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FROM   THE   LIBRARY  OF 

REV.   LOUIS    FITZGERALD    BENSON,  D.  D. 

BEQUEATHED    BY   HIM   TO 

THE   LIBRARY  OF 

PRINCETON  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


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THE  RIVULET.    A  Contribution  to  Sacred  Song.    Small  8vo.    3s.  6ci. 

11. 
SERMONS  FOR  MY   CURATES.     Edited:  by  the  Rev.  S.  Cox.    Post 
8vo.    5s. 

in. 
LETTERS  TO  THE  SCATTERED.    Post  8ro.    «. 


W.  ISBISTER  &  CO.,  56,  LUDGATE  HILL,  LONDON. 


MEMOIR    OF 

THOMAS   T.   LYNCH 


EDITED    BY 

WILLIAM    L'WHITE 


W.    ISBISTER    &    CO. 

56,    LUDGATE    HILL,    LONDON 

1874 


LONDON  : 
PRINTED   BY   VIRTUE   AND    CO. 
CITY  ROAD. 


CONTENTS. 


A  Photograph  of  Mr.  Lynch  taken  in  1864  by  Mr.  "W.  E. 
Debenham,  Massingham  House,  Haverstock  Hill,  and 
reproduced  by  the  Woodbury  Process      .         .        Frontispiece 

CHAPTER   I. 
Introductory. 

I'AGK 

Limit  of  Material I 

Reasons  for  the  Biography 2 

Autobiographical  as  far  as  possible 3 

CHAPTER  II. 

Early  Years. — 1818-1840. 

Birth  and  Parentage 4 

Death  of  his  Father 4 

Removal  of  Family  to  London 6 

Thomas  in  School 7 

Painful  and  serious  Illness 8 

Studies  and  Recreations 9 


vi  CONTENTS. 

'  PAGE 

"Dedication.     To  Myself" IO 

"Bible  and  Nature" *3 

"  Vicissitudes  of  the  Country  " J5 

"Our  Sofa" l6 

Genesis  and  Geology J  7 

Visit  to  Wales J9 

Spiritual  Condition  and  Studies 21 

Divine  Providence  in  Happiness  and  Suffering        ...  25 

Churchmen  and  Dissenters 3° 

Dignity  of  the  Scholastic  Office 3° 


CHAPTER   III. 

Commencement  of  Ministry.— 1 841 -1846. 

Joins  Rev.  John  Yockney's  Church 34 

Service  as  Sunday-school  Teacher  and  District  Visitor    .         .  36 

Views  as  to  the  Ministry 38 

The  National  Situation 40 

Mixed  Character  in  Politics 41 

Thoughts  on  Illness  and  Convalescence 45 

Concerning  a  Pupil 48 

Visits  Llanelly        .........  49 

"To  Men  in  their  Sober  Senses  " 49 

Preaches  at  Swansea 51 

And  at  Mumbles 52 

How  his  Absence  was  felt  at  Islington 54 

Hopes  and  Hindrances 55 

Preaches  occasionally  in  London 56 

Letter  on  Condition  and  Prospects  in  reference  to  Ministry     .  56 

Enters  Highbury  College  as  Day-Student       ....  59 

Retirement  and  Letter  thereon 59 


CONTENTS. 


Vll 


"Thoughts  on  a  Day,"  and  Account  of  Publication 
How  to  be  Happy  when  Miserable 


62 
64 


CHAPTER  IV. 

HlGHGATE. — 1 847- 1 849. 

Death  of  his  Mother 66 

Her  Epitaph,  and  Letter  concerning  her  last  Hours         .         .  67 

Accepts  Pastorate  at  Highgate 71 

Letter  from  Dr.  Simpson 72 

Impression  made  by  his  Preaching 75 

Incident  at  Highbury  College 76 

Conditions  at  Highgate 76 

Resigns  the  Charge 81 

Improved  Health  and  Strength 81 


CHAPTER  V. 

Mortimer  Street.— 1849-1852, 

Invited  to  Stamford 
Decides  for  Mortimer  Street   . 
Marriage,  September,  1849     . 
Lecturing  Engagements  . 
"Memorials  of  Theophilus  Trinal  " 
Letter  from  Lord  Lytton 
Letter  to  Dr.  Samuel  Brown  . 
Character  of  Work  in  Mortimer  Street 
Presentation  to  Mr.  Lynch 
Definition  of  his  Aims  as  Preacher 
Church-song  and  Dr.  Watts  . 
Removal  to  Fitzroy  Chapel    . 


84 
84 
84 
35 
85 
89 
90 
92 

94 

96 


viii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   VI. 
Fitzroy  Chapel.— 1 852- 1 855. 

'  PAGE 

Chapel  in  Grafton  Street 97 

Lectures  on  Forms  of  Literature  in  Manchester       .         .         .97 

And  on  Self-Improvement  in  Fitzroy  Chapel ....  9^ 

What  Sermons  may  be 9^ 

Definition  of  his  Ecclesiastical  Position 100 

His  Assiduity  as  Preacher 101 

Character  of  his  Pastoral  Labour 102 

His  Friendliness 104 

Testimony  of  Rev.  Edward  White  as  to  Ministerial  Intercourse  105 

Contributions  to  Christian  Spectator 106 

Publication  of  "  Rivulet  " 106 

CHAPTER   VII. 
The  " Rivulet"  Controversy. 

A  Prophecy 107 

Beginning  of  Uproar  in  Morning  A dvertiser  .         .         .         .  107 

Eclectic  Review  summoned  to  Retract 108 

Protest  signed  by  Fifteen  Ministers 108 

Dr.  Campbell  intervenes 108 

His  Assertions 109 

Grant  and  Campbell's  Agitation no 

"  Songs  Controversial,"  by  Silent  Long no 

"Ink  and  Drink" in 

"  A  Negative  Affair  " 112 

"Eye  Salve" 113 

"The  Pharisee  Changed" 114. 

"Orthodoxy" n^ 

"Cobweb" n6 

"  The  Way  and  the  End  " 117 


CONTENTS. 


IX 


"Ethics  of  Quotation,"  by  Silent  Lon 

Proposed  Compromise    . 

"The  Great  Grace  of  Indignation" 

A  Review  of  the  "Rivulet  "  Controversy 

Bonds  of  Brotherhood !  . 

Evil  and  Good  mutually  exclusive  . 

Judgment  as  of  Hail 

"  The  Trick  "  of  Religious  Newspapers 

Occasion  of  the  Controversy  . 

Origin  of  the  "  Rivulet " 

"  Christ  in  his  Word  draws  near  "  . 

Conversation  in  an  Omnibus  . 

News  from  the  Advertiser 

Characteristics  of  the  Advertiser     . 

Mr.  Grant's  Tactics 

Enter  the  Rev.  Dr.  Campbell 

Mr.  Grant  threatens  the  Eclectic  Review 

Doctrine  and  Character  . 

How  the  Editor  of  the  Eclectic  met  Mr.  Grant's  att 

Gog  re-enforced  by  Magog     . 

Mr.  Grant  remonstrated  with 

But  wholly  in  vain  .... 

His  Method  of  Quotation 

With  Blustration    .... 

The  Protest  of  Fifteen  Ministers  defended 

Theological  Statements  out  of  place  in  Hymns 

Sir  Sulphur  Vaunty         .... 

How  the  Panic  spread     .... 

Dr.  Campbell's  Share  therein 

Religion  distinguished  from  Theology    . 

The  Christian  Cabinet  and  Mr.  Spurgeon 

Meeting  of  the  Congregational  Union 


ick 


x  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Mr.  Binney's  Policy l8° 

Vindication  of  the  "  Rivulet  *' l83 

Mr.  Binney's  Claims  to  Respect      .         .         .         .         ■         .184 
The  Congregational  Union  and  the  Controversy      .         .         .185 

Importance  of  the  Controversy T86 

Its  Revelations  of  Malignity  and  Intolerance  .         .         .         .187 

Christ  is  the  Truth  .         .         . ]88 

Heretical  Orthodoxy 189 

Freedom  in  Christ 191 

Variety  in  which  the  Church  may  rejoice         .         .         .         .192 

Spurious  Orthodoxy 196 

Quotation  from  Mr.  Porter 1 97 

And  Application  to  present  Case 199 

"Wherein  is  Orthodoxy 200 

The  Faithful  Fifteen 201 

Final  Exhortation 203 

Lessons  of  the  Controversy 205 


CHAPTER    VIII. 
Illness  and  Withdrawal  from  Duty.— 1856-1859. 


Visit  to  Lincolnshire 

Charge  of  Peculiarity 

To  an  Admirer  of  Swedenborg 

To  Mrs.  Samuel  Brown  . 

To  an  "  Orthodox  Correspondent  " 

Serious  and  Painful  Illness 

Compelled  to  withdraw  from  Duty 

Letter  to  Congregation  on  Retirement 


208 
209 
210 
211 
213 

215 
216 
217 


CONTENTS.  xi 

CHAPTER    IX. 
A  dreary  Vacation.— 1 859- 1 860. 

PAGE 

Letter  from  Bournemouth 223 

Alternations  and  Hopes 226 

Meets  his  Friends,  16th  January,  i860 229 

Preaches  four  Sundays  in  April  and  May        ....  234 

Letter  from  Bangor 235 

At  Home  again 238 

CHAPTER   X. 

Resumption  of  Duty.— 18G0- 1862. 

Ministry  in  Gower  Street 240 

Address  to  Congregation 240 

"  Three  Months'  Ministry" 243 

To  a  Minister  in  Affliction 243 

To  a  Daughter  on  the  Death  of  her  Mother     ....  244 

Divine  Authority  of  the  Bible 246 

A  Weak  Conscience 247 

CHAPTER   XI. 

MORNINGTON   CHURCH. — 1862-1867. 

Erection  and  Opening  of  Church 248 

Service  limited  to  Once  a  Day 249 

The  Visionary  Cross 249 

Loss  of  the  Soul 250 

Spiritualism    .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .252 

Jacob  Behmen  and  William  Law 253 

Sense  of  Weariness 254 

On  the  Death  of  a  Father 254 


Xll 


CONTENTS. 


Advice  to  a  Minister  on  his  Election 

About  a  Sermon     . 

Visit  to  Scotland     . 

Presbyterian  Freedom      . 

On  the  Death  of  a  Child 

A  Letter  in  "Winter 

To  a  Clergyman  in  New  York 

Hymn-writing 

A  Fire  and  its  Consequences 


PAGE 

256 
257 
257 
258 
253 
260 
263 
265 
267 


CHAPTER  XII. 

The  augmented  "Rivulet"  and  other  Matters. 
1868-1S70. 

After  Twelve  Years 268 

New  Edition  of  "  Rivulet " 269 

A  Letter  of  Thanks  and  Much  else          .         .         .         .         .270 

A  Light-hearted  Mourner 2 S3 

To  a  Father  on  the  Death  of  his  Daughter     ....  283 

On  a  Poetess  and  her  Opinions 284 

A  Case  of  Wine 286 

To  a  Request  to  Preach  in  the  Country  .         .         .         .         .  2S7 

Work  and  Care 288 

Desire  to  report  Sermons 288 

"  A  Group  of  Six  Sermons  " 289 

Reasons  for  Nonconformity 290^ 

Protoplasm 291 

Destructive  Criticism 292 

A  Reason  for  Not  Writing 293 

Consolation 293 


CONTENTS.  xin 

CHAPTER   XIII. 

The  Last  Year. — 1870-1871. 

PAGE 

Uselessness  of  Holiday 296 

Comfort  out  of  Discomfort 297 

A  Sermon  that  could  not  Get  Out 298 

Over  Much  Affliction 299 

A  Note  of  Consolation .         .  299 

To  a  Mother  on  the  Illness  of  her  Son 301 

World,  Flesh,  and  Devil 302 

To  an  Invitation  to  Preach] 303 

To  a  Repetition  of  the  Invitation 305 

Weak  yet  no  Sign  of  Weakness  in  the  Pulpit          .         .         .  306 

The  Last  Sermon 307 

Final  Illness 308 

Release,  9th  May,  1871 309 

Funeral  and  Services 309 

"  Sermons  for  my  Curates" 310 

Epitaph  in  Abney  Park  Cemetery 311 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

In  Conclusion. 

How  Mr.  Lynch  was  limited 312 

His  Work  as  a  Preacher 312 

His  Extraordinary  Affluence  .         .         .         .         *         .         .  313 

His  Sermons  addressed  to  the  Thoughtful       .         .         .         .  314 

His  Success  in  dealing  with  Scepticism  ....  315 

His  "  Comfortable  Ministry  " 315 


xiv  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Value  of  "The  Rivulet"  in  worship       .         .         .    '    .        .316 

"Emmanuel" 317 

Mr.  Lynch  in  Conversation 318 

His  Common-sense  and  Wide  Sympathy 319 


Chronological  List  of  Mr.  Lynch' s  Writings  .         .         .         .     320 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

TT  is  considered  a  mistake  to  commence  a 
book  with  an  apology,  and  yet  an  apology 
seems  requisite  for  the  present  Memoir.  The 
materials  for  an  adequate  and  attractive 
biography  do  not  exist.  Mr.  Lynch  kept  no 
diary,  nor  was  he,  especially  in  latter  years, 
much  of  a  letter-writer.  His  correspondence 
was  generally  limited  to  notes,  which,  though 
bright  with  wise  and  kind  and  piquant  remarks, 
could  not  be  published  without  explanations 
that  would  submerge  the  text. 

Why  then  make  the  attempt  ? 

Because  those  who  knew  Mr.  Lynch,  whether 
through  his  ministry  or  his  writings,  are  urgent, 
and  reasonably  urgent,  to  have  some  account  of 

B 


2  MEMOIR   OF  T.  T.  LYNCH. 

his  career,  however  imperfect.  "  If  there  is  not 
much  to  tell,"  they  say,  "at  least  let  us  have 
what  there  is." 

And  though  we  have  not  all  that  we  desire, 
there  are  many  things  we  are  unwilling  should 
be  forgotten. 

Mr.  Lynch  suffered  severely  from  detraction, 
and  it  is  due  to  justice  that  the  truth  concerning 
him  should  be  placed  on  record.  His  biography, 
moreover,  affords  invigorating  evidence  of  what 
is  possible  to  Christian  faith — how  infirmity  and 
pain,  sorrow  and  calumny,  may  be  surmounted  ; 
and  a  spirit,  not  only  of  resignation,  but  of 
cheerfulness,  thankfulness,  and  hope  maintained. 

Those  who  knew  Mr.  Lynch  most  intimately 
will  know  with  what  sincere  simplicity  he 
wrote, — 

«  nth  March,  1868. 

"  If  you  were  a  preacher  I  fancy  you  would 
feel,  as  I  do,  very  much  dissatisfied  with  your- 
self. And  physical  infirmity  aggravates  the 
spiritual  difficulty  of  the  work.  But  after  the 
wave  has  gone  a  hundred  times  over  my  head, 


INTRODUCTORY.  3 

my  head  for  the  hundred  and  first  time  appears 
again  over  the  wave,  and  is  greeted  by  a  sun- 
beam. Many  are  the  sad  things  of  life,  but  it 
is  fear  that  is  most  to  be  feared,  and  doubt 
that  is  most  to  be  distrusted." 

And  remembering  his  sincerity  and  simplicity, 
we  have  thought  it  well  to  preserve  a  clear 
and  straightforward  style  throughout  the 
Memoir,  leaving  Mr.  Lynch  as  far  as  possible 
to  speak  for  himself.  He  had  a  nice  sense  of 
words,  a  passion  for  accuracy,  and  an  abhor- 
rence of  eulogy  that  meant  little  ;  and  with  the 
fear  of  his  disapprobation  over  us,  we  have  felt 
safety  in  defect  rather  than  excess. 


CHAPTER     II. 


EARLY  YEARS. 


I8l8— 1840. 


npHOMAS  TOKE  LYNCH  was  born  on  the 
5th  of  Jury,  1 81 8,  at  Dunmow,  Essex, 
where  his  father,  John  Burke  Lynch,  was  a 
surgeon,  held  in  much  respect  for  his  kindness 
and  professional  skill.  His  mother,  Miss  Lydia 
Daniel,  of  Derby,  had  been  married  in  her 
nineteenth  year,  and  he  was  the  tenth  of  eleven- 
children. 

When  Thomas  was  two  years  old,  his  father 
died ;  and  the  occasion  and  circumstances  of  his 
death  are  thus  described : — 

"  It  was  winter,  and  there  were  heavy  rains, 
and  much  sickness.  Fatigued,  and  suffering 
from  a  cold,  he  was  invited  to  attend  the  funeral 


EARLY  YEARS.  5 

of  one  of  his  deceased  patients.  From  regard 
to  her  and  her  friends,  he  imprudently  went ; 
but,  used  to  exposures,  he  went  without  much 
fear.  The  day  was  wet  and  cold ;  and  as  he 
stood  by  the  grave,  he  felt  he  was  wounded, 
but  knew  not  that  it  was  fatally.  Death  was 
with  him  when  he  returned  from  the  dead.  For 
some  days  he  was  ill,  and  as  much  as  possible 
he  rested ;  but  one  evening,  returning  early  for 
a  few  additional  hours  of  sleep,  soon  after  he 
had  lain  down,  he  heard  his  surgery-bell  ring 
violently.  He  rang  his  own,  that  he  might 
know  what  was  wanted.  The  messenger  was 
from  one  seized  with  sudden  and  dangerous 
sickness.  On  learning  this  he  rose  at  once,  and 
ordered  his  horse.  '  Surely/  said  his  wife,  '  you 
will  not  go,  ill  as  you  are  ? '  '  Lydia,'  said  he, 
*■  something  must  be  instantly  done,  or  the  man 
will  die.'  Very  sorrowfully  she  closed  the  door, 
as  the  sound  of  his  horse's  gallop  died  away. 
All  night  he  was  absent,  and  at  daybreak  he 
returned  weary  and  very  ill.  Retiring  to  his 
bed,  he  remained  there  through  the  day.  That 
day  his  wife  did  for  him  all  that  the  disciplined 


6  MEMOIR  OF  T.  T.  LYNCH. 

ingenuity  of  love  could  devise.  The  next  morn- 
ing, as  she  was  preparing  his  breakfast  in  the 
parlour,  his  bell  rang.  She  was  by  his  side 
before  it  had  ceased  sounding ;  but  when  she 
entered,  he  lay  as  the  dead,  smitten  senseless. 
If  moments  may  be  discriminated,  the  first  was 
of  agony,  the  second  of  prayer,  the  third  of  wise 
action.  Instantly  she  despatched  messengers  to 
a  surgeon  and  physician,  both  attached  friends. 
Though  they  were  each  able  to  arrive  shortly, 
they  arrived  in  vain.  Said  the  surgeon 
earnestly,  *  We  must  save  him ;  we  must ! ' 
The  physician  shook  his  head.  What  could  be 
done  was  done  ;  but  that  night  a  new  name  was- 
entered  on  God's  book  of  widows."  * 

Mrs.  Lynch,  yielding  to  the  advice  of  friends, 
removed  to  London,  and  settled  in  Islington,, 
devoted  herself  to  her  numerous  family,  several 
of  whom  died  in  early  life.  She  was  a  woman 
of  great  energy,  and  of  most  genial  disposition — 
artless,  affectionate,  cheerful,  attracting  the  love 
of  all  who  knew  her. 

Thomas  was  a  bright  boy,  of  eager,  vigorous 

*  Theophilus  Trinal. 


EARLY  YEARS.  7 

intellect,  fond  of  sports,  and  excelling  therein. 
To  his  mother's  peculiar  satisfaction,  he  gave 
evidence  of  a  pious  disposition,  and  a  serious 
and  protracted  illness  when  about  eight  years 
of  age  tended,  no  doubt,  to  deepen  religious 
thoughtfulness.  Many  little  poems  and  hymns 
written  in  childhood  prove  how  early  he  con- 
nected things  seen  and  temporal  with  things 
unseen  and  eternal. 

He  was  for  some  time  a  pupil  and  afterwards 
an  usher  in  a  school  at  Islington.  One  who 
was  his  companion  there  writes, — 

"  It  is  about  forty  years  since  I  made  Mr. 
Lynch' s  acquaintance  as  a  school-boy.  I  have 
a  vivid  remembrance  of  his  bright  flashing  eyes 
lit  up  with  intelligence,  his  conspicuous  ability, 
his  ardent  thirst  for  knowledge,  his  amiability 
of  disposition,  and  his  general  excellence  of 
character.  I  procured  for  myself  a  Hebrew 
grammar,  lexicon,  and  Bible,  that  I  might 
assist  him  in  commencing  Hebrew.  When  he 
became  a  fellow-assistant,  I  think  we  read 
together  portions  of  the  Greek  Testament  and 


8  MEMOIR  OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

of  the  Septuagint.     He  was  a  capital  teacher. 
I  do  not  remember  the  slightest  jar." 

His  constitution,  however,  was  not  sufficiently 
robust  for  the  duties  of  the  school-room,  and 
it  became  an  anxious  question  as  to  where  he 
should  find  occupation.  His  mother,  with  true 
prescience,  was  persuaded  that  his  vocation  was 
that  of  the  preacher,  nor  was  his  disposition  at 
variance  with  hers. 

At  this  juncture  a  painful  and  serious  afflic- 
tion overtook  him.  Whilst  sitting  at  dinner  he 
was  suddenly  seized  with  a  constriction  of  the 
throat  which  prevented  his  swallowing.  The 
affection  was  not  transient,  but,  with  allevia- 
tions, life-long,  and  for  several  years  subsequent 
to  the  first  attack,  he  could  take  little  or  no 
solid  food.  At  the  same  time  his  appetite  was 
good,  and  he  had  to  endure  the  pangs  of  semi- 
starvation.  The  best  physicians  were  con- 
sulted, but  no  marked  relief  was  obtained.  The 
nervous  system  they  said  required  strength- 
ening, and  cessation  from  study  and  ease  of 
life  were  their  prescriptions. 


EARLY  YEARS.  9 

Compelled  to  pass  many  hours  in  solitude,  his 
mind  was  more  and  more  engrossed  with  the 
seriousness  of  life  and  the  interior  relations  of 
God  and  man. 

Among  his  chief  recreations  was  botany.  No 
wild  flower  for  miles  around  was  unknown  to 
him;  and  the  sight  of  a  new  plant,  or  of  one 
which  he  had  not  seen  for  years,  continued 
to  afford  him  intense  pleasure  throughout  life. 
In  music,  too,  he  found  exquisite  satisfaction. 
As  he  wrote,  "  Music  ventilates  my  spirit.  My 
ears  become  the  opened  windows  of  my  soul, 
and  sweet  airs  enter — airs  from  the  everlasting 
hills  of  hope,  across  which  lies  the  heavenly 
country."  A  sister  taught  him  the  notes,  and 
from  thence  he  trained  himself  to  considerable 
proficiency.  Handel,  Mendelssohn,  and  Purcell 
were  his  favourite  composers ;  and  Purcell,  he 
thought,  had  never  received  the  appreciation 
that  was  his  due. 

Verse-writing  was  one  of  his  occasional 
amusements,  and  as  if  the  youth  contemplated 
the  publication  of  a  volume  he  prepared  the 
following  curious — 


io  MEMOIR  OF  T.  T.  LYNCH. 


"DEDICATION. 

"to  myself. 

"  Dearest  Myself, — As  you  have  had  some  concern 
in  writing  these  verses,  and  are  besides  my  oldest  and 
most  intimate  friend,  it  is  but  proper  that  I  should  dedi- 
cate them  to  you.  I  wish  you  to  take  this  rather  as  a 
token  of  affection  than  respect.  Our  near  relationship 
and  close  intimacy  make  me  still  retain  some  regard  for 
you,  although  you  have  much  injured  me  and  thwarted 
many  of  my  designs.  Perhaps  this  token  of  that  regard 
may  induce  you  to  alter  your  conduct,  which  I  confess 
has  much  distressed  me  lately.  Since  you  have,  as  I  said 
at  first,  been  privy  to  the  writing  of  these  verses,  and 
given  me  also  some  aid,  they  will  perhaps  if  you  peruse 
them  carefully,  bring  old  times  to  your  remembrance, 
and  make  you  think  how  very  unkind  you  have  been  to 
me.  I  do  not  wish  to  be  too  hard  upon  you,  because  I 
know  that  I  have  not  been  altogether  faultless,  but  I 
would  have  you  consider  that  since  nature  has  made  me 
so  dependent  upon  you,  you  ought  to  use  your  power 
mercifully.  You  know  very  well  that  when  I  want  to 
be  doing  one  thing,  and  feel  that  I  ought  to  do  it,  you 
try  to  make  me  do  something  else,  and  either  compel 


EARLY  YEARS.  u 

me  to  desist  from  my  attempt,  or  make  that  attempt  a 
failure,  and  sometimes  when  a  little  poetic  feeling  comes 
upon  me,  you  chase  it  rudely  away  •  nay,  when  I  have 
been  carefully  nurturing  a  thought  for  my  own  improve- 
ment or  innocent  pleasure,  you  have  disturbed  me,  and 
compelled  me  to  desist,  and  then,  when  I  have  en- 
deavoured to  recollect  the  thoughts  that  pleased  me. 
you  have  prevented  me.  Now  I  would  not  blame  you 
too  much,  because  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  you 
and  I  should  always  agree,  had  you  not  been  more 
tyrannical  and  hard  to  please  lately,  than  ever  you  were. 
You  know  very  well  that  you  have  deprived  me  of 
many  little  indulgences  you  used  to  allow  me.  You 
once  would  help  me  if  I  attempted  to  write  a  few 
verses.  Perhaps  you  will  say  that  you  do  not  help  me 
now,  because  I  do  not  write  such  as  please  you.  I 
know  they  have  many  faults,  but  you  are  to  blame 
for  this — not  I.  I  do  my  best,  but  as  you  are  aware,, 
cannot  do  much  without  your  assistance.  Why  will 
you  not  help  me?  Why  will  you  vex  me  with  your 
ill-humour?  And  when  I  seek  relief  by  shunning  your 
company,  why  will  you  still  follow  and  annoy  me  ?  I 
am  desirous  to  maintain  my  friendship  with  you,  but 
really  can  scarcely  avoid  a  quarrel.  I  would  not  have 
you  be  too  confident  of  your  power,  for  I  have  many 


12  MEMOIR  OF  T.  T.  LYNCH. 

hopes  of  being  one  day  your  master,  instead  of  as  I  now 
am,  almost  your  slave.  I  must  however  allow  that 
sometimes  you  are  as  agreeable  as  I  could  wish.  You 
must  recollect  well  how  pleasant  our  intercourse  to- 
gether has  been  on  such  occasions.  I  wish  we  had  such 
times  a  little  oftener.  We  might  have,  if  it  were  not 
for  you,  for  though  I  have  sometimes  treated  you  im- 
properly, I  am  now  as  desirous  of  your  welfare,  as  of 
my  own.  I  shall  say  no  more,  but  shall  leave  the  verses 
to  work  their  effect  upon  you  :  they  ought  to  be  valuable 
to  you ;  they  will  let  you,  not  a  little,  into  the  secret  of 
your  own  nature.  They  were  written  as  much  for  your 
benefit  and  amusement  as  my  own,  and  excepting  you 
and  I  nobody  has  anything  to  do  with  them.  I  rather 
court  than  fear  your  criticism,  because,  as  I  have  told 
you,  you  are  to  blame  for  most  of  their  faults,  and  I  wish 
you  to  feel  ashamed  of  the  defects  that  have  arisen 
through  your  unkindness. 

"  I  remain, 

11  My  dearest  myself, 
"  Your  affectionate  though  injured  companion, 

"I. 

« 1833." 


EARLY  YEARS.  15 

I'm  sitting  in  the  evening  shade, 

The  Bible  on  my  knee, 
Heav'n's  canopy  is  over  head, 

Its  air  around  me  free. 
And  in  my  heart  I  trust  the  love 

Of  Christ  my  Saviour  glows  ; 
My  eye  is  on  the  depths  above, 

My  spirit  in  repose. 

I've  often  looked  upon  this  sky, 

And  often  felt  its  charm, 
And  oft  I've  seen  the  clouds  float  by 

Upon  its  bosom  calm  ; 
And  yet  this  gentle  quiet  eve 

It  fills  me  with  delight, 
Fresh  beauties  yet  I  can  perceive, 

Enjoy  again  the  sight. 

It  is  as  if  the  glorious  scene 

Were  wholly  new  to  me, 
And  why  ? — 'tis  true  the  sky  serene 

Has  not  this  novelty  ; 
But  yet  it  is  as  fresh  and  fair 

As  if  it  just  were  made, 
There  is  the  stamp  of  newness  there,. 

Newness  that  cannot  fade. 

I  would  not  have  another  sky, 

Nor  other  sun  or  moon, 
Nor  other  starry  lights  on  high, 

Nor  other  flowers  at  noon. 


MEMOIR   OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

Oh  no  !  of  those  that  now  we  have 

I  never  sure  can  tire, 
I've  loved,  will  love  them  to  the  grave, 

Nor  any  change  desire. 

And  thus,  O  Lord  !  this  book  of  Thine, 

This  sacred  book  of  truth, 
Although  with  its  contents  divine 

Familiar  from  my  youth, 
Is  still  as  fresh  and  fair  to  me 

As  Nature's  smiling  face, 
I  ask,  I  want  not  novelty, 

In  Thy  displays  of  grace. 

Its'sacred  stories  are  like  flowers 

Of  every  form  and  dye  ; 
Its  truths  like  stars  at  midnight  hours, 

That  speak  immensity  ; 
Its  sun  of  righteousness,  that  shows 

At  every  page  His  light, 
Like  Nature's  sun,  for  when  he  glows, 

Surrounding  Heaven  is  bright. 

In  these  I've  ever  something  new, 

Fresh  with  each  coming  day, 
Some  beauty  to  attract  my  view 

"Whose  charm  will  not  decay. 
I  want  not  any  change  till  Thou 

Shalt  will  that  I  shall  die, 
And  make  the  part  thou  giv'st  me  now, 

Whole  in  eternity. 


EARLY  YEARS.  i5 


VICISSITUDES  OF  THE  COUNTRY. 

The  country  is  pleasant  when  forth  you  can  go, 
And  wander  in  valley  and  hill  to  and  fro ; 
Can  see  the  blue  sky  and  breathe  the  fresh  air, 
Andx"gaze  on  the  prospect  unbounded  and  fair  ; 
Cull  each  pretty  wild  flower,  scan  every  nook, 
And  trace  among  meadows  the  wandering  brook. 

Look  forth  on  the  upland  and  down  on  the  vale, 

And  over  the  steep,  rugged  hill-path  prevail, 

Till  the  summit  attained,  with  admiring  eye 

The  valleys  and  streams,  hills  and  woods,  you  descry, 

All  glowing  in  sunlight,  or  deepening  in  shade, 

See  Nature's  sweet  objects  in  beauty  arrayed. 

But  when  sky  is  obscured  and  sunshine  is  gone, 

And  all  that  the  eye  meets  is  vapour  alone ; 

When  through  the  damp  air  the  landscape  looks  dim, 

And  close  o'er  the  water  the  boding  birds  skim, 

The  hill-sides  are  misty,  the  valleys  are  dark, 

In  the  cornfields  no  more  sings  the  gay  merry  lark  ; 

When  Nature  turns  cheerless,  and  gloom  all  around 

From  the  ground  to  the  sky,  from  the  sky  to  the  ground 

The  eye  roves  in  dismay,  all  delights  are  forgot, 

No  longer  is  thought  of  each  beautiful  spot ; 

The  pleasures  of  town-life  are  sighed  for  again  ; 

For  'tis  found  that  with  pleasure,  the  country  has  pain. 

Derby,  1838. 


1 6  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.   LYNCH. 


"OUR    SOFA." 

There  lived  of  late  a  bard  who  sung 
In  lofty  strains  the  Sofa's  praise  ; 

Like  him,  but  with  untutored  tongue, 
A  song  on  kindred  theme  I  raise. 

"  Our  Sofa,"  subject  of  my  song, 
Oh  aid  my  muse  to  strike  her  lyre, 

In  notes  as  high  and  deep  and  long 
As  thy  dimensions  can  inspire. 

No  mere  apology  art  thou, 

Unworthy  of  the  Sofa's  name, 
Oh  no  !  compared  with  thee,  I  trow, 

All  other  Sofas  sink  in  shame. 

Capacious  front  and  lofty  back, 

And  cushioned  seat  most  wondrous  wide, 
And  massive  legs  that  would  not  crack, 

If  Lambert's  self  should  rest  his  side. 

All^these  thou  hast,  yea,  more, — thy  length, 
Stretching  full  many  a  foot  along, 

Might  let  Goliath's  wearied  strength 
His  full  extent  of  legs  prolong. 

Unlike  the  man  with  ass  of  yore, 

Who  pleasing  some,  displeased  the  rest, 

To  loll,  or  nap,  or  sigh,  or  snore, 
All  who  desire  will  seek  thy  breast. 


EARLY  YEARS.  17 

No  narrow  width  repels  the  fat, 

No  cramped  extent  excludes  the  long, 

Let  all  who  ever  on  thee  sat 

Take  up  thy  praise  and  join  my  song. 

Thou  peerless  Sofa  !  many  a  year 

May'st  thou  afford  a  quiet  seat, 
And  still  continue  to  appear 

To  tired  legs  a  safe  retreat, 

Recruiting  youth's  exhausted  power, 

And  resting  age's  wearied  frame  ; 
How  pleasant  art  thou  at  this  hour  ! 

Long,  long  may'st  thou  remain  the  same. 

"Genesis  and  Geology"  in  those  times  stood 
for  an  alarming  and  irritating  controversy,  and 
in  a  letter  to  a  friend  occurs  the  following 
remarks  on  Dr.  Pye-Smith's  share  therein : — 

"  Islington,  7th.  June,  1S38. 

"I  did  not  hear  Dr.  Smith's  Lectures  on 
Geology.  I  hope  he  will  publish  them,  that  I 
may  have  the  opportunity  of  perusal.  It  is 
reported,  surely  not  with  truth,  that  the  Con- 
gregational Board  have  refused  to  publish  the 
Doctor's  lectures  because  they  disapprove  his 
sentiments.     Can  this  be  so  ?     As  a  Dissenter  I 

c 


i8  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

feel  ashamed  at  the  thought.     I  feel  convinced 
that   no   better   method    could    be   devised    for 
bringing  the  Bible  into  contempt,  and  religion 
into   ridicule,  than   wilfully  to   place  the  book 
of  God  in  opposition  to  the  truths  of  science, 
and  turn  the  grand  instrument  of  human  felicity 
into  an  engine  to  keep  back  advancing  intellect. 
To  require  for  Truth  more  than  truth  demands 
is  to   turn  its  enemy.     To  make  the  Bible  an 
authority  on  matters  which  come  not  within  its 
province  may  be  the  result  of  a  sincere  feeling 
of  respect  for  it,  but  it  is  not  a  respect  which 
either  religion  or  reason  approves.     If  the  Bible 
be  really  the  word  of  God,  and  our   interpre- 
tation of  it  be  disproved  by  the  facts  of  science, 
that   interpretation   must   be   wrong.      It   must 
ever  be  recollected,  though  I  do  not  remember 
having  seen  it  argued,  that  our  belief  in   the 
Bible    as  a   revelation   from  God   rests   on    no 
higher   evidence  than   any  scientific  truth.      If 
the    evidence     on    which    its    authority    rests, 
Historic  and  Internal,  did  not  satisfy  our  reason, 
we  should  reject  it.     Now,  when  an  opponent  of 
Geology,  or  any  other  science  that  appears  to 


EARLY  YEARS.  19 

contradict  Scripture,  says  to  me — You  are  to 
believe  the  word  of  God  rather  than  trust  the 
fallacious  reasonings  of  men,  he  forgets  that  he 
is  virtually,  by  telling  me  to  distrust  and  dis- 
believe my  senses,  removing  the  very  basis  on 
which  my  faith  in  revelation  rests." 

From  another  letter  we  select  a  few  passages 
relating  to  his  health  and  prospects  : — 

"  Llanelly,  Caermarthenshire, 
"  \$th  October,  1838. 

"I  have  for  some  time  past  been  staying  in 

Wales I  left at  Christmas  last,  the 

weak  state  of  my  health  rendering  me  incapable 
of  any  longer  discharging  my  duties.  Since 
then  I  have  remained  at  home  unable  to  enter 
on  any  other  engagement.  I  still  continue  in  a 
very  weak  and  nervous  state,  quite  prevented 
from     attending    to    my    studies,    and    indeed 

unequal  to  any  continued  mental  effort 

At  present  it  would  be  useless  for  me  to  treat  for 
any  situation,  uncertain  as  I  am  when  I  shall 
again   enjoy   health    and   vigour   of  body   and 


20  MEMOIR  OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

mind.  It  has  been,  as  you  may  readily  believe, 
a  great  trial  to  me  to  give  up  study,  but  my 
medical  advisers  required  me  to  do  so,  and  pro- 
hibited me  for  some  time  even  from  reading, 
although  in  this  respect  I  cannot  say  I  obeyed 
them  to  the  full  extent.  They  ascribe  my  afflic- 
tion to  my  having  had  greater  mental  exertion 

than  I  had  physical  strength  to  support 

"From  the  little  experience  I  have  had  in 
teaching,  I  have  formed  high  ideas  of  the 
importance  of  the  teacher's  work,  the  responsi- 
bility of  his  office,  and  the  qualifications,  par- 
ticularly moral  ones,  that  are  required  of  him. 
I  feel  strongly  how  lofty  a  standard  of  personal 
excellence  he  should  aim  at,  and  how  constant 
and  persevering  must  be  his  efforts  to  attain  it. 
Should  I  again  enter  the  employment,  I  trust  it 
will  be  under  the  influence  of  these  feelings.  I 
have  been,  however,  for  some  time  doubtful 
whether  I  should  again  engage  in  teaching,  or 
enter  on  a  university  course  of  study." 

To   the   same  friend    he  wrote  four  months 
subsequently : — 


EARLY  YEARS.  21 

"Islington,  12th  February,  1839. 

" I  am  thankful  I  am  able  to  tell 

you  that  I  am  getting  better,  and  though  I  am 
not  very  sanguine  as  to  a  speedy  recovery,  yet 
I  do  hope  I  shall  be  thoroughly  restored  in 
time. 

"  I  thank  you  for  the  hope  you  so  kindly 
express  that  in  my  case  affliction  may  have 
been  the  means  of  spiritual  improvement :  this 
is  the  result  it  ought  to  produce  in  me,  and  I 
trust  it  has  in  some  measure  done  so.  Let  me 
assure  you  that  the  friendly  earnestness  with 
which  you  press  upon  me  what  I  as  well  as 
yourself  feel  to  be  the  most  important  of  all 
subjects  needs  no  apology.  I  have  for  some 
time  felt  the  evil  of  my  own  heart,  and  the 
necessity  for  its  renewal  by  those  influences  of 
God's  Spirit  which  are  alike  needed  by  all  and 
promised  to  all.  But  I  will  freely  confess,  that 
though  religion  has  ever  had  my  respect,  and  I 
have  been  ready  to  acknowledge  its  importance, 
it  once  occupied  but  a  subordinate  place  in  my 
practical  regard.  I  trust  that  I  have  now  a 
deeper  feeling  of  its  value  and  its  claims,  and 


22  MEMOIR   OF  T.   T.   LYNCH. 

endeavour  to  act  accordingly.  I  now  feel  that 
the  greatest  acquirements,  the  highest  mental 
cultivation,  are  vain  if  religion  be  neglected — 
incapable  of  affording  happiness  to  their  pos- 
sessors or  of  benefiting  the  world  as  they  might 
do  if  joined  to  true  piety.  But  though  I  feel 
this  to  be  true,  I  do  not  for  a  moment  allow  that 
there  is  any  necessary  opposition  between  the 
pursuit  of  human  learning  and  the  claims  of 
religion.  I  will  readily  admit  that  many  of  the 
wise  and  learned  of  this  world  have  been  either 
indifferent  to  the  revelation  of  their  Maker's 
will,  or  have  openly  scoffed  at  it  and  derided  its 
authority  ;  but  this  is  not  because  there  is  any 
peculiar  tendency  in  their  pursuits  to  produce 
such  a  disposition ;  it  may  be  traced  to  causes 
altogether  independent  of  them.  Science  and 
literature  may  be  pursued  with  the  paltry  object 
of  gaining  distinction :  when  this  is  the  case, 
the  zeal  and  ardour  which  are  directed  to  their 
cultivation  are  but  one  of  the  many  forms 
which  that  love  of  the  world,  which  is  enmity 
to  God,  can  assume.  But  when  they  are  loved 
for  their  own  sakes,  when  the  mind   finds   its 


EARLY  YEARS.  23 

reward  in  the  pleasure  it  derives  from  the 
contemplation  of  truth,  the  danger  of  the  record 
of  Divine  Truth  being  neglected  is  far  less. 
God  manifests  the  same  attributes  in  the  plan  of 
the  universe,  in  all  that  man  can  understand 
of  its  vast  extent  and  its  varied  details,  that  He 
manifests  in  the  volume  of  Inspiration  :  and 
I  do  not  really  believe  either  that  the  Bible 
can  be  properly  appreciated,  without  a  love  of 
science — that  science  which  teaches  us  to  ad- 
mire God's  works,  or  that  Nature  in  all  her 
grandeur,  loveliness,  and  perfection  can  be 
fully  understood  without  the  Bible.  One  great 
reason,  I  think,  why  so  many  possessed  of 
inquiring  minds,  and  loving  the  pleasures  of 
intellect,  have  been  and  are  now  found  among 
the  irreligious,  is  that  the  mode  of  preaching 
the  truths  of  the  Bible  and  exhibiting  them  has 
not  been  so  much  adapted  as  it  ought  to  have 
been  to  this  particular  class  of  minds.  Theo- 
logy has  been  preached  rather  than  religion, 
the  meaning  of  the  Scriptures  explained  rather 
by  a  ready-formed  system  than  by  a  comparison 
of  one  part  with   another   and   an   honest   en- 


24.  MEMOIR  OF  T.  T.  LYNCH. 

deavour  to  ascertain  the  simple,  plain  meaning 
of  what  is  said.  Religion  has  certainly  been 
preached  too  dogmatically,  a  mode  of  pro- 
claiming its  truths  alike  unnecessary,  injurious, 
inconsistent  with  apostolic  practice,  and  opposed 
even  to  the  example  of  Christ  himself,  who, 
though  He  spoke  with  authority,  always  adapted 
his  instructions  to  his  hearers,  and  refused 
not  to  answer  even  the  captious  questions  of 
those  who  asked  not  from  a  desire  of  knowing 
truth,  but  that  they  might,  if  possible,  believe 
that  false  which  they  wished  were  so. 

"  But  I  am  getting  prosy,  and  tiring  you. 
Within  these  last  few  weeks  I  have  begun  to 
attend  some  evening  courses  of  lectures  which 
are  being  delivered  at  the  London  University  to 
schoolmasters  and  ushers  :  as  they  only  require 
an  hour  or  two  three  evenings  in  the  week,  they 
do  not  make  too  great  a  demand  upon  me. 
The  subjects  at  present  are  Greek,  Professor 
Maiden;  and  Mathematics,  Professor  De  Mor- 
gan. Professor  M.  is  giving  a  complete  ana- 
lysis of  the  Greek  language.  We  have  just 
commenced   the   verbs :    I   expect   to   be  much 


EARLY  YEARS.  25 

interested  in  his  development  of  their  theory. 
I  know  not  whether  you  are  at  all  acquainted 
with  the  new  method  of  teaching  languages 
upon  the  system  of  *  crude  forms  ; '  by  means  of 
this  system  the  Greek  language  may  be  learnt 
far  more  satisfactorily  and  with  much  greater 
ease  than  by  the  old  plan I  am  particu- 
larly fond  of  mathematical  science,  and  had, 
previous  to  my  illness,  made  some  little  pro- 
gress, but  I  have  retrograded  sadly 

"I  suppose  you  are  not  infected  with  the 
mania  for  universal  suffrage  which  is  the  epi- 
demic of  the  North — perhaps  I  should  rather 
say,  the  great  nostrum  which  is  supposed  to 
have  virtues  that  can  cure  all  the  diseases  of  the 
body  politic,  a  nostrum  in  which  many  have 
such  faith  that  they  will  endure  their  sufferings 
till  they  can  obtain  it  rather  than  try  the  effect 
of  any  other  medicine." 

Writing  to  the  same  friend  in  the  subsequent 
year,  he  reports  some  improvement  in  his  health, 
and  enlarges  on  the  divine  providence  in  happi- 
ness and  suffering  : — 


26  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

"  Islington,  Stk  April,  1840. 
u  I  hope  I  am  somewhat  better  than  when  I 
wrote  last ;  but  fond  as  I  am  of  looking  on  the 
sunny  side,  I  cannot  deceive  myself  into  any 
very  bright  hopes  of  a  speedy  recovery.  I  can- 
not say  as  Paul  could,  i  I  have  learned  in  what- 
soever state  I  am  therewith  to  be  content ; '  but 
I  am  studying  the  lesson,  and  I  trust  have  made 
some  progress.  I  am  inclined  to  think  there  is 
more  sweet  than  bitter  mingled  in  man's  cup — 
that  there  are  more  happy  persons  in  the  world 
than  sad  ones — that  the  joyous  moments  of 
human  life,  of  every  individual  life,  outnumber 
those  of  pain.  This  is  a  delightful  thought,  and 
far  more  comforting,  I  think,  to  me  in  my  mea- 
sure of  affliction,  than  the  consideration  of  others' 
woes.  It  is  true  we  may  learn  patience  by 
comparing  our  slight  pains  with  the  far  greater 
ones  our  friends  or  our  fellow-men  endure ;  but 
we  get  this  only — that  which  will  alleviate  pain, 
and  not  what  will  afford  direct  pleasure.  When 
we  think  of  the  innumerable  springs  of  enjoy- 
ment at  which  thousands  of  happy  beings  are 
refreshing  themselves,  a  feeling  of  positive  plea- 


EARLY  YEARS.  27 

sure  arises  in  the  mind,  especially  if  that  mind 
have  in  some  degree  imbibed  the  spirit  of  reli- 
gion. There  is  much  that  is  painful  and  sad  in 
this  great  and  glorious  world,  though  not  suf- 
ficient to  warrant  the  epithet — a  waste,  howling 
wilderness — which  some  pious  persons  have  in- 
cautiously made  use  of.  There  is  much  that  is 
extremely  perplexing  to  our  limited  capacities ; 
yet  we  can  see  so  many  uses  in  suffering,  so 
many  advantages  that  spring  from  its  endur- 
ance, that  no  great  demand  is  made  upon  our 
faith  when  we  are  required  to  believe  that  '  He 
doeth  all  things  well/  It  is  not  the  fact  of  a 
difficulty's  being  unexplained  that  distresses  the 
mind  so  much  as  its  being  inexplicable  ;  but  we 
know  that  none  of  the  difficulties  about  the 
Divine  administration  are  inexplicable  ;  they 
are  only  relatively  obscure — that  is,  obscure  to 
us — and  are  in  reality  as  fully  evidences  of  God's 
wisdom  and  goodness  as  those  of  His  ways  we 
are  permitted  to  comprehend.  We  may,  and 
ought,  to  see  God,  the  same  God,  in  everything 
— in  the  provisions  made  for  our  happiness,  and 
in  the  laws  which  inflict  pain.     And  yet  what  a 


2  8  MEMOIR   OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

sad  instance  is  it  of  our  moral  derangement  that 
pain  leads  us  to  thoughts  of  God,  often  unjust 
thoughts  ;  whilst  daily  enjoyments,  though  they 
tell  us  in  clear  and  harmonious  accents  of  his 
goodness  and  beneficence,  are  disregarded.  It 
would  seem  as  if  the  best  men  have  such  imper- 
fect vision  that  over  one  or  other  of  the  modes 
in  which  God  displays  his  character  and  speaks 
to  us  of  Himself,  a  veil  is  generally  spread. 

"The  Christian  in  health  and  comfort,  seeing 
around  him  many  forms  of  misery,  falls  into 
reflections  about  the  providence  of  God,  asks 
himself  why  these  are  permitted,  and  finds  many 
reasons  that  partially  satisfy  him  all  the  Divine 
ways  are  consistent.  Meanwhile,  he  is  perhaps 
indifferent  to  his  own  blessings,  or  does  not 
make  them  the  subjects  of  contemplation;  the 
veil  is  removed  from  the  providence  of  evil,  so  to 
speak,  and  hangs  over  the  providence  of  good. 
But  change  the  scene,  and  suppose  the  man 
suddenly  stricken  himself;  then  how  brightly 
all  his  past  enjoyments  rise  before  him  and 
force  themselves  on  his  thoughts,  whilst  God's 
hand  to  him  seems  now  heavy  and   his  coun- 


EARLY  YEARS.  29 

tenance  severe.  The  veil  is  now  removed  from  the 
providence  of  good,  to  obscure  for  a  time  the 
providence  of  evil.  Is  it  not  so  ?  And  are  not 
the  partial  agitations  of  the  generally  smooth 
and  tranquil  current  of  our  being  useful,  by 
awakening  our  gratitude  for  what  we  have 
thoughtlessly  enjoyed,  and  making  us,  when 
the  storm  is  over,  more  keenly  alive  to  the 
value  of  repose  and  peace — repose  and  peace,  I 
say,  in  consistency  with  the  figure  of  a  stream  ; 
but  in  strict  truth  it  is  not  repose,  but  activity, 
that  is  the  source  of  enjoyment  on  earth,  and 
probably  in  all  worlds ;  and  active  usefulness — 
oh,  what  delight  springs  from  that !  You  ex- 
perience this ;  I,  alas,  only  know  it !  Still, 
activity  is  even  now  the  law  of  my  nature,  and 
though  I  am  rendering  no  services  to  mankind, 
I  hope  I  am  becoming  fitter  to  do  so  if  ever  I 
should  enjoy  health  again.  I  cannot  study  so 
much  as  I  would.  This  last  week  I  thought  I 
would  just  dip  into  mathematics  again  ;  so  I 
went  through  Euclid's  third  book,  and  although, 
as  you  know,  it  is  by  no  means  difficult,  the 
effort  quite  wearied  me. 


30  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

"The  Church  controversy  is  still  going  on, 
but  I  am  afraid  public  argumentation  makes  few 
converts.  Churchmen  attend  the  lectures  for 
the  Church,  Dissenters  those  in  favour  of  the 
Voluntary  Principle.  Is  not  this  absurd  ?  Yet 
I  must  say  the  Dissenters  are  more  ready  to 
listen  to  the  reasonings  of  their  opponents  than 
they  are  to  give  ear  to  the  despised  Voluntaries. 
It  would  be  a  curious  investigation  what  pro- 
portion of  opinion  is  really  based  upon  honest, 
fair  inquiry,  not  honest  in  intention  only,  but 
in  fact.  I  think  -oi  per  cent,  a  liberal  allow- 
ance." 

To  the  same  correspondent  he  communicates 
some  opinions  on  the  scholastic  office — opinions 
that  a  lapse  of  thirty  years  has  not  deprived  of 
practical  value: — 

"Islington,  iSth  October,  1840. 
"  I  have  made  the  inquiries  you  requested  at 
University  College,  and  find  that  schoolmasters 
cannot  be  examined  for  degrees  without  attend- 
ing   lectures    there.      This   is   to   be   regretted, 


EARLY  YEARS.  31 

because  the  object  of  admitting  them  to 
examination  on  terms  differing  from  ordinary 
students  is  to  give  them  the  advantage,  and 
the  public  the  security,  of  a  testimonial  of 
competency ;  this  end  would  be  answered  if 
those  who  cannot  attend  lectures  might  matricu- 
late without. 

"  After  all,  however,  an  M.A.  degree,  though 
it  may  warrant  the  possessor  to  have  attained  a 
certain  amount  of  knowledge,  by  no  means 
proves  his  ability  to  communicate  it,  or  to 
undertake  the  moral  management  of  youth.  Do 
you  not  think  we  want  colleges  expressly  for 
schoolmasters  ?  Really  good  teachers  are, 
perhaps,  more  interested  than  any  class  of  the 
community  in  raising  the  character  of  the  pro- 
fession. For  whilst  instructors  of  the  middle 
classes  consist  chiefly  of  persons  destitute  of  any 
qualification  whatever  for  their  employment, 
education  must  be  meagre,  its  importance  not 
appreciated,  instructors  not  recognised  as  filling 
stations  of  the  highest  responsibility,  and  conse- 
quently no  adequate  remuneration  offered  for 
their    services.      None   but   a   groveller   makes 


32  MEMOIR  OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

wealth  his  first  object;  but  none  but  a  fool 
makes  it  the  last.  A  student  has  flesh,  blood, 
and  bones,  appetites  and  passions,  like  other 
men.  He  has  a  physical  existence  as  well  as  a 
mental  one,  and  money  he  must  have  for  his 
common  wants,  his  superior  desires,  and  that  he 
be  fitted  better  than  other  men  to  exert  influence 
— may  not  be  without  the  means  of  exerting  it. 
I  really  feel  indignant  when  I  think  of  the 
contemptible  pittance  usually  awarded  to 
teachers ;  but  sorrow  overcomes  indignation 
when  we  look  at  the  consequences  of  this,  that 
men,  utterly  unfit  to  train  asses  or  manage 
cattle,  take  upon  themselves  to  watch  the  germ 
of  an  immortal  spirit,  and  tend  its  first  growth, 
with  the  chance,  through  their  ignorance,  of 
ruining  it  for  ever.  Now  I  think  colleges  for 
schoolmasters  might  operate  usefully  in  direct- 
ing public  attention  to  the  importance  of  their 
function  in  furnishing  men  more  really  com- 
petent for  this  high  office,  and  in  securing 
unity  among  the  well-educated  persons  who 
would  then  undertake  the  work  of  instruction, 
that  by  combined  effort  they  might  obtain  their 


EARLY  YEARS.  33 

rights.  I  have  little  personal  interest  in  this 
matter  now,  but  sufficient  personal  experience 
to  make  me  keenly  alive  to  the  great  abuses 
connected  with  teachers  and  teaching.  General 
philanthropy  makes  us  cry  out  for  the  rights  of 
men.  A  philanthropy  more  limited,  a  selfish 
one  if  you  please,  should  make  one  part  of  the 
community  cry  out — and  pretty  loudly  too — for 
the  rights  of  schoolmasters." 


CHAPTER  III. 

COMMENCEMENT   OF  MINISTRY. 
1 841  — 1846. 

TN  1 84 1   Mr.  Lynch  became  a  member  of  the 
church  in  Islington,  of  which  the  Rev.  John 
Yockney  was  pastor.     His  sense  of  the  connec- 
tion then  formed  was  thus  set  forth  : — 

"Islington,  \st June,  1841. 
"...  Christian  experience  is  sufficiently 
varied  to  present  many  varieties  of  Christian 
excellence,  whilst  it  is  sufficiently  similar  to 
enable  Christians  really  to  sympathise  with 
each  otfc?r.  Many  gratefully  attribute  their 
conversion  to  the  divine  blessing  on  some 
incident  or  sermon.  For  myself  I  cannot  do 
this.     I  was    early  taught    religious    truth,  and 


COMMENCEMENT  OF  MINISTRY.       35 

early  felt  the  influence  of  religious  sentiment 
and  thought.  Though  I  can  look  back  upon 
many  circumstances  that  had,  religiously,  a  very 
beneficial  effect  upon  my  character,  I  cannot 
fix  on  any  time  when  my  thoughts  and  feel- 
ings respecting  religion  underwent  a  complete 
change :  nor  do  I  wish  to.  With  gratitude,  1 
think  I  discern  in  my  past  history  something 
like  progress.  This  is  the  only  indication  any 
one  can  have  of  spiritual  life ;  and  if  we 
spiritually  live,  it  is  certain  we  have  been 
spiritually  born.  Happily,  our  heavenly  inherit- 
ance does  not  depend,  as  an  earthly  one  some- 
times does,  upon  our  being  able  to  prove  the 
time  and  place  of  our  nativity.  It  is  better  to 
doubt  whether  we  have  been  born  than,  recol- 
lecting the  time  of  our  birth,  be  content  to  live 
on  in  a  state  of  perpetual  infancy.  I  wish  to 
regard  my  connection  with  this  church,  not  as 
an  end,  but  as  a  means.  It  is  not  the  beginning 
of  a  Christian  course,  neither  should  it  be  the 
end.  Jesus  Christ  calls  his  followers  to  effort, 
labour — varied  and  prolonged.  Their  journey 
is  a  mountain  pathway,  difficult  but  inspiriting. 


36  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

Enterprise  and  activity  the  Saviour  desires  to 
see  in  all  who  serve  Him.  The  remembrance  of 
his  love,  and  the  Christian  affection  of  those 
who  unite  with  us  to  commemorate  it,  should  be 
powerful  means  of  stimulating  us  to  the  efforts 
He  requires." 

He  proved  a  most  efficient  Sunday-school 
teacher  and  district  visitor,  frequently  preaching 
to  the  poor  in  a  room  at  Ward's  Place.  To  a 
friend  he  wrote — 

"Islington,  21st  June,  1841. 

"  I  have  been  engaged  on  Sabbath  evenings 
for  the  last  three  months  in  preaching  (if  the 
word  is  not  too  dignified)  to  little  companies  of 
poor  people,  and  from  all  I  have  observed  of 
them,  and  of  their  children,  I  feel  more  than 
ever  sensible  of  the  value  of  Christian  educa- 
tion. This  work  of  instruction  I  have  not  under- 
taken lightly ;  I  am  aware  of  its  great  diffi- 
culty. Christian  teaching  is  woefully  defective 
in  many  of  our  pupils,  and  especially  do  the 
.poor    suffer    from    the   way   religious    truth    is 


COMMENCEMENT  OF  MINISTRY.       37 

presented  to  them.  Any  man  that  wishes  to  act 
on  the  mind  of  another,  must  believe  something, 
and  believe  it  in  his  very  soul.  Sincerity  and 
earnestness,  in  fact  a  certain  degree  of  enthu- 
siasm, are  essential  to  give  effect  to  spoken 
thought.  A  man  must  brood  over  his  own 
thoughts  till  his  mind  takes  fire,  and  then  he 
may  hope  to  fire  other  minds.  The  poor  require 
truth  to  be  presented  to  them  very  pungently, 
intelligibly,  and  interestingly.  At  this  I  aim, 
and  sincerely  trust  I  may  do  some  good,  if  it  be 
but  little.  I  never  speak  without  much  thought, 
and,  I  need  hardly  say,  without  prayer,  for  I  am 
persuaded  that  the  help  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is 
something  real.  My  extreme  weakness  and 
varying  energy  of  mind  is  a  serious  disad- 
vantage to  me.  I  should  hardly  say  energy  of 
mind,  for  by  my  peculiar  temperament,  the 
desire  to  act  never  fails  me,  although  the  active 
powers  often  do. 

"  It  is  my  earnest  wish  to  be  in  some  way 
useful  in  this  world.  I  cannot  yet  see  my  way 
clear  to  any  regular  occupation.  It  is  a  happy 
thing  that  we  can  adorn  the  doctrine  of  God  our 


3 8  MEMOIR    OF  T.    T.   LYNCH. 

Saviour  in  all  things.  So  that,  if  unable  to 
employ  ourselves  in  a  manner  most  congenial, 
whatever  we  do,  we  may  do  all  to  His  glory. 
I  have  sometimes  had  thoughts  of  the  ministry 
— that  is,  however,  a  very  serious  matter.5' 

In  a  letter  to  the  same  friend  he  sets  forth 
his  fears  and  hopes  concerning  this  "very 
serious  matter." 

"Islington,  27th  October,  1841. 
"  I  wish  I  could  look  forward,  as  you  hint 
may  be  possible,  to  the  ministry.  It  is  difficult 
for  one  situated  as  I  am,  fairly  to  judge  of  him- 
self as  to  his  fitness  for  such  a  work.  I  think 
he  is  likely  both  to  underrate  and  to  overrate  his 
powers  at  different  times.  Yet  I  seem  to  fancy 
that  even  now  the  pastorship  of  some  country 
congregation  would  be  my  appropriate  sphere 
of  action.  But,  of  course,  we  must  be  bound  by 
general  rules,  unless  in  very  particular  individual 
cases ;  and  as  a  general  rule,  it  is  a  wise  one 
that  young  men  should  pass  through  a  college 
course    before    becoming    ministers.     Suffering 


COMMENCEMENT  OF  MINISTRY.       39 

and  study  have,  however,  helped  to  discipline 
me,  though  a  year  or  two  at  college  would 
certainly  be  most  congenial.  This  is  impossible, 
for  I  cannot  take  ordinary  food;  and  the  ministry 
without  this  is,  I  suppose,  impossible,  because  the 
thing  would  be  out  of  rule. 

"  You  will  be  glad  to  know  how  I  get  on  in 
teaching  the  poor.  I  have  had  many  happy 
hours  in  this  employment — many  anxious  ones. 
I  do  trust  I  have  done  some  good,  and  I  certainly 
have  learnt  much.  I  expected  peculiar  diffi- 
culties in  dealing  with  the  poor,  and  I  find  them. 
Much  personal  intercourse  with  them  is  neces- 
sary. I  have  done  what  I  could  in  this  way, 
but  my  weakness  has  sadly  interfered  with  this. 
I  have  met  with  a  variety  of  characters,  with 
cases  of  extreme  and  degrading  wickedness.  I 
have  had  both  hopes  and  discouragements — this 
I  think  well :  too  great  success  might  have 
engendered  spiritual  pride.  It  is  true  that  failure 
may  lead  one  to  attribute  that  to  human  wicked- 
ness which  is  the  result  of  one's  own  in- 
adequacy; but  if  Melancthon  found  that  old 
Adam  was  too  hard   for  young   Melancthon,  I 


4o  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.   LYNCH. 

may  fairly  expect  to  feel  sometimes  in  the  same 
way.  It  seems  to  me  that  every  young  man 
looking  to  the  ministry  would  do  well  to  labour 
in  some  way  among  the  poor.  It  is  like  walking 
the  hospital  to  a  surgeon,  and  must  furnish  the 
meditative  mind  with  materials  for  much  profit- 
able thought." 

The  social  and  political  outlook  in  1841  was 
far  from  encouraging,  and  he  inquired  of  his 
friend — 

"  What  think  you  of  our  country — its  miseries 
and  prospects — the  blind  strivings  of  anguish 
and  selfishness  ?  Taking  the  most  dispassionate 
view,  its  state  seems  alarming — wretchedness 
on  a  large  scale  is  always  an  indication  of 
wickedness  somewhere.  Is  there  not  something 
sublime  in  the  manner  in  which  God  suffers 
man's  conduct  to  work  itself  out — to  discover 
its  principles  and  fully  develop  their  effects  r 
He  has  given  to  man  the  great  and  wonderful 
gift  of  liberty,  and  its  action  shall  be  unfettered  ; 
yet  whichever  of   all   possible  modes  of  action 


COMMENCEMENT  OF  MINISTRY.        41 

men  select,  God's  arrangements  are  so  far- 
reaching  and  comprehensive,  that  His  designs 
shall  be  ultimately  and  gloriously  secured.  It 
is  a  grand  thought.  What  if  there  be  celestial 
students  now  training  under  the  Great  Being  for 
wonderful  and,  to  us,  unknown  agencies  ;  and 
this  world  is  to  them  the  great  theatre  of  moral 
experiment — earth  the  place,  we  the  subjects 
of  their  studies !  The  whole  of  world-history 
is  a  dark  enigma  to  the  atheist,  a  fearful  one  to 
the  Deist,  a  half-explained  but  glorious  wonder 
to  the  Christian." 

To  a  lady,  his  cousin,  he  wrote  in  the  sub- 
sequent year,  with  reference  to  some  disturb- 
ances in  Lancashire. 

"Islington,  18th  August,  1842. 
"  If  these  commotions  were  like  one  of  those 
spring  storms  that  sweep  across  the  heavens — 
a  passing  darkness  followed  by  a  brighter  sky 
and  a  greener  earth — then  all  would  be  well ; 
but  when  we  think  of  the  complaints  and  cries 
of   hungry   men   that   have  been   like  volcanic 


42  MEMOIR    OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

rumblings,  we  may  fear  that  they  are  rather 
like  a  fiery  stream,  swift  and  transient  in  its 
course,  but  leaving,  for  many  a  day,  the  traces 
of  its  passage.  Why  have  these  tumults  arisen  ? 
and  whither  do  they  tend?  are  now  the  questions 
anxiously  asked  ;  starvation,  whilst  it  has  been 
passive,  has  either  been  regarded  with  elegant 
pity  or  simple  indifference  ;  but  now  that  it  has 
become  savagely  active,  it  compels  regard,  and 
asks  something  more  than  sentimentalism.  It 
is  curious  to  observe  how  the  Priest  and  the 
Levite— having,  the  one  from  sentimentalism, 
the  other  from  indifference,  neglected  the  hungry 
as  he  has  besought  their  aid— now  that  he  uses 
violence,  accuse  the  Good  Samaritan,  who  has 
helped  him  as  he  could,  and  pleaded  his  cause, 
of  having  incited  him  to  ferocity.  The  Corn  Law 
repealers,  who  have  foretold  convulsion,  and 
laboured  to  promote  measures  to  remedy  dis- 
tress and  prevent  tumult,  are  actually  accused 
of  causing  the  disturbances.  Not  that  I  think 
the  abolition  of  the  Corn  Laws  would  set  the 
national  prosperity  on  a  firm  basis ;  but  I  have 
little  doubt  that  it  would  increase  its  stability, 


COMMENCEMENT  OF  MINISTRY.        43 

and  none  that  the  advocates  of  their  abolition 
have  achieved  many  benefits,  and  will  achieve 
more.  It  is  instructive — disagreeably  instructive, 
I  could  almost  say— to  note  how  selfishness,  and 
various  forms  of  depravity,  are  displayed  in  all 
popular  movements.  Travellers  tell  us  of  rivers 
whose  current  on  one  side  is  clear  and  pure,  and 
on  the  other  turbid  and  muddy,  and  these  flow 
separately  in  the  same  stream.  Not  so  is  it  with 
these  ;  good  and  evil  intermingle  and  get  con- 
founded together,  and,  unhappily,  defilement 
accumulates  with  the  onward  flow.  It  has  been 
thus  in  the  times  of  religious  agitation :  no 
streams  have  been  more  turbulent  than  those 
of  religious  opinion ;  and  if  so,  though  we 
cannot  excuse  the  crime  and  follies  of  a  time 
of  political  excitement,  we  need  not  be  surprised 
at  their  rise  and  rapid  growth.  A  man  who  is 
sufficiently  in  earnest  about  the  welfare  of  the 
country  as  such,  to  think  on  the  meaning  of  the 
word  politics,  will,  like  the  truly  sincere  and 
intelligent  Christian,  soon  come  to  approve  of 
all  parties,  disapprove  of  all,  and  belong  to  none. 
Not  but  that  he  will  act  with  a  party — that  is,  a 


+4-  MEMOIR    OF  T.    T.   LYNCH. 

particular  set  of  men  leagued  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  some  specific  object  at  special  times ; 
but  he  will  see  that  truth  in  its  wholeness  can 
no  more  be  grasped  by  any  man's  head,  than 
the  round  world  by  any  man's  hand.  He  will 
be  humble,  and  therefore  charitable.  Just, 
however,  as  there  is  a  danger  of  being  consumed 
by  party  zeal,  of  becoming,  as  it  were,  a  burnt 
offering  to  bigotry,  there  is  danger  of  becoming 
so  very  candid  a  simpleton  as  to  suppose  that 
all  the  world  of  politicians  are  very  good  people, 
each  striving  honestly  after  such  portion  of  good 
as  is  to  him  discernible.  So  in  religion,  we 
may  have,  as  Baptists,  a  zeal  that  water  cannot 
cool ;  as  Independents,  or  what  you  please,  a 
leniency  that  will  hope  all  things  where  charity 
itself  would  despair.  Though  quite  sufficiently 
earnest,  I  have  more  fear  of  the  second  error 
than  of  the  first — believing  positively  that  there 
is  much  truth  among  Episcopalians,  Unitarians, 
Catholics,  &c,  aye,  and  even  Baptists  !  *  I  am 
anxious  not  to  allow  the  truth  mingled  with 
error  too  great  an  influence,  as  neutralizing  it, 

*  His  lady  correspondent,  a  Baptist. 


COMMENCEMENT  OF  MINISTRY.        45 

and  purifying  those  who  hold  it.  With  regard 
to  politics,  I  believe  that  among  men  of  all 
parties  there  are  individuals  honest,  but  having 
only  partial,  and  therefore  incorrect,  views  of 
things.  Truth  is  to  be  gleaned  in  many  fields 
— it  is  not  a  plant  that  grows  only  in  our  own 
garden.  The  thing  to  be  striven  for,  is  charity, 
that  '  hopeth  all  things,  and  thinketh  no  evil,' 
combined  with  intelligence,  that  '  proveth  all 
things,'  and  integrity,  that  *  holds  fast  that 
which  is  good.' " 

To  the  same  cousin  he  communicated  the 
following  observations  on  convalescence,  which 
have  a  vivid  interest  in  connection  with  his  own 
experience. 

"  Islington,  \Wi  June,  1842. 

"  One  thing  I  have  noted  after  a  severe  but 
temporary  attack  of  sickness,  there  is  great 
resemblance  between  the  feelings  and  whole 
action  of  the  mind  and  those  of  childhood.  The 
body  indeed,  by  its  weakness,  is  in  a  sort  of 
infancy,  and  the  mind  travels  back  from  its 
ripe  maturity  to  its  early  flowerage.     In  coming 


46  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

back  to  the  sight  of  the  world  after  a  brief 
dark  period  of  seclusion,  there  is  the  same 
newness  and  awakening  stimulus  in  it  that 
there  is  to  a  child.  I  am  aware  that  poets 
have  noticed  the  pleasure  with  which  we  greet 
common  objects  at  such  a  time  ;  but  it  is  not 
this  only,  but  the  whole  state  of  the  thoughts 
and  feelings  that  I  refer  to  ;  all  is  childlike. 

"In  the  manner  of  God's  goodness  there  is 
always  wisdom ;  the  softened  and  impressible 
state  of  the  mind  at  such  a  time  may  be  used  lor 
our  religious  advantage.  It  is  in  itself  a  pleasant 
state,  but  it  is  intended  to  be  made  by  us  a  profit- 
able one.  Thus  God  kindly  gives  us  what  is 
pleasant,  and  wisely  makes  it  a  means  of  further 
advantage,  putting  it  within  our  power  to  in- 
crease the  beneficial  effects  of  affliction  by 
rightly  availing  ourselves  of  the  means  He  has 
provided.  There  is  something  about  the  joy  of 
a  person  recovering  from  sickness,  or  just  free 
from  suffering  of  any  kind,  altogether  peculiar. 
If  we  may  call  joy,  the  light  of  the  heart,  this 
is  a  light  soft  and  bright  as  if  reflected  from 
the  tears  that  have  recently  fallen.     And  may 


COMMENCEMENT  OF  MINISTRY.        47 

we  not,  by  the  thought  of  our  fresh  feeling  on 
recovered  health,  give  a  reality  to  our  idea  of 
a  future  renewal  of  our  powers  ?  We  know 
the  fact  of  such  renewal,  may  we  not  be  helped 
to  feel  it?  How  gloriously  God  can  reinvigorate 
in  another  world  the  powers  that  have  grown 
stiff,  old,  and  feeble  in  this  !  In  age  the  eye  is 
dim;  a  figure  of  the  whole  nature — all  is  dim. 
What  delight  to  wake  up  in  another  world 
with  a  man's  mind  and  a  child's  heart  (this  is 
my  favourite  idea  of  human  perfection),  with 
a  nature  bright  and,  if  I  may  so  speak,  undim- 
mable !  We  shall  then  be  renewed — new  in  the 
midst  of  a  newness  that  cannot  grow  old." 

From  a  letter  to  another  friend,  it  appears  that 
he  was  once  more  engaged  in  tuition. 

"  Islington,  29^  September,  1842. 
"God's  ways  are  not  indeed  as  our  ways, 
but  far  above  them.  I  have  often  thought  that 
as  we  commonly  say  there  is  no  rose  without  a 
thorn,  we  might  in  relation  to  God's  providence 
more  truly  say,  there  is  no  thorn  without  a  rose. 


48  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

1  Evil,  be  thou  my  good/  says  the  devil  in 
1  Paradise  Lost.'  '  Evil,  thou  art  my  good,'  the 
Christian  may  truly  say  when  the  evil  is  of 
God's  sending. 

"A  word  as  to  myself  and  my  single  pupil. 
My  engagement  terminated  with  the  holidays  ; 
whilst  it  continued  I  found  it  rather  agreeable 
than  burdensome,  was  myself  satisfied,  and,  I 
believe,  gave  satisfaction.  I  have  still  a  pupil 
with  whom  I  am  sometimes  severe,  sometimes 
indulgent — a  pupil  about  whom  I  have  been 
often  hopeful,  but  often  cast  down.  I  am  train- 
ing him,  if  it  may  be,  that  he  may  teach  others. 
I  cannot  but  say  that  I  regard  him  with  much 
interest  and  affection  ;  and  yet  to  teach  and 
discipline  him  as  I  wish,  I  find  most  laborious 
and  difficult.  Shall  I  succeed  ?  Time  must 
show.  One  thing  is  certain — that  if  not,  he 
will  blame  me  ;  but  if  I  do,  whilst  he  esteems 
me,  he  will  not  consider  his  thanks  as  wholly 
my  due,  and  truly  they  will  not  be.  Need  I 
tell  you  my  pupil's  name  ?     It  is  even  myself. 

"  I  have  been  but  in  very  indifferent  health 
for  the   last  month  or  so,  and  cannot,  as  you 


COMMENCEMENT  OF  MINISTRY. 


49 


may  suppose,  but  be  somewhat  troubled  about 
my  situation.  I  am  waiting  for  a  hope  rather 
than  hoping." 

In  October  of  this  year  (1842)  he  again  went 
to  Llanelly  to  visit  friends,  and  there  preached 
frequently,  and  delivered  occasional  lectures  on 
Sight-Singing,  on  Vocal  Music,  and  Wilhelm's 
method  of  teaching  singing,  adapted  to  English 
use  by  Mr.  Hullah.  He  was  also  enlisted  in 
the  Temperance  movement,  and  gave  a  lecture 
on  Mental  Cultivation  in  the  Temperance  Read- 
ing Room,  Park  Street,  Llanelly,  on  the  12th  of 
January,  1843.  The  bill  announcing  the  lecture 
was  addressed — 

"To  Men  in  their  Sober  Senses. — Did  you  ever 
hear  of  a  man  in  his  drunken  senses  ?  The  drunkard 
has  no  senses :  he  is  not  out  of  his  senses — his  senses 
are  out  of  him.  The  drunkard  is  neither  man  nor 
beast — he  has  the  form  of  a  man  without  his  sense 
— the  stupidity  of  a  beast  without  its  form.  Becoming 
sober  a  man  becomes  sensible.  He  who  has  sense 
should  use  it — he  who  gets  it  as  a  new  thing  should 


50  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH, 

learn  the  worth  of  it.  Sober  and  sensible,  a  man 
may  be  respectable,  wise,  good,  happy.  The  Tee- 
totaller can  clothe  his  back,  and  satisfy  his  hunger 
— why  should  he  not  furnish  his  head  and  feed  his 
mind?  When  his  mouth  no  longer  drinks  poison — 
there  is  a  better  cup  for  him — Is  not  the  cup  of 
knowledge  sweeter  than  the  cup  of  the  drunkard? 
Taste  and  try.  The  drunkard  is  all  mouth — money, 
food,  clothes,  all  melt  into  drink;  the  Teetotaller  has 
eyes  and  ears,  and  time  to  use  them;  he  can  read, 
and  he  can  listen ;  he  can  be  pleased,  and  instructed 
by  books  and  speech.  The  Llanelly  Temperance 
Reading  Society  is  formed  that  he  may  be  thus  pleased 
and  instructed.  God  has  given  man  a  mind  to  know, 
think,  and  contrive — shall  he  not  use  it?  The  world 
is  man's  home,  the  things  in  it  the  furniture,  the  people 
on  it  the  family — shall  he  not  learn  of  himself,  his 
brethren,  his  home,  and  how  God  hath  prepared  and 
adorned  it?  What  things  have  been  done  and  dis- 
covered as  time  has  rolled  on  !  these  are  written  in  books 
— shall  he  not  read  ?  It  is  a  good  thing  to  be  sober ;  it 
is  better  to  be  sober  and  intelligent ;  and  best  of  all  to  be 
sober,  intelligent,  and  religious.  The  sober  man  is  hap- 
pier than  the  drunkard  ;  would  he  be  yet  happier  ?  let  him 
hear  the  voice  of  knowledge ;  would  he  be  happier  still  ? 


COMMENCEMENT  OF  MINISTRY.        51 

let  him  hear  the  voice  of  Religion — as  much  as  the  sober 
man  is  better  than  the  drunkard,  so  much  is  the  godly- 
man  better  than  the  godless.  The  Llanelly  Tem- 
perance Reading  Society  aims  at  making  sober  men 
happier  by  making  them  more  intelligent ;  it  seeks  thus 
to  make  them  better  advocates  of  the  Temperance  cause, 
and  to  increase  their  attachment  to  it;  the  Society  is 
anxious  to  afford  to  sober  men  some  of  the  pleasures 
and  advantages  of  knowledge;  Religion  is  friendly  to 
this  design,  and  this  design  is  friendly  to  Religion. 
Sober,  intelligent,  moral,  religious — such  many  Tee- 
totallers are,  why  should  not  all  be  ?  " 

For  six  months  Mr.  Lynch  refrained  from 
alcoholic  stimulants  ;  but  the  affection  of  his 
throat  rendered  abstinence  unadvisable,  if  not 
impracticable. 

He  also  preached  at  Swansea,  and,  after  his 
first  sermon  there,  he  wrote  to  his  mother : — 

"  The  chapel  in  which  I  preached  is  the 
largest  I  have  yet  spoken  in,  being  about  twice 
the  size  of  ours  in  Lower  Road,  or  nearly  so. 
This  was  a  trial  both  for  nerves  and  strength. 


52  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

I  am  very  thankful  to  say  that  neither  failed. 
I  spoke  with  ease  and  comfort,  and  I  trust  use- 
fully/' 

After  preaching  at  Newton  Chapel,  Mumbles, 
he  wrote  : — 

"  The  congregation  was  the  humblest  and 
most  picturesquely  primitive  I  ever  addressed. 
Great  pleasure  the  service  gave  me.  The  at- 
tendants were  mostly  fishermen,  their  wives 
and  children.  The  men  occupied  one  side  of 
the  chapel,  the  women  the  other.  I  suppose 
Peter  has  established  for  fishermen  a  perpetual 
claim  to  regard  and  affection ;  certainly  there 
was  no  lack  in  those  I  addressed  of  warm,  strong 
feeling.  Their  countenances  expressed  also 
much  intelligence.  A  man  is  a  man,  though 
he  be  a  fisherman." 

He  returned  to  London  at  the  end  of  March, 
1843,  and  to  his  cousin  reported  : — 

"  Islington,  $fli  April,  1843. 
"  I    am    certainly   better   and    stronger   than 
when  I  left  home  in  October.      London   looks 


COMMENCEMENT  OF  MINISTRY.        53 

dark  and  dull  to  me ;  the  ideas  of  power, 
variety,  and  wonderfulness  that  it  awakens 
please  me,  but  it  affords  no  solitudes  of  the  sort 
I  love. 

"  At  Llanelly  there  is  one  valley  of  picturesque 
and  solemn  beauty  which  I  miss  much.  If  it 
might  be,  I  should  wish  to  reside  either  in  or 
near  a  town  with  real  country  around  me.  If 
God's  universe  of  worlds  be  but  as  varied  as 
the  parts  of  this,  what  a  glorious  and  abundant 
succession  of  delights  awaits  us !  There  is  no 
part  of  the  earth's  surface,  no  fragment  of  its 
population,  uninteresting ;  knowledge  and  joy 
are  essences  that  may  be  distilled  from  almost 
anything.  Often  plants  of  thorny  and  repulsive 
aspect  yield  substances  delicious  or  variously 
useful.  So  is  it  in  life ;  and  this  is  the  lesson — 
Despise  not  the  common  or  the  ugly,  shrink  not 
from  the  rough  and  painful  ;  wisdom's  eyes 
and  hands  should  observe  and  examine  all 
things. 

"  I  think  I  am  somewhat  the  wiser  in  many 
respects  for  my  visit  to  Wales.  I  have  seen  life 
and   religion   in   new   forms.      What   next  ?      I 


54.  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

know  not.  I  wish  you  were  a  prophet ;  I  would 
ask  you  the  question,  first  begging  you  to  pro- 
phesy smooth  things.  ....  I  have  some  idea 
of  writing  out  several  sermons  I  have  preached,, 
and,  if  I  can,  publishing  them  under  some  such 
title  as  this,   '  A  Voice  from  the  Pulpit,  by  a 

Layman/ 

"  I  feel  a  strange  mixture  of  fear  and  confi- 
dence. I  certainly  have  gained  attention  and 
very  warm  approval  by  my  preaching  ;  I  have 
also  writings  by  me  that  I  really  do  think  have 
some  worth ;  and  yet  I  do  not  like  to  thrust 
myself  forward  to  make  greater  pretensions 
than  I  ought.5' 

In  his  absence  he  had  been  much  missed  in 
Islington.  A  fellow -teacher,  in  a  letter  dated 
February,  1843,  wrote: — 

"There  is  an  inquiry  concerning  you  made 
ever  and  anon  which  I  am  not  able  to  answer. 
I  wish  I  could.  Can  you  guess  what  it  is  ? 
«  When  WILL  Mr.  Lynch  return  ?  \  After 
prayer -meeting,   after    Thursday   classes,    after 


COMMENCEMENT  OF  MINISTRY.  55 

Sabbath-day  teaching,  after  singing-meeting, 
by  my  own  children  and  by  the  Sunday-school 
children — When  will  Mr.  Lynch  return  ?  is  often 
asked.  Now  if  I  were  selfish,  I  should  beg  of 
you  to  return  immediately ;  for  among  all  in- 
quirers, none  miss  you  like  myself,  for  none 
know  you  so  well.  You  know  how  much  I  am 
compelled  to  hear  that  I  cannot  assent  to.  You 
know  the  blessed  book  is  '  a  broad  land  of  wealth 
unknown  ; '  and  when  some  uncommon,  perhaps 
unorthodoxical,  view  of  truth  presents  itself  to 
my  mind,  I  have  no  one — no,  no  one — who  will 
sympathise  with  me  as  I  wish.  Some  assent  to 
all  I  say,  some  listen  fearfully,  some  seem  be- 
wildered,— and  none  can  take  your  place.  But 
if  I  can  but  see  that  your  absence  is  contributing 
to  the  furtherance  of  your  ardent  desire  to  enter 
the  ministry,  I  am  well  repaid  for  the  loss  of 
your  society." 

His  mind  was  clear  that  his  place  was  the 
pulpit ;  but  there  were  various  hindrances,  and 
among  the  hindrances  he  found  such  consolation 

as  this  : — ■ 


56  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

"  2726%  April,  1843. 

"  I  will  repeat  what  I  have  said  before,  and 
what  has  been  a  comfort  to  me  ever  since  the 
thought  rose  in  my  mind.  Hope  rests  its  faith 
on  time  ;  time,  on  God. 

"  It  is  a  great  thing  to  have  faith  in  God's 
character.  We  can  then  search  with  cheerful- 
ness for  the  reasons  of  His  strange  workings, 
and  that  which  is  sought  for  hopefully  is  most 
readily  discovered." 

He  preached  occasionally  on  Sunday  after- 
noons at  Kingsland,  at  Lower  Street,  Islington, 
and  at  other  churches  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  London,  particularly  at  Dr.  Burder's  in 
Hackney.  Friends  urged  him  to  apply  for 
admission  to  Highbury  College,  and  after  much 
deliberation  he  did  so,  the  following  letter  being 
written  when  the  course  to  be  pursued  was 
under  debate : — 

"Islington,  1843. 

«  ]\Xr, has  suggested  that  I  should  state 

some  particulars  respecting  myself.      It  is  my 


COMMENCEMENT  OF  MINISTRY.        57 

wish,  if  it  shall  appear  right  and  practicable,  to 
enter  the  Congregational  ministry.  This  I 
cannot  do  in  the  usual  way  because  of  my  age 
(25)  and  a  peculiar  physical  weakness.  For 
the  last  five  years  I  have  suffered  from  a  sort  of 
paralysis  of  the  nerves  of  the  throat  which 
prevents  my  taking  solid  food.  Much  dis- 
comfort and  many  vexations  have  arisen  from 
this  trouble.  It  has  condemned  me  to  solitude 
and  inaction,  and  made  me  to  feel  as  if  with  a 
bird's  heart  and  no  wings. 

"  All  this  is  prima  facie  against  me,  and  has 
certainly  'the  appearance  of  evil.'  A  sick 
minister  is  almost  as  useless  as  a  lazy  one  ;  and 
what  if  he  be  ignorant  also !  But  the  fact  is, 
my  general  health  is  good,  and  has  been  for 
some  time  strengthening.  My  local  weakness 
has  no  connection  with  my  voice  and  lungs ; 
and  though  I  never  expect  to  be  able  to  eat  with 
comfort,  I  may  reasonably  hope,  when  I  obtain 
the  cheery  influence  of  congenial  employment, 
to  enjoy  excellent  average  health. 

"  I  am  not  uneducated.  I  know  something  of 
what  is  in  books,  and  something  also  of  what  is 


58  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

in  man ;  and  though  I  profess  not  to  have  made 
great  attainment,  I  have  disciplined  my  mind 
by  much  study  and  meditation ;  indeed,  if  I 
may  say  anything  on  my  own  behalf,  it  is  that 
I  can  think,  and  can  so  speak  what  I  have 
thought,  that  men  shall  listen  and  understand. 
Neither  am  I  wholly  untried.  My  desire  for  the 
ministry  is  not  sudden,  nor  is  it  selfish :  many 
anxious  doubtings  have  I  had  ;  it  is  only  by 
actual  trial  that  my  mind  has  been  decided. 
During  several  months  of  this  past  winter  I  was 
much  engaged  in  preaching  in  South  Wales. 
My  strength  did  not  fail  me,  but  on  the  contrary 
greatly  increased.  I  gained,  also,  from  the 
approval  I  met  with,  more  confidence  in  myself. 
The  ministry  is  in  my  eyes  a  laborious  and 
honourable  work :  at  any  time  the  clear, 
impressive,  and  affectionate  utterance  of  truth 
requires  qualifications  various  and  of  difficult 
attainment ;  but  specially  now.  If  I  have  not 
*■  counted  the  cost,'  I  have  at  least  tried  to  do  so. 
I  need  friends  and  advice,  and  encouragement  if 
I  deserve  it.  Believe  me,  my  dear  sir,  as  it  is 
my  honest  desire  to  serve  God  and  benefit  man, 


COMMENCEMENT  OF  MINISTRY.       59 

so  I  can  bear  to  be  dealt  with  honestly.  I  want 
not  any  man  to  lay  hands  on  me  suddenly, 
to  give  me  help  out  of  kindness  or  any  the 
like  feeling,  if  he  does  not  think  that  on  the 
whole  I  am  a  fit  candidate  for  ministerial 
work." 

On  account  of  his  health,  he  was  received  at 
Highbury  College  as  a  day-student ;  but  before 
many  months  he  was  reluctantly  compelled  to 
retire.  In  a  letter  dated  15th  of  April,  1844 
(which  is  supposed  to  be  the  copy  of  one  he 
wrote  on  this  occasion),  he  says — 

"After  much  thought  I  have  determined  to 
relinquish  my  attendance  at  Highbury.  During 
the  last  five  weeks  I  have  been  almost  wholly  at 
home,  in  a  state  both  of  body  and  mind  most 
wretched.  Last  week  I  again  attended  a  few 
lectures,    but    I    find    it    useless    to    think    of 

seriously  resuming It  is  needless  any 

longer  to  perplex  myself  with  the  balancing  of 
reasons.  I  do  not  pretend  to  be  certain  that  I 
have  made  a  right  decision ;  but  then  I  am  sure 


6o  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.   LYNCH. 

it  is  one  right  for  me  to  make,  and  by  it  I  will 
abide.  Natural  kindness  may  cause  you  to 
regret  that  I  so  decide,  but  reflection  will 
entirely  remove  this  regret.  Your  labour  and 
anxiety  may  be  far  more  profitably  and  bene- 
ficially expended  on  other  students  than  myself. 
"You  are  aware  that  from  the  first  my 
attendance  was  by  myself  regarded  as  an 
experiment.  This  experiment  the  committee, 
exercising  their  good  sense  and  Christian  faith, 
permitted  me  to  make,  for  which  I  thank  them. 
It  has  failed.  It  is  surely  needless  for  me  to  say 
that  I  value  college  privileges.  As  for  the 
tutors,  you  must  permit  me  to  say  that  I  cherish 
for  all  the  most  hearty  and  entire  respect.  But 
why  should  I  destroy  myself  ?  I  thank  my  God 
there  is  a  dawn  of  spiritual  light  again  rising 
on  my  soul.  I  have  walked  in  darkness,  and 
will  so  walk  of  free  choice  no  longer.  The 
fountain  of  my  mind  has  been  well-nigh  dried 
up,  and  my  heart  like  a  root  in  winter  hidden 
and  as  if  dead.  And  why  r  Because  I  have 
persevered  in  attempting  to  do  what  I  have  not 
physical   power  to  accomplish.     Man  is  not  a 


COMMENCEMENT   OF  MINISTRY.       61 

body  and  soul,  but  if  we  may  so  say  a  body- 
soul 

"When  I  get  wiser  I  shall  know  what  to 
do :  now  I  do  not.  If  withdrawal  from  college 
necessitates  relinquishment  of  the  ministry,  then 
be  it  so.  I  shall  still  study  in  an  idiosyncratic 
way,  first  submitting  myself  for  a  while  to  such 
curative  spiritual  and  intellectual  regimen  as  I 
can  devise.  God,  in  whom  I  do  assuredly 
believe,  will  help  me.  There  are  things  in  my 
heart  which,  if  He  so  please,  I  will  in  some 
way  speak. 

"It  is  my  deliberate  and  earnest  prayer  that 
God  may  burn  out  of  me  all  that  is  bad,  through 
such  sufferings  as  may  be  needful,  and  give 
me,  if  it  can  be,  some  Christian  work  to  do 
in  the  world.  I  would  that  I  might  aid  in 
bringing  comfort  and  refreshment  to  weary  and 
deadened  hearts,  also  in  sending  light  into 
minds  over  which  God's  providence  rests  as  a 
dark  cloud.  These  things  need  to  be  done. 
Men  talk  much  and  loudly  about  saving  *  souls/ 
who  never  looked  full,  long,  and  boldly  into* 
a  soul  to  see  what  it  is.     There  are  hundreds 


6z  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH, 

and  thousands  who  feel  that  it  is  thus ;  but 
behold  there  are  few  helpers.  I  do  not  doubt 
that  if  I  live,  and  be  really  fitted  to  help  in 
His  work,  I  shall  find  a  way.  I  am  sure  that, 
in  leaving  the  College,  I  have  your  good 
wishes,  as  most  certainly  the  Institution  has 
mine." 

It  was  in  1 844  that  he  printed  "  Thoughts 
on  a  Day,"  an  address  which,  issued  in  a 
most  unpretentious  form,  caught  the  attention 
of  the  discerning,  and  continues  to  live  in 
their  favour.  In  his  own  copy  of  the  little 
book,  he  has  written,  in  pencil,  its  history,  as 
follows  : — 

"  This  was  my  first  '  work,'  and  is  not  a 
very  great  one.  And  yet  it  seems  greater 
to  me  now  than  it  did  then ;  for  I  was  then 
rather  ashamed  of  it,  though  I  could  not  help 
loving  it.  But  it  has  given  profit  and  pleasure 
in  so  many  remarkable  cases,  and  has  been 
the  means  so  often  of  spiritual  good,  as  people 
have   generally   said,    that    I   may  well    think 


COMMENCEMENT  OF  MINISTRY.       (>3 

more  of  it  than  I  did,  and  be  happy  to  own 
it.  Besides  it  has  afforded  singular  illustration 
of  a  favourite  axiom  of  mine  —  that  nothing 
rightly  done  can  fail,  however  it  may  seem 
to  do  so.  When  first  I  published  it,  my  position 
was  lonely  and  even  terrible.  I  was  as  l  a  dead 
man  out  of  mind,'  forgotten,  as  sometimes 
seemed,  even  of  God.  Yet  I  felt  a  strange 
consciousness  of  power,  though  without  health, 
opportunity,  or  hope.  So  something  must  be 
ventured,  and  I  ventured  this  tract.  I  first, 
however,  wrote  something  which  seemed  to  me 
much  abler;  but  just  as  that  was  going  into 
the  hands  of  the  printer,  I  withdrew  it,  and 
substituted  this  as  more  tender  and  practical. 
And  by  this  tract  God  saved  me.  But  not  at 
once ;  not  indeed  very  manifestly  for  nearly 
three  years.  I  lost  a  (to  me)  valuable  five 
pounds  in  my  venture — a  very  good  investment 
I  have  since  thought.  All  I  gained  at  once  was 
kind  words  and  a  few  small  succours,  that  were 
like  water-drops  to  fevered  lips.  And  at  the 
end  of  a  year  I  had  the  unsold  copies  of  my 
'work'    home,    and    I    well    remember    feeling 


6+  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

ashamed  to  see  what  a  large  parcel  they  made. 
I  doomed  them  to  the  flames,  and  immured 
them  in  a  lumber-closet,  by  way  of  preparation. 
However,  they  were  rescued,  and  have  done 
not  a  little  of  the  business  I  wished  them  to  do, 
in  a  private  way.  And  in  reprinting  the  tract, 
I  feel  as  if  I  ought  to  say  what  is  the  simple 
truth,  that  to  this  humble  performance  I  owe 
indirectly  public  station,  domestic  happiness, 
and  many  friends,  and  other  blessings." 

The  depression  endured  in  these  years  of 
weakness  and  helplessness,  if  extreme,  was 
steadfastly  resisted,  and  to  his  cousin  he 
wrote — 

"  Ball's  Pond  Road, 

"  6th  November,  1844. 

"  I  hope  you  are  well  and  happy.  For 
myself,  I  have  made  effort  to  become  my  own 
physician.  I  know  not  whether  my  experience 
will  be  of  any  service  ;  however  I  will  send  you 
one  of  my  recipes. 

"  Recipe,— How  to  be  happy  when  you  are 
miserable : — 


COMMENCEMENT  OF  MINISTRY.       65 

"  Disbelieve  thoroughly  the  assertion  that 
*  straws  show  which  way  the  wind  blows.'  Every 
man's  life  has  a  direction  on  the  whole  which  he 
cannot  gather  from  the  events  of  this  day,  or  this 
month,  or  even  this  year.  Painful  events  and 
vexatious  hindrance  are  but  eddy-winds,  driving 
our  thoughts  and  hopes  hither  and  thither — 
threatening  to  carry  us  we  know  not  where  ;  and 
yet  the  spirit  of  every  Christian  man  is  borne 
onward  by  God's  providence  towards  a  haven 
of  peace,  as  by  a  steady  wind  of  Heaven. 

"  To  be  taken  by  the  fireside,  or  in  the  fields, 
or  where  you  please." 


CHAPTER  IV 


HIGHGATE. 


1847 — 1849. 


'HP* HE   year    1847    opened  with   the   death  of 
Mrs.    Lynch — of  mothers    most   motherly, 
tender  and  true,  and  wise  with  the  wisdom  of 
simplicity.     Long  afterwards  he  wrote  : — 


Mother,  so  simple  yet  so  sage, 
A  troubled  youth  thy  patronage 

Enjoyed,  and  thine  alone  ; 
And  dost  thou  visit  still  thy  son, 
And  love  the  work  that  he  has  done, 

And  count  it  as  thine  own  ?  "  * 


Her  epitaph  in  Abney  Park  runs  thus  : — 

*  "  The  Rivulet,"  L'Envoi,  June,  1868. 


HIGHGATE.  67 


%o  the  JJtcmoxg 

Of 

MRS.     LYDIA     LYNCH, 

A   MOTHER   MOST    LOVING   AND   BELOVED, 
WHO   ENTERED   REST 

January  8th,  1847, 
In  the  sixty-third  year  of  her  age,  and  twenty-sixth  of  widowhood. 

"Ye  have  need  of  patience,  that  after  ye  have  done  the  will  of 
God  ye  might  receive  the  promise." 

"And  this  is  the  promise  that  He  hath  promised  us,  even  eternal 
life." 

To  a  brother  in  America  he  wrote  : — 

"  2nd  February,  1847. 

"  On   the   morning  of  January  the   8th  your 

letters   came — two    for   me    and    one    for  . 

That  day  was  indeed  a  day  of  sorrows,  yet 
one  the  thought  of  which  will  hereafter  make 
our  life  and  your  life  a  more  sacred  one.  We 
have  now  both  a  father  and  a  mother  in  heaven. 
Our  most  beloved  mother  has  passed  from  her 
anxieties  and  pains  ;  she  is  at  rest.  She  fell 
asleep  very  weary,  and  has  awaked,  as  we  may 
confidently  believe,  to  strength  and  joy.      She 


68  MEMOIR   OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

lived  in  love,  as  we  have  all  so  fully  experienced, 
and  to  the  world  of  love  she  has  gone.  At 
half-past  twelve  mid- day,  8th  January,  her 
spirit  passed  out  of  this  visible  world  with 
gentle  sighs.  To-day  would  have  been  her 
sixty-third  birthday,  and  this  afternoon  I  have 
been  and  stood  by  her  new-made  grave  in 
Abney  Park,  Stoke  Newington. 

"  I  know  how  this  event  will  grieve  you,  but  it 
can  hardly  be  more  of  a  surprise  to  you  than  it 
was  to  us.  Only  a  few  days  before  Christmas 
the  surgeon  told  me  that  he  considered  her 
ofeneral  health  much  better  than  it  was  the 
year  before  at  that  time 

"  She  and  I  used  to  have  tea  together  every 
evening  in  her  bedroom ;   and  the  blue-headed 

parrot  you  sent  by  M used  to  sit  upon  her 

lap,  or  on  the  chair  by  her  side,  and  take  toast 
and  tea  with  us.  On  Christmas-day  (Friday)  we 
(she  and  myself)  had  the  Christmas  dinner  in 
her  bedroom  ;  she  was  then  herself,  and  that 
day  fortnight  she  departed  from  us 

"In   the   evening  of  Thursday,  Mr. ,  of 

,  saw  her,  and  she  was  comforted  with  his 


HIGHGATE.  69 

visit ;  but  she  was  then  scarcely  conscious,  and 
her  voice  had  an  expression  of  sorrowfulness 
and  infant-like  simplicity  such  as  I  never  heard 
before.  The  memory  of  these  tones  is  in  me, 
and  it  pierces  my  heart.  She  could  say  but 
little  to  us,  but  to  the  last  she  was  full  of  love. 
She  knew  not  that  the  end  was  near,  and  that 
she  would  never  wake  from  that  night's  sleep. 
We  would  have  given  anything  for  a  few  hours 
of  clear-mindedness  at  the  last,  but  it  was  not 
permitted.  Yet  how  mercifully  was  it  ordered 
that  the  act  of  dying,  which  in  her  life  she  so 
much  feared,  was  easy.  She  would  wake  in 
heaven  to  see  our  father  and  the  rest  with  sur- 
prise. May  we  (grant  it,  O  God !)  be  at  the 
last  with  her !     She  could  say,  of  course,  little 

to  Mr. .      She  repeated  the  words,  '  None 

but  Jesus  can  do  helpless  sinners  good/  She 
had  her  genuine  humility  and  submissiveness  ; 
her  life  was  one  of  true  goodness,  and  her  gain, 
through  the  mercy  of  our  God,  is  now  great  and 
everlasting.  But  how  hard  to  be  bereaved  ! 
"We  all  feel  it  so,  and  myself  peculiarly,  for  I 
have  lived  with  her  and  hoped  earnestly  to  have 


;o  MEMOIR  OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

had  her  with  me  to  make  comfortable  in   old 

age Often  have  I  risen  in  the  night  to 

lay  her  pillows  comfortably  for  her.  It  was 
truly  good  to  do  anything  for  her,  she  was  so 
full  of  blessing  and  tenderness.  She  used  some- 
times to  tell  me,  when  I  asked  her  what  she 
thought  of  when  alone,  that  she  thought  of  her 
children  one  after  another  all  round.  Very 
often  indeed  were  her  thoughts  and  her  prayers 
ours 

"It  is  well,  and  by-and-by  we  shall  feel  it, 
that  she  has  gone  from  these  evils.  We  sorrow 
not  as  those  that  have  no  hope.  How  many 
were  the  troubles  of  our  dear  mother,  and  what 
anxiety  might  she  yet  have  had  !  And  now  let 
us  endeavour  to  live  as  we  know  she  desired  we 
should.  Make  yourself  easy  with  the  thought 
that  our  life,  though  a  troubled  one,  is  yet  not  a 
vain  one  ;  mercy  is  over  it,  as  the  sky  above  the 
earth,  and  though  our  sins  are  as  clouds,  there  is 
God's  love,  the  sun,  which  is  stronger  than  they. 

"  Now  I  commend  you,  with  true  good  wishes, 
to  that  care  which  is  truly  over  us  all,  if  we 
could  but  attain  faith  to  believe  it 


HIGHGATE.  7i 

"  It  troubles  me  that  I  am  compelled  to  write 
to  you  the  intelligence  this  letter  conveys.  For 
myself,  it  is  a  most  heavy  affliction ;  and  as  I 
know  that  you  truly  loved  our  mother,  and  are 
now  alone,  I  am  sure  you  too  will  feel  it  heavily. 
But  we  must  remember  the  great  and  bright 
truths,  for  after  due  time  in  the  thought  of  these 
there  is  comfort." 

In  1847  he  was  introduced  by  the  Rev.  A.  J. 
Morris,  of  Holloway,  to  the  Independent  church 
at  Highgate,  which  from  various  causes  was  in 
a  dwindling  condition.  He  preached  his  first 
sermon  on  16th  May,  and  in  August  accepted 
the  invitation  of  the  congregation  to  become 
their  pastor.  In  a  letter  to  a  friend,  written 
shortly  after,  he  says — 

'•Woodland  Cottage,  Highgate. 
"  There  are  here  nightingales  and  cuckoos,  as 
many  as  one  could  wish ;  but  Christians  and 
Dissenters  are  by  no  means  so  plentiful.  There 
are  discouragements  and  vexations  quite 
enough  at  Highgate,  but  all  is  not  of  that  kind. 


72  MEMOIR  OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

Among  my  hearers  and  supporters  are  persons 
who,  for  character,  light,  and  liberality,  are  the 
flowerage  of  the  place.  I  speak  thus  because  I 
had  need  make  much  of  my  little,  seeing  it  is 
so  very  little.  This  little,  however,  God  gave 
me,  and  not  man ;  and  He  will  give  me  more 
elsewhere,  or  here  in  due  time — so  I  trust." 

Highgate  thirty  years  ago  was  a  much  more 
out-of-the-way  place  than  it  is  to-day ;  but 
occasional  visitors  from  town  dropped  into  the 
little  chapel,  and  one  of  them  was  moved  to 
address  the  preacher  as  follows  : — 

"  yd  December,  1847. 

"  During  a  brief  residence  in  London  a  few 
months  back,  it  was  my  wish  to  pass  the  Sabbath 
more  quietly  than  I  could  have  done  had  I  tarried 
with  the  friends  I  was  visiting.  What  should 
induce  me  to  turn  Highgate-ward  I  cannot  say. 

As  I  reached  your  little  town  soon  after 

nine,  I  visited  the  Cemetery,  lingered  about  the 
house  where  Coleridge  had  lived,  and  passed 
into  the  church  and  read  the  tablet  erected  to  his 


HIGHGATE. 


73 


memory On  withdrawing  I  inquired  of 

the  first  wayfarer  whether  there  were  any  Dissent- 
ing chapels  in  the  place  ....  and  thus  I  was  led 
to  where  you  preside.  I  confess  I  liked  the  some- 
what sombre  character  of  the  edifice,  and  was 
delighted  with  the  sweet  and  solemn  psalmody, 
but  was  more  than  astonished  at  the  power  and 
beauty  of  the  illustrations  given  of  the  text  by 
the  preacher. 

"  On  my  return  to  town,  I  expressed  my 
wonder  at  what  I  had  heard  in  the  morning, 
and  hinted  to  some  young  gentlemen  around  me 
a  wish,  that  as  often  as  they  could,  without 
impropriety,  quit  the  places  where  they  usually 
attended,  they  would  go  up  to  Highgate,  as  I 
was  sure  they  would  find  the  teacher  there 
originate  and  follow  out  trains  of  thought  that 
would  ennoble  them  for  the  rest  of  the  week,  and 
make  life  a  more  grand  and  sacred  possession  to 
them  than  it  is  commonly  regarded. 

"Since  my  return  to  the  country,  I  have 
received  various  letters  from  the  parties, 
thanking  me  for  my  suggestion,  and  assuring 
me   they  reaped   the  full   benefit   I   prophesied 


7+  MEMOIR   OF  T.   T.   LYNCH. 

from  the  ministrations  carried  on  there.  It  is 
but  a  very  hurried  note  I  have  received  from  one 
of  them  to-day;  but  somehow  I  feel  impelled  to 
send  you  an  extract,  if  only  to  show  you  that 
you  are  not,  as  perhaps  you  suppose,  wasting 
your  magnificence  on  a  desert. 

" "  There  were  about  six  men  and  twelve 
grown  women  there  on  Sunday  night.  The  text 
was,  "  He  that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear." 
I  was  not  looking  up  when  he  went  into  the 
pulpit,  but  my  companion  said  Mr.  Lynch  gave 
a  glance  round  the  place  which  cut  him  to  the 
heart.  I  scarcely  think  any  special  feeling  of 
slight  could  be  on  his  mind,  as  that  is  about  the 
average  attendance,  so  far  as  I,  who  do  not  look 
about,  can  judge  ....  He  certainly,  by  the  sim- 
plicity and  force  and  self-forgetful  earnestness 
of  his  sayings,  all  but  brought  tears  out  of  my 
eyes,  and  that  is  more  than  the  spoken  deliver- 
ances of  any  man  have  done  for  years 

L acknowledged  he  had  never  heard  such  a 

sermon.' 

"  Now,  my  dear  sir,  excuse  my  sending  you 
this  extract.     My  intention  in  doing  so  will  be 


HIGHGATE.  75 

at  once  seen.  I  purposely  withhold  all  the 
greater  terms  of  admiration  in  which  the  writer 
expresses  himself.  I  simply  wish  you  to  be 
assured  that  you  have  minds  among  your  audi- 
tors touched  to  fine  issues  by  your  addresses, 
and  that  you  are  remembered  and  pleaded  for 
by  some  you  little  think  of.  Cheer  up,  dear 
sir.  The  day  of  your  proper  estimation  by  the 
denomination  to  which  you  belong  cannot  be 
long  delayed. 

"  Most  respectfully  and  sympathisingly  yours, 

"Viator." 

"Viator"  subsequently  revealed  himself  as 
Dr.  Simpson,  a  scholarly  and  congenial  spirit." 
The  impression  described  as  made  upon  his 
hearers  was  the  common  impression  wherever 
there  was  a  certain  degree  of  spiritual  discern- 
ment. None  thus  competent  could  listen  to 
him  without  recognising  an  authentic  voice 
from  the  depths  of  spiritual  experience,  and 
no  mere   echo  of  pious  hearsay.     It  is   related 

*  See  Memoir  of  Rev.  A.  C.  Simpson,  LL.D.,  in  "  British 
Quarterly  Review,"  1867. 


7b  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

that  "  when  he  came  as  a  day-student  to  High- 
bury College  there  happened  to  be  a  meeting  of 
all  the  colleges  to  the  number  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  men,  and,  as  often  happens  among 
students,  it  was  a  merry  time,  and  they  fas- 
tened upon  any  of  their  number  for  a  speech 
who  had  anything  peculiar  in  aspect  or  char- 
acter. Lynch  was  a  new-comer  and  a  mystery  ; 
and  when,  in  answer  to  a  call,  he  stood  up  to 
speak,  the  whole  company  was  convulsed  with 
laughter  at  his  then  quaint  and  fragile  appear- 
ance. But  in  two  minutes  he  had  them  all 
silent  and  mesmerised  by  that  wonderful  tongue, 
and  never  afterwards  was  reckoned  any  other 
than  among  the  mightiest."* 

After  a  year  at  Highgate,  on  the  second 
Sunday  of  August,  1848,  he  preached  a  sermon, 
from  which  we  take  the  following  notes  as  to 
the  situation  : — 

"  The  feathers  of  the  sitting  bird  become  worn 

*  Rev.  Edward  "White  in  "  Christian  World  Magazine,"  July, 
1871. 


HIGHGATE.  77 

and  her  breast  sore,  but  when  life  appears  she 
is  rewarded  with  the  joy  of  parentage.  But 
what  if  her  eggs  were  but  chalk  egg-shaped, 
or  have  lost  vitality  and  become  incapable  of 
yielding  her  fowl  after  her  kind  ?  Poor  bird  ! 
feathers  worn,  breast  sore,  but  no  young.  And 
poor  minister !  if  he  spends  and  grieves  himself 
and  no  hopeful  results.  He  would  see  around 
him  winged  hearts — winged  with  faith ;  these 
wings  covered  with  the  warm  sustaining  feathers 
of  hope. 

"  If  he  gain  the  looked-for  reward  of  his 
labour,  he  yet  spends  and  grieves  himself;  but 
this  is  appointed  for  minister  and  man.  Some 
sort  of  travail  there  must  be  for  us  all,  if  we 
are  to  have  joy  of  parentage ;  and  this  joy  we 
shall  have  if  we  succeed,  for  our  good  successes 
are  our  children.  But  to  give  labour  of  love 
to  a  people,  when  some  of  them  prove  world- 
lings, mere  chalk  having  the  form  of  eg*g,  but 
not  its  power,  and  some — '  professors  ' — having 
still  more  the  form  of  egg,  but  not  at  all  more 
its  power,  nay,  inwardly  corrupt  and  offensive, 
having  lost  wholly  the  germ  of  higher  winged 


78  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

life  that  they  once  had!  Sad  is  it  when  his 
labours  prove  thus  vain,  or  when  he  stands  in 
doubt  whether  they  will  not  so  prove.  Sad  is 
it  when  even  with  success  he  has  such  doubting 
mingled.  Now  something  of  success  have  I  had 
among  you,  but  something  of  this  doubting  have 

I  also  experienced 

"  "When  I  determined  to  accept  the  invitation 
hither,  it  was  after  the  perplexed  working  and 
striving  of  many  thoughts.  As  regarded  both 
the  place  and  myself,  there  were  reasons  for 
coming,  and  reasons  against  it,  very  strong. 
There  wras  the  knowledge  as  regards  myself 
that  having  had  to  bear  the  yoke  in  my  youth, 
and  live  more  thoughtfully  and  retiredly  than 
young  men  usually  do,  and  indeed  than  it  is 
usually  well  that  they  should,  I  had  given  much 
thought  for  many  years  to  spiritual  truths  ;  and 
there  was  the  fear  that  little  of  what  was  in 
my  heart  could  be  effectively  spoken  in  High- 
gate,  and  that  of  this  much  might  to  some 
persons  be  offensive.  On  the  other  hand,  there 
was  the  longing  to  do  something  for  the  truth, 
the  consciousness  that,  because  of  physical  weak- 


HIGHGATE. 


79 


ness,  no  great  thing  could  be  attempted,  and 
the  hope  that  Highgate  air  and  regular  atten- 
tion to  manageable  work  might  greatly  improve 
health.  And  as  regards  the  place,  there  was,. 
I  think  I  may  say,  the  approving  love  of  the 
best  people  here,  the  most  liberal,  pious,  and 
sensible,  and  their  cordial  wish  that  I  should 
come  among  them ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,, 
there  was  the  fewness  of  these,  and  the  unlikeli- 
hood of  greatly  increasing  their  number  in  such 
a  village  as  Highgate ;  and  again,  in  some 
of  the  small  company  gathering  here,  there  were 
prejudices  against  me,  and  differences  among 
themselves,  from  which  mischiefs  and  evils  were 
to  be  feared.  Small  malices,  like  the  moth- 
vermin  that  waste  and  spoil  our  clothes,  are 
weak-seeming  things,  and  things  that  we 
despise,  yet  they  work  much  mischief.  From 
these  malices  the  pure  heart,  the  heart  unsus- 
picious and  kind,  will  preserve  us,  as  a  clean 
linen  wrappage  will  preserve  garments  from 
the  moth. 

"The  case  then  being   as  described,   I    con- 
sidered   and    I    prayed.      Then    putting    aside 


8o  MEMOIR   OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

fear  of  embarrassments,  and  the  proud  human 
dislike  to  '  the  day  of  small  things/  I  came 
here  in  the  spirit  of  endeavour  and  hope,  with 
thankfulness  that  I  had  a  place  to  come  to  in 
such  a  spirit.  And  here  I  have  continued. 
"While  the  cloud  rested  over  Israel's  '  tent  of 
witness/  whether  it  was  for  a  day,  a  month, 
or  for  a  year,  Israel  rested.  When  the  cloud 
arose  and  went  fonvard,  Israel  arose  and  went 
forward  too,  perhaps  with  a  sigh,  yet  not  without 
a  good  courage.  During  the  year  that  I  have 
remained  here,  both  to  myself  and  my  friends 
it  has  seemed  that  there  was  the  abiding  of 
the  cloud,  continuing  indication  that  to  remain 
was  right  and  well.  Does  the  cloud  rise  r  We 
watch  to  see.  It  is  good,  both  for  a  man  and  a 
people,  to  hope  and  quietly  wait.  And  the  best 
evidence  we  can  give  that  we  do  thus  quietly 
wait,  is,  that  we  work  while  we  wait,  if  work 
there  be  to  do." 

The  cloud  did  rise.  It  became  manifest 
that  at  that  time  Highgate  did  not  present 
requisite  conditions  of  success.     After  eighteen 


HIGH  GATE.  81 

months'  ministry  he  withdrew,  greatly  to  the 
regret  of  a  few  warmly  attached  friends;  but 
they  were  so  few  that  he  did  not  think  it  right 
to  "  burden  "  them  with  his  support.  In  a  memo- 
randum, he  states — 

"I  resigned  my  pastoral  office,  April,  1849. 
On  my  retirement,  the  chapel  was  given,  in 
good  repair  and  free  of  debt,  into  the  hands 
of  the  Village  Itinerancy  Society/' 

The  bracing  air  of  Highgate,  and  the  oppor- 
tunity for  work  which  he  had  so  ardently  desired, 
had  a  most  happy  effect  upon  his  health.  He 
became  able  to  take  solid  food,  and,  for  the 
following  ten  years,  enjoyed  a  large  measure 
of  vigour,  and  in  labours  was  "  abundant."  "  It 
is  a  mistake  to  say  that  Mr.  Lynch  was  con- 
stitutionally feeble,"  testifies  a  correspondent  of 
the  Nonconformist,  of  24th  May,  1871.  "  Twenty 
years  ago,  when  we  lived  nearly  opposite  his 
house,*  and  when  the  strains  of  his  organ,  or 
his   irresistible   rendering   of  '  Oh,   rest   in   the 

*  Albert  Street,  now  Lyme  Street,  Camden  Road. 
G 

1 


82  MEMOIR   OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

Lord,'  or  '  Shall  I  in  Mamre's  fertile  plains/ 
compelled  us  to  seek  admittance,  we  found  him 
with  a  physical  frame  which,  though  slight, 
had  plenty  of  wire  and  sinew  in  it.  At  that 
time  his  body  was  fit  servant  to  his  mind, 
and  in  mere  physical  endurance  he  would  have 
taken  the  lead  of  more  robust  men.  Calling 
one  morning  upon  Caleb  Morris,  we  found  him 
breakfasting,  and  his  first  words  were,  '  I  have 
had  Lynch  here ;  walked  all  the  way  from 
Highgate,  sir ;  and  he  began  to  say  so  many 
fine  things  all  at  once,  that  I  was  obliged  to 
tell  him  I  had  not  had  my  breakfast/  " 


CHAPTER  V. 

MORTIMER   STREET. 
1849— 1852. 

A  S  soon  as  Mr.  Lynch' s  intention  to  leave 
Highgate  was  known,  he  received  almost 
simultaneously  two  invitations.  The  first  came 
from  Stamford  at  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  Simpson 
["Viator"],  and  the  second  from  Mortimer 
Street,  London.  At  Stamford  there  was  a  com- 
modious church  and  a  numerous  and  kind 
people.  At  Mortimer  Street  the  congregation 
was  very  small,  and  met  for  worship  in  a  hired 
room.  After  some  deliberation  he  decided  to 
accept  the  call  from  Mortimer  Street.  He 
thought  that  perhaps  in  London  he  could  more 
usefully  employ  his  gifts ;  and  some  family  con- 
siderations also  influenced  him.     Of  the  Stam- 


84  MEMOIR   OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

ford  people  he  always  thought  with  affectionate 
interest ;  and  a  deacon  of  the  church,  in  writing 
to  Dr.  Simpson,  observed,  "  We  were  very  sorry 
indeed  to  lose  Mr.  Lynch,  whom  we  found  more 
and  better  than  all  you  told  us  of  him." 

In  September,  1 849,  he  married  a  daughter  of 
the  late  Rev.  Edward  Porter,  of  Highgate. 

At  this  time  he  was  frequently  engaged  in 
lecturing  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  but 
never  to  the  neglect  of  what  he  always  con- 
sidered his  special  work — the  ministry.  He  was 
a  most  attractive  lecturer;  he  was  listened  to 
with  unabated  interest  to  his  last  word ;  and 
many  who  heard  him  discourse  on  "  The  Beau- 
tiful," "  Coleridge,"  "  Haydon,"  "  George  Ste- 
phenson," and  other  subjects,  remember  with 
delight  the  fresh  and  vivid  treatment  of  his 
themes. 

In  1850  he  made  his  first  considerable 
appearance  in  literature  by  the  publication  of 
4i  Memorials  of  Theophilus  Trinal."  The  book 
was  recognised  in  many  quarters  as  the  work 
of  an  original  mind ;  and  Lord  Lytton,  to  whom 
a  gentleman  had  sent  a  copy,  replied — 


MORTIMER  STREET.  85 

"Athenaeum,  ^th  January,  185 1. 

"  Sir, — I  beg  to  thank  you  sincerely  for  your 
courtesy  and  compliment  in  sending  me  '  The 
Memorials  of  Theophilus  Trinal.'  I  should 
have  replied  before,  but  first  wished  to  read 
the  work.  I  have  just  found  leisure  to  do  so ; 
and  I  now  truly  assure  you  that  I  think  it  very 
remarkable  in  point  of  thought,  power,  and  elo- 
quence, and  am  exceedingly  glad  to  have  made 
acquaintance  with  its  writer.  None  can  read 
without  profit  and  pleasure. 

"  Yours  most  obliged,         "E.  B.  Lytton." 

Among  other  effects  the  book  drew  forth  a 
letter  of  inquiry,  thus  answered — 

TO   SAMUEL  BROWN,   ESQ.,  M.D.,  EDINBURGH. 

"  34,  Albert  Street,  Camden  Road,  London, 
' '  20tk  February,  1 85 1 . 

"My  dear  Sir, — I  am  the  man.  Whether 
I  may  be  glad  of  the  fact,  or  must  bemoan  it — 
at  least,  a  fact  it  is.  Your  correspondent  of 
1846  is  the  author  of  '  Theophilus  Trinal/  And 
glad  again  he  is  to  hear  of  you  as,  after  fever, 


86  MEMOIR   OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

bereavement,  buffets,  still  alive,  and  still,  like 
himself — striving  onwards. 

"  The  head  may  be  above  the  waters,  though 
the  wave  is  sometimes  over  the  head.  It  is  a 
pleasure  to  me  that  Theophilus  has  obtained 
your  partial  favour.  He  has  many  warm  friends 
of  a  good  class,  and  he  needs  them,  poor  fellow  ! 
for  there  is  that  in  sundry  aspects  in  which  you 
may  view  him  that  exposes  him  to  critical  attack. 
Those  who  love  to  use  the  light  of  the  prophet's 
face,  the  better  to  mark  any  twist  in  his  features, 
and  count  the  wrinkles  upon  his  skin,  have  fine 
opportunity,  and  can  use  it  if  the  critical  furor 
— not  a  very  celestial  one — is  strong  upon  them. 
But  Trinal  is  at  least  a  birth,  not  a  waxen  or 
wooden  puppet.  His  quality  may  tell  to  the  dis- 
cerning that  the  time  of  gestation  was  a  difficult, 
somewhat  hunger-bitten  one.  This  does  but  the 
more  endear  him  to  the  parental  heart.  And  the 
parental  praise  of  him  is,  that  he  has  a  certain 
moral  equilibrium  in  his  nature,  and  an  inner 
spirit  of  devout  self-recovering  cheerfulness. 

"You  ask  me  of  four  eventful  years.  January, 
1847,  I  l°st  mY  mother.     A  very  great  sorrow 


MORTIMER  STREET.  27 

was  that  to  me ;  and  afterwards  my  darkness 
thickened,  till,  when  I  came  out  of  the  valley  of 
shadow,  I  had  so  long  felt  the  gloom  and 
breathed  the  air,  that  I  was  for  a  while  among 
the  living  as  one  not  of  them — a  physical  scare- 
crow, and,  as  some  thought,  a  spiritual  curiosity. 
I  was  more  than  this  last,  however,  others 
thought,  happily  for  me !  for  I  owe  recovered 
health  and  a  new  hope  for  this  world  to  some 
who  said,  the  cavern  is  uncouth  and  shattered, 
but  the  well  is  of  the  water  of  life  ;  we  have 
drunk  and  are  refreshed — our  eyes  are  lightened. 
September,  1849,  I  married.  So  now  I  have  a 
wife,  dear  and  wise  and  true,  and  I  work  at  the 
work  of  the  preacher.  At  71,  Mortimer  Street, 
Cavendish  Square,  I  teach  and  preach  the 
Gospel  according  to  my  knowledge  and  recep- 
tion of  it.  I  am  not  of  those  who  use  their 
intellectuality  as  a  chemic  power  to  dissolve 
the  substantial  historic  Christ,  as  into  an  infinite 
vapour  of  attenuated  spiritualism  in  which  they 
may  breathe  and  have  their  philosophic  being. 
Nor  of  those  who  in  a  manner  hew  down  the 
tree  of  life  with  their  polemical,  theologic  axe, 


88  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

using  the  fruitful  boughs  they  kill  as  a  sort  of 
firewood  of  comfort,  and  fashioning  of  the  trunk 
a  misshapen  image,  an  ugly  King  Log,  alas  !  of 
which  they  say,  '  See  here  is  Christ ;  this  is  the 
Lord  of  life.  Bow,  be  saved/  I  try  to  be  his- 
torical and  spiritual  too  ;  philosophic  and  theo- 
logic  also  ;  above  all,  to  be  human  and  Christian, 
or,  say,  Christian-human.  And  with  what  suc- 
cess ?  *  It  is  good  for  a  man  to  hope  and  quietly 
wait,'  I  answer.  With  just  success  enough  to 
be  a  ground  of  hope  for  more. 

"The  room  is  a  concert-room  during  the 
week.  My  people  are  mostly  plain  and  poor, 
sprinkled  usually  at  their  times  of  assembling 
with  students,  &c,  and  friendly  or  curious 
strangers.  As  of  Bunyan's  book,  so  of  my 
preaching, — 

"  '  Some  said,  John,  print  it,  others  said  not  so ; 
Some  said,  it  might  do  good,  others  said  no.' 

"But  enough,  or  too  much.  The  excuse  is 
you  were  abundant  in  questioning.  Revenge 
yourself  some  day,  and  refresh  me  by  a  letter 
both  personal  and  general. 


MORTIMER  STREET.  89 

"  I  was  for  one  day  in  Edinburgh  last  Sep- 
tember ;  vent,  vidi,  amavi.  Should  you  see  Mr. 
Russell,  please  offer  him  my  kind  regards,  and 
say  I  would  have  called  when  in  Edinburgh,  had 
I  known  his  address. 

"  Yours,  dear  Sir,  very  sincerely, 

"Thos.  T.  Lynch." 

His  work  in  Mortimer  Street  he  describes  as 
a  one  of  missionary  difficulties  without  mis- 
sionary assistances.  It  does  not  yield  me 
adequate  maintenance,  according  to  the  most 
moderate  estimate  of  '  adequacy ; '  for  my 
church,  though  truly  liberal,  is  small,  and  is 
not  rich."  As  to  its  origin,  he  writes,  "  I  am 
sometimes  asked  personally,  Did  you  not  secede 
from  Dr.  Leifchild's  church  at  Craven  Chapel  ? 
I  did  not ;  but  the  original  members  of  the 
church  at  Mortimer  Street  did,  and  I  became 
their    minister,   when    they    had    already    held 

together  without  one  for  about  four  years 

When  I  went  among  them,  I  examined  the 
grounds  of  their  secession,  of  which  I  knew 
little   or   nothing   before;    and    I   thought   that 


go  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

the  right  was  on  their  side  and  the  wrong  on 
the  other,  and  that,  with  due  allowance  for 
human  infirmity,  they  had   done  not  only  well, 

but  bravely  well It  has,  from  the  first, 

been  a  pleasure  to  me  to  find  the  people  speak- 
ing with  cordial  respect  of  their  former  pastor, 
Dr.  Leifchild,  not  forgetting  what  they  thought 
hard  and  wrong  towards  themselves,  but  dwell- 
ing much,  with  due  and  grateful  emphasis,  on 
the  many  excellent  qualifications  of  that  well- 
known  minister.  I  have  ever  given  him  credit 
for  much  good  I  have  found  among  his  former 
people ;  and  I  wish  for  him,  now  in  his  old 
age,  and  most  heartily,  Christian  peace  and 
blessings.  Our  church,  then,  cannot,  with  any 
truth,  be  called  a  mere  church  of  secessionists. 
I  am,  and  have  been — and  now  joining  my 
people  with  me,  as  it  is  so  pleasant  and  fit  to,  I 
will  say  we  are,  and  have  been — trying  to  make 
it  at  once  an  Independent  and  a  Christian 
Catholic  church." 

The  congregation  held  a  meeting  on  Thursday 
evening,  27  th  November,  1851,  when  a  present 
of  seventy  sovereigns  was  made  to  Mr.  Lynch ; 


MORTIMER  STREET.  91 

and  he  delivered  an  Address,  which  was  after- 
wards printed.  In  an  appendix  thereto  he 
observed — 

"The  meeting  for  which  the  Address  was 
written  was  one  of  those  at  which  ourselves 
and  our  friends  assemble  to  take  tea.  The 
love  of  tea  and  the  love  of  gossip  are  well- 
known  associates  ;  but,  as  Ave  think,  the  love 
of  tea  and  the  love  of  truth  may  be  so  too,  and 
that  the  loftier  of  these  affections  will  not  dis- 
dain an  alliance  with  the  humbler  and  its  aid. 
I  will  not  call  our  meetings  'jovial,'  that  being 
too  pagan  a  word,  but  they  are  certainly  very 

cordial  and  pleasant Perhaps  some  one 

will  say,  '  As  Israel  wanted  a  king,  to  be  like 
the  rest  of  the  nations,  I  suppose  the  church 
at  Mortimer  Street  must  needs  get  up  a  '  testi- 
monial,' to  be  like  the  rest  of  the  churches ; 
or,  'What  has  Mr.  Lynch  been  doing  wrong, 
that  they  have  been  giving  him  a  '  testimonial '  r 
For  a  friend  of  mine  has  formed  this  theory  of 
'testimonials,' — that  when  a  minister  has  a 
quarrel  in  his  church,  or  has  been  doing  any- 


92  MEMOIR   OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

thing  disgraceful,  some  interested  person  pro- 
poses a  testimonial,  as  the  best  way  to  '  wrap 
it  up.'  The  same  friend  did  me  the  favour  to 
call  on  me  two  days  after  this  my  first  experience 
of  ' golden'  testimonials — for  I  have  had  my 
due  or  undue  share  of  testimonials  of  suspect 
and  dislike — to  inquire  how  I  did  '  after  being 
on  the  gridiron,' — the  successive  approbatory  or 
complimentary  speeches  of  the  evening  being  the 
bars  of  the  said  l  gridiron.'  " 

The  Address  was  devoted  to  the  discussion  of 
the  position  and  prospects  of  the  congregation,, 
and  thus  he  defined  his  mission — 

"  One  great  aim  of  your  preacher  is  to  refresh,, 
assist,  and  satisfy  considerate,  inquiring  persons. 
But  he  has  no  new  gospel  to  offer,  finding  the 
old  one  better  than  any  new  one,  and  sufficient, 
which  no  new  one  is.  That  the  fear  of  God  is 
the  beginning  of  wisdom,  and  that  wisdom  is 
the  condition  of  all  honourable  happiness,  is 
part  of  the  most  ancient  orthodoxy — true  think- 
ing, right  belief — of  the  world.     The  newer  and 


MORTIMER  STREET.  93 

more  perfect  orthodoxy,  that  Christ — Son  of 
God  and  Son  of  man — is  the  special  divine 
promise  and  power  for  the  world,  contains,  not 
contravenes,  this  early  one.  To  Christian 
truth  the  private  peace  and  purity  of  a  mil- 
lion hearts  have  borne  witness,  and  its  divine 
worth  has  been  with  '  public  splendour  shown/ 
But  every  age  has  its  own  work  and  tongue  ; 
and  everlasting  truth  must  be  illustrated  and 
applied  in  manner  native  to  our  own  heart  and 
time.  This  your  preacher  endeavours  to  do, 
seeking  himself  to  advance  and  to  lead  others 
from  the  poor  imperfect  present  to  the  better 
future — counting  to-day's  light,  twilight;  and 
to-day's  strength,  weakness.  And  it  is  his 
desire  and  effort  to  turn  worldly  persons  to 
that  godliness,  which  is  the  highest  and  the 
only  abiding  form  of  manhood  ;  to  bring  indi- 
viduals, whose  tendencies  rather  than  their 
characters  are  Christian,  to  a  distinct  Christian 
course  and  convictions;  and  to  awake  gently, 
or  roughly  if  it  must  be,  formalists  asleep  on 
the  pillow  of  usage,  of  which  smooth  words 
are   the   soft  feathers,  that  they  may  enter  on 


94  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

the  studies,  the  obedience,  and  the  energetic 
happiness  of  faith.  In  this  place  I  have  to 
preach  the  gospel — that  gospel  which,  like  its 
Author,  is  '  alive  for  evermore ; '  and  to  take 
heed  to  my  ministry  that  I  fulfil  it." 

As  consolation  in  their  "  tent>  out-campaign- 
ing as  in  soldier's  tent,"  he  remarked — 

"  If  we  have  not  yet  a  place  and  structure  of 
our  own,  we  have  with  other  churches,  and  we 
enjoy  our  part  in  that  good  country,  the  Scrip- 
tures Holy  and  True — a  country  whose  hills  are 
strength,  and  whose  lands  fertility ;  with  honey 
out  of  its  ancient  rocks  are  we  satisfied,  and 
filled  with  the  finest  of  its  ever-abounding  wheat, 
while  the  '  former  rain '  of  ancient  inspiration, 
and  the  '  latter  rain '  of  present  divine  influence, 
are  ours  to  make  our  hearts  as  fields  and  gardens 
which  the  Lord  hath  blessed." 

His  lively  interest  in  church  song  appears  in 
the  following  passage — 

"On    Sundays    let    all    consider    silence    at 


MORTIMER  STREET.  95 

song-time  their  error  and  fault.  All  dumb 
unmelodious  people  are  here  marked  and 
disapproved.  It  is  almost  a  question  whether 
they  ought  to  have  a  seat,  and  be  allowed  to 
hear  our  sermons,  if  they  will  not  sing.  Let 
us  get  distinguished  for  the  Christian  fervour 
and  human  excellency  of  our  public  hymns, 
making  the  fulness  of  our  melody  a  part  proof 
of  our  earnest  heart  and  i  cheerful  courage.' 
Rather  as  a  hint  of  what  I  would  do  by-and- 
by,  than  as  the  expression  of  a  present  purpose, 
I  would  say  that  Dr.  Watts's  Hymn-book  does 
not  satisfy  and  suffice  me,  and  that  I  should 
like  to  have  a  book — one  of  only  two  hundred 
hymns  would  serve  well — selected  from  various 
authors,  and  prepared  by  myself.  Many  of 
Dr.  Watts' s  hymns  were  not,  it  is  understood, 
written  by  Dr.  Watts  at  all,  but  by  young 
Mr.  Watts  ;  not  by  that  venerable  man  with 
venerable  wig,  who  figures  opposite  so  many  a 
title-page,  but  by  a  young,  immature  Christian, 
who  afterwards  became  this  venerable  and 
truly  admirable  person.  There  are  more  and 
better  hymns  in   Watts'  than   anj^   other   man 


96  MEMOIR  OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

has  contributed  for  the  worship  of  our  churches  ; 
but  there  are  a  great  number,  both  of  his  hymns 
and  verses,  very  objectionable  and  quite  use- 
less. And  yet  what  a  valuable  and  monu- 
mental work  Dr.  Watts' s  Hymn-book  is  !  " 

There  are  other  passages  that  invite  citation, 
but  the  foregoing  must  suffice.  Shortly  after, 
in  1852,  the  room  in  Mortimer  Street  was 
exchanged  for  a  chapel  in  Grafton  Street, 
Fitzroy  Square. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

FITZROY   CHAPEL. 

l852  — 1855. 

*  I  ^HE  chapel  in  Grafton  Street  was  an 
agreeable  change  from  the  room  in 
Mortimer  Street,  though  far  from  satisfactory 
to  the  aesthetic  mind.  Placed  behind  the  line 
of'  houses  in  the  street,  it  was  approached  by  a 
passage,  and,  built  before  the  gothic  revival, 
was  characterised  by  the  gaunt  symmetry  then 
considered  appropriate.  From  adjacent  stables 
odours  were  occasionally  wafted,  and  a  busy 
ostler  or  a  crowing  cock  sometimes  broke  the 
stillness  of  a  Sunday  morning. 

In  October,  1852,  Mr.  Lynch  delivered  at 
the  Royal  Institution,  Manchester,  a  course  of 
four  lectures  on  some  of  the  Forms  of  Litera- 

H 


9 8  MEMOIR  OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

ture :  the  first,  on  Poetry,  its  Sources  and 
Influence ;  the  second,  on  Biography,  Auto- 
biography, and  History ;  the  third,  on  Fictions 
and  Imaginative  Prose ;  and  the  fourth,  on 
Criticism  and  Writings  of  the  Day.  The 
lectures  were  published  as  a  book  in  the 
summer  of  1853;  and  were  shortly  followed 
by  a  companion  volume  of  Lectures  in  Aid  of 
Self-Improvement.  The  latter  were  delivered 
in  Fitzroy  Chapel  on  Thursday  evenings  in 
March  and  April  1853,  and  were  reported  and 
printed  by  the  kindness  of  a  friend.  The 
lectures  were  six  :  the  first,  on  Self-Improve- 
ment, and  the  Motives  to  It ;  the  second,  on 
Religion  as  a  Study ;  the  third,  on  Books,  and 
on  Reading  Them  ;  the  fourth,  on  Conversation 
and  Discussion ;  the  fifth,  on  Manners  and 
Social  Respectability;  and  the  sixth,  on  Cir- 
cumstance and  Character.  Concerning  these 
Lectures  he  remarks  in  a  preface  to  the  first 
edition — 

"  When   I   say   they  are   not   sermons,    I  do 
not  mean  they  are  better,  but  only  that  they 


FITZROY  CHAPEL.  q9 

are  different.  I  feel  quite  aggrieved  at  its 
being  supposed  anything  can  be  better  than  a 
sermon ;  though,  alas !  few  things  can  be  so 
bad  as  some  sermons  are.  But  of  course  much 
that  is  necessary  or  beautifully  appropriate  in 
sermons  is  not  found  here ;  and  some  things 
spoken  here  with  colloquial  plainness  and  in- 
structional sobriety,  would  in  a  sermon  have 
been  also  spoken  in  an  impassioned,  reiterative 
way.  It  is  one  thing  to  know  the  capabilities 
of  your  instrument,  and  another  to  have  cor- 
respondent ones  of  your  own.  But  the  least 
organist  should  glory  in  the  organ,  and  the 
least  preacher  in  the  pulpit — so  glory  as  not 
to  profane  it  by  irreverent  carelessness  or  loud 
ostentation.  Let  me  say  then  that  plainness 
and  calmness,  humour,  pathos,  linked  argu- 
ment, homeliest  illustration,  irony,  appeal, 
passion,  an  uplifted  sea-swell  of  utterance,  and 
pomp  as  of  a  sunrise  and  a  sunset  glory,  are 
all,  though  not  all  always,  both  possible  and 
proper  in  preaching.  But  modern  notions  are 
singular.  For  some  men  expect  the  sermon 
to  be   a   superfine,   hot-pressed   thing,  all   nap 


ioo  MEMOIR  OF  T.  T.  LYNCH. 

and  nattiness.  And  others  are  content  with  a 
platter  of  chaff  and  a  mug  of  water  from  the 
pump,  or  likelier  the  pond,  for  their  Sunday 
feast.  While  people  who,  as  they  say,  are  all 
for  the  <  simple  Gospel,'  that  they  may  keep 
the  '  milk  of  the  word '  pure,  keep  themselves 
babies,  and  set  up  childish  fractious  outcry 
against  any  one,  who  so  far  offends  their  self- 
will  as  to  try  and  teach  them  to  walk,  in  hope 
that  they  may  yet  grow  up  and  do  some  work 
in  the  world  for  their  Saviour/' 

In  view  of  what  is  to  come  it  may  be  well 
to  cite  the  following  passage  from  the  same 
preface : — 

"  I  am  an  Evangelical  Independent,  but  I  am 
not  a  Denominational  one.  Without  clamour- 
ing for  an  Evangelical  reputation,  I  stand 
firm  on  my  claim  ;  and  while  ashamed  of  some 
who  delight  to  call  themselves  Evangelicals, 
and  sadly  convinced  that  Evangelical  talk 
clouds  the  form  and  saps  the  strength  of 
Evangelical  thought,  I  cannot  repudiate  a  term 


FITZROY  CHAPEL.  101 

so  often  used  to  express  what  I  believe  to  be 
the  glorious  essence  of  Christianity.  As  to 
Denomination  :  to  be  Denominational  is,  in 
my  opinion,  to  be  cliquish  instead  of  brotherly. 
I  would  be  brother  to  those  who  stand  for 
Spiritual  Independence  for  the  sake  of  Catholic 
Christianity.  It  is  the  Principle,  not  the  sect, 
of  the  Independents  for  which  I  care :  though 
there  are  always  true  Israelites  in  a  fallen 
Israel,  whose  approval  and  sympathy  are  an 
honour,  and  whose  number  is  greater  than  in 
despondent  hours  we  suppose.  To  any  Church 
Theory  called  'Independency'  I  do  not  commit 
myself.  Much  mean  tyranny,  both  democratic 
and  priestly,  have  I  seen  in  the  Independent 
sect.  But  the  Independents  are  a  '  self-incon- 
sistent '  people.  And  in  this  lies  their  shame, 
but  also  their  hope." 

As  during  the  latter  years  of  his  life  Mr. 
Lynch  was  only  able  to  preach  once  on  Sunday, 
and  once  in  the  course  of  the  week,  some  have 
thought  that  he  never  did  more.  It  was  far 
otherwise.      For     upwards     of    ten     years     he 


io2  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.   LYNCH. 

preached  twice  on  Sunday,  and  once  in  the 
week.  Indeed,  one  year  he  surrendered  his 
usual  month  of  vacation,  and  preached  thrice  a 
week  for  a  year  and  three-quarters  without 
intermission.  Whilst  such  assiduity  is  not  to 
be  commended,  it  is  to  be  recorded.  To  Dr. 
Samuel  Brown  he  wrote — 

"  ist  June,  1854. 

"  We  have  been  going  on  since  you  left 
London  with  plenty  of  care  and  fag  to  task 
us  ;  but  I  have  no  special  event  to  tell  unless 
it  be  that  we  are  about  removing — not  from 
London  to  some  rural  paradise,  but  from  a 
smoky  house  to,  as  we  hope,  a  purer  one ;  and, 
June  over,  I  mean  to  descend  from  my  pulpit — 
where  I  have  been  nineteen  months  continu- 
ously, that  is  on  Sundays  and  many  other  days 
too — lie  on  my  back  and  breathe  awhile.  '  Rest 
awhile'  is  good  doctrine,  and  happy  is  he, 
not  only  who  doth,  but  who  can  practise  it." 

Nor  was  he  remiss  in  what  is  called  pastoral 
work.      He   was   not   in   the  habit   of  making 


FITZROY  CHAPEL.  103 

chance  visits,  but  the  afflicted,  whether  with 
illness  or  other  calamity,  never  sought  his  aid 
in  vain.  In  his  Address  at  Mortimer  Street,  on 
27th  November,  1851,  he  remarked — 

"  To  call  frequently  at  every  house,  scattered 
as  our  people  are,  would  be  impossible — unless 
the  pastor  had  a  certain  invaluable  horse  of 
which  he  once  heard.  He  was  in  an  omnibus 
with  two  farmers,  the  one  of  which  wished  to 
sell  the  other  the  horse  in  question.  He 
recounted  its  several  properties,  and  very  ex- 
cellent they  were ;  and  at  last  he  came  to  its 
one  superlative  distinction.  *  The  day,'  he  said, 
'  is  never  too  long  for  him  ! '  If  I  possessed, 
either  this  invaluable  animal,  or  his  great 
qualification,  I  might  call  on  A  at  Highgate, 
B  in  Blackfriars  Road,  and  C  near  Hyde  Park 
Gate,  and  many  others  in  big  circle  round  town, 
all  in  a  day.  But  until  some  one  hears  of  this 
horse  in  the  market  and  buys  it  for  the  service 
of  the  Church,  I  am  unable  to  do  such  great 
things.  Yet  I  wish  much  to  be  counted  every- 
body's   friend,    and   am    happy,    according    as 


io+  MEMOIR  OF  T.  T.  LYNCH. 

time  permits,  to  be  in  due  turns  everybody's 
guest." 

Friendliness  was  indeed  one  of  Mr.  Lynch's 
most  marked  characteristics.  Those  who  made 
his  acquaintance  found  themselves  remembered 
and  cared  for  with  an  ardour  that  sometimes 
surprised  them.  For  instance,  one  who  had  left 
town  without  remembering  to  call  was  followed 
with  this  note  of  remonstrance — 

"  Gone  !    Why  ?   And  without  calling  upon  us. 

Not  right,  not  kind,  not  wise All  I  can 

now  do  is  to  send  kind  regards  and  best  wishes, 
and  to  say  that  we  shall  be  very  glad  to  hear 
good  of  you.     I  am  sorry  you  are  gone." 

"Not  unfrequently,"  said  one  of  his  people, 
"  he  inquired  of  me  concerning  personal  sorrows 
that  I  had  forgotten  myself.  There  never  was 
such  a  comforter !  "  In  visiting  the  sick  he  was  in- 
deed most  tender,  full  of  sympathy  with  infirmity ; 
and  those  who  joined  with  him  in  prayer  never 
seemed  to  forget  the  benefit  they  received. 


FITZROY  CHAPEL.  105 

His  disposition  was  eminently  social,  and 
meetings  with  the  ministers  of  his  neighbour- 
hood and  others  afforded  him  peculiar  pleasure 
and  refreshment.  Says  the  Rev.  Edward  White, 
of  Kentish  Town — 

"Oh,  the  hours  that  I  have  spent  with  him 
during  these  twenty  years,  especially  in  the 
earlier  seasons !  There  seems  to  be  scarcely 
a  road  in  this  neighbourhood  unlighted  by 
recollections  of  his  conversation,  of  his  racy 
wisdom,  and  of  his  devotion.  But  best  of  all 
is  the  remembrance  of  those  happy  earliest 
times,  when  the  ministers  of  this  quarter  met 
some  others  from  a  distance  once  a  month  at 
each  other's  houses  for  prayer  and  conversation 
on  some  topic  of  sacred  Scripture,  and  the 
passage  under  discussion  received  whatever 
light  could  be  thrown  upon  it  by  such  men  as 
Mr.  Baldwin  Brown,  Mr.  Martin,  Mr.  Watson 
Smith,  and  similar  kindred  spirits.  '  Lord,  it 
was  good  to  be  there ! '  And  among  the 
blessings  of  those  memorable  evenings,  doubly 
endeared  by  the  recollections  of  some  no  longer 


io6  MEMOIR  OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

with  us,  we  all  reckoned  the  presence  of  the 
author  of  the  '  Rivulet/  who  then,  as  ever,  shone 
out  among  the  brightest  of  the  throng.  It  was 
there  that  we  came  to  understand  how  *  mighty 
in  the  Scripture'  was  this  self-taught,  or  rather 
heaven-taught,  student  of  truth ;  and  there, 
best  of  all,  that  we  learned  from  the  outpouring 
of  his  soul  in  his  addresses  to  God,  the  depths 
from  which  his  wisdom  sprang."* 

In  addition  to  his  pulpit  wTork  and  frequent 
lecturing,  Mr.  Lynch  for  some  years  wrote  a 
variety  of  articles  in  the  Christian  Spectator, 
a  monthly  magazine,  which  have  since  been 
collected  and  republished.! 

But  this  happy  state  of  hard  work  peacefully 
pursued  was  not  to  continue.  In  1854 — 55, 
a  time  of  much  domestic  affliction,  he  found 
solace  in  the  composition  of  a  number  of  hymns, 
which  in  November,  1855,  were  published  under 
the  title  of  "  Hymns  for  Heart  and  Voice.  The 
Rivulet."     What  ensued  is  now  to  be  described. 

*   Christian  World  Magazine,  July,  1 87 1. 

t  "Letters  to  the  Scattered,  and  other  Papers."    London,  1872. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE   "  RIVULET  "   CONTROVERSY. 

A  READER  of  "  Theophilus  Trinal "  is  said 
-**■  to  have  remarked  that  Mr.  Lynch  would 
wake  some  morning  and  find  himself  famous. 
It  was  a  prophecy  destined  to  have  a  sinister 
fulfilment.  The  publication  of  the  "  Rivulet"  was 
followed  by  an  uproar  of  the  most  extraordinary 
character.  The  beginning  of  the  strife  was 
an  article  in  the  Morning  Advertiser  of  7th 
January,  wherein  he  learned  that  he  had 
written  a  book  in  which,  "from  beginning  to 
end,  there  was  not  one  particle  of  vital  religion 
or  evangelical  piety ;  "  that  u  nearly  the  whole 
of  the  hymns  might  have  been  written  by  a 
Deist,  and  a  very  large  portion  might  be  sung 
by  a  congregation  of  Freethinkers ;  "  "  that 
it  was  a  painful  fact  that  he  should  preach 
twice    every   Sunday   as    an    avowed    minister 


io8  MEMOIR  OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

of  the  Gospel,  being  the  author  of  this  spiritually 
dead  and  dreary  book."  Meanwhile,  the  Eclectic 
Review  for  January  had  noticed  the  "  Rivulet " 
briefly  but  favourably,  and  for  this  notice  the 
editor  was  called  to  account  by  the  Advertiser, 
and  required  to  give,  "as  a  postscript  in  his 
February  Number,  an  explicit  and  decided 
repudiation  of  all  sympathy  with  the  incrimi- 
nated notice  of  the  book."  A  postscript  ap- 
peared, only  not  the  one  expected.  The  editor 
had  the  courage  to  stand  by  the  "  Rivulet "  as  a 
good  and  true  book,  and  to  express  his  disgust 
at  the  reckless  injustice  wherewith  the  author 
had  been  treated.  In  the  March  number  of 
the  Eclectic  appeared  a  Protest  signed  by  fifteen 
ministers,  more  or  less  intimate  with  Mr.  Lynch, 
testifying  their  respect  for  him,  and  their  indig- 
nation at  the  manner  in  which  he  had  been 
assailed.  The  Protest  added  fuel  to  the  fire. 
The  controversy  waxed  in  fury,  and  almost 
every  newspaper  had  some  comment  or  other 
on  the  uproar.  Busiest  and  noisiest  of  all  was 
Dr.  Campbell,  editor  of  the  British  Banner. 
He  professed  to  have  "  carefully  analyzed  every 


THE  "RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.       109 

line"  of  Mr.  Lynch's  "  Rivulet,"  and,  as  the  result 
of  his  scrutiny,  charged  him  with  "deliberately 
contradicting  the  Word  of  God,"  with  "  defaming 
the  character  of  the  Son  of  God,"  with  "  giving 
the  lie  to  the  whole  teaching  of  the  Spirit  of 
God."  He  called  the  hymns  "incomparably 
the  most  unspiritual  publication  of  the  kind  in 
the  English  tongue,"  "  stamped  throughout  by 
a  harmonious  negation  touching  the  facts  of 
the  Gospel,"  and  "  might  have  been  written 
by  a  man  who  had  never  seen  a  Bible,  and 
never  heard  more  than  a  few  words  and  a  few 
names  which  might  all  have  been  uttered  in 
a  moment  of  time."  His  ministry  he  described 
as  "  Christless,"  himself  as  "  not  even  at  the 
bottom  of  the  scale  as  Poet  or  Divine,"  and 
that  "  devils  "  might  be  his  "  disciples."  Fur- 
thermore, he  was  "utterly  destitute  of  the 
ethereal  spirit  of  true  poetry,"  and  "wanting 
alike  in  light,  life,  power,  and  pathos."  His 
verses  were  "  the  essence  of  absurdity,"  and 
"  worse  than  the  quintessence  of  absurdity ;  " 
they  were  "  pantheistic,"  and  "  most  miserable 
garbage,"    and    "  irrational    and    unscriptural," 


no  MEMOIR  OF  T.  T.  LYNCH. 

and  "  beneath  contempt,"  and  "  nonsensical," 
and  "  preposterous  ;  "  "  doing  violence  alike  to 
reason,  to  Scripture,  and  to  the  experience  of 
all  sane  and  sanctified  men."  They  were  a 
"  feeble  stream  "  of  "  mingled,  muddy  matter," 
"drivelling  doggrel,"  "crude,  disjointed,  un- 
meaning, unchristian,  ill-rhymed  rubbish,"  &c. 
&c.  The  articles  from  the  Advertiser  and 
Banner  were  reprinted  as  pamphlets  and  circu- 
lated widely,  and  such  was  the  commotion 
that  Dr.  Campbell  avowed  that  "nothing  like 
it  had  occurred  within  the  memory  of  the  present 
generation,  or,  perhaps,  since  the  Reformation." 
Amid  the  din  Mr.  Lynch  pursued  his  duties 
with  such  composure  as  he  could  command. 
Some  wondered  at  his  silence,  but  of  what 
avail  is  argument  or  remonstrance  in  a  panic  ? 
But  at  last,  in  October,  he  relieved  his  mind 
in  the  production  of  "  Songs  Controversial, 
by  Silent  Long,  fifteen  songs  uttering  a  New 
Protest."  Those  of  more  permanent  interest 
we  reproduce,  especially  as  to  the  new  genera- 
tion they  must  be  unknown,  the  original  pamph- 
let having  run  rapidly  out  of  print. 


THE  "RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.       i 


INK  AND  DRINK. 

Showing  that  ink  has  superseded  milk,  and  that  theological  alcohol 
is  indispensable. 

Once  simple  souls  were  fed  on  milk, 

The  Church,  she  was  a  mother, 
Who  opened  first  one  fount  of  life, 

And  opened  then  another  : 
But  now  we  all  must  live  on  ink, 

The  milky  streams  are  dry  ; 
Her  bosom  it  was  warm  and  soft, 

Our  pens  are  hard  and  sly. 

All  honour  to  the  Press,  but  most 

Unto  the  Press  Religious  ; 
Its  blacking  is  so  black  that  we 

Can  only  cry  '  Prodigious  !  ' 
By  slang  and  slander,  half  and  half, 

A  polish  fine  is  given, 
To  black  the  seven-league  boots  in  which 

Editors  stride  to — Heaven ! 

Now  simple  souls  are  fed  on  ink, 

So  grace  is  mostly  gall ; 
Now,  like  the  drunkard  for  his  glass, 

Saints  for  their  "  bitters  "  call : 
Without  their  Hatred,  as  strong  drink, 

These  strong  men  can't  exist  ; 
Love  is  but  pap  for  little  babe 

And  sentimentalist. 


MEMOIR  OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 


A  NEGATIVE  AFFAIR. 

Showing  that  when  a  man  palms  off  his  negative  u  stuff ""  upon  the 
public  as  "  Christian"  there  is  always  so?nebody  acute  enough 
to  detect  the  imposition. 

When  sugar  in  the  lump  I  see, 

I  know  that  it  is  there, 
Melt  it,  and  then  I  soon  suspect 

A  negative  affair  : 
Where  is  the  sugar,  sir  ?  I  say, 

Let  me  both  touch  and  see  ; 
Sweetness  instead  of  sugar,  sir, 

You'll  not  palm  off  on  me. 

Don't  tell  me  that  the  sugar-lumps, 

When  dropt  in  water  clear, 
That  they  may  make  the  water  sweet, 

Themselves  must  disappear ; 
For  common  sense,  sir,  such  as  mine, 

The  lumps  themselves  must  see  ; 
Sweetness  instead  of  sugar,  sir, 

You'll  not  palm  off  on  me. 

For  instance,  sir,  in  every  hymn 

Sound  doctrine  you  should  state 
As  clearly  as  a  dead  man's  name 

Is  on  his  coffin-plate  : 
Religion,  sir,  is  only  fudge, — 

Let's  have  theology  ; 
Sweetness  instead  of  sugar,  sir, 

You'll  not  palm  off  on  me. 


THE  "RIVULET"   CONTROVERSY.      113 


EYE  SALVE. 

Showing  that  it  may  not  be  wrong  to  sing  of  things  of  which  the 
Saviour  spoke,  but  wrong  rather  to  condemn  a  man  for  so  doing. 

Oh,  foolish  critic  and  unwise, 

Did  you  but  know  your  Saviour, 
You'd  surely  see  with  other  eyes, 

And  change  your  whole  behaviour  : 
He  talked  of  grass,  and  wind,  and  rain, 

And  fig-trees  and  fair  weather, 
And  made  it  His  delight  to  bring 

Heaven  and  the  earth  together. 

He  spoke  of  lilies,  vines,  and  corn, 

The  sparrow  and  the  raven, 
And  words  so  natural,  yet  so  wise, 

Were  on  men's  hearts  engraven  : 
And  yeast,  and  bread,  and  flax,  and  cloth, 

And  eggs,  and  fish,  and  candles  ; 
See  !  how  the  whole  familiar  world 

He  most  divinely  handles. 

They  called  him  "  Fellow  "  and  "  This  man," 
"  Deceiver  "  and  a  "  Devil ;  " 
I'm  sorry  that  you've  learnt  their  plan, 

And  fallen  to  their  level ; 
They  trod  His  pearls  beneath  their  feet, 

The  doctors  were  the  swine ; 
But  though  their  folly  you  repeat, 

His  wisdom  shall  be  mine. 


ii4  MEMOIR   OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 


THE  PHARISEE  CHANGED. 

Showing  how   the  Pharisee  may  imitate   the   Publican,   and  yet 
continue  as  much  a  Pharisee  as  before. 

The  Pharisee  informed  the  Lord 

How  good  a  life  he  led  ; 
The  Publican  shrank  back  in  shame, 

And  smote  his  breast  instead ; 
But  when  the  Lord,  in  tender  love, 

The  penitent  commended, 
The  hypocrite,  with  heart  unchanged, 

Straightway  his  prayer  amended. 

Said  he,  The  man  who  says  he's  worst 

Is  by  the  Lord  thought  best ; 
So  next  when  he  to  worship  went, 

As  Publican  he  drest, 
And  smote  upon  his  hollow  heart, 

And  bowed  him  down  and  groaned, 
And,  proud  of  his  humility, 

His  unfelt  sins  he  owned. 

The  Publican,  an  altered  man, 

Came,  too,  with  lifted  head, 
And  joyfully  gave  thanks  to  God 

For  the  new  life  he  led  : 
The  Lord  again  his  offering  took, 

Still  spurned  the  Pharisee's, 
For  sometimes  tears,  and  sometimes  thanks, 

But  only  Truth  can  please. 


THE  "RIVULET"   CONTROVERSY.      115 


ORTHODOXY. 

Showing  in  what  sense  a  man  ?nay  be  orthodox  at  once,  though  he 
cannot  be  at  once  wise,  and  who  IS  orthodox. 

Pray  are  you  wise,  sir  ?    Yes,  for  I 

Much  wiser  wish  to  be ; 
But  perfect  wisdom  I  disclaim 

With  all  humility. 
And  are  you  orthodox  ?     Oh,  yes, 

None  more  so  can  be  found  ; 
I've  some  regard  to  character, 

And  hate  a  man  unsound. 

But  if  you're  only  sound  asleep, 

And  some  one  else,  awalcing, 
And,  seeing  that  the  sun  is  up, 

Gives  you  a  friendly  shaking  ; 
Though  you  may  call  him  heretic, 

He  proves  himself  the  wiser, 
For  evermore  Truth's  best  success 

Comes  through  the  earliest  riser. 

If  orthodoxy  soundness  be 

In  thought,  and  act,  and  word, 
Of  any  man  quite  orthodox 

Whoever  yet  has  heard  ? 
All  such  pretences  Wisdom  mocks 

As  gravely  she  replies, 
There's  only  One  that's  orthodox, 

He  who  alone  is  wise. 


n6  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 


COBWEB. 

Showing  that  the  New  Commandment  involves  many  new  things, 
and  may  even  lead  to  a  New  Theology. 

There  is  a  new  commandment  which 

New  hearts  alone  can  keep  ; 
Its  fruits,  a  new  earth  and  new  heaven 

Will  with  a  new  song  reap  ; 
And  when  this  new  command  is  kept, 

With  new  eyes  shall  we  see 
New  things  of  every  kind,  except 

A  New  Theology  ? 

j      Ecclesiastics,  spider-like, 

On  Jesus  Christ  the  Door 
Have  spun  their  cobwebs  fine  until 

They've  darkly  closed  him  o'er  : 
They  catch  the  souls  that  come  to  Him, 

They  seize  them  for  a  prey  ; 
Oh  blessed  hour,  oh  happy  man, 

That  sweeps  their  webs  away. 

And  webs  that  any  man  may  break, 

May  many  men  repel, 
And  why  should  Heaven's  door  look  as  dark 

As  if  it  led  to  Hell  ? 
Perhaps  this  New  Theology 

Has  come  to  do  no  more 
Than  sweep  the  cobwebs  all  away 

From  Jesus  Christ  the  Door. 


THE  "  RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.      117 


THE  WAY  AND  THE  END. 

Showing  that  they  who  follow  the  Lord  on  His  journey,  He  will 
help  in  their  path,  and  7neet  at  the  end. 

Oh,  Thou  who  only  art  the  End, 

Thou  art  the  only  Way ; 
And  in  our  suffering  Master's  track, 

Through  many  a  weary  day, 
I've  journeyed  on,  and  oft  have  said, 

Enough,  Lord,  let  me  die  ; 
But  quickly  Thou  hast  answered  me, 

Fear  not,  my  help  is  nigh. 

How  long,  oh  Lord,  oh  Lord  the  End, 

Wilt  Thou  be  but  a  Way  ? 
Frail,  sinful  men  my  fathers  were, 

Not  better  I  than  they ; 
Oh  take  me  to  Thyself,  I  said, — 

Enough,  Lord,  let  me  die  ; 
But  Thou  again  hast  answered  me, 

Fear  not,  my  help  is  nigh. 

Shall  I,  who  choose  Thee  for  the  End, 

Refuse  Thee  as  the  Way  ? 
Thou,  too,  wast  watched  by  evil  eyes, 

Men  sought  Thee  for  their  prey ; 
I'm  weary  of  the  strife,  I  said, 

Enough,  Lord,  let  me  die; 
But  Thou  once  more  hast  answered  me, 

Fear  not,  my  help  is  nigh. 


n8  MEMOIR   OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

"  Songs  Controversial "  was  quickly  followed 
by  a  pamphlet  entitled  "The  Ethics  of  Quota- 
tion, by  Silent  Long,  designed  to  exhibit  Dr. 
Campbell's  practices  as  Critic."  The  lines 
on  the  title-page  will  serve  to  give  some 
idea  of  the  outrages  under  which  he  was 
suffering — 

"  Quote  him  to  death!  Quote  him  to  death  ! 
Hit  him,  and  hear  not  a  word  that  he  saith  ; 
Shout  and  cry  out,  for  this  is  the  man 
Out  of  whose  spirit  the  •  Rivulet '  ran. 
What  is  his  soul  but  a  cauldron  that  brims 
Over  and  over  with  poisonous  hymns  ? 
Then  quench  his  fire,  the  vessel  upset ; 
Who  knows  what  mischief  he'll  do  us  yet  ? 
Tear  up  his  verses,  and  mangle  his  prose  ; 
Quote  at  him  still,  wherever  he  goes. 
Cut  him  up  !     Cut  him  up  !     Send  the  pieces  afar 
To  gather  our  Israel  for  strife  and  war ; 
Black  waves  our  banner  against  the  sky, 
Death  !  is  our  watchword :  the  man  must  die, 
That  with  him  may  perish  Liberty !  " 

The  story  of  the  "  Rivulet "  Controversy  we  are 
happily  able  to  give  in  Mr.  Lynch's  own  words ; 
and  as  it  has  been  long  out  of  print,  and  has 
been    much    sought   for,  there  is  an  additional 


THE  "RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.      ug 

reason  for  the  reprint.  The  review  appeared 
in  the  Christian  Spectator  for  November,  1856, 
and  starts  with  the  discussion  of  a  proposed 
compromise.  Tired  and  ashamed  of  malignant 
excitement,  it  was  suggested  that  there  should 
be  a  "  compromise,"  that  "  bygones  should  be 
bygones,"  that  accusers  and  accused  should 
fraternise,  and  exhibit  afresh  a  Christian  front 
to  the  world.  Peaceful  and  lover  of  peace  as 
was  Mr.  Lynch,  he  had  no  mercy  for  such 
policy.  As  he  wrote,  "Too  many  people  fancy 
they  can  '  love  righteousness  without  hating 
iniquity.'  I  desire,  therefore,  to  impress  upon 
my  reader  this  lesson  :  that  though  we  may 
hate   without   loving,    we   cannot    love   without 

hating And  as  to  indignation.     Let  the 

Church  pray  to  God  for  this  great  grace  of 
indignation.  There  is  not  enough  deep  hatred 
of  moral  evil.  Indeed,  scarce  any  deep  abhor- 
rence of  it  is  manifested.  The  heretic  is  con- 
demned without  '  benefit  of  clergy ; '  sin  is 
referred  to  *  arbitration.'  Silent  Long  is  no 
heretic ;  he  is  orthodox  enough,  I  hope,  to 
please  anybody.     But  he  has  often  found  that 


i2o  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.   LYNCH. 

1  heresy '  is  the  precursor  of  spiritual  insight ; 
and  *  orthodoxy '  a  cloak  for  transgression,  and 
a  'whited  sepulchre'  full  of  dead  men's  bones 
and  uncleanness.  These  last,  reader,  are  the 
words  of  *  gentle  Jesus  meek  and  mild.'  And 
they  lead  me  to  say  that  one  of  the  worst  signs 
of  that  lack  of  intense  moral  sentiment  of 
which  I  complain,  is  the  inability  to  distinguish 
between  the  strong  words  of  him  who  rebukes 
injustice,  and  the  strong  words  of  him  who 
attacks  and  defames  the  just.  Many  a  popular 
religionist  will  call  both  of  these  '  railing,'  and 
fancy  that  he  himself  is  full  of  the  '  spirit  of 
love.'  Love  can  hate  sin — these  men  cannot. 
Love  will  suffer — these  men  will  not :  nor  will 
they  sustain  anybody  who  does.  Christ's  foes 
said  that  He  had  a  devil.  The  very  evil  they 
charged  on  Him  He  charged  on  them.  They 
say  He  is  of  the  devil,  and  He  says  they  are  : 
who  is  to  decide  between  them  ?  Reader,  the 
question  has  been  decided,  I  hope,  to  your 
satisfaction,  as  well  as  to  that  of  the  ten 
thousand  times  ten  thousand,  and  thousands 
of  thousands.      Christ  used   strong  words,  and 


THE  "RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.       121 

spoke  of  *  blind  leaders  of  the  blind,'  of  men  who 
were  '  serpents  and  a  generation  of  vipers,'  of 
professors  whose  '  inward  part  was  full  of 
wickedness.'  He  accused  the  orthodox  of  his 
time  —  and  let  the  reader  consider  that  no 
modern  doctor  can  think  himself  '  sounder '  than 
these  men  thought  they  were — of  hypocrisy  and 
of  making  God's  word  of  'none  effect.'  He 
exposed  their  love  of  flattery  and  mastery.  In 
short,  He  showed  us  that  sarcasm  and  rebuke 
may  be  Divine  weapons.  When  His  foes 
*  railed '  on  Him,  He  could  be  silent.  But  was 
He  always  silent  ?  No.  And  shall  we  say  that 
He  rendered  '  railing  for  railing '  ?  No.  If 
we  have  spiritual  senses  exercised  to  discern 
between  good  and  evil,  we  shall  know  that 
words  are  wickeder  for  being  strong  when  they 
are  false ;  and  the  wiser  when  they  are  strong 
when  they  are  righteous.  The  very  Apostle 
who  honours  an  archangel  because  he  was 
no  '  railer,'  himself  rebukes  most  sharply :  he 
speaks  of  people  who  are  '  brute  beasts,'  '  raging 
waves,'  'wandering  stars,  to  whom  is  reserved 
the   blackness  of  darkness   for  ever.'      Rebuke 


i22  MEMOIR   OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

is  not  railing ;  and  railing  is  not  rebuke !  For 
my  part,  I  have  never  lightly  drawn  my  sword ; 
nor  lightly  smitten  when  I  have  drawn  it. 
Draw  carefully ;  smite  hard  ;   sheathe  soon." 


A    REVIEW   OF   THE    "RIVULET"   CON- 
TROVERSY.* 

BY  THOMAS   T.   LYNCH. 

"  I  wish  I  could  say  that  I  was  about  to 
'  improve '  the  death  of  this  matter  by  a  funeral 
sermon  upon  it.  But  the  Controversy  is  no 
more  dead  than  the  '  Rivulet '  is  '  dried  up/  It 
still    illustrates    itself  in   frequent    effusions   of 

*  "The  Rivulet."     Longman  &  Co. 

The  Eclectic  Review  for  January,  February,  and  March.  Ward 
&Co. 

"  The  Controversy,"  &c,  by  James  Grant.  "Nonconformist 
Theology"  and  "Negative  Theology,"  by  Dr.  Campbell. 
Collingridge,  Long  Lane. 

"Mr.  Binney's  Letter."     Ward  &  Co. 

"Songs  Controversial"  and  "The  Ethics  of  Quotation,"  by 
Silent  Long  (Mr.  Lynch).    W.  Freeman. 

Newspapers,    Magazines,    Pamphlets,     &c.       Pro,    con.,    and 


THE  "  RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.      123 

spite  and  nonsense,  miscalled  *  evangelical,' 
with  which  I  am  favoured.  And  whilst  I  am 
writing,  there  are  actually  attempts  being  made 
at  what  is  called  an  '  arbitration,'  not,  indeed, 
between  myself  and  my  accusers,  but  between 
Mr.  Binney  and  Dr.  Campbell.  Mr.  Binney, 
it  seems  to  be  hoped,  will  abate  permanently 
some  inches  at  least  of  his  natural  moral  height, 
that  he  may  henceforth  walk  arm  in  arm  with 
the  Doctor  in  bonds  of  brotherhood.  Bonds  of 
brotherhood  are  '  bonds '  indeed,  from  which  I 
for  one  desire  to  shake  myself  loose  with 
Samson's  vehemence,  if  they  are  bonds  unbe- 
seeming the  servant  of  Him  who  died  for  us 
and  rose  again  f  Perhaps  the  Cross,  after  all, 
was  not  necessary.  Perhaps  Truth  and  Lies 
might  have  settled  matters  by  'arbitration.' 
Perhaps  the  universe  is  or  ought  to  be  governed 
by  'accommodations.'  Perhaps  the  sad  story 
of  the  'Master'  is  a  warning  to  us  not  to  be 
'  righteous  overmuch.'  Perhaps  the  Lord  was 
not  conciliatory  enough  to  the  Pharisees,  and 
might  have  escaped  by  a  little  'compromise.' 
Perhaps   there  were  '  errors  on  all   sides,'  and 


i24  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.   LYNCH. 

if  Caiaphas  after  the  Crucifixion  had  sent  for 
Peter,  given  him  a  '  situation,5  and  married  him 
to  the  '  maid  that  kept  the  door,'  there  might 
have  been  no  Christianity  ! 

"  Severity  and  tenderness,  it  is  supposed  by 
the  unwise,  cannot  co-exist;  whereas,  in  the 
highest  characters,  they  always  co-exist,  at- 
tempering each  other.  But  just  because  each 
is  so  perfect,  each  will  in  its  turn  for  prominence 
be  seen  so  distinctly  that  the  reality  of  the  other 
may  be  denied.  When  severe,  the  best  man  is 
so  ti'uly  severe,  that  his  words  seem  of  even  a 
too  fiery  ardour ;  and  when  tender,  he  is  so 
truly  tender,  that  his  compassion  seems  so 
lenient  as  to  be  almost  immoral.  I  stand  by 
my  own  words,  used  six  years  ago,  *  Evil  and 
good  are  mutually  exclusive.  The  war  between 
them  is  the  one  war  that  cannot  be  settled  by 
treaties  of  arbitration.'  And  also  by  my  words 
used  in  an  article  contributed  to  this  magazine 
in  December,  1854,  on  the  *  Right  of  Erring.' 
Giving  therein  an  outline  of  an  '  Act '  to  secure 
this  'Right,'  I  say,  in  section  3,  'This  Act  is 
protective,    and    considering     such    groups     of 


THE  "  RIVULET"  CONTROVERSY.       125 

erring  persons  as  the  following : — Those  who 
err  through  sheer  incompetency :  Those  who 
err  through  influence  of  education  and  neces- 
sarily imbibed  prejudice  :  Those  who  err  through 
justifiable  or  excusable  excitement :  Those  who 
err  through  defective  information  or  limited  time 
and  opportunity :  Those  who  err  through  or- 
ganic peculiarity  or  physical  discomposure : 
Those  who  err  in  an  over-zeal  through  their 
very  love  of  what  is  noble  and  true ;  and  the 
like ;  it  provides  that  their  errors  be  allowed, 
even  without  limit  as  to  the  number,  so  long  as 
— and  be  it  observed,  only  so  long  as — such 
allowance  be  found  to  quicken  and  strengthen 
the  Spirit  of  Truth  in  such  persons.'  I  would 
with  the  greatest  pleasure  grant  Dr.  Campbell 
anything  he  might  be  able  to  claim  under  the 
provisions  of  this  Act,  on  his  fulfilling  its 
conditions.  But  I  will  never  abate  one  degree 
of  the  stern  ardour  wherewith  I  have  opposed 
conduct  such  as  his.  Some  one  must  suffer — I 
believe  many  must — that  Evangelical  Religion 
may  be  purged  from  the  foul  spirits  of  vaunt, 
and   cant,  and  compromise,  and  malice,  which 


iz6  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

now  too  often  '  possess '  it.  Why  should  not  I 
suffer  as  well  as  others  ?  To  speak  with 
simplicity :  It  appears  to  me  that  a  man  must 
be  either  condemned  in  this  world  or  the  next, 
and  I  prefer  the  first  alternative. 

"And  very  plentifully  'judged'  I  have  been, 
reader,  I  assure  you.  Judgment  has  been 
rained  on  me  and  hailed  on  me ;  fire  mingling 
with  the  hail,  but  not  heavenly  fire.  The  '  rainy 
season '  has  now  lasted  nine  months.  I  cannot 
say  that  the  windows  of  heaven  have  been 
opened.  The  drenching  torrents  fell  rather  as 
if  first  upspouted  from  below.  The  dogs  of 
theologic  war,  in  'full  pack  and  full  cry/  have 
hunted  me.  Neologist,  Rationalist,  Socinian, 
Deist,  Pantheist,  Heretic,  Destroyer,  and  the 
like,  have  they  fiercely  yelped.  And  let  them 
yelp  on.  '  There  is  no  welcome  and  communion 
like  that  of  the  "  saints." '  No  odium  and 
wrath  deadly  as  those  of  the  men  who  among 
the  religious  are  '  showing  themselves  to  be  the 
religious/  says  Theophilus  Trinal.  One  of  the 
charges  brought  against  me,  reader,  by  '  the 
Religious   Press '    is,    that    I    am    '  an    acknow- 


THE  "RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.      127 

ledge d  contributor  to  the  Christian  Spectator — 
a   fact   of  itself  sufficient   to    suggest   that   my 
sympathies  and  sentiments  are  anti-evangelical/ 
So    says    the     Watchman    of    28th    May    last. 
Perhaps    that    fact    may    make    it    seem    less 
unsuitable,  if  it  should  have  seemed  at  all  so 
to    any,  for   me   to   review  the   Controversy   in 
these    pages.       By    the     frequent     perusal     of 
Records, ',    Banners,   Advertisers,    Watchmen,    &c, 
I    have   learnt   the   whole   '  trick '    of    religious 
newspapers.      I  could    set  up  one   myself  if  I 
were  only  wicked  enough,  and,  so  I  got  a  hot 
roll  of  ' comfort'   every  morning,  did  not  care 
where  or  wherewithal  I  baked  it.     '  Lo  we  turn 
to  the  Gentiles/  said  Paul.     Yes,  we  must  go 
out  into  the  broad  world,   and  leave  the  dark 
and  cruel  chambers  of  ecclesiastical  coterieship. 
We  must  go  outside  the  camp  with  Jesus  Christ, 
bearing  his  reproach ;  must  live,  and  speak,  and 
suffer  for  the  '  word  of  eternal  life '  in  the  open 
world,  and   as   the  rejected  of  the  Church.      I 
have  said  during  this  Controversy,  and  I  have 
no    doubt    many    hearts   will    respond    to    my 
language  — To    the    world    I    do    not    commit 


i28  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.   LYNCH. 

myself:   To  the  Church  I  belong,  yea  and  will 
do  :  But  the  '  Religious  World '  I  abhor. 

"  But  now  of  the  Controversy  itself — How  did 
it  arise  ?  What  does  it  mean  ?  What  ends  will 
it  serve  ? 

"  The  innocent  occasion  of  the  Controversy  was 
the  publication  of  my  book,  the  *  Rivulet ; '  the 
wicked  cause  was  an  evil-spirited  attack  upon 
that  book  and  its  favourers,  made  by  the  most 
Samaritan  of  morning  papers,  whose  editor, 
unfortunately,  is  not  the  Good  Samaritan.  I 
should  have  as  soon  expected  a  Dragon  to  issue 
from  a  Dove's  egg  as  a  Controversy  to  arise 
from  the  '  Rivulet.'  Formerly,  the  prophets  had 
the  art  of  putting  into  bitter  streams  what  would 
make  them  wholesome ;  now  they  have  learned 
the  '  black '  and  inky  art  of  dropping  '  articles ' 
into  sweet  streams  to  make  them  bitter.  Some 
innocent  people  seem  actually  to  think  that  the 
Dragon  did  issue  from  the  egg ;  that  when  it 
*  was  crushed,  it  broke  forth  into  a  viper.'  They 
will  be  glad  now,  no  doubt,  to  receive  authentic 
information    on    this    subject.      The    Dragon,* 

*  The  reader  will  please  observe  that  by  the  Dragon  I  do  not 
mean  this  man  or  that,  but  Controversial  Bigotry  in  general. 


THE  "RIVULET"   CONTROVERSY.      129 

i  cunning  and  fierce  mixture  abhorred/  wishing 
to  prevent  the  sweet  spirit  of  peace  from  flying 
forth  to  brood  over  and  to  hush  the  stormy- 
waters  of  sectarian  strife,  hastened  to  the  Dove's 
egg  with  the  most  destructive  intentions ;  but 
just  as  his  claw  was  lifted  to  strike,  away  flew 
the  Dove,  and  down  came  the  whole  force  of  the 
Dragon  on  the  mere  shell — some  say  to  the 
injury  of  his  own  claws,  but  that  we  fear  is  too 
good  news  to  be  true.  Meanwhile,  the  Dove, 
you  will  be  interested  in  knowing,  made  its 
escape  through  a  *  windy  storm  and  tempest' 
that  '  black  arts '  raised  to  oppose  it ;  and,  as  I 
am  informed  by  many  friendly  Reviewers  and 
others,  is  now  very  busily  and  very  pacifically 
engaged. 

"It  was  at  the  close  of  the  year  1854  that  I 
first  meditated  the  composition  of  the  *  Rivulet.' 
As  it  was  then  unborn,  so  it  was  unnamed.  I 
purposed  only  this,  that  I  would  try  and  furnish 
a  Contribution  to  Sacred  Song  ;  and  at  the  same 
time  I  purposed  that  I  would  try  and  offer  a 
Contribution  to  Christian  Theology.  Through 
a  year  of,  to  me,  singular  events  and  sorrows,  I 

K 


130  MEMOIR  OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

proceeded  as  well  as  I  could  with  my  two  works, 
the  '  Rivulet '  and  the  '  Letters  to  the  Scattered/ 
You  will  observe — these  two  works  were  planned 
at  the  same  time,  and  carried  on  during  the 
same  month,  and  are,  in  fact,  singularly  illus- 
trative of  one  another.  The  '  Letters '  will  be, 
by-and-by,  republished  separately.  They  have, 
as  you  know,  appeared  as  yet  only  in  the  pages 
of  the  Christian  Spectator.  The  prose  work, 
of  course,  contains  the  more  theology,  the 
poetical  one  certainly  not  the  less  religion.  I 
will  quote  the  hymn  with  which  I  commenced 
my  work  of  song.  It  was  made  on  the  Monday 
morning  before  Christmas  Day,  whilst  I  was 
meditating  on  yesterday's  worship.  It  is  now 
No.  1 7  in  the  <  Rivulet :  * — 

"  '  Christ  in  his  word  draws  near ; 
Hush  moaning  voice  of  fear, 

He  bids  thee  cease  ; 
With  songs  sincere  and  sweet 
Let  us  arise  and  meet 
Him  who  comes  forth  to  greet 
Our  souls  with  peace. 

"  'Rising  above  thy  care, 
Meet  Him  as  in  the  air, 
O  weary  heart  : 


THE  "RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY. 

Put  on  joy's  sacred  dress, 
Lo,  as  He  comes  to  bless, 
Quite  from  thy  weariness 
Set  free  thou  art. 

"  '  For  works  of  love  and  praise 
He  brings  thee  summer  days, 

Warm  days  and  bright : 
Winter  is  past  and  gone, 
Now  He,  salvation's  sun, 
Shineth  on  every  one 

With  mercy's  light. 

"  '  From  the  bright  sky  above, 
Clad  in  his  robes  of  love, 

'Tis  He,  our  Lord  : 
Dim  earth  itself  grows  clear 
As  his  light  draweth  near : 
Oh,  let  us  hush  and  hear 

His  holy  word.' 


"  Rather  more  than  a  year  after  I  had  com- 
posed this  '  Christless '  hymn — that  is  to  say,  on 
January  7th  of  this  present  year — I  met  a  neigh- 
bour one  evening  in  an  omnibus,  as  I  was 
returning  home  from  some  pastoral  work,  who 
said,  'You  have  been  publishing  some  literary 
work  lately,  have  you  not  ? '     '  Yes,  a  little  book 


132  MEMOIR  OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

of  poems/  *  I  thought  the  book  must  be  yours ; 
I  saw  a  review  of  it  in  one  of  the  morning- 
papers/  '  Indeed  !  which  ? '  '  The  Morning 
Advertiser'  'Favourable  or  adverse?'  'Oh, 
they  found  fault  not  so  much  on  literary  grounds 
as  on  some  sectarian  point/  'Ah!'  The  next 
day  I  was  in  town  on  some  business  connected 
with  the  '  Rivulet ; '  and  as  Fleet  Street  lies  in 
the  way  to  Paternoster  Row,  I  went  into  the 
office  of  the  Advertiser  and  bought  a  copy  of 
'yesterday's  paper/  On  getting  home,  as  a 
sort  of  dessert  at  dinner-time,  we  read  domes- 
tically the  following  information  about  the 
'  good  man  of  the  house  : ' — That  he  had  pub- 
lished a  book  in  which,  '  from  beginning  to  end, 
there  was  not  one  particle  of  vital  religion  or 
evangelical  piety;'  that  'nearly  the  whole  of 
his  hymns  might  have  been  written  by  a  Deist, 
and  a  very  large  portion  might  be  sung  by  a 
congregation  of  Freethinkers ; '  that  it  was  a 
'  painful  fact  he  should  preach  twice  every  Sun- 
day '  as  an  avowed  '  minister  of  the  gospel,' 
being  the  Author  of  this  '  spiritually  dead  and 
dreary  book  ; '  and  that  he  had  '  palmed  off'  his 


THE  u  RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.      133 

hymns  as  'Christian/  when  they  were  merely 
4  endeavours  to  look  through  nature  up  to 
Nature's  God/  such  endeavours  being,  even  if 
the  hymns  were  no  more,  at  least  possibly,  very 
Christian.  Here  was  an  attack  upon  book  and 
minister  not  gratifying.  When  our  Saviour  was 
called  '  deceiver/  I  dare  say  he  sometimes  felt 
inward  pain,  though  he  knew  what  contemptible 
people  his  adversaries  were.  To  find  any  one 
speaking  of  a  book  which  came  from  my  very 
heart  as  '  spiritually  dead  and  dreary/  was 
painful.  But  it  never  occurred  to  me  to  notice 
such  an  attack.  I  took  it  only  as  a  fresh  proof 
of  the  utterly  inverted  moral  state  of  many  pro- 
fessed religionists.  I  firmly  believe  that  religion 
in  many  self-styled  evangelicals  is  no  better 
than  a  blind,  blaspheming  superstition.  What 
wish  could  I  have  to  prove  that  there  was  any 
sort  of  identity  between  my  religion  and  Mr. 
Grant's  ?  God  forbid  there  ever  should  be  while 
his  remains  as  this  article  and  his  subsequent 
ones  represent  it  to  be.  In  this  first  review,  the 
introductory  personal  references  are  favourable ; 
they  are  as  follows  : — *  Mr.  Lynch,  the  author  of 


i34  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

this  little  volume  of  poetry,  is,  we  are  told,  an 
amiable,  as  he  certainly  is  an  intellectual  man. 
The  contents  of  the  volume  bear  ample  testi- 
mony to  the  fact  that  he  is  a  man  of  cultivated 
mind,  and  largely  imbued  with  the  poetic  spirit. 
But  here  our  commendation  must  end/  Thisr 
Dr.  Campbell  says,  is  ascribing  to  me  '  attributes 
which  he  does  not  think  even  my  judicious 
friends  will  claim  for  me,  and  literary  capa- 
bilities of  which  I  have  given  no  proof.'  I 
advise,  therefore,  Mr.  Grant  to  omit  these  mis- 
statements of  his  in  the  twelfth,  or  whatever  the 
next  edition  may  be,  of  his  great  Controversial 
Pamphlet.  According  to  the  views  of  a  Mr. 
James  Spicer,  as  given  in  Dr.  Campbell's  '  Nega- 
tive Theology/  p.  31 — 'Nothing  can  be  more 
decorous,  gentlemanly,  and  even  kind/  than  the 
above  Review.  Perhaps  Mr.  Spicer  is  no  better 
judge  of  what  is  '  decorous,  gentlemanly,  and 
kind/  than  a  gentleman  of  whom  I  have  heard, 
who  threatened  to  withdraw  his  subscription 
from  a  public  institution  because  Mr.  Lynch 
had  been  invited  to  one  of  its  social  meetings. 
The  two  first  persons  to  whom  I  showed  this 


THE  "  RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.     135 

'  decorous '  Review  were  men  of  very  different 
characters  and  pursuits,  but  alike  publicly  dis- 
tinguished ;  the  first  said,  <  What  a  donkey ! ' 
and  the  other,  in  many  respects  amongst  the 
strongest  of  living  men,  was  agitated  with  emo- 
tion. How  incredibly  absurd  must  it  seem  to 
Messrs.  Grant  and  Campbell,  that  any  man 
should  be  moved  even  to  tears  at  the  hardness 
of  heart  shown  in  their  l  Christian  criticism/  I 
called  the  Paper  in  which  this  ignorant  but 
unimportant  Review  appeared,  a  Samaritan 
Paper.  The  Samaritans  feared  the  Lord  after 
a  fashion,  but  '  served  their  own  gods.'  They 
were  pagan  with,  let  us  hope,  a  more  beneficial 
admixture  of  true  religion  than  this  modern 
journal.  The  Morning  Advertiser  daily  cele- 
brates, in  the  queerest  way,  the  nuptials  of 
Jerusalem  and  Newmarket.  '  Life  in  Jesus,'  and 
death  in  the  i  ring/  are  presumed  to  have  equal 
interest  to  its  readers.  In  one  page,  Fifteen 
Divines  are  insulted,  all  for  the  glory  of  God 
and  the  Morning  Advertiser  ;  and  in  another, 
more  than  forty  horses  have  their  merits  or 
demerits  meritoriously  discriminated.     "What  a 


1 36  MEMOIR   OF  T.   7.  LYNCH. 

happy  thing,  say  some,  to  have  such  an  '  evan- 
gelical' man  editor  of  the  Advertiser.  Why,  it 
is  like  Christ  going  among  the  publicans  and 
sinners.  Like,  indeed  !  with  this  difference,  that 
the  Lord  did  not  connive  at  their  sins  for  the 
sake  of  their  pecuniary  support.  He  went  to 
seek  and  to  save.  But  the  Editor  of  the  Adver- 
tiser, among  the  racers,  c  betters,'  and  such  like, 
pleading  the  good  that  he  does  by  his  evan- 
gelical articles  amid  their  carnal  news,  suggests 
to  us  the  inquiry  whether  a  clergyman  might 
not  go  to  a  gaming-house  and  sanction  its  pro- 
ceedings, for  the  sake  of  converting  its  fre- 
quenters. I  fear  the  Editor  of  the  Advertiser 
does  more  to  jockey  the  saints  than  he  does  to 
sanctify  the  jockeys.  His  paper  may  be  divided 
into  two  departments — the  'ring'  evangelical 
and  the  '  ring '  carnal.  Of  course,  in  the  Jeru- 
salem and  Newmarket  nuptials  these  '  rings ' 
are  exchanged  in  mutual  pledging.  I  prefer 
the  'ring'  carnal.  And  of  two  bad  things,  I 
think  the  ho7iest  fist  of  the  'ring'  carnal  better 
than  the  '  leaded '  fist  of  the  '  ring '  evange- 
lical. 


THE  "  RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.      137 

"  But  now  having  introduced  Mr.  James  Grant 
upon  the  scene,  I  must  give  rapidly  some  account 
of  the  development  of  his  particular  campaign. 
On  January  11,  1856,  half-past  three  o'clock 
P.M.,  into  my  study  was  ushered  Mr.  Such-a- 
one,  and  he  laid  a  copy  of  that  day's  Advertiser 
on  the  table,  and  informed  me  that  he  had  come 
to  tell  me  what  he  had  done  to  Mr.  Grant — and 
what  Mr.  Grant  had  done  to  him.  He  had 
written  to  Mr.  Grant  (kindly,  but  not  wisely,  I 
should  have  told  him  if  he  had  consulted  me 
about  it)  complaining  of  injustice,  and  adducing 
some  seventeen  prominent  hymns  as  rebutting 
by  their  so  obvious  Christian  quality  the  Re- 
viewer's allegation.  Of  course,  Mr.  Grant  was 
too  astute  an  editor  to  insert  the  letter.  And  it 
was  no  surprise  to  me  to  find  that  he  employed 
its  contents  in  a  way  the  very  reverse  of  what 
the  writer  expected.  This  second  article,  or — 
to  speak  c poetically' — the  quality  of  this  new 
*  tap,'  was  no  whit  inferior  to  the  first,  and  Mr. 
Grant  concluded  by  citing  or  inviting  me  to  his 
court,  asking  whether  I  was  prepared  to  assert 
this   and   that.      So,   having   been   '  condemned 


i38  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

already/  I  was  to  go  and  plead  my  cause,  and 
that  before  a  court  that  had  no  authority.  The 
impudence  of  summoning  to  the  'bar'  a  Chris- 
tian minister,  and  a  man  pretty  widely  known 
for  works  accessible  enough  to  those  who  desire 
to  ascertain  his  opinions,  was  a  little  remark- 
able. I  suppose  I  might  have  had  a  cider-barrel 
to  stand  on,  and  have  brought  my  gown  with 
me — I  do  not  happen  to  wear  one,  however— in 
which  to  declaim.  If  Mr.  Lynch  is  not  a  Deist, 
and  so  on — if  his  belief  is  '  sound ' — if  he  claims 
any  fraternity  with  Dr.  Watts,  why  did  he  not 
come  forward  and  declare  himself:  Reader,  I 
will  quote  for  you  an  American  story ;  that 
contains  solution  enough  of  the  difficulty.  '  We 
charge,'  says  the  New  York  Express,  '  that  Mr. 
Fremont  is  a  Roman  Catholic.  Now,  if  he  is 
not  a  Catholic,  why  don't  he  come  out  over  his 
own  signature  and  deny  the  fact  ? '  Whereupon 
the  Syracuse  Journal  retorts  as  follows  :  '  We 
charge  that  the  editor  of  the  Express  is  a  con- 
summate ass.  Now,  if  he  is  not  an  ass,  why 
don't  he  come  out  over  his  own  signature  and 
deny  the  fact : ' 


THE  "RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.      139 

"  Well,  I  was  quietly  forgetting  the  Advertiser y 
when  on  Tuesday,  January  22,  out  came  the  real 
beginning  of  the  '  Controversy.'  The  curtain 
rises,  and  enter — the  Rev.  Dr.  Campbell.  That 
is  to  say,  Mr.  Grant,  commencing  by  a  '  faithful 
testimony'  to  that  redoubtable  champion  of 
himself  and  heaven,  proceeds  to  say,  that  as 
the  Doctor  once  served  the  Eclectic  and  gained 
great  fame,  so  now  will  lie  serve  it  and  become 
alike  distinguished.  There  had  appeared  in  the 
Eclectic ,  prior  to  the  first  review  in  the  Advertiser  y 
a  notice  of  the  *  Rivulet,'  giving  it  Christian 
commendation.  That  notice  was  utterly  uncon- 
troversial,  and  was  but  brief.  But,  as  if  the 
Eclectic  had  not  quite  as  much  right  to  a  good 
opinion  of  me  as  himself  to  a  bad  one,  Mr.  Grant 
assaults  that  journal,  threatens  it  with  loss,  and 
demands  security  for  future  good  behaviour.  In 
this  article,  Mr.  Grant,  that  very  decorous  man, 
affirms  that  he  has  proved  the  '  Rivulet '  '  to  be 
pervaded  throughout  by  the  Rationalist  Theo- 
logy of  Germany,'  though  he  had  not  said  a 
word  before  about  the  Theology  of  Germany — 
had  not  tried  to  prove,  much  less  succeeded  in 


140  MEMOIR   OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

proving,  such  a  falsehood.  He  might  just  as 
well  have  said  he  had  proved  that  it  was  per- 
vaded throughout  by  French  cookery.  Then 
he  asks,  indignantly,  whether  the  'recognised 
organ  of  the  two  great  Congregational  denomi- 
nations '  is  thus  to  adopt  and  endorse  the  '  cold 
and  cheerless  theology  of  Germany.'  The  ex- 
treme absurdity  of  charging  the  '  Rivulet,'  and 
its  favourable  reviewer,  with  'cold  and  cheer- 
less '  theology  can  only  be  obvious  to  those  who 
have  read  the  book.  Dr.  Campbell  has  lately 
informed  the  world  ('Negative  Theology,'  p.  31), 
'  That  one  of  the  "  Fifteen  "  transmitted  a  review 
of  the  "  Rivulet "  to  the  Eclectic,  and  the  Editor 
admitted  it  without  having  seen  the  book.'  Of 
the  '  Fifteen  '  I  shall  shortly  have  to  speak  more 
particularly.  Dr.  Campbell's  statement  is  utterly 
false.  None  of  the  Fifteen  had  anything  more 
to  do  with  writing  that  review  than  the  Author 
of  the  '  Rivulet '  himself  had.  The  Editor  of  the 
Eclectic,  as  I  was,  during  the  progress  of  the 
Controversy,  informed  by  himself,  had  put  the 
book  into  the  hands  of  a  person  of  whose  Chris- 
tian and  literary  competency  to  prepare  a  notice 


THE  "RIVULET'    CONTROVERSY.      141 

of  it  he  had  good  grounds  for  being  assured.  As 
soon,  then,  as  the  Editor  of  the  Eclectic  was  thus 
assailed  by  the  'gentlemanly'  Mr.  Grant,  he 
wrote  to  the  Advertiser  apologetically,  assuring 
the  Editor  that  all  was  right,  and  that  coming 
numbers  of  the  Review  would  prove  it.  Now 
it  happened,  reader,  that  in  the  very  number  of 
the  Eclectic,  the  January  one,  which  Mr.  Grant 
assailed,  there  was  an  article  on  '  Doctrine  and 
Character,'  of  which  a  notice  in  a  country  paper, 
written,  I  was  informed,  by  an  Evangelical 
Churchman,  thus  speaks :  '  Its  ablest  article,, 
and  very  able  indeed  it  is,  is  on  Doctrine  and 
Character,  a  review  of  the  sermons  of  Professor 
Butler.  The  writer  is  a  man  of  large  heart 
and  comprehensive  mind,  appreciating  worth 
wherever  he  finds  it,  and  frankly  declaring  his 
appreciation.  His  way,  too,  of  conveying  what 
he  has  to  say  is  eminently  terse,  vigorous,  and 
compact.  We  quote  a  passage  in  evidence.'  To 
this  I  also  invite  the  reader's  attention  for  a 
reason  which  will  appear  presently  : — 

"  '  The  world  is  not  a  gymnasium,  in  which  men  contend  about 
propositions,  and  the  keenest  debater  wins  salvation  as   a  prize. 


H2  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

Many  have  died  in  faith,  and  have  been  promoted  to  their  heavenly 
places,  to  whom  such  words  as  gymnasium  and  proposition  would 
have  been  alike  unintelligible.  They  were  "  marrow  men,"  though 
not  of  the  party  that  assumed  that  name.  Religion  is  the  marrow 
and  theology  the  bone  ;  the  marrow  has  very  much  to  do  with 
znaking  the  bone,  and  then  the  bone  very  much  to  do  with  protect- 
ing the  marrow.  Many  of  these  men  of  simple  faith  knew  not, 
indeed,  the  importance  of  controversies  that  were  waging  around 
them.  But  how  many  a  controversialist  knows  not  the  worth  of  the 
life  about  whose  laws  and  affairs  he  is  disputing.  Christ  is  not  his 
life,  but  his  logic.  He  becomes  atrophied  by  disputation,  wastes 
himself  into  a  skeleton,  and,  instead  of  winning  souls  by  the  argu- 
ments that  they  hear,  repels  them  by  this  skeleton  form  that  they 
see. 

'"But  let  it  be  distinctly  understood,  that  religion  has  its  own 
science.  Its  scientific  student  may  be  its  meek  and  diligent 
"minister."  In  all  science  we  seek  to  know  with  the  utmost 
fulness  and  accuracy ;  and  we  economize  both  time  and  heart,  if 
wise  enough  to  learn  where  knowledge  has  its  temporary  or  (as  to 
earth)  its  final  limit.  The  solitary  student  will  not  desist  from  the 
prosecution  of  his  studies,  because  so  few  comprehend  his  topics 
and  his  interest  in  them.  Millions  of  men  are  unconsciously 
interested  in  the  results  of  studies  to  which  they  are  unsympathetic 
or  opposed.  Let  the  theologer  theologize,  not  angry  with  the 
unintelligent  crowd  of  common  Christians — one  with  them,  and 
that  humbly,  whenever  he  can  be  ;  seeking  their  service,  and  not 
his  own  pleasure  merely,  in  his  lonely  work.  Woe  to  the  unlearned 
church :  double  woe  to  the  church  where  learning  is  paraded  and 
life  languishes.  Does  some  scorner  say,  Of  what  use  is  the  Dif- 
ferential Calculus  in  a  market-place  ?  Of  no  use,  indeed,  we  reply, 
if  you  only  go  there  and  declaim  upon  it  from  the  top  of  an  empty 
butter-tub ;  but  of  great  use,  if  you  consider  how  it  affects  all  the 


THE  "RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.      143 

mechanics  of  our  social  life.  Of  what  use  are  the  higher  inquiries 
of  philosophical  theology  ?  Of  no  use  if  the  people  be  gathered  to 
hear  the  gospel  on  a  market-day,  and  you  hide  Christ  from  them 
and  hinder  their  approach  to  him  by  a  chevaux-de-frise  of  reason- 
ing ;  but  of  immense  use,  if,  by  its  discipline,  your  own  reason  has 
been  calmly  satisfied,  and  you  can,  with  loving  frankness,  preach 
the  cross  and  the  crown  to  the  common  people,  no  unsubdued 
doubt  in  your  own  soul  taunting  and  dragging  you  from  behind 
like  a  hidden  demon  at  every  sentence  you  utter.' 

"  You  will  observe  in  the  above  extract  a  dis- 
tinct assertion  of  the  importance  of  scientific 
theology,  together  with  a  rebuke  of  the  merely 
disputatious  man.  'Woe  to  the  unlearned 
church  :  double  woe  to  the  church  where  learn- 
ing is  paraded  and  life  languishes/  says  the 
writer.  Why  did  not  the  Editor  of  the  Eclectic 
refer  to  this  article  as  his  defence,  when  accused 
of  favouring,  by  a  good  word  given  me,  that 
which  'is  worse  than  even  the  lowest  kind  of 
Unitarianism '  ?  Reader,  the  fact  is,  that  the 
article  in  question  was  written  by  the  very  man 
on  whose  account  the  Editor  was  accused — that 
is  to  say,  by  myself.  And  now  let  me  show  you 
my  position  at  the  time,  and  I  think  I  shall  get 
some   credit  with   you    for  forbearance   in   the 


i44  MEMOIR  OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

sequel,  and  be  able,  also,  to  vindicate  the  Editor 
of  the  Eclectic.  Mr.  Grant's  first  attack  on  that 
journal  appeared,  as  I  said,  on  January  22.  I 
knew  that  Mr.  Ryland,  the  much  respected 
editor  of  '  Foster's  Life/  and  now  of  Kitto's,  had 
but  just  taken  the  editorship  of  the  Review,  and 
that  the  proprietorship,  also,  had  passed  into 
new  hands.  And  entertaining,  as  I  did,  a 
sincere  regard  both  for  proprietors  and  editor, 
how  could  I  but  feel  anxious  about  an  attack 
which  must  disturb  and  might  injure  ?  I  left  it 
to  Mr.  Ryland  to  refer  to  my  article  on  '  Doc- 
trine and  Character '  or  not,  as  he  thought  well, 
and  determined  that  for  some  time,  at  least,  I 
would  not  contribute  to  the  Review,  And  I 
never  have  contributed  since,  though  both  pro- 
prietors and  editor  have,  very  honourably  to 
themselves,  wished  me  to  do  so.  It  would  have 
been  better,  I  think,  had  Mr.  Ryland,  on  being- 
attacked  by  the  Advertiser,  just  written  a  stern, 
short  note,  equivalent  to  an  indignant,  '  Who 
are  you  ? '  His  attempt  at  conciliation  was  only 
met  by  insolence.  He  was  told  that  the  '  Rivu- 
let '  was   i  a   book  which  notoriously  does   not 


THE  "  RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.      145 

contain  one  solitary  evangelical  sentiment  from 
beginning  to  end5  (Oh,  blind  audacity  of  mis- 
representation !)  and  that  he  must  give  '  as  a 
postscript  in  his  February  number  an  explicit 
and  decided  repudiation  of  all  sympathy  with 
the  incriminated '  notice  of  that  book.  Think 
of  that,  reader.  The  Evangelical  Eclectic  was 
to  strike  its  flag  to  the  Samaritan  Advertiser. 
However,  in  the  February  number  out  came  the 
Postscript,  only  not  the  one  expected.  And 
very  explicit  and  decided  it  was,  only  not  in 
the  way  Mr.  Grant  had  taken  for  granted.  Mr. 
Ryland  had  for  the  moment  seemed  too  gentle, 
but  he  soon  showed  he  had  the  strength,  too,  of 
the  gentleman,  and  was  no  faithless  coward.  He 
stood  by  the  '  Rivulet '  simply  and  firmly  as  an 
Evangelical  book,  and  expressed  his  utter  as- 
tonishment and  indignant  reprobation  at  the 
reckless  injustice  with  which  Mr.  Lynch  had 
been  treated.  And  he  appended  to  the  Post- 
script a  letter  which  had  been  sent  to  the  Adver- 
tiser, demolishing  Mr.  Grant's  criticisms,  and 
which  that  *  kind/  '  decorous  '  man  had  declined 
inserting.     Forth   now  came   the   champion   of 

L 


1 46  MEMOIR   OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

Fleet  Street,  soon  to  be  aided  by  a  brother 
giant,  whose  den  is  hard  by.  As  yet  I  was 
only  assaulted  by  Gog ;  soon  the  Gog  and 
Magog  of  the  newspaper  '  Evangelicals '  were 
both  to  be  upon  me.  Redly  glowring,  as 
through  the  fogs  of  Fleet  Ditch,  the  editorial 
luminary  cast  over  the  widening  field  of  Con- 
troversy a  lurid  horror.  In  an  article,  whose 
length  was  like  the  comet's  fiery  tail,  and 
whose  meaning  was  small  and  indistinct  as  the 
comet's  head,  Mr.  Grant's  sentences  whooped 
and  danced  round  the  unhappy  Editor  of  the 
Eclectic,  and  unhappier  me,  who  was,  perhaps, 
whimpering  behind  the  editorial  skirts,  like  a 
troop  of  war  Indians  ready  to  scalp  everybody, 
then,  there,  and  for  ever.  Now,  at  the  very 
time  Mr.  Grant  was  writing  this  dreadful  article, 
and,  in  the  face  of  all  the  '  new  lights '  of  the 
church,  '  swindging  the  scaly  horror  of  his  folded 
(or  say,  z//rfolded)  tail,'  he  must  have  received  a 
communication,  with  a  glimpse  of  which  the 
world  has  not  heretofore  been,  but  shall  now  be, 
favoured.  On  the  1st  of  February,  a  hearer  of 
mine,  who  bears   a  name  that  will  always   be 


THE  "  RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.     147 

respected  where  those  who  have  served  evan- 
gelical religion  are  remembered,  wrote  him 
thus  :  i  I  have  been  for  some  time  past  a  regular 
attendant,  together  with  my  family,  upon  Mr. 
Lynch's  ministry,  and  I  can  say  most  unhesi- 
tatingly that  there  is  no  minister  in  London, 
whether  in  the  Church  or  out  of  it,  who  has  a 
firmer  belief  than  Mr.  Lynch  in  the  very  doc- 
trines which  he  is  charged  with  denying 

It  is  wholly  a  mistake,  therefore,  to  compare  the 
character  of  Mr.  Lynch's  ministry  with  the  old 
and  worn-out  system  advocated  by  Dr.  Priestley, 
Belsham,  Toulmin,  and  others  of  the  last  gene- 
ration, or,  on  the  other  hand,  to  confound  it  with 
the  heartless  and  negative  teaching  of  more 
recent  German  Neologists.  Whoever  so  judges 
has  either  taken  hastily  the  opinions  of  others, 
or  been  himself  a  very  inattentive  listener/ 
Speaking  of  the  hymns,  he  says  that  it  is  '  un- 
safe at  any  time  to  draw  sweeping  conclusions 
as  to  doctrinal  belief  from  the  language  of 
poetry.  In  order  to  understand  a  hymn,  it  is 
oftentimes  necessary  to  know  the  writer.  Cen- 
nick's  beautiful  hymn  of  intense  aspiration  for 


148  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

the  dying  believer,  in  which  occurs  the 
verse — 

"  My  soul  has  tasted  Canaan's  grape, 
And  now  I  long  to  go," 

contains  not  a  word  of  doctrine ;  but  those  who 
know  Cennick's  character,  and  that  he  also 
wrote  another  hymn  commencing — 

"  Thou  dear  Redeemer,  dying  Lamb," 

would  naturally  interpret  the  one  by  the  other. 
So  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Lynch.  Those  who  know/ 
&c.,  and  then  he  speaks  of  my  character  as  it  is 
pleasant  for  any  clergyman  to  find  his  hearers 
speaking  of  him,  and  ends  thus  : — '  I  assure  you, 
sir,  I  am  not  misled  in  these  remarks  by  a  blind 
admiration  of  the  preacher,  but  believing  that 
the  strictures  you  have  made,  and  published  so 
widely,  are  utterly  unfounded,  and  are  calcu- 
lated to  injure  the  reputation  and  interfere  with 
the  usefulness  of  a  minister  doing  a  sincere  and 
earnest  work,  I  ask  the  insertion  of  this  letter 
as  a  simple  matter  of  justice  to  himself  and  his 
hearers  ;  the  more  so,  as  I  have  reason  to  be- 
lieve Mr.  L.,  though  quite  competent  to  defend 


THE  "RIVULET"  CONTROVERSY.     149 

himself,  does  not  consider  the  columns  of  a  daily 
journal  a  suitable  channel  for  the  discussion  of 
such  topics.'  Of  course,  Mr.  Grant  inserted  this 
letter?  Reader,  I  am  ashamed  of  you  for  the 
suggestion.  Mr.  Grant  is  a  '  decorous '  man. 
Would  it  have  been  '  decorous '  for  him  to  allow 
plain  truth  flatly  to  contradict  him  in  his  own 
paper  ?  No,  my  friend's  defence  of  me  cannot 
induce  Mr.  Grant  to  abate  one  particle  of  his 
dreadfulness.  He  brings  against  me  the  awful 
charge  that  I  apostrophize  my  own  spirit  '  as  if 
that,  too,  were  a  sentient  and  active  being ! ' 
Why,  what  is  it,  I  wonder;  does  Mr.  Grant 
think  man's  spirit  is  as  dead  as  a  brickbat,  or, 
at  best,  that  it  should  be  a  bagpipe,  with  one 
unvarying  theological  drone  at  bottom,  and 
one  unexhilarating,  controversial  screech  atop  ? 
Thank  God,  my  spirit  is  something  more  than 
a  wind-bag,  with  its  pipe  and  drone ;  something 
more,  too,  than  a  barrel-organ,  which  grinds  one 
set  of  tunes  till  our  teeth  grind  at  the  horrid  dis- 
cord into  which  they  fall.  To  be  considered  a 
very  trustworthy  sort  of  person,  your  soul,  I  find, 
ought  to  be  like  an  organ  with  only  one  stop. 


1 5o  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

If  you  have  flute  and  trumpet  too,  and  half  a 
dozen  or  fifty  other  stops  besides,  people  can't 
' understand'  you.  However,  God  gave  me  a 
soul  that  can  laugh  and  cry,  fight  and  meditate,, 
'  impugn  it  whoso  listeth,'  as  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Campbell  defiantly  exclaims.  The  bewildered 
falsehood  of  this  article  of  Mr.  Grant's  compels 
me  to  devote  to  it  a  little  more  space  than  I  can 
well  afford.  He  refers  to  my  'Letters  to  the 
Scattered '  in  a  way  that  suggests  the  surmise 
that  he  and  Dr.  Campbell  have  set  up  a  '  Mutual 
Improvement  Society,'  in  which  they  have 
studied  the  '  Ethics  of  Quotation '  in  company. 
He  quotes  against  me  these  words  among 
others — '  What  right  have  we  to  be  ever  bewail- 
ing "  that  there  is  no  good  thing  dwelling  in  our 
flesh "  ? '  What  do  you  think  of  that,  reader  ? 
It  is  evident  what  Mr.  Grant  would  have  you 
think.  He  has  just  said  that  Mr.  Lynch  '  clearly 
maintains  the  doctrine  of  merit  in  man.'  Of 
course,  Mr.  Lynch  thinks  there  is  nothing  much 
the  matter  with  our  flesh — no  great  need  of  God's 
Spirit ;  that  the  distinction,  indeed,  between 
flesh    and    spirit    is    of    no    moment.      Here's 


THE  "RIVULET"   CONTROVERSY.     151 

Theology,  cry  Mr.  Grant's  readers.  Think  of 
the  Rev.  Anybody,  much  more  the  Rev.  New- 
man Hall,  having  anything  to  do  with  it.  The 
Rev.  Newman  Hall,  who,  as  a  chivalrous  sol- 
dier of  Jesus  Christ,  has  won  for  himself  such 
honour  by  the  courage,  at  once  prompt  and 
unswerving,  with  which  he  has  defended,  not 
Mr.  Lynch  merely,  but  the  righteousness  that 
is  in  Christ,  as  assailed  in  this  '  Controversy/ 
has  nothing  to  do  with  such  theology.  Nor  has 
Mr.  Lynch  himself;  nor  has  the  Christian  Spec- 
tator. Here  is  the  passage,  not  as  it  is  Adver- 
tised by  Mr.  Grant,  but  as  it  stands  in  last 
November's  number  of  the  Spectator  :  — 

" '  Surely  we  need  never  fear  that  a  man  is  too  respectable  to 
feel  himself  a  sinner,  if  only  he  be  addressed  as  the  sort  of  sinner 
that  he  really  is.  He  may  not  act  upon  what  he  knows,  but  he  does 
know.  Become  better,  and  you  will  often  bitterly  lament  that  you 
are  not  better  still,  whilst  yet,  oh,  how  thankful  that  you  are  no 
worse.  But  we  must  not  talk  as  if  the  one  excellency  of  saints  were 
the  confession  they  are  sinners.  Confession  may  be,  not  the  sign 
but  the  substitute,  of  repentance.  Alas  for  the  saint  who  says  to- 
day and  to-morrow  that  he  is  a  sinner,  if  it  is  as  true  to-day  as  it 
was  yesterday,  and  as  true  to-morrow  as  it  is  to-day !  What  right 
have  we  to  be  ever  bewailing  that  there  is  "  no  good  thing  dwelling  in 
our  flesh  "  ?  has  not  God  given  us  his  Spirit  ?  is  there  nothing  good 


1*2 


MEMOIR   OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 


in  our  spirit  ?  does  not  God's  Spirit  dwell  with  ours  ?  If  it  does 
not,  then  we  are  none  of  his,  and  have  cause  to  bewail,  but  still  no 
cause  to  be  complacent  over  our  bewailing.' 

"I  presume  no  Christian  clergyman  need  be 
ashamed  of  such  sentences.  And  as  to  my 
views  of  '  merit  in  man,'  read  what  follows  from 
the  June  (1855)  number  of  this  journal : — 


"  'The  proof  that  God  hates  the  sins  (a  man)  has  committed  is 
not  the  proof  that  God  hates  him.  The  results  of  God's  punitive 
arrangement  are  never  borne  by  a  really  good  man  as  mere  punish- 
ment. To  him  the  retributive  is,  indeed,  the  redemptive  also. 
Such  a  man  possessed  of  life,  and  of  the  hope  of  honour  and  im- 
mortality through  Jesus  Christ,  having  renounced  mere  nature  to 
live  by  the  Divine  Spirit,  may  so  act  in  self-sacrificing  love,  that 
grace  shall  by  him  more  abound  for  good  than  ever  sin  did  for  evil. 
But  he  does  not  pass  over  from  a  state  of  demerit  in  which  he  was 
less,  to  a  state  of  meritoriousness  in  which  he  is  more,  than  the 
commandment  requires.  He  who  has  failed  under  the  old  com- 
mandment, as  restored  is  under  the  new,  and  is  for  ever  out  of  the 
sphere  of  mere  law,  except  as  love  understands  it.  What  he  does, 
he  does  according  to  the  promptings  of  a  heart  alive  to  spiritual 
love.  And  be  his  love  much  as  it  may,  it  can  never  be  more  than 
is  answerable  to  the  Divine  love.  How  much  less,  indeed,  must  it 
be  than  this  !  Love  pays  best  when  it  acknowledges  that  payment 
is  beyond  its  means.  Thus  its  meritoriousness  is  that  it  claims  no 
merit.  It  knows,  and  thanks  God  for,  its  own  worth  ;  but  its  boast 
were  its  undoing.' 


THE  "RIVULET"  CONTROVERSY.      153 

"  Well,  the  '  decorous '  Mr.  Grant,  at  the  close 
of  this  cometary  article,  is  '  kind  '  and  '  gentle- 
manly '  enough,  after  personal  allusions  to 
myself,  false  —  and  unwarrantable  had  they 
been  true — to  assault  Mr.  Hall,  endeavouring 
to  damage  the  author  of  what  he  admits  to 
be  one  of  the  '  best  and  most  useful  religious 
publications  which  the  present  age  has  pro- 
duced,5 by  implicating  him  in  my  heresies. 
Mr.  Hall  had,  in  spite  of  '  adverse  criticism/ 
presumed  to  commend  the  '  Rivulet '  at  a  public 
meeting.  He  spoke  of  it  as  having  recently 
gushed  from  the  heart  of  '  one  of  our  ministers/ 
and  called  it  a  'pure  and  refreshing'  stream. 
Would  you  give  out  such  a  hymn  as  this  at 
Surrey  Chapel  ?  cries  Mr.  Grant,  selecting  one 
obviously  among  the  least  fit  for  public  use, 
the  '  little  pool,'  namely,  in  which  he  and  his 
friends  have  so  charitably  and  unavailingly 
attempted  to  drown  me,  and  offering  it  as  a 
fair  specimen  of  my  Christian  Hymns.  Surely, 
Mr.  Hall  is  at  liberty  to  commend  a  volume  of 
hymns  without  people  having  a  right  to  infer 
that  he  thinks  them  suitable  for  Surrey  Chapel, 


i54  MEMOIR   OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

or,  indeed,  any  other  chapel.  Nobody  but 
Mr.  Grant,  one  would  think,  could  have  drawn 
such  an  inference.  But  when  a  man  has  the 
power  of  '  blowing '  his  inferences  through  the 
sonorous,  discordant  trumpet  of  such  a  paper 
as  the  Advertiser,  credulous  people  are  apt  to 
think  that  so  much  '  sound  and  fury '  must 
signify  something.  The  misapprehension  of 
the  weak  is  through  the  misrepresentation  of 
the  wicked. 

"Thus,  then,  the  matter  stands  during  the 
month  of  February.  And  on  the  ist  of  March, 
there  appeared  a  document,  known  now  as 
'  The  Protest.'  This  piece  of  Protestantism,  as 
all  genuine  Protestantism  does,  has  given  won- 
derful offence.  As  to  offence,  what  matter  ? 
When  the  offence  of  the  Cross  has  ceased,  the 
power  of  the  Cross  will  have  ceased  too.  All 
the  best  deeds  in  the  world  have  been  '  blunders  * 
if  resulting  inconveniences  can  prove  brave  acts 
to  be  errors.  And  now  I  call  the  reader's  at- 
tention to  two  things.  First,  that  the  Scripture 
never  speaks  lightly  of  sin  and  its  strength 
for  mischief,  because  the  sinner  happens  to  be 


THE  "RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY,    izk 


30 


foolish  as  well  as  wicked.  One  sinner  de- 
stroyeth  much  good  ;  he  need  not  be  a  par- 
ticularly clever  or  accomplished  sinner  to 
produce  this  effect.  Wisdom  alone  is  strong 
for  ultimate  successes,  but  folly  is  very  power- 
ful for  immediate  ones.  It  is  quite  common 
for  wisdom  to  fail  in  the  outset,  and  quite  as 
common  for  folly  to  succeed.  It  is  true  that 
the  assailant  of  Mr.  Ryland,  and  Mr.  Hall, 
and  Mr.  Lynch,  and  Truth  and  Decency,  was 
only  Mr.  James  Grant;  but  then,  though  Mr. 
Grant  is  nobody,  *  Magna  est  stultitia  et  pras- 
valebit' — that  is  to  say  for  a  time.  And 
secondly,  let  the  reader  consider  that  wise 
men,  observing  evil  in  a  given  instance,  think 
not  of  the  instance  only,  but  of  the  class  of  evils 
of  which  it  is  a  specimen.  They  seek  to  make 
the  coming  forth  of  evil  in  any  particular  Wrong 
an  occasion  for  the  rebuke  and  repression  of  the 
evil  spirit  itself.  Remembering  these  things, 
shall  we  be  surprised  that  Fifteen  Christian 
gentlemen,  having  learnt  from  their  Bibles 
what  strength  there  is  in  folly,  and  desiring, 
for  Christ's    sake,   to  turn  to  the  best  account 


156  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

an  available  opportunity  for  rebuking  Calum- 
nious Folly — should  utter  their  quietly  fervent 
Protest  against  Mr.  Grant's  procedures  ?  These 
gentlemen  must  have  thought  the  religion  of 
the  Morning  Advertiser  consummate  whitewash, 
the  very  stuff  to  beplaster  that  unholy  sepulchre, 
a  hypocrite's  heart.  They  knew,  too,  from  their 
dictionaries,  that  a  fool  is  '  one  who  is  puffed 
up  like  a  bellows  with  wind.'  And  though 
quite  aware  that  his  blasts  of  rude  wrath, 
editorial  or  other,  cannot  extinguish  any  celes- 
tial '  tongue  of  flame '  wherewith  God  has 
■'sealed*  and  empowered  a  righteous  man  for 
his  service,  they  were  aware,  too,  that  these 
can  fan  a  spark  into  a  conflagration,  and  for 
awhile  subvert  souls  and  shake  communities. 
They  took,  then,  all  risks  in  protesting,  and 
did  the  thing,  as  all  just  things  must  be  done, 
1  for  better  or  worse,'  as  to  the  immediate  issues. 
The  Rev.  Messrs.  Allon,  Binney,  Brown,  Flem- 
ing, Hall,  Harrison,  Jukes,  Kent,  Martin, 
Newth,  Nunn,  Smith,  Spence,  Vaughan,  and 
White,  protested  against  Mr.  Grant's  Reviews ; 
for,  said  they,  '  if  this  is  suffered  to  pass  current 


THE  "RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.     157 

as  a  specimen  of  Christian  reviewing,  then 
Christian  reviewing  will  soon  become  an  offence 
unto  all  good  men.'  Dr.  Campbell,  Mr.  Grant's 
friend,  says  that  these  Fifteen  present  *  an  un- 
paralleled and  a  highly  imposing  array  of 
learning,  piety,  public  character,  and  official 
influence,'  and  describes  them  as  *  highly  re- 
spected, reputable,  and  influential  Metropolitan 
Ministers.'  Mr.  Grant,  however,  in  his  usual 
'  decorous '  way,  speaks  of  some  of  them  as, 
in  terror  of  his  own  great  self,  having  'hid 
themselves  in  the  holes  of  their  native  obscurity.' 
I  dare  say  the  reader  will  remember  the  fable  of 
the  donkey  that  brayed  so  awfully  like  a  lion 
that  a  sagacious  creature  observed,  '  Why,  even 
/  should  have  been  frightened  if  I  had  not  known 
it  was  you.3  The  '  Nunns,  and  Newths,  and 
Jukeses,  and  Kents '  knew  that  the  mighty 
voice  was  only  Mr.  Grant's  voice.  Perhaps  it 
may  be  as  well  to  refer  to  the  '  holes '  of  these 
gentlemen.  The  '  hole '  of  Professor  Newth, 
M.A.,  is  called  New  College.  In  this  com- 
modious 'hole'  he  lectures  on  Mathematics 
and  on  Ecclesiastical  History,  and,  I  dare  say7 


j58  MEMOIR  OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

Mr.  Grant  might  be  admitted  as  a  'lay '  student 
on  payment  of  the  proper  fee.  A  short  course 
on  Ecclesiastical  History  might  do  him  good, 
and  elevate  equally  the  style  of  his  own  re- 
viewing and  his  estimate  of  Mr.  Newth.  Mr. 
Nunn's  '  hole '  is  Haverstock  Hill,  a  very 
pleasant  and  rather  conspicuous  '  hole/  His 
church  being  thus  set  upon  a  hill,  his  light 
is  by  no  means  hid  under  a  bushel,  and  he 
has  no  cause  to  wish  that  it  was,  seeing  it  is 
not  a  flaring  light,  with  more  smoke  than  flame, 
but  a  quiet  one,  that  burns  steadily.  Mr. 
Jukes's  '  hole '  is  in  a  different  sort  of  locality, 
which  makes  him  all  the  more  useful,  as  his 
light  is  one  that  ■  shineth  in  a  dark  place.'  He 
is  minister  of  Orange  Street  Chapel.  And  if 
Mr.  Grant  were  half  as  careful  to  refer  his 
'politics'  to  the  teaching  of  wiser  men  than 
himself,  as  Mr.  Jukes  is  to  try  opinion  by  the 
statements  of  Scripture,  his  readers  wrould 
certainly  be  much  better  off  than  they  are. 
Mr.  Kent's  '  hole '  is  at  Norwood,  where, 
knowing  Greek  far  better  than  Mr.  Grant  will 
ever    know  English,   and    having   a   mind    as 


THE  "RIVULET"   CONTROVERSY.     159 

harmonious    as    his   disposition   is   amiable,   he 
blends  the  saint  and  the  scholar  in  a  way  that 
I  should  think   would   secure  him  from   every- 
body's    insolence     except    Mr.     Grant's.      The 
Protest  to  which   these   four   '  obscure '   gentle- 
men were  good  enough  to  attach  their  names 
along  with  others,  had,  as  early  as  the  middle 
of  last  March,  according  to  Mr.  Grant,  '  already 
acquired  an   imperishable  place  in   the  annals 
of  Nonconformity.'     It  was  even  honoured  with 
a  place  in  the  columns  of  the  Advertiser,  but 
the  Editorial  Postscript  with  which  Mr.  Ryland 
introduced  it  to  the  notice  of  his  readers  was 
not    so   honoured.      And    although    when   Mr. 
Grant   issued     his   renowned    pamphlet    called 
the  *  Controversy/   &c,  the  cover    stated    that 
this     Controversy    was    between     the     Eclectic 
Review  and  certain  gentlemen  on  the  one  side, 
and  Mr.  Grant  on  the  other,  both  this  second 
Editorial  Postscript  and  an  important  portion 
of  the  first  one  (namely,  the  letter  appended  to 
it)   were   omitted.      Speaking   of  the   unsolicited 
support  of  the   Fifteen   ministers,    Mr.   Ryland 
says  that,    '  next   to  the   mens  co7iscia  recti,  he 


160  MEMOIR   OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

would  desire  no  better  human  protection ' — 
than  such  a  one — '  against  the  assaults  of 
opinionated  bigots  and  self-constituted  De- 
fenders of  the  Faith,  who,  to  prove  their  regard 
for  the  glory  of  the  Divine  Being,  violate  one 
of  his  plainest  commands,  by  bearing  false 
witness  against  their  neighbour,  and  insanely 
attempt  to  "  erect  religion  on  the  ruins  of 
morality ; "  who,  while  loud  in  professions  of 
attachment  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  prove 
themselves  miserably  deficient  in  those  Christian 
virtues  of  justice  and  charity,  apart  from  which 
any  professed  faith  in  the  most  orthodox  creed 
is  barren  and  worthless,  "  being  alone."  ' 

"The  Reviewer — that  is,  Mr.  Grant—say  the 
Protestors,  '  has  invoked  so  solemnly  the  sacred 
name  of  evangelical  truth  to  consecrate  his 
criticism,  that  we,  loving  the  Gospel,  feel 
bound  to  enter  our  protest ;  and  one  of  our 
number,  Mr.  Newman  Hall,  having  been 
severely  blamed  for  his  public  commendation 
of  Mr.  Lynch's  poems,  we,  sharing  his  con- 
victions, gladly  place  ourselves  at  his  side. 
In  a  book  of  Hymns  for  the  Heart  and  Voice 


THE  "RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.     161 

we  did  not  look  for  didactic  theological  state- 
ments, but  we  found,'  &c.  Now,  I  wonder  it 
did  not  occur  to  these  gentlemen  that  an  an- 
gular and  frosty  '  theological  statement '  dropped 
into  a  hymn  would  give  it,  to  a  palate  like 
Mr.  Grant's,  all  the  effect  of  iced  champagne. 
Indeed,  I  wonder  I  did  not  think  of  this  myself. 
Only,  if  second  thoughts  are  best,  they  are, 
it  must  be  considered,  latest  also.  These  gen- 
tlemen did  not  find  in  the  'Rivulet'  lumps  of 
unmelted  ice.  They  no  more  looked  indeed 
for  '  theological  statement '  in  a  hymn,  than 
in  shrimp  sauce  you  look  for  the  shell  of  the 
creature  whose  delicate  flavour  you  are  enjoy- 
ing. Scientific  religion  is  a  kind  of  crustacean, 
and,  as  perhaps  the  reader  is  aware  is  the 
case  with  a  lobster,  sometimes  comes  completely 
out  of  its  shell,  not  naked,  but  in  a  new  one, 
the  very  fac-simile  of  the  old  one,  only  brighter, 
stronger,  larger.  The  old  one  is  then  left 
behind,  very  lobster-like  and  very  empty.  You 
may  see  it  any  day  in  the  Vivarium  at  Regent's 
Park.  There  Mr.  Grant  may  behold  the  very 
image  of  his  Theology — not  a  science  conjoined 

M 


1 62  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

to,  and  protective  of,  a  living  Religion — but  the 
empty  parade  of  a  science  that  has  no  Life, 
within.  This  Lobster-case  is  the  '  idol '  that 
the  Editor  of  the  Morning  Advertiser  hath  set 
up ;  and  at  what  time  ye  hear  the  noise  of 
the  owl  and  the  goose,  the  Watchman  and 
the  Record,  and  all  sorts  of  dissonances,  ye 
shall  fall  down  and  worship  the  empty  Theology 
that  the  Editor  of  the  Morning  Advertiser  hath 
■set  up. 

"The  way  in  which  Mr.  Grant  received  the 
Protest,  and  thereupon  acted,  reminds  me  of 
the  great,  but  hitherto  unrecorded,  case  of  Sir 
Sulphur  Vaunty.  Sir  Sulphur  was  a  political 
brawler,  who  at  last  became  so  troublesome 
that  he  was  openly  condemned  as  a  Brawler 
by  the  Twelve  Judges,  and  the  general  good 
sense  of  his  country ;  and  his  property,  that 
is  to  say,  his  name  and  fame,  such  as  he  had, 
were  confiscated  as  a  warning  to  others.  What 
did  Sir  Sulphur  do,  but  immediately  issue  an 
account  of  the  matter  under  the  title  of  'The 
great  Political  Struggle  between  her  Majesty's 
Twelve  Judges  and   the  people  of  England  on 


THE  "  RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.     163 

the  one  side,  and  Sir  Sulphur  Vaunty  on  the 
other  side/  And  therein  he  glorified  himself, 
as  one  against  so  many  ;  and  the  smoky  fumes 
of  his  brain  actually  led  him  to  conceive  that 
he  had  routed  the  Judges — several  of  whom 
he  mocked  at  by  name  in  a  most  offensive, 
but  ridiculous,  manner.  Mr.  Grant  had  actually 
the  presumption  to  talk  of  the  rebuke  he  had 
received  as  if  a  castigation  was  the  same  thing 
as  a  Controversy.  Was  it  likely  that  Mr. 
Martin,  for  instance,  because  he  is  strong  as 
well  as  meek,  would  enter  into  Controversy 
with  Mr.  Grant  ?  Would  he  '  come  down '  from 
*  doing  a  great  work '  and  enter  the  *  ring '  r 
Mr.  Newman  Hall  was  the  only  one  of  the 
Fifteen  with  whom  there  was  even  an  appearance 
of  Controversy.  Having  himself  an  eminently 
frank  nature,  he  '  hoped  all  things,'  and  thought 
that  even  Mr.  Grant  would  allow  a  flagrant 
misstatement  to  be  corrected.  Mr.  Grant  actually 
charged  Mr.  Newman  Hall  with  not  having  read 
the  Reviews  to  which  the  Protest  refers.  Mr. 
Hall  endeavoured  to  set  him  right,  and  to  cor- 
rect, also,  other  misstatements.     Vain  attempt! 


1 64  MEMOIR   OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

No !    like  a  character  mentioned  in  the  Scrip- 
tures,   Mr.    Grant    '  raged,    and   was   confident.5 
His  articles  made   more  noise  in   Fleet  Street 
than    all     the    waggons    and    omnibuses    that 
rumble    there.      Each    Press    in    the    Morning 
Advertiser  establishment  became  a  Battery,  and 
the  '  devils/  grimy  with  theologic  gunpowder, 
filled  London  with  the  echo  of  their  explosions. 
The  smoke,  like  fogs  from   Fleet  Ditch,  rolled 
out  of  town  far  into  the  country.      Mr.   Grant 
took  everybody  for  slain  whom  he  saw  through 
the  smoke  of  his  own  artillery;  and  imagining 
his   victories,   proceeded   to   celebrate   them   at 
once  with   huzzas   truly   astounding.      The   air 
grew  so  dark,  and  the  cry  so  fearful,  that  even 
the   Earl  of  Shaftesbur}^,  leaving  in   his  hurry 
his  Star  of  the  Order  of  Berea  behind  him,  came 
forth  and  answered  a  matter  before  he  heard  it, 
to    the    great    edification   and    delight    of    the 
'  Religious  World,'  and  the  still  greater  regret 
of  his   real   friends.      On   March   15  the   great 
Pamphlet  came  out,  and  on  May  5  the  seventh 
edition  was  thus  prefaced,  '  The  extraordinary 
sensation  produced  by  this   publication,  so  far 


THE  "RIVULET"  CONTROVERSY.     165 

from  subsiding,  continues  to  increase.'  It  was 
during  May  that  the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury  spoke 
of  the  '  horrid  epidemic  which  had  seized  upon 
some  of  the  brightest  Nonconformist  divines  ' — 
his  words  furnishing,  according  to  the  Advertiser, 
a  'most  accurate  representation  of  the  awful 
state  of  things  which  existed  in  the  realms  of 
Nonconformity.'  The  '  dreadful  doctrines  of 
the  German  Neologists '  were  '  upon  us.'  Mr. 
Grant  declared  himself  more  gratified  than  he 
could  express  with  such  a  '  noble '  testimony. 
*  We  have  looked  into  the  "  Rivulet,"  '  says  the 
Watchman,  of  May  28,  '  and  cannot  conceive  how 
any  one  can  suppose  the  writer  to  be  an  Evan- 
gelical Christian  : '  and  then  presently  afterwards 
he  remarks,  that  it  '  is  said,  and  not  contra- 
dicted,' that  Mr.  Lynch,  &c.  Truly,  I  should 
have  enough  to  do  to  contradict  everything 
that  is  being,  and  has  been,  said  of  me.  *  Never 
contradict  anything,'  said  a  great  and  well- 
abused  actor  in  political  strifes,  '  for  if  you  con- 
tradict one  thing,  all  the  rest  that  you  have  no 
opportunity  of  contradicting  will  be  taken  for 
true.'      'Certain  it  is,'  says  the  Record  of  June 


1 66  MEMOIR   01   T.    T.   LYNCH. 

13,  'that  the  "Rivulet,"  as  a  book  of  hymns, 
is  destitute  of  all  pretensions  to  poetry,  whilst 
its  theology,  as  has  been  well  said,  is  better 
suited  to  the  Ojibbeway  Indians,  who  worship 
the  Great  Spirit,  than  to  those  who  believe  in 
the  living  truths  of  the  Gospel  covenant/ 
Poor  Ojibbeways,  perhaps  there  is  a  lower  hell 
than  even  theirs — that  of  liars,  who  have  spoken 
falsely  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  The  Record 
then  speaks  of  the  'fifteen  rash  apologists  of 
Mr.  Lynch  and  the  "  Rivulet," '  and  of  the 
'great  force,  great  candour,  and  great  temper' 
of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Campbell  (for  prior  to  this  the 
Doctor  had  been  issuing  his  paper  thunders, 
and  had  been  reproved  by  Mr.  Brown),  and 
of  the  many  consolations  he  has  under  the 
'flippant  assaults  of  such  striplings  as  Mr 
Baldwin  Brown.5  Now  it  is  certain  that  neither 
Mr.  Brown  nor  myself  are  hoary-headed,  and 
it  is  to  be  hoped  we  never  shall  be — in  iniquity. 
But  the  one  of  us  has  said,  and  the  other  would 
say  Amen  to  the  words,  '  Upon  our  Bible  we 
may  write,  "  Thou  shalt  rise  up  before  the  hoary 
head  ; "  the  eye  of  this  sage  is  not  dim,  nor  his 


THE  "RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.    167 

natural  force  abated ;  his  brow  is  grave,  as  with 
a  burden  of  still  unuttered  truth ;  his  yet  youth- 
ful eye  is  bright  as  with  a  new-fallen  tear  of 
mercy.'  It  is  because  Mr.  Brown  'rises  up'  in 
homage  to  the  real  sage,  that  he  will  not  bow 
down  to  the  Papal  Idol  of  the  hour.  And 
wherefore  does  he,  or  any  other  man,  '  rise  up ' 
before  his  Lord,  but  to  show  that  he  is  ready  to 
serve,  and  has,  therefore,  risen  to  '  smite/  if  the 
command  be, '  Go  forth  to  battle '  ?  If  Mr.  Brown 
were  a  stripling,  which  he  is  not,  was  there  not 
a  stripling  named  David,  who  did  great  things, 
and  another  stripling  named  Elihu,  who  spake 
them  ?  If  the  Church  in  its  wisdom  should 
found  an  order,  called  the  Order  of  Divine 
Striplings,  neither  Mr.  Brown  nor  myself  could 
desire  anything  better  than,  in  memory  of 
services  at  least  faithfully  attempted,  to  have 
our  breast  decorated,  yes,  and  hallowed,  with 
its  '  Cross.' 

"  But  I  must  now  return  again  from  June  to 
March,  as  I  have  to  speak  somewhat  particu- 
larly, though  with  brevity,  of  events  intervening. 
A  voluble,  inflated  man  had  assailed  first  myself 


1 68  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

and  then  the  Eclectic  Review,  with  an  insolence 
happily  but  seldom  equalled,  and  had  been 
rebuked  for  his  misconduct.  A  number  of 
Christian  gentlemen  and  ministers,  associating 
in  one  group  private  worth,  scholarship,  diver- 
sity of  gifts  and  broad,  good  fame,  had,  with  an 
honourable  regard  to  public  justice,  and  an 
honourable  disregard  of  popular  clamour,  chival- 
rously reprimanded  the  foe,  and  stood  forth,  not 
as  my  friends  only  or  chiefly,  but  as  men  who 
felt  a  knightly  consecration  to  the  service  of 
spiritual  Religion,  with  its  Courtesy  and  Liberty. 
True  chivalry  will  never  die  till  Christ  does, 
and  He  is  alive  for  evermore.  Their  castisration 
of  himself  Mr.  Grant  called  a  controversy  with 
him  ;  as  if  the  rod  had  a  controversy  with  the 
fool's  back.  Like  an  impudent  schoolboy,  who 
had  been  birched  for  his  impertinence,  he 
swaggers  into  the  play-ground,  and  tells  all 
the  little  fellows  that  there  has  been  a  'row/ 
that  is  to  say,  a  controversy  between  him  and 
the  masters.  Really  I  do  not  see  what  Stultus 
has  to  boast  of  because  the  rod  that  birched  him 
has    actually  fifteen   twigs,    any    more   than    a 


THE  "RIVULET"  CONTROVERSY.     269 

faithless  soldier  would  have  that  he  was  to  be 
'executed'  by  a  platoon  of  fifteen  fellow-soldiers, 
comrades  in  name,  but  of  another  and  a  braver 
spirit.  Any  one  bullet  would  do  the  business ; 
the  Platoon  of  Fifteen  does  but  give  the 
transaction  more  solemnity  and  moral  effect. 
Well,  the  Controversy  being  thus  originated, 
Mr.  Grant,  after  'execution,'  is  ten  times  more 
alive  than  ever,  and  'edition  after  edition'  of 
his  pamphlet  '  is  flying  through  the  air  like 
wildfire,'  at  least  so  says  the  Christian  Cabinet  in 
its  fifth  notice.  Wildfire  truly.  Fatuns  etferox. 
During  the  happy  months  of  May  and  April 
last,  at  many  an  Evangelical  tea-table  this 
pamphlet  was  as  good  as — or  as  bad  as — brandy 
in  the  tea.  But,  after  all,  the  Evangelical 
world  had  not  yet  got  the  '  real  thing,'  the 
'pure  Glenlivet.'  The  man  whose  'force,'  and 
'  temper,'  and  '  candour,'  like  his  '  length,' 
'breadth,'  'height,'  conspire  to  make  him  an 
individual  of  truly  portentous  dimensions,  now 
comes  on  the  scene. 

"  Sound  the  trumpets,  beat  the  drums, 
Clash  the  gongs,  great  Magog  comes  : 


170  MEMOIR  OF  T.    T.   LYNCH. 

Shout  according  to  your  manner, 
Ye  who  bear  his  dusky  banner. 
Black  it  is,  with  gory  stains, 
Praise  him  in  your  harshest  strains  : 
He  is  King  of  wrath  and  clamour, 
And  his  sign — The  brazen  hammer. 

"Truly  may  slain  and  wounded  reputations 
cry  out  against  the  Rev.  Dr.  Campbell,  'Oh 
earth,  cover  not  thou  our  blood.5  His  track, 
like  that  of  the  simoom,  is  marked  by  his 
victims.  He  hath  shown  no  mercy.  He  even 
flatters  without  mercy,  when  flattery  is  his  cue. 
This  '  distinguished '  person,  this  man  of  Union, 
at  least  of  the  Union,  now  takes  the  field. 
Napoleon  dismisses  his  subaltern  and  appears 
himself.  Exit  Grant ;  enter  Campbell.  He 
came  forward  softly  at  the  first,  much  as  if 
Satan  should  present  himself  in  a  dress  coat, 
with  his  tail  hid  in  the  pocket.  He  talked 
sweetly  of  peace  and  love  :  '  cooed '  plentifully, 
although  suspiciously.  The  Rev.  Doctor,  '  in 
the  prosecution  of  his  truth-seeking  and  peace- 
making enterprise,'  puts  his  hat  over  his  horns  ; 
but  though  the  brim  was  broad,  the  wind  was 
high.     Off  went   the   hat,  and  the  well-known 


THE  "RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.     171 

horns  were  revealed.  Specimens  of  the  Doctor's 
professional  '  goodwill '  to  myself  abound  in 
his  pamphlet  called  '  Nonconformist  Theology.' 
This  consists  of  articles  which,  having  been 
first  published  in  the  Banner  during  April  and 
May,  were  then  collected  together,  and  then 
sold  to  those  who  would  buy  them,  and  dis- 
tributed to  those  who  would  not.  It  is  to  this 
pamphlet,  in  connection  with  another  entitled 
'  Negative  Theology,'  that  two  publications 
called  *  Songs  Controversial '  and  '  The  Ethics 
of  Quotation,'  by  Silent  Long,  relate.  I  must 
refer  the  reader  to  these  *  Songs '  and  '  Ethics ' 
for  my  fuller  opinion  of  Dr.  Campbell's  writings. 
By  this  time,  he  will  understand,  that  is,  by  the 
middle  of  May,  the  controversial  melee  had 
become  pretty  general.  Almost  all  ' religious' 
parties  '  came  to  words '  about  it  then,  or  have 
done  so  since.  Even  the  High  Churchman 
condescended  to  look  down  from  his  tiptop 
elevation  to  see  what  was  the  matter,  though  he 
by  no  means  condescended  to  learn  the  '  utter- 
most of  the  matter.'  He  merely  said  it  was  a 
<  row '  among  the  Dissenters,  and,  turning  to  his 


172  MEMOIR  OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

clerical  neighbour,  sipped  his  port  complacently. 
The  whole  of  what  is  known  as  the  '  Noncon- 
formist Press  of  the  Capital'  Dr.  Campbell 
confesses  was  against  him.  The  Nonconformist, 
the  Freeman,  the  Patriot,  the  Christian  Weekly 
News,  the  Empire,  the  Wesley  an  Times,  &c.,  and 
many  other  Journals,  Reviews,  and  Magazines, 
town  and  country,  were  all  for  the  '  Rivulet ; ' 
the  whole  spirit  and  stress  of  their  articles  in 
favour  of  the  Fifteen,  and  against  the  assailants. 
I  for  the  hour,  as  I  said  to  a  correspondent,  bore 
the  Flag ;  at  me  the  arrows  flew,  and  therefore 
around  me  the  brave  rallied.  But,  oh !  the 
queer  '  theological '  characters  that  looked  forth 
all  grease  and  grimace  from  their  several  Caves 
of  Adullam.  And,  oh !  the  general  shudder  of 
suspicion  that  went  through  the  country,  against 
not  me  only,  but  (which  affected  me  much  more) 
the  gentlemen  who,  for  Truth's  sake,  had  en- 
countered obloquy.  It  may  well  give  me  just 
pleasure  to  have  now  an  opportunity  of  acknow- 
ledging respectfully  the  generous  goodwill  and 
firm,  quiet  courage  they  have  shown.  They  will 
not   regret   their   course.     The   air  will  be   the 


THE  "  RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.    173 

clearer  for  this  storm.  The  day  will  be  brought 
at  least  a  little  nearer,  when  all  iniquity  will 
stop  her  mouth.  Men  will  have  more  liberty 
to  love  one  another,  notwithstanding  differ- 
ences ;  and  the  result  will  be,  that  differences 
will  grow  less  and  agreement  greater.  The 
provinces  of  Religion  and  Theology  will  be 
more  fairly  and  more  beneficially  distinguished. 
Men  will  see  that  those  who  vaunt  their 
Theology  against  other  men's  religion  have  not 
even  that  truly  of  which  they  make  their  boast. 
Nothing  in  the  progress  of  this  painful  but 
auspicious  '  Controversy '  has  been  more  notice- 
able than  the  utter  lack  of  quiet  insight,  as  well 
as  of  justice  and  kindness,  in  the  '  Theological ' 
champions  and  assailants.  As  to  their  '  theo- 
logy,' really,  to  a  man  like  myself,  who,  what- 
ever his  crimes  may  be,  has  at  least,  as  the 
Protestors  say,  exercised  '  severe  and  patient 
thought,'  it  is  utterly  contemptible.  Their  fussy 
'service'  to  'theology'  is  like  that  of  under- 
takers' men  who,  in  dreary,  faded  black  attend 
'professionally'  around  a  corpse.  What  have 
they    done    to     make    anybody  truer,    kinder, 


i74  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

sedater,  and  more  tolerant?  They  talk  about 
the  claims  of  God's  justice ;  but  are  they  just  ? 
The  '  righteousness '  of  Christ  should  surely  issue 
in  the  righteousness  of  Christians.  It  is  not  the 
substitute  for  theirs,  but  the  cause  of  theirs.  I 
know  not  whether  the  reader  has  ever  observed, 
as  I  have,  a  singular  antagonism  of  pretension 
and  character.  The  few  people  whom  I  have 
known  to  obtrude  Love  in  their  discourse,  have 
all  either  been  stingy  or  ill-natured ;  and  I 
have  heard  of  a  most  unjust  man  who  had 
continually  in  his  mouth  the  words, '  Fiat  justitia 
ruat  ccbIuvi!  Beware  always  of  a  man  who  is 
a  great  partisan  for  Theology.  Depend  upon  it, 
like  the  Editors  of  the  Record,  and  Banner,  and 
Advertiser,  he  knows  nothing  at  all  about  it. 
What  presumption  it  is  for  these  men,  in  their 
hurrying,  talking,  unmeditative  life,  to  attempt 
to  school  the  studious  and  thoughtful.  Why, 
there  is  a  hundred  times  more  *  theology '  in  the 
4  Fifteen,'  to  say  nothing  of  religion,  than  in  all 
the  Editors  and  Scribes  put  together  that  have 
attacked  them. 

"  Amongst  the  oddities  of  this  Controversy,  the 


THE  "  RIVULET"   CONTROVERSY.    175 

conduct  of  the  Christian  Cabinet  deserves  a  word 
or  two.  Did  the  reader  ever  hear  of  the  Chris- 
tian Cabinet  ?*  Truly  it  is  a  cabinet  not  without 
curiosities.  It  is  a  little  penny  journal,  just  big 
enough  to  make  a  paper  boat  of  to  swim  for  a 
moment's  sport,  and  then  perish.  The  wind  is 
very  inconstant,  but  not  so  variable  as  this 
paper,  which,  indeed,  changes  its  mind,  like 
the  wind  its  direction,  without  any  very  dis- 
coverable reason.  On  December  28,  1855,  just 
after  the  appearance  of  the  '  Rivulet,'  its  opinion 
was  that  the  volume  abounded  with  passages 
adapted  '  to  brighten  and  exhilarate  the  mind — 
to  recover  it  when  it  is  losing  the  proper  tone  of 
feeling — to  exalt  it  with  happy,  holy  thoughts — 
to  clothe  the  waste  and  desolate  places  of  the 
soul  with  fruitfulness  and  verdure,  and  prepare 
it  for  doing  brave  battle  amidst  the  trials  and 
discouragements  of  daily  life.'  The  Cabinet 
quoted    three    hymns    in    illustration   of    these 

*  "  The  Cabinet  is  getting  now  a  little  more  self-consistent.  Its 
conduct  towards  me  has  been  ridiculous.  But  wishing  it,  under  its 
new  management,  more  wisdom,  I  can  heartily  wish  it,  as  wiser,  a 
good  success. 


176  MEMOIR   OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

sentiments,  and  concluded,  as  well  it  might,  by 
*  cordially  wishing  the  volume  a  wide  circula- 
tion/ But  on  March  21  the  Cabinet  discovered 
that  it  had  never  seen  the  volume,  and  on  May 
16,  called  it  'a  little  penny  rattle  of  rhymery, 
by  one  Mr.  Lynch.'  This  was  somewhat  of  a 
descent  both  for  it  and  me.  However,  when 
things  get  to  the  worst,  they  begin  to  mend. 
So  on  May  23,  out  came  '  Mine  Opinion/  that 
is  to  say,  Mr.  Spurgeon's  opinion,  which  was 
communicated  to  the  world  through  this  impor- 
tant organ.  Mr.  Spurgeon  acknowledged  that 
he  could  '  scarce  see  into  the  depths  where 
lurked  the  essence  of  the  matter.'  'Perhaps 
the  hymns/  said  he,  'are  not  the  fair  things 
that  they  seem.'  He  saw  enough  in  the  '  glis- 
tening eyes '  of  the  mermaids  to  suspect  they 
might  have  a  fishy  body  and  a  snaky  tail.  But 
he  confessed  that  he  did  not  see  the  said  tail. 
In  fact  it  lay  too  deep  for  him  to  see,  or  for 
anybody  else.  This  Review  of  Mr.  Spurgeon's 
enjoys  the  credit  with  me  of  being  the  only 
thing  on  his  side — that  is,  against  me — that 
was  impertinent,  without  being  malevolent.     It 


THE  "RIVULET"  CONTROVERSY.     177 

evinced  far  more  ability  and  appreciation  than 
Grant  or  Campbell  had  done,  and  indicated  a 
man  whose  eyes,  if  they  do  not  get  blinded 
with  the  fumes  of  that  strong,  but  unwholesome, 
incense,  Popularity,  may  glow  with  a  heavenlier 
brightness  than  it  seems  to  me  they  have  yet 
done.  Mr.  Spurgeon  concluded  by  remarking, 
that  '  the  old  faith  must  be  triumphant/  in 
which  I  entirely  agree  with  him,  doubting  only 
whether  he  is  yet  old  enough  in  experience  of 
the  world's  sorrows  and  strifes  to  know  what 
the  old  faith  really  is.  He  says,  *  we  shall  soon 
have  to  handle  truth  not  with  kid  gloves,  but 
with  gauntlets — the  gauntlets  of  holy  courage 
and  integrity.'  Ay,  that  we  shall,  and  some  of 
us  now  do.  And,  perhaps,  the  man  who  has  a 
soul  that  '  fights  to  music,' 

'  Calm  'mid  the  bewildering  cry, 
Confident  of  victory,' 

is  the  likeliest  to  have  a  hand  with  a  grip  for 
battle  and  a  grasp  for  friendship  alike  strong 
and  warm.  Mr.  Spurgeon  spoke  on  May  25  ; 
and  now  in  October  the  Cabinet  scarce  knows 
what  to  think.     A  week  or  two  ago  it  compared 

N 


178  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

me  to  Apollos,  and  recommended  Priscilla  and 
Aquila  to  invite  me  to  tea,  and  'teach  me  the 
way  of  the  Lord  more  perfectly.'  And  in  the 
last  number  that  I  have  seen,  it  expresses  a 
hope  that  I  '  shall  turn  out  well/  I  am  sure  I 
hope  I  shall,  and  that  soon,  and  the  Controversy 
too,  for  time  loiters  not.  Time  loiters  not :  this 
very  afternoon  the  autumn  leaves  have  crackled 
under  my  feet  in  the  now  early  twilight.  The 
dahlias  droop  pensively.  And  from  the  creeper, 
whose  green  branches  I  trained  in  spring,  the 
red  leaves  have  nearly  all  fallen.  Time  loiters 
not.  I,  the  much-abused  '  stripling,'  am  close 
on  my  fortieth  year.  To  think  of  it  stops  my 
breath  and  my  pen,  and  rather  fills  my  eyes  than 
my  paper.  I  have  both  suffered  and  succeeded 
in  such  ways  that  indifference  and  ardour  now 
attemper  one  another.  '  Dissent '  cannot  do  me 
much  more  harm  than  it  has  done.  As  I  stand 
in  a  cathedral,  I  say,  'Ah,  how  glorious  you 
would  be  were  it  not  for  the  clergy  ; '  and  then 
I  add,  ■  you  are  grand  enough  to  rest  patient  for 
a  century  or  two  ;  you  are  a  tomb  now,  you  will 
be  a  shrine  by-and-by  ;  you  wait  for  worshippers, 


THE  "  RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.    179 

and  shall  not  wait  vainly.  The  "old"  spirit 
shall  some  day  be  the  "  new,"  seeing  that  Truth 
and  glory  are  eternal.'  But  /  am  loitering, 
which  should  not  be,  seeing  that  I  must  hasten 
to  end  this  Review.  Well,  then,  reader,  in  the 
spirit  of  a  'fine  old  English  Dissenter/ — and  I 
assure  you,  if  you  are  not  cognizant  of  the  fact, 
that  our  Independent  grandfathers  were  as  grand 
in  their  way  as  any  cathedral, — let  me  ask  you 
to  accompany  me  to  the  Milton  Club.  On  the 
1 8th  of  May  was  held  there  a  Meeting  of  the  Con- 
gregational Union,  which,  possibly,  may  prove 
its  last,  or  the  last  of  the  Union  as  it  now  is. 
Possibly,  I  say ;  for  to  conjecture  is  human,  but  to 
prophesy,  divine.  On  the  previous  Tuesday,  Mr. 
Baldwin  Brown  had,  in  the  open  meeting  of  the 
Union,  protested  against  Dr.  Campbell's  treat- 
ment of  Mr.  Lynch,  and  been  sustained  by 
applause,  prompt,  full,  fervent.  On  the  Satur- 
day, 'the  brethren'  held  a  private  conference. 
They  talked  the  Controversy  over,  and  imagined 
that  they  had  bound  their  Samson  with  the  '  new 
cords '  of  a  Promise  that  he  should  slay  no  more 
victims  with    his  favourite  weapon.      Sincerely 


i8o  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

do  I  believe  that  many  present  desired  things 
pure  as  well  as  peaceable.  I  not  the  less  regret 
some  things  said  then  ;  nor  should  I  have  been 
satisfied  had  Dr.  Campbell  kept  the  promise  he 
was  understood  to  make.  The  feeling  of  the 
meeting,  I  have  been  again  and  again  told,  was 
unanimous  against  his  publishing  in  a  pamphlet 
what  he  had  issued  against  me  in  his  Banner. 
But  that  was  no  full  redress  to  me  for  being 
victimised  by  the  Union's  unscrupulous  Editor. 
It  was  partial  redress,  inasmuch  as  it  was  at 
least  a  semi-public  and  influential  protest 
against  Dr.  Campbell's  course.  The  Union 
was  content,  Pilate-like,  to  scourge  me  and 
let  me  go.  They  did  not  wish  to  press  matters 
to  extremity.  But,  then,  why  should  I  be 
scourged  ?  Why  should  I  be  beaten  openly, 
uncondemned  by  any  lawful  authority,  nay, 
after  having  been  justified  and  honoured  by 
such  authority  ?  The  firmest  front  should  have 
been  shown  against  Dr.  Campbell's  whole  pro- 
cedure. It  was  not.  And  in  this — I  say  it 
regretfully  and  respectfully  —  Mr.  Binney,  I 
think,    was    not   'himself.'      I    must    refer  the 


THE  "RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.    181 

reader  to  Mr.  Binney's  letter  to  the  members 
of  the  Congregational  Union  for  a  full  account 
of  what  he  said  at  this  meeting.  The  letter  is 
most  temperate  and  gentlemanly.  Dr.  Camp- 
bell's rejoinder  to  it  in  a  series  of  Articles,  re- 
published under  the  title  *  Negative  Theology,' 
is  in  utter  and  in  most  discreditable  contrast  to 
it.  But  when  Mr.  Binney  says,  '  It  was  an 
error' — of  the  Author's — '  to  call  his  poems 
hymns ;  and  it  is  an  error  to  use  them  as  such 
in  Public  Worship,'  he  admits  an  error  which  I 
very  calmly  and  very  firmly  deny  to  be  one ; 
and  makes  a  concession  to  the  enemy  which  I 
am  sure  he  never  would  have  done  had  he  heard 
the  hymns  sung.  But  suppose  there  was  such 
an  error  on  my  part ;  what  had  that  to  do  with 
the  Criticisms  (!)  with  which  I  was  favoured?  / 
had  not  published  '  The  Rivulet '  for  congrega- 
tional use.  I  was,  at  least,  too  '  old '  for  a  folly 
like  that.  With  my  own  congregation  I  made 
a  private  arrangement,  satisfactory  to  them  and 
to  me.*     To  the  public  the  book  went  forth  as  a 

*  "We  usually  sing  one  hymn  from  the  '  Rivulet'  at  a  service. 
On  the  introduction  of  the  Book,  I  delivered  a  Lecture  on  the  Life 
and  Times  of  our  honoured  Psalmist,  Dr.  Watts. 


1 82  MEMOIR  OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

book  of  Hymns  for  perusal,  out  of  which  the 
Churches  might  gradually  adopt  such  hymns  as 
seemed  to  them  best  fitted  for  general  worship. 
Mr.  Binney  spoke,  too,  of  the  Protest  as  an 
error :  '  Things  had  been  better  left  to  take  their 
own  course.'  But  was  this  the  opinion  of  the 
Fifteen  ?  Is  it  now  the  opinion  of  the  more 
thoughtful  part  of  the  Public  ?  Considerate 
men  are  now  saying,  '  This  Controversy  was 
necessary  for  the  discovery  of  the  intolerance 
and  fierce  tyrannic  ignorance  of  the  Religious 
World.5  The  Protestors  have,  indeed,  done  a 
real  Protestant  work.  Dr.  Campbell,  Caiaphas- 
like,  used  words  true  (at  least  partially)  in  a 
sense  other  than  he  supposed,  when  he  said  of 
the  Controversy,  that  *  Nothing  like  it  had 
occurred  within  the  memory  of  the  present 
generation  ;  or,  perhaps,  since  the  days  of  the 
Reformation/  Has  Mr.  Binney,  then,  with- 
drawn from  the  Protest  ?  No,  assuredly.  His 
references  to  myself  and  to  the  reviewers  prove 
that.  He  was — with  generous  intentions,  but 
with  not  enough  cf  caution  as  regards  the  cause 
represented  in  my  person — too  conciliatory  to- 


THE  "  RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY,    183 

wards  Dr.  Campbell  and  his  party.  I  stand  by 
my  Book.  I  have  published  much  beside  the 
'  Rivulet.'  But  had  I  no  other  book  to  offer  to 
the  public,  I  should  confidently  say,  Judge  the 
man  by  the  book,  is  he  not  a  Christian  ?  You 
would  require,  indeed,  to  know  the  man  before 
you  could  say,  having  read  this  hymn  and  the 
other,  his  doctrinal  opinions  are  such  and  such. 
But  take  the  whole  book ;  and  then  I  ask  could 
any  other  than  a  Christian  have  written  it  ? 
Take  its  parts,  and  then  I  ask,  is  there  one 
hymn  unbeseeming  a  Christian,  or  which  does 
not  receive,  as  to  the  Author's  opinions,  sacred 
and  illustrative  light  from  its  companions  r 
Having  expressed  my  regret  that  Mr.  Binney's 
course  at  this  meeting  was  not  somewhat  dif- 
ferent, how  can  I  but  also  express  my  sense  of 
the  service  he  has  rendered  to  '  our '  cause  by 
the  distinction  of  his  name,  and  my  sorrow  that 
he  should  have  been  exposed  to  the  vulgar 
indignities  of  the  British  Banner  ?  Leaving  it 
to  another  time  and  to  another  hand  to  offer, 
whatever  a  sour  or  even  a  fair  Criticism  may 
wish  to  offer  in  abatement  of  Mr.  Binney's  just 


1 84  MEMOIR  OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

praise,  I  say — What  in  him,  or  any  other 
honoured  man,  is  the  chaff  which  the  wind 
driveth  away,  to  the  wheat  which  giveth  seed  to 
the  sower  and  bread  to  the  eater  ?  Mr.  Binney 
has  been  a  Religious  Power,  not  in  London 
Nonconformity  alone,  but  in  London  life.  In  his 
broad  humanity,  and  in  his  devout  adherence 
to  that  elementary  Christian  truth  which,  be- 
cause elementary,  is  also  profound,  he  has  been 
strong,  and  of  his  '  fulness  '  many  have  received. 
Many  a  single  sermon  of  his  has  had  more 
pentecostal  force  in  it  than  a  whole  shower  of 
'  articles '  easily  written  and  easily  forgotten. 
And  now  he  is  of  ripening  years.  Of  a  good 
fame,  settled  on  too  secure  foundations  to  be 
wrenched  from  its  '  hold '  by  the  assaults  of  the 
Banner  and  its  '  company ; '  but  of  a  heart  still 
young  enough  to  be  noble,  and  therefore  able  to 
feel  an  indignity  that  it  is  yet  able  also  to  sus- 
tain ;  I  believe  that,  so  far  from  regretting  his 
championship  of  myself  and  of  the  cause  which 
I  represent,  Mr.  Binney,  the  more  he  inquires, 
the  more  will  be  confirmed  and  satisfied.  How 
then,  reader,  stands  the  Controversy  now  ?     On 


THE  "RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.    185 

the  23rd  September  a  private  meeting  of  some 
principal  members  of  the  Union  was  held  in 
London.  For  nearly  twelve  hours  was  the 
'  Controversy '  debated.  The  usual  autumnal 
meeting  of  that  Union  will  not  be  held  this 
year.  'Peace/  it  is  feared,  cannot  be  main- 
tained. Newspaper  articles  in  their  varieties 
are  still  appearing,  and  opinions  are  being 
offered  or  obtruded  according  to  the  temper 
of  the  man  whose  they  are.  My  own  name, 
of  course,  has  been,  and  is,  very  promi- 
nent in  these  wrangles  and  discussions,  but 
I  wish  particularly  to  warn  the  reader  against 
a  mistake.  This  is  not,  as  it  has  been 
called,  the  ' Lynch'  Controversy.  It  is,  in 
the  principles  concerned,  your  own  contro- 
versy, reader — the  controversy  of  the  modern 
Church ;  the  controversy  of  Jesus  Christ.  The 
real  question  has  never  been,  whether  a  par- 
ticular book  is  or  is  not  adapted  for  use  in 
public  worship.  The  '  Rivulet '  was  never  offered 
to  the  churches  as  in  itself  a  sufficient  book 
of  song.  Whether  or  no  the  majority  of  its 
hymns  are  suited  for  public  use  is  no  doubt  a 


1 86  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

question  of  some  interest.  And  I  shall  not 
assume  the  language  of  that  humility  which 
is  but  a  veiled  egotism,  and  speak  as  if  I 
undervalued  them,  considered  in  that  respect. 
I  do  not.  I  believe  their  value  for  worship 
to  be  real,  and  leave  the  reader  to  put  it 
high  or  low  as  he  pleases.  But  a  much  more 
important  question  is,  whether  the  book  is  a 
Christian  book.  If  God  has  been  pleased  to 
try  a  great  question  of  Spiritual  Liberty,  making 
the  publication  of  my  book  the  i  case  '  on  which 
the  question  should  be  raised  for  trial,  people 
of  course  must  examine  the  book  if  they  would 
get  the  full  advantage  of  the  first  special 
inquiry.  But  the  question  in  the  highest  view 
of  it  is  one  that  far  transcends  in  importance 
the  estimate  of  a  book  or  of  a  man.  It  con- 
cerns the  liberty  which  men  and  churches  have 
in  Christ  Jesus.  Are  we  to  enjoy  God's  own 
sacred  permissions,  and  serve  Him  '  in  the  new- 
ness of  the  spirit,  and  not  in  the  oldness  of  the 
letter '  ?  We  have  our  rights  as  against  usurp- 
ing churches  and  '  doctors.'  Our  rights  are 
God's  grants  ;  grants  righteously  and  mercifully 


THE  "RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.    187 

made.  They  are  franchises  of  that  celestial  city, 
in  whose  roll  of  citizenship  our  names  are 
entered,  though  we  are  out  on  a  holy  warfare 
in  a  far  and  foreign  land.  We  must  defend 
our  franchise  for  the  sake  of  our  brethren,  who 
are  or  may  yet  be  enslaved.  Wonderful  is  the 
disclosure  that  the  last  nine  months  have  made 
to  me  of  the  love  of  giving  pain,  the  envious 
contempt,  the  intolerant  ignorance,  that  prevail 
in  so-called  Christian  Churches.  It  is  as  if 
Christ  had  become  a  name  to  curse  by.  The 
Goliaths  of  the  creeds  looking  on  me  disdained 
me  and  cursed  me  in  the  name  of  their  gods. 
And  why  ? — because  my  God  is  Christ,  and 
not  creed  about  him.  I  have  had  often  in 
this  journal  and  elsewhere  to  speak  of  the 
use  of  creeds  as  well  as  of  their  abuse.  But 
surely  the  abuse  has  been  and  is  now  so 
frightful  that  we  may  represent  creeds,  as 
saying  of  Christ,  'This  is  the  heir,  come,  let 
us  kill  him,  that  the  inheritance  may  be  ours.' 
The  inheritance  shall  not  be  theirs !  The  in- 
heritance is  Christ's,  and  shall  be.  When 
people  call  you  Christless,  they  often  mean  no 


1 88  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

more  than  that  you  are  creedless,  and  creed- 
less  only  in  the  sense  of  not  accepting  all 
their  phrases  about  truths  as  full  and  final, 
though  perhaps  you  understand  and  revere  and 
obey  these  truths  far  more  than  your  accusers. 
Christ  is  «the  Truth,  and  he  that  loves  the 
Truth  loves  truths.  There  is  no  fear  that  we 
shall  be  indifferent  to  truths,  if  we  be  thoughtful 
lovers  of  Christ  Jesus.  But  the  love  of  creeds 
is  not  the  love  of  truths  ;  it  is  the  proud  an- 
tagonist of  that  higher  love.  What  think  ye 
of  Christ?  Sirs,  ye  will  not  let  us  think  of 
Christ;  as  soon  as  we  tell  you  a  little  of  our 
thought  ye  strike  us  on  the  mouth.  Reader, 
we  must  guard  the  liberty  of  the  learner,  and 
that  we  shall  the  most  certainly  do  if  we  our- 
selves have  learned  Christ  in  the  exercise  of 
our  own  liberty.  I  do  not  myself  ask  tolerance 
from  the  orthodox,  as  if  I  were  only  in  an  early 
stage  of  thinking,  not  knowing  as  yet  unto 
what  principal  convictions  my  thoughts  would 
grow.  I  know  in  whom  I  have  believed,  and 
my  belief,  thank  God,  is  grounded  and  rooted, 
and  thereupon  are  both  buds   and  fruits.     But 


THE  "RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.     189 

I  affirm  it  to  be  my  right  and  duty  to  shield 
the  liberty  of  inquirers,  and  to  encourage  its 
exertion.  And  I,  for  one,  am  ready  to  fraternise 
with  men  who  are  not  in  my  view  as  orthodox 
as  myself.  And  I  am  willing  to  take  all  risks 
as  to  my  repute  with  the  '  orthodox,'  especially 
so  called,  so  self-named.  I  deny  their  orthodoxy. 
I  charge  them  with  heresy.  For  as  the  advocate 
of  a  regenerate  orthodoxy  I  distinguish  between 
heresy  of  the  mind  and  heresy  of  the  will.  If 
man  were  only  a  mind,  then  heresy  would  be 
simply  a  mental  failure,  and  would  admit,  if 
of  any,  only  of  a  mental  cure.  But  man  is 
more  than  a  mind.  And  heresy  may  be  a 
moral  fault  as  well  as  a  mental  failure.  The 
heretical  temper  is  that  of  a  man  whose  judg- 
ment is  angry  and  partial,  and  who  expresses 
his  opinions  with  obstinate,  arrogant  self-will. 
It  is  Orthodoxy  itself  then  that  is  the  great 
heretic.  Yes,  and  in  the  full  sense  of  the  word 
is  Orthodoxy  heretical.  Its  mind  is  wrong 
because  its  heart  is  not  right ;  the  very  truths 
it  knows  have  a  warped  and  incomplete  ex- 
pression,   because    of    its    self-will.       Both     in 


igo  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

temper  and  opinion  Orthodoxy  is  heretical. 
Many  a  man  wrong  in  opinion  is  right  in 
temper.  Many  there  are  who  would  have 
become  orthodox  if  only  the  orthodox  would 
have  let  them.  They  should  have  striven  more 
earnestly  against  their  spiritual  oppressors.  But 
their  weakness  does  not  excuse  these  oppressors 
for  such  wicked  exercise  of  strength.  If  an 
orthodox  man  be  a  proud  or  a  timorous  for- 
malist he  will  have  no  faith  in  the  men,  nor 
hope  for  them,  who  in  paths  diverging  from 
many  points  are  all  travelling  towards  the  one 
Zion.  Their  paths  are  inclined  to  one  another 
at  various  angles ;  their  distances  from  the 
common  centre  are  various  too,  but  they  are 
all  going  one  way.  And  the  heterodox  man, 
if  he  be  a  man  who  resents  the  disciplines  of 
Truth  as  well  as  the  formalities  of  Orthodoxy 
as  alike  shackles  on  his  self-will,  may  be  easily 
distinguished  for  the  wrong-headed  person  that 
he  is  by  the  lack  of  traveller's  zeal  to  get 
onward  to  the  true  goal.  He  may  be  looking 
the  right  way,  but  he  does  not  run  well,  nor 
indeed   run    at  all.      If,    wishing   to   be   indeed 


THE  "RIVULET"   CONTROVERSY.     191 

emancipated  from  the  bond  of  a  sectarian 
education,  and  to  possess  freely  all  that 
Christ's  wisdom  can  give  his  followers,  we  will 
but  consider  the  great  aims  of  a  holy  life,  and 
the  great  abiding  necessities  of  the  human 
nature  that  is  to  be  made  holy,  we  shall  hope- 
fully say,  the  Christianity  I  seek  for,  the  pure, 
powerful  truth,  can  be  no  new  thing.  This, 
that  is  to  save  me,  has  saved  thousands.  This, 
of  which  I  am  to  be  so  confident,  and  in  which 
I  am  to  be  so  glad,  has  given  confidence  and 
joy  to  my  brethren  through  many  an  age.  In 
the  conviction  that  there  are  cardinal  things, 
and  in  the  determination  to  seek  and  possess 
these,  and  to  regard  all  others  in  subordina- 
tion thereto,  consists  the  security  of  the  man 
who  thinks  freely.  There  is  no  freedom  of 
thought  which  can  be  without  damage  and 
disgrace,  except  that  which  corresponds,  both 
in  its  permissions  and  restraints,  to  freedom  of 
action.  We  are  not  free  to  act  against  recti- 
tude and  wisdom,  nor  free  to  think  forget- 
ful of  prime  truths  and  chief  necessities.  Once 
let    the    trusting    heart     be     united    to    Christ, 


1 92  MEMOIR  OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

so  that  of  the  works  of  obedient  faith  it  can 
say — 

'  Inspiring  Saviour,  unto  Thee 
My  work  I  give  in  fealty, 
Thy  life  I  have  and  seek — ' 

and  then  the  liberty  of  the  soul  in  all  studies 
of  God's  works  and  word  may  be  safely  granted, 
and  its  exercise  will  be  found  most  healthful  to 
the  believing-  man.  The  more  varieties  of 
thought  and  of  expression  there  are,  so  only 
that  variety  does  but  indicate  honest  and 
progressive  individual  action,  and  so  that  agree- 
ment of  holy  hearts  in  main  things  is  but  deep 
and  steady,  the  more  may  the  Church  rejoice. 
Let  life  be  various  as  universal,  if  universal  it  be 
in  its  derivation  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  through  the 
revealed  God  in  Jesus  Christ.  Then  to  receive 
a  man  who  talks  or  sings  in  a  new  manner,  or 
discourses  earnestly  on  certain  specialties  of 
religion  felt  by  him  more  than  by  others,  is  not 
to  receive  a  new  divinity,  false  as  old  ones,  into 
the  circle  of  these  accepted  '  vanities,'  but  to 
receive  a  new  saint  into  the  company  of  those 
who,  however  various  their  faces  may  be,  reflect 


THE  "RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.    193 

alike  the  ' light  of  His  countenance'  who  is  the 
central  object  of  trust  and  love.  Wherever 
there  is  an  over-care  about  the  acceptance  of 
certain  standards  understood  to  be  orthodox, 
there  the  great  practical  interests  of  righteous- 
ness are  likely  to  suffer.  Not  to  do  good,  not  to 
be  true,  kind,  patient,  and  faithful,  is  required, 
but  to  be  orthodox.  If  you  are  opinionative 
instead  of  convinced,  you  are  likely  to  put 
opinion  in  the  place,  not  of  conviction  only,  but 
of  goodness  too.  Orthodoxy  is  often  a  mere 
city  of  tombs,  and  its  angry  defenders  the 
maniacs  that  dwell  there,  and  who  cry,  We  live 
among  the  tombs,  why  cannot  you  r  and  then 
they  rush  on  us.  But,  oh  ye  poor  possessed 
ones !  let  us  cast  out  from  you  the  legion  spirits 
of  wrath  and  clamour,  and  you  will  live  quietly 
in  that  city  of  God,  the  Church,  where  Truths 
are  '  houses  not  made  with  hands,'  but  spacious 
and  strong,  because  heavenly.  That  temper  of 
mind  which  so  cavils  at  and  suspects  every- 
thing spoken  freely  of  matters  of  spiritual  faith, 
does  great  mischief  by  preventing  a  sweet  and 
broad  humanity  from  appearing  in  the  substance 

O 


194  MEMOIR  OF  T.    T.  LYNCH, 

and  tone  of  our  religious  teaching.  We  may 
actually  be  charged  with  heretical  perversions  of 
the  truth,  because  we  have  a  genuine  interest  of 
a  wide  sort  in  the  natural  satisfactions,  occupa- 
tions, hopes,  and  sorrows  of  man.  Surely  God 
cares  for  all  things  and  days  as  well  as  for  all 
creatures.  He  would  have  in  us  not  a  conceit 
about  to-day's  importance,  but  a  hearty  interest 
in  to-day's  concerns.  Yet  if  a  man  does  not 
keep  himself  close  to  the  petty  routine  of  pulpit 
usage,  if  he  leaves  the  wearying  and  withering 
punctilio  of  orthodoxy,  then  he  is  '  unsound ;  ' 
he  is  giving  people  other  food  than  the  simple 
bread  of  heaven.  In  escaping  from  official 
formalism  he  has  wandered  from  God.  To  be 
in  sympathy  with  what  is  human,  is  to  be  in 
remembrance,  often  very  sorrowful  remembrance, 
of  what  is  grievous  and  wicked,  but  it  is  to  be 
in  sympathy  too  with  what  awakens  enterprise, 
educates  affection,  gratifies  curiosity,  and  enter- 
tains and  refreshes  all  the  man.  If  any  one  is 
talking  eloquent  talk  about  liberty  and  pleasure, 
forgetting  the  malady  which  both  mars  with  its 
pain  and  corrupts  with  its  spreading  unhealthi- 


THE  "  RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.      195 

ness,  we  must  rebuke  him,  and  withdraw  from 
his  influence  to  a  better.  For  wisdom  looks  to 
present  need,  and  will  not,  to  engage  in  mental 
sports,  leave  the  heart's  sorrow  and  craving- 
sickness  uncared  for.  But  how  can  a  wide  and 
really  sympathetic  humanity  do  otherwise  than 
make  us  earnestly  affirm  and  exhibit  those 
controlling  and  consolatory  truths  which  make 
the  chief  part  of  an  orthodoxy  that  is  really 
worth  caring  for  and  defending  ?  The  earliest 
test  of  orthodoxy  was  the  love  of  Christ,  and  no 
later  will  prove  a  better.  If  we  love  Christ  we 
shall  love  men  ;  if  our  humanity  is  broad  and 
deep  we  shall  love  Christ  the  better,  for  such 
was  his.  Without  freedom  and  sympathy  of 
soul,  our  creed  will  inevitably  come  to  live  only 
in  the  superficial  region  of  our  nature.  It  will 
be,  not  the  delight  of  our  soul,  but  the  shield  of 
our  respectability.  It  will  be  our  mere  *  dress 
of  society.'  We  shall  go  out  *  dressed '  therein 
to  the  soirees  and  dinners  of  the  '  religious 
world/  It  will  not  be  for  the  discovery  of  our 
true  character,  but  for  the  hiding  rather  of  what 
we    are,   by   the   obtrusive  avowal   of  what  we 


196  MEMOIR   OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

would  be  thought.  Let  him  that  thinketh  he 
standeth,  and  that  in  the  sacred  enclosure  of 
divine  doctrine,  take  heed  lest  he  hold  the  truth 
in  its  worldly  power  instead  of  its  heavenly  ;  for 
respectability  rather  than  salvation ;  in  com- 
placency with  it  as  his,  rather  than  in  the  love 
of  it  as  God's.  Sloth,  Fear,  and  Jealousy  are 
three  chief  guardians  of  a  spurious  orthodoxy- 
Sloth  hates  the  honest  exertion  for  which 
personal  conviction  calls ;  Fear  hates  the 
questioning  spirit  which  it  is  so  hard  to  rule 
and  which  is  certain  to  claim,  and  justly  claim, 
somewhat  the  granting  of  which  orthodoxy  feels 
as  loss ;  and  Jealousy  hates  the  display  of  moral 
and  intellectual  powers  which  challenge  respect, 
win  what  they  challenge,  and  put  to  shame 
those  who  boast  more,  but  own  less.  That  man 
is  the  best  conservative  of  the  faith  who  is 
conservative  of  His  love  in  whom  the  faith  has 
its  origin,  and  who  seeks  by  '  faith '  those  ends, 
namely,  the  restoration  of  human  beings  to 
righteousness  and  happiness,  and  their  estab- 
lishment therein,  at  which  He  aims.  Christ,  as 
a  Person,  gives  at  once  clearness  and  fulness  to 


THE  "RIVULET"  CONTROVERSY.      197 

our  Christianity.  'Principal  things  about  a 
Person ,'  I  have  said  in  the  'Letters  to  the 
Scattered/  '  are  more  simply  and  effectively 
spoken  than  about  a  doctrine  expressed  in  terms 
of  the  intellect  alone ;  while  yet  the  subject  is 
less  exhaustible,  and  the  discourse  on  it  may  be 
far  more  various.  Indeed,  a  Divine  Person  is  an 
inexhaustible  subject.  If  Christ  be  such  a  Person, 
then  He  hath  the  pre-eminence;  and  if  He  hath 
not  the  pre-eminence,  should  He,  can  He,  con- 
tinue to  have  the  prominence  ? '  We  are  servants 
of  Christ — students  of  wisdom.  The  service  is 
simple  as  it  is  great ;  the  field  of  study  open  as 
it  is  wide,  and  productive  as  it  is  open.  I  am 
continually  teaching  that  the  spirit  of  Christ  is 
the  spirit  of  character,  and  that  if  we  live  by 
Him,  we  live  like  Him.  And  here  I  may  quote  a 
few  words  from  Mr.  Porter's  l  Lectures  on  Inde- 
pendency.' This  gentleman  is  my  brother-in- 
law  ;  and  Dr.  Campbell  speaks  of  us  as  the  two 
'  Iconoclastic  brothers.'*     The  peculiarity  of  Mr. 

*  "Mr.  Porter  is  not  only  my  relative,  but  my  senior  and 
honoured  friend.  Why,  then,  should  I  not  have  liberty  to  say  that 
his  recently  published  *  Lectures  on  the  Ecclesiastical  System  of 


iq8  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

Porter's  '  destructiveness,'  the  words  I  quote  will 
indicate.  Speaking  of  association  in  a  church, 
and  the  conditions  of  membership,  he  says,  '  For 
a  confidence  based  chiefly,  or  to  a  large  and 
perceptible  extent,  on  avowed  community  in 
creed,  I  would  substitute  a  confidence  based  on 
a  man's  apparent  ruling  tendencies,  inclinations, 
and  either  incipient  or  ripened  sympathies ; 
confidence  in  personal  character,  on  a  general 
profession  of  faith  in  Christ,  taking  the  place 
of  confidence  in  statements  of  dogmas  and 
accounts  of  spiritual  experience.  Each  of  these 
bases  may  include  somewhat  of  the  other ;  but 
they  are  sufficiently  distinct  to  be  popularly 
described  as,  The  one,  Manifest  general  cha- 
racter guaranteeing  the  soundness  of  a  general 
Christian  profession  ;  and  the  other,  Statements 
of  things  invisibly  believed,  and  of  experience 
invisibly  felt,  apparently  so  correct  as  to 
guarantee  the  general  character'  (pp.  260,  261). 

the  Independents '  are  distinguished  by  power  and  Catholicity  ? 
The  reader,  whether  he  agrees  or  differs,  can  scarce  but  be  benefited 
by  their  perusal.  The  acknowledged  orthodoxy,  too,  of  Mr.  Porter's 
creed  gives  all  the  more  force  to  the  words  quoted  above. 


THE  "RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.      199 

Tried  by  the  tests  which  thus  best  exhibit  fitness 
for  membership  in  a  particular  church,  I  think 
the  Theological  opponents  of  the  '  Rivulet '  and 
of  the  '  Fifteen '  certainly  show  their  unfitness 
for  leadership  in  the  Church  general !  They  are 
the  advocates  of  prescription  and  of  slavery. 
Their  *  incipient  or  ripened  sympathies '  are 
rather  with  literal  creeds  than  the  spiritual 
Christ.  Those  of  the  Fifteen  who  best  knew 
me  testified  to  a  conscious  union  with  me  in 
common  Christian  sympathies.  Yet  this  our 
opponents  and  their  adherents  counted  as 
nothing,  nay,  as  '  less  than  nothing  and  vanity.' 
'  But  his  doctrines  ;  what  of  his  doctrines  ? ' 
they  cried  :  as  if  Christian  sympathy  could  be 
real  and  Christian  doctrine  wholly  discrepant. 
Christian  sympathy  is  a  much  better  guarantee 
for  unison  in  the  tone  of  feeling  about  prime 
Christian  truth,  than  an  orthodoxy  professed  in 
common  is  for  a  union  in  works  of  love  and 
righteousness.  I  retort  upon  my  adversaries 
their  own  charge  :  they  are  unsound.  The  truth 
is  not  in  their  heart,  or  it  would  be  in  their  eyes, 
and  they  would  see  proofs  of  a  '  Christian  trust,' 


200  MEMOIR  OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

such  as  can  only  come  by  a  meditative  and 
appropriative  study  of  Christ.  They  must  be 
deliteralized,  and  use  their  tongues  less,  and 
their  hearts  more,  before  there  will  be  any 
'  soundness  '  in  them.  Their  heart  is  not  sound 
in  God's  truthful  statutes  ;  and  till  it  becomes 
so,  their  minds  will  never  see  and  teach  *  sound 
doctrine'  as  to  the  truth.  As  long  as  ' ortho- 
doxy' is  a  word  whose  chief  use  lies  in  its 
abuse,  I  will  neither  guarantee  any  one  as  or- 
thodox, nor  accept  a  guarantee  myself.  When 
I  find  a  man  quite  wise,  I  will  believe  that  it  is 
possible  to  be  quite  orthodox.  I  firmly  believe 
myself  to  be  more  orthodox  than  my  accusers ; 
and  I  highly  value  scientific  theology,  of  which, 
except  as  a  thing  of  '  words  and  names,'  I 
believe  them  to  be  grossly  ignorant.  But  I  will 
not,  oh  reader,  offer  to  you  any  creed  whatever, 
as  my  ultimatum,  or  as  what  I  recommend  for 
yours.  I  have  ever  spoken  out  freely  what  I 
believe,  being  bold,  because  cautious.  For 
when  a  man  is  pretty  sure  of  what  he  has  to 
say,  he  may  be  pretty  free  in  his  manner  of 
saying  it.     Variety  of  expression  is  the  neces- 


THE  "  RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY,      zd 

sary  result  of  individual  reflection  on  the 
common  truth.  Unity  in  chief  things  is  best 
illustrated  by  the  free  activity  of  a  formative 
opinion  as  to  things  secondary  or  as  yet 
undetermined.  I  have  much  yet  to  say,  but 
I  must  not  now  say  more.  Opportunities  will 
arise  for  communicating  with  that  portion  of  the 
public  that  is  willing  to  hear  me.  I  have  often 
had  to  protest  against  things  called  Christian, 
but  I  have  ever  done  so  in  the  name  of  Christ. 
A  ' worldly'  protest  against  'spiritual'  evil  is 
often  necessary,  but  always  insufficient.  We 
must  protest  as  Christ's  disciples  and  soldiers, 
and  in  his  name,  against  things  and  men  that 
assume  that  name,  but  possess  not  his  spirit. 
And  now  I  respectfully  commend  to  you  the 
'  Rivulet '  as  what  it  is — a  rivulet.  I  ask  from 
you  honour  for  the  Fifteen.  They  are  faithful 
men.  I  have  not  separately  named  Mr. 
Fleming,  the  diligent  pastor ;  nor  Mr.  Harrison, 
who  has  proved  that  a  man  most  amiable  may 
be  most  steadfast ;  nor  Mr.  Vaughan,  whose 
principles  are  as  good  as  his  Literature  ;  nor 
Mr.    Spence,   in  whom   suavity   and   sense   are 


202  MEMOIR  OF  I.   T.  LYNCH. 

alike  conspicuous ;  nor  Mr.  Watson  Smith, 
with  his  strong  head  and  tender  heart ;  nor 
Mr.  Allon,  who  is  zealous  to  serve  and  not 
afraid  to  suffer;  nor  Mr.  White,  with  whom 
Falsehood  does  but  enter  the  contest  to  leave  it, 
as  Ananias  left  the  presence  of  St.  Peter;  and 
in  thus  naming  them,  I  do  but  give  a  slight 
Index  of  their  excellencies  ;  the  table  of  con- 
tents, not  the  contents.  But  to  them,  and  to 
my  faithful  friends,  Mr.  Brown,  Mr.  Newman 
Hall,  and  Mr.  Martin,  as  well  as  to  Mr.  Binney, 
and  to  the  ' obscure'  gentlemen  who  Mr.  Grant 
fondly  hopes  came  forth  from  their  '  holes '  for 
this  occasion  only,  I  feel  convinced  that  the 
great  cause  of  religion  owes  a  debt  which 
will  not  be  unacknowledged.  Demons  shriek 
loudest  when  they  are  departing  from  their 
victims.  Let  us  not  think  that  vaunt,  and 
calumny,  and  phariseeism  are  conquering, 
because  they  cry.  They  cry  because  they  are 
overcome.  The  Editor  '  Mounted '  *  must  dis- 
mount. The  c  religious  world,'  that  odious 
compound,    must    yield     to     analytic    spiritual 

*  One  of  the  '  Songs  Controversial.' 


THE  "  RIVULET"   CONTROVERSY.       203 

forces  ;  the  religion  made  worldly  must  separate 
from  the  world  made  pharisaic.  And  then  the 
Church,  having  Religion  for  its  soul  and  the 
World  for  its  many-membered  body,  will  be 
known  and  honoured.  Organizations  must 
surrender  at  discretion  unto  Principles.  Letter, 
which  to  Spirit  is  as  flesh  to  the  soul,  must 
cease  to  be  fleshly.  The  propositions  of  our 
creed  must  be  as  stone  steps  for  advance,  not 
as  stone  cells  for  imprisonment — cells  in  which 
the  liege  servants  and  the  champions  of  great 
Liberty  lie  manacled  like  felons.  Things  old 
must  be  honoured  only  as  they  are  honourable ; 
the  Bible  being  reverenced,  but  old  clothes  and 
the  old  serpent  eschewed  and  abhorred.  Things 
new  must  be  accredited  and  welcomed,  as  they 
submit  themselves  to  the  court  of  just  inquiry, 
and  succeed  in  establishing  their  claim.  Men 
who  are  secretly  loved  and  honoured  must  be 
openly  recognised.  Truths  must  be  accepted, 
because  their  souls  may  be  read  in  their  faces, 
not  because  they  bear  a  letter  of  introduction  in 
their  hand  from  Churches  established.  Books 
must   be  valued   not    merely  because  they  are 


204  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

distinctive  of  '  our '  principles ;  but  also,  and 
yet  more,  because  they  bring  into  communion 
with  us,  by  the  sweet  sympathies  of  religion, 
many  who  differ  from  us  in  things  ecclesiastical 
and  sectarian.  No  more  must  we  put  bitter  for 
sweet,  and  sweet  for  bitter.  No  longer  must 
every  man  be  a  briar,  yet  no  man  even  a  sweet 
briar.  In  the  fragrant  otto  of  roses,  no  more 
must  we  deny  that  the  rose  is  present  in  essence, 
because  it  is  absent  in  form.  We  must  even 
learn  to  perceive  the  fragrance  of  Sharon's  Rose 
in  hymns  that  present  us  no  full  delineation 
of  this  Plant  of  Renown.  Our  love  must  be 
without  worldly  guile  and  softness  ;  our  hate 
saintly  and  not  devilish.  Christ  must  be  more 
in  our  hearts  than  in  our  newspapers.  And  we 
must  be  ready  to  believe  in  the  strong  inward 
framework  of  Theology,  without  requiring  that 
poor  Religion  should  have  its  bones  sticking 
through  its  skin  in  order  to  get  credit  for  having 
bones  at  all.  We  must  be  as  careful  of  entering 
a  Controversy  as  of  beginning  a  war;  and  as 
careful  when  once  entered  to  do  our  work 
thoroughly,  as  we  are  not  to  have  a  war  ended 


THE  "  RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.     205 

till  a  just  peace  is  established.  We  must 
believe  in  ourselves  because  we  believe  in 
Emmanuel,  God  with  us.  To  us  the  rod,  though 
used,  must  still  be  the  servant  of  the  Cross,  and 
we  must  conquer  our  foes  by  suffering  them  to 
crucify  us,  rather  than  by  threatening  them  with 
crucifixion.  He  that  dies  for  Christ  lives  by 
Him,  yea,  and  with  Him,  for  evermore.  The 
Lord  hasten  these  things  in  his  time. 

"  «  How  long,  O  Lord,  how  long  ?  '  " 


It  is  not  uncommon  to  hear  the  "Rivulet" 
Controversy  spoken  of  as  something  to  be  put 
out  of  sight  and  forgotten ;  but  that  is  a  mis- 
take, for  it  bears  several  salutary  lessons,  and 
even  some  consolation.  For  consolation  it  may 
be  said,  that  the  outrage  on  Mr.  Lynch  rendered 
similar  outrages  from  thenceforth  impossible. 
His  suffering  was  the  means  of  widely  enlarg- 
ing the  spiritual  liberty  of  the  Nonconformist 
ministry ;  and  whilst  such  another  panic  has 
been  made  impossible,  the  circumstances  yield 
clear  and  curious  evidence  of  how  panics  are 
got    up.       First    there    are     the     ecclesiastical 


2o6  MEMOIR   OF  T.  T.   LYNCH. 

"  roughs,"  who  shriek  "  Heresy  !  heresy  !  "  with 
neither  the  intelligence  to  discriminate  heresy, 
nor  the  susceptibilities  that  heresy  would  offend. 
Then  there  are  the  lovers  of  scandal,  who  take 
up  and  propagate  the  cry,  affecting  sorrow 
whilst  luxuriating  in  the  opportunity.  Then 
there  is  the  multitude,  which  enjoys  the  excite- 
ment of  alarm,  and  a  larger  multitude  whose 
alarm  deepens  into  serious  fear ;  and  as  the 
tumult  intensifies,  there  is  no  limit  to  the  ex- 
cesses the  terrifiers  and  the  terrified  may  com- 
mit. Even  wise  and  thoughtful  people  get 
drawn  into  the  vortex  of  the  common  insanity ; 
and  these,  when  the  hubbub  is  over,  are  dis- 
gusted with  themselves,  and  naturally  desire 
oblivion.  Such  a  panic  was  the  "  Rivulet " 
Controversy.  As  for  Mr.  Lynch,  the  last  charge 
any  reasonable  creature  would  have  preferred 
against  him  was  that  of  heresy ;  but  the  charge 
once  made  begot  suspicion  and  distrust  that 
were  never  wholly  dissipated.  And  to  his  frank 
and  sympathetic  nature — a  nature,  as  the  poet's 
ever  is,  "  tremulous  with  sympathy  " — such  sus- 
picion   and    distrust  were    very    grievous.      A 


THE  "  RIVULET"    CONTROVERSY.      207 

rougher  character  might  have  encountered  the 
notoriety  thrust  upon  him  with  defiance  and 
welcome ;  but  to  him  it  was  not  only  cause  for 
painful  concern  that  the  multitude  should  be  so 
maddened  and  misguided,  but  that  he  should  be 
regarded  askance  by  some  who  might  have  been 
his  friends  had  they  known  him  aright.  The 
mischief  was,  however,  done,  and  for  him  there 
was  only  patient  endurance. 

At  the  same  time  let  it  not  be  supposed  that 
Mr.  Lynch  was  left  to  stand  alone.  His  congre- 
gation, and  those  who  had  any  real  acquaintance 
with  him,  were  wholly  unaffected  by  the  uproar. 
And  from  the  outer  world  of  Nonconformists 
came  letters  of  sympathy  and  votes  of  confidence 
and  encouragement,  which  proved  abundantly 
that  the  voice  of  the  mob  was  not  the  voice  of 
the  people.  Then,  too,  the  secular  press  was 
generally  friendly,  although  the  desire  to  point 
the  moral,  "  See  how  these  Christians,  and 
especially  these  Dissenters,  love  one  another!" 
was  sometimes  too  obvious.  But  so  it  ever  is. 
Christ's  nominal  adherents  are  His  worst  anta- 
gonists. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

ILLNESS   AND  WITHDRAWAL  FROM  DUTY. 

1856—1859. 

A  LARGE  portion  of  his  vacation  in  1856 
Mr.  Lynch  spent  in  Lincolnshire,  preaching 
for  a  Baptist  minister  during  his  absence.  But 
he  was  not  allowed  to  rest  in  peace.  Almost 
daily  the  postman  brought  some  offensive  paper. 
One  day,  with  the  Delhi  Gazette  in  his  hand,  he 
could  not  help  being  amused  for  the  moment 
that  he,  a  man  so  peaceable,  should  have  his 
name  borne  over  the  world  as  a  word  of 
strife. 

Here  too,  however,  in  Lincolnshire  "the  com- 
mon people  heard  him  gladly."  "  Oh,  sir,"  said 
a  carpenter  working  at  his  bench,  and  with  a 


ILLNESS.  209 

countenance  full  of  affection,  "  I  am  longing  for 
Sunday  to  hear  you  again." 

To  one  to  whom  he  could  "  speak  out  of  his 
heart,"  he  often  expressed  astonishment  that  he 
should  be  thought  to  aim  at  peculiarity  of  phrase- 
ology. "In  my  young  days,"  he  would  say, 
"  when  I  heard  doctrinal  phrases  from  the  pulpit 
which  I  did  not  understand,  I  used  to  think,  if 
ever  I  preach,  I  shall  always  set  forth  my  mean- 
ing in  simple  language.  I  never  desired  to  be, 
what  I  am  called,  '  peculiar.'  "  The  charge  of 
peculiarity  had,  however,  this  justification — that 
he  was  peculiar  in  simplicity  and  naturalness. 
Of  any  sort  of  affectation  he  was  incapable ;  and 
there  never  was  a  preacher  who,  in  the  pulpit 
and  out  of  it,  was  so  completely  the  same  man. 
Then,  too,  he  was  no  repeater  of  common- 
places, but  spoke  habitually  from  his  own 
experience  ;  and,  as  he  remarked  in  the  pre- 
vious chapter,  "Variety  of  expression  is  the 
necessary  result  of  individual  reflection  on  the 
common  truth." 

To  an  admirer  of  Swedenborg  in   Yorkshire 
he  wrote — 

P 


2io  MEMOIR  OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

"Kentish  Town,  17th  November,  1856. 

"  I  think  Swedenborg  would  have  most  respect 
for  those  who  value  his  writings,  but  refuse  to 
join  a  sect  called  after  his  name.  Swedenbor- 
gianism  would  make  a  new  church  impossible. 
The  only  new  church  I  wish  for  is  the  old  church 
reformed,  and  expanded  according  to  the  wis- 
dom of  our  One  Great  Master.  Swedenborg  was 
a  real  Christian,  as  well  as  a  wonderful  man — a 
great  contributor  to  the  spiritual  work  of  the 
modern  age,  but  still  a  man  of  some  real  and 
great  deficiencies. 

"  The  '  Rivulet '  has  been  the  means  of  reveal- 
ing the  thoughts  of  many  hearts — and  very  bad 
and  gross  thoughts  some  of  them  have  proved. 
Oh,  how  blind  and  wicked  are  many  who  talk 
loudly  of  the  Lord,  yet  neither  know  his  word 
nor  do  his  work  ! 

"  There  is  great  need  of  spiritual  reformation 
in  our  country,  but  those  who  are  forward  in 
the  work  must  be  ready  to  suffer.  It  is  still 
true  that  without  shedding  of  blood  nothing 
effectual  can  be  accomplished.  The  Saviour 
must  be  the  Sufferer. 


ILLNESS.  2 1 1 

"  I  am  happy  to ,  find  by  letters  that  I  receive 
that  there  are  scattered  up  and  down  many  who 
wait  for  the  consolation  of  Israel — that  consola- 
tion which  can  alone  come  through  an  effectual 
manifestation  of  the  Truth.  Some  of  these  are 
prepared,  we  may  hope,  both  to  suffer  and  to 
support  those  who  do.  Regenerate  orthodoxy 
is  what  we  want.  I  think  you  will  find  it  include 
all  you  value  in  Swedenborgianism,  without, 
as  you  say,  the  crudities  of  the  New  Church 
writers." 

In  1856  his  friend,  Dr.  Samuel  Brown,  the 
philosophic  chemist,  died ;  and  to  his  widow  he 
wrote — 

"TO   MRS.    SAMUEL  BROWN. 

"Kentish  Town,  2^rd  January,  1857. 

"  I  have  received  your  letter,  and  it  made  me 
sad  because  I  felt  you  must  have  expected  to 
hear  from  me  before.  Very  often  have  we 
thought  of  you,  and  I  have  been  wanting  to 
write  to  you.  But  knowing  that  you  have 
many  friends  round  you  near  enough  for  effec- 


212  MEMOIR  OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

tive  daily  sympathy,  feeling  (as  always)  how 
little  the  verbal  consoler  can  do,  and  being 
somewhat  unusually  burdened  with  customary 
care,  I  have  delayed  writing  till  some  day  when, 
if  a  good  word  did  not  offer,  a  common  one 
would  not  be  pain  and  offence. 

"  The  gentle  ministry  of  time  has  been  and 
is  helping  you — Time  whose  ministry  is  not  to 
speak  but  to  be  with  us  in  the  sympathetic  com- 
panionship of  a  holy  silent  Presence.  You  are 
rich,  too,  I  know  not  how  rich,  in  your  chil- 
dren, a  husband's  best,  though  sometimes  most 
anxious,  legacy.  So,  with  friends  near  you, 
children  about  you,  tender  memories  of  a  real 
wedded  life,  soothing  angel  influences  of  Time, 
and  faith  in  the  chief  and  all-sufficient  Friend, 
I  may  hope  it  is  well  with  you.  Accept  from 
us,  I  beg  you,  the  expression  of  a  sympathy  felt 
truly  since  we  heard  of  your  loss.  Perhaps 
some  day  we  may  again  see  you  here  or  in 
Edinburgh,  and  then  we  shall  like  to  hear  what 
you  may  feel  able  to  tell  of  those  shadows  that 
did  not  end  in  night,  but  rather  preceded  the 
true  Dayspring.     The  Spiritual  World  becomes 


ILLNESS.  2T3 

more  and  ever  yet  more  real  to  me.  It  is  not 
far  from  any  of  us.  We  are  known,  watched 
and  helped,  as  I  believe,  by  many  who  have 
gone  before.  There  is  not  a  great  gulf  fixed 
between  earth  and  heaven  so  that  there  can  be 
no  visitation  for  us  of  ministering  spirits.  There 
is  a  bridge  at  least  passable  by  those  to  whom 
God  gives  his  sacred  passport,  and  we,  if  we 
cannot  go  over  to  the  other  side  and  return, 
have  some  prospect  across  and  upwards,  and, 
when  we  make  the  journey  from  earth,  may 
hope  to  be  met  and  conveyed  by  some  who  have 
unseen  attended  our  journey  on  earth.  .  .  . 

"  My  wife  sends  her  best  regards  to  you,  or, 
rather,  I  do,  and  she  her  love,  for  that  is 
woman's  word,  and  a  true  word  it  is.  Our 
little  son  I  do  not  think  you  will  remember. 
He  shows  me  how  dear  my  friends'  children 
must  be  to  them ;  so  with  best  wishes  for 
yours, — I  remain,  yours  most  truly." 

Here  is  a  bit  of  his  mind  to  an  "orthodox 
correspondent,"  and  such  correspondents  were 
by  no  means  uncommon  : — 


2i4  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

[Undated.'] 

"  You  write,  *  If  you  are  orthodox,  as  you  say 
you  are,'  &c,  &c,  and  then  add, '  I  am  orthodox/ 
Now  my  one  word  is  this, — Is  there  any  reason 
why  I  should  believe  you  to  be  orthodox  on  your 
word,  which'  there  is  not  for  your  believing  me 
to  be  so  on  mine  ? 

"  Spare  yourself  the  trouble  of  writing  a  reply, 
but  please  consider  this. 

"' Sound'  as  you  may  be  in  the  faith,  I  am 
sure  you  are  far  too  shrewd  a  man  also  not  to 
know  that  when  heterodoxy  is  the  charge, 
honesty  is  the  offence. 

"  If  you  would  preach  some  day  on  these 
texts,  'He  that  departeth  from  evil  maketh 
himself  a  prey,'  and  'Your  brethren  that  hated 
you,  that  cast  you  out  for  my  name's  sake,  said, 
Let  the  Lord  be  glorified ;  but  He  shall  appear 
to  your  joy  and  they  shall  be  ashamed,'  you 
would  say  many  good  things,  and  if  you  would 
preach  in  careful  remembrance  of  your  own  past 
career,  whilst  you  might  warn  the  inexperienced, 
you  would  at  least  not  condemn  the  innocent. 
You  condole  with  me  on  my  supposed  ill-repute 


ILLNESS. 


215 


1  with  the  churches  of  the  living  God,'  so  you 
write.  I  think  you  might  much  rather  condole 
with  me  on  the  injury  done  me  by  those  who 
have  fallen  into  the  snare  of  the  living  devil. 

"  I  thank  God  I  can  stand  alone ;  but  I  thank 
Him,  too,  that  I  have  a  hearty  love  of  good 
company  when  I  can  get  it,  and  that  I  count 
the  grateful  pleasure  of  indebtedness  to  friend- 
ship as  one  of  the  sweets  of  life." 

Sustained  at  this  trying  time  by  the  fidelity 
and  increased  affection  of  his  congregation,  his 
health  nevertheless  began  to  suffer  from  the 
incessant  annoyances  to  which  he  was  sub- 
jected. Eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-eight  was 
a  sad  year  of  neuralgic  pain  and  great  de- 
bility. He  yielded  to  advice  and  tried  change 
of  air  and  scene  more  than  once,  but  the  fatigue 
of  travelling  counterbalanced  any  advantage, 
and  he  was  glad  to  return  home  and  resume 
work,  wherein  he  persevered  in  a  manner  which, 
to  those  who  knew  his  real  state,  appeared 
marvellous.  After  nights  of  severe  suffering 
he   would   preach    both   morning   and   evening 


216  MEMOIR  OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

with  amazing  energy.  Indeed,  for  some  months 
his  only  respite  from  pain  was  when  en- 
gaged in  his  public  ministrations,  so  that  it 
was  sometimes  playfully  said,  that  he  ought 
to  live  in  the  pulpit.  But  it  was  impos- 
sible for  this  state  of  things  to  last.  On  the 
1 6th  of  January,  1859,  he  preached  twice,  as 
usual.  Throughout  the  week  his  sufferings 
were  very  great,  though  he  attended  the 
Thursday  service  ;  but  on  the  following  Sunday 
morning  he  became  so  seriously  ill  that  he  could 
not  rise,  and  a  messenger  was  sent  to  Mr. 
Woodward  (afterwards  Queen's  Librarian),  who 
kindly  undertook  the  services  of  the  day  for  him. 
He  was  never  seen  in  public  again  for  a  year, 
and  then  only  to  give  a  short  address.  His 
sudden  disappearance  from  the  pulpit  was  a  sad 
trial  to  his  congregation,  the  greater  part  of 
whom,  seeing  the  vigour  with  which  he  had 
been  preaching,  had  no  idea  of  the  past  twelve 
months  of  pain  and  weakness.  A  physician 
having  called  to  inquire  for  him,  and  wit- 
nessing the  exhaustion  to  which  he  was  reduced, 
lost  no  time  in  representing  to  the  deacons  that 


ILLNESS.  21 7 

a  long  rest,  with  ease  of  mind,  was  absolutely 
necessary.  The  promptitude  and  earnest  sym- 
pathy of  this  kind  friend  was  quickly  responded 
to,  and  a  warm-hearted  letter  of  condolence 
was  sent  to  Mr.  Lynch,  to  which  he  replied  as 
follows — 

"TO   THE   CONGREGATION  AT  GRAFTON   STREET, 
FITZROY   SQUARE. 

"  By  Air.  Foster  mid  others. 

"London,  February  n,  1859. 

"  My  dear  Friends, — I  thank  you  much  for 
the  kindness  with  which,  without  waiting  for  a 
communication  from  me,  you  have  urged  me  to 
take  a  lengthened  rest.  Quit  work  for  a  time  I 
must ;  no  choice  is  allowed  me.  But  I  feel 
happily  free  to  doubt  whether  I  need  do  so  for 
so  long  a  period  as  twelve  months.  If  I  ought, 
I  will ;  but  I  hope  a  shorter  time  will  suffice. 

"  It  is  quite  as  much  to  my  own  surprise  as  it 
can  be  to  yours,  that  I  have  been  suddenly 
compelled  to  relinquish  preaching.  I  have  not 
been  accustomed  to  disappoint  you  ;  and,  during 
nearly  ten  years'  ministry  in  London,  have  been, 


218  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.   LYNCH. 

until  now,  absent  from  the  pulpit  through  illness 
one  Sunday  only.  Last  year  indeed,  finding  my 
strength  failing,  you  were  good  enough  to  extend 
my  autumn  holiday,  and  I  was  away  from  you 
nine  Sundays,  instead  of  five  or  six.  But  previous 
to  this,  even  as  to  holidays,  I  had  been  temperate 
almost  to  abstinence.  For  my  ability  thus  to 
persevere  I  feel  very  thankful.  And  if  any  one 
says,  'You  have  sometimes  kept  on  when  you 
should  have  left  off/  I  confess  that  I  have.  But 
whilst  I  am  thanking  God  for  my  work  itself, 
I  am  sure  you  will  not  wish  to  throw  a  stone  at 
me  for  the  blemishes  of  that  work.  I  admit 
that  I  have  never  been  able  to  detect  perfection 
in  myself,  even  on  the  closest  scrutiny  ! 

"  My  own  experience,  as  well  as  my  observa- 
tion of  others,  has  taught  me  that  folly  grows  in 
all  soils,  the  poor  ones  and  the  rich.  In  the 
garden  of  the  Lord  you  may  often  find  an  ugly 
bit  of  Pride  growing  near  a  fine  plant  of  Thank- 
fulness ;  so  near,  indeed,  as  to  be  almost  hidden 
by  the  leaves.  And  the  spiritual  husbandman 
frequently  meets  with  a  Tare  called  Self-will, 
remarkably  like   the  wheat  of  Godly  Zeal,  yet 


ILLNESS.  219 

having  very  different  and,  indeed,  intoxicating 
properties.  My  physical  qualifications  for  the 
ministry  have  never  been  admired.  My  body  is 
what  my  friends  call  a  '  fragile  form,'  and  my 
enemies,  expressing  themselves  more  clearly,  '  a 
gaunt,  hungry-looking  figure/  Surely  then  I 
may  avow  myself  grateful,  even  at  the  risk  of 
being  taxed  with  a  little  pride,  for  a  per- 
severance which  has  given  proof  of  the  sustain- 
ing power  that  religious  convictions  afford.  My 
medical  friends,  though  peremptory  about  rest, 
speak  very  hopefully  as  to  my  regaining 
strength.  I  am  rather  worn  than  sick,  weakened 
in  nerves  than  in  mind.  It  is  from  simple 
exhaustion  that  I  suffer — an  exhaustion  that  has 
suddenly,  though  not  without  warnings,  fallen 
on  my  heart.  That  organ  sinks  and  flutters, 
and  plainly  tells  me  that  unless  I  rest  it  must 
cease  to  serve  me.  Shadows,  as  of  death,  have 
in  these  late  weeks  often  come  upon  me,  giving 
solemn  admonition  of  that  hour  which,  to  the 
senses,  is  the  Gate  of  Darkness,  but  to  Faith 
the  Gate  of  Day.  I  would  not  live  alway,  but  I 
would  be  spared  a  little  before  I  go  hence.     I 


220  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

wish  to   learn   more  wisdom,  and   to   do   more 
service  here :    to  amend  my  faults,  revise    and 
advance  my  work,  and  manifest  yet  more  fully, 
if   God   permit,   the    integrity   with    which    my 
conscience  bears  me  witness,  I  have  '  served  in 
the  Gospel.'     It  is  a  great  comfort  to  me  now,  to 
feel  that,  if  I  am  permitted  to  resume  my  work 
among  you,  it  will  be  to  our  mutual  and  equal 
pleasure.     I  know  that  even  a  few  months,  and 
much  more  the  full  round  of  twelve,  must  bring 
unexpected   changes.     I    may  never   meet    you 
again  as  I  have  met  you.     But  of  those  who  now 
part    from    me   with   such   true   expressions   of 
esteem,  I  may  hope  that  even  the  majority  will 
be  both  able  and  glad  to  welcome  my  return. 
But  it  is  to  you  I  hope  to  return,  not   to   the 
building  in   Grafton  Street.     In  that  church,  at 
least   in   its   present   form,  I  have   no  wish   to 
preach  again.     The  thought  of  it  is  in  no  sense 
fragrant  to  me.     But  between  the  congregation 
and  myself  the  union  is  most  cordial.     Amid  the 
accusations    which  foolish    men    have    brought 
against  me  as  a  religious  teacher,  and  into  the 
truth  of  which  many  better  men  have  been  too 


ILLNESS.  221 

indifferent  or  timid  to  inquire,  you  have  stood 
with  me  unperverted.  Mutual  fidelity  has  its 
reward  in  mutual  confidence.  Heaven  blesses 
it  secretly  here,  openly  hereafter;  sometimes 
in  the  open  view  of  men,  even  here.  In  all 
essential  qualifications  for  the  ministry,  I  rather 
hope  for  increase  than  fear  diminution.  God 
may  greatly  bless  this  fallow  time  to  the  enrich- 
ment of  the  soil  for  future  harvests.  If  a  new 
morrow  be  given  us,  let  us  hope  to  do  a  better 
day's  work  than  we  did  yesterday.  We  are  as 
sure  of  troubles  in  this  world  as  of  waves  on  the 
sea.  But  while  the  waves  toss,  we  travel.  I 
have  nothing  to  recant,  but  much  to  perfect.  I 
have  preached  the  gospel  of  God  in  Christ  faith- 
fully, however  imperfectly;  never  changing  the 
basis,  but  still  seeking  to  build  up  more  and 
more  firmly  a  structure  of  Truths  and  of  Souls 
upon  that  one  great  foundation. 

"I  commend  you  to  Him  who  is  Himself  the 
Word  of  Life,  and  who  will  minister  by  His 
Spirit  the  consoling  and  strengthening  power  of 
His  own  words  to  all  who  walk  in  truth.  The 
discretion,  unanimity,  and   kindness,  you   have 


222  MEMOIR  OF  T.   T.  LYNCH, 

recently  shown,  are  as  comfortable  to  me  as 
they  are  commendable  in  you.  In  all  things 
good,  may  you  continue  and  abound. 

"  I  am,  most  truly  yours, 

"Thomas  T.  Lynch." 

It  was  thought  advisable  to  give  up  the 
chapel  in  Grafton  Street,  with  the  hope  that, 
should  another  be  required,  means  would  be 
found  to  procure  one  more  suitable. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

A  DREARY  VACATION. 
1859 — i860. 

'  I  ^HE  leading  members  of  the  congregation 
met  monthly  for  business  and  conversa- 
tion, a  letter  from  Mr.  Lynch  being  an  addi- 
tional attraction.     He  wrote — 

"qth  April,  1859. 

"When  I  heard  of  the  monthly  meetings,  I 
was  at  Bournemouth,  a  quiet  place  by  the  sea. 
There  I  sat  often  watching  the  long  line  of 
the  tidal  wave  break  with  soft  thunder  into 
the  whitest  of  foam,  and  letting  the  mingled 
peace  of  the  sky  and  power  of  the  sea  transfuse 
themselves  into  my  body  and  soul.  The  '  saving 
health '  of  God  as  it  operates  upon  us  in  nature, 


224  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

and  in  Scripture,  is  an  essence  :  it  is  impalpable, 
invisible ;  gentle,  but  mighty  to  save.  It  is  in 
the  presence  of  what  is  palpable,  of  the  objects 
and  scenes  of  nature,  the  narratives  and  truths 
of  Scripture,  that  we  feel  the  working  of  this 
essential  life.  But  the  Life  is  more  than  what 
we  see  or  what  we  read.  There  is  a  blessing 
which  the  waves  bear  in  upon  the  soul  as 
they  break  upon  the  shore ;  and  a  blessing 
with  which  the  words  of  Scripture  fill  our  heart 
as  the  sound  of  them  fills  our  ear.  .  .  I  am 
much  better,  so  much  as  to  make  me  anticipate 
with  grateful  hope,  though  too  with  occasional 
impatience,  the  speedy  renewal  of  my  service 
among  you.  I  have  not  forgotten  the  proverb 
I  learnt  as  a  schoolboy,  'Hasten  slowly.5  It  is 
so  only  that  we  can  hasten  safely,  whether  to  be 
healthy,  or  happy,  or  wise,  or  rich.  But,  says 
Paul,  I  press  forward ;  and  when  he  exhorts  us 
to  persevere,  it  is  to  run  with  perseverance. 
There  are  some  things  which  if  they  be  hurried 
will  never  be  done ;  and  some  which  begun 
promptly  and  prosecuted  with  steady  zeal, 
are  done  well  because  they  are  done  quickly. 


A   DREARY  VACATION.  225 

"  I  hope  to  be  as  well  as  ever  I  expect  to  be  in 
this  world,  much  within  the  year  you  have 
allowed  me ;  but  will  try  to  hasten  without 
hurrying. 

"  You  who  have  long  been  building  a  church 
in  the  air,  must  now  get  one  erected  on  the 
ground.  You  should  all  of  you  use  all  dili- 
gence. You  will  work  well  if  you  work 
promptly.  Large  things,  as  well  as  little,  may 
be  done  in  a  lingering,  provoking  way,  or 
done  much  more  briefly,  and  quite  as  well  or 
better.  If  you  put  an  egg  in  hot  water,  and 
place  the  vessel  on  the  table,  the  egg  is  ready 
for  eating  in  about  ten  minutes  ;  but  if  you  put 
the  vessel  on  the  fire  you  may  have  your 
breakfast  in  three  minutes  and  a  half.  Use  a 
little  salutary  ardour  in  the  treatment  of  your 
eggy  that  is,  of  your  project  for  a  new  church, 
and  our  social  desires  and  necessities  may  then 
be  speedily  satisfied." 

Next  month  he  was  too  unwell  to  write 
much — 


226  MEMOIR   OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

"HOLLOWAY,  2nd  May,  1859. 

"  I  have  been  ill  again,  indeed,  very  sadly  so. 
But  this  means — more  Patience :  not,  I  trust, 
less  Hope.  It  will  be  help  and  medicine  to 
me  to  hear  that  you  have  had  a  good  meeting. 
And  a  good  meeting  means  not  a  friendly  one 
only,  but  a  prayerful  one  also.  It  is  a  time  for 
warm-hearted,  trustful  prayer  ;  prayer  for  me, 
that  life  and  wisdom  may  be  given  me ;  prayer 
for  all  of  us,  that  we  may  not  go  back,  not  fail 
and  be  discouraged,  but  persevere  to  the  end." 

The  summer  passed  with  many  alternations, 
and  in  autumn  he  addressed  his  friends — 

"  tyh  September,  1859. 

"  I  am  glad  to  be  able  again  to  write  to  you. 
I  have  lately  returned  to  London  after  an 
absence  of  nearly  three  months,  and  am  thank- 
ful to  say  that  I  feel  very  much  better.  But 
I  shall,  nevertheless,  write  briefly  lest  I  say 
too  much.  Experience  has  warned  me  not  to 
be  sanguine.  I  seem  to  have  passed  through 
a    crisis,    and    to    be    making    steady    progress 


A   DREARY  VACATION,  227 

towards  working  strength.  May  it  be  so. 
Then  at  your  next  meeting,  I  may  be  able 
to  speak  confidently  of  my  re-appearance  in 
public. 

"Painful  as  well  as  pleasant  changes  must 
have  occurred  among  you  since  my  absence. 
Yet  I  hope  that  we  may  have  a  mutual  greeting ; 
not  in  despondency,  but  in  cheerfulness  and 
thankfulness.  Is  it  premature  to  consider  where 
we  are  to  re-assemble  ?  It  cannot  now  be 
long  before  it  will  be  made  evident  whether 
our  connection  is  to  continue  or  to  cease.  If  to 
continue,  as  we  hope,  then  faith  and  common- 
sense  unite  in  bidding  us  get  some  kind  of 
outward  House  of  brick  or  boards,  in  which 
to  lodge  the  spiritual  Household. 

"The  Gospel  forbids  anxiety  for  the  morrow, 
but  not  preparation  for  it.  Bees  may  perish  for 
want  of  a  hive.     Men  often  do  no  better." 

He  ventured  to  meet  his  friends  in  No- 
vember, but  in  such  weakness  that  he  could 
say  very  little.  Next  month  he  wrote  to 
them — 


228  MEMOIR  OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

§th  December,  1859. 

"  Please  wait  yet  a  few  weeks  longer  for  a 
decisive  communication  from  me,  and  accept 
my  thanks  for  your  continued  and  affectionate 
remembrance  of  me.  I  think  of  you  with  the 
hope  that  you  may  ever  continue  the  '  preserved 
in  Jesus  Christ.5  And  however  happy  I  should 
be  in  the  re-establishment  of  the  old  relation 
that  subsisted  between  us,  I  would  far  rather 
that  you  should  form  new  associations  than  that 
your  piety  should  suffer 

"  I  am  but  a  '  prisoner  of  the  Lord,'  longing 
for  freedom,  sometimes  even  pining  for  it.  But 
many  good  works  have  been  written  in  prison 
or  planned  there.  Paul  and  Silas  sang  praises 
in  prison  before  they  knew  the  door  would  be 
opened,  and  that  their  brief  trouble  would  so 
greatly  serve  the  cause  they  had  at  heart/5 

Nominally  a  year  of  rest,  1859  was  perhaps 
the  weariest  he  ever  spent.  He  took  several 
short  journeys,  and  visited  a  few  "  long-tried 
and  trusted  friends ; "  but  it  was  tantalising  to 
be  surrounded  by  the  beauties  of  the  country 


A   DREARY  VACATION.  229 

and  be  neither  able  to  walk  or  ride  without 
peril ;  and  still  more  to  be  under  the  roof  of 
those  he  loved,  and  often  for  many  days  to 
remain  in  close  seclusion.  However,  before  the 
close  of  the  year,  he  began  to  gain  some 
strength,  and  with  the  new  year  awoke  a  strong 
desire  to  meet  his  people. 

On  the  evening  of  16th  January,  i860,  they 
assembled  gladly  to  hear  him  read  a  short 
sermon — he  could  not  venture  to  speak  without 
notes — and  as  preface  thereto,  he  read  the 
following  familiar  address — 

"  My  dear  Friends, — It  is  a  year  yesterday 
since  I  last  addressed  you  on  a  Sunday.  In  the 
morning  I  spoke  of  the  Beloved  Disciple,  in  the 
evening  of  the  Comparisons  by  which  Christ 
illustrated  the  nature  of  His  Kingdom.  On  the 
6th  of  February  you  wrote  me  a  kind  letter, 
asking  me  to  take  a  year's  rest.  I  have  done 
so,  and  during  that  period  you  have  continued 
your  usual  subscriptions  towards  my  support. 
This  is  a  very  natural  and  serviceable  testi- 
monial   of    your    esteem.      When    a    horse    is 


23o  MEMOIR   OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

wounded  or  worn  out,  he  is  shot,  that  is  his 
testimonial ;  or  in  some  few  happy  cases,  sent  to 
grass  and  told  to  live  as  long  as  he  can  and 
then  die  peaceably.  We  cannot  shoot  our  old 
or  broken-down  ministers,  that  would  not  be 
proper !  We  cannot  provide  them  with  per- 
petual grass,  that  would  not  be  possible.  We 
must  take  an  intermediate  course,  provide  grass 
for  a  year,  and  then  dismiss  them  into  the 
wilderness  with  a  benediction.  Into  the  wilder- 
ness with  such  a  benediction  perhaps  I  must 
now  go  forth.  For  I  cannot  at  once  resume 
work,  I  cannot  ask  you  to  wait  longer,  and  I 
decline  to  be  further  burdensome  to  those  on 
■whom  the  demands  of  life  are  already  heavy 
enough. 

"  I  have  written  to  you  almost  monthly  since 
my  retirement  began.  As  you  have  held 
monthly  meetings  and  wished  me  to  do  so,  I 
fell  into  the  snare.  A  snare  it  was.  I  deceived 
both  myself  and  you  with  illusive  hopes.  If  I 
had  the  little  letters  in  a  pile  they  would  make 
me  turn  almost  as  red  as  the  flames  into  which 
I  should  throw  them. 


A   DREARY   VACATION.  231 

"  I  have  not  got  back  strength,  though  I  have 
made  large  apparent  advances  towards  it,  and  I 
must  not  resume  work  till  I  have  some  confi- 
dence that  I  shall  not  fall  down  whilst  speaking, 
or  faint  away  when  I  get  home. 

"  I  love  the  work  of  the  ministry,  but  not  the 
warfare ;  but  have  not  been  permitted  to  take 
the  one  and  leave  the  other ;  and  wounds  and 
weariness  together  have,  to  speak  in  a  figure 
painfully  like  the  fact,  loosened  and  broken  my 
heart-strings. 

u  It  seems  to  me  quite  within  hope  that  I  may 
be  able  to  preach  again  once  in  the  day  about 
May  or  April.  But  I  dare  not  promise  con- 
fidently. Consider  therefore  what  you  will  do. 
I  resign  ;  that  is,  offer  my  resignation. 

"Already  I  may  say  of  you  one  is  gone  into 
the  country,  another  to  the  better  country,  a 
third  removed  to  a  distant  part  of  town,  a  fourth 
likely  to  leave  town,  a  fifth  has  found  new  wine 
and  desireth  no  more  the  old,  for  he  saith  the 
new  is  better,  and  so  on.  None  of  you  have 
discovered  a  place  in  which  to  meet  instead  of 
the  old  church  at  Grafton  Street. 


232  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.   LYNCH. 

"  If  I  live  and  get  strong  I  shall  certainly 
preach  again,  if  only  in  my  own  hired  house — 
and  then  those  who  like  can  gather  round  me 
even  if  you  now  disperse.  If  I  die  or  am 
permanently  disabled,  it  is  a  satisfaction  to 
think  that  few,  if  any  of  you,  are  likely  to 
support  what  is  feeble  and  bad. 

"Perhaps  you  will  find  most  freedom  in 
accepting  my  resignation.  At  any  rate,  every 
one  of  you  should  feel  free  enough,  whatever  the 
rest  do,  to  withdraw.  And  if  such  person  will 
send  me  an  intimation  of  withdrawal,  I  shall 
feel  obliged. 

"  It  is  so  long  since  you  heard  a  little  sermon 
from  me,  that  I  have  selected  notes  of  one 
preached  on  January  24,  1858,  and  will  now  ask 
your  attention  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour  while  I 
read  them.  The  topic  is  one  which  I  feel 
suitable  to  the  time.  I  have  many  such  another 
remembrance  of  sermons,  and  am  thinking  of 
selecting  twenty-five  and  printing  them  as  they 
are,  without  expansion.  I  wonder  whether  you 
would  like  them.  After  reading  this  I  shall 
leave  soon.     But  if  our  relationship  is  this  night 


A   DREARY  VACATION.  233 

dissolved,  I  shall  hope  to  take  some  public 
farewell  written  or  otherwise  of  you,  and  also  a 
personal,  more  private  farewell,  as  far  as  I  can. 

"  I  don't  want  to  go  into  the  wilderness.  But 
if  I  must,  I  have  been  there  before,  and  perhaps 
an  angel  may  meet  me,  bearing  a  pitcher  of 
water,  and  I  may  find  manna  on  the  ground. 
Events  often  disappoint  our  natural  expectation, 
but  they  quite  as  often  disappoint  our  unbe- 
lieving fears. 

" '  God's  help  is  always  sure, 

His  methods  seldom  guessed ; 
Delay  will  make  our  pleasure  pure, 
Surprise  will  give  it  zest. 

" '  His  wisdom  is  sublime, 

His  heart  profoundly  kind  ; 
God  never  is  before  his  time, 
And  never  is  behind.'  " 

It  was  too  evident,  from  the  manner  in  which 
he  conducted  this  short  service,  how  far  he  was 
from  complete  recovery.  He  received  another 
kind  letter  from  his  congregation,  expressing 
their  eager  desire  that  he  should  still  retain  the 
pastorate  of  the  church,  and  suggesting  that 
"for   another   six   months,    or,    if  need   be,   for 


234  MEMOIR  OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

another  year,"  he  should  seek  that  rest  and  quiet 
in  the  country  which  his  physicians  considered 
needful. 

But  he  made  yet  another  trial  of  his  strength, 
and  preached  four  Sundays  in  a  room  in  Gower 
Street  in  April  and  May. 

He  was  likewise  able  to  resume  his  pen,  and 
in  November  brought  out  a  "Theological  Tract, 
Among  Transgressors."  In  the  preface  he  says, 
"I  should  have  much  preferred  including  this 
Essay  with  others  that  are  partly  in  readiness 
to  follow,  '  if  God  permit,'  in  one  volume.  But 
the  uncertain  and  sometimes  apparently  perilous 
state  of  my  health  warns  me  to  do  this  thing 
now,  and  the  rest  afterwards  if  I  can.  When 
the  day  may  be  short,  the  workman  should  be 
prompt.  I  may  add  that  the  Tract  was  prepared 
for  the  press  in  June  last,  while  I  was  enjoying, 
in  the  house  of  a  friend  at  Reigate,  hospitable 
shelter  from  the  dull  rigours  of  the  late  rainy 
summer,  and  from  the  sad  buffeting  thoughts 
which  beset  a  man  in  a  dark  time  of  infirmity." 

The  summer  of  i860  was  indeed  a  rainy  sea- 
son.    From  Reigate  he  wrote — 


A   DREARY  VACATION.  235 

"  12th  June,  i860. 

"  We  have  been  here  nearly  a  fortnight,  and 
have  nothing  to  complain  of  but  rain,  incessant 
rain.  I  can  scarcely  venture  to  hope  for  a  few 
fine  days  before  our  return." 

After  leaving  Reigate,  he  spent  seven  weeks 
in  North  Wales,  with  what  result  appears  in  the 
following  letter — 

"Upper  Bangor,  10th  August,  i860. 

"My  dear  Sir,— Five  weeks  ago  you  made 
me  three  penny  presents — the  G.  N.,  N.  W.,  and 
G.  W.  Time-tables — by  which  Guides  I  have 
been  led  away,  and  perhaps  astray,  into  a  very 
wet  part  of  the  world  indeed.  We  lodge  on  the 
slope  of  a  hill,  at  the  top  of  which  is  a  dissenting 
chapel,  and  at  the  bottom  a  cathedral — a  very 
proper  arrangement — and  we  of  course  are  near 
the  top. 

"  We  have  seen  a  great  many  clouds,  and  have 
looked  in  the  direction  in  which,  so  they  say, 
Snowdon  is  ;  but  all  we  have  actually  seen  of 
this  don  is  a  picture  of  his  top  or  crown,  with 


236  MEMOIR   OF  T.  T.   LYNCH. 

several  donkeys  of  more  sorts  than  one,  stand- 
ing round  a  ginger-beer  shop,  which  is  perched 
there  ;  and  these  are  the  jewels  of  his  crown,  to 
which  this  season  we,  I  think,  shall  not  be  added. 

"  Our  minor  entertainments  consist  of  looking 
out  of  window  at  the  rain,  reading  the  Morning 
Star — no  other  stars  are  ever  seen  now — strok- 
ing the  cat,  making  it  mew  Welsh,  or  teaching 
it  to  look  through  the  microscope  :  our  principal 
diversion,  when  we  can  get  it,  consists  of  walk- 
ing up  hill  and  down  again,  armed  with  camp- 
stools  and  umbrellas  and  a  little  tin  box  of 
refreshments. 

"  We  go  to  bed  early  and  get  up  late,  and  eat 
the  bread  of  idleness,  the  chief  use  of  which  is 
to  give  one  an  appetite  for  bread  of  a  better 
kind 

"  Our  first  short  flight  from  London  w^as  to 
Oxford  ;  thence  we  advanced  to  Chester ;  then 
on  to  Bangor,  next  to  Beaumaris,  then  to  Bangor 
again.  Here  we  have  been  weather-bound  ;  for, 
though  tempted  to  come  home,  I  have  hitherto 
resisted,  and  a  move  to  Conway,  which  we  con- 
templated, would  be  folly  till  fine  days   come. 


A   DREARY  VACATION. 


237 


In  five  weeks  we  have  had  one  bright  day. 
This  morning  we  have  what  I  hope  is  the  grand 
climacteric  of  wet  and  wind  ;  and  this  very 
morning  our  week  is  up,  so  we  have  delighted 
our  landlady  by  saying  we  can't  go  yet.  She 
declares  it  shall  be  her  study  to  make  us  com- 
fortable— a  '  study '  to  which  I  give  every  encou- 
ragement. In  token  of  her  proficiency,  she  has 
just  brought  us  a  fat  duck,  with  a  sprig  of  sage 
in  each  claw,  price  is.  gd. !  This  delightful 
animal  is  for  to-morrow's  dinner:  the  sight  of 
it  and  of  the  rain  makes  me  wish  to-day  was 
fairly  over  and  gone.  If  you  consider  that  this 
letter  is  nonsense,  please  consider  too  that 
(wonderful  to  say)  I  find  nonsense  easier  writing 
than  sense  just  now.  It  is  less  tiring  to  write, 
and  perhaps  less  tiresome  to  read.  I  do  not 
send  you  a  dissertation  about  myself.  I  am 
making  a  grand  effort  to  get  all  right.  Getting 
well  is  like  jumping  over  a  river:  if  you  are 
only  three  parts  over,  you  might  as  well  have 
not  jumped  at  all." 

Partly  through    the  weather,    and   still   more 


238  MEMOIR   OF  T.   T.   LYNCH. 

from  inability  to  take  the  shortest  excursion 
without  great  suffering,  he  longed  to  return 
home.  His  mind  had  recovered  in  some  mea- 
sure its  former  vigour,  but  his  walking  days 
were  for  ever  over. 

"14,  York  Place,  Kentish  Town, 
29th  August,  i860. 

"  We  are  at  home  again My  battered 

vessel,  after  a  wearisome  cruise  under  gloomy 
skies,  is  in  harbour  once  more.  More  discon- 
solate weather  poor  travellers  could  not  have. 
We  made  only  one  considerable  excursion  into 
the  mountain  wilderness.  Black  shaggy  clouds 
and  drifting  rain  shut  out  the  prospect,  and  shut 
us  in  under  the  hood  of  the  chaise,  or  the  roof 
of  the  hotel ;  and  for  this  attempt  I  paid  with 
a  gastric  attack  which  kept  me  in  bed  some 
days 

"We  heard  some  curious  sermons  on  our 
travels,  as  you  may  suppose.  At  one  place,  a 
cathedral,  the  divine,  who  preached  on  the  Fall, 
said  it  was  woman's  duty  to  resist  the  devil, 
and  man's  to  resist  his  wife.     The  adoption  of 


A   DREARY  VACATION.  239 

this  view  would  relieve  us  of  some  important 
responsibilities. 

"  I  made  several  pleasant  acquaintances  among 
parsons." 


CHAPTER  X. 

RESUMPTION   OF   DUTY. 

i860— 1862. 

^\T  7TTH  his  measure  of  recovered  strength, 
Mr.  Lynch  ventured  to  resume  his 
ministry,  and  a  room  was  taken  in  Gower 
Street,  nearly  opposite  University  College.  At 
the  same  time  he  issued  the  following 
Address — 

"  TO   THE   MEMBERS    OF    MY  FORMER   CON- 
GREGATION. 

"  14,  York  Place,  Kentish  Town, 
"  September  2$th,  i860. 

"  My  Friends, — In  resuming  my  work  as 
Minister  I  am  only  able,  at  present,  to  preach 
once  on  the  Sunday.     And    this    I  do    after    a 


RESUMPTION  OF  DUTY.  241 

silence,  four  Sundays  excepted,  of  more  than  a 
year  and  a  half. 

"  I  knew  that  I  should  never  meet  again  all 
those  from  whom  I  parted  in  January,  1859. 

"  Some  who  were  then  with  us  have  died  : 
some  have  removed  from  our  neighbourhood : 
some  have  formed  new  associations. 

"  All  who,  during  my  long  absence  and  weak- 
ness, have  remembered  me  in  a  way  honourable 
to  themselves,  I  thank. 

"  But  I  must  say  plainly,  that  I  expect  no  one 
to  return  merely  because  I  resume.  Let  all 
use  their  freedom  and  accept  my  goodwill.  I 
am  content  to  make  a  new  beginning  ;  and,  with 
the  help  of  the  old  friends  that  I  retain,  shall  try 
to  make  new  ones. 

"  And  I  wish  none  of  you  to  find  your  morn- 
ing attendance  on  my  ministry  a  pecuniary 
burden.  You  will  have  to  provide  for  the 
evening  elsewhere.  Let  all  feel  free,  then,  to 
lessen  their  subscriptions  or  to  contribute  to  the 
weekly  offering  only. 

"  Again  I  open  my  mouth  :  may  God  fill  it 
with  wisdom.     If   again  you  give  me  your  ear, 

R 


242  MEMOIR  OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

may  that  wisdom,  entering,  nourish  in  you  the 
manhood  which  is  Christ's  image. 

"The  Truth  of  the  Gospel  is  like  an  eye, 
beautiful  to  look  at  as  well  as  necessary  to  see 
with.  It  is  beautiful  because  tender  goodness 
shines  through  clear  thought.  In  each  of  us 
the  Truth  becomes  such  an  eye.  By  its  means 
we  show  our  heart  and  we  choose  our  way. 

"  The  object  of  the  Ministry  is  to  bring  men 
to  God  and  to  unite  them  to  Him.  Our  Chris- 
tian faith  is  born  when  we  see  in  one  first 
gleam,  that  God  in  Christ  rescues  us  from  our 
sins  at  the  cost  of  his  own  sufferings,  and  will 
make  us  good  because  He  is  good  and  his 
mercy  endureth  for  ever.  Love  without  faith  is 
a  mourner  or  a  maniac :  faith  without  love,  a 
devil :  but  faith  that  works  and  grows  by  an 
indwelling  love  is  at  once  a  humble  penitent 
and  a  happy  disciple. 

"  I  am,  yours  truly, 

"T.  T.  Lynch." 

The  first  sermons  delivered   in  Gower  Street 
were    reported,    and    issued    in    numbers,    and 


RESUMPTION  OF  DUTY.  243 

subsequently  collected  and  published  as  a 
volume  in  1861,  under  the  title  of  "Three 
Months'  Ministry/' 

To  a  brother  minister  in  retirement  and 
affliction  he  wrote — 

"14,  York  Place,  Kentish  Town, 
"  $th  December,  i860. 

"  I  have  sought,  as  I  have  been  able,  to  learn 
liow  you  were  going  on.  The  accounts  I  get 
are  not  very  complete :  but  this  is  clear,  that 
you  are  living  a  very  suffering  life. 

"  Will  you  accept  a  word — I  dare  not  say  of 
consolation — but  of  sincere  sympathy  from  a 
very  friendly  acquaintance,  if  no  more  ? 

"  I  do  not  ask  you  to  tell  me  how  you  really 
are,  for  I  dare  say  the  pen  is  now  a  disused 
implement.  But,  believe  me,  any  good  news, 
whether  of  pain  relieved,  and  hope  of  recovery 
arising,  or  of  fortitude  shown  in  endurance  and 
willingness  to  depart  if  that  be  God's  will, 
would  be  welcome. 

"  I  was  so    long  out  of  the  world  of  action, 


244  MEMOIR   OF  T.  T.  LYNCH. 

and  the  world  of  news  and  rumours,  that  I  did 
not  hear  of  your  relinquishing  your  ministry 
till  many  months  after  you  had  done  so.  And 
now  perhaps  I  should  not  venture  to  write  these 
few  lines,  had  I  not  learnt  so  well  what  it  is  to 
wish  for  a  kind  word  ;  and  of  what  value  such 
a  word,  however  simple,  is  when  it  comes. 

"  You  sent  me  a  few  sermons  just  as  I  was 
falling  ill ;  they  were  very  good,  and  showed 
that  you  had  put  both  a  true  heart  and  a 
careful  mind  into  your  pulpit  business.  Accept 
now  my  thanks  for  them.  If  you  are  not  able 
again  to  preach  Christ's  doctrine,  you  will  surely 
live  to  enjoy  His  promise  :  '  this  is  the  promise 
that  He  hath  promised  us — Eternal  Life/  ..." 

And  to  a  daughter  on  the  death  of  her 
mother — 

''Kentish  Town,  yd  April,  1861. 

"  I  have  a  note  this  morning  informing  us  of 

your  great  though  not  unexpected  loss.     It  was 

indeed  a  satisfaction  that  you  had  returned  in 

time   for   the  closing   scene.      That   scene   will 


RESUMPTION  OF  DUTY.  245 

dwell  long  on  the  memories  of  those  who  were 
present,  but  not  long  mournfully.  To  all  the 
end  must  come :  to  your  mother  it  has  come 
gradually,  gently.  No  <  strange  thing  has 
happened/  She  has  not  gone  into  obscurity, 
though  withdrawn  from  view.  In  a  light  as 
yet  inaccessible  to  us  we  believe  she  is  now 
living.  Not  many  years  can  elapse  before  she 
is  rejoined  by  her  faithful  partner:  and  we  are 
quite  sure  that  she  is  willing  for  him  to  stay 
here  as  long  as  God  pleases,  and  it  is  best  for 
his  family.  Meanwhile  his  own  grief  for  this 
loss,  sobered  by  his  own  age  and  Christian 
resignation,  will  be  consoled  by  the  familiar 
and  certain  hopes  of  the  Gospel,  and  alleviated 
by  many  affectionate  recollections  of  his  de- 
ceased companion. 

"As  for  yourselves,  the  children,  you  are  to 
be  congratulated.  The  journey  of  life,  always 
"wearisome  and  anxious,  however  honourable 
and  prosperous  it  may  be,  has  in  your  dear 
mother's  case  been  happily  ended.  The  quiet 
victory  has  been  gained.  '  Finis '  has  been  put 
to  a  story  worth  pondering:    and  survivors  as 


246  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

they  read  it  will  do  so  with  more  thankfulness 
than  sorrow,  and  with  no  apprehension  of  what 
may  come  next,  or  come  before  the  end,  such 
as  we  are  sure  to  feel  as  we  think  over  the  story 
of  an  unfinished  life.  And  such  apprehensions, 
which  perhaps  we  have  been  too  ready  to 
entertain  in  our  own  cases,  are  happily  lessened 
when  we  consider  the  peaceful  departure  of  one 
whom  we  have  greatly  loved:  if  it  has  ended 
wrell  with  the  mother,  why  may  it  not  end  well 
with  the  children  ?  Let  them  only  hear  the 
voice  that  cries  *  Whose  faith  follow  ! '  and  they 
shall  find  that  whatever  difficulties  the  path 
may  present,  the  end  will  be  safely  reached." 

To  a  friend  who  had  sent  him  a  copy  of 
Barker's  Review,  he  observed — 

"  2yd  January,  1862. 

"  '  There  is  no  evidence/  says  Mr.  Barker,  i  of 
the  divine  authority  of  the  Bible/  in  this  week's 
Review.  Hm !  what  is  meant  by  i  divine  autho- 
rity of  the  Bible '  ? 

"  If  a  candle  wants  snuffing,  may  there  not  be 


RESUMPTION  OF  DUTY.  247 

proof  enough  nevertheless — which  itself  affords 
— that  it  is  a  light  ? 

"The  ' doctrine  of  the  divine  authority  of  the 
Bible'  is  simply  a  candle  that  wants  snuffing. 
Snuff  it  aright,  and  you  do  but  brighten  it,  as  I 
hope  Mr.  Barker  may  yet  find.  Snuff  it  amiss 
and  you  extinguish  it — for  yourself — and  find  in 
the  dark  that  a  feeble  light  was  better  than 
none." 

Here  is  an  observation  on  a  weak  con- 
science— 

"  26th  February,  1862. 

"  A  weak  conscience  is  like  a  weak  stomach  ; 
it  can  only  swallow  one  or  two  things,  whereas 
it  might  have  'all  things  richly  to  enjoy;'  and 
even  those  one  or  two  it  enjoys — if  at  all — 
tremblingly." 


CHAPTER  XI. 


MORNINGTON   CHURCH. 


1862— 1867. 

A  S  soon  as  it  appeared  probable  that  Mr. 
Lynch  would  be  able  to  preach  continu- 
ously, it  was  resolved  to  provide  a  permanent 
place  of  worship ;  and  after  wide  inquiry  a 
site  was  obtained  near  Mornington  Crescent, 
Hampstead  Road,  over  the  tunnel  of  the 
London  and  North-Western  Railway,  and  an 
iron  chapel  erected  at  a  cost  of  upwards  of 
,£  1,500.  The  site  prescribed  the  character  of  the 
structure,  and  no  efforts  were  spared  to  make  it 
as  neat  and  commodious  as  possible.  It  was 
"dedicated  to  the  Worship  of  God  and  the 
Preaching  of  His  Word,"  on  Friday  evening, 
2 1  st  March,  1862. 


MORNINGTON  CHURCH.  249 

But  he  soon  experienced  a  severe  disappoint- 
ment in  finding  that  he  could  only  conduct  one 
service  a  day.  After  several  efforts  to  preach 
on  Sunday  evenings,  he  was  compelled  to  desist, 
the  attempt  being  always  followed  by  alarming 
results.  His  congregation  were  perfectly  satis- 
fied with  the  morning  service,  which  he  con- 
ducted for  upwards  of  nine  years  with  scarcely 
an  interruption,  beyond  the  usual  vacation  of  a 
month  or  six  weeks  in  autumn  ;  but  it  was 
difficult  to  argue  with  him  on  the  subject.  His 
heart  was  set  upon  preaching  morning  and 
evening,  and  it  seemed  as  if  he  could  not 
reconcile  himself  to  the  privation.  "You  may 
be  satisfied,  but  I  am  not,"  was  his  observation 
when  a  friend  pleaded  that  "  service  once  a  day 
was  enough  for  anybody." 

THE  VISIONARY  CROSS. 

"  18th  April,  1863. 

"  The  heart  may  be  carnal  even  in  its  thoughts 
of  a  cross.  It  may  see  a  visionary  one  on  which 
it  would  suffer  grandly,  observed  and  honoured 
of  all.     The  cross  God  offers  us  may  be  of  the 


25o  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

commonest  wood,  and  erected  in  a  solitary 
place.  We  must  suffer  in  the  darkness  if  we 
would  be  glorified  in  the  light/' 


LOSS  OF  THE  SOUL— SPIRITUALISM— BEHMEN  AND 
WILLIAM  LAW. 

"  76,  Arlington  Street,  April,  1865. 

"  First  as  to  the  partial  losing  of  the  soul. 
"We  speak  of  a  man's  nearly  losing  his  life,  and 
know  that  on  recovery  he  may  live  to  more 
purpose  than  ever  before.  We  say  '  he  has  lost 
heart,'  or  'lost  hope,'  or  'lost  energy.'  And 
sometimes,  in  a  plain  emphatic  way,  speaking 
of  a  man  who  has  acted  very  foolishly,  we  say, 
'Such  a  one  has  quite  lost  himself.'  Nothing 
in  fact  is  more  common  than  the  partial  loss  of 
those  affections  and  those  powers  which  make 
life  precious.  Surely  it  is  very  clear  that  each 
of  us  may  be  becoming  more  of  a  man  or  less  of 
a  man  as  the  days  go  on.  He  that  is  becoming 
less  of  a  man  in  the  Christian  sense  of  manhood, 
is  he  not  losing  his  zeal,  losing  his  confidence  in 
God,  losing  his  disinterested  love  for  what  is 


MORNINGTON  CHURCH.  251 

right  and  worthy  ?  He  is,  in  familiar  phrase, 
losing  his  soul. 

"And  sometimes  having  nearly  lost  his  spiri- 
tual life,  such  a  man  becomes  very  wretched,. 
and  recovers,  not  just  because  he  chooses  to 
recover,  but  because  he  takes  the  Divine  medi- 
cine and  pays  grateful  heed  to  what  the  Divine 
Physician  says.  After  recovery,  may  not  this 
lost  man—  this  dead  man — live  to  more  purpose 
than  ever  before  ?  And  thus,  through  the 
partial  loss  of  his  soul,  he  may  be  led  to  seek 
earnestly  and  to  win  salvation. 

"But  say  that  a  man  dies  at  a  time  of 
spiritual  decline  and  decay.  What  then  r  Why 
then  he  dies  in  the  disregard  of  his  Saviour's 
plainest  precepts.  He  was  told  to  watch  and  he 
has  not  watched,  to  be  ready  and  he  is  not 
ready.  And  it  cannot  be  so  thoroughly  well 
wTith  him  as  it  otherwise  would  have  been. 
But  there  may  be  spiritual  distress  because  of 
apparent  spiritual  decay,  when  in  truth  the 
distress  is  a  sign  of  spiritual  advancement. 
God  only  can  tell  how  it  inmostly  is  with  a 
man.     But  if  inmostly  he  is  poor  in  faith,  if  his 


25 2  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

soul  be  only  as  a  very  feeble  light,  how  can  he 
shine  brightly  in  heaven  ?  how  can  he  receive 
the  gift  of  much  power  from  the  God  whom  he 
has  so  little  trusted  ?  He  has  not  as  much  soul, 
that  is  to  say  as  much  life,  that  is  to  say  again,  a 
life  as  amply,  holily,  healthily  developed  as  he 
should  have  had.  We  should  not  speak  of  him 
as  half  lost,  but  he  certainly  may  have  lost  half, 
whether  for  a  while  or  for  ever,  of  what  he  might 
have  attained. 

"  The  letter  you  send  me  is  the  most  interest- 
ing you  have  had  from  Mr. ,  I  think.     He 

is  quite  right  in  distrusting  unspiritual  spirits, 
and  unspiritual  spiritists ;  and  you  are  quite 
right  in  affirming  that  the  outward  things  of 
spiritualism  have  a  real  use.  They  deserve 
neither  the  rejection  of  derisive  savans,  nor  of 
frightened  religionists,  nor  again  of  such  men 

as  Mr. .     He  who  wTould  walk  in  the  middle 

must  start  from  the  middle — that  is  to  say,  it  is 
from  the  soul's  centre,  living  faith  in  God,  we 
must  proceed  on  any  new  path  of  investigation, 
turning  neither  to  the  right  hand  in  presumption 
nor  to  the  left  in  distrustful  fear.     If  Mr. 


MORNINGTON  CHURCH.  253 

is  in  spirit  such  a  Christian  as  Behmen  and 
Law,  he  knows  this.  But  he  that,  starting  from 
the  centre,  investigates  spiritism  without  pre- 
sumption and  without  fear,  will  not  find  himself, 
I  think,  unrewarded. 

"  Behmen's  principles  I  will  expound  to  you, 
if  you  need  and  wish  such  exposition ;  but  not 
by  pen  and  ink.  I  agree  with  the  Apostle  John 
that  pen  and  ink  are  provokingly  insufficient 
'  mediums/  Mr.  Law  was  an  able  and  admir- 
able man.  What  a  friend  he  would  have  been 
of  mine,  if  I  may  be  excused  for  saying  so. 
Southey  truly  called  him  a  'powerful  writer/ 
He  is  sometimes  clear  even  to  brilliance,  always 
pious,  usually  pungent,  in  controversy  acute 
and  even  scathing,  and  in  theologic  largeness 
of  heart  surely  the  greatest  Englishman  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  I  love  him.  I  had  a  tract 
of  his  in  my  hands  the  other  day,  which  I  have 
been  looking  for,  but  unhappily  it  had  been 
already  sold  to  some  one  else.  His  complete 
works  are  now  rarely  to  be  had.  I  should  doubt 
whether  this  9  vol.  edition  contains  quite  all,  but 
it  must  contain  most  of  them 


254  MEMOIR   OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

"  P.S.  As  I  have  spoken  effervescently  of 
the  Good  "William  Law,  I  suppose  I  ought  to 
put  a  little  ice  into  the  champagne.  There  are 
'  buts.'  ....  He  is  sometimes  wrong  where  he 
is  strong — is  impracticably  practical,  and  per- 
haps too  confidently  Behmenish  ! " 

SENSE  OF  WEARINESS. 

**2fth  January,  1866. 

"  Do  you  ever  feel  intensely  weary  ?  I  too 
seldom  now  feel  otherwise.  I  wish  you  could 
instruct  me  how  to  acquire  Mr.  Harris's  '  second 
breathing.'  That  is  the  breath,  I  am  told,  of  an 
un weary-able  life  !  " 

ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A  FATHER. 

"  76,  Arlington  Street,  \\th  April,  1866. 

"  My  dear  Mrs. ,  I  am  very  glad  to  have 

from  you  so  satisfactory  an  account  of  the  last 
hours  of  your  venerable  father.  He  died  as  it  was 
well  he  should  die,  peacefully.  His  gentle  spirit 
passed  gently  away.  When  I  first  saw  him  he 
was  busy  with  his  ledgers  in  his  counting-house. 
A  man  busy  with  his  Bible  at  home  is  always 


MORNINGTON  CHURCH.  255 

the  better  and  not  the  worse  for  being  busy  with 
his  ledgers  elsewhere. 

"  Your  father  managed  to  get  a  hold  on  this 
world  without  losing  his  hold  on  the  other ;  but 
he  made  this  world  to  the  next  as  an  understep 
to  an  upper,  resting  the  left  foot  on  the  lower 
step  that  he  might  raise  the  right  to  the  step 
above. 

"  His  little  mansion  at  S Road,  with  its 

little  garden,  was  to  him  I  dare  say  as  Heaven 
begun  below.  There  he  had  his  evening's 
repose  to  fit  him  for  the  long  new  day  on  which 
he  has  now  entered.      I  should  think  he  must 

have  been  one  of  the  oldest  citizens  of  N , 

as  well  as  one  of  the  best ;  not  quite  as  old  as 
the  Cathedral,  yet  none  the  less  truly  a  Temple, 
and  one  that,  when  the  grey  stone  building 
moulders,  will  stand  in  more  than  its  original 
beauty  and  sanctity. 

"  I  believe  you  have  all  of  you  been  '  good 
children,'  but  now  you  must  hear  the  fatherly 
apostolic  voice  that  speaks  to  you  from  heaven 
as  to  children,  and  would  lead  you  from  Good 
through  Better,  even  as  far  as  Best. 


2 56  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

"You  are  enviable  people  to  have  kept  both 
father  and  mother  so  long.  Well,  long  life  to 
you  all,  and  many  pleasant,  if  sometimes  pen- 
sive, memories  of  the  departed.  We  must  all 
go  when  our  time  comes ;  and  when  it  does, 
may  our  work  shame  us  as  little  as  your  father's 
does  him." 


ADVICE  TO  A  MINISTER  ON  HIS  ELECTION. 

"76,  Arlington  Street,  \\th  May,  1866. 

" A  minority  even  of is  not  de- 
sirable, and  if  you  can  think  of  them  and  treat 
them  as  people  likely  to  become  friends,  so 
much  the  better.  Absolute  unanimity  in  such 
cases  is  seldom  found,  perhaps  never,  except 
where  it  ought  not  to  be.  The  character  of  a 
minority  is,  however,  of  much  more  importance 
than  its  number.  It  may  be  advisable  to  address 
a  short  letter — courteous  and  hopeful — to  the 
minority,  along  with  your  letter  of  acceptance, 
should  you,  after  consideration  and  further  in- 
quiry, decide  on  going." 


MORNINGTON  CHURCH.  2 si 

ABOUT  A  SERMON. 
"  76,  Arlington  Street,  25^  June,  1866. 

"The  subject  yesterday  was  Piety — what  it  is 
and  what  its  worth,  how  to  be  shown,  how 
cherished.  But  though  I  laid  a  careful  founda- 
tion, the  tower  was  but  an  unfinished  one,  with 
no  roof  over  it  but  Heaven — a  good  roof,  how- 
ever.'' 

VISIT  TO  SCOTLAND. 
"  76,  Arlington  Street,  iy.1i  September,  i860. 
"We  have  been   in   Scotland,  and 


came  back  last  week.  Our  head-quarters  have 
been  at  Binns,  by  Linlithgow,  a  large  old  house 
in  a  large  old  park,  which  our  friends  Mr.  and 

Mrs. occupy  for  the  season,  and  where  we 

have  been  very  hospitably  and  pleasantly  enter- 
tained. 

"But  Sc6tland  is  a  rainy  country.  Three 
times  we  have  visited  it,  and  each  time  had 
more  foul  weather  than  fine.  All  our  visits 
too  have  been  in  August,  and  though  no  doubt 
it  is  a  blissful  thing  to  eat  August  grouse,  yet 
we  prefer  fine  weather  even  to  fine  eating !  " 

s 


258  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

PRESBYTERIAN  FREEDOM. 

"  1st  October,  1866. 

"  We  were  at  Glasgow  for  a  few  days  while 
in  Scotland.  The  Presbyterian  mind  there  is 
sadly  troubled  just  now  about  Mr.  Smith,  who 
won't  believe  that  a  Jew  is  just  as  good  as  a 
Christian,  if  not  better,  or  something  of  that 
sort.  He  has  said  something  about  the  moral 
law  which  is  considered  very  immoral.  So  they 
have  got  him  on  the  rack,  that  is  to  say  on  the 
'  Confession/  to  make  him  squeak  or  shriek  the 
orthodoxy  that  he  cannot  manage  plainly  to 
speak.  The  authorities  are  '  agreed  already '  in 
their  judgment — That  if  he  won't  eat  his  own 
words,  he  shall  not  eat  anything  else — if  they 
can  help  it.  Such  is  the  freedom  wherewith  the 
Free  Church  at  present  makes  free  with  its 
clergy." 

ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A  CHILD. 

"  76,  Arlington  Street,  i$th  December,  1866. 

"  You  will    long   and    sorely   miss 

your  little  darling.     Such  afflictions  are  sharp 
indeed.     And  though  we  are  entirely  sure  that 


MORNINGTON  CHURCH.  259 

the  child  has  found  a  new  happy  home,  and 
very  tender  friends,  yet  the  pain  of  grief  is  as 
peremptory  as  hunger  itself.  It  is  a  hunger  of 
the  heart,  which  cannot  accommodate  itself  at 
once  to  a  change  of  food.  Its  pleasant  meat 
seems,  indeed,  wholly  taken  away,  but  it  will 
learn  to  feed  after  a  while  on  memories  and 
hopes,  and  a  love  for  the  absent  growing  ever 
purer  and  more  tranquil ;  all  of  which  will  have 
an  even  divine  sweetness. 

"  It  seems  a  very  far  country  to  which  those 
who  depart  are  taken.  But  it  is  not  so.  There 
must,  too,  be  children  in  heaven,  else  how  could 
it  be  a  happy  world  ? 

"  But  how  many  a  mother  may  naturally  say, 
Why  take  my  child,  my  bright,  merry  child ; 
surely  earth  needs  such  children  more  than 
heaven  can ;  why  not  take  the  feeble,  the 
crippled,  for  whom  this  world  offers  so  little  ? 

"  The  mother's  own  kind,  sagacious  heart,  can 
partly  answer  her  question.  But  when  pious 
reasoning  has  done  its  best,  the  head  must  bow, 
the  heart  acquiesce,  as  the  mouth  says,  'Thy 
will,  my  Father,  be  done  ! '  " 


26o  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

A  LETTER  IN  WINTER. 
"76,  Arlington  Street,  ph  January,  186;. 

"Dear  Sir, — No  doubt  you  are  at  this  mo- 
ment perambulating ,  defying  winter  with 

a  feeling  of  conscious  superiority.  I  am  by  the 
fireside,  whence  I  step  away  now  and  then  to 
see  how  the  thermometer  goes  on  in  my  garden. 
A  quarter  of  an  hour  ago,  it  was  at  17  deg. 
above  zero — three  or  four  deg.  warmer  than 
yesterday  at  the  same  time.  I  am  congealed. 
The  very  ink  ought  to  be  ice.  I  wish  it  was. 
Then  I  couldn't  write  several  letters  which  I  am 
afraid  I  must.  Perhaps  I  might  have  conscience 
and  friendship  enough  just  to  thaw  a  drop  or 
two  for  writing  a  note  to  you.  I  hope  I  should, 
for  I  was  very  glad  to  hear  from  you.  But  you 
see  I  have  taken  the  smallest  sheet  of  paper  I 
could  find.  So,  though  I  am  doing  my  duty,  it 
seems  that  I  don't  mean  to  do  any  more  of  it 

than  I  can  help I  have  just  lifted  up 

my  eyes  to  refresh  myself  by  looking  out  of 
window,  after  getting  thus  far.  I  behold  a 
black  cat  sitting  on  the  white  snow,  like  a  bad 
thought  that  has  intruded  itself  into  an  innocent 


MORNINGTON  CHURCH.  261 

heart.  Please  understand  that  my  heart  is  quite 
innocent  of  all  bad  thoughts  towards  you ;  and 
is  so  far  conscious  of  good  ones,  that  if  you  were 
here  (so  saith  my  heart)  you  should  have  half 
the  fire  (more  if  necessary)  and  a  glass  of  mulled 
Avine.  So,  as  to  that  query  you  put  about 
decorating  me  with  the  title  '  friend/  please 
believe  me  to  be  the  Thing ;  and  as  to  the 
name,  you  can  use  it  sparingly,  as  I  do — perhaps 
rather  to  excess — or  lavishly,  as  is  the  manner 
of  some  not  unpious  yet  not  deeply  sincere  folk, 
•or  just  naturally,  if  it  be  natural  and  pleasant  to 
you  to  salute  thus  those  whom  you  would  have 
consider  themselves  honoured  with  a  place 
•among  your  '  elect.' 

"  I  wish  you  a  happy  new  year,  no  more 
troubles  than  necessary,  more  success  than  even 
anticipated,  solace  from  old  friendships,  support 
from  new  ones,  reasonable  deacons ;  an  atten- 
tive, edified,  enlarging  congregation ;  health ; 
prospect  or  acquisition  of  a  suitable  wife ;  a 
calming,  consolidating,  elevating  sense  of  the 
reality  of  Spiritual  Truths  to  mingle  with  and 
alleviate  that  sorrowful  dissatisfaction  with  self, 


262  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

and  dubitation  about  many  things,  from  which  I 
do  not  expect  you  will  find  yourself  free  either 
this  year,  or  (altogether)  in  this  world.  What 
more  shall  I  wish  ?  That  you  may  read  good 
books  with  a  good  understanding  (I  have  not  at 
present  read  either  of  the  books  you  name), 
preach  sermons,  if  with  more  ease,  not  with  less 
power  ;  draw  water,  without  disliking  your  work 
even  when  the  well  is  deepest,  from  each  and 
every,  or  at  least  from  many,  and  ever  from  the 
chiefest  of  the  wells  of  salvation  that  abound  in 
the  Bible ;  also  that  you  may  arrange  skilfully 
supply-pipes  for  distributing  the  said  water  to 
your  people ;  and  that  the  water  may  never 
freeze  in  the  pipes.  What  more  ?  Why  I  will 
wish  you  may  always  be  content  with  Manna 
without  caring  too  much  for  Quails,  may  not 
despise  Manna  when  you  get,  by  favour  of  this 
world,  and  permission  of  heaven,  a  fine  fat 
Quail,  or  a  few  such ;  and  may  never  fail  to  find, 
nor  to  gather  when  you  find,  a  good  supply  of 
Manna  every  morning,  and  a  double  supply  on 
Sunday  morning,  lawfully  gatherable,  according 
to   our   new  economy,  on  that  day,  as  a  work 


MORNINGTON  CHURCH.  263 

hallowing  the  day.  Perhaps  you  would  prefer 
to  have  your  double  portion  on  the  Saturday, 
and  to  find  it  multiplying  on  the  Sunday,  after 
the  divine  manner  of  the  loaves  and  fishes  ?  Be 
it  so  then. 

"  I  might  as  well  have  taken  a  bigger  sheet  of 
paper." 

TO  A  CLERGYMAN  IN  NEW  YORK. 

"  31st  January,  1867. 

" To  this  hour  I  feel  amazed  at  the 

credit  given  to  such  enormous  falsehoods  as 
that  my  hymns  *  might  have  been  written  by  a 
man  who  had  never  seen  a  Bible,  and  never 
heard  more  than  a  few  words  and  a  few  names 
which  might  have  been  uttered  in  a  moment  of 
time.'  But,  for  one  person  who  had  seen  the 
hymns,  at  least  scores  had  heard  or  read  such 
statements  as  these  about  them.  With  what 
results  to  myself?  What  results  when  a  man 
of  strong  constitution  is  compelled  to  take  a 
large  dose  of  arsenic  ?  Death  does.  And  Cha- 
racter can  no  more  stand  against  Slander  than 
Constitution  against  Arsenic.     Therefore,  I  am 


264  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

dead.  Nevertheless  I  live,  and  so  do  my  hymns. 
I  am  regarded  with  a  curious  mixture  of  respect 
and  distrust.  Physical  infirmity  compels  me  to 
lead  a  life  only  semi-public,  and  I  preach  but 
once  a  Sunday  :  thought  a  wolf  by  many  people 
who,  on  hearing  me,  are  ready  to  admit  that 
after  all  I  may  be  a  kind  of  sheep  ;  isolated, 
yet  bearing  witness  for  Catholicity ;  and  doing 
what  the  Orthodox  neglect — that  is,  preaching 
Orthodoxy,  showing  and  unfolding  its  truths, 
according  to  my  ability,  not  merely  stating  its 

dogmas 

"  I  should  not  myself  apply  the  phrase  '  Broad 
Church  poetry'  to  my  hymns,  chiefly  because 
'Broad  Church'  is  really  a  sectional  and 
therefore  a  narrowing  name;  and  also  because 
the  hymns  are  the  fruit  of  personal  experience 
and  direct  communion  with  Truth,  not  the 
results  of  affiliation  to  any  school  whatever.  It 
will  not  be  improper  for  me  to  say,  nor  unplea- 
sant to  you,  that  exactly  such  appreciation  as 
yours  the  '  Rivulet'  has  had  from  many  per- 
sons, of  association  with  whom  no  one  need  be 
ashamed." 


MORNINGTON  CHURCH.  265 

TO  THE  SAME. 

"  iph  July,  1867. 

"  I  felt  quite  guilty  on  seeing  your  letter  of 
17th  June,  and  even  more  so  on  reading  it;  for 
3^ou  say  '  should  you  reply,'  as  if  I  was  a  hard 
sea-monster  or  a  haughty  arch-priest.  Why, 
then,  have  I  not  replied  to  your  former  letter  ? 
In  answering  this  direct,  thrusting  question,  I 
might  be  content  to  borrow  a  hint  from  the  lady 
who,  when  asked  why  such  a  thing  was  so, 
replied  'Because  it  is/  But  I  will  tell  you  a 
little  of  my  own  tale  of  '67.  In  my  previous 
communication  I  made  you  aware  that  I  was 
no  giant ;  and  during  the  early  summer  months 
of  this  year  I  have  been  deplorably  unwell, 
subject  to  daily  faintness  and  exhaustion.  Yet 
there  came  upon  me  about  March,  and  stayed 
with  me  some  time,  a  Spirit  of  hymn-writing, 
or  rather  making,  for  I  seldom  compose  verse 
pen  in  hand  and  paper  before  me.  And  I  have 
produced  twenty-one  hymns  ;  and  I  hope,  if 
they  get  into  print,  and  I  send  them  to  you, 
you  will  not  avenge  yourself  on  me  by  disliking 
them.      Certainly  the  hymns  helped  the  faint- 


206  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

ness  even  more  than  the  faintness  hindered  the 
hymns,  though  it  sadly  molested  me,  the  poor 

worker I  confess  that  illness  does  lead 

remarkably,  if  not  quite  excusably,  to  procras- 
tination in  correspondence.  On  the  5th  of  this 
present  July  I  entered  on  my  jubilee  year.  I 
must  be  a  better  man.  I  am  never  intellectually, 
I  may  even  say  spiritually,  inactive ;  but  often 
things  I  outwardly  want  to  do  I  feel  as  if  I  could 
not  do,  and  very  literally  often  I  cannot  do  them. 
I  have  energy ;  but  internal  and  external  power 
are  not  equal.  I  did  not  hear  silver  trumpets 
sounding  on  the  5th  to  announce  my  liberation 
whilst  yet  a  mortal  from  some  of  my  special 
burdens  of  mortality,  or  as  a  Levite  from  my 
ecclesiastical  labours,  or  as  an  outcast  from  the 
synagogue,  from  the  ban  and  contumely  that 
afflict  my  name.  But  it  is  something  to  have 
lived  on  to  the  fiftieth  year,  for  a  man  whose  life 
no  office  would  insure,  and  whose  dissolution 
has  from  boyhood  upwards  been  at  various  eras 
confidently  threatened  and  predicted." 

The  close  of  1867  brought  sad  access  of  suffer- 


MORNINGTON  CHURCH.  267 

ing  to  Mr.  Lynch.  He  had  been  preaching  as 
usual  on  Thursday  evening,  and  was  aroused 
two  hours  after  retiring  to  rest  by  a  watchman's 
rattle  and  a  cry  of  "  Fire  !  "  The  house  adjoin- 
ing was  in  flames,  and  so  rapidly  did  they 
spread  that  the  firemen  gave  orders  for  the 
immediate  removal  of  everything  that  was  con- 
sidered valuable.  Neighbours  were  kindly  help- 
ful, and  the  most  important  contents  of  his 
study  were  safely  lodged  in  one  of  their  houses. 
Happily,  although  the  house  on  fire  was  com- 
pletely destroyed,  his  own  escaped  with  little 
injury.  But  five  hours'  exposure  to  the  cold  of 
a  frosty  November  night  brought  on  a  fearful 
attack  of  neuralgia,  which  lasted  for  a  fortnight ; 
and  the  weakness  induced  by  the  pain  affected 
his  throat  so  seriously,  that  he  seldom  after- 
wards could  take  a  meal  without  much  suffering, 
and  the  suffering  sometimes  most  acute. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE    AUGMENTED    "  RIVULET "    AND    OTHER 
MATTERS. 

1868— 1870.      . 

iHPvWELVE  years  had  elapsed  since  the  issue 
of  the  "Rivulet,"  and  the  clamour  which 
met  its  appearance  had  passed  away.  Mean- 
while its  waters  had  been  widely  diffused : 
hymn  after  hymn  had  entered  into  "  the  use  "  of 
the  churches,  the  spiritual  man,  under  conditions 
orthodox  and  heterodox,  discovering  in  them 
"expression  meet"  for  heart  and  voice.  The 
slow  and  sure  verdict  of  common  Christian 
experience  was  thus  registered  in  the  author's 
favour ;  and  what  more  could  he  desire  ? 

So  encouraged,  and  a  new  edition  being  called 
for,  he  enriched  and  enlarged  the  volume  with 


THE  AUGMENTED  "  RIVULET."        269 

sixty-seven  new  hymns,  the  former  editions 
containing  but  one  hundred.  To  a  literary 
friend  he  announced  the  publication — 

"  76,  Arlington  Street, 

"2nd  July,  1868. 

a  I  am  issuing  a  new  edition  of  the  '  Rivulet ' 
this  week.  It  contains  many  additional  hymns 
which  I  hope  you  will  like.  Though  the 
Thames  has  not  yet  been  set  on  fire,  this  lesser 
stream  once  blazed  famously,  and  you  did  kind 

service  in  the ,  if  not  in  putting  it  out,  at 

any  rate  in  getting  me  out  of  the  flames.  It 
will  not  prove  combustible  now  I  think;  and 
nobody  need  either  fear  or  loathe  to  drink  of  the 
river,  unless  he  is  very  '  Egyptian,'  that  is,  very 
Evangelical  indeed." 

To  the  Mornington  congregation  the  enlarged 
"Rivulet"  afforded  especial  satisfaction,  and 
they  made  Mr.  Lynch  a  present,  which  in  due 
season  he  individually  acknowledged  in  a 
printed  letter,  headed  with  the  caution,  "Pri- 
vate :  not  for  the  Newspapers ." 


27o  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

"  76,  Arlington  Street,  Mornington  Crescent, 
"  Wednesday,  September  30,  1868. 

"  I  heartily  thank  my  friends  at  Mornington 
Church  for  their  generous  gift,  and  yourself  in 
particular  for  your  kind  contribution  thereto. 
On  the  5th  of  July  last  I  attained  the  rather 
sorrowful  dignity  of  being  fifty  years  old ;  and 
on  the  5th  of  August,  as  I  was  preparing  to 
leave  London  in  order  to  undergo  my  annual 
holiday,  a  purse  containing  two  hundred  pounds 
was  brought  me  as  a  congratulatory  offering 
from  the  good  affections  of  our  people.  Who 
the  ingenious  person  was  that  proposed  I 
should,  on  reaching  so  important  a  station  in 
life's  journey,  be  met  and  comforted  with  a  little 
money,  I  do  not  know ;  but  I  was  emphatically 
assured  that  every  contributor  had  offered 
willingly.  And  I  believed  this,  because  my 
friends  are  as  considerate  and  liberal  in  their 
conduct  towards  me  as  they  and  I  desire  to  be 
in  the  spirit  of  our  faith  and  worship. 

"  Two  hundred  pounds !  Undoubtedly  it  is 
true  in  this  case,  as  in  so  many  others,  that 
'two   are   better   than   one.'       But    if   the   first 


THE  AUGMENTED  "  fiZVULET:'        271 

hundred  pounds  is  a  reward  for  living  fifty 
years,  the  second  must  not  be  considered  an 
encouragement  for  even  trying  to  live  fifty  more. 
Happily  no  such  heavy  burden  is  laid  upon  your 
minister.  He  said  on  Sunday,  September  20  : 
*I  have  been  absent  six  weeks,  by  request. 
Part  of  the  time  I  have  spent  on  a  sofa  in  the 
country,  part  at  a  window  by  the  sea,  going 
forth  occasionally  to  the  common,  with  its  furze 
and  its  prospects,  or  to  the  shore,  with  its  family 
of  curious  creatures  and  its  restless  neighbours 
the  waves.'  But  even  sympathetic  persons,  if 
they  are  tolerably  strong,  hear  with  some 
incredulity  the  assertion  that  there  are  people 
who  feel  every  day  'weary  and  heavy-laden/ 
and  whose  holiday-time  is  often  the  most  em- 
barrassing and  disappointing  season  of  the  year. 
Such  people,  though  they  may  'groan'  a  good 
deal  (privately),  '  being  burdened,'  may  be  of 
very  cheerful  temperament,  thankful  for  life, 
and  wishful  to  prolong  it ;  and,  at  any  rate, 
almost  as  happy  as  they  consider  they  deserve  to 
be.  I  am  one  of  these  people  ;  and  beg  to  state 
that    the    most    exacting    of    those    benevolent 


272  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH, 

friends  who  insist  on  my  taking  what  they  are 
pleased  to  call  recreation,  cannot  do  me  a 
greater  little  service  (so  to  say)  than  to  take  for 
granted  that  I  am  '  as  well  as  can  be  expected/ 
and  cease  to  afflict  me  with  the  question,  '  How 
do  you  do  r ' 

"  No  directions  have  been  furnished  me  as  to 
how  I  am  to  dispose  of  my  two  hundred  pounds. 
It  is  a  free  gift,  for  my  free  use.  But,  as  a  free 
man,  I  shall  feel  bound  so  to  spend  and  to  save 
as  may  best  enable  me  to  make  more  efficient 
the  spiritual  service  it  is  my  duty  and  honour  to 
render.  Money  is  vile  or  precious  according  to 
the  getting  and  the  using.  The  having  it  is  no 
sure  heaven,  the  want  of  it  may  be  a  sharp 
purgatory.  It  is  a  minister  of  sin — and  of 
righteousness ;  never  the  most,  and  sometimes 
the  least,  serviceable  of  things  ;  but  usually  a 
capital  servant  if  it  has  even  a  tolerably  sensible 
master. 

"  In  the  early  years  of  my  ministry  I  had  to 
spend  much  that  I  would  gladly  have  saved. 
More  than  half  of  what  was  necessary  for  living 
on  the  most  moderate  scale,  I  had  to  provide  by 


THE  AUGMENTED   "RIVULET."        273 

work  and  from  sources  not  congregational. 
But  from  the  outset  I  have  had  in  association 
with  me  liberal  and  sensible  persons ;  and 
whatever  I  may  have  had  to  bear  from  people  ot 
another  class — people  who,  alas,  call  themselves 
'evangelical/  and  yet  are  well  described  by  a 
lady  much  honoured  of  me  as  those  who  'do 
unjustly,  talk  uncharitably,  and  walk  proudly 
before  God ' — I  know  of  none  such  now  in  our 
congregation.  Some  who  were  my  true  friends 
at  the  first,  have  been  friends  from  the  first. 
Almost  all  new  adherents,  joining  us  in  the 
course  of  the  years,  have  brought  new  strength, 
some  of  them  much  new  strength. 

"The  word  'evangelical,'  which  I  have  just 
used,  is  a  word  that  once  had  only  a  distin- 
guished, but  now  has  also  a  debased  sense.  So 
its  use  is  equivocal.  But  so  was  the  use  of  the 
word  *  Jew : '  for  in  apostolic  days  there  were 
men  who  said  they  were  Jews,  but  were  not. 
Did  then  the  real  Jew  feel  it  otherwise  than  an 
honour  to  be  Abraham's  child  ?  He  blushed  for 
those  who  dishonoured  Abraham  by  boasting  in 
his    name   without   possessing   his   spirit  :    and 

T 


27+  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

desired  himself  to  be  so  an  c  Israelite  indeed,5 
that  if  any  one  must  blush  for  him,  the  blushes 
might  at  least  be  few.  But  what  if  some 
persisted  in  angry  praises  of  the  old  clothes 
'  renovated,' — things  that  would  only  tear  and 
not  wear :  were  there  no  new  clothes  to  be  had, 
made  of  that  same  durable  stuff  wherewith 
Father  Abraham  clothed  himself,  though  not 
shaped  according  to  the  pattern  of  his  antique 
garments  ?  Had  the  real  Jew  in  his  bright  new 
raiment  of  spiritual  faith  no  advantage  ?  He 
had  much  every  way.  And  so  has  the  real 
'evangelical'  now.  Let  a  man  then  neither  be 
anxious  to  be  called  evangelical,  nor  ashamed  to 
be  so  called.  And  if,  having  heard  of  a  new 
covenant,  a  new  heart,  a  new  man,  a  new 
commandment  and  a  new  song,  new  heavens 
and  a  new  earth,  a  new  Jerusalem,  and  a  God 
who  will  make  all  things  new,  he  considers 
that  a  little  '  new  doctrine '  may  sometimes  be 
wanted,  especially  as  wayfarers  in  the  very 
oldest  of  old  paths  must  be  new  wayfarers,  let 
him  still  prefer  a  dull  old  last  century's  guinea 
to  a  bright  new  last  year's   farthing,   and   not 


THE  AUGMENTED  "  RIVULET: 


2/5 


only  spare,  but  reverentially  guard  the  old  tree 
whose    shade   stretches   not   hurtfully   over   the 
young  fruit-trees,  but  gratefully  over  their  culti- 
vators, who,  seated  beneath  the  green  venerable 
boughs,  look  forth  and  rejoice  to  see  the  new 
day  smiling  on  the  new  orchard  and  new  garden. 
"  For  more  than  twenty-one  years  have  I  been 
a  minister,  and  I  have  been  banned  as  well  as 
blessed;    though  sometimes  the  blessings  have 
even  been  much  the  more  abundant.     And  if  I 
have  kept  one  imaginary  book  that  I  may  call 
the  Raven  Book,  the  earlier  pages  of  which  are 
now   brown   with   lapse    of  time,   I    have    also 
had    another   such   book,   that   I   may  call   the 
Samaritan  Register.     The  *  Ravens/  so  kind  to 
prophets,  have,  with  timely  visiting,  brought  me 
now  a  letter  with  something  in  it  besides  ink, 
now  a  box  not  empty,  or  a  book,  or  a  bottle,  or 
even  a  hamper,  of  such  wine  as  it  would  have 
gladdened  Paul's  spirit  to  know  was  working  its 
medicinal   effect  on   Timothy's    stomach.     And 
though  of  the  ten  that  I  may  have  tried  to  heal 
or  to  comfort,  even  nine  may  have  gone  away 
and  'made  no  sign,'   I  have  been  sure  of  my 


276  MEMOIR  OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

'  tithe ' — some  Samaritan  always  gives  thanks 
to  God  for  his  word,  and  to  me  for  ministering 
it.  Among  the  earliest  letters  of  encouragement 
that  I  received,  I  remember  one  particularly, 
not  only  from  the  eminence  and  interesting 
character  of  the  writer,  but  from  its  association 
with  circumstances  not  exhilarating.  This  letter 
came  when  days  were  dark.  The  writer  had 
heard  me  accidentally.  He  then  advised  others 
to  hear  me.  They  *  thank  him  for  his  sugges- 
tion, assuring  him  that  they  reap  the  full  benefit 
he  prophesied/  '  I  simply  wish  you/  he  says  in 
his  letter  to  me,  'to  be  assured  that  you  are 
remembered  and  pleaded  for  by  some  you  little 
think  of/ 

"  There  were  at  this  time  sages  hearing  me, 
who  occupied  themselves  in  counting  how  often 
certain  sacred  words  were  used  by  me,  and 
in  determining  whether  my  texts  were  taken 
from  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New  in  the 
right  proportion.  They  were  not  'more  than 
astonished  at  the  power  and  beauty  of  the 
illustrations  of  the  text  given  by  the  preacher/ 
but  would  have  been  much  astonished  to  hear 


THE  AUGMENTED  "RIVULET."        277 

him  thus  addressed  :  'Cheer  up,  dear  sir ;  the  day 
of  your  proper  estimation  by  the  denomination 
to  which  you  belong  cannot  be  long  delayed/ 
Of  proper  and  improper  estimation  I  have  now 
had  abundance.  And  in  those  days  even,  I  had 
as  good  '  estimation '  as  ever  I  have  had  since,  or 
can  have.  But  as  to  'denominational'  estima- 
tion ;  of  its  quantity  and  its  quality  I  will  only 
say  that  neither  has,  at  any  rate,  made  me  yield 
to  the  tempting  voice  that  has  said  :  '  Come 
down  hither ;  leave  the  bleak  windy  heights  of 
free  Catholicity  ;  come  and  be  established ;  step 
aside  into  the  Church.'  '  Thank  you,  no,'  I  have 
replied  ;  '  I  will  come  a  little  way  down  to  you, 
if  you  will  come  a  little  way  up  to  me,  and  we 
will  confer  upon  the  hill-slope  for  our  mutual 
advantage.'  But  do  I  belong  to  '  my  denomi- 
nation,' as,  for  instance,  a  dog  might  belong  to 
me,  so  that  if  he  does  not  obey  orders,  why  he 
must  expect  the  stick  ?  I  think  not.  But  as  I 
am  the  minister  of  a  congregation  that  attends 
to  its  own  affairs,  and  does  not  intrude  into  its 
neighbours'  (we  love  our  neighbours  a  little 
though,  and  hope  they  love  us  a   little),  I  am 


278  MEMOIR   OF  T.  T.  LYNCH. 

willing,  if  any  one  thinks  it  worth  his  while  to 
'  denominate '  me,  to  be  called  a  Congrega- 
tionalism 

"  Assailed,  then,  and  with  many  a  buffet,  but 
i  comforted  with  love,'  I  continue  unto  this 
day.  It  is  well,  however,  that  you  should  know 
that  in  giving  me  this  purse  you  have  not  grati- 
fied everybody.  A  *  sincere  and  faithful  man,'* 
as  he  says  he  is,  is  not  pleased.  He  has  read 
of  the  presentation  in  the  newspapers  ('Who 
told  the  newspapers,'  said  I,  '  I  wonder  ? '),  and 
has  taken  the  trouble  to  write  to  me,  and  say 
that  he  '  envies  neither  pastor  nor  people.' 
There  is  a  proverb,  'Better  be  envied  than 
pitied.'  But  all  he  can  do  is  to  pity  us,  or 
at  least  the  'people/  He  fears  you  will  be 
1  ultimately  ruined ; '  not  I  hope,  however,  by 
trusting  in  yourselves  that  you  are  righteous 
and  despising  others.  I  had  gone  out  with 
wife  and  son,  just  as  I  was  recovering  from  a 
severe  attack  of  illness,  for  a  ride,  over  a  large 
country,  at  bright  noon,  in  the  sweetest  silence, 
and  our  hap  was  to  see,  among  other  country 
sights,    a   hornet's   nest.      We   looked   up   with 


THE  AUGMENTED   "RIVULET."        279 

cautious  but  not  unadmiring  eyes  at  the  cunningly 
wrought  paper  home  of  these  powerful  insects, 
placed  in  the  hollow  of  a  huge  and  ancient 
chestnut-tree.  Too  like  paper-loving  '  Evan- 
gelicals '  the  insects  seemed.  Yet  it  is  reli- 
gion's hornets,  not  nature's,  that  sting  for  the 
love  of  stinging.  On  getting  back  to  our  lodg- 
ings, I  found  awaiting  me  the  c  faithful '  man's 
letter.  But  perceiving  its  quality,  and  consi- 
dering that  my  dinner  would  do  me  most  good  ; 
according  to  the  rule,  '  Business  first,  and  plea- 
sure— or  what  not — afterwards,'  I  dined,  and 
then  read  the  letter,  not  without  some  edifica- 
tion. Its  lesson  was  this  :  Stupidity  and  male- 
volence go  together  ;  and  *  Evangelicals  '  will 
never  become  more  modest  and  loving  till  they 
become  more  thoughtful  and  are  more  carefully 
instructed  in  the  '  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.'  How 
much  better  to  resemble  birds  that  sing  among 
branches  green  with  a  present  life,  than  wasps 
or  hornets  that  issue  forth  for  mischief  from 
the  hollows  of  decay  lined  with  newspaper, 
letter-paper,  or  other  paper  unwisely  blackened  ! 
Better  sing  than  sting.     Better  love  than  hate. 


280  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

"  The  anonymous  censor  I  have  referred  to 
would  not  have  been  worth  even  an  allusion, 
had  he  not  in  so  untimely  and  officious  a 
manner  presented  himself  as  a  specimen  of  a 
class  which  I  know  to  be  still  large.  And 
here  let  me  add :  I  write  with  embarrassment, 
because  Experience  has  so  much  to  say  that 
cannot  with  propriety  be  said — already,  indeed, 
I  may  have  said  too  much ;  and  Reflection — 
grave,  melancholy  power — would,  if  I  inserted 
all  his  suggestions,  make  this  letter  as  long  as 
a  sermon,  and  even  more  tiresome.  Long 
enough,  indeed,  I  have  kept  you  waiting  for 
the  letter.  But  often  to  give  a  man  time  is  as 
friendly  an  act  as  to  give  him  money. 

"As  to  my  deficiencies,  you  know  more  of 
them,  possibly,  than  I  do ;  but  they  are  not 
likely  to  keep  you  awake  at  night  as  they 
keep  me.  And  as  to  the  excellencies  I  aim  at, 
these  are  some  of  them.  I  aim  to  be  reason- 
able ;  to  favour,  not  to  fetter,  the  best  action 
of  the  intellect.  And  I  aim  to  be  never  intel- 
lectual only,  but  to  put  before  you  and  myself 
the    convincing    word    as    the    glorious    word. 


THE  AUGMENTED  "RIVULET"        281 

I  aim  to  preach  for  spiritual  pleasure — that  we 
may  delight  ourselves  in  God  because  he  is 
good  and  his  mercy  endureth  for  ever :  and  for 
spiritual  power — that  what  we  know  we  may, 
with  brightened  lamp  and  girded  loins,  go  forth 
to  declare  and  to  do.  I  aim  to  be  worldly 
and  yet  holy,  affirming  that  the  feud  between 
spiritual  and  secular  is  a  wrongful  and  ignoble 
feud.  I  aim  to  show  that  Eternity  is  to-day's 
friend,  and  to  invigorate  our  faith  in  the  future, 
and  quash  our  fears  concerning  it,  by  insisting 
on  the  truth  that  Love  and  Right  are  eternal, 
and  must  triumph.  I  aim  to  be  just,  and 
catholic,  and  pitiful :  and  to  be  homely,  and 
various  and  natural.  And  I  do  not  aim  to  be 
'  orthodox '  or  '  liberal,'  or  '  sound '  or  '  broad,' 
by  special  designation,  but  to  preach  Jesus 
Christ  as  the  Emmanuel,  simply  and  fully  as 
I  can ;  earnestly  too,  and  winningly,  as  one 
should  who  knows  what  a  dark  secret  the 
human  heart  has,  and  what  a  deceiving  tor- 
menting worm  infests  it ;  and  knows  too  the 
costly  anguish  of  the  work  by  which  Emmanuel 
righted  the  wrong  done  through  the  '  creature ' 


282  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

to  God  and  to  itself;  and  is  confident,  that 
only  by  the  pure  patient  love  of  the  Living 
God  can  'miserable'  man  through  his  faith 
in  this  love,  and  his  gradual  dying  out  of  evil 
and  rising  into  good  by  the  spirit  this  love 
bestows,  become  happy  man;  holy,  friendly, 
perfect  man.  And  much  else  I  aim  at,  more 
or  less  involved  in  the  pursuit  of  these  excel- 
lencies spoken  of  as  sought  by  me.  i  Who  is 
sufficient  for  these  things  r ' 

"  Should  my  mental  power  fail  me  for  spiritual 
service,  I  hope  I  shall  have  the  grace  to  begone 
without  waiting  for  you  to  say  c  Go.'  And 
should  my  health  be  soon  quite  broken,  there 
will  but  be  the  shattering  of  one  more  candle- 
stick made  of  potter's  clay :  the  golden  candle- 
stick of  the  divine  word  will  abide  for  you,  and 
the  inextinguishable  light  of  its  yet  more  golden, 
of  its  most  heavenly  flame,  will  shine  on  for  you, 
and  will  shine  for  ever. 

"  I  am,  dear  Friend, 
"  Yours,  and  the  Congregation's, 

"  Gratefully  and  faithfully, 

"Thos.  T.  Lynch." 


THE  AUGMENTED  "RIVULET?        283 

Here  is  an  amusing  experience  written  to  a 
"  depressed  spirit  "  during  his  holiday — 

"Hastings,  \\th  September,  1868. 

"Some  years  ago  I  had  a  friend  subject  to 
fits  of  despair.  He  would  write  to  me  as  if  the 
world,  HIS  world,  were  now  certainly  coming 
to  an  end.  I  then,  full  of  horrified  sympathy, 
would  set  out  on  a  visit  of  condolence ;  but 
arrived,  lo  !  the  rooms  lighted,  the  piano  going, 
my  friend  in  fine  spirits,  and  all  things  looking 
so  disgustingly  delightful,  that  my  sympathy 
turned  to  wrath.  I  hope  you  do  not  resemble 
this  gentleman,  and  declare  yourself  in  the 
valley,  when  you  only  were  so,  and  are  now 
more  than  half  way  up  the  hill  you  believed 
you  could  never  climb. " 

TO  A  FATHER  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  HIS  DAUGHTER. 

"  76,  Arlington  Street, 

"  i8tk  September,  1868. 

"  An  hour  or  two  ago  we  were  cheered  by 
your  note.  But  now  you  tell  us  that  love  and 
care   can    do   no    more.      Their   work   has   not 


284  MEMOIR  OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

been  altogether  vain ;  for  to  die  beloved  is 
to  die  blessed.  And  the  care  that  was  not 
permitted  to  secure  what  it  so  earnestly  sought, 
reminds  us  of  that  higher  care  which  never 
fails  to  attain  its  end.  She  whom  man  might 
not  preserve,  God  has  received.  Her  husband 
and  her  parents  have  lost  her,  but  her  heavenly 
Father  has  her  safe  in  the  heavenly  home. 
Certain  truth  this ;  and  yet  such  truth  is  never 
at  first  consolatory  to  the  full.  But  how  much 
better  a  hope  sure  to  brighten,  than  no  hope 
at  all !      I  am  very  very  sorry  for  you,  for  your 

troubles  have  been  many.    But  my  dear  Mr. , 

let  '  patience  have  her  perfect  work.'  You 
know  in  whom  you  have  believed,  and  that  He 
is  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life — the  Eternal 
Life." 

ON  A  POETESS  AND  HER  OPINIONS. 

"  76,  Arlington  Street, 

"  28th  September,  1868. 

"Tell   Mrs.    F that    I   was   really   much 

obliged  to  her  for  the  poetic  welcome  she  gave 
to  my  book,  though  it  reached  me  in  days  when 


THE  AUGMENTED  "RIVULET."       285 

I  was  almost  too  hot  to  be  grateful.  The  verses 
are  now  in  my  treasury,  tied  up  with  very  red 

tape-     I  perceive  that  Mrs.  F is  '  sound  in 

the  faith '  about  women.  She  has  not  given  in 
to  the  modern  heresy  that  they  are  the  equals  of 
men.  I  fancy  her  addressing  us  thus  : — '  Men  ! 
Listen  to  truth.  Let  not  a  few  foolish  sisters 
deceive  you.  Think  not  that  we  shall  ever  claim 
to  be  your  equals,  who  have  been  from  earliest 
time  your  SUPERIORS.  What  was  Adam's  flesh, 
his  best  flesh,  the  flesh  nearest  his  heart,  but  a 
kind  of  dough,  out  of  which  Eve  was  fashioned  ! 
Or,  to  use  illustrations  yet  more  elevated,  think 
you  that  the  fragrant  pea  will  claim  to  be  the 
equal  of  the  stick  that  lifts  it  into  the  air  that  its 
sweetness  may  be  seen  and  diffused  ?  Or  is  the 
ruddy,  luscious  peach  no  better  than  the  dull 
wall  that  holds  it  forth  to  the  sunbeam  ?  Shall 
heaven  descend  to  be  the  equal  of  earth  ?  Our 
thoughts  are  as  much  deeper  than  yours,  as  our 
hairs  are  longer,  and  our  way  as  much  more 
excellent  as  our  fingers  are  more  delicate  ?  But 
to  accommodate  our  argument  to  your  under- 
standing, who  is  it   that  broils  your  chop,  and 


286  MEMOIR  OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

warms  your  slippers,  and  mends  your  stockings, 
and — spends  your  money  ? ' 

"  Formidable  doctrine  this.  But  shall  better- 
half  become  only  half  r  " 

A  CASE  OF  WINE. 

"  76,  Arlington  Street, 

"  $th  December,  1868. 

"  I  must  send  you,  according  to  the  adage,  a 
Roland  for  your  Oliver.*  Roland  was,  I 
believe,  a  knight  who  could  give  stroke  for 
stroke,  and  if  he  couldn't  repay  one  kindness  by 
another,  no  doubt  he  at  least  gave  thanks 
promptly — and  heartily,  as  I  do. 

"Your  wine  came  with  curious  timeliness. 
The  last  glass  of  a  last  bottle  had  just  been 
poured  out,  and  I  had  said,  '  Now  we  must  go 
to  the  dogs  ; '  meaning  we  must  accept  one  of  two 
evils,  a  pulse  too  low  for  the  want  of  wine,  or 
a  purse  too  low  through  procuring  it.  *  To  the 
docks  ? '  said  my  wife.  '  No,'  said  I,  '  though 
there  is  wine  enough  there  doubtless,  'to  the 
dogs  ;  '  which  she  said  was  wicked.     But  could 

*  The  wine-merchant's  name. 


THE  AUGMENTED  "RIVULET."        287 

it  be  wicked  when,  five  minutes  afterwards,  as  I 
was  sipping  a  cup  of  coffee,  'a  case  of  wine5 
was  announced  ? 

"  Thus  was  our  case  altered,  and  I  must  be, 
as  the  old  folk  used  to  say,  '  case-hardened,' 
which  I  suppose  means  hardened  against  the 
instruction  and  impression  *  cases '  may  yield, 
did  I  not  consider  this  a  great  case  of  kindness 
on  your  part,  feel  gratified  by  the  gift,  and 
edified  by  its  kindliness. 

"  Mr.  Gladstone  in  the  high  chair  at  last ! 
Wisely  may  he  fill  it,  as  he  assuredly  will 
conscientiously." 

TO  A  REQUEST  TO  PREACH  IN  THE  COUNTRY. 

"  76,  Arlington  Street, 

"  3rd  April,  1869. 

"  The  proposed  sermon  is  to  be  a  week-day 
one,  I  presume,  and  may  be  arranged  for  a 
Wednesday  or  Thursday.  That  being  so,  I 
should  like  to  come  ;  but  really  I  must  ask  your 
advice.  It  would  please  me  to  try  and  do  some 
good,  and  to  show  you  that  I  am  ready  to  try. 
But  though  I  have  been  working  steadily  with- 


288  MEMOIR   OF  T.  T.  LYNCH. 

out  break-down  for  some  time,  and  that  both 
Sundays  and  week-days,  my  infirmities  have  been 
increasing,  not  lessening.  For  instance,  to  eat 
my  dinner  costs  me  more  trouble  than  to  preach 
a  sermon ;  and  I  have  not  left  the  house  once 
alone  for  more  than  a  year,  for  fear  of  sudden  ill- 
ness—this by  medical  direction.  So  I  might  fail 
you. 

"  I  will  engage  provisionally  to  come  some 
time  in  September,  if  you  think  it  worth  while 
to  accept  risks.     But  it  is  fair  to  warn  you." 

WORK  AND  CARE. 

"  76,  Arlington  Street, 

"  ph  May,  1869. 

"  Preach !  preach !  Preaching  will  not  kill  a 
man's  care,  but  it  will  prevent  his  care  from 
killing  him.  I  wonder  whether  pleasanter  days, 
warm  as  well  as  sunny,  when  we  at  last  get 
them,  will  do  you  good.     I  hope  so." 

To  many  of  Mr.  Lynch's  hearers  it  was  a 
cause  of  regret  that  his  sermons  were  not 
reported,   and    that    so   much   valuable   matter 


THE  AUGMENTED  "  RIVULET?'       28y 

perished  with  the  occasion.  But  not  only  had 
the  expense  of  reporting  to  be  considered,  but  it 
was  not  easy  to  secure  the  preacher's  assent.  In 
a  letter  we  find  him  saying — 

"  76,  Arlington  Street, 

"  20th  February.  1865. 

"  My  dear  Mrs. ,  I  find  my  wife  has  sent 

back  Mr. 's  [a  reporter's]  sermon.     She  read 

it  to  me,  giving  herself  a  severe  headache  and 
driving  me  nearly  distracted.  It  wants  marking 
out  into  paragraphs,  words  adding,  and  some 
corrections  ;  else  it  had  better  be  put  in  the  fire 
to  brighten  that. 

"  If  you  will  let  me  see  it  some  day,  I  will  try 
and  make  it  readable.  I  do  not  like  sermons  of 
mine  separated  from  their  companions  and  co- 
workers, to  go  roaming  about  bearing  a  broken 
testimony  concerning  us." 

However,  in  the  spring  of  1869,  a  most 
efficient  reporter  was  engaged,  and  the  dis- 
courses of  some  months  secured — now  regarded 
as  a  treasure  of  great  importance.     Of  these  "  A 

u 


29o  MEMOIR  OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

Group  of  Six  Sermons  "  was  published  in  i 
At  the  same  time  his  lectures  on  Thursday 
evenings  were  taken,  and  a  volume  of  a  more 
popular  character  issued  under  the  title  of  "  The 
Mornington  Lecture/' 

Of  a  spirit  most  catholic,  Mr.  Lynch  was  a 
dissenter  with  reason,  and  his  reasons  he  was 
always  ready  to  render  on  proper  occasion. 
Here  is  a  passage  from  a  vacation  letter — 

"  Tenchleys  Park,  near  Limpsfield, 

"  \oth  August,  1869. 

"Mr.  — —  is  an  able  man,  and  possibly 
magnanimous  enough  to  blush  or  to  sigh  when 
he  thinks  that  a  parson  who  '  fights  in  the  open,' 
outside  the  lines  of  ecclesiastic  protection,  has  a 
much  harder  task,  and  yet  may  not  be  a  worse 
man  than  himself.  I  believe  in  Justice,  and 
Anglicanism  is  injustice.  The  Established 
Church  could  not  remain  as  it  is  for  a  twelve- 
month, but  for  the  superstition  of  Respectability, 
and  out  of  that  foetid  mist  we  must  all  keep 
our  heads  lifted  up  clear  and  high. 

"  I   was   pleased   to   see  lately  a    letter  from 


THE  AUGMENTED  "  RIVULET r        291 

Mr. ,  asserting  in  a  Church  print  the  supe- 
rior liberality  of  the  '  Dissenting '  Ministry,  when 
of  a  tolerably  good  sort." 

PROTOPLASM. 

"  76,  Arlington  Street, 

"  2~th  November,  1869. 

"  Thanks  for  your  note  and  Dr.  Stirling's  very 
able  lecture,*  which  I  have  read  with  much 
pleasure.  The  lecture  is  stronger,  I  think,  in  the 
philosophical    than    in    the  physiological    part. 

But,  on  the  whole,  he  offers  good  physic 

to  the  physicists.  If  Huxley  is  clear — he  is 
sometimes  clearly  wrong ;  and  if  Dr.  Stirling's 
expression  is  sometimes  obscure,  there  is  light 
enough  in  him  to  dissipate  clouds  of  misappre- 
hension in  the  minds  of  sundry  protoplastic 
readers. 

"  If  but  a  pair  of  boots  could  be  got,  made  of 
genuine  protoplasm,  I  should  think  by  walking 
about  they  might  develop  a  pair  of  legs  in  them, 
these  surmount  themselves  with  a  body  and  a 
heart,  and  finally  a  head  form  at  the  top  of  the 

*  "  As  Regards  Protoplasm,"  by  J.  H.  Stirling. 


292  MEMOIR   OF  T.  T.  LYNCH. 

affair  that  should  know  all  about  it,  though  the 
boots  knew  nothing  about  it ;  and  if  boots  can 
provide  themselves  with  a  man  to  use  them  for 
walking  and  kicking,  why  should  not  the  world 
provide  itself  with  a  god  to  take  care  of  it,  and 
the  real  soul  of  the  world  be  only  such  a  sole  as 
that  of  the  aforesaid  boots  ?  Philosophy  says  God 
made  the  world  ;  pseudo-science  says  the  world 
made  God.  Bathybius  is  making  him  now  at 
the  Sea-bottom,  instead  of  Bathybian  processes 
being  his  footsteps  in  the  great  waters,  as  He 
takes  his  way  through  them.  It  is  sad  to  be  all 
eyes  and  no  sight.  Please  understand  that  this 
note  is  not  an  essay  on  Protoplasm. 

"  'Twixt  Mind  and  Thing  there  was  a  chasm 
Which  now  is  bridged  by  Protoplasm  ; 
If  you're  a  Thing  and  feel  inclined, 
Just  cross  and  you'll  become  a  Mind." 

DESTRUCTIVE  CRITICISM. 

"  1869. 

"  I  am  constructive.  I  despise  the  cleverness 
and  conceit  of  the  day  that  whittles  up  old  dead 
sticks  into  chips,  strewing  the  ground  with  them, 


THE  AUGMENTED  "RIVULET"        293 

and  says,  See  what  work  I  do  !  The  shreddings 
of  the  knife  of  criticism  are  not  seeds  out  of 
which  anything  will  grow.  And  people  that 
cut,  cut,  as  if  there  were  nothing  else  to  be  done, 
soon  take  to  cutting  living  things,  and  kill  what 
they  affect  to  prune." 

A  REASON  FOR  NOT  WRITING. 

"  76,  Arlington  Street, 

"  22nd  January,  1870. 

"  If  you  were  to  commit  a  crime,  meet  with  a 
misfortune,  or  be  seized  with  a  complaint,  I 
would  write  to  you.  But  though  I  care  for  you 
as  much  as  ever,  I  do  not  care  about  writing  to 
you,  because  you  are  not  now  a  Solitary,  but 
companioned ;  and  I  hope  in  the  smooth  waters 
of  content  and  prosperity." 

CONSOLATION. 

"  76,  Arlington  Street, 

"  2$rd  March,  1870. 

"  My  dear  Mrs. ,  I  wish  you  were  nearer 

to  us ;  then  I  would  come  and  talk  to  Mr. , 

and  try  to  cheer  him  up. 


294  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

"  Tell  him  from  me  that  if  his  sins  have  been 
even  as  bad  as  his  dreams,  there  is  a  morning 
coming,  as  we  hope,  both  for  him  and  for  us, 
when  sins  as  well  as  dreams  will  be  done  with. 
Those  who  sincerely  desire  to  awake  to  right- 
eousness in  this  life  through  their  merciful 
Saviour,  and  to  keep  awake  by  the  power  of 
his  Good  Spirit,  may  gratefully  hope  to  awake 
to  blessedness  in  the  next,  and  never  to  grow 
drowsy  any  more  through  dulness  of  soul  and 
weariness  of  body,  nor  dreamy  because  of  con- 
fusing pain  or  saddening  memories. 

"  Dreams  may  come  from  above,  and  so  they 
may  from  below.  And  when  they  come  from 
below,  our  Heavenly  Friend  knows  the  distress 
they  occasion,  and  will  make  their  evil  work  to 
good  account  for  us.  Remember,  He  that  is 
Above  is  above  all.  Sins  that  sadden,  and 
dreams  that  madden,  are  alike  under  his  con- 
trol. 

"  Tell  Mr.  that  I  quite  approve  of  his 

thinking  very  highly  of  his  wife,  but  he  must 
think  even  more  highly  of  his  God.  Will  a 
just  wife  who  loves  her  husband  love  him  not 


THE  AUGMENTED  "RIVULET."        295 

the  less  but  the  more  because  of  his  tenderness 
of  conscience  concerning  his  early  life ;  and  will 
a  just  God  taunt  the  penitent  man  in  whom,  it 
may  be,  true  and  humble  worth  is  steadily 
increasing,  through  his  union  with  Christ  ?  Is 
it  God's  design  to  put  us  to  as  much  shame  as 
possible,  or  to  save  us  from  all  unnecessary  ex- 
posure, as  well  as  from  the  sins  that,  but  for 
his  forgiving  love  and  its  purifying  grace, 
would  have  robbed  us  altogether  of  honour  and 
happiness  ? 

"  We  each  of  us  know  our  own  story ;  and 
God,  who  knows  the  worst  of  us,  has  the  best 
hopes  for  us,  so  to  say — better  than  our  own  or 
our  friends'  hopes,  if  only  we  desire  to  be  made 
good.  None  so  innocent  but  must  enter  the 
way  of  Salvation  by  the  gate  of  Repentance ; 
none  so  guilty  but  that  Christ  who  died  for  us 
all  can  make  his  sins  die,  and  give  him  resur- 
rection unto  life." 


196  MEMOIR   OF  T.   T.  LYNCH. 

would  be  thought.  Let  him  that  thinketh  he 
standeth,  and  that  in  the  sacred  enclosure  of 
divine  doctrine,  take  heed  lest  he  hold  the  truth 
in  its  worldly  power  instead  of  its  heavenly  ;  for 
respectability  rather  than  salvation ;  in  com- 
placency with  it  as  his,  rather  than  in  the  love 
of  it  as  God's.  Sloth,  Fear,  and  Jealousy  are 
three  chief  guardians  of  a  spurious  orthodoxy. 
Sloth  hates  the  honest  exertion  for  which 
personal  conviction  calls ;  Fear  hates  the 
questioning  spirit  which  it  is  so  hard  to  rule 
and  which  is  certain  to  claim,  and  justly  claim, 
somewhat  the  granting  of  which  orthodoxy  feels 
as  loss  ;  and  Jealousy  hates  the  display  of  moral 
and  intellectual  powers  which  challenge  respect, 
win  what  they  challenge,  and  put  to  shame 
those  who  boast  more,  but  own  less.  That  man 
is  the  best  conservative  of  the  faith  who  is 
conservative  of  His  love  in  whom  the  faith  has 
its  origin,  and  who  seeks  by  *  faith '  those  ends, 
namely,  the  restoration  of  human  beings  to 
righteousness  and  happiness,  and  their  estab- 
lishment therein,  at  which  He  aims.  Christ,  as 
a  Person,  gives  at  once  clearness  and  fulness  to 


THE  "RIVULET"  CONTROVERSY.      197 

our  Christianity.  *  Principal  things  about  a 
Person,*  I  have  said  in  the  'Letters  to  the 
Scattered/  <  are  more  simply  and  effectively 
spoken  than  about  a  doctrine  expressed  in  terms 
of  the  intellect  alone ;  while  yet  the  subject  is 
less  exhaustible,  and  the  discourse  on  it  may  be 
far  more  various.  Indeed,  a  Divine  Person  is  an 
inexhaustible  subject.  If  Christ  be  such  a  Person, 
then  He  hath  the  pre-eminence;  and  if  He  hath 
not  the  pre-eminence,  should  He,  can  He,  con- 
tinue to  have  the  prominence  r '  We  are  servants 
of  Christ — students  of  wisdom.  The  service  is 
simple  as  it  is  great ;  the  field  of  study  open  as 
it  is  wide,  and  productive  as  it  is  open.  I  am 
continually  teaching  that  the  spirit  of  Christ  is 
the  spirit  of  character,  and  that  if  we  live  by 
Him,  we  live  like  Him.  And  here  I  may  quote  a 
few  words  from  Mr.  Porter's  '  Lectures  on  Inde- 
pendency.' This  gentleman  is  my  brother-in- 
law  ;  and  Dr.  Campbell  speaks  of  us  as  the  two 
'  Iconoclastic  brothers.'*     The  peculiarity  of  Mr. 

*  "Mr.  Porter  is  not  only  my  relative,  but  my  senior  and 
honoured  friend.  Why,  then,  should  I  not  have  liberty  to  say  that 
his  recently  published  » Lectures  on  the  Ecclesiastical  System  of 


zg8  MEMOIR   OF  7.    T.   LYNCH. 

weather  speaks  of  the  peace  that  we  hope  for 

when  the  days  of  eternal  health  come 

Whether  it  requires  more  grace  to  be  good 
when  well  or  when  ill,  depends  partly  upon 
the  person  and  partly  upon  the  sort  of  illness, 
so  we  might  say.  But  this  you  will  have  found 
out,  that  each  state  requires  its  special  grace, 
and  every  person  his  or  her  own  particular 
mercy  from  the  Father  of  mercies." 

His  difficulty  in  preaching  appears  in  the 
following  note — only  one  need  not  take  the 
sermon  at  his  own  estimate.  Often  when  dis- 
satisfied with  himself,  his  audience  was  of  a 
widely  different  mind. 

"  76,  Arlington  Street, 

"  $rd  October,  1870. 

" Our  collection  yesterday  was  fairly 

good ;  at  any  rate,  it  was  better  than  the  ser- 
mon— that  was  incomprehensibly  bad.  There 
was  a  good  one — one  to  the  purpose — inside 
me ;  but,  like  Marshal  Bazaine,  it  could  not  get 
out,  though  it  made  several  desperate  sorties. 


THE  LAST  FEAR.  299 

I  mean  to  hold  on  a  few  Sundays  more,  and 
then,  if  not  relieved,  I  must  capitulate." 

To  a  friend  he  wrote — 

"  76,  Arlington  Street, 

"  10th  October,  1870. 

"  As  to  myself,  I  do  not  like  to  trouble  my 
friends  with  complaining  about  my  complaints. 
Enough  that — more  than  enough,  as  I  have 
sometimes  felt — I  have  been  this  year  harassed 
and  embarrassed  with  old  infirmities.  Afflic- 
tion protracted  seems  to  press  not  the  grape, 
but  the  grape-skin ;  and  yield  not  wine  that 
one  might  humbly  offer  to  God  in  a  sacramental 
cup,  but  poorer,  in  which  one's  most  courteous 
neighbour  is  obliged  to  hint  that  he  perceives 
more  acid  than  should  be." 

Here  is  another  note  of  consolation — 

"  76,  Arlington  Street, 

"  19^  November,  1870. 

"Dear  Miss  ,   Is   it  well  with   your     I 

hope  so ;  though  you  are  as  far  as  ever,  or  per- 


300  MEMOIR   OF  T.  T.  LYNCH. 

haps  a  little  farther,  from  being  what  we  call 
'  well/  But  if  you  are  patient  in  suffering  that 
evil  meant  for  good,  which  has  been  appointed 
for  you,  and  are  '  quiet  from  fear  of  evil '  other 
and  greater,  then  it  is  well  with  you.  Then 
may  we  most  show  our  trust  in  God,  when  we 
have  least  strength  in  ourselves.  And  if  it  be 
our  true  desire  to  escape  that  greatest  evil — 
the  falling  away  from  God  into  a  state  of  ingra- 
titude, distrust,  and  indifference — we  may  be 
sure  that  He  will  save  us  from  it.  Perhaps  you 
sometimes  pass  from  a  tranquil  state  into  one  in 
which  you  only  feel  that  you  cannot  feel.  But 
God's  faithfulness  to  his  own  word  of  mercy 
given  us  does  not  depend  on  our  apprehension 
of  it.  From  all  that  I  hear  of  you,  I  rather 
anticipate  your  entry  into  that  better  country  of 
which  Scripture  tells  and  hymns  sing,  than 
your  return  to  us  here.  I  doubt  not  that  plea- 
sant means  are  provided  there  for  the  perfecting 
of  those  who,  though  they  humbly  hope  that 
they  shall  sleep  in  Jesus  and  be  blest,  feel  that 
if  they  had  been  permitted  to  live  longer  below, 
they  could  and  they  would  have  made  greater 


THE  LAST  YEAR. 


30; 


efforts  than  they  have  yet  done  to  learn  of  Him 
and  serve  Him  and  resemble  Him.  If  you  have 
ere  long  to  hear  the  call  that  says  '  away/  it 
will,  I  thankfully  believe,  be  a  call  <  up '  as  well 
as  '  away ; '  and  in  the  vigour  of  a  new  life  you 
will  know  the  worth  of  what  has  been  here 
given  you  in  pious  lessons  and  examples ;  the 
greatness  of  the  mercy  that  has  forgiven  you 
what  has  been  amiss ;  and  the  full  power  of 
that  Saviour  who  has  been  the  nourisher  of  all 
Good  in  you,  and  has  been  preparing  you  for 
new  Scenes  and  new  Services  above. 

"  When  I  wrote  last  I  thought  rather  of  a  pos- 
sible journey  you  might  make  to  the  Sea ;  now  I 
rather  think  of  one  you  may  make  to  the  Sky. 
But  whether  you  go  Seawards  or  Skywards,  there 
is  but  one  Providence  on  which  you  have  to  rely." 

And  another  to  a  mother  on  the  dangerous 
illness  of  her  son — 

"  76,  Arlington  Street, 

11  12th  December,  1870. 

"  Anxious  indeed  is  such  watching 

and  waiting  as  yours.     But   there  are  prayers 


302  MEMOIR  OF  T.  T.  LYNCH. 

without  words,  as  there  are  '  songs  without 
words  ; '  and  the  deep  inward  wish  of  a  heart 
that  desires  to  submit  to  God  always  has  accept- 
ance with  Him.  Though  for  a  while  the  spirit 
may  be  as  wTaters  that  within  are  dark,  and  upon 
whose  surface  there  is  frosty  stillness,  yet, 
because  of  the  faithful  Sun  of  Righteousness, 
and  therefore  of  consolation,  there  is  hope ;  the 
ice  will  melt,  the  surface  ripple,  and  within 
there  will  be  a  bright  calm  instead  of  a  dull  one. 
"  I  trust  your  son  will  be  spared  to  you. 
Many  a  mother  has  endeavoured  to  resign  her 
son,  and  then  has  received  him  back  again  as 
from  the  dead,  and  as  a  divine  reward  for  her 
endeavour." 

And  here  is  one  in  a  lively  spirit  addressed 
to  a  friend  who  complained  that  the  world,  the 
flesh,  and  the  devil  interfered  with  his  happi- 
ness— 

"  76,  Arlington  Street, 

"  zyd  Decei?iber,  1870. 

"  My  dear  Mr. ,  One  consolation  I  can 

offer  you.     It  is  better  to  have  W.,  F.,  and  D. 


THE  LAST  FEAR.  303 

for  your  enemies  than  for  your  friends.  While 
a  man  is  intent  on  getting  what  he  calls  happi- 
ness at  any  price,  W.,  F.,  and  D.  will  carouse 
with  him,  and  say  they  will  see  to  it  that  he 
does  not  fail.  But  as  soon  as  he  tries  for  some- 
thing better  than  popular  happiness  (still  liking 
to  have  a  little  taste  of  it  though,  now  and 
then),  they  turn  against  him,  and  declare  that 
at  no  price  (much  they  know  about  it !)  shall  he 
have  either  that  happiness  or  a  better.  I  do 
not  wish  certainly  that  you  were  the  exclusive 
object  of  W.,  F.,  and  D.'s  hostility,  but  I  do  wish 
they  would  leave  off  besieging  and  bombarding 
me — and  you  too,  if  such  deliverance  would  be 
good  for  you.  F.  flurries  me,  W.  worries  me, 
and  D.  deceives  me,  if  he  can,  but  I  am  '  not 
ignorant  of  his  devices.'  " 

To  an  invitation  to  preach  he  thus  replied — 

"  76,  Arlington  Street, 

"  Jth  January \  187 1. 

"I  did   not  know  your   handwriting    on   the 
envelope  of  your  welcome  letter.     It  never  had 


3o4  MEMOIR   OF  T.  T.  LYNCH. 

any  evil  peculiarities,  but  it  has  grown  firmer, 
which  shows  that  you  are  a  happy,  successful 
man.  It  slopes  evenly  like  a  field  of  summer 
corn  in  a  gentle  breeze,  and  doesn't  straggle 
all  ways  like  a  mind  disturbed  by  divers  winds 
of  doctrine. 

"  Truly  I  was  very  glad  to  hear  from  you,  and 
felt  a  pleasing  sense  of  relief,  like  a  man  who 
has  been  absolved  of  a  crime.  For  you  must 
know  that  I  had  felt  guilty  of  not  having  written 
to  you  for  a  long  time,  and  now  I  know  that 
I  am  forgiven.  But  I  cannot  confess  to  having 
at  any  time  forgotten  you,  and  I  can  say  that 
often  I  have  wished  that  you  were  my  neigh- 
bour, or  I  yours,  for  feeble  creatures  such  as  I 
want  more  sympathetic  associates  than  are  easily 
to  be  met  with,  even  among  parsons. 

"  It  is  a  satisfaction  to  me  that  you  can  find 
something  to  please  you  in  the  'Mornington 
Lecture.'  Of  course  such  subjects  as  inspira- 
tion and  the  like  are  but  slenderly  (though  I 
hope  tenderly  too)  dealt  with.  They  have  had 
much  fuller  treatment  from  me  in  sermons. 

"  Sermons !       Would     that      I      could     with 


THE  LAST  YEAR.  305 

assurance  accept  your  kind  invitation.  But  it 
would  be  faith  passing  into  w/zholy  boldness,  I 
fear,  for  me  to  do  so.  I  am  now  '  feeble,  old, 
and  grey,'  and  have  been  this  year  sorely 
disabled.  In  1869  I  went  to  Nottingham  for 
some  pulpit  work,  and  that  was  my  last 
preaching  expedition.  It  saddens  me  to  feel 
that  I  ought  not  to  engage  to  try  and  serve 
you  as  you  wish.  How  pleased  I  should  be 
to  come !  to  see  your  good  friends  and  your 
better  self/' 

And  to  the  same,  in  reply  to  a  renewed  invi- 
tation to  visit  and  preach  for  him — 

"  76,  Arlington  Street, 

<<  i6tk  January,  187 1. 

"  But  now  to  business.  I  feel  like  the  gentle- 
man who  could  not  invite  his  friend  to  dinner, 
because,  first,  there  was  no  dinner,  and  then, 
for  many  other  reasons  which  he  had  not  time 
to  specify.  At  any  rate  I  must  respectfully 
decline  to  come  to  you,  first,  because  I  can't 
come — but  really  I  am  not  aware  of  any  other 

x 


306  MEMOIR  OF  T.  T.  LYNCH. 

reasons  for  not  coming,  though  of  course  I 
could  find  them  if  I  wished  to.  But  I  do 
not.  The  case,  however,  is  this.  I  have  been 
for  some  time,  and  still  am,  on  the  very 
brink,  so  to  say,  of  resigning  my  office.  Phy- 
sically I  am  very  nearly  disabled.  I  am  mor- 
tified and  saddened,  and  sometimes  feel  as 
if  I  could  weep,  wail,  and  gnash  my  teeth  all 
at  once,  because  of  the  heavy,  steady,  crip- 
pling pressure  of  infirmity.  I  really  would 
have  liked  to  come,  but  I  must  not  dally 
with  myself,  and  deceive  you.  It  is  important 
that  your  arrangements  should  be  certain,  and 
be  made  early. 

"  Mr. is  said  to  be  an  energetic  worker. 

Such  are  needed.  Energy!  Gambetta  has 
enough  of  that ;  but  what  counts  most,  is  just 
now  most  wanting — Wisdom.  What  a  work 
those  two  sons  of  Satan — Lies  and  Lightness 
— have  wrought  in  France  !  " 

Thus  conscious  of  failing  strength,  in  the 
pulpit  he  exhibited  no  sign  of  weakness,  and 
his  congregation,  long  familiar  with  his  energy, 


THE  LAST  FEAR.  307 

notwithstanding  infirmity,  were  wholly  unpre- 
pared for  their  imminent  loss.  He  was  to  die 
in  harness. 

Latterly  he  had  become  very  desirous  of 
living  a  little  farther  from  town.  He  pined  for 
more  space  and  fresher  air.  But  the  difficulty 
was  his  inability  to  endure  the  fatigue  of  riding 
a  mile  or  two  on  Sundays  before  preaching., 
He  felt  greatly  perplexed,  not  knowing  what 
step  to  take.  On  Thursday  the  4th  of  May, 
hearing  of  a  house  within  a  short  distance,  the 
situation  of  which  he  thought  might  suit,  he 
determined  to  go  and  look  at  it ;  but  a  violent 
spasm  of  the  heart  seized  him,  as  was  then 
almost  always  the  case  when  he  attempted  to 
ride,  and  he  was  obliged  to  return  home.  He 
lay  quietly  for  some  hours  on  the  sofa,  and 
said  he  would  give  up  seeking  for  change  of 
residence,  for  it  was  evidently  useless.  When 
a  little  revived,  he  sang  in  a  low  voice  Wil- 
liams's fine  old  hymn,  "  Guide  me,  O  thou 
Great  Jehovah,"  to  a  tune  of  his  own  com- 
posing. 

In    the    evening    he    preached    from     Luke 


308  MEMOIR   OF  7.   T.  LYNCH. 

xxii.  n,  "Where  is  the  guest  chamber,  where 
I  shall  eat  the  passover  with  my  disciples  r " 
It  was  an  address  preparatory  to  the  com- 
munion on  the  following  Sunday,  and  was 
delivered  with  his  usual  vigour  and  fulness. 
Those  who  were  present  will  never  forget  that 
service. 

He  came  home  very  much  exhausted,  but 
next  day  prepared  for  his  Sunday's  work  in 
his  ordinary  manner.  But  that  night,  after 
retiring  to  rest,  he  became  ill  and  very  feverish. 
In  the  morning  his  medical  friend  was  sent 
for,  who  said  at  once  that  it  would  be  impossible 
for  him  to  preach  the  next  day.  He  received 
the  remark  very  quietly,  and  shortly  after  gave 
directions  respecting  supplies  for  the  pulpit. 
He  passed  a  very  restless  day,  and  the  night 
that  followed  was  still  more  distressing.  During 
the  Sunday  he  was  unable  to  speak  many  words; 
but  when  he  did,  he  expressed  a  strong  desire 
to  live,  if  it  were  the  will  of  God.  To  his  affec- 
tionate nature,  life  had  still  great  attractions, 
and  many  things  he  had  purposed  were  unac- 
complished.     Towards   evening    the  fever  left 


THE  LAST  YEAR.  309 

him,  and  exhaustion  followed.  All  that  his 
kind  medical  friend  could  do  was  done,  but 
he  never  rallied.  To  two  of  his  near  relatives 
who  had  been  sent  for,  he  spoke  a  few  words. 
To  one  who  expressed  a  hope  that  they 
would  meet  again,  he  said,  with  a  momentary 
return  of  his  old  energy,  "I  know  it."  His 
illness  from  the  first  was  so  extreme,  that 
only  one  other  friend  could  be  allowed  to  see 
him,  and  this  friend  prayed  with  him,  com- 
mending his  departing  spirit  to  God.  To 
him  he  said,  "  Now  I  am  going  to  begin  to 
live." 

His  medical  attendant  remained  with  him 
until  late  on  Monday  night,  and  soon  after  he 
left  the  last  change  began.  Without  struggle 
or  sigh,  he  gradually  ceased  to  breathe  on  the 
morning  of  May  9th,  1 87 1 . 

He  has  been  described  as  Pastor  and  Friend. 
Of  his  domestic  character  little  need  be  said. 
As  a  master  he  was  just  and  considerate  ;  as 
husband  and  father,  intensely  loving  and  greatly 
beloved. 

The  funeral  took  place  on  Tuesday,  1 6th  May. 


3 io  MEMOIR  OF  T.  T.  LYNCH. 

After  a  service  at  Mornington  Church,  conducted 
by  the  Rev.  Edward  White  and  the  Rev.  J.  C. 
Harrison,  the  congregation  followed  the  body  to 
Abney  Park  Cemetery.  There  was  a  great 
gathering  around  the  grave,  and  says  Mr. 
White,  "I  have  attended  many  funerals,  but  I 
never  saw  so  many  men  in  tears  as  at  Mr. 
Lynch's  burial."  On  the  following  Sunday  the 
Rev.  Thomas  Binney  read  the  lessons  in  Morn- 
ington Church,  and  the  Rev.  Samuel  Cox,  of 
Nottingham,  preached  the  funeral  sermon,  which 
was  afterwards  printed. 

A  volume,  entitled,  "  Sermons  for  my  Curates," 
was  published  a  few  months  subsequently, 
edited  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  Cox.  The  sermons 
were  written  by  Mr.  Lynch  some  years  before, 
and  were  read  to  the  congregation  in  the 
evening  by  friendly  volunteers.  Hence  the 
playful  title. 

Over  the  grave  in  Abney  Park  Cemetery  a 
stone  with  the  following  inscription  was  erected 
by  his  congregation— 


THE  LAST  YEAR.  311 

%o  the  §clobcb  ^Ecmorg 

OF 

THE  REV.  THOMAS  TOKE  LYNCH 

BORN  5TH  JULY,   1818 
DIED  9th  MAY,  1871 

FOR    2  2    YEARS    MINISTER    OF    THE 
CONGREGATION    ASSEMBLING    AT    MORNINGTON 
CHURCH,    HAMPSTEAD    ROAD,   LONDON 


HE    WAS    IN    HIS    OWN    WORDS    WHEN    DESCRIBING    THE    TRUE 
PASTOR    AND    TEACHER 

A   HERALD   OF   GOD   LOVING   HIS   MESSAGE 

A   GUARDIAN   OF   THE   LIGHT   OF   GOD   HOLDING  IT   FORTH 

CONSPICUOUSLY 

A    SHEPHERD    WHOSE    WISDOM    WAS    AS    A    FOLD    FOR    THE 

SAVIOUR'S    SHEEP 

AND    HIS    COMFORTABLE    WORDS 

A   HOSPICE   ON   THE   RUDE   MOUNTAINS   FOR  THOSE 

WHO   ARE   CROSSING  THEM    ON   THEIR  WAY 

TO   THE   PROMISED   COUNTRY 


BLESSED   ARE   THE   DEAD   WHO   DIE   IN   THE   LORD 

YEA,    SAITH   THE   SPIRIT 

THAT    THEY    MAY    REST    FROM    THEIR    LABOURS 

AND  THEIR  WORKS  DO  FOLLOW  THEM 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


IN   CONCLUSION. 


"  A  BIRD'S  heart  without  a  bird's  wings." 
So  Mr.  Lynch  once  described  himself;  but 
the  best  simile  does  little  more  than  indicate 
what  many  words  might  fail  to  exhaust.  His 
powerful,  agile,  and  radiant  spirit  was  enclosed 
in  a  body  unequal  to  its  service,  and  thereby 
limited,  restrained,  defeated. 

Yet  having  said  so  much,  let  us  not  forget  nor 
be  thankless  for  what  was  accomplished.  If 
much  that  he  would  have  done  he  could  not, 
yet  how  large  and  how  excellent  was  that  which 
he  achieved  !  His  work  was  "  the  work  of  the 
preacher,"  and  by  that  work  he  should  be 
estimated.  For  years  he  preached  systemati- 
cally,   and   his   sermons   represented   a  volume 


IN  CONCLUSION.  313 

and  variety  of  thought,  which  it  might  be 
difficult  to  characterise  without  the  appearance 
of  exaggeration.  Let  any  competent  critic  take 
up  the  "  Three  Months'  Ministry,"  and  consider 
that  these  sermons  are  merely  an  average  of 
hundreds,  and  then  reflect  what  such  hundreds 
stand  for.  Mr.  Bright  has  recently  questioned 
the  possibility  of  preachers  maintaining  fresh- 
ness and  interest  in  their  theme  Sunday  after 
Sunday,  though  he  allows  that  there  may  be 
exceptions.  Of  exceptions,  Mr.  Lynch  was  an 
eminent  example.  It  was  not  difficult  for  him 
to  preach  twice,  or  thrice,  a  week;  nor  was  it 
difficult  to  listen  to  him  as  often.  Let  it  not, 
however,  be  supposed  that  his  sermons  cost 
little,  being  produced  without  study  or  effort. 
On  the  contrary,  their  production  was  the 
business  of  his  life — his  chosen  and  joyful 
business.  It  was  his  delight  to  communicate 
his  mind  to  his  people  from  the  pulpit ;  and  to 
be  deprived  of  that  communication  was  such 
hardship  that  often  in  his  feeblest  times  the 
question  for  decision  was,  whether  he  would  not 
suffer  more  from  the  restraint  of  silence  than 


3  H  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

from  the  exertion  of  speech.  His  sermons  were 
not  improvisations ;  he  spoke  from  a  scheme 
mentally  laid  down,  whilst  much  was  given  in 
the  inspiration  of  the  occasion.  "For  ten 
years,"  testifies  one  of  his  hearers,  UI  never 
missed  a  sermon  or  lecture  that  by  any  possi- 
bility I  could  find  my  way  to  ;  and,  hearing  him 
uninterruptedly,  I  never  heard  him  repeat  him- 
self. I  never  could  say,  'That,  or  something 
like  that,  have  I  heard  before.'  Hence  I  resorted 
to  him  with  perpetual  expectation."  And  with 
all  his  luxuriance  there  was  no  carelessness. 
"  Lynch' s  ministry,"  said  a  lady,  "is  affluence 
with  accuracy."  Thoughts  in  words  went  forth 
together  matched  and  mastered.  He  said  what 
he  wished  to  say,  and  nothing  more. 

As  a  rule,  his  sermons  were  addressed  to 
thoughtful  people,  and  presupposed  a  certain 
information  and  interest  in  spiritual  things. 
"  One  great  aim  of  your  preacher,"  he  said  in 
1 851,  "is  to  refresh,  assist,  and  satisfy  con- 
siderate, inquiring  persons."  This  aim  he 
steadily  pursued,  and  it  is  to  be  borne  in  mind 
by  every  reader  of  his  sermons.     Sometimes  it 


IN  CONCLUSION.  315 

was  complained  that  he  preached  over  the  heads 
of  the  vulgar,  but  the  answer  was  obvious  that 
others  besides  the  vulgar  have  to  be  provided 
for.  When  there  was  opportunity,  he  could 
adapt  his  discourse  to  the  humblest,  and  with  a 
directness  and  vivacity  that  kept  every  faculty 
alert.  Indeed,  that  Mr.  Lynch  was  not  a 
popular  preacher  was  due  simply  to  the  fact  that 
circumstances  did  not  so  shape  his  duty.  His 
mission,  to  use  an  over- worn  word,  was  specially 
to  the  sceptical  and  scattered,  many  of  whom 
were  led  by  him  into  "  the  unity  of  the  faith." 
In  dealing  with  doubts  he  was  singularly  suc- 
cessful, and  some  who  imagined  that  they  had 
seen  an  end  of  all  arguments  for  Christianity, 
discovered  in  him  a  body  of  evidence  of  which 
they  had  no  conception.  An  active  agent  of 
unbelief,  after  spending  an  evening  with  him, 
remarked  to  a  friend,  "  If  I  could  have  seen  the 
Bible  as  Mr.  Lynch  exhibits  it,  I  should  never 
have  had  a  word  to  say  against  it." 

To  his  more  attached  followers  Mr.  Lynch' s 
ministry  might  be  most  adequately  described  as 
"  a    comfortable   ministry " — comfortable    in    its 


3i6  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.   LYNCH. 

moral  invigoration,  and,  beyond  all,  comfortable 
in  the  constant  sense  that  ran  through  his 
utterances  of  the  omnipotence  of  Divine  Love  as 
revealed  in  Jesus  Christ. 

"  What  heaven  so  high,  but  love  is  still  beyond  ? 
What  hell  so  deep,  that  love  is  not  below  ? 
What  length  of  times  bemused  by  fancy  fond, 

What  breadth  of  countries  has  the  world  to  show, 

"  Such  that  love  is  inadequate  to  fill, 

To  reach,  to  brighten,  and  to  reconcile  ? 
All  in  the  all  is  Love,  and  hidden  still 

It  opens  with  a  new  and  heightened  smile." 

Citing  "  The  Rivulet,"  leads  us  to  remark 
what  a  celestial  element  it  contributed  to  the 
worship  of  the  congregation,  and  how  it  blent 
into  harmony  with  the  devotion  and  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  preacher.  And  those  who  so  tested 
"  The  Rivulet "  year  after  year  may  most  con- 
fidently speak  of  its  merits.  With  familiarity 
the  hymns  lost  nothing,  but  gained  thereby, 
and  revealed  a  depth  and  delicacy  of  thought 
and  tenderness  of  feeling  which  a  cursory 
acquaintance  might  have  missed.  Indeed,  like 
all  true  poetry,   "The  Rivulet"  requires  to  be 


IN  CONCLUSION.  317 

studied,  and  repays  study ;  but  whether  by 
reason  of  the  disagreeable  notoriety  attached  to 
it,  or  simply  from  oversight,  the  volume  has 
never  received  the  recognition  to  which  it  is 
entitled — albeit  hymn  after  hymn  has  passed 
silently  into  the  currency  of  the  churches.  It  is 
difficult  to  select  examples,  but  what  is  there 
finer  in  conception  and  expression  in  any 
hymnal  than  this,  entitled — ■ 

«  EMMANUEL." 

"  Why  stooped  the  Majesty  on  high  ? 
Why  spake  so  simply  the  Allwise  ? 
How  came  Omnipotence  to  sigh  ? 
Why  wept  the  Joy  of  all  the  skies  ? 

"  Shall,  then,  the  Father  all  things  know 
Except  the  children's  want  and  pain  ? 
And  in  his  heart  all  sunshine  glow, 
Except  the  sunshine  after  rain  ? 

"  And  all  great  things  may  He  perform 
Save  greatly  fill  a  humble  part  ? 
And  rule,  but  never  feel,  the  storm 
That  buffets  us  in  face  and  heart  ? 

"  And  may  He  in  abstrusest  lore 
Teach  angels  his  eternal  sway, 
But  never  come  to  our  own  door 
To  give  us  comfort  for  the  day  ? 


3i 8  MEMOIR   OF  T.    T.  LYNCH. 

"  Day's  burden  off,  its  labours  done, 
Poor  lodging  at  the  weary  end 
Had  He,  of  gold  and  silver  none, 
A  needy  man,  and  all  men's  friend. 

"  Be  glad,  the  world  of  toils  and  scorns 
But  perfects  Him  whom  first  it  mars  ; 
O,  love  Him  for  his  crown  of  thorns, 
Then  praise  Him  for  his  crown  of  stars.' 


In  private  Mr.  Lynch  was  the  cheerfulest  of 
company.  Of  his  health  he  had  so  little  to  say 
that  was  good,  that  he  only  referred  to  it  under 
compulsion.  It  was  of  others  he  talked,  rarely 
of  himself.  And  what  talk  his  was,  genial, 
sprightly,  profound !  "He  was  the  most  won- 
derful discourser  I  ever  listened  to,"  says  the 
Rev.  Edward  White.  "  He  gave  to  most  men 
quite  a  new  conception  of  the  possibilities  of 
power  in  conversation.  There  was  a  method,  a 
grasp,  a  breadth,  a  fulness,  an  outpouring  of 
spiritual  energy,  a  fine  humour,  a  sweetness,  too, 
and  a  beauty  reflected  or  borrowed  from  all  that 
is  bright  and  fair,  which  simply  fascinated  you, 
and  held  the  ablest  men  spell-bound/'  Few 
left    him   without   the   sense   of   a    fresh    light 


IN  CONCLUSION.  319 

on  their  own  or  the  world's  affairs,  or  without 
some  happy  saying  of  amusement  or  consola- 
tion. He  was  no  ascetic,  but  a  very  man  of  the 
world  in  capacity  and  common-sense.  He  read 
widely  and  carefully,  and  what  he  knew  he 
knew  thoroughly.  In  politics,  literature,  and 
science  he  had  a  perennial  interest,  and  for  all 
that  made  for  human  improvement  the  heartiest 
sympathy. 

"A  bird's  heart  without  a  bird's  wings :"  so 
he  once  described  himself :  "  Now  I  am  going 
to  begin  to  live  "  were  among  his  last  words  as 
he  passed  from  earth  : 

"  If  we  who  sing  must  sometimes  sigh, 
Yet  life,  beginning  with  a  cry, 
In  hallelujah  ends." 


CHRONOLOGICAL    LIST 

OF  MR.  LYNCH' S  WRITINGS. 


1844.  Thoughts  on  a  Day. 

1850.  Memorials  of  Theophilus  Trinal. 

1853.  Essays  on  some  of  the  Forms  of  Literature. 

1853.  Lectures  in  Aid  of  Self-Improvement,  addressed  to  Young 
Men  and  Others. 

1855.  Hymns  for  Heart  and  Voice  :  The  Rivulet. 

1856.  Songs  Controversial. 
1856.  The  Ethics  of  Quotation. 

i860.  Among  Transgressors.     A  Theological  Tract. 

1 86 1.  Three  Months'  Ministry  :  a  Series  of  Sermons. 

1868.  The  Rivulet :  a   Contribution   to   Sacred   Song.     [A  new 

edition,  with  sixty-seven  additional  hymns.] 

1869.  A  Group  of  Six  Sermons. 

1870.  The  Mornington  Lecture  :  Thursday  Evening  Addresses. 


CHRONOLOGICAL  LIST.  321 

POSTHUMOUS. 

1871.  Sermons  for  my  Curates.     Edited  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  Cox. 

1872.  Letters  to  the  Scattered,  and  other  Papers.     Contributed 

chiefly  to  the  Christian  Spectator,  1855-56. 
1872.    Tunes  to  Hymns    in    the    Rivulet.      Edited  by  Thomas 
Pettit,  A.R.A.M. 

It  is  sometimes  asked  whether  Mr.  Lynch  left 
nothing  in  manuscript.  There  are  sermons, 
chiefly  reported,  but  whether  any  will  be  pub- 
lished depends  on  circumstances.  They  abound 
in  passages  alive  with  the  author's  genius,  and, 
if  entire  publication  be  unadvisable,  we  may 
hope  for  selections. 


THE  END. 


PRINTED   BY  VIRTUE   AND   CO.,    CITY   ROAD,   LONDON. 


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