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CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH
BISHOP OF LINCOLN
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Christopher Wordsworth
BISHOP OF LINCOLN 1807— 1885
JOHN HENRY OVERTON
CANON OF LINCOLN AND RECTOR OF EPWORTH
ELIZABETH WORDSWORTH
PRINCIPAL OF LADY MARGARET HALL, OXFORD
"Fcritas in CCariiatc
With Portraits
RIVINGTONS
WATERLOO PLACE, LONDON
MDCCCLXXXVIII
PREFACE
The late Bishop of Lincoln once expressed a wish that his eldest daughter should write his life,— should such a life be called for. As she felt, how- ever, her own incompetence for such a task on a variety of grounds, and also the drawbacks which must attend on a memoir written exclusively by near relations, aid was called in from outside the family circle. It has been thought best not to attempt to draw a hard and fast line between the portions of the work which to a certain extent were the production of different hands. The difference of style will probably in many cases speak for itself; but the whole volume has been carefully gone over by both of those who are mainly responsible for its contents. The book has also had the inestimable advantage of being revised by the late Bishop's elder and only-surviving brother, the venerable Bishop of S. Andrew's, and very valuable aid has been given by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Bishop's two sons, the Bishop of Salisbury and the Rev. Canon Wordsworth, and by other members of the Wordsworth family. The chapter on Con-
206G446
PREFACE.
vocation is due to the kindness of the Rev. Canon Perry, of whose work as an English Church historian the late Bishop often expressed the highest opinion ; and that on Foreign Churches is to a great extent the production of his old and valued friend and examining chaplain, the Rev. Canon Meyrick. The names of the Dean of Chichester and of many other friends, to one and all of whom the warmest thanks are tendered, present themselves in due course.
It may seem to some that a comparatively small space has been allotted to some very important subjects; but the work has not been intended to supersede, but to supplement that which the Bishop has himself left behind him in his various publica- tions. To go thoroughly into all the events in which he took a leading part would practically be to write the history of the Church of England for the last fifty years.
It has not been attempted to give the history of the Bishop's life year by year, as it was thought better to group the various subjects together under specific heads. In a life so varied, a mere narration of events would have given a very inadequate picture of the man, and been very perplexing to the reader. A table of the principal dates in the Bishop's life will, however, l^e found at the commencement of the book.
C ONTEiYTS
CHAPTER I
PARENTAGE AND CHILDHOOD.
PAGE
Hereditary characteristics — The Lloyd family — His father's marriage- Extracts from his mother's letters — Death of his mother . . . i
CHAPTER II.
SCHOOL AND COLLEGE LIFE.
Winchester under Dr. Gabell — Winchester under Dr. Williams — Words- worth as a prefect— Letter from the Master of Trinity — Verses written to his brother Charles — "Who wrote Icon Basilike ? " — Tour iu the Isle of W^ight — Letter to his brother John — Harrow and Winchester — Interval between school and college — -Journal— Under- graduate life — University distinctions . , . . . -15
CHAPTER III.
EARLY MANHOOD AND EARLY TRAVELS.
Influence of the Rydal household — First visit to Paris — Letters from William Wordsworth — Letter from Dora Wordsworth — Religion in Cambridge in 1S30 — Beneficent influences on his life — Early friends — Travels in Sicily, Greece, &c. — Illness at Athens — Sojourn at Rome — Public Orator — Head Master of Harrow . . . .58
CHAPTER IV.
HARROW.
Letter from Mr. Beresford-Hope — Efforts to improve the school — His marriage — The Frere family — Letter of his sister-in-law — Fire at Harrow in 1838 — Troubles at Harrow— Illness and death of John Wordsworth — Candidate for Regius Professorship of Divinity — Letters from Harrow pupils — Pecuniaiy losses and ill-health . .81
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V.
EARLY WESTMINSTER LIFE.
PACK
Residence at Westminstei- — Preaching in the Aljbey — Pamphlets on Maynooth — Letters to Mrs. Wordsworth — ^Death of the Master of Trinity — Westminster Spiritual Aid P\md — Foundation of " St. John's House"' — Letter to William Wordsworth — Sermons in Westminster Abbey .......-.*. 107
CHAPTER VI.
WESTMINSTER ANJi STANFORD-IN-THE-VALi:.
S.P.G. tour in Ireland — Stanford-in-lhe-Vale — Life as a country clergy- man— Letter from Rev. T. W. Elrington — Letter from Rev. L. G. Maine — Influence of Bishop Wilberforce — Work as a parish priest — Life at Stanford — The Bishopric of Gibraltar — Dr. Stanley made Dean of Westminster — Dr. Wordsworth on the appointment — Friendly relations with the Dean . . . . . - 130
CHAPTER VII.
CONl -OCA TION.
First attempts at revival— Privileges of Lower House — Discussion on Church discipline — Speech on Courts of Appeal — Speech on Exten- sion of episcopate — Proposed alteration of Prayer-Book — "Essays and Reviews "^Sponsors — Home episcopate — Foreign Churches — Dr. McCaul — Election of Prolocutor — Diocesan synods — -Reform of Convocation — The Conscience Clause — Catholicity of the Church of England — The Church of South Africa — Pan-Anglican Conference — Encyclical — Natal — Letters to Archdeacon Harrison — Letter from liishop of Pcterborougli . . . . . . . . -159
CHAPTER VHl.
THE EPISCOrATE. — FIRST THREE YEARS.
Offer (if the Bishopric and acceptance — Farewell to Stanford — Journal — Qualification for a I5ishopric — Church (Quarterly on Bishop Wordsworth — Speech at S. Swithin's, Lincoln — Dr. Temples ap- pointment to Exeter — Suffragan Bishops — First Suffragan Bishop of Nottingham — First charge — Poor benefices — Diocesan Synod — "Synod" and "Conference" — First Diocesan Conference — Church Congress at Nottingham .... .....
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IX.
THE EPISCOPATE. BURNING QUESTIONS.
PAGE
Pastoral to Wesleyan Methodists — Owston Ferry tombstone case — Ireni-
cum Wesleyanum — Temperance societies — Great Coaies case —
Sporting clergy — Ritual question — Public Worship Regulation Act
— Letter of Canon Hole — The Burials Bill — Letter from Di". Liddon. 241 S
CHAPTER X.
THE EPISCOPATE.- — PRACTICAL WORK IN THE DIOCESE.
The cathedral system — Elementary education — S. Paul's Mission House, Burgh — Scholae Cancellarii — University education— New statutes of Lincohr College — Foreign missions — Home missions — Nottingham — ■ Subdivision of the diocese — Ordinations — Confirmation visits — In- terest in local associations — The studies of the clergy — Literary work of the clei^gy — Letters on literary subjects — Letters on paroclrial subjects — The Bishop's relations to the laity — Miscellaneous letters — Letters to liis children — Letter to Lady Harewood — Letters from General Gordon — Letter to General Gordon — City of Lincoln — Conclusion of his last pastoral . 275
CHAPTER XL
INTERCOURSE WITH FOREIGN CHURCHES.
France — Italy — Vatican Council and Germany — Greece and the Oriental
Cliurch 344
CHAPTER XII.
LITERARY WORK'.
Works on Greece — Latin Grammar — Bentley's Correspondence — Tlieu- philus Anglicanus — Memoirs of William Wordsworth — S. Hippo- lytus— Commentary on the Bible — The Holy Year — Miscellanies, Literary and Religious — Theocritus — Church History — Harrow Ser- mons— Hulsean Lectures — Westminster Sermons — Sermons on Church of Ireland — Boyle Lectures — Sermons as Bishop — Last works 393
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XIII.
CLOSING DAYS.
PAGE
Beginning of soitows — Illness of Mrs. Wordsworth — Last Confirmations — Last visit to old haunts — Beginning of last illness — Ilarewood — Harrogate — Death of JNIrs. Wordsworth — Appointment of Dr. King — Last attendance at Harewood Church — The Bishop's death — The discipline of sorrow — The funeral — The graves at Riseholme . 461
CHAPTER XIV.
PERSONAL REMINISCENCES.
II is method with his children — His characteristics — His i^eading in church — His tastes in music and painting — Daily life at Riseholme — His studies — Mrs. Wordsworth — His classical tastes — Tastes in poetry — Tastes in prose literature — General characteristics — Recol- lections of Dean Burgon — Recollections of Archbishop Benson — jVIemorial sermon, " Love and Discipline" — Monument in Lincoln Cathedral 4SS
I^JI^KX 535
ILL US TRA TION S
I'ORTKAIT 01" ClIRTSTOI'lIER WORDSWORTH .... FrOltispiecC I'ORIRAIT AS BiSHOi' To face p. 20S
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE
CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH'S LIFE.
1804. Oct. 6. Chr. Wordsworth married Priscilla Lloyd. 1S05. July I. John Wordsworth born.
1806. Aug. 22. Charles Wordsworth born.
1807. Oct. 30. Christopher Wordsworth born. 181 1. April II. Susanna Hatley Frere born.
181 5. Oct. 7. Priscilla Wordsworth died at Bocking. 1820. Dr. Wordsworth Master of Trinity. John and
Christopher to Commoners, Winchester. 1825. First Winchester and Harrow match.
1827. Christopher W. First Class Freshman's Coll. Exam.
First Latin Verse Prize {IpJiigeina in Ajilide), Trinity.
1828. C. W.^ wins First Eng. Declamation (Hooper's).
First Latin Declamation (Trinity). First Latin Verse Prize (Trinity).
1829. Craven Scholar. First Reading Prize, Trinity.
1830. Fourteenth Senior Optimc. Math. Tripos. Senior
Classic. B.A.
1832. Travels in Italy and Greece.
1833. Ordained Deacon, by Bp. Kaye, at Buckden. M.A.
1834. Classical Lecturer at Trinity. Examiner in Clas-
sical Tripos.
1835. Ordained Priest by Bp. Percy of Carlisle.
1836. Public Orator. Master of Harrow. Athens and Attica.
^ Unless otherwise specified, all subsequent notices refer to Christopher Wordsworth. All his publications are in italics.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1837. Pompeian Inscriptions.
1838. April 17. Spital Sermon on Heathen and Christian
PliihintJiropy. Dec. 6. Married S. H. Frere.
1839. B.D., and D.D., per litt. regias. Greece, Pictorial and Descriptive.
Dec. 31. John W. died at Trinity Lodge.
1 84 1. Preces Selectee for Harrow. Sermons. King Ed-
zuard VI. Latin Grammar. Dr. C. W. resigns Mastership of Trinity.
1842. Candidate for Regius Professorship of Divinity.
Bent leys Correspondence.
1843. Sept. 21. John Wordsworth born. Oct. 3. Theophilus Anglicanns.
1844. Canon of Westminster. Theocritus. Discourses on
PiLhlic Education.
1845. Maynooth Pamphlets. Diary in France.
1846. Feb. 2. Dr. C. W. dies at Buxted.
1847. Hulsean Lecturer. Letters to Gondon. National
Education.
1848. Christopher Wordsworth born. Sermon on RigJit-
eousness exalteth a Nation. Hulsean Lectures on Canon of Scripture. Report of West. Sp. Aid Fund.
1849. Hulsean Lectu7'es on Apocalypse, on the Mart of Sin.
Funeral Sermon on Queen Adelaide. Elements of Instruction concerning the ChurcJi.
1850. Vicar of Stanford. William Wordsworth dies
(April 23). Occasional Sermons; First Series chiefly on Gorliam Cojitroversy. Is the Church of Rome Babylon ? Beautiful Scenery. The Prelude, by W. W., first published.
185 1. Memoirs of W. Wordsivorth. Occasional Sermons ,
Second Series.
1852. Proctor in Convocation for the Chapter. Charles
W., Bishop of S. Andrew's. Occ. S., Third Scries. Occ. S., Fourth .Scries. Scrnioiis on the Irish Church.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
Oct. 7. Tivo Lectures on Millennium.
1853. At Paris, Aug., Sept. 5. Hippolytus, &c.
1854. Boyle Lecturer. Founding of Anglo-Continental
Society. Notes at Paris. Boyle Lectures on Re- ligious Restoration (Fifth Series of Occasional Sermons).
1855. Dorothy Wordsworth died at Rydal, Jan. 25.
Funeral Sermon on Joshua Watson. Remarks on M. Bunsen's Hippolytus. Restoration of Stanford Church.
1856. Tracts on Lncrease of Episcopate. The Four Gos-
pels, Oct. 22.
1857. '^^xm.ows, on Divorce. APleaforLidia. Occasional
Sermons, Sixth Series. The Acts OF THE Apostles, May 24.
1858. What mean ye by this Service? (Nave Services,
West. Abbey.)
1859. Feb. 25. S. Paul's Epistles. Occasional 5.,
Seventh Series. (Deceased Wife's Sister, &c.) i860. On 2gth Canon. General Epistles and Revela- tion, Oct. 25. Letter to Viscount Dungannon, on Subdivision of Dioceses.
1 86 1. Lectures on Lnspiration ; and Lntcrpretaiion. Ls
Convocation a Court of Heresy ? A Reply to Prof. Jozi'ctfs Essay.
1862. Visits Italy, May 13— July 8. Tre Lettere. The
Holy Year. Bicentenary Common Prayer Book.
1863. fournal of Tour in Italy. Tzuenty Reasons for Lncr.
of Episcopate. Remarks on Proposed Admission of Dean Stanley. The Tzuo Tercentenaries. " Son of God:' "Son of Man.'' (Articles in Smith's Diet, of the Bible.)
1864. Oct. 10. Genesis and Exodus. Synodical fudg-
mcnts.
1865. Archdeacon of Westminster.
June I. Leviticus — Deuteronomy. On the Lord's Day. On the Judicial Functions of Metropolitans. (Colenso Appeal.) The Morians' Land. (Cent. African ^^lission.)
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
Oct. 16, Joshua, Judges, Ruth.
1866. May 22. Books of Samuel. Dec. 6. Books of Kings.
Letter to Times on Apocalyptic frescoes found in West, Chapter-house.
1867. Sermon on the Lambeth Conference. May I. Book of Job.
Oct. 15. The Psalms.
Nov. 28. Epistola encydica, 'Ettio-toXtj avaTuriKi]. Gr. Lat.
1868. April 28. Proverbs and Song of Solomon. Oct. 2. Isaiah.
Sept. 20. On proposed Council at Rome.
Oct. 28. Responsio Anglicana.
Nov. 14. Nominated Bishop of Lincoln.
1869. Feb. 24. Consecration in Westminster Abbey. First
Confirmation Tour. July 28. Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Letters on Dr. Temple and See of Exeter.
1870. Feb. I. Daniel.
Feb. 2. Henry Mackenzie, Bp. Suffragan of Not- tingham. Visit of Bp. Lycurgus.
June G. Minor Prophets.
June 21. D.C.L. Oxon., honoris causa. The Vatican Council.
Aug. 5. Association for Small Benefices.
Aug. 13. Prayers in Time of War.
Oct. 3 — 31. Primary Visitation Charge.
Nov. 10. Three Letters on PurcJias ftidgment.
1 87 1. F'eb. 26. Sermons on Maccabees at Cambridge. Pastoral on Ascension Day.
Sept. 20. Diocesan Synod.
Oct. 10 — 13. Nottingham Church Congress. LJymn for Unity.
1872. TYb. 8. Speech on Athanasian Creed. Ethica. Sept. 8 — 22. Present at Cologne Congress. Oct. 25. First Diocesan Conference.
1873. April 29. Visitation of Cathedral. Pastorals to
Weslcyans. 'Twelve Diocesan Addresses.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1874. Jan. 6. On Confession and Absolution.
Jan. 26. On Vacant Benefice of Great Coates.
April. Sale of Chnrch Patronage.
April 20. Public Worship Regulation Bill.
May 4. Plea for Toleration.
June 4. Speech. ScIioIje Cancellarii Revived.
June 20. Senates and Synods.
Sept. 21. (9/^ New Lectionary.
1875. Pastoral to Wesleyans. Owston Epitaph. Oct. 26. Christian Art in Cemetery CJiapels.
Nov. 23. 6>;^ Proposed Mission. On Church Tem- perance Society.
1876. Jan. 28. Novate Novak founded. Lincoln Mission (February).
Feb. 24. Restoration of Bishop Alnwick's Tower.
June 4. Irenicum Wesleyanum.
July 27. Foundation of New County Hospital.
Sept. 28. The Mohammedan Woe.
Nov. Diocesan Addresses (Third Visitation).
1877. Jan. 6. Theocritus.
Jan. 10. Letter to Canon Hole (Lord Penzance).
Oct. 5. Diocesan Conference (The Burials Bill). The Neivtonian System (at Colsterworth). The Inter- mediate State.
1878. Jan. 25. Dedication of S. Paul's IMission House,
Burgh. May 14. Speech on Bishoprics Bill. July 3. Midland Counties Art Museum, Nottingham. July 2 — 27. Lambeth Conference. Epistola centum Episcoporum. Oct. i. Consecration
of Lincoln Hospital Chapel. Oct. 15. Bishop Mackenzie died. Succeeded by
Dr. Trollope. Nov. 20. Eliz. Frere died.
1879. Letter to Univ. Comm. on B. N. C. and Lincoln
Coll. Statutes. Miscellanies, 3 vols. October. Ten Addresses. On Sisterhoods, &c.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
1880. A.D. 1640 — 1660 (at Southwell). Reply to Clerical
Address on Burials Bill. Special Form for
Burial. July. Royal Archaeological Institute at Lincoln. Sept. 22. Diocesan Conf. on Burial Laws. Oct. I. Openings of Bishop's Hostel.
1 88 1. Jan. 19. On Present Disquietude in ChurcJi. ■ Feb. Chnvcli History, Vol. L
Petition of Visitor of Lincoln College to the Queen
in Council. June I. Speech at Foundation of Selwyn College. Diocesan Conference on Revised Version of N.T. Nov. Visits of Bps. Reinkens and Herzog.
1882. Jan. Church History, \o\. II.
May 21. The Future of our Universities. June 14. Where zvas Dodona ? Derby Church Congress. Triennial Addresses. Fifth Series.
1883. Jan. 3. Church History, Vol. III.
July II. Southzvell. Appeal to Clergy and Laity.
Sept. 4. Conjectural Emendations.
Nov. 5. Speech at Lincoln (S.P.G.) on Luther
Commemoration. Dec. 15. Speech on Mahommedanism. CJiurcJi History, Vol. IV.
1884. Jan. 22. Nottingham Spiritual Aid Fund founded. March 27. " Disabled by work of Confirmation." May I. Bp. of Southwell consecrated.
May 9. CJiristian VVoniaiihood, &'c.
July 7. Letter to "Guardian." 2nd Reading D. W.
Sister's Bill. Oct. 16. John Wiclif. Oct. 28. Death of S. II. Wordsworth. Dec. 12. Letter ox\ proposed resignation.
1885. Hoiv to Read the Old Testament. Feb. 9. Resigns Diocese. March 20. Bp. King elected. March 21. Death of C. Wordsworth. March 25. Funeral at Lincoln.
CHAPTER I.
PARENTAGE AND CHILDHOOD.
Christopher Wordsworth was born at Lambeth, on October 30th, 1807, 3-^*^ was the third son of Chris- topher Wordsworth, afterwards Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, and of his wife Priscilla, daughter of C. Lloyd, of Bingley Hall, Birmingham, The family of Wordsworth had been settled in the West Ridinsf of Yorkshire since about 1379 ;^ but John Words-
^ An old oak awniry, dated 1525, and recording the names of some generations of the family, was among the treasures pre- served at Rydal Mount. Bishop Percy has handed down the name of Wordsworth of Penistone as first cousin to Sir E. Wortley (the " Dragon of Wantley," of church-devouring fame). The name Wordswoiih or Wadstvorth is clearly in its origin a place-name— the wori/i or manor of a man called Word ox Ord (of. Ordsal) or JVad. It is found as a family name with a great variety of spelling, and sometimes with^ sometimes without, the de, from the beginning of the thirteenth century onwards, in the southern part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and chiefly about the course of the rivers Dove and Don. Wadsworth, which is apparently the oldest attested form, is perhaps also the original, and has been preserved in the second name of Henry Wads- worth Longfellow, the illustrious American poet, whose mother's family are from the same stock ; but the English branch of the poet's family, which spelt the name generally, if not always, with the letter r, is traceable from 1379 onwards. Their happily characteristic family motto Veritas is of course merely a play upon the meaning of the name, as now commonly spelt, and has nothing to do with its derivation.
2 PARENTAGE AND CHILDHOOD. [1807 —
worth, grandfather of the subject of this memoir, was an attorney at Cockermouth, and there his five children were born. He died in considerable pecu- niary difficulties, in consequence of a heavy unpaid debt which the then Earl of Lonsdale, whose agent he had been, had incurred to the family ;- but his two sons, William and Christopher, through the assistance of their uncles, Richard Wordsworth and Christopher Crackanthorpe, were educated at Cambridge. The story of the poet's life has been written elsewhere ; of Christopher, the father of the late Bishop, it will be sufficient in this place to say that his industry, uprightness, and ability eventually raised him to the high position which he held in the University. "That same industry," says William Wordsworth in an early letter, referring- to his brother's career, " is a good old Roman quality, and nothing is to be done with- out it." And he was not only capable of earning academic distinctions, but, what is perhaps much rarer, of laying them down. After conscientiously discharging the duties of Master of Trinity for many years, in the course of which he proved himself a most generous benefactor to the college, he resigned that post in favour of Dr. Whewell, for whose appointment he stipulated as deeming him the fittest and worthiest to succeed him.
But any biography of the Bishop of Lincoln would
2 This debt was in course of time repaid with interest by the next Earl ; but, as may be seen in the case of WiUiam Words- worth and his sister Dorothy, not before causing years of privation and the practice of the severest tlirift.
-i82o.] HEREDITARY CHARACTERISTICS.
be very inadequate which did not also take into ac- count the quahties which he derived from his mother and her family. This is all the more necessary be- cause, owing to the celebrity of William Words- worth, the characteristics of the Bishop's paternal ancestors are tolerably well known. Intense truth- fulness, exceptional tenacity of purpose and power of work, a certain homeliness and simplicity side by side with the strong philosophic and poetical instincts which mark the northern races, an independence of character which at times was capable of becoming aggressive in its self-reliance, and habits of thrift (which are the inevitable result of a protracted struggle with somewhat stern domestic conditions), were the most conspicuous of these qualities. He of whom this memoir is written was endowed with many of them ; but others which he had, and those, perhaps, which gave a special charm to his presence and a special influence to his life, came to him from the mother's side. It will therefore be well to devote a short space to an account of her.
Priscilla Lloyd belonged to an old family of that name which was directly descended from King Edward I. and Eleanor, through their daughter Joanna, and which had possessed estates in Wales for many generations. Charles Lloyd, of Dolobran, born December 9th, ]637, adopted (about 1662) the opinions of the celebrated George Fox, and suffered for them, his possessions being put under praemunire in consequence of his refusal to take the oaths of
B 2
4 PARENTAGE AND CHILDHOOD. [1807—
allegiance and supremacy in the reign of Charles II. He suffered ten years' imprisonment in Welsh- pool goal and much loss of property.
Owing to their having joined the Society of Friends the Lloyds underwent the usual disqualifi- cations of Nonconformists in those days, and, like many others similarly circumstanced, took to the business of banking as an occupation in which those disqualifications were likely to be least felt. In 1 748 was born Charles Lloyd, grandfather of the Bishop of Lincoln, whose marriage with Mary Farmer, of Bingley Hall, was followed by the birth of a large family of sons and daughters. Of these, Priscilla was the eldest girl. The site of Bingley Hall is now in the heart of Birmingham ; but in those days it was a handsome family mansion surrounded with trees, with a master who was not only a shrewd man of business, but an able preacher in the Society,^ and so ardent a lover of Homer and Horace that he wrote and published poetical translations of large portions of the works of both. Some of the sons were men of brilliant abilities ; the eldest, Charles, is well known as the friend and literary colleague of Charles Lamb. The daughters were possessed of considerable personal attractions. The portrait of Priscilla Lloyd represents a young woman simply dressed in white, with clear-cut features, bright com- plexion, fine dark-brown eyes, and the dark eye- brows so characteristic of her youngest son. 3 Some of his MS. sermons are still preserved.
— i82o.] THE LLOYD FAMILY. 5
With the orderly habits of a man of business, the Bishop's grandfather has preserved his correspon- dence with his daughters from the year 1 790 on- wards. An extract from one of these letters will give some idea of the *' interior " of Quaker life in those days : —
London, 16, 2 mo., I790.
Dear Priscilla, — I was very glad to receive thy pretty letter, and to read thy account of what is going forward at home. I hope thy cold will soon be better and that thou wilt behave so well at Bingley as to induce grandma to wish for thy company again. I dined on first day at Coz. Barclay's, and saw all their ten good children, they write very prettily and don't blot their books, they put one word regularly under the other, so that all their lines appear of the same length, which makes their books look very neat. They were much pleased with James's picture of the Vicar and Moses. They have lately begun to draw themselves, and make a proficiency, but I hope my children will exert themselves, and not let anybody get before them. ... I hope Brothers are good boys, and attend to the advice of their mamma and master, and that they are kind to their sisters. Agatha Barclay rides very well, and I hope Priscy will soon learn to ride, for it is very ornamental and useful for a woman to be skilful in riding. . . . Give my love to uncle Nehe- miah, and if he invites thee to drink tea, be sure and use no more sugar when his eyes are shut than when they are open. I love you all dearly, I hope you will all be good and love one another.
I am my dear Priscilla's very affectionate father,
Charles Lloyd.
From her letters at about the age of sixteen, it is obvious that Priscilla Lloyd was already begin-
6 PARENTAGE AND CHILDHOOD. [1807 —
ning to feel the limits of the '' Society '' somewhat oppressive, and to long for a more unconfined atmo- sphere. Her brother Charles had been to Cambridge and had made a college friendship with Christopher Wordsworth, who, having like his three brothers, Richard, William, and John, been at school at Hawkshead, was now working hard at Trinity. This introduction to a circle which included William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor- Coleridge, and Charles Lamb,* and his friend Manning, not only gave a great stimulus to the literary tastes of Charles, but produced a lasting effect on the fortunes of his sister, to whom Christopher Wordsworth soon formed a deep attachment. A passage in a letter from him to his life-long friend, Jonathan Walton, will give an idea of the situation of the two young lovers : — •
BirmingJiam, Jan. 2>0th, 1799. Nor is it with Lloyd only that I have to dread a parting. I have to leave a future wife behind me. I will not now tell you the history of our love, but to his
•' Wc insert a passage from C. Lamb to Manning in the spring of iSoo, March 17th. " My dear love to Lloyd and Sophia. . . They are my oldest friends. Tell Charles I have seen his mamma, and have almost fallen in love with /icr, since I mayn't with Olivia. She is so fine and graceful, a complete matron-lady- quaker. She has given me two little books. Olivia grows a charming girl — full of feeling, and thinner than she was ; but I have not time to fall in love." And in his next letter to Manning : " Robert Lloyd is come to town. Priscilla meditates going to see Pizarro at Drury Lane to-night (from her uncle's), under cover of coming to dine with me — heu ! tempera ! heu ! mores ! — I have barely time to finish, as I expect her and Robin every minute."
— t82o.] his FATHER'S marriage. 7
eldest sister I have opened my heart, and she is to be mine for ever. You know that her father is a Quaker. To look, therefore, for his consent, would be idle. I am to exert myself to get some small thing as soon as possible; a very little will content us, and for the rest we must trust to the future. . . . My Priscilla is now a little more than seventeen, not under the middle size of women, not slender, not handsome, but what at times you would, I think, call a fine woman. Charles told her one day that she was something like Mrs. Siddons. . . . Her understanding is exceedingly good. Quakers, you know, do not admit of fashionable accomplishments, and therefore, except draw- ing, she has none of them. . . . All her feelings are deep, severe, and profound.
On October 6th, 1804, at S. Martin's, Bir- mingham, Christopher Wordsworth v^as united to Priscilla Lloyd. The bride had been baptized on the same day, her tv^^enty-third birthday. The bridegroom was at this time thirty years of age, and had lately been appointed to the livings of Ashby and Oby-cum-Thyrne, in the diocese of Norwich, by Bishop Manners Sutton, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, who had made him his chaplain in 1802, and whose son (afterwards Speaker of the House of Commons, and Viscount Canterbury) had been his pupil at Cambridge. On the ist of July, 1805, their eldest son John was born; on August 22nd, 1806, their second son Charles, and on October 30th, 1807, their third son Christopher.
The letters of Mrs. Wordsworth really give the best account that could be given of the earliest years of Christopher Wordsworth. There is some-
8 PARENTAGE AND CHILDHOOD. [i Scy-
thing very touching in the artless details which the young mother poured forth from the fulness of her heart, of the baby-life of those three brilliant sons who afterwards almost swept the Universities of their highest distinctions. It will not therefore, we trust, be considered beneath the dignity of our sub- ject if we make one or two extracts from these simple letters, which derive an additional pathos from the fact that the mother was so soon to be parted from her boys.
In a letter written in the autumn of 1805, from Lambeth, where the family had to reside in order to be in attendance on the new Archbishop (Manners Sutton), Mrs. Wordsworth writes : —
Next week we propose to have our dear little John christened. We have deferred it till our brother Richard's return, as he stands sponsor. My sister Dorothy has offered herself as godmother. Friday is the day fixed, if it can be accomplished, being a prayer-day, as Wordsworth wishes to have the ceremony performed in the church."
Baptisms in those days were not unfrequently per- formed in private houses.
To her sister Olivia (iSo8) : —
I have great comfort in my little Christopher, who thrives finely. I seem to love every infant more than the former. A young infant is one of the chicfcst delights of married life, — nothing can, I think, surpass the endearment and tenderness they inspire: ; though such are my feelings, {q\\^ I fancy, would sympathize with them at sight of my little Christopher. Wordsworth says he is remarkably plain — and 1 cannot discover any beauty of feature or complexion.
-i82o.] EXTRACTS FROM HIS MOTHERS LETTERS. 9
In May, 1808, Dr. Wordsworth was offered the valuable living and Deanery of Booking, in Essex. He had resigned Ashby in 1806. His wife writes to her father : —
February lyth, 1809.
As to poor Christy, his attractions are but small, for he wants most of the graces of mind and body. He is quite an oddity, but I find enough to love in him. He is a great darling with his parents.
To THE Same.
June \A,tli, 1812. My dear boys have just been reading to me, and are now gone to bed. Little Christy (4^) discovers a great fondness for learning. Yesterday I could not get him from his book all day, indeed he keeps quite separate from his brothers, and never would leave my side if he can be with me.
The following letter to her mother has an interest of its own, as showing her power of estimating character. It was evidently written from Bocking, while her husband was in attendance at Lambeth : —
June 'list, 1 81 2. Together with thy letter, the post brought an affecting one from W. Wordsworth to his brother, containing a very poor account of his wife, who has been completely overset by the sad loss of her dear little girl [see the dedication to the " White Doe of Ryistone "], and her health is so much affected that at present she is not able to travel. I was much struck with the dignified, yet acute sensibility with which he sustained the shock, but there is a constitutional philosophy in the whole family which is, I think, rarely to be met with. Their view of life is so dispassionate and just, that whatever happens, they are not overthrown, or cast down with dismay. . . . My dear little Christy is
PARENTAGE AND CHILDHOOD. [1807—
just putting in his little intelligent face, to beg his hymn- book, a present from his god-papa, Mr. Walton. He reads very nicely and promises fair to be a scholar, as books are at present his great delight. He is only four years old, and yet reads and understands books which appear to me considerably beyond his years. We have the music of the groves here in great perfection. I long for some one to share in the fresh beauties that are blooming around me, for if they cannot inspire gladness, at least they nil the heart with peace and thankfulness.
To HER Father.
Bocking, Oct. 1st, 181 2.
The dear boys are at school all day [at Braintree] ; but of an evening we have nice readings together. They have taken a wonderful fancy to the Book of Judith in the Apocrypha. It is very entertaining to hear their various comments. Christy's eyes glisten with interest. " Me do think she is a cunning woman," he exclaimed with great animation. Charley was very grave, and was concerned that the Israelites did not place more trust in God, and pray to Him for deliverance. John takes upon him to explain all difficulties, by quotations from Scripture, and enlarged upon God's frequent trial of the faith of those He intended to deliver, by bringing them into great straits and diffi- culties.
Christy has quite a warlike spirit — nothing he delights in so much as Chevy Chase, or anything about war and fighting. It is curious to observe the very different tastes of children as their minds open, — and very interesting to listen to their different views of the same subject.
It is still more interesting- to read the above extract half a century afterwards, especially to those who remember the little eager " Christy " as a scarcely less eager old man talking with keen interest over
— 1820.] EXTRACTS FROM HIS MOTHERS LETTERS, ii
the Book of Judith, and discussing the probablHty of Its being an historical romance, "something hke the Grand Cyrus,'' at a period when the captive Jews were careful to write so as to avoid giving offence to their conquerors or political opponents. The "warlike spirit," too, never deserted him, though It took a very different direction from what might in those old days have been anticipated.
In 1 8 14, Dr. Wordsworth was offered the Bishopric of Calcutta, after Bishop MIddleton's death, but declined It. Shortly after this Dr. Wordsworth was called upon to preach the consecration sermon of the Hon. H. Ryder, Bishop of Gloucester. His wife writes to her father : —
Bockmg, Aug. yth, 181 5.
Wordsworth got through his day at Lambeth I imagine with great credit, though I never can get from him any account of himself, or the commendation he receives. " Decently," or " tolerably," are generally the highest epithets he bestows on his own doings, so that if I get such expressions as these I interpret them accordingly. He is now engaged on two more public occasions in London — one for the London National Schools, and the other for Hackney, so that there is no danger of his talents rusting for want of exercise.
My dear boys Charles and Christy are very good, and great comforts to me. I often miss dear John exceedingly, [He had just gone to school at Woodford.] He was a boy always to keep alive one's hopes and fears. I believe few grown people have reflected more, or more deeply. His conversations in this way iiave been often surprising. As a scholar Christy will, I think, soon surpass him, and in quickness of reasoning, but in depth of character and
12 PARENTAGE AND CHILDHOOD. [1807-
penetration I never yet saw a child resembling John — so that whilst I have admired his talents it has always been with trembling'.
One more letter from Mrs. Wordsworth, to "Christy," on a visit to his godfather, Mr. Walton, at Birdbrook, may be inserted. It is not dated, but evidently belongs to this period.
Wednesday evening. My dearest Christy, — Yesterday evening John, Charles, and myself tried for some time to send you a letter in rhyme, but we were at length forced to give it up, we got on so slowly. I often think of you, my dear boy, and feel great comfort in knowing that you are among such very kind friends. I hope you are a very good boy, and give as little trouble as possible, but mind everything that you are bid, and that you are careful to learn your lessons perfectly, so as not to have them to say twice over.
x'\fter telling hov\^ the mare has been stolen, and the gipsies suspected, she goes on : —
Papa is quite well ; we often talk of dear Christy, and mamma longs very often to see her little companion. . . . I wish you would write me a nice letter. Wc should all be glad to hear from you. I think, perhaps, papa will have something to say to your godpapa, so I must leave him a little room, and bid my dear little boy a very kind farewell. He is now, I imagine, fast asleep. ... I very often think of what you are doing in the course of the day, and it's always a pleasure to mc to think of my dear little boy.
These tender words seem like her final farewell to the *' dear little boy " who was so soon to be deprived
-i820.] DEATH OF HIS MOTHER.
of her affectionate care. She died in her confinement, at the early age of thirty-four, October 7th, 18 15, about three weeks before his eighth birthday. He too is " now asleep," but who can doubt that if the mother's love and mothers prayers that hovered over tbe bed of the slumbering child were blessed beyond all her expectation in this life, mother and son may even now be entering together on an intercourse, whose happiness it is not permitted to us as yet to conceive ?
Her son Charles, now the Bishop of S. Andrew's, writes : —
As a proof of the esteem and affection in which she was held for her good works, it may be mentioned that when I visited Booking, more than forty years after her death, and went to see the churchyard where she was buried, I found her grave strewed with fresh flowers, which I was told had been continually done during all these years by some poor person or persons who cherished her memory.
This loss no doubt made Dr. Wordsworth willing to exchange Bocking for a more laborious charge, and in 1816 he was appointed by the Archbishop to the Rectories of Sundridge and Lambeth, where he appears to have injured his health by his conscien- tious work in the latter parish, which was then much larger and more unwieldy than it is now, he him- self during his four years' tenure of the living, having caused the formation of five new districts, and set on foot the erection of five new churches.
In June, 1820, the same kind patron was the
14 PARENTAGE AND CHILDHOOD. [1820.
medium of offering him, on the part of Lord Liver- pool, the post with which his name is generally associated — the Mastership of Trinity College, Cam- bridge. He was staying at the time v/ith his friend Mrs. Hoare, at Hampstead, and she and his other constant friend, Joshua Watson, saw that the place was one which he was well fitted to fill, as he did for twenty-one years.
CHAPTER II.
SCHOOL AND COLLEGE LIFE.
In the autumn of 1820, just after their father's appointment to Trinity College, John and Christopher Wordsworth entered Winchester College as Com- moners in the house of Dr. Gabell. Christopher who was nearly thirteen years of age, was placed at the bottom of what is there called Junior Part of Fifth Book. This was two years after the so-called *' Second Rebellion," for which many of the most distinguished boys had been expelled, including such men as Lord Hatherley and Sir Alexander Malet, The boys in the upper forms were,