BOOKS.

MRS. TIIISTLETHWATTE'S MEMOIRS OF BISHOP BATHURST.* THE late Bishop Bathurst owed his public reputation to his liber- ality in religion and politics, at a period when such a quality was rare anywhere, but more especially in the Church; for the Liberal of some half-century ago was not only barred from advancement but exposed to obloquy. To find a bishop, "when George the Third was King," voting in favour of the Catholic question, and countenancing Whigs and Whiggery even at the time of the Man- chester massacre, was so extraordinary an occurrence, that it not only excited the admiration of Liberal politicians at home, but attracted the attention of Napoleon at St. Helena. Judging, no doubt, by Opposition votes, the Ex-Emperor pronounced the Bishop of Norwich to be the only enlightened prelate on the bench of Bishops. This Liberalism was the more remarkable as the Bathurst family were stanch Tories, and the Bishop owed his ad- vancement chiefly to the interest of his cousin, the Lord Bathurst who was Secretary of State during Napoleon's wars and exile. It may be said that his extreme Liberal sentiments were not deve- loped till he got the bishopric. But on the other hand, his politics when developed were a bar to any further advancement : his first vote put aside all chance of translation; Royalty looked on him in the light of an enemy. "A friend of my father happened to mention, in the presence of Queen Charlotte, that the Bishop of Norwich ought to be removed to the see of St. Asapb, as the emoluments were better and the duties less onerous. 'No,' said her Majesty quickly ; he voted against the King.' In the course of the following year the bishopric of Bangor was vacant. In one of his letters to my brother James, my father says, Randolph is the new Bishop of London. Had I been a good boy, it was hinted that I might have gone to Bangor, which would have suited me exactly ; but I am very well pleased where I am, and meet with a great deal of attention and kindness.'

"Some years afterwards, it was said by those about the Court, that the Bishop of Norwich 'might have commanded anything he liked in the Church, if he had taken the right line.' "

Political honesty of this kind does not long sustain a name be- fore the world, unless it is united with great abilities or bustling activity. Neither will it create materials for a biography, though conjoined with competent learning, sound religious views, and great personal amiability of character. The outlines of Bishop Bathurst's career are brief. He was born in 1744, and educated at Oxford; where he became a Fellow and Tutor, when such dis- tinctions required less positive merit than now. On the death of his father, who left his second wife and large family in narrow cir- cumstances, Mr. Bathurst became a private tutor in order the better to assist his mother. He early took priest's orders ; and by family interest or University patronage, he held several valuable pre- ferments, though, with his connexions, his liberal hospitality, and his large family, not more than sufficed for his annual wants. He was promoted to the see of Norwich in 1805, when he TM turned of sixty, and in that see he remained till his death. But although there is little of incident or intellectual peculiarity in Bishop Bathurst's life, there are several remarkable points con- nected with his family or himself. The Bathursts were a prolific) and long-lived race. Sir Benjamin Bathurst, who died in 1704, left three sons and a daughter, of whom the eldest son was the first Earl, and the third the father of the Bishop. The four had amongst them a hundred children ; the Bishop's father by two wives had no fewer than thirty-six, the Bishop himself being a twenty-third child. The first Earl Bathurst, to whom Pope ad-

dressed his epistle on the use of riches, and to whose respectability of character Johnson bears testimony, lived to the age of ninety-

one, and retained his faculties, dying at last in consequence of a fall. His nephew the Bishop lived to his ninety-third year, also retaining his faculties; and, what is perhaps more remark- able, his last illness was the first which had ever compelled him to keep his bed. Three circumstances connected with himself or - his own family had all the interest of romance; in fact, an occur- rence like either of them has often furnished the principal incident in fictions. The Bishop's wife was a daughter of Dr. Coote, Dean of Kilfenora in Ireland, and niece of Sir Eyre Coote the great East Indian chief. The match was not unequal, for, independently of his preferment and clerical prospects, Mr. Bathurst was at that time considered heir to his father's estate of Lydney Park in Glou- cestershire. The Dean, however, contemplated a match with an

Irish nobleman, " principally for the sake of uniting electioneer- ing interests." He not only refused his consent, but his grand- daughter "has understood that very unfair means were resorted to, with the Dean's sanction, in order to weaken if not to destroy their attachment to each other; which, however, continued the more constant for the obstacles opposed to it." The failing health of Miss Coote at last induced her father to consent; but neither he nor her uncle Sir Eyre Coote left her anything. The Lydney Park estate was also the subject of at least a sus- picion, which has often formed the groundwork of dramas and no- vels. Mr. Bathurst, the father of the six-and-thirty children, in- tended to entail the estate on the heirs-male. By some oversight, the deed (as we understand it) gave the tenant in possession a power of breaking the entail. Some gambling difficulties induced the elder son to do this; but he always expressed his intention of letting the property go to the heir-male, who on the death of his brother without sons was Dr. Bathurst.

• Memoirs and Correspondence of Dr. Henry Bathurst, Lord Bishop of Norwich. By his Daughter, Mrs. Thistlethwayte. Published by Bentley. "Upon the death of Mr. Poole Bathurst, in 1794, my father, as the un- doubted heir to Lydney (being his next brother), went immediately to be present at the opening of the will. He found, already on the spot, his nephew, Mr. Charles Bragge ;* who appeared greatly surprised at his arrivaL My father immediately informed him, that the attorney, Mr. Davis, had said positively, that his brother's words in the will were, that ' the estate should go to the nearest relation of the name of Bathurst.'t Upon which, Mr. Bragge begged my father's pardon, saying he was mistaken, the words in the will being, as Mr. Davis would inform him, that 'the estate should go to the nearest relation, who was to take the saute of Bathurst.'§A My father of course could say no more, and immediately took his leave, nd thus was he deprived of his paternal estate, by what means, will probably never be brought to light."

The other story, relating to the Bishop's son Benjamin, has even more of the melodramatic. Young Mr. Bathurst was designed for "diplomacy ; and advanced so rapidly in his profession, that at the age of twenty-five he was sent on a secret mission to Vienna, in 1809. On his return, he vanished suddenly from the inn at Perleberg ; and no inquiry, either by Government, or his family, or his wife, who had the Continent thrown open to her by a pass- port from Napoleon himself, (though the French Government were not unsuspected in the matter,) could ever elicit his fate. These are the principal substantiated. facts, if anything really is sub- stantiated.

"In spite of the remonstrances of his attendants, he had travelled all the way with his suite on the public road from Vienna. It was stated, that on his arrival at Perleberg, he sat down to write in a small room, with his papers scattered about him, and that he remained there for some hours, oc- cupied in writing ; he afterwards burnt several of his papers, and then went down to the inn-yard, (according to the account of Krouse, the messenger, who travelled in the same carnage with him, and was his constant attend- ant,) for the purpose of ordering out the horses, to proceed on his journey. One account stated, that Mr. Bathurst had been seen standing before the kitchen-ere' in the midst of postillions, ostlers, &c., and carelessly pulling out his watch, and likewise his purse, containing a considerable sum of money, before those people ; one or two of whom were suspected of having taken an opportunity of hustling him away, and afterwards robbing and destroying him. "The former account, given by Krouse, went on to say that Mr. Bathurst was- seen by the ostler II and others in the Aable-yard ; but that, after waiting for him nearly an hour, his attendants began to make inquiries for him. He had, however, neither been seen nor heard of after that time, nor was ho ever traced afterwards, notwithstanding the most indefatigable and diligent search. A pair of pantaloons or overalls belonging to him were brought to Krouse byan old woman, who said she had found them in a copse near the town • but they contained nothing excepting a letter to his-wife, scribbled on a dirty scrap of paper, which was conveyed in safety to her. It contained a representation of the dangers to which he was exposed, in consequence of Ids being surrounded by enemies, and expressed great fears that he should never reach England, and that his ruin would be brought about by Count D'Entraignes and the Russians. It contained also a request to her not to again, in the event of his: not returning. These, with a few words en other subjects, were scrawled in .peneil, and were sent with the overalls to his wife, and were the last trace of him ever discovered." .[These overalls were evidently placed in a wood on purpose to be found.]

_Neither the .French nor the 'Russians probably would have scrupled to make away with a secret agent ; but it does not seem that any purpose could be answered after his mission was ended and he was . returning. If the facts are as reported, it would ap- r that some private motive of revenge or robbery was at the bottom of the business : but the disappearance of Benjamin Bathurst may take its place- among the historical mysteries. With so little of what can be called a career in the life of Bishop Bathurst, this'Memoir by his daughter.may. be considered unduly expanded ; the trilling incidents of life, and common sentiments or opinions on common matters, forming the staple of the book. Notwithstanding the slight nature of much of the matter, it has about it-a considerable attraction. Family tradition and observa- tion have enabled 'Mrs. Thistlethwayte to collect many stories and many traits of remarkable persons. The letters of her father taometimes contain remarks on _passing events or public men, and the whole presents a kind of .family story from the middle of the last century till we are well on in the present; for the Bishop, by Iiis associates if net altogether by himself, united the age of the Arst with the last male monarchs of the house of Brunswick, and even with the house of Stuart.

have heard my father mention the following anecdote of my grand- /tither and the Duke of Gloucester [son of Queen Anne] during their boyhood. +My grandfather and the Duke were playfellows; and the Duke's tutor was Dr. Burnet. • One day when the Doctor-went out of the room, the Duke -having as usual courted him and treated him with obsequious civility, young .Bathurst expressed his surprise, that his Royal Highness should treat a per- son-whom he disliked as much as he did the Doctor with so much courtesy and kindness. The Duke replied, 'Do you think I have been so long a pupil of-Dr. Burnees without learning to be a hypocrite ? ' " -The youthful reputation of the future Bishop as a lover of lite- rature coming to the ears of old Lord Bathurst, he wanted his nephew to live with him as a companion ; which he did till the Peer's death.

"He usually read aloud to the aged Peer from four to six hours in the day ; and it is a remarkable circumstance, that at the age of eighty-nine Lord -Bathurst retained his faculties to such a degree, and his perceptions were still so acute, that he could always distinguish from the tone of my father's voice and manner of reading Tacitus, the passages which he did not understand. "During his residence with Lord Bathurst, my father enjoyed the advan- tage of meeting at his Lordship's house the most celebrated men of their time. Among other anecdotes which he used to relate of them, is the follow- • "The eldest son of Mrs. Bragge, who was my grandfather's eldest daughter." +" These were the original words in the will."

" It may be mentioned that this Davis went out of his mind. immediately after- wards."

" It was evident in this part of the will that some words had been carefully erased, and those last mentioned were inserted in their place. Of this fact my mother assured me ; but by whose hand no one could guess, unless it was by this very Davis; but at whose instigation, no one can know.'

ii

" Upon inquiries being set on foot a few days afterwards, this ostler absconded,

and has never since been heard of. This is the most striking circumstance in any account that has been obtained." ing. One day, Dr.-Parry, a Presbyterian clergyman at Cirencester, being in company withlir. Hume the historian, who was at that time on a visit to Lord Bathurst, Dr. Parry began to question him about the religiousprin- ciples of his friend D'Alembert, who was supposed to be an atheist. Hume, to turn the conversation, began to talk of the weather and other indifferent subjects ; but Dr. Parry would not give up his point. At length Hume ob- served drily, 'I don't know, Dr. Parry, much about my friend D'Alembert's religion. fonly know he ought to have hada great deal, for his mother was a nun and his father a friar. "

The following Story of a doctor of divinity would hardly raise him in estimation now, though it was a capital joke in 1776, Bishop Bathurst was a lover -of 'whist, and used to play at New-

b ury.

'On one occasion of this kind, my father carried from Oxford an Oxford man, and Mr. Williams a Winchester one. The bargain was that the loser should pay the bill : my father lost, and was off before Mr. Williams was up, leaving bun to pay the bill with his winnings."

The effect of Burke's .Reflections on their first publication is known from many quarters : here is another example from a letter of Dr. Bathurst to his wife.

" We are all delighted and instructed by Burke's last publication. If I could cut out about five pages, it would, in my opinion, be the most useful, the most entertaining, the most eloquent, and the most wise volume I ever read. It is altogether a wonderful work : I shall not be happy till you have seen it. The description of the night of the 6th of Octbber, and the account given of Dr. Price's Revolution Sermon, are most masterly. When you come to his love for the Queen of France, skip over it. Prosser will get it for you. I shall always love and admire the author of it : I can neither talk, think, nor dream of anything else; for it supplants even you for a little time -in my waking and sleeping thoughts."

. An estimate of barristers, in 1793.

"I dined on Wednesday at Sergeant Backe's; and should have had a,very pleasant day, if it had not been for a conceited, vulgar, half-informed, over- bearing. barrister. Men of this profession are in general the most disagree- able animals who walk the earth. Their understandings are contracted.by confining themselves almost exclusively to professional studies, and their manners are rendered coarse by mixing chiefly with professional people."

It is difficult to get at the truth about the Duke of Wellington's regard for his officers. Some say he was active and zealous in pushing them ; others, that he did not care about them after they had served his turn. This instance would belong to the latter category ; but allowance must be made for a father of eighty-five estimating the merits of a son.

. " London, February 4, 1829. " My dear Robert—A request from -you carries great weight with it ; but when I tellyau that my son the General, after .having been private.and con- fidential secretary to the Duke of Wellington for some., years, and having also served under him as Quartermaster-General in Spain and Portugal, till he was fairly worn out, is yet at this moment unable to procure even.a de- cent appointment which may enable him to support and educate nine chil- dren, you will readily conclude that neither he nor :I have any influence over our military Premier."

The Whigs have been charged-with ingratitude to-theiririends, especially-if they were not "men of family ' ; and Burke, -Sheridan, and Mackintosh, have been quoted as _examples. :Excuses may possibly be found in the temper of Burke, the character and -the conduct of Sheridan, and.the want of business habits in Mackin- tosh. No charge of neglect could be brought against them in their treatment of -the Liberal Bishop. As soon as the Archbishopric of Dublin fell vacant,. on Earl Grey's accession-to the Premiership, it was offered to Bishop Bathurst, at eighty-seven, but declined. A good many years before, the same post was designed for- the _same man, but defeated, for the. cogent reason that the post was notrbut only reported, vacant. " It is &remarkable circumstance, that on two former-occasions the Arch- bishopric of Dublin was designed for my father, on a supposition of its being vacant. The first time was during'Mr. Fox's Administration in 1806. Mr. Fox (who was personally unknown to my father) wrote to his friend the Duke of Bedford on the subject in the following terms.

" 'Dear Bedford—I understand Agar is dead ; you must make- the Bishop of Norwich Archbishop of Dublin. I willlear of no excuse ; he is the only tolerant Bishop.

Yours, C. J..rox'.'

"The report, however, of Dr, Agar's death proved false. This anecdote was told any father some years after by the Duke of Bedford himself, when they happened to meet at Bentham.

" In-1810 also, at the commencement of the Regency, when the Whigs were coming into power, Lord Grenville, upon a report of the death of Dr. Cleaver, sent the Bishop of Oxford to my father, to make him the offer of the Archbishopric of Dublin, and to advise his acceptance of it, as a' fine of 16,0001. was about to fall in at that time, which would greatly benefit his family. Judge Burton, who was present, remarked, that he thought my father would feel inclined to give up.part of this fine to Dr. Cleaver's family, as it would fall in just after the Archbishop's death and my.father, :with his accustomed liberality, instantly said he would divide it with Dr. Cleaver's family ; but the Bishop of Ely (Dr. Dampier) said he ought to keep every farthing of it himself. The report of Dr. Cleaver's death likewise turned out to be false." [And the Whigs did not come into power,]

Although few men have lived to so advanced an age with so-few troubles, natural or social, yet Bishop Bathurst was not exempted from the common lot. His son's disappearance-was a' heavy blow ; and besides " the death of friends, and that which slays e'en more, the death of friendship," he lost his wife some fourteen years be- fore his own death. .A placid temper, a sense of religion, and perhaps the apathy of advanced age, enabled him to enjoy the decline of life with comfort. Here are some samples of his dis- course at ninety-two.

" One morning that I was sitting with my father, be spoke of a sermon he had written many years before on the subject of the Recognition of Friends in a future world ; and he mentioned an idea which at that moment had occurred to him, in confirmation of the opinions he expressed, and which he thought a more striking proof of the doctrine than any which had before occurred to him. Lazarus, when he was in Abraham's bosom' was seen and known by Dives, the rich man, who appealed to Abraham fora drop of water ; and Abraham replied, Son, remember thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, likewise Lazarus evil things ; -hut now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.' o My father's constant and favourite topic of conversation at this time was the hope he entertained of meeting my mother again in another world. I asked him, one day, what his ideas were of the evil spirits which were said to possess people before our Saviour's time ? He replied, that the opinion of Dr. Meade, who was one of the ablest Biblical critics and greatest physicians of his time, was, that the evil spirits, with which people were said to be afflicted at that period, were nothing more than epileptic fits ; but my father's own idea, in common with most others, was, that before the time of our Saviour evil spirits were allowed to take possession of some people. One of

my father's favourite sayings was, pout-on etre mieux qu'au sein de sa 11 ' " During the spring of this year several members of my father's family visited him at different times. My brother James seldom quitted him. One day I heard him mention the following curious anecdote of Napoleon. After my brother had been in Egypt, he was presented to Napoleon at

Paris; who asked him if he had flirted much with the pretty Egyptian girls?' " 4 Sir,' replied James, bowing respectfully, ' we had something else to do.' " 'Ah ! ow, jeune homme,' replied Napoleon, 'vous me faites souvenir des circonstances desagreables; bonjour.'

" My father was always famous for having a great collection of entertain- ing anecdotes, and during this spring his memory was particularly fertile in that respect. "He had been intimately acquainted with Dr. Paley, and frequently spoke of him. I have heard him relate the following anecdote often. Be- ing in company with Lady Dalrymple, Dr. Paley had made a coarse remark, which he plainly perceived offended her. Ah ! madam,' said he, you may make twenty philosophers before you make one gentleman.' This was re- lated in proof of the goodness of Dr. Paley's heart.'

" On another occasion my father mentioned the following anecdote, which had been related to him by Mr. Child the banker, who desired to hire a valet. One of these gentry presented himself, and inquired what wine Mr. Child allowed at the second table ?

" 'Port and sherry,' replied Mr. Child.

" 'I like a glass of madeira, sir,' returned the valet.

" Why,' said Mr. Child, there is the curate of the parish here cannot afford himself a glass of wine of any sort.'

" 'Ah 1' replied the valet, shrugging his shoulders, I always pitied that sort of gentlemen.' "