure to the 
 tact and courtesy of the Bishop, and perhaps not less than 
 this to the firm resolution which he evinced at an early 
 stage of the proceedings, as one of the General Committee 
 phrased it, " to drive the coach himself." 
 
 The difficult and laborious work of presiding, so far as 
 one man could do it, over the deliberations of the Congress 
 as a whole, was accomplished by Bishop Bickersteth at 
 once with distinguished ability and with transparent fair- 
 ness. These qualities were exhibited repeatedly in the 
 course of the discussions, and very notably during one 
 rather painful scene, at which strong words were used by 
 some members of the Congress, while the President seemed 
 to be confronted at the moment by a brother prelate of 
 the very highest mark in the Church, and of standing con- 
 siderably senior to his own. 
 
 The ideal which the Bishop set before himself of the 
 proper functions of a Church Congress, was well sketched 
 in his inaugural address. " We do not meet," he said, " as 
 a Church Congress to discuss the grand fundamentals of 
 
256 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 the everlasting Gospel. There are no fresh discoveries to 
 be made in what is to be received as fundamental truth : 
 we have neither to report nor to investigate any new de- 
 velopments of the Faith which was once delivered to the 
 Saints. . . . These organic doctrines of Christianity lie 
 beyond the province of debate by this assembly. But 
 there is an ever-widening field for discussion upon matters 
 of supreme importance to the efficiency of the Church, and 
 the adaptation of her machinery to the shifting require- 
 ments of the age in which we live. A state of great activity 
 is a marked feature of the Church at the present day. The 
 torpor of a past age has given place to an awakened energy 
 and zeal, which, if rightly directed, may lead to the most 
 beneficial results. We are learning by degrees the need 
 of greater elasticity and freedom in our Church system. I 
 suppose that most men now recognise the necessity, if 
 the National Church is to retain, or, speaking more cor- 
 rectly, if she is to recover her influence over large masses 
 of our fellow-countrymen, that she should be emancipated 
 to some extent from those rigid and unyielding bands of 
 uniformity, which have too often tended rather to impede 
 than to further the Church's progress. 
 
 " In such a period of reawakened activity, conference is 
 of inestimable value. A hundred problems are sure to 
 arise, as indeed they have arisen, for the wise solution of 
 which nothing is more to be desired than the calm delibera- 
 tion of thoughtful minds, and the contributions of expe- 
 rience which may be imparted by those who have tried, 
 each in his own sphere and in his own method, to work 
 out the problems which the circumstances of the Church 
 and the age force on our notice. Problems, for example, 
 such as these : how to win back the multitudes who, from 
 whatever cause, have become estranged from our Com- 
 munion, or, what is far worse, estranged from Christianity 
 itself; how to adapt the ministrations of the Church so 
 as to reach the largest number, and to convey the fullest 
 measure of spiritual blessing ; how to utilise to the utmost 
 the services of the lay members of the Church, without 
 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 257 
 
 trenching upon the province which is peculiar to an 
 Ordained Ministry ; how to counteract the tendencies of 
 the age, whether towards scepticism in one direction, or 
 towards superstition in another ; how, without the smallest 
 surrender of essential truth, to cultivate brotherly union 
 between all who profess to be followers of the same Divine 
 Saviour; how to preserve the distinction between funda- 
 mental truth, which we must dte rather than compromise, 
 and that which, though equally true, is not equally impor- 
 tant, and about which we may safely agree to differ till the 
 prayer of our Divine Lord is accomplished, ' that they all 
 may be one ; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, 
 that they also may be one in Us : that the world may 
 believe that Thou hast sent Me.' " 
 
 The Bishop then proceeded to give, as the Committee 
 had requested him to do, a most interesting account of 
 Church work in the Diocese of Ripon since its reconstitu- 
 tion in the year 1836. The substance of this part of his 
 address has already been quoted from the Bishop's tribute 
 to his predecessor in his first Charge. He went on to 
 say 
 
 " The expansion of the Church, and the hold which it 
 has upon the affection of the people, may fairly be tested 
 in a diocese like this by the erection of new churches, by 
 the number of candidates who offer themselves for Con- 
 firmation, and by the voluntary contributions in aid of 
 Church purposes. 
 
 "Applying, then, these three tests to the question of 
 Church progress in the diocese, the following are the con- 
 clusions arrived at : 
 
 " In the five years which preceded the formation of the 
 See of Ripon in 1836, the number of churches consecrated 
 within the limits of the present diocese was exactly four. 
 In the five years which immediately followed the constitu- 
 tion of the See in 1836, the number of churches consecrated 
 was thirty-three. In the five years ending with the present, 
 the number of churches consecrated is forty-two. 
 
 " I have not any lists of the candidates who were con- 
 
 S 
 
258 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 firmed during the episcopate of Bishop Longley. But the 
 number of those who were confirmed in the five years, 
 from 1856 to 1861, was 19,086; and the number con- 
 firmed in the five years terminating with the present is 
 29,776. 
 
 " I have no means of ascertaining how much was raised 
 in the diocese for Church purposes at an earlier date ; but 
 I have exact returns for the three years ending with 1866, 
 and the three years ending with 1869. 
 
 " In the first of these triennial periods the diocese raised 
 for Church purposes 308,565 ; in the second triennial 
 period it raised 330,215 ; making a total in six years of 
 638,780, which may be regarded as the free-will offering 
 of new members in furtherance of the work of the Church 
 within this diocese. These figures do not include the 
 contributions which have been given in aid of the Church 
 extension beyond the limits of the diocese. 
 
 " These are facts from which I augur hopefully for the 
 progress of the Church, not here only, but throughout the 
 length and breadth of the land. They are not solitary 
 facts ; other dioceses might, I doubt not, furnish a parallel. 
 But these facts speak for themselves ; they tell of a depth 
 of attachment to the National Church, of an amount of 
 zeal and liberality which must spring from a deep con- 
 viction that the National Church is a national blessing ; 
 that, notwithstanding all her faults and all her short- 
 comings, she is a witness for God and for truth in the 
 land ; a bulwark of the throne and the constitution ; a tree 
 planted in our midst, whose leaves are for the healing of 
 the nation. . . ." 
 
 After pleading once more for a spirit of charity and 
 mutual forbearance, the Bishop concluded by making the 
 following suggestion, which was adopted with enthusiasm 
 at the time, and has been a characteristic feature of each 
 subsequent Congress : 
 
 " One word more. We commenced our proceedings by 
 an act of worship of prayer and praise. I think it is 
 meet that a Church Congress should also commence its 
 
WORKING MEWS MEETING. 259 
 
 proceedings with an act of faith, by showing to the whole 
 world that we cling fast to apostolic truth. I therefore 
 invite this vast assembly to rise as one man, and recite 
 with me the Apostles' Creed." 
 
 With the exception of his inaugural address, and such 
 little interpositions as every chairman of a great meeting 
 has to exercise in preserving order, the President only 
 made three speeches : one at the Working Men's Meeting, 
 and others, very short ones, at the meeting on Friday 
 morning, about the Deepening of Spiritual Life, and at 
 the final meeting. The first of these three meetings is 
 somewhat more than historical. All readers of the " Life 
 of Bishop Wilberforce " are familiar with the exceedingly 
 graphic letter written by that able prelate from the Con- 
 gress Hall to the Rev. Hugh Pearson, in which he criticises 
 fearlessly some, and applauds with discrimination others 
 of the utterances which fell from the lips of those around 
 him. I venture to quote the concluding passages of that 
 famous letter : "Now old Woodford speaks ; he has been 
 rapturously received and is speaking excellently well. Of 
 the old Church. The Church of England, not an aristo- 
 cratic Church (very fine : in his best mode). An analysis 
 of the real religious state of the town, lightly but very 
 effectively done. Why do respectable working men not 
 worship ? ' Talk it out, sift it, weigh it, twist it, and then 
 come and tell us what we can do to take stones out of 
 your path and make the way easier to you : and do what 
 you can to bring others with you. You can do what we 
 cannot. You can pass thresholds we cannot cross,' etc. 
 He has ended excellently, in great applause. Bishop of 
 Ripon before closing, wishes to say a word. Universal 
 interest in the Congress, shared by Nonconformists, in- 
 cluding our chief civil magistrate : the Mayor (applause). 
 (He gave us turtle soup to day). He watches for the welfare 
 of the good old Church of England, and he may speak 
 to-night, and so he rises (stupendous applause), speaks 
 sensibly and well. The clock strikes ten, and we break up 
 in search of horizontality." 
 
260 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 The Leeds Church Congress far exceeded in the 
 number of its members all similar gatherings which had 
 taken place up k to that date. And though the numbers 
 have been larger at some later assemblies, it may be 
 doubted whether, on the whole, any other of these meetings 
 has exercised a more permanent influence for good, either 
 on the particular place in which it has been held, or on 
 the Church at large. 
 
 If this be so, all who like the present writer witnessed 
 the great effort from beginning to end, will recognise that, 
 second only to God's gracious guidance, the result was 
 due to the courtesy, dignity, firmrfess, and ability of the 
 President. They will gladly echo the words of Canon 
 Bernard : " We are of one mind about the presidency, 
 because we have all felt the impartiality and decision 
 which has kept all things in perfect Christian peace, when 
 from the nature of the subjects discussed, and the variety 
 of opinions represented by those who have attended the 
 Congress, we might have expected a very different result. 
 We have all felt, and we now acknowledge, the courtesy, 
 the judgment, the composure of voice and manner which 
 have seemed to diffuse their own influence over the minds 
 of this vast assembly." 
 
 It is true that some of these expressions may seem now 
 a little in excess of what the case demands, but it must 
 be remembered that the present orderly and forbearing 
 attitude of the Church Congress has been a matter of 
 growth, and that the full expression of feeling and of 
 thought which is so easily tolerated now presented in 
 earlier days a front of difficulty which only a really strong 
 President was properly qualified to face. 
 
 Amongst the many happy recollections of the 
 Congress was the friendship which my father formed 
 with the saintly Bishop Forbes. One who was 
 present wrote 
 
 I walked with the Bishop out of the hall where the 
 
 
BISHOP FORBES OF BRECHIN. 261 
 
 Bishop of Brechin read his deeply searching paper, " On 
 the Deepening of the Spiritual Life," and I remember 
 him saying with deep emotion, how much he had gained 
 from the paper, and how " his heart yearned to know more 
 of the reader." 
 
 That the feeling was reciprocal, was shown by 
 the dedication which the Bishop of Brechin prefixed 
 to his paper in its final form 
 
 TO THE RIGHT REVEREND 
 
 ROBERT, 
 
 BY DIVINE PERMISSION, BISHOP OF RIPON, 
 IN WHOSE PRESENCE THE GERM OF 
 
 THIS LITTLE TREATISE 
 WAS READ, AT THE LEEDS CHURCH CONGRESS, 
 
 OVER WHICH HE PRESIDED 
 WITH GRACE, DIGNITY, AND JUSTICE, 
 
 THIS IS 
 INSCRIBED. 
 
 Canon Temple has been good enough to add to 
 his most interesting account of the Church Congress 
 a sketch of the causes which led to the formation of 
 the Ripon Diocesan Conference, and the part which 
 my father took in its early organisation. The Bishop 
 was so much more a man of action than of mere 
 speech, that he was inclined to' hold back until he 
 saw that the Conference was really desired by 
 clergy and laity alike, and would be likely to prove 
 of real advantage in the practical working of diocesan 
 institutions. Canon Temple was one of those whose 
 judgment influenced my father in the matter, so it 
 is interesting to hear from him how the movement 
 grew : 
 
262 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 Ripon Diocesan Conference, 1878. 
 
 The quickening of Church life, so far as that is syno- 
 nymous with spiritual life in the heart of each separate 
 Christian, may be regarded as God's special gift to this 
 nation at the close of the last, and the beginning of the 
 present century. The Saviour, of ^course, in every part 
 of Christendom has always had His chosen ones, whose 
 lives of battle with the enemy, and rest in the Lord, have 
 been a perpetual witness to Himself in the face of an 
 unbelieving world. But it is not too much to say that the 
 great Evangelical Movement, which may be considered to 
 date from the days of Wesley,, was a marvellous expansion 
 of life such as had known but a sickly and stunted existence 
 since the days of the Restoration of Charles the Second. 
 In like manner, God's gift to our own day has been a 
 quickening of the Church's corporate life. And this has 
 brought in its train a certain Catholic feeling and a yearning 
 for communion, alike of Christian with Christian and of 
 Church with Church, which could not be repressed, and 
 which refused to satisfy itself with the conviction that 
 individual salvation was the Christian's sole or noblest aim. 
 If the Master had founded a Church, had called that 
 Church His Body, had furnished it with limbs and an 
 organic constitution, it could not be safe for Christians to 
 ignore such a fact in their approaches to the Most High. 
 Such conduct was not only a waste of power, it was a 
 sapping of the springs of life. And so within the Church 
 of England, at any rate, there sprang up a desire that 
 Churchmen should know their own minds and the minds 
 of their brethren, and that the united body should be able 
 to speak with some approach to the confidence of those 
 who dared of old to say, " It seemed good to the Holy 
 Ghost and to us." This has shown itself in the constitution, 
 or reconstitution, of Church Assemblies, some formal, some 
 informal, and notably in the revival of Convocation ; in the 
 invention of that very molluscous, but most useful assembly, 
 the Church Congress ; and, as a sort of combination of 
 
DIOCESAN CONFERENCE. 263 
 
 these, more popular but less regular than Convocation, 
 more regular but less popular than the Congress, in the 
 gathering of the Diocesan Conference. The first of these 
 last-named assemblies had been held in the diocese of 
 Ely, wherein also the Church Congress had first seen the 
 light. It was impossible that a mind like that of Bishop 
 Bickersteth could miss reading the signs of the times with 
 reference to this subject ; and so early as the year 1870, at 
 his Visitation held in Leeds, he had convoked, without 
 formal election, but by personal invitation from himself, 
 a sort of Conference, which discussed various important 
 subjects, especially Foreign Missions and National Educa- 
 tion, with considerable freedom, and not, it is hoped, 
 without edification. This Conference sat on two days, viz. 
 the tenth and eleventh of October. The writer does not 
 remember that it passed any formal resolutions. The 
 proceeding was altogether tentative, and it seems to have 
 been an experiment founded on a discussion held in the 
 Palace at the meeting of rural deans in 1868. The 
 subject ripened in the Bishop's mind, and in 1876 he 
 threw the question out openly before the clergy at each 
 Visitation call, " Is it desirable or not to hold a Diocesan 
 Conference ? " An answer in the affirmative was all but 
 unanimous. With the help of his archdeacons and rural 
 deans, the Bishop sketched the form of a provisional 
 constituency. Certain persons became members ex officio, 
 a few were allowed to be nominated by the Bishop, and 
 the above-named provisional constituency elected the 
 remainder. The Conference so constituted met for the 
 first time in Leeds on the tenth of October, 1878 ; and its 
 first business, after the President's preliminary address, was 
 to take into consideration its own constitution. In .the 
 inaugural address the Bishop explained very lucidly and 
 distinctly the raison d'etre of the Conference, and gave an 
 historical account of how it came to be assembled. He 
 well pointed out that though, unlike the Church Congress, 
 it could formulate decisions and frame resolutions, it yet 
 was not a synod, and could not legislate in any sense what- 
 
264 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 ever. It could embody the collective opinion of a diocese, 
 but it could do no more. Yet, doing so much and no 
 more, it might be the spring of a great deal of practical 
 work. Separate parishes would be likely to act upon its 
 suggestions. Church Defence might almost take a new 
 departure from its support. Unworthy prejudice might 
 vanish before it, as mist before the sunshine. It might 
 excellently well handle such subjects as Diocesan Organisa- 
 tion and Diocesan Finance. It might prove the possibility 
 of Churchmen meeting together to discuss the highest 
 interests of the Church ; and might demonstrate that 
 differences of opinion upon some points did not render men 
 unfit to consult together with profit and edification upon all. 
 
 Under the direction of its President, the Conference 
 had sufficient wisdom to avoid spending too much time 
 on its own formation and order of proceeding, when it was 
 of the first importance to show that it knew how to pro- 
 ceed. Accordingly, it very quickly began a spirited debate 
 on the subject of Diocesan Organisation and Finance, 
 including Diocesan Societies. This led to the formation 
 of a Lay Committee, and the drawing up of a Report which 
 it is hoped may yet some day bear fruit, such as has been 
 borne by similar action in other dioceses. 
 
 Among the various subjects discussed at the Confer- 
 ence, that one on which, at the present time, our readers 
 will most desire to have the late Bishop's opinion is un- 
 doubtedly the division of the diocese, and the formation 
 of a new See within its area. His remarks were as 
 follows : 
 
 "The question before the Conference was not one 
 directly how to raise funds in order to set on foot the new 
 bishopric ; but the object of the resolution was simply to 
 express general approbation of the Act which, though 
 permissive, empowered the constitution of a new bishopric 
 for Yorkshire, provided the funds for so doing were raised. 
 When the great meeting to which reference had been made 
 was convened, the simple fact that a Diocesan Conference 
 had pronounced an opinion in favour of the formation of 
 
DIVISION OF THE DIOCESE. 265 
 
 the new bishopric would be of great advantage, and would 
 stimulate the generosity of churchmen. The measure was 
 one in which he felt the deepest interest. He could not 
 but have mingled feelings with regard to it : and when he 
 looked to that large belt of the diocese which it was pro- 
 posed to sever from the existing diocese, and when he 
 recalled the many happy hours he had spent in that part 
 of the diocese, and the many friendships he had formed 
 there, which he trusted would never be severed : and when 
 he recalled the happy intercourse he had had with his 
 brethren, the clergy, and how he had rejoiced in seeing 
 their work, he could tell them if he gave way to selfish 
 feelings only, he should deprecate the formation of the new 
 bishopric. But, in a matter of this kind, which affected 
 the interests of the whole Church, all private feeling must 
 give way. He wished to bury private feeling in the matter, 
 and to consult only that which might promote the glory 
 of God and the good of the Church : and he believed the 
 time had come when the creation of a new diocese in 
 Yorkshire would be for the glory of God and for the 
 advantage of the Church. Since the diocese of Ripon 
 was constituted, forty years ago, one new church had been 
 consecrated and made the centre of a new district once 
 every two months. That work was not at a standstill. 
 Last year he consecrated nine new churches ; and before 
 the close of the present year he expected the number would 
 be eight ; so that there was no diminution of zeal on the 
 part of the Church of England to meet the spiritual wants 
 of the diocese. 
 
 " It must, therefore, be patent to every one that such an 
 increase in the number of new churches in the diocese 
 must very considerably multiply the labours of the Church. 
 The question then arose, could a bishop adequately dis- 
 charge those labours if the number of new parishes was 
 utterly beyond his power efficiently to superintend ? Upon 
 considerations like these and he would not detain them 
 by referring to other facts leading to the same conclusion 
 the time had arrived for the subdivision of the diocese. 
 
266 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 He did not originate the scheme ; he should not have 
 thought it his duty to have come forward to propose such 
 subdivision. But when he found some most earnest 
 churchmen in the diocese, and some of his warmest friends, 
 coming forward to propose the scheme, he could not but 
 say that they had his hearty good will, and that he would 
 give them every assistance in his power. He would say 
 further, that he did not contemplate the carrying out of 
 the scheme as likely palpably to effect any diminution 
 of his work. He did not wish to lead an idle life. He 
 might almost adopt the words of Dr. Hook on leaving 
 Leeds, on going to what some considered a position of 
 repose. Dr. Hook said, ' I don't mean to go to Chichester 
 to be idle ; if I don't find work there, I will make it.' A 
 large portion of the West Riding, with its large towns, and 
 its incessant temptations to work, might be taken away 
 from him ; but he could find work in other parts of the 
 diocese, and God helping him, he might find enough to 
 do, and perhaps more than he was able to accomplish in 
 other districts, which, with their scantier populations, might 
 have had some reason to complain that they had not been 
 visited so often as they might have been by the Bishop of 
 the diocese." 
 
 The Bishop always spoke with earnestness about the 
 satisfaction he derived from that his first real Diocesan 
 Conference ; and he proved his earnestness in the matter 
 by repeating the experiment thus made in the following 
 years. 
 
 Here may be added a letter from one who thought 
 that some allusion should be made in this memoir 
 to the annual conferences of archdeacons and rural 
 deans. These meetings were far more than an 
 occasion of extending hospitality to a number of 
 the clergy, though the opportunity of pleasant social 
 intercourse at the Palace is gratefully remembered. 
 The Rev. H. D. Cust Nunn writes : 
 
MEETINGS OF RURAL DEAN. 267 
 
 There was, to my mind, no occasion on which the 
 Bishop's great powers of method, of gathering into focus, 
 and of presidential acumen, displayed themselves more 
 thoroughly. I have before me some agenda papers, which 
 were sent out to each member of this Conference some 
 three weeks before the day of meeting, and to show how 
 wide of range were the subjects for discussion, I should 
 like to quote one or two. 
 
 August 22, 1877. 
 
 1. The Diocesan Conference. 
 
 2. The present aspect of the Burials Question. 
 
 3. The Ornaments Rubric. 
 
 4. Parochial Associations in aid of Foreign Missions. 
 
 5. Elementary Education ; should the Clergy serve 
 on School Attendance Committees? Arrangements for 
 Diocesan Inspection. 
 
 August n, 1881. 
 
 1. The mode of electing clerical representatives for the 
 Diocesan Conference. 
 
 2. The Revised Version of the New Testament. 
 
 3. The working of the Ecclesiastical Dilapidations Act. 
 
 4. How may the Riding Charities for the relief of the 
 Clergy become more effectual ? 
 
 One of the chief arguments advanced for making the 
 office of rural dean of an elective character, is the sup- 
 posed well-nigh servile dependency that characterises the 
 present system of nomination by the bishop. I have often 
 thought as I looked upon the circle of my brethren, as they 
 sat around the library at the Palace, how thoroughly mis- 
 leading is such a view. For here were representatives of 
 all parties, and, what is more, men who, of whatever party 
 they were, were known to be some of the most independent 
 spirits in the diocese ; and these the selection of the Bishop. 
 And, as in the choice of men for the office, so, too, in the 
 act of consultation with his officers, I can testify how far 
 Bishop Bickersteth ever was from seeking to unduly in- 
 fluence their own individual views. I have often taken 
 
268 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 part in discussions at the Palace on such questions as " the 
 advisableness of frequent Celebrations of the Holy Com- 
 munion," when views have been freely expressed, most 
 probably not in accord with his ; when not a word of 
 rebuke has fallen from his lips. Moreover, the same spirit 
 of liberality has been extended to the youngest men as to 
 the elders. Indeed, I think it was rather a feature of 
 Bishop Bickersteth's character not always to be found 
 in leaders to credit young men with their due and proper 
 share of sense and power. I have said enough to show, 
 what indeed is generally acknowledged, that, as a Presi- 
 dent, he excelled in keeping men to the subject of dis- 
 cussion, in guiding their thoughts with tact, and in gathering 
 up to a point the bearing of the whole. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 EPISODES OF A BUSY LIFE. 
 
 Hard work and scanty holidays Confirmation tours in the dales 
 Hospitality of the laity Visits the sick, and constantly talks with 
 working men on spiritual things A railway accident Illness in 
 1877 Spends six weeks at Cintra Letters home from thence 
 Experience of Roman Catholic processions Returning home 
 The exercise of patronage Practical sympathy with the im- 
 poverished clergy Temperance work and the Navvy Mission 
 Society. 
 
 TWENTY years of incessant work began to leave their 
 mark upon a constitution naturally very strong and 
 vigorous. A more careful expenditure of time and 
 strength might have added many years to the 
 Bishop's life, but the value of a life must be mea- 
 sured by another standard than that of time. It 
 was the rarest thing during the greater part of his 
 episcopate for my father to take a holiday. In the 
 years 1869 an d 1873 he went abroad for a few 
 weeks, and found the most intense enjoyment and 
 refreshment in mountain scenery ; but generally his 
 only recreation was variety of work. 
 
 The diversified character of the Ripon diocese 
 was not without advantage, for a Confirmation tour 
 in the northern dales was a refreshing change from 
 arduous work in the West Riding. In alternate 
 years Confirmations took him into the outlying 
 
270 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 districts of Arncliffe, Hawes, and Sedburgh, or the 
 even more remote centres of Stanwick, Barningham, 
 Romaldkirk, and Bowes. The latter round was 
 usually accomplished in a way which gave him a 
 very delightful holiday. Leaving home in his own 
 carriage, accompanied by my mother and one or two 
 children, he would post through the dales ; and the 
 pleasure of these Confirmation tours was greatly 
 enhanced by the hospitality of many kind friends 
 among the laity. On many successive tours he was 
 the guest of Mr. Michell, of Forcett Park, the 
 Duchess Eleanor of Northumberland, Mr. Hutton, 
 of Marske, the late Lord Zetland, Mr. Morritt, of 
 Rokeby, and many others who furthered his progress 
 from place to place, and did all in their power to 
 make his work agreeable and easy. These friends 
 in the North did for him what was done by many 
 others of the laity in the manufacturing districts. 
 It is impossible to enumerate all those whose houses 
 were open to him when work called him to their 
 neighbourhood ; but the hospitality he most fre- 
 quently enjoyed was that of Mr. Rawson, of Mill 
 House, and Colonel Akroyd, at Halifax, the late 
 Mr. John Rand, at Bradford, and Mr. Bickerton 
 Turner, at the Bank of England in Leeds. These 
 visits were always connected with some public duty ; 
 but Sir Charles Lowther, at Swillington and Wilton 
 Castle, and Miss Rawson, of Nydd, were amongst 
 the number of those who tried to detain him for 
 a few days of rest and quiet in the intervals of ex- 
 hausting work. 
 
 The late Mr. Mark Milbank used to entertain 
 him at his shooting-box at Barningham, from whence 
 
HOSPITALITY OF THE LAITY. 2jl 
 
 he could reach the out-of-the-way districts on the 
 borders of the Tees ; -and from Bowes, where he was 
 often the guest of the late Dr. Headlam, who was 
 for a long time Chancellor of the diocese, he would 
 ramble over the hills, and point out to his children 
 the redoubtable mansion of Dotheboys Hall, where 
 there still flourished the lineal descendants of the 
 eminent pedagogue who- was the original of the 
 great Mr. Squeers. 
 
 My father greatly enjoyed the hearty greetings 
 with which the dalesmen received him, and when 
 staying in a country parish he would often accompany 
 the clergyman to visit sick or bedridden parishioners, 
 who remembered the Bishop's sermons in former 
 years, or desired to be reminded of their Confirma- 
 tion by receiving again his blessing. 
 
 Whenever he was thrown in the way of working 
 men, whether they were farmers in the dales, or 
 porters on the railway, or labourers on the country 
 roads, my father sought opportunity to speak to them 
 of spiritual things. 
 
 His admirable tact enabled him to do this in a 
 way which made a deep impression, for none could 
 mistake the reality of the interest which he took in 
 the highest welfare of all alike who came within his 
 reach. Navvies, and other working-men, have often 
 surprised people by their grateful recollection of the 
 Bishop's words, and of the direct, personal way in 
 which he spoke to them of giving their hearts to God. 
 
 There was no more familiar figure on the rail- 
 way between Leeds and Ripon than the Bishop, who 
 was passing to and fro often three or four times a 
 week. His movements were all arranged by him- 
 
272 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 self, and the Confirmation tours were planned not 
 without an accurate study of Bradshaw, which en- 
 sured an unfailing punctuality. On one occasion, 
 rather than miss an important engagement, he 
 reached his destination in a somewhat remarkable 
 way. The congregation knew that there had been 
 a mistake about the trains, and expected that for 
 once the Bishop would fail to appear. The church- 
 wardens, however, refused to postpone the service, 
 certain that he would come somehow ; and surely 
 enough the Bishop arrived, having travelled on the 
 engine of a goods train. 
 
 Once, and once only in all his travelling, my 
 father met with a railway accident. He was a pas- 
 senger from Leeds by the 5.30 p.m. express on 
 January 25, 1872. Some three miles from Harro- 
 gate, on the dangerous curve leading to the Crimple 
 Viaduct, the train was going at excessive speed, and 
 an accident occurred, in which the Bishop and a 
 number of other passengers escaped death or severe 
 personal injuries in a manner that may be regarded 
 as little less than miraculous. There was something 
 wrong with the facing points where the loop for 
 H arrogate leaves the old main line. The engine, 
 tender, and three or four carriages passed safely 
 over the points ; then there was a severe shock, and 
 the carriages composing the latter half of the train 
 were driven upon the wrong line of rails. The 
 coupling chains snapped, the engine swerved and 
 ran into the embankment, half burying itself in the 
 soil. Several carriages, including the one in which 
 my father travelled, were completely overturned. 
 He was precipitated into the arms of a fellow- 
 
A RAILWAY ACCIDENT. 273 
 
 passenger, and escaped entirely unhurt. He climbed 
 through the window of the broken carriage, and after 
 seeing that there was no one seriously injured he 
 walked on to H arrogate. 
 
 Alarming rumours soon spread that the accident 
 had been of a very serious character, and it was 
 feared that the Bishop was hurt. For the next few 
 days he was overwhelmed with letters of kind con- 
 gratulation and inquiry, and these he carefully pre- 
 served as a memorial of an escape for which he was 
 deeply thankful to the protecting Providence of God. 
 Incidents of this kind from time to time gave people 
 the opportunity of showing the love and veneration 
 with which they regarded their Bishop. 1 
 
 The first prolonged interruption to his work took 
 place in the spring of 1877, when he was laid aside 
 by illness for a month in London. On his recovery, 
 by the advice of Sir James Paget he went abroad, 
 accompanied by his daughter, to spend several weeks 
 with his friend, Mr. (now Sir Francis) Cook, whose 
 family had been amongst my father's warmest sup- 
 porters in early days at Clapham, at his beautiful 
 Villa of Monserrate, near Cintra, in Portugal. 
 
 The life at Cintra was so novel an experience, 
 and he saw there so much that was interesting, that 
 a few extracts from his letters home are well worth 
 preserving. 
 
 They sailed from Southampton on Monday, the 
 9th of April, and after a rather rough voyage across 
 the Bay of Biscay reached Lisbon on Friday morn- 
 ing, the 1 3th. The next day they joined Mr. and 
 
 1 By my father's desire, mention was made of his escape in the General 
 Thanksgiving at the Cathedral on the following Sunday. 
 
 T 
 
274 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 Mrs. Cook in Lisbon, and proceeded to Cintra, a 
 drive of about sixteen miles. Of this journey my 
 father writes : 
 
 The road from Lisbon to Cintra is not pretty till you 
 get within sight of the Cintra mountains. But it is strange 
 to see the hedges for the most part formed of aloes, and 
 occasionally with geraniums growing quite wild. We halted 
 three times on the journey to give the horses bread and 
 wine ! and arrived at Monserrate (which is about two miles 
 beyond Cintra) at seven. Darling F. did not seem fatigued ; 
 but we were quite ready for dinner at 7.45. The servants 
 here had only got the letter announcing our coming at three 
 in the afternoon ; they displayed wonderful energy in get- 
 ting all ready in so short a time. 
 
 The scenery is exquisite. It is a combination of majestic 
 rocks, hills, forests, most beautiful flowers, and a view of the 
 sea in the distance. The Cooks are as kind as it is possible 
 to be. ... This morning (Sunday) at eleven we had a 
 service in the drawing-room. There is no English service 
 or clergyman at Cintra, so that we are entirely shut out 
 from all public means of grace. But God can supply the 
 want when, in His Providence, we are deprived of them. 
 We are eagerly looking out for letters from you. . . . You 
 shall hear from us constantly, but I am afraid the letters 
 will be five or six days in reaching you. 
 
 In another letter to my mother the following 
 day, April 16, he writes an account of the house 
 itself in which he spent the six weeks' holiday : 
 
 Our rooms are in a tower which we ascend by stone 
 steps. There is no fireplace in the whole house. The 
 drawing-room felt cold yesterday till they warmed it with 
 a charcoal brazier. I give you a sketch of the shape of my 
 room. . . . The views from the windows are extremely 
 pretty : from one window I look on the king's palace, 
 which is on a lofty hill about two miles off; from another, 
 
MONSERRATE, PORTUGAL. 
 
 on the sea in the distance ; and from the third, on to the 
 garden. It would be hardly possible to give you any idea 
 of the house or grounds. The house is somewhat in the 
 style of the Alhambra, with long corridors and lofty domes. 
 Every room abounds with curiosities or relics of antiquity. 
 Mr. Cook seems to have ransacked the world to enrich 
 the house with objects of interest. The whole length of 
 the principal corridor has columns of coloured marble on 
 each side. The gallery, at nearly the top of one of the 
 domes, is panelled with marbles which were taken from 
 the palace of the King of Delhi. In the grounds you find 
 nearly every kind of tree which grows in tropical climates, 
 and azaleas, rhododendrons, roses, geraniums, fuchsias, are 
 in full flower and wild profusion. There are quantities of 
 aloes, myrtles, arbutus trees, and palms. The cork tree 
 seems the commonest. Then there are beautiful pine trees 
 of every description. How you would enjoy the flowers ! 
 
 To the same : 
 
 There is a large library here, but the great majority of 
 the books are in Spanish and Portuguese, and therefore 
 of little use to any one in the house. I have, however, found 
 some English books amongst them. I have read nearly 
 the whole of Milton aloud to F. while she was sketch- 
 ing. I am reading Southey's " Letters on Spain and 
 Portugal ; " they are written in an amusing style. F. 
 and I have also read some of Gibbon's " Lives of Eminent 
 Women ; " and I am reading over again " Chalmers on the 
 Romans," which I admire and value more and more. . . . 
 
 Another letter gives a graphic account of a 
 pleasant expedition : 
 
 It is my turn to write to you to-day ; and first I must 
 tell you about our proceedings yesterday. . . . About half 
 an hour after breakfast Mrs. Cook, F., Miss G., Mr. M., and 
 I set off in an open carnage for Cascailles, a little sea-bath- 
 ing town about nine miles off. The place is pronounced 
 
276 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 "Cask-Ides." The weather was magnificent, bright and 
 genial without any oppressive heat. We arrived there 
 about 12.30. The road is excellent, and in many parts of 
 it there were hedges on both sides of aloes and geraniums, 
 growing wild, and in full flower. As soon as we reached 
 the town we went to the sea-shore, and chose a place 
 amongst the rocks for our picnic luncheon. It is a wild, 
 rocky shore ; we were seated on rocks some thirty feet 
 above the sea. They had all been covered in the early 
 morning by the high tide. The Atlantic rolls in with 
 grand effect ; and as wave after wave broke against the 
 rocks the spray rose up to a great height, and sometimes 
 nearly reached where we were sitting. Having finished 
 our picnic, F. and Miss G. chose a place for sketching, and 
 were occupied for an hour and a half in taking a view of 
 the rocks, the lighthouse, and sea. This is very near where 
 we spent the night of April 12, tossing about and waiting 
 for the morning, to cross the Bar and come up the Tagus 
 to Lisbon. . . . We returned about six o'clock, and found 
 our letters, for which we send you a thousand thanks. . . . 
 To-day we have had another excursion, although a much 
 shorter one. After breakfast we drove to Cintra, and took 
 our station in front of a house on an eminence, to see a 
 Roman Catholic procession. It appears that there is an 
 image of the Virgin which is made to take a circuit of 
 twenty parishes, and is brought into each of them in turn 
 with grand demonstrations. It remains in the principal 
 church a whole year, and then is conveyed to another 
 parish for a similar period. This image was brought to 
 Cintra about this time last year, and to-day it has been 
 conveyed to another parish. The procession consisted of 
 a number of carriages drawn by mules, some representa- 
 tives of the Government on horseback, and a band of music 
 in a curious chariot drawn by six mules. Then a small 
 coach, gilt, with glass sides, not unlike a miniature of the 
 Lord Mayor's coach, with a wax doll inside, dressed in blue 
 silk, with a shawl over it, which represents the Virgin Mary. 
 There was a cart in the procession full of sky-rockets. 
 
MISSIONS IN SPAIN. 277 
 
 Every now and then the procession made a halt, and one 
 of the boys on horseback shouted at the top of his voice 
 a notice of all the blessings which the Virgin bestows 
 wherever she comes. Then they let off a number of the 
 rockets ; the band plays, and the guns in Cintra fire. It is 
 almost incredible that any persons of sense and intelligence 
 can believe in, or practise such superstition. 
 
 My father took a great interest in the Missions 
 to Roman Catholics which were directed by Mr. 
 Pope, the British Chaplain at Lisbon. He visited 
 several of the schools, talking to the teachers, and 
 examining the children ; and both at the time and 
 afterwards watched with deep sympathy the effort 
 to introduce a purer form of faith, where the worst 
 superstitions of Romanism were terribly rife. 
 
 During the time he was at Monserrate my 
 father conducted services in the house every 
 Sunday, which were attended by English residents 
 at Cintra ; and on the way home he preached in 
 Lisbon. 
 
 My father rapidly regained strength during his 
 stay in Portugal, and in answer to a letter from 
 my mother urging him to prolong his holiday, he 
 wrote : 
 
 It is meant, I know, very kindly when people say I 
 ought not to return to work for months to come. But 
 they little know what self-restraint it costs me to stay 
 away at all now that, through God's mercy, I am quite 
 well. . . . 
 
 He reached home by midsummer, 1877. During 
 this year the Spring Confirmations were taken by 
 Bishop Ryan, who had succeeded Dr. Burnett as 
 Vicar of Bradford in 1870, and gave my father 
 much invaluable help. 
 
278 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 The Bishop was now strong and vigorous, and 
 quite up to his work, and the summer and autumn 
 of this year were fully occupied. No less than ten 
 new churches were consecrated, and restorations 
 were completed at Cawthorne, Pickhill, Pudsey, 
 Netherthong, Rokeby, Silsden, and Mean wood. 
 
 Hitherto no allusion has been made to a part of 
 his work which my father felt was a source of greater 
 anxiety than satisfaction ; I mean the distribution of 
 patronage. As in the case of other recently consti- 
 tuted dioceses, the number of livings in the Bishop's 
 gift was small, and of these some of the most im- 
 portant were outside the diocese. He sought to 
 exchange some of the latter with the Crown, so as to 
 obtain the advowson of important parishes within his 
 own jurisdiction. In applying to Lord Palmerston 
 with reference to these exchanges, he wrote : 
 
 My only desire in seeking this exchange of patronage 
 is to enable me to reward the deserving clergy of my own 
 diocese, without sending them out of it ; and I have care- 
 fully endeavoured to make such a proposal as would secure 
 as nearly as possible an equivalent on either side of the 
 exchange, reference being had to the total result. 
 
 He was successful in making a few of these 
 exchanges, Wakefield being amongst the number 
 which he secured ; but Lord John Russell refused 
 the assent of the Crown to the exchange of Halifax 
 for Stanhope, on the ground that the former carried 
 with it so much patronage and influence as to be 
 almost a bishopric in itself. Thus my father had 
 twice in his lifetime to appoint to Stanhope, which 
 is the only very valuable living in the patronage of 
 the Bishop of Ripon. Once he had the pleasure of 
 
EXERCISE OF PATRONAGE. 279 
 
 bestowing it upon the Rev. Charles Clayton, whose 
 work as examining chaplain well deserved substan- 
 tial recognition, and at his lamented death upon the 
 Right Rev. Bishop Ryan. 
 
 No public patron can escape criticism, and my 
 father was conscious sometimes of making mistakes 
 which caused him the deepest regret ; but the clergy 
 generally recognised that he was scrupulously just, 
 and the claim of hard work was never forgotten, 
 even when it was accompanied by views differing 
 from his own. 
 
 The following was written by a clergyman in 
 the diocese after my father's death : 
 
 I cannot refrain from writing you a few lines to express 
 my deep sympathy with yourself and your family in the 
 sudden calamity which has befallen you. It was only 
 about a week ago that I had a most kind letter from your 
 father, and I shall ever have great reason to remember his 
 kindness to me. I believe I am the last man whom he 
 presented to a living, and I need scarcely tell you how 
 deeply I appreciated this mark of his favour ; and all the 
 more because he must have known me to be one not hold- 
 ing precisely his own views. I take this as an instance of 
 his general fair dealing with his clergy. He will ever be 
 remembered as a hard-working bishop who strove to do his 
 duty ; and no man can do more. Forgive me for writing 
 thus freely, but I felt very anxious that you and your 
 family should be assured of my true sympathy, and of my 
 earnest prayers that you may be comforted from above in 
 this your time of need. 
 
 There are many letters which show what anxious 
 inquiry was made about the fitness of possible can- 
 didates for a post ; and the Bishop's judgment was 
 so much trusted by lay patrons in the diocese, that 
 
280 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 indirectly his influence in appointments was much 
 greater than would appear from the number of 
 livings actually in his gift. 
 
 In the exercise of his patronage my father showed 
 a thoughtful consideration for the wants of his 
 clergy, as well as for the people to whom they were 
 sent. The following incident is so remarkable as 
 to be worth recording. An exemplary clergyman, 
 with a small living and a large family, wrote to the 
 Bishop to say that he found himself obliged to resign 
 his living and seek work abroad, where he would 
 be better able to provide for his children. His 
 letter was crossed by one from the Bishop offering 
 him an important living, where he could do work for 
 which he was exceptionally qualified, and which 
 would set him free from pecuniary anxiety. It was 
 curious that the Bishop had anticipated the letter, 
 and that the clergyman in question could feel that 
 his wants were supplied before he had himself made 
 them known to his Bishop. 
 
 In the appointment of rural deans and hono- 
 rary canons of the Cathedral, the Bishop cordially 
 recognised all parties in the Church, and gave great 
 satisfaction to High Churchmen in the diocese by 
 the appointment as archdeacon of one who had 
 lost his seat in Convocation by what was thought 
 an unworthy display of party spirit. 
 
 It was a source of great sorrow to my father 
 that so many livings in the diocese of Ripon were 
 miserably poor, and he fostered a great variety of 
 local schemes for the increase of endowment. In 
 this direction there has been, on the whole, a steady 
 advance ; but there were often cases, known only to 
 
SYMPATHY WITH THE CLERGY. 281 
 
 the Bishop, where the clergy were struggling against 
 terrible poverty. 
 
 In some cases his delicate tact and generous 
 sympathy suggested means of relieving their need, 
 but these acts of charity were literally done by 
 stealth. 
 
 It is only since my father's death that a clergy- 
 man told his family of an act of generosity which 
 the Bishop had never mentioned to any one. 
 
 The clergyman in question had been suffering 
 from much anxiety, owing to serious and prolonged 
 illness in his family. He and his wife had made it 
 a matter of earnest prayer that God would provide 
 the means of obtaining the change so essential to 
 the health of their children. They received a letter 
 from the Bishop, saying that he had heard of their 
 trouble, and begged them to accept a present of 
 ^"50, only adding that they must let no one know 
 whence it came. 
 
 On the same subject, I have before me a letter 
 from another clergyman. He writes : 
 
 My Lord, I am greatly obliged to you for your very 
 kind letter, and for your very handsome gift to the poor 
 s. I hope, however, your Lordship will not think that 
 in writing to you, I had any intention whatever, or any 
 thought of asking you for such assistance as you have so 
 very kindly given. I know too well how numerous are the 
 calls made upon you, and I could not venture to add to 
 them. In writing to your Lordship, I was thinking only of 
 the diocesan societies. I sent your cheque to Mr. - 
 yesterday. They will indeed be all most grateful to you, 
 and feel your kindness and sympathy very deeply, as I do. 
 With many grateful thanks, 
 
 I am, my Lord, etc. 
 
282 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 These were acts of private benevolence ; but 
 after 1867 my father had also the happiness of ad- 
 ministering a charity, founded by the liberality of 
 Mrs. Danby Vernon Harcourt, of Swinton. She 
 made over to the Bishop and archdeacons a capital 
 sum, yielding about ^200 per annum, for the relief 
 of necessitous clergymen, their widows and orphan 
 children, in the diocese of Ripon. 
 
 In late years my father took a prominent part 
 in the work of the Church of England Temperance 
 Society. He had always, of course, been the ad- 
 vocate of temperance, but he had not joined the 
 movement heartily until the double platform intro- 
 duced by Canon Ellison smoothed the way for those 
 who were not prepared to insist on total abstinence 
 for all. 
 
 My father tried at various times to become a total 
 abstainer, but was called to order by his doctors. 
 
 Twice in the course of one autumn he spoke on 
 the subject in Leeds : once addressing a large meet- 
 ing, under the auspices of the local branch, at the 
 Victoria Hall ; and once at the meeting when the 
 diocesan branch was inaugurated, on December 17, 
 1878. Whenever the Bishop threw himself into a 
 movement of the kind, his office of president was no 
 sinecure, for he brought to bear his wide experience 
 in the formation of rules and constitutions which 
 would generally be left to persons of greater leisure. 
 
 A notable instance of this was found in his rela- 
 tions with the Navvy Mission Society. A member 
 of the committee wrote : 
 
 One of the objects of usefulness in which Bishop 
 Bickersteth took a warm and kindly interest was the Navvy 
 
THE NAVVY MISSION. 283 
 
 Mission Society; indeed, he was one of its earliest promoters. 
 A chain of large waterworks were being constructed in his 
 diocese, on the moors between Harrogate and Bolton 
 Abbey, and a large number of navvies congregated there. 
 Another large reservoir was at the same time being con- 
 structed for Halifax, at a spot called Blackamore Foot. 
 At first, as usual, what was no man's business became no 
 man's work ; but the Rev. C. S. Green, at Blackamore Foot, 
 and the Rev. L. M. Evans, at Lindley Wood, one of the 
 Leeds reservoirs, had their hearts stirred by seeing such 
 masses of fine, hard-working men left spiritually imcared for ; 
 and, without any knowledge of each other, or any assistance 
 from others, began and carried on at their own cost, at the 
 sacrifice in both cases of their health, a mission work which 
 lasted for years amongst the navvies who had collected in 
 the neighbourhood of their respective parishes. 
 
 When the men left, and sheets of water filled the valleys 
 lately occupied by huts, shants, stables, engine-houses, 
 schools, and temporary churches, their efforts ended as 
 similar ones had done in former years at other places. But 
 the Rev. L. M. Evans could not be satisfied that such should 
 be the case. He had seen what by the blessing of God 
 could be accomplished at one spot He had seen the lives 
 of many men entirely changed, and the general character 
 of a large settlement completely altered ; but he knew that 
 there were scores of similar public works where nothing 
 at all was done, save providing a drinking shant for the 
 navvies ; and he made inquiries at all the places he could 
 hear of, which confirmed to the full the worst accounts 
 he had gathered from the men. At seventy- two places 
 only Sunday service was held ; at four, Sunday schools ; 
 at three, night schools ; and at four, only day schools. Mr. 
 Evans brought the matter forward by an appeal to the 
 public to provide means whereby Navvy missionaries, 
 chaplains, services, schools, reading-rooms, savings- 
 banks, and other means for the spiritual and temporal 
 benefit of an hitherto outcast and neglected class, might 
 be provided. Bishop Bickersteth heartily approved of the 
 
284 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 proposal ; and when it pleased God to crown Mr. Evans' 
 appeal with success, and sufficient funds had been col- 
 lected to warrant the formation of the new society, the 
 Bishop became an annual subscriber, and chairman of 
 the committee. This committee met at the. Deanery, 
 Ripon, where Dean Fremantle, Dr. Gott (then Vicar of 
 Leeds), Canon Jackson, and the Rev. J. H. Goodier, who 
 were its earliest helpers, still manage its now extensive 
 operations. The earliest days of the Navvy Mission were 
 its most trying ones. The opposition and dislike it en- 
 countered were enormous : every one looked on it either 
 with suspicion, or as chimerical. Clergy, contractors, 
 engineers, from some preconceived notion, or one motive 
 or another, disliked it. The general Christian public re- 
 garded another society as a (probably useless) burden. 
 The navvies themselves were the first to shake off their 
 suspicions and to welcome its operations. 
 
 The difficulties of carrying on the work, even when it 
 was fairly started, were very great. The right men for 
 missionaries are most difficult to find ; and never, even 
 now, is a Mission carried on without innumerable diffi- 
 culties springing up, which have to be met and overcome 
 constantly in the course of its existence. Each station 
 is a cause of anxiety to the committee, and nothing but 
 the conviction of the amount of good which has been 
 done, and of the ample blessing God gives to their efforts, 
 has enabled them to continue at their post Much wisdom, 
 as well as charity, much judgment, much organising power, 
 were needed, especially at the first ; and all these qualities 
 Bishop Bickersteth possessed in a pre-eminent degree. 
 Until his health completely gave way, he was never absent 
 from a committee meeting at Ripon. No difficulty arose, 
 however complicated, but, with wonderful acumen, he at 
 once saw what ought to be done, and pointed out quietly 
 and firmly the line which must be taken. And his judg- 
 ment always proved correct. It gave him much pleasure 
 to see the Navvy Mission grow in favour and influence. 
 He took the chair at one of the first drawing-room meet- 
 
A CONSCIENTIOUS PRESIDENT. 285 
 
 ings held for it (at the Earl of Aberdeen's house) in London, 
 and frequently afterwards, both at public meetings in 
 London and in his own diocese. He did this, too, amidst 
 the pressure of over-burdening labour, always so cheerfully 
 and so willingly, it doubled the sense of the kindness. To 
 one of the committee, who, on several occasions, was 
 obliged to consult him between the times of the meetings 
 on various difficult matters which needed settling then 
 and there, and could not wait, he said, in reply to some 
 expressions of regret at being so troublesome, " Come to 
 me whenever you wish ; I am always glad to help the 
 Navvy Mission." 
 
 Even when he became too ill to take any longer his 
 accustomed place at the committee, he would ask earnestly 
 after the welfare of the society, and was delighted to freely 
 license the Mission-rooms (where it was asked for) for the 
 Celebration of the Holy Communion. He wrote himself one 
 of the earliest numbers of the Quarterly Letters to navvies, 
 and asked the editor to send him a copy each quarter ; and 
 this was done up to the end of his life. Only those who 
 had the honour of working under Bishop Bickersteth can 
 tell how terribly he is missed. The Dean of Ripon and 
 Canon Jackson still, thank God, are with us, but the 
 Bishop's place, its first president, is vacant ; but, doubtless 
 he knows, and rejoices in knowing, that the feeble effort 
 he assisted to promote, has taken root in the hearts of the 
 navvies all over England ; that clergy and contractors 
 have become its kind friends and helpers ; that in the 
 nine years which have passed since he presided at its 
 formation, the whole of a great neglected class has been 
 raised by its efforts ; and, best of all, that through its work 
 many many souls have been called out of darkness into the 
 glorious liberty of the sons of God. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 CLOSING YEARS. THE END. 
 
 Death of Craufurd Tait Pan-Anglican Synod Sermon before the 
 Synod and the Church Congress at Sheffield Visitation in 1879 
 Growing weakness Hard work in 1880 Winters at Bournemouth 
 Arrangements for the appointment of a suffragan Kind help of 
 Bishops Ryan and Hellmuth Weakness, but regular attention to 
 letters, and fervent intercession for the diocese Return from 
 Bournemouth in March, 1884 Great hopes of recovery, and the 
 sudden end on Easter Tuesday The funeral, and extracts from 
 letters. 
 
 THE year 1878 was an eventful one ; and, in addition 
 to the growing pressure of diocesan work, there 
 were family anxieties, culminating in a bereavement 
 which was. to my father hardly less trying than the 
 loss of his son Ernest, in 1872. There had sprung 
 up a warm friendship between my father and Arch- 
 bishop Tait, which would have been cemented by 
 a marriage to which both alike were looking forward 
 with the most joyous hope. 
 
 The Archbishop himself has told in language 
 so touching the story of the illness and death of 
 Craufurd Tait, that there is no need for another to 
 dwell on the bright hopes which were shattered by 
 his untimely death. 
 
 My father had spent a fortnight at Addington 
 in May, and was summoned to Stonehouse, the 
 Archbishop's house in Thanet, just in time to see 
 
PAN-ANGLICAN SYNOD. 287 
 
 Craufurd pass away. He remained some time in 
 the house of mourning, for the Archbishop seemed 
 to lean on the sympathy and friendship of one who 
 so fully shared his grief. 
 
 That summer he paid as usual a visit to his friends, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Henry Thornton of Battersea Rise, and 
 was present during the great Pan-Anglican Synod 
 which met at Lambeth in June. At the same time he 
 sat to Mr. Watts for the portrait which was presented 
 by the clergy and laity of the diocese, and now hangs 
 in the hall at the Palace. The portrait displays much 
 of the painter's genius, but it is too faithful a witness 
 to the fact that this summer was a time of anxiety 
 and overstrain, which left behind that look of weari- 
 ness from which the Bishop never again was free. 
 
 Ten years before, my father had been doubtful 
 about the wisdom of holding a Pan-Anglican Synod 
 at all ; but this year he threw himself heartily into 
 the scheme, not only because he desired to support 
 the Archbishop under the heavy strain of the public 
 work which followed so closely on his private sorrow, 
 but because he valued the opportunity of counsel 
 with many of the Right Reverend Fathers, whom 
 he had never met before. 
 
 He preached before the great body of the bishops 
 and an enormous concourse of people at St. Paul's, 
 on behalf of the S.P.G., in July. In the same year 
 he preached the sermon at the Sheffield Church 
 Congress, and took for his subject the work of the 
 Holy Spirit. Of this sermon I quote the concluding 
 paragraph : 
 
 Men and brethren, may He not be grieved, may He 
 not be resisted and provoked by ourselves ? He is the 
 
288 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 Spirit of Truth. Every wilful leaning to error, every de- 
 parture from the plain teaching of His inspired Word, 
 must be grieving to Him. He is the Spirit of Holiness. 
 Every deviation from purity in life or doctrine must be 
 offensive in His sight He is the Spirit of Unity and 
 Concord. Every breach of mutual charity, all needless strife 
 and division, whatsoever is foreign to brotherly kindness 
 amongst professing disciples of Christ, is a provocation to 
 the Spirit. We have need to pray earnestly for a large 
 outpouring of His gracious influence. Who can estimate 
 the effect on the Church and on the world, were there to 
 come in these last days such a Baptism of the Holy Ghost ? 
 The parched desert would become a fruitful field ; the 
 wilderness would blossom as the rose. The Church would 
 rise with renewed energy to her lofty vocation, and go 
 forth on the work of evangelisation fair as the moon, clear 
 as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners. Such 
 an outpouring of the Holy Ghost would bind all hearts to- 
 gether as one man, and kindle in the Church a zeal like that 
 which inflamed Apostles of old. This would cause to cease 
 unseemly contention about matters in themselves indiffer- 
 ent ; this would make us follow the things which make for 
 peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. The 
 strength of the Church, the strength of each member of 
 Christ's mystical Body, lies in the felt Presence of the Lord 
 God the Spirit. May He vouchsafe His special Presence 
 in the midst of our gatherings this week ; may He grant 
 us the spirit of charity and mutual forbearance ; may He 
 guide us into all truth ; may He impart the wisdom 
 which is from above, which is first pure, then peaceable, 
 gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good 
 fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy ! Then 
 shall this Congress be for the glory of God and the edifi- 
 cation of His Church ; and those who have gathered here 
 from many distant homes, to be cheered and refreshed by 
 mutual converse, will depart with firmer resolution than 
 ever, by the Grace of God, to continue in the Faith and to 
 persevere in well-doing, with this promise to sustain and 
 
THE SHEFFIELD CONGRESS. 289 
 
 to animate " The Spirit of Truth will guide you into all 
 truth, He will show you things to come." 
 
 The writer of a leading article in the Guardian 
 of October 2, 1878, said 
 
 Whilst these lines are being worked off the Church 
 Congress of 1878 has assembled at Sheffield. . . . Dr. 
 Bickersteth is now considerably the oldest and most ex- 
 perienced of the bishops of the Northern Province, and the 
 selection of him as preacher on this occasion one of no 
 small ecclesiastical importance to that densely-peopled 
 and ever-growing district was natural and right. He has 
 never swerved from those views with which his name is 
 identified, and which, in their measure, led to his promotion 
 under Lord Palmerston's Ministry in 1857; whilst yet he 
 has, on many occasions, manifested a just and conciliatory 
 spirit towards those who belonged to other parties in the 
 Church, and has administered the ecclesiastical concerns of 
 a strong-willed and very numerous population with dili- 
 gence and success. 
 
 In the same month my father preached two 
 sermons at Liverpool on behalf of the Seamen's 
 Orphanage. At the second of these, in St. Andrew's 
 Church, a noteworthy incident occurred. After an 
 earnest appeal for the Charity there was found in 
 the offertory a massive gold chain, in addition to a 
 collection of 62 in money. A week later came 
 the first Diocesan Conference, of which Canon 
 Temple has given a sufficient account. 
 
 In 1879 the Bishop held his last Visitation, and 
 all through that and the following year there was no 
 abatement of energy in his work. He still accepted 
 invitations to preach, one after another, in unselfish 
 disregard of the fact that his strength was unequal 
 
 u 
 
2QO LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 to the strain. In the autumn of 1880, for instance, 
 he had some public engagements every day for many 
 weeks. He said to his daughter with great satis- 
 faction one morning, " Mr. Oxley has asked me to 
 preach at the Harvest Festival at Grewelthorpe (a 
 little village six miles from Ripon), and that fills up 
 my last free day for the next month ! " 
 
 At the close of this month of incessant work 
 came the two days of Diocesan Conference ; and a 
 serious breakdown the following week proved how 
 much too heavy the long-continued pressure had 
 been. It was about this time, October, 1880, that 
 unmistakable signs appeared that his constitution 
 was undermined, and the doctors said that his life 
 of active usefulness could only be prolonged by 
 much greater care and abstention from unnecessary 
 engagements. He was urged to discontinue the 
 practice which he had so long maintained of early 
 rising, and to avail himself as much as was prac- 
 ticable of the help of others. 
 
 In the following spring he spent six weeks at 
 Bournemouth, where Mr. Spencer Stanhope kindly 
 placed at his disposal his very comfortable house, 
 among the pine woods on the East Cliff. 
 
 Bishop Ryan was at this time the incumbent of 
 St. Peter's, and my father enjoyed opportunities of 
 intercourse with him and many other old friends, 
 amongst whom were Bishop Perry, Dean Close, 
 Canon Carus, the Bishop of Cashel, and Lord Cairns. 
 
 The rest and change had a good effect, and he 
 came back quite capable of moderate work. But 
 the work of the undivided diocese of Ripon can 
 never be regarded as moderate, and as yet there 
 
HELP OF BISHOP RYAN. 291 
 
 seemed no hope of its subdivision. My father 
 was, however, able to secure help in his episcopal 
 work by presenting Bishop Ryan to the living of 
 Middleham. 
 
 During the time of his residence at Bradford 
 Bishop Ryan had rendered to my father invaluable 
 assistance, as Archdeacon of Craven, and in many 
 branches of diocesan work ; but there he had been 
 burdened with the charge of an immense parish, in 
 which he maintained a large staff of curates, and 
 greatly promoted church building in the town. 
 
 Middleham was a less exacting post, and thence 
 Bishop Ryan was able to undertake a good deal of 
 episcopal work during the years 1880-1883. 
 
 In these years my father had to learn a difficult 
 lesson. It was hard for him to refuse work, and 
 the nature of his illness left him at times much 
 depressed. On January i, 1882, there is written in 
 his diary the following prayer : 
 
 To Thy mercy and loving-kindness I humbly commend 
 myself, O Heavenly Father, and all near and dear to me, for 
 the coming year. Whatever lies before us, may we each 
 be kept by Thy mighty power through Faith unto salva- 
 tion ; may we be washed from sin through the precious 
 Blood of Jesus ; may we be clothed with His righteousness, 
 endued with Thy Holy Spirit ; and may we so fight the 
 good fight of Faith, and lay hold on Eternal life, that we 
 may at length attain to the bliss of the life Everlasting, 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 Perhaps there was a foreboding of coming 
 trouble, which found utterance in words of such 
 touching resignation ; for two or three days later 
 an attack of serious illness laid him aside. 
 
292 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 His first public work this year was the ordination 
 in March, to which he looked forward with special 
 interest, as his youngest son was to be made a 
 deacon. The Bishop took no part in the examina- 
 tion, except to give a very solemn address to the 
 candidates on the Saturday afternoon ; but he was 
 able to go through the Ordination Service in the 
 Palace Chapel without fatigue. 
 
 This ordination was to my father a time of deep 
 thankfulness, as the fulfilment of what had long been 
 his earnest prayer. His other sons were also settled 
 in life, and he lived to see three of them married, and 
 to christen three little grandchildren belonging to his 
 second son, who was resident in Ripon. In days of 
 weakness and depression he took the greatest de- 
 light in having these children around him. 
 
 During all this and the following year my 
 father's health was treacherous and uncertain. At 
 times he felt so well that he looked forward to 
 getting back into regular work ; and as he was only 
 sixty-five at the time, there was nothing in his years 
 to forbid the hope. The doctors all noticed his 
 extraordinary recuperative power, and encouraged 
 him to believe that his weakness would pass away 
 under the influence of rest and careful nursing. Sir 
 William Jenner and Sir Andrew Clark, no less than 
 his usual medical attendants, strongly dissuaded him 
 from resignation. However, in 1883, he felt that he 
 must make further provision for the needs of the 
 diocese. 
 
 The scheme for subdivision was not prospering 
 at the time, partly because of the local jealousy of 
 towns which competed for the honour of giving its 
 
THE QUESTION OF A SUFFRAGAN. 293 
 
 name to the new See, and partly because the manu- 
 facturers of the West Riding were suffering from a 
 prolonged period of unprecedented depression. My 
 father felt the scheme would hardly take effect in his 
 own lifetime, but he was determined to make other 
 arrangements for the due oversight of the diocese. 
 
 From Bishop Ryan he received the most con- 
 stant and ungrudging help ; but while he was himself 
 laid aside my father did not care to impose upon 
 one, however willing, so much of the burden of 
 episcopal work. He therefore resolved to petition 
 the Crown for the appointment of a suffragan, and 
 his application was received with sympathetic kind- 
 ness by Mr. Gladstone, who had himself gone for 
 rest to Cannes. 
 
 Under the Act of Henry VIII. c. 14, is a list of 
 places which were to give their titles to suffragan 
 bishops as occasion required, and amongst them the 
 nearest available was Hull. Hull is in the diocese of 
 York, but the Archbishop kindly wrote as follows : 
 
 Bishopthorpe, York, March 7, 1883. 
 
 My dear Bishop, I most truly hope that the appoint- 
 ment of a suffragan in Bishop Hellmuth may be blest to 
 the restoration of your health. The anomaly of his being 
 Bishop of " Hull " is not greater than is the case of London 
 being helped by Bedford." 
 
 The great point is that you should be able to have 
 complete rest, and should be able to study your health. 
 By a long day's work, and a good one, you have gained 
 the right (as men speak) to an evening's repose. 
 
 Ever with much regard, 
 Yours, 
 
 W. EBOR. 
 
2Q4 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 It is best to give an account of the appointment 
 of Bishop Hellmuth in my father's own words, and 
 so I quote the following letter : 
 
 The Palace, Ripon, March 21, 1883. 
 
 My Rev. and Dear Brethren, For many months past 
 it has pleased God to afflict me with illness, which has 
 disabled me from the discharge of my public duties as 
 Bishop of this large diocese. So far as the business could 
 be transacted in private or by correspondence, I trust that 
 my absence has not been materially felt ; and through the 
 kind assistance of my Right Rev. Brother, Bishop Ryan, 
 the public duties of my office have been effectively and 
 ably discharged, without interruption. To him, in common 
 with yourselves, and all to whom he has ministered in 
 spiritual things, I am under a debt of deep obligation. 
 By the arrangements which I have made with him, he 
 will still continue to render me the benefit of his valued 
 assistance. 
 
 But the time has arrived when the diocese may reason- 
 ably expect that some more definite arrangement should be 
 made for the performance of the duties of the Episcopate. 
 
 I have prayerfully and anxiously considered whether I 
 ought not to resign. With a view to guide me to the right 
 decision, I have sought the advice of many of my brethren 
 the clergy, and of eminent medical authorities. All the 
 opinions, however, which I have received, both from the 
 clergy, and from Sir William Jenner and Dr. Andrew 
 Clark, are strongly opp osed to the idea of resignation, so 
 long as a probability remains, which the latter tell me is 
 still the case, that a period of rest may by God's blessing, 
 be the means of enabling me to resume my accustomed 
 work. Yielding to their earnest advice, I have petitioned 
 the Crown to grant me a suffragan bishop. Her Majesty 
 has most graciously acceded to my request, and arrange- 
 ments are now in progress by which I trust that in a short 
 time the Right Rev. Dr. Hellmuth, at present Bishop of 
 Huron, will become suffragan for this diocese, under the 
 
BISHOP HELLMUTH. 295 
 
 title of Bishop of Hull. He is now in America, for the 
 purpose of resigning his Canadian See, and expects to 
 return in the course of the summer, to help me in the work 
 of this diocese. 
 
 I sincerely commend him to your sympathy and prayers. 
 To some of you he is already known, and I am persuaded, 
 the more fully you become acquainted with him, the more 
 you will learn to appreciate his many claims, of piety, 
 talent, and zeal, to your confidence and affectionate regard. 
 It is my earnest prayer, in which I ask you to unite with 
 me, that these arrangements may, by God's blessing, tend 
 to the spread of true religion, to the efficiency of His 
 Church in this diocese, and that, if it be His Will, I may 
 be once more permitted to resume the work in which I 
 have found so much happiness for nearly thirty years past. 
 
 For all the unwearied kindness you have shown me 
 during the many years I have laboured amongst you, for 
 your zealous co-operation with me in every good work, and 
 for your patient forbearance under the trial of protracted 
 illness, I heartily thank you, and pray God to requite you. 
 May He grant you the privilege of witnessing the success 
 of all your endeavours to advance the welfare of the Church, 
 of which you are ministers ; and may He finally bring us 
 all to share in the blessedness of His Eternal Kingdom, for 
 Jesus Christ's sake. 
 
 Believe me, my Reverend and Dear Brethren, 
 Yours most faithfully and sincerely, 
 
 R. RIPON. 
 
 To the Venerable the Archdeacons, the Rev. the Rural 
 Deans, and the Clergy of the Diocese of Ripon. 
 
 It turned out eventually that the Act did not 
 allow one who was already a bishop to take the 
 title of suffragan ; but in other ways the arrangement 
 held good, and my father had the happiness of feel- 
 ing that he had secured for the diocese two efficient 
 coadjutor bishops. 
 
296 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 Bishop Hellmuth undertook the work of the 
 southern part of the diocese, while Bishop Ryan 
 acted chiefly for the Archdeaconry of Richmond. 
 
 My father received much encouragement by 
 hearing from many different sources that Bishop 
 Hellmuth, as well as Bishop Ryan, was most kindly 
 received by clergy and laity alike ; and the number 
 of Confirmations, which continued to increase, showed 
 that there was no lack of energy and life in the 
 diocese. 
 
 And yet, to my father, personally, it was a sore 
 trial to be laid aside. He loved his work, and he 
 had left little leisure to form for himself secondary 
 interests which would have relieved the monotony of 
 an inactive life. 
 
 The venerable Canon Jackson, who had been 
 for a long time one of his closest personal friends 
 amongst the clergy, told the writer of a touching 
 interview he had with the Bishop in 1883. 
 
 My father was, just then, considered too ill to 
 receive visitors ; but, hearing that Canon Jackson 
 was in the house, he wished him to come to his 
 study. In a few words that came from his very 
 heart, my father spoke of the heavy trial it was that 
 he could no longer preach Christ, and with some 
 penitential expressions that greatly touched his 
 guest, he asked him to kneel and pray. He was 
 comforted by the suggestion that the effort which it 
 cost him not to speak for Christ was proof of his 
 own acceptance with God. 
 
 It was not the least part of my father's trial 
 that for many months his strength was unequal 
 to the full Sunday services in church. Sometimes 
 
FAILING STRENGTH. 297 
 
 he would go to the afternoon service in the cathe- 
 dral, and he greatly enjoyed the solemn addresses 
 which Mr. Aitken gave on week-day mornings during 
 a Mission held at Holy Trinity Church in Ripon. 
 Usually, however, he had to be content with the 
 services in his own chapel, or with reading the 
 morning and evening prayers with his wife and 
 daughter quietly in his study. 
 
 To be cut off from public worship was a keener 
 trial to him than to others, for he had the most 
 intense enjoyment in all public means of grace. 
 During the last year, when he was quite unable to 
 go to church, he used frequently to receive the 
 Holy Communion from the hands of his youngest 
 son, who was ordained priest in March, 1883. 
 
 The Bishop took the warmest interest in the 
 work at All Saints', Bradford, his son's first curacy : 
 he liked him to come home as often as possible, 
 accompanied sometimes by one of his brother 
 curates, or other clerical friends. On these occa- 
 sions he would ask for a full account of their parish 
 work, and shared in all the joys and trials of a young 
 clergyman's experience. 
 
 Of the last year there is little to tell. His life 
 was very quiet. He was able to attend to all busi- 
 ness which could be transacted in his own home ; to 
 answer letters, chiefly by his daughter's hand ; and, 
 on any question submitted to him, his judgment was 
 as clear as ever. Sometimes he was able to do 
 more, and sometimes less ; and when fairly well, he 
 greatly liked to have the clergy, one or two at a 
 time, to stay for a night or so, if there was any point 
 on which they desired his counsel and sympathy. 
 
298 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 Perhaps outsiders foresaw the end more clearly than 
 those who watched from day to day, but it was 
 never clear to those who loved him most that they 
 must give up all hope of his being restored to further 
 active work. 
 
 There was, not unnaturally, a little impatience 
 amongst some of the clergy at the prolonged 
 absence of the Bishop from public work ; but a few 
 hasty letters in the local press only served to draw 
 out the loyal sympathy, not only of the clergy as a 
 whole, but of the laity of the diocese, and amongst 
 them not least that of working men, who were pained 
 that any should breathe a word against one they 
 loved so well. Letters of kind inquiry and affec- 
 tionate sympathy kept pouring in from public bodies 
 and individuals alike. 
 
 The writer of a notice in the Guardian, signed 
 " J. G." (a signature known to be that of the Dean 
 of Worcester), in speaking of the last years said : 
 
 To work for Christ was to live in Christ with him, and 
 even to the end he could only lay down his service and his 
 life together. Some blamed him for this, but he felt that 
 he had wedded his diocese, his life and his love were hers, 
 and divorce was wrong. . . . The Bishop was living to 
 make intercession for his people ; the manifold system of 
 spiritual work continued its great toil with machinery no 
 slower and with fruits no fewer. The whole statistics of 
 the diocese unite in their witness to this true undercurrent 
 of work. He still administered the diocese, though it was 
 through the ministry of other hands. And even in his 
 weakest days his own labours were not wanting e.g., hear- 
 ing of a working man of Leeds, who had to emigrate a few 
 days before his Confirmation, he bade his vicar send him 
 straight to the Palace at Ripon, where he confirmed him 
 
ENTERED INTO REST. 299 
 
 privately in his own chapel, and entertained him as his 
 guest. The writer heard from that man on his outward 
 voyage, and at least one Australian took into the gold-fields 
 a very true love of his Father in God in the home Church. 
 At last he rests ; and the peace of God, which he so 
 often gave to others, has enfolded himself and his life-long 
 toil. 
 
 My father spent the winter of 1883-4 at Bourne- 
 mouth, and returned to Ripon in March. Almost 
 the last words in his diary record the deep thankful- 
 ness with which once more he reached his home. 
 He now seemed very much better, and when he saw 
 Bishop Hellmuth on the 2nd of April, he made 
 arrangements with the consent of his doctors to take 
 his Trinity Ordination himself; but, alas! there was 
 not to be, as he hoped, a renewal of active work. 
 The recuperative power was at last exhausted, and 
 the voice which had stirred Yorkshire hearts so 
 deeply was to be heard no more. 
 
 Holy Week and Easter passed, but the Bishop 
 could not go to church. On the Monday he seemed 
 unusually well. He answered his letters, arranged for 
 the institution of some clergymen a few days later, 
 drove out in the afternoon, and in the evening he 
 read aloud to his family and conducted prayers for 
 the household. He was looking forward to Easter 
 Tuesday, as the day on which he would receive his 
 Easter Communion from his son, fresh from the 
 work of Holy Week in Bradford ; but his longing for 
 union with the Risen Saviour was to be satisfied 
 more fully than he foresaw. Early that morning, 
 April 1 5th, he was seized with another sudden 
 attack of illness, and never spoke again. All the 
 
300 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 morning he lay unconscious, and, happily, free from 
 pain. The son, who had come home cheered with a 
 better account, was only able to be with him for an 
 hour, and then breathe the Commendatory Prayer 
 as, at 1.30, the Bishop passed away. 
 
 The blow at last was terribly sudden and unex- 
 pected by his family and the public, but he himself 
 probably felt that the end would come as it did. 
 
 Certainly he was not unprepared. For years he 
 had lived as all of us would like to live if we knew 
 that the passing day would be our last. In his 
 constant recollection of the Presence of God, in his 
 ardent desire to depart and be with Christ, he was 
 only waiting till the call should come, " Well done, 
 good and faithful servant : enter thou into the joy of 
 Thy Lord." 
 
 Of a fathers personal religious life, a son has no 
 right to speak ; but none who knew him could fail to 
 see that he lived, to use an expression often on his 
 lips, when speaking to others about spiritual things, 
 very near to God. 
 
 The orderly arrangement of books and papers, 
 the thoughtful care with which directions were left, 
 was like that of a traveller who was packing up for 
 a journey into a far country, and yet thought more 
 of those he left behind than of what might befall 
 himself. 
 
 This was the habit of a life, and my father used 
 often to thank God that he had lived long enough 
 to see his children settled, and to make due provision 
 for those whom he left behind. And if it seemed 
 hard that he should pass away at sixty-seven, while 
 other men are strong beyond the threescore years 
 
THE PARADISE OF GOD. 30 1 
 
 and ten, it was clear that he had done a long life's 
 work. And the best rest when life's work is over, 
 is not the calm decay of a long old age, but the rest 
 of the blessed dead in the Paradise of God. 
 
 There, in the Presence of Jesus, with the spirits 
 of just men made perfect, " till the morning breaks, 
 and the shadows flee away," rests one, who, if less 
 stained with sin than others, yet offered as his only 
 plea, and claimed as his only righteousness, the 
 spotless robe of Christ. 
 
 Those who lost most by his death, have cause to 
 say most fervently, " We also bless Thy Holy Name 
 for Thy servant departed this life in Thy faith and 
 fear ; beseeching Thee to give us grace so to follow 
 his good example, that with him we may be partakers 
 of Thy heavenly Kingdom." 
 
302 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 The words surrounding the grave are as follows : 
 
 to tfje Jtflemorg of 
 ROBERT BICKERSTETH, D.D., 
 
 BISHOP OF RIPON. 
 
 BORN AUGUST 24, 1816. 
 
 CONSECRATED JANUARY 18, 1857. 
 
 ENTERED INTO REST ON EASTER TUESDAY, APRIL 15, 1884. 
 
 The texts upon the cross are : 
 
 " Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a Crown of Life." 
 
 " They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament ; 
 and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and 
 ever." 
 
THE FUNERAL. 303 
 
 On Saturday, April 19, the Bishop was laid 
 to rest beneath the shadow of the Minster Church. 
 There is no need to speak of the heartfelt sympathy 
 and profound regret with which the city of Ripon, 
 and the diocese at large, followed to the grave their 
 beloved Diocesan. Churchmen and Dissenters alike 
 strove to show every mark of respect to his memory ; 
 and though, in accordance with his known desire, the 
 arrangements for the last service were of studied 
 simplicity, the multitude of mourners showed a 
 spontaneous tribute of reverential love. Canon 
 Pulleine wrote in his parish magazine a touching 
 notice which supplies all that need be said, and is 
 here reproduced : 
 
 In the morning the Bishop's family and household 
 received the Holy Communion in the Palace Chapel, at the 
 hands of Bishop Ryan and Canons Badcock and Pulleine. 
 The coffin had been brought into the chapel the evening 
 before, and was covered with wreaths, crosses, and palm 
 branches, which had been sent by private friends and, in 
 some cases, by parishes and institutions with which he had 
 been specially connected. Among the latter were offerings 
 from Ripon Cathedral, Leeds and Bradford Parish Churches, 
 All Saints' Bradford, and St. Mark's Low Moor, the first 
 church consecrated by the Bishop after his own consecration. 
 
 As the sun shone softly in upon the quiet congregation 
 of mourners, the peace of the dead was bestowed upon the 
 living, and we felt that we were still worshipping with him 
 whose spirit had passed into Paradise, and we realised our 
 faith in the Communion of Saints, which has brought such 
 infinite comfort to mourners in all ages. 
 
 A few hours later, at the Cathedral, a large multitude 
 had gathered, and in the centre of the nave two hundred 
 clergy formed a passage, along which was to be carried 
 the body of their chief. 
 
304 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 The service was simple, solemn, and stately as was 
 meet, the subdued music comforting and inspiring. The 
 " Dead March " was followed by the three opening sen- 
 tences, which so beautifully represent the voice of the 
 Saviour, the voice of the dead, and the voice of the 
 mourner. The softly chanted psalms, the well-known 
 hymns, " O God, our help in ages past," and " Lead, kindly 
 Light," were all in sad harmony with our feelings. Then 
 we went forth to the grave, in a quiet nook beneath the 
 Cathedral wall, and laid him there at rest. 
 
 " Brother, thou art gone before us." 
 
 The sympathy of unnumbered friends was 
 lavished on the widow and the children who had 
 lost so much, and to quote all the treasured letters 
 which have special interest for them would be an 
 endless task ; but there are some which will interest 
 a wider circle. 
 
 Bishop Fraser of Manchester, Bishop Jackson 
 of London, and Bishop Woodford of Ely, are now 
 resting with my father in the Paradise of God. 
 Each of them has left behind a record of strenuous 
 work and devoted service, and there lie before me 
 the letters in which they speak of my father's death. 
 
 London House, St. James's Square, S.W., April 21, 1884. 
 
 My dear Mrs. Bickersteth, Now the last sad parting is 
 over I cannot refrain from telling you how truly I have 
 sympathised with you and yours in your sudden and heavy 
 sorrow. ... I was much disappointed when I called a few 
 weeks ago in Cromwell Road, and found that you had all 
 already left London. I regret it still more now. May 
 God in His mercy grant us a meeting hereafter in the 
 Church beyond the grave. I have always regarded Bishop 
 Bickersteth as a model of unsparing hard work too un- 
 
LETTERS OF SYMPATHY. 305 
 
 sparing, perhaps, for his physical powers ; but his heart 
 was in his diocese, and he obeyed, without stint, his heart's 
 impulse. He might have been spared to work longer if he 
 had worked less strenuously. 
 
 To him the weakening of his strength must have been 
 peculiarly trying ; and there is comfort in the belief that 
 this sudden summons was the Master's call of the wearied 
 labourer to his rest and reward. But the loss to you and 
 yours must be great indeed. May God be near you all 
 with His felt presence and comfort, is the prayer of 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 J. LONDIN. 
 
 Bishop's Court, Manchester, April 16, 1884. 
 
 My dear Mrs. Bickersteth, My dear wife and I both 
 wish to offer you our respectful sympathy on the death of 
 the Bishop, your husband. . . . He had a special claim 
 upon my affection, because he was one of my Consecrators, 
 and his was one of the hands placed on my head when 
 I was sent forth to the same work which he so long and 
 faithfully fulfilled. For himself, he has exchanged a life 
 which, I fear, for some time has been a life of suffering, for 
 one of which we are told " there shall be no more pain " 
 there, and which will bring him nearer to the Master Whom 
 he has served. 
 
 The respect in which he was ever held will be not the 
 least of the many comforts that you and his family will 
 feel as often as they dwell upon his memory. I can never 
 forget his much-valued personal kindness towards myself. 
 
 I am, with my wife's kind remembrances also, 
 
 Yours very sincerely, 
 
 J. MANCHESTER. 
 
 Bishop Woodford, who had a special connection 
 with the diocese, as a former Vicar of Leeds, would 
 have preached at Ripon on the Sunday following 
 
306 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 my father's death, had it been possible to postpone 
 some diocesan engagements. 
 He wrote as follows : 
 
 Ely House, 37, Dover Street, W., Sunday morning. 
 
 My dear Mr. Bickersteth, I only received your 
 telegram late last evening, on my return to London from 
 a series of Confirmations in Huntingdonshire too late to 
 send an answer until to-day. . . . And now, may I say how 
 deeply, how very deeply I mourned with you for your father ? 
 I conceived a true affection for him whilst I was at Leeds, 
 and never in my whole clerical life have I been so happy 
 under the authority of any one, as I felt under his large- 
 hearted and kindly rule. I shall always have a sincere 
 reverence for him as a Bishop, and affectionately cherish 
 his memory as a friend. 
 
 Will you give my best remembrances to your mother 
 and the other members of your family ? . . . 
 Believe me, 
 
 Ever yours most truly, 
 J. R. ELY. 
 
 The following address to my mother was pre- 
 pared by the archdeacons, and signed by every 
 clergyman in the diocese : 
 
 The Archdeacons, Rural Deans, and Clergy of the 
 Archdeaconries of Craven and Richmond, desire to present 
 to Mrs. Bickersteth and Family the expression of their 
 sincere sympathy, in the heavy affliction with which it has 
 pleased the Almighty to visit them. They earnestly pray 
 that the abundance of Heavenly consolation may be ex- 
 tended to them in this their time of sorrow ; and trust 
 that the remembrance of the late Bishop's Christian 
 character and his many excellent qualities, may shed the 
 balm of its happy and soothing influence over them. 
 
 To form any proper estimate of our late Bishop's work 
 in the Diocese, we must carry our minds back for over a 
 
ADDRESS FROM ARCHDEACONS AND CLERGY. 307 
 
 quarter of a century, when his Lordship commenced that 
 system of Episcopal administration, which he for many 
 years maintained with untiring zeal, so valuable to the 
 Church at large, but most laborious and trying to himself. 
 These continued efforts were fully recognised at the time, 
 and ought never to be forgotten. We therefore wish to 
 testify our deep sense of our late Bishop's worth, of the 
 value of his work, and our estimation of him as a Christian 
 chief Pastor, by presenting to his bereaved Widow and 
 Family this assurance of our heartfelt sympathy, and 
 prayers for their comfort at the throne of Grace. 
 
 (Signed) 
 
 To Mrs. Bickersteth) the Palace, Ripon. 
 
 A well-known layman wrote as follows : 
 
 . . . My warm regard for the good and able Bishop, 
 now lost to this diocese, began many years ago. It was 
 not long after his consecration that, at my father's house 
 at Dewsbury, he joined me in more than one long country 
 walk when stopping with us ; and by his gentle and 
 elevated wisdom did much to purify and elevate the 
 thoughts of one, like myself, just entering into life. And 
 ever since that time, whenever we met, he so kindly re- 
 membered me, and entered into my thoughts and prospects 
 so pleasantly and cordially. 
 
 It is hard for us all, as we grow older, to feel ourselves 
 stripped of our leaders and wise elders, and pushed alone 
 to the front. And if I feel this in the present instance, 
 how terrible must be the blank in the dear home to your 
 mother and sister, and how you must all feel the chief stay 
 and centre of your lives has been removed. May the 
 bright and noble example of him who has now gone 
 before, comfort and support you all in this trial. . . . 
 
 The last letter is from one who should not be 
 nameless, for the name of Canon Jackson is in- 
 
308 LIFE OF BISHOP ROBERT BICKERSTETH. 
 
 separably linked with Ripon diocesan history, since 
 the days when he served, under Dr. Hook, as senior 
 Curate of the Leeds Parish Church. 
 
 Leeds, May i, 1884. 
 
 My dear Mrs. Bickersteth, The sight of your writing 
 has affected me more than anything since I stood by the 
 grave, at the corner of the Minster. 
 
 Then it was difficult, and almost more than could be 
 borne, to believe he was lying there ; he, so wonderfully the 
 ideal of calm strength and innate vigour ; he, so fully the 
 impersonation of directing and controlling authority, of a 
 strength and ready wisdom on which all around him could 
 so fully and confidently rely ; he, so indeed one, who, it 
 seemed, ought not to die ! Yet, there he was ; and the 
 wrench to one who had known him, and known his value 
 from his first coming into the diocese, was great indeed. 
 
 But now to see your writing as his widow ; you, who 
 were so bound to him, and bound up with him ; whose life 
 was one full sacrifice and offering for him for his comfort, 
 for his safety, for his success ! I laid down the letter, 
 and memory brought back you and him standing in the 
 drawing-room, one of the last times I was at the Palace ; 
 he so pale and languid, you so worn and anxious the 
 intensity of feeling on both sides bringing one's self into 
 sympathy with it. The exclamation rose to my lips, "How 
 can she live without him ! " And yet, my dear friend, you 
 will live, and live as he would wish you to live. You will 
 still live with him, and even for him live to be again 
 with him, and, until then, to serve all those interests which 
 were alike dear to him and to you. 
 
 For myself, I only wonder that I should survive him 
 I so feeble for years back he then so likely to live to pro- 
 tracted age. . . . You will have peace, for you know where 
 and how to obtain it ; and there will be quiet, calm even- 
 tide, and softened beams of light, and the feeling of his 
 
LETTER FROM CANON JACKSON. 309 
 
 dear presence, and of your most true and ever-enduring 
 union with each other, in the fulness of His love, which we 
 humbly, but confidently, believe our beloved Bishop now 
 enjoys. 
 
 With my Christian love, 
 
 I am, my dear friend, yours truly, 
 
 ED. JACKSON. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Aberdeen, Earl of, 67 
 
 Acton, 19-25, 28, 29, 30, 34, 88 
 
 Addington, 286 
 
 Akroyd, Colonel, 151, 270 
 
 Alford, Henry, Dean of Canterbury, 21 
 
 Apothecaries' Hall, 34 
 
 Armley, St. Bartholomew's Church, 152 
 
 Arncliffe, 269 
 
 Athanasian Creed, 196 
 
 Atonement, Doctrine of the, 197 
 
 Bad cock, Rev. Canon, 218, 219 
 
 Baines, Sir E., 119 
 
 Baring, Dr., Bishop of Durham, 191, 
 
 192 
 
 Barningham, 270 
 Barnsley, 108, no 
 Barry, Dr., Metropolitan of Sydney, 
 
 IOI, IO2 
 
 Batty, Dr., 4 
 
 Batty, Elizabeth, 3 
 
 Beaconsfield, Earl of, 189-192, 215 
 
 Beddome, R., Esq., 56 
 
 Bible Society, 80, 100 
 
 Bickersteth, Edward, Dean of Lich- 
 
 field, 6, 23, 28, 42, 84, 164 
 Bickersteth, Rev. Edward, Rector of 
 
 Watton, 3, 5, 28, 36, 41, 86, 137 
 Bickersteth, Edward Ernest, 138-142, 
 
 286 
 Bickersteth, Edward Henry, Bishop of 
 
 Exeter, 5, 6 
 
 Bickersteth, Elizabeth, 21 
 Bickersteth, Dr. Henry, Cape of Good 
 
 Hope, 6 
 Bickersteth, Dr. Henry, Kirkby Lons- 
 
 dale, 3 
 Bickersteth, Henry, Lord Langdale, 4, 
 
 5, 32, 57 
 
 Bickersteth, James, 3 
 Bickersteth, Rev. John, 5, 7, 9, 19, 21- 
 
 31 ; letters from, 8, 9, 29-32 
 Bickersteth, Mrs. John, 9-17 
 Bickersteth, Dr. Robert, Liverpool, 6 
 Bishopthorpe, 88 
 Blake, A. R., Esq., 182 
 Bolton Abbey, 283 
 Bounty Board, 192 
 Bowes, 270, 271 
 
 Bradford, 54, 85, 96, 97, 105, 172, 246 
 Bradford, All Saints' Church, 151, 303 
 Bradley, Rev. C., 42 
 Braithwaite, I., Esq., iSS 
 Brenchley, 66 
 
 British Orphan Asylum, 54, 55 
 Broad Church party, 59 
 Burnett, Rev. D., 277 
 
 Cairns, first Earl, 290 
 Cambridge, 36, 37, 86, 87 
 Carus, Rev. Canon, 8, 290 
 Cascailles, 275 
 Cashel, Bishop of, 290 
 Cawthorne, 278 
 
312 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Champneys, Dean of Lichfield, 179 
 
 Charges, extracts from, 26, 91-96, 106- 
 108, 119, 150, 168-170, 196-211, 
 216, 217, 221-231, 240, 241, 246 
 
 Church Bells, 193 
 
 Church Congress, Leeds, 254261 
 
 Church Congress, Sheffield, 287-289 
 
 Church Extension, 147 
 
 Church Missionary Society, 72 
 
 Church Restoration, 148, 152 
 
 Cintra, Portugal, 273-277 
 
 Clapham, 54, 55, 188 
 
 Clapham, curacy of Parish Church, 42, 
 
 43 
 
 " Clapham Sect," 32, 129 
 Clapham, St. John's Church, 43, 44, 
 
 46, 54, etseq., 88 
 Clark, Sir A., 292, 294 
 Clarkson, 7, 32 
 
 Clayton, Rev. Canon, 99, 163, 279 
 Close, Dean of Carlisle, 179, 290 
 Cobb, Rev. C., 44, 45, no, 143, 144, 
 
 170 
 
 Confirmations, 114, 132, 269-272 
 Convocation, Northern, 175 
 Cook, Sir Francis, 273, et seq. 
 Cope, in Ripon Cathedral, 212 
 Courthope, G. C., Esq., 66, 67 
 Cranworth, Lord, 67 
 Crosse, Dr., Norwich, 33 
 
 Dallas, Rev. A., 49, 50 
 Dealtry, Dr., 42, 43 
 Deceased Wife's Sister's Bill, 176 
 Devotional books, 12-14 
 Dilapidation Act, 124 
 Diocesan Calendar, Ripon, 145 
 Diocesan Conference, Ripon, 262-266 
 Disestablishment, 32, 256 
 Disestablishment of Irish Church, 180, 
 
 et seq. 
 
 Dissent, 28, 109, 116, 118 
 Domesday Book, 19 
 Dotheboys Hall, 271 
 Drummond, Professor, I, 3 
 
 Eardley, Sir Culling, 67 
 Ecclesiastical Commission, 193 
 
 Education, 218, 220, 221, 224, et seq. 
 Emery, Archdeacon, 255 
 English Church Union, 215 
 Erskine, Dean of Ripon, 126 
 
 ' Essays and Reviews," 195 
 
 'Esto Fidelis," 18 
 Eton, 139, 142 
 Evangelical Alliance, 28 
 Evangelical Bishops, 86, 87, 193 
 Evangelicals, 2, 4, 9, n, 12, 13, 15- 
 
 7, 27, 30, 32 
 Evangelical movement, origin of the, 7 
 Evans, Rev. L. M., 283, 284 
 Exeter Hall, 51, 193 
 
 Forbes, Dr., Bishop of Brechin, 260, 261 
 Forster, Right Hon. W. E., 223 
 Foundling Hospital, 66 
 Eraser, Dr. , Bishop of Manchester, 84, 
 
 213, 304, 305 
 
 Fremantle, Dr., Dean of Ripon, 284; 
 letter from, 136 
 
 Garde, Joseph, Esq., 44 
 
 Garde, Rev. R., 44 
 
 "Gig Bishops," no 
 
 Gladstone, Right Hon. W. E., 189, 
 
 190, 293 
 
 Goode, Dr., Dean of Ripon, 190 
 Goodier, Rev. J. H., 284 
 " Gorham Case," 4 
 Gott, Dr., Dean of Worcester, 166, 215, 
 
 237-239, 245, 248, 284 
 Grainger, Rev. T. C., 42 
 Green, Rev. C. S., 283 
 Green, Rev. S. F., 215 
 Grey, Lord (of the first Reform Bill), 21 
 Grey, Hon. and Rev. Francis, 21 
 Grey, Hon. and Rev. John, 21, 41 
 Guardian, 289 
 Guernsey, St. Mary's Church, 41 
 
 Halifax, 151, 278, 283 
 
 Hamilton, Dr., Bishop of Salisbury, 67, 
 
 79, 80-82 
 
 Harcourt, Mrs. Danby Vernon, 282 
 Harrogate, 283 
 Hawes, 269 
 
INDEX. 
 
 313 
 
 Hawtrey, Rev. S., 35, 41 
 
 Hay, Lord John, 33 
 
 Hay, Lord Thomas, 21 
 
 Headlam, Dr., 271 
 
 Hellmuth, Bishop, 293, et seq. 
 
 Herbert, Rev. George, 79 
 
 Home life, 121, et seq. 
 
 Hook, Dr., Dean of Chichester, 96-98, 
 
 100-103, 105, 113, 117, 179, 266 
 Hooker, quoted, 210 
 Hospital, Guy's, 34 
 Hospital, St. Thomas's, 34 
 House of Lords, 123, 175 ; speeches, 
 
 49, ifaetseq. 
 Howe, Lady, 19 
 Huddersfield, 172, 231, 246 
 Hull, 293 
 Hymns, 129 
 
 Inspiration, 197, 198, et seq. 
 
 Irish Church, disestablishment, 49, 54 
 
 Irish Church Missions, 49, 72, 80, 85 
 
 Jackson, Dr., Bishop of London, 213, 
 
 304, 305 
 
 Jackson, Rev. Canon, 284, 307-309 
 Jacobson, Bishop of Chester, 84 
 James, A. C, Esq., 139 
 Jenner, Sir William, 292, 294 
 
 Kemp, Rev. Canon, 145 
 Kennion, Rev. G. W., Bishop of Ade- 
 laide, 134, 158-161, 241 
 Kingsley, Rev. C., II, 121 
 Kirkby Lonsdale, 3, 4 
 
 Lambeth, 287 
 
 Lang, Henrietta, 9 
 
 Leaky, Rev. A., 19 
 
 Leeds, 96, 172, 216, 236, 246, 248, 249, 
 
 271, 282, 303 
 
 Leeds, All Souls' Church, 152 
 Leeds, Clergy School, 166-168 
 Leeds, Lecture, Philosophical Society, 
 
 60, et seq. 
 Letters of Bishop Bickersteth, to his 
 
 wife, 55, 122, 123, 188, 274, 275, 
 
 276, 277 ; to the Dean of Lichfield, 
 
 42, 164-166 ; to his children, 130- 
 134 ; to a non-resident incumbent, 
 154-156 ; to clergymen in diocese, 
 195, 214, 215 ; Pastoral on behalf 
 of Leeds Mission, 253 ; on appoint- 
 ment of suffragan, 294, 295 
 
 Lightfoot, Dr., Bishop of Durham, 192 
 
 Limborough Lectureship, 43 
 
 Lisbon, 273, 277 
 
 Liverpool, 289 
 
 London, 188, 192, 193 
 
 London, St. Giles's, 54-60, 65-69, 71, 
 73,88 
 
 Longley, Dr., Bishop of Ripon, and 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, 90, etsey,, 
 124, 153 
 
 Long Melford, 24 
 
 Lowmoor, St. Mark's Church, 304 
 
 Lowther, Sir Charles, 270 
 
 Lyttelton, Hon. and Rev. A., 141 
 
 Martyn, Rev. H., 8 
 Mason, P., Esq., 37, 38 
 McCaul, Rev. Dr., 177 
 McNeile, Dr., Dean of Ripon, 135, 212 
 Meanwood, 278 
 Melville, Rev. Henry, 35-37 
 Methodism, 97 
 Michell, J., Esq., 270 
 Milbank, Mark, Esq., 270 
 Missions, 238, 239, 246-254 
 Monserrate, Cintra, 273 
 Morritt, R. A., Esq., 270 
 Mozley, Rev. J. B., 6 
 Musgrave, Dr., Archbishop of York, 
 88, 175, 176 
 
 National Church, 27 
 
 National Club, 188 
 
 Navvy Mission Society, 282-285 
 
 Netherthong, 148, 278 
 
 Newman, Dr., 191 
 
 Nonconformists, 164-166 (see Dissent) 
 
 North Leys, 124, 125 
 
 Northumberland, Duchess Eleanor of, 
 
 270 
 Norwich, 33, 34 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Nunn, Rev. H. D. Cust, 266 
 
 Ordination, 38 
 
 Ordination reminiscences, 172-174 
 
 Ordinations at Ripon, 38, 162, 163, 
 
 170-172, 292 
 Ottley, Rev. L., 21, 88 
 Oxley, Rev. W., 290 
 
 Paget, Sir James, 273 
 
 Palmerston, Lord, 85, 86, 278, 289 
 
 Pan- Anglican Synod, 287 
 
 Paris, 34 
 
 Patronage, 278-280 
 
 Pearson, Rev. H., 259 
 
 Pelham, Dr., Bishop of Norwich, 21, 
 
 etseq., 34 
 Perry, Bishop, 290 
 Phillips, Dr., 37 
 Pickhill, 278 
 Plunket, Lord, Archbishop of Dublin, 
 
 54 
 
 Pope, Rev. G., 277 
 Powell, F. S., Esq., 151 
 Preaching, 104, et seq. 
 Public Worship Regulation Act, 215 
 Pudsey, 278 
 
 Pulleine, Rev. Canon, 216, 303 
 Purchas Judgment, 212 
 
 Railway accident, 272, 273 
 Rand, John, Esq., 270 
 Rationalism, 198-200 
 Rawson, Miss, of Nydd, 270 
 Rawson, W. H., Esq., 270 
 Reading, St. Giles, Curacy of, 42, 88 
 Real Presence, 204-211 
 Redesdale, Lord, 175 
 Reformation, 194, 200 
 Reform Bill, 32 
 
 Retreats for Clergy, 237, 239-245 
 Richmond, George, Esq., R.A., 88 
 Richmond, Yorkshire, 21, 57, 88, 172 
 Ripon, 35, 216, 271, 290 
 Ripon, Bishopric of, 84, 90-100 
 Ripon Diocese, 98, 194 
 Ripon, Marquis of, 151 
 Ritualism, 201, et seq., 213-215 
 
 Rokeby, 278 
 
 Romanism, 48-50, 72, 73, 276, 277 
 
 Romaldkirk, 270 
 
 Rural Deans' meetings at the Palace, 
 
 Ripon, 266-268 
 Russell, Lord, 278 
 Ryan, Bishop, 88, 277, 279, 290, et seq. 
 
 Salisbury, 67, 78, 81-83, 89 
 
 Sant, J., Esq., R.A., 138 
 
 Sapcote, 25, 29-31, 35, 39, 41, 42, 79, 
 
 88 
 
 Sedburgh, 269 
 Self-examination, 14-17 
 Sermons, extracts from, 39, 247, 287, 
 
 288 
 
 Shaft esbury, Lord, 71, 85 
 Sheffield, Church Congress, 287-289 
 Silsden, 278 
 
 Simeon, Rev. C., 7, 9, 99 
 Sisterhoods, 70 
 Social condition of the people, 60, 
 
 et seq. 
 
 Southampton, 273 
 Southwark, 35 
 
 Special services, 47, 109, 238, 248 
 Speeches, extracts from Bishop Bicker- 
 
 steth's, 153, 154, 176-188, 231-235 
 Spitalfields, 188 
 Stanhope, 278 
 
 Stanhope, W. Spencer, Esq., 290 
 Stanley, Dean, 5 
 Stanwick, 270 
 
 Stephens, Rev. W. R. W., 96 
 Stonehouse, 286 
 " Strict churchmanship," 23 
 Sudbury, 24 
 
 Tait, Archbishop, 86, 122, 215, 286, 
 
 287 
 
 Tait, Mrs., 122 
 Tait, Rev. Craufurd, 122, 286 
 Taylor, Bishop Jeremy, 21 1 
 Temperance, Church of England, 
 
 Society, 282 
 Temple, Rev. Canon, 167, 254, et seq. y 
 
 261-266, 289 
 Theological Colleges, 164, 168, 169 
 
INDEX. 
 
 315 
 
 Thirlwall, Dr., Bishop of St. David's, 2, 
 
 177, 180 
 
 Thirty-nine Articles, 196 
 Thomson, Dr., Archbishop of York, 293 
 Thornton, Henry, Esq., 129, 287 
 Thorold, Dr., Bishop of Rochester, 193 
 Tractarianism, 42, 48, 98 
 Training College at Ripon, 218, 243 
 Tregelles, Dr., 177 
 Trent, Council of, 104 
 Trollope, Archdeacon, 255 
 Truro, Lord, 57 
 Turner, R. Bickerton, Esq., 270 
 
 Venables, Rev. Canon, 102, 255 
 
 Vestments, 202, 203 
 
 Villiers, Dr., Bishop of Durham/67, 83 
 
 Visitations, 1 12 
 
 Vyner, Lady Mary, 151 
 
 Wakefield, 151, 278 
 Wakefield, Bishopric, 264-266 
 
 Waldegrave, Dr., Bishop of Carlisle, 
 
 82, 8 3 ,;86 
 
 Watts, G. F., Esq., R.A., 287 
 Weavers' Company, 43 
 Webb Street Medical School, 34 
 Wheeler, Mrs., reminiscences of, 40 
 Whiting, Dr., 34 
 Wilberforce, Dr. S., Bishop of Oxford 
 
 and Winchester, 126, 259 
 Wilberforce, William, Esq., 7, 32 
 Wilfrid, St., 90 
 
 Wilkinson, Dr., Bishop of Truro, 249 
 Wise, Samuel, Esq., 125, 127 
 Wood, Sir W. P., 100 
 Woodford, Dr., Bishop of Ely, 236, 
 
 255, 259, 304, 305, 306 
 Wooler, Northumberland, 41 
 Worsley, Rev. Canon, 136 
 
 Yorkshire Post, quotation from, 152 
 Zetland, Lord, 270 
 
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