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MEMORIALS

LADY OSBORNE

VOL. II.

The Slope, Newtown-Anner.

W D. HEMPHILL, M.D., Plioto

MEMORIALS

LADY OSBORNE.

VOL. II.

Lady Osborne's Summer House.

DUBLIN: HODGES, FOSTER & Co., GRAFTON STREET,
PUBLISHERS TO THE UNIVERSITY.

iSjO.

MEMORIALS
OF
THE LIFE AND CHARACTER
OP
LADY OSBORNE
AND SOME OF HER FRIENDS:

EDITED BY HEE DAUGHTER,

MRS. OSBORNE

' Gather up the fragmenta that remain, that nothing be lost."— John vi. 12.

IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II.

DUBLIN:
HODGES, FOSTER & CO., GRAFTON STREET,

PUBLISHERS TO THE UNIVERSITY.
187O.

DUBLIN : PRINTED BY R. CHAPMAN.

PREFACE TO THE AUTOGRAPH LETTERS.

Letters stand in the same relation to biography that politics
do to history. The events of a great character's life are
made known by a mere biography, as history shews forth in
the framed pictures left on the scaffolding of politics ; but
letters manifest the tone of mind as politics do the springs
that guide the master hands accomplishing historical results.
The following written remains of the friends of Lady
Osborne are all either of intrinsic interest in the judgment
of the Editor, or of value on account of the (for the greater
part) illustrious individuals who penned them for anything
characteristic of such, has a charm belonging to it, and, if
genuine, it must be characteristic.
In Lady Osborne's letters the Editor was struck by the
still, unsettled, yet enduring interest of many of the subjects
treated therein. In those, on the other hand, alluded to by

o PREFACE TO •
Mons. de Sismondi, though in their nature final, they come
under the category of the study for which he was most
famous — history; a qualification which, though chief, was
only one of many others ; for, in his life, he was celebrated
for his enlightened and truly liberal views on contempo
raneous matters ; likewise for being the centre of the most
brilliant society that passed through Geneva, the gangway
of the South of Europe. The pick and choice of all who
travelled thither were to be met with at his soirees.
In those days the Editor was too young to understand the
remarkable plot of social ground upon which Fortune had
assigned her first view of the world in its company sense.
A person finding themselves, suddenly, for the first time, at
the foot of lofty mountains, would hardly take in all their
altitude. Still it was impossible for her, even, not to
reverence the gracious host and hostess, and to wonder at all
the well-filled book-shelves that had been the products of
M. de Sismondi's brain, and to listen with interest to the
recital of his travels in the company of Madame de Stael, on
whom all the " beaux esprits "of the day waited at various
stopping places, as upon a sovereign who makes a progress,
There was to be seen the Marquis de St. Marsan, with
fingers frozen in Napoleon's Moscow expedition, and accompa
nied by his lovely daughter, a model of grace and beauty.
Remarkable instances of failure and success, were to be met
side by side, as re -arded the past and future. On the one
hand, the ex-Minister of Charles the Tenth, Baron d'Haussez,
representing as he did ' individual will ' or despotism ' pur

THE AUTOGRAPH LETTERS. 7
et simple ;' and on the other, a personage who, in the con
dition of an exiled prince, the sagacious and far-seeing
'Mons. de Sismondi discerned a power that would be felt as
one of the greatest in the world — the present ruler of the
destinies of France. Queen Hortense, who, if she had been
born in private life, would have been a most noteworthy
person on account of her graces and gifts. She was an in
stance of the combination of a talent for music and painting;
for, while well known as the composer of some beautiful
" romances," including the present French national air (com
posed, too, when quite a child), she would graciously shew
albums of portraits done by herself, which indicated her
facility in the sister art. Foreigners of all countries and
shades of opinion found a ready admission to that small but
very remarkable salon.
It may not be deemed iinworthy of mention that M. de
Sismondi's sisters both married men conspicuous in different
wayS — Sir James Mackintosh and Mr. Wedgewood.
That brilliant assemblage has long since vanished, as do
all the dissolving views of this life. Many of the letters are
from those eminent for their lives bearing upon the great
hereafter rather than as actors upon the stage of this life,
with one or two exceptions, though to reach that last plunge
they had still to perform their parts in this life, but with
their minds fixed upon that state which, though so vague to
the living philosopher, is revealed to every dead barbarian.
Here the Editor has assembled a group on the plan of
Chenes, and she only hopes that they will meet with the

8 PREFACE.
genial reception they would have experienced at the hands
of her on whose memory they wait as the central figure!
It will be seen that the hostile opinions on other subjects
of the minds of the various writers did not hinder them from
being unanimous as to the charming character of their cor
respondent. The wonderful foresight of M. de Sismondi regarding
the French Emperor likewise appears in his notice of the
Oxford party.

MEMORIALS
OF
THE LIFE AND CHARACTER
OK
LADY OSBORNE.

" The following letters were written by the friend referred
to in Lady Osborne's communications to her English rela
tions as such a joy and resource in her solitude. They mark
the great power she had of attaching others to her, though,
indeed, the time came when extreme jealousy on the part
of the writer put them asunder." November 14th.
Your Holyhead letter, my dearest friend, relieves me from
great anxiety. There had been such a succession of storms,
that had I not trusted to your fears for detaining you on
shore whilst there was one threatening cloud in the sky, I
must have felt very miserable. Thank God you are safely
over the only perilous part of your way, and so far I am
happier than I was. Although I can never experience a
more grateful feeling than in preventing, if I might, your
wishes, yet I have not been solicitous to forestal your
arrival at Yalding ; a quieter hour will better suit the receipt

10 MEMORIALS OF
of my letter— an hour when, though all may be joyful, you
can spare a few moments of thought to one whose affections
and regrets have pursued every step of your progress.
Aspirants after a medium in all things may dogmatize to the
end of the chapter, but of that school I shall never be a dis
ciple. It is no modified sadness that I feel at heart, and I
believe I must be content to endure it. I cannot be talked
into thinking our separation a trivial thing, or that when I
could never, without reluctance, part from you for one hour.
I am to consider several months as a mere point of time,
hardly calling for regret, and indisputably not challenging
any emotion allied to grief. My beloved friend, I bear you
no feeling to which such calm spirits as my well-meaning
lectures can apply their calculations. I lament you, and
that most deeply! Precious to me in every imaginable
sense — companion, associate, and friend, you are identified
with all objects of taste, feeling, fancy, and reason. I per
petually want to refer to you for participation or approval ;
to look to you as a motive ; to pride in your influence, and
to glory in that sweet intelligence which, once at least,
seemed to unite us in heart, thought, and attainment here,
and promised to shape the same course for us hereafter. I
have seen Newtown once since we parted, but I believe I
must wait for a more settled state of mind before I repeat
my visit. I had a notion that to see a spot so dearly loved'
would be soothing. I was mistaken, however. The change
was too decided, and the recollections too fresh for such an
effect. Everything looked as deserted and forlorn as I felt
myself. The scattered furniture and disordered rooms so
unlike your home ; the garden and shrubbery, lonely and
silent, had so little the character of those cheerful haunts
familiar to me, and all bore such striking marks of being
far removed from any preparation for your return, that I
felt it a relief to get away. Some time hence, perhaps, I

LADY OSBORNE. 1 1
may regard those objects with different emotions, when
acute regret has subsided into a mournful tenderness that
can take comfort from dwelling upon every scene and cir
cumstance that has relation to you. With Newtown will
begin and end my sum of indulgence. Their memory can
beguile many an hour for me ; but, fancy (so far as she
might traffic with the future), I am not very desirous of
enlisting as an auxiliary. Seasons do not stand still because
we either sorrow or rejoice. The month of March will come
in due course ; but, oh ! my beloved friend, can it restore us
to each other — what has been ? This is a question only pre
science could answer.
I must not write further without thanking you for the
beautiful eye-glass which I got this morning ; but do not
think me ungrateful for confessing that a memorial of no
intrinsic value, which had actually belonged to you, which
had been in your possession, and used by you, would be still
more precious than this glittering appendant ; however,
doubt not that I shall always wear it, inanimate though it
be ! always love it. I met the workman to be employed in
the alteration of your study at Newtown, and settled what
was to be done. The window is to be considerably enlarged,
and the door will correspond with it. For a new window
and door (of the latter, three parts will be glass), shutters,
pulleys, hinges, &c, &c, you pay ten guineas; the glazing
will cost between three and four pounds ; the mason work
(for a great part of the heavy pier must be removed) two
pounds ; so that, for about twenty guineas, painting included,
the room will be made as comfortable as you can desire. A
plain neat paper is not likely to be a material addition to the
foregoing estimate, in which I think I have not exceeded
your instructions. The grate may stand as it is. Tell me if
you are satisfied with the whole arrangement. Ryan and the
carpenter, promised to complete their part of the work

12 MEMORIALS OF
within a month. From time to time I will see how they get
on, and when they have finished, I will try if I can prevail
with Quin to lay out the ground before the windows, accord
ing to what I think would be your taste. J  P  has
been with Eben, to state that when he last saw you at New
town, you consented to refer the valuation of his farms to
his friends, Fitzpatrick and Charles Riall. I hope you have
not bound yourself by any such promise; for Fitzpatrick
tells Eben that he will not value some part of the land at
more than five shillings per acre. C. Riall could easily be
overruled, and you would have to sustain a material loss
and endless vexation. P  said he intended writing to
you for the purpose of obtaining a more formal assent to
his scheme, but Eben entreats that you will decline the
measure altogether, allowing him to make the necessary
arrangements, and referring P  to him for particulars ;
so much for business. I am advancing rapidly with your
cabinet, and I am grateful for such an occupation, since I
can no longer work near you ; the next best thing is to be
employed for you ; besides I think this piece of furniture
will greatly please you, and that solitary anticipation none
need envy me. The chairs I will repair and complete, and
if there be any other matter in which I can gratify you, or
be of use to you or yours, indicate your wish, and I shall
derive my truest comfort from observing it. I hope I have
not said so much of myself as to weary you ; but this first
time of communicating with you I found it impossible
altogether to restrain the expression of my feelings and
regrets; for ray affection, my most dear friend, I can find
" no " expression. Well may you say that in suffering or in
danger, not for myself, but for you, would be my thought.
With you is my tenderest love; for you is my warmest
prayer. Long before you receive this, I trust a letter will
be on its way to me, not hurried or concise, but one that

LADY OSBORNE. 13
may really soothe me. Letters are poor substitutes for
the look, the tone, the character ; affection, makes not,
however, the little less ! Kiss your darling for me, and tell
my sweet William that no " gage d'amitie " was ever more
prized, or worn with more devotion, than his ring. Mention
your own health whenever you write, and promise me to
have recourse to medicine if you should continue to be
annoyed by headache or the uneasiness of which latterly you
frequently complained. In all things take care of yourself;
you are the sun to many hearts. Strotlier is well, and says
he is comfortable ; yet he expresses a strong wish to see you
again. He dined with me yesterday, and promises to see me
very often. Assure yourself that I shall always see him
with affectionate interest. He got his watch, and I have
locked up Mrs. Smith's. If it be not to travel with Thomas,
how am I to dispose of it? Your medals I shall send by
him. William is going on well ; his appetite, strength, and
spirits are improving. I hope Miss Warde continues to
amend. Distribute regards from me just as they may be
acceptable, to Anna. The girls send their most affectionate
love. I had intended to cross the whole of this letter, but I
perceive that if I did it would be illegible. Do not dis
appoint me, my beloved friend, whether you had written
before or not. Write to me on receipt of this ; and do not
continue to enclose your letters to Deakins ; it occasions a
delay which is very unwelcome to one so impatient to hear
from you. Hardly do 1 know how to conclude ; but were I
to fill sheets or volumes, would not half what is in my heart
find utterance.
God bless you, my best loved and most precious friend ;
think me yours, and only yours, foe ever!
Mary Stanley.

14 MEMORIALS OF
" The burning of the O'Sheas, mentioned in the following
letter, was one of those events that madeso great a sensation in
the neighbourhood that, (as is often the case) in that locality,
it occasions surprise, that by the country at large it should not
be remembered like some great historical event. A farm
house containing eighteen human beings, young and old, and
situated at the foot of the celebrated mountain " Slievenamon,"
was one night, in the year 1821, set on fire and surrounded
by fellow creatures armed with pikes, who with these weapons
thrust back into the burning house those who sought escape.
The Woodward family saw the flames the night of the crimi
nal occurrence. The Editor perceives from this letter that the
deed was the result of a private feud. She remembers hear
ing an incident of the tragedy. A mother plunged a little
child into a pail of water to assuage its prospective sufferings,
but they were thus only rendered more lingering." 1821, Dec. 7th.
I do not lose a moment in replying to your letter, my
dearest friend. Owing to contrary winds often prevalent
during the winter months, I only received it this evening,
and having thanked you for its general kindness, most
gratefully soothing to me, I will not waste another word
upon myself, but proceed to give you the fullest information
in my power as to the actual state of the country ; my
intelligence, I trust, will go some way towards tranquillizing
your uneasiness, and arming you to meet the alarmists on
your side of the channel. If they report on newspaper
authority they must detail falsehood without measure, for
rumours of every description and shade of exaggeration find
their way to the Dublin papers, and are thence copied into the
English journals, nor is it difficult to conjecture how this
happens. We have alarmists here also, men to whom turbu
lent times or the fear of them would give both office and

LADY OSBORNE. 15
emolument. To that part of the country for which you are
most interested I have the happiness to tell you no distur
bance extends, and the conduct of your tenantry affords a
proof not only of their peaceable disposition, but of personal
attachment to you, and of anxiety to secure your favor, and
shew their sense of your kindness. Whilst absentees are
railing, and clamouring, and petitioning about unpaid rents,
and tumultuary dependents, your tenantry are quietly and
voluntarily bringing in their rents, and uniting in one en
quiry — " Will she not come back to be over us again." To
this many-times-repeated question it will not be out of place
to add a remark of Robert Grubb's who knows something of
all men and all motives. " Lady Osborne," said he, " has
nothing to fear ; the worst of those fellows will take care
not to move a finger that might disturb her ; her people feel
that she will do them good, and so far from wanting to vex
her, they would go through fire and water to have her
amongst them." No part of the County Tipperary has been
materially disquieted ; even the destruction of the O'Sheas,
though an act of unparalleled and ruthless atrocity, was the
fruit of a private feud, and wholly unconnected with that
system which distracts the County Limerick, and districts of
the counties of Cork and Kerry ; but wheresoever it may
have extended its evil influence, it presents some features
which not only distinguish it from every former infraction of
the laws, but which must greatly facilitate the means used to
restore order. . None but the very lowest of the population
are engaged ; they have neither leaders or favourers amongst
the better classes ; and no hostility against government, either
political or religious, is a motive with them : it is a crusade
against evils which undoubtedly pressed heavily upon them in
many cases, a desperate venture between starving and hang
ing ; and it will be arrested whenever strong coercion and
exemplary punishment shall be the order of the day. In the

16 LADY OSBORNE.
County Limerick where the fire first blazed the great landed
proprietors are almost to a man absentees. I instance but a>
few when I name Lords Courtney, Clare, Limerick, Mr.
Fitzgibbon, &c, &c. : their estates are let at rack rent, and
their tenantry are a miserable, oppressed, neglected, and
demoralized race, reckless of consequences and desperate in
mischief, the more so because a temporary impunity has at
tended their outrages, a circumstance much to be lamented,
for when the spirit of insubordination was first manifested it
could easily have been checked, but the resident magistracy
were not numerous, and they were supine ; nor was the
government prompt to supply the deficiency, indeed we are
given to understand that coercive measures were long sus
pended with a view to stimulate into action those noble land
holders, who, drawing from the soil more than its miserable
cultivators could yield without starvation, are to be found in
London, or in Paris, or anywhere but on the spot to which duty
and interest should have bound them. Having so far given
the dark side of the picture let me now present that which I
trust every day will brighten.
Lord Talbot is a well-meaning man, but the present crisis
demands something more, and Lord Talbot yields the Vice-
royalty to the Marquis of Wellesley, whose character is firm
and decided, therefore we may look for steady measures;
and union of council which it was understood did not subsist
in the Viceregal Cabinet. Lord T. and Mr. Gregory it is
surmised did not coincide in opinion with Mr. Grant, with
whom it lay to take cognizance of our evils and apply the
fitting remedies, and Mr. Grant, though a person of consider
able talent, an orator, a statesman, etc., is not adapted
either to turbulent times or embarrassing emergencies ; thus
you will perceive that we may expect a different application
of our resources, and we have another and a more immediate
hope from the special commission, which will sit in Limerick

LADY OSBORNE. 17
on the 15th of this month, for a trial of a long list of crimi
nals. A special commission is an expedient recommended by
experience, it once and speedily tranquillized this country
when a far worse flame than- the present had burst forth. Now
my dearest friend 1 have endeavoured to trace the past,
describe the more recent, and account for still existing out
rages which disgrace poor Ireland. If I have not given you
a sufficiently clear view, you must excuse me ; I have not
time to methodize my matter, it is now past twelve at night
and not to lose the post, my letter must be in the office at
ten to-morrow morning ; a post I would not allow to pass,
because I know your anxiety to hear from a quarter where
you have so much at stake.
From public I must descend to private affairs, to one in
particular, which I think of great importance to your interests
I mean the line of road from Glenpatrick to the Suir, there
are few things I have so much at heart as the seeing that
plan in progress, and I have had a discusssion upon it both
with Eben and Robert Grubb ; the former I can perceive is
rather desirous that it should lie by for the present; the
truth I imagine may be that he has a holy horror of your
venturing to expend one guinea (beyond what it makes)
upon the quarry, and he calculates that to smooth your way
by the new road would set you to work at once. I hope it
would, and I also hope that the road will be in forwardness
next spring. R. Grubb and I agree perfectly in opinions and
views, and he tells me that some preliminary steps must be
taken at the January Sessions, otherwise the presentment
cannot be put in at the Spring Assizes. Would it not be
well to write to him upon the subject, asking him to commu
nicate with Captain Power, and to call upon Eben, whom
perhaps you had better address upon the same topic, and
urge to take the necessary steps. Thus stimulated he must
give up his precious caution, and do what is needful. I
VOL. II. B

18

MEMORIALS OF

believe I have told you all, and certainly all of importance
that has been done in the way of business since you left
Newtown. The Kilmore heroes hold their ground, and I think with
you that a compromise will be prudent ; Eben made repeated
attempts upon their Castle, but on each occasion his myrmi
dons abandoned him to his fate, which considering the times
it is wonderful did not meet him in the shape of a bullet.
Military he would not employ without a magistrate, and no
magistrate could be persuaded to attend him; some interests
have been paid, Capt.  and Mrs. Osborne's.
Though the fiery elements which enter into the composition
of our poor peasantry, are so innocuous to you, the natural
elements visit you more roughly ; we have had some tremen
dous gales within the last fortnight, and in one of them I
grieve to tell you that the fine elm tree near the house of
Newtown suffered severely, its right limb was lopped off,
the left as you remember had separated from the trunk none
knew wherefore. The windows of the rooms formerly
Johnson's, were blown in and shattered, a quantity of lead
stripped from the roof, one of the small domes over the
corridor carried off, and dispersed in innumerable fragments,
and to conclude the list of casualties, one end of the peach
house much damaged ; but the green house is unhurt. Whilst
I was detailing affairs connected with the estate, I should
have told you that Eben is now endeavouring to arrange
with  , but he I suspect will hold off till your return
frightens him into equitable terms, to which he seems little
disposed. I am sorry the library windows could not be
constructed as you desire, I had thought of your plan before,
but on consulting the workmen, found it impracticable. It
would have shaken the old wall too much ; however, I be
lieve you will be pleased with what is doing. I shall attend
to all your directions with respect to planting in the high

LADY OSBORNE. 19
field ; I shall see Quin to-morrow, and then ascertain if this
be the best time for the purpose. I will if possible have the
plate engraved, but in Clonmel I fear there is no artist equal
to the undertaking. There are very few of your books here,
and those few carefully locked up. I have done with business ;
and now my dearest friend let me tell you that I do believe
you will cheerfully return to your post, and in so doing, and
sedulously cherishing your attachments to this country, and
your views for the improvement of your dependents you will
rank with the few whom Ireland can call her truly noble.
Many a fond vision have I woven of your future distinction ;
not the adventitious distinction of rank or fortune, but that
of an exalted character, applying power and influence to
purposes of kindness ; this indeed is your sphere of action
and usefulness ; the talent committed to your keeping, and
with your principles and capacities, ten thousand fold will it
increase in your hands. Of myself I do not wish to say
more than that your " wishes," your " views," and your
" gratifications" are dearer to me than my own ; that your
interest is my first thought, and that in promoting all that
bears upon your welfare, I shall ever find a happiness that no
other object in life can afford to me. I am grateful to you
for saying that writing to me soothed your discomposure;
thus it should be, and thus on all occasions and subjects it
may be for the time to come; nevermore will you trace
aught of those sensitive feelings which sometimes repressed
your confidence. Mr. — — is as you say a self-sufficient
boy, not worth your perturbation. I do not like to think of
your being assailed, but heed it not, you shall yet boast, and
proudly too of Ireland. Be assured of my punctuality in
writing, and of my minute attention to the detail of every
fact that can interest you. Tell me if in this letter I have
passed over any subject upon which you desired information.
William is not, I think, so well as when I last mentioned him,
b2

20

MEMORIALS OF

yet not I trust materially worse. The weather which precludes
his taking exercise is against his improvement. Mary and
Kate go on well. With Mary's French I take such indefatiga
ble pains, that I should hope her progress may be considerable.
I feel peculiar interest in doing so because you seemed to
desire it. Kate's English Grammar goes on too, but she will
never be the fore-horse of the team in literary pursuits. I
have written enough to weary you, but I could not well be
more concise. Kiss your sweet children for me. Remember me
to Johnson, and to whom else you please ; and believe that
whilst I live, I shall obey your charge and continue to love
you. God bless you my dearest friend. Mary Stanley.
" Being anxious to preserve some of the " own words " of
two relations, both well beloved, and who both took their
departure for Heaven under Lady Osborne's roof, the
Editor gives the following letter addressed to her on the turn
ing point of her life ; and an extract afterwards from a
letter written by an aunt, who was like a second mother to
her." My dearest Catherine, — The day after Jane wrote to
you, my father received a letter from Mr. Riall to offer to
take charge of one of us to Ireland in case he was not
obliged to go by Scotland on business ; we did not hear again
until to-day, and as we find he goes by Bristol, my father has
consented to Jane's accompanying him. She goes to town
to-morrow, to set off for Bristol on Tuesday morning ; and
Mr. Riall intends sailing by the steam packet from thence on
Wednesday, so that I imagine they will be in Dublin by
Thursday, God willing. We do not know whether he in
tends to stay in Dublin, but I should think not. If Jane
finds he does, she will add a line to this letter in town, and

LADY OSBORNE. 21
you can send some one to meet her there ; but I rather
think he would proceed immediately to Clonmel.
My father was so decided in his objections to my going,
that nothing I could have urged would have weighed with
him. He fancies that I am ill, and that the journey would
be too much for me, and therefore I am obliged to yield,
although on many accounts I wished to have gone to you. I
should have been less missed at home, and being older
than Jane, melancholy scenes are more my province.
If her society yields you any consolation, my dear cousin,
we shall be repaid for the sacrifice of her company at home ;
and I hope and trust that you will permit it to be so,
for her sake, for your mother, for your little girl's, and for
all those interested for you (and no person I believe in
affliction ever excited more), do not, my dear cousin, cherish
those feelings, those gloomy miserable feelings, which can
not be right in the sight of heaven. They will intrude, I
know, and it will be a hard and long lesson for you to for
get that such things were, and were most pleasant, but I
think you may prevent yourself from dwelling on circum
stances that can only agonize you, and tend to no good pur
pose. You are fond of Jane, and I think her good sense
and good feeling will be of service to you. Do not reject
her good offices, my dearest cousin, and remember it is only
the idea that her society will be comforting to you that
could induce her to take so long a journey by herself, and a
separation from all her own family. You will, I am sure,
my dearest cousin, consider this, and not let her experience
the mortification of feeling that her efforts are unavailing,
by seeing you refuse all consolation. I hope you will be
able to come to England early in the autumn — change of
place may then do something for you ; and, at any rate, you
may be sure of meeting with sympathising friends.
It is a great mortification to me not to be able to be with

22 MEMORIALS OF
you and my aunt now, and I don't think myself that the
journey would have been of any disservice to me, but my
father seemed so determined to think that it would, that I
saw from the first he would not permit me to go. I am only
low and nervous, and the best remedy for that will be, learn
ing that you, my dear Catherine, are restored to some de
gree of tranquillity; to that peace of mind which passeth
understanding ; that lasting peace which the world can
neither give nor take away. Religious enthusiasm cannot
last : it may elevate your feelings for the time, but it is like
the effects of ether, renders you more wretched after it has
evaporated. Adieu ! my dear cousin ; console all your friends, absent
and present, by returning in some degree to your former
self; and, be assured, the spirit of your departed darling
will be best pleased by viewing you resigned and patient.
Ever, my dear Catherine,
Your affectionate cousin,
M. R. Warde.
" This extract points out that the writer, though a very
strong Protestant, believed that Popery was progressing and
would do so even more, and thus are evidenced the sobriety
and clear sightedness of her views.
Besides the fact that the Romanist exercises the right of
private judgment in as responsible, though in a lazier
manner, by deciding upon the infallibility of the Church, it
has always appeared wonderful to the Editor, that Romanists
who believe that the powers of the Apostles were transmitted
fully by the apostolical succession theory ever go to a doctor.
In the days of the Apostles such persons were taken to them
or handkerchiefs brought from their bodies, gave health.
That they should go without money is not surprising, re
membering the case of Simon Magus; but we read of no

LADY OSBORNE. 23
failure as to a cure in the Acts of the Apostles. It has been
said " miracles were not always wrought by the Apostles,"
but in the Romish Church the greatest of all miracles,
Transubstantiation, is held to be unfailing.
Now Transubstantiation lacks the essential characteristic
of a miracle which is to make a supernatural fact apparent to
the lookers on. Regeneration has been instanced as contrary
to this definition, but this example the Editor refutes by the
words, " the wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest
the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and
whither it goeth, so is every one that is born of the Spirit !"
Nothing is more evident to beholders than a change of
character, however gradually it may be manifested. More
over, Mr. Ffoulkes in his able pamphlet called " The Church's
Creed or the Crown's Creed," points out that in the Church
of Rome care is taken that the Pope should not be poisoned
in receiving the Sacrament, as if Christ's sacred body could
convey effectual poison ! — that body so full of virtue, that in
touching the hem of the garment in contact with it, the poor
woman, of whom we read in the New Testament, was cured
of her disease ! June 6th, 1827.
My dear Catherine, — Being again disappointed of a
frank from Lord Barham to whom I wrote for one, but
having since heard he was still in town, or at Brighton, I
cannot now expect it ; I must put you again to the expense
of postage, a thing I had hoped to have avoided, for when
one has nothing very fresh to communicate one feels a little
diffident of the value of their epistolary intelligence, when it
. is to travel far and cost much ; yet I think if mine be of
value any where, it is in that quarter to which I am
now sending this messenger of friendship and goodwill to
be received in the same spirit in which I send it. As
a proof of the affection I feel for all the members of

24 MEMORIALS OF
the family who will read this, and be pleased to find that all
is well with me and mine, at least as far as a breaking up
constitution at the grand climacteric will allow me to be, for
I have frequent returns of my complaint — whatever that may
be — at present it is nameless ; I can hardly define it. But
I suspect that in time it will take a more decided character,
and then I shall judge better what to expect from it; in the
meantime I must endeavour to draw the best advantage I
can from it, by turning my thoughts there, where only true
joys are to be found, and from the passing scenes of a world
where the changes and chances of things and of men and of
women are more against than for me . . .
As to my interest in the reformation of Ireland of which
you wrote so sanguinely, can you doubt that I should be
delighted to hear of the whole world worshipping our Creator
and Saviour in the purest form of religion which is known,
and divested of all the errors tacked to it by Popery ; it is
my nightly and daily prayer, that our Established Church
may become a truly Apostolic Church, at which all nations
may congregate and worship in all the simplicity delivered
to us by its Divine founder ; more especially do I pray that
the true light may shine on these United Kingdoms, and
much do I rejoice when I read of converts from Papistry to
our simple faith ; but sad is the drawback on the pleasure I
derive from this, when, in the next page, I see Protestants
become apostates and new converts returning to their former
errors; this it is which has checked me from offering my
congratulations to you on those promises of reformation
which are so frequently held forth in the papers. The more
I examine Popery by the only criterion we have (the Holy
Scriptures) the more surprised I am that any rational being
can renounce our mode of worship for that of the Roman
heathenish form. I can believe that those brought up Papists
may continue so from the force of habit, and a wilful shutting

LADY OSBORNE. 25
of the eyes to the light of reason ; but how those born to a
purer faith can lower their reason to the belief in the
puerilities — the mummeries of Popery, I may say its
blasphemies, is past my comprehension. It must be its pomp
and pageantry, its absolving from sin, assumed as that Divine
Power is by its priest, which draws them over to its standard.
The Almighty suffers these delusions to continue for a time,
and times, and half a time, and when he thinks fit He will
overthrow them all, and the Saviour shine forth in the
fulness of His glory ; so be it, I have been lately reading a
very excellent work — a history of the Reformation — which,
in its introduction, carries you back to the earliest period of
Christianity and proves the false claims to antiquity of the
Roman Church. Since then errors seem to have crept in in
comparatively modern times. I cannot recollect the author's
name, but you have doubtless heard of and read it before
this time; it is a very good addition to Milner's History of
the same period, and if you have not read it, I recommend
you to get it. It is in two quarto volumes and will make a
good library book.
We have not had such a spring this year as the last ; every
thing is nearly three weeks backwarder than in the last year.
I hope you have been accommodated with the same showery
weather we have had, for the good of the "pratie" grounds,
which abundance is so necessary to the welfare of your poor
Irish, who, if they have been forward with their crops, may
soon be saved from starvation. I trust that they have shewn
a little more foresight than usual in putting them into the
ground. You may, if you please, distribute the three pounds
to the poor creatures from us, as we have taken it on our
selves with  . I wish we had something better worth
sending, but you know how little we have at our command.
Your affectionate aunt,
S. Warde.

26 , MEMORIALS OF
Sunday night, 6th June, 1824.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I have taken up my pen for
the purpose of fulfilling my promise to reply to your letter
of the 4th instant, and I have selected this evening to do so,
in the hope that I may not be interrupted in my intention.
I have given what I conceive to be the serious and most im
portant parts of your letter all the consideration my time and
ability would allow, and I mean to communicate the results
without reserve, relying on your kind indulgence and pa
tience " that you will bear with me to the end."
The separation by death from the object most beloved by
us, of all things on earth chills the soul with horror, and
frequently hurries the unsubdued mind to charge the God
of all mercy with injustice, and the attempts made by
friends to offer consolation to the afflicted sufferer on such
occasions, may in general be properly answered in the words
of Job, "Miserable comforters are ye all;" and the reason
why no comfort by them, whom natural affection and other
kind motives urge to offer their condolence on such occa
sions is, because they themselves know not Him from whom,
under the deepest shades of affliction, a ray of mercy shines
to cheer His suffering people, and who has told them that
he afflictions of this life are but momentary and light, com
pared with the unclouded happiness and everlasting joys
which await them in those regions where the redeemed shall
ever be with the Lord. See 17th verse of the 4th chapter of
1st Thessalonians ; also 14th John, 3rd verse.
There is a sweet reflection connected with the departure
of children, " That they are taken out of a world of sorrow,
and translated to a kingdom of eternal glory ;" and the Bible
tells us (5th Job, 7th verse), " Man is born to trouble as the
sparks fly upwards," meaning that trouble must be man's lot
on earth, as certainly as the laws of nature are true to them-

LADY OSBORNE. 27
selves. We may as reasonably expect to see these reversed,
as to meet with a human being whose earthly cup is not
mixed with sorrow. Our own experience confirms this truth,
so does all that we know of those around ; and were we to
devote our whole lives to searching for one individual who
could say he knew no sorrow, the search would be fruitless.
Suppose then the dear child, of whom you have been so
lately bereaved, to have enjoyed that greatest of all blessings,
good health ; suppose him to have realized all your fondest
expectations, formed on the extraodinary capacity of mind
he displayed; suppose all your views concerning his pros
pects in life, on his attaining the age of manhood, to have
been realized, still he would have been subject to trouble and
sorrow. Rank, fortune, talents, genius, philosophy, nothing
could have exempted him from that which God has said is
the certain portion of man. But he is taken away from
trouble to come. He is now beyond the reach of sorrow ;
and whilst you grieve for him, he rests in happiness upon
that ineffable love which beams around the throne of God,
and partakes of joys that are as boundless as eternal. But
you wait to be assured that he is happy. It would appear
that God in mercy to bereaved parents, perhaps, has revealed
in the Scriptures that the souls of departed children are
happy in eternity as the justified made perfect. This may
be gathered from a consideration of the following passages
of Scripture:— 1st Kings, 14th chapter, 1st to 14th verses,
that the good things (therein alluded to) which the Lord
sees in the child, cannot for a moment be supposed to have
tended only to the circumstances of his death. In the 18th
chapter of Matthew's Gospel there are two remarkable pas
sages respecting the love of the Lord Jesus for little children,
which occur in the 3rd and 10th verses. The latter part of
the 10th verse seems to me to be almost conclusive with re
spect to the salvation of children. If then this assurance is

28 MEMORIALS OF
given on the authority of God's word that these (children's)
angels always behold His face, you may reject every doubt
as to the happiness of your child. But surely there is ano
ther inducement to you to look without one moment's delay
to the ground of your one hope before God, lest it should be
His will to take you out of this world. Another and more
awful separation may take place between you and him,
whose memory you now treasure in your heart. That such
an eternal separation will take place, the word of God ex
plicitly states in the 25th chapter of Matthew, 31st verse, to
the end of the chapter.
I write to you, my dear friend, unreservedly, and to adopt
any other mode would be, instead of kindness, dealing de
ceitfully on a subject of all others the most important to
every human being. To be assured of a joyful meeting,
never again to be separated from the object of your affec
tion, holds out a prospect more bright and cheering than any
else could afford. And if the unerring standard of God's
revealed truth be appealed to, it will tell us in simple, plain,
and intelligible language, that such an assurance may be
attained. By what means? you will be disposed to ask.
The word of God points out the way, and I have already
referred you to portions of that word, which more at large
set before us what the Saviour Himself says so emphatically
in the 6th verse of the 14th chapter of John's Gospel. The
whole of that chapter, rightly understood, abounds with com
forts, and is replete with promises to the believers in the
Lord Jesus Christ. But I may be adopting expressions
which, perhaps, may be deemed by you as the effusions of
enthusiasm, and therefore must be plain. The way to
heaven, and if the Bible be true, the one and the only way
to heaven, is through faith in the all-atoning blood of the
beloved Son of God, shed for sinners on the cross, in which
shedding of blood there is the fountain opened for sin and

LADY OSBORNE. 29
uncleanness spoken of by the Prophet Zechariah, in the 1st
verse of the 13th chapter, in which all who are washed are
cleansed from all sin. This is plainly stated by the Apostle
John in his 1st Epistle, 1st chapter and 7th verse, to believe
that the record which God has given of His Son is eternal
life, read the 10th and 11th verses of the 5th chapter of the
same Epistle; and whilst the Scriptures are full of assu
rances of eternal happiness to them who believe in the Lord
Jesus, they denounce the wrath of God against all who re
ject the Saviour. See 18th and 19th and 36th verses of the
3rd chapter of John's Gospel, and 16th chapter of Mark, 15th
and 16th verses.
I find I have allowed my pen to run to an unreasonable
length, and I almost fear I have exhausted your patience.
I shall conclude ; but before I do so, allow me once more to
revert to the great freedom in which I have expressed my
sentiments on the present as well as former occasions, and to
entreat your forbearance. Believe me to be sincere when I
assure you that I have not been led to do so from any sup
posed or fancied superiority of character or judgment. On
the contrary, an humble and anxious concern for your wel
fare and peace of mind has been my only motive ; and one
of the greatest comforts I could experience would be to
know you had obtained that peace of mind which God's
word declares this world can neither give or take away.
Shortly after I had the honour of your acquaintance, I formed
my opinion of your character and disposition, which early
excited in my breast a strong and lively interest, not only in
respect to yourself, but also to the dear object of all your
care and anxiety. The affliction and severe trial you have
since experienced the effects produced on your mind, have
tended to increase my concern and interest in every matter
connected with your welfare, and will, I hope and trust,
plead my apology, for I can offer nothing else in extenuation

30 MEMORIALS OF
of any seeming error in words or deed I may have been
guilty of. And with great respect and every sincere and
anxious wish for your health and happiness,
Believe me to be,
My dear Lady Osborne,
Your friend and faithful servant,
M. Poole.
12 o'clock, night. Sunday Morning.
Hackett has just handed me your letter, which I have
read with great interest ; there are several matters alluded
to by you which I could wish to have replied to ; but as I
find from Hackett, that she intends to return home to-day
by the two o'clock car, I shall only observe that there is no
view you can give, or sentiment express, relative to what you
describe to be your now altered state of mind, which could
or can lessen for one moment the anxiety and warm interest
I feel in every matter connected with your welfare; and
notwithstanding the exceeding weight of affliction which
seems to depress and overcloud your hopes and prospects of
happiness, still I look forward to the period, and that not
a distant one, I trust, when I shall hear of your rejoicing in
the truth as it is in Christ, and joining in the Apostle's de
claration as expressed in Rom. viii. 37, 38, 39.
I should wish very much for your sake to be introduced
to Mr. Woodward, that I might have an opportunity of
knowing his sentiments on religious matters ; and my present
intention is to pay you a visit on Sunday next. I shall set
out by the early coach so as to be at Newtown to breakfast.
I hope you may have it in your power to favour me with
your company (private) without interruption, as I shall be
obliged to return early the following morning. I am therefore

LADY OSBORNE 31
most desirous to engross as much of your time and conver
sation as circumstances will admit ; pray let me. 26 June, 1824.
My dear Lady Osborne,— I cannot avoid observing that
at no period since the commencement of our correspondence
have I experienced more deep and heartfelt grief and dis
appointment than the perusal of your letter of the 23rd instant
has caused. I cannot express the concern and interest I
feel in your behalf. Though sorrow may be allowable under
a sense of sin and involved in troubles and afflictions, yet we
must beware of an extreme ; and sorrow indeed becomes sin
ful and excessive when it leads us to slight the mercies of
God. We ought to consider that we are under the direction
of a wise and merciful Being; that he permits no evil to
come upon us without a gracious design ; that he can make our
afflictions sources of spiritual advantage ; that he might have
afflicted us in a far greater degree ; that though he has taken
some yet he has left us many other comforts ; that he has
given so many promises of relief and support in the Bible,
and that the time is coming when he will wipe away all tears,
and give to them that love him a crown of glory that fadeth
not away. See 1 Peter v. 4 ; 2 Tim. iv. 8. I regret my time
at present will not admit of me entering more particularly
into the subject of self-righteousness, but I hope to be able to
do so shortly. Pray read the enclosed little work, it is well
written, and its author appears to be a Christian indeed. I
have not yet finally decided on going to Dublin ; perhaps I
maybe able to avoid doing so for sometime ; and if so, I hope
to have it in my power to pay you a visit some day next
week, which I am for many, very many reasons, most anxious
to accomplish ; in the meantime I cease not to give thanks
for you in my prayers. That the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, &c. See Ephesians i. 16, 17.

32 MEMORIALS OF
I shall call at Ball's respecting Chalmers work. I do not
recollect the book your mother alludes to, perhaps it was
Ringham Gilhaize, or a history of the Scotch Cameronians.
My eyes continue to mend. With best wishes for your wel
fare and happiness, Believe me to be with greatest respect,
My dear Lady Osborne, Yours most sincerely and faithfully,
Matthew Poole.
Excuse this short and hurried letter. I have been engaged
all the morning and it is now almost two o'clock, and I am
afraid to lose this opportunity of sending it by the last car.
Sunday Evening, 27 June, 1824.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I have suffered a good deal of
uneasiness of mind since I despatched my short epistle of
yesterday's date, fearing lest from the hurried manner in
which it was written, you may have been inclined to think
that I have become careless or indifferent to the grief and
anguish of mind you are suffering under, or perhaps from
the state of my feelings at the time I might have expressed
myself in a way which you may have deemed to be inap
plicable to the peculiar circumstances of your situation. If I
have been the cause of pain in the slightest degree, even for
a moment, either by word or deed, I shall be most unhappy ;
my head and not my heart has been the offender. Inten
tionally, to add one pang more to a mind so deeply afflicted,
as I believe yours to be at the present moment would be
unpardonable, and to me a source of great disquietude. On
matters connected with your peace of mind and eternal wel
fare I confess I am warmly and most anxiously interested.
I cannot feel lukewarm or indifferent on subjects of this
kind where you are concerned ; I must therefore be plain
and explicit: any other line of conduct would be trifling,

LADY OSBORNE. 33
deceiving you on subjects of all others the most important,
and I should be acting the part of a flatterer, nay, worse —
" unfaithful," to the character I " have professed, a friend."
In my last letter I said I was greatly grieved and disappointed
on reading your letter of the 23rd instant — grieved to think
you have received no alleviation from affliction of mind, or
comfort from reading the Scriptures, and that the dark and
gloomy cloud of sorrow and despondency still continues to
shut out the bright sunshine of consolation, &c. as declared
in the Gospel to the afflicted of God, and I felt disappointed
to find that the gleam of hope which I had so fondly cherished
from some sentiments expressed in one or two of your last
letters, — " that all things were working for your good" — had
not been realized to the extent I could have wished. But
the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, neither
his ear heavy that it cannot hear. See Isaiah lvii. 15. The
invitations of the Lord to the weary and troubled in mind
are beautifully expressed by the same Prophet in the 55th
chapter, 1st to 5th verses. See also the words of the Saviour,
Matt. xi. 28 to the end.
" Eternal life thy words impart,
On these our fainting spirit lives ;
Here sweeter comfort cheers the heart,
Than all the stores of nature gives."
It is most humbling to the pride of the human heart to be
told that it is deceitful above all things, and desperately
wicked, Jer. xvii. 9th verse, and that it cannot of itself do
anything to please God. The word of Grod declares such to
be the condition of every being that is born into the world.
That all have sinned and come short of the glory of God
every man's conscience must allow ; the Gospel is the good
news of glad tidings to sinners, showing them how a man
may be justified with God, not of works lest any should boast,
but through faith in the atoning blood of the Lord Jesus
VOL. II. c

34 MEMORIALS OF
Christ to all and upon all who believe the record which
God has given of his beloved Son. Sin, whether that
of commission, omission, thoughtlessness or otherwise, is
sin in the sight of the Almighty, with him there is no dis
tinction. The sinner who has been brought to a knowledge
of this truth as it is in Christ, becomes acquainted with the
iniquity and crookedness of his heart. He sees in himself
nothing to boast of, no good, nothing to give him a claim to
the mercy of God, but the work of the Saviour on which he
rests his sole hope and dependence for acceptance and for
giveness in the day of judgment, and it is a deep sense of
duty and love to the Lord. Jesus Christ which influences
his whole life and conduct, and not from anything in himself
better than others ; all self-righteousness is at an end, now he
is persuaded, and knows that when he has done all those
things which are commanded him, he will say I am an un
profitable servant, I have only done that which was my duty
to do, Luke xvii. 10th verse, and you, my dear friend, when
you really and truly know and believe the truths of the
Gospel, will acknowledge these things, and will experience
the force and truth of the apostles expression, see 3rd chap.
Ephesians, 7th and 9th verses. Continue to give a portion
of your time daily to the consideration and contemplation of
the Scriptures, you have the kind and gracious invitation of
the Saviour for your encouragement, see St. Luke, xi. 9, 10,
11, 12 and 13th verses; and may the Lord strengthen and
support you in so doing. Connected with the Gospel hopes,
is its influence on the heart — it produces joy, peace of mind,
and submission under the trials and afflictions we are subject
to in this world, and gives the assurance of a blessed immor
tality. To say that we know Christ is able to save, and
derive no comfort or satisfaction from it, is but deceiving
ourselves with a name to live by. May the Lord of his in*
finite goodness and mercy direct you my dear friend to

LADY OSBORNE. 35
drink of that living water which is described in the Gospel
of John, chap. iv. 14th and 15th verses, and prepare you to
meet in the region of eternal bliss, the spirit of him whose
absence you now so deeply grieve and lament, is my most
fervent prayer. I could say much more on this subject,
but I really find my eyes so weak and dazzling that I can
scarcely see the letters I am writing. But I cannot conclude
without cautioning you against indulging in " Young's Night
Thoughts;" he is a dark and gloomy writer, and I have
strong doubts if he was acquainted with the comfort of
the Gospel at the time he wrote the work.
' ' Though to our lot temptations fall,
Though pain and want, and cares annoy,
The precious Gospel sweetens all,
And yields us medicine, food and joy.
Good night, my dear Lady Osborne, and believe me to be,
Yours, faithfully and respectfully,
M. Poole.
Monday morning, 6 o'clock.
For the present I have given up the idea of going to Dub
lin. I hope to have it in my power to pay you a visit about
Thursday or Friday next, of which I shall apprize you to
send for your mother's perusal, a very interesting work,
M'Crie's Life of John Knox.
Ringham Gilhaize is a novel, I have been promised the
loan of it, and shall retain it for your mother's reading if
she wishes for it. Pray continue your correspondence ; you
see what trouble you have brought upon yourself by listening
to my importunities, you will say I am never to be satisfied;
in reply, if I am unreasonable tell me so.
Yours, very faithfully,
M. Poole.
c 2

36 MEMORIALS OF

15th July, 1824,
My dear Lady Osborne, — The Apostle Paul in his second
epistle to Timothy, third chapter, after mentioning the per
secutions, afflictions, &c, which he had endured at Antioch
and other places, expresses himself in the following striking
manner: — In the 12th verse, "Yea, and all that would live
-godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution ;" and the
Saviour repeatedly warned his disciples and followers to ex
pect from the world opposition and reproach for His name's
sake. " For in this world ye shall have trouble," John xvi.
33 ; and in Matthew x. He tells them, " A man's foes shall
be they of his own household ;" and again, " He that taketh
not his cross and followeth after Me, is not worthy of
Me," verses 37, 38. Indeed the whole chapter is worthy of
your attention. See also Luke vi. 22, 26; also John xv.
18-21. The Saviour when on earth held out no worldly
inducement to those who wished to become His disciples.
He declared " that His kingdom was not of this world," and
upon a certain occasion when one said unto Him, " Lord I
will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest," He replied
" The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests,
but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head," Luke
ix. 5-7 to the end of the chapter, and although a period of
1800 years and more have elapsed since the Saviour appeared
in the world, yet the same spirit of opposition to His doctrines
and followers which existed in His day continues, only under
different circumstances, to exist at the present day. " But
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." 1 Cor. ii. 14. The
doctrines of the gospel and all who are influenced by them,
ever have been and ever will be despised by the great bulk
of mankind — even by those who call themselves Christians ;

LADY OSBORNE. 37
so my, dear friend, you must expect to meet with reproach ;
but recollect the emphatic words of that Master you profess
to serve, in Matthew x. 38 and Luke xiv. 27. You must
lay your account to lose all your gay friends, &c. Your
society will be no longer sought after by that description of
persons, for the world loveth its own, but I trust you will
not be forsaken by Him who has declared "My sheep hear
My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me ; and I give
unto them eternal life ; and they shall never perish, neither
shall any man pluck them out of My hand," see John x. 27-
30. The friendship of the world is not worth a moment's
consideration, and be assured it is impossible to please God
and the world, and those who think to do so will but deceive
themselves in the end. There is a very awful denunciation
against despisers of the gospel in 2 Thess. i. 6-10, which I
beg your attentionto, as also the other portions of Scripture
which I have referred to. You say you are going to read
H. More's Life of St. Paul ; I approve of her writings
generally — at least such as I have read of them— and I must
freely admit and acknowledge her very superior talent and
intellectual powers, and believe me no one can admire and
acknowledge the superiority of the mind of women on most
subjects more than I do ; I have always considered that there
are few subjects indeed to which women have given their
attention, that they do not excel in.
In your present frame of mind perhaps it would be better
that you do not enter upon matters of business, but although
I say so at the present time, I would by no means wish you
to encourage the idea that a Christian in the strictest sense
of the word, is not to engage in worldly affairs, the
Scriptures say otherwise ; and, besides, there is no situation
in life in which there are not duties of this kind to perform,
but on this subject I will at some future period enter more
at large into . I fear it will not be in my power to

38 MEMORIALS OF
accept of your kind invitation until the week after next, as
I am under the necessity of going to Dublin. I purpose
setting off on Sunday evening. Pray let me know if there
is anything I can do for you there. Perhaps on Sunday
week next I may, please God, pay you a visit; I mention
that day as I am desirous of hearing Mr. Woodward preach
again, but you shall hear from me on this subject after my
return from Dublin.
With every sincere wish for your welfare and happiness,
believe me to be, my dear Lady Osborne,
Yours very respectfully and faithfully,
Matthew Poole.
27th July, 1824.
My dear Lady Osborne, — On my return from Dublin
yesterday, I found your letter, but I regret to say in such an
injured and discoloured state from having been put up in
the basket with the vegetables, as to be illegible ; and I have
only been able to make out an unconnected sentence here
and there. I cannot tell you how much I have been annoyed
by the circumstance ; perhaps you will have the kindness,
when you favour me with another letter, to say whether it
contained anything of importance which you wish me to be
acquainted with.
I take the liberty to enclose, for my dear little friend
Catherine, a few story books, which I selected for her when
in Dublin, and which I beg you will allow her to accept. I
have several more by the same authors, but I think of a
superior denomination ; and should you approve of Catherine
reading such works I shall have great pleasure in sending
them. Indeed, I consider many of them of a description not
only to amuse but even to instruct persons of a more advan
ced stage of life. I have read some of them with pleasure,
and I think with improvement. They are in general well

LADY OSBORNE. 39
written, and most of them on highly interesting subjects,
perhaps you would wish to look over them. They are at
your service— nearly all of Mrs. Sherwood's works bound up
together. In consequence of having been obliged to post
pone my journey to Dublin to last Thursday, I find it will
not be in my power to pay you a visit to-morrow, as I had
intended; but I hope to have it in my power to do so in the
course of the ensuing week. I would rather prefer a Sunday
to any other day, that I might have the opportunity of
hearing Mr. Woodward preach; and I rejoice to find that he
occupies so high a place in your estimation, which is a fur
ther inducement on my part to desire to be acquainted with
so worthy and excellent a man. I fancy I have discovered
in your last letter, something alluding to sectarianism as con
nected with my religious principles ; believe me, I have no such
views either in respect to myself or anyone else I may feel
1nterested about. The peculiar forms of religion, I trust,
have no influence over my opinions ; and I dislike the idea of
proselytizing to any sect ; besides, I have always considered
the d octrines of the Establishment to be strictly scriptural,
and, as to church government, as unexceptionable ; perhaps
more so than any other church or sect I know of. Such are
my present views on the subject; and, if you have been told
otherwise you have been informed wrong. You have there
fore nothing to fear on that score from any intimacy you
may be pleased to favour me with. I trust I shall always
act a fair and honest part in this, as in any other matter
which I may be engaged in with you. I have no object or
desire to prejudice your mind against the Establishment, I
only regret that the clergymen of the Establishment are not
all like Mr. Woodward, for if such was the case there would
be but few dissenters. The man I esteem most in this world
as a friend is a sectarian, yet I have never been influenced
by his opinions or conduct in those matters, which you must

40 MEMORIALS OF
allow is a strong proof of my attachment to the Establishment ;
but I could give you a still stronger proof of my sincerity in
this respect, which I will do when I have the pleasure of seeing
you. I have and can say a great deal more on this subject,
but I find it is near the time of the car going off, so I shall for
the present conclude.
With every sincere wish for your welfare and happiness,
and with the greatest respect, believe me to be, my dear
Lady Osborne, Most truly and faithfully yours,
M. Poole.
Monday morning, 2nd September, 1824.
My dear Lady Osborne, — To be favoured with your
unreserved opinions on the important subject of religion, is
a privilege which I esteem and value more than I have words
to express, and however unworthy I may appear to be (as I
know I really am) as a correspondent, still you must allow
me to request and hope that you will continue to communi
cate freely your sentiments and ideas on this subject as they
arise in your mind, and which will be to me highly and
peculiarly gratifying to receive. I have to regret that my
time is so very frequently broken in upon, as often to pre
vent me from replying to your communications in that full
and ample manner they deserve, and which would at all
times be my anxious wish to do to the extent of my abilities ;
but as I have so frequently experienced your indulgence and
forbearance on similar occasions, and as I have had many
convincing proofs of your partiality towards me, I shall not
attempt to apologize, but shall hope that when I appear to
be deficient in these matters, that you will not attribute it to
the want of inclination, but to my inability.
In all matters of a speculative nature connected with the
belief of the Gospel, I honestly confess I am not only jealous,

LADY OSBORNE. 41
but afraid to allow the power or warmth of imagination to
be too much indulged in, particularly in very sensitive dis
positions, as I think it is apt to lead such persons as give way
to the feelings and fancies of the brain so produced, to
wander from, or, I should rather say, to lose sight of the
only true foundation which can give hope, comfort, joy, and
happiness in time or eternity. " The love and mercy of God
as revealed in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ and the
Scriptures, inform us that believers shall be raised up at the
day of judgment a spiritual body, and shall be as the angels
in heaven. I therefore infer that all ideas and feelings as
connected with, or relating to, the things of this life will be
done away with and absorbed in the one object — " Love to
the Lord Jesus Christ ;" and I am warranted from the Scrip
tures to suppose that all the happiness and joy of believers
in eternity will result from that source alone, and also that
all their thoughts and desires will originate and proceed from
love and praise of the Lamb of God, who has washed and
redeemed them with his blood, and presented them spotless
before the throne of the Almighty, to His honor and glory
through all eternity (see Rev. vii. chap., 9th verse, to the end
of the chapter; also chap. xxi. 1st to the 5th verse, and
chap. xxii. 1st to the 6th verse.) -The knowledge, therefore,
which I conceive believers will have of each other in eternity
must be of a spiritual nature, and not in any manner or
degree connected with the sinful and corrupt ideas of this
life. Such are my opinions on this highly interesting sub
ject ; for I cannot for a moment allow myself to suppose
that any idea, feeling, or otherwise as connected with this
world, can ever enter into the minds or thoughts of the
blessed in eternity; but I shall most willingly give up this
opinion, if you can from the Bible produce a single passage
or sentence in support of the contrary being the case. The
parable of the rich man and Lazarus does not, in my humble

42 MEMORIALS OF
opinion, bear at all on the point in question. The object the
Saviour had in view appears to have been to direct the Jews,
to whom the parable was immediately addressed, and all
mankind to read and search the Scriptures as the only true
source of Divine information ; and the knowledge which,
Dives appeared to have was merely that of the happiness of
Lazarus, and of his own eternal misery. I can very well
conceive the trying situation you were placed in when
exposed to the full force of Lady  's artillery ; but you
must expect such things from the world if you continue
faithful in the service of your Saviour. The sayings of our
Saviour, and the writings of His Apostles, distinctly inform
us of the enmity of the world to the children of God in
Christ, and they also point out the trials which believers are
to expect and meet with in this life, even from their nearest
and dearest friends. I agree with you that ridicule is, of all
the ways of Satan, the most difficult to combat ; still I hope
and trust that your faith in Him who is all-sufficient will
enable you to withstand these trials, and bring you off more
than conqueror. Do not suppose that Lady  is more
opposed to a Christian character than others. No ; it is her
candour in openly expressing to yourself what she thinks on
the subject. Very few persons would dare to do, whatever
they might, behind your back, insinuate; so far, therefore,
I like her Ladyship's conduct. She is, no doubt, a clear,
sensible, and experienced woman in worldly affairs, and
certainly a most agreeable companion ; of course the more
dangerous. Her attack or insinuations on the character of
the Archbishop of Tuam is, I dare say, nothing more than
the ill-natured remarks of the world, and, I have no doubt,
without the least foundation of truth. Strange it is to say,
that so great is the dislike and enmity of the people of the
world to such characters as the Archbishop, that the slightest
error of judgment or conduct in them is immediately blazed

LADY OSBORNE. 43
forth to the whole world with all the malignity possible to
conceive, when the laws of morality are shamelessly and
openly violated by others are passed over merely as trifling
matters. Could my Lady  expose in the same spirit the
sins of a neighbouring prelate, and hold him up as a hypo
crite, &c? I dare say she would not; and, why? Because
he lays no claim to the practice and character of that Master
he professes to serve and honour. But are the crimes of
such characters the less guilty in the sight of a holy and
just God? Certainly not. I find I must or ought not to
pursue this subject further. It is the bounden duty of
Christians to avoid giving offence ; to forgive injuries ; to
pray to God for an increase of faith ; and to have an humble
opinion of their best works. The children of God are not
free from sinful dispositions and inclinations in this life.
The Apostle says, Rom. vii. 18, " For I know that in me
dwelleth no good thing; for to will is present with me; but
how to perform that which is good I find not." And in the
24th and 25th verse of same chapter, " Oh, wretched man
that I am," &c. But they know they have " an Advocate in
heaven who ever liveth to make intercession for them, who
was delivered for their offences, and was raised again for
their justification." And it is this glorious hope and promise
which gives them peace in this world, and the hopes of
eternal life in the world to come, and not from any goodness
or supposed righteousness, or anything else in themselves.
I find my time will not allow me to proceed much farther.
I must, therefore, postpone the consideration of the other
subjects of your letter to another occasion.
I am concerned to say that I have scarcely a hope of being
able to pay you a visit for some two or three weeks to come.
Whenever I feel myself at liberty to enjoy the happiness
of spending a day in your society I shall acquaint you.
Every day I regret more and more my inability to see you,

44 MEMORIALS OF
and most anxiously wish and desire to live in your neigh
bourhood, if I could with prudence do so. On the subject
of the Quarry scheme I have not by any means relinquished
the idea; but the difficulty with me is, how I should be able
to procure a trustworthy person as a resident to carry on the
works, as, from the nature of the thing, I need only give it
an occasional visit. I should require some business more
extensive to induce me to quit Waterford and give up my
professional pursuits; but more on this subject another time.
I send you a little book, which I beg you will read, and
return to me after you have done so. Pray do not allow it
to go into any other hands but your own, for reasons which
I shall hereafter explain. I thank you for sending me the
Trials of Margaret Lindsay; when I have read it I will give
give you my opinion of its merits. Pray write often. You
cannot believe how much I am pleased and gratified when I
receive a letter from you. I wish I was a better hand at my
pen than I am, that I might have it in my power to express
and convey all I think and wish on the various subjects of
our correspondence. With the greatest respect,
Believe me to be,
My dear Lady Osborne,
Yours faithfully and sincerely,
Matthew Poole.
" The Rev. Henry Woodward was the son of the Bishop of
Cloyne. He was a man of whom no perusal of his writings,
beautiful as they are, could give a just idea, his life and
conversation were so very remarkable ; but fortunately essays
and sermons, and ' The Shunamite,' or a few smaller
works, remain in the world of literature to testify in a slight
degree to the ethereal nature of himself. At one time, when
he preached in Dublin, crowds like those who went to hear
Chalmers used to follow him; but for many years before his

LADY OSBORNE. 45
death, from choice, he lived in great retirement, though
always active in the service of his duties. He lived to be
eighty-eight, preserving his faculties to the last, and used to
say " his latest years were his happiest."
The Editor takes occasion to mention here one of the
effects of the Church Spoliation Bill with reference to the
scene of professional exertion on the part of his son, the
Dean of Down. Together with a large proportion contri
buted by himself, he collected and expended on the Cathedral
of Downpatrick for its restoration the sum of £3000. In
1871, not being a Parish Church, the building is to be put
up for sale, unless the Church Body are able to undertake
the expense of keeping it up."
My dear Lady Osborne, — I feel, I hope truly, grateful
to God for the account you give of your dear child, and of
the relief which you have received from your anxieties. I
trust you will find in the end that they have been quite un
warranted by the nature of Catherine's complaint; such is
my belief. I hope, please God, to see you in the morning,
and shall be able, while your mind continues unsettled, to
devote as much of my time to you as you wish. Inde
pendently of strong inclination, I think it now my first duty.
May God peculiarly bless you, ever, my dear friend,
Yours most affectionately,
H. Woodward.
" The difficulties alluded to in the next and others of Mr.
Woodward's letters point out, by the perfect absence of all
these subsequently to the arrangements entered into, that
the landlords should pay the tithes, how utterly uncalled for
is the present confiscation bill."

40 MEMORIALS OF January 18th, 1832.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I had the happiness of receiving
your letter of the 7th on Friday. 1 was absent at the time
at ... or should have had it sooner. Only that my
mind has been so occupied and my time so engaged, that
often as my thoughts were with you, my dearest friend, I
thought it better to put off writing. Indeed, anxious as I
am that you should keep to your kind promise of writing
once a fortnight, I do not feel that I have any stated time
for answering, at least any one agreed on. It may interest
you to have some specimen of the state of things here. I
had a letter from Sir William Gosset saying that Major Miller
was instructed to protect my drivers where I drive for the
tithe composition. Armed with such a set, I thought it
would be well to summon a meeting of the Popish farmers
to lay this communication from the Castle before them.
Monday last was the day appointed, and forty-four notices
were issued. Mr. Barton,  and  agreed to be pre
sent as my friends. On Sunday Mr.  preached on the
subjeet. He told them not to go ; he told them not to pay
tithe ; but (bursting into tears) to let the last cow or blanket
be taken. The effect was that, though my three friends
appeared, not one farmer came. A young man, whose family
Miss Darby had been of service to in sickness, met her the
other day ; she spoke about the tithe. His answer was, that
his clergy had forbidden him to pay, and added that they
considered their clergy could not desire them to do anything
wrong. This he repeated with great calmness over and over
again. The remarkable thing is, that the young man is a
person of the most excellent character, mild and amiable in
his disposition. You ask me as to the Orange business. It
seems, as far as anything worldly can be, a bright exhibition
of what is elevated and conservative in society, arrayed against

LADY OSBORNE. 47
all that is foul and base. The six leading names are refreshing
to the eye, and seem (contrasted at least with their opponents)
as if the list were formed by the Angel who is to gather
God's elect together, or by the one who keeps the register
of the Book of Life. I am afraid that no effort can now
save the country ; the frown of God seems to be upon it.
The horrid coalition of Popery with infidelity and radicalism
seems as if the nation were given up. I am doubtful, but,
even though a clergyman, I think I shall sign the Protestant
petition. Never, doubtless, did Protestantism appear so com
paratively bright.
Please to tell Jonathan that I hope to write to him to
morrow or next day ; but he is in my debt. Frank presses
me to withdraw his allowance, and I have written to George
to recommend his maintaining himself by pupils. I beg you
will have the great kindness of writing regularly. God
Almighty bless you. Ever, dearest friend,
Most affectionately yours,
H. Woodward.
January 28th, 1832.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I think there must be some
unaccountable delay in the course of my letters. I am much
obliged to you, however, for the anxiety you show at not
having got my last. I feel your correspondence too neces
sary to my comfort to trifle with it by remissness on my
part. I trust, my dearest friend, that the indisposition you
speak of will quickly wear off. Everything of local interest
here merges in the awful event of Mr. Whitty's death.
Before this reaches you, you will in all probability have seen it
in the papers. On Wednesday last he left his home to call
on some parishioners. Not being at home by six o'clock,
Mrs. W. became alarmed, and sent to the Peelers stationed

48 MEMORIALS OF
near. They went out, and after a long search brought word
that they had traced Mr. W. to Mr. Robbins, of Suir Castle,
about two miles off ; that he left that place on foot at three ;
but that further they could not trace him. A more general
search then commenced, and within a quarter of a mile of
his own house, in a field, was found this meek and quiet
pastor weltering in his blood, quite insensible, but still
breathing. He was taken home to his wife and four
daughters (his only son being in Dublin), and at half-past
six the next morning went to Abraham's bosom. The proxi
mate cause of this horrid murder (which I should have told
you was by stoning) was, that at the late sessions of Cashel
Mr. W. presumed to process for tithe. Believe me, my
dearest friend, that your advice as to driving for tithe would
be under all circumstances most objectionable; it would be
a movement, upon a great scale, that could effect nothing
but complicated mischief. Mr. Roe breakfasted here on
Thursday, and was thanking God he had never done it. The
fact is, that even if the cattle were driven without effusion
of human blood, no one would levy the distress, or could do
it, without imminent risk of life and property. It is remark
able that a lady told me some time ago she thought Mr.
Whitty's life in peculiar danger.
He certainly, though a very heavenly-minded man, con
trived (I believe from a conscientious scruple about compro
mising what he thought sacred rights) to entangle himself
constantly with his parishioners. This is entre nous, but it
may be satisfactory to my friends to think that there was
something in Mr. Whitty's case which distinguished it from
mine. I shall send an article to the " Evening Mail " on
the subject of Mr. W. I am not sure they will put it in ;
perhaps thinking a newspaper not the proper place. I have
formed actually an affection for E  H  which I could
hardly describe. I feel to him as if I might humbly hope

LADY OSBORNE, 49
that he is my spiritual child. May God be his defence
amidst the dangers which surrounds his soul ! George
Gough is also inexpressibly dear to me, and so is Willy
Pennefather. We had at Mrs. Hill's, on Tuesday last, a
most satisfactory meeting. Mr. Butler dined there after
wards, and brought a brother, a young officer, much to be
liked. We had Edward Hutchinson and Miss H. also.
The lecture in the morning was attended by thirty-five,
almost all gentry. Shall I ever have the happiness of
lecturing at Newtown again? At all events, I trust that
nothing will prevent my meeting you in a better and happier
world. May God prepare us for it !
Ever, my dearest friend,
Affectionately yours,
H. Woodward.
April 8th, 1832.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I felt somewhat uneasy at
your delaying to write longer than the usual time, and there
fore, your kind letter was more than usually welcome. I
am quite prepared for many of my friends thinking that it
was injudicious to print the letter to Mr. Stanley at the time
I did ; but with every respect for them I must see the matter
in another light. I do not see why the Church should be
collectively insensible to that call which says, " Seek ye first
the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these
things shall be added unto you." I consider the Establish
ment as a means, not an end, and as a means we can judge
of her by that rule, " Ye shall know them by the fruits."
Now certain it is that the Establishment has not worked
successfully for the last century ; her enemies have multiplied
and strengthened, her children have deserted her, her hedges
are broken down, so that all that pass by pluck off her
vol. II. D

50 MEMORIALS OF
grapes. You my dear friend are in the midst of the Pro
testant Camp, and therefore, the comparative strength of
the cause seems greater than it really is. Besides you have
Gordon who would shout victory while half his head was
above water. My opinion is that the times call for much
seriousness, and much prayer, and that if the Lord has it in
His intention to save the existing institutions of the country,
(which I much doubt) He will raise up a spirit of devoted-
ness amongst us far less alloyed with secondary motives, and
far less conformed to the mind and temper of the world,
than that which volunteers to fight what it considers the
battle of the Lord. My dearest friend I perceive that cir
cumstances as well as other causes lead us to take curiously
different views of the matters which are passsing before our
eyes. Perhaps if I ever have the happiness of taking a ride or
walk with you again, it may entertain us to talk some of them
over. Your account of poor  is most affecting. It
is remarkable that just before I received your letter contain
ing the same words I said " I fear that poor man dies and
makes no sign." To see a tender heart cased up in steel
against all that could console or comfort it is melancholy
indeed. It will, whether you succeed or not in doing him
good, be a pleasing reflection to yourself that you so often
turned aside from pressing calls and exciting circumstances,
to visit that poor disconsolate young man ; if he be still alive
I say, may he be called in even at the eleventh hour and
find rest to his soul.
 How remarkably he is dealt with, and
how mercifully if he could or would but feel it. Only
think of the  hounds being out on the fast day. You
will much oblige me by telling me how Mr.  goes on.
Has he made any movement towards Irving? We had a
very good Clerical meeting yesterday; Mr. Cavendish is
really becoming a serious Clergyman. Think of our having ¦

LADY. OSBORNE. 51
seven Clergymen at Mr. Hill's last Lecture ; besides Mr. Hill
and myself, we had Mr. Mansell, Mr. Dixon of Dungarvan,
Robert Bell, Mr. Cavendish and Henry Perry. You will
have heard ere this reaches you, of the death of poor Major
Fancourt, poor Mrs. F. is in wonderful affliction ; Giles told
me yesterday a trait of him. They travelled to Limerick in
the coach, and a dangerous accident occurred, from which
they were providentially preserved. Giles afterwards joked
about it, and applied to the circumstances they were in the
words of some old song ; Major F. then with great politeness
and seriousness, represented to Giles how inconsistent it was
just after .God had so .mercifully saved them, to turn the
mind to a jest. Mr. Giles added to me that he never was so
surprised by anything in his life as by that mild rebuke.
God bless you my dearest friend.
Ever, most affectionately yours,
H. Woodward.
April 18th, 1832.
My dear Lady Osborne, — This post has brought the
intelligence of the severe trial to which you have all been
exposed in the death of Mrs. Warde, an event in which lam
sure you will believe that I take a deep and lively interest.
I have often heard you describe the many valuable and
amiable qualities of your aunt. Her own letters also, which
you have sometimes given me the privilege of reading, bear
ample testimony to that head and heart which it is my fervent
hope will be raised again, the one to reason without any
cloud of eiror, the other to feel without any mixture of pain
or sorrow. You will very much oblige me by even a few
lines to say that the effects of this most sudden shock have
hot affected your health and spirits more than what is in such
case unavoidable ; and to tell also how your mother has been
supported, and how the Warcles bear up under the unspeak-
d2

52 MEMORIALS OF
able loss, for such, I am sure, it has been to them. I need
not suggest to your well-furnished mind consolations which
the Gospel holds out to those that travail and are heavy laden.
The first lesson we learn in the school of Christ is the utter
vanity of expecting any settled rest or stable peace in any
thing but God. Hard as it is to learn, we must be taught
this practically by losses, afflictions, and disappointments,
sent in mercy and dealt out gently as we are able to bear
them, and though no chastening seemeth for the present
joyous but grievous, nevertheless you, my dearest friend,
will know it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness to
them that are exercised thereby. If, indeed, you had felt
the affection for poor F  that you did for Mrs. Warde,
the separation might be gloomy indeed ; but you have
described her to me as one for whom friends cannot sorrow
as those that have no hope. You have, I trust, a solid ground
of expectation that your next meeting with her will be in
glory. I really think among other motives of consolation
that the state of the world should be taken into account.
What are the prospects which present themselves to a lover
of good order and established institutions such as Mrs. Warde
was ? and particularly to one so far advanced in life and so
little prepared to adapt herself to a new order of things ? I
am afraid I can have done nothing by this letter, but shown
my good will. You are so well acquainted with all that I
could suggest on the present subject that I feel it useless to
write much upon it, and I do not like introducing ordinary
topics at such a moment, still less do I wish to introduce myself ;
nevertheless I cannot help saying a word even on that worthless
subject. I have been somewhat tempted to think, particularly
from the late irregularity of yonr correspondence, that your
friendship for me is not what it was. This I say not in the
way of blame ; I have not one thought of the kind ; I say
it because I should be glad and obliged if you would with

LADY OSBORNE. 53
Christian openness mention if there are any specified grounds
for such a movement in your mind. My own belief is that
such grounds are erroneous and could be explained away,
because I cannot conceive what they are, and this of itself I
think argues that they cannot be solid. I can hardly think
that any fancied difference about merely political matters
(for indeed they are but fancied), could effect a change in
so old a friend. I certainly do not think that the heated
atmosphere in which such a mind as Mr. G  lives is
friendly to true piety, but this is no political opinion. One
comfort I have, which is, that there is an Almighty Friend
who never can change, and whose nature, I trust, I know
more and more. And now be assured, if indeed you value
the assurance, that my friendship and affection for you is
unchanged and unchangeable. Ever most affectionately yours,
H. Woodward.
July 4th, 1832.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I feel deterred when I would
sit down to write to you by your not having pointed out any
mode of sending my letters free ; and really in point of any
thing they communicate I fear they are purchased too dearly
at the price of postage. You will have heard long before
this reaches you of poor Lord Donoughmore's death ; Miss
Hutchinson will, I understand, remain, at least for some
time, with her sister. This is, in many respects I trust a good
arrangement. ... I know not how to feel about Jona
than's suggestion of the Lock chapel. In all human pro
bability it will not be offered to me, and that will settle the
point; if it is, no doubt any call to England at such a junc
ture of affairs in Ireland looks providential. But then my
time of life is oddly suited to such a transition as that from
Fethard to the Lock. Frank tells me that the Chapel is

54 MEMORIALS OF
very large, and this daunts me. I can always preach most
at my ease in a room about the size of the Dublin Asylum.
I wish I knew the precise dimensions of the Lock Chapel.
Dean Bernard is now here, and tells me that he was, he
believes, made a governor of the Lock in 1814, having made
a donation of £50 at the time to the institution. If this
does not constitute a governor, he would wish now to become
so. Might I beg of your Ladyship (as you can do it through
many channels) to have an enquiry made whether Dean B.'s
name is on the books, and if not, what should be done or paid
to make him a governor. I should feel reluctant to give you
this trouble, but I know your real desire to oblige a friend,
and you will perceive that Dean B.'s wishes of being con
nected with the Lock are on my account.
Please to give an answer as soon as convenient -to this. I
went last week to Affane, in the County of Waterford, to
hold a lecture ; and, literally, the numbers were so great that
the carriages had exactly the appearance of the breaking up
of a great Dublin Congregation.
They have now a very pious and highly gifted young
minister at Lismore, which is a great change. The cholera
is now at Clonmel ; may we be prepared to meet it if it comes
here. God bless you, my dear friend,
Your most affectionate,
H. Woodward.
July 6th, 1832.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I received your most kind let
ter, enclosed in Catherine's to Louisa, for which I return you
many thanks. It would indeed be delightful to visit the
scenes you describe in Regent's Park, and to see the dear
friends I have in London, and to enjoy the happiness of your
conversation and society, but at this moment I must put such
thoughts out of my head. These are no times for leaving

LADY OSBORNE. 5o
glebe-houses. It is a great mercy to be allowed even to
remain in them and to be supplied with food and raiment.
In the midst of all the apparent trials of the times, however,
I thank God that my own mind has been kept in more than
usual peace. The unspeakable blessing of religion, and the
madness of preferring broken cisterns to the streams of living
water seem clearer, and are more habitually present to my
mind than ever. I am also more and more convinced that
Christianity is a present salvation, and that almost all our
unhappinesses are brought upon ourselves. I say almost all,
because I think there are trials and sufferings in life which
would have been felt to have been such by the humanity of
Christ. But the sufferings are comparatively of rare occur
rence. In most cases, I believe unhappiness to be the work
ing of unhappy tempers. It seems to me very important to
observe the following distinctions with mental as with bodily
pain ; the cause may either be inward or outward ; in the
former case it is a disease, in the latter a mere accident. A
man may lie on a bed or couch and be in pain, if the pain is
from within, when he rises he will carry it with him, but if
the pain arise from something in the bed that hurts him, he
has only to leave the bed to be at ease; so it is with differ
ent kinds of trial. If our distress arises really from things
that in themselves are grievous to innocent human nature,
then our unhappiness betrays no want of mental health, and
we want nothing but change of circumstances to make us
happy; but I believe very few have such a case to show, and
therefore in most instances unhappiness and unholiness are
the same. I find one symptom of age creeping on me though
I am very watchful against it ; it is that of repeating the
same thing to the same person. Did I use the comparison
of a. man lying on a bed in pain, in a letter to you before?
Alas ! I find it is too true you are not returning to the coun
try; I do not however blame you for it, nor do 1 blame you

56

MEMORIALS OF

being unwilling to mention it where you thought it might
occasion pain. It is a great comfort to me to hear regularly
from you. I met a poor woman the other day begging, who
told me that her husband was, nine months ago, blown in pieces
by the blasting of a rock at the slate quarry ; there was some
thing odd but so interesting about her that I gave her some
thing (a thing very uncommon with me now). Before I heard
her story, she told me that she and her husband were Protes
tants, though she appeared very ignorant; also that she
brought a child to me to christen about six months ago (of
which I have a vague recollection). I know that you have
no part in working the slate quarry, nevertheless, considering
that the woman is a Protestant and that she has children to
bring up as such, I thought it right to mention the thing.
Mr. Smith could doubtless get you information. The Palli-
sers are expected in a few days. Poor Miss O'Meara is dead ;
much regretted by many who knew her real worth which
was very great. I am sorry to say there are by no means
comfortable accounts of George G.'s health. Lady G. told
me yesterday that they had written for him to come home.
I feel unwilling to direct through Lord D. as you do not do
so ; shall I in future ? God bless you my dearest friend.
Most affectionately yours,
H. Woodward.
" The man of the name of Connors mentioned in the next
letter, was the same person who was murdered by Mrs. Man
ning, and from his extraordinary mode of transmitting a
sovereign through the post, that wretched woman would
seem warranted in the term she applied to him when making
her ghastly joke that " she had cooked her goose."
Fethard, Tipperary, Sept. 20th, 1832.
My dear Lady Osborne,— .... Things are
going on in this country just as usual; nothing yet has been

LADY OSBORNE. 57
done by Government towards collecting the incomes of the
Clergy in this neighbourhood, and no Papist thinks of pay
ing tithe ; in the meantime I thank God that I feel no want.
We had at a Lecture at Mr. Cooper's last Friday, a Mr. 
who five months ago was a Popish priest, but is now a Clergy
man, (and I hear a very zealous one) of the Established
Church. One lady says that he is preaching such sermons
at Tipperary that he is driving them all full gallop to hell.
I hope you will not think that I have taken a great liberty
in desiring a man of the name of Connors to call on you for
a pound which I will pay punctually to Mr. Smith. It was
the only way I could think of to transmit so small a sum,
and the case is so interesting that it will I think fully plead
my excuse with you. The man is a convert from Popery ;
he was driven from this Parish by the terror of persecution ;
he went to London in a state of beggary, and on his going I
lent him the above sum. It has pleased God to take him up
in his distress, and he has been put into a comfortable situa
tion. Such is his honesty that he sent me a sovereign made
up in the seal of his letter, and on my delaying to acknow
ledge the receipt, he was so afraid that I might by any
accident of the post lose the money, that he actually sent a
second pound, thus paying the debt twice over. In his
letter he says that he is now above want, and that " It will
be the pride of his soul throughout eternity that he encount
ered misery and poverty for his Saviour's sake ;" may God
send us many such converts as this. You will much oblige
me by mentioning if Bulbridge is in the country, I could
send it by him. I should imagine that Mr. Gordon will not
stand for the College by what I see in the papers respecting
him. If I have a vote I know no one that better deserves it.
I take it for granted that he does not oppose Mr. Lefroy, or
any one of his principles. I see by the papers that Mr.
¦  has got a living; who ordained . him ? I hear that

58 MEMORIALS OF
Miss Hutchinson is likely to be at your house in London;
Jonathan is my authority. I know that you always liked
her, and I think that you would now like her better than
ever. The . . . are all that could be wished, indeed
there is a growing seriousness in this country. Mr. Lloyd
who has lately returned to it after an absence of more than
three years, is greatly struck with the general improvement.
What do you thing of Lord H  's Society for Church Re
formation ; whether their plan be wise or not in my judgment
some reformation is much wanted. Though you are to be so
long absent, there is some comfort in thinking that Mr.
 is not to be the proprietor of Newtown. Poor Mrs.
Fitzgerald has followed her sons ! God bless and preserve
you. Yours most affectionately,
H. Woodward.

Fethard, April 8, 1834.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I will not trouble you with
apologies for not writing, though I could say much about my
waiting to ascertain from your brother where my letter
might be sure to find you, and the odd delays arising from
that and other causes ; but you may be assured that, what
ever my silence was owing to, it neither did or could proceed
from any want of deep and unchangeable affection and
attachment. Things are going on as usual. I have lately
spent about three weeks in Dublin, where I find everything
indeed to cheer me in my ministry, even at this eleventh
hour, so much so, that I am, please God, going again there to
morrow. I find a home at the Scott's, which makes me feel
quite comfortable. On Friday I am to address the clergy
assembled at the Rotunda, before the Church Missionary
Meeting, and I have engaged to preach two Charity Ser-

LADY OSBORNE. 59
mons. It appears odd for me to leave home so much, but
my desire is to go where Providence leads. I left Louisa
with Mrs. Scott, and hope with God's blessing to join her
again. Your brother, I find, is going to be married to Miss
Riall. I pray God that it may be for the happiness of both
parties. I feel it distressing to leave the country just at this
moment, as Letitia Lloyd seems drawing near her close, but
having engaged myself I cannot be off. She is just in the
same heavenly state as her dear mother was. Mrs. Hill is
now here. You have no one in this country who loves,
esteems, and values you more than she does. I don't know
whether you knew Mr.  , son of Mr.  of K  ,
when you were in the neighbourhood, he has really become
one of the most genuinely and truly religious men I ever
knew : it is a remarkable change, because he was a most
frivolous character before.
Mr. Palliser's loss has been, as you may conceive, great
indeed to his family; he was the great mover and main
spring of the machine, and the whole system seems paralyzed.
None but the ladies are at Derryluskan, from which they
go in about a fortnight, not to return, at all events not for
months. The other families of the country much in statu
quo. Mr. Barton's health just as it was. Mr. Perry, they
say, is going to be married to a Miss Townsend ; this is odd
gossiping for me, for indeed I am no meddler in other
people's affairs. The state of this country is very interesting ;
our Church rapidly improving under all its trials, and
Popery spreading wide its branches while withering at the
root.  is as infatuated as ever, but nothing can quench
the vital spark which seems to animate the breast of so
many of the inferior clergy, and laity of both sexes.
May I beg a letter, and that you will not delay because I
from accidental hindrances have done so. I heard that you

60 MEMORIALS OF
were coming to London to complete the purchase of New
town. If you write, which pray do soon, direct to No. 3,
Merrion-square, South, Dublin.
I send this to Mr. Smith. May I beg to be most kindly
remembered to Mr. and Miss Smith, and that you will give
my love to Catherine. May God preserve and bless you.
Ever, my dearest friend,
Most affectionately yours,
H. Woodward.
Fethard, July 22nd, 1834.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I have been prevented from
writing by my ignorance of your direction, which I have at
last heard through Dora Pennefather. Mrs. Hill told me
the contents of your letter as far as it respected me only the
day before yesterday at Dungarvan. I can most truly assure
you that on my part no diminution of esteem or affection has
taken place. You are pleased to speak, both in your letter
to Mrs. Hill and in your late one to me, in terms which I
allude to only to say that I feel the use of such terms much
more applicable to myself than to you. If I could suffer
myself to take pride in anything, be assured that I know
nothing which would so much tempt me to it as having been
so much prized by such a person as I consider you. This is
language remember which has been drawn out by the ex
pressions of your two letters, and in such a connection it
could alone be rightly understood, but it is most sincere.
Youmayindeedmost trulyreckononin me a friend unchanged
and unchangeable ; my whole nature must be taken to pieces
before the deposit you have made in my mind could be got
out. I am very sorry to learn, as I did yesterday, that we
shall lose the Hills at'Knocklofty. Dr. Tuckey of Clogheen
is dead ; and Henry Perry has got the living. Possibly the
Hills may come into Clonmel, but of course to sad incon-

LADY OSBORNE. 61
venience to themselves. The Pallisers, I hear, return in
September. Mr. Barton of Grove has lately had a very dan
gerous fit of the apoplectic kind which he is slowly getting
over, but a repetition is much to be apprehended. The Sam
Bartons, Hills, Hugh Goughs, and others from this neigh
bourhood are at Dungarvan. I have taken lodgings also
there for George, Tom, and Louisa, for whom sea-bathing
would, I am sure, be very useful. This will keep me back
wards and forwards, which I find very useful in a ministerial
way. We have large congregations at Dungarvan. I preach
also at Cahir where, I am happy to say, Mr. Cavendish has
become a very decided character. Another of the Miss
Butlers has become a Protestant. The Pennefathers are now
in the country. Willy has been delicate in body, but in full
health of soul. Letitia Lloyd is fast hastening to join her
blessed mother. I fear the congregations at Killaloan are
sadly reduced, but your return will, I trust, revive matters
there. Lady Glengall is coming over, and there are great
threatenings of private theatricals, &c, but her ladyship will,
I think, find things much altered in that neighbourhood, —
Mr. Cavendish will, I am sure, do his duty firmly. I shall
be much obliged to you for a line in answer to this. I should
be glad to hear your observations on the state of religion,
and how far Socinianism is advancing or receding. I suppose
you are in the midst of delightful scenery. I beg my kindest
love to Catherine, and remain, my dearest friend,
Ever most affectionately yours,
H. Woodward.

March 17, 1835.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I must reserve to an early
opportunity, please God, the pleasure of writing more fully.
t am now preparing to go off to Waterford to preach for the

62 MEMORIALS OF
Church Missionary Society. There are two passages, one in
Romans v. 8, and the other, 1 John, iii. 17, which appear to
me the most convincing possible. I will in a future letter
submit to you why I think so, but could not now. The
sight of Newtown the other day recalled to my mind many
endearing associations — but I must conclude.
Ever, my dearest friend,
Yours most affectionately,
H. Woodward.
My dear Lady Osborne, — Though my last letter remain s
unanswered I cannot let this go without a few lines: It gave
me great pleasure to hear from Louisa that your dear
Catherine was pleased and gratified by the letter she received
from me some time ago. I do indeed most sincerely pray to
God that she may deyote the " ten talents" which the Lord
has committed to her trust ; that she may at last hear that
sentence which outweighs the whole value of this world,
" well done, good and faithful servant !" I hope soon to
write to herself. I received your liberal subscription to our
Church Missionary Society from Mr. Smith, for which, in
the name of the institution, I return many thanks. Things
go on here much as usual. I shall tell you nothing about
elections, because Mr. Smith will do all that. I rejoice to
hear that wherever you go you keep up your connection
with religious people and religious exercises, and trust also
my dearest friend, that you cleave in heart to the gracious
fountain of salvation and of happiness ; yes, I trust and pray
that none shall ever pluck you out of your heavenly Father's
hand, and I trust that if I have the happiness of meeting you
again on this side the grave, we may both rejoice in the
thought that we have been enabled, in the midst of .infirmities
and sins, still to fight the good fight and to keep the faith. I

LADY OSBORNE. 63
must conclude; just going to Wednesday's prayers. Ever,
with unchangeable friendship and affection,
Yours truly attached,
H. Woodward.
Crossboyne, Claremorris, September 12, 1839.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I feel extremely thankful to
you for your kind anxiety, and with much gratitude to God
can say that I have been much benefited by change of air.
Whether it was principally in my own feelings, or whether
the real state of the case justified it I know not ; but I certainly
had some serious impressions that God was about to remove
me from this sphere of action ; but I now begin to think that
it may be His pleasure to leave me here some short time
longer. Believe that I am very little disposed to sit in
judgment upon others; I feel too deeply my own utter
unworthiness and sinfulness to do so, and am much more
inclined to lean severely upon myself than upon my neigh
bours. The grand test to put everything to is this : " How
will it appear to me at the hour of death ?" This I am sure
you will allow, is the only safe rule ; instead of judging or
condemning you, my prayer is that God may guide you
through the snares of life. My return is still uncertain, but
I should hope that in about a fortnight I may be at Fethard.
Louisa is, I thank God, quite recovered ; and is gone this
morning to see Connemara, and for that purpose to pass two
or three days at Mr. Martin's ; Tom and Mr. Crofton go with
her. Sincerely praying that God may guide and bless you,
I remain, my dearest Lady Osborne,
Most affectionately yours,
H. Woodward.
September 25th, 1833.
My dear Lady Osborne, — We hope, please God, to hold a
Church Missionary meeting in Fethard on Wednesday, the

64 MEMORIALS OF
1 2th of October, and look with confidence to the support and
co-operation which you have never withheld on such occasions.
Amongst other speakers Mr. Roe has already promised to
attend. You would much oblige me by circulating a few
notices which I shall take the liberty of sending around you.
I have twice missed the pleasure of finding you at home
when I called at Newtown ; on one occasion I called unex
pectedly, and perhaps you never heard it, as I came no
farther than the lodge; on the other you were obliged to be
absent. Nevertheless, my friendship for you is of such a
nature that the root and substance of it I believe are im
perishable. What falls in with the religious history of the
mind is recorded there for ever. God bless you, my dear
Lady Osborne, Ever, most affectionately yours,
H. Woodward.
" In revising it plainly appears from the dates on the
letters mistakes have been made in arrangement, but the
errors do not affect their complete meaning." April 24th, 1844,
My dear Lady Osborne, — I thank you for your two
most kind letters, which nothing but a press of more business
than I can well manage would have prevented my answering
at once. I send by this post another copy of my paper on
the Attorney-General's duel. I wish I knew what you and
some of your friends think of it. In my letter in the Dublin
Post Office I begged of your ladyship to send me anything
that gave in a compressed shape, an account of the machinery
of the National Education system. My objection to the plan
was not as you suppose, because the Priests have a share in
it, but because I do not like joint education in the abstract.
This prevented my ever examining the details of the system,

LADY OSBORNE. 65
but this was what I felt to be a peculiar view of my own,
best to be kept to myself, as scarcely any, as I know would
agree with me. The great body of the Clergy, however,
declare themselves anxious for joint education, and really, I
think, are offering a very senseless opposition to the National
Board, and are running their (stupid) heads against Govern
ment, they know not why, but because others who know not
why either, are running on before them ; I really am tempted
to write something on the subject — to contribute my mite to
prevent the Church from running foul of the State, and
from the same cause which occasions such accidents at sea,
that the wits of the former at least are in a fog. Now that
Sir Robert Peel is said to declare that he will withhold
patronage from the opposers of the National Board would
be my time, who could and would preface my observations
by saying that I would take no preferment. I beg of you
to keep what I have said on this subject a secret, they are
the confidential breathings of my mind, and I may think
quite differently by-and-bye,as the subject is quite new to me.
Ever, your truly affectionate and much obliged,
H. Woodward.
Fethard, Tipperary, December 24, 1846.
My dear Lady Osborne, — As all our subscriptions to the
Church Missionary Society must be forwarded by the 1st of
January, it is my part as Treasurer to remind you of this ;
and also Mrs. Osborne, to whom I beg you will mention it
with my love, and save her thereby the trouble of receiving
a separate note.
I have been more of an invalid for more than a fortnight
than for a long time before; and at my time of life par
ticularly, such interruptions should lead to much solemn
thought. The times are truly serious, and seem as if Pro
vidence were about to interpose in some remarkable way.
VOL. II E

66 MEMORIALS OF
For my own part I cannot conjecture what, short of a miracle,
is to save the country ; there may be plans, which, if agreed
upon and put into execution, might at least mitigate the
evil ; but what is the use of plans if they emanate from no
centre of authority, which turns speculation into practice.
The game is next to desperate, and it is badly played. One
thing at least I am sure of, namely, that we should indi
vidually commit these matters to God in prayer, and as to
temporal prospects prepare for the worst.
Yours most affectionately,
H. Woodward.
My dear Lady Osborne, — You will not, I am sure, think
it a liberty in me to suggest that it would be desirable for
you to send a line to the Editor of the Daily News, to con
tradict the report of your having left the country from fear.
If you dated your letter, as of course you would, Newtown
Anner, Clonmel, you could simply refer to that date in proof
that you had not left the country.
I am delighted to hear such good accounts of Mrs. Osborne
and the baby. Believe me, my dear Lady Osborne,
Most affectionately yours,
H. Woodward.
Mullingar, July 30, 1853.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I thank you most sincerely for
your kind letter which found me at this place ; I hope I feel
grateful to a merciful providence for the degree of conva
lescence which I experience, though, as yet, it is far short of
perfect health. I felt quite sure at one time that I was
about, through the mercies of my Saviour, to enter those
calm abodes where the weary are at rest. I felt that at my
time of life to put on again the harness and drag at this life's
load was not what a kind Providence was so likely to intend

LADY OSBORNE. 67
for me as rest from my labour ; but it seems, perhaps, that
God has still something for me to do ; and I must say, that if
I would at times sadden at the thought of being a mere
cumberer of the ground, such letters as yours are a great
cheer to me, for I feel that sermons, which a taste like yours
can so approve, may be useful and influential in quarters
from which I hear no report. Tom is very comfortably
settled here with a nice little wife, and good congregation.
We hope, please God, to be at Fethard on Thursday next,
where Frank proposes to meet us. I beg my best love to
Mrs. Osborne, and remain with much affection,
Very faithfully yours,
H. Woodward.
April 26, 1856.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I felt very much obliged, as
well as gratified, by your kind note from Newtown. Your
passage to Holyhead was, I fear, a rough one ; but it is now
over, and I trust that the rest of your journey has been
pleasant, and that change of air and scene will quite set you
up. You cannot be better than I most truly and sincerely
wish you, both in body and soul,
Being ever most affectionately yours,
H. Woodward.
I beg my love to Mrs. Osborne, with many thanks for her
kind mention of me ; I somtimes feel that she has mistaken
somebody else for me, or me for somebody else, but hope she
will not visit it on me when she discovers her mistake.
" The writer of the next letter was a direct descendant of
the celebrated Bishop Berkeley.
The Editor has observed in all the letters to Lady Osborne
e 2

68 MEMORIALS OF
that those of the earliest date, from people who became, sub
sequently strongly under the influence of religion, all had a
tendency thereto in their nature. She remembered the text,
' These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that
they received the word with all readiness of mind, and
searched the Scriptures daily whether these things were
so. The truth was, the ' more noble' always fraternized with
her. The Penal Laws against religion are so often flourished in
the face of Irish Protestants, that it is a comfort in this
letter to see allusion made to the most effectual hindrance to
social progress in Ireland in past times. The causes named
were, though less morally horrible, practically worse for
natural developement,and while so much is said against Penal
Laws — defended by none — let us, Protestants, not forget
the horrors, the bodily tortures, and murders of the Inquisi
tion, sanctioned by the Romish religion, as well as in some
instances, murder outside its immediate pale, and these with
out reference to general massacres. Onesidedness is the
folly of the day." Clonmel, February 27th, 1822.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I received a sincere and heart
felt pleasure on reading your letter, which I wished much
should arrive, though I did not ask for it, and have therefore
a double obligation to you; and I shall with earnestness
endeavour to meet your kind feelings, which if I do not
express as well as you, it must be because they are too
many for me to choose amongst. You must always find or
make friends while you follow your own kind and ingenuous
disposition, and I am happy that you think we resemble each
other in any point of disposition, but how often do various
circumstances combine in this " working day world " to make
us appear differently from our true selves, and as Rosalind

LADY OSBORNE. 69
says, " if we step out of the beaten path we get so many
burrs to our petticoats that we can scarcely shake them off,"
but how tedious is that same beaten path of life, and what
a weary load it is. My spirits begin to tire sadly, and are not
sufficient to bear me out in anything but the common
trodden road of existence. How enviable that feeling
which you recal to my mind, and that time when merely to
live, to breathe was joy and happiness that belong exclu
sively to youth (though neither you nor myself can yet be
classed among the ancient of days).
I passed that happy time in a most romantic country
place, where I literally lived in the trees like a bird ; being
a spoiled pet I did as I chose at all times, and had a friend
of my own age, who really resembled an angel in disposition
as well as appearance, and who I doubt not is now one.
Oh ! what a change, to calculating the price of a sack of
potatoes, or seeing a piece of beef cut up with the thousand
odious etceteras attendant on a narrow income and strict
system of economy. You see, that living in the solitude I
do, I must either be an egotist or be silent, but your descrip
tions of your happy family circle called forth these animad
versions. May you always experience the same, or a greater
degree of happiness, and for myself I say, the will of God
be done. I was much struck to-day on reading the Psalms
by that beautiful and poetic verse : " He that now goeth on
his way weeping, and beareth forth good seed, shall doubtless
come again and bring his sheaves with him."
You mention Miss Godfrey. I have frequently seen her
when she was with Lady Kingston, as she has often been at
my uncle's at Bowenscourt, and I have been at Mitchelstown
(Lady K.'s), but I can hardly say I am acquainted with her,
as I had not then even begun to go out, being not more
than sixteen years old. Of course I did not venture to
approach a person so much older than myself, but I heard

70 MEMORIALS OF
every one call her a sensible, agreeable person, and if I mis
take not, I have a cousin, Miss Berkeley, who knows and
likes her, and whose (word torn out) is, I believe, a relative
of Miss Godfrey. Mrs. Perry of course recollects her per
fectly. I remember Miss Smith (now Mrs. Barthy, the
actress) was there also, a protegee of Lady Kingston's, who
used, to bring her everywhere she went herself, and she
made herself very agreeable by reading and reciting.
What shall I say to you " au sujet d' Irlande ?" It would not
be generous in me when you have with such generosity and
good feeling, for my country, entered the lists in defence of
her fair fame to attack yours, and retaliate upon her the
injuries, the poverty and misery that drove this ill-fated
country, to commit those frantic acts that are called rebel
lion. But when you recollect who it is, that, exulting in the
pride of riches, comes for the purpose of breaking her
thriving infant manufactories, that they should not interfere
with her own, thus snatching bread from the mouths of
thousands, and sending them forth in idleness; who it is that
has taken the jewels from her crown to set them in her own ;
you cannot be at a loss to set forth the cause of all this mis
chief, and tell those, who exclaim at it, that they are those
who made it all. Without hyperbole, as far as I can gather,
the extreme of poverty is the cause of this state of things;
and (but let us not whisper it even to the passing air), within
the last week there have been great outrages committed in the
county of Cork, my own dear birth-place. The mail coach
was stopped, three of the horses shot dead, coachman and
guard severely wounded, and the coach turned topsy turvy
into a bog-hole, with all its wheels in the air, the passengers
having first been delivered at a birth from the inside. Believe
me, I am not so unfeeling as really to jest upon the many
cruel occurrences that have taken place, whereby so many
have been deprived of their dearest relatives by the wanton

LADY OSBORNE. 71
acts of these unfortunate people. I fear we shall hear of
more such, and worse.
Poor Mrs. Perry has by no means recovered her spirits;
and most unfortunately an event has just occurred at Wood-
roofe, which does not tend to make them better, the sudden
death of Mrs. Barton's maid while there. This is indeed a
world of calamity; it is not wonderful that the spirits should
sink with increasing years, as "all are doomed alike to
groan, the feeling for another's woe, the selfish for their
own." I am sorry to say I feel an increasing dislike to
society, to go any where from home is an exertion which I
really do not feel equal to.
We have refused invitations to the Pallisers, Grove,
Woodroofe, in any case, however, I would not leave mamma
alone during the winter. I was indeed much grieved I was
not able to go to the Cox's while Aunt Bowen and Martha
Prittie were there, the same reason prevented me, as I have,
I hope, learned to prefer duty to inclination. Do not sup
pose that I murmur at our reverse of fortune; far from it.
I thank God for it. Adversity is like the dervise's ointment
in the Arabian Nights, which closing your eyes to this world
shews you the incomparable riches of another and a better.
Uninterrupted prosperity is, I am sure, the most dangerous
state for frail humanity to experience.
I have been amusing myself taking lessons from an Italian
drawing master, who paints fruit and flowers in a peculiar
style, and very beautifully. He regretted your not being in
the country, as he reckoned on you as a pupil. Hayes is
going to give up his shop, and dispose of his stock by a lot
tery of ten shillings a ticket. He has some very pretty
things ; I am sorry he did not succeed. How happy I shall
be to see you again, my dear Lady Osborne. Let us indeed
efface all traces of a coolness so unfounded, and which
could never have existed had we looked in each others faces ;

72

MEMORIALS OF

but when people are separated, every " trifle is, though light
as air, confirmation strong."
I am sure you must be tired of me. You do not mention
the dear children, so I conclude they are well; nor your
own health, which I hope is also good. Make my compli
ments acceptable to Mrs. Smith and Miss Warde, and believe
me to be always your sincere and
Affectionate friend, A. Riall.
I have not once seen your brother, and I really thought
it would only annoy him to attempt to draw him out of his
retreat without any prior acquaintance. Colonel Bagwell has
purchased Oaklands. The family are to take a house in this
town for a year.
" These letters of Mrs. Riall show the writer only under
one aspect, as a member of what was at the time styled ' the
religious world,' but she was a most accomplished person, and
one of the most agreeable conversers possible. It must be
remembered that in that day parties were more divided
than they are now; and that then, if religion were a subject
of interest at all, it was a matter of course, that the subjects
and practices permitted or prohibited by the person who
awoke the vibration of that cord, should be adopted by the
instrument acted on, as thoroughly, though not coercively,
as under the Papal spiritual domination, but no one was more
sparkling in social intercourse than Mrs. Riall. The editor
has seen much of both irreligious and religious people, and
she takes this opportunity of affirming, that even if there
were to be no Hereafter, the latter are in this world much
the pleasantest, provided they are intellectual, or at least,
sensible people."

LADY OSBORNE. 73
August 1, 1829.
My dear Lady Osborne, — Expecting to hear by Mr.
Smith, I deferred writing to you till his arrival, and now
thank you for your two dear kind letters. How fully my
heart replies to such kind expressions of Christian love from
so beloved a friend as you, I need not attempt to explain.
What a precious thing is a Christian friend ! How often my
wonder is excited at the blindness, the extraordinary delu
sion, of the world in rejecting happiness in its highest sense,
even here below, that it may feed on husks from the swines'
trough. And what happiness, then, is a Christian's heart !
My dearest friend, is not it the truth of all the tales of those
magic wands we used to read of? Possessed of "the secret
of the Lord," we are invulnerable to unkindness, above
insult, safe from harm of every sort, if not wholly at least
in a degree, which, a worldly mind, would not, could not,
credit, even though it may increase our suffering at
the sight of a world which is enmity against God. In
all society in which I was accustomed to the happiness of
meeting you, I feel an indescribable void, and lately at
Derryluskan, it amounted to a feeling of deep depression. I
felt a sense of isolation, a loneliness, particularly when Mr.
Woodward was there, which brought back all my old feel
ings of dread of his not understanding me, which I was
just beginning to conquer a little.
Of the success of the first Bible meeting at Fethard, and
the fine speaking, I am sure Mr. W. has told you, so I will
uot. We have been for a few days at  lately, and
through the mercy of God we narrowly escaped having
another scene of woe there. S  had a bad fall from his
horse lighting on a small heap of stones, exactly over the
Jieart, which must have received a violent shock from the
effects. Though he had no apparent injury he suffered

74 MEMORIALS OF
much from pain and weakness, but was going on quietly, of
course in bed, and having a physician. It happened on
Saturday ; and about 3 o'clock that night we and the whole
house were aroused from sleep by a cry of such deep despair
and agony, which rung through the house, followed by
another, and then all was silence and darkness that I never,
never shall lose the recollection of it. It proceeded from
poor Mrs.  on being told by the physician that  .
was dying; and it appears that no one could have been
nearer death that did not expire, for the heart was already
collapsed, and quantities of wine alone was the means of
restoring circulation. You may imagine the scene we then
had, everyone rushing to the stairs, no one knowing the
truth, but of course supposing him dead — all this in the
hours of darkness.
Arthur went down to the room, and found him with
every appearance of death — a deep faint, cold as ice. He is
now able to leave his room. May God grant some good
effect from this warning ; but, alas ! I doubt that such will
be. It is most awful that, after the many recalls to God
they have had, they are still wholly devoid of the only foun
dation ; and both Mr. and Mrs.  are but like the branch
when separated from the tree, which, while a little sap re
mains, may appear fresh, but has no root. He has a sort of
sentimental religion ; but apply that never-failing touch
stone, ask a confession that we are wholly sinners, wholly
saved by the merits of Christ, and they recoil. Still he is
incessantly talking of the Bible, but seems to understand
everything the wrong way. His mind is like a bad mirror,
which reflects nothing correctly, but as it appears to be at
work we must hope some good may result.
The two little boys are the finest creatures I ever saw, so
altered and improved as to make you doubt their identity,
only for- an occasional glimpse of the original habits. The

LADY OSBORNE. 75
youngest fell on his knees, and prayed aloud for  ,
when in that state calling aloud on his father to join him ;
he, poor man, was quite distracted. I thought of Scripture
— " At midnight there was a great cry;" it made me think
of the coming of our Lord as a thief in the night, or in the
words of the hymn, " While a guilty world are sleeping."
Mr.  was warmly defending duelling at dinner the day
before, also worldly amusements.
There is a clergyman in this neighbourhood who is much
interested in their state, and appears to be a sweet creature
and a true Christian, but I fear is almost too yielding and
too indulgent for their case. I lament with you the estab
lishment of a theatre in Clonmel; it makes us pray more
fervently for the coming of the Lord. It seems that nothing
else will do, for the whole world lieth in wickedness.
I am your most attached friend,
A. Riall.
August 25, 1829.
My dearest Lady Osborne, — Your most kind and grati
fying expressions lead me to think 1 may, without being
troublesome to you, again so soon have the comfort of com
munion with you, from the midst of the melancholy and
dispiriting scenes of this present state of things. I allude to
the very sudden and awful death of poor Mrs. P  in
particular. It makes me low and nervous ; and I confess there
are even of those I love none that I can turn to without a
feeling of disappointment, which I suppose must be so, until
in " unfettered union " spirit can mingle with spirit without
the obstacle of this material body.
The Sunday before last Mrs.  was at church, and on
Thursday night after she died. It appears to me to have
been merely the sudden breaking of a thread which had gra
dually worn away, and worn away from the suffering which

76 MEMORIALS OF
is always attendant on the having chosen this world as a
portion, and of course finding in it but constant disappoint
ment. . . . How everything adds to our desire of the
coming of that Lord who will " restore all things." Every
thing seems in confusion ; and I cannot conceive that Popery
has even yet a shake, or that anything short of the Second
Advent can destroy it. Surely a few converts are as nothing
towards its subversion. Have you been carried along the
stream of the general interest in prophecy, which penetrates
into even the most retired places in, I think, quite an extraor
dinary manner, as if sent by a single movement. What a
curious division of opinions seems to exist on that as well as
every other subject. There seems to be no standard, until
the Lord shall set up an " ensign in Zion."
Mr. Woodward called here the day before yesterday for
a few moments, on his way home from Doneraile, to inquire
about the  's. He found Mr. Jonathan Woodward
and Susan and Dora Pennefather here, who had just rode
over from Darling Hill. Of course, as you know, all my
ideas fade before Mr. Woodward's, and I become very nearly
an idiot. What is the cause of it* I wonder? You only,
like the eagle, can gaze unmoved at the sun. I am sure it
will appear to you very like thinking too highly of myself,
and not at all flattering to you, to say that you are almost
the only person with whom my intercourse and communion
is without those feelings of disappointment which I conti
nually feel with others, even thinking most highly of, and
loving them as most dear Christian friends ; but go beyond
a certain point, and you find perhaps energy enough, but not
depth of feeling, or deep feeling, without energy enough to
support even conversation, or perhaps so much of both that
you are afraid to give an opinion, lest it might come iii
painful contact. This must proceed from the encumbrance
of this vile sinful body, which will not allow us to show what

LADY OSBORNE. 77
we feel in many cases. Oh ! what delight it would be to
have them changed, and glorified and spiritual bodies. I
often ponder on the mystery of sin, to think that after all I
have known and felt, I can still go on sinning against such an
unspeakably merciful Saviour, who has given me so much
in delivering my soul from the " net of the fowler " — deli
vering it from the world. Who hath made thee to differ?
we may well say.
Did you get a " Free Press " ? Mr. Smith wished me to
send it to you. Did you ever see such insolence as the
account of the Clonmel meeting ?
I went to see poor Mrs.  during Mrs.  r-'s short ill
ness. Passing through Fethard, I found myself in the midst
of a funeral, with such a number of gigantic priests dressed
up with such quantities of white linen, that they were really
like something spectral as they stalked about. My heart
grew sick. The people were only collecting for it, and
everyone had white linen on them, so that literally the town
seemed peopled with spectres. I cannot describe the effect
of the appearance, it was very depressing. The dear Penne-
fathers are also much depressed. I think they were at 
one day, and had a melancholy scene with the girls before
Mrs.  's death. I saw her in her room for an hour, with
the melancholy group that were round her bed ; she lay in
sensible nearly the whole time. It was something of apo
plexy. She looked quite beautiful. There was no oppor
tunity for any preparation for the great change, as she was
insensible throughout. She was a devoted wife and mother.
Tell dear Catherine I was very much obliged for her nice
letter, which I will soon answer. I fear my letters to you of
late have been so full of gloomy events, that you will think
of me as a bird of ill omen. But I hope and trust in the
goodness of our God that the present cloud will soon pass
away, and the " Sun of Righteousness appear with healing

78 MEMORIALS OF
on His wings " to every mourner and to every sinner ; and
may we meet in light and joy. God bless you, my dearest
friend. Ever your most sincerely attached, A. Riall.
" Mrs. Hill in speaking of Lady Osborne used to say, " To
no one so much as her" can be applied the term used to
Nathanael, " Behold an Israelite indeed in whom there is no
guile !"
Mrs. Hill, the wife of a clergyman in the County of
Tipperary, was one of those people gifted with great mental
and moral superiority, who, having no career in the world
save that of quiet domesticity — made no noise out of their
own circle but who within that are honoured — if not as
prophets, at least as much valued intellects and bright ex
amples. Mrs. Hill collated the edition of Bacon edited by
Archbishop Whately. The ensuing scrap is an analysis of
hers." The kind of double action of mind cannot be better ex
emplified than in a story Georgina tells of a man who said
" The pig did not weigh so much as I expected, but somehow
I never thought it would." 5, Graham Terrace, Queenstown.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I am encouraged to hope that
a renewal of long suspended intercourse between us may be
rendered acceptable to you by one of the enclosures I send
being from the Archbishop for you, as you will perceive by
his autograph; the other I forward to you from myself,
wishing to know what you think of the tone and spirit of
the criticism. It was sent to me anonymously in an envelope
bearing a Cumberland post mark ; I must own it made me
not a little angry. Was it that you were angry with me for

LADY OSBORNE. 79
my last letter that made you allow it to be the last to pass
between us for so long a time ? I was so glad to hear that
that you had recovered the severe attack you had of illness,
and I trust you are by this time quite restored to your usual
health and that your Christmas is a happy one with those
dearest to you, around you. I am passing the Christmas
away from home. My dear Frances has been suffering
severely with Neuralgia, and I thought a change would be of
use to her besides taking us both away from some sad asso
ciations, which a recent bereavement within this year connects
with a home circle, more peculiarly at this season ; you
have, and dear Mrs. Osborne too, my warmest wishes that
this anniversary may bring to you as happy recollections as
earth can give, and those bright hopes which nothing earthly
can dim.
When you see Mrs. Phipps pray give her my love and
warm Christmas greeting. Believe me, dear Lady Osborne,
Ever yours affectionately, Alicia Hill.
5, Graham's Terrace, Queenstown, January 2, 1856.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I must not, by delay in telling
you, lessen your amusement in hearing that the criticism
which I sent you was written by the Archbishop himself.
While it is fresh in your memory you will better appreciate
the accurate knowledge he there displays of the charges
usually brought against him of egotism and dogmatism. He
got it copied by a friend of his in Cumberland and sent to
me through the post just as I sent it to you. I was com
pletely taken in, as was everyone else in the house, a few
hours after he arrived at Blackrock ; it was during his late
visit to Cork, and he kept up the joke admirably till a short
time before he left, he pleaded guilty to having concocted
the whole. I thought of trying whether you would be taken

80 MEMORIALS OF
in and he caught eagerly at the idea, and begged me to send
it to you. Does not what seemed to us virulent abuse assume
a totally different character of real wit, now that we know
it to be his own criticism on his own works? He will be
delighted to hear you were taken in as I was. [A fragment
of a letter.]
My dear Lady Osborne, — Miss Hutchinson and I, on our
return, communicated to each other our mutual anxiety as
to your state of health, and we both blamed ourselves for
not having pressed upon you the absolute necessity of your
allowing yourself more rest than you do, and determined to
speak to you the first opportunity, but I am now induced
not to wait for one, as I am furnished with too good a text
not to preach upon it. I write from bed, where nothing but
complete exhaustion has placed me ; while I was with you
I was suffering so much from headache and pain in my side
that it was quite an effort for me to speak, and instead of
yielding to my weakness, I absurdly persisted, on my return
home, in getting up at five as usual, and this morning when
I had been up about an hour, my five senses chose to take
leave of me and I only recovered them to find myself again
in bed ; this I can ascribe only to my having for the last ten
or twelve days got but four hours' sleep. I am now quite
well again, and only mention it to you as an excuse for what
you may perhaps deem officious, in one known to you for so
short a time ; and yet I do not think you will, for you must
perceive that you have excited in me a more than ordinary
affection; you are more to me than any woman has ever
been, for I can honour your character as well as love it.
Why is it that I can write this to you, while not one word of
affection escapes my lips while with you ? But it was not of
myself I wanted to speak, I will not tell you that your life is
valuable, this is nothing ; but I will say that I am deeply

LADY OSBORNE. 81
persuaded that your dear child's eternal happiness is, humanly
speaking, bound up with your being spared to her; you
know how varied her temptations will be — spare yourself
then to be her earthly guide till her eyes are opened to
recognize and trust her heavenly Guardian.  ¦ has,
with grateful emotion, told me of your kindness to her ; the
Friend of him who hath no friend will bless you for it.
Your affectionate, Alicia Hill.
" As this book is a memorial of Lady Osborne and her
friends, a very few letters, not addressed to herself, but to the
Editor, are inserted as showing the characters of those who
were her chosen companions. Possessed of every other moral
quality, gratitude was not omitted in Mrs. Hill's character,
and she dedicated the noble intellect with which God had
gifted her to His service." Tuesday, December 17, 1839.
My dear Catherine, — I send you part of the " Heroine,"
but I am sorry to say the first volume somebody has bor
rowed, and not returned ; but if I can see you, as I hope,
to-morrow, I shall endeavour to put you at least into posses
sion of the " dramatis personas." I am inclined to believe
that you will think it too broad farce, and not like it. The
four little traets (I know you like that word), translated
from Krummacher, await your acceptance, as I have taken
the liberty of writing your name. I like the encampment of
Judah best; will you think it too imaginative? And yet I
do not believe you have decided that imagination — that
falcon of the mind — is to be hooded when religion is in the
field. Fancy, at least, in embellishing solid themes by analo
gies, is a sweet minister. Take that appeal in Romans v.
7, 8, where reason seems called upon to weigh the supe-
vol. n. r

82 MEMORIALS OF
riority of the love of Christ above all human love, and has
not imagination here much to do ? Must it not with its
magic pencil lay before reason, so that it can take it in at
one view, not only the portrait of the austerely just man
whose character may command esteem, but scarcely more
affection to the sacrifice of life ; but that also of the good
man, whom the heart springs forth with all its sympathies to
meet, and for whom it could even dare to pour out its best
blood, and in the picture must also enter the contrast to all
that is just and good in the sinners for whom Christ died.
Imagination paints all, and then reason is called upon to
decide whether God did not indeed " commend His love
towards us."
But however it may be in religion, I cannot but think
that reason, when in her sobriety she rails at imagination,
is but proving herself an ungrateful mistress to a faithful
servant. I question whether any proposition has been sub
mitted to her in which imagination has not lent her aid, un
known it may be to ourselves, to place before the judge.
Nay, when the awful majesty that lies in the simplicity of
pure reason sometimes strikes me, " Could I be thus struck
without imagination" ? To me it seems the very retina of
the mind's eye. Then stay with me still, sweet angel ! You
will laugh at my flight, but even in this wild flight I am
sober enough to remember that there are times when this
angel may seem to trouble the waters of the mind, and seem
to trouble it for healing, when it may be excited, aye, and
religiously excited, and yet the soul left in its idolatry.
Could I forget what I have experienced, a religionism with
out faith, without grace, without unction, a piety of the
imagination that was indeed a morning dew, that passed
away before the first beam of sun, of that world which
nothing but faith can overcome !
It is my deep conviction that to be a Christian is a great

LADY OSBORNE. 83
and a serious thing, and that imagination and every high
thought must be brought into captivity to the obedience of
Christ. I once had a friend who used to say, " Some Chris
tians do unchristianize me." What a pang it would be to me
to think that any levity of speech, any inconsistency of mine
would yet stand before you in array with that religious
world with which you are so disgusted. Do you know that
I have made out a little consolation for myself for your
going away. I have taken up an idea that this religious
world does not exist on the Continent, at least in that tangi
ble systematic form which must always more or less disap
point and repel the mind that has formed to itself a higher
standard than aught human can ever reach. But after all I
know not whether these inconsistencies be not to my mind
a proof of genuineness. Do you remember Mme. de Stael's
" Les caracteres vrais sout tojours inconsequens ;" and if the
individuals composing this body were not severally endea
vouring to act up to a standard presented by their own
consciences, were they bound hand and foot to a system
merely of man's devising, as they are accused of being,
would they not present an unvarying front, an unbroken
line, that would defy attack ?
I know a person fully impressed with the necessity of
keeping up the decencies of public worship, but who is
equally impressed with the conviction that no sermon can be
worth listening to ; that person, from complete abstraction,
I have seen present an aspect of deep uninterrupted atten
tion, while one seated near, anxious to hear, betrays by the
very effort to recal his thoughts at times, that they have
been wandering. You will think this a strange illustration,
but after all it is all idle. " By my words," says our Lord,
not by any man's interpretation of them, " ye shall be judged."
Paul and Barnabas quarrelled, but what of that ? Is Christ
divided ? Was Paul crucified for you ? And surely in a
f2

84 MEMORIALS OF
point, the very essence of which lies in the giving of the
affections, would any plead, " Lord, I would have loved Thee
more, had not others loved Thee so little " ! Could we see
a gracious master, wounded in the house of his friends, and
the heart not swell with more devoted loyalty, with more
uncompromising fidelity?
My coming to the end of my sheet reminds me how I
have run on. You will not, I think, suspect me of intending
to preach. If I know myself I never will volunteer a ser
mon. I know that the truest friend to a cause may prejudice
the mind of another. Philip even, in the joy of his heart at
finding Jesus, says in mistaken statement, " Jesus of Naza
reth ;" and Nathanael asks, " Can any good thing come out of
Nazareth" ? Were it my last word I would use it to beg of
you to let neither the open enemy to the cause of God, nor
its professed ally, nor its real friend, come between your
soul and your God. We but waste time in asking, " What
shall this man do" ? His command is, " Follow thou Me."
I did not intend to care about anyone again, in the way
of forming a new attachment, and here I am actually finding
myself young enough for it still. Is it not odd that I think
of you as two separate beings. I found a, little note of
yours to-day, written, I should think, when you were about
eleven. May God bless you. Ever yours, Alicia Hill.

Mary Street, Cork.
My dear Mrs. Osborne, — I cannot resist sending you a
few lines I have just met. We have so often liked the same
things, that I feel almost sure you will be pleased with them,
but this time I want your little Edith to like them, as I
thought of her immediately on finding that my little grand

LADY OSBORNE. 85
child enjoyed them, at least parts of them. I have in copy
ing the lines taken the liberty with them of substituting
' Edith' for the ' Gerald' of the original. I saw lately the
" Child's Christian Year" edited by Keble, and was so much
disappointed in it. The " Christian Year" is so exquisitely
beautiful that I expected something, at least approaching to
it in anything published by him. There is not such a collec
tion of sacred poetry as it is ; there is I should think more
or less of rapture in all praise, in all adoration of God, and
therefore we have so few hymns at all worthy of the name,
for " rapture is born dumb." Have you seen Keble's version
of the Psalms? It is much closer to the original, at least as
we can judge of it by our Bible translation, than the version
sung in the Churches, which in so many places spoils the
passage ; it would be a pity to lose some of the old Psalm
tunes which another version might not suit, unless where
doctrinal error is involved, change might not be improve
ment. I am quite enjoying the idea of the Archbishop
coming to Cork. He is to hold his visitation here on the
30th, and I shall be able to see him. It would be such deep
pleasure to me even to see him for one moment, I could not
tell you the continual proof of his unmeasured kindness I
am receiving, and how he seems to watch every opening for
literary employment for me. He writes to me so kindly on
every topic he thinks might interest me. I owe to him and
Mrs. Whately the success my son has met in Australia ; in
short the very sight of the handwriting of either of them is
like sunshine to me. I have been employed selecting some
of the apophthegms in which his works abound, for instance,
" Honesty is the best policy, but he who acts on this princi
ple is not an honest man." " Persecution is not wrong
because it is cruel, but cruel because it is wrong." And
again, It is one thing to wish to have truth on our side, and
another thing to wish to be on the side of truth." I can

86 MEMORIALS OF
never help smiling when I think of Mr. Osborne having first
heard of me in connection with the story he tells of his first
visit to Newtown. I heard of Lady Osborne soon after her
return from Bath and trust she continues well ; her bath must
be somewhat more tempting to her now than it could have
been in those terrible winter mornings, indeed the heat these
three last days has been so excessive that I could almost live
in cold water. I ought to write both to her and Mrs. Phipps,
but I have not been "in such spirits as would be good natured
in me to inflict on my friends, so all my writing is for busi
ness, and such as the Frenchman describes : —
" Au peu d'esprit que le bon homme ait, l'esprit d'autrui
par supplement servait-il compilait, compilait, compilait."
With kindest regards from Frances. Believe me
Ever affectionately yours,
Alicia Hill.
My dear Mrs. Osborne, — I cannot thank you as I feel
for your kind invitation, but I have made it morally impossi
ble that I could avail myself of it. Truly you are very good-
natured to forgive, or very unsuspicious not to impute to
me a most insidious way of offering myself to you. I like
the last best, and to believe that you have been exercising
the " charity that thinketh no evil/' Had I known that the
Archbishop was to be with you it might indeed have been
a strong temptation for me to have said, " Will you let me go
to you?" for I long for an opportunity to say one little word
of the gratitude and reverence I feel, but that would have
been honest and open, as it is, even to meet him, and if you
but knew how much is in that even, you would know how
much I prize the. honesty and straightforwardness, that when
I remember my letter to you and your answer, I only won
der you could give me ever again credit for, I did not think
of his Clonmel visitation, and literally obeyed an impulse

LADY OSBORNE. 87
in sending you off the little poem. It is singular that I
thought it rather abrupt on my part to commence a corre
spondence in this way, but checked myself in offering an
apology as likely to make too much of a trifle. I feel so
much your kind desire to give me this great pleasure, yet I
am sure you will quite understand why I could not possibly
accept your invitation. You must not however be disap
pointed for me as I trust I shall see him in Cork.
Ever yours most affectionately,
A. Hill.
What is better in a railway accident than presence of
mind? The blood rushes to my face when I remember some ex
pressions in my letter. I hope Lady Osborne is with you to
enjoy the pleasure of meeting his Grace. April 15th, 1834.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I was indeed glad to receive
your last affectionate letter, though I have not told you so ;
but I cannot now let Mr. Smith go to you without a few
lines. I need scarcely say that I forwarded your letter to
Mr. Woodward immediately, and I know you do not require
an assurance that any you wish to send through me I shall
be happy to receive and forward. He told me it was a
" delightful" letter, and I can well believe it. Had you only
expressed half the wish to return home that you did to me,
that alone would be pleasure to his unalterable friendship
for you. Mr. Hill and I have been staying a few days with
him, previous to his leaving this for Dublin, where, I believe,
he will remain a month at least. I think I can be unselfish
enough to say I am glad he is gone there, for his last visit
was a great cheer to him ; and there is, in this country, so

88 MEMORIALS OF
little of the materials upon which he is fitted to work that
we can scarce wonder that leaving it for a little should give
a spring to his mind, in the hope of elsewhere finding a more
congenial soil. I have been told that nothing could equal
the enthusiasm excited by his preaching in Dublin. He was
followed by crowds ; and 1 do not wonder, his style is so
peculiarly his own that there is nothing at all like it ; and I
believe that his powers were never in fuller vigour than at
this moment. Immediately after Mrs.  's death, -the
suddenness of which seemed to have shaken his nerves con
siderably, there seemed something like a failure in his sermons,
but he soon rallied, and is now himself again in mental power ;
while in every christian grace I think he has made progress
that does me good to see. Religion seems now to be to him
at once excitement and repose. Perhaps the true test of
religious feeling is whether it has indeed filled up the void,
and satisfied the craving of the human heart for an object.
I often ask myself whether it has done this for me, and I
thank God, I am of late enabled to give a happier answer
than at no very distant period I could do. Were it possible
to cease to feel interested in Mr. Woodward upon any other
ground, yet as a mere specimen rare and most singular
and difficult to be solved, he must be interesting to those
curious in the study of character. I almost think I know
him now. It seems indeed most cold-hearted in me that I
have not before this expressed my sympathy in the delight
you must feel at the change in  's feelings. One is
not half grateful for such events as these.
Till we know even as also we are known, till we can
estimate the priceless sacrifice of the Lord of Glory, we shall
never feel the full value of an immortal soul ; never rejoice
as we ought on its return to happiness in God ! How I shall
like to see  again. You talk with pleasure of your
return to Newtown and the society of this country. Is it

LADY OSBORNE. 89
that distance has on retrospect the same effect it has on the
prospect in advance of us :
" Lending enchantment to the view ;
Robing the mountain in its azure hue.
It is not many days since I, with a friend of yours, made
in imagination the circuit of the land " from Dan to Beer-
sheba," and with the exception of a very few flowers indeed,
found all barren. But it may be the fault was in the eyes
that looked and not in the objects themselves. It ought to be
so, since you can think of all here with such pleasure.
Mme. De Stael's maxim would tell exactly against our
jaundiced view — " tout comprendre rend tres indulgent et
sentir profondement inspire une grande boute."
The change at . . .1 feel lamentably. I believe I have
never said a word to you of  . She is what is gene
rally known by the name of a most good-natured person,
except that this sometimes implies a failure in shrewdness,
which she has to a remarkable degree ; a Tory in politics,
highly attached to the Tory Church of England as by law
established (how long the last clause will continue to desig
nate it is just now somewhat problematical) — so highly attach
ed that she saw in Mr. Woodward's lectures in our room, an
attack upon it more dangerous than ever Guy Fawkes' success
could have proved. Liberal to the poor, and capable, I am
persuaded, of being a steady friend wherever she attaches
herself, and good-tempered and good-humoured enough to
make you sometimes forget her want of refinement and
mental cultivation.
You must know that she has a great antipathy to blue
stockings, and will not allow them the immunity Byron did
when he said he cared not how blue a woman's stockings
were, provided her petticoats were long enough to cover
them ; for when Mr. Butler pleaded in favour of one of the
cerulean sisterhood, not me, for I do not know whether she

90 MEMORIALS OF
even suspects me of belonging to the race — that " she never
obtruded her information," she said, " oh ! that's nothing,
when once I know that a woman is a blue, I live in constant
fear of a deluge." Only conceive when in dear  's day
literature was the current coin of the realm. Mr. Butler's
defence of the poor blue reminds me of a compliment paid
to me which E  told me of yesterday. It can scarcely
be surpassed even in that happy land of happy phrases
and elegantly turned phrases, in which you are. An eulo-
gium on my talents and information (praise I never co
veted) was bound up with " but what is best of all you
would never find it out." E's gravity, gave way before
such a tribute as this, and she hailed it with one of her
shouts of laughter. You will say I am in a cynical
humour to day. I hope not, for certainly cynicism is not
Christianity. Buchanan in his " Christian Researches,"
mentions that eminent Christians in the Syrian Churches,
were known by the name " men of the beatitudes." Is it
not a beautiful title? a Christian should be a man of the
beatitudes, walking in the gentleness of his Lord's example,
in the benignity of his spirit. Richard  has just been
married, and came here for a few days immediately after his
marriage, I have had a proof of how little there is after all
in celebrity. I discovered, that till I told her, his wife had not
the most distant idea that his name had ever been heard beyond
his native city, or the town of Bangor, where he met her.
Anyone so devoted to another as he is to her I never saw. He
has just now all the energy that happiness gives, and preached
a splendid sermon on Good Friday, in our little church. Did
you hear a report that Doctor  has evinced such a lean
ing towards Protestantism as to raise the jealous suspicion of his
own party, and two Jesuits have been sent down to watch him?
What a stamp this (if true) sets upon his honesty of character
hitherto. I shall long to hear more of him ; such a thing as

LADY OSBORNE. 91
this must interest any one. I often speculate with deep
interest upon the possibility of finding you changed — not in
principle — but in that openness which left — was it only the
outer court of your mind or your imagination accessible to
all who looked to it with a wish to find it so. If I find
myself changed in aught (and perhaps this letter is a proof
of how completely I have continued to run the same round)
it is in this particular. Time was when if I could not throw
open the inner shrine, the outer court was fast closed too ;
but I have now found out that the outer court may be thrown
open without any less strict guard on the sanctuary, and that
civility to an acquaintance does not necessarily involve treason
to a friend. Are you as much devoted to study as ever?
For the last year and a-half I have done little or nothing, and
I catch myself ofton repeating " cui bono," which I used to
call the watchword of dulness and insipidity.
You thank me for not believing some reports. I should
have shown very little knowledge of your character could I
have credited them for one instant. . . .
Is constancy an element of happiness in such a world as this !
I do believe it is. Give her my love. Did you ever meet
or I should rather say, do you know any one, male or female,
whose character in some traits of it are precisely hit off by
the following description.
Son defaut selon moi, c'est de ne jamais mettre complete-
ment k l'aise ceux m&tne qui lui sont chers, un grand
fonds de boute, une disposition secrete a la melancholie
rassurent ceux qui I'aiment et donnent le besoin de meriter son
estime. Des mots fins et delicats font entrevoir son caractere ;
il semble qu'il comprend, qu'il partage m&me tout bas, la sensi-
bilite des autres et que dans le secret de son cceur il repond
a l'emotion qu' on lui exprime mais tout ce qu' il eprouve en
ce genre vous apparait comme deriere un nuage, et l'imagina- _

92 MEMORIALS OF
tion des personnes vives n'est jamais avec lui ni totalement
decouragee ni entierement satisfaite."
When you write to me, and I do hope you will do so soon,
try and remember to tell me if you have an original for this
portrait. I am suffering just now from rheumatism in the
head, and have been for some time. I trust you suffer less
from headache than I have heard you do. Before I close
this I want to tell you a thought which occurred to me the
other day for the first time, as removing the apparent want
of connexion between the 16, 17, 18, and 19th verses of the
16th Luke. It occurs to me that the mention of John the
Baptist brings to our Lord's mind his violent death ; whence
the transition was natural to the cause of that death. Herod's
adultery — and then as if the mind of the Saviour were led
to the thought — " the poor shall not alway be forgotten, the
patient abiding of the meek shall not perish for ever." He
relates the parable of the rich man and Lazarus as illustration
of future retribution. I should not think this worth sending
you so many miles, but that Mr. Woodward seemed quite
struck with it as a discovery and a solution of a difficulty
which as such had never been presented to my mind. My
first thought was wondering that I had never before taken
notice of the apparent want of connection. It is time to say
" Good bye." Ever your affectionate, Alicia Hill.
Did I tell you anything of my little girl ; I should say too
much of her. She is my heart's darling. I am sure you
would like her.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I am too glad to hear from you
not to write, though it be only to tell you so. I find your
letter took from Monday to Wednesday to arrive at Roches-

LADY OSBORNE. 93
town, so that I have some fear that you will have left
Fethard while this is making its way to you. I should like
to hear Mr. Woodward's ground of objection to chess, the
one which I felt strong enough to make me give it up was
the obvious one, that it appeared to me a waste of mental
energies which in my case it drew out to the utmost — it
seemed laborious trifling. The vivid pleasure with which
I found Mr. Woodward expressing the same sentiments and
occupied with the same subject, made me feel what the secret
of charm, the rest of it might be to many minds ; the thought
of an infallible, unchangeable human centre. I quite
enjoy the thought of your being at the Glebe ; it must be
so happy for you. Do you know I am not quite easy about
your cold bath ; I cannot but think it would be better for you
to have it within doors ; I wish you would think about this.
I am reading some sermons of Mr. Newman's, there are
some beautiful thoughts and his power of educing the whole
character from some slight indication, some little touch of
Scripture reminds me so much of Mr. Woodward. There
is a beautiful sermon on the " Individuality of the Soul,"
and another on the " Greatness and Littleness of Human
Life," another too on the "Hidden Life of Christ;" if you
have not read these I trust you will like to do so. You will
be glad to hear that in an Adelaide paper I received to-day,
there are most encouraging reports of projected railroads and
public works, which seem to hold out good prospects for my
son ; I think I can venture to say that his ability will be
recognized if he gets but opportunity to test it ; we could
not yet hear of his arrival. Mr.  most kindly brought
me a Danish Bible from Dublin, but could not get a Danish
Dictionary, so that I have not yet been able to do much with
Grant's books, and I am afraid I have already kept them too
long. It will be worth my while to study it, as if I succeed
in getting any book to translate I am not so likely to have

94 MEMORIALS OF
competitors as in the other languages ; this is the more
important to me as I have nothing original in me, whatever
imagination I have is rather reproductive than creative ; the
motive, too, being altogether pecuniary, though situated as
I am a most legitimate one, is calculated rather to induce
industry and perseverance, than to excite the higher faculties
of the mind. I am not quite sure that such a motive would
be as legitimate in religious works, otherwise theology would
meet better the bent of my mind. I think I have given you
quite enough of " I by itself," that piece of egotism of a
language. We are reading Macaulay again with  , she
desires me give you her kindest regards. Frances begs me
to thank you for your kind remembrance of her. I cannot
tell you the pleasure this renewed intercourse is to us; we
must not let it again be interrupted.
Ever yours most affectionately,
A. Hill.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I have been suffering from the
effects of a fall which hurt me very severely in the back and
head, and the first day I got your letter I was not able to ,
write ; the next I made an effort to get for you a fuller
statement of his Grace's views, but not succeeding I must
try to tell you as much about them as a head somewhat out
out of order will let me. He thinks the quarter from which
the real danger is to be dreaded is the Tractites, and depre
cates strongly the alarm and indignation of the people of
England taking a wrong direction and being vented in any
such manifestations, as in 1780, which would, he thinks,
cause a strong re-action towards Romanism. He dwells upon
the inconsistency of the alarm and surprise at that which has
been so quietly borne with by the English so long as it only
affected Ireland, while from the circumstances of the latter
country the influence of Popery was more to be dreaded.

LADY OSBORNE. 95
The appointment of the Bishops he regards as render
ing them more independent of the Pope than the Vicars
Apostolic removeable at his pleasure. " There is something
wrong and something new in the Papal proceedings, but the
new is not wrong, and the wrong is not new." He fully
sympathizes with you in your indignation against the Tract-
arians; as to me, while considering (and what I am about to
say is like an Irishwoman) them one and the same with
Popery, I have long thought them far worse, and my only ob
jection to classing  and  with Cardinal Wiseman and
his Bishops is that I think the latter too good company for
them ; as for  he is below contempt. I am sure amid all
your indignation and excitement you do not contemplate
any coercive measure being brought forward by the govern
ment, or if brought, being attended with any success. I have
been told that the principal Irish Romanists think this
measure of the Pope's a most injudicious one, and that it
has thrown back Romanism a century. I trust it may not
be a recoil, only for a fresh and greater spring. I cannot
tell you how I rejoice that you so abjure the Puseyites;
Popery itself has not more trammels for the mind. I heard
a discussion of half an hour between two clergymen as to the
admissibility of allowing a pocket handkerchief to rest on
the table during the reading of the Commandments; as he
had not gone quite the length of calling it the altar, it struck
me as absolutely ludicrous. You must excuse this hurried
scrawl, as I am not at all well. It gratifies me to think you
wish to have me near you sometimes ; truly I often wish that
it could be so ordered for my own sake; as far as giving you
any interchange of thought, I fear you would find out soon
that I am not good for anything or anybody now ; I wish so
much you would tell me what Mr. Woodward thinks of all
the excitement. How often have words of his acted like oil
upon the waves ! I never hear from him now, but when I

96

MEMORIALS OF

want to be quieted I go to the Shunamite — it is like
breathing another atmosphere.
My dear Frances is well, and much gratified by your
remembrance of her ; my little grandchildren are very nice
and very good, " of course," you will say. I trust you can
give a good report of yours as to health. Pray give my
kindest regards to Mrs. Osborne. What an intensely interest
ing session of Parliament will the next be ! The Archbishop
has a seat this time ; I could not tell you half his kindness
or half the trouble he takes about me — I should like a coin
age for him, " Master Heart," only that it implies too much
of command for so gentle an influence as his kindness.
Ever yours affectionately,
A. Hill.
Mrs. Hill used to say that if she were to be put in prison
and allowed to choose only one book besides the Bible, she
would select Mr. Woodward's " Shunamite."
Pari of a letter from Mrs. Hill.
Look at the Quarterly Review for January, 1821, and you
will find a review of Miss Austen's novels. It is written by
the Archbishop and you will like it. He sent it to me while
in Cork. It is singular that almost the last thing the Arch
bishop said here as he went away was a vivid picture of a
father's manifestation of delight at the arrival of his children,
from whom he had been separated ; and one of the last con
versations with Mr. Woodward was his pressing the duty of
restraining the expression of such feelings in meeting after
absence. You would have been amused if you had heard his de
scription of my handwriting. Dr. Hinds* says people write
* Author of an admirable work that ought to be reprinted, "The Three
T«mples."

LADY OSBORNE. 97
illegibly out of annoyance. It is virtually saying, "My
letters are worth getting any way." I intend to reform if I
can and be humble, but I am writing in a great hurry. With
affectionate love, Ever, yours affectionately, Alicia Hill.
" The Editor is not at liberty to put a name to the writer
of the three following letters, but it is one that carries with
it weight for distinguished intellect and goodness, and these
qualities are, moreover, represented by a family and not
merely by the writer himself." Kenmare Arms Club Hotel,
Killarney, July 26th, 1831.
My dear Friend, — Now that I am at a distance from you,
the remembrance of your kind hospitality to myself and friends
is so pleasant, that I cannot deny myself the satisfaction of
expressing to you the obligation which both they and myself
feel to you for your kindness during our abode at Newtown.
It not being always a safe thing to trust one's self with the
"viva voce" expression of an obligation such as I feel, I
did not venture to give utterance to all I could have said,
and therefore may have appeared from my silence to have
left you in a much colder manner than the occasion might
seem to warrant. I will not, however, do you the injustice
to suppose that much assuring is necessary to cause you to
believe that I shall always consider the circumstances which
brought me under your roof as among those most calculated
to contribute to my happiest recollections, and that my resi
dence with you will be ever more regarded much in the
same manner as a traveller regards an oasis in the desert.
Having thus placed my feelings upon record, I should,
perhaps, do well to close this communication, but a kind of
VOL. II. G

9* MEMORIALS OF
promise I gave you respecting the Arian Controversy, makes
me rather feel the difficulty. On reflection, I seem to have
undertaken more than a traveller ought to have encountered,
since I fear that the constant movement to which I shall be
subject, will not leave me sufficiently at leisure to bring
together in a condensed form such matter as may serve to
silence the objection or doubts of persons who may hesitate
to admit the Supreme Godhead in the person of the man
Christ Jesus.
To enter on an undertaking of this nature in a hurried
manner, or under unfavourable circumstances, might expose
me to the fearful responsibility of injuring the cause I in
tended to serve, and therefore I should like to defer the
fulfilling of my promise to you on this matter until my
travels have been brought to a close. In the meantime,
nevertheless, I can be reading the Scriptures with a view to
the subject in question, and shall be very glad to be sup
plied by your reading with texts which bear upon the follow
ing points, viz. : —
1. The predictions respecting the divine nature of the
future Messiah (Isaiah ix. 6).
2. Texts which describe the attributes of the Jehovah,
" I the Lord change not."
3. These texts of Scripture which attribute to the man
Christ Jesus the same perfections as are ascribed to Jehovah,
" Jesus Christ the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever."
By this means the supreme attributes of the divine nature,
having been shown to be those with which the Messiah that
was to come was to be invested, mankind in looking out for
the Christ will be constrained to pass by all claimants to that
high office in whom the divine attributes do not reside; and
Jesus of Nazareth having at the same time been proved to
possess the perfections of omnipotence, all men will be con
strained to acknowledge Him as " God over all, blessed for
evermore."

LADY OSBORNE. 99
I have thus supplied you with occupation for those hours
which are usually devoted by you to devotional exercises,
and shall take no little pleasure in knowing that you are,
though far distant, still present with me in the investigation
of that part of truth which lies at the foundation of our
hopes of eternal life. I may add, that you will find great
assistance from a little tract " On the Trinity," by Jones
Nayland. In this tract, texts of Scripture of the kind above-
mentioned are collected and put in a logical form, and from
its size and character it would, I think, altogether answer
your purposes if reprinted in a cheap form, much better than
any compilation of texts which I eould arrange. This sen
tence, I assure you, is not penned in mock-modesty, but in
sober earnestness, as you will at once be convinced by refer
ring to the tract. The only alteration that it occurs to me
might be made would be a revision of Jones's preface. And
now having written you a theological dissertation, I will
commit its defects to your forbearance, with the full assu
rance that I may do so with safety, having everything to
hope from your friendship.
May the honour of that Divine Saviour, whom we profess
to serve, be ever precious in our estimation, so that whilst
we read the Scriptures for the confirmation of our faith in
the divine character, our lives may show forth for His praise.
Believe me your much attached friend,

We purpose leaving Killarney on Friday afternoon, so
that my address for a fortnight will be Sir Edward O'Brien,
Dromoland, near Newmarket, Clare.
Pray give our united regards to the happy circle at New
town Anner, and say we all wish ourselves back again
among you. ,
g 2

100 MEMORIALS OF April 15th, 1832.
My very dear Friend, — Although I had made arrange
ments before the receipt of your letter to leave Cambridge
for town on the 16th (to-morrow) I have written to postpone
my visit till the 23rd, as one of the main purposes of my
visit to London would be defeated by your being unavoid
ably absent. How much I sympathize with you in your
distress, you can yourself judge if you have been called
upon ever to condole with a much loved friend in affliction.
I can understand, too, from experience those feelings of
regret — hopeless regret which are excited by the recollections
that cross the heart when it reproaches itself for having
omitted to minister to the wishes of a deceased relative, so
fully as it imagines it might have done. Let me comfort
you, however, by the thought that you can now be certain
that through that Almighty Saviour who overcame death,
your deceased relative is enjoying a far more exalted satis
faction than she ever could have derived here from your
affectionate attentions to her, how long soever she might
have lived in the daily enjoyment of them. Look forward,
too, to the period when it may be permitted you to renew
with her, before the throne of God and the Lamb, an affection,
which, the more deeply it may have been seated in the soul,
the more proportionably was it incapable of ever approaching
perfection here ; deeply also as you may deplore your
bereavement, remember that a compassionate Father in
Jesus Christ takes beloved relatives and friends from us, in
order to free us one by one from those many ties by which
our hearts are attached to earth, or rather by taking all we
love to Himself. Is it not His blessed will, thus by holding
out to us a prospect of meeting them again, to draw our
affections more earnestly to that better world. These con
siderations will doubtless have already and often occurred to

LADY OSBORNE. 101
you, my dear friend ; and my prayer is that they may be
realized to your consolation. May the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ support and strengthen you.
Ever your devoted and attached,

46, Clarendon-square, Leamington, December 8th, 1 834.
That unhappy country (Ireland) seems to be destined to
be the field in which the battle now pending between God
and Antichrist, in all its forms, should be fought, if one may
judge from appearances.
I need not inform you how restless the spirit of Popery is,
nor advertise you of its intolerance. I think, however, both
that restlessness and intolerance has assumed a more definite
form of late; encouraged, as Popery has been, by His
Majesty's late Government. I do not think sufficiently ill of
those to whom the Government of Ireland has been im
mediately committed, as to suppose that with full purpose of
heart they have desired to depress the Protestant religion,
and to raise Popery in the exclusion of God's word, but the
result of their measures tend to this effect. We could
scarcely have expected that in these days of affected liberality
(for it must be affected) any government would have been
prepared to consign the education of several millions of its
subjects to a system in which the word of God is proscribed ;
but such is the fact as regards Ireland, and if a child is
taught to read by the Government it must agree that its soul
shall never be visited by the light of life. By this means
Popery must increase for a time, yet if one says a word in
discountenance of the system one has to bear the reproach
of objecting, merely because one disapproves of the party in
power. That speculative ungodly men should try to con
ciliate a body of men, whose subjection to a secret and
turbulent agency, seems to set laws at defiance, is not to be

102 MEMORIALS OF
wondered at ; but it is surprising there should be such an
utter absence of common observation in politicians, as that
they should not have discovered that it is hopeless to attempt
conciliation as respects a religion which the history of the
Christian world in general, and Ireland in particular shows,
will be satisfied with nothing short of domination, and has
been a matter of surprise too to me that the Irish Landlords,
as a body, have manifested such apathy on this subject, in
which they are infinitely more interested than the Protestant
Clergy, now undergoing a process of starvation. As a
member of the clerical body, I have often felt most acutely
the little sympathy which my Irish brethren have received
from the proprietors of the soil, who ought at once to have
undertaken the payment of tithes on their respective estates
until the question has been settled. Yet if it had been
lawful, I could have enjoyed all the secret gratification which
a malevolent spirit could deduce from a conviction, that, if
things be long permitted to take the course they have taken
for the last two years, the day is very near when no Protest
ant landlord will receive more rent than a lawless faction
thinks fit to accord them. Lately, however, the Protestant
gentry have opened their eyes to their future prospects, and
a great many proprietors, by taking the payment of tithes
into their own hands, have completely overthrown the Popish
agitators, and I think, by God's blessing, the religious horizon
of Ireland may ere long assume more hopeful aspects ; God
fearing too, having been so completely put out of all calcu
lation in all that our rulers of late have done, that we may
confidently expect that He will manifest His power on behalf
of them who call upon Him, and acknowledge the glorious
Godhead as the Sovereign of the world. If the late ministry
had not been dismissed by the king, it appears that a plan
was to have been brought forward for withdrawing altogether
the Protestant clergyman from every parish where there were

LADY OSBORNE. 103
not a certain number of Protestant families, confiscating the
revenues of the church in such parishes, and razing the
Protestant places of worship ! When this plan was suggested
to the king, his answer was, " I will die first," and further he
sent the ministers about their business. No ministry is yet
formed, but Peel is to be Prime Minister and Lyndhurst
Lord Chancellor ; of the rest nothing yet is known, only all
the newspapers with one or two exceptions are congratulating
the country on having such a manly king, and there is every
prospect that the return of the Conservatives to power, will
be hailed by the nation as a blessing. [Seemingly un
finished.] " Lady Osborne was very proud to reckon Dr. Arnott
amongst her group of intimate friends, for possessing as he
did in an eminent degree the qualities she especially valued,
philanthropy and learning. He stands foremost amongst
scientific stars as an intentional benefactor of the human
race, and for his remarkable disinterestedness. She delighted
in the study of his " Elements of Physics."
Bedford-square, 27th April, 1832.
My dear Lady Osborne, — As appears by the accompany
ing syllabus, Mr. Brande will begin his lectures on Electricity
on Thursday, the 3rd of May.
When I left you the other day, I still doubted whether I
had given you a correct idea of the nature of my chapter on
" Religion," in the forthcoming book on " Education ;" and
as I value too much your good opinion I take the present
opportunity to beg, that until I be able to present you with
a copy of the work, you will merely recollect that my pur
pose has been to reclaim the sceptic on the one side, and the
erring enthusiast like Mr.  on the other, and to be a
peace maker between sects of Christians. The attempt I hope
will meet approval, how imperfect soever the execution.

104 MEMORIALS OF
On thinking again on the scrap written in Miss Osborne's
book, it appears to me that you might think it improved by
the following addition — " He who did more than any other
philosopher to remove all doubts from men's minds, as to the
stupendous magnificence of the Universe," sketched in the
preceding lines, was Sir Isaac Newton, than whom there
never was a more sincere Christian."
I remain, my dear Lady Osborne,
Your faithful and obedient servant,
N. Arnott.
" The following letters are from the pen of a young man
of extraordinary ability and brilliant genius, one who is con
sidered by the best judges as amongst the greatest of English
divines, one whose ambition as regarded this world was ' nil,'
but was of that lofty character deeming that ' He builds too
low, who builds beneath the skies.' Educated as a Roman
Catholic, after he had attained manhood he joined the Church
of England, and entering the ministry became one of its
most shining lights. His sermons are exceeded by none in
power and eloquence; his Theory of Development copes
with Newman's Midway Passage to the Church of Rome, in
a manner that clearly demonstrates that the stronghold of
Romanism is not identity and antiquity, but its assumed
power of development. Great as he was as an author, he was
no less admirable as a parish clergyman, and caught the fever,
of which he died in the prosecution of his ministerial duties.
In the anticipation of an early death, his only regret was that
he could not complete a book he had commenced upon the
doctrine of Faith — a work that there is reason to hope may
yet be given to the public, as far as he had completed it—
under the auspices of the son of the person who had great
influence in the direction of his mind on the subject of
religion, namely, the Rev. Henry Woodward.

LADY OSBORNE. 105
" The chair of Moral Philosophy in Trinity College,
Dublin, was created that Mr. Butler might fill it, at an un
precedented early age."
" The first letter is striking in these days of reckless un-
scrupulosity as regards theological machinery (if I may use
such a term), for it manifests such a sense of responsibility.
" The second points out the old desire of unity of tone
of thought in church matters, more likely to be ever sought
than attained." Trinity College, Thursday, March, 1838.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I delayed to answer your very
kind letter until I had an interview with Dr. Dickinson.
You were not wrongly informed that my mind has often
resumed its original preference for the profession of the
Church. I had always turned habitually towards that pro
fession as being the one in which peace and content of spirit
might best be attained ; and I have seen (even already)
enough of this world of ours to have nearly learned to give
up aiming at any higher or more marked happiness than
such content can bring. These views were from a combi
nation of circumstances, which I can scarcely describe to
myself (is it not oftener a union of small motives than any
single great one that governs us all?), suspended of late;
and I had even resolved when I saw you last at Newtown
to take the preliminary steps for the law, which accordingly
on arriving in town I did take. I have, however, as you
see, paused in my progress to the woolsack, and suffered my
mind to flow in its old, and I believe happier, channel. Dr.
Dickinson has kindly said that he would give me informa
tion of any clerical opportunities in this neighbourhood. To
me there is, I confess it, something very overwhelming in
the idea of undertaking this great responsible office ; an idea
which has often haunted me, and which has made the

106 MEMORIALS OF
ministerial life always look to my imagination better at a dis
tance and in future prospect than close at hand. As I begin
to look at it now, I cannot conceal from myself that there
is very much to be relinquished, and very much to be as
sumed, before I am what it demands; and I contemplate
with a strange sense of terror how far I am at this moment
from its requisitions.
A thousand levities of mind, that, small as they seem,
show their real strength when we seek to conquer them; a
thousand paltry ambitions, and a thousand worldlinesses, are
at once in arms against its claims. I fear you would think
but poorly of me if you knew what trifles have weight in
the contest. I am truly glad, my dear Lady Osborne, that
your school is as you would wish it. Whatever may be
thought the general danger of a system that includes the
Roman Catholic priesthood in a plan of religious education,
there can assuredly be nothing but good effected in all those
particular instances where the vigilant care of a Protestant
superior constantly watches and works to secure substantial
instruction to the pupils.
I feel very much your kind interference in this affair;
and if it eventuates in furthering my religious happiness, I
shall not easily forget your part in it.
Believe me to be,
My dear Lady Osborne,
Yours very sincerely,
Wm. Archer Butler.
" Mr. Butler was but a school boy when he took by sur
prise the circle in which he moved, his own family included.
He was invited to speak at a Church Missionary Meeting,
and when he stood up, and, as if inspired, gave utterance to
a flow of the most brilliant eloquence and the happiest
epithets, such as denominating missionaries as " the chivalry

LADY OSBORNE. 107
of faith," then it was revealed that a star had risen to reflect
radiance on his native land." Trinity College, March 4.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I think you have a fair right
to receive a copy of a letter of mine in the present number
of the " Irish Ecclesiastical Journal," which is making some
commotion here, as it was written during the period of my
last very agreeable stay at Newtown, and doubtless owed
some of its merits to the " genus loci." The letter refers to
an audacious attempt of mine to make peace between the
parties now agitating the Church, by exhibiting the common
ground upon which they can meet, an enterprize which seems
to be received, as such attempts generally are, by very im
partial abuse from both. I send you a number of the jour
nal by post. Believe me,
Dear Lady Osborne,
Most truly yours,
Wm. Archer Butler.
" The following letter proves that the Rev. Theobald
Mathew, ' not straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel,'
but treating measures like characters, on the principle that
' He that is not against me is for me,' was willing, though
each held his own religion to be the right one, to coalesce
in the suppression of vice and the promotion of good. The
Editor takes the opportunity of observing that the vice of
drunkenness could in no wise be so successfully put down
as by the establishment of cheap refreshment rooms in
market towns, they being almost unknown in Ireland, and
she regrets to add, much discouraged where efforts have
been made to set them on foot."

108 MEMORIALS OF Cork, June 12, 1844.
Dear Lady Osborne, — As you have taken such deep in
terest in the promotion of the great moral movement which
has, with the Divine blessing, effected so much good, I take
the liberty to inform you that the Very Rev. Dr. Burke has
invited me to Clonmel to administer the total abstinence
pledge. Sunday, the 23rd, has been appointed for our meeting,
and I hope, with God's assistance, to bring back to the fold
of temperance such as have unhappily strayed into the paths
of drunkenness.
If all whom the Lord has placed in high station exercised
their influence to promote His glory and the happiness of
His people as zealously and perseveringly as your ladyship
has done, what a blessed change would be effected in our
country. I promise myself the honour of visiting your ladyship, but
I must deny myself the privilege of being your guest, as it
will be necessary for me to remain in Clonmel.
With fervent prayers to the Almighty that He may confer
on your ladyship and Miss Osborne every spiritual and
temporal blessing, I have the honour to be, with profound
respect, Your Ladyship's most devotedly,
Theobald Mathew.
" The following letter, written by Mrs. Walker, wife of
the Bishop of Edinburgh of that name, is given on account
of the concluding paragraph, showing the wretched in
comes of a Protestant Episcopal Church in a Protestant
country. What then is to be expected in Ireland from the
same system, where the clergy would be in a great degree
dependent upon the caprice of individuals, those who re
quired religious ministrations the most being least willing to

LADY OSBORNE. 109
contribute. Moreover, numbers are everything for voluntary
payment, especially of a spiritual religion not dwelling upon
externals ; but it is well ascertained that the readiest way of
making up large sums is through a multitude of small ones.
Consequently the failure of funds in a poor country like
Ireland would be no test of the sincerity of the followers of
the church despoiled of her rightful inheritance." Leckie, 27th October.
My dear Lady Osborne, — So far from wondering at your
silence, I marvel more that you should find time to write to
me at all. It is a fortnight to-day since we came to this
second home. My dear friend is very helpless in body, but
with a wonderfully clear mind. Her will is God's will. All
her afflictions, bodily and mental, are felt to be sent by the hand
of a most merciful Father. She murmurs not, neither does she
make a parade of resignation. It is the religion of the heart
that sustains her ; but as you do not know her, I need not
bother you about her. To me the visit is generally a sad
one; to my daughters one of great enjoyment, with their
two young friends. Miss  is with us, but is now
looking south; she and Madeline have just set off for Glas
gow, to pay a short visit to some mutual friends there.
Jeannie and I return home in two days, and they join us, I
hope, on Saturday. I am anxious to get home that I may
secure a cook, being still minus that useful auxiliary; and I
shall not be sorry to be seated at my own fireside, pur
suing our usual monotonous occupations, which have been
so long set aside. Captain Walker is now in Edinburgh,
has given up his comfortable lodgings, and gone a mile and
a half from us. Old bachelors are very queer. Bishop
Low occasionally corresponds with Madeline. I am glad
you liked the go d old man. I rather think to-morrow is
the day Mr.  and Mr.  are to be consecrated,

HO MEMORIALS OF
two very different people. You would call Mr.  a
Puseyite ; I call him a pious churchman. He is the son of
Lord  , a law lord, a humble-minded, self-denying Chris
tian, who labours among the poor as their brother. He has
given a proof, and a strong one, of his love to the suffering
classes in Scotland, by giving up his living at Leeds, and all
hope of promotion in England, that he may labour in our
humble Zion. I hope I do not flout at Mr.  . I only
fear he is not fitted for a bishop in a poor church, where
many of his clergy are simple good men, with very un
polished minds and manners, but therefore better suited to
their flocks, and eighty pounds per annum. [Unfinished.]
" The Editor remembers Lord Bexley as a most kind and
hospitable host, when with Lady Osborne she paid a visit to
his beautiful place, Foot's Cray. He was a great lover and
patron of modern art. He was for some time Chancellor of
the Exchequer." Great George Street, March 11th, 1834. <
Dear Lady Osborne, — I feel much ashamed that your
letter should be so long unacknowledged, but as I am sure
you will consider truth as the best apology, 1 am bound to
confess that in removing to town it was somehow mislaid, and
I did not recollect your address. My sister has now fortu
nately hit upon the letter. I am sorry that I cannot give a
very favourable account of her health. We were for some
weeks in November at the sea-side, and she seemed to be
much refreshed by the air, but the benefit seems to have been
only of short continuance ; I see, however, no actual cause for
alarm, but she is feeble and incapable of exertion. I hope both
your Ladyship and Miss Osborne find the air of Paris agree
with you. I am afraid I cannot give her any useful advice
respecting Decker's pictures. The late king had some pleas-

LADY OSBORNE. Ill
ing works of that master, and I think Miss O. might rely on
the recommendation of her instructor. I am afraid we must
not attempt in this country to rival the magnificence of the
Louvre, but if Wilkins's design is carried into execution we
shall have no reason to be ashamed of the British Picture
Gallery, except that it will stand somewhat awkwardly with
respect to the Portico of St. Martin's. I read Silvio Pellico's
book with pain and disgust, though it is only reasonable
to suspect some exaggeration in the statements; and it must
be remembered, that the sufferers would in most countries of
Europe have been punished with death at any time previous
to the present century. It is however lamentable that the
Austrian Government should expose itself to such imputations
with any degree of foundation. It is very pleasing to see in
a Roman Catholic the spirit of piety which prevails in the
book. You must have heard of the heavy loss the friends of
religion in general, and the Bible Society in particular, have
suffered from the death of Lord Teignmouth ; and it may
have reached you that the Committee has pressed upon me
to take his place. At my age it would better become me,
and be far more agreeable to my feelings, to retire from a
situation of exertion and responsibility, but being the only
vice-president who has taken any active part in the detail of
their business, I could not refuse such services as the Divine
goodness, called for, I trust the united prayers of many
sincere christians, may for a short period enable me to per
form. My sister desires to return her thanks for your kind
inquiries, and to send her kindest remembrances.
Believe me, my dear madam,
Yours faithfully, Bexley.
I take the liberty of enclosing the minute of the Committee
of the Bible Society on Lord Teignmouth's death.

112 MEMORIALS OF
Great George's Street, 21st March, 1837.
Dear Lady Osborne, — I am not a member of the Com
mittee on Irish Education — the Government not having pro
posed my name, perhaps from thinking me prejudiced on
the subject. I must confess that I dislike the new system,
as tending to suppress the Kildare Place Society, which
appeared to me to be conducted with great ability and most
beneficial effects. I never, however, doubted that the new
schools were capable of producing great good when conducted
with perfect fairness, and under the superintendance of pious
and judicious visitors ; I have therefore no doubt that the
schools under your care are very useful and indeed probably
not distinguishable in practical effect from Kildare Place
Schools, though in principle open to the great, and I think
fatal, objection of a restricted use of the Scriptures. But
what I suspect is that in places not so carefully attended to,
the ostensible rules of the system are disregarded, and that
the schools are in fact conducted almost as Roman Catholic
seminaries. On this point I shall be anxious to see the
evidence produced before the Committee, and it will give me
grea>t pleasure if I can see satisfactory reason to believe
that my suspicions are unfounded. How far any neglect of
the rules is justly attributable to prejudiced opposition on the
part of the Protestant Clergy is a very proper subject of
inquiry before the Committee. That any part of them should
be placed in a state of collision with the Archbishop of Dub
lin is most deeply to be regretted, whatever may be the cause,
and cannot fail to be injurious to the general interests of
Protestantism. I am not conscious of any prejudice against
his Grace, but was rather prepossessed in his favour through
some common friends; but I cannot say that I think the
opposition to him unprovoked, though it has been carried
to unjustifiable lengths. In his theology, I know of nothing

4

LADY OSBORNE. 113
inconsistent with sound Christianity, though he is a bold
speculator ; and in his character I believe him to be sincere
and disinterested, though I am afraid dogmatical and
imperious. With his duties, it is impossible he can attend
to the details of the Education Board, which therefore must
be left to subordinates perhaps less ingenuous than himself.
He will of course take a leading part in the Education Com
mittee, and between him and the Bishop of Exeter, I hope
the truth will be brought out. I am afraid the enquiry will
be a long one, and that we shall not have any report until
late in the gummer.
My nieces desire their kindest remembrances to your Lady
ship and Miss Osborne ; and they request you will have the
kindness to inform them where Colonel and Mrs. Phipps are
to be found. Believe me, dear madam,
Very sincerely yours, Bexley.
To a person superficially acquainted with Archbishop
Whately, the Editor can understand his being supposed
imperious and dogmatical, but Mrs. Hill understood his real
nature. " [The following letter was written by Bishop Walker,
Bishop of Edinburgh.]" Nunraw, near Haddington, 16th August, 1831.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I feel both ashamed and sorry
when I look at the date of your letter and recollect that it
remains unanswered. The receipt of it gave me great
pleasure, and my resolution was to answer it without delay.
I have ever been a dilatory correspondent, but I often think
VOL. II. h

114 MEMORIALS OF
of my friends and relatives, and many a time since your
residence has been in Ireland, have 1 determined to renew
my acquaintance with you. My locomotive powers, however,
are much impaired ; I am exceedingly bent and cramped by
rheumatism, and since the 22nd of January last, to this
painful complaint has been added a feebleness which is
singularly distressing. This will account for my too
long delay in answering your kind and most acceptable
letter. It would have afforded me much satisfaction if I could, in
the course of the present summer, have paid my respects to
you in Ireland, but I am quite unequal to such an exertion.
From the 18th June we have been in a sweet rural retire
ment, where I have the advantage of getting out into the
open air at all hours, from which I doubtless derive benefit,
though my strength by no means returns.
On considering attentively your letter and the religious
reflections which it contains, I am not aware that either in cor
respondence or conversation we should have any serious sub
ject of dispute. I have never been satisfied, God help me,
with my own attainments and efforts, either as a Christian or a
minister ; but my purpose has ever been to preach the Gospel
and the whole Gospel as the Scripture gives it, and as our
church faithfully receives and truly expounds it. I am no
enemy, and never have been an enemy to the serious part of
the clergy, so far as their seriousness is accompanied with
sound kept sincerity. A clergyman without seriousness and
sincerity in the principles and practices of his profession is a
most pitiable object, while a sound faith is indispensably
necessary towards a consistent Christian practice. What I
dislike in the party called Evangelical is not their seriousness
nor their doctrinal zeal, so far as their doctrine is sound; it
is their want of charity, and the exclusive spirit which they
so frequently display. I have in numerous instances found

LADY OSBORNE. 115
them mark with the zeal of their exclusion and therefore of
their reprobation, men whose soundness, seriousness, and
sincerity cannot in any circumstances be exceeded, merely
because they rank not in their association. In this country
these Evangelical men have within the last twenty years,
gone through a course of changes not trifling but important
and essential, while at each step they are peremptory, exclu
sive, and uncharitable ; without learning caution or charity
from the vast changes which they adopt. This singular
infirmity has recently subsided into the most pitiable fanati
cism or the most worthless deception. They work miracles
forsooth ; they have the gift of tongues — that is, they utter
sounds which neither they themselves understand nor those
who hear them. They announce the immediate advent of
Messiah in language very shocking to Christian ears. They
maintain the peccability of the Redeemer's human nature,
and appear to place the poor fallen creature redeemed, on a par
with the Redeemer, who can therefore be no longer divine-
I have had a most distressing case of this kind before me in
one of the clergy of this diocese ; the consideration of which
has been so far satisfactory in that all the rest of the clergy
who were necessarily consulted in the discussion, have com
pletely concurred in maintaining the doctrine of scripture,
as that doctrine is expounded in the admirable articles of our
church. In this concurrence I include one clergyman of the
Evangelical class, who, about six years ago, drew me into a
controversy on the subject of regeneration ; the truth is that
the clergy of this diocese generally though among the ex-
clusives, they are not classed among the Evangelicals, are
yet Evangelical in the truest and best sense of the word ;
and as we mix more together and know one another better
than in time past, we all walk in the house of God as brethren
and friends, and even my Evangelical opponent thinks very
differently of my doctrine and principles from what he did
h2

116 MEMORIALS OF
some six years ago, while he finds that I have not the slightest
objection to his Evangelical seriousness and zeal, so long as
they are combined with soundness, and discretion, and
charity. It were a hopeless task indeed to attempt to bring
all men to the same precise way of thinking. The leading
truths of the Gospel we must all maintain, because they are
essential ; and while we apply these by the Grace of God in
the practice of the Christian life, charity will unite, as in the
blessed words of Christian fellowship with all faithful men,
however they may differ in some minor matters. If circum
stances were to bring me into contact with your Evangelical
clergy, I should see no reason of estrangement — still less of
dispute — provided I should find them disposed to extend to
me (though not nominally of their class) the charity which
I willingly bear to them.
My little ones are getting on a pace. My eldest, Jane
Ramsay, was nine in February, and is remarkably clever,
She made astonishing progress last winter in music, and can
read French easily. My youngest, Madeline, was seven in
July, is clever in apprehension and in conversation, which
her sister is not, but she is deficient hitherto in application,
I have not determined and scarcely think I shall determine
to make them classical scholars ; with my infirmities I am
not now equal to the task of teaching them myself, and
unless they were to show a decided bent that way I do not
see in their case the necessity. The case of your daughter
differs in the bent which she displays, and you are right to
yield to that bent which may be so usefully applied. My
two have taken, and will, if God spare them, continue to
take lessons in dancing ; your views on that subject I will
not dispute, and would not combat even in conversation, for
a feeling of Christian duty firmly formed is always worthy
of respect. The world so far as it is a wicked world, and
this, alas, is lamentably far indeed, is one of our greatest and

LADY OSBORNE. 117
most dangerous enemies. But in the world we must live
and so use it by God's help as not abusing it. I would
fortify the minds of my children by every Christian prin
ciple and by every godly motive. I would teach them
what they are by nature, and what, if they would reach their
heavenly inheritance, they must become by grace ; but I
would not lay upon them impositions nor urge on them pro
hibitions with respect to things innocent and indifferent,
which might in after life become burdens or snares to the
conscience. This in brief is my opinion on this subject,
which I state, simply not to contest the point, but to account
for my own conduct. My poor children have little to look
for in this world of woe, for I have little to leave them ;
therefore so long as I shall be spared with them will it be
my duty and my desire to bring them up in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord, and may God of his infinite mercy
grant me the ability and them the grace to profit by it. I
could much wish were it to please God to restore my strength
somewhat, to make an effort some summer day to pay you a
running visit; I should have much satisfaction in renewing
my personal acquaintance, and I am persuaded that we should
easily understand one another on all the subjects which are
most interesting and important to Christians.
I remain, my dear Lady Osborne,
Your faithful friend,
James Walker.
" Lady Osborne always took a lively interest in the varieties
of schools of religious thought, and amongst them was occu
pied with that of the Wesleyan Methodists. The following
extract with its luminous preface is written by a gentleman
who at one time belonged to them, but subsequently entered
the United Church of England and Ireland.

118 MEMORIALS OF
" The extract which follows relates to a subject which was
always regarded with the deepest interest by its writer. To
enter into its meaning we must have a just view of the
opinions he held on the doctrine of sanctification. It is
commonly understood that sanctification is the life's work of
the Christian ; that when a sinner has repented, his sanctifi
cation by the Holy Spirit begins and continues, if he is
faithful to his life's end. But it has been held by many
excellent men, especially among the followers of Wesley
and Fletcher, and is now held by many in America and in
England, that a second experience, similar in its mental
accompaniments to the experience of conversion, is attainable
by the Christian, and is to be regarded as the full accom
plishment of his salvation. This work or experience has
been designated technically by the terms sanctification, Chris
tian perfection or full salvation, and of late years by that of
second conversion, and is believed to be accomplished by a
single act of faith, by which the soul, striving after full salva
tion, is at once admitted to the inestimable blessedness of a
sinless state. This is the experience to the attainment of
which Lady Osborne was exhorted by the writer of the
following extract."
A topic formed the principal part of our conversation
which always charms me, and truly delighted was I to
witness the simplicity and ardent piety (which indeed in
structed me) with which God has blessed you, and it will
afford me the most gratifying heartfelt satisfaction to hear
from you that you have found this pearl of great price.
Be not discouraged, dear madam ; there is not a spiritual
blessing which you are desirous of obtaining that God is not
willing to bestow. " His love is as great as His power, and
neither knows measure or end." But all His promises in
their performance on His part are suspended on faith on

LADY OSBORNE. 119
ours. If we can once possess ourselves of this powerful and
mighty engine (if I may so express myself), we may work out
our own salvation, and make our calling sure at once. Faith
is mighty, faith is omnipotent; it sees the promise, it smiles
at impossibilities, and cries, " It shall be done." * It is done ;
nothing can be more dishonourable to God than sin, nothing
more lovely in His sight than holiness. Why should it seem
a thing incredible with any that God should sanctify the
soul? What He has promised to do, what He is able to do,
what He is willing to do, must be accomplished if there
be no hinderance in ourselves. To the single eye we say,
" Now is the day of salvation ;" and surely it is enough to
say to you, madam, " The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth
from all sin." Believe that doctrine. Stumble not through
unbelief, but believe the second time. It is mere voluntary
humility to be exclaiming, " Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death "? I reply, the Lord Jesus both can and
will, and He desires it now. Yes, believe that His blood
cleanseth you now from all sin, and as sure as you believe
this saving truth it is done, and you will be able to sing
with the sweet singer in Israel —
" 'Tis done, Thou dost this moment save,
With full salvation bless ;
Redemption through Thy blood I have,
And spotlesS love and peace."
Have you read the little works I took the liberty to
recommend to your perusal? I can say they were really
beneficial to me, and however simple the remedy, we value
it if it has done us good. Permit me to add to the list Mrs.
Lefroy's Letters ; they are admirable. She was a saint of
the very first order, as her lovely and most excellent letters
(which she never expected would appear in print when she
wrote them) fully and abundantly testify. But perhaps
while I am thus writing, you have already entered into the

120 MEMORIALS OF
promised land, and have taken possession of your rich inheri
tance. For it is indeed a rich inheritance, " Where pride and
unbelief expire, cast out by perfect love." Perhaps you are
even now rejoicing in the foretaste of that glory which is
to be revealed ; your renewed mind with childlike simplicity
says — " Nor have I power from Thee to move,
Thy nature and Thy name is love. "
If this be your present happy experience, you will feel
the full force of those inspired words of the heavenly-
minded Apostle, " The anointing which ye have received of
Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach
you, but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things and
is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall
abide in Him''1 You are too well instructed of the Holy
Ghost to need that anyone should teach you that trials and
exercises and conflicts will come. We are still on earth, and
Satan roams to and fro, but he cannot hurt. Clothed with
panoply divine, you can now put to flight the armies of the
alien, for great is the Holy One of Israel in the mind of a
sanctified soul. Oh ! how I shall be overjoyed to hear you
tell me that fear and doubt and unbelief have all yielded to
perfect love, and that you have no longer a temper or feel
ing that you could not take with you to heaven, and which
God does not now approve of.
"The Editor is not at liberty to put the name to this
extract." " The readers of this work will probably be acquainted
with the Life of Stanley, Bishop of Norwich, the two next
letters are from him. The third is from Bishop Hinds for
merly chaplain to Archbishop Whately."

LADY OSBORNE. 121

Palace, Norwich, Nov. 22nd, 1838.

My dear Lady Osborne, — I have forwarded your note
by this post to my nephew, and shall be very glad to hear
that he has the power of complying with your wishes ; should
he write to me on the subject, I will let you know the result ;
probably, however, he will communicate directly with you.
I can assure you that few things would give me more plea
sure than again visiting Ireland, in which your schools
would unquestionably be an early and interesting object of
attraction ; but I fear my movements are for ever limited to
journies from Norwich to London, with perhaps an occa
sional visit to my old parish in Cheshire, which I can never
forget. On the whole I am making progress here, but the
labour is immense, and the difficulties not few, considering
that I have above 1,000 clergy, with near 900 benefices to
look after, and that every word and deed, however well
intentioned, are subject to the severest criticisms, and too
often to the grossest misconstructions, for this diocese con
tains a concentrated essence of the highest Toryism. Be
lieve me to be, Yours truly,
E. Norwich.
" Doubtless the pamphlet alluded to in the following letter
by Bishop Stanley, referred to some convert to the National
System of Education. He points out what was a marvel to
the friends of the system as a method used for the promotion
of the same.
The use of the word paradoxical shows the Bishop gave
the Government credit for some deep right reason he could
not fathom."

122 MEMORIALS OF
38, Lower Brooke Street, June 10th, 1844*
My dear Lady Osborne,— Many thanks for the pamphlet,
but on a subject which has so long deeply interested me,
I need scarcely say that I lost not a moment in procuring it,
and for some days have had it in my possession. I was
greatly disappointed with the earlier opinions expressed, but
the latter portion from about page 26 and 27 to the end
deeply repaid the perusal ; and I venture to send you my
own copy, with the passages I had marked as most congenial
with my own feelings and views. A few such men in Ire
land, and we might hope for better things, notwithstanding
the fearful mass of prejudiced opposition, increased by the
recent Church appointments to the higher situations, by a
Government professing to be friendly to the National system.
Such paradoxical proceedings are beyond my comprehension.
I remain, yours truly,
E. Norwich.
Norwich, 6th August, 1853.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I do not think that the Arch
bishop of Dublin intended to make any definite suggestion
to you beyond signing the petition, and being prepared to
join in any future movement which may take place in the
same direction. The petition I presume, is that which is
about to be presented to the two Houses of Parliament. I
have not yet seen it, and indeed have only heard of it by a
letter, which the second post of to-day brought, together
with yours, requesting me to present it to the house of
Lords. I am sorry to say that I am so engaged in my
diocese during the remainder of the session as to be unable
to do so. I am, my dear Lady Osborne,
Yours very truly,
S. Norwich.

LADY OSBORNE. 128
" From the address on Dr. Chalmers' letter the Editor
concludes that Lady Osborne wrote to Dr. Chalmers for
assistance in a controversy she had with a Socinian minister,
who was a friend of hers. The Editor is not aware whether
Dr. Chalmers' correspondence has been published or not;
but in any case the important nature of the subject treated
therein warrants the reproduction of these letters. Dr.
Hanna's letters referring to Dr. Chalmers are put first."
Morningside, Edinburgh, 20th June, 1848.
Dear Lady Osborne, — I have been given to understand
that you are in possession of a valuable letter of my late
revered father-in-law, Dr. Chalmers, which it might be
desirable should be inserted in any collection of his cor
respondence which may hereafter be published. If it be so,
I should be very much obliged by your ladyship transmitting
to me a copy of that letter, and of any others you may have
received from Dr. Chalmers.
I have the honor to be, madam,
Your ladyship's obedient servant,
Wm. Hanna.
P. S. — My address is, Rev. W. Hanna,
Morningside, Edinburgh.
Edinburgh, 25th March, 1852.
Dear Madam, — I have to thank you for your kindness, in
sending the letter which, after having copied, I now return. I
propose inserting it in a volume of Dr. Chalmers' correspond
ence to be published in the course of next autumn. But I
have unfortunately forgotten the nature of the occasion
which called forth this letter of Dr. Chalmers, or the kind
of enquiry to which it was an answer. I might state gene
rally, in inserting it, that it was in answer to an enquiry
whether a Unitarian could properly be regarded as a Chris-

124 MEMORIALS OF
tian ; but if there were any special circumstances which led
to the enquiry, which in a general and inoffensive manner
could be stated, it might give additional interest. Perhaps
also the year, if not the precise date, of the letter could be
ascertained. I beg you will excuse my asking you to favour me with
any such information as you may possess on these points.
I have the honor to be, madam,
Your most obedient servant,
Wm. Hanna.
Br. Chalmer's Letter to Lady Osborne. April 2, 1835.
My Lady, — You must forgive me writing in another hand,
as I am very much overworked, and I hope to be further
excused if I do not go into the subject of your letter at any
great length.
It appears to me that there are two grounds upon which
an error in theology might be fatal. First, the error might
be so opposed to the clearest light of Scriptural evidence as
to imply the utmost moral unfairness in the examination of
Holy Writ, or a hard rejection of the Divine testimony.
With my views of what I hold to be the obvious sense of the
Word of God, I could not be an Arian without incurring
this delinquency. The second ground on which an error in
theology might be fatal is the great moral and practical
importance of the doctrine which is either violated or dis
owned. I could not renounce my opinion of the Divinity of
Christ without at the same time renouncing what I at pre
sent regard as the most essential and characteristic principles
of the Gospel. Exterminate this article of Christianity and
you, in the same proportion, exterminate other articles of the
faith no less vital and fundamental than itself ; as the value
of the atonement, the depth of the enormity of the guilt that

LADY OSBORNE. 125
calls for a Divine expiation, the need of a regenerating influ
ence from on High, the unchangeableness and authority of
Heaven's law, and the dignity of moral government. These
are the great elements of the Christian system, but by
detaching the sentiment of Christ's Divinity we should take
all the force and the spirit from them. This doctrine
strengthens and impregnates the whole of practical Chris
tianity ; and whether it be the trust or the gratitude or the
obedience of the Gospel we are arguing, they can only be
urged with effect along with the belief that Jesus Christ, the
author and finisher of the faith, is absolutely, from eternity,
God. The first chapter of the Revelation — the beginning of the
Gospel of St. John— Romans, ix. 5 ; 1 John, 20 ; Philippians,
ii. 5-8 ; chap. i. of Hebrews, appear to me the most decisive
passages of the New Testament in favour of the Godhead of
Christ; and the Old Testament appears to be the more
impressive and convincing the longer I attend to it. For
this let me refer you to the 6th of Isaiah, quoted in John's
Gospel, and applied by him to the Saviour; Isaiah, viii.
13, 14, quoted and applied in the same manner by Paul in
the Epistle to the Romans ; Isaiah, ix. 5, 6 ; Jeremiah, xxiii.
5, 6 (where the " Lord our righteousness " is, in the original,
Jehovah)! Micah, i. 2; Zech. xiii. 7; Malachi, iii. 1.
I entreat you to excuse the brevity and the imperfection
of these hurried statements. The subject on which you
have called me to express myself is fitted for an elaborate
dissertation, and nothing like adequate justice can be done
to it within the compass of a letter written in great feeble
ness and manifold engagements.
I have the honor to be, my lady,
Your ladyship's most humble and obedient servant,
Thomas Chalmers.

126 MEMORIALS OF

Edinburgh, March 6, 1837.
Dear Lady Osborne, — I think it better to refrain from
noticing the little publication of which you have apprized
me. There was nothing wrong iu your shewing my letter
to the person you mention, though it be somewhat unusual
in him to meet a letter addressed to an individual by a
pamphlet addressed to the public. But I have a great deal
too much on hand to do anything more in that matter.
Mrs. Chalmers and I feel greatly obliged by your kind
invitation. We are both getting too far on in life to be
much from home. I have the honor to be,
Dear Lady Osborne,
Yours most respectfully,
Thomas Chalmers.
" The rapid progress made in the regard of those who
became acquainted with Lady Osborne shows itself in the tone
of the following letters from Mr. Poulett Thomson, after
wards created Lord Sydenham and Governor of Canada. At
the time of these letters he was President of the Board of
Trade. He had the manners of the old school (now too
much gone out of fashion) and was remarkably agreeable."
Dromana, 19th August, 1837.
Madam, — I had the honour of bearing a letter of introduc
tion from Lord Duncannon at Newtown on Monday last;
when, finding out you were in England, I took the liberty of
visiting the school in your garden, from the inspection of
which I derived very great pleasure. As I believe from Mr.
Villiers Stuart you are now returned, I must however beg to
offer my apologies for having used this freedom in your
absence.

LADY OSBORNE. 127
As it is my intention also to pass through Clonmel again
upon my return to Besborough (for from the circumstances^
of the election going on, I could not see what I wished there
on Monday last) I would also venture to beg your assistance
to enable me to see the schools in that town, in which I know
you take a deep interest. If you are good enough to afford
it, perhaps you will let me have a line to some one there who
can go round with me, or I will do myself the honor of
waiting on you at Newtown when 1 reach Clonmel. I leave
this place on Monday for Killarney, and expect to return
through Clonmel in about a week or ten days. My address
will be at the Post Office, Killarney.
I must beg to apologize for this intrusion for which I have
only to plead the assurance of Lord Lansdowne and LpsJ*-
Duncannon that you would pardon me, and beg JkJremain,
madam, Your obedient servant,
C. Poulett Thomson.
Mount Shannon, 28 August, 1837.
Dkar Madam, — I thank you very much for your obliging
letter which I found at Killarney, and which I had only
deferred acknowledging until I could a little more definitely
define my plan of route, which from the number of objects
of interest I met to delay my progress, I have been obliged
to vary.
I shall have the pleasure in availing myself of your kind
proposal to spend a few days with you, and in profiting by
your instructions to see what is most worth attention in
your neighbourhood. I go from hence for a day or two to
the neighbourhood of Tipperary, and on Thursday or Friday
therefore I will take the advantage of your kindness to pre
sent myself at Newtown.
It is most gratifying to hear your opinion of the improving

128 MEMORIALS OF
condition of this country. I have always felt a deep interest
Jn it ; I had no idea of the extent of natural advantages
which I now see it to possess. Our object is to govern it so
as to allow of their full development, and if party spirit
from whatever side it come will only give us fair play, I am
sanguine enough to believe that it is impossible that we
should not succeed. Believe me, dear madam,
Your very faithful servant,
C. Poulett Thomson.
Phoenix Park, Dublin, 9th September, 1837.
Dear Lady Osborne, — I have settled with Mr. Blake
that our sceptical friend of Rathcormuck shall come to the
^Ji^rmal School in Dublin, the nomination to which will
shorf,iy*v'^ake place. He has his address, and will send him
the necessary^instructions as soon as the arrangements are
made. Colonel Brenton will likewise look at your Skib-
bereen homes at Glenpatrick, and I hope make the popula
tion there a little more orderly by depriving them of one
fertile source of disorder. So much for your business, which
I have had a melancholy kind of pleasure in attending to.
I must now tell you the extreme regret with which I quitted
Newtown, which was proportioned only to the very great
enjoyment I experienced there. I certainly had no such anti
cipations when I accepted your kind offer of hospitality, think
ing only to exchange a day at an inn at Clonmel for a more
agreeable private house. I little expected to exchange my
day into a week, or, instead of the possible acquaintance of a
few hours, to form a sincere and lasting friendship, such as
I most earnestly hope (and in this I count upon your pro
mise) may long endure between us.
Most sincerely, indeed, do I regret that I could not follow
my own wishes, and have prolonged my stay ; but I count
upon our meeting now, and I look forward with no little

LADY OSBORNE. 129
pleasure to the time. It is true, as I remember you to have
said, that the bustle of London is but a poor compensation
for the quiet opportunities that the country affords for inti
macy and knowledge of character ; but still I, on my part,
know that there will be opportunities even there for my
enjoying your society, and I look forward with impatience
for the time when I may embrace them.
In the meantime I shall trust to your goodwill for permitting
the intercourse which is still open — that of correspondence. I
found Mr. Nichols, the Poor Law Commissioner, here, and
have been so busy in consequence with Poor Law matters
that I have had no time for " Education." I mean, how
ever, on Monday, when I return from Lord Mulgrave's, at
Normanby Lodge, whither I go to-day, to go over the
schools and attend the Board. Perhaps I may have some
thing which I should like to communicate to you afterwards
before I quit Dublin for the North. Deeply interested as I
have long been in this subject, our conversations have ren
dered me still more so, and I feel that in some points they
have given a new direction to my views.
By the bye, I must not close this without alluding
which I had not the opportunity of doing before I left you,
though I intended it, to the subject of your conversation
to the last day of our meeting. I was then silent
(which I think you remarked), because I have made
a rule of never discussing controversial points of religion
in a mixed conversation, or unless with those with whom
I am on terms of real confidence and friendship; but it
required all my powers of resistance to refrain or to avoid
telling you how entirely I agreed with you, and how much
I admired the admirable simplicity and truly Christian spirit
you displayed. I have thought of it much since, as indeed
I have of many of our conversations. But I should write
more than your patience would bear, if I allowed myself to
VOL. n. I

130 MEMORIALS OF
proceed with this topic. This one point, however, I could
not avoid mentioning.
Adieu. Let me have the pleasure of hearing from you.
My address will be the Castle, Dublin ; and believe me that
your suggestions will always weigh with me as coming from
one to whom I feel proud in believing that I may subscribe
myself, the sincere friend, C. Poulett Thomson.
Pray tell Miss Osborne that I expect a copy of the Kilmac-
thomas Gazette, with an account of her court at Bonmyhon.
I am afraid I can't spell the name of the Principality !
Chillingham Castle, Belford, 23rd September, 1837.
My dear Lady Osborne, — Your letter reached me only
the day before I left Dublin, where I was so much hurried
that I had not a moment to myself, and since that till my
arrival here yesterday, I have been continually on the high
ways or high seas ; so I have only now the opportunity of
thanking you for it, or of telling you the extreme pleasure
which it gave me. It is most grateful to me to feel, which I
do from the whole tone and expression of your letters, that
we understand each other, and that I have not been inspired
with a sincere regard and esteem for you, without being
able to believe that it is in some degree reciprocated. It is
no part of my character to seek or bestow friendship lightly,
perhaps the course of my life, and the career which I have
run, would lead me to be over suspicious upon the matter,
but one week's intimacy in the quiet of Newtown, equal to
almost a life of ordinary intercourse in society, made me
most anxious to obtain your regard, as I felt that. you had
acquired mine, and I value therefore the assurance you give
me of having secured it most highly. You must remember
however, that it is no part of friendship to flatter; and

LADY OSBORNE. 131
although I cannot but feel greatly gratified by what you
say of myself, I must for the very reason that I am so anxious
you should long think long well of me, caution you against
thinking too well. I hope I may lay claim to the qualities
of truth and mildness which you are good enough to ascribe
to me, but I have many imperfections which a friend will
feel, and a friend may likewise correct, and you will not
therefore, find the duties of friendship altogether confined to
the bright side. Indeed nothing more contributed to make
me prize our intercourse (amongst the many qualities which
I admired in you) than the candour and frankness with
which you upon one occasion offered advice, and adminis
tered gentle reproof when you thought me wrong ; and I
have the utmost reliance upon your doing so in future upon
more grounds than before. But if I ever could suppose
that by intercourse with some of your Tory neighbours, I
could have softened their prejudices, and brought them to
the belief that we are not all of us the wild beasts which
their press describe us to be, and their imaginations picture,
I confess that I am too much of a man, and too little of a
minister, to be sorry for the opportunity being lost. I do not
think that our circle would have been improved by the addi
tion, for in a crowd I could have hardly had the same means
of really knowing you or Mr.  , or your own belongings ;
and a few Tory converts would certainly not have been a
compensation to me, or I had far rather trust to your own
advocacy of my conduct and my principles. Thank you for
the letter from Colonel Phipps. I have written to him to
day, and I hope that he will not think my wish to hear from
him any suggestion he may be kind enough to make a mere
compliment. He is a most valuable man to have in a
country where party and religious ( ?) feeling disturb every
thing, and where truth is next to impossible to find. What
a proof of this is the paragraph you send me in Miss H.'s
i 2

132 MEMORIALS OF
letter, which I return ! and this too in even a London paper,
though furnished of course by some Irish correspondent. It
is indeed a lesson to us to give no credit to abettors' stories,
whether of Protestant clergyman or Catholic priest, of
laymen or lawyers, gathered from such sources. I
have read Mr. Woodward's two letters, which I suppose I
owe to your kindness, though you do not mention having
sent them. They are excellent, and written in the true
spirit of a Christian pastor. Had his recommendation been
followed in 1832, the date of the first, I believe that not
only would such a measure have been practicable, but that
all the contention which has since taken place upon tithe
and Church matters in Ireland would have been avoided;
now, it is alas ! too late — both parties, but the Church most,
would regret such an arrangement.
I visited the schools in Dublin, and attended the Board as
I told you, and I hope did some good, for I found the latter
very much set against village schools, and anxious to devote
all their funds to a better class of schools in town — a plan
which I strongly objected to, and prevailed against. The
misfortune of the Dublin Board is that its members know
nothing of the country. They compose excellent books of
instruction, and have organized at their own schools, and at
some of those in the towns a good system of teaching ; but
they do not know anything of the working of the schools in
the country districts, and therefore are quite ignorant of
the moral and social results which are to be expected from
them, and which are indeed already apparent there. I would
gladly improve the teachers, and I think the normal schools
will in time do much towards this, but there can be no com'
parison between a school with indifferent masters, and no
school at all; and it is besides of the last importance to in
duce the gentry, most of whom are Protestants, to join in
the National system, by which alone we can hope to give a

LADY OSBORNE. 133
fair education to the Catholic poor. Funds indeed are
wanting, and greatly wanting, both for the improvement of
the system, and for its extension, and they must be had,
partly I think from Parliament, and partly from the Proprie
tors themselves. It is surely no less a duty to educate, than
to prevent starvation amongst the poor, and the proprietor
ought to be made to contribute to the one as much as to the
other. So that we must give if the system is to be made really
effective, to that we must come. I went from Dublin into the
North of Ireland, having appointed Captain Nicholl there to
go over some of the towns which are interesting with reference
to the Poor Law. I was pleased to find the schools there
working upon, the whole pretty well. In the towns at Bel
fast especially, far less jealousy upon the matter than I an
ticipated. Catholics, Presbyterians, and those of the Church
of England attending together, where the instruction given
is really good.
From the North of Ireland I came on here to pay an
annual visit, and shall remain in this country, either here or
at Howick (Lord Grey's) till I return to town the middle of
next month. Our party would astonish some of your Irish
neighbours, who think that different politics must make
people enemies. My host is a Whig, his son the Tory mem
ber for the county ; we have Lord and Lady Stanley repre
senting the Dilly — Lord Fitzharris an ultra Tory and
Orangeman — the Howicks and myself the government ; yet
we go on very harmoniously, talking a great deal of politics
and laughing a good deal at each other. I find nothing,
however, in this society, albeit composed of old acquaintances
and friends, which pleases me as much as our quiet and
rational conversations at Newtown, and I would willingly
exchange it if I had the power, for the side of the car from
Comragh, the pleasure of planning Irish improvements
with you, or trying to make  a Whig, instead of an

134 MEMORIALS OF
Orangewoman. But though the car will scarcely suit the
meridian of St. James, the rest may all be attainable there,
and I look forward with impatience to the time when it will
be, and only hope that your arrangements may bring you to
London early in the autumn. That more than any other
time is the period when quiet society is practicable there, —
before the full tide of what is called the London season sets
in, and makes people, as Mme. de Stael said of them, pre
occupied with only one idea, how they can possibly be in two
places at once. In the mean time you can give me no better
proof of your kindness than by letting me hear from you,
and grateful shall I be if you will bestow upon me some of
those half hours of your morning study of which you speak.
My address is for the present as I have dated this, or Godding,
Northumberland. I meant to have answered Miss Osborne's note, but I shall
lose the post if I do. So pray have the goodness to give her
the enclosed paragraph which I found in an Irish Newspaper,
and which I deeply regret to find upsets all the flattering
account of my reception at Stradbally which she sent me.
I should like of course to believe hers rather than this
sincere ? but I fear this is real truth. Adieu, my dear friend.
Believe me, Most sincerely yours,
C. Poulett Thomson.
Castle Howard, 29th November, 1839.
I delayed writing to you, my dear friend, because I
foolishly wished to send you at the same time the Bishop of
Norwich's charge, which you ask for in your last letter, I
had written to town for it, where it was not to be had, but
it was promised me from Norwich ; and at last it turns out
that it is out of print, and we must wait for a new edition.
I am provoked at having thus lost my time, and yet not done

LADY OSBORNE. 135
your bidding. Another time I hope I shall be more success
ful; and at all events I will not forego the pleasure of
writing to you, or the still greater one of hearing from you
whilst I look after any commission you may give me ; apropos
of these smaller matters, I must beg of you not to push the
principle which you lay down in your letter as to larger ones
too far. You are right, certainly, in the answer you gave
your applying acquaintance, as a general principle, but you
would not be using the principle of friendship on any occasion
on which you feel a realinterest for the applicant, and
think that I can be any service in furthering your wishes, if
you do not tell me frankly how I may be of use. My power
is very limited, but as I should be certain that you will feel
that if I could not comply with what you wished, it was the
power, and not the will, which was wanting, I should not
hesitate to tell you so ; and if I could I should have the great
pleasure of doing what was agreeable to you. I had, by the
bye, written as soon as I left Ireland, about that poor man
Sir E. Brydges, of whom you spoke. A few days afterwards
I saw his death mentioned in one of the newspapers, and
your benevolent intentions were frustrated. I was grieved
to see nearly at the same time the account of the death of
another person of whom you spoke in terms of regard, — the
ex-Queen of Holland — Hortense. It was singular that I
should be reminded of topics which we discoursed of together
so soon afterwards in so melancholy a manner.
There is much truth in your remark about the affair of
Colonel  . This business gave me a good deal of uneasi
ness whilst it was going on, and when I was consulted about
it, which was whilst I was at Newtown, I entertained doubts
somewhat like your own. By taking notice of the foolish
and wicked toast of the Battle of the Diamond " there
was the risk of making the man a martyr with a certain
party ; but the affair had already attracted so much attention

136 MEMORIALS OF
even before the Government took any steps, that it could not
sleep ; and then the only question was, whether a magistrate
should be permitted with impunity to celebrate an outrage
against the law which he is sworn to administer, which must
have been admitted if no notice had been taken by the Lord
Lieutenant, or by adopting a vigorous but just course, to risk
the excitement of some feeling amongst the very violent.
Upon the whole, and under the choice of difficulties which
was all that remained, the step taken seemed and still seems
to me the best. There is no one point of greater importance
in Ireland at the present time than to impress the people with
a conviction that the laws will be administered with impar
tiality — that the law is their friend, and not their oppressor ;
and how can they hope that this will be if they see one of
them charged with that duty triumphing in the violation of
it, attended too with the most revolting scenes of bloodshed
and cruelty upon an occasion where party feeling was con
cerned? The best feature in the condition of Ireland which
I have seen, is the increased confidence, or I am afraid it can
still only be called the dimi/nished dislike of the law, and it
is that feeling which, above all others, it is necessary to pro
mote. Persuade the people that the law is their friend— and
that can only be done by shewing them that it is impartially
executed — and they will cease to look to themselves and
their illegal proceedings alone for redress of their real or
supposed wrongs. They will seek the law which is for the
protection of all, and they will learn to respect it. For this
reason 1 would visit with severity, from whatever party it
may come, Orangeman or Catholic, any conduct which may
tend to check this growing feeling of confidence or impede
its progress.
After I left Chillingham, where I was when your letter
reached me, I went to Howick (Lord Grey's), to Lowther,
and one or two other places, and am now here on my road

LADY OSBORNE. 137
to town, and there is no flattery in what I told you of the
first place, and of our party there, and there is none either
in my repeating to you that in none of these visits I ceased
to turn with recollections of superior enjoyment to our quiet
days and evenings at Newtown. Nowhere, and with no one
of my older acquaintances and associates whom I have met
since we parted, have I found such community of sentiment
or so much opportunity and desire for unreserved and
frank communing, as then and with you. I attribute this,
amongst other things, to the entire absence of selfishness
which characterized all I heard from you, — a quality which I
fear is little to be found amongst the circle in which I move.
Polish, indeed, there is, and refinement, and that charm
which arises from the absence of any attempt at display,
which is the fruit of a long habit of society ; but there is
greater selfishness — little real desire to arrive at truth — and
a sort of conventional dislike of serious subjects, which,
although it leaves us amused, leaves us also uninstructed,
There is nothing to think over afterwards. With how much
pleasure I shall renew our conversations, of so different a
character, when we meet and recur to the topics which at
once amused and instructed me. There is nothing in a
London life which can prevent this. Those, indeed, with
whom I am now staying — Lord and Lady Carlisle — are less
open to the general charge I have brought than any other
of my friends, and I think you would, if you knew them, be
of that opinion. Lord Morpeth is your Vice-Governor, too,
and he is as deeply interested about Ireland, and all you feel
so much for, as you or I. In two or three days my holidays
expire, and I return to town. We — the unfortunate ministers
— must assemble to look into our matters on the 1st Novem
ber. I shall after that be, I suppose, a fixture in London
till Parliament breaks up, some time in August next year.
Your next letter will, therefore, I hope, bring me some

138 MEMORIALS OF
tidings of your plans. Tell Miss Osborne that the best sing
ing and drawing masters are to be had in November, and
that it is before Christmas that London is quiet, and she can
expect to execute her plans. You cannot well execute
improvements during the winter, and, at least in your absence
from Newtown, you have a good substitute in  . I am
delighted, indeed, to hear that you have set about improve
ments at Glenpatrick. The pigs in the houses, and the
dunghill outside it, are what Miss Ponsonby told me were
the " pons asinorum " of the Irish cottier, but at Besborough
they have vanquished this difficulty, and I doubt not if
Miss Osborne will offer a small premium for the neatest
garden and the most pigless cottage at Glenpatrick, it may
be achieved there. But I must not let my Irish instructions
run away with me.
I am sorry for your friend, Miss  , whose letters gave
me a good opinion of her good sense and good feeling. Two
persons in the relation of husband and wife cannot differ in
so vital a point as their religious creed without great risk of
loss of happiness, and a foreigner, however agreeable as a
companion, must have tastes, feelings, and instincts, which
are hardly reconcileable upon the long run with those of
either Englishman or woman. I have seen two experiments
of this kind, unfortunately, even without difference of
religion, and both proved failures.
Adieu, my dear friend. Write to me to London. That
address will be sufficient.
Remember me to Miss O., and believe me,
Ever yours, most sincerely,
C. Poulett Thomson.

LADY OSBORNE. 139

Whitehall, 14th January, 1838.
A thousand thanks my dear friend for your letter, which
made me more than ever regret the perpetual worries of
business which has been the cause and the sole cause of my
being so bad a correspondent. To receive your letters and
to write to you are to me very great pleasure, but alas !
pleasures of any kind have been rare with me since my
return to town. Days in one's office, and nights in the
House of Commons have left me but little time for them ;
and to this, not to any diminished regard, you justly impute
my silence.
At the risk of your saying that you can only rouse me
by a commission, I will first discharge myself of that which
you give me in your last letter. . . .
I have been delighted by the account your letter gives of
your occupations,gaieties they seem to be rather than pleasures.
There is, however, a pleasure to be derived from seeing
others amused and pleased, and by your mention of your
society and the mode of spending their time, this must at
least have been yours. I do not know the Tighes, though I
do her family and his very well ; but I have always heard
them most highly spoken of, and he has the character of
being one of the few Irish resident proprietors who really
occupies himself sincerely about the welfare of the peasantry
and tenants*
I expected that the Ultra party would attack your evidence
before the Lords, and you must have been prepared for it
too ; but such an attack is praise. To be willing to stand
boldly forward in defence of the truth is the greatest crime
in the eyes of the extremes of both parties, because their
object is to conceal and disfigure it; they live upon lies.
* It must be remembered how long ago this was written, and even since
then philanthropy has always been on the increase on their part.

140 MEMORIALS OF
To expose them is to take away their livelihood, and no
wonder that they should be angry. But you have the con
sciousness of having done right, and the esteem and regard
of all the right-thinking in return for your courage and
disinterestedness, and certain reward both here and hereafter
to support you against their attacks. Your archbishop, so
much our friend upon this subject, has gone absolutely raving
mad upon another — the Irish Poor Laws. He is denouncing
our bill without mercy. ... I expect to see him shaking
hands with O'Connell, who, on his side too, is doing all the
mischief he can to the plan. I am glad that the archbishop
at least is out of Parliament this year on this question.
What do your Tory neighbours say to the exposure of all
the lies which their press have been ringing the changes on
for four months about Irish disturbances and Irish improve
ments ? They had their own points of attack to choose, their
own ground to select, and their own time ; and yet, both in
Lords and Commons, they have miserably failed in making
out a single point, and Lord  , in the one house and
the two gallant Colonels  and  in the other, have
been compelled to retract, unsupported even by their allies.
I send you Mulgrave's speech, which is an exposure of the
attacks, and is worth reading. I have no fear, however, for
your politics, but I hope my fair antagonist  is whig-
ing a little too. I see you have a good deal to do with
Whig houses ; the Stuarts, the Tighes, and the Powers, will
do something towards her conversion, and London and the
Court will, I hope complete it.
You will come shortly I earnestly hope — the session open
ing so much earlier than we expected, the 16th instead of
the 3rd of February ; you will find everybody come to town
much earlier than usual, and you will not lack visitors. We
the workers get little or no holiday. I shall go for a few
days only to Lord Lansdowne's next week, and then return

LADY OSBORNE. 141
for good. May your next letter then tell me that you have
fixed your plans and are actually preparing for the passage.
I need not say, my dear friend, how happy I shall be to hear
it, or how much more so to pay you my first visit.
Believe me, yours most sincerely,
C. Poulett Thomson.
S. Audley-street, 24th February.
Our notes crossed yesterday, my dear friend, so I must
both answer that and ' queries' of to-day at once.
I shall be always happy to meet anybody at your house
whom you admit there ; but I need not add that the party
you mention, being most of them people I know well, will
be more agreeable than strangers, and I thank you for your
kind consideration in thinking of that. Sir  is a gentle
man, and I believe thoroughly honest in his opinions, though
rather changeable, since I remember him a violent advocate
of O'Connell, when Dan was far more violent than now. He
must be very weak to be swayed by a hypocritical adventurer
like  .
I sent for the book. The motion on Tuesday is not, then,
the one I alluded to. It will be an ultra-Orange attack only,
of the most violent, who will get a dressing for whatever
they may say.
1 am much better to-day, and look forward with hope to
seeing you even before Wednesday, though my doctor will
not answer for it. You forgot to return  Js letter.
Ever yours most truly,
C. Poulett Thomson.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I am delighted to receive your
remarks upon any subject ; they are always valuable, and
when our opinions may chance to differ, they are equally
acceptable, because they show that between us there is no

142 MEMORIALS OF
reserve. I suppose Sir G. alludes to what is to be done on
Molesworth's motion, which stands for Tuesday next. I
have no doubt that he and his followers will spit all their
venom on that occasion, for none are so venomous as turn
coats. I shall be very glad to hear what their tactics are,
however, if you hear anything to-day. I have been confined
to my room since Monday with a bad cold and swelled face,
and I am afraid that it will be many days before I get out
again. Ever yours, most truly,
C. Poulett Thomson.
Chines, Wednesday.
My dear Madam, — Most assuredly we do not forget our
engagement to-morrow, nor am I very sorry you cannot
come this evening, as my poor little party is so ill assorted ;
if you did, you would be discouraged from fulfilling your
rash promise of every Wednesday. There is more danger
of your wearying of your engagement than of our tiring of
your company, in which we find such a rare union of talent
and warm affection. We thank you cordially for our share
in them. Ever most truly your Ladyship's obliged,
J. S.
Chines, 12th February, 1835.
My wife is out, my dear Lady, and you must excuse me
for answering in her stead. I give to your servant the
books, and to you many and many thanks for your kind
anxiety. I have got no cold, and felt happy to see you
some moments longer. Remember you promised to return
on next Wednesday, when you will find us, I believe, quite
by ourselves. I am, with the highest regard,
Your most obedient humble servant,
J. C. L. de Sismondi.

LADY OSBORNE. 143
Chenes, Octobre 25, 1835,
Votre lettre du 3 Octobre nous a trouves encore ici chere
Lady Osborne et quelque arretes que fussent nos projets,
quelque d^sir que nous eussions de passer en Italie, quelque
besoin que ma pauvre niece ait de nous depuis la perte de
sa mere et dans l'6tat de souffrance et de danger ou elle
se trouve, nous voyons bien que nous ne pourrons pas partir
avant quatre mois et nous nous estimons encore heureux si
dans les derniers jours de Fevrier le cholera est absolument
fini en Piemont dans toute la riviere de Genes et en Toscane,
si tous les cordons sont leves surtout par le Due de Modene
et de Massa qui dans sa haine de la liberte est tout heureux
de faire ex^cuter les mesures sanitaires avec ferocite, menace
de fair fusilier quiconque enfreindrait le moins du monde
les regies qu'il prend pour les quarantaines et ne connait
pas de meilleur moyen pour conserver la sante de son peuple,
que de multiplier les supplices ; nous sommes resolus a
passer derriere le cholera et de ne pas nous trouver sur sa
route et nous ne nous mettrons en chemin que lorsque
l'air sera purifie sur tout notre itineraire par Turin, Nervi,
G&ies Massa et Lucques. En attendant, nous vivons ici
a peu pres comme vous nous avez laisses; mais depuis
votre depart la society que vous avez rassemblee, me semble
avoir bien moins d'attrait, bien moins de mouvement Mr. de
St. Marsan est rentr6 en Piemont avec sa fille, Monsieur
d'Haussez et sa femme et sa fille avec lui et elles contri-
buent a le jeter dans une autre society que la notre. Mes-
dames Potoeka, Ossalynska, Gallitzin, nous ont presque
abandonnes les dames Stephenson sont venues s'etablir de
notre cote mais nous ne les voyons pas ; en tout je crois
que nous devenons sauvages et si Miss Catherine a la
bonte de se souvenir avec reconnaissance du terns qu'elle
a passe, k Geneve, au moins ce ne doit pas etre avec regret

144 MEMORIALS OF
cette vie, et ce mouvement qu'elle y trouvait me semblent
n'y etre plus ; mais sans doute ni elle ni vous chere my lady
n'etes troublees de regrets, nous sommes tous trois k Chenes
vivement sensibles k votre affection, nous en sommes fiers,
nous aimons a nous rappeler les heures si agreablement
passes ensemble, mais nous sentons et votre lettre nous le
montre plus clairement encore que vous etes a present
rentrees dans votre sphere de devoirs et de bienfaisance,
que personne ne peut vous remplacer au milieu de vos
domaines dTrlande, que c'est la que votre activite peut
s'exercer pour le bonheur de tout ce qui vous entoure,
combien, j'ai ete touche" de votre reception si tendre et si
enthousiaste qu'on vous a fait a votre retour dans vos terres,
quece sentiment d'affectiond'espoir etde confiance do tous vos
paysans devoit vous donner d'emotion ear il nous en donne
ici. Sans doute apres une si longue absence, c'etait moins
pour le bien que vous leur aviez fait que pour celui qu'ils
attendaient de vous, qu'ils exprimaient leur joie, ils sentaient
et vous sentiez aussi que Dieu et les lois de votre pays vous
les avaient donnes et que vous en etiez responsables. Tout
ce que les pauvres paysans pourront connaitre jamais de
bien etre materiel et securite dans leurs maisons de propriete
et confiance dans l'avenir, d'ordre meme, de nourriture
salubre, c'est a vous qu'ils le devront. Dans aucun autre
pays la richesse ne donne une influence si etendue, si directe
sur le sort des pauvres, pour vous c'est une magistrature
c'est presque une Principaut^. Ces douze cents pauvres
Irlandais qui se pressaient autour de votre voiture, qui la
trainaient en remplacant vos chevaux, qui remplissaient l'air
de leurs cris de joie en vous voyant, si vous tenez la main,
a ce que jamais le fernage la rente qu'ils paient pour la
terre qu'ils tiennent de vous ne soient excessifs k ce qu'il
leur reste pour recompense de leur travail, ce qui est le
droit des laboureurs, une chaumiere propre et saine, des

LADY OSBORNE. 145
habits aussi grossiers que vous voudrez mais au moins chauds
et entiers, enfin, une nourriture en parti animale en parti
vegetale, une nourriture qui ne se reduise pas a la seule
pomme de terre, mais ou le pain, le laitage et quelquefois
la viande entrent aussi, si en leur donnant des vaux d'une
certain dur6e (leases for many years) vous assurez l'avenir
aussi bien que le present, vous ne les rendez pas seulement
heureux, vous les rendez moraux, ils vous aimeront, ils vous
revereront et cet amour, ce respect sont le commencement
de toutes les vertus ; Tandis que c'est un poison dans le
coeur des pauvres que la haine et la jalousie, et comment y
echapperait quand il voit que sur la terre qu'il arrose de ses
sueurs, aucune partie du ble qu'il recolte, du beurre qu'il
manufacture, des cochons qu'il nourrit, souvent au milieu
de ses enfans ne lui demeure pour son usage et que souvent
son maitre qui nage dans I'opulence lui dispute jusqu'a sa
miserable pittance de pommes de terres. II faut le dire j'ai
eprouve un redoublement d'emotion et d'attendrissement sur
le sort du paysan Irlandais par la lecture d'un voyage de
Mr. Inglis en Irlande, des Irlandais que nous avons eu ici
cet automne nous assurent que le tableau est d'une verite par-
faite ; mais il n'y a pas besoins de t^moignages ext^rieurs pour
le faire croire. En lisant le recit de ce M. Inglis on sent qu'il
s'est mis eonsciencieusement a l'ceuvre, qu'il a vu de ses
yeux, qu'il est entre^ dans toutes les cabanes, qu'il s'est assis
a toutes les tables, qu'il a cause avec toutes les classes
d'hommes, qu'il demeura etranger aux partis, que quoique
fortement anticatholique, sa charite, sa bienviellance, s'eten-
dait a toutes les opinions. En lisant ce livre en famille
nous avons douloureusement souffert a penser que les
sujets d'unpeuple chretien et civilise pourraient etre reduits k
un si effroyable etat de privation, mais presqu' aussitot notre
pensee s'est reportee sur vous et nous nous sommes dit,
combien vous etiez heureuse d'etre a portee de faire tant de
vol. II. K

146 MEMORIALS OF
bien. Nous nous sommes dit qu' avec ce livre a la main,
entrant dans les cabines questionnant, voulant tout voir par
vous me'me vous seriez une providence bienfaisante, vous
pourriez repandre plus de bonhcur qu'il n'est donne" a aucun
mortel d'en faire.
Croyez chere Lady Osborne que ce bonheur que tous les
bonheurs entrent toujours dans les vceux pour vous de tous
les habitans de Chines. Conservez leur je vous prie votre
affection et celle de Mile, votre fille,
J. C. L. de Sismondi.
Chenes, pres Geneve, 6 Juin, 1825.
Mille graces chere my Lady, de la bonte, que vous avez
eu de me donner de vos nouvelles de Paris, mille graces,
des expressions d'affection, de tendre souvenir que je trouve
dans votre lettre et de l'esp^rance qu'elle me donne que
nous vous reverrons ici. Ma femme et ma soeur n'y seront
pas moins sensibles que moi ; tous ceux a qui vous me
chargez de vous rappeler le seront sans doute egalement a
mesure que je pourrois les voir mais depuis quelque terns
nous avons vecu aux solitaires. Je n'ai vu je crois de vos
amies depuis votre lettre que la Reine Hortense qui repartoit
pour Arenenberg le jour me'me on je l'ai recu et la Comtesse
Potocka, toutes deux m'ont charge^ de vous temoigner tout
le prix qu'elles mettent a votre souvenir.
Je m'attendois chere Lady Osborne a ce que vous repon-
driez par lettres, le sujet de nos fr&juentes discussions. Je
crois que je vous ai fait peur d'y rentrer, en vous disant que
je les craignois mais c'est seulement de vive voix que je
m'y refuse sur des sujets qui tiennent de si fort au cceur, ou
Ton confond si ais^ment la persuasion qu'on sent en soi et
que 1'on appelle foi, avec un vertu, un devoir, les opinions
contraires aux notres vous froissent, vous provoquent sou
vent'; je sais qu' avec plusieurs, avec vous me'me peut 6tre,

LADY OSBORNE. 147
commencant par proferer la communion des sentimens reli-
gieux entre toutes les croyances, j'ai tout a coup pass6 a des
argumens hostiles presqu' a des personalites, parceque je
sentois de la part de l'antagoniste, non plus discussion mais
blame. Je saisis avec empressement cette occasion de
m'expliquer avec plus de calme. Je le fais en Francais
parcequ'on n'est jamais soi que dans sa propre langue et
pour cette raison meme je vous demande de me repondre en
Anglais. Je ne suis point de l'eglise de Geneve comme
ayant des opinions communes avec son clerge ; mes opinions
sont a moi seul, personne n'en est responsable, mais ce que
j'aime, ce que j'admire dans l'eglise de Geneve, c'est sa
liberality, c'est sa volonte ferme de ne jamais rechercher les
opinions et de ne demander aux croyans que l'accord des
sentimens d'adoration, de respect et d'amour pour Etre, des
Etres, c'est aussi que non seulement elle est grande deja,
mais qu'elle est destinee a le devenir toujours plus a m^sure
que l'lmmanite se fera des idees toujours plus pures toujours
plus relev^es du Dieu et l'Univers.
II faudrait etre bien aveugle en effet pour ne pas recon
noitre que depuis l'origine du genre humain Tidee de Dieu
a grandi sans cesse, s'est epuree sans cesse, s'est approch^e
toujours plus d'une verite que nous ne comprendrons jamais
entierement parcequ' elle est trop sans mesure, pour l'intel-
ligence humaine, Dieu a ete compris par les premiers
hommes uniquement par instinct, par ce sentiment de respect
et d'amour pour l'inconnu qui les protege, sentiment im
plant^ dans leur cceurs mais auquel leur intelligence ne
pouvoit pas se proportionner, parce qu'ils ne connoissoient
presque rien du monde visible, que celui se finissoit avec
leur horizon, aussi ils adorerent Dieu dans le torrent qui
les menacoit, dans la foudre qui grondoit, dans le soleil qui
les eclairait, les echauffait et vivifiait la nature. Le fete-
chisme et l'idolatrie furent les premiers hommages du coeur
k 2

148

MEMORIALS OF

religieux, au createur, et au bienfaiteur du monde, hom-
mages cependant entasses d'erreur, aussi la premiere reve
lation vint elle ramener I'homme a son maitre, " Tu n'auras
point d'autre Dieu devant ma face," elle est toute entiere
dans ces mots la, et cependant les mots memes sont propor
tion's a la faiblesse humaine. Point d'autre Dieu, comme
s'il pouvoit y avoir un autre ! Dieu comme si l'etre qui
remplit et anime et protege I'univers, jusqu'a ces etoiles dont
la lumiere n'arrive a nous qu' apres des milliers d'annees
pouvoit 6tre compare a aucun autre 6tre, pouvoit laisser
place a aucun autre Dieu ! Mais celui qui inspiroit Moise
vouloit avant tout, 6tre compris de 1'adorateur des fetiches-
II proportionnait son langage a l'intelligence des hommes,
il l'a fait alors, il l'a fait depuis dans la seconde revelation
adressee au genre humain plus avance, mais bien loin cepen
dant du tems de Jesus Christ, de connoitre comme aujourd-
hui I'univers, de pouvoir comprendre comme aujourd' hui
le Dieu de I'univers. De la dans les ecrits des temoins qui
ont recueille ou rapporte par ou'i dire les paroles de l'envoye
de Dieu une foule d'expressions empruntees au langage des
polytheistes, au millieu desquels ils vivaient.
L'essence de la seconde revelation, c'est ordre de servir
Dieu en esprit et en verity, c'est la spiritualization du culte.
A ces deux revelations resistent, non pas seulement les
impies, mais deux classes de personnes qui se croient reli-
gieuses, et qui de bonne foi en effet veulent se rapprocher
de Dieu, mais qui l'attirent a elles au lieu de s'elever alui>
qui le font a leur mesure et a leur passions au lieu d'epurer
elles memes a son image. Ces deux classes sont les femmes
animees de l'esprit du fetechisme et les prStres qui veulent
de grandir par le sacrifice. Les femmes et une foule
d'hommes qui sont femmes ne peuvent s'elever a l'etre,
esprit et verite, elles ont besoin de se faire en Dieux qu'elles
comprennent, qu'elles aiment personellement, qu'elles voient

LADY OSBORNE. 149
presque. Dela la renaissance dans le Christianisme du culte
des saints, du culte des images et surtout et, toujours de
I'antropomorphisme. Les pretres ont fait metier du culte,
ils ont vecu de l'autel et se faisant illusion sur leur impor
tance, de bonne foi peut etre, ils ont propitie Dieu, ils Font
traite comme un tyran farouche qu'on ne satisfait que par
le mal qu'on fait en son honneur. Ils lui ont offert le
sacrifice de l'innocent pour le coupable, de la s'abord les
victimes humaines puis les betes substitutes aux hommes,
dans le sacrifice, puis le sacrifice de la messe, puis le sacri
fice de Dieu lui meme a Dieu, voila Sacerdoce qui se dit
orthodoxe se defend aujourd' hui comme dans son dernier
retranchement. Les uns et les autres s'efforcent a mes
yeux de faire retrograder le genre humain, de repousser
d'aneantir le bienfait des deux revelations; mais ils le font
de bonne foi : " Ne les jugeons point afin que nous ne soyons
point juges." Ma dissertation risqueroit d'etre bien plus
longue que mon papier mais je m'arrete en vous einbrassant
bien t'endrement.
J. C. L. de Sismondi.
Crenes, 12 Juillet, 1835.
Je viens de recevoir votre lettre du 4 Juillet chere Lady
Osborne, et je sens le besoin d'y repondre k l'instant meme,
je vois qu' elle vous a donne" l'impression que, "I felt dis
pleased with you when I wrote." J'en suis vivement chagrine,
rien n'etoit plus loin de ma pensee ou de mon sentiment. Je
ne veux pas laisser passer vingt quatre heures sans vous dire
et ma reconnoissance de votre bienveillance et mon tendre
attachement pour vous et l'assurance bien vraie que vous
n'avez jamais rien fait, que vous n'avez jamais rien dit qui
put le diminuer. C'est moi qui dois avoir ete en faute pour
vous donner cette impression et comme c'est sans le vouloir
je cherche qu'elle en peut avoir ete la cause. II faut que ce

150

MEMORIALS OF

soit cette malheureuse controverse, je vous disois souvent et
k la Servette et a Chines que je la redoutois de vive voix que
je la croyois toujours contraire a son but, contraire k la
charite, j'ai cru que la plume a la main lorsqu' on a tout le
tems de peser les expressione on serait plus maitre d'ecarter,
de supprimer tout ce qu'elles ont d'hostile et je me suis
trompe. Ma regie de ne jamais attaquer les opinions re-
ligieuses d'autrui est done encore plus gen^rale que je ne la
faisois, je l'adoptois pour la conversation elle doit s'etendre
egalement k la correspondance. Sans doute toutes les fois
que l'occasion nous en est presentee, que nous pouvons le
faire sans avoir l'air de vouloir enseigner, sans nous arroger
aucune superiorite sur les autres, nous devons contribuer a
repandre, a fortifier les sentimens d'amour et de confiance
en Dieu; ils appartiennent a toutes les croyances et dans
toutes, ils sont egalement constans et edifians, mais nous nous
trompons nous memes, nous prenons notre preventions pour
un sentiment religieux, toutes les fois que nous travaillons
a detruire dans le coeur d'autrui une croyance pour sub-
stituer une antre. Nous faisons ainsi un mal religieux, car
nous avons bien plus d'influence pour ebranler la foi existant
que pour en fonder une nouvelle, nous faisons plus certaine-
ment en eux un mal moral car quelque management que
nous y apportions, blessant les gens dans la partie la plus
sensible, nous faisons naitre une irritation, un besoin de
combattre et de vaincre ; souvent m6me, un d6sir de faire
sentir a notre tour notre aiguillon, qui sont les plus con-
traires de tous k la charite. C'est done, de tout mon coeur
queje repete apres vous chere my Lady, "point de controverse
entre nous," pas plus par lettre que par conversation. Je
voudrois pouvoir engager tous ceux qui ont excite a Geneve
des querelles religieueses a le sentir comme nous , et a dire
comme nous, "point de controverse!"
Depuis que vous nous avez quitte nous avons eprouve un
grand chagrin, ma femme a recu la nouvelle, de la mort tout

LADY OSBORNE. 151
a fait imprevue d'une soeur Mrs. Drewe, qui 'etait l'objet de
notre amour et de notre v6ne>ation k tous. Mes deux dames
en ont eprouve la plus vive douleur. Selon votre usage
Anglais, qui me paroit au restefort raisonable, elles ne veulent
voir absolument personne, mais je ne trouve point qu'elles
reussissent comme je leur avois vu faire dans d' autres
occasions k reprendre l'empire sur elles memes. Elles sont
toujours egalement absorbees, je ne sais s'il ne seroit point
sage de recourir a quelque consolation exterieure, Vous
savez que nous avons resolu un voyage en Italie et que nous
comptions partir le 25 aout. Je me demande aujourd'hui s'il
ne seroit pas convenable d'avancer notre depart et de leur
faire trouver cette seule distraction a laquelle l'ame affligee
se pr6te, cette succession d'objets qui frappent la vue en
voyage et qui renouvellent malgre vous vos idees ; ce petit
travail aussi de la vie materielle anquel il faut bien songer,
quand on change chaque jour ses habitudes, ce doute,
cette incertitude sur le lieu oil nous serons dans un mois,
font que je ne saurois guere a present vous donner d'adresse
pour me r^pondre. Notre domicile final sera cependant
toujours Chenes, c'est Ik que j'espere que nous revien-
drons plus calmes, la que je me flatte chere Lady que
nous vous reverrons. Je crois que vous ne vous considerez
point comme liee a une demeure fixe, que vous mettez en
deliberation oil vous passerez l'hiver, que vous hesitez entre
les trois royaumes. Vous aimez la Suisse et je ne doute
point alors que vous n'y reveniez. Jamais il me semble
elle n'a ete plus belle que cette annee. La saison a ete
ravissante, les chaleurs ni la s^cheresse n'ont point et6
excessives et la verdure est eelatante comme au prin-
tems, en meme tems que toutes les r6coltes sont abondantes,
et qu'on voit la prosperity dans tous les menages de
Paysans . . . Ma femme vous remercie tendrement du
soin que vous avez pris de sa chaine et du sage parti auquel

152

MEMORIALS OF

vous vous etes arretee Recevez aussi l'expression de mon
bien vif attachement presentez mes vieux hommages a
Mdlle. Votre fille, je sais bien qu'elle ne les recevra qu'en
attendant mieux et conservez moi votre amitie\
J. C. L. De Sismondi.
Pescia en Toscane, 4 Avril, 1 836.
C'est ici chere my Lady que votre lettre du 23 Fevrier
m'a ^te renvoyee, c'est ici que je vous prie de m'ecrire encore
car nous y sejournerons probablement jusqu' a la fin de
l'automne et apres vous avoir fait en hiver un voyage dans
ITtalie meridionale probablement nous reviendrons passer
encore quelques tems a Pescia au printems prochain. Cette
petite ville sur la route de Lucques a Florence est a 10
milles de la premiere ville a 34 de la seconde, a 14 de Pistora
a l'endroit ou une riviere nominee aussi Pescia sort des
Apennins et fertilize par des eaux abondantes le pied des
collines et les magnifiques plaines qui s'etendent jusqu'a
l'Arno La petite maison que j'y possede est sur la pente
d'une colline toute couverte d'oliviers, le petit bassin qui
contient toute ma propriete est plante d'oliviers, de vignes de
figuiers, d'arbres fruitiers de tout genre tous en fleur a
present et dans les haies, le laurier le grenadier, le myrthe,
l'arboussier, presentent l'image du midi sauvage tandis que
le jardin est rempli d'orangers, et orne' d'un gigantesque
palmier et d'une mimosa d'Egypte, notre maison est tres
petite, pauvrement meublee, mais il est impossible de voir
une situation plus riante ; des petis sentiers en terrasses qui
parcourent toutes ces collines, nous ouvrent des prome
nades infiniment variees et dont chacune, presente a son
tour, des points de vue ravissans. Ce n'est point ici que ma
famille avoit autrefois des possessions, elles etaient sur
I'autre versant des Monts de Pise qui bornait notre horizon,
mais il y a quatre cent trente ans que mes aneetres furent

LADY OSBORNE. 153
exiles de ce pays et que toutes leurs proprietes furent con-
fisques. Nous sommes partis de Chenes le 1 1 Fevrier, nous
nous sommes arretes quelques jours a Turin et a Genes et
cependant nous etions ici avant la fin dumois. Depuis
quelques jours nous sentons un retour de l'hiver, des vents
tres froids, des pluies et la neige sur les montagnes mais
nous n'en eprouvons pas moins une jouissance continuelle
dans le spectacle que nous offre la nature; il semble que
comme nous vieillissons la societe perd pour nous de son
charme, I'homme nous occupe moins, tandis que la magnifi
cence de la nature nous parlent un langage plus vivement
senti et ramenent plus constamment nos pens^es et nos coeurs
vers le grand bienfaiteur, le Pere commun qui a seme a
pleines mains sur la terre, les e!6mens du bonheur pour tous
les homines. Au contraire les institutions humaines sont
faute de presque touses les souffrances et presque tous les
malheurs, et a cote des infortunes qu'on fait, les mauvaises
lois et les mauvais gouvernemens, se place le mauvais pretre,
qu' s'est fait un Dieu a son image, un Dieu exclusif et cruel
un Dieu qui condamne tous ceux qui n'ont pas compris son
essence incomprehensible et qui punit comme heretiques,
tous ceux qui ne pensent pas comme ce pretre. Oh ! comme
la nature est belle ! et comme elle tourne les coeurs vers la
piete et comme I'homme refroidit ces doux sentimens!
I'homme surtout qui a usurpe le pouvoir et qui se dit le
representant de Dieu, I'homme encore qui vent diriger les
consciences, et qui se dit l'interprete de Dieu, qui se dit
orthodoxe et qui se dit Saint. Nous avons quitte Geneve
dans un mouvent oil des calamity domestiques sembloient
frapper de toutes parts nos amis et nos connoissances. II y
a peu de families qui n'ait pas perdu quelques uns de ses
membres; quelques uns de nos amis et une cousine qui
m'etait bien chere, (la parente que j'aimois le plus), sont
mortes encore apres notre depart. Ici aussi je trouve de

154 MEMORIALS OF
nouveaux sujets ou de deuil ou d'inquietude, je suis sur le
point de perdre un neveu de 23 ans un jeune homme de
grande esperance mais qui - je n'avois pas vu depuis son
enfance. J'ai en meme tems une niece que j'aime tendre-
ment et pour laquelle nous sommes venus ici dont la vie est
menacee par des maladies violentes. Ilya done de tous
les cotes de la tristesse et de la crainte. Cependant il y a
encore bien du bonheur dans l'etat interieur de notre famine.
II y en a aussi dans le travail; j'en avois pent etre abuse a
Geneve depuis votre depart je n'ai je crois publie pas moins
de trois volumes, un quatrieme doit avoir paru au commence
ment de ce mois a Paris sous le titre, " Etudes sur les
constitutions des peuples libres." Je desire fort que vous
vous le procuriez et que vous me disiez quel jugement on
en porte autour de vous. C'est un envoi de paix, de
reconciliation que j'ai voulu faire, et il pourrait fort bien
arriver qu'avec cette pretention je provoque egalement tous
les partis contre moi. Ici je vais preparer un ou deux
autres volumes sur l'economie politique qui feront suite a
celui la et je traiterai en particulier la question des agricul-
teurs en Irelande, et les moyens de les ramener a i'independ-
ance qui leur est due. Car votre lettre, de meme que toutes
les informations que je recois; montre clairement que leur
etat actuel est un opprobre pour un peuple chretien civilised
et libre mais depuis que je suis ici des distractions con-
tinuelles ne me permettent de faire que fort peu d'ouvrage.
Ma femme et ma belle sceur jouissent comme moi de
l'ltalie cependant il semble qu'il leur faut un peu de seasoning
avant de s'accoutumer a un nouveau climat, elles ont
beaucoup maigri, elles ont perdu leurs couleurs et sans etre
malades elles me donne de l'anxiete. Ma femme me charge
de vous dire combien elle est sensible a votre souvenir,
combien votre amiti£ lui est precieuse et combien elle accep-
teroit avec empressement l'hospitalite que vous nous offrez,

LADY OSBORNE. 155
si des liens de famille ne nous retenoient, ne nous en-
trainoient sans cesse dans un sens oppose. Elle et moi nous
vous prions aussi de nous rappeler avec affection a Miss
Catherine, Chere Lady Osborne conservez nous a tous votre
amitie et soyez assuree que c'est un souvenir bien doux pour
nous que celui du tems on vous nous avez l'accordee.
Adieu. J. C. L. De Sismondi.
Rome, 8 Avril, 1837.
C'est a Rome chere Lady Osborne que j'ai recu votre
lettre du 23 Janvier. Ne croyez point encore que j'ai tarde
pres de six semaines a y repondre, que je n'ai pas ete vive-
ment sensible a l'amitie qu'elle me temoigne, qu'elle n'ait pas
eveille en meme tems toute ma curiosite et tout mon interet
mais j'avois beau me sentir impatient de vous remercier de
vous parler de mon sincere attachement, de vous dire en
m.6me tems avec combien de plaisir je voyais la nouvelle
direction que vous donniez a vos efforts, combien je voyais
de sagesse et de vraie religion dans votre reunion, avec ceux
of the Board qui s'efforcent de reformer l'education par un
systeme de concessions reciproques et non pas la violence.
Je me trouve ici moins maitre de mon tems que nulle part.
Je ne fais rien, je n'apprens rien, je n'enseigne rien et
cependant je m'apercois que toutes ma correspondance est
arriere. Votre amitie me semble exiger que je vous dise
d'abord quelques mots de notre histoire, puisqu' il y a tout
juste, une annee que je vous ai' ecrit la derniere fois. Alors
nous etions etablis dans notre charmante solitude de Valchiuso
pres de Pescia, enchantes des fleurs, du paysage, du climat,
mais n'attendant absolument rien de la societe. Les enfans
de ma soeur dont nous nous etions rapproach6s nous causaient
beaucoup de chagrin, un des fils etant mort tout recemment,
un autre etait bien malade et ne tarda pas a mourir, la fille

156 MEMORIALS OF
ainee semblait dans un etat desespere de chagrin 
Sa sante s'est admirablement retablie et elle est a present
aussi heureuse qu'elle avait et£, longtems infortunee. Bientot
apres nous vinmes a Florence ma femme Mdme. Surtees et
moi, et nous y avons passe deux mois dans cette society
cosmopolite qu'on retrouve toujours la meme dans toutes
les grandes villes qui se compose d' Anglais, d'Americains,
de Russes, d'AUemands, avec chacun desquels on se trouve
tout etonnes d'avoir eu par avance quelque point de contact
qui vous amuse, qui vous interesse, qui vous exerce l'esprit
mais qui ne laisse pas de vous faire sentir sa profonde frivolite,
de vous inspirer un remords, de n'avoir pas un but plus
serieux dans la vie que le succes d'une soiree, et le brillant
d'une conversation. Rien ne fait plus plus sentir la maladie
universellede nos societes modernes ; tous lesrangs superieurs
n'appartienment plus a aucune nation, ils ne sont plus citoyens
que des salons. Ils tirent bien leurs revenus de l'Angleterre
ou de la Russie, ils conservent bien quelques prejuges
nationaux qui les empechent de s'unir franchement et de
coeur avec leurs semblables d'une autre race, mais ils ont
quitt^ leurs foyers sans se soucier des progres de leurs com-
patribtes, sans se rappler qu'ils n'ont droit a leurs revenus
que pour reveiller l'industrie de leurs voisins et contribuer a
leur aisance. On s'etonne a la chute des influences aristo-
cratiques, c'est l'aristocratie elle meme qui les a detruites,
les ancetres de ces Lords de ces Princes que je vois tour a
tour dans les salons de Florence et de Rome vivaient dans
leurs chateaux entoures de leurs vassaux qu'ils commandaient
a la guerre, qu'ils soignaient dans leurs adversites qu'ils con-
naissoient tous par leurj nom et auxquels ils inspiroient
aisement leurs idees et leur sentimens, mais quel lien reste
t'il a cette noblesse cosmopolite avec les provinciaux qui font
naitre ses rentes et qui les lui payent ? aucun que ce paye-
ment meme, est il etrange que ceux qui payent desirent le

LADY OSBORNE. 157
voir finir. Le 9 Fevrier nous nous revinmes en route a
Florence pour Rome ; une autre soeur de ma femme Miss
Allen est venue nous y rejoindre avec son neveu, nous
sommes ici pour huit jours seulement encore, fort desireux
d'aller a Naples mais resolus a ne point y entrer que les
cordons sanitaires ne soient leves l'esperance de les voir
supprimer me semble diminuer lous les jours. Alors nous
retournerons a Pescia oil nous serons dans un mois et oil
nous passerons encore une annee, j'ai dans cette intervalle
publie un second volume de mes etudes sur les sciences
sociales et peut etre l'et6 prochain en publierai-je un troisieme,
j'espere que leur caractere sera de plus en plus tolerant; plus
j'etudie ceux qui ne pensent pas comme moi et plus
j'arrive a comprendre que leur maniere de penser et d'agir
a aussi des motifs et des avantages. Cette intelligence ne
diminue point mon zele pour ce que je crois la veritd, mais
elle me confirme qu' on y arrive par plusieurs voies diverses
et elle augmente je l'espere, ma sympathie pour ceux qui
different d'avec moi. Je ne saurois plus dire, my lady,
avec combien de plaisir je vous ai vu entrer dans un sentiment
semblable pour ce qui concerne l'education des catholiques
en Irelande, et combien j'ai trouve de raison et de justice
dans les motifs que vous me donnez pour votre union avec
des hommes dont vous n'admettez pas toutes les opinions.
Vous avez la bonte de me promettre deux livres. The Dub
lin University Magazine, and A. B. Whately, Pol. Econ. II
n'est pas facile de les faire arriver si loin et les frais pour-
raient etre exorbitans mais si vous pouvez le faire, voudriez
vous les faire remettre a Paris a Messrs. Trentel et Werth,
mes libraires en les priant de les faire passer pour moi' a M.
Viesseux Gabinnetto leterario a Florence, si vous trouvez
quelque difficult^ attendez cependant que je me sois rapproche
de vous, car Dieu sait encore si vos livres ne seront pas
arretes a leur entree en Italie.

158 MEMORIALS OF
Mrs. Otis, m. 'a. interrompu, elle aussi etait venu voir
Florence et Rome ; elle repart incessament pour Naples oil
elle s'embarquera pour Marseille, elle me demande de la
rappeler a votre souvenir. Je ne pense plus que nous ayons
vu aucune autre de nos connaisances communes. Ma femme
me charge de vous dire tout son attachement.
Daignez aussi recevoir l'assurance d'une affection bien
sincere et bien vive comme de mon respect. J. C. L. De Sismondi.
Rappelez nous les uns et les autres a Miss Catherine.
Chenes, October 1, 1841.
Thank you warmly, my dear Lady Osborne, for the most
agreeable way in which you could have awakened our love
of you, if that had been necessary, by sending your friends
to us, and with so kind a letter ; they could not have been
but welcome, even without the aid of their own merits.
They have made only an apparition, and are already about
to depart, which we regret ; but you promise to come your
self next summer. Shall we be here to profit of it ? It is a
question I put to myself with some anxiety. Sismondi is
labouring so indefatigably to be ready to go into his dear
Italy that I have my fears. He is now writing the 27th
vol. of his history of the French ; he is already in the reign
of Louis XV., and he draws up at the Revolution. I have
never seen him work with such pertinacious vigour ; he does
not quit his desk for an hour in the day. It seems as if his
whole existence was there ; yet he has a sort of malady that
from its persistence might well make me uneasy if I perceived
it affected his health ; this sounds somewhat of a riddle, but
there it is. Ever since our visit to England he has been
afflicted with what he calls a hiccup, but which is in truth a
sort of ebullition of gas that seems to work in his stomach

LADY OSBORNE. 159
like a bottle of eau de seltz, and which talking almost im
mediately produces. It began with pain in the stomach, but
that has ceased ; and independent of this strange symptom of
disorder I should say he was remarkably well ; his appetite,
sleep, and strength are undiminished ; but as he takes no
exercise whatever he is become very fat. I am in constant
dread this sort of life must end in mischief, but the physi
cians assure me not. May God grant it ! It has now lasted
18 months. It cuts us off from all enjoyment ; that of
society we have no more, for he dreads a visit which of half
an hour will bring on a hiccup of many hours ; and beside
that we have lost and are losing by death almost all our old
associates. This year the grave has closed over Madame
Neckar, Monsieur de Candolle, Monsieur de Chateauroux,
almost the last of his set, and the two friends he best loved.
We are left almost alone, and, alas ! too bereaved to stand
firm. I am become so deaf I am more an ennui to bear with,
than a companion to cheer him ; but I am well and strong,
and could still exquisitely enjoy the beauty of this sublime
land this lovely autumn if I could but prevail on Sismondi
to take a little excursion among its mountains for 8 days or
so, and try its effect on himself before we shut up for the
winter. The season is delicious ; there never was such an
opening of October. While I take my solitary turn round
the field I envy every one that can spread their wings and
take flight. My very soul longs for the mountains, and I
almost cried the other day in seeing the swallows making
their short joyous flights, and wheeling in the air preparative
to being off. Dear Lady Osborne, I wish we could pass
again the happy year that you were here ; we have had none
so pleasant since. We have your little landscape in our little
salon as a fond memorial of it. If you return here I am
afraid you will be far from finding what you left. And I
am so delighted with your impression of Geneva I should be

160 MEMORIALS OF
sorry to have it effaced. Nevertheless " come," only temper
your expectation to what we are, not were. If " our way
of life has fallen into the sere and yellow leaf," there are
other of your friends that you will find still young and
prosperous. The Meuniers, for instance. She has made great
progress in her art, and her husband in his mind, for all
clever people do ; he has been giving conferences that I hope
he will publish. Talking of mind, I greatly admire the
activity of yours, and envy the progress you have made in
the German language. I have this moment put down a trans
lation of scraps from a variety of the best authors, with
an enthusiastic feeling of admiration for its literature, and
an ardent desire that I could read it in its own dress.
Pray remember me most affectionately to Miss Osborne.
Je prens la plume des mains de ma femme car je veux une
place dans cette lettre chere Lady Osborne. Je me demandois
souvent comment notre correspondance avait cesse. Je
sentais bien que ce n'etait pas de ma part manque d'une
tendre attachement et de l'interet le plus vif dans tout ce
qui vous concerne. Mais nous avons sans cesse chang6 de
place Fun et I'autre et nous avions de la peine a savoir ou
nous retrouver je suis flatte et reconnoissant de ce que pen
dant notre silence mutuel vous aviez trouve moyen de con-
tinuer notre echange de pensees en lisant mes etudes sur les
sciences sociales. Helas, il y a dans les nations qui passent
pour prosperantes une se grande masse de souffrances que
je desire ardemment attirer l'attention vers ces etudes qui
seules peuvent y porter quelque remede. II me semble a mon
tour que jentrais un peu dans votre societe en m'occupant
des ecrits de votre ami FEveque Whately. Je voudrais
pouvoir vous envoyer une petite brochure qu'il m'a fait
ecrire sur les colonies penal es. Mais je ferai mieux, j'espere
si je vis pouvoir vous la remettre ici 1'annee prochaine. Ce
sera une grande joie je vous assure pour tous deux de vous

LADY OSBORNE. 161
revoir et quoique ma femme ait raison de vous dire que
nous avous bien vielli que nous avons bien perdu de nos
pouvoirs pour la societe, que nous sommes souvent bien
tristes, il nous reste pourtant un coeur chaud qui se sentira
rajeuni en se retrouvant pres de vous. J. C. L. de Sismondi.
Chenes, Dec. 9, 1841.
By this time you are settled in Vienna for the winter, and
I feel impatient to thank you, my dear Lady Osborne, for
the kindest letter that was ever penned ; for the tender
solicitude with which you prescribe for us ; for your fervent
memory of the past in which we had our share ; in short,
for all the contents of your sweet letter. It was a great
comfort and pleasure to us in circumstances still more dis
astrous than when I wrote. Perhaps you have seen some
thing of our political troubles in the newspapers, but where
you are perhaps the word " revolution " must not be pro
nounced. But I may tell you that ours has been completed
in a manner the most disgraceful on one hand, and the most
humiliating on the other, that can be imagined. The mildest,
most paternal government of the happiest and most prosper
ous people has been wantonly overturned in one moment
without a single person's knowing why. It is too long a
story to begin from the beginning, and living so apart from
the world as we do, we are not, perhaps, sufficiently well-
informed, as you may imagine, when I tell you that the first
intimation we had of any revolutionary disturbance was
from some compatriots of yours ; but to give you some idea
I will sketch a little of my imperfect knowledge.
On the 3rd of last March an association was formed of the
malcontents of the Canton, distinquishing themselves by the
title of " Convocation du 3 Mai." Government paid little
attention to them, and they amused themselves with meetings,
VOL. II L

162 MEMORIALS OF
talkings, and a bad newspaper employing the disgusting
fudge of the French papers to excite the people. Suddenly
they gained sufficient strength to summon the Council, with
much insolence of tone to advance the usual session and give
them a constituent assembly to new model the Constitution.
The Government which at first answered with dignity on
investigating the state of the public mind found they must
yield, and it was accordingly done on the 22nd. The
Council met, but the day before a mob assembled some say
in addition to the refuse of the people ; here there were also
the dregs of Gex, Ferney, and Savoy ; attacked the Maison
de Ville where " le petit conseil" were sitting to prepare the
law they demanded, and remained all night in riot on the
Traille and round the maison de ville. On Monday the 22nd
they still continued only in greater numbers, and with
vociferations interrupting the debate. The Militia, instead
of obeying the Government, grounded their arms, many
seduced and disorganized by their own officers. There was
nothing to be done but to grant them their frivolous desires.
The Government was not quick enough to please them and
they marched off to attack St. Pierre, in order to open it for
a National Assembly. In short, to quiet the tumult the
" Constituante" was hastily voted by a third of the members
and a new mode of election has been adopted to form the
" Constituante," at this moment the Republic is busy on all
sides with the preparatory work for an election of members ;
on one side for those who will preserve what they can from
the ruins of the old constitution, on the other for those
who will destroy all. Sismondi, who was twice prevented
from speaking by his own party, embodied in a little brochure
what he meant to say; I shall put aside a copy for you when
we meet. I acknowledge to you I thought it excellent, but
its success has surpasssed my warmest expectations. I
believe no pamphlet has ever had more effect, it has brought

LADY OSBORNE. 163
back many and enchanted them already with him, eight
editions are already exhausted, and it appeared only last
Friday, he wrote it in a few hours on Thursday morning, so
that with all his long sufferings the vigour of his mind and
fervour of feeling remain undiminished ; he received letters
of thanks from every one, and no one has met him since
without a grateful wring of the hand for the service he has
rendered his country. All this is consolatory, but it cannot
do away his sorrow, his humiliation, his regret for what is
destroyed, and accordingly his malady has been greatly
aggravated since. Dear Lady Osborne we had often tried
the simple remedies you recommended — magnesia, rhubarb,
soda, &c. — but without effect, and as half his complaint is
nervous on a very nervous habit we find that all remedies
are bad, and he is better when none are in operation and so
his medical men tell him that his malady is only to be cured
by care of general health and severe diet.
If I gave you a melancholy impression of Geneva in my
last letter, I have one far more so to give you now ; you can
conceive nothing more melancholy than the appearance of
the town and the countenance of every one you meet. Trade
already suffers, nothing is bought, not a dinner or soiree
even has been given since the political agitation ; no public
entertainment except the theatre, where the Marseillaise is
sung and to which, the gamins only go ; never was there in
a small place more bitter dissension, more strong hatred.
In the association are two or three of our friends who are
lost to us in a worse way than by death, which has already
taken so many. As you know so much of Geneva I may
give you the names ;  a Federal Colonel is one of the
most active and most mischievous members ;  another
but he has been silenced by an awful blow from heaven
itself, his daughter, his only child, the only thing he loved
on earth, and she was the idol of his soul as he was of hers
l 2

164 MEMORIALS OF
died of terror the day after the 22nd, occasioned by the
mob of his own exciting, and organized by his cousin  ,
a man who merits  more than many now in these lenient
times condemned to it.  is another member, but we
have reason to think a repentant one. I believe this is the
whole of their aristocracy— the rest are a few doctors, a few
regents de l'ecole and tradespeople. How glad I shall be if
we can meet and pass a little time together this summer,
that is the coming one ! S  says that if he finishes his
work he should be tempted to leave the place now so painful,
and try, perhaps, some of the German baths before he goes
into Italy, which he seems determined to do in the autumn ;
but if he is elected in the Constituante, of which I think
there can be little doubt, it must necessarily retard his
historical task; he so desponds of doing any good that he
heartily wishes to escape. It will be laborious and painful,
for every effort of his will be hotly combatted by active,
younger, and wicked men, but he must gird himself to the
strife. It is hard on him after fifty years, after having been
twice ruined and five times under imprisonment in his youth,
to find himself again in his old age retracing the same painful
steps, and perhaps again an exile ; for if the association de 3
Mars gain the victory, he, probably with many others, will
leave Geneva to their misgovern ment.
Dear Lady Osborne, farewell, do not give way to any
discouraging feeling in your literary efforts; we exercise
and improve no one faculty of the mind without raising the
whole moral being, the understanding is necessary to the
perfection of the soul. How many are, from defect of
judgment or want of thought, perhaps more than from the
heart ; God has granted us time and means for the cultiva
tion of both. We know not what thoughts, feelings, and
faculties are exercised and called forth even in the learning
of a language we may never be called upon to use. Go on

LADY OSBORNE. 165
then in those labours for which I so much admire you and
which bring them the " cui bono." Pray remember me affec
tionately to Miss Osborne. I should have great pleasure to
see her once more. I leave the remainder of my paper to
Sismondi who wishes to say a word for himself, and am ever,
my dear Lady Osborne, Affectionately and obliged, J. Sismondi.
" Monsieur de Sismondi's prevision regarding the future
of the present French Emperor should add weight to his
warning about the demolition of time-honoured institutions."
Chere Lady Osborne, — Je ne veux point que cette lettre
parte sans que j'y mette deux mots de tendresse et de recon
naissance et d'autre part je suis si decourage que je crois bien
que ce ne sera que deux mots. Ma femme vous a ecrit nos
malheurs mieux que je n'aurois su le faire mais toutes sortes
de douleurs se comblent dans celle que j,eprouve. C'est ma
patrie et vous savez qu'on Faime peut etre d'autant plus
qu'elle est plus petite, qu'on Fembrasse mieux d'un regard,
qu'on la saisit par les yeux du corps et non pas seulement
par ceux de l'imagination, et surtout quand elle est si belle.
Ce sont les institutions de nos peres qui sont tombees aux-
quelles nous attachions tous nos pieux souvenirs, tous les
honneurs de notre race, ce dont aussi sous plusieurs rapports
les r&sultats de mes propres efforts et ceux de mes amis.
Et ce que nous mettions a la place cette constitution a
laquelle je devais travailler moi meme sans espoir, sans
courage la pensee m'en est insupportable. Et puis la betise
de la race humaine me fait rougir, cette precipitation de gens
heureux dans I'inconnu par fatigue du bien etre, elle me fait
peur pour tout le monde, elle me fait peur pour vousmetnes
en Angleterre je vois un parti toujours nombreux a Oxfordi

166 MEMORIALS OF
abandonner l'une apres I'autre toutes les conquetes de la
Reforme, pour se rejeter dans FEglise Romaine. Votre
letter est si tendre chere Lady Osborne, qu'elle a redouble
notre desir de vous revoir, qu'elle nous a fait sentir que notre'
amitie n'etait point de celles que cree le voisinage et que
Fabsence detruit. Nous nous sommes au contraire unis
davantage encore depuis votre depart, nos idees se sont
rapproches, nos desirs s'harmonisent, nous avons desormais
des amis communs, et la famille Whately forme un nouveau
lien entre nous. Puisse ce desir croissant de nous revoir
surmonter tous les obstacles et nous rapprocher en effet.
Puissiez vous ensuite trouver le repos que vous desirez en
Irlande et moi en Toscane et puis, pres ou loin, soyez bien
sure que notre tendre affection et nos vceux vous suivront
partout.
J. C. L. De Sismondi.
Cresselly, November 26, 1842.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I was sad enough when I wrote
my last letter to you, but most blessed in comparison of
what I have been since and am now. When I was complain
ing to you of the losses we had sustained at Geneva, how
little I anticipated the one great one that hung over me, and
which would render every future one light : " One sorrow
that throws its dark shade" and for ever over me ; you knew
and loved him, dearest Lady Osborne, so warmly that you
must be for ever dear to me. Your last tender letters did
him good, and seeing you again at Geneva were among the
last pleasures he anticipated, even in the fatal month of June
we talked together of seeing you, but let me leave my
own sorrow a moment . . .
Thank you warmly for your most friendly invitation, but
dear Lady Osborne I am no longer presentable anywhere,
my sorrow has not apparently destroyed my health, but it

LADY OSBORNE. 167
has fixed its fangs on my heart, the circulation of the blood
is troubled and occasions such an astounding noise in my
head, as not only to make me completely deaf, but to render
me almost stupid. I seem to speak myself against a storm
and therefore know not well how to modulate my voice ; it
seems also to confuse my understanding, so that I am slow of
comprehension. This, added to dejection, renders me ex
tremely unfit for society, even of those who love me. I am
now with a beloved brother and sister, but I see no other
than such near relations, and in a week or two shall remove
to Tenby, to Mrs. Surtees, only who has tenderness and
patience enough to bear with me, and love sufficient to make
her task dear to her.
We wrote you a joint letter the 10th of May ever so late,
"the day after his last birthday," directed to Vienna ; we
found you would not get it, but knew not where else to
direct it. We were nearly sure you had left it, for you did
not seem to enjoy it much as a residence, but we trusted you
would have ordered your letters to be forwarded. I remain
in England over the next year, but if I live longer I hope to
return to my dear Chenes and its churchyard, where lie all
that is left of his earthly existence ; I have purchased my
place near him; would I could as easily secure the immortal
one in heaven — when that is accomplished I have nothing
more to do on earth. I will not further prolong this sad
return for your kind letter, than to beg my most affectionate
remembrance to your dear Catherine, and fervent wishes
for her happiness — hers will secure yours. Ever most grate
fully your ladyship's . Obliged and affectionate, J. De Sismondi.

168 MEMORIALS OF

My dear Madam, — I have been with my son at his living
in Hampshire, which has caused this delay in my answer to
your friendly letter, and in expressing to your ladyship how
much I was pleased and honoured by such a communication ;
but let me just assure you that you mistake Mr. Woodward
if you do not think that in him you have not only a stead
fast friend, but also a warm panegyrist, as it was his report
which so disposed me to fall in love with your ladyship at
first sight. You will readily excuse this playful expression
from an old gentleman like me, with his old wife to boot,
and put it down for what it means — a lively pleasure in
your society, a deep interest in your spiritual estate, and
a hearty wish to contribute in any degree to your well
being. And while I thus acknowledge your power, you
will not be disposed to abridge my Christian liberty in the
full and free expression of my sentiments, even where they
may differ essentially from your own.
You seemed to think in our last conversation that I wished
to draw you too much to a contemplative life. No, my good
lady, for this in your circumstances would be a sullenness
against Providence, which by its gifts of large means of use
fulness, and by investing you with such various social graces,
points out to you your calling. And indeed after reading
your enumeration of the large sources of happiness which
indulgent Heaven has placed in your reach, and finding all
this followed by the expression, " Yet I am not happy," I
could not but think there must be somewhat of the undisci
plined will of our first mother in Paradise ; and if the object
of this restless desire be the tree of knowledge, the likeness is
the stronger. But to speak more seriously, if we have faith
in the Christian religion, ought not such glorious truths
to make the favoured mortal happy — to whom they are
revealed; and if they do not so, may we not suspect that

LADY OSBORNE, 169
our faith is weakened, our mental vision dimmed by a latent
worldliness, and ought we not with the whole regulation of
our course of life to adopt those rules which may best con
tribute to restore our awakened minds to clearer vision, or
elevate us above the smoke and stir of this dim spot. And
this it is which makes me distrust the system of your friend
 ; that it does not make him happy, that he seems
scarcely to imagine a state of that sacred and homefelt
delight, that calm certainty of waking bliss, which I think
every chapter of the Bible speaks of as the privilege of
Christians, that which the Psalmist so sweetly describes —
" Thou shalt hide them privily by thine own presence from
the provoking of all men ; Thou shalt keep them secretly in
thy pavilion from the strife of tongues."
I speak to you in confidence. Though I know the high
talent of  , and respect his integrity and admire his
manly and generous sentiments, yet it does appear to me
that he apprehends religion too logically. He has worked
out for himself the problem of the truth of Christianity, and
would go to death in testimony of his convictions ; but he
does not seem to me to have gotten those new tastes and
affections which denote the new birth, and enable us instinc
tively to lay hold on God, and to see with the mind's eye
the adorable perfections of the Father, and the spiritual
beauty of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy One and the
Just, which at once decides the soul for ever, which now
devotes itself without hesitation, and solemnly adopts the
sentiment, " Whom have I in heaven but Thee, and there is
none on earth that I desire in comparison of Thee." . . .
I fear that some of the friends to whom you were so
acceptable have but a feeble hold of Christianity, and feel
inward scorn of its pure and lowly disciples ; but how am I
trespassing on your patience ? Do you not already repent
of your inviting such a correspondent? Truly I should be

170 MEMORIALS OF
sorry for this, as I do most gladly accept of your proffered
friendship, and am ready to profess myself your true knight
against all gainsayers. But in sober earnest I do assure you
that few things have given me more pleasure than the pros
pect of improving that friendship which you so graciously
offer, and it will be a strong inducement to visit Ireland that
I may hope to have freer and fuller discourse with you on
the best and happiest subjects. This letter I feel is no
answer to yours, but I would not defer, even for a day, to
assure you how gratefully and sincerely I receive your
kindness. Yours truly,
J. Dunn.
17, Chester Terrace.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I am very sorry that I am not
equal to the very agreeable engagement I had made for
this evening, but indeed I am not well, and was unable to
go to church yesterday morning. Will you please to give
the enclosed note to Mrs. Benson. I hope you will let me
know when you move into your house, as my lady wishes
much for the honour of being presented to you, and you
must soon fix a day, when we can have a conference from
six o'clock till ten. There is a good and very able man now
in London, Mr. Thomas Erskine, author of several valuable
tracts, whom I think you would like dearly, and I would
get him to meet you.
I remain, my dear Lady Osborne,
Yours truly and affectionately,
Jas. Dunn.

LADY OSBORNE. 171
17, Chester Terrace, March 19.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I have been in close attendance
at the death bed of an uncle of mine, who closed his mortal
career on Friday, and has left a widow and large family,
who needed all the consolation I could minister, otherwise I
should have called on you before this to inquire how you get
on in this wicked city. My lady has eloped from me for a week.
I have been greatly troubled with rheumatism in my head. I
think I have scarcely recovered the effects of my dissipation at
the Colosseum, so I must be on my guard how I follow where-
ever your ladyship may lead, to which I am a little too prone.
Yours, my dear Madam, very truly,
J. Dunn.
June 19.
My dear Lady Osborne, — You complained, and justly,
that I puzzled you with my metaphysics, but remember it
was at the unpropitious hour before dinner when Dr. Johnson
himself was stupid and cross, and if he were so, "non ego
homunculus ;" and now this fine morning, when I have slept
off the effects of your feast, and my eyes are no longer dazzled
with the golden embroidery of cabinet ministers, I must try to
incense you as to Coleridge's distinction between thoughts and
ideas, not that I defend his use of the word, which he bor
rowed from one of the peculiarities of Plato's doctrine, but
only to unfold his meaning, by giving an example as you
required. Thus, a single rose or a leaf in your hand suggests
a " thought," something that stands alone without connec
tion or consequence; but a seed which you are going to
plant affords " an idea," because it leads on the mind to
growth and expansion as containing a principle within it,
which is to work out its own development, and will go on,
if it gets fair play, to bring forth its proper leaf and flower,

172 MEMORIALS OF
full of beauty and fragrance. So when Coleridge speaks of
the idea of the constitution, he means some seminal principle
which is at work throughout it, and is continually producing
fruit of public freedom, security, and prosperity. This which
is called the heart of a country is to be discovered, and is
itself dependent on a large number of particulars, by ex
tensive acquaintance with its history, knowledge of its social
relations and habits, its popular customs and traditions, its
literature, and innumerable other agencies, which it requires
a comprehensive, a candid, and sagacious mind fully to em
brace ; and so must be formed our idea or leading principle
of Christianity, that vital truth or truths which, received
into the heart, grows up and expands into all the blessed
fruits of a holy life. This our Lord refers to when He says,
" One thing is needful." And again, " God is a spirit, and
to be worshipped in spirit and in truth ;" " make the tree
good ;" and when St. Paul says, " The law of the life of the
spirit has set me free from law of sin." All these passages
refer to some great principle, which by its vital working is
to produce in us all the fruits of holiness, and its end ever
lasting life. Now, to apply this, a man may make laws, but
if he does not know what is the heart of the country they
will prove finally inoperative ; so casuists may heap up
rules and make distinctions, but if they do not cherish the
vital principle of action, their rules will prove a dead letter.
So particular acts or offences suggest " a thought," but
every passion is an idea, because it works inwardly and un
seen to produce its own fruits of good or evil.
Now, my good lady, I beg of you to receive all this as
from the Pope, as infallible wisdom; though after all you
cannot see it to be quite so clear as I seem to think it, but
positively I can say nothing more upon the subject, and there
fore will be very glad to get Mr. Babbage's book, which you can
send to me by that very convenient system (whether a thought

LADY OSBORNE. 173
or an idea) called the Parcels Delivery Company. 1 like your
friend Mrs. Congreve exceedingly ; and my day was a
happy one, though I retreated so early from your circle of
fashionables, as they do not at all fall in with my idea of
social life. Believe me always, my dear lady,
Yours very truly,
Jas. Dunn.
June 25th.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I am obliged to go and see a
sick friend in Kent for a day or two, which will prevent my
calling on you with Mr. Babbage's book which I therefore
return, and hope when I next see you to talk over some of
his notions. He is a very clever man, and his illustrations of
the System of Providence from his calculating machine are
just and natural, and only follow up the argument of Paley
as to the mechanism of the watch. Many of his observations
I could not follow, not being a mathematician ; but as to his
notion of the everlasting continuance of sounds, surely all
the motions of elastic fluids may counteract and extinguish
one another, and so this multiplicity of sounds must be
diminishing every day by their mutual action and reaction.
But I have many other observations to make on it, and
therefore shall have the pleasure of calling on your ladyship
as soon as I return, and have a talk about that and other
things. Believe me, yours very truly,
J. Dunn.
My dear Lady Osborne, — Manjr thanks for your kind
visit of yesterday. I only went to see a dying friend at the
urgent solicitation of his wife, and I must assume an
obstinacy which you are not accustomed to from any one,

174 MEMORIALS OF
much less from me ; but for the whole of this week I must
refuse going out in the evening, but any day in the next
week I shall be happy to wait on you at the tea table. I
give up all dinner parties until after Easter — do not be sur
prised at this unsocial rule of mine, but verily I have attained
for the last year to such health of body and of mind from
this management of myself some of my friends abuse me.
" At mihi plaudo ipse domi, &c." I hope to call on you
between one and two to-morrow.
Yours, my dear madam, very truly, J. Dunn.
I wish to speak to you on behalf of an old friend and
curate of mine, Mr. Carr of Ross. 17, Chester-terrace.
My dear Lady Osborne, — Can you dine with us on Wed
nesday next the 20th ? Miss Catherine expressed a wish to
know Mr. Carlyle, and she will meet him here on that day,
and one or two other interesting persons. I am still much
of an invalid. Yours, my dear Lady O., very truly,
J. Dunn.
[These little notes are given for their vein of playful
courtesy, which is becoming rare.] February 19.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I find I must defer my expe
ditions with you until the weather is more friendly to my
crazy constitution, for even from my short flight to-day I
have caught cold. I hope, however, that this pleasure will
not be long deferred, and that under kindlier skies I shall
prove a better squire of dames. I was glad to see you fairly

LADY OSBORNE. 175
planted in a house which promises that I may often pay my
visits there until you get tired of me, which I can tell you
may be sooner than you think. With kind compliments to
your daughter, Believe me, yours very sincerely, J as. Dunn.
I hope you may sometimes see your landlord. I feel an
interest of late in Mr. Bulwer.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I do not call on you because I
despair of meeting you at home. Could you do such a thing
as breakfast with us on Saturday morning at half -past nine
or ten ? And you will meet one or two very good and clever
men; and if Miss Catherine could bring her beautiful
Arabian and allow me the honour of escorting her in another
ride, I should be duly grateful, as would become an old rusty
parson to be for such an honour. Believe me, my dear Lady
Osborne, Yours most truly,
J. Dunn.
July 24.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I should fee you instead of the
doctor as you really did me great good by the pleasant drive
and still pleasanter chat of yesterday. I hope to go to
morrow to Cheltenham, and my address there will be at Mrs.
Crofton's, 12, Priory-street ; and I hope you will write to me.
I very much regret leaving London at this time when you
would be so much more at leisure for receiving a friendly
visit, and I also regret very much having lost the opportunity
of improving your brother's acquaintance. Since my indis
position I have asked no oompany to my house, and in
London it is an affront to ask a man to your family party;

1 76 MEMORIALS OF
but I forget that your brother is no " Lunnuner," and that
probably I might have enjoyed some days in that way with
so very amiable and intelligent a companion, for which, in
the unusual depression of my spirits, I often sighed. But I
do not despair of finding you all here on my return. How
do I lose opportunities of pleasure and improvement, while
this wool-gathering pate of mine is occupied in far-fetched
reflections, instead of what is under my eyes.
Yours, my dear lady, truly and affectionately,
J. Dunn.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I have been so very weak since
I left London that I have scarcely opened a book, and they
also tell me that while drinking the waters I must write as
little as possible, but one or two lines I must send you to ex
press the pleasure I found in your last most friendly, though
too flattering letter, which I will answer at full length the
first day that I find myself equal to cope with such an accom
plished correspondent. Indeed my dear lady I feel your
partial kindness as quite a cheer to me in my pilgrimage.
Pray write to me whenever you can spare an hour and con
sider it is as it were a visit of mercy; and though I can
make no return, being stupid and old, yet this gives new
merit to your work. My kind remembrance to your daughter
and also to Mrs. Riall. I regretted much that I could not
cultivate her acquaintance. I think myself better, but for a
time I was convinced that you must elect another Pope, as
you seem to go upon the policy of the Cardinals, to choose
the most infirm of all the doctors that they might get rid of
him the sooner. You see I have a little fun still left in me,
but what will always remain with me is the warm and affec
tionate friendship with which I am always yours.
J. Dunn.

LADY OSBORNE. 177
17, Chester-terrace, August 5th, 1837.
My dear Madam,— I was on a visit to my friends the
Thorntons, at Clapham, or I should have answered your kind
letter sooner, and allow me to return my very cordial thanks
for its gracious communication ; and I hope that when you
come to London, you will let me know by a line that I may
have the pleasure of a little conversation with you, which is
better than epistolary greeting. I am sorry to say that I
can get no information about the Bristol and Water-
ford Packets ; my son, whom I despatched immediately to
make enquiries, called at three offices in Regent-street, and
one in Haymarket, but at all he received for answer that
they knew nothing of the times of the Bristol Packet sailing,
and this I have to regret that your first commission to me
should have been so unsuccessfully executed. I hope at all
times that you will employ me, and I can promise the utmost
diligence in your service. I shall certainly get the arch
bishop's sermons and read them attentively, and shall then
venture to give you my opinion. Do not suppose that I con
demn the exercise of intellect in religion, for man has
thoughts as well as feelings, and those must be engaged as
well as the latter, and when they are so on religion they
endear it and familiarize it to us by the pleasurable exercise
of our faculties, but we must not mistake this for the primary
faculty by which we allow the saving knowledge of God as
He is manifested in Christ. But by a higher faculty which
is called in Scripture the Spirit, which is the breath of God
in man, and is alone receptive of, and must be filled with,
that divine influence which is as necessary to our spiritual
life as the atmosphere we breathe is to our natural ; and
when this is once established then under its governance all
the minor faculties and tastes are usefully employed. But
all this you know, and I must conclude my letter, which I
vol. ii. * M

178 MEMORIALS OF
delayed in hopes of getting the intelligence you wished for,
until the bell-man warns me to close it. But believe me, my
dear Lady Osborne, /Yours most sincerely and affectionately, J. Dunn.
My dear Lady, — I rather wish that what I said to you
about Mr.'  should not be mentioned again, for reasons
I will tell you again. I do not think you had reason to be
angry with the letter you read part of to me this morning.
I assure you I receive letters from my own sister, who
belongs to a religious party, that would make a stranger
think I was an infidel, yet no one can love another more
partially than she does me. Pray, my good lady, is it not a
just and a good rule not to require sympathy from those to
whom you do not give it? this would limit and legalize our
love of popularity or general sympathy. It is equally un
reasonable and injurious to our happiness, to demand
sympathy, but in proportion as we feel it to another, and
pray as I do most fervently, that God would cleanse our hearts
that we may perfectly love Him, which can only be when
self-love is well nigh extinguished in us ; in short, my dear
lady, to be a Christian is a very sublime and arduous under'
taking, i. e., not to be a Christian, for this is peace, joy, and
love, not to become one ; for this we must cut off right hand
and pluck out right eye.
Ever, truly and affectionately yours,
Jas. Dunn.
I delivered Miss Warde's note with my own hand.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I am very sorry that I cannot
join your breakfast table to-morrow. I have been* obliged
this day to relinquish an engagement from finding :myself

LADY OSBORNE. 179
too unwell. I must apply Horace's advice to his friend,
" Loose the aged courser in good time from the car, lest
he break down at last." I return you  's letter, which
is clear and forcible, as is everything that comes from his
pen. He has indeed a masterly intellect, and fully deserves
the character of " sincerity;" though he does not seem to
me to have reached that beautiful quality described by
Fenelon, which he calls " simplicity," the total absence of
all self regard in what we do, either as to praise from others,
or complacency in our own talents. There are side long
glances to our reputation or our consciousness of power,
which are found out at length by an irritable sense of the
least slight, and a magnifying of all men who agree with
us.  finely reasons from the agency of the Holy
Spirit as the height of moral greatness to which we may
attain ; and I would further conclude that the operation of
such a divine agent would at length raise us into a state of
holy serenity, and a noble indifference to the opinions of
men concerning us, always attentive not to offend them, and
also to do them all good, but like the stream from the foun
tains of living waters, always clear at its source ; and when
subject to calumny or opposition, which, like dirt thrown in,
may muddy it for a moment, yet it soon, as it runs on, grows
clear and pure, and can reflect each happy object on its
banks, and also the heavens above. I have a little book of
yours, by the Archbishop, on money matters, which is a very
happy specimen of the mode of introducing knowledge to
the young mind. I shall bring it with me ; and truly this
good man is very highly gifted in various ways.
Believe me, my dear Lady Osborne,
Your affectionate friend,
Jas. Dunn.

m 2

180 MEMORIALS OF August 12.
My dear Lady Osborne, — As I do not go to Shooter's
Hill to-morrow, which, besides being a breach of duty, would
be also beyond my strength, which will be tried to the
utmost by preaching in such weather, I therefore cannot let
you leave this country without a few words from me of
most cordial greeting, and very grateful acknowledgement
of your unusual kindness; and believe me, my good lady,
that your friendship has been very pleasant to me, and
helped to cheer me on my pilgrimage. It is true that I feel
a strong conviction that you have sadly miscalculated both
my wisdom and piety, so remember that I warned you of
this, and do not therefore, when you discover the truth,
allow me to fall as much below the mark as you have now
raised me above it, but give me Sancho Panza's mark,
neither black nor white, but good brown ochre. However,
I confess even your undue estimate has a sweetness in it;
and as I am persuaded that where there is true principle
there must be a growth, so I hope yet to reach to the point at
which you have placed me, and I hope you will help me to
that by the free censure of all my faults as they may come
to light.
Believe me your Ladyship's obliged and affectionate
friend,
James Dunn.
17, Chester Terrace, August 16, 1837.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I really am vexed, or rather
let me say I ought to be so, by the extravagance of your
praise, which is given in larger measure than I have ever
before received from any of my fellow mortals. And I can
only picture myself as a traveller, who having been ship
wrecked on a distant shore, where the inhabitants were

LADY OSBORNE. 181
looking out for some great but unknown prince, mistakes
him for the expected visitor, and insisted on paying him all
the honours of royalty. How do you think he would feel
upon such an occasion? Even so do I when Lady Osborne,
influenced by her own ardent desire to find the good, and
guided by a bright imagination and an affectionate heart,
has mistaken me for one of those who are kings and priests
unto God.
You have clothed me, my dear lady, in a gorgeous robe
all of your own needlework, dipped in the colours of a rich
fancy, and a hearty intense desire to realize the image of
good. I wish I could say I was really angry with you for
such an error, but alas ! corrupt nature relishes but too
keenly the sweet poison, and I must feel myself under
penance for having felt so much pleasure from your praise,
for this is one of my many faults, which will yet develop
themselves to your eyes, and dissipate the mirage which
your intense desire to realize Christian goodness has con
jured up. This indeed is the source of much that the world
miscalls my virtues, an extreme desire to please, joined
with a quick sensibility to the feelings of others ; this which
is the basis of my old nature gives a grace to many parts
of my character, and finally imitates true charity, while it
really feeds the self central life, and is as far as the poles
are asunder from the Christian character, which is renewed
after the image of God in righteousness and true holiness.
Pray read Fenelon's beautiful comment on St. Paul's de
scription of charity in Cor. xiii., and then Leighton's Life
by Mr. Pearson as the best exemplification of it.
One of the secrets of my popularity has been, that I early
withdrew from the chase and the strife for this world's
honors and emoluments, partly on principle and partly from
taste, and therefore I stood in no man's way, so they had no
longer any motive to refuse me their good word as they

182 MEMORIALS OF
passed me by, giving me the praise of goodness, and think
ing me a fool for being content with it.
Here is a letter all about self, while I seem to disclaim it,
and therefore soberly, my dear and too kind friend, you
must no longer praise me. To enjoy your cordial and
Christian friendship has become a prominent wish of my
heart, but let it prompt us in all sincerity to help each other
to escape from the snare of an evil world, and to lay aside
every weight which may impede us in running the race set
before us.
Let me now answer your kind enquiry after my health ;
such enquiries are enough to make anyone well. I suffered
a good deal from my sermons, chiefly in headache. This of
late has been very troublesome, and it often makes me a bad
correspondent, but you may be sure I shall always do my
utmost to encourage you to favour me with a letter, who
write so sweetly and so well. I hope that if it please God
to spare us until your return to London, that I may be
allowed to enjoy many hours of your conversation, and I
hope it will not be without edification, as I am sure it will
ever be attended with a very lively interest.
Believe me to be, very sincerely,
Your affectionate friend,
J. Dunn.
17, Chester Terrace, Regent's Park,
September 80, 1837.
My dear Madam, — I have been a sad invalid since I last
had the pleasure of writing to you, having been confined
for near a fortnight to my room, which has interrupted all my
plans, and obliges me now, by medical order, to go for some
weeks to Brighton to brace me after so much confinement.
I write now partly to explain my change of plan, and also to
enquire if you received a letter at Bath, in answer to your

LADY OSBORNE. 183
most kind one; for as your ladyship did not mark your
direction there, I was obliged to direct mine to the post-
office, Bath, and I hope it has reached you. It is the fear
that this has not been the case that makes me trouble you at
present, when I am little fitted to write to so agreeable a cor
respondent, for I have been forbidden to write or read much,
as I have been much affected with headache. I hope my
head will not go wrong, for it is that must give its best
direction and worthy exercise to the intellect.
I have met of late with three admirable men, who, I think,
have seized on the very vital principle of the Gospel, and
whose conversation has deepened the sense I was beginning
to entertain of the glorious privilege of being a Christian,
and unto what a blessed state of liberty and light and love
it does, even at the present, introduce the faithful follower
of Christ, and how prepared we should be to sell all to serve
such a Master. How faint is language to express the deep-
toned feelings of the heart, to which God has manifested
Himself in His adorable perfections, as exemplified in our
Lord and Saviour Christ, and how should the heart be pure
and vigilant and devoted which seeks to invite the habita
tion of God in it by His spirit. I hope Mr. Woodward is
well, and that you see him often. He is the man amongst
the religious world, as it is improperly called, that I esteem
the most, and I think whose conversation never fails to im
part pleasure and edification. Give my affectionate remem
brance to|him and to Miss Darby. If you favour me at any
time with a few lines it will be a great favour, and received
with all gratitude By your obliged friend,
James Dunn.

184 MEMORIALS OF

Brighton, October 9th, 1837.
My dear Lady Osborne, — The enclosed came to me a
few days ago, and I now send it to you though little worth
the carriage, except as a proof that I was not insensible to
the great kindness of your letter to me. I do look forward
with great pleasure to holding some conferences with you
on the most important interests, for I am sure you will be a
candid disputant, and, what is more-, a sincere lover of the
truth. My late indisposition has given a deeper interest to
every question connected in any degree with our salvation,
and there are some on which I eagerly seek discussion with
everyone whom I think in earnest. I came here for change
of air, and I feel somewhat recruited by it. T sometimes
wish for a little more strength that I may be enabled to finish
some essays on the epistles of S. Paul, upon which I have
laboured for some years past ; but this is but the dictates of
self love which prompts the thought that I could be of use
to the Church when the All-wise Disposer thinks otherwise
by denying that health to me. I hope you will write to me
when you are at leisure, and believe me, my dear madam,
Your obliged and grateful friend,
James Dunn.
17, Chester Terrace, November 17, 1837.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I have been kept very busy for
this fortnight past making sermons to preach for a sick
friend, and this is now by disuse become so heavy a task
that I could not sooner answer your most kind letter. But
I need not apologise, for you cannot suppose it could be from
neglect.. If there was nothing left in me but self-love that
alone must strongly incline me to cultivate so accomplished
and so flattering a correspondent. Not, my good Lady, that
I expect to hold very long the same place in your estimation

LADY OSBORNE. 185
that I do at present. It seems to me that your besetting sin
is the idolatry of talent and of strong and decisive charac
ters, to none of which qualities have I any claim. You have
told me that you never can be brought to the contemplative
life ; but let me ask do you include in this daily examination
in order to watch the state of your affections, thoughts, and
hopes. You would not condemn what the Psalmist recom
mends so often, " commune with thine own heart in thy
chamber and be still." I would say that you do not seem to
me sufficiently aware of the corruption of human nature, and
how fatally this would minister to that which the Gospel is
intended to destroy, our self love. You are, therefore, not
aware of the delusive mists which it casts around the finest
understanding — giving false colours and forms to things
which we once saw in a very different light. You will,
therefore, soon tire of my repetition of a few simple truths
on which I live. You will mix freely with the wise and
prudent in this world's wisdom, and must grow to distaste
the simple truth which is known to babes and sucklings.
Did you ever read the admirable letter sent to Fenelon when
he was appointed tutor to the French Princess, from his old
friend who was himself in high esteem with all the eminent
personages of his time. Yet to this devoted and most humble
of Bishops he writes: — " A more than ordinary degree of
grace, and an uncommon portion of faith, is necessary to
resist the strong and seducing temptations you will meet
with. The dark mists which cloud the moral atmosphere of
a court are capable of obscuring the plainest and most evident
truths. It is not necessary to remain there long before we
learn to consider as unnatural and excessive those very truths.
which had been so often felt and so often acknowledged
when they had been meditated at the foot of the cross. The
most established duties of life become gradually doubtful ;
a thousand occasions will occur in which prudence and even

186 MEMORIALS OF
benevolence will seem to dictate that something must be
conceded to the, world. Truly, sir, your post is a danger
ous one. Confess that it will be a difficult task, and require
a consummate virtue to resist such temptation. If ever the
study and meditation of the sacred witness have been need
ful to you, they are so now in an especial manner." You
will not regret these admonitions which were thought needful
even for a Fenelon. I do not wonder you were captivated
by  , he is so unaffected with all his cleverness, and so
playful with all his knowledge. I assure you when I com
pare my knowledge with his I seem like a little cock boat
beside a man-of-war. But still allow me in the confidence
of friendship to speak the whole truth. I do not think him
a wise man either as to temporal or spiritual wisdom. The
morning I met him at your rooms, he seemed to me to in
dulge in unchristian bitterness against those who are called
the religious world, among whom are all my friends, and
whom I know to be honest, and amiable, and pious men,
though they have often dealt very hard measure to me ;
yet I considered it was always, and must ever be, that men
will think the truth they hold as the very essence of salva
tion, and of course condemn those who differ too severely ;
but we should look on all this as one who inhabits the
" Sapientum templa Serena ;" and he openly speaks his
opinion against establishments in a way which I think
scarcely consistent . . . Therefore I fear if I were
at his dinners I should not support many of his sentiments.
But I admit that he is an honest and assuredly a highly
gifted man, and probably of personal piety though he would
object to my notion of Christian devotion. I am sorry to
say I have not yet read the sermons, for this long illness
sadly interrupted me ; but I shall do so before I write to
you again, for I feel that without doing so I am not qualified
to form a judgment. ... I must conclude at present

LADY OSBORNE. 187
though I had many things to say about Ireland ; but of this
I hope to talk with you when you come to London-. I have
never been at Woolwich since I had the pleasure of seeing
you there, and you must when you come introduce me there
again. I assure you it is seldom I meet with such a cordial
reception as from that excellent family ; and now, my good
lady, please to pardon my freedom, and be assured that I
am your truly obliged, And affectionate friend,
J. Dunn.
Pray remember me affectionately to the Woodwards.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I hoped to have paid my re
spects to you this day, but I have a sore throat which made
me fearful of such a drizzling day.
I wish you could come to Mr. Scott's lecture to-morrow
at 3 o'clock, at Exeter Hall. It is on a noble subject, on
the various ways of God's revealing himself to his creatures ;
which I have no doubt he will treat in a most Catholic spirit.
I had a long and very gracious visit from Mr. Bulwer to-day,
and I must say he is a very interesting personage, and seems
able and willing to discuss all subjects with freedom and
fairness. You may suppose one of the subjects discussed
was your Ladyship. His countenance denoted great sensi
bility, and his voice is sweet and expressive, altogether I
liked his visit exceedingly. You must never expect of me
to do any one any good, for I never know how to set about
it. Is it not better that I should be willing to see and' to
receive all good from any who possess it.
Yours, my dear Lady Osborne, Very truly,
James Dunn.

188 MEMORIALS OF

12 Priory Street, August 13th, 1838.
My very dear Friend, — I must put you to the expense
of postage, though for a few lines to tell you why I cannot
write more. Believe me that I feel I return your friend
ship with a cordiality and an intensity I have seldom felt
for any one, and certainly I never felt so deep an interest
for any one on the same acquaintance. But I am positively
forbidden to write, and to tell you the whole truth I have
been going down hill ever since I came here. Dr. Barrow,
our chief doctor here, wishes me now to consult other phy
sicians in London, and therefore I shall leave this on Wed
nesday morning, and hope to reach London by Thursday
night, and perhaps you may not have left it before that.
What a pleasure and what a cheer to me to hold a little
further converse with you, to which my present circum
stances would add much of interest. My own view of my
case is that I shall not recover, for the Doctor assures me
disease must have been growing for at least a year, and this
under the most temperate diet, and regular exercise. So
that I do not see how it can be removed without such severe
remedies as I am little fitted to bear. But oh ! my dear
friend would that I could express to you the feelings of
confidence, the entire peace I now feel, not from my own
deservings, but from the unspeakable, inexhaustible love and
mercy of my Heavenly Father, whose adorable perfections it
has been my delight to contemplate, and that my happiest
hours have been in my latter years, those in which I drew
nigh unto Him in prayer. If I do not see you, you will I
know not fail to write and when at home I can get an
amanuensis to help out my writing.
You have my prayers and my blessings, my very dear
friend for you and yours.
J. Dunn.

LADY OSBORNE. 189

1 7 Chester Terrace, July 4th.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I am afraid I shall not be able
to join your party at Shooters Hill on Friday, for in fact
my side is so sore from all the leeches applied to it yesterday,
and my doctor further insists I must undergo his prescriptions
for this whole week, that I suppose I must stay at home as
long as he pleases to annoy me. I suppose you will be
ready to say, well we have escaped a sermon by this. I
assure you however, that I never mean to lecture in our
conversations, but only to discuss. The questions you have
to decide as to your path in your Christian pilgrimage, are
very difficult ones, and I am not a master in Israel to know
these things. I suspect your present life does not elevate
you, but then it is better far, than being at the head of a
religious sect where you
"Like Cato give your little Senate laws,
And sit attentive to your own applause."
I have just been reading to the servants, John viii. 31-36.
These verses are worth considering. The case of the servant
is where all our tastes are one way, but from duty and the
hope of reward we do his word, but the freedom with which
the son makes free is the congeniality of our tastes with his
by the extinction of the opposite tastes, and the feeling that
we are now in our own element, and in the region of ever-
lastingness. Do not let the world or the devil persuade you
that this is unattainable here below, for if so then the pil
lared firmament is rottenness, and earth's base built on stub
ble, all mental and moral excellence is only working its way
painfully into chaos and darkness ; but if there be any such
thing as truth in the world, if we are not to renounce the
common hope of all good men, then am I convinced that all
are wrong, fatally wrong, who do not make their relation to

190

MEMORIALS OF

the Father of all, and the fountain of all good, and the duty
and affection which belong to him, the primary object and
pursuit, and the subject of daily, serious and anxious enquiry
and effort, and in this I am confirmed, not by the opinions
of Christian devotees, but by the free confession of every
moral and metaphysical writer, and even by the judgment of
Mr. Hume himself. Excuse this being so like a sermon, and
make your utmost allowance for one who is
Your truly attached friend,
James Dunn.
17, Chester Terrace, Regent's Park, 1838.
My very dear Friend, — It seems to me that my strength
declines daily, and pray for me that my passage may be
smoothed by the comforts of grace and entire resignation of
spirit; and believe me, my dear friend, that I pray for you
heartily that you may be kept from the delusions of this evil
world. Watch and pray yourself that you may not be en
tangled, in its spirit, but that you may be enlightened to see
its real evil that makes its enmity with God, and that He
will by His grace and providence lead you even through
severe trials to be purified from all its evil and brought
under the full and sweet influences of heavenly love. Cling
to that Saviour who came to seek and to save us, that you
may plead His promise, that " whoso cometh unto Him He
will in no wise cast out," for this is now my hope and my
comfort. I am not able to say much to-day, but believe me
you have the fervent blessing of a dying friend that Christ
may lead, you amongst His flock, and bring you into eternity
in His own likeness ; nor is your dear daughter forgotten in
the prayer of your ever affectionate friend,
James Dunn.
" The following letter is inserted to point out how remark-

LADY OSBORNE. 191
*
ably well-behaved a vast assembly of Irish may be when
the circumstances of the occasion do not lend themselves to
the designs of agitators, and the thorough way in which
Lady Osborne identified herself with the honour of her
adopted country, and thought of others rather than of herself.
She would often mention with delight that when repairs
were going on at her residence, ladders were left by which
at any hour of the night the house might have been entered
and yet ' no one dreamed of fear.'
Bishop Sandes makes one mistake; the crowd was com
posed of all classes and not of one only, though he speaks as
if such were the case.
The fact is, the Irish are a most courteous, amiable,
delightful people, when not subjected to almost irresistible
bad influences, and practised upon by selfish agitators. The
entertainments provided after an eighteen years' minority
were a dance, called in the language of the country a
' long dance,' which was in costume, a dinner to the tenants,
their wives, and a son and daughter of each to the number
of 1,165 persons, in a huge tent, and at night fireworks."
Waterford, 11th July, 1839.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I have written to the Eccle
siastical Commissioners about the churchyard of Killaloan,
and urged them to adopt the judicious advice of your lady
ship -and Miss Osborne.
You must be delighted, as I am, at this wet weather, for
enhancing by contrast the sunny days by which you were
last week favoured.
You are not pleased at the newspapers praising the givers
of your fete more than they do the guests. Perhaps the
editors felt that landlords more stand in need of being
stimulated to benevolence than the tenantry to gratitude, by
holding out to them good examples for their imitation ; but

192 MEMORIALS OF
no newspaper accounts could add importance to the unpre
cedented fact of thirty thousand peasants assembled at a merry
making, full of gaiety, and ranging uncontrolled through
flower-gardens and drawing-rooms without exhibiting any
breach of decorum, and without so much as trampling on a
flower. I do not understand my exact position here, and whether
I shall have occasion for a school mistress, but I am much
obliged by your letting me know where to get one.
Mrs. Sandes and my daughters look forward with much
expectation to the honour of being known to you and Miss
Osborne. I remain, your obliged faithful servant,
Stephen Cashel.
" The subject of National Education was one that was
taken up by Lady Osborne with all the energy and persever
ance that were amongst her characteristics, and the following
letter from Lord Lansdowne, alludes to that as well as the
subject of the foregoing letter. Lord Lansdowne points out
the truth, that the National system of education, while giving
an excellent secular education, does not interfere with the
religion the parents and their delegates choose to impart to
their children." London, July 18th.
Dear Lady Osborne, — I had, before receiving your kind
letter, read with .great pleasure in the newspapers some
account of the proceedings on an occasion which must have
been so deeply interesting to you, as the celebration of your
daughter's birthday and majority. The vice of the Irish is
certainly not ingratitude for benefits of which they are made
duly sensible; and I was delighted to observe the genuine
warmth of heart which appears to have been displayed on

LADY OSBORNE. 193
this occasion, and which must have more than repaid you for
the exertions of many years. I wish that such an interchange
of sentiment between the upper and lower classes — between
those who own and those who cultivate the soil was more
frequent, and their mutual welfare felt to be what it certainly
is, an object equally desirable to all.
You will perceive that I have been engaged in a new
battle on the subject of National Education on English
ground. We have been able to accomplish very little for the
present, but little is the end of the wedge which will drive at
last; and I have reason to hope another year will convince
most churchmen that our proceedings are as safe in a religious
as they are beneficial in any other point of view.
I got a glimpse of the Archbishop of Dublin on his way
through London, and shall be anxious to hear the report of
his proceedings as a traveller — a calling quite new to him I
believe hitherto — as well as to his family, who seemed en
chanted with the prospect. Believe me, dear Lady Osborne,
Ever, your sincere and faithful servant, Lansdowne.
Let me beg you to present my best regards and congra
tulations to your daughter.
" The following letter arose from the Lord Lieutenant of
that time being struck by the tone of earnestness with which
Lady Osborne vindicated the reputation of some tenants
which had been assailed by a portion of the press. Lord
Ebrington's letter led to an acquaintance with Lady Osborne,
and a visit to her while travelling in the south of Ireland ;
his second letter again proves how much she cared for the
impression made by others in their own favour.
" On the occasion of the visit of His Excellency, instead
of the vehement manifestation of party feelings evidenced
VOL. II. N

194

MEMORIALS OF

against Lord Normanby, his predecessor, the gentry who did
so having forgotten that he represented the Queen, they all,
without distinction of political opinions, met Lord Ebrington
with the greatest alacrity to testify their respect for his office
and extreme personal worth. The particular circumstance
referred to in the second letter not being detailed is not
remembered." Phcsnix Park, August 23rd, 1839.
Madam, — Mr. Drummond has shown me your ladyship's
letter of the 17th, and I cannot help expressing with my
own pen the gratification afforded me, as well by your refu
tation of the charge made by a portion of the press against
Miss Osborne's tenantry, with reference to the murder of
 , as to the valuable testimony borne by one so well
qualified to judge as yourself, to the general improvement
both of the state of the country and the habits of the people
in your neighbourhood.
I fear that I shall have left Dublin before your ladyship
is likely to be passing through on your way to the Conti
nent, but I hope at no very distant time to have the pleasure
of assuring you in person of the respect and esteem with
which I beg to subscribe myself
Your Ladyship's faithful and obedient servant,
Ebrington.
Lady Osborne.
Castle Hill, October 17, 1839.
My dear Madam, — I am very sorry to find from your
letter to Captain Romilly that you have felt any annoyance
from what took place respecting the Clonmel addresses, as
I can truly assure you that there is nothing in that or any
matter connected with my visit to Newtown Anner that has
been other than a source of gratification to me. Indeed I

LADY OSBORNE. 195
must be very unreasonable if it were not so, as whilst I had
the good fortune of receiving an unexpected tribute of re
spect from political opponents, and have in the end and on a
fair consideration of the circumstances had full justice done
to my conduct by those to whom, as the tried and staunch
supporter of Government, I should have been truly sorry to
have given anything like an appearance of slight.
Your ladyship's indulgence will, I trust, pardon me for
troubling you with this; and I cannot do so without availing
myself of the opportunity which it affords me of renewing
my thanks to yourself and Miss Osborne for your most
agreeable hospitality.
I am, with much respect and esteem, your ladyship's very
faithful and obedient, Ebrington.
Lady Osborne.
" Lord Lytton has very kindly permitted the insertion of
two of his notes, as they contain in one a most beautiful
tribute to the nature of maternal love, and in the other a
compliment to Lady Osborne as true as it is gracefully put."

Charles-street, Sunday.
Dear Lady Osborne, — I am extremely sorry to hear you
are likely to suffer so severe a loss. All that I have met in
the world of sympathy, generosity, and faithful friendship,
is identified with the name of mother; and the thought of
that loss seems to me like the taking away of the candle
from a child, who is terrified in the dark. It is a protection
and a safety gone.
A dreary solitude commenced, and all we have left is to
wish the night well gone, and the morrow come.
But you, I know, have other friends and ties, and I trust
n2

196

MEMORIALS OF

that a thousand hopes will console you if doomed to the one
privation. I am much flattered by Mr. Dunn's kind opinion, and I
am already strongly impressed with the charm of his
character. Believe me, my dear Lady Osborne, ever yours,
E. L. Bulwer.
(Another.)
Pardon me if I remind you, that in order to show us the
perfection of modesty, you forgot what no one else ever
will do, the name of Catherine Osborne.
" It is well worthy of consideration in these latter days,
that the intellectual giant who wrote the foregoing beautiful
little message of condolence, between thirty and forty years
ago, startled ' the upper ten thousand' with the trumpet
tones, ' the schoolmaster is abroad.'
" In a work on England, he went on to say that the classes
below them were treading on their heels with a speed and
vigour that threatened to leave them behind nowhere, and
that unless every nerve were strained they could not keep
ahead. In those days he belonged to the so-called Liberals,
but now he has quitted the ' Destructives,' and joined the
ranks of those whose very designation bespeaks an approxi
mation to that state attained at the goal to which all are
hastening, no less a one than eternity.
" If by the term ' Liberal,' a perpetual overthrow of every
institution be meant, this implies unmixed evil in the gradual
arrangements of Providence ; argues a most restless and
uncomfortable introduction into an existence of rest, and
is unsuited to the dignity that should accompany advancing
years; besides, advancing into chaos is not progress, but

LADY OSBORNE. 197
retrogression; a ministerial reputation such as that of the
Huns and Vandals is not to be desired."
" The following letter was written by Dr. Dickinson, after
wards Bishop of Meath, the valued friend of Archbishop
Whately." Friday.
Madam, — I was prevented, partly by illness, and partly
by Easter occupations, from seeing Mr. Butler as speedily as
I wished, but I have now had a long interview with him,
and feel your ladyship only did him justice in the high
praise you gave him. There can be no doubt of his talents,
and I think there ought to be as little of his. candour and
good sense ; indeed 1 have conversed with few whom, on a
short acquaintance, I have taken such a fancy to. I told
him I should, be most happy to see him whenever he called,
and that I should do everything in my power to facilitate
his ordination. My curate seems now recovering, contrary
to my expectations, therefore I could say nothing upon that
matter. I hope, however, I have given him assistance in a
far superior way.
I had occasion to call on the Provost to-day. I found
him deliberating about the appointment of a professor of
moral philosophy, to which the college would attach a salary,
and also a small parish, now vacant. He spoke highly of
Mr. Butler, when I joined him most warmly. He said his
not being ordained was an obstacle. I promised to endea
vour to have this removed, and I wrote off to the Arch
bishop instantly on the subject. I think I have shewn his
Grace that it may be done without any objectionable irre
gularity. To-morrow a Board will be held in college to decide. I
have gone to the Senior Fellows, whom I felt I might in-

198 MEMORIALS OF
fluence, to state my impression of Mr. Butler. I should not
have felt myself warranted in doing this on my short ac
quaintance with Mr. Butler, however favourable my impres
sion of him, but your ladyship's testimony in his favour I
feel justified me fully. I shall regret that I have no pro
spect of him as a curate, but I shall rejoice if he is taken
away to so much better a purpose, and indeed from the
promises made to me I anticipate his appointment. I am
sure the good Archbishop will be pleased by the arrange
ment. I shall take the liberty of sending your ladyship, in
a day or two, a copy of the Archbishop's answer to the lay
remonstrants, which I dare say you will admire as much as
I do. As a bishop, he could not but express censure of the
mode in which signatures were attached to that document.
If Christianity be true, or supposing it false, if the Arch
bishop thinks it true, he is bound to object to irreverent
and thoughtless proceedings in so solemn a matter as prayer.
The remonstrants published their letter to the Archbishop
before it was sent to his Grace. They apologized for this
(or one of them did), but they have now had the Arch
bishop's answer in their hands for three weeks, and this they
have not published. This is very unintelligible. I suppose
I shall escape this time, as the Archbishop happens to be in
England ; but indeed I am uncertain, considering what in
sincerity has been exercised. Not that I care for this; for
when I act conscientiously I must not fear censure; and
when my conscience is in agreement with such a heart and
such a soul as are possessed by the Archbishop, I feel tolera
ble confidence that my conscience cannot be very desperately
astray. I am, madam,
Your obedient humble servant,
Charles Dickinson.
The Lady Osborne.

LADY OSBORNE. 199
May 22nd.
Madam,— The Archbishop has enclosed to me to forward
to your ladyship the letters which I now send.
In a letter lately from his Grace, he writes that one of the
witnesses examined before the Education Committee said
the schools had all diseases (the Roman Catholic, the plague ;
the Protestant Church, the lethargy; the Presbyterians, the
jaundice; and the Arians, the palsy). He adds, "There is
much truth in this ; and the same may be said of all human
communities and assemblies. In Parliament, for instance, the
Tories have a putrid fever, the Whigs a tertian ague, and
the Radicals a brain fever. But it is providentially ordered
that different diseases check one another, and so the world
goes on. Our schools are hospitals, in which there is one
additional advantage above literal hospitals, that they have
a panacea suited to all diseases alike, a knowledge of Gospel
history, and general mental cultivation. If in proportion as
these extend, Romanism gains ground, that I must admit
will be a strong presumption that it is true."
I think both parts of what is implied in this sentence are
quite true. It seems to be by a system of evils counteracting
each other that the world of human beings has been chiefly
managed, and this ought to make us bear with greater
patience those evils which we discern in others. The quiet-
minded and the energetic have each their advantages, while
each counteracts the disadvantages belonging to the other.
The latter part of the Archbishop's sentence has been op
posed by many of the witnesses, more especially I believe
 , who is afraid of mental cultivation. If I thought
this unfriendly to the Christian religion, I should be full of
suspicion that this religion was not true, for surely mental
cultivation cannot be unfriendly to the promotion of truth.
It is astonishing to me upon what minute points prejudice

200 MEMORIALS OF
can fix its gaze, while the great fact is wholly overlooked
that the country is sunk in the depths of ignorance and super
stition. To withhold all instruction, because there is some
ignorance which you have not the power to remove, is like
refusing to apply salves to some wretched Lazarus, because
he has some internal disease which at present he will not
accept a cure of.
Woodward now admits that if the system should continue,
the Protestant clergy ought to take a part in it. I do not at
all despair of his ultimately coming round.
Has your ladyship seen Baptist Noel's " Tour in Ireland" ?
It contains a controversy, evidently with Mr. Daly, on the
subject of the National System, well and rationally managed.
The book contains a good deal worth perusal, though he is
certainly mistaken as to many facts. I do not know whe
ther you have yet seen the account of an expedition to New
Holland, edited by Lady Mary Fox. It will richly repay
your perusal. I am, madam,
Your Ladyship's humble and obedient servant,
Charles Dickinson.
" The following letter was written by a son of the Rev.
Henry Woodward. He was well known as the English
Chaplain at Rome. His views were very High Church,
unlike those of his father. The estimation in which he was
held was very great indeed. His brother, the Dean of Down,
authorized its publication." 11, Kildare-street, May 9th, 1837.
My dear Lady Osborne, — Having heard that you were
angry with me for my evidence before the Committee on
Education, I feel a strong temptation to write to you on the
subject. I should feel much obliged by your letting me

LADY OSBORNE. 201
know anything that struck you as particularly objectionable.
The examination which rigidly confines one to answering
questions, is not always the best way of eliciting one's whole
views on any subject. In my own case I feel sadly ham
pered by such a restriction. I wished for an opportunity of
speaking more fully than I did on several points, and can
easily imagine that several of my answers may seem to re
quire explanation ; such explanations I should be most happy
to give you, if you thought it worth your while to wish for
it. In the meantime allow me to submit to your considera
tion some of my objections to the whole system, as drawn
out in the course of my examination.
The principal ones were these two. First, that the system
gives a legal establishment to Popery, Unitarianism, and in
fact any religious error that may happen to prevail : secondly,
that it has a tendency, I think a strong one, to promote
infidelity. 1. That the National Board is, in the strict sense of the
word, an establishment of the various forms of religious
error that may be in the country, I affirm, because it is a
State provision for the teaching of them; one of the two
objects of the institution, as recommended by the Committee
of 1828, and expressed in Lord Stanley's letter, is to afford
such separate religious education as may accord with the
tenets of the different denominations. The institution is
maintained at the expense of the State, and to give religious
instruction at the expense of the State appears to me plainly
to involve the principle of an establishment. It is true the
teachers are not paid, but the proper question is as to the
fact and purpose of the endowment, and not the precise
mode in which the money is applied. Building churches at
the public expense is as complete a recognition of the prin
ciple of an establishment as the payment of the clergy. I
know it is said that the system does nothing more than pro-

202 MEMORIALS OF
vide for the fair exercise of liberty of conscience. The
assertion is not true. Liberty of conscience would be effec
tually provided for by securing that the children should not
be compelled to receive religious instruction which they did not
approve. But more is done than this ; direct provision is made
for their receiving such instructions as they or their parents do
approve. A school will not be founded or supported by the
Board unless this object is secured. It is " required" as one
of the conditions on which aid and patronage is granted, and
you could not to-morrow obtain assistance towards establish
ing a school without entering into an express stipulation,
not merely that you would not interfere with the religious
principles of the children, but that you would give your
school-house at stated times to the priest for the avowed pur
pose of teaching Popery, or (if you lived in certain districts,
and large ones too, of the north of Ireland) to the Unitarian
minister for the avowed purpose of teaching the children to
deny the Lord that bought them. If all this is not in prin
ciple an establishment of Popery and Unitarianism, that is,
a State provision for the teaching of them, I know not what
could be so denominated ; and if so, allow me to ask whether
the system can be right, should you enter into the letter of
the stipulation that I have mentioned?
2. The system is calculated to produce infidelity, for this
reason, that it places all forms of religion on an equal foot
ing. Unitarianism is treated as if equally true with Chris
tianity, Popery with Protestantism ; equal privileges are
allowed to the ministers of each, equal facilities afforded to
their respective ministrations. But the main point is not the
fact of this being done, but the grounds on which this is
done. It is not done on the ground of irresistible necessity.
Necessity will justify anything; and persons who fancied
themselves compelled to teach what was false, might at the
same time bear their testimony to the truth, and lament the

LADY OSBORNE. 203
circumstances that prevented its full course. No such plea
is set up by the National Board or its founders.
The arrangement that I am objecting to are adopted on
the express grounds of the importance of religion. They
are the measures provided by Lord Stanley by which the
" interests of religion" are to be secured. They are appealed
to by the Commissioners as a proof that they afford the
"benefits of religious instruction" (First Report) to the chil
dren, and that they are alive to the importance of religion
as an " essential part of education" (Third Report). Not the
slightest intimation is given that one form of religion is better
than another. Equal solicitude is shown for the teaching
of all ; equal " care is taken that the ministers of God's
word" ! ! ! (First Report) should have access to the schools.
Unitarianism is a " benefit" to be as sedulously provided as
Christianity, and the teaching of it as effectually guards the
interests of religion, " and as fully attests a sense of its im
portance." Now all this appears to me sheer infidelity. I
do not mean that everyone is an infidel who takes part in the
proceedings of the Board, but I cannot the least comprehend
such views except as held by an infidel. I can see no mean
ing or common sense in them otherwise, for they imply that all
forms of religion are equally true (that is, equally untrue),
or at least that the differences between them are of no im
portance, and I would ask what effect such a system can
have on the mass of the population among whom it is in
operation? I mean, what is its natural and intrinsic ten
dency? for its effects may be warded off by the priests;
converting it into an engine of Popery. Is it not a promul
gation on the part of the Legislature, that the differences
between the different sects are points not worth contending
about, and that what alone is of importance in religion is
held by all? And what can be the effect of such a principle so
sanctioned, and that not merely as an abstract speculation,

201

MEMORIALS OF

but acted on and exhibited in practical operation, except to
make the people equally indifferent, and thus bring all reli
gion into contempt?
To this charge which I bring of infidelity against the
whole principle of the National Board, I have heard only
one answer, and that since I returned from London. It is
this, that religion in the documents to which I have referred
is spoken of as opposed to Atheism, and consequently that
no undervaluing of the differences among professing Chris
tians is implied, since any form of religion must be consi
dered a " benefit" when compared with it. Admitting this
reply for a moment, the system is still liable to my first
objection, that of directly taking a part in the teaching of
awful religious error. It would be better to leave the people
to their chance of becoming Atheists than to do this. But
really the reply cannot stand an instant, for the people are
not Atheists, nor will any sane man say that they are in
such danger of becoming Atheists that it is a " benefit" to
secure their being Unitarians, or that there is a call on the
Government to make them Unitarians ; or, to speak with
strict fairness, to take measures that they shall be so brought
up. These are my principal objections to the National
System of Education. I have others, but I dwell on these,
because they seem to me too much lost sight of by many of
the opponents of the system. They think (or most of them)
that everything is gained if the Bible is introduced into the
schools. With a vast deal that is said on this subject I by no
means concur. Much of it is extravagant and unreasonable,
and much of it (to me) perfectly unintelligible. You will
not, therefore, class me with those who think it a duty to give
the children free access to the whole Bible at all times, and
yet without allowing this unrestricted liberty to interfere
with the proper quantum or orderly conducting of their in-

LADY OSBORNE. 205
struction in other things. This principle has been propunded
by able men as a " sine qua non" in any system of education
that Protestants could in conscience accept. In my humble
apprehension it is downright absolute nonsense, and I am
convinced that from the commencement the Protestant party
took up a wrong and a weak position in resting their oppo-
tion so exclusively as they have done on the conduct of the
Government and of the Board in regard of the use of the
Scriptures, not that I do not think that bad enough. But I
think that if the Scriptures were placed in the hands of
every child in Ireland, still on the grounds I have stated the
whole system would be one of horrible impiety. I will sup
pose the case of a school in which the system is in full
operation, with a clergyman of the Church of England
teaching Christianity, a priest teaching idolatry, and a Uni
tarian minister teaching blasphemy, and I will ask whether
anyone who loved Christ and loved souls, and thought the
Bible was not a fable, could look on such an exhibition with
any feelings but those of unmingled pain. What then must
be the state of that person who can look on it with pleasure,
and actually boast of it as effected by him from his anxiety
about religion? I will not pronounce judgment upon others
whose minds may be differently constructed from my own,
or whose clearness of apprehension may be dimmed by party
prejudices. But in my own case I will say that such a state
of feeling would be separated by a very narrow interval
from infidelity. I trust that you will excuse the freedom
with which I have expressed myself, and that you will
believe me Most truly yours,
F. B. Woodward.

206 MEMORIALS OF
" The arrangement of Archbishop Whately's letters was
extremely difficult, so the plan adopted has been to put first
the notes that must have been the earliest, then the imperfect
ones and the extracts, and those dated last. Before Lady
Osborne's correspondence began she had met his Grace at
the house of a relation of hers and held an argument with
him that disinclined her to appreciate him, but later and on
more perfect acquaintance, no one held him in greater
reverence for his goodness and masterly powers of mind. The
imperfect letters are supposed to be the remnants of those
published in Miss Whately's life of her father."
" The Blue Book containing the evidence given'before a
Committee of the House of Lords as the result of the follow
ing communications, bears ample testimony to the praise
Lady Osborne received for giving it being well merited.
The National system of education never had a warmer
friend to it on the ground of its being the best that was
feasible in Ireland than she was, nor one that devoted more
care and valuable time to the working thereof; and as a proof
how open to conviction she was, she had at first been
strongly against it, and was brought round to it by the
arguments she had listened to against it at a monster meet
ing held in Exeter Hall to oppose the system."
Committee Rooms, 1st June, 1839.
My dear Madam, — I have heard from Colonel Phipps that
he does not wish to be examined, and Mr. Archdall, though I
have never seen him, appears to be of the same mind. Lord
Lansdowne is expressing great regret to lose such valuable
testimony as that concerning your schools. " Could not,"
said he, Lady O. come and give the evidence herself ? At
least if she cannot, name anyone who can and will do so,
thoroughly and fairly. Of course, said he, we would not

LADY OSBORNE. 207
press her if it did violence to her feelings, but if she would
consent it would be very desirable. So I consented at his
and Lord Duncannon's earnest desire to write and beg your
consent. Excuse haste, and believe me,
Very truly yours,
Rd. Dublin.Monday.
My dear Madam, — I am just come from Southend, to
which I shall return in two days to bring back my wife and
children, who are much the better for the sea.
I am glad to see in your letter that you would rather have
been glad of finding it a duty to the public to come to
London ; for I think you will now perceive from my last that
you are placed in that predicament now.
What you say about having the advantage of having ladies
to speak for one, is very true and very much to the purpose
of your being examined before the Committee.
In great haste, yours very truly,
Rd. Dublin.
Monday, Park House.
My dear Madam, — Your letter which I received yesterday
(I do not know how) and that of to-day are just what I would
have wished a sister of my own to write. It was wholly
Lord Lansdowne's suggestion that you should come, but on
his applying to me it had my fullest approval.
Colonel Phipps writes me word that there are agents
going about to collect evidence against the schools, and he
presumes we have counter-agents, but we have not, only our
own regular inspectors. We disdain sending out people to
collect all they can on one side, suppressing all on the other.
Your evidence will be very valuable, so is Mr. Noel's and
that of some other unbiased persons ; but I would not leave

2°8 . MEMORIALS OF
the decision to be drawn wholly from the adverse witnesses ;
their bigotry, unfairness, and absurdity are enough to ruin
any but a very good cause. One of them, however, gave fair
and very favourable testimony as to many of the schools, to
the great displeasure of his employer — '' I called thee to curse
mine enemies."
I presume you will receive regular notice to attend, and
probably also a private letter from Lord Lansdowne. I
suppose you know that all witnesses summoned may
claim their expenses. Ever, my dear madam, in great
haste, Yours, very truly,
R. D.
P.S. — I have ordered to have sent to your ladyship a letter
from Mr. Senior, whose authority was (seemingly) appealed
to in the House of Commons, as approving of the Poor Law
Bill ; you will see in the first sentence that the reverse is the
fact, and it may be as well to insert part of it in the papers.
Friday Night.
My dear Madam, — I believe I omitted in my hurried note
of yesterday to add that I did not give any hint of sending
for you, but it was wholly Lord Lansdowne's own idea,
backed by Lord Duncannon, who observed on the almost
impossibility of summoning to any good purpose either
Colonel Phipps, or Mr. Archdall, or Mr. Butler; and Lord
Lansdowne spoke of the evidence, which, judging from your
letters, he felt assured you could give, as that it would be
important to have, and to have well given, as he thought you
could give it.
Mr. B. Noel was examined to-day and was a model of mild
intrepidity, candour, and good sense.

LADY OSBORNE. 209
To-morrow morning 1 go to Southend for two days where
my family are, to the great benefit, 1 can thankfully say, of
their health. Ever, my dear madam, Yours very sincerely,
Rd. Dublin.
Park House, Brompton.
My dear Madam, — Dr. Cooke, of Belfast, is expected to
be before the Lords' Committee next Tuesday; and it has
been thought important that he should be immediately fol
lowed by two or three witnesses who are prepared to prove
him as honest a man as any on the cards when all the kings
are out ; that is the reason of your summons not being im
mediate. On Thursday, 22nd instant, Mrs. Whately will go to
Rugby to our friends the Arnolds, and I shall follow in a day
or two to hold a confirmation of the boys there the Tuesday
or Wednesday following. We shall return, and I shall try
to contrive that your examination may come on on the 29th
or 30th.
Lord Lansdowne, and what is perhaps more, Mrs. Whately
were as much pleased with the tone of your letters as you or
I could have wished. I would give two male friends to the
cause (though a scarce commodity) for another such female.
I have been revising the evidence I gave last week before
the Commons' Committee, in which Serjeant  came
off decidedly second best in his attacks on me; but I have so
little of the organ of combativeness, that even when sophistry
is the most triumphantly refuted, the feeling of disgust
gives me more pain than the triumph pleasure. Ever, my
dear madam, Very truly yours,
Rd. Dublin.
Have you yet seen Mrs. Whately's edition of Mrs. Richard
Trench's little book on education (Parker, Strand.)
VOL. II. o

210 MEMORIALS OF

Committee Rooms, House of Lords, 10th April, 1837.
My dear Madam, — The paper you last sent me over from
Mr. — ¦  has very greatly interested Lord Lansdowne,
and he wishes to know whether it would not be better to
send for Mr.  , or for the gentleman (un-named) who
he says can attest all that he says, or for both, or for any
other gentleman well acquainted with the working of the
system in that district. Pray let me know which of these
you think right to come, and they will be regularly moved
for. Yours, dear madam very truly,
Rd. Dublin.
P. S. — Many thanks for the paper just received.
Committee Rooms, 13th, Friday.
My dear Madam, — You must not object to my sometimes
commissioning Dr. Dickinson to convey a message to you ;
if you knew how many letters I have to read and write
(sometimes as many as sixteen in a day) you would not
wonder at any expedient resorted to to save time. But I
do not show your ladyship's letters to him, I only tell him to
say so and so- At the same time I must remark that if there
ivere any need for it, I should not scruple to expose your
mind (I do not say everybody's) unveiled to such a candid
judge as he is. I am sure he will always view with the same
eyes that I do all the working's of an ingenuous mind. The
more you are known to each other the better you will agree.
I will look after Lord Bexley.
Mr.  is a well meaning man but (between ourselves)
not very discreet. I never answer attacks on myself, nor
engage in any controversy, but I do not profess to throw any

LADY OSBORNE. 211
impediment or raise any objection to others doing so. I only
beg them (if they consult me about it) to be cool and cautious
lest they do harm instead of good to the cause.
Ever, my dear madam, yours most truly,
Rd. Dublin.
I almost forgot to say that I shall be very glad to see your
ladyship, and really think you may do good to the public as
as well as give gratification to us.
Park-avenue, Bromptom, Tuesday,
My dear Madam, — I have seen Lord Bexley, but he has
not yet paid a visit to our Committee. There is indeed but dull
work there at present, but next week I trust we shall have
something more profitable.
I have called on Colonel Phipps, but found him not within.
If you knew Mr. Jessop as well as I do you would sympathize
with my anxiety, and all but despair about him. There seems
to be now a gleam of hope that he may recover. I never
ordained a man who gave greater, if so great, promise of
being a most exemplary and faithful fellow labourer. Could
you not get the Tipperary papers to notice the " Strictures?"
It is no party question. If due exertion and vigilance is used
a little longer I have great hopes the ruin that was impend
ing will blow over. In haste, my dear madam,
Yours very truly,
Rd. Dublin.
Friday, half-past 3.
My dear Madam, — I have had the copy taken which I
enclose. This is the first moment's leisure I have had since
I rose ; and I must not go to work again at other business
till night.
Seen so little of me indeed ! when you come to have some
o2

212 MEMORIALS OF
faint conception of what a life of London business is, you
will be much surprised at having seen so much of me, more
in a week than my own relations and oldest friends in town
have in a month, except on indispensable business ; and all
because of your being a stranger from such a remote region.
In haste, yours very truly, Rd. Dublin. 17th June.
My dear Madam, — I think you have good ground for
saying what you do of your own independence of party ; at
any rate you have shown that you can dare to act for
yourself. Pray let your bookseller in "the fifth town in Ireland"
get some copies of the Digest of Evidence. The Education
Board has a supply to dispose of at 2s.
I forget whether you ever saw that book of " Extracts from
the Archbishop of Dublin," which was published here last
winter. I found by chance, through a third person, the
author's name, almost a stranger to me personally. I under
stand he is in poor circumstances, so that if you could get it
known in London by ordering it, the sale of a few copies
would be a benefit to him.
Ever, my dear madam, yours very truly,
Rd. Dublin.
P. S. — You are at liberty to shew the annexed postscript
at your discretion.
It is shameful no addresses on Queen Victoria's coming of
age came from Ireland ! Could not some (from Protestants)
be got up in your parts.
" The above remark is curious, inasmuch as the fact speaks
volumes as to the Queen not having earned for herself
any want of loyalty."

LADY OSBORNE. 213
" A postscript, to which letter the Editor knows not."
P. S. — That dissenter probably may have meant that he
agreed with the High Churchmen in holding that we are
bound to conform in every particular of Church government
to whatever shall appear to have been the practice of the
earliest churches, &c, which the one party consider to have
been Episcopacy, and the other Presbyterianism. Accord
ing to the one therefore, it is unchristian to have Bishops ;
according to the other not to have them. I disagree with
both, as I have said in my last volume. What do you say
to Dr. Dodsworth's notions of fasting; I have been lately
preaching on the subject.
A scrap with no reference.
This will do very well, and if sent along with a private
note to the Editor, containing the real name and description
it is not unlikely to be inserted.
The thing is just what the Poor Inquiry Commissioners
recommended many years ago. " Irish landlords could
support an indefinite number of paupers."
Dear Miss Osborne, — I suspect that by asking for a
passage out of my own works, you had a sly design of
ascertaining which I valued most; as some persons in
making choice of one puppy out of a litter, take them all
away, and then watch which one the mother first brings back.
However, I have thought it best to extract a passage not
yet published, from a volume which, when it does appear,
you are not so likely to read as some other of my works.
I have added a riddle (what is a lady's album without
one ?) which deserves a place if any one ever did.
1. It makes all the difference whether you pursue a
certain course because you judge it right, or judge it to be
right because you pursue it; whether you follow your

214 MEMORIALS OF
conscience as one follows a guide, or, as one follows the
horses in a carriage, while he himself guides them accord
ing to his will. — Elements of Logic, Appendix No. 1, seventh
edition. 2. What is that which was to-morrow and will be yester
day? Wednesday.
My dear Madam, — Thank you for your letter and en
closures, which I have no doubt we shall find a use for.
I think it likely that within half a year Mrs. Hill (and
others) will wonder at herself for having listened to such an
objection as you allude to, and will perceive that a person
who could reconcile image-worship with the commandments
as we have printed them would never be much at a loss to
explain away any thing.
How strange it is that such confusion of thought and
misapprehension should still prevail relative to books sanc
tioned by the Board ! Once for all, the Board never
sanctions any book at all for the separate religious instruction
of any denomination of children. It sanctions only such
books as are employed in the joint-common education of the
children of all denominations. The regulations only forbid
the employment in separate religious instruction of any
books that are not the recognized standard books of each
respective Church or Sect, without the permission of those
members of the Board who are of the same persuasion with
the children for whom such books are designed. If, for
instance, a clergyman of the Established Church wished to
employ (no such case has occurred) any tract in the religious
instruction of children of his own persuasion, he must obtain
the permission of Dr. Sadlier and me. But the Bible, and
the Prayer Book, and Catechism being authorized works of
our Church we could not, if we wished it, restrict him from

LADY OSBORNE. 215:
using. And so with the rest. But the collective body of
Commissioners — the Board — have nothing at all to do with
the matter. As I was looking over, preparatory to a new
edition, my second series of Essays, I was forcibly struck
with a passage (p. 20, 1. 17, 3rd edit.) as coinciding with
what Lord Bexley says of " my boldness."
I understand that the only obstacle now to Mr.  's tak
ing duty in my diocese, indeed becoming curate of  , is
the state of his health, which I fear is likely to be at present an
insuperable one. But were it otherwise, you could not surely,
my dear madam, expect or wish that I should deal out a
different measure of justice to the son of an influential man
from what I would to the humblest curate ; and write to
him spontaneously to announce that I had made a special
retractation in his favor. If I were conscious of having
annoyed  (or his footman) I would instantly write to
him to apologize and to offer compensation ; but as it is I
imagine he would think much the worse of me. I am sure
I should think much the worse of myself if I could stoop to
make any such advances. 1 am almost sure you must have
east a hurried glance at the subject or else you do not yet
understand. Your very sincere friend,
Rd. Dublin.
Thursday.
My dear Madam, — I was at the Board to-day and learned
that an application had been made by you some time ago,
which had been acceded to ; and that there is not now any
communication of yours unanswered. If, however, there is
any dispute about the appointment of a master in any school,
that is a point in which the Board leaves the patron to decide,
and does not interfere unless there is some violation of their
rules. I will engage that you will always find applications
from you favourably listened to.

216 MEMORIALS OF
There is a strong effort made to prejudice the court of
Rome against the National schools ; but I have good hopes
it will not succeed. I had some conversation on the subject
at Brussels with the Pope's nuncio ! Objections have been
raised, among other things, to the little tract on evidences.
The Pope does not know, I suppose, of the infidel tracts
(including newspapers) now so current in Ireland. And if
so he is not so foolish as those Protestants (supposing them
to be really believers) who cry out against men's shifting the
grounds of their belief from faith to reason, &c.
My daughter, I am happy to say, derived benefit from the
excursion. I could myself, perhaps, find pleasure or at least
refreshment from going abroad, if the affairs of the diocese
would stand still in the interim ; but I know that instead of
that the reverse takes place, and my adversaries watch the
opportunity of my absence to devise fresh plots, as has been
most especially the case during my last absence.
I am as you see in Parliament, but I do not intend to go
over : I have found by experience that it is mere loss of time.
There is no good to be effected in a single Session. Is there
any hope of your coming to Dublin soon ? On the third of
October I shall hold my visitation (in Dublin only) ; and
about the middle of the month a Confirmation, also for
Dublin alone. Believe me, my dear madam,
Very truly yours,
Rd. Dublin.
Saturday.
My dear Madam,— I remember your mentioning in a
former letter Mr.  calling me a Whig, an Ultra- Whig I
think it was : and now he tells you I can do so and so through
" my Whig friends." I do not wonder at the common run
of Dublin people supposing me of course a political partizan,

LADY OSBORNE. 217
because (judging by themselves) they conclude ministers
would not have appointed anyone who was not. Nor do
they always, I believe, mean it as an affront, though to call
me a Whig or a Tory is to call me a liar (since I have always
strenously professed my independence of all parties) ; be
cause their notions of truth are so low. But I should have
expected Mr. •  to be every way above such nonsense.
Ministers would, I believe, have respected me less, but would
have been likely to allow me more influence, if I had allowed
myself to enter the partizan ranks. As it is, there is a poor
man with a large family, my excellent curate in Suffolk,
who has long been soliciting a small living among the many
Government livings in his own country, backing his applica
tion with my testimony (for I never go beyond that) to his
desert ; but he is always passed by, though he has some
peculiar claims of his own to boot. Then I have been
laboring above three years to obtain the king's signature to a
charter enabling me to appropriate some of my own revenue
to the foundation of a divinity college : but the Primate has
hitherto succeeded in baffling me. And again, there is an
old lady in Dublin who has lost all her five sons in the ser
vice of their country by wounds or climate, and is left at
above four score to subsist with her three daughters, one of
them bed-ridden, on the produce of needlework. One would
think it required no great stretch of influence to obtain a
hearing for her claims to a pension : it surpasses mine how
ever, for I have been trying what I can do for her. above a
year in vain. So much for my influence at present, with
those I do know personally connected with the Navy. I
have not the slightest acquaintance with any official person.
My strenuous opposition to the ministerial measure of Irish
Poor Law would perhaps diminish my influence if it were
capable of diminution. Yet about half of my old acquain
tance are mortally offended with me (joy go with them !) for

2 1 8 MEMORIALS OF
not going to the Premier and insisting on his providing for
them. If I answer that I have not the power to do so, they
resolutely disbelieve me. If I add that supposing I could do
so I would not lay myself under an obligation to a minister ;
this they do believe, and are shocked at my unnatural con
duct. Nor do I say it is natural (p^awv) but if not nature
I hope it is grace.
I chanced to meet yesterday a young man, Lieut.  , a
great favorite of mine, to whom I showed as a matter of
curiosity that portion of your letter ; he took a mem. and
wrote off straight to a friend of his, a naval captain, who he
thought was one of the very few persons likely to be able to
accomplish the very difficult object of obtaining a mid.'s berth
if for a very promising lad, as all proceeds on what you have
said. If he should succeed and not turn out something more
than well, your credit will greatly suffer. Lieut.  is
going on an exploring expedition to New Holland, (whether
to inspect the civilized nation said to have been found) lately
in the interior by the expedition of which the curious account
has been published by Lady Mary Fox, there is no saying,
and if you know of anybody at any of the settlements, or
can offer any suggestions as to the benefitting of either
aborigines or others, they cannot be put into better hands.
I found a little boy, nephew of a friend's wife where I was
residing in Cheltenham, whose father fell at Waterloo, and
his mother being married again quite neglected him, and his
aunt, though kind, was a gay gad-about lady not fitted to
look after a boy of eleven. No boy could well have had a
worse chance ; but there are some that will do well. I found
him so very intelligent, amiable and well-disposed, that I
made him the constant and sole companion of my walks in
the country ; and he now says it was my notice and conver
sation that first gave him an ardour for improvement. The
fact is he was a combustible only waiting for a spark to set

LADY OSBORNE. 219
it alight ; and I happened to be that spark that happened to
come in his way. He has gone on ever since gaining
unmixed esteem and admiration, and in one word, I
should be glad and proud to think my son would be just
such another. This is Lieut.  . I am more grieved than
surprised at what you say of poor  . Having been long
at death's door, when his wife died he dropped down insen
sible, and on being revived was found to be in a state of
fatuity. I collect from what you say that his disease has
now taken another turn. What I admired most in him,
besides good ability and good principles, was a sober and
quiet energy. That is his natural character.
Mr. Archdall has called, but I have not seen him. It was
this day week I had that glimpse of Colonel Phipps ; I have
not seen or heard of him since.
If you or somebody else will get articles into the Tory
papers exposing the tendency of the poor law bill to subvert
Protestantism in Ireland, it will do more good than any
other argument. I have tried it with success on Lord  ,
and Mr.  and others. And it is really a sound argument
though not more sound than some others which they cannot
or will not take in. For though no friend to what some call
Protestant ascendancy, no more am I to Romish ascend
ancy. Now the Protestants have most of the property, the
Roman Catholics an immense preponderance of numbers;
then when the property of the one million is confiscated (for
such as O'Connell confesses is the tendency of the measure)
and made over to the six millions, the Protestants must be
utterly crushed, and will have nothing for it but to fly the
country, which they had better do while they can carry
something however small with them. Some may suppose
that if this were the tendency of the bill, O'Connell would
support it ; and so perhaps he would if the real benefit of the
six millions could be promoted by the total ruin of the one

220

MEMORIALS OF

million. But he knows that they would be ultimately re
duced to still greater misery, and, like the blind giant, would
only reap the harvest of revenge, and be crushed in the
same ruin with their enemies. Ever, my dear madam,
Yours, much fatigued and hurried,
Rd. Dublin.
Tunbridge Wells, Wednesday.
My dear Madam, — Many thanks for your communications,
which will be used in some way or other.
Mr. J.'s letter is highly interesting, but the stone masons
remind me of Mr. Puff in the critic vindicating the right, in
a free country, of all the commonalty to use as big words as
lords and ladies ; which very same joke, by the bye (nothing
new under the sun) occurs almost in the same words in the
frogs of Aristophanes Tyi/iotikov yap tovto, &c.
A man who through jealousy of another's friendship resorts
to slander and deceit, is as base in his means though not in
his end as if actuated by sordid self-interest. But the exist
ence of that jealousy as a demon, unperceived by the possessed
person, is a very common human infirmity, so that the sus
picion of it is natural enough. This reminds me of one
rare merit in Dr. Dickinson, who has not merely the con
tradictory but the contrary of jealousy : i.e., he is so anxious
to introduce me to all such men as are likely to attract my
regard (not merely his juniors but his equals and seniors)
that of all the clergy in the diocese from Dr. Wilson down
to the junior curates, all the very best are men who have in
fact been specially recommended to me by him. And if there
is no better among them than himself I am convinced that it
is not his fault. It is one of his high-minded traits of cha
racter. Do any of your neighbours take in the Saturday Magazine?
It is now entirely the property of Parker (West Strand), the
publisher ; and the series beginning with the present year is

LADY OSBORNE. 221
better than ever. Being only a groat a month it would fur
nish reading for some of the poor.
I suppose you know the " lessons on money matters" (which,
by the bye, are now gone to China as well as Ceylon to be
translated) appeared there originally. Of the separate
little volume Parker told me the other day he had sold
between 8000 and 9000, and it has been translated into
German and Dutch. In haste, my dear madam. Rd. Dublin.
P. S.— What is Mr. Butler ?
I forgot to say that since you have thought fit to make me
your Father Confessor, I suppose I am bound to prescribe a
penance. I prescribe therefore that you should read the latter part
of Essays on the Kingdom of Christ and note A in the
Appendix. Also repeat seven times over the portion of the
Sermon on the Mount, about doing good to those that perse
cute you : reflecting the while how much the disciples when
they came to apply these precepts to individual cases, must
have found their " feelings" enlisted on the other side,
though their "reason" assured them that the precepts were
of divine authority. Brunswick Hotel, Hanover Square,
Monday 5, March.
My dear Madam, — In two respects your letters are rather
troublesome to me : Firstly, they are in such pale ink that
it tires my sight, which is not so strong as it was; and,
secondly, they tempt me to answer them, which I have not
much leisure for.
You are often brought to my recollection now by the Com
mittee on Irish Education, now sitting, of which I am a
member. I expect it will bring to light a great deal of truth
where the public had been much deluded, and on that ground

222 MEMORIALS OF
I warmly supported it. You will have seen in the papers,
perhaps, a curious hash of my speech ; but though I cannot
speak slowly enough for the reporters (who piece together
the beginning of one sentence with the end of the next)
I was well heard and favourably received.
You are quite right in the view you seem to have taken
of my circular on prayer-meetings. I heard of the article
in the Examiner, but never read it. I do not take it
in and seldom see it. Dr.  , the professor, is the
author of the late attacks on me in that work; whether
of all of them, or of a part only, I am not sure. Being a man
of ability, I fear he will always succeed in poisoning against
me the minds of ... The only provocation he ever
received from me is, that I made advances to him, as holding
that office in the College, and several times invited him to
clerical dinners, which he always declined. I dare say your
ladyship has lived long enough in the world to be pre
pared to meet with dislike from any one who has rejected
proffered kindness. From all that I have heard of his
original good qualities, I am disposed to grieve over him.
His heart seems to have been no barren soil, but one in
which " thorns spring up," not pleasures and riches, but that
most overgrowing weed . . .
I have often had occasion to remark what a loose notion
of moral character many people have in England, and cer
tainly not less in Ireland. They judge of each separate action
as good or bad, and seem to have a very imperfect idea of cha
racter. I greatly startled many persons, I believe, by saying
in a charge, that virtuous and vicious are terms not strictly
applicable to any action, but to the agent, and his disposition
and design, of which the acts are only the indication. Now
those who gave you the account you received of Dr.
Dickinson's conduct on that occasion, seem evidently to
have entertained, and endeavoured to convey the belief, that
he designedly misrepresented the young man's sentiments

LADY OSBORNE. 223
and language, and conveyed to me an untrue impression of
them, with a design to prevent his being ordained ; and yet
it probably never occurred to these very persons to set down
Dr. Dickinson in their own minds as an utterly base and
unprincipled character. They were probably accustomed to
look to each separate portion of conduct insulated. Now, I
happen to know, that he always had a high opinion, which
he has often expressed to me, of young  , but had it
been otherwise, had he been guilty of such an act of trea
chery in respect of any of these persons, of whom he does
think unfavourably, I should set him [Imperfect].
Brunswick Hotel,
Hanover Square, London.
My dear Madam,-^-You most not suppose that any com
munication you may be so good as to make, respecting
schools, or other matters in which we have a common interest,
are indifferent to me, from not receiving answers, as this
may perhaps be the last letter I shall have time to write, except
on indispensable business, for a good while to come. Your
last and the preceding were very interesting and satisfactory,
I only regret want of leisure to answer them more fully
than I can. Before I had the pleasure of renewing my
acquaintance with you, I had often thought of our first
interview at Tunbridge Wells ; and though I never antici
pated so much agreement of views as has since taken place,
and thought you probably enthralled for ever by a party
which I knew but too well. I always gave you credit for that
ingenuousness, which I have in them so often found wanting.
On all matters connected with schools you may safely
write confidentially to Rev. J. Carlisle, at the Education
Board. You may, perhaps, find him blunt and unceremo
nious, but I have good reason to think him one of the most
frank, single-hearted, honest men you will meet with any-

224

MEMORIALS OF

where ; he is also discreet, and of his intelligence you can
judge from the pamphlet of his I sent you, and which you
did me the honour to mistake for mine.
Mr.  is the only one of the few (for they have been
very few) that have been refused ordination by me whom I
had any cause to regret. Dr. Dickinson, who it seems is
promoted to the important office of Blame-bearer, thinks
very highly of the young man, and of .... and of
his lady, though she is known to be much under the influence
of persons who are apt to abuse it by falsehood and misre
presentation ; two, especially, neither of whom have much
scruple in saying any thing that may serve their party
objects ; one, who is of a fervid temperament, generally, I
believe, succeeds in convincing himself of the truth of what
ever he thinks fit to say ; and the other, though I believe
he does not do this, is not the less skilful in convincing his
neighbours. The account you received of the case of young Mr. 
was, perhaps, as near correctness as could be expected, con
sidering it was a report of a report. Some circumstances,
indeed, that were not immaterial, were omitted, and others
so far altered as to give a different complexion to the trans
action; and it is not unlikely that he may also himself have
in some degree misunderstood Dr. Dickinson. But the
main fallacy which has warped the judgment of so many
well-meaning persons who have had it impressed upon them,
is the crafty use that has been made of the word " test," the
truth being, that I had never introduced any test at all. I
am bound to ascertain as well as I can a man's fitness for his
office, not only in point of knowledge, but also of moral and
religious disposition ; and this must be with reference to the
dangers to be apprehended in each respective time and place:
for instance, suppose there was a considerable number of the
clergy, who judged it not inconsistent with their functions to

LADY OSBORNE. 225
be members of a jockey club or boxers, &c, I might then
think it requisite to ascertain a candidate's views and inten
tions with respect to such matters, and then this might be
called " imposing a test." Now, if you will look at the
ordination service you will see a solemn vow to promote
"peace and quietness among all Christian people, and espe
cially those who shall be committed to your charge," if thert
there is a considerable portion of the clergy who think it
consistent with this vow to desert those who are committed
to their charge, and go about as missionaries in another
diocese, in defiance of the prohibition of the Diocesan, I
feel bound to ascertain a man's intentions in respect of this
matter, before I ordain him. And this is called imposing an
unauthorized test. But now, mark the dishonesty of my ad
versaries: the late Bishop of Ferns exacted a promise from
candidates not to preach extempore. I myself think he was
very injudicious in doing so; but the very persons who are
assailing me, never uttered a word of complaint against
him, but are subscribing to a monument to him as an ex
emplary bishop !
I find the excuse now made for me by the most moderate
is, that I am misinformed as to [imperfect].
When the inestimable Bishop Dickinson was appointed
almost all the clergy of this diocese, except a small number
of the most thorough-going, drew up (quite unknown to
him and me), and signed an address of congratulation,
expressing a joint sense of the great service he had rendered
in this, and was likely to render, in his own diocese; together
with their obligations for the unwearied and unparalleled
kindness with which they had always been treated. In
addition to the party bigots above alluded to  was
one who refused his signature, on the ground that Bishop
Dickinson having (in concurrence with me) supported such
and such principles and measures, which he conceived ren-
VOL. II. P

226 MEMORIALS OF
dered him an unfit person for the office. Now, if 
had not had great simplicity of heart he would (as I dare say
some did) have disguised or suppressed his real sentiments ; and
if he had not had great simplicity of head he would have not
failed (considering what ample opportunities he has had of
being enlightened) to entertain quite different sentiments.
Voila F homme ! I respect him much up to a certain point,
because I do not think he would lend his weight to a party
he did not approve, for the sake of the weight lent to him
by them, in respect of things he did approve.
You sejf, by the bye, a description on this last point in
one of my Essays on the " Dangers," under the head of
" party spirit." Perhaps I never told you that portion of
the Essays is an expansion of a conversation respecting your
self, which I held with a person who was lamenting to me
your secession from the " evangelical party." I took down
the heads of our conversation immediately, considering it to
involve important principles, and afterwards (omitting, of
course, all personal allusions) I brought forward the sub
stance of it as a charge. One main question debated was,
whether it be consistent with the character of an honest
man to co-operate with a party, and allow himself to be
reckoned a member of it, when several of their principles
and acts (to which of course he lends, by the circumstance of
his belonging to the party, his own weight) are such as he
inwardly disapproves, but thus connives at and favours in re
turn for the increased weight which their influence gives him.
There is a great storm raging on the other side of the
Atlantic, which I expect will reach us before long. The Pro
testant Episcopal Church in America has taken a step, which
if not recalled will amount, in my judgment, to a self depo
sition of all its bishops and ministers. I have written for
explanations, and to set forth my own views, to some mem
bers of it ; and shall write also to Dr. MTlwaine, Bishop of

LADY OSBORNE. 227
Ohio. His last Charge has been reprinted (Seely's) in
England; and if you have a curiosity to see what is going
on you should get it. Ever yours truly, Rd. Dublin.
Dublin, Saturday, 16th September.
My dear Madam, — I have been meditating and contriving
how to pay you my respects at Newtown Anner for a good
while past, but lo ! the fine weather is gone by ; I have not
been able to get a week or half a week free frorft engage
ments, nor can at all tell when I shall. At the worst, I shall
necessarily be on the move for the visitation next spring, and
then I may, perhaps, bring Mrs. W. with me, as far as to your
country, of which this autumn there would be no chance, as
she is so glad to be settled at home after such a long absence,
nothing but imperative duty would take her away again for
some time.
One of my impending engagements is the examination and
ordination of some candidates; and I shall also probably
have to examine some candidates for curates' licenses. Some
ordained men come before me (including men sent out by the
Home Mission to lighten the darkness of the parish
ministers !) so grossly ignorant that a child of ten years old
in your school would put them to shame !
Your young friend Mr.  is, I expect, to come before
me, as nominated by one of the two conductors of what you
call the An ti- Chris tian Examiner. Mr.  , his father,
acknowledges that nothing really required by me of
candidates is at all unreasonable; but he adds that my
requisitions having been so much and so successfully mis
represented, his son would be exposed to obloquy by com
pliance, as having complied not with what is, bpt what is
represented and believed to be required, and so he would be
p 2

228 MEMORIALS OF
for yielding to the storm, and avoiding by concealment of
real sentiments, the threatened persecution. How many are
ready to say Lord, Lord ! who would willingly bear the cross
but for its being heavy and galling their shoulders, and
would fain come to Jesus by night for fear of the Jews ! I
am anxious about the young man from all I have heard of
him ; for the trial is whether he will fear God or man most.
It is a sore trial for a young person to be exposed to the
persecution of the most merciless — the most unscrupulous —
active and unrelenting bigots, that ever fired a faggot. And
these very circumstances, which must make these the more
disgusting as associates to a man of any moral taste — make
them at the same time more formidable as enemies. He
must have seen that the whole course of their persecution
against me has been based on misrepresentation and carried
on by every kind of intrigue, trick, and subterfuge. He
may not know, and probably does not, the worst; but he
must know enough of the leaders of the party to disgust any
man of pure principles. He probably does not know how
worldly, sordid, and shabby some of them are. One who is
much put forward by the rest as  will not pay his
debts, but suffers his own child to be a burden on a poor
curate ! But he must know by what a paltry quibble they
distort what they must know to be the designed sense of the
Ordination Service. Satisfied to make out that the words
may be so construed as to bear a different sense, though one
which none but an idiot could for a moment suppose to have
been their intended sense. There is many a man I conceive
who has taken more false oaths than he could count, for
Custom-house business, that would shudder at the impiety of
thus tampering and quibbling with vows before God, made
in a sacred matter ! In haste,
# Yours very truly,
Rd. Dublin.

LADY OSBORNE. 229
" From this note it would appear that Lady Osborne was
instrumental in the establishment of the first-rate Model
School now flourishing in Clonmel, of which Mr. Terence
Smith is master." Friday.
My dear Madam, — I will see what can be done about Mr.
J.'s letter. Anything you wish to propose about a Model
School at Clonmel had better be in a letter (enclosed to me)
to Mr. Kelly, the Secretary, or to Mr. Carlisle as resident
Commissioner ; and then it will be brought regularly before
the Board, which I will see shall give it due attention.
I trust you will have received a copy of my reply to the
Lay Memorial. In haste, Yours very truly,
Rd. Dublin.
Tuesday Evening.
My dear Madam, — I find we answered each other's notes
to-day after the Irish fashion. Receive my assurance again
that 1 am never displeased with anyone for conscientiously
differing from me in opinion and frankly avowing it. Let
each but think for himself without tying himself to a party,
and again, let him not act on different motives from what he
professes, looking one way and rowing another. Those who
do this I am ready to forgive, but the others have no need
to be forgiven. In the present instance, however, I am more
and more convinced that if you are fully in possession of the
facts which many of those around you know, or might
know, but do not choose to communicate, you would find
that you differ from me little or nothing. For instance,
most of them probably know — all of them might know — that
what you propose as a modification of my (so-called) test
would be, and would always have been perfectly satisfactory

230 MEMORIALS OF
to me. I ask every man to explain for himself in his own
language what his designs and intentions are in respect of
preaching in other dioceses, and if it appears he has no
design of countenancing those irregular and schismatical
proceedings which you allude to, I make no objection to
licence or ordain him; but the fact is the leaders of the
Party which is assailing me are mystifying you and others
by pretending that they would be satisfied with this or that,
when in truth they are only seeking a pretext, for which, if
it were removed, they would instantly substitute another. I
do not ask you to believe this on my assertion ; you may
yourself make the trial in this way: say before those who
have signed or are about to sign the various memorials, &c,
that have lately been got up, the proposal contained in your
last note to me, bewailing at the same time my obstinacy in
refusing to accede to it (this will not be a lie any more than
Nathan's parable to David when he had the true explanation
of it just ready to follow) you will find I dare say many of
them declaring that this would fully satisfy them. Then
tell them that I do accede to it, and I am greatly mistaken
if you do not find that as soon as they find it will satisfy
me, they will draw back and refuse it. — "Mark now, I pray
you, and see how this man seeketh mischief," (see 1 Kings xx.)
Here is one proof among many that the above conjecture
is not thrown out rashly. A clergyman who applied to me
for a licence, and who appeared to have no inclination himself
to any turbulent proceedings, but to stand in awe of some
members of a Party, had several conferences with me on the
subject of the injunction, and at length wrote a letter ex
pressing what his views and intentions were, which letter, as
I subsequently learned from himself, was dictated to him by
a member of the Home Mission, in the expectation as I am
led to conclude by -what afterwards occurred, that I should
refuse him the licence. The letter, however, was perfectly

LADY OSBORNE. 231
satisfactory to me, and he did receive a licence. Now this
you would probably imagine would have settled the dispute
at once and for ever ! But no. As soon as ever it appeared
that I would accept the terms they were immediately with
drawn ! The very letter was shown to subsequent applicants
and it was proposed to them to make a similar declaration ;
but this it seems they were not permitted to do, "lest they
should be cast out of the synagogue." The truth is, my dear
madam, you and I might weary ourselves in vain, like the
lamb in the fable, in exposing one pretext after another that
the wolf set up. The main roots of all the clamour are
political hostility towards the ministry under which I was
appointed, and a desire to usurp the episcopal power, and
last, but not least the Education Board.
There are other less widely extended motives coming in
aid of these which operate on some, such as "odium theolo-
gicum," personal jealousy, national jealousy, and others.
One of the leaders of the Lay memorialists I remember some
time ago called on me when a living was vacant to beg for it
for his son ; the young man bears, I understand, a respectable
character, but as he was only just ordained deacon I did not
think it right to put him over the heads of aged and tried
labourers in the diocese, and I refused the application. Not
long after the father proclaimed me as of unsound religious
opinions, and it has so happened, that from that time to this,
no steps that I have taken in the diocese has given him any
satisfaction. I think you know now if you did not before, one way by
which one may escape charges of heterodoxy. And I may
add that I have no doubt I should have been easily forgiven
for providing for all my own relations. The family of the
most unblushing nepotist must be gorged at last ; a bishop's
own family cannot hold every thing; and those who have
wealth, party interest, and other such recommendations, hope

232 MEMORIALS OF
to come in for their share in time. But when they see quiet,
and modest, and humble worth made the sole title to pre
ferment, they naturally lose all patience from foreseeing that
there will be (thank heaven !) no end of men possessing this
qualification.'5' With thanks for your kind wishes, believe me
to be, dear madam, Yours very faithfully, Rd. Dublin.
My dear Madam, — I have sent to the Board the books,
&c, which I received from you. . . . The Secretary
received a gentle admonition for showing you the Inspector's
report without an order from the Board ; it is against our
rule and a most wholesome rule.
 perhaps describes Trinity College as a perfect
theological school in reference to himself; considering that
if men are sent forth nearly as good divines as one who is
presented as a " goodly and well-learned man to be conse
crated a bishop," a fortiori they must be fit for the humbler
branches of the ministry. According to that standard I
believe he is right ; but if your ladyship were to take him in
hand to examine him in the Greek Testament, I doubt
whether he would give you a very high idea of Trinity
College as a school for divinity. It is, however, greatly im
proved of late years (chiefly through the means of that very
system which I have been, though imperfectly, carrying on.
I can shew you some articles in the Christian Examiner
three or four years before I came here (when that work was
conducted by Dr. Singer) reflecting severely on the deficiency
of theological studies, which is^not wonderful as the examina
tion for Fellowships contains no allusion to anything of the
kind. Of late they have as I said, much [imperfect].

LADY OSBORNE. 233
[Beginning of this letter missing.]
I, on the contrary, will call that gold or silver which yet
has five or ten per cent, of base metal ; and I find that most
lead has 2 or 3 per cent, of silver.
And hence it is that by a great part of mankind I am
regarded as one of the most inconsistent of mortals ; merely
because I recognize defects where I approve and acknowledge
good qualities, even where I disapprove. It is as in the fable
of the clouds, The man his party deem a hero,
His foes a Judas or a Nero ;
Patriot of superhuman worth,
Or vilest wretch that cumbers earth ;
Derives his bright or murky hues,
From distant and from party views;
Seen close, nor bright nor black are they,
But every one a sober grey.
Mr.  , however, seems to me (and to several other com
petent judges) to have more striking inequalities than most
men. Hardly anything that he has written is there that does
not contain things which very few men could have equalled ;
and again, here and there, things below the level of an ordi
nary man.
His pamphlet on National Education, for instance (though
I am far from thinking it equal to his best things) contains
much that is very forcible and well put ; and some things that
are absolutely weak. I was reminded when reading it of the
opening of Ovid's Metamorphoses. " Corpore in uno Moblia
cum duris sine pondere habentia pondus." That most of
the arguments he used had been urged on him in vain, about
twelve years before, in a correspondence between us, he had
probably forgotten. But I could not so easily excuse his
saying that the opponents of the system were incomparably
better men than its supporters. He could not have known
this, and no one can know what is not true, and I hardly

234

MEMORIALS OF

can conceive how he could have failed to know the con
trary. There are of course good, bad and indifferent on both
sides, but it is my belief that if some impartial judges were
to go through Ireland, and select fifty of the wisest and best
men they could find, the result would be that — vast as is the
numerical superiority of the opponents, there would be found
a majority of the fifty, supporters of the system. Why to
go no further than Dr. Dickinson, Mr.  did not proba
bly know above half his qualifications, moral and intellectual,
but that half was enough to set him far above any of the
opponents of the system. As for that conversation with me
which I alluded to, I can assure you that nothing could be
more calm than our discussion was, on both sides, indeed I
never was aware of his being subject to imitation. He cer
tainly showed none then, and I admired (though unconvinced)
the ingenuity with which he maintained his position, else
indeed I should not have thought it worth while immediately
on going home, to commit to paper the whole conversation
and afterwards to embody it in a charge, omitting of course,
the reference to you individually. I felt it to be a matter
not only of importance, but of some nicety, to set forth
clearly all that could be said on the question, especially be
cause political partizanship, though a thing most perilous and
full of shoals on which many have been lost, I do not consider
as in itself unjustifiable. Whether he really thought at
the time and ever since exactly what he said, I have no
means of deciding ; but of what he did say, I have given
a most faithful report. I sympathize deeply with the afflic
tion  must feel on account of his son ; but if that son
has (as I understand) adopted for a good while the Romish
doctrines and practices, it is surely more for his credit, and
for the good of the Church also, that he should openly join
that communion, and make a sacrifice in doing so, than go

LADY OSBORNE. 235
on in dissimulation as so many do. And surely you could
not really wish that he should stifle his convictions, and
profess what he does not think out of regard to his father,
however dutifully he may feel towards that father. I should
be sorry any son of mine should do so.
Ever yours truly,
Rd. Dublin.
Friday.
My dear Madam, — Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Carlisle had a
disagreement or two between themselves, and the upshot is
that both have withdrawn. Mr. C. is about to proclaim pub
licly that he is as friendly to the system as ever. He is
succeeded by another Presbyterian clergyman of high cha
racter, but will continue in office till the end of March. So
there is reason for your friends to fear that I shall be able to
save them in spite of themselves from the total ruin they are
struggling for. Strange ! that persons living in Ireland and
not totally without intellect should be so blinded by passion
as not to perceive that if they and Archbishop M'Hale suc
ceed in overthrowing the National system, there must be
immediately a separate grant to the Roman Catholics, which
is what he wants, and that under that system the rising
generation will grow up in such a state of mutual animosity
as must within 20 or more likely 10 years, break out in a
civil war, of which our great grandchildren will not be likely
to see the end.
I have sent a man of your school to the Board. I have
been very hard fagged with the business of our ordination.
In great haste, Yours very truly,
Rd. Dublin.

236 MEMORIALS OF

Tuesday.
My dear Madam, — Pray keep the enclosed. Mr.  is
not always very accurate in his statements, as he views events,
books, persons, facts, everything, through the medium of
strong feelings. Look at the " Christian Examiner" and the
papers signed .... will own that this is the most
charitable view.
I ordained thirteen gentlemen yesterday, and they pre
sented to me a request, to which they even dared to sign
their names, for the printing of the sermon I delivered, as
likely to be instructive to the clergy as well as laity in these
critical times. If you had seen it you would see why I use
the word "dared." There certainly is an apparent beginning
of a strong reaction.
I suspect that if your letter did influence Mr.  not
to accept the curacy, it was by raising scruples in his mind
as to the propriety of taking the " test," for a test there is,
proposed not by me, but by the very cabal who stigmatize
me as having imposed one ! There is a certain set who have
agreed not to accept as curate, but to send to Coventry, any
clergyman who shall express his intention of not obtruding
himself into another diocese or parish against the will of
the bishop or rector. But there are symptoms of a break-up
among them. The whole conspiracy is based on falsehood,
and time brings truth to light. Yesterday's ceremonial asto
nished and undeceived many who had been actually brought
to believe that I could not find any respectable men to ac
cept orders !
Mrs. W  still poorly; if she gets better I am still in
hopes of visiting you this week. By the bye, an Irish lady
(anonymous) has presented £400 to what she calls the
Whately Schools. She (I suppose it was the same) had
before given £100 in 1833. Shall you petition for a share?

LADY OSBORNE. 237
The assistant curate of St. Anne's is dead. It is Dr.
Dickinson's parish. He has a most excellent curate in Dr.
West, one of the best men in the diocese, but he must have
a second. It would be a great advantage to a man of the right
sort to be trained under such a curate as Mr. West.
Ever, my dear madam,
Very truly yours, Rd. Dublin,
P.S. — The evidence before the Lords' Committee is pub
lished, with an index, and can be bought, 2 vols, folio,
Dublin, Wednesday, 23rd May, 1838.
My dear Madam, — I sent for you about ten days ago that
memorandum of the conversation with a friend of yours ;
but I had mislaid your direction (unluckily you do not give
it me again in your last), so I enclosed it to Senior, thinking
he knew or would find it out. He is at Kensington Gore,
or at Southampton Buildings, Lincoln's Inn; you can send
for it to him, or if by any chance it should be lost, I have a
copy here. I am to be sworn in Lord Justice to-day, so am
an unlimited franker during the Lord Lieutenant's absence.
Very truly yours, Rd. Dublin.
[The conversation is in the Appendix.] Education Board.
My dear'Madam, — Your application shall be attended to as
soon as any, but we have much business and little money.
I am excessively busy, as it is ordination week, and Mrs.
W. is ill, but is, I trust, recovering.
How should I get to your place from Clonmel, supposing
me to be able to get down by coach next week ?

238 MEMORIALS OF
From your letter I had the first information of Mr. 
having given up the idea of Mr.  's curacy, for Mr. 
did not think proper to answer the letter of assent he re
ceived. He said (as I since heard) at a clerical meeting that
you had prevented Mr,  from taking the curacy.
There is much in what you say of the course pursued by
the other bishops, but what is to me the main thing, you do
not notice. I should be very glad that any evil should be
prevented or lessened ; but the chief question for me is
whether it is to be imputable to me ; the greatest fault of
the other bishops is of less consequence to me than a smaller
fault of my own.
No man must have it to say that I have sanctioned,
expressly or impliedly, anything I have no right to sanction.
In great haste, Yours most truly,
Rd. Dublin.
31st October.
My dear Madam, — Mr. Drummond has been to England,
and is now returned. Perhaps he has by this time forwarded
that letter to you; Lord Morpeth promised me last night to
inquire for it. I contrived to keep awake most part of the
evening. To-day I feel a little tired.
I hope you and Mrs. Hill went to bed, and had, if not a
good night, at least a good morning. I feel most compassion
for her, because she may, perhaps, be of Sir Andrew Ague-
cheek's opinion, that " to be up late is to be up late," and yet
could not very well refuse to keep you company in your
frolic* * The frolic alluded to was this: — The Archbishop was going away very early
by the coach, and to avoid missing seeing him in the morning, Lady Osborne
and Mrs. Hill sate up talking to one another after the Archbishop retired to
rest, and remained up till they saw him off.

LADY OSBORNE. 239
There is no one I met at your house that I should better
like to meet again. There is something very prepossessing
about her. I am not sure whether I left with you a sufficient
answer to Mr. Archdall, as for a requisition signed by a
number of the parishioners. I explained to you the other
day my view of the unsatisfactoriness of such applications ;
but pray tell Mr. A. that I have found single sermons never
had much circulation (unless they are connected with some
popular controversy) ; and even where they do circulate, are
soon overlaid like other pamphlets, but if I should publish a
volume, I will remember his recommendation.
In haste, yours very truly,
Rd. Dublin.
Friday.
My dear Madam, — I am just thinking of writing, to ask
whether you could furnish any information that might be
useful to the Committee. You have long and earnestly
been engaged in promoting education under various systems,
and have long been surrounded with persons prejudiced
against ours. You have heard various complaints against it,
and have learned how far they are well or ill founded, and
what right or wrong influence they have exercised over
people's minds ; and you can point out what alterations or
substitutes have been suggested, and on what grounds hopes
and fears are entertained by any as to the ulterior progress
and effects. If you were to write me a letter (attested, per
haps, by other persons) to that effect, it would certainly be
of service in some way, whether produced in evidence or
shown privately. I believe you have been misled in one
respect as to  's curacy. I had nothing to do with the
application to young  ; it was made entirely without
my knowledge (except after it was done), from Dr. Dickinson's
confidence as to my good opinion of the man, which I had

240 MEMORIALS OF
derived entirely from his account of him. Let anyone but
lay aside prejudice against Dr. D., and judge of him from
personal inspection, and I feel certain that all right-minded
people will value him the more the better they know him.
I do not pretend to any great quickness in discerning cha
racter, and am accordingly very slow in forming a decided
judgment; but when I do form one, though I still keep
myself open to conviction, I have lived fifty years in this
world, and have never found myself mistaken yet. Nor is
this from "laying their characters on the shelf," as Cecil
said, and shutting my eyes against evidence; for in fact I
have had occasion to mourn over two or three friends who
have turned out quite different from what I had hoped ; but
still I found no ground for convicting myself of having been
mistaken, for the cases were of men whom all who knew
them agreed to have totally changed their character, appa
rently through the influence of bodily disease, in other words,
from partial derangement.
I wondered a good deal at what you said of the High
Church Tories ; not that it is not quite correct in itself, but
as distinguishing them from the Low Church, it is quite
against my experience. The worst portion of each of the
two parties always have reminded me of the celebrated anti
thesis of Archbishop Magee applied to the Presbyterians and
Romanists. The Low Church have religion (not very good
of the kind, by-the-bye) without a church, and the other
a church without religion. The latter are a degree less
inconsistent and hypocritical in their glossing over the vice
and irreligion of any who will but support an establishment
and a party and temporalities, because these things are what
they almost avowedly care most for ; they are the seculars,
properly so called, the Hophni and Phinehas' school, who
carry for their arms the flesh-hook with three teeth. The
others make high puritanical professions, and have, like the

LADY OSBORNE. 241
Maccabees soldiers, idols hidden under their garments. They
always spoke of Bishop Elrington (who, after all, was a
better man, with all his faults, than most of them) while
living as one who did not " know the Gospel," and after his
death they eulogize and monument him, whom they well
knew to have gone far beyond me in the very points for
which they abuse me.
There is a Mr. Larken, curate of Cowbit, in Lincolnshire,
personally a stranger to me, who has been so mad as to dedi
cate a little volume of sermons to me. I hear from those
who have read them (which I have not yet) that they are
sane and rational, and I am told he is a most amiable and
conscientious man. His publisher, in case you have any
curiosity to see them, is Pelham Richardson, Cornhill; but
Milliken has it.
Your remarks on spiritual pride are almost verbatim those
of a sermon of mine !
I am surprised at what you and some others in Ireland
say of the reports of my speech. To me and to all who
heard it there seems such a miserable hash, that I almost
wonder how you could make head or tail of it. I am too
rapid for the reporter. Lord Plunket repeats, and the Bishop
of Exeter speaks very slowly, but I find those who were pre
sent at the debate repeating faithfully the substance and
almost the very words of every argument and remark.
There is in the Dublin Mornimg Register and Evening
Post a letter from a private correspondent about it, which
diverted Mrs. W. and me. Ever, my dear madam,
Yours very truly,
Rd. Dublin
Pray circulate the enclosed pamphlet.
VOL. II. Q

242

MEMORIALS OF

" This letter is inserted because it has long ceased to be
a secret who wrote the book mentioned." Dublin, 1st May, 1838.
My dear Madam, — I shall write to you, if I can find
leisure, a long account of a conversation I lately had with a
friend of yours, which I think will interest you.
I have forwarded the application for books for your
schools. Pray keep on your table and mention as you have
opportunity those two pamphlets on Irish Poor Law, Remarks
on Nicholls, and abstract of the reports. If the Bill should pass
in anything like its present state — of which there is still some
fear — -notwithstanding the numerous petitions pouring in
against it ; all efforts to benefit Ireland in any other way are
thrown away. Your estate will be, in a few years, swallowed
up, and the people you are labouring to civilize hopelessly
demoralised and every way ruined.
If you enquire of Parker, West Strand, you can get the
" Easy Lessons on Christian Evidences" separate. Do not
hint any suspicion you may have of the author, as that might
check its circulation. I have been before the Transportation
Committee by letter; if you have a curiosity to see my
evidence, any M. P., can get it for you — it is fit for a lady's
perusal, which is more than can be said of most of the
evidence; but the subject is not an agreeable one.
I am, dear madam, in haste,
Yours very truly,
Rd, Dublin.

12th October, 1839.
My dear Madam, — No; I did not send that paper, but I
should recommend most emigrants to South Australia and
New Zealand, to each of which labourers well recommended
can get a free passage ; any enquiries I can forward to the

LADY OSBORNE. 243
respective agents and send back their answers; there are
little books in Dublin giving particulars respecting each
colony. I do not know where Lord Ebrington's popularity is to end.
Of course it cannot continue in its present state any longer
than till he is called on to take some decisive steps one way
or the other, and a decisive step that will satisfy both Whigs
and Tories, especially in respect of Ireland, is not on the
cards. He wishes it to be known, and I suppose it is known,
that the appointment of Bishop Plunket was entirely his
(Lord E's.) spontaneous act; but very likely the party who
call themselves the friends of the Church would more readily
forgive a purely political appointment than that of a more
efficient man not of their own party. A man of no party,
religious or political, who exerts himself to secure the Church
by raising its character and increasing its utility, meets with
no favour from either party. The more I see of political
and politico-religious parties, the more and the more equally
I loathe them. The clergy, generally, except those who are
enslaved to a party (a large proportion I am sorry to say) are
most of them not really opposed to my real plans, because
they do not know what they are, but have been brought to
credit representations the very opposite of the truth. Some
of them, perhaps, would be opposed if they did know,
because it is natural for men to be jealous of increased learn
ing in others when they themselves are deficient in it. . . .
In my own diocese an insolent protest has been got up by
 and signed by a large proportion of the Incumbents,
mark you, not Curates. The fact is I am the Curate's friend
and if I had suffered  to continue leaving his Curates
unpaid, the case would have been I suspect very different ;
yet I treated him as tenderly as I could consistently with the
obligations of justice. ..." But if when ye do well and
suffer for it ye take it patiently, this is acceptable."
Q2

244 MEMORIALS OF
I know not of any acquaintance of mine at Naples or
Rome. When do you start?
I am in Parliament but shall not attend this session, nor
probably ever any more. I find there is no good to be done
in a single session, especially when one does not act with a
party ; it is only at best getting a crop into the ground to be
ploughed up before harvest.
Mrs. W. has set up a girls' school-house within the grounds
which I hope you will come and see when you are next in
Dublin. There is also a boy's school-house building in the
village. The Protestant Rector is a terrible firebrand, and
preaches against them with all his might, and is so insolent
and abusive to the R. Catholics, that I am in daily dread of
his being knocked on the head, and thus canonized as a
martyr — it would soon be done if the Priest encouraged
them, as some would do ; but fortunately for all parties he is
a peaceable man. Ever, yours very truly,
Rd. Dublin.

Tunbridge Wells, 8 April.
My dear Madam, — Many thanks for your letter and the
enclosure, which I expect to find a use for.
I do not lose a moment in assuring you that I am not, and
was not, angry with what you said, though I thought, and
still think you will, on consideration, perceive that it would
be not only stooping but stooping over a precipice to volun
teer such a letter as you suggested to any but a very
intimate and confidential friend.
If an application came from Mr.  to me I should pro
bably answer, that the only way to avoid most invidious and
galling distinctions is to require exactly the same engage
ments from the least and most trustworthy. I myself

LADY OSBORNE. 245
should have no scruple in declaring my intention of abstain
ing from any irregularity or absurdity however gross, or of
performing any duty however obvious, provided the same
engagements were required of all alike ; for then (and then
only) no injurious suspicion would be implied. In fact, if you
look at the Ordination Service you will see that I have already,
in common with every clergyman, promised many things, in
which it would be very affronting to doubt me. In the pre
sent case, however, more especially, it would be most insi
dious to declare open war against the Home Mission, by
accepting a man on the avowed ground of his expressing
disapprobation of them, when I have been carrying on a
negotiation with them, which however unlikely to come to
a favourable termination, shall never be broken off by my
means for the purpose of bringing about an agreement with
them, or at least with such a society as shall have in view
the objects they profess to seek.
Sound Church discipline, however hopeless, shall never be
overthrown by me. You ought to have received before
now a copy of a reply from me to a certain lady's memorial
(in which I saw as plainly as the king of Babylon, " the
footsteps of men, women, and children"), which reply, after
a month's delay the framers of it mean to print, with their
own rejoinder, in the papers. I shall not, however, enter
into a paper pleading against those who have no jurisdiction
before a tribunal, that of newspaper readers, which has no
jurisdiction either.
Poor Mr.  has been examined. He has done no harm
to the system, but, I fear, some to himself, in having his
declarations taken down by the short-hand writers, who sit
ready to " write me down an ass." That he is for giving
no education to those who are not to be brought up strictly
in the principles of the Established Church : and that he has
excluded the school-teachers from his religious instruction,

246

MEMORIALS OF

for fear they should so profit by it, as to be a benefit to the
system !
I shall return on Monday to the Brunswick Hotel, Hanover
Square. Ever, my dear madam,
Very truly yours, Rd. Dublin.
P. S. — If you will order from your bookseller, Mrs. R.
Trench's " Thoughts on Education," edited by Mrs. W., pub
lished by Parker, West Strand ; it will probably be out by
the time the order arrives.

Tunbridge Wells, Tuesday.
My dear Madam, — I often ask the question which clowns
do of one who enquires his way, " Where did yon come
from ?" and with reference to that question Mr.  's letter
is very satisfactory ; looking at it in the abstract I see a man
who (in common with many worthy people) has missed one
of the most fundamental principles of Protestantism, and
(consequently) of Christianity; viz., that all men should be
left free, as far as secular coercion and civil government are
concerned, to worship (or not to worship) God according to
the dictates of their own conscience ; and to obtain for them
selves and their children such religious instruction, good or
bad, as they choose. We have no right to advise or urge
them to receive what we think bad instruction as such, but
we are bound to allow them to receive what instruction they
think good. This principle has in fact been long since
recognized in practice, though people are so silly as to
imagine, or so dishonest as to pretend that it is a novelty
introduced by the Education Board. We do not deserve the
credit of having introduced this great principle of tolera-

LADY OSBORNE. 247
tion. The Board leaves the people two days in the week,
who already had seven days in the week to give their children
what religious instruction they thought fit ; but Mr. A. has
begun to leave error behind him, and I think he will attain
right principles in the way that people usually do (and as I
hope the Roman Catholic's will), by beginning with right
practice — " If any man is willing to do the will of my
Father," &c.
I had some communication with Lord Bexley some years
ago relative to the Jews Bill, so that there is an opening for
co-operation between us in that quarter also. Suppose you
were to ask him whether he has seen my volume of charges
and tracts, in which I have reprinted my speech on the Jews
Bill, with additional remarks. By the bye, has Mr. A.
read that? If any one is not a convert to my views of tole
ration, from what I have there said, he is beyond the reach
of any arguments / can devise. I should not like to be
Pope or Dictator in Ireland ; not because I should not pur
sue such a course as I am convinced would be benefi
cial, but because I should have a successor; but what I
want is, to have a government for the Church such as the
American Episcopalians have, and such as was hinted at in
the petition of the Kildare clergy, which is in that volume
of charges. If you and Mr. Woodward could get up a
petition in the same spirit, signed by people of respectability
about you, you would do a real service to the Church, in
the only way in which, I believe, it can be effectually served.
By the bye, that pamphlet I sent you is not by me, nor do I
know the author, but I thought it likely to be useful.
There is another in the press, which I expect will be still
better. 1 have just been talking about your ladyship with Pope,
whom you remember here, and who always, I find, even
when there was much difference in your opinions, gave you

248

MEMORIALS OF

credit for that ingenuousness, which I had always observed,
and to which I am now indebted for the benefit of your
alliance, as far as I can judge. Yesterday I went with Mr.
Bishop and looked over the Union Workhouse, which is a
good building, and in good order, nearly strong enough
(with twenty or thirty soldiers) to confine Irish paupers. It
cost about £4,000, and would hold (tight stowed) near 400,
including children. Workhouses, therefore, for 80,000 Irish
would cost £800,000 for building, but this is only one-tenth
of what others propose. The food and clothing, &c, costs
2s. 6d. per week, or £12 10s. per annum — call it for Ireland
only £10, and that for only half the year; this makes, for
the 800,000 paupers, an annual expense of four millions,
Ever, my dear madam,
Yours, most truly,
Rd. Dublin.
Extracts. 7th November.
There is a party at Oxford associated for the purpose of
publishing what they call, " Tracts for the Times, who are
disseminating principles far more Popish than are necessarily
held by those professedly Roman Catholics, or than are
actually taught at this very time by many of them. If your
ladyship were to look at the ingenious little pamphlet which
has made some noise of late, under the title of a Pastoral
Epistle from the Pope to some members of the University
of Oxford, you will see convincing specimens how far the
principles of a religion may co-operate while the empty name
is scrupulously retained.
It would be strange, indeed, if there were not some
resemblance of style between Dr. Dickinson and myself,

LADY OSBORNE. 249
considering what loads of letters and other documents have
been written by each of us, and for the most part looked
over together by us both.
If whenever you write to Mrs. Whately you drop in a
word in favour of the National Schools, you will do a great
service. Mr.  , and the rest who talk of our Popish
Catechism are but ill read in Scripture, for they would find
in John vi. 55 the very words they censure."

Scraps from Letters.
I am happy to say No. 8 of the Cautions is printed, and
will be out in a day or two. I like Mr. Fitzgerald's writing
better and better. I send him some bricks and timber and
he makes them into a neat house. The sale continues to
improve, though not rapidly.
I understand there are many in the neighbourhood of
your ladyship's residence who speak chiefly Irish. I should
be glad to know your opinion on the much-debated ques
tion, as to the expediency of teaching them to read Irish.
I congratulate you on the lies told about you. It is a
high compliment, showing, first, that the adversaries are
afraid of you; second, that they can find nothing true to
found complaints on.
If you and I had full credit from men for all our toils
and public spirit, it would turn our heads.

250

MEMORIALS OF

Dublin, 25th February.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I think the publication of that
correspondence in which Mr.  is quite triumphant is
likely to do great good. We shall go to England some time
this year ; but whether I shall appear in the House is doubt
ful — not unless for some special matter in which my presence
may be particularly called for. I have ascertained by ex
perience that a regular attendance for a session by one who
is only there for one session at a time is wholly useless. As
for a vindication of the system of National Education, it
would be worse than useless for me to take that out of the
hands of the ministers. If the present Lord Lieutenant had
been sent over at first, I do believe ministers would have
almost entirely escaped a most distressing series of troubles
and opposition, which they will now have to struggle against
with very partial success, as long as they remain in power.
I cannot find that Mr. W. has done them any good, any
that is considerable, which I think he might if he had come
forward frankly owning himself to have been in error. I
have good hopes that the Board will at length be incorporated
by Charter, which is what we so long urged in vain on the
Whigs ; this will be a step towards better things that will
still be wanting.
Have you seen the new Reading Book (with prints) supple
ment to No. 3 ? I hope you will have time to look in at our
Model School as you pass through, and that you will find it
still improved. Very truly yours,
Rd. Dublin.
Palace.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I sent last week a pamphlet
for Senior to forward, after reading it, to you. I cannot
account for its not having reached you. I asked in the note

LADY OSBORNE. 251
which accompanied it, what you thought of Mr. W's. pamphlet,
now you ask me. It certainly shows much ability and is
likely (as I lately told him in a letter) to do important
service ; this I can say with a safe conscience, and I think I
had better say no more, as you are evidently wishing to see
only the golden side of the shield. There are many things
that might be censured by the opponents, and many by the
supporters of the system; but I do not know that those
defects will diminish or will not even increase the service
done to the cause. Do not take up the notion that I think
ill of Mr. W., or am on an unfriendly footing with him.
We are very good friends, but I am not one of those (though
a most numerous class) who are either all for or all against a
man, and will see either no defect or no goodness in him. I
have received an invitation to his house, and he to mine for
next Wednesday. In haste, Yours truly,
Rd. Dublin.
Dublin, 20th March, 1844.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I was amused at your former
letter complaining of the different tone Mr.  had
assumed at the Palace and with you over night ; I think I
can explain it. You brought Mr.  along with him,
and that forced him to be on his good behaviour, and not
speak out, lest the other in the simplicity of his head and
heart should peach. Your last letter was highly instructive.
We ought to copy whatever recommendations any new party
introduce with a view to gain converts, as far as we in
nocently may. None of those recommendatory circumstances
really belong to any particular party in itself, but are to be
found almost in every one at its origin. They each look well in
the bloom of youth. The gross profligacy, the profaneness, the
secularity, the ignorance, and the absurd superstitions which

252 MEMORIALS OF
the Church of Rome displayed just before the Reformation,
would, if displayed in the time of the first advances of the
Romish system, have killed it in the bud ; and Tractism is
merely one form of the revival of that system, with its
natural tendencies concealed from the vulgar, and bedecked
with the ornaments which do not properly constitute any
part of it; " Positis novus exuviis, nitidusque juventa," i. e.,
the snake which Virgil describes is most dangerous when it
has just cast its slough and put on a bright new skin.
The Evangelical party has just now rather passed its
prime. Those who had long been preaching Antinomianism
— many of them without knowing it — are succeeded in many
instances by men who practice as well as preach it ; on the
average there are many admirable exceptions. As a gene
ral rule it is more needful to be on your guard in any
money transactions with men of high profession in that
school than with the common run of worldly men; yet
at first every party is rather distinguished by what is called
moral purity and freedom from vice ; I mean those vices to
which Satan alone will allow that name to be given,
because they are not his. Since, as old Isack Walton says,
" he is not a glutton, neither can be drunk, and yet is he still
a devil ;" but as for evil-speaking, lying, and slandering, envy,
hatred, malice, and all uncharitableness, these he will not
permit us to call " vices." Then in process of time, as a
party gains strength, more and more scamps join it, by way
of white-washing themselves, or of gaining some consider
ation in the world which they could otherwise have no
chance of. " Rubbish and mud portend a flow;'' when the
stream of party is swelling it gets fouler and fouler, and you
will find this the case before long (it is beginning already)
with the Tractites.
Mr.  's friend Mr.  , if he has good testimonials and
passes a good examination will have his fair chance like

LADY OSBORNE. 253
other candidates. I will use as much influence on his behalf
as if he were my own son, viz., none at all. The story about
his having obtained promises of votes I do not believe, but
shall enquire about it. Mr.  does not at all know me,
nor could, I apprehend, if he were to live with me for a
twelvemonth, because hardly any one can understand any
one's acting on a purer system than himself. The plan we
go on is to look out for the very fittest person we can find
for each office, without any personal considerations. But I
should despair of making Mr.  believe this —
" Non vivitur istic
Quo tu vere modo ; domus haec
Nee purior ulla est
Nee magistris aliena matis."
With kind regards to Miss O., believe me to be,
Very truly yours,
Rd. Dublin.
P. S. — I do not know whether you are a reader of Horace,
but it is almost worth while to learn Latin for the sake of
enjoying that satire of " Ibam forte via Sacra," where he
meets with a modest and disinterested Irishman.
P. S. — Do you know my excellent friend Bishop Stanley?
Dublin, 30th March.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I have made one of my girls
write out from my common-place book the thoughts on fast
ing, which I developed into two sermons lately. It is only
brief heads put down for my own use, but may, perhaps, sug
gest to you what I meant.
Mrs. W. is gone to Oxford to tend her son, who is laid up
with rheumatic fever. She was forced to leave me, though
herself not stout, to take care of my eldest, who was not yet

254

, MEMORIALS OF

able to travel. We mean to start on Monday for Chelten
ham, where my daughter is ordered the waters.
That discovery you allude to of pressure for cancer I
remember being in great vogue between thirty and forty
years ago, when it was said to have given relief to several
patients, but I am sorry to say that none of them recovered.
I had seen those ballads last summer. There is a good
deal of ability in them, for even the parts that are nonsense,
are such nonsense as will take with the people they are
designed for. On the whole, the vulgar and profane phrase
of " devilish good " will apply well to them. They are
truly satanical. Yours, very truly, Rd. Dublin.
" The thoughts on fasting will be found in the appendix."
Dublin, 16 June, '44.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I send you a pamphlet of
" Notices," reprinted from sundry loose papers, that have been
sent me from time to time, and which I have thought it right
to distribute in the course of my visitation.
I am just returned from it, and am " pretty considerably
used up," as the Yankees say. The triennial visitation will
begin on the 27th of July, and will keep me out about three
weeks. I should like to know what you think of Mr. Woodward's
very important pamphlet on the Education Board. It is, I
am told, selling very fast.
My family are at the sea side, among the rocks of Dalkey»
to mitigate, as far as possible, the annual attacks of hay
fever, with which my eldest two, are always visited. Of
course my son's convalescence is retarded by this superaddi-
tion of new disease.

LADY OSBORNE. 255
Have you seen the Memoir of Dr. Arnold ? I find there
is a new edition of it already called for.
Yours, very truly,
Rd. Dublin.
5th July, '44.
My dear Lady Osborne, — That pamphlet I did not pub
lish, but only reprinted it for distribution in my tour. It
may be published by any one who should think it worth
while ; which in London I think it might, as I have found it
excite great interest. Suppose you try.
One thing which may have diminished the estimation in
London of Mr. Woodward's pamphlet is, that people may
wonder why that should produce any effect now, which has
been said (though he certainly has put some of the arguments
very well) in substance, again and again, for the last twelve
years, and to which the majority of the Protestant clergy,
including himself, had so long turned a deaf ear. Many
men think it unreasonable that the same arguments coming
from one man should go for nothing, and from another have
great weight; though, perhaps, they themselves, in some
other cases, evince the same unreasonable prejudice.
Perhaps, also, some may remark (as I have heard some do
here) that he does not write like a convert, nor take any par
ticle of blame to himself for having (though in a quiet way)
favoured and sanctioned the refusal to listen to evidence,
and to adopt a reasonable course, for which he censures the
rest of the clergy. He did not, indeed, join them in their
"violent attacks; he only, as it were, "kept the raiment,"
without throwing stones himself. But it has been thought
not only unjust but impolitic to cast blame on others, and
take no share of it to himself. Perhaps it is as a compen
sation for this that he flatters the opponents of the National
Education, at the expense of the supporters, who it seems
(see page 2) are incomparably inferior to them. I wonder

256 MEMORIALS OF
whether he is serious or jesting when he speaks (in pre
face) of the willingness that his bishop should make free use
of his name. Very truly yours, Rd. Dublin.
P. S.— Thank you for your enquiries. The hay fever is
nearly over. Dublin, 26th January, 1847.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I know a good deal of the
case of that school — more, I apprehend, than Mrs.  did
when she communicated with you. She has now been written
to, I am nearly certain, by the Secretary of the Board, on the
subject. The patronship of the school was not vacant.
The priest, who was the original patron, on leaving the
parish handed over at once to his successor that office, and
this was acceded to by the Board, who are now called on to
oust the present patron, and substitute another. Now, the
best way to judge is, to put one's self in another's place.
Suppose the priest of your parish had been a disciple of
M'Hale, and had done his best from the first to keep children
from your school at Newtown ; and at last, finding it still
prosper, and having got possession of a better house, had, on
the occasion of your handing over the patronship to your
daughter, sent to the Board to propose transferring the
school and appointing him patron; and supposing this
had been acceded to, and that he had shortly afterwards
dismissed your master, and put in a Roman Catholic, a crea
ture of his own; and had endeavoured, as far as the rules of
the Board would allow, to make it a kind of " priest's
school," would you not feel that you had been " jockied?"
Now this is just the sort of thing that is, and doubtless
will be, attempted in various places.

LADY OSBORNE. 257
The opponents of National Schools, when they find their
opposition ineffectual, come forward at the eleventh hour to
try and get them into their own hands.
N.B. — The labourers who were hired at the eleventh hour
are not mentioned as having been invited before, in vain ;
much less as having reviled and pelted those who went to
work in the vineyard.
If Mrs.  will be so public spirited as to give a better
house for the school, she will, without being the regular
patron, have enough control to see that the rules of the
Board are strictly adhered to ; that the master does his duty
well (else the Board will have him dismissed), and that the
children accordingly receive as good an education as in the
best conducted National Schools.
If their benefit be her object this is what she will do.
Should she set up a rival school, under a rival society, that
though I shall regret the ill blood that will thence be
generated in the parish, will be sufficient proof that she was
actuated by party spirit, and would consequently have been
a very undesirable person for patron.
For aught I know the priest may be an undesirable patron.
But Mrs.  could easily keep him by a little judicious
superintendence from doing any serious hurt. Should how
ever, the Board supersede him as patron, he will be very
likely to vent his indignation at the grievance, by raising a
great deal of jealousy in the parish, and probably keeping
uji a rival and hostile school.
As for the famine, I have long lamented, what I find even
the ministry now hardly attempt to justify, the long delay
of the measures for removing the duty, admitting corn in
foreign vessels, and allowing sugar in the breweries. But it
has ever been the curse of this wretched country, that reme
dies for its evils, when they are applied, are too late.
VOL. II. R

258 MEMORIALS OF
The combined baseness and folly of those who try to
bribe a starving population to change their religion is worthy
of all scorn and detestation. A slight effort has been made
in that direction here, but I believe it is quite quashed. Is
it decidedly going on in your parts ? Believe me to be,
Yours, very truly,
Rd. Dublin.
Dublin, 30 September, 1847.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I supposed you had known
that  has been offered a living, and declined ; it was
very small, as almost all are here about; and I believe would
have involved more cost than it would have repaid. I have full
confidence in his conversion, as I have in all he says ; when
he was an opponent he plainly owned it. Do you not remember
bringing him and Archer Butler together to the palace some
years ago ? I should be very glad to pay you a visit, but it
is next to impossible to get away without some evil result.
It is not the quantity of business, but the distribution of it,
one thing to be done one day and another next day; and
something may arise the day after, and so on. With kind
regards to Mrs. O. In haste, Yours, very truly,
Rd. Dublin.
November 26th, 1847.
Dear Lady Osborne, — I will set on foot an inquiry about
that school. I have always regretted that there should be
so little inspection, but we are kept short by Government.
If the Protestants did but know their own interest, they
would look after the schools in their neighbourhood, but
party spirit swallows up all. I quite agree with what you
say about Radicals, they will be regarded as apostates unless

LADY OSBORNE. 259
they " go the whole hog." I believe the Lord Lieutenant
is ready and willing to take effectual measures for putting
down outrage. But there never was a more difficult problem
to solve. I will take care not to let out your name.
Very truly yours,
Rd. Dublin.

Dublin, 18th December, 1847.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I conclude you will like to hear
what I think of Mr. Thomas Woodward's pamphlet.
The Searcher of hearts can alone decide who is really
honest, but Mr. T. W. writes like an honest man. He does
not, like too many of the deserters from the ranks of our
opponents, either shirk all mention or allusion to his former
opposition, or back out of it by pretending that the system
of the Board is changed, &c, but confesses frankly that
he was in error as to facts. Now, I shall always be ready to
admit that, as far as I can see, an honest man could have
done no more than he has.
By the bye, in page 18 I think he mistakes in saying that
our Lord rebuked the ruler. He only represented that two
things must go together, and that consequently both must
be denied or affirmed.
In my " Thoughts on the Evangelical Alliance," when I
spoke of their rejecting Quakers as not " evangelical," though
they confessed them to be " Christians," what I said might,
with a slight alteration of the words only, have been ex
pressed thus : — " Why do you call these men Christians ;
none is a Christian who is not evangelical"?
The Coercion Bill is, I find, the most stringent that could
have been speedily passed ; and those who declared that they
would have opposed anything more stringent, have declared
also that if this fails, they will be prepared to vest greater
r2

260 MEMORIALS OF
powers in Government. I think Lord Clarendon will try
fully and fairly what can be done with this Bill.
Ever yours truly,
Rd. Dublin.
P.S. — What a blow to the Church have these bishops
inflicted by their address to Lord J. R  , and how well he
has answered them ! Dublin, 3rd January, 1848.
Dear Lady Osborne, — I send you a paper containing the
best^ account I have seen of the Hampden persecution.
Please to return it, unless you can get the article copied into
some provincial papers.
There is something in what you say of the Roman Catholic
population. No doubt that religion is far less favourable to
civilization than Protestantism, as may be seen best in some
of the Swiss cantons, because they are on equal terms in
all other respects ; and yet the contrast is striking between
the Roman Catholic and the Protestant cantons. But to try
what could be done for the deterioration of Protestantism,
you must suppose England again conquered by the Normans
or some foreign people^of a different religion, who seize on
all the land, and take all the church endowments for their
own church, leaving the mass of the population all poor — to
maintain their own minister on the voluntary system, and
especially if this had been done 300 years ago, when the
English were far less civilized than now, what would they
be at this day? Till the priests are paid there is no hope of
civilization for Ireland, and so thought Lord. Grenville. I
have taken steps to have the Bonmahon schoolmaster sur
prised. Yours very truly, Rd. Dublin.
P.S. — In the lectures on a " Future State" (Millennium), I

LADY OSBORNE. 261
have said all that I think Scripture authorizes us to say on
the prophecies relative to the Jews. A man may form his
own conjecture (not contrary to Scripture), but he must not
put forth as Scripture doctrine what is not clearly revealed.
Dublin, llth August, 1848.
My dear Lady Osborne, — It is very seldom that 1 have
time to read any debates. If the speaker be ever so eloquent
and trustworthy, and the subject ever so important, still
unless there is strong reason for supposing that something
will come of it, that he will practically be more attended to
than ever I have been, I do not undertake the task of
reading the speech. I have not seen either of those you
mention. My views on the subject may be seen as con
cocted between Dr. Dickinson and myself several years ago
(and brought forward as the Baring clauses) in the volume
of his remains.
I am sincerely glad to hear that Mrs. B. O. is doing well.
I send you a copy of a tract which Parker has now printed
separate, and will supply, I presume, if wanted for distri
bution at a very low rate. Very truly yours,
Rd. Dublin.
26th August, 1848.
My dear Lady Osborne, — Were I in the place of either
of the contending parties, I should feel bound to yield at
once, because either arrangement shuts out all possibility of
improper interference, except any that the Commissioners
could and would at once remedy. But although I think
both parties wrong, I do not think them both equally in the
wrong. The priest may naturally, though not reasonably,
imagine that the determination to shut him out from all
share in the patronage of a school would be originally set on
foot, implies some unfair design, and the case of that other
priest does not apply.

262 MEMORIALS OF
First, because, if one priest has done wrong to take
for granted that any other will do the same, would justify
the same mode of judging of Protestants; and secondly, be
cause a joint patron could not appoint or retain an unfit
master, since, in the event of a division between the patrons
the Board would decide. But both of the parties will have
on their heads the blood of hundreds of innocent children
sacrificed to their paltry jealousy. If these are brought up
in ignorance, vice, and degradation, what will those say who
have to face them at the day of judgment? I would not
incur such a responsibility for all beneath the moon. As for
the Commissioners, they can do no other than they have
done. Many persons who opposed the system for fifteen
years, now that they find it will succeed, are for mounting
the winning horse, and ousting the  from all that they
— in spite of timely warning — have allowed him to get into
his hands. What would be said of us, and justly, if we
should make ourselves a party to this? Not so; you must
buy the one Sybilline book at the price for which you might
have had the three. Very truly yours,
Rd. Dublin.

13th September, 1849.
My dear Lady Osborne, — A copy of my charge has
been sent you. Did you see the sequel to the tract on
" Evidence" (on the history of religious worship), parts one
and two, and have you seen "Lessons on Paul's Epistles"
(another hand, for the use of young people)? It is very
well done. Poor Dr. Taylor has been carried off by the
cholera. There is one honest man the less in the world !
You will have seen the death of my valued friend the
Bishop of Norwich ; he is a great loss both public and pri-

LADY OSBORNE. 268
vate. I hope Mrs. Osborne and her lovely children are
well. Very truly yours, Rd. Dublin.
9th April, 1850.
My Dear Lady Osborne, — Most of the bishops have
benefices in their gift, double in number and quadruple in
value of mine. And this, many do not know and many
do not consider; but, were the reverse the case, still many
respectable men must be left unprovided for, and I should
still have to expect that each of these would be reckoned by
himself and his friends as aggrieved ; and this the more from
the principle on which I am understood to bestow prefer
ment. If I provided for my own relatives and connections,
and for persons who would befriend these, in return, many
even who would rail at Nepotism ; would hug themselves with
the thought, " if it went by merit," I, or my friend such-a-one
would be the man," and I was, on my own appointment,
exposed to much more envy than if I had been a personal
or political friend of Lord Grey. But he who is appointed
without any such recommendation, merely from his supposed
qualifications, is exposed to the indignation of all who think
their own or their friends' qualifications greater. He has
robbed them not only of the advantage, but the credit of
the preference, winning not only the trick, but the " honours.
As for Mr.  , if you meet with any more persons who
ask whether " I have any objection to him," and have " laid
him on the shelf," you will do him a service by saying that
if it were so I should not have recommended him, as I did,
for a living (which it did not suit him to take), and again
for a chaplaincy, for which I was asked to recommend, but
which was given to another; nor should I have given him
he introduction I did to the Bishop of London — " Deliver

264

MEMORIALS OF

me from my friends, &c." His friends do not consider how
they injure his character by insinuating that I think unfavour
ably of him. As for promises; I have sometimes promised a
man the offer of some particular living, for which I have
thought him especially suited, but never of the first that
may chance to fall vacant, because it might happen to be
one for which another was better suited. I am not sure
how far  is suited for M  , or he fit for it ; but I
never advised him on the subject. I only gave him a letter
to the Bishop of London when I found he meant to apply.
I am not sure what his views are as to the Catholic Universal
Church; but certainly there are some men — as safe from
themselves becoming Romanists as I am-^whose doctrines
would lead many of their hearers, in Italy especially, Rome-
wards. I mean those who speak of the Church Universal
as one community on earth, and of its offices, its ordinances,
decisions, &c, as claiming our obedience. A person of rather
more clearness of head and consistency than the preacher,
sets himself to find out where this Church is, and who are
its organs. One of our bishops is a bishop, indeed, in the
Universal Church; but he is not a bishop of the Universal
Church any more than our Queen, who is a European Queen,
is Queen of Europe. Our bishops have no power beyond
the pale of our own church. The result is, that after grop
ing about for a long time .and asking everybody where the
church is, he at last finds his way to Rome, which at least
sets up a claim, though a groundless one, to be that Church.
This man, though wrong, is consistent. His teacher, if
keeping aloof from Rome while he talks of the power and
the decisions of the Universal Church, is inconsistent.
Ever yours, very truly, R. Dublin.
P.S. — Many thanks for your inquiries. Our last accounts
of my son and daughter are much better.

LADY OSBORNE. 265
6th December, .1850.
Dear Lady Osborne,— r-I have not time for writing, but
if you wish to know my thoughts on the late Romish move
ment, Mrs. Hill can give you a sketch of them. I am trying
hard to keep my clergy from making any stir about it, which
would be most mischievous, and in that Bishop Daly and
I are agreed. As for my opinion on free trade your cousin
may be referred to the '' Lessons on Money Matters."
Yours truly,
Rd. D.
Dublin, 15th Feb., 1851.
My Dear Lady Osborne, — I hope you have received
the printed answers to your letters which I have sent from
time to time. I have been too busy to write, and am not
much less so now. Besides an unusual pressure of other
business, I have just been bringing out a little volume of
" Lectures by a Country Pastor," and have another in the
press. I am afraid you do not approve the "cautions" written at
my suggestion, and under my superintendence ; but you know
you may freely speak your mind. I do not think but that we
shall ultimately agree. The Atlantic and the Mediterranean
are at the same level on the whole, and in the long run,
though the one has tides, and the other none. You have
had sundry ebbs and flows since I first had the pleasure of
meeting you at Tunbridge Wells, a quarter of a century
ago ; but, on the whole, you have not been very far from
the same level with me.
Have you seen Archbishop Cullen's letter to his clergy,
and the answer to ditto, by a priest of Dublin Diocese?
They are very well worth reading. So is also " Historic Cer
tainties," a little pamphlet which some people father on me,
though it is not mine. If you do approve of the Cautions,

266 MEMORIALS OF
pray do your best to bring the publication into notice, since
so cheap a one cannot go on .unless it have a very wide
circulation. Yours very truly, Rd. Dublin.
" Mr. Gladstone having stated that Archbishop Whately
agreed with him in the cry on which he canvassed South
Lancashire, part of the following letter was published in both
an Irish and Manchester paper, which is a direct contradiction,
as direct as any retrospective letter could be in its bearing
upon a crisis that had not then arisen. Great was the surprise
therefore of the Editor to see in his published and corrected
Lancashire speeches, his Grace again brought forward as
sharing in his views with regard to Ireland. From the
allusion to Mr. Gladstone in his life, it does not appear
that there was the slightest mental sympathy between them,
over and above the especial difference upon the subject of
Ireland. The Archbishop had a logical, practical and con
sistent mind." Dublin, 8th March, 1851.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I signed, and indeed had a
large share in framing those Addresses; simply with the
object professed of guarding against the design which I
knew was entertained (as you may see it advocated in the
Times), of separate legislation for England and Ireland. I
took care to have clauses inserted deprecating all interference
with liberty of conscience. Whether any legislation can be
contrived that shall not so interfere, I was not nor am,
prepared to determine. And though I do not myself see
any objectionable course, I could not presume to say that no
one else could. But supposing I had fully decided (which I
had not) against any legislation, and that I could have in
duced (which would have been impossible) the other Irish

LADY OSBORNE. 267
Bishops to adopt that view, and to embody it in an address,
the result would have been to defeat the very object we had
at heart. For those who are disposed, even as it is, to legis
late separately for what they call " the Church of England,"
would have said " You see the English Bishops ask for
legislative interference, and the Irish deprecate it; therefore
let us do for each what they ask. And thus we should have
helped on a piece of the most unjust and mischievous, and
foolish legislation that ever was perpetrated; a measure
fraught with danger as well as disgrace, not only to the
Church, but to the Empire. For what could more encourage
the advocates of Repeal, than to see the British nation deli
berately and spontaneously violating the Act of Union ? I
did not sign the addresses for the purpose of embarassing
Government. I always endeavour to support when I can
with a safe conscience, every Government, no matter whether
Whig or Tory, but when they are pursuing an unjust or
mischievous course, / wish to put what impediments I can in
their way.
In the case of the poor law, and in that of transportation,
I did my little best to impede their progress ; and though
my efforts were of course vain, I have the satisfaction of
feeling that for the enormous evils inflicted / am not respon
sible. Instead of my last letter, you might as well if you
think it worth while put before Mr. W. what I said and
published in a Charge, and afterwards in the " Essays on the
Dangers," Essay ii. § 3 ; which was drawn up from a memo
randum taken at the time of a conversation on the subject
with him; in which he had been urging that you and the
generality of Christians* — all but a few very eminent ones,
ought to belong to a religious party. In that publication
will be seen not merely a description of the course advocated,
but a fair statement, to the best of my knowledge and belief,
taken down immediately after the conversation of the
arguments on both sides that were adduced.

268

MEMORIALS OF

I have looked over the proof of No. IV. of the Cautions
and it will I trust be published on Monday.
Very truly yours, Rd. Dublin.
16th March, 1851.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I have just time to tell you
that Cautions IV. is out, but I do not send it, because it will
become the more known by your ordering it of a book
seller. I think my writer is doing his work well; though of
course our sentiments will not be acceptable to all.
If when your tide slackens a little, you will look over again
my last letter, you will see that it does not at all relate (as
you seem to suppose) to questions about religious liberty,
but reprobates the folly as well as iniquity of legislating for
Ireland and for England separately.
Mr.  whom you speak of as the most unlikely person
to turn Romanist you describe as the very person of whom I
should expect it. A calm thinking reasoning person, who
has become impressed with religious sentiments will be most
unlikely — of all religions — to embrace Romanism. Most of
the conversions are of those whose imagination had been
allowed to predominate or whose feelings were stronger than
their reason, or who had been altogether frivolous and mere
creatures of impulse. And when these became impressed
with a sense of religion they will snap at something gaudy,
like a salmon at a peacock's feather. Yours truly,
Rd. Dublin.
12th April, 1851.
My dear Lady Osborne, — Pray order the new edition of
" Paddy's Meditations," it has some considerable additions
which are admirable.

LADY OSBORNE. 269
You can now get six numbers of the Cautions, viz. No.V.
Parts 1 & 2.
I have desired Parker to communicate, dvrect, with Mr.
Gardiner, as the shortest and most effectual course.
There is a new edition — an improved translation — of the
Evidences in Italian brought out at Florence, by a Roman
Catholic "Priest, with the sanction of his Archbishop ! If you
have occasion for copies, for any friend, they are to be had
at Parker's.
By the bye, Bishop — — at a late meeting of the Church
Education Society, adverted very fully to Archbishop Cullen's
published censure of the tract on Evidences, and suggested
that this was likely to alter my views as to National Schools !
The men of that party are strange reasoners !
To find that a bigoted Roman Catholic disapproves of this
Tract is likely it seems, to disgust me with an Institution
which circulates the very Tract by thousands, under the
sanction of the Roman Catholic Archbishop Murray !
Yours very truly,
Rd. Dublin.

26th April, 1851.
My dear Lady Osborne, — I direct this at a venture, as
your direction was so obscurely written, that neither I nor
Dr. West could with certainty decipher it.
We purpose sailing next Tuesday, and my direction will
be Merton Lodge, near Slough.
I have left Mr.  's verses in the hands of our Professor
Sullivan, to see whether there is anything exceptionable ; if
there is not, what is it that is proposed to be done with it?
It would be rather below the dignity of the Board to publish
it ourselves, though we might sanction the use of it if pub
lished by himself.

270 MEMORIALS OF
What you said about my giving up the Board put me upon
enquiring, and I then learned that reports (which I suppose
had reached you) have been industriously spread of my
having such a design but you must not give credence to such
reports now. The opponents, chiefly the Evangelical party,
have always been most unscrupulous in propagating idle words
to serve the purpose of their opposition. It was one of them
(now  ), who reported a good many years ago, at a public
meeting, that I had been endeavouring to persuade a school
master to place his school under the Board ; the charge was
received with shouts of indignation against me, and when
afterwards he acknowledged in a letter that it was un
founded, and was urged openly to contradict it in public, he
said that was a matter of opinion and that he did not feel
bound to do so ! and his letter, saying this, I could have
produced before the Commons' Committee, of which he was
one! but I spared him. Another of the party,  ,
declared on oath that 1 had accepted the Archbishopric on
condition of supporting the National Schools ; and when this
was proved to be false, and he was brought to confess that the
person he had referred to as having told him this, never had
told him any such thing, he publicly repeated this falsehood
the other day ; and I might fill a quire of paper with an
enumeration even of the falsehoods which have come under
my own knowledge, and the other unscrupulous feats of the
members of that party. Why, one of the leaders of them,
 , of some note, sent directions to the Evening Mail,
to attack and decry me (before I had set foot in Ireland) in
every possible way, though he was a total stranger to me,
only I was appointed by a ministry to which he was
hostile !
There are some good and some tolerable men in that party
as in every other; but take them as they come, and I must

LADY OSBORNE. 271
say I have found them not at all more scrupulously moral
than the Tractites, or than the avowedly irreligious ; so pray
do not let the tide carry you to them- by " mistaking reverse
of wrong for right." It was a reaction from their errors
that I am convinced had a large share in generating
Tractites; just as a reaction from these is now generating
infidelity. No. VI. of the Cautions is out or just coming out, and
No. VII. is nearly finished. Very truly yours,
Rd. Dublin.
P.S. — I have had occasion to say lately what I often
said before, that if the Commissioners should (which I do
not anticipate) depart from fundamental principles, or
break faith with the public, either by prohibiting the use of
any book we have sanctioned and placed on our list, or
otherwise, I must resign. Dublin, 9th Sept., 1851.
My Dear Lady Osborne, — In reference to that pamphlet
edited by Dr. Elliotson, on " Mesmerism," I have found
it necessary to protest for the benefit of puzzle-headed people
(who are, I fear, the majority), that I am not to be regarded
as approving of everything in a work which I recommend
as worth reading. Pray keep this in mind, in your behalf
as well as mine — No. X, of the " Cautions " is just out. I
think dear Mrs. Hill enjoyed her visit to us. Certainly we
did. I think it right to let you know that the clergyman,
about whom you are so kindly interested, has resigned his
curacy, and in such a way as to make me far from incon
solable for the loss. He has acted like some Irish outgoing
tenant who takes leave of the house and ricks, by leaving a

272 MEMORIALS OF
lighted turf in them as a token of remembrance, and sends
a _ farewell present of a bullet to his successor, or to the
landlord or agent. He has written a letter of advice to the
new rector as to his conduct in the parish (by the bye, the
Spanish proverb says, " There is a fig at Rome for one who
gives his advice unasked." Now he can easily apply for his
fig), and he very plainly insinuates that the said rector and
his diocesan are unsound members of the Church, and
threatens that great discontent will arise in the parish if his
dictations are not complied with — if anything is introduced
contrary to the doctrine and discipline of the Church of
St.  , as by  established; and lest he should be
found a false prophet (which I am happy to say I feel con
fident he will) he privately circulates a copy of this letter
among the parishioners. I have always found the Tractites
the most active in creating schisms and rebelling against
lawful authorities. Very truly yours,
Rd. Dublin.
Dublin, April, 1852.
My dear Lady Osborne, — Of Bishop Hampden's alleged
high-churchism I cannot speak from my own knowledge;
but you may remember my telling you long ago, that the
high-churchmen who led the persecution, were in reality
urged to it by his having advocated the admission of
Dissenters to the University, and had not, really, any quarrel
with him on doctrinal points, though they put forward the
charge of heterodoxy with success to mystify their credulous
dupes. This is not an opinion of mine, but a fact , which is
proved by their not only taking no steps for the censure of
the Bishop's Lectures for two years after their publication,
but highly praising them. Among other witnesses of this, a
friend of mine was present when Bishop  loaded Dr. A.

LADY OSBORNE. 273
with the most fulsome compliments on his admirable
work! On the subject of Baptismal regeneration, I never had any
conversation with Bishop  , but I cannot doubt that if he
has used expressions just such as are to be found in our formu
laries on the subject, he would be loudly condemned by many
members of our church (a Mr.  ) a clergyman of our
church printed and circulated tracts condemnatory of our
formularies; he was sentenced to two years' suspension!!
They used the word in a different sense from that of our
Reformers; it is hard to denounce them for this^and still
more hard that they should denounce all who do not agree
with them.
I endeavoured in my charge of 1850, to point out how
much of the controversy was verbal, but in so doing I gave
far less satisfaction to many persons than if I had thrown
myself fully into one or the other of the contending parties ;
" the ridder gets, aye, the worst stroke in the^fray." They
seemed to say it is a very pretty quarrel as it stands, and ex
planation will only spoil it. The same sort oLfeeling^which
makes the vulgar delight in a cock fight or a boxing match,
is found to operate in a different but analogous way on the
higher classes.
You should read Mr. Spurrell's Rejoinder, and also Miss
 's pamphlet against Miss  ; any one who can read
carefully all that is now published (though there is a great
deal more behind) and approve morally of Miss S., must have
strange moral notions. But many are misled|by hearing so
much of her charities, under the belief that nothing was
done for the poor in that district before her time. ^Supposing
this had been so, the beneficence which was merely" the bait
to hide the hook of covert Romanism, would not be deserving
of very high praise ; but it is utterly untrue. There are in
that very district eighty ladies and a proportionate number
VOL. II. S

'274

MEMORIALS OF

of gentlemen, devoted to works of charity-^schools, dispen
saries, asylums, &c, and this systematically, though without
wearing crosses or in any way blowing a trumpet before
them ; and they had been and are doing five times as much
as Miss S. & Co., at half the expense, because they do not
lay out money on costly decorations; giving for instance
seven pounds for flowers (?) for the adornment of a chapel
for the admission of a sister ! Yours truly, Rd. Dublin.
Dublin, 3rd April, 1852.
Dear Lady Osborne, — You need not fear that any
alterations in the system will take place while I am a
commissioner. And I believe by this time ministers are
aware that they must not expect me to be a party to
anything of the kind. The Lord Lieutenant has visited
our schools, and seems really interested; but I find the
hostile party are complaining bitterly of the " exclusion "
they were placed under by the late Government in respect
of patronage. They would have Government remain
impartial as to that point, giving preferment to supporters
and opponents indifferently. If this suggestion is acted on
it will amount to this — that by opposing the schools a man
may gain, and cannot lose; and, by supporting them, he
may lose, and cannot gain. For the bishops that are hostile
exercise the strictest " exclusion " against all who even do
not actively oppose; and the chief patronage is in their
hands. If the present ministry, like Sir R. Peel's, appoint hostile
bishops, and then support the system, they will, like them,
be building a wall to run their own heads against.
What would have been thought of a Governor of the
Cape who should himself have supplied the Caffres with
powder and guns?

LADY OSBORNE. 275
I hope you continue to like the Cautions. No. XVI. came
out about three weeks ago, and No. XVII. is begun. Give my
love to your charming grandchildren. Mine are, I think,
as lovely. They can hardly be more so.
Very truly yours, Rd. Dublin.

Dublin, 13th April,. 1852.
My dear Lady Osborne, — Your informant has misled you,
. though I cannot tell to what extent. There is not, nor ever
has been in my time, any clergyman in the diocese of the
name of Graham, or anything like it. This may serve you
as a warning that some besides Tractites are inattentive to
accuracy as to facts.
At Stephen's Chapel there are two curates — one who was
there before and one newly appointed ; but the Archdeacon
• will himself officiate there from time to time when it is opened
for service. It has been under repair ever since it came
under his care. If any curate there or elsewhere can be
convicted of improper proceeding you may be assured he
will be removed ; but it will not do to trust to vague reports,
especially just now, when the high-fliers of the Evangelical
party are so ready to raise the cry of Puseyism against any
one, (myself for instance among others) who refuses to fall
into their ranks ; they used to charge us with being Socinians,
&c, now they have added the charge of Puseyism.
There is a clergyman in a diocese, not a thousand miles
from you, who, as far as I have been able to learn, is quite
free from any such taint, and who professes his hearty
concurrence in the " Cautions" which he is endeavouring
to circulate, but who. is most cruelly persecuted by having
had a house in his parish licensed and a minister placed
s2

276 MEMORIALS OF
there  avowedly for* the purpose of oppos
ing him, for no fault as I can learn except that he is
not a high Calvinist, and that he was presented to the living.
. . . And while these reports are spread by malignant
partizans, others, who have no evil intention, but are simply
frightened out of their wits, give credit to them. For the pres
sure of an alarming danger, while it makes prudent people
doubly cautious, makes the imprudent doubly incautious
• — Scylla frightens them into Charybdis. And sometimes
they are like the deer which are scared within reach of the
hunters through dread of some bunches of white and red
feathers ; we shall notice this kind of danger in one of the
Cautions. I took the liberty of assuming there was no danger of Mrs.
'Osborne's forgetting me, or imagining that I had forgotten
her, and of writing as if to her and you jointly ; but as for
the little ones, I could not but feel doubtful whether they
would retain any recollection of me.
I will remember your Welsh friend when the case comes
before me. Very truly yours,
Rd. Dublin.

Palace, 1st June, 1852.
Dear Lady Osborne, — I am excessively busy, and not at
all well, so you must excuse a hurried note as better than
none. As far as I can collect, the impression you received from
Miss  was (in substance, without regarding the exact
words) just what she intended to convey, viz., that Dr.
West, while disposed to suspect  of a leaning towards
Tractism, yet continued in office another curate who went

LADY OSBORNE. 277
rather farther ; and that consequently he must have been
guilty of imprudence, or else injustice. If this were not the
impression she meant to convey, it is hard to understand
why she should have spoken to you at all on the subject-
Yon conveyed this to Dr. West, that he might either
exculpate himself or confess, and as far as he could remedy
the error. For this Miss  censures you as guilty of a
breach of confidence.
I am for holding most sacred all confidential communica
tions, provided they relate merely to what concerns the parties
themselves who communicate. But I must protest against
the principle of keeping secret in all cases that which concerns
other parties. Suppose I were to go to this, that, and the other
acquaintance, saying that you (or that Miss  ) had
misconducted yourself in some instance, adding, " but pray
let this be a profound secret — do not let it come to her
ears ; " and exclaiming against breach of confidence if any
ope brought it to your knowledge that you might clear
your character, would you not say that this was making it
a point of honour to allow a person's reputation to be
whispered away. I think, therefore, that you are not only
justified in letting Archdeacon West know what you had
heard, but that you would have acted unfairly had you
concealed it. Yours very truly,
Rd. Dublin.

27th July, 1852.
My Dear Lady Osborne, — Be assured you are quite
mistaken in supposing that any of the books of the
Board were made compulsory, or were ever generally
supposed to be so. For every one who made even the
slightest inquiry learnt at once that it was quite against

278 MEMORIALS OF
" fundamental principle." In fact that was the rock on
which the Kildare Place Society split, which differed from
our Board only in making the reading of Scripture impe
rative; and though this was resented as an affront by the
Roman Catholics, it still did not injure at all those who
were against the reading of Scripture. For it was their
delight and triumph to nullify the order by having two or
three verses of the Bible (the same every day) read in the
schools, without the least attention being paid; and so it
would have been with the Scripture Extracts, where the
patrons are unfavourable ; so we should have excited disgust,
alarm and resentment, without effecting any good. There
are hundreds of schools in Ulster whose patrons would
never have joined the Board if the Extracts (which they
most unreasonably objected to) had been compulsory. They
have the authorized version read every day by those children
whose parents allow them.
It is also a mistake to suppose that the Extracts were ever
universally used. I do believe, however, that a somewhat
larger proportion (though a smaller number than now) of
the schools did formerly read them — [not finished].

19th August, 1852.
My Dear Lady O., — What you say about N. Schools is
quite true, but it is sending coals to Newcastle to say it to
me. If you would make similar representations to my wife
and daughters you might be doing much good, not that it
is at all different from what they have often heard from me ;
but every additional witness known to -be unbiassed and
trustworthy, is an aid to the cause.
I have directed Mr, Trench's (of Clough Jordan) pamphlet
to be sent to you. It is one of the very best that has
appeared. He is not known to me personally, but I believe

LADY OSBORNE. 279
him to be a man who has sacrificed and borne much in the
cause of what he regards as duty.
Yours very truly, Rd. Dublin.
Many thanks for thinking of plants for me. I shall have
a scarlet elder tree for you this autumn. You can get my
Charge by the time this reaches you. It is just coming
out. Dublin, 27th January, 1853.
My Dear Lady Osborne, — If you have this pamphlet
already you can send it to some one else. It is very ably
written. The Norwich paper which I send contains two
speeches of B. C. Hinds, and also an interesting article on
the Madiai, though not likely to be accordant with the views
of some of the sympathisers. You may send the paper also,
perhaps to some friend whom it may interest.
Have you seen Caution No. XXIII., and can you guess the
authorship of each portion? Have you seen a tract called
" The Written Word the Interpreter of Tradition ?" (Parker).
It is well worth reading. So are also the little tracts by
" Hopeful " (Oldham, Dublin), of which No. 4 is just out.
There is a little tale which I have been reading with great
interest ("Early Experiences," Grant and Griffith, Pater
noster Row), which gives a vivid picture of Tractism, and
also some phases of Irish life which have not been before
exhibited. Yours very truly,
Rd. Dublin.
13th February, 1853.
Dear Lady Osborne, — I enclose you a copy of a note
of mine to the Lord-Lieutenant relative to a matter which I
think you ought to be made aware of. I fear a Norwich

280 MEMORIALS OF
paper which I sent you about ten days ago, begging you to
forward it to Mrs. Hill, did not reach you. Whether this
will find at once, or follow you, I know not.
Very truly yours,
Rd. Dublin.
31st October, 1847.
Have you seen Dr. Elrington's pamphlet ? and Dr. Taylor's ?
and Dr. Miller's ? You should read all three. What a low
morality is shown in the Christian Examiner as well as in
Dr. Miller's in advocating the trick — for I can call it nothing
else — of alluring children by making a solemn engagement,
and then " keeping the word of promise to the ear and
breaking it to the hope." I send you the little tract on self-
examination, which the Christian Knowledge Society have
published, and which I have, I trust, improved by subjoining
a note at the end. They printed 8000 copies in May, and it
is now out of print. I hope your little grandchild is well,
and as lovely as ever. With kind regards to Mrs. O.,
Believe me, yours very truly,
Rd. Dublin.
P. S. — Mr. Woodward's dread of the majority swallowing
up the minority is in itself rational, and I was not wholly
without it fifteen years ago. But during the whole of that
period not one proselyte has been made on either side ; and
to any one who knows this, as everyone does who chances
to inquire, the objection surely loses all its force.
" The Editor inserts the following letter, as it relates —
though not addressed to Lady Osborne — to a subject about
which both his Grace and Lady Osborne were deeply inter
ested, and which is likely to create fresh controversy.
Moreover, it shows the lofty and independent nature of the
/ man."

LADY OSBORNE. 281
Dublin, 8th March, 1854.
Dear Mrs. Osborne, — I had not heard of your dear
mother's illness. I need not say how glad I shall be to hear
of her complete recovery. I thought you had known
that I never ask Government for anything, for myself or
anyone else. When consulted by ministers I have some
times given my advice as a matter of favour to them. But
to volunteer a recommendation of any one, is set down as a
request for a personal favour. And if I were to accept any
and should afterwards be asked to vote on some question, I
should feel very awkward either in complying or refusing.
Hence, if I could have had for asking an archbishopric for
myself, and bishopric for all my best friends, I should not
have asked though the alternative had been to break stones
on the road.
I am just starting for London to be examined before the
Lords' Committee — a thing of which Lady O. has experi
ence, but I fear it will be all labour lost. Ministers, I
expect, will resort to the plan of separate grants, which the
most vehement of both parties are calling for, and both will
be dissatisfied when they have got it.
Yours very truly,
Rd. Dublin.

APPENDIX.

APPENDIX.

No one, I believe, has lived a certain time without having
remarked that whenever a person starts some project or
method he deems the first of the sort, he immediately
discovers that it has just at that very time been anticipated.
Thus, the Editor finds that the mode in which she intended
to develope the life and character of Lady Osborne through
the medium of her own letters has been used by the
biographer of Miss Mitford, a lady whom she once had the
privilege of meeting in her house at Three-Mile-Cross,
where she kindly read to her and Lady Osborne and their
hostess (in her marvellously musical voice) her own " Inez
de Castro," and she possesses a note of hers in which she
speaks of Lady Osborne as her " delightful guest."
The sequence of the letters from Lady Osborne are, in
almost every case, chronologically disposed, except in a very
few instances, some of the later ones. The dates, however,
manifestly correct the mistakes, and the errors are of no
importance. The Editor is much indebted to Mr. Woodward's devoted
and highly esteemed friend, the Rev. John Hiffernan, for
the loan of the plate which has preserved the heavenly
expression of his features. To Dr. Hemphill she has to
return thanks for the power of perpetuating photographs of

286 APPENDIX.
scenes once brightened by the presence of Lady Osborne,
and adorned by her taste and generosity.
The Protestant bias of Lady Osborne's letters is strongly
marked, and the compiler, fully participating therein, deems
that these are no days for withholding it when Protestantism
has been betrayed from within its fold, and trampled on
from without; when a poor country has £70,000 a-year
hitherto coming into it in the shape of grants from the
consolidated fund now paid out of Irish money; when a
council is sitting at Rome to confer or refuse personal
infallibility to the Pontiff who claims to be the representa
tive of the Almighty upon earth. Doubtless, assuming the
attitude he does, the assertion is only a consistency, but
wherefore does he seek his power and title from below?
While many of the educated and thinking of the Romish
Church take refuge in unavowed infidelity, doubtless there
are many believing Roman Catholics who practice many
unimpeachable virtues, but none that are not equally
demanded by Protestantism on higher grounds.
These are no days to shrink from proclaiming belief in
the divine right of orthodox Protestantism, exhibiting as
it does, the true spirit and freedom of the Gospel. This is
an age of revived memories, and no Protestant country or
town can be pointed out, as is the case in the Pope's palace
at Avignon, possessing the savage curiosity of a room shaped
like an extinguisher, the ceiling of which is blackened by
the smoke of those who were burned therein for their faith.
These volumes disclose various phases of religious thought
in the school of Protestantism, but not one that would not
shudder at such a mode of purification.
The foregoing observations, and, indeed, the whole of the
Appendix, had been written, when a letter from an " English
Catholic," yirinted in a supplement of the Times of January
24th, 1870, came under the notice of the Editor, and it is

APPENDIX, 287
such an important testimony in favor of them that the
Editor thinks it deserves to be printed in a more accessible
shape than that of a pile of old Times, and accordingly
inserts it as follows : —

PAPAL INFALLIBILITY AND PERSECUTION.
The following statement, drawn up by an English Catholic,
has been forwarded to us for publication.
" The controversy, whether the Pope is or is not infallible
in his decrees upon faith or morals involves many more and
harder questions than is generally supposed. It is a question
for the conscience of every Catholic, for he may suddenly
find himself required to approve principles and practices
which he has been taught to consider contrary to morality,
and only excusable in an age of barbarism, when passions
were strong and reason defective. If the Pope is the
infallible teacher of morals, it is impossible that precepts
which he has commanded to be observed under pain of
excommunication, and which he has declared to be valid for
the whole Church and for all time, can be immoral.
" But the whole principle and code of persecution and the
means taken by the Popes for the extirpation of heretics
have long been disowned and repudiated, by English
Catholics at least, as abhorrent from justice and Christian
equity. The dogma of the Pope's infallibility would make
this repudiation impossible; and the Catholic would have
once more to acquiesce in a system which is now condemned
by the conscience of Christendom, and has been obsolete
for more than a century. Nay, he would have to find a
place for the principles of that system in his abstract theories
of morals and politics, to make it his ideal, and declare it to
be consonant with the social and political perfection to
which Christianity continually tends. Whether he can do

288 APPENDIX.
so or not can "more easily be determined after reading
the following: —
" In the early part of 1559, when the unity of Western
Christendom had already been irretrievably broken, and half
separated itself from Rome, Paul IV. published, after ' mature
deliberation,' and with the full assent of his Council of
Cardinals, the Bull ex Apostolatus officio, wherein he does
by his Apostolic authority approve and renew all and
singular sentences, censures, and penalties of excommunica
tion, suspension, interdict, deprival, or any other whatever
that had been, at any time and in any manner, decreed or
promulgated by any Pope, or person esteemed at the time to
be Pope, or by any Council or decree of the Fathers, or by
any canon or Apostolic Constitution or ordinance, against
heretics and schismatics. And he further defined and
decreed that all these decrees ought (debere) to be perpetually
observed, and replaced wherever they have grown obsolete,
and ever after kept in vigorous (viridi) and fresh observance.
" The first laws against heretics, on which all subsequent
ones were founded, did not originate from the Popes ; they
were promulgated by the Emperor Frederic IL, partly in
1220, and more completely at Pavia, in February, 1224. As
they had been dictated by the reigning Pope, so they were
instantaneously adopted by him, and confirmed over and
Over again by his successor. Honorius III. in 1230 promul
gated them as his own : — ' These laws, published by our
dearest son, Frederic, Emperor of the Romans, for the
utility of all Christians, we praise and approve so as to be
valid for all time. And if any one by temerarious audacity,
at the persuasion of the enemy of the human race, shall in
any way attempt to infringe them, let him know that he will
incur the wrath of Almighty God, and the blessed Apostles,
Peter and Paul.' The revised and enlarged code of laws,
solemnly approved by Innocent IV. in 1243, Alexander IV.

APPENDIX. 289
in 1258, and Clement IV. in 1265, who, as well as Urban IV.
in 1262, when commanding the inviolable observation of all
the Apostolical constitutions and Imperial laws promulgated
at Padua against heretics by Frederic, takes care to assert of
him that he was at that time persisting in devotion to the
Roman Church. These laws are for the ' extermination ' of
heretics. Heresy they declare to be a public crime, worse
than treason, and one which attaints the persons, the goods,
and the memory of heretics.
"As for the persons of heretics, they are all, without
appeal or possibility of pardon, to be ' burnt alive in the
sight of men, being committed to the ordeal of the flames.'
They are to be branded with perpetual infamy; all their
goods are to be confiscated, and never to be restored to their
families. Their children and grandchildren are disinherited,
and rendered for ever incapable of receiving benefices or
serving in public offices. An exception, however, is made
in favour of the orthodox son who shall inform against the
secret heresy of his father. Heretics may be captured in
any place, even in the sanctuary. Persons who are only
suspected of heresy, unless they can clear themselves, are to
be under ban, and after a year and a day, unless they clear
themselves, are to be adjudged heretics and put to death as
such. Repentant heretics to be imprisoned for life ; if they
relapse, to be put to death.
" All believers in, defenders, and favourers of heretics
are put under ban, lose all their goods, are made infamous,
incapable of holding any public office, or taking part in any
election to such office ; their testimony is not to be received ;
they are incapable of making a will, or of succeeding to any
inheritance. They cannot sue any one in a court of justice,
but they may be sued by any one. If they be Judges, their
sentences are to be invalid, and causes are not to be carried
before them ; if advocates, their pleas are not to be received ;
if they are notaries, all deeds which they have drawn up are
VOL. II T

290 APPENDIX.
to be rejected as of no moment. Their children and grand
children are to be disinherited and incapacitated, and after
due admonition they are themselves to be put to death as
heretics. But any such favourer of heretics may at any
time be restored to his pristine rights if he denounces a
heretic, and gives evidence to bring him to the stake
Moreover, all houses in which heretics may be found are to
be razed to the ground and never built up again, as likewise
all contiguous houses which belong to the same owner; all
the goods therein are to be abandoned to pillage, and the
owner to be branded with perpetual infamy and fined. The
same is to be clone to any house which is closed against the
hue and cry for heretics, and the township is to be fined
unless it produces the person or persons who closed the
house. Again, persons not heretics, but allowing themselves
to be captured as such, in order to allow the real heretics to
escape, are to forfeit all their goods and to be put under ban.
A special prison is to be provided, in which heretics are to
be kept apart. Within fifteen days all heretics taken are to
be sent to the bishop or ordinary, and by them, after condem
nation, delivered over to the secular power for punishment.
The secular power is to carry out the sentence within five
days, and in the meantime is bound, by the use of torture
extending to the diminution of a limb or the danger of
death, to force the heretics expressly to confess their errors,
to accuse other heretics, to declare what goods they have,
and to indicate their believers, receivers, and favourers.
" All magistrates, under pain of excommunication and
interdict, are to recieve these laws, and to make oath that
they will bond fide exterminate all heretics from their lands.
In default, they are rendered incapable of acting as magis
trates, and all their acts are null and void. The magistrates
are to arrest all persons indicated to them as heretics by the
Inquisitors or other Catholics, and are everywhere to protect

APPENDIX. 291
the Inquisitors against popular outrage. They are also to
keep a register of all the children of heretics, to make sure
that no such be ever admitted to any public office. The
magistrate who refuses to swear to execute these laws is to
be deprived of his office; all subjects are to be released from
any oath of obedience to him ; he is to be noted as a perjurer,
to be perpetually infamous, to be fined, to be reckoned a
favourer of heretics, and suspected in faith, and made
incapable of all civil employments.
" The population in general, together with the military and
police, are bound, whenever required, to assist with informa
tion, counsel, and force in the capture, spoliation, and
inquisition of heretics under pain of ban and fine. Every
one who knows of heretics, or of persons who meet in private
conventicles, is bound to reveal it to his confessor, or to some
one through whom it may come to the knowledge of the
authorities, under pain of excommunication. Judges, advo
cates, and notaries are to give no official assistance to persons
accused or suspected of heresy, under pain of perpetual
deprivation of their office. Clergymen are not to give them
the sacraments nor receive their oblations or alms. Those
who give burial to a heretic are excommunicated without
absolution until, with their own hands, they dig up the
accursed corpse and throw it away. The grave where the
corpse has laid is never afterwards to be used for burial.
Any temporal lord refusing to exterminate heresy from his
dominions is to be admonished, and, after a year's contumacy,
his lands are to be assigned over to some other Catholic, who
may seize them, and, after exterminating the heretics, may
keep them as his own ; where there is a lord paramount, his
rights are to be respected in case he puts no obstacle in the
way ; otherwise not. No condemnation or penalty for heresy
is ever to be relaxed by any means or for any reason, whether
the demand of the people, or of the council or anything else,
t2

292 APPENDIX.
and all statutes to the contrary are to be repealed and
abolished. Innocent IV. in 1254 abolished the distinction
between heretics and believers in the heretics, and adjudged
them both to the same torments. He also founded a confra
ternity of Crusaders expressly to defend the Inquisitors against
the effects of popular indignation. Urban IV. in 1262 fur
ther provided that to prevent scandal the testimony of the
witnesses against heretics was not to be taken in the presence
of the accused nor their names divulged to them. Also that
the processes were to be conducted without formality or the
' row ' (strepitus) of ordinary courts where the pleading of
advocates was permitted. Clement IV., in 1265, added a
provision that any one might take a heretic, and seize his
goods to his own use. Nicholas III., in 1280, added a sen
tence of excommunication against any layman who, either in
public or in private, disputed on the Catholic faith, and
decreed that if after the emancipation of any person from
serfdom his father should become a heretic, the emancipation
should be void, and the son should become a serf again.
When, in 1486, the magistrates of Brixen refused to burn
heretics, on the ground that heresy was only an ecclesiastical
offence, Innocent VIII. excommunicated them unless they
carried out the sentences of the Inquisitors, without appeal,
within six days. Finally, in order not to prolong indefinitely
this catalogue, Leo X., in 1520, condemned the proposition
' Hereticos comburi est contra voluntatem spiritus? ' It is
against the will of the Holy Ghost to burn heretics alive. If
Popes are infallible, Catholics are bound to believe that it is
not against the will of the Holy Ghost to burn heretics.
" Further, in 1535, Paul III. wrote a Bull against Henry
VIII., which he promulgated in 1538, and which contains
some new measures against the accomplices of heretics. In
the 12th section all the faithful are admonished, under pain
of excommunication, to avoid and cause others to avoid all the

APPENDIX. 293
adherents of the king, and to have no commerce, conversa
tion, or communication with the same, nor with the citizens,
inhabitants, householders, subjects or vassals of the said king,
his cities, dominions, lands, castles, counties, towns, or forts,
by buying, selling, exchanging, or exercising any merchandise
or chaffer, and to abstain from bringing or conducting, or
causing to be brought or conducted, wine, grain, salt, or
other victual, arms, clothes, wares or other merchandise or
things, either by sea in ships, triremes, or other vessels, or by
land on mules or other animals, and to refuse to receive such
things when brought by them, and to refuse all assistance,
counsel, or favour to those who presume to hold such traffic
with them, directly or indirectly, secretly or openly. AH this
under penalty of excommunication, nullity of contracts, and
forfeiture of all such merchandise, which is to become the
property of the captors thereof.
" The 16th section requires and commands, in virtue of
holy obedience, all rulers and persons having armed forces
under them to set upon King Henry and his adherents, and
to compel them to return to the unity of the Church, and
obedience to the Holy See, and to capture them and all their
subjects or vassals who even de facto reeognize the said King
as their Sovereign, or presume to obey him, or refuse to aid
in expelling him, — to capture them with all their goods
movable or immovable, merchandize, moneys, ships, deposits
on trust, things, and cattle, wherever they may be found,
within or without the territories of the said king.
" And the 17th section declares that the Pope, acting with
full authority, knowledge and power, gives such captors full
licence, authority, and faculty to convert to their own uses
the goods, merchandise, moneys, ships, things, and eattle so
taken, and decrees that they belong of legal title to the
persons who take them. Moreover, that all persons born in
the dominions of the king, or domiciled there, or inhabiting

294 APPENDIX.
there in any manner, who do not obey the clauses of this
Bull, shall become the slaves of their captors, wherever they
may be taken ; and that this clause shall apply to all men, of
whatsoever dignity, degree, state, order or condition, who
shall presume to furnish Henry and his adherents with
victuals, arms, or moneys, or hold commerce with them, or
afford them help, counsel, or favour.
" If the Pope is infallible, it is clear that we must accept
as principles of morals, the principles upon which this legis
lation is founded. They are such as these: —
" 1. No man has a right to his life or property who even
secretly disbelieves any one article of the Catholic Creed.
" 2. No Christian Government ought to assure to any such
man the enjoyment of his life or property.
" 3. Christian Governments are bound to put such men
to death by burning them alive, and to confiscate their goods.
" 4. Children and friends are bound to inquire into the
secret belief of their parents and companions, and denounce
them if heretical.
"5. Though moral turpitude does not affect dominion,
yet error in faith at once renders a man incapable of all
dominion over either persons or things.
" 6. That it is consistent with Christian civilization to
proclaim that the goods and lands of any heretic, or collec
tion of heretics, or adherents of heretics, no longer belong
to the reputed owners, but are the property of the man who
first takes them.
" 7. That a heretic is an outlaw ; that he has no claim to
justice; that all contracts with him are null and void; that
no debts to him are to be paid, no oaths made to him are to
be kept; and that his incapacity taints all his acts, renders
his children incapacitated like himself, and makes all his
deeds, judgments, and contracts void, even though the
avoidance of the same should be injurious to a true believer.

APPENDIX. 295
" 8. That the slave trade and slavery, are institutions
which should to be kept up, provided that the slaves are
either heretics or favourers of heretics, or persons who have
held commerce and communication with them.
" The question is not whether these principles can be
reconciled with Christian morals, but whether government
or civilization could exist one whole day if these principles
were bond fide put into universal practice. Some of the
most enormous injustices of history, such as the Irish Penal
Laws, or the French Revolution, have only been faint and
feeble attempts to apply partially and in a very circumscribed
manner some of the less shocking of these laws. Pope Pius
IX., if he would but read these laws, would be the first to
shudder at them and abjure them, instead of making the
claim of infallibility for their authors and promulgators.
Even those who are most agog for declaring that the Papal
authority is supreme, and, therefore, free from error, and
that its decrees are final and irreformable, would shrink to
acknowledge these principles to be real and practical doc
trines of morals. They would find some subterfuge, some
subtle distinction, to prove that these decrees were not
formal, lacked something necessary to give them infallible
weight, or, with Dr. Manning, they might say that an appeal
to history is treason ; that the Pope's authority is for the
moment, and that the duty of reasonable men is to suppress
the faculty which looks before and after, and to receive on
each occasion the decision of the moment as supremely wise
and entirely virtuous, though another century may discover
it to have been fantastically foolish and ineffably wicked."
" As a proof how long the Editor has wished to raise up
a literary memorial of her beloved mother, she adds a note
received from Archbishop Whately in answer to an offer
she made him of returning Lady Osborne's letters unless he

296 APPENDIX.
allowed her to keep them with a view to the present
undertaking " — Dublin, 12th Feb., 1857.
My dear Mrs. Osborne, — You are welcome to keep any
of my letters to Lady O. that you may think worth it. I
had not supposed that there were any that were of sufficient
consequence to be saved from the fire; but they were at
least a proof of my regard for her; and as a memorial of
that, some of them may be kindly valued by you.
Yours very truly,
Rd. Dublin.
" The Editor considers the following letter, though it has
already appeared in a pamphlet, worthy of reproduction
here, as a correct statement of Archbishop Whately's views
concerning the Church in Ireland, misrepresented as he
often has been."
MISS WHATELY ON THE IRISH CHURCH.
The following letter, written by the daughter of the
late Archbishop of Dublin to a friend, clearly shows, says
Saunders1 News-Letter, that Dr. Whately did not approve
of the " disestablishment and disendowment " policy: —

Monterey, Vaud,
Switzerland, August 10, 1868.
My dear Mrs. Osborne, — I am surprised how any one
could read my father's life and think that he entertained
the impression that the Irish Church ought to be destroyed.
The answer to such suggestion is sufficiently given in the
circumstance not only of his remaining a dignitary of that
Church, but of his having exerted all his powers throughout

APPENDIX. 297
his life to save it from the impending danger, as his whole
political life bears testimony. I have not, unfortunately, the
memoirs by me at present, so can only refer from memory
to the passage, I think in the appendix, in which his opinion
is shown most plainly. There he mentions that he considers
the mistake was calling it the Church of Ireland, instead of
a branch of the Church of England in Ireland, as is the case
with India, Australia, Canada, &c. But I know that when
he first came to Ireland he was not fully and clearly aware
of the real state of the case with regard to the Irish Church
— i. e., that it was not introduced as a novelty, but the
original Church reformed, owing to its leaders having left
the Romish Church. Some of his early expressions would
have been modified had he entirely understood this as he
afterwards did. Believe me, &c,
E. J. Whately.
(A fragment in Mrs. HilVs handwriting.)
As God in his Godhead is a simple essence known only to
Himself, so also hath the soul an inherent divine essence
which none can analyse. This simple essence of the soul
we call spirit. It is in this which we can no more define
than we can the great Incomprehensible himself. It is in
this that the soul most nearly approaches its divine original.
This is the inmost sanctuary of that temple of the living
God which man was created to be. It is the holy of holies
into which none but our Great High Priest can enter, the
sacred and unapproachable shrine of the divinity in which
alone is known the full and blessed import of the incom
municable name, "I am that I am." Draw not nigh thither
until thou hast put off from thee all to which aught of the
dust of human motive and human action may cleave, for
this is indeed holy ground.

298

APPENDIX.

" The following extract from a letter to a young girl is a
proof of Lady Osborne's natural love of the theatre, though
with the self-denial for which she was conspicuous, she
entirely gave it up for years, and only went to them to
accompany her daughter."
You are right, my dear Margaret. I have been quite
gay since my abode in this place. Two dinner parties, a
play, and a ball. I need not tell you which I enjoyed most.
You know how often we have decided that a good play is
the greatest enjoyment in life. I saw your favorite, and the
public favorite, Mr. Kean, in the character of Macbeth. I
was delighted with his action and his manner, and wished
much that you could all enjoy his representation with me,
as you have seen him. I shall not deliver a long account of
my admiration of his genius, but simply observe that I
admire him as much as you do — need I say more !
She goes on — this house is charmingly situated in the
midst of a large paddock. I feel amazingly disposed to
favour you with a description of it, but I recollect having
assented to the justice of Miss Edgeworth's remark that
nothing is so dull as a picture on paper, and therefore resist
the inclination, only observing that were you here you
would never suppose yourself within six miles of London.
Mrs. Meyer delights in roving about the farm-yard in
search of eggs and in admiring her cackling brood. Now
you know that this is the part of a country for which I have
no taste, as I never had any penchant for geese except when
they are on the table. Do not suspect that I meant any play
on the word geese. You may remember my dislike to trite
witticisms. I only alluded to my terror of the gander's
furious protection of his wife's offspring whenever I chanced
to pass near.

APPENDIX. 299
"The following extract is from a pamphlet published byMr.
Grattan in the year 1800, is in reply to a speech of Lord Clare
in favour of a legislative union. A graphical sketch of
some of the friends with whom he had acted, speaks thus of
the father of Sir Thomas Osborne. Having spoken of others,
he goes on thus : —
Mr. Brownlow and Sir William Osborne, I wish we had
more of these criminals. The former seconded the address
of 1782; and in the latter, and in both, there was a stature
of mind that would have become the proudest senate in
Europe. " As Lord Sydenham's Life may be a book not universally
known, the Editor transcribes an anecdote from it that she
thinks interesting."
On one occasion the king being on the pier head, about
to embark in the Royal Yacht on one of his sailing trips, and
having the child in his arms, turned round to Mr. Pitt who
was in attendance at his elbow, (having probably hurried
down from London for an audience on important business)
and exclaimed, "Is not this a fine boy, Pitt? Fine boy is
not he? Take him in your arms, Pitt: take him in your
arms ; charming child is not he ?" Then suiting the action
to the word he made the stiff and solemn Premier — weighed
down as he seemed to be with cares of State — dandle and
kiss the pretty boy, and carry him some minutes in his arms
albeit strange and unused to such a burden. The circum
stance though trivial, had so comical an effect, from the
awkwardness and apparent reluctance with which the formal
minister performed his compelled part of nurse, as to make
an impression on the writer who stood by, though but seven

300 APPENDIX.
years old himself, which time has never effaced. Pitt,
although no doubt fretted by his master's childish fancy,
which exposed him to the ill-suppressed titter of the circle
around, including several of the younger branches of the
Royal family, to whom the scene afforded great amusement,
put the best countenance he could on the matter, but little
thought, no doubt, that the infant he was required to nurse
would at no very distant time, have the offer of the same
high official post, which he then occupied, the chancellorship
of the Exchequer, and would be quoted as perhaps next to
himself the most remarkable instance in modern times of
the early attainment of great public eminence by the force
of talent alone ; equally purchased, alas ! by premature ex
tinction at the zenith of a brilliant career.
" The Editor is under great obligations to the brother of
Lord Sydenham, for most kindly sending her the following
gratifying mention of Lady Osborne in his private journal;
and Mr. Poulett Scroope speaking of her own letters of
which he says, ' I found them the unreserved outpourings
of a highly refined and religious mind.' He very con
siderately added, ' I ought perhaps to have returned them
to her daughter,' but not having the honour of her acquain
tance, I destroyed them."
Extract from a Journal kept by Mr. Poulett Thomson,
September 6th, 1837.
I have now spent six days in Lady Osborne's society,
during the greater part of which we have conversed most
unreservedly. She is decidedly one of the most agreeable
and interesting persons I have ever met with. What influence
a woman of superior mind may gain ?
" The following notice of the Rev. Henry Woodward is

APPENDIX. 301
given from the letter of a lady who stayed at Newtown
Anner, because it alludes to a striking feature in Mr. Wood
ward's character in real life, though not appearing either in
his letters or works, and that is ' his sense of the ridiculous'
which was very strong."
I have seen the celebrated Mr. Woodward several times.
He is a totally different person to what I expected the first.
time. He had just learned . . . and he conversed little;
after we met under livelier auspices, and had some good
humoured sparring. I made him laugh in spite of himself,
and that was all I wished. He is, you know fond of a jest.
Mrs. Young, mentioned in Lady Osborne's letters, wrote the
" Life and Times of Paleario," a book of which Dean Hook
speaks thus in his Life of Cardinal Pole, one of the Arch
bishops of Canterbury: "Mrs. Young's interesting Life of
Arnio Paleario, a work of considerable research, and great
fairness." The word Papist is used throughout this book
not in a spirit of disrespect to the members of the Romish
Church, but as the word Royalist ; adherents of the Pope ,
like adherents of the king.
" Most of the notes were written before the sacrilegious
Church Bill had passed the Houses of Parliament, a measure
meant to gratify the enemies of Protestantism, but really
dealing an awful blow at the civilization of this poverty-
stricken country."
" An extract from a Juvenile Journal of the Editor may not
be wholly uninteresting to those who care to know the
external lineaments and peculiarities of a writer."
Monsieur de Sismondi is short and fat, with very shaggy
eyebrows, intelligent dark eyes, a turned-up nose, and brown

302 APPENDIX.
hair, thickly sprinkled with grey. The expression of his
countenance is extreme benevolence, which he seems to feel
for everybody. He is perfectly free from the airs that many
persons give themselves from a consciousness of superiority
of intellect, and in conversation expresses himself with a
force and clearness that cannot fail to keep up his listener's
attention. Madame de Sismondi being English, her drawing-
room is arranged " a FAnglaise." They are extremely
hospitable ; every Wednesday evening they receive company,
they have a great passion for seeing at their house remark
able people, and I believe that a person of any note whatever
leaving Geneva without being invited to Chenes is a thing
that never occurs.
At present there are seventeen or nineteen volumes (I am
not sure which) of his history of France, and he has only
got to Francis I. He has written a history of the Italian
Republics, and a work called " Literature dumidide FEurope."
He speaks English very well. Monsieur S. has also written
" The Decline of the Roman Empire."
He had a great peculiarity of vision — the red ray dis
appeared out of every color, so that one evening when Lady
Osborne told him the color of her cloak, which he went to
get for her, he said " you need not tell me the colour for
what appears so-and-so to you seems so-and-so to me."
" While revising these letters the Editor has received one
from a relation containing an application of a character
given by a third party of another lady so singularly appropri
ate that she cannot refrain from copying as such "
I quite agree with you that your mother's was a very
beautiful character, and a very loveable one in its sweetness
and unselfishness. It reminds me.of what Lady Combermere
wrote of my friend, Mrs. Aldis, to her really inconsolable

APPENDIX. 303
husband after her death: — "I never knew any one more
admirably endowed with the finest qualities of heart and
mind. Her fine and even prodigious memory was an addition,
not a substitute, for original thought, and the stores of her
mind, instead of fostering the sense of her own superiority,
only gave an additional charm to her courteous manner and
ready appreciation of the merits of her associates. All these
fine qualities were but the exponents of the high religious
sentiment which was the basis of her character."
It is quite true that Lady Osborne had a prodigious
memory in connection with other faculties — well versed in
history, theology, the classics in the original, " belles lettres,"
and, to a certain extent, science. She had mastered seven
languages, so that a friend wishing to give her a suitable
present, procured a Polyglot bible in eight languages —
English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Latin,
and Hebrew ; and at one time she knew by heart the whole
Gospel of St. Luke in Greek. Always able to seize the
point and principle of a subject, as far as she went in the
field of science she made it completely her own, and thus
was fitted for further enterprise therein. She had the
keenest enjoyment and appreciation of art in all its branches.
So much for her powers of mind. Her meekness, frankness,
large-mindedness, unselfishness, generosity, and sympathy,
can only be understood by those who knew her, for they
felt their exercise upon themselves. Thinking of her is like
gazing on a lake which, when at rest, reflects the blue and
smiling heavens.
" The following extract is copied from the Clonmel Chro
nicle as the concluding notice of her, (to whom the foregoing
letters were addressed), on the occasion of her burial :"
The Rev. Henry Woodward of F'ethard, one of the most

304 APPENDIX.
attached friends of Lady Osborne, officiated inside the
church, and delivered a deeply impressive address, which
was listened to with the profoundest attention. The touch
ing beauty of the character of Lady Osborne, as depicted
by her venerated friend, found an echo in the heart of every
one who had the privilege of her ladyship's acquaintance.
" The following is the substance of Mr. Woodward's
address :"
I have been requested, as having been honored for so
many years with the friendship of her whose loss we all
deplore as a public calamity, to say a few words to this
congregation now assembled to pay the last tribute to her
mortal remains, and I do so the more readily as this wish
finds an echo in the deepest emotions of my own heart.
In St. Paul's Cathedral there is a simple memorial of the
illustrious architect by whom that stupendous edifice was
reared, and this monument is but the signpost pointing to
another. The inscription on it consists of four Latin words,
which in English signify " If you seek a monument look
around — survey this splendid pile, the offspring of his genius
and product of his skill." And so, in raising a memorial to
Lady Osborne, I would say, " look around." Go, in the
first place to that house she has left this morning, never,
alas ! to return, unless, as some have said, the spirits of the
just are permitted to visit, and love to hover round the
scenes which were dear to them on earth. Ask the domestics
of that household, from the highest to the lowest, whether
Lady Osborne had any proud looks, and whether her language
to them was not that rather of a mother and friend than of a
superior and a mistress. Travel next the whole circle of this
neighbourhood and ask of those who, from their station in
life, formed what is termed her acquaintance, ask them what

APPENDIX. 305
Lady Osborne was. For my own part, if those words of
Job ever applied to human character, they applied, I say, to
her — "When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and
when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me; because I
delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him
that had none to help him. The blessing of him that was
ready to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow's
heart to sing for joy." Let those who followed her during
the course of that tedious, trying illness that brought her to
her grave; let them declare whether they ever witnessed
more lamb-like patience, more gentle submission, more
perfect resignation, a firmer reliance upon Christ, more
perfect trust in God? Yes, it was that reliance and that
trust which led her daughter to desire that I should address
you on this occasion ; and it was that trust which makes me
desire to do so, and to tell you that I never witnessed a more
entire renunciation of self, and all dependence upon self,
upon any supposed merits or righteousness of her own. No,
it was simply a desire, as a sinner lost and undone, to cast
herself upon the all-prevailing sacrifice and righteousness of
her Redeemer.
During her last days, when all was coming to a close, it
was her solace and delight to hear those which I might call
her favorite hymns. One of those I shall repeat, and leave
it to that hymn to explain what Lady Osborne's leading
views of religion were. I would direct your attention
particularly to the last verse which she continued repeating
until utterance failed her —
" There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Emmanuel's veins,
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains.
The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day;
And there may I, as vile a| he,
Wash all my sins away.
VOL. II. * U

306 APPENDIX.
Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood
Shall never lose its power
Till all the ransomed Church of God
Be saved to sin no more.
E'er since, by faith, I saw the stream
The flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die.
Then in a nobler, sweeter song,
I'll sing thy power to save,
When this poor lisping, stamm'ring tongue
Lies silent in the grave."
And now, my brethren, to conclude, there lies the body
of that much-loved friend; but where is her soul? I
humbly trust singing the song of Moses and of the Lamb.
But where will our souls be in a few fleeting years ? It rests
with us to determine now; it rests with us to determine
what will present itself to our view when we first look on
that country in which we are to live for ever. Will it be
ours to stumble on the dark mountains where there is neither
sun, nor moon, nor stars ? or will it be ours, with that friend
whose remains are now before us, and with all those who
have departed this life in God's faith and fear, to turn out
on those green pastures in which the good shepherd of the
sheep will lead, and feed his flock for ever.
The funeral was one of the largest, if not the very largest,
we have ever witnessed.
The hymn Lady Osborne preferred to all others was that
exquisite one of Mr. Charles Grant's, beginning
" When gathering clouds around I view."
and on her dying bed she desired those around her to
commit to memory the one of which the first and last lines
are these — " Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee."

APPENDIX. 307
" These remarks of Archbishop Whately's on " Fasting" the
Editor considers well worth reproducing for preservation."
" Fasting."
We should first determine whether fasting comes under the
head of moral duties or positive ordinances ; if, for instance,
we confuse it with temperance, we place it under moral
duties for which we have no positive precepts. But Fasting
comes under the head of positive ordinances. We should
therefore expect positive precepts and commands if it were
intended to be observed. We have such for prayer, though
it had always been practised by the Jews ; but we have none
such for fasting, as may be shown by an explanation of those
very passages in which our Lord is supposed by precept or
example to enforce it.
That Jesus did not forbid private fasting to his country
men, as he does not appear to have interfered with the habits
or customs of his nation on ordinary occasions, may be in
ferred by several passages : " When ye fast be not as the
hypocrites, &c." But he neither recognized it (as recorded)
in his own practice, nor in conjunction with his disciples ;
neither does he sanction it in any way as connected with his
religion. The forty days fasting in the wilderness has been
erroneously appealed to, but the whole of that mysterious
transaction being, in its literal sense, entirely unconnected
with our conduct, it forms no example for us. In our sense of
the word our Lord did not fast ; we are expressly told that
it was not till " after he had fasted forty days and forty nights
that he was an hungered." Which hunger appears to have
been appointed for a particular purpose connected with his
temptation. But the mistake about fasting seems to have
arisen chiefly from a misrepresentation of our Lord's words,
as recorded by Matthew, Luke, and Mark. Matt. ix. 15 : "And
Jesus said unto them, shall the children of the bridechamber
u2

308 APPENDIX.
mourn as long as the Bridegroom is with them ? but the days
will come when the Bridegroom shall be taken away from
them, and then shall they fast."
St. Luke attributes this question to which our Lord is here
replying, to the Pharisees, Matthew to the disciples of John ;
they had both probably been offended at the omission. Here
then our Lord seems absolutely to forbid the practice of fast
ing (as an ordinance of his religion) to his disciples while he
remained with them, but he adds: "The days will come
when the Bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then
shall they fast :" viz. as a natural expression of mourning.
This period of the Bridegroom's absence, was, that in which
he lay in the grave, and the time which passed between his
ascension and the day of Pentecost ; while the disciples were
awaiting in Jerusalem " The promise of the Father." On
that day our Lord returned to them, according to his promise,
not in bodily form but as their " Comforter to abide with them
for ever." This period of his return he calls a period of joy.
"Ye now have sorrow," in the prospect of his going away, "but
I will see you again, and your joy no man taketh from you."
On this subject of his return and abiding with his disciples
for ever it is only necessary to refer to his last conversations
as recorded by St. John.
It appears then that this practice of fasting, which had
been a customary sign of mourning and contrition among the
Jews was not to be used by Christ's disciples while he abode
with them whether in the flesh or by his spirit ; under which
last dispensation, a higher and more joyful one (since our
Lord is no longer a prisoner of earth but exalted to glory) we
live. But there is a passage in Mark's Gospel which is sup
posed to enforce the dutyof fasting. When our Lord's disciples
having failed in working a miracle, enquire why could we
not cast him out? He replies " this kind can come forth by
nothing but prayer and fasting." Now whatever this pas*

APPENDIX. 309
sage may mean, it could not be intended to reproach the
disciples with not fasting, since a little farther back the same
writer after mentioning that the disciples of John and the
Pharisees used to fast, relates the reproach made to our Lord
that his disciples fast not, and his justification of them in the
passage above quoted about the Bridegroom. Probably our
Lord simply meant by this expression earnest prayer, since
it seems to have been customary among the Jews, to use
fasting in conjunction with prayer on remarkable occasions,
and the disciples might have found some difficulty in disjoin
ing them. But whatever the interpretation of this passage
may be, it does not evidently concern us, since whatever
might have been the habits of the Apostles themselves as
Jews they certainly do not enforce or even recommend fasting
to their heathen converts, which they would surely have done
had they understood such to have been the purpose of their
Master's injunction.- With respect to fasting as an ordinance
of the Church, it does not appear that she has made it an
ordinance. Her Collect for the first Sunday in Lent recom
mends such abstinence as shall subdue the flesh to the spirit,
which should mean abstaining habitually from excess ; for
the abstaining from food or particular kinds of food, on
certain days or parts of days, appears to have no such ten
dency, but as we see in the Roman Catholic Church a con
trary one, it is as an external sign of mourning and contrition
in commemorating our Lord's death and sufferings — for
instance, it might be suitably employed as a mourning dress
might be, but this it should be remembered would be very
different from the fasting practised by the Pharisees and
John's disciples, which our Lord in reference to their views
declares should have been done secretly, so that they appear
not unto men to fast. Now no public ordinance can ever be
so kept.

310 APPENDIX.
" Nothing can be clearer or more rational and scriptural
than these observations of Archbishop Whately on the two
Sacraments." Tendency in men to regard the two Sacraments both
erroneously, but with opposite feelings ; the one with a super
stitious and mistaken kind of desire: the other with an
equally mistaken dread and an awe mixed with repugnance.
Baptism they are anxious not to omit: but are culpably
careless as to the solemnity of the administration and the
things implied in it. The Eucharist they respect as some
thing even too solemn for ordinary Christians, but the
necessity of it, they are apt to overlook. Hence they have
in fact made Christianity two religions ; that of communicants
and non-communicants, &c. Baptism on the contrary they
are anxious never to omit, but are apt to look on the outward
visible sign as a kind of charm, and to think little of what is
suitable to an ordinance conveying an inward spiritual grace-
Sponsors, in particular, they often select with very little refer
ence to the Sacrament of Baptism regarded as a religious rite.
They would not choose as guardian to take care (in the
event of orphanhood) of the temporal property of their child
ren, any person whom they knew or believed to be utterly unfit
for such a charge. But they sometimes choose as sponsors,
who are to be solemnly charged to " see that this child be
religiously brought up" as a sincere and regular member of our
Church, persons whom they know to be not even such them
selves, (e. g., persons who never attend the Lord's table, which
yet no one denies to be an essential point of conformity to
the regulations of our Church as well as to the command of
our Divine Master). And the unnecessary resorts to private
baptism often by choice and as a kind of domestic festival
with an avoidance as far as possible of all that connects it
with the congregation into which it admits the persons bap-

APPENDIX. 311
tized (that being its very purport), is another instance of the
rnistaken feelings with which this Sacrament is regarded.
These causes tend to give an undue plausibility to the
arguments by which Anabaptists support their own peculiar
view. The scrupulous eagerness with which the baptism
of an infant is sought and the unscrupulous carelessness with
which the administration of the rite is too often connected,
helps the opponents of all infant baptism to represent it as a
weak and irrational superstition. This is greatly aided by the
total neglect, in some, of the rite of Confirmation (which is
in fact the sequel and completion of Baptism) and by the
thoughtless carelessness with which others are apt to bring
forward their children to receive it. It should be represent
ed as being and should be made the connecting link between
the two Sacraments; the completion of the one and the
introduction to the other.
Notes of a Conversation.
Mr.  began by expressing his regret that you had
withdrawn from the party you had long been connected with ;
I could not, I said, participate in that regret, it being always
my advice to every one to keep clear of the shackles of
every party. He said he conceived me to be prejudiced
against the party in question, on account of the very un
justifiable treatment I had received from some particular
members of it.
I strongly protested against the charge of " prejudice"
in the strict sense, viz., as a prse-judicium, a judgment form
ed antecedently to knowledge. Having lived so many years
in various situations in the midst of men of various parties,
personally intimate with many individuals of each, aloof
from all parties as parties, and a watchful by-stander, it was
imputing to me the most perverse kindness to say that I
judged not by evidence, but by prejudice. He said he did

312 APPENDIX.
not mean prejudice in the strict sense ; but only that the ill
conduct of some members of the party made me think the
more unfavorably of others.
I dislike all parties as parties ; but as for the individuals
composing them, I make great allowance for a party-man's
acting in a way that would be execrable if he were un
shackled. Having enlisted, and marching in the ranks of a
party, his conduct when urged on him by his associates is,
though not excused, yet palliated, and is entitled to some
degree of pity (not unmixed with contempt) if it be such as
he would if left to himself abhor. But then, on the other
hand, he is in a great degree responsible for all that is done
by the rest of his party, in the cause and in the matters
wherein they are associated ; even when he has no personal
share, he is affording them his countenance, comforting,
aiding and abetting.
Mr.  said that you were of a disposition to need and
wish for the support of a party, and could not well do
without it. I replied that though some may be more in
clined than others to join a party, I had advised you as I do
all persons, to keep clear of all. And that holding as I do,
that this is the duty of all, I could not doubt that it was
possible, though more difficult for some than others.
He said he had felt convinced that he could effect some
highly important objects much better by enrolling himself in
a party than by standing single, and that he had therefore
done so, though he disapproved of much that was done by
his party.
I said it was perfectly justifiable and right to join with
any person or any party or association (im /otitocc) for some
specified, definite object or objects ; but not to enroll your
self as a supporter — indefinitely and generally — of the
general views and practices of those whom you do not
throughout approve of. It is quite right for instance to join

APPENDIX. 313
in some charitable association with men of various religions
and political sentiments; the nature and objects of the asso
ciation being distinctly stated, you are pledged to nothing
else ; the members are not pledged to each other's religious
or political creeds, they are responsible each for himself alone,
in all matters not pertaining to that particular charity. So
also if I join with certain members of Parliament to oppose
or to forward some specific legislative measure, I am not
responsible for the rest of their public, any more than of
their private, conduct. So also as an Education Commissioner
I act with Roman Catholics and Dissenters on a specified
plan, for a definite object. But if I allow myself to be
reckoned as one of the High Church or the Low Church
party, or any such party, as is characterized not by aiming
at some one or more specified measure, but by the general
tendency of their religious principles and views, everything
which comes before the world (in reference to those prin
ciples) and which I do not distinctly and publicly disavow,
becomes to a certain degree my act. Though not distinctly
done by me, the agents derive from me (as well as from each
of the other individuals of the party) some of that counte
nance and support which I in return receive from them in
furthering such measures as / seek to promote. In fact,
this is proved by the very reason Mr.  assigned for
acting with a party ; viz., the support and countenance of a
party enabled him to accomplish the better what he reckoned
desirable objects. Now it would be absurd, and indeed
unfair to think of obtaining himself this aid towards his own
views from others, if they were to derive none from him
towards theirs. Now this makes you, said I, responsible to a
certain degree, for much that you admit to be most unjustifi
able conduct. Are you not therefore, even more to be blamed
(instead of being thereby excused) in consequence of the
disapprobation you feel of that which you nevertheles so far
sanction.

314 APPENDIX.
No doubt one may as a member of a party, effect many
good objects more fully than he could otherwise. So he
might by turning Roman Catholic, or Mahometan, or Hindoo,
he might convey some good moral lessons and check some
faults among those who could not otherwise be brought to
listen to him. But would he be justified in becoming on
that ground, a member of a church or sect which he believed
taught much that is false, and sanctions much that is vicious ?
This is clearly a case of doing evil that good may come.
And it clearly makes no difference in principle whether the
error be one or another, whether greater or smaller, whether
there be two, or three, or fifty errors thus sanctioned.
If you have no right, for the sake of effecting some good
object, to become a Mahometan, you have no right to become
the member of an orthodox or an Evangelical party if they
inculcate or practice as a party anything you disapprove ;
unless you distinctly and publicly protest against every such
act or tenet of theirs.
By the bye, it is curious to observe how Mr.  , and
other members of his, and of other parties, are themselves
actually doing the very thing for which they censure, with
out any real foundation, the Education Commissioners.
You hear much clamour about our combining with
Roman Catholics, compromising principles, and all that ;
and I am made accountable for Dens' Theology, and for all
the Roman Catholic errors ; as Archbishop Murray is, by
" John Tuam," for all that I have written against Romish
errors, as if we were members of a party ; for all which there
is no ground whatever, because we are acting together
(tiri priTotg) for a specific object, the diffusion of a certain kind
and degree of instruction to the poor, and on a system of
which the rules are all written, and printed, and published. It
is just so that the members of the Dublin Mendicity Insti
tution are acting together for the relief of a certain class of

APPENDIX. 315
poor ; and that the Irish landlords, Whig and Tory, are
uniting to concert means of altering a certain portion of the
Poor Law Bill. If, indeed, the object of the Education
Board be a bad one — if it be better that the poor Roman
Catholics should be left totally ignorant, unless they will
consent to be educated as Protestants, on that ground let
us be censured ; but it is mere folly, or something worse,
to represent us as responsible for each other's acts and tenets ;
as Commissioners we are responsible only for what is regu
larly resolved on and ordered by the Board. But it would
be otherwise if, like the very persons who censure us, we
allowed ourselves to be considered as members of a party
formed not merely for certain specified and definite objects
in particular, but for the advancement generally, of certain
religious views and practises ; and if we allowed, without
protesting against them, certain views to be promulgated,
and practises recommended, and measures adopted by mem
bers of that party, and understood as coming from the
party, while we secretly disapproved of them. This is what
we do not do, but which those persons do who, at the same
time, impute to us the very fault they are guilty of. They
think, forsooth, they can effect, as members of a party, some
good which they could not otherwise. I think that, as an
Education Commissioner, I can effect good objects which
would otherwise be unattainable ; but that consideration
would not justify me if I purchased this advantage by giving
my sanction to something which I thought wrong or erroneous-
And why am I not giving my sanction to some error, for
instance, of Dr. Murray ; not because I tell you, or Mr.  ,
in a private conversation that I disapprove of Dr. Murray's
views, but because I am not one of the same Party with
him ! not combined with him at all except in the specified
work of carrying into effect a certain distinct plan, drawn
out by Lord Stanley, for a precise object

316 APPENDIX.
But to return to my narrative, Mr.  said it was very
well for such a person as myself to resolve to stand aloof
from all parties ; that I was able and worthy to stand single ;
but that from more humble individuals like him, it would
be too presumptuous, &c.
I said I had not been thought much of early in life, but
that I had very early formed the resolution to tie myself to
no man or party, but to listen to reason from every quarter,
to " prove all things, and to hold fast that which is right,"
according to the best judgment I am able to form. And
this plan I laid down for myself, not because I thought
myself an eminent man, but because I thought it a Christian
duty. I have faults enough of my own to answer for. I
cannot afford to answer for other people's. And yet, that I
must do if I act at the bidding of others, or if I give my
implied sanction to the acts of a party. It is in vain for me
to throw off my free agency. I can not throw off my
responsibility ; whether the light of reason that God has given
me be strong or weak He does not authorise me to shut my
eyes and be led blindfold by any human party or rabbi.
Accordingly, I never did, said I, even when I was a person
of no note or expectation, enrol myself as a partizan ; and
what is more, I added, if I had, I should now have been a
party leader.
It was not, I said, from disdaining to occupy an inferior
place in the ranks of a party, that I kept aloof, but from
objecting to party — especially religious party — as contrary
to the words and spirit of the Apostle's admonitions, when
he censures as " carnal " those who said, " I am of Paul, and
I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ," he does not
make any exception in favor of some humbler class of Chris
tians — he does not say " you, that are great and eminent men
ought not to be carnal, but ordinary Christians may," nor
again when he says, " Are ye not carnal and walk as men,"

APPENDIX. 317
he does not say that such conduct is carnal in some persons
and not in others ; but he censures and forbids parties in the
Corinthian Church generally. I must conclude therefore,
said I, that he meant to extend this to all Christians (till I
see some reason given me for an exception) and not merely
to great and eminent men. It may be said, to be sure, that
there is something of moral greatness of character in resolving
not to follow a leader and to show due respect and kindness
indeed to all men, but to " call no man master upon earth."
Aye, said he, that is just what I mean when I speak of a
great man being such a one as can, and should, keep clear of
party: it is not so much intellectual as moral greatness that
is wanted for acting such a part. True, I replied, but it is
precisely this moral greatness that is required of every
Christian and which he is enabled to manifest. If this be a
duty (as Paul distinctly declares it to be) it must be some
thing possible. What is the Gospel given for ? What mean
the promises of Divine grace ? Is the Christian religion not
designed to elevate our nature? and if so, and intellectual
capacity or superhuman knowledge are not to be looked for
by all Christians, what is the elevation of our nature to con
sist in, if it be not that moral greatness which you speak of
as being a thing not to be thought of but by one in a thou
sand? Are the rest — the mass of Christians — to claim by
virtue of their being God's people, the privilege of being
allowed to continue carnal ? Are these to show their humility
not by submitting to God, but by submitting to a party of
men? " Be not deceived : God is not thus mocked."
Extracts from Lady Osborne's Letters, omitted in the first
volume. Palace, St. Stephen's Green.
In the evening I had some conversation with Lord and
Lady Clarendon, with both of whom I was charmed. Miss
Campbell is staying here — a niee, pretty little girl who, at

318 APPENDIX.
my request, read the Historic Doubts aloud to me. They
are very amusing — his Grace has given the work to me.
Mrs. Pakenham spoke to me of Mrs. Congreve — she has
heard of me from her. You ask how I like Lady Monck. I
am perfectly delighted with her, and I think Lord Monck
the model of a country gentleman. He is, besides, very
intelligent, and truly liberal. " Since those days Lord
Monck, as Governor-General of Canada, to the humbler
character of 'a model country gentleman,' has added
fresh laurels as the agent who accomplished the confedera
tion of the British Provinces in North America."
With regard to  , I think him a fearful mischief-
maker. He was preordained to represent all the landlords
as the cause of Ireland's miseries, and the priests the sheet
anchor of salvation.
Sir Thomas Osborne though he spent the greater part of
his life in Ireland went to Christ Church, Oxford, for his
university education. As he has often been misrepresented
the Editor inserts a passage from a letter to Lady Osborne
written by his brother-in-law, the Earl of Carysfort, though
it does not state the nature of the causes that led to his re
markable dislike of general society.
" I am greatly rejoiced by the wish your ladyship so kindly
expresses of introducing your children to their relations.
Exclusive of my near connexion with the Osborne family by
my first marriage I am related to them by blood and friend
ship in a very high degree. The mother of the late Sir
William Osborne was my father's aunt. The two young
men were educated together and had the strongest mutual
regard for each other which terminated only with their lives.
My intimacy with Sir Thomas began, therefore, at a very
early age, and was never, I hope interrupted. I lamented
extremely some unfortunate circumstances which led him to
contract a singularity of character which prevented his worth

APPENDIX. 319
being known and appreciated as it ought to have been, and
at last, I fear, disgusted him with the world. Your ladyship
will forgive my saying that I was most anxiously interested
for your happiness, though as I never heard again from Sir
Thomas, and had, soon after I was last in Ireland, the mis
fortune (I have experienced no severer blow) of losing Judge
Osborne, and as I received no intimation by your ladyship's
direction of Sir Thomas' death, I could not presume to
obtrude myself upon you.
" All these recollections cannot but make me delighted at
finding by your ladyship's letter the disposition you are in to
resume a friendly intercourse with the family, now much
reduced in number ; I am sure that you will find yourself
greeted by them with all possible affection. I shall be most
impatient to see the representative of a family I have loved
so much." He goes on to say, " I am no longer worth any
one's notice, I am now in my 71st year, and though not infirm
and without any strength of the vital principle, yet I suffer
continually, almost without any respite, from very trouble
some disorders, of which asthma is the worst, but I bless
the goodness of God who has given many great comforts
and very tolerable spirits."
Lord Carysfort made a translation of the poet Camoens.
Note on vol. l,p. 238.
"In one of Lady Osborne's letters from Scotland, the
possibility of the prefix of " reptile" to the revered name of
William Wilberforce, may seem unbearable impertinence,
but can easily be explained. Captain Walker (described as
a character) evidently classed men under two heads : reptiles
and geniuses. He was under a mistaken impression that
Mr. Wilberforce had not done justice to the Rev. Mr. Ram
say as instigator of his interest in the cause of the slaves ;
whereas Clarkson was the appropriator of the credit due to

320 APPENDIX.
him, but being thus misinformed, Captain Walker would
naturally put the great Wilberforce in a wrong category.
The reader who has reflected properly upon the characters
of the writers of these letters, the Editor thinks, might
address three classes of individuals thus : — To the infidel he
might say, ' You think the strength of your intellect places
you beyond the reach of superstition; but this is not the
case. Your weakness withholds you from acknowledging
as inevitable, though incomprehensible, the superiority of the
code of belief to which you owe devotion. You are a
self-seeker, beginning and ending with self.'
To the political destructive he might observe, " You pro
fess to love liberty and hate oppression, and like to sneer
at the oft-quoted lines —
' Let laws and learning, arts and commerce die,' &c.
But take care that you are not turning the engine of oppres
sion against the truth ' which maketh free,' and those who
are providentially appointed to foster 'laws and learning,
arts and commerce.'
To the superstitious he might thus address himself: " You
think want of faith a terrible crime — so it is in those who
have the means of arriving at it ; but there is infidelity in
not holding the negative truth, a sort of unbelief that caused
Galileo to be cast into a dungeon because he asserted the
sun did not move round the earth.
The Editor takes this opportunity of giving to the public
some most beautiful lines sent to her by Mrs. Hill, in 1839,
that they may become known, and also with a faint hope
that some one may perhaps be aware of their authorship, for
she has never met with them in any collection of poems."
HOPE.
Again, again she comes ! methinks I hear
Her wild sweet singing and her rushing wings !
My heart goes forth to meet her with a tear,
And welcome sends from all its broken strings.

APPENDIX. 321
It was not thus — not thus we met of yore,
When my plumed soul went halfway to the sky
To greet her, and the joyous song she bore
Was scarce more tuneful than its glad reply.
The wings are fettered with the weight of years,
And grief has spoilt the music with her tears !
She comes ! I know her by her starry eyes,
I know her by the rainbow in her hair —
Her vesture of the light of summer skies.
But gone the girdle which she used to wear
Of summer roses, and the sandal flowers
That hung enamoured round her fairy feet,
When in her youth she haunted earthly bowers,
And culled from all their beautiful and sweet.
No more she mocks me with her voice of mirth,
Nor offers now the garland of the earth!
Come back, come back ! thou hast been absent long,
Oh ! welcome back the sybil of the soul,
Who comes and comes again with pleading strong,
To offer to the heart her mystic scroll ;
Though every year she wears a sadder look,
And sings a sadder song — and every year
Some further leaves are torn from out her book,
And fewer what she brings and far more dear.
As once she came oh might she come again
With all the perished volumes offered then ?
But come ! thy coming is a gladness yet —
Light from the future o'er the present cast
That makes the present bright. But oh ! regret
Is present sorrow while it mourns the past,
VOL. II. x

322 APPENDIX.
And memory speaks as speaks the curfew bell
To tell the daylight of the heart is done.
Come, like the seer of old and with thy spell
Put back the shadow of that setting sun
On my soul's dial ; and with new-born light
Hush the wild tolling of that voice of night !
Bright spirit come ! the mystic rod is thine
That shows the hidden fountains of the heart
And turns with point unerring to divine
The places where its buried treasures rest,
The hoards of thought and feeling : at that spell
Methinks I feel its long lost wealth revealed
And ancient springs within my spirit swell,
That grief had choked and ruins had concealed
And sweetly spreading where their waters play
The tint and freshness of its early day.
She comes ! she comes ! her voice is in mine ear,
Her wild sweet voice that sings and sings for ever,
Whose stream of song sweet thoughts awake to hear,
Like flowers that haunt the margin of a river.
She comes ! I know her by her radiant eyes,
Before whose smile the long dim cloud departs,
And if a deeper shade be on her brow,
And if her tones be sadder than of yore,
And if she sings more solemn music now,
And bears another harp than erst she bore,
And if around her form no longer glow
The earthly flowers that in her youth she wore
That look is holier and that song more sweet,
And heaven's flowers, the stars, are at her feet.
the end.

' .

"