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THE  LIBRARY 

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THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


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THE    LIFE 


ISAAC   MILNER,   D.D.,   F.R.S., 

DEAN  OF  CARLISLE,  PRESIDENT  OF  QUEEN'S  COLLESE, 

AND 

PEOFESSOR  OF  MATHEMATICS  IN  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CAMBRIDGE ; 

COMPRISING    A    PORTION    OF 

HIS    CORRESPONDENCE 

AND 

OTHER    WRITINGS    HITHERTO    UNPUBLISHED. 

BY 

HIS  NIECE, 

MARY  MILNER, 

AUTHOR  OF  "THE  CHRISTIAN  MOTHER:' 


LONDON: 
JOHN    W.    PARKER,    WEST    STRAND. 

CAMBRIDGE: 
J.  AND  J.  J.  DEIGHTON. 

M.UCCC.XLII. 


PREFACE. 


More  than  twenty  years  having  elapsed  since  the  death 
of  the  subject  of  this  biography,  some  explanation  is, 
perhaps,  due,  from  the  Author,  respecting  the  publication 
of  a  work  which  has  been  so  long  delayed. 

On  this  point  it  might  be  sufficient  to  observe,  in 
general,  that  those  lives,  the  histories  of  which  best 
deserve  the  attention  of  mankind,  are,  at  the  same  time, 
those  which  are  least  dependent  for  their  interest,  upon 
the  circumstances  of  time  or  place.  With  more  par- 
ticular reference,  however,  to  the  present  work,  it  may 
be  fairly  asserted,  that  the  value  which  may  be  reason- 
ably supposed  to  belong  to  a  faithful  Memoir  of  the 
Life  and  Character  of  the  late  Isaac  JMilner,  is,  by  no 
means,  of  an  ephemeral  nature.  The  history  of  a  man 
whose  mental  endowments  raised  him  from  poverty  and 
obscurity  to  wealth  and  fame,  must  always  command 
attention,  and  possess  an  enduring  worth ;  and  if  it  were 
the  sole  object  of  the  following  pages  to  exhibit  an 
eminent  instance  of  the  success  which,  almost  invariably, 
in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  rewards  the  vigorous  and 
])ersevering  exercise  of  superior  talents,  such  an  object 
would  amply  justify  their  publication.  That  life  must 
surely  be  worthy  of  being  recorded,  of  which  the  whole 
course  affords  a  striking  illustration  of  the  animating 
truth,  that,  in  this  free  country,  ability  and  industry  are 
the  passports  to  honourable  distinction.  In  the  case  of 
Dean  JMilner,  however,  another  and  a  more  powerful 
source   of  interest   is  superadded.     If  he   were   distin- 

a  2 


IV  PREFACF. 

giiished  by  his  intellectual  superiority,  he  was  yet  more 
distinguished  by  his  Christian  piety.  Confessedly  in  the 
first  rank  of  the  mathematicians  and  philosophers  of  his 
day,  he  was  "  content  to  receive  the  kingdom  of  God  as 
a  little  child*."  Gifted  with  extraordinary  mental 
powers,  and  beyond  the  generality  of  his  fellow-men,  a 
master  of  reason  in  its  own  province,  he  learned  to 
submit  his  gigantic  understanding  to  the  humbling  doc- 
trines of  Revelation. 

A  faithful  record  of  the  history  and  character  of  such 
a  man  has  a  peculiar  value.  There  arc  persons  who 
secretly,  if  not  avowedly,  associate  the  ideas  of  piety  and 
imbecility ;  and  who,  however  illogical  such  a  conclusion 
may  be,  do  not  hesitate  to  decide,  that  he  who  professes 
to  be  governed  by  Christian  principles,  must  be  deficient 
in  natural  understanding. 

Upon  Dean  Milner  no  suspicion  of  mental  weakness 
can  rest.  Born  in  a  cottage — labouring  with  his  hands 
in  early  youth — indebted  for  the  advantages  of  education 
chiefly  to  the  elder  brother  to  whom  he  afterwards 
owned  his  obligations  "  with  tears  of  gratitude  and  affec- 
tion f,"  his  supereminent  abilities  gained  for  him  the 
highest  academical  honours,  and  subsequently  placed  him 
in  the  Mathematical  Chair  at  Cambridge. 

The  oj)inions  of  such  a  man,  on  any  subject  to  which 
he  had  ap])lied  the  jiowers  of  his  mind,  must  necessarily 
carry  along  with  them  as  much  authority  as  can  belong 
to  any  human  opinions  whatever.  The  "  natural  man," 
indeed,  whatever  may  be  his  mental  endowments,  "re- 
ceiveth  not  the   things  of  the  Sj)irit  of  God,     *     *     * 


•  Luko  xviii.  I?, 
t  See  Dean  AIilner's  lAfc  ot'Iiis  Urotlier. 


PREFACE.  V 

neither  can  he  know  them,  because  they  are  i;!])iritually 
discerned*," — yet  it  is  something  to  show,  by  a  brilliant 
example,  that  the  possession  of  the  most  acute  and 
vigorous  intellect  is  no  bar  to  the  reception  of  those 
Christian  doctrines  which,  though  far  above,  are  no  wise 
opjiosed  to  human  reason. 

The  religious  character  of  Dean  Milner  presented  a 
remarkable  union  of  light  in  the  understanding  and 
warmth  in  the  affections.  Having  deeply  studied  the 
scheme  of  Christianity,  and  possessing  a  knowledge  of  it, 
perhaps  as  accurate  and  complete  as  the  capacity  of  the 
human  mind  will  admit,  he  was  distinguished  by  a 
fervour  of  feeling  not  often  found  in  conjunction  with 
high  intellectual  attainments. 

His  religious  sentiments,  however,  together  with  the 
growing  influence  which  those  sentiments  obtained  over 
his  character  and  conduct,  are  sufficiently  unfolded  in 
the  following  pages — and  that,  not  only  in  formal  trea- 
tises, of  which  some  few  which  were  found  among  his 
papers  after  his  decease  have  been  inserted  in  this 
Memoir — but  also  in  his  familiar  letters,  and  in  the  still 
more  private  records  of  his  secret  meditations. 

Of  the  regular  discussions  on  religious  subjects  con- 
tained in  this  volume,  those  respectively  entitled,  "  A 
Dissertation  on  Jonathan  Edwards's  Posthumous  Re- 
marks on  Faith  and  Justification  by  Faith," — "  Remarks 
upon  Dr.  Kipling's  Work  on  the  Articles  of  the  Church 
of  England," — "Thoughts  on  Baptism  and  Regenera- 
tion,"— and  "An  Exposition  of  the  Confession  in  the 
Church  Service,"  are,  perhaps,  among  the  most  im- 
portant. 

*   1  Cor.  ii.  11. 


VI  PREFACE. 

Tlie  value  of  familiar  letters,  as  materials  for  a 
biographer,  is  universally  acknowledged.  Sir  James 
Mackintosh  somewhere  observes,  that — "  It  is  impossible 
to  read  a  considerable  number  of  any  man's  letters,  how- 
ever sei)arately  insignificant,  without  insensibly  gaining 
a  just  notion  of  his  character." 

The  truth  of  this  opinion  will,  probably,  be  generally 
admitted ;  and,  as  I  trust,  that  the  numerous  letters  and 
extracts  from  letters,  which  have  been  selected  for  the 
present  work,  far  from  being  deemed  "  separately  insig- 
nificant,'* will  be  found  to  possess  an  individual,  and,  in 
some  instances,  a  powerful  interest,  I  venture  to  hope, 
that  their  aggregate  value  will  be  materially  enhanced. 

Among  the  letters  professedly  treating  of  religious 
topics,  one  addressed  to  the  late  Charles  Grant,  Esq.,  on 
Calvinism  and  Arminianism,  one  to  the  late  Archbishop 
of  (/anterbury,  on  the  subject  of  the  Bible  Society,  and 
one  to  the  present  Archdeacon  R.  Wilberforce,  on  the 
rite  of  Confirmation,  may  be  mentioned  as  peculiarly 
valuable. 

Of  the  j)rivate  religious  memoranda  which  have  been 
admitted  into  the  following  Memoir,  it  is  needless,  here, 
to  say  more,  than  that  an  inspection  of  the  irregular  and 
diminutive  fragments  of  paper  upon  which  many  of  them 
are  written,  might  convince  even  a  sceptical  observer, 
that  he  saw  before  him  a  genuine  record  of  the  writer's 
most  secret  thoughts;  and,  as  Dean  Milner  Ims  himself 
remarked,  in  his  Life  of  his  brother, — "  It  is,  perhaps, 
in)jiossil)le,  under  any  circumstances,  in  the  ])rcsent  state 
of  our  existence  and  cai)acity  of  mutual  coninmnication, 
to  penetrate  more  effectually,  or  with  greater  certainty, 
tlie  secret  recesses  of  tlic  human  heart,  than  })y  reading 
ni('nn>iau(hiins  of  tliis  iiatiiri'.' 


PREFACE.  Vll 


Another  source  of  whatever  interest  may  be  thought 
to  belong  to  this  Life  of  Dean  Milner,  will  be  found  in 
the  various  reminiscences  of  him,  so  characteristic  in 
themselves,  and  so  graphically  expressed,  with  which  I 
have  been  favoured  by  many  eminent  persons ;  among 
whom  I  may  particularize  Mr.  Baron  Alderson,  the 
Right  Hon.  T.  B.  JNIacaulay,  Lord  Teignmouth,  the  Rev. 
Temple  Chevallier,  the  present  Dean  of  Ely,  and  the 
present  Master  of  Trinity  College,  Cambridge.  Were  I, 
however,  to  offer  my  grateful  acknowledgments  to  each, 
by  name,  of  those  who  have  enabled  me  to  enrich  my 
book  with  their  personal  recollections,  these  prefatory 
observations  would  be  extended  much  beyond  their  due 
limits;  and  still  less  can  I  allow  myself  space  to  enu- 
merate the  kind  friends  who  have  placed  at  my  disposal 
letters  written  by  my  late  relative,  or  who  have  other- 
wise assisted  me  in  the  execution  of  my  task  as  his 
biographer.  I  must  not,  however,  omit  to  mention, 
among  those  to  whom  I  am  especially  indebted.  His 
Grace  the  Archbishop  of  York,  who  has,  most  kindly, 
permitted  me  to  publish  some  highly  interesting  epis- 
tolary correspondence  between  himself  and  his  late  friend 
the  Dean  of  Carlisle,  and  the  Right  Hon.  the  Earl  of 
Lonsdale,  who,  both  by  the  communication  of  letters, 
and  by  other  kindnesses,  has  rendered  me  essential  aid. 
My  best  thanks  are  likewise  due  to  the  Rev.  William 
Richardson,  the  nephew  of  the  late  Rev.  William  Rich- 
ardson, of  York,  for  some  invaluable  letters  from  the  late 
Dean  to  that  excellent  and  highly  valued  friend ;  and  to 
the  Rev.  Edward  Stillingfleet,  for  some  most  interesting 
and  characteristic  letters  from  the  pen  of  the  late  Rev. 
Joseph  jNIilner.  From  Archdeacon  R.  Wilberforce,  I  have 
received  the  most  effective  assistance,  in  the  shape  of  valu- 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

able  letters,  from  Dean  Milner  to  Lis  dear  aiul  intimate 
friend,  the  late  William  Wilberforce;  and,  among  the 
multitude  of  other  friends  who  have  conferred  upon  me 
kindness  of  a  similar  nature,  I  am  bound  to  mention  the 
Rev.  William  IMandell,  of  Queen's  College,  Cambridge, — 
William  Smyth,  Esq.,  Professor  of  JSIodern  History,  in  the 
same  University, — the  Rev.  George  Cornelius  Gorham, 
to  Avhose  active  friendship  I  am  especially  indebted, — 
the  Rev.  William  Jowett, — the  Rev.  Richard  Kerrich, 
the  son  of  one  of  Dean  jNIilner's  oldest  and  most  intimate 
friends, — Colonel  T.  P.  Thompson,  to  whom  a  similar 
description  would  be  applicable, — the  Rev.  John  Faw- 
cett, — G.  G.  Babington,  Esq., — and  JNIrs.  Maclean,  the 
daughter  of  the  late  Professor  Carlyle. 

To  those  numerous  kind  friends,  whose  names  are 
not  inserted  in  this  already  long  catalogue  of  benefactors, 
but  Mho,  by  their  assistance  in  various  ways,  have  greatly 
facilitated  the  execution  of  this  undertaking,  I  must  be 
content,  in  this  place,  thus  generally  to  present  the 
expression  of  my  gratitude.  There  yet,  however,  remains 
one  obligation  which  must  be  particularly  acknowledged; 
I  mean  the  important  favour,  on  the  part  of  the  President 
and  Fellows  of  Queen's  College,  Cambridge,  of  the  loan 
of  Oj>ie's  fine  portrait  of  Dean  iNIilner,  for  the  purpose  of 
its  being  engraved  for  this  work. 

Of  the  manner  in  which  1  have  acquitted  myself  in 
this  endeavour  to  lay  before  the  public  an  authentic 
account  of  the  life  and  character  of  Isaac  INIilner,  I  must 
leave  others  to  judge.  If  I  cannot  claim  for  myself  the 
praise  of  absolute  impartiality,  I  can  truly  say,  that  I 
have  laboured  to  guard  against  the  influence  of  that 
favourable  bias  which  is  commonly,  and  often  justly, 
imputed  to  tlioso  mIio  \(MitJire  to  Ijocomc  tlio  biograj)hers 


PREFACE.  IX 

of  near  and  dear  relatives.  It  may  be,  however,  that, 
notwithstanding  my  utmost  vigilance,  some  traces  of  such 
a  bias  may  be  detected  in  the  following  pages ;  if  I  have 
not  magnified  Dean  jNIilner's  great  and  good  qualities,  I 
may  be  suspected  of  liaving  diminished  or  veiled  his 
foibles  and  imperfections.  I  know  not,  that  I  have  given 
any  cause  for  such  a  suspicion,  but  if  it  be  so,  my  excuse, 
though  not  my  justification,  must  be,  that  having  lived, 
from  infancy  to  womanhood,  with  him  whose  character 
I  have  attempted  to  portray,  my  intimate  and  most 
familiar  knowledge  of  him, — the  most  severe  of  all  the 
tests  to  which  human  infirmity  can  be  subjected, — has 
left  upon  my  mind  such  a  conviction  of  his  greatness 
and  his  goodness,  as,  combined,  doubtless,  with  the 
inevitable  effect  of  the  recollection  of  benefits  innume- 
rable and  always  utterly  unrequitable,  conferred  with 
unwearied  and  most  tender  affection  throughout  the 
seasons  of  infancy  and  childhood,  and  the  still  more 
capricious  and  exacting  period  of  youth,  may  have  ren- 
dered me  unwilling  to  censure,  or,  perhaps,  unapt  to 
perceive  those  slight  blemishes  which,  at  the  time 
during  which  I  possessed  the  advantage  of  daily  con- 
templating the  admirable  character  of  Dean  JNIilner, 
were  lost  in  its  general  excellence. 

The  main  facts  of  the  early  jjortion  of  the  career  of 
Dean  JMilner  are  already  notorious ;  and  if  his  private, 
and  especially  his  religious  character,  be  more  fully 
displayed  in  the  following  pages,  or  exhibited  in  a 
stronger  light  than  has  hitherto  been  cast  upon  it,  it  is 
chiefly  by  means  of  his  own  writings,  his  confidential 
letters,  and  his  private  meditations, — a  species  of  evidence 
the  most  convincing  imaginable. 

The  name  of  Isaac  JMilner  has  been  long  enrolled 


X  PREFACE. 

in  the  list  of  those  distinguished  men  who,  by  superior 
intelligence  and  never-tiring  industry,  have  achieved  an 
honourable  fame.  I  venture  to  indulge  the  hope,  that 
while  his  title  to  this  proud  distinction  is  strengthened, 
his  simple  and  affectionate  character,  his  eminent  private, 
and  social  virtues,  and,  above  all,  his  Christian  excel- 
lence, may  be  illustrated  by  the  publication  for  which 
I  now  solicit  the  favourable  judgment  of  the  public. 

Mary  JMilner. 

T}i£,  Vicarage^  Applehy^  WestDiorcIaiuI, 
May  21,  1842. 


CONTENTS. 


Put FACE 


CHAPTER  I. 


Birth  of  Isaac  Miliier.— Notice  of  his  Parents.— Cluiructer  ef  his  Fathei*. 
— Of  his  Mother. — Outline  of  his  Childhood  by  Himself. — His  early 
turn  for  Matiiematics. — Premature  Death  of  his  Father. — His  Mother 
obliged  to  abandon  the  plan  of  giving  him  a  Literary  Education. — He 
is  apprenticed  to  a  Woollen  Manufacturer  at  Leeds. — Distinction 
obtained  by  .Joseph  Milner,  the  elder  brother  of  Isaac,  at  Cambridge. 
— His  subsequent  Success  in  Life. — He  releases  his  brother  Isaac 
from  his  Engagements  at  Leeds. — Takes  him  under  his  own  Tuition. — 
Makes  him  his  Uslier  in  the  Grammar  School  at  Hull. — Isaac  Milner 
sent  by  his  Brother  to  Queen's  College,  Cambridge. — Gratitude  of 
Isaac  to  his  Brother. — Strong  affection  between  these  Brothers. — 
Isaac,  while  an  Undergraduate,  refuses  to  sign  a  Petition  against  Sub- 
scription to  the  Articles. — Takes  his  Degree  of  B.A. — Is  Senior 
Wrangler,  with  the  distinction  of  Incomparabilis. — Becomes  a  Mem- 
ber of  the  Hyson  Club. — Declines  the  office  of  Tutor  to  a  Polish 
Prince. — Early  friendship  with  the  late  William  Hey,  Esq.,  of 
Leeds. — Notice  of  Mr.  Milner  by  an  early  Friend  still  living. — ^Ir. 
Milner  enters  into  Holy  Orders  ..... 

CHAPTER  II. 

Mr.  Milner  is  elected  Fellow  of  Queen's  College. — Takes  his  degree  of 
SI. A. — Is  elected  Tutor  of  Queen's. — Makes  a  communication  to  the 
Royal  Society. — Is  ordained  Priest. — Presented  to  the  Rectory  of 
St.  Botolph's,  Cambridge. — Makes  various  comn7unications  to  the 
Royal  Society. — Injures  his  Healtii  by  inhaling  a  noxious  Gas. — Is 
elected  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society. — Is  Moderator. — Reads  Public 
Lectures  in  Chymistry. — Is  Proctor. — Commencement  of  his  acquaint- 
ance with  William  Wilberforce,  Esq. — ^Correspondence. — Letter  from 
Joseph  Milner  to  the  Rev.  James  Stillingfleet. — Isaac  Milner  is 
elected  to  the  Jacksonian  Professorship. — Gives  alternate  courses  of 
Lectures  in  Ch^miistry  and  Experimental  Philosophy. — Correspond- 
ence.— Assists  in  the  Formation  of  a  Society  for  the  promotion  of 
Philosophy  and  General  Literature. — Travels  on  tiie  Continent  with 
Mr.  Wilberforce. — Voyage  down  the  Rhone. — House  at  Nice. — ^lar- 
seillcs. — English  Society  at  Nice. — ^Ir.  Milner's  Religious  Princi- 
ples.— Religious  Conversation  with  Mr.  Wilberforce. — Returns  with 
Mr.  Wilberforce  to  England. — Is  Moderator. — Climate  of  Nice. — 


Xn  CONTENTS. 

PAOB 

rerilous  Accident.— Second  Journey  with  Mr.  Wilbcrforcc  to  the 
Continent.— Religious  Conversation.— Meeting  with  Lavater. — Mys- 
tical turn  of  Lavater's  mind. — Letter  from  him  to  Mr.  Milner. — 
Rev.  Thomas  Scott's  account  of  Mr.  ISIilner's  Travels  with  Mr.  Wil- 
berforce. — Correspondence. — Tissot  .  .  .  .12 

CHAPTER  III. 

Mr,  Milner  takes  his  Degree  of  B.D.— Professor  Smyth's  Recollections  of 
his  Divinity  Act. — Bishop  Watson's  Account  of  the  same  Act, — Re- 
collections of  Mr.  Milner  as  a  Lecturer. — Dr.  Maskelyne, — Corre- 
spondence.— Mr,  Milner  as  Jacksonian  Professor  endeavours  to  obtain 
from  the  Crown  an  annual  Stipend  in  support  of  the  Science  of 
Chymistry, — Bishop  of  Llandaff. — Mr,  Milner's  mode  of  Life  as  a 
Lecturer,— Accident  and  Illness. — "N'isits  his  Brother  at  Hull.— Board 
of  Longitude. — Attempt  to  alter  its  Constitution.— Energy  of  Mr. 
Milner. — A'isit  to  London. — Chymical  Pursuits. — Letter  from  Dr. 
Priestley. — Visit  to  Rayrigg,  in  Westmoreland. — Mode  of  Life  there. 
— Convei-sational  Powers. — Visit  to  IIuU        .  .  .  .31 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Mr.  Milner  is  elected  President  of  Queen's  College. — Improvements  in 
the  internal  management  of  the  College. — Letters. — Feelings  on 
being  elected  President. — Popular  Philosophical  Writers. — Ferguson. 
—  Martin. — Maclaurin, — View  of  Public  Affairs  on  the  Illness  of  the 
King. — Letter  from  Joseph  Milner  to  the  Rev.  James  Stillingfleet. — 
Illness. — Letter  from  Joseph  ^Milner  on  his  Brother's  Illness, — Cor- 
respondence.— Communication  to  the  Royal  Society.— Formally  ex- 
cused on  account  of  Ill-health,  from  delivery  of  Jacksonian  Lectures. 
— Letters  from  Drs.  Hunter  and  Fothergill. — Lectures  continued 
with  assistance. — Fondness  for  practical  Meciianics. — Extracts  from 
CoiTospondencc  with  the  Rev,  T.  Ludlam, — Sentiments  concerning 
Card-Playing, — Private  Religious  Diaiy  .  .  .  .40 

CHAPTER  V. 

Extracts  from  Private  Diary. — Prayers  and  Religious  Meditations  .     5G 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Mechanical  Pursuits. — Nominated  to  the  Deanery  of  Carlisle. — Corre- 
spondence.— Illness  of  Joseph  Milner. — Dr,  Paley. — Distinguishing 
Traits  in  tlie  character  of  Dean  Milner. — Slave  Trade  Abolition. — 
licvolutionuiy  Sjiirit  in  I'nglaiid. — Correspondence. — Mr,  Milner 
takes  the  degree  of  D.D. — Visits  his  lirother  at  Hull, — Letter  from 
Joscpii  Milner  to  tlic  Rev,  James  Stillingfleet. — Explanation  of  some 
Peculiarities  in  Dr.  Milner's  conduct. — Extracts  from  Correspondence 
with  William  Hey,  Escj. — Certificates  of  Ill-health. — Dr.  Milner 
elected  Vice-Chancellor. — Corresi)ondenco. — State  of  the  Country. — 
C)l)servationa  on  the  Character  of  Fo.\. — ^fr.  Pitt  re-elected  M.P.  for 
tiie  University  of  Cambridge  .  ,  .     7<> 


CONTENTS.  Xm 


CHAPTER  VII. 

PAGE 

Socinian  Principles  in  tlie  University. — Mr.  Frcnd. — Ilis  Seditious  Pamph- 
let.— Meeting  of  the  Masters  and  Fellows  of  Jesus  College. — Care  of 
the  Vice-Chancellor  to  procure  the  best  Legal  Advice. — fleeting  of 
•'  Tlie  Twenty-Seven  "  at  Queen's  Lodge. — Determination  to  insti- 
tute against  ^Ir.  Frcnd  proceedings  in  the  Vice-Chancellor's  Court. — 
Citation  of  Mr.  Freud. — His  Trial,— Sentence  of  Banishment  from 
the  University  pronounced  upon  him  by  the  Vice-Chanccllor. — Mr. 
Frend  appeals  to  the  Senate. — Confirmation  of  the  sentence  of  the 
Vice-Chancellor,  pronounced  by  the  Court  of  Delegates. — Firmness 
of  Dr.  Milner. — His  unflinching  attachment  to  the  Doctrines  of  the 
Establislied  Cliurch. — Notice  of  Mr.  Freud's  Trial  by  Professor 
Smyth. — Dr.  Milner's  Speech  at  the  conclusion  of  the  Trial. — Ad- 
dress to  the  Undei-graduates. — Impressive  style  of  his  Eloquence. — 
Visit  of  Joseph  Miluer  to  his  Brother  at  Cambridge. — Mr.  Simeon. — 
State  of  Religion. — Dr.  Milner  takes  formal  possession  of  the 
Deanery  of  Carlisle. — Remarkable  Dream     .  .  .  .84 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Conduct  of  Dr.  Milner  as  Head  of  a  College. — Letter  to  a  Friend  on  the 
Death  of  his  Daughter. — Publication  of  the  first  volume  of  the  Ilis- 
tory  of  the  Church. — Public  Afl^'airs. — Political  Conduct  of  ^fr.  Wilber- 
force.  — Extracts  from  Dr.  Milner's  Letters  to  him  at  this  junctui-e. — 
Publication  of  the  second  volume  of  the  Church  History. — Dr.  INlilner's 
Chymical  Pursuits. — Correspondence  with  Mr.  Kirwan  and  the  Bishop 
of  LlandafF. — Their  Letters. — Dr.  Buchanan. — Visit  to  Hull. — Wil- 
lingness of  Dr.  Milner  to  pi-each  for  his  Friends. — Extracts  from  Cor- 
respondence.— Visit  to  Buxton. — Letter  from  Joseph  Milner  to  the 
Rev.  James  Stillingfleet. — His  testimony  to  his  Brother's  plainness  of 
speech  in  the  Pulpit. — Declaration  of  Dr.  Paley. — Extract  from  one 
of  the  Dean's  early  Sermons. — Society  at  Buxton. — ^liss  Sewai"d. — 
Lord  Erskine. — Correspondence. — Illness. — Gradual  and  constant  im- 
provement in  Rehgious  Character. — Publication  of  the  third  volume 
of  the  Church  History. — Correspondence. — Wilberforce's  Practical 
View. — Visit  to  Bath. — Public  Afi^airs. — Letter  on  Reform. — Mr.  Til- 
lotsou  .  ,  .  .  .  .  .  .103 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Joseph  Milner  visits  his  Brother  at  Carlisle. — Appointment  of  Joseph 
Milner  to  the  Vicarage  of  Hull. — His  Letters, — Religious  condition  of 
Carlisle  in  1797. — Feelings  of  Joseph  ililuer  on  his  promotion  to  the 
Vicarage. — Correspondence  of  Dr.  Milner. — Rev.  Mr.  Thomason. — 
Declining  health  of  Joseph  Milner. — Dr.  Milner's  Opinion  concerning 
Private  Tutoi-s. — Important  Change  of  Char.acter. — Joseph  ^lilner's 
last  Illness. — His  Letters  to  his  Brother  and  to  Mr.  Stillingfleet. — His 
Opinion  of  Dr.  Johnson. — Great  change  which  had  taken  place  in  his 


xiv  COXTKNTS. 

PAOB 

Religious  Sentiments. — Tlis  Death. — Monumental  Inscription.— Ex- 
tracts from  Correspondence  of  Dr.  Milner. — Opium.— Letter  to  the 
Rev.  William  Richardson.— Joseph  Milner's  Style.— Publication  of 
his  yermons.— Lettei-s, — To  Mi-s.  Carlyle.— To  Mr.  Wilbeiforce.— 
Affairs  of  Trinity  College. — Importance  of  the  Expulsion  of  Mr. 
Frend. — Disturbed  State  of  Ireland.— Duel  between  Mr.  J'itt  and 
Mr.  Tierney.— Variety  of  Dr.  Milner's  Information. — Mendoza. — 
Irish  Affairs.— The  Bishop  of  D .  •  •  -129 

CHAPTER  X. 

Dr.  Milner  is  elected  Professor  of  Mathematics.- Opposition  of  Mr.  Frend. 
— Opinion  of  Counsel.  —  Con-espondence.  —  Domestic  Affliction.— 
"  Rational"  way  of  Preaching.— Luther's  Letter  to  Caspar  Aquila. — 
Publication  of  a  second  edition  of  the  fii-st  volume  of  the  Church 
History. — Correspondence.— Letter  to  the  Rev.  William  Richardson. 
— Dr.  Milner's  Religious  Experience. — Jonathan  Edwards    . 


1C9 


CHAPTER  XL 

Dissertation  on  .Jonathan  Edwards'  Posthumous  Remarks  on  Faith,  and 
Justification  by  Faith. — Quotation  from  a  Sermon  by  Dean  Milner  on 
the  same  Subject         .  .  .  .  •  •  .181 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Animadversions  upon  Lord  Grenville's  Answer  to  Buonaparte's  Letter  to 
George  III.  —  Correspondence. —  Religious  Experience. —  William 
Hey,  Esq. — Liberality  of  Dean  Milner  towards  the  poor  of  Leeds. — 
Letters  to  the  Rev.  Wm.  Richardson. — Distress  of  mind. — Professor 
Carlyle. — Remarks  on  the  Religious  Experience  of  Dean  ^lilner. — 
Letters. — Dr.  Ilaweis's  Impartial  History  of  the  Church. — Dean  Mil- 
ner's Life  of  his  Brother. — Subsequent  additions  to  the  Life,  respect- 
ing the  change  in  Joseph  Milner's  Religious  Views. — Dr.  Milner's 
Feelings  dui-ing  the  Writing  of  the  Life. — Elasticity  of  Spirits. — 
Cliarge  of  Irregularity  recently  brought  against  the  late  Rev.  .Joseph 
Milner. — Dr.  Hook. — Letter  to  the  Rev.  .James  Stillingfloet. — Dr. 
Haweis. — Letter  to  a  J^'ricnd  on  the  dangerous  Illness  of  his  Son. — 
Letters  to  the  Rev.  Wm.  Riciiardson. — Ojiiniou  of  tlie  present  Bishop 
of  Calcutta  upon  Dean  Milner's  Religious  Publications. — Dr.  Milner's 
attachment  to  Cambridge. — His  conscientious  Employment  of  Time  .  202 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Commencement  of  Dr.  Milner's  acf|uaintancc  with  Henry  Martyn. — 
Fourth  volume  of  the  History  of  the  Church  of  Christ. — Luther. — Com- 
mentary on  the  (Jalatians. — Professor  Sniytli. — Passage  in  his  pub- 
li.shed  Lectures. —  Dean  .Milner's  alleged  partiality  to  i^uthci-. — Cor- 
respondence.— Rev.  W.  Tcrrot. — Letter  to  a  young  Friend  in  his  last 
Illness, — New  edition  of  Joseph  Milner's  Sermons. — Internal  Manage- 


CONTENTS.  XV' 

PACK 

ment  of  Queen's  College. — Tutors. — Correspondence. — London  Bridge. 
— Professor  Farish. — Sunday  Travelling. — Dr.  Haweis. — Rev.  T.Lud- 
lani.  —  New  edition  of  tlio  Life  of  Joseph  Aliliier.  —  Sir  William 
Wynne.— Letters.— Mrs.  Stillingfleet  ....   229 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Confidential  Correspondence. — Chapter  Business. — Illness. — Sermon  at 
Whitehall. — Rowland  Hill. — Fourth  volume  of  Ecclesiastical  History. 
— Vigour  and  Perseverance  of  Dean  Milner. — Accident  on  Stainmore. 
— Prominent  Trait  in  Dean  Milner's  Mind. — Anecdotes. — Rev.  Mr. 
Church. — Letters. — Domestic  Affairs. —  Discovery  of  the  Invisible 
Girl  .  .  .  .  .  .  ,  ,251 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Misunderstanding  between  the  President  and  the  Fellows  of  Queen's  Col- 
lege.— Written  Docimients. — Industry  of  Dr.  Milner. — Election  of 
Fellows  by  Royal  Dispensation. — Comparative  Advantages  of  Open 
or  Close  Colleges. — Domestic  Affliction. — Board  of  Longitude. — Sen- 
timents with  respect  to  Public  Affairs. — Letter  to  the  Rev.  Wm. 
Richardson. — Preaching  at  Carlisle. — Fourth  volume  of  the  Church 
History. — Accui-acy  of  the  History. — Dr.  Milner's  Qualifications  as  an 
Ecclesiastical  Historian. — Habitual  Study  of  Theological  Subjects. — 
Remaiks  upon  Dr.  Kipling's  Work  on  the  Articles  of  the  Church  of 
England. — Hebrew  Language. — State  of  the  Countiy. — Recollections 
of  Dean  Milner  by  a  Clergyman  formerly  of  Queen's  College — Chris- 
tinn  Observer''s  Critique  iipon  Milner's  Church  History. — Dr.  Milner's 
Remarks  on  the  Critique. —  His  Opinion  of  the  Christian  Observer        .   265 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Correspondence. — Religious  Experience. — Professor  Carlyle. — Letter  to 
his  Sister  on  his  Death. — Domestic  Affairs. — Religions  Memoranda. — 
Hints  for  Sermons. — Private  Thoughts. — Helps  to  Self-examination. 
— Religious  Correspondence. — Library  at  Lambeth. — Affairs  of  the 
Board  of  Longitude — History  of  the  Chtirch. — Perseverance. — Inves- 
tigation of  the  Sawston  Mystery. —  Letter  to  John  Pearson,  Esq.,  on 
the  Deatli  of  his  Daughter. — Kindness  of  Heart. — Visit  to  London     .   294 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Gradual  alterat«)n  in  the  nature  of  the  Examinations  for  Fellowships 
at  Queen's  College. — Letter  to  the  present  Archbisliop  of  York  (tlien 
Bishop  of  Carlisle)  on  the  death  of  his  Son. — Contested  Election  for 
the  University  of  Cambridge. —  Lord  Palmerston. — Lord  Heni-y  Petty 
(the  present  Lord  Lansdowne). — Correspondence  witli  Mr.  Wilber- 
force. — Dr.  Milner's  want  of  ear  for  Music. — Experiment  on  the 
subject,  tried  by  himself  and  his  brother. — Dr.  Milner's  knowledge  of 
the  science  of  Music. — Recollections  of  him  bv  Dr.  Crotch. — Jlr.  La 


irVl  CONTENTS. 

rAOK 

Trobo. — Dr.  Jowett. — Dr.  Hague. — Mr.  Aspland. — Dr.  Milner's  want 
of  eye  for  iJCi-spcctivc  Drawing. — Management  of  the  atlairs  of  the 
Univei-sity  Press. — Personal  exertions. — Sir  Samuel  Romilly. — 
Hobby-horses. — Short-hand.—  Arbitration. — Habits  of  life  at  Carlisle. 
— Rose  Castle. — Lowther  Castle. — Anecdotes. — Serious  occupations. 
— Visits  to  a  person  under  sentence  of  death. — Judicious  treatment  of 
the  sick  and  dying. — Treatment  of  a  man  who  had  attempted 
suicide  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .314 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

History  of  the  Church. — Third'  volume  translated  into  German. — Trans- 
lation of  Joseph  Milner's  Sermons  into  German. — Letter  to  the 
Bishop  of  Meath. — Visit  to  Cambridge  of  the  Chancellor  of  the 
University. — Professor  Person. — University  Press. — Rev.  T.  Thoma- 
son. — Professor  Smyth. — Dr.  Milner's  Sermon  at  [St.  Mary's,  against 
Catholic  Emancipation. — Consistency  of  character. — Address  to  the 
King. — General  Election. — Busy  CJiapter  at  Carlisle. — Musical  Fes- 
tival.— Thoughts  respecting  Preaching. — Private  Reflections. — Rev. 
Christian  Ignatius  La  Trobe. — Musical  Society  at  Cambridge. — 
Dr.  Jowett's  musical  parties. — Discussion  concerning  certain  disputed 
points  of  Clu-onology. — Correspondence. — Governorsliip  of  Sierra 
Leone. — Second  volume  of  Joseph  Milner's  Sermons. — Fifth  volume 
of  Ecclesiastical  History. — Board  of  Longitude.  —  Carlisle. — Corre- 
spondence.— Assize  Sermon. — Dr.  Buchanan. — Dean  Milner's  senti- 
ments respecting  Races  and  Theatrical  Representations. — Letter  on 
the  proposed  erection  of  a  Theatre. — Advice  respecting  College 
Lectures. — Reading  lamp. — Dr.  Edward  Daniel  Clarke. — New  edition 
of  Milner's  Works. — Kensington  Gore. — Rev.  Thomas  Kerrich. — 
Social  intercourse. — Evening  visits  from  old  Friends  .  .    334 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Examination  for  Smith's  Prize. — Recollections  of  tliis  Examination  by 
Sir  Edward  H.  Alderson. — Fifth  volume  of  the  Church  History. — 
Joseph  Milner's  Sermons. — Correspondence. — Board  of  Longitude. — 
Revival  of  Luther's  character. — Tlic  term  "  Methodism." — Thoughts 
on  Baptism  and  Regeneration. — Establishment  of  a  National  Scliool 
at  Carlisle. — Opinions  of  Dr.  Buchanan  concerning  the  History  of  the 
Church  of  Christ. — Visit  to  Hull. — Anecdote. — Return  to  Cambridge ,   369 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Dr.  Milncr  unexpectedly  elected  Vicc-Chaucellor. — Difficult  circum- 
stances.—  Satisfaction  of  Friends. — Right  of  the  Univei-sity  to  take 
cognizance  of  Causes  between  its  own  Members. —  Extracts  from  Dr. 
Milner's  private  Memoranda. — Communication  to  Dr.  Browne. — 
Holding  of  the  Vice-Ciiancellor's  Court. — Cause  dismissed. — Speech 
of  the  Vice-Cliancellor. — Minute  of  "Acta  Curia,"  drawn  up  by  Dr. 
Milner. — Private  letter  to  Counsel. — Approbation  of  P'riends. — Bishop 


CONTENTS.  XVU 

PA  OK 

of  Bristol. — Riots  at  Cambridge. — Court  held  at  Queen's  Lodge. — 
Sentence  pronounced. — Dr.  Boll's  donation  to  the  University  for  the 
founding  of  Eight  New  Scholarships. — Expulsion  of  three  Students. 

— Public    admonition   of  Air. . — Communication   from  the 

Bishop  of  Bristol. — Extent  and  variety  of  business. — Devotional 
studies. — Letter  from  Dr.  Bell  on  the  founding  of  his  Scholarships. — 
Commencement  Sunday. — Dr.  Buchanan's  Sermons. — Apj)robation  of 
them  expressed  by  Dr.  Alilner.— Correspondence  with  Dr.  Bell. — 
First  Election  of  Scholars  upon  this  Foundation. — Anecdote  of  the 
Examination. — Dr.  Milner's  humour  qualified  by  his  good  nature. — 
Anecdote. — L'Eau  Me'dicinale. — Attempts  to  discover  its  ingredients. 
— Attention  to  the  interests  of  Religion. — Rev.  Mr.  Kerrich. — His 
Portrait  of  Dr.  Milncr.— His  opinions  concerning  portrait-painting. — 
Correspondence  with  the  Bishoi)  of  Carlisle. — Alethodical  mode  of 
transacting  business. — John  Bowdler,  Junr.,  Esq. — Dr.  Stewart's 
method  of  treating  Consumption. — Continued  fondness  for  ^Mechanics. 
— Clepsydra. — Letter  to  the  Bishop  of  Bristol  on  the  death  of  hia 
Son. — Vice-Chancellor's  Dinners — Mode  of  conducting  them. — Dr. 
Milner's  social  temperament. — Remarks  on  this  subject  by  the  present 
Bishop  of  Calcutta       .......  381 

Cn AFTER  XXI. 

Observations  by  Dr.  Milner  ujion  the  principal  events  and  circumstances 
of  his  Vice-Chancellorship,  with  an  explanation  of  his  conduct  in 
regard  to  them;  embodied  in  an  "Address  to  the  Heads  of  Colleges 
and  to  the  other  Members  of  the  Senate." — Honourable  mention  of 
Dr.  Paley        .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .421 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Extracts  from  coiTespondence. — Application  from  a  poor  Workman  of 
Leeds. — Engraving  of  Portrait. — Heraldry. — Bell's  Scholars — Re- 
marks on  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln's  Refutation  of  Calvinism. — Religious 
course  of  reading. — Habit  of  lending  religious  books. — History  of 
Religion  in  Scotland. — Catholic  Question. — Love  of  Children. — 
Camera  Obscura. — Board  of  Longitude. — Election  of  University  Chan- 
cellor.— Of  Representative  in  Parliament. — Energy  of  Dr.  Milner. — 
Confidential  Correspondence. — Ancient  walls  of  the  City  of  Carlisle. — 
Memorial  to  the  Lords  of  the  Ti-easury. — Letter  to  Mr.  Perceval. — 
Extensive  Correspondence. — Dr.  Bell. — Installation  of  the  Duke  of 
Gloucester. — Mr.  Wilberforce. — Mr.  Henry  Thornton. — Conversa- 
tion.— Journey  to  Carlisle. — New  edition  of  Milner's  Works. — Confi- 
dential Letter  to  a  Relative  on  the  loss  of  a  younger  Brother. — 
Excellent  judgment  in  matters  of  decoration. — Rundell  and  Bridge. 
— Sugai-  castor. — Return  to  Cambridge. — The  Comet. — Dr.  Browne 
elected  Vice-Chancellor. — Dr.  Milner's  rule  of  conduct  in  delicate 
circumstances. — Letter  to  Lady  C G . — Books  recom- 
mended.— Ciencral  opinion  respecting  Boarding  Schools  .  .  44;{ 

b 


XVlll  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

I'AGB 

Organization  of  the  Cambridge  Auxiliary  Bible  Society. — Caution  of  Dr. 
Mihier. — His  Conduct  misunderstood. — Outline  of  Circumstances. — 
Proper  Conduct  of  U^idergraduates. — Dr.  Milncr's  Advice  to  them. — 
Conference  with  Dr.  Jowett,  ^Ir.  Simeon,  I'rofussor  Farish,  <ic. — Dr. 
Marsh's  Address  to  the  Senate. —  Correspondence  Avith  Dr.  Jowett. 
— Lutlier. — Letter  of  Mr.  Vansittart. — Meeting  at  the  Town  Hall  on 
the  Twelfth  of  December. — Speech  of  Dr.  Milner. — Enthusiastic 
Reception. — Extract  of  Letter  from  the  Bishop  of  Bristol  .  .  4C3 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

The  New  Year. — Correspondence  with  Government. — Catholic  Question. 

—  Preparation  for  Answer  to  Dr.  Marsh's  Inquiry. — Correspondence 
with  Mr.  Wilberforce — Perceval. — Bible  Society. — Rev.  Mr.  Stein- 
kopff. — Diocesan  School  at  Carlisle. — Correspondence  with  the  Bishop. 
— Opinions  of  the  two  Archbishops. — Mechanical  pursuits. — Concert 
of  Ancient  Music. — Advice  to  a  Person  desirous  of  receiving  Orders. 
— Mastership  of  Downing  College. — Letters  to  the  Archbishop  of 
York. — Visit  of  Louis  XVIH.  to  the  Univereity. — General  Monk. — 
Petition  against  Catholic  claims. — Domestic  Affliction. — Letters. — To 
Bishop  of  Carlisle. — From  Mr.  Vansittart. — Mode  of  Reading. — Mar- 
ginal Annotations. — Speech  of  Robert  Hall  at  the  Leicester  Bible 

Society  Meeting. — Correspondence  with  Dr. . — Anecdote. — 

Solitary  Residence  at  Carlisle. — Reminiscences  by  a  surviving  Friend. 
Death  of  Dr.  Milner "s  Niece. — He  returns  to  Cambridge. — Death  of 
Mr.  Tillotson. — Conscientious  Testimonials  to  Clergymen. — First 
Anniversary  of  the  Cambridge  Auxiliary  Bii)le  Society. — Dr.  Milner's 
Speech. — Correspondence. — Meaning  of  the  term,  pretty  good  Classic. 

— Accurate  knowledge  of  Grammar  ....  483 

^CHAPTER  XXV. 

Examination  for  Smith's  Prize. — Recollections  of  Dean  Milner  by  Sir 
.John  Herschel,  the  Dean  of  Ely,  and  Lord  Teignmouth. —  Catholic 
Question.— Letter  to  the  Bishop  of  Meath. — Publication  of  Strict iire.t 
on  the  Writings  of  Dr.  Marsh. — Letter  to  the  ArchbTshop  of  Canter- 
bury on  the  subject  of  the  Bible  Society Alleged  neutrality  of  the 

Archbishop. — Management  of  National  Schools. — Interests  of  the 
Established  Church. — Importance  of  the  Bible  Society. — Objects  of 
the  Strictures. — E.xtracts. — History. — Natural  Philosophy. — Doctrine 
of  Probabilities, — Study  of  Divinity. — Value  and  use  of  the  Prayer 
Book. — Sentiments  on  Predestination. — Conclusion. — Review  of  Stric- 
tures in  the  Christian  Observer. — Correspondence. — Right  Hon.  N. 
Vansittart. — National  Schools. — Recollections  of  a  Visit  to  Queen's 
Lodge,  by  the  Right  Hon.  T.  B.  Macaulay. — Correspondence.— 
Bishop  of  Carlisle. — Bishop  of  Durham. — Opinions  of  Friends  concer- 
ning the  Strictures. — Affairs  of  Eiust  India  College. — Extracts  from 
Letters. — Z.  Macaulay,  E.s(j. — Lady  Olivia  Sparrow. — Hannah  More. 

—  Point  of  Similarity  Ixtwecn  the  Characters  of  Dr.  Milner  and  Dr. 
Johnson.— Busy  ('iia])tpr. — Lawsuit. — Sunday  Consultations. — Assize 


CONTEXTS.  XIX 

PAoa 
Sermon  at  Carlisle. — Sir  E.  Alderson. — Alteration  in  the  Conduct  of 

the  Assizes  introduced  by  Dean  Milner. — Uis  Opinion  concerning  the 
Management  of  tlie  Diocesan  School. — Religious  Correspondence. — 
Labours  in  the  Pulpit. — Indisposition. — Modes  of  taking  Exercise. — 
Establishment  of  the  Carlisle  Auxiliary  Bible  Society.— Conduct  of 
Dean  Milner. — Letters. — Duke  of  Norfolk. — Lord  Morpeth. — greet- 
ing.— The  Dean's  Speech. —  Coi-respondence  respecting  the  Bible 
Society. — Dislike  of  Fruitless  Disputation. — Increasing  attachment 
to  the  Bible  Society. — Keturn  to  Cambridge. — Indifferent  Health. — 
Mental  Energy. — Attendance  on  Professor  Tennant's  Lectures. — The 
Rev.  W.  Whewell. — Galvanic  Battery. — Death  of  Dr.  .Towett. — 
Second  Anniversary  of  the  Cambridge  Auxiliary  Bible  Society. — Me- 
moir of  Dr.  .lowett. —  Letter  to  the  Chairman  of  the  Cambridge  Bible 
Society  Meeting. — Euler's  IVorks. — Inscription  to  the  Memory  of  Dr. 
Jowett. — National  Schools. — Letter  to  the  Bishop  of  Norwich. — Visit 
to  Kensington  Gore  ......   524 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

Feelings  on  the  loss  of  Dr.  Jowett. — Society  of  Dr.  Buchanan. — Pro- 
fessor Lee. — Dr.  Milner  becomes  a  Fellow  of  the  Society  of  Anti- 
quaries.— Recollections  of  a  second  visit  at  Queen's  Lodge  by  the 
Right  Hon.  T.  B.  Macaulay. —  Luther. — Melancthon. — Declining 
Health. — Occupations  and  Studies. — Opinion  of  Physicians. — Family 
"Worship. — Expositions  of  Scripture. — Letter  from  a  Clergyman  con- 
taining a  remarkable  account  of  his  Religious  Experience. — Rev. 
Josepli  Milner's  observations  on  a  case  of  sudden  Conversion. —  Dean 
Alilner's  Letter  to  the  Chairman  of  the  First  Anniversary  Meeting 
of  the  Cai-lisle  Auxiliary  Bible  Society. — Detained  at  Carlisle  through 
the  winter. — Letter  intended  to  be  read  at  the  formation  of  an  Aux- 
iliary Church  Missionary  Society  at  Cambridge. — Sentiments  respect- 
ing the  management  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society. — Lettei-s. — 
Democratic  Spirit  prevalent  at  Carlisle. — Establishment  of  The  Patriot 
Newspaper. — Correspondence  with  the  Archbishop  of  York  on  the 
death  of  his  Daughter. — Contributions  to  The  Patriot. — Maps. — Philo- 
sophical Ai^paratus. — Testimonial. — Grammar  School  at  Leeds. — 
Hints  for  the  conducting  of  a  Grammar  School. — Second  Letter  from 
a  Clergyman,  with  further  account  of  his  Religious  Experience  and 
Conduct. —  Extracts  from  Religious  Correspondence  .  .    592 

CHAPTER  XXV IL 

New  Year's  Day. — Tranquil  State  of  Jlind. — Amended  Health. — Ex- 
tracts from  Correspondence. — Return,  to  College. — Visit  to  London. 
— Dean  Milner  makes  his  "Will. — Returns  to  Carlisle. — Thunder 
Storm. — Danger  of  Lightning. — Busy  Summer. — Election  of  Regius 
Professor  of  DiA-inity  at  Cambridge. — Correspondence  with  the  Rev. 
Charles  Simeon. — Extracts  from  confidential  Lettei-s. — Assizes. — 
Strictness  of  Principle. — Affability  of  Manners. — Baptismal  Contro- 
versy.— Dr.  Mant's  Tracts. — Proceedings  of  the  Society  for  Promoting 
Christian  Knowledge. — Bishop  of  Calcutta.— Rev,  John  Scott.— Dr. 


XX  CONTENTS. 

PAOB 

Laurence. — General  Observations  on  Adult  and  Infant  Baptism. — Re- 
marks on  the  Rev.  J.  Scott's  Sermon  on  Baptism. — Absence  of  a  dicta- 
torial tone. — Retvirn  to  Cambridge. — Death  of  the  Princess  Charlotte   629 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

Religious  Reading. — Examination  of  Candidates  for  Smith's  Prize.*— 
Recollections  of  this  Examination  by  the  Rev.  Temple  Chevallier. — 
Pulmonary  Diseases. — Their  Treatment. — Observations  addressed  to 
Charles  Grant,  Esq.  on  Calvinism  and  Arminianism. — Domestic 
Affairs. — Recreations  at  Carlisle. — ^Mechanics. — Natural  History. — 
Religious  Correspondence  and  Studies. — Letter  to  a  Godsou  previous 
to  his  Confirmation. — Letter  from  Charles  Giant,  Esq. — Departure 
from  Carlisle. — Amended  Health       .....   052 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

Board  of  Longitude.— Chapter  Business. — Friendship  and  Correspondence 
with  the  late  Rev.  Robert  Goodenough. — Dean  ililner  becomes  Presi- 
dent of  the  Carlisle  Church  Missionai-y  Association. — Correspondence. 
— Modes  of  Usefulness. — Conversation. — Family  Prayer. — Private 
Religious  Meditations. — Improvement  of  Health. — Attendance  at  the 
Board  of  Longitude. — Sir  Samuel  Romilly. — Meeting  with  old  Friends. 
— Letter  to  the  Bishop  of  Carlisle. — Strong  Expression  of  Satisfaction 
in  the  Dispersion  of  the  Bible. — State  of  the  Country — General  Tone 
of  Newspapers. — Louis  Dix-huit. — New  Churches  at  Carlisle. — Conclu- 
sion of  the  Year         ...  ....   672 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

Examination  for  Smith's  Prize. — Board  of  Longitude. — Influence  of  Dean 
ililner's  Character. — Visit  to  London. — Pi'ofessor  Lee. — Undimi- 
nished Energy  of  Character. — Increasing  interest  in  matters  con- 
nected with  Carlisle. — Cheerfulness. — Benevolence. — Scientific  Pur- 

f  suits. — Correspondence. — Letter  on  the  Death  of  "William  Hey,  Escj. 
of  Leeds. — Increasing  Seriousness  and  Spirituality  of  Mind. — Bishop 
of  Peterborough's  Questions  to  Candidates  for  Orders. — Declining 
Health. — Visit  of  the  Chancellor  to  Cambridge  at  tiie  Commencement. 
— Correspondence. — Professorshipof  Natural  Philosophy  at  Edinburgh. 
— Testimonial  in  favour  of  Dr.  Chalmers. — Testimonial  in  favour  of 
Charles  Babbage,  Esq. — Correspondence. — Bishop  of  Carlisle. — Disaf- 
fection at  Carlisle. — Last  Attendance  at  the  Board  of  Longitude. — 
Religious  Correspondence.—  Vigour  of  Mind. — Last  Examination  for 
Smith's  Prize. — Reminiscences  of  a  Visit  at  Queen's  Lodge,  by  the 
Riglit  Hon.  T.  B.  Macaulay.  — Final  Departure  ot  Dr.  Mihier  from 
Cambridge. — La-st  Visit  to  Kensington  Gore. — Recollections  of  tlic 
Dean  by  a  Lady  then  visiting  at  Mr.  Wilberforcc's. — His  Vivacity 
and  Kindness. — Conversation  on  PhiIosoj)liical  Subjects. — Exposition 
of  the  Confession. — Religious  Conversation. — IC.xtracts  from  Corre- 
spondence.— Last  Illness. —  Death. — Funeral. — Personal  A])pearance. 
— Character  .......   {m\ 


LIFE 


ISAAC   MILNER. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Birth  of  Isaac  Milner. — Notice  of  his  Parents. — Character  of  his  Father.— 
Of  his  Mother. — Outline  of  his  Childiiood  by  himself. — His  early  turn  for 
Mathematics. — Premature  Death  of  his  Father. — His  Mother  obliged  to 
abandon  the  plan  of  giving  him  a  literary  education. — He  is  apprenticed 
to  a  Woollen  IVIanufacturer  at  Leeds. — Distinction  obtained  by  Joseph 
Milner,  the  elder  Brother  of  Isaac,  at  Cambridge. — His  subsequent  suc- 
cess in  Life. — He  releases  his  Brother  Isaac  from  his  engagements  at 
Leeds. — Takes  him  under  his  own  tuition. — Makes  liim  his  Usher  in  the 
Grammar  School  at  Hull. — Isaac  Z\Iilner  sent  by  his  Brother  to  Queen's 
College,  Cambridge. — Gratitude  of  Isaac  to  his  Brother. — Strong  affection 
between  these  Brothers. — Isaac,  while  an  Under-graduate,  refuses  to  sign 
a  Petition  against  subscription  to  the  Articles. — Takes  his  degree  of  B.A. 
— Is  Senior  Wrangler,  witli  the  distinction  of  TncomparabUis. — Becomes 
a  Member  of  the  Hyson  Club, — Declines  the  office  of  Tutor  to  a  Polish 
Prince. — Early  Friendship  with  the  late  William  Hey,  Esq.,  of  Leeds. — 
Notice  of  Mr.  jMilner  by  an  early  Friend,  still  living. — :Mr.  Miluer  enters 
into  Holy  Orders. 

A.D.  1750.      /ETAT.  L 

Isaac  Milner^  the  third  son  of  his  parents,  was  born,  as 
a})pears  from  the  register  of  baptisms  kept  in  the  parish  chm-ch 
at  Leeds,  in  Mabgate,  in  that  town,  on  the  11th  day  of  Januar)', 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord  17^0^  aii<-^  "^vas  baptized  on  the  13th  day 
of  the  same  month. 

Of  the  eondition  of  his  father  little  is  known,  except  that  he 
had  lieen  unsuccessful  in  business,  and  that  his  circumstances 
had  suftered  exceedingly  from  accidents  during  the  Rebellion  of 
1/45;  insomuch,  that  he  had  very  little  to  spare  from  the  neces- 
sary demands  of  his  family*.  It  appears  by  the  register  already 
mentioned,  that  his  eldest  son,  Samuel,  was  born  in  Mabgate, 
on  the   10th  of  October,  1739,   and  his  second  son,  Joseph, 


*  See  Dr.  Milxeh's  Life  of  [his  brother,]  Ihe  Rev.  Joseph  Milner. 

B 


2  CHAP.  I.     A.D,  17o0,     yETAT.  1. 

afterwards  the  Historian  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  at  Quarry 
Hill,  on  the  2nd  of  January-,  1/43.  It  is,  however,  prohable, 
that  notwithstanding  the  different  wording  of  the  registers,  there 
was  no  change  of  residence,  Quarry  Hill  and  Mabgate  joining 
upon  each  other,  and  their  respective  limits  being  not  very 
clearly  defined.  They  are  now  densely  inhabited  parts  of  the 
to-«ni  of  Leeds;  but  the  house  now,  or  till  very  lately,  known 
and  shown  as  the  birth-place  of  Isaac  Milner,  and  situated 
near  to  St.  Marj^s,  or  as  it  is  sometimes  called.  Quarry  Hill 
Church,  must,  probably,  at  the  date  of  even  the  latest  of  the 
registers,  have  stood  almost  in  the  country.  The  house  has 
been,  within  the  last  few  years,  altered  and  improved  in  appear- 
ance, by  having  been  plastered  in  imitation  of  stone.  An  outer 
door,  studded  with  large-headed  nails,  like  the  door  of  a  prison, 
has  also  Ijeen  removed. 

That  the  father  of  the  young  Milners  was  a  man  of  strong 
sense  and  extraordinary  industry  and  self-denial,  there  is  aljun- 
dapt  evidence.  Having  experienced,  in  his  own  case,  the  want 
of  a  good  education,  he  early  resolved,  that,  at  whatever  inconve- 
nience to  himself  or  his  family,  his  children  should  possess  that 
advantage;  and  this  resolution  he  kept,  although  at  the  cost  of 
many  personal  sacrifices,  till  his  sudden  death;  an  event  which 
took  place  soon  after  his  son  Isaac  had  attained  his  tenth  year. 

The  mother  of  Isaac  Milner,  "a  good  and  valuable  mother" 
he  calls  her,  in  the  work  already  cited,  seems  to  liave  been,  upon 
the  whole,  a  partner  well  suited  to  her  husband.  She  was  not, 
indeed,  a  woman  of  good  temper,  but  she  was  remarkable  for 
her  sound  and  vigorous  understanding,  for  the  active  turn  of  her 
mind,  and  for  a  vein  of  shrewd  liumour  wliich  rendered  her 
conversation,  uneducated  as  she  was,  acceptable  to  persons  of 
the  highest  attaimnents.  She  reached  a  great  age;  and  although 
her  mind  did  not  retain  its  powers  to  the  last,  she  was  permitted 
to  enjoy,  in  the  advancement  of  her  two  yt>ungor  sous,  the 
reward  of  lier  early  slruggk's;  and  died  beloved  and  respected, 
at  the  house  of  her  son  Joseph,  at  Hull,  in  the  vear  1/^0*. 


*  Soino    particulars  in  tliis   iicooimt     rated  liy  tlio  recolK'ctioiis  of  a  gontlo- 
of  Dr.  ililiier's  uiother  are  corrybo-    imiu  now  liviug,  aud  fyiiucrly  u  pupil 


CHAP,  I.    A.D.  1756.    iETAT.  6. 


An  outline  of  Dr.  Milner's  childhood,  has  been  thus  traced 
hy  his  own  hand: 

"  Isaac,  when  a  little  boy  of  six  years  old,  began  to  accom- 
pany his  In-other  Joseph  everj^  day  to  tlie  Grammar  School*; 
and  at  ten  years  of  age  could  construe  Ovid  and  Sallust  into 
toleral)le  English,  and  was  then  beginning  to  learn  the  rudi- 
ments of  the  Greek  language.  The  premature  death  of  their 
father  ruined  all  the  prospects  of  Isaac's  advancement  in  learn- 
ing. His  mother  was  obliged  to  abandon  the  prosecution  of 
her  husband's  plan;  and,  that  her  son  might  acquire  a  hveli- 
hood  Ijy  honest  industry,  she  wisely  emjiloyed  him  in  learning 
several  branches  of  the  woollen  manufactory  at  Leeds.^^ 

Two  circumstances  which,  in  this  simple  and  beautiful  ac- 
count of  his  own  childhood,  have  been  omitted  by  Dr.  Milner, 
are  here  supplied. 

His  turn  for  mathematical  studies  exhibited  itself  very  early, 
He  frequently,  towards  the  close  of  his  life,  spoke  of  a  sundial 
which  he  had  constructed  at  the  age  of  eiglit  years;  and  said. 


of  the  Eev.  Joseph  Mihier,  at  the 
Grammar  School  at  Hull.  "  I  re- 
member," says  he,  in  a  letter  to  the 
author  of  tliis  Memoir,  "  what  must 
have  been  your  great-grandmother,  the 
motlier  of  your  uncles  Joseph  and 
Isaac.  She  lived  in  the  liouse  with 
your  iincle  Josej)h,  and  was  of  a  great 
age,  and,  I  believe,  had  rather  out- 
lived her  faculties.  She  used  to  be 
my  teiTor,  for  I  had  to  go  once  a  week 
into  the  house  to  help  to  bring  out  a 
globe,  to,  what  we  called,  'do  globes,^  and 
the  old  lady  used  to  seize  me  by  the 
long  hair,  sucli  as  boys  wore  in  those 
days,  and  declare  she  wanted  it  for  a 
wig,  and  piiU  most  uncommonly  hard, 
as  if  by  way  of  realizing  her  design, 
while  I  was  both  unable  to  bear,  and 
afraid  to  resist." 

Anotlier  anecdote,  characteristic  of 
the  shrewd  humour  of  Mrs.  Milncr, 
before  her  faculties  were  blunted  by 
age,  I  have  myself  frequently  heard 
from  the  lips  of  her  son  Isaac. 


"One  evening,  a  party  of  fi-iends 
assembled  at  the  liouse  of  the  Rev. 
Joseph  ]\Iilner  were  discussing,  among 
other  religious  topics,  the  character  of 
St.  Paul ;  Joseph  Milner  expressed 
very  strongly  his  idea  of  the  privilege 
and  happiness  of  those  persons  who 
enjoyed  opportunities  of  personal  in- 
tercourse with  the  Apostle;  and  said, 
that  he  could  scarcely  conceive  a 
higher  gratification  than  to  have  sat  in 
his  company  and  heard  him  converse. 
*  Ay,  bairn,'  interposed  his  mother,  in 
her  broad  Yorkshii-e  dialect,  'but  thou 
would'st  not  have  let  him  have  all  tlie 
talk  to  himself, — thou  would'st  have 
put  in  thy  word,  I'll  warrant  Ihee.' 
Joseph  IMiluer,  who  was,  in  fact,  when 
he  liked  his  comjmny,  a  great  talker, 
joined  very  heartily  in  the  laugh  tlius 
raised  at  his  expense." 

*  The  Grammar  Scliool  at  Leeds, 
of  which  school  the  Rev.  A[r.  Moore 
was,  at  that  time,  head  mastei-. 

n  2 


4  CHAr.  I.     A.D.  1759.    /ETAT.  9. 

that  during  one  of  his  visits  to  Leeds,  after  he  became  Dean  of 
Carhsle,  he  had  earnestly  endeavoured  to  discover  the  marks  of 
it  upon  a  wall  near  the  house  in  which  he  was  born.  Another 
circumstance  omitted  by  Dr.  Milner,  is,  his  having  been  taken 
during  his  childhood, — by  whom,  or  on  what  occasion,  cannot 
now  be  known, — to  London.  It  is  certain,  that  in  later  hfe  he 
used  to  relate,  "  that  the  first  time  he  ever  heard  about  ivar  or 
the  French,  was  when  he  was  a  little  child  in  London.  He  was 
taken,^^  he  said,  "  out  of  bed  late  at  night,  and  carried  to  the 
window.  All  the  street  was  alive,  though  it  was  midnight;  the 
watchman  was  calling,  '  Past  twelve  o'clock,  Quebec  taken' 
The  news,''  he  said,  ^'  came  late ;  and  the  Lord  Mayor  had 
given  orders  that  the  watchmen  should  cry  it,  with  the  hour, 
all  through  the  city." 

The  date  of  the  taking  of  Quebec  of  course  fixes  this  journey 
to  London  to  the  ninth  year  of  Dr.  Milner's  life. 

And  now  there  appeared  every  reason  to  expect  that  the 
future  life  of  Isaac  Milner  wovdd  be  spent  "  in  labouring  with 
his  hands  in  the  maiuxfactories  of  Yorkshire j"  but  Providence 
had,  for  him,  other  things  in  store. 

By  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Moore,  who  had  early  discovered  his 
great  abilities,  and  by  the  liberality  of  other  friends,  Joseph 
Milner,  the  elder  brother  of  Isaac,  had  been  sent  to  the  Uni- 
versity of  Cambridge,  M'here  he  had  fulfilled  the  promise  of  his 
youth,  by  obtaining,  Ijcsides  a  very  honourable  place  in  the  list 
of  Mathematicaland  Philosophical  honours*,  the  highest  distinc- 
tion which  that  University  can  bestow  upon  classical  learningf. 

Joseph  Milner  had  now  left  college,  and  was  established  as 
head  master  of  the  Grannnar  School  at  Hull,  in  which  town  he 
was,  shortly  afterwards,  elected  afternoon  lecturer  at  the  principal 
church.  His  success  in  obtaining  these  situations  was  "owing," 
says  his  Ijrother,  "  partly  to  the  splendour  of  his  character,  and 
partly  to  the  reconnncndation  of  ])o\verfid  friends  at  Leeds  J." 

Being  jiow  raised  above  poverty,  his  annual  income  amount- 


*  He  was  third  Senior  Optime. 
t  He  wtts  one   of    tlie  Chaiicelloi'H 
Mcdalliata  in  the  year  llOH,  the  caiuU- 


dates    being  in    that  year   unusually 
nnnieroiis  and  able. 
X  Sec  Life  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Milner, 


CHAP.  I.    A.D.  170c.    /ETAT.  IC.  5 

ing,  upon  the  whole,  to  upwards  of  200/.,  "  the  bowels  of 
Joseph  yearned  upon  his  younger  brother*.'^  He  imme- 
diately resolved  to  release  him  from  his  obligations  at  Leeds, 
and,  with  that  view,  requested  the  Rev.  Myles  Atkinson,  the 
minister  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  in  that  town,  to  examine  into  the 
qualifications  of  Isaac,  to  become  his  usher  in  the  Grammar 
School  at  Hull.  Upon  proceeding  to  the  work-room  in  which 
Isaac  Milner  then  lal)oured,  Mr.  Atkinson  found  him  seated  at 
his  loom  with  Tacitus,  and  some  Greek  author  lying  by  his  side. 
Upon  further  examination,  it  appeared  that,  notwithstanding  his 
long  absence  from  school,  and  the  interruption  of  his  literary 
pursuits,  his  knowledge  and  his  love  of  classical  learning  re- 
mained unimpaired.  After  a  private  interview  with  Mr.  Atkin- 
son, during  which  the  terms  of  the  apprentice's  emancipation 
were  agreed  upon,  the  master  of  the  establishment  entered 
the  work-room,  and  addressing  young  Milner,  said  to  him, 
"  Isaac,  lad,  thou  art  off."  The  delight  exhibited  by  the  youth, 
on  hearing  these  words,  was  declared  by  Mr.  Atkinson  to  be 
quite  indescribable. 

Isaac  Milner,  who,  as  he  himself  says,  had  been  well 
grounded  by  Mr.  Moore  in  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages!, 
now  proved  himself  aii  able  assistant  to  his  brother  in  teaching 
the  lower  boys|  of  his  crowded  school  at  Hull ;  and  while  he 
instructed  them,  he  redoubled  his  efforts,  under  his  brother's 
tuition,  and  with  his  assistance,  to  'wo^toxq  himself ,  and  to  make 
up  for  lost  time. 

During  this  period  of  his  life,  Isaac  Milner  not  only  made 
himself  a  competent  classical  scholar,  but  also  found  time  to 
master  the  elementary  parts  of  mathematics.  When,  in  the  ordi- 
nary business  of  the  school,  any  difficulty  occurred  in  algebra, 
&c.,  it  Avas  customary  with  his  brother  Joseph  to  call  up  Isaac 
to  solve  it ;  for  although  the  point  might  be  one  which,  with 


*  See  Life  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Milner. 

t  Ibid. 

X  Among  vhoni,  at  that  time,  was 
William  "NVilbcrforce,  afterwards  liis 
own  most  intimate  friend.  Of  him 
Dr.    Milner  used  to   relate,   that,   at 


seven  years  of  age,  he  read  so  well* 
that  it  was  customary  to  place  hun 
upon  a  table  in  the  sclicol-ioom,  and 
to  make  him  read  aloud  for  the  benefit 
of  the  other  bovs. 


9  CHAP.  I.     A.D.  l/fJfJ— 1770.     yETAT.  10—20. 

sufficient  thought,  he  could,  perhaps,  have  made  out  for  himself, 
all  trouble  Avas  saved  l)y  the  readiness  of  Isaac  on  such  subjects. 

In  the  year  17/0,  Isaac  Milner  was  sent  l)y  his  brother 
to  Queen's  College,  Cambridge. 

Towards  that  excellent  brother,  he  expresses  his  grateful  affec- 
tion in  a  touching  passage,  in  the  Life  of  the  Reverend  Joseph 
Milner,  already  referred  to.  In  that  passage,  after  declaring, 
that,  Under  Providence,  he  owed  his  lionoura])le  and  elevated 
situations,  as  Dean  of  Carlisle,  President  of  Queen's  College, 
and  Professor  of  Mathematics  in  the  University  of  Cambridge, 
nay,  that  he  owed  "  all  that  he  had,  to  the  kindness  of  this  same 
brother,"  he  "  willingly  acknoAvledges  the  obligation,  with  tears 
of  gratitude  and  affection;"  and  concludes  with  the  beautiful 
and  apposite  quotation,  *' He  made  Isaac  glad  with  his  acts,  and 
his  memorial  is  blessed  for  ever*!" 

Tlie  affection  which  bound  these  brothers  to  each  other,  was, 
perhaps,  as  strong  as  ever  subsisted  in  that  relation  of  life.  It 
began  in  childhood ;  was  cemented  in  youth,  by  more  than  ordi- 
nar}'  fraternal  kindness  on  the  one  part,  and  by  cordial  gratitude 
on  the  other;  and,  far  from  suffering  interruption  or  abatement 
in  after  life,  it  increased  in  fervour,  till  the  death  of  the  elder 
brother  separated  these  tenderly-attached  relatives. 

"  Never,"  says  the  sun-ivor,  "  was  separation  more  bitter  or 
afflicting."  An  entire  agreement  in  their  religious  sentiments, 
of  which  agreement  the  sequel  of  this  narrative  will  aflbrd 
abundant  evidence,  was,  doubtless,  effectual  in  draAnng  still 
closer  the  Ijonds  of  natural  affection  which  united  these  excel- 
lent men. 

Isaac  Milner  entered  Queen's  College  as  a  Sizar.  Sizars 
are,  for  the  most  part,  as  is  generally  known,  students,  who 
enjoy  certain  pecuniary  privileges,  and  who,  formerh',  were 
required,  at  Caml^ridge,  to  perform  various  menial  services, 
from  which  tliey  are  now,  and  have  l)cen  for  many  years, 
exempted.  These  services,  whi(;h  consisted  in  the  ringing  of  the 
chapel  l)cll,  the  serving  uji  of  the  first  dish  to  the  fellows  at  dinner, 
^c,  were  exacted  at  Queen's,  when  Isaac  Milner  became  an 


•  1  Maccab.  iii.  7. 


CHAP.  L     A.D.  1770-1772.     Tirr AT.  iJ(»— 22. 


undergraduate,  and  were  undoubtedly  finally  abolished  l)y  him, 
■when  he  l^ecame  President  of  the  College ;  but  whether  the 
following  anecdote,  frequently  told  in  reference  to  this  subject, 
l)e  strictly  correct,  may,  perhaps,  be  doul)ted.  Isaac  Milner, 
happening  one  day,  while  engaged  in  the  execution  of  his  duties 
as  a  Sizar,  to  overturn  upon  the  floor  of  the  liall  a  tureen  of 
soup,  intended  for  the  fellows'  table,  is  said  to  have  exclaimed, 
in  reply  to  some  tart  reljuke,  "  When  I  get  into  power,  I  will 
abolish  this  nuisance."  This  expression  of  the  unpolished 
Yorkshire  lad,  "  TF/ien  I  get  into  power^^  occasioned,  as  it  is 
said,  much  merriment  among  the  fellows ;  who,  of  course,  did 
not  detect,  under  the  rough  exterior  of  the  Sizar,  the  future 
President  of  their  College. 

Tliere  is  no  evidence,  that,  at  this  early  period  of  his  life_, 
Isaac  Milner  had  been  led  to  entertain  those  religious  views 
which  he  afterwards  adopted,  and  of  which  he  became  so  able 
and  zealous  an  advocate ;  but  an  incident  which  occurred  during 
his  undergraduateship,  effectually  put  to  the  proof,  and  firmly 
established  his  character,  as  a  man  of  inflexiljle  integrity  and 
conscientious  resolution.  Many  of  the  then  governing  members 
of  Queen's  College  were  supposed  to  be  far  from  orthodox  in 
their  religious  faith ;  and,  with  their  approbation,  a  petition, 
against  subscription  to  the  Articles  of  the  Established  Church, 
was  presented  for  signature  to  the  students.  This  petition, 
supported  as  it  was  by  his  superiors,  Isaac  Milner  alone,  among 
the  students  of  his  OAvn  college,  refused  to  sign*. 

The  brilliant  success  of  Isaac  Milner  at  the  University 
fully  evinced  the  penetration,  and  justified  the  advice,  of  those 
early  friends  of  his  parents,  who  had  exhorted  them  to  strain 
every  nerve  in  order  to  give  him  a  literary-  education.  A  circum- 
stance which  occurred  during  the  last  term  of  his  undergradu- 
ateship, tended  to  prepare  his  cotemporaries  for  the  honours 
which  awaited  him. 

Keeping  an  Opponency  in  the  Schoolsf,  he  made  use  of  an 


*  To  this  refusal,  after  an  interval 
of  above  forty  years,  lie  alludes,  with 
evident  satisfaction,  in  his  Slricturcs 
on  the  IVritiiiffs  of  Dr.  Marsh, 


+  The  practice  of  keeping  Acts  and 
Opponencics,  has  been  lately  disused 
in  the  University  of  Ciuubridge. 


8  CHAP.  I.     A.L).  1774.     /ETAT.  24. 

argument,  subsequently  well  known  at  Cambridge,  and  fre- 
quently used  on  similar  occasions ;  but  at  that  time  quite  new. 
The  Moderator  was  the  late  Dr.  Pearce,  afterwards  Public 
Orator,  ^Master  of  Jesus  College,  and  Dean  of  Ely.  The  argu- 
ment was  new  to  him,  and  he  thus  addressed  the  opponent: 
" Domine  opponens,  argnmentum  sane  novum  et  difficile;  nee 
pudet  fateri  meipsiun  nodmn  solvere  non  posse." 

This  anecdote  was  sometimes  told  by  Dr.  Mihier  in  after 
life.  The  words  of  the  Moderator  were  accurately  remembered 
by  him,  not  only  on  account  of  the  compliment  which  they 
implied,  but  also,  because  Dr.  Pearce  was  celebrated  in  the 
University  for  the  purity-  and  elegance  of  his  Latinity. 

Dr.  Milner,  however,  never  failed  to  add,  that  he  had  received 
from  Dr.  Pearce,  in  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  a  complete 
answer  to  the  novel  argument  which  he  had  adduced. 

Genius,  or  even  superior  excellence,  is  usually  accompanied 
by  much  modesty  and  diffidence.  Dr.  Milner,  when  induced, 
in  later  life,  to  speak  of  his  ovm  degree,  invariably  said,  that  he 
had  been,  at  the  time,  very  far  from  sanguine  respecting  his 
success — nay,  that  he  even  feared  he  might  have  completely 
failed.  His  fears  were,  indeed,  groundless  ;  since  he  had,  from 
the  first,  fixed  his  eye  upon  the  highest  honours  of  the  Uni- 
versity, and  had  spent  the  time  of  his  undergraduateship  in 
indefatigable  study.  He  took  his  degree  of  B.A.  in  177^,  and 
was  the  Senior  Wrangler  of  his  year,  with  the  honourable  dis- 
tinction of  ^'  Incomparahilis"  the  Moderators  being  Thomas 
Kipling,  M.A.,  of  St.  John^s,  and  Tliomas  Parkinson,  M.A.,  of 
Christ^ s — themselves  Senior  Wranglers  of  a  few  years  standing. 

At  this  distance  of  time,  there  can  be  no  indehcacy  in  stating, 
that,  on  occasion  of  the  competition  for  Smith's  Prize,  Isaac 
Milner  had  to  contend  with  more  than  the  ordinary  difficulties. 
The  Professor  of  Mathematics,  one  of  the  Examiners  for  this 
prize,  was  more  than  suspected  of  favouring  a  particular  candi- 
date, a  relative  of  his  own.  Such  conduct  must  always  have 
formed  a  rare  exception  to  the  uiideviating  rectitude  usually 
obsers'ed  upon  such  (x-casions.  Al)ility  and  industr}'^  seldom, 
however,  fail  of  success,  be  the  obstacles  what  they  may ;  and 
the   man  who,  in    the    Senate   House,  had  been    pronounced 


CHAP.  I.    A.I).  1774.     /ETAT.  24.  9 

"  Incomparabilis"  was  declared  to  be  first  Smith's  Prize- 
man— lionours  which,  it  is  needless  to  say,  are  the  very  highest 
which  the  University  of  Cambridge  can  confer*. 

Having  taken  his  degree  of  B.A.,  Mr.  Milner  was  admitted  a 
member  of  the  "  Hyson  Club,"  a  society  originally  formed  by 
the  Wranglers  of  the  year  1758,  and  composed  of  the  most 
eminent  men  then  resident  in  the  University.  A  brilliant  so- 
ciet}',  doubtless,  in  its  day,  was  this  Hyson  Club,  enrolling  in 
its  list  of  members  the  names  of  Waring,  Watson,  Paley,  and 
others  equally  known  to  fame.  Of  these  distinguished  men, 
few  now  remain ;  but  the  memory  of  the  powerful  mind,  and 
extraordinary  conversational  powers  of  Mr.  Milner,  is  still  pre- 
served, as  having  materially  contributed  to  the  interest  and 
hilarity  of  the  meetings  of  this  once  brilliant  company. 

Another  consequence  of  the  sj^lendid  success  of  Mr.  Milner, 
at  the  commencement  of  his  Universit}'  career,  was  a  notifica- 
tion communicated  to  him,  that  the  office  of  tutor  to  a  relative 
of  the  Polish  Prince  Poniatowski  awaited  his  acceptance.  This 
offer,  however,  advantageous  as  it  must  have  appeared  at  the 
time,  he  at  once  declined. 

Great  as  was  Mr.  ^lilner's  proficiency  in  mathematical 
studies,  they  did  not,  even  at  this  time,  occupy  the  whole  of  his 
attention. 

The follo'wang  extract  from  a  letter,  dated  March  27th,  1/74, 
and,  consequently,  WTitten  within  a  few  weeks  after  Mr.  Milner 
became  Bachelor  of  Arts,  illustrates  the  comprehensive  turn  of 
his  mind,  and  shows  the  estimation  in  which,  at  this  period  of 
his  life,  he  was  held  by  his  cotemporaries : 

"  Dear  Milner,  "March  27,  1774. 

"As  you  are  holding  strange  converse  with  Philosophy,  I 
shall  propose  what  I  have  to  say  to  you,  under  the  form  of 
queries."  *  *  *  Here  follow  a  number  of  metaphysical 
questions  concerning  the  nature  of  the  immaterial  principle,  in 


*  In  after  life,  Dr.  Milner  nsed 
sometimes  to  observe,  that  he  was  on 
this  occasion  tempted  to  commit  his 
fii-st  act  of  extravagance.   In  the  pride 


of  his  heart,  he  ordered  from  a 
jeweller  a  rather  splendid  seal,  bearing 
a  finely-executed  head  of  Sii*  Isaac 
Newton. 


10 


ClIAr.  I.     A.D.  1774.     yETAT.  24. 


man,  and  in  the  lower  animals,  such  as,  "  Can  the  soul,  which 
is  the  eye  of  the  mind,  any  more  than  the  eye  of  the  body,  see 
itself,  its  own  nature,  and  inherent  powers  ?"  "  Have  not  the 
brute  creatures  a  living  immaterial  substance  within  them  ? 
And  are  they  incapable  of  immortality  and  happiness  ?  Does 
the  condition  of  their  nature  render  them  incapable  of  receiving 
any  recompense  in  another  life,  for  the  sufferings  they  endure  in 
this  ?"  "  Quid  meruistis,  ores,  placidum  pecus,  &c."  "  Can 
you  clear  and  justify  tlic  ways  of  God  towards  them  ?  Could 
you  satisfy  me  in  these  doubts  you  would  be  mild  Magnus 
Apofh*." 

'\^Tiile  an  Undergraduate,  Mr.  Milnerbecame  acquainted  with 
the  late  celebrated  William  Hey,  Esq.,  of  Leeds,  having  occa- 
sion to  consult  him  for  a  complaint  partly  produced  by  intense 
application  to  study.  His  superior  talents  and  attainments 
were  quickly  discerned  and  justly  appreciated  by  Mr.  Hey,  who 
invited  him  to  his  house,  and  put  him,  as  Dr.  Milner  aftenvards 
said,  '^upon  a  completely  new  system  of  habits."  He  remained 
during  several  weeks  the  guest  of  Mr.  Hey ;  and  the  acquaint- 
ance thus  commenced,  ripened  into  a  friendship  which  suffered 
neither  diminution  nor  interruption  till  the  friends  were  sepa- 
rated by  death.  During  this  intimacy  of  nearly  fifty  years  con- 
tinuance, many  letters  were  exchanged,  some  extracts  from 
which  will  appear  under  their  proper  dates. 

Another  gentlemanf  who  became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Milner 
about  this  period  of  his  life,  and  who  was  himself  Senior 
Wrangler  not  long  afterwards,  speaks  of  him  in  the  following 
terms.  "  My  acquaintance  with  Dr.  Milner  commenced  on  his 
return  to  Cambridge  at  the  close  of  the  year  177^5  to  my  great 
advantage,  being  greatly  inde1)ted  to  him  for  his  valuable  assist- 
ance in  my  mathematical  studies.  I  had  afterwards  opportuni- 
ties of  knowing  and  admiring  tlie  extraordinary^  strength  of  his 


•  The  wTiter  of  this  curious  lettei* 
•was  of  Queen's  College,  and  took  his 
degree  of  IJ.A.  in  1774.  He  has  been 
flcad   many  years,  and  the  answer  to 


this  communication  has  not  boon  found 
among  his  pnjxTs. 

t  The  present  Archdeacon  Oldcr- 
sliuw. 


CUAP.  I.    A.L).  1775.     vETAT.  25.  11 

understanding,  and  the  great  variety  and  extent  of  his  know- 
ledge ;  and  I  retain  a  high  veneration  for  his  memory." 

"Tlic  mathematical  papers  wliich  Mr.  Milner  used  to  make 
out  for  his  pupils  were  so  remarkable,  at  the  time,  for  their 
neatness  and  elegance,  that  they  were  very  much  in  request 
whenever  they  could  be  had* ;"  indeed,  so  highly  prized  were 
his  demonstrations  of  mathematical  propositions,  that  an  in- 
stance occurred  in  which  a  bed-maker  of  Queen's  was  bribed 
to  obtain  some  of  those  papers,  to  be  copied  by  a  student  of 
another  college. 

On  Sunday,  the  l/th  day  of  December,  in  the  year  1775, 
Isaac  Milner  entered  into  holy  orders,  being  ordained  a 
deacon,  at  a  general  ordination  held  in  the  Chapel  of  Trinity 
College,  Cambridge,  by  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Peterborough. 


*  This    was   conimuuicated  to  me  by  Dr.  Procter,  the  present  JNIaster  of 
Catherine  Hall,  Cambridge. 


12 


CHAPTER  II. 

^Ir.  Miluer  is  elected  Fellow  of  Queen's  College. — Takes  Ins  degi*ee  of  M.A. 
—Is  elected  Tutor  of  Queen's. — Makes  a  communication  to  the  Royal 
Society. — Is  ordained  Priest. — Presented  to  the  Rectory  of  St.  Botolph's» 
Cambridge. — Makes  various  communications  to  tlie  Royal  Society. — In- 
jures his  health  by  inhaling  a  noxious  gas. — Is  elected  a  Fellow  of  the 
Royal  Society. — Is  Moderator. — Reads  public  Lectures  in  ChjTnistry. — 
Is  Proctor. — Commencement  of  his  acquaintance  with  William  "Wilber- 
force,  Esq. — Correspondence. — Letter  from  Joseph  Alilner  to  Rev. 
James  Stilliugfleet. — Isaac  Milncr  is  elected  to  the  Jacksonian  Professor- 
ship.— Gives  alternate  courses  of  Lectures  in  Chyniistry  and  Experimental 
Philosophy. — Correspondence. — Assists  in  the  formation  of  a  Society  for 
tlie  promotion  of  Philosophy  and  General  Literature. — Travels  on  the 
Continent  with  Mr.  "Wilberforce. — Voyage  down  the  Rhone. — House  at 
Nice. — Marseilles. — English  Society  at  Nice. — Mr.  Milner's  religious 
principles. — Religious  conversation  with  ^Ir.  AVilberforce. — Returns  with 
^Ir.  "Wilberforce  to  England. — Is  ^loderator. — Climate  of  Nice. — Perilous 
accident. — Second  journey  witli  Mr.  "Wilberforce  to  the  Continent. — Reli- 
gious conversation. — Meeting  with  Lavater. — Mystical  turn  of  Lavater's 
mind. — Letter  from  him  to  Mr.  Milner. — Rev.  Thomas  Scott's  account 
of  Mr.  Milner's  travels  witli  Mr.  Wilberforce. — Correspondence. — Tissot. 

A.D.  1777.  ^TAT.  27. 
On  the  10th  of  Januar}",  1776,  Mr.  Milner  was  elected  a  Fellow 
of  Queen's  College.  He  proceeded,  in  the  year  1777,  to  the 
degree  of  Master  of  Arts,  and,  during  the  same  year,  was 
appointed  Tutor  of  his  College,  in  which  capacity  he  acquired 
a  distinguished  reputation. 

In  the  spring  of  tliis  year  he  communicated  to  the  Royal 
Societ)-  a  paper,  entitled,  "  Obsen'ations  on  the  Limits  of  Alge- 
braical Equations;  and  a  General  Demonstration  of  Des  Cartes's 
Rule  for  finding  tlicir  number  of  Affirmative  and  Negative 
Roots'*.^'      This  paper,  which  was  presented  to  the  Society  by 


•  See  Transactions  of  the  Royal 
Society  for  the  year  1777-  With  re- 
ference to  this  subject,  the  following 
passage  occurs  in  the  Preface  to  l)r. 
Waring's  Mcdilalioncs Alyebraica;,  3rd 
edition,  p.  13  : 


"Milner  invenit  eequationem  ax"  — 
(a-f  b)  p  x"'-f  (a  +  2b)  (IX"'' -(a -I- 3  b) 
r  x"'^-f-  &c.  =  0,710/1  semper  habere  ra- 
(licctn  inter  minimam  affirmativam  el  mi- 
nimam  neyativam  rarlircm  (Pquatiouis  \n 
-px"'-fqx"'-.rx"3-|-/tc.  =  O  poei- 


CHAP.  II.     A.D.  1778.     yETAT.  28. 


13 


Dr.  Shepherd,  at  that  time  Plumian  Professor  at  Cambridge, 
was  read  at  the  meeting  of  that  learned  body  on  the  2Gth  of 
February,  1777« 

On  Sunday,  the  22nd  of  March,  Mr.  Milner  was  admitted  to 
priest's  orders  in  the  Chapel  of  Trinity  College,  by  the  same 
bishop  who  had  ordained  him  a  deacon,  and  who,  on  this  occa- 
sion, acted  for  the  Bishop  of  Ely. 

He  now,  on  some  few  occasions,  assisted  his  friends  by 
taking  their  duty  in  the  neighbouring  country  churches;  and,  on 
the  10th  of  October,  1778^  was  presented  by  his  college  to  the 
rectoiy  of  the  parish  of  St.  Botolph,  Cambridge,  which  prefer- 
ment, although,  in  consequence  of  the  infirm  state  of  his  health, 
seldom  able  to  officiate  in  person,  he  retained  till  the  latter  end 
of  the  year  1792,  reUnquishing  it  on  his  advancement  to  the 
deanery  of  Carlisle. 

During  this  year  Mr.  Milner  again  addressed  a  paper  to  the 
Royal  Society.  This  paper,  which,  like  the  last,  was  communi- 
cated l)y  Dr.  Shepherd,  is  entitled,  "  Reflections  on  the  Com- 
munication of  Motion,  by  Impact  and  Gravity."  It  was  read  at 
the  meeting  of  the  Royal  Societj^,  February''  26,  1778*. 

In  the  year  177^,  a  paper  "On  the  Precession  of  the  Equi- 
noxes produced  by  the  Sun's  Attraction,"  was,  through  the 


tarn.  Sit  cequatio  (A)  Xn  —  p  x""'  -fq  x°'^ 
—  &c.=0,  cujus  radices  sint  a,/3,  y,  8,  &c. 
quarum  a  major  nit  quam  /3,  ^  quam  y, 
&c.;  sint  ir,  p,  cr,  &c.,  radices  aquationis 
(B)  nx-'-(n-l)  px°-='  +  &c.  =  0,  in- 
ter a  et  ^,  ^  et  y,  &C.  respective  posita  ; 
turn,  si  h  el  m  eadein  habeant  signa,  in 
hoc  opere  probatur  radices  eequationis 
h  A+m  B=:0  inter  a  et  it,  ^  et  p,  &c., 
respective  positas  esse ;  si  vera  h  et  in 
diversa  habeant  signa,  turn  probatur  unam 
radicem  csqualionis  h  A+m  BzrO  ma- 
jorem  esse  quam  a ;  cceteras  vera  inter  tt 
et  ^,  p  et  y,  iX-C.  respective  poni  ;  si  vero 
h  et  m  eadem  habeant  signa,  turn  duas 
radices  csquationis  h  A+m  BxrrO  in- 
ter minimam  affinnativam  6  et  minimam 
7iegativam —i  data  aquationis  A=:0  po- 
ni, quarum  una  affirmativaf  altera  vero 


negativa  erit :  si  mode  detur  mutatio  sig- 
norum  de  +  m  —  ,  vel  —  in  +  a  penultimo 
ad  ultiimim  dates  eequationis  terminum  ; 
turn  affirmativam  radicem  inter  6  et  o, 
negativam  vero  inter— p.  et  —  \  poni  j  sin 
aliter,  turn  affirmativam  radicem  inter  6 
et  p,  et  negativam  inter  o  et — i  poni,  ubi 
u  sit  radix  eequationis  ux"''— (n— 1) 
px°"^+&c.=rO  inter  minimam  affirma- 
tivam et  minimam  negativam  data  eequa- 
tionis X"  —  p  x"'  +&c.=0  rarfice/n  jooij/a, 
qua:  erit  negativa  vel  affirmativa  prout 
detur  mutatio  signorum  de  +  in  — vel  —in 
-\- a  penultimo  ad  ultimum  datie  eequationis 
[terminum]  necne  ;  plura  consimilia  de 
hue  re  in  hoc  opere  cojitinentur." 

•  See    Transactions     of     the    lioyal 
Society  for  1778 


14  CHAP.  ir.    A.D.  1779—1780.     /ETAT.  29—30. 

same  Dr.  Shepherd,  communicated  by  Mr.  Mihier  to  the  Royal 
Society,  and  read  on  the  24th  of  June*. 

Intent,  however,  as  Mr.  Mihier's  mind  seems  at  this  period 
to  have  been,  upon  mathematical  science,  he  at  the  same  time, 
engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  chymical  knowledge  with  an  ardour 
which,  whatever  might  be  the  object  of  his  attention,  always 
characterized  him ;  and  wliich,  when  directed  to  this  science, 
speedily  placed  him  among  the  first  chymists  of  his  day.  It 
was  about  this  time,  that,  by  incautiously  inhaling  some  noxiousi 
gas,  he  laid  the  foundation  of  a  serious  pulmonary-  complaint, 
from  which  he  never  entirely  recovered.  During  many  subse- 
quent years,  he  confined  himself,  by  the  advice  of  his  physi- 
cians, to  a  milk  diet ;  and  although  at  length,  the  natural  strength 
of  his  constitution  so  far  prevailed  over  the  disease,  as  to  render 
needless  such  strict  attention  to  regimen,  the  wound  in  his  lungs 
was  never  completely  healed. 

On  the  15th  of  June,  in  the  year  1780,  Mr.  Milner  was 
elected  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society. 

At  this  'period  of  his  life,  before  his  originally  strong  consti- 
tution had  given  way  under  the  repeated  attacks  of  illness,  to 
which,  from  the  time  of  undergraduateship,  he  was  subject,  Mr. 
Milner  was  most  actively  engaged  in  the  pursuit  and  furtherance 
of  learning  and  science,  and  in  the  duties  which  devolved  upon 
him,  as  a  clerg^^man,  and  a  member  of  the  Universit}\  As  a 
clergyman,  he  was  indeed  unable  to  undertake  much  public  duty ; 
but  he  deeply  and  critically  studied  both  the  Scriptures  and  the 
WTitings  of  the  ancient  fathers  of  the  church;  thus  doubtless  laying 
the  foundation  of  that  sound  and  extensive  theological  knowledge, 
which  is  apparent  in  the  productions  of  his  later  life. 

In  this  year  he  filled  the  oftice  of  Moderator;  an  office  of 
great  importance,  and  demanding,  for  the  due  discharge  of  its 
duties,  much  active  exertion  f. 

In  the  year  1781-2,  it  fell  to  Mr.  Milner's  lot  to  hold  the 
office  of  Proctor;  and  by  his  firm,  yet  good-humoured,  discharge 


*    Seo     Transactions   of    the     Hiiij(d     liis    Anecdotes    of    his   own    Life,    thus 
Sociclij  for  1 77*>.  1  speaks  : 

+  Of  this  ofl'ice,  IJisliop  "Wutboii,  in  '      *'  I   look  iiijoii  tlio    ofllce   of  AFo- 


CHAP.  IT.     A.D.  1782.     /ETAT.  32. 


16 


of  his  duty,  he  contrived  to  escape  unpopularity,  even  under 
circumstances  the  most  Hkely  to  produce  it. 

In  17S2  he  read  pul)Uc  lectures  in  Chymistry.  A  Syllahus 
of  one  course  of  these  Lectures,  bearing  the  appropriate  motto, 
"Non  fingendum  aut  excogitandum,  sed  inveniendum  qviid  natura 
faciat  aut  ferat*,^'  was  published  at  Can>bridge  in  the  year  1784, 

It  may  here  be  mentioned,  that  in  the  midst  of  his  academical 
duties  and  pursuits,  Mr.  Milner  never  neglected  to  show  libe- 
rality and  kindness  even  to  the  most  distant  of  his  poor  relatives 
and  connexions,  both  at  Leeds  and  at  Hull.  This,  if  it  were 
ever  proper  to  publish  such  deeds  of  private  beneficence,  might 
be  proved  by  letters  still  in  existence.  Tliose,  hoM^ever,  who 
were  personally  acquainted  with  the  subject  of  this  Memoir, 
will  have  no  need  of  such  proof;  and  to  the  public  in  general, 
such  details  would  be  uninteresting. 

The  precise  period  of  the  commencement  of  the  intimate 
friendshij)  which  Mr.  Milner,  to  the  end  of  his  life,  maintained 
with  the  late  William  Wilberforce,  Esq.,  is  uncertain.  Their 
epistolary  correspondence  seems  to  have  begun  soon  after  Mr. 
Wilberforce  left  college.  Of  the  numerous  letters  which  remain, 
the  earliest  are  dated  1781,  or  1782;  but  some  of  these  letters 
obviously  refer  to  others  of  a  still  earlier  date. 

The  father  of  Mr.  Wilberforce  had  materially  contributed,  by 
the  exercise  of  his  influence  in  the  town  of  Hull,  to  establish 
Joseph  Milner,  as  the  Master  of  the  Grammar  School  in  that 
place ;  and  the  relationship  which  existed  between  the  family  of 
Wilberforce,  and  one  with  which,  by  the  marriage  of  his  niece, 
Mr.  Milner  was  subsequently  connected,  would  tend  to  cement 
yet  more  firmly,  the  friendship  already  established  between 
William  Wilberforce  and  Isaac  Milner. 

In  a  letter  addressed  to  Mr.  Wilberforce,  and  dated  "Queen's 
College,  March  11,  1782,"  Mr.  Milner  after  some  slight  obser- 


derator  to  be  the  most  difficult  to  exe- 
cute, and  the  most  important  to  the 
interest  of  the  University,  when  well 
executed,  of  any  that  there  is ;  not  ex- 
cei)ting  the  Professorship  of  Divinity 
itself."     If  tliis  remark  be  tliought  to 


exhibit  somewhat  of  that  disposition 
to  self-complacency  which  was  cer- 
tainly a  distinguishing  trait  in  Dr. 
Watson's  character,  it  is  not  on  that 
account  the  less  worthy  of  notice. 
'■'  Bacox. 


16  CHAP.  II.     A.D.  1782.     /ETAT.  :i2, 

rations  upon  tlie  "  tottering"  position  of  the  Prime  Minister, 
makes  some  remarks  upon  the  consequently  clouded  state  of  his 
own  prospects  in  life  ;  jocularly  adding,  "  A  chaplaincy  on  board 
a  man  of  war,  from  Keppel,  is  all  that  I  now  look  for.'"  Some 
inquiries  propounded  with  a  view  to  the  advantage  of  his  brother 
Joseph,  respecting  a  vacant  living  supposed  to  be  in  the  gift 
of  John  Thornton,  Esq.,  conclude  this  communication. 

Tlie  following  truly  excellent  letter  contains  but  a  very  slight 
allusion  to  Isaac  Milner ;  but  it  throws  so  much  light  upon  the 
character  and  religious  views  of  the  brother  for  whom  he  was 
anxious  to  obtain  preferment,  that  it  may  properly  be  admitted 
here : 

"To  THE  Reverend  James  Stillixgfleet*. 
*'Dear  Stilo,  "Hull,  October  4th,  1782. 

"  I  thank  you  for  yours,  and  indeed  generally  hear  from  you 
with  pleasure ;  and  the  more  serious  and  weighty  your  mood 
and  feelings  about  divine  things,  the  more  acceptable. 

"The  mind  that  is  in  Jesus  is  a  rare  mind  indeed.  It  is 
remarkable,  that  though  there  is  scarce  a  topic  of  Scripture  but 
is  niliblcd  at,  in  these  days  of  infidelity,  yet  you  don't  find  the 
hardiest  sceptics  middle  with  the  moral  character,  temper,  and 
conduct  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  a  tacit  confession  of  its  victori- 
ous excellence,  and  there  is  great  truth  in  an  assertion  of  a 
modern  publication  concerning  his  moral  character,  which  I  saw 
quoted  the  otlier  day,  to  this  efi'ect ;  '  that  it  was  not  'possible 
such  a  character  could  have  l>eeu  feigned.  It  must  have  been 
real :  it  proves  its  Divinity  by  its  own  light.' 

"  All  we  want  and  should  aim  at  (repentance  from  dead  works 
being  supposed)  is  reduced,  I  think,  to  these  two  particulars ; 
to  have  ^  grace  always  most  thankfully  to  receive  his  inestimable 
Ijenefit,  and  also  daily  to  endeavour  ourselves  to  follow  the  bles- 
sed steps  of  his  most  holy  life.'  Tlie  first  is  the  substratum. 
We  must  be  in  him;  and  quietly  and  confidently  in  him,  as 
our  wisdom,  righteousness,  sanctification,  and  redemption.  As 
we  have  it  not  in  our  nature  to  do  any  thing  good  to  procure 


Mr.    Stillingflcet    was   rector  of  Ilotliani,  iiud    one   of  tlic  most  intimate 
and  attached  friends  of  Isaac  Milner  and  lii«  brother  Joseph. 


CHAP.  II.     A.D.  17fi2.     yETAT.  32.  I7 

the  Divine  favour,  so,  thanks  be  to  God,  we  need  not.  All  is 
done  to  our  hand.  We  have  only  to  receive  eternal  life,  as  the 
inestimable  gift  worthy  of  infinite  liberality.  It  is  bad  mixin^^ 
foundation  and  building  together,  as  Owen  observes.  Sanctifica- 
tion  is  a  consequence  of  grace  rather  than  grace  itself.  I  use  the 
M'ord  grace,  in  its  strictest  and  most  Scriptural  sense,  as  the  gift 
of  eternal  life  in  Jesus  Christ.  The  fruits  of  the  Spirit  must  not 
be  made  use  of  to  get  peace  to  our  consciences,  that  is  to  say, 
relief  from  the  guilt  of  sin.  They  should  never  be  conceived  to 
exist  in  that  relation.  If  we  follow  the  mind  that  is  in  Jesus,  it 
is  an  obedience  of  love,  thanksgiving,  humility,  filial  reverence. 
It  is  not  an  obedience  of  selfish,  proud,  constrained,  service ;  no 
more  should  ours.  So  that  the  very  endeavour  to  follow  the 
blessed  steps  of  his  most  holy  life,  is  as  inimical  to  a  self-righte- 
ous spirit  as  possible.  How  shocking  then  that  we  should 
pervert  it  to  that  end !  You  will  pardon  my  constant  drift 
against  self-righteousness.  My  oAvn  experience  makes  it 
necessary  for  me  to  abound  in  such  meditations. 

"  Well,  my  dear  friend,  let  us  daily  begin  our  Christianitj^  in 
this  way.  Begin  with  Christ  as  ours  already  by  his  own  pre- 
cious donation,  grounding  our  title  purely  on  the  Word.  Then 
taking  a  good  heart  to  ourselves,  and  not  being  discouraged  at 
our  imperfections,  which  in  this  life  we  shaU  always  see  to  be 
very,  very,  very  great,  unless  the  Devil  deceive  us  with  an 
accursed  pride  indeed,  let  us  l^e  looking,  however,  constantly  at 
the  beautiful  copy  which  he  has  set  us ;  and  though  we  make 
poor  scribbling  work  of  it,  and  many  a  foul  blot,  yet  let  us 
write  on,  and  try  again  and  again  to  cut  our  strokes  cleaner  and 
cleaner.  If  we  go  on  thus,  using  in  proper  place  and  order, 
without  juml)ling  them  together,  the  tw-^o  parts  of  the  Collect, 
we  shall  do  well  enough,  and  sing  at  last,  O  be  joyful ! 

"Remember  me  kindly  to  Mrs.  Still. 

"  1  am  always  yours  affectionately, 

"Joseph  Milxer. 

"N.B.  My  1)rother  told  me,  before  he  returned  to  Camljridgc, 
that  he  had  tried  the  water,  found  an  earth  in  it,  but  no  metal  at 
all.  The  slates  he  has  done  nothing  with  here ;  but  as  he  most 
probably  took  them  with  him,  I  may  hear  afterwards  about  them." 

c 


18  CHAP.  II.     A.D.  17fi2.    /ETAT.  32. 

From  this  characteristic  letter,  -which,  it  siiould  be  observed, 
was  addressed  to  one  who  thoroughly  entered  into  the  rehgious 
A-iews  of  the  writer,  and  by  whom  therefore  his  meaning  would 
not  be  misunderstood,  it  appears,  that  Isaac  Milner  this  year 
passed,  according  to  his  usual  custom,  a  part  of  the  Cambridge 
long  vacation  with  his  mother  and  brother  at  Hxill. 

On  these  occasions  he  freqviently  assisted  his  brother  in  the 
duties  of  his  school ;  in  fact,  he  almost  resumed  his  former  cha- 
racter of  usher.  A  gentleman  still  living  well  remembers  his 
instructing  the  scholars,  particularly  in  the  use  of  the  globes ; 
and  relates,  that  "  he  was  a  great  favourite  vdth  the  boys — the 
delight  of  the  school — more  especially  from  his  playful,  kind 
manner,  and  very  clear  mode  of  explaining  things."  All  who,  at 
any  period  of  his  life,  knew  Dr.  Milner,  will  acknowledge  this 
account  of  him  to  be  strikingly  characteristic. 

In  the  following  year,  in  which  he  was  again  Moderator,  Mr. 
Milner  Avas  elected  to  the  Professorship  of  Natural  and  Kxperi- 
mental  Philosophy,  then  recently  founded  by  the  Reverend 
Richard  Jackson,  and  called,  in  consequence,  the  Jacksonian 
Professorship. 

He  now  gave,  and  continued  to  give  during  several  years, 
alternate  courses  of  Lectures,  in  Chymistry  and  Experimental 
Philosophy ;  sciences  for  which  he  retained  his  love,  throughout 
the  whole  of  his  subsequent  life. 

On  the  17th  of  February,  1783,  this  short  entry  appears  in 
the  published  diary  of  William  Willjcrforce,  Esq. :  "  Walked 
down  morning  to  House,  to  get  Milner  into  Gallerj'." 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter,  dated  "  Queen%  Feb. 
24th,"  Avill  probably  be  deemed  an  interesting  comment  upon 
this  apparently  unimportant  circumstance  : 

"  My  dear  Sir, 

"  I  was  much  oljligcd  to  Bankes  for  his  ])unctuality,  and  for 
introducing  me  into  the  gallery,  where  I  stayed  till  about  eleven 
o'clock. 

"In  point  of  eloquence,  I  think  Pitt  was  not  so  much  at 
liberty  as  usual;  which  only  sers'cs  to  convince  me  farther,  that 
ffood  sense  and  mailer  arc  rather  against  fluency  of  expression. 


CIIAr.  II.    A.D.  17a4.     yETAT.  34.  19 

"On  the  Avhole,  I  was  so  well  satisfied  with  what  he  said,  that  I 
was  the  less  sorry  at  being  obliged  to  retreat  before  he  answered 
tlie  ol)jections  ;  because  I  really  thought  that  he  had  fully  an- 
ticipated tlic  principal  of  them.  I  only  wish  and  liopc,  that  the 
article  concerning  wliat  the  Irish  arc  to  perform  on  their  part, 
will  not  he  frittered  away,  notwithstanding  what  Fox  says  about 
the  confidence  he  has  in  the  liberaUty  of  that  country.     *     * 

"  Yours  aflectionately, 

"  Isaac  Milner. 

"  To  miUam  Wilberforce,  Esq,'' 

In  the  year  1784,  Professor  Milner  assisted  several  gentlemen 
at  Cambridge  in  the  formation  of  a  literaiy  clul),  called,  '^'  Tlie 
Society  for  the  promotion  of  Philosophy  and  General  Literature." 

The  names  of  the  distinguished  men  M'ho,  on  the  18th  of 
February,  1 784,  enrolled  themselves  members  of  this  society, each 
of  them  engaging  to  furnish  occasionally  original  papers,  of  which 
a  selection  should  afterwards  be  printed,  will,  even  at  this  dis- 
tance of  time,  be  perused  by  academical  readers  with  interest. 
The  indi^dduals  hereafter  mentioned,  most  of  whom  are  still 
well  remembered  at  Cambridge,  composed  this  learned  body  : 
Dr.  Milner,  Archdeacon  Coxe,  Dr.  Jowett  (Professor  of  Civil 
Law),  Mr.  Carlyle  (Professor  of  Arabic),  Mr.  Atkinson,  Dr. 
Coulthurst,  and  Professor  Parish. 

These  gentlemen  soon  added  to  their  number,  Mr.  Pearce, 
Professor  Yince,  Sir  Busick  Harwood,  Mr.  Relhan,  Mr.  Jones, 
Professor  Person,  Mr.  Emperius,  Professor  Marty n,  Mr.  Popple, 
Mr.  Brundish,  Professor  Tennant,  Professor  WoUaston,  and 
Mr.  Ainslie. 

To  this  Society,  which,  for  want  of  adequate  support,  was 
dissolved  within  two  years  after  its  formation,  Mr.  Milner  con- 
tributed several  papers,  some  of  which  are  printed  in  the  Phi- 
losophical Transactions''^'. 

It  may  be  worth  while  to  observe,  that  this  list  of  members 


*  A  papev  on   "The   Tides,"  and 
one    on  "  Tlic   Jloon's  Apsides,"  ap- 


by  Dr.    Milner,  in  his  private  memo- 
randa of  a  much  later  date,  as  having 


jiarently   -written    for   the   Cambridge     been  printed.     They  have   not,  how- 
Philosophical  Society,  are  mentioned  \  ever,  been  discovered. 


C  2 


20  CIIAr.  II.    A.D.  17«1.     ;ETAT.  34. 

of  the  Cambridge  Philosophical  Society,  comprises  the  names  of 
most  of  the  academical  friends  with  whom  Dr.  ^lilner,  in  after 
life,  maintained  an  intimate  connexion.  Among  these  friends 
the  late  Dr.  Jowett  must  be  particularly  mentioned.  In  his 
company  Dr.  Milner,  from  the  time  of  his  undergratuateship, 
regularly  spent  two  evenings  in  every  week — Sunday  and 
Thursday.  These  meetings,  which,  at  first,  were  held  alternately 
at  their  respective  rooms,  took  place  in  later  years,  always  at 
Queen's  Lodge,  and  were  c(jutinued  till  Dr.  Jowett's  death. 

It  seemed  proper  to  make  some  mention,  in  this  place,  of 
this  long  and  Christian  friendship.  Further  notices  of  it  will 
appear  hereafter. 

During  this  part  of  Mr.  Milner's  academical  career,  his  va- 
cations were,  almost  invariably,  spent  with  his  brother,  at  Hull. 
To  the  frequent  intercourse  which  he  was  thus  enabled  to  enjoy 
with  that  excellent  relative,  may,  doubtless,  under  Providence, 
be  attriljuted  the  gradual  establishment  of  those  religious 
opinions,  which,  even  at  this  time,  he  had  begun  to  entertain. 

In  the  summer  of  the  year  1784,  Mr.  Wilberforce,  then  in 
the  hey-day  of  youth  and  spirits,  and  recently  elected  member 
of  parliament  for  Yorkshire,  visited  York,  for  the  purpose  of 
participating  in  the  gaieties  of  the  races.  While  there,  he  invited 
a  gentleman,  with  whom  he  was  intimately  acquainted,  to 
become  his  companion  in  a  continental  tour.  That  gentleman 
declined  the  invitation,  which  was,  ])y  letter,  sul)sequently  trans- 
ferred Ijy  Mr.  Wilberforce  to  his  friend,  Isaac  Milner,  whom,  on 
leaving  York,  he  had  met  at  Scarborough,  and  in  whose  com- 
pany he  had  there  spent  much  time.  The  solid  sense  and 
great  literary  attainments  of  Mr.  Milner,  would  naturally  re- 
commend him  to  his  friend  as  an  eligiljle  companion  in  a  tour 
on  the  Continent ;  but  the  idea  of  that  companionship  does  not 
appear  to  have  i)rcsented  itself,  for  the  first  time,  to  the  mind 
of  Mr.  AVil])erforcc,  on  occasion  of  tlic  meeting  at  Scarborough. 
His  grandfatlier,  at  least,  had  previously  made  a  declaration  in 
reference  to  this  subject,  in  terms  which  infer  a  strong  suspicion, 
that  reports,  even  at  that  time,  had  gone  forth,  respecting  the 
bias  of  Isaac  Milner's  mind  towards,  what  are  called,  evangelical 
sentiments.     "  Billy,"  said  he,  "  shall  travel  with  Milner,  as  soon 


CHAP.  II.     A.D.  17«4.    yETAT.  31. 


21 


as  he  is  of  age ;  but  if  Billy  turns  Methodist,  he  sliall  not  have 
a  sixpence  of  mine*." 

Mr.  Milner  was  very  desirous  to  accept  the  invitation  thus 
given ;  but  to  this  step  his  academical  engagements  presented 
many  obstacles.  Several  letters  passed  between  the  friends  pre- 
vious to  their  departure  for  the  Continent;  an  extract  from 
one  of  which  is  here  submitted  to  the  reader  : 


"Hull,  September  19,  1784, 
"My  dear  Sir,  "Friday  Mom. 

"  Upon  receiving  your  first  letter,  I  wrote  to  Carlisle,  to  my 
friend,  Mr.  Carlyle-j*,  to  get  him  to  read  College  Lectures  for 
me,  in  the  ensuing  winter,  as  I  understood,  that  he  intended  to 
reside  in  College.  I  have  not  yet  received  his  answer,  but  I 
have  little  doubt  of  succeeding.  I  wrote  to  the  Master  of 
Queen's^,  to  obtain  his  approbation  of  my  absence,  and,  till  I 
hear  from  him,  I  am  not  without  some  suspicion  of  objection 
on  his  part,  arising  from  his  verj'^  severe  notions  of  regularity 
and  form,  which  notions  are  both  natural  to  him,  and  have  been 
rivetted  by  age.     He  is,  however,  a  very  worthy  man. 

"  In  my  letter  to  you,  I  mentioned  that  I  was  unluckily 
engaged  to  be  Moderator  the  next  year — in  doing  which,  I  assure 
you,  I  was  far  from  meaning  to  refer  to  any  relinquishment  of 
profit  arising  from  that  office,  (which  is  but  al)out  50/.  for  the 
year,)  biit  solely  and  entirely  to  the  inconvenience  to  which  I 
might  put  Mr.  Johnson  of  King's  Coll.  He  is  a  gentleman  I  am 
not  at  all  acquainted  with.  Johnson  is  to  be  Proctor  next  year. 
The  Proctor  always  procures  the  Moderator,  and,  I  apprehend, 
there  may  be  considerable  difficulty  to  find  and  settle  with 
another  person,  when  there  is  so  little  time  before  the  10th 
of  October,  and  when  everybody  is  dispersed  throughout  the 
countr)'. 

"  However,  as  the  proljability  is  now  very  much  against  the 
foreign  tour,  I  will  thank  you  to  give  me  a  single  line  the  mo- 


*  Life   of  Mr.    Wilbcrforcc,    by  liis 
Sons.     Vol.  I. 

-f  Afterwards   Trofcssor  of  Arabic 


in  the  University  of  Canibriilge. 
X  Dr.  riuniptrc. 


22  CFIAP.  IT.     A.D.  17fi4.     JET  AT.  34. 

ment  you  have  positively  determined,  in  order  that  I  may  •wTite 
to  Johnson  immediately;  for  though  the  relinquishment  of  even 
considerable  matters,  would,  I  trust,  never  he  of  any  weight  when 
I  can  ol)lige  you,  and  of  course,  myself,  essentially,  yet,  as  I  re- 
side in  the  Universit}',  I  may  as  well  have  the  office  in  question 
next  year,  if  possi1:>le  ;  especially  as  I  don't  think  its  profits  will 
be  found  an  inconvenience  to  me,  when  the  bills  come  in  for 
electrical  apparatus,  air-pumps,  furnaces,  crucibles,  &c. 

''  Seymour  will  gravely  tell  you,  that  the  alchymists,  notwith- 
standing their  pretences,  were  always  poor." 

>;;  ;!;  IK  *  *  * 

Here  follows  a  passage  referring  solely  to  the  family  affairs 
of  Mr.  Wilberforce. 

The  letter  concludes  thus  : 

"  I  endeavour  to  flatter  myself  Avith  a  hope  that  something 
or  other  will  some  time  happen,  that  may  aft'ord  us  more  fre- 
quent and  tranquil  opportunities  of  conversation. — At  least,  as 
TuUy  says,  on  another  occasion,  '  Nunc  quidem  certe  cogitatione 
quadam  spcque  delector. 

"  I  am,  dear  Sir,  very  much  yours, 

"Isaac  Milner. 
"  To  WiUiam  Wilberforce,  Esq.'' 

The  foregoing  letter  is  valuable,  not  only  as  throwing  light 
upon  Mr.  Milner^s  plans  and  prospects  at  the  time,  but  as  afford- 
ing a  contrast  to  his  later  letters  to  the  same  friend.  It  is  per- 
fectly friendly  in  its  tone,  but  it  does  not  exhibit  either  the 
warmth  of  affection,  or  the  sympathy  in  religious  opinion  and 
feeling,  M'hich,  as  the  intimacy  between  these  correspondents 
becomes  closer,  is  gradually  more  and  more  apparent  in  the 
subsequent  letters. 

The  obstacles  whicli  stood  in  the  way  of  tlic  continental  ex- 
cursion were,  subsequently,  removed  or  overcome.  Mr.  Milner 
accepted  liis  friend's  invitation,  and  the  ])arty,  consisting  of  Mr. 
Wilberforce,  his  niotlicr  and  sister,  two  or  three  other  ladies, 
and  Mr.  Milner,  set  forth  on  their  journey  towards  France,  on 
the  20th  day  f)f  Oct()l)er,  1781,  one  carriage  l)eing  occupied  by 
Mr.  Wilberforce  and  his  friend,  tlie  otlier  l)y  the  ladies. 


CllAP.  il.    A.l).  17«4.     /1:TAT.  34.  23 

Dr.  Milner,  like  Dr.  Johnson,  was,  perhaps,  not  gifted  with  a 
very  vivid  perception  of  the  beauties  of  natural  scenery :  yet  he 
used  occasionally,  in  after  life,  to  speak  of  the  delicious  voyage 
down  the  Rhone  to  Avignon  ;  and  still  more  frequently  of  the 
exquisitely  lovely  situation  of  the  house  at  Nice,  in  which  the 
party  established  themselves, — a  house  close  to  the  Mediterra- 
nean, and  emljosomed  in  a  grove  of  orange  trees. 

The  life  and  bustle  of  Marseilles, — a  city  upon  whose  quays 
men  of  all  nations  and  languages  meet  together, — had,  also,  for- 
cibly struck  him ;  and  a  picture  which  he  had  there  seen,  by 
whom  i^ainted  I  know  not,  representing  a  scene  during  the 
plague  with  which  the  city  was  visited,  in  the  year  1720,  and  the 
exertions  of  "Marseilles'  good  Bishop,"  during  that  dreadful 
calamity,  had  left  a  deep  impression  upon  his  imagination. 

At  Nice,  the  party  entered  freely  into  the  English  society 
which  the  place  afforded,  and  which  was  composed,  for  the  most 
part,  of  persons  of  high  rank.  Among  other  distinguished  indi- 
viduals, the  Duke  of  Gloucester  was  there,  with  his  children. 
Prince  William*,  and  the  Princess  Sophia ;  who,  like  all  other 
young  persons  who  knew  him,  were  attracted  by  Mr.  Milner's 
child-lo\'ing  disposition ;  while  he,  on  his  part,  in  the  simplicity 
of  his  character,  was  accustomed  to  caress  them,  or  to  amuse 
them  with  his  sprightly  talk,  with  as  much  freedom  as  he  would 
have  used  towards  any  other  children. 

Tlie  account  given  l)y  Mr.  Wilberforce -f*  of  this  memorable 
visit  to  Nice — memorable  surely,  on  account  of  the  important 
change  which,  under  Providence,  it  was  the  means  of  effecting 
in  the  religious  sentiments  of  that  excellent  and  celebrated  man, 
throws  considerable  light  upon  the  character  of  Isaac  Milner. 
Affectation  of  every  kind,  and  most  especially,  religious  affecta- 
tion he  abhorred ;  and  it  might  be,  that  this  hatred,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  his  naturally  vivacious  and  cheerful  temperament,  oc- 
casionally, or  even  frequently,  induced  him,  at  this  early  period 
of  his  life,  to  participate  in  diversions,  and  to  accommodate  him- 
self to  practices,  which  his  judgment  might  not  entirely  approve; 


*  Aft crwanls  Chancellor  of  the  Uiii-  I      t  Life  of  Mr.  IV Uboforcc,  hy    his 
versity  of  Cambridge.  I  Sons.    Vol.  I. 


24  CHAr.  II.     A.D.  1784.     jETAT.  34. 

and  he  therefore,  probably,  "appeared"  to  most  persons,  "m 
all  respects  like  an  ordinar)-  man  of  the  world."  It  is,  however, 
certain,  that  the  religious  principles  which  actuated  him  to  the 
end  of  his  life,  had,  even  at  this  time,  taken  deep  root  in  his 
mind ;  and  this  fact  Mr.  Wilberforcc  had  discoA'ered  before  they 
became  fellow-travellers,  although  happily  for  himself  and  the 
world,  not  till  after  the  invitiition  had  been  given  and  accepted. 

At  a  pul)lic  table  at  Scarborough,  the  conversation  had  turned 
upon  the  character  of  a  particular  clerg}^man ;  "  and  I,"  says  Mr. 
Wilberforce,  "  spoke  of  him  as  a  good  man,  l)ut  one  who  carried 
things  too  far.  '  Not  a  bit  too  far,'  said  Milner ;  and  to  this 
opinion  he  adhered,  when  we  renewed  the  conversation,  in  the 
evening,  on  the  sands.  This  declaration  greatly  surprised  me ; 
and  it  was  agreed,  that,  at  some  future  time,  we  should  talk  the 
matter  over.  Had  1  known,  at  first,  Avhat  his  opinions  were,  it 
would  have  decided  me  against  making  him  the  offer.  So  true 
is  it,  that  a  gracious  Hand  leads  us  in  ways  that  we  know  not, 
and  blesses  us,  not  only  without,  but  even  against,  our  plans  and 
inclinations." 

Another  circumstance,  mentioned  l)y  Mr.  Wilberforce,  as 
having  occurred  just  before  the  journey  to  Nice,  distinctly  shows 
the  nature  of  the  religious  views  which  Mr.  Milner  at  this  time 
entertained.  Mr.  A^'ill)erforce  accidentally  met  with  a  volume 
of  the  works  of  Doddridge — his  Rise  and  Progress  of  Religion 
in  the  Soul — and,  casting  over  it  a  cursory  glance,  asked  his 
friend  Milner,  what  sort  of  a  book  it  was.  "  It  is  one  of  the 
best  books  ever  written,"  was  the  answer  which  he  received ; 
"  let  us  take  it  with  us,  and  read  it  on  our  journey."  They  did 
so ;  and  the  discussions  wliich  arose  respecting  it,  Avere  produc- 
tive, so  far  as  Mr.  Will^erforce  was  concerned,  of  the  happiest 
consequences. 

This  was  not  the  only  journey  in  which  Mr.  Milner  was  the 
sole  companion  of  Mr.  Wilberforce.  The  latter  gentleman 
being  recalled  to  Kngland  by  the  duties  of  his  station  as  a 
Member  of  Parliament,  and  the  former  holding,  for  the  third 
time,  tlic  oOicc  of  Modcriitor  in  llio  University,  they  returned 
home  togctlier;  the  ladies  of  llie  party  remaining  at  Nice.  This 
return  to  England  took  place  late  in  January,  17^^;  over  roads 


CHAP.  II.     A.D.   1781.     ^TAT.  34.  25 

buried  in  snow.  Of  tlie  sudden  transition  from  the  compara- 
tive summer  which  they  had  left  at  Nice,  to  very  severe  cold. 
Dr.  Milner  frequently  spoke  in  after  life ;  explaining  the  causes 
which  render  the  climate  of  Nice  much  milder  than  could 
be  expected  from  the  mere  consideration  of  its  latitude ;  and 
consequently,  highly  favoural)le,  at  certain  periods  of  the  year, 
to  persons  affected  with,  or  threatened  by,  diseases  of  the 
lungs. 

During  this  journey,  the  travellers  were  once,  in  danger  of 
instant  destruction  ;  the  weight  of  their  carriage  having  over- 
powered the  horses,  when  on  the  ver}-  1)rink  of  a  precipice. 
The  danger  was,  however,  averted  1)y  the  timely  exertions  of 
Mr.  Milner,  who  being  possessed  of  great  personal  strength, 
arrested  the  descent  of  the  carriage  in  the  moment  of  peril. 

On  this  occasion,  Mr.  ^lilner  was,  probaljly,  not  accountable 
for  the  great  weight  of  his  friend's  carriage :  but  it  was  one  of 
the  little  peculiarities  by  which  Doctor  Milner  was  afterwards 
distinguished,  that,  travel  where  he  might,  his  carriage  was 
always  of  an  extraordinar)-  weight.  This  Avas  in  a  great  measure 
occasioned  by  his  invariably  carrying  "about,  with  him  an  assort- 
ment which,  to  most  persons,  appeared  uselessly  large,  of  imple- 
ments of  a  heavy  kind — such  as  scissars  of  various  sizes,  pincers, 
files,  penknives,  razors,  and  even  hammers.  The  boxes  adapted 
to  different  parts  of  his  carriage — and  they  were  xery  numerous 
— A\ere  laden  with  such  things  ;  and  many  a  good-humoured  jest 
did  he  bestow  upon  the  masters  of  the  different  inns  at  Mhich, 
during  his  frequent  journeys,  he  Avas  accustomed  to  rest,  by  Avay 
of  reconciling  them  to  the  extra  weight  thus  occasioned. 

On  the  7th  of  July  in  the  same  year,  Mr.  Wilberforce  and 
Mr.  Milner  set  out  together  on  their  return  to  the  Continent, 
and  joroceeded  to  Genoa,  whither,  in  tlie  mean  time,  the  ladies 
of  their  part}-  had  removed.  They  travelled  alone,  as  before ; 
and  their  conversation  again  turned,  with  increased  seriousness, 
upon  religious  topics.  Tliey  read  together  tlie  Greek  Testament 
— Mr.  Milner  sedulously  explaining  tojiis  friend,  /«5  views  of  the 
doctrines  therein  laid  doAvn ;  "until,"  says  Mr.  Wilberforce, 
"  by  degrees  I  imbibed  his  sentiments."  *  *  *  *  * 
*     *     *     «  Milner,  though  full  of  levity  on  all  other  subjects. 


26 


CHAP.  II.    A.D.  17fl5.     yETAT.  35. 


never  spoke  on  this,  but  with  the  utmost  seriousness ;  and  all 
he  said  tended  to  increase  my  attention  to  religion*." 

During  a  tour  in  Switzerland,  the  friends  met,  at  Zurich,  the 
celebrated  Lavater — a  man  who  made  a  very  favourable  impres- 
sion upon  Mr.  Milner's  mind.  Superstitious  and  mystical  he 
was,  no  doubt — as  a  story,  told  to  tlie  travellers  by  himself,  and 
related  at  length  in  the  Life  of  Mr,  Wilberforce,  abundantly 
proves. 

Of  this  stor}^,  the  following  slight  outline  was  frequently 
given  by  Dr.  Milner : 

Being  urgently  pressed  by  a  friend  in  distress  to  lend  him  a 
certain  sum  of  money,  Lavater  at  length,  very  reluctantly,  con- 
sented to  advance  it  from  the  funds  of  some  charity  of  which 
he  Avas  treasurer.  This  done,  he  felt,  as  was  natural,  extremely 
dissatisfied  with  the  course  he  had  adopted;  and,  on  finding  that 
his  friend,  contrar}-  to  his  (Lavater's)  confident  expectations, 
could  not  repay  him,  he  prayed  earnestly,  that  some  mode  might 
present  itself,  by  which  he  might  be  saved  from  casting  disgrace 
upon  his  religious  profession,  l)y  ap2')arent  dishonesty.  Having 
arisen  from  his  knees,  he  began,  with  nervous  anxiety,  to  search 
every  closet  and  drawer  which  his  dwelling  contained,  and  while 
thus  occupied,  found,  to  his  great  amazement,  a  small  paper 
parcel  containing  the  precise  sum  of  which  he  stood  in  need  ! 
This  occurrence  he  regarded  as  a  special  answer  to  his  prayer. 

Mr.  Milner  subsequently  endeavoured,  by  letter,  to  reclaim 
Lavater,  whose  simplicity  and  warmth  of  heart  had  greatly  won 
upon  his  affections,  from  his  mystical  opinions ;  but, — if  we 
may  judge  from  the  following  reply  of  the  Smss  physiognomist, 
which,  however,  discovers  mucli  real  and  simple  piety, — without 
much  success. 

Letter  from  Lavater  to  Mr.  Milner. 

"  J'ai  reij'u,  cher  Millnerf,  votre  lettrc — ct  je  repond  imme- 
diatement,  seh)n  ma  fa(;on,  mon  temps,  et  les  circonstances, — 
tres  court. 


*    f,ifr  of  Afr.   WillicrfdiCf. 

t  Tliia  letter  is  trauscribcd  without 


any   cliaii^'c   of    (trlliograpliy,  accent, 
puuctuution,  &.C. 


CHAP.  II.    A.D.  17«5.     yiLTAT.  35,  27 

"1.  Toute  la  Bil)lc,  d'un  bout  u  I'autre,  recommendc  la 
priere  positife,  et  promet — exauditiones.  On  ne  pas  croit  la 
Bible,  si  on  ne  croit  pas  cela. 

"  2.  Tous  les  hommcs  sont  enfans  de  Dieu — ont  les  memos 
devoirs,  et  les  memes  droits.  Unus  Dominus  omnium,  satis 
dives,  et  sufficiens  onniibus. 

"3.  Les  Aputres  ne  reconnoissent  pas  aucun  autre  Saint 
Esprit  que  celui  qu'ils  avoient  eux-memes.  lis  promettent 
CELui  a  tous  les  enfans  d'Abraham,  dans  les  terns  les  plus 
cloiyms. 

"  4.  Tout  ce  que  Dieu  opere,  est  surnaturel  pour  nous,  naturel 
pour  Jul. 

"5.  L'image  de  Dieu,  regne  comme  lui,  sur  toutes  choses. 
Tout  est  a  vous,  dit  St.  Paul.  Nous  sommes  de  sa  race.  II 
pent  tout,  par  I'homrae  qui  croit. 

"6.  Clierchez,  trouvez,  s'il  est  possible,  un  seul  passage, 
oil  il  est  dit,  ^Les  promesses  faites  aux  Apotres  et  premiers 
Chretiens,  ne  regardent  qu'eux.  Nous,  ne  sommes  nous  pas 
baptizes  sur  le  meme  Nom  ?  Nous,  ne  celebrons  nous  pas  la 
meme  Sainte  Cene  ?    Unus  Dominus,  Una  Fides. 

"  7'  Lisez  simplement — comme  si  vous  lisiez  la  premiere  fois 
I'Evangile — Vous  verrez — et  n'oubliez  pas  ce  que  je  vous  ai 
racontc. 

"  La  Grace  soit  avec  vous, 

"J.  Gaspar  Lavater." 

The  permanent  effect  -which,  under  Providence,  was  pro- 
duced upon  the  mind  of  Mr.  Wilberforce  during  these  journeys, 
renders  them  so  important,  that  it  may  be  allowable  here  to 
quote  the  account  given  of  them  by  the  late  Rev.  Thomas  Scott: 

"In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1784,  and  again  in  1785," 
says  Mr.  Scott,  "  Mr.  Wilberforce  travelled  on  the  Continent 
with  a  party  of  friends.  The  late  Dean  of  Carlisle,  Dr.  Isaac 
Milner,  was  his  companion  in  the  same  carriage ;  and  on  tlicse 
occasions  these  highly-gifted  friends  discussed  together  various 
interesting  topics.  Religion  was  of  the  numl^er ;  and  Mr.  '\\i\- 
berforce  having,  on  one  occasion,  expressed  respect  for  a  pious 


28  CHAr.  II.    A.D.  17C5.    ^ETAT.  35. 

clerg)-man,  but  having  added  that  ^he  carried  things  too  far/ 
liis  friend  pressed  him  on  this  point.  'What  did  he  mean/ 
asked  Mihier,  'by  carrying  things  too  far,  or  l)eing  too  strict? 
On  what  ground  did  he  pronounce  this  to  be  the  case  ?  When 
we  talked  of  too  far,  some  standard  must  necessarily  be  re- 
ferred to.  AVas  the  standard  of  Scripture  exceeded  ?  or  could 
any  other  standard  be  satisfactorily  adopted  and  maintained  ? 
Perhaps  it  would  not  easily  be  shoAvn  that,  where  things  were 
carried,  as  it  was  alleged,  too  far,  they  were  carried  beyond 
the  rules  of  Scripture,  although  tliey  might  be  carried  beyond 
what  was  usually  practised  and  approved  among  men.' 

" Mr.  Wilberforce,  Mhen  thus  pressed  hy  his  friend,  endea- 
voured to  explain  and  defend  his  position,  as  well  as  he  could ; 
but  he  was  dissatisfied  with  what  he  had  to  offer :  in  short,  he 
felt  that  his  own  notions  upon  the  subject,  were  vague  and  un- 
tenable. A  lodgment  was  thus  made  in  his  conscience :  matter 
for  serious  thinking  was  suggested,  and  his  thoughts  could  find 
no  rest  till  they  found  it  from  the  Word  of  God,  and  the  adop- 
tion of  a  Scriptural  standard,  by  which  to  form  all  his  judgments, 
and  regulate  all  his  conduct." 

From  this  period  Air.  Milner  maintained  a  frequent  corres- 
pondence with  this  excellent  friend  upon  religious  topics ;  and 
was  thus,  under  Providence,  instrumental  in  confirming  him  in 
those  views  of  the  great  doctrines  of  Christianity,  to  which  Mr. 
Wilberforce  adhered  to  the  end  of  his  life,  and  of  which  he 
became  so  useful  and  so  disthiguished  an  advocate. 

Soon  after  his  return  from  abroad,  Mr.  Milner  was  attacked 
by  a  disease  of  the  lungs,  which  threatened  to  disable  him  from 
delivering  his  usual  covirse  of  lectures,  as  Jacksonian  Professor. 
"\A'ith  reference  to  this  sul)ject,  he  thus,  with  much  warmth  of 
affection,  writes  to  Mr.  Wilberforce  : 

"  I  am  ]iarticularly  unhappy,  that  your  desire  of  a  letter  from 
me  should  have  arrived  t()-(kiy.  *  *  *  *  *  J  j^u-,  very 
sorry  that  I  said  so  imuli  aljoiit  myself,  because  I  know  it  will 
dwell  oil  your  miiul,  and,  if  you  are  like  nic,  the  more  so,  because 
we  are  absent  from  each  other.  Things  are  mai:;nified  l)y  dis- 
tance.    I  almost  wish  I  liad  never  opened  on  the  suljject  of  my 


CHAP.  II.     A.D.  17«5.     yETAT.  3o.  29 

feelings. — In  our  first  journey,  I  liad  many  a  head-ache,  and  what 
is  worse,  heart-ache,  in  silence;  but  we  closed  so  by  degrees,  that 
there  appeared  a  sort  of  unfriendliness  in  concealment.  *  * 
If  I  had  written  to  you  yesterday,  I  should  have  given  a  better 
account. — I  am  very  sorry. — I  know  this  will  hurt  you. 

"  The  misfortune  is,  this  lousiness  of  mine  must  either  go  on, 
or  stop  entirely.  There  is  no  sort  of  provision. — My  professor- 
ship is  absolutely  void  if  I  do  not  go  through  the  course.  Don't 
let  this  account  bring  you  here. — I  should  be  more  hurt ;  and  I 
have  not  a  moment  to  spare. 

"  God  bless  you,  my  dear  friend." 

The  remainder  of  this  very  affectionate  letter  has  reference 
to  the  continued  illness  of  a  lady  M'ho  had  been  one  of  the  con- 
tinental party ;  and  is  chiefly  interesting  as  aflfording  an  instance 
of  the  extreme  clearness  and  perspicuity  which  constantly 
characterized  the  conceptions  and  statements  of  Mr.  Milner, 
whatever  might  be  the  subject  which  happened  to  engage 
his  attention.  After  suggesting  a  list  of  questions  respecting 
the  case  in  question,  as  apposite  and  as  distinctly  put  as  they 
could  have  been  if  proposed  by  a  physician,  Mr.  Milner  thus 
proceeds : 

"  I  have  a  great  regard  for ,  and  am  concerned 

at  the  inclosed  account.  Certainly  there  can  be  no  harm  in 
writing  to  Tissot.  I  dare  say  he  will  remember  the  case — pi'o- 
bably  he  keei^s  a  register  of  cases.  I  have  a  very  good  opinion 
of  him ;  but  I  have  no  idea,  that  as  good  advice  is  not  to  be  had 
in  England.  Probal>ly  her  case  will  prove  obstinate,  which  is  a 
stronger  reason  for  l^eginning  with  English  advice. 

"Ever  your  I.  M." 

Mr.  Milner,  during  his  residence  abroad,  had  himself  con- 
sulted Tissot ;  who,  from  the  elaborate  opinion  which  he  wrote, 
seems  to  have  paid  very  great  attention  to  his  case.  He  attri- 
butes mucli  of  Mr.  Milner's  ill-health  to  "  nn  travail  sontemi  de 
la  tele ;"  and  expresses  his  hope,  that  by  means  of  "  I'exercise 


30  CHAP.  II.    A.D.  1780.    /ETAT.  35. 

en  plein  air,  les  eaiix  de  Spa,  ensuite  les  eaux  de  PjTmont,  et  les 
l)ains  froids,"  Lis  patient  "peut  Acnir  a  jouir  de  la  plus  parfaite 
sante." 

He  concludes  thus:  "Je  ne  conseille  aucun  remede  pharma- 
tiquc. 

"7  Oui*,  11S5.  TissoT." 


Thus  spelled  in  the  manuscript  opiuiou. 


31 


CHAl^ER  III. 


^fr.  Milner  takes  his  degree  of  B.D. — ri-ofessor  Smyth's  Recollections  of  his 
Diviuity  Act. — Bishop  Watson's  account  of  the  same  Act. — Recollections 
of  Mr.  Milner  as  a  Lecturer. — Dr.  Maskelyne. — CoiTespondcnce. — Mr. 
Milner,  as  Jacksonian  Professor,  endeavours  to  obtain  from  the  Crown, 
an  annual  stipend  in  support  of  the  Science  of  ChjTnistry. — Bishop  of 
Llandaft". — 'Mr.  Milner's  mode  of  life  as  a  Lecturer. — Accident  and  illness. 
— Visits  his  brother  at  Hull. — Board  of  Longitude. — Attempt  to  alter  its 
Constitution. — Enei-gy  of  Mr.  !Milncr. — Visit  to  London. — Chymical 
Pursuits. — Letter  from  Dr.  Priestley. — Visit  to  Rayrigg,  in  Westmore- 
land.— :Mode  of  life  there. — Conversational  powers. — Visit  to  Hull. 

A.D.  178G.     .^TAT  3G. 

Mr.  Milxer  took  his  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Divinity  in  the 
summer  of  the  year  1786  ;  which  year  was  distinguished  in  his 
academical  career,  by  the  splendid  Divinity  Act  which  he  kept 
against  the  late  Dr.  Coulthurst*.  Of  this  Act,  which  was 
rendered  memorable  by  the  superior  powers  of  both  the  dis- 
putants, I  have  been  favoured  by  an  eye  and  ear  witnessf^  with 
the  following  recollections : 

"  Dr.  Milner  was  always  considered  as  one  of  the  first  men 
of  talents  in  the  place,  during  all  the  time  I  have  known  the 
University,  and  his  Act,  I  remember  when  I  was  an  Under- 
graduate, excited  the  greatest  interest. 

"  Dr.  Coulthurst,  on  account  of  his  talents  also,  M'as  selected 
to  be  his  opponent. 

"  Tlie  subject  was  *  Paulus  Apostolus,  de  fide  et  operibus  dis- 
serens  nee  sibi,  ncc  aliis  apostolis,  nee  rectce  rationi  contradicit.' 

"  So  that  the  disputation  turned  on  the  nature  of  Faith  and 
Works  ;  and  I  remember  very  well  the  Bishop  of  LandafFJ  say- 
ing, '  Non  necesse  est  descendere  in  arenam.  Arcades  enim 
am  bo  estis,' — which  we  all  thought  a  well-turned  and  well- 
merited  compliment  paid  to  such  distinguished  men.'^ 


*   Dr.      Co\dthurst     was    second 
Wrangler  in  the  year  1775. 

•j-  AVilliam  Smyth,  Esq.,  Professor 
of  Modern  History  in  the  University 


of  Cambridge. 

J  Dr.  Watson,  then    Professor   of 
Divinity  at  Cambridge. 


32  CHAP.  III.     A.D.  178C.     JETAT.  3G. 

Bishop  Watson  gives  a  strong  incidental  testimony  to  the 
surpassing  excellence  of  this  Act,  in  his  Anecdotes  of  his  own 
Life.  After  speaking  of  the  usefulness  and  importance  of  scho- 
lastic disjiutations,  he  proceeds  thus :  "  An  evil  custom  has, 
within  these  last  few  years,  been  introduced  into  the  University: 
*  *  *  it  is  the  custom  of  dining  late.  When  I  was  ad- 
mitted, and  for  many  years  after,  every  college  dined  at  twelve 
o'clock,  and  the  students  after  dinner  flocked  to  the  philoso- 
phical disjiutations,  which  began  at  two.  If  the  schools,  either 
of  philosophy  or  divinity,  shall  ever  be  generally  destitute  of  an 
audience,  there  will  be  an  end  of  all  scholastic  exertion.  I  re- 
member having  seen  the  Divinity  Schools  (when  the  best  Act,  by 
Coulthurst  and  Milner — Arcades  umbo — was  keeping,  that  I  ever 
presided  at,  and  which  might  justly  be  called  a  real  academic 
entertainment)  filled  with  auditors  from  the  top  to  the  bottom ; 
but  as  soon  as  the  clock  struck  three,  a  number  of  masters  of 
arts,  ])elonging  to  colleges  which  dined  at  three,  slunk  away 
from  this  intellectual  feast ;  and  they  Avere  followed,  as  might 
have  been  expected,  by  many  under-graduates, — I  say  as  might 
have  been  expected ;  for  in  all  seminaries  of  education,  relaxa- 
tion of  discipline  l^egins  with  the  seniors  of  the  society." 

Wliatever  may  be  thought  of  the  correctness  of  Dr.  Wat- 
son's opinions  concerning  the  utility  of  disputations  in  the 
schools,  his  testimony  thus  incidentally  given  to  the  excellence 
of  the  Act  of  Coulthurst  and  Milner,  is  unquestionably  valuable. 

During  this  year,  and  the  six  following  years,  Mr.  Milner 
continued  to  read  alternate  courses  of  philosophical  and  clie- 
mical  lectures.  Witli  reference  to  these  lectures,  Professor 
Smyth  thus  s]-)eaks  : — 

"  Dr.  Milner  was  always  considered  as  a  very  capital 
lecturer.  The  chemical  lectures  were  always  well  attended; 
and  what  with  Jiiin,  and  what  with  his  German  assistant,  Hoff- 
man, the  audience  was  always  in  a  higli  state  of  interest  and 
entertainment." 

Tlie  greater  part  of  the  long  vacation  of  this  year  was  passed 
l)y  Mr.  Mihier,  as  usual,  at  the  house  of  liis  l)rother,  at  IIuH. 

Among  tbc  friends  Avith  Avliom,  at  this  period  of  liis  hfe, 
he    maintained   u  frequent  epistolary  intercourse,  was  the  late 


CHAP.  III.     A.D.  1787.     /ETAT.  37.  33 

Dr.  Maskelyne,  the  Astronomer  Royal.  Letters  treating  almost 
exclusively  of  astronomical  topics  contain,  of  course,  but  little 
of  general  interest;  yet  a  brief  postscript  to  one  from  Dr.  Maske- 
lyneto  Mr.  Milner,  dated  "  Greenwich,  Nov.  1,  1786,"  may  be 
admitted.  "  I  have  given,"  writes  Dr.  Maskelyne,  "  a  paper, 
now  printed,  to  the  Royal  Society,  about  the  return  in  the 
autumn  of  the  year  1788,  with  great  southern  declination,  of  tlie 
Comet  of  1532  and  16G1."  *  *  *  *  "  I  take  this  opportunity 
to  mention,  that  as  I  read  your  valuable  paper  on  the  '  Preces- 
sion of  the  Equinoxes'  with  much  pleasure,  so  I  am  satisfied  of 
the  truth  of  your  theory,  having  proved  it  from  my  own  separate 
investigation.  What  then  are  we  to  think  of  D'Alembert's  labo- 
rious book  and  methods  which  lead  to  a  contrary  conclusion?" 

In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1787?  Mr.  Milner,  as  Jackso- 
nian  Professor,  was  anxious,  in  consideration  of  "  the  xery  con- 
siderable onus  imposed  by  the  founder,  and  the  expensive  nature 
of  the  lecture,"  to  olitain  from  the  Crown  an  annual  stipend,  in 
addition  to  that  already  enjoyed  under  Dr.  Jackson's  will,  in 
support  of  the  science  of  Chymistry.  Dr.  Watson,  Bishop  of 
LlandafF,  and  Mr.  Mihier's  own  chymical  tutor,  appeared  a 
likely  person  to  further  his  A^ews;  and,  in  company  with  Mr. 
Wilberforce,  he  waited  upon  the  bishop,  by  appointment,  at  his 
house  in  London,  to  discuss  the  subject.  This  visit  was  paid  at 
aliout  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening;  and,  on  their  way,  the  friends 
had  jestingly  speculated  upon  the  probable  nature  of  the  occu- 
pation in  which  they  might  find  his  Lordship  engaged.  They 
were  admitted,  and  found  the  prelate  reading  St.  Augustine. 
Those  who  believe  that  Bishop  Watson  was  a  thorough  actor, 
will,  perhaps,  suspect  that  the  ponderous  folio  was  a  part  of  the 
preparation  made  for  the  expected  visitors;  and  his  Lordship's 
remark  at  their  entrance,  "  There  are  not  many  of  the  Bench 
whom  you  would  find  thus  engaged  at  this  hour  of  the  night," 
might  seem  to  favour  such  a  suspicion.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the 
bishop  appeared  friendly  to  the  plan  submitted  to  his  consider- 
ation, and  Mr.  Milner,  subsequently,  made  his  appUcation  to 
the  King. 

A  peculiar  consistency,  certainly,  pervaded  the  character  of 
the  subject  of  this  Memoir.     Li  youth  and  \\\  age  he  was  the 


34  CHAP.  III.    A.D.  1787.     ^TAT.  37. 

same  man.  Of  this  consistency  of  cliaracter  the  memorial  which, 
on  this  occasion,  he  addressed  to  the  Crown,  affords  an  instance. 
T\\e  same  mixture  of  caution,  prudence,  firmness,  and  independ- 
ence, which  cliaracterizes  this  document,  is  apparent  in  the 
whole  course  of  Mr.  Milner's  conduct;  and  this  both  before  and 
after  his  mind  was  brought  under  the  steady  influence  of  reli- 
gious principle.  The  records  of  his  later  life  will  confirm  the 
truth  of  this  oliservation. 

Without  entering  into  a  more  particular  account  of  the  me- 
morial in  question,  it  may  suffice  to  say,  that  it  answered,  at 
least  to  a  considerable  extent,  the  purpose  of  its  author. 

The  following  letter  contains  an  account  of  Mr.  Milner's  mode 
of  Hfe  as  a  lecturer;  its  object  being  to  induce  the  friend  to  whom 
it  was  addressed  to  postpone  an  intended  visit  to  Cambridge. 

"  Queen's,  Thursday, 
"  My  dear  Sir,  March  WtU,  1787. 

"  Your  kindness  touches  me  most  sensibly ;  but  the  more  I 
am  convinced  of  that  kindness  which  induces  you  to  take  this 
journey  on  my  account,  the  more  it  becomes  my  duty  to  open 
myself  fully  to  you. 

"  Then  at  once — in  these  circumstances,  I  think  you  had 
l>etter  not  come. 

"  In  college  I  lecture  from  eight  to  ten  in  the  morning — 
from  that  time  till  four  in  the  afternoon,  I  am  absolutely  so 
engaged  that  I  can  scarcely  steal  half  an  hour  from  preparing 
my  lectures,  to  dine.  At  half-past  five,  I  get  my  coflee,  go  to 
chapel,  and  tlieu  lie  down  for  an  hour. — I  then  rise,  take  my 
milk — look  out  various  articles,  and  make  notes  of  natural  his- 
tory', &c.,  for  the  succeeding  day.  This  coming  every  day,  keeps 
me  on  sucli  a  contiiuied  stretch,  that  I  am  often  very  much  done 
up  with  fatigue;  and  if  Mr.  Metcalfe,  of  Christ's  Coll.,  did  not 
assist  me,  I  should  not  be  able  to  get  through. 

"  Now  were  you  to  come,  I  know  I  should  l)e  induced  to 
steal  some  hours,  tlie  want  of  wliicli  would  be  felt,  and  I  sliould 
be  ton  times  more  liurricd  and  fretted.  As  this  is  strictly  and 
literally  the  case,  you  will  think  I  draw  the  proper  conclusion  in 
advising  you  to  desist,  at  ])resent,  from  your  most  kind  views, 


CHAP.  Til.     A.l).  1787.     /ETAT.  37.  35 

the  execution  of  which  would  certainly  distress  me.— But  1  will 
say  no  more  on  that  at  present. 

"  Al)out  next  Tuesday  or  Wednesday  se'night,  I  shall  have 
finished  the  laborious  and  pressing  part  of  these  lectures;  and 
then  I  shall  only  have  about  ten  or  eleven  lectures  more  to 
make  up  the  number,  and  those  ten  or  eleven  require  no  prepa- 
ration or  time,  beyond  the  single  hour.  I  hope  I  sliall  be  able 
to  get  througli,  as  I  have  now  just  turned  the  middle  page  of 
the  difficulties.  *  *  >!c  *  *  *  *  A  bad  accident 
happened  to  me  last  Saturday.  I  was  standing  on  a  very 
higli  table  in  the  lecture  room,  and  stepping  from  the  table  to  a 
chair,  the  bottom  of  the  chair  flew  up,  and  I  fell  witli  my  whole 
weight,  on  my  right  side,  l)reast,  and  ribs,  on  the  edge  of  the 
chair — a  mercy  I  was  not  killed.  The  pain  I  suffer  is  incredible, 
upon  breathing,  &c.,  and  at  nights.  I  wish  I  had  acquiesced  in 
bleeding  at  first,  as  I  was  advised;  but,  if  possible,  1  wish  not  to 
protract  my  lectures  a  day.  Tlie  ver}^  first  leisure  I  have,  I  shall 
say  many  things  to  you. 

'^  Your  affectionate  friend,  &c., 
«  To  Wm.  Wilberforce,  Esq."  "  Isaac  Milxer. 

The  long  vacation  of  this  year,  like  that  of  the  last,  was 
passed  by  Mr.  Milner  with  his  mother  and  brother  at  Hull. 
His  health  was,  at  this  time  very  precarious:  a  spitting  of  blood, 
apparently  produced  by  the  accident  mentioned  in  the  foregoing 
letter,  still  threatened  consequences  of  the  most  serious  nature; 
and  an  intermitting  pulse, — a  symptom  which  never  afterwards 
forsook  liim,  and  which  occasioned  great  apprehension  in  the 
minds  of  his  physicians,  Drs.  Baillie  and  Pitcairne,  one  of  whom, 
on  a  subsequent  occasion,  declared,  that  "  with  such  a  pulse  a 
man's  life  was  not  worth  one  minute's  purchase," — seems  now 
first  to  have  alarmed  Mr.  Milner  and  his  friends.  Under  these 
circumstances,  he  had  recourse,  as  was  his  wont,  to  Mr.  Hey,  of 
Leeds;  to  whose  judicious  advice,  at  this  critical  juncture,  tlie 
prolongation  of  his  life  may,  perhaps,  under  Providence,  be 
mainly  attributed. 

Mr.  Isaac  Mihier  was  at  tliis  time,  and  continued  till  his 
death,  a  Member  of  the  Board  of  Longitude;  a  body  composed 

D  2 


36  CHAP.  III.     A.D.  17«7.    ^TAT.  37. 

of  the  most  scientitic  men  of  the  period.  This  Board,  as  its 
name  in  some  measure  imports,  met  for  the  purpose  of  taking 
into  consideration,  and  reporting  to  the  Government,  any 
discoveries  calculated  to  facilitate  navigation  under  dangerous 
circumstances;  and,  in  particular,  any  inventions,  which,  by 
tending  to  the  perfect  and  constant  accuracy  of  chronometers, 
might,  in  the  absence  of  other  means,  assist  navigators  to 
determine  their  exact  position  at  sea. 

Since  it  is  unnecessary  to  dilate  upon  the  affairs  of  a  Board, 
which  is  now  dissolved,  it  may  be  sufficient  to  say,  that  at  this 
time,  as  well  as  at  a  later  period  of  Mr.  Milner's  life,  an 
attempt  was  made  to  induce  the  Government  to  alter  the 
constitution  of  the  Board  of  Longitude  in  a  manner  which  to 
him,  and  to  other  learned  members  of  that  body,  especially  to 
the  Astronomical  Professors  of  the  University'  of  Cambridge, 
appeared  calculated  to  cast  a  stigma  upon  their  reputation. 
Under  these  circumstances,  Mr.  Milner  exhibited  the  energy 
M-ith  which  he  invariably  engaged  in  whatever  he  undertook; 
and  his  efforts  were  proportionately  successful. 

As  illustrative  of  the  vigour,  which  was  a  distinguished  trait 
in  his  character,  it  may  be  mentioned,  that  the  influence  which, 
on  more  than  one  subsequent  occasion,  he  brought  to  bear  upon 
the  House  of  Commons,  wjien  measures,  -which  he  judged  to  be 
inimical  to  tlie  interests  of  science,  or  to  the  rights  of  the  Uni- 
versity, or  of  the  College  which  he  governed,  were  in  preparation, 
astonished  even  some  of  those  intimate  friends  M'ho  thought  that 
they  knew  him  thoroughly. 

In  the  winter  of  this  year  Mr.  Milner  was  again  alarmed  by 
s)'mptoms  threatening  serious  pulmonary  disease.  His  friend 
Mr.  Willjerforce,  who  was  at  Bath,  urged  him,  with  nuich 
earnestness  to  join  him  at  that  i^lace.  To  this  arrangement, 
however,  his  duties  as  Tutor  of  a  College  offered  insuperable  difii- 
culties  ;  and  had  it  been  otherwise,  his  ^'  mother  and  l)r()ther," 
as  he  wrote  to  the  same  friend,  made  "  their  comfort  depend  so 
much  upon"  liis  "being  with  them"  whenever  an  opportunity 
presented  itself,  that  he  had  little  leisure  to  bestow  upon  other 
friends,  however  valued.  A  dangerous  illness  of  Mr.  Wilber- 
force  in  the  ensuing  spring  did,  liowcver,  induce  Mr.  Mihier, 


CHAP.  III.    A.D.  1787.    .'RTAT.  :q.  37 

ever  under  the  influence  of  the  warmest  and  most  affectionate 
feehngs,  to  pay  him  an  unexpected  visit,  of  which  visit  Mr. 
Wilberforce  thus  writes  in  his  Diarj'-:  "March  1st.  Mibier 
came  by  breakfast  time,  having  put  off  his  Lectures,  &c.  out  of 
soUcitude  to  see  how  I  was  going  on*." 

In  the  interv'als  during  which  he  had  enjoyed  moderate 
health,  Mr.  Mihier  had,  for  several  years  past,  sedulously 
applied  himself  to  the  study  of  chymistr)'.  His  attention  had 
been  turned  in  particular,  to  the  production  of  nitrous  acid 
and  nitrous  air ;  and  upon  this  subject  he  had,  at  variot;s  times, 
made  several  novel  and  higlily  interesting  experiments. 

It  is  known  to  most  persons  conversant  wdth  similar  inqui- 
ries, that  the  attention  of  the  celebrated  Dr.  Priestley  was,  aljout 
this  jDcriod,  fixed  upon  the  same  subject. 

To  Dr.  Priestley,  Milner  communicated  an  account  of  some 
of  his  experiments  with  their  results ;  and  from  him  received 
in  consequence  the  following  letter : — 

"To  THE  Reverend  Isaac  Milner. 

"Dear  Sir,  ^'Birmingham,  June  lAth,  1788. 

"  I  have  not  yet  repeated  your  verj'  interesting  experiments  ; 

but  1  cannot  have  any  doubt  of  their  succeeding,  and  wish  you 

would  prosecute  them  yourself,  as  I  am  not  fond  of  putting  my 

sickle  into  another  man^s  harvest.     I  shall,  however,  as  I  have 

your  leave,  mention  the  facts  to  my  friends ;  as  they  cannot  but 

do  you  great  honour.    I  shall  be  happy  to  hear  of  your  progress, 

and  am, 

"Dear  Sir, 

"  Your  very  humble  servant, 

"J.  Priestley. 
"  P.S. —  I  direct  to  Mr.  Kirwan,  only  in  Dublin." 

"  Mr.  Kirv\'an"  was  an  Irish  chymist  of  note.  He  was  the 
second  president  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy, — being  successor 
to  the  Earl  of  Charlemont,  of  Volunteer  celebrity,  the  founder  of 
that  institution.      Mr.   Kirwan  publislicd  several  papers  in  the 


*  See  Life  of  WUbcrforcc. 


39  CHAP.  III.     A.D.  1788.     ^TAT.  38. 

Transactions  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy.  A  letter  from  him 
to  Mr.  Milner,  upon  the  formation  of  nitrous  acid,  will  be 
found  under  its  proper  date*. 

In  the  course  of  this  month  of  June,  Mr.  Wilberforce,  ha-vdng 
settled  himself  in  the  house  which  he  had,  for  some  summers 
pastj  rented  at  Rayrigg,  in  Westmorland,  was  -vdsited  by  Mr. 
Milner,  whom  the  long  vacation  released,  at  that  season,  from 
his  academical  duties. 

The  house  at  Rayrigg  was  filled  throughout  the  summer, 
with  a  continual,  but  ever-changing  succession  of  guests  ;  and  it 
will  be  easily  believed,  that,  in  such  circumstances,  the  social 
temperament,  comiDrehensive  kjiowledge,  and  extraordinar}^  con- 
versational powers  of  Isaac  Milner,  were  fully  appreciated :  had 
he,  like  Johnson,  been  provided  with  a  Boswell,  a  specimen  of 
"  Table-talk,'^  perhaps  almost  unequalled,  might  have  been  pre- 
sented to  the  public. 

Mr.  Pitt,  who  had  intended  to  visit  Rayrigg,  in  an  excursion 
to  Scotland  planned  during  the  preceding  summer,  was  pre- 
vented by  the  pressure  of  public  business  from  executing  his 
purpose ;  but  there  was  no  lack  of  brilliant  company.  "  The 
Duchess  of  Gordon  and  Lady  Charlotte,'^  says  Mr.  Wilber- 
force in  his  Diar)',  July  3rd,  "by  tapping  at  our  low  window, 
announced  that  they  had  discovered  our  retreat,  and  would  take 
no  denial."  ******  Milner  and  I  went  and  supped 
with  them  at  Low  Wood/*  "  Saturday  the  5th.  Lord  Camden 
comes  to  dinner."  "  7th.  Balgonies  came."  "  10.  Muncaster 
came."  "11th.  Milner  off."  In  the  midst,  however,  of  this 
gaiety,  "  a  perpetual  round  of  dissipation,"  as  Mr.  Wilberforce 
calls  it,  some  serious  conversation  took  place  between  him  and 
his  friend.  "Milner  and  I,"  says  he,  "had  much  talk  about 
this  being  a  most  improper  place  for  me,  and  resolved  upon  not 
continuing  in  tlie  house."  "  Improper,"  it  must  have  been  for 
one  who  had  "tliis  summer  looked  for  much  solitude  and  quiet; 
the  banks  of  the  Thames  being  scarcely  more  public,  than  those 
of  Windermere ;"  and,  in  compliance  with  his  friend's  advice, 
Mr.  Wilberforce  gave  up  this  favourite  residence. 

*  See  chap.  viii. 


CUAP.  111.     A.D.   17««.      KTAT.  3»,  39 

On  finally  quitting  Rayrigg,  in  the  month  of  October  follow- 
ing, Mr.  Willjerforce  paid  a  short  visit  to  Hull ;  and  there  again 
met  Mr.  Milner,  who  had  exchanged  the  gaieties  of  the  West- 
moreland villa,  for  the  sober  duties  or  occupations  of  solacing 
his  aged  mother  or  occasionally  assistijig  his  brother  in  the 
business  of  his  school. 

With  reference  to  this  meeting,  Mr.  A\'.  thus  writes  in  his 
Diar}'.  **>{;*«  Milner's  excellent  advice  at  Hull,  in 
addition  to  his  lecture  at  Rayrigg,  de  levitate — ^  Nihil  enim  per 
se  amplum  est,  nisi  in  quo  judicii  ratio  extat,^ — of  being  a  man 
of  business,  &c.  May  God  enable  me  to  profit  from  his  hint, 
and  make  me  properly  grateful  to  him  for  this  true  proof  of 
friendship." 

By  receiving  in  this  spirit  these  honest  animadversions,  Mr. 
Wilberforce  surely  gave  proof  that  the  constant  affection  of  his 
friend  was  worthily  bestowed. 


40 


CHAPTER  lY. 

Mr.  Milncr  is  elected  President  of  Queen's  College. — Improvements  in  the 
internal  management  of  the  College. — Letters. — Feelings  on  being  elected 
President. — Popular  Philosophical  Writers. — Ferguson. — Martin. — Mac- 
laurin. — View  of  PubUc  AflTairs  on  the  Illness  of  the  King. — Letter  from 
Joseph  Jlilner  to  the  Rev.  James  Stillingflect. — Illness.— Letter  from 
Joseph  Milner  on  his  Brother's  Illness. — Correspondence. — Communica- 
tion to  tlie  Koyal  Society. — Formally  excused,  on  account  of  ill  health, 
from  delivery  of  Jaclcsonian  Lectures. — Letters  from  Drs.  Hunter  and 
Fothergill. — Lectures  continued  with  assistance. — Fondness  for  Practical 
Mechanics. — Extracts  from  Correspondence  with  the  Rev.  T.  Ludlam. — 
Sentiments  concerning  Card-playing. — Private  Religions  Diary. 

A.D.  1788.     iETAT.  38. 

By  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Pkxmptre,  in  the  year  1788,  the 
office  of  President  of  Queen's  College  became  vacant,  and  to 
this  honourable  situation  Mr.  Milner  was  elected. 

After  the  lapse  of  more  than  half  a  century,  there  can  be  no 
impropriety  or  indelicacy  in  stating,  that,  previous  to  the  elec- 
tion of  Mr.  Milner  to  the  mastership.  Queen's  College  had 
greatly  decreased  in  reputation.  From  that  time,  however,  the 
college,  once  distinguished  by  the  residence  of  Erasmus,  steadily 
and  rapidly  advanced  in  character  and  importance.  The  number 
of  students  increased ;  and,  as  it  was  the  paramount  desire  of 
the  president,  that  the  college  which  he  governed  should  yield 
to  none  in  the  means  of  instruction  which  it  afforded,  he  intro- 
duced— from  other  colleges,  when  necessar}-  — men  fitted  by  their 
abiUties  and  acquirements  for  the  important  and  responsilile 
station  of  tutor ;  and  such  men  invariably  found  in  him  a  con- 
stant friend  and  patron.  In  the  internal  management  of  the 
college  many  abuses,  sanctioned  by  long  prescription,  were  re- 
formed ;  and  if  some  part  of  the  oljloquy  wliich  is  too  often  the 
lot  of  those  who  originate  important  improvements  fell  upon 
Mr.  Milner,  he  had  sufficient  fortitude  to  brave  opposition,  and 
to  persevere  in  the  course  which  he  l)clieved  to  be  the  path  of 
duty. 

"As  president  of  a  college,'^  says  the  author  of  a  slight 


CHAP.  IV.     A.D.  178«.     ^TAT.  ' 8.  41 

biographical  sketch  of  the  life  and  character  of  Dr.  Milner, 
"his  constant  aim  was  to  encourage  learned  men  that  belonged 
to  his  own  Foundation,  as  well  as  to  introduce  improvements 
which  might  tend  to  the  happiness  of  the  students,  and  to  the 
advancement  of  the  University  at  large." 

This  statement,  the  truth  of  which  is  undeniable,  comprises 
all  that  needs,  in  this  place,  to  be  said  of  Mr.  Milner  as  head  of 
a  college.  Further  notices  of  his  conduct  in  that  capacity  will 
appear  in  the  course  of  this  Memoir. 

At  this  period,  that  portion  of  Mr.  Milner^s  career  which 
may,  perhaps,  be  more  especially  called  his  public  life,  may 
be  considered  to  begin ;  and  although  harassed  by  continual 
attacks  of  ill-health,  and,  consequently,  often  almost  incapaci- 
tated for  duties  which  he,  nevertheless,  deemed  himself  called 
upon  to  perform,  the  remainder  of  his  Hfe  was  spent  in  a  course 
of  persevering  exertion  for  the  advancement  of  religion  and 
learning,  not  often  surpassed  even  by  persons  enjoying  uninter- 
rupted health  and  strength. 

It  is,  however,  unnecessary  here  to  anticipate  that,  of  which 
the  sequel  of  this  work  vrill  afford  satisfactor}-  proof.  In  the 
mean  time  his  omti  letters  may  best  carry  forward  his  histor)\ 

"  I  would  not,"  he  writes  to  Mr.  Wilberforce,  on  the  16th 
of  November,  1788,  "lead  the  life  I  have  passed  these  last  ten 
days,  for  all  below  the  moon.  Ceremony  without  end.  I  have 
been  xery  much  ad  cap  every  day — and  must  continue  so.  I 
foresee  plent)-  of  new  expenses,  I  promise  you,  which  did  not 
occur  before ;  but  old  Jackson  *  will  stand  in  the  gap,  and,  I 
think,  about  make  ends  meet,  and  that's  all. 

"  Your  stay  at  Bath,  I  take  to  be  entirely  uncertain  at  pre- 
sent, on  account  of  the  king's  health ;  and  if  it  were  not  so,  I 
have  little  hopes  of  being  able  to  join  you.  I  meaned  to  have 
gone  a  week  or  two  to  Hull,  for  the  reasons  mentioned  in  my 
letter  to  you  at  York;  but  even  that  plan  I  am  not  sure  of  being 
able  to  compass.  This  is  the  time  of  year  when  the  college  rents 
are  settled,  and  are  falling  in  by  degrees;  and  I  not  only  aim  to 
do  my  duty  in  my  new  situation,  but  wish  to  avoid  doing  any 


His  Jackfioniau  Professorship. 


42  CHAP.  IV.     A.D.  1788.     .ETAT.  :i8, 

thing  that  may  look  hke  neglect  of  Ijusiness.  Such  conduct 
would  vex  my  friends^  and  prove  a  triumph  to  my  opponents. 

"  I  dare  say  I  deceive  myself,  but  I  have  it  strongly  on  my 
mind  to  lead  something  of  a  neiv  life.  I  am  sure,  that  a  new 
situation,  as  sucli,  is  favourable  to  a  change.  All  is  folly,  my 
dear  friend,  but  the  great  change,  and  v.'ill,  most  assuredly,  be 
found  so  at  last ;  but  we  don't  look  an  inch  before  us. 

"  I  think  of  Miss  often,  and  of   the  conversation 

I  have  had  with  her.  Your  bodily  complaints  do  not  resemble 
mine  more  exactly  than  many  of  my  mental  weaknesses  resemble 
her's ;  and  I  may  add,  that  I  have  often  as  little  solid  satisfac- 
tion as  she  can  have,  when  loose  hands  all  around  suppose  our 
hearts  run  over  with  gaiety  and  spirits. 

"  I  am,  most  affectionately  and  truly,  yours, 

"I.  M. 

"  Write  that  you  have  received  this.*' 

The  following  answer  to  an  inquiry  made  by  Mr.  Wilberforce, 
concerning  the  then  existing  proper  books  to  be  put  into  the 
hands  of  a  person  desirous  of  obtaining  some  popular  knowledge 
of  philosophy,   may  be  read  with  some  interest : 

"To   William  Wilberforce,  Esq. 

"  Queen's,  Wednesday  Night, 
"My  dear  Sir,  November,  1788. 

"The  philosophical  writers  for  j'jopular  hands  are  such  as 
Ferguson.  He  is  excellently  adapted  to  the  purpose;  I  can 
speak  positively  to  his  merits  in  this  point  of  view,  but  I  have 
not  been  able  to  make  out  to-day  the  exact  title  of  his  books; 
for  we  don't  use  them  much.  Ferguson's  Astronomy  there  is; 
and  I  think  in  particular,  there  is  a  book  called,  Ferguson's 
Dialogues  on  Astronomy  for  Ladies.  He  wrote  also  on  Me- 
chanics. In  general  whatever  he  has  written  on  such  su1)jects 
is  to  the  purpose. 

"  Martin,  the  late  mathematical  instrument  maker,  is  another 
such  hand;  but  I  cannot  make  out  whether  be  calls  his  book, 
Martin's  Philosophv,  or  Martin's  Philosophical  Grammar,  or 
what.     Uc  hvcd  in  Fleet  .Street. 


CHAP.  IV.    A.D.  1788.     .^ITAT.  38.  48 

"  A  very  reasonable  and  intelligible  account  of  the  History 
of  Philosophy  is  to  be  found  in  Maclaurin's  View  of  Newton's 
Discoveries. 

"  Yours  affectionately,  I.  M." 

In  the  course  of  the  next  month,  Mr.  Milner,  always  sin- 
cerely interested  in  public  affairs,  and  always  disposed  to  think 
and  decide  for  himself,  on  questions  of  politics,  as  well  as  of 
literature  or  thecjlogy,  wrote,  to  the  same  friend,  in  the  following 
terms,  concerning  the  political  arrangements  probably  consequent 
upon  the  illness  of  the  king. 

"To  William  Wilberforce,  Esq. 

"  My  dear  Sir,  "  Hull,  Dec.  8ih,  1788. 

"  I  am  determined  to  write  instantly,  merely  to  inform  you, 
how  much  satisfaction  your  letter  brought  me  this  morning,  in 
affirming  that  there  will  be  no  coalitiox. 

"No  honoura1)le  coalition,  with  such  men,  can  be  formed; 
nor  can  I  conceive  any  necessity  which  could  justify  the  step. 
And  yet  I  do  not  absolutely  say,  that  no  such  necessity  can 
exist,  though  /  find  it  impossible  to  conceive  the  case. 

"  When  the  case  happens,  I  shall  judge  as  fairly  as  I  can. 
At  present  I  am  perfectly  persuaded  that  all  Pitt's  disinterested 
well-wishers  among  what  may  be  called  moderate  life  (which 
forms  a  very  large  part  of  the  community),  think  as  I  do  on  this 
subject,  and  will  embrace  the  ex-minister  more  cordially  than 
they  ever  did  the  minister.  I  cannot  say,  that  I  was  without 
fears  of  some  sort  of  coalition  or  other.  I  had  no  good  ground 
for  the  apprehension,  except  the  general  one,  viz.,  that  j^ersons 
in  these  high  situations  are  more  subject  to  delusions  and  are 
seldom  complete/y  directed  by  the  ordinary  principles  of  good 
sense  and  integrity.  But  the  more  fears  I  had  on  this  head,  the 
more  I  shall  honour  the  man  who  proves,  by  his  conduct,  that 
there  was  no  ground  for  these  fears;  and  I  am  sorry  for  the 
injustice  of  the  conception. 

"  Independent  of  the  rectitude  of  the  thing,  mere  political 
considerations  suggest  the  same  line  of  conduct.  I  make  no 
scruple  to  say  [fremant  omnes)  that  Fox  has  not  sense  to  govern 


44  CHAP.  IV.     A.D.  1780.     -ETAT.  3!). 

this  nation;  because  se7ise  includes  disci'etion.  But  if  they  join, 
from  that  moment  there  is  an  end  of  that  great  distinction  which 
I  wish  ever  to  see  between  them.  All  will  then  be  a  scramble; 
the  cry  will  be,  *  They  are  all  alike.'  Pitt  is  deprived  of  his  best 
ornament,  they  must  fight  with  the  same  weapons,  and  he  mtII 
])e  beaten;  for  they  know  how  to  use  such  weapons  better  than 
he  does. 

*'  So  much  I  could  not  help  pouring  forth  from  the  fulness 
of  the  heart.     *     *     *     * 

"  N.B.  Young  "Willis  has  written  to  me,  to  say  a  word  about 

introducing  his  father.      I  hope  he  will  succeed;  he  is  a  man  of 

strong  sense  and  much  experience. 

"  Yours  trulv, 

"  I.  M." 

A  letter  written  about  this  time  to  the  Rev.  James  Stilling- 
fleet,  Rector  of  Hotham,  Yorkshire,  by  Joseph  Milner  alluding 
both  to  the  advancement  of  Isaac  to  the  mastership  of  his 
college,  and  to  the  illness  of  the  king,  will  be  interesting  to 
many  readers. 

"  Dear  Stilo,  "  Hull,  Dec.  3rd,  1788. 

*'  I  am  in  arrears  with  you,  and  have  to  thank  you  for  two 
letters.  But  I  do  as  little  as  possible  in  the  epistolary  way,  even 
with  my  best  friends,  that  I  may  have  some  time  for  necessary 
things. 

"  I  thank  you  for  your  congratulations  about  my  brother. 
I  wish  it  may  answer  a  good  end  to  him,  and  to  the  Church  of 
Christ;  God  only  can  effect  it. 

"  Probably  by  this  time  they  find  the  king's  disorder  to  be 
some  species  of  insanity.  Awful  Providence!  It  may  last  long. 
Regencies  are  generally  turbulent  things.  I  am  glad  that  those 
in  authority  had  the  heart  to  direct  jirayer  to  be  made  to  Ilim 
wlio  is  a  refuge  in  troul)le.  It  has  a  good  look  to  see  so  public 
an  acknowledgement  of  dejjendencc  upon  the  Almighty;  rather 
an  unusual  idea  with  great  people.  Many  pray  fervently  for  it, 
I  doubt  not;   1  hope  we  may  iind  a  gracious  answer. 

"  If  all  be  well,  I  shall  probably  visit  you  during  a  little  of 


CHAP.  IV.     A.D.  1788.     ^TAT.  38.  45 

the  time  that  my  Anti-Ladlam   l)eing    a-printing,    I   must  be 
called  more  than  common  from  home. 

"But  I  beg  you  would  not  make  a  fuss  (as  Ludlam  says) 
about  expectmg  me.  I  am  an  old  battered  hackney;  I  shall 
come  to  refresh  my  body  and  mind  among  you,  and  indeed  I  am 
not  able  to  do  what  once  I  did,  through  frequent  infirmities. 
Pray  that  I  may  be  strengthened,  after  having  preached  to 
others,  to  walk  in  the  way  of  holiness  for  my  own  soul,  and  not 
myself  be  a  cast-away. 

"  I  beg   my   kind  regards    to  Mrs.  Stillingfleet  and  Miss 

H f  not  forgetting  Edward. 

"Always  yours  affectionately, 

"Joseph  Milner. 

"  P.S. — I  thank  you  for  the  hare. 
"  To  the  Rev.  J.  StiUingfleet:' 

The  expression  Anti-Ludlam,  in  the  foregoing  letter,  may 
require  some  explanation. 

The  work  spoken  of  as  in  the  press,  was  an  edition  of 
Joseph  Milner's  Essays  on  the  Ivfluence  of  the  Holy  Spirit^-,  a 
publication  partly  occasioned  by  the  Rev.  William  Ludlam's 
attack  upon  Mr.  Milner's  observations  upon  Gibbon's  Account 
of  Christianity.  With  reference  to  these  Essays,  the  author 
himself  thus  writes :  "  Personal  resentment  can  scarce  be  sup- 
posed to  exist  against  an  author  who  has  certainly  avoided  all 
personal  abuse;  and  my  concern  for  the  reputation  of  a  former 
workf,  attacked  by  him  in  some  of  its  most  important  views,  is, 
I  hope,  a  small  thing  with  me,  compared  with  the  magnitude  of 
the  truths  I  undertake  to  defend,  the  real  glory  of  God,  the  best 
interests  of  men,  and  the  preciousness  of  vital  Christianity'',  which 
in  no  age  was  ever  more  speciously  undermined  than  in  the 
present." 

Dr.  Milner,  in  an  account  subsequently  given  by  him  of  his 
brother's  writings,  says,  "  His  Essays  on  the  Influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  were  exceedingly  well  received,   and  have  been  of 


*  Now  printed  in  MiLNER'sfFor**,  i      t  Gibbon's  Account  of  Christianity 
vol.  viii.  Considered. 


46  CHAP.  IV,     A.D.  1788.     yETAT.  38. 

great  service  in  tlie  church.  This  M'ork,  though  small,  is  a 
durable  monument  of  the  author's  sound  principles,  good  sense, 
and  power  of  discrimination  in  argument ;  and  will,  doubtless, 
prove  a  valuable  protection  against  heretical  and  fanciful  inter- 
pretations of  Scripture,  through  succeeding  generations/^ 

The  prayer  of  the  pious  writer  of  the  foregoing  letter,  that  his 
brother's  advancement  might  "  answer  a  good  end  to  the  church 
of  Christ,"  has  been  abundantly  granted.  Queen's  College, 
under  the  government  of  Isaac  Milner,  became  remarkable 
for  the  number  of  religious  young  men  who  studied  there,  and 
of  whom  many  are  still,  in  various  places,  sers'ing  God  and  their 
generation,  as  able  and  faithful  clergymen  of  the  establishment, 
or  in  other  influential  stations. 

On  the  24th  of  December,  Mr.  Milner  again  writing  to  Mr. 
Wilberforce,  chiefly  Avith  reference  to  the  subject  discussed  in 
his  former  letter,  says,  ^'The  papers  yesterday  gave  me  great 
satisfaction  indeed — as  I  had  conceived  that  the  majority  might 
have  been  the  other  way.  Politics  run  very  high  here.  *  * 
Always  yours,  with  the  most  affectionate  feelings, 

«I.  M." 

The  meetings  of  the  Board  of  Longitude  requiring  his  at- 
tendance in  London  three  times  a  year,  Mr.  Milner,  on  these 
occasions,  staid  at  the  house  of  this  same  friend ;  and  the  fre- 
quent personal  intercourse  thus  secured,  doubtless  tended  to 
quicken  the  tender  solicitude  with  which  these  excellent  men 
regarded  each  other.  Among  the  many  intimations  of  their 
mutual  affection  with  which  the  published  Diary  of  Mr.  Wilber- 
force abounds,  the  following  passage  may  be  fitly  inserted  here. 

"  April  3rd,  1789.  Heard  from  Milner,  that  ill  of  a  fever; 
but,  after  a  short  debate,  found  that  I  must  give  up  the  slave 
business  if  I  went  to  him,  so  resolved  against  it."     *     *     *     * 

"  Milner  much  on  my  mind — B with  me — had  ex- 
pected poor  Mihier — very  comfc^rtablc  here  but  for  tlunigiits  of 
poor  Mihicr." 

Mr.  Mihicr  being  dangerously  ill,  and  greatly  debilitated  by 
fever,  was  nmch  disappointed  at  the  non-appearance  of  his 
friend.    Tliis  appears  from  the  following  very  aflecting  letter: — 


CHAP.  IV.     A.D.  178r».     /ETAT.  3f>.  47 

"To  William  Wilberforce,  Esq. 
"My  dear  Sir,  ^'Queen'fi,  Monday. 

"You  will  be  glad  to  see  my  own  hand,  and,  therefore,  I 
struggle  to  effect  a  few  lines. 

"  When  I  last  wrote  to  you,  the  fever  ran  extremely  high, 
and  appeared  likelj-  to  be  very  soon  critical.  Judge  of  my 
situation — with  many  things  on  my  mind,  and  among  strangers. 
My  heart  was  almost  broken  when  you  did  not  appear.  I  did 
not  wisli  you  to  have  staid — but  I  wished  to  see  yon.  *  *  * 
"  I  wrote  to  my  brother  by  the  same  post.  *  *  *  God 
has  been  merciful.  The  fever  is  abated,  but  my  state  of  en- 
feeblement  is  infinitely  bevond  what  I  ever  before  experienced. 
It  must  be  a  work  of  time,  and  long  time,  to  recruit. 

"  I  cannot  yet  bear  to  see  people ;  all  are  excluded  except 
one  or  t\\'o. 

"My  heart  is  full — but  you  must  forgive  me — writing  this 
proves  too  much. 

"  Yours,  in  the  sincerest  affection, 

"I.  M." 

Mr.  Wilberforce  was,  at  this  period,  putting  forth  all  his 
strength  in  the  great  cause  of  the  abohtion  of  the  slave  trade, 
and  his  exertions  were  frequently  encouraged  by  the  sympathy 
of  his  suffering  friend. 

In  May,  1789,  Mr.  Milner  thus  ^'rites  to  him  : — 

"My  dear  Friend, 

"  I  am  sensibly  loarmed  by  your  letter  of  this  morning,  in 
finding  that  you  got  through  the  great  trial""''  so  much  to  your 
satisfaction.^' 

Energetically,  however,  as  Mr.  Milner  here  expresses  him- 
self, he  was  still  suffering  from  severe  indisposition ;  and  his 
friend,  as  may  be  supposed,  was  not  proof  against  the  appeal 
made  to  him  in  tlie  foregoing  letter. 


A  siicf  ch  witli  which  Mr.  Wilberforce  opened  the   debate  on  the  slave 

trade. 


48  CHAP.  IV.     A.D.  1789.     ^TAT.  39. 

Accordingly,  the  following  entry  appears  in  Mr.  Wilberforce's 
Dlar)',  on  "  Friday,  May  29th.  Set  off  for  Cambridge  to  see 
poor  Milner — found  him  much  weakened — in  a  very  pious  state 
of  mind.     His  brother  and  Tillotson*,  arrived  about  eleven.^' 

Joseph  Milner,  whose  arrival  at  Cambridge  is  here  notified, 
had  announced  to  his  friend,  Mr.  Stillingfleet,  his  intention  of 
immediately  visiting  his  afflicted  brother,  in  the  following  ver}' 
characteristic  letter : — 

"  Dear  Still.,  "Hull,  28M  Maij,  1789. 

"  I  had  better  suffer  any  crossing  of  my  will,  than  be  left  to 
myself  altogether,  as   a   self-important,   and   self-consequential 

fool !      You  and   I   saw   enough  of  that    in    poor  lately. 

Though  your  kindness  is  real,  I  should  be  in  danger  from  you 
and  my  other  good  friends  at  Hotham.  To  be  made  much  of, 
suits  one's  pride  but  too  well.  God  has  deprived  me  of  this. 
I  fear  I  was  but  too  fond  of  coming  to  Hotham. 

"  I  had  a  stroke  this  morning  like  a  thunderbolt.  Alas,  my 
brother !  I  must  go  to  him  directly ;  I  much  fear  the  conse- 
quence of  his  fever's  relapsing. 

"Pray,  that  lie  may  be  renewed  in  truth,  before  he  depart 

hence.     I  have  good  hope  of  this  ;  not  much  of  tlie  recovery  of 

his  health. 

"  With  love  to  Mi's.  Stillingfleet, 

"  I  am,  yours  affectionately, 

"  The  Rev.  J.  Stillingfleet:' '  "Joseph  Milner. 

Within  a  short  period,  Mr.  Milner  being  somewhat  recovered, 
though  still  obviously  in  a  state  of  great  weakness,  wrote  to  Mr. 
Wilberforce  as  follows  : — 

"Mr  DEAR  Sir,  "Sunday  niyht,  1789. 

"My  ])r()ther  went  away  last  Tuesday.  *  *  *  *  I 
have  liad  hard  struggles  ever  since.  The  fever  has  been  making 
continual  efforts,  Init  by  tlie  blessing  of  God,  has  been  kept 
unclcr.       Friday  and   Saturday   most   insupportable  headaches. 


An  old  friend  who  bulpcquently  lived  witli  Dr.  Milner, 


CHAP.  IV.     A.D.    178:^.      .«TAT.  39.  49 

which  threatened  a  complete  relapse,  as  this  complaint  began 
with  great  pain  and  stupor  in  the  head.  I  am  better  to-day. 
How  much  have  I  to  be  thankful  for  ! 

"  It  is  great  pain  to  me  to  write,  and,  therefore,  I  can  only 
just  assure  you,  that  1  think  many  times  a  day  of  your  present 
state  of  fatigue  and  aiixiety. 

"  I  was  sorry  to  be  told  by  Dr.  Jowett,  that  you  did  not  look 
healtliy — I  know  that  in  this  hurry,  you  will  neglect  yourself. 

"Yours,  "I.  M. 

"My  chvmical  helper  is  fallen  ill  of  tlie  same  complaint. 
"  To  Wm.  in/berforce,  Esq.'' 

Having  some  time  aftenvards  ventured  upon  a  visit  to 
London,  Mr.  Milner  on  his  return  wrote  to  the  same  friend,  a 
letter  containing  the  following  striking  passage  : — 

"  I  thought  the  journey  to  London  and  back  useful — and  so 
it  may  still  have  been  ;  but  on  Wednesday  last,  I  grew  verj^  ill. 

« *  *  *  J  must  be  short ;  I  write  M'ith  difficulty — and 
I  leave  it  to  you  to  infer  and  supply. 

"  I  laid  three  days  and  nights  in  bed,  without  at  all  moving 
— a  thing  I  never  did  in  my  life  for  two  days. 

''  Nevetheless,  God  was  with  me  more  than  ever  before ; 
I  don't  pretend  to  prove  this  to  another,  but  it  is  so.  Blessed 
be  God !  I  wish  1  could  say  so  thoroughly ;  I  do  in  part, 

"  God  bless  you,  my  dear  Sir. 

"  L  M." 

About  this  time  Mr.  Milner  communicated  to  the  Royal 
Society  a  paper,  upon  a  subject  which  has  already  been  men- 
tioned as  occup}ang  a  considerable  portion  of  his  thoughts — 
"  The  Production  of  Nitrous  Acid  and  Nitrous  Air*."  This 
paper  was  read  at  the  meeting  of  the  society,  July  ?nd,  1789. 
Of  Mr.  Milner's  discoveries  on  this  subject,  as  applied  to  the 
making  of  gunpowder,  the  French  are  known  to  have  availed 
themselves,  much  to  their  national  advantage. 


*  See  Traiuactions  of  the  Royal  Society  fortlie  year,  178». 

£ 


50  CHAP.  IV.     A.D.  1790.     ^TAT.  40. 

Some  letters  relating  to  these  discoveries,  from  persons 
eminent  for  chymical  knowledge,  will  be  fomid  under  their 
proper  dates. 

During  the  years  1790  and  1791,  Mr.  Milner's  health  was 
such  as  to  render  it  necessary  that  he  should  be  formally  excused 
from  the  deliver)'^  of  his  accustomed  lectures  as  Jacksonian 
professor.  Accordingly  a  certificate  to  this  effect,  from  Sir 
Isaac  Pennington,  M.D.,  and  a  permission,  signed  by  William 
Cooke,  Provost  of  King's  College,  T.  Postlethwaite,  Master  of 
Trinity  College,  and  William  Craven,  Master  of  St.  John's 
College,  gave  licence  to  the  Jacksonian  professor,  "  in  considera- 
tion of  his  great  dihgence  and  punctuality  in  former  years,  in 
the  discharge  of  his  duty,  and  on  account  of  his  ill-health,"  to 
omit  his  lectures  in  1 790,  and  to  procure  a  proper  assistant  or 
deputy,  in  1/91. 

At  this  period,  Mr.  Milner  corresponded  upon  the  subject 
of  his  health,  both  with  Dr.  Fothergill,  a  physician  of  consider- 
able repute,  and  with  the  celebrated  John  Hunter. 

The  letters  which  still  exist  from  both  these  eminent  medical 
advisers  are  as  remarkable  for  their  friendly  sympathy,  as  for 
their  professional  abilit}\ 

Dr.  Fothergill,  who  was  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends, 
thus  writes : — 

"  Respected  Friend, 

*'  I  have  perused  and  considered  thy  case  ^^^th  much  atten- 
tion. It  is  the  description  of  a  most  unhappy  being,  and  the 
wretchedness  is  increased  by  reflecting  on  the  miseries  of  the 
past,  and  the  hopeless  prospects  of  the  future — a  situation  of 
mind  which  is  perpetually  increasing  the  disorder  and  rendering 
it  more  difficult  to  cure ;  yet  how  to  prevent  it  is  as  difficult  to 
conceive.  *****  it  will  be  worth  while,  not  only  to 
think  like  a  philosopher,  but  to  act  like  one, — I  mean  that  thou 
shouldest  look  as  little  as  possible  upon  the  past  disappoint- 
ments in  respect  of  health,  and  cherish  hope  of  better  days." 

"  Dear  Sir,"  writes  John  Hunter,  a  few  months  later,  "  I 
received  the  favour  of  your  letter  on  the  17th  of  last  month. 


CIlAl'.  IV.     A.U.   I7!)0.     .CTAT.  40.  31 

and,  at  first,  was  almost  frigliteued  to  read  it,  and  laid  it  down 
to  be  taken  up  again  when  I  could  give  time  to  read  and  consider 
the  contents.  The  case  is  a  singular  one,  and  is  such  as  (I  think) 
MO  man  can  say  at  once,  what  should  be  done." 

Still,  however,  although  not  compelled  by  any  authority,  Mr. 
Milner,  unless  absolutely  incapacitated  by  ill-health,  continued, 
with  the  assistance  of  Hoflfman,  the  German,  to  give  chymical 
lectures,  until  his  pronu)tion  to  the  deanery  of  Carlisle,  on 
which  event,  he,  from  principle,  resigned  the  office  of  Jackso- 
nian  professor. 

It  is  very  generally  known,  that  Dr.  Milner  took  great 
delight  in  practical  mechanics.  So  fond,  indeed,  was  he  of 
ingenious  manual  laliour,  that  there  was  at  Queen's  Lodge,  a 
large  room,  known  in  the  family  by  the  name  of  the  Work- 
shop, fitted  up  witli  latlies,  furnaces,  work-benches,  grind-stones, 
l)ellows,  blow-pipes,  electrical  apparatus,  &c.  &c.,  in  which 
apartment,  either  alone,  or  with  some  intimate  friend  of  cor- 
responding tastes,  he  used  frequently  to  employ  himself  in 
various  mechanical  operations,  as  well  as  in  chemical  experi- 
ments. 

llie  following  brief  extracts  from  an  extensive  correspon- 
dence which  he  maintained  with  the  Rev.  Thomas  Ludlam,  of 
Leicester — a  man  of  considerable  eminence  as  a  mathematician, 
and  a  great  lover  of  mechanics — are  highly  characteristic ;  and 
exhibit,  in  a  very  strong  light,  the  enthusiastic  eagerness  with 
which,  throughout  his  life,  Isaac  Milner  devoted  himself  to 
whatever  pursuit  chanced,  for  the  time  being,  to  engage  his 
attention. 

This  peculiar  constitution  of  mind  has  been  thought,  by 
some  persons,  to  have  led  him  to  a  misapplication  of  his  time 
and  talents.  To  say,  that  such  an  effect  was  never,  in  any 
degree,  produced  by  it,  would,  perhaps,  be  to  make  too  unguarded 
an  assertion ;  since  it  is  undoubtedly  true,  that  he  would  some- 
times expend  much  close  and  energetic  research,  and,  of  course, 
a  considerable  portion  of  time,  upon  the  elucidation  of  topics, 
which,  to  most  persons,  appeared  unworthy  of  such  sacrifices, — 
it  may  however,  be  safely  affirmed,  that,  upon  (he  whole,  this  turn 

E   2 


52 


CHAP.   IV.     A.D.  1790.     ^TAT.  4». 


of  mind  was  not  only  highly  advantageous  to  its  possessor,  but, 
that  it  was,  in  fact,  the  principal  cause  both  of  his  achieve- 
ments in  science  and  of  his  worldlv  advancement. 


"To  THE  Reverexd  T.  Ludlam*. 

"  Dear  Sir,  "  Queen's  College,  June  13,  1790. 

"  Our  election  of  members  of  parliament  comes  on  next 
Thursdavt ;  and  till  that  bustle  be  over,  I  expect  neither  to 
hear  nor  see  anything  reasonable  or  decent,  and  to  have  no  time 
for  anv  thina:  Ijut  nonsensical  talk  with  fresh  faces.  I  then 
mean  to  set  off  immediately  for  Hull ;  both  on  my  own  account 
and  that  of  my  mother,  who  is  in  her  eightieth  year.  It  is  very 
desirable  for  me  to  get  into  the  country',  near  the  air  of  the  sea 
or  Humber,  as  soon  as  may  be :  if  I  were  in  London,  I  could 
not  go  much  about  this  hot  weather,  in  search  of  the  precious 
metals  (as  William  Ludlam  used  to  call  steel  and  brass)  ;  and 
any  thing  that  can  be  transacted  by  letter,  can  be  done  as  well 
at  the  distance  of  two  hundred  miles,  as  of  fifty.     *     *     * 

"  We  knew  beforehand,  that  steel  often  flies  and  casts  in 
the  hardening:  therefore,  why  are  we  surprised?  The  laws 
of  nature  are  not  to  be  suspended  because  I  want  a  mandril.  I 
only  wish  I  knew  with  accuracy,  what  those  laws  were !  The 
present  ingot,  I  think,  ought  not  to  be  thrown  aside  so  long  as 
there  is  any  of  it  left. 

"  By  all  means  try  again.        H:     ******** 

"  N.B. — I  shall  wait  patiently  for  your  next  account;  but 
upon  seeing  the  outside  of  the  letter,  shall  be  in  such  a  pucker 
as  to  lose  all  philosophy. 

"  I  am  very  sincerely, 

"  Your  oljliged  servant, 

«I.  M. 

"  P.S. — A  celebrated  French  mathematician,  M.  D'Alembert, 


•  It  may  be  proper  to  observe,  that 
certain  theological  writings  of  the  Ilev. 
T.  Ludlam,  aniiniulviTtod  upon  by  ])r. 
Milnor,  in  liis  account  of  his  brotlier's 
worits,  were  not   published   till    some 


years  after  the  date  of  these  letters. 

t  Mr.  Pitt  and  Lord  Euston  were 
re-electod  Members  for  tlu'  University 
of  Cambridge  in  1790. 


CHAP.  IV.     A.U.  1790.     Ml  AT.  40.  53 

has  written,  in  his  Opuscules,  a  tract  on  probabihties,  to  shew 
that  nature  delights  in  variety;  so  that  if  a  halfpenny  has  fallen 
heads,  ten  times  together,  it  is  more  than  an  equal  chance,  that 
it  will  fall  tails  the  eleventh  time. 

"  Though  I  can  conceive  hardly  anything  more  absurd,  or 
irrational,  yet  I  confess,  that  my  weakness  in  such  cases,  is 
rather  on  that  side;  and  I  feel  myself  inclined  to  imitate  the 
above-mentioned  great  man,  in  this  instance  of  human  infirmity, 
particularly  as  it  makes  for  us. 

"  The  mandril  has  failed  once  -•  Courage!  Success  (/rotes  more 
probable  from  failure.  True  gamblers  act  on  the  opposite 
principle.  They  always  back  theman  who  is  in  luck.  Most 
sensible  men  hkc  to  have  the  winning  seats  at  whist;  and  I 
have  been  told,  that  money  is  frequently  given  for  them,  by 
those  who  should  understand  such  things.  I  am  suffering 
to-dav  from  bodily  indisposition,  l)ut  my  head  is  clear  as  a 
bell." 

The  game  of  whist  being,  in  the  foregoing  letter,  incident- 
ally alluded  to,  it  may  be  as  well  here  to  say  a  few  words 
concerning  Dr.  M liner's  sentiments  with  regard  to  card- 
plarjing. 

So  far  as  his  omii  practice  was  concerned,  I  have  frequently 
heard  him  say,  that  he  gave  up  the  habit  of  plapng  at  cards 
long  before  he  entertained  any  thoughts  respecting  its  innocence 
or  guilt — propriety  or  impropriety,  simply  because  "  it  ran  away 
with  time  which  would  otherwise  have  been  better  employed;" 
"  besides,"  he  used  to  add,  "  my  fingers  were  often  so  stained 
by  operations  in  the  laboratorj-,  that  I  really  was  ashamed  to 
exhibit  them."  Afterwards,  indeed,  when  his  religious  principles 
became  fixed,  it  was  impossible  that  a  subject,  so  often  agitated, 
could  escape  his  notice;  and  were  it  my  especial  object  to 
recommend  him  to  the  approbation  of  the  many  excellent 
persons  who  regard  card-playing  as,  in  itself,  a  sin,  I  might 
dismiss  the  matter  ^^^th  the  remark,  that  subsequent  to  that 
period,  he  never  joined  a  card-party.  Those,  however,  who 
have  taken  the  trouble  to  possess  themselves  of  the  little  know- 
ledge of  Dr.  Milner's  character  which  may  be  gleaned  by  the 


54  CHAP.  IV.     A.D.  17!)0.     ETAT.  40. 

perusal  of  the  foregoing  pages,  will  be  prepared  to  believe,  that 
he  nevei'  laid  much  stress  upon  merely  external  matters.  Card- 
plavin^  as  a  means  of  gambling,  he  reprobated;  and,  as  oft'end- 
ing  the  feelings  and  opinions  of  many  sincere  Christians,  he 
would  certainly,  on  St.  Paul's  principle,  have  abstained  from  it, 
even  if  he  had  considered  it  altogether  irreprehensible,  or  had  been 
inclined,  as  a  mere  amusement,  occasionally  to  practise  it.  But 
farther  than  this  he  did  not  go.  Cant  and  aflfectation  of  every 
kind  he  abhorred;  and  to  say  the  truth,  he  was  rather  partial  to 
what  are  called  tricks  with  cards,  especially  such  as  depended 
upon  reasoning  or  calculation.  When  I  was  a  child,  he  used 
often  to  amuse  me  by  shewing  me  such  tricks,  and  explaining 
the  principles  upon  which  they  depended.  Nor  did  he  take  any 
pains  to  conceal  the  nature,  or  the  implements,  of  our  entertain- 
ment. I  well  remember  his  answer  to  an  old  and  intimate  friend, 
who,  on  entering  his  study,  observed  a  pack  of  cards  on  the 
table,  and  addressed  to  him  a  remonstrance  on  the  occasion: 
"  While  you  live,'^  said  Dr.  Milner,  "  never  be  afraid  of  biig- 
bears.'^ 

Among  the  numerous  letters  to  Mr.  T.  Ludlam,  written 
about  this  period,  there  are  many  in  which  the  sympathizing 
friendship  of  Mr.  Milner  is  as  apparent  as  his  mechanical 
enthusiasm ;  and  all  exhibit  the  eager  earnestness  with  which 
the  writer  was  accustomed  to  pursue  his  object,  however  com- 
paratively trifling.  His  ardent  temperament  would  not  suffer 
him  to  rest  satisfied  with  anything  short  of  the  utmost  perfection 
which  it  was  possible  for  him  to  attain  in  any  art  or  science  to 
which  his  attention  was  once  turned;  and  to  the  possession  of 
such  a  temperament,  joined  to  mental  powers  of  the  first  order, 
may  doubtless  be  attributed  the  extraordinarj-  extent  and  variety 
of  his  knowledge. 

Mr.  Milner^s  thirst  of  knowledge  was  a  trait  in  his  character 
which  could  not  escape  the  observation  of  any  who  had  oppor- 
tunities of  associating  with  him;  but  the  growing  influence  wiiich 
religious  principle  was,  at  this  period,  obtaining  over  his  mind, 
was  probably  unknown  even  to  soinc  of  liis  intimate  friends.  If 
what  is  here  stated  be  thouglit  inconsistent  with  the  simplicity 
of  his  character,  it  should  be  considered,  thai,  in  addition  to  his 


CHAP.  IV.     A.D.  1790.     .flTAT.  40.  55 

genuine  abhorrence  of  anything  hke  ostentation  in  reUgious 
matters,  he  felt  and  retained  to  the  end  of  his  hfe,  a  salutary  fear 
of  saying  more  on  such  subjects  than  his  feelings  strictly 
warranted — a  pernicious  practice  from  which  he  thought  some 
truly  religious  persons  not  altogether  free.  Be  this  as  it  may, 
he  was,  at  this  time,  in  the  habit  of  keeping  a  private  diary 
with  a  view  to  his  spiritual  improvement;  and  while,  to  most 
persons,  he  appeared  a  mere  man  of  the  world,  eager  in  the 
pursuit  of  learning  or  preferment,  he  was,  in  truth,  a  humble 
Christian,  "  hungering  and  thirsting  after  righteousness." 


56 


CHAFIT.R  V. 

Extracts  from  Private  Diary. — Prayers  and  Religious  Meditations. 
A.D.  1790.     iETAT.  40. 

Much  diversity  of  opinion,  exists  concerning  tlie  propriety  of 
giving  to  the  public,  any  extracts  from  private  diaries  of  a 
religious  nature.  "  Is  such  a  step  fair  to  the  deceased  ?"  is  a 
question  which  Isaac  Milner  very  seriously  debated  with 
himself,  before  he  resolved  upon  the  publication  of  some  of  the 
private  religious  reflections  of  his  departed  brother. 

From  any  anxious  consideration  of  this  question,  the  present 
biographer  is,  however,  relieved  by  the  fact — perhaps  much  to 
be  regretted  by  the  religious  world — that  Dean  Milner,  some 
time  previous  to  his  death,  gave  express  directions  for  the 
destruction  of  the  greater  part  of  the  papers  containing  his 
private  religious  meditations. 

It  is,  however,  considered  allowable  to  publish  the  following 
ver\^  interesting  extracts  from  the  diary  alluded  to  in  the  last 
chapter,  and  not  included  among  the  papers  directed  to  be 
destroyed : — 

"May  2d,  1790.  Hom'  much  reason  have  I  to  be  thankful, 
that  it  hath  pleased  God  to  lay  this  affliction  of  bodily  sickness 
upon  me  !  Assuredly  I  was  going  in  the  broad  way  to  destruc- 
tion. For  though  there  was  nothing  openly  gross  or  scandalous 
in  my  conduct,  yet  a  very  little  reflection  convinces  me,  that  my 
life  had  nothing  to  do  with  that  of  a  Christian. — God  was  not 
in  my  thoughts.  I  consulted  self  only. — I  transacted  my  ordi- 
nary' lousiness  with  diligence  and  credit  to  myself ;  but  the  rea- 
sons of  my  conduct  were  pride,  ambition,  love  of  reputation, 
hopes  of  advancement,  and  such  hke  :  to  which,  however,  I  may 
add  the  pleasure  I  took  in  the  study  and  improvement  of  natural 
philosophy  and  mathematics;  but  all  this  began  and  ended  in 
self-gratification,  and,  as  I  had  Jio  better  motives  rnvsclf,  it  was 


ClIAr.  V.     A.T).  1700.     ,ETAT.40.  57 

impossible  that  I  should  teach  others  to  regulate  their  (;onduct 
by  superior  or  more  holy  principles  than  the  above  mentioned 
— love  of  fame,  of  consequence,  and  of  advancement,  and  the 
prospect  of  much  mental  pleasure  in  study.  But  how  self-con- 
demned do  I  a])pear,  when  I  recollect  that,  all  the  while,  /  knew 
better  things !  There  is  some  excuse  for  numbers  that  live 
around  me  and  with  me — the]/  have  never  been  in  the  way  of 
true  instruction  ;  whereas  I  have  been  acquainted  with  evange- 
lical truth  for  many  years,  and  yet,  in  defiance  of  convnction,  I 
have  gone  on  for  years  breaking  God's  commandments,  and 
encouraging  others  to  do  so  by  my  example.  Oh  !  Lord,  forgive 
me  !  and  have  mercy  on  thine  afflicted  serv^ant !  Oh  !  let  my 
mouth  be  stopped,  and  let  me  never  say,  that  Thou  dealest 
hardly  with  me,  in  continuing  the  pains  of  my  body." 

The  next  extract  from  these  interesting  papers  consists  of 
reflections,  CA'idently  intended  as  helps  to  self-examination  at 
the  close  of  a  week;  and  of  hints  concerning  the  proper  end  and 
employment  of  the  Sabbath.^' 

"  Saturday  Evening. 

"  1 .  The  end  of  another  week. 

"  2.  Make  us  serious  in  reviewing  the  week ;  day  by  day — 

are  we  better — ^c. — 
"  3.   Have  we  grown  in  grace  ? 
"4.  If  we  cannot  give  satisfactory  answers,  let  us  dedicate 

ourselves  to  God  afresh  ;  and  take  confusion  of  face, 
"5.  As  means — prepare  for  the  Sabbath — use  God's  means, 

and  don't  dispute  about  it. 
"6.  The  End  of  the  Sabbath — service   of   God — prayer — 

thanksgiA-ing — meditation. 
"  7.  Mav  holv  men  throughout  the  world  be  employed  well 

— prav  for  the  king,  parliament  and  magistrates ;  for 

religion  and  piety. 
"  8.  For  protection  during  the  day — for  God's  forbearance." 

Dr.  Milner  has  himself  observed  in  his  Life  of  his  brother, 
that  "when  we  are  presented  with  a  regular  diary  of  private 
meditations,  the  internal  evidence  of  piety  and  good  sense  is  not 


58  CHAP.  V.     A.D.  1790.     vETAT.  40. 

usually  found  sufficient  to  convince  us  of  the  perfect  integrity  of 
the  writer."  Few  persons,  however,  will  suspect  the  writer  of 
the  above  unfinished  reflections,  of  ha-sang  had  the  smallest 
intention  of  courting  tlie  applause  of  posterity,  through  their 
medium. — 

Of  these  reflections,  that  marked  4,  is  precisely  in  accordance 
with  the  advice  which  Dr.  Milner  invariably  gave  to  persons 
who  consulted  him,  under  convictions  of  spiritual  declension. 
"  Never  attempt,"  he  would  say,  "  to  bolster  up  the  past — go  to 
Christ  afresh,  as  a  believing  and  repentant  sinner." 

The  following  observations,  apparently  of  the  same  date, 
seem  to  have  been  suggested  by  the  perusal  of  the  15th  chapter 
of  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Romans: — 

"  Romans  xv.  1 3th  verse. 

"The  pleasure  a  minister  takes  in  perceiving  fruit  of  his 
labours.  It  is  reasonable  to  value  it. — He  knows  the  value  of 
an  immortal  soul.  A  similar  pleasure  all  feel,  whp  have  turned 
the  wicked  from  their  way. 

"Verse  25.  Some  of  St.  Paul's  prayers  were  answ'ered — 
others  not  directly — lie  was  delivered  into  the  hands  of  the  Jews 
— but  that  brought  him  to  Rome — where  he  preached. 

"  God  answers  prayers  differently — He  likes  to  be  waited  on." 

Of  the  following  prayers  and  meditations,  apparently  written 
during  this  year,  some  appear  to  have  been  partly  intended  for 
family  worship,  and  some  suggested  by  Mr.  Milner's  private 
reading  of  particular  portions  of  Scripture. 

"Evening  Prayer. 

"  O  Lord  !  we  fall  down  before  Thee,  and  desire  to  acknow- 
ledge and  bewail  our  manifold  sins  and  wickedness,  which,  from 
time  to  time,  we  have  committed  against  Thee.  We  have  lived 
a  great  part  of  our  lives  as  though  there  had  been,  in  the  world, 
no  God  who  considers  men's  actions,  and  will  assuredly  recom- 
pense them  according  to  their  deserts.  If  we  have  been  re- 
strained from  the  commission  of  gross  crimes,  we  must  ascribe 
tlio   restraint   to  thy   merciful   superintending  kindness,  which 


CHAP.  V.     A.D.    1790.      yETAT.  40.  59 

daily  protects  us,  in  numerous  instances,  though  we  continue 
careless  and  unthankful.  Sometimes  a  sense  of  decency,  some- 
times self-interest,  or  a  regard  to  character,  has  preser\-ed  us 
from  open  transgressions,  or  private  indulgences ;  but,  on 
reviewing  and  well  considering  our  past  conduct,  in  how  few 
instances  can  we  truly  say,  that  we  have  been  influenced  by  a 
love  to  God,  by  a  desire  of  promoting  his  glory  in  the  world, 
and  by  a  grateful  remembrance  of  the  sufferings  and  death  of 
our  Saviour  !  O  Lord  !  we  have  neither  been  faithful  to  the  light 
which  we  have  had,  nor  have  we  been  useful  to  others,  in  setting 
them  examples  of  diligence  and  piety.  We  have  lived  in  the 
world  under  the  name  of  Christians,  but  we  have  been  utter 
strangers  to  the  power  of  Christ's  doctrine,  and  have  brought 
forth  no  fruits  unto  holiness.  O  Lord!  when  we  think  on  these 
things,  we  are  covered  with  shame  and  confusion,  and  can  only 
cry  out,  God  be  merciful  to  us  sinners ! 

"  How  abundantly  thankful,  then,  ought  we  to  he  for  that 
great  kindness,  long-suffering,  and  forbearance,  by  which  we  are 
at  this  moment  numbered  among  the  living,  and  permitted  to 
approach  the  throne  of  thy  grace,  there  honestly  to  confess  our 
sins,  and  to  entreat  for  their  remission,  through  the  all-prevailing 
name  and  intercession  of  Jesus  Christ!  Thou  mightest,  very 
justly,  have  dealt  severely  with  us,  and  we  might  now  have  been 
receiving  the  proper  wages  of  our  sins,  of  our  long  neglect  of 
thy  holy  laws,  and  of  our  rejection  of  proffered  grace  through 
the  gospel.  But  Thou  hast  not  dealt  \nth  us  according  to  our 
works ;  in  thy  wrath  Thou  hast  thought  on  mercy,  and  we  are 
monuments  of  thy  patience  and  forgiveness. 

"  Grant,  O  Lord,  that  thy  goodness  may  lead  us  to  re- 
pentance, and  that  we  may  become  thy  faithful  and  willing 
servants. 

"  Dreadful  will  it  be,  if  tliy  long  forbearance  with  us  should,. 
in  the  end,  only  sers'e  to  manifest  our  greater  perverseness  and 
hardness  of  heart,  and  to  increase  our  condemnation ! 

"At  the  same  time  that  we  hope  better  things,  and  desire 
to  return  Thee  most  hearty  thanks,  that  by  thy  Holy  Spirit, 
Thou  hast  put  into  our  minds  any  wishes  to  serve  Thee  better 


60  CHAP.  V.     A.D.   1790.     ^TAT.  40. 

in  future,  teach  us,  O  Lord,  in  no  respect  to  rely  on  ourselves 
for  change  of  heart  and  amendment  of  conduct. 

"  Teach  us  to  know  experimentally,  that  without  Christ 
assisting  us  by  his  Holy  Spirit,  we  can  do  nothing  effectually : 
and,  that  all  our  resolutions,  endeavours,  and  prospects  of  success, 
will  be  fruitless  and  vain.  In  His  strength  therefore — through 
His  assistance,  we  oifer  up  to  Thee  our  souls  and  bodies,  as  a 
lively  and  reasonable  sacrifice :  we  commit  ourselves  to  the 
protection  of  our  Lord,  as  our  king:  we  rely  on  Him  as  our 
priest  to  make  atonement  for  us,  and  we  applv  to  Him  as  our 
prophet,  for  wisdom,  and  instruction  in  spiritual  things.  O 
Lord  !  it  is  easy,  on  our  bended  knees,  to  use  these  words,  and 
to  make  these  resolutions ;  but  the  natural  corruption  of  our 
hearts,  and  our  habits  of  sin  and  negligence,  will  soon  prevail, 
and  bring  us  into  an  indolent  and  formal  state  of  contentment, 
and  of  fatal  security,  unless  Thou  be  continually  near,  warning 
us  from  sloth,  and  protecting  vis  from  temptation,  or  chastening 
ns  with  misfortunes  and  adversity.  While,  therefore,  we  pretend 
to  commit  oiu*selves  to  thy  care  and  guidance,  teach  us  to  submit 
with  patience,  to  thy  dispensations. 

"  Thou  hast  jiroved  our  merciful  protector  during  the  past 
day;  we  have  gone  out  and  come  in,  ajul  no  liarm  has  happened 
unto  us;  and  Thou  hast  provided  us  abundantly  with  daily  bread, 
and  with  exery  thing  needful  and  convenient,  while  many  are  in 
want,  and  in  distress.  Guard  and  keep  us  safe  during  the  dark- 
ness of  the  night ;  let  no  mischief  come  near  our  bodies,  nor 
any  temptations  assault  our  minds;  and  if  it  please  Thee  to 
refresh  us  with  sleep,  and  to  raise  us  up  to  see  another  day, 
grant  that  we  may  spend  it  in  thy  service,  and  to  thy  glor)'^,  and 
to  the  furtherance  of  our  inunortal  interests." 

"Saturday  Evexixg. 

"  O,  Almighty  God,  who,  by  thy  holy  apostles,  hast  taught 
us,  that  in  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  neither  circumcision  nor 
uncircumcision  availetli  any  tiling,  but  a  new  creature;  mIio  didst 
vouchsafe,  hot li  to  llic  Jews  and  to  the  (ientilcs,  the  gift  of  tlie 
Hfdv  (ihost,    and  w1h»  didst    shew   lo  flic  first   Christians,  llial 


CHAP.  V.     A.D.  17!»0.     /I-rrAT.  40.  61 

there  was  no  diflference  between  Jew  and  Gentile  except  that 
which  consisted  in  the  purifying  of  their  hearts  by  faith  ;  give 
unto  us,  we  beseech  Thee,  that  most  excellent  gift  of  faith,  by 
which,  as  the  Scriptures  teach  us,  the  heart  believeth  unto  righte- 
ousness. We  know,  O  God,  that  without  faith,  it  is  impossible 
to  please  Thee,  for  the  Scripture  expressly  declares  it,  and  adds, 
that  whoever  cometh  unto  Thee,  must  believe,  that  Thou  art, 
and  that  Thou  art  a  rewarder  of  them  that  diligently  seek  Thee. 
We  have  no  reason  to  expect  thy  blessing,  so  long  as  we  con- 
tinue in  a  careless,  indifferent,  or  sensual  state — so  long  as  we 
are  given  up  to  worldly  enjoyments,  or,  so  long  as  our  minds  are 
improperly  and  unreasonably  concerned  in  worldly  cares,  and 
worldly  pursuits.  iVs  little  are  we  to  expect  thy  blessing,  if, 
after  having  discharged  certain  duties  of  the  day,  in  a  tolerably 
decent  manner,  we  say  to  our  soul,  '  Well  done,  thou  hast 
deserved  praise  and  rcM'ard  at  thy  Maker's  hands.'  Keep  us, 
good  Lord,  by  thy  might}'  protection,  from  these  dangerous 
extremes  :  keep  us  mindful  of  duties,  and  at  the  same  time, 
disposed  to  reckon  our  best  services  as  'filthy  rags.'  Give  us  to 
know,  that,  in  our  own  strength,  we  cannot  so  much  as  do  one  good 
action,  or  think  one  good  thought :  and  that  it  is  only  through  the 
merits  of  thy  beloved  Son,  and  through  faith  in  his  blood,  that 
our  best  and  most  active  services  are  accepted  by  Thee.  Give 
us  to  see,  that,  without  thy  constantly  superintending  grace,  we 
are  for  ever  prone  to  deviate  from  the  path  of  Christian  holiness, 
and,  that  it  is  only  by  this  grace,  wdth  persevering  watchfuhiess, 
that  we  can  hope  to  preserve  ourselves  '  unspotted  from  the 
world,'  and  to  retain  a  '  conscience  void  of  offence.' 

"  Grant,  Lord,  that  we  may  not  grieve  and  quench  thy  Holy 
Spirit,  whereby  alone  we  can  be  '  sealed  unto  the  day  of  redemp- 
tion ;'  but  that  by  continuance  in  well-doing,  we  may  render  our 
*  calling  and  election  sure.' 

"  After  unfeignedly  thanking  Thee  for  the  mercies  of  the  day 
past,  and  begging  of  Thee  to  give  us  a  grateful  insight  into  the 
true  value  of  daily  protection,  daily  sustenance,  and  daily  com- 
forts and  conveniences,  we  entreat  Thee  to  defend  us  against  the 
perils  and  dangers  of  the  night.  As  we  knew  not,  in  the  morn- 
ing, what  this  day  might  bring  forth,   so   do  we  not  know  what 


62  CHAP.  V.     A.L).   17t)0.     -CTAT.  40. 

may  be  required  of  us  in  tlie  succeeding  night.  O  give  us  a 
watchful  spirit,  and  a  spirit  of  prayer !  Thou  art  a  prayer-hear- 
ing God,  and  givest  hberally  to  them  that  ask  it  of  Thee,  and 
upbraidest  not.  Enable  us,  through  thy  beloved  Son,  to  ask 
and  to  obtain  that  state  of  spiritual  preparation,  that  we  may 
not  be  taken  unawares,  or  with  our  lamps  untrimmed,  and  with- 
out oil,  at  whatever  hour  Thou  mayest  choose  to  call  upon  us. 
Grant  us,  O  Lord,  this  great  blessing,  for  thy  Son,  Jesus  Christ's 
sake.  Once  more  we  pray  Thee  to  take  us  into  thy  protection 
this  night ;  and,  if  Thou  dost  preser\'e  us  to  another  day,  grant, 
that  we  may  rise  in  the  morning  to  praise  Thee  with  joyful  lips. 
So  do  Thou  lead  us  on  from  day  to  day,  till,  at  last,  we  come  to 
that  bright  and  eternal  day,  when  the  sun  shall  set  xo  more." 


*^  O  Holy,  and  ever  blessed  God,  it  is  very  meet,  and  our 
bounden  duty,  to  return  Thee  hearty  thanks  for  the  discovery  of 
thy  rich  mercies,  contained  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Among  the 
many  distinguished  mercies  and  blessings  which  we,  in  this 
happy  and  highly-favoured  country,  enjoy,  teach  us,  with  true 
gratitude  and  thankfulness,  to  acknowledge  thy  fatherly  good- 
ness, in  permitting  us  to  read  those  sacred  books  which  open  to 
us  the  way  of  Everlasting  Life.  While  many  persons  in  distant 
countries  and  climates  which  the  Gospel  has  yet  never  reached, 
are  in  extreme  ignorance,  doubt,  or  apprehension,  about  their 
future  state,  it  is  our  own  fault,  if  we  do  not  both  know  what 
belongs  to  our  salvation,  and  also  take  care  to  secure  it. 

"  It  is  not  owing  to  the  severe  and  rigid  character  of  God, 
if  we  are  not  justified  by  faith,  and  if  we  have  not  peace  Avith 
Him,  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

"  As  then,  O  Lord,  Thou  hast  given  us  access  by  faith  unto 
this  grace,  enable  us,  by  thy  Spirit  to  rejoice  with  thy  holy 
apostles,  and  with  all  good  men,  in  tlie  hope  of  the  glory  of 
God.  And  should  it  ])lease  Thee  in  thy  M-isdoni  to  lessen,  or 
to  deprive  us  of  several  of  our  worldly  comforts,  grant  tiiat 
we  may  also  'glory  in  tribulation;'  and  know,  by  a  spiritual 
and  happy  experience,  that  'tribulation  worketh  patience,  and 
patience,    experience,    and    experience,    hope.      Let    us    never 


CHAP.  V.     A.D.  1790.     >ETAT.  40.  6.^ 

forget,  that  while  we  were  yet  siiiners,  Christ  died  for  the 
ungodly.  In  this  wonderful  way,  He  commended  his  love  to  us, 
and  saved  us  from  eternal  wrath.  '  How,'  then, '  shall  we  escape, 
if  we  neglect  so  great  salvation  ?'  There  remaineth  no  further 
sacrifice  for  sin  :  no  further  hope  of  a  fresh  dispensation  for 
fallen  and  ungrateful  man.  There  is  only  left  a  '  certain  fearful 
looking  for*  of  a  day  of  judgment. 

"  Defend,  O  Lord,  and  protect  us  from  a  careless  and  negli- 
gent spirit,  while  we  exist  in  this  world,  which  is  our  state  of 
prohation  :  and  grant,  that  we  may  honestly  receive  our  Lord 
and  Master,  in  all  his  offices,  and  so  become  acquainted  with 
that  '  hope'  which  '  maketh  not  ashamed.^  May  we  earnestly 
press  for  an  interest  in  his  merits,  and  become  his  faithful  soldiers 
and  servants  unto  our  lives'  end.  Guard  us,  on  all  occasions, 
from  offending  Thee,  and  from  quenching  thy  Spirit  by  idle  and 
sensual  indulgences ;  and  keep  us  humble  in  our  spirits,  and 
active,  diligent,  and  conscientious  in  the  discharge  of  our  duties. 

"  Whatever  we  pray  for  ourselves,  we  pray  also,  for  our  friends 
and  relatives,  and  for  all  who  are  near  and  dear  unto  us.  Do 
Thou  make  them  near  and  dear  unto  Thee :  enlighten  their 
minds  with  true  understanding  of  thy  word ;  and  make  them 
zealous  and  fervent  Christians,  devoted  to  thy  service,  all  the 
days  of  their  lives.  So  shall  we,  at  last,  meet  them,  in  a  happy 
and  glorious  eternit)',  and  for  ever  sing  praise  together,  to  '  God 
and  to  the  Lamb.' 

"  We  bless  Thee,  that  no  harm  has  happened  to  us  this  day. 
May  we  lie  down  in  peace,  and  safely  rest  under  the  protecting 
shadow  of  Thy  Almighty  wings.  If  Thou  art  with  us,  no  ev\\ 
shall  happen  unto  us;  if  Thou  forsake  us,  we  become  a  prey  to 
wicked  men,  to  ^^^cked  spirits,  and  to  our  own  wicked  imagina- 
tions. If  it  please  Thee,  that  we  should  survive  another  day, 
may  we  live  that  day  in  Thy  sers-ice.  Prepare  us,  good  Lord, 
for  every  event,  and  every  event  for  us." 

The  above  compositions  are  not  presented  to  the  reader,  as 
they  certainly  were  not  intended  by  the  %\Titer,  as  models  of 
supplicator}-  addresses  to  the  Almighty.  They  are  peculiar  in 
their   character,    and    seem   to   partake   of  the   nature  both   of 


64  CHAP.  V.     A.D.   1790.     iT:TAT.  40. 

prayers,  and  of  religious  meditations.  In  fact,  the  readers  of 
them  are,  perhaps,  admitted  into  as  close  an  intimacy  with  the 
feehngs  of  him  who  wrote  them,  as  is  possible  in  this  state  of 
existence.  They  are,  as  it  were,  present  in  his  closet,  and 
witness  the  actual  current  of  his  thoughts  while  prostrate  before 
his  Maker.  Such  effusions  coming  from  the  pen  of  such  a  man, 
are,  doubtless,  intrinsically  valuable;  and  it  is  needless  to  add, 
that  they  must  be  especially  interesting  to  the  surviving  friends 
of  Dr.  Milner. 

The  remaining  prayers  and  meditations,  seem  to  have  been 
suggested  by  passages  occurring  in  Mr.  Milner's  private  perusal 
of  the  Scri})tures. 


"  Romans,  ii. 

"O  ever  blessed  God!  It  is  our  bounden  duty  to  fall  down 
before  Thee,  and  with  the  deepest  humility  to  confess  our 
manifold  sins  and  wickedness,  and  to  thank  Thee  for  thy  great 
mercy  towards  us,  miserable  sinners.  O  grant  that  we  may 
approach  Thee,  not  with  a  form  of  words  only,  but  with  the 
heart!  We  are  encompassed  with  dangers  on  every  side;  and 
not  the  least  of  those  dangers  is,  lest  our  prayers,  instead  of 
being  acceptable  to  Thee,  should,  on  account  of  negligence, 
levity,  or  formality,  become  an  abomination  in  thy  sight.  O  that 
we  may  be  effectually  secured  against  a  careless  spirit!  Let  the 
remem])rance  of  our  past  lives  be  ever  present  with  us.  Like 
sheep  we  have  gone  astray;  from  our  earliest  infancy  we  have 
repeatedly  broken  thy  express  laws;  we  have  followed  the  devices 
and  desires  of  our  own  hearts;  we  have  walked  according  to  the 
course  of  this  world,  according  to  the  '  prince  of  the  power  of 
the  air;'  'the  spirit  that  now  worketh  in  the  children  of  disobe- 
dience;' we  have  stifled  the  dictates  of  conscience;  and  it  is  of 
thy  great  mercy,  that  we  are  not  now  receiving  the  wages  of  our 
iniquity,  in  a  state  of  punishment.  Sometimes,  O  God,  we  are 
ashamed  and  confounded,  when  we  think  on  these  things,  and 
are  less  disposed  to  trifle  with  Thee,  our  Maker,  our  bountiful 
Protector,  and  our  compassionate  Redeemer.  But  how  soon  are 
these  injpressions  effaced;  liow  cold  and  slotlifid  do  we  speedily 


CHAP.  V.     A.D.  1790.     ^TAT.  40.  ^.5 

grow;  and  how  reaclilv  do  our  tlujughts  wander  from  connnuni- 
cation  with  Thee!  In  our  distresses,  indeed,  we  remember  our 
disobedience  and  our  backslidings,  and  we  call  upon  the  name 
of  the  Lord;  but  no  sooner  is  the  storm  blown  over,  than  we 
sink  again  into  tlie  mir)-  jiaths  of  worldly  vanities,  pride,  ambi- 
tion, or  sensuality. 

"  What  an  awful  lesson  have  I  read  to-night,  in  the  writings 
of  thy  holy  apostle,  Saint  Paul,  respecting  the  ancient  Jews. 
They  digged  doM'u  thine  altars,  they  killed  thy  prophets,  and 
proceeded  to  such  a  pitch  of  obdurate  and  practical  wickedness, 
that,  in  thy  righteous  determination.  Thou  didst  punish  them 
with  a  judicial  blindness.  Thou  gavest  them  the  spirit  of  slumber 
—  eyes  that  they  should  not  see,  and  ears  that  they  should  not 
hear,  even  in  tlie  day  when  the  blessed  gospel  of  salvation  was 
preached  unto  them.  We,  O  Lord,  are  in  nowise  better  than 
they.  We  have  rebelled  against  clearer  light  and  greater  know- 
ledge; but  Tliou  hast  not  dealt  with  us  according  to  our  iniqui- 
ties. Oh!  let  the  remembrance  of  thy  great  mercies,  and  long 
forbearance,  at  last  lead  us  to  repentance. 

"  We  desire  to  be  thankful  to  Thee,  O  God,  if  Thou  hast  on 
any  occasion  alarmed  our  consciences,  and  made  us  sensible  of 
our  perilous  situation.  If  Thou  hast  made  us  to  flee  to  Thee,  in 
any  degree,  with  a  penitent  heart,  and  with  desires  of  at  length 
becoming  thy  true  and  faithful  servants,  O  grant  that  these 
awakenings  may  be  the  sm-e  dawn  of  a  more  perfect  day,  in  due 
time  to  be  revealed;  and,  that  at  length,  before  we  die,  the  day- 
star  of  hope,  of  consolation,  of  joy  in  believing,  may  arise  upon 
our  hearts.  Pardon  the  many  sins  of  vanity,  folly,  and  careless- 
less,  which  thy  pure  eyes  have  seen  in  us  to-day.  We  said,  that 
we  would  'take  heed  unto  our  ways,'  but  how  prone  are  we  to 
forget  thy  commandments,  and  our  own  promises:  how  apt  are 
we  to  be  drawn  astray  by  the  trifling  temptations  of  this  wicked 
world,  and  the  more  numerous  delusive  suggestions  of  our  own 
hearts.  The  cure  of  all  this  is  a  more  lively  faith  in  the  Redeemer, 
a  deeper  insight  into  the  holiness  of  the  law  of  God,  a  greater 
hatred  of  sin,  and  a  more  ardent  love  and  panting  after  commu- 
nion with  Thee.  O  enable  us,  with  holy  David,  to  say  with 
sincerity,  that  our  soul  pantetli  after  Thee,  as  the  hart  panteth 


f)f>  CHAP.  V.     A.D.  1790.     JETAT.  AO. 

after  the  water-brooks.  Blessed  be  God  and  our  merciful 
Redeemer,  that,  amidst  all  this  weakness,  and  all  this  wickedness, 
we  have  the  blood  of  Jesus  to  flee  to — the  blood  which  cleanseth 
from  all  sin.  Let  this  be  our  hope  and  sure  anchor,  both  in  life 
and  in  death.  May  we  this  night  lie  down  in  peace,  firmly 
relying  on  this  hope ;  and  if  Thou  shouldst  please  to  grant  unto 
us  a  safe  and  peaceful  night  of  rest,  may  we  awake  in  the 
morning  with  our  bodies  refreshed  and  our  minds  still  relying 
on  the  hope  and  prospect  of  a  blessed  immortaHty,  through  our 
Lord  and  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ. 

"  May  this  Christian  faith  and  hope,  and  this  glorious  pros- 
pect, carry  us  through  to-morrow  and  every  day  which  Thou 
mayest  please  to  vouchsafe  unto  us.  And  may  we,  with  hearty 
desires  of  serving  Thee  better  than  we  have  hitherto  done,  become 
improving  Christians,  and  thy  faithful  soldiers  and  serv^ants,  unto 
our  lives'  end." 


" '  O  come,  let  us  sing  unto  the  Lord.' 

"  ^  O  come  let  us  worship  and  fall  down,  and  kneel  before 
the  Lord  our  maker;  for  he  is  a  great  God,  and  a  great  king 
above  all  gods.' 

"  Enable  us,  O  Lord,  to  call  Thee  our  God,  for  we  are  '  the 
people  of  thy  pasture,  and  the  sheep  of  thy  hand.' 

"  If  we  reflect  at  all  from  whence  come  the  numerous  good 
things  which  we  enjoy,  we  must  be  sensible,  that  they  are  all 
derived  from  thy  bounty.  When  we  are  hungr)',  who  shall 
satisfy  us,  if  Thou  shouldest  withhold  thy  plentiful  hand !  Who 
else  can  supply  us  when  we  are  thirsty!  And  if  we  be  naked 
and  exposed  to  the  inclemencies  of  the  weather,  to  whom  must  we 
look  for  covering,  but  to  the  same  bountiful  Giver,  who  foresees 
all  our  wants,  and  who  not  only  provides  for  our  necessities,  but 
also  gratifies  our  feelings  with  a  superfluous  abundance  of  com- 
forts and  pleasures.  But  these  blessings  are  so  common,  that 
we  are  apt  to  receive  them  as  things  of  course;  or  if  we  do  think 
about  them,  we  are  prone  to  suppose,  that  we  have  a  sort  of  right 
to  them,  and  thus  to  fly  in  the  face  of  Thee,  the  powerful  and 
bountiful  Author  and  Giver  of  tlicm  all. 

"  Notwithstanding  this  our  ingratitude,  Thou  continuest  to 


CHAP.  V.     A.D.  1790.     jKTAT.  40.  67 

do  us  good,  and  to  bless  us  with  health,  with  plent\%  and  with 
prosperit)'.  If  our  health  fail,  or  if  adversity  overtake  us,  if 
Thou  see  good  to  j)lague  us  with  public  famine,  or  to  lessen  our 
domestic  comforts,  we  then,  for  a  time,  acknowledge  our  un- 
worthiness,  and  show  some  signs  of  repentance ;  but  no  sooner 
does  the  darkness  disperse,  no  sooner  do  the  winds  and  storms 
abate,  than  we  return  to  our  usual  practice  of  slothfulness,  in- 
dulgence, and  sensualit)'.  Oh  !  put  us  continually  in  mind,  that 
'  we  are  the  people  of  thy  pasture ;'  and,  if  it  be  necessary,  O 
Lord,  chasten  us  ;  but  '  not  in  thine  anger,  lest  thou  bring  us  to 
nothing.'  Above  all,  feed  us  wath  the  bread  and  with  the  water 
of  life,  that  we  may  neither  hunger  nor  thirst  again.  Give  us 
spiritual  blessings,  and  make  our  souls  to  prosper  in  A-igorous 
and  active  health. 

"  It  is  said,  '  to-day ,  if  ye  will  hear  his  voice/  O  grant  that 
we  may  not  harden  our  hearts,  as  the  hearts  of  the  children  of 
Israel  were  hardened  in  the  Avilderness,  when,  during  so  many 
years,  they  tempted  and  provoked  Almighty  God.  Let  the  con- 
sideration of  the  danger  of  putting  off,  from  day  to  day,  the  things 
that  concern  our  immortal  interests,  effectually  alarm  us,  and 
bring  about  a  thoughtful,  diligent,  and  watchful  state  of  mind. 
'  Now  is  the  accepted  time' — '  to-day,  if  ye  Avill  hear  his  voice.' 
To-morrow,  it  may  be,  in  many  ways,  too  late.  AVe  may  be 
numbered  with  the  dead,  and  our  lot  may  be  reckoned  among  the 
transgressors ;  or  we  may  be  alive,  and  may  have  sinned  till  our 
liearts  are  hardened  and  thoroughly  impenitent ;  we  may  have 
rejected  the  proffered  offers  of  mercy,  we  may  have  quenched 
thy  Holy  Spirit  so  often,  that  thou  wilt  no  longer  *  strive'  with 
us — God  '  will  not  always  strive  with  man.'  Although  there  be 
mercy  for  ever)^  returning  sinner,  although  all  that  are  weary 
and  heavy  laden  with  the  burden  of  sin  are  sure  to  find  rest, 
upon  a  sincere  application  to  our  Redeemer ;  yet  we  may  neg- 
lect to  make  this  application,  till  we  are  no  longer  disposed  to 
make  it,  and  till  the  God  of  mercy  and  forgiveness,  may  swear 
in  his  wrath,  that  we  shall  not  enter  into  his  rest.  If,  then,  on 
any  occasion,  Thou,  O  most  merciful  Father,  puttest  into  our 
minds  good  desires,  grant,  we  beseech  Thee,  that  we  may  be 
faithful  to  these  convictions,  and  not  abuse  thy  long  forbearance 

F    2 


68  CHAP.  V.     A.D.  1790.     ^TAT.  40. 

and  patience.  And  whenever  it  lias  pleased  Thee  to  enable  us 
to  pray,  with  any  degree  of  warmth  and  sincerity,  grant  that  we 
may  possess  a  waiting  spirit — a  spirit  which  expects  its  prayers 
to  be  answered,  and  which  is  uneasy  if  they  be  not  answered. 

"  Tliy  pure  eyes  have  seen  in  us  much  amiss  in  the  course  of 
the  day  past :  glory  be  to  Thee,  that  we  have  a  Redeemer  to  apply 
to,  as  a  foundation  for  the  expecting  of  forgiveness  at  thy  hands. 
Teach  us  to  be,  in  future,  more  careful,  more  simple-minded,  and 
more  spiritual.  Teach  us  to  examine  our  conduct,  with  a 
jealous  attention ;  and  where  we  find  ourselves  to  be  unusually 
weak  and  liable  to  sin,  may  we  be,  in  those  points,  more  on  our 
guard,  and  more  solicitous  and  importunate  in  imploring  assist- 
ance at  the  throne  of  grace.  So  shall  we  approach  nearer  and 
nearer  to  the  perfect  man. 

"  Bless  our  king,  and  all  who  are  in  authorit}'  under  him. 
Bless  our  near  friends  and  relatives,  and  all  mankind,  and 
do  imto  them  every  good  which  we  can  ask,  or  imagine  for  our- 
selves ;  but,  above  all,  let  their  immortal  sovds  be  precious 
in  thy  sight.  May  they,  and  we,  together  walk  like  true  Chris- 
tians, whose  eyes  are  steadily  fixed  on  futurit)'.  So  shall  we 
together  enjoy  a  blessed  eternity,  purchased  for  us  by  our  dear 
Redeemer,  Jesus  Christ.     Amen." 


"I.  Corinthians,  x. 
"  Grant,  O  Lord,  if  it  please  Thee,  that  we  may  read  thy 
Holy  Scriptures  with  advantage.  Grant,  that  our  ideas  may  be 
spiritualized,  and,  that,  through  thy  grace,  we  may  be  enabled 
to  drink  freely  of  the  water  which  floweth  from  Christ,  the 
spiritual  Rock,  and  never  thirst  again.  AVe  have  been  baptized 
in  his  name,  and  have  a  much  clearer  revelation  of  the  nature 
of  his  salvation  than  was  vouchsafed  to  the  Israelites,  who  were 
only  initiated  into  the  true  religion  by  types  and  emblems  ;  and 
it  is  our  own  fault,  and  will  be  our  condemnation,  if  we  do  not 
turn  to  good  account  this  superior  knowledge  and  information. 
O  may  we,  in  the  great  day  of  account,  be  found  to  have  been 
faithful  stewards  of  thy  mysteries  !  as,  most  assuredly,  since  more 
is  given,  more  will  be  required  at  our  hands. 


CHAP.  V.     A.D.  1790.     iETAT.  40.  69 

"  How  alarming  is  the  history  of  the  favourite  people  of 
God!  And  their  histor)'^  is  assuredly  written  for  our  example. 
They  tempted  God,  and  provoked  Him  by  multiplied  transgres- 
sions, till  He  '  sware  in  his  wrath,  that  they  should  not  enter 
into  his  rest.'  O  make  us  watchful  and  humble ;  and  *  Let 
him  that  thinketh  he  standeth,  take  heed  lest  he  fall !' " 


"  I.  Corinthians,  xiii. 
"  Give  us,  we  beseech  Thee,  O  Lord,  that  love  to  God  and 
man,  which  will  abide  when  faith  is  superseded  by  sight,  and 
hope  is  swallowed  up  in  enjoyment.  Give  us  to  know  thy  true 
character,  and  make  us  to  live,  as  always  in  thy  presence. 
Grant  that  we  may  not  be  eye-ser^■  ants,  but,  that  it  may  be  our 
pleasure  to  sen^e  Thee  from  love  and  gratitude.  We  shall  then 
neither  '  behave'  ourselves  '  unseemly,'  nor  '  seek'  our  ^  own,' 
nor  be  '  easily  provoked ;'  we  shall  ^  think'  *  no  evil ;'  we  shall 
*  bear  all  things,'  '  believe  all  things,'  '  endure  all  things ;'  we 
shall  exemplify  Christian  principles,  and  improve  in  Christian 
practice." 


70 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Mechanical  pursuits. — Nominated  to  the  Deanery  of  Carlisle. — Con'espondence. 
— Illness  of  Joseph  Milner. — Dr,  Paley. — Distinguishing  traits  in  the  cha- 
racter of  Dean  Milner. — Slave-trade  abolition. — Revolutionary  spirit  in 
England. — Correspondence. —  Mr.  Milner  takes  the  Degree  of  D.D. — 
Visits  his  Brother  at  Hull. — Letter  from  Joseph  Milner  to  the  Rev. 
James  Stillingfleet. — Explanation  of  some  peculiarities  in  Dr.  Milner's 
Conduct. —  Extracts  from  Correspondence  with  William  Hey,  Esq. — 
Certificates  of  Ill-health. — Dr.  Milner  elected  Vice-Chancellor.  —  CoiTe- 
spondence. — State  of  the  Country. — Observations  on  the  Character  of  Fox. 
— Mr.  Pitt  re-elected  M.P.  for  the  University  of  Cambridge. 

A.D.  1791.     VETAT.  41. 

The  intervals  of  leisure  which,  in  the  spring  of  the  year  1791^ 
Mr.  Milner's  various  duties  as  president  of  a  college  and  a 
public  lecturer  allowed  him,  seem  to  have  been  principally  em- 
ployed in  mechanical  and  philosophical  pursuits.  This  appears 
from  several  passages  in  his  letters.  Thus,  on  the  29th  of.April, 
he  writes  from  Queen's  Lodge,  "  I  have  been  here  now  for  some 
weeks  working  exceedingly  hard — for  working  agrees  verj^  well 
>vith  me,  when  the  weather  is  not  too  hot — it  amuses,  and  it  tends 
to  lessen  nerv'^osities,  and  to  dull  pain,  &c.,  &c.,  and  I  see  plainly 
that  I  must  reckon  upon  being  an  invalid  ;"  and  again,  to  ano- 
ther friend,  "  In  good  truth  there  is  scarce  a  day  passes,  but  I 
think  of  you  many  times  ;  and  this  without  any  manner  of  com- 
pliment ;  for  there  is  constantly  rising  either  some  new  difficult)', 
or  I  want  some  new  tool,  or  some  instruction  how  to  use  the  tools 
I  have  ;  insomuch,  that  were  an  intelligent  adviser  at  hand,  1 
should  feel  the  comfort  of  him  to  a  ver)^  great  degree."  Again, 
to  Mr.  Ludlam,  ''  I  have  been  a  great  dabbler  in  air-pumps,  and 
have  spent  a  great  deal  of  money  on  them.  I  have  now  one  by 
me,  which  cost  GO/,  and  upward.s,  exclusive  of  the  ap])aratus — 
and  yet  they  are  all  defective,  at  least  when  compared  and  mea- 
sured by  my  fancies."  *  *  «  Q,i  reading  over  this  letter,  I 
am  quite  asliamed  of  the  troubli*  I  give  you:  but  they  arc  hol)by- 
h(jrscs,  and  tlicre  is  no  saying  what  leiigtlis  a  man  will  not  go,  to 
gratify  himself  in  such  cases." 


CHAP.  VI.     A.D.  1791.     ^TAT.  41.  71 

In  accordance  with  his  usual  custom,  Mr.  Milner  passed  the 
summer  of  this  year  with  his  aged  mother,  his  brother,  and  his 
other  relatives,  at  Hull.  The  commencement  of  the  Cambridge 
term  called  him  to  college  at  the  usual  time  ;  and,  in  the  month 
of  December,  he  was  nominated  to  the  dignified  station  of  Dean 
of  Carlisle,  vacant  by  the  recent  death  of  Dr.  Ekins. 

For  this  preferment  he  was  chiefly  indebted  to  the  active 
indness  of  his  friend.  Dr.  Pretyman*,  Bishop  of  Lincoln;  who 
before  his  elevation  to  the  episcopal  bench,  had  been  tutor  to 
Mr.  Pitt.  "The  bishop,"  writes  Mr.  Milner  to  Mr.  Wilber- 
force,  in  a  letter  dated  "  Hull,  December  3d,  1791,"  "espoused 
my  cause  mth  such  a  glow  of  friendship  as  is  never  to  be  for- 
gotten. In  short  he  said  '  he  should  never  rest  till  he  saw  me 
settled  in  a  comfortable  income.^ "  Mr.  Milner  proceeds  to  say, 
that,  in  consequence  of  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln's  representations 
to  Mr.  Pitt,  he  had  himself  received,  from  the  prime  minister, 
"  a  most  handsome  and  substantial  letter,"  informing  him,  that 
he  1  ad  been  recommended  to  his  Majesty  for  the  vacant  deanery 
of  Carlisle. 

In  the  midst  of  the  brilliant  prospects  which  now  appeared 
to  open  upon  Mr.  Milner,  promoted  as  he  was  to  the  high  situa- 
tions of  President  of  Queen's  College  and  Dean  of  Carlisle,  he 
was  at  this  time  suffering,  besides  bodily  indisposition,  very 
great  distress  of  mind,  on  account  of  the  dangerous  illness  of 
his  revered  and  dearly-beloved  brother.  The  following  extract 
from  a  letter  addressed  by  him  to  his  friend,  Mr.  Hey,  on  the 
28th  November,  1791^  exhibits,  in  so  true  and  strong  a  light,  the 
exquisite  tenderness  of  his  heart — a  qualit)^  often  quite  unobserved 
by  persons  who  saw  and  knew  him  only  in  the  ordinarj'^  inter- 
course of  society — that,  although  certainly  wTitten  in  the  most 
unrestrained  confidence,  it  may  be  here,  properly,  inserted. 

Speaking  of  his  brother's  illness,  Mr.  Milner  thus  expresses 
himself : 

"  My  heart  is  almost  broken  :  I  neither  eat  nor  sleep  ;  and 
unless  it  please  God  to  enable  me  to  submit  more  calmly,  I  shall, 
assuredly,  be  overset.     My  dear  fviend,  you  are  a  father,  and 


*  Afterwards  Dr.  Toinline. 


72  CHAP.  VI.     A.U.  1791.     JETAT.  41. 

know  how  to  feel  tenderly — Oh  !  my  dear  and  only  brother  ! 
who  hast  comforted  me  so  often  in  my  sufferings  !  *  *  *  * 
The  last  time  I  saw  him,  I  told  him,  I  saw  plainly,  that  I  had 
not  learned  to  submit  to  God's  dispensations  ;  he  said,  *  The 
thing  is,  Isaac,  you  don't  make  God  your  suimnum  bonum.'  " 

This  extract  surely  displays,  in  a  most  affecting  manner,  the 
tender  love  of  Mr.  Milner  towards  his  brother  Joseph,  and  the 
anxiety  of  that  brother,  in  the  midst  of  his  own  affliction,  to 
confirm  in  Isaac,  a  practical  acquaintance  with  tliose  Christian 
principles  which  alone  can  produce  true  resignation  to  the  will 
of  God,  and  consequent  calmness  under  tlie  most  painful  dispen- 
sations of  his  proA-idence. 

The  foUoxN^ng  entr)'  appears  in  Mr.  Wilberforce's  Diary, 
December  13th,  1791  :  "  Received  a  most  affecting  letter  from 
Milner  about  his  brother." 

Of  this  "  most  affecting  letter,''  dated  "  Hull,  December  3d, 
1791,"  we  have  seen,  that  the  first  part  related  to  Mr.  Milner^s 
presentation  to  the  deanery  of  Carlisle. 

After  expressing,  in  that  letter,  his  fears  tliatsome  "journeys 
and  ceremonies,"  would  be  "  necessary  by  and  by  ;"  and  that 
"  a  doctor's  degree"  would  be  ''  needful,  or  at  least  proper," 
Mr.  Milner  quits  the  subject  of  his  new  appointment,  and  turns 
to  one  much  nearer  to  his  heart.     He  proceeds  thus  : 

"  My  health  has  suffered  very  severely  by  the  bitterest  afflic- 
tion I  ever  experienced  in  my  life.  My  brother  was  seized,  a  fort- 
night ago,  Avith  a  fever,  pleurisy,  and  spitting  of  blood.  All  this, 
added  to  his  naturally  asthmatical  state,  put  his  life,  for  some 
days,  in  the  most  imminent  danger.  I  consider  his  situation  as 
still  critical,  though  the  disease  ceases  to  be  called  acute.  I  hope 
God  will  be  gracious,  and  permit  his  continuance  a  little  longer 
with  us;  but  I  verily  believe,  his  lungs  are  so  much  impaired,  that 
he  will  never  be  able  to  do  business  again.  The  fact  is,  he  is  worn 
out  with  labouring  in  the  best  of  causes  :  he  never  could  be  indu- 
ced to  spend  a  moment  idle.  I  never  saw  liis  equal  in  that  res- 
pect; and  I  have  long  wished  to  see  him  relieved  from  a  load  of 
l)usiness,  particularly  the  school-teaching ;  (you  may  remember  I 
mentioned  this  to  you,  as  well  as  my  fears  concerning  him,  many 
vears  ago,)  and  I  have  wished  for  it  with  much  greater  earnest- 


CHAP.  VI.     AD.  1791.     tETAT.  41.  73 

ness  than  ever  I  did  any  thing  for  myself.  My  fear  now  is,  that 
preaching  at  High  Church*  will  be  too  much  for  him  ;  but  this 
must  be  considered,  if  he  should  recover.  At  present  he  is 
confined  to  his  chamber,  and  likely  to  continue  there. 

"  You  know  the  terms  my  brother  and  I  have  lived  on,  from 
infancy.  You  must  also  be  aware  of  the  great  comfort  he  has 
been  to  me,  as  an  affectionate  friend  and  faithful  adviser,  during 
my  long  illness.  Judge,  my  dear  friend,  what  I  must  have  felt 
on  the  prospect  of  seeing  him  snatched  away.  My  aged  mother  . 
is  so  afflicted,  that,  *  *  *  *  in  short,  without  the  positive 
interference  of  God's  all-supporting  hand,  I  must  ine\atably  have 
sunk,  if  the  prospect  had  still  darkened. 

"  I  never  felt  thus  on  my  own  account.  I  applied  at  the 
throne  of  grace,  with  all  the  steadiness  and  fervour  I  could 
nmster ;  but  I  told  my  brother,  that  I  saw  plainly,  I  had  not 
learned  to  submit  to  the  Divine  will.  ^The  thing  is,  Isaac,' 
said  he,  when  at  worst,  '  you  don't  make  God  your  &ummu/u 
bonum.'  Oh  !  my  dear  friend,  the  views  of  religion  concerning 
which  vou  and  I  have  so  often  conversed,  are  the  only  ones  that 
can  help  in  time  of  need.  May  God,  of  his  infinite  mercy,  grant 
that  you  and  I  may  truly  and  practically  become  acquainted  with 
them.  How  necessarj-  is  the  rod  of  correction!  it  leads  to  self- 
examination.     I  rememljer  you  always  affectionately.  I.  M." 

The  admonition  of  Joseph  Milner  to  his  brother,  '*  Isaac, 
you  don't  make  God  your  summum  bonum,"  which  seems  to  have 
made  a  deep  impression  upon  that  brother's  mind,  is  here  men- 
tioned to  Mr.  Wilberforce,  in  almost  the  same  terms  which  Mr. 
Milner  had  employed  in  his  letter  to  Mr.  Hey,  of  the  preceding 
November. 

With  regard  to  Mr.  Milner's  promotion  to  the  deanery  of 
Carlisle,  it  has  been  insinuated  l^y  one  of  the  numerous  biogra- 
phers of  the  late  Dr.  Paleyt,  that  that  eminent  man  felt  some 
degree    of  jealousy  and  dissatisfaction  upon   the   appointment. 


The  churcli  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  at  Hull,  where  Mr.  Joseph  Milner  was,  at 
this  time,  al'teruoon  lecturer,  was  commonly  called  High  Chuich. 
t   Meadlev. 


/4  ClIAI'.  VJ.     A.D.  1791.     .ETAT.  41. 

Nothing,  apparently,  can  be  further  from  the  truth.  "  So  far  was 
he,"  says  his  son,  the  Rev.  Edmund  Paley,  "  from  suspecting, 
much  less  from  being  conscious,  that  Dr.  Mihier  was  preferred 
before  himself,  that  he  came  into  his  house  one  day  much 
delighted  with  the  news  being  announced  of  their  new  dean,  as 
it  opened  a  prospect  of  their  having  so  eminent  a  man  amongst 
them.  He  said,  he  could  not  have  been  better  pleased,  except 
it  had  been  himself." 

The  following  very  friendly  letters  from  Dr.  Paley  to  the 
dean,  are  in  perfect  accordance  with  this  statement. 

"To  THE  Very  Reverend  the  Dean  of  Carlisle. 

"Sir,  "  Carlisle,  December  I8th,  1791. 

"  Mr.  Carlyle  I  liope  will  have  expressed  to  you  my  con- 
gratulations, and,  what  is  of  much  more  value,  the  general  satis- 
faction with  which  your  appointment  is  received  here.  You  may 
depend  upon  it  that  I  shall  in  ever}^  thing  have  pleasure  in 
endeavouring  to  render  your  situation  as  easy  and  agreeable  to 
you  as  it  is  in  my  power  to  do. 
"  I  am.  Sir, 
"  With  great  regard,  your  faithful  and  obedient  servant, 

"W.  Paley.'' 

Mr.  Milner  was  formally  appointed  to  the  Deanery  of 
Carlisle  on  the  30th  day  of  Januar)',  1792;  but  being  pre- 
vented by  illness  from  being  installed  in  his  new  dignity  in 
person,  the  ceremony  of  installation  was,  with  the  consent  of  the 
bishop*,  who  had  himself  been  consecrated  to  the  See  of  Carlisle 
during  the  same  year,  performed  by  proxy. 

On  this  occasion,  Dr.  Paley  wrote  to  the  dean  as  follows: 

«'  Dear  Sir,  "  Carlisle,  Feb.  Srd,  1792. 

"The  installation  of  your  proxy  was  performed  yesterday  with 
due  gravit)\  This  ceremony  completes  your  possession  of  the 
Deaner)'  of  Carlisle,  in  which  I  sincerely  wish  you  every  possiljle 
satisfaction. 


'  The  invsnit  Linfl  Aiclilii^lKni  of  York. 


CHAP.  VI.     A.D.  1792.     AiTAT.  42.  7') 

""  1  should  have  been  liappy  to  liave  received  a  more  favour- 
able account  of  your  health.    Preferment  is  reckoned  a  wholesome 
thing;  and  I  hope  you  will  find  it  so. 
"  I  remain,  dear  Sir, 

"^Your  faithful  and  obedient  servant, 

"W.  Paley." 

In  a  letter  of  nearly  the  same  date.  Dr.  Paley  thus  -vATites  to 
a  friend:  "We  have  got  a  new  dean,  a  great  friend  of  Mr. 
Sheepshanks  and  Mr.  Carlyle,  and  a  man  of  great  reputation,  so 
that  the  appointment  gives  us  great  satisfaction.^'  Dr.  Paley  left 
Carlisle  about  three  years  after  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Milner  to 
the  deanery.  So  that,  as  Mr.  Edmund  Paley,  in  his  life  of  his 
father,  observes,  these  eminent  men  had  not  much  opportmiity 
of  forming  a  ven,'  intimate  acquaintance.  They  met,  however, 
frequently,  both  in  public  and  in  priA'ate;  and,  in  particular,  the 
dean  is  said  to  have  occasionally  attended  a  meeting  consisting 
of  a  few  literary  men,  who  assembled  alternately,  on  the  Sunday 
evenings,  at  each  other's  residences,  for  the  pvirpose  of  discuss- 
ing, in  an  easy  way,  such  religious  subjects  as  circumstances 
might  suggest. 

It  is  impossible  to  read  the  congratulatory^  letters,  at  this 
period  addressed  to  Dean  Milner,  without  at  the  same  time 
commiserating  his  afflicted  condition  both  of  body  and  mind. 

Two  distinguishing  characteristics  were,  however,  obsers'^able, 
throughout  the  whole  of  Dr.  Milner's  life.  Bodily  suffering  did 
not  diminish  the  energy  of  his  mind;  and  he  was  ever  ready, 
whatever  might  be  his  own  position,  or  circumstances,  to  sym- 
jmthize  with,  and  to  assist  his  friends. 

Mr.  Will^erforce  was,  at  this  time,  actively  engaged  in  the 
great  cause  of  the  slave-trade  abolition;  and  his  efibrts  were 
constantly  encouraged  by  the  solid  and  well-directed  advice  of 
Dean  Milner. 

The  revolutionary-  spirit  which  was,  at  this  period,  raging  in 
France,  had,  in  some  measure,  infected  our  own  country^;  and,  as  it 
could  not  be  denied,  that  among  the  friends  of  abolition,  there 
were  some  who  held  revolutionary  opinions,  many  supporters  of 
the  .slave  trade  took  an  unfair  advantage  of  this  circumstance,  bv 


7ii  CHAP.  VI.     A.D.  179-'.     /ETAT.  42. 

branding  with  the  name  of  Jacobin  every  friend  of  the  abohtion 
cause. 

Upon  this  subject  Dean  Mihier  thus  wrote  to  Mr.  Wilber- 
force : 

«  *  *  *  *  would  tell  you,  that  he  had  had  a  long 
conversation  with  nie.  I  wish  him  better  health  and  better 
notions  in  politics:  no  government  can  stand  on  such  principles 
as  he  appeals  to  and  maintains.  I  am  verj'  sorry  for  it,  because 
I  see  plainly  that  advantage  is  taken  of  such  cases  as  his,  in 
order  to  represent  the  friends  of  abolition  as  levellers.  This  is 
not  the  only  case  where  the  converse  of  a  proposition*  does  not 
hold.     Levellers  certainly  are  friends  of  abolition." 

Early  in  the  month  of  April,  the  dean,  who  had  constantly 
stirred  up  his  friend  to  continued  exertions  in  the  slave-trade 
cause,  again  Avrote  to  him  in  the  follo%A'ing  terms,  on  the  occasion 
of  his  ha\ang  carried  his  motion  for  the  gradual  abohtion  of  that 
detestable  traffic. 

"  I  thought  of  you  most  unremittingly  the  whole  day  of 
April  2nd,  and  a  good  deal  of  the  night;  which,  to  me,  was  a 
ver)'^  restless  one.  I  bless  God,  and  surely  you  have  great 
reason  to  be  thankful,  that  it  pleases  Him  to  endow  you  with  so 
much  bodily  energ}',  that  you  are  able  to  exert  your  talents  so 
steadily,  and  for  so  long  a  time,  on  such  great  occasions. 
Greater  occasions  can  hardly  ever  occur,  and  I  think  there  can 
be  no  doubt  but  you  have  gained  some  ground;  though  I  find 
many  people  think  othenvise.  On  the  first  view  I  thought  so 
too,  but  on  reading  the  debates  I  am  satisfied  that  much  ground 
is  gained,  as  far  as  respects  public  opinion;  the  opposers  are 
plainly  overawed  and  ashamed.  The  worst  circumstance  is  this 
*  *  *  *.  Nobody  thinks  well  of  him.  Duplicit}-  and  artifice 
are  esteemed  parts  of  his  character;  he  is  judged  to  do  what  he 
does,  unwillingly,  and  with  design,  in  the  worst  sense.  Ne 
graveris  upon  my  making  tliese  observations  on  him.  I  know 
he  says,  you  have  as  pure  a  heart  as  ever  inhabited  a  human 
breast.      Such  things  you  can  %Aithstand,  but  there  is  a  stream 


*  It  is,  perhaps,  lu'edloss  to  observe,  that,  the  exjiression  converse  of  a  pro- 
position, if  intended  btrictly  as  a  logical  term,  is,  in  this  passage,  incorrectly  used. 


THAP.  Vr.     A.I).    179?.     /KTAT.  42.  77 

of  more  delicate  applause,  which  is  likely  to  have  more  effect, 
and  against  which  it  is  more  difficult  to  guard." 

On  the  23rd  of  this  month,  Mr.  Dundas  brought  forward  his' 
resolutions  for  a  gradual  abolition.  "After  a  hard  struggle,"  as 
Mr.  AVilberforce  writes,  he  and  his  friends  succeeded  in  fixing 
the  period  of  the  abolition  for  January  1st,  1796,  Mr.  Dundas 
having  proposed  1800.  On  this  occasion,  Dean  Milner  wrote  to 
Mr.  Wilberforce  in  the  following  terms  of  encouragement  and 
congratulation. 

"  Not  long  ago  I  had  no  expectation  of  success  respecting 
the  slave  trade;  then  again,  you  seemed  to  be  carr)nng  every- 
thing; and  now,  we  are  downi  in  the  mouth  again,  both  because 
four  years  are  allowed,  and  because  there  seems  the  greatest 
danger  from  the  House  of  Lords.  However,  you  have  great 
reason  to  be  thankful,  for  God  seems  to  bless  your  labours; 
and,  as  I  remember  I  told  you  long  ago,  if  you  carry  this  point 
in  your  whole  life,  that  life  will  be  far  better  spent  than  in  being 
prime  minister  many  years." 

In  the  summer  of  this  year,  Dean  Milner  proceeded  to  the 
degree  of  Doctor  in  Divinity,  and  spent,  as  was  his  custom, 
some  part  of  the  long  vacation  with  his  relatives  at  Hull.  During 
all  such  visits  he  frequently  took  occasion  to  look  in  upon  the 
school  where  he  had  formerly  been  usher;  and,  as  a  still  sun  i- 
ving  pupil  of  Jose])h  Milner*  bears  witness,  "he  was  always 
a  great  favourite  with  the  boys,  teaching  and  conversing  with 
them  in  a  pleasant  affable  manner." 

Of  this  particular  visit  of  Dr.  Milner  to  Hull,  a  hint  is  given 
by  his  brother  Joseph,  in  a  letter  which  is  so  characteristic, 
that  its  insertion  here  may  be  pardoned. 

"To  THE  Rev.  James  Stilling  fleet. 

"Dear  Still.,  "Hull,  Aug.  26th,  1792. 

"  I  begin  to  fear  you  will  suspect  something  of  me  as  want- 
ing in  kindness,  by  my  not  sooner  answering  your  letter.  I  hope 
I  scarce  need  to  say,  the  delay  was  by  no  means  owing  to  any 
diminution  of  regard.      I  am  sure  I  have  no  reason.      Mav  our 


*  The  Rev.  Mr.  Bioinhv,  the  prosoiit  Vicar  of  Hull. 


/»  CHAP.  VI.     A.D.   1792.     iETAT.  42. 

friendship  only  be  cemented  and  sweetened  with  more  of  the  mind 
that  is  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  partake  more  of  his  Spirit !    *  *  * 

"  I  would  adore  the  providence  of  God  which  tenderly  pre- 
served you,  in  your  danger  by  the  little  Welsh  horse.  Pray  ride 
the  ill-natured  beast  no  more.  We  are  not  sufficiently  thankful 
for  such  interpositions.  I  had  one  myself,  of  another  kind. 
While  I  was  at  Carhsle,  some  wanton  fellows,  with  more  bold- 
ness than  wit,  brake  into  my  school  one  night;  and  though  a  desk 
with  my  history,  sermons,  &c.,  happened  to  be  there,  unlocked, 
they  did  no  harm  to  them.  They  only  threw  some  books  about, 
&c.,  and  though  they  tore  some  leaves  out  of  the  school  Ains- 
worth,  they  only  tore  out  the  part  which  contains  bad  Latin.  So 
fond  was  Bacchus,  it  seems,  of  good  Latinit}'.  One  would  have 
thought  that  Horace  himself,  in  some  of  his  '  lo  Bacche'  moods, 
had  done  it,  and  in  the  midst  of  his  revelling  still  preser\-ed  his 
tenderness  for  classical  purit}% 

"  Mother  is  much  the  same ;  so  is  Isaac.  As  to  myself,  I 
have  reason  to  be  thankful  for  the  improvement  of  my  health  l)y 
the  Carhsle  journey.  I  sent  my  sentiments  to  Beverley,  with 
equal  strength  and  sincerity,  about  the  address,  though  I  like  to 
avoid  dinners  in  public.  Alas !  worldly  company  neither  suits 
my  body  nor  my  soul.  I  feel  it  needful  to  watch  and  pray,  that 
I  may  have  a  little  spiritual  strength  before  I  go  hence,  and  be 
no  more  seen. 

"My  kind  love  to  Mrs.  Still.,  &c., 
"  Always  yours, 

"Joseph  Milner." 

Towards  the  close  of  this  year,  Dr.  Milner  was  elected  to 
the  office  of  Vice-Chancellor  of  the  University.  Before,  how- 
ever, proceeding  to  the  account  of  his  Vice-Chancellorship, 
which  was  distinguished  by  some  very  remarkable  occurrences, 
it  will  be  proper  to  introduce,  from  a  letter  to  William  Hey, 
Esq.,  of  Leeds,  a  few  e.xtract.s,  which  may  tend  to  place  in  its 
true  light  a  part  of  Dr.  Milner's  conduct,  which  has  been  some- 
times animadverted  ujjoii  with  much  illiberalit)'. 


CHAP.  VI.     A.D.  nu-2-     /KTAT.  42.  79 

"  Dear  Sir,  "  Hull,  September  22tid,  1  792. 

"There  is  nothing  which  for  a  hmg  time  has  been  more 
upon  my  mind,  and  which  I  have  more  ardently  wished  for, 
than  to  be  able  to  attend  divine  sendee.  Not  only  the  general 
reasons  make  this  an  object  to  me,  but  also  some  additional 
reasons  peculiar  to  my  circumstances. 

^'  For  example,  it  is  exceedingly  desirable,  that,  as  Master  of 
Queen's  College,  1  should  be  able,  along  with  the  College,  to  be 
present  at  daily  prayers,  in  our  private  chapel.  I  always  used 
to  be  a  regular  attendant. 

*'2ndly.  It  is  equally  desirable  that  I  should  attend  the 
Cathedral  at  Carlisle  during  my  residence  there  in  the  summer. 

"3rdly.  It  is  not  improbable,  but  that,  next  November, 
I  may  be  elected  Vice-Chancellor ;  and  then,  I  ought  to  attend 
St.  Mary's  twice  every  Sunday,  and  also  the  congregations 
in  the  Senate-House. 

"Yet  I  have  never  been  able  to  attend  divine  senice  at 
any  one  of  these  places,  since  my  illness  in  March,  1789) 
without  ver)' great  injur)';  nor  do  I  wonder  much  at  it,  con- 
sidering  the  nature  of  the  paroxysms  to  which  I  am  subject." 

Here  follows  an  account  of  the  WTiter's  indisposition,  which 
appears  to  have  been  of  an  aguish  nature;  of  his  sometimes 
"  falling  to  work,  and  working  for  hours  with  a  file,  harder  than 
any  smith  in  the  toMTi,"  for  the  purpose  of  "acquiring  heat," 
and,  at  other  times,  of  his  being  unable  "  to  walk  a  few  times 
across  the  room,"  without  being  "  bathed  in  immoderate  per- 
spiration." 

He  proceeds  thus : 

^'  From  such  accounts  as  these,  added  to  my  former  accounts, 
judge  you,  whether,  under  these  circumstances,  I  ought  to 
attempt,  in  case  I  should  be  elected  Vice-Chancellor  to  sit 
motionless  twice  in  a  day,  in  a  cold  church,  in  the  month  of 
November. 

*^Dr.    Jowett*   has    kindly   undertaken    to    attempt   either 


Dr.  Jowett,  already  mentioned  as  one  of  Dr.  Milner's  earliest  aiul  most 
valued  friends,  was  at  this  time  staying  with  him  at  Hull. 


80  CHAP.  VI.     A.U.  1792.     .ETAT.  42. 

to  get  me  totally  excused,  or  to  effect  some  arrangement  that 
will  make  the  matter  easier  to  me. 

"One  or  more  certificates  of  my  situation  from  medical 
gentlemen,  will  be  useful.  If  you  think  you  can  properly  give 
me  one,  I  shall  be  obliged  to  you  to  do  so.  Dr.  Jowett  will 
explain  to  you  what  sort  of  a  certificate  is  necessary. 

"  I  request  no  account  to  be  given  of  me  but  what  is  most 
strictly  true.  But  the  points  that  are  to  be  particiUarly  cleared 
up  are  these : 

"1st.  That  this  complaint  is  not  of  that  class  which  is 
properly  called  nervous  or  hj^ochondriacal,  and  in  which 
business,  and  plenty'  of  exercise  in  the  open  air,  is  recom- 
mended. Yet  I  do  not  wonder  that  such  an  idea  has  gone 
forth  respecting  me ;  because  I  now  look  well,  and  am  always 
in  good  spirits  when  I  do  appear  in  public.  Tliis  idea  cannot  be 
done  away  with,  by  anything  /  can  say ;  and  is  only  to  be 
opposed  by  professional  opinions. 

"  2dly.  The  other  fact  to  be  insisted  upon,  and  clearly 
set  forth,  is,  my  incapacity  for  bearing  the  open  air,  or  the 
air  of  rooms  not  constantly  warmed  by  fires.  ***** 
My  present  state  is  certainly  a  complication ;  viz.,  the  relics  of 
a  severe  ague,  combined  with  a  constitutional  afiection  of  twenty 
years'  standing.  This  affection  you  have  seen  a  great  deal  of 
in  my  case ;  and  you  know,  nobody  was  more  active  than  I  was, 
or  used  more  exercise  in  the  open  air,  of  various  kinds.  I  rode 
on  horseback  as  long  as  I  could,  and  ever}'  morning  before 
breakfast,  and  in  all  weathers.  Aften\'ards,  I  got  into  a  phaeton, 
&c. 

"The  other  part  of  my  complaint,  viz.,  the  aguish  aftcctioii, 
you  have  not  seen  so  much  of;  yet  you  have  heard  of  me  from 

others,  and,  I  think  from  Dr.  B ,  who  once  told  me,  that  he 

had   conversed  with   vou  particularly,  concerning  this   ])eculiar 
incapacity  of  l)earing  the  open  air. 

"  You  are  to  put  these  things  together,  and  to  judge  for 
yourself  whether  you  can  certify  what  you  believe  to  be  my 
case ;  and  in  such  a  way  as  to  enforce  the  truth,  and  thereby 
undo  any  conception  of  tiiis  sort ;  viz.^  that  I  only  want  resolu- 


CHAP.  VI.    A.D.   1792.     ;ETAT.  42.  81 

tion  to  go  out,  and,  that  any  office  that  obUged  me  to  go  out, 
would  do  me  good. 

"  I  am  affectionately  yours, 
"  To  William  Hey,  Esq."  "Isaac  Milner." 

Ever)'  candid  person  must  feel  the  force  of  this  letter ;  to 
which  Mr.  Hey  returned  the  following  answer : — 

"Leeds,  October  5th,  1792, 
"Dear  Sir,  Friday. 

"  I  have  inclosed  a  letter  to  you,  which  is  to  serve  the  pur- 
pose of  a  certificate  for  you,  to  warrant  your  refusal  to  accept 
the  office  of  V.  C,  an  office  which  I  think  you  ought  by  no  means 
to  accept,  in  your  present  indisposition. 

"  I  have  written  what  1  think  to  be  true ;  and  I  think  it  not 
impossible  that  you  may,  at  some  future  time,  be  able  to  fulfil  the 
duties  of  that  important  and  honourable  office. 

"  I  am  your  affectionate  friend, 

"William  Hey." 

By  a  physician  resident  in  the  town  of  Hull,  Dr.  Milner 
was  furnished  with  another  certificate,  setting  forth,  that  from 
the  writer's  "own  knowledge,"  he  (Dr.  M.),  "was  unable  to 
bear  the  open  air,  though  by  no  means  deficient  in  resolute 
endeavours  to  get  out  as  often  as  possible." 

In  a  work  purporting  to  be  a  Life  of  Dean  Milner,  it  would 
be  improper  to  omit  all  notice  of  this  subject,  and  although  what 
has  been  already  said  can  scarcely  be  otherwise  than  satisfactory 
to  ever)'  unprejudiced  mind,  it  may  be  advisable  to  quote  from 
a  work  published  by  Dr.  Milner*,  a  passage  directly  bearing 
upon  the  point  in  question. 

After  stating,  that  when  elected  vice-chancellor,  for  the  first 
time,  more  than  twenty  years  previous  to  the  time  then  present, 
three  physicians  and  one  or  two  surgeons  had  subscribed  a  report 
on  the  nature  of  his  bodily  complaints,  for  the  inspection  of  the 
heads  of  colleges,  in  consequence  of  wliich  report  they  under- 
took to  di\nde  among  themselves  almost  all  that  part  of  the  Vice- 


Strictures  on  some  of  the  Publications  of  the  Rev.  Herbert  Marsh. 

G 


82  IHAI'.   VI.     A.U.   179-2.     yl.TAT.  4-'. 

Chancellor's  duties  which  required  him  to  leave  his  room.  Dr. 
Milner  proceeds  thus : — 

"  At  present  I  am  absolutely  supported  by  large  doses  of  the 
most  powerful  medicines,  repeated  several  times  ever)'  day ;  and 
although  I  am  thereby  enabled  to  make  considerable  exertions 
at  home,  I  can  rarely  stir  out,  for  any  length  of  time,  wnth  safety, 
and  seldom  do  stir  out,  without  suffering  very  considerable  incon- 
venience. 

"  I  am  not  sorn,',  that,  among  the  many  disagreeable  circum- 
stances unavoidable  in  a  controversy  of  this  sort,  a  fair  occasion 
has  been  afforded  me  of  explaining  certain  peculiarities  in  my 
own  conduct,  the  reasons  of  which,  though  well  understood  by 
my  friends  and  familiars,  for  many  years  past,  have,  neverthe- 
less, sometimes  furnished  a  handle  to  the  uncandid  for  misre- 
presentations of  various  kinds.  I  rest  assured  that  no  conside- 
rate person  wall  expect  me  to  be  more  explicit  in  this  matter." 

Of  Dr.  Milner's  rational  and  enlightened  piety,  many  evi- 
dences appear  in  the  course  of  his  correspondence,  during  this 
year.  Thus,  in  the  month  of  October,  Mr.  Wilberforce  having 
expressed  to  him  his  earnest  desires  after  a  more  rapid  growth 
in  holiness,  the  dean  thus  replied :  "If  you  have  truly  learned 
to  feel  the  insufficiency  of  your  own  powers,  you  have  made 
more  progress  than  you  think  of;  and  if  you  can  support  that 
feeling,  and  act  upon  it,  for  any  time  together,  your  advance  is 
very  considerable*." 

Numerous  other  passages  might  be  quoted  from  various  let- 
ters, with  a  similar  view. 

In  the  month  of  November,  1792,  Dr.  Milner  was  elected 
Vice-Chancellor,  and,  in  consideration  to  the  assistance  proffered 
to  him  l)y  the  other  heads  of  colleges,  accepted  that  important 
office. 

The  peculiar  circumstances  which,  on  this  occasion,  rendered 
the  vice-chancellorship  at  Cambridge  unusually  onerous,  will  be 
related  in  the  next  chapter. 

The  political  prospects  with  which  this  year  closed  were 
rapidly  darkening.     The  democratical  excitement  which  raged 


Life  of  William  IVilberforce,  Etq. 


(  JIAI'.    VI.     A.I).    17!>-2.     ^riAT.  42.  83 

in  a  neighbouring  country  had,  in  an  alarming  degree,  tainted 
the  English  poj)ulation ;  and  the  northern  comities  had  by  no 
means  escaped  the  virulent  infection. 

Early  in  December,  Dr.  Milner  thus  wrote  to  Mr.  Wilber- 
force: — 

"  At  Carlisle  we  had  many  reports  concerning  tumults  and 
sedition,  and  the  affair  seemed  to  be  of  considerable  magnitude. 
Some  few  gentlemen,  I  understand,  are  disposed  to  favour 
French  principles ;  Mr. has  considerable  influence  in  pro- 
moting this  sort  of  work  by  his  conversation,  which  has  a  strong 
tendency  to  destroy  all  sul)ordination,  and  to  bring  rulers,  of 
ever)'^  description,  into  contempt.  He  is  naturally  very  good- 
tempered,  and  my  stay  there  was  short.  These  two  circumstances 
alone  prevented  our  coming  to  a  rupture.  I  have  given  myself 
little  or  no  concern  about  politics,  for  years ;  but  of  late,  the 
aspect  has  been  so  black,  that  I  could  not  help  attending  to  our 
future  prospects,  with  some  anxiety. 

"  Supposing  Fox  to  oppose,  I  think  it  well,  at  this  critical 
moment,  that  he  has  gone  so  far.  There  is  scarce  one  of  his  old 
friends  here  at  Cambridge,  who  is  not  disposed  to  give  him  up ; 
and  most  say,  that  he  is  mad.  I  tliink  of  him  much  as  I  always 
did :  1  still  doubt  whether  he  has  bad  principles,  but  I  think  it 
pretty  plain,  that  he  has  none ;  and  I  suppose  he  is  ready  for 
whatever  turns  up.  The  tide  at  present  seems  setting  strongly 
in  support  of  government,  among  all  ranks.  I  believe  this 
arises,  in  great  measure,  from  the  alarm  of  the  moment ;  and 
when  that  is  over,  or  abates,  I  fear  the  democratic  principles 
will  be  found  to  have  firmer  roots." 

The  University  annals  for  the  year  1792  close  with  the 
re-election  of  Mr.  Pitt,  as  its  representative  in  parliament. 
The  critical  position,  however,  of  public  affairs,  at  this  period, 
prevented  Mr.  Pitt,  as  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Milner,  from  being 
present  on  the  day  of  election. 


O  2 


84 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Socinian  principles  in  the  Univei-sity. — Mr.  Frend. — Ilis  Seditious  Pamphlet. 
— Meeting  of  the  Masters  and  Fellows  of  Jesus  College.— Care  of  the  Vice- 
Chancellor  to  procure  the  best  Legal  advice. — Meeting  of  the  "Twenty- 
Seven,"  at  Queen's  Lodge. — Determination  to  institute,  against  Mr.  Frend 
proceedings  in  the  Vice-Chancellor's  Court. — Citation  of  Mr.  Frend. — His 
Trial. — Sentence  of  Banishment  from  the  University  pronounced  upon  him 
by  the  Vice-Chancellor. — Mr.  Frendappeals  to  the  Senate. — Confirmation  of 
the  Sentence  of  the  Vice-Cliancellor,  pronounced  by  the  Court  of  Delegates. 
— Firmness  of  Dr.  Milner. — His  unflinching  attachment  to  the  Doctrines 
of  the  Established  Cliurch. — Notice  of  Mr.  Frend's  trial  by  Professor 
Smyth. — Dr.  Milner's  Speech  at  the  conclusion  of  the  Trial. — Address  to 
the  Undergraduates. — Impressive  style  of  his  eloquence. — Visit  of  Joseph 
Milner  to  his  Brother  at  Cambridge. — Mr.  Simeon. — State  of  Religion. — 
Dr.  Milner  takes  formal  possession  of  the  Deanery  of  Carlisle. — Remark- 
able Dream. 

A.D.  1793.     ^TAT.  43. 

The  occurrences  which  distinguished  and  rendered  peculiarly 
responsible  the  vice-chancellorship  of  Dr.  Milner,  were  the  trial 
and  expulsion  from  the  University  of  Cambridge,  of  AVilliani 
Frend,  A.M.  and  Fellow  of  Jesus  College. 

During  some  years  past,  a  party  of  men  in  the  Universit)% 
entertaining  Socinian  principles,  had  been  endeavouring  to 
propagate  their  pernicious  doctrines.  Although  professing  them- 
selves members,  and  being,  in  some  cases,  clergymen  of  the 
church  of  England,  and  as  such,  having  subscribed  to  her 
Articles,  these  persons,  a  leader  among  whom  was  Mr.  Frend, 
did  not  hesitate  to  attempt  to  subvert  the  faith  to  which  they 
were  thus  solemnly  pledged.  Mr.  Frend  went  so  far  as  to  publish 
and  circulate  within  the  precincts  of  the  University,  a  pamphlet, 
of  so  olinoxious  a  character,  that  the  Vice-Chancellor  was  called 
upon  to  exert  the  authority  entrusted  to  him,  for  the  suppression 
of  conduct  so  flagrant. 

Of  the  judicial  proceedings  in  this  remarkable  trial — a  trial 
protracted,  by  the  artifices  of  the  defendant,  to  tlie  utmost 
possible  length — and  of  the  circumstances  which  led  to  those 
proceedings,  a  very  brief  acc^ount  may  here  l)e  sufficient. 

Mr.   Frend    liaviriii;    publisiied    aiul    <'iiculatcd    within   the 


CHAP.  VII.     A.D.  1793.     .ETAT.  43.  85 

University  an  irreligious  and  seditious  pamphlet,  entitled  Peace 
and  Union  recommended  to  the  associated  bodies  of  Republicans 
and  Anti-Republicans,  a  meeting,  consisting  of  the  master  of 
the  college  and  the  major  part  of  the  resident  fellows,  was  held 
at  Jesus  Lodge  on  the  22nd  of  February,  1793,  and  the  follow- 
ing resolution  drawn  up  :  — 

"  Resolved,  That  a  pamphlet,  entitled  Peace  and  Union,  S^c. 
lately  published  by  W.  Frend,  A.M.,  Fellow  of  this  college, 
appears  to  us  to  have  been  written  with  the  evil  intent  of  pre- 
judicing the  clergy  in  the  eyes  of  the  laity,  of  degrading  in 
the  public  esteem  the  doctrines  and  rites  of  the  Established 
Church,  and  of  disturbing  the  harmony  of  society.  And,  that, 
as  we  feel  it  to  be  our  particular  duty  to  disavow  principles 
calculated  to  mislead  the  minds  of  young  men  entrusted  to 
our  care,  a  copy  of  the  said  pamphlet  be  sent  both  to  the 
Vice-Chancellor  of  the  University,  and  to  the  Visitor  of  the 
College,  inclosed  in  a  letter  to  each,  expressing  our  disapproba- 
tion of  the  opinions  therein  delivered,  and  humbly  requesting 
them  to  take  such  measures  as,  in  their  judgment,  may  appear 
most  proper  for  the  effectual  suppression  of  their  dangerous 
tendency."     ******** 

Here  follow  the  signatures. 

Of  the  exertions  used  by  Dr.  Milner  to  procure,  with  respect 
to  ever)'  part  of  this  important  transaction,  the  very  best  advice, 
the  numerous  letters  which  still  exist,  from  the  most  eminent 
legal  authorities  of  the  day,  afford  sufficient  evidence.  In  this 
affair,  as  in  every  other  the  conduct  of  which  was  committed  to 
him,  Dr.  Milner  spared  no  labour  which  might  qualify  him  to 
perform,  in  the  best  possible  manner,  the  duty  required  of  him. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1793,  a  meeting,  composed  of  the 
persons  who  had  signed  the  Resolution  already  recorded,  and 
of  other  members  of  the  Senate,  amounting  in  all  to  the  number 
of  twentj'-seven,  took  place  at  the  Vice-Chancellor's  Lodge  at 
Queen's  ;  and  by  this  meeting — the  members  composing  which 
were  known  in  the  University  by  the  name  of  "  the  Twenty- 
seven" — it  was  determined,  that  proceedings  against  Mr.  Frend 
should  be   instituted  in  the  Vicc-Chauccllor  s  Court.     On  the 


86  CHAP.   VII.     A.D.  17!K5.      inAT.  A3. 

23rd  of  April  a  citation  was  accordingly  served  upon  William 
Frend  summoning  him  to  appear  before  the  Vice-Chancellor  at 
his  next  court,  to  be  held  on  the  3rd  day  of  the  May  next 
follo\\'ing,  then  and  there  to  answer  to  the  accusation  preferred 
against  him  of  having  violated  the  statutes  of  the  University, 
by  the  publication  and  dispersion,  within  its  precincts,  of  the 
pamphlet  entitled  Peace  and  Union. 

Mr.  Frend  appeared,  as  summoned ;  and  after  a  full,  delibe- 
rate, and  impartial  trial  was  convicted  of  the  charge  brought 
against  him.  He  refused  to  retract  or  confess  his  error,  and 
sentence  was  consequently  pronounced  upon  him  by  the  Vice- 
Chancellor,  on  the  13th  day  of  May,  in  the  following  terms : — 

"  I,  Isaac  Milner,  D.D.,  Vice-Chancellor  of  the  University 
of  Cambridge,  do  decree  and  pronounce,  that  William  Frend, 
Master  of  Arts,  and  Fellow  of  Jesus  College,  having  offended 
against  the  statute  '  de  Concionibus,  ^c.,'  by  Amting  a  pamphlet, 
entitled  Peace  and  Union,  &c.,  and  by  publishing  the  same 
within  the  University  of  Cambridge,  and  having  refused  to  retract 
and  confess  his  error  and  temerity,  in  the  manner  prescribed  to 
him  by  me  the  Vice-Chancellor,  with  the  assent  of  the  major  part 
of  the  Heads  of  Colleges,  has  incurred  the  penalty  of  the  statute, 
and  that  he  is  therefore  banished  from  this  University. 

(Signed)  "  Isaac  Milner,  V.  C,  &c.  &c." 

From  this  decision,  Mr.  Frend  appealed  to  the  Senate ;  but 
Dr.  Milner,  acting  with  his  accustomed  prudence  and  foresight, 
had  not  pronounced  judgment,  without  first,  as  has  been  already 
intimated,  availing  himself  of  the  best  advice  which  could  be 
obtained.  The  highest  legal  authorities  had  concurred  in  his 
view  of  the  meaning  of  the  particular  statutes  against  which 
Mr.  Frend  had  offended ;  the  sentence  pronounced  by  the 
Vice-Chancellor  M'as  confirmed  by  the  Court  of  Delegates,  and 
the  offender  was  compelled  to  quit  tlic  University. 

it  is  almost  needless  to  say,  that  both  at  the  time  and  after- 
wards, Dr.  Milner  was,  in  some  quarters,  much  censured  for  the 
decided  and  conscientious  part  which  he  had  acted;  but  his 
conduct  upon  this  occasion  commanded  the  universal  approba- 
tion of  all  the  friends  of  religion  and  social  order. 


CHAP.  VII.     A.U.  1793.     yETAT.  43.  8^ 

A  full  and  impartial  account  of  the  trial  of  William  Frend 
has,  so  far  as  I  know,  never  been  given  to  the  public ;  the  only 
published  narrative  of  that  affair  being  written  by  the  defendant, 
and  disfigured  by  much  misrepresentation.  It  is,  however, 
evident,  even  from  Mr.  Frend's  imperfect,  and,  in  many  respects, 
unfair,  representation  of  his  own  cause,  that  the  University  had 
abundant  reason  to  rejoice,  that  the  office  of  Vice-Chancellor 
was,  at  this  juncture,  filled  by  a  man  equal  to  the  arduous  and 
important  occasion.  The  French  Revolution  was  at  its  height 
— Jacobinical  principles  had  infected  England  to  a  fearful 
degree — and,  even  in  the  University  of  Cambridge,  a  party  of 
Socinians,  holding  republican  opinions,  were  resolutely  prepared 
to  go  all  lengths  with  Mr.  Frend. 

Dr.  Milncr  had  deeply  studied  the  subject  at  issue ;  and  he 
was,  moreover,  a  man  of  immoveable  firmness  of  mind.  It  has 
been  already  intimated  that,  while  yet  an  undergraduate,  and  at 
a  time  when  unflinching  attachment  to  the  doctrines  of  the 
Establishment  was  supposed  to  be  far  from  popular  among  the 
leading  members  of  his  college,  he  had,  at  the  imminent  hazard 
of  all  his  prospects  of  worldly  advancement,  refused  to  join  in  a 
petition  against  subscription  to  the  Articles  of  the  National 
Church.  His  conviction  of  the  truth  and  importance  of  the 
principles  by  which  he  had  been  then  actuated,  had  continually 
increased  in  strength,  and  he  was  therefore,  fully  prepared  to 
endure  any  reproach,  or  any  ridicule,  which  a  steady  adherence  to 
those  principles  might  now  bring  upon  him.  And  when,  in  after 
life,  he  was  led  to  refer  to  his  conduct  upon  the  occasion  of  Mr. 
Frend's  trial,  he  seldom  quitted  the  subject  without  expressing 
his  grateful  satisfaction,  on  a  review  of  the  part  which  he  had,  at 
that  time,  been  enabled  to  sustain*. 

Of  Mr.  Frend's  trial.  Professor  Smyth,  whose  recollections 
have  already  enriched  this  memoir,  thus  speaks:  "I  remember  Mr. 
Borlase,  the  Registrar  at  the  time,  observing  to  me,  that  '  it  was 
very  well  for  the  University  that  Dr.  Milner  M-as  Vice-Chancellor 
at  that  time  ;  that  he  shewed  great  ability,  and  often  addressed 
the  audience,  and  the   undergraduates,   in   a  most  impressive 


*  Sec  tt  Letter  written  by  Dr.  Milner  in  the  year  1798.     Chap.  ix. 


88  CHAP.  VII.     A.D.  1703.     ^TAT.  43. 

The  follo>ving  speech  was  dehvered  by  Dr.  Mihier,  in  the 
Senate  House,  at  Cambridge,  at  the  conclusion  of  this  memor- 
able trial: — 

"When  the  University,  in  the  month  of  November  last, 
elected  me  Vice-Chancellor,  I  acquiesced  in  their  determination 
with  much  diffidence  and  anxiety.  The  discharge  of  the  ordi- 
nary duties  of  this  important  office  seemed  incompatible  with 
my  indifferent  state  of  health  ;  and  if  any  unforeseen  trouble  or 
difficulty  should  arise  in  the  course  of  the  year,  I  considered 
myself  as  utterly  unfit  for  the  management  and  direction  of  it ; 
and  I  foresaw,  that  while  the  remains  of  my  health  might  pro- 
bably be  wasted  in  a  diligent  and  conscientious  attempt  to  do 
the  best  in  my  power,  my  mind  would  also  be  agitated  with  this 
painful  reflection,  viz. :  that  the  dignity  of  the  office  of  Vice-Chan- 
cellor might  suffer,  and  the  discipline  and  general  interests  of  the 
University  might  be  essentially  injured,  through  my  incapacit}'. 

"  But  though  apprehensions  of  this  sort  were  naturally  sug- 
gested by  the  circumstances,  I  still  cherished  a  secret  hope,  that 
our  academical  pursuits  of  learning  and  science  might,  for  the 
present  year,  go  on  smoothly  and  without  interruption,  and  our 
tranquillity  be  disturbed  by  no  odious  or  troublesome  investiga- 
tion of  the  causes  of  irregularit}'  or  riot. 

"  Little  did  I  then  imagine,  that  in  the  very  short  space  of 
four  months,  so  refreshing  a  hope  was  entirely  to  vanish,  and 
that  I  should  be  loudly  called  upon,  publicly  to  animadvert,  not 
upon  the  rash  and  intemperate  sallies  of  an  inexperienced  youth, 
but  upon  the  premeditated  and  offensive  conduct  of  a  gentleman, 
with  whom  I  had  myself  long  been  acquainted,  whose  standing 
in  the  University  was  very  considerable,  and  for  whose  talents 
and  attainments  I  entertain  the  most  sincere  respect. 

"  Improbable,  however,  as  such  an  event  might  be,  it  actually 
took  place,  and  nothing  remained  for  the  Vice-Chancellor  but 
the  painful  task  of  investigating  the  nature  of  the  offence  com- 
mitted, and  the  punishment  assigned  by  the  laws  of  the  Univer- 
sity; and  of  publicly  explaining  both,  in  the  most  open  and 
perspicuous  manner  in  his  power. 

"  On   such   an   occasion,  the  situation   of  the  judge  of  this 


OIIAP.  VII.     A.D.  17!>3.     ^TAT.  43.  89 

court  is  not  to  be  envied.  Our  times,  whatever  be  the  offence, 
are  singularly  unfavoural)le  to  tlie  enforcement  of  rigid  discipline  ; 
and  in  regard  to  the  degrading  and  vilifying  of  establishments, 
either  of  church  or  state,  it  is  scarcely  supposed  possible,  by  many 
persons,  that  an  offence  can  be  committed.  Produce  existing 
laws  against  such  practices,  and  you  are  told,  such  laws  ought 
never  to  have  been  made  —  they  are  a  disgrace  to  the  country — ■ 
they  are  obsolete — and,  perhaps,  that  you  dare  not  enforce  them. 
Others,  with  more  temper  and  plausil)ility,  admit  that  offences, 
like  the  present,  are  highly  blamable  in  themselves,  and  that  if 
you  could  confine  your  punishments  to  such  gross  and  indecent 
examples,  there  would  be  no  room  for  complaint;  but,  say  they, 
when  you  have  once  begun  to  inflict  penalties  for  the  propaga- 
tion of  opinions,  there  will  be  no  bounds  to  the  operation  of 
such  laws ;  unfair  advantages  will  be  taken  by  men  of  captious 
and  arbitrar)'  principles;  the  most  inoffensive  and  laudable 
endeavours  after  improvement  will  be  stifled;  not  a  syllable 
must  be  uttered  against  what  has  once  been  established;  the 
slightest  objections,  or  hints  at  amendments,  either  of  our  reli- 
gious or  poUtical  establishments,  will  be  construed  into  a 
conspiracy  against  government ;  there  is  an  end  of  the  exercise 
of  our  faculties,  in  the  dispassionate  inquiry'  after,  and  investiga- 
tion of  truth.  Then  the  parties  cry  out,  '  Persecution  !  tyranny 
over  the  conscience!  no  freedom  of  discussion'/  and  thus,  under 
the  fair  disguise  of  moderation  and  liberality  of  sentiment,  the 
clamours  of  the  ignorant  or  the  disaffected  are  to  be  now  an 
answer  to  ever)'  sober  argument  that  can  be  advanced  in  favour 
of  the  most  sacred  and  venerable  institutions  that  are  to  be 
found  in  the  histor}'  of  mankind  ! 

"  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  such  popular  and  delusive  clamours 
can  produce  no  conviction  of  the  judgment  of  thinking  persons; 
but  it  is  no  less  true,  that  they  too  frequently  influence  our 
practice.  The  soundest  mental  constitution  is  never  wholly 
secure  against  the  contagion  of  opinion;  and,  therefore,  the 
safest  rule  in  all  these  difficult  cases  is,  to  turn  a  deaf  ear  to 
every  argument  or  suggestion  that  has  a  tendcncv  to  draw  the 
mind  from  the  direct  contemplation  of  the  point  in  question, 
and  to  pay  not  the  least  regard  either  to  those  who  cry  out 


90  CHAP.  VII.     A.D.   1703.      *:TAT.  43. 

*^  tyranny"  and  'persecution/  or  to  those  who  cry  out  '  sedition' 
and  'heresy.' 

*^  With  such  views  and  impressions,  I  entered  upon  the 
investigation  of  this  unpleasant  affair.  It  is  a  cause  of  the 
greatest  importance.  A  bold  and  indecent  attack  has  been 
made  upon  the  religious  institutions  of  the  country:  the  statutes 
of  this  University  have  been  openly  violated;  and  if  an  offence 
of  this  magnitude  be  suffered  to  pass  unnoticed,  I  think  the 
very  existence  of  the  University  may  soon  be  endangered. 

"  I  do  not  deny  that  cases  of  libellous  publications  frequently 
occur,  in  which  it  is  much  better  to  treat  an  impudent  offender 
with  neglect  and  contempt,  than  to  gratify  the  obscure  and 
deluded  author,  by  bringing  him  forth  into  public  notice,  and 
inflicting  upon  him  that  precise  sort  of  martyrdom  which  he  has 
justly  deserved,  and  is  absurdly  anxious  to  suffer;  but  I  maintain 
on  the  present  occasion,  that  the  case  of  Mr.  Frend  is  separated 
and  distinguished,  by  peculiar  circumstances,  from  that  class  of 
offences,  which,  from  motives  of  discretion,  it  might  be  proper 
to  pass  over  in  silence  and  contempt. 

"The  author  of  this  pamphlet  is  a  person  of  considerable 
standing  in  the  University,  and  we  are  all  of  us  ready  to  bear 
testimony  to  his  talents  and  attainments.  He  has  been  in  the 
important  situation  of  a  public  tutor  of  a  college;  he  resides  a 
good  deal  among  us;  and  by  his  industry,  his  zeal,  and  his  per- 
severance, he  is  well  qualified  to  make  impressions  upon  the 
unsuspecting  minds  of  youth.  He  is  well  known  to  have 
objections  to  the  established  doctrines  of  the  Church  of  England, 
and  if  he  be  permitted  tlms  to  defame  M'ith  impunity,  the  solemn 
institutions  of  our  religion,  and  the  public  functions  of  the  clergy, 
I  am  sure,  that  great  advantage  will  be  taken  of  such  forbear- 
ance and  lenity:  our  undergraduates  will  soon  be  taught  to 
insult  the  doctrines  and  ceremonies  of  the  Cliurch  to  which  they 
belong:  they  will  believe  them  to  be  mere  political  contrivances; 
they  will  conclude,  that  as  we  ourselves  dare  not  support  and 
defend  them,  even  wlicn  we  have  the  law  on  our  side,  we  also, 
as  well  as  others,  arc  convinced,  that  they  are  indefensible  by 
reason;  and  they  will  believe,  that  we  are  only  induced  to  adhere 
to  them  from  pusilliinimity.  or  self-interest.       Suclu    I  think,  is 


CHAP.  VIT.     A.D.   1703.    ETAT.  43.  91 

the  natural  inference  which  a  sensible  young  man  would  draw 
from  the  silence  and  indifference  of  the  governing  part  of  the 
University,  upon  the  appearance  of  such  a  pamphlet  as  this. 

"  I  may,  perhaps,  be  told,  that  these  are  mere  speculations  of 
my  fancy.     I  instantly  repel  the  insinuation  by  affirming  a  well- 
known  fact,  viz.:  that  a  numerous  and  respectable  body  of  this 
University  appear  to  have  been  influenced,  in  a  great  measure, 
by  sentiments  of  the  same  sort:  for  while  I  myself  was  hesitating, 
whether,  as  Vice-Chancellor,  I  were  not,  ex  officio,  called  upon, 
by  a  flagrant  breach  of  public  decorimi,  to  animadvert,  in  a  sum- 
mary way,  upon  the  author  of  this  pamphlet,  I  was  released  from 
doubt  on  this  head,  by  the  application  of  thirty-four  members 
of  the  Senate,  most  of  them   of  distinguished  reputation,  who 
requested  the  Vice-Chancellor  to  take  cognizance  of  an  offence, 
which  appeared  to  them  dangerous  in  its  tendency,  and  degrading 
to  the  clerg\'  of  the  Establishment.     And  here,  I  must  say,  in 
justice   to  the  laudable  and   zealous  efforts  of  the  respectable 
characters  who  stood  fonvard  on  this  occasion,  that  I  think  it 
impossible  to  conceive  a  business  of  this  sort  to  have  been  con- 
ducted with  less  appearance  of  private  animosity  or  resentment; 
and  I  feel  myself  bound  to  declare,  that  in  the  application  of  no 
one  of  these  gentlemen  could  I  discover  the  slightest  trace  of 
a  wish  to  injure  or  distress  Mr.  Frend.     On  the  contrary-,  every- 
one explained  the  grounds  of  his  application  in  the  most  distinct 
and  guarded  manner,  professing  himself  to  be  solely  influenced  by 
a  desire  of  maintaining  the  honour  and  credit  of  the  Universit}'. 
"  After  having  advanced  so  much  respecting  my  own  views 
and  the  motives  of  others,  I  suppose  the  minds  of  several  who 
hear   me    may  be    disposed  to  object    to    the   inaptitude    and 
irrelevancy  of  these  reflections,  and  to  suggest  the  propriety  of 
proceeding  directly  to  the  consideration  of  the  evidence,  and  to 
the  administration  of  the  justice  of  the  case. 

"  I  openly  and  freely  acknowledge  the  force  of  this  objection: 
and  if  I  have  introduced  reflections  which  seem,  in  a  degree, 
foreign  to  the  sul)ject,  it  is  only  because  great  stress  is  frequently 
laid  upon  such  topics;  and  particularly  by  persons  who  affect 
more  than  ordinary  candour  and  liberality  of  sentiment;  and  in 
order  that  arguments  derived  from  such  sources  may  have  no 


92  CHAP.  Vll.    A.D.  171)3.     ^TAT.  4.3. 

more  than  their  just  weight  and  influence,  I  have  been  tempted  to 
oppose  this  sort  of  reasoning,  by  counter-arguments  of  a  similar 
nature. 

"  Having  freely  acknowledged  so  much,  let  us  now  seriously 
and  solemnly  approach  the  cause  itself.  Let  us  hear  no  more  of 
't}Tanny' and  *  persecution'  on  the  one  hand,  nor  of  ^heresy* 
and  *  sedition  ^  on  the  other. 

"A  grievous  charge  is  brought  against  Mr.  Frend;  and,  as 
Judge  of  this  Court,  I  find  myself  bound  by  the  most  solemn 
obligations,  to  enforce  the  statutes  of  the  University.  I  do  not, 
in  the  slightest  degree,  mean  to  insinuate  that  the  45th  statute 
is  an  uinvliolesome  or  impolitic  law;  but  this  I  say,  that,  in  my 
present  situation,  I  have  nothing  to  do  with  explaining  or 
justifying  the  policy  of  that  law — I  find  it  in  existence,  and  I 
am  bound  to  execute  it.  Dr.  Kipling,  the  promoter  of  this 
cause,  has  produced  no  arguments  to  show  that  the  offence 
comes  under  any  general  sweeping  clauses  of  the  statutes,  such 
as  that  it  is  contra  bonos  mores,  modestiam,  or  the  like:  on  which 
account  I  feel  myself  much  relieved  from  that  embarrassment 
which  naturally  attends  a  conscientious  discharge  of  duty  in  a 
case  where  much  is  left  to  the  decision  of  the  judge ;  but  he  has 
pointed  out  certain  and  particular  statutes,  which  he  affirms  to 
have  been  violated;  and,  therefore,  in  case  of  conviction,  the 
Court  has  no  ojotion.  Now  the  conviction  or  acquittal  of  Mr. 
Frend  depends  entirely  upon  the  solution  of  two  questions. 
1st.  Is  Mr.  Frend  the  author  and  publisher  of  this  pamphlet? 

"  On  this  question  we  have  not  the  slightest  embarrassment 
— we  think,  that  Dr.  Kipling  has  produced  a  great  deal  of 
superfluous  evidence.  The  2nd  question  is.  Does  the  pamphlet 
contain  matter  by  which  the  45th  statute  is  violated? 

"We  arc  all  satisfied  that  it  does:  nor  has  the  eloquence  of 
Mr.  Frend  convinced  us,  that  the  most  offensive  passages  in  the 
pamphlet  do  not  apply  and  were  not  intended  to  apply  to  the 
(/liurch  of  Fiiigland,  as  well  as  to  the  Church  of  Rome. 

"  Then  1  say,  tiie  Court  has  no  option.  Yet  I  am  willing  to 
pause  for  a  moment,  and  to  consider  what  might  be  the  conse- 
quences of  a  supposed  discretionary  power  in  this  Court. 

"  Finimicrato,  t])cii,thc  circunistaiiccs  that  should  induce  the 


CHAT.  VII.     A.D.   17'Ja.     ;ETAT.  43.  93 

Vice-Chancellor  and  hi.s  assessors  to  mitigate  the  penalties  of 
this  statute;  Did  this  pamphlet  make  its  appearance  at  a  time 
when  every  well-wisher  of  his  country  entertained  the    most 
serious  apprehensions  for  its  safety  and  tranquillity?      Does  the 
oldest  of  us  ever  remember  so  general — 1  had  almost  said  so 
universal— a  concurrence,  and  union  of  sentiment,  in  the  best 
characters   of  all  parties,  uniting   to    oppose    the    influence    of 
seditious  meetings  and  seditious  publications?  At  such  a  critical 
time  as  this,  did  the  author  of  this  pamphlet   inculcate    the 
necessity  of  peace  and  good-order?     Or  did  he  exhort  the  lower 
ranks  of  the  people  to  be  patient  and  submissive  in  bearing  the 
additional  burthens  which  might  be  necessar)',  in  order  to  enable 
us  to  repel,  by  force,  the  unjust  attacks  of  an  outrageous  and 
insolent  enemy?      Or  again,  when  the  National  Convention  of 
France  had  filled  up  the  measure  of  their  crimes  by  murdering 
their  king  and  destroying  all  lawful  government,  when    their 
deliberations  breathed  nothing  but  atheism  and  anarchy,  and 
when  they  were  threatening  every  country  in  Europe  with  the 
introduction    of    similar    principles,    did    the    author    of    this 
pamphlet  inculcate  a  respect  for  the  king  and  parliament  of  this 
country,  and  for  the  reformed  religion,  and  the  functions  of  the 
clerg)"^  as  established  by  law  ?    I  ask  not  whether  he  entered  into 
nice  disquisitions  concerning  improvements,   or  reformation  in 
smaller  matters,  but  I  ask,  in  one  word,  whether  the  plain  object 
of  the  author,  at  least  in  some  parts  of  this  pamphlet,  were  not 
to  teach  ^the  degraded  laity,*  as  he  calls  them,  Hhat,  like  brute 
beasts,  they  were  sitting  tamely  under  an  usurped  authority'? 
Is  there  any  satisfactor}-  answer  to  be  given  to  these  questions? 
"  In  the  title  page,  it  is  true,  there  stands  in  great  letters, 
*  Peace  and  Union.'     Is  it  satisfactory  to  be  told,  that  all  the 
offensive   passages    apply  to    the    members  of  the    Church    of 
Rome,  and  not  to  the  members  of  the  Church  of  England  ?     I 
answer,  as   I  have  often  heard  my  Lord  Mansfield  instruct  a 
jury :  '  Take  the  writing,  and  read  it,  as  any  plain  man  would 
do,  and    tell  us   the  obvious  meaning    of   the  passages ;'    and 
upon    this    principle,   I   firmly   believe  that  my  assessors,  the 
heads  of  colleges,  who  have  unanimously  concurred  Avith  me 
in  opinion,  have  conscientiously  acted. 


94  CHAP.  VII.     A.D.   179:{.     .T^TAT.  43. 

"  But  perhaps  the  author  is  sorr)-  for  his  offence  :  this  would 
plead  strongly  in  mitigation  of  censure  ;  and  I  wish  I  could  have 
perceived  in  the  whole  conduct  of  this  affair,  the  slightest 
vestige  of  contrition. 

"  Mr.  Frend  had  certainly  an  undoubted  right  to  use  his 
o\\ni  judgment  in  conducting  his  defence ;  yet  still  I  cannot  but 
think  that  he  has  mistaken  the  proper  mode  in  several  ways. 

"  1st.  He  has  not  treated  this  cause  with  a  sufficient  degree 
of  seriousness.  Did  he  expect  to  make  an  impression  on  the 
minds  of  the  judge  and  his  assessors,  by  legal  quibbles  and 
strokes  of  wit,  by  allusions  to  novels,  or  by  endeavours  to  excite 
smiles  in  the  galleries  ? 

"  2dly.  He  might  have  avowed  the  authorship ;  and,  if 
conscious  of  ha^•ing  gone  too  far  in  the  propagation  of  his 
principles,  he  might  ingenuously  have  said,  This  1  maintain  to 
be  true — that  may  be  defended — but  Jiere  I  wish  1  had  stopped. 

*^3dly.  If  not  conscious  of  having  gone  too  far,  he  might 
have  boldly  confessed  and  defended  his  principles,  and  in  a 
manly  way  have  submitted  to  the  infliction  of  penalties,  which, 
accordirtg  to  his  judgment,  were  arbitrary''  and  unreasonable. 

"  Whichever  of  these  modes  of  defence  he  had  chosen  to 
pursue,  I  do  not  perceive  that  he  would  have  endangered  his 
reputation  as  a  man  of  honour  and  veracity. 

"■  It  was  certainly  laudable  in  Mr.  Frend  to  use  every  fair 
and  honest  exertion  of  his  talents  to  exculpate  himself  from 
these  charges  ;  but  the  Court  has  been  at  a  loss  to  comprehend 
in  what  way  the  continued  application  of  satirical  remark  and 
virulent  invective  on  the  character  of  Dr.  Kipling,  and  on  the 
characters  of  the  rest  of  the  gentlemen  who  disapproved  of  this 
publication,  could  be  considered  useful  to  this  purpose. 

"  Can  Mr.  Frend  now  say,  as  the  great  Roman  did  of  old, 
'  Si  nulla  alia  in  re,  modestia  certe  et  temperando  linguae 
adolescens  senem  vicero  ?' 

"  Such  satire  and  invective  might  indeed  have  a  tendency  to 
debauch  the  sentiments  of  the  galleries,  but  could  not  well  be 
supposed  to  make  any  impression  upon  the  minds  of  the  Vice- 
Chancellor  or  liis  assessors,  or  of  any  gentleman  who  had  care- 
fully read  and  considered  the  pamphlet. 


CHAl'.  \  11.     A.D.   179a.     -ETAT.  43.  9') 

"  III  the  course  of  this  defence,  it  was  more  than  insinuated 
that  the  promoter  of  this  cause  could  neitlier  write  nor  speak  a 
sentence  of  pure  Latin.  Suppose,  for  a  moment,  that  this  were 
true ;  suppose,  for  a  moment,  that  the  Bishoj^  of  Llandaflf, 
whose  authority  was,  on  Friday  last,  so  confidently  appealed  to, 
could  permit  the  most  important  professorship  in  the  University 
to  be  so  scandalously  degraded  and  neglected,  as  this  imputation 
on  Dr,  Kipling  implies ;  how  would  all  this  exculpate  Mr. 
Frend  from  the  charges  which  have  been  brought  against  him  ? 

"  Again :  suppose  it  possible,  for  a  moment,  that  calumny 
could,  by  possibility,  fix  itself  upon  the  respectable  characters  of 
Dr.  Glynn,  or  Professor  Mainwaring,  of  twelve  tutors  and 
lecturers  of  this  University,  and  of  thirty-four  members  of  the 
Senate,  who  all  applied  to  the  Vice-Chancellor  to  induce  him  to 
take  cognizance  of  this  offence,  I  still  ask,  how  would  all  this 
exculpate  Mr.  Frend  from  the  charges  which  have  been  brought 
against  him  ? 

"But  Mr.  Frend  has  not  contented  himself  with  applying 
the  most  disrespectful  appellations  to  this  considerable  body  of 
academical  gentlemen ;  he  has,  in  effect,  maintained,  that  their 
evidence  on  oath  ought  to  be  rejected  in  this  cause.  To  this 
part  of  his  argument,  I  confess,  I  listened  with  the  utmost 
astonishment.  Let  us  try  the  truth  of  these  principles,  bv  a 
ver}'  possible  supposition. 

"  Suppose  an  offence  to  have  been  of  so  gross  a  nature,  that 
not  only  thirty-four,  but  twice  that  number — suppose,  even, 
that  the  particular  friends  and  intimates  of  the  offender  should 
have  joined  the  cabal,  as  it  has  been  termed — suppose,  that  the 
whole  University  in  a  body,  or  by  delegates,  had  apphed  to  the 
Vice-Chancellor,  saying,  '  Sir,  you  must  take  cognizance  of  this 
offence ;  our  character  and  credit  in  the  world  demand  it :' 
will  any  man  say,  that  the  evidence  of  all  these  gentlemen, 
speaking  on  oath,  not  to  the  intrinsic  merits  of  the  pamphlet, 
but  to  a  plain  fact,  as  the  buying  of  a  book,  or  the  hand- 
writing of  a  person,  is  to  be  rejected  in  such  a  cause  ?  This 
would  indeed  be  an  alarming  proposition,  and  enough  to  startle 
any  considerate  person.  It  amounts  to  no  less  an  absurditv 
than  this — that  the  ver^-  greatness  of  a  crime  might  properly- 
become  its  sheUer  and  defcii  o. 


96  CUAP.  VII.     A.I).  1793.     .liTAT.  43. 

"  Before  I  put  an  end  to  this  unpleasant  affair,  by  finally 
dissolving  the  court,  I  feel  myself  called  upon,  by  the  extra- 
ordinar)'  circumstances  of  this  cause,  to  say  a  few  words  to  the 
junior  part  of  this  University. 

"  You  have  shewn  yourselves  to  be  much  interested  in  the 
investigation,  and  in  the  event  of  this  trial ;  and  now  that  it  is 
brought  to  a  conclusion,  I  wish  to  engage  your  most  serious 
attention  for  a  few  moments,  while  I  propose  to  your  considera- 
tion the  following  advice. 

^^I  have  no  intention  to  animadvert  upon  the  noisy  and 
tumultuous  irregularities  of  conduct,  by  which  our  proceedings, 
on  some  of  the  former  court  days,  have  been  interrupted.  Let 
these  be  consigned  to  oblivion ;  but  let  the  principles  from 
which  these  irregularities  arose  be  well  considered ;  and  let  me 
seriously  exhort  you  to  be  on  your  guard,  in  future,  against  the 
consequences  of  their  dangerous  and  delusive  operation.  I 
cannot  suppose,  that  you  have  even  heard  distinctly,  much  less, 
that  you  can  have  digested  ever)-  thing  that  has  been  advanced 
in  the  course  of  this  trial.  Your  passions  and  affections, 
therefore,  are  not,  in  this  case,  founded  on  a  knowledge  and 
understanding  of  the  subject.  Examine  yourselves,  and  you 
wall  perceive  that  they  are  founded  on  certain  vague  ideas,  that 
the  accused  person  has  been  persecuted. 

"  Such  an  unreasonable  persuasion,  if  not  effectually 
opposed  by  sober  argument  and  reflection,  will  soon  produce 
the  most  destructive  consequences  on  your  practice ;  and  I 
think  it  the  more  necessary,  at  this  time,  to  advertise  you  of 
your  danger,  when  this  country  has  just  escaped  and  survived  a 
most  alarming  crisis  ;  and  when  several  turbulent  and  democratic 
spirits  still  endeavour  to  persuade  the  public,  that  every  attempt 
to  punish  libellous  attacks  upon  the  constitution  and  govern- 
ment of  the  kingdom,  by  enforcing  wholesome  and  established 
laws,  is  a  species  of  persecution,  and  contrary  to  the  im- 
prescriptil)le  rights  of  man. 

*' Now,  I  afhrm  that,  in  this  country,  wherever  there  is  fair 
ground  for  an  accusation,  and  where  the  accused  person  has  had 
a  fair  hearing,  there  can  be  no  such  thing  as  persecution. 

"  On  those  two  essential  points  1  rest  the  merits  of  the 
question. 


CHAP.  VTT.     A.D.  1793.     /ETAT.  43.  97 

"When,  therefore,  I  h)()k  on  llie  junior  jiart  of  tins 
University,  and  see  in  it  the  future  supports  and  ornaments 
botli  of  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  establishments  of  England ; 
and  when  I  consider  that  they  have  been  sent  and  entrusted 
to  our  care  and  nurture,  by  relations  and  connections  who 
venerate  these  establishments,  I  feel  myself  authorized  to 
interrogate  them  closely ;  and  I  demand  whether,  being 
educated  from  earliest  infancy  in  the  practice  of  frequenting 
the  Church,  and  of  reverencing  her  institutions,  you  are  now 
prepared  to  say,  on  reading  this  pamphlet,  that  the  accusation 
of  having  impugned  the  Estal^lished  Church  was  either  frivolous 
or  oppressive  ? 

"  I  know  very  well  how  you  must  answer  this  question;  and 
I  am  well  persuaded,  that  the  ingenuous  dispositions  of  youth 
only  needed  to  have  this  matter  clearly  stated. 

"  In  regard  to  the  second  question,  viz.,  whether  the  accused 
person  has  had  a  fair  hearing,  I  have  no  anxiety.  Whatever 
notions  you  may  have  inconsiderately  entertained  before  the 
trial,  I  have  no  doubt  but  that  now,  after  the  trial,  you  will  tell 
your  fathers,  your  guardians,  and  your  friends,  that  you  never 
heard  or  read  of  a  trial  where  the  accused  person  had  a  more 
full,  deliberate,  or  impartial  hearing :  you  will  also  tell  them 
that  the  only  doubt  which  you  could  entertain  of  the  propriety 
of  these  proceedings  might  be,  whether  the  Judge  of  this 
Covirt,  through  an  extreme  unwillingness  to  interrupt  the 
accused  person  in  his  defence,  did  not  carry  his  patience  and 
forbearance  to  an  almost  unwarrantable  length,  while  he  per- 
mitted the  defendant  to  proceed  in  an  unbounded  strain  of 
irrelevant  invective.  Then  you  will  add,  and  I  trust  with  some 
effect,  that  the  University  of  Cambridge  will  not  suffer  the 
sacred  and  venerable  institutions  of  the  Established  Church  to 
be  derided  and  insulted;  and  that,  at  a  time  when  a  profane  and 
licentious  spirit  of  infidelity  and  irreligion  makes  rapid  advances, 
and  threatens  the  destruction  of  our  ecclesiastical  fabric,  there 
were  to  be  found  in  these  seminaries  respectable  characters, 
who  could  accuse  with  liberalitv  and  decorum,  and  judges,  who 
could  condemn  with  firnmess  and  moderation. 

"  The  rcm.iining  part  of  my  advice  to  you  will  not  fatigue 

n 


98  CHAP.  VII.     A.D.  1793.     yETAT.  43. 

vour  memories.  It  is  l)rief.  hut  it  is  important,  and  well  worth 
your  most  serious  consideration.  Beware  of  entering  into 
religious  controversies  at  this  period  of  your  lives.  Whatever 
may  be  the  profession  for  which  you  are  intended,  improve  your 
understandings  by  the  diligent  pursuit  of  academical  studies; 
obey  your  tutors ;  frequent  the  service  of  God  according  to  the 
established  forms,  both  in  your  private  Colleges  and  in  the 
University  Church.  At  present,  take  it  for  granted,  that  our 
forefathers  had  some  good  reason  for  steadily  adhering  to,  and 
supporting,  these  venerable  institutions.  I  repeat  it,  at  present, 
take  this  for  granted  ;  and  those  persons  whom  I  perceive  to  be 
objecting  to  these  words,  will  themselves  tell  you,  that  it  has 
not  been  my  way  to  take  things  for  granted.  All  I  contend 
for  is,  that  this  is  not  your  time  for  becoming  parties  in 
controversial  matters  of  religion.  It  is  your  business  to  culti- 
vate your  understandings,  and  to  take  care  that  the  good  seed 
sown  in  these  retirements  should  ^  take  root  downwards,  and 
bear  fruit  upwards,'  and  increase  to  a  mighty  harvest  in  your 
lives  and  practice. 

"  Against  those  who  would  openly  attack  the  religious  prin- 
ciples in  which  you  have  been  educated  it  is  easy  to  guard.  I 
have  more  apprehensions  from  those  who  are  perpetually 
talking  of  candour  and  liberality,  of  thinking  for  themselves,  of 
examining  things  thoroughly,  of  the  newly-discovered  modes  of 
interpreting  the  Scriptures,  and  of  the  opinions  of  fallible  men. 

"  These,  and  such  like  topics,  are  exceedingly  captivating  to 
the  unsuspecting  minds  of  youth.  Impressions  of  the  most 
durable  consequence  are  made  in  a  few  conversations ;  and,  in 
this  way,  I  have  more  than  once  seen  the  finest  talents  and 
the  most  amiable  dispositions  perverted,  or  rendered  useless, — 
talents  and  dispositions  which,  doubtless,  in  happier  circum- 
stances, and  with  better  cultivation,  might  have  rendered  their 
possessors  eminently  serviceable  to  their  country,  either  in 
Church  or  State. 

'•'  Remember,  then,  the  warm  and  zealous  advice  of  a  person 
who  thus  addresses  you  from  the  purest  motives  of  good  will, 
and  who  wishes  for  your  best  interests — of  a  person  whose 
imagination  and  temper  have  never  been  heated  with  religious 


niAP.  VII.    A.D.   179r{.     T.TAT.  4:i.  99 

disputes — whose  pride  and  amhition  it  lias  ever  been  to  ol)tain, 
in  the  various  branches  of  useful  science,  solid  information  for 
himself,  and  to  communicate  it  to  others — and  whose  health  has 
been  almost  exhausted  by  academical  labours.  Remember, 
then,  I  say,  the  advice  of  a  person  who  now  addresses  you,  not 
with  the  authority  of  a  vice-chancellor,  but  with  the  friendship 
and  affection  of  an  experienced  academic — of  a  person  who  has 
never  been  suspected  of  being  desirous  of  possessing  offices  or 
dignities — who  has  bitterly  lamented  that  the  necessity  for  this 
inquiry  should  have  taken  place  in  the  present  year ;  but  who, 
when  the  inquiry  was  once  instituted,  thought  it  his  duty  to  go 
through  with  it  with  all  the  energy  in  his  power,  and  who  found 
it  iijipossiljle  to  acquit  Mr.  Frend  without  sacrificing  every 
principle  of  truth,  of  justice,  and  of  honour." 

Of  those  who  listened  to  this  speech,  and  to  the  warm  and 
manly  address  to  the  undergraduates  with  which  it  concludes, 
few  now  survive.  It  will  still,  liowever,  afford  sufficient  evidence 
of  Dr.  Milner's  ability  as  a  speaker,  and  of  the  dignified  and 
impressive  style  of  his  eloquence.  The  effect,  indeed,  of  his 
public  speaking  was  so  much  enhanced  by  his  sonorous,  yet 
melodious  voice,  by  his  distinct  enunciation,  and  even  by  his 
commanding  person  and  manner,  that,  perhaps,  no  one  who  has 
not  heard  Dr.  Milner  address  an  audience,  can,  however  justly 
he  may  estimate  the  intrinsic  merit  of  his  speeches,  fully  con- 
ceive the  impression  which  those  speeches  produced. 

It  may  here  be  mentioned,  that  a  memorandum  book  for 
the  year  1794,  in  Dr.  Milner's  hand-writing,  contains  the  fol- 
lowing entry:  "To  write  a  general  account  of  Trend's  business." 
The  purpose  thus  intimated  was,  I  believe,  never  executed. 
The  speech  above  given  was  found  among  his  papers,  in  his  own 
hand-writing. 

During  the  long  vacation  of  this  year,  Joseph  Milner  visited 
his  brother  at  Cambridge.  A  letter  which  he  wrote  from  thence 
to  his  friend  Mr.  Stillingfleet,  contains  a  slight  notice  of  Mr. 
Frend's  trial;  and,  like  all  Joseph  Milner's  letters,  is  valuable 
and  interesting.  It  treats,  at  some  length,  of  the  state  of 
religion  at  Cambridge  at  that  period,  and  of  Mr.  Simeon's 
ministry,  but  an  extract  only  can  be  given. 

H  2 


100  CHAP.  VII.     A.D.  1703.     MTXT.  43. 

"  I  preached  yesterday  to  a  .serious  congregation  at  Simeon's 
church,  in  the  morning,  and  heard  him  preach  a  faithful  dis- 
course in  the  evening.  I  regret  that  I  shall  lose  his  company 
so  soon:  he  is  going  to  Portsmouth.  My  brother  joins  with  me 
in  best  respects  to  you.  He  is  as  Avell  as  one  can  expect  after 
so  much  fatigue.  You  have  heard,  I  suppose,  that  Frend  is 
foiled  repeatedly;  first,  by  the  Vice-Chancellor's  Court,  and 
then  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  Court  of  Delegates.  It  uill 
do  some  good  here  ;  even  his  arrogant  and  unchristian  conduct 
will  not  be  without  its  fruits.  This  place  has  obtained  more 
evangelical  means  since  I  was  here  last.  There  is  now  Simeon; 
and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  his  congregation  is  not  so  large  as 
were  to  be  wished.  Of  those,  however,  who  do  attend,  there  are  a 
number  of  solid  Christians ;  and  whether  God  may  please  again 
to  make  this  place  a  nursery  for  the  Gospel,  as  doubtless  it  was 
in  a  very  high  degree  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  we  know 
not.  But  times  are  different.  Tlien,  persons  of  rank  and  emi- 
nence, some  of  them  at  least,  attended  to  the  Gospel ;  now,  in 
general,  the  low^er  orders  only  regard  such  things,  and  the  great 
and  the  high  have,  all  over  Europe,  forgotten  that  they  have 
souls.  It  the  more  becomes  us,  my  dear  friend,  to  watch  and 
pray ;  it  is  an  hour  of  temptation.  Set  a  watch  over  my  mouth 
that  I  offend  not  with  my  tongue ;  let  me  not  eat  of  their 
dainties.  I  feel  need  to  pray  continually,  lest  1 1)e  carried  away 
even  by  the  civilities  of  the  world.  We  began  as  despised 
preachers  of  Jesus ;  in  meekness  and  simplicity  may  we  con- 
tinue so  to  the  end,  and  nourish  our  own  souls  with  the  doctrine 
which  we  preach  to  others. 

"  How  is  your  health,  and  that  of  Mrs.  Still.  ?  I  beg  my 
love  to  her."  *********  My  own  healtli,  I 
thank  God,  is  pretty  good ;  and  I  seem  to  have  a  prospect  of 
more  preaching  while  here ;  I  hope  you  also  find  opportunities 
to  speak  for  *  Him  who  loved  us.'  To  Him,  I  recommend  you 
and  yours ;  not  forgetting  Edward ;  may  he  pray,  and  be 
laborious. 

"  I  am,  dear  Still., 

"  Always  your.s,  afTcctionatcly, 
"  'J'o  the  Rcr.  Jairms  SliUinyfleet."  "J.   Milner. 


CHAP.  Vir.     A. P.  1793.     ^TAT.  43.  101 

The  notice  of  Mr.  Simeon  contained  in  tliis  letter,  comiiiti', 
as  it  does,  from  such  a  source,  cannot  fail  to  be  interesting  to 
the  vast  numbers  of  Cambridge  students,  still  living,  who,  in 
later  years  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  attending  upon  the  ministry 
of  that  most  laborious  and  useful  servant  of  God. 

It  was  not  till  the  month  of  Deceml)er,  in  this  year,  that 
Dr.  Milner  was  enabled  to  take  formal  possession  of  his 
deanery  of  Carlisle,  by  reading  prayers  in  the  Cathedral.  This 
appears  from  a  memorandum  attested  by  the  signatures  of 
William  Paley,  and  two  other  persons. 

Thus  commenced  Dr.  Milner^s  personal  connection  with  the 
city  of  Carlisle — a  connection,  which  was  doubtless,  by  the  bless- 
ing of  God,  rendered  instrumental  to  the  salvation  of  many  souls. 

And  now,  since  it  must  surely  be  the  duty  of  the  biographer 
of  a  man  whose  personal  history  deserves  to  be  recorded  at  all, 
to  give  a  full  and  true  idea  of  his  character,  and  mental  consti- 
tution, as  well  as  an  account  of  the  CA'cnts  of  his  life,  it  may, 
perhaps,  be  worth  while  to  relate  a  circumstance  which  certainly 
left  a  considerable  impression  upon  Dean  Milner's  imagination. 
It  should  be  premised,  that,  like  Dr.  Johnson,  he  possessed  a 
temperament  easily  affected  by  whatever  appeared  to  him  to 
approach  to  the  supernatural;  and  often,  in  conversation, 
defended  and  justified  the  interest  which  he  avowedly  took  in 
the  investigation  of  mysterious  stories,  whether  of  dreams  or  of 
apparitions,  by  the  remark,  that  supernatural  events,  supposing 
them  occasionally  to  occur,  are  not, — according  to  the  common 
objection  of  those  who  are  sceptical  concerning  all  such 
matters, — useless ;  but,  that,  on  the  contrary,  they  have  the 
great  and  important  use,  of  keeping  up,  in  the  minds  of  men,  a 
vivid  idea  of  the  reality  of  the  unseen  world. 

Some  time  before  his  appointment  to  the  deanery  of 
Carlisle,  Dr.  Milner  dreamed,  that  he  was  led,  by  a  friend, 
through  the  different  appartments  of  a  large  rambling  old 
house,  which,  he  was  given  to  understand,  would,  shortly, 
belong  to  himself.  After  shewing  him  several  rooms,  his  con- 
ductor opened  a  door  which  proved  to  be  the  entrance  to  a  steep 
stone  staircase,  and  desired  him  to  ascend.  He  did  so;  and  on 
turning  the  corner  at  the  top  of  this  flight  of  steps,  was  suddenly 
arrested  by  the  sight  of  a  tomb-stone,  l^caring  the  inscription. 


102  CHAP.  VII.     A.D.  1793.     «TAT.  43. 

HERE    LIETH 
THE        BODY        OF 

ISAAC     M  I  L  N  E  R. 

WHO    DIED 

A.D. 

♦     *     *     *     * 

/rV/e/i,  happily  for  himself,  he  could  not  discover;  for  in  the 
extr'emity  of  his  eager  effort  to  read  the  date  of  the  year,  which 
he  perceived  was  given — he  awoke. 

This  dream,  striking  as  it  was,  gradually  faded  from  Dean 
Milner's  mind;  and  would,  probably,  in  time,  have  been 
entirely  forgotten,  but  for  a  circumstance  which,  strangely  and 
forcibly,  recalled  it  to  his  recollection.  On  going  over  his 
deanery  for  the  first  time,  in  company,  I  think,  with  Dr.  Paley, 
a  door  was  thrown  open  which  discovered  a  steep  flight  of  stone 
steps,  leading  to  the  tower;  and  so  exactly  resembling  those 
which  he  had  seen  in  his  dream,  that,  as  he  always  declared, 
when  induced  to  mention  the  circumstance,  he  absolutely 
feared  to  ascend  and  turn  the  corner  at  the  top — so  strong  was 
the  impression,  that  the  tombstone  would  appear.  Nor  did  he 
ever  ascend  that  staircase  with  perfect  indifference. 

By  those  persons  who  boast  of  their  scepticism  respecting 
whatever  seems  to  favour  the  idea  of  the  possibility  of  inter- 
course between  the  visible  and  invisible  world,  the  circum- 
stances above  related  will,  perhaps,  be  deemed  mere  matter  of 
ridicule :  but  even  such  persons,  in  common  with  those  who 
profess  no  such  unlimited  incredulity,  may  reasonably  feel  some 
degree  of  interest  in  an  anecdote  which  tends  to  reveal,  with 
reference  to  a  mysterious  subject^  the  intellectual  conformation 
of  such  a  man  as  Dean  Milner. 

Without  intending  to  assert,  that  Dr.  Milner  considered  the 
remarkable  similarity  between  the  actual  staircase  at  the  deanery 
and  the  imaginary  flight  of  steps  which  he  had  seen  in  his 
dream  as  anything  more  than  a  curious  coincidence,  it  is 
proper  to  say,  that  he  certainly  made  a  practical  use  of  the 
dream  with  its  sequel,  by  regarding  the  deep  and  lasting 
impression  made  uj^on  his  mind,  as  an  intimation  of  the  transi- 
tory and  unsatisfactory  nature  of  worldly  prosperity,  and  as  an 
admonition  to  set  his  "  affections  upon  thing.s  above." 


103 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Conduct  of  Dr.  Miliier  as  Head  of  a  College. — Letter  to  a  Friend  on  the  Death 
of  his  Daughter. — Publication  of  the  first  volume  of  the  History  of  the 
Church. — Public  Affairs. — Political  Conduct  of  Mr.  Wilberforce. — Ex- 
tracts from  Dr.  Milncr's  Letters  to  him  at  this  Juncture. — Publication  of 
second  volume  of  the  Church  History. — Dr.  Milner's  Chymical  Pursuits. — 
Correspondence  with  INIr.  Kirwan  and  the  Bishop  of  Llandaff. — Their 
Letters. — Dr.  Buchanan. — Visit  to  Hull. — Willingness  of  Dr.  Milner  to 
preach  for  his  Friends.  —  Extracts  from  Correspondence.  —  "Visit  to 
Buxton. — Letter  from  Joseph  Milner  to  the  Rev.  James  Stillingfleet.— 
His  testimony  to  his  Brother's  plainness  of  speech  in  tlie  Pulpit. — Decla- 
ration of  Dr.  Paley. — Extract  from  one  of  the  Dean's  early  Sermons. — 
Society  at  Buxton. — Miss  Seward. — Lord  Erskine. — Cori'espondence. — 

Illness. — Gradual  and  constant  improvement  in  Religious  Character. 

Publication  of  the  third  volume  of  the  Church  History. — Correspondence. — 
Wilberforce's  Practical  View. — A'^isit  to  Bath. — Public  Affairs. — Letter 
on  Reform. — Mr.  Tillotson. 

A.D.  1794.  vETAT.  44. 
The  year  1794,  with  the  exception  of  those  months  during 
which,  as  dean,  lie  was  required  to  reside  at  Carlisle,  was  sjient 
by  Dr.  Milner  in  the  vigorous  discharge  of  his  duties  as 
President  of  Queen's  College.  "  A  head  of  a  college,"  to  use 
his  own  words,  in  a  letter  to  the  late  Rev.  William  Richardson, 
of  York,  "  is  supposed  to  have  little  or  nothing  to  do ;  so," 
continues  Dr.  Milner,  "  I  once  thought:  but  he  has  all  the 
property  of  the  college  to  manage;  and,  what  is  far  worse,  he 
has  the  tempers  of  parents  and  guardians  to  humour  about 
their  children  and  wards.  He  has  abundance  of  letters  to 
write,  and  he  is  exposed  to  many  temptations."  The  truth  of 
this  representation  will,  probably,  be  acknowledged  by  all 
whose  experience  qualities  them  to  form  a  judgment  upon  the 
subject  in  question;  but,  with  regard  to  some  branches  of  the 
duty  of  a  head  of  a  college,  Dr.  Milner's  warm  and  benevolent 
heart  perhaps  induced  him  to  bestow  upon  them  even  more 
care  than  his  situation  might  be  supposed  to  render  absolutely 
incumbent  upon  him. 

The  beneficial  regulations  which  he  introduced  respecting 
tlic  class  of  students  called  Sizars  liavc  l)ccn  already  adverted 


104  CHAP.  VIII.     A.D.  1704.     .^TAT.  44. 

to;  but  besides  these  general  improvements,  some  of  which 
were,  doubtless,  suggested  to  him  by  the  recollection  of  the 
degrading  services  which  he  had  himself,  in  the  early  part  of 
his  academical  career,  been  called  upon  to  perform.  Dr.  Milner 
constantly  exercised  a  conscientious  superintendency  over  the 
conduct  of  all  the  young  men  belonging  to  his  college,  and 
actively  interested  himself  in  the  welfare  of  such  as  gave  any 
promise  of  future  eminence. 

It  would  be  indelicate  to  mention,  in  support  of  this  state- 
ment, the  names  of  living  persons;  but  there  can  be  no  impro- 
priety in  adducing,  in  proof  of  it,  the  name  of  one  eminent 
and  excellent  man,  who,, if  he  were  yet  alive,  would  be  among 
the  most  anxious  to  do  justice  to  the  memory  of  Dr.  Milner  in 
thiji  particular.  The  late  Dr.  Buchanan,  who  was  sent  to  the 
University  of  Cambridge  by  the  Christian  liberality  of  Henry 
Thornton,  Esq.,  was  entered  at  Queen's  College,  "  chiefly 
because  Mr.  Thornton  was  acquainted  with  the  President,  and 
thought  tJtat  circumstance  might  be  advantageous  to  him*." 
The  correctness  of  this  opinion  of  the  late  Mr.  Henry  Thorn- 
ton was  demonstrated  on  various  occasions  in  the  course  of 
Dr.  Buchanan's  life:  and  it  would  be  easy  to  cite  the  names  of 
many  other  eminent  and  excellent  persons  to  whose  success  in 
life  Dr.  Milner,  by  the  faithful  performance  of  his  duties  as 
head  of  a  college,  and  by  his  subsequent  advice  and  influence, 
mainly  contributed. 

During  the  spring  of  this  year,  an  old  and  dear  friend  of 
Dr.  Milner  was  thrown  into  deej)  affliction  by  the  death  of  a 
grown-up  daughter.  On  this  calamitous  occasion,  Dr.  Milner 
endeavoured  to  administer  consolation  to  the  sorrowing  father, 
in  a  letter  from  which  here  follows  an  extract. 

"Dkar  Sir,  "  Queen's  College,  March  7,  l7i>^. 

"  I  suppose  there  can  hardly  be  a  greater  trial  for  human 

nature    than    tlie    loss  of   grown-up,  and  promising  children. 

lioth   the  cases,  however,  in  whicli  it  has  pleased   (jod,  at  so 


*  See  Ml  moils  ij'  l/u:  l.ife  iind  IViitini/s  of  the  lieu.  Cluwliu^  Bue/ianan,  by 
the  Ilcv.  llui.li  I'tAiisoK,  vol.  i. 


CIIAr.  VIH.     A.D.   17!»1.     -ETAT.  11.  105 

short  an  interval,  to  try  your  faitli,  patience,  and  resignation, 
have  been  attended  with  those  circiunstances  which  alone  can 
render  such  distressful  scenes  less  distressful,  and  take  away 
their  sting.  God  had  been  preparing  her  for  this  change  for 
some  time  past. 

"  I  remember  that  my  brother,  some  time  last  summer, 
spoke  of  her  Christian  state  of  mind,  in  the  warmest  terms; 
and  observing  upon  her  anxiety,  he  said,  '  They  are  always  the 
most  distressed  who  have  the  least  reason  to  be  so;  it  is  the 
best  sign  in  the  world.' " 

In  the  long  vacation  of  this  year  Dr.  Milner  enjoyed,  as 
usual,  tlie  company  of  his  brother;  being  his  guest  at  Hull, 
and  his  host  at  Carlisle.  Joseph  Milner,  who  had  already 
distinguished  himself  as  an  author,  by  his  able  defence  of 
revealed  truth  against  the  insinuations  and  misrepresentations 
of  Gibbon  and  of  Hume,  was  now  about  to  publish  the  first 
volume  of  his  History  of  the  Church  of  Christ;  a  work  of  which 
the  author's  own  account  gives  the  best  idea.  "  It  is  certain," 
says  he,  "  that  from  our  Saviour's  time  to  the  present,  there 
have  ever  been  persons  whose  dispositions  and  lives  have  been 
formed  by  the  rules  of  the  New  Testament:  men  who  have 
been  reaJ,  not  merely  nominal  Christians:  who  believed  the 
doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  loved  them,  because  of  their  divine 
excellency,  and  suffered  gladly  '  the  loss  of  all  things,  that  they 
might  win  Christ  and  be  found  in  Him*.'  It  is  the  history  of 
these  men  which  I  propose  to  write." 

In  the  preparation  of  the  subsequent  volumes  of  this 
history  for  publication,  Joseph  Milner  was  assisted  by  his 
brother  the  Dean;  who,  however,  suggested  few  alterations 
except  such  as  related  merely  to  style.  It  cannot  be  doubted, 
that,  by  the  reading  of  the  manuscript  sheets  of  this  work  with 
their  author,  he  ind)ibed  much  of  that  taste  for  ecclesiastical 
history  which,  joined  to  his  own  learning  and  ability,  eminently 
qualified  him  to  carry  forward  the  design  of  the  deceased 
liistorian. 

*  Philip,  iii.,  H,  \). 


106  CHAP.  VIII.     A.D.  1795.     /KTAT.  45. 

In  common  Avith  every  lover  of  his  country,  Dr.  Milner,  at 
this  period,  felt  much  anxiety  concerning  the  state  of  public 
affairs. 

On  most  points  his  sentiments  were  in  accordance  with 
those  of  Mr.  Wilberforce;  but  there  were  subjects  respecting 
which  he  differed  from  his  friend. 

Actuated,  unquestionably,  by  the  most  conscientious 
motives,  Mr.  Wilberforce,  about  this  time,  withdrew  his  support 
from  Mr.  Pitt  respecting  tlie  continuance  of  the  war,  and  on 
the  occasion  of  the  meeting  of  Parliament,  on  the  2nd  of 
January,  1795,  appeared  in  open  opposition  by  moving  an 
amendment  to  the  address.  He,  afterwards,  repeatedly  divided 
with  the  party  in  opposition,  and  "  it  was  not  without  pain 
that  he  heard  Mr.  Fox,  in  a  friendly  visit  which  he  paid  him 
about  this  time,  express  a  confident  expectation  of  his  speedy 
enrolment  in  their  ranks."  "  The  same  reasons  also  which  led 
the  opposition  party  to  claim  him  as  their  own,  rendered  him 
suspected  by  the  bulk  of  sober-minded  men."  " '  Your  friend 
Mr.  Wilberforce/  said  Mr.  Wyndham  to  Lady  Spencer,  ^  will 
be  very  happy  any  morning  to  hand  your  ladyship  to  the 
guillotine.' "  "  And  others,  less  violent  than  Mr.  Wyndham, 
partook  in  a  great  measure  of  the  same  suspicions*."  Under 
these  circumstances,  Dr.  Milner,  frequently  by  letter,  addressed 
his  friend  in  a  tone  of  friendly  advice;  for  instance:  "The 
opposition,"  wrote  Dr.  Milner,  "  will  rejoice  either  in  getting 
you  virtually  to  their  side,  or  in  ruining  you  in  the  public 
opinion;  and  further,  say  or  think  what  you  will,  I  am  sure  it 
Avill  not  be  long  Ijcfore  there  M'ill  be  a  coldness  Ijetween  you 
and  the  government.  Both  opposition  and  your  disgusted 
friends  of  administration,  are  inclined  to  admit  a  notion,  that 
you  are  endeavouring  to  raise  a  consequential  party  of  your 
own;  and,  on  that  score,  1)oth  sides  will  concur  in  having  a 
fling  at  you." 

A  short  time  before  the  meeting  of  Parliament  Dr.  Milner 
wrote  to  Mr.  Wilberforce  a  letter,  containing  the  following 
acute  and  pertinent  suggestions  :  "  I  do  not  perceive  the  nature 


•   LiJ'e  oj  It'ilbci force,  vol.  ii. 


CHVP.  VJII.     .\.1».    175<5.     /ETAT.   45.  107 

of  the  oi')i)Obiition  to  Pitt  which  you  are  likely  to  make.  Weigh 
it  well,  my  dear  friend.  I  hope  you  will  not  prove  a  dupe 
to  the  dishonest  opposition,  who  will  be  glad  to  make  use  of 
you  in  hunting  down  Pitt,  and  for  no  other  purpose.  All  will 
not  be  so  sincere  as  you  will  l;e;  nor  will  they  be  proof  against 
the  artifices  of  Fox,  Sheridan,  &c.  You  may,  I  see  clearly, 
raise  a  phalanx,  but  it  may  turn  out  that  you  will  not  be  able  to 
(Urect  its  motions.  I  speak  plainly,  because  I  wish  well  to  the 
country,  and  love  you  personally." 

On  the  4th  of  January,  after  Mr.  Wilberforce  had  taken 
the  decisive  step  of  moving  an  amendment  to  the  address. 
Dr.  Milner  wrote  to  him  in  the  following  truly  friendly  and 
Christian  manner  :  "  I  think  that  you  are  in  a  very  critical 
situation,  both  as  to  the  general  good,  or  bad  effect,  which  your 
conduct  may  produce  in  national  affairs,  and  also  in  regard  to 
the  judgment  which  will  be  formed  of  you  personally.  On 
Friday  night  I  read  over  the  debates;  and  I  can  truly  say,  I 
never  was  so  much  concerned  about  politics  in  my  life ;  I  was 
quite  low,  and  so  I  continue.  There  was  not  any  one  of  the 
speeches  that  I  liked.  In  the  first  place,  I  never  conceived 
that  you  had  intended  to  take  so  decided  a  part  in  this  business 
as  to  lead  the  opposition  against  Pitt.  There  is  not  the  slightest 
doubt  but  you  will  be  represented  as  having  gone  over  to  the 
opposition,  nor  will  it  be  easy  to  do  away  the  impression ;  for, 
1st,  you  opposed  Government  in  the  great  question  of  peace 
or  war ;  2ndly,  you  made  the  motion ;  3rdly,  the  oj^position 
approved  of  it,  and  hailed  the  accession  of  their  new  forces.  I 
wish  I  may  be  mistaken;  yet,  as  I  understand  your  amend- 
ment, and  the  consequent  division,  it  will  certainly  tend  to 
weaken  the  Government  and  to  divide  the  sentiments  of  the 
country;  to  strengthen  a  factious  opposition,  and  to  encourage 
the  Frencli  Convention."  *  *  "Let  it  but  be  supposed,  that 
you  are  against  the  war,  that  you  are  for  peace,  and  your  name 
and  authority  are  made  use  of  to  a  much  greater  extent  than 
you  ever  intended.  The  part  you  take  is  of  great  consequence. 
I  am  very  low  about  public  affairs,  and  am  looking  for 
something  more  tremendous:  the  prospect  is  constantly  before 
me.     We  ought,  every  one  for  himself,  to  '  make  haste   and 


108  CHAP.  \IU.     A.D.  1705.     ;ETAT.  45. 

keep  HIS  commandments.'"  *         *         *         *         Again, 

Dr.  Milncr  wrote  this  year  from  Carlisle  :  "  The  bulk  of  people 
think  you  are  doing  a  great  deal  of  mischief.  A  very  few,  who 
know  your  sincerity,  and  think  pretty  closely,  believe  that  you 
may  be  doing  a  great  deal  of  good  by  drawing  the  Minister  to 
his  senses,  and  hastening  peace.  But  even  these  are  not 
without  doubts  :  it  is  an  intricate  and  thorny  business.  The 
sentiments  of  your  constituents  through  the  West  Riding, 
respecting  the  part  you  have  taken  in  parliament,  I  have  had 
some  opportunity  of  learning;  and  I  am  sorry  to  say,  that, 
excepting  a  few  notorious  democrats,  I  have  not  met  with  a 
single  person  who  does  not  disapprove  your  conduct.  The  same 
sentiments  pervade  the  most  sensible  people  in  these  parts,  the 
democrats  still  excepted."  From  Cambridge,  Dr.  Milner  after- 
wards wrote  as  follows :  "  I  pray  God  to  bless  you  for  writing  me 
so  affectionate  a  letter.  I  wish  that  you  should  learn  from  others, 
rather  than  from  myself,  how  vehemently  I  have  defended  you 
from  the  attacks  of  Drs.  Kipling,  Jowett,  Turner,  &c. ;  some  of 
whom  hold,  that  you  have  done  the  country  much  more  harm 
than  any  defeat  could  do."  *  *  *  *  "  It  is 
now,  more  than  ever  before  in  your  life,  that  the  consequence 
and  force  of  your  independence  is  felt." 

On  a  subsequent  occasion,  Dr.  Milner  addressed  to  his 
friend  the  following  very  kind  and  judicious  advice :  "  Your 
old  friends  have  everything  at  stake,  and  you  must  bear  with 
them  if  they  are  now  and  then  unreasonaljle.  Guard  yourself 
against  saying  anything  satirical  at  Government ;  let  there  be 
no  bitterness,  nor  the  slightest  ground  for  suspecting  peevish- 
ness, or  a  disposition  to  thwart.  Your  opposition,  in  one  point 
of  view,  must  do  great  mischief;  this  you  cannot  help;  but 
there  is  the  more  reason  for  avoiding  exacerbations  of  every 
sort,  among  which  is  to  be  reckoned  nihbliiiy  altercation" 

During  this  year  was  pul)lished  the  second  volume  of  Joseph 
Milner's  Cluirch  History,  llie  manuscript  of  which  Dr.  Milner 
read  with  his  Ijrother. 

Dean  Milner  had  never  ceased  to  pursue,  so  far  as  his 
precarious  health  and  diminislied  leisure  permitted,  his  chy- 
mical  investigations,     lie  was,  at  this  time,  in  correspondence 


CITAP.  VIII.     A.D.   1795.     yETAT.  45.  109 

with  Mr.  Kirwan,  the  eminent  Irish  chymist  already  mentioned; 
and  in  the  month  of  October  received  from  him  the  foHowing 
letter,  relative  to  the  methods  used  by  the  Frcjich  in  the 
manufacture  of  nitre. 

"  To  THE  Very  Rev.  the  Dean  of  Carlisle. 

"  Dear  Sir,  "Dublin,  October  25,  1795. 

"  Your  letter  required  no  apology;  or,  if  any,  it  is  for 
containing  one.  It  is  always  a  pleasure  to  me  to  hear  of  you, 
and  particularly  from  yourself.  The  French  kept  their  method 
of  making  nitre  a  secret,  but  things  led  me  to  think  that  they 
formed  nitrous  acid  in  the  manner  you  discovered. 

"  1st.  The  embargo  laid  on  potash,  and  the  quantity  of  it 
sent  even  from  Bordeaux  to  Paris,  as  I  have  been  assured 
by  persons  from  that  city. 

"2nd.  The  quantity  of  manganese  they  had  stored  in  Paris, 
as  you  may  see  in  the  ninth  volume  of  the  Annates  cle  Chimie, 
p.  340. 

"  And,  lastly,  as  I  knew  no  other  method  of  procuring  it. 

"  I  am  exceedingly  happy  to  find  you  have  been  restored  to 
a  better  state  of  health,  both  for  your  own  sake,  and  for  that  of 
science ;  and  am, 

"  With  the  most  distinguished  regard  and  esteem, 

"  Your  most  affectionate  and  humble  servant, 

«R.  Kirwan." 

Dr.  Milner  hkewise  maintained  a  correspondence  on  chy- 
mical  topics  with  the  late  Dr.  Watson,  bishop  of  Llandaff. 
The  followng  letter  has  reference  to  the  sul)ject  treated  of  in 
the  letters  of  Dr.  Priestley*  and  Mr.  Kirwan. 

"  To  THE  Very  Rev.  the  Dean  of  Carlisle. 

"Dear  Sir,  "  Great  Georye  Street,  Feb.  18,  179G. 

"  I  lose  no  time  in  answering  your  letter.     It  is  a  very  high 

honour  to  you  to  have  discovered  the  mode  of  making  the 

nitrous  acid ;  and  though  our  enemies  avail  themselves  of  your 


See  Chapter  III. 


110  CHAP.  VIII.     A.l).  179f!.     jETAT.  4(i. 

ingenuity,  vet,  it  may,  in  future  be  of  use  to  your  own  country. 
Any  unfavourable  revolution  in  India,  would  leave  us  as  destitute 
of  saltpetre  as  France  would  have  been  without  your  discovery. 
I  still  doubt,  as  I  did  when  you  shewed  me  the  experiment,  the 
practicability  of  making  saltpetre  at  as  cheap  a  rate  as  it  may 
be  imported ;  but  have  no  doubt  in  thinking  that  the  experi- 
ment ought  to  be  tried  in  the  large  way,  by  the  Board  of 
Ordnance.  I  think  there  is  a  manufactory  of  sal  ammoniac  in 
the  Borough,  where  the  volatile  alkali  is  extracted  from  bones. 
The  bones  of  the  meat  daily  consumed  in  this  capital,  together 
M'ith  such  other  matters  as  might,  by  proper  arrangements,  be 
saved,  would  supply  plenty  of  volatile  alkali ;  and  as  to  manga- 
nese, I  believe  there  is  great  abundance  of  it  in  the  country ; 
and  I  have  some  suspicion  that  manganese  is  not  the  only 
mineral  which  might  be  used.  I  speak  from  recollection,  when 
I  say,  that  Mr.  Stanley,  I  think  it  was,  of  Ponsonby,  in  Cum- 
berland, informed  me,  about  thirty  years  ago,  that  he  had  in 
his  estate  immense  beds  of  manganese  which  laid  very  near  the 
surface,  and  were  at  present  of  no  value  ;  I  left  a  large  specimen 
of  this  mineral  in  the  chymical  schools,  opposite  your  college, 
but  whether  it  is  still  there  I  cannot  say.  I  shall  return  to 
Westmoreland  as  soon  as  my  children  have  had  a  little  benefit 
from  their  masters,  and  will  then,  or  before,  if  you  wish  it, 
make  inquiry  relative  to  Mr.  Stanley's  mineral,  and  give  you 
any  assistance  in  my  power  in  the  prosecution  of  your  design. 
Your  scheme  appears  to  me  to  be  well  enough  imagined  for  the 
purpose,  though  it  may  admit  a  doubt  whether  pure  volatile 
alkali  might  not  be  as  useful  or,  perhaps,  as  cheap,  every  thing 
considered,  as  filling  a  large  vessel  with  cheap  materials  from 
which  only  a  small  portion  of  alkali  can  be  obtained. 

"  I  begin  to  feel  the  effects  of  London  air  and  London  life ; 
nothing  but  constant  exercise  in  the  country  can  preserve  my 
frame  in  any  tolerable  state. 

"  I  am,  dear  Sir,  with  great  esteem  and  regard, 

"  Your  faithful  friend  and  servant, 

"R.  Llandaff." 

In  the  early  part  of  this  year,  the  friends  by  whose  Chris- 


LllAl".  VJIJ.     A.D.   17!)*;.     ^KTAT.  4(;.  Ill 

tian  kindness  and  liberality,  the  late  Dr.  Buchanan  '•  had  been 
introduced  into  the  Church,  conceiving  that  his  talents  might 
be  more  advantageously  employed  abroad,  recurred  to  the  plan 
which  had,  for  some  time,  been  more  or  less  in  their  view,  and 
resolved  to  endeavour  to  obtain  for  him  the  appointment  of  a 
chaplain  in  the  service  of  the  East  India  Company."  In  pur- 
suance of  this  determination,  it  was  necessary  to  procure  such 
testimonials  as  might  "  amply  certify  the  qualifications  of  Mr. 
Buchanan  for  the  office  to  which  he  was  recommended*." 
Copies  of  these  testimonials  arc  ifiserted  in  the  Life  of  Dr. 
Buchanan  already  cited.  The  first,  is  from  the  President  and 
Fellows  of  Queen's  College,  and  expresses,  in  general  terms, 
the  high  opinion  entertained  by  the  governing  part  of  the 
College,  of  Mr.  Buchanan's  character  and  talents.  This  certi- 
ficate was  transmitted  by  Dr.  Milner  to  Mr.  Grant t,  with  tlie 
following  letter,  in  which  he  bears  a  more  particular  and 
decisive  testimony  to  the  merits  of  Mr.  Buchanan. 

"To  Charles  Grant,  Esq. 

"Dear  Sir,  "  Queen's  College,  Cambridge,  March  8,  179C. 

"  I  inclose  you  the  College's  testimonial  of  Mr.  Buchanan's 
good  behaviour,  expressed  in  general  terms ;  but  if  it  were 
needful  to  be  more  particular,  I  could  add  a  great  deal. 

"  In  my  judgment  much  may  be  expected  from  his  ability, 
industry,  and  discretion.  He  has  an  uncommon  zeal  for  every- 
thing that  is  praise-worthy,  and  this  zeal  is  tempered  and 
directed  by  a  sound  and  well-informed  understanding.  His 
good  sense  and  attainments  must  procure  him  respect  every 
where.  He  will  certainly  be  on  the  watch  to  do  good.  Mr. 
Buchanan  obtained  both  classical  and  mathematical  prizes  at 
college. 

"  I  am,  dear  Sir,  yours, 

"Isaac  Milmer." 

It  seemed  proper  to  insert,  in  this  place,  this  just  and  very 
cordial  testimony  to  the  merits  of  so  eminent  and  excellent  a 

*  See  Life  of  the  Rev.  Claudius  Buchanan,  by  the  Rev.  Hugh  Pearson. 
+  The  fatlier  of  the  present  Lord  Glenelg. 


112  CITAP.  VTTT.     A.D.  17f)C.      ETAT.  46. 

man  as  the  late  Dr.  Ruclianan  ;  and  it  may  be  added,  that  the 
hi^h  opinion  invaria1)ly  expressed  by  Dr.  Mihier,  concerning 
Dr.  Buchanan's  character  and  attainments,  had,  subsequently, 
much  influence  in  inducing  the  Marquis  Wellesley  to  appoint 
him  Vice-Provost  of  the  College  of  Fort  William,  in  Bengal. 

Dr.  Milner  never  ceased  to  maintain  a  frequent  intercourse 
with  his  brother,  either  by  visiting  him  at  Hull,  during  the 
university  vacations,  or  by  receiving  him,  as  occasion  oft'ered,  at 
Carlisle,  or  at  Queen's  Lodge. 

In  the  summer  of  1796,  while  on  his  way  to  Carlisle  for  the 
purpose  of  keeping  his  residence  there,  he  visited  his  brother 
at  Hull,  and  took  him  with  him  to  spend  his  school  vacation  at 
the  Deanery.  Mr.  Wilberforce,  who,  was  at  the  same  time  at 
Hull,  on  a  visit  to  his  aged  mother,  thus  writes  in  his  Diary: 
^'June  9,  179G.  Milner  preached — very  practical  and  good. 
Joseph  Milner  dined  with  us — simple  and  pleasant." 

Nothing  can  be  less  extraordinary  than  that  Dr.  Milner 
should  have  preached  for  his  brother,  while  sojourning  with  him 
at  Hull ;  but  it  is  not  generally  known  how  ready  and  willing 
he  was,  upon  all  suitable  occasions,  to  occupy  the  pulpit  wher- 
ever he  might  happen  to  be.  Many  of  the  present  inhabitants 
of  Carlisle  well  remember  his  frequent  sermons  on  the  Wednes- 
day evenings,  at  St.  Cuthbert's  Church ;  and  many  persons  still 
living  at  Hull  can  bear  witness  to  his  frequent  and  impressive 
addresses  from  the  pulpit  of  St.  John's,  during  the  visits  which 
he  paid  to  the  town  of  Hull,  after  the  decease  of  his  brother. 
Nay  even  if  detained  during  Sunday  on  a  journey — for  it  is 
needless  to  say,  that  he  did  not  travel  on  the  Sabbath — he  was 
always  ready  to  preach  if  requested  to  do  so,  or  if  he  had  reason 
to  think,  that  his  doing  so  would  be  acceptable  to  the  clergyman 
of  the  place.  Thus,  on  more  than  one  occasion,  being  com- 
pelled, by  circumstances,  to  pass  the  Sunday  at  Ferrybridge, 
during  his  journey  from  Cambridge  to  Carlisle,  he  preached  at 
the  neighbouring  church  of  Brotherton ;  and  other  instances, 
of  a  similar  nature,  might  easily  be  adduced. 

The  numerous  letters  written  by  Dr.  Milner  during  the 
early  part  of  this  summer  treat,  for  the  most  part,  cither  of 
college  business  or  of  ])hiiosoj)hical  subjects.     His  letters  to  his 


CHAP.   VIII.     A.D.   \iun.     .ETAT.  4«.  U.3, 

intimate  friends  were,  at  thi.s  i)eriod,  very  various  in  tlieir 
character — sometimes  half  jocular — more  frequently  seriou.s — 
and  occasionally  almost  melancholy.  Thus,  on  one  occasion  to 
Mr.  Wilherforce,  who  was  spending  the  season  at  Buxton,  he 
writes,  "As  I  am  very  infirm  myself  at  present,  and  in  weak 
spirits,  so  that  I  have  wept  in  secret  several  times  lately  without 
nmcli  apparent  reason,  it  will  be  a  real  pleasure  to  me  to  hear 
frequently  from  you,  and  to  know  that  you  go  on  well."  Happily, 
however,  the  natural  elasticity  of  Dr.  Milner's  mental  tempera- 
ment soon  produced  its  effect.  He  proceeds  in  the  same  letter, 
(July  1st,)  to  inquire  into  the  particulars  of  a  plan,  in  which 
Mr.  Wilberforce  was  much  interested,  for  the  relief  of  the  dis- 
tressed French  emigrants,  then  so  numerous  in  England,  adding, 
"  I  hope  to  he  able  to  promote  the  subscription  among  the  ladies 
here*.  Send  me  a  few  of  your  printed  papers. 
"N.B.  Pray  beware  of  the  Buxtoyi  Docfor.t. 
"  Ever,  dear  Sir, 

"Very  affectionately  your  friend, 

"Isaac  Milxer." 

Later  in  the  summer,  Mr.  Wilberforce  being  called,  by  the 
illness  of  his  mother,  to  Hull,  there  met  Dean  Milner,  who, 
with  his  brother  Joseph,  had  just  returned  from  his  residence  at 
Carlisle,  and  induced  him  to  accompany  him  on  his  return  to 
Buxton.  The  following  letter  from  Joseph  Milner,  written 
just  after  his  return  with  his  brother  from  Carlisle,  and  before 
the  Dean's  departure  with  Mr.  Wilberforce  for  Buxton,  contains 
much  interesting  matter. 

"To  THE  Rev.  James  Stillixgfleet. 

"  Dear  Still.,  "  Hull,  August  3rd,  1796. 

"  I  was  glad  to  hear  from  you  on  my  arrival  liere  with  my 

brother  from  Carlisle,  last  Saturday  night.     You  guessed  right 

about  the  times  of  the  holidays   and  my  travels.     Fawcett  is 

well,  and  his  family.      He  and,  I  hope, and ,  are 

walking  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  in  the  faith  of  the  Gospel. 

•  At  Carlisle. 


114  CHAP.  YIII.     A.D.  1700.     .'ETAT.  4G. 

I  was  afraid  he  Avoiild  have  no  opportunity  to  minister  the 
word  in  Carlisle;  he  has  only  preached  once  there  all  this  time;' 
the  number  of  clergy  there  gives  him  little  opportunity.  He 
has  had,  however,  opportunities  of  preaching  oftcner  in  the 
country.  He  seems  desirous  of  embracing  any  service  which 
the  Lord  may  call  him  to,  and  he  is  acceptable  in  his  office 
there,  and  in  all  his  conduct. 

"  The  Dean  and  myself  have  preached  at  the  Cathedral.  He 
has  preached  several  times  with  great  faithfulness  and  downright 
plaiimess  on  the  first  and  most  fundamental  truths.  There  is 
a  shaking  among  them.  There  seems  to  want  a  following  up 
of  the  blow,  by  a  constant  repetition  of  such  preaching;  for 
many  hear  with  eagernes.  Some  real  good,  I  trust,  is  done; 
and  one  sermon  there  is  more  regarded  than  thirty  in  this  part 
of  the  world. 

"I  thank  you  for  your  good  advice  about  passing  through 
evil  report/^  *  *  *  "My  health  is  pretty  good  at  present, 
and  I  am  going  on  with  the  History;  but  as  I  come  nearer  the 
Reformation,  major  mihi  nascitur  ordo.  Indeed  the  work  is 
very  laborious ;  I  did  not  think  it  to  be  so  great  as  it  is  before 
I  undertook  it.  The  Lord  take  it  into  his  own  hands,  and 
magnify  himself  by  it ;  and  may  I  be  helped  to  disburden 
myself  of  all  anxious  care  concerning  it,  Avhile  I  do  what  He 
enables  me  to  do.  'Be  careful  fornothing;'  that  is  the  precept 
I  have  felt  the  want  of  for  years.  I  am  always  prone  to  excess 
of  care  and  thinking;  pray,  my  dear  friend,  that  it  may  not 
overcome  me  in  my  growing  age  and  infirmities.  The  sim- 
plicity of  faith  I  vastly  need ;  to  live  by  faith  is  my  wisdom  and 
happiness !     How  very  little  do  I  know  of  it! 

"Give  my  love  to  the  venerable  old  servant  of  God*  at 
whose  house  I  hope  this  may  reach  you.  I  have  only  to  wish 
him  a  gentle  and  placid  departure  to  Abraham's  bosom.  He 
has  fought  a  good  fight  and  has  finished  his  course. 

"  I  hope  your  hcaltli  continues  well,  and  that  Mrs.  S.  has 
had  no  violent  returns  of  her  disorder.  I  shall  never,  I  hope, 
forget  the  sweetness  of  friendship  which  I  liave  tasted  from  you 


Tlic  late  Itov.  Rfr.  Voiiii, 


CHAP.  A^III.     A.D.   1700.     /ETAT.  4«.  115 

l)oth ;  and  I  pray  you  may  both  l)e  brought  safe  home,  and  in 
the  fuhiess  of  the  blessing  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 

"  I  am  glad  you  find  employment  in  the  pulpit,  and  I  trust 
it  will  not  be  in  vain.  We  have  need  to  pray  for  the  Church 
and  nation.  Things  are  very  dark;  they  maybe  darker  still; 
and  yet  I  trust  the  Lord  will  not  give  us  over  to  the  enemy. 
He  will  repay  them  to  their  face,  because  they  hate  Him, 
There  is  an  evident  growth  of  faithful  labourers  in  the  Churcli. 
One  young  man  has  been  at  Carlisle,  who  was  awakened  under 
Mr.  Porter,  at  Leeds ;  he  seems  serious  and  humble,  and  is 
going  to  be  fixed  in  an  Episcopal  Church  in  Scotland.  The 
Bishop  of  Carlisle,  by  the  Dean's  recommendation,  has  promised 
to  ordain  him  to  it.  The  greatest  evil  is  the  plain  want  of 
national  humiliation,  and  the  continuance  of  profaneness, 
luxury,  pleasures,  &c.  No  wonder  we  are  scourged  and  brought 
low.  But  let  us  mind  our  Ijusiness,  the  Lord  will  take  care  of 
his.  After  all,  we  know  of  more  evil  Avithin  us  than  we  do  of 
all  the  gross  outward  sins  of  the  land.  Indwelling  sin  is  our 
burden.  Out  of  the  depths  we  must  keep  crying  to  the  Lord: 
and,  as  circumstances  now  are,  it  behoves  us  specially  to  take 
care  that  we  be  not  drawn  into  a  wrong  spirit  on  the  one  hand, 
by  the  evils  of  professors,  and  on  the  other,  by  the  agreeal)le 
(jualities  of  the  profane.  The  Lord  uphold  us,  and  cause  us  to 
liear  a  voice  behind  us,  saying,  This  is  the  way,  walk,  &c. 

"  The  foul  proceedings  in  the  late  election  at  Hull  were  a 
bitter  potion  to  me,  and  a  great  reproach  to  this  place.  But 
why  always  harping  on  the  worst?  God  is  with  his  Church, 
and  his  cause  shall  prosper. 

«  With  love  to  Mrs.  S., 

"  I  am  alway  yours, 

"Joseph  Milxer." 

To  Dean  Milner's  ^'faitlifulness"  and  "downright  plainness" 
in  the  pulpit,  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  very  pious  letter,  there 
are,  doubtless,  still  many  living  witnesses;  although  the  greater 
part  of  the  generation  who,  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath,  during 
his  various  residences  at  Carlisle,  were  admonished  by  liis 
warning  voice  in  the  Cathedral,  have  passed  away.    Of  recorded 

I  2 


116  CHAP.  A^II.     A.D.  179C.    ^TAT.  40. 

testimony  to  his  powerful  mode  of  preaching  there  is,  however, 
no  lack.  Among  a  cloud  of  witnesses,  Dr.  Paley  may  be  men- 
tioned as  having,  about  the  year  179^?  expressed  himself  in  the 
following  terms  to  the  present  Professor  of  Modern  History  at 
Cambridge. 

"  I  remember,"  says  Professor  Smyth  *,  "  that  Dr.  Paley 
said  to  me,  when  I  happened  to  mention  Dr.  Milner,  and  what 
were  supposed  to  be  the  great  powers  of  his  mind,  '  Why,  yes ; 
I  told  the  Bishop  of  Carlisle t,  that  about  the  evangelical  doc- 
trines themselves,  I  must  leave  him  to  judge,  but  that  if  he 
chose  to  hear  them  verged  with  great  ability,  and  placed  in  the 
most  striking  point  of  view,  he  must  go  and  hear  our  dean.' " 

In  perfect  agreement  with  the  conversation  here  recorded, 
Dr.  Paley,  about  this  time,  thus  wrote  to  a  friend:  "When  the 
Dean  of  Carlisle  preaches  you  may  walk  upon  the  heads  of  the 
people.  All  the  meetings  attend  to  hear  him.  He  is  indeed 
a  powerful  preacher." 

This  testimony  of  Dr.  Paley,  concerning  the  crowds  who 
attended  at  the  Cathedral  whenever  the  Dean  preached,  might 
be  confirmed  by  many  living  witnesses.  Indeed,  the  very 
words,  or  nearly  so,  employed  by  Dr.  Paley,  occur  in  a  letter 
lately  addressed  to  myself  by  a  professional  gentleman,  still 
resident  at  Carlisle.  "When  it  was  known,"  says  he,  "that 
the  Dean  was  to  preach  in  the  Cathedral,  I  have  seen  the  aisles 
and  every  part  of  it  so  thronged,  that  a  person  might  have 
walked  upon  the  heads  of  the  crowd.  It  was  pleasing  to  see 
how  religious  persons  of  different  denominations  flocked  around 
the  pulpit.     »     *     * 

"  I  well  remember  at  times,  while  preaching,  his  being  so 
absorbed  in  his  subject,  that  the  expression  of  his  countenance 
had  in  it  something  more  than  earthly.  He  has  told  me,  that 
lie  always  felt  doubly  assured  when  he  was  preaching  the  Truth." 
*  *  *  "In  one  of  his  discourses  he  recommended  it  to  his 
hearers,  '  not  to  busy  themselves  in  the  inquiry,  whether 
the  preacher  were  right  in  every  particular  point,  but  rather 


*  In  a  letter  to  myself, 
t   'I'lie  ])resent  Lord  Archbishop  of  York. 


CHAP.  VIII.     A.D.   17!MJ.       ETAT.  40.  117 

to  inquire  whether  the3'  themselves  were  right  in  the  main 
point.'     *     *     * 

"After  one  of  the  powerful  sermons  that  he  preached  in  the 
Cathedral  from  the  words,  'AVherefore  halt  ye  l^etween  two 
opinions?'  Sec,  a  young  gentleman  from  Liverpool,  who  had 
heard  him,  called  upon  him,  and  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  thanked 
him  for  his  discourse.  The  Dean  told  me,  that  the  same  sermon 
had  been  instrumental  in  bringing  one  or  two  other  persons  to 
a  sense  of  the  importance  of  religion.  He  did  not  say  this  as  if 
boasting,  but  was  only  thankful  that  he  should  have  been  the 
means  of  bringing  any  to  a  knowledge  of  the  Truth." 

Some  brief  extracts  from  one  of  the  first  sermons  which 
Dean  Milner  delivered  from  the  pulpit  of  the  cathedral  of 
Carlisle,  and  one  to  which,  after  the  lapse  of  nearly  twenty 
years,  he,  from  the  same  pulpit,  alluded  with  satisfaction,  as 
having  been  rendered,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  singularly  useful, 
may  serve  as  a  fair  specimen  of  his  style  and  manner  of 
preaching;  and  cannot  be  unacceptable  to  those  who  feel  an 
interest  in  the  subject  of  this  biography. 

The  sermon  in  question  treats  of  the  history  of  Enoch*,  and 
its  scope  is,  to  convey  "a  just  idea  of  what  is  meant  by  ^walking 
with  God.'  "  "However  excellent  a  thing  it  be,"  says  the  Dean, 
"  to  walk  with  God,  it  is  no  more  than  what  all  men  in  all  ages 
ought  to  do.  We  are  led,  then,  to  suspect  that  the  generality 
of  persons  in  Enoch's  time  walked  not  with  God,  but  after  the 
course  of  this  world,  after  the  '  spirit  which  now  worketh  in  the 
children  of  disobedience.'  In  truth,  the  fall  of  man  was  pre- 
sently followed  by  the  most  dismal  effects.  Witness  the  account 
given  of  the  blood  of  righteous  Abel,  and  of  the  earth  being 
filled  with  violence,  and  of  all  flesh  having  corrupted  their  way 
upon  the  earth.  Moreover,  the  Lord  was  induced  to  sweep 
away  the  whole  generation  of  mankind,  except  eight  persons, 
by  a  flood.  But  before  things  proceeded  to  this  extremity,  it 
pleased  God,  by  an  act  of  singular  and  distinguished  favour 
towards  righteous  Enoch,  to  show  to  mankind  that  '  there  is  a 
God  that  judgeth  the  earth;'  that  there  is  another  life,  in  which 


See  Dr.  Milner's  Sermons,  Vol.  i.,  Sermon  11. 


118  CHAP.  VIII.     A.D.   1796.     /ETAT.  4G. 

his  faithful  servants  shall  enjoy  their  God  forever;  and  that 
the  present  life  is  too  poor  and  low  a  scene  for  immortal  spirits 
to  set  their  affections  upon."  *  *  ♦  «  Por  it  is  not  to  be 
supposed  but  that  the  circumstances  of  Enoch's  translation 
were  such  as  to  give  full  evidence  that  the  fact  was  real ;  as 
was  the  case  with  Elijah's  translation  to  heaven  long  after — 
wliich  event  also  took  place  at  a  period  of  much  wickedness  and 
contempt  of  God."  *  *  *  "  Three  hundred  and  sixty-five 
years  was  the  whole  of  Enoch's  existence  on  earth;  and, 
according  to  the  length  of  men's  lives  at  that  time,  he  might  be 
called  a  young  person.  But  he  lived  long  enough  to  shame  an 
evil  world  by  tiie  height  of  his  piety.  While  others  walked 
after  the  sight  of  their  eyes,  and  according  to  the  imaginations 
of  their  hearts,  he  lived  by  faith  in  God.  He  saw  the  invisible 
God  with  the  eyes  of  his  understanding,  and  walked  with  Him 
as  a  friend.  He  maintained  a  connexion  with  Him  in  all  he 
did :  his  whole  course  of  life  was  directed  to  please  Him.  He 
received  the  law  from  his  mouth,  and  it  was  dearer  to  him  than 
anything  besides.  No  doubt  lie  conversed  with  Him  by  prayer, 
praise,  and  meditation,  and  had  a  holy  and  reverend  commu- 
nion with  Him,  such  as  it  becomes  obedient  creatures  to  have 
witii  their  Creator.  The  account  is  very  short,  but  doubtless 
he  wa  s  reconciled  to  Him  by  faith  in  the  promised  seed  who 
was  to  bruise  the  serpent's  head,  for  Enoch  had  sin  as  well  as 
otlier  men.  He  Avas  saved  by  grace,  and  he  was  conscious  of  a 
Divine  principle  of  grace,  which  gave  him  this  happy  turn  of 
mind,  and  drew  his  affections  up  to  God.  Were  it  not  for 
God's  revealed  promise  of  grace  in  Christ,  he  could  have  had 
no  comfortable  affiance  in  God  from  the  light  of  nature,  for 
that  teaches  no  sinner  how  to  obtain  reconciliation  with  God. 
Revelation  alone  can  do  this  for  any  man;  and  Hiow  can  two 
walk  together  except  they  l)e  agreed?' 

"  Enoch  was  reconciled  with  God,  and  therefore  walked  with 
him  as  a  friend.  Pleasant  and  precious  privilege  !  Oh  !  what 
so  delightful  as  to  call  God,  Father, — to  enjoy  his  favour,  and 
peace  of  coiiscicn(!e, —  to  be  indulged  with  the  tokens  of  his 
presence,  and  tlie  manifcslation  of  his  Divine  perfections ! 
To  such  a  jiian.   dufv  is  a  dcliglif,  the  will  of  God  is  freedom, 


CHAP.  vrir.    a.ix  i7!m;.    .13TAT.  4«.  119 

and  holiness  is  the  health  of  the  soul."  *  *  *  *  a  After 
Enoch  had  'walked  with  God*  three  hundred  years,  he  was  no 
more  found  on  earth;  for  God  had  removed  him  to  Himself  by 
a  happy  miraculous  translation.  In  the  eleventh  chapter  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  we  are  told,  that  '  by  faith  he  was 
translated,  that  he  should  not  see  death;  and  was  not  found, 
because  God  took  him:  for  before  his  translation  he  had  this 
testimony,  that  he  pleased  God.'  But  how  did  he  please  him  ? 
It  is  added,  '  without  faith  it  is  imi:)Ossible  to  please  Him;  for 
he  that  cometh  unto  God  must  believe  that  he  is,  and  that  he 
is  a  rewardcr  of  them  that  diligently  seek  him.*  Enoch  had  a 
lively  influential  persuasion,  that  there  is  a  God  that  judgeth 
the  earth;  that  He  is  to  be  found  by  tliem  that  seek  Him,  as 
their  portion  and  happiness;  and  this,  we  know,  cannot  be 
dune,  except,  in  substance,  upon  real  Christian  principles. 
Guilt  cannot  be  taken  out  of  the  conscience  but  by  faith  in 
God's  promises  respecting  the  Redeemer;  nor  can  the  heart  of 
such  a  creature  as  man  be  renewed  and  made  holy,  but  by  a 
principle  of  grace  from  above."  *  *  *  *  "  To  walk  with 
God,  as  Enoch  did,  is  the  duty  of  every  reasonable  creature : 
and,  in  truth,  what  can  be  so  reasonable,  so  pleasant,  and  so 
altogether  excellent  ^  Nay,  I  might  add,  that  guilty  creatures 
hke  men,  being,  through  Jesus  the  Mediator,  allowed  thus  to 
walk  with  God,  as  a  forgiving,  reconciled  Father,  is,  in  some 
respects,  more  delightful  than  if  no  breach  had  ever  been  made: 
for  surely,  humility  and  gratitude  are  most  truly  Christian 
sensations,  and  the  exercise  of  them  will,  I  doubt  not,  form 
one  of  the  most  precious  enjoyments  of  heaven  and  immor- 
tality." 

It  is  needless  to  say,  that  the  above  extracts  give  but  a  very 
meagre  idea  of  the  admirable  and  affecting  discourse  from 
which  they  are  taken.  The  same,  however,  might  be  said,  and 
said  with  a  considerable  measure  of  truth,  if  the  discourse  were 
given  entire:  for  all  who  have  heard  Dean  Milner  speak  from 
the  pulpit,  will  agree,  that  to  communicate  anything  like  an 
adequate  conception  of  the  impressive  dignity  of  his  manner, 
or  of  the  effect  which  his  sermons  produced,  would  be  a  vain 
attempt.     His  deep  conviction  of  the  infinite  importance  of  the 


120  CHAP.  VIII.     A.I).  179t).     /ETAT.  4(i. 

subjects  which,  as  a  preacher,  he  had  to  handle,  gave  to  his 
addresses  from  the  pulpit  a  force  and  a  reality,  which,  under 
other  circumstances,  compositions  incomparaljly  more  regular 
and  polished,  must  have  failed  to  possess.  In  short,  the  secret 
of  his  eloquence,  or  rather  of  the  impression  which  he  made 
ii])on  his  hearers,  lay,  if  the  expression  may  be. permitted,  in 
tlie  intensity  of  his  sincerity. 

Having  been  induced,  as  has  been  already  intimated,  to 
accompany  Mr.  Wilberforce  on  his  return  from  Hull  to  Buxton, 
Dean  Milner,  with  his  friend,  generally  dined  at  the  public 
table,  in  company  with  Lord  Erskine,  Miss  Seward,  and  a 
crowd  of  visitors. 

Of  this  joint  visit  to  Buxton,  Mr.  Wilberforce's  Diary 
affords  the  following  characteristic  notices. 

"  Heard  Miss  Seward  repeat  and  read  Cornaro.  *  *  *  * 
Erskine  much  with  her — his  free  conversation  with  Milner 
about  religion." 

"  Miss  Seward  M'ent  on  Friday.  Erskine,  Milner,  and  I,  too 
much  with  her,  flattering  her,  &c." 

'■'  Our  friend  the  Dean  is  tolerable,  and  much  amused,  and 
not  a  little  amusing." 

During  this  visit  to  Buxton,  the  Dean  preached  at  least 
once,  and  that  with  an  earnestness  and  solemnity  which  ren- 
dered his  discourse  exceedingly  striking  to  the  gay  congregation 
Avhom  he  addressed. 

The  Christmas  of  this  year  was  passed  by  Dr.  Milner,  at 
that  time  in  very  indifferent  health,  at  Hull.  In  a  letter  to 
Mr.  Wilberforce,  dated  '•'  Christmas  morning,"  he  enters,  after 
tlie  discussion  of  much  other  matter,  upon  a  subject  which,  even 
between  friends  as  intimate  as  were  these  attached  correspond- 
ents, must  have  been  felt  to  be  one  of  some  delicacy;  but  of 
which  the  mention  may  here  be  properly  introduced  as  affording 
an  illustration  of  Dean  Milner's  simple  and  affectionate  cha- 
racter. 

Mr.  Wilberforce,  habituated  from  his  youth  to  the  most 
unrestrained  intimacy  with  Dr.  Milner,  had  communicated  his 
wish  to  have  a  general  iii\  itation  or  licence  to  take  u])  his  abode 
in  Queen's  Lodge  for  any  length  of  time,  wlicncvcr  it  might  be 


CllAP.  YUI.     A.I),   nw.     vKTAT.  4(j.  121 

agreeable  to  liiin  1o  do  so,  without  notice,  or  previous  arrange- 
ment; and  this,  either  in  the  presence  or  the  absence  of  the 
President;  nor  Avas  there,  in  this  proposal,  anything  which, 
under  different  circumstances,  would  have  been  otlicrwise  than 
agreeable  to  his  friend.  As  it  was,  however,  Dr.  Milner  hesi- 
tated to  enter  into  such  an  agreement;  and  with  the  perfect 
sincerity  which  always  marked  his  character,  yet  M'ith  the 
utmost  kindness  and  consideration,  he  states  to  Mr.  Wilberforce 
his  feelings  upon  the  occasion. 

It  will  be  readily  supposed,  that  the  precarious  state  of  Dr. 
Milner's  health  formed  one  chief  ground  of  objection  to  his 
friend's  proposal;  but,  besides  this,  there  existed  College  reasons 
of  great  cogency,  which  militated  against  Mr.  Wilberforce's 
plan.  Without,  however,  entering  more  minutely  into  these 
circumstances,  it  maybe  allowable  to  quote  from  Dean  Milner's 
letter  one  characteristic  passage.  "  You  and  I,"  he  writes,  "  if 
in  the  same  house  at  Cambridge,  should  reciprocally  thwart 
each  other's  way  of  going  on.  The  fact  is  we  have  too  many 
common  acquaintance."  *  *  *  *  uj  ^^^^  y^^^^  sq  little; 
and  I  should  for  ever  be  attempting  to  bear  something;  and 
after  all,  I  should  be  reckoned  queerer  and  queerer;  my  health 
would  soon  be  broken  down,  and  my  little  arrangements  for 
doing  what  good  I  can  in  college,  defeated. 

"We  are  alike  in  many  respects;  but  your  hours  and  capabi- 
lities differ  much  from  mine. 

"  If  it  were  necessary  to  add  anything  more  to  make  you 
understand  my  feelings  on  such  an  occasion,  I  would  say,  that 
there  is  no  man's  house  in  the  world,  I  like  to  be  in,  so  much 
as  yours ;  nor  would  I  voluntarily  come  up  at  all  to  London, 
but  to  you.  Yet,  even  in  your  house,  I  am  often  forced  to  be 
with  fellows  for  hours  more  than  I  like;  often  meet  foul  fellows 
in  the  breakfast  room,  whom  I  wish  gone ;  and  then  I  keep  up 
a  deceitful  sort  of  mock  character. 

"'Retire  to  your  bedroom,'  you  say;  that  is  not  pleasant;  it 
is  a  sort  of  succedaneum:  one's  things  are  not  about  one  there ; 
and  one  is  not  well  waited  on  there. 

"  My  good  friend,  I  hope  you  will  not  judge  harshly  of  me — 
my  heart  is  full;  and  tears  run  down  my  cheeks  while  I  am 


122  ClIAr.   Vlir.     A.I).  17!1«.     -ETAT.   IC. 

induced  to  state  these  facts.  In  some  points  of  view,  there  is 
no  man  on  earth  who  has  fewer  wants  than  myself — in  others,  I 
own,  1  am  all  caprice,  &c.     You  don't  half  know  me  yet. 

"  It  has  long  been  my  opinion,  that  with  a  little  management 
and  previous  arrangement  and  foresight,  you  might  spend  at 
Cambridge  a  good  deal  of  time  with  comfort  and  advantage  to 
both  of  us.     But  if  so,  a  new  leaf  must  be  turned  over. 

"A  priori,  one  would  have  thought,  that  with  the  data  we 
had  at  Buxton,  we  might  have  gone  on  without  encroachment  on 
each  other's  retirements,  comfortably  and  usefully.  I  think  we 
did  not  do  so  well  as  we  might  have  done ;  and  God  knows,  I 
take  upon  me  my  share  of  the  mismanagement." 

Here  follows,  in  the  shape  of  a  very  livel}'* account  of  some 
college  disputes,  and  of  the  M'riter's  position  as  president,  one 
of  those  abrupt  transitions  from  "grave  to  gay,"  which,  not 
unfrequently,  occur  in  Dr.  Milner's  confidential  letters. 

There  was  certainly  little  danger,  that  the  truly  friendly 
communication  from  which  the  foregoing  extract  is  taken,  could 
be  misunderstood  by  him  to  M'hom  it  was  addressed.  On  the 
contrary,  the  increasingly  tender  nature  of  the  regard  which 
subsisted  between  these  excellent  friends  is,  perhaps,  even  more 
strikingly  manifested  in  their  subsequent  correspondence. 
Early  in  the  succeeding  January,  the  Dean  thus  wrote,  to  Mr. 
Wilbcrforce,  at  Bath. 

"  I  pray  God,  my  dear  Sir,  to  bless  you,  and  to  make  this 
journey  useful  to  you. 

"  It  is  impossible  for  me  not  to  perceive,  and  in  several  of 
your  late  letters  particularly,  a  most  tender  regard  to  my 
feelings,  and  a  solicitude  and  anxiety  to  administer  comfort  to 
my  whimsical  and  unreasonable  frame.  Sincerity  constrains 
me  to  say,  tliat  your  endeavours  have  not  always  the  effect 
you  intend  them  to  have ;  for  though  tlicy  make  me  love  you 
better,  and  make  me  grateful,  in  a  degree,  they  also  tend  to 
mortify  mc ;  Ijcsidcs,  I  cannot  read  these  letters  without  weep- 
ing; I  wish  you  woukl  not  be  so  anxious  about  hurting  me — 
you  arc  afraid  of  dropping  the  sliglitcst  word — such  an  extreme 
anxictv,    I    say,   ncillicr  becomes  you  nor  me;  for  I  trust  we 


CHAP.  via.     A.D.  17'J7.     -KTA'J'.  -J?.  123 

shall  never  misconstrue  one  auotlicr^s  real  meaning — I  am  sure, 
I  see  yours,  and,  as  I  have  said,  that  consideration  makes  me 
love  you  better. 

"  I  will  briefly  mention  a  material  thing,  which  I  am  afraid 
may  make  it  improper  for  me  to  be  absent  from  Queen^s,  (at 
least  farther  than  London,)  for  some  weeks  to  come. 

" 's  brother,  (Dr. ,)  who  is  now  talked  of  for 

the  next  bishop,  is  printing  his  Lectures  on  Divinity,  at  the 
university  press,  and  with  our  sanction.  In  these  lectures  he 
advances  a  most  extraordinary  and  ******  opinion,  that 
articles  of  religion,  are  to  be  considered  as  articles  of  union  not 
of  faith ;  and  in  short,  that  a  person  may  subscribe  anything : 
I  really  think,  that  I  do  not  misrepresent.  Dr.  Jowett,  myself, 
and  others,  have  inadvertently  countenanced  the  publication, 
not  knowing  how  much  he  has  laboured  this  point.  There  are 
likely  to  be  some  very  serious  meetings  of  syndics  on  this 
subject. 

"  Yours,  very  affectionately,  L  M. 

"  To  William  Wilberforce,  Esq." 

Within  a  short  period  from  the  date  of  the  preceding  letter. 
Dr.  Milner  was  invited  by  his  friend  to  join  him  at  Bath. 
This  invitation  was  at  first  declined.  "What  a  sad  way," 
writes  the  Dean,  "  are  you  going  on  in,  calling  on  this  gang  of 
acquaintance!  I'll  warrant  you,  I  shovikl  have  a  sweet  time 
among  such  fellows."  Another  letter  from  Cambridge  is  much 
more  serious  in  its  tone :  "  I  am  very  sure  that  it  is  good  for 
me  to  have  been  afflicted.  I  say  this  with  some  thankfulness, 
but  with  tears  of  regret.  It  is  very  true ;  I  am  very  sure  of  it ; 
but  it  is  a  sad  thing  that  less  will  not  do. 

"  I  shall,  probably,  be  here  for  some  months.  I  have  no 
particular  pressure  of  business;  I  am  nursing  myself  quietly, 
and  endeavouring  to  profit  by  retirement:  if  I  don't  profit  then, 
I  never  do.  For  anything  I  know,  I  shall  be  quite  alone  till 
the  latter  end  of  March,  or  perhaps  longer ;  in  fact,  till  towards 
Easter,  when  Carlyle  will  come  to  his  residence  as  Arabic 
Professor ;  so  if  you  can  come  here  now,  or  by  and  by,  I  can 
receive  you  with  comfort. 


124  CHAP.  Vlir.     A.l).  17'J7.     /ETAT.  4?. 

"That  most  unpleasant  affair  about  Dr.  's  book  is 

not  yet  settled. 

"  I  have  had  an  affecting  letter  this  post  from  poor 
T.  Willis,  who  has  been,  and  is,  very  poorly,  but  not  in  his 
old  way. 

''  There  is  but  one  sort  of  true  wisdom  ! 

"  xVlways  yours  affectionately, 

"  Isaac  Milnek. 
"  To  William  Wilberforce,  Esq.'' 

One  other  passage  may  be  quoted  from  a  letter  to  the  same 
friend,  dated  "  February  23,  1797?"  ^i^t^  written  under  a  severe 
attack  of  "  those  terrible  head-aches,"  with  which  Dr.  Milner 
was  at  this  period  of  his  life  frequently  afflicted. 

"  God  knows,"  he  writes,  "  whether  I  am  to  have  any  more 
intervals  of  tolerable  health  ;  ])ut  you  will  judge  of  my  state, 
when  I  tell  you,  that  last  Monday  I  had  most  seriously,  as 
nearly  as  jiossible,  determined  to  leave  all  here,  and  go  and 
wait  God's  will  near  my  friends  at  Hull. 

"  I  wish  I  could  but  keep  my  trust  in  Him  without  wavering. 
Oh !  a  great  deal  passes  my  mind !  but  you  will  excuse  my  writing 
more  at  present. 

^'  Surely  I  should  be  glad  to  see  you;  but  at  present  I  am 
too  ill  to  enjoy  your  company. 

"  Yours,  with  the  best  and  most  affectionate  wishes, 

"I.  M." 

It  is  surely  impossible  to  read  the  story  of  Dr.  Milncr's 
life,  illustrated  as  it  is  by  his  confidential  letters,  without 
l)erceiving  a  progressive  improvement  in  his  religious  character. 
It  is  true,  indeed,  that  even  in  early  life,  his  views  of  revealed 
truth  were  theoretically  correct;  but  the  man  who,  notwith- 
standing the  soundness  of  his  religious  opinions,  had  in  his 
youth  seemed  to  desire  and  value,  alwve  all  other  objects, 
literary  attainments  with  the  honourable  distinction  which  they 
confer,  has,  in  his  maturer  age,  evidently  learned  ''  to  seek  first 
tlic  kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteousness." 

Early  in   this  year  appeared   the   third   volume   of  Joseph 


CHAP.  viir.    A.D.  1707.    .t:tat,  at.  125 

Milner's  History  of  the  (Uiurcli  of  Chriat,  the  last  volume  which 
lie  lived  to  publish. 

This  volume,  which  contains  the  history  of  the  Christian 
Church  from  the  end  of  the  fifth,  to  the  beginning  of  the 
fourteenth  century, — a  period  which,  though  occasionally 
illumined  by  bright  beams  of  light,  has  justly  obtained  the 
appellation  of  "  the  dark  ages," — illustrates  and  justifies  a 
remark  of  Dean  Milner  respecting  his  brother's  Church 
History. 

"Mr.  Milner,"  says  the  Dean*,  "is  constantly  in  quest  of 
the  true  folloAvers  of  Jesus  Christ;  he  is,  on  all  occasions, 
delighted  to  find  them,  whether  they  be  in  caves  or  monas- 
teries, in  the  papal,  or  in  any  other  communion;  in  great  cities, 
or  in  the  valleys  of  Piedmont;  in  established  churches,  or  in 
dissenting  congregations.  With  him  the  character  is  decided, 
whenever  it  appears  that  the  conduct  is  practically  influenced 
by  the  essentials  of  Christianity;  and,  hence,  he  is  often 
induced  to  make  candid  and  large  allowances  for  trying 
circumstances  and  seasons  of  darkness,  corruption,  and  pre- 
judice." 

This  volume,  as  M-as  that  which  preceded  it,  was  read  over 
in  manuscript  by  Dean  Milner,  in  company  with  his  brother. 

On  the  15th  of  April  in  this  year.  Dr.  Milner,  in  a  letter  to 
Mr.  Wilberforce,  thus  briefly  alludes  to  the  Practical  View  of 
Ch'istiauity  then  recently  published  by  his  friend. 

"  I  thank  you  for  your  books.  I  have  sent  them  according 
to  the  directions :  and  I  find  already  that  I  shall  have  plenty  of 
discuss  about  the  contents.  My  report,  however,  must  be 
deferred  till  I  see  you,  and  am  able  to  converse  fully  on  the 
subject,  if  it  please  God  ever  so  much  to  recruit  my  strength." 

Although  Dr.  Milner  had  at  first  declined  Mr.  Wilberforce's 
invitation  to  join  him  at  Bath,  he  was  not  proof  against  the 
solicitations  addressed  to  him,  when  he  became  aware  that 
those  solicitations  had  a  particular  object. 

At  Bath,  during  this  season,  Mr.  Wilberforce,  to  use  the 
words  of  his  sons,  "  had  formed  the  acquaintance  of  one  whom 


See  Animadversions  on  Dr.  Ifaireis, 


126  CHAP.  VIII.     A.I).   I7n7.     /'ETAT.  4?. 

he  judged  well-fitted  to  be  liis  companion  through  life,  and 
towards  whom  he  contracted  a  strong  attachment ;"  and  he 
was  very  naturally  desirous  that  Dr.  Milner,  one  of  his  oldest 
and  most  tried  friends,  should  see  tlie  lady  who  had  gained  his 
affection. 

Advice,  asked  under  similar  circumstances,  is  proverbially 
useless ;  and,  with  regard  to  the  present  case,  it  is  more  than 
needless  to  say,  that  the  opinions  of  the  most  anxious  friends 
of  Mr.  Willjerforce  must  have  concurred  with  his  own.  Had 
it,  however,  been  otherwise,  certaiix  symptoms  which  struck 
the  keen  eye  of  Dr.  Milner,  on  his  joining  the  circle  at  Bath, 
and  to  which  he  often  jocularly  alluded,  when  referring  in  later 
life  to  this  visit,  convinced  him,  that  counsel,  in  this  particular 
case,  would  have  come  too  late. 

Mr.  Wilberforce's  marriage,  which  took  place  in  May,  l797j 
is  alluded  to  in  a  letter  written  by  Dean  Milner  upon  a  subject 
to  which  the  occurrences  of  late  years  have  given  additional 
interest.  The  practical  good  sense  which  this  letter  exhibits, 
as  brought  to  bear  upon  a  difficult  question,  will  be  recognised 
by  most  persons  who  knew  the  writer,  as  exceedingly  charac- 
teristic. 

"To  William  Wilberforce,  Esq. 

"My  dear  Sir,  " Hull,  June 'Jth,  1797. 

"  I  arrived  here  on  Saturday  last,  which  day  was  as  much  like 
a  winter's  day  as  could  be,  both  in  boisterous  wind  and  cold 
rain.  Remember  me  always  affectionately  to  your  better  half, 
and  explain  to  her,  at  proper  times,  the  oddities  of  your  old, 
but  sincere  friend ;  otherwise,  I  fear,  her  favourable  disposition 
towards  me  will  weaken,  not  strengthen.  My  earnest  prayer 
is  that  this  change  in  both  your  situations  may  be  for  your 
mutual  good. 

"  Nothing  can  be  more  awful  than  public  aftairs.  If  I  were 
Pitt,  or  the  King,  I  would  come  down  to  the  House,  and  first 
beseech  unanimity;  secondly,  desire  that  all  hands  would  unite 
in  sarinfj  the  nation — viz.,  in  getting  out  of  the  scrape — before 
they  thought  of  rejornmuj  it. 

"Thirdly,  I  would  solemnly  promise  to  take  the  sense  of 


CHAP.  VIII.    A.D.  1707.     ^"ETAT.  47.  127 

the  nation  at  large  on  the  snl)ject  of  reform,  as  soon  as  all  was 
safe.  For,  I  say  this,  if  the  bulk  of  persons  of  property  be  for 
reform,  then  reform  cannot  be  stopped.  I  don't  think  they 
are,  or  M'ill  be ;  therefore  I  would  number  the  whole  nation, 
which  might  be  easily  done.  Thus  I  would  find  out  whether 
the  bulk  of  property,  of  housekeepers,  &c.,  really  desired 
reform,  or  Mxre  content  with  the  present  constitution.  I  am 
convinced  that  such  a  proceeding  would  either  set  the  question 
at  rest,  or  would  put  it  upon  a  different  footing  from  the  pre- 
sent ;  e.  y.,  if  it  turned  out  that  property  were  against  reform, 
then  it  would  be  nearly  reduced  to  this — Shall  we  have  Universal 
Suffrage?  Let  the  real  sense  of  the  nation  be  found,  and  the 
lists  printed ;  and  let  the  different  ways  of  conceiving  this 
matter  be  stated,  and  let  the  people  be  classed. 

"Objection. — There  will  be  a  great  number  of  hypocrites 
who  will  pretend  a  moderate  reform,  and  mean  more. 

"Answer. — I  think  the  question  might  be  so  stated  as  to 
show  Mhat  M'as  the  number  of  such  sort  of  people.  In  short  I 
think  it  would  be  a  great  thing  to  find  out  the  real  sense  of  the 
people,  if  you  were  a  year  or  two  about  it.  Then,  I  further 
think,  that  if  government,  in  that  period,  would  employ  good 
hands  to  state,  ad jjopnium,  briefly  the  dangers  of  too  popular  a 
reform,  they  would  strengthen  themselves  most  amazingly. 

"  I  believe  the  above  is  the  true  way  to  get  out  of  all  diffi- 
culties ;  to  disconcert  rascals,  and  to  unite  honest  men.  Oh, 
how  I  wish  they  would  take  such  a  step  !  I  also  wish  that  a 
very  respectable  commission  would  go  down  to  these  sailors. 

•^^  Yours,  in  fear  and  anxiety, 

"  Isaac  Milner." 

A  letter  dated  "Carlisle,  July  4th,"  and  apparently  written 
during  this  year,  contains  a  notice  of  Mr.  Tillotson,  who,  as 
it  has  been  already  intimated,  lived  during  his  old  age  with 
Dr.  Milner. 

In  reference  to  this  gentleman,  an  intimate  and  still  living 
friend  of  Dean  Milner  thus  Avrites  : — "  I  have  always  miderstood 
that  the  origin  of  your  uncle's  connection  with  Mr.  Tillotson 
was,  that   Mr,  Tillotson  had  been  assistant  to  him,  or  to  his 


128  CHAP.  VIII.     A.D.  17fl7.     /KTAT.  4?. 

brother  Joseph,  in  tlie  carl)'  part  of  their  lives ;  and  that  this 
was  returned  by  your  uncle  when  he  had  an  opportunity  to 
offer  the  old  gentleman  a  residence  and  a  retreat  from  business, 
which  were,  both  of  them,  very  agreeable.  You  are  aware,  I 
dare  say,  that  your  uncle  and  his  brother  Joseph  forced  their 
way  through  great  difficulties  in  early  life. 

"  I  have  heard  that  the  first  time  the  Dean  arrived  at  Cam- 
bridge he  and  his  brother  Joseph  walked  up  from  Leeds,  with 
occasional  lifts  in  a  waggon ;  and  I  believe  it  came  from  the 
Dean  himself. 

"  In  these  times  I  surmise  it  was  that  Mr.  Tillotson  was  in 
some  way  or  other  assisting ;  but  further  I  never  knew." 

"The  friendly  offices/^  writes  the  Dean,  "which  I  have 
received  from  this  good  man  during  my  long  illness,  are  innu- 
merable." 

It  seemed  due  to  the  memory  of  the  "  good  man,"  who 
passed  a  quiet  and  happy  old  age  in  the  home  which  Dr. 
Milner's  gratitude  afforded  to  him,  to  quote  this  passage ;  and 
it  may  be  added,  that  never  did  grateful  deed  meet  with  a  more 
abundant  return,  than  did  the  hospitality  of  Dr.  Milner  to  Mr. 
Tillotson.  The  old  man,  who  had  but  few  relatives,  and  those 
estranged  from  him  by  untoward  circumstances,  seemed  to 
concentrate  the  whole  force  of  his  affections  upon  his  bene- 
factor ;  and  it  is  needless  to  say  that  this  temper  of  mind 
secured  his  own  happiness.  The  adage  that  charity  is  twice 
blessed,  it  "  1)lesscs  him  who  gives,  and  him  who  receives," 
was  never  more  fully  justified. 


1?A) 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Joseph  Milner  visits  his  Brothei"  at  Carlisle. — Appointment  of  Joseph  Milner 
to  the  Vicarage  of  Hull. — His  Letters. — Religious  condition  of  Carlisle  in 
1797- — Feelings  of  Joseph  Milner  on  his  promotion  to  the  Vicarage. — Cor- 
respondence of  Dr.  JMilner. — Rev.  Mr.  Thomason. — Declining  health  of 
Joseph  Milner. — Dr.  Milner's  opinion  concerning  Private  Tutors. — 
Important  change  of  Character. — Joseph  Milner's  last  Illness. — His  Lettere 
to  his  Brother  and  to  Mr.  Stillingfleet. — His  opinion  of  Dr.  Johnson. — 
Great  change  which  had  taken  place  in  his  Religious  Sentiments. — His 
Death. — Monumental  Inscription. — Extiacts  from  Correspondence  of  Dr. 
Milner. — Opium. — Letter  to  Rev.  William  Richardson. — Joseph  Milner's 
Style. — Puljlication  of  his  Sermons. — Letters. — To  IMrs.  Carlyle. — To  Mr. 
\Vilberforce. — Affairs  of  Trinity  College. — Importance  of  the  expulsion  of 
Mr.  Frend. — Disturbed  State  of  Ireland. — Duel  between  Mr.  Pitt  and  Mr. 
Tierney. — Variety  of  Dr.  Milner's  Information. — Mendoza. — Irish  Affairs. 
— The  Bishop  of  Down. 

A.D.  17»7.     .'ETAT.  47. 

During  a  part  of  the  summer  of  this  year,  Joseph  MUner 
visited  his  brother  the  Dean,  at  Carhsle.  The  following  letter, 
written  in  the  month  of  July,  just  four  months  previous  to  the 
writer's  decease,  is  interesting  both  as  exhibiting  the  state  of 
his  own  mind,  and  as  depicting  the  spiritual  condition  of  tlie 
city  of  Carlisle  at  that  period. 

"To  THE  Rkv.  Jamks  Stillingfleet. 

"  Dear  Still.,  '•'  Carlisle,  July  14,  l/^?- 

"  I  was  glad  and  thankful  to  hear  from  you  at  this  distance. 
I  live,  indeed,  in  the  midst  of  plentv,  and  my  health  is  full  as 
good  as  it  has  been  for  some  time.  But — yes,  there  is  always 
a  '  but'  in  this  world — and  if  it  were  not  so,  things  would  be 
still  worse  with  us ;  O  wretched  man  that  I  am  !  I  feel  this 
most  sensibly,  when  everything  external  is  smooth  and  agreea- 
ble. The  soul  cannot  feed  on  worldly  and  sensual  objects  ;  and 
what  you  say  of  the  leanness  of  soul,  in  such  scenes,  is  true  in 
regard  to  me,  as  well  as  you ;  and  difficult  it  is  to  keep  up  tlie 
disposition  to  prayer  and  spiritual-mindedness  among  sucii 
obstructions  as   I   am  now  in  the  midst  of.     Nor  have  I  any- 

K 


1.30  CHAP.  IX.     A.D.   1797.     -^':TAT.  47. 

thing  like  the  power  to  preach,  &c.,  here,  as  you  suppose. 
The  dignitaries  have  their  turns  in  the  Cathedral,  so  that  I  have 
not  the  opportunity  of  preaching  Sunday  after  Sunday.  I  have, 
indeed,  been  twice  in  the  pulpit;  once  at  the  Cathedral,  the 
other  time,  at  St.  Cuthbert's.  But  I  don't  expect  to  preach  any 
more  here.  I  hope  my  brother  (who  remembers  you  with 
affection,)  will  preach,  Sunday  after  next,  himself;  the  next 
Sunday,  the  Bishop  preaches.  Still  it  is  here,  as  elsewhere ; 
the  few  I  can  converse  with,  on  divine  things,  are  the  women. 
My  situation  connects  me  only  with  the  genteel  ones  of  this 
place,  and  of  them,  there  are  a  small  number  of  women, 
who  really  seem  to  have  a  keen  appetite,  and  would  thankfully 
feed  upon  the  coarsest  viands  which  are  trampled  under  foot  by 
the  fastidious  ones  in  Hull.  But  our  sex  seem,  in  this  age,  I 
mean  gentlemen,  to  have  no  relish  for  Jesus.  I  except  old  Mr. 
Fawcett,  our  Fawcett's  uncle  and  father-in-law,  who,  I  am  glad 
to  find,  in  his  old  age,  seems  to  be  sitting  at  the  feet  of  Jesus, 
and  hearing  his  word.  Our  Fawcett  remembers  you  gratefully, 
and  will  write  to  you  shortly .''  ******  l^e  preaches, 
occasionally,  and  has  just  got  a  quarter  of  a  year's  preaching  at 
a  church,  which  he  gladly  embraces. 

"The  people  here,  the  aborigines,  are  a  well-behaved, 
simple  people ;  the  refinement,  shall  I  say,  or  the  lewdness  and 
impudence,  of  the  southern  part  of  our  island,  they  know  not. 
They  have  the  sample,  I  take  it,  of  the  manners  of  the  whole 
country,  in  the  time  of  James  I.  But  they  are  withal,  very 
ignorant  in  religion  ;  they  wander  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd. 
They  seem,  however,  open  to  conviction,  they  have  conscience. 
There  are,  here,  some  Methodist  and  Dissenting  interests,  but 
feeble  and  of  little  weight,  nor  is  there  a  dissenter  here  of  any 
popularity,  or,  as  it  should  seem,  of  any  religious  zeal.  What 
a  fine  field  for  a  pastor,  steady,  fervent,  intelligent,  and  charit- 
able I  Pray  ye  to  the  Lord  of  the  harvest,  &c.  I  inculcate  this 
duty  on  those  I  have  access  to — for  it  is  a  pitiable  thing  to  see 
the  ignorance  of  tliis  place — ignorance,  rather  than  contempt  of 
Divine  truth,  is  its  character.  The  Lord  may,  in  his  time, 
send  them  such  a  supply.  At  present  their  state  is  lamentable 
beyond  expression.     I  am  sorry  I  could  not  see  you  at  Hull; 


CHAP.  IX.     A.D.  1797.     ^TAT.  47.  131 

give  my  kind  love  to  Mrs.  S.  If  I  live,  I  shall  live  to  run  into 
more  debt  to  her  kindness  at  Hotham.  I  am  glad  you  are  both 
well,  and  Edward,  spes  altera  Romce.  Never  mind  his  thinness, 
if  his  health  be  sound.  The  Misses  Waugh  I  see  little  of. 
Remember  me,  I  trust  you  do,  at  the  throne  of  grace.  May  we 
remember  what  we  have  been  taught  of  Jesus,  and  never  let 
it  go  !     May  He  keep  us,  and  we  shall  be  kept. 

"  Ever  yours, 

«J.  Milneb/' 

Towards  the  end  of  this  month  the  vicarage  of  the  Holy 
Trinity  Church,  in  Hull,  became  vacant  by  the  death  of  Dr. 
Clarke.  To  this  important  vicarage  Joseph  Milner  was  ap- 
pointed, on  the  22nd  of  August,  by  the  mayor  and  corporation 
of  the  town.  "  His  own  feelings,  upon  this  preferment,"  says 
his  brother,  the  Dean,  "  were  thus  expressed  to  his  friends,  in 
conversation,  or  by  letter.  '  I  know  not  w^hether,  on  this 
change,  I  ought  more  to  rejoice  or  to  fear.  In  regard  to  the 
people,  I  have  long  had  every  opportunity  I  could  wish  of 
doing  them  good,  through  the  means  of  Gospel  instruction ;  and 
I  am  not  sure  that  my  new  situation  will  be  favourable  to  the 
better  removing  of  their  prejudices,  or  to  my  own  living  more 
closely  with  Christ.  An  increase  of  income  has  no  charms  for 
me ;  and  indeed,  in  one  point  of  view,  the  living  of  Hull  is 
much  too  small  for  the  situation.  A  minister  must  be  liberal : 
a  vicar  is  supposed  rich,  of  course ;  and  much  is  expected  from 
him.  The  people  are  often  very  unreasonable  in  this  matter ; 
nevertheless,  their  prejudices  must  be  consulted,  if  we  wish  to 
do  them  good.'  *  *  *  <  My  apprehensions,  also,  are  not 
slight,  lest  by  being  necessarily  drawn  into  company  of  a  higher 
description  than  that  to  which  I  have  long  been  accustomed,  I 
may  be  less  faithful  than  I  ought  to  be,  both  in  words  and 
actions.  The  grand  spiritual  enemy  is  on  the  watch,  and  is 
very  dexterous  in  laying  snares.'  *  *  ♦  'The  rules  of 
modem  good-breedi-ng  strictly  forbid  one  ever  to  say  a  plain, 
disagreeable  truth  to  a  man's  face ;  but  they  are  not  so  rigidly 
adhered  to  among  the  middling  or  lower  classes  of  people.'  " 

A   letter  from   Joseph  Milner  to  his  excellent  friend  the 

K  2 


132  CHAP.  IX.     A.D.  1797.     mTAT.  47. 

Rector  of  Hotham,  written  on  the  occasion  of  l)is  appointment 
to  the  vicarage  of  Hull,  deserves  to  be  given  almost  entire. 

"To  THE  Rev.  James  Stillingfleet. 
"  Dear  Still.,  "  HuU,  At/gust  24M,  1797- 

"  I  scarce  can  find  time,  but  I  must  drop  you  a  line  to  let 
you  know  the  success,  if  you  have  not  heard  it  already.  Tuesday 
last  I  was  nominated  vicar  in  a  full  bench.  Their  number  is 
thirteen.  Of  these,  eleven  voted  for  me.  One  did  not  choose 
to  vote,  the  other  voted  for  my  scholar,  .  This  last- 
mentioned  alderman  was ;    and  I   am  not  sorry  that  it 

appears  on  this  occasion  that  he  is  destitute  of  influence,  for  he 
is  the  most  steady  opposer  of  Gospel  truth  and  holiness  perhaps 
of  any  man  in  these  parts.  Old  Mr.  Sykes  Mas  most  friendly. 
Three  other  candidates  there  were,  but  they  had  no  votes ;  nor 
did  any  candidate  appear  at  the  day  of  election  but  myself. 
So  evident  it  was  to  all  men  how  the  thing  would  turn  out. 
There  was  such  a  concurrence  of  circumstances,  and  such  an 
overbearing  and  victorious  influence  from  above,  overruling  and 
inclining  all  persons  concerned,  that  I  am  constrained  to  say.  It 
is  of  the  Lord. 

"  My  good  friend,  I  would  rejoice  with  trembling.  The 
same  care  and  fear  which  I  mentioned  in  my  last  pervades  me. 
Pray  for  me.  I  had  little  expected  this.  I  had  rather  wished 
for  a  removal  elsewhere,  but  so  it  is ;  God  hath  confined  me  to 
this  place,  and  I  must  say,  that  by  far  the  majority  here  are 
well  pleased  with  it.  I  shall  have  on  my  hands  now  both 
vicarage,  school,  and  lectureship,  and  hospital,  till  Christmas,  or 
nearly.  I  must  get  help  as  well  as  I  can,  for  I  cannot  do 
without  help.  Perhaps  I  may  hope  for  your  help  when  oppor- 
tunity serves.  I  shall  have  an  opportunity  to  give  a  little 
pecuniary  aid  to  some  poor  parsons.  The  long  delay  which  will 
take  place  before  the  school  and  lectureship  will  be  filled  up,  is 
to  give  time  to  get  one  (they  are  to  go  together)  whom  they  like; 
for  it  is  the  design  of  certain  persons  to  eradicate  Methodism 
from  the  Church,  and  that  was  one  reason,  I  believe,  why  I  wa§ 
voted  for  by  several ;  they  think  me  a  worn-out  man  who  has 
very   little  time  to  live.     So,  I   find,  it  is  commonly  thought 


CHAP.  IX.     AD.  1797.     ^TAT.  47.  1-33 

among  them.     In  truth  I  am  feehle,  but  I  admire  the  goodness 
of  God,  in  that  my  voice,  my  ears,  my  eyes,  and  my  memory, 
are  spared,  though  in  everything  belonging  to  bodily  strength  I 
am  very  feeble.     So  I   seem  to  have  just  what  may  suffice  for 
preaching,  writing,  reading,  &c., and  no  other  powers.    Oh!  that 
this  heart  felt  more  vigorously  and  warmly  the  love  of  Jesus, 
who  has  done  so  much  for  me!     What  am  I  and  what  is  my 
my  father's  house,  that  thou  liast  brought  me  hitherto  !     Thou 
hast  been  with   me  from  my  youth,  forsake  me  not  when  I  am 
old  and   grey-headed !     You,  my  dear  friend,  are  going  down 
the  hill  as  well  as  I,  but  your  strength  is  green.     May  you 
bring  forth  more  fruit  in  age,  for  you  have  a  liveliness  of  consti- 
tution vastly  more  than  I.    The  chief  thing  is,  tliat  we  may  grow 
in  grace  and  spirituality,  and  give  up  our  ministry  and  finish 
our  course  with  joy.     May  the  Divine  Saviour  help  us  in  our 
besetting  evils,  that  they  overpower  us  not  in  the  decline  of 
life.      Despair  not  of  Hotham,  &c.     Have  an  eye  to  the  rising 
generation.     You  have  had  comfort  among  them  formerly,  and 
may  again.    My  love  to  Mrs.  Still.    The  grace  of  Jesus  be  with 
both,  and  also  with  your  Edward. 

"  Yours  alway, 

"Joseph  Milner." 

Such  were  the  feelings  with  which  this  good  man  entered 
upon  the  preferment  which  he  lived  to  hold  not  quite  three 
months. 

The  prevailing  tone  of  Dr.  Milner's  mind  at  this  period  is, 
likewise,  best  exhibited  by  his  own  letters. 

To  Mr.  Wilberforce  who,  with  his  bride  had  just  left  Hull, 
the  Dean  wrote  as  follows : 

"My  dear  Sir,  " Hull,  August  ZOth. 

"  I  will  attend  to  your  note.  God  preserv^e  you  both.  I 
fear  it  is  hardly  in  human  nature  for  you  to  continue  very  long 
so  happy  as  you  are  at  present.  '  Why  not?'  says  B*.  Really 
I  hardly  know,  and  I  will  not  be  so  ill-natured  as  to  set  about 
inventing  and  summing  up  cross-grained  probabilities  when 
Providence  smiles  on  you  so  graciously." 

*  Bairbiira — Mrs.  W'ilbcrfoice. 


134  CHAP.  IX.     A.D.  1797.     -liTAT.  47. 

Early  in  the  month  of  October,  17975  Dr^  Milner  thus  again 
wrote  to  Mr.  Wilberforce,  at  that  time  at  Bath. 

"  My  dear  Sir,  ^^  Hull,  Monday  morning. 

"  Your  letter  finds  me  this  morning  (as  you  have  seen  me 
not  unfrequently,)  laid  at  length  on  a  sofa,  in  considerable  pain 
of  tlie  head."  *  *  *  «  I  am  reviving  a  little.  There  is  really 
nothing  of  which  I  can  speak  positively  with  more  certainty 
than  of  the  utility  which  is  connected  with  these  repeated  chas- 
tenings.  It  is  a  sad  thing  that  they  should  be  so  necessary ; 
but  I  bless  God,  that  they  do  not  harden,  as  I  should  have 
supposed  that  in  time  they  would,  but  on  the  contrary,  soften 
my  heart,  and  make  it  more  submissive  to  His  will,  who  knows 
what  is  best  for  us. 

"  Your  dear  mother  is,  I  doubt  not,  under  the  teaching  of 
the  Spirit  of  God,  and  will  improve  by  her  afflictions :  and  it  is 
very  evident  to  me,  that  in  her  case  also  afflictions  are  necessary. 
When  she  is  better  for  a  few  days  together,  I  see  a  strong 
tendency  to  relapse  and  lose  ground  in  spiritual  matters ;  and, 
so  far  as  that  goes,  it  is  a  bad  sign  both  in  her  and  myself.  It 
is  a  bad  sign  when  religious  frames  depend  upon  the  pulse,  yet 
it  is  a  good  sign  when  the  effect  of  sufferings  is  to  give  us  a 
clearer  insight  into  our  own  character  and  the  character  of 
God ;  for  it  is  in  that  way  only  that  we  can  come  to  understand 
our  real  situation,  that  is,  the  relation  in  which  we  stand  to  an 
offended  God.  An  inch  gained  in  this  way  is  inestimable, 
because  it  is  certainly  in  the  right  road. 

"  I  see  your  mother  every  day  except  Sundays,  and,  on  the 
whole,  with  much  satisfaction ;  but  I  do  yet  expect  a  bright- 
ening rip. 

"  I  think  I  have  anticipated  much  of  what  you  would  feel 
on  account  of  poor  Eliot's  death.  Alas!  poor  H.  Broadley — 
the  picture  of  health,  and  the  object  of  my  envy,  in  that  respect, 
twenty  years  ago! 

"  Well,  our  business  is  to  vvait  God's  time,  and  to  mind 
and  employ  the  present  moment  well.  God  bless  you 
both. 

"  Mr.  Recorder  Osbourne  called  on  me  last  Saturday,  to  ask 


CHAP.  IX.     A.D.   1797.     iETAT.  47.  135 

me  seriously  about  Thoinason*,  professing  himself  to  go  on 
broad  principles  "of  utility.  I  said  everything  I  could  for 
Thornason,  by  declaring  tiiat  I  took  him  for  a  Fellow  and  Tutor 
of  Queen's,  as  the  best  to  be  found ;  but  I  added,  that  I  had 
never  heard  him  preach,  and  knew  nothing  of  his  voice.  We 
had  hoped  that  all  would  have  gone  smooth,  but  there  has  just 
arisen  an  opponent  that  seems  to  have  made  great  impressions 
indeed  by  his  testimonials.  An  Eton  scholar  he  is  said  to  be, 
and  of  Oxford,  and  has  been  a  school-teacher  already  six  or 
seven  years  at  Lichfield.  He  is  strongly  recommended  by  the 
Bishop  of  London's  letters.  Osbourne  said,  he  would  write  to 
Gisborne,  at  Lichfield,  to  request  his  opinion.  I  need  say  no 
more.  Neither  you  nor  I  wish  for  the  man  who  is  not  the  best; 
but  I  observe,  that  a  man  with  some  learning  may  possibly  be 
very  mischievous  in  the  pulpit,  though  a  tolerable  classical 
scholar,  and  not  the  less  so  for  that.  Further,  Eton  school, 
Oxford,  the  Bishop  of  London,  and  such  like,  are  all  equivocal, 

and  I  wish  I  could  add,  that  your  friend  G was  decisive  in 

the  main  points. 

"Your  most  affectionate,     L  M. 
"  To  Wm.  Wilberforce,  Esq." 

The  health  of  Joseph  Milner  was  now  evidently  giving  way, 
yet  not  to  such  a  degree  as  to  excite  in  the  minds  of  his  friends 
any  apprehension  of  immediate  danger.  Towards  the  end  of 
this  month  his  brother  thus  wrote  to  Mr.  Wilberforce  : 

«  My  dear  Sir,  ''Hull,  October  23rd,  1797- 

"  My  brother's  asthma  is  but  bad.    I  thought  I  should  have 

had  a  very  bad  account  indeed  to  give  of  him.     He  keeps  the 

house,  and  is,  I  hope,  something  better.     I  cannot  persuade 

him  to  take  sufficient  care  of  himself." 

The   same  letter  contains    some  remarks  on  colleges  and 

tutors  well  worth  preserving. 

"  In  regard  to  your  \t)uth,  whom  you  purpose  to  send  to 


A  candidate  for  the  bituations  of  Sclioolniiister  and  Lecturer  at  High 
Church,  Hull,  resigned  by  Joseph  Milner. 


136  CHAP.  IX.     A.D.  17!»7.      ETAT.  47- 

the  University,  I  have  little  new  to  say :  you  know  my  ideas, 
and  have  often  heard  me  express  them. 

"  Tliere    is    uot,    in    my   opinion,    much    ditierence    in    the' 
colleges,  simply  quoad  college. 

"  I  am  not  fond  of  private  tutors,  as  a  general  system,  but,, 
as  circumstances  are  at  present,  if  a  good  private  tutor  can  be 
provided,  who  will  live  a  good  deal  with  the  young  n)an,  and 
watch  him,  I  think  that  the  likeliest  method  of  insuring, 
success ;  that  is,  freedom  from  the  corruption  of  numbers  of 
youths  let  loose.  But  then  again,  I  observe,  that  if  you  send  a 
lad  to  any  college,  and  write  to  his  public  tutor,  requesting  a 
good  private  tutor,  the  object  often  is,  rather  to  gratify  some 
poor  Bachelor  of  Arts  than  anything  else.     In  regard  to  the 

public  tutors   of 1  really  have  no  opinion  of   their 

oare  in  morals,  &c.,  at  all.  James  W.  is  a  modest,  engaging, 
civil  man,  but  without  energy,  and  without  principles,  in  your 
and  my  sense. 

"  With  us.  Queen's,  I  know  but  of  one  man  L  could  trust  a 
youth  to,  that  is,  Thomason  ;  and  to  him  I  have  recommended 
a  fellow-commoner  this  October  as  a  private  pupil.  Thomason, 
to  be  sure,  may  succeed  here,  at  Hull,  next  December ;  and  if 
so,  all  is  abroad. 

"  This  is  all  I  have  to  add  on  the  subject,  except  that,  on 
supposition  this  matter  is  open  next  January,  I  will,  if  yoU' 
desire  it,  look  about,  and  do  the  best  1  can. 

"  1  am  now  looking  about  for  tlie  very  best  man  I  can  find, 
as  a  public  tutor  for  us,  at  Queen's. 

"  I  think  of  you  both  with  unremitting  prayers  and  affection. 

«  A\)ars,  I.  M." 

A  great  change  hud  ncnv  for  years  l^eeii  silently  and  gra- 
dually passing  upon  the  character  of  Dr.  Milner.  He  was  no 
longer  ambitious :  he  had  learned  to  acquiesce  cordially  in  the 
actual  dispensations  of  Providence.  An  evidence  of  the  truth, 
of  what  is  here  affirmed  may  be  found  in  the  increasing  interest 
which,  in  the  succeeding  years  of  his  life,  he  manifestly  took  in. 
the  performance  of  his  duties  as  Dean  of  Carlisle;  and,  althougi)  • 
the  prospects  which  subsequent  orcurrcnrcs,  on  more  than  one. 


CHAP.  IX.     A.D.  171)7.     ^TAT.  47.  137 

occasion,  opened  to  liis  view  were  such  as  might  well  have 
afforded  food  for  ambition,  that  passion  never  regained  its  hold 
upon  his  mind.  This  was  a  natural  consequence  of  his 
advancement  in  the  Christian  character;  but  had  the  fact  been 
otherwise,  a  calamity  was  at  hand  which  was  calculated  effec- 
tually to  wean  his  affections  from  earthly  objects. 

The  time  was  now  approaching  when  the  close  union  and 
most  tender  affection  which,  from  childhood,  had  subsisted' 
between  Dr.  Milner  and  his  elder  brother,  was  to  be  interrupted 
by  death. 

Mr.  Milner's  last  illness  is  ascribed  by  liis  friend  Mr.  Stil- 
lingfleet,  who  compiled  a  Memoir  of  his  life,  to  a  cold,  caught 
on  his  journey  to  York  for  institution  to  his  vicarage,  in  the 
latter  end  of  September,  1 797- 

During  this  illness  of  his  l^rother.  Dr.  Milner,  in  a  state  of 
very  great  affliction  and  agitation  of  mind,  wrote  to  Mr.  Wil- 
berforce  a  hurried  letter,  dated,  "  Hull,  Tuesday,  1797-" 

From  this  letter  the  following  passages  are  extracted : — 

"  My  dear  Fkiexd, 

"  I  know  you  profess  never  to  be  much  moved  at  any  event; 
still,  I  believe,  if  you  had  been  with  me  for  the  last  fortnight, 
your  compassionate  heart  would  have  been  deeply  affected. 

"  I  must  be  very  short ;  I  am  not  able  to  write.  A  consi- 
derable fever,  with  an  increase  of  asthma,  has  come  upon  my 
poor  brother,  and  brought  him  to  the  very  gates  of  death.  He 
still  remains  in  a  most  critical  situation;  I  very  much  doubt 
whether  he  will  recover.     This  is  not  fear,  but  reality. 

"  My  constant  and  persevering  prayer  has  been  for  resig- 
nation and  support, — but,  alas!  alas!  I  can  just  say  from 
experience,  '  the  Lord  knows  how  to  be  gracious,  if  we  could 
but  trust  Him,'  and  no  more.  Oh  !  my  dear  friend,  there  is  a 
something  on  this  occasion  crowds  upon  my  mind,  so  thick  and 
so  close,  that  I  sliuuUl  liuve  been  overwhelmed  but  for  God's 
especial  mercy.  A  deal  of  this  is  bodily;  1  am  weak,  nervous, 
and  worn-out.  '  Multis  vulneribus  oppressus,  huic  uni  me 
inij>areni  scnsi.'  Then  from  a  very  child  I  have  lived  with  this 
only  brother;  lie  lias  been  kind  to  me  beyond  description,  and 


138  CHAP.  IX.     A.D.  1797.    jETAT.  47. 

a  faithful  adviser  in  illness  on  a  thousand  occasions.  Lastly, 
no  man's  affections  were,  perhaps,  ever  so  little  divided  by  a 
variety  of  friendships  as  mine.  For  years  past,  I  have  said  ten 
thousand  times,  that  I  would  exhort  a  youth  whom  I  wished 
to  be  happy  in  this  world,  to  know  more  people  and  to  love 
them  less.     Yet  God  does  not  absolutely  give  me  up  to  grief. 

''  Farewell,  and  remember  me  most  affectionately  to  Mrs.  W. 
who  will  drop  a  tear. 

"  N.B.  My  brother's  mind  is  so  happy,  that  it  can  hardly 
be  in  a  more  desirable  state.  '  The  promises  are  sure.'  Yester- 
day I  was  told  that  he  has  had  your  book  in  his  hands  for 
several  days,  and  that  he  likes  it  better  and  better;  and  says  he 
should  have  written  to  you.  When  I  talked  to  him  last,  I 
could  get  nothing  from  him  but  '  Let  not  your  heart  be 
troubled,'  &c.,  &c. 

"  I  am  very  unfit  to  write,  but  duty  presses  me  to  say 
briefly,  that  the  election  of  a  school-master  and  lecturer  will 
take  place  on  the  5th  of  December. 

"  It  will  be  a  sad  thing  if  High  Church  be  deprived  of  both 
its  pastors,  morning  and  afternoon.  I  am  utterly  unable  to  see 
any  one,  or  take  any  further  steps ;  indeed,  I  believe  I  have 
done  what  I  can  for  Thomason. 

"  Yours  affectionately,  L  M/' 

The  closing  scenes  of  Joseph  Milner's  life  are  thus  described 
by  Mr.  Stillingfleet : — 

"  The  fever  being  removed,  there  were  hopes  of  his  reco- 
very, till  within  a  very  few  days  of  his  death."  *  *  "On  the 
day  preceding  his  death,  he  went  through  the  duties  of  his 
family  in  a  very  serious  and  i)articular  manner,  intimating,  as 
some  concluded  from  expressions  which  he  used,  that  his  end 
was  i)robably  not  far  off.  Having  ended  his  family  worship,  he 
went  to  the  chamber  of  his  niece*,  with  whom  he  lived,  and 
who  had  lain  in  only  a  few  days ;  and  after  praying  with  her, 
and  wishing  her  a  good  night,  retired  to  his  room.  At  first, 
he  seemed  to  sleep  tolerably  easy;  but  after  some  time,  one  of 


'IJie  wile  of  Tlioiiias  Wilbt-rfoice  Croinptoii,  Esq. 


CHAP.  IX.     A.U.  1797.     iETAT.  47.  139 

the  persons  who  sat  up  with  him  perceived  that  he  was  seized 
with  a  hiccup,  and  that  he  breathed  with  some  difficulty. 
Soon  after  the  attendants,  finding  all  remarkably  still,  and 
being  rather  alarmed,  drew  near  to  the  bed-side,  and  found 
that  he  had  indeed  breathed  his  last." 

In  the  interval  between  the  fever  here  spoken  of,  and 
Mr.  Milner's  death,  he  wrote  the  following  letters: — 

"Dearest  Isaac*, 

*  *  *  "  In  truth,  it  is  quite  a  merciful  state  that  things 
are  in.  I  breathe  vastly  well ;  asthma  seems  to  have  no 
existence.  I  have  been  refreshed  with  sleep,  and  am  quite  a 
different  thing  from  other  mornings.  Surely  the  fever  is  much 
abated;  I  am  not  so  languid ;  in  short,  I  am  in  a  more  natural 
state  than  since  it  commenced.  I  am  going  to  get  my  common 
milk  diet,  and  feel  the  right  appetite.  Let  us  be  thankful  to 
God,  and  not  be  moved  because  everything  is  not  as  we  could 
wish.  I  recommend  you  to  the  Friend  of  sinners,  to  study  and 
meditate  upon  His  character,  doctrine,  example:  this  is  hap- 
piness. 

"  Yours  alway,  J.  M.'* 

The  letter  next  following  was  written  by  Mr.  Milner.  in 
answer  to  his  brother,  who,  not  being  able  to  support  an  inter- 
view with  him,  had  in  writing  "  besought "  him  to  teach  him, 
"  as  his  last  kindness,  some  lessons  of  resignation, — a  Christian 
grace  in  which  he  found  himself  miserably  deficient." 

"Dear  Brother,  "  November,  1797- 

"  Resignation  to  the  Divine  will  is  one  of  the  last  and 
highest  attainments  of  the  Christian  life;  it  is  what  is  ulti- 
mately to  be  aimed  at,  as  essential  to  comfort  here  and 
happiness  hereafter.  But  it  seems  not  by  any  means  to  be  the 
first  object  of  one  who  is  desirous  of  becoming  a  Christian,  nor 
even  attainable,  except  some  other  necessary  things  are  pre- 


The  first  sentence  of  this  letter  has  reference  to  his  brother  s  state  of 
health. 


140  CHAP.  IX.     A.]).  1797.     .*:TAT.  47. 

viously  acquired.  For  me  to  have  my  Mill  in  unison  with  the 
will  of  God,  I  must,  in  the  first  place,  trust  Him  thoroughly, 
and  love  Him  suj)remely;  for  it  is  impossible  for  me  freely  to 
give  up  my  will  to  another  entirely,  while  we  are  on  had  terms; 
that  is,  so  long  as  I  cannot  trust  him,  and  so  long  as  1  hate 
him  ;  or  what,  in  tliis  case,  comes  to  the  same  thing,  l6ve  any 
person  or  thing  l)etter  than  him.  The  conclusion  is,  all  attempts 
at  resignation  will  be  vain,  without  conversion  and  reconciliation 
with  God. 

"  When  we  are  convinced  of  tTie  sinfulness  and  misery  of 
our  natural  state,  it  is  a  high  point  of  wisdom  to  seek,  by  prayer 
and  diligent  searching  of  the  Scriptures,  that  only  right  and 
effectual  method  of  relief  which  God  has  provided.  '  Repent 
and  believe  the  Gospel,'  is  the  first  thing.  We  should  not 
stir  from  this  direction,  till  we  have  some  good  ground  of 
evidence,  that  we  do  repent  and  believe.  Alas  !  our  guilt  and' 
wickedness  are  much  deeper  and  larger  than  we  are  apt  to 
suspect;  and  our  pride  fights,  with  inexpressible  obstinacy, 
against  all  just  conviction.  But  let  us  not  be  discouraged: 
things  impossible  with  men,  are  possible  with  God.  Let  us 
pray,  not  now  and  then  only,  but  constantly.  Life  is  short; 
we  have  no  other  business  that  ought  to  interfere  with  this. 
It  should  be  the  perpetual,  as  it  is  the  most  important  employ- 
ment of  the  soul.  The  Scriptures  daily  meditated  on,  will 
supply  us  Mitli  instruction;  and  if  we  persevere,  our  business 
in  religion  will  doubtless  be  made,  in  time,  our  chief  pleasure. 
A  thorough  insight  into  human  emptiness  and  worldly  vanity, 
a  complete  conviction  of  the  evil  of  sin,  even  in  our  own 
particular  case,  and  a  desire  to  forsake  it  altogether,  a  solid 
discernment  of  the  complete  sufficiency  of  Clirist  to  save  us  in 
all  respects — these  things,  in  daily  seeking  unto  God,  are  to  be 
attained.  We  are  not  so  ready  to  pray  as  God  is  to  hear.  He 
delights  to  magnify  his  Son  Jesus,  and  to  show  what  He  can  and 
will  do  for  us  through  Him,  He  calls  us  to  notliing  in  our  own 
strcngtjj;  and  as  we  cannot  have,  so  we  need  not  think  of 
having,  any  worthiness  of  our  own.  We  may  come  and  take 
freely,  what  He  freely  bestows — and,  my  dear  brother,  when 
once,    in    this    way,    you    can    steadfastly    rely    on    the    Divine 


01 1 A  p.    IX.      A.I)    17!»7.      1=:TAT.  4?.  141 

promises  through  Christ,  so  sure  as  '  faith  worketh  by  love,' 
you  will  find  yourself  enabled  to  love  God;  and  it  is  in  Christ 
Jesus  that  his  love  will  be  seen.  A  union  and  fellowship  with 
Christ  will  take  place;  and  it  is  the  sweetest  and  the  pleasantest 
sensation  which  the  human  mind  can  know.  Thougli  the 
effervescence  of  it  be  but  short  and  momentary,  and  by  very 
transient  glances,  yet  its  steady  energy  is  real  and  powerful. 
For  to  encourage  us,  we  should  remember  the  interest  we  have 
in  Him  by  the  ties  of  a  common  nature.  The  second  and 
fourth  chapters  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  represent  this 
point  strongly.  You  may  think  I  deviate  from  the  subject  of 
Resignation,  but  I  know  no  other  way  of  coming  to  it.  Once 
brought  to  love  Christ  above  all,  we  shall  love  other  persons 
in  the  best  manner,  in  subordination.  Even  to  part  with 
dearest  friends  will  be  practicable,  because  (1  Thess.  iv.  14)  'if 
we  believe  that  Jesus  died  and  rose  again,  even  so  them  also 
which  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with  him.'  When  we  can 
feel  any  genuine  love  to  God  in  Christ,  we  shall  be  led  to  such 
an  acquiescence  in  his  wisdom  and  goodness,  that  we  shall 
choose  his  will  to  take  place,  rather  than  ours;  and  the  thought 
how  soon  all  things  shall  be  set  riglit  in  a  future  life,  and  that 
He  makes  all  things  to  work  together  for  good,  Avill  reconcile  the 
jnind  to  anything  that  God  pleases.  And  though  the  dissolu- 
tion of  soul  and  body  be  always  a  serious  thing,  and  against 
the  feelings  of  nature,  yet  a  mind  whose  hope  and  desire  are 
with  Jesus,  and  Avhich  has  a  constant  thirst  for  spiritual  enjoy- 
ments as  true  felicity,  and  which  is  loosened  from  all  worldly 
attachments,  must,  on  the  whole,  wish  for  death  rather  than 
life,  as  we  all  wish  niost,  for  that  which  has  most  of  our  heart: 
but  the  love  of  God  will  teach  such  a  one  to  resign  himself,  as 
to  the  time,  to  his  heavenly  Father's  will.  You  will  not 
mistake  me,  I  hope,  as  if  I  supposed  that  all  true  Christians 
have  learnt  all  this  completely:  far  from  it.  But  these  things 
are  learnt  by  them  in  a  measure;  but  not  without  much  conflict, 
opposition  from  sinful  nature  all  along,  and  much  imperfection. 
And  though  it  is  not  easy  to  confine  by  rules  the  order  of  the 
Spirit's  operations,  yet  this  seems  the  general  order  of  Christian 
virtues,  viz.,  repentance,  faith,  love,  resignation, 


142  CHAP.  IX.    A.D.  17f>7-     -KTAT.  47. 

"In  Christ  himself  resignation  was  perfect;  'Not  my  will 
but  thine  be  done;'  and  as  far  as  we  can  trust  in  Him  for  grace, 
so  far  we  may  receive  grace  out  of  his  fulness.  Among  mere 
men,  St.  Paul  seems  the  completest  pattern  of  resignation. 
What  a  tremendous  view  is  that  of  his  sufferings  in  the  latter 
part  of  2  Cor.  xi  !  But  how  practicable  did  the  love  of  God 
make  everything  to  him!  In  Philippians  iv.,  11,  12,  13,  he 
tells  us  that  he  had  learned  to  be  content  in  any  state,  and  that 
he  could  do  all  things  through  Christ  which  strengthened  him; 
and  the  original  word  for  *  had  learned'  fie/xvTj/xai,  alluding  to 
the  Pagan  mysteries,  shows  that  the  learning  was  of  a  myste- 
rious nature. 

"  Dear  brother,  I  write  in  the  fulness  of  affection,  wishing 
you  to  make  it  your  main  business  to  learn  these  things.  I  am 
far  from  thinking  that  your  long  course  of  afflictions  has  been 
against  your  acquiring  them.  Oh !  let  us  beg  for  patience  to 
lie  as  clay  in  the  hands  of  His  infinite  wisdom,  who  knows  how 
to  humble  our  pride,  and  to  break  our  wills,  and  to  form  us  to 
a  conformity  to  Himself !  And  may  you  be  helped  to  a  steady 
course  of  praying,  and  of  seeking  God,  with  a  willingness  to 
give  up  all  for  Christ ! 

"I  have  been  looking  at  Dr.  Johnson's*  Life.  The  man 
was  unfaithful  to  his  convictions,  for  the  most  part  of  his  life 
at  least.  Had  he  been  humbled  before  God,  he  would  have 
been  despised  in  the  world,  but  would  have  been  comfortable 
in  his  own  soul.  May  Christ  Jesus  visit  you,  and  lead  you, 
dear  brother,  to  true  rest. 

"  Yours,  J.  M." 

If  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  written  by  Joseph 
Milner  to  Mr.  Stillingfleet,  and  docketed  "the  last  letter  he 
ever  wrote,"  be  thought  to  discover  some  confusion  of  intellect, 
it  will,  nevertheless,  by  all  who  loved  the  writer,  or  who  revere 


•  This  name  is  now  sujiplicd  from  omit  I'r.  .Jolinson's  iiaiiu! ;  but  IIkto 
tlio  niaiiusci'ipt  Icttfr.  Dr.  Milner,  seems  now  no  reason  to  suppress 
who  has  inserted  tliis  letter  in  his  Life  I  Joseph  Milner's  opinion  of  the  reli- 
ef his  Broth(>r,  hjw  thouf^ht  proper  to    gioua  character  of  that  emin(>nt  man. 


CHAP.  IX.     A.D.  17!>7.     ^TAT.  47.  143 

his  memory,  be  read   with    interest,   as   affording  satisfactory 
evidence  of  a  heart  at  peace  with  God. 

"  I  dare  say,  dear  sir,  you  have  no  conception  how  decayed 
I  am.  I  feel  listless,  hopeless,  sluggish,  no  heart  to  stir  about 
at  all.  Indeed,  when  I  can  really  stir,  which  is  but  little,  I  am 
soon  jaded;  for  the  loaded  vapours  make  it  bad  breathing,  and 
that  is  a  trouble  by  night  and  by  day.  If  it  please  God  that 
still  any  part  of  the  igneus  vigor  should  remain  a  little  longer 
in  me,  let  me  beg  you  to  pray  to  Him  to  quicken  me  and  over- 
come my  languor.  He  has  dealt  marvellously  with  me  of  late. 
I  have  had  a  wonderfully  instructive  dream  about  Hull.  *  * 
Let  us  trust,  be  patient,  love  our  Saviour,  and  wait  for  his 
second  coming.  May  I  learn  obedience  by  the  things  which  I 
have  suffered.  My  kind  love  to  Mrs.  Still.,  who,  if  I  get  a  little 
recovery  of  strength,  may  seem  shortly  likely  to  see  me.  I 
beg  your  love;  after  the  flesh  it  is  sweet,  but  after  the  spirit  it 
is  sweeter  still,  and  far  better. 

"  But  r  am  knocked  up  with  fatigue. 

"  Yours  alway, 
"  To  the  Rev.  J.  StillingfleetJ'  "  Joseph  Milxer. 

It  is  needless,  and  might,  in  this  place,  be  deemed  improper, 
to  enter  into  any  detail  of  the  character  and  history  of  Joseph 
Milner.  It  may  suffice  to  observe,  in  general,  that  he  had 
effectually  lived  down  the  opposition  which,  during  one  part  of 
his  ministry  at  Hull,  had  raged  against  him. 

Those  persons  who  are  anxious  to  understand  that  great 
change  in  Mr.  Milner's religious  sentiments,  that  "revolution*" 
which,  notwithstanding  that  his  moral  character  had  hitherto 
been  "  without  spot,"  that  he  had  been  "  regular,  temperate, 
and  decorous,  in  his  external  conduct,  orthodox  in  his  religion, 
and  loyal  in  his  political  sentiments,"  was  nevertheless  so 
decisive  and  complete,  that,  "from  about  the  year  1770?  to  the 
day  of  his  death,  he  became,  entirely  and  sensibly,  a  different 
man  from  what  he  had  been  before;  and  in  public  and  in  private. 


*  See  Life  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Milner. 


144  CHAP.  IX.     A.D.  1797-     .ETAT.  47. 

and  in  every  part  of  his  conduct,  illustrated  and  confirmed,  by 
his  personal  example,  tlie  precepts  which  he  zealously  incul- 
cated ;"  such  persons  may  find  full  information  upon  the 
important  subject  which  occupies  their  attention,  in  The  Lift 
of  Joseph  Milner,  by  his  brother  the  Dean;  a  publication  which, 
besides  its  rare  excellence  as  a  faithful  and  impartial  memoir, 
and  a  monument  of  the  most  tender,  and  perhaps  almost 
unexampled  fraternal  gratitude  and  aflection,  exhibits,  in  the 
most  perspicuous  manner,  those  views  of  Christian  truth  which 
were  equally  and  alike  entertained  by  both  these  excellent 
men. 

Mr.  Milner  survived  his  election  to  the  vicarage  of  Hull 
only  a  few  weeks.  He  died  November  15,  1797;  and  "if  lives 
were  to  he  measured  l)y  what  men  do,  rather  than  by  the  suc- 
cession of  fleeting  inoments,  liis  life  would  l)e  found  sufficiently 
long." 

Several  gentlemen,  who  had  been  pupils  of  the  Rev.  Joseph 
Milner,  showed  their  love  and  reverence  for  their  instructor  by 
erecting  a  monument  U)  his  memory,  in  the  High  Church  at 
Hull. 

The  following  touching  and  elegant  monumental  inscription, 
afterwards  discovered  to  be  written  by  a  '•  clergyman  of  great 
erudition,  zeal,  and  piety,"  the  Rev.  J.  Michell,  of  King's 
College,  Cand)ridge,  who  had  not  the  least  personal  acquaint- 
ance with  Mr.  Milner,  was  received  by  Dr.  M.  soon  after  his 
j)ublication  of  his  brotlier's  life,  and  may  be  best  inserted 
under  this  date.  It  was  inclosed  in  an  anonymous  letter  con- 
taining the  following  words: — 

"The  writer  of  this  inscription  was  warmed  by  the  perusal 
of  Dr.  Milner's  two  jjerformances.  The  Life  of  the  Reverend 
Joscpft,  Milner,  and  the  Preface  to  the  second  volume  of  the 
liislorij  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  gave  this  utterance  to  his 
feelings." 


crr.vp.  rx.    a.d.  1707.    .i-tat.  47.  145 

SISTE   LECTOR 
ET    VIRTUTES    CHRISTIANAS    CONTEMPLARR, 

JOSEPHI  MILNER,  A.M. 

VIR     PUIT     INGENIO     SINGULARI, 
DOCTRINA,    PIETATE,    MORUM    INNOCEXTIA, 
VIT^   SIMPLICITATE,    COxNTINENTIA,    INDUSTRIA 
SPECTATISSIMUS  : 
IN    DOCENDO,    IN    CONCIONAXDO,    IN    SACRO    OFFICIO 
EXEQUENDO, 
I.MPIGER,    ATQUE    INCORRUPTUS  : 
IN    RELIGIONE   SINE    FUCO   EXORNANDO,    SINE    METU 
ASSKRENDA, 
SINE    AiMUAGIBUS    DEMONSTRANDA, 
POTENS,      LUCULENTUS,      INTEGERRIMUS  : 
NOV^      ECCLESIASTICJE      HISTORIC     SCRIPTOR, 
IN    QUA    QUANTUM    CHRISTI    GRATIA 
IN    PIORUM    ANIMUS    DIVINITUS    EFFUSA 
CONTRA    OMNES    ADVERSARIORUM    INSIDIAS,    IRAS, 
IMPETUS, 
ARROGANTIAM,    DOMINATIONEM 
VICTRIX    EVASERIT    ET   SEMPER    EVASURA    SIT, 
EX    UNDIQUE   INVESTIGATIS    ANNALUM    MONUMENTIS 
CONQUISIVIT,    EXPRESSIT,    VINUICAVIT. 
EVANGELICI    AMORIS,    VERITATIS    AC    FIDEI, 
QU^    ADEO    FORTITER,    ADEO    FELICITER    DEFENDER  AT. 
VIVA    INDICIA 
EXEMPLO    SUO    COMPROBAVIT. 
IN    MEDIO    OPERUM    CURSU, 
REBUS    ARDUIS    OB    DEI    GLORIAM    GERUNDIS 
NEC    IMPAREM,    NEC    DEFATIGATUM 
NEC   SUIS   CONFISUM    VIRIBUS, 
ABRIPUIT    MORS, 
OMNIBUS   BONIS    PRATER    SE    ACERBISSIMA, 
ANN.    DOM.    1797.       ^T.    LIIII. 
HANC    TABULAM 
IN    TANTI    VIRI    MEMORIAM 
QUEM    VIVUM    AMORE    PLUSQUAM    FRATERNO    DILEXIT 
QUEM    MORTUUM    DESIDERIO    ET    MENTE   GRATIS.SIMA ' 
PROSEQUITUR, 
PONI     CURAVIT 

ISAACUS   MILNER, 

FRATER   SUPERSTES 
SPE 
CONJUNCTIONIS    FUTUR.E    IN    Ca:LO    PER  CHRISTUM 
INDIVIDU.E,    SANCTISSIM.E,    BEATISSIM^, 
SEMPITERN^. 


146  CIIAP.  IX.     A.D.   1797.     /ETAT.  47- 

It  would  be  totally  vain  to  attempt  to  convey  an  adequate 
idea  of  the  effect  produced  upon  Dr.  Milner's  exquisitely 
aifectionate  heart,  by  the  death  of  his  brother.  The  mutual 
affection  of  these  brothers,  united  as  they  were  in  the  bonds  of 
christian,  as  well  as  natural  friendship,  had  been,  throughout 
life,  unusually  tender ;  and  the  termination,  so  far  as  regards 
this  world,  of  such  a  companionship,  could  not  but  be  exceed- 
ingly bitter.  There  is  a  sorrow  which  exhausts,  or  dissipates 
itself,  in  the  display  of  sensibility;  but  the  grief  of  Isaac 
Milner  for  the  loss  of  his  brother,  was  of  a  deeper  and  more 
permanent  nature,  and  may  be  best  expressed  in  his  own  simple 
words:  "  Perhaps  no  two  brothers  were  evermore  closely  bound 
to  each  other.  Isaac,  in  particular,  remembers  no  earthly  thing, 
without  being  able,  in  some  way,  to  connect  it  tenderly  with 
his  brother  Joseph.  During  all  his  life,  he  has  constantly 
aimed  at  enjoying  his  company,  as  much  as  circumstances 
permitted.  The  dissolution  of  such  a  connexion  could  not 
take  place  without  being  severely  felt  by  the  survivor.  No 
separation  was  ever  more  bitter  or  afflicting ;  with  a  constitution 
long  shattered  by  disease,  he  never  expects  to  recover  from 
that  wound."  Nor  did  he  ever  recover.  "  The  world,"  as  he 
frequently  said,  "  never  looked  like  itself,"  to  him  "  again." 

His  feelings  upon  the  occasion  of  this  domestic  calamity 
will,  however,  still  further  appear,  from  some  confidential  letters 
referring  to  his  brother's  death,  and  to  the  composition  of  the 
memoir  of  him,  so  often  cited  in  this  work. 

On  the  very  day  of  his  brother's  decease,  Dr.  Milner  wrote 
to  Mr.  Wilberforce  the  following  most  affecting  letter: — 

"  Wednesday  morning^  Hull. 

"On!  my  dearest  friend,  my  beloved  brother's  last  words, 
or  nearly  so,  were,  that  *  Jesus  was  now  doubly,  doubly  precious 
to  him.' 

"  Christ  called  him  to  himself  this  morning  about  seven, 

"I  keep  to  myself  as  much  as  possible,  and  pray — but, 
indeed,  my  dear  friend,  I  fear  this  may  be  the  last  letter  you 
will  ever  receive  from  me. 

"  If  the  event,  which,  however,  is  not  worse  than  the  suspense, 


CHAP.  IX.     A.D.  1797.     /ETAT.  4?.  147 

should  prove  too  much  for  my  weak  frame,  and  already  half- 
broken  heart,  rememl)er,  there  was  a  corner  in  that  heart  pre- 
served to  the  last  for  you  and  your  half.  Oh !  that  I  had  followed 
his  stei)s;  or  had  now  strength,  as  I  have  some  heart,  in  the 
dregs  of  life  to  follow  them,  in  warning  a  thoughtless  world! 

"  I  wish  tears  would  come ;  I  should  be  easier. 

"  Farewell — I  had  almost  forgotten  the  principal  motive  that 
made  me  struggle  to  write  at  this  sad  moment ;  viz.,  that  you 
may  lose  no  time,  if  you  think  you  can  do  anything,  towards 
getting  a  godly  vicar.  It  will  be  a  sad  thing  if  God  should 
punish  a  careless  town  by  taking  away  the  gospel  from  its 
j^rincipal  church.  I  would  have  exerted  myself  for  Thomason, 
i)ut  I  can  do  little  or  nothing  beyond  what  I  have  already 
done.  If  you  saw  me' — how  thin,  and  weak,  and  shattered  I 
am,  you  would  feel  for  me.  Yet — I  have  a  good  hope*.  God 
does  not  forsake  me.     With  love  to  B., 

"Yours,  I.  M." 

It  is  impossible  to  read  this  touching  letter,  without 
observing  the  solid  evidence  which  it  affords  of  that  piety 
which  was  now  become  a  leading  characteristic  of  the  writer"'s 
mind.  From  his  youth  he  had  regarded  his  brother  with  an 
intense  affection ;  yet  at  the  sad  moment  when  he  communi- 
cates to  his  own  dearest  friend  the  death  of  this  brother,  the 
idea  uppermost  in  his  mind,  is  the  procuring  of  "  a  godly  vicar," 
for  the  bereaved  town  of  Hull. 

On  the  5th  of  December,  1797,  Mr.  Wilberforce,  with 
reference  to  the  death  of  Joseph  Milner,  thus  wrote  to  Lord 
Muncaster:  "Your  sympathetic  kindness  had  too  well  antici- 
pated Isaac  Milner's  feelings.  He  is  the  most  affectionate  of 
brothers,  and  the  loss  has  been  like  tearing  off  a  limb.  I  hope 
he  will  get  over  it,  but  it  has  shaken  him  sadly." 

Severe  affliction  has  sometimes  a  tendency  to  diminish  the 
sympathy  of  the  sufferer  with  the  joys  or  sorrows  of  others — to 
harden,  rather  than  to  soften  the  heart.  No  such  effect,  how- 
ever, was  produced  upon  Dr.  Milner.     On  the  contrary,   his 


*  Thrice  understrokcd  iu  the  original  manuscript. 

L    2 


148  CHAP.  IX.     A.l).  17!>S.      ETAT.  4«. 

own  deep  distress  seemed  rather  to  add  fervour  to  his  naturally 
warm  affections,  and,  in  an  especial  manner,  to  dispose  him 
either  to  "  rejoice"  or  to  "  weep"  with  his  friends.  His  letters,  at 
this  period,  to  Mr.  Wilberforce,  in  whose  domestic  happiness 
he  sincerely  rejoiced,  are  full  of  such  expressions  as  "  God  bless 
you — may  God  continue  his  favours — his  uncommon  favours — 
to  you  both." 

It  is  very  generally  known,  that  Dr.  Milnerwas  in  the  habit 
of  using  opium  as  a  medicine.  To  the  use  and  value  of  that 
medicine,  in  his  case,  those  who  knew  him  intimately  can  bear 
testimony.  Upon  this  subject,  some  misapprehension  has 
existed ;  it  may  be  sufficient  to  say,  that  by  Dr.  Milner  this 
drug  was  never,  at  any  period  of  his  life,  used  otherwise  than 
strictly  as  a  medicine,  and  by  the  concurring  advice  of  the  first 
physicians  of  the  day.  How  effectual  it  was  in  enabling  him  to 
dedicate  to  the  noblest  uses,  what  he  truly  called,  the  "  shattered 
remains"  of  his  health,  is  known  only  to  the  very  few  persons 
whose  privilege  it  was  to  witness  his  daily  habits,  and  to  enjoy 
his  domestic  society. 

These  observations  have  been  suggested  by  the  sight  of  a 
letter  addressed,  about  this  time,  to  Mr.  Wilberforce,  comprising 
some  valuable  remarks  upon  the  proper  use  of  the  powerful 
medicine  in  question;  and  affording  an  additional  proof  of  Dean 
Milner's  ever  ready  sympathy  with  the  afflictions  of  his  friend, 
who  was  himself  compelled  to  make  use  of  opium. 

The  following  letter  will,  probably,  be  considered  highly 
valuable,  both  as  exhibiting  the  reality  and  depth  of  Dr. 
Milner's  piety,  together  with  his  fervent  and  tender  affection 
towards  his  departed  brother,  and  as  throwing  light  on  some 
other  matters  which  cannot  be  deemed  uninteresting. 

^' To  THE  Rev.  William  Richardson*. 

"  Cambridge,  Queoi's  College  Lodge, 
"My  dear  Sir,  February  3,  179S. 

"  I  cannot  give  any  satisfactory  reason  for  it,  but  so  it  is,  I 
dread  either  to  see,  or  t(j  write  to,  any  of  my  brother's  dear  and 


Tlic  late  Rev.  William  Richardson  of  York,  one  of  the  most  intimate 
friends  of  Joseph  Milner. 


CHAP.  IX.     A.l).   17ii8.     .ETAT.  48.  149 

particular  friends.  Therefore  I  have  written  nothing  to  any  of 
them,  except  where  there  was  an  al^solute  necessity  for  so 
doing.  While  I  remained  at  Hull,  I  dreaded  the  approach  of 
good  StiDingfleet;  and  at  last,  when  I  understood  he  was 
coming  to  see  me,  I  summoned  courage  to  tell  him,  by  letter, 
that  I  could  not  venture  to  admit  him — yet,  he  had  written  to 
me  the  most  kind  and  affectionate  letter  that  ever  was  penned. 

"  I  say  again,  I  cannot  explain  the  cause  of  the  violent 
agitation  which,  I  foresee,  would  take  place,  on  an  interview 
either  with  you  or  him ;  but  I  feel,  that  it  would  be  so, 
certainly:  and  I  know  not  whether  I  should  survive  it.  This 
apprehension  is  not  fancy. 

"A  sense  of  suffocation,  which  is  truly  most  alarming,  is,  in 
my  case,  readily  brought  on  by  any  violent  affection  of  the 
spirits.  You  may  well  suppose  that  I  have  been  on  my  guard, 
as  well  as  I  can — but  this  severe  trial  has  been  too  much  for 
me.  '  Tot  vulneribus  jam  pei'culsus,  huic  uni  me  imparem 
sensi  et  pene  succubui.'  Indeed  it  is  of  God's  special  mercy, 
that  I  am  alive !  But,  you  will  say,  does  not  every  man  lose 
near  friends  and  relations  ? 

"  Not  many  in  such  circumstances.  He  was  the  only  near 
relation  I  had  in  the  world ;  and  I  was  brought  up  with  him 
from  a  child — I  remember  him  as  far  back  as  I  remember  any- 
thing, and  we  went  to  school  together,  for  many  years.  Still,  I 
own,  there  are  cases  quite  as  afflictive  as  this;  and  probably 
several  without  the  same  mitigating  considerations — mitigat- 
ing, do  I  call  it  ?  to  be  able  to  say,  '  I  have  no  doubt,  whatever, 
that  he  is  in  heaven!'  This  is,  indeed,  a  glorious  reflection, 
and  it  should  heal  my  broken  heart.  It  would,  no  doubt,  if 
reason  had  much  to  do  in  such  a  matter ;  but  reason  is  pushed 
aside  by  affection,  self-love,  and  unsubdued  passions. 

"There  is,  however,  in  religion,  a  reality;  I  thank  God,  I 
can  say  so,  on  the  best  foundation ;  viz.,  that  in  that  way,  and 
in  no  other,  I  experience  some  relief.  I  grasp,  therefore,  that 
help,  as  firmly  as  I  can — but  still,  dear  Sir,  my  heart  is  broken ! 
Don't  tell  me  how  much  you  have  felt — I  know,  and  am  sure, 
you  have. 

"  My  dear  l)rothcr  requests  Mr.  Stillingtleet  and  yourself  to 


150  CHAP.  IX.     A.D.  1798.     /ETAT.  48. 

take  the  trouble  to  consider  what  papers,  if  any,  may  be  proper 
to  be  pubhshed,  and  mentions  his  agreement  in  sentiment  with 
you  two,  as  among  his  reasons  for  making  this  request.  I  am 
very  sensible  that  publication  will  be  a  matter  requiring  much 
deliberation.  The  sermons  I  have  sent  you  are  not  half  of 
those  which  he  has  left. 

*'  Doubtless  his  writings  are  not  correct ;  but  I  know  not 
whether  you  may  not  agree  with  me  in  judgment,  who  am  less 
surprised  at  finding  many  defects  of  that  sort,  than  at  finding 
them  so  correct  as  they  are,  when  I  consider  his  numerous 
avocations,  the  quantity  that  he  wrote  in  a  little  time,  and 
lastly,  that  he  never  cooied  over  again  anything  at  all.  I  know 
several  excellent  scholars,  who  all  think,  that  they  never  knew 
any  one  man,  who  was  so  uniformly  master  of  his  thoughts  as 
to  be  at  all  times  able  to  write  so  correctly  as  he  did,  with  so 
much  quickness.  The  fact  is,  his  mind  was  always  at  work,  in 
all  possible  situations,  and  overflowed  with  weighty  matter. 
He  was  an  original  thinker ;  and  appears  to  me  always  to  drive 
steadily  at  the  point  he  had  in  view ;  and  he  never  took  up  his 
pen,  without  a  distinct  subject.  Some,  who  were  not  fond  of 
his  sentiments,  have  represented  his  matter  as  frequently  indi- 
gested; but,  in  proof,  they  can  only  produce  faulty  expressions; 
and  these  are  no  proof  of  indigested  matter.  His  expressions 
were  hasty,  but  his  matter  was  deep  and  copious,  and  had  cost 
him  a  world  of  thought ;  he  had  considered  it  over  and  over 
again.  In  his  compositions  I  have  frequently  noticed  a  consider- 
able obscurity  merely  from  tlie  want  of  some  short  explanatory 
sentences.  When  these  were  inserted  in  their  proper  places, 
at  the  beginning,  or  towards  the  end  of  a  subject,  or  sometimes 
in  the  body  of  a  composition,  many  pages  would  thus,  at  once, 
by  such  slight  insertions,  be  made  right,  and  become  luminous, 
with  very  little  trouble ;  which  pages,  otherwise,  appeared 
almost  impenetrable.  Such  little  short  sentences  as  these  which 
I  allude  to,  lie  often,  when  he  was  preaching,  felt  the  want  of, 
at  the  moment ;  and  he  supplied  them  extempore,  and  so 
rendered  his  addresses  perspicuous ;  and,  even,  if  he  had 
omitted  to  insert  them  in  the  right  place,  he  could  still,  after- 
ward.s,  in  s])caking,  su])ply  the  defect,  though  not  so  neatly; 


CUAP.   IX.     A.D.    17!<0.     .ETAT.  4H.  151 

but,  in  writing,  his  mind  being  ever  intent  upon  the  matter,  he 
frequently  forgot,  that  his  audience  had  not  digested,  and  made 
familiar  to  their  understandings,  his  argumentations  ;  and  so 
omitted  to  point  out  precisely  what  he  was  about ;  when  a  very 
short  sentence  or  two,  sometimes  in  the  way  of  hint,  or  general 
observation,  sometimes  in  the  way  of  premising,  or  summing 
up,  would  have  enabled  his  hearers,  or  readers,  to  go  easily  and 
pleasantly  along  with  him,  when,  otherwise,  they  had  lost  the 
whole  clue. 

"  All  this  has  so  much  the  appearance  of  apologizing  for  the 
defects  of  my  dear  brother,  that,  for  fear  of  being  thought  very 
partial  to  him,  I  should  certainly  never  have  said  what  I  have 
said  so  freely,  but  for  two  things  that  occurred  to  my  mind : 
the  first  is,  I  know  you  loved  him  so  well  that,  if  you  be  not 
quite  so  partial  to  him  as  I  am,  still  you  will  bear  with  me. 

"  The  second  is  a  curious  fact,  and  I  will  state  it  briefly. 

"To  my  knowledge,  several  persons  of  the  first  literary 
eminence  in  this  country,  and  of  very  high  rank  in  other 
respects,  have  expressed  themselves  in  the  strongest  terms  of 
approbation  of  him  as  a  writer,  and  in  particular  of  the  second 
and  third  volumes  of  his  Ecclesiastical  History, — 'The  matter 
well  arranged,  the  sentiments  bold  and  pertinent,  the  style 
nervous,  glowing,  and  perspicuous.'  At  the  same  time  they 
add,  that  the  first  volume  is  much  inferior  to  the  other  two, 
and  that  the  author  had  improved  exceedingly  as  he  went  on. 
Now  it  is  true,  that  I  took  a  good  deal  of  pains  with  the  second 
and  third  volumes :  the  first  volume  I  had  never  seen,  but  I 
have  the  copy  of  the  second  and  third  volumes  by  me  to  prove 
what  I  say,  when  I  do  assure  you,  that  the  corrections  are 
slight,  and  consist  chiefly  of  such  little  interpolations  as  I  have 
been  describing  to  you :  they  were  necessary  for  elucidation, 
and  yet  are  by  no  means  numerous.  Sometiaies  a  sentence  is 
thrown  out  as  superfluous ;  very  often  a  worse  word  is  by  me 
introduced  instead  of  the  better,  merely  to  avoid  a  repetition  of 
that  word, — a  fault  of  which  he  was  often  guilty;  and,  lastly, 
tlic  latter  part  of  a  sentence  is  often  put  first,  with  no  other 
alteration  whatever,  and  is  thus  marked  in  the  copy,  2  1, 

signifying  that  what  stood  first  nmst  be   printed  last.     These 


152  CHAP.   IX.     A.D.   1798.     .*:TAT.  48. 

alterations  unquestionably  make  the  book  more  pleasant  to 
read,  and  improve  the  perspicuity;  but  as  to  any  essential 
alteration  in  the  style,  or  any  merit  on  my  part,  except  a  little 
labour,  no  such  things  exist;  nor  did  I  perceive  that  he  himself 
had  particularly  improved.  His  style  had  been  formed  long 
ago.  You  know  how  closely  he  wrote  his  copy;  and  I  assure 
you,  the  original  rough  copy  was  the  copy  from  which  we 
printed.  The  effect  which,  as  above  explained,  the  insertion  of  a 
few  very  short  sentences  appears  to  have  had  upon  the  judgment 
of  the  public,  has  surprised  me  exceedingly.  I  could  not  have 
believed  the  effect  to  have  been  anything  like  so  great, — but  so 
it  certainly  is ;  and  this  is  my  reason  for  explaining  the  matter 
so  fully  to  you  now,  though  perhaps  you  yourself  may  have 
observed  it. 

"  Here  I  cannot  but  lament,  that  in  publishing  any  of  his 
papers  we  have  irrecoverably  lost  the  assistance  of  the  author. 
I  read  the  manuscript  at  first  along  with  him;  and  when  I 
noticed  any  obscurity,  he  could  instantly  explain  what  he  had 
intended,  and  what  was  the  scope  of  many  pages  to  come ;  we 
immediately  inserted  a  line  or  two,  and  thus  much  time  was 
saved.  Now,  I  fear,  whether  it  be  in  sermons  or  essays,  there 
may  be  several  blanks  of  that  sort,  which  it  will  be  very  difficult 
to  fill  up. 

"  I  beg  pardon,  dear  Sir,  for  giving  you  such  a  deal  of 
trouble.  I  am  sadly  fatigued  with  writing  so  much ;  my  head 
aches  grievously,  and  I  iiardly  know  what  I  have  written  ;  the 
whole,  however,  is  directly  from  the  heart,  and  is  accompanied 
with  great  agitation  and  many  tears. 

"  Remember  me  at  the  throne  of  grace,  and 

"  Believe  me  to  be  yours  most  affectionately, 

"  Isaac  Milneb." 

Tlic  manuscript  copy  of  this  letter  is  blotted  with  tears. 

Witli  regard  to  the  improvement  in  his  brother's  style, 
effected  by  Dr.  Milner,  liis  own  account  is  such  as  might  be 
expected  from  a  tenderly  attached  and  partial  relative.  It  is 
probal)le,  however,  that  few  persons  will  participate  in  the 
surprise  which  lie  expresses  at  tlic  effect  produced   by  his  own 


CHAP.    IX.     A.T).   lyjii.     yETAT.  4;!. 


15.3 


alterations  of  his  brother's  manuscripts ;  since  those  alteratipns 
are  exactly  such  as  are  required  to  transform  a  forcible,  but 
inaccurate  and  inelegant  style,  into  one  remarkable  for  precision 
and  correctness. 

The  foregoing  letter  will  leave  upon  the  minds  of  all  who 
read  it,  a  full  conviction  of  the  exquisite  sensibility  with  which 
Dr.  Milner  felt  the  loss  of  his  brother.  Such,  however,  was  the 
elasticity  of  his  mind,  that  in  other  letters,  written  about  the 
same  period,  his  style  is  cheerful  and  even  sportive. 

The  following  extract  is  taken  from  a  letter  to  Mr.  Wilber- 
force,  to  whom,  a  few  days  before,  he  had  addressed  a  remon- 
strance on  his  taking  "  too  little  interest  in  public  business,  and 
speaking  too  little  on  great  questions."  It  is  dated  *'  March  9, 
1798." 

"  I  am  sorry  you  have  been  but  indifferent ;  I  can  sigh  with 
you.  I  don't  mean  always  to  excuse  your  writing;  but  I  really 
can  excuse  you  now  and  then,  if  B.  will  condescend  to  send 
me  such  letters  as  I  received  yesterday.  Famous  verses ! 
spirits  light;  and  very  cheerful.  Yet,  God  bless  her!  I  see 
through  all  much  seriousness.  '  We  are  odd  mixtures,  Mr. 
Dean,^  she'll  say. 

"  I  have  just  discovered,  that  my  assessed  taxes  will 
amount  to  above  200/.  I'll  change  sides  directly,  and  cry  *  No 
Pitt!' 

"  The  numerous  windows  in  these   rambling  old  buildings 

are  the  cause. 

«  Yours,  I.  M." 

The  following  letter,  addressed  to  the  aged  mother  of  his 
friend  Mr.  Carlyle*,  on  the  occasion  of  the  premature  death  of 
her  grandson -f-,  and  written  while  the  wound  which  his  own 
heart  had  received  was  still  fresh,  will  afford  another  and  a 
strong  evidence  of  that  sensibility  to  the  sorrows   of  others. 


*  Chancellor  of  the  diocese  of  Cai'- 
lisle,  and  Professor  of  Arabic  in  the 
Univei'sity  of  Cambridge. 

t  George  Ciulyle,  a  boy  reiuaikable 


for  his  piety  as  well  as  for  his  extraor- 
dinary talents,  lie  died  March  lOtli, 
1798,  at  the  age  of  ten  years. 


154  CHAP.  IX.     A.D.  1798.     .ETAT.  4«. 

which  has  already  been  mentioned  as  a  distinguishing  trait  in 
the  character  of  Dean  Mihier. 

"  To  Mrs.  Carlyle. 
"  Dear  Mrs.  Carlyle, 

"  The  author  of  that  sweet  little  tract  which  I  sent  to  the 
Chancellor  the  other  day  took  occasion,  not  a  very  long  while 
ago,  on  the  meeting  and  conversation  of  a  few  friends,  who  had 
not  seen  one  another  for  some  time,  to  make  this  observation : 
^  I  always  notice,'  said  he,  '  that  when  friends  meet  together 
after  any  considerable  absence,  and  begin  to  compare  notes, 
there  constantly  appears  to  have  been  one  or  more  of  their 
common  acquaintance  that  have  died  during  the  interval/  I 
replied,  ^It  is  very  true,  and  the  repetition  of  such  aw^ul 
admonitions,  respecting  the  uncertainty  of  human  life,  ought  to 
have  a  great  deal  more  effect  on  our  minds  than  it  usually  has ; 
we  ought  to  take  warning,  and  be  prepared  for  that  great 
change,  which  may  happen  very  soon,  and  certainly  will  not 
delay  long.  But,  alas !  how  transitory  are  our  feelings  on  the 
sight  of  a  funeral,  or  on  the  news  of  the  departure  of  our 
ordinary  friends  and  acquaintance!  Some  surprise  may  be 
expressed,  and  perhaps  a  few  pathetic  exclamations  may  break 
forth;  but  all  this  is  short  and  fleeting;  neither  conversation 
nor  business  is  interrupted,  and  we  sleep  quite  as  well  at  night. 
Not  so,  however,'  continued  I,  '  when  the  deceased  friend  or 
relative  was  very  near  our  heart ;  our  pangs  are  then  genuine ; 
we  think  it  almost  a  crime  to  take  pleasure  in  anything ;  the 
world  does  not  look  like  itself;  and  if  our  hearts  do  not  abso- 
lutely break,  they  are  yet  never  as  they  were  before.' 

"  While  I  was  making  this  answer  to  Mr.  N.  my  heart  was 
exceedingly  full,  and  I  could  hardly  proceed ;  but  as  some 
persons  were  present  before  whom  it  would  have  been  less 
proper  to  have  opened  my  mind,  the  conversation  became 
general,  and  very  useful,  on  Christian  resignation. 

"  You  need  not  be  alarmed ;  I  have  not  taken  up  my  pen  to 
write  you  a  sermon,  or  even  a  long  essay,  l>ut  rather  to  assure 
you,  that  not  a  single  day  has  passed,  for  some  weeks,  in  which 
your  mournful  situation  has  jiut,  many  times  in  that  day,  l>een 


;CIIAP.  IX.     A.D.   179«.     yETAT.  4«.  155 

present  to  my  afflicted  imagination.  I  know  well  what  you 
must  have  felt,  and  wliat  you  must  continue  to  feel.  I  have 
often  thought  it  my  duty  to  write  to  you,  and  as  often  have 
wanted  courage  and  nerves,  or  have  been  deterred  by  the  idea 
of  doing  no  good. 

"  If  I  have  ventured  at  last  to  trouble  you  with  a  few  of  my 
thoughts,  you  will,  I  hope,  not  think  me  imjDertinent,  but 
will  excuse  me,  if  on  no  other  ground,  at  least  on  the  ground 
that  by  thus  writing,  I  relieve,  in  some  measure,  my  own 
poor  heart. 

'•'  The  observations  which  make  the  first  page  of  this  letter, 
recurred  to  my  mind  the  instant  I  took  up  my  pen  j  and  I  put 
them  down,  because  I  felt  assured  that  you  were  in  a  condition 
to  understand  their  meaning  and  to  feel  their  full  force. 

"  I  shall  make  no  attempts  to  mitigate  your  sorrows,  by 
putting  you  in  mind  how  many  comforts  still  remain  to  you,  or  by 
comparing  your  situation  with  my  own.  1  have  lost  the  only  near 
relation  I  had  in  the  world ;  one  who  has  often  proved  himself 
a  sincere  friend  and  a  faithful  adviser,  during  an  illness  of  many 
years'  standing.  ^  What  relief,'  you  will  say,  '  can  I  derive  from 
such  considerations?  Have  not  I  lost  a  dear  lad  whose  fellow 
was  not  to  be  found?  a  dear  lad  who  was,  perhaps,  nearer  my 
heart  than  any  one  of  my  own  children?  He  was  the  cordial  of 
my  old  age.  It  is  true  I  possess  many  valuable  lilessings — but 
he  is  gone,  and  with  his  departure  all  else  has  lost  its  relish.' 
Oh!  Mrs.  Carlyle!  I  understand  all  this  but  too  well;  my  own 
heart  bleeds  while  I  refresh  and  increase  your  sorrows,  and  my 
eyes  will  soon  be  swollen  if  I  permit  myself  to  go  on  in  this 
strain.  Ol) !  what  pleasing  prospects  had  I  drawn  to  my  imagi- 
nation, from  the  future  company  and  connexion  I  should  have 
with  that  extraordinary  boy!"  *  *  *  "My  poor  brother 
spoke  of  him  from  the  first  week  that  he  knew  him,  as  I  never 
heard  him  s])eak  of  any  other  child.  My  brother  hated  the 
refined  nmmmery  of  modern  ceremony,  and  he  loved  George 
for  liis  natural  simplicity  and  love  of  truth.  Then  he  (George,) 
was  an  invalid,  and  passionately  fond  of  history  ;  so  had  my 
brother  been  all  his  life. 

"  But  no  more  of   this :    whv  do   I    feed    this   consuming 


156  CHAT.  IX.      A.l).   17'J«.     yETAT.  48. 

Avorm  ?  Beyond  dispute,  the  loss  is  great,  and  not  to  be  calcu- 
lated. Yet  there  is  a  way  of  repairing  it.  1  say  there  is  a  way, 
and  but  one,  of  relieving  these  melancholy  and  bitter  reflections. 
I  bless  God  that  there  is  such  a  Avay — no  man  on  earth  stands 
more  in  need  of  it  than  I.  Naturally  soft  and  affectionate,  I  am, 
by  long  continued  indisposition,  grown  so  exceedingly  irritable, 
that  any  great  affliction  would  absolutely  overwhelm  me,  if 
Almighty  God  did  not  enable  me  to  lay  hold  of,  and  grasp  hard, 
those  divine  supports  which  religion  furnishes.  But  let  me  come 
to  the  point.  I  ask  you,  is  it  not  a  most  reasonable,  and  at  the 
same  time,  a  most  unspeakable  comfort,  to  be  able  to  say  with 
certainty,  that  our  friends  at  this  moment  are  actually  in 
heaven,  enjoying,  and  there  to  enjoy  for  evermore,  the  company 
of  God  and  his  Christ,  and  of  angels  and  good  men?  And 
yet,  in  the  two  recent  instances  to  which  I  refer,  I  find  every 
word  that  implies  less  than  certainty  to  be  imj^roper;  and  I 
speak  here  with  the  same  positiveness  that  I  do  of  the  truth 
of  religion  itself.  In  regard  to  one  of  the  cases,  I  forbear, 
at  present,  to  enumerate  reasons  ;  and  of  the  other,  I  need 
only  just  observe,  that  though  doubtless  a  partaker  of  the 
corruption  of  human  nature  common  to  all,  and  indebted  to 
Christ's  atoning  blood  for  salvation,  yet  when  I  put  together 
these  things,  viz.,  the  ingenuousness  of  his  temper,  his  very  few 
actual  sins,  comparatively  speaking,  and  the  remarkable  good- 
will and  affection  manifested  to  young  children  by  Jesus  Christ 
when  on  earth,  I  find  it  impossible  to  entertain  the  least 
doubt  on  this  head.  This,  then,  I  say,  is  a  source  of  true 
comfort,  and  moreover,  a  source  that  will  never  be  exhausted. 
I  have  very  often  reflected,  with  some  degree  of  wonder,  why 
people  are,  in  general,  so  very  backward  to  talk,  or  even  to 
think,  about  the  situation  of  their  friends  in  another  world ; 
certainly  the  fact  is  so, — very  little  is  said  about  them  in  that 
respect.  How  is  this  silence  to  be  accounted  for  ?  On  farther 
notice  and  reflection,  I  am  convinced  that  the  silence  arises,  in 
most  cases,  from  want  of  satisfactory  evidence  of  their  state. 
Perhaps  wc  have  not  much  fear — l)ut  then  have  we  any  well- 
grounded  hope  ?  The  question  is  troublesome — the  hope  is 
often   not   very   vivid,   and    is    sujiporlcd   with   difficulty;    and 


CHAP.  IX.   A.iJ.  1708.   ;etat.  48.  157 

therefore  we  don't  like  to  tliiiik  about  it.  We  content  our- 
selves witli  saying,  'Who  can  be  sure  in  such  matters?' 
when,  in  reality,  there  is  a  sad  want  of  good  evidence.  And 
thus  are  we  apt  to  stifle  all  reflection  concerning  which  side  of 
the  gulf  our  friends  are  placed  on;  and  this,  under  a  pretence, 
that  our  forming  any  judgment  implies  presumption.  I  repeat 
it,  the  true  account  of  all  this  is,  that  we  too  often  feel  that  our 
judgment  must  be  unfavourable,  and  so  we  put  away  the 
irksome  thought.  Otherwise,  what  a  glorious  and  blessed 
reflection  to  be  able  to  say,  on  solid  grounds,  '  He  is  in 
heaven  !'  There  can  be  no  comfort  like  this — it  is  an  answer 
to  all  our  complaints,  a  balsam  for  all  our  wounds. 

"  Indulge  this  thought  as  much  as  you  please,  and  try  its 
excellence  and  its  power  to  calm  a  throbbing  heart.  I  put  in 
my  claim  for  some  love  of  this  dear  departed  boy,  and  yet  I 
find  it  impossible  to  invent  the  least  good  reason  for  wishing 
him  here  again  ;  neither  his  body  nor  his  mind  was  formed  for 
this  rough  world.  Why  should  you  wish  him  every  year  to  be 
again  afflicted  with  colds,  with  rheumatism,  and  otlier  infirmi- 
ties ?  He  is  now  safe,  and  in  full  and  perfect  enjoyment ;  still 
human  nature  pleads  very  strongly  for  a  little  respite.  How 
delightful  it  would  have  been  to  have  seen  his  sweet  mind  daily 
unfold,  improve,  and  fill  with  useful  knowledge.  So  (I  confess,) 
say  I,  with  a  deep  sigh  ;  and  I  add,  how  grateful  an  employment 
to  have  contributed  a  little  to  that  purpose  !  But  I  am  power- 
fully checked  by  the  consideration  that  he  has  already  learnt 
more  since  he  left  us — much  more,  than  he  could  have  scraped 
up  in  years  of  drudgery  in  our  way  of  learning  here.  You  will 
find  him  greatly  beyond  us  when  it  shall  please  God  that  we  join 
him  again.  His  faculties  are  already  much  extended,  and  will 
go  on  extending  to  eternity ;  and  he  is  in  a  climate  where  every 
thing  thrives  that  is  good.  But  he  would  have  been  a  comfort 
to  all  about  him,  and  a  useful  man  in  the  world.  I  believe  he 
would.  Nevertheless,  my  dear  friend,  let  us  not  deceive  our- 
selves by  any  argument  of  tliis  kind ;  there  is,  at  bottom,  more 
of  selfishness  in  it  than  we  are  apt  to  be  aware  of.  Will  not 
God  always  know  how  to  take  care  of  his  own  world,  by 
furnishing  people  to  do  good  in  it  ?     Or  does  it  look  like  true 


158  CHAP.  IX.     A.l).   1798.     yETAT.  48. 

love  to  our  friends  to  desire  to  draw  them  here  again  from  a 
state  of  perfect  happiness,  merely  for  the  sake  of  some  little 
satisfaction  which  they  might  afford  to  us?  In  this  sort  of 
reasoning  tliere  is  no  delusion  whatever  ;  it  is  founded  in  good 
sense,  and  (I  speak  from  experience)  it  will  often  calm  the 
tumults,  and  repress,  in  an  instant,  the  murmurs  of  grief.  For 
example : — why  should  I  complain  that  my  dear  brother  did 
not  pant  with  the  asthma  here  for  several  years  longer,  and  at 
last  die  by  hair's  breadths,  after  much  painful  lingering  ?  He 
would  have  been  of  some  use,  I  know,  in  the  world,  but  God 
can,  at  will,  furnish  plenty  of  labourers  for  his  vineyard. 
Therefore,  I  fear  I  may  make  a  pretence  only  of  the  considera- 
tion of  usefulness,  when,  in  reality,  I  wish  to  gratify  my  own 
selfish  feelings,  and  do  not  cordially  submit  to  the  dispensations 
of  Providence.  Excuse  me,  if  I  here  add  a  single  word  on  a 
subject  closely  connected  with  the  above-mentioned  considera- 
tions. 

"We  ought  not  to  content  ourselves  with  merely  and  simply 
soothing  the  mind  by  taking  a  pleasurable  view  of  the  state  of 
enjoyment  of  our  friends  or  near  relatives,  in  another  world. 
If  we  stop  here  we  shall  be  sadly  deficient.  We  should  aim  at 
making  our  own  calling  and  election  sure,  in  order  that  we  may 
join  them  with  joy,  and  not  be  wofully  separated  from  them  at 
last;  separated,  not  for  a  few  months  or  years,  but  for  a 
dreadful  eternity. 

"  And  this  consideration  suggests  activity  of  mind  and 
employment,  and  that,  too,  of  the  most  rational  kind.  For  in 
this  way  we  shall  be  best  enabled  most  etFectually  to  comljat 
any  discontented  risings  of  the  mind,  or  melancholic  propen- 
sities.    It  is  in  vain  to  argue  against  violent  affections. 

"  Contrive  to  put  something  else  in  their  room,  that  shall  fill 
the  mind,  and  you  will  succeed  much  better.  The  world  says, 
'  Divert  the  attention,'  so  say  I — l)ut  not  by  vain  and  empty 
company,  nor  by  dissipation.  I  say,  '  Divert  the  attention,' 
assuage  your  grief  by  such  daily  meditations  and  exercises,  as 
will  promote  our  immortal  interests,  and  teach  us  to  set  a  value 
on  every  object,  according  to  its  intrinsic  worth.  So  then, 
whiK^  the  world   rcconinuMuls,  as  llic  cure  of  sorrow,  a  change 


CHAP.  IX.     A.D.  179».     /ETAT.  48,  159 

of  place  and  scene,  variety  of  company,  and  public  meetings 
for  entertainment  or  diversion,  you  and  I,  my  dear  Mrs. 
Carlyle,  will  secretly  rejoice,  with  joy  unspeakable,  in  calmly 
meditating  upon  the  complete  happiness  of  our  departed  friends; 
and  we  will  make  it  the  steady  and  constant  business  of  our 
lives  to  secure  to  ourselves  admittance  into  the  same  mansions 
of  bliss  and  glory.  We  may  possibly  be  called  gloomy  enthu- 
siasts, and  be  described  as  unfit  for  the  affairs  of  this  world ; 
but  I  know  who  will  be  found  possessed  of  true  wisdom  at 
last;  and  also,  who  will  be  found  to  have  used  this  world,  and 
not  abused  it.  Indeed,  there  is  hardly  any  use  of  this  world, 
worth  mentioning,  except  in  the  preparation  for  another. 

"  After  all  that  I  have  said,  or  can  say,  still,  still,  we  have 
lost  our  very  dear  friends,  and  as  I  said  above,  the  world  will 
never  look  like  itself  again;  and  tears  must  flow.  To  this  I 
answer,  I  never  wish  the  world  to  look  again  as  it  once  used 
to  look  to  me ;  nor  have  I  any  objection  to  drop  a  tear 
repeatedly,  as  long  as  I  liv^e,  to  the  memory  of  any  one  whom 
I  dearly  loved ;  nor  have  I  said  anything  in  the  least  incon- 
sistent with  so  doing — religion  does  not  forbid  the"  tear  to  flow. 
Jesus  had  a  compassionate  heart ;  *  Jesus  wept.'  Want  of 
moderation — sorrowing  as  without  hope — is  the  thing  which  I 
deprecate. 

"The  reflections  contained  in  this  letter  have,  by  the 
blessing  of  God,  been  extremely  useful  in  moderating  the 
bitter  anguish  of  my  afiiicted  mind,  and  in  supporting  a  lively 
hope;  and  it  is  my  earnest  and  sincere  prayer,  that  they 
may  have  some  little  healing  influence  upon  your  distressed 
condition. 

"  I  need  nobody  to  describe  to  me,  how  very  much  several 
of  dear  George's  relations  and  friends  are  oppressed  with  grief, 
and  more  particularly,  his  aged  and  affectionate  grandmother. 
"  I  am,  dear  Mrs.  Carlyle, 

"  Your  very  faithful  and  affectionate  friend, 

"Isaac  Milner." 

It  is  not,  however,  only  in  the  tenderness  and  affection  of 
his  communications  by  letter,  that  we  discover  proofs  of  Dr. 


1^0  CHAP.  IX.     .\.D.   179«.     .^.TAT.  48. 

Miliicr's  sympathy  with  the  feelings  or  the  sorrows  of  others^ 
Several  letters  written  al)out  this  time,  liear  witness  to  his 
active  exertions  in  favour,  not  only  of  his  own  poor  relations 
at  Hull,  who,  by  the  death  of  his  brother  Joseph,  had  been 
bereaved  of  their  best  friend  and  protector;  but  also  in  favour 
of  other  persons,  of  humble  station,  who,  during  his  life,  had 
shown  kindness  to  that  departed  brother. 

Such  letters  are,  of  course,  for  the  most  part,  unfit  for 
publication ;  yet  passages  of  an  interesting  nature  may  be 
gleaned  from  them. 

In  a  letter  of  a  perfectly  private  nature,  dated  xVpril,  179^? 
Dr.  Milner  thus  writes: — 

"  I  knew  you  would  like  to  see  T.  Thompson's  letter.  1 
have  read  it  twice  this  morning,  with  great  pleasure.  I  cer- 
tainly never  saw  anything  he  wrote  that  pleased  me  so  well; 
for  besides  the  allusion  to  my  dear  brother,  which  could  not 
fail  to  move  me,  he  discovers  a  strong  sense  of  the  importance 
of  spiritual  things.  I  trust  he  is  right;  though  thriving  is 
always  a  trial." 

Again,  in  a  letter  written  during  the  same  month,  he  thus 
answers  some  inquiries  concerning  the  character  of  a  cler- 
gyman : — 

"  I  will  be  perfectly  explicit  with  you,  to  the  best  of  my 
judgment.  His  principles  I  believe  to  be,  on  the  whole,  tole- 
rably orthodox;  and  he  is,  in  many  respects,  more  serious  than 
our  ordinary  parsons.  But  still,  I  fear  there  is  little  self- 
knowledge — little,  or  no  humility — and,  of  course,  I  fear  he  is 
not  well  qualified  to  teach.  I  never  heard  of  his  preaching 
well.  He  is  apt  to  be  contentious,  metaphysical,  snarling, 
conceited.  His  mind  is  abundantly  furnished,  and  abundantly 
confused  with  a  deal  of  I'eading  of  a  controversial  nature ;  yet 
I  never  heard  of  anything  immoral  about  him,  and  I  verily 
believe  the  best  situation  for  him  might  be  in  some  country 
])lacc,  where  he  had  poor  people  to  instruct,  and  was  quite  at 
the  head  of  them.  He  would,  I  think,  take  pains  and  l)e 
useful.  I  should  be  sorry  if  there  were  near  him  any  country 
squires  or  priggish  jiarsons,  who,  by  their  acquaintance,  might 
draw  forth  tlie  worst  parts  of  his  character.'' 


CHAP.  IX.     A. D.  1798.     .«TAT.  48.  Kil 

The  following  letter  will  be  read,  by  many  persons,  m  ith  mucli 
interest;  and,  after  the  lapse  of  nearly  fifty  years,  no  a])olugy 
can  be  required  for  its  publication. 

"To  William  Wilberforce,  Esq. 

"My  dear  Sir,  "  Queen's  College,  May  13,  1/98. 

"  My  idea  of  Trinity  College  is  this.  The  management  of 
it  is  of  great  academical,  and  even  national  importance.  The 
foundation  and  the  prospects  are  so  splendid,  that  it  invites 
and  brings  students,  in  spite  of  the  conviction  of  danger  of 
corrupt  principles.  The  college  fills;  they  have  great  choice 
for  their  fellows;  and,  in  general,  they  choose  the  most  able. 
Hence  it  is,  that  they  either  do  now,  or  soon  will  consist  of 
men  of  talents  with  very  few  exceptions ;  and  if  they  get 
corrupted  in  their  principles  during  the  first  years  of  their 
education  in  this  place,  and  further,  if  a  regard  to  heterodox 
and  Jacobinical  principles  be  also  had,  in  the  election  of  fellows, 
I  leave  you  to  judge  what  sort  of  a  society  they  must  become. 
The  time  when  the  late  master*  was  appointed,  was  the  critical 
moment,  as  it  appears  to  me.  Jones,  the  principal  tutor,  was 
then  less  a  decided  character,  and  Lambert  had  no  influence. 
The  late  master  made  Lambert  bursar  immediately,  supported 
him,  and  took  no  care  to  give  a  right  direction  to  Jones.  Under 
those  circumstances,  you  remember,  I  should  not  have  been 
sorry  to  have  been  their  master.  I  was  ratlier  intimate  with 
Jones,  and  knew  all  the  other  tutors  and  assistant  tutors. 
Some  of  them  respected  me  on  the  score  of  mathematical  and 
philosophical  knowledge,  and  particularly  Jones;  and  I  was  so 
much  senior  to  tliem  all,  that  I  examined  most,  if  not  all  of 
them  for  their  degrees;  and  this  increased  their  respect  and 
veneration.  I  have  no  manner  of  doubt,  humanly  speaking, 
but  then  I  could  easily  have  influenced  Jones,  and  probably  so 
much  as  to  have  given  him  quite  a  diff"erent  turn.  I  do  not 
say  that  I  could  do  so  now, — for  though  there  has  never  been 
the  least  quarrel,  or  bickering  between  us,  yet  a  sort  of  distance, 
or  shyness,  took   place   long    ago,  on    political  grounds ;    and 


*  Dr.  Postlethwaite,  appointed  in  1789. 

M 


162  CHAP.  IX.     A.U.  1798.     yETAT.  48. 

Trend's  business  increased  that  distance,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
fixed  Jones'  character. 

"  I  don't  believe  Pitt  was  ever  aware  of  how  much  conse- 
quence the  expulsion  of  Frend  was.  It  was  the  ruin  of  the 
Jacobinical  party  as  a  University  thing,  so  that  that  party  is 
almost  entirely  confined  to  Trinity  College.  Government 
thought  nothing  would  please  them  but  a  man  of  their  own 
College ;  and  it  is  true,  they  (the  College)  were  satisfied  with 
the  appointment.  But,  by  that  step,  the  die  was  cast;  and  I  am 
not  sure  that  the  case  is  not  now  irretrievable.  I  sincerely 
wish,  that  Mr.  Pitt  would  not  think  it  necessary  to  adhere  to 
the  system  of  putting  in  a  man  of  Trinity,  unless  he  can  find  a 
man  absolutely  suitable  ;  for  if  the  state  of  the  College  is  to  be 
retrieved  at  all,  it  must  be  by  eminence,  and  energy,  and  dis- 
cretion in  the  master,  and  by  long-continued  exertion.  *  * 
will  never  do.  I  told  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln  so,  long  ago,  in 
the  most  explicit  terms :  his  moral  character  was  exceedingly 
bad ;  externally  it  may  be  mended,  but  he  is  still  a  loose  hand : 
besides,  buffoonery,  and  indiscretion,  and  heat,  are  parts  of  his 
character.  The  best  thing  you  can  say  of  him  is,  that  he  is 
what  he  is  called,  a  tolerably  good  classic,  and  has  a  strong 
voice.  Whoever  heard  his  Fast  sermon,  is  in  a  condition  to 
judge  of  his  talents  and  discretion.  I  pledge  my  whole  credit 
for  foresight,  if  the  appointment  of  him  be  not  erroneous  and 
fallacious  in  the  event.  Besides,  I  am  certain,  he  would  not 
be  liked  by  the  College  at  all,  and  that  many  aliens  would  be 
more  agreeable  to  them. 

"  Of  Zouch  I  know  nothing,  except  it  be  the  Zouch  who 
was  tutor  of  tlie  college  before  Postlethwaite,  and  lived  near 
Wakefield.  He  was  a  respectable  man  as  a  tutor  ;  but  I  think 
I  have  heard  from  William  Hey  tbat  he  proved  an  enemy  to 
real  religion.  However,  if  it  be  the  Zouch  I  mean,  I  am 
disposed  to  believe,  though  I  know  nothing  of  him  but  by 
report,  that  he  is  better  than  any  other  that  has  been  men- 
tioned. If  any  good  is  to  be  done  in  a  case  almost  desperate, 
this  is  the  way;  the  new  master  should  go  to  Jones  and 
communicate  freely  with  him,  and  propose  mutual  support  and 
friendship, — ^tlie  good  of  the  College  to  be  the  common  object. 


CHAP.  IX.     A.l).   1798.     >*:'rAT.   48.  163 

Learning  and  ability  should  be  the  common  tie,  to  keep  these 
two  together.  Jones  is  not  ill-natured,  and  lie  respects  talents 
and  knowledge,  and  he  is  easily  overawed  where  he  knows  there 
is  weight. 

"  The  points  of  difference  should  be  kept  out  of  view,  both 
as  to  politics  and  religion  ;  and  here  the  new  master  should 
have  deep  and  steady  designs.  In  time  he  might  prevail.  If  I 
am  asked  my  opinion  about  anybody,  I  can  keep  a  secret,  and 
I  shall  speak  out,  and  without  the  least  reserve. 

"  When  I  say,  that  in  all  I  have  said,  I  have,  on  this  occa- 
sion, whatever  I  might  have  had  formerly,  no  respect  to  myself, 
I  am  sure  you  will  believe  me. 

"  I  have  neither  health  nor  spirits  for  such  a  conflict.  The 
success  is  doubtful,  and  reproach,  chagrin,  and  uneasiness, 
might  be  the  consequence.  I  think,  however,  that  I  see  how 
the  battle  ought  to  be  conducted ;  neither  has  the  income  any 
charms  for  me.  My  mind  is  much,  if  not  entirely  chastised  in 
regard  to  all  such  matters. 

"  I  pray  God  to  love  and  bless  you  both.     I  thanl^  B 

very  kindly  for  her  verses,  which  have  pleased  me  greatly. 
You  cannot  tliink  how  ])leased  I  was  on  reading  the  lines  this 
morning. 

"Yours  ever,  I.  M." 

The  disturbed  state  of  Ireland  at  this  period,  occasioned 
much  alarm  in  the  minds  of  all  true  lovers  of  their  country. 
Much  correspondence  upon  this  topic  passed  between  Mr. 
Wilberforce  and  Dean  Milner.  To  the  mind  of  Mr.  Wilber- 
force  the  danger,  exaggerated  perhaps  by  filial  and  fraternal 
aftection,  appeared  so  imminent,  as  to  induce  him  to  desire  the 
removal  of  his  mother  and  sister  from  Hull, — a  place  exposed, 
as  it  was  thought,  to  peculiar  peril. 

Late  in  the  month  of  May,  \7^^,  Dr-  Milner  thus  wrote  to 
liini  from  Carlisle: — 

"  Really  I  don't  see  the  danger  at  Hull  in  the  same  light. 
There  is  now  such  a  force  there,  and  in  the  neighbourhood, 
that  no  roi'j)  dc  main  is  to  be  expected,  unless  indeed  the 
troops  should  lie  hastily  drawn  away  to  other  quarters. 

M  2 


164  CHAP.  IX.     A.D.   1798.     iETAT.  48. 

"We  get  Irisli  news  here  sooner  than  you  do,  viz.,  often 
from  Port- Patrick ;  and  I  am  sorry  to  say,  that  on  the  way- 
bill the  postmaster  had  just  time  to  write,  '  The  rebelUon  in 
the  North  has  unexpectedly  broken  out  to  an  alarming  degree/ 

"  This  news  came  here  to-day,  and  makes  us  all  low ;  and 
not  the  less  so,  because  there  is  a  great  obscurity  in  the  account. 

"  I  had  last  night  a  very  severe  head-ache.  I  took  some 
violent  measures, — laid  down, — and  in  two  hours  all  was  right. 
I  got  up  at  eleven  at  night, — took  my  milk, — sat  up  till  one  ; 
I  had  to  preach  to-day,  and  wished  not  to  disappoint:  I 
preached  last  Sunday  also,  I  am  very  poorly  and  languid 
to-day ;  however  I  have  got  through  pretty  well  on, '  Fear  Him 
who  can  kill  both  body  and  soul  in  hell.' 

*'  Remember  me  to  your  dear  B ,  and  always  know  that 

you  are  out  of  my  thoughts  never  for  a  long  time  together. 

"  Yours, 
"  To  William  Wilherforce,  Esq."  "  I.  M. 

A  duel  had,  at  this  time,  recently  taken  place  between 
Mr.  Pitt  and  Mr.  Tierney.  Dr.  Milner's  abhorrence  of  the  prac- 
tice of  duelling  was  uncompromising.  The  popular  argument.s 
in  its  defence,  or  in  mitigation  of  its  guilt,  he  held  to  be  falla- 
cious. "  Murder,"  he  would  say,  when  conversing  upon  this 
subject,  "  is  not  the  less  murder,  because  the  murderer,  in  the 
commission  of  his  crime,  necessarily  exposes  his  own  life." 
Mr.  Pitt's  duel  is  alluded  to  in  a  long  letter,  dated,  "  Carlisle, 
June  6,"  written  in  answer  to  certain  questions  of  a  chymical 
nature,  propounded  by  Mr.  Wilbcrforce,  at  the  desire  of  some 
of  his  constituents,  concerning  the  common  practice  of  using 
salt  in  the  hardening  of  files,  and  some  other  instruments  made 
of  steel.  The  letter  exhibits  an  accurate  acquaintance  not  only 
with  the  subject  immediately  in  question,  but  also  with  the 
devices  sometimes  employed  by  fraudulent  manufacturers,  in 
order  to  evade  the  duties  to  which  they  were  legally  subject, — 
devices  of  which  the  Dean  writes,  that  he  had  obtained  his 
knowledge  "when  a  lad."  With  reference  to  the  duel  and 
other  matters,  he  says  : — 


CJIAl'.   JX.     A.]).    1798.     AiTAT.  48.  165 

"  1  liope  you  will  do  something  effectual  against  duelling. 
You  will  never  have  another  so  fine  an  opportunity.  It  has 
hurt  Pitt's  character  more  than  anything  he  ever  did.  Perhaps 
not  so  in  London. 

"  I  don't  know  a  single  person  who  does  not  reprobate  the 
appointment  at College.     What  sad  work  ! 

"  Surely  the  Irish  affairs  go  on  well  on  the  whole.  It 
cannot  be  but  that  Government  will  now  see  the  extent  of  the 
mischief,  and  that  is  a  great  thing.  Fellows  w'ill  tell  of  one 
another. 

"  I  feel  thankful  that  you  both  continue  so  very  well.  I 
can  say  but  little  for  myself.  I  am  sadly  afflicted  in  the  head, 
and  spend  many  hours  uselessly — lying  down.  I  endeavour, 
however,  to  make  a  few  sermons,  and  to  think  of  my  ways  a 
good  deal,  during  the  retirement  thus  afforded  me. 

"  In  thought,  I  assure  you  both,  that  I  am  hardly  to  be 
said  to  have  left  your  house  since  the  last  time  I  was  with  you. 

"  I  want  much  to  hear  what  you  intend  about  this  duelling. 

"  Remember  jne  affectionately  to  B. 

"  Ever  yours,  I.  M." 

The  letter  from  which  the  foregoing  extracts  are  taken 
naturally  suggests  a  reflection  upon  the  vast  variety  of  Dr. 
Milner's  knowledge.  All  who  knew  him  will  agree  in  the  truth 
of  the  observation,  that  whatever  might  be  the  subject  on 
Avhich  he  happened  to  write',  or  to  converse,  or  whatever  the 
point  which  he  had  occasion  to  explain,  or  to  illustrate,  that 
subject,  or  that  point,  seemed  to  the  reader,  or  the  auditor,  to 
be  the  one  particular  topic  towards  which  he  had  bent  the 
main  force  of  his  mind.  In  fact  his  knowledge  was  so  accurate, 
his  mode  of  explaining  w'as  so  perspicuous,  and  his  illustrations 
were  so  apposite,  that  the  reflection  which  immediately  pre- 
sented itself  to  the  mind  of  a  person  applying  to  him  for  infor- 
mation was,  "Surely  he  knows  this,  better  than  he  knows 
anything  else — surely  this  is  the  subject  upon  which  he  has 
spent  his  strength;"  and  nothing  but  long  experience  sufliced 
to  bring  the  conviction,  that  his  knowledge  was,  in  truth,  almost 
universal. 


166  CHAP.  IX.     A.D.  17yK.     .*;TAT.  4«. 

No  man,  certainly,  ever  acted  more  constantly  in  the  spirit 
of  Dr.  Johnson's  observation,  "  If  I  am  in  company  with  a 
shoe-maker,  I  talk  to  him  about  the  making  of  shoes."  And 
this  he  did  whether  he  desired  to  learn  or  to  teach.  Some 
slight  anecdotes  lately  communicated  to  me  in  a  private  letter, 
by  one  of  his  much  esteemed  friends,  still  living,  cannot, 
perhaps,  be  better  introduced  than  in  tliis  place. 

"  I  once  travelled  with  your  uncle,"  writes  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Dikes,  of  Hull,  "from  Carlisle  to  Leeds.  We  spent  a  few 
hours  at  Ripon,  and  walked  out  among  the  people  on  the 
market  day.  He  accosted  a  razor-grinder  employed  in  his  work ; 
and  gave  him  to  understand  that  he  had  not  properly  learned 
his  trade,  and  surprised  the  man  by  the  knowledge  which  he 
showed  on  the  subject.  We  then  went  into  a  carpenter's  shop, 
where  a  well-looking  youth  was  diligently  employed ;  the  Dean, 
for  some  time,  looked  attentively  on ;  and  then  earnestly  said 
to  him,  '  What  a  shameful  thing  it  is,  that  a  young  man  like 
you,  should  use  such  antiquated  tools ;  you  can  never  turn  any 
good  work  out  of  your  hands  till  you  furnish  yourself  with 
better  implements.' 

"  The  Dean  understood  the  shoeing  of  a  horse,  and  could  tell 
the  blacksmith  how  it  was,  that  the  horse's  foot  was  so  often 
injured.  The  Dean's  comprehensive  mind  could  grasp  every 
sul)ject,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest.  I  have  often  seen 
him  shake  hands  with  some  of  his  old  companions  in  trade. 
He  was  never  ashamed  of  his  former  condition." 

Occasionally  Dr.  Milner  carried  the  practice  intimated  in 
the  above  anecdotes,  to  what  some  of  his  friends  might,  perhaps, 
consider  an  extravagant  length ;  and  it  sometimes  gave  rise  to 
amusing  incidents.  For  instance,  he  was  once  crossing  over 
from  Hull  to  Barton,  in  the  passage-boat  which  at  that  time 
sailed,  and,  probably,  still  sails,  at  a  certain  hour  each  day, 
according  to  the  state  of  the  tide.  It  so  chanced  that  Mendoza, 
the  bo.\er,  had  been  giving  lessons  at  Hull,  and  was  crossing 
over  at  the  same  time.  The  Dean  was  observed  to  make  his 
way  towards  Mendoza,  and  to  enter,  with  him,  into  a  conversa- 
tion which  htstcd  during  a  great  part  of  the  passage.  There 
Mere    persons    present    who    saw    the    circumstance,   and    who 


CHAP.  rx.     A.D.   17»».     ^TAT.  48.  167 

hinted  to  the  Dean  afterwards,  that  they  felt  rather  surprised  at 
what  he  had  done ;  to  their  observations  Dr.  Milner  replied, 
"Oh,— Mendoza, — I  thought  he  was  at  the  top  of  his  pro- 
fession, and  I  wanted  to  get  something  out  of  him." 

The  following  extracts  from  a  letter  to  WiUiam  Wilber- 
force,  Esq.,  w-ill  be  read  with  much  interest. 

^"  My  dear  Friend,  "  Carlisle,  20th  June,  1798. 

"The  Irish  affairs  look  but  comical,  notwithstanding  all 
these  victories.  Many  Irish  men  and  women  have  come  here 
in  great  fright,  from  Port  Patrick,  and  they  give  a  sad  account 
of  the  state  of  the  country.  I  cannot  but  think,  that  the  French, 
with  all  their  alertness,  have  been  sadly  deficient  in  not  risking 
more  than  they  appear  to  have  done,  by  way  of  assisting  their 
fraternity  in  Ireland.  I  suppose,  that  if  they  could  but  have 
got  over  a  few  thousand  of  men,  with  officers,  arms,  and 
artillery,  the  consequences  might  have  been  dreadful. 

"  The  Bishop  of  D is  here,  with  his  wife  and  family. 

A  bad  character,  I  fear ;  and  certainly  a  violent  oppositionist. 

"  He  was  at  the  Cathedral  last  Sunday,  and  if  he  be  there 
again  next  Sunday,  and  God  grant  me  tolerable  health,  he  will 
hear  such  a  discourse  as,  probably,  he  never  heard  in  his  life. 

Dr. preached  last  Sunday,  a  sermon  which  I  thought 

sadly  deficient. 

"  It  was  judged  right  to  pay  this  bishop  some  civilities ; 
and  therefore  I  called  on  him,  and  asked  him  to  a  Chapter 
dinner.  \Mien  he  returned  the  compliment,  we  had  a  very 
animated  conversation.  He  expressed  himself  so  strongly  on 
the  side  of  opposition,  and  so  much  against  the  Irish  govern- 
ment, that  I  thought  it  necessary  to  speak  very  plainly  j  telling 
him  that  if  he  held  such  language  in  Ireland,  it  could  not  fail  to 
have  the  effect  of  blowing  up  more  rebellion,  and  of  supporting 
what  there  was  already.  He  endeavoured  to  ride  off  as  well  as 
he  could ;  but  made  bad  work  of  it,  and  seemed  in  extreme 
agitation." 

Dean  Milner's  health  was,  at  this  time,  much  disordered. 
A  letter  written  from  Carlisle,  on  the  4th  of  July,  to  Mr. 
Wilberforce,  and  by  him  docketed  "  most  affectionate,"  gives  a 


168  CHAP.  IX.     A.D.   1798.     .tlTAT.  48. 

melancholy  detail  of  his  bodily  sufferings  ;  but,  at  the  same  time 
proves  his  mind  to  have  been  filled  with  calm  and  pious  resig- 
nation to  the  Divine  will. 

"  You  will  be  sorry,"  he  writes,  "  to  hear  this  account  of 
me,  I  know."  *  *  *  «  May  God  prepare  me  for  whatever 
may  be  the  event ! 

"  I  wish  indeed  I  could  be  with  you,  when  I  know  you  will 
M-ish  for  my  company ;  but  I  am  sure  you  will  see,  how  pecu- 
liarly unbecoming  it  would  be  in  me,  to  be  deficient  in  tender- 
ness and  attention  to  my  only  house  of  relations.  I  call  my 
niece  and  her  husband,  and  their  mother,  my  house  of  relations, 
because  they  are  now  the  nearest  relations  I  have  on  earth. 
Your  dear  B.  wrote  me  a  kind  letter  the  other  day — you  must 
thank  her.  But  really  I  know  not  whether  you  are  to  show 
her  all  this  letter  or  not ;  for  I  am  sure  her  tender  heart  may 
feel  a  good  deal  too  much.  • 

"  Farewell,  my  dear  friend,  for  the  present.  I  have,  at 
different  times,  written  very  melancholy  letters  to  you — you 
must  expect  no  other.  My  heart  has  been  broken,  or  nearly 
so,  for  a  good  while.  Yet,  blessed  be  God,  I  do  not  sorrow 
without  hope. 

"  Your's  and  B.'s  most  aflectionately,  I.  M." 

A  letter  written  by  Dean  Milner  early  in  this  month  of 
July,  contains  the  following  expression  of  his  affectionate  con- 
dolence with  Mr.  Wilberforce,  on  the  occasion  of  the  death  of 
that  gentleman's  mother. 

"Mv  DEAR  Friend, 

"  I  wrote  the  sheet  that  comes  along  with  this,  this  morning, 
and  was  bathed  in  tears  most  of  the  time  I  wrote  it.  I  fastened 
my  door,  and  indulged  my  grief. 

"  I  confess  the  change  was  unexpected,  and  I  am  a  good 
deal  surprised.  I  wish  I  were  by  your  side,  though  I  did 
nothing  but  weep." 

Dean  Milner  concludes  this  affectionate  letter  by  recalling  to 
the  mind  of  his  friend  the  "  solid  ground  of  Christian  consola- 
tion," which  remained  to  him  under  tliis  dispensation  of  Pro- 
vidence. 


If)!) 


CHAPTER  X. 

Dr.  Mibier  is  elected  Professor  of  Mathematics. — Opposition  of  Mr.  Frend. — 
Opinion  of  Counsel. — Correspondence. — Domestic  Affliction. — "Rational" 
way  of  Preaching. — Luther's  Letter  to  Caspar  Aquila. — Publication  of  a 
Second  Edition  of  the  first  volume  of  the  Church  History. — Correspond- 
ence.— Letter  to  Rev.  Wm.  Richardson. — Dr.  Miluer's  Religious  Expe- 
rience.— Jonathan  Edwards. 

A.D.  1798.     yETAT.  48. 

In  the  month  of  September,  1798,  Dr.  Milner  was  elected 
to  the  mathematical  chair  at  Cambridge  once  filled  by  Isaac 
Newton.  This  professorship  had  been  resigned,  by  that 
greatest  of  philosophers,  in  the  year  1669;  and  from  the  time 
of  that  resignation  till  the  election  of  Dr.  Milner,  four  pro- 
fessors only,  W.  Whiston,  N.  Saunderson,  John  Colson,  and 
Edward  Waring,  had  intervened. 

This  professorship,  called  the  Lucasian  Professorship  of 
Mathematics  because  founded  and  endowed  by  Henry  Lucas, 
Esq.  M.P.  for  the  University  of  Cambridge  in  1663,  Dr.  Milner 
held  till  his  death. 

The  opposition  to  Dr.  Milner's  election  made  by  Mr. 
Frend,  on  the  ground  that  his  Mastership  of  Queen's  College 
disqualified  him  from  holding  the  office,  and  the  steps  taken 
by  Dr.  Milner  to  settle  the  question  of  his  eligibility,  are 
sufficiently  indicated  in  the  following  letter,  which  also  dis- 
plays, in  a  strong  light,  the  tenderness  of  heart  which  distin- 
guished the  writer. 

The  case  drawn  up  for  the  consideration  of  one  of  the 
eminent  lawyers  mentioned  in  this  letter*,  with  his  very 
decided  opinion,  that  Dr.  Milner  was  neither  directly  nor 
indirectly  disqualified  from  holding  the  Lucasian  Professorship, 
is  still  in  existence,  as  is  also  the  following  declaration  of  Dr. 
Milner  himself: — "•  During  my  being  a  candidate  for  the  Luca- 


Sir  William  Scott. 


170  CllAr.  X.     A.D.  1798.     ^TAT.  48. 

siaii  Professorship,  I  considered  the  duties  of  the  situation 
very  particularly;  and  moreover,  I  obtained  the  very  decided 
opinion  of  Sir  William  Scott  on  certain  points,  and  this  for  the 
greater  satisfaction  both  of  the  electors  and  myself. 

"  Dr.  Waring  professed  himself  always  ready  to  lecture,  or 
to  give  advice  to  any  mathematical  students  who  should  apply 
to  him;  and  with  respect  to  the  written  lectures  which  the  pro- 
fessor is  to  deposit  among  the  university  archives,  he  conceived 
that  he  should  l)est  discharge  that  duty  by  printing  his  lucubra- 
tions. 

"  I  have  the  very  same  intention." 

This  declaration  is  in  entire  accordance  with  the  sentiments 
exjiressed  in  the  following  letter: — 

"To  William  Wilberforce,  Esq. 
"  My  dearest  Friend,  "Hull,  September  27,  1798. 

"  Our  last  letters  must  have  crossed. 

"  I  told  you  I  was  elected  unanimously,  at  last,  and  without 
a  competitor,  unless  you  would  call  Frend  a  competitor,  who 
wrote  an  indecorous  letter,  and  printed  it,  and  sent  it  to  each 
Head,  proposing  himself  a  candidate  and  positively  affirming 
that  I  was  disqualified,  and  this  without  arguing  the  point  at  all. 

"  The  first  request  I  made  to  Sir  William  Scott,  and  Sir 
AVilliam  Wynne  also,  was,  that  they  would  seriously  and  con- 
scientiously tell  me,  not  merely  as  lawyers,  but  as  friends, 
whether  they  thought  there  was  the  least  disqualifying  circum- 
stance in  the  case.  Sir  William,  after  considering  all  the 
documents,  declared  positively  on  my  side,  and  also  gave  me  a 
written  opinion  to  the  same  effect.  Had  it  been  otherwise,  I 
told  tlieni  Ijotli  that  1  should  instantly  have  declined. 

"Tliis  new  office,  as  to  study  for  further  attainments  in 
mathematics,  will  give  no  trou])le  at  all,  but  I  mean  to  be 
efficient,  as  efficient  as  possible,  in  discharging  the  duties  of  it. 

"This  is  a  severe  year  upon  mc!     Poor   Mrs.  C *  is 

.'ij)parcntly  upon  her  death-bed.  Let  me  have  a  line  without 
fail.  "  Yours  alway.s,  I.  M." 


*  'J'hc  mother-in-law  of  liis  niece. 


CHAP.  X.     A.D.   17li«.     .liTAT.  4!i.  171 

Tlie  next  letter  gives  an  account  of  the  happy  death  of  the 
excellent  lady  whose  illness  is  above  alluded  to. 

"To  William  Wilberforce,  Esq. 

"  York,  Tuesday,  12  o'clock  at  noon. 
"  Mv  DEAR  Friend,  "  October,  1798. 

"  Harder  work  I  never  experienced  than  for  the  last  three 
weeks,  because  I  have  been  on  the  spot  an  immediate  eye- 
witness to  pain  and  affliction  of  the  severest  sort.     Mrs.  C 

the  elder,  died  this  morning  at  6  o'clock.  I  set  off"  for  York, 
and  am  now  going  to  bed  (12  o'clock  at  noon),  having  been  up 
the  whole  of  the  last  ten  nights  watching  the  poor  sufferer 
during  the  progress  of  this  painful  and  mysterious  disorder. 

"  A  greater  example  of  true  faith  and  resignation  I  never  saw 
than  in  this  old  lady.  Her  comforts  were  not  very  high,  but 
they  were  uniform  and  steady ;  and  as  they  depended  not  at  all 
on  feelings,  but  on  the  promises,  she  was  proof  against  all  sorts 
of  temptation  to  the  last,  expressing  a  firm  expectation  of  a 
glorious  resurrection  through  the  Redeemer.  So  humble  a 
creature  I  never  heard  of,  and  I  am  confident  that  she  has  not 
been  once  heard  to  murmur,  though  often  to  cry  out  from 
violent  pain. 

"  Oh !  my  dear  Sir,  I  have  been  present  at  an  instructive 
lesson. 

"  I  mean  to  proceed  immediately  to  Cambridge. 

"  You  will  easily  understand  from  the  above,  how  it  has 
happened  that  I  have  not  answered  your  letters.  I  thank 
dear  B.  for  her  kind  letter,  and  I  receive  with  great  satisfaction 
your  account  of  little  William's  thriving. 

"  Yours,  with  great  affection, 

"  I.  M." 

During  the  month  of  November,  Dean  Milner  thus  writes 
to  the  same  friend: — 

"  Oh!  my  dear  Sir,  tliis  year  has  made  sad  havoc  with  my 
outward  man.  Nevertheless  I  bless  God,  on  the  whole,  at 
times.     But  I  see  I  have  everything  to  learn,  (u-  nearly  so;  yet, 


172  CHAP.  X.     A.l).  ITJG.    .ETAT.  48. 

liowever,  very  often  I  can  say,  '  I  fear  not,  all  will  yet  be  well.' 
As  to  poor  dear  W.'s  teeth,  they  must  come.  Poor  dear 
jewels!  what  a  vast  deal  they  sufter,  and  cannot  explain  them- 
selves, and  hardly  know  what  is  the  matter  with  them !  I  shall 
have  great  pleasure  in  seeing  him,  and  noticing  how  famously 
he  will  have  come  on. 

"  Remember  me  aflfcctionately  to  dear  B.  I  cannot  say,  with 
truth,  that  when  you  omit  to  write,  I  do  not  sometimes  desire 
the  sight  of  your  sometimes  scrawling  hand-writing,  but  I  can 
say,  that  her  letters  are  most  excellent  substitutes.  Whenever 
she  writes,  she  has  the  art  of  making  me  both  hear  and  see 
herself,  more  than  any  body  I  ever  knew.  Tell  her  that  I 
shall  dispute  with  her,  whether  young  W.  be  so  very  handsome 
as  she  says  he  is. 

"Yours  very  truly  and  affectionately,  I.  M. 

"  P.S.  You  have  my  prayers." 

Dr.  Milner's  letters  and  his  private  memoranda  show  that 
his  thoughts  were  at  this  time  much  occupied  by  religious 
subjects.  Mr.  Wilberforce's  Diary  of  this  year  has  the  following 
passage:  "July  29th.  Much  talk  with  Milner  about  his 
preaching,  and  the  growing  faults  of  the  young  clergy.  He 
conceives  them  getting  into  a  rational  way  of  preaching." 

The  nature  of  the  censure  here  implied  by  the  word 
"  rational,"  is  by  no  means  obscure.  It  may  not,  however,  be 
disagreeable  to  the  reader  to  peruse,  in  elucidation  of  this 
expression,  the  following  passage  from  Melancthon's  disserta- 
tion De  Spiritu  et  Litera*;  a  passage  often  alluded  to  by  Dean 
Milner,  as  conveying  admirable  ideas  respecting  the  difference 
between  Christianity  as  revealed  in  the  Scriptures,  and  that 
"rational  religion"  too  often  substituted  in  its  place. 

"  The  letter,"  says  Melancthon,  "  means  whatever  doctrine, 
ideas,  liabits,  discipline,  and  good  desires,  as  they  are  called, 
anv  mail,  by  the  common  light  of  nature,  may  attain,  without 
the   iiithience   <jf  the   Holy   Spirit:    that   is,  without  the  least 


A  conaiderable  portion  of  this  DiHsertation  is  translated  by  Joseph  Mihier, 
in  an  Kssay  originally  published  in  Tlic  Theological  Misiellanij. 


CHAP.  X.     A.]).  17n(».     .^2  TAT.  49.  1 T-B 

genuine  fear  of  God,  without  any  confidence  in  his  revealed 
mercy,  which  alone  can  jjowerfully  comfort  the  mind,  and 
without  any  knowledge  or  worship  of  Christ. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  the  Spirit  points  out  to  us  the  Holy 
Ghost,  really  beginning  in  this  life,  and  in  the  next  completing, 
in  the  hearts  of  God's  people,  a  new  light,  wisdom,  and  right- 
eousness, and  a  perpetual  life  of  holiness,  acceptable  to  God, 
and  inflamed  by  the  constant  motions  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
with  fear,  faith,  prayer,  and  love  ;  and  in  eternal  life  enjoying 
the  vision  of  God,  and  celebrating  his  perfections." 

This  passage,  and  indeed  the  whole  of  the  dissertation  from 
which  it  is  taken,  forms  a  valuable  comment  upon  the  word 
"  rational,"  as  used  by  Dr.  Milner. 

During  the  year  1799?  Dr.  Milner  was  engaged,  as  much  as 
his  other  occupations  would  permit,  in  selecting  for  publica- 
tion some  of  his  brother's  sermons,  and  in  preparing  for  the 
press  a  second  edition  of  the  first  volume  of  the  Church  History. 

He  visited  London  during  the  summer  of  this  year.  The 
following  entry  appears  in  Mr.  Wilberforce's  Diary*,  dated 
"  August  25th.  Milner  preached  his  Buxton  Sermon  on 
Christianity's  corruptions.  All  serious  persons  much  struck 
with  it."     "  Disputed  with  Milner  about  final  perseverance." 

Dr.  Milner's  readiness  to  preach  whenever  occasion  offered 
has  been  already  mentioned ;  and  since,  as  he  himself  said  of 
his  brother,  "  He  never  took  his  pen  in  hand  without  a  distinct 
subject,"  and  always  brought  the  full  force  of  his  mind  to  bear 
upon  the  matter  in  hand,  it  will  excite  no  surprise  that  his 
sermons  were  invariably  striking  and  effective.  To  disputation 
on  religious  subjects,  he  was  indeed  usually  less  inclined ;  yet 
he  was  ever  ready  to  admit  that  "  in  his  heart  he  loved  a  good 
argument ;"  and  few  persons,  perhaps,  were  better  qualified  to 
discuss  a  difficult  question  in  theology.  Still,  however,  unless 
under  peculiar  circumstances,  he  was  little  disposed  to  enter, 
in  conversation,  upon  abstruse  reasonings  and  disquisitions. 
"  What  is  that  to  thee  ?  Follow  thou  mc,"  was  a  quotation 
often  addressed  by  him,  by  way  of  caution,  to  persons,  especially 


See  Life  of  Wilberforce. 


17-i  CHAP.  X.     A.D.  1799.     vETAT.  49. 

young  persons,  who  endeavoured  to  engage  him  in  the  discus- 
sion of  personal  election,  free-will,  and  other  such  topics, 
which  he  was  well  known  to  have  deeply  studied.  Such 
persons  were  likewise  often  exhorted  by  him  to  meditate  upon 
Martin  Luther's  remarkable  Letter  to  Caspar  Aqidla,  on  the 
subject  of  God's  incomprehensible  majesty*. 

In  the  autumn  of  this  year.  Dean  Milner,  who  had  corre- 
sponded as  usual  with  Mr.  Wilberforce,  "giving  him  frequent 
and  forcible  lectures  on  the  necessity  of  taking  care  of  himself, 
and  living  a  more  quiet  lifef/'  wrote  to  him  from  Carlisle,  on 
hearing  of  the  birth  of  his  eldest  daughter. 

"  My  dear  Friend, 

"  I  do  indeed  rejoice  with  you  very  sincerely ;  and  am  very 
thankful  that  Almighty  God  smiles  so  repeatedly  upon  every 
thing  connected  with  you.     I  shall  not  fail  to  pray  for  you  all. 

"  Excellent  Stillingfleet  is  here,  and  has  been  here  and  in 
tlie  neighbourhood  for  many  days.  He  was  the  most  intimate 
friend  my  poor  brother  had,  and  was  always  exceedingly  kind 
to  him  in  having  him  at  his  house,  &c.  He  could  not  bear  to 
come  to  Hull  for  much  above  a  year  after  his  decease. 

"  Though  I  have  endeavoured  to  discharge  my  duty  here  as 
well  as  ever  I  could,  and  though  I  have  been  enabled,  through 
a  gracious  providence,  to  get  through  four  preachings,  yet 
sadness  and  melancholy  of  heart  stick  close  by  me,  and 
increase  upon  me.  Who  would  believe  this  ?  I  tell  nol)ody, 
but  I  am  very  much  sunk  indeed;  and  I  wish  I  could  have  the 
relief  of  weeping,  as  I  often  used  to  have. 

"  I  pray  that  I  may  thrive  in  the  best  things ;  and  I  rejoice 
in  God's  aljundant  kindness  to  you  and  yours. 

"  Farewell,  witli  an  afl'ectionate  remembrance  to  B. 

"  Yours  affectionately,  I.  M." 

Much  as  his  spirits  were  affected  by  the  employment. 
Dean  Milner's  priuripal  occupation  at  this  period  was,  as  has 


A  traii.slatioii  of  tins  letter  may  be  Been  anioiip  the  published  Essays  or 

.JOSOJ)!!  MillKT. 

t  I/ife  of  If'i/fjer/oirr. 


CHAP.  X.     A.D.   1799.     /ETAT.  49.  175 

been  already  intimated,  the  preparation  for  publication  of 
several  of  the  manuscripts  of  his  departed  brother ;  an  occu- 
pation which,  by  vividly  recalling  the  memory  of  that  beloved 
relative,  could  not  but  cause  acute  pain  to  his  affectionate  and 
sensitive  heart. 

On  the  Gth  of  November,  1799,  he  thus  wrote  to  his  own 
and  his  deceased  brother's  valued  friend : — 

"The  Rev.  William  Richardson. 

"  Dear  Sir, 

"With  great  truth  I  can  say,  that  I  always  receive  your 
letters  with  much  pleasure,  though  I  will  confess  that  your  last 
agitates  my  poor  frame  a  good  deal."  *  *  *  «  Headaches, 
almost  perpetual,  incapacitate  me  for  many  hours  every  day; 
the  remainder  I  endeavour  to  employ  as  well  as  I  possibly  can ; 
and  am  directed  by  what  I  think  duty. 

"  A  very  material  affair  at  present  takes  up  a  great  deal  of 
my  time ;  and  yet  I  am  very  desirous  of  fighting  through  it, 
viz.,  the  correcting  and  reprinting  of  the  first  volume  of  the 
Ecclesiastical  History.  It  has  been  much  called  for,  and  is 
now  above  half  done.  But  this  business,  and  my  other  neces- 
sary, absolutely  necessary,  avocations,  leave  me  very  little  time 
indeed. 

"The  correction  of  the  first  volume  is  very  tedious  on  the 
following  account :  formerly,  when  the  author  was  at  hand,  he 
would  clear  up  twenty  of  my  remarks  in  one  minute;  but  now 
I  sometimes  spend  many  hours  in  clearing  up  an  ambiguous  or 
equivocal  sentence,  for  want  of  the  book,  or  the  edition  which 
he  used ;  and  I  dare  not  hazard  conjectures,  nor  even  all  the 
truth,  always,  as  it  may  appear  to  stand  from  such  authorities 
as  I  have  before  me,  lest  I  should  make  the  historian,  (who 
probably  would  be  very  consistent,  if  I  could  but  refer  to  the 
authority  which  he  depended  upon,  and  which,  perhaps,  he 
has  omitted  to  mention)  appear  inconsistent,  when  different 
passages  are  compared  with  each  other. 

"  I  take  less  and  less  liberty  with  his  statement  of  facts,  and 
also  with  liis  representation  of  probable  causes;  for  I  assure 
you,  the  more   I   prol)e,  the  more  exact  I  find  liim,  in  reality; 


176  CHAP.  X.     A.D.  1799.     .«TAT.  49. 

but  lie  very  frequently  affirms  things  which  suppose  his  readers 
to  know  more  than  many  of  them  do  know. 

"  In  this  situation,  I  say,  your  letter  agitates  me,  by  present- 
ing fresh  work*.  I  do  not  mean  to  press  you,  because  you 
best  know  your  own  feelings  about  it;  and  if  you  persist  in 
saying,  or  thinking,  that  *it  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the 
satisfaction  of  your  own  mind/  that  I  should  see  the  proof 
sheets,  of  course  I  must  give  way.  Otherwise,  I  really  do  not 
see  the  necessity  of  it  at  all.  I  am  sure  I  shall  be  perfectly 
satisfied  with  what  you  do,  and  so,  I  doubt  not,  will  those  who 
read  the  book,  for,  I  dare  say,  very  few  great  or  learned  men 
will  trouble  themselves  with  sermons  of  such  a  cast,  or  written 
by  such  a  character  as  the  autlior  was. 

"  After  having  said  so  much,  it  is  now  my  duty  to  acquiesce, 
which  I  shall  do  most  cordially,  in  whatever  way  you  shall 
think  proper  to  decide. 

"  You  are  absolutely  over-nice  ;  you  need  not  send  me  any 
specimen  of  the  paper  or  type,  as  I  really  see  no  appearance  of 
your  having  lost  your  faculties.  Seriously,  I  am,  and  I  hope  I 
always  shall  be,  very  grateful  to  you. 

"  Yours,  I.  M." 

The  following  letter,  which  cannot  be  read  without  very 
deep  interest,  has  been  already  published  in  the  correspondence 
of  William  Wilberforce,  Esq.  Its  appearance  in  this  volume 
may,  perhaps,  require  a  few  words  of  explanation. 

A  finer  letter,  in  point  of  strong  sense,  vivid  imagery,  and 
deep  feeling,  has,  perhaps,  been  seldom  penned;  and  the  religious 
experience  which  it  discloses  would  be  well  understood  by  the 
excellent  friend  to  wliom  it  was  addressed,  and  will  not  be 
misunderstood  by  any  who,  while  they  are  practically  acquainted 
with  tiie  great  doctrines  of  Christianity,  are  able  duly  to  appre- 
ciate the  struggle  which  a  belief  of  those  humbling  doctrines 
may  sometimes  ocrasioii  in  a  mind  of  sucli  immense  power  as 
was  that  of  Dr.  Milner. 


*   Mr.  Iticliardson  had  jjrcssod  Dr.  Milner  to  give  tlie  last  corrections  to  the 
;  proof  sheets  of  his  brother's  Scniions. 


CHAP.  X.     A.U.   1799.     ^.TAT.  49.  1// 

A  inucli  more  numerous  class  of  persons,  however,  will  not, 
it  is  to  be  feared,  comprehend  aright  the  causes  of  the  severe 
mental  sufferings  which  the  Dean,  in  the  exercise  of  the  most 
undoubting  confidence,  here  lays  open  to  his  friend ;  and  some 
may  perhaps  be  disposed  to  think,  that  that  confidence,  upon 
a  subject  so  purely  private  in  its  nature,  ought  never  to  have 
been  infringed. 

It  is  proper  to  say,  that  this  very  remarkable  letter  is 
reprinted  in  this  work  chiefly  from  a  feeling  that  the  omission 
of  it,  while  other  letters  of  a  nature  in  some  degree  similar  are 
now  for  the  first  time,  published,  might,  in  some  quarters,  give 
rise  to  a  suspicion,  quite  at  variance  with  the  truth,  that  the 
biographer  of  Dean  Milner  regards  its  contents  as  in  some  way 
derogatory  to  the  religious  character  of  the  writer. 

''To  William  Wilberforce,  Esq. 

"'  Queen's  College,  Saturday, 
"My  dear  Friend,  December  2lst,  1799. 

"  In  the  compass  of  a  letter,  I  cannot  explain  to  you  in  how 
great  darkness  and  temptation  my  mind  has  been  of  late,  and 
indeed  continues  yet,  to  a  great  degree.  I  can  only  say  at 
present,  that  all  my  bodily  complaints  are  nothing  to  it.  1 
could  rejoice  under  them  if  they  were  double,  treble,  manifold, 
if  it  did  not  please  God  to  hide  his  countenance.  I  cannot 
explain  myself  so  as  to  be  understood.  You  would  not,  could 
not,  believe  my  narrative  of  what  passes  and  has  passed,  night 
and  day,  and  even  in  my  dreams.  I  have  yet  been  kept, 
blessed  be  God,  from  despair,  but  I  really  know  not  where 
it  will  end. 

"  A  ray  of  hope  sometimes  darts  into  my  mind,  that  if  ever 
it  please  God  that  I  fairly  get  out  of  my  present  harassed  state, 
I  may  be  happier  than  ever  I  have  yet  been.  I  call  it  '  a  ray  of 
hope,'  but.  in  reality,  it  rather  resembles  a  flash  of  lightning  in 
a  dreadfully  dark  and  tempestuous  night,  than  the  cheering  rays 
of  the  sun.  Flashes  of  lightning,  at  the  same  time  that  they 
dismay  and  terrify  one,  partly  on  their  own  account,  and  partly 
on  account  of  the  deep  and  dangerous  ditches  which  they  discover 
for  a  moment ;  these  same  flashes,  I  say,  at  the  same  moment 


178  CHAP.  X.     A.D.  1799.     .ETAT.  49. 

show  that  there  is  a  good  turnpike-road  between  the  ditches, 
and  enable  the  traveller  also  to  avoid  the  danger,  and  to  proceed 
on  his  journey  for  a  time,  though  under  great  apprehensions, 
till  another  flash  comes. 

"  This  image  is  taken  from  what  really  happened  to  me  in 
Lincolnshire,  during  that  dreadful  summer  some  few  years  ago, 
in  the  night  time. 

"  The  stage-coachman  declared,  that  it  was  as  dark  as  pitch, 
and  very  often  absolutely  stopped  till  a  dreadful  flash  of  light- 
ning showed  him  where  he  was.  There  was  a  West  Indian  in 
the  coach  at  the  same  time,  who  frightened  every  body  by  his 
horrid  imprecations  against  the  coachman. 

"  There  are  certain  parts  of  Holy  Writ  which  I  endeavour 
to  grasp  with  all  my  might,  and  this  constantly,  and  so  it  has 
hitherto  pleased  God  to  support  me ;  but  I  am  sorry  to  say 
that  my  grasp  is  often  a  grasp  of  fear  and  agitation  and  neces- 
sity, rather  than  of  willingness  and  holy  confidence.  I  see  that 
there  is  nothing  else  to  he  done,  but  I  do  not  honour  God  by 
submitting  cordially  to  His  way  of  salvation.  This  is  the  great 
point  that  I  have  long  been  aiming  at,  and  I  make  nothing  of  it, 
and  yet  I  know,  and  am  sure,  that  without  this,  all  the  rest  is 
sounding  brass. 

"  My  grasp,  however,  of  which  I  now  speak,  is  strong,  and  I 
have  had  a  little  relief  within  the  last  few  days.  I  do  not 
know  whether  I  make  myself  understood.  I  mean  this  :  to 
submit  to  the  condemning  power  of  the  holy  law  of  God,  is  a 
hard  matter — a  very  hard  matter  indeed,  to  do  this  thoroughly. 
My  understanding  has  shown  me,  for  many  years,  that  this  is 
the  touchstone  of  a  sound  conversion,  and  I  have  been  busy 
enough  in  noting  the  defect  of  it  in  others ;  but,  as  to  myself, 
if  I  have  got  on  at  all  in  this  respect,  it  is  very  lately  indeed. 
The  heart  is  sadly  deceitful  here ;  for,  with  Christ^s  salvation 
before  one's  eyes,  one  may  easily  fancy  that  God  is  just  and 
equitable  in  condemning  sinners,  when,  if  you  put  the  case  oidy 
for  a  moment  to  your  own  heart  seriously,  as  a  thing  likely  to 
happen,  the  heart  will  rise  against  such  a  dispensation  ;  perhaps, 
indeed,  with  a  smotiicrcd  sort  of  opposition  and  dislike,  l>ut 
which  is  very  steady  and  dofcrtnined. 


CHAP.  X.     A.l).   17ft9.     /ETAT.  4f).  l79 

"  Nothing  less  than  the  Holy  Ghost  himself  can  cure  ihis, 
by  showing  us  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ.  A 
sinking  man  lays  hold  of  a  rope  thrown  out  to  him,  and  grasps 
it  firmly.  I  hless  God  I  never  leave  hold  of  the  rope,  and  I 
trust  I  shall  be  found  grasping  it  fast  to  the  last.  Neither  have 
I  the  slightest  fear  of  the  rope  breaking ;  but  if  I  do  not  feel 
and  acknowledge  thoroughly,  that  the  whole  is  a  downright  act 
of  mercy,  in  every  possible  sense  that  you  can  twist  the  matter, 
I  may  still  be  suffered  to  sink  for  ever.  I  see,  clearly  enough, 
the  way  in  which  that  dreadful  event  happens  to  many  of  those 
that  are  lost.  Experience  concurs  to  show  the  wisdom  of  the 
Scriptures,  and  the  consistency  of  the  Gospel  scheme.       *       * 

"Your  last  letter,  though  short,  is  truly  affectionate,  and  lays 
hold  of  me,  in  several  tender  places,  A-ery  closely.  The  quota- 
tion from  Milton,  which  you  kindly  wish  me  to  advert  to,  is  a 
favourite  passage,  and  has  been  so  with  me  for  many  years. 
The  sentiment  is  sound  and  pious,  I  think;  but,  like  every 
thing  else,  is  liulile  to  abuse  by  being  carried  too  far.  It  is  true 
God  will  never  blame  us  for  want  of  exertion  where  power  is 
denied ;  but  I  suppose  the  will  is  as  much  shown  in  feeble 
efforts  as  in  strong  ones,  provided  those  feeble  efforts  be  but 
proportionate  to  the  faculties ;  it  was  so  in  the  widow's  mite, 
and  doubtless  it  is  the  same  in  other  things. 

"  I  purposely  said  what  I  had  to  say  on  other  subjects 
unmixed  with  the  consideration  of  your  own  health.  AVon- 
derful  beings  we  are !  I  hope  I  need  not  repeat  to  you  how 
much  I  am  always  concerned  when  anything  unpleasant  hap- 
pens to  you ;  a  great  deal  more,  I  believe,  than  you  yoiu'self 
are,  or  than  any  body  can  conceive  who  does  not  know  what  it 
is  to  be  hampered  with  such  a  nervous,  irritable,  and  (if  you 
will  allow  me)  affectionate  sort  of  composition,  as  I  am  ham- 
pered with.  I  have  felt  in  this  way  towards  you,  now,  for  many 
years,  and  it  is  not  likely  that  my  anxieties  on  your  account, 
and  apprehensions  of  any  mischief,  should  be  less,  because  God 
has  taken  to  himself  Avhat  was  very  near  and  dear  to  me,  and 
left  me  a  sort  of  insulated  being,  and  very,  very disconso- 
late, is  a  weak  word, nearly  heart-])roken,  is  far  nearer  the 

truth.     Indeed,  my  dear  friend,  my  heart  is  so  full,  that  I  can 

X  2 


180  CHAP.  X.     A.U.   179^.     ^TAT.  49. 

hardly  get  to  the  subject  I   am   driving  at,  and  I  will,   God 
willing,  finish  to-morrow. 

"  Yours  most  affectionately, 

"I.    MiLNER." 

The    passage    from    Milton   alluded    to    in   the   foregoing 

remarkable  letter,  is  the  fine  and   affecting  sonnet  "  On  his 

Blindness  f  a  passage  often  quoted  by  Dr.  Milner,  with  much 

admiration. 

"  When  I  consider  how  my  light  is  spent 

Ere  half  my  days,  in  this  dark  world  and  wide, 

And  that  one  talent  which  is  death  to  hide. 

Lodged  with  me  useless;  though  my  soul  more  bent 

To  serve  therewith  my  Maker,  and  present 

My  true  account  lest  He,  returning,  chide  v 

'Doth  God  exact  day-labour,  light  denied  ?' 

I  fondly  ask  :  but  patience,  to  prevent 

That  murmur,  soon  replies,  '  God  doth  not  need 

Either  man's  work,  or  his  own  gifts ;  who  best 

Bear  his  mild  yoke,  they  serve  Him  best;  his  state 

Is  kingly;  thousands  at  his  bidding  speed. 

And  post  o'er  land  and  ocean  without  rest ; 

They  also  serve  who  only  stand  and  wait.' " 

About  this  period  of  his  life.  Dean  Milner  was  anxiously 
engaged  in  the  study  of  the  writings  of  the  Rev.  Jonathan 
Edwards.  Among  his  private  memoranda  of  this  date,  various 
notices  appear  of  his  lending  "  Edwards'  Sermons"  or  "  Ed- 
wards on  Religious  Affections"  to  "  Dr.  Jowett,"  to  "  William 
Parish,"  and  to  others  of  his  friends.  A  dissertation,  found 
among  his  papers,  and,  as  it  appears,  written  during  this  year, 
on  the  "  Posthumous  Remarks  of  the  late  Jonathan  Edwards, 
concerning  *  Faith,'  and  '  Justification  by  Faith,' "  is  given  in 
the  next  chapter,  precisely  as  it  came  from  his  pen.  To  say 
that  in  this  performance  Dr.  Milner  thinks  accurately,  and  dives 
deeply  into  the  meaning  of  the  great  divine  whose  work  he  is 
considering,  would  be  superfluous.  The  value  of  his  remarks 
will  be  apparent  to  all  who  have  exercised  their  understandings 
upon  this  fundamental  Christian  doctrine. 


IHl 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Dissertation  on  Jonathan  Edwards'  Posthumous  Remarks  on  Faith,  and  Justifi- 
cation by  Faith. — Quotation  from  a  Sermon  by  Dean  Milner  on  the  same 
Subject. 

A.D.  1799.     ^TAT.  49. 

"Justification. 

"§  1.  I  consider  the  late  Jonathan  Edwards' posthumous 
remarks  on  Faith  and  Justification  by  Faith,  as  very  valuable 
relics  of  that  great  divine.  They  are  contained  in  Chapter  VII. 
pp.  393 — 480* ;  and,  though  evidently,  extremely  indigested, 
they  are  manifestly  proofs  of  profound  thought,  and  great 
acquaintance  with  the  Scriptures,  as  well  as  of  great  candour  of 
mind,  and  exemption  from  prejudice. 

"  1  have  studied  them  at  different  times  of  my  life,  with  all 
the  attention  in  my  power ;  and  I  scruple  not  to  recommend  a 
careful  and  diligent  perusal  of  them  to  every  one  who  wishes  to 
acquire  just  ideas  on  these  difficult  and  important  subjects. 

"But  I  wish  it  to  be  remembered,  that  I  recommend  them 
rather  as  containing  a  number  of  excellent  materials  and  obser- 
vations, than  as  furnishing  either  regular  ratiocination,  or  accu- 
rate and  perspicuous  conclusions. 

"No  man  could  have  written  this  Chapter  VII.,  whose 
mind  had  not  been  long,  and  seriously,  and  habitually,  employed 
on  this  branch  of  divinity.  The  quotations  and  the  reflections 
contained  in  it,  do  not  always  hang  together  in  the  way  of  a 
well-connected  composition ;  on  the  contrary,  they  appear  to 
have  been  put  down  as  in  a  common-place  book,  as  they 
occurred,  from  time  to  time,  to  this  great  master  both  of  theo- 
retical and  practical  divinity;  and  we  have  to  lament,  that  they 
api)ear  never  to  have  been  reviewed  by  their  author. 

*  Tliese  and  other  references  to  the  1  sufficient  accuracy,  the  passages  alluded 
work  under  consideration  are  left  as  to;  but  it  is  impossible  now  to  ascer- 
Dean  Milner  wrote  them;  and  will  tain  the  particular  edition  of  Edwards' 
probably,    in   general,    indicate,    with     Works  which  he  used. 


1S2  CHAP.  XI.     A.D.  IT'jy.     -ETAT.  49. 

"  I  am  much  disposed  to  make  one  objection  to  this  work — 
as  running  throvigh,  if  I  mistake  not,  almost  every  part  of  it,  in 
its  present  state ;  namely — that  the  simple  and  natural  meaning 
of  the  word  faith,  seems  to  be  too  much  forgotten  in  Mr. 
Edwards'  definitions  and  observations ;  the  same  thing  I  have 
often  remarked  in  the  writings  of  other  able  divines ;  and  I 
have  conceived,  that  nmch  of  the  obscurity  and  apparent 
contradiction  which  we  find  in  them,  is  to  be  ascribed  to  this 
cause. 

"  §  2.  I  suppose,  that  most,  if  not  all  Mr.  E 's  observa- 
tions on  these  subjects  are  true  in  the  abstract,  and  in  a  practi- 
cal sense;  but  still  I  think,  that  his  definition  of  justifying  faith 
is  not  truly  Scriptural;  and  if  my  views  on  this  subject  are 
right,  he  seems  to  describe  those  qualifications  of  a  true  believer, 
which  are  allowed  to  be  essential  to  that  character,  as  necessa- 
rily entering  into  those  very  acts  of  faith  which  justify  a  man, 
and  as  constituting  their  primary  essence.  Let  any  one  run 
over  this  seventh  chapter,  with  this  idea  in  his  mind. 

"  In  other  words,  it  may  be  absolutely  necessary  for  a  man  to 
he  of  a  certain  character,  before  he  can  perform  a  single  act  of 
true  faith.  The  existence  of  this  character  may  be  indispensable, 
yet,  it  will  not  follow,  that  every  act  of  such  a  character  is  of 
the  nature  of  saving,  or  justifying  faith ;  nor,  yet  again,  will 
those  acts  of  this  character  which  really  imply  the  existence  of 
a  faith  that  justifies,  derive  their  essence  (strictly  speaking,) 
from  those  qualifications  which  constitute  that  character. 

"  The  essence  of  an  act  to  be  performed,  and  the  essence  of 
the  qualification  absolutely  necessary  to  the  subject  who  is  to 
perform  the  act,  are  two  things  perfectly  distinct. 

''  §  3.     To  make  this  plainer. 

"  We  are  called  upon,  in  Scripture,  to  trust  in  the  promises, 
and  tlic'ii  we  shall  be  saved;  and  the  controversy  has  been  con- 
cerning the  meaning  of  the  term,  triiitt.  It  is  said,  that  some 
have  reasoned  as  if  the  promise  was  made  to  an  individual  A.  B. ; 
so  that,  if  A.  IJ.  can  but  believe,  that  Christ  will  save  him,  he 
is,  from  that  moment,  justified,  and  in  a  state  of  salvation. 

''Others,  who  have  seen  the  danger  of  this  crude  and 
unscriptural  representation  of  tlie  nature  of  faith,  liave  denied 


CHAP.  XI.     A.l).   1799.     .^TAT.  49. 


183 


what  is  called  the  doctrine  of  appropriation  of  the  merits  of 
Clirist  to  a  man's  self.  According  to  them,  there  is  nothing  of 
personal  appropriation  of  the  promises,  in  the  essence  of  justi- 
fying faith. 

"The  danger  of  an  improper  personal  appropriation  is  so 
obvious,  and  so  great,  that  I  do  not  wonder,  if  some  of  our 
most  thinking  and  judicious  divines  shall  be  found  to  have 
carried  their  precaution  in  this  matter,  too  far.  It  has  appeared 
to  them,  that  persons  of  a  warm  imagination  might  easily  work 
themselves  up  into  a  belief  of  their  interest  in  Christ,  on  very 
slight  grounds,  and  sometimes  even  unwarily  be  drawn  into 
doctrinal  systems  of  an  antinomian  tendency. 

"  Now,  there  is,  no  doubt,  very  great  danger  here ;  but, 
nevertheless,  I  am  convinced,  that  the  danger  is  by  no  means 
all  on  tliis  side.  I  will  not  undertake  to  decide  on  which  side 
the  greater  danger  lies :  but  I  have  little  doubt,  that  the  side 
opposite  to  antinomianism  is  the  more  likely  to  be  taken  of  the 
two.  There  is  in  our  very  natures,  even  depraved  as  they  are  by 
the  fall,  so  much  left  of  the  moral  principle  in  our  consciences, 
as  to  protect  most  men  from  the  gross  abuses  of  antinomianism  ; 
and  I  may  safely  observe,  on  the  other  hand,  that  those  theore- 
tical divines  whose  minds  have  been  drawn  to  use  great  caution 
in  drawing  confident  conclusions  favourable  to  personal  salva- 
tion, are  the  most  likely  to  stumble  on  pharisaical  grounds  of 
objection  ;  and  the  more  so,  because,  in  so  doing,  they  seem  to 
themselves  to  be  standing  up  for  holiness  of  life,  without  which, 
certainly,  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord*. 

"  It  may  be  of  no  great  consequence  to  aim  at  so  balancing 
matters,  that  one  might  be  able  to  pronounce  which  of  the  two 
errors  produces  the  more  mischief  in  practice ;  but  the  investi- 
gation and  statement  of  the  truth,  (as  it  is  always  important,) 
should  be  our  chief  object. 

"  §  4.      Mr.   Edwards,   (page  454)   observes,    that  '  Christ 


*  "  Add  to  this,  that  if  the  essence 
of  faith  be  supposed  to  consist  in  the 
previous  (qualifications  of  the  true  be- 
liever, men  will  be  apt  to  be  content 
with    low   (qualifications,    whereas    if 


faith  rcfpiire  an  appropriation,  they 
will  then  strive  to  increase  the  qualifi- 
cations, that  they  may  be  entitled  to 
appropriate." — Original  Note. 


184  CHAP.  XI.     A.D.   1799.     .ETAT.  49. 

does  not  promise  to  be  the  author  of  our  redemption,  but  upon 
condition ;  and  we  have  not  performed  that  condition  until  we 
have  beUeved.'  Therefore,  we  have  no  grounds  until  we  have 
once  believed,  to  acquiesce  in  the  statement  that  Christ  will 
save  us.  Therefore,  the  first  act  of  faith  is  no  more  than  this, 
*  the  acquiescence  of  the  mind  in  what  he  does  declare  abso- 
lutely;' (so  in  page  418,)  *  it  has  been  said  by  many,  that  the 
souFs  immediately  applying  Christ  to  itself  as  its  Saviour,  was 
essential  to  faith.  Doubtless,  an  immediate  application  is 
necessary ;  but  that  which  is  essential,  is  not  the  soul's  imme- 
diately applying  Christ  to  itself,  so  properly,  as  its  applying 
itself  to  Christ.' 

"These  passages  afford  a  sample  of  what  I  conceive  to  be 
that  erroneous  view  of  justifying  faith,  which  pervades  this 
chapter. 

"  And  now  to  explain  my  meaning  as  briefly  as  possible ;  1 
not  only  allow,  but  maintain,  that  those  things  which  Edwards 
has  described  as  essential  to  justifying  faith,  are  really  essential 
to  it,  in  a  certain  sense ;  that  is,  justifying  faith  cannot  exist, 
unless  these  things  be  present  in  the  subject  who  believes ;  but 
still,  they  do  not,  strictly  speaking,  constitute  the  essence  of 
that  act  of  the  believer  which  justifies  him.  They  are  rather  to 
be  denominated  qualifications  of  the  believer,  previous  to  his 
exercising  that  faith  towards  the  Saviour  which  justifies  him. 
It  is,  probably,  true  in  ordinary  practice,  that  the  qualifications 
of  the  subject,  and  his  subsequent  acts  of  justifying  faith, 
proceed  step  by  stej),  and  may  appear  to  intermix  with  each 
other  so  as  to  render  it  not  easy  to  mark  the  distinction.  That 
is,  the  qualifications  of  which  I  speak  are,  in  their  commence- 
ment, often  very  feeble  and  imperfect,  and  so  are  the  exercises 
of  faith  which  accompany,  or  rather  follow  them ;  and  after- 
wards, both  one  and  the  other  increase  till  the  believer  becomes 
more  settled  and  established.  However,  there  will  be  no 
necessity,  in  ti)is  inquiry,  to  dwell  on  such  cases  as  these, 
notwithstanding  their  frequency.  ^Vl•  arc  now  inquiring  into 
tlie  nature  of  justifying  faith,  itself,  and  also  into  the  nature  of 
those  qualifications  of  the  subject  who  exercises  those  acts  of 
faith,  which  warrant  his  justification  on  the  true  Scriptural  plan: 


CHAP.  XI.     A.D.  17!»9.     ^TAT.  49.    ,  185 

and,  therefore,  the  considenitioii  of  cases  where  the  subject  has 
only  acquired  dark  and  obscure  vicM's  of  the  Gospel,  in  other 
words,  when  he  sees  only  as  it  were  through  a  glass  darkly,  can 
be  of  no  use  in  this  inquiry.  We  must  endeavour  to  obtain 
clear  and  decided  notions  of  the  doctrine  of  faith,  by  studying 
the  characters  of  those  who  are  allowed  to  possess  justifying 
faith  in  a  lively  and  vigorous  degree. 

"  §  5.     Once  more — 

"  Let  us  carefully  review  Mr,  E 's  method  of  represent- 
ing this  matter ;   (page  454.) 

"  '  The  first  act  of  faith,'  says  he,  '  is  no  more  than  this, — the 
acquiescence  of  the  mind  in  what  Christ  declares  absolutely. 
It  is  the  soul's  resting  in  him,  and  adhering  to  him  so  far  as  his 
word  reveals  him  to  all,  as  a  Saviour  for  sinners — as  a  sufficient 
Saviour — as  a  Saviour  suited  to  their  case — as  a  willing  Saviour 
— as  the  author  of  an  excellent  salvation — so  as  to  be  encouraged 
heartily  to  seek  salvation  of  him — to  come  to  him,  to  love, 
desire,  and  thirst  after  him  as  a  Saviour,  and  fly  for  refuge  to 
him.' 

"  Now  it  appears  to  me,  that  in  all  this,  Mr.  E.  is  only,  as  it 
were,  on  the  very  edge  of  justifying  faith,  and  has  not  actually 
kiid  hold  of  it — so  as  to  have  given  a  correct  description  of  it. 

"  It  is  true,  that  all  this  must  be  in  the  mind  of  a  true 
believer — but,  still,  he  has  another  step  to  take,  before  he  can 
be  said  to  act  faith  personally,  in  his  own  case.  In  short,  all 
this  is  a  preparative  for  the  exercise  of  faith ;  nay,  it  is  an 
essential  preparative,  and,  in  that  sense,  is  essential  to  justifying 
faith  ;  but  yet  not  essential,  otherwise  than  as  a  preparative,  to 
that  act  of  the  believer  which  (in  strictness  of  speech)  justifies 
him.  It  seems  more  correct  to  say,  that  this  preparative  is 
essential  to  the  state  of  that  man's  mind  who  is  to  exercise 
justifying  faith.  For  without  this  preparative,  no  man  can 
have  the  faith  which  justifies. 

"  A  metaphor  may,  perhaps,  illustrate  this  matter.  Thus,  a 
man's  legs  are  essential  to  his  being  able  to  Malk ;  in  other 
words,  there  must  be  legs  for  a  man  to  perform  the  act  of 
walking;  nevertheless,  the  mere  existence  of  his  legs  makes  no 
part  of  the  esseivce  of  walking. 


186  CHAP.  XI.     A.D.  171>y.     .«TAT.  4f>. 

"  To  put  this  more  generally,  I  would  say,  certain  qualifica- 
tions may  be  essentially  necessary  to  the  exercise  of  a  true  act 
of  faith,  and  yet  they  may  make  no  part  of  the  essence  of  the 
act  itself. 

"  You  must  be  duly  qualified  in  order  to  exercise  faith;  but 
this  qualification  may  exist  without  the  least  real  faith:  but  here 
is  the  distinction  :  not  a  particle  of  real  faith  can  exist  without 
the  preparative,  or,  what  is  the  same  thing,  without  the  quali- 
fications. 

"  §  6.  These  things  being  always  kept  in  view,  I  may  now 
proceed  to  state  more  distinctly  what  I  conceive  to  be  a  true 
definition  of  the  nature  of  justifying  faith.  It  is  that  act  of  the 
soul,  so  qualified  or  prepared  as  above  described,  by  which  a 
man  is  led  to  apply  the  Gospel  promises  to  his  own  individual 
case ;  that  is,  he  believes  that  Christ  will  do  for  him  all  that  he 
has  promised  to  do  for  those  that  fly  to  Him,  as  a  Saviour,  for 
refuge.  He  does  not  pretend  that  he  finds  in  the  Scriptures 
any  promise  to  himself  personally,  but,  on  the  contrary,  he 
finds  that  all  the  promises  are  made  to  characters ;  he  believes 
himself  to  be  such  a  character  as  that  is  described  to  be,  to 
which  tlie  promises  are  made;  and  in  that  conviction,  together 
with  a  full  persuasion  of  the  faithfulness  of  Christ,  he  appro- 
priates the  promise  to  himself. 

"  It  is  this  act  of  appropriation  in  which  essentially  consists 
the  nature  of  justifying  faith. 

"  To  appropriate  the  promises  without  the  previous  qualifi- 
cation or  preparative,  would  be  enthusiasm  and  delusion;  not 
so  when  the  sinner  has  carefully  examined  himself  on  that  head 
which  respects  his  qualification. 

"  Tliis  idea  agrees  with  the  words  of  Scripture.  The 
promise  of  Christ  is  a  promise  of  rest  to  all  that  are  '  weary 
and  heavy-laden.'  The  l>cing  weary  and  heavy-laden  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  qualify  the  sinner  to  come  to  his  Saviour:  it 
is  by  no  means,  I  allow,  ihc  whole  of  the  qualification  ;  but  it 
is  an  essential  ingredient  in  it,  and  serves  well  to  explain  the 
nature  of  that  preparative  which  must  precede  any  act  of 
justifying  faith. 

"  §  7-   ^'    appears    to    nic,   llial    a    man    may  go   still   farther 


CHAP.  XI.     A.l).  179:».     A-:TAT.  4!>.  187 

than  the  Ijciiig  weary  and  heavy-laden,  and  yet  still  fall  short 
of  exercising  true  justifying  faith.  Mr.  Edwards  says,  (p.  418,) 
that  the  soul's  'applying  itself  to  Christ  is  more  properly 
justifying  faith,  than  his  applying  Christ  to  himself.' 

"  But  I  think  he  does  not  speak  correctly  in  this  instance. 
A  sinner  may  certainly  apply  himself  to  Christ  for  all  Gospel 
blessings  and  may  fail,  for  want  of  the  aforesaid  preparative,  or 
qualification ;  but  so  far,  as  I  conceive,  is  this  qualification  or 
preparative  from  being  of  the  nature  of  justifying  faith,  that 
even  a  sinner  so  prepared,  and  even  truly  prepared,  may  fail  of 
obtaining,  according  to  the  Scriptural  account,  a  true  state  of 
justification  for  want  of  faith  in  his  application,  i.  e.,  for  want 
of  this  very  appropriation  which  so  many  persons  are  apt  to 
consider  as  unscriptural  and  delusive. 

"  Mr.  Edwards  is  endeavouring  to  expose  and  counteract  a 
great  delusion  no  doubt ;  but  in  doing  this,  I  think  he  describes 
what  is  essential  to  the  character  of  the  sinner  who  applies 
successfully  to  his  Saviour,  while  he  professes  to  be  describing 
what  is  essential  to  justifying  faith;  whereas,  if  my  statement  be 
true,  that  w^hicb  is  strictly  essential  to  faith  is,  the  application  of 
Christ  to  the  believing  soul  in  a  personal  act  of  appropriation. 

"  §  8.  It  must,  however,  be  owned,  that  in    Mr.  E 's 

distinction  between  the  soul's  applying  to  Christ  and  its  apply- 
ing Christ  to  itself,  there  is  a  considerable  degree  of  obscurity, 
indeed  so  much  obscurity,  that,  without  committing  or  being 
guilty  of  any  violence  of  interpretation,  this  author's  sentiment 
may  be  made  to  tally  very  well  with  the  definition  of  faith 
which  I  am  now  proposing. 

"  For  example,  Mr.  Edwards  (p.  408)  allows,  that  in  the 
first  act  of  faith  the  soul  humbly  and  heartily  applies  and  seeks 
lo  Christ,  and  sees  such  a  congruity  between  the  declared  mercy 
of  God  and  the  disposition  he  then  feels  towards  Him,  that  he 
cainiot  but  hope  that  that  declared  mercy  will  be  exercised 
towards  him. 

" '  Yea,'  continues  he,  *  he  sees  it  would  be  incongruous  for 
God  to  give  him  such  inclinations  and  motions  of  heart  towards 
Christ  as  a  Saviour,  if  he  were  not  to  be  saved  by  Ilim.' 

'•  §  9.  Now  let  any  one  pause  here,  and  consider  what  there 
is  in   this  account  tiiat  falls  siiort   of  ajiproprialion  ;  (certainlv 


188  CHAP.   XI.     A.D.   1799.     ^TAT.  49. 

very  little,  if  any  thing  at  all :)  and  then  let  him  further  consider, 
whether  it  be  not  true  that,  in  proportion  to  the  excellence  or 
perfection  of  the  qualification,  there  will  not  necessarily,  as  it 
were,  be  connected  with  it  the  appropriation  of  which  I  speak. 
And  if  this  be  admitted,  which  I  think  can  hardly  be  denied, 

then  the  chief  difference  between  Mr.  E 's  account  of  this 

matter  and  mine,  is,  that  he  makes  the  essence  of  justifying 
faith  to  consist  principally  in  the  qualification,  and  I  describe  it 
as  consisting  in  the  act  of  appropriation;  yet  always  remem- 
bering, and  always  maintaining,  that  this  act  of  appropriation 
must  be  the  act  of  a  sinner  qualified  as  above. 

"  Now  I  greatly  mistake  if  this  view  of  justifying  faith  do 
not  agree  both  with  Scripture  and  the  use  of  common  language, 
in  regard  to  such  words  as  faith,  trust,  belief,  &c.,  better  than 
Mr.  E 's  view  of  it. 

"  Mr.  E 's  view  of  it,  unless,  indeed,  we  are  allowed  to 

comment  upon  it,  and  to  interpret  it  with  the  aforesaid  degree 
of  latitude,  confines  the  belief  of  the  sinner  to  mere  general 
ideas  of  Christ's  redemption,  as  also  to  mere  general  ideas  of 
the  character  of  a  truly  contrite  sinner.  Now,  for  anything  I 
see,  a  very  wicked  and  unconverted  man  may  see  the  evidences 
of  the  Word  of  God,  and  also  the  general  meaning  of  the 
gospel  way  of  salvation;  and,  lastly,  that  there  is  no  other  way 
of  salvation  ;  and  yet  he  may  not  have  one  grain  of  confidence 
that  he  himself  shall  be  saved,  that  is,  not  have  one  grain  of 
true  justifying  faith:  but  when  it  is  added,  that  the  sinner, 
besides  seeing  the  truth  of  all  this,  sees  a  propriety  in  it, 
*  acquiesces  in  it,'  and  '  seeks  to  Christ  heartily  and  humbly ;' 
and  conscious  '  of  his  own  disposition  towards  Christ,  cannot 
but  hope  that  the  mercy  of  God  will  be  exercised  towards  him ;' 
and,  lastly,  sees  'that  it  would  be  incongruous  for  God  to  give 
him  these  inclinations  in  case  he  were  not  to  be  saved  ;'  then  it 
i.s,  as  1  have  already  said,  that  I  seem  to  perceive  that  Mr.  Ed- 
wards, in  fact,  includes  an  appropriation  of  the  mercies  of 
C'hri.st  by  the  sinner  to  liis  own  soul ;  in  other  words,  it  is  then 

that  I  perceive  in  Mr.  E 's  description  the  traces  of  faith, — 

justifying  faitii, — which  carries  him  much  beyond  general  views, 
and  even  much  beyond  any  general  apjjrobation  of  the  Go.spel. 


CHAl'.  XI.     A.I).   179».     /ElWr.  4;).  189 

"Consequences  of  this  View  of  Justifying  Faith. 

§  10.  "  It  is  now  time  to  notice  what  may  at  first  sight, 
perhaps,  appear  to  be  a  formidable  objection  to  this  view  of 
justifying  faith. 

"  The  language  of  Scripture  is,  He  that  believeth  shall  be 
saved,  and  '  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned.' 

"A  very  solemn  and  awful  declaration,  no  doubt!  and  one 
which  should  set  us  all  upon  carefully  examining  ourselves, 
whether  we  be,  or  be  not,  '  in  the  faith.' 

"  The  objection  may  run  thus :  If  every  unbeliever  is  to 
be  damned,  and  if  belief,  or  justif\nng  faith,  implies,  in  its 
essence,  a  personal  appropriation  of  the  benefits  of  Christ's 
redemption,  then  (in  strictness)  no  one  can  be  saved,  except  he 
be  able  so  to  appropriate  the  merits  of  Christ  to  his  own  case : 
Christ's  flock,  it  is  allowed,  is  a  little  flock ;  but  how  exceed- 
ingly, nay,  how  alarmingly,  will  that  little  flock  be  lessened  by 
such  a  definition  as  the  above,  which  seems  so  much  to  narrow 
the  way,  and  straiten  the  gate  that  leads  to  life  ! 

"  §  11.  The  answer  is  this. 

"  If  in  any  particular  or  individual  case  it  should  be  found, 
(what  I  take  to  be  not  uncommon  in  practice,)  that  there  may 
exist  a  true  sound  state  of  the  qualifications  or  preparatives,  in 
the  sense  above  stated,  and  yet  the  sinner,  thou.h  so  qualified 
or  so  prepared,  may  not  yet  have  been  able  to  lay  hold  of  the 
mercies  of  Christ  in  the  way  of  a  personal  appropriation  of  them 
by  faith,  to  his  own  case  ;  this  must  be  owing  either  to  a  want 
of  a  clear  view  of  the  freeness  of  Christ's  salvation,  caused, 
perhaps,  by  some  extraordinary  temptations  of  Satan,  or  by  an 
excessively  deep  sense  of  unworthiness,  producing  an  unreason- 
able and  improper  timidity  of  resolution,  Mith  lowness  of  the 
animal  spirits,  or,  lastly,  in  some  cases,  from  a  degree  of  dulness 
or  imperfection  in  the  intellect  itself;  for  it  is  by  no  means  true, 
that  the  clearness  of  a  contrite  sinner's  perceptions  does  always 
keep  pace  with  the  sanctified  affections  and  sensibilities  of  his 
heart. 

"  Now  whenever  instances  of  this  kind  take  place,  I  cannot 
suppose   that   such  characters   are  to   be   excluded   from   the 


190  CHAP.  Xr.     A.D.  1799.     /ETAT.  49. 

kingdom  of  God,  even  though  they  may  never,  in  this  life, 
attain  to  the  brightness  of  Gospel  Hght,  or,  in  other  words,  to 
the  full  assurance  of  hope.  Such  persons,  it  is  true,  can 
scarcely  be  said  to  have  attained  a  perfect  faith  of  appropriation; 
yet  who  can  deny  but  that  they  may  still  have  hold  of  the  hem 
of  Christ's  garment,  or  who  can  suppose  that  their  defects  or 
imperfections,  in  regard  to  the  matter  of  faith,  are  not  pardon- 
able defects,  insomuch  that  God,  who  alone  sees  the  heart,  may 
impute  to  them  that  faith  which  they  seem  to  be  on  the  very 
edge  of  attaining? 

"§  12.  If  it  should  here  be  further  objected  that,  according 
to  these  ideas,  it  is  not  faith  that  saves  a  sinner,  but  certain 
qualitications  or  preparatives,  I  observe,  that  it  may  appear, 
perhaps,  on  a  review  of  what  has  been  said,  that  an  answer  has, 
in  fact,  been  already  given  to  this  objection. 

"For  we  have  already  seen  that  the  contrite  sinner,  who 
possesses  the  requisite  preparatives,  though  he  may  have  been 
too  diffident  to  exercise  a  faith  of  appropriation,  may  yet  fairly 
be  said  to  be  in  a  probable  state  of  salvation.  Yes!  in  a 
probable  state  of  salvation,  even  though  he  do  not  possess  that 
faith  which  (in  strictness)  justifies.  It  may  well  be  doubted, 
for  example,  whether  the  thief  on  the  cross  had  obtained,  in 
strictness  of  speech,  the  faith  which  justifies ;  yet  who  can 
doubt  of  his  salvation  through  the  merits  of  the  Saviour? 

"  The  Holy  Scriptures,  in  describing  the  way  in  which  salva- 
tion is  obtained,  lay  open  that  great  and  most  important  matter 
with  all  possible  clearness  and  precision.  Among  many  other 
passages  I  would  mention  that  most  explicit  one  in  the  Acts, 
viz.,  '  Repentance  towards  God  and  faith  towards  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.'  Here  it  should  seem  that  repentance  is  to  be 
found  in  what  I  have  called  the  qualifications  or  preparatives. 
I  do  not  say  that  repentance  and  those  qualifications  are 
convertible  terms ;  but  I  see  distinctly  that  those  qualifications 
imply  a  very  great  part,  if  not  the  whole,  of  repentance — and 
then  it  is  particularly  to  be  observed,  that  there  is  superadded 
the  expression,  'Faith  towards  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ!'  Briefly, 
tlicreforc,  tiic  repentance — the  being  weary  and  heavy-laden — 
the  mind's  acquiescence  in  the  Gospel  plan  of  salvation — in  one 


CHAT.   XI.     A.l).    17!»!*.     .^rrAT.  49.  191 

word — the  qualifications  or  preparatives,  are  the  firm  ground- 
work upon  whicli  the  believer  stands,  in  order  that  he  may 
embrace  the  promises  by  the  simple  act  of  appropriating  the 
merits  of  Christ  to  his  own  soul ;  for  it  is,  indeed,  by  this  last- 
mentioned  act  that  he  becomes  united  to  Christ,  in  which  union 
his  safety,  or  salvation,  consists. 

"  So  much  seems  necessary  in  order  to  give  a  clear  idea  of 
the  Scriptural  plan  of  the  salvation  of  a  sinner,  but  when  that 
idea  is  once  clearly  conceived,  it  does  not  follow  but  that  some 
latitude  may  be  allowed  in  the  practical  application  of  it. 
Thus,  for  example,  wlien  the  woman  in  the  crowd  strove  to 
touch  the  garment  of  Christ,  there  was,  doubtless,  in  a  certain 
sense,  an  actual  exercise  of  personal  faith.  She  not  only 
believed  that  there  was  virtue  in  Christ  to  heal  her,  but  she 
believed  also  that  there  was  a  willingness  in  the  Saviour  to 
heal  her  on  her  making  such  an  application. 

"§  13.  On  this  subject  a  very  important  question  arises, 
viz.,  whether  Mr.  E.*s  view,  which  I  have  stated  in  these  pages, 
be  the  safer  view  of  the  two,  and  the  more  likely  to  produce 
good  practical  consequences;  or  again,  whether  this  view,  which 
insists  on  a  personal  appropriation  of  the  Saviour's  merits  by 
faith,  be  not  attended  with  considerable  danger,  and  liable  to 
much  abuse,  if  taught  and  insisted  on  in  all  its  simplicity. 

"To  satisfy  these  inquiries,  I  would,  in  the  first  instance, 
observe,  that  the  previous  question  in  a  doctrinal  matter  of 
this  sort  ought  always  to  be,  '  Is  the  statement  true  and  certain, 
or  is  it  doubtful,  and  perhaps  false?'  If  a  doctrine  be  really 
found  in  Scripture,  and  be  agreeable  to  the  analogy  of  faitli,  we 
are  not  to  be  alarmed  on  account  of  any  invidious  representa- 
tion of  its  consequences  in  regard  to  any  imaginary  danger. 
We  are,  in  general,  very  poor  judges  of  the  consequences  of 
doctrines.  The  simple  inquiry,  therefore,  ought  to  be,  whether 
the  doctrinal  point  on  which  we  are  inquiring  be,  or  be  not, 
taught  in  the  word  of  God.  If  it  be  taught  there,  no  dangerous 
consequences  can  possibly  ensue  from  properly  inculcating  it. 
Moreover,  it  has  constantly  been  the  practice  of  controver- 
sialists in  religion  to  lay  stress  on  some  popular  ol)jection 
grounded   on  the  score   of  danger,   which  they  suppose  must 


19'2  CHAl'.  Xr.     A. I).   1/99.     JETAW   49. 

infallibly  attend  on  the  tenets  of  their  opponents ;  and  this 
practice  is  not  to  be  commended. 

"§  14.  After  having  premised  so  much  on  this  supposed 
head  of  dangerous  consequences,  I  now  proceed  to  observe  that 
a  very  diligent  consideration  of  this  matter  has  convinced  me 
that  the  aforesaid  idea  of  justifj'ing  faith,  which  I  here  under- 
take to  explain  and  support,  so  far  from  being  dangerous  in 
its  consequences,  is,  of  all  things  that  can  be  imagined,  that 
principle  of  practical  religion  which  cannot  fail  to  insure  a 
harvest  of  good  works.  The  'secret  of  the  Lord'  is  said  to  be 
*  with  them  that  fear  Him  ;'  and,  to  my  mind,  that  very  secret 
is  here,  viz.,  that  no  man  can  approj^riate  to  his  own  soul  the 
saving  mercies  of  Christ,  who  is  not  habitually  fighting  the 
good  fight.  I  believe  that  it  does  not  please  God  to  give  this 
assurance  of  hope  to  low  and  negligent  exertions,  or  to  poor  and 
mean  attainments  in  the  Christian  life.  A  hypocrite  will  find 
that  he  cannot  support  the  belief  that  Christ  has  saved  him,  so 
lone:  as  he  is  inactive  or  unfruitful  in  tlie  Christian  course. 

"  I  would  endeavour  to  open  this  matter  somewhat  more 
explicitly,  and  for  this  purpose  let  us  keep  in  view  the  diflference 
between  Mr.  E 's  notion  of  justifying  faith  and  my  own. 

"After  what  has  been  said  that  difference  may  be  briefly 
expressed  in  these  words.  Mr.  Edwards  represents  the  faith  of 
the  believer  as  consisting  in  an  application  to  the  Saviour.  On 
the  contrary,  availing  myself  of  Mr.  E.'s  own  words,  I  consider 
it  as  that  act  of  the  believer  whereby  he  applies  the  Saviour  to 
himself. 

"§  15.  It  is,  I  think,  abundantly  clear  from  Scripture,  that, 
whatever  constitutes  the  essence  of  justifying  faith,  the  possessor 
of  the  right  faith  is  in  a  state  of  salvation  :  and  further,  it  is 
equally  clear  that  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned,  so  that 
salvation  and  a  true  faith  are  infallibly  connected  together. 
These  things  could  not  escape  the  sagacity  and  diligence  of 
Mr.  Edwards. 

"The  next  step  of  this  very  accurate  reasoner  seems  to 
have  been  this,  viz.,  that  whoever  applies  to  the  Saviour  in 
the  sense  which  he  has  described,  or  in  other  words,  whoever 
possesses  the  qualifications   which    I    have  been  describing  as 


CHAP.  XT.     A.D.  17!»9.     /ETAT.  49.  193 

the  necessary  groundwork  for  a  subsequent  appropriating  faith, 
cannot  fail  to  be,  also,  in  a  state  of  salvation  ;  and  tlien  the  con- 
clusion seemed  to  be  perfectly  unexceptionable,  that  justifying 
faith  consisted  in  the  aforesaid  qualifications. 

"  In  one  word,  justifying  faith  secures  the  safety  of  the 
believer ;  so  do  the  quahficatioiis  just  mentioned ;  and  as  nothing 
short  of  justifying  faith  can  secure  the  safety  of  the  believer,  it 
would  follow,  that  justifying  faith  and  these  very  qualifications 
must  be,  in  substance,  the  same  thing.  And  thus,  if  I  am  right 
in  my  stating  of  the  errors  of  Mr.  Edwards,  I  think  I  cannot 
be  wrong  in  this  mode  of  tracing  his  mistake. 

"  It  aj^pears  to  me,  that  this  great  divine  was  led  into  the 
mistake  by  not  observing,  1st,  that  a  well-grounded  appropria- 
tion of  Christ's  merits  implies  every  good  thing  which  his 
system  of  qualifications  can  be  supposed  to  contain,  so  that 
there  can  be  no  room  left  for  delusion;  and  2ndly,  that  the 
qualifications  themselves,  when  abundant  and  truly  of  the  right 
sort,  though  they  do  not  imply  an  actual  appropriation  of  the 
Saviour's  merits,  do,  nevertheless,  imply  so  much  of  a  disposi- 
tion to  lay  hold  of  the  Gospel  promises,  and  to  appropriate 
them,  as  to  exclude  all  doubt  of  the  salvation  of  him  who  is 
allowed  to  be  so  qualified. 

"  §  16.  Still  I  keep  my  mind  on  the  question  just  stated, 
namely,  which  of  the  two  views  of  justifying  faith  is  the  safer? 
and  further,  these  very  considerations  will  very  much  help  us 
to  elucidate  that  important  question.  And  here  my  mind  is 
led  to  inquire  into  the  practical  consequences  of  the  two 
systems  as  thus  stated. 

"  To  me  it  appears  very  clear,  that  the  man  who  considers 
justifying  faith  as  consisting  only  in  a  general  belief  and  appro- 
bation of  the  Gospel  way  of  salvation,  will  be  much  more  likely 
to  rest  contented  with  low  views  of  the  holiness  of  God,  and 
with  a  feeble  contrition  and  penitence  on  account  of  a  sinful 
nature  and  sinful  practice,  than/Zone  who  cannot  rest  satisfied 
with  his  views  of  Christ's  salvation  till  he  is  enabled  to  lay  hold 
of  the  promises  to  his  own  personal  comfort. 

"  The  former  may  say,  '  God  is  holy  and  just,  mankind  are 
fallen  and  wicked,  and  Christ  has  purchased  redemption,'  and 

o 


194  CHAP.  XI.     A.D.   1799.     ^TAT.  49. 

may,  I  think,  much  more  easily  thus  rest  contented  with  slight 
views  of  the  nature  of  conversion  and  sanctification,  than  the 
latter  can  do,  who  examines  himself  whether  he  be  actually 
weary  and  heavy-laden,  and  not  only  examines  himself  on 
these  points,  but  prays  importunately  for  deliverance  from  the 
plague  of  an  evil  heart,  and  for  ability  both  to  rejoice  in 
God's  salvation,  and  also  to  relish  the  beauty  of  holiness.  The 
one  may  be  content  with  knowing  that  he  is  to  apply  to  the 
Saviour  for  every  blessing,  while  the  other  feels  that  he  has 
applied  for  the  grace  of  God,  knows  whom  he  has  trusted,  and 
goes  on  cheerfully  in  the  narrow  way. 

"  §  17.  And  here  a  distinction  of  some  consequence  in  this 
inquiry  occurs  to  my  mind. 

"  An  erroneous  or  ill-grounded  appropriation  of  the  merits  of 
Christ  is,  I  allow,  much  more  dangerous  than  a  defect  in  the 
aforesaid  qualifications;  but  then,  I  think,  such  a  delusion  is,  in 
fact,  much  less  frequent,  and,  from  the  reason  of  the  thing, 
much  less  likely  to  happen,  than  the  other. 

"  A  truly  serious  and  intelligent  person,  who  has  studied  the 
Scriptures,  will  not  easily  appropriate  the  merits  of  Christ  to 
his  own  case,  without  a  very  strict  examination  into  those 
qualifications  which  entitle  him  to  do  so.  And  if,  in  fact,  he  be 
striving  to  ^  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate,^  or,  in  other  words,  be 
striving  to  obtain  peace  with  God,  by  a  sound  faith  in  his  Son, 
he  will  labour  to  attain  those  holy  views  of  the  divine  cha- 
racter, and  along  with  them,  that  deep  contrition  of  soul,  which 
will  enaljle  him  to  trust  in  Jesus  witli  a  conscience  at  ease 
through  the  blood  of  the  covenant. 

"§  18.  Whereas,  on  the  other  hand,  a  person  who  is  in- 
structed to  look  at  the  qualifications  as  the  essence  of  his  faith, 
and  the  foundation  of  his  peace  with  God,  may,  as  it  appears 
to  me,  be  much  sooner  brought  into  a  belief,  that  he  has 
obtained  enough  for  the  ease  of  his  conscience  in  this  world, 
and  the  safety  of  his  soul  in  the  next.  I  am,  at  present,  not 
speaking  of  downright  hypocrites  who  are  deceiving  both  them- 
selves and  others,  whatever  may  be  their  views  of  justifying 
faith,  that  is,  whether  they  think  it  consists  in  qualifications  or 
in    appropriation,  but  of  truly   sound   Christians,   so   far  as   a 


CHAP.  XI.     A.l).    1790.     /ETAT.  4!i.  195 

judgment  can  be  formed;  and  here  I  cannot  hut  think  (after 
much  consideration),  that  the  Christian  whose  notion  of  justify- 
ing faith  consists  in  the  attainment  of  quahfications,  as  its 
essence,  is  in  much  more  danger  of  becoming  negUgent,  and 
contented  with  a  low  state  of  grace,  and,  perhaps,  of  deceiving 
his  own  heart,  and  even  of  falUng  away  at  length  from  the 
soundness  of  Gospel  doctrine  and  Gospel  practice.  The  reason 
is,  that  his  system  is  much  more  loose  and  undefined,  and 
uidess  great  care  be  taken,  is  liable  to  degenerate  into  pha- 
risaism. 

"  Not  so  the  other  character.  It  is  true,  he  must  labour 
incessantly  to  obtain  the  very  qualifications  so  often  spoken  of, 
but  then  he  does  not  rest  in  those  qualifications.  They  are  to 
enable  him  to  believe,  that  is,  to  appropriate  the  merits  of 
Christ  to  his  own  case.  His  object,  therefore,  is  by  far  more 
simple  than  that  of  the  other,  who  rests  in  the  qualifications  as 
the  end  of  his  Christian  exercises. 

"§  19.  This,  I  think,  is  a  distinction  of  considerable  conse- 
quence in  practice.  For,  it  may  be  further  observed,  that  the 
simplicity  of  which  I  here  speak,  pervades  every  part  of  the 
practice  of  that  believer  whose  faith  consists  in  a  direct  appro- 
priation of  the  merits  of  Christ.  It  is  by  no  means  confined 
to  the  single  act  of  believing.  I  wish  I  could  so  trace  the 
difference  between  the  two  characters,  now  in  the  view  of  my 
mind,  as  to  render  that  conception  of  the  thing  (which  seems 
abundantly  plain  to  myself)  easy  to  be  apprehended  by  others 
also. 

"  The  appropriating  believer  has  the  Saviour  before  his  eyes 
in  every  thing  that  he  does.  He  looks  constantly  to  him  for 
orders,  because  he  is  the  captain  of  his  salvation,  and  he  is 
fighting  under  his  banners.  In  all  his  distresses  he  cries  to 
him  for  help,  because  he  has  put  his  trust  in  him,  and  to  him 
committed  his  cause.  He  is  little  shaken  by  temptation, 
because  he  is  acquainted  with  his  deliverer.  He  is  not  always 
seeking  for  his  treasure,  because  he  is  conscious  that  he  has 
found  it;  accordingly  he  values  it  and  rejoices  in  its  possession. 

"  It  is  very  true  that  he  was  led  to  obtain  this  treasure,  this 
pearl  of  great  price,  through  the  medium  of  qualifications  and 

o  2 


196  CHAP.  Xr.    A.D.  1709.     ^TAT.  49. 

preparatives.  These  qualifications  pointed  out  to  him  the  neces- 
sity of  a  Saviour,  the  misery  of  man,  and  the  holiness  and 
mercy  of  God  ;  they  therefore  impelled  him  to  lay  hold  of  the 
proflfered  means,  but  having  obtained  this  great  end  of  all  the 
means,  it  is  the  less  necessary  for  him  to  keep  these  in  per- 
petual contemplation,  because  the  presence  of  his  Saviour  does 
for  him  all  that  he  can  desire,  and  all  that  can  be  needful  for 
his  happiness  and  for  his  progress  in  the  Christian  course. 

"  §  20.  As  I  trust  it  is  the  sincere  desire  of  my  mind  to  state 
all  the  arguments  Avhich  occur  to  me  on  this  subject,  with  strict 
impartiality,  I  must  not  dissemble  that  there  does  seem  to  be 
(after  all)  a  certain  view  of  this  question  which  may  be  sup- 
posed to  be  favourable  to  Mr.  E.'s  conceptions  of  the  nature  of 
justifying  faith. 

"  It  may  be  urged,  e.g.  that  notwithstanding  all  the  oppo- 
sition which  I  have  made  to  Mr.  E.'s  ideas,  I  still  have  been 
compelled  to  make  several  very  important  concessions. 

"E.g.  Do  I  not  allow  that  the  qualifications  of  which  we 
have  so  largely  treated,  are  essential  to  the  character  of  the 
true  believer?  Do  I  not  allow  that  the  Christian  cannot  pos- 
sibly be  justified  without  them?  And  then,  further,  have  1  not, 
in  fact  and  substance,  admitted  that  that  act  of  appropriation 
by  which  the  believer  applies  the  Saviour  to  his  own  case,  is  an 
act  not  absolutely  essential  to  his  salvation?  Have  I  not  ad- 
mitted, that  if  the  qualifications  be  but  genuine,  the  act  of 
appropriation  may  be  safely  dispensed  with,  and  that,  in  reality, 
this  act  may  be  considered  as,  without  doubt  or  controversy, 
virtually  implied  in  the  mind  of  him  wlio  possesses  the  qualifi- 
cations ? 

"  Lastly,  if  these  things  be  really  so,  is  it  possible  to  support 
a  doubt  on  which  side  the  advantage  lies  ?  and  does  not  this 
great  rule  of  practice  suggest  itself  to  our  minds,  viz.:  ^  Let 
your  anxiety  be  respecting  the  qualifications;  examine  them 
narrowly — use  all  diligence  about  them;  watch  every  avenue  to 
delusion  in  this  matter.  If  you  secure  the  qualifications,  you 
caiinot  be  essentially  wrong — any  other  defect  you  may  have  will 
be  venial;  for,  in  truth,  it  will  be  rather  a  theoretical,  than  a 
practical  defect.' 


CHAP.  XI.     A.D.    179U.     /*:TAT.  49.  197 

"§  21.  On  the  other  liand,  the  man  who  hiys  great  stress  on 
his  system  of  appropriation  may  (it  is  true)  be  safe ;  but  still, 
his  safety  depends  on  the  soundness  of  his  qualifications,  rather 
than  on  the  confidence  of  his  appropriation.  In  his  appro- 
priation, he  may  easily  be  deluded ;  and  he  is  the  more 
likely  to  be  so,  in  proportion  as  he  sets  a  high  comparative 
value  on  that  attainment,  and  thinks  meanly  of  the  requisite 
qualifications. 

"  It  may,  therefore,  be  thought,  that,  at  the  best,  there  can 
be  but  little  gained  by  the  system  of  appropriation,  however  cor- 
rectly it  may  be  understood  in  theory,  or  however  justly  applied 
in  practice ;  but  it  is  very  obvious,  that  by  a  misapprehension 
of  the  doctrine,  or  a  misapplication  of  it,  the  greatest  mischief 
may  be  the  consequence. 

"  §  22.  In  this  statement,  it  will  not  be  denied,  that  there 
is  so  much  truth  as  to  call  for  abundant  practical  caution :  and 
the  caution  will  ever  be  found  to  consist  in  studiously  con- 
tending for  the  due  qualifications  as  essentially  necessary  to 
form  the  foundation  of  personal  appropriation  of  the  Saviour's 
merits.  For,  no  doubt,  if  this  consideration  be  left  out,  or 
only  slightly  insisted  on,  we  corrupt  the  word  of  God  and 
pervert  his  Gospel  to  the  destruction  of  the  soul.  But  be  it 
ever  remembered,  that  on  no  occasion  are  we  to  surrender  the 
truth,  because  it  may,  by  possibility,  be  perverted  or  abused. 
Our  business  is  to  take  care,  that  while  we  are  contending  for 
the  sound  and  essential  doctrine  of  appropriation,  we  do  not 
forget,  or  lower,  or  speak  lightly  of  the  requisite  qualifica- 
tions. These  must  be  insisted  upon  wuth  all  our  might, 
and  all  our  care  and  diligence.  Moreover,  the  answer  to 
such  statements  as  the  above  in  favour  of  the  qualifications, 
whenever  these  are  insisted  on  to  the  disparagement  of  the 
doctrine  of  appropriation,  will  ever  consist  in  the  two  following 
things: — 

"The  first  is,  that  this  doctrine,  when  properly  taught,  by 
one  who  rightly  divides  the  word  of  God,  not  only  possesses 
every  advantage  which  the  system  of  qualifications  can  pretend 
to,  but  also  carries  the  believer  much  further  in  his  Christian 
views  and  conceptions,  than  that  system  can  possibly  do ;  and 


198  CHAP.  XI.    A. D.  1791).    yETAT.  49. 

no  wonder:  it  is  «iore  Scriptural  in  itself,  and  therefore  it  is 
not  to  1)6  treated  as  a  piece  of  mere  technical  theory  in  religion. 
By  tliis  system  the  union  with  the  Saviour  becomes  more  close, 
more  steady,  and  consequently  cannot  fail  to  prove  more  pro- 
ductive. The  man  who  rests  his  all  on  preparatives  and 
qualifications,  or  docs  so  in  a  great  measure,  may,  1  allow,  be 
still  substantially  riglit,  in  the  main;  but  the  man  who  is  in  the 
lial)it  of  appropriating,  is  he,  who,  I  think,  has  a  mucli  more 
distinct  view  of  Jesus  Christ  as  his  Redeemer,  and  will  pro- 
bably abide  in  him  more  uniformly  throughout  the  course  of  his 
pilgrimage. 

"  To  illustrate  and  support  this  point  by  Scriptural  expres- 
sions and  Scriptural  examples,  Avould  be  a  very  useful  work,  if 
undertaken  and  executed  by  one  who  is  wise  in  the  Sacred 
Writings,  and  who  has  had  experience  of  the  Divine  life  in 
liis  own  soul,  as  well  as  of  the  artifices  and  buffetings  of 
Satan. 

"  §  23.  The  other  thing  to  which  I  have  just  alluded,  wliich 
ought  also  to  be  kept  in  mind,  by  any  one  who  wishes  to 
observe  upon  the  aforesaid  statement  in  favour  of  the  notion 
(;f  qualifications  and  preparatives,  has  already  been  touched  on, 
in  the  course  of  these  remarks,  and  particularly  at  §  16,  viz., 
that  whatever  may  be  said  in  general,  on  the  heads  of  the  safety 
of  qualifications,  as  opposed  to  the  idea  of  appropriation,  in  the 
article  of  justifying  faith,  there  is  very  great  danger  of  a 
Christian's  resting  content  with  much  inferior  degrees  of  holi- 
ness, and  much  slighter  attainments  of  personal  connexion  with 
the  Saviour,  and  mucli  lower  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

"And  here  also,  I  conceive,  much  might  be  said,  to  good 
purpose,  on  the  great  danger  of  resting  in  sucli  low  and  doubtful 
qualifications.  It  might  easily  be  shown,  that  it  is  by  no  means 
true,  that  tliis  side  of  the  question  is  so  very  safe  as  it  is  pre- 
tended to  be. 

"The  man  who  is  eager  to  appropriate,  and  who  cannot 
appropriate  without  a  broad  and  solid  foundation  to  support 
liim,  such  a  man  will,  most  probably,  be  anxious  to  abound  in 
the  true  (Christian  preparatives  or  qualifications.  Not  so,  I 
believe,  the  man  whose  system  is  to   rest   in  the  said  qualifica- 


CHAP.  XI.     A.D.  1799.     ^TAT.  4!>.  1^^ 

tioiis  ;  and  the  reason  is  very  plain.  Tlie  former  has  an  object 
to  obtain;  he  cannot  gain  his  object,  that  is,  he  cannot  appro- 
priate, without  the  j)reparatives ;  he,  therefore,  labours  to 
possess  them:  but  the  hitter,  having  no  distinct  ol)ject  in  view, 
beyond  a  general  notion  of  Christian  qualifications,  appears  to 
me  to  want  altogether  tliat  spur  which  accelerates  the  course  of 
the  former. 

"Thus  the  argument  is  turned  the  other  way;  and  a  person 
well  furnished  with  Gospel  doctrines  may,  I  think,  prove  this 
point,  with  much  clearness  and  precision." 

It  may  he  allowable  to  conclude  this  chapter  with  the 
quotation  of  an  eloquent  passage  from  one  of  Dean  Milner's 
sermons,  apparently  written  while  his  mind  was  employed  upon 
the  subject  of  the  foregoing  dissertation*. 

"  It  may  be  hard  to  say  whether  I  do  more  harm  by 
preaching  '  Peace !  peace !'  to  a  mere  nominal  Christian,  to  a 
wicked  worldling,  who  has  obtained  no  saving  interest  in  the 
Redeemer's  merits;  or  by  denying  to  a  sincere  believer  in 
Christ,  that  consolation  and  rest  to  his  conscience,  which  the 
Scriptures  hold  forth  to  such  characters.  In  both  cases,  I 
should  act  very  ignorantly  and  very  unfaithfully.  The  true 
servant  of  Christ  has  a  right  to  look  up  to  the  Father  of  Jesus 
as  his  Father,  and  to  Jesus  himself  as  his  elder  Brother:  and  if 
this  be  so,  why  is  not  the  man  to  be  told  so,  in  so  many  plain 
words  ?  But  in  regard  to  one  who,  by  sin,  is  daily  crucifying 
his  Saviour  afresh,  there  can  be  neither  truth  nor  propriety  in 
applying  the  same  language  to  him:  he  must,  in  the  first  place, 
deeply  repent  in  dust  and  ashes,  and,  by  prayer  and  aj)plication 
for  mercy  at  the  throne  of  grace,  through  Christ,  must  acquire 
ground  to  believe  that  he  has  an  approj)riate  interest  in  the 
merits  of  the  Redeemer. 

"*But  have  not  all  men  (it  will  be  asked)  an  interest  in  the 
sufferings  and  death  of  the  Son  of  God  ?  Has  any  particular 
jierson  a  ground  for  higher  pretensions  in  this  matter  ?  Are  we 
not  all   sinners,   and   therefore   all   on    a   j^erfcct   level   in   this 


See  Sermons  of  Dean  Milner,  vol.  i.,  p.  196. 


200  CHAP.  XI.     A.D.  17U!».     /ETAT.  4!). 

respect  ?'  Such  questions,  1  acknowledge,  are  quite  pertinent 
to  this  inquiry;  and  the  answers  which  they  call  forth  will  very 
much  elucidate  the  subject  before  us. 

"  It  is  very  true,  and  be  it  ever  remembered  with  unfeigned 
and  universal  gratitude,  that  Christ  is  the  propitiation  for  the 
sins  of  the  whole  world.  So  far,  every  human  creature  that 
treads  this  globe  may  be  said  to  have  an  important  interest  in 
the  sufferings  and  death  of  Christ.  Indeed,  so  very  important 
is  this  truth,  that  it  is  the  very  first  consideration  that  gives 
any  good  ground  for  hopes  of  pardon  to  a  guilty  sinner,  and 
affords  ease  to  his  burdened  soul.  Here  he  fixes  his  foot;  and 
though  surrounded  with  fears  and  misgivings,  with  guilt  and 
danger,  still  he  may  bid  defiance  to  despair.  '  Christ,'  says 
he,  '  died  for  all  sinners,  without  a  single  exception.  The  gate 
is  strait,  I  do  believe ;  but  no  one  shall  tell  me  it  is  not  open.' 
Such  is  the  })oor  penitent's  argument,  and,  God  l)e  praised !  it 
is  a  perfectly  sound  argument — and  his  interest  in  Jesus  Christ 
is,  so  far,  effectually  established.  I  say,  so  far,  because  we 
must  here  most  carefully  distinguish,  and  remember,  that  this 
is  by  no  means  that  interest  in  Christ  which  enables  the  sinner, 
in  the  true  spirit  of  adoption,  to  cry  *  Abba  Father ;'  this  is  not 
that  interest  in  Christ  which  a  sanctified  penitent  servant  of 
God  has  obtained. 

"  Once  more ;  this  general,  or  rather,  universal  interest  in 
the  Redeemer,  of  which  I  have  been  speaking,  important  as  it 
is,  is  no  more  than  what  the  greatest,  and  I  may  add,  the  most 
impenitent  sinner  alive  may  have.  Nay,  he  actually  has  it, 
whether  he  ever  makes  use  of  it  or  not;  and,  on  the  dreadful 
supposition,  that  he  dies  in)penitent,  it  will,  at  the  last  day,  be 
his  greatest  condemnation,  that  he  did  not,  while  aUve,  make 
use  of  this  interest.     ***** 

"There  is,  therefore,  something  further  to  be  acquired, 
beyond  tliis  general  or  universal  ijiterest  in  Christ  Jesus; 
something  to  be  done  by  which  an  appropriate  interest  may  be 
established;  something  on  which  nuiy  be  grounded  the  rela- 
tionship of  Father  and  Son,  between  Almighty  God  as  a 
Father,  and  the  penitent  sinner  as  one  of  his  chiklren — 
between   Christ    Jesus,    the  elder   Brother,  and   the    penitent 


CHAP.  XI.     A.D.   I7!i!>..   /ETAT.  4'J.  201 

sinner,  as  a  brother  and  joint  heir  with  Christ  his  Lord.  In 
other  words,  that  general  interest  which  all  mankind  have  in 
the  salvation  and  redemption  by  Jesus  must  be  carried  into 
effect  by  every  man  for  himself,  in  eacli  particular  case,  in  order 
that  Christ  may  not  have  shed  his  blood  in  vain." 

The  above  quotation  cannot  fail  to  be  interesting  to  the 
readers  of  this  memoir  of  Dean  Milner,  Ijoth  as  exhibiting  a 
considerable  accordance  with  the  preceding  thoughts  on  justifi- 
cation, and  also  as  aff'ording  a  fair  sample  of  the  usual  style 
and  manner  of  his  addresses  from  the  pulpit. 


202 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Animadvei-sions  upon  Lord  Grenville's  Answer  to  Buonaparte's  Letter  to 
George  III. — CoiTespondence. — Religious  Experience. — William  Hey, 
Esq. — Liberality  of  Dean  Miluer  towards  the  poor  of  Leeds. — Letters  to 
Rev.  Wm.  Richardson. — Distress  of  Mind. — Professor  Carlyle. — Remarks 
on  the  Religious  Exi)orience  of  Dean  JSIilncr. —  Letters. — Dr.  Haweis' 
Impartial  History  of  the  Church. — Dean  Milner's  Life  of  his  Brother. — 
Subsequent  additions  to  the  Life  respecting  the  change  in  Joseph  Milner's 
Religious  Views. — Dr.  Milner's  Feelings  during  the  Writing  of  i\\eLife. — 
Elasticity  of  Spirits. — Charge  of  Irregularity  recently  brought  against 
the  late  Rev.  Joseph  Milner. — Dr.  Hook. — Letter  to  the  Rev.  James 
StiUingtleet. — Dr.  Haweis. — Letter  to  a  Friend  on  the  dangerous  Illness 
of  his  Son. — Letters  to  Rev.  Wm.  Richardson. — Opinion  of  the  present 
Bishop  of  Calcutta  upon  Dean  Milner's  Religious  Publications. — Dean 
Milner's  attaclmient  to  Cambridge. — Ilis  conscientious  Employment  of 
Time. 

A.D.  1800.     tETAT.  50.' 

Dean  Milner's  political  sentiments,  his  decided  and  strong 
attachment  to  the  existing  institutions  of  the  country,  being 
considered,  it  is  impossible  not  to  perceive  and  admire  the 
sagacity  which  dictated  the  letter  from  which  the  following 
extract  is  taken,  on  the  subject  of  Lord  Grenville's  answer  to 
the  letter  then  recently  addressed  to  King  George  III.,  by 
Napoleon  Buonaparte. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  numbers  of  persons  belonging  to 
the  political  party  to  which  Dr.  Milner  conscientiously  adhered, 
thought  and  advised  differently ;  but  in  politics,  as  in  all  other 
matters,  he  invariably  thought  for  himself. 

"To  William  Wilherforce,  Esq. 

"  Queen's  College,  January  21,  1800. 
*  *  *  "  If  I  had  had  his*  note  to  answer,  I  would 
have  been  a  deal  more  civil  in  words,  but  equally  firm  in  sub- 
stance. 'I'liey  were,  I  think,  perfectly  right  in  not  letting  the 
King  answer — but  wliy  could  tiiey  not  have  said,  *  We  are  glad 
1()  hear  of  the  very  name  of  peace,  in  any  way  or  in  any  form  ; 

*  Buonaparte's. 


CHAP.   XII.     A.l).  IHOO.     yETAT.  50.  203 

l>ut  what  signifies  asking  us  whether  the  war  is  to  be  eternal  ? 
You  propose  nothing;  we  have  formerly  proposed,  and  have 
been  sent  back  with  contempt.  You  show  no  disposition  to 
peace  but  in  talk ;  and  at  the  very  same  time,  you  tell  your 
armies  you  are  going  to  invade  us,  &c.,  &c.' 

"  It  seems  to  me,  that  if  Buonaparte  were  meditating  some 
violent  measure,  either  on  us,  or  on  the  allies,  or  both ;  and 
wished  to  influence  France,  and  make  the  people  contribute 
freely,  and  the  soldiers  fight  in  earnest,  we,  by  such  an  answer, 
should  concur  with  him  most  effectually. 

"  In  a  word,  conceive  him  at  the  head  of  his  troops,  with 
our  answer  in  his  hands,  and  commenting  upon  it. 

"  I  cannot  think,  that  any  thing  would  have  been  lost,  by 
shewing  a  disposition  to  hear. 

"  I  would  have  stated  the  objection  arising  from  the  insta- 
bility of  their  government;  but  still,  I  would  not  have  con- 
sidered it  as  an  effectual  bar  to  hearing  what  they  have  to  say. 
It  is  ridiculous  to  talk  of  Buonaparte's  government  being  a 
government  only  of  a  day  or  two  ;  be  it  so.  Suppose  he  offers 
to  quit  Belgium,  and  to  put  you  and  the  allies  in  possession  of 
everything  they  could  wish ;  would  you  refuse  the  advantage 
because  he  is  an  upstart  ? 

"There  is  no  probability  of  any  such  thing,  I  believe,  in  the 
main ;  yet  I  declare  I  should  be  surprised  at  nothing ;  and  I 
would  never  have  exasperated  him,  nor  shut  his  mouth.  Hear 
him,  I  say,  hear  him  ;  but  don't  give  up  a  particle  to  him.  I 
suppose  it  will  be  said,  that  he  wanted  his  authority  to  be 
recognised  by  us — it  may  be  so — but  possibly,  he  wanted  it  to 
be  rejected.  I  don't  know  enough  of  the  interior  of  France,  or 
of  his  particular  views,  to  say  well  what  he  wants ;  but  I  am 
sure,  there  would  have  been  great  use  in  letting  him  go  on,  and 
in  seeing  what  he  is  driving  at.  There  would  have  been  no 
harm  in  expressing  the  utmost  doubts  as  to  his  stability,  nor 
would  I  have  expressed  those  doubts  at  all  in  friendly  terms ; 
but  there  is  a  deal  of  difference  between  friendship  and  civility. 
Nothing  like  a  wish  for  his  stability,  should  have  come  from 
me  ;  and  for  similar  reasons,  I  would  have  said  nothing  about 
the  old  line  of  princes.      Alas  !    alas  !    only  think — in  a  very 


204  CHAP.  XII.     A.D.  1800.     iETAT.  50. 

short  time  you  may  be  on  your  knees  to  this  very  B.,  and 
begging  him  to  admit  you  to  negotiate  !  I  hope  our  people 
will  not  ride  the  great  horse  ;  it  is  such  a  horrid  measure.  Not 
that,  on  the  whole,  I  expect  a  successful  negotiation ;  but  I 
wish  the  argument  to  be  on  our  side  when  it  is  broken  off,  and 
that  we  may  say  with  truth,  as  the  Americans  did,  '  We  have 
exhausted  the  last  drop  of  the  cup  of  reconciliation.'  Tliose 
that  give  our  Ministers  credit  for  more  discretion  and  foresight 
than  I  do,  may  view  this  matter  in  a  different  light.  They  may 
suppose,  that  they  know,  that  nine  parts  out  of  ten  of  Frances 
are  ripe  for  restoring  monarchy ;  and  that  the  allies,  the  three 
great  powers,  have  solemnly  coalesced,  and  sworn  to  set  all 
matters  on  their  old  footing ;  and  lastly,  that  they  will  keep 
their  vows.  If  all  this  be  absolutely  foreknown,  I  grant  it  will 
make  some  difference  in  the  reasoning ;  but  really  not  a  great 
deal,  even  then ;  still  I  would  have  given  him  civil  words, 
however  I  had  thought  it  necessary  to  guard  against  strengthen- 
ing his  authority. 

"Every  body  that  I   see,  thinks  with  me,  except  AV 

who  has  long  been  violent  for  the  Duke  of  Portland,  Wyndham^ 
&c." 

The  following  letter  to  Mr.  Richardson  of  York,  although 
somewhat  similar  in  its  character  to  one  addressed  a  short  time 
before  to  Mr.  Wilberforce  *,  is,  if  possible,  yet  more  touching 
and  affecting.  It  cannot  fail  to  be  read  with  advantage  and 
with  deep  interest  by  all  religious  persons ;  and  to  such  of  the 
religious  friends  of  the  late  Dean  Milner  as  may  still  survive, 
it  will  be  in  the  highest  degree  satisfactory. 

These  considerations  justify  its  publication. 

"To  THE  Rev.  William  Richardson. 

"  Qiiec'?i\t  Collcye  Lodge, 
"Mv  DEAR  Sill,  Ath  February,  1800. 

"  When  wc  are  upon  a  footing  of  ceremony  with  people,  we 
seldom  fail  to  answer  their  letters  very  punctually  ;  and  I  assure 

*  Chap.  .\.  p.  177- 


CHAP.  XII.     A.l).   1800.     yETAT.  50.  205 

you  I  have  often  thought  it  to  1)6  an  odd  sort  of  proof  of  friend- 
ship, to  neglect,  for  a  long  time,  the  kind  communications  of 
those  whom  we  sincerely  love  and  regard.  It  is  far  from  being 
the  best  sort  of  proof,  I  admit;  but  still  it  is  a  real  proof — at 
least,  I  must  not  give  up  the  point  just  now,  when  I  have 
before  me  (unanswered)  your  truly  kind  letter  of  the  23rd  of 
November  last. 

"  It  set  my  mind  at  ease  at  the  time,  in  regard  to  the 
subjects  it  referred  to,  and  I  have  looked  it  over  several  times 
since  with  great  pleasure.  I  have  experienced  a  very  afflicting 
winter  on  the  whole.  I  have  had  a  deal  of  pain ;  but  by  far 
the  worst  to  bear  is  the  affection  of  the  mind. 

"  My  views  have,  of  late,  been  exceedingly  dark  and  dis- 
tressing; in  a  word,  Almighty  God  seems  to  hide  his  face. 

"  I  entrust  the  secret  hardly  to  any  earthly  being.  I 
endeavour  to  pour  out  my  heart  before  God ;  but  really  I 
receive  so  little  that  I  can  fairly  call  answers,  in  any  shape, 
that  my  heart  fails,  and  I  know  not  what  will  become  of  me. 
I  feel  assured,  that,  for  a  good  while,  my  earnest  desire  has  been 
to  serve  God  according  to  my  station,  and  to  give  myself 
wholly  to  Him ;  and  I  hoped  I  was  going  on  tolerably  well : 
but  I  find  it  no  easy  matter  to  look  death  and  judgment  in  the 
face;  and  the  thing  which  most  dispirits  me  is,  that  my  own 
case  takes  up  so  much  of  my  attention,  that,  in  a  measure,  my 
usefulness  is  destroyed,  or  at  least  lessened. 

"  I  see  my  fault  to  be,  that  I  am  impatient  in  praver,  and 
do  not  hope  and  wait  quietly :  but  how  to  get  the  better  of 
this,  I  am  utterly  at  a  loss.  I  don't  know  whether  I  make 
you  understand  me  perfectly.  In  one  word,  as  my  prospects 
here  in  this  world  grow  darker  and  darker  as  to  bodily  decay, 
I  would  fain  have  my  evidences  of  a  good  hope  brighten, — else 
what  is  to  support  me  ?  There  is,  doubtless,  a  good  deal  of 
bodily  affection  mixed  with  this  ;  but  it  is  not  all  so,  and  the 
devil  is  very  bu-^y.  I  bless  God,  however,  that  I  never  lose 
sight  of  the  Cross,  as  the  great  thing  to  cling  to ;  and  thouo-h 
I  should  die  without  seeing  any  personal  interest  iji  the 
Redeemer's  merits,  I  think, — I  hope,  I  should  be  found  at  his 
feet.      If  I   am  to  be  saved  at  all,  it  is  assuredly  in  this  wav. 


206  CHAP.  XIT.     A.D.  1800.     ^TAT.  50. 

This  conviction  has  not  yet  been  shaken  in  my  mind ;  but  it  is 
a  blind  sort  of  faith,  and  nearer  allied  to  despair  than  to  confi- 
dence. I  see  plainly,  indeed,  that  there  is  no  other  way,  but 
still  I  do  not  see  but  that  I  may  perish. 

"  I  will  thank  you  for  a  word  at  your  leisure.  My  door  is 
bolted  all  the  time  T  am  writing  this,  for  I  am  full  of  tears. 

"  The  first  volume  of  the  Ecclesiusticul  History  is  nearly 
reprinted  :  it  has  been  a  very  laborious  job  ;  but  if  I  am  spared 
I  will  try  what  I  can  make  of  the  fourth  volume. 

"  I  am  ordered  by  the  Archbishop  to  preach  at  St.  James's 
Chapel  on  Friday,  the  28th  instant,  and  I  certainly  intend  to 
do  so.     They  don't  often  hear  the  truth,  I  fear. 

"I.  M. 

"  P.S.  Our  good  friend  Stillingfleet  wrote  to  me,  by  this 
post,  the  kindest  letter  imaginable  :  quite  in  his  style. 

"  I  have  heard  from  Carlyle,  at  Constantinople ;  all  is  well. 
I  repeat  it,  I  am  extremely  pleased  with  Bulmer." 

The  state  of  Dean  Milner's  health  at  this  period  induced 
Jiim  to  recur  to  the  advice  of  his  friend,  the  late  William 
Hey,  Esq.,  of  Leeds,  whose  letters  exhibit  eminent  piety  and 
friendly  regard,  as  well  as  professional  skill. 

In  a  letter  dated  Fel)ruary  19th,  ISOO,  this  gentleman 
writes, — "  I  will  endeavour  to  dispose  of  the  liberal  supply  you 
have  sent  me,  in  comforting  many  distressed  persons." 

This  passage  refers  to  a  sum  of  money  sent  at  stated  times 
by  Dr.  Milner  to  Mr.  Hey,  to  be  by  him  distributed  among 
such  of  his  poor  patients  as  might  be  unable  to  procure  for 
themselves  the  comforts  which  their  circumstances  required. 
It  would  ill  become  the  biographer  of  Dean  Milner  to  publish 
the  deeds  of  Christian  liberality  which  were  done  by  him  in 
secret;  but  it  may  be  allowable  to  say,  that  amid  his  many  acts 
of  benevolence,  to  strangers,  as  well  as  to  his  own  poor  relatives, 
he  was  ever  ready  to  allow  the  peculiar  claims  of  his  indigent 
fellow-townsmen  of  Leeds  ;  with  resjicct  to  them  in  jiarticular 
it  might  1)1!  truly  said,  tliat  "  tlie  l)k'ssing  of  liini  llmt  was  ready 
to  perish  came  upon"  him  ;  and  he  "caused  liu'  widow's  heart 
to  sing  for  joy." 


CHAP.  XII.     A.D.  1800.     TETAT.  50.  2()7 

Mr.  Richardson,  as  it  appears,  replied  very  kindly  to  the 
affecting  communication  from  Dean  Mihier,  dated  February 
4th,  and  the  Dean,  always  peculiarly  grateful  for  kindness,  thus 
again  wrote  to  him  from  the  residence  of  Mr.  Wilherforce,  in 
Old  Palace  Yard. 

"To  THE  Rev.  William  Richardson. 

"  Old  Palace  Yard, 
*  My  dear  Friend,  Westminster.^  March  ^th,  1800. 

"  I  will  seize  a  vacant  moment  (and  it  is  but  a  moment)  to 
assure  you  that  your  very  kind  letter  of  February  l7th,  which 
is  now  before  me,  was  truly  a  cordial  to  my  mind,  almost 
overwhelmed  with  darkness  and  sorrow. 

"  May  God  bless  you  and  visit  you  with  his  choicest  bless- 
ings, for  so  noticing  your  poor  friend. 

"  I  would  hope  you  are  not  entirely  mistaken  in  my  case, 
and  I  know  you  dare  not  flatter;  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  I 
must  not,  I  fear,  give  you  that  full  credit  for  understanding  my 
situation  in  spirituals,  which  I  should  wish  to  do. 

"  Next  to  any  immediate  act  of  kindness  which  you  are  so 
good  as  to  show  to  my  poor  self,  there  is  no  possible  way  in 
which  you  can  so  effectually  secure  and  call  forth  my  grateful 
feelings  towards  you,  as  by  the  friendly  attention  which  you 
pay  to  the  writings  of  my  deceased  brother.  I  know  the 
trouble  such  an  undertaking  gives ;  and  therefore  I  know  how 
to  appreciate  your  regard  to  his  memory.  Still  I  entreat 
you  not  to  flag  in  this  matter*.  Again,  my  dear  friend,  God 
bless  you. 

"  Your  affectionate  I.  M." 

The  following  letter  to  the  same  excellent  friend  affords, 
besides  other  interesting  matter,  an  instance  of  the  great 
kindness  which  it  was  Dr.  Milner's  invariable  practice  to 
bestow  upon  such  deserving  young  men  as  were  recommended 
to  his  favourable  attention. 


Mr.  Ricliardson  was  engaged  in  preparing  for  pnhlioation  a  volume  of  .Toseph 
Milner's  Sermons. 


208  CHAP.  XII.     A.D.  1800.     ^TAT.  50. 

"To  THE  Rev.  William  Richardson. 

"  Queen's  College  Lodge, 
"My  dear  Friend,  April  \Oth,  1800. 

"  Mr.  B.  kindly  called  upon  me  to-day,  to  say  that  a  friend 
of  his  was  going  to  York  to-morrow  morning ;  and  so  I  take 
advantage  of  the  opportunity  to  write  you  a  short  letter, 
though  I  liave  nothing  very  particular  to  say. 

"  B.  really  is  a  very  amiable,  mild,  taking  young  man.  I 
am  greatly  pleased  with  him.  Ilis  public  dispute  called  his 
aci,  is  lately  put  off  till  the  next  term,  on  account  of  the  deatii 
of  a  Master  of  Arts  of  St.  John's.  When  such  an  event  takes 
place  in  term  time,  it  causes  three  days  non-term,  and  no 
business  is  done :  so  poor  B.,  who  was  ready  charged  and 
primed,  must  keep  in  that  state  till  he  has  an  opportunity  of 
firing.  He  was  very  little  discomposed  about  it,  though  he 
said  he  could  not  well  set  about  other  business  till  he  had  got 
that  off  his  mind.  1  have  known  some  people  in  his  circum- 
stances exceedingly  ruffled  by  such  an  event. 

"  He  seems,  indeed,  excellently  disposed,  and  I  wish  his 
modesty  would  let  him  call  upon  me  oftcner  than  he  does ; 
for  it  would  really  be  a  pleasure  to  me  to  do  a  service  to 
such  a  lad  :  and  those  subjects  have  been  so  familiar  to  me 
for  a  long  time,  that  it  gives  me  no  trouble  to  assist  one 
in  his  situation.  I  gave  him  some  advice  about  spending 
his  summer,  but  I  mean  to  send  for  him  and  examine  him 
particularly. 

"  May  Almighty  God  bless  you  always,  and  return  seven 
times  into  your  bosom  your  kindness  shewn  to  me  lately,  both 
in  what  you  said,  and  in  the  dispatch  you  used  in  answering 
my  letter. 

"  I  cannot  but  think  there  is  something  sadly  wrong  about 
my  views,  or  my  way  of  going  on,  in  some  respect  or  other,  or 
I  sli(juld  not  be  so  very  much  in  this  great  darkness  and 
dismay.  I  assure  you  1  sometimes  think  my  mind  will  lose  all 
its  tone.  I  aim  as  much  as  possible  at  two  tilings: — 1st,  to 
keep  up  a  steady,  i)raying,  waiting  spirit,  for  light;  and,  2nd,  to 
surrender  my  own   will  to   His  will  entirely,  and  therefore  to 


IMIAI'.  Ml.     A.I).   1800.     .«'l'A'l'.  50.  209 

allow  MO  known  sin.  Tliis  must  surely  be  right ;  but  I  suppose 
I  do  not  do  what  I  say.  There  is  something  wrong,  I  am 
satisfied,  or  I  should  not  be  so  miserable,  and  have  so  little 
confidence  towards  God,  at  the  times  when  I  most  want  it.  There 
is  nothing  that  I  see  clearer,  than  that  my  continued  afflictions 
are  useful  and  even  necessary  to  me.  In  intervals  of  health,  I 
can  pray  very  sincerely  for  the  return  of  illness,  if  expedient. 
I  really  tremble  when  I  grow  better,  so  disposed  am  I  to  wander 
into  the  old  way  of  worldly-mindedness,  and  of  pleasing  self; 
but  when  the  fits  of  illness  come,  I  do  not,  I  believe,  properly 
kiss  the  rod.  Yet  1  really  cannot  charge  myself  with  much 
murmuring;  I  thank  God,  I  have  got  over  that  a  good  deal; 
but  a  sort  of  melancholy  sulkiness  comes  on,  and  a  want  of 
cheerful  submission.  No  earthly  being  can  tell  what  I  suffer  in 
mind  and  body.  I  should  be  very  grateful  to  you  to  write  again 
to  me  at  your  leisure. 

"It  pleased  God  that  I  got  through  my  business  in  London 
tolerably  well. 

"  There  are  certain  things  that  I  must  do,  or  else  I  must 
give  up  all.  I  endeavour  to  go  on  as  well  as  I  can,  and  to  live., 
as  it  were,  from  day  to  day ;  my  motto  is,  '  Sufficient  for  the 
day,'  &c.  &c. 

"  1  am  your  obliged  and  faithful  friend  and  servant, 

"  I.  MiLNER. 

"  N.B. — The  last  account  from  Carlyle  was  very  concise ; 
he  was  quite  well ;  had  travelled  four  hundred  miles  through 
Asia  Minor  towards  Jerusalem;  he  was  at  Kemar,  opposite 
Cyprus." 

There  are,  probably,  persons  who  think  that  "  the  surviving 
friends  of  Dean  Milner," — to  adopt  the  words  which  he  himself 
used  in  reference  to  his  departed  brother, — "  would  have  con- 
sulted his  reputation  much  better  by  stifling  the  contents"  of 
this,  as  well  as  of  some  preceding  letters,  "  than  by  thus  pub- 
lishing them,  and  proclaiming  the  weakness,  and  even  the 
M'ickedness,  of  human  nature*." 


•  See  Dr.  Mti.xER's  IJfe  of  his  Biothpr, 


210  CHAP.  Xn.     A.D.  1«00.     vTlTAT.  50. 

The  author  of  this  Memoir  willingly  confesses,  that  she  has 
felt  some  doubt  upon  this  subject.  In  addition,  however,  to 
the  important  consideration  of  the  unquestionable  nature  of  the 
evidence  afforded  by  this  and  others  of  Dr.  Milner^s  confidential 
letters,  of  his  genuine  and  deep  anxiety  on  the  great  subject  of 
religion,  she  had,  for  her  direction  and  guidance,  his  own 
example.  Acting,  doubtless,  \\'ith  a  view  to  the  glory  of  God, 
and  the  spiritual  advantage  of  his  fellow-creatures,  he  did  not 
deem  it  necessary  or  expedient  to  withhold  from  the  public  eye 
various  private  reflections  of  his  departed  brother.  On  the 
contrary,  he  has  suffered  the  readers  of  his  Life  of  Joseph 
Milner  to  "enter"  with  him  "into  his  closet,"  and  to  "watch 
the  genuine  effusions  of  his  soul,"  while  prostrate  before  God. 
He  was  well  aware  that  by  thus  laying  open  the  secret  recesses 
of  his  brother's  heart,  he  should  cause  much  surprise  to  persons 
unacquainted  with  the  real  nature  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  and 
might  perhaps  give  occasion  to  some  anxious  inquiries,  such  as, 
"  What  is  the  cause  of  all  this  mourning,  under  a  sense  of  sin  ? 
What  means  this  uncomfortable  darkness  of  mind  ?  Whence 
this  lamentation  over  the  strength  of  corruptions,  and  the 
difficulty  of  resisting  temptations  ?"  To  all  such  inquiries,  he 
gives  the  true  answer,  alike  applicable  in  this,  in  that,  and  in 
every  similar  case.  "  These  complaints,"  says  he,  "  are  made 
because  he  who  utters  them  has  an  entire  hatred  of  sin,  and  an 
exquisite  sensibility  in  perceiving  its  motions,  and  because  he 
hungers  and  thirsts  after  righteousness*." 

A  remark  of  Joseph  Milner,  already  quoted,  may  perhaps 
here  occur  to  the  reader's  recollection  : — "  They  are  always  the 
most  distressed  who  have  the  least  reason  to  be  so ;  it  is  the 
best  sign  in  the  world." 

The  following  very  interesting  letter  gives  the  first  intima- 
tion of  Dr.  Milner's  intention  to  write  a  *  Life '  of  his  brother, 
and  exhibits  his  views  and  feelings  with  regard  to  that  publica- 
tion : — 


L\fe  of  Rev.  Joseph  Milner. 


CIlAl'.  XII.     A.I).    IIKKI.      V/\'AT.  r,(K  211 

"To  THE  Rev.  William  Richardson. 

••  15 th  May,  1800, 
"'  Dear  Sir,  Queen's  College. 

"  I  have  before  me  your^s  of  the  13th  April  last.  You  will 
have  thought  me  long  in  answering,  particularly  as  you  must 
now  be  near  the  conclusion*.  *  *  *  When  you 
hear  all,  you  will,  perhaps,  rather  wonder  that  I  have  done  so 
well  as  I  have,  though  I  have  but  a  lame  account  to  give. 

"  1.  I  have  learned  not  to  trouble  myself  about  errata;  I 
do  as  well  as  I  can  during  the  printing  of  the  sheets ;  but  after 
all  is  over,  I  really  think  that  the  insertion  of  an  errata-sheet  is 
only  proclaiming  one's  own  errors  or  negligence,  and  it  makes 
people  look  at  it  and  say,  '  How  badly,'  or  '  How  carelessly, 
this  book  is  printed ;'  persons  who,  perhaps,  would  not  other- 
wise have  found  out  one  single  error.  Observe,  I  speak 
only  of  common,  little,  trifling,  errors,  such  as  anybody  can 
correct. 

"  2.  I  had  only  to  reprint  the  author's  introduction  to  the 
second  edition  of  the  first  volumef,  and  then  it  would  have 
been  done,  but  a  most  vile  affair  has  happened,  which  gives  me 
a  good  deal  of  trouble.  Dr.  Haweis  has  lately  published  an 
"  impartial  history"  of  the  Church  of  Christ.  If  you  have  seen 
it,  you  will  perceive  that  it  is  quite  Jacobinical  in  Church 
matters  throughout.  He  speaks  handsomely  of  my  brother  in 
places,  but  he  has  his  eye  constantly  upon  him,  to  pull  to  pieces 
his  notions  of  establishments. 

"  All  this  would  not  in  the  least  have  affected  me :  but  there 
are  in  it  the  most  abominable  misquotations  and  misrepresen- 
tations of  his  (my  brother's)  sentiments,  insomuch  that  my 
friends  are  clear  that  they  ought  not  to  pass  unnoticed  by  me. 
The  good  to  be  done  is,  I  trust,  my  object,  when  I  say,  that  I 
acquiesce  in  their  judgment,  and  am  writing  a  sort  of  long 
advertisement  or  preface  to  this  said  volume ;  if  I  am  able  to 
work,  it  will  be  ready  in  three  or  four  weeks. 


*  Of  the  revis^ion  of  the  volume  of  Sennoim. 
t  Of  the  Church  History. 

P  2 


212  CHAP.  XII.     A.I).  IHOO.     iETAT.  50. 

"3.  Besides  the  above,  I  wish  to  write  something  like  a 
'  Life'  of  my  poor  dear  deceased  brother.  I  am  at  work,  and 
have  honest  StiUingfleet's  papers  before  me. 

"  My  first  view  was  to  have  written  myself  all  that  may  be 
called  the  domestic  part  of  his  life,  and  then  to  have  requested 
you  to  have  picked  from  StiUingfleet's  account*  a  few  pages,  and 
also  to  have  added  your  own  brief  sentiments  respecting  the 
internal  change  of  his  mind  in  religious  matters.  You  would, 
either  of  you,  have  done  that  nmch  better  than  I  could ;  and, 
further,  it  would  have  been  a  very  great  pleasure  to  me  to  see 
such  an  account  of  his  life  go  down  to  posterity  with  all  our 
three  names  bound  together.  I  do  not  yet  entirely  give  up  the 
hope  that  something  or  other  of  that  sort  may  be  donef;  but, 
when  I  set  to  work,  I  really  found  it  would  so  embarrass  me  to 
keep  clear  of  the  religious  part  of  his  character,  that  I  could 
not  get  on  at  all  on  that  plan,  and  therefore  I  have  much 
encroached  on  what  I  had  intended  to  leave  to  you  and  to 
Stillingfleet. 

"  I  have  written  rapidly,  and  the  thing  is  very  incor- 
rect at  present ;  but  my  friends,  who  have  seen  it,  say  it  will 
do  exceedingly  well,  and,  that,  though  long,  it  is  very  enter- 
taining. 

"'  Here,  again,  I  wish  every  line  that  is  not  likely  to  do  some 
good  to  be  blotted  out.  In  commending  my  brother,  I  know  I 
am  going  most  expressly  against  his  wish  ;  however,  I  say  not  a 
word  but  what  is  most  strictly  true. 

"  4.  Now  to  come  to  the  point.  I  mean  to  send  you  this 
life  of  my  brother  in  about  a  fortnight,  by  Mr.  Ogle,  of  Jesus 
College.  I  could  send  it  sooner,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned, 
because,  having  Dr.  Ilaweis  to  take  under  hand,  I  am  hard 
worked,  and  I  must  send  you  it  very  rough.  Indeed  I  wish,  and 
do  beg  of  you  to  cut  and  slash,  and  do  exactly  with  it  as  you 
think   fit.     You  will  find  in   it  many  entertaining  things,  and 


"  Mr.  Stilliii^^ect,  as  ui)poar.s  from 
the  priiitod  Life,  had  Iiiinsclf  compiled, 
and  tiiiiisiiiittcd  to  Dean  .Miliicc,  a  f.i/r 
of  his  lirotlicr  ,I(ist'i)li.  j  Mii.NKn 

t  In  5iuljs(anrf  it  haw  bocn  doiic;  for  | 


till-  names  of  Richardson  and  Stilling- 
fleet will  ;il\vays  he  associated  in  me- 
mory with  tlioso  of  .Josr.pii  and  Isaac 


CHAP.  XII.      A.D.   1800.      .KTAT.   50.  21.3 

some  instructive,  which,  probablv',  you  have  never  heard  of:  it 
has  almost  broken  my  poor  heart  to  write  it;  and,  I  assure  you, 
I  live  from  day  to  day,  expecting  every  day,  or  nearly  so,  abso- 
lutely to  break  down.     *      *     * 

"  I  leave  it  to  your  judgment  entirely,  to  add  a  little  more 
from  Stillingfleet,  if  you  think  proper,  and  also  to  insert  a  page 
or  two  of  your  own,  on  the  nature  of  the  change  both  in  my 
brother's  heart  and  head,  in  religious  concerns. 

"  This  plan  I  cannot  give  up :  it  would,  I  repeat  it,  be  very 
pleasant  to  me ;  but  then  I  do  not  press  you, — ^judge  for 
yourself  when  you  see  the  thing,  and  the  state  it  is  in. 

"  I  shall  be  ready,  whenever  you  please,  with  the  volume  of 
History;  for  I  hope  to  have  it  all  printed  off,  and  Dr.  Haweis 
well  flogged,  before  I  come  to  you  at  York,  on  or  about  the 
19th  or  20th  of  June;  if  that  should  suit,  so  as  not  to  interfere 
with  your  summer  excursions.  *  *  *  As  to  the  publication 
of  the  books,  a  month  or  two  is  of  little  consequence;  or  rather, 
I  think,  people  get  more  settled  towards  September  and 
October  than  during  the  summer  months ;  and  we  had  better 
not  spend  our  fire  to  no  purpose. 

"  I  shall  wait  for  your  opinion  and  ad\nce,  and  am,  dear  Sir, 
"  Your  obliged  friend, 

"  Very  sincerely,  I.  M." 

The  sparkles  of  constitutional  gaiety,  which  enliven  this 
otherwise  grave  and  serious  letter,  will  forcibly  recall  the 
memory  of  Dr.  Milner  to  the  minds  of  those  who  enjoyed  his 
personal  acquaintance. 

The  following  extracts  from  a  letter,  addressed  to  the  same 
friend,  and  referring  chiefly  to  the  composition  and  publication 
of  the  Life  of  Joseph  Milner,  exhibit,  in  a  strong  light,  the 
Dean's  extreme  tenderness  of  heart,  and  his  unbounded  confi- 
dence in  the  judgment  and  good-will  of  Mr.  Richardson. 

''May,  1800,  Queen's  College, 
"Mv  DEAR  Mr.  Richardson,  Thursday  u'lght. 

"  It  was  very  much  my  wish  to  have  a  few  hours  more  to 
employ  upon   the   narrative  wliich    1   ."send   you.     Still,  I   don't 


214  CHAP.  XII.     A.D.  1800.     ^TAT.  50. 

know  that  I  could  have  done  much  more  at  it,  unless  I  could 
have  had  a  previous  talk  with  you. 

"  Friends  are  partial,  and  often,  not  quite  sincere.  They 
are  here  very  much  pleased  with  what  I  have  written ;  but  I  do 
entreat  you,  if  you  have  the  least  regard  for  me,  to  do  with  this 
manuscript  exactly  as  you  think  best.  Cut  and  slash, — cut  and 
slash  as  much  as  you  please. 

"  I  send  you  good  Stillingfleet^s  narrative  along  with  it ;  and 
if  you  think  it  right  to  pick  out  a  few  pages  of  his,  and  to  add  a 
few  of  your  own,  descriptive  of  the  interior  of  my  dear  brother's 
religious  principles  and  religious  feelings,  it  would  be  exceed- 
ingly acceptable  to  me ;  but  I  do  not  press  you. 

"  I  have  not  neglected  business,  I  assure  you ;  I  have  been 
most  uncommonly  worked;  you  know  1  told  you  how  Dr. 
Haweis  plagued  me.  You  will  now  do  just  as  you  think  fit ; 
and  I  shall  expect  your  commands,  whether  I  am  to  come  by 
York  about  the  20th  of  June,  or  to  wait  till  my  return  from 
Carlisle. 

"  Oh  !  my  dear  Sir,  if  you  did  but  know  how  tlie  wounds  of 
my  poor  heart  bleed  afresh  during  this  business,  you  would 
pity  me.  At  the  same  time,  I  will  freely  own  that,  though  I 
feel,  and  bitterly,  yet  there  is  something  of  a  sort  of  sense,  that 
I  am  doing  what  I  ought  to  do  on  the  occasion,  and  that 
thought  relieves ;  but,  do  save  me  all  you  can. 

"  Yours  very  affectionately, 

"I.  M. 
"  To  the  Rev.  William  Richardson." 

The  following  most  characteristic  letter,  having  been  written 
in  the  most  unrestrained  freedom  of  confidential  intercourse, 
throws  yet  greater  light  upon  the  feelings  and  wishes  of  Dr. 
Milner  concerning  the  composition  and  publication  of  his  Life 
of  his  brother. 


CHAP.  XII.     A.D.  1800.     .^.TAT.  50.  215 

"To  THE  Rev.  William  Richardson. 

"My  dear  Friend,  "  Queen's  College,  June  4,  1800. 

"  I  received  your  kind  letter  with  the  proposals,  &c.  *,  the 
very  morning  that  Mr.  Ogle  set  off  from  this  place  with  my 
little  parcel  for  you. 

"  1st.  First,  then,  I  must  be  at  Carlisle  on  the  22nd  instant 
at  farthest,  and  consequently  I  must  leave  York  some  time  on 
the  20th. 

"  2ndly.  In  regard  to  being  at  your  house ;  you  are  very 
good,  and  I  take  it  exceedingly  kind, — I  feel  it,  I  assure  you. 
At  the  same  time,  believe  me,  a  man  of  my  infirmities  would 
rather  be  at  an  inn,  than  at  any  friend's  whatever :  he  can 
indulge  his  ill  tempers  better. 

"'  3rdly.  It  has  been  supposed  that  M A ,  of 

Leeds,  was  particularly  well  acquainted  with  my  brother's  state 
of  mind  at  the  time  of  his  change,  and  had  interviews  with  him. 

"  I  dare  say  you  have  heard  my  brother  speak  of  that 
matter ;  and  I  confess,  my  opinion  is,  that  he  would  not  com- 
municate anything  material;  for  if  I  remember,  he  was  thought 
by  my  brother,  not  to  have  conducted  his  advice  very  prudently. 

"He  is  a  worthy  creature,  and,  I  believe,  is  much  improved; 
and  yet  it  was  a  strange  thing  to  bid  his  audience  '  Read  the 
Anti-Jacobin  Review,'  and  that  I  heard  him  say  from  the  pulpit, 
last  summer,  myself. 

"  You  will  know  best  whether  he  is  likely  to  communicate 
anything  useful. 

"  4th]y.  You  will  now  have  read  my  papers ;  I  fear  they 
are  too  long,  but  I  did  not  well  know  where  to  stop.  You  will 
have  observed,  that  all  I  have  said  does  suppose  something  to 
be  added  respecting  the  heart-work,  the  internal  struggles,  the 
change  of  views,  &c. 

"5thly.  I  wish,  really,  you  would  be  so  good  as  to  say  no 
more  about  '  spoiling  my  work,'  with  the  addition  of  yours,  or 
any  body's  else.     It  is  not  to  be  considered  as  a  thing  of  that 


*  Proposals  for  the  publication  of  a  second  edition  of  the  first  volume  of 
JosErn   Milneh',»  Ecclesiastical  History. 


216  CHAF.  Xil.     A.D.   1800      JET  XT.  50. 

sort :  it  is  a  plain,  simple  narrative,  and  reads  well  enough, 
because  the  matter  arranges  itself,  and  because  the  life  itself 
also  is  truly  entertaining.  When  you  have  read  and  considered 
it,  you  will  best  know  what  it  wants.  I  repeat  it,  I  should  like 
us  all  to  go  bound  up  together,  that  is  what  I  should  like,  but 
I  see  the  difficulty,  and  my  heart  is  almost  broken  with  the 
business. 

*•'  When  I  have  mentioned  my  wishes  as  above,  1  do  not 
mean  to  say  that  I  want  you  to  take  much  trouble,  and  yet  it 
is  unfair  to  ask  you  to  appear  at  all  in  it,  without  giving  you  a 
respectable  magnitude  and  portion — I  really  feel  all  that,  on 
your  account.  If  you  like  better  to  add  a  little  without  your 
name — or — nay,  I  know  not  what  to  say. 

"  I  give  you  carte  blanche. 

*'  6thly.  I  return  you  a  few  copies  of  the  Proposals  which  1 
have  got  struck  off. 

"  I   rather  think  it   may  be  as  well  to   clip  off  the  bottom 
sentence  about  Haweis  just  at  present;  and  to  let  that  fulmi- 
nation  appear  just  at  the  time  or  a  fortnight  before. 
"  A  sad  raffled  letter — 

"But  I  am  always  yours  truly  and  affectionately, 

"I.  M." 

All  persons  who  were  intimately  acquainted  with  Dr.  Milner 
will  allow,  that  the  foregoing  letter  may  be  justly  styled  *'  most 
characteristic."  It  strikingly  exhibits,  besides  other  remarkable 
qualities,  that  peculiar  elasticity  of  mental  constitution  by 
which  he  was  happily  distinguished — happily,  because  this 
elasticity  was  the  very  quality  of  mind  which,  if  the  expression 
may  be  permitted,  protected  him  against  the  otherwise  over- 
wlielniing  f(jrce  of  liis  own  fervent  affections. 

For  the  purpose  of  rectifying  a  mistake  wliicli  the  perusal 
of  the  above  letter  may  possibly  have  excited  in  the  minds  of 
some  readers,  it  is  proper  to  observe,  that  the  Life  of  Joseph 
Milner  is  published  exactly  as  it  came  from  the  pen  of  the 
Dean,  without  any  such  addition,  in  that  part  of  it  which  relates 
to  the  great  change  in  his  brother's  religious  views,  as  in  this 
letter  he  desires. 


CJlAl'.  XIJ.     A.'.>.  lUDO.      ETAT.50,  217 

In  a  note  appended  to  the  printed  Life,  a  declaration  to  this 
:ffect  is  made  by  the  Rev.  WilHam  Richardson. 

It  should  also  be  ol)served,  that  to  the  subsequent  editions 
of  the  Life,  large  and  important  additions  were  made  by  the 
Dean  himself. 

The  motives  which  induced  him  thus  to  enlarge  this  work, 
are  thus  stated  by  himself*. 

"  The  writer  has  been  informed,  that,  after  all  the  explana- 
tion furnished  in  the  several  pages  of  the  first  edition  of  this 
:iarrative,  respecting  the  religiovis  sentiments  of  Mr.  Milner, 
md  the  change  which  they  underwent,  some  well-disposed 
persons  have  expressed  a  wish  that  still  further  light  had  been 
thrown  on  these  subjects. 

"Two  distinct  questions  are  asked: — 

"  1st.  AN  hat  defect  or  failing  could  there  be,  or  what  change 
could  be  necessary  in  the  character  of  a  clergyman,  who,  from 
his  first  going  into  orders,  is  stated  to  have  been  a  proficient  in 
literature  sacred  and  profane;  perfectly  orthodox  in  opinion; 
zealous  and  practical  in  preaching;  and  exemplary  in  conduct? 

"  2ndly.  If  an  alteration  for  the  better  reaUy  took  place,  what 
are  the  circumstances  which  contributed  to  the  improvement 
of  a  character,  apparently  already  so  excellent  ?  In  one  word, 
what  is  the  history  and  the  nature  of  the  alteration  ?" 

To  these  inquiries,  which,  as  Dean  Milner  observes,  "  are 
not  questions  of  speculation  or  mere  curiosity,"  but  which 
"  lead  to  discussions  of  the  last  importance,"  brief,  but  com- 
prehensive and  satisfactory  answers  are  aiforded.  Otherwise 
than  luminously  and  impressively,  Dr.  Milner  could  not  write 
upon  any  important  subject;  it  may,  therefore,  be  easily 
believed,  that  in  replying  to  the  weighty  questions  here  pro- 
pounded, he  writes  with  extraordinary  force  and  perspicuity. 
The  Life  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Milner  is,  however,  so  well  known, 
that  it  is  sufiicient  to  refer  the  serious  reader  to  any  of  the 
later  editions  of  that  truly  admirable  jiiece  of  biographyf. 


*  See  second    edition   of    the    Life,     to  a  charge  lately  brought  against  Jo- 
published  ill  1802.  I  seph    Milner,  in   common  with  some 
t  It  is  perhap.'^  piopei-  here  to  advert     other  excellent  clergymen  of  the  pe- 


218 


CHAP.  XII.      A.l).   1800.     /ETAT.  50. 


The  second  edition  of  the  first  volume  of  the  History  of  the 
Church  of  Christ,  of  which,  with  its  long  preface,  Dr.  Milner, 
in  his  letter  to  Mr.  Richardson,  dated  May  15th,  speaks*,  as 
likely  to  be  "  ready  in  three  or  four  weeks,"  was  published  in 
the  succeeding  August. 

To  this  publication  allusion  is  made  in  the  following  letter. 

"To  THE  Rev.  William  Richardson. 

"  My  dear  Sir,  "  Queen's  College,  September  8,  1800. 

"  You  must  know  that  the  present  Bishop  of  Lincoln  and 
myself  were  very  intimate  at  Cambridge. 

"About  two  years  ago,  he  desired  me  to  get  him  my 
brother's  first  volume  of  Ecclesiastical  History.  I  did  not 
succeed;  nor,  to  say  the  truth,  did  I  take  much  pains  about  it, 
as  I  foresaw  there  would  soon  be  a  second  edition.  I  therefore 
thought  it  but  right  to  send  him  a  copy  of  the  second  edition 
of  Vol.  I.,  the  moment  it  was  struck  oflF;  and  the  inclosed  is 
the  answer  from  his  Lordship,  received  by  me  yesterday. 

"  You  will  think  it  curious  enough  to  read  I  am  sure ;  and 
therefore  I  have  thought  it  worth  while  to  send  you  it ;  but  I 
beg  you  will  not  fail  to  return  it  *. 


riod ;  a  charge  of  "  during  violation  of 
the  regulations  of  the  Church;"  See 
Dr.  Hook's  Visitation  Sermon,  first 
edition,  published  in  18:<8.  It  is  true 
that  in  the  third  and  subsequent  edi- 
tions, the  accusation  is  cancelled  ;  but 
as  that  circumstance  may  have  escaped 
the  notice  of  many  persons  who  may 
have  a  high  respect  for  Dr.  Hook's 
authority,  I  may  be  permitted  to  ob- 
serve that  an  attentive  penisal  of  the 
Life  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Milner  might 
have  coHNTnced  Dr.  II.  of  the  injustice 
of  such  an  accusation.  It  is  there 
oxjiressly  statcil,  that  accui-din^'  to  (iic 
best  li'gal  ojjinions  whicli  the  kingdom 
afforded,  "Mr.  Mdiit-r,  liy  meeting  Jiis 
own  parihliioners  in  his  own  j)ariNh. 
had  done  nothing  ccmtrary  (o  any  hiw 
whatftocver." 


The  chapter  "  On  Ecclesiastical  Es- 
tablishments," in  the  second  volume 
of  the  Ilislory  of  the  Church,  is  likewise 
decisive  as  to  the  sentiments  of  the 
author  of  that  work. 

Josejdi  Milner  was,  doubtless,  a  man 
of  extraordinary  zeal  ;  and  in  his  labo- 
rious discharge  of  his  sacred  office, 
probably  taught  "from  house  to 
house,"  in  a  manner  unusual  among 
clergymen  of  less  energy;  but  so  far 
from  biing  guilty  of  "  daring  violations 
of  the  regulations  of  the  Cluirch,"  he 
would,  from  princii)le,  have  deprecated 
any  apj)roacli  to  siieli  a  lino  of  conduct. 

*  See  page  211. 

■i-  This  letter  was  not  found  among 
Dr.  Milner's  ]iiipers.  It  is  tiierefore 
jtrobable  that  In-  liad  destroyed  it. 


CHAP.   XII.      A.l).   lii'.v.K      1:TAT.  50.  219 

"  It  is  a  lamentable  truth,  that  the  bishops  of  our  country 
do  not  understand  the  real  state  of  religion ;  and  yet  I  am  not 
sure,  that  their  ignorance  has  not,  in  some  cases,  its  uses. 

"  The  Bishop  of  *  *  *  ,  for  example,  ha.s,  I  am  told, 
acted  very  inconsistently ;  that  is,  he  has,  in  certain  instances, 
been  most  unreasonably  severe  with  godly  young  men,  and,  in 
others,  has  shown  himself  sufficiently  friendly. 

"  May  God  open  their  eyes,  and  incline  their  hearts  ! 

"  As  to  binding  up  my  Animadversions  with  The  Sermons, 
as  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln  hints,  I  think  your  proposal  the 
better,  viz.,  to  give  them  to  the  possessors  of  the  first  volume 
of  the  History;  and  they  may,  indeed,  also  be  given  to  such 
purchasers  of  the  Sermons  as  appear  to  be  reading  persons. 
"  I  am,  dear  Sir,  yours  affectionately, 

"  I.  M." 

The  following  truly  affecting  letter  reveals  most  unreservedly 
the  views  and  state  of  mind  of  Dean  Milner  while  engaged  in 
the  composition  of  the  Life  of  his  brother. 

"To  THE  Rev.  James  Stillingfleet. 

"  Queen's  College  Lodge, 
"My  dear  Friend,  September  10,  1800. 

"  I  acknowledge  I  was  in  debt  to  you  for  a  letter,  and  for 
a  very  kind  one  too.  The  contents  of  this  last,  also,  furnish  a 
new  proof  of  your  kindness,  and  of  that  tenderness  with  which 
you  always  treat  mentem  meam  exulceratam. 

"  Indeed,  my  dear  friend,  I  never  expect  that  sore  to  heal. 

"  In  regard  to  my  feelings  respecting  the  Life  of  the 
deceased,  most  certainly  no  job  was  ever  undertaken  by  me 
with  so  much  reluctance,  nor  executed  Anth  so  much  perturba- 
tion and  tumult.  They  say  that  does  not  much  appear  in  the 
writing,  which  I  very  much  wonder  at — and  so  far  it  is  well. 

"  Your  very  kind  letter  truly  and  verily  sets  my  mind  at 
ease :  not  that  I  did  not  know  very  well,  that  you  would  per- 
fectly excuse  me — yet  still  there  was  a  sort  of  delicacy  in  the 
matter:  and  it  is  higlily  agreeable  to  me,  that  you  have  had  the 
consideration  and  the  good  nature  lo  speak  first,  and  so  to  leave 
me  no  doubt  on  the  business. 


220  CHAP.  XII.     A.D.  1800.     .-ETAT.  50. 

*•  If  your  papers  had  contained  the  plague  I  could  not  have 
been  more  fearful  of  opening  them ;  nor  did  I  once  untie  the 
string  or  peep  into  them,  till  I  was  flogged  by  good  Richardson 
last  winter,  to  let  him  have  the  Life. 

"  The  first  thing  that  struck  me,  after  I  had  read  yours, 
was,  that  there  were  a  number  of  entertaining  things  about 
him  and  us.  which  took  place  when  he  was  a  boy.  which  were 
only  known  to  myself,  or  if  you  had  heard  of  them,  you  had 
probably  never  heard  them  ver)-  exactly,  nor  in  detail;  and  so, 
that  there  was  nobody  but  myself  that  could  execute  that  part 
well. 

"  Thus  the  idea  with  which  I  sat  down  to  write  was  as 
follows ;  that  the  L\fe  should  be  considered  and  owned  to  be 
written  by  us  three;  viz,,  you,  Richardson,  and  myself — that 
each  of  us  should  execute  our  respective  parts  exactly  ad 
arbiti'ium,  that  is,  at  the  pleasure  of  the  individual;  and  I  con- 
ceived that  a  sort  of  whole  would  belong  to  what  each  should 
do;  and  lastly,  that  the  three  wholes  would  constitute  one 
finished  whole  complete. 

"  Such  were  my  ideas  at  setting  out,  and  if  you  have  seen 
the  manuscript,  you  will  have  observed,  that  it  ran  all,  for 
many  pages,  upon  that  plan.  I  conceived  that  my  part  would 
principally  be  the  anecdotes  and  the  minutiae,  and  particularly 
of  the  very  early  part  of  his  life  ;  and  then,  that  yours  and 
Richardson's  would  comprise  the  graver  and  more  important 
parts.  I  was  greatly  pleased  with  this  plan  in  my  own  mind ; 
and  permit  me  to  say  and  assure  you,  that  the  idea  of  our  (all 
three)  going  down  together,  bound  up.  was  tu  me  a  soothing 
and  most  pleasant  reflection. 

"Why,  then,  was  not  this  plan  adhered  to' 

"  The  fact  is  this — I  began  as  I  have  said ;  nay,  I  went  on, 
almost,  if  not  entirely  through,  with  this  system  still  in  view. 

"  I  wrote  as  rapidly  as  possible  ;  I  could  not  stop  to  compress 
or  reflect — my  heart  would  have  broken  if  I  had — or  at  least,  I 
should  very  soon  have  been  incapacitated  for  going  on — so  on 
I  went,  slap  dash,  through  all  tiic  parts  of  his  life — putting 
down  all  that  I  could  recollect,  or  that  struck  me  as  particular ; 
still,  as  von  will  observe,  steering  as  clear  as  I  could  of  the 


CHAP.   XII.     A.U.    I8i»0.      /ETAI'.  oO.  221 

history  of  his  own  internal  change  of  mind  in  religious  things  ; 
and  still  meaning,  that  all  that,  and  all  that  was  connected  with 
it,  should  be  left  to  you  and  to  Richardson. 

"  But  it  seems,  that  I  had  been  so  particular,  and  had 
swelled  the  pages  to  such  a  degree,  that  Richardson  thought 
there  was  not  a  deal  wanting;  otherwise,  it  was  still  my  wish, 
that  so  much  might  be  selected  from  your  account,  and  so  much 
added  from  Mr.  R.'s,  as  should  complete  the  whole — and,  that 
your  part  and  his  part  should  consist  pretty  much  of  such 
things  as  I  was  less  able  to  speak  to. 

"  Such  were  my  ideas ;  and  I  thought  such  a  system  might 
be  made  to  appear  tolerably  consistent. 

"  But,  my  dear  friend,  I  felt  that  I  was,  in  this  business,  the 
most  incompetent  judge  in  the  world  ;  and,  therefore,  I  was, 
and  am  most  happy,  that  Richardson  undertook  to  settle  the 
whole  without  calling  upon  me  any  more,  for-  my  opinion  or 
interference. 

"  This  was  most  exceedingly  kind  on  his  part — for  indeed,  I 
cannot  make  you  understand  how  much  this  matter  tried  my 
spirits  and  shattered  constitution.  I  begged  of  Richardson  to 
cut  and  slash  my  pages,  and  to  alter,  and,  in  short,  to  do 
exactly  what  he  thought  best  with  all  the  materials ;  and  if  you 
had  been  at  York,  instead  of  him,  of  course  I  should  have 
made  precisely  the  same  request  to  you. 

"  All  this  is  not  to  be  considered  as  apology,  no,  nor  any 
part  of  it, — you  don^t  want  any  apology,  I  well  know ;  but  after 
the  love  and  kindness  you  have  shown,  and  the  pains  you  have 
taken,  it  would  have  been  brutal  not  to  have  explained  to  you 
the  history  of  the  thing. 

"  I   have  so  little  room   left,  that  I   must  be  as  pithy  as 

possible.     1st.  I  hope  your  dear  E goes  on  well.     Does 

God  bless  him,  and  preserve  him  in  the  same  modest,  diligent, 
inquiring  state  of  mind,  that  he  appeared  to  be  in,  at  Carlisle  ? 
How  beautiful  are  such  dispositions  in  a  youth  !  and  how  soon 
are  they,  usually,  apt  to  be  lost !  2ndly.  I  do  beg,  that  we 
may  contrive  to  meet  somewhere — you  used  to  come  often  this 
way — I  beg  we  may  meet  either  here,  or  in  the  north.  .Srdly.  I 
am  sorry  you  shoidd  think  I  am  too  severe  with  Dr.  Haweis ;  I 


222  ("IIAT.  XII.     A.l).  1)!<M>.      E'l'AT.   50. 

think,  that  when  you  have  read  his  book,  you  will  alter  your 
opinion.  Every  body  I  have  asked,  has  thought  that  he 
deserv'ed  the  drubbing. 

"Yours,  I.  M." 

"  N.  B.  The  misrepresentations  of  facts  of  which  Dr.  Haweis 
has  been  guilty,  merit  all  the  blows  he  has  received,  completely. 
On  that  head  I  am  convinced,  and  have  no  remorse — but  the 
doubt  with  me  has  been,  whether  there  be  any  part  of  him 
sound,  as  a  servant  of  our  common  Lord  ?  and  here,  the  more 
I  have  inquired,  the  worse  I  have  liked  him.  See  how  scanda- 
lously he  is  misleading  the  public,  in  giving  them  a  general 
notion  of  evangelical  preachers.  Hear  our  friend,  Mr.  Richard- 
son, on  this  head,  and  his  opinion  of  Haweis.  His  character, 
of  old,  is  very  problematical." 

To  another  friend.  Dean  Milner,  in  reference  to  the  same 
subject,  thus  writes  : 

"  In  regard  to  Dr.  Haweis,  I  have  briefly  to  observe,  that 
neither  any  contempt  he  could  have  expressed,  nor  any  opinions 
he  could  have  advanced,  would  ever  have  induced  me  to  take 
the  least  notice  of  him,  if  he  had  not  been  guilty  of  the  grossest 
misrepresentation  of  matters  of  fact.  No  man  reveres  more 
than  I  do,  both  liberty  of  thought  and  liberty  of  expression : 
but  when  a  person  falsifies  facts  in  the  supporting  of  his 
opinions,  he  ought,  in  my  judgment,  to  be  exposed  as  very 
dangerous :  and  on  this  head,  my  good  and  worthy  friend, 
permit  me  to  say,  that  I  do  not  see  how  the  judgments  of  well- 
disposed  persons  can  possibly  be  divided. 

"  I  am,  dear  Sir,  always  yours,  faithfully, 

"Isaac  Milner." 

On  the  19th  of  September,  Dr.  Milner,  to  whom  Mr.  Wil- 
berforce  had  written  warmly  concerning  his  own  domestic  hap- 
piness, thus  replied  to  him: — "Perhaps  these  wonderful  smiles 
are  for  some  future  trial;  continue  to  watch:"  and  this  very 
reply  found  Mr.  Wilberforce,  wh6  was  at  Bognor  with  his  family, 
in  the  deepest  distress  on  acrcount  of  the  dangerous  illness  of 
hi.s  wife.     On  hearing  of  the  affliction  which  had  thus  befallen 


rilAl'.  XII.    A.l».  ifido.    .^;rA'l'.  ->n.  223 

his  friend.  Dr.  Milner  hastened  to  Bognor,  and  remained  with 
him  till  the  danger  was  past. 

"What  a  blessing  to  have  such  friends!"  is  Mr.  Wilber- 
force's  remark  in  his  Diary,  with  reference  to  this  occurrence*. 

About  the  beginning  of  October,  Dr.  Milner,  ever  ready  to 
regard  any  claim  upon  his  attention,  thus  wrote  to  Mr.  Wilber- 
force: — 

"  Yesterday  I  received  a  letter  from  Matthew  Montague, 
strongly  recommending  Mr.  Perceval  to  be  University  Counsel 
if  Mr.  Le  Blanc  be  made  a  Judge,  and  urging  also  your  favour- 
able opinion  of  him  in  the  strongest  terms. 

"  I  think  the  office  is  but  five  guineas  per  annum,  or  a 
retainer,  and  I  hope  we  shall  have  no  business  for  him.  I 
have  answered  that  I  think  the  Vice-Chancellor  appoints  or 
nominates,  and  that  the  University  usually  acquiesces  in  his 
nomination.     I  never  remember  a  contest. 

"  If  there  should  be  a  contest,  my  long  residence  has  con- 
nected me  directly,  or  indirectly,  with  so  many  lawyers,  that  it 
would  be  highly  improper  in  me  to  engage  my  little  interest 
before  I  know  the  candidates,  particularly  as  two  lawyers  are  of 
our  own  college. 

*' will  be  a  candidate  also,  I  doubt  not,  and  I  am  sure 

he  will  think  himself  the  fittest  for  the  office.  I  confess  I 
think  him  exceedingly  unfit,  and  I  wish,  in  order  that  all  diffi- 
culties may  be  removed,  that  somebody  may  be  fixed  on 
decidedly  fit  and  experienced. 

"  From  all  I  have  heard,  however,  I  have  reason  to  believe, 
that  Perceval  is  both  brilliant  and  solid. 

"Christian  says,  'Oh,  no!'  and  calls  him  flippant,  and  will 
not,  in  the  conversations  I  have  had  with  him,  hear  of  any 
body  but  himself  for  University  Counsel. 

"  Yours  affectionately,  I.  M." 

Mr.  Perceval  was  elected  University  Counsel  in  October, 
1800,  and  held  that  office  till  the  year  1807- 


*  See  Life  of  Wilberfnrce,  vol.  ii. 


•2'24  CHAP.   XII.     A.I).   1«0().     /I>:TAT.  50. 

On  the  5th  of  November,  Dean  Milner,  always  disposed  to 
sympathize  with  others  in  their  affliction,  thus  wrote  to  an  old 
and  valued  friend,  one  of  whose  sons  was  dangerously  ill: — 

"  Queen's  College  Lodge, 
"My  dear  Friend,  November  5,  1800. 

•'  Your  two  last  letters  have  made  our  hearts  exceedingly 
heavy,  and  the  prospect  is  truly  afflicting  to  poor  Robert*  in 
liis  peculiar  circumstances.  We  see  him  constantly,  and 
endeavour  to  l)e  a  little  support  to  his  spirits;  but  I  trust  he 
habitually  looks  to  the  right  place,  where  alone  sound  support 
is  to  be  had.  I  was  about  writing  to  you  a  few  lines  the  two 
last  evenings,  but  felt  so  sorrowful  and  so  indisposed,  and  had 
so  little  to  say  to  the  purpose,  that  I  omitted  to  do  it. 

'•'  I  endeavour  always  to  remember  your  afflicted  son  and  all 
your  family  in  the  warmest  applications  I  can  make  to  the 
throne  of  grace.  I  would  have  written  to  John  himself  before 
this  time,  and  have  often  been  tempted  to  do  so,  but  that  I 
feared  to  flutter  him  too  much,  and  perhaps  injure  his  tottering 
health.  You  may,  I  think,  venture  to  tell  him  that  I  have  the 
most  aftectionate  feelings  towards  him  at  all  times,  and  that  I 
now  reflect,  with  most  peculiar  pleasure,  on  the  bold  and 
decided  part  which  God  has  enabled  him  to  take  in  the  minis- 
terial functions  since  he  was  in  orders.  He  conducted  himself 
here,  where  the  trial  was  difficult  and  formidable,  with  such  a 
mixture  of  warmth  and  prudence  as  he  may  now  review  with 
solid  comfort.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  suggest  the  least  false  or 
self-righteous  source  of  comfort ;  but  this  I  say,  if,  in  any  dark 
moments,  he  should  be  tempted  to  doubt  whether  he  loves 
Christ  or  not,  I  can  have  no  doubt,  nor  ought  he  to  have  any, 
but  that  Christ  loves  him;  otherwise  He  would  never  have 
made  him  so  much  his  willing  instrument  and  servant  in  the 
ministry.  Such  things  never  come  from  mere  human  nature. 
Let  him,  therefcjre,  consider  the  whole  of  last  year  as  it  was, 
viz.,  a  gracious  smile  of  his  Redeemer,  and  a  smile  too  that  may 
be  preparatory  to  his  present  suffering.     You   may  add  also,  if 


A  yoiuigcT  son  of  the  same  friend.  ;iti(1  a  Student  of  Queen's  College. 


CIIAI'.  Xn.     A.l).   18(10.      El'AT.  50.  225 

it  will  not  fatigue  him,  that  1  have  mentioned  repeatedly  (since 
he  left  us)  with  peculiar  pleasure,  the  frequent  conversations  we 
had  together  on  8t.  Paul's  Kpistle  to  the  Romans. 

''  May  God  support  you,  dear  Sir,  in  this  new  aflliction. 
lie  has  carried  you  through  many  already,  and  with  very 
evident  j)rofit. 

•'  I  remain  your  affectionate  friend, 

"Isaac   Milnkr." 

To  the  reader  who,  l)y  the  perusal  of  Dean  Milner's  con- 
fidential letters,  has  already  been  made  acquainted  with  his 
feelings  during  the  preparation  of  the  first  volume  of  his 
deceased  brother's  sermons,  and  the  writing  of  the  Life  which 
is  prefixed  to  that  volume,  the  following  letter,  written  soon 
after  the  publication  of  the  book,  will  not  be  uninteresting. 

"To  THE  Rrv.  William   Richardson. 

"  Queen's  College  Lodge, 
"My  dear  Friend,  November  Ith,  1800. 

"  Many  thanks  for  your  last  letter.  Your  letters  are  always 
comfortable  to  me,  let  you  write  about  what  you  will. 

"The  sermons  please  me,  and  (so  far  as  I  can  judge)  others 
also,  much  beyond  expectation.  Dr.  Jowett  speaks  in  the  highest 
terms  of  their  merit  in  regard  to  strength,  conciseness,  harmony 
of  numbers,  arrangement,  and  sense,  though  he  confesses  that 
there  are  a  few  inelegancies  which  may  be  easily  mended  in  a 
second  edition.  My  health  had  hindered  me  from  hearing  my 
brother  preach  often,  for  many  years ;  and  I  now  perceive  that 
he  had  worked  himself  from  a  style,  that  in  his  youth  was  rather 
flowery  and  diffuse,  into  one  that  is  strong  and  nervous  and 
sufficiently  polished,  except  in  a  few  instances.  Indeed,  I  am 
convinced  that  you  must  have  had  a  world  of  trouble  to  bring 
them  into  the  state  in  which  they  now  are.  1  really  see  nothing 
in  them  that  can  be  called  desultory  in  the  least ;  and  they  are 
full  of  matter  and  wisdom.  The  'Life'  too,  gives  great  satisfac- 
tion :  but  why  would  you  leave  out  what  was  nothing  but  the 
strictest  truth*?     However,  I  must  say  no  more.     God  bless 


Tliis  retVrs  to  .some  strong  expressions  of  rejijartl  towards  Mr.  Kicliurdson, 
jised  by  Dean  Miiner. 

Q 


22r)  CHAP.  XII.     A.D.   1800.     JETAT.  50. 

you  !  I  see,  in  every  line  you  have  written,  your  love  of  the 
deceased  and  your  sincere  regard  for  his  memory,  and  for  his 
credit,  and  your  neglect  of  your  own.  Oh !  my  friend !  how 
this  book  has  made  me  feel  afresh  !  yet  with  a  degree — a  con- 
siderable degree  of  satisfaction ! 

^'  My  brother  used  generally  to  put  upon  his  sermons,  the 
the  year  and  month  and  place  of  preaching; 

"  I  value  every  relic  of  his  writing  so  much,  that  I  hope 
the  manuscripts  of  those  printed  have  not  been  destroyed, 
though  I  fear  they  may  be.  If  not,  pray  preserve  them  care- 
fully, with  all  the  others.  You  truly  say,  that  to  read  those 
sermons  is  like  being  with  him.  It  affects  me  beyond  measure. 
"  Yours  very  affectionately,  I.  M." 

Besides  the  composition  of  the  Life  of  his  brother,  Dr. 
Milner  during  this  year,  edited  the  second  edition  of  the  first 
volume  of  the  Ecclesiastical  History,  to  which  he  prefixed  a 
treatise  entitled  Animadversions  on  Dr.  Haweis'  Impartial  and 
succinct  Histo7'ij  of  the  Church  of  Christ.  With  respect  to  Dean 
Milner's  Life  of  his  brother,  it  is  allowable  here  to  quote  some 
remarks  subsequently  made  by  the  present  excellent  Bishop 
of  Calcutta*:  "His  sentiments,"  writes  the  Bishop,  "on  the 
great  truths  of  the  Christian  religion,  will  be  found  fully  stated 
in  the  continuation  of  Joseph  Milner's  Church  History ;  and, 
perhaps,  yet  more  distinctly,  if  possible,  in  the  Life,  prefixed  to 
the  first  volume  of  his  brother's  posthumous  Sermons.  He 
has  here  given  his  clear  and  decided  views  of  the  leading 
doctrines  of  the  Church  and  of  the  Reformation,  the  history  of 
which  he  had  so  carefully  studied." 

Of  the  second  edition  of  the  first  volume  of  his  brother's 
Church  History,  the  editor  has  himself  spoken,  in  a  letter  already 
given  in  this  work  f ;  and  his  own  preface  to  that  edition,  is  in 
exact  accordance  with  the  statements  made  in  the  letter. 

To  the  Animadversions  on  Dr.  Haweis'  History  of  the  Church, 
the  reader  will  likewise  have  ol)served  some  allusions  in  Dean 
Milner's  letters  to  his  excellent  friend  Mr.  Richardson  of 
York. 

*   Dr.  Wilfioii.  f  See  Cliap.  X. 


(^FIAP.  Xir.     A.U.;tl8(»0.     /ETAT.  50.  227 

Of  that  very  able  performance,  wliich  is  incorporated  with 
the  Dean's  preface  to  the  second  edition  of  tlie  first  volume 
of  .Foseph  Mihier's  (Jhiirch  Hisfory  and  of  which  the  writer 
himself  declares,  that  he  was  induced  to  undertake  it,  from  ''a 
strong  sense  of  the  utility  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Establishment 
of  this  country,"  it  is  needless  to  say  more,  than,  that  while  it 
is  such  as  might  be  expected  from  a  man  of  Dr.  Mihier's 
decided  opinions  and  warm  feelings,  when  employed  in  clearing 
from  gross  misrepresentation,  and  exculpating  from  imputed 
blame,  the  memory  of  a  beloved  brother,  it  is  likewise  an 
example  of  Christian  moderation  and  forbearance  *. 

Dr.  Haweis  being  dismissed,  Dean  Milner,  in  this  preface, 
which  is  an  elaborate  performance  not  repeated  in  the  sub- 
sequent editions,  "  most  gratefully  acknowledges  the  liberal 
patronage  of  the  University  of  Cambridge,"  who  had,  at  their 
own  expense,  already  printed  three  volumes  of  his  brother's 
Ecclesiastical  History,  and  who  had  engaged  to  print  the  re- 
maining manuscript  papers  relative  to  the  same  subject. 

"  Their  kindness  and  consideration  in  this  matter,"  writes 
Dr.  Milner,  "  certainly  makes  an  indelible  impression  on  my 
mind,  and  if  anything  could  increase  my  aiFectionate  attach- 
ment to  that  learned  body,  after  so  long  and  active  a  residence 
among  them,  it  would  be  this  honourable  token  of  respect  to 
the  memory  of  my  deceased  brother;  who  himself,  many  years 
ago,  as  a  student  in  the  same  seminary,  received  distinguished 
marks  of  approbation  f." 

Dr.  Milner  adds,  that  "the  more  he  has  examined  and 
compared  with  each  other,  the  original  authorities,  which  are 
frequently  obscure  and  contradictory,  the  more  scrupulously 
faithful  he  has  found"  his  brother,  "in  his  statement  of  facts, 
and  the  more  judicious  and  discreet,  in  separating  truth  from 
error,  and  in  assigning  the  just  degrees  of  pr()l)abilities."     He 


*  A  rejoinder  to  Dr.  Haweis'  reply 
(o  this  work,  entitled  Further  Animtui- 
versinns  on  Dr.  Ilaireis^  Misrepresenta- 
tions, was  published  by  Dr.  Milner  in 
the  year    IJUfJ,  and   will   deserve   the 


notice  of  the  reader  under  its  proper 
date. 

t  This  passage,  extracted  from  the 
Preface  to  the  second  edition  of  the 
first  volume,  is  prefixed  to  the  later 
editions  of  the  Ecclesiastical  History. 

«   2 


228  CHAP.  XII.     A.D.  1800.     ^ETAT.  50. 

obsen'es,  "  if  the  alterations  from  the  old  edition  should,  in 
some  few  instances,  appear,  on  comparison,  to  be  greater  than 
might,  from  this  account,  be  expected,  the  reader  is  to  under- 
stand, that  these  alterations  are  to  be  justified  either  from  actual 
remarks  of  the  author  in  manuscript,  or  from  the  editor's 
recollection  of  his  conversations." 

He  concludes  thus:  '^The  smaller  alterations,  however, — in 
the  use  of  particles,  and  of  particular  words,  and  in  the  con- 
struction of  sentences,  are  very  numerous, — and  if  the  editor 
has  helped  the  perspicuity  of  the  author,  without  diminishing 
his  force,  he  has  gained  his  aim." 

These  notices  of  Dr.  Milner's  Life  of  his  brother,  and  of  his 
Animadversions  on  Dr.  Haweis'  History,  with  the  extracts  given 
from  the  preface  which  contains  those  "  Animadversions,"  will 
ser\-e,  in  conjunction  with  his  own  letters,  to  convince  every 
candid  person,  who  takes  into  the  account  his  various  avoca- 
tions as  Head  of  a  College  and  Dean  of  a  Cathedral,  that  his 
time,  at  this  period,  must  have  been  most  fully  occupied ;  in 
fact,  when  the  afflictions  both  of  mind  and  body  under  which  he 
at  this  time  laboured,  are  considered,  the  true  matter  for  wonder 
is,  rather,  that  he  accomplished  so  much,  than  that  he  accom- 
plished no  more. 


229 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Commencement  of  Dr.  Milner's  acquaintance  with  Henry  Martyn. — Fourth 
Volume  of  the  History  of  the  Church  of  CArti^— Luther.— Commentary  on 
the  Galatians.— Professor  Smyth. — Passage  in  his  published  Lectures. — 
Dean  Milner's  alleged  partiality  to  Luther. — Correspondence. — Rev.  W. 
Terrot.— Letter  to  a  young  Friend  in  his  last  Illness. — New  edition  of 
Joseph  Milner's  Sermons. — Internal  Management  of  Queen's  College. — 
Tutors. — Correspondence. — London  Bridge. — Professor  Farish. — Sunday 
Travelling. — Dr.  Haweis. — Rev.  T.  Ludlam. — New  edition  of  Life  of 
Joseph  Milner. — Sir  William  Wj-nne. — Letters. — Mrs.  Stillingfleet. 

A.D.  180L     ^TAT.  51. 

As  Professor  of  Mathematics,  it  fell  of  course  to  Dr.  Milner's 
lot  to  examine,  in  tlie  January  of  each  year,  the  candidates  for 
the  Smith's  Prize;  and  it  sometimes  happened  that  this  acci- 
dental personal  intercourse  with  eminent  individuals  led  to 
intimate  acquaintance  and  enduring  friendship. 

The  year  1 801  furnished  an  example  of  this  kind.  Henry 
Martyn  was  the  Senior  Wrangler  of  that  year,  and  was  first 
introduced  to  Dean  Milner  on  occasion  of  the  examination  for 
the  prize  above  mentioned.  The  Dean  was  struck  by  the 
remarkably  amiable  and  somewhat  pensive  expression  of  his 
countenance,  and  on  entering  into  conversation  with  him,  and 
discovering  that  his  native  place  was  Truro,  in  Cornwall, 
chanced  to  ask  him  whether  he  had  ever  known  anything  of  a 
Mr.  AValker,  a  clergyman  of  that  town.  Mr.  Martyn's  answer 
at  once  revealed  to  him  the  character  of  the  Senior  Wrangler 
before  him.  With  unusual  animation,  and  a  countenance  alto- 
gether changed,  as  Dr.  Milner  used  to  say,  when  he  afterwards 
spoke  of  the  occurrence,  by  its  glowing  and  beaming  expression 
of  grateful  affection,  he  replied,  that  he  had  indeed  known 
Mr.  Walker;  and  that  his  father  and  others  of  his  relatives 
had  reason  to  bless  God,  that  such  was  the  case. 

There  was  little  opportunity  for  further  conversation  at 
that  time ;  but  it  is  needless  to  say,  that  the  Dean  was  much 
interested  by  the  deportment  of  the  youth  whom  he  was 
examining.     He   made  further  inquiries  concerning  him,  and 


230  CHAP.  XIII.     A.D.   IHOl.      F/IAT.  51. 

had  afterwards  frequent  intercourse  with  him ;  taking,  as  was 
his  custom  with  regard  to  those  young  men  of  whom  he  enter- 
tained a  high  opinion,  many  opportunities  of  showing  him 
kindness.  When  Mr.  Martyn  "  took  leave  of  him/'  on  quitting 
tiie  university,  "  he  was  much  affected,  and  said  himself  that 
liis  heart  was  full*,"  an  expression  indicating,  when  used  by 
liinijinore  than  common  aflfection.  After  Mr.  Martyn's  depar- 
ture for  the  scene  of  his  labours  in  the  East,  Dean  Milner 
never  ceased  to  feel  a  warm  and  peculiar  interest  in  his 
exertions,  and  their  success,  and  heard  of  his  early  death  with 
very  sincere  sorrow. 

The  principal  occupation  of  Dr.  Milner's  leisure  hours, 
during  this  year,  was  the  preparation  for  publication  of  the 
fourth  volume  of  the  History  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  edited, 
as  the  title-page  bears,  "  on  the  plan,  and  in  part  from  the 
manuscripts"  of  his  late  brother.  The  early  part  of  the  year 
was  indeed,  of  necessity,  and  according  to  invariable  usage, 
occupied  by  the  arrangement  of  college  business,  the  settle- 
ment of  accounts,  &c. ;  but  the  evenings,  even  of  the  busiest 
days,  were  devoted  to  the  purpose  above  specified. 

The  contents  of  the  fourth  volume  of  the  Church  History 
are,  as  Dr.  Milner,  in  his  Preface,  observes,  *'  of  such  a  nature 
as  not  to  have  found  their  way  into  our  ordinary  ecclesiastical 
histories."  The  characters  and  motives  of  several  individuals 
who  appeared  upon  the  scene  during  the  period  of  time  com- 
prehended by  this  volume,  and  who  by  their  lives  and  writings, 
paved  the  way  for  the  Reformation,  had  been,  by  previous 
ecclesiastical  historians,  either  neglected  or  misunderstood,  and 
consequently  misrepresented.  Wickliffe,  John  H  uss,  and  Jerome 
of  Prague,  were  in  reality  little  known ;  and  above  all,  many 
serious  and  generally  well-informed  persons  were  very  imper- 
fectly acquainted  with  the  religious  part  of  the  character  of 
Martin  Luther. 

"  Some  of  his  natural  qualities,"  says  Dr.  Milner,  speaking 
of  Luther,  "have  been  the  subject  of  much  observation:  but 
the  ruling  princij)les  of  the  man,  those  princii)les  whicli   were 


yrc  Maui  vn's  Joiirna/x  ami  Letters. 


CHAr.  XIII.     A.D.   1801.     jETAT.  51,  231 

eminently    spiritual    and     Christian,     are    almost     buried    in 
silence." 

To  the  elucidation,  then,  of  the  character  of  Luther,  Dr. 
Milner  devoted  liis  most  strenuous  efforts.  "The  German 
theologian"  had  indeed,  as  he  says,  been  considered  and  repre- 
sented by  his  brother,  as  "  a  distinguished  suljject  of  Almighty 
grace  ;  which,  by  enlightening  his  understanding,  changing  his 
aftections,  and  animating  his  hopes,  prepared  him  in  a  most 
wonderful  manner  for  the  extraordinary  part  which  he  was 
appointed  to  sustain  ;"  but  the  Dean  had  access  to  materials 
and  to  sources  of  knowledge  which  were  unknown,  or  inaccess- 
ible, to  the  author  of  the  early  volumes  of  the  Church  History; 
and  it  is,  therefore,  not  surprising  that  he  has  brought  to  light, 
concerning  this  great  Reformer,  much  interesting  matter  and 
many  authentic  particulars  with  which  his  brother  had  no 
means  of  becoming  acquainted.  He  spared  no  cost  in  the 
obtaining  of  such  books  as  might  assist  him  in  his  undertaking, 
and  often  sent  for  them  to  German  and  other  foreign  libraries, 
regardless  alike  of  the  expense  or  the  delay  thus  incurred.  In 
addition  to  this,  it  may  be  observed,  that  Dr.  Milner  was  a 
cordial  admirer  of  Luther,  and  that  he,  therefore,  experienced  a 
positive  pleasure  in  searching  into  every  part  of  his  history. 
His  own  words,  when  speaking  of  his  deceased  brother's  senti- 
ments with  regard  to  Luther,  may,  with  equal  truth,  be  applied 
to  himself: — "He  loved  him  as  a  man  of  plain  dealing  and 
unfeigned  piety ;  he  admired  him  as  a  champion  of  truth ;  he 
revered  him  as  an  instrument  of  God,  highly  honoured,  and 
expressly  chosen  for  the  purpose  of  defending  and  propagating 
the  Christian  faith ;  and  he  contemplated  his  success  with 
delight  and  astonishment." 

It  will,  therefore,  be  easily  believed,  that,  in  this  fourth 
volume,  "  unconmion  pains"  are  taken  with  the  affairs  of 
Luther,  especially  during  the  first  years  of  his  wonderful 
exertions ;  the  greatest  pains,  however,  are  bestowed  upon  the 
elucidation  of  the  sentiments  of  the  great  Saxon  Reformer, 
with  regard  to  the  fundamental  articles  of  Christianity;  and,  as 
embodying  in  the  fullest  manner  the  great  Protestant  doctrine 
of  justification  by  faith,  considered  by  Luther,  in  connnon  with 


232  CHAP.  XIII.     A.I).  1801.      ETAT.  51. 

the  wliole  body  of  the  Reformers,  as  arliciilus  stan/is  vel  caden- 
tis  ecchsite,  especial  notice  is  taken  of  his  Comn)entary  on  the 
Epistle  to  the  Galatians.  One  sliort  passage  referring  to  this 
commentary  lays  open  so  explicitly  Dr.  Milner's  own  opinions 
concerning  the  all-important  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith, 
that  it  may  with  propriety  be  here  quoted. 

"  Luther's  Commentary  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians," 
writes  Dean  Milner,  "  is  in  itself  so  excellent  a  performance, 
WHS  read  with  so  great  avidity  immediately  after  its  publication, 
and  was  so  instrumental  in  promoting  the  glorious  cause  of 
Protestantism,  that  it  seems  to  have  a  superior  claim  to  the 
attention  of  the  historian.  I  have  repeatedly  read  and  medi- 
tated on  this  treatise,  and,  after  the  most  mature  reflection,  I 
am  fully  convinced,  that,  as  it  was  one  of  the  most  powerful 
means  of  reviving  the  light  of  Scripture  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  so  it  will,  in  all  ages,  be  capable  of  doing  the  same, 
under  the  blessing  of  God,  whenever  a  disposition  shall  appear 
among  men  to  regard  the  oracles  of  divine  truth,  and  whenever 
souls  shall  be  distressed  with  a  sense  of  indwelling  sin  ;  for  I 
perfectly  despair  of  its  being  relished  at  all  by  any  but  serious, 
humble,  and  contrite  spirits,  such  being,  indeed,  the  only 
persons  in  the  world  to  whom  the  all-important  article  of 
justification  will  appear  worthy  of  all  acceptation.  The  author 
himself  had  ploughed  deep  into  the  human  heart,  and  knew  its 
native  depravity ;  he  had  long  laboured,  to  no  purpose,  to  gain 
peace  of  conscience  by  legal  observances  and  moral  works,  and 
had  been  relieved  from  the  most  pungent  anxiety  by  a  spiritual 
discovery  of  the  doctrine  just  mentioned.  He  was  appointed 
in  the  counsels  of  Providence — by  no  means  exclusively  of  the 
other  Reformers,  but  in  a  manner  more  extraordinary  and  much 
superior — to  teach  mankind,  after  upwards  of  a  thousand  years' 
obscurity,  this  great  evangeli{;al  tenet,  compared  with  which, 
how  Uttlc  appear  all  other  objects  of  controversy  !  namely,  that 
null)  is  not  justified  by  the  works  of  the  law,  but  by  the  faith  of 
Christ*."  *  *  *  *  "  In  this  admirable  piece  of 
divinity,  tlic  author,  by  numl)crlcss  arguments,  aiul  particuhirly 

-  Cal.  ii.,  1«J. 


CHAP.  XIII.     A.D.   IROl.  /ETAT    51.  23.3 

by  the  marked  opposition  between  law  and  faith*,  law  and 
gracet,  proves,  that,  in  justification  before  God,  all  sorts  of 
human  works  are  excluded,  moral  as  well  as  ceremonial.  He 
restores  likewise  to  tlie  Christian  world  the  true  forensic  sense 
of  the  term  justification,  and  rescues  it  from  the  erroneous 
sense  in  which  for  many  ages  it  had  been  misunderstood,  as 
though  it  meant  infused  habits  of  virtue,  whence  it  had  been 
usual  to  confound  justification  with  sanctification.  The  incom- 
parable theologian  before  us  settled  the  true  bounds  and  limits 
of  the  Law  and  the  Gospel,  and  distinguished  between  accept- 
ance with  God  and  personal  holiness.  The  former,  he  shows,  is 
received  as  a  free  gift  on  Christ's  account  alone,  by  faith  in  the 
heart  of  a  humbled  sinner,  and  implies  complete  pardon  and 
reconciliation  with  God ;  the  latter,  which  he  insists  on  as 
equally  necessary  for  eternal  happiness,  he  describes  as  con- 
joined, but  not  compounded,  with  the  former;  imperfect  always 
in  this  life,  but  sincerely  pressed  after  and  delighted  in.  By 
this  doctrine,  rightly  stated,  with  all  its  adjuncts  and  dependen- 
cies, a  new  light  breaks  in  upon  the  mind,  and  Christianity 
appears  singularly  distinct,  not  only  from  Popery,  but  also  from 
all  other  religions.  Neither  the  superstitions  of  the  Papist,  nor 
the  sensibility  of  the  humane,  nor  the  sj^lendid  alms  of  the 
ostentatious,  nor  the  most  powerful  efforts  of  unassisted  nature, 
avail,  in  the  smallest  degree,  to  the  purchase  of  pardon  and 
peace.  The  glory  of  this  purchase  demonstrably  belongs  to 
Christ  alone ;  and  he,  who  in  real  humility  approves  of, 
acquiesces  in,  and  rests  on  Christ  alone,  is  the  true  Christian. 
Thus  self-righteous  persons  are  rebuked  ;  thus  distressed  con- 
sciences are  relieved ;  and  thus  men  are  enabled  to  bring  forth 
all  the  fruits  of  righteousness.  An  ill  use,  no  doubt,  has  fre- 
quently been  made  of  the  precious  doctrine  here  stated,  and 
St.  Paul's  writings  abound  with  admirable  cautions  on  this  sub- 
ject. The  sixth  chapter  to  the  Romans  is  full  to  the  point. 
But  this  very  circuiustanco,  namely,  that  the  true  Christian 
notion  of  justification  is  apparently  liable  to  a  cliarge  of  anti- 
nomianism,  unquestionably  demonstrates  tliat  Luther  and  tlie 

'  ('>:i\.  iii.,  \'2.  f  Gal.  v.,  -1. 


234  CHAP.  XIII.     A.D.  1801.    ^TAT.  51. 

Other  Reformers  did  not  mistake  that  apostle's  meaning; 
because,  on  the  supposition  that  St.  Paul  really  meant  to 
ascribe  the  justification  of  a  sinner  before  God,  to  human  works, 
in  any  sense  of  those  terms,  the  very  plausibility  of  the  objec- 
tion loses  all  foundation.  However,  not  to  insist  further  on 
this  argument,  let  him  that  would  be  wise  in  the  things  of  God, 
study  this  great  Christian  article  of  the  revealed  method  of 
fallen  man's  acceptance  with  his  Maker,  and  let  him  do  this 
with  prayer  for  divine  illumination.  Let  not  any  man  suppose, 
as  ignorance  is  ever  apt  to  do,  that  evangelical  truth  is  so  plain 
and  obvious,  that  every  one  may  attain  it  without  attention, 
industry,  or  effort.  Let  him  rather  be  told,  that  the  v;ay  of 
life  is  deeply  mysterious,  and  has  great  difficulties  belonging 
to  it,  though,  nevertheless,  of  infallible  attainment  to  every 
humble,  seeking,  persevering  soul." 

It  may  be  sufficient  to  add,  further,  that  "  to  furnish  solid 
and  luminous  information  concerning  the  interesting  trans- 
actions of  this  memorable  period,''  and  at  the  same  time  to 
"compress  the  narrative  into  a  moderate  compass,"  was  Dr. 
Milner's  object;  and  it  was  no  easy  task.  In  the  execution  of 
it,  he  certainly  "  believed  himself  to  be  employed  in  the  service 
of  his  Heavenly  Master,  and  in  the  humble  hope  of  His  bless- 
ing and  protection,"  he  committed  it  "  to  the  judgment  of 
candid  and  impartial  readers." 

A  passage  bearing  upon  Dr.  Milner's  account  of  the  life 
and  character  of  Luther,  may,  with  propriety,  be  here  cited 
from  a  very  interesting  work  lately  puljlished*. 

"  1  nmst  mention,  before  I  conclude,"  writes  the  accom- 
pli.shed  author  of  the  work  in  question,  "  the  two  last  volumes 
<jf  Dean  Milner's  Ecclesiastical  History.  The  reason  for  which 
it  is  necessary  that  I  should  reconmiend  these  volumes  to  your 
attention  is  this,  that  they  contain,  j)articularly  in  the  life  of 
Luther,  the  best  account  I  know,  of  the  more  intellectual  part 
of  the  history  of  the  Reformation.  In  other  words,  they  con- 
tain the  progress  of  the  Reformation  in  Luther's  own  mind,  a 
very  curious  subject. 


I.cclnrc!)  on  Miiilcrn  J/iatori/,  liy  I'lofebbor  Smyiu,  vol.  i.,  p.  L'fJ.'). 


CHAP.  XIII.     A.D.   1801.     JF.TAT.  51.  235 

*■'  Such  were  tlie  great  talents  and  qualities  of  Luther,  and 
such  the  situation  of  I'^^urope  at  this  time,  that  tlie  Reformation, 
in  fact,  passed  from  the  mind  of  the  one  into  the  mind  of  the 
other. 

"  1  therefore  consider  these  two  volumes,  particularly  in  the 
lives  of  Wickliffe  and  Luther,  as  a  most  entertaining  and 
valuable  accession  to  our  general  stock  of  information,  and  one 
that  may  be  considered  as  accessil)le  to  every  student." 

"  Dr.  Milner,"  continues  Professor  Smyth,  ''  appears  to  me 
too  determined  a  panegyrist  of  Luther.  This,  however,  may  be 
forgiven  him ;  not  to  say  that  it  becomes  me  to  speak  with 
diffidence,  when  I  speak  to  differ  from  one  whom  I  know  to 
have  been  so  able,  and  whom  I  conceive  to  have  been  so 
diligent." 

Professor  Smyth  had  before  observed,  that,  with  "  the  par- 
ticular system  of  doctrine  upon  which  the  Ecclesiastical  Histoi'y 
is  written,  he,  as  a  lecturer  on  history,"  had  "  nothing  to  do." 

The  discerning  reader  will,  doubtless,  perceive  that  Dean 
Milner's  sincere  belief  in  that  "system,"  of  which  the  doctrine 
of  justification  by  faith  is  the  fundamental  article,  and  Luther 
the  able  and  zealous  expounder  and  advocate,  is  the  source  of 
his  admiration  and  reverence  for  the  great  Reformer. 

In  addition  to  the  continuation  of  the  Ecclesiastical  History, 
of  which  further  notice  will  be  taken  in  a  succeeding  chapter. 
Dr.  Milner  was,  at  this  time,  occupied  in  preparing  for  publi- 
cation a  second  edition  of  the  first  volume  of  his  brother's 
Sermons.  Busy,  however,  as  he  was,  he  neither  neglected  to 
correspond  with  his  friends,  nor  did  he  decline  any  useful  extra 
work  which  circumstances  might  throw  in  his  way. 

With  reference  to  the  Sermons,  some  extracts  from  a  very 
beautiful  letter  written  to  Dean  Milner,  by  the  late  Rev.  W. 
Terrot,  may  here  be  introduced. 

"  4,  Brompton  Grove, 
"  Dear  Sir,  Knightsbridge,  London. 

"  Having  found  the  sermons  which  I  mentioned  to  you 
when  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  in  town,  1  send  them  to 
you  in  great  hoj)os  that  you  will  hereafter  publish  them. 


236  CHAP.  XIII.     A.D.  1801.     ^TAT.  51. 

*'  I  have  copied  also  two  other  sermons  which  your  late  dear 
brother  sent  me. 

"  One,  to  teach  us  to  go  to  Christ  exactly  as  we  are — the 
hardest  lesson  in  the  world.  1  John  v.  1 1.  '  This  is  the  record 
that  God  hath  given  unto  us  eternal  life,  and  this  life  is  in  his 
Son.' 

"The  other,  on  Christian  Perfection,  Gen.  xvii.,  1.     'And 

when  Abraham,  &c Walk  before  me  and  be  thou 

perfect.' 

"These  sermons  he  selected  for  me  when  I  was  setting  out 
in  the  ministry,  to  teach  me  the  great  doctrines  on  which  I  was 
chiefly  to  insist,  and  which,  by  the  blessing  of  the  Lord,  I  have 
found  to  be  powerful  to  awaken  and  convert  my  fellow-sinners, 
and  which  are  all  my  hope  and  stay,  in  the  present  critical 
state  of  my  health.  I  hope  it  is  not  wrong  to  pray  that  a 
great  blessing  may  attend  the  writings  of  the  man  who  was  the 
first  instrument  of  turning  me  from  ways  that  were  evil  indeed ; 
but  this  idea  is  always  in  my  mind,  that  his  reward  at  the  last 
day  will  be  in  proportion  to  the  quantity  of  good  done,  by  what 
he  said,  and  by  what  he,  being  dead,  yet  speaketh. 

"  Pray  accept  the  assurance  of  those  sentiments  of  respect 
and  affection  with  which  I  have  the  honour  to  be, 
"  Dear  Sir, 

"  Your  most  obliged  and  faithful  servant, 
"  To  the  Rev.  Dr.  Milner."  "  W.  Terrot. 

Early  in  this  year  Dr.  Milncr,  ever  tender  hearted,  and 
ready  to  sympathize  with  others  in  their  afliiction,  wrote  to  the 
son  of  one  of  his  oldest  friends,  during  his  last  illness,  the 
following  truly  Christian  and  very  touching  letter. 

"  Mv  DKAR  John, 

"It  was  a  very  great  pleasure  to  me  yesterday,  to  see, 
through  your  brother  Robert,  your  own  handwriting;  and  the 
more  so,  as  you  permit  me  to  write  to  you  a  few  lines — indeed, 
witli  great  good-nature,  you  invite  me  to  write  .'it  length.  1 
must  not,  however,  take  an  ini|)ro|)c'r  advantage  of  the  con- 
cession;  I  must  Ixuarc  of  fatiguini;  either   your  body  or  your 


CHAP.  Xlir.     A.D.  1801.     JETAT.  51.  237 

mind.  It  was  the  apprehension  of  doing  mischief,  either  in 
the  way  of  fatigue  or  of  agitation,  that  has  kept  me,  hitherto, 
from  venturing  to  send  you  a  letter;  but  I  perceive,  from  all 
accounts,  that  you  enjoy  so  extraordinary  and  so  blessed  a 
composure  of  spirits,  that  I  trust  no  harm  will  arise  from  this 
step. 

"  Before  I  knew  whether  I  durst  write  to  you  or  not,  1 
thought  I  had  a  great  deal  to  say.  I  fancied  that  a  sort  of 
storm  was  coming  on,  and  I  supposed  that  there  was  plenty  of 
room  for  counsel  and  precaution  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  I  now 
find,  that  there  is  a  most  wonderful  calm ;  and  I  feel  disposed 
to  say  little  beyond  expressing  my  gratitude  and  admiration  on 
account  of  His  power  and  goodness,  who,  when  he  pleases, 
rebukes  the  winds  and  the  sea. 

"  It  is  not  to  be  denied,  my  dear  John,  that  the  sweet  calm- 
ness of  mind  which  you  experience  has  still  something  awful 
in  it,  which  ought  to  be  observed  on  such  an  occasion.  How 
much  is  your  present  situation  of  bodily  weakness  to  be  envied, 
when  compared  with  that  of  the  numerous  strong,  powerful, 
rich,  and  wise,  who  have  not  learned  the  humbling  doctrines 
of  the  Gospel ! 

"  I  repeat  it — I  have  little  to  say  to  you ;  I  am  lost  in 
wonder;  yet,  in  writing,  I  experience  a  very  pure  and  a  very 
vivid  satisfaction,  and  this  because  I  see  nothing  to  suspect, 
nothing  to  fear,  nothing  to  complain  of,  nothing  to  be  anxious 
about.  I  dare  not  add,  '  nothing  to  wish  otherwise,'  because, 
so  far  as  my  own  feelings  are  concerned,  I  almost  every  day 
lament  that  I  make  so  little  progress  in  the  trying  Ciiristian 
doctrine  of  resignation.  Human  nature  pleads  powerfully;  we 
are  not  easily  reconciled  to  loss  of  health,  friends,  and  worldly 
comforts;  and  the  temptation  is  the  more  insidious  because 
there  is  a  degree  of  regard  to  these  things,  which  is  lawful. 

"We  persuade  ourselves  that  we  could  give  up  all  these 
temporal  blessings  at  another  time,  or,  what  we  call  the  proper 
time,  nurc  in  the  course  of  nature;  Ijut,  in  my  judgment,  I  am 
most  perfectly  convinced,  that  if  the  mind  be  not  l^rought  to 
think  God's  time  the  proper  time,  it  will  give  them  up  \\ith 
reluctance  at  any  time. 


238  CHAP    XIII.     A.U.   1801.     ^TAT.  51. 

"Some  years  ago,  when  my  brother  was  supposed  to  be  in 
great  danger  from  a  fever,  I  had  hard  conflicts  in  this  matter, 
and  he  wrote  me  a  very  wise  and  instructive  letter  on  the 
nature  of  Christian  resignation  *.  I  pray  God  to  support  me 
when  the  trying  moments  come — otherwise,  I  know  Satan  will 
buffet  me  at  his  will. 

"  From  these  reflections  you  will  collect,  that  I  have  no 
pretensions  to  advise  you,  at  present,  in  spiritual  things.  No — 
1  rather  wish  to  learn  the  history  of  God's  dealings  with  you. 
It  is  true,  you  are  but  young;  but  no  age,  no  experience,  no 
strength  of  abilities,  can  supply  the  lessons  which  God  teaches 
those  who  surrender  themselves,  not  partially,  but  entirely,  to 
his  instructions.  You  are  too  weak  to  acquaint  me  with  those 
lessons,  therefore  by  no  means  attempt  it:  your  friends  will 
inform  me:  I  shall  listen  with  delight,  and,  Ihope,  with  profit. 

"  As  humility  is  the  life  and  soul  of  the  religion  of  Christ, 
there  is  perhaps  hardly  anything  which  ought  more  carefully  to 
be  avoided,  in  the  intercourse  between  friends,  than  the  saying 
or  doing  of  anything  which  has  a  tendency  to  puff  up;  we  are 
all  of  us,  sufficiently  disposed  to  this  evil  of  ourselves:  yet,  in 
the  very  important  duty  of  self-examination,  we  are  not  to 
affect  to  be  blind  to  what  God  has  done  for  us.  It  is  to  me, 
and  it  ought  to  be  to  you,  an  unspeakable  satisfaction,  in  your 
present  state  to  reflect,  that  it  had  pleased  God  to  enable  you 
to  take  so  decided  and  so  active  a  part  in  teaching  practical 
religion,  for  above  a  twelvemonth  before  this  illness  took  place. 
It  is  true,  that  with  God,  all  things  are  possible ;  but  I  am 
convinced,  that  the  fact  to  which  I  refer,  is  a  more  strong  and 
more  pleasing  evidence  tlian  almost  any  other  that  can  be 
conceived,  in  a  state  of  great  weakness,  when  neither  the 
memory  nor  the  understanding  can  exert  itself  with  vigour. 

"  1  mention  this  to  you  now,  (as  I  have,  I  believe,  men- 
tioned rt  every  duy  since  you  began  to  be  unwell,  sometimes 
in  the  way  of  joy  on  your  account,  and  at  other  times,  in  the 
way  of  exhortation  to  our  common  friends)  as  a  thing  that 
should  call  for  your  constant  gratitude  and  thanksgiving.     I 


SceCliaiitor  IX. 


CHAP.  XIII.    A.D.   1801.     ^TAT.  51.  239 

believe  you  could  say  with  truth,  that  you  were  glad  to  go  into 
his  courts,  &c. 

"  I  reflect^  also,  with  a  true  pleasure,  on  the  many  conversa- 
tions which  we  had  together  (a  litttle  before  you  left  Cam- 
bridge) on  religious  subjects,  and  particularly  on  the  Epistle  to 
the  Romans,  that  rich  field  both  of  doctrine  and  of  practice, 
and  also  on  the  nature  of  the  evidences  of  the  being  in  a 
spiritual  state.  Keep  in  mind  what  you  insisted  on,  viz.,  '  that 
all  things  will  work  together  for  good,  &c.  &c.'  It  is  a  most 
precious  promise. 

"  But  I  am  breaking  my  resolution,  both  in  being  too  long, 
and  in  proceeding  to  instruction. 

"  Tell  your  affectionate  (I  cannot  call  him  afflicted)  father, 
that  I  receive  all  his  letters  with  satisfaction  and  thankfulness, 
and  that  I  wish  him  to  continue  to  write  as  often  as  his  great 
labours  will  permit  him.  Oh!  my  dear  John  !  to  be  the  son  of 
such  a  father  is,  of  itself,  a  blessing  that  calls  for  continued 
praise.  He  has  had  hard  rubs  in  the  course  of  God's  jirovi- 
dence,  and  I  doubt  not  l)ut  he  has  profited  by  them;  but  the 
thing  that  always  strikes  me  particularly  is,  how  wonderfully 
Almighty  God  has  blessed  him  in  his  children.  The  explana- 
tion is,  he  is  a  praying  father,  and  God  is  a  hearer  of  prayer. 

"  God  bless  you,  my  dear  John,  now  and  for  evermore.  I 
am  a  poor,  feeble  creature,  and  could  weep  sadly  over  your 
bodily  afflictions,  if  I  were  to  give  way  to  my  feelings.  But  I 
can  check  myself,  and,  through  God's  mercy,  can  join  all  your 
dear  friends  and  relatives  in  encompassing  you  about  with 
songs  of  deliverance. 

"  I  am  very  affectionately  yours, 

"Isaac  Milner." 

With  the  present  Lord  Arcldjishop  of  York,  then  Bishop  of 
Carlisle,  Dean  Milner  communicated  by  letter  frequently,  both 
upon  religious  subjects  in  general,  and  his  brother's  sermons 
in  particular. 

"  I  send  you  by  this  post,'"  writes  the  Bishop,  January 
29th,  1801,  "  the  few  further  notes  I  have  made  on  reading 
your  brother's  sermons.      ********      jj^ 


240  CHAP.  XIII.     A.l).  1801.     ^ETAT.   51. 

essentials  I  perfectly  agree  with  your  brother's  doctrine,  but 
some  things,  if  taken  as  detached  passages,  I  should  explain 
ratiier  differently." 

The  following  letter  treats  of  several  interesting  matters: — 

"To  THE  Rev.  William  Richardson. 

"  Old  Palace  Yard,  Westminster, 
"  IV.  miberforce's,  Esq. 
"My  dear  Friend,  March  6,  ISOl. 

"  I  find  myself  here  ex  officio.  I  am  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  Longitude,  and  we  meet  three  times  a  year  at  the  Admiralty 
to  receive  and  judge  of  proposals,  &.c.  And  excessively  enter- 
taining it  is  to  see  how  many  persons,  of  desperate  fortunes, 
imagine  they  merit  rewards  for  their  skill  in  finding  out  the 
longitude  at  sea.  One  foolish  fellow  writes  to  me  and  says, '  As 
you  have  the  disposal  of  four,  or  five,  or  &c.,  thousands  of 
pounds  for  assisting  j)ersons  in  their  schemes,  I  think  it  my 
duty  to  ask  for  one  thousand.  I  believe  tliat  will  be  enough  to 
enable  me  to  complete  my  scheme.'  Some  of  these  applicants 
are  absolutely  crack-brained,  and  others  ignorant  in  the  ex- 
treme. About  a  year  ago,  a  fellow  came  from  Norwich  and 
thought  he  had  found  out  the  longitude  merely  because  he  had 
hung  an  immense  weight  of  lead  to  a  telescope,  which  he  sup- 
posed would  steady  it  at  sea. 

"  Sir  .J and    Lady   Catherine    were   here   last 

night. 

"  She  is  going  on  exceedingly  well.     *     *     *     1  cannot,  in 

the  compass  of  a  letter,  make  you  master  of 's  character. 

Such  a  strange  jumble  is  the  human  heart,  that  I  am  not  with- 
out hopes  that  he  has,  at  times,  very  serious  thoughts  about 
eternity,  and  very  serious  convictions  of  sin.  Last  sunmier  he 
told  me,  that  one  night,  when  he  had  remained  restless  and 
feverish  for  many  liours  witli  severe  thirst,  liis  mind  was 
strongly  inij)rcssed  with  the  dreadful  state  of  tiiosc  in  eternity, 
who  should   in    vain    ask  for   '  a  drop   of  water  to   cool  their 

tongues.'     *     *     *     *     is  extremely  friendly  and  open 

to  me,  and  has  nothing  about  him  like  double  dealing  that  ever 
I   perceived.      But  I  ;ini   in   threat    ajjprchcnsion,  that  the   more 


CriAP.  XIII.     A.D.  1801.     /ETAT.  51.  241 

thoroughly  he  becomes  acquainted  with  Christian  doctrines,  the 
more  he  will  dislike  those  wlio  speak  out,  unless  it  should  please 
God  to  alter  his  views. 

"  You  will,  however,  agree  with  me,  that  we  are  not  to  tem- 
l)orize  in  the  least,  beyond  proper  civility  and  respect.  lie  is 
quite  orthodox  in  opinion,  and  he  has  permitted  me  to  open 
myself  to  him  in  the  fullest  and  plainest  manner  that  I  could 
devise.  He  assents  to  almost  everything  that  is  said;  I  hardly 
know  anything  of  the  doctrinal  sort  to  which  he  does  not 
assent;  and  yet  when  we  come  to  practical  teaching  of  congre- 
gations, I  immediately  perceive  that  we  are  wide  asunder.  He 
sees  that  I  do  not  think  him  sound,  and  this  keeps  him  in  a 
state  of  irrit-ition  in  his  own  mind.  He  M'ould  fain  quarrel  with 
nobody,  and  I  do  verily  believe,  tliat  he  has  a  sincere  regard  for 
me. 

"  There  is  a  sixpenny  thing  just  put  into  my  hands,  called 
A  Reply,  S^c,  from  Dr.  Haweis.  On  the  whole  it  is  sadly  dis- 
ingenuous :  but  yet  he  confesses  very  honestly  in  one  place, 
and,  in  general,  is  by  no  means  so  boisterous  as  I  had  expected 
him  to  be. 

"  I  really  hope  my  animadversions  may  have  done  him  some 
good;  he  is  most  decidedly  a  peg  lower,  and  it  is  very  plain, 
that  he  does  not  wish  to  provoke  a  rejoinder  from  me.  I 
believe  it  will  hardly  be  necessary  to  take  notice  of  him  at  all; 
the  utmost  will  be  a  sentence  or  two,  when  the  Life  of  my 
brother  is  re-published*. 

"  N.  B.  I  have  been  much  pressed,  and  by  most  respectable 
friends,  and  very  particularly  by  the  master  of  this  house,  to 
add  a  number  of  instructive  circumstances  or  anecdotes  respect- 
ing the  private  and  public  conduct  of  my  late  brother,  when  I 
publish  a  new  edition  of  his  life. 

"  Mr.  Wilberforce,  I  say,  in  particular,  by  letter  mentioned 
tiiis  to  me,  and  said,  that  I  might  say  many  things  of  him  (my 
brother)  which  were  very  well  known  to  be  true,  and  to  which 
the  people  of  Hull   would   bear  testimony,  and  which,  lastly. 


A  rojoinder,  iinder  the  title  of  Further  Animadversions,  &c.,  wa-s,  however, 
jmblished  in  the  year  1802.     See  note  Chap.  XIV. 

u 


242  CHAP.  XIII.     A.D.   1801.     yETAT.  51. 

would  be  of  service  to  be   known,  and   by  no   means   appear 
ostentatious, 

"  Now  I  confess,  that  anything  like  this  is  totally  against 
my  first  judgment,  and,  however  agreeable  it  might  be  to  an 
affectionate  brother  to  see  the  amiable  parts  of  the  character  of 
his  dear  relative  set  forth  in  detail  and  handed  down  to  pos- 
terity, I  say  I  dislike  the  thing;  and  I  am  pretty  sure  that  my 
brother  himself  would  have  hated  it  exceedingly.  I  have  only 
to  say,  that  when  such  a  man  as  Mr.  Wilberforce  points  out  the 
propriety  of  such  a  step,  and  tells  me,  that  he  himself  remem- 
bers several  parts  of  his  conduct  which  might  with  great  pro- 
priety be  recorded,  I  am  staggered.  Tell  me  honestly  how  it 
strikes  you,  and  in  this  I  would  wish  both  you  and  myself  to  be 
decided  in  our  judgments,  purely  by  the  consideration  of  doing 
some  good,  be  it  more  or  less. 

"  I  have  found  it  absolutely  impossible  to  attend  much  to 
the  fourth  volume*,  at  the  same  time  that  these  sermons  are 
going  forward;  but  the  moment  they  are  dispatched,  I  shall 
attack  it  again  if  all  be  well.     *     *     * 

'*  Our  friend  William  Hey  has  indeed  behaved  very  much 
like  a  Christian  during  his  late  severe  trials.  I  never  in  my 
life  read  more  affecting  letters  than  from  him. 

"  God  bless  you,  my  dear  friend. 

"  Isaac  Milner* 

"  N.B.  While  I  have  been  scribbUng  this  long  letter,  I 
have  had  twenty  people  about  me,  disputing  concerning  Catholic 
emancipation." 

Numerous  and  various  as  were  the  claims  upon  Dean 
Milner's  attention,  during  the  periods  of  his  brief  visits  at  the 
house  of  his  friend  Mr.  Wilberforce,  he  was  less  constantly 
occupied  there,  than  in  his  own  study  at  Cambridge  or  at 
Carlisle ;  and  therefore  generally  seized  the  opportunities  which 
these  periodical  visits  afforded  him,  to  "  clear  off,"  as  he  used 
to  say,  some  of  his  unanswered  letters. 

The  following  letter,  written  by  Dean  Milner  from  Cam- 


Of  the  Ilittory  of  the  Church. 


CHAP.  XIII,     A.T).  1801.      ETAT.  51.  243 

bridge,   soon   after  his  return  from  this  visit  to   Palace   Yard, 
treats  of  an  important  subject. 

"To  William  Wilberforce,  Esq. 

''  Queen's  Lodge, 
"My  dear  Friend,  March  24th,  1801. 

"  The  case  is  this.  At  tlueen's,  we  happened  unfortunately 
to  have  several  clever  Fellows,  some  time  ago,  who  should  have 
tilled  our  offices  of  trust,  as  tutors,  &c.,  but  were  disqualified 
on  account  of  their  principles.  I  was  positively  determined  to 
have  nothing  to  do  with  Jacobins  or  infidels,  and  custom  has 
placed  in  my  power  the  appointment  of  the  tutors,  provided 
they  be  Fellows  of  our  own  College.  Our  own  being  very 
unfit,  we  went  out  of  college  sorely  against  the  wish  of  several ; 
however,  by  determining  to  make  no  jobs  of  such  things,  but 
to  take  the  very  best  men  I  could  find,  I  carried  the  matter 
through,  in  no  less  than  three  instances : — Thomason,  Barnes, 
Sowerby.  The  consequence  has  been,  that  a  belief  has  taken 
place,  that  we  should  continue  to  go  out  of  college  for  candi- 
dates for  fellowships,  after  the  cause  had  ceased,  I  have 
applications  without  end  to  this  purpose ;  and  not  only  so,  but 
admonitions,  sometimes  anonymous.  I  inclose  one  that  came 
lately.  You  cannot  think  how  plagued  I  have  been,  from  a 
variety  of  quarters,  on  this  head,  though  I  endeavour  to  make 
it  known  everywhere,  that  we  have  now  got  two  good  tutors, 
and  have  no  reason  for  going  out  of  college. 

"The  Bishop  of  Lincoln  called  on  me  the  other  day  with 
Dr.  Turner,  and  was  inclined,  I  think,  to  have  talked  more 
politics  than  usual,  if  there  had  not  been  a  third  person  present. 

"N.B.  It  is  very  positively  said  here,  that  Pitt  and  the 
Bishop  of  Lincoln  had  a  bill  ready,  if  not  printed,  to  take 
away  all  from  the  clergy,  and  to  make  them  pensioners  at  the 
Treasury. 

"  Yours,  I.  M." 

As  affording  evidence  that,  in  the  midst  of  his  constant  and 
various  avocations.  Dean  Milner  was  ever  ready  to  give  his 
best  attention  to  any  extra  labour  which   he  was  requested  to 

R  2 


244  CHAP.  XIII.     A.D.   1801.     .ETAT.  51. 

undertake,  it  may  be  mentioned,  that,  in  the  spring  of  this 
year,  he  addressed  to  the  Government,  at  their  request,  a  very 
elaborate  Memorial  respecting  the  construction  of  the  Bridge 
across  the  Thames,  then  about  to  be  built.  His  letters  at  this 
period  contain  various  allusions  to  this  affair.  To  Mr.  Wil- 
berforce  he  thus  wrote :  "  My  Memorial  will  be  at  length ; 
explaining  my  reasons,  and  entering  fully  into  them.  It  would 
be  very  easy  to  make  a  great  parade,  and  to  crowd  a  paper  full 
of  algebra  ;  but  I  am  determined  not  to  mislead. 

"  I  have  given  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  the  subject,  and 
have  consulted  authors ;  and  I  am  convinced,  that  a  conference 
of  the  practical  engineers  with  the  theorists,  is  the  only  way  to 
get  on  to  any  purpose."  This  letter  concludes  with  a  strong 
recommendation  of  the  late  Professor  Farish,  as  a  person 
whose  mathematical  and  mechanical  knowledge  might  be  very 
useful  on  the  occasion  in  question.  "  I  am,  bona  fide,"  writes 
the  Dean,  "  most  positive,  that  there  is  nobody  here  equal  to 
him,  or  to  be  compared ;  but  delicacy  will  be  required  in 
hinting  this." 

The  second  edition  of  the  first  volume  of  Joseph  Milner's 
Sermons,  which  the  Dean  on  the  6th  of  March  had  announced 
to  Mr.  Richardson,  to  be  "half  printed,"  and  "much  called 
for,"  was  now  nearly  completed ;  not,  however,  without  much 
harassing  labour.     This  appears  from  the  following  letter. 

"To  William  Wilberforce,  Esq. 

"  My  dear  Sir, 

"  I  would  have  written  to  you  last  night,  if  it  had  not  been 
for  T.  Thompson,  who  dropped  in  upon  us  in  the  afternoon, 
quite  unexpectedly.  By  the  by,  I  am  very  sorry  to  say,  that 
this  is  the  second  time  he  has  come  to  us  by  travelling  on 
Sunday,  and  without  any  apparent  good  cause ;  certainly  none, 
but  a  little  worldly  convenience  !  I  am  truly  sorry  to  see  such 
conduct:  I  gave  him  a  hint  of  it  pretty  strong.  He  would  not 
have  done  so  in  your  grand-father's  time,  when  there  was  no 
income  tax ;  and  when,  if  there  had  been  one,  he  would  not 
have  been  troubled  with  it. 

"  I  never,  I  tliink,  worked  so  hard  in  my  life  as  at  present. 


CHAP.  XIII.     A.D.  1801.     yETAT.  51.  245 

to  get  my  l)rother's  sermons  out  before  I  go  to  Carlisle.  I 
have  made,  and  am  making,  considerable  additions  to  the  h\fe ; 
and  the  Sermons  are  printed  so  much  closer,  that,  without 
making  any  thicker  book,  I  shall  be  able  to  add  four,  or  five, 
or  six  fresh  sermons. 

"  I  have  many  other  things  to  do ;  in  particular,  some 
sermons  to  prepare  for  Carlisle.  What  can  I  do  ?  I  don't 
throw  away  a  single  hour  when  I  can  by  possibility  work ;  in 
fact,  this  excessive  attention  is  quite  too  much  for  me ;  I  hurt 
myself  by  it. 

"  God  bless  you.  If  you  should  not  be  well,  you  know  I, 
of  course,  throw  all  aside,  and,  in  case  of  necessity,  come  up  at 
a  moment's  warning.     So  God  bless  you  and  preserve  you. 

"  N.B.  I  mean,  if  I  live,  so  to  order  things  in  future,  as 
never  again  to  be  hurried  in  this  manner  by  my  own  business. 
But  many  are  expecting  these  sermons ;  and  if  they  are  not 
done  now,  it  will  be  autumn  before  they  can  come  out. 

"  Once  more  remember  me  aflfectionately  to  B.  and  the 
little  ones. 

"Yours,  I.  M. 

"  P.S.  How  does  the  little,  little  baby  ?  Write  me  a  single 
line  to  set  me  easy  about  yourself." 

The  actual  completion  of  the  second  edition  of  the  Sermo?is 
is  announced  in  a  very  characteristic  letter,  from  which  the 
following  extracts  are  taken. 

"To  THE  Rev.  William  Richardson. 

"  Carlisle  Deanery, 
"My  dear  Friend,  June  SOth,  1801. 

'•  I  have  at  last  got  the  new  edition  of  Sermons  ready;  and, 
considering  my  infirmities,  this  has  been  no  easy  job.  The  Life 
is  doubled  at  least.  By  casting  your  eye  over  the  old  edition  of 
the  Life,  and  comparing  it  with  the  new,  you  will  instantly 
perceive  what  is  additional.  From  page  34  to  page  52  of  the 
new  edition  is  entirely  new,  and  may,  I  hope,  prove  useful.  I 
shall  be  very  anxious  to  hear  your  judgment  of  it,  and  tiie  more 
so,  as  I  know  you  will  give  it  me  very  sincerely. 


246  CHAP.  XIII.     A.l).  1801.     .ETAT.  51. 

"  You  will  wonder  beforehand  how  I  could  increase  the 
LAfe  so  much,  without  spoiling  it.  But  suspend  your  judgment 
till  you  see  it ;  and  then,  I  trust,  you  will  not  think,  that,  in 
lengthening  it,  I  have  at  all  broken  through  the  principles  upon 
which  the  Life  was  originally  written.  There  are  many  addi- 
tions to  it,  of  which  you  will  take  notice  as  you  go  along, 
besides  that  above-mentioned. 

"  I  have  added  a  sentence  or  two  more  to  what  I  said  about 
Ludlam ;  but  I  understand  that  there  is  a  most  abusive  attack 
on  mc  by  T.  Ludlam.  I  wish  I  had  known  of  it  a  few  days 
before  I  had  finished  this  volume ;  because  I  might  have  added 
an  advertisement,  or  a  page,  in  answer. 

"  I  have  not  seen  the  Spleen  just  published ;  but  I  hope  it 
will  not  require  an  answer.  Tell  me  if  you  think  it  does.  I  am 
tired  of  controversy. 

"  Haweis  has  behaved  abominably,  and  I  thought  it  right  to 
take  notice  of  his  false  quotations  ;  and  I  have  every  reason  to 
be  satisfied  with  the  effect  of  my  animadversions.  I  hope, 
indeed,  they  will  serve  to  check  the  progress  of  that  shocking 
member  of  the  Church.  His  reply  was  that  of  one  who  squeaks 
miserably;  but  yet  he  said  some  things  which,  I  thought,  called 
for  a  fresh  lashing.  I  have,  therefore,  printed  Further  Animad- 
versions, (twenty-four  pages,  price  6f/). 

"  Here  I  end  with  Haweis,  whether  he  write  again  or  not. 

"  The  little  strength  and  leisure  I  have,  I  wish  to  employ 
upon  the  fourth  volume  of  the  Ecclesiastical  History,  which  will 
take  up  a  deal  of  time,  and  require  a  deal  of  care.  The 
manuscript  was  in  bad  order,  and  the  author  not  at  hand  to 
explain. 

"  Besides,  if  ever  I  answer  Ludlam  at  all,  I  should  wish  the 
work  to  have  more  permanency  than  usually  belongs  to  a 
pamphlet.  When  you  see  his  pamphlet,  let  me  know  what 
you  think.  1  dare  say,  when  I  first  see  it  I  shall  be  violently 
inclined  to  respond ;  but  I  have  experienced,  that  feelings  of 
that  sort  go  off,  or  lessen  exceedingly,  with  a  little  time :  and 
before  this  time  twelvemonth  most  persons,  probably,  will  have 
forgotten  the  dispute. 

"  T    have     printed     some    copies    of     the    T.iJ'c    for    myself. 


CHAP.  XIII.     A.D.  1801.     iGTAT.  61,  24? 

(separate) ;  but  I  think  it  better  that  the  Life  should  not  be 
known  to  be  separate,  (at  least  just  yet,)  lest  the  sale  of  the 
Sermons  be  injured  by  tliat  circumstance  coming  to  light. 
Many  persons  may  buy  the  Sermons  for  the  sake  of  the  Life; 
and  one  would  not  check  the  sale  of  them,  by  circulating  the 
Life  by  itself.  I  ought  to  say,  that  I  have  added  to  the  volume 
of  Sermons  two  long  new  ones,  so  that  the  book  now  contains 
much  more  than  before. 

"  N.B.  Let  nothing  that  I  have  said  about  the  Life  hinder 
you  from  following  your  own  judgment  in  that  affair.  Give  or 
sell  it  to  individuals  as  you  like ;  only,  I  think  it  should  not  be 
sold  publicly  yet. 

"  I  am,  dear  Sir, 

"  Yours  affectionately,  I.  M." 

The  attack  upon  Dean  Milner,  by  Mr.  T.  Ludlam,  men- 
tioned in  the  above  letter,  was  the  more  painful  to  him,  on 
account  of  his  past  friendly  intercourse  with  that  gentleman  ;  it 
is,  therefore,  peculiarly  satisfactory  to  find  him  expressing,  as 
he  does,  his  conviction  of  the  transitory  nature  of  the  feelings 
which  that  attack  could  not  but  excite  in  his  mind. 

Ever  active  in  his  endeavours  to  serve  his  friends,  Dr^ 
Milner,  during  this  summer,  took  much  pains  to  ascertain,  for 
the  benefit  of  a  deserving  clergyman,  a  particular  point  of  law 
affecting  the  prospects  of  that  clergyman  in  the  Church. 
Other  matters  also,  which  came  under  his  cognizance  in  his 
capacity  of  Dean  of  Carlisle,  occupied  much  of  his  time. 
Nothing  can  be  more  true  than  a  declaration  which  he  occa- 
sionally made  respecting  himself, — that  he  disliked  to  do 
anything  "  by  halves." 

A  detail  of  the  circumstances  of  this  affair,  even  if  it  could 
Mnth  propriety  be  given,  would  not  be  generally  interesting. 
Suffice  it  to  say,  that  the  Dean  suffered  not  the  matter  to  rest 
till  he  had  obtained,  respecting  it,  the  opinions  of  several 
eminent  civilians ;  among  whom  may  be  mentioned  one  of  his 
own  much-valued  friends,  the  late  Sir  William  Wynne. 

This  gentleman  was,  in  1803,  elected  Master  of  Trinity 
Hall ;  and  in  consequence  of  that  event,  spent,  subsequently,  a 


248  CHAP.  XIII.     A.D.  laoi.     .ETAT.  51. 

certain  portion  of  his  time  at  Cambridge.  Dr.  Milner  esteemed 
him  as  a  man  of  sense  and  integrity;  and  by  his  death,  in  the 
year  1815,  was  deprived  of  a  friend,  whose  society  might  have 
tended  to  cheer  the  closing  years  of  his  life. 

On  the  2nd  of  October,  Dr.  Milner  thus  wrote  to  Mr.  Wil- 
berforce : — 

'•  My  DEAR  Friend, 

'•  I  have  thought,  and  think  every  day,  of  the  scenes  of  last 
year  at  Bognor ;  and  particularly  of  the  night  when  I  awakened 
you ;  but  I  did  not  remember  the  day  so  exactly  as  you  now 
j)oint  it  out. 

"  I  wish  my  heart  were  duly  affected, — God's  mercies  are 
very  many  and  various.  It  is  a  sad  thing  to  call  on  Him  only 
when  we  are  afflicted.  We  need  a  sense  of  his  goodness.  See 
my  poor  brother's  private  thoughts. 

"  I  wrote  you  a  few  lines  last  night.  As  to  myself,  I  surely 
ought  to  consider  that  my  grandfather  died  at  sixty,  my  father 
at  fifty-seven,  my  brother  Joseph  at  fifty-three ;  tliat  my  eldest 
and  robust  brother  never  reached  fifty,  and  that  I  am  in  my 
fifty-second  year.     Prepare  !  prepare  ! 

"  In  the  business  about  which  I  wrote  to  you,  as  in  many 
other  concerns  of  the  like  nature,  Pitt  sure  has  been  greatly  to 
blame.  He  has  been  a  poor  patron  to  this  University,  consi- 
dering his  opportunities :  I  am  quite  convinced  that  old  North 
was  infinitely  better, — more  attentive  and  considerate, — distinct 
from  all  his  blameable  jobs. 

"  I  have,  however,  written  to  Lord  Hardwicke,  and  also  to 
Mr.  Yorke,  who  has  returned  me  a  very  obliging  answer." 

In  the  September  of  this  year.  Dr.  Milner  received  at 
Queen's  Lodge  a  visit  from  his  old  and  valued  friend,  the 
Rev.  James  Stillingfleet.  The  following  letter,  which  lie  wrote 
to  that  gentleman  soon  after  his  departure  from  Cambridge, 
nm.st  be  interesting  to  every  reader. 


CHAP.  XIII.     A.l).  IKOl.     /ETAT.  51.  249 

"  To  THE  Rev.  Jamks  Stillingfleet. 

"  Queen's  College  Lodge, 
"My  DEAR  Fkiend,  October  12,  1801. 

*'  I  take  it  very  kind  in  you  to  have  remembered  us  so 
affectionately.  May  the  God  of  all  consolation  requite  you 
many  fold  into  your  bosom.  But  I  must  call  you  to  order  on 
one  point.  It  is  really  stuff  to  talk  of  our  kindnesses  to  you  and 
yours.  I  hope  I  am,  and  shall  ever  be,  disposed  to  do  what- 
ever I  am  able  for  you  or  yours,  by  way  of  showing  that  I  do  not 
entirely  forget  the  real  and  essential  kindnesses  which  you  and 
your  excellent  rib  conferred  upon  my  poor  brother  deceased ;  I 
verily  believe  his  life  was  prolonged  by  those  kindnesses:  and  I 
am  well  convinced  that  he  might  have  been  continued  to  us 
some  time  longer,  if  he  could  have  been  persuaded  to  lessen  his 
labours  a  little ;  but  his  heart  was  too  much  in  the  work  to 
allow  of  relaxation  ;  and  so  far  as  he  himself  is  concerned,  it  is 
my  great  satisfaction, — my  dolorum  dulce  lenimen, — to  think 
that  he  is  far  better  where  he  is,  than  dragging  out  a  few  painful 
years  with  asthma,  &c.,  &c. 

"  In  regard  to  kindnesses,  I  have  really  had  no  opportunity 
of  showing  you  more  than  bare  civilities.  Several  times  during 
your  short  stay  with  us,  I  was  going  to  attempt  to  make  Mrs. 
Still,  understand  how  much  and  how  deeply  my  mind  was 
impressed  with  a  sense  of  her  repeated  motherly  attentions  to 
her  poor  friend ;  but  it  proved  too  much  for  me, — I  could  not 
get  on,  but  was  always  stopped,  in  limine.  My  poor  heart  is 
irritable  at  best,  and  is  so  extremely  sensible  whenever  that 
string  is  touched,  that  I  am  soon  overwhelmed.  The  world  has 
never  looked  as  it  used  to  do  to  me,  since  the  event  alluded  to ; 
and  perhaps  it  is  better  for  me  that  it  has  not ;  for  I  have  lono- 
seen  it  very  jilain  that  mild  methods  will  not  do  for  me. 
Nothing  but  the  rod  answers  at  all:  and  may  God  grant  that  I 
may  kiss  the  rod  cordially,  and  remember  that  He  afflicteth  not 
willingly. 

"  1  am  but  poorly;  and  attacks,  though  gentle,  are  felt  by  an 
old  sufferer, — much  more  than  by  a  fresh  hand,  who  has  never 
been  in  tiie  wars;  and  the  effects  also  are  much  longer  in 
repairing. 


250  CHAP.  XIII.     A.D.  1801.    ^TAT.  51. 

"  God  has  been  merciful  to  us  in  regard  to  my  poor  niece, 
who  gains  ground,  I  think,  every  week."  *  #  *  «  Wq  all 
of  us  talk  of  you  every  day,  and  wish  you  would  make  it  conve- 
nient to  stay  some  days  with  us  on  your  return. 

"  Come,  I  say,  and  then  we  will  talk  matters  over  about  your 
summer  journey,  and  contrive  to  make  it  very  economical;  and 
also  settle  several  other  affairs. 

"  Yours  truly  and  affectionately, 

"  As  also  Mrs.  S 's  and  Edward's, 

"I.  M." 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stillingfleet  were  among  the  friends  whom 
Dean    Milner   most   entirely   loved   and   esteemed.      Towards 

Mrs.  S ,  in  particular,  his  heart  overflowed  with  gratitude, 

on  account  of  what  he  used  to  call  her  "  motherly  kindnesses  " 
towards  his  deceased  brother.  She  was,  indeed,  a  woman  well 
deserving  of  the  affection  of  her  friends.  Mr.  Richardson,  of 
York,  once  said  of  her,  in  conversation  with  myself,  that  there 
was  about  her  "  a  meekness  of  wisdom  "  quite  irresistible. 


e5i 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Confidential  Correspondence. — Chapter  Business. — Illness. —  Scrmou  at  Wliite- 
hall. — Rowland  Hill. — Fourth  Volume  of  Ecclesiastical  History. — Vigour 
and  Pel-severance  of  Dean  Aliluer. — Accident  on  Staininore. — Prominent 
trait  in  Dean  Milner's  miud. — Anecdotes. — Rev.  Mr.  Church. — Letters. — 
Domestic  Affairs. — Discovery  of  the  Invisible  Girl. 

A.D.  1802.     iETAT.  52. 

It  was  intimated  in  the  last  chapter,  tliat  towards  the  close  of 
the  year  1801,  Dean  Milner  had  exerted  himself  for  the  benefit 
of  a  deserving  clergyman,  and  in  the  arrangement  of  certain 
other  affairs  respecting  which,  in  his  capacity  of  Dean  of  Car- 
lisle, he  possessed  considerable  influence.  Some  of  the  con- 
sequences of  his  friendly  efforts,  which  were,  upon  the  whole, 
successful,  are  mentioned  in  the  following  letter, — a  letter 
which  carries  forward  the  Dean's  personal  history,  and  is 
otherwise  exceedingly  interesting. 

"To  THE  Rev.  James  Stillingfleet. 

"  Queen's  College  Lodge, 
"  My  dear  Friend,  IJM  March,  1802. 

'*  Dr.  Kipling  had  told  me  before  the  receipt  of  your  last 
kind  letter,  that  I  was  indebted  to  you  on  the  score  of  epistolary 
correspondence. 

"  1  can  bear  animadversions  of  this  sort,  because  they 
evidently  originate  in  kindness. 

"  I  am  never  so  much  inclined  to  pour  out  my  heart  to 
a  friend  as  when  I  am  in  affliction.  I  know  not  whether  you 
have  heard  of  poor  *  *  *  *  's  deplorable  situation.  Only  two 
days  ago,  the  first  news  arrived  from  Mr.  Thompson,  that  '  he 
lies  most  dangerously  ill.'  As  far  as  I  can  collect,  tliere  is  very 
little  chance  for  liim  indeed,  for  he  appears  to  have  been 
declining  for  some  months  past. 

"  Mr.  Thompson  says  he  expressed  great  fear  of  hell,  and 
prayed  very  earnestly.  Bad  as  this  situation  is,  you  will,  I  am 
sure,  j)refer  it   to   that   of   the   Duke   of    B.   who    died   latelv, 


252  CHAP.  XIV.     A.D.  1802.     ;ETAT.  52. 

with  the  fortitude  of  a  heathen.  T  am  quite  shocked  at  that 
relation. 

"  Poor  *  *  *  *  's  conduct  has  been,  I  understand,  quite 
unexceptionable  for  a  good  while ;  and  certainly  his  conscience 
has  been  uneasy  for  a  long  time. 

"  I  wish  you  would  drop  a  line  to  Mr.  Dykes  about  him, 
and  to  Mr.  Scott,  and  say  what  you  think  proper  about  such  a 
case.     Alas  !  it  will  perhaps  be  too  late  ! 

"What  I  particularly  fear  is,  lest  his  wife,  who  is  a  Papist, 
should  bring  about  him  some  parson  of  her  own  persuasion, 
who  might  pretend  to  absolve  him,  make  him  easy,  and  draw 
his  dependence  from  Jesus  Christ  to  some  wretched  formality. 
If  you  could  see  him  yourself,  it  would  be  a  great  comfort. 

"  In  regard  to  *****,  I  think  about  it  just  as  I  did  when 
you  and  I  talked  together.  I  am  by  no  means  clear  that  the 
change  would  have  been  for  my  comfort  on  the  whole,  or  even 
much  for  my  advantage.  Any  little  advantage  from  increase  of 
income  has  no  charms  for  me. 

"You  would  hear  how  I  exerted  myself  in  the  winter  by 
going  down  to  Carlisle,  and  managing  about  some  small  pieces 
of  preferment ;  small,  but  of  great  consequence.     My  presence 

was  absolutely   necessary  to  support  F ,    and  on  some 

other  accounts.  Also,  I  secured,  through  Dr.  Coulthurst,  the 
living  of  Elland  to  a  son  of  poor  Miles  Atkinson.  I  had  been 
very  ill  in  October  and  November,  so  ill,  that  unless  Mr. 
Parish  the  surgeon,  and  my  niece's  husband,  had  gone  with  me 
all  the  way,  I  should  not  have  dared  to  venture  to  go ;  and,  as 
it  was,  I  doubted  whether  I  could  reach  Carlisle ;  but  God  was 
merciful.  I  had  previously  done  my  best  by  writing  and 
negociating.  I  verily  believe  I  wrote  above  forty  letters,  to 
the  Bishop,  the  Prel^endaries,  and  their  different  friends  and 
connections  ;  God  be  praised,  everything  succeeded. 

"  For  six  weeks  I  had  a  most  frightful  intermission  of  the 
pulse,  at  about  every  fourth  beat.  This  complaint  did  not 
permit  me  to  sleep,  and  harassed  me  exceedingly.  It  left  me 
about  a  niontli  ago. 

"  I  was  appointed  to  preach,  on  Ash  Wednesday,  at  White- 
hall ;  and  I  was  very  anxious  to  discharge  that  duty,  particularly 


CHAP.  XIV.    A.D.   1802.     vETAT.  52.  253 

as  I  had  been  disappointed  by  ill-health  at  the  time  of  my 
former  turn  at  the  same  place,  soon  after  I  was  made  Dean.  I 
went  to  London,  but  I  was  so  poorly,  that  I  was  obliged  to 
have  a  substitute  ready. 

'■'  It  pleased  God,  however,  that  about  seven  o'clock  in  the 
morning  of  Ash  Wednesday,  I  found  myself  wonderfully  better. 
I  instantly  sent  my  boy  three  miles  to  tell  my  deputy  not  to 
come.  I  preached  on  '  the  one  thing  needful,'  for  an  hour  and 
twenty  minutes,  to  a  crowded  audience,  and  to  the  Bishop  of 
Oxford,  who  would  think  it  queer  work,  I  dare  say.  Many 
more  would  have  been  present,  but  the  report  had  got  round, 
that  I  should  not  be  there.  You  would  have  been  entertained 
to  see  Rowland  Hill  at  the  Chapel,  expressing  his  approbation 
in  too  marked  a  manner. 

"I  have  worked  exceedingly  hard  at  the  fourth  volume* 
since  I  saw  you — a  great  deal  too  hard  for  my  health  ;  insomuch, 
that  I  really  find  it  absolutely  necessary  to  relax,  or  I  shall  be 
quite  entirely  knocked  up.  The  manuscript  was  by  far  the 
most  unfinished  of  any ;  and  as  the  author  is  not  present  to 
explain  obscurities,  I  often  spend  many  hours  in  consulting 
authorities,  and  making  out  doubtful  expressions ;  so  that, 
when  you  consider  my  infirmities,  and  the  many  and  various 
duties  I  have  to  discharge,  respecting  the  education  of  youth,  as 
master  of  a  College,  my  connections  at  and  with  Carlisle,  and 
my  domestic  aflairs,  you  ought  rather  to  be  surprised,  that 
I  have  actually  struck  oflf  two  hundred  pages.  The  finishing  of 
a  book  that  contains  so  much  matter,  and  so  closely  printed,  is 
a  great  work.  I  sometimes  despair  of  living  to  finish  it ;  which, 
however,  I  have  much  at  heart,  if  it  be  the  Divine  Will.  As  to 
going  on  with  it — I  dare  not  indulge  the  thought,  though  it 
does  come  across  me  sometimes. 

"I  thank  you  much  for  the  valuable  relief  you  have  sent 
me  of  my  dear  brother.  I  will  try  if  I  can  make  anything  out 
about  the  dream. 


*  Of  the  History  of  the  Church  of  Christ, 
f  Viz.,  tlie  lettiT  from  .losoph  Milner,  docketed  "the  last  he  ever  wrote. 

Chap.  IX. 


254  CHAP.  XIV.     A.P.  1802.     ^TAT.  52. 

"  Your  letter  of  January  8th  gave  me  great  pleasure.  I 
rejoice  to  see  you  so  much  in  earnest  about  Divine  things ;  and 
if  I  had  time  and  strength,  I  would  obey  your  directions  about 
writing  in  defence  of  the  True  Church,  occasionally. 

"  N.B.  It  is  well  for  you,  that  I  have  no  room  to  scold 
you  for  staying  so  long  in  the  south,  and  yet  not  giving  us  a 
little  more  of  your  company. 

"  I  sincerely  pray  that  Edward  may  continue  to  conduct 
himself  to  your  satisfaction.  With  grateful  remembrances  of 
Mrs.  S.'s  kindness, 

"  I  am  yours,  most  affectionately, 

"Isaac  Milner." 

The  writing  of  "  above  forty  letters,"  and  the  winter  journey, 
mentioned  in  the  foregoing  communication  to  Mr.  Stillingfleet, 
afford  together,  an  example  of  the  persevering  vigour  which 
Dr.  Milner  invariably  exhibited  in  the  performance  of  whatever 
he  undertook.  The  truth  is,  that  whether  in  health  or  in  sick- 
ness, he  quite  forgot  himself,  when  there  was  a  duty  to  be 
performed,  or  a  friend  to  be  served. 

Respecting  this  journey  to  Carlisle,  undertaken,  as  it  was, 
in  the  depth  of  winter,  it  may  be  mentioned,  that  an  accident 
occurred  in  the  course  of  it,  something  similar  to  that  which, 
so  many  years  before,  had  happened  to  Dr.  Milner  while 
travelling  abroad  with  Mr.  Willjerforce.  In  crossing  a  moun- 
tainous district  between  Yorkshire  and  Westmorland,  called 
Stainmore,  the  road  being  totally  obliterated  by  snow,  the 
Dean's  carriage  was  dragged  from  off  the  beaten  track,  and  was 
upon  the  very  brink  of  a  steep  and  deep  bank.  Its  descent 
was  arrested  by  the  united  strength  of  Dr.  Milner's  fellow- 
travellers  ;  he  himself,  !)eing,  of  course,  unable  to  render  any 
assistance. 

In  his  numerous  subsequent  transits  over  the  same  wild 
tract  of  country,  he  seldom  omitted  to  allude  to  tlie  narrow 
escape  here  recorded,  as  one  of  the  providential  occurrences  of 
his  life. 

The  approbation  expressed  "  in  too  marked  a  manner,"  at 
tiie    Chapel    of    Whitehall,    by   the    venerable    Rowland    Hill, 


CHAP.  XIV.     A.D.   1802.     MTAT.  52,  255 

naturally  recalls  the  recollection  of  another  incident,  related,  I 
think,  in  the  life  of  that  excellent  man.  Dean  Milner  having, 
during  one  of  his  many  visits  to  London,  heard  Rowland  Hill 
preach  at  his  own  crowded  Chapel,  went  to  him  in  the  vestry 
after  the  service  was  concluded,  and,  cordially  shaking  him  by 
the  hand,  said,  in  the  hearing  of  several  persons,  "  Mr.  Hill, 
Mr.  Hill,  it  is  this  slap-dash  style  of  preaching  after  all,  that 
does  all  the  good." 

One  other  passage  in  the  above  letter  to  Mr.  Stillingfleet, 
calls  for  a  few  remarks. 

"  I  often,"  says  the  Dean,  speaking  in  reference  to  the 
fourth  volume  of  the  Ecclesiastical  History,  "  spend  many  hours 
in  consulting  authorities,  and  in  making  out  doubtful  expres- 
sions." 

In  elucidation  of  this  declaration,  I  may  venture  to  quote  a 
passage  from  a  private  letter  to  myself,  written  by  one  of  the 
Dean's  intimate  and  valued  friends. 

"  One  prominent  trait,"  writes  the  Rev.  J F , 

"in  the  great  mind  of  Dr.  Milner,  was  the  steady  perseverance 
with  which  he  pursued  any  object  of  inquiry  which  he  had 
once  started ;  he  would  not  let  it  go  till  he  had  made  himself 
master  of  it.  It  was  this  valuable  property  which  made  his 
extraordinary  powers  tell  in  every  department  of  science ;  it 
was  this  which,  at  least,  contributed  to  place  him  at  the  head  of 
the  mathematical  tripos  in  the  year  of  his  graduating.  And  as 
his  honours  and  preferments  were  a  due  homage  paid  to  his 
attainments,  it  was  this  which  seated  him  in  the  Lucasian  chair, 
and  advanced  him  to  the  deanery  of  Carlisle. 

"  But  this  property,  which  always  stuck  by  him,  showed 
itself  in  cases  wherein  it  proved  sometimes  inconvenient,  some- 
times amusing. 

"  The  public  greatly  regretted  the  slowness  with  which  he 
proceeded  in  the  continuation  of  his  brother's  History  of  the 
Church  of  Christ ;  but  if  any  think  that  the  delay  arose  from 
indolence,  they  are  in  error.  He  was,  indeed,  often  incapa- 
citated by  pain  and  bodily  infirmities,  but  not  by  want  of 
mental  energy.  The  fact  was,  he  would  slur  nothing  over ;  he 
would  not  put  down  upon  his  paper  what  he  had  not  established 


256  CHAP.  XIV.     A.D.  Ifl02.     ^ETAT.  52. 

by  proof;  and  if  tlie  libraries  of  Cambridge  would  not  afford 
him  satisfaction,  he  would  send  to  Germany ;  and,  therefore, 
what  he  has  done,  he  has  done  well.  *  *          * 

"  On  one  occasion,  the  same  valuable  quality  was  the  cause 
a  temporary  disappointment.  I  was  anxious  to  introduce  to 
the  Dean  the  late  Rev.  Mr.  Church,  then  going  out  as  a  chap- 
lain to  Madras.  Desirous  that  a  young  minister  going  out  on 
so  important  an  errand  should  have  the  advice,  instructions, 
and  encouragement,  of  so  able  a  counsellor,  I  took  Mr.  Church 
to  the  Deanery.  The  Dean  was  at  home,  and  alone ;  this  was 
what  we  wished.  But,  alas  !  the  Dean  had  seen,  in  Ainsworth's 
Dictionary,  as  an  authority  for  the  use  of  a  word,  "  Auct.  Phil." 
What  Auct.  Phil,  meant,  the  Dean  did  not  know,  and,  unfor- 
tunately, neither  of  his  visitors  could  tell  him.  Mr.  Church 
was  introduced,  and  very  kindly  received,  but  still  Auct.  Phil, 
was  on  the  Dean's  mind,  and  he  turned  to  volume  after  volume, 
till,  to  the  no  small  joy  of  his  visitors,  he  found  that  it  meant 
Auctor  Philomelee.  He  then  entered  into  conversation  with 
Mr.  Church,  discussed  with  him  the  duties  of  the  situation  to 
which  he  was  going,  and  gave  him  very  judicious  advice. 

"This  instance  shows  the  mental  property  of  which  I  have 
been  speaking.  It  is  not  such  as  to  exhibit  it  in  advantageous 
operation,  but,  on  that  very  account,  it  shows  more  clearly  the 
strength  of  the  principle,  because  it  shows  it  acting  in  opposi- 
tion to  considerations  which  might  have  checked  it,  and  no 
doubt  it  was  an  exception  to  the  general  rule ;  in  ninety-nine 
cases  out  of  a  hundred,  such  a  propensity  would  be  attended 
with  the  most  beneficial  results." 

Many  other  anecdotes  might  be  related  in  evidence  of  the 
existence  and  the  strength  of  the  "  mental  property"  alluded  to. 
Of  its  solid  use  and  value,  no  doubt  can  be  entertained. 

As  to  the  rest.  Dr.  Milner  was  himself  as  fully  aware  as 
could  be  the  most  familiar  of  his  acquaintance,  that  his  habit 
of  always  thoroughly  investigating  whatever  subject,  great  or 
small,  presented  itself  to  his  attention,  Mas  sometimes  incon- 
venient, and  sometimes  almost  ludicrous:  and,  being  at  least  as 
good-humoured  as  he  was  industrious  and  persevering,  he  not 
unfrcquently  joined  in  the  friendly  laugh  raised  against  him 
upon  such  occasions. 


CHAP.  XIV.     A.l).   1802.     /ETAT.  52.  257 

With  reference  to  the  fourtli  volume  of  the  History  nf  the 
('hnrch  of  Christ,  a  person,  with  whom  Dean  Milner  had  but 
little  intercour.se,  thus  wrote  to  him  on  the  24th  of  May,  1802. 

"  I  hope  it  will  have  the  effect  desired ;  if  it  has,  it  will 
greatly  rejoice  my  heart,  for  sure  I  am,  that  much  good  may, 
and,  I  trust,  will,  be  derived  by  every  reader.  It  is  a  work  that 
will  edify  and  entertain  all  serious  and  pious  minds. 

"  I  trust  that  this  may  find  you  restored  to  sound  health, 
and  may  the  blessing  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus  attend  your 
labours." 

Such  communications  were  always  welcome  and  refreshing 
to  the  mind  of  Dr.  Milner,  and  the  more  so,  when  they  came 
from  quarters  whence  he  had  no  reason  to  expect  them. 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter  written  by  Dr.  Milner  to 
the  late  Rev.  John  Scott,  of  Hull,  has  reference  to  the  person 
whose  illness  is  mentioned  in  the  letter  with  which  this  chapter 
opens : — 

"  Aiiril  20th,  1802. 

"  The  account  you  were  so  kind  as  to  send  me  of  poor  *  * 
*  *,  lately  deceased,  was  exceedingly  acceptable.  It  was 
certainly  quite  as  satisfactory  as  could  be  expected  in  those 
circumstances,  and  to  me,  much  more  satisfactory  than  if  he 
had  gone  out  of  the  world  without  any  fears,  which,  I  dare  say, 
might  easily  have  been  brought  about  by  management;  such 
management  as,  I  doubt,  some  of  the  Methodists  frequently 
use  in  speaking  peace,  and  even  triumph,  improperly,  to  certain 
persons  at  the  point  of  death.  Instructions  of  that  sort  draw 
the  mind  from  its  main  concern,  viz.,  deep  humility  and  self- 
abasement  under  conviction  of  sin.  Indeed,  I  cannot  but  hope 
the  best  of         *         *          *. 

"  1 .  Because  I  reflect  with  great  pleasure,  that  I  may  be 
sure  you  would  not  overstate  to  me  the  good  side ; 

"  2.  You  gave  him  the  right  instructions  in  every  respect ; 
and, 

"  3.  What  did  drop  from  him  was  perfectly  right  as  far  as  it 
went ;  and  to  all  this  I  add,  that  I  think  his  perseverance  in 
hope,  his  placing  that  hope  on  the  right  foundation,  his  showing 
no  disposition  to  mitigate  his  faults,  and  his  being  enabled  to 

s 


228  CHAP.  XIV.     A.D.   1802.     /ETAT.  52. 

support  a  praying  spirit  throughout  his  illness,  and  to  the  last — 
these  things  put  together  are  surely  inconsistent  with  the  sup- 
position of  God's  having  left  him  to  despair  and  a  reprobate 
mind.  Yet,  after  all,  his  case  is  undoubtedly  a  lesson,  rather 
than  an  example." 

The  following  letter  contains,  in  addition  to  other  interesting 
matter,  some  satisfactory  reasons  for  what  might  be  considered 
the  slow  progress  of  Dr.  Milner  in  the  continuation  of  the 
History  of  the  Church. 

"  My  dear  Friend,  "Deanery,  22nd  July,  1802. 

"  Your  letter  to  me  of  June  3rd  was  comfortable  to  my 
feelings  in  several  ways,  and  I  was  thankful  to  you  in  my  mind 
on  the  receipt  of  it. 

"  I  have  put  off  giving  you  an  answer  from  time  to  time, 
under  one  pretence  or  another,  till  I  begin  to  suspect,  that,  if  I 
wait  till  I  can  do  and  say  as  I  wish,  I  shall  never  write  at  all. 
Let  it  be  noted  then,  that  I  seize  the  very  first  day  on  which 
the  franks  of  members  of  parliament  begin  to  avail. 

"  Poor always  remembers  you  affectionately,  and 

with  much  gratitude.  He  takes  it  for  granted  that  you  will 
have  heard  of  his  illness.  He  has  not  put  pen  to  paper  for 
many  months,  and  he  is  now  so  emaciated  as  to  be  quite  a 
shocking  spectacle  to  those  who  knew  him  before. 

"  The  doctors  agree  that  his  case  is  not  dangerous,  but  that 
he  may  remain  ill  a  long  time,  land  perhaps  never  perfectly 
recover. 

*'  He  is  an  old  friend  of  mine,  and  I  have  a  great  and  very 
sincere  regard  for  him  and  his ;  and  I  wish,  if  it  might  so  please 
God,  to  be  useful  to  him  in  more  ways  than  one. 

"  For  some  years  past,  and  long  before  this  illness,  his  mind 
was,  I  think,  deeply  impressed  with  the  importance  of  eternal 
things,  and  he  had,  at  the  same  time,  some  strong  convictions 
of  sin  and  of  a  sinful  nature,  and  also,  I  trust,  some  real  desires 
to  be  taught  spiritual  wisdom.  His  spirits  are  so  weak,  and  he 
is  capable  of  so  little  attention,  that  there  is  but  little  oppor- 
tunity of  judging  whether  the  good  work  of  the  spirit  of  God 
be  going  on  in  his  soul.     I  hope  and  pray  for  the  best. 


CHAT.  XIV.     A.I).   1802.     ^TAT.  52.  259 

"  I  fear  you  think  nie  long  about  Volume  IV.  of  the 
History.  My  answer  is  this,  most  conscientiously.  I  believe 
that  I  have  worked  harder  in  that  business  than  I  ought 
to  have  done.  Some  weeks  of  the  latter  part  of  last  year 
were,  as  you  know,  closely  and  successfully  employed  about 
matters  here,  and  I  took,  in  the  winter,  a  troublesome 
journey  to  Carlisle.  Then  came  on  our  annual  examination 
in  College,  &c.  &c. 

"Add  to  this  the  particular  attentions  which  I  think  it 
right  to  pay  to  such  individual  students  as  are  going  on  well, 
by  way  of  encouraging  them  and  inciting  others.  Then  duty 
called  me  to  preach  in  our  chapel  more  than  once,  and  once  at 
Whitehall.  Lastly,  many  hours  are  spent  on  the  sofa  in  pain 
of  the  head,  &c. 

"  I  therefore  ask  you,  whether  you  think  I  have  been  idle, 
in  having  now  actually  printed  off  upwards  of  250  pages,  that 
is,  nearly  the  half  of  the  fourth  volume,  and  this  from  a  manu- 
script very  imperfect,  and  which  often  gives  me  a  deal  of 
trouble  in  making  out  references  and  doubtful  matters.  I  hope 
to  get  to  work  again  before  long, 

"  To  the  list  of  interruptions  I  might  well  have  added 
'  family  concerns.' " 

This  allusion  to  "  family  concerns"  has  reference  to  the 
departure  from  Cambridge  of  Dr.  Milner's  niece,  with  her 
husband  and  a  part  of  her  family,  an  event  which  was,  indeed, 
a  severe  trial  to  his  social  and  affectionate  disposition.  She 
took  along  with  her  but  a  part  of  her  family,  because  he  could 
not  prevail  upon  himself  to  relinquish  the  whole.  The  eldest 
daughter  he  detained ;  and  very  great  was  the  bitterness  of  the 
separation  between  the  uncle  and  the  niece,  who  w'as  herself  as 
tender-hearted  as  the  relative  whom  she  quitted.  From  that 
time  forward,  his  affections  certainly  centred  in  the  child  thus 
left  to  his  care.     He  concludes  his  letter  as  follows : — 

"  My  niece  being  thus  settled  at  Hull,  it  will,  I  know, 
naturally  occur  to  several  of  my  friends,  that  this  new  arrange- 
ment will  bring  me  more  into  the  neighbourhood  of  that  place, 
and  indeed,  to  Hull  itself. 

"  This  may  possibly,  to  a  certain  degree,  be  the  case.     But 

s  2 


260  CHAP.  XIV.     A.D.  1802.     .ETAT.  52. 

I  know  my  own  feelings.     Hull  can  never  more  be  the  place  of 
my  residence,  for  any  length  of  time. 

"As  soon  as  ever  tlie  fourth  volume  is  completed,  I  w\\\ 
ask  your  advice,  and  take  a  comprehensive  view  of  what  is  to 
be  done  about  his  works. 

"  Yours  most  affectionately, 

"Isaac  Milner." 

It  was  during  the  year  1802,  that  "The  Invisible  Girl" 
attracted,  by  her  marvellous  performances,  crowds  of  wondering 
visitors. 

The  general  nature  of  the  mechanism  by  means  of  which 
this  ingenious  deception  was  effected,  is  now  sufficiently  under- 
stood :  but  when  the  invention  was  new,  it  excited  an  almost 
incredible  degree  of  interest  and  astonishment.  Princes,  peers, 
and  bishops,  swelled  the  admiring  throng. 

In  common  with  thousands  of  other  persons.  Dr.  Milner 
was  attracted  by  the  fame  of  this  exhibition, — if  exhibition  it 
may  be  called, —  visited  the  scene  of  wonder,  and  witnessed  the 
magical  effects  produced:  but  unlike  the  greater  number  of 
those  thousands,  he  could  not  rest  till  he  had  discovered  the 
secret.  That  he  did  discover  the  secret,  has  been  mentioned,  I 
believe,  in  some  periodical  publications ;  but  beyond  this  fact, 
nothing  authentic  has  been  hitherto  made  known. 

His  own  account  of  the  matter,  contained  in  the  following 
letter,  exemplifying  as  it  does  the  persevering  character  of  his 
mind,  will  not  be  deemed  uninteresting. 

"To  John  Pearson,  Esq.,  Golden  Square. 

"  Queen's  College  Lodge, 
"  My  dear  Sir,  December  18,  1802. 

*'  Since  I  parted  with  you,  I  have  had  further  intercourse 
with  the  Invisible  Girl.  I  went  again  with  Mr.  Wilberforce 
and  Mr.  Bankes ;  and  we  all  came  away  in  the  same  state  of 
ignorance  and  admiration,  with  which  you  and  I  left  the  room 
in  Leicester  Fields. 

"  Mr.  William  Parish,  and  Mr.  Robert  Jarratt,  called  upon 
me  in  Palace  Yard ;  and  as  they  had  not  seen  the  performance, 


CHAP.  XI  V\     A.D.  1802.     .ETAT.  52.  261 

I  described  the  wooden  frame,  the  glass  ball,  the  tin  trumpets, 
and,  in  short,  every  part  of  the  apparatus,  as  accurately  as  I 
possil)ly  could.  It  is  very  remarkable,  that  while  I  was 
describing  the  four  brass  rods  which  go  from  the  wooden 
pillars  of  the  frame  respectively,  and  are  in  a  horizontal 
direction,  all  in  one  instant,  it  bounced  into  my  mind,  that 
there  must  be  an  opening  in  the  said  brass  rods  just  opposite 
the  centre  of  the  mouths  of  the  trumpets,  and  that  the  girl 
spoke  (from  some  adjoining  room)  through  a  pipe  which  termi- 
nated just  opposite  the  said  centres.  The  brass  rods  above- 
mentioned  appeared  to  me  sufficiently  thick  to  conceal  a  tube 
of  the  necessary  size ;  and  as  the  wide  circular  ends  of  the 
trumpets  came  so  very  near  the  supposed  openings  in  the  brass, 
I  saw  clearly  that  all  the  phenomena  might  take  place  from 
such  an  arrangement.  Whether  the  trumpets  communicated 
with  each  other  or  not,  was  a  point  of  little  consequence.  In 
either  case,  the  sound,  or  the  breath,  coming  along  the  main 
pipe,  from  the  girl,  through  the  wooden  pillars,  and  to  the 
orifice  which  I  have  supposed  to  be  in  the  brass  rod,  would 
rebound  from  the  wide  opening  of  the  trumpet,  and  be  suffi- 
ciently well  heard,  and  in  the  same  way  the  breath  would  blow 
on  the  face  by  rebounding ;  for  the  said  wide  opening  would 
collect  all  the  sound,  or  wind,  and  would  condense  it,  so  as  to 
prevent  it  from  being  dispersed.  I  felt  perfectly  confident  that 
this  was  the  right  explanation  of  the  whole  matter;  and  so 
thought  Mr.  William  Parish,  and  Mr.  Jarratt. 

"I  went  to  Broomfield  that  night:  I  got  a  funnel  from 
Mr.  Wilberforce's  kitchen,  and  a  metal  pipe  from  his  organ; 
and  I  soon  convinced  myself  that  my  explanation  was,  in 
substance,  right.  That  the  girl  should  see,  had  (you  know) 
appeared  to  me  no  difficulty:  now  as  soon  as  I  blew  into  the 
funnel,  the  wind  rebounded  upon  my  face  directly,  and  made 
the  same  sort  of  sound  as  the  girl's  blowing  did. 

"  In  the  next  place,  as  there  must  be  four  openings,  corre- 
spondent to  the  four  wide  mouths  of  the  trumpets,  I  saw  that 
there  was  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  sound  came  from  one 
more  than  from  anotlier, — in  fact,  it  comes  from  all  four  at 
once ;  and  there  being  four  places  at  which   it  bursts  into  the 


262  CHAP.  XIV.     A.D.   1802.     iETAT.  52. 

room,  there  must  be  a  sort  of  uncertainty  in  referring  the  sound 
to  its  proper  place :  and  this  agrees  remarkably  well  with  the 
phenomena.  Further,  if  you  put  your  head  down,  under  the 
frame,  the  sound  seems  to  come  from  above,  because  all  the 
orifices  are  above ;  whereas,  if  you  put  your  head  to  the 
trumpet^s  wide  mouth,  it  rather  appears  to  come  from  below ; 
so  it  ought  to  do,  as  we  shall  see  presently. 

"  In  ruminating  over  this  matter  at  Broomfield  during  the 
evening,  I  saw,  that  the  more  I  considered  the  explanation  I 
have  given,  the  more  perfectly  it  appeared  to  agree  with  all  that 
1  had  seen  or  heard.  One  single  doubt  only  remained,  viz.,  'The 
sound,  when  she  blows,  ought,  perhaps,'  said  I,  *'  to  make  some 
noise,  a  whistling  sort  of  noise,  as  it  comes  through  a  nick  or 
hole  in  the  brass  pipe.' 

"  I  mentioned  this  distinctly  to  Mr.  Wilberforce,  and  said  I 
should  like  to  go  again,  for  that  I  was  sure  the  whole  thing 
must  be  explicable  only  on  the  principle  I  had  suggested ;  and 
that,  perhaps,  the  whistling  noise  was  prevented  by  a  bit  of 
ivory,  or  of  some  such  substance,  along  which  the  air  might 
pass,  just  as  it  came  into  the  room. 

"  I  recollected  that  there  was  a  sort  of  net-work  about  two 
inches  broad,  made  of  brass,  very  small  brass;  but  I  could  not 
recollect  upon  what  the  whole  brass  frame  rested,  or  whether 
there  were  another  brass  rod  parallel  to  the  upper  one  through 
which  I  have  supposed  the  sound  to  come;  neither  could  Mr. 
Wilberforce  assist  my  memory  on  that  point.  We  had  both 
totally  forgotten  that  there  was  a  cross  wooden  bar,  just  at  the 
bottom  of  the  said  brass  net-work,  which  bar  reached  from 
pillar  to  pillar.  Neither  of  us  had  the  smallest  recollection  of 
that  wooden  bar. 

"  Mr.  Farish  and  Mr.  Jarratt  went,  the  day  following,  with 
tlic  full  impression  that  they  should  find  an  orifice  at  or  about 
the  place  that  I  had  described :  but  the  master  of  the  show  was 
amazingly  alive  to  their  examinations,  as  soon  as  he  saw  to 
what  part  they  directed  their  attention,  and  would  not  let  them 
touch  anything.  However,  they  clearly  saw  four  openings, 
not  in  the  brass  indeed,  but  in  the  said  wooden  bar,  and  there- 
fore a  little  below  the  centre  of  the  fumiels,  or  trumpets.     This 


CHAP.  XIV.     A.D.    1802.     .ETAT.  62.  26.3 

minute  difference,  however,  does  not  affect  my  claim  to  the 
discovery — for  the  principle  of  the  sound,  or  the  breath, 
striking  the  funnel,  and  of  its  rebounding,  and,  in  short,  doing 
everything  as  I  had  said  and  predicted,  turned  out  to  be  exactly 
so.  The  opening  being  a  little  lower,  is  certainly  more  favour- 
able to  the  rebounding  from  the  oblique  surface  of  the  trumpet's 
mouth :  and  the  wooden  cross-bar  is  capacious  enough  to  hold 
a  pipe  of  great  diameter.  Mr.  Jarratt,  I  fancy,  first  perceived 
the  nick  in  the  wood;  and,  if  they  would  but  let  one  examine 
thoroughly,  I  have  no  doubt  ])ut  that  it  would  be  found  that 
there  is  a  sloping  direction  given  to  the  opening.  I  went  a 
third  time  to  see  all  with  my  own  eyes.  The  men  pretended 
that  I  had  not  discovered  the  main  secret :  '  Then,'  says  I,  *  I 
may  mention  my  opinion  anywhere.'  They  entreated  me  not 
to  do  so,  in  the  strongest  terms.  Mr.  Wilberforce  put  a  piece 
of  paper  to  the  opening,  and  the  girl's  breath  blew  it  away. 
I  would  have  this  to  be  communicated  to  no  more  persons  than 
already  know  it :  but  I  thought  it  best  to  give  you  the  exact 
history  of  the  business. 

"  1  could  make,  any  day,  an  apparatus  which  would  answer 
all  the  purposes  of  that  in  Leicester  Fields.  The  nick  in  the 
wood,  through  which  the  sound  comes  into  the  trumpet,  is  in 
the  ornamental  nick  (or  moulding)  made  in  the  mahogany  bar, 
and  does  not  appear  different  from  the  other  parts  without  a 
close  attention  ;  and  can  only  be  seen  well  on  the  side  next  the 
window.  There  it  appears  more  open  for  about  an  inch.  On 
the  very  first  day  I  went,  I  remember  I  wondered  why  there 
should  be  a  brass  frame  to  hinder  one's  mouth  and  face  from 
getting  close  to  the  trumpet.  You  can't  think  how  surly  the 
fellows  were  at  first,  and  how  they  said  one  must  touch 
nothing,  and  would  not  let  us  put  anything  against  the  orifice; 
but  Mr.  Wilberforce  slyly  put  a  piece  of  paper  there,  which,  as 
1  said  before,  the  girl's  breath  blew  away, 

"  Yours,  I.    MlLNKR." 

Subsequent  to  his  discovery  of  the  main  secret  upon  which 
the  clever  deception  in  question  depended,  Dean  Milner,  who, 
as  the  readers  of  his  Life  must  be  aware,  was  never  satisfied 


264  CHAP.  XIV.     A.D.  1802.     yETAT.  52. 

till  he  had  probed  an  affair  to  tiie  very  bottom,  frequently 
visited  the  exhil)ition  in  Leicester  Fields,  almost  en  ami.  The 
exhibitor,  sensible  that  there  was,  in  fact,  nothing  further  to 
conceal,  took  delight  in  showing  him  all  the  minutiae  of  the 
contrivance ;  being,  in  truth,  well  remunerated  for  his  civility 
by  the  multitude  of  visitors  attracted  by  the  Dean's  frequent 
presence  and  lively  conversation.  Dr.  Milner  had  even,  when 
he  chose,  admittance  behind  the  scenes ;  and  for  this  privilege, 
he  on  one  occasion  paid  at  least  its  full  price.  He  had  entered 
at  an  early  hour,  the  apartment  of  the  invisible  agent  in  the 
mysteries  Avhich  he  had  succeeded  in  fathoming;  and  such  was 
tiie  influx  of  visitors  throughout  the  morning,  that  to  emerge 
from  his  hiding-place,  without  betraying  much  of  the  secret, 
was  impossible.  The  manager  implored  him  not  to  ruin  his 
fortunes ;  and  the  good-natured  Dean,  finding  that  he  must 
make  up  his  mind  to  remain  for  some  hours  where  he  was, 
and  being  quite  at  home  with  regard  to  the  various  signals 
liabitually  transmitted  from  the  outer  to  the  inner  room, 
amused  himself  by  relieving  the  invisible  girl,  who  was,  in  fact, 
a  little  decrepit  old  woman,  from  a  part  of  her  tedious  duty. 
While  she  cooked  her  dinner  (a  mess  of  soup,  as  he  used  to 
relate),  he  observed  for  her  the  signals  given,  and  in  fact  did 
all  but  speak.  Nothing  of  all  this,  however,  did  he  mention, 
except  to  those  few  persons  to  whom  the  secret  was  already 
known,  until  the  astonishment  and  admiration  excited  by  the 
invisible  girl  had  passed  away.  Afterward.s,  indeed,  he  did 
frequently  relate  the  whole  adventure  with  much  glee. 


265 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Misundei"standing  between  the  President  and  the  Fellows  of  Queen's  College. — 
Written  Documents. — Industry  of  Dr.  Milner. — Election  of  Fellows  by 
Royal  Dispensation. — Comparative  advantages  of  Open  or  Close  Colleges. — 
Domestic  Affliction. — Board  of  Longitude. — Sentiments  with  respect  to 
Public  Affairs. — Letter  to  the  Rev.  William  Richardson. — Preaching  at 
Carlisle. — Fourth  Volume  of  the  Church  History. — Accuracy  of  the  His- 
tory.— Dr.  Milner's  qualifications  as  an  Ecclesiastical  Historian. — Habitual 
Study  of  Theological  Subjects. — Remarks  upon  Dr.  Kipling's  Work  on 
the  Articles  of  the  Church  of  England. — Hebrew  Language. — State  of  the 
Country. — Recollections  of  Dean  Milner,  by  a  Clergyman  formerly  of 
Queen's  College. — Christian  Observer's  Critique  npon  Milner's  Church 
History. — Dr.  Milner's  Remarks  on  the  Critique. — His  Opinion  of  the 
Christian  Observer. 

A.D.  1803.     yETAT.  53. 

The  beginning  of  the  year  1803  was  marked  by  certain  differ- 
ences of  opinion  between  Dr.  Mihier,  in  his  capacity  of  Pre- 
sident, and  tlie  Tutors  and  other  Fellows  of  Queen's  College — 
differences  which  led  to  discussions  of  a  character  highly 
distasteful  to  the  frank  and  friendly  spirit  of  the  Master. 

It  would  be  easy,  were  it  necessary,  to  prove,  by  means  of 
documents  now  in  existence,  that  throughout  these  occurrences 
Dr.  Milner  acted  with  a  determined  view  to  the  real  good  of 
the  society  which  he  governed,  and  with  a  steady  firmness  of 
purpose,  tempered  by  the  natural  urbanity  of  his  disposition. 
But  in  order  to  demonstrate  this,  it  would  be  necessary  not 
only  to  enter  into  some  matters  which  are  now  no  longer 
interesting,  but  also  to  incur  the  hazard  at  least,  of  wounding 
the  feelings  of  some  persons  who  still  survive. 

One  observation  should,  howevex",  be  made. 

It  is  notorious  that  tliere  have  been  persons,  very  ill 
informed,  no  doubt,  wlio  have  suspected  that  after  his  settle- 
ment at  Queen's  Lodge,  Dr.  Milner  contracted  habits  of  self- 
indulgence  ;  in  short,  tliat  he  became  indolent. 

The  very  full  and  carefully  digested  statements  which  he,  on 
all  important  occasiors,  made  in  writing,  with  the  arguments 
pro  and  con,  for  the  guidance  of  his  own  judgment  respecting 


266  CHAP.  XV.     A.D.  1803.    .ETAT.  53. 

matters  affecting  the  well-being  of  his  college,  statements  which 
were  found  among  his  papers  after  his  death,  and  which  of 
course  have  been  preserved,  are  sufficient,  even  if  there  were 
not  abundance  of  other  evidence,  to  clear  his  memory  from  this 
imputation. 

As  examples  of  the  nature  of  these  written  documents, 
I  may  mention  two  manuscripts  of  considerable  bulk,  and 
evidently  put  together  with  great  care  and  labour. 

One  of  these  embodies  a  full  account  of  the  "  Misunder- 
standing," already  alluded  to  as  having  taken  place  in  the 
beginning  of  the  year  1803,  "between  the  Master  and  his 
Tutors,"  with  the  causes  which  led  to  that  misunderstanding, 
and  the  line  of  conduct  which,  after  a  full  consideration  of  the 
circumstances,  the  Master  thought  it  his  duty  to  pursue. 

The  other  manuscript,  also  dated  1803,  is  entitled  "A 
Statement  of  Facts  relative  to  the  Election  of  Fellows  by  Dis- 
pensation." 

This  latter  subject  was  pressed  upon  Dr.  MilnePs  consi- 
deration, in  consequence  of  a  general  wish  existing  in  the  minds 
of  the  majority  of  the  governing  part  of  the  Society  of  Queen's, 
a  wish,  be  it  observed,  in  which  he  was  disposed  cordially  to 
coincide,  to  elect  to  a  Fellowship,  by  dispensation,  his  county 
being  full,  a  gentleman  distinguished  both  by  character  and 
learning. 

Both  these  manuscripts  are  drawn  up  with  much  ability, 
and  are  highly  interesting  and  characteristic. 

Concerning  the  first,  however,  little  can  be  said,  without 
betraying  matters  which,  in  his  accustomed  spirit  of  charity, 
Dr.  Milner  had  certainly  determined  to  conceal.  Suffice  it 
therefore  to  observe,  that  in  this  very  able  production  he 
investigates  and  lays  open,  with  his  usual  perseverance  and 
penetration,  the  whole  chain  of  causes  which  had  produced  the 
unfriendly  state  of  feeling  actually  existing  in  the  breasts  of 
cert<iin  individuals  towards  himself;  having,  at  first,  as  he  says, 
witli  a  passing  gleam  of  iiis  constitutional  gaiety,  felt  "  like 
Ajax,  at  his  wits'  end ;  not  on  account  of  his  enemies,  but  on 
account  of  the  darkness  which  surrounded  him." 

Tljose  who   have  read   tlie  foregoing   portion   of  tliis   very 


CHAP.  XV.     A.D.   1803.     /ETAT.  53.  26? 

imperfect  memoir  of  Dr.  Milner,  must  be  aware  that  he  was  a 
man  of  an  exquisitely  susceptible  and  affectionate  temperament; 
lest,  however,  any  person  should  be  inclined  to  imagine  that 
the  "misunderstanding"  alluded  to,  although  irritating  at  the 
time,  was  but,  after  all,  the  consequence  of  some  such  trifling 
el)ullitions  of  temper,  as  will  sometimes  take  place  even  among 
friends  who  in  the  main  cordially  esteem  each  other,  it  may  be 
advisable  here  to  insert  a  short  extract  from  the  concluding 
part  of  Dr.  Milner's  manuscript. 

"  I  have  now,"  writes  Dr.  M.,  "  but  two  very  brief  observa- 
tions to  make.  The  first  is  but  a  repetition  of  a  declaration 
which  I  made  at  the  outset  of  this  narrative;  viz.,  that  by  far 
the  most  agreeable  event  that  could  happen  to  me,  would  be  to 
see  matters  assume  such  an  appearance  of  perfect  amity  and 
cordial  reconciliation,  that  I  might  cheerfully  and  at  once 
commit  these  papers  to  the  flames. 

"The  second  observation  is,  that  if  all  my  endeavours  to 
restore  harmony  in  this  society,  and  general  prosperity  to  the 
college,  should  finally  prove  abortive,  there  will  be  one  resource 
left  to  me,  of  which  I  cannot  be  deprived ;  viz.,  that  of  pub- 
lishing these  papers,  and  of  depositing  among  the  college 
archives  this,  or  a  more  complete  testimonial  of  the  facts  and 
reasons  which  produced  these  differences  among  us.  Such  an 
exact  statement  of  the  truth  may  prove  serviceable  to  an 
impartial  posterity,  and  it  will  be  an  ample  justification  of  my 
present  friends  in  the  support  which  they  may  be  pleased  to 
aftbrd  me.  With  respect  to  others,  even  they,  when  passion 
and  prejudice  shall  have  subsided,  and  shall  have  given  way  to 
cooler  reflections,  may  discover,  through  the  help  of  these 
pages,  by  what  steps  they  have  been  misled,  and  how  erroneous 
a  judgment  they  have  formed  of  the  Master's  conduct.  In 
such  an  event,  some  of  them  may,  perhaps,  at  last  experience 
painful  feelings,  when  they  shall  come  to  understand  how  much 
their  unjust  treatment  of  the  Master  has  been  calculated  to 
destroy  the  comfort,  and  injure  the  reputation,  of  a  man  whom 
they  were  bound  to  have  regarded  with  sentiments  of  kindness 
and  gratitude. 

''  The  pul)lic  reputation,  indeed,  of  the  Master  has  hitherto 


268  CHAP.  XV.     A.D.  1803.     ^ETAT.  53. 

been  assailed  in  vain,  notwithstanding  the  industrious  circula- 
tion of  many  plausible  charges.  It  is  his  triumph  to  find,  that 
these  are  no  sooner  propagated  than  they  are  understood  to  be 
notorious  falsehoods,  and  that  he  is  respected  as  much  as  ever 
by  those  whose  good  opinion  he  values/' 

The  latter  part  of  the  extract  above  given,  will  be  read  with 
satisfaction  not  only  by  the  surviving  personal  friends  of  the 
late  Dr.  Milner,  but  by  all  who  revere  his  memory. 

The  same  "  plausible  charges"  against  him,  which  were  put 
into  "  industrious  circulation"  during  his  life,  have  been,  in 
some  few  instances,  renewed  since  his  death. 

The  above  extract  certainly  proves,  that  to  his  own  con- 
science. Dr.  Milner  stood  acquitted  of  these  charges;  and  if  his 
innocence  be  not  thereby  absolutely  demonstrated  to  the  minds 
of  others,  it  is  because  his  biographer  declines  to  make  public 
facts  and  circumstances,  which,  in  his  tender  regard  for  the 
feelings  even  of  persons  who  had  shewn  him  but  a  scant  mea- 
sure of  kindness,  he  has  gone  to  the  grave  without  divulging. 

It  would  have  been  improper  in  a  work  purporting  to  be  a 
Life  of  Doctor  Milner,  to  omit  all  mention  of  an  affair  which,  at 
the  time  of  its  occurrence,  so  deeply  affected  his  comfort,  and 
of  which  he  thought  it  expedient  to  leave,  in  writing,  an 
accurate  account. 

It  is,  perhaps,  scarcely  necessary  to  add,  that  time  brought 
the  truth  to  light.  The  purity  and  integrity  of  Dr.  Milner's 
character  became  daily  more  and  more  apparent.  He  com- 
pletely outlived  the  prejudices  whicli,  in  the  miiuls  of  certain 
members  of  his  college,  had  once  operated  to  his  disadvantage, 
and  died  in  the  possession  of  their  hearty  esteem  and  reverence. 

The  other  manuscript  already  mentioned  in  evidence  of  Dr. 
Milner's  laborious  habits,  is  a  very  able  and  dispassionate 
"  Statement  of  Facts  relative  to  the  Election  of  Fellows  by 
Dispensation,  and  of  the  Arguments  respecting  the  General 
Question  of  Dispensations  and  Second  Dispensations." 

Such  a  treatise,  admiral^ly  as  it  may  be  drawn  up,  cannot  be 
supposed  likely  to  excite  much  general  interest.  It  contains, 
however,  one  j)tissage  which  inuncdiately  bears  upon  a  question 
which  has  lately  been  agitated  with   considerable   earnestness; 


CHAP.  XV.     A.D.  1803.     vETAT.  53.  269 

and  upon  every  such  question,  the  deliberate  opinion  of  such  a 
man  as  Dr.  Milner,  must  be  valuable. 

"In  the  discussion  of  the  point  before  us,"  writes  Dr.  Mil- 
ner, "  much  depends  on  not  mistaking  the  true  nature  of  the 
general  question,  and  also  of  some  other  questions  closely  con- 
nected with  it. 

"Thus,  in  considering  the  effects  of  second,  and  even  of  first 
dispensations,  it  is  scarcely  possible  not  to  make  some  com- 
parison in  our  minds  betweeen  the  advantages  of  open  colleges, 
and  such  as  are  confined  and  restricted  by  their  foundation. 
Queen's  College,  for  example,  is,  by  statute,  a  confined  or  a  close 
college;  but  we  open  it,  in  a  measure,  by  dispensations.  Now 
I  beg  leave  to  remark,  that  the  question  before  us  is  not  whether 
a  close  or  an  open  college  be  better,  that  is,  whether  a  close  or 
an  open  college  be  more  likely  to  promote  the  pious  purposes 
of  the  founders  in  assisting  the  poor,  and  in  advancing  religion 
and  learning,  but  whether,  as  we  have  now  the  college  founded 
already  to  our  hands,  and  closed  by  statute,  and  as  dispensa- 
tions, with  all  the  circumstances  of  procuring  them,  &c.  &c.  are 
the  only  means  we  have  of  opening  them,  we  ought  to  open 
them  in  this  way  as  much  as  we  can,  or,  on  the  contrary,  to  use 
great  reserve  in  the  use  of  these  means.  Or  the  real  question 
may  be  put  still  more  accurately  thus.  Always  kee2:)ing  in  view 
that  we  are,  by  statute,  compelled  to  be  a  close  college,  to  what 
degree  is  it  advisa])le  to  open  the  fellowships,  by  dispensations, 
subject  to  the  inconveniences  of  petitions,  &c.  &c.? 

"In  the  solution  of  this  question,  my  own  mind  has  been 
much  assisted  by  carefully  contemplating  and  comparing  the 
advantages  and  disadvantages  of  close  and  open  colleges  in 
general.  And  here,  I  do  not  scruple  to  own,  that  experience, 
and  not  mere  reasoning,  has  taught  me  to  pronounce  differently, 
accordingly  as  the  college  is  small  or  large  in  its  foundation. 

"  If  the  fellowships  be  numerous,  by  all  means  let  the  college 
be  open.  It  is  next  to  impossible,  that  county  connexions 
should  much  predominate  in  a  very  large  college.  In  a  small 
college  the  reverse  is  the  truth.  We  find  it  so  by  experience, 
though  it  may  be  invidious  to  point  out  instances.  In  a  small 
college,  when  several  fellows  are,  at  one  time,  of  the  same,  or  even 


270  CHAP.  XV.     A.D.   1803.     /ETAT.  53. 

of  neighbouring  counties,  we  find  that  they  are  apt  to  continue  so 
to  the  exclusion  of  other  counties;  and  this,  not,  perhaps,  from 
any  particular  affection  for  a  person's  own  county,  but  because 
admissions  of  pupils  are  generally  owing  to  the  existing  master 
and  fellows  and  their  connexions,  and  these  pupils  are  the 
materials  for  making  future  fellows. 

"  For  these  reasons  I  think,  that  the  framers  of  the  statutes 
of  Queen's  College  did  wisely  in  endeavoxiring  (as  they  express 
themselves  in  the  statute  de  PartialUate)  to  extirpate  all  partial 
regards  to  counties  and  county  connexions.  Still,"  adds  Dr. 
Milner,  '"  I  neither  quarrel  with  any  man  who  thinks  otherwise, 
nor  ought  I  to  be  at  all  surprised  at  such  a  difference  of  opinion 
on  this  point,  because  I  once  thought  otherwise  myself.  I  once 
supposed  (before  I  had  seen  so  much  of  men's  motives  in  the 
election  of  fellows),  that  merit  might  be  the  sole  or  the  prin- 
cipal reason  which  guided  the  elector's  mind,  but  it  is  impos- 
sible that  I  should  offend  any  one  by  asserting  a  general  truth 
which  nobody  who  knows  anything  of  the  history  of  colleges 
will  deny,  viz.,  that  the  thing  is  by  no  means  always  so." 

The  following  extracts  are  taken  from  a  letter  written  under 
a  great  pressure  of  affliction  : — 

"  Queen's  Lodge^ 
"My  dear  Friend,  January  31,  1803. 

"  Is  it  true  that  you  accuse  me  of  not  answering  your  letters? 
I  have  heard  this  of  late  from  more  quarters  than  one;  but 
indeed,  my  dear  friend,  I  am  not  aware,  that  according  to  the 
rules  of  epistolary  correspondence,  I  owe  you  a  letter.  On 
other  grounds  I  owe  you  more  than  I  can  ever  discharge. 

"  Nevertheless,  I  may  be  wrong ;  and  be  it  as  it  may,  we 
will  not  be  nice.  Forgive  me,  and  be  assured,  that  you  are 
deeply  and  often  in  my  mind,  as  one  of  the  choice  ones  of  the 
earth,  and  as  one  to  wiiom  I  feel  particularly  bound. 

"At  present  I  am  in  a  good  deal  of  distress.  I  know  not 
whether  you  iuive  lieard  of  tlie  imminent  danger  in  which  my 
poor  niece  has  lately  been.  *  *  *  I  consider  her  state  as 
very  critical  indeed.  May  God  preserve  her.  The  sight  of  the 
little  one,  Mary,  now  with  me,  almost  breaks  my  heart,  and  I 


,CHAP.  XV.     A.l).  1803.     ;ETAT.  53.  27 1 

am  sure,  that  if  her  mother  dies,  I   cannot  live  witli   her  at 
present. 

"  In  such  a  state  of  mind,  we  like  to  write  to  tliose  who  will 
sympathize  with  us.     For  which  reason  I  write  this  night  to  you. 

"How  does go  on?  I  hope  God  is  with  him.  Fare- 
well, dear  friend,  and  believe  me, 

"  Yours  very  affectionately,  I.  M." 

Having  gone  up  to  London  during  the  month  of  March  in 
this  year,  for  the  purpose  of  attending  the  meeting  of  the 
Board  of  Longitude,  Dean  Milner  was  induced  to  remain  some- 
what longer  than  usual  in  Palace  Yard,  on  account  of  the  illness 
of  his  friend,  Mr.  Wilberforce,  who  was  suffering  under  a  recent 
attack  of  a  disease,  at  that  time  so  prevalent,  that  it  acquired  the 
name  of  "  the  Influenza."  On  this  occasion  he  conversed  much 
both  on  religious  topics  and  on  the  two  great  political  subjects 
which  naturally  occupied  the  mind  of  his  host, — the  abolition 
of  the  Slave  Trade,  and  the  prospect  of  peace  or  war.  With 
reference  to  this  latter  subject,  the  Dean,  whose  sentiments  in 
the  main  agreed  with  those  of  his  friend,  thus  wrote  to  him 
after  his  return  to  Cambridge,  and  while  the  negotiations  on 
this  great  question  were  still  in  progress:  "  It  may  be  necessary 
to  make  peace,  in  order  that  the  nation  may  be  convinced  that 
peace  cannot  be  had.  This  is  just  what  happened  when  you 
brought  on  the  negociations  at  Lisle  by  your  motion  in  1795. 
The  eyes  of  England  were  opened,  and  they  bore  the  war 
better  afterwards." 

The  following  letter  to  another  friend  deserves  to  be  given 
at  somewhat  greater  length. 

"To  THE  Rev.  William  Richardson. 

"  My  dear  Friend,  "  Carlisle,  July  5th,  1803. 

"  I  suppose  if  I  do  not  fire  at  you  again  I  shall  never  more 
hear  from  you. 

"  I  have  been  ill ;  but  am  much  recovered ;  blessed  be  God 
for  it.  I  have  ventured  to  preach  twice  at  Carlisle ;  and  these 
sermons  are  the  very  first  attempts  which  I  have  dared  to  make 
of  that  sort,  since  my  late  attack. 


272  CHAP.  XV      A.D.  1803.     MTAT.  53. 

"  Last  Sunday  morning,  I  was  so  ill  with  severe  headache, 
that  I  was  obliged,  at  ten  o'clock,  to  send  for  Mr.  Sheepshanks, 
to  request  him  to  do  the  duty  for  me  at  the  Cathedral ;  but  it 
pleased  God,  that  before  twelve  o'clock,  I  was  able  to  go  and 
mount  the  rostrum  myself.     Great  crowds  were  waiting. 

"This  is  all  I  shall  say  of  myself,  at  present;  except,  that  I 
fear  my  inward-man  flourishes  as  little  as  my  outward-man. 
Oh  !  I  have  much  to  say  to  you !  but,  I  suppose,  you  would 
only  say  the  same  things,  which  you  have  kindly  said  to  me 
before.  Only  do  so,  then,  I  say.  I  allude  to  the  precions 
truths  which  you  inculcated  and  impressed  upon  me;  and  I 
wish  I  could  profit  more  by  them.  I,  really,  sometimes  wonder 
how  I  can  have  the  face  to  preach  to  others,  when  I  feel  so 
little  myself.  They  are,  however, — these  truths,  I  mean — 
precious  truths,  still :  and  I  don't  suppose  that  you  could  say, 
to  me,  anything  better  than  what  you  have  said.  May  a  kind 
and  gracious  God  preserve  me  and  guide  my  steps  ! 

"  N.B.  I  send  you,  for  yourself,  a  copy  of  Volume  IV.  Part  1, 
of  the  Ecclesiastical  History.  I  have  no  fear  as  to  your  liking 
the  book  ;  it  is  a  most  instructive  part  of  the  history.  I  wish  I 
may  live  to  finish  the  other  part. 

"  I  am,  yours  affectionately, 

"I.    MiLNER." 

In  elucidation  of  the  last  paragraph  of  the  above  letter,  it 
should  be  observed,  that  Dr.  Milner  was  in  the  habit  of  desig- 
nating by  the  names  of  Parts  1  and  2  of  Volume  IV.  that 
portion  of  the  Ecclesiastical  History  which  is  now  published 
under  the  titles  of  Volumes  IV.  and  V. 

Before  his  departure  from  Carlisle,  Dean  Milner  wrote 
again  to  Mr.  Richardson,  as  follows. 

"My  dkar  Friend, 

"  As  you  have  not  yet  seen  the  b(Jok,  periiaps,  you  may  alter 
your  way  of  thinking,  in  some  respects,when  you  have  seen  and 
read  it.  You  may,  perhaps,  cease  to  think  me  over-scrupulous. 
At  least  1  now  fancy,  that  1  sec  some  misapprehension  on  your 
part.      ♦      «     * 


CHAP.  XV.     A.D,   1»03.     /ETAT.  oA.  27-3 

"Now  when  you  reflect  upon  tlic  time  during  which  1  have 
been  able  to  resume  my  work,  in  this  matter,  at  all, — when  you 
consider,  that  I  have,  daily,  many  interruptions,  from  college 
affairs,  and,  about  Christmas,  a  great  deal  of  actual  business, — 
that  I  am  obliged  to  attend  meetings  at  the  Board  of  Longitude 
three  times  in  the  year,  in  London, — that,  lately,  on  one  of 
these  occasions,  I  was  detained  five  weeks  in  London,  by 
illness ;  you  will  not  be  apt  to  think,  that  I  can  have  been  over 
nice  about  this  said  book ;  particularly,  when  I  assure  you,  that 
by  far  the  greater  part  of  it  has  been  printed  since  I  saw  you 
last — in  fact,  since  last  September.  If  all  this  do  not  convince 
you,  I  fear  the  reading  of  it  may.  You  will  find  me  not  '  over 
nice.' 

"  However,  to  be  serious  and  sincere,  I  have  no  great 
apprehensions  on  that  head ;  for  though  I  have  no  pretensions 
to  very  minute  accuracy,  I  trust  the  book  wiJl  be  found 
sufficiently  accurate  in  the  main. 

"  To  strengthen  all  this,  let  me  tell  you,  that  the  manuscript 
for  this  volume,  left  by  my  brother,  is  by  far  the  most  incorrect 
of  all  which  he  wrote.  No  wonder.  It  was  never  looked  over 
by  him — it  was  written  in  his  weak  state — and  is  imperfect  in 
every  way ;  though  it  contains  very  fine  things. 

"  Then  the  subject  grows  more  and  more  important ;  and  I 
have  access  to  books  which  he  had  not :  and  I  have  thought  it 
right  to  ncM'-model  a  great  deal,  and  to  add  a  great  deal,  also. 

"  Further,  it  is  impossible  for  me  not  to  feel  myself  account- 
able for  the  work,  in  a  way  that  I  never  felt  before,  in  correct- 
ing any  of  the  former  volumes. 

"  To  have  published  it  as  it  stood  in  the  manuscript,  T  assure 
you,  would  not  have  done.  As  it  is,  I  trust,  that  the  work  will 
be  found  highly  instructive  and  important.  I  have  brought  to 
light  a  vast  deal  that  never  before  appeared  in  English. 

"  It  is  my  sincere  wish,  that  my  life  may  be  prolonged  to 
finish  this  volume*,  if  it  be,  indeed,  the  will  of  God.  I  hope  I 
am  not  ill-employed ;  and   I  trust,  that  when  you  have  con- 


Viz.,  the  Second  Part  of  Vol.  IV.,  subsequently  published  by  the  Dean 
as  Vol.  V. 


274  CHAP.  XV.     A.D.   1803.     /ETAT.  53. 

sidered  these  things,  and  read  the  book,  you  will  cease  to  think 
me  over  scrupulous." 

The  foregoing  letter,  exhibiting,  as  it  does.  Dean  Milner's 
private  feelings  respecting  the  responsibility  which  attached  to 
himself  with  regard  to  the  volume  in  question,  has  high  claims 
to  the  attention  of  the  reader;  and  it  is  more  especially 
interesting,  as  bearing,  in  some  measure,  upon  the  question  of 
the  accuracy  of  this  part  of  the  history ;  a  question  which,  in 
some  quarters,  has  been  acrimoniously  debated. 

Nothing  can  be  more  candid  than  the  whole  of  Dr.  Milner^s 
statement.  The  manuscript  for  the  fourth  volume,  as  left  by 
his  brother,  never  having  been  revised,  was,  he  admits,  very 
"  incorrect"  and  "  imperfect ;"  although  containing  "  very  fine 
things." 

"  Then  the  subject"  was  becoming  "  more  and  more  impor- 
tant ;"  and  he,  having,  "  access  to  books  which"  the  original 
author  "  had  not,"  had  "  thought  it  right  to  new-model  a  great 
deal,  and  to  add  a  great  deal,  also." 

It  can  be  no  matter  of  wonder  if,  in  a  book  thus  new- 
modelled  and  enlarged,  some  trifling  inconsistencies,  or  some 
slight  mistakes,  in  references,  or  dates,  may  be  detected.  It  is 
sufficient,  that,  after  the  various  attacks  which  have  been  made 
upon  it,  on  the  score  of  inaccuracy,  that  part  of  the  History  of 
the  Church  of  Christ  of  which  Dr.  Milner  was  either  entirely,  or 
in  a  great  measure,  the  author,  is  now  generally  allowed  to  be, 
with  regard  to  all  such  matters,  "  sufficiently  accurate  in  the 
main," 

As  to  the  correctness  of  the  views  entertained  and  com- 
municated by  Dean  Milner,  of  the  characters  and  tenets  of 
Luther  and  other  illustrious  men,  who  were  instruments  in  the 
hand  of  the  Almighty,  for  the  bringing  about  of  the  great  work 
of  the  llefonnation,  this  is  not  the  place,  nor  the  occasion,  for 
the  discussion  of  so  comprehensive  a  subject. 

I  may,  however,  be  i)ermitted  to  observe,  that  the  readers 
of  even  this  very  imperfect  and  inadequate  memoir  of  the  life 
and  character  of  Dr.  Milner,  can  scarcely  fail  to  be  convinced, 
that  he  was  deficient  in  neither  of  two  (pialifications,  essential  to 


CHAP.  XV,     A.D.  l»ua.      ETAT.  53.  275 

an  ecclesiastical  historian — industry  and  piety.  He  was,  more- 
over, very  deeply  read  in  religious  subjects,  and  of  the  force  and 
vigour  of  his  reasoning  powers,  it  is  needless  to  speak.  The 
deliberate  statements  of  a  writer,  thus  qualified,  may  surely  claim 
attention  and  some  deference  from  the  generality  of  readers. 

Dean  Milner's  season  of  residence  at  Carlisle,  notwithstand- 
ing the  preparation  necessary  for  his  frequent  addresses  from 
the  pulpit,  and  other  avocations  incident  to  his  station,  was 
comparatively,  and  upon  the  whole,  a  season  of  leisure ;  and 
when  at  leisure,  his  mind  habitually  turned  to  the  consideration 
of  theological  subjects.  It  was  his  custom  to  think  with  a  pen 
in  his  hand ;  and  many  valuable  hints  may,  consequently,  be 
found  interspersed  among  his  remaining  manuscripts.  Some- 
times, indeed,  his  thoughts  are  expressed  too  briefly  to  be 
intelligible  to  general  readers,  and  occasionally,  when  the  words 
used  are  sufficiently  explicit,  the  particular  point  or  passage  of 
a  book  to  which  they  refer,  is  left  doubtful.  More  frequently, 
however,  the  subject  upon  which  his  mind  is  employed  is 
indicated  with  sufficient  clearness,  either  by  express  words  or 
l)y  the  obvious  tendency  and  bearing  of  his  observations.  Thus 
the  foUomng  detached  remarks,  written  during  the  summer  of 
1803,  manifestly  refer  to  Dr.  Kipling's  then  recent  publication 
upon  the  Articles  of  the  Church  of  England. 

"  The  meaning  of  the  Church  better  ascertained  by  the 
Articles  than  by  the  Liturgy." 

"  Can  words  be  contrived  clearer  than  the  Seventeenth 
Article  ?     The  last  part  is  in  Calvin's  Institutes^" 

"  See  Calvin  about  the  will  not  being  destroyed.  Faculty 
of  the  will  not  destroyed." 

"  Opinions  should  not  be  insisted  upon  as  held  when 
disavowed." 

"  Kipling  says,  Calvin  denies  men  to  be  accountable.  Not 
true.     He  always  represents  men  as  accountable." 

"  Dr.  K 's  opinion  is,  I  suppose,  opposed  to  Calvin's. 

He  therefore  thinks,  that  we  have  some  power  of  thinking  good 
thoughts,  &c.     But  our  Liturgy  says  no." 

The  following  observations,  suggested  by  the  consideration 
of  some  passages  in  the  Articles,  are  expressed  at  somewhat 

T  2 


27G  CHAP.  XV.     A.D.  1803.     .ETAT.  53. 

greater  length  ;  and,  like  every  thing  else  written  or  spoken  by- 
Dean  Milncr,  upon  subjects  which  he  had  studied,  they  bear  the 
impress  of  a  great  mind. 

After  quoting  the  IXth,  Xth,  and  Xlllth  Articles, — 
"  Original  sin  is  the  corruption  of  the  nature  of  every  man, 
whereby  man  is  very  far  gone  [quam  longisshne)  from  original 
righteousness,  &c.  &c.;"  "The  condition  of  man  after  the  fall 
of  Adam  is  such,  &c.  &c.;"  "  Works  done  before  the  grace  of 
Christ  and  the  inspiration  of  his  Spirit,  &c.  &c." — the  Dean 
thus  wTites : — 

"  The  doctrine  of  original  sin  is  a  most  important  article  in 
the  Christian  scheme.  All  the  other  doctrines  of  Christianity 
are  closely  connected  with  it ;  and,  in  order  to  preserve  con- 
sistency, must  be  modified  according  to  the  view  that  is  taken 
of  original  sin.  If  our  ideas  of  original  sin  be  not  previously 
settled  with  some  degree  of  accuracy,  we  are  in  perpetual 
danger  of  falling  into  contradictions  in  the  treatment  of  all  the 
important  doctrines  of  Revelation. 

"  It  would  be  easy  to  furnish  numerous  examples  of  this. 
Not  that  it  is  always  necessary  for  a  writer  to  give  a  formal 
statement  of  his  notions  of  original  sin  for  the  purpose  of 
making  his  meaning  understood  upon  other  religious  topics ; 
but  this  I  take  to  be  constantly  true,  that  a  perspicuous  and 
consistent  writer,  whatever  important  subject  in  religion  he  may 
handle,  cannot  possibly  conceal  his  ideas  on  original  sin ;  the 
links  of  the  cliain  are  in  a  decided  and  even  necessary  connexion. 

"  How  extremely  important,  then,  must  it  be  to  form  clear, 
decisive,  and  intelligible  views  of  this  doctrine;  a  doctrine 
which,  like  a  tree,  ever  bears  its  own  peculiar  branches ;  a 
doctrine,  too,  wlicre  the  branches  infallibly  indicate  the  nature 
of  the  tree  on  which  they  grow ! 

"  In  books  of  religious  controversy,  there  are  endless  varie- 
ties of  the  opinions  which  have  been  held  on  this  subject. 

"  The  three  extracts  above  quoted,  express  the  sentiments  of 
the  Cimrch  of  England ;  and  one  would  think,  that  whoever 
carefully  reads  them,  without  prejudice,  can  scarcely  give  two 
senses  to  the  words,  especially  as  they  are  descriptive  of  facts." 

"  N.B. — In  order  to  form  a  right  judgment  of  original  sin. 


CHAP.  XV\     A.l).  1«U3.     yETAT.  53.  /  277 

the  real  tendency  of  sin  is  to  be  considered ;  e.  y..  What  would 
sin  produce,  if  grace  did  not  interpose  ?  All  that  grace  does — 
that  is,  all  that  is  to  be  ascribed  to  grace — proves  sin  the 
greater." 

"  It  is  not  fair  to  define  a  Calvinist,  '  one  who  holds  every 
thing  that  Calvin  held.'  It  misleads,  to  represent  men  as 
holding  the  whole  of  Calvinism,  who  hold  only  a  part.  The 
same  may  be  said  respecting  the  followers  of  Arminius. — See 
Owen's  Display  of  Arminianism,  c\i.  viii.;  and  Fuller's  Gospel 
of  Christ" 

"  The  danger  of  Antinomianism,  though  dreadful,  is  not 
extensive.  I  have  rarely,  if  ever,  met  with  a  single  instance  of 
the  kind ;  whereas  I  meet  with  thousands  of  Pharisees.  The 
reason  is  obvious.  The  Antinomian  idea  of  living  in  sin,  and 
yet  being  saved,  is  so  absurd,  and  so  contrary  to  common  sense, 
as  well  as  to  the  stream  of  Scripture,  that  it  never  can  be  very 
extensive  in  its  ravages ;  whereas  Pharisaism  is  congenial  to 
man,  and  is  taking  fast  hold  and  striking  root  everywhere. 
Nay,  it  is  natural  to  man,  whereas  salvation  by  grace  is  not 
natural." 

In  the  following  admirable  letter,  which  may  now  be  made 
public  without  impropriety,  Dean  Milner's  sentiments  concern- 
ing Dr.  Kipling's  performance  are  stated  without  disguise  or 
reservation : — 

"  Dear , 


*'  I  have  lately  been  informed  that  you  are  meditating  a 
reply  to  Dr.  Kipling's  publication  on  the  Articles  of  the  Church 
of  England.  The  intelligence  gives  me  much  satisfaction,  yet 
not  without  some  doubt  as  to  the  complete  discretion  of 
writing  any  public  answer  to  such  a  pamphlet.  I  am  so  for- 
tunate as  to  know,  that  you  have  given  much  attention,  for 
many  years  past,  to  the  controverted  points  in  question,  and, 
therefore,  I  may  well  take  it  for  granted,  that  whatever  you 
write  upon  the  subject  will  be  to  the  purpose ;  yet  still  I  am 
far  from  feeling  assured  that  this  is  a  favourable  opportunity  for 
you  to  give  your  sentiments  to  the  i)ublic.  If,  indeed,  you 
were  to  enter  fully  into  the  difficult  subjects  of  Calvinism  and 


278  CHAP.  XV.     A.U.  1803.     /ETAT.  53. 

Arminianism,  and  furnish  the  public  with  those  thoughts  which 
you  have  long  digested,  the  world  would  have  to  thank  Dr. 
Kipling  for  having  been  the  occasion  of  bringing  to  light  the 
fruit  of  your  labours;  but  if  you  intend  to  confine  your  plan  to 
observations  on  his  publication,  several  unpleasant  circum- 
stances appear  to  me  to  be  in  your  way. 

"1.  Dr.  Kipling's  side  of  the  question  is  by  far  the  most 
popular  in  our  country.  I  suppose  the  proportion  of  those 
who  embrace  that  side,  to  those  who  are  of  a  contrary  opinion, 
is  very  great.  AVhen  I  say  this,  I  would  by  no  means  be 
understood  to  speak  of  such  as  have  studied  the  question,  and 
made  up  their  minds  after  much  reading  and  reflection.  If  we 
confine  ourselves  to  persons  of  this  class,  I  believe  the  reverse 
to  be,  and  to  have  always  been,  the  truth  in  all  ages  and  coun- 
tries. But  I  speak  of  Englishmen  in  general  of  the  present 
age.  The  times,  \'ou  will  agree  with  me,  are  very  much  in 
favour  of  Arminian  sentiments. 

"  2.  And  this  is  remarkably  the  case  with  the  clergy  of  our 
Establishment.  Formerly  the  majority  of  them  were  calvinis- 
tical ;  but  at  present  I  believe  very  few  of  them  are  such, 
except  those  who  (you  know)  are  improperly  denominated 
Methodists. 

"3.  The  thing  I  speak  of  is  not  a  mere  prevalence  of 
sentiment.  The  tide  sets  very  strongly  against  Calvinism, 
considered  as  a  principle  of  religion  and  morality.  Calvinistic 
tenets  are  not  only  thought  absurd,  weak,  and  enthusiastic,  but 
they  are  also  deemed  odious,  and  even  blasphemous.  With 
many  persons  a  man  is  thought  a  worse  man,  for  being  a 
Calvinist. 

"4.  All  this,  it  is  true,  is  merely  the  effect  of  customer 
education  ;  nevertheless,  a  writer  on  the  Calvinistic  side  will 
have  these  prejudices  to  contend  with.  I  own  tlicy  are  not 
worth  mentioning  as  objections,  provided  you  mean,  as  I  have 
said,  to  enter  thoroughly  into  the  question:  for  in  that  case  you 
will  write  to  the  few,  and  they  will  listeti. 

"  5.  I  have  not  often  seen  a  pamphlet  more  calculated,  in 
my  judgment,  to  suit  the  many  of  the  present  day,  than  this  of 
Dr.  Kipling.     Though    it  is  impossible  that  such  a  wcjrk  should 


CHAP.  XV.     AD.    1803.     /ETAT.  53.  279 

convert  a  single  Calvinist  from  his  opinion  it  will  tend  very 
much  to  strengthen  the  sentiments  of  those  who  are  already 
disposed  against  Calvinism  merely  from  prejudice,  without 
understanding  the  nature  of  the  question. 

"6.  These  difficulties  you  will  certainly  have  to  encounter: 
but  still,  if  you  can  put  students  of  divinity  upon  their  guard 
against  the  partial  representations  of  this  author,  I  acknowledge 
that  you  will  do  a  great  service  to  the  Church  and  to  the 
public. 

"  You  see   I  write  without  any  sort  of  ceremony;   and  as  I 

am  just  fresh  from  reading  Dr.  K 's  work,  I  will  briefly  put 

down  a  few  remarks  in  the  very  order  in  which  they  have 
occurred  to  me. 

"  1.  The  author,  in  his  very  first  page,  sets  out  with  a 
position  that  surprised  me  exceedingly. 

"  After  acknowledging  that  it  had  been  a  question  for  more 
than  a  century,  whether  some  of  the  Articles  of  the  Church  of 
England  should  be  interpreted  in  a  Calvinistic  sense,  he  tells 
us,  that  this  controversy  was  at  length  reduced  to  a  single  point, 
and  was  therefore  in  a  fair  way  of  being  soon  brought  to  a 
conclusion. 

."  I  liave  been  so  often  deceived  by  the  magnificent  promises 
and  professions  of  authors,  that,  I  confess,  my  expectations 
were  not  much  raised  by  this  information.  My  astonishment 
was  rather  excited,  on  observing  a  disposition  to  be  so  peremp- 
tory on  a  question  so  difficult  and  intricate,  and  in  a  case  where 
the  writer,  from  his  age  and  profession,  must  be  supposed 
conversant  in  inquiries  of  this  nature;  and,  from  his  situation  in 
the  University,  accustomed  to  investigate  theological  difficulties, 
and  to  place  them  in  different  lights. 

"  2.  But  however  improbable  I  might  think  the  author's 
success  to  be,  in  the  point  which  he  attempted,  it  became  me 
to  listen  attentively  to  so  respectable  a  character. 

"  But,  alas  !  he  utterly  fails  us,  in  limine.  His  reasoning  is 
this :  He  produces  two  authors  who,  he  says,  have  at  least 
tacitly  granted,  that  if  the  Liturgy  of  our  Church  be  not  in 
correspondence  with  Calvinism,  neither  are  its  Articles.  By  so 
doing,  he  adds,  they  have  tacitly  consented  to  rest  the  termina- 


280  CHAP.  XV.     A.D.  1803.     ;ETAT.  5:i. 

tion  of  the  question  in  dispute,  entirely  upon  the  event  of  this 
one  inquiry,  '  Is  our  established  Liturgy  in  correspondence  with 
Calvinism  ?'  And  then  the  Doctor  joins  issue  with  these  Calvi- 
nistic  writers,  and  says  he  shall  confine  himself  to  this  one 
inquiry,  '  Is  our  Established  Church  in  perfect  unison  and 
correspondence  with  Calvin's  doctrine  of  predestination  ?' 

"3.  My  observations  on  such  a  procedure  are  these. 

"  Supposing  this  to  be  ever  so  fair  a  statement  of  the 
question  between  Dr.  K.  and  the  two  authors  whom  he 
opposes,  I  ask,  who  has  consented  to  rest  the  determination  of 
the  points  in  dispute  in  the  way  that  Dr.  K.  supposes,  except 
Dr.  K.  himself?  Possibly  the  Doctor's  two  opponents  may 
consent  also.  And  he  tells  us,  that  they  have  actually  made  a 
tacit  grant,  which  implies  such  a  consent.  It  would  be  pre- 
sumption in  me  to  pretend  to  determine  what  either  of  those 
writers  would  consent  to  in  a  contest  of  this  nature,  and  where 
the  issue  is  joined  with  so  confident  a  spirit  by  their  adver- 
sary ;  but  I  think  it  very  easy  to  collect,  from  what  they  have 
already  written,  that  in  whatever  manner  Dr.  K.  may  think 
proper  to  join  issue  with  them,  or  in  whatever  manner  he 
may  choose  to  confine  himself,  they  would  hardly  submit  to 
1)6  confined  at  his  will  or  pleasure :  or,  in  one  word,  I  think 
that  they  would  consider  themselves  justly  entitled  to  use  not 
only  that  one  species  of  argument  pointed  out  by  Dr.  K., 
but  any  kind  of  argument  which  they  thought  fairly  bore  upon 
the  question,  and  was  likely  to  produce  conviction  in  a  sober 
and  cultivated  understanding.  The  grand  principle  upon  which 
they  would  proceed  would,  I  think,  be  this :  AVhenever  a 
doctrine  was  perfectly  clear  and  explicit,  whether  that  doctrine 
were  found  among  the  Articles,  or  the  Homilies,  or  in  the 
Liturgy,  they  would  rest  satisfied  with  it,  and  would  apply  it  to 
the  explanation,  or  clearing  up,  of  any  d()ul)tful  passages, 
whether  such  doubtful  passages  were  found  in  the  Articles,  the 
Homilies,  or  the  Liturgy.  And  as  it  is  undoubtedly  in  the 
Articles  that  we  have  reason  to  expect  doctrinal  precision,  they 
would  chiefly  look  tliere  for  accurate  statements  of  controverted 
points.  In  the  HoniiHes  they  wouUl  expect  to  find  more 
difruse   explanations  and    illustrations   of  what   was   expressed 


CHAP.  XV.     A.D.  1803.     ^TAT.  53.  281 

concisely  and  abstractedly  in  the  Articles ;  because,  in  fact,  the 
Articles  themselves  do  make  that  use  of  the  Homilies  by 
reference ;  but  least  of  all  would  they  look  for  nice  distinctions 
and  definitions  of  doctrinal  matters  in  the  Liturgy,  the  use  of 
which  belongs,  in  a  great  measure,  to  the  affections  of  the 
Ijeart,  rather  than  to  the  speculations  of  the  head;  and  the 
language  of  which  is  wisely  made  popular,  and  adapted  to  the 
understandings  of  persons  of  the  lowest  attainments. 
I/-  *'  You  are  not  to  infer  from  anything  which  I  now  say,  that 
^  I  think  the  Liturgy  of  no  use  in  the  controversy  before  us. 
The  reverse  is  my  decided  opinion :  only  I  think  it  ought  not 
by  any  means  to  stand  foremost  in  an  inquiry  of  this  kind. 
The  use  of  the  Liturgy  in  this  inquiry  is  subsidiary,  and  in  that 
light  very  powerful.  I  even  admit  that  some  of  the  most 
conclusive  arguments,  on  the  most  important  points,  may  be 
drawn  from  it, — arguments  by  no  means  less  conclusive, 
because  they  depend  upon  statements  which  seem  to  have 
been  formed  in  an  undesigned  manner.  In  one  word,  I 
should  say,  let  the  Articles  speak  for  themselves  on  all 
occasions,  if  possible.  If  there  be  some  obscurity  on  any 
point,  or  if  any  point  require  particular  and  diffuse  illus- 
tration, consult  the  Homilies,  where  that  point,  or  some 
other  point  closely  connected  with  it,  is  expressly  treated. 
And,  lastly,  if  doubt  still  remain  concerning  the  meaning  of 
any  article  of  faith,  listen  attentively  to  the  prayers  of  the 
Church.  Thus,  if  any  man  doubt  whether,  according  to  the 
principles  of  the  Church  of  England,  Jesus  Christ,  the  Second 
Person  in  the  Trinity,  be  God,  let  him  consider  the  leadin'>- 
clauses  of  the  Litany. 

"  But  I  should  be  very  cautious  how  I  indulged  mvself  in 
inverting  this  method  of  studying  the  doctrines  of  our  Churcli  • 
that  is,  I  would  not  recommend  a  person  to  begin  an  inquiry  of 
that  sort  by  studying  the  Liturgy.  Least  of  all  would  I  advise 
him  to  note  down  certain  parts  of  the  Liturgy, — to  draw 
inferences  from  them, — and  then  to  say,  these  inferences  must 
be  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  of  England,  these  inferences 
must  l)c  contained  in  the  Articles  of  our  faith, — whatever  those 
Articles  may  say,  this  must  be  their  meaning. 


282  CHAP.  XV.     A.l).  1803.     /ETAT.  53. 

"  Now  Dr.  K.  appears  to  me  to  have  used  this  last  method 
of  argumentation ;  which  method  I  think  a  very  dangerous 
one  ;  and  thereby  to  have  imposed  upon  his  own  vniderstand- 
ing.  He  lias  not  sufficiently  looked  into  the  Articles  tliem- 
selves :  he  has  not,  I  think,  submitted  to  their  plain  and 
obvious  meaning ;  on  the  contrary,  he  has  aimed  to  make  the 
Articles  speak  through  the  medium  of  the  Liturgy,  and  this  in 
the  following  method :  He  has  adverted  to  several  passages  of 
the  Liturgy  which  admit  of  two,  or  perhaps  of  three,  interpre- 
tations, and  which,  in  fact,  have  been  so  diversely  interpreted. 
He  has  considered  those  passages  as  incapable  of  bearing  any 
meaning  but  that  which  he  has  given  to  them.  He  has 
thought  that  several  expressions  could  not  possibly  be  used  by 
any  Calvinist;  when,  in  fact,  they  are  daily  used  by  the  most 
rigid  and  sincere  Calvinists.  He  does  not  produce  from  the 
Liturgy,  in  any  one  instance,  a  direct  confutation  of  the 
Calvinistic  doctrines  which  he  opposes:  but  he  produces  some 
prayer,  or  some  expression,  which  he  thinks  inconsistent  with 
Calvinistic  doctrine ;  and  he  never  stops  to  inquire  whether  the 
Calvinist  himself  draAvs  from  it  the  same  conclusion ;  but  he 
peremptorily  decides  that  such  or  such  a  doctrine  cannot  be 
contained  in  the  Articles ;  and  this,  I  think,  he  does  in  more 
than  one  instance,  where  the  express  words  of  the  Article  are 
most  incontrovertibly  against  him.  Let  it  be  admitted  that  the 
Articles  and  the  Liturgy  are  in  perfect  correspondence  with 
each  other ;  it  tlicn  undoul^tcdly  follows,  that  if  any  clause  in 
the  Liturgy  directly  affirms  an  an ti- Calvinistic  doctrine,  the 
contrary  Calvinistic  doctrine  cannot  be  the  doctrine  of  the 
Church  of  England.  But  it  should  be  remembered  that  this  same 
conclusion  will  l)y  no  means  take  place,  because  Dr.  K.  thinks 
tliat  he  has  found  some  passages  in  the  Liturgy  inconsistent 
with  Calvinistic  principles.  If,  indeed,  the  inconsistency  of  the 
])assage  in  the  Liturgy  be  demonstrable,  and,  consequently, 
undeniable,  such  inconsistency,  altliougli  only  an  inference,  will 
amount  to  a  direct  affirmation  and  establishment  of  the  con- 
trary (lo(;trinc ;  but  it  is  well  known,  that  in  controversies, 
inferences  of  this  nature,  drawn  by  adversaries  f()r  tlie  purpose 
f)f  confuting  their  ojiponents,  are  seldom    to   1)c   relied  on.     In 


CHAP.  XV.     A.D.  l«0;i.     yETAT.  53.  28.3 

the  present  instances,  the  inferences  ujion  which  Dr.  K.  lays 
so  much  stress,  so  far  from  being  undeniable,  have  been,  in  all 
ages,  denied  by  reasonal)le  men;  and  are  at  this  moment  denied 
not  only  by  Calvinists,  but  by  many  who,  in  general,  by  no 
means  accede  to  Calvinistic  tenets. 

"  If  Mr.  Overton  and  Presl)yter  should  think  proper  to 
defend  themselves  by  appeals  to  the  public,  it  will  then  be 
seen  whether  they  will  admit  Dr.  K's  way  of  managing  the 
questions  in  dispute,  or  whether  they  will  not  rather  pursue  a 
plan  somewhat  like  what  I  have  here  supposed,  in  regard  to 
the  Articles,  Homilies,  and  Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England. 

"Dr.  Kipling  appears  to  me  throughout,  to  be  fighting  with 
a  phantom  of  his  own  creation.  He  would  prove  the  Church  of 
England  not  Calvinistic,  that  is,  according  to  him,  not  in  exact 
harmony  with  Calvin  :  and  he  also  maintains  that  every  one  of 
Calvin's  peculiarities  may  be  comprised  under  his  single 
doctrine  of  predestination. 

"  Now  I  much  question  whether  any  one  person  ever 
affirmed  the  Church  of  England  to  be  Calvinistic  in  that  sense. 
Dr.  K.  himself  tells  us,  (p.  6,  note)  that  of  all  the  writers  who 
have  lately  attempted  to  demonstrate  the  Church  of  England 
to  be  Calvinistic,  no  one  has  ever  once  quoted  Calvin  for  this 
purpose.  He,  very  uncandidly,  considers  their  silence  as  the 
effect  of  design.  Surely  a  candid  inquirer  after  truth  would 
rather  have  supposed  this  silence  to  be  the  natural  effect  of 
their  using  the  word  Calvinism  in  a  sense  somewhat  different 
from  that  in  which  the  Doctor  himself  uses  it.  It  would  be  to 
little  purpose  here  to  reply,  that  Calvinism  must  mean  the 
opinions  of  Calvin ;  because  there  are,  perhaps,  few  words  in 
any  language  that  have  not  undergone  material  alterations  in 
the  progress  of  time :  and  I  will  not  here  stop  to  inquire 
whether  those  who  use  the  word  in  its  ordinary  acceptation,  or 
Dr.  K.,  who  alone  uses  it  strictly  according  to  its  derivation,  be 
the  more  accurate  observers  of  propriety  of  language.  It  is 
sufficient  to  say,  that  in  this  mode  of  proceeding,  the  contro- 
versy, so  far  from  being  nearly  brought  to  a  termination,  as 
Dr.  K.  says  it  is,  would  never  be  terminated  at  all.  Dr.  K. 
might,  in  this  way,  go  on  claiming  imaginary  victories  for  ever. 


284  CHAP.  XV.    A.D.  1803.     .TITAT.  53. 

'^  Most  persons,  I  fancy,  will  think  that  Mr.  O.  uses  the 
terms  Calvinism,  Calvinistic,  &c.,  in  a  sense  much  more  agree- 
able to  the  received  usage  of  language,  and  the  established  laws 
of  composition,  than  Dr.  K.  does  by  adhering  rigidly  to  the 
etymology  of  the  word ;  but  if,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  we 
were  to  grant  that  the  Doctor  is  more  correct  than  his  oppo- 
nents in  the  use  of  those  terms,  I  don't  see  that,  in  the  balance 
of  sound  reasoning,  he  would  gain  a  feather's  weight.  From 
this  concession  it  would  not  follow,  as  Dr.  K.  says  it  would,  that 
Mr.  O.  uses  '  the  signs  of  ideas,  without  any  ideas  annexed  to 
them.'  It  would  only  follow,  that  Mr.  O.  has  not  proved  the 
Church  of  England  to  be  Calvinistic  in  the  sense  in  which 
Dr.  K.  understands  that  word ;  and  very  few  persons  indeed, 
as  I  believe,  have  ever  thought,  or  undertaken  to  show,  the 
Church  of  England  to  be  strictly  Calvinistic  in  that  sense. 
Every  reasonable  person  will  endeavour  to  collect  Mr.  O.'s 
opinion  from  the  sense  in  which  he  himself  tells  us  he  uses  his 
words,  and  not  from  the  sense  in  which  Dr.  K.  thinks  those 
words  ought  to  be  used.  If  Mr.  O.  have  not  used  the  term 
Calvinistic  in  the  sense  in  which  Dr.  K.  uses  it,  then  he  has  not 
pronounced  the  Church  of  England  to  be  Calvinistic  in  that 
sense ;  and  it  is  to  no  purpose  that  Dr.  K.  endeavours  to  prove 
that  Church  not  to  be  thus  Calvinistic.  If  any  other  person 
has  affirmed  the  Church  of  England  to  harmonize  with 
Calvin's  Institutes,  Dr.  K.  may  ])ossibly  have  confuted  that 
person ;  but  he  cannot  have  confuted  Mr.  O.,  who  expressly 
says  that  the  Articles  do  not  harmonize  with  the  Institutes  of 
Calvin.  Further:  since  Mr.  O.  has  explained  himself  on  this 
subject  with  particular  exactness,  why  are  not  his  own  express 
declarations  to  be  believed  ?  Can  any  good  reason  be  given 
why  Mr.  O.  is  not  to  be  considered  as  sincere  on  his  side  of 
this  question,  as  Dr.  K.  is  on  the  opposite  side  ? 

"  Hut  not  only  Mr.  O.,  but  all  the  writers  who  have  lately 
taken  up  their  pens  to  show  that  the  Church  of  England  is 
Calvinistic,  are  branded  by  Dr.  K.  as  knowingly  and  designedly 
endeavouring  to  impose  upon  tlic  public,  for  some  mischievous 
purj)ose.  There  is  in  tins,  something  so  unbecoming  a  Chris- 
tian, tliiit    I   clioose  to  make  no  remark  upon  it.     I  am  sorry 


CHAP.  XV.     A.D.  1803.     /ETAT.  53.  285 

that  it  has  fallen  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  K.;  and  I  cannot  but 
contrast  it  with  the  declarations  of  Mr.  Adam,  a  very  strong 
Anti-Calvinist,  upon  the  same  subject. 

"5.  Dr.  K.  affirms  that  all  the  peculiar  doctrines  which  are 
connected  with  this  inquiry,  may  be  comprised  under  the  single 
doctrine  of  predestination. 

"  If  the  reader  of  Dr.  K.'s  work  should  be  of  opinion  that 
the  author  has  demonstrated  his  positions,  in  all  the  cases  in 
which  he  tells  us  that  he  has  done  so ;  and  also,  if,  whenever 
one  proposition  may  have  a  connexion,  sometimes  a  greater  and 
sometimes  a  less,  with  several  other  truths,  all  such  truths  may 
properly  be  said  to  be  comprised  in  that  one ;  then  he  may 
allow  Dr.  K.^s  statement  to  be  defensible. 

"  But  I  would  observe,  first,  that  Dr.  K.,  however  excellent 
a  demonstrator  he  may  conceive  himself  to  be,  will  scarcely 
think  that  he  has  exceeded  Euclid  in  neatness  and  accuracy; 
yet  I  never  heard  any  one  maintain  that  all  the  elements  of  that 
fine  author  are  comprised  in  his  first  proposition.  Secondly,  if 
we  consult  experience,  we  shall  find  that  numbers  of  very 
excellent  men  and  very  judicious  writers,  have  held  some  of  the 
acknowledged  Calvinistic  doctrines,  and  have  rejected  others : 
and  these  writers  were  never  charged  with  want  of  perspicuity, 
or  with  abuse  of  language. 

"  But  Dr.  Kipling  affirms  that  all  the  Cahnnistic  doctrines 
are  so  connected  together  as  to  form  one  chain,  of  which  not  a 
link  can  be  spared.  As  often  as  this  principle  is  maintained,  I 
must  contend  as  above,  that  each  writer  must  be  allowed  to 
determine  for  himself  what  propositions  he  thinks  necessarily 
connected,  or  not  connected  together ;  that  no  writer  ought  to 
be  charged  with  holding  doctrines  which  he  himself  disavows, 
because  another  person  thinks  several  doctrines  comprised  in 
one.  And  lastly,  that  Dr.  K.  will  not  be  considered  as  decisive 
authority  in  questions  of  this  kind,  till  he  furnishes  us  with 
much  better  specimens  of  demonstration,  than  any  which  are 
to  be  found  in  his  late  pamphlet." 

On  his  return  from  Carlisle  to  Caml^ridge,  after  keeping  his 
residence  ai  the  former  i)lace,  Dean  Milner  paid  a  short  visit 


286  CHAP.  XV.     A.D.  180:i.     .1^.TAT.  53. 

to  his  suffering  niece  at  Hull.  Other  than  a  short  visit  he 
never  could  prevail  upon  himself  to  pay  at  that  place,  subse- 
quent to  the  time  of  his  brother's  decease. 

While  at  Hull,  he  wrote  to  a  valued  friend,  to  the  kindness 
of  whose  surviving  relatives  I  am  indebted  for  various  other 
interesting  communications,  a  letter  containing  the  following 
practical  hints,  concerning  the  proper  time  and  manner  of 
learning  languages. 

"  My  dear  Sir,  ''Hull,  August  1,  1803. 

"  I  had  unfortunately  left  Carlisle  when  your  kind  letter 
arrived  thither. 

"  Permit  me  to  imitate  the  medical  gentlemen,  who,  upon 
farther  reflection,  and  a  more  distinct  view  of  a  case,  frequently 
alter  or  modify  their  first  thoughts. 

"  I  knew  that  your  son  was  a  good  scholar ;  or,  at  least,  I 
had  good  reason  for  so  thinking.  But  I  had  no  notion  that  his 
attainments  were  so  great  as  I  now  believe  them  to  be.  On 
the  supposition,  therefore,  that  he  is  intended  for  the  ministry, 
I  see  no  objection  (in  his  circumstances)  to  his  getting  through, 
as  soon  as  possible,  the  drudgery  part  of  learning  Hebrew.  I 
mean  that  part  which  consists  chiefly  in  exertions  of  the 
memory. 

"These  exertions  are  absolutely  necessary  in  learning  a 
language,  and  never  more  than  in  the  attainment  of  Hebrew. 
Every  word  is  new;  besides  the  queerness  of  the  conjugations, 
of  the  sufiixes  and  prefixes,  and  the  points. 

"  For  all  this,  I  repeat  it,  youth  is  the  time.  The  older  we 
grow  the  less  we  like  exertions  of  memory,  and  the  less  capable 
we  are  of  making  them. 

"If  you  ever  wish  Mr.  P to  be  a  good  Hebraist,  there 

is  no  time  to  be  lost.  He  will  be  above  getting  off  words  by 
heart  by  and  by ;  his  understanding  will  make  him  despise  the 
cmi)loyment ;  and  though  he  may  see  the  future  advantage,  he 
will  with  (lirticulty  be  br(ni<;ht  to  buckle  to. 

"  Still,  he  must  not  be  permitted  to  meddle  with  the 
niceties  of  the  language  at  present;  nor  should  he  spend  a  deal 
of  time  about  Hebrew  yet." 


CHAP.  XV.    A.D.  1803.     >ETAT.  53.  287 

Dr.  Milner's  mind  was,  at  this  time,  very  seriously  occupied 
by  the  state  and  prospects  of  the  country.  "  Literally  and 
verily,"  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Wilberforce,  from  Hull,  during  this 
visit,  "  there  seems  not  to  be  the  smallest  concern  here  about 
the  war.  I  never  saw  a  place  so  involved  in  worldly  affairs' 
It  is  shocking !     It  is  affecting  beyond  measure." 

Later  in  the  year,  when  invasion  had  been  so  long  expected 
that  persons,  in  general,  were  becoming  callous  to  the  threatened 
danger,  and  were  beginning  to  look  upon  the  affairs  of  the 
country  with  indifference,  he  thus  wrote  from  Cambridge  to  the 
same  friend:  "The  Ministry  are  everywhere,  but  particularly 
here,  thought  weak,  on  the  whole;  but  exceedingly  well- 
intentioned.  I  do  not  hear  a  mouth  opened  against  their 
principles.  I  am  sure  nothing  would  give  us  so  much  general 
satisfaction  as  a  junction  between  Pitt  and  Addington ;  Pitt's 
vigour,  and  Addington's  discretion,  would  please  exceedingly.'' 

It  may  here  be  mentioned,  that  Mr.  Wilberforce's  health 
was,  at  this  time,  so  weak,  that  "the  duty  of  withdrawing  alto- 
gether from  public  life,"  was  "repeatedly  and  urgently"  pressed 
upon  him*.  With  reference  to  these  solicitations  he  thus 
wrote  to  Mr.  Babington,  early  in  the  month  of  November : 
"  On  this  head  I  will  consult  my  friend  the  Dean  (of  Carlisle), 
on  whom  I  can  entirely  rely  for  all  the  qualities  requisite  for 
enabling  him  to  form  a  satisfactory  judgment  in  the  case." 

It  may  have  been  gathered  from  the  foregoing  portion  of 
this  work,  that,  on  occasion  of  such  appeals  to  his  judgment. 
Dr.  Milner,  while  he  constantly  exhorted  his  friend  to  the  use 
of  great  care  and  caution  in  his  exertions,  never  advised  him  to 
quit  the  important  post  which  Providence  had  assigned  to  him. 

Personal  recollections,  M'hen  their  genuineness  and  correct- 
ness can  be  relied  on,  are  highly  valuable  as  affording  variety 
of  interest  to  a  memoir  of  this  nature.  Different  peculiarities 
strike  different  minds  ;  and  consequently,  an  accumulation  even 
of  slight  anecdotes  or  recollections,  supplied  by  various  persons, 
greatly  tends  to  the  production  of  a  faithful  representation  of 
the  character  delineated. 


•  See  Life  of  Wilberforce,  vol.  iii. 


288  CHAP.  XV.     A.D.   1803.     /ETAT.  53. 

A  clergyman,  formerly  a  member  of  Queen's  College,  per- 
mits me  to  enrich  this  volume  with  the  following  very  lively 
account  of  a  visit  to  Dean  Milner,  paid  in  the  autumn  of  this 
year,  by  himself,  and  a  young  companion.  "  My  first  acquaint- 
ance with  the  Dean,"  writes  this  gentleman,  "  was  when  Mr. 

Sergeant  S and  I  were  invited  to  the  Lodge,  at  a  time 

when  we  were  pupils  to  Mr.  Thomason  of  Shelford.  The  Dean 
was  wonderfully  kind  to  us ;  sat  up  till  two  in  the  morning 
for  two  or  three  successive  nights,  giving  us  practical  philoso- 
phical illustrations  of  the  nature  of  light  and  colours,  &c.,  &c., 
and  amusing  us  with  anecdotes.  Amongst  his  other  illustra- 
tions was  that  of  the  cause  of  the  colour  of  shadows,  with  this 


Purple/  \orange 


scheme,  with  which  you  are,  no  doubt,  very  familiar ;  and  which 
he  said  that  he  himself  had  first  discovered. 

"On  the  second  or  third  day  of  our  visit,  he  placed  us 
in  a  bed-chamber,  and  said  that  he  had  a  curiosity  to  know 
how  we  should  translate  certain  passages  from  some  classic 
authors,  and  do  a  problem  or  two  in  mathematics ;  that  we 
should  oblige  him. 

"  We  got  into  a  state  of  extravagant  laughter  wliile  closeted 
together,  and  had  not  the  slightest  suspicion  tliat  we  Avere 
undergoing  an  examination.  We  found  afterwards,  that  each 
of  us  was  admitted  to  his  College  on  the  ground  of  what  we 
then  did. 

"  Apparently  for  a  moral  end  only,  he  affected  to  l)e  sliglitly 
offended  with  the  laughter ;  and  alluding  to  it  indirectly,  said, 
'  Men's  weakest  time  is  in  their  laughter :  it  exposes  them  as 
much  as  wine :'  and  he  gave  me  an  instance  of  this,  by 
mentioning  some  characteristic  trait  in  myself,  which  he  had 
discovered  in  my  kiughter." 

Some  furtlier  "  recollections"  of  a  different  and  more  im- 


CHAP.  XV.     A.D.   1«03.     yETAT.  i,:).  289 

portaiit  nature,  coinniuiiicated  ])y  the  .same  friend,  respecting 
Dr.  Milner,  belong  to  a.  somewhat  later  period. 

In  the  month  of  October,  in  this  year,  there  appeared,  in 
the  Christian  Observer,  a  critique,  (continued  in  tlie  November 
and  December  numbers,)  on  Milner's  Ecclesiastical  Histonj. 

Of  this  critique  Dean  Milner  took  no  pubhc  notice.  His 
sentiments  respecting  it  are,  however,  sufficiently  laid  open  in 
the  following  letter;  a  letter  which,  although  it  certainly  mani- 
fests the  warmth  and  quickness  of  his  feelings  with  regard  to 
whatever  concerned  his  brother,  or  his  brother's  memory,  must 
be  felt  to  breathe  much  of  the  purest  spirit  of  Christian  charity. 
The  Dean's  observations  on  the  plan  and  execution  of  that  part 
of  the  Church  History  which  records  the  life  of  Wicklifte,  are 
especially  valuable. 

"  Queen's  Colleye, 
"  iM  Y  D  E  A R  S I R,  1  C)th  December,  1 80.3 . 

1st.  "You  yourself  examined,  (while  I  was  last  in  London,) 
into  the  Fatalism  ascribed  by  the  Christian  Observer,  to  Wick- 
lille.  The  evidences  to  the  contrary  are  in  the  early  pages  of 
appendix  to  Vol.  IV.  of  Milner's  Church  History. 

"  Is  not  a  man,  is  not  Wickliffe  to  be  believed,  when  he 
speaks  out  ?  He  says,  the  liberty  of  the  Divine  power  is 
summe  libera.  A  single  expression  of  this  sort  ought  to  stand 
against  a  thousand  metaphysical  niceties.  The  late  Mr.  Toplady 
had  misunderstood  Wickliffe ;  having,  most  clearly,  never  read 
the  passage  in  question  in  Wickliffe's  writings.  I  was  tender 
of  To])lady's  memory,  and  only  quoted  from  him,  so  much  as  I 
thought  defensible :  the  Christian  Observer  has  quoted  the  rest, 
from  Middlcton's  Biof/raphia  Evangelica,  and  has  made  himself 
a  party  along  with  Toplady,  in  accusing  Wickliffe  of  fatalism. 
See  Christian  Observer,  November,  1803,  page  Q^d. 

"  If  the  Christian  Observer  had  but  given  the  evidence,  he 
M-ould  have  l)cen  at  perfect  liberty  to  conclude  as  he  pleased. 

"2ndly.  The  Christian  Observer  (page  G^G,)  is  not  satisiied 
that  more  is  not  said  about  the  Great  AVcstcrn  Schism;  and 
say.s,  that  it  was  attended  with  very  important  consequences. 

*-IIe  forgets  that  the  author  of  this  History  writes  only  a 
History  of  the  Church  of  Christ. 


-^'^  CHAP.  XV.     A.D.  1803.     /ETAT.  53. 

"The  author  is  very  pointed,  (over  and  over)  in  making 
the  reader  understand  his  plan.  If  the  Observer  had  said, 
'  Mr.  Mihier,  agreeably  to  his  plan,  has  twice  briefly  ad- 
verted, very  particularly,  to  the  important  consequences  of 
this  schism,*  the  remark  would  have  been  true,  pertinent,  and 
instructive. 

"  The  remark,  as  it  now  stands,  is  a  disagreeable  slur  on  the 
author. 

"3rdly.  The  Observer  expected  a  fuller  account  of  the 
Lollards. 

"Turn  to  Mosheim,  cent.  14.,  Internal  Historj',  chap,  ii., 
sect.  36,  and  you  will  find  a  very  long  and  learned  note  on  the 
History  of  Lollardism,  by  a  man  who  had  deeply  studied  the 
point:  and  you  will  also  see,  that  the  Historian  of  the  Church 
of  Christ  had  nothing  to  do  with  such  details.  I  wish  that 
cither  Mosheim  or  the  Christian  Observer  could  have  pointed 
out  any  eminent  servants  of  God  who  have  been  omitted.  I 
would  have  thanked  them  in  earnest. 

"While  Mosheim  is  in  your  hand,  turn  to  sect.  15  of  the 
same  chapter;  there  you  M'ill  see,  in  italics,  The  Great  Western 
Schism. 

"  How  soon  a  man  may  become  sufficiently  learned  to 
censure  others  !  and  how  easy  it  is  to  say,  '  We  look  in  vain  for 
a  luminous  view  of  the  Ecclesiastical  History  of  the  Fourteenth 
Century!'  (See  Christian  Observer,  November,  p.  G770  Once 
more  I  answer,  it  was  not  the  author's  plan  to  write  the  Plistory 
of  the  Fourteenth  Century;  what  he  undertook  to  write  was 
the  History  of  the  Church  of  Christ.  He  was  most  uncom- 
monly versed  in  history  of  all  sorts,  particularly  in  ecclesiastical 
history;  and,  in  general,  was  well  qualified  to  retain  and  to 
dismiss  matters,  according  to  their  value,  when  estimated  by 
his  plan.  Among  the  sects  omitted,  (see  Christian  Observer, 
V'  <j77j)  there  probably  were  good  men;  l)ut  who  knows  it? 

"4thly.  The  Oljserver  next  says,  that  Mavish  cncomium.s' 
arc  bestowed  on  Bradwardinc's  book  against  the  Pelagians. 

"  I  have  only  to  say  tliat  most  persons,  I  may  say  all,  of 
my  acquaintance,  have  expressed  both  delight  and  astonishment 
on  reading  the  extracts  '-iven. 


CHAP.  XV.     A.D.  1H03,     ;eTAT.  53.  291 

"  Stilly.  Tlie  Observer  (p.  078),  intimates  that  there  is  neither 
'perspicuity  of  style/  nor  'felicity  of  arrangement/  in  the 
account  of  WicklifTe.  This  is  very  hard.  A  very  learned 
friend  of  mine  came  in  the  other  day  and  said,  '  What  can  they 
mean  ?  Perspicuity  of  style  is  the  peculiar  characteristic  of  Mr. 
Milner.'     So  far  as  authority  goes,  this  evidence  is  decisive. 

"  The  fact  is,  that  the  Clirisiian  Observer  was  not  aware  of 
the  difficulty  of  writing  the  life  of  Wickliffe. 

"Mr.  Milner  says,  'There  is  no  person  of  ecclesiastical 
eminence,  whose  life  and  character  have  cost  me  more  thought 
and  care  than  Wickliffe's.' 

"  One  would  have  thouglit  that  such  a  declaration  might 
have  led  to  more  candour  in  the  remarker.  But  do  read  the 
Life  again,  and  see  whether  it  be  like  '  a  common-place  book,' 
as  tiie  Observer  says  it  is. 

"  If  the  Observer  had  read  any  one  of  Wicklifi'e's  biogra- 
pliers,  he  must  have  known  that  there  arc  i^rodigious  obscurities 
and  even  inconsistencies  in  the  accoiuits  of  WicklifTe,  and  that 
Mr.  Milner  has  cleared  up  many  things  respecting  him,  without 
mentioning  the  faults  of  the  authors  who  had  gone  before  him, 
except  quite  generally.  His  plan  is  this.  First  he  collects 
the  large  facts  in  order.  Then  he  gives  an  account  of  Wick- 
liffe's works.  Next  he  makes  critical  observations  on  Wick- 
liffe's character,  and  answers  the  insinuations  and  calumnies  of 
Hume,  &c.  Lastly,  he  makes  interesting  and  explanatory 
reflections,  most  of  them  entirely  new. 

"  I  know,  that  the  Life  of  Wickliffe  is  thought,  by  those 
who  are  very  well  versed  in  these  matters,  to  be  one  of  the 
most  capital  productions  of  the  author.  The  language  of  the 
most  learned  and  able  in  these  subjects,  is  to  this  effect: 
'This  history  surprises  and  delights  everybody/  'All  are  eager 
for  the  sequel.  The  author's  powers  appear  eminent  in  this 
part  of  the  work.  His  patience  and  sagacity  in  managing  the 
few  fragments  that  remain  respecting  Wickliffe,  are  truly 
admirable.  All  that  we  had  before  was  either  romance,  or  a 
mere  bundle  of  inconsistent  fragments.  Mr.  Milner  has  pro- 
duced an  inteUigible  whole,  and  has  interspersed  his  account 
Mith  very  instructive  observations.' 

U    2 


292  CHAP.  XV.     A.D.  1803.     yETAT.  63. 

"  In  p.  GIO  of  tlic  Christian  Observer  for  October  last,  there 
are  again  some  slurs  upon  the  want  of  lacidus  onlo. 

"  Still,  I  say,  I  never  saw  a  sentence  of  my  brother's,  whicli 
was  not  clear  as  to  its  meaning :  but  suppose  there  were  some 
such,  a  good  critic  is  always  governed  by  Horace's  rule,  Ubi 
pi  lira  nitent,  ^c. 

"  Be  that  as  it  may,  I  am  ready  to  own  that  the  first  volume 
was  not  so  correct  as  it  should  have  been,  and  as  it  wouhl  have 
been,  but  for  some  particular  circumstances.  In  a  word,  the 
author  trusted  the  review  of  that  volume  to  one  who  was  far 
from  being  careful.  But  sliould  not  the  Observer  have  known, 
that  there  was  a  second  edition  of  the  first  volume  published 
in  1800?  I  am  not  Avilling  to  own  that  that  is  very  incorrect, 
because  I  revised  it  myself. 

"Now  to  be  very  plain.  Upon  reading  such  a  critique  as 
this,  it  would  be  the  height  of  affectation  in  me  to  say,  that  I 
was  not  considerably  displeased  with  the  Christian  Observer. 

"  However,  I  believe  I  shall  take  your  advice  as  to  answer- 
ing, at  present,  certainly, — and  if  ever  I  do  answer,  I  shall 
endeavour  to  avoid  everything  that  looks  like  the  unchristian 
spirit  of  returning  evil  for  evil.  You  know  what  I  think  the 
great  defect  of  the  Christian  Observer,  and  I  am  now  glad  that 
I  expressed  that  to  you  in  private  long  ago,  long  before  their 
remarks  on  this  work  came  out.  Their  treatment  of  my 
brother's  book  will  make  me  in  future  say,  not  more,  but  less, 
on  that  subject.  As  to  the  Ijook  itself,  it  must  stand,  and  will 
stand,  on  its  own  merits.  Of  this  I  feel  fully  assured.  I 
do  most  sincerely  assure  you,  that  by  far  the  most  disagreeable 
part  of  this  business  is,  that  as  I  have  a  very  numerous 
religious  acquaintance,  and  a  considerable  correspondence  of 
the  same  sort,  there  will  be  no  end  of  the  questions  I  shall 
be  asked  about  the  Christian  Observer's  critique.  Tiie  learned 
wlu;  will  or  can  judge  for  themselves  are  few;  and  those  of  my 
friends  who  are  partial  to  me,  and  M'ho  think  that  I  know 
better  than  the  Christian  O/jscrver,  will  be  eager  to  show  tlieir 
dislike  of  the  Observer's  critique,  as  least  to  as  higli  a  decree 
as  tliey  can  collect  that  my  dislike,  or  A'cxation,  arises.  Others 
who  arc  merely  curious,  and  who  like  to  talk,  will  want  to  know 


CHAP.  XV.     A.D.  ]fi03.     /ETAT.  o'.i.  293 

uhat  is  the  reply  wliicli  I  liavc  to  make.  Nay,  I  have  already 
been  strongly  solicited  to  rc})ly  '  with  a  vcngeaiice.'  Literally, 
I  am  every  day  ashed  questions  on  this  suhject,  either  vivd  voce, 
or  Ijy  letter. 

"  After  all,  I  believe  that  the  Christian  Observer  is  the  best 
of  the  religious  monthly  publications;  and  so  long  as  I  think 
so,  I  shall  never  treat  him  so  uncivilly,  not  to  say  unkindly,  as 
he  lias  treated  me.  Even  if  the  Observer  fall  into  errors,  I 
would  be  tender  of  his  public  reputation.  The  managers  of 
this  publication  ought  not  to  trust  the  reviewing  of  works  of 
consequence  to  persons  who  do  not  understand  the  subjects 
treated  of. 

"  In  the  critique  in  question  I  perceive  abundance  of  self- 
sufficiency,  and  vain  pretensions  to  learning,  all  of  which  would 
have  been  bridled  a  good  deal  by  real  knowledge,  but  most 
efleetually  by  a  truly  humble  and  godly  spirit.  The  editors 
should  mind  whom  they  employ." 

With  respect  to  the  general  observations  concerning  the 
Cliristian  Observer,  which  occur  towards  the  end  of  the  fore- 
going letter,  it  can  scarcely  be  necessary  to  remark,  that  having 
been  written  in  the  year  1803,  their  publication  now  can  carry 
along  with  it  nothing  cflensive  to  the  feehngs  of  the  present 
conductors  of  that  verv  valuable  and  useful  work. 


294 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Correspondence. — Religious  Experience. —  Professor  Carlyle.  —  Letter  to  liis 
Sister  on  his  Death. — Domestic  Affiiirs.— Religions  :Meraorancla. — Hints 
for  Sermons. — Private  Thoughts. — Helps  to  Self-Examination. — Religious 
Correspondence. — Library  at  Lambeth. — Affairs  of  the  Hoard  of  Longi- 
tude.— History  of  the  Church. — Perseverance. — Investigation  of  the  Sawston 
:Mystery. — Letter  to  Jolm  Pearson,  Esi^.,  on  the  Death  of  his  Daughter. — 
Kindness  of  Heart. — Visit  to  London. 

A.D.  1804.     .ETAT.  54. 

In  the  month  of  January  Dr.  Mibier  was  necessarily  much 
occupied  l)y  the  duties  which  devolved  ujijon  him  as  President 
of  Queen's  College,  and  as  Professor  of  Mathematics.  He 
always,  however,  found  time  for  the  service  of  his  friends ;  and, 
in  particular,  never  neglected  applications  for  advice. 

On  the  3rd  of  January,  1804,  he  thus  wrote  to  a  gentleman 
who  had  consulted  him  respecting  a  suitable  tutor  for  his  son, 
a  youth  of  excellent  abilities  and  acquirements : — "  *  *  * 
If  even  you  could  find  a  person  ever  so  well  qualified  as  to 
learning,  yet  if  he  were  deficient  in  the  religious  part  of  his 
character,  I  should  think  it  most  hazardous  to  trust  to  him  a 
youth  of  your  son's  years ;  and  that  you  M'ould  very  dearly 
purchase  the  little  good  that  can  1)e  expected — dearly — very 
dearly — at  the  hazard  of  a  deterioration  of  his  religious  princi- 
ples, in  consequence  of  irreligious  association." 

The  following  letter  contains,  beside  the  tender  cxpressioji 
of  the  writer's  affectionate  feelings  on  the  occasion  which  called 
it  forth,  much  that  will  be  deeply  interesting  to  religious 
readers  in  general,  and  to  the  surviving  religious  friends  of 
Dean  Milncr  in  particular. 

"To    AViLMAM    Wirj'.ERFORCE,    EsQ. 

"My  ni:AR  Fiiikno,  " Qncct/'s  Cof/a/c,  /'Jj/ip/tantj,  180-1. 

"I  cannot  help  giving  you  a  line  upon  having  received 
vours  tills  morninc:. 


CIIAr.  XVI.    A.D.  1804.    iETAT.  54.  295 

"Alas!  alas!  this  poor  dear  little  one!  that  looks  so  like 
your  deceased  mother!  May  I  really  hope  that  the  worst  is 
over?  It  is  the  most  affecting  thing  in  the  world  to  see  a 
child  one  loves,  ill ;  and  I  find  it  impossil)le  not  to  love  these 
little  ones  if  I  live  with  them  and  see  their  pretty  ways  of 
going  on. 

"Yet  what  a  deal  of  art,  and  sometimes  not  of  amiable  art, 
do  they  show !  But  then  they  overpower  one  absolutely  by 
their  thousand  little  affectionate  tricks  and  looks.  Depend 
upon  it  there  is  a  superintending  Providence  that  peculiarly 
guards  them. 

"Edwards*  is  indeed  a  deep  hand.  There  is  a  world  of 
thinking,  sometimes,  in  a  few  pages.  I  studied  his  book  long 
ago,  with  very  great  care,  and  wrote  a  few  notes  on  some  passages 
where  I  tliought  him  not  so  clear  as  usual,  or,  perhaps,  where  I 
do  not  quite  agree  with  himf,  which,  in  general,  I  do  very 
much. 

"  To  live  the  life  of  faith  is  the  thing  after  all :  and  a  hard 
matter  it  is. 

"  jNIy  poor  heart  is  fuller  than  anybody  knows  on  earth.  I 
am  sadly  dissatisfied,  and  sadly  hampered;  I  know  not  where 
to  turn,  or  what  to  say;  but  it  is  not  from  M'ant,  but  from 
abundance  of  matter. 

"  I  have  been  trying  plans  that  are,  in  some  respects,  new 
to  me.  I  mean  practical  plans.  What  will  be  the  result 
I  know  not.  I  am  not  without  hope,  but  this  is  all  I 
can  say. 

*'  One  thing  I  can  add.  I  have  the  fullest  conviction  of 
tlie  Way;  I  see  it  as  if  marked  with  a  sun-beam,  blessed  be 
God! 

"  Moreover  1  find,  that  whenever  I  can  act,  for  even  a  short 
time,  in  any  measure,  up  to  the  principles  which  I  know  to  be 
right,  I  succeed  so  far. 

"  There  is,  indeed,  a  secret  in  religion,  and  this  secret  is 
'  with  theui  that  fear  11  im.' 


*  The  llov.  Jonathan  Edwards, 
t  Sec  Cliai)tcr  XI. 


206  CIIAr.  XM.     A.D.  ir,04.     JETAT.  54. 

'*  Every  doubt  a]}out  knotty  points  vanishes  in  proportion 
as  I  liave  a  disposition  to  be  active,  and  as  I  support  a  real, 
practical  life  of  faith. 

"  I  jireachcd  on  Christmas-day  in  our  chapel,  and  got  a  good 
deal  of  cold.  "  Yours  affectionately, 

"  Isaac  Milner." 

Professor  Carlylc,  more  than  once  incidentally  mentioned  in 
ihe  foregoing  pages,  as  an  old  and  much  esteemed  friend  of 
Dean  Milncr,  died,  after  a  long  illness,  during  the  spring  of  this 
year.  The  following  letter  addressed  to  his  surviving  sister, 
since  deceased,  bears  upon  it  the  imj^ress  of  the  exquisitely 
aficctionate  disposition  -which  characterized  the  writer. 

"  Queen's  College  Lodge, 
"Dear  Miss  D.  Carlyle,  May  21,  1801. 

"  I  was  going  to  write  to  you  at  large,  though  I  know  not 
whether  I  should  have  had  heart  to  get  tlirough,  when  a  corres- 
pondence took  place  betMcen  your  friends  at  Newcastle  and 
myself. 

"  You  will,  no  doubt^  have  heard  of  that  correspondence, 
and  may  consider  everything  which  I  said  to  them  as  said  to 
yourself. 

"  People  talk  of  time  wearing  off  the  effect  of  these  blows, 
but  I  have  never  found  much  of  that. 

"  At  any  moment  I  can  weep  as  sincerely  and  as  freely  as 
ever,  for  the  loss  of  my  true  friends;  and  I  have  long  declared, 
that  the  world  would  never  more  look  like  itself  to  me.  Happy 
will  it  be  for  us  if  our  hearts  are  but  made  to  submit  to  God's 
dispensations,  and  to  see  real  kindness  in  them,  by  having, 
through  their  means,  our  aflections  weaned  from  the  world,  and 
set  on  things  above.     This  is  the  lesson  that  will  do  us  good. 

"  This  is  a  melancholy  sort  of  strain,  I  OAvn,  to  use  to  a 
person  in  affliction,  nevertheless,  it  is  the  only  view  of  the  thing 
wliich  affords  any  relief  to  my  own  mind,  as  I  trust  it  may  to 
yours,  because  I  i){)iiit  to  the  true  medicine  for  tliis  and  every 
other  evil. 

''To  be  sure  I  frequently  rcllcct  on  the  afllicting  history  of 
my  few  years'  connexion  with  Carlisle. 


CHAr.  XYI.     A.D.  in04.    yT:TAT.  54.  297 

"  Your  dear  1)rotlicr  made  the  observation  himself,  and  alas! 
how  much  more  reason  is  there  now  to  make  it,  than  there  was 
at  the  time  when  he  said  to  me,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  ^  What 
ravages  have  a  few  years  made  in  the  little  circle  that  met  at 
the  Deanery,  rejoicing  with  one  another,  only  so  lately  as  the 
year  1793  or  1791.' 

"  I  perfectly  well  remember  the  meetings  which  he  then 
alluded  to.  Himself  and  his  wife  and  mother,  his  two  sisters, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  L.,  and  Mrs.  B.,  and  dearest  George*;  Ellen 

was  not  then  born:   add  myself,  his  old  friend ,  and  my 

Ijrother,  a  new  friend  whom  he  took  to  very  warndy.  Old 
Mr.  Parish  and  Dr.  Paley,  though  not  exactly  of  the  same  class, 
were  yet  fine  additions  to  the  parties. 

"  What  a  change!  So  it  Avas  to  be!  It  was  hardly  possible 
for  the  heart  of  man  to  devise  a  situation  that  to  myself  should 
promise  more  comfort,  of  every  sort,  than  my  appointment  to 
this  deanery.  I  thank  God  it  has  had  its  uses,  I  trust;  but  by 
no  means  so  much  in  the  way  that  I  had  reckoned  upon,  as  is 
agreeable  to  flesh  and  blood. 

"  Were  I  to  give  way  fully  to  my  feelings,  I  should  not  leave 
a  tear  in  my  constitution. 

"You  may  think  it  odd  enough,  but  lam  really  so  little 
master  of  myself,  that  everyday,  without  exception,  many  times 
in  a  day,  and  very  often  in  the  night  when  I  cannot  sleep,  that 
picture,  that  A'ery  great  likeness  of  my  friend,  which  hangs  in 
your  sitting-room,  comes  into  my  mind,  and  crowds  upon  me 
so  fresh,  and  with  so  much  force,  as  sometimes  to  gratify  me 
exceedingly,  and  at  other  times  to  produce  the  most  grievous 
affliction.  In  fact,  I  can  have  his  features  expressed  before  my 
eyes,  in  the  most  lively  manner,  at  any  time  I  please. 

"  There  is,  perhaps,  a  weakness  in  mentioning  these  things, 
but  I  would  not  talk  in  this  way  to  any  body. 

"  I  sincerely  pray  that  this  loss  coming  upon  you,  in  so 
severe  a  way  just  after  yoiir  recovery  from  a  bad  illness,  may 
not  have  hurt  your  health,  and  proved  too  much  for  your 
enfeebled  frame. 


George  C'ailylo,  only  ton  of  riofitior  Carljle.    Sec  Cliap.  X. 


2^3  CIIAP.  XVI.    A.D.  1004.     iETAT.  54, 

"  Your  sister's  spirits  and  strength  and  ability  to  go  through 
difficulties,  arc  really  surprising.  It  is  a  great  blessing  to  the 
family. 

"You  will  be  sorrj^,  dear  lady,  to  hear,  that  besides  the 
troubles  which  you  know  of,  1  have  also  private  afflictions  to 
struggle  with  of  considerable  weight. 

"  My  little  great-niece  Mary,  who,  by  degrees,  has  stolen 
more  of  my  affection  than  I  was  aware  of,  is  very  ill,  though  I 
do  not  quite  give  her  up,  and  I  know  not  whether  her  mother 
be  not  in  still  greater  danger,  and  she  is  the  nearest  relation  I 
have  in  the  world,  so  that  the  world  indeed  turns  but  a  dark 
side  to  me."  *  *  *  After  communicating  his  purpose  of 
bringing  his  niece,  with  her  family,  to  Carlisle  during  the 
ensuing  smiimer,  also  "  an  old  quiet  friend,  seventy  years  old,  of 
the  name  of  Tillotson*,  who  would  only  desire  to  smoke  his 
pipe,  and  he  no  trouble  to  any  creature,'^  the  Dean,  with  his 
habitual  considerate  kindness,  adds  a  request  that  matters 
should  be  so  arranged  as  to  render  it  feasible,  that  his  house- 
keeper might  "  have  little  Mary  with  her,"  as  she  had  been 
"  used  to  have." 

Having  been  myself  the  "  little  Mary,"  here  mentioned,  I 
may,  perhaps,  be  permitted  to  step  out  of  my  way  for  an  instant, 
to  acknowledge  the  debt  of  gratitude  M'hich  I  owe  to  this  good 
"  housekeeper,"  who  lived  with  Dr.  Milner,  till  liis  death.  She 
watched,  like  a  mother,  over  my  childhood,  and  felt  for  me,  I 
verily  believe,  something  not  very  unlike  a  mother's  love. 

The  Dean,  with  Mr.  Tillotson  and  "  little  Mary,"  arrived  at 
Carlisle,  about  the  middle  of  June ;  and,  in  pursuance  of  the 
plan  intimated  in  the  above  letter,  was,  soon  afterwards,  joined 
by  liis  niece,  her  husband,  and  her  two  younger  children. 

To  Dr.  Milner,  thus  again  surrounded  by  his  relatives,  and 
preaching  in  tlie  Cathedral,  with  unabated  zeal  and  energy,  as 
often  as  his  health,  recently  shaken  Ijy  a  severe  illness,  would 
permit,  this  summer's  residence  at  Carlisle  proved  a  period  of 
considerable  enjoyment. 

Tiic  following  private  religious  memoranda,  written  during 


•  Sec  Clciptor  VJII. 


CHAP.  XVI.    A.D.  inoi.    iETAT.  54.  299 

this  quiet  summer,  will,  doubtless,  be  highly  valued  by  serious 
readers. 

These  memoranda  consist,  partly,  of  hints  for  sermons  ;  and 
partly,  of  private  thoughts,  intended,  probably,  as  helps  to  self- 
examination. 

In  elucidation  of  the  first  class  of  these  private  notes — tlie 
hints  for  sermons — it  should  be  observed,  that  Dr.  Milner  was 
in  tlie  hal)it  of  keeping,  and  turning  over  in  his  mind,  during  a 
considerable  period,  any  subject  upon  which  he  intended  to 
write ;  and  of  putting  down,  with  reference  to  it,  sometimes 
u})on  any  scrap  of  paper  that  might  be  at  hand,  and  sometimes 
in  a  small  blank  paper  book,  such  thoughts  as,  from  time  to 
lime,  occurred  to  him. 

The  following  reflections  are  here  given  without  any  altera- 
tion, and  in  the  order  in  which  they  stand  in  Dean  Milner's 
hand-writing — not  in  a  book,  but  on  a  detached  and  tattered 
piece  of  paper.  His  abbreviations  and  his  customary  note  of 
observation  ^^  are  likewise  retained. 

"Exam,  yrselves  whether  ye  be  in  the  f*." 
"  More  reason  for  exam,  now  than  even  in  the  prim,  times. 


"Confessing  X*^  does  not  consist  in  common  morality,  but 
in  the  peculiars  of  X^y. 

"  We  are  not  X"^  unless  the  peculiars  are  kept  up  and 
adhered  to — (See  Sermon  on  Fruits,)  that  in  which  X'^y  differs 
from  other  schemes. 


"^f^   In    the   primitive   times  Gospi   doctrine,  and  Gosp 
practice,  were  distinct  from  everything  else — marked — ■ 

"  But  now,  in  a  X"  country — the  danger  is  lest,  pt  being 
baptized,  we  take  it  for  granted  all  is  right. 

"2^^.  If  we  arc  oi^i  party,  as  the  Cluirch — and  profess  right 
— then  all  is  right. 

"  3'^  Still  more,  if  we  are  of  a  purer  portion  of  the  Churcli : 
then  we  are  apt  to  ho.  satisfied  with  our  faith,  and  to  substitute 
f.  for  practice. 


*  This  is  the  text  of  one  of  Dr.  ^Milner's  printed  Scrmous. 


300  CHAr.  XYI.     A.D.  1(104.     yETAT.  54. 

"  But  this  is  ]iot  tlie  only  danger.  AVe  may  put  practice  for 
f.  Tliat  is^  a  regular  pliarisaical  life,  tliougli  iiseful,  in  the  place 
of  spiritual  relig". 

AVe  may  he  very  pharisa^  in  this  way. 


*'  Symptms  of  the  former,  that  is  of  f.  for  practice ; — 'vvhen 
we  arc  A'cry  contracted  in  our  acquaintances,  and  think  quite  "well 
of  them  if  they  think  as  •we  do  of  doctrines. 


"  Syniptm  of  the  latter,  Avhen  good  conduct  quite  satisfies 
us — and  vet  avc  arc  worldly  minded  and  court  the  great. 


1.  We   ought    to    he    spirit^   in    thoughts  lOwen, 

in  aftections  >  Page 
and  a  complacency  J    11. 


"  Owning  the  truth  is  not  enough.  There  should  be  a  power 
over  the  conscience. 


"Deception.  AY  hen  men  think  they  arc  right  because 
they  hcUcvc  the  truths;  tho'  they  forget  them  in  praclice. 

"Earthly  mindcdncss,  in  a  degree,  is  consistent  Avilli  a  good 
itatc.     O.  M. 

" Dangerous  work — it  ruins  men  to  run  the  matter 

cf  earthly-mindedness  near. 


"  Men  say  it  is  a  fine  thing  to  be  spirit^y  minded — but  they 
have  not  leisure. 

"  U>.,  if  such  arc  not  carnally  minded. 


" C^'  Thoughts;  there  must  be  some  blossoms  or  )to  fruit. 


"  A'(  Unitary  thoughts,  in  easy  circumstances,  the  best  indi- 
cation of  the  mind,  graciinis  or  not. 


"A    n.inister  may  V.q  forced  by  liis  business   to  think  on 
•j)irit'  things — that  proves  nothing. 
"  Should  be  77<'////7Y// thoughts. 


"  Consider  what  our  aOections  aim  at. 


Liltlc  (J race,  if  only  sjiirilual  when  in  a  fright. 


CHAP.  xvf.   A.D.  ir.ai.    .^tat.  5».  301 

"Even  prayers  may  excite  thoughts,  from  hahit. 

True  Signs. 
"When  the  soul  finds  a  pleasure^ 
"Prays  not  merely  as  a  duty — hut  from  delight. 

"The  thoughts  should  lead  to  watchfulness  daily— —They 
must  abound.     The  saints  abounded. 

"  Should  grieve  when  they  are  interrupted. 


"  In  general  those  who  serve  God  let  their  light  shine 
before  men,  that  they  may  see  their  good  works :  and  also  those 
who  serve  divers  lusts  and  imaginations,  usually  conduct  them- 
selves in  such  a  manner,  that  their  sins  are  open,  going  before- 
hand to  judgment;  tho'  there  may  be  many  exceptions  in  both 
sorts  of  characters ;  some  recluse  and  modest  spirits,  who 
scarcely  suffer  tlicir  religious  attainments  to  appear,  as  well  as 
some  hypocrites  who  endeavour  to  conceal  and  cover  their 
vices:  yet  even  to  these  exceptions,  the  rule  of  judging  by  the 
fruits  equally  applies  itself.  The  difference  is  only,  that  a  little 
more  care  is  called  for  in  investigating  what  the  fruits  really  are. 
The  rule  itself  is  universal  and  never  fails.  The  diliiculty  arises 
not  from  a  defect  in  the  rule — but  from  the  nature  of  the  fi-uits 
to  be  examined." 


The  following  observations,  most  of  them  bearing  tlie 
impress  of  deep  thought,  and  pregnant  with  instruction,  are 
written  in  a  minute  but  distinct  hand,  upon  a  very  small  piece 
of  paper,  doubled  so  as  to  form  four  pages,  and  apparently 
intended  to  fit  into  a  pocket-book,  or  perhaps,  a  small 
Testament/' 

They  are  printed  precisely  as  they  were  written  by  Dean 
Milner. 

"  Math.  in.  17.     Blessed— Simon  B. 

"Some  EUas — Jerem.  Blessed  Peter!  flesh  and  b.  not 
revealed:  but  God. 

"Scribes,  Phar.,  Rulers,  were  misled:  f.  and  b.  could  not 
reveal  it. 

"f.  an  I  1).  d  )es  reveal  a  ceal-arts:  sciences:  spi^  of 
wisdom:  but  nt  t  saving  Spi^  Liglit. 


302  CHAP.  XVI.     A.D.  IftOl.     yETAT.  54. 

"There  is  Spi^  Light  by  God. 

^'  Spi^  L*  is  not  ordinary  conviction — It  is  not  an  action  on 
the  Imag" — not  an  Impress" — not  new  truths — not  affecting 
views — not  stories  about  lieaven,  Sec. 

'•  Divine  L*  is  a  convict"  of  the  excell.  of  God's  truth :  The 
Sp*  of  G.  unites  himself — does  not  act  occasionally.  A  X" 
does  not  merely  believe^  that  X*  and  his  doct"'^  are  glorious — 
but  feels  it — sees  it — has  a  sense  of  its  beauty — Honey—- 
Beauty,  &c.     The  Differ^^c.     Devils  l)etieve,  &c. 

"  This  sense  of  the  excellence^  convinces  of  the  reality. 

"  Prejudices 


,,  _,       .  ,         ,   are  removed. 
"  Jbjnmitics 

"  The  Phar.  saiv,  Imt  the  Disciples  believed. 

"  In  giving  it,  God  uses  the  Word,  and  our  faculties' — still 
it  is  his  Gift.  Men  are  active  in  receiv?  it — God  deals  with 
man  accord?  to  his  nature — as  a  rational  creature,  8iC.  Thus 
the  eyes  are  not  the  cause  of  light — but  the  Sun:  but  the  eyes 
when  there  is  sun,  can  discover  objects. 

"The  Gospel  is  the  means.  But  no  means  necessarily 
operate  the  effect — The  Word  does  not  produce  the  effect. 

«  Truth  of  it. 

"The  Scrip,  full  of  it.     S^.  John.     ' know  God.' 

"  God  makes  the  L*  to  shine.  Open  mine  eyes  that  I  may 
see — David  not  blind.     X^  manifested  himself. 

"  Rational — to  suppose  an  Excellence  in  Divine  things — 
This  will  stop  every  mouth  at  the  last  day. 

"  It  may  be  seen — but  not  by  wicked  men.  Given  l)y  God 
— Rational. 

"This  Light  proves  the  truth  of  rclig"  to  the  unlearned; 
and  is  superior  to  any  other  way. 

"  Use.  Have  we  got  this  Light  of  the  Gos. :  Has  it  shincd 
into  our  hearts :  Have  we  had  a  sight  of  X*  ?  A  Glimpse  of 
Him  ennobles  the  soul:  gives  immense  pleasure — supports 
under  afflict"^  It  changes — it  converts — it  makes  us  see  the 
Glory  of  God  as  in  a  glass.  It  makes  us  give  up  ourselves  to 
X* — and  it  jiroduccs  univcrs'  hoHncss. 

"1.  Always  in  Prayer  remember  condit"  by  nature — poor 
and  Ijlind. 


CHAP.  XVI.     A.D.  1R04.     yETAT.  54.  30] 

"The  Characfof  Aim.  G. 

"  PIoM'  humble  wc  should  be —  , 

"  How  grateful  that  there  is  Light. 

"  2.  Teach  us  to  see  the  wond^  things  of  thy  Law — 

"  May  we  not  rest  M-ithout  this  Light — 

"  May  we  seek  for  the  Sp* — and  for  Union  with  liim — and 
not  Quench  him. 

"  May  we  relish  the  things  of  G. 

"3.  Let  us  not  be  content  with  superfic^  views  of  X*. 

"  We  are  persua'^  he  came  from  G.  but  is  his  Spi*  in  us  ? — 
Are  we  His  r" 


Of  the  foregoing  spiritual  meditations  there  is  one  whicli 
can  scarcely  fail  to  remind  the  reader  of  a  passage  in  Joseph 
Milner's  letter,  on  the  subject  of  Christian  Resignation*. 
"When  once,"  says  the  dying  Christian  to  his  almost  heart- 
broken brother,  "  you  can  stedfastly  rely  on  the  Divine  pro- 
mises through  Christ,  so  sure  as  '  faith  worketh  Ijy  love,'  you 
will  find  yourself  enabled  to  love  God.''  *  *  *  "A  union 
and  fellowship  with  Christ  will  take  place;  and  it  is  the  sweetest 
and  the  pleasantest  sensation  which  the  human  mind  can 
know."  Surely  the  surviving  brother,  however  conversant 
with  conflict  and  temjotation,  had  experienced  this  "sensation," 
when  he  wrote  "  A  glimpse  of  Him  ennobles  the  soul,"  and 
"  gives  immense  pleasure !" 


The  private  thoughts  which  remain  to  be  here  inserted, 
appear,  for  the  most  part,  to  have  been  designed  as  aids  to  self- 
examination.  Of  this,  with  regard  to  many  of  them,  there  is 
sufiicient  internal  evidence.  It  should  also  be  observed  that 
the  paper  upon  which  they  are  written  is  headed 

"  Ex Fruits 

"People  fancy  themselves  good,  by  living  in  good  habits, 
and  with  good  people." 


"  Practical  utility  of  a  conviction  of  fioo  classes  and  no  more. 
It  leads  to  self-examination. 


*  See  Chapter  IX. 


304  CHAP.  XVI.     A.D.  inoi.     /ETAT.  54. 

"  It  leads  to  Prayer  for  help — but 

"IC^  Flesh  and  Spirit  do  not  mix. 
"Errors  about  Co-operat". 


"It  does  not  follow,. that  men  may  instantly  know  to  which 
of  tlie  two  classes  they  belong :  nor  is  it  necessary  : 

'•  But  it  is  essential,  that  they  should  believe  in  only  two 
classes. 

'•  The  practical  difference  is  immense. 


"^^^  There  is  danger  even  in  truly  religious  persons,  of 
thinking  they  have  a  stock  of  grace,  &c.,  &c. 

"Besides  it  may  gratify  the  flesh  at  a  certain  time  of  life  to 
support  relig'\  and  may  flatter  pride  as  much  as  other  things." 


The  concluding  remarks  seem  rather  to  have  been  written 
with  a  view  to  an  intended  sermon :  probably,  to  a  sermon  on 
"Being  ashamed  of  Christ,"  since  i^ublished  in  the  second 
volume  of  Dean  Milner's  Posthumous  Sermons. 

"  It  is  a  great  proof  of  God's  goodness,  that  he  does  not 
merely  state  the  consequences  of  Religion — but  makes  use  of 
our  passions  to  persuade,  &c., — hope — fear — conte)nj)t" 

"  Of  him  will  the  Son  of  Man  be  ashamed." 


"Both  X*^  and  good  men  will  despise  the  wicked  for  the 
choice  they  have  made;  preferring  such  shameful,  worthless 
things,  to  the  enjoyment  of  God,  and  holiness. 


"X^^  judgment  is  infallible — his  dignity  and  authority  not 
to  be  questioned. 


"  How  little  we  can  bear  contempt ! 

"|C^  ^Suffer  with  fortitude' — *  many  are  in  the  same  con- 
dition' — and  such  like — 

"Nothing  of  this  kind  will  be  heard;  but  all  will  be  em- 
bittered by  contempt. 

"What  will  become  of  those  who  have  been  used  to  adula- 
tion? the  poor,  ignorant  discij)le  of  X^  owned — and  by  one  who 
cannot  mistake ! ! 


CHAP.  XVI.     A.D.  1»04.     /ETAT.  54.  303 

"I  don't  here  introduce  real  positive  sufferings  of  the 
wicked — as  by  Fire. 

"This  of  contempt^  will  be  felt  by  all,  and  be,  to  all 
intelligible. 


"State  this  punishment   First — then  the   second  head   is, 
"What  it  is  to  be  ashamed  of  X^ 


"  I  have  guarded  the  modest,  and  excited  to  self-exam,  the 
Pharis'  and  the  careless. 


"Ridiculous  to  talk  of  Antino"^  when  matters  are  stated 
thus." 


While  Dr.  Milner  thus  passed  this  summer  at  Carlisle,  his 
excellent  friends  the  Rev.  Dr.  Jowett  and  the  Rev.  Charles 
Simeon  were  occupied,  at  Cambridge,  in  superintending  the 
re-printing  of  the  second  volume  of  tlie  Ecclesiastical  History. 
Dr.  Jowett  undertook  the  labour  of  reading  this  volume  with  a 
view  to  the  making  of  any  needful  alterations — of  course  con- 
sulting the  Dean  when  such  alterations  were  otherwise  than 
merely  verbal — and  to  Mr.  Simeon  was  committed  the  correc- 
tion of  the  proof  sheets.  With  both  these  friends  Dean  Milner 
kept  up  an  epistolary  correspondence.  The  letters  of  Dr. 
Jowett  are  remarkable  for  their  simple  piety. 

"  You  have  frequent  intimations,"  wrote  Dr.  Jowett  to  the 
Dean,  during  this  summer,  "  of  the  uncertainty  of  life,  in  your 
own  person.  I  have  many  in  the  persons  of  others,  though  my 
own  health,  moderate  as  it  is,  suffers  few  interruptions.  May 
we  both  be  prepared  for  our  Lord's  coming  ! 

"  Yours  affectionately, 
«  July  22nd,  1 804."  "  J.  Jo wett. 

After  his  return  to  Cambridge,  in  the  month  of  September, 
the  Dean  of  Carlisle  wrote  to  Mr.  Wilberforce,  at  that  time  at 
Lyme,  in  Dorsetshire,  the  following  deeply  interesting  letter : — 


X 


30G  CHAP.  XVI.     A.I).  1804.     yETAT.  51. 

"To  William  Wilberforce,  Esq. 

"  Queen's  College, 
"  My  very  dear  Friend,  24.th  Sej)iember,  1804. 

"  Here  I  am  again,  after  receiving  many  mercies,  and  pretty 
much  in  my  usual  plight — troubled  a  good  deal. 

"  You  are  in  a  sweet  place.  I  am  sorry  you  find  yourself 
always  so  much  in  a  hurry,  and  always  so  oppressed  witli 
business. 

"  Without  great  care,  I  find  myself  getting  into  that  "way,  so 
as  to  be  always  in  a  bustle;  and,  with  me,  when  this  is  given  way 
to,  nothing  serious  can  thrive.  I  believe  you  have  more  com- 
mand of  yourself;  but  take  care,  and  do  not  encroach  on  the 
time  which  ought  to  be  allotted  to  quiet  meditation.  Of  how 
very  little  moment  will  the  world  and  all  its  concerns  appear  to 
be,  by  and  by,  and  how  bitterly  shall  we  lament  that  we  did  not 
squeeze  out  more  time  for  religious  improvement ! 

"  Take  notice,  there  is  such  a  thing  as  giving  way  repeatedly, 
and  for  a  long  time,  to  a  bad  habit,  till  we  become,  in  a  measure, 
satisfied  that  resistance  and  amendment  are  impossible.  If  we 
don't  mind,  we  are  apt  to  mistake  the  struggles  of  conscience, 
and  the  pain  which  it  costs  us  to  stifle  a  sense  of  duty,  for  a 
laudable  striving  to  acquit  ourselves  well  in  the  race  we  have  to 
run.  But  God  is  not  mocked !  He  Avatches  wliether  some 
sort  of  secret  selfishness  is  not  the  motive  at  the  bottom. 

"  Thus  it  is  easy  to  talk,  and  even  in  the  pulpit.  This 
summer,  in  spite  of  infirmities,  and  a  fortnight's  illness,  I  have 
been  enabled  to  preach  ten  times,  in  great  churches,  in  Carlisle 
and  its  neighbourhood ;  and,  I  may  add,  Avith  very  great  appa- 
rent success.  I  mention  my  being  enabled  to  get  through 
these  things,  though  with  great  bodily  inconvenience,  as  some- 
thing surprising  and  even  j)aradoxical,  wlicn  tlie  state  of  my 
mind  is  considered.  I  know  not  liow  it  is — in  one  word,  I 
have  no  confidence  towards  God,  and,  of  late,  haVe  been  very 
much  beset  with  lamentable  temptations.  God  knows,  I  have, 
for  a  long  time,  taken  considerable  jjuins  in  self-examination,  to 
find  (jut  where  it  is  that  I  particularly  offend  ;  as  I  feel  assured, 
this  must  be  the  case,  or  1  should  not  experience  what  I  do:  or 


CHAP.  XYI.     A.D.  1«()4.     ;ETAT.  54.]  307 

is  it,  tliat  I  have  been  so  long  and  grievous  an  offender  against 
light  and  knowledge,  that  it  is  not  fit  for  such  a  rebel  to  he 
treated  like  a  good  subject  ? 

"  I  remember  telling  my  poor  brother,  once,  when  I  was  in 
considerable  affliction  of  mind,  '  that,  notwithstanding  my 
many  sins  and  obdurate  state,  still  I  was  well  convinced  that 
there  did  not  exist  any  one  earthly,  improper,  object  that  I  M'as 
secretly  and  knowingly  wishing  for,  which  might  be  displeasing 
to  a  gracious  God,  and  prevent  his  smiles  ;'  and  most  truly, 
after  years  of  examination,  I  can  honestly  say  the  same.  But 
still,  I  fear,  the  case  is  bad;  and  I  suspect  it  to  be  in  this  way; 
1  do  not  give  myself  up  wholly  to  God — with  every  power  and 
every  nerve,  thought,  word,  and  deed — to  be  his  servant  here 
and  hereafter,  to  eternity,  having  no  pleasure  but  in  doing  his 
will.  Say  nothing  of  this*.  I  could  not  help  pouring  out  my 
spirit  a  little  to  you.  You  know  not  what  I  suffer.  My  private 
prayers  are  most  unaccountably  flat  and  unfeeling,  even  on  the 
very  days  that  I  exhort  others  with  vehemence  and  with  tears. 
Still,  still,  I  cannot  be  persuaded  that  I  am  to  be  given  up, 
while  I  have  so  much  steady  love  to  Christ. 

"What  an  awful  text  I  preached  on  the  other  da)-,  ^Know 
ye  not  that  Christ  is  in  you,  except  ye  be  reprobates  V 

"  If  I  live,  I  think  I  shall  contrive  to  be  more  at  Carlisle 
than  I  have  been  hitherto. 

"N.B.  The  resurrection  of  the  dead  bodies  will  not  be  half 
so  surprising  as  the  resurrection  of  characters. 

"  Yours,  affectionately, 

«  I.  MiLNER." 

The  Rev.  John  Newton,  I  think  it  is,  who  somewhere 
says,  "  I  cannot  doubt  of  the  safe  state  of  a  man,  who,  supposing 
our  Lord's  question  to  Peter,  ^  Lovest  thou  me?'  to  be 
addressed  to  him,  can  honestly  answer,  '  Yes.' " ' 

On  a  similar  ground,  the  above  letter,  although  exceedingly 
affecting,  cannot,  surely,  be  otherwise  than  satisfactory,  to  the 
survivinsf  relisiious  friends  of  Dean  Milner. 


"  This  letter  is  already  published  in  the  ■NVilbcrfyrce  Correspondence. 

X  2 


308  CHAP.  XVI.     A.D.  1804.    .ETAT.  54. 

Mr.  Wilberforce  being  still  at  Lyme,  Dr.  Milner,  towards 
the  end  of  November,  was  kindly  requested  by  John  Pearson, 
Esq.,  to  take  up  his  abode  in  Golden  Square,  during  the 
approaching  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Longitude. 

This  friendly  invitation,  he,  with  a  promise  of  spending  ^'  as 
much  time"  as  he  "  possil^ly"  could,  with  Mr.  Pearson,  "  parti- 
cularly in  the  evenings,"  declined ;  alleging,  that  considering 
his  infirmities,  he  was  disposed  to  believe,  that  upon  the  whole, 
it  would  be  most  convenient,  that  he  should  fix  his  "  head- 
quarters in  tlie  old  place." 

Dean  Milner's  assiduity  in  searching  for  such  books  as  lie 
needed  for  the  prosecution  of  the  Ecclesiastical  History,  has 
been  already  mentioned. 

During  this  visit  to  town,  he  seems  to  have  applied  to  Mr. 
Pearson,  to  assist  him  in  procuring  certain  scarce  volumes 
which  he  particularly  wished  to  consult.  Mr.  Pearson,  after 
much  research,  ascertained  that  the  books  in  question,  which, 
as  well  as  I  remember,  were  two  scarce  volumes  of  Luther's 
Letters,  were  to  be  found  in  the  Library  at  Lambeth.  They 
were,  subsequently,  sent  to  Cambridge,  with  a  kind  offer  from  the 
Archbishop,  of  any  assistance  of  a  similar  kind,  which  it  might, 
in  future,  be  in  his  power  to  render. 

The  History,  however,  was  now,  for  a  while,  of  necessity, 
laid  aside ;  the  approaching  January  bringing  with  it  the  usual 
college  and  university  business. 

A  further  interruption  was  occasioned  by  a  new  attempt  to 
alter  the  constitution  of  the  Board  of  Longitude''-.  Concerning 
this  affair  it  is  sufficient  to  say,  that  Dr.  Milner  exerted  himself 
with  the  energy  and  effect  which  he  had  formerly  displayed  on 
a  similar  occasion.  Son:ie  memoranda  which  remain,  shew  that 
he  turned  his  mind  seriously  to  the  subject,  and  took  consider- 
aljle  pains  to  arrange  his  thoughts  concerning  it,  in  the  most 
cfl'cctive  manner. 

Still,  whatever  miglit  lie  the  obstacles  which  interrupted  his 
progress.  Dean  Milner  always  considered  the  Histonj  of  the 
Church  of  Christ  as  the  great  w<jrk  whicli  lie  had  on  hand  j  and 

*  Soc  C'haptcT  HI. 


CHAr.  XVL     A.D.  1804.     iETAT.  51.  309 

lie  possessed  a  faculty,  far  from  universal,  of  returning,  ^ith 
unabated  spirit,  to  liis  work,  after  every  interruption,  long  or 
short.  His  spirit  was,  doubtless,  refreshed  and  invigorated  by 
tlic  expression  of  good-will  and  affection  from  various  Christian 
friends,  who,  from  time  to  time,  communicated  to  him  their 
hopes  and  desires  that  his  "  life  might  be  prolonged  to  carry 
forward  the  great  work  which  he  had  in  hand ;"  but,  indepen- 
dently of  all  such  motives  to  exertion,  he  possessed  a  power 
and  a  habit  of  perseverance,  invaluable  in  themselves,  and, 
perhaps,  rarely  equalled. 

Indications  of  this  habit  appear  continually  in  his  confiden- 
tial letters  to  his  friends. 

To  the  Rev.  William  Mandell*,  whose  election  to  a 
Fellowship  at  Queen's  College,  he  had  by  letter  announced  to 
him,  on  the  Gth  of  April,  in  this  year,  adding  his  earnest  wishes 
"  that  the  event"  might  "  tend  to  increase  his  happiness  and 
usefulness,"  he  thus  writes  towards  the  end  of  his  summer's 
residence  at  Carlisle. 

"  My  dear  Sir,  "Deanery,  September  16,  1805. 

"  Many  thanks  for  your  kind  inquiries  and  kind  expressions 
about  my  health.  I  am  as  well  as  usual.  All  my  vacant  hours 
shall  be  employed  on  the  Ecclesiastical  History,  which  is, 
certainly,  a  valuable  work.  But  I  have  too  many  concerns  to 
attend  to  it  here.     At  Queen's,  I  hope  to  set  sail  again. 

"  May  Almighty  God  continue  to  joreserve  you  in  warmth 
and  zeal,  for  the  best  things ;  labouring  in  these,  will  be  found 
the  truest  wisdom. 

*' Adieu,  dear  Sir,  and  believe  me, 

"  Yours,  most  truly  and  sincerely,  and  affectionately, 

'^  Isaac  Milner. 
"  To  the  Bev.  IViUiam  MandeU." 

It  may  be  allowable,  here,  to  mention  some  circumstances 
which,  about  this  time,  excited  great  interest  at  Cambridge. 


*  To  tlic  kiiidiicES  of  this  gcutkiiiaii,  one  of  Dr.  Milnci 's  most  intimate  and 
most  esteemed  fiicucls,  I  am  indebted  for  many  valualilc  additions  to  this 
volume. 


310  CHAP.'XVI.     A.D.  1803.     ;ETAT.  55. 

It  was  during  the  early  part  of  the  autumn  of  this  year,  that  the 
haunted  house,  or  rather  tlie  house  reputed  to  be  bewitched,  at 
Sawstoii,  a  village  near  Cambridge,  allured  from  the  University 
crowds  of  wondering  and  awe-struck  visitors.  According  to 
popular  rumour,  no  person  could  enter,  or,  more  correctly 
speaking,  could  leave  this  cottage, — for  it  was  but  a  cottage — 
without  finding  his  garments,  however  strong  in  texture,  or 
however  vigilant  the  wearer,  torn  or  cut  into  shreds  and 
tatters. 

Much  excitement  prevailed  :  for  not  only  weak  women,  but 
grave  and  learned  doctors  repaired  to  the  scene  of  witchcraft ; 
and  though  they  Avent  sceptics,  returned  believing  sufferers. 

Such  matters  Dr.  Milner  delighted  to  investigate ;  he 
collected  evidence  upon  the  subject,  and  visited  in  person  the 
enchanted  cottage.  The  following  extract  from  a  letter  gives  a 
detail  of  some  of  his  proceedings  respecting  the  affair  in 
question. 

"  I  just  recollect,  that  I  have  but  room  for  a  word  respecting 
the  Sawston  wonder. 

"  A  very  respectable  tanner  called  on  me,  with  a  gown  in 
his  pocket,  all  in  tatters.  His  wife  had  put  on  five  gowns  in 
three  days,  and  they  all  fell  to  pieces  on  her  back,  rent  into  a 
hundred  strips.  The  same  thing  happened  to  the  maid-servant's 
gowns,  and  to  the  gowns  of  the  woman's  niece,  and  to  the  man's 
great  coat ;  and  to  the  gowns  of  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
village  where  he  lives ;  also  to  the  clothes  of  several  who  went 
from  Cambridge.  The  man  fully  believes,  that  a  witch,  who 
lives  about  a  mile  from  them,  does  it  all.  I  told  him  not  to 
sleep  in  his  chair  in  the  day-time ;  and,  at  night,  to  place  the 
coat  he  had  taken  off,  which  was  a  sound  and  very  good  one, 
under  liis  pillow ;  and  to  come  to  me,  the  next  day,  if  it  should 
happen,  after  all,  to  l)c  torn. 

"  Next  day  lie  appeared  with  his  coat  rent.  He  said  it  had 
happened  before  bed-time,  and  before  dark;  and  that  nobody 
had  come  near  him.  He  was  now  ten  times  more  confirmed 
ill  Ills  1)elicf  of  witches.  'Is  it  possible,'  said  lie,  'that  any 
one  should  come  and  tear  my  coat  while  I  am  awake,  and  I  not 
feel  nor  see  tliem  ?' 


CHAP.  XVI.    A.D.  1805.    vETAT.  55.  3U 

"  Upon  his  saying  this,  I  continued  talking  to  him,  and 
while  looking  him  in  the  face,  tore  his  coat  smartly ;  and 
neither  he,  nor  his  friend  Avho  was  close  by  me,  saw  what  I  had 
done. 

"  I  then  showed  him  the  rent ;  and  he  M'as  much  surprised 
and  pleased,  being  convinced  that  the  thing  might  be  done. 

"Afterwards  Mr.  T.  and  myself,  and  little  Mary,  went  to 
tlie  house,  and  I  talked  to  them  ;  but  nothing  happened  while 
I  was  there :  nor  has  anything  happened  since. 

''  I  assure  you  it  was  high  time  to  quiet  the  country  all 
around.  Such  a  tumult  and  report  has  not  happened  since  the 
Cock- lane  Ghost  of  1760. 

"The  thing  was  done  by  hands,  and  in  some  places  by 
scissars.  I  have  no  doubt  the  man's  wife  did  it.  She  is  a 
Aveak,  silly  woman,  who  believes  that  she  herself  was  bewitched, 
when  a  child,  and  was  made  to  tear  her  clothes. 

"She  will  not  own  it;  and  I  did  not  like  to  make  mischief 
between  the  man  and  his  wife,  or  else  I  doubt  not  but  I  could 
soon  have  frightened  her  into  an  honest  confession. 

"  Still,  I  own,  she  must  have  been  most  excessively  dex- 
terous in  some  of  the  instances  which  are  mentioned. 

"  I  examined  several  of  the  sufferers  ;  but  there  is  reason 
to  believe  that  some  persons  tore  their  friends'  clothes  in  joke, 
and  so  helped  the  humbug. 

"  The  gowns  were  not  corroded  by  any  acids  or  fumes. 
"  Yours  most  truly, 

"  I.   MiLNER." 

I  well  remember  the  visit  to  the  bewitched  cottage,  recorded 
in  the  above  letter ;  I  remember  also  the  wild  and  half  crazy 
look  of  the  woman  who  doubtless  was  the  perpetrator  of  all  the 
mischief;  but  above  all,  I  have  a  vivid  recollection  of  the 
tearing  of  the  tanner's  coat.  Child  as  I  was,  I  had  the  fullest 
enjoyment  of  that  scene,  which  took  place  in  Dr.  Milner's 
study  at  Queen's  Lodge. 

He  was  seated,  as  usual,  upon  rather  a  high  chair,  behind  his 
large  desk :  a  desk  which,  by  the  bye,  was  fixed  to  his  library 
table  by  one  immense  screw  of  his  own  making,  and  could,  upon 


312  CHAP.  XVI.     A.D.  IROo.    .^TAT.  55. 

this  pivot,  be  turned  aside  at  pleasure.  Before  him  stood  the 
bewildered  "tanner"  and  "his  friend,"  a  man  at  that  time  well 
known  at  Cambridge,  and  esteemed  rather  an  acute  person, 
being  in  fact  no  other  than  the  late  John  Taylor,  then  Vice- 
Chancellor's  man.  Tlie  tanner  asseverated,  that  it  was  impos- 
sible his  coat  could  be  torn  ujion  his  back  by  human  hands, 
without  his  perceiving  it.  John  Taylor  argued  that,  alive  as 
his  attention  was,  and  bad  been  from  the  first  (for,  for  his  part, 
he  Avas  no  believer  in  v^■itcllcraft),  it  Avas  in  vain  to  attempt  to 
impose  upon  1dm.  Dr.  Milner  listened  to  them  both;  and 
while  listening,  gave  the  broad  cloth  of  the  tanner's  coat  so 
audible  a  tear,  that  nothing  but  the  extreme  eagerness  of  the 
l^re-occupied  speakers  could  have  prevented  them  from  hearing 
it,  and  detecting  the  trick.  It  passed  however,  upon  both  ; 
and  its  effect,  when  acknowledged,  was,  as  Dr.  Milner  had 
intended  and  anticijoated,  highly  satisfactory  to  the  mind  of  the 
i:)oor  frightened  tanner,  relieving  him  as  it  did,  from  his  vague 
fears  of  supernatural  agency. 

A  transition  from  the  Sawston  mystery  to  a  letter  of  con- 
dolence on  the  death  of  a  friend's  daughter,  may  appear  abrupt: 
in  real  biography,  however,  as  in  real  life,  abrupt  transitions  must 
occur  ;  and  it  was  peculiarly  true  of  Dr.  Milner,  that  his  mind, 
even  in  its  lightest  moods, was  always  open  to  serious  impressions. 

In  the  letter  in  question,  which  is  dated  "  Queen's  College 
Lodge,  October  4th,  1805,"  the  Dean  alludes  to  the  recent 
death  of  his  friend  Mr.  Pearson's  eldest  daughter,  a  young  lady 
of  decided  piety,  and  most  tenderly  1:)eloved  by  her  family*,  in 
the  following  terms  : — 

"' '  Friends  never  part  long,'  (said  good  old  Newton)  l)ut 
when  they  meet  again,  they  have  to  enumerate  one  or  more 
now  dead,  that  were  among  the  living.' 

"  One  may  very  sincerely  congratulate  yourself  and  Mrs. 
Pearson,  on  such  a  change  as  lately  took  place  in  your  family; 
because,  though  it  is  iiii])()ssible  that  llcsh  and  blood  should  not 
feel,  yet  there  appears  fo  have  l)cen  everything  in  the  instance  I 


For  a  ^Itinoir  of  tliis  lady,  .sec  Chrhtian  Observer,  vol.  iv.,  p.  514. 


CHAP.  XYI.    A.D.  1805.    ^ETAT.  55.  313 

allude  to,  Avliich  could  mitigate  the  melancholy  awfulness  of 
such  an  event,  and  convert  it  into  a  kind  and  merciful  dispen- 
sation. 

"  May  you  and  I  so  finish  our  course  ! 

"With  kind  respects  to  Mrs.  P.  and  the  younger  branches, 
"  I  am,  dear  Sir,  yours  truly, 
"  To  John.  Pearson,  Esq.,  Golden  Square."  "  I.  M. 

Such  expressions  of  friendly  condolence  were,  with  Dean 
Milner,  by  no  means  matters  of  course.  No  man  living  ever 
more  cordially  complied  with  the  apostolic  exhortation,  "  Weep 
with  them  that  weep." 

The  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Longitude  in  December  afforded 
to  Dr.  Milner  the  usual  opportunity  of  spending  a  few  days 
with  his  friend  Mr.  AVilberforce ;  and  thus  the  year  concluded. 


314 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Gradual  alteration  in  the  nature  of  the  Examinations  for  Fellowships  at  Queen's 
College. — Letter  to  the  present  Archbishop  of  York  (then  Bishop  of  Car- 
lisle) on  the  Death  of  his  Sou. — Contested  Election  for  the  University  of 
Camljridge. — Lord  Pahnerston. — Lord  Henry  Petty  (the  present  Lord 
Lansdowne). — Corresi^ondcnco  with  Mr.  "Wilbcrforce. — Dr.  Milner's  want 
of  ear  for  ]\Iusic. — Experiment  on  the  Subject  tried  by  Himself  and  his 
Brotlier. — Dr.  Milner's  knowledge  of  the  Science  of  !Music. — Recollections 
of  Ilim  by  Dr.  Crotch. — Mr.  La  Trobe. — Dr.  Jowott. — Dr.  Hague. — Mr. 
Asjjland. — Dr.  Milner's  want  of  eye  for  Perspective  Drawing.—  Manage- 
ment of  the  Affairs  of  the  University  Press. — Personal  Exertions. — Sir 
Samuel  Romilly. — Hobby-Horscs. — Short-hand. — Arbitration. — Habits  of 
Life  at  Carlisle. — Rose  Castle. — Lowthcr  Castle. — Anecdotes. — Serious 
Occupations. — Visits  to  a  Person  under  Sentence  of  Death. — Judicious 
Treatment  of  the  Sick  and  Dying. — Treatment  of  a  ]\Ian  who  had  at- 
tempted Suicide. 

A.D.  180G.      yETAT.  56. 

An  important  subject  -which  deeply  concerned  the  welfare  of  the 
College  Avhich  he  governed,  occupied  Dr.  Milner's  mind  in  the 
Ijeginning  of  the  year  1806. 

He  had  for  some  years  entertained  the  opinion,  that  the 
examination  to  Avhich  Bachelors  of  Arts  who  were  candidates 
for  Fellowships  at  Queen's  College,  were  subjected,  was  not 
conducted  on  the  best,  or  the  most  equitable  principles :  and, 
according  to  a  practice  already  mentioned  as  habitual  with  him, 
lie,  during  the  January  of  this  year,  drew  up  for  his  own  use,  a 
paper,  containing  his  deliberate  thoughts  upon  the  whole 
subject. 

Although  at  this  distance  of  time,  there  would  be  no  im- 
propriety in  making  public  this  elaborate  performance,  which 
displays  penetrating  judgment,  great  candour,  and  much 
industry,  it  may  suffice  in  this  place  to  observe,  that  Dr. 
Milner  gradually  carried  into  execution  the  views  which  arc 
laid  open  in  the  treatise  in  question ;  and  thus,  without  any 
sudden  or  dangerous  iiniovations,  so  modified  the  style  of 
examination  for  Fellowships  at  Queen's  College,  as  to  secure,  in 
each  case,  strict  justice  to  the  several  candidates,  and  a  due 
regard  to  the  general  interests  of  learning  and  science. 


cnA.P.  XVII.   A.D.  180C.  ;etat.  nc.  315 

To  the  claims  of  private  friendship  Dean  Milner  was  ever 
feehngly  alive.  The  following  pious  and  affectionate  letter, 
which  has  been  kindly  placed  at  my  disposal  by  the  present 
Archbishop  of  York,  was  written  on  occasion  of  the  recent 
death  of  one,  and  the  dangerous  illness  of  another  of  his 
Grace's  sons. 

^'  Queen's  College  Lodge, 
"My  dkar  Bishop*,  Februari/ 4,  ISOG. 

"You  seek  for  your  comfort. in  the  right  place.  You  are  a 
Christian,  and  therefore  you  know  that  'all  things  work  together 
for  good  to  them  that  love  God.'  This  single  promise,  when 
we  are  enabled  to  apply  it  to  our  case,  never  fails  to  be  rich  in 
consolation.  Lay  hold  of  it,  my  dear  Lord;  grasp  it  firmly, — it 
will  not  deceive  you. 

"  I  have  had  a  deal  of  affliction,  and  experience  has  taught 
me,  neither  to  follow  nor  to  give,  the  usual  worldly  advice; 
namely,  to  divert  the  attention  from  iiielancholy  thoughts  by 
engaging  in  business  and  company.  No!  I  say  on  the  contrary. 
Weep, — weep  freely,  my  Lord,  for  the  dear  youth :  he  deserved 
it  well ;  and  tears  will  relieve  your  tender  heart  better  than 
anything  else.  I  have  shut  my  door,  and  weep  heartily  with 
you  while  I  write  this.  The  Christian  is  no  where  forbidden  to 
shed  tears :  only  let  us  not  sorrow  as  Svithout  hope,'  and  let  us 
take  care  that  our  tears  be  those  of  submission  and  resignation, 
and  the  mind  will  soon  arrive  at  even  an  enviable  state  of 
patient  tranquillity,  with  the  eye  fixed  steadily  on  the  prospect 
of  a  glorious  immortality. 

"  I  dare  not,  however,  dwell  on  the  subject  any  longer  at 
present.  I  admit  that  your  loss,  in  being  deprived  of  this 
excellent  youth,  is  incalculable ;  and  the  dispensation  itself  is 
mysterious, — yet  not  so  mysterious  as  not  to  afl'ord  many 
lessons. 

"  You  have  been  blessed,  my  Lord,  beyond  example, — have 
been  !  you  are  yet  surrounded  with  blessings  that  are  the  lot  of 
few.     But  here  tlic  pen  drops  from  my  hand  when   I  reflect  on 


The  present  Archbishop  of  York  was  at  tliis  time  Bishop  of  Carlisle. 


316  CHAP,  XVI r.     A.D.  1806,     yETAT.  56. 

what  may  be  the  situation  of  Mr.  Vernon  still.  T  Lave  l)een, 
however,  a  good  deal  relieved  by  the  accounts  which  Sir  James 
Graham  and  others  have  sent  me  respecting  the  melioration  of 
his  situation. 

"  I  humbly  and  earnestly  entreat  the  Father  of  mercies  to 
spare  him,  (if  so  be  His  blessed  Avill)  to  his  afflicted  parents, 
relatives,  and  friends. 

"  With  the  most  sincere  sympathy  for  my  Lady  Anne's 
distressed  situation,  and  fervent  prayers  for  her  support,  I  am, 
my  dearest  Bishop, 

"  Your  very  affectionate  and  obliged  friend, 

"  Isaac  Milner." 

A  contested  election  of  a  Member  of  Parliament  for  the 
University  of  Cambridge  in  the  room  of  Mr.  Pitt,  rendered  the 
month  of  February  a  period  of  much  excitement.  An  unusual 
degree  of  interest  Avas  aroused. 

Lord  Henry  Petty, — the  present  Lord  Lansdowne, — having 
gained  the  good-will  of  many  persons  who  differed  from  him  on 
general  politics,  by  pledging  himself  in  behalf  of  the  abolition  of 
the  Slave  Trade,  the  suffrages  of  those  who  were,  in  the  main, 
agreed  in  principle,  were  divided.  Dr.  Milner's  opinions,  and 
the  reasons  upon  which  they  were  founded,  are  laid  open  in  the 
two  following  very  characteristic  letters. 

These  letters,  which  discover  great  shrewdness  and  sagacity, 
are  especially  interesting  and  entertaining,  as  containing  a 
highly  graphic  account  of  an  electioneering  visit,  paid  by  the 
late  Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs,  and  as  describing, 
without  the  smallest  disguise,  the  impression  produced  upon 
Dr.  Milner's  mind,  both  by  him  and  by  his  late  colleague, 
Lord  Lansdowne. 

"To  William  W^ilberforce,  Esq. 

"  Quee?i*s  College,  Cumbridgey  February  G,  180(5, 
"My  dear  Sir,  Thursday  morning. 

"The  election  is  fixed  for  to-morrow  in  the  forenoon;  and 
such  a  number  of  old  acquaintance  hccp  dropping  in  u})on  me, 
that  I  think  it  best  to  take  up  my  pen  and  answer  yours  of 
this  morning,  immediately  uj)on  the  receipt  of  it. 


CHAP.  XYII.     A.D.  IHOfl     yETAT.  5C.  317 

"  Independently  of  your  several  letters  to  me,  the  warmth 
with  which  we  hear  from  all  quarters  that  you  espouse  the 
cause  of  Lord  Henry  Petty,  creates  considerable  difficulties  iu 
the  minds  of  several  of  us,  who  have  been  accustomed  to  look 
up  to  you  with  entire  confidence,  both  as  an  upright  and  wise 
pilot  in  the  most  tempestuous  seasons. 

"  The  effect  of  this  present  active  warmth  of  yours  has,  to 
my  certain  knowledge,  secured  to  his  Lordship  some  voters, 
who  are  now  far  from  being  easy  on  account  of  the  promises 
they  have  given.  In  regard  to  myself,  you  have  also  effectually 
stopped  all  my  activity  in  opposition  to  Lord  H.  Petty.  I 
have  not  influenced,  much  less  brought  up  from  the  country,  a 
single  vote  against  him,  though  from  my  long  residence  and 
number  of  pupils,  public  and  private,  you  must  be  sure  I  have 
had  a  number  of  applications  to  knoAV  my  wishes  on  this 
occasion. 

"  But  why  not  vote  for  him  myself? 

"  In  one  word,  because  I  fear  he  is  likely  to  be  hostile  to 
some  of  those  great  constitutional  principles  wliich  brought 
about  the  Revolution  in  this  country,  and  which,  in  my  judg- 
ment, cannot  be  departed  from  without   endangering  the 

WHOLE  FABRIC  OF  BRITISH  LIBERTY  IN  ClIURCH  AND  StATE. 

"  I  must  say,  however,  that  Lord  H.  Petty  conversed 
with  me  very  fairly  and  candidly  on  the  subject  of  Catholic 
Emancipation ;  and  I  like  him  much  better  for  openly  avowing 
the  bias  of  his  mind  to  be  towards  acceding  to  the  Emancipa- 
tion, than  if  he  had  shufiled  and  evaded  the  question,  as  many 
canvassers  in  his  situation  would  have  done.  But  still  I  cannot 
bring  myself  to  be  aiding  and  abetting,  either  directly  or  indi- 
rectly, what  I  think  so  replete  with  danger :  and  tlierefore,  as  I 
know  you  too  M'ell  to  suppose  you  would  wish  me  to  act  in 
any  respect  contrary  to  my  deliberate  judgment,  I  liave  only 
to  lament  (as  I  do,  most  poignantly)  what,  a  few  weeks  ago,  I 
should  have  pronounced  almost  impossible,  viz.,  that  a  case 
should  happen,  in  politics,  where  you  and  I  should  differ  mate- 
rially ill  practice. 

"  But,  remember,  it  is  quite  as  repugnant  to  the  principles 
which  I  have  long  avowed,  to  vote  for  an  enemy  of  the  abolition 


31 S  CHAP.  XYIL     A.D.  180G.     ^ETAT.  5C. 

of  the  Slave  Trade,  as  it  is  that  I  should  throw  a  single  grain 
into  the  scale  of  those  who  favour  either  the  repeal  of  the  Test 
Act,  or  the  emancipation  of  the  Catholics :  and  as  Lord  Pal- 
merston  has  not  been  quite  so  explicit  on  the  head  of  the 
abolition  as  I  could  wish,  or  as  perhaps  he,  or  his  friends,  may- 
be in  the  course  of  this  day,  I  remain,  even  yet,  in  doubt,  (near 
as  the  election  is)  whether  I  can  conscientiously  vote  for  him. 
He  has,  I  understand,  spoken  decidedly  as  to  the  Test  Act  and 
the  emancipation  business ;  and  if  I  could,  to  my  satisfaction, 
make  out  that  he  will  also  be  for  the  abolition  of  the  Slave 
Trade,  I  might,  in  my  present  state  of  mind,  bring  myself  to 
give  him  my  individual  vote ;  but  even  that  will  cost  me  a  severe 
pang,  when  I  reflect,  that  in  so  doing  I  go  directly  contrary  to 
your  earnest  wishes  and  application. 

"  On  this  point,  of  voting  or  not  voting,  I,  at  this  moment, 
really  do  not  feel  competent  to  decide ;  but  be  assured,  that  no 
other  application,  nor  anything  else  on  earth,  but  the  merits  of 
the  question,  as  they  appear  to  my  judgment,  will  determine 
me,  after  I  have  got  all  the  information  I  can ;  and  moreover, 
whatever  I  do,  I  shall  take  most  particular  care  to  remain 
unpledged  for  the  general  election,  which  may  happen  very 
soon. 

"  I  do  not  think  the  real  principles  of  the  Roman  Catholics 
are  in  general,  understood  by  persons  of  rank  and  distinction ; 
and  so  I  took  the  liberty  of  saying  to  Lord  H.  Petty.  This  is 
the  first  time  that  I  was  ever  not  quite  on  your  side,  and  I 
think  you  will  forgive  me,  as 

"  I  am,  dear  Sir,  yours  most  truly, 

"  Isaac  Milner." 

The  alfection  for  his  friend,  exhibited  by  Dr.  Milncr  in  the 
above  letter,  could  not,  of  course,  influence  him  to  act  against 
his  judgment  and  conscience ;  but  it  could,  and  did,  render  the 
performance  of  his  duty  exceedingly  painful. 


CHAP.  XVIT.     A.D.  IfiOC.     /ETAT.  50.  319 

"To  William  Wilberforce,  Esq. 

"  Queen's  College,  Cambridge, 
February  7,  1806. 
"My  dear  Friend,  Friday  Eveni^iy. 

"  You  will  hate  to  see  my  letters ;  I  am  the  messenger  of 
such  a  number  of  disagreeable  things.  After  all,  I  know  not 
whether  you  will  rejoice  in  the  prevalence  of  whatever  it  is 
that  brings  in  Lord  II.  Petty.  Prevalent  it  is,  to  a  prodigious 
degree.  I  knoAv  not  indeed,  whether  the  poll  be  actually 
closed ;  but  from  appearances,  about  two  hours  ago,  J  was  told 
that'he  had  more  votes  than  the  other  two  put  together. 

"  Last  night,  when  I  had  expected  to  spend  a  comfortable 
evening  at  my  own  house,  with  La  Trobe  and  Dr.  Jowett,  and 
a  young  man  or  two,  (all  being  engaged  to  come  at  eight  o'clock, 
and  play  the  organ,  sing,  &c.,)  I  was  obliged  to  leave  them  all 
to  attend  to  visitors  and  electioneerers.     There  came  in 

"  1st.  Harrison  of  our  College,  and  two  more  whom  you 
don't  know,  all  Lord  H.  Petty's  men,  and  all  Foxites. 

"  2ndly.  Then  came  the  two  Westerns,  both  of  this  College. 
One  is  a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons,  also  a  Foxite. 

*^3rdly.  Robert  Grant  came  in,  and  was  precisely  in  my 
own  situation ;  that  is,  determined  against  Lord  H.  Petty, 
but  not  convinced  that  Lord  Palmerston  would  be  sound  as  to 
the  Slave  Trade.  But  he  had  been  talking  a  deal  with  him  and 
his  friends,  and  the  result  was,  that  he  thought  him  quite 
sincere,  and  sufficiently  decided  to  act  upon. 

"4thly.  By  and  by,  in  came  Lord  Palmerston.  We  con- 
versed a  full  hour  on  the  subject  of  the  Slave  Trade,  and,  I  can 
assure  you,  a  more  ingenuous  appearance  I  never  saw.  The 
young  man's  conscience  seemed  hard  at  work,  for  fear,  not  of 
saying  too  little,  but  of  saying  too  much ;  viz.,  of  saying  more 
than  he  could  justify  to  his  oAvn  mind,  from  the  little  considera- 
tion which  he  had  given  to  the  subject.  He  is  but  a  lad,  but 
I  could  not  discover  the  most  latent  hostility,  or  ground  for 
suspecting  hostility ;  and  he  must  be  a  deceiver  indeed,  of  a 
very  deep  cast,  if  he  deceives  at  all,  in  this  instance. 

"  In  a  word,  all  things  considered  and  weighed  over  and  over, 


320  CHAr.  XVII.    A.D.  180G.    ^TAT.  56. 

and  not  brought  to  a  crisis  till   between   nine  and   ten  this 
morning,  I  declared  for  him. 

"About  an  hour  after  this,  came  Christian,  who  said  he  had 
just  met  Lord  Clive,  who  had  told  him,  that  my  declaration  had 
already  got  Lord  Palmerston  thirty-four  votes.  That,  no  doubt, 
is  sadly  overstated ;  and  be  it  as  it  may,  we  are  all  in  a  woful 
minority.  But  as  minorities  usually  support  themselves  and 
keep  themselves  in  heart,  by  dwelling  on  their  virtuous  and 
disinterested  motives,  and  by  getting  a  little  together,  and  talk- 
ing against  the  motives  of  the  majorities,  so  do  we. 

"5thly.  I  fervently  wish  you  may  find  Lord  H.  Petty  and 
Fox,  &c.,  as  true  friends  to  the  Abolition  as  you  have  reason  to 
suppose  them.  Their  having  been  so  long  pledged,  (at  least 
Fox,)  may  do  something ;  inclination  may  also  do  something ; 
but  where  there  is  a  want  of  sound  and  substantial  principle, 
men  will  act  right  no  longer  than  they  conceive  that  it  suits 
their  interests  on  the  whole. 

"  You  will  have  Socinians  everywhere  in  the  Church  if  not 
Deists ;  and  in  the  state,  you  will  have  the  same,  with  an 
inundation  of  low,  profligate  morals.  Things  were  bad  enough 
before,  but  the  bowl  will,  I  think,  roll  faster  down  the  hill. 

"  Smith,  the  Fellow-Commoner,  is  astonished  to  find  that 
they  are  drinking  Fox  every  day  in  Trinity  College  Combina- 
tion Room,  when,  a  fortnight  ago,  they  were  drinking  Pitt. 

"  Yours  ever,  Isaac  Milner." 

Such  were  the  Dean's  prophetic  fears ;  fears  which  surely 
no  person  will  now  pronounce  to  have  been  altogether  visionary  ! 

In  his  Diary,  now  partly  published,  Mr.  Wilberforce  thus 
wrote,  in  reference  to  this  election  :  "  My  suddenly  promising 
Lord  Henry  Petty,  (which  done  too  hastily,  partly  from  not 
thinking  I  had  any  interest,  partly  from  being  found  in  a  state 
of  wishing  to  show  Lord  Henry  how  much  both  I  and  the 
cause  felt  indebted  to  him,)  has  j^roduccd  a  sad  degree  of 
rufllcmcnt.  Dear  Dean  (Milncr)  much  hurt  about  it."  *  * 
****"!  received  letters  from  Dean,  volumes ;  Simeon, 
cum  ntnUis  a/iis." 

A  few  words  should  be  said  concerning  the  passage  in  which 


CHAP.  XVir.     A.T).  180C.     iETAT.  r.O.  321 

Dr.  Milner  speaks  of  his  expectation  of  spending  ''a  comfort- 
able evening  with  Latrolje,  Dr.  Jowett,  and  a  young  man  or 
two/'  who  were  "engaged  to  come  at  eight  o'clock,  to  play 
upon  the  organ,  and  to  sing,  &c." 

It  is  well  known  that  Dean  Milner  possessed  little  or  no 
ear  for  music.  In  this  resi:)ect,  he  resembled  his  brother 
Joseph,  in  whom,  indeed,  the  same  deficiency  seems  to  have 
been  even  more  absolute.  I  have  heard  the  Dean  relate,  Mdth 
much  glee,  that  his  brother  and  himself,  being  M'ell  aware 
that  a  defect  of  musical  ear  was  imputed  to  them,  and  being 
at  the  same  time  very  sensible  that  they  certainly  never  had 
received  any  such  pleasure  from  listening  to  melody  or  har- 
mony, as  many  of  their  acquaintance  professed  to  experience, 
nevertheless  flattered  themselves,  that  the  peculiarity  might  be 
explained  by  the  fact,  that  they  really  had  never  heard  any 
truly  good  music.  While  in  this  mood  of  mind,  chance  threw 
into  their  way  an  advertisement  setting  forth,  that  TJie  Messiah, 
the  greatest  work  of  the  immortal  Handel,  &c.,  &c.,  was  about 
to  be  performed,  in  an  unusually  efficient  manner,  at  Beverley, 
a  town  about  nine  miles  from  Hull.  To  Beverley,  therefore, 
they  resolved  to  repair;  determined  to  put  the  matter  to 
the  test. 

They  arrived,  and  took  their  seats  in  the  Minster ;  the 
confused  clangour  of  tuning  was  hushed,  the  conductor,  an 
important-looking  person,  with  a  large  roll  of  paper  in  his 
hand,  gave  the  authoritative  signal,  and  the  overture  to  the 
Messiah  commenced.  "  It  was  no  place,"  continued  Dr. 
Milner,  "for  talking,  but  we  turned  round  and  looked  at  one 
another  and  shook  our  heads ;  we  were  satisfied.  This,  as  we 
were  given  to  understand,  was  first-rate  music ;  alas !  alas !  to 
us,  it  was  all  alike.     We  staid  but  a  little  while." 

This  matter,  however,  deserves  to  be  treated  a  little  more 
seriously. 

Deficient  as  Dean  Milner  unquestionably  was  in  the  sixth 
sense  called  ear,  so  deficient,  that  in  a  conversation  which  he 
once  held  with  his  friend  Sir  William  Wynne,  both  the  inter- 
locutors gravely  expressed  their  doubts  wlicthcr  any  singer 
could  be  quite  certain  of  repeating  the  same  melody  twice ;  he 

Y 


322  CnAr.  XVII.     A.D.  1800.    yETAT.  5G. 

was,  nevertheless,  by  no  means  insensible  to  the  exciting  power 
of  music.  The  anecdote  which  I  have  just  quoted,  as  related 
by  himself,  may  seem,  perhajos,  to  prove  the  contrary ;  yet  the 
truth  was,  certainly,  as  I  have  stated  it:  and  if,  on  that  unfor- 
tunate occasion,  the  performance  had  opened  with  ''  For  unto 
us  a  child  is  born,^'  or  "  Hallelujah,"  he  would,  beyond  all 
doubt,  have  felt  much  more  than  many  a  pretender  to  musical 
enthusiasm.  I  have  myself  seen  him  most  powerfully  affected 
by  the  singing  of  the  late  Mr.  Bartleman ;  and  I  have  heard 
him  speak  with  intense  admiration  of  the  performance  of  Mara. 
He  used  to  say  that  when  she  sang  the  sublime  solo  "  Sing  ye 
to  the  Lord,  for  He  has  triumphed  gloriously,  &c,"  which  intro- 
duces the  chorus  of  "The  Lord  shall  reign,"  she  wanted  but 
the  timbrel  in  her  hand  to  be  Miriam  herself. 

All  this  indeed,  scarcely  accounts  either  for  his  occasionally 
inviting,  to  his  Lodge,  music-lo^'ing  friends,  or  for  his  frequently 
attending  the  musical  parties  on  a  somewhat  larger  scale,  given 
by  his  friend  Dr.  Jowett,  in  the  Combination  Room  at  Trinity 
Hall. 

His  principal  motive,  on  such  occasions,  besides  the 
benevolent  pleasure  which  he  always  felt  in  seeing  his  friends 
entertained  to  their  satisfaction,  was,  doubtless,  kindness  to  the 
"little  Mary"  who  lived  with  him,  whose  presence  at  these 
little  reunions,  he  justly  considered  highly  conducive  to  her 
advantage. 

I  well  remember  the  method  which,  sensilile  of  his  inability 
to  judge  for  himself,  he  adopted  in  order  to  determine  whether 
I  possessed  such  a  natural  ear  for  music  as  to  render  it  worth 
while  that  I  should  be  instructed  in  it.  With  his  characteristic 
good  sense,  he  took  a  plain  road  to  his  object.  He  invited  to 
Queen's  Lodge  one  evening,  certain  gentlemen,  concerning 
whose  musical  talents  no  doubt  could  exist.  Among  them 
were  Mr.  Latrobe,  Dr.  Jowett,  Dr.  Hague,  at  that  time  Pro- 
fessor of  Music  in  the  University,  and,  1  think,  Mr.  Aspland 
<jf  Pinibroke.  These  gentlemen  were  to  play  and  singj  and  I, 
a  diil  I  between  six  and  seven  years  of  age,  was  to  listen.  It 
liul  b( en  j)reviously  concerted  that  the  pcrforniers  were  to 
muko  ccituiu  false  concords,  which,  if  I  heard  without  cxhi- 


CHAP.  XVII.    A.D.  180(3.    yETAT.  5G.  .323 

biting  any  uneasiness,  I  was  to  be  pronounced  ineapable  of 
profiting  by  musical  instruction.  If,  on  the  otlier  hand,  I 
detected  the  voluntary  errors  which  were  to  be  committed,  I 
Avas  to  be  considered  capable  of  improvement,  and  to  be  treated 
accordingly. 

I  remember,  as  if  it  were  but  yesterday.  Dr.  Milner's 
evident  satisfaction  at  the  result  of  my  trial. 

The  scientific  part  of  music  was,  about  this  period  of  Dr. 
Milner's  life,  one  of  his  favourite  studies.  He  collected  all  the 
most  valuable,  as  well  as  many  scarce  books  upon  the  science, 
in  French  as  well  as  in  English,  and  certainly  made  himself 
thoroughly  master  of  the  theoretical  part  of  the  subject,  in 
fact,  of  all  that  could  be  mastered  without  a  natural  capability 
of  accurately  distinguishing  sounds. 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter  lately  written  by  a 
highly  esteemed  friend  of  Dr.  Milner,  may  here  be  properly 
inserted.  ^'  I  should  have  been  most  happy,"  writes  Dr.  Crotch, 
"  to  have  furnished  you  with  any  letters  of  your  beloved 
uncle,  had  I  been  fortunate  enough  to  possess  any.  But  it 
may  not  be  amiss  generally  to  assert,  that  he  used  frequently 
to  ask  the  opinions  of  Dr.  Jowett,  and  of  Hague  and  myself 
M'hen  we  were  boys,  concerning  harmonies  and  other  pheno- 
mena of  sounds — that  he  tried  experiments  with  humming  tops; 
and  that,  though  not  possessed  of  musical  ear,  he  was  very 
curious  to  inquire  how  different  basses  might  be  put  to  the 
same  treble,  or  the  reverse." 

It  may  appear  surprising  that  Dr.  Milner  should  have 
selected,  for  voluntary  study,  a  science,  in  the  pursuit  of  which 
nature  had  placed  in  his  way  an  impassable  barrier;  but  it  is 
possible  that  the  consciousness  of  such  an  obstacle  had  the 
effect  of  stimulating  his  exertions.  Certain  it  is,  that  he  often 
persecuted  his  musical  friends  to  supply  him  with  reasons  for 
particular  laws  of  composition,  which,  in  fact,  depended  upon 
the  natural  faculty  in  which  he  Avas  deficient.  ''  Why,*'  he 
would  say  to  Mr.  Latrobe,  or  to  Dr.  Hague,  "  is  the  use  of 
consecutive  fifths  forbidden  ?"  The  answer  would  be,  "Because 
they  grate  against  my  soul;"  the  reply  was,  of  course,  far  from 
satisfactory;  and,  on  one  occasion,  I  well  recollect  that  Mr. 

Y  2 


321  CHAP.  XVII.     A.D.  180G.     ^TAT.  oG. 

Latrobe  appended  to  it  an  assertion  which  furnished  the  querist 
with  a  handle  for  soaie  good-humoured  triumph.  Having  said 
'•  They  grate  against  my  soul/'  Mr.  Latrobe  unwarily  added, 
"and  octaves  are  as  bad."  Dr.  Hague,  who  was  present, 
rather  imprudently  ^"  rose  to  explain,"  stating  that  there  were 
cases  in  which,  as  every  musician  knows,  octaves  are  not  bad 
at  all.  The  seeming  discrepance  of  opinion  delighted  Dr. 
Milner,  and  often  did  he  afterwards  allude  to  this  proof,  as  he 
professed  to  consider  it,  of  the  uncertainty  of  the  musical  code. 
It  may  here  be  observed,  that  as  Dean  Milner  was  deficient 
in  an  ear  for  sounds,  so  was  he  likewise,  to  a  certain  degree, 
and  in  a  corresponding  manner,  in  an  eye  for  form.  I  have 
seen  him  shed  tears  Avhile  contemplating  a  head  of  Christ, 
crowned  with  thorns,  by  one  of  the  great  masters — yet  a  per- 
spective view,  for  instance,  of  a  cube,  conveyed  to  him  no  idea 
whatever  of  the  solid  intended  to  be  represented. 

Perhaps  an  eye  for  form  is  seldom  found  disunited  from  an 
ear  for  musical  sounds. 

This  spring  Avas,  with  Dr.  Milner,  an  unusually  busy  season. 
As  one  of  three  persons  who  were  appointed  to  examine  and 
arrange  the  complex  affairs  of  the  University  Press,  he  had 
paid  particular  attention  to  the  duties  which  devolved  upon 
him.  His  brother  syndics,  well  aware,  like  all  who  knew  him, 
of  his  vigilance  and  energy  in  such  matters,  actually  left  to  him 
the  chief  part  of  the  business ;  and  the  Senate  would  willingly 
have  avowedly  so  left  the  whole  management  and  direction  of 
it.  This,  however,  he  Avas  far  from  desiring;  but  not  from 
indolence,  or  an  indisposition  to  vigorous  exertion.  To  the 
Vice-Chancellor  for  the  year  1805-6  (Dr.  Turner),  he  addressed 
a  written  communication  in  which,  not  only  his  oj^inions  con- 
cerning the  proper  management  of  the  afl'airs  of  the  University 
Press  arc  fully  developed,  but  the  various  documents  upon 
which  those  opinions  were  founded,  arc  arranged  in  detail,  and 
in  order,  and  an  index  made  for  convenience  of  reference. 
This  manuscript  is,  in  fact,  a  folio  volume,  and  must  always 
remain  a  monument  of  the  acuteness,  candour,  industry,  and 
energy  of  the  writer. 

To  the  trouble  and  inconvenience  which  Dr.  Milner  under- 


CHAP.  XVII.  A.D.  180G.     /ETAT.  56.  325 

went,  with  the  view  of  making  himself  thoroughly  master  of 
the  invention  of  stereotype  printing,  I  can  bear  witness.  He 
used  to  spend  hours  together  in  the  printing-office,  which  was 
near  his  own  Lodge ;  and,  like  Peter  the  Great  in  the  ship- 
builder's yard  at  Amsterdam,  actually  put  his  own  hand  to  the 
work,  making  attempt  after  attempt,  till  he  succeeded  in  pro- 
ducing a  perfect  stereotype  plate  of  his  own  individual  manu- 
facture. It  may  be  said,  and  perhaps  with  truth,  that  his 
personal  exertions  of  this  kind  were  sufficiently  accounted  for 
by  his  love  of  practical  mechanics;  no  such  cause,  however,  can 
explain  his  regular  attendance,  during  a  considerable  period  of 
time,  at  the  meetings  of  the  syndics  of  the  press, — an  attendance 
which,  as  the  meetings  in  question  took  place,  for  the  most 
part,  in  the  winter  evenings,  required  a  species  of  effort  quite 
foreign  to  his  habits. 

Dr.  Milner  was  also  engaged  during  this  spring  in  a  corre- 
spondence with  the  SoUcitor-General,  the  late  amiable  and 
unhappy  Sir  Samuel  Romilly. 

Up  to  this  time  he  had  enjoyed  no  further  personal 
acquaintance  with  Sir  Samuel,  than  what  resulted  from  his 
"  having,"  as  he  says  in  one  of  his  letters,  "  had  the  good 
fortune,  many  years  ago,  to  be  introduced  to"  him,  "at  a  dinner 
at  Mr.  Wilberforce's,  when  Lord  Eldon  was  one  of  the  com- 
pany,'' and  when  he,  (Dr.  Milner,)  "  passed  a  most  agreeal)le 
and  instructive  afternoon." 

So  high,  however,  was  his  estimate  of  Sir  S.  Romilly's 
"  talents  and  knowledge,"  that  he  declares  himself  to  "  have 
felt  a  most  pressing  desire  to  have "  his  "  opinion  respect- 
ing the  construction  of  certain  passages  in  the  statutes "  of 
Queen's  College,  *'  in  preference  to  that  of  any  other  counsel 
whatever." 

In  the  midst  of  his  nmltifarious  occupations.  Dr.  Milner 
found  time  to  indulge  himself  in  "  hobby-horses,"  new  as  well 
as  old.  A  new  one,  this  spring,  was  the  study  of  short-hand, 
which  he  certainly  learned  to  write,  though  not,  I  think,  to 
read,  with  considerable  facility.  The  misfortune  was,  that 
having  made  himself  tolerably  well  acquainted  with  one  system, 
'•'Annett's,"  I  believe  it  was,  he  happened  to  hear  of  another, 


326  CHAP.  XVII.     A.D.  1806.    ;ETAT.  56. 

which  was  said  to  have  superior  claims  to  attention  and 
adoption,  and  the  confusion  thus  arising  prevented  him  from 
becoming  an  adept  in  the  use  of  either.  He  acquired,  however, 
short-hand  enough  to  be  serviceable,  as  a  sort  of  cipher,  when 
he  wished  to  make  a  private  memorandum,  or  a  note  in  the 
margin  of  a  book. 

Other  matters  there  were,  of  comparatively  little  moment, 
concerning  which  Dr.  Milner,  when  the  fancy  struck  him,  occu- 
pied himself  con  amove;  but  some  readers  may,  perhaps,  think 
that  enough  has  been  already  said  here  and  in  other  parts  of 
this  work,  upon  what  are  confessedly,  comparatively,  trifling 
subjects.  It  may,  however,  be  fairly  suggested,  in  mitigation 
of  censure,  that  a  character  can  scarcely  be  allowed  to  be  faith- 
fully delineated,  if  all  the  little  oddities  and  peculiarities  which 
distinguish  it,  be  either  sedulously  kept  out  of  sight,  or  mate- 
rially curtailed  of  their  due  proportion  on  the  canvas. 

The  arbitration  of  a  disputed  point  in  an  agreement  relative 
to  the  Lady  Margaret's  Professorship  of  Divinity,  between  the 
Rev.  Mr.  (afterwards  Dr.)  Marsh,  and  the  Rev.  James  Fawcett 
of  St.  John's  College,  Dean  Milner  being  fixed  upon  as  umpire 
by  both  parties,  and  another  journey  to  London,  filled  up  the 
interval  till  the  second  week  in  June,  the  accustomed  time  of 
the  summer  chapter  at  Carlisle. 

Notwithstanding  the  exertion  of  preaching  almost  every 
Sunday  in  the  Cathedral,  surely  a  very  considerable  effort,  the 
precarious  state  of  his  health  being  taken  into  the  account,  the 
Dean  always  regarded  his  summer's  residence  at  Carlisle,  after 
the  chapter  business  was  concluded,  as,  to  a  certain  degree,  a 
period  of  relaxation ;  nor  can  it  be  doubted,  that  the  partial 
cessation  from  laborious  employment  which  he  there  annually 
allowed  himself,  tended  to  mitigate  his  constitutional  complaints 
and  to  prolong  liis  life.  At  Carlisle,  also,  he  entered  more 
freely  into  general  society  than  he  was  accustomed  to  do  at 
Cam1)ridge,  occasionally  visiting,  or,  in  his  turn,  entertaining 
at  the  Deanery,  some  of  the  neighbouring  county  families, 
among  whom,  as  indeed  among  all  who  knew  him,  his  rich 
conversational  powers  caused  his  society  to  be  sought  for  with 
avidity. 


CHAP.  XVII.     A.D.  180C.     7ETAT.  56'.  32? 

Perhaps  one  of  his  greatest  pleasures  was  to  spend  occasion- 
ally a  few  quiet  clays  at  Rose  Castle,  the  beautiful  residence  of 
the  Bishop  of  Carlisle,  with  his  friend,  the  present  Archbishop 
of  York.  The  mode  of  living  there  was  exactly  such  as  suited 
his  taste.  There  was  no  pomp,  no  oppressive  style.  He  used 
to  saunter  about  the  meadows  and  the  hay-fields  while  engaged 
in  conversation  with  his  host,  and  as  he  more  than  once  told 
his  friend  after  he  became  an  archbishop,  liked  the  simplicity 
of  Rose  Castle  a  great  deal  better  than  the  splendour  of  Bishop- 
thorpe. 

Sometimes,  though  less  frequently,  he  ventured  upon  an 
excursion  somewhat  more  distant,  and  joined  the  splendid  circle 
whom  Lord  Lonsdale's  hospitality  often  collected  around  him 
at  Lowther  Castle.  Ill-health,  however,  frequently  obliged  him 
to  decline  his  Lordship's  kind  invitations,  "  since,"  as  he  writes 
from  Rose  Castle,  in  answer  to  one  of  them,  on  the  Gth  of 
August  in  this  year,  "  like  weak  governments,"  he  was  "  often 
obliged  to  regulate'^  his  ^^  plans  by  incidents  rather  than  by 
system.'^ 

During  one  of  his  visits  at  Lowther,  before  the  present 
magnificent  castle  was  finished,  and  while  the  family  occu- 
pied a  smaller  habitation,  a  circumstance  occurred  strongly 
characteristic  of  the  persevering  turn  of  Dean  Milner's 
mind. 

One  evening  some  of  the  younger  branches  of  the  family 
were  amusing  themselves  by  playing  at  draughts :  the  Dean, 
always  fond  of  the  society  of  young  persons,  and  disposed  to 
interest  himself  in  their  pursuits,  undertook  to  shew  them  how, 
by  a  certain  method  of  play,  they  might  generally  be  sure  of 
victory. 

On  trial,  however,  it  appeared,  that  his  memory,  for  once, 
had  failed  him;  he  could  not  fulfil  his  promise,  and  shewed,  in 
consequence,  some  slight  marks  of  chagrin.  In  due  time,  all 
parties  retired  for  the  night,  and  no  more  was  said,  or,  appa- 
rently, thought  of  the  draught-board. 

The  next  morning  it  happened  that  Lord  Lonsdale  had 
occasion  to  go  out  unusually  early.  lie  passed  through  the 
hall,  from  which  a  door  opened  into  the  apartment  which  had 


328  CHAr.  XVII.     A.U.  IGOfi.     yETAT.  50. 

been  occupied  on  the  preceding  evening,  M'hicli  apartment  the 
house-maids  were  still  employed  in  arranging.  What  was  his 
Lordship's  surprise,  on  looking  into  the  room,  to  discover  Dean 
Milner,  seated  in  a  quiet  corner,  in  his  dressing-gown  and  black 
velvet  cap,  with  the  draught-board  before  him,  solving,  at  his 
ease,  the  problem  which  had  puzzled  him  the  evening  before ! 
It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add,  that  he  was  ready,  by  breakfast 
time,  to  redeem  the  promise  of  the  preceding  night. 

Other  characteristic  anecdotes  connected  with  the  Dean's 
visits  at  Lowther  Castle  might  be  related.  For  instance,  he 
once  met  there  the  late  Bishop  of  Llandaff,  Dr.  Watson,  who, 
in  his  capacity  of  Professor  of  Divinity,  had,  many  years 
before,  presided  in  the  Schools  when  Dr.  Milner  and  Dr. 
Coulthurst  kept  the  Act  which  the  Bishop  had  distinguished 
by  l)is  signal  approbation,  pronouncing  the  disputants  to  be 
"Arcades  ambo*."  It  so  chanced,  that  one  day  after  dinner, 
at  Lord  Lonsdale's  table.  Dr.  Southey  and  other  persons  of 
note  being  present,  this  Act  became  the  subject  of  conversation, 
and  a  discussion  arose  between  the  Bishop  and  the  Dean,  on 
some  point  connected  with  it.  Dr.  Milner,  quite  at  his  ease, 
and  in  perfect  good  humour,  had  the  best  of  the  argument;  or, 
at  least,  carried  the  company  along  with  him.  Dr.  Watson,  on 
the  other  hand,  who  was  in  the  habit  of  talking  for  effect,  and 
who  treated  the  matter  with  the  utmost  gravity,  became 
annoyed  at  his  own  failure,  and  at  length  showed  symptoms  of 
being  on  the  very  point  of  losing  his  temper.  At  this  juncture, 
the  Dean,  who  had  a  strong  sense  of  the  ludicrous  and  very 
little  compassion  for  vexations  occasioned  by  want  of  temper, 
whoever  might  be  the  sufferer,  completed  the  discomfiture  of 
liis  solemn  antagonist,  by  exclaiming  jocosely,  in  his  usual 
sonorous  tones,  "  Now,  Bishop,  will  you  take  the  other  side, 
and  we'll  argue  it  over  again  ?"  The  whole  scene  was  felt  by 
all  who  witnessed  it,  and  who  understood  and  perceived  the 
imposing  character  and  manners  of  the  stately  Bishop  of 
Llandaff,  to  be  exquisitely  comic;  but  like  most  other  instances 
of  real  liiiiiiour,  it  dci)cnd('d  so  much  upon   "  time,  place,  and 


•  Vide  Cliaplcr  III. 


CIIAr.  XVII.     A.D.  180G.     ;ETAT.  50.  329 

circumstance/'  that  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  convey,  by  descrip- 
tion, an  adequate  idea  of  it. 

In  whatever  company  he  might  be,  it  is  certainly  true  that 
Dr.  Milner  usually  was  what  he  was  often  emphatically  declared 
to  be,  "the  life  of  the  party."  Notwithstanding  his  frequent 
attacks  of  bodily  sufFering,  he  was  constitutionally  gay ;  in  fact, 
so  blithe  and  frolicsome  were  his  spirits  during  the  intervals  in 
which  he  enjoyed  a  moderate  share  of  health,  and  so  entirely 
free  was  he,  at  all  times,  from  the  slightest  shade  of  affected 
gravity',  that,  by  persons  of  a  more  severe  turn  of  mind,  or  of 
less  natural  cheerfulness,  he  was  sometimes  thought  to  be  in 
danger  of  overstepping  the  line  which  separates  innocent 
gaiety  from  culpable  levity.  Of  this  tendency  to  mirth  he 
was  himself  as  Avell  aware  as  the  most  vigilant  of  those  who 
might  be  disposed  to  censure  his  indulgence  of  it;  but  he 
had  no  artificial  character  to  support.  Consequently,  while 
his  genuine  religious  principle  effectually  and  necessarily  with- 
held him  from  excessive  or  indecorous  merriment,  he  fre- 
quently and  fearlessly  gave  the  reins  to  the  lively  temperament 
with  which  he  was  undoubtedly  gifted  in  the  very  "prodigality 
of  nature." 

These  remarks  may  serve  as  apology,  if  any  be  deemed 
requisite,  for  Dean  Milner's  conduct  on  an  occasion  about  to 
be  mentioned.  It  should  be  premised  that  it  was  his  settled 
habit  to  endeavour  to  glean  from  every  person  who  fell  in  his 
way  some  portion  of  the  particular  knowledge,  whatever  it 
might  be,  Avhich  that  person  was  supposed  to  possess.  There- 
fore, being  in  company  at  Lowther  wath  a  nobleman  Avho 
professed  great  skill  as  a  boxer,  he  contrived  to  turn  the  con- 
versation upon  the  art,  or  science,  of  self-defence.     Lord  A 

H strenuously  maintained  that  a  scientific  pugilist  could 

not, by  any  possibility,  be  struck  by  an  uninstructed  antagonist; 
that  his  skill  would  enable  him  to  ward  off"  any  blow  not  dealt 
to  him  by  a  brother  of  the  craft.  The  Dean  disputed  this 
position;  the  company  became  interested  and  the  discussion 
animated  ;  experiment  only  could  decide  the  point.  In  order, 
therefore,  to  bring  the  matter  to  the  test.  Dr.  Milner  arose 
from  his  seat,  and,  walking  into  tlie  middle  of  the  apartment. 


330  CHAP.  XVII.     A.D.  180C.     JETAT.  56. 

coolly  snid,  "  Now,  my  Lord,  if  you  Avill  only  promise  not  to 
strike  me,  I  think,  that  in  spite  of  any  guard  you  can  keep,  I 
can   strike   you.''     "  Impossible,"    &c.,   &c.,   exclaimed    Lord 

A H .     They  stood  up  accordingly,  and,  "  within  less 

than  thirty  seconds,''  said  Dean  Milner,  with  great  triumph, 
when  he  afterwards  related  the  circumstance,  *'  I  gave  him,  with 
my  open  hand,  such  a  slap  on  the  face  as  rang  again  through 
the  large  room."     The  company,  of  course,  laughed  heartily, 

and  Lord  A H said  no  more  on  the  subject  of  boxing; 

but  so  irresistible  was  the  influence  of  the  Dean's  good  humour, 
that  it  was  impossible  even  for  a  man  in  his  Lordship's 
circumstances  to  be  angry  with  him. 

On  one  occasion,  while  staying  at  Lowther  Castle,  Dr.  Milner 
proved — Avhat  indeed  stood  in  little  need  of  proof — his  extra- 
ordinary power  of  voice.  He  was  walking  on  the  terrace  with 
several  other  persons,  the  Bishop  of  LlandafF,  I  think,  amongst 
others,  when  a  labourer  being  visible  at  a  considerable  distance 
in  the  fields  below,  it  was  determined  that  they  should  try  who 
among  them  could  speak  loud  enough  to  make  him  hear. 
They  tried  in  turn,  each  addressing  the  unconscious  agriculturist 
in  the  most  sonorous  words  which  presented  themselves.  Dean 
Milner  spoke  last ;  and  on  his  exclaiming  in  his  full  and  round 
tones,  "Turn,  charge,  and  conquer,"  the  man  instantly  turned, 
and  gave  signs  of  attention.  If  the  Dean  felt  any  degree  of 
self-complacency  on  the  score  of  any  of  his  personal  advantages, 
it  was  with  regard  to  his  magnificent  voice  and  his  skill  in 
using  it ;  and  he  certainly  sometimes  told  this  anecdote  with 
evident  satisfaction. 

The  anecdote  above  related,  respecting  the  game  of  draughts, 
may  properly  introduce  some  recollections  with  which  I  have 
been  favoured  by  a  surviving  intimate  friend  of  Dean  Milner*, 
and  which  strikingly  illustrate  the  same  turn  of  mind.  "I 
remember,  as  if  it  were  yesterday,"  wTites  this  gentleman, 
"being  once  engaged  with  your  uncle  in  some  mathematical 
process — the  summation  of  a  series,  or  possibly  something 
c(jiincctcd  with  the  Binomial  Theorem — at  any  rate  something 


*  Colonel  T.  P.  Tlioiiipson. 


CHAP.  XVII.    A.D.   180G.     ^ETAT.  56.  331 

which  he  was  going  to  show  me,  and  which  ought  to  have  come 
out  neat.  I  M'as  put  on  it  first,  and  failed,  through  some 
mistake  in  a  sign,  or  similar  slight  cause.  He  took  it  in  hand 
next,  and  failed  also.  I  recollect  his  sharp  '  Ha  !^  two  or  three 
times,  as  he  turned  the  thing  impatiently  over;  and  when  at  last 
he  got  to  the  right  result  he  exclaimed, '  There,  you  dog  !'  giving 
me,  at  the  same  time,  a  wipe  with  the  pen  across  the  face,  in  the 
way  of  triumph  at  the  conclusion — an  action  which  I  have  often 
recollected  as  explanatory  of  a  similar  one  said  to  have  been 
performed  by  Cromwell  at  the  moment  when  he  signed  the 
death-warrant  of  Charles  Stuart. 

"  I  recollect  another  circumstance  with  which  this  story 
of  ^  the  Cromwellian  wipe'  would  fit  very  well.  Your  uncle 
wanted  the  proportion  of  the  diameter  of  a  circle  to  the  circum- 
ference, or  at  least  one  of  the  practical  approximations  to  it, 
and  I  saw  him  writing  figures  and  drawing  a  perpendicular  line 
through  them,  Avith  an  appearance  of  impatience  at  the  thing 
not  answering  at  once ;  and  at  last  he  burst  out,  ^  There  it 
is ;  one,  one,  three,  three,  'five,  five,  and  cut  them  in  half, 
113  1  355;  there's  a  bit  of  artificial  memory  for  you,  sir.' 
You  may  depend  upon  it  I  never  forgot  the  proportion  of  the 
diameter  to  the  circumference  from  that  day  to  this." 

It  is  superfluous  to  say,  that  Dean  Milner's  summer  habits 
of  innocent  and  salutary  relaxation  were  perfectly  consistent 
with  much  useful  occupation  and  serious  study.  During  this 
particular  summer,  he  collected,  or  at  least  ascertained  where 
and  how  he  might  obtain,  a  vast  mass  of  materials  for  the 
carrying  forw^ard  of  the  Ecclesiastical  History.  This  appears 
from  numerous  marginal  notes,  critical,  historical,  &c.,  in  his 
handwriting,  interspersed  throughout  a  printed  copy  of  the 
fourth  volume  of  the  History,  and  from  other  manuscripts, 
some  of  considerable  length,  and  exhibiting  much  labour  and 
research. 

One  other  subject  connected  with  this  summer's  residence 
at  Carlisle,  remains  to  be  mentioned. 

A  man  had  been  tried  at  the  assizes  for  forgery,  then  a 
capital  crime;  he  was  found  guilty,  condemned,  and  left  for 
execution.     Those  persons  who  are  but  imperfectly  acquainted 


332  CHAP.  XVII.     A.D.  1806.    ^TAT.  56. 

with  the  character  of  Dean  Milner,  may  perhaps  be  surprised 
to  hear,  that  the  case  of  this  poor  man  occasioned  him  so  much 
concern,  tliat  he  determined  to  visit  him  personally  in  his  con- 
demned cell.  On  more  than  one  of  those  visits  I  accompanied 
him,  and  the  impression  left  upon  my  mind  has  never  been 
effaced. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  Dean's  extreme  tenderness  and 
delicacy  in  his  conversations  with  the  unhappy  culprit.  He 
laid  open  to  him,  in  the  simplest  manner,  the  great  doctrines  of 
revelation,  the  fall  of  man,  the  universal  necessity  of  conversion 
and  regeneration,  the  vicarious  sacrifice  of  the  Redeemer,  and 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  renew  the  heart  of  the  believing 
and  repentant  sinner,  and  to  render  him  fit  for  heaven  ;  but  all 
this  without  any  especial  reference  to  the  particular  crime  for 
which  his  auditor  was  condemned  to  suiFer.  He  spoke  to  him 
of  his  approaching  death,  not  of  his  approaching  execution; 
and,  in  short,  endeavoured  to  humble  him  in  his  own  sight,  as  a 
sinner  before  God,  and  to  fix  his  thoughts  upon  that  "  Lamb  of 
God,  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world,"  without  distract- 
ing his  mind  by  earthly  considerations. 

What  the  effect  was,  I  know  not;  for  the  forger  was  most 
unexpectedly  reprieved:  but  if  ever  a  condemned  felon  was 
judiciously  treated  by  his  spiritual  adviser,  that  culprit  was  the 
man! 

Dean  Milner  has  probably  seldom  been  even  thought  of  in 
the  character  of  a  visitor  of  the  sick  and  dying;  yet  the  truth  is, 
that  he  possessed,  if  the  word  may  be  permitted,  extraordinary 
tact  in  that  capacity. 

A  case  which  occurred  at  Cambridge  during  the  spring  of 
the  year  1806,  may  be  mentioned  in  support  of  this  assertion. 

A  young  man,  whose  connections  were  known  to  Dr. 
Milner,  attempted  suicide;  in  fact,  cut  his  throat  so  eflectually 
that  his  life  was  in  the  most  imminent  danger.  This  occurred 
during  the  night;  no  medical  advice  was  immediately  to  be 
procured,  and  before  daybreak  the  disconsolate  family  sent  to 
request  the  attendance  of  Dean  Milner,  rather  as  a  medical, 
than  as  a  spiritual  adviser.  The  Dean  of  course  obeyed  the 
call;  and  during  that  visit  and  some  subsequent  ones,  attended 


CHAP.  XVII.     A.D.   180G.     ;F.TAT.  5C.  333 

only  to  the  i)liysical  coiKlition  of  the  sufierer.  Afterwards, 
when  the  clanger  of  death  was  past,  he  assumed  his  clerical 
character.  Of  the  precise  nature,  or  the  ultimate  consequences 
of  his  addresses  to  the  unhappy  man,  I  cannot  speak.  The 
immediate  effect  was  notorious  :  the  poor  youth  became  so 
grateful,  and  so  much  attached  to  his  spiritual  instructor,  that 
he  Nvould  suffer  no  one  else  to  minister  even  to  his  bodily 
wants  ;  and  it  is  a  fact,  that  for  a  considerable  time,  his  medi- 
cines were  administered,  and  even  the  dressings  upon  his  throat 
arranged,  by  Dr.  Milner's  own  hand. 


334 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

History  of  the  Church. — Tliii'd  Yolunie  translated  into  German. — Translation  of 
Joseph  Milner's  Sermons  into  German. — Letter  to  the  Bishop  of  Mcath. — 
Visit  to  Cambridge  of  tlie  Chancellor  of  the  University. — Professor 
Person. — University  Press. — Rev.  T.  Thomason. — Professor  Smyth. — Dr. 
iMilner's  Sermon  at  St.  Mary's  against  Catholic  Emancipation. — Consistency  , 
of  Character. — Addi-ess  to  the  King. — General  Election. — Busy  Chapter 
at  Carlisle. — Musical  Festival. — Thoughts  respecting  Preaching — Private 
Reflections. — Rev.  Christian  Ignatius  Latrobe. — Musical  Society  at  Cam- 
bridge.— Dr.  Jowett's  Jliisical  Parties. — Discussion  concerning  certain 
disputed  points  of  Chronology. — Correspondence. — Governorship  of  Sierra 
Leone. — Second  Volume  of  Joseph  Milner's  Sermons. — Fifth  Volume  "of 
Ecclesiastical  History. — Board  of  Longitude. — Carlisle. — Correspondence. — 
Assize  Sermon. — Dr.  Buchanan. — Dean  ililner's  Sentiments  respecting 
Races  and  Theatrical  Representations. — Letter  on  the  proposed  erection 
of  a  Theatre. — Advice  respecting  CoUege  Lectures. — Reading  Lamp. — Dr. 
Edward  Daniel  Clarke. — New  Edition  of  Milner's  Works. — Kensington 
Gore. — Rev.  Thomas  Kerrich. — Social  Intercom-se. — Evening  Visits  from 
Old  Friends. 

A.D.  180C.     yETAT.  5G. 

Once  again  established  in  his  Lodge,  Dr.  Mihier's  principal 
object  was  the  continuation  of  the  History  of  the  Church  of 
Christ. 

A  foreign  clergyman,  personal!}^  unknown  to  him,  had  sent 
him,  with  a  copy  of  the  third  volume  of  that  History  translated 
into  German,  the  following  interesting  letter. 

"  To  THE  Rev.  Dr.  Milner,  Dean  of  Carlisle,  and 

Master  of  Queen's  College,  Cambridge. 

"Reverend  Sir,  " Herrnhut,  180G. 

"Your  kind  letter  of  January  ISth,  I  received  with  inex- 
pressible satisfaction. 

"  You  may  be  assured  that  the  translation  is  extensively 
read,  not  only  in  Germany,  (even  in  some  popish  parts,)  but 
also  in  Switzerland,  Prussia,  Livonia,  Holland,  Denmark,  and 
Sweden;  and,  very  likely,  the  German  translation  Avill  be  fol- 
lowed by  a  Swedish  one.  I  have  had  to  answer  several  queries 
from  Stockholm,  rcsj)ecting  the  work  and  its  author.     His  Life 


CHAP,  xviir.   A.D.  ]«on.   ;etat.  so.  335 

will  be  prefixed  to  the  fourtli  volume,  according  to  a  desire 
intimated  to  me  from  many  quarters. 

"  Indeed,  this  eminent  servant  of  God,  ^  though  dead,  yet 
speaketh.'  I  have  spoken  with  two  persons  who  liad  read  the 
first  volume  in  Greenland,  and  with  another  who  had  perused  it 
upon  the  banks  of  the  Wolga.  I  wish  you  may  find,  in  this 
information,  an  additional  spur  to  go  on  with  diligence. 

"Now  I  beg  leave  to  lay  some  particulars  before-you. 
*  "  1.  I  have  had  some  obscure  information  of  the  second 
and  third  volumes  having  gone  through  a  second  edition,  with 
considerable  amendments.  If  so,  please  to  favour  me  with  a 
copy  for  the  benefit  of  my  translations.  The  amendments  may 
be  introduced  by  way  of  Appendix. 

"  2.  I  wish  likewise  to  have  the  other  printed  writings  of 
your  late  brother.  I  shall  peruse  them  with  an  eye  towards  a 
translation. 

"3.  The  sermons  of  your  late  brother  gave  me  so  much 
satisfaction,  that  I  have  already  finished  a  translation  of  them, 
and  have  offered  them  to  be  printed.  But  my  bookseller  is 
doubtful;  the  sale  of  sermons  being,  in  Germany,  generally  a 
very  heavy  thing.  Now  if  any  bookseller,  or  a  number  of 
booksellers  in  England,  could  he  prevailed  upon  to  subscribe 
50/.  for  two  hundred  copies,  or  70/.  for  three  hundred  copies, 
or  80/.  for  four  hundred,  the  difliculty  would  be  removed,  and 
much  good  might  be  done.  There  are  many  Germans  in 
London  who  might  be  inclined  to  purchase  the  book.  Besides, 
there  are  societies  who  distribute  good  books,  gratis,  and  perhaps 
they  have  little  or  no  store  for  the  many  Germans  in  their  neigh- 
bourhood. If  any  of  those  societies,  or  any  rich  individuals, 
should  be  inclined,  particularly  for  the  benefit  of  the  many 
German  soldiers  now  in  England,  to  subscribe  for  a  considerable 
number,  I  would,  for  that  purpose,  contrive  to  get  the  printing 
so  done,  that  every  sermon  should  be  a  sheet  of  itself;  so  that 
they  might  give  away  the  whole,  or  the  parts,  just  as  they 
pleased.  Methinks,  this  would  be  a  plan  of  very  extensive 
usefulness.  May  I  beg  you  to  propose  it  to  those  societies  ? 
As  soon  as  I  receive  a  favouraljle  answer,  (which  I  wish  may 
be  as  soon  as  possible)  the  printing  will  inmiediately  begin. 


336  CHAP.  XVIII.    A.D.  180C.     jETXT.  5C. 

"4.  As  you  are  writing  the  history  of  the  Reformation,  I 
cannot  help  mentioning  a  circumstance  which  strikingly  marks 
the  spirit  of  those  times,  though  very  little  known.  I  live  in  a 
province  where  there  are  many  Vandals,  who  speak  a  language 
as  different  from  the  German  as  Welsh  is  from  English.  It  is 
a  dialect  of  the  Sclavonian.  Air.  Latrobe  has  often  heard  their 
jargon.  These  people  have,  wherever  they  meet  one  another,  a 
certain  salutation,  which  they  only  use  on  Sundays  and  holi- 
days. If  they  meet  before  sermon,  they  say  '  Welcome  to 
God's  word;^  if  after  sermon,  '  Welcome  from  God's  word.' 
This  custom,  which  is  universal  throughout  the  whole  nation, 
dates  from  the  time  of  the  Reformation.  Before  that  period 
they  never  had  any  preaching  in  their  language;  their  priests 
being  all  Germans,  and  their  whole  religion  consisting  in  cere- 
monies and  processions.  About  the  year  1521,  evangelical 
preaching  took  place  in  their  language,  and  was  received  so 
eagerly,  that  it  gave  rise  to  that  singular  custom.  Indeed,  it  is 
now  only  a  matter  of  form,  but  methinks  it  is  evident,  that  it 
was  then  something  more.  There  was,  at  that  time,  a  remark- 
able work  of  God  among  that  nation,  of  which  I  could  give  you 
some  more  particulars,  if  you  desire  it. 
"  I  am.  Reverend  Sir, 

"  Your  most  obedient  humble  servant, 

"  Peter  Mortimer." 

To  this  letter  Dr.  Milncr,  who  was  always  much  gratified  Ijy 
the  notice  of  strangers  whom  he  had  reason  to  think  men  of 
l)icty,  returned  the  following  warm-hearted  answer. 

"  Queen's  College^  Cambi'idge, 
"Rev.  and  dear  Sir,  October  24,  180G. 

"  I  cannot  express  the  satisfaction  which  your  kind  and 
valuable  letter  has  afl'orded  me.  My  very  numerous  avocations 
would  not  have  prevented  me  from  noticing  the  contents  of  it 
as  they  deserve,  much  sooner;  but  I  am  frequently  so  much 
out  of  health  as  to  be  comj)cllcd  to  relax  from  my  studies,  in  a 
degree,  or  else  I  should  soon  ho,  unable  to  attend  to  them  at  all. 

"  1.  This  circumstance  is  to  account  for  my  not  having  yet 
finished  Volume  V. 


CHAP.  XYIII.     A.D.   180C.     yETAT.  r.r.  337 

"  2.  The  same  circumstance  will  account  fur  the  second  and 
third  volumes  being  not  yet  republished  witli  corrections. 

"The  republication  of  them  has  been  promised  to  the 
public,  but  the  promise  is  not  yet  fulfilled.  The  new  edition, 
as  well  as  Volume  V.,  will  be  out  as  soon  as  ever  I  can  finish 
them.  If  my  health  were  at  all  to  Ije  depended  on,  I  should 
say  in  the  course  of  next  spring;  but  I  have  often  been  admo- 
nished to  be  cautious  in  j^romises. 

"  I  have,  however,  now  great  hopes  of  getting  fast  forward. 

"  I  will  not  fail  to  send  you  the  books  all  together,  along 
with  such  other  of  the  author's  writings  as  I  judge  you  would 
wish  to  have,  and  as  I  can  pick  up. 

"Volume  V.  will  be  as  rich  in  matter,  or  richer,  than  any  of 
the  foregoing  parts. 

"  3.  I  have  been  in  the  north  of  England  for  four  months, 
and  have  seen  so  few  people,  that  I  have  yet  had  no  opportunity 
to  try  what  can  be  done  with  any  of  those  societies  you  speak 
of,  respecting  the  publication  of  the  sermons  of  my  brother 
in  German,  which  you  have  been  so  good  as  to  translate.  But 
lest  that  important  matter  should  be  delayed  any  longer,  (and  I 
am  very  sorry  it  has  been  delayed  at  all.)  I  will  answer  to  you, 
through  Mr.  Latrobe,  for  fifty  pounds,  to  be  paid,  as  you 
mention,  for  two  hundred  cojnes  :  and  I  will  also  try  whether 
we  cannot  get  the  order  increased.  However,  so  far  I  answer 
for,  be  it  as  it  may. 

"  4.  I  have  to  return  you  my  most  sincere  thanks  for  the 
very  handsome  copy  of  your  German  edition  of  the  third 
volume  of  the  Church  Histoi'y.  I.  can  hardly  mention  any 
event  which  would  have  given  greater  satisfaction  to  the  author 
had  he  been  alive.  The  propagation  of  the  true  Gospel  of 
Christ,  and  its  efficacy  in  reclaiming  sinners  to  the  service  of 
God  and  making  them  fit  for  heaven,  were  objects  which  had 
been,  for  many  years,  close  to  his  heart. 

"5.  The  anecdote  of  'Welcome  to  God's  word,'  is  a  very 
striking  one,  and  I  will  not  neglect  to  mention  it  in  its  proper 
])lace.  Moreover,  I  would  be  very  much  ol)ligcd  to  you  for 
more  particulars,  with  which  you  say  you  can  furnisli  me,  and 
the  sooner  the  better. 


338  GIIAP.  XVIIT.     A.D.  ISOG.     MTAT.  5C. 

''  Don't  pay  any  regard  to  the  expense  of  postage ;  I  shall 
think  myself  well  repaid  by  your  communications,  be  they  ever 
so  slight. 

"  Little  matters  often  prove  a  great  deal.  The  instance  yon 
have  given  me  is  a  very  decisive  one  of  that  sort.  '  Welcome 
to  God's  word/  had  a  meaning  of  a  very  significant  kind,  I  doubt 
not,  when  it  came  from  the  heart.  It  is  my  prayer,  that  there 
may  be  a  revival  of  practical  Christianity  throughout  Europe ; 
as  I  verily  beheve,  that  nothing  short  of  t/iat  will  cure  our 
present  dreadful  evils,  as  well  as  those  still  more  dreadful, 
which  appear  to  hang  over  us. 

"  G.  I  have  understood,  that  there  is  likely  to  be  soon,  in 
Germany,  a  new  edition  of  all  Luther's  works.     Is  this  so  ? 

"If  there  be  a  Latin  translation  of  these,  more  full  than 
the  Wittenberg,  or  the  Jene  edition,  which  I  have,  I  would 
thank  you  to  purchase  a  copy  for  me. 

"  7.  I  would  also,  if  I  am  not  too  troublesome,  give  you  a 
commission  to  send  me  any  of  the  valuable  writers  on  Religion, 
the  history  of  it — Histories  of  the  Reformation,  &c.,  &c.,  in 
Latin,  or  French ;  I  do  not  read  German. 

"You  need  not  be  afraid  as  to  the  price,  if  you  meet  with 
real  good  stuff. 

"  May  Almighty  God  be  pleased  to  bless  your  useful  labours, 
and  to  prosper  you  in  all  things,  to  his  glory. 

"  Your  affectionate  servant,  dear  Sir, 
"  To  the  Rev.  Mr.  Mortimer."  "  I.  Milner. 

Laborious  as  Dean  Milner  actually  was,  he  was  apt,  like  his 
deceased  brother,  and  like  all  persons  of  very  active  mind,  to 
accuse  himself  of  indolence.  With  reference  to  this  subject,  he 
makes  the  following  remarks,  in  a  letter  dated  during  this  month 
of  October,  180G. 

"  In  the  midst  of  my  own  concerns,  which  arc  sufficiently 
numerous,  and  often  far  from  lacing  pleasant,  I  can  assure  you, 
that  I  very  often  think  of  you,  and  run  over,  in  my  mind,  a 
variety  of  scenes  that  have  passed  between  us:  and,  to  own  the 
truth,  it  generally  hapj)ens,  that  in  reviewing  many  of  the  old 
scenes  to  which  I  allude,  I   sec  reason  to  be  mortified  with 


CHAP.  XVIII.    A.D.  inoc.    ^ETAT.  5C.  339 

having  neglected  to  perform  many  things  which  I  had  projected 
as  things  to  be  done,  and  which  I  could  scarcely  have  believed 
would  have  been  so  long  left  undone,  had  any  body  pretended 
to  predict  the  event.  iVll  this  is,  I  suppose,  what  happens  to  a 
very  great  part  of  mankind,  as  well  as  to  myself,  and,  perhaps, 
to  you.  The  misfortune  is,  we  are  constantly  supposing,  that 
there  is  something  or  other  peculiar  in  our  own  cases,  which 
has  prevented  us  from  putting  into  execution  the  good  plans  we 
had  devised;  and  so  we  fabricate  excuses,  from  day  to  day.  In 
my  own  case,  very  indifferent  health  has  certainly  clipped  my 
wings,  and  laid  a  cold  hand  on  many  of  my  schemes.  Nor  is 
this,  by  any  means,  an  imaginary  excuse :  but,  of  late  years,  I 
have  learned,  I  think,  to  see  further  into  this  matter,  and  to  be 
convinced,  that  even  infirmities,  when  properly  managed,  may 
become  a  source  of  industry  and  exertion.  For,  I  believe,  we 
fail,  much  more,  through  an  erroneous  or  indolent  application 
of  our  faculties,  than  we  do  through  a  real  want  of  powers,  or 
opportunities.^' 

The  observations  upon  the  peculiar  dangers  attendant  upon 
the  academical  career  of  young  men,  and  upon  the  importance 
of  judicious  home  education,  in  early  life,  contained  in  the 
following  letter  to  the  late  Bishop  of  Meath,  will  be  read  with 
much  interest. 

"To  THE  Right  Honourable  and  Right  Reverend  the 
Lord  Bishop  of  Meath. 

"  Queen's  Lodge,  Cambridge, 
"My  Lord,  November  13,  1806. 

"  Your  Lordship's  observations  in  the  obliging  letter  with 
which  you  have  favoured  me,  are  judicious  and  truly  Christian ; 
neither  docs  there  appear  in  them  any  more  anxiety  than  what 
strictly  belongs  to  so  interesting  a  case.  A  very  fine  youth 
indeed,  in  all  respects,  just  launching  into  the  world,  at  a 
critical  period  of  life,  and  among  numerous  examples  of  dissi- 
pation and  extravagance — add  to  this,  an  only  son — assuredly 
here  is  enough  to  excite  apprehension ;  as  there  always  is, 
where  there  is  much  to  lose,  and  also  much  to  expect. 

"As  I  would  prove  myself  grateful  for  the  favourable  judg- 


340  CHAP.  XVIII.     A.D.  180C.    /ETAT.  5G. 

ment  which  you  heave  formed  of  Queen's  College,  and  its  regu- 
lations, I  shall  feel  l^ound  in  duty  to  endeavour,  as  much  as 
possible,  to  answer  your  expectations. 

"After  what  your  Lordship  has  seen  of  Mr.  S.,  it  must  be 
unnecessary  for  me  to  repeat  (what  I  expressed  pretty  confi- 
dently to  Dr.  R.)  how  fortunate  your  Lordship  has  l)een  in 
meeting  with  a  gentleman  so  excellently  qualified  as  he  is,  to 
superintend  the  education  of  your  son. 

"I  have  almost  always  found,  that  the  greatest  danger 
attends  tlie  commencement  of  the  academical  life,  when  generous 
and  open-hearted  youths  are  apt  to  form  both  too  many 
connexions,  and  too  hastily.  However,  Mr.  S.  and  myself  are 
so  perfectly  aAvake  to  this  circumstance,  that  we  shall  not  fail  to 
suggest  the  necessary  cautions. 

"  I  venture  to  predict,  that,  in  regard  to  discipline,  we  shall 
have  no  difficulties  whatever ;  for  these  very  seldom  arise  except 
where  previous  defects  at  home,  have  laid  a  foundation  for  future 
irregularities. 

"That  the  blessing  of  God  may  attend  your  truly  laudable 
exertions  as  a  bishop,  and  your  pious  and  Christian  views  as  a 
parent,  is  the  hope  and  prayer  of  your  Lordship's  faithful 
servant, 

"Isaac  Milner.*' 

In  the  course  of  the  month  of  December,  in  this  year,  the 
Duke  of  Grafton,  Chancellor  of  the  University,  paid  a  visit  to 
Cambridge,  taking  up  his  al)ode  at  Trinity  Lodge.  Daring  his 
Grace's  stay,  Mr.  Tondiue,  son  of  the  Bisho])  of  Lincoln, 
pronounced  a  eulogy  on  Mr.  Pitt,  in  the  Chapel  of  Trinity 
College,  before  a  large  concourse  of  auditors.  The  following 
complimentary  communication  must  liavc  been  highly  gratifying 
to  the  youtiiful  speaker. 

"  Dear  Sir,  "  Queeu^s  Lodge,  Deceiiihcr  19,  180G. 

"Tliougli  much  used  to  suffer  mortification  tlirough  indis- 
position, my  dis;ip[)()iiitniciit  has  not  often  l)ccn  greater  than  it 
was  tlie  oilier  day,  on  not  being  able  to  be  present  at  the  very 
iiiterestiiig  scene  in  Trinity  Cliapcl.     I  caught  a  very  severe 


CTIAP.  XVIII.     A.D.  1806.     ^ETAT.  56.  341 

cold  during  last  week,  in  London*,  which  cold  was  still  further 
increased  by  my  journey  thence,  last  Monday,  insomuch  that 
I  have  been  completely  confined  since  that  time. 

"The  Duke  of  Grafton  and  Dr.  Mansel  were  so  good  as  to 
call  upon  me  yesterday ;  and  from  them,  as  well  as  from  many 
others,  I  learnt  how  much  I  had  lost,  (I  will  not  say  by  being 
absent  from  the  splendid  dinners  and  company,  on  Tuesday 
and  Wednesday,  at  Trinity  College ;  but)  l)y  not  hearing  you 
deliver  your  eulogium. 

"  I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  the  copy  of  it  with 
which  you  have  been  so  good  as  to  favour  me ;  though,  I  own, 
it  brings  afresh  to  my  mind  the  observation  of  ^schines  to  the 
admirers  of  the  famous  oration  of  Demosthenes,  ^  What  would 
you  have  said  if  you  had  heard  him  deliver  it?' 

"  May  everything  attend  you  that  is  great  and  good  ! 
"  I  am,  dear  Sir, 

"  Yours  faithfully, 
"  To  Mr.  Tomline."  "Isaac  Milner. 

I  have  never  yet  mentioned  Dr.  Milner's  intimacy  with 
Professor  Porson.  I  recollect  no  appearances  of  this  intimacy 
subsequent  to  the  year  1806;  but  during  the  two  or  three 
previous  years,  I  well  remember  the  frequent  evening  visits  of 
Porson  to  Dr.  Milncr's  study.  He  used  to  sit  in  the  right-hand 
corner  of  the  well-curtained  sofa,  by  the  fire ;  and  his  habits 
being  but  too  Avell  known,  he  was  always,  without  any  order 
given  to  that  efl'ect,  accommodated,  by  the  servant  in  atten- 
dance, with  a  jug  of  malt  liquor,  that  being  tlic  beverage  Mhich 
he  was  understood  to  prefer. 

The  conversation,  on  these  occasions,  often  turned  upon 
Greek  literature,  but  not  exactly  in  the  way  that  might 
naturally  be  supposed. 

To  his  brother's  Observations  on  Sir  Isaac  Newton^s  C/irono- 
logy,  Dean  Milner  has  prefixed  a  note,  stating,  that  he  had,  "'  at 
various  times,  but  in  vain,  desired,  and  even  earnestly  entreated 
Professor  Porson  to  undertake  the  examination  of  the  grand 


*  AYhithcr  lie  liad  "onc  to  attend  the  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Longitude. 


342  CHAr.  XYIIT.     A.D.  IfiOC.     ;ETAT.  56. 

chronological  questions"  which  form  the  subject  of  Sir  Isaac's 
treatise;  ''urging  it  as  an  attempt  worthy  of  his  great  talents 
and  great  attainments." 

He  did,  indeed,  frequently,  so  urge  it ;  for  the  very  respect 
in  which  he  held  the  Professor,  made  him  regret,  that  such 
transcendent  abilities  as  his,  should  be  employed  in  any  but  the 
highest  departments  of  learning.  This  was  a  subject  often 
discussed  between  them.  "  Learning,  such  as  yours,"  the  Dean 
would  say,  "should  be  occupied  on  more  important  matters 
than  the  settling  of  a  disputed  reading,  Avhich,  perhaps,  after  all, 
but  slightly  aifects  the  meaning  of  the  passage  under  consider- 
ation. Such  a  mind  as  yours,  should  be  brought  to  bear  upon 
some  great  question." 

It  was  not,  of  course,  that  Dean  Milner  did  not  admit  the 
possession  of  the  most  varied  and  extensive  classical  learning 
to  be  essentially  requisite  to  the  successful  prosecution  of  such 
investigations  as  those  in  which  the  Greek  Professor  delighted ; 
neither  did  he  undervalue  the  importance  of  those  investi- 
gations ;  but  believing  Person,  besides  his  surpassing  excellence 
as  a  scholar,  to  possess  a  reach  of  mind  capable  of  applying  that 
excellence  to  the  highest  purposes,  he  earnestly  desired  to  see 
him  grapple  with  some  subject  requiring  and  deserving  the 
whole  of  his  intellectual  poM'crs.  Such  a  subject,  in  the  opinion 
of  Dr.  Milner,  was  Sir  Isaac  Newton's  system  of  Chronology. 

To  the  examination  of  Newton's  most  ingenious  arguments, 
— the  one  astronomical,  the  other  drawn  from  observations 
upon  the  ordinarj'  duration  of  human  life, — the  Dean  had  him- 
self, at  various  times,  given  a  good  deal  of  attention;  and  in  the 
conclusion  following  alike  from  both  of  these  perfectly  indepen- 
dent arguments,  he  was,  himself,  well  satisfied  to  acquiesce ;  in 
fact,  it  would,  I  believe,  have  been  exceedingly  diflicult  to 
shake  his  faith  in  the  chronological  scheme  of  one  wliom  lie 
used  to  call  "  that  great  master  of  reason."  Still,  the  question 
was  one  concerning  which  the  opinions  of  the  learned  were 
divided,  and  one  wliicli  Porson,  by  his  cmincst  classical  learn- 
ing, and  extensive  historical  knowledge,  was  peculiarly  qualified 
to  determine.  Often,  therefore,  and  strenuously,  did  Dr. 
Milner  exhort  liim  to  "try  his  strength"  upon  this  subject. 


CHAP.  XYIII.     A.D.  Ifi07.    /ETAT.  57.  343 

The  very  words  wliich  I  liave  heard  him  use  recur  to  my  mind 
as  T  write  :  "  Settle  the  Chronology,  decide  between  Newton 
and  his  oj^ponents.  Set  the  question  at  rest  for  ever;  that 
would  be  an  effort  worthy  of  you." 

How  strange  and  apparently  capricious  a  thing  is  memory  ! 
These  words,  heard  in  early  childhood,  ring  upon  my  ear,  as  if 
but  lately  uttered.  Thus  the  events  and  incidents  of  youth, 
although  apparently  obliterated  from  the  mind,  frequently  start 
into  new  life,  awakened  from  their  trance  by  some  allusion,  or 
some  association  of  ideas,  which,  perhaps,  after  all,  we  can 
scarcely  trace  !  In  fact,  it  is  impossible  to  say,  that  anything 
is  absolutely  forgotten ;  we  may  have  lost  for  years  all  recol- 
lection of  an  event ;  and  yet  the  whole  train  of  circumstances 
belonging  to  it,  may  be  safely  stored  up  in  that  mysterious 
faculty,  the  memory,  and  need  but  the  spark  which  is  to  fire 
it,  and  bring  the  whole  to  light ! 

The  month  of  January  brought  with  it,  as  usual,  much 
college  business.  The  affairs  of  the  University  Press,  likewise, 
continued  to  engross  a  considerable  portion  of  Dr.  Milner^s 
time.  His  indifferent  health,  however,  together  with  his 
anxiety  to  devote  as  many  hours  as  possible  to  the  continuation 
of  the  Church  History,  now  induced  him,  to  free  himself,  in 
some  measure,  from  this  occupation.  In  a  letter  to  Dr.  Pearce, 
the  successor  of  Dr.  Turner,  in  the  office  of  Vice  Chancellor,  he 
states,  at  length,  some  of  the  reasons  which  led  him  to  this 
determination;  adding,  respecting  the  future  conduct  of  the 
press,  various  suggestions,  which,  as  he  had  now  been  conver- 
sant with  the  subject,  during  more  than  three  years,  and  had, 
in  fact,  in  the  year  1804,  usually  presided  at  the  meetings  of 
the  Syndics  of  the  Press,  in  the  place  of  the  Vice  Chancellor, 
Dr.  Torkington,  who  was  infirm  in  health,  could  not  be  other- 
wise than  valuable. 

A  testimonial  given  by  Dr.  Milner  in  January,  1807,  in 
favour  of  a  gentleman,  since  well-known  for  his  services  in  the 
cause  of  Christianity  in  India,  contains  a  passage  which  exem- 
pUfies  his  constant  practice  of  choosing  the  very  best  men  who 
could  be  obtained,  to  fill  ofhccs  of  trust  and  authority  in  the 
college  which  he  governed. 


314  CHAr.  XVIir.    A.D.  1807.     ^TAT.  57. 

*  *  *  *  ''  Some  time  ago,  Queen's  College,  of  which  I 
liave  the  honour  to  be  Master,  was  in  want  of  a  Tutor;  and, 
there  not  being  a  person  of  my  own  College  whom  I  judged 
l)roper  for  this  truly  important  situation,  I  fixed  upon  Mr* 
Thomason*,  after  looking  very  diligently  through  the  whole 
University ;  and  I  was  certainly  induced  to  appoint  him  Tutor 
of  Queen"'s  College,  entirely  on  account  of  his  high  reputation 
for  learning,  good  principles,  and  exemplary  conduct." 

Professor  Smyth,  in  a  letter  containing  various  notices  of 
Dean  Milner,  which,  like  all  those  received  from  the  same 
source,  are  well  worthy  of  preservation,  observes  that  about 
this  period  he  "  frequently  urged  the  Dean  to  draw  up  a  Life  of 
Calvin,  for  which,  he  said,  he  had  some  materials,  and  for  which 
he  was  eminently  fitted,  but  no  work  of  the  kind  ever  appeared." 
Professor  Smyth  adds,  "  I  remember  that  Dr.  B.,  the  last 
principal  of  the  E.  I.  Coll.,  was  very  much  struck  with  a 
sermon  that  the  Dean  delivered  at  St.  Mary's,  against  the 
emancipation  of  the  Roman  Catholics." 

The  sermon  alluded  tot,  which  produced,  at  the  time  of 
its  delivery  J,  a  great  sensation  in  the  University,  has,  doubtless, 
in  one  point  of  view,  lost  a  part  of  its  interest — the  claims 
which  Dean  Milner  02")posed  having  been  since  conceded,  and 
the  question  settled  by  the  Legislature.  Still  however,  as  a 
masterly  historical  sketch,  admirably  adapted  to  the  purpose 
which  its  author  had  in  view,  this  composition  must  ever  retain 
its  value.  The  following  extract  treats  especially  of  the  great 
Christian  doctrine  which  Dr.  Milner  regarded  as  "the  very 
jewel  of  the  Reformation." 

"  Modern  historians  and  political  writers  have  been  copious 
and  loud  in  their  praises  of  the  Reformation  from  Popery ;  but 
it  is  very  plain,  tliat  the  thing  these  writers  are  chiefly  in  love 
with,  is  nuTcly  tlic  civil  liberty  of  tlie  Reformation,  which  was 
indeed  one  blessed  cflect,  but  by  no  means  the  most  important 
cfVcct  of  our  emancipation  from  Papal  despotism.     The  revival 


•  He  was  fifth  AVranglei-. 
t   Sec  Dean  Milneii's  Scnnons,  Vol.  I.,  Ser.  1. 
Z  JaiMiary  :}()lli,  lyoy. 


CHAP.  XVIir.     A.D.  1R07.     yETAT.  57.  345 

of  pure  Cliristianity  Avliich  took  place  at  the  Reformation,  is 
that  which  forms  the  boast  of  that  glorious  ccra ;  and  I  am 
deeply  and  a  wfully  convinced,  that  unless  something  like  another 
revival  of  the  same  spirit  should  again  manifest  itself  among 
us,  we  shall,  in  no  great  length  of  time,  be  found  to  have  let 
go  the  substance,  and  retained  only  the  shadow  of  Protes- 
tantism. 

"  I  can  have  no  fear  of  incurring  a  charge  either  of  ignorance 
or  temerity,  mIicu  I  only  repeat  what,  in  substance,  has,  of  late 
years,  been  frequently  much  more  than  intimated  from  the  hrst 
Episcopal  authority*,  (if  learning,  wisdom,  and  knowledge 
in  the  Scriptures  and  in  the  history  of  the  Church,  be  any 
foundation  for  authority,)  that  in  too  many  instances  even  the 
clergy  of  the  Establishment  have  materially  deviated  from  the 
natural,  unsophisticated  meaning  of  the  Articles  and  Homilies 
of  the  Church  of  England  ;  that  they  have,  in  fact,  preached 
too  much  from  Socrates  and  Seneca,  and  too  little  from  Christ 
and  his  everlasting  Gospel;  that  the  reading-desk  and  the 
pulpit  have  often  Ijeen  at  variance  ;  and  that,  instead  of  pressing 
upon  the  conscience  with  energy,  the  great  and  peculiar  doc- 
trines of  the  Gospel, — such  as  the  doctrines  of  original  sin, 
justification  by  faith,  and  regeneration  by  the  Holy  Spirit, — 
there  has  been,  in  many  cases,  substituted  in  their  place  little 
more  than  a  vain  system  of  frigid  ethics,  accommodated  to  the 
pride  and  blindness  of  human  reason.  My  own  little  experience 
entirely  accords  with  the  admonitions  of  this  learned  prelate : 
and,  with  him,  I  further  believe,  that  the  doctrine  of  Justifica- 
tion by  Faith,  as  stated  in  tlie  eleventh,  twelfth,  and  thirteenth 
Articles  of  our  Church,  is  the  very  corner-stone  of  the  whole 
system  of  the  first  Reformers.  It  was  the  doctrine  of  Luther 
and  Calvin,  and  Philip  Melancthon ;  and  it  was  the  doctrine  of 
the  whole  college  of  Apostles. 

'•'  How  far,  in  the  distant  periods  of  the  Puritanical  excesses, 
this  fundamental  doctrine  was,  by  some  hypocrites,  perverted 
to  wicked  purposes,  (as  the  very  best  things  are  ever  lialjle  to 
abuse,)  or  how  far,  in  modern  times,  some  fanatical  and  ilUtcrate 


*  Bishop  Iloi-sley. 


346  CHAP.  XVIII.    A.P.  1R07.    iETAT.  57. 

itinerant  teachers  have  given  just  occasion  to  Antinomian  inter- 
pretations of  the  same  doctrine,  I  will  not  take  upon  me  to 
decide :  but  I  have  no  doubt,  that  in  the  anxiety  to  resist  and 
expose  the  dangers  of  Antinomianism,  many,  of  late  years, 
actuated  by  more  zeal  than  knowledge,  have  mutilated  the 
whole  Gospel  system,  totally  destroyed  the  analogy  of  Faith, 
and  expressed  themselves  in  such  a  way  as  scarcely  to  have 
kept  clear  of  the  grossest  errors  of  the  Pelagian  heresy. 
The  remedies  for  this  mischievous  practice,  in  cases  where  it 
originates  from  mere  error  of  judgment,  will  consist  in  a 
better  acquaintance  M'ith  the  interior  of  ecclesiastical  history, 
a  closer  and  more  diligent  study  of  the  evangelical  system, 
and,  lastly,  a  more  serious  and  habitual  application  of  the 
doctrines  of  the  Gospel  to  men's  own  individual  circumstances, 
for  the  express  purpose  of  spiritual  improA'cment,  and  the  for- 
mation of  Christian  dispositions.  The  using  of  these  remedies, 
by  persons  who  sincerely  wish  to  he  set  right,  will  be  crowned 
with  success."  ******  « But  the  dangerous  sort 
of  instruction  above  alluded  to,  does  not  always  arise  from 
mere  ignorance,  but  from  something  besides,  something  worse 
than  any  mere  ignorance  whatever.  In  many  instances,  be- 
sides a  complete  un acquaintance  Mnth  the  marrow  of  the  Pro- 
testant confessions  of  faith,  and  the  specific  difierence  between 
these  and  the  Roman  Catholic  tenets  in  doctrinal  articles ; 
besides  also,  the  total  misapprehension  of  the  meaning  of  our 
own  Articles  and  Liturgy ;  there  is  super-added  a  lamentable 
opposition  of  the  human  heart  to  the  very  doctrines  themselves 
of  salvation  by  Christ  and  renovation  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

"  Men  do  not  thoroughly  believe  these  doctrines  :  the  pride 
of  corrupt  nature  is  not  humified  into  a  thorough  acquiescence 
in  the  Revealed  Word,  much  less  into  a  grateful  acceptance  of 
the  terms  of  Revelation.  Hence,  the  true  interpretation  of  the 
Scriptures,  and  of  our  own  Articles,  is  often  condemned  as 
irrational ;  and  it  is  found  in  vain  to  insist  upon  the  plain, 
literal,  and  grammatical  meaning  of  the  most  unequivocal  ex- 
pressions, when  it  has  l)een  pre-determined,  that  all  such 
notions  arc  absurd,  and  incapable  of  being  seriously  Iield  by 
meJi  of  learning  and  cajiacity. 


ciiAr.  XYiir.   A.D.  ino7.   tetat.  57.  347 

"  Thus  it  happens,  that  men  may  l)c  baptized,  profess  Chris-  yC 
tiaiiity  all  their  Hvcs,  and  join  in  the  common  acts  of  estal)lished 
Christian  communion,  and  yet  constantly  withstand,  with  all 
their  might,  what  I  call  the  interiofj  the  essentials,  the  marrow 
of  the  Christian  system. 

"Such  persons  would  do  well  to  scrutinize  those  parts  of  the 
history  of  the  blessed  Reformation  which  are  scarcely  touched 
upon  by  our  most  elegant  and  approved  historians  ;  those  scat- 
tered, but  very  authentic  and  precious  memoirs  which  lay  open 
the  real  views  of  our  first  Reformers  concerning  repentance, 
faith,  and  sanctification — in  short,  concerning  the  everlasting 
salvation  of  the  soul.  Such  a  laudable  industry  might,  by  the 
blessing  of  God,  help  to  remove  the  veil  from  men's  eyes;  might 
make  them  suspect,  that  they  had  hitherto  misunderstood  the 
most  material  article  of  the  Reformation ;  and  by  thus  abating 
prejudices,  might  pave  the  w^ay  for  true  conversion  of  heart, 
and  true  spiritual  discernment. 

"  No  one,  I  conceive,  can  understand  me  to  be  here  alluding 
to  the  Roman  Catholic  tenets  of  the  Pope's  supremacy,  tran- 
substantiation,  the  invocation  of  saints,  and  such  like.  In 
rejecting  these  absurdities  and  superstitions,  we  are  all  perfectly 
agreed.  It  is  the  doctrines  of  grace,  which  teach  the  way  of 
acceptance  with  God,  and  of  the  formation  of  the  true  Christian 
character,  on  whicli  I  have  my  eye.  These  doctrines  are  the 
immediate  and  pressing  concern  of  every  individual,  because 
his  eternal  happiness  depends  upon  them ;  and,  therefore,  if 
these  be  not  both  distinctly  stated  and  sedulously  enforced  by 
the  clergy,  it  is  in  vain  to  expect  any  effective  or  abiding 
improvement  among  the  people,  either  in  Christian  faith,  or 
Christian  morals. 

"  It  is  on  this  account,  that  I  would  to  God  the  true  nature  of 
the  Protestant  Reformation  M'ere  better  understood,  and,  parti- 
cularly, in  the  grand  article  respecting  faith  and  works  :  for  then 
the  doctrinal  articles  of  our  own  Church,  -which  are  in  perfect 
harmony  with  the  sentiments  of  the  best  and  wisest  Reformers, 
would  soon  be,  likewise,  better  understood ;  controversies 
concerning  their  meaning,  would  vanish  ajiace;  the  well- 
disposed  would  be  delivered  from  darkness  into  a  marvellous 


348  CHAP.  XVIII.    A.D.  1807.    jT.TAT.  57. 

light,  and  would  receive  the  truth  ^vith  a  godly  joy  and  thank- 
fulness. This  would  he  the  cure  of  every  departure  from  the 
Protestant  faith — this  would  be  the  revival  of  Christian  prin- 
ciples— this  would  put  an  end  to  unlearned  and  injudicious 
declamation  against  Methodism,  for  Methodism  would  scarcely 
exist.  It  would  soon  be  found,  that  neither  illiterate  enthusiasts 
who,  by  coarse  allusions  and  intemperate  language,  often,  with 
the  very  best  meanings,  burlesque  the  most  momentous  doc- 
trines;  nor  conceited  philosophers  of  modern  times,  who,  like 
their  ancient  brethren,  can  never  relieve  the  horrors  of  a  guilty 
conscience,  nor  make  the  wicked  man  turn  away  from  his 
wickedness,  by  their  insipid  harangues  on  candour  and  huma- 
nity— it  would  soon  be  found,  that  neither  open  enemies,  nor 
false  friends,  nor  deluded  brethren,  could  make  much  stand 
against  the  glorious  and  salutary  truths  of  the  Gospel,  delivered, 
by  those  properly  commissioned  to  deliver  them,  with  wisdom, 
animation,  and  affection.  Then  would  our  prayers  be  offered 
\ip,  not  merely  with  the  lips,  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  but  from 
the  heart  delivered  up  to  its  Redeemer  and  sanctifier.^'     ' 

Consistency  was  a  prominent  feature  in  Dr.  Milner's  cha- 
racter. It  is,  therefore,  not  surprising,  that,  with  his  views  of 
the  fatal  errors  of  popery,  he  should  about  this  time,  have  drawn 
up  the  following  address. 

"  We  your  Majesty's,  &c.  &c. 

"Humbly  present  to  3'our  Majesty  our  unfeigned  thanks 
for  the  signal  proof  Avhich  we  have  recently  witnessed  of  your 
Majesty's  firm  and  conscientious  determination  to  maintain  the 
barriers  of  our  happy  Constitution,  erected  by  the  wisdom  of 
our  ancestors,  for  the  security  of  the  Protestant  religion. 

"  As  ecclesiastical  persons,  we  feel  ourselves  more  parti- 
c\darly  interested  in  every  measure  which  tends  to  preserve 
inviolate  our  most  excellent  and  venerable  Establishment; 
find  as  teachers  of  the  pure  doctrines  of  Christianity,  wc 
rejoice  to  sec  your  Majesty's  undoubted  authority  exercised  in 
guarding  those  doctrines  from  all  dangerous  and  anti-christian 
admixtures. 

"The  mild  and  tolerant  principles  by  wliich  your  Majesty 


CHAP.  XVIII.    A.D.  in07.     yETAT.  57-  349 

has  been  actuated  throughout  your  auspicious  reign,  have 
convinced  all  descriptions  of  your  Majesty's  loyal  subjects,  that 
your  Majesty  never  ^vishes  to  interpose  restraints,  but  from  a 
sense  of  duty  and  of  those  sacred  obligations  under  which  the 
royal  prerogatives  are  held ;  and  they  reflect  with  admiration 
and  gratitude,  that  a  steady  course  of  inflexible  constancy,  thus 
tempered  with  the  benevolent  spirit  of  liberality  and  indulgence, 
entirely  becomes  the  defender  of  the  faith,  and  the  father  of  his 
people. 

"Fully  persuaded  of  the  rectitude  of  the  motives  which 
dictated  the  wise  resolutions  of  your  Majesty,  at  this  critical 
juncture,  we  pledge  ourselves,  in  conjunction  with  all  your 
Majesty's  loyal  and  dutiful  subjects,  to  exert  our  utmost  eff'orts, 
to  support  the  royal  authority,  to  cherish  among  the  people  a 
sense  of  the  liberties  w^hich  they  enjoy  under  our  admirable 
Constitution,  and  to  cultivate  a  spirit  of  obedience  to  the  laws, 
and  of  union,  harmony,  and  universal  good-will. 

"  We  humbly  pray,  that  Almighty  God,  M'ho,  under  your 
Majesty's  Government  and  protection,  has  bestowed  upon  us 
so  many  blessings,  may  long  continue  to  preserve  your  Majesty's 
life,  and  to  pour  out  his  favours  upon  your  Majesty  and  your 
people." 

On  the  dissolution  of  Parliament,  which  took  place  soon 
afterwards.  Dr.  Milner,  thus  wrote. 

"To  THE  Rev.  William  AFandell. 
"  My  dear  Sir,  "  Queen's  College,  May  3,  IR07. 

"The  election  is  fixed  for  Friday  next,  and,  I  suppose,  it 
will  begin  at  ten  o'clock,  in  the  morning. 

"  We  are  all  in  a  flame  for  Church  and  King,  and  I  hope 
you  will  join  us. 

"  Most  seriously,  I  do  think,  that  the  greatest  constitutional 
question,  by  far,  that  has  happened  in  my  time,  is  now  at  issue : 
and  if  the  outs  were  to  get  the  better,  I  think,  that  the  royal 
prerogative  would  he.  in  imminent  danger,  if  not  actually 
extremely  lowered  and  reduced. 

"  If  I  judge  right,  you  will  be  of  the  same  opinion,  and  will 
make  us  happy,  by  allowing  us  to  number  you  among  the 


350  CHAP.  XVIII.    A.D.  1807.    ^TAT.  57- 

friends  of  Sir  Y.  Gil^ljs  and  Lord  Palmerston,  wlio,  at  present, 
represent  the  constitutional  side,  against  LordEuston  and  Lord 
Henry  Petty,  the  friends  of  the  Ex-Ministers. 

I  am,  dear  Sir, 

"  Yours  most  truly, 

«I.    MiLNER." 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  state,  that  the  successful  candi- 
dates, on  this  occasion,  were  Lord  Euston  and  Sir  Y.  Gibbs. 

One  circumstance  which,  at  this  time,  occasioned  to  Dr. 
Milner  some  extra  occupation,  was  his  being  appointed  by  the 
University,  in  conjunction  with  Dr.  Jowett  and  Dr.  Outram,  to 
read  the  compositions  sent  in  by  the  numerous  competitors  for 
the  munificent  prize  of  five  hundred  pounds,  offered  by  Dr. 
Buchanan,  for  the  best  "  Essay  on  the  probable  Design  of 
Divine  Providence,  in  subjecting  so  large  a  portion  of  India  to 
the  British  Empire,"  and  to  decide  upon  their  respective 
merits. 

Dr.  Milner,  who,  on  former  occasions,  had  been  selected  by 
Dr.  Buchanan  as  the  dispenser  of  his  liberality,  was  very 
anxious  concerning  the  adjudging  of  this  noble  prize.  Of  the 
number  of  compositions  that  were  sent  in  within  the  appointed 
time,  not  one  was  thought  worthy  of  acceptance.  Another 
essay,  afterwards  ascertained  to  be  from  the  pen  of  the  Rev.  J. 
W.  Cunningham,  and  to  which  the  prize  would  have  been 
unanimously  adjudged,  was  presented  a  few  days  too  late.  This 
composition  Dr.  Buchanan  offered  to  print,  at  his  own 
expense. 

The  meetings  of  the  Board  of  Longitude  called  Dr.  Milner 
to  London,  at  the  ordinary  periods,  during  the  early  part  of  this 
year,  and  in  the  third  week  in  June,  he  entered  upon  his  annual 
journey  to  Carlisle,  where  much  business  awaited  him.  A  law- 
suit between  the  Chapter  and  the  Duke  of  Devonshire,  occupied 
much  of  his  time.  Tlic  necessary  repairs  of  the  Cathedral, 
likewise  demanded  liis  attention  ;  and,  moreover,  a  new  organ 
Mas  to  be  l>uilt. 

Concerning  the  latter  subject,  the  Dean  was  exceedingly 
solicitous ;  and,  being  most  anxious  that  the  Cathedral  should 


GUAR  XVITL    A.D.  1807.     ^ETAT.  57.  351 

possess  a  really  fine  organ,  lie  wisely  applied  to  his  friend  Dr. 
Crotch,  for  advice  respecting  the  builder  to  he  selected. 

The  new  organ  finished,  it  was  desired  that  a  musical 
festival,  for  the  furtherance  of  some  charitable  object,  should 
take  place  at  Carlisle. 

Dean  Milner  did  not  disapprove  of  such  performances 
of  oratorios,  or  selections  of  sacred  music.  He  M-illingly  con- 
sented to  the  use  of  the  Cathedral,  on  the  occasion  of  this 
festival,  which  lasted,  as  I  recollect,  three  days ;  and  privileged 
by  his  station,  he  attended  the  rehearsals,  as  Avell  as  the  public 
performances.  Mr.  Yanicwiez,  a  violin  player  of  uncommon 
excellence,  was  the  leader ;  and  Mrs,  Dickons,  a  singer  of  con- 
siderable reputation  in  her  day,  sang  the  principal  treble  songs. 
Vaughan,  (unequalled  to  this  day  in  his  peculiar  style,)  and,  I 
think,  Harrison,  assisted. 

But  Carlisle,  albeit  graced  by  a  cathedral,  was  nevertheless, 
at  that  time,  a  most  unmusical  city.  The  Bishop  patronized 
the  festival,  and  many  of  the  neighbouring  county  families 
attended ;  still,  however,  the  affair  proved  a  failure ;  and,  so  far 
as  I  know,  no  second  attempt,  of  a  similar  kind,  has  been  made. 

Various,  however,  as  might  be  Dean  Milner's  avocations  at 
Carlisle,  his  great  object,  while  there,  was,  always,  to  exert 
himself  to  the  utmost  in  the  pulpit. 

Some  observations  with  regard  to  preaching,  written  during 
this  summer,  and  apparently  suggested  by  the  perusal  of  certain 
parts  of  the  works  of  Dr.  Blair,  will  be  read  with  interest. 

"  Object  of  preaching. 

"1.  To  persuade  men  to  be  good;  and  therefore  convince 
first. 

"2.  Gravity  and  warmth  are  the  requisites. 

"  3.  The  grand  general  rules  are, — 

"1.  Unity, — one  main  point. 

"  2.  Unity  more  easily  preserved  \n  particular  subjects,  than 
in  general  ones. 

"3.  Never  aim  at  saying  all  that  can  be  said;  a  great  mis- 
take this.     Select  ivelh 

"4.  Let  the  preacher  suppose  himself  addressed;  and  con- 
sider what  would  must  aflcct  himself. 


352  CHAP.  XYIII.    A.D.  1807.    ^TAT.  57. 

"5.  Avoid  dryness — make  it  interesting:  l)ring  it  to  the 
heart.     Carry  it  on  iu  the  strain  of  address. 

'•'  Make  every  one  think,  tliat  you  are  addressing  /I'un. 
Therefore,  remember  ages,  characters,  &c. 

"  6.  Style,     Perspicuous. 


"An  Introduction  should  have  one  or  more  of  the 
following  objects — 

''  1.  To  conciliate. 

"  2.  To  excite  attention  in  consequence  of  the  novelty  or 
importance  of  the  subject. 

"3.  To  make  hearers  docile. 

"  $&"  Omit  Introduction  when  none  of  these  three  things 
are  wanted. 

"Good  Introductions  difficulty  should  be  planned  after 
digesting  the  subject. 

"  The  expression  in  the  introduction  should  be  correct  and 
good.     The  hearers  attend  most  to  language,  then. 

"  Modest,  simple,  and  opposite  to  ostentation.  Except  in 
very  particular  cases. 

"Cd'  Not  vehement;  yet  it  should  sow  the  seeds  of  what  is 
to  be  expected.     However,  don't  anticipate. 

"  Let  it  be  well  proportioned. 


''  Division  of  a  Discourse. 
"  1.  Begin  with  the  simplest  points. 
"  2.  Not  one  word  more  should  be  used  than  is  necessary 


Among  some  private  thoughts  of  about  this  date,  the  follow- 
ing reflections  occur. 

"  It  is  frequently  a  matter  of  serious  concern  to  truly  evan- 
gelical persons,  that  they  are,  in  many  instances,  compelled  to 
own,  that  the  practice  of  those  who  profess  to  believe  souiul 
principles,  does  not  correspond,  as  it  ought  to  do,  with  their 
faith;  and  this  concern  is  not  a  little  increased  by  observing, 
that,  frequently,  the  practice  of  those  who  are  misound  in 
(iospcl  doctrines,  is,  nevertheless,  much  more  to  ho  commended 
than  that  of  tlie  former  sort  of  persons,  so  far  as  the  external 
is  concenied. 


CHAP.  XVIir.    A.D.  1807.     -ETAT.  57.  353 

"  This  I  take  to  be  a  consideration  of  very  great  importance. 

"  It  becomes  a  trial  of  the  faith  of  truly  conscientious 
persons,  especially  if  they  happen  to  be  reproached  by  ill- 
disposed  people,  who  are  apt  to  triumpli  over  those  who  are 
really  godly,  and  to  oljjcct  to  them  the  excellent  conduct  of 
those  whom  godly  persons  cannot  allow  to  be  true  believers, 
even  though  they  exhibit  a  great  deal  of  what  is  amiable  and 
praiseworthy  among  men." 

Soon  after  the  10th  of  October,  Dean  Milner,  having 
passed  a  few  days  with  his  relatives  at  Hull,  and  with  his 
friend  Mr.  Richardson,  at  York,  was  again  at  his  post  in  the 
University.  Later  in  the  year  he  was  gladdened  by  a  visit 
from  the  late  Christian  Ignatius  Latrobe,  a  person  in  whose 
society,  in  common  with  all  who  knew  him,  he  always  took 
much  delight.  Mr.  Latrobe's  character,  his  extensive  informa- 
tion, his  extraordinary  conversational  powers,  his  benevolent 
and  lively  temperament,  and  "  though  last,  not  least,"  his 
transcendent  musical  talents,  rendered  him,  to  the  circle  of  his 
intimate  friends  at  Cambridge,  a  most  welcome  visitor.  His 
arrival  always  infused  new  vigour  into  the  musical  coteries 
within  the  range  of  his  acquaintance;  and  notwithstanding  Dr. 
Milner's  want  of  ear,  no  one  entered  with  more  hearty  good- 
will than  he,  into  the  small,  but  very  excellent  musical  parties 
collected,  particularly  by  his  friend  Dr.  Jowett,  on  such 
occasions. 

Many,  though  not  all,  of  those  who  assisted  at  those  very 
pleasant  parties,  are  no  longer  living.  Some  remain  to  bear 
witness  to  the  truth  of  my  assertion,  that  by  the  band  of  friends 
then  in  the  habit  of  performing  together,  the  best  compositions, 
both  vocal  and  instrumental,  of  the  great  German  and  Italian 
masters,  were  often  executed  with  more  precision  and  better 
taste  than  are  generally  exhibited  in  public,  by  professional 
artists. 

The  December  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Longitude  called 
Dr.  Milner,  as  usual,  to  London,  early  in  the  month ;  and  he 
had  but  just  returned  to  Cambridge  when  he  was  recalled  to 
town  by  the  sudden  and  dangerous  illness  of  his  friend  Mr. 
"Wilberforce. 

2   A 


354  CHAP.  XYIII.     A.P.  1808.     yETAT.  58. 

"  My  dear  kind  friend  the  Dean,"  writes  Mr.  "Wilberforce,  in 
his  Journal,  "  came  up  to  us ;"  and  Hannah  More,  congratulating 
him,  by  letter,  on  his  recovery,  observes,  that  she  was  "happy 
that  the  incomparable  Dean'^  had  been  with  him  dm-ing  his 
illness*. 

Most  justly  has  it  been  remarked,  concerning  Dean  Milner, 
that  "  there  never,  perhaps,  existed  a  man  more  richly  endowed'' 
than  he,  "with  the  milk  of  human  kindness;  or  one  whose 
affectionate  concern  for  every  creature  about  him,  was  more 
remarkable ;"  and  this  disposition  was,  doubtless,  especially 
manifested  throughout  the  whole  of  his  intercourse  with  Mr. 
Wilberforce  and  his  family. 

He  was  detained  in  London  by  the  indisposition  of  his 
friend  till  the  first  day  of  the  New  Year. 

In  the  midst  of  the  College  and  University  business  which 
pressed  upon  him,  on  his  return  to  Cambridge,  Dr.  Milner 
found  time  for  an  animated  discussion,  with  a  very  able  and 
learned  corresjiondent,  concerning  certain  disputed  points  of 
chronology:  so  true  it  is,  that,  as  he  himself  used  to  say,  "those 
who  choose  to  do  so,  may  find  time  enough  for  everything !" 
The  correctness  of  the  account  given  by  Thucydides  of  a  certain 
eclipse  of  the  sun,  visible  at  Athens,  in  his  time,  by  means 
of  which  account  (apparently,  however,  invalidated  by  more 
recent  astronomical  calculations)  the  dates  of  some  important 
events  were  sought  to  be  ascertained — Mas  the  matter  under 
discussion. 

This  correspondence  would  be  neither  interesting  nor  intel- 
ligible to  a  great  mass  of  readers ;  it  is  mentioned  only  as 
affording  evidence,  in  addition  to  much  which  has  been  already 
adduced,  of  the  active  turn  of  Dean  Milner's  mind. 

The  following  characteristic  passage  respecting  a  young 
nobleman,  to  whom  the  Rev.  William  Mandell  had  agreed  to 
become  private  tutor,  occurs  in  a  letter,  dated,  "  February 
21st,"  from  Dr.  Milner,  to  that  much  esteemed  friend. 


Sec  Life  of  IVildcrforce. 


CHAP.  XA'III.    A.D.  1808.    iETAT.  58.  355 

"  My  dear  Sir, 

"  Don't  accuse  me  of  being  a  troublesome  correspondent,  if 
I  say  again,  that  I  am  anxious  to  receive  from  you,  an  account, 
when  you  are  hkely  to  come ;  for  this  Lord =  is  expect- 
ing to  hear  every  day. 

"  I  do  not  mean,  nor  ever  did,  to  press  you :  but  a  young 
hand  hke  him,  -will,  perhaps,  be  anxious  to  know  when  he  is  to 
begin ;  more  anxious,  perhaps,  than  actually  to  begin,  when  it 
comes  to  it;  and,  probably,  more  anxious  than  to  go  on 
briskly. 

"  You  may  remember  my  story  of  the  young  man  who  got 
ready  so  many  different  Greek  Testaments,  some  interleaved, 
&c.  &c. — and,  I  forgot  to  mention,  that  he  was  never  for  begin- 
ning at  the  middle  or  end,  but  always  on  the  Monday  of  a 
week. 

"  Yours  always  affectionately,  I.  M." 

Two  days  afterwards.  Dr.  Milner,  anxious  to  bring  this 
negociation  to  a  conclusion,  thus  wrote  again  to  the  same 
gentleman. 

"  Queen's  College  Lodge, 
"My  dear  Sir,  February  23,  1808. 

"  From  my  several  letters,  particularly  from  the  last,  which 
you  had  not  received  when  you  wrote  yours,  of  this  morning, 
you  may,  perhaps,  have  discerned,  that  I  certainly  rather 
wished  no  time  to  be  lost — and  this,  not  so  much  from  any- 
thing that  Lord had  said,  as  from  the  knowledge  which 

I  seem  to  myself  to  have  acquired,  from  experience,  of  the  state 
of  mind  of  persons  in  his  situation.  They  intend  to  do  a  deal; 
there  is  an  ardour  about  them  at  the  moment ;  they  would  not 
lose  an  hour ;  they  are  sorry  for  the  past ;  they  mean  to  repair ; 
and,  of  course,  they  griidge  any  delay. 

"  Too  often,  all  this  ends  in  vanity ;  and  sometimes,  in 
vexation  too ! 

"  Yours,  dear  Sir,  always  affectionately, 

"Isaac  Milner. 
"P.S.  Asto     **********     ,  you  are 

2  A  2 


356  CHAP.  XVIII.     A.D.  1808.    iETAT.  5S. 

perfectly  right  in  appearing  to  take  no  notice  of  the  unpleasant 
disingenuousness  of  which  you  speak. 

"  There  are  a  thousand  things  of  this  sort,  in  this  present 
fragment  of  hfe,  which  it  is  far  better  to  pass  by,  than   to 
attempt  to  set  right  or  mend. 
"  To  the  Rev.  William  Mandell." 

The  following  letter  written  on  the  occasion  of  the  present 
Colonel  T.  P.  Tliompson's  going  out,  as  Governor,  to  Sierra 
Leone,  will  be  read  with  interest. 

"To  THE  Rev.  C.  I.  Latrobe. 

"  Queen's  College  Lodge^ 
"Dear  Sir,  Febmary  26,  1808. 

"  The  reason  of  my  troubling  you  with  a  letter,  is  this. 

"  A  very  good  friend  of  mine,  and  also,  of  our  common 
excellent  friend,  Mr.  Wilberforce,  wishes  to  be  introduced  to 
you,  and  to  have  a  little  conversation  Avith  you,  that  might 
possil)ly  lead  to  something  of  importance. 

"  To  l)e  brief,  Mr.  Thomas  Thompson, — son  of  a  gentleman 
of  the  same  name,  who  is  a  banker  at  Hull,  and  partner  with 
Messrs.  Smith,  Payne,  and  Smith,  and  who  is  also  an  M.P.— 
is  likely  to  go  out  soon  to  Sierra  Leone,  and,  as  I  suppose,  in 
the  capacity  of  Governor,  upon  Mr.  Ludlam's  resignation. 

*'  Mr.  Thompson,  the  father,  is  a  tried  character,  having 
been  a  truly  religious  man  for  many  years.  He  is  connected 
with  the  Methodists.  The  son  has,  of  course,  had  a  religious 
education,  and  either  is,  or  will  be,  I  trust,  a  religious  character 
likewise,  in  due  time ;  but  religion,  you  know,  is  not  here- 
ditary. However,  I  believe,  I  do  not  go  too  far  when  I  say, 
that  Mr.  Tliompson,  junior,  will  certainly  favour  all  the  rational 
attempts  of  religious  peoi:)le  to  spread  Christianity,  and  to 
civilize  barbarians.  In  this  light,  therefore,  I  venture  to 
recommend  Mr.  Thompson  to  your  notice,  o.s  a  person  on 
whoni  the  Moravians  might  depend  for  help  and  support,  and 
countenance,  in  all  their  laudaljle  attempts,  whether  those 
attempts  be  on  a  small,  or  a  larger  scale.  lOvcn  if  one,  or  two, 
or  three  of  your  brethren,shoul(l  have  a  mind  to  go  with  him 


CHAP.  XVTIT.    A.D,  icon.    /ETAT.  :,8.  357 

to  explore  those  regions,  I  should  think  the  opportunity  a  very 
favourable  one. 

"  Mr.  Wilberforcc  is  Mr.  Thompson's  warm  friend,  and 
does  his  utmost  to  forward  his  appointment;  and  I  do  assure 
you,  that  I  shall  feel  greatly  disappointed  if  Mr.  Thompson, 
under  the  guidance  and  protection  of  a  kind  Providence,  do  not 
show  himself  both  discreet  and  enterprising,  and  also  very  able 
in  the  execution  of  the  plans  which  he  has  in  view. 

"  A  single  word  more. 

"  He  thinks,  and  very  justly  too,  that  a  few  musical  people, 
who  would  like  an  excursion  of  this  sort,  without  requiring 
much  pay,  might  prove  very  useful  in  promoting  the  general 
object  of  civilization  among  the  Africans. 

"  I  have  desired  Mr.  Thompson  to  request  you  to  fix  a  day 
and  hour  for  his  waiting  upon  you — or  if  you  ever  call  on  Mr. 
Wilberforcc,  Mr.  T.  is  to  be  found  at  No.  9,  Little  College 
Street,  '\'S''estminster :  but  the  best  way  will  be  to  fix,  by 
writing,  the  time  beforehand. 

"  I  am,  dear  Sir,  yours  truly,  and  affectionately, 

"I.  MiLNER. 

"  N.  B.  Mr.  Thompson,  in  his  note  to  me,  in  which  he 
requests  to  be  introduced  to  you,  observes,  very  justly,  '  that 
the  Moravian  Missionaries  have  conducted  themselves  in  a 
more  rational,  deliberate,  and  regular  manner,  than  those  of  any 
other  sect  who  have  attempted  Missions;'  and  '^ their  success' 
he  says,  '  has  been  answerable  to  their  deserts.' " 

About  this  time,  Dr.  Milner's  spirit,  (to  use  an  expression 
of  his  own,)  was  refreshed  by  a  short  visit  from  his  friend  Mr. 
Hey,  of  Leeds ;  a  man  of  whom  he  was  accustomed  to  say,  that 
"  conscientiousness  and  consistency,"  were  the  ''  distinguishing 
features  of  his  character." 

The  Rev.  William  Richardson  was  now  engaged  in  prepa- 
ing  for  publication  a  second  volume  of  the  Sermons  of  Joscpli 
Milner.  Some  of  Mr.  Richardson's  observations,  witli  regard 
to  these  Sermons,  are  worthy  of  being  preserved.  A  strain  of 
shrewd  humour,  not  very  unlike  that  which  appertained  to  his 
correspondent,  characterizes  the  letters  of  this  excellent  man. 


358  CHAP.  XVIII.    A.D.  1808.    ^ETAT.  58. 

On  the  25th  of  May,  ISOS,  he  thus  writes  to  the  Dean:  "I 
wonder  you  shoukl  send  me  so  many  sermons  that  have  been 

preached  by  F at     *     *     *     *     ,  and  so  very  lately. 

He  will  look  queer,  if  he  finds  that  any  of  his  hearers  remember 
that  they  have  heard  preached  by  him  several  of  the  sermons  in 
the  volume  I  am  printing ;  but  I  could  not  help  it. 

"  I  have  had  a  request  from  a  Mr.  G ,  a  Lincolnshire 

clergyman,  known  to  your  brother,  for  the  loan  of  some  of  the 
manuscript  sermons  to  preach  to  his  congregation.  He  pleads 
bad  health  and  nervous  feelings  of  a  miserable  kind,  which 
disqualify  him  from  composing  sermons,  and  begs  hard  to  be 
indulged.  I  told  him  I  would  mention  the  matter  to  you  and 
follow  your  direction,  as  the  sermons  were  not  mine  to  dispose 
of.  I  think  you  cannot  do  better  with  the  residuum  than  to 
dispose  of  it  among  those  parsons  who  want  such  helps.  I  did 
so  with  Mr.  Adam's  manuscripts,  after  I  had  selected  as  many 
as  I  thought  it  right  to  publish. 

"  I  think  the  present  volume  will  contain  about  thirty- three 
sermons ;  and  as  I  have  found  it  very  difficult  to  select  so 
many,  so  as  to  furnish  the  variety  that  the  readers  will  expect, 
I  am  inclined  to  think  that  no  more  ought  to  be  pul)lished. 

''  A  person  so  zealous  as  your  brother  was,  for  the  peculiar, 
distinguishing,  doctrines  of  Christianity,  must  have  them  in 
every  sermon,  and  thus,  must  make  one  sermon  very  like 
another.  He  took  as  large  a  range  with  his  views  as  most  men ; 
and  I  know,  supposed  that  he  gave  his  congregation  greater 
variety  than  many  of  his  bretlircn ;  l)ut  certainly  there  is  more 
of  this  variety  in  appearance  than  in  reality ;  and  so  it  must 
needs  be  with  all  of  us  that  think  as  he  did. 

"You  are  very  kind  in  your  remembrance  of  me  and  mine. 
Perhaps  you  will  think  me  altered  for  the  worse,  when  you  see 
me  next.     1  liardly  yet  am  able  to  walk  upright,  but  hope  that 
the  warmth  of  summer  will  restore  my  perpendicularity. 
"I  am,  dear  Sir, 

"Your  over  faithful  and  affectionate 

"  W.  UlCHAUDSON. 

"  To  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mibwr,  Dean  of  Carlisle  " 


CHAP.  XVIII.    A.D.  1808.    ;i:TAT.  58.  359 

On  the  1st  of  June,  Mr.  Richardson  writing  again  to  the 
Dean,  makes  some  excellent  remarks  on  sermons  in  general, 
and  on  the  second  volume  of  Joseph  Milner's  Sermons,  in 
particular. 

"  Those  sermons,^'  he  writes,  "  that  strike  most  at  the  time 
of  delivery,  are  the  least  fit  for  publication,  or  general  instruc- 
tion ;  because  that  which  gives  them  their  peculiar  interest  and 
merit  with  the  hearer,  is  some  local  or  temporary  circumstance 
which  soon  loses  its  importance,  even  with  those  that  heard 
them. 

"  Some  of  your  brother's  courses  of  sermons,  upon  particular 
books  of  Scripture,  I  dare  say,  were  useful ;  but  I  never  have 
seen  one  of  them  that  was  complete  and  unbroken. 

"  There  will  be  found  in  this  volume,  more  of  the  charac- 
teristic blunt  honesty  and  plainness  of  speech  of  the  author, 
than  in  the  first ;  for  success  has  made  me  more  audacious  than 
I  was,  with  tlic  public,  before  I  knew  what  it  would  l)ear. 

"  I  am,  certainly,  very  jealous  of  the  literary  reputation  of 
my  lamented  friend,  and  afraid  of  hurting  his  honest  fame. 
Besides,  M^hen  one  sits  down  to  the  task  I  have  engaged  in,  it 
is  to  search  for  faults,  and  blemishes,  and  defects.  I  think  a 
critic,  by  trade  and  profession,  musi  be  fastidious,  and  more 
apt  to  be  displeased  than  pleased. 

"  I  am  sorry  you  get  on  so  slowly  with  the  History,  and 
greatly  fear  that  the  excellent  matter  you  have  collected  will 
not  soon  see  the  light. 

"I  wish  you  had  more  leisure  and  better  health,  to  pro- 
secute the  task,  as  I  think  it  of  great  importance. 

"  My  wife  unites  with  me  in  all  manner  of  good  wishes. 
"  I  am,  dear  Sir, 

"  Your  ever  faithful  and  affectionate 

"W.  Richardson. 

"P.S.    Our   new  Archbishop  is  to  make  his  public  entry 
here  on  the  2Gth. 
"  Rev.  Dr.  Miluer." 

The  remarks  made  by  Mr.  Richardson  in  tlie  foregoing 
letter,  are  in  perfect  accordance  with  the  preface  which  he  pre- 


360  CHAP.  XYIII.    A.D.  1808.     -ETAT.  50. 

fixed  to  the  second  volume  of  the  Sermons  of  the  Rev.  Joseph 
Mihier :  and  the  manner  in  Mhich  that  volume  was  received  by 
the  religious  public  at  large,  as  well  as  by  Mr.  Milner's  surviving 
friends  and  hearers,  completely  justified  the  Dean's  confident 
anticipations  of  its  success. 

"With  respect  to  the  last  point  touched  upon  by  the  ex- 
cellent writer  of  the  above  letter — the  slowness  of  Dr.  Milner's 
progress,  in  the  continuation  of  the  Ecclesiastical  History — 
although  there  was  indeed,  abundant  reason  to  apprehend,  that 
in  consequence  of  the  Dean's  precarious  health,  and  many  and 
various  important  avocations,  his  progress  must  be  slow ;  yet 
so  sedulously  had  he  laboured,  that  the  fifth  volume  of  the 
History  was  at  this  time  in  the  press ;  and  the  Dean  was  now 
occupied  in  preparing  for  publication  the  concluding  volume  of 
his  brother's  works*,  containing  his  Ansiver  to  Gibbon,  Essays 
on  Religious  Subjects,  Life  of  Howard,  Observations  on  Sir  Isaac 
Newton's  Chronology,  &c.,  &c. 

The  time,  however,  had  now  arrived  for  his  attendance  at 
the  June  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Longitude ;  and  that  meeting 
over,  lie  set  out  upon  his  summer's  journey  to  Carlisle,  where 
his  residence  seems,  this  year,  to  have  been  less  tranquil  than 
usual. 

lie  thus  writes  to  Mr.  Mandell. 

"Mv  DEAR  Sir,  "Deanery,  1808. 

"What  a  bustle  do  I  live  in!  One  thing  after  another 
keeps  rising  day  by  day,  to  keep  me  at  work ;  and  yet,  my 
account,  when  sunmied  up,  would  l)e,  I  fear,  but  an  indif- 
ferent one. 

"I  have  been  aiming  to  write  to  you  a  line  from  the  day 
that  I  received  yours  ;  but  some  job  or  other  contrives  to  defeat 
my  purpose. 

'•  It  is  now  tlic  Assizes  here  ;   and  I  am  to  preach  to-morrow. 

"Dining  with  our  ncM'  Bishop — meeting  and  visiting  the 
Judges — dining  wilh  thcni — also  witli  the  Grand  Jury — visits 
from  all  tlie  grandees  of  the  county — liour  after  hour — most 
vain  conversation  ! ! ! 


•  Now  published  as  Voliimo  Vlll.  oI'Milnku's  ]Vorks. 


CIIAr.  XVIII.     A.D.  1808.    ^ETAT.  58.  361 

"  I  hope  you  have  comfort  in  the  discharge  of  your  clerical 
duties. 

"  Whatever  you  do  else,  continue  them  faithfully,  and  you 
will  be  useful  and  happy.  We  must  have  some  serious  con- 
versation when  we  meet. 

"Yours  ever  aftectionately,  I.  M. 

«  To  the  Rev.  Mr.  MandelL" 

It  so  happened  that  Dr.  Buchanan,  accompanied  by  his  two 
daughters,  paid  a  visit  to  the  Dean  just  in  time  to  hear  the 
Assize  Sermon,  alluded  to  in  the  foregoing  letter.  He  thus 
speaks  of  it  in  a  letter,  dated,  "  Glasgow,  28th  of  September, 
1808*.  We  arrived  here  on  the  20th  instant."  *  *  *  * 
"  We  stopped  on  Sunday  at  Carlisle.  The  Dean  of  Carlisle, 
with  whom  we  dined,  lifted  up  his  voice  against  the  races  for 
the  first  time.  He  had  long  been  oppressed  in  spirit  on  the 
subject ;  and  he  devoted  his  last  day  of  preaching  this  season 
to  the  consideration  of  it.  The  Cathedral  was  crowded,  and  he 
preached  the  word  with  great  energy  and  eloquence." 

It  was  not  Dean  Milner's  habit  to  preach  against  particular 
practices,  even  though  he  thought  them  evil  practices.  To  do 
so,  he  used  to  say,  was  "  to  act  as  injudiciously  as  a  physician 
would  do,  who  should  attack  the  symptom  instead  of  the 
disease.  Let  but  the  heart,"  he  would  say,  "  be  right  with 
God,  and  no  difficulty  will  be  felt  about  a  vast  numljcr 
of  questions,  concerning  which  much  discussion  is  sometimes 
raised." 

There  were,  however,  two  public  amusements,  against  which 
he  did,  occasionally,  "  lift  up  his  voice."  These  were  races  and 
theatrical  entertainments. 

It  is  perfectly  needless  to  say,  when  speaking  of  the  senti- 
ments of  such  a  man  as  Dean  Milner,  that  he  did  not  object 
either  to  the  Race-course  or  the  Play-house,  upon  the  score  of 
there  being,  necessarily,  any  sin  in  the  simple  act  of  witnessing 
cither  a  trial  of  swiftness  between  diflcrcnt  horses,  or  a  tlica- 
trical  representation.     It    was,    in    both    cases,   the    attendant 


•  bee  Memoirs  of  Dr.  Buchanan. 


362  CHAP.  XVIII.    A.D.  1808.    ;eTAT.  58. 

circumstances  which  he  deprecated :  and  on  this  point,  his 
mind  was  fully  made  up.  He  used  to  call  the  race-course  a 
"  sink  of  iniquity,"  and  was  equally  well  convinced  of  the  evils 
necessarily  resulting  from  the  M'holc  system  of  theatrical  enter- 
tainments. 

His  sentiments  on  this  latter  subject  may  be  gathered  from 
the  following  extract  from  a  letter,  which  he  wrote  from 
Borough  Bridge,  on  his  return  to  Cambridge  from  Carlisle;  at 
which  place  he  had,  during  the  preceding  summer,  taken 
occasion,  on  the  last  two  Sundays  of  his  residence  there,  to 
oppose,  from  the  Cathedral  pulpit,  the  erection  of  a  theatre. 

"  And  now,  dear  Sir,  a  single  word  respecting  the  proposed 
play-house. 

"  It  is  not  my  practice  to  deal  much  in  compliments ;  and, 
therefore,  without  intending  anything  of  that  sort,  I  do  sin- 
cerely assure  you,  that  I  look  upon  it  as  a  proof  of  your 
candour,  that  you  have  put  yourself  in  the  way  of  listening,  on 
two  Sundays,  to  what  I  had  to  say  on  the  subject  of  plays 
and  play-houses.  Indeed,  the  circumstance  gave  me  much 
pleasure  at  the  time,  and  I  aimed  to  have  shaken  you  by  the 
hand,  and  told  you  so ;  but  I  know  not  how  I  lost  you  in  the 
crowd  on  Sunday  last.  The  pleasure  which  I  then  felt,  and 
which  I  still  feel  on  the  recollection,  would  be  not  a  little 
increased  if  I  should  find  it  to  be  true,  as  has  been  hinted,  that, 
besides  yourself,  you  brought  some  of  your  female  near  relatives 
to  hear  the  same  discourse. 

"  This  openness  of  disposition  appears  so  favourable,  that  I 
am  encouraged  to  hope  that  you  will  forgive  me,  if  I  add, 

briefly,  as  follows: — My  dear ,  you  arc  now,  as  well  as 

myself,  past  the  middle  of  a  very  long  life;  and,  therefore,  we 
should  neitlicr  of  us  be  ashamed  of  correcting,  by  after-thought 
and  reflection,  any  hasty  steps  which  we  may  have  taken.  It 
may,  possibly,  give  you  infinite  pleasure  in  the  decline  of  your 
life,  to  reflect  that  you  paused  a  little  in  this  business.  There- 
fore do  so  pause.  No  ])Ossiblc  harm  can  arise  from  a  little 
delay  :  and  as  you  are  said  to  be  a  leader  in  bringing  forward 
the   ]>lan,    your   influence  will,   I    doubt   not,    be  effectual   in 


CHAP.  XVIII.    A.D.  ia08.    ^TAT.  58,  363 

preventing  haste  and  precipitation  in  others  ;  provided  only 
that  you  be  incHned  to  think,  that  my  arguments  deserve  some 
consideration.  I  know  so  much  of  tlie  sentiments  of  our 
common  friend,  Dr.  Jowett,  on  this  head,  that  I  am  sure  he 
will  rejoice  to  hear,  that  any  pupil  of  his  rather  opposed  than 
forwarded  the  erection  of  play-houses.  I  hope  to  see  him  in 
two  or  three  days. 

"  Not  a  creature  knows  of  my  having  written  a  single  line  to 
you  on  this  subject. 

"  I  remain,  dear  Sir,  &c.,  &c. 
"  Borough  Bridge,  September  28." 

Considerable  censure  has  been  in  certain  quarters,  with 
much  illiberality,  cast  upon  the  Dean,  or  his  memory,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  interest  which  he  avowedly  took  in  private 
exhibitions  of  personal  strength  or  activity,  such  as  horseman- 
ship, &c.,  or  manual  dexterity,  such  as  sleight  of  hand.  He 
made  no  secret  of  the  fact,  that  he  liked  to  witness  such 
performances,  and  used  to  maintain,  that  the  obvious  tendency 
of  feats  of  legerdemain  to  excite  in  the  spectator  a  degree  of 
distrust  in  the  apparent  evidence  of  his  senses,  was  highly 
salutary;  and  more  especially  so  in  the  case  of  young  persons. 
I  remember  more  than  one  occasion  on  which  he  collected  a 
party  of  his  friends  to  witness  the  feats  of  a  juggler,  whom  he 
had  engaged  to  exhibit  his  skill  in  the  dining-room  at  Queen's 
Lodge  :  and  I  remember  his  joining  a  party  who  were  to  attend 
upon  the  private  morning  performance  of  a  professor  of  the 
equestrian  art. 

It  must  be  considered,  however,  that  Dr.  Milner  was  not  a 
man  likely,  in  these  or  any  other  matters,  to  sliape  his  conduct 
by  the  opinions  of  others,  or  by  any  rule  except  his  own  con- 
viction concerning  right  and  wrong.  Bug-bears,  we  have 
already  seen,  that  he  despised.  As  to  the  rest,  every  candid 
person  must  perceive  a  well-marked  line  of  distinction  between 
the  amusements  which  he  condemned  and  those  of  which,  it  is 
admitted,  that  he  sometimes  partook  with  undisguised  satis- 
faction. But  were  this  otherwise,  the  duty  of  a  biographer 
woukl  be  to  state  the  truth. 


364  CIIAr.  XVIII.     A.D.  1808.     yETAT.  58. 

On  Ills  road  from  Carlisle,  Dean  Milner  visited  his  friends 
both  at  York  and  at  Hull,  at  which  latter  place  he  preached 
more  than  once  at  St.  John's  church. 

Being  detained  at  Hull  somewhat  longer  than  he  had 
expected,  he  thus  wrote  from  thence  to  the  Tutor  of  Queen's 
College. 

"  My  dear  Sir,  "Hull,  October  10,  1808. 

« My  room  has  not  been  empty  all  tlic  morning  for  any 
time  at  all.  People  began  to  call  before  I  had  eaten  my 
breakfast,  and  I  have,  at  this  moment,  four  persons  talking  in 
my  hearing.  A  pretty  situation  in  which  to  give  advice  about 
lectures ! 

"The  Greek  books  in  which  I  used  to  lecture  were 
these : — 

"  Prose.  Xenophon's  Memorab.,  as  an  easy  book  for 
pupils  who  know  any  Greek  at  all;  then  Demosthen.  Orations, 
as  a  harder ;  Longinus,  as  still  harder,  and  affording,  to  the 
lecturer,  a  deal  to  say. 

"Verse.  I  used  Euripides  and  Sophocles:  in  Latin, 
select  parts  of  Livy,  particularly  the  Second  Punic  War. 

"  In  MoraIjS,  Locke's  Essay  is  indispensable. 

"  In  general,  I  always  found  it  better  to  begin  the  term  with 
the  easier  books,  so  as  to  sweep  in  as  many  of  the  pupils  as 
possible.  Nothing  can  be  more  disagreeable  as  to  have  due's 
youths  sitting  by  one,  and  doing  nothing. 

"As  I  hope  to  sec  you  so  soon,  I  need  not  say  more  at 
present. 

"Believe  me  yours  aflfectionately,  I.  M. 

"  To  the  Rev.  IF.  Mamleli:' 

Within  another  week  Dr.  Milner  was  again  settled  at 
Cambridge;  and  cither  his  ]ial)its  of  evening  study,  or  some 
other  circumstances,  directed  his  thoughts  towards  the  various 
contrivances  for  supplying  artificial  light.  Candles  were,  of 
course,  out  of  the  question  ;  and  among  lamps,  he  had  never 
met  with  one  lliat  entirely  satisfied  liim;  the  liglit  was  never 
sufficiently  shaded  from  the  eyes  of  tlie  student,  and  concen- 


CIIAr.  XVIII.     A.D.  1003.    yETAT.  58.  365 

trated  upon  his  book.  The  Dean,  therefore,  determined  to 
invent  a  lamp  for  his  own  use,  and  did  so.  The  first  which 
was  made  proved  defective  in  various  points ;  but  the  inventor 
was  thoroughly  fond  of  mechanical  pursuits,  and  he  altered  and 
improved  his  lamp  until  it  seemed  as  perfect  as  such  an  imple- 
ment could  well  be.  The  light  was  shaded  from  the  reader's 
eyes ;  it  was  thrown  strongly  upon  the  paper  before  him ; 
there  was  neither  shadow  nor  smoke;  and,  finally,  the  trimming 
and  adjusting  gave  no  trouble  worth  mentioning.  In  fact,  this 
lamp  was  a  decided  "  hobby-horse.^' 

It  is  not,  however,  to  be  supposed,  that  its  excellencies 
existed  only  in  the  imagination  of  the  inventor.  It  was  really 
a  clever  lamp,  and  became  a  great  favourite  with  reading  men ; 
insomuch  that  the  Dean's  servant,  to  whom  he  abandoned  all 
the  profits  of  the  invention,  carried  on,  during  several  years,  a 
most  profitable  trade  in  the  University  and  elsewhere ;  selling 
many  scores  of  these  reading  lamps,  which  were  made  of 
various  materials,  and  with  various  degrees  of  ornament,  so  as 
to  suit  the  taste  or  the  convenience  of  all  classes  of  purchasers. 
Among  the  principal  admirers  and  patrons  of  this  invention, 
was  the  late  Dr.  Edward  Daniel  Clarke,  the  Professor  of 
Mineralogy.  With  his  characteristic  enthusiasm, — a  quality 
which,  among  many  others,  rendered  his  society  delightful 
to  all  who  knew  him, — he  declared  in  Meriting,  that  "Dr. 
Milner's  lamp  had  added  very  materially  to  the  comfort  of 
his  life." 

Dr.  Milner,  during  this  winter,  was  engaged,  when  not 
occupied  by  College  or  other  business,  in  putting  the  finishing 
touches  to  the  eightli  volume  of  the  edition  of  M}Ine)''s  Works, 
then  in  the  press.  In  this  edition,  the  volume  of  Sermons  by 
Joseph  Milner,  prepared  for  publication  by  Mr.  Richardson, 
and  at  this  time  in  the  course  of  printing,  was  included; 
as  was  also  the  fifth  volume  of  the  History  of  the  Church  of 
Christ,  of  which  little,  besides  tlie  preface,  now  remained 
\nifinished. 

The  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Longitude,  calling  Dean 
Milner  to  London  in  the  first  week  of  December,  he,  for  the 
first  lime,  took  up  his  abode  at  Kensington  (Jore,  where  Mr, 


366  CHAP.  XVIII.     A.D.  1808.     ^ETAT.  58. 

Wilberforce  had  just  established  his  family;  and,  ever  disposed 
to  view  the  ordinarj-  occurrences  of  life  on  the  sunny  side,  he 
suggested  to  his  friend,  who  regretted  his  departure  from  his 
late  residence,  an  incidental  advantage  arising  from  this 
removal.  With  honest  and  judicious  friendship,  he  pointed  out 
to  him  "  a  danger  in  living  altogether  at  Clapham, — danger  of 
conceit  and  spiritual  pride,  and  a  cold,  critical  spirit."  He 
considered  his  friend  to  be  better  guarded  against  these  evils, 
than  many  other  persons  might  be ;  but  still  he  thought  the 
"  danger  great."  Tlie  cordial  manner  in  which  this  suggestion 
was  received  by  Mr.  Wilberforce  proved,  that  these  excellent 
friends  were  worthy  of  each  other. 

I  have  not  yet  mentioned  a  gentleman  who  possessed  a 
large  share  of  Dr.  Milner's  regard, — the  late  Rev.  Thomas 
Kerrich,  of  Magdalen  College.  With  Mr.  Kerrich,  Dr.  Milner, 
who  was  his  junior  by  three  years,  had  lived  in  habits  of 
familiar  intercourse  during  the  whole  of  his  residence  in  the 
University.  Although  dissimilar  in  character,  these  long-tried 
associates  thoroughly  enjoyed  each  other's  society.  They  each 
possessed  a  mass  of  various  knowledge,  and  their  points  of 
difference  in  pursuits  and  in  taste,  rather  tended  to  add  a  zest 
to  their  intercourse. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say,  that  as  a  painter,  and 
especially  a  painter  of  portraits,  Mr.  Kerrich  possessed  very 
uncommon  powers.  His  talent  of  producing  a  really  strong 
and  characteristic  likeness  has  perhaps  been  seldom  equalled : 
Witness  his  portraits  of  Dr.  Glynn,  Dr.  Waring,  Dr.  Pearce, 
and  Dr.  Milner  himself;  all  which  have  been  engraved. 

But  besides  his  powers  as  an  artist,  this  gentleman  was 
exceedingly  fond  of  whatever  appertained  to  the  philosophy  of 
light  and  colours,  or  to  the  more  abstruse  and  mathematical 
parts  of  the  science  of  design  ;  and  these  subjects  furnished 
inexhaustible  sources  of  conversation  and  discussion  in  his 
interviews  with  Dr.  Milner ;  and  if  on  some  of  these  topics  the 
superior  knowledge  were  on  the  side  of  the  Dean,  there  were 
others,  such  as  anatomy,  architecture,  antiquities,  &c.  &c., 
concerning  which  his  friend  had  decidedly  the  advantage.  Mr, 
Kerrich  was  the  "  ingenious  and  philosophical  friend,"  who 


CHAP.  XVIir.     A.D.  1808.     yETAT.  58. 


367 


could  "  paint  very  well,"  and  avIio  was  "  an  excellent  judge  of 
colours/^  mentioned  by  Dr.  Milner  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Wilber- 
force  "on  the  theory  of  colours  and  shadows*,"  afterwards 
published  by  Repton  in  his  book  on  Landscape  Gardening, 

The  following  note,  which,  with  others  of  a  similar  kind, 
and  many  of  a  more  important  character,  has  been  kindly 
placed  at  my  disposal  by  the  Rev.  Richard  Edward  Kerrich, 
may  serve  to  indicate  the  nature  of  the  easy  and  unceremonious 
intimacy  which  subsisted  between  these  old  friends. 

"  Queen's  Lodge,  December  2>\st,  1808, 
"Dear  Sir,  Saturday  niglit. 

"  Sir  William  Wynne,  with  Dr.  Jowett,  and  five  or  six 
others,  drink  their  tea  with  me  to-morrow;  and  it  has  oc- 
curred to  me,  that  you  may  like  to  meet  the  grave  Knight, 
&c.  &c. 

"  If  so,  I  shall  be  glad  to  see  you  by  about  half-past  six,  or 
a  quarter  before  seven  at  farthest. 

"  Respond. 

"  Yours,  I.  Milner. 

"  Rev.  Mr.  Kerrich." 

Very  pleasant  were  such  tea-parties ;  but  they  were  of  rare 
occurrence.  Dr.  Milner,  at  least  with  his  old  and  intimate 
friends,  greatly  preferred  a  quiet  and  perfectly  unceremonious 
tete-a-tete.  A  tete-a-tete  indeed,  I  ought  not  in  strictness  to 
call  it,  having  been  myself,  from  my  childhood  upwards,  per- 
mitted to  be  present  on  such  occasion.  Dr.  Jowett,  as  it  has 
been  already  intimated,  spent  at  Queen^s  Lodge  every  Thurs- 
day and  Sunday  evening,  coming  to  supper  at  half-past  nine. 


*  This  letter  was  communicated  by 
Sir.  Wilberforce  to  Mr.  Repton,  Avitli 
the  following  remark:  "lie"  (the 
writer)  "  is  a  man  unequalled  for  the 
store  of  knowledge  he  possesses,  for 
the  clearness  with  which  he  views,  and 
the  happy  perspicuity  with  which  he 
comnninicatcs    hi^    pcrcoption?."     It 


ought  not,  however,  to  have  been  pub- 
lished without  the  A\Titer's  privity ;  and 
Dr.  Slilner  felt  that  he  ought  to  have 
been  allowed  the  opportunity  of  revis- 
ing a  private  letter  on  a  scientific  sub- 
ject, previously  to  that  letter's  being 
made  public. 


3G8  CHAP.  XVIII.     A.D.  1808.     ;ETAT.  58. 

remaining  till  half-past  eleven  or  twelve ;  Mr.  Kerrich  generally 
came  to  tea,  coming  as  early  as  half-past  five,  and  going  at  nine 
or  ten.  There  were  no  fixed  days  for  his  visits,  but  both 
parties  enjoyed  these  evening  conversations,  which  were  always 
lively  and  interesting ;  and  meeting  with  mutual  pleasure,  they 
met  frequently.  The  dissolution  of  friendships,  cemented  like 
these  by  time  and  long  habit,  is  one  of  the  severest  calamities 
incident  to  the  decline  of  life. 


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